After posting 1,200 National Guard troops at the US-Mexico border to stop crossings of undocumented immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security will draw down those forces by 75% and shift the mission considerably: The drawdown, which the department characterized as a “transition,” will begin in January and should be completed by March. Several lawmakers told [...]

The proposed budget bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from public employees in Wisconsin, and particularly the suggestion by Governor Scott Walker that he would send out the National Guard to quell protests over the action, has suddenly become a major political football in the state. Walker and his conservative allies talked about this [...]

Since Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced that he would not only seek legislation this week to end collective bargaining for most public employees without hearings or debate, but also send in the National Guard to either quell unrest or fill in during a walkout, the labor movement has organized. This is a pretty good rundown [...]

We know that states are going to have to deal with their budget gaps this year without federal assistance. The stimulus funding is winding down, and nothing additional is likely to pass a GOP House, not even the budget proposal to forgive borrowing payments from unemployment insurance funds. In fact, the FY2012 budget is likely [...]

I’m listening to John McCain, sounding like the racist guy from 12 Angry Men on the floor of the Senate, arguing for sending 6,000 troops to the US-Mexico border, because “those people” are coming over and causing bedlam. And Barack Obama, apparently, agrees with Ol’ Man McCain, at least 1/5 of the way. The government [...]