The New Congress

[snuffbox 0]

It will be 'Madame Speaker' in an hour or so. Congrats B-more girl.

 

Time to raise the minimum wage instead of giving Congress a big raise. It will seem very strange. Duh small biznesses will be destroyed.

 

The House might have to work more than 3 days a week. Say goodbye to families.

 

With the election over, this is the thread to chronicle the drama over 'Surge & Stay'.

[SuperJerk 0]

The TV pundits are more interested in talking about what the Congress isn't doing than what it is doing. I love how anytime someone new takes office, be it legislative or executive branch, the media pretends like its never heard of seperation of powers. Short of defunding the Iraq War (which is a bad idea when there's still troops on the ground), there's not a whole lot the Congress can do besides hold hearings.

[Special K 0]

We're going to be in for a lot of pety shit. The budget is so fucked that no congress can help it, IMO.

The budget is actually going to come to fore, people will start blaming eachother, and it's just going to devolve into some lesbian spank inferno. Or a three-way tangle-fuck. whatever you prefer.

 

 

 

All we have to look forward to is Steven Colbert, son of a goat-ball-licker.

[snuffbox 0]

Bill O'Reilly's meltdown of late due to NBC cutting the ratings gap has been the most entertaining television, minus football, in the 2 months since the election.

 

If the SPs in Congress keep pickin' on the Prez we might get to see old Bill bite the head off a chicken or something on air.

[Timmy8271 0]

I can't wait to see the Democrats try to push that Stem cell bill through congress only to get cock blocked by Bush. The gloves will be off then.

[snuffbox 0]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/05/p...105.UNF014.html

 

That was alot quicker than I expected. I was looking forward to Hubeian waffling after Bush finally makes the announcement.

 

The Dems should have either Russ Feingold or Jim Webb give the televised rebuttal next week. The other can go after the State/Union.

[Guest Starks]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/03/con...n.ap/index.html

 

Congressman to take oath on Jefferson's Quran

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will use a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson during his ceremonial swearing-in Thursday.

 

The chief of the Library of Congress' rare book and special collections division, Mark Dimunation, will walk the Quran across the street to the Capitol and then walk it back after the ceremony.

 

Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, contacted the library about the book last month, Dimunation said.

 

Some critics have argued that only a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Last month, Virginia Republican Rep. Virgil Goode warned that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims" will be elected and follow Ellison's lead. (Full Story)

 

Ellison was born in Detroit, Michigan, and converted to Islam in college.

 

Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert said the new congressman "wants this to be a special day, and using Thomas Jefferson's Quran makes it even more special."

 

"Jefferson's Quran dates religious tolerance to the founders of our country," he added.

 

An English translation of the Arabic, it was published in 1764 in London, a later printing of one originally published in 1734.

 

"This is considered the text that shaped Europe's understanding of the Quran," Dimunation said.

 

It was acquired in 1815 as part of a 6,400-volume collection that Jefferson sold for $24,000, to replace the congressional library that had been burned by British troops the year before, in the War of 1812.

 

"It was a real bargain," Dimunation said.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Say, that's a neat way to make a statement. I like this Ellison. Put him down for a smoked ham and a box of steaks.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Bill O'Reilly's meltdown of late due to NBC cutting the ratings gap has been the most entertaining television, minus football, in the 2 months since the election.

I was watching Scarbourough last night out of boredom, and it seems like O'Reilly has pissed off old Joe, who even challenged him to a debate.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Say, that's a neat way to make a statement. I like this Ellison. Put him down for a smoked ham and a box of steaks.

Muslims don't eat ham, though.

[snuffbox 0]

Bill O'Reilly's meltdown of late due to NBC cutting the ratings gap has been the most entertaining television, minus football, in the 2 months since the election.

I was watching Scarbourough last night out of boredome, and it seems like O'Reilly has pissed off old Joe, who even challenged him to a debate.

 

Well when Bill said 'everybody at NBC is a liberal & hates Bush' he probably just forgot about Joe's participation in the '94 Republican Revolution, Tucker Carlson having a show, and such esteemed analysts as Pat Robertson and G. Gordon Liddy. Poor guy's losing it & its a spectacle worth watching.

[SuperJerk 0]

Some enterprising blogger should keep a chart of how far from reality each right-wing pundit is at a given moment, purely for comparitive purposes.

 

Conservatives are turning into Jesse Ventura doing heel commentary in their outlandishness these days.

[Slayer 0]

Say, that's a neat way to make a statement. I like this Ellison. Put him down for a smoked ham and a box of steaks.

Muslims don't eat ham, though.

Shit. you're right...

 

Better just send him a six-pack and some Jack Daniels

[SuperJerk 0]

The press trying to portray as positive move as a negative one...

 

New budget rules could straitjacket Democrats

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House, in its second day of Democratic reign, changed budget rules that have allowed deficits to swell with lawmakers' pet projects and President Bush's tax cuts.

 

The rule changes voted Friday could bedevil efforts later to appease middle-class voters.

 

One rule requires that tax cuts have corresponding cuts in government spending or tax increases elsewhere to pay for them. Likewise, any increase in entitlement programs like Medicare would have to have corresponding tax increases, or equal cuts in other government programs, under the pay-as-you-go rule reinstated Friday. It was adopted 280-154. (Interactive: The Democrats '100 Hour' agenda)

 

If strictly enforced, the PAYGO rule would make it difficult for Democrats to pass increases in federal benefit programs such as Medicare or the Medicaid health care program for the poor or disabled. In the near term, it would mean Democrats' bill to cut student loan rates will be less generous than they'd like. The rule would also threaten efforts to extend Bush's tax cuts, most of which expire at the end of 2010.

 

"This is putting the American taxpayer on a collision course with higher taxes," said Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, top Republican on the Budget Committee.

 

"Today, we are cutting our national credit card," countered Heath Shuler, D-North Carolina, during floor debate Friday. To underscore the point, Shuler cut a credit card in half at a news conference populated by moderate-to-conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats who are most responsible for implementing the rule.

 

At the same time, House lawmakers passed a Democratic proposal to require lawmakers to disclose publicly the pet projects -- referred to as earmarks in legislative terms -- they want for their districts or states, such as Alaska's bridge to nowhere in the last Congress. Republicans had made a similar move last year, and GOP critics of pet projects applauded Democrats' efforts to require greater disclosure.

 

Still, only about a fourth of the Republicans voted for the earmark disclosures because it was linked to the PAYGO rule that will make it harder to extend the tax cuts set to expire in four years.

 

The emphasis on earmark reform came in the wake of the Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandal, in which the former California GOP congressman pleaded guilty to corruption charges for channeling earmarks to defense contractors in exchange for $2.4 million in bribes. Lesser scandals have hit other lawmakers.

 

The PAYGO and earmark proposals come a day after Democrats seized control of Congress for the first time in 12 years, with a jubilant Nancy Pelosi becoming the first woman ever to rise to speaker of the House.

 

New ethics rules pass 430-1

Pelosi, D-California, will exert vast influence over the congressional agenda and stands second in the line of succession to the presidency. In her first step as speaker, she orchestrated bipartisan 430-1 passage of a measure banning lawmakers from accepting gifts and free trips from lobbyists and discounted trips on private planes. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, cast the sole "nay" vote. (Watch why new ethics rules topped the Democrat's agenda)

 

Democratic budget hawks, especially the moderate-to-conservative "Blue Dogs," say that restoring the PAYGO rule is crucial to curbing the budget deficit. Various forms of the rule were in place from 1990-2002, however, and Congress often found ways around it.

 

The version adopted Friday can easily be waived. Still, the incoming chairman of the Budget Committee, John Spratt Jr., D-South Carolina, touted it as better than the status quo.

 

"You've got to offset those tax cuts," Spratt said. "And if you want to enhance an entitlement, you've got to pay for it."

 

Democrats left in place -- for now -- a GOP rule limiting committee chairmen to three two-year terms.

 

Another rule change, adopted 430-0, would curb past abuses in which GOP leaders held votes open for hours and excluded Democratic lawmakers from House-Senate negotiations on the language of final bills sent to the White House for enactment.

 

Former GOP Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier of California said he supported the reforms but complained that the new rules could easily be sidestepped -- and that more extensive reforms once demanded by Democrats had been left out . Democrats left in place -- for now -- a GOP rule limiting committee chairmen to three two-year terms.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/05/con...p.ap/index.html

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Some enterprising blogger should keep a chart of how far from reality each right-wing pundit is at a given moment, purely for comparitive purposes.

 

Conservatives are turning into Jesse Ventura doing heel commentary in their outlandishness these days.

On the way home from work, I'll sometimes tune in to Hannity for shits & giggles, and twice this week he said (to underscore his opposition to Dems possibly raising taxes) the gov't has all the money it needs.

[Markme123 0]

Bill O'Reilly's meltdown of late due to NBC cutting the ratings gap

 

Do you have any sources you could point me to?

[Timmy8271 0]

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/05/s...ly-to-a-debate/

Here's video of Joe Scarborough's response to Bill O.

 

http://www.newshounds.us/oreilly_factor/ Here's a bunch of things on Bill. It's very left wing.

[snuffbox 0]

O Reilly's still winning the ratings but Olberman's upswing is really bothering the poor guy. I'd like to meet the people who actually watch Bill for news rather than comedy, the people who actually sit there and believe that NBC is engaged in a massive conspiracy to foil the hated President. They are probably the same people who cant make the connections of Roger Ailes being Bill's boss.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

One of my favorite O'Reilly hang-ups is his belief that the death penalty should be replaced with life sentences in Alaskan labor camps. It's in his book. I don't know why this amuses me so much amidst all the other batshit stuff he says, but it just does.

[cbacon 0]

nvm

[Special K 0]

O'Reilly's bloodshot-eye, screaming diatribe against a really polite, quiet, sincere liberal quy, telling him about how his (other guy's) father must hate him and be ashamed for him is the WORST. And he is the most listened to guy on politics, last I checked.

 

You want to talk about the fucking media? ANyone in a respectible day and age would have thrown him off the air. His furious impotence is both horrifying and amusing.

 

The first time I listened to him I was sorta taken in by his "tellin' like it is" bullshit. Then I actually listened for more than two days. Straw men, Slippery slopes, no accountability for what they have said. I know this is not new, but , but....

 

God, I just PRAY for some honest debate on both sides. And I don't think it's ever, ever going to happen again. Semantics and nastiness will just absolutely obliterate political discourse in this country. If I have an honest, matter-of-fact. president in my lifetime again, Democrat, Republican, I will literally eat mine own shit.

 

I'm so sick of GB playing this jeez-shucks bullshit America USA to get out of every fuck up he's ever done. YOU FUCKED UP. To anyone who supports him: Why does he suppress every inquiry ever into his policies? Why does he not talk to the Amrican people except for maybe once-a-three-month-platitudes.

 

Shit even the inspirational poster above my desk changes once a month. (ok, that's a poster of a kitten)

 

Here's the thing, if he's so great, why is he so incredibly reluctant for him, or his staff to talk to anyone?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

One of my favorite O'Reilly hang-ups is his belief that the death penalty should be replaced with life sentences in Alaskan labor camps. It's in his book. I don't know why this amuses me so much amidst all the other batshit stuff he says, but it just does.

 

I think we should execute more people, but replacing regular prisons with work camps of some kind isn't a terrible idea, either.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

O'Reilly's bloodshot-eye, screaming diatribe against a really polite, quiet, sincere liberal quy, telling him about how his (other guy's) father must hate him and be ashamed for him is the WORST. And he is the most listened to guy on politics, last I checked.

 

You want to talk about the fucking media? ANyone in a respectible day and age would have thrown him off the air. His furious impotence is both horrifying and amusing.

Nobody doing prime time cable news analysis would be on the air in whatever halcyon days you're referring to. Furthermore, Jeremy Glick came on the show and basically recited C-Bacon posts. What do you fucking expect Bill O'Reilly to do, stroke his chin and say "hmm. please expound on that"? People's outrage on that incident still amazes me. Business as usual on the talking head shows.

[snuffbox 0]

All the talk about "SPs" is my fave.

 

What's so bad about shiping criminals off to work camps in our frozen northern areas? Another, slightly frowned upon, philosophy did that last century & they seem to be doing quite well. M I rite?

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Don't hate on the gulags.

[Gary Floyd 0]

"It's fucking congress assraper!"

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

WASHINGTON — It's only the first week of the 110th Congress, but Democrats have already called a time-out so lawmakers can enjoy a very important event — the BCS championship football game between University of Florida and the Ohio State University.

 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Friday handed out this week's schedule. It noted that House legislative actions would not begin on Monday, but would be postponed until Tuesday.

 

Though the schedule does not offer an explanation for the delay, Hoyer, D-Md., said on the House floor that he wanted to let lawmakers from the big states of Ohio and Florida off, presumably so they could attend the game or participate in game-related activities at home.

 

"There is a very important event happening Monday night, particularly for those who live

in Ohio and Florida. In the spirit of comity, and I know if Maryland were playing, I would want to be accommodated and I want to accommodate my friend, Mr. Boehner," Hoyer said in reference to new House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

 

While the decision benefits both Democratic and Republican football fans, it signals a step back from the reform-minded pledge Democrats took after they won control of Congress to work a five-day week in Washington, up from three-day weeks during the Republican Congress.

Those wacky legislators.

[snuffbox 0]

Day off when the Dems are in charge - Dispicable

 

Day off every week for years under GOP control - Good for families

[Art Sandusky 0]

Like all those old dudes could stay awake to see the whole game.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Day off when the Dems are in charge - Dispicable

 

Day off every week for years under GOP control - Good for families

I didn't say that, but then again, you didn't say I said that, so let's move on. I was just mildly amused that they came in guns a-blazin' about how they're really gonna crack the whip and get things done, and less than one week in, they're taking a day off to watch football. Does this count against the first 100 hours?