Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) vetoed Republican bills that would have "required a photo ID for absentee voting, restricted voter registration drives and mandated a ballot box affirmation of citizenship," the Detroit News reports.

"Citing concern the three bills might confuse voters, Snyder's veto hat trick represented the first major rejection of legislation from his fellow Republicans, who control the Legislature, during his 18-month tenure as Michigan's chief executive."

Bloomberg Businessweek debunks the latest GOP talking point while the Wonk Wire "chart of the day" illustrates the point.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

-- The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

After a decade of writing the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, is a tale of an idyllic town torn apart by the results of a council election.

From the new cover: "Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?"

Yasser Arafat's body "may be exhumed to allow for more testing of the causes of his death," the AP reports, "after a Swiss lab said it found elevated levels of a radioactive isotope in belongings the Palestinian leader is said to have used in his final days."

Authorities had said blood tests would be key in deciding whether to file criminal charges against former Commerce Secretary John Bryson after a bizarre series of hit-and-run collisions last month.

But the Los Angeles Times reports even though Bryson tested positive for a small amount of Ambien, prosecutors "concluded the accidents were caused by a seizure Bryson suffered and said he should not face criminal charges in connection with them."

Political news from today's Times and a look at what's happening in Washington.

by R. Lee Wrights 

Through the rockets-red glare of this Independence Day celebration let us remember the brave men and woman who face the horror of real fireworks every day in lands far away from the home they have sworn to protect. What better gift can you give to those who are literally giving everything than to demand that our leaders bring them home — now.

Say no to war! Bring the troops home now! Go to The Million Vote March and make your voice heard. Join Governor Gary Johnson, Judge Jim Gray and the Libertarian Party in calling for a halt to all foreign interventions and bringing our service men and women home. Not tomorrow — today! It has already been too long since these brave souls have seen their families or kissed the soil of their homeland. Be Libertarian ? one time time! Let America and the world know we are here and we oppose war.

Vote Libertarian. Vote Gary Johnson. Vote to stop all war. Vote for peace.

R. Lee Wrights is a writer and political activist living in Texas. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party national committee. He is the co-founder and editor of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Contact Lee at rleewrights@gmail.com.

 

On June 29, the Washington State Libertarian Party filed this Reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, in the ongoing lawsuit over whether the top-two open primary system violates the U.S. Constitution.