MetaFilter posts tagged with politics and congress

GEORGE HUTCHINS INVITES ALL BLACK, WHITE, SPANISH, AND ASIAN U.S. VOTERS TO JOIN US !!

XQUZYPHYR — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:36:54 -0800

Whether or not you agree with the platform and views of Mr. George Hutchins, candidate for the 4th Congressional District of North Carolina, you must bask in the glory of the most awesome candidate website ever created.

Madam

infini — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:35:00 -0800

Today would have been Indira Gandhi's 92nd birthday, had she not been assassinated by members of her own guard in her own backyard on October 31st, 1984 (I was there in New Delhi in a cab when the driver suggested it might be safer if he turned around and took me straight home). Often confused as a relative of the more famous Gandhi, fashionable, stylish and well groomed Indira was actually the daughter of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and used her married name, although divorced from her Parsi exhusband. Daughter and mother of Prime Ministers of India, she herself held office with an iron fist, remembered for the "Emergency", a brief period of martial law often overlooked in the democratic vibrancy of Indian politics. Will Mrs Gandhi's legacy of dynasty be continued by her half Italian grandson?

Republican Candidate pulls out of Congressional race

saffry — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:50:04 -0800

The only open seat for Congress this election day, in New York's 23rd district, was shaping up to be an interesting 3-way race with possible implications for the future of the Republican party. But after today's Sienna poll showing Democratic Bill Owens leading in this traditionally Republican district, the Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has announced she is suspending her campaign. Is the race now a shoe-in for Conservative Doug Hoffman, already endorsed by Pawlenty, Palin and others in the far-right of the party? Or will Dede's supporters, who were drawn to her her more moderate stance, simply stay home?

I could probably afford better insurance if I wasn't paying for theirs.

sio42 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:53:52 -0800

What kind of health insurance would you have as a federal government employee? The Office of Personnel Management would like to help you decide among the gazillion plan choices you have. Perhaps you are a Congress member? Then head on down to the Attending Physician of the United States, "It's one of the, quote, benefits of being in Congress," Kagen said. "They have physicians and nurses that will see you on the spot, on the beck and call." (link to single page print version). from the article quoting Kagen...

"But while [Rep Steve] Kagen touted in campaign advertisements and news interviews that he had no insurance coverage, he openly admitted he used OAP services. In January, for example, he paid more than $4,000 out of pocket for outpatient arthroscopic knee surgery. After the procedure, he said, he used the attending physician's office and staff to assist him with physical therapy."

Wikipedia on the Office of Attending Physician A NYT editorial on why we can't all have the same health care as Congress - and how we could possibly all have better care.

Congress’s health plan pays for routine expenses like office visits and vaccinations, for example, which is like auto insurance covering oil changes or new windshield wipers. As a result, the premiums are steep — upwards of $13,000 a year for a family (69 percent of which is paid by the government). To provide the 50 million Americans who are now uninsured with such a plan would require scary tax increases.

Crowdsourcing Transparency

Miko — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:28:40 -0800

Can You Spot a Lobbyist? Who made up the bulk of the audience when Congress began work on health care reform legislation? Lobbyists, according to this photo ID-crowdsourcing project, part of Dollar Politics, a new NPR investigative series. Bill Moyers shines some sunlight too, with Some Choice Words for 'The Select Few.'

A School for Torture

saulgoodman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:19:30 -0800

An amendment to the Defense Authorization Act currently under consideration in congress would force the notorious School of the Americas (currently known as "WHINSEC") to "release to the public the names, ranks, countries of origin, courses taken and dates of attendance of all the students and instructors at the institute." Originally established in Panama in 1946, and now located at Fort Benning, Georgia, the school has variously been dubbed "School of Assassins" and "The Ultimate Union Buster" by human rights watchers and labor organizations. According to the advocacy group School of Americas Watch (SOA Watch), the training center "has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics." Putting it more pointedly, SOA Watch asserts: "Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, 'disappeared,' massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins." The school remains in operation today, under a new name, despite the lobbying efforts of organizations like SOA Watch to close the program, on the basis of human rights abuses stemming from the school's role in the so-called Argentinian Dirty War and other internal Latin American conflicts. In the US, the School of the Americas/WHINSEC has more recently come under renewed scrutiny for its possible role in shaping interrogation policies that led to the torture of prisoners held at Abu Ghraib. In 1996, the US Defense Department acknowledged that between 1982 and 1991, the School taught torture techniques and other tactics such as blackmail, beatings and executions determined to be inconsistent with US and international standards of human rights, making the school's training manuals from that period available to the public for the first time. [Related Previously: 1, 2]

The Anti-Tevis?

dersins — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:50:44 -0800

Rosanna Pulido is the Republican nominee for the 5th Congressional District of Illinois (Rahm Emanuel's old seat). She's also an active poster on Free Republic. An active poster on Free Republic who's learning that what you write on the internet can come back to haunt you.

An Economic Stimulus Without the Stimulus?

WCityMike — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:24:16 -0800

A list of cut, halved, and quartered items from the Senate version of the stimulus bill was released to CNN. Fully cut was any stimulus funding for historic preservation, Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters, Farm Service Agency modernization, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, watershed rehabilitation, distance learning, school nutrition, aquaculture, broadband, National Institute of Standards and Technology, detention trustee, Marshalls Construction, federal prisons, BYRNE Formula grant program, BYRNE Competitive grant program, state and local law enforcement, NASA, aeronautics, exploration, Cross Agency Support, National Science Foundation, science, Energy Loan Guarantees, General Services Administration, General Services Administration operations, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use, Fish and Wildlife, historic preservation, working capital fund, Forest Service capital improvement, State and Private Wildlife Fire Management, Head Start/Early Start, Health Prevention Activity, Health Information Technology Grants, Title I (No Child Left Behind), school construction, higher education construction, project based rental, Neighborhood Stabilization, retrofitting Project 8 housing, or state fiscal stabilization. Stimulus funding was halved for energy-efficient federal buildings, the Smithsonian, law enforcement wireless, and hybrid federal vehicles -- and reduced by 75% for the EPA, NOAA, and FBI construction.

Mr. Geoghegan Goes to Washington

kliuless — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:44:52 -0800

Perhaps something of an oddity in Chicago machine politics [I like to think in the spirit of Sean Tevis] Tom Geoghegan (pronounced "gay-gun") is running in a special election -- primary March 3rd and (hope me :) general April 7th -- for Rahm Emanuel's vacated 5th district Illinois seat. Kathy G. describes the campaign thusly:

What does his entry into this race feel like? Well, to start, think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Like the iconic character played by Jimmy Stewart in that film, Tom is a tall, gangly political outsider, and he has every bit of Jefferson Smith's indefatigable idealism and rock-solid integrity. Only, there's a twist -- this Mr. Smith is no blushing innocent. Tom is a Mr. Smith who's kicked around the big city for a couple of decades and has become all too familiar with the ways of the world. Sadder maybe, in some ways, but also savvier, and wiser. And yet still utterly driven and consumed by a burning desire to make the world a better place.

James Fallows, Cosma Shalizi and Thomas Frank also heartily endorse (and <3) Geoghegan. You can follow Kathy G.'s efforts to help get him elected here. [note: if you're suffering from déjà vu this is a repost per jessamyn's helpful (and appreciated!) suggestions]

Tom Davis Gives Up

schroedinger — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:52:15 -0800

Tom Davis Gives Up (SLNYT). “Tell them about the important work we’re doing while Rome burns,” he said. A candid accounting of American politics from a member of the GOP disillusioned with both sides of the aisle and an overview of how he became that way.

Being Productive on Salvia

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:15:56 -0800

Driving on Salvia, from the series Being Productive on Salvia. Previously

Let Our Congress Tweet

cjoh — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:46:37 -0800

It is really interesting that Representatives John Culberson and Tim Ryan have started to really use Twitter and post from the House floor. While the Franking Commission reconsiders rules on Internet Use, the Sunlight Foundation wants to make sure they Let Our Congress Tweet.

Former United States Senator Jesse Helms, 1921 - 2008.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:22:18 -0800

Fmr. US Senator Jesse Helms, 1921 - 2008. Wikipedia | Wikiquote | Collection of attributed quotes (unsourced)

Capitol Words - US Congress In A Word A Day

Effigy2000 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:55:19 -0800

Capitol Words allows you to see what the most often used word was on any given day in the U.S Congress. [via mefi projects]

Ready from Day One, 2001 Edition

wendell — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:59:04 -0800

"Only Nixon could go to China," and only ex-Republican ex-Senator Lincoln Chafee can explain how George W. Bush set out "to preempt the Congress... on every issue", "turned his back on (his) bedrock campaign pledges", and become simultaneously America's most powerful and least popular President (and why there could never be a "surely this..." moment). NOT just another OMGBUSH commentary, this should be required reading for anybody who honestly wants to know what went wrong.

What's the difference between Democratic and Republican congressmen? $55,000.

TheOnlyCoolTim — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:48:36 -0800

Want to live it up at the U.S. party conventions and get access to Senators and Congressmen? USA Today has posted the campaign committee price lists:
Democratic Senate and Congress
Republican Senate and Congress

If you've got the dough, you may conveniently request a convention package online from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the NRSC have other price lists on their sites, but it seems like the DSCC and DCCC sites keep theirs under wraps.

America the Godly

digaman — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:32:10 -0800

One nation under God. The "bold conservative" GOP Congressman Paul Broun from Georgia is intent upon removing a vexing comma from that phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance, which was amended in 1954 when President Eisenhower was moved by a sermon by one Reverend George M. Docherty on the need to defend America from the "militantly atheistic communism that has already enslaved 800 million of the peoples of the earth, and now menaces the rest of the free world."

"Flynt is arguably the greatest student of the American underbelly since J. Edgar Hoover."

amberglow — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:28:48 -0800

Vanity Fair sits down with Larry Flynt --his history and hits and misses, how much he pays for scandals involving hypocritical public figures, and a new (and limp) Nixon anecdote -- and tons of other juicy tidbits, of course).

Taxation without Representation

Navelgazer — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:06:20 -0800

Senate kills bill to give D.C. representation (L.A. Times). Yesterday the U.S. Senate denied a cloture motion on a bill to allow the District of Columbia two voting U.S. Senators. Facts, the District has a population of 581,530 to Wyoming's 515,004. The district has no representation in the senate, and can only send a single representative to the house, who cannot vote. Washington, D.C. is predominantly black and overwhelmingly democratic. President Bush had threatened to veto if the bill had passed, but his threat was largely ceremonial - the bill needed 60 votes for cloture anyway. The vote was 57-42, largely along party lines. Most Republicans claimed that the bill was "clearly and unambiguously unconstitutional," though eight members of the G.O.P. voted for it anyway, led by former Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp.

Mo' money, mo' legislation

djgh — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:19:20 -0800

Is there a link between donations given and bills passed? MAPLight.org aims to help you find out, giving you the ability to compare contributions with how legislators voted. [Via]

The 5 Biggest Pricks in Congress

jonson — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:59:51 -0800

The 5 Biggest Pricks in Congress. via

"i honestly don't have a recollection..."

amberglow — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:23:07 -0800

"I do not recall" --meet Lurita Doan, Administrator of the GSA (Our mission is to help other agencies better serve the public by meeting – at best value – their needs for products and services, and to simplify citizen access to government information and services.), and hear about the powerpoint presentation from Rove's office all about electing Republicans in 08 and how her agency should help. Her office supplied it to Congress--but it was just a (GOP) "team-building exercise" and "brown-bag lunch". (YouTube) Read up on the Hatch Act too.

"Good wishes and better wishes...until you wish for the best!"

bardic — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 08:20:46 -0800

A concession e-mail to returning House Rep Satveer Chaudhary from loser Rae Hart Anderson. [via]

Still The One

jonp72 — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:18:02 -0800

The Democrats' Sonny Bono? When George Bush used the 1970s Orleans hit, Still the One, as a campaign song in 2004, John Hall issued Bush a cease and desist order for using his song without permission. A founder of the antinuclear group, Musicians United for Safe Energy (best known for the 1979 concert film, No Nukes), Hall decided to run for Congress in upstate New York, winning upset victories this year in both the Democratic primary and the general election against GOP incumbent, Sue Kelly. Before his Congressional victory, Editor & Publisher posted From Soundchecks to Soundbites, an interesting discussion with Hall about music journalism vs. political journalism.

Every generation needs a new revolution.

plexi — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:32:36 -0800

It's official. Democrats have taken control of the United States Congress.