Image Thanks to Yahoo News

Topeka, Kansas has come up with an interesting solution for the budget woes…decriminalizing domestic violence.

The Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office announced last month that, facing a 10 percent budget cut, they would stop prosecuting misdemeanors – including domestic violence case.

And how did the Topeka City Council respond?  Well, like any sensible municipality would – by threatening to repeal the section of the city code that bans domestic violence.

The supposed motivation behind this threat is that by repealing their own law against domestic violence, the City of Topeka will no longer have the responsibility or the ability to prosecute for domestic violence, putting the onus back on Shawnee County.

Topeka’s betting that the District Attorney won’t actually let domestic violence go unprosecuted.  They hope that their repeal would force the county to restart their prosecution.

While the DA’s Office and the City Council are busy playing politics with women’s lives (even though they both swear that they think domestic violence is a serious crime…just not one worth paying to prosecute), Victims’ Advocate Claudia Dombrowski warns that this game of chicken puts the community in danger.

[The City and County] need to invest in headstones, because these women are going to end up in cemeteries…No matter how political you want to be, or you want to play hardball with peoples lives, how can you in good conscious say it’s okay to repeal domestic battery as a crime in the city of Topeka just so you can get out of prosecuting them.  I’m terrified for these women.

So far, the DA has refused to prosecute 30 domestic violence cases since September and has released three offenders.  Domestic violence is already an under-reported crime, and the women who do come forward and prosecute are incredibly brave.   Refusing to prosecute abandons these women and also deters others facing domestic violence from coming forward if there’s no way to receive protection.

The City Council is set to vote on the code repeal on Tuesday, October 11th (what a nice way to honor Domestic Violence Awareness Month!).  Hopefully the Council will realize what Dombrowski and most of us learned as children – that two wrongs don’t make a right.

Image thanks to Wired!

Possibility of a government shutdown?  Haven’t we seen this show before? #dejavu

President Obama is ready to leave behind No Child Left Behind.

Perhaps you already heard that scientists and the speed of light – but did you hear about the physicists and the invisibility cloak?

Ending modern-day slavery…one app at a time.

Oh, and watch out!  A satellite’s falling to the earth.

Image Thanks to the BBC!

Minnesota’s state government shuts down…and not just for the holiday weekend.

Saved by the bell…I mean, by the judge!  Kansas judge blocks new abortion clinic regulations.

Terminating the Terminator: Maria Shriver files for divorce.

It’s alive!!!  The Oxford Comma, that is.

Watch out, New Jersey!  You’ve got a baboon on the loose!

Ever wondered what life would be like with no federal government?

If budget negotiations go down hill in Washington DC this week…we may just find out.

House Republicans and Democrats are trying to reach a budget deal by a Friday deadline… no one is optimistic that a compromise can be reached.

No deal by deadline… the Federal Government closes down.

The news from Capitol hill suggests that a couple of issues are holding up an agreement. Mainly anti-abortion and environmental measures.

Anti-abortion Republicans want to eliminate federal funding from family planning centers. They also want to prevent the city of Washington DC from spending non federal funds on abortion.

The Republicans also want to target the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They want to prevent the EPA from being strict on environmental enforcement like cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay or controlling water pollution. (Isn’t enforcing environmental laws supposed to be the EPA’s job?)

A full list of hold-ups is available here.

On these contentions differences Sen. Chuck Shumer (D-NY) said;

“It would be a tragic mistake to force a government shutdown, but doubly tragic if the shutdown were on issues not related to spending,”

After weeks of nowhere negotiations and temporary fixes, hope of a budget compromise between Democrats and Republicans is fading fast. If progress isn’t made by Friday the government will be forced to temporarily to stop day-to-day operations until a consensus is made.

The proposed shutdown is predicted to cause both political and economic turmoil. House Speaker John Boehner sees a definite problem for Republicans.

The Democrats think they benefit from a government shutdown. I agree.”

The last government shutdown took place in 1995 when President Bill Clinton and congressional Republicans found themselves in a similar predicament.

But fixing the big issues in the country today isn’t easy. Take the economy…

Most agree that US Government debt is an concern for the economy. The disagreement comes from how and when to solve this problem.

Well, one man (and his party) claims to have a solution.

Speaking in the video above Republican Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, outlines his answer.

Analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office Ryan’s plan is expected to accomplish its goals as presently

debt held by the public is projected to rise from about 62 percent of GDP in 2010 to about 90 percent of GDP in 2050.

…Under the proposal, the ratio of debt to GDP would be significantly smaller over the long term—falling to 48 percent in 2040 and 10 percent in 2050.

What seems even more impressive is that this is done WITHOUT RAISING TAXES! How you might ask? Well as Free Exchange’s G.I. notes this is accomplished

Through an eye-watering assault on entitlement spending, in particular health care. Mr Obama’s health care reform would be ditched, Medicaid would be converted to block grants, and traditional Medicare would be replaced with vouchers.

The end of Medicare as we know it, the end of government guarantees for seniors, is generating the most anger. Over at Democracy in America, M.S. after analyzing the proposal states:

I agree with Mr Ryan that the government needs to limit taxpayers’ exposure to Medicare cost inflation. I think this plan is a fundamentally immoral way to do it.

With so much emotion felt over the issues of both Federal debt and social safety nets its no wonder that even Republicans are tentatively approaching the proposed budget.

Fears of the political fallout from such a plan Catherine Rampell notes have sunk past budget solutions and that

The country’s budget problems are not a failure of policy ingenuity, but a failure of political willpower.

Which has us wondering; what ever the right answer is will Washington ever actually find AND more importantly implement it?

Can’t fit your family in your Ferrari? Now you can!

Libya’s unrest is good news for gold owners…bad news for everyone else.

A whole town,Vernon, CA could become “Closed for Business.”

Citizens have stormed the capital! Public services have shut down! Members of the government have fled the area!

We’re not talking about the continuing protests in the Middle East…we’re talking about Wisconsin!

For almost a week, Wisconsinites have been expressing their outrage. Why?

Governor Scott Walker has proposed a controversial state budget. The most contentious item on his agenda is the termination of collective bargaining rights for state employees.

Worried about their jobs, tens of thousands of people have made their way to the capitol, some camping out, in protests which have caught the eye of onlookers all over the United States (even President Obama).

Included in the protests have been many Wisconsin teachers whose unions are at risk, forcing some public schools to shut down.

To prevent the bill from passing in the state’s Senate, Democratic lawmakers have fled the state. State law requires at least one of them be present in order for the Republican majority to hold a vote.

The events unfolding in Madison have raised questions on the matter of workers’ rights and the issue is expected to spread throughout the country.  In the meantime, some are still hoping for compromise in Wisconsin.

BONUS: At least one Egyptian feels the pain of Wisconsin workers.

Human error?  Watson stumbles on final jeopardy.

Come to papa: President Obama calls for an “Adult Conversation” on U.S. budget.

Government cracks down as protests pick up in Iran.

There is a new number two in the economic world.

And, your grocery bags might be able to get you to the grocery store.

The world watch as Egypt revolted, and now its eyes are fixated on Yemen, Algeria, and Iran…

Ding! Round one of the battle over the federal budget commences!

Also — check out this lost cat ask for directions: