Redistricting Not Worth the Verbal Footwork

"Words mean what they say," I wrote in my Washington Examiner column one week ago. But, as I added, not necessarily to a majority of justices of the Supreme Court. The targets of my column were the majority opinions in King v. Burwell and Texas Department of Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. --In King v. Burwell, Chief Justice Roberts interpreted the words "established by the state" in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) as meaning "established by the state or the federal government," even though the law itself defines "state" as the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Read more at Townhall.com
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Redistricting Update: Historic Bipartisan Agreement Reached and Passed

Rep. Shawn Lindsay (OR-Dist. 30) via E-mail, 6/10/2011 (Hat tip: D'Ann Mathews) - [Excerpts]: This week, the Oregon Legislature made history. On Tuesday, the Co-Chairs of the House Redistricting Committee and Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee reached an agreement on a bipartisan redistricting plan for the Oregon House and Senate legislative districts. This is the first time in several decades that a redistricting plan has been drawn by the Legislature and passed. ∴ To read Tuesday's press release from the Co-Chairs, click here. ∴ Today [Friday 6/10], the Redistricting plan passed through the House and the Senate Chambers and is expected to be signed into law by the Governor. Read More......

Student activist against partisan Oregon redistricting

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Avoid the Gerrymander, sign the petition (#50 Redistricting)

Printed in 1812, this political cartoon illustrates the electoral districts drawn by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the incumbent Democratic-Republican party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists. The cartoon depicts the bizarre shape of a district in Essex County, Massachusetts as a dragon. The painter, Gilbert Stuart, likened it to a salamander, and the editor, Benjamin Russel, advised "Better say a Gerrymander." The name stuck.

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"In order to establish an independent, non-partisan commission to carry out reapportionment of legislative districts and to avoid partisan, self-interested action by legislators in drawing legislative district lines, the Constitution of the State of Oregon is amended by repealing section 6, Article IV, and by adopting the following new section 6 in lieu thereof: Read text of the INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION AMENDMENT (#50)...

Let's get this constitutional amendment on the Oregon ballot and let the voters decide! Sign the State initiative #50! Call Benton County Republican Headquarters (541) 754-9155 for more information. Read More......