As FCC Tries to Kill Political Free Speech, MTV Pushes Child-Pornish 'Skins'

One day after it was reported Viacom executives ordered producers to tone down its racy teen drama, the Parents Television Council has announced it's urging the Department of Justice and U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees to open an investigation.

"In addition to the sexual content on the show involving cast members as young as 15, PTC counted 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol in the premiere episode," the group wrote in a letter to the government organizations.

Hollywood Reporter

GOP Closes in on Majority in Mississippi State House

At a press conference this afternoon- which is becoming a pretty regular event these days- the Mississippi Republican Party welcomed two new members to the party. Representatives Russ Nowell of Louisville and Margaret Rogers of New Albany formally made the switch and gave Republicans number 52 and 53 in the House of Representatives.

Read More

Ed Koch: Palin Holds High Ground Over Harsh and Unfair Critics

As I see it, in the current battle for public opinion Sarah Palin has defeated her harsh and unfair critics.

After the January 8 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the murder of six others in Tucson, Arizona, some television talking heads and members of the blogosphere denounced her and held her in part responsible for creating a climate of hatred that resulted in the mass attacks.

An example is Joe Scarborough and his crew on the "Morning Joe" show, which I watch and generally enjoy every morning at 6:30 a.m. when I rise to start the day.

Ed Koch via Real Clear Politics

Public Trusts Republicans More on All 10 Important Issues

Surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters
January 11-14, 2010

Issue	Democrats	Republicans
Economy	39%	48%
Health Care	38%	52%
Education	38%	40%
Iraq	37%	45%
Immigration	37%	48%
Social Security	36%	46%
Afghanistan	36%	44%
Government Ethics	35%	43%
National Security	35%	50%
Taxes	33%	52%

Rasmussen Reports

Iowa: Senate Democrats Give in to Daily Pledge of Allegiance

Iowa Senate President Jack Kibbie said Tuesday the Democrat-controlled Senate will agree to a Republican request to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily at the beginning of business.

Sen. Bill Dix, a Shell Rock Republican and former Iowa House member, proposed the daily pledge last week, saying, "We're Americans every day."

Senate members had been reciting the pledge once weekly on Mondays when they convened for daily business. The Iowa House recites the pledge each day.

Des Moines Register

Katy Perry Takes On Madonna Over Anti-Christian Hate

What's more, Katy has forced hubby RUSSELL BRAND to tone down the God-baiting references in his live show. She added: "Russell has made very blasphemous jokes in the past, but he's making fewer all the time because he knows that I am very sensitive about this subject." 

The Sun

27 State Fighting Back Against Government Takeover of Your Healthcare

STATES SUING OVER OBAMACARE

State	Lawsuit Joined	Date Joined
Virginia	Virginia	March 23, 2010
Florida	Florida	March 23, 2010
South Carolina	Florida	March 23, 2010
Nebraska	Florida	March 23, 2010
Texas	Florida	March 23, 2010
Utah	Florida	March 23, 2010
Louisiana	Florida	March 23, 2010
Alabama	Florida	March 23, 2010
Michigan	Florida	March 23, 2010
Colorado	Florida	March 23, 2010
Pennsylvania	Florida	March 23, 2010
Washington	Florida	March 23, 2010
Idaho	Florida	March 23, 2010
South Dakota	Florida	March 23, 2010
North Dakota	Florida	April 5, 2010
Arizona	Florida	April 6, 2010
Georgia	Florida	April 13, 2010
Alaska	Florida	April 20, 2010
Nevada	Florida	May 14, 2010
Indiana	Florida	May 14, 2010
Mississippi	Florida	May 14, 2010
Wisconsin	Florida	January 3, 2011
Oklahoma	Oklahoma	January 7, 2011
Wyoming	Florida	January 7, 2011
Ohio	Florida	January 11, 2011
Kansas	Florida	January 12, 2011
Maine	Florida	January 12, 2011

Source: Heritage Foundation

Huckabee Has Highest Favorable Rating, Palin Fourth

Republicans with an eye on the White House have some work to do on improving their image and recognition by voters.
A new Gallup Poll shows Mike Huckabee is the most liked and Sarah Palin is the best known in the crowded field of potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and winner of the 2008 Iowa GOP caucuses, has a net favorable rating of 30% among Republicans and is recognized by 87%. Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, comes in fourth in favorability (22%) but is recognized by 95%.

USA Today

Bizarre: Democrat Switches to GOP... But Repbulicans Don't Want Him

The Marshall County Republican Party does not want Marshall County Circuit Judge Howard Hawk as a member of its ranks. But the head of the state GOP says it doesn't matter, Hawk's a Republican.

The county Republican Executive Committee voted in a special meeting earlier this week to ask Hawk to remain a Democrat. Hawk announced two weeks ago that he was switching to the Republican Party.

John Ross, executive director of the Alabama Republican Party, said Hawk is now a Republican.

"We don't prevent someone from switching parties," Ross told the Tribune. "Anyone has that right. The state party's executive committee can review a challenge to someone being on the ballot, but now is not the time for that."

Hawk said he has made his decision and is sticking to it.

The Arab Tribune

Texas: Replacing Kay Bailey Hutchison

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced Thursday that she won't seek re-election next year, prompting an immediate flurry of speculation about successors, early positioning by potential candidates and a decisive “no” from a prominent Democrat who once had his eye on the job.
“Sen. Hutchison has worked hard for Texas for many years,” former Houston Mayor Bill White wrote in an e-mail. “I wish her and her family well. I look forward to going back into business this year, and will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.”

My San Antonio

Mississippi: Haley Barbour's State of the Union Speech

Thank you Speaker McCoy and Governor Bryant, and thanks to you in the Legislature for your warm
welcome.
General Freeman is with us tonight. While we don’t have as many of our National Guard in harm’s way
as we have in past years, we should never forget to be thankful for their sacrifice and the sacrifice of
others in uniform – law enforcement, fire fighters, corrections and conservation officers, EMTs. Please
join me in a moment of silent prayer for those men and women and their safety and success.
This is the eighth and final time Marsha and I will appear on this podium for me to deliver my State of the
State address.
When Marsha and I married, 39 years ago, I knew I had outmarried
myself. Over the last seven years you
and the people of Mississippi have recognized that fact, too. She not only has joined me at each of these
occasions, she also has been part of the work I have tried to do for our state, especially in the grueling
weeks and months after Katrina.
As I composed this last State of the State address I couldn’t help but think how much has changed in these
seven years. To start with, I did the speech on my new iPad. In 2004, iPad is what Marsha called what I
did to my weight during Christmas.
Reflecting back, it was essential that state government make a number of significant changes when I stood
up here the first time in January 2004.
The state budget was in awful shape with an enormous shortfall, and we had about $3 million of
unallocated monies in our Rainy Day Fund; lawsuit abuse had created a health care crisis in our state, and
every small business in Mississippi was one lawsuit away from bankruptcy; despite a surging drug
epidemic, the drug enforcement budget had been cut by almost 40 percent; and though the national
recession had been over for more than two years, the need for job creation was first on the minds of nearly
every voter.
Mr. Speaker, I vividly remember the first time we ever visited. You told me that campaigning for reelection
in 2003 you had gone down a country road and, at each of three houses in a row, someone had
lost his job that year.
Legislators, I applaud you and your predecessors on the actions you took to deal with these and other
problems. It wasn’t easy or always pretty. Sometimes we battled, but we accomplished a lot, together.
While it took twoplus
years, we got our budget back to where the state spent no more than it received in
annual revenue, and we quit raiding balances in special funds. We replenished the Rainy Day Fund to its
statutory limit of $375 million and created other reserves to cover potential federal liability. And we did
it without raising anybody’s taxes.
Despite the worst recession in generations and a steep drop in revenue, we’ve kept our budget balanced by
cutting spending and without depleting all our reserves. If you adopt my budget recommendation for next
year, FY 12, the new governor and legislature who follow us will have some $200 million left in reserves
for FY 13, plus our school districts have more than $450 million in their reserve funds.
I realize this is an election year, and every penny of appropriated spending has a constituency. You will
get pressure to spend more for this and spend more for that.
As Governor I have cut the budget by a total of about $700 million in just the last two years. Just as our
constituents have cut back, they expect state government to cut back. They know the alternative is raising
taxes, because government has no money except what it takes from taxpayers. The people of Mississippi
deserve to keep more of what they earn, and we owe it to the people of Mississippi not to raise taxes and
to control spending.
Not only do I urge you not to consider tax increases this year, I implore you to keep spending at a level
this year that protects more of our reserves for next year. That is the way to stop any tax increases in
2012.
Remember, what we have accomplished in controlling spending over seven years can be lost in only one
year.
Our first year you passed and I signed the most comprehensive tort reform law in the country, and it
worked. Medical liability premiums have declined by 61 percent, and the number of medical liability
cases filed against Mississippi physicians fell 90 percent within one year of the law’s going into effect.
Tort reform also has been a major factor in economic growth and job creation.
Starting that first year, we implemented significant, successful changes to spur the creation of more,
higher paying jobs for our people. We reorganized the Development Authority, gave it outstanding new
leadership and began our Momentum Mississippi campaign. MDA’s results are striking. This team has
supported businesses that created 64,666 jobs in this state.
We created our new Department of Employment Security and expanded it to take over workforce
development and job training. The State Workforce Investment Board was established, and the
Workforce Enhancement Training or WET Fund came into existence through a diversion of the
unemployment insurance tax, a tax you also cut by 25 percent that same year.
Now, every year, the WET fund puts about $20 million into workforce development and skills training at
our 15 community colleges, which do a great job. A study of graduates of WET fund financed programs
show they make $4,300 more per year than before that training, and our improved, skilled workforce has
been a reason companies like Toyota, GE Aviation, PACCAR, Severstal and a long list of very hightech
energy companies have come to Mississippi.
Coupled with workforce quality, the State has focused on attracting advanced manufacturing with
advanced materials. We’ve targeted aerospace, automotive and energy, as well as service sectors. We’ve
also beefed up our efforts to help existing businesses.
The results include a 27percent
increase in personal per capita income despite the recession. This is the
15 th highest increase in the country over this sixyear
period.
While we’re not immune to the effects of the national recession, we’ve fared better in other
measurements, too. For instance, while our unemployment percentage has increased, it has done so at a
rate about half as great as the nation as a whole.
In law enforcement, we have fought the scourge of illegal narcotics with a vengeance. In 2005 you
passed laws to reduce the production and use of crystal methamphetamine. When the criminals learned
how to get around those laws, you made the necessary changes, and they are working. In the first six
months of this fiscal year – July 1 to December 31, 2010 – 68 percent fewer meth labs have been
reported; meth arrests are down 62 percent; the number of drugendangered
children has fallen 76 percent.
Congratulations to the Bureau of Narcotics, the Department of Public Safety, and to you for making the
needed legislative changes.
To keep law enforcement where we want it, I’m announcing tonight that I will dedicate $7.3 million of
the governor’s discretionary funds to hold a troopers’ school this calendar year. If you will join me in
moving motor carrier enforcement from MDOT to the Department of Public Safety, freeing up 40 current
highway patrolmen, that would mean nearly 100 more state troopers on the road.
Finally, I am proud that Mississippi cast the highest percentage of its vote of any state in favor of the
Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman; and that in
2004, my first year, after we worked together to enact comprehensive prolife
legislation, Americans
United for Life, a national righttolife
organization, named Mississippi “the safest state in America for an
unborn child.”
Yes, you have accomplished a lot. Positive change has been the norm, and Mississippi, despite the global
recession, is a better place in so many ways than it was seven years ago.
Even with this progress, we all know there’s more to be done. While state government can’t eliminate
many effects of the national recession, we can improve the way we do things, and, in turn, improve the
lives of our citizens, the education of our children and the prospects for our employers and employees.
Last week I announced the Division of Medicaid appears to be on track to run a surplus of $4050
million
this fiscal year, probably because of less utilization than projected.
Congratulations to the Division of Medicaid for an outstanding job of managing this enormous program
and controlling its mammoth costs.
Let me remind you what a change that represents. When I became Governor, Medicaid costs were
skyrocketing. System controls were so weak, that the last year before I entered office, Medicaid spent $79
million of state funds and didn’t even enter the cost on its books. Many of you will remember the Special
Session we held to clean up that mess.
I’m pleased to tell you and the people of Mississippi that today our state Medicaid program is run with
compassion and efficiency for its beneficiaries and their providers and for the people who pay for it: the
taxpayers. The federal authorities reported last year that Mississippi’s Medicaid error rate is 3.47 percent,
the fourth lowest in the country. The national error rate is more than twice as high.
Because of this surplus I have instructed the Division of Medicaid to exercise its authority under state law
to use a portion of this FY11 surplus to create 7,800 additional slots for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries to
receive homeand
communitybased
care. Currently we have a waiting list of 6,100 beneficiaries who are
waiting to be provided care in their homes and their communities. I expect the entire 7,800 allocation to
be filled this fiscal year.
Both Senator Hob Bryan and Representative Steve Holland, who chair the Senate and House Public
Health Committees, respectively, are outspoken proponents of increased home and community based care
for people on Medicaid. Both are Democrats, but I appreciate our agreement and our ability to work
together for this purpose.
The increase in the number of home and community care slots will lead to a broader, stronger
infrastructure to deliver such services across the state that, in the long run, will provide better healthcare
at lower cost. This will be a blessing to both the beneficiaries who want to, can and should be receiving
care and services at home and in their communities . . . and to the taxpayers.

Last week you started this session by funding a loan for Stion, a cuttingedge,
lowcost
manufacturer of
thin film solar panels, which will build these panels in Hattiesburg, investing $500 million and employing
1,000 people within six years. I applaud committee chairs Senator Dean Kirby and Representative Percy
Watson on that. We all know a big job creation project is a great way to start a session.
The national recession notwithstanding, job creation will pick up in our state this year. As evidence of
that, in the first three quarters of 2010, Mississippi saw more new jobs and investment than were
announced in all of 2009. Toyota and its suppliers have stepped up hiring. GE Aviation, EADS and
PACCAR are adding employees, while new companies like Twin Creek Technologies in Southaven and
Schulz in Tunica will be operational this year. Nissan, which had an outstanding year in 2010, is also
ramping up, including introduction of its new light commercial vehicle.
Agriculture had a tremendous year last year. Because farming does not directly employ that many people,
some lose sight of how large and important a part it plays in our economy.
In 2010 total value of our crops, including poultry and timber, was nearly $7 billion, a record. And
commodity prices are promising for this year. We can’t forget how important agriculture and forest
products are to our State and communities.
I mention these things because our goal has to be to grow our economy faster than the nation as a whole,
and we can do it. We have to focus on our advantages: low taxes, a friendly business climate, rational
regulation, abundant natural resources and especially a first rate, affordable work force. And we’re
committed to continuous improvement of that great workforce.
Our four research universities have become more effective engines of economic growth. All four have a
lot to offer. Mississippi State’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Studies and Raspet Flight Center; the ECenter
at Jackson State; the Polymer Institute at USM; and the Center for Manufacturing Excellence at
Ole Miss are obvious resources that major and small employers find terrifically useful. And companies
like SemiSouth in Starkville, FNC in Oxford and WarmKraft in Taylorsville spun off from our research
universities.
Further, our community colleges have been and remain critical in the enormous and continuing
improvement of skills in our workforce. Toyota said the main reason it chose Mississippi for its newest
assembly plant, the most sought after economic development project in the country that year, was the
quality of our workforce.
And I remember well when the Vice Chairman of General Electric, one of the biggest manufacturers in
the world, announced GE Aviation would locate a facility to make composite jet engine fan blades and
assembles in Batesville. He said, “This is the most sophisticated manufacturing General Electric does
anywhere in the world, and we’re going to do it in North Mississippi.” What a tribute to our workforce!

Eightynine
percent of our state’s kids go to public schools. To have the kind of workforce to succeed in
the 21 st century, we start in K12.
Our schools are getting better. Our last NAEP scores were up more than the national average, and the
dropout
rate is going down. But that improvement is not enough.
We need to make dual enrollment easier and more common. The students can learn more, and their
parents will save money as college credits are earned while in high school.
In constrained budget times we must put more resources into the classroom and reduce what is spent on
administration. We must continue to focus on improving the quality of teachers coming out of our
colleges of education, while simultaneously using technology more in teaching our kids.
Finally, because competition is good in every sphere, I urge you to reform Charter School law so more
children can benefit.
With excellence in education we will keep pushing for job creation. Hopefully, the federal government
will start making it easier for us, instead of harder.
Congress’ passage in the lameduck
session of an extension of the Bush tax cuts removes a critical
obstacle to economic growth. For two years the threat that the President and the Majority in Congress
would let the largest tax increase in history go into effect this month was an enormous cloud that retarded
investment and job creation. Now it’s gone.
We still have federal policies that stifle economic growth: If the Obama Administration’s health care
mandates actually go into effect, employers don’t know what their costs and responsibilities will be, so it
impedes hiring; uncertainty about the DoddFrank
financial services law and its implementation stymies
investment; and the gigantic deficits and resulting purchases of trillions in US treasuries by the Fed mean
all that money can’t go into financing private sector projects.
More obvious every day, the Obama Administration’s energy policies are driving up the cost of energy.
Gasoline costs more than three dollars a gallon because the administration’s energy policy can be stated in
one sentence: Increase the cost of energy so people will use less of it.
Don’t take my word for it. Remember the President said in 2008 that his capandtrade
plan would
necessarily cause electricity prices to skyrocket, and Energy Secretary Chu said the country needed for
our gasoline prices to increase to what they are in Europe. That’s six to nine dollars a gallon! Sunday’s
Clarion Ledger includes a column by Dr. Shughart at Ole Miss that catalogues example after example of
the Environmental Protection Agency’s antienergy
efforts, all of which drive up energy costs.

Well, we don’t need higher fuel prices in Mississippi; but other than litigation and encouraging our
Congressional delegation, we can’t change federal energy policy; even when it closes down oil and gas
production in the Gulf and costs thousands of jobs in the Gulf states.
But we can continue to make Mississippi an energyreliable
state. We have an energy policy, and it’s
“more American energy.” We promote all forms of energy that can compete in the market place
successfully; all of the above plus conservation and efficiency.
More American energy means more energy security and less of our money going for foreign oil, often
sold by countries that don’t like us. Abundant, affordable energy will help American business, especially
manufacturing, stay competitive in the global marketplace. And, of course, that means more jobs and a
better quality of life for Americans.
The current federal policy of more expensive energy so people use less energy is not an energy policy. It
is an environmental policy; one that hurts the economy, blocks job creation and ultimately reduces
standards of living in America.
We can’t repeal that bad policy yet, but in Mississippi we’ll continue our state policies that generate
higher skilled, better paying jobs while making us an energyreliable
state.
Your support in that has been and remains indispensable. It contributed to Mississippi Power’s new $2.5
billion coalfired
plant in Kemper County; Entergy’s $500 million investment to increase output at Grand
Gulf Nuclear Station by 13 percent, and SMEPA’s $500 million in upgrades. Chevron continues to invest
hundreds of millions at Pascagoula, its largest refinery in the U.S.; next door to Chevron, Gulf LNG is
half way finished with its $1plus
billion liquefied natural gas terminal. Denbury’s tertiary recovery
projects have helped increase the state’s oil production. Bluefire has begun construction of a cellulosic
ethanol plant in Fulton, and Enerkem has plans to build a wastetoliquid
transportation fuels facility in
Pontotoc. Ergon and Bunge’s $100 million ethanol plant in Vicksburg is fully operational.
This quarter Twin Creeks’ facility in Senatobia will begin manufacturing solar panels. Stion’s operations
will begin this year, and Soladigm’s ultrahigh
tech dynamic window plant in Olive Branch will be in
production this year as well.
Finally, we’re optimistic that Kior soon will be breaking ground in Columbus for its first biocrude
refinery, and Rentech has purchased a site for its coal to liquid motor fuels facility in Natchez.
These projects are generating more than $10 billion in capital investments in our state and creating
thousands of jobs. Many of these projects will result in new markets and higher prices for Mississippi
farm and timber products and our lignite coal.

Critically, many will reduce energy use or reduce emissions. In fact, the Mississippi Power Kemper
County plant is the first commercial scale coalfired
power plant in the U.S. with carbon capture and
sequestration. Its emissions will be the equivalent of a natural gas fired facility.
Tourism is and will remain a large employer in Mississippi and a big piece of our economy. Further,
tourism helps our image.
While Mississippi has suffered from a negative image all my life, people who actually visit here almost
always go home with a better impression and a positive experience.
In 2007 I recommended to you that we build a Civil Rights Museum in our state. The Civil Rights
struggle is an important part of our history, and millions of people are interested in learning more about it.
People from around the world would flock to see the museum and learn about the movement.
A commission headed by former Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson and former federal judge
Charles Pickering developed a design and a plan. The proposal went sideways because of a disagreement
about where the museum should be located.
Recently I’ve talked with Justice Anderson and former Governor William Winter, and they have
recommended a solution to me. I’m presenting it tonight because this is the year to get this museum
going. It is the 50 th Anniversary of the Freedom Riders and the 150 th Anniversary of the start of the Civil
War.
Governor Winter and Justice Anderson recommended we build the Civil Rights Museum adjacent to the
proposed Mississippi History Museum at the existing site in downtown Jackson.
I urge you to move this museum forward as an appropriate way to do justice to the Civil Rights
Movement and to stand as a monument of remembrance and reconciliation.
As I close I want to return to Mississippi’s leading the nation out of the recession.
We are well prepared to make a major leap forward. We saw it in the surge that was cut off by the
national recession in 2008. This period was marked by increasing employment, rising incomes, replacing
lowskill,
lowpaying
jobs with higher skilled, better paying jobs.
We can get back on that roll. We have advantages over other states, but what we need most is attitude.
And we showed that “cando”
attitude after Katrina.
When the Coast got obliterated by the worst natural disaster in American history and hurricane force
winds extended 240 miles north up to West Point, our people didn’t whine or mope. They weren’t
looking for somebody to blame.

No, Mississippians proved themselves to be strong, resilient, selfreliant
people. They got knocked flat,
but got right back up and went to work; went to work helping their neighbors as well as themselves.
And the country and the world noticed. I can’t tell you how many times after the storm other governors,
or senators, or CEOs told me, “Haley, you’ve got to be proud of your people.” And, of course, I was.
You know, it is true that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Today I realize the response of our people
to Katrina and its devastation has done more to help the image of Mississippi than anything else that’s
happened in my lifetime.
People saw our state and our people in a new light. They gave us a chance to compete for their business,
their vacations, their expansions. That got us on a roll.
Now we’ve got to get back on that roll. The country and world have a new image of our state. They’re
prepared to give us a chance, to let us compete.
So it is up to us to meet the challenge; no, the opportunity. If we grasp this opportunity, it will propel
Mississippi to our rightful place as a leading, thriving state in the fastest growing section of the country.
It was once said, “Mississippi is the most underestimated place in the country, and Mississippians are the
most underestimated people.”
Well, today, after Katrina, we’ve learned to quit underestimating ourselves. We’ve proven to the world
what Mississippians are made of. And the world likes what it saw … and sees.
Now it is up to us to seize this moment.
The stakes are simple but huge: In this decade Mississippi mothers and grandmothers can see their
children and grandchildren choosing to stay in Mississippi because Mississippi is the best place to build a
successful career, to have the most opportunities and to enjoy this sweet land’s quality of life. That’s the
dream of every mother and grandmother, and with the right attitude and hard work, we can make it
reality.
Thank you for all you have done to change our state for the better. Let’s keep moving forward together.
God bless you and God bless America.

Feasting on the Dead: Obama Approval Jumps to 53%

The sample in this poll is a little odd.  The AP’s data shows a D/R/I of 42/36/6, with 16% claiming they don’t know their party affiliation, which is very odd, especially with the choices provided in the survey — independent, and independent leaner to either party.  The AP counts the independent-leaners with the parties; when broken out as independents, the D/R/I changes to 28/25/31, with the other 16% still separate.  The 3-point Democratic edge might make sense in the general population, although Gallup and Rasmussen surveys both show the GOP with leads in the same sample type.

Hot Air

Kay Bailey Hutchison Won't Run for Re-Election

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) announced Thursday that she will not run for re-election in 2012, making official a decision that many predicted was forthcoming.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Hutchison said in a letter to supporters that she is making her announcement now to allow Republicans sufficient time to campaign for a seat that is expected to be hotly contested. The winner of the March 2012 Republican primary will likely be the favorite to win that year’s general election.

Roll Call

New Jersey: Menendez in Trouble

A rematch between Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and New Jersey state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R) in 2012 would be a competitive one, according to a new poll out Wednesday.
Numbers from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling show Menendez with just a slight edge over Kean in a hypothetical 2012 general election match up. Menendez leads 41 percent to 39 percent. 

The Hill

US Government Acronyms: E

Image via Wikipedia

EAC	United States Election Assistance Commission
EAR	Export Administration Regulations
EBSA	Employee Benefits Security Administration
ECA	Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
ECAB	Employees' Compensation Appeals Board
ECHO	Enforcement and Compliance History Online
ECI	Early Childhood Institute (archive)
ECIE	Executive Council on Integrity and Effiency (changed to CIGIE)
ECOSOC	Economic and Social Council
ECP	Emergency Conservation Program
ED	Department of Education
EDA	Economic Development Administration
EDGAR	Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval
EDIE	Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator
EDSI	Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs (archive)
EEEL	Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory
EEOC	Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EEOICP	Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
EEOMBD	Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
EERE	Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EHP	Environmental Health Perspectives
EIA	Energy Information Administration
EIS	Epidemic Intelligence Service
ELIPS	Electronic Library of Interior Policies
EM	Office of Environmental Management
EMC	Emissions Measurement Center
EML	Environmental Measurements Laboratory
ENC	Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
ENRD	Environment and Natural Resources Division
EO	Executive Order
EOAF	Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (changed to TEOAF)
EOIR	Executive Office for Immigration Review
EOP	Executive Office of the President
EOUSA	Executive Office for United States Attorneys
EP&R	Emergency Preparedness and Response
EPA	Environmental Protection Agency
EPLS	Excluded Parties List System
EPO	Epidemiology Program Office
EPP	Employment Projections Program
EQIP	Environmental Quality Incentives Program
eRA	Electronic Research Administration
ERDC	Engineer Research and Development Center
EREN	Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (changed to EERE)
ERIC	Educational Resources Information Center
EROD	Education Resource Organizations Directory
EROS	Earth Resources Observation and Science
ERS	Economic Research Service
ERSH-DB	Emergency Response Safety and Health Database
ESA	Economics and Statistics Administration | Employment Standards Administration (defunct 11/09)
ESnet	Energy Sciences Network
ESP	Environmental Studies Program
ESPIS	Environmental Information System
ETA	Employment and Training Administration
EUROPOL	European Police Office
EVS	Environmental Science Division
EWCP	Export Working Capital Program
Ex-Im Bank	Export-Import Bank of the United States

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US Government Acronyms: D

DA	Department of the Army
DACA	Defense Academy for Credibility Assessment
DARPA	Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DASIS	Drug and Alcohol Services Information System
DAU	Defense Acquisition University
DBP	Discretionary Bridge Program
DCAA	Defense Contract Audit Agency
DCAC	Disaster Contracting Assistance Center
DCHC	Defense Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Center
DCIS	Defense Criminal Investigative Service
DCMWC	Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation
DCRT	Division of Computer Research and Technology (replaced by CIT)
DDC	Defense Distribution Center
DDESS	Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools
DEA	Drug Enforcement Administration
DEC	Departmental Enforcement Center
DeCA	Defense Commissary Agency
DEQ	Division of Environmental Quality
DERT	Division of Extramural Reseach & Training
DESA	Department of Economic and Social Affairs
DESC	Defense Energy Support Center
DFAS	Defense Finance and Accounting Service
DFEC	Division of Federal Employees' Compensation
DHAC	Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
DHRA	Defense Human Resources Activity
DHS	Department of Homeland Security
DHS TRIP	Department of Homeland Security’s Travel Redress Inquiry Program
DI	Directorate of Intelligence
DIA	Defense Intelligence Agency
DIF	Deposit Insurance Fund
DINFOS	Defense Information School
DISA	Defense Information Systems Agency
DLA	Defense Logistics Agency
DLAPS	Defense Logistics Agency Publishing System
DLHWC	Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Program
DLIS	Defense Logistics Information Service
DLP	Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Division
DLSA	Defense Legal Services Agency
DMA	Defense Mapping Agency (replaced by NIMA, then NGA)
DMDC	Defense Manpower Data Center
DNDO	Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
DNFSB	Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
DNI	Director of National Intelligence
DNSC	Defense National Stockpile Center
DOC	Department of Commerce
DOD	Department of Defense
DODEA	Department of Defense Education Activity
DoDISS	DoD Index of Specifications and Standards
DODPI	Department of Defense Polygraph Institute (changed to DACA)
DoDSSP	Single Stock Point for Specifications and Standards
DOE	Department of Energy
DOI	Department of the Interior
DOIU	Department of the Interior University
DOJ	Department of Justice
DOL	Department of Labor
DORRA	DLA Office of Operations Research and Resource Analysis
DOS	Department of State
DOT	Department of Transportation
DPC	Domestic Policy Council
DPL	Denied Persons List
DPMO	Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
DRA	Delta Regional Authority
DRL	Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
DRMS	Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service
DS	Bureau of Diplomatic Security
DSB	Defense Science Board
DSCA	Defense Security Cooperation Agency
DSO	Duck Stamp Office
DSS	Defense Security Service | Domestic Security Section
DTACBP	Digital-To-Analog Converter Box Program
DTIC	Defense Technical Information Center
DTRA	Defense Threat Reduction Agency
DV	Diversity Visa

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US Government Acronyms: C

CA	Bureau of Consular Affairs
CAB	Climate Analysis Branch
caBIG	Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid
CACFP	Child and Adult Care Food Program
CAGE	Commercial and Government Entity
CAMICC	CDC/ATSDR Minority Initiatives Coordinating Committee
CAOC	Chief Acquisition Officers Council
CAP	Civil Air Patrol
CAPPS II	Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
CARS	Car Allowance Rebate System
CASMIRC	Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center
CATC	Clean Air Technology Center
CAVC	United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
CB	Children's Bureau
CBCA	Civilian Board of Contract Appeals
CBD	Commerce Business Daily (changed to FBO)
CBER	Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
CBI	Center for Biological Informatics
CBIAC	Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (changed to CBRNIAC)
CBO	Congressional Budget Office
CBP	Customs and Border Protection
CBRNIAC	Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Defense Information Analysis Center
CCB	Child Care Bureau
CCC	Commodity Credit Corporation
CCDF	Child Care and Development Fund
CCDO	Community Capacity Development Office
CCEHIP	Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention
CCF	Compassion Capital Fund
CCHIS	Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service
CCID	Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases
CCIPS	Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section
CCPI	Clean Coal Power Initiative
CCR	Commission on Civil Rights
CCTP	U.S. Climate Change Technology Program
CCU	Capital Case Unit
CDBG	Community Development Block Grants
CDC	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDDIS	Crustal Dynamics Data Information System
CDER	Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
CDFI	Community Development Financial Institutions
CDIAC	Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
CDOM	Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets
CDP	Center for Domestic Preparedness
CDRH	Center for Devices and Radiological Health
CDS	Cataloging Distribution Service
CEA	Council of Economic Advisers
CEBB	Customs Electronic Bulletin Board (migrated to CBP)
CED	Community Economic Development Program
CEDR	Comprehensive Epidemiologic Data Resource
CEN	Bureau of the Census
CENTCOM	United States Central Command
CEOS	Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section
CEPPO	Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office
CEPS	Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
CEQ	Council on Environmental Quality
CER	Comparative Effectiveness Research
CERC	Columbia Environmental Research Center
CERCLIS	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, & Liability Information System
CERT	Community Emergency Response Team Program
CES	Current Employment Statistics
CETEC	Topographic Engineering Center (changed to AGC)
CFA	U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
CFACT	Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends
CFBCI	Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (changed to CFBNP)
CFBNP	Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
CFDA	Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
CFIUS	Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States
CFM	Division of Contracting & Facilities Management (FWS)
CFO	Chief Financial Officers Council
CFOC	Chief Financial Officers Council
CFPB	Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
CFS	Commodity Flow Survey
CFSAN	National Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
CFTC	Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CHAMPVA	Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs
CHCO Council	Chief Human Capital Officers Council
CHID	Combined Health Information Database (discontinued as of 9/06)
CHIEF	Clearinghouse for Inventories & Emissions Factors
CHIP	Children's Health Insurance Program
CIA	Central Intelligence Agency
CIAO	Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (see NIAC)
CIC	Consumer Information Center
CIC/AG	Counterintelligence Center Analysis Group
CICA	U.S.-Mexico Border Information Center on Air Pollution
CID	U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
CIFA	Counterintelligence Field Activity (merged into DCHC)
CIGIE	Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
CIO	Chief Information Officers Council
CIPRIS	Coordinated Interagency Partnership Regulating International Students (see SEVIS)
CIS	Cancer Information Service | Citizenship and Immigration Services
CIT	Center for Information Technology
CITA	Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
CITES	Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CIV	Civil Division
CLG	Certified Local Government
CLIA	Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments
CMH	Center of Military History
CMHS	Center for Mental Health Services
CMM	Center for Medicare Management
CMS	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CMSO	Center for Medicaid and State Operations
CMV	Center for Minority Veterans
CNCS	Corporation for National and Community Service
CNO	Chief of Naval Operations
CNPP	Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
CNS	Corporation for National and Community Service
COBRA	Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
CoCHP	Coordinating Center for Health Promotion
COGH	Coordinating Office for Global Health
CONPLAN	U.S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan (.pdf)
Conrail	Consolidated Rail Corporation
CONSER	Cooperative Online Serials
COOP	Continuity of Operations
COP	Coastal Ocean Program
COPS	Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
COTPER	Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness & Emergency Response
COTS	Cotton, Oilseeds, Tobacco and Seeds Division
CP3	Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships
CPB	Corporation for Public Broadcasting
CPD	Office of Community Planning and Development
CPI	Consumer Price Index
CPMS	Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service
CPO	Corrections Program Office (now part of BJA)
CPPBSD	Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
CPSC	Consumer Product Safety Commission
CPSO	Cataloging Policy and Support Office
CRA	Community Reinvestment Act
CRB	Copyright Royalty Board
CRC	Civil Rights Center
CRISP	Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects
CROSS	Customs Rulings Online Search System
CRP	Conservation Reserve Program
CRS	Congressional Research Service | Community Relations Service
CS	U.S. Commercial Service
CSAC	Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
CSAP	Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
CSAT	Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
CSB	Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
CSC	NOAA Coastal Services Center
CSCE	Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)
CSD	Chemical Sciences Division
CSE	Office of Child Support Enforcement
CSFP	Commodity Supplemental Food Program
CSGCL	Crop Systems and Global Change Lab
CSI	Center for the Study of Intelligence
CSOS	Controlled Substance Ordering System
CSOSA	Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
CSR	Center for Scientific Review | Comprehensive School Reform Program
CSRC	Computer Security Resource Center
CSREES	Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (changed to NIFA)
CSS	Crime and Safety Surveys
CSTL	Chemical Science & Technology Laboratory
CTAS	Center-TRACON Automation System
CTC	Counterterrorist Center (changed to NCTC)
CTEP	Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program
CTGP	Competitive Training Grants Program
CUIO	Controlled Unclassified Information Office
CVM	Center for Veterinary Medicine
CWC	Chemical Weapons Convention | Commission on Wartime Contracting
CWG	Council on Women and Girls

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US Government Acronyms: B

BARC	Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
BATFE	Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
BAU	Behavioral Analysis Unit
BBG	Broadcasting Board of Governors
BEA	Bureau of Economic Analysis
BECON	Biomedical Engineering Consortium (defunct as of 11/08)
BEP	Bureau of Engraving and Printing
BER	Biological and Environmental Research
BERA	Business & Economics Research Advisor
BES	Basic Energy Sciences
BEST	Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (changed to I&M)
BFRL	Building and Fire Research Laboratory
BHPr	Bureau of Health Professions
BIA	Bureau of Indian Affairs
BIE	Bureau of Indian Education
BIF	Bank Insurance Fund (merged into DIF)
BIMAS	BioInformatics Molecular Analysis Section
BIS	Bureau of Industry and Security
BJA	Bureau of Justice Assistance
BJS	Bureau of Justice Statistics
BLM	Bureau of Land Management
BLS	Bureau of Labor Statistics
BMDO	Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (changed to MDA)
BNL	Brookhaven National Laboratory
BNQP	Baldrige National Quality Program
BOP	Federal Bureau of Prisons
BOR	Bureau of Reclamation
BPA	Bonneville Power Administration
BPC	Best Practices Committee
BPD	Bureau of the Public Debt
BPHC	Bureau of Primary Health Care
BRAC	Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission
BRB	Benefits Review Board
BRD	Biological Resource Division
BRFSS	Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
BRS	Biotechnology Regulatory Service
BSE	Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease)
BTA	Business Transformation Agency
BTOP	Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
BTS	Bureau of Transportation Statistics
BVA	Board of Veterans Appeals
BXA	Bureau of Export Administration (changed to BIS)

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Government Acronyms Part 1: "Letter A"

AAA	Archives of American Art
AAD	Access to Archival Databases
AAPC	Accounting and Auditing Policy Committee
AAS	Office of Airport Safety and Standards
ABMC	American Battle Monuments Commission
ABPP	American Battlefield Protection Program
ACC	Air Combat Command
ACD	Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence
ACDA	United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
ACE	Automated Commerical Environment
ACES	Active Community Environments Initiative
ACF	Administration for Children and Families
ACFR	Administrative Committee of the Federal Register
ACHP	Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
AcqNet	Acquisition Central
ACQWeb	Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology
ACS	Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management
ACSFA	Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance
ACSL	Alternate Crops and Systems Lab (changed to CSGCL)
ACYF	Administration for Children, Youth, and Families
ADA	Americans with Disabilities Act (Text of ADA legislation)
ADC	Program Against Digital Counterfeiting of Currency (changed to ACD)
ADD	Administration on Developmental Disabilities
ADDS	Aviation Digital Data Service
ADF	African Development Foundation
ADR	Alternative Dispute Resolution
AES	Automated Export System
AFC	American Folklife Center
AFCARS	Adoption and Foster Care Reporting and Analysis System
AFDC	Aid to Families with Dependent Children (defunct; see history)
AFI	Assets for Independence Program
AFIS	American Forces Information Service
AFMLS	Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section
AFP	Asset Forfeiture Program
AFRC	Air Force Reserve Command
AFRH	Armed Forces Retirement Home
AFRL	Air Force Research Laboratory
AFROTC	Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps
AFRRI	Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
AFRTS	Armed Forces Radio and Television Service
AFS	Air Facility System
AFSC	Armed Forces Staff College (replaced by JFSC)
AFSIC	Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
AFSPC	Air Force Space Command
AGC	Army Geospatial Center
AGDC	Alaska Geospatial Data Clearinhouse
AGID	AGing Integrated Database
AGRICOLA	Agricultural OnLine Access
AHCPR	Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (changed to AHRQ)
AHRQ	Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AHS	American Housing Survey
AID	Agency for International Development
AILO	American Indian Liaison Office
AIRS	Aerometric Information Retrieval System (changed to AFS)
AMES	Ames Laboratory
AML	Abandoned Mine Lands
AMS	Agricultural Marketing Service
AMTIC	Ambient Monitoring Technology Information Center
Amtrak	National Railroad Passenger Corporation
ANA	Administration for Native Americans
ANG	Air National Guard
ANL	Argonne National Laboratory
AO	Administrative Office of U.S. Courts
AOA	Administration on Aging
AOC	Architect of the Capitol
AOML	Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
AOTUS	Archivist of the United States
APH	American Printing House for the Blind
APHIS	Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
APIS	Advanced Passenger Information System
APLAA	Office of Asian Pacific, Latin American, and African Analysis
APP	Office of Airport Planning and Programming
AQA	Air Quality Analysis
AQS	Air Quality System
ARB	Administrative Review Board
ARBA	Army Review Boards Agency
ARC	Appalachian Regional Commission | Archival Research Catalog | Arctic Research Commission
ARIS	Air Resources Information System
ARL	Air Resources Laboratory | Army Research Laboratory
ARM	Atmospheric Radiation Measurement
ARNet	Acquisition Reform Network (changed to AcqNet)
ARPA	Advanced Research Projects Agency
ARPA-E	Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
ARRA	American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
ARS	Agricultural Research Service
ASC	Appraisal Subcommittee
ASL	Assistant Secretary for Legislation
ASPE	Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
ASPR	Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
ATF	Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
ATFE	Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
ATFP	Antiterrorism/Force Protection Directorate
ATIP	Anti-Trafficking in Persons
ATO	Air Traffic Organization
ATP	Advanced Technology Program
ATS	Automated Targeting System
ATSDR	Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
ATUS	American Time Use Study
ATW	Air Toxics Web Site
AWC	Aviation Weather Center
AWIC	Animal Welfare Information Center

Source: USA.gov