Productivity and stylishness be damned!
In case you were paying attention to the debt ceiling debate or whether Republicans would try to halt the funding of military operations in Libya, then you may have missed that yesterday was “Seersucker Thursday,” the US Senate’s annual tradition of… fashion?
Mint juleps and good times were had by all.
Wow, this idea kinda … seer sucks.
A certain hacker group that’s been making headlines lately hacked the Senate’s website. However, they stole nothing of value — they only obtained information about to go on the site itself. The firewall protecting the Senate’s important documents kept them away from the data that could have been potentially harmful if released. Investigators traced the weakness in the system back to one senator’s office, but the senator hasn’t been named. In a press release about the incident, the hackers made it sound like this wouldn’t be the last time they targeted a government site, either. One thing is for sure — the White House should really look into cyber security if some amateur hackers are breaking into government websites this regularly. source
John Ensign fouls up his legal situation: A report by Reuters today suggests that a decision by John Ensign himself may have paved the way for the charges he could be facing. Throughout the probe, investigators had wanted to get a look at a trove of Ensign’s e-mails, which he and his team claimed were protected by attorney-client confidentiality. The probe could very well have gone nowhere without them. That is, until Ensign himself handed them over as he was preparing to leave the Senate, after having refused for 18 months. Why on earth he did this is unknown, but it seems he may have scored an “own goal” here. source
Goodwin Liu says goodbye: One of the many contentious battles between the Republican Party and the Obama administration may come to a close, as judicial nominee Goodwin Liu has asked the President to withdraw his name from consideration. Obama nominated Liu on February 24th, 2010, and he’s languished in the Senate approvals process ever since. His nomination was a hit with the President’s liberal base, as Liu is rather liberal himself (and a UC Berkeley professor, to boot), but that made the political strategy for the GOP all too obvious. With the strength of the Senate filibuster still in hand, they decided to wait it out, hoping that Senate gridlock would scuttle his nomination. It seems that they were right. source
Thumbs-up to photo ops, thumbs-down to the Ryan plan. Sen. Scott Brown got into office largely on the promise he’d vote against the health care bill. Since then, he’s followed a strongly moderate path, reaching out to the other side of the aisle more than any other GOP senator. So, it’s with that in mind that you should read the op-ed Brown wrote for Politico, which claims that Medicare has already been weakened by Obamacare, and that at large, the focus should be on removing waste in Medicare. “While I applaud Ryan for getting the conversation started,” he said, “I cannot support his specific plan — and therefore will vote ‘no’ on his budget.” If only Newt Gingrich had this script to read from a week ago. (photo via Flickr user dianezink1021) source
Senate Democrats are in a historically difficult spot. House Republicans have the energy. President Obama has the spotlight. And thus they have become the third wheel of democracy — with a lesser role in Washington’s broader debates, and without the votes to overcome Republican filibusters in their own chamber. In response, Senate Democrats have adopted a minimalist agenda.With narrow majority, Senate Democrats adopt minimalist agenda - The Washington Post (via firthofforth)
» And 42 votes is, obviously, not enough. The Senate GOP brought this vote to the floor, and as it lost comfortably by eight votes, they probably considered it doomed to fail from the get-go. As such, this looks like a show vote, less designed to impact policy (though I’m sure the GOP wouldn’t have minded getting it through) than to court political favor. As increased offshore oil drilling would have minor if any effect on the domestic gas prices (global market and all that), this bill serves two goals: make people think Democrats are keeping gas prices high, and remind big oil that despite recent talk of stripping industry subsidies, the Republican Party still has their back.
Paul Ryan not running in Wisconsin: Guess we timed our last post somewhat poorly. We think he’s making a mistake by not trying for higher office.
Paul Ryan said he’s thinking about a Senate run. Which could create a kind of political pundit’s wet-dream situation where Paul Ryan and Russ Feingold go up against each other for a Senate seat. (Tammy Baldwin’s looking like a solid option, too.) But why sell yourself short, Paul? You could totally run for president — and you’d be able to do it without saying the kind of idiotic things most of the other candidates are currently saying. We’ve been pitching this line for weeks. In a lineup of weak GOP candidates, you stand out. And as Jennifer Rubin smartly points out, all the excuses that Ryan has for not running for the presidency also apply to a Senate run. So what’s the problem?
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
Congrats Tumblr!
Don’t screw this up Yahoo.
In 2007, I was...
I started tumblr when I was at one of the lowest points of...
Businesses should make a profit — that’s what drives the economy — but do these very profitable companies actually need taxpayer subsidies? Energy incentives should help us build the energy future we want to see — not pad oil company profits.Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus • Speaking during a Congressional hearing about big oil profits and tax breaks. The oil industry’s answers during the hearing were predictable. Here’s Chevron’s CEO, John Watson: “Tax increases on the oil and gas industry — which will result if you change long-standing provisions in the U.S. tax code — will hinder development of energy supplies needed to moderate rising energy prices.” So, who’s right, Max or the oil industry? We’re guessing Max is. source (via • follow)
Obama’s pick for the Justice Department’s No. 2 runs into filibuster: What’s the problem, Senate GOP? This guy (James Cole) looks like a really friendly version of John Stossel. And Stossel’s a libertarian. Come on guys, squint your eyes! source
Obviously, I voted to repeal the bill and you pretty much know where I am on replacement because I put out a bill last year on that. Is the repeal dead? I don’t think the Senate is going to do it, so I guess, yes.Republican Rep. Dave Camp • Saying out loud what astute political observers have been able to say for some time, that any attempt by Republicans to fully repeal health care reform isn’t going to happen. This is not to say the GOP is willing to give up the fight on health care, because as Camp noted, they may try to specifically target the individual mandate for repeal. Why Camp believes this could work when he knows Democratic majorities in the Senate (and a Democrat in the White House) have made full repeal a moot point is beyond us, but whether it’s political posturing or not, this won’t be the last you hear of this issue. source (via • follow)
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