And Now You Can Pat Yourself On The Back

GOP thanks voters for more leverage
In the weekly GOP radio and Internet address, Cornyn said the Nov. 2 Midterm Elections that gave Republicans a majority in the House and more Senate seats enabled his party to block Democrats from repealing Tax Cuts Jan. 1, The Hill newspaper reported. "This Bipartisan agreement was made possible because voters gave Republicans much more leverage at the negotiating table," he said. "Before Congress acted, every American Taxpayer was looking at a much higher tax bill in just a few weeks. Cornyn s...

Palin Calls Tax Deal Lousy
CBS reports: In a rare interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Friday criticized the $858 billion Tax Cut bill that passed through Congress early this morning, calling the Legislation “a lousy deal” that “creates a temporary economy with even more uncertainty for businesses and it does increase taxes.” “I think it’s a lousy deal and we can do better for the American People,” Palin t...

GOP senators kill spending bill over $8 billion in earmarks
Source: LA Times Republicans on Friday reveled in a victory over Government Spending that showcased their resolve in the fight over the federal purse. By killing a $1.3-trillion spending bill, the GOP extinguished a sheaf of earmarked expenditures and drew in straying GOP colleagues — even those who had inserted the Earmarks and helped write the bill, which would have funded the government through September 2011. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nevada) withdrew the bill Thursday night in t...

GOP senators kill spending bill over $8 billion in earmarks
Reporting from Washington — Republicans on Friday reveled in a victory over Government Spending that showcased their resolve in the fight over the federal purse. By killing a $1.3-trillion spending bill, the GOP extinguished a sheaf of earmarked expenditures and drew in straying GOP colleagues — even those who had inserted the Earmarks and helped write the bill, which would have funded the government through September 2011. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nevada) withdrew th...

A Budget Battle Looms Next Year
By CARL HULSE NYT WASHINGTON — The collapse of a government-wide spending package in the final days of this Congressional session sets up a politically charged fiscal showdown early next year, testing the determination of Republicans about to take over the House with promises to slash an array of domestic programs. As Congress struggled to assemble a stopgap measure to finance the government at least into the first months of 2011, House and Senate Republicans on Friday hailed their ability t...

A 1933 Washington Post headline: "Present Lame Duck Session Will Be Last."
David A. Fahrenthoid explains the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The trouble with lame-duck sessions began in 1801, when the outgoing Federalists used their last days in power to help appoint a bunch of judges. It flared up again in 1922, when President Warren Harding and the lame-duck Republicans tried to ram through unpopular Legislation after their defeats. Opponents said this was un-democratic: These sessions seemed to violate the ever-popular Washington rule that "Elections have ...

Dr. Paul Zeitz: GLOBAL ACTION ALERT: JUSTICE NOW! 31 Days Until Global Marches for Justice on 17 January 2011
GLOBAL ACTION ALERT: JUSTICE NOW! 31 Days Until Global Marches for Justice on 17 January 2011 Daily Blog on the Birth of the Justice Movement by Dr. Paul S. Zeitz all prior blogs can be found at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-paul-zeitz by Dr. Paul S. Zeitz Saturday, 18 December 2010 31 Days Until the "Global March for Justice" in Washington, D.C. and Global Justice Marches around the USA and the World on 17January 2011 www.justicemovementnow.net GLOBAL ACTION ALERT #1: CALL ...

Republicans Block Spending Package
WASHINGTON — The collapse of a government-wide spending package in the final days of this Congressional session sets up a politically charged fiscal showdown early next year, testing the determination of Republicans about to take over the House with promises to slash an array of domestic programs. Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio vowed Friday that Republicans would continue to focus on cutting spending. The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from Washington ...

Republicans Block Spending Package
WASHINGTON — The collapse of a government-wide spending package in the final days of this Congressional session sets up a politically charged fiscal showdown early next year, testing the determination of Republicans about to take over the House with promises to slash an array of domestic programs. Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio vowed Friday that Republicans would continue to focus on cutting spending. The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from Washington ...

Congress pontificated against earmarks, then then packed bill with pork
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: Still the prince of pork (AP) More than two dozen senators — most of them Republicans — put hundreds of homestate projects in the $1.3 Trillion bill to fund the Federal Government even though they recently voted to ban so-called Earmarks. The effort to pass the 1,924-page bill collapsed Thursday night after complaints by Conservatives over its complexity and size and the relatively few days to be devoted to debating its merits. Anti-spending tea ...

Dems and Obama Try to Make-Up
Suzy Khimm reports: Just days ago, President Obama and Liberal Democrats were practically at each other’s throats, trading epithets and insults. But as the president’s Tax Cut deal passed the Senate on Wednesday with overwhelming Bipartisan support, House Democrats appear ready to kiss and make up—or at least shrug their shoulders. With opposition fading, liberals who have vowed to vote against the bill insist that the rift with the White House is no biggie—and emphasize

Will the Senate Stay 'Til Christmas?
The Senate is busy, these days--very busy--and the prospect looms dimly that senators will remain in session past Christmas, breaking for one day to go home to their families. That's an unlikely scenario, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has signaled willingness to do it, and he doesn't want to hear "sanctimonious" lectures from Republicans on the meaning of Christmas. Democratic leaders will keep the body in session on Christmas Eve day if they have to, returning for session the next week...

Next up: Dont ask, dont tell
The Senate was headed toward a landmark vote Saturday on Legislation that would let gays serve openly in the Military, testing waning opposition among Republicans and putting Democrats within striking distance of overturning “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Passage would be a historic victory for President Barack Obama, who made Repeal of the 17-year-old law a campaign promise in 2008. It also would be a political win for congressional Democrats who have struggled repeatedly in t...

Congress goes into urgent mode; rushes to make it come for the holidays
Rushing to finish by Christmas, congressional Democrats worked Friday to secure Senate ratification of a new Arms Control treaty and to end the Military’s ban on Openly Gay service members as they neared the end of two tumultuous years of single-party government. Legislation to keep the Federal Government running until mid- to late February was also on the agenda, a matter for negotiations with emboldened Republicans who will take control of the House and add to their numbers in the Senate...

Hugo Chavez shows President Obama how to deal with the incoming Republicans!
Venezuela’s parliament has granted President Hugo Chavez special powers to deal with the aftermath of devastating floods. Mr Chavez will be able to pass laws by decree, without needing the support of Congress, for 18 months. His critics say the move will turn the country into a near-dictatorship. They accuse him of taking advantage of the floods to strengthen his grip on power before a new congress is sworn in in January. This is the fourth time Mr Chavez has been given such authority sinc...

Bob Corkers Definition of Activist Groups in the Democratic Party
Sen. Bob Corker threatened to kill START if Senate Democrats went forward with the DADT Repeal Legislation (emphasis is mine): In an interview with [Greg Sargent] just now, Senator Bob Corker doubled down on his contention that if Dems move on DADT, Republicans will be less likely to support START.”I felt like momentum was growing for START,” Corker said, adding that since Reid announced he was holding votes on DADT and DREAM, it has had a “chilling effect.” “IR...

Change! After Pelosis Socialist Reign of Terror, GOP Will Require Each Bill to Cite Constitutional Authority
After four years of Pelosi’s Socialist big-government reign of terror, Republicans will require each bill submitted in the House to cite its specific Constitutional Authority. Speaker Pelosi will turn over her gavel on January 5th. (New Editor) Fulfilling one of their most prominent campaign promises, House Republican leaders have unveiled a new rule to require that each bill filed in the House “cite its specific Constitutional Authority.” And for those who may have skipped tha...

Obama warns of nuclear treaty setback
US President Barack Obama has warned members of the US Senate Saturday that their failure to ratify a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia before the end of the year could set back relations with the former Cold War rival. "Without a new treaty, we'll risk turning back the progress we've made in our relationship with Russia, which is essential to enforce strong sanctions against Iran, secure vulnerable nuclear materials from Terrorists, and resupply our Troops in Afghanistan," Obama sai...

Obama urges nuclear pact passage
President Barack Obama has renewed his call for US senators to ratify an Arms Control treaty with Russia before the Democratic-led Congress breaks up. In his weekly address, Mr Obama said the "safety and security of America" was at stake. The US and Russian presidents signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) in April, but ratification has been delayed by disagreements. The treaty requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate to become law. That means that the Democrats nee...

GOP senators kill spending bill over $8 billion in earmarks
Reporting from Washington — Republicans on Friday reveled in a victory over Government Spending that showcased their resolve in the fight over the federal purse. By killing a $1.3-trillion spending bill, the GOP extinguished a sheaf of earmarked expenditures and drew in straying GOP colleagues — even those who had inserted the Earmarks and helped write the bill, which would have funded the government through September 2011. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nevada) withdrew th...

Drum agency funding unclear
WASHINGTON — The collapse of a year-end spending bill in the Senate has sent Rep. William L. Owens and New York's senators scrambling to save the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization and salvage tens of millions of dollars in construction next year at Fort Drum. In a preview of what a ban on home-district Earmarks may look like in practice, the FDRHPO has no immediate prospect for Federal Funding that has paid for its day-to-day operations since former Rep. John M. McHugh ...

Just One More Reason Why by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired
Just One More Reason Why by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired House of Representatives passage of the Repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) is one more reason why throwing out Democrats and liberal RINOs was well justified in the mid-term election. Just as they rammed ObamaCare through despite opposition by the vast majority of Americans, that same group is now trying to cram Repeal of the proscription against openly practicing sodomites in the Armed Forces down the throats of A

Christian Leaders Slam DeMint And Kyl For Using Christmas As An Excuse To Kill DREAM Act Vote
In their attempt to block any action during the Lame Duck session of Congress, Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) have callously resorted to questioning Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) faith for potentially keeping Congress in session through the start of the new Congress next year. Kyl has accused Reid of “disrespecting” Christians, while DeMint said it’s “sacrilegious.” Several notable leaders of the Christian faith community have already&...

GOP on earmarks: I love you, I love you not
In political campaigns, rule No. 1 is never doing anything that ends up hurting your campaign. It’s pretty simple. If you want to attack your opponent for unpaid Parking Tickets, you’d better have paid all yours.   In the earmark-ban era we are in now, Republicans are conflicted by their past support for — wait, I mean drunken spending on — Earmarks. Last week I wrote about reports that the House GOP is considering repealing and replacing its ban on earmarks with something tha

Inouye defends omnibus appropriations bill
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) forcefully defended the abandoned $1.1 Trillion omnibus appropriations bill in a Senate floor Speech Friday evening and argued that opponents of the bill were wrong to say the 2010 Midterm Elections were about ending Earmarks. Inouye's remarks came as the Senate approved a three-day continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown Saturday. The Senate is moving toward approving a two-month CR that would fund the government a...