In other words, the stick that is supposed to force lawmakers to act is mostly sawdust.

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Along with that carrot, the states are hoping for a stick: authority from Congress to force catalog and Internet merchants without physical presence in their states to sign up to collect simplified taxes.

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Mr Gration is using his political clout to force both sides to stick to their agreements under the CPA, thus offering hope that the peace will stick and that the south will be allowed to split off peacefully, if it chooses to.

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Defenseman Ryan McDonagh chopped his stick down across the crossbar with such force that he broke off the blade.

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Mr Hotten alleged that "tramline" bruising on the toddler had been identified by a pathologist as being consistent with having been struck, at force, with a rod or stick.

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And measures that have the force of domestic law are more likely to stick than those signed up to in a treaty under diplomatic pressure.

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