When voters elect members of Congress, they are hiring them to do a job. Voters, through their taxes, compensate those politicians well — $174,000 a year, and more if they have committee or leadership roles. Many, if not most, voters — unless they are among the 12.5 million without jobs — work about 35 hours […]
Tag Archives: Senate
A Senate re-election announcement you'll never hear
A make-up woman brushes a small lock of my hair so it drapes slightly over my forehead. That errant wisp tested well with focus groups of women. I glance at the TelePrompter, reciting silently the first few lines. My administrative aide, a former K Street lobbyist doing a two-year turn of “public service” before returning […]
Filibuster reform and the zombie apocalypse
Once I was a believer in the time-honored Senate filibuster tradition, although by “believer” I don’t necessarily mean that I loved it or revered it, exactly. I was more like a guy worried about a zombie apocalypse stocking up on 12-gauge shells. In case things go to hell, at least the good guys have the […]
Senate procedure: it's not a three-ring circus, it's full-tilt clown war
I think the educated, informed and politically active electorate on all sides get the three-ring circus metaphor for our government. There just needs to be more of them, on all sides. Let’s see what happens, though, when I look, with beginner’s eyes, at the nuts ‘n’ bolts under the hood of the the Klown Kar […]
NSF clears Mann of misconduct implications made by Sen. Inhofe (updated)
National Science Foundation inspectors reject implications of misconduct made by Sen. Inhofe against Michael Mann.
'Oh, Congress! Oh, Congress! God mend thine ev'ry flaw'
When the national anthem is sung, I place my hand over my heart. I didn’t always. But I’m old enough now to appreciate, to be grateful for, what being an American citizen has afforded me. If I wish, I can own a firearm. I can assemble peaceably with others. I can criticize the government. I […]
Canadian Embassy emails reveal Canadian, US lobbying on tar sands-derived oil
Recently released emails written by employees of the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC and other Canadian government workers show that the Embassy directly lobbied the Bush Administration and Congress in an attempt to influence regulations and legislation that could restrict exports of Alberta tar sands-derived bitumen and petroleum. The emails further reveal that the Bush […]
Yo, GOP: Slash regulation? Or spend up to $27 million to save a life?
Many of the seats the Democrats lost in Congress can be attributed to a tea-party and GOP-influenced desire to shrink the size of the federal government. Presumed goals of conservative and GOP winners: Reduce federal spending. Shrink the deficit. Lessen government’s intrusion into people’s lives. Well, let’s see what these make-government-smaller politicians do with a […]
Opposition to New START pits Republicans against traditional allies
In the rush to thwart President Obama, Republicans trample their own values. Republican foot-dragging on President Obama’s signature nuclear initiative places them at odds with the defense establishment.
Republican go-to guy on nukes keeps Obama administration twisting in the wind on New START
Senator Jon Kyl continues to flip-flop on New START. Is New START “relatively benign,” as he called it, or ideologically unacceptable to you and other Republicans?
Hopes for today's elections
There’s a big difference between what I expect to happen during today’s elections and what I hope will happen, with most of my expectations focused on the federal elections and my hopes on the local and state elections here in Colorado. Here’s a quick rundown. Feel free to add your own hopes in the comments.
For a political rookie, a devolution to abhor and avoid
A young Afghan war veteran, whose family has lived in my district for eight generations, wishes to be my next representative in Congress. He would succeed the imploded former Rep. Eric Massa, whom I supported, and who taught me the bittersweet consequences of commingling voter naїvete with false hope, as did candidate-turned-President Obama. This young […]
The nation's 120,000 dams: Much more inspection, repair needed
As Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin sang solo in the nearby Dodge Theatre, 750 million gallons of water from the 16-foot-deep Tempe Town Lake near Phoenix roared through a burst dam at up to 15,000 cubic feet per second. Fortunately, no one died; no significant property damage occurred. Eight dam sections made of inflatable rubber […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- The Rest is Noise (6)—Descent into the Maelstrom
- I hate handguns, but I have still considered owning one
- Redneck jokes are racist
- Largest study of peer-reviewed literature to date finds overwhelming climate disruption consensus (UPDATED)
- Boehner: Oh, so now you’re angry?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
-
satanicpanic: I've thought about this myself. Other than needin…
-
Otherwise: 1. this whole collapse of order stuff is nonsense.…
-
Otherwise: yes, technically you're correct. bigotry would ha…
-
Samuel Smith: Even if I agree with every point you make, we're n…
-
Frank Balsinger: We might disagree on some of the not-so-fine point…
