Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of House Democrats that bills itself as fiscally conservative, has successfully pressured House leaders to make sure the bill keeps within the contours of the chamber's PAYGO, short for "pay-as-you-go" rule, which requires new expenditures or tax cuts to be offset by tax increases or spending cuts...

"PAYGO worked for small things, but it is proving to have absolutely no teeth in forcing people to make hard choices," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee… more

WASHINGTON — Since forming in 1994, the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of House Democrats who call themselves fiscal conservatives, has argued for trimming federal spending. Now, with the Iraq supplemental-spending bill in limbo, its members find themselves defending legislation President Bush and Republican members of Congress have characterized as fiscally irresponsible. At issue is HR1591, which provides emergency funding for government operations for the current fiscal year. The bulk of spending, in both the House and Senate… more

As gay marriage opponents guard the traditional legal boundaries of adult relationships, Arkansas child welfare officials are defending a policy that denies abused and neglected children relationships with supportive foster families.

And the rest of the country is watching. Last month, Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox began hearing arguments in the ACLU's constitutional challenge against the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board, the governor-appointed body that oversees the licensing requirements for state child welfare agencies. For the last five… more