About the hold-up in the Sandy relief bill/pork-fest
Liberals’ new favorite Republican is Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor who this week slammed House Republicans for delaying action on a bill with aid for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. (They’ll be back to hating him the next time he goes on an anti-union rant or some such.) As I’ve said before, the real problem lies with those who lard up such bills with extra spending because they know those pet projects have a better chance of passing when attached to such an urgent measure.
Apparently that can be clear even to a politician in the storm-ravaged area, as long as that politician is not a moderate Republican running for re-election in a blue state. From Politicker.com:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who previously declined to slam House Speaker John Boehner over Congress’ stalled Hurricane Sandy aid, took his argument to the next level this morning and suggested federal lawmakers are partially to blame for the delay in the vote on the package because they insert “things that are totally extraneous” into bills such as this. Although Mr. Bloomberg didn’t specify the extraneous problem items, the legislation has been criticized by Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan for being “packed with funding for unrelated items, such as commercial fisheries in American Samoa and roof repair of museums in Washington, D.C.”
“There’s this ‘Christmas Tree effect’ where legislators put in their favorite bills and tack them onto something. The [Obama] administration does that, that’s why you have an omnibus bill — to force everybody to vote for things that would never stand up in the light of day if they were individual,” Mr. Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show with John Gambling. “I’m sympathetic. Yelling and screaming at [Mr. Boehner] is just not my style. It may be effective, it may not be. Everybody’s got to make their own decisions. I think the legislative leaders who criticize and those in the Legislature should stop and think, they do exactly the same thing in terms of ladling on things that are totally extraneous but it’s the only way they get them through.”
Exactly. Those who help wreck the legislative process shouldn’t complain when they find the legislative process is a wreck.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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686 comments Add your comment
josef
January 4th, 2013
7:00 pm
DUSTY
Ah! I do indeed miss your literary bent…!
JDW
January 4th, 2013
7:02 pm
@Rafe…”Not exactly true again, JDW, the US Govt has more than enough cash/revenue coming in to fund the debt.”
The debt but not the other committed obligations such as Medicare, SS, outstanding purchase orders ect… you are living in a dream world if you think paying the interest on the debt is all that is required to avoid default. You are also wrong on the committed part, Congress passed the spending authority that allocates every penny, that is what is in those continuing resolutions.
JDW
January 4th, 2013
7:04 pm
@TD…”False argument my friend because the President has the authority to redirect money from any executive branch department to cover a true emergency while Congress allocates the funds.”
ummmm….I am glad you think so but if he did you would be the first to yell. Very gray area and in the debt ceiling mess we might find out.
JDW
January 4th, 2013
7:05 pm
@Tiberius and LBB…you guys come up with an point and we will talk. If you choose to keep blathering I don’t have time for you.
Uh Huh
January 4th, 2013
7:17 pm
@Dusty
January 4th, 2013
6:41 pm
UH Huh
Speaking of minds as you did, have you had yours checked lately? I think your oil is a bit low.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your children each got a BMW?
YOU need to check your mind if you think WE believe
that LIE.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
@@January 4th, 2013
6:48 pm
Please stick around.. I’m off to eat dinner.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You are a fast eater.
It only took you 9 minutes to eat before you
posted again at 6:57.
OINK ONIK
josef
January 4th, 2013
7:34 pm
DUSTY
Don’t let Uh-oh rile you…as a better HOTSPUR might say…
“O, he is as tedious as a tired horse, a railing wife; worse than a smokey house: I had rather live with cheese and garlic in a windmill, far, than than feed on cakes and have him talk to me in any summer-house in Christendom.”
– Henry IV Part I: Act 3, Scene 1
Bruno
January 4th, 2013
7:43 pm
For the Reb:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-qdYP5Eb4M
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 4th, 2013
7:46 pm
Uh oh -
A pro-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender group issued a statement today urging President Barack Obama not to nominate Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense.
“GetEQUAL strongly opposes the potential nomination of Chuck Hagel to become the next Secretary of Defense. Hagel has, time and time again, taken every opportunity to lambast and denigrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans, and the Cabinet is no place for this kind of disrespect,” writes the chair GetEQUAL’s board Tanya Domi.
I’m just trying to figure out what this has to do with defending the nation but, what ever, it must be a democrat thing.
josef
January 4th, 2013
7:49 pm
BRUNO
So, how’s life in the provinces…?
josef
January 4th, 2013
7:53 pm
AESOP
I’ll try and remember I’m a guest here… besides, I’m “aggressive,” Hegel-speak for “uppity!”
josef
January 4th, 2013
7:57 pm
AESOP
Oh, it ain’t just a Dem thing…
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/274631-log-cabin-republicans-release-new-ad-attacking-hagel
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 4th, 2013
7:59 pm
josef – Google the words “Tanya Domi,” click on the image tab and see if that doesn’t scare you straight.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 4th, 2013
8:00 pm
Dat’s a hedgehog, fo sure.
Bruno
January 4th, 2013
8:10 pm
So, how’s life in the provinces…?
Just slogging away, one day at a time.
For the JamMan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCMwmhlFovo
josef
January 4th, 2013
8:17 pm
AESOP’s
She ain’t no beauty, thass for sure! Now, y’all’s Babeu…well…
BRUNO
I’ll be getting with you SE, one of my New Year’s resolutions…
Hillbilly D
January 4th, 2013
8:19 pm
A hello to Josef, if I’m not too late.
JamVet
January 4th, 2013
8:27 pm
Brother Bruno, playing some beloved George Harrison.
You’re the best. Back at ya, buddy…
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5667366/george_harrison_all_things_must_pass/
@@
January 4th, 2013
8:29 pm
Uh Huh:
@@January 4th, 2013
6:48 pm
Please stick around.. I’m off to eat dinner.
Huh????
My last post was at 5:10.
You are a fast eater.
It only took you 9 minutes to eat before you
posted again at 6:57.
Again…my last post was at 5:10.
Haven’t eaten dinner. Don’t plan to.
josef
January 4th, 2013
8:31 pm
HILLBILLY
Indeed, you’re not. I was hoping to catch you here. I’ve been thinking about you and some of our conversations a lot lately. I’ve been digging into the French and Indian Wars…no wonder the MAJOR historians tend to leave that Chapter out…
Michael H. Smith
January 4th, 2013
8:31 pm
I see the honesty of your socialist liberal audience is about on par with their objectivity, Kyle.
Non-existent!
Kamchak - "Socialism" is just a code word for "fear," the monster under you bed ~ Kamchak
January 4th, 2013
8:37 pm
I see the honesty of your socialist liberal audience is about on par with their objectivity, Kyle.
Socialism — BOO!
getalife
January 4th, 2013
8:39 pm
“scare you straight.”
Are you going to cure the gay?
Yup hagel is getting clobbered but think his views have changed.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
8:40 pm
@@,
Why don’t you eat dinner?
JamVet
January 4th, 2013
8:43 pm
Hagel is bad to the bone. What do you expect? He’s a Husker!
Moving on down the Tarkio Road
Headed up to Crete, Nebraska
Trying my best to set the highway on fire
But my bicycle won’t go no faster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUbi4QeeN_c
@@
January 4th, 2013
8:44 pm
In media interviews Friday, just-retired Rep. Barney Frank said he’d like the Massachusetts governor to appoint him as an interim senator.
What is wrong with these politicians. 32 years is ENOUGH! Time to move on, Barney….make it on your own.
Getalife:
I’m not hungry?
getalife
January 4th, 2013
8:45 pm
@@,
Are you on a diet?
Hillbilly D
January 4th, 2013
8:47 pm
josef
I’ve come to believe if the French had held onto the Louisiana Territory, this might of been a better place with a better history. We’ll never know the answer to that one, though.
A couple book recommendations for you:
We Have the War Upon Us, William J Cooper
Haven’t read this one yet but saw a talk by the author and he gave a very interesting talk about how mindless partisanship and not knowing your adversary led to events that took place.
The Un-Civil War, Leonard M Scruggs
It makes some interesting points, although it’s not really as a balanced a book as it should’ve been. I like warts and all.
America Aflame, David Goldfield
Haven’t gotten too far into that one yet. It does make some interesting points about who was mixing church and state, in the early part of the 19th century, in the U.S. That’s all gotten overlooked.
For everybody who wants a balanced look at the situation about the hunt for and killing of Osama Bin Laden…….
The Finish, Mark Bowden
Kamchak
I look at Google Earth a good bit and I noticed they’ve added a new satellite pic of my area, taken just a few months ago. I can see my tomato cages from the photo, which is probably not a good thing. Least they didn’t get a pic of me peeing in the yard, I guess.
Michael H. Smith ~ The Socialist monster is no longer under the bed
January 4th, 2013
8:48 pm
How’s austerity working out in Europe?
Nice 75% tax rate they have there in SOCIALIST France. Couldn’t help but notice Gerard Depardieu left the monster to starve and became a Russian citizen as of late, which he now praises as a democracy.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 4th, 2013
8:48 pm
A long, long time ago, when decency was commonplace, a GLBT was a sandwich.
Kamchak - "Socialism" is just a code word for "fear," the monster under you bed ~ Kamchak
January 4th, 2013
8:49 pm
32 years is ENOUGH!
John McCain — In office since 1983 = 30 years.
Translation: IOKIYAR
JamVet
January 4th, 2013
8:52 pm
Socialists, Communists and Marxists, oh my!
That claptrap if for losers like Alan West, who sees commies everywhere.
Excuse me, SAW commies everywhere. (Unless they are all in the unemployment line with him these days!)
I always loved everything about this song…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4xp2lgiAjY
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
8:53 pm
Hillbilly Deluxe
A few months?
Isn’t it about time to remove the cages and plow under?
Not sayin’ I’m any better — I’m still harvesting greens.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
8:54 pm
“And then, in 1945, with the country loaded to the gills with war debts, the top bracket hit an all-time high: 94%.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-tax-rates?op=1#ixzz2H3uKBmKz
Michael H. Smith ~ The Socialist monster is no longer under the bed
January 4th, 2013
8:55 pm
I’ve come to believe if the French had held onto the Louisiana Territory, this might of been a better place with a better history. We’ll never know the answer to that one, though.
Um… perhaps you should ask Gerard Depardieu about your hypothesis HD? Of course, you may not like his answer.
@@
January 4th, 2013
8:57 pm
Getalife:
No.
Some folks live to eat…I eat to live.
I’ve never been a big eater…more of a nibbler.
Hillbilly D
January 4th, 2013
8:58 pm
Kamchak
I got behind on my gardening. I usually plow under in late October or early November but I just never got time to do it, this year. I’ll have to do all that in spring. This was probably the worst garden year that I’ve seen, since I was a kid. Looks like I’m going to have to scale the operation back a bit next year, in hopes I can keep after it better.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
8:58 pm
A French actor is the cons new hero.
Freedom or french fries?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
8:58 pm
Nice 75% tax rate they have there in SOCIALIST France. Couldn’t help but notice Gerard Depardieu left the monster…
After decades of marginalizing the French, cons are embracing them.
Too funny!
Hillbilly D
January 4th, 2013
8:59 pm
Some folks live to eat…I eat to live.
That makes two of us. Eating’s just not the cosmic experience for me that it is for some folks.
Michael H. Smith ~ The Socialist monster is no longer under the bed
January 4th, 2013
8:59 pm
Oh poor wuddle brucie wilcox can’t fess up to his very obvious political beliefs.
Keep singing past the grave brucie.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
9:03 pm
Hillbilly D
I more than doubled my garden area last year and grew more than I needed. My late Da always grew beans, but I’ve got some canned from two years ago. I’m tempted to let the largest part grass over, but I wonder how difficult it will be to garden again.
Any advice?
Michael H. Smith ~ The Socialist monster is no longer under the bed
January 4th, 2013
9:05 pm
Conservatives are laughing at fool-hearted socialist liberals in this country embracing the failures of France and the rest of Socialist Europe and their misguided exercise of insanity will bring different results in this country.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 4th, 2013
9:05 pm
I’ve been to Paris
I’ve been to France
Those f’ing people
Tried to get in my pants
@@
January 4th, 2013
9:05 pm
Kamchak:
John McCain — In office since 1983 = 30 years.
Translation: IOKIYAR
WRONG!
From two threads down.
http://blogs.ajc.com/kyle-wingfield/2013/01/02/fiscal-cliff-deal-represents-everything-wrong-with-washington/?cp=all#comment-176678
josef
January 4th, 2013
9:05 pm
HILLBILLY
Thanks for the suggestions.
I got off on the French and Indian Wars from backing up from what I was doing on the de Frankicization of the South during Reconstruction. I thought I was getting a handle on it, more or less starting with the fallout from the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolt and the Napoleanic Wars. When I went back beyond the Treaty of Paris of 1763, though, it began to take on a new focus in my mind, and I am more than ever convinced that your contention that things would have turned out better hold up. But, as you say, we’ll never know…
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 4th, 2013
9:06 pm
Tax wise, that is.
I let the womenfolk have it
Michael H. Smith ~ The Socialist monster is no longer under the bed
January 4th, 2013
9:07 pm
Stick around, where France failed obumer will succeed.
Tax wise that is.
Hillbilly D
January 4th, 2013
9:08 pm
Kamchak
I’m pretty much planning to cut mine in half, too. What I plan to do is til the whole spot and sew clover in the half I don’t use. Clover is good for the soil and under fortunate circumstances, I can rotate back and forth every couple years. Clover is sort of expensive but if you let it grow ’til it goes to seed, it’ll keep itself going. As long as you don’t let it grow up in saplings, blackberry briars, etc., it should be fairly easy to get it going again, if you decide to do that.
I usually grow more than I need and give some of it away. This year, I barely had enough for myself. The rain just didn’t come this year. I went three weeks without a drop when folks a half mile away were getting a shower every few days. It’s always a gamble. Daddy always says if anybody really wants to gamble, forget about casinos and go to farming.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
9:09 pm
From two threads down.
Your “come to jesus” moment came two days ago.
There’s your sign.
@@
January 4th, 2013
9:11 pm
There’s your sign.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz