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“With this budget failure – a first in the modern era – Democrats are missing a critical opportunity to provide the fiscal discipline economists say is needed to create private-sector jobs and boost our economy”...What Ryan was talking about was when the Congressional Dem leadership issued a “deeming resolution” that a budget had been passed in lieu of actually voting on the budget.
The phrase (or any variation of it, including Ryan’s) is being repeated verbatim by teabagger types, wherever you can stand to look.Looks like those evil bloggers in their bathrobes taking their hallucinogenic drugs and watching “School House Rock” have scooped our somnambulant corporate media again.
But is it true? Well, I suppose PolitiFact might say, "barely true."
Why? Well, because it's true that the House has never before failed to pass a budget and then deemed one passed instead.
But the Senate has. Four times. And all under Republican control. And as we all know, it couldn't make less of a difference whether the House alone did or didn't fail to pass a budget and then deem one passed. It matters only whether or not the Congress fails to pass a budget and then deems one passed.
And it has. As I said, four times. And again, all under Republican control.
With less than four months before his first midterm election, President Obama's lawsuit against Arizona's new illegal immigrant law is running against a strong tide of American support for the measure.Leave it to a “Republic” Party sympathizer like Malcolm to note that Obama’s lawsuit is supported by only 33 percent of those polled thus far; Gallup is pretty reliable I’ll admit, but I wasn’t able to determine how many of those polled were Hispanic. Also, for what it’s worth, while 33 percent support the suit and 50 percent oppose it, 17 percent of those polled had no opinion.
Acting through the Justice Department, the Democrat administration seeks an injunction to stop the state law, S.B. 1070, from taking effect on July 29 and allowing Arizona officials to enforce federal laws against illegal immigrants, nearly a half-million of whom are estimated to be in Arizona. The federal suit actually duplicates an earlier one filed by the ACLU and supported by the Mexican government.
is correct in his contention that the power to restrict, limit, regulate, and register aliens as a distinct group is not an equal and continuously existing concurrent power of state and nation, but that whatever power a state may have is subordinate to supreme national law.So really, what Obama is doing with the suit against Arizona’s “illegal to be brown” law is merely to try and enforce federal authority (and as far as advocating amnesty for illegals after they “pay a fine and wait in line”…well, it looks like a presidential predecessor of the opposing party beat him to it here).
HouseYet again, the Repugs (with the exception of Mike Castle, doing his best to position himself as a moderate for his Senate contest) just loves “the banksters.”
Financial regulations. Voting 237-192, the House approved the conference report on a bill (HR 4173) to impose new financial rules on Wall Street in hopes of preventing further U.S. economic meltdowns. The bill outlaws or regulates many of the reckless practices that led to the Great Recession's investment-bank failures, taxpayer bailouts, and epidemic of mortgage foreclosures.
A yes vote was to approve the conference report.
Voting yes: John Adler (D., N.J.), Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.).
Voting no: Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).
Afghanistan withdrawal. Voting 100-321, the House defeated an amendment to require the military funding in HR 4899…to be spent on orderly U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan instead of combat operations.I’m not really happy with anyone in this bunch who opposed funding the withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan (though maybe a percentage of the funding could have been voted on instead?), but I just wanted to say thanks to the 93 Dems who are trying to restore some sanity to our debate about what to do in the land where empires die (here…and I know some Repugs voted Yes also, but I’m not about to give Dana Rohrabacher credit for anything).
A yes vote backed withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Voting no: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.
Extended jobless benefits. Voting 270-153, the House passed a bill (HR 5618) to provide extended jobless benefits through November at a cost of $34 billion in deficit spending. Senate Republicans (below) blocked a similar bill. Both bills would immediately send checks to an estimated two million people whose eligibility for jobless benefits expired June 1 or later. Congress will revisit the issue after it returns July 12 from its current recess.This tells us that Lancaster County’s unemployment rate went up over the last year from 7.0 to 8.0 percent (and as always, to send Pitts packing, click here).
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.
Voting no: Pitts.
On June 28 I attended a protest rally on Mill Street in Bristol: Tea partiers vs. supporters of Congressman Patrick Murphy. What a joke!Yep - also...
Standing in front of Murphy's office were some very misinformed tea partiers. On the opposite side of the street were over 50 sign-holding Murphy supporters. The tea partiers were angry that Murphy was hosting a job fair.
Do we not need jobs? Do we not want to keep our homes?
All I have to say about those people yelling "We don't want socialism!" is hand over your Medicare cards.
Cynthia Genis
Middletown, PA
(Bristol, PA) – ON JULY 8, 2010 Pennsylvania Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-8th District) hosted an Economic Forum to discuss efforts to revitalize the local economy. He was joined by panelists with extensive experience in the trade and manufacturing sectors to talk about what is being done to protect American jobs and rebuild the manufacturing base in Bucks County.To reward our congressman’s good behavior, click here.
“American families have been put through the wringer,” said Congressman Murphy. “We need to get our economy back on track by building things in America again.”
In his remarks, the Congressman laid out his economic priorities, which include fighting against trade deals that ship American jobs overseas and working to close tax loopholes that encourage job outsourcing. He noted that failed economic policies and ill-conceived trade agreements have dealt a heavy blow to the manufacturing sectors in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Bucks County alone lost 35% of its manufacturing base –15,000 jobs – over the last 30 years.
The Congressman also discussed incentives for manufacturing he has championed, including tax credits for companies to invest in clean energy technology. Gamesa USA, a Fairless Hills company that manufactures turbines used in wind energy, qualified for a $2 million tax credit to create green energy jobs in Bucks County.
One of the panelists, Mike Russo, is President of the United Steelworkers of America Local 4889 and represents the employees at the Gamesa site. As a former US Steel employee, Russo witnessed firsthand the impact of the manufacturing giant’s collapse in Bucks County. Families who were once securely rooted in the middle-class suddenly faced the possibility of losing everything they’d worked for. Russo discussed how continuing to bring new American manufacturing jobs to the region is key to revitalizing the local economy.
“Working families in our area have had it tough, especially those of us who used to work in the steel industry,” said Russo. “The fact is, the future lies in clean energy and we’ve been proud to work with Patrick Murphy to bring those jobs here to Bucks County and put people back to work.”
Other panelists included Jim Horan, president of local clean energy company Y-Carbon, and Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, who laid out a blueprint for protecting American jobs and what investments need to be made to revitalize the American manufacturing sector.
Ban tofu and the New York Times letters section will light up with outrage.Ha, ha, ha.
Tofu is (a) good source of protein. Also, it is a (remarkable) source of calcium, zinc, vitamin B and iron. Countless researches (sic), clinical trials and laboratory investigations have demonstrated the wonderful advantages of consuming soy and soy products.And that’s something that at least some of Goldberg’s audience should consider, given this item which tells us that “more than 30 percent of the South is obese.”
The health benefits of tofu are numerous and far-reaching, the chief benefits being protection against cancer and averting cardiovascular disorders.
Dr. Berwick’s major credential for the job is that he leads the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a consulting group that promotes measures to improve the quality and safety of health care while reducing its costs. He has been enormously successful at getting health care professionals and institutions to work together to reform their practices — exactly what the agency needs.Of course, the recess appointment by Obama has met with the typical right-wing umbrage over Dr. Berwick's past praise about "socialized medzin'," as noted in this Hill article with the odious Max Baucus joining the opposition chorus (considering that Baucus did his best to derail health care reform by trying to suck the life out of it before it emerged from his Senate Finance Committee, he really has no room to talk about health care reform, or much of anything else for that matter).
His appointment is backed by the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and scores of other health organizations and patient advocacy groups. He has been endorsed by three predecessors who held the same job in Republican administrations.
Congressman Patrick Murphy and candidate Mike Fitzpatrick agree on one thing: Arizona has the right to protect its border with Mexico since the federal government has failed to do so.This is disappointing, but not surprising, as is the claim from Fitzpatrick that "the current administration has defunded chief operations of our border security."
…the House last week passed the fiscal year 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill, which includes $700 million in border security funds, including $50 million to deploy National Guard troops to the border states.Oh, and by the way, I have a message for “Dems” Ann Kirkpatrick, Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords; STFU. As I noted here a couple of days ago…
The Obama Administration has exceeded Bush Administration efforts on border control. Last year saw the highest number of people ever deported: 387,790, up from 116,782 in 2001 and 349,041 in 2008. Thus far this year, some 185,887 people have been deported, a record pace that, if maintained, will nearly double the number of deportations in 2010 to 604,133. The Administration has also doubled the number of agents assigned to the Border Enforcement Security Task Force and tripled intelligence analysts along the Southwest border.I realize that it’s not good short-term politics for a Dem to attack the “illegal to be brown” law in Arizona and advocate a path to citizenship for illegals (pay a fine, get in line – makes sense to me), but I’m sorry – Patrick Murphy really should know better here.
As the Justice Department points out in its complaint, the Arizona law will divert resources from the government’s pursuit of dangerous aliens, including terrorists, spies and violent criminals. It will harass authorized immigrants, visitors and citizens who might not be carrying their papers when stopped by the police. It will ignore the country’s cherished protections of asylum and will interfere with national foreign policy interests. (Already several Mexican governors are refusing to meet with their American counterparts in Arizona, a sign of the diplomatic disarray produced by the law.)We do not have comprehensive immigration reform in this country because of Republican obstruction, pure and simple (goaded on by right-wing hate radio). That is so even though Obama’s predecessor supported a policy of not prosecuting illegals for violating immigration law, and instead receiving eligibility to apply for "green cards" and eventual U.S. citizenship without penalty if U.S. employers are willing to give them jobs (here).
The courts have repeatedly made these fundamental ideas clear. A federal court in 1997 struck down Proposition 187 in California, which would have denied social benefits to illegal immigrants and turned state employees into enforcement agents because it was pre-empted by federal authority. (Appeals in the case were dropped.) The Supreme Court has said federal authority can pre-empt state law when the federal interest is dominant and where there already exists a system of federal regulations. The government has done a poor job enforcing its immigration rules, to say the least, but they do exist, and clearly fall under what the Constitution calls “the supreme law of the land.”
Visitors climbed a steep staircase here the other day and crowded into a second-floor apartment-turned-museum. This was the simple bedroom where Ronald Reagan’s mother gave birth to him.Geez, when I refer to him as “The Sainted Ronnie R,” I’m only kidding, but it seems these people are serious (by the way, you may have to click on the "Gipper" icon in the upper right corner of the page to read the story).
Here was the neighbors’ window he was handed through when the Reagans needed a baby sitter. Out another window, across Main Street in this western Illinois village of 800, was the store where the future president’s father sold shoes.
For all but the most studious Reagan followers, though, there comes a moment of confusion. Was he truly from here or was he from Dixon (a city 30 minutes away and almost 20 times as big)?
…
“People go to Dixon first” (where Reagan spent his “formative years” hating Democrats I’m sure, a party to which he was once a member – ed.) acknowledged Joan Johnson, volunteer coordinator of the Tampico museum. “It’s not as far off the beaten path.” When Ms. Johnson gets caught up in the Tampico-Dixon question, she said others calm her with a reminder: “This is Bethlehem. That is Nazareth.”
Those of us frustrated by perpetual inaction on immigration reform were reminded yesterday that President Obama was elected president, not king. Despite his every effort to deliver a federal fix to our broken immigration system, the president cannot act alone.Where indeed, particularly since Huckleberry Graham decided to pick up his toys and go home; as noted here by Politico…
The smart, workable reform plan laid out by the president would target the bad actors that profit off of our broken immigration system, restore the rule of law, and move us forward together. But despite months of outreach by the president and Democrat lawmakers, where on earth are the Republicans?
(Senate Majority Leader Harry) Reid suggested he would push an immigration bill ahead of comprehensive energy legislation, a schedule Reid has now agreed to reverse. But Graham has said he will not back a bill this year — a move designed in part to help protect Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is facing a tough Republican primary.The policy behind Graham’s move is ridiculous, but the politics have a certain lunatic logic to them, with Graham trying position himself ever rightward with McCain in AZ, particularly since the Obama DOJ has made good on its promise to challenge that state’s “illegal to be brown” law here.
The Obama Administration has exceeded Bush Administration efforts on border control. Last year saw the highest number of people ever deported: 387,790, up from 116,782 in 2001 and 349,041 in 2008. Thus far this year, some 185,887 people have been deported, a record pace that, if maintained, will nearly double the number of deportations in 2010 to 604,133. The Administration has also doubled the number of agents assigned to the Border Enforcement Security Task Force and tripled intelligence analysts along the Southwest border.The Time article by Jay Newton-Small also tells us what has happened to the 23 Repug senators, including “Straight Talk” McCain, who supported reform in ’06 (hence his rightward shift due to his primary challenge from J.D. Hayworth alluded to above).
In fact…some immigrant-rights groups, already peeved at the lack of action on comprehensive reform, are calling for a boycott in the 2010 elections. It is a powerful threat. Latino voters are credited with helping Obama flip red states in the 2008 elections, including Florida, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico. And Democratic candidates in close races in those states and in California, Texas and Arizona are hoping for similar high levels of Hispanic turnout as Dems look at potentially losing more than 30 House seats.
...and it's going to be a hot one in these parts for a little while - just be safe and check up on anyone you know who may be infirm, a shut-in, elderly, etc.
