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Monday mashup … &some News


It’s Monday, cold and though it feels like autumn, again last week was a damn good week not only for the President but also for We the People; nothing even remotely feels like Armageddon as suggested by that old man I refuse to name here. The President is in Ireland and not only visiting his ancestry town like “the media” would like the viewers to believe but to make sure the people of Ireland and Europe know that he and Americans definitely are partners in Peace. The President will also be in the UK and will visit the Queen as well as affirm the partnership there too.

Living on the left coast does not protect us from mother nature but what has been happening in the mid, east and gulf coast is hard to watch even giving to the Red Cross just does not seem like enough. I have to say anyone living there has to think about what your Republican Governors wanted to do for the last 3.5yrs and that is to get rid of FEMA, Tornado, and Volcano alert systems. I say this among other poor if not bad policies needs to be taken seriously when as we all know is the worse tornado season ever. I want you all to think about what your neighborhoods would look like and what you personally would be going through without help from the government unless you can pay for the services or if you are able to take care of yourself like ron paul offers up as the way things should be. Yes, the weather here is odd and while it has been raining the wind blowing our weather has not been as unpredictable as the east coast and that is Mother Nature, different regions have different types of weather we accept that unlike the Republican Tea Party. The Political Party of NO is also unpredictable and not in a good way. I say our government on both sides of the aisle should work for all Americans no matter what race, creed religion etc. but they have done anything but act for We the People. It has taken some way too long to find out they had a plan, that Pledge to America was in my opinion a document of lies by crooks who intend to privatize everything that is not nailed down by the rule of law or that Congress can deal with. The Republican Party continues to do everything they can to stop change. They continue to stop All Americans trying to move into the 21st Century with an opportunity for good health, to stop being denied or be discriminated against, to have relief because your student will be covered under your insurance until the age of 26; the right has said this is a welfare program… College is not cheap; people lose everything in some cases from having to pay out of the nose because of the lack of good health care coverage or no coverage at all; small businesses will be able to get tax credits for hiring and maybe afford to provide health care too.

Oh yeah, to the Republican Tea Party equality, health care and respect for all are bad ideas even novel … wonder why no one else thought about or tried to improve the lives of Americans … oh wait; Presidents in the past have tried but no one was able to until now. The HCR bill is not perfect but can and will be adjusted over the next few years.

It’s time re-enforce the ideology of the Democratic Party. The new law of the land is just a beginning of change we can all believe in. It’s change that is also the beginning of what 53% heard, listened and voted for. We not only will expect it to continue We The People must participate in keeping this change happening by calling when we need to push Democrats to push forward into the 21st Century, sign Petitions to show the numbers that continue to support climate change, stop out-sourcing, education, energy and green jobs for all projects.

The change we voted for will not come easy and President cannot do it alone. It is a moment in which we in the Democratic Party need to rise up, voice our opinion, and shut down the negative noise of Republican members of Congress. Remind Republican Governors that they have definitely made a mistake that will result in a big come back for the Democratic Party who will govern for all Americans not just a select few.

Other News …

90 Dead in Joplin Missouri After Deadliest American Tornado in 60 Years

Five ways Moneygall is welcoming Obama ‘home’ to Ireland

Justices Order California to Shed 30000 Prisoners

Iceland Set to Reopen Airports

Scott Brown won’t back GOP Medicare overhaul

Gingrich: I’m not a ‘Washington figure’

 

Dollar hits 2-month high against euro

Some Dentists Reluctant to Treat Kids on Medicaid: Study

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You can help stop abuse of science …Kevin Knobloch, Union of Concerned Scientists


Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang spent seven years working for the government. Her job was to make sure that the prescription drugs we take and give to our families are safe and effective.

Become a member today and help UCS hold the Obama administration and its agencies accountable for protecting science by implementing reforms that will outlast their time in office.

But four years ago, she was reprimanded by her bosses for recommending that the popular diabetes drug Avandia carry a warning label because the drug had been linked to a significant increase in the risk of heart attacks. Her superiors not only failed to act on her recommendation, but they also took away her oversight role in the safety review of the drug. Avandia is made by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline—which, according to a Senate investigation, intimidated physicians and sought ways to downplay findings that a rival drug might reduce cardiovascular risk.

Unfortunately, Dr. Johann-Liang is not alone. Thousands of scientists, across various federal agencies, have told us they fear retaliation for blowing the whistle on political interference in their work.

The Union of Concerned Scientists called attention to widespread attacks on science like this during the Bush administration. Now, the administration has changed, but the system that allows politics to undermine science largely has not.

Please help UCS lock in government reforms to protect scientists and ensure the best available science informs key decisions about our health, safety, and environment—become a member today.

www.ucsusa.org

Federal agencies are working right now to develop stringent new policies to protect scientists from political pressure by special interests. Working with government scientists and other policy experts, UCS has developed resources for agencies to draw upon and is working to ensure these policies:

Protect scientists who report political interference in agency work;

Prevent conflicts of interest on science advisory committees;

Allow scientists to share their research and scientific analysis with the public and the press; and

Increase transparency so the public knows what science agencies consider when making policy decisions.

We need your help to ensure federal agencies adopt strong policies that protect science—now and into the future.

Please become a member today. www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

P.S. When you join UCS, you join more than 79,000 UCS members who also believe that decisions about our health, safety, air, and water should fully consider the best available science. Please join us today and help us keep politics out of science.

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Congress: back in Session –the Republican led House — the Senate Today @2pmET


The Senate Convenes at 2:00pmET May 23, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 3pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume the motion to proceed to S.1038, a bill to provide for the extension of expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act until June 1, 2015 with the time until 5pm equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.

Votes:

75: Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1038, a bill to provide for the extension of expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act until June 1, 2015;

Invoked: 74-8

There will be no further roll call votes during today’s session.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF MAY 23, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

7:23 P.M. – SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

7:20 P.M. – The Speaker laid before the House a message from the President transmitting an Order that takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in ExecutiveOrder 12957 of March 15, 1995, and implements the exisitng statutory requirements of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, asamended by, inter alia, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010. – referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed (H. Doc. 112-27).

7:19 P.M. – The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a sealed envelope from the White House on May 23, 2011 at 5:15 p.m. which is said to contain a message from the President whereby he submits a copy of an Executive Order he has issued with respect to further sanctions on Iran.

7:09 P.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches.

H.R. 1657: to amend title 38, United States Code, to revise the enforcement penalties for misrepresentation of a business concern as a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans or as a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans

7:08 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 385 – 1 (Roll no. 332).

7:02 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

H.R. 1383: to temporarily preserve higher rates for tuition and fees for programs of education at non-public institutions of higher learning pursued by individuals enrolled in the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs before the enactment of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010, and for other purposes

7:01 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 389 – 0 (Roll no. 331).

6:54 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

H.R. 1627: to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain requirements for the placement of monuments in Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 380 – 0 (Roll no. 330).

6:32 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

6:31 P.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was on motions to suspend the rules which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

6:30 P.M. – Ms. Foxx filed a report from the Committee on Rules on H. Res. 269.

The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of May 23.

5:03 P.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 P.M. today.

5:01 P.M. – The House received a communication from Gene Green, Member of Congress. The Honorable Gene Green notified the House formally, pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that he had been served with a subpoena for documents issued by the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges in connection with a worker’s compensation claim pending before that Office and after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, he determined that compliance with the subpoena was consistent with the privileges and rights of the House.

H.R. 1893: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend the airport improvement program, and for other purposes

5:00 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

4:54 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1893.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Petri moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

H.R. 1657: to amend title 38, United States Code, to revise the enforcement penalties for misrepresentation of a business concern as a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans or as a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans

4:53 P.M. – At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

4:42 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1657.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Miller (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

H.R. 1383: to temporarily preserve higher rates for tuition and fees for programs of education at non-public institutions of higher learning pursued by individuals enrolled in the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs before the enactment of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010, and for other purposes

4:41 P.M. – At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

4:29 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1383.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Miller (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

H.R. 1627: to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain requirements for the placement of monuments in Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes

4:28 P.M. – At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

4:10 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1627.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Miller (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

H.R. 1407: to increase, effective as of December 1, 2011, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and for other purposes

4:09 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

4:01 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1407.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Miller (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

4:00 P.M. – The Speaker announced that votes on suspensions, if ordered, will be postponed until after 6:30 p.m. today.

H.R. 1540: to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes

Mr. McKeon asked unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to file a supplemental report on H.R. 1540. Agreed to without objection.

The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of May 23.

2:09 P.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.

2:08 P.M. – The House received a communication from Kori Walter, District Director and Press Secretary for Congr essman Gerlach. On May 16, 2011, Mr. Walter had notified the House formally, pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that he had been served with a subpoena, issued by the County of Berks, Pennsylvania Magisterial District Court 23-2-02, for witness testimony and that after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, he had determined that compliance with the subpoena was consistent with the privileges and rights of the House.

The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on May 20, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. stating that the Senate had passed S. 990.

2:07 P.M. – The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on May 18, 2011 at 11:09 a.m. stating that the Senate had approved an appointment to the President’s Export Council.

2:06 P.M. – The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on May 17, 2011 at 9:45 a.m. stating that the Senate had passed S. 349, S. 655, and H.R. 793. The Senate also had approved appointments to the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy, the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Military Academy, the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

2:03 P.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches.

2:02 P.M. – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mrs. Miller of MI to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

2:01 P.M. – Today’s prayer was offered by Reverend Conrad Braaten, Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Washington, DC.

2:00 P.M. – The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

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Leader Pelosi says …we can deliver a stunning setback to the Republicans’


A message from Leader Pelosi

This Tuesday, we can deliver a stunning setback to the Republicans’ reckless agenda by winning a special election right in their own backyard.

This is no ordinary election. A Republican loss in a ruby-red district like New York’s 26th would deal a devastating blow to the GOP plan to end Medicare but protect tax breaks for the wealthy and Big Oil. We cannot let this opportunity pass.

We must raise $87,000 by Midnight Tonight to fight back against Republican attacks. This is our moment to go all-in

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca69/1b9dd8ab/4ac465a2/4e0ce943/1074550503/VEsH/

Our volunteers are mobilizing but so are the right-wing shadow groups with their secretive money. Right now, they’re outspending us nearly 2-to-1. Every dollar you contribute will help us knock on more doors, call more Democratic voters, and fight back with more ads against misleading right-wing attacks.

With the world watching, let’s show just how determined we are to fight for our most cherished Democratic values.

Onward,

Nancy Pelosi

Democratic Leader

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Culture:The Political Meaning Behind Summer Blockbusters


This summer’s blockbuster movies may be escapism, but they’re powerful expressions of major trends in American politics. Movies as diverse as Sam Raimi’s foreclosure horror flick DragMetoHell and Adam McKay’s financial melt down cop comedy The Other Guys have explored the rage and helplessness of an economy that may be altered forever. James Cameron’s science-fiction epic Avatar sparked as many, if not more, environmental debates than Al Gore‘s An Inconvenient Truth. And, Hollywood director Michael Bay sought out the Defense Department’s cooperation when he started making his Transformers movies, the third of which arrives in theaters on June 29, and switches American troops from fighting Afghans and Iraqis to fighting giant robots, symbolically referencing the human cost of our ongoing wars. Rather than trying to escape politics in our entertainment, it’s time to embrace them. In the next few months, a trio of superhero movies is poised to exploit post-bin Laden American triumphalism. In the midst of our sluggish economic recovery, a new crop of comedies are poised to help audiences adjust their economic expectations. And the most controversial education reform movie since Waiting for Superman stars Cameron Diaz. We may think we’re seeking mindless entertainment when we buy tickets to an action movie or a romantic comedy, but those films are both the product of our politics and an expression of them. Welcome to The Progress Report’s progressive guide to summer movie season.

OLD ENEMIES AND NEW ONES: In future summers, we’ll see an explosion of action movies based on Osama bin Laden‘s death. Kathryn Bigelow, director of the Oscar-winning movie The Hurt Locker, was already working on a movie about an attempt on Bin Laden’s life when President Obama announced that the terrorist had been killed. Universal green litan adaptation of Marcus Luttrell’s memoir about his service as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. And Disney’s moved to trade mark the term “Seal Team 6,” locking up the name of the squad that got Bin Laden, now a valuable bit of intellectual property. But this year, superhero movies are turning back to old enemies, and to conflicts where the exercise of American power was decidedly less complicated than it is now. Captain America: The First Avenger, due out on July 22, is an origin story, but it’s also very much a period piece, a high-gloss flashback to World War II. Captain America will fight terrorists in that movie, but terrorists who are acting as agents of the Nazistate under the command of the Red Skull, a super villain who, according to some origin stories, was recruited by Hitler himself. Unlike Tony Stark, who has to destroy a terrorist cell who kidnapped him while avoiding civilian casualties so he can keep the allegiance of Afghan citizens, Captain America won’t be required to show much restraint. Similarly, X-Men: FirstClass goes back to the ’60s to bring its titular mutant heroes together for the first time. The X-Men aren’t agents of the government — in fact, they’re precisely the opposite, a group of people whose extraordinary abilities make them despised rather than prized, and whose struggle to figure out if they should assimilate into society or withdraw in it is a major metaphor for gay rights. But in this origin story, the characters have a chance to earn their spurs as heroes and a place in mainstream America by acting as a fail-safe for President Kennedy when his brinksmanship on the Cuban Missile Crisis goes awry. By contrast, Michael Bay’s Transformer: Dark of the Moon, is dipping into more contemporary politics. The movie is relying on American distaste for Julian Assange and Wikileaks — as well on the rather contradictory pleasure of watching our major cities get destroyed on-screen — to power a script in which giant robots try to bring down the United States government by revealing state secrets.

ON ECONOMY, LAUGH OR CRY: While our foreign policy plays out on a super heroic scale this summer, a new spate of comedies suggests that we’d better buck up about the economy, because we’re stuck with its hardships. The people who get hit by hard times in these movies range up and down the economic spectrum. In a subplot of the ensemble wedding comedy Jumping the Broom, economic issues create strain for a couple rushing to the altar. In Bridesmaids, comedian Kristin Wiig’s Annie is a failed entrepreneur, working in a jewelry store after her bakery became a victim of the downturn, taking with it her boyfriend and business partner. And at the lower end of the scale, Tom Hanks is a big-box store veteran who loses not just his chance for a promotion but his job because he doesn’t have a college degree in LarryCrowne, which opens on July 1. All of these movies mine the indignities of economic disasters for laughs, sometimes uncomfortable ones. The pretensions of the wealthy family in Jumping the Broom often make them look ridiculous. Losing her life savings propels Annie into sharing a house with two deeply strange roommates and into a job at a jewelry store where she subtly undermines her love bird customers. And the pursuit of his degree places Larry in a community college that makes Community’sGreendale look almost legitimate by comparison. That humor aims to make the recession bearable. But these movies also take a hopeful tack, recasting hardship as an opportunity to revitalize your soured relationship with your husband, win back your shattered personal and professional confidence, or build the life you always wanted on a foundation of a used motorbike, clothes out of the back of a truck, and a romance with a burned-out speech professor. It’s the comedy of resignation, using humor to acclimate us to changes in our economic expectations that on some days seem worrisomely permanent. The exception is Seth Gordon’s Horrible Bosses, due out on July 8, which suggests that if you’re stuck in a job where your employer forces you to drink so he can cast you as an alcoholic, makes you discriminate against your coworkers, or you’re being sexually harassed by Jennifer Aniston, offing your supervisor may be your only option, but though the solution’s less uplifting, the desperation is the same. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

THE BIG ISSUES: And while studios normally save their big, pointed issue movies for the winter Oscar-bait season, sometimes a few sneak into the summer lineup — however unintentionally. Bad Teacher, in theaters on June 24, may be the first dark sex comedy built around standardized testing. Cameron Diaz, a burned-out teacher, seizes on the idea that breast implants are her ticket to marriage to Justin Timberlake, a wealthy man who has chosen to teach rather than go into his family’s business. Her plan to get the money? Winning a bonus awarded to the teacher whose students do best on a state achievement test. Whether Bad Teacher ends up being ammunition against testing, an argument against merit pay, or just another step forward for the burgeoning women’s raunch-comedy movement remains an open question. And coming out on the same day, and in loose sync with President Obama’s renewed call for immigration reform, is Chris Weitz‘s ABetterLife, which follows a man trying to build a landscaping business in Los Angeles while avoiding the constant risk of deportation. Weitz’s last project was vampire phenomenon Twilight: New Moon, and he’s never been involved in an explicitly political project before. But his grandmother is a Mexican immigrant, and if Weitz can sell an immigration reform drama to the Twilight fan base, it could be the summer’s best piece of pop activism.

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