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Turtleman really put the wood to Harry, but Harry isn't the one who has to pay....We the People do!
What a complete coward! Harry Reid is in corporate pockets as much as any other GOP I can name. I wish everyone would stop futzing about, looking for reasons, asking why, why, why?
There is only ONE reason for this mess in Congress - it is called GREED. And it is FED by MONEY. And, it is NEVER SATIATED. Get that through all of your heads and you will get down to first causes in seconds.
The ONLY way to fix congress is: 1) Constitutional ammendment to reverse Citizens United, and 2) Strict and ENFORCED campaign finance reform.
That's it. PERIOD. Spending time on anything else is a waste of time.
OB and AIW I concur completely about Noam Chomsky.
I was under the impression that Harry Reid had been inspired by the Lincoln movie. Which version did he see? Not the one I viewed anyway! Arm twisting on only four chicken sht Democrats Harry!
Populous legislation passed in the Senate could have lead to widespread exposure of Teapublican obstuctionism in the House, which in turn could of had major implications in 2014...could have!
None of the above.
I don't think that it is a coincidence that the date for filibuster reform was pushed back until after the inaguration. I think that the Obama administration was not really interested in filibuster reform; that it was all lip service.
This is the same kind of spinelessness that the Obama administration showed after his first inaguration and ultimately cost us the 2010 Congressional elections.
I think we are being played as saps with a "Bad Cop, Good Cop" two party system. I keep hearing about Obama playing chess while they are playing checkers. Yeah! But they are winning at checkers while we are losing at chess.
D.A.Gonsalves: You said "It is about time that this country’s torchbearers of freedom, (our politicians) take it upon themselves, “With the support from public opinion,” to speak for our Founding Fathers....". Say what??? "torchbearers of freedom"? Our politicians? What in the hell are you smoking? On the subject of the Second Amendment, I want you to consider the weapons technology of the day when that amendment was written. "Arms" meant muskets. Period. Muzzle loaders represented a huge advance over longbows, or whatever the infantry of the time had been using previously. So in relative terms, the right to bear arms meant the right to bear the best weapons technology available to government troops. Perhaps a canon with grapeshot was the equivalent of a stealth bomber, but I don't even know if that grim weapon was used prior to the Civil War. I don't think there's any ambiguity in the 2nd, either in the literal wording, the context or the intent if you read the background running up to its inclusion in the Constitution. The fears the founders had regarding the abuse of power have never been more justified than they are today.
Why the f*** aren't guys (and gals) like Jeff Merkley, Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren... the ones in leadership positions. I'm done with giving Harry Reid pass after pass on being ineffectual... (he's a great guy, ask anybdy). No wonder Bernie Sanders doesn't identify himself as a Democrat. Ugh.
And thank YOU, Alice I.W.. Yes, I've read a lot of Noam Chomsky's stuff - guess we're "birds of a feather" on the subject at hand. I wish there were more of a national dialog on these things, but that's probably too much to hope for. I'm thankful for the internet, though, as without it we'd be pretty isolated.
We need to toss all these losers and start over from scratch!
When do we march on Congress?
Well said Thanks
I don't like you anymore Harry!
Reid CAVED to McConnell Dems won the election.. or did we ? Why is Mcconnell still calling the shots ? Politics sucks but its only game in town SO we must ALL push them to do whats right Speak out now and often www.congress.org www.whitehouse.gov Give em Hell
Thank you, Old Blue. I checked out the link on those books. Very interesting! I would also highly recommend the writings of Noam Chomsky on this subject. - Alice I.W.
Harry Reid couldn't lead his way out of his own living room if his house was on fire.
AliceInWonderland what an eloquent way of putting it. Well said. I agree with every word. We have created our own worst enemy. Having been brought up in a state of perpetual fear our perception of the rest of the world has been warped. We have installed Dictatorships in every country we've touched and violated our own Constitutional human rights of everyone in those countries for the sake of our corporate interests. Then we've turned around and blamed the victim for their problems.
Also I have wondered why we haven't been attacked since 9/11. Only a fool would believe that we have thwarted all attempts. Personally, I doubt any serious attempts have been made. There are plenty of missing nuclear bombs available on the black market. It wouldn't take a genius to blow up an American city. I believe right now this threat is the number one concern of our representatives. Rightfully so! Personally, I have to credit the "Terrorists" with some integrity and compassion regarding how far they are willing to go to achieve their ends. George Washington was famous for insisting that his troops refrain from repeating the atrocities of their enemies. He realized that to win that struggle in a definitive manner history and the world would approve of we must act civilized. If that is the case with the Terrorists, and if they stick to it, they cannot fail if they earn the sympathy of the world!
I pray our humanitarian efforts will prevail; but, we must drastically change the way we do things.
Palindromedary~Surely you realize that we do indeed live in a Utopia--as well traveled that you are. This world is full of natural and artificial treasures that we Humans can enjoy at will. That lake south of Guadalajara is but one of those treasures you yourself mentioned. The only real problems we have are man made. They can easily be resolved and eventually will be resolved--is my firm belief.
Once again, it is this artificial fear we have that prevails in preventing us from realizing this Utopia as a people. We must cast out this obstacle from our world vision before we can realize the Utopia that is poured out without measure before us!
In 2004, when Republicans in Texas and Colorado wanted to redistrict for the second time after one census, it failed in Colorado due to a provision in the state constitution that says the redistricting is done only in consequence of the census. The effort in Texas succeeded despite a "Wisconsin filibuster", because there is no such implication in the Texas constitution.
Someone needs to peruse the Virginia constitution for anything we can use in court to reverse the re-redistricting there. And it needs to be done well before the election of 2014.
I have mixed feelings about that notion David Abbot. I agree that women by and large are more responsible and intelligent then men--at least for about 85% of any given month. For four to five days every month many women of childbearing age become a Hell Hound possessed by Satan! It could be argued that this phenomena is directly--or partially--responsible for the violence against women. Of course no Man is going to report any violence perpetrated against him by a female. But it does occur; and, is it unknown as to it's extent.
I don't want to imply that I don't think violence against women is real or a huge problem. I only want to be sure that we consider all the facts involved before we place blame. Only by understanding the causes empirically will we be able to find a practical and effective solution.
DAnneMarc, that's funny about Liz Bordon, but you know, for every woman who did that sort of thing, there were millions of men who abused women. Borden was a novelty because, unlike most men, most women were too civilized to behave in such a manner.
I didn't expect Obama's recess apointments to hold up in court because of the Senate's pro-forma session, but the intention of the recess appointment provision is for the President to be able to get work done when Congress isn't in town. This new interpretation by the DC circuit is absolutely insensible.
I still think there's a misinterpretation of "recess" vis-a-vis "session". Sessions should be divided by recesses by definition, meaning that if congress recesses in summer, then the spring and fall of that year should be in different sessions. Otherwise, why does Article II, Section 2, say that a recess appointment expires at the end of the next session? Yet in actual practice each year is treated as one session regardless of how many recesses there are.
Dan - Great post...my copy of "Slave Patrols" arrived in the mail today.
Palindromedary, Never underestimate the power of positive thinking. It is my firm belief that we are all capable of manipulating reality in our favor or disfavor with our beliefs and expectations. This has nothing to do with a "mystical power" or a "religious belief". Though these elements may play a role in your success or failure it is simple psychology of which that I speak.
A hungry lion is only going to eat what it considers to be food. If you convince the lion you are food, it will eat you. If you convince the lion that you are another hungry lion, it will probably leave you alone. In such a scenario, it would appear that you, the intelligent being, has control over the situation and your fate is in your own hands. Remember, you know the lion is bigger and stronger than you because you've scene yourself in a mirror. It hasn't. All it knows is what it sees. Put on a good of enough show that you are hungrier and meaner and are considering eating him and he might start cowering in a corner.
Either way, the worst thing that could possibly happen to you is your last thought will be, "Why did I listen to DAnneMarc!???"
Remember, if you fear no evil, when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the shadow will leave you alone. I suggest taking a good long look at Psalm 23. Fear is your worst enemy!
FDR was famous for saying, "It is my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" He was right!