Busy Night in Washington…
Posted: December 8, 2010 Filed under: just because 62 CommentsThere is a lot going on tonight, so I thought I would start a new thread…
Okay, this song sung by Groucho really makes me think about our current situation. Duck Soup was one of the earlier Marx Brothers films…hey even Zeppo is in it. The film had some sharp wit and was one of the most political commentaries that the Marx Brothers did.
The last man nearly ruined this place, he didn’t know what to do with it
If you think this country’s bad off now, just wait ’til I get through with it.
Oh, there are more gems in this song, give it a listen. So there is a lot of things going on tonight….You got votes going on for Dream, DADT and the most important of “must see” television, Obama will be on Mythbusters. Before you get excited about what myth will be busted, I can tell you it won’t be the one that I would like to see…Is it a physiological fact that the President needs a spine to be able to physically stand up and “diss” his base? I want to see that myth busted.
So have at it…and lets see what those brilliant folks in Foggy Bottom do….
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
grayslady
mablue2
JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx
NW Luna
peggysue22
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
A few recent items of interest:
Obama Desperate to Show Tax Support – Washington Whispers (usnews.com)
“Starved of Democratic support on Capitol Hill for his tax compromise with Republican leaders, President Obama has been forced to cast a wide net over the country in hopes of snaring some help. His meager take so far: the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., Anthony Foxx, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell.”
and
Over at FDL there is a Roundup:The Roundup | FDL News Desk
FDL News Desk
“I’ll probably update tonight once the votes come down in the Senate. The DREAM Act probably takes a bow tonight, in both the House and Senate, and we could see a vote for cloture on the defense authorization bill with repeal of DADT, though the latest from Sen. Collins does not look good.”
Oh, how delicious – this is most timely given the current situation. Thanks, you little minx you! :):
Its a great song…and I just love the lyrics…
I just love the Marx Brothers.
It’s perfect!!!
HUFFPOST HILL – Reid Puts Off DADT Vote
Damn….
“SENATE (don’t say ‘punt’! don’t say ‘punt’!) KICKS DADT, DREAM VOTES TO TOMORROW – The Senate spent the day waiting on the House to vote on the DREAM Act, which should come up shortly, but gave up mid-afternoon and put a pot of milk on the burner to sip while enjoying The News Hour in peace. Harry Reid spent the day in exceedingly fragile negotiations with Susan Collins, talks that essentially broke down several times, only to pick back up again where they left off. Late in the day, Collins told reporters she wouldn’t vote for the DADT repeal if it came up tonight. Lisa Murkowski has been largely in the same camp as Collins.”
again? He announced they were going to try … was it Collins and Snowe again? I thought they had them and Brown in the yes column.
AFP: US House votes to scrap Guantanamo closure
“The House of Representatives voted 212-206 for a catch-all spending bill covering government expenses in the fiscal year that began October 1, a measure that included the restrictions affecting Guantanamo and its detainees.
The legislation prohibits President Barack Obama from spending any money to transfer prisoners to US soil or to acquire facilities to hold them on US soil.”
House bars moving Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil | Reuters
David Dayen seems to think the tax plan is dead already.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/12/08/answering-the-charge-of-whats-plan-b-for-the-tax-cut-deal/
That’s not what Politico is saying. They just tweeted this.
politico POLITICO
#Taxcuts deal gains steam toward passage: http://politi.co/i4vRVv
great.
Maybe Dayen meant that all hope of fighting it is lost. I don’t know.
Comment on David Dayen’s post:
Well, things certainly won’t improve by its passing. I doubt it will do anything remotely resembling a stimulus unless Paris Hilton and a few of her friends decide to spend more of their inheritance here instead of the Caribbean.
Which is also why I find their strong arm argument to be quite bogus:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a915a786-0329-11e0-80eb-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz17ZWdz2qR
It’s like putting a few pebbles out in a road to stop an avalanche.
Democrats Down on Tax Deal Hope There’s Time for Tweaks : Roll Call
Tax Plan Spurs Deal Making – WSJ.com
“The sweeping tax package negotiated by President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers gained new momentum toward passage in the Senate, setting off a scramble by lawmakers and industry lobbyists to get favored provisions into the bill.
View Full Image
Associated Press
As Washington takes up a tax deal, Sens. Carl Levin and Jack Reed confer on Capitol Hill following the Democratic caucus luncheon.
Senate leaders worked to finish drafting the details of the tax bill and prepared for a floor debate as early as Friday, only days after the framework for the deal was unveiled. Administration officials hoped that development would increase their leverage among balking Democrats in the House.
Potential additions include energy tax breaks and infrastructure subsidies, sweeteners that could build broader support for the tax package. One proposal is an extension of a Treasury grant program for clean-energy projects. More than 20 senators, nearly all Democrats, are backing the program.”
oink, oink! No wonder they didn’t want earmarks taken away … bacon wagon alert!!!
I know, all the Dems that complained were just giving lip service…they are going to pass the damn thing…and get all the goodies they want from these lobbyist. I need some hot chocolate…and I think I’ll add a shot of something to get through the night.
House Approves $1.1 Trillion Measure to Freeze Spending on U.S. Programs – Bloomberg
“The U.S. House approved a $1.1 trillion measure that would freeze spending on most government programs as lawmakers pushed to complete work on a stack of unfinished appropriations bills.
The bill, approved 212-206 today, would cut billions from President Barack Obama’s defense budget request, freeze the pay of non-military government employees and give the Interior Department more time to consider potential environmental effects of proposed oil and gas drilling permits. It also includes $159 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
They postponed the DADT bill as they keep trying to woo Snowe. Unbelievable!
One vote short of the 60 needed and this idiot has the power in her hands to either defeat DADT or continue it.
I hate these people!
I thought I read a tweet that said the Maverick from Alaska (write in) was now supporting it. I think if the Dems wanted they could get it through.
Yes, I heard that too. And Lieberman (who was all for voting on DADT even if it meant going into overtime on the session) has changed his tune.
He is busy trying to prosecute the New York Times…and lord knows who else.
Biden worked with McConnell to “hammer out” this “compromise.”
A bit OT, but did you all see that Aretha Franklin has cancer…pancreatic.
Aretha Franklin Battling Cancer: Report | Billboard.com
yeah, and pancreatic is awful. It’s like a death sentence.
Sad to hear about her having cancer.
Last report Wikileaks per:
This is like observing the ‘Internet Matrix Movie’ live, with a cast that is too larger than life. The Guardian even has an article about the Evil Twin brother, in a snakie article, with the Evil Twin with gray hair being Joe Lei
Well, there is the comedy take on the matter. I personally don’t see the resemblance apart from the some gray hair!?! 😯
Killing the tax deal would have minimal effect on the economy, IMHO.
Hard to tire of absolute hypocrisy and this little gem from Wikileaks of the diplomatic cables is ok. Completely unsurprising but I’ll bet this doesn’t go over well in the Kingdom.
WikiLeaks cables: Saudi princes throw parties boasting drink, drugs and sex
This kind of leak could get Assange killed.
Did you see the stuff about the Afghani police and the “little boys” WikiLeaks: Texas Company Helped Pimp Little Boys To Stoned Afghan Cops – Afghan Police News and Comment
Oh, that company should be SHUT down.
That is not Senator Joe Lieberman’s priority as he is busy censoring everyone including trying to prosecute the New York Times. NoQuarter is in the Aurtralian papers, and well, we know Larry Johnson who is being interviewed here:
They are going to have to do a series, this is simply too complicated for a 3 hour movie and still it continues to take more turns, that one couldn’t have dreamed of.
Assange isn’t an American and we’re not at war with Australia. What the heck are they going to prosecute him for?
Exactly, how can they charge him with espionage?
Well, thus far, Joe Leiberman is just telling companies what to do, but isn’t offering what laws he is backing it up with.
Audio of :
PM Kevin Rudd of Australia is now back peddling and is now saying the breach responsibility is with the US security and not with Assange. The Australian public is beginning to get pitch forkie about the government in essence leaving him without a country and counselor support.
Julian Assange: Sex criminal or political prisoner – ABC 101208
Gosh, I wonder if our tax dollars were used to commit these horrid crimes against children.
I know watching law being made is like watching sausage being made, but really, this is so depressing.
The new food safety bill, which is not as favorable to small farmers as I thought even with the Tester amendment, got tacked onto the House extension of funding bill, or whatever it was. It just boggles the mind. A hugely important bill, having to do with our food supply and our autonomy, just arbitrarily tacked onto whatever was around.
Ohh well, I’ll try to remember to get depressed about it after Christmas instead of now. Heh.
As for the other stuff, why do they do this? They have months and months to debate, but they shove these important bills to the back and then rush them through. It’s like teenagers finishing a report deadline. No wonder it’s so dysfunctional and we are told we’ll know what is in the bill after its passed.
They do this so that they can hold out for the best payoff from lobbyist and big money donors.
And it’s all kabuki, or bunraku, I know. Because the lobbyists control all sides. So it’s really not Reps against Dems, it’s everyone else against them.
Funny, I got an email from caldem.org which is entitled, ‘Capitulation’. In it it says that we have to stop capitulating to the Reps on taxes, we don’t capitulate to terrorists, do we? And then it asks us to sign a petition thanking Pelosi and Reid for standing strong!
Wet toilet paper in the wind stands stronger!
Yes, I really should pay more attention to the food Bill. I will try and catch up, on it, via your post and do some exploring.
Update: okay, I just watched Mythbusters. And do you know what the big myth was? Get this, Obama wanted them to redo a myth that they did in some episode where the myth was busted. So…the guys put all this work and effort and money into redoing the myth, and guess what. It still was busted. Typical indeed. All that smoke and mirrors, with a big production, and the dang thing was busted. Sounds like O’s campaign, which stuck us with an administration busted as well.
Heh. What a waste of viewing time. It’s funny how Teh One was sure that mythbusters was wrong, because he, Teh One, thought so. Yea, his instinct is SO good.
Ha ha!
I’m sure it’s because he wants to convince the Mythbusters audience that he’s “one of them” by referencing past shows. God, he’s pathetic. It wasn’t the one where they dropped pennies off the Empire State Building, was it? That’s all we need, Obama standing up there with the Mint’s entire penny stash, with the CIA on alert feeding him intelligence as to when his enemies wil be strolling by. Get ready, sir, here comes the Constitution!
This just came through on Memorandum: Michael Bloomberg: I'm Not Running for President. Period. – Political Hotsheet – CBS News “I’m not going to run for president, period,” he said. “End of story.”
Well, in a way that’s reassuring because he’s not what I’d want. Now, the next question is who will run and is desirable? Just like you asked this morning?
I actually like Joe Cannon’s pick of DeFazio. But, but, I don’t know if it’ll fly at all, and I doubt DeFazio has ever given even a hint of if he’d like to run or not.
Yeah, I was thinking about this a lot today…
House Passes DREAM Act 216-198 | Crooks and Liars
House passes DREAM act!
Final Vote Results for Roll Call 625
And here are the final vote results…
Wow! Well, at least that’s the House. Now we have to see what the Senate will do!
You would think they could get the total number of votes to pass it, if they really wanted to.
I’m beginning to think the Senate is hopeless these days. It’s going to be worse in January when Rand Paul gets in. I bet we’ll not even be able to pass simple things. They all are little demigods.
House passes DREAM Act, but bill faces tough Senate vote Thursday – The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Here is LA Times take on it: House of Representatives narrowly approves DREAM Act; Senate must now vote on immigration bill | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
They can’t get DADT passed, the Dream Act won’t…just saying.
It seems odd that after TWO years of a democratic Super Majority, we’re finally getting votes taken–during a lame duck session in which they will loose their status–on Democratic legislation. Incredible!
you got a point…but I wonder if there is a back room deal made…pass the Dream Act and we won’t mess with DADT….
I hope not.
Woot! That’s some good news.
Come on now, repeal DADT!