Ny Safidinao

The election ushered in a number of big changes in the states, with several for the first time legalizing gay marriage and marijuana , but one of the most dramatic shifts might be a change to the actual number of states. Puerto Ricans voted Tuesday to change their relationship with the United States and become the 51st U.S. state in a non-binding referendum that would require final approval from Congress. The AP wrote : The two-part referendum asked whether the island wanted to change its 114-year relationship with the United States. Nearly 54 percent, or 922,374 people, sought to change it, while 46 percent, or 786,749 people, favored the status quo. Voters then chose among three options for their new status, and statehood won with 61 percent. “Sovereign free association,” which would have allowed for more autonomy, received 33 percent, and independence garnered 5 percent. It’s the fourth time in 45 years that Puerto Rico has voted on changing its national status — it’s current

Geithner Puts Issue of Debt Limit in Writing At the end of the year, the United States will hit its statutory borrowing limit, starting a countdown clock that would within a matter of weeks lead to it failing to pay all of its obligations, according to a statement from the Treasury Department. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner wrote a letter to Congress informing it that the United States would hit its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit on Dec. 31. The Treasury will “shortly” begin undertaking “extraordinary measures” to avoid the limit — essentially moving money from pocket to pocket to give the government enough breathing room to pay all of its bills, from soldiers’ salaries to Social Security payments, after that date. But within weeks — sometime in February or March, analysts estimate — its required payments would overwhelm its receipts, leaving an unprecedented cash shortfall. That would most likely send financial markets into a tailspin and lead to another downgr

A collection of classroom-safe training pistols from a concealed-weapons permit class in Florida. (BRIAN BLANCO/REUTERS) “The facts are every time guns have been allowed, concealed-carry has been allowed, the crime rate has gone down.” --Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), on “Fox News Sunday,” Dec. 16, 2012 In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a number of lawmakers have pushed for new gun-control legislation. But some gun-control foes, such as Rep. Louie Gohmert, have argued that instead more guns, not more controls, are needed. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Gohmert said of slain principal Dawn Hochsprung: “I wish to God she had had an M-4 [assault rifle] in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands, but she takes him out, takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids.” Laying aside the question of armed teachers in schools, we w

GREENCASTLE, Pa. — The Green Grove Gardens banquet hall was decked out for Christmas, but the atmosphere at the Franklin County Republicans’ annual Eisenhower dinner here was anything but cheery. As the evening’s speaker, former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 presidential contender Rick Santorum, made a meet-and-greet round of the tables Tuesday, one woman implored him to “get rid of Obamacare.” “We had a chance,” Santorum told her. “It was called the last election.” So much for comfort and joy. Not quite six weeks after Republicans lost a presidential contest that many of them thought was in the bag, the shock has begun to wear off. The recriminations, on the other hand, are likely to go on for quite some time. And the tough work — figuring out what needs fixing — has only just begun. Some Republicans still argue that nothing is fundamentally wrong with the party. Or nothing that a better get-out-the-vote operation, a field of more appealing candidates, and more outreach to

On the wish lists of Americans: A fully operational Death Star, a nationalized Twinkie industry, and motorcycle-riding "judges" who also act as jury and executioner The White House 's "We the People..." website allows Americans to petition the Obama administration on a variety of issues citizens believe need addressing. Requests range from serious ( petition to have the White House publicly acknowledge the U.S. drone program ) to self-interested ( federally legalize weed now! ) to completely absurd (have Vice-President Joe Biden serve as Guy Fieri's sidekick on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives ). Most are angry with the administration, with roughly 70 percent of current petitions asking that individual states — like Texas — be allowed to peacefully secede. What's more: Anyone can create a petition, with the caveat that each request must garner 25,000 signatures in order to be considered for an official White House response. Presente

BOSTON (AP) — Mitt Romney 's shadow looms over a Republican Party in disarray.   The face of the GOP for much of the last year, the failed presidential candidate has been a virtual ghost since his defeat Nov. 6. He has quietly weathered the fallout of the campaign from the seclusion of his Southern California home, emerging only momentarily for a private lunch at the White House with President Barack Obama on Thursday. His loss and immediate withdrawal from politics, while welcomed by most, has created a leadership vacuum within his party. It's left the GOP rudderless, lacking an overarching agenda and mired in infighting, with competing visions for the way ahead, during what may be the most important policy debate in a generation. In his final meeting with campaign staffers at his Boston headquarters, Romney promised to remain "a strong voice for the party," according to those in attendance. But so far he has offered little to the Capitol Hill n

It may take election experts years to unravel the mystery of why Mitt Romney was convinced he had won the 2012 presidential election , as a new report shows some skewed internal poll numbers, and explains Romney’s two trips to Pennsylvania . romney wins Image of Romney's "transition" website. But at the same time, the article from The New Republic ’s Noam Scheiber shows inconsistencies with reports from November 5 and November 6 about the numbers that might have convinced Romney and his team that he had a good chance of beating President Barack Obama in Ohio . Obama’s resounding win is starting to take on more of a resemblance to Harry Truman’s “upset” in 1948, with Romney playing the role of Thomas Dewey. Obama wound up with 332 electoral votes, taking every swing state except North Carolina. Somehow, the Romney campaign was seemingly convinced that he would win one of the final three swing states , or make a strong showing in Pennsylvania. In th