Who'da thunk? Reading Constitution out loud called 'fetish'

Senator John McCain's Born Identity
What does he want? Revenge. For what? Being born. This is the way famous gunslinger Doc Holliday answers equally famous lawman and good friend Wyatt Earp’s inquiry - in their depiction in the movie Tombstone - into why their sworn enemy, Johnny Ringo, is such a misanthrope. Sadly, this description would be equally accurate in explaining the actions of another Arizona transplant filled with endless rage: Senator John McCain. I first encountered the seething side of McCain when I was writing...

And on the second day, they read
Day Two of Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives was highlighted with a reading of the 223-year-old Constitution — the document that formed the American government and guides it to this day. It’s often a raucous scene on the House floor. Today, it was raucous in the visitors’ gallery, when a woman calling herself “Theresa” disrupted the recitation of the Constitution at the exact point in which a lawmaker read that the president must be a “na...

GOP Introduces Bill to Eliminate Czars
A group of House Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday to rein in the various "czars" in the Obama Administration. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and 28 other House Republicans introduced Legislation to do away with the informal, paid advisers President Obama has employed over the past two years. The legislation, which was introduced in the last Congress but was not allowed to advance under Democratic control, would do away with the 39 czars Obama has employed during his administration. You mus...

House Republicans Introduce Bill to Eliminate Obamas 39 Czars
Remember Obama, “Elections have consequences.” (The Hill)- A group of House Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday to rein in the various “czars” in the Obama Administration. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and 28 other House Republicans introduced Legislation to do away with the informal, paid advisers President Obama has employed over the past two years. The legislation, which was introduced in the last Congress but was not allowed to advance under Democratic control, wo...

Obama, Republicans in high-stakes debt fight
The high-stakes battle came as Obama continued his White House overhaul in the wake of a November 2 Elections rout of Democrats by picking William Daley, commerce secretary under Bill Clinton, as his new Chief of Staff. Daley, 62, is seen as a Centrist powerbroker and has strong ties to the US business community, with which the president has had a rocky relationship, and has strongly backed efforts to expand international trade. The move came one day after Republicans took over the House of Re...

Happy Hour Roundup
* Did anyone else notice that GOP Reps. Michele Bachmann and Steve King -- both Tea Party chieftains who routinely wrap themselves and their policy preferences in the Constitution -- were conspicuously absent from today's reading? My understanding is that the arrangement was first-come-first-serve, so all you had to do to read is show up early. Maybe they had good reasons for missing the reading. But given that Bachmann and King never miss a chance to bask in the Constitution's reflected glor...

Helen Thomas Hired By Liberal Virginia Paper
Anti-Semites around the world will be thrilled to learn that disgraced former White House correspondent Helen Thomas has landed a new writing position that will allow her to publish her disgusting opinions with total impunity. The Falls Church News-Press is proud and honored to announce that Veteran American Journalist and national treasure Helen Thomas is coming out of a seven month self-imposed Retirement to resume her weekly column exclusively in the News-Press beginning with this edition, bo...

The Don't-Tread-on-Meter: Republicans make good on two promises: trimmer federal spending and starting the repeal of health care
The first 24 hours of the Republican House went almost as well as the Tea Party could have hoped. On a party-line vote, the House approved a rules package that cuts Government Spending from today to the day that Republicans pass a Budget. Those cuts are based on recommendations from Budget Chairman Paul Ryan—it's up to him to set the budget ceilings, which has some Democrats trying to irritate the Tea Party by calling Ryan the "budget czar." What's the Tea Party case against the rules? Rep...

Republican Congressman: If we dont go the right wayyou will see a third party
A freshman Congressman from Florida who associates himself with the Tea Party - not the party itself, however, which has formed in several states, including Florida - said the following in an interview with CBS: CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric speaks with three new members of the House of Representatives Rep. Allen West (R-FL), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL), as the 112th Congress convenes… “There are expectations out there,” Rep. West s...

House Republicans strip voting rights of six delegates who represent communities of color
LatinaLista.net -- The news yesterday that one of the first acts of the new Republican-controlled House was to strip the Voting Rights of the five territorial delegates representing Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa, plus the delegate from the District of Columbia didn't make sense. If the House of Representatives is truly the "People's House" as newly installed House Speaker John Boehner liked to say repeatedly yesterday then why silence th...

The New Congress and Southern California
With Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives, Southern California could see some big changes. NBC 4's Conan Nolan takes a look at what they might be. It's a new approach that could have a big payoff for patiens. It's called MD VIP. "Press:Here" talks with Jack Dorsey of Twitter, Sarah Lacy of Businessweek and Jon Fortt of Fortune. Even though her ex had a stint on the show. Snooki also loves that she's not from Jersey, and she dishes on when she sprays and when she lays (tanni...

Gutenbergs Constitution
He was a goldsmith and a printer who began to use Movable Type — the first man in Europe to do so. His use of oil-based ink was also an innovation. Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg’s greatest achievement was his 42-line Bible, which put into the hands of the people the sacred document which was the fount of all power for the Catholic Church of his time. His publication of 180 Bibles launched the Original Army of Davids, which put The Bible in the hands of man. The revol...

ABC Skips Controversy With Leftist Roseanne Barr, No Mention of 'Burnt Jew Cookies' Photo Spread
Hard-left comedienne Roseanne Barr appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning America and faced no questions about her Controversial, often bizarre statements, such as in 2009 when she dressed up like Hitler and pretended to bake "burnt Jew cookies." Instead, Roberts fawned, "Buckle up, folks. Roseanne Barr is back, making us laugh." An ABC graphic touted Barr: " Roseanne is Back! Past, Present and Presidency?" Keep in mind, this is a woman who once smeared that Repub...

Limbaugh: Reading the Constitution in House is 'An Exorcism'
For one of their first acts, Republicans are going to read the entire Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives. Now, I have nothing but respect for the US Constitution, as anyone who’s read my blog surely knows. But come on. This is a cheap stunt for the Tea Party base, and it achieves nothing except to serve as an excellent indicator of how the GOP House is going to operate. Time-wasting nonsense will reign. Rush Limbaugh, as usual, takes the Rhetoric right to where the b...

Reading the Constitution: The GOP's Intro to "Repeal Amendment" Shenanigans
Actually, I think Boehner's problem with the founding documents, is genetic. Here's my theory, and I'm sticking to it. There's a gene, that makes people gravitate towards Conservatism. And, that same gene, causes a "dyslexic," wackadoo perception of the Constitution in relation to the Declaration of Independence. Here's my proof: Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Limbaugh was at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), to deliver the keynote address and to accept their 2009 award for "Defend...

Neil Cavuto Randomly Plays Whac-A-Mole To Demonstrate Increased Bank Fees
The competition is on between Fox News and MSNBC for the most creatively pointless demonstration of a concept that wasn’t too difficult to understand without a visual. MSNBC’s entrant: a dramatic retelling of the epic spending versus Debt ceiling tale. And now Fox News presents Neil Cavuto playing whac-a-mole! Cavuto opened by reporting that Bank of America was raising fees for customers on certain banking activities in order to make back money they lost as a result of last year̵...

NPR says VP resigns, steps taken after Williams firing review
While Williams' dismissal was legal and "not the result of special interest group or Donor pressure," there were "concerns regarding the speed and handling" of the process, NPR said in a statement after the review. Independent directors worked with outside legal counsel to gather information. Williams' NPR employment was terminated after Controversial remarks he made about Muslims on Fox News -- which gave him a contract reported at $2 million for three years after the NPR dismissal. NPR said o...

Enough With Firing Journalists Already
It was announced today that Ellen Weiss, National Public Radio's news chief, has "resigned" in the wake of an internal report that found that NPR didn't do anything wrong in the firing of the commentator Juan Williams. Yes, I'm also confused. Williams's firing seemed rash -- among other things -- to me, but I'm not sure how NPR is served by forcing out (does anyone believe this is anything but a forced Resignation?) a news executive with an otherwise sterling reputation? I don't know Ellen Weis...

NPR Says Exec Who Fired Juan Williams Over Muslim Remarks is Out
National Public Radio said Thursday that a senior vice president who fired commentator Juan Williams over remarks he made about Muslims has resigned. Juan Williams' Firing: Censorship or Partisan Games Between NPR and Fox News? The NPR board, in announcing the results of an internal investigation into the speedy Williams ouster, said only that Ellen Weiss, senior vice president for news and former producer of All Things Considered, had resigned. NPR said CEO Vivian Schiller still had the board'...

On Fox, Juan Williams Talks About NPRs Juan Williams Investigation
Ex-NPR analyst and current Fox News analyst Juan Williams was on Fox today, talking about the conclusion of NPR’s “independent investigation” into Williams’ dismissal-an investigation that has led to procedural changes at NPR, the decision not to award NPR CEO Vivian Schiller a Bonus for 2010, and the acceptance of NPR’s SVP of News Ellen Weiss ‘ Resignation. Williams said Weiss’s departure was probably a good thing for NPR-and, he said, for...

NPR exec who fired Juan Williams resigns
Fox News reports that Ellen Weiss, the NPR executive that fired Juan Williams for his honest, candid answer to Bill O'Reilly, resigned from her position as senior vice president for news. The Resignation takes place on the same day NPR directors completed their review of Williams' termination. The board also voted to forgo a Bonus for CEO Vivian Schiller because of "concern over her role in the termination process."  Schiller attacked Williams, saying he should keep his opinions of Muslims ...

The Tea Party, the 112th Congress, and the Constitution
This morning, less than 24 hours after Speaker Boehner was sworn in, the United States Constitution was read aloud for the first time on the floor of the House of Representatives for the first time. Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, member of the loud Tea Party Caucus, led the reading after pushing for the reading. Democrats and Republicans spent two hours reading through the 4,543 document. The Tea Party is a conservative and Libertarian Populist Grassroots political movement that has organized r...

No More Mister Nice Blog
Republicans READ THE NEWSOUTH EDITION OF THE CONSTITUTION You know about the forthcoming NewSouth Books edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -- the one in which all the occurrences of the n-word are excised and replaced with "slave." Well,...

When your Congressman makes fun of reading the Constitution
Republicans are opening the 112th Congress with a reading of the Constitution tomorrow.  This seems offensive somehow to Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who told The Washington Post the reading was "nonsense," and "propoganda."   What comes to mind is a Christian pastor mocking people for reading The Bible.  (Hint: the pastor doesn't really disdain the Bible, just the people reading it). Most of us would think that a Member of Congress sworn to uphold the Constitution would welcome an...

Reading the Constitution: A Reminder That the Words Matter
There has been a lot of debate over the Republicans’ idea to open the new legislative session by reading the Constitution. Like Rush Limbaugh, I think it’s a wonderful idea. The importance of reading the Constitution lies in reminding the populace that the words of the Constitution matter . The very foundation of our Republic is the notion that the People of the various states chose to surrender certain limited powers to a Federal Government, while reserving all other powers not expl...