Obama will move quickly to fill Supreme Court seat

Several names have already been floated as possible contenders for Stevens’ seat. Topping the list are Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appellate judges Diane Wood and Merrick Garland.


Obama said he will pick a nominee with qualities similar to Stevens: someone with “an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of the law, and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people.”

In addition, the president said his pick will understand that “powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.”

Roll Call

Stossel: More Pointless Government Work

By: JOHN STOSSEL
The pressure is on Washington to spend that $862 billion in stimulus funds. Uncle Sam has doled out only $300 billion so far, so now they want to waste more of your money to expand a sleepy customs border station in Forest City, Maine; year-round population: Five.

The current station is sizable, with radiation detectors and a private residence for customs agents. Although only 5 cars cross the border on an average day, the Feds want to build additional residences, even though no one lives in the current one. They also want to add parking, but these ambitious plans call for more land than the government owns.

Jane Johnson is one of Forest City's 5 residents. Johnson says the government wants to take half of her property. The parking lot would be within 12 feet of her home.

Dale Wheaton owns Wheaton's Lodge, a fishing camp. Wheaton's land is also under scrutiny. Like Johnson, Wheaton refuses to allow government surveyors onto his property. But he is realistic about his chances against the government.

"I learned in primary school not to pick on people that are bigger than you because they usually beat the living crap out of you. And they’re gonna beat the crap out of me too."

The customs station is only open from 8 am to 4 pm and it’s closed Sundays. Johnson says that even if it did need expansion…

"That’s not going to stop any terrorists from coming into this country. They can come across the lake, they can come through the woods, they can come across the stream."

But that Recovery Act stimulus money must be spent. Homeland Security tells us that the expansion will address a “critical national security need.” But none of the five folks in Forest City believe that. Bob Parker told us:

"Somebody in Washington has decided we need to spend this stimulus money by Sept 30. Let’s go spend some of it in Forest City, Maine."

Supreme Court Justice Stevens announces retirement at end of current session

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is going to retire when the court wraps up its work for the summer break.

Stevens, who marks his 90th birthday this month, had said in an interview published less than a week ago that he would "surely" retire while Barack Obama was still in the White House.

"I can tell you that I love the job and deciding whether to leave it is a very difficult decision," Stevens told the Washington Post. "But I want to make it in a way that's best for the court."

The Hill

Looks like Stupak's healthcare dealings have sent him packing.

The public doesn't like a public official to cave on his principles, and Bart Stupak is now a shining example of how the public will hear none of it. If your Pro Life then be Pro Life. The public has had its fill of the gamesmanship in DC.

The Hill is reporting:

Rep. Bart Stupak to retire after last-second deal on healthcare

Rep. Bart Stupak is expected to announce his retirement Friday, weeks after his critical role in healthcare's passage.

Stupak, the centrist Michigan Democrat who crafted a last-second deal on abortion that allowed President Barack Obama's healthcare bill to pass the house and become law, will say during a press conference this morning that he won't pursue reelection this fall.

Stupak has been wrestling with whether to retire for weeks, and the brutal healthcare fight certainly played a role in his decision.

Stupak told The Hill that fighting the healthcare bill had been "a living hell" a little more than a week before the bill was approved by the House.

Telephone lines to his office were jammed, and he and his wife received nasty calls at home.

“All the phones are unplugged at our house — tired of the obscene calls and threats. She won’t watch TV,” Stupak said during the interview. “People saying they’re going to spit on you and all this. That’s just not fun.”

Things didn't get easier for Stupak after he reached a deal with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats that allowed his group of anti-abortion rights centrist Democrats to vote for the healthcare bill.

The Hill

Related: Want to be a Congressman? Stupak and others targeted and threatened. (Listen)
Conservative Voters to Democrats: "We're Coming and Hell is Coming With Us!"

Louisville/Winston County airport awarded improvement grant funds

The Louisville/Winston County airport will receive $112,812 in federal grant funds for improvements at the airport according to Third District Congressman Gregg Harper's office.

The improvements for the airport will include airport terminal expansion and airstrip restripping work which is set to begin in the next few weeks according to Dell Coward of Engineering and Surveyors of Noxapater who will be doing the work. . The funds for the improvements will be from Federal Aviation Agency funds, state funds, city funds and county funds. The FAA will pay for 95 percent of the project with the state paying 2.5 percent and the city and county splitting the remaining 2.5 percent.

According to records, the field averages about 17 aircraft flights a week with 6 airplanes based at the airport.

The Winston County Journal

Suit filed on Medicaid cuts

Nursing homes want reserve funds used

The Mississippi Health Care Association, the Independent Nursing Home Association and dozens of nursing homes from across the state filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop the Mississippi Division of Medicaid from making a planned $14 million cut in payments to providers.

The lawsuit filed in Hinds County Chancery Court late Thursday afternoon argues that state reserve funds can be used to shore up the Medicaid budget and the cuts are unnecessary.

The suit seeks an injunction to stop the cuts over the uncertainty of "adequate funding" for providers.

The Mississippi Pharmacists Association and the Mississippi Independent Pharmacies Association joined the lawsuit.

The cuts are pending federal permission.

Dan Turner, spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour, said the governor's office had not reviewed the lawsuit and did not have a comment.

The Clarion Ledger