Nebraska
updated
11:43 a.m.
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Earlier this week, the Nebraska Legislature voted to override Governor Dave Heineman's veto of a bill raising fees on manufacturers who ship beer and spirits in the state. The original bill (LB 867) passed 46 to 1 with only State Senator Steve Lathrop voting in opposition. Yet, the override received only 38 votes - as eight other State Senators flip-flopped in deference to Heineman's...
New Nebraska Network - 1:44 a.m.
Legislative Resolution 284CA - introduced and prioritized by State Senator Dennis Utter of Hastings - would put a constitutional amendment on the November 2010 ballot to abolish the office of State Treasurer. This makes for an intriguing political dynamic because State Treasurer is the only statewide constitutional office that's open in this year's election after incumbent Republican Shane...
New Nebraska Network - Wed 8:43 p.m.
Since NNN last wrote about LB 1110, hundreds of pregnant women have lost their access to live-saving prenatal care because of the refusal of Republican Governor Dave Heineman to take the lead in restoring the medical coverage our state has provided unborn children for decades. Of course, we know that the real story is much worse than a failure to lead - Heineman has despicably targeted th...
New Nebraska Network - Tue 7:28 a.m. - 6 clicks 
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who's read the New Nebraska Network and contributed to its success. We've come a long ways since March 14, 2005 , when I foolishly listened to the urgings of a friend who thought that Nebraska needed a progressive blog and that I'd do a pretty good job of running it. It's a curious thing writing those first couple ( hundred ) diaries, when n...
New Nebraska Network - Mon 3:27 p.m. - 4 clicks
Sen. Ben Nelson has taken a lot of heat these last couple of months for his work against imposing unfunded mandates on the states in Congressional health care reform legislation. This is a theme on which Nelson campaigned and on which he's always remained true after his experiences in two terms as Nebraska's governor. Still, just because Nelson respects the financial challenges faced by s...
New Nebraska Network - Sun 1:09 p.m. - 7 clicks
At some point, the people of Nebraska are going to see through Gov. Dave Heineman's long record of duplicity and political pandering. One of the best examples yet came on the one year anniversary of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) when Heineman piled on with his fellow Republicans in criticizing the economic stimulus package. The Nebraska Radio Network reported: Gover...
New Nebraska Network - Mar 5 - 10 clicks
Last week, I wrote about 2nd District Republican Congressman Lee Terry's plan for an insurance exchange administered by the federal government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the irony of his opposing a Democratic health care reform bill that relies upon the same essential framework. Now, it would be nice if the Nebraska press made any attempt at holding Terry accountable and forcing...
New Nebraska Network - Mar 4 - 6 clicks
Last week, I proposed a draft press release to Nebraska Right To Life challenging Governor Dave Heineman on his opposition to continuing our state's long-standing policy of providing prenatal care to unborn children from low-income families without exception for the immigration status of the mother. That press release only applied the same standard to Heineman that Nebraska Right To Life h...
New Nebraska Network - Mar 2 - 3 clicks
Saturday's Omaha World-Herald contained an interesting article regarding Tom Osborne's support for the Fair Elections Now Act gaining bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress: The proposal would establish a public funding mechanism for federal candidates who agree to abide by certain restrictions, such as a $100 limit on contributions. The money would come from a fee on government contracto...
New Nebraska Network - Feb 28 - 5 clicks
The committee hearing for State Senator Kathy Campbell's LB 1110 was held on Thursday afternoon. This important legislation would continue long-standing state policy by restoring prenatal care to unborn children regardless of the expecting mother's immigration status. In terms of medicine, economics, and morality, continuing this policy by enacting LB 1110 is an absolute no-brainer. ...
New Nebraska Network - Feb 26 - 3 clicks
President Barack Obama's Bipartisan Meeting on Health Reform is being held today. This is supposed to be an opportunity for substantive discussion of what needs reforming in American health care and what Congressional leaders from both political parties honestly propose to do about it. However, expectations are exceedingly low for any sort of breakthrough that might result in genuine...
New Nebraska Network - Feb 25
