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While birders are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the iconic conservation law credited with saving birds such as the trumpeter swan and the bald eagle from extinction, the Trump administration wants to make it easier for businesses to kill wildlife without penalties. That change in the law's interpretation ruffles the feathers of environmentalists and sticks in the craw of wildlife biologist Bob Montgomery, a veteran East Dundee birder who was president of Kane County Audubon in the 1970s. "It is the founding law for conservation in North America," Montgomery, 77, says of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act passed in 1918. "It's been a strong and useful piece of legislation." related advertisement PDF File Migratory Bird Treaty letter   While the change currently is the subject of federal lawsuits, a coalition of conservation professionals who served under presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and … [Read more...] about Constable: Suburban birder honked off by plans to change conservation law

University of Chicago researchers -- who clearly have a lot of time on their hands -- have found that the use of certain brands and products is a good predictor of your level of affluence. This is an exercise in the obvious when it comes to a $1,000 iPhone. But the same proved true with Ziploc plastic bags, Kikkoman soy sauce and Cascade Complete dishwasher detergent. By this measure, Democratic performance in Ohio's 12th district special election might be called the Ziploc opening. Or maybe the Cascade cascade. The Democratic candidate, Danny O'Connor, appears to have lost by one point in a district that went for Donald Trump by 11 points in the 2016 presidential election. And most of O'Connor's gains likely came in white-collar suburbs, among college-educated white voters who have been alienated by the president. Democrats nearly secured a seat Republicans have held since 1982. "Nearly" is the coldest comfort in politics. But if Democratic candidates make comparable gains across … [Read more...] about The only way to save the GOP is to defeat it in the House

"Join me on Team '18," Barack Obama wrote in a recent fundraising email from his old political group, Organizing for Action. "Every election, every ballot measure, every conversation between now and November ... it all matters." It wasn't much, but the email was one of Obama's few public, political, overtly partisan appeals as the Democratic Party approaches midterm elections that could stop President Trump's agenda and boost Democratic prospects going into 2020. To have an ex-president who remains highly popular with his party sitting on the sidelines cannot be what Democrats hoped. There are reports that Obama plans to campaign for some Democrats starting in September. But beyond simply hitting the stump for the midterms, Obama could be, if not the full-fledged leader of the Resistance, at least a constant and public critic of the direction taken by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.Instead, Obama isn't seen much. At the end of July, he and former Vice … [Read more...] about In political season, Democrats wonder, ‘where’s Obama?’

By Michael Gerson It is more typical for a prospective defendant to admit nothing rather than publicly justify everything, but Donald Trump is an innovator. His practice of doubling down on errors while denying they are errors has worked to solidify his political base. We will soon see how it fares as a legal strategy. Obstruction? "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now," Trump recently tweeted. The White House explained that this was a wish rather than an order. When Henry II mused, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" it was also a wish, not an order. Yet Thomas Becket ended up just as dead.Collusion? Trump recently tweeted of his eldest son's Trump Tower sit down with the Russians: "This was a meeting to get information on an opponent." Even if you view meeting with representatives of a hostile power to get dirt on your political rival as the definition of collusion, Trump assures us that "collusion is not a crime."So, by any … [Read more...] about Trump’s ‘everyone-does-it’ presidency

In Republican lairs all over Western New York, the anger and resentment is seething. Chris Collins, the safest Republican congressman in the entire state, has suddenly thrust a sure thing into question mark territory. Nobody in GOP Land is happy. They must raise money for one of their own now in trouble — someone who may even end up in jail. They must cheer on Collins at firemen’s picnics and chicken barbecues even as he refuses to answer questions from constituents about the overarching issue of the 2018 re-election campaign – his federal indictment on insider trading charges. “What kind of campaign can he run?” they ask. Other Republican candidates on the ballot – some facing tough races – now worry about the Collins effect on their efforts. Some fret that Collins nominees or those mentioned as his favorites for federal office, like John Sinatra for U.S. district judge or Peter Vito for U.S. marshal, may now encounter confirmation troubles. … [Read more...] about Bob McCarthy: Stunned Republicans seethe over Chris Collins dilemma