1. A WAVE of headline-grabbing assaults across Afghanistan has drawn attention back to the Haqqani network. The group, part crime family, part militant force, is the chief suspect in the assaults on April 15th in Kabul, Nangarhar, Logar and Paktia (see map). The network is led from the border region of North Waziristan in neighbouring…
Congress
STUPID OR IGNORANT?
Perhaps John Boehner can slip through the horns of this dilemma – stupid or ignorant – by admitting he is just a vicious dog. He says that the Cut, Cap and Balance Act that just received House approval was passed by bipartisan support. In fact, 191 Democrats voted against the bill and 5 voted for…
TO BE AND SOMETIMES NOT TO BE
It’s a tough job trying to be consistent and always on the right side. Just check out Jim McDermott, Democratic Rep from the state of Washingto to see what I mean. Jim favors single payer health insurance for all. That’s good. Jim sponsored first-in-the-nation legislation to provide affordable managed care to Washington’s unemployed and uninsured…
PUSSY-FOOTING AROUND
While Barack Obama plays around with such silly projects as trying to increase the debt ceiling, important things are happening. What this country needs, as any good Marxist would tell you, is total self-destruction. Then, from out of the ashes of the phoenix, a better country may rise up. It may have mattered to Mahatma…
WHO’S ASKING? WHO’S TELLING?
Republicans, joined by two Democrats, beat back an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that included repeal of the notorious “Don’t ask; don’t tell” policy that deprives gay men and women of the right to serve in the military. Actually, unless there is a severe shortage of paper in Washington, D.C. I don’t see why…
QUI TAM LIVES
In common law, a writ of qui tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed. Creating qui tam and whistleblower protection is the best way to root out fraud in the government. On July 15, 2010 Congress passed the Wall Street Reform…
THE RIGHT TO VOTE
If all you do to judge significance of issues is to count heads of people impacted, then the denial of ex-federal prisoners to vote seems as nothing compared to the just passed legislation on health care. But if serious injustices and deprivation of the elementary rights of citizens is your cup of tea, then the…
HEALTH CARE BILL PASSES
It is much overrated but, finally, after 400 days of fighting, Congress passed a bill overhauling health care insurance. In the beginning, Republicans objected to an option that would allow people under the usual age for medicare to purchase into the system. The Democrats gave that up. Some Democrats (led by Dennis Kucinich) wanted a…
GOD BLESS AMERICA
USA Today – After announcing plans to leave the House of Representatives, Florida Democrat Robert Wexler went on to spend more than $340,000 of his campaign funds on staff bonuses, airline tickets and other expenses. If you think that is bad, consider what genteel idiot Sheila Krumholt of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics has…
JOHNNY M IS DEAD
Democratic congressman John Murtha, a 19 term representative from Pennsylvania has passed away. Murtha became known for his feistiness when he opposed U.S. involvement in Iraq. In 2006, Nancy Pelosi, Queenpin of Congress, supported Johnny for the job of House Majority Leader. The position went to Stenny Hoyer. So Johnny died a bit of a…
HR 4173 FINANCIAL REGULATION
A bill that was passed yesterday by a vote 223-202. Every Republican and about 2 dozen Democrats voted against it. Introduced by Barney Frank, its title is: To provide for financial regulatory reform, to protect consumers and investors, to enhance Federal understanding of insurance issues, to regulate the over-the-counter derivatives markets, and for other purposes.…
SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
The old gag that all people are equal but some more than others may soon be put to a real test. On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment, courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn which would require all Members of Congress and their staff members to enroll in any…
WHAT HEALTH INSURANCE PROPOSALS ARE ABOUT
Nothing gets more coverage in the newspapers and on TV than the health care insurance debates – and nothing is explained more poorly. Here is what it may be all about. No guarantees. 1. In the House, there are proposals for employers to contribute to the cost of coverage for some or all of their…
AN END TO TOLERATING TOLERANCE
NY Times…………Fifty-three House Republicans have signed a letter to the Obama administration asking for the ouster of Kevin Jennings, an official charged with promoting school safety, because of his career as an advocate of teaching tolerance of homosexuality. For all the sordid details, please CLICK HERE. The choice is yours. You may choose between regarding…
THE HEALTH INSURANCE CONTROVERSY
There are almost no differences between what the Administration proposes and what the different congressional plans propose. The principal difference is that certain congressmen believe that (1) either Obama’s plan is a preliminary to a single payer system – the government takes over all insurance and drives private companies out of business or (2) the…
MISUNDERSTANDING POLITICAL POWER
If you are a senator or congressman, the world shows you a great deal of deference. Having people hang around you at your beck and call is a kind of power. Your salary and benefits package are extraordinary, and that, too, is a kind of power. Lobbying firms woo you and that counts as a…
THE VOTE ON SOTOMAYOR
Sonia Sotomayor is now a member of the U.S. Supreme Court or, at least, will be as soon as the formality of the swearing-in process is completed. The vote was 68-31. Every Democrat voted for her, including Spector, along with the following Republicans: Alexander, Tenessee……Bond, Missouri. Collins, Maine…..Graham, South Carolina Gregg, New Hampshire…..Lugar, Indiana Martinez,…
NOT OVER GOD’S DEAD BODY
Republican loonies oppose all climate control regulation. Their fake studies tell them that the legislation which has already been passed in the House will cost Americans $11.78 PER DAY! The Environmental Protection Agency and the Congressional Budget Office places the cost at 78 cents per day. In any case, Republican biggie, Boener, Minority Leader, says…
END OF A DETROIT IDOL?
For 40 years, John Conyers has been the undisputed hero of Detroit politics. A great champion of civil liberties and a great liberal in foreign policy matters, he wins re-elections to the U.S. House of Representatives without bothering to campaign. He has been re-elected 22 times. Only John Dingell, Teddy Kennedy, Robert Byrd and Dan…
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Want to know why health care is going nowhere? 30 key lawmakers that draft health care legislation are not especially keen on the government becoming the single payer for your insurance bills. Here are the top dogs. John Kerry – $9.8 million invested in health care stocks. $1.5 in Phizer alone. Jane Harmon – $7.7…
POWERFUL LOBBIES WITHOUT POWER
If the word “power” in politics is used in anything remotely like its original senses, then nobody has any power. We find the word at home in two uses: (1) energy that is produced by mechanical, electrical, or other means and used to operate a device. 2. What God does simply by ordering something to…
EARMARKS FOR PORKY THE PIG
Earmarks, also called pork, are phony riders to congressional bills to please a congressman’s constituents. Usually, they have nothing to do with the bills to which they are attached. They are disgraces to common sense but are here to stay. We list the best known gangsters who are responsible for them. They are not necessarily…
PARTISAN POLITICS
Hack politicians like President Obama call for bipartisanship. He wants peace and harmony and agreement among Republicans and Democrats. When a president can get a solid majority of congressional support thanks to a crossover of a handful of pols from “the other side of the aisle”, he is thrilled out of his cotton-pickin’ mind. He…
WHAT IS A STIMULUS?
As I am a throwback to the idea that economic forces have lives of their own and politics cannot make much difference to the economy, I am baffled, mystified, perplexed, bewidlered and bothered by the so-called “stimulus package” of $800 billion. In some cases, even I understand how the economy can be stimulated – highway…
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