Monday Stuff
I'll give Orrin points for honesty here, but not much else...
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...and I wanted to put this up one more time before the year ends.
"Thoughtful and rigorous debate might be the ultimate moral act." - Columnist Joan Ryan of the S.F. Chronicle
I'll give Orrin points for honesty here, but not much else...
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Not quite finishing up here, but close (Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, Part Seven is here, and I also posted here)...
A day before (HR 3200) passed out of committee, Stupak co-sponsored, and voted for an amendment written by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA)--distinct from the now notorious "Stupak amendment"--that would have limited the government's ability to include abortions in benefits plans to cases of incest, life of the mother, and forcible rape.It’s bad enough that Pitts would author an amendment limiting abortions in the case of rape, period. But that wasn’t good enough for Pancake Joe (and yes, Stupak signed onto it, which was bad enough, but Pitts originated it). No, Pitts somehow thought about this enough to decide there were somehow degrees of horror in rape itself, to the point where he decided that he should try to exclude “forcible” rape only and not bother with rape where, say, a guy slips something into the drink of a woman, she ingests it and passes out, and then he takes her somewhere and commits his criminal act. For this, Pitts earns a special citation (and any “Democrat” who actually voted for this amendment should be voted right out of office).
The Pitts amendment actually passed, 31-27, with the support of several Democrats and all Republicans. But the "forcible" language--legally significant--was a bridge too far.
In a parliamentary maneuver, chairman Henry Waxman actually voted "aye", according to a House aide, in order to retain the prerogative of bringing it up for a second, unsuccessful vote. Between votes, Waxman conferred with some of the bill's Democratic supporters to convince them to help shoot it down.
"My life is simple," he says. "It's hard to get out of bed, but eventually I do. I try and do a little walking on the treadmill. I take naps. I go to physical therapy once per week. I read my Bible."And by the way, the oh-so-mighty-and-august National Football League (and the players association under the late Gene Upshaw) definitely earn Dregs citations for their treatment of former stars such as Conrad Dobler (never thought I'd feel sorry for him in particular), Wally Chambers and Earl Campbell.
He is, in basic terms, a train wreck -- a football-inflicted train wreck. Pear walks with a cane and, often, simply doesn't walk at all. He suffers from vertigo and memory loss. Over the past 18 years, he has undergone eight surgeries, beginning with a Posterior Cervical Laminectomy on his neck in 1981, and including disc removal and rod fusion in his back (1987), arthroplasty in his left hip (2008) and, earlier this year, four screws removed from his lower back. Though he chalks up his physical ailments to snap after snap of punishment, he pinpoints the biggest problems back to 1979 and '80, his final two NFL seasons. While playing for Oakland, Pear suffered a herniated disc in his neck that never improved. Despite the unbearable agony, he says the Raiders urged him to keep playing.
“People have got to start connecting the dots here and maybe this is the thing that will connect the dots for the Obama administration”...Maybe it's a bit too much of a shock for Hoekstra to realize that he can't find someone else that he can use for purposes of sock puppetry (see Line, Joke), but as noted here, the Obama Administration has been pretty much focused on Yemen already and didn't need Hoekstra or anyone else to remind them about it.
Alan Grayson stands tall again in support of Brave New Films' "Rethink Afghanistan" campaign (more here)...
God bless our service people - here are some holiday greetings...
Actually, if PBS wanted to air a "tribute" to Commander Codpiece, I think the most appropriate programming they could schedule would be a test pattern for an hour to indicate what would have happened if Number 43's cabal had had its way and utterly defunded public television (and I think Wayne Slater is being waaay too kind to Glassman, IMHO)...
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I love the look on the faces of some of the Santas here (h/t The Daily Kos...ho, ho, ho)...
We're about 3/4s of the way there (Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, and Part Six is here)...Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Do Gooder of the Year NomineeThe St. Louis Rams (also worthy of rooting for them, even though they’re real bad, because they have ex-Eagle coach Steve Spagnuolo as their head coach) The San Francisco 49ers The Philadelphia Eagles (yep, despite the fact that they were cheapskates with Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and Sheldon Brown, though they were inexplicably generous to Michael Vick) The New England Patriots (despite the presence of Bill Belichick) The Buffalo Bills (despite the presence of T.O.) The Oakland Raiders
"These are Woodstock Democrats," (Ratzenberger) said at the rally. "We have to remember where their philosophy comes from. It doesn't come from America. It comes from overseas. It comes from socialism. And socialism is a philosophy of failure."So let this remove any doubt once and for all that Ratzenberger is truly the same obnoxious buffoon as his “Cheers” character.
As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week (and I also posted here).HouseHere is the press release from Patrick Murphy’s office explaining this vote, which was just flat-out bad as far as I’m concerned.
Jobs, benefits spending. Voting 217-212, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 2847) to provide $74 billion to create or preserve publicly funded jobs in areas such as education, law enforcement, school and housing repairs, and highway, airport, and mass-transit construction. The bill also would appropriate $79 billion to fund unemployment checks and COBRA health benefits for the long-term jobless and help states meet Medicaid obligations, among other social safety-net outlays.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.).
Voting no: John Adler (D., N.J.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).
2010 military appropriations. Voting 395-34, the House approved the conference report on a $636.3 billion fiscal 2010 military appropriations bill that includes $128.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $28.3 billion for service members' health care. The bill (HR 3326) funds a 3.4 percent military pay raise; caps production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet; funds C-17 cargo jets over Pentagon objections; and appropriates $15 billion for procuring seven Navy ships and $6.3 billion for buying 6,600 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) all-terrain vehicles.Wow, even Pancake Joe voted for it? Color me shocked!
A yes vote was to approve the conference report.
Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.
National debt limit. The House voted, 218-214, to raise the national debt limit by $290 billion to $12.39 trillion. Now awaiting Senate action, the bill (HR 4314) would extend Treasury borrowing authority until about Feb. 11, at which time Congress would vote again to raise the debt ceiling.The last thing in the world I want to do is give ammunition to the wingnuts running against Patrick, but at least Adler is consistently wrong in that he voted against the jobs bill and against raising the debt ceiling. I don’t see the point of opposing the jobs bill in the name of fiscal prudence while supporting an increase in the debt ceiling.
A yes vote was to raise the national debt ceiling.
Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden, Murphy, Schwartz, and Sestak.
Voting no: Adler, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.
SenateAs noted here, Lautenberg sponsored an amendment that competed with the amendment sponsored above by Sen. Byron Dorgan (Lautenberg’s amendment approved of importing the drugs provided they could be FDA certified), which actually garnered more votes than Dorgan’s, even though both fell short of the dreaded “60 votes needed for passage to prevent yet another Repug filibuster” scenario (I don’t think Lautenberg’s was necessary, to tell you the truth, but it only served as “a spanner in the works,” as they say, Big Pharma being REALLY big in NJ and all that).
Drug importation. Voting 51-48, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes needed to pass an amendment under which individuals and businesses could import U.S.-made, federally approved pharmaceuticals from Canada and other countries at retail costs much lower than in U.S. stores. This amendment was offered to a pending health-care bill (HR 3590).
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) said: "As much as we want to cut costs for consumers, we cannot afford to cut corners and risk exposing Americans to drugs that are ineffective or unsafe."
A yes vote backed drug importation.
Voting yes: Arlen Specter (D., Pa.).
Voting no: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).
Health-bill taxes. Voting 56-41, the Senate tabled (killed) a Republican bid to delay until 2014 the start of new taxes that would help pay for HR 3590 (above). While most of the bill's new programs and benefits would be delayed until 2014, its taxes would begin before then, some as early as 2010.This week, the House is in recess, and the Senate continues to debate health care, of course.
A yes vote was to kill the Republican motion.
Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.
Catchall 2010 budget. Voting 57-35, the Senate approved the conference report on a $447 billion catchall spending bill (HR 3288) for 2010 composed of six appropriations bills that Congress has failed to enact individually. Covering the budget year that began in October, the bill funds military construction projects; dozens of independent agencies in areas such as financial regulation and disaster relief; about 4,800 earmarks totaling $3.7 billion; and the budgets of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Commerce, State, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development. The bill also clears $650 billion in fiscal 2010 entitlement spending for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and veterans' benefits.
Sen. Ted Kaufman (D., Del.) said the bill takes "tremendously important steps toward creating a better and safer climate. More than $1.2 billion are intended to help us face the threats of climate change."
A yes vote was to send the bill to President Obama.
Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.
2010 military appropriations. Voting 88-10, the Senate sent President Obama the conference report on a $636.3 billion fiscal 2010 military appropriations bill that includes $128.3 billion for war in Iraq and Afghanistan and $28.3 billion for service members' health care.
A yes vote was to pass the conference report.
Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.
Kind of drifting into a holiday mode here without the usual political videos, though there is some stuff I want to get to before year-end (probably about three more "Do-Gooders And Dregs" posts, among other items).
Over at Irrational Spew Online, someone named Stephen Spruiell is crowing here over a defection from the U.S. House Democratic ranks, and that would be someone named Parker Griffith of Alabama who just announced that he would become a Repug.…that puts the Blue Dog scoreboard at:Not yet you don’t, unless, of course, Spruiell has difficulty counting beyond the number four (in that event, I believe Spruiell could purchase an educational aid of some type from Fisher Price).
Retirements: Dennis Moore, John Tanner, Bart Gordon, Brian Baird.
Defections: Parker Griffith.
We need a ticker to keep track of these.
109th (here):(Also, as noted here, Spruiell had an issue with K.O. referring to Obama’s predecessor as “Mr. Bush,” even though that “dastardly liberal” Bill Buckley did the same thing.)28 November 2005 - Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham - Republican - California CD 50 resigned, effective at close of business 1 December, from the U.S. House after pleading guilty to Federal charges involving bribes, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. 9 June 2006 - Congressman Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay - Republican - Texas CD 22 resigned. House Majority Leader DeLay was indicted on one count of criminal conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme by a Texas grand jury on 28 September 2005. House rules required him to relinquish his leadership position. Mr. Delay was renominated in the 7 March 2006 Texas Primary but withdrew his nomination 4 April and announced his intention to resign on 11 May. 29 September 2006 - Congressman Mark Foley - Republican - Florida CD 16 resigned and withdrew his candidacy from the General Election. Mr. Foley had received his party's nomination in the 5 September primary. 3 November 2006 - Robert "Bob" Ney - Republican - Ohio CD 18 resigned. He pleaded guilty on 13 October 2006 to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in the Jack Abramoff scandal.
110th (here):Dennis Hastert (resigned from the House; seat won by Dem Bill Foster) Richard Baker (resigned from the House; seat won by Dem Don Cazayoux) Tom Davis (resigned in advance of retirement)
111th (here):Mel Martinez (resigned from the Senate) George Voinovich (resigned from the Senate) Jim Bunning (resigned from the Senate) Sam Brownback (resigned from the Senate) “Kit” Bond (resigned from the Senate)
I'm too busy doing hallucinogenic drugs to look for political videos, so I'll just put up some holiday stuff here - first, something stirring and traditional...
As long as Philadelphia’s conservative house organ of record continues to give column space to one of Bushco’s most notorious enablers, then I and/or others will have no choice but to respond.…instead of fleeing Afghanistan, as many in the antiwar left hoped, Obama is sending an additional 30,000 troops. Instead of accelerating the drawdown of American forces in Iraq, Obama is keeping to the Bush timetable.Uh, no.
The problems began in early 2002, former Bush administration, United Nations and Afghan officials said, when the United States and its allies failed to take advantage of a sweeping desire among Afghans for help from foreign countries.And as noted here, as of March 2008, we had about 142,000 of our military deployed in Iraq, with about 31,000 deployed in Afghanistan. That tells you all you need to know about how Bushco failed to prioritize the conflict that truly mattered.
The Defense Department initially opposed a request by Colin L. Powell, then secretary of state, and Afghanistan's new leaders for a sizable peacekeeping force and deployed only 8,000 American troops, but purely in a combat role, officials said.
During the first 18 months after the invasion, the United States-led coalition deployed no peacekeepers outside Kabul, leaving the security of provinces like Helm and to local Afghans.
''Where the world, including the United States, came up short was on the security side,'' said Richard Haass, the former director of policy planning at the State Department. ''That was the mistake which I believe is coming back to haunt the United States now.''
The lack of security was just one element of a volatile mix. Twenty years of conflict had shattered government and social structures in Afghanistan, the world's fifth poorest country, where the average life expectancy is 43.
American officials said the country was more destitute than they had envisioned, yet the $909 million they provided in assistance in 2002 amounted to one-twentieth of the $20 billion allocated for postwar Iraq. Officials quintupled assistance to $4.8 billion by 2005, but then reduced it by 30 percent this year.
The Taliban leadership, meanwhile, found safe haven in neighboring Pakistan. And Robert Grenier, the C.I.A.'s former top counterterrorism official and Islamabad station chief, said Pakistani officials largely turned a blind eye to Taliban commanders, who later seeped back across the border.
Obama has rejected a British/Canadian-like single-payer reform and most policy makers are looking for a “uniquely American solution” that preserves the employer-sponsored system and creates a hybrid public-private partnership. In other words, American reforms would look a bit like the Swiss health system in which the government “leaves the provision of health care and health insurance in private hands” but creates a marketplace within which insurers can compete on price, and not avoid insuring the sickest patients.And this was written in April, while Ted Kennedy still drew breath and long before the public option and Medicare for All were drug into a Senate cloakroom somewhere and bludgeoned to death by the Repugs and their pals Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson, and of course Joe Lieberman, among others.
(Last March) the Obama Administration released a series of nine previously secret legal opinions crafted by the Office of Legal Counsel to enhance the presidential powers of George W. Bush. Perhaps the most astonishing of these memos was one crafted by University of California at Berkeley law professor John Yoo. He concluded that in wartime, the President was freed from the constraints of the Bill of Rights with respect to anything he chose to label as a counterterrorism operations inside the United States.After enduring another exercise in propaganda like this from Yoo, it would seem that the Inky never got the memo about the “good will towards men” that is commonly cited as an inspiration for our holiday celebrations. And the former Bushco stooge’s latest ramblings should be treated with the same seriousness we devote to tales of toy-making elves, jolly snowmen in silk hats, flying reindeer and sugar-plum fairies.
…
John Yoo’s Constitution is unlike any other I have ever seen. It seems to consist of one clause: appointing the President as commander-in-chief. The rest of the Constitution was apparently printed in disappearing ink.