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FROM AP: 10 Things to Know for Wednesday
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
He has served his paymasters year in and year out in his long Senate career, leaving little doubt in anyone's mind as to whom he really represents -- his nickname is the "Senator from K Street," and he alone carries that distinction.
How much imagination would it have taken to integrate the prospective changes in the way healthcare will be delivered and diseases prevented by ObamaCare into the already existing system of compulsory learning?
Congress just voted overwhelmingly to continue the national helium reserve in the panhandle of Texas. This is a holdover from World War I. Which Congress has never, ever been able to get rid of, for the obvious reason that it is not necessary in the slightest anymore.
If you want to see why the public approval rating of Congress is down in the sub-arctic range all you have to do is take a quick look at how the House and Senate pay worship at the altar of corporations, banks and other special interests at the expense of public need.
Immediately, some began to assert that Baucus' announcement meant the end of tax reform. Pardon me if I differ, but if anything, it probably helps the tax reform effort a bit by concentrating Baucus more on it.
Whether or not these challenges will materialize and be successful, the perceived threat is such that many incumbents don't want to put any daylight between themselves and the NRA.
It's one thing for people to come to California and ask for financial help because they're up against tough opposition at home. It is something all-together different when they vacuum up our money but then "take a dive" for the votes that matter most.
One of the biggest mistakes that advocates make is their failure to embrace and publicize success. After making the case for change and building the political will to pass legislation, advocates sometimes forget to circle back to celebrate wins and reinforce success.
In a sharp rebuke of a New York Times investigation, an analysis by the nonpartisan CBO found that a last-minute provision added to the early January "fiscal cliff" bill could save taxpayers as much as $4 billion -- rather than costing $500 million, as the Times had claimed.
The House of Representatives, where Congress gathers to hear the president, used to be known as "The People's House." But money power owns the lease now and runs the joint from hidden back rooms.
If you wonder why we spend more money on health care than any other country but have some of the worst health outcomes, you need look no further than the halls of Congress to figure it out.
The actions of Amgen and its cronies on Capitol Hill show who the real takers are -- not those who look to government for support in old age and hard times but the ones at the top whose avarice and lust for profit compel them to take as much as they can at the expense of everyone else.
Still licking their wounds from the tax battle that featured the first tax rate increases on higher earners in 20 years, Republicans are sure to hold President Obama's feet to the fire in demanding steep budget cuts before they'll agree to raise the debt limit.
Big Money, as Krugman writes in his book, buys Big Influence. And that's why the financiers of Wall Street never truly experience regime change -- their cash brings both political parties to heel.
