As Congress comes back from a week-long vacation, it occurs to me that they have been on vacation all year. They've taken the year off, that is, from doing the people's work.
Congress renewed the Patriot Act and OK'd tons of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans; other than that they have little to show for '06. Former House Republican leader Dick Armey said he was "not sure what this Congress has accomplished." I guess Dick and I can agree on something.
Gas prices are soaring, yet Congress has done little in the way of energy reform. I could write a book on what a joke the energy package was, but come on guys, can't you at least pass some better fuel-efficiency standards please?!
12 million illegal immigrants. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill I think is pretty good. The bill provides border security and enforcement with a path to citizenship, but the House is too busy playing politics with it to get anything done.
44 million Americans' pensions hang in the balance. Why? Again, Congress.
The "controversial" renewal of the Voting Rights Act was forcibly postponed - controversial? Are you kidding me? The measure outlawed racist voting practices in the South.
Lobbying reform after a year of unprecedented scandals, you ask? Squat! At this point a lot of watchdog folks would rather see the bill fall on its face since it is little more than a pathetic PR stunt. Instead of taking on the big abuses to create bold reform they instead came up with a do-nothing bill to pretend they "did something" on an issue they described months ago, in the midst of the not so perfect storm, as "critical."
A much needed increase in the minimum wage? Republicans won't let it get to the floor.
It looks like bipartisan legislation on expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is moving, but the President has declared he will veto it and from what I can tell the 2/3 needed to overturn a veto are not there. Back to the drawing board.
Just so you don't think they have been hiding away in their offices, what they lack in performance they more than made up for in politics.
Days spent on debating a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, for which they knew did not have the votes.
The pressing issue of flag burning - I mean, there were all of 12 incidents reported last year - was the topic for another few days.
The Pledge of allegiance? English only? ...I have tried to forget the rest.
Memo to Congress: get to work on the issues that Americans care about or we will send you on a permanent vacation!
Looks like we shall have Armageddon after all, would you like that here or there. Oh, that's right, we are fighting 'em there so's we don't fight them here. I wonder if George will suit up again?
Mark Twain- Diplomacy
...the principle of give and take--give one and take ten--the principle of diplomacy.
- Dinner to Mr. Choate speech
Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person.
- Mark Twain's Notebook, 1898
I asked Tom if countries always apologized when they had done wrong, and he says--"Yes; the little ones does."
- Tom Sawyer Abroad
Statesmanship
It is sound statesmanship to add two battleships every time our neighbor adds one and two stories to our skyscrapers every time he piles a new one on top of his to threaten our light. There is no limit to this soundness but the sky.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
Get the formalities right, never mind about the moralities.
- Following the Equator
If we had less statesmanship, we would get along with fewer battleships.
- Notebook, 1905
In this game France puts up a battleship; England sees that battleship and goes it one battleship better; Russia comes in and raises it a battleship or two--did, before the untaught stranger entered the game and reduced her stately pile of chips to a damaged ferryboat and a cruiser that can't cruise. We are in it ourselves now. This game goes on and on and on. There is never a new shuffle; never a new deal. No player ever calls another's hand. It is merely an unending game of put up and put up and put up; and by the law of probabilities a day is fast approaching when no Christians will be left on the land, except the women. The men will all be at sea, manning the fleets. This singular game, which is so costly and so ruinous and so silly, is called statesmanship--which is different from assmanship on account of the spelling. Anybody but a statesman could invent some way to reduce these vast armaments to rational and sensible and safe police proportions, with the result that thenceforth all Christians could sleep in their beds unafraid, and even the Savior could come down and walk on the seas, foreigner as He is, without dread of being chased by Christian battleships.
- Autobiographical dictation, June 22, 1906 (reprinted in Hudson Review, Autumn 1963)
By and by when each nation has 20,000 battleships and 5,000,000 soldiers we shall all be safe and the wisdom of statesmanship will stand confirmed.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
A statesman gains little by the arbitrary exercise of ironclad authority upon all occasions that offer, for this wounds the just pride of his subordinates, and thus tends to undermine his strength. A little concession, now and then, where it can do no harm is the wiser policy.
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
It seems ok to joke about the lack of any meaty accomplishment in Washington DC.
It seems like it is ok, but it really isn't.
Some of our citizens have no health care.
Some of our children have little chance of a level playing field when it comes to their educational opportunities.
And oh yeah, there are a bunch of great little wars and flare ups and dictators with crazy weapons and natural disasters to be mismanaged.
All parties in Washington DC are responsible for the complete and utter failure to accomplish anything worthy of their self-imposed wages.
It really isn't very funny I guess.
It's kinda sad
Posted by: evolo at July 14, 2006 01:13 PMThis it the reason so few people feel like voting and don't even pay attention. I think that making them realize we expect them to do something or we will not vote for them is a good thing. This site is so helpful with that and it makes it easy, thank you. Also, it shows that there are other ways to get involved and do something on things you care about and stuff on a state level. Thanks always, very grateful for all the work you do.
Posted by: Julie at July 15, 2006 04:30 PMI'd like to announce for the record that I suggested the line "they've taken the year off." Yeah, I know it doesn't seem like much, but it was in my mind, a significant contribution that really ties the article together, just like the Big Lebowski's rug.
Posted by: matt at July 16, 2006 03:17 AMAs I sat licking my fingers and soaking up the barbeque sauce from my empty plate of pulled-pork, I couldn’t help but remember Flavia’s piece on the “Do-Nothing-Congress”.
Maybe it was the smell of slow barbecued pork that intoxicated me, but for the first time I have to completely disagree with her. Congress did in fact do something.
For starters, The House raised its own pay.
Starting January the average member will make $168,500. This does not include perks of free outpatient healthcare at certain hospitals, free air travel and trips provided by lobbyists, and gym use. Just to name a few. And many lawmakers go on to an even more lucrative lobbying careers. They were working overtime on that one defeating Rep. Jim Matheson’s (D-Utah) call for an up or down vote on the pay hike.
But they weren’t just thinking of themselves.
$500,000 for the museum of glass in Tacoma, WA (Must be a kick-(gl)ass museum!)
$500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, NC. (Just tea-riffic!)
And for Virginia, $234,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation. (Forget Bushmill, for a Quartermill, I think I’ve found my favorite drink.)
I propose we combine all three and have a hell of a party. I can see it now, Senator Dole using her teapots to pour Senator Allen’s Wild Turkey into Senator Cantwell’s glasses. Of course we’ll need facilities and with the $13.5 millions dollars given to a group that funds The World Toilet Summit, I’ll know they’ll be first class. Drink up!
It’ll make the party I went to on Friday seem so low class. Though I did Styx right with my karaoke rendition of “Too Much Time On My Hands” the words are reminiscent of what just happened in Congress:
“I have dozens of friends and the fun never ends,
That is as long as I’m buying.”
And we’re buying baby, we are buying.
Or we can just end “politics over performance” in November, stop the nonsense, and get to work.
I think the pork-high has worn off.
BW,
you are my hero~
Thank you so much for the encouragement evolo. Part of the CH magic is the ability to leave a peice of yourself on it's pages and every now and again, give and receive a kind word or two. Thanks for 5 of them. Funny how 5 words can make a big difference in someones day. Thanks F/CH, for allowing citizens of all stripes a place to charge ahead, and re-charge, the old batteries.
Posted by: BW at July 18, 2006 12:46 PMBW, you are welcome and we are indeed fortunate to be able to voice our ideas and opinions.
We are also fortunate to sometimes read the the ideas and opinions of others and change our own way of thinking.
Thanks Flavia.
Military Pay Raises before Congress
Active Duty and Drilling Reservist Pay Plans for 2007
The Senate's proposal in the 2007 defense authorization bill has proposed an Administration backed 2.2% pay raise. The 2.2% number is derived from the amount equal to the average private-sector pay increase in 2004.
The House proposal has a more realistic pay increase of 2.7%. The 2.7% increase comes from a formula designed to cut the gap between military and civilian wages by half a percentage point a year.
Please Take Action by contacting your representatives and letting them know that servicemembers and their families, especially in this time of war, deserve a fair shake in dealing with this tight economy. The House's proposed 2.7% is a step in the right direction. Thank you.
Posted by: Joe at July 21, 2006 11:16 AM