Congress
Busy #opengov week here in NYC. I’m pleased to be attending the following events on behalf of PPF: Read more
Yes. I busted my ass for Obama the first time around.
Opened my checkbook, campaigned, knocked on doors. Did everything I could to see that he carried Florida in the Presidential election.
Not easy in a place where Fred Thompson signs were as common as plastic pink flamingos at the time during the primary and right wing nuts carried Soviet flags outside of local Obama campaign headquarters. Where women thought Palin was the essence of true feminism. I had the lone Obama sign on my lawn in a sea of McCain - Palin cardboard.
But I got the last laugh. At least I thought so at the time.
We had elected a Democratic President and controlled the two Houses of Congress. And we carried Florida.
Maybe something would get done.
Maybe universal healthcare. Maybe peace would come. Maybe a society which would leave behind racism. Maybe repeal of the Bush tax giveaways to billionaires. Maybe we would spend money on people rather than aircraft carriers. Maybe we would stop torturing people. Maybe Gitmo would close.
Maybe. Read more
This weekend in D.C. – it’s the “un-conference” of the year for #opengov heads & civic engagement developers. That would be Transparency Camp, organized by the Sunlight Foundation. By “un-conference”, it’s a straightforward-yet-refreshing take on usual conference get-togethers – panels are generally organized bottom-up, so actual tech developers can get-together in the same room and look at actual code & actual features & actual data & actual UIs & actual needs & actual opportunities. Well maybe not as much as would be ideal, but it’s still rather refreshing if you’ve spent months looking at a project management system like Pivotal Tracker or whatever & writing grant proposals in Google Docs.
David from OC & PPF will be there to demo our new major project: Read more
Can Conservatives and Moderates get along? Could a Liberal be friends with a Republican? Is inter-political party love possible? Of course- these things happen every day. But if relationships are built on common values, how is this possible? Many Congressmen and Congresswomen believe Democrats and Republicans have different values, and that these values are an impassable gulf between us. However, the intractable divisions between the parties, from gun control to budget cuts, are all political, not value-based.
Except for sociopaths, all of us want our country to prosper and be safe. We want to see ourselves reflected in the leaders that represent us. Americans want to feel heard. How we achieve these aims is where we diverge. This is where politics steps in. Read more
The President having GOP Senators for dinner didn't stop them from having him for lunch. He may win over their taste-buds and tummies, but it's a far reach to their hearts and minds.
Paul Ryan's past budget proposals have turned the Republicans into lemmings, yet despite a decisive national defeat,Ryan's new budget is a lot like the old.
More Americans speak against the sequester but stopping cuts requires Washington action,and in DC these days, the hardest task is getting Congress to do anything at all.
We need a group of proud aging men with differing goals & fractured alliances to can get together to make a decision.
They just did it in the Vatican -- why is Capitol Hill having so much trouble?
Whether discussing the white smoke in Rome or just the hot air and dark tempers in DC, share your thoughts, a drink & a night with your local progressive social club.
DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.
Remember the Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report" released in 2002? Sure it seemed liked science fiction at the time.
Washington D. C. is virtually crime free in the year 2054 due to the effectiveness of the "Pre-Crime Unit". This unit arrests and jails individuals before they even commit the crime thus sparing society from the scourge of lawlessness.
How is it determined who will commit a crime in the future? A crime that hasn’t happened yet?
Why the "pre-cogs"- pre-cognitives provide the names of future criminals. The pre-cogs are three gifted humans who can see the future, give the information to the Pre-Crime Unit so that hero Tom can go out and sweep these pre-criminals off the street..
Being a pre-criminal can make jury trials and those pesky constitutional issues a major annoyance. After all, no crime has a yet been committed so the system can’t exactly charge the perp with any wrong-doing. There may be some circumstantial evidence of a pre-crime but maybe not. Read more
Admittedly, I’ve slowed down on my consumption of news since I was hired to direct a nonprofit in January. At first, I tried to keep up with current affairs, pretending I had as much energy for it as I did when I was underemployed. But my patience and energy are waning. I feel a growing disgust with the new sequester drama, and it wearies me to watch it. If I don’t do my job, I get sanctioned or dismissed. When Congress doesn’t do its job, it gets a nice paycheck and ample vacation time. That is bullshit! I stopped watching.
A diversion! I needed a diversion from the real House of Representatives, and so I feverishly picked off the episodes of the fictitious one on Netflix’s superb series “House of Cards.” Give me Francis Underwood’s felonious antics over Rep. Boehner’s embarrassing fumbles any day. The writers of this series prove that sometimes real life doesn’t hold a candle to fantasy. Read more
If there is ever a deal between Congress and the president, to divert cuts and find some common ground, or should I say some fair trades, the big three entitlements
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Medicare and Social Security Can Expect Cuts appeared first on
Fidlerten Place.
Bleeding Hearts Vs Heartless Beasts
The President's leftward lean in his Address made hardy liberals' hearts beat faster, while Boehner's stony, silent stare made you wonder if his heart beat at all.
Increasing the minimum wage, cap-and-trade, immigration reform, pay equity, gun controlwere all valentines to progressive partners, while Rubio proved more heartless than heart-throb.
Investing in education, infrastructure, science, Obama wrote a love letter to the future. Saying that we're better off on our own, Rand Paul wrote a break-up note with reality.
On this Valentines Day, the direction of our nation may be as simple as following our hearts: we'd rather be called bleeding heart liberals than conservatives without beating hearts at all.
If it's bleeding hearts vs heartless beasts, we know who will be our Valentine.
Your heart needn't bleed alone as there are plenty of like-minded lefties ready to share politics and a drink
at your local progressive social club.
DRINKING LIBERALLY Find - or start - a chapter near you.
Recently, since the new Congress has taken their seats, there has been some bipartisanship efforts that have come forward mostly from the Senate, even on some major issues, such as
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A Congress of Hope or a Congress Divided appeared first on
Fidlerten Place.
Public polling shows that a majority of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, but will Congress even consider taking pot off the banned substances list?
Today, two members of the House — Rep. Jared Polis [D, CO] and Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D, OR] — are introducing legislation to change the federal marijuana laws. One bill would regulate marijuana like alcohol, and another would establish a federal marijuana tax (article will be updated with links to bills shortly, so check back). The introduction of the bills is a first step, but it doesn’t mean that there is broader institutional interest in Congress for taking up the issue of legalizing pot.
There is one big reason why Congress is not likely to take this issue up: they don’t want to bother the corporations that they rely on for funding. Read more
Yes
100% (2 votes)
No
0% (0 votes)
I'm not sure
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 2
