Mitch McConnell is having quite a week. Earlier this week, Senate Majority leader and sad turtle McConnell led Senate Republicans in boldly not voting for a UN treaty to protect disabled people. […]
Mitch McConnell and the GOP: Filibusted
Congress: Why throwing the bums out won't improve it
I like sausage. I don’t care what names attach to them. I like sausage, be it bratwurst, kielbasa, bauerwurst, chorizo, bangers, Italian, summer, or linguica. Different meats (beef, pork, even reindeer) and […]
Our hardworking folks in Congress: more interested in keeping their jobs than doing their jobs
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 […]
How my congressman, Tom Reed, lost my vote: He sent me a franked letter he shouldn't have
Imagine you are a freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Unless you’re an idiot, you want to be re-elected. It’s a cushy gig — it pays $174,000 a year. It’s […]
Surprise! Corporations secretly investing in U.S. politics, increasing need for DISCLOSE Act
In his book “Private Empire,” author Steve Coll relates a telling remark that reflects how Lee Raymond, then ExxonMobil CEO, viewed his company’s relationship with America. He was asked whether ExxonMobil would […]
July 5, 2012: Nothing's changed. The American dream continues to erode
Hope you enjoyed your hot dogs, Mom, apple pie, fireworks, and the inevitable flourishes of patriotism, both faux and real, on the Fourth of July. But nothing has changed in America from […]
Lindsay Lohan to run for Congress? Why we should vote for her
The strikingly beautiful young woman — she will turn 26 years old on July 2 — approaches the podium with its waiting forest of microphones. Her hair, reddish blonde and flowing well […]
Congress attempts to legislate away containment of Iran and replace it with war
Iran could be forgiven for interpreting our coercive diplomacy as a reason, were it so inclined, to arms itself with nuclear weapons.
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, […]
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 […]
