House of Representatives

Thursday Evening News Roundup

Posted on: March 8th, 2012 by ecthompsonmd

 

There seems to be a question as to whether the Republicans are going to renege on their budget deal which was agreed upon last August. House Republicans are looking to stir the pot. I thought that the Republican Party was the party of honesty and moral values. I guess not.

After a ton of hype, this double secret tape that will be devastating to the president has been released. Did you feel that? The earth shook. Or maybe not. This is more nothing than usual. This double secret tape has been widely available on PBS and YouTube for more than three years.

The clock is ticking on Greece's debt deal. Greece needs private investors to agree to debt reduction. The deadline on the agreement is 1 AM Eastern Standard Time. Greek debt deal is critical to the stability of the European Union and the stability of the European Union is critical to American exports.

Senate defeats a measure to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

Microraptor, a small four-winged dinosaur that lived approximately 130 million years ago appears to have had feathers. There seems to be some evidence that the feathers were glossy and iridescent. Totally cool.

There was a shooting today at Western Psychiatric Institute in Pennsylvania. Two people are dead and seven injured.

I would like to encourage everyone to take a look at this book by Michelle Alexander – the New Jim Crow.

It appears that Bank of America has made a deal with 200,000 financially strapped households in order to restructure their mortgages. This seems to be a nice step in the right direction.

I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about this article in the New York Times. It deals with the study that I talked about several weeks ago in which a significant number of physicians admitted that they did not tell the truth to their patients. The backbone of our medical system is a doctor-patient relationship. If this relationship doesn't work, everything falls apart. Honesty is required from both sides. Patients have to honestly tell their physicians about their symptoms and about their thoughts and feelings in order for physicians to be able to give the appropriate advice. It is crucial for physicians to be honest with their patients. This means you can't shirk off that duty to a nurse or physician's assistant. This requires the doctor to be at the bedside with the patient. Sometimes, it requires the doctor to say the same thing, in different ways at different points in time in order for the information to sink in, not only to the patient but also to the patient's family. Unfortunately, when dealing with the English language, there's lots of nuance and opportunities for miscommunication. It is extremely important for both the patient and the doctor to seek perfect understanding.

Sarah Palin is truly special. That's all I can say.

Mitt Romney seems to be more than happy to display his awkwardness in front of crowds, just like an NBA star shows off a fabulous jumpshot. The fact that he is "learning to say y'all and that he likes grits" just makes me shake my head.

What's on your mind this evening?

Friday Morning News Roundup

Posted on: February 24th, 2012 by ecthompsonmd

 

Yesterday, the president spoke at the University of Miami and basically defended a balanced approach to solving our energy crisis. He was 100% correct in pointing out that simply drilling here, there and everywhere is not an answer to our problems. Instead we need to invest in developing all forms of alternative energy. Some progressives had a problem with the fact that he did include nuclear power in the discussion. Personally, I think we need to back away from nuclear power. I believe that we must actually have a solution as to how we're going to get rid of the nuclear waste. Simply burying it in a big hole is fine for Wiley E. Coyote, but it's not a real energy plan.

Sometimes, I find humor in these debates. The fact that Ron Paul continues to let himself be treated as the crusty old grandfather who really has nothing meaningful to say in the debate I find amusing. I also find it funny that it surprises people that Newt Gingrich says something outrageous and attacks the media. Not only is it not surprising, it should be expected. The stupidity of Newt Gingrich's infanticide comments cannot be overemphasized.

Every now and then, you know it must suck to be the president. You are responsible for so much and yet so much is out of your control. Recently, we had another burning of the Koran in Afghanistan. How does this happen? We know exactly what the response will be – angry mobs which will turn violent. In my humble opinion, there is simply no excuse for us to be burning Bibles, the Torah or the Koran. The fact that Newt Gingrich is outraged that we apologized for this ridiculous act of thoughtlessness should not surprise anyone.

Sears is dying. It has been on life support for some time. I'm not sure that smart commercials are going to save it.

GOP is losing women voters. Dems seem to be winning.

Several lawmakers received threatening letters containing white powder. This should remind all of us that, in spite of spending billions of dollars on security, we still really are not safe. By the way, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert received the envelopes, also.

A 10,000 year old carving was found in Brazil. It is thought to be the oldest human carving in America.

The Department of Homeland Security has been tracking Americans on social media, despite having told Congress they weren't really doing that.

Representative John Sullivan (Republican – Oklahoma) formally apologized on Thursday after he was said that he would need to kill members of the Senate in order to pass the Republican budget. An apology is all that is needed? Now everything's okay?

By the way, did you noticed in Obama's speech that he pointed out that the United States is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years? Where is the harsh and vicious retort from Republicans? Where are the accusations that president Obama is a liar and a communist? Crickets.

What's on your mind?

Can you count to 217? I can. (Update)

Posted on: July 28th, 2011 by ecthompsonmd

 

It isn't that hard. You simply count who is with you and who isn't. It was clear from the moment that Speaker John Boehner dreamed up his grand plan that he didn't have the Republican votes, yet he pretended that all was okay. Alas, now the arm twisting begins.

Vote count by The Hill.

From HuffPo:

House GOP leadership announced abruptly on Thursday evening that they were suspending a vote on Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) debt ceiling proposal, signaling in the process that the GOP lacked the votes to pass the package.

The news came just minutes before party leadership was set to hold a 5:30 p.m. vote on the proposal, which would cut roughly $915 billion in spending over the next ten years but only raise the debt ceiling through the end of the calendar year.

Congressional aides were scrambling to figure out just when the vote would be rescheduled for -- the House for now will consider eight smaller measures first -- but a spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said that a vote on Boehner's proposal would still take place on Thursday night.

Whether that is enough time for the Speaker to convince a few more Republicans to support him is unclear. Informal whip counts had 25 Republicans and the full Democratic caucus opposing the measure, which would put it short of the 216 votes needed for passage. (more...)

Update: Great comment on NYT -

An asteroid is headed toward earth, the Tea Party says it won't have an impact and we don't need to do anything. The Democrats and Republicans are arguing over what color to paint the rocket that will be used blow up the asteroid before it hits us. The asteroid is getting closer and closer...

Update II: Watch the Video:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

From WaPo:

Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters shortly before 10:30 p.m. that there would be no vote Thursday night on the bill, which would increase the federal debt limit in two stages in exchange for major spending cuts.

The vote had been scheduled for around 6 p.m. Thursday, but as that hour neared, GOP leaders realized they didn’t have the 217 votes needed to send the measure on to the Senate.

So the House suddenly took up a series of non-controversial measures, leaving befuddled lawmakers debating whether to rename a post office in Hawaii before finally going into recess for an indefinite time. (more...)

So, after all is said and done, we are back where we were last week, two weeks ago, a month ago. After Eric Cantor and John Boehner positioned themselves as the men with the plan, they never had the votes. In my opinion, we are to blame. We, the American people, who voted for some politicians who were long on bluster and short on real ideas to move the country forward, are to blame. We voted in knuckleheads who didn't understand the difference between campaign rhetoric and truly governing the country. We wanted jobs and instead we got worthless Republican rhetoric. Many Americans thought they were voting to preserve Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, in essence the American safety net, when in fact they were voting for intransigence. It seems to me that the only reasonable response by President Obama is to enact the 14th amendment. For the good of the country he has to personally direct the Secretary of the Treasury to raise the debt limit. For over a month, it was clear to me that this is where we were headed. We have no more time for posturing and rhetoric. It is time to act.

Watch the video:

  • Errington C. Thompson, MD
    Errington_ThompsonDr. Thompson is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats.
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