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Current Events => Breaking News => Topic started by: Chris_ on August 20, 2008, 06:02:07 PM

Title: As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff...
Post by: Chris_ on August 20, 2008, 06:02:07 PM: Quote
As U.S. Economic Problems Loom,
House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff
Members of Congress Love a Good Resolution;
Watermelons and Undertakers Fit the Bill

By ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON
August 19, 2008; Page A1

WASHINGTON -- The 110th Congress, whose term officially ends in January, hasn't passed any spending bills or attacked high gasoline prices. But it has used its powers to celebrate watermelons and to decree the origins of the word "baseball."

Barring a burst of legislative activity after Labor Day, this group of 535 men and women will have accomplished a rare feat. In two decades of record keeping, no sitting Congress has passed fewer public laws at this point in the session -- 294 so far -- than this one. That's not to say they've been idle. On the flip side, no Congress in the same 20 years has been so prolific when it comes to proposing resolutions -- more than 1,900, according to a tally by the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense.

With the mostly symbolic measures, Congress has saluted such milestones as the Idaho Potato Commission's 70th anniversary and recognized soil as an "essential natural resource." As legislation on gasoline prices, tax fixes and predatory lending languish, Congress has designated May 5-9 as National Substitute Teacher Recognition Week, and set July 28 as the Day of the American Cowboy.

The resolutions, which generally don't carry the force of law, can originate in either the House or Senate. However, some types of resolutions establish the federal budget, authorize the president to go to war, or condemn actions such as the genocide in Darfur. Even among the 294 laws passed thus far, many were symbolic in nature. Many of the post offices named by this Congress honor servicemen and -women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the 435-member House, fully one-quarter of the workweek is typically devoted to debating and passing symbolic measures.

All the Gut Wrenching Details (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910897089651793.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)

Yup, all 535 of 'em were just as useless as we thought they were... :loser: :banghead: :hammer: :bird:
Title: Re: As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff...
Post by: SSG Snuggle Bunny on August 20, 2008, 11:01:42 PM: Normally governmental inactivity is a good thing.

I think this bespeaks the impotence of Pelosi's congress. If she could get things done, she would; but she can't so to risk anything would prove too embarrassing. So it's better to sit idle.

Who'd've thunk that a conservative electorate could stymie the liberals into silencing their own blue dogs when even the RINOs would capitulate.

We live in interesting times.

:popcorn:
Title: Re: As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff...
Post by: Chris_ on August 21, 2008, 06:28:42 AM: Even though they haven't done any useful they STILL PASSED 294 laws. WTF!!! How many ****ing laws do we need.
Title: Re: As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff...
Post by: NHSparky on August 21, 2008, 08:21:36 AM: Nearly half of those laws were actually to name/rename post offices and other federal buildings.
Title: Re: As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff...
Post by: Chris_ on August 21, 2008, 01:00:36 PM: Quote from: Mr Snuggle Bunny on August 20, 2008, 11:01:42 PM
Normally governmental inactivity is a good thing.

I think this bespeaks the impotence of Pelosi's congress. If she could get things done, she would; but she can't so to risk anything would prove too embarrassing. So it's better to sit idle.

Who'd've thunk that a conservative electorate could stymie the liberals into silencing their own blue dogs when even the RINOs would capitulate.

We live in interesting times.

:popcorn:

I agree wholeheartedly - under normal circumstances. Normally, a congress that has done nothing means that the American taxpayer's wallet is safe for now.

This time however, we have countries that are demonstrably not our allies taking advantage of the fact that NeoComs masquerading as environmentalists have Congress and regulatory agencies by the short curlies when it comes to domestic energy production in any form. It would be nice if the 535 dipshits could pull their heads out, just long enough to take a machete to the overgrown rainforest of red tape that stands between us and the wealth of natural resources that could keep this country independent of these theocracies, dictatorships and juntas that do not have our nation's best interests at heart. By all means, don't leave the environment unprotected; make sure that these firms know that while Congress is stepping out of the way for the public good, they'll bring the hammer down like the wrath of God himself if an "accident" happens that can be proven to be the result of negligence of best industry practices and procedures.

This time we have an invasion force of 20 million illegal aliens occupying our territory with impugnity, drug smugglers kidnapping US citizens and re-crossing the southern border with them, torturing, raping, and frequently killing them without consequence, and a US Border Patrol that is under-funded, under-equipped, under-manned, over-worked and under-mined by Elected officials charged with securing the nation's borders, all in the name of "International Relations" with one of the most corrupt regimes in modern memory. It would be nice if the Congress could find a moment or two in their BUSY schedule ::) to shift precious taxpayer dollars from National Endowment for the Arts handouts and infamous Bridges to nowhere, to supply, man and equip the Border Patrol in a manner which addresses the changed nature of the threat these men and women are trying desperately to shield their brother and sister Americans from. A congress that was interested in taking the basic structure of the NICS for firearms purchases, and creating a copy of it suitable to administrate document and identity verification for employers, and then drastically ramping up the fines and imprisonment to be imposed upon those modern day slavemasters who continue to employ illegal aliens would be appreciated as well; if they could squeeze it in, of course.

I didn't elect my congress-shits to spend exorbitant amounts of my taxpayer dollars renaming post offices, or naming ANOTHER federal building after Chuckie Schumer of Robert "Sheets" Byrd, while the real, IMPORTANT business of my country went undone.
Title: Re: As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff...
Post by: Thor on August 21, 2008, 09:48:06 PM: It's time to throw the lot of them to the wind and start all over. Maybe then, we could get something positive accomplished.