The Courier-Journal today ran an insightful piece written by E.J. Dionne Jr. on the myth of “big government.” Big government is, of course, a scare tactic used to justify lots of awful things, from lax gun control laws to not providing for the nation’s poor. Just exactly how big our government has actually gotten under the leadership of a Republican president, however, is worth a closer look.
In slightly unrelated news, Mark Hebert reports that nearly two-thirds of Kentuckians want some sort of U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq.
Also, I’ve been meaning to blog about abstinence-only (mis)education for a number of weeks now, but Mary Q. Burton at the LEO does such a first-rate job in “Sex, lies and abstinence” that I’ll just quote in part:
Teri Lloyd was surprised when the sex education books her children brought home from school seemed woefully incomplete. The books omitted certain parts of the female anatomy — specifically, the clitoris.
“That’s got to be a shame, fear-based thing,” says Lloyd, 49, whose daughter, now 23, attended school at Myers Middle. “We just failed to educate them about their own bodies. What we leave out can be shaming, too. I wondered why that part wasn’t mentioned. I’m not opposed to teaching abstinence; what I’m opposed to is pairing it with shame or with lack of information about birth control and the human body.”
They can give enough of my tax money to fund religious anti-choice pregnancy centers, but can’t find a few hundred bucks for an accurate scientific rendering of the female anatomy? Nice.
I was listening Kimberly Strassel of the Wall Street Journal this morning on CSPAN as she spewed out a bucketful of phony right-wing talking points. One of them was that the new Democratic Congress was a "do nothing" Congress, because they couldn’t get anything passed. The blame, of course, was on the Democrats, because they were just being too darned partisan and not compromising (i.e., giving in to whatever Republicans want).
Mimikatz at The Next Hurray swats this dishonest talking point into the third row, citing a detailed report by the Senate Democrats and calling out our boy Mitch in the process.
"Many people do not know that it is due to him that the Senate has accomplished virtually nothing, while the House has passed over 400 pieces of legislation. Even bills that have been passed by a majority of both houses cannot become law because Bad Boy McConnell will not allow a vote on sending them to a conference committee. We all know that McConnell would not allow a vote on the Webb-Hagel Amendment, leading Majority Leader Harry Reid to file a cloture motion that needed 60 votes. Since the Dems had only 56 votes, debate could not be closed off and there was no vote on the substance of Webb-Hagel. McConnell promises the same on Levin-Reed and Feingold-Reid."
And let’s take a look at all of the important legislation that the House Democrats have passed, only to be obstructed by "nuclear option filibuster Mitch":
Senate Republicans blocked funding for the intelligence community (National Journal Congress Daily, 4/18/07), …denying our country the tools to fight the war on terror. (DPC Report)
Senate Republicans blocked a vote on reforming the Medicare Prescription Drug plan“ (Boston Globe, 4/19/07) and denied seniors lower prescription drug prices. (DPC Report)
Senate Republicans blocked raising the minimum wage (New York Times, 1/25/07) delaying a much needed raise for hard-working Americans. (DPC Report)
Senate Republicans are blocking the appointment of conferees on the 9/11 Commission Recommendations (DPC Report) leaving the United States vulnerable to terrorist threats. (Washington Times, 3/14/07)
Senate Republicans are blocking the appointment of conferees on ethics reform (DPC Report) halting progress on the “most significant ethics reform since Watergate.” (Washington Post, 1/19/07)
Senate Republicans are blocking a bill to bring transparency to campaign fundraising (The Washington Post, 05/09/07) denying the American people the right to know who funds Senate campaigns. (Washington Post, 5/9/07)
Senate Republicans blocked a vote on holding Attorney General Gonzales accountable (Reuters, 06/11/07) refusing to hold the Attorney General accountable.
Senate Republicans blocked legislation to make forming unions easier (Associated Press, 06/15/07) siding with corporations against average American workers. (DPC Report)
It’s quite clear that McConnell and his Grand Obstructionist Party (like Dewitt) are simply going to try to knock down any legislation that the Democrats and the American public want. Then, after grinding all legislation to a halt, they’ll simply sit back and criticize the Democrats for not getting anything done.
Will the MSM pick up this talking point? I think we all know the answer to that. The Democrats need to stay on the offensive and call out McConnell and his fellow obstructionists for blocking the legislation that America overwhelmingly wants and needs: change in our Iraq policy, lowering prescription drug prices, enacting the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, campaign fundraising reform and ethics reform. If the public can realize the nuance of this legislative process and how it is being manipulated by Mitch & Co. (and I’m sure they’re banking on Americans not being smart enough to figure this out), they’ll know that if they want this kind of reform to pass, they’ll just need to give the Democrats a bigger majority.
The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush’s warrant-free eavesdropping program.
Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were the Justice Department and the National Security Council.
The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal squabbles within the administration over the legality of the program, said a congressional official speaking on condition of anonymity because the subpoenas had not been made public.
The refusal and failure of President George W. Bush and Senator Mitch McConnell to properly fund their war in Iraq and our troops that they have sent there is leaving a terrible strain on this nation’s emergency response infrastructure.
A town was wiped off the map in Kansas this weekend, and there’s not enough resources available to respond, and it’s all thanks to Senator McConnell and his fellow Republicans who underfunded the war effort when they were in control of congress and gave huge tax cuts to the rich all the while.
GREENSBURG, Kan. (AP) — The rebuilding effort in tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kansas, likely will be hampered because some much-needed equipment is in Iraq, said that state’s governor.
Governor Kathleen Sebelius said much of the National Guard equipment usually positioned around the state to respond to emergencies is gone. She said not having immediate access to things like tents, trucks and semitrailers will really handicap the rebuilding effort.
The Greensburg administrator estimated that 95 percent of the town of 1500 was destroyed by Friday’s tornado.
The Kansas National Guard has about 40 percent of the equipment it is allotted because much of it has been sent to Iraq.
Greensburg residents will be allowed to return Monday morning to recover what they can. They will be bused in and must leave by 6 p-m.
