The passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 capped a process of reform that had begun nearly a hundred years before, with direct election of Senators- an idea first proposed all the way back in 1826, and which gathered momentum across a century of civil unrest and Congressional scandal- coming into full effect across the United States.  Four years short of the Amendment’s hundredth birthday, the principle of direct election of Senators has become firmly rooted in most Americans’ conception of just government.  However, to this day, seats in the Senate continue to be distributed through appointments- made not by their states’ legislatures, but by their governors.

September 26, 2009kmLeave a commentGo to comments The leaking of a U.S. military report of the war in Afghanistan piles more pressure on President Barack Obama, already squeezed by ebbing public support and skepticism in his own party over troop levels.U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s assessment, published in The Washington Post on Monday, underlines a growing urgency in the military.Obama had been seeking more time before deciding whether to commit additional resources or update an overall

The NuLu Fest is the big event on our weekend calendar. It starts at 5 Saturday, featuring free music until at least 11 down on East Market Street in Louisville. The bands aren’t shabby — Ben Sollee, Generic Alternatives, Thomas A. Minor & the Picket Line, Lucky Pineapple and The Instruction. Good names. You can also partake in BBC beer, wine from Felice Vineyards and plenty of food from local restaurants. It’s in the 700 block of East Market, which will be closed to traffic.

I am headed out overnight, but I wanted to leave this here for you. Here is a look into the mind of Barack Obama, from a 2001 speech. Emphasis added by me. “If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed people, so that now I would have the right to vote. I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order as long as I could pay for it I’d be o.k.

Australia how-to jihadist jailedA Muslim man who authored a book on how to make bombs and bring down planes is jailed in Australia for 12 years.Hope dims in Calais ‘jungle’Emma Jane Kirby visits the illegal Calais campsite known as “the jungle” to see how news of its closure is affecting migrants. Iran Warned To Come Clean On Nuclear Plans The leaders of France, Britain and the United States are warning Iran that it’ll be “held accountable” unless it comes clean about its nuclear ambitions.

Barack Obama has at last granted Gordon Brown a formal one-to-one meeting as the two men try to play down reports of a rift in their relations. The Prime Minister will be given his meeting at 4pm today (9pm BST) following the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Obama is expected to use the occasion to make a forthright attack on the reporting in British media of Mr Brown’s attempts to arrange a meeting amid reports that the White House – angered by the release of the Lockerbie bomber – repeatedly turned down requests for a formal encounter.

AP – The image of President Barack Obama standing alongside the leaders of France and Britain to denounce Iran left … Original post: (AP)”> (AP)”>Analysis: Obama welcomes help in confronting Iran (AP)

Obama took office, confident he would fulfill his campaign promise to close Club Gitmo in a years time. To head up the closure details, he appointed White House Counsel Gregory B. Craig… a leading voice for instituting a closure deadline. Despite the advice of other of Obama’s top advisors, warning against any such deadlines, he chose political posturing and poll bumps, signing the EOs… thereby obligating himself to a deadline he was doomed to miss. Today, as reported by WaPo staffers, Anne E.

By Deirdre Walsh CNN WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Democratic leaders are discussing adding a tax on insurers as a way to reduce the overall price tag of their health care bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Friday that an excise tax on high end insurance plans, similar to the one included in the Senate Finance Committee’s health care overhaul legislation, was “under consideration.” But Pelosi added that leaders are also looking at other proposals to offset the costs of the bill.

It is still far from certain whether Russia will support tough new UN sanctions against Iran. In his talks with President Barack Obama in New York Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev’s language was equivocal. He said sanctions “may be inevitable”. He certainly did not promise Russia would support them…. Read it all .