Category Archives: Congress
Spend Like No Tomorrow
Obama obliged Congress’s desire for extended vacation by delaying his request for an extended debt ceiling.
Looting the Lockbox
Republicans are said to have run up a blind alley since Boehner rejected the Senate version of the payroll tax cut. McConnell is still pushing hard for a 2 month extension of the cuts. After that, they can fight it out again – if Social Security isn’t broke yet. Where’s that lockbox?
Update: House Republicans cave.
Lockbox sighting?
Holder Holds On
Late last Friday the Justice Department dumped 2,000 documents on Congress. The stated purpose was to retract previous statements regarding gun sales to Mexican drug cartels. Despite the furious demands of Daryl Issa and others that he resign, top cop Holder held on during his Thursday testimony before Congress.
Under the supervision of ATF agents, American gun shops have sold over 2,000 guns (oddly a 1 to 1 ratio to dumped documents) to suspected Mexican gang members. The plan was to track the weapons to Mexican drug lords and arrest them. Except government superiors denied requests by agents to track the guns as they “walked” across the border. Why? No one knows, hence all the fury.
Some think it was an evil plot to create drug war violence involving American guns and use the bad publicity to clamp down on gun sales in the U.S. That seems cynical and far fetched. Except Sharyl Attkisson of CBS has come up with what may be a smoking gun:
ATF officials didn’t intend to publicly disclose their own role in letting Mexican cartels obtain the weapons, but emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called “Demand Letter 3”. That would require some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or “long guns.” Demand Letter 3 was so named because it would be the third ATF program demanding gun dealers report tracing information.
On July 14, 2010 after ATF headquarters in Washington D.C. received an update on Fast and Furious, ATF Field Ops Assistant Director Mark Chait emailed Bill Newell, ATF’s Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious:
“Bill – can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same (licensed gun dealer) and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks.”
All is Forgiven, Charlie Rangel
Charlie Rangel was censured in the well of the House a year ago. It didn’t take him long to get his virginity back. Party bigwigs showed up recently to to support him as he sold access to donors for $500 to $5000. Dana Milbank has the play by play in the Washington Post.
Private Sector Doing Just Fine Until the Rape and Murder Begins
Unable to push Obama’s jobs bill though the Senate, Democrats shoved it through the chipper instead and hope to pass it piece by piece. Wednesday’s piece was money for the public sector. Harry Reid said this is important because “the private sector is doing just fine“. Joe Biden deflected heat from Harry’s howler by threatening murder and rape if we don’t pass this piece of… legislation right away.
Here are some job numbers since Dec 2007 from IBD: private sector – 5.4%, public sector at all levels – 1.75%, public sector federal level +2.29%. Also, Bloomberg reports the average federal salary in Washington, DC is $126,000.
