-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Republicans have decided that their talking points should be about the national debt instead of, say, job creation. To that end, Rep. Paul Ryan, on one of those Sunday morning talk shows, said “We need to address the drivers of our debt.”
That’s a great idea.
Continue reading “Rep. Paul Ryan Wants to Address the Drivers of Our Debt”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
One of the legacies of J. Edgar Hoover, who severed as Director of the FBI for 48 years, is a federal statute enacted in 1976 — Pub. L. 94–503, quoted in the historical and revision notes following 28 U.S.C.A. § 532: “A Director may not serve more than one ten-year term.”
The current FBI Director is Robert Mueller and his ten-year term of office expires in September. President Obama wants to extend his term by two years. It appears that President Obama doesn’t have the stomach for a messy confirmation fight with Republicans. Not that it will make any difference, but, the statutory term limit is clearly unconstitutional.
Continue reading “Is the 10-Year Term Limit for the FBI Director Constitutional?”
The Library of Congress has released a series of color photographs from the Great Depression that were part of its 2006 Bound for Glory exhibit. They are nothing short of spectacular. These are my favorites.
Continue reading “Bound For Glory: The Library of Congress Releases Early Color Pictures From The Great Depression”
Members of Congress are taking steps to make the war on terror permanent — and make the Constitution optional — for future presidents. Only days after the killing of Osama Bin Laden, members are moving to relieve presidents of any need for approval from Congress — or anyone — in committing troops in the fight against terror. The bill would take the “The Authorization for Use of Military Force” passed after 9-11 (and used to justify two almost ten years of worldwide attacks) and extend it to allow military operations against any “associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States.”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
While Republicans have been trying to leech the credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Obama has upstaged them by laying out his immigration reform plan. This is a signature political issue that the Republicans have tried to make their own. However, the E-Verify program will test whether they really want to solve the problem or whether, like bin Laden, they’re more interested in maintaining the issue for its political usefulness.
Continue reading “An Effective Solution to Illegal Immigration”
Last night on The Ed Show, I discussed the amazing speech and column by Senator John McCain on torture. One of the most notable aspects of the comments was McCain stating that the claim by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey that torture led to the location of Bin Laden is simply untrue and confirmed as false by CIA Director Leon Panetta.
Continue reading “McCain: Mukasey Claim That Torture Led To Bin Laden Is False”
There is an incredible statistic out this month showing that in February 14.3% of the population relies on food stamps.
Continue reading “One in Seven Americans on Food Stamps”
Critics are charging this week that Federal Communications Commissioner Meredith Baker has given this swamp-based city another glaring example of how to turn public service into personal gain. Just four months after voting to allow the merger between Comcast and NBC Universal, she has been given a high-paid job as senior vice president of governmental affairs by . . . you guessed it . . . Comcast-NBC.
Continue reading “Revolving Door: FCC Commissioner Votes For Comcast/NBC Merger And, Four Months Later, Given Position As Senior Vice President in Comcast-NBC”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin claims he has a “knack for numbers.” Not long ago, he unveiled his GOP budget proposal titled “Path to Prosperity.” Rachel Maddow criticized members of the media for their fawning coverage of Ryan and his
financial “magnum opus.” Said Maddow: “If the Beltway media could stop making out with Paul Ryan for long enough to look at what’s actually in his budget proposal, they might notice that some of the important numbers in it appear to be made up.” She added: “I doubt that actual numerically based fact based information will penetrate the smoochy smoochy love bubble surrounding Paul Ryan right now…there’s this cult of him being brave and bold and doing this difficult workout every morning. What he’s just introduced is not a feature on grit versus glamour in today’s GOP. It is not a pinup. It is not the brave story of a strong boy in a tough environment. It’s the official Republican Party budget for 2012, and the numbers in it are so wrong they are occasionally funny.”
Below is today’s column in USA Today on the death of Osama Bin Laden.
Continue reading “Bin Laden: A Time To Reflect”
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
We often read and hear about the Tea Party and its members being in favor of protecting the Constitution, lowering taxes, protecting state’s rights, reducing the size of government, and going back to the ideals of our Founding Fathers. You can imagine my surprise when I recently read that freshman Texas Congressman, Blake Farenthold, a member of the Tea Party Caucus, at a recent meeting with constituents, claimed that unemployment compensation does not give enough incentive for people to get a job! Continue reading “Tea Party Congressman Thinks the Unemployed are Lazy”
As expected, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s effort to bypass the appellate court has failed with a denial at the United States Supreme Court. The Rule 11 motion was turned down — as it is in the vast majority of cases. The Obama Administration opposed the motion and is expected to continue to try to slow the momentum of the challenge.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Denies Virginia’s Effort To Get Expedited Review”
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
When I hear Illinois Senator Dick Durbin’s name, I usually think of a moderately progressive Democratic Senator. What I don’t expect to hear from someone with Durbin’s pedigree are statements to the effect that cuts to Social Security are “on the table”. But that is exactly what he said recently when asked about his work with the so-called Gang of Six. Continue reading “Senator Dick Durbin We Hardly Knew Ye”
Two-term Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has announced he is resigning from the Senate, effective May 3rd. This follows a prior pledge to remain in the Senate and a rather forced defense that he had not “done anything legally wrong” after he allegedly had an affair with the wife of his top staffer, Doug Hampton.
Continue reading “Ensign Announces Resignation From Senate Due To On-Going Investigation Into Affair”
President Barack Obama has been unabashed in his close association with General Electric CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt, including naming him to head the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Obama has continued to shower such honors and attention on Immelt despite the fact that GE has avoided paying ANY taxes. Indeed, GE has demanded a tax benefit of $3.2 billion. Now, GE has posted a 77% increase in profits while paying less taxes than any of its factory workers.
Continue reading “General Electric Profits Up 77% But Company Avoids Paying a Penny in Taxes”