Congress

Thursday Evening News Roundup

Posted on: April 18th, 2013 by ecthompsonmd No Comments

 

West, Texas plant explosion

News Roundup

I'm traveling today. I have been busy, but I have also been a little depressed. I didn't feel like posting anything. I was watching the events in Boston and then I was trying to figure out the Ricin thing. I mean, what the hell? Then a factory blows up and basically levels a whole town. Seriously? Oh, Texas has cut their government services (remember, business doesn't need oversight) back so far that this plant hasn't been inspected since 2006. Is that date correct? 2006? The Senate forgets its first responsibility, protect its citizens, and holds up sensible gun legislation.

From Steve:

The AP reports this afternoon that lab tests confirm the presence of ricin in the letters sent to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). The suspected mailer, Paul Kevin Curtis, was formally charged by federal officials today.

National Review, a conservative magazine, blasted Gabrielle Giffords' New York Times op-ed as "childish" and "an embarrassment." Take a look at the piece for yourself and see if you agree.

Oh, New York Post, maybe you should go enjoy a little quiet time for a while.

Keep a close eye on this: "Britain and France have informed the United Nations that there is credible evidence that Syria used chemical weapons on more than one occasion since December, according to senior diplomats and officials briefed on the accounts."

Texas: "A former justice of the peace who had come under increasing suspicion in recent weeks was charged on Thursday with the revenge killings of the Kaufman County district attorney and a chief aide, who had successfully prosecuted the man for burglary and theft last year."

Congressmen Behaving Badly

Posted on: February 21st, 2013 by ecthompsonmd

 

Former Chicago congressman Jackson Jr. enters the U.S. District Federal Courthouse in Washington

Republicans and Democrats have proved to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither party is beyond moral corruption.

The past week has given us an outstanding example of exactly this. On one hand, we have former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. Remember, last year, he suddenly had to take a leave of absence. There was a question of whether he had to check himself into some type of "institution." Was he sick? Was he depressed? Did he have a nervous breakdown? Did he have some sort of serious psychiatric disorder? All these questions were swirling around as Nancy Pelosi and others in Congress wished him a speedy recovery. As it turns out, Jesse Jackson, Jr. was suffering from a federal investigation. Earlier this week, Jesse Jackson, Jr. and his wife pleaded guilty to using campaign funds as their own private piggy bank. It appears that Jesse Jackson, Jr. and his wife are going to be looking at some jail time.

On the other hand, we have former Senator Pete Domenici. The New Mexico Senator was a longtime fixture in Congress. It was revealed yesterday that the former Senator had an affair with another senator's daughter back in the 1970s. This affair produced a son who is currently a Nevada attorney.

I'm not going to pretend that there is some deeper meaning in either of these examples of personal failures. I will say that I am always skeptical of any politician who wants to legislate moral behavior. It is my opinion that Congress should stick to civil affairs and we, as individual citizens, should find our moral compasses in our churches, our synagogues and our temples.

Saturday Morning News Roundup

Posted on: February 16th, 2013 by ecthompsonmd 2 Comments

 

Saturday Morning News Roundup

The contrail of a meteor

From NBCNews:

A meteor flared through the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region early Friday, triggering an atomic bomb-sized shock wave that injured more than a thousand people, blew out windows and caused some Russians to fear the end of the world.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has gone out of his way to prove that my home state, the state in which I grew up, has no clue, no ethics and no brains.

The downfall of Jesse Jackson, Jr and his wife is deeply distressing. About six or eight years ago, I met Jesse Jackson Junior in Chicago. At the time, I was representing the Society of Critical Care Medicine in a commission sponsored by the American Medical Association, which was tasked with figuring out how to end healthcare disparities. The young Congressman spoke to us. He was thoughtful; he was passionate. Healthcare for all. He was talking about a constitutional amendment which would guarantee the right of healthcare for all. I thought this was going a little far, but his passion was infectious. This is so sad. In my opinion, it is different when someone has no future and turns to crime. Somehow, I can justify that in my mind. On the other hand, when somebody has an extremely bright future and is making good money but wants to make the money faster, wants to take shortcuts, that is extremely disheartening. You can read the federal charges here.

The nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense has been held up by Senate Republicans. On one hand, this has been explained as Senate Republicans showing that they can still flex their muscle as the majority party. (Here's a relatively straightforward explanation.) From my standpoint, it'll be interesting to see what the Obama administration is willing to give Senate Republicans in order to free up the Chuck Hagel nomination. I know that Senator McCain is still upset that Chuck Hagel didn't play his little "yes or no" game. One of the reasons that I am not a senator is that I'm not sure I could have shown the necessary restraint. I think I would've told John McCain that the answer to his question was no. No, you're not right. The war was not worth fighting. The number of men and women we lost in Iraq simply wasn't worth it. The surge didn't work. The purpose of the surge was to allow Iraqis to figure out how to live in peace. Instead, we allowed the Shiite Muslims to ethnically cleanse neighborhoods of anybody who didn't worship like them. But, I digress.

When will Congressman learn about twitting young women who aren't your wife?

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