A little over a week left before the August 2nd deadline to reach a deal and the Tea Party and Grover Norquist still have a stranglehold on Republicans in Congress.
Debt-reduction negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner collapsed Friday, derailing an effort to reach a landmark agreement to cut spending, overhaul the tax code and avert a government default.
In subsequent statements, both sides blamed the other for an impasse that threatens to plunge the nation into a fiscal crisis if the government fails to meet a looming deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling.
Barack Obama offered Republicans a deal which was slanted further to the right than anything a Ronald Reagan could have imagined in his wildest dreams. And John Boehner said no. Boehner walked away from a deal which had over $1 trillion in cuts in domestic and defense spending as well as $650 billion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Make no mistake about it, Republicans have broken government. Their refusal to compromise even when presented with a proposal which could easily have been written by the most staunch of conservatives a few years back, is a grim reminder of their ultimate goal – take down this president at any cost. Republicans have made the conscience decision to sacrifice the economic welfare of their country in pursuit of that goal.
Coming from abroad, this country seems as if it is beyond dysfunctional. It looks like a banana republic on the verge of economic collapse. Now that Nixon’s dream has come true and the GOP is fundamentally the party of the Confederacy, it was perhaps naive to think they could ever accept the legitimacy of this president, or treat him with respect or act as adults in the governing process.
But this is who they are. I longed for Obama to bridge this gulf in ideology. But he cannot bridge it alone, especially when the GOP is determined to burn the bridge entirely, even when presented with a deal so tilted to the right only true fanatics could possibly walk away from it. And so the very republic is being plunged into crisis and possible depression by a single, implacable, fanatical faction. Until they are defeated, the country remains in more peril than we know.
In a perfect world, the consequences of Republican’s indefensible actions would be isolated to the fools who empower the madmen at the voting booth – the Ailes’ zombies who have turned over all responsibility to reason for themselves to a right-wing lying, noise machine they pay allegiance to. The actions of a few has put into jeopardy the economic welfare of the U.S. and, in large measure, an entire world.
In this imperfect world, a minority of lunatics have taken over the asylum.
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With more troops committed to overseas conflict, an overwhelming number of US Veterans and caregivers are currently left in a state of limbo waiting for the programs associated with the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act to get started. Even though the act was signed into law last May and included a January 31st 2011 deadline for programs to begin, that date has since passed without any start or benefits for veterans and their caregivers.
The bill is directed toward getting better support for primary in-home caregivers to severely wounded veterans. This would include a stipend to be given to a spouse, parent, child, friend, or hired caregiver based on the amount of hours worked and care provided. The program also contains initiatives to pay lodging expenses and meal costs for caregivers who may need to accompany injured veterans on trips for VA healthcare monitoring and treatment therapy.
The growing cases of veterans and soldiers with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) have made the program crucial, as many military families have been put under some extreme financial burdens. This is because many spouses or children of veterans have been forced to quit their jobs so that they can care of their loved ones who have returned home from Iraq or Afghanistan.
The major increase and growth of TBI cases in soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan was the catalyst for the program when the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act was first drafted. Because of this, it was outlined to support only veterans of the current wars (post 2001).
One of the reasons that programs specified in the bill have yet to be implemented is possibly due to the fact that the VA is debating opening up the program to all veterans. Veterans and caregivers from previous wars are campaigning for the provisions of the bill to apply to them as well. Veterans with mesothelioma are some of the most supportive of this campaign. This is a type of cancer caused by asbestos exposure and extremely prevalent among older veterans because of the military’s heavy use of asbestos before it was discovered to be dangerous. Because the symptoms of the disease are often left undiagnosed until victims are in their late 60’s and the side effects are so debilitating, many of the veterans diagnosed with the cancer can be extremely difficult for caregivers to take care of. Unfortunately, because the mesothelioma life expectancy is only a little more than a year, many of these veterans currently pressuring for the VA to include them may not be alive to see the program implemented. Hopefully, not only will the act be pushed through sometime soon, but it could possibly include these provisions for older veterans.
Although the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act was a major step forward for VA benefits, the hurdles and obstacles in getting the bill started have prevented veterans from reaping its benefits and support. With Congress’ goal of having the program up and running by summer, there is hope that this bill will finally allow veterans and caregivers to take advantage of the support they so very much deserve.
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Taylor Dardan is a dedicated advocate of veteran’s benefits. He currently resides in the southeastern United States. You can contact him at dailydardan @ gmail dot com
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“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” – Mark Twain
Timothy Egan laments the state of Congress.
If ever there was a place in need of more comedy, and less comity, it’s the U.S. Senate.
Cobwebbed by senseless rituals, speeches which no one listens to and rules that make it all but impossible to act on the will of the people, the Senate cries for more ridicule, decorum breaches and old-fashioned wit.
Yes, they should be lauded for pulling off two of the most significant reforms of modern times, in health care and financial regulation. But those rare legislative triumphs almost didn’t happen, and probably will not be repeated — by either party on any major issue — for a generation. The default mode in the Senate, less by design than by institutional arteriosclerosis, is insulated decay.
And should Republicans win the House and a few more seats in the Senate, you can pretty much close down shop for the next two years.
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The President fires back…
With its ruling today, the Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics. It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans. This ruling gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington–while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates. That’s why I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. The public interest requires nothing less.
Good luck. Two words that don’t work in the same sentence – “bipartisan” and “Congress”.
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You’ve no doubt been dying to know who the top 25 wealthiest members of Congress might be. Just for you.
1 Darrell Issa (R-Calif) $251,025,020 2 Jane Harman (D-Calif) $244,796,667 3 Herb Kohl (D-Wis) $214,570,011 4 Mark Warner (D-Va) $209,700,598 5 John Kerry (D-Mass) $208,801,275 6 Jared Polis (D-Colo) $158,173,566 7 Vernon Buchanan (R-Fla) $142,432,692 8 Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa) $94,306,010 9 Frank R Lautenberg (D-NJ) $74,744,094 10 Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $72,380,637 11 Michael McCaul (R-Texas) $69,619,248 12 Alan Grayson (D-Fla) $54,451,020 13 James E Risch (R-Idaho) $53,325,524 14 Bob Corker (R-Tenn) $52,345,517 15 Cynthia Marie Lummis (R-Wyo) $48,288,514 16 Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) $44,917,518 17 Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) $40,898,090 18 Carolyn B Maloney (D-NY) $36,751,045 19 Gary Miller (R-Calif) $36,719,525 20 Nita M Lowey (D-NY) $33,835,578 21 Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $31,378,542 22 Denny Rehberg (R-Mont) $31,372,505 23 Yvette D Clarke (D-NY) $30,000,001 24 Olympia J Snowe (R-Maine) $28,542,526 25 Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) $27,363,295
For what it’s worth, 8 of the top 10 are tree-hugging, commie, love-a-government-handout liberals. Also, 44% of Congress are millionaires.
HatTip: Foolocracy
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Bush, Cheney and Barney - We can dream, can't we?
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has proposed setting up a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate potential crimes of the Bush administration.
Leahy said, “I think the Senate and the Congress as a whole has an oversight responsibility that has to be carried out here anyway. Now it is much easier with the cooperation of the administration. A lot of things with the subpoenas I issued the past few years, we got a lot of information but a lot of it was held back.”
For his part, President Obama has shown a reluctance to give his blessing to the proposal. While not offering an opinion he did say his preference would be to look forward and not backwards.
I don’t think the Leahy proposal will go anywhere but a case can be made that Congress does have Constitutional authority to investigate. For many, in both the US and the world, an investigation into the Bush administration’s crimes would be a form of closure.
One can only imagine the uproar Republicans would raise if Congress did go ahead with an investigation. As we all know, Reps are more concerned with BJs in the oval office than actual war crimes.
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Congress dithers in an economic crisis
Another 600,000 jobs lost in January…
unemployment is at 7.6%…
13% of Americans owe more than the costs of their homes…
…and the members of Congress yell at each other as the economic plight of Americans and the world worsens.
How sad is that?
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