Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Hastert rule

Dennis Hastert just said that there is not and never has been a Hastert rule.  He insists that he never had a rule that only bills supported by a majority of House Republicans would be brought to a vote.  Hastert is very hard on Boehner.  He also noted that he never brought a bill to […]

Will Boehner Prevent Extremists from Causing US Debt Default?

by Linda Beale Will Boehner Prevent Extremists from Causing US Debt Default? As the shutdown continues, Republican Speaker Boehner still refuses to bring a clean budget resolution to a vote.  It is most likely that a clean resolution would pass, ending the charade of the extremist Tea Party faction in the House willing to cause […]

The Supreme Court Returns

In the News York Times comes this notice: The Supreme Court begins a new term on Monday, even as the landmark rulings of last term continue to reverberate. The court has agreed to hear more than 50 cases so far on disputes both familiar and fresh: from affirmative action and freedom of speech, to campaign […]

Subsidies and the 4th District Of Iowa (Rep. Steve King) Summary Information

4th District and the shutdown, this article describes the predominant sentiment in the 4th district, and certainly Rep. King’s loudly proclaimed views, on the “shutdown” and even “default” as being not so bad. Mr. King gets a solid vote from its voters. From this site comes information on the 4th district. I did look for […]

THE CBO AND SOCIAL SECURITY… HYSTERIA and HONEST MATH

by Dale Coberly THE CBO AND SOCIAL SECURITY HYSTERIA and HONEST MATH The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a new projection for the costs of Social Security  [no citation.  I looked up the link in the AEI article (below) and did not immediately find a projection for SS].   They say that increases in […]

Dear GOP: a Daily Kos staff reminder on the constitutional process for changing the law

by Linda Beale Dear GOP: a Daily Kos staff reminder on the constitutional process for changing the law The Tea Party/GOP coalition has often talked about the importance of the Constitution, but one can’t help wondering if the recent extortionist behavior doesn’t belie that, when the governnment shutdown it has caused as a means of […]

Cruz, Tea Party, Hostage-Taking Budget Tactics (and the IRS)

by Linda Beale Cruz, Tea Party, Hostage-Taking Budget Tactics (and the IRS) The House, dominated by Tea Party/GOP politicians (or those fearful of their impact on upcoming primaries) passed a bill that attempted to tie the continuing operations of the government to compliance with Tea Party ideas about getting rid of the health reform legislation […]

Water, Mars. and curiosity

Curiosity’s SAM Instrument Finds Water and More in Surface Sample Sept 26, 2013 The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight. The results were published today in Science as one […]