Tag: US Senate

OBBB Has Hit A Snag

Apparently the ‘beauty’ is choke full of ugly!

Donny super bill, One Big Beautiful ill the OBBB has hit a snag in the Senate…the Medicaid part has shown to be in violation of Senate rules….

The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a key Medicaid provider tax overhaul that’s central to President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” doesn’t adhere to procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow to Republicans rushing to finish the massive package this week.

  • Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled on Thursday that the section of the tax cut and spending bill covering the Medicaid cuts and tax overhaul violates the Byrd Rule, which determines what legislation can be passed with a simple majority through the budget reconciliation process, the Hill reports.
  • Guidance from the parliamentarian is rarely ignored, and it forces GOP leaders to consider options, the AP reports. Senate leaders could try to revise it or strip the iffy parts from the package. Otherwise, the provision could be challenged during floor votes, requiring a 60-vote threshold to keep it—a tall order in the narrowly split 100-member Senate. Democrats are unified against the bill.
  • The provision cracks down on states’ use of health care provider taxes to collect Medicaid funding, ABC News reports. The House-passed bill would freeze the provider taxes at current levels, while the Senate proposal goes deeper by reducing the tax that some states are able to impose.
  • Republicans scrambled to respond, some politically attacking the nonpartisan parliamentarian, while Democrats said her decision would prove devastating to the GOP package. Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the GOP proposal would have been as much as a $250 billion cut to the health care program, “massive Medicaid cuts that hurt kids, seniors, Americans with disabilities, and working families.”
  • Some Republicans even called for challenging, or firing, the parliamentarian, who has been on the job since 2012 as the chief arbiter of the chamber’s historic and often complicated rules. But GOP leaders had already been struggling to rally support for the change. Several GOP senators warn it would harm rural hospitals that depend on the funds. Hospital organizations have been warning it could wipe out their balance sheets and lead to hospital closures.

The Parliamentarian has been busy with the OBBB….she also took on the oil lease provision of the bill….

Critics of Republican efforts to continue wrecking the planet celebrated some small victories after the U.S. Senate parliamentarian on Monday advised that multiple provisions cannot be passed as part of a megabill that only requires a simple majority.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough found that some GOP legislative proposals about offshore drilling and mandatory public land sales could not be included in the package due to the so-called Byrd Rule, which bars provisions considered “extraneous to the purpose of implementing budget resolution policies.”

Specifically, MacDonough axed a provision that deems offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), nullifying their environmental review processes. She also ruled against a proposal requiring offshore fossil fuel leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after the sale, and a separate mandate for the sale of millions of acres of public land.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-public-lands

Read about all the problems (so far) with the OBBB according to the Parliamentarian…

https://www.commondreams.org/news/senate-parliamentarian-2672439563

This ought to chap Donny’s ass.

Do tell…..what changes will be made?

Will Donny try to flex his wimpy muscles?

Will the MAGA worshipers find a way to save Donny’s baby?

Is the bill dead until after the 4th of July break?

Where will it go….do tell.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Out With The Worthless

I have been saying for many years that I feel that our Congress especially the Dems are controlled not by you but special interests.

I have been bitching about our do-nothing Congress…..they let special interests run the country while their rhetoric sounds logical their actions are reckless.

One of the worse of the lot is Schumer of the Senate….now people are seeing just how worthless this toad has become.

Calls for him to step aside and get out of the way of any meaningful progress….

Dozen of advocacy organizations on Wednesday joined the growing call for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down from his leadership position after caving to Republicans on a stopgap spending measure last month.

Given GOP control of Congress and the White House, people across the country saw the looming government shutdown as a rare opportunity for Democratic lawmakers to fight against President Donald Trump’s agenda. However, Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 10 caucus members in partnering with Senate Republicans to force through the spending legislation.

Since then, polling has made clear that voters are frustrated with the Democratic Party and Schumer in particular, and want political leaders to challenge the GOP’s agenda, which is primarily passing more tax giveaways for the wealthy and gutting the federal government—an effort led by Trump adviser Elon Musk, the richest person on Earth.

…

“Schumer’s inexplicable surrender and support for a dangerous and cruel MAGA spending bill amounted to a complete dereliction of duty and failure of leadership. For this simple reason, Schumer must step down as Senate majority leader immediately,” added Jones, whose group led the letter with Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD).

https://www.commondreams.org/news/chuck-schumer-trump

The Democratic Party as a whole is NOT progressive regardless f the BS they feed the public they are basically a conservative party….but the one bright spot is the Progressive Caucus within the House.

There is where a challenger to Schumer is emerging….AOC….she has the right stuff in my book but she needs to be more progressive…..she is staring down Schumer in the next election….

A poll released Friday from the progressive think tank Data for Progress has Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez besting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a Democrat, by 19 points in a hypothetical matchup in the 2028 New York primary for a U.S. Senate seat.

According to the poll, which was was first shared exclusively with Politico, 55% of voters said they would cast a ballot for Ocasio-Cortez or leaned toward supporting her, and 36% said they would support Schumer or leaned toward supporting him, with 9% undecided.

The only subgroup that supported Schumer over Ocasio-Cortez were moderates, who favored Schumer 50%-35%, with 15% undecided. Ocasio-Cortez carried all other subgroups with an outright majority, except for voters over the age of 45, 49% of whom said they would support her or leaned toward supporting her.

The poll—while several years out from the actual race—comes in the wake of Schumer’s decision to throw his support behind a Republican-backed spending bill in early March, a move that roiled his own party and prompted calls for him to step aside from his leadership position in the Senate.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/aoc-schumer-poll-ny-primary-2028

I hope she keeps this lead and defeats Schumer for the US Senate needs some new blood the blood it has now is tainted ….new progressive blood would do wonders to help change the downward direction the Senate is sliding.

I know many moderate Dems do not like AOC….and just look where the Senate is and the country as a whole under the ‘guidance’ of these so-called moderates….sorry but there is nothing moderate about these garden slugs.

If you want change then make the change and stop pretend that all can work together….that pipe dream died decades go.

I read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Showing Their True Colors?

In my post from yesterday when the GOP and the Dems were in talks for the spending bill to avoid a government shutdown I asked the question….

“This is a problem….do they show backbone and fight the new spending bill which they will be accused of causing a government shutdown or do they support and betray a lot of what they say the are for?”

Last not my question was answered and answered predictably….

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor on Thursday that he’ll vote to advance the Republican funding bill and bring enough Democrats with him to avert a government shutdown. “For sure the Republican bill is a terrible option,” Schumer said, per the Washington Post. Democrats have called the bill a power grab by President Trump and Republicans. “But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take … much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.” He added, “I will vote to keep the government open.”

The only other Senate Democrat so far to clearly state he’ll back the GOP bill is Sen. John Fetterman. But Schumer’s decision will give political cover to other Democrats, the Hill reports. He said that there weren’t enough votes in his caucus to pass the measure as of Wednesday but that many members were undecided. Schumer announced his switch during Democratic luncheon, shocking many of his senators, per the New York Times. Democrats in the Senate, House, and elsewhere, as well as party activists, have been pushing hard for Schumer’s caucus to block the bill and defy Trump.

But there are fears among Democrats that a government shutdown would give Trump and Elon Musk an opening to make greater cuts to the government, by decreeing which employees are essential and must work through a shutdown and which are nonessential. Senate Democrats have been wrestling with which option is worse. “For Donald Trump,” Schumer told the group, per the AP, “a shutdown would be a gift.” The procedural vote to which Schumer committed is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

The passage is not set in stone….but the leadership of the Dems proved my point ….time for a change.

In answer to ,y and others criticisms Schumer has taking to pen and paper….

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised enough Democratic support to pass the Republican funding bill that will avoid a government shutdown, despite admitting the bill is “terrible.” In a guest essay at the New York Times, he explains himself while calling President Trump a “nihilist” who’s “taken a blowtorch to our country” and now “wants full control over government spending.” Though the Republican bill is “deeply partisan” and, yes, “terrible,” it is the lesser of two evils, Schumer writes, arguing a government shutdown would give Trump and his billionaire advisor Elon Musk—who is reportedly very much in favor of a shutdown—”permission to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now.”

The administration “would have wide-ranging authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential” and “congressional Republicans could weaponize their majorities … to reopen only their favored departments and agencies while leaving other vital services that they don’t like to languish,” writes the New York Democrat. In other words, fighting the six-month government funding bill would be playing into Republicans’ hands. In backing the bill to avoid a shutdown, Democrats can at least avoid piling more suffering for “the most vulnerable Americans, those who rely on federal programs to feed their families, get medical care and stay financially afloat.”

But Schumer’s arguments are unlikely to sway some Senate Democrats, particularly those in the party’s liberal and progressive wings, who Schumer has ironically worked hard to appease over the last five years, per Politico. Elizabeth Warren said the bill, with $12 billion in cuts to non-defense programs, offers Trump and Musk “a blank check to spend your taxpayer money however they want,” while Bernie Sanders said it would “literally take food out of the mouths of hungry children, take healthcare away from seniors, and give a huge tax break to the wealthiest people on the planet,” per the Hill. One senator anonymously tells the outlet, “I think people will see this as a massive sellout to an authoritarian president. You don’t stop a bully by handing over all of your lunch money.”

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Hegseth Express

I have made my thoughts known about the person that Trump wants as the Secretary of War…this Hegseth dude…..there are some in Congress that think like me that this slug is not qualified to oversee the nation’s largest budget and for that reason must not be confirmed.

It appears that Trump has stepped in and flexed his muscle to get his lackey through the confirmation process….

The most vocal opponent to his confirmation was Sen. Ernst but now that has changed….

A week ago, it seemed that Pete Hegseth’s chances of becoming the next defense secretary were doomed, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis floated as a possible replacement. Things look much different now, however, after what Punchbowl News describes as a “vibe shift” on Capitol Hill in favor of the nominee.

  • Key senator: Hegseth met with GOP Sen. Joni Ernst on Monday, who had been voicing serious doubts. Afterward, however, Ernst signaled her support, describing the meeting as “encouraging” and praising his “responsiveness and respect” for the process, per Axios. Ernst has been seen as a “tough sell,” notes Punchbowl News, because Hegseth opposes women in combat roles (she served in Kuwait and Iraq) and has faced allegations of sexual assault (she is a survivor of sexual assault).
  • Strategy: Ernst had faced a fierce public backlash from Trump allies who suggested she may not last in the Republican party if she opposes the president-elect’s pick. “The swarm of MAGA attacks” was “a warning of what’s in store for others who express skepticism of his personnel choices,” per a Politico analysis. Hegseth “became a cause” for Trump allies, one of them tells the outlet, and his success would bode well for other controversial nominees such as Kash Patel for the FBI and Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence.
  • Still close: Hegseth is still not a slam dunk to win approval. He meets this week with two other female GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. But the New York Times notes that even if they and Ernst end up voting against Hegseth, he would be confirmed if the rest of the GOP coalition holds. A wild card would be if the woman who accused Hegseth of a 2017 sexual assault came forward. Police investigated the allegations but did not bring charges.
  • Hegseth’s campaign: The nominee appeared on Fox News Monday night and told Sean Hannity that the “left is trying to turn this into a trial in the media, a show trial” and that “we’re not going to let that happen.” He added: “I’m going to walk in the door of every one of these senators as an open book, willing to answer their questions because they deserve answers.” Trump himself and JD Vance also have voiced support for Hegseth in recent days, and Politico reports that Vance has been strategic in shifting sentiment in the Senate.

He will make it as the ‘king’ of budgets….and he will be one of the worse secretarys in recent history….

Show just how weak the GOP has become when one person can dictate their principles and at the same time screw the cfountry for the future.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

An End Of An Era?

The big news yesterday was that the leader of the GOP Senate would be stepping down after years and years of game playing….

Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November. The AP reports McConnell, who turned 82 last week, is set to announce his decision Wednesday. “One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said in prepared remarks obtained by the AP. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.” What you need to know:

  • “As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” McConnell said in his prepared remarks. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”
  • McConnell said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber.”
  • Aides said McConnell’s announcement about the leadership post was unrelated to his health. The Kentucky senator had a concussion from a fall last year and two public episodes where his face briefly froze while he was speaking.
  • McConnell gave no specific reason for the timing of his decision, which he has been contemplating for months, but he cited the recent death of his wife’s youngest sister as a moment that prompted introspection. “The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer,” McConnell said.
  • But his remarks were also light at times. He noted that when he arrived in the Senate, “I was just happy if anybody remembered my name.” During his campaign in 1984, when Ronald Reagan was visiting Kentucky, the president called him “Mitch O’Donnell.”
  • “I love the Senate,” he said in his prepared remarks. “It has been my life. There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but I doubt there are any with more admiration for it.”
  • But, he added, “Father Time remains undefeated. I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership.”
  • There will be a time to reminisce, he said, but not today. “I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed.”

Say good-bye to Reagan conservatism and say hello to the dystopian crap of the now GOP.

Not to worry this will replay in a few weeks and then again later in the year….the games are endlessly with these spineless d/bags.

And then there was the not so big news later yesterday….the ‘shutdown two-step’ has ended (as I knew it would before a shutdown)….

Congressional leaders announced Wednesday that they have reached a tentative agreement to prevent a government shutdown for now, days before an end-of-the-week deadline that risked shuttering some federal operations. Under the plan, Congress would temporarily fund one set of federal agencies through March 8 and another set through March 22. In the meantime, Congress would intend to pass packages of legislation to fund the government for the remainder of the budget year, the AP reports. There was no immediate plan to approve the $95 billion emergency national security funds for Ukraine, Israel, and other allies.

This would be the fourth short-term funding extension in about a five-month span. The House and Senate next will need to vote and approve the deal with its temporary funds ahead of the Friday deadline, when some federal monies run out. “We are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government,” said the joint statement from Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, along with the Appropriation Committee leaders. Negotiators have been working furiously to finish up a federal spending plan while Ukraine and other American allies watched for Johnson’s next move on the aid.

Congressional leaders said they reached an agreement on six bills that will adhere to spending levels agreed to last year. Those bills involve Veterans Affairs and the departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Interior, and others and will be voted on and enacted before March 8, per the AP. The remaining six bills for the Pentagon, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and the State Department still need to be finalized, voted on, and enacted before March 22. If the deal and the subsequent bills are approved, it would keep the federal government funded until the end of the budget year, on Sept. 30, and avoid more short-term measures.

Ukraine got its blood money but poor Israel left the table still hungry for US stuff.

What will Israel do?  Probably find an excuse to attack Lebanon.

And that was DC on a Wednesday.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Deal Is Inked?

First some happy news….A very Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

Now….the rant goes on….

Well just in the Senate the House could stomp all over the newest bi-partisan attempt.

The other day I wrote a post which was shared by my friend over at …..

Absolutely On Target, In Saner Thought!

I thank him for his help.

My rant was about the new deal in the Senate to provide money for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan….not a fan of pissing away money on these three.

Well the Senate had a late night so they could pass this deal that they are proud of…..

The Senate early Tuesday passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, pushing ahead amid growing divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad. The vote came after a small group of Republicans opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the US should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But more than a dozen Republicans voted with almost all Democrats to pass the package 70-29, reports the AP, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten security across the globe.

The bill’s passage through the Senate was a welcome sign for Ukraine, but the package faces a deeply uncertain future in the House, where hardline Republicans aligned with former President Trump oppose the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson cast new doubt on the package Monday evening, making clear that it could be weeks or months before Congress sends the legislation to President Biden’s desk—if at all. Still, the vote was a win for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who worked together on it. Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and other opponents, dug in their heels to delay a final vote, speaking on the floor until daybreak. A few of the particulars:

  • The legislation would purchase US-made defense equipment for Ukraine, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say are desperately needed as Russia batters the country. It also includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.
  • In addition, $14 billion goes to Israel’s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

I am against sending any more money to these shitholes….if you read this then tell me why we have to send money for the government in Kyiv?  If they cannot afford to fight this damn lame war then find away to end it.

Then there is Israel who has sucked on the American taxpayer teat since its inception….I say screw!  Either they stand for themselves or go the fuck away.

The only saving grace is the the House will not be so easy to push over….I haste that I am siding with those idiots in the Trump wing but if it stops the flow of cash to these crappy players then so be it.

One last word…..Israel is getting ready to kill a bunch more civilians in Rafah and they have proposed the US do something first….

Israel has proposed creating US-funded tent cities in Gaza as part of an evacuation plan for Rafah as Israeli forces are preparing to invade the city, Egyptian officials told The Wall Street Journal.

It’s estimated that 1.5 million Palestinians are packed into Rafah, which had a pre-war population of about 275,000. Under the Israeli proposal, 15 campsites of around 25,000 tents each would be created along Gaza’s coast to house the millions of Palestinian civilians sheltering in Rafah.

(antiwar.com)

The US needs to pay for their destruction…I say fuck the bastards!

I have gad enough of Israel and those defending their blood lust….and that is all it is now….blood lust…..something they should have memory of from their past.

My rant is over.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Senate Border Deal

The biggest story so far this year has been the crisis on our Southern border and this problem is giving the GOP lots of false support in the upcoming election cycle.

A Senate committee has come together giving a bi-partisan approach to this situation….a deal, in my opinion, stinks.

Senators on Sunday released a highly anticipated $118 billion package that pairs border enforcement policy with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other US allies, setting off a long-shot effort to push the bill through heavy skepticism from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, the AP reports. The proposal could be the best chance for President Joe Biden to resupply Ukraine with wartime aid—a major foreign policy goal that is shared with both the Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell. It is still unclear if the bill will pass in the Senate, which is expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives.

With Congress stalled on approving $60 billion in Ukraine aid, the US has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian soldiers outgunned as they try to beat back Russia’s invasion. Biden said in a statement that the Senate proposal “allows the United States to continue our vital work, together with partners all around the world, to stand up for Ukraine’s freedom and support its ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression.” And on the border, Biden said that the immigration system has been broken for too long, and it’s time to fix it. “It will make our country safer, make our border more secure, treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our values as a nation,” Biden said.

The new bill would also invest in US defense manufacturing, send $14 billion in military aid to Israel, steer nearly $5 billion to allies in the Asia-Pacific, and provide humanitarian assistance to civilians caught in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. In a call with reporters after releasing the legislation, Schumer said he has never worked so closely with McConnell. He called the bill a “monumental step” toward strengthening national security at home and abroad. McConnell said in a statement that the Senate must be “prepared to act.” In a bid to overcome opposition from House Republicans, McConnell had insisted last year that border policy changes be included in the national security funding package. More on those changes, resistance to the bill on both sides, plus a potential House bill some senators prefer, here.

The Senate bill would authorize $60 billion to spend on the proxy war in Ukraine and $4.8 billion to “support key regional partners in the Indo-Pacific,” a portion of which will go toward replenishing arms sent to Taiwan.

The bill also provides $2.44 billion to US Central Command and to “address combat expenditures related to the conflict in the Red Sea,” where US naval forces have been bombing Yemen and downing Houthi drones and missiles. Since January 12, the US has bombed Yemen at least 16 times, and the situation in the region continues to escalate as the Houthis are not backing down.

I think this bill is dead on arrival in the House….but that is not why I think it sucks.

The bill should be about the situation on the border and none of it should be trying to sneak cash in for these proxy wars we keep fighting.

Those situations should be handled by a stand alone bill not masked by some perceived problem elsewhere.

If our Congress cannot find the cash for these wars then it is time to say f*ck it and move on to other situations that need attention.

But we have not heard the last of the border or the blood money for Israel and Ukraine.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Playing To The Camera

I have often stated that I think cameras in Congressional hearings is a bad idea for all it is actors playing to the cameras for some sort of attention.

It seems that a Senate hearing turned into a infantile playground mash-up recently.

This incident occurred during a labor hearing in the Senate when a senator from Oklahoma showed his ass because he was all butt hurt over some Tweets a labor leader had made.

The calling out the leader to a fist fight….this dumbfuck thinks he is Andrew Jackson) and Bernie had to step in and calm things down.

“God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress. Let’s not make it worse,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said as a Republican senator challenged the president of the Teamsters union to a fight during a hearing Tuesday. When it was his turn to ask questions during the hearing on labor unions, Sen. Markwayne Mullin read out Sean O’Brien’s posts on X calling him a “clown” and a “fraud” and telling him to “quit the tough guy act” after a previous clash in March, CBS News reports. “You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here,” Mullin said. O’Brien replied, “OK, that’s fine. Perfect.”

You want to do it now? Stand your butt up then,” Mullin said, per the Hill. “You stand your butt up,” O’Brien replied, prompting Mullin, a former mixed martial arts fighter, to rise from his chair in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee room. Sanders, the committee’s chair, banged his gavel and said, “No, no, no, sit down. Sit down! You’re a United States senator, sit down.” When Mullin tried to suggest a cage fight to benefit a charity, Sanders attempted to get things back on track, telling the senator, “If you have questions on any economic issues, anything that was said, go for it.”

But if you prefer a visual then watch this….

Somebody needs to grow a pair and make these Congress people act like they are a ruling class.  This guy needs to be censured, then muzzled and then thrown off the committee and made to be a political spectator.  If he wears his anger on his sleeve maybe he should resign and work on anger management.

Now why the title?

This goofball ran to FOX News to get his time in the limelight.

After the verbal back-and-forth had ended, that GOP senator, Oklahoma’s Markwayne Mullin, decided he wasn’t done talking about the tussle, taking to Fox News to discuss it with Sean O’Brien. “In Oklahoma, you don’t do this,” Mullin told host Sean Hannity Tuesday evening. “Maybe you run your mouth in New Jersey, I don’t know, I’m not from New Jersey.” Mullin added that he refused to be intimidated by O’Brien, whom he referred to as a “mob boss” who wanted to “bring a mob mentality back to the Teamsters.”

When Hannity noted that he thought any other reaction from Mullin, who’d stood up from his seat as if ready to fight O’Brien, would’ve been “gutless,” Mullin concurred. “What did people want me to do?” Mullin asked, adding that he “used to get paid to fight professionally” (he’s a former MMA fighter). “If I didn’t do that, people in Oklahoma would be pretty upset at me. … I’m supposed to represent Oklahoma values.” Mullin concluded that “we need more of this, to be quite frank—I’m not saying more violence, but we need more people to be taught a lesson.”

The senator had a similar take when he spoke on Fox’s Bottom Line, whose hosts noted how “disrespectful” O’Brien had been with some of his online criticisms directed at Mullin. “I will tell you this for sure, that’s not how we behave in Oklahoma, and I’m an Oklahoman first,” Mullin said. “If you run your mouth, you will be called out on it.” When asked if there’d been anything that people at home couldn’t see during his run-in with O’Brien, Mullin answered, “The fear in his eyes when I stood up. He was scared out of his mind.” O’Brien didn’t directly address their bickering online, but he did like this tweet.

What a chest thumping primate?

If his hackles get up that easily then maybe he should stay off social media (if you knows what it is that is)

But hold on!  There’s more!

Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee said Mr McCarthy “elbowed” him in the back while he was speaking with a reporter in Congress on Tuesday.

Long-term adversaries of Mr McCarthy’s, the pair led efforts to oust him from the Speaker’s office in October.

Mr McCarthy said the alleged altercation was accidental.

The incident, described by NPR journalist Claudia Grisales who witnessed the interaction, came just hours before Mr McCarthy’s replacement, new House Speaker Mike Johnson, passed his first major legislative test, a full House vote on his plan for avoiding a government shutdown.

“He’s a bully with $17m and a security detail,” Mr Burchett said of the former Republican leader. Mr McCarthy later told reporters the physical contact was accidental.

“If I would hit somebody, they would know I hit them,” the Californian congressman told reporters.

But in his ethics complaint, Mr Gaetz said Mr Burchett described the assault as a “sucker punch” and a “clean shot to the kidney”.

The ultra-conservative argued in a letter that the incident deserved “immediate and swift investigation by the Ethics Committee”.

“This Congress has seen a substantial increase in breaches of decorum unlike anything we have seen since the pre-Civil War era,” he wrote in the complaint.

This incident just fortifies my contempt for Congress and its theatrics….no matter what party stands in the light.

This is what we get when we allow mental midgets the reins of power….squabbling like demented 8 year olds.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Menendez Saga

The Democratic senator for New Jersey has never been likeable to me…..he is a big business Dem that came to the Congress on the Clinton coattails.

Over the years he has had his problems with corruption and once again he has been caught with his fingers in the cookie jar.

Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey announced on Saturday that he will run against Sen. Robert Menendez in the state’s Democratic primary for Senate next year, saying he feels compelled to run against the three-term senator after he and his wife were indicted on sweeping corruption charges. Kim’s surprise announcement comes as a growing number of Democrats are calling for Menendez to step down. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman became the first Democratic senator to do so, and several members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, along with the state’s Democratic governor, have said he should resign, per the AP.

This is not something I expected to do, but I believe New Jersey deserves better,” Kim said. Fetterman, meanwhile, said his Senate colleague is “entitled to the presumption of innocence under our system, but he is not entitled to continue to wield influence over national policy.” Menendez and wife Nadine were indicted on Friday for using his position to aid the authoritarian government of Egypt and also to pressure federal prosecutors to drop a case against a friend. The three-count indictment lists a series of bribes they were paid by three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for the corrupt acts—gold bars, a luxury car, and cash.

It is the second indictment on bribery charges for Menendez—and the second time he has had to relinquish his post as the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel. He regained the leadership spot in 2018 after the case ended with a deadlocked jury. Menendez was defiant after Friday’s indictment, saying in a statement Friday evening that “I am not going anywhere.” Authorities who searched Menendez’s home last year found more than $100,000 worth of gold bars, as well as over $480,000 in cash—much of it hidden in closets, clothing, and a safe, prosecutors say. The indictment includes photos of cash stuffed in envelopes in jackets bearing Menendez’s name and of a luxury car that prosecutors say was given to the couple as a bribe from the businessmen.

There calls for Menendez to resign….but mostly from younger Congress people….some of the older and entrenched members think he should stay put.

Add Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the list of politicians who think Sen. Bob Menendez needs to resign due to his indictment on corruption charges. The Democratic representative said the charges against Menendez, including allegations that he accepted bribes including a Mercedes-Benz, are “very serious,” the Guardian reports. “Consistency matters. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a Republican or a Democrat,” she said, adding that the allegations “involve the nature of not just his but all of our seats in Congress.” Meanwhile, while Sen. John Fetterman and several Democrats in Menendez’s home state of New Jersey say their fellow Dem should step down, NBC News reports other Democrat senators have not been so quick to join that chorus:

  • Chris Murphy: “No senators should be trading on their position in order to enrich themselves,” he said Sunday on MSNBC. “It is hard for me to believe that Sen. Menendez can be effective in his job given these allegations, but I think I want to get back and talk to my colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee before I recommend a path forward for Sen. Menendez.”
  • Mark Kelly: “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said on CBS Sunday, noting that Menendez stepping down as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee is “a serious step.” Kelly continued, “I think Sen. Menendez is going to have to think long and hard about the cloud that’s going to hang over his service in the United State Senate. He’s got to figure out whether he can adequately serve the people of New Jersey.”
  • Dick Durbin: “In terms of resignation, that’s a decision to be made by Sen. Menendez and the people of New Jersey,” he said on CNN Sunday. “The person who is accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and it’s the responsibility of the government to prove that case. I have said that about Donald Trump. I will say the same thing about Bob Menendez.”

Personally he should resign with a hint of corruption and let the Congress get on with business it really does not need another diversion at this time.

I say if guilty get the slug out of government and tighten the noose around other forms of corruption as well….a good place to start would be SCOTUS.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The McConnell Diagnosis

A few days ago I wrote a post about McConnell’s most recent ‘brain fart’ and the official ruling by a Senate doctor on his condition…..for those not keeping up….

McConnell Forgot Something (Again)

I was not convinced with the glowing report the doctor gave…..I said it was BS and a couple of other doctors concur with my assessment….

Seven neurologists consulted by the New York Times say the video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell freezing up while addressing reporters on Wednesday suggests the problem is more serious than the official explanation indicates. Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, has issued a statement that mentioned dehydration and recovery from a concussion as possible causes for the “occasional lightheadedness” that may have led to McConnell shutting down for 30 seconds at a time. “If I gave that tape to a medical student and that was his explanation, I’d fail him,” said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, of NYU’s medical school.

While conceding that they can’t offer a remote diagnosis, the neurologists said videos can provide information leading to a diagnosis. “They’re very helpful, because you’re not subject to the vagaries of someone’s description and you can capture the beginning of” the spell, said Dr. Anthony Kim of the University of California, San Francisco. Devinsky said doctors would want more data but added, “we do have this very powerful clinical information, which is quite honestly how I have to diagnose seizures and epilepsy all the time, often without the video.” And dehydration and lightheadedness were not what the neurologists saw.

“The possibility at the top of my list would be a seizure,” Kim said. Focal seizures, which can be caused by an irregularity in part of the brain, can stop and appear to isolate patients, per the Times. Mini-strokes are a possibility, but experts say they rarely have identical effects each time; McConnell has had two alike spells that were filmed. But they wouldn’t preclude most people from carrying on as before with work or life. “Seizures have a stigma in our society, and that’s unfortunate because these are very brief electrical interruptions in behavior,” Dr. Jeffrey Saver of UCLA. Medication can control the episodes, he said, but they shouldn’t be dismissed. “Two seizures you definitely would want to treat,” said Dr. Sami Khella of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. “You don’t want them to happen—they’re not good for you.

Time for McConnell to consider taking it to the house…..he is old and feeble…..the Senate needs dynamic leadership and Mitch just ain’t it any longer.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”