Read the Bill

So no one read the stimulus before being forced to vote on it. Now, the Sunlight Foundation is encouraging Congress to enforce the 72-hour rule, which is the amount of time that is supposed to be offered for all bills to be subject to public scrutiny before taking a vote.

Having time to read a bill is such a minimum standard of conduct that it's embarrassing that Congress doesn't recognize it.

Read the bill, okay? - Politico.com

Social Security and the market meltdown

I figured this would be a good companion piece for the article about Jindal's Medicare reform plan, especially given that the note I'm working on for the Elder Law Journal analyzes the common problems facing Medicare and Social Security and offers a joint solution.

One of the most common criticisms of a partial privatization solution to entitlement reform is concerns about what would happen in an economy like the one we're facing now. This piece by Ed Morrissey analyzes that concern and dismisses it. The one fact that he leaves out, which I find to be the most persuasive, is the fact that even during the nation's worst economic period, the Great Depression, the average rate of return on private stocks was still greater than the rate of return people see on their payroll taxes that go toward Social Security today.

Social Security and the market meltdown by Ed Morrissey - Hot Air

Jindal's Medicare Plan

Sure Gov. Jindal's performance last Tuesday was universally panned, and rightly so. I don't know what the deal was with it, but his cadence was off and he sounded ridiculous, not at all like he normally sounds. In order to evoke fonder memories of someone I still consider to be the next big thing, I thought I'd post a WSJ article about his Medicare plan.

His plan involves using Medicare dollars to buy private insurance. As cited by the article, his plan would provide incentive to doctors for good performance, reduce health care costs, and free up funding for other government programs.

Jindal's Medicine - WSJ.com

In the same vein, here's an article touting Health Savings Accounts, another solid idea that can save beneficiaries money and improve benefits.

Health Savings Accounts: More Time, Less Money - BusinessWeek

The Worst Part of the Economic Crisis

The worst part of the economic crisis is the great companies we're losing in the process. I'll miss Circuit City, and the attached article offers 15 more companies that might not survive 2009. I'm not really sure what I'd do without Six Flags, Sbarro, and Krispe Kreme. I may not necessarily frequent any of those establishments, but I sure do love them all.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Companies-That-Might-Not-usnews-14279875.html

Obama's anti-earmark promise

Obama expressly promised to veto any bill that contained any earmarks during his first year in office, so the omnibus spending bill seems like the perfect opportunity to uphold his promise. The GOP is encouraging him to veto the pork-laden spending bill, but I think we all know that Obama isn't even going to consider it.

GOP wants Obama to veto omnibus - Politico.com

Fairness Doctrine Blocked

Thank you Senator Jim DeMint for proposing the bill to bar the FCC from imposing the fairness doctrine. The fairness doctrine is offensive to our notions of democracy and the free market, and would be a serious violation of First Amendment protections. Only 11 Democrats opposed the bill, proving that proponents of the fairness doctrine are confined to far-left extremists.

Senate adopts 'Fairness Doctrine' amendment - Politico.com

Of course Dick Durbin promptly proposed an utterly feckless bill to attempt to appease some of those extremists with his bill to "encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership, and to ensure that the public airwaves are used in the public interest." Completely useless...

The Burris Saga

No commentary necessary:

Burris rejects call for his resignation - AP

Rep. Flake continues to take on earmarks

Thank God for Representative Jeff Flake. His ardent opposition to earmarks and other unethical uses of money in politics is commendable and essential to the proper function of our government. Of course, it will take principled individuals, will to change the way business is done in Washington if his fight is ever going to succeed. And clearly, Washington isn't exactly crawling with those types of politicians.

Flake takes on earmarks, contributions - Politico.com

Al Gore's fear-mongering

I think Al Gore is a fool and a fear-mongerer, so it brings me great joy to see him proven wrong again and again. When the global warming conference in NY was under threat of postponement due to blizzard-like conditions, I laughed.

And now I laugh again as the Dems are abandoning the climate change argument in the face of the economic crisis. Clearly the extensive costs that the environmental movement would impose are not something that this nation can afford in these times.

Dems Cool on Climate Change As Economic Pressure Escalates - Investor's Business Daily

His argument that the incidence of natural disasters was conclusive evidence of global warming always infuriated me because of how widely panned that idea has been for years by credible scientists. Global warming and cooling is a long-term trend, not an imminent disaster. Apparently Gore finally figure that out, because he pulled that slide out of his presentation. About time...

Gore Pulls Slide of Disaster Trends - The New York Times

Also, there was a report that arctic sea ice has been underestimated for weeks. Not sure how much that shows, but it's something I felt was related.

Arctic Sea Ice Underestimated for Weeks Due to Faulty Sensor - Bloomberg.com

I'm Just a Bill

Check out this great take on the classic Schoolhouse Rock tutorial on how a bill becomes law, updated to reflect the current Congressional environment, specifically the stimulus.

Instant classic.

http://jimtreacher.com/archives/001991.html

Is this the lost city of Atlantis?

This is entirely unpolitical, but very cool nonetheless.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2255989.ece

Obama still owes Chicago

With all the money the government's taking from the taxpayers for this stimulus package, the least Obama can do is pay back Chicago for the cost of his victory bash. Just sayin'.

Obama victory bash owes city $1.74 mil - Chicago Sun-Times

Huffpo red in the face over Fox News hoax

This has to be one of the all time great corrections:

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2009/02/20/huffpo-red-in-the-face-over-fox-news-hoax

The embodiment of America

This may be the single greatest image of all time. If I could find it in poster form, I just might get it. Thank you CollegeHumor.

Blago's Sociopathic Tendencies

Blago accused those in Springfield of hypocrisy, adultery, and excessive drinking, which is hilarious enough in itself.

Then, Speaker Madigan's spokesperson offered one of the great responses I've seen in politics, simply offering the dictionary definition of sociopath. Awesome.

Blagojevich blasts hypocrisy, adultery & excessive drinking in Springfield - Chicago Tribune

Ethics Problems for Obama and the Dems

Obama promised the change Washington, make it more ethical, and all that jazz we always hear from politicians. But how successful has he actually been? Yea, not so much...

Dems wrestle with ethics problems - Politico.com

Murtha and Rangel are both under investigation on corruption charges, but we know that the media will never fully explore either. If the two were Republicans, you'd better believe that the media would be all over them, just like we've seen for years. That's some bullshiz if you ask me.

Obama's promise of ethics reform faces early test - International Herald Tribune

And there's the serious problems facing Obama and his nominees for numerous cabinet secretary positions. It's not just that they have problems, but the fact that Obama stood squarely behind all of them, in spite of his vast assurances that he wouldn't accept anything even remotely resembling ethical conflicts of interest.