Tag: Washington

Happy 4th Of July

Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence….we have BBQs, fireworks, beer and family fun….FYI, not the actual day of the signing…..

I have one of the founding fathers, in my opinion the only father, to thank for my life……many, many, many years ago I read the words of Thomas Paine….one of his quotes stuck with me and I have tried to live up to them….”is the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm and whose conscience approves his conduct will pursue his principles unto death”……..I try!

This will be my only post today for I am spending it with my granddaughter…..

Did you know that there are people living in this country that do not have proper representation in Congress….I know the way the Congress is these days…do any of us have representation?

That joke aside….the people of the nation’s capital only have an observer in Congress…..but there is the possibility that that will change soon……

America could have a new state called New Columbia by this time next year if voters in Washington, DC, choose statehood this fall and Congress allows it. The name—first chosen during a statehood bid in 1982—was approved this week by a statehood commission that included Mayor Muriel Bowser and Paul Strauss, who is one of DC’s two “shadow senators,” reports the Washington Post. Strauss admitted that he isn’t a “super fan” of the name. “We decided to keep what had been part of the statehood legacy since 1982,” he said. “If the voters of the new state want to change it, that’s going to be a great thing they can do as a free state.”

Runner-up names at the 1982 statehood convention included Potomac, Anacostia, Capital State, and the State of Utopia. The Washingtonian reports that at the statehood commission meeting this week, there was applause when DC resident Travis Swanson said the US has “sugarcoated the history of Christopher Columbus” and he doesn’t deserve to be honored with a star on the American flag. Swanson suggested the state name “Douglass Commonwealth,” which would honor anti-slavery leader Frederick Douglass and allow DC to remain DC. (President Obama says he supports DC statehood.)

Now that you are caught up with the news of the day…please go out and enjoy yourself and your family…..I will return tomorrow and start my regular posting schedule….thanx for visiting.

They’re Baaaaaaaaaack! (Again….And Again….And…..)

After about 2 weeks of quiet…the time has come for the good thing to come to an end…..yesterday the new Congress, #112, were sworn in and they begin to work…….with all that hot air the temps in Washington should get warmer, if nothing else…….

It is official…..they have been sworn in…..and now the same crap begins again…….the theater of the absurd…….They raised their hands and promised to protect the Constitution and then tomorrow they will be told what the Constitution consist of in substance…yes…they will be read the Constitution on Thursday…I would think that a guardian of the Constitution should already be aware of what it contains and what it has to say….but then I believe in Santa Claus (for my conserv friends…that is called sarcasm)……

While the Dems were working on health care and reform…the Repubs were screaming about jobs and jobs creation….but that was the 111th Congress….and now with the new Congress and new faces in charge the Repubs are screaming about health care and the Dems are yelling…jobs…jobs…jobs…..the more things change, the more they remain the same……

God!  I love this stuff!

Remember the election of 2010?  The GOP used the economy, jobs and austerity in government as their message…please tell me the pea brains recall that…..but what happens when they trot into Washington in power?

on the eve of taking it over, a dozen freshman Republicans are throwing a lavish DC fundraiser headlined by LeAnn Rimes. For $2,500, Politico reports that lobbyists, PAC managers, and others will be able to hobnob with lawmakers at the swanky W Hotel, with the highest rollers paying $50,000 for access to the hotel’s “VIP suite.

Looks like the newly empowered are saying screw populism…you know that idea that carried them to victory in November?  And it does not end there…oh no…it gets better…..

THIS FROM TALKING POINTS MEMO……

Republicans’ deficit reduction platform, which may have helped catapult them into the majority, is about to run headlong into a hard reality: Many of their key policy goals will increase the deficit dramatically.

To get around this fact, they’ve included measures in their new rules package to exempt some of their biggest legislative priorities from deficit consideration. Among the exceptions, which the House is likely to consider in the 112th Congress, are the health care repeal bill (scheduled for a vote a week from Wednesday), the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, an AMT patch, extending the estate tax, and more.

You can read more about the health care repeal side of this here. And more about the GOP’s Calvinball rules here.

Austerity?  Did you really think you would get the same message once they were elected?  If so, then YOU are more stupid than I gave you credit!

There it is …your New Year’s gift from the GOP….a good and thorough f*cking…..and I LOVE IT!

The Life Of A “Claims Czar”

Inkwell Institute

Oil Spill Series

Look under any rock in Washington and you will find a “czar” of some sorts…..a czar is the cute name given to anyone that heads a program for the government….an education czar, auto bailout czar, intel czar….on and on…..you get the idea (i am a bit presumptuous here)…..but you will get it, eventually…..appointing a “czar” does NOTHING to solve the problem, more matter what the problem is…..

By now we all are aware of the problems in the Gulf and the clean-up that is in progress…..okay, BP owes a ton of cash for their ownership of the massive opil spill now in progress….how will we be sure that the bills are paid?  Obama has done what ALL recent presidents have done…….he appointed a czar….a “Claims Czar”…..

And his name forevermore will be known as Kenneth Feinberg……

But what do we know about the Decepticon known as Kenneth Feinberg?

Tom Eley has a good piece on the new czar……

The career of “claims czar” Kenneth Feinberg leaves little doubt that the escrow account set up by the Obama administration to compensate victims of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil blowout will have as its overriding aim the defense of the oil giant’s profitability.

Feinberg’s task has been to present the image of objectivity and concern while pursuing the interests of the state and big corporations.

In a number of high-profile disputes since the 1980s, Feinberg has repeatedly proven himself a reliable “fixer” for the ruling class:

Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation

A class action lawsuit was gaining steam against Agent Orange’s manufacturers when Feinberg was brought in to resolve the case. Within six weeks, he had ended the eight-year-old lawsuit by establishing a $180 million fund, a small amount for Agent Orange’s producers, the chemical giants Dow and Monsanto. For his labors Feinberg was paid $800,000. Affected veterans were given $1,200 in exchange for disavowing their right to litigate.

The Dalkon Shield case

Feinberg was appointed Trustee of the victim compensation fund for Dalkon Shield, a notorious birth control device that manufacturer A. H. Robins sold in the 1970s in spite of evidence that it caused serious injury among women.

It was established that A. H. Robins knew of the dangers to women’s health, but suppressed the information, even destroying evidence. In 1985 A. H. Robins filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to protect itself from Dalkon Shield litigation. A trust fund was established, overseen by Feinberg, by which injured women forfeited their right to go to court and a cap was set on company liability.

While Feinberg’s trust gave most women $725 or less.

September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

Appointed by Bush administration Attorney General John Ashcroft, Feinberg’s assignment was only secondarily to limit damages to the federal government and the airlines. This time the primary purpose was political—to avoid lawsuits that might bring to light uncomfortable truths about the Bush administration’s role in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks and what the preponderance of evidence suggests was an ordered stand down of the US military-intelligence apparatus.

Signing up for the fund meant that families would forgo the right to sue.

The list shows that if the people effected by the Gulf oil spill are expecting justice then they are sadly mislead.  All the twitter about every dime owed for the clean-up is just what I have said from day one…….hollow promise that will not ever see the light of day…..sorry to say……

People….People….People……SCOTUS let Exxon off the hook for the Valdez incident and if you think that BP will pay all that is owed then you are delusional!

Are Lobbyists Running Scared?

We have all heard the horror stories of the power that lobbyists have in Washington…they represent every industry and spend oodles of money with lawmakers…but is there anything that can be done?

Lobbyists have been furiously lobbying the Obama White House to oppose restrictions on their ability to lobby.

The kafuffle began on September 23 when special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform Norm Eisen wrote that “the White House has informed executive agencies and departments that it is our aspiration that federally-registered lobbyists not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions.”

How many Industry Trade Advisory Committees — ITACs — are there?

The Washington Post says the system of these committees is “so vast that federal officials don’t have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people.”

Sixteen lobbyists who chair ITACs — including executives from Boeing, Harley-Davidson, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, Fanwood Chemical Inc., IBM and others — wrote to the president to protest the decision.

In another letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the lobbyists said that a “quick review of the impact of this new policy suggests that dozens of the most active — and most knowledgeable — Committee members who generate many of the documents needed by the Committee and our trade negotiators will be dismissed once the new charter term begins. This occurs because individuals who specialize in trade policy matters in their particular sectors often find that such specialization and expertise pushes them above the 20 percent lobbying activity threshold that triggers registration under the Lobbying Disclosure Act” or LDA.

“We explained to the ITAC chairs that this issue is not about the few corrupt lobbyists or specific abuses by the profession, but rather concerns the system as a whole. For too long, lobbyists and those who can afford their services have held disproportionate influence over national policy making… we decided that while lobbyists have a right to petition the government, it would best serve the interests of a fairer and more representative democracy if we limited their ability to do so from special positions of privileged access within the government. The result will be a Washington that is more reflective of all of America.”

These people have way too much pull on the Hill and with the President….somehow and somewhere limits have to be formed…….second only to Wall Street is the lobbyists, garnering much hate from the people of the country….

Personally, I like the idea that a Congress person can NOT become a lobbyists for at least 5 years after leaving the public trough……

What Is That Sucking Sound?

Dunno?  It is coming out of Washington.  Want some help?  It is the GOP!

Susan Estrich of http://www.creators.com wrote:

The Republicans in Congress are irrelevant — either because, in the smallest number, they go along with the Democrats, or because they just say no and lose. Either way, they’re part of the problem and not a place to find an answer. Lately, most of the Republican talking heads I see are so busy trying to figure out whether Rush Limbaugh is or is not their leader that they lose any claim to being leaders themselves.

Not one of the Repubs have anything to offer as an alternative to the Dem agenda.  All I have seen and heard are from memos sent out with their daily talking points and they all stick to them like good little puppies.  My fav is their new talking point that the recession be renamed the “Pelosi Recession”.

The conservative Dems are doing a better job at opposing the prez than the GOP.  But beyond that, where were the concerns with spending when GW was throwing money away like a drunken sailor in Sinapore?  They are just , as usual, playing politics.  They have NOTHING to offer the people as an alternative to the economic situation the country is facing.  The best they can do is to just say NO to everything Democratic.

If Washington is a circus, then GOP the Clown is the main attraction, for now.

How Did The Economy Sneak Up On Us?

It did not sneak….it was a long time coming and had many warning signs and causes.  One of the seers was former GAO comptroller David Walker.

For too long the airwaves have been full of political rhetoric…no one wants to talk about what the problem really is…….procrastination.

The President and the Congress are to blame!

What they don’t talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it.

There’s a good reason politicians don’t like to talk about the nation’s long-term fiscal prospects. The subject is short on political theatrics and long on complicated economics, scary graphs and very big numbers. It reveals serious problems and offers no easy solutions. Anybody who wanted to deal with it seriously would have to talk about raising taxes and cutting benefits, nasty nostrums that might doom any candidate who prescribed them.

You see Walker told the Congress of the coming problems if they did not start looking at a long term solution and that was not acceptable to them.  You see, that would not be good for their re-election campaigns…to tell the voter the truth.  All concerned are always looking for short term solutions and avoiding the inevitable.

And that Irene, is how we got in this pickle that we are trying fix.  Cowards, always afraid of the future and concerned with their own little menial problems while the country drowns in the sea of BS.

Wait! The Palin–Palooza

I thought it was about all of her 15 minutes with her PAc….I was WRONG!   I forgot about her trying to negotiate a book deal with a high prced attorney, the same one that Obama used….the deal has been said to be around $11 million in the asking…my question is…what has she said that we have not heard?

Yes, you got it…there is even more…….remember during the Palin/McCain campaign just how much she hated and bad mouthed the political elites of Washington?  Her distaste for them left no doubt in anyone who supported her mind……..(a moment for reflection)….well Sarah will be in Washington at a Dinner of Washington elites,  the Alfalfa Club,  some of the other guest maybe McCain who she has not been too kind to and quiet possibly the present president who she basically called a country hating terrorist.  The Alfalfa Club is a dinner of about 200 of the wealthy elite of Washington, seems odd that someone who says these people are not anyone to be trusted would be at such a function but then she is a Repub and they are noted for their deceptions.

Oughta be an interesting dinner, huh?

When asked about her new PAC she said:

Does the PAC mean she’s running for president?

“No, not at all, not at all, no. It’s helpful to have a PAC so that when I’m invited to things even like to speak at the Lincoln Day dinner in Fairbanks, to have a PAC pay for that instead of have the state pay for that because that could be considered quasi-political.

“Other governors in the past they all had a fund to be able to travel for things like that. I do not. But now we’ll have an available source of funds so that we’re not coming close to any ethical line to be crossed in terms of travel or participation in events that will help Alaska but could be seen perhaps as not worthy of state funding.”

Uh huh and it will be Palin/Limbaugh in 2012….whatcha think?  Silly right?  Not so much.  I have been watching and writing politics for a long long time and when the Repubs run a moderate candidate and lose the party runs to the far right for the next election…it did so with Reagan and then GW …just a couple of the most recent ones…if the trend holds then Palin is certainly in the running for 2012.  Gotcha thinkin’,  huh?

Plight Of The American Worker–Part 2

Concessions From The American Worker.

Just days after the Bush administration approved federal loans totaling $17.4 billion to stave off the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler, the United Autoworkers union is set to begin talks with the automakers to impose the wage and benefit concessions demanded by the government.

Under the terms of the bailout, an agreement for such concessions must be in hand by March 31, 2009 or the government can revoke the loans, throwing the automakers into bankruptcy.

According to the plan drawn up by the US Treasury Department, by December 31, 2009 the total compensation, including wages and benefits, of autoworkers at Detroit’s Big Three companies must be “competitive” with those of non-union workers at US plants operated by Nissan, Toyota and Honda.

The government is also demanding the “elimination of the payment of any compensation or benefits to workers who have been fired, laid off, furloughed or idled, other than customary severance pay.” This measure, which includes the elimination of the jobs bank program, already agreed to by the UAW, will deprive the tens of thousands of workers who lose their jobs in the downsizing of the industry of any significant income protection. The language suggests that, in addition to the jobs bank, UAW workers will be stripped of supplemental unemployment benefits.

In the restructuring plan GM submitted to Congress, the company announced plans to eliminate 31,500 jobs and close two dozen factories.

Finally, the UAW will have to accept shares of stock as payment for half of what the auto companies owe to the $50 billion retiree health care trust fund controlled by the union, known as the VEBA. Credit Suisse and Moody’s on Monday further downgraded GM stock, which has fallen from $43 to $3.52 a share over the last two years. A Credit Suisse analyst said in a report, “It will become increasingly clear that the enormous sacrifice of value on the part of the union (upwards of $10 billion) and bondholders (about $24 billion) will require the complete or near-complete elimination of the existing GM equity.”

WORKERS:  Read this closely!  If it is successful then ALL workers will be suffering at the hands of the corporations with the backing of the government.

McCain Wants To Green Up Washington

In a speech in Santa Barbara, Calif., McCain (R-Ariz.) vowed to “put the purchasing power of the United States government on the side of green technology” by buying fuel-efficient vehicles for its civilian fleet of cars and trucks and by retrofitting federal office space. The pledge comes months after Obama (D-Ill.) outlined a more detailed and ambitious proposal on the subject, virtually ensuring that the next administration will take significant steps to lower the government’s output of energy and pollution.

A greening of the government would probably have a major impact on the Washington region, as the modernizing of buildings would spark a mini-construction boom and ease energy demands. Cleaner vehicles would also reduce harmful auto emissions, environmentalists say.

Saying that the U.S. government ranks as “the single largest consumer of electricity in the world” because it holds sway over “3.3 billion square feet of federal office space” worldwide, McCain said he plans to reduce the government’s carbon footprint by updating its buildings and demanding better standards in new ones.

“By retrofitting where possible, and by applying a higher efficiency standard to new buildings leased or purchased, we can save taxpayers billions of dollars in energy costs and move the market in the direction of green technology,” he said.

McCain did not provide details about his plan, causing some public watchdog and environmental groups to question how much energy would be saved.

As with most proposals by politicians specifics are few and far between.  It is a grand plan, but how will he pay for this proposal?

Change Is Coming

This is an email that I got from a very good friend and reader.

CHANGE IS COMING!

The buzzword of this election is ‘CHANGE.’ Candidates toss it around without saying what they want to change to. Just that we need…..CHANGE!

This brings to mind the following illustration.

Years ago, there was an old tale in the Marine Corps about a major who inspected his Marines and told the Gunny Sergeant that they smelled bad.  The major suggested that they change their underwear.

The Gunny responded, ‘Aye, aye, sir. I’ll see to it immediately.’

He went into the tent and said, ‘The major thinks you guys smell bad, and he wants you to change your underwear. Smith, you change with Jones, McCarthy, you change with Witkowskie, Brown, you change with Schultz….everyone change, now get on with it’

And the moral of this story is:
A candidate may promise change in Washington…but the stink remains!