An Important Day In History
Today, December 21, 2005, will be an important day in the history of The United States of America and perhaps the world; for it is the start of winter, one way or another.
What is he talking about? Winter comes every year on or about the 21st of December. That is, the Winter solstice for the northern hemisphere, the point in time when the sun is furthest south in the sky relative to the earth, occurs this year, 2005 CE, today at 1:30 P.M. EST. But that is not the winter I am referring to.
Today is the day that the Congress, more specifically the Senate, of the United States will take a series of actions that will determine if the winter of the George W. Bush Presidency has arrived or if the winter of the United States of America as a world leader and beacon of freedom and justice has taken a major step and pushed us further towards our future demise. Just how serious does the Bush administration take the activities pending for today. Well, Vice President Dick Cheney cut short a trip to South Asia and the Middle East so that he would be present if his vote was needed to break any ties.
My latest blog, posting integrates what I have defined in my previous two postings with today’s pending events to explain just what is at stake for all of us. And it’s free for all to read, without advertising and without any gain for me except perhaps the knowledge that I have attempted to do something for my country and for my future generations (and certainly my ego.)
Imagine defying the free market this way! Whose surveillance lists am I bound to be on? Well I have news for them. I don’t have a cell phone to tap. I have no listed telephone number. But my email address is known along with my living address. There is no sense tracing my emails as these blogs are open to all to read without any alias. I have no terrorist acquaintances that I know of. I am not now nor have I ever been a member of any subversive organization. I have no money to make any contributions to any causes. If they want to sneak and peek to find anything in the 1 room in which I live, I wish they would let me know where they found it because I can never find anything myself.
I hereby declare myself to be a nonviolent patriot! I am a natural born citizen of these United States of America. I have voted in every Presidential election, State Gubernatorial election, and most local elections since I have been of voting age. I have been a member of the woking class most of my adult life and am now retired, primarily on my Social Security Income that I have earned during my working years. I have faithfully paid my taxes in accordance with the applicable tax laws. I have made charitable contributions to help those less fortunate than I. And I am proud to be a Liberal. Look up liberal in Wikipedia to see what that means for me.
So read on at An Important Day in History.
TODAY IN THE SENATE
9:00 a.m.: Convene and resume consideration of the conference report to accompany S. 1932, the Omnibus Deficit Reduction bill.
Probable attempt to pass the Defense Budget Authorization.
Probable reconsideration of cloture and then renewal of the Patriot Act.
All of the above are controversial and in danger of defeat. Since the Senate wants to adjourn until after the new year, failure to pass any of these acts would be considered critical failures by many. The House has left itself open to reconvene on Thursday to take any necessary action to pass legislation that may be necessary to keep the government from shutting down important programs.
Omnibus Deficit Reduction
The Omnibus Deficit Reduction bill contains measures that many have described as draconian cuts to social programs including medicare, medicaid, student loans, education programs, and etc., in order to save approximately 40 billion dollars. Some legislators fear a negative reaction from their constituents in next years congressional election should this measure pass. Others say it doesn’t amount to a cut in spending because the planned tax cuts that are conveniently separated from this bill and are to be voted on next year, closer to the election, will mean a net deficit increase of 70 billion dollars.
The expectation is that there will not be a filibuster of this measure because the Democrats are conserving the filibuster for more important issues. However the vote is likely to be very close and here is where Dick Chaney may be needed to break a tie in order to pass the bill. If it fails it will have to go back to the House to be fixed and the delay will probably mean another emergency continuing resolution to fund the government past the December 31 expiration of the previous continuing resolution passed mid December (12/17/05?)
Agenda: Starve the Beast. Increase the debt so that in the future the Government must get out of providing any social programs. Simultaneously reduce spending on government social programs and provide tax cuts for the wealthy while at the same time provide a cover for the upcoming 2006 election.
Policy: Reduce spending to provide funds to provide disaster relief for the victims of the Katrina hurricane. Get the deficit under control.
Action: FEMA Failure. Failure of government agencies to adequately perform their functions is designed to create a belief that government is incapable of performing social functions. Pointing of fingers, assigning of blame and gnashing of teeth. Yet, 3 months later precious little has been accomplished as compared to what was promised by President Bush in his New Orleans speech on September 15, 2005.
Defense Budget Authorization
This bill came from the House with a few additions that were unexpected. Some are fine and there without much disagreement about them in the Senate although some Republican fiscal conservatives might not be happy. These include additional spending for Katrina relief of 29 billion dollars that is 70% higher than the White House requested and money to combat Avian Flu and subsidize home heating due to the rise in oil prices, etc.
One provision that is causing the Democrats to consider filibustering this bill however is one pushed through by Senator Ted Stevens (R, AK). This is his second attempt to attach a provision to a non germane bill to allow drilling in ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Republicans are using all of the usual name calling like “how can you abandon the troops” and “the tree huggers are depriving us of a needed resource in a time of national emergency” and etc., etc., etc. The Democrats are screaming that the Republicans are breaking the rules of the Senate about not allowing non germane provisions in an authorization bill and they know that if they try to get a ruling on the issue, the Republican parliamentarian will rule against them.
The ability of the Republicans to force this issue will be an indication of just how badly weakened they have been by the fall off of support for the War in Iraq and the lies told to get us into that war for a Bush agenda that may have nothing to do with National Security and the most recent flap over the misuse of the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and the National Security Administration (NSA) to perform domestic communications surveillance (spying on US Citizens in the US) without a court order. (More on this in a separate blog posting.) Counterbalancing this weakness may be the gain in support that the administration may be realizing from their PR offensive and the blatant lies that Bush and his minions have been telling. (But again that is a story for that other blog posting.)
The Patriot Act
The Senate has already begun to meet so I will complete this posting later this afternoon. Yes, I missed my deadline!
What is he talking about? Winter comes every year on or about the 21st of December. That is, the Winter solstice for the northern hemisphere, the point in time when the sun is furthest south in the sky relative to the earth, occurs this year, 2005 CE, today at 1:30 P.M. EST. But that is not the winter I am referring to.
Today is the day that the Congress, more specifically the Senate, of the United States will take a series of actions that will determine if the winter of the George W. Bush Presidency has arrived or if the winter of the United States of America as a world leader and beacon of freedom and justice has taken a major step and pushed us further towards our future demise. Just how serious does the Bush administration take the activities pending for today. Well, Vice President Dick Cheney cut short a trip to South Asia and the Middle East so that he would be present if his vote was needed to break any ties.
My latest blog, posting integrates what I have defined in my previous two postings with today’s pending events to explain just what is at stake for all of us. And it’s free for all to read, without advertising and without any gain for me except perhaps the knowledge that I have attempted to do something for my country and for my future generations (and certainly my ego.)
Imagine defying the free market this way! Whose surveillance lists am I bound to be on? Well I have news for them. I don’t have a cell phone to tap. I have no listed telephone number. But my email address is known along with my living address. There is no sense tracing my emails as these blogs are open to all to read without any alias. I have no terrorist acquaintances that I know of. I am not now nor have I ever been a member of any subversive organization. I have no money to make any contributions to any causes. If they want to sneak and peek to find anything in the 1 room in which I live, I wish they would let me know where they found it because I can never find anything myself.
I hereby declare myself to be a nonviolent patriot! I am a natural born citizen of these United States of America. I have voted in every Presidential election, State Gubernatorial election, and most local elections since I have been of voting age. I have been a member of the woking class most of my adult life and am now retired, primarily on my Social Security Income that I have earned during my working years. I have faithfully paid my taxes in accordance with the applicable tax laws. I have made charitable contributions to help those less fortunate than I. And I am proud to be a Liberal. Look up liberal in Wikipedia to see what that means for me.
So read on at An Important Day in History.
TODAY IN THE SENATE
9:00 a.m.: Convene and resume consideration of the conference report to accompany S. 1932, the Omnibus Deficit Reduction bill.
Probable attempt to pass the Defense Budget Authorization.
Probable reconsideration of cloture and then renewal of the Patriot Act.
All of the above are controversial and in danger of defeat. Since the Senate wants to adjourn until after the new year, failure to pass any of these acts would be considered critical failures by many. The House has left itself open to reconvene on Thursday to take any necessary action to pass legislation that may be necessary to keep the government from shutting down important programs.
Omnibus Deficit Reduction
The Omnibus Deficit Reduction bill contains measures that many have described as draconian cuts to social programs including medicare, medicaid, student loans, education programs, and etc., in order to save approximately 40 billion dollars. Some legislators fear a negative reaction from their constituents in next years congressional election should this measure pass. Others say it doesn’t amount to a cut in spending because the planned tax cuts that are conveniently separated from this bill and are to be voted on next year, closer to the election, will mean a net deficit increase of 70 billion dollars.
The expectation is that there will not be a filibuster of this measure because the Democrats are conserving the filibuster for more important issues. However the vote is likely to be very close and here is where Dick Chaney may be needed to break a tie in order to pass the bill. If it fails it will have to go back to the House to be fixed and the delay will probably mean another emergency continuing resolution to fund the government past the December 31 expiration of the previous continuing resolution passed mid December (12/17/05?)
Agenda: Starve the Beast. Increase the debt so that in the future the Government must get out of providing any social programs. Simultaneously reduce spending on government social programs and provide tax cuts for the wealthy while at the same time provide a cover for the upcoming 2006 election.
Policy: Reduce spending to provide funds to provide disaster relief for the victims of the Katrina hurricane. Get the deficit under control.
Action: FEMA Failure. Failure of government agencies to adequately perform their functions is designed to create a belief that government is incapable of performing social functions. Pointing of fingers, assigning of blame and gnashing of teeth. Yet, 3 months later precious little has been accomplished as compared to what was promised by President Bush in his New Orleans speech on September 15, 2005.
Defense Budget Authorization
This bill came from the House with a few additions that were unexpected. Some are fine and there without much disagreement about them in the Senate although some Republican fiscal conservatives might not be happy. These include additional spending for Katrina relief of 29 billion dollars that is 70% higher than the White House requested and money to combat Avian Flu and subsidize home heating due to the rise in oil prices, etc.
One provision that is causing the Democrats to consider filibustering this bill however is one pushed through by Senator Ted Stevens (R, AK). This is his second attempt to attach a provision to a non germane bill to allow drilling in ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Republicans are using all of the usual name calling like “how can you abandon the troops” and “the tree huggers are depriving us of a needed resource in a time of national emergency” and etc., etc., etc. The Democrats are screaming that the Republicans are breaking the rules of the Senate about not allowing non germane provisions in an authorization bill and they know that if they try to get a ruling on the issue, the Republican parliamentarian will rule against them.
The ability of the Republicans to force this issue will be an indication of just how badly weakened they have been by the fall off of support for the War in Iraq and the lies told to get us into that war for a Bush agenda that may have nothing to do with National Security and the most recent flap over the misuse of the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and the National Security Administration (NSA) to perform domestic communications surveillance (spying on US Citizens in the US) without a court order. (More on this in a separate blog posting.) Counterbalancing this weakness may be the gain in support that the administration may be realizing from their PR offensive and the blatant lies that Bush and his minions have been telling. (But again that is a story for that other blog posting.)
The Patriot Act
The Senate has already begun to meet so I will complete this posting later this afternoon. Yes, I missed my deadline!
posted by Michael | 10:08 AM
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