Tag: Legislation

Infrastructure Update

WE have a deal on the infrastructure bill…..it will take om our rail system, roads and bridges, and climate change and that is where I want to pick up this post.

Granted we need to bring our rail, roads and bridges into the 21st century….but this bill offers very spurious solution to the climate problem…..

…

publication of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report whose findings United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called “a code red for humanity,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said in a statement that the infrastructure bill does not adequately fund measures to address the climate emergency.

“Not even close,” he said. “Though it includes important investments in hard infrastructure like our roads and bridges, it vastly underfunds public transit, [electrical vehicle], and grid infrastructure.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/10/bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-rebuked-funding-false-climate-solutions

To get bi-partisan support the good parts of the bill have been gutted to make the concern for the climate just words not action.

I agree with those that state that polluters need to pay for their part in the destruction of the climate…..

Amid unrelenting heatwaves, droughts, fires, and floods, congressional Democrats are seeking to tax roughly two dozen oil, gas, and coal corporations to ensure that the carbon polluters most responsible for the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency pay for some of the destruction.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that a draft bill from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) “directs the Treasury Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to identify the companies that released the most greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from 2000 to 2019 and assess a fee based on the amounts they emitted.”

Van Hollen estimates that the legislation could raise up to $500 billion over the next decade, with the biggest polluters facing annual bills of $6 billion over 10 years. The funds would be used to pay for renewable energy research and development as well as to assist communities in responding to and preparing for extreme weather disasters that climate scientists say are increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity due to planet-warming emissions.

“It’s based on a simple but powerful idea that polluters should pay to help clean up the mess they caused, and that those who polluted the most should pay the most,” Van Hollen told the Times. “Those who have profited the most should help now pay the damages that they’ve already caused.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/04/polluters-should-pay-draft-bill-could-raise-half-trillion-big-oils-climate-wreckers

Keep it simple, stupid!

You pollute you pay.

It is not rocket science….just good solutions.

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“lego ergo scribo”

“A Huge Victory”

That is how the MSM is selling the ‘bi-partisan’ deal to move forward with the work on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in the Senate.

Before I give my thoughts on this groundbreaking deal…..

Senators of both parties voted Wednesday night to get started on President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The 67-32 vote puts the Senate on schedule to begin debate on the package this week, the Washington Post reports, a full month after Biden had announced that a deal had been reached. “We are prepared to move forward,” lead GOP negotiator Sen. Rob Portman said Wednesday before the vote, per CNBC, but after a few big issues had been resolved. Democratic negotiator Sen. Kyrsten Sinema also said earlier in the day that most of the bill’s text had been completed. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised that the Senate will pass the bipartisan bill before the August recess, Politico reports.

Wednesday’s test vote does not necessarily mean the Senate will approve the package in the end, per the AP. Passing the deal will require the support of all 50 Democratic senators and at least 10 Republicans. Portman announced the deal alongside four other GOP negotiators, but it’s not clear how many other Republicans will vote for the plan. Sources tell the AP that at a closed-door lunch Tuesday, some GOP senators spoke in favor of the plan while others argued against doing anything that would clear the way for Biden’s wider $3.5 billion “human infrastructure plan,” which would expand social services. Although cost is an issue, many senators have projects they want to add to the infrastructure package. “It’s very popular,” Portman said.

As I stated the MSM is all over this ‘deal’ as some sort of indication that the Trump support is waning….I disagree.

I believe that since infrastructure is wildly popular with the voter this is just an attempt to garner votes for the 2022 election.

Senators will use this ‘deal’ in their campaigns….but Trump still has their hearts and butts.

It is a political decision for votes not what is best or needed by this country.

Ask yourself why now?

I do hope that I am wrong….but I seriously doubt it.

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“lego ergo scribo”

‘Hallelujah Amen America Is Best Ever Hawk Eagle Patriot Apple Pie Act.’

Or as the official name of the bill, Love America Act, should be changed to the above title.

This bill has been introduced by Missouri’s insurrectionist, Josh Hawley……and his attempt to stop the teaching of the Critical Race Theory…..in other words an attempt to re-write history…revisionism at its best.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is the latest conservative politician to take the culture wars to the schools. On Thursday, Hawley announced that he will introduce a bill that bans critical race theory and requires schools to teach kids about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. Schools that violate the “Love America Act” will lose federal funding.

“The Left wants to teach our kids that America is systemically racist. That’s false and it’s meant to divide. It’s time to replace lies with the truth!” Hawley tweeted. “Let’s teach our kids what unites us as Americans – what we love together. Let’s teach them the truth,” he added.

The internet is not here for it. The Love America Act was widely panned online, in part because schools already teach about the nation’s founding (some might say exhaustively). And partly because primary schools do not teach critical race theory, an academic theory that examines United States law and history through a lens that includes the influence of slavery and systemic racism. It’s mostly taught at law schools and universities.

Conservatives have nevertheless made critical race theory, often abbreviated to simply “CRT,” a primary front in their war against what they view as excessive wokeness. In their view, it’s racist to teach about racism.

The Love America Act is among more than a dozen pieces of legislation targeting critical race theory in schools at the state level, NBC News reports.

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/josh-hawley-love-america-act-mocked/

Keep in mind that Hawley was one of the Congresspeople that basically cheered on the insurrection of 06 January…

Like the rest of the GOP they hate the Constitution and what it stands for…..and will work to misinform our children at every opportunity.

These types of slugs need to be removed from all positions of influence….

All history needs to be taught……the good, the bad and especially the ugly.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A State With A Great Idea!

It is no secret to the readers and visitors to IST that I am an antiwar activist and have been since the 1970s…….and finally some small movement on the state level is a great idea…..

The state in question here is Montana which has recently passed an antiwar legislation….

The Montana state legislature overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan and unprecedented resolution Tuesday calling on the federal government to end endless wars. The resolution passed 95-3 in the House and 47-2 in the Senate.

House Joint Resolution 9, sponsored by Rep. Ron Marshall (R-Hamilton), is the first of its kind to be introduced by any state and is currently being used as a model for other states across the country.

The resolution specifically urges President Joe Biden and the United States Congress to “end the endless war in Afghanistan,” repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, resist sending U.S. troops into combat without a declaration of war from Congress or specific authorization to do so, and to “execute a prudent foreign policy.”

Concerned Veterans for America, a veteran-run organization, endorsed the resolution and plans on utilizing it at the national level. The organization’s Deputy Director Russ Duerstine said in a statement that “the passing of the Endless War resolution is a firm statement—a strong message on behalf of Montanans that there is a better way than continuing to fight endless wars.”

Montana Becomes First State To Pass Resolution Against Unconstitutional Wars

Like I stated….a great idea!  Now time for the rest of the country to join in and help stop these endless wars and endless confrontations that could lead to war.

Will this help wake up the antiwar movement?

The push back should be something to see…..

Bravo for Montana!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Chamber Of Commerce Voter Suppression

There has been a wealth of citizens that have come out in favor of the voting rights bill in Congress, HR1, and yet as popular as it may be the corporations are in opposition…..but why would they care?

The Chamber of Commerce has issued a strong letter of opposition…..

This is the letter the Chamber has issued…..these are the points that they take exception with….

There are many other aspects of H.R. 1 that are extremely problematic. To highlight just a few:

  • H.R. 1 would fundamentally transform the FEC from a non-partisan agency comprised of three commissioners from each party into an overtly partisan enforcement tool controlled by a majority of commissioners from the political party then in power.
  • H.R. 1 would deem communication by corporations, including associations, to be “coordinated” and thereby prohibited if the organization has even the most innocuous and tenuous of connections with a candidate. For example, a meeting with an elected official to discuss a policy issue, an organizational employee who was previously employed by the elected official or candidate in any capacity, or a common vendor with a candidate would all have the practical effect of prohibiting corporations, including associations, from engaging in the political process.
  • H.R. 1 would also usher in a host of onerous disclaimer requirements for those engaging in communications that mention a candidate or elected official, even if those communications are related to legislative issues.
  • H.R. 1 would give taxpayer funds to political campaigns by allowing Americans to opt-into having their political donations matched by the federal government. Taxpayer money should be used to support projects like infrastructure initiatives and education programs and not political campaigns.

https://www.uschamber.com/letters-congress/us-chamber-key-vote-letter-opposing-hr-1-the-people-act

HR1 includes these points…..

This bill addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government.

Specifically, the bill expands voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It also limits removing voters from voter rolls.

The bill requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to carry out congressional redistricting.

Additionally, the bill sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.

Further, the bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices.

The bill addresses ethics in all three branches of government, including by requiring a code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices, prohibiting Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, and establishing additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.

The bill requires the President, the Vice President, and certain candidates for those offices to disclose 10 years of tax returns.

If you are a political geek and would like to read the bill for yourself before you comment then here is the pdf for you to read…..all 791 pages!

Click to access BILLS-117hr1ih.pdf

Interesting that the most opposition comes from corporate America and its paid goons in Congress.

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“lego ergo scribo”

That Scary Infrastructure Bill

Pres. Biden has introduced a massive infrastructure bill that comes with a price tag of about $2 trillion….I like the idea for it is long been needed to help this nation move forward after being stuck in stagnation for decades.

Believe it or not….even with the huge price tag…..is wildly popular with the American people.

A new survey shows that “every major aspect” of the Democratic president’s plan to rebuild the country has majority support, regardless of party affiliation.

A new poll released Tuesday shows that a large, bipartisan majority of voters in the United States supports President Joe Biden’s proposal to spend $2.25 trillion over eight years to upgrade the nation’s physical and social infrastructure.

The survey (pdf), conducted by Invest in America and Data for Progress, found that voters support Biden’s American Job Plan by a 52 point margin, with 73% of all voters in favor and only 21% opposed.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/04/06/73-us-voters-including-57-republicans-back-bidens-225-trillion-infrastructure-plan

With all that popularity you would think that the representatives would be open to this ambitious plan…..if you do then you would be wrong…..and on many levels.

Even Dems are in opposition to this legislation…..

Two Democratic senators have already voiced concerns about President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan.

One of them is Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia who has already proven himself to be an outsized presence in the razor-thin Democratic majority. He was also a pivotal voice against the inclusion of a $15 minimum wage in the American Rescue Plan.

Now, he’s expressed his concerns with the infrastructure package. In an interview with Talkline, a West Virginia radio show, Manchin said that, “as the bill exists today, it needs to be changed.”

Regarding Biden’s proposed increase of the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, Manchin indicated that he doesn’t support the 28% figure and stressed that the international average is a few percentage points lower. The rate “should have never been under 25%,” he said. “That’s the worldwide average. And that’s what basically every corporation would have told you was fair.”

https://www.businessinsider.com/senate-democrats-bidens-infrastructure-plan-needs-change-warner-manchin-2021-4

Well we know who pays his salary…..and it is not the people of this country.

To call Manchin a moderate is disingenuous….he is a conservative and he is relishing the fact that he has all the power to kill Dem proposals.

Once again the Dems are their own worst enemies.

Now you know why I call most as spineless slugs.

Infrastructure is definitely needed….but instead war gets all the cash they need to keep waging the obscenity and yet programs that help the people of this country needs to be begged to get anything done.

That alone should tell you who/what is important to these slugs in Congress….and it is NOT YOU!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Money And Think Tanks

I have had no respect for so-called ‘think tanks’. Most of them find the conclusion they desire and they fit the dialog to help prove their conclusion…..and then there is all the cash that is funneled into these policy makers.

Millions upon millions find their way into these falsehood generators.

I do not have much good to say about the GOP but from time to time I find myself in agreement with their attempts…..and think tank cash is one of those policies….

New legislation introduced by three Republican members of Congress would set a new bar for transparency in funding from think tanks receiving foreign funding. The legislation — “Think Tank and Nonprofit Influence Disclosure Act of 2021” — aims to “root out foreign funding behind America’s policy research institutions” by requiring disclosure of foreign governments and foreign political parties that contribute in excess $50,000 per year to think tanks.

The requirement for think tanks to disclose their foreign sources of funding is particularly focused on revealing the extent of Chinese government-linked funding of think tanks, but the bills sponsors — Reps. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) — emphasized that the extent of foreign influence in U.S. think tanks is a far reaching problem. 

“Experts believe there are numerous foreign governments backing American think tanks and nonprofits, and that the Chinese Communist Party and Russian government are among those who seek to influence U.S. policymakers in this way,” said a press release from Gooden’s office.

The Republican bill closely closely reflects the policy recommendations in last year’s report by Ben Freeman, director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy, which found that $174 million in foreign funding went to top U.S. think tanks between 2014 and 2018, and advised that  “think tanks should be required, by law, to publicly disclose funding from foreign powers.”

A Responsible Statecraft and American Prospect investigation in January found that the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of which Wilson is a member, was regularly briefed by experts affiliated with think tanks that refuse to provide transparency into their funding sources. 

GOP lawmakers move to expose foreign money in US think tanks

I agree with this attempt….at least in principle…..

My question is….does apply to all think tanks or just those with liberal/progressive policies?

Will this include ALL think tanks?

Even the policy makers like Heritage?

If you would like to see where this bill goes then maybe a good place to start is with the bill itself…..

Click to access Think%20Tank%20and%20Nonprofit%20Act-Text.pdf

I want to see all ‘dark money’ out of politics and policies.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Thoughts On Protests

America has been the site of many protests in our few years as a nation…..and in all that time the handling of these protests have been handled badly and the worse times for this bad behavior has been in the last 100 years or so.

Recent years have brought old animosities tom the forefront…..that of racial inequality.

What got me to thinking about this was a new law that has passed in the state of Oklahoma….

Racial justice advocates on Wednesday condemned the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ approval of a Republican bill shielding motorists who run over protesters, a measure they say ignores the real issues of systemic racism and police violence while further endangering Black lives.

H.B. 1674 (pdf)—passed by a party-line vote of 79-18—would grant civil and criminal immunity to drivers who “unintentionally” kill or injure people while “fleeing from a riot” if they have “reasonable belief” that doing so will protect them from harm. 

Additionally, the proposed legislation would punish protesters who block traffic with up to a year behind bars and a $5,000 fine. 

Democratic lawmakers blasted the bill as draconian and criticized their GOP colleagues for bringing the measure to a vote after midnight when few people were paying attention. Democrats also said the bill was misguided and ignored the bigger problems of racism, police violence, and inequality that sparked Black Lives Matter and other protests.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/11/activists-say-oklahoma-bill-declares-open-season-protesters

As someone who has been deeply involved in protests in the past I look at the events and think that not much has changed in all those years……but why is change so hard or why do protests fail?

Today, there’s no shortage of important issues that arouse passions. But significant change requires more than protests and marches. The truth is that nobody cares if you want to sleep in a park or shout slogans on the streets. To make a real impact, you need to influence institutions.

https://www.realclearworld.com/2021/02/24/why_protests_fail_661538.html

My thought on why they fail is that those in power do not listen or do not care…..no matter the issue.  They look for political expediency and not the subject of the protests.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

The GOP Gets More Pathetic

Since 1980 I have thought he GOP was a pathetic excuse for a political party….they lean on cultural BS instead of policies.

But with the passage of the American Rescue Plan has brought about a news dimension of pathetic.

Like one of my Senators from the state of Mississippi, Roger Wicker. (of cortse he is a GOPer and a Trump sycophant)…..after the signing of the ARP he takes a victory lap…..

After voting against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, GOP Sen. Roger Wicker was singing its praises.

“Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief,” he tweeted after the bill passed in the House on Wednesday, after previously passing the Senate.

“This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll,” Wicker added.

https://www.businessinsider.com/wicker-praises-covid-19-relief-funding-after-voting-against-bill-2021-3

Typical!  Even though he voted against the bill he wants to head off any blowback for his vote since 75% of America likes the bill (trying to save his worthless political ass)….

The GOP just cannot accept that with all their misinformation and the bill is still extremely popular with ALL Americans…..

Acting as if these goodies have no added benefit to the average American—or, rather, hurt the average American—is absurd, and it’s an absurdity that the GOP’s own constituents aren’t even buying.

https://theslot.jezebel.com/republicans-arent-ready-to-admit-that-most-americans-re-1846451777

This from a party that claims to be the “party of the working class”….how damn absurd is that?

 

 

Your Check Is On The Way

It is official!

But first…..

75% of Americans support the American Rescue Plan. 0% of the GQP voted for it.   Remember!

The House passed the final version of the Covid-19 Rescue bill and now the president will sign it and make a speech.

A Congress riven along party lines approved a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Biden and Democrats claimed a triumph on a bill that marshals the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill without a single Republican vote, the AP reports. GOP lawmakers opposed the package as bloated, crammed with liberal policies, and heedless of signs the crises are easing.

Most noticeable to many Americans are provisions to provide up to $1,400 direct payments this year to most adults and extend $300 per week emergency unemployment benefits into early September. But the legislation goes far beyond that, with initiatives making it one of the biggest federal efforts in years to assist lower- and middle-income families. Included are expanded tax credits over the next year for children, child care, and family leave—some of them credits that Democrats have signaled they’d like to make permanent—plus spending for renters, feeding programs, and people’s utility bills. The measure also includes hundreds of billions for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, schools, state and local governments, and ailing industries from airlines to concert halls.

After the signing ceremony Biden will do what all presidents do….he will take a victory lap…..

The White House began highlighting the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill immediately after it gained final congressional approval on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the public on President Biden’s first legislative victory. The West Wing began an ambitious campaign to showcase the bill’s contents while looking to build momentum for the next, perhaps thornier, parts of the president’s sweeping agenda. Biden will sign the bill into law on Friday, but the White House didn’t wait, turning the bill signing into a three-day event. The president tweeted moments after the House of Representatives passed the bill that “Help is here—and brighter days lie ahead.” The White House also released a slickly produced video touting the passage, and Democrats on Capitol Hill staged an elaborate signing ceremony.

 

 

Biden will make the first prime-time address of his presidency on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdowns and will use the moment to pitch toward the future and how prospects will be improved by the aid package. Biden and other veterans of the Obama administration say they are determined to avoid repeating the mistakes from more than a decade earlier, when the administration did not fully educate the public about the benefits of its own economic recovery plan. “We didn’t adequately explain what we had done. Barack was so modest, he didn’t want to take, as he said, a ‘victory lap,’” Biden said last week. This time, Biden “will be hitting the road, the vice president will be hitting the road, the first lady will be hitting the road” to promote the bill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.

This should go a long way to establish Biden as a good president…..at least for a time.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”