Domestic Affairs

++Gay D-Day is approaching, according to Scotusblog. Decisions on DOMA and same sex marriage will be delivered by June 24th according to court observers. President Obama is sending ENDA back up to the Senate for a vote to end employment discrimination against gays. Marco Rubio says it is alright to fire someone because he is gay and will remove himself from supporting Immigration Reform if gay immigrants are included. 

++On immigration, Senator Grassley is putting the slow-motion moves on the bill by his version of mini-filibusters on Amendments. The Gang of 8 slapped down Marco Rubio when he said he supported Cornyn's amendment about beefing up border security before the normalization of undocumented workers begins. According to the amendment you can always say the Border is not completely secure and delay the process indefinitely. Harry Reid called it a poison pill. Now Rubio claims normalization should come first so that the fees aid by undocumented workers could finance the border fence.

++The nativist factions of the GOP are trying to kill immigration reform in the House. Rep. Steve King tweeted this week that his office had been occupied by self-proclaimed illegal aliens. He was, of course, talking about the Dream generation kids who have a stay in their deportation because of President Obama's executive order. King also went to Russia on a fact-finding mission on the Boston Bomber and came home concerned that Chechens were given residence in the United States without vetting from the FBI. Michelle Bachmann, Steven King and Louis Gohmert have called for a rally against "Amnesty" and a series of "Lincoln-Douglas" debates on immigration. Despite all this, John Boehner claims immigration reform could pass by the end of the year. Given the lack of issues for the GOP in 2014, this seems dubious to me. Pat Buchanan and Ann Coulter are pointing to the demographics that whites are dying at rates higher than they are being replaced as an argument against immigration reform. Others say if the GOP doesn't get on the train, they are doomed in all national elections. Supporters of immigration reform are concerned that the price of pursuing citizenship will be too high for the undocumented who are here. The House last week voted to deport all undocumented workers here. Good Luck with that.

++The GOP continues to gut Obamacare. The Senate ,fueled by the IRS scandal,wants to make sure that the IRS has nothing to do with figuring out the subsidy for healthcare to low-income workers or the tax on those Americans with a Cadillac healthcare plan. The GOP is putting out rumors that healthcare would be too expensive for Congress and their staffers if  Obamacare is enacted. Conservatives are citing Democrat Max Baucus that implementing Obamacare will be a "train wreck". Others are arguing that younger males will see their insurance bill sky-rocket. 

++Meanwhile, California has pleasantly surprised by showing that insurance rates are plummeting because of Obamacare. Arizona's Jan Brewer has extended Medicaid in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, which will cover an additional 300,000 in the state. While Ohio is balking at Obamacare by saying it will increase the health insurance premiums.So far,no news on my own.

++You can see this train coming down the track. The GOP is preparing for 2014 on the issues of Obamacare,Abortion and Obama's culture of corruption. 

++The House is about to pass a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks in all fifty state,including Washington,D.C. Gov. Walker has signed a new abortion bill that requires a transvaginal probe, mirroring Virginia's botched attempt of the same. The ACLU has announced 2013 as the worst year for reproductive rights as states like Ohio continue their march to ban abortion. The Virgina state GOP ticket this year is a trifecta of anti-choice candidates that make the present governor look like a moderate.