The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
This category is for posts related to actions by the Congress of the United States (House and/or Senate), and any member’s of Congress.
Less than a week after a Washington Post story about the existence of the CIA’s secret prisons, Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) have called for an investigation into the leak of this information. “Such an egregious disclosure could have long-term and far-reaching damaging and dangerous consequences.”
Read moreHouse conservatives are currently debating a budget bill that cuts federal programs by $54 billion over five years, and would drastically affect services for mostly poorer Americans. “The cuts would impose new costs on Medicaid beneficiaries, cut assistance for child support enforcement, trim student loan spending, cut back agriculture supports, and curb eligibility for food stamps.”
Read moreFor some time, the conservative “position” on health care has been a stalwart commitment to the status quo, resisting any proposals for sweeping reform. Two new studies comparing global health data — one by American Progress distinguished senior fellow Tom Daschle, another by the Commonwealth Fund — spell out what this position entails: conservatives apparently are content with a health care system that ranks #37 in the world (behind both developed and developing countries).
Read moreAdministration and Congress turn their back on veterans.
Read moreThe House Agriculture Committee approved budget cuts Friday that would take food stamps away from an estimated 300,000 people and could cut off school lunches and breakfasts for 40,000 children.
Read moreHere is an incredable video about the war by the American Friends Society. Three minutes that will have you choked up.
Read moreWhat do Democrats stand for? It seems a common refrain, or assumption, that Democrats do not have an overall theme or narrative, and I will certainly agree that the party as a whole does a rather bad job of articulating the message. But it lodged in my brain, and after a half hour of thought I realized that I, at least, know what I stand for. And it’s not complicated.
Read moreThe Bush administration wasn’t happy when the Senate overwhelmingly voted to limit and define U.S. interrogation techniques against terrorism suspects. Vice President Cheney is now attempting to exempt the Central Intelligence Agency from this measure.
Read moreIt seems everyone paying attention to politics had to know this indictment was coming. Tom Delay has been up to his elbows in at least unethical if not illegal activities for a very long time. Sooner or later, it has to catch up to you.
Read moreBush’s allies in Congress are using high gas prices as another excuse for massive giveaways to the oil industry. The Los Angeles Times reports that conservative “leaders in Congress announced plans to introduce new legislation or amend existing measures to bestow more tax breaks on the industry and provide other incentives left out of the big energy bill Bush signed into law in August.”
Read moreWith great fanfare, and recalling the “Gingrich Revolution” of the 1990s, House conservatives yesterday proposed a broad set of spending cuts they said would help offset the costs of the Katrina reconstruction effort. Their plan reduces the budget by $500 billion over 10 years, and does so in large part by dismantling programs that invest in middle- and working-class Americans.
Read more