Many people around the country and on The Ticket's comment board have been bothered in recent days by Arizona's tough new law authorizing police to nab illegal immigrants. But new polls now indicate Arizonans are pretty good with it.

Not only that, but they like Gov. Jan Brewer more since she signed the measure last week. (For past items explaining her decision and the law, see related links below.)

President Obama and others, most of whom don't live in Arizona, have criticized the carefully-crafted measure as "misguided" and worse.

But new Rasmussen Reports surveys today reveal the law's popularity among voters at....

A brand-new chapter dawns in the birther controversy over President Obama's hidden birth certificate.

The Hawaii legislature has now officially passed a measure that would allow state officials to legally ignore each month's dozens of repeated requests by persons or organizations seeking to see the infant Obama's actual birth certificate.

For personal privacy reasons the certificate resides under government lock and key in Hawaii and, as is his right, Obama has never authorized its release.

That's a refusal that has only inflamed conspiracy theorists who theorize that if it's really legit, what's Obama's problem with disclosing it? The repeated non-response of spokesmen has been that's a silly issue.

Nearly three years ago at The Ticket's request, the presidential campaign of Barack Hussein Obama released a copy of his Certificate of Live Birth, which we promptly published right here.

In the ensuing months, however, that proved insufficient evidence for those who believe the twice-sworn 44th president might possibly maybe could have been born in Kenya, which could mean that he wasn't born an American even though his Kansas-born mother was American, which then still conceivably might possibly mean that Obama is an illegitimate president, as is, then, everything he's done since Jan. 20, 2009, they hope.

They want to see the real document.

Twice since then (click here to see Ticket proof) the director of Hawaii's State Department of Health, Chiyome Fukino, has issued official statements that she has personally and with....

The chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein (not shown), attempts to testify Tuesday before the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations.

Do you think the Democratic Obama administration has been successful in driving the Washington media's attention and, therefore, the country's toward its financial reform bill and the evil bankers in you-know-where and away from the unpopular legislation, now law, having to do with you-know-what and health insurance?

Next up for public distraction: Pretending to seek immigration reform.

The Democrat-controlled subcommittee is allegedly probing the role of investment banking in the recent financial crisis. Facing civil fraud charges lodged by federal regulators, Goldman has been set up as the current villain in the Senate show hearing.

Senate investigators say that Goldman earned $3.7 billion by selling short during the collapse of the mortgage market, which precipitated the swift decline of the economy, which the administration says it is attempting to fix.

Goldman executives have denied any wrongdoing and portrayed their operations as business as usual, much like these kinds of hollow hearings are for the Senate, in fact. In the tradition of old-fashioned American capitalists, Goldman shareholders (also not shown) have not objected to the company's profits.

So much for the nearly $1 million Goldman folks donated to the Obama campaign in 2008. Don't bother calling them for the rest of this year.

Our blog buddy Michael Muskal has more on the Capitol Hill entertainment over here and right here and also over here

-- Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of financial crisis, it's totally free to click here to receive Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot  And our Facebook FAN page is right here.

Photo: C-SPAN

A new poll out this morning delivers the fascinating findings that President Barack Obama is much more popular in Europe than at home. No one else comes even close to his foreign popularity.

Americans, however, have now come to like Obama's vanquished political opponent, Hillary Clinton, the same as they do him.

And now they like the Dalai Lama even more than that pair.

As the president heads out today to campaign in Iowa, scene of his first state triumph in 2008, a  new France 24/Harris Poll of more than 6,100 people finds the folks in France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, the U.S. and Spain like Obama to the average tune of 77%.

Back home, proving that presence makes the heart grow harder, only 57% said they still liked the Democrat.

But the survey found that fully 72% of Americans like the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leader visited the White House in February. But so concerned was the Obama administration over....

Like dogs and cats, each of the two current major political parties argued over Monday's vote not to vote on the Democrats' program of broad financial reforms.

Classic Washington. traditional election year. Everybody wants it, but nobody wants to do it the way anyone else wants to do it.

Here in their own words is how a few of the feuding parties sought to make their case.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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President Obama's statement, as provided by the White House

I am deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans voted in a block against allowing a public debate on Wall Street reform to begin.  Some of these Senators may believe that this obstruction is a good political strategy, and others may see delay as an....

...opportunity to take this debate behind closed doors, where financial industry lobbyists can water down reform or kill it altogether. But the American people can’t afford that. 

A lack of consumer protections and a lack of accountability on Wall Street nearly brought our economy to its knees, and helped cause the pain that has left millions of Americans without jobs and without homes. The reform that both parties have been working on for a year would prevent a crisis like this from happening again, and I urge the Senate to get back to work and put the interests of the country ahead of party.

Statement by Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee

Today, Senate Democrats stood with Wall Street by attempting to move forward with a bill that creates a permanent bailout for irresponsible financial firms, institutionalizes ‘too-big-to-fail,’ and does nothing to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, organizations that were at the heart of the financial crisis.

But Republicans unanimously stood up to Harry Reid because today’s cloture vote wasn’t a vote against financial reform, it was a vote for a bipartisan bill, something President Obama has no interest in pursuing. Reid took the lead of President Obama who instructed Senate Democrats to cut off all bipartisan negotiations on financial regulation reform.

So instead of working with Republicans to responsibly reform financial regulations, Harry Reid decided that it’s better to have no bill at all, creating a partisan side show instead of holding Wall Street accountable.

Statement by Chairman Tim Kaine of the Democratic National Committee

Today, Senate Republicans blocked Wall Street reform.  In the process, they sent an unmistakable signal that they are beholden to Wall Street money, special interests and their lobbyists.  They also showed they are willing to oppose Wall Street reform even if the result is to leave in place unfair risks and results for taxpayers, Main Street businesses, and American families.
 
Not one Republican stepped forward to do the right thing for the  American people.  Instead, Senate Republicans voted to preserve a status quo that nearly destroyed our economy and caused undue hardship for millions of families, all so Wall Street can continue the very type of risky behavior that resulted in the crisis in the first place.
 
It is unfortunate that Americans must continue to worry that big banks are gambling with their retirement savings.  They must now continue to worry that the fine print on their credit card or mortgage loan could lead to financial ruin.  And they must now continue to worry that once again the economy could come crashing down around them while we must wait for meaningful Wall Street reform.
 
Senate Republicans could have relieved these concerns and moved Wall Street reform forward, but they instead  chose obstruction and delay.
 
Fortunately, Democrats in Congress will continue to fight for Wall Street reforms that will hold big banks accountable, create strong new consumer financial protections, and end the risky financial practices that continue to put the American economy at risk.  I hope that in the coming days, Republicans will overcome their loyalty to special interests and vote with Democrats for a final bill that will protect the well-being of all Americans.

Statement by Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts

  I was hopeful that both sides would have reached a bi-partisan agreement by today that protects the safety of our financial system, as well as the interests of taxpayers and consumers. My vote is not a vote against financial reform; instead it’s a vote to insist that the parties continue bi-partisan negotiations to come up with a commonsense bill we can all be proud of.

As currently written, the legislation contains loopholes that could leave the taxpayers on the hook for future bailouts of Wall Street. This bill would also hurt jobs in Massachusetts, including small start-up businesses that did not contribute to the economic crisis and are the job-creating engines that will get our economy moving again.

With millions of Americans affected by the financial crisis, this issue is too important to play political games with or rush through Congress along party lines. There are serious problems with this legislation that must be fixed and I remain hopeful that a bi-partisan agreement can be reached soon.

Statement by Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference

  The vote this afternoon is one more of a record number of ‘no motions’ offered by the Majority Leader saying no to more amendments, no to more debate, and no to checks and balances on a runaway government in Washington.

He’s got the record in saying no to more amendments, no to more debates, and no to more checks and balances on what the Congress is doing: 141 times the Majority Leader has filed cloture on the same day a measure came up—that’s simply another ‘no motion.’  It says no to more amendments, no to more debates, no to more checks and balances on the legislation that Congress is considering.

This should be a different situation; it’s a very important bill. It’s the financial regulation of this country—this country that produces 25 percent of all the money in the world every year. Twenty-five percent of the wealth is created by this country for those who are privileged to live here. 

One would think that we would be as careful as we could in getting this done. For a long time on this bill, many members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle have been working on it carefully and in a bipartisan way. So why would we bring another one of these record-setting ‘no motions’ up today to vote on?    ####

Photo: Associated Press; Head shots of Steele, Kaine, Brown, Alexander provided by their offices.

Though they sometimes pull apart, politics and mythology have always been yoked -- especially in New York, which serves as the latest example of the Law of Pegasus.

For those unlucky enough to have missed a classical education (or not even lucky enough to have seen the latest 3-D blockbuster), Pegasus was the winged horse. Divine from birth, he soared through the skies, seemingly landing as a statue in front of many buildings in American downtowns.

Former New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo (father of the likely Democratic nominee this year, N.Y. Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo) told the story of a captured thief being brought before the king for judgment. There were several versions depending on the audience, but the core of the story remained the same.

A wily thief was captured and brought before a harsh king, who was ready to....

There's one problem with the encouraging economic talk coming out of the mouths of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their political posse in Washington and elsewhere these days. Turning the corner on the bad times seems to be the operative phrase.

But evidence is now mounting that more than 15 months into the Obama era, many Americans don't believe it.

A new Harris Poll out this morning indicates that 43% of the country feels less secure about its economic position now when compared to last year. In the next six months half the country thinks its economic situation will be the same.

But the poll of 2,755 adults also finds 30% saying it will be worse come late October, which is just about the time millions of Americans will be making their candidate choices for the Nov. 2 midterm elections.

History suggests the White House party loses on average 16 House seats in its first midterm elections. Watching polls and generic congressional ballot surveys, prognosticators now say at least 25-30 Democrat seats will....

ABC's "This Week" with Jake Tapper: Obama economic advisor Austan Goolsbee (see photo), Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). Round table with George Will, Cynthia Tucker and Alexis Glick.

Bloomberg's "Political Capital" with Al Hunt: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Christine Harper, Hans Nichols, Andrea Catherwood and Kate O'Beirne.

CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: Obama economic advisor Lawrence Summers, Michael Lewis and Tom Friedman.

CNN's "GPS" with Fareed Zakaria: Treasury Secy. Tim Geithner, Amity Shlaes of the Council on Foreign Relations; Martin Wolf and Eliot Spitzer.

CNN's "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley: Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Michigan Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

"Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), ex-Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) and Erskine Bowles. Panel with Brit Hume, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams and Mara Liasson.

NBC's "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), with Erin Burnett, Evan Thomas, Michele Norris. (FYI, the program is now simulcast on satellite radio, Sirius Channel 90 and XM 120.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press

Remarks by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, as provided by the Republican Senate Communications Center

I’m Kay Bailey Hutchison, United States Senator from Texas.

For more than a year, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have been working to craft legislation that would prevent another catastrophic financial crisis like we saw in the fall of 2008.  

Republicans are working to ensure the bill would forbid any future bailouts of Wall Street banks. The idea that a financial institution is ‘Too Big To Fail’ perverts free market capitalism. It suggests that large firms can privatize their profits, yet socialize their risks.

Or, put simply, these companies take their profits in good times - but when things go bad – they turn to the government to bail them out. This must end. The American people should not be forced to pay the risky gambling debts of the large financial institutions.

The Democrats pushed a bill through the Senate Banking Committee that does not stop future bailouts.  Republicans have been attacked for speaking out against it and asking for....

Vice President Joe "I Still Have My Job How About You?" Biden was at yet another political fundraiser today and admitted that he got in White House trouble last month for predicting job growth nationally.

So naturally the garrulous VP did it again today in Pennsylvania.

Speaking for Mark Critz, a Democrat running for a House seat who's "the real deal" as opposed to some others who Biden says have been "real turkeys," the Obama administration's chief gaffemeister said:

We’re going to be creating somewhere between 100 and 200,000 jobs next month, I predict.

Which is a pretty wide range.

Then, to ensure he'd be in trouble again, the long-time senator added:

Even some in the White House said, ‘Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself.’ Well I’m here to tell you some time in the next couple of months we’re going to be creating between 250,000 jobs a month and 500,000 jobs a month.

Maybe Obama won't notice what Joe said. The Duffer-in-Chief is off playing golf again

Related item:

Joe Biden update: The Democrat admits campaigning for some 'real turkeys' over the years

Joe Biden didn't realize the effing microphone was so sensitive

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

During times when the Security and Exchange Commission was supposed to be monitoring and erecting safeguards on the financial industry and economy, high-level regulators were spending hours surfing pornographic websites.

The SEC is tasked with policing the financial industry, including fraud. but some senior officials spent more time on porn sites than doing their actual jobs, according to a report by ABC News.

One senior SEC attorney in Washington spent up to 8 hours per day accessing adult content, filling his government-issued computer to the brim with naughty pictures at which point he began burning additional content to CDs and DVDs, the report said. 

Bernie Madoff naked?

It's unclear whether this was all done during regular work hours or if he took his laptop home or elsewhere to do his business.

Another SEC worker, a female SEC accountant, tried to access porn online 1,800 times during a two-week marathon session and accumulated 600 porn images on her hard drive.

For more on the SEC escapades, hit the link at the top of this post. The report gives a whole new meaning to the popular Internet phrase "not suitable for work" (NSFW).

-- Mark Milian

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Photo: Associated Press

First things first: Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will not be challenging fellow Democrat Barack Obama for the presidency anytime soon.

For both of those folks who were wondering.

The San Francisco representative, the first grandmother to run the House of Representatives, held another news conference Thursday. She's not a reticent speaker Speaker. So we won't publish the entire transcript. Just the Q & A part below.

Pelosi is clearly feeling confident and happy as a major D.C. center of political attention. These Q & A's can be revealing at times when the subject lets something out about their attitudes, tastes, nicknames. The better pols use these seemingly spontaneous questions as an opportunity to let some personal details drop casually to create an aura of candor and fill in the public persona they would like to create.

On Thursday, besides her lack of professed presidential ambitions, we learned that Pelosi is proud to be second in line to the presidency after the effing vice president, that she thinks we....