Republicans make their choices , for better and worse.

This kind of behavior makes me angry – Reported by Jonathan Allen of CQ Politics, last Thursday in Congress the clerk of the House was forced to read much of a 54 page motion aloud to an almost empty chamber while House Republican members attended a “beach party” hosted by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). Self-centered and petulant, Republicans like this refuse to deal with the realities of their loss of elections.

This kind of behavior makes me proud of Republicans – Every now and then Republicans come to their senses and refuse to go along with the plan of block everything at any cost. Some good examples follow.

• In a fine story by Manu Raju at Politico.com (7/24/09), Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he would be supporting Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. He promptly took an enormous amount of heat for his stance. Republican pundits called him “unreliable, lacking courage and understanding.” Graham responded, “Enjoy life in the minority,” according to the author. To quote Senator Graham,
  

  . . . the South Carolina Republican defended his decision to back Sotomayor by laying out a broad critique of conservative activists who push “ideological purity” and refuse to cooperate with a Democratic Congress and White House.
  “If we chase this attitude … that you have to say ‘no’ to every Democratic proposal, you can’t help the president ever, you can’t ever reach across the aisle, then I don’t want to be part of the movement because it’s a dead-end movement,” Graham said.

  “I have no desire to be up here in an irrelevant status. I’m smart enough to know that this country doesn’t have a problem with conservatives. It has a problem with blind ideology. And those who are ideological-driven to a fault are never going to be able to take this party back into relevancy.”

• Raj wrote an interesting piece the previous day citing subtle criticism by several Republican Senators of their colleague, Senator Jim DeMint’s threat that “if Republicans are able to stop Barack Obama on health care, ‘it will be his Waterloo, it will be his Waterloo, it will break him.” Though certainly not cooperating with Democrats toward a common goal, Senators Lamar Alexander, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn avoided the harshness of DeMint’s childish vengefulness with their comments:
  

  Alexander and McConnell: Asked Wednesday if he saw things the same way, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: “Of course not.”

  “Every senator is entitled to his own view, but that’s not the view of our caucus,” said Alexander, who, as the Senate Republican Conference chairman, is the Senate GOP’s message man. “I prefer what Sen. [Mitch] McConnell said. This is not about winning or losing; this is about getting health care right. That’s certainly my view.”

  Cornyn: “It’s a distraction,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who, as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is gauging the politics of the debate. “If they’d rather get into a food fight, rather than actually solve problems, I guess [DeMint’s comment] gives them an excuse to do that.”

This kind of behavior is smart – Democratic strategists, with a good deal of political acumen, are using Senator DeMint’s comment as a reallying cry for more support for health care reform. What we are beginning to see is that health care reform will not pass without at least some bipartisan support. We had all better hope that more statesmanship happens, rather than the behavior characterizing too many of the current Republican choices — ones made because of fear and anxiety.

Behind the Links

From the troubled –

“Upstate NY newspaper traces racist web posts to DHS computers*” is from Think Progress (7/25/09). Betmo’s words follow:

“people will truly understand that america is over. you are only as good as your citizens and our citizens continually suck. dhs employees are american citizens and if they were told to write the comments it’s bad. if they did it on their own- it’s even worse. it means that power went to their heads.”

“Sanford family back on vacation#,” is from Yahoo! News (7/23/09). Jon observes, “This guy takes more vacation days than shrub did!”

“It’s Not Sarah’s Fault…Just Ask Her#,” is from Yahoo! News (7/21/09).

From the Congress –

“Bachmann, Other GOP ‘Mother Bears’ Decry Health Care Reform, Long Fast-Food Lines#,” is from The Huffington Post (7/24/09).

“Anti-gay, pro-abstinence legislator had affair with intern#,” is from The Raw Story (7/24/09). Jon observes, “Another one bites the dust.”

“Drug Firms Pour $40 Million Into Health Care Debate#,” is from NPR (7/23/09).

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are Betmo*, Diane~ and Jon#.

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee – Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: blogging news links republicans congress news news and politics politics

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• The Republican 10 Point Plan for Health Care (crooksandliars.com)

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Follow-up on Congressional Favorites:

The Senate just passed HR 627, a credit card regulation bill, with 90 votes of yes and 5 voting no. Sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and Republican Senator Shelby, the bill mandates stiffer protections for consumers. Its provisions include a prohibition against raising card rates until after 60 days of delinquency, requiring 45 days notice before rates can be raised and prohibiting raising rates during the first year the card is issued.

The House had passed its own version of the bill April 30 by a vote of 357-70. The Senate, in an obvious compromise, included an amendment to allow guns in national parks and recreation areas. The Senate failed, however, to pass an amendment that would have given bankruptcy judges the authority to include mortgages in bankruptcy settlements.

Senators congratulated Senior Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich) just prior to the vote, for casting his 11,000 vote in a 30 year career. The Majority and Minority Leaders spoke in glowing terms about him as one of their most respected colleagues, whom one speaker characterized as “rumpled and unassuming, with a towering intellect, a good legal mind and an attention to detail.”

His brother Sander Levin came to the U.S. House of Representatives five years after Senator Levin. His Michigan colleague, Junior Senator Debbie Stabenow also spoke about her honor at serving in the Senate with Senator Levin. He grinned shyly, he spoke briefly, and with his eyes twinkling, he quickly got back to work, helping to pass the credit card reform legislation.

Addendum –

This post is a follow-up to an earlier post regarding “What’s to like about these legislators?” (cross posted at TPM Cafe). That earlier TPM post created a lively discussion sparked by KateO, who commented,

“I remember. I worked for a congressional agency in the 1980s-early 1990s. I’d say there was coequal status in the 1980s, despite Reagan’s popularity. In the 1990s, especially after 1994, it just became a battleground between the Executive and Legislative Branches–purely partisan. Then, in the 2000s, we had the Imperial Presidency with a totally subservient Congress. I would like Congress to be coequal, but we need smarter people in both Chambers, especially the House, for that to be something we actually want to happen.”

I replied,

“Kate, I had that thought as I made my brash proposal re “coequal.” Several things have made the talent pool diminish: need for fundraising makes lots of the good ones retire in disgust; the self-marginalization of the Republican party towards religiosity, regionalism, and reactionary views; and jerry-mandered congressional districts that happened after the last census. Last, and I hate to say this, because I have always liked Bill Clinton, he gave the Republicans far too many excuses for partisanship with his personal foibles.
I still think the only answer is public financing of campaigns. The money has such a corrupting influence.
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment. You nudged my ideas towards another post, I think. ”

Kate replied:

“Oh goody. Sometimes I feel like a dinosaur–I’ve lived and worked in DC for a LONG time (health and science policy). It helps to run things against someone who has a sense of history. So, please write that new blog. Although I am a lifelong Democrat, I very much miss the days when there were smart, honest Republicans in Congress, to provide a balance. I firmly believe in balance of power and it is a bit sad that the Republicans don’t understand that that means responsible and informed leadership. We need to get away from the politics of personal vendetta. I worked for the Clinton Administration, and have said many times on this site that I was personally hurt by his personal lapses. It undercut all the good things we were trying to do. You just can’t give your enemies that ammunition. I am hopeful that Obama realizes that. In fact, I am sure he does. So, here’s to the best of all branches of government. We sure as hell deserve it! There are good people in government trying to do good things. Thanks for acknowledging that.”

Now, back to C-SPAN.

[Post date - May 19, 2009]

My all-in-one Home Page of websites where I post regularly: Carol Gee – Online Universe

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics congress carl levin

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The Warrior

round circle archives- originally posted april 19, 2007

This is a repost of something I wrote some time ago. In my mind, it deserves repeating, for the message comes from my heart and tells a great deal about what happens to many who are called to war.
Please bear with me and allow me this time and space.

The Warrior

Veterans are Warriors, men and women who are trained to kill, for society. Men and women who have taken the life of another human being. Even those Veterans that did not see action in the form of combat signed up or were drafted and followed orders. They would have given their life if asked. They would kill if they thought, at any brief moment in the throes of war, that they had to. All soldiers, no matter what their military occupation is, are taught how to go to combat before learning any other skill or specialty. In basic training, these killing skills are taught to every soldier. Killing is the soldier warrior’s job. The warrior is somehow stripped of the belief that life is too sacred to erase; then they are taught the details of exactly how to kill people. With a weapon, with their hands. They are forced to practice it over and over and over and over until it is automatic, regardless of how scared they may be. Even if their hearts are pounding or if they are scared senseless, these warriors can still load, fire, and erase the life of the human being identified as the enemy. They kill, if not for themselves, for the soldier next to them who is a trained killer like them. A Brother or Sister, and for the society that has required their services as a killer.

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happy new year!

i got all of the happies this year happy cmas, happy solstice, happy new year!!!! i don’t do resolutions anymore. i never really look forward to january anyway because it is the longest month of the year. no more lots of food or good cheer. it seems like the year starts off fresh and clean and we have a whole year to do those things we always promise ourselves we are going to do. but… somehow instantly, we get right back to our daily grind. more so because we have frittered much of the month of december off reveling. so- my thought for the upcoming year is this- live each day as if it were your last- or your loved one’s last- and realize that life is transient at best. cherish life and loved ones and try to live a life that does no harm to others or the environment. and… happy new year!
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Lessons from Nature

round circle archive- originally posted april 3, 2007

As it was a blustery day in April, I wrote this story about one important lesson that was taught to me by Nature. I finished the story and went and sat down and looked out at the snow blowing past my window. I saw a flash of something and grabbed the binoculars that I keep handy. I spotted a large Golden Eagle in a tree outside the cabin. I grabbed the camera and shot this picture. It is a little out of focus for two main reasons. The windows need cleaning here at the cabin, and the snow was blowing so hard, it obscured the view of the Eagle. I believe this sighting to be a great gift. Not many see these Golden Eagles around here. Maybe it has a message for me, or for you.

Today is April 3rd and the weather outside is like a January day here in the Northland. We have the howling wind, dropping temperatures, snow mixed with rain right now, but in a few hours, it will be all snow. There is already a good two inch coating of slush on everything. I guess I shouldn’t complain. In fact, moisture is needed badly. Lake levels are down and fields are in dire need of moisture for the upcoming growing season. We didn’t have any precipitation before February this year. Besides, complaining doesn’t change anything. Mother nature will do what it must do. It just gets to be April and there are many signs of Spring and the warmer season ahead and here we are putting it on hold while this latest storm blows through. There is a lot to be said for nature and what it does. A spiritual teaching every time nature does anything that it does. Every wind that blows, from any direction, cannot be controlled. The rain or moisture in any form, falling from the sky. The clouds, or lack of the clouds that make a day gray or make it bright with sun. All these things, even the daylight and darkness are out of our control all together.

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What Road Less Traveled?

I wasn’t always able to travel. I did have to work regularly to support a family. I helped my wife raise three daughters, both with a paycheck and as a care giving Father. We had a couple of dogs and cats and we built our own solar heated house in the early 1980’s. In those days, there was no traveling. Only the trip to Chicago to my Father’s funeral in 1983. That trip was sponsored by an older man who was a friend and neighbor. He gave me some cash in folded bills and let me use his late model car to drive my family down to Chicago, from East Central Minnesota, to be with my Brother, Sister and Mother when Dad walked on. Most folks know that you can’t have this life of a vagabond, being on the road, while also being a family man. I did have many jobs as a truck driver over the road. It paid good wages and that is what was needed to support the family. When I could, I’d get off the road to be closer to home, but invariably got back into the cab of a semi when we needed to make a better paycheck. Traveling for money is a lot different than living the life of a traveler.

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happy christmas

i don’t say merry too much because of my upstate new york accent- apparently, according to my husband, it comes out sounding like ‘mary’- so rather than get picked on- i circumvent i gave up the belief that this is a celebration of a divine baby years ago- but i know that many out there believe it wholeheartedly- so i am declaring a moratorium today (for myself) on negative christian references. this time of year has changed so much for me over my lifetime that it’s hard to imagine sometimes- but this year has been one of reflection for me- and many others it seems- so it seems right somehow to reminisce. i think that part of the whole magic of the season for me- was santa claus. not just for the gifts- i mean what kid doesn’t fantasize about having any gift they ask for?- but the whole story. a great big elf man in a red suit who is magic. when i lived in florida, he came by helicoptor and when we moved back north with snow- it was a sleigh and reindeer. neat. and- hey- he knew if i had hit my sister in the head again or if she had bitten me on the arm and left marks- but he also knew that we had pulled it together in time for cmas- and been good for what seemed like foreeeevver!!!

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Changes in Attitude

round circle archives- originally posted september 25, 2007

Sunset over Chequamegon Bay from The Cabinette

The first day of Fall arrived officially at 5:51 AM on Sunday, September 23rd. Seems like the weather knew it, because the rain and wind have blown most of the tree leaves to the ground already. I went to the outhouse early this morning and noticed the carnage of the yellow, red and amber leaves. I open the outhouse door and push the door all the way around. I sit there with a full view of nature instead of with the door closed. There are no neighbors, so I don’t have to be concerned with vanity. I watched the leaves fall and land on the ground in bunches. This time of year, the weather, more than the date, dictates my feelings. It’s time for a sweatshirt, maybe the hooded one from South Dakota State, Vermillion. The one with the Coyote on it. I trade in the Tevas for the Goretex lined light weight hikers. I wonder if the oil needs changing on anything. Should I have the kids come over after school and put all their toys under cover? Everyone around here is sick with some kind of a cold. That’s another sure sign of Fall. School is back in session and they all get together and spread germs. Runny noses, coughs, mucus laden chests, wheezing and laziness abound. This morning, I’m better, but Mrs. Spadoman is down for the count. I’ll make the coffee today. Not ready to venture to the Black Cat.

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happy winter solstice

The winter solstice is here! That’s right- the ancient celebration that morphed into the biggest consumeristic experience of the year! It is the ancient celebration that cmas is based on- as the ancient roman powers that be assimilated pagan customs into their version of Christianity (much like the borg.) so what exactly is the winter solstice?

A solstice occurs twice a year, whenever Earth’s axis tilts the most toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to be farthest north or south at noon. The name is derived from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstice, the Sun stands still in declination, that is, its movement north or south is minimal. The term solstice can also be used in a wider sense as the date (day) that such a passage happens. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are related to the seasons.

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Music and Laughter: The Gift I Give To You This Christmacus

Last week I talked about how I was skipping Christmas because I really don’t like the stress involved in the preparations.

I really don’t.

But, I think I was being a tad disingenuous (Dusty, you totally owe me a quarter…) because there is one aspect of this holiday season that I really do love.

Nope, it’s not all the goodies I receive from loved ones and friends. Besides, I’m a girl who has “everything”, the only thing that Santa could bring me that would top anything I’ve ever received from friends and relations (or even Santa, himself) is a phat record contract and I don’t see the Jolly Fat Dude coming through on that Christmas wish, anytime soon.

(Although, umm…Santa…if you are listening…I’ll totally do better by my talents than that Pop-Idiot Britney or that other Wine-y Wench…)

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American Owned

When you travel in this beautiful country of ours, have you seen the signs? The marquees, the ones close to the ground, usually a yellow background, with the letters made of plastic so you can change the message? You know the kind I’m talking about, don’t you? Maybe you’ve seen them right in the town where you live. If you’ve seen them, they say, “American Owned”, and they are on motels- usually the Mom and Pop type motels (one level older than 1950’s era motels), but also on Super 8 and Days Inns here and there. Do you know what that’s all about?

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Re: Torture Tapes,Here comes the Judge…

Seems BushCo might have a bad case of indigestion this week. From TPMmuckraker we get some lovely news:

Judge Orders Hearing on Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes

And the judicial branch enters the fray.

Much to the administration’s chagrin, Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. has ordered a hearing on the CIA’s destruction of the torture tapes for this Friday at 11 AM.

This IS sweet music to my ears. Judge Kennedy is a Clinton-appointed judge, who also ordered BushCo, back in 2005, to safeguard “all evidence and information regarding the torture, mistreatment, and abuse of detainees now at the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay.”

I love you Judge Kennedy..not in that way of course, but as a protector of the constitution and all things anti-torture. Here is hoping you give BushCo major heartburn Friday @ 11am.

Amazingly BushCo opposed this hearing. LOL..like that is friggin news my dear reader. Bush’s lawyers argued that the hearing “is both unnecessary and potentially disruptive.” Oh please..its all unnecessary according to the Idiot-in-Chief and his minions. Keep us all in the dark and feed us bullshit is their modus operandi. The NYT article goes in depth as to the arguments the Bush administration will use to attempt to get this tossed.

FindLaw has a good writeup on it as well here, plus copies of the court doc’s.

Stay tuned..

Tags: Torture Tapes, CIA,

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relationships

i am not a terribly social person. i don’t like small talk and playing social games that many seem to enjoy. i much prefer intimate settings where folks can get to know each other and talk about interesting things- and i think that’s why i enjoy blogging so much. i don’t need the instant gratification of a telephone call or instant messaging- indeed i much prefer email or snail mail. my friends on the receiving end prefer email because i have such horrible handwriting. my mom told me i have doctor’s handwriting this time of year makes folks reflective and i suppose i am no different. i look back at the last year and i marvel at the folks i have gotten to know from around the globe- most of us united by common threads- saving democracy; saving the planet, and just plain life experiences. for me, i am grateful for the internet and if i had one cause to fight for it would be to save the current freedom of communication that we have now. on the internet, it doesn’t matter what color you are- or religion or gender- your words and thoughts show up on the screen first. it doesn’t matter where in the world you are- common folks coming together for a common cause can find each other- and the bonds of humanity are strengthened. what better way to promote peace and common threads and similarities than reaching across the digital expanse and shaking hands?

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Why we should care?

Today’s post is short and I hope sweet, sweet with truth and meaning. This is the third “anniversary” of my son, Kelsey’s death and this is all I have in me….

Why we should care? A race related post on another blog resulted in a heated exchange, as they so often do. The question was asked in relation to “whites” caring about the “plight of the blacks”… if they cared nothing about helping themselves, in the posters view, why should we?

I caught an excellent documentary on Tony Kushner, the great American playwright. One of his colleague’s comments sparked this reply.

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“The biggest evironmental crime in history”

That, my dear reader, is the title of the Independent article I read last Sunday evening in my inbox. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to see that it was about British Petroleum..aka BP. It’s the description of a Canadian drilling project which environmentalists and people with a modicum of common sense brand BP’s method of ‘extraction’. From the Indy article:

BP, the British oil giant that pledged to move “Beyond Petroleum” by finding cleaner ways to produce fossil fuels, is being accused of abandoning its “green sheen” by investing nearly £1.5bn to extract oil from the Canadian wilderness using methods which environmentalists say are part of the “biggest global warming crime” in history.

The multinational oil and gas producer, which last year made a profit of £11bn, is facing a head-on confrontation with the green lobby in the pristine forests of North America after Greenpeace pledged a direct action campaign against BP following its decision to reverse a long-standing policy and invest heavily in extracting so-called “oil sands” that lie beneath the Canadian province of Alberta and form the world’s second-largest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia.

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