AZ Attorney General Says DoJ Is Justified In Filing Suit Against S.B. 1070

By Rob Sanna - Talk Radio News

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism Thursday that standards must be set before action can be taken towards improving the security of the nation’s southwest border.

“Alot of words have been wasted talking about securing the border without defining what that means,” Goddard said. “We need objective standards.”

The Border Patrol agency has increased its numbers over the last ten years. Earlier this week, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that the Department of Homeland Security plans to deploy 100 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, 300 more Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agents and new border monitoring aircrafts to Arizona.

Arizona’s top law enforcement official also defended Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to file suit against Arizona’s controversial immigration reform law, S.B. 1070, if Holder believed it to be unconstitutional.

“If that’s what he thinks, yes,” Goddard said.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton began hearings Thursday in Arizona’s federal court after the Department of Justice filed suit to prevent the law from being implemented. The controversial bill is currently on track to take effect July 29.

Pelosi Has No Regrets Over Passing Climate Bill

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) discussed the importance of investing in renewable energy during her weekly news conference. Pelosi said the oil spill in the Gulf along with a push to pass energy legislation in the Senate has convinced her that passing the America’s Clean Energy and Security Act was the right thing to do.

“It was absolutely essential for us, from a national security standpoint, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil…to reduce the emissions of fossil fields into the air…and be number one on the new green technology,” she said. “We staked down a bold position, one that was a consensus within our caucus, one that received some Republican votes. We are very proud of it.”

Pelosi also slammed Senate Republicans for delaying passage of a bill to extend unemployment benefits to millions of jobless Americans.

“It shouldn’t have been so hard,” she lamented. “Republicans in the Senate have stood in the way of so many initiatives, including unemployment insurance, until now.”

The House is expcted to finally pass the bill later today.

Solar Industry Stepping Up To The Plate To Solve The Energy Problem

The President of the Solar Energy Industries Association, Rhone Resch says that the solar industry is America’s answer for independence from fossil fuels.

“Over the last few months, we have seen disaster after disaster caused by the fossil fuel industries and Americans are calling for a new direction for our energy future. And in communities across America, people are asking for an energy source that is clean, reliable, safe and creates economic opportunity. That energy source is solar.”

Resch said that there is an industry-wide goal set to install ten gigawatts of solar capacity annually by 2015.

“The solar energy industry – invented and commercialized in the U.S. – is the solution for our country’s addiction to fossil fuels. It’s time we get this country moving in the right direction”

By Robert Hune-Kalter



Today At TRNS

Gulf Coast Correspondent Miles Wolf Tamboli will be visiting an Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Theodore, Alabama.

The Washington Bureau will be covering:

House Financial Services Committee hearing on the “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy.”

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on “The Department of the Interior’s Oversight of Offshore Oil Drilling.”

House Homeland Security Committee Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee hearing on “Enhancing DHS’ Efforts to Disrupt Alien Smuggling ACross Our Borders.”

Speaker Pelosi press conference.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) announce their support for Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, to be director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

The U.S. Travel Association announces new data on the long-term economic impact of the BP oil spill.

Vilsack On Sherrod Scandal: "I Accept Full Responsibility"

United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack publicly apologized to ousted USDA official Shirley Sherrod on Tuesday, expressing “deep regret,” and accepting “full responsibility,” for firing her based on comments she made at a recent NAACP event that were subsequently broadcast out of context on mulitple televison networks.

Vilsack said he had talked with Mrs. Sherrod, offered her a new job and discussed with her ways to “move forward.” Vilsack said that Sherrod indicated that she wanted time to think about it. Vilsack claimed that the White House had no part in ousting Sherrod, saying it was “my decision and mine alone.”

Vilsack said “it was a decision that I regret having made in haste.” In light of the history of civil rights claims against the USDA, Vilsack said his goal when he took over the department was “to close that chapter of history.” Vilsack said he has “learned a lot of lessons from this experience.”

By Philip Bunnell