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24 May 2011 20:45

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Politics: Elizabeth Warren subcommittee hearing devolves into pissing match

  • What time was Elizabeth Warren supposed to leave? We’re not completely sure, but she seems pretty angry about being held up by GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry (on top of having the meeting rescheduled repeatedly). Warren, the Harvard professor helping to launch the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for Obama, faced a tough line of questions from Republicans on the House Oversight subcommittee — questions which showed they didn’t even seem to know basic facts. It got so bad that Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth had to say this in her defense: “The questioning of your veracity when there is documented evidence that you are being totally truthful indicates to me that this hearing is all about impugning you because people are afraid of you.” Word on the street is that Warren may take on Scott Brown in his upcoming Senate race, which is a stupid idea because Brown is a moderate Democrat in every respect but party affiliation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2011 13:04

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Culture: That foundation probably isn’t up to safety code

  • Up, up and away! The folks over at National Geographic decided to recreate the balloon based lift-off scene from Pixar’s “Up.” I’m probably not giving much away to say they were met with dramatic and whimsically colorful success! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Feb 2011 17:07

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Politics: A Senate revival? The secondary F-35 engine that just won’t die

  • yes House GOP leadership, led by Speaker John Boehner (whose state stood to benefit), fought for additional funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s second engine.
  • no However, it was forced out of the bill thanks to the hard work of Rep. Tom Rooney, who corralled the freshmen Republicans to block the amendment. Whoo!
  • yes Now, Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown, among others, are working to ensure the funding gets back in the bill. Hey, at least it’s bipartisan, right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 15:50

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U.S.: Another paper tiger? House pushes to strip Planned Parenthood funding

  • 240-185 to strip the org of funding source
  • » This has nothing to do with abortions: This bill, which only passed in the GOP-controlled house, affects preventative-health services like cancer screenings or contraception – not abortions, which are maybe 3% of Planned Parenthood’s entire array of services and are already not supported through federal funding – at the grand cost of $330 million. Now, the likelihood that this would actually affect Planned Parenthood as-is? That’s very low, because this is part of that whole Republican-pushed spending plan that will likely not get through the Senate or Obama in its current form, but the fact that it’s even on the table is getting a lot of people worked up.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2011 10:14

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Politics: Who’s Tom Rooney, and how did he beat John Boehner, anyway?

  • We had to school them quickly. We hit a lot of them very fast, and told them it was a cut in front of them today, versus what may or may not happen in the future.
  • Florida Rep. Tom Rooney • Explaining the process he used to corral freshmen House members to help kill the funding for a competitive engine for a F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – against the plans of John Boehner, who pushed the bill on House leaders largely because the chief beneficiary, GE, is a major employer in Ohio, his home state. The plan, which would’ve cost $450 million, wasn’t to build the engine itself but to have a backup just in case something goes wrong. Rooney, a sophomore congressman, corralled 47 freshman House members to score a 233-198 vote on an amendment that scuttled the program. Not bad, kid. You’re gonna go far. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 11:00

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Politics: California Rep. Jane Harman ditches Congress for pure wonkery

  • what California Democrat Jane Harman will likely reveal plans tomorrow to vacate her seat in Congress.
  • why She’ll be the new President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center in DC. Ah, think tanks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2011 13:14

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Politics: “Help Us Jesus!” Birther interrupts House’s Constitution-reading

  • Look, it’s great that Congress is doing this, seeing as it’s never ever been done, but please, don’t shout any imagined amendments to the Constitution while it’s being read. It’s just kind of lame. (thanks joshsternberg for the tip) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Jan 2011 23:06

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Politics: Max Headroom: Darrell Issa has newfound power, car alarms

  • This guy wants to kill $200 billion in government waste: Rep. Darrell Issa is ready to take a hacksaw to the federal budget in an effort to kill waste in a number of organizations, including the EPA. As the chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Issa will have the power to do just that (along with many other things). Fun fact: Issa is rich because his company invented the Viper car alarm system, which features his voice telling people to get away from your car. We want Issa to do the same thing with wasteful spending. “Step away from the pork!”
  • Liberals: scared of Darrell Issa Not everyone likes the idea of the car alarm dude having this much power. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, is one of Issa’s fiercest critics, as MSNBC (and this Politico dude with a kinda weird accent) remind us. You can see the fear in their eyes.
  • Libertarian-a-Palooza John Stossel is probably one of the most well-known libertarians who could be called a journalist. Ron Paul is the current face of the libertarian movement. We don’t know the other guy, but he’s libertarian, too. They just keep agreeing with each other. It’s kinda weird.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 21:15

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Politics: Forced to make decisions, Congress instead sits on its hands

  • » So, look here: The Democrats don’t want to give an inch. The GOP doesn’t want to give a centimeter. The president just gave a couple of inches, and the Democrats didn’t like it. So now, we have two bills which could’ve passed today die on the vine in the Senate. Because both sides don’t want to find any common ground. Is it really that hard to compromise? Yes, yes it is.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2010 10:47

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Politics: Charles Rangel walks out of his House ethics hearing

“Fifty years of public service is on the line. And I truly believe that I am not being treated fairly. I deserve a lawyer.” Rangel needs a new defense team. His old one left in September. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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