President Obama has indicated that his 2012 re-election campaign will focus on a “do-nothing” Congress. Now a Washington Times analysis finds that 2011 was, in fact, one of the most inactive congressional years ever. Congress passed only 80 bills — the fewest since 1947, when such records first began being kept — and many of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Congress’
Our Do-Nothing Congress
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 2012 Presidential Election, America, Congress, Politics, President Obama, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate on January 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Paying For The Toledo Tear-Down
Posted in America, Ohio, Politics, tagged America, Congress, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Spending, Housing Market; Foreclosures, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Ohio, Politics, President Obama, Toledo on November 13, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Toledo, Ohio is on track to demolish a record number of abandoned houses this year. By the time 2011 is done, Toledo city officials expect to have torn down more than 400 blighted residential structures. What I find interesting is not that Toledo is having a problem with abandoned houses — Toledo, like many Midwestern [...]
Be Vewy Vewy Careful
Posted in Politics, tagged Amity Shleas, Congress, Democrats, john boehner, Libertarian, Mitt Romney, Republicans, Smoot Hawley, Stock Market Crash, The Forgotten Man, Treasury Department on October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This week the Senate will be debating a bill that would require the Treasury Department to identify countries whose currencies are under valued and then in turn order the Commerce department to impose duties on imports from such countries. Countries that hold down the value of their currency do so to give their exporters an [...]
Another Week, Another Stalemate
Posted in Politics, tagged Congress, Democrats, Federal Budget, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Government spending, Politics, Republicans on September 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Ho hum. If it’s Monday, there must be another political stalemate in Washington, D.C., and another possible government shutdown looming. The contours of this dispute are familiar. Federal funds are running out and a short-term spending bill must be passed. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also needs more money. As a matter of fiscal discipline, [...]
The President’s Speech
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Congress, economy, Extended unemployment compensation, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, stimulus, Unemployment on September 8, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I watched the President’s speech tonight, and I found it to be quite interesting for a number of reasons. The first part of the speech seemed like “same old, same old,” and I think it will generally be perceived as such. It appears to be more of the “stimulus” concept that has been tried and [...]
A Costly Solar Flame-Out (II)
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Congress, Diane DeGette, economy, green technology, Henry Waxman, Politics, Solar Power, Solyndra on September 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »
It was bad enough that Solyndra, a solar energy company, abruptly closed its doors recently, after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loan guarantees as part of a federal government effort to promote “green jobs.” Today, the news got worse. The media is reporting that the FBI agents, working in conjunction with the [...]
One Program At A Time
Posted in Politics, tagged Congress, House Republicans, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Politics on August 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
One other point about the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. I am afraid that the impending specter of that committee will cause Congress to stop doing its job (to the extent that Congress has been doing its job) and simply wait to see what the Joint Select Committee comes up with. I hope the [...]
401(k) Follies
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 401(k) Plans, America, Congress, Debt Ceiling, Politics, retirement, stock market on July 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Many of us have tried to save and plan for retirement. We’ve read the books about how investing in mutual funds is one of the best ways to maximize your return and grow your nest egg over the long term. We’ve followed that advice, and many of us have stayed the course, through up years [...]
Not Distracted By The Debt Ceiling Fan Dance
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Budget Deficit, Congress, Debt Ceiling, Fan Dances, Federal Spending, House Republicans, Politics, President Obama, United States Senate on July 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A week has gone by, the August 2 default deadline creeps ever nearer, and still the antic debt ceiling political dance continues. It’s like an old fan dance, where the flashing fans of the dancer seek to tantalize while hiding what lies beneath. The Senate has contributed the ill-defined “Gang of Six” proposal. The House [...]
Our Gilded Congress
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Congress, Democrats, economy, Harry Reid, john boehner, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Politics, recession, Republicans, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate on June 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Congressional disclosure forms were released yesterday and they show that our elected public servants are doing very well, indeed. The wealth in Congress knows no party-line boundaries; Republicans and Democrats alike are doing well. According to the reports, the Minority Leader and Majority Leader in the Senate are both multimillionaires who saw their wealth rise [...]
Weiner’s World, In Treatment Mode
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Anthony Weiner, Congress, Politics, Treatment on June 12, 2011 | 2 Comments »
These days, whenever a politician or celebrity engages in unacceptable behavior, they try to take the heat off by saying they are going to receive “treatment” for their condition. I guess we are all supposed to feel sorry for them, applaud their courageous decision to seek treatment for their affliction, and lay off any further [...]
Token Drawdown
Posted in Politics, tagged Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Congress, John McCain, Supplemental Defense Spending, troops on June 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Within the next few weeks the President will make what I believe is a very important announcement as to the number of troops he plans to have brought home from Afghanistan. Currently we have approximately 100,000 troops there and we have been fighting the war there since October 7, 2001. It is hard to believe [...]
Weiner’s World, Crashing Down
Posted in America, Politics, Technology, tagged America, Anthony Weiner, Congress, Politics, Technology, Twitter on June 6, 2011 | 1 Comment »
After days of pushing a lie about his Twitter account being the subject of a hacking incident — and then watching his story slowly, painfully unravel — Congressman Anthony Weiner ‘fessed up today. A watery-eyed Weiner admitted that he sent the Twitter picture of his groin to a Seattle college student, acknowledged that he has [...]
Have Tooth, Will Travel
Posted in America, Ohio, Politics, tagged Congress, Dennis Kucinich, Ohio, Politics, Redistricting, Washington on May 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dennis Kucinich, currently a Democratic Representative from Ohio, is getting ready for his next congressional race — which may be in Washington state. In Ohio, as in other states, redistricting is occurring on the basis of the 2010 Census population figures. Ohio is going to lose two seats, and apparently one of the seats on [...]
