Patterico's Pontifications

10/10/2013

GOVERNMENT SLOWDOWN, DAY TEN

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:38 am



A day without nonessential government services is like a day without sunshine.

Or rather, it’s like a day with sunshine, except there is no funding for the Sun. So the government builds a giant shield to block it.

71 Responses to “GOVERNMENT SLOWDOWN, DAY TEN”

  1. The folks who build the shield?

    Essential!!!

    Patterico (1ad6f7)

  2. TFG and his scandals may be doing more to increase the public’s skepticism of Big Government than anything in recent memory.

    On another front (for Steve, DRJ, Dustin, etc.), “And, from last week: Study finds IRS suppression of Tea Party swung 2012 election.”

    Colonel Haiku (1d6084)

  3. Ask Conor Mcleod about that.

    narciso (3fec35)

  4. I know that was Highlander 2, a film that has been scrubbed from the interwebs.

    narciso (3fec35)

  5. And with good reason.

    SPQR (cda69c)

  6. Government shutdown, day 10….that explains no sunshine here and a massive dump of snow overnight. When will this nightmare end…

    Dana (6178d5)

  7. Haiku, who is TGF?

    nk (dbc370)

  8. I’m still trying to figure out how, if Connor MacLoud of the Clan MacLoud won the Gathering, was the last of the Immortals — and there can be only one! — Duncan MacLoud and all of those other Immortals showed up later.

    The inquisitive Dana (3e4784)

  9. Highlander was a stupid concept stupidly executed.

    The Sword and Sorcery Afficionado nk (dbc370)

  10. I liked the TV series…

    SPQR (0bad1d)

  11. 0730PT news brings word that our Whiner In Chief is still demanding a blank check from the Congress (read: House) to spare the Executives (and himself) the horror of having to make difficult decisions that may affect individual Americans, or the American Economy, adversely.

    Well, guess what Barry, when you’re the CEO, or upper management, difficult decisions are what you do – that’s what “above my pay-grade” means; the guys (and gals) at the top of the heap have to do some dirty work occasionally, like impose priorities.
    And another thing, it is commendable that at this late date you’ve picked up some “concern” for the condition of the American Economy, but your track record over the last 4.75 years is one of a complete and utter flop when it comes to dealing with economic conditions – other than lining the pockets of your cronies.
    If one were being cynical, one might think, from that past record, that you really don’t give a Rat’s Patootee about either the economy, or the people engaged in it.
    But that’s just this observers opinion.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  12. This probably has been mentioned elsewhere, but did people hear about Jon Stewart saying he thought Sibelius was lying to him, and that Wolf Blitzer said that maybe the WH should listen to critics and postpone ObamaCare for a year because it is such a mess?

    Meanwhile, there is some info about the IRS sharing info with the WH that was denied to the Congress oversight.

    It would be interesting to know if the owners of the SF restaurant and City Tavern in Philly are still Obama supporters after suffering the pettiness first hand.
    Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  13. Doc, I think they’re all over both Jon Stewart and Wolf Blitzer over at HotAir, and I commented earlier on another thread that I would not doubt that any info that the WH received from the IRS (and I do not doubt that they did, it is such a nest of vipers) was forwarded immediately to The Cave at the OFA HQ in Chicago.
    Being a “local” I’m sure you have access to Philly websites that may be discussing the City Tavern affair. For the SF restaurant, perhaps SFGate.com will be able to put down the BarryBlinders long enough to commit real journalism.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  14. This Fuggin’ Guy, nk

    Colonel Haiku (7865e7)

  15. I know it was an absurd reference, but so is this kabuki.

    narciso (3fec35)

  16. askeptic-
    yes, I didn’t think I was mentioning anything new to most folks, but I thought they were “big” enough to mention again.
    As far as tracking down Philly area stuff on City Tavern and all, I actually follow few things other than here and at PowerLine. I don’t have the energy and time to do everything I want/need to anyway, and realizing that one has to try to sort out what (little) is written “straight-forward” and how much is written from a specific PR manipulation point, I’m ambivalent about looking too hard.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  17. I know the feeling Doc, sometimes you just don’t want to know, because all it will do is confirm your worst thoughts.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  18. Reports are that Boehner has offered to extend debt ceiling through November while the parties negotiate a budget deal. This is in response to Obama saying at his press conference that he would be open to this idea.

    JVW (93c84b)

  19. Oh I don’t know narciso, Nancy Pelosi’s head would look pretty awesome photoshopped to Bobby Sands’ body.

    JVW (93c84b)

  20. Thanks, Haiku. If you wish, Dana.

    nk (dbc370)

  21. 11. 0730PT news brings word that our Whiner In Chief is still demanding a blank check from the Congress (read: House) to spare the Executives (and himself) the horror of having to make difficult decisions that may affect individual Americans, or the American Economy, adversely.

    Comment by askeptic (b8ab92) — 10/10/2013 @ 8:05 am

    If I were speaker I’d hit Obama where it hurts. I’d say that a good chief executive and manager could operate within the limits of the current debt ceiling. But as we’ve seen from the Obamacare roll out, it doesn’t appear that Obama is a good chief executive and manager.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  22. i ate some chips ahoy with a large cup of home made black coffee for breakfast.
    am expecting a visit from an essential hhs nanny. will have my (legal) AR-15 that was built in another state on display inside screen door and will expect essential atf agents to kick down my non essential door (rather than just opening the screen).
    charges will be filed by essential holder sycophant who does not understand law but is afraid of my rifle because it is black and the racism. my non essential federal public defender will be, of course, a no show.
    if all this does not come to pass (except for the cookies), i still intend to treat every day of the slow down by waking up, eating whatever the f i want and then going to work. the essential employees at the irs will process my “contributions” in a timely fashion when not otherwise engaged in their essential audit of me burrowing for the source of my $100 donation to our sole conservative city councilman.
    most americans will carry on.. and so will i, if it is non essential either i don’t need it, or i will do it myself, or go get my own.
    if drj did a survey of folks in west Texas, i’d bet most people there are ignoring the slowdown and being at least as productive as before
    (i’d like to see the feds try to close down the onramps to US highways in Texas with cones and barricades… it’d be a short lived shutdown)

    steveg (794291)

  23. Comment by Steve57 (51ff17) — 10/10/2013 @ 9:05 am

    As I’ve commented at another blog, the only competence that this group has demonstrated is the acquisition, and keeping, of power (’08 & ’12), and they had to cheat to do it in both cases.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  24. Gov’t slowdown, day 10:

    The commute this morning was eerily quiet. Desolation everywhere. The roadside was littered with abandoned vehicles. The only light was provided by the burning debris of shops and houses, the only movement by packs of feral dogs, sniffing out survivors huddled in the wreckage.

    Have a nice day!

    alanstorm (cb237b)

  25. 13. There is also this about the IRS – some people at the IRS releasing to the proponents of gay marriage a list of contributors to the National Organization for Mariage (and proponents of gay marriage have a history of harassing anyone who is against for they are for)

    http://nypost.com/2013/10/09/to-break-the-irss-wall-of-silence/

    In the spring of 2012, NOM’s private tax-return data turned up splashed on the Web site of its chief political opponent, the Human Rights Campaign. The leak plainly came from the IRS, because the tax return published on the site was stamped with special codes the IRS uses on electronically filed returns.

    The leaked, confidential information included a list of NOM donors….

    ….We now know senior IRS officials delayed tax-exempt status for dozens of Tea Party groups until after the 2012 election. Dr. Ben Carson says he was audited for the first time just after he criticized President Obama to his face at the National Prayer Breakfast. And Mitt Romney superdonor Frank VanderSloot said he was audited three times last year, after being publicly named as one of eight “shady” donors to Romney by the Obama campaign.

    Yet the IRS has consistently refused to open up about these outrages. IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner “took the Fifth” when questioned about her involvement by the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee in May, and later retired.

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)

  26. re: 10, the original movie was kind of fun (the sequel DID. NOT. HAPPEN. Nor was their a sequel to the sequel!) but IMO the TV series was repetitive.

    Every single episode there’d be some new supposedly super-secret subplot introducing a new immortal, a flashback to past times where they’d almost run into one another before, a nod to the shadowy watchers, and in the end he’d get in a fight, cut someone’s head off, have an orgasm and be struck by lightning.

    (Mostly in that order, the last 2 kind of interchanged occasionally).

    rtrski (c69273)

  27. A shield! That’s what we need. It will take care of the necessity to make things hard for the citiz
    ens and focus their anger at those pesky Republicans. And, bonus, work on that Global Warming thingie also! (For gosh sakes, don’t tell Hairy Reid! It would probably give him ideas.)

    Bill M (82a842)

  28. Clancy Brown does make quite a villain, Micharl Ironside a close second.

    narciso (3fec35)

  29. re 29, re 10: I thought the TV series was about this New Mexico marshal who rode his horse on 5th Avenue and solved mysteries for NYPD…. I believe he got the NM job after serving as a deputy marshal in Kansas some years earlier.

    gramps (159211)

  30. McCloud? Not even close enough for a pun.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  31. He’s supposed to be Scottish, hence the spelling, Ramirez was supposed to be Spanish but was actually an alien, it makes as much sense as this;

    http://minx.cc/?post=344059

    narciso (3fec35)

  32. rtrski wrote:

    in the end he’d get in a fight, cut someone’s head off, have an orgasm and be struck by lightning.

    (Mostly in that order, the last 2 kind of interchanged occasionally).

    With Alexandra Vandernoot as your wenchfriend, you’d have an orgasm or two yourself. 🙂

    The envious Dana (3e4784)

  33. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/us/politics/shutdown-holds-up-death-benefits-for-military-families.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0

    Some House Republicans have suggested, without citing specific language in the bill, that it also covered death benefits.

    “The intent of Congress was to permit D.O.D. to honor all payment and allowances to service members,” Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, said in a letter to Mr. Hagel.

    “The department’s decision to not make these payments is a matter of choice,” he added. “And until a correction is made to the law, it is up to you to make the appropriate judgment based on a more correct interpretation.”

    The House Appropriations Committee is moving to get a bill to the floor to reinstate the benefits as early as Wednesday.

    “Frankly, I think it’s disgraceful that they’re withholding these benefits,” Speaker John A. Boehner said in a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon. “But again tomorrow, the House is going to act specifically on this and I hope the president will sign it.”

    The Pentagon strongly denied that the current legislation allowed for benefits to be paid without further Congressional action.

    “The fact that the House is developing new legislation on this matter shows Congress fully understands that D.O.D. does not have the legal authority to provide these death benefits,” a senior military official said. “Secretary Hagel is outraged and disgusted by this situation, but the law is clear.”

    One day later:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/us/politics/pentagon-links-with-charity-to-pay-benefits-to-families-of-service-members-killed-in-action.html?_r=0

    WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials said Wednesday that they would contract with a charity group, the Fisher House Foundation, to restore death benefits to families of service members killed in action, including a $100,000 payment, that have been stopped by the government shutdown. The officials said the Pentagon would reimburse the group after the shutdown ended.

    But just before the Pentagon’s announcement, the House voted unanimously to restore the benefits, a swift action reflecting the public outrage about this particular effect of the shutdown…..

    …Although Pentagon officials insisted on Tuesday that they could not do anything about restoring death benefits without Congressional approval, their agreement with Fisher House on Wednesday suggested that the officials had changed their minds.

    The Senate will not take up the House bill now that the Defense Department has acted.

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)

  34. DoD changed its mind?
    Perhaps they remembered, or were reminded, that all promotions to Flag Rank have to be approved by the Senate, and that just one single Senator can put a hold on a promotion that can last as long as that Senator is in office, if he so desires.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  35. I left this in a comment on another thread but apparently I should have left it here.

    The Senate passed the House’s legislative fix for the military death benefits but it appears Obama may veto it. Jay Carney said today that we don’t need legislation to fix this as long as the Fisher House is paying the benefits and the White House plans to find a way to fix this by executive order or some other non-legislative fix.

    They really do think they are dictators.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  36. To clarify, the White House thinks this has been resolved because the Pentagon has agreed to reimburse the Fisher House after the shutdown ends. And Obama thinks this is fine.

    Our government is like Wimpy getting a burger today in exchange for paying for it next Tuesday.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  37. I salute Fisher House for their willingness to step forward, and to have the ability to shoulder this (should be) brief burden.
    I just hope that they haven’t given too much weight to the assurances of the higher-ups in this administration, who have repeatedly demonstrated a penchant for obfuscation and untruth.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  38. Clancy Brown is the son and also grandson of Republican representatives from Ohio I think

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  39. I’m so sorry to bring this up dear friends from Texas, but you gave us Sheila. She thinks we should declare Martial Law to end the shutdown.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/10/good-grief-dem-rep-sheila-jackson-lee-suggests-martial-law-to-end-government-shutdown-video/

    elissa (8d66d6)

  40. Bring it on, Jackson-Lee.

    Bring it the F on.

    SPQR (768505)

  41. elissa,

    Great link, and that is truly contemptable of Rep Lee. Evil that would seem unrealistic in an Orwellian dystopia novel.

    I know of no Texan who has ever supported her in any way. House Representative elections are not statewide elections. In fact, thanks to the voting rights act, Lee’s district is gerrymandered to an extreme extent. I assure you that Lee does not represent the sensibilities of Texas at large. In my opinion, Texas is superior to the most of the country in its awareness of the folly of empowering or trusting government too much.

    Dustin (303dca)

  42. 42. I’m so sorry to bring this up dear friends from Texas, but you gave us Sheila. She thinks we should declare Martial Law to end the shutdown.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/10/good-grief-dem-rep-sheila-jackson-lee-suggests-martial-law-to-end-government-shutdown-video/

    Comment by elissa (8d66d6) — 10/10/2013 @ 2:27 pm

    Technically, elissa, Texas didn’t give you Sheila Jackson Lee. Houston gave you Sheila Jackson Lee. Texans have stopped referring to places like that as Texas. For instance where I live the refer to it as “Dallas, California.”

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  43. I see on day ten some people have had enough of the BS.

    http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2013/October/Park-Service-Abuses-Spark-New-Battle-of-Yorktown/

    Park Service Abuses Spark New ‘Battle of Yorktown’

    YORKTOWN, Va. — The shutdown of Washington has now become the battle of Yorktown.

    In the same place where America fought its final battle of independence, one American businessman is refusing to bow to pressure to close up shop during the shutdown.

    His story is just one example of what many view as the Obama administration’s widespread overreach during the government gridlock.

    …He was granted a three-day stay but eventually closed the restaurant. A week later, in defiance of government orders, he reopened for business. He knows the move was risky, but he considered it well worthwhile.

    “I’m willing to go to jail for this,” Helseth said. “If the Parks Service wants to put me in jail because I want to honor the terms of my contract, well, I suppose they have that right.”

    …He also points out that during the shutdown he was still obligated to pay other expenses for the facility.

    “I’m paying for the insurance on this building,” he said. “While it’s closed I’m paying for the utilities on this building. I’m paying for the security system that is protecting this building and I cannot use this building.”

    His employees’ welfare is also a big concern.

    “My staff is not getting any back pay,” Helseth continued. “My people aren’t getting paid for the days we missed. I need to look out for the welfare of my staff.”

    As evidenced by the lines outside the Carrot Tree, the actions of the restaurant owner have ignited a firestorm of support, with many calling it the new battle of Yorktown.

    …Robert Waring of Virginia Beach, Va., says he believes the government’s treatment of Helseth is illegal.

    “He’s got a lease with the government to run a business that doesn’t require Park Service to be present,” he reasoned. “They don’t work here — all he has to do is open his doors and do business.”

    Now that’s what I’m talking about!

    There are lots of things that the administration could legitimately shut down. But private businesses that require zero, zip, nada from NPS. As this guy points out, he’s paying the expenses for that business even during the shutdown. Not the gub’mint. Plus he’s got a lease.

    When the Spite House demands he shut down his business, President Mean Girl is just being petty and vindictive. And everybody can see there’s no legitimate reason for it.

    I do not think this shutdown is going to go to turn out well for him.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  44. Steve is correct. Only I wish to add a detail. Lee’s district is shaped very oddly. It has a leg down into the densely populated south central Houston and then a large swath curving around the less densely area around the north half of the tollway. Leaving a huge hole in the middle of the district. It’s not like any coherent community has this view. It’s just packing votes together in order to comply with the old Voting Rights Act.

    In a sick way, the reason Lee even has a career in congress is thanks in part to sell outs in the GOP who passed that law. At least it’s their fault more than it is the fault of most Texans.

    Hopefully this can be fixed. Elissa is correct that Lee is something Texans should cringe about. It’s no defense that Illinois produced Obama in statewide elections. Texas aspires to more.

    Dustin (303dca)

  45. Is that post Katrina, Dustin, because Houston’s the only place I’ve seen that had Fox in the airport feed.

    narciso (3fec35)

  46. Indeed there are a ton of conservatives in Houston, Narciso. It’s got a lot of interesting policies too. I believe it’s the largest city in the world where the government doesn’t control zoning, and of course it’s the energy capitol of the world as well.

    But the feds have controlled districting to some extent, causing a strange district to exist because even in the most liberal places in Texas it’s unlikely they would keep someone like Lee in power organically.

    Dustin (303dca)

  47. I know that was the late Mickey Leland’s district, who was on the left admittedly, but she’s Hank Johnson embarassing

    narciso (3fec35)

  48. She is dumber than that. She asked a NASA witness if the Mars rover could see the Apollo 11 flag.

    SPQR (768505)

  49. ==Technically, elissa, Texas didn’t give you Sheila Jackson Lee. Houston gave you Sheila Jackson Lee==

    Yes. I understand. And you and Dustin and others will please remember this the next time y’all feel compelled to talk about Illinois being like Detroit or Venezuela. “Technically”, Illinois did not bring you Bobby Rush and Luis Gutierrez and Jan Schakowski–or President Barack Obama for that matter. Chicago and Cook County did. Illinois has 102 counties. Of those, Illinois has at least 80 counties which pretty reliably vote R in statewide and federal elections. Romney lost to Obama in Illinois by a little over 800,000 votes from a total of a little over 5,100,000 cast. That sounds like a lot until you know that Obama got 1,488,537 of his votes in Cook County alone. The attached map gives you some idea of how red most of my state really is. It also may give you an idea why our statewide and federal candidates have to appeal to enough “blue county” independents to ever get elected.

    I might add that oddly shaped gerryrigged districts to “protect” certain incumbents are not exactly unknown in Illinois, either.

    http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/president/illinois/

    elissa (18305b)

  50. 50. …she’s Hank Johnson embarassing

    Comment by narciso (3fec35) — 10/10/2013 @ 4:19 pm

    While visiting the Mars Pathfinder control room at NASA once, she asked if the Pathfinder had taken any pictures of the flag Neil Armstrong had planted back in ’69.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  51. Well no, if Wendy Davis were governor, which would be a sign of the apocalypse,

    http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/09/biblical-scholar-claims-jesus-was-invented-by-romans/

    narciso (3fec35)

  52. You’ve got to admit, elissa, Illinois did give us Senator Barack Obama.

    Well, ok, maybe Illinois voter fraud gave us Senator Barack Obama. But, same thing.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  53. If Texas ever sends Sheila Jackson Lee to the Senate then I’ll concede.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  54. Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/10/2013 @ 1:58 pm

    The Senate passed the House’s legislative fix for the military death benefits but it appears Obama may veto it.

    That’s an interesting question – will he veto this, hoping by that time it won’t matter, or will he let it pass into law without his signature on or around October 21?

    Mark Levin said something abouyt this on his radio show tonight. I didn’t realize this had passed the Senate. I guess it all went too fast befiore Obama could try to stop it..

    Jay Carney said today that we don’t need legislation to fix this as long as the Fisher House is paying the benefits and the White House plans to find a way to fix this by executive order or some other non-legislative fix.

    He claimed they shouldn’t pass piecemeal legislation. Mark Levin said they used to do things that way. They’re called appropriation bills.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  55. …Obama got 1,488,537 of his votes in Cook County alone.

    That’s why I mentioned the voter fraud. In some districts in Chicago Romney got zero votes. This is impossible without fraud. Even if no one in the voting district planned on voting for Romney, he would have gotten some votes by mistake.

    To get zero takes planning and effort.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  56. Meh, Nietszche said we should be called Paulians (and who knows who said something similar before him). At least he wrote interestingly and entertainingly. These clowns should get jobs. And expository writing lessons.

    nk (dbc370)

  57. You notice how Arslan’s idiocy and now this, the Bellesiles of biblical scholarship are marketed.

    narciso (3fec35)

  58. http://weaselzippers.us/2013/10/10/breaking-obama-signs-bill-restoring-death-benefits-to-troops-which-jay-carney-meaningless/

    BREAKING: Obama Signs Bill Restoring Death Benefits To Troops Which Jay Carney Called Not Necessary

    The only thing I like about Obama?

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/09/11/obama-hangs-his-top-aides-repeatedly-out-to-dry/

    Obama hangs his top aides (repeatedly) out to dry

    Samantha Power, John Kerry, now Jay Carney.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  59. Highlander was a stupid concept stupidly executed.

    I liked the TV series…

    The TV series was good. I’ve never seen the movies, and have been told that I didn’t miss anything. (The same is true for Buffy. Loved the series, never saw the movie, have been told that’s for the best.)

    Milhouse (b95258)

  60. Back at #46 I mentioned how the owner of the Carrot Tree Kitchens Restaurant is refusing to close simply because he his pissy landlord the NPS told him to. And in the article it was mentioned the NPS’ action is probably illegal. It probably is.

    According to this report the NPS agreed that the NPS agreed the owner of the Pisqah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway could reopen if he’d drop the lawsuit he brought against him.

    http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20131010/NEWS/310100009/Pisgah-Inn-wins-showdown-over-federal-shutdown?gcheck=1

    No doubt the NPS is overstepping their bounds on the theory that they’re the feds and if they act officious and overbearing enough they can bully people around and get away with it, even though they have no legal right to do so.

    Every single business that’s been ordered closed by the NPS or other branches of the Waffen SS formerly known as the Dept. of the Interior simply because the feds collect the rent needs to bring a suit against them. I know I would.

    Although now that I know I’d never sign a business lease with the NPS in a million years, I won’t get my chance.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  61. I’m so sorry to bring this up dear friends from Texas, but you gave us Sheila. She thinks we should declare Martial Law to end the shutdown.

    I don’t think so. If you actually watch the video clip, it sounds like she has no idea what martial law is, but thinks we already have it. She seems to think it’s a parliamentary procedure for introducing a bill into the House and bringing it immediately to a vote, without any debate, amendments, or other delay.

    Milhouse (b95258)

  62. Martial law is where you have marshals. We have marshals in Texas, so therefore we have martial law.

    Sheila Jackson-Lee (3e4784)

  63. Comment by Milhouse (b95258) — 10/11/2013 @ 12:20 am

    I think there is a procedure like that in the House but it requires a 3/4ths vote?

    Comment by Sheila Jackson-Lee.

    Representative Lee, did you go to Texas A&M, by any chance? http://imgur.com/ZaRA2Z9 (It would have to be by chance, an idiot like Jackson-Lee would never make it through a rational admissions process.)

    nk (dbc370)

  64. Yo, bitch nk, if I could reach through this computer an’ smacks you, I would. I went to Yale, mutha fucka, an’ then UVa Law School!

    Worthless cracka.

    Sheila Jackson-Lee (3e4784)

  65. I believe this site has automatically discarded a comment by the Honorable Sheila Jackson-Lee into the spam queue. The IRS will be notified.

    The internet anti-discrimination office (3e4784)

  66. Whenever I see the leftard meme that R’s only hold a majority in the House because of “gerrymandering,” that name floats to the forefront of my mind as the instant response: Sheila Jackson-Lee.

    As an adopted Texan (although not from Houston), you all have my apology on behalf of my state.

    rtrski (acb85e)

  67. 38. 57. Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/10/2013 @ 1:58 pm

    The Senate passed the House’s legislative fix for the military death benefits but it appears Obama may veto it.

    I rather belatedly read a story in Friday’s New York Times taht revealed that Obama had signed the bill into law late Thursday.

    At least I thought I read it there, but I can’t find it, there or in any other newspaper I have, and I can’t find the New York Times story online, but I found other stories saying that. (what I don’t know is where I read it

    So that makes two Republican House “piecemeal” or related bills signed – and the one for back pay will be added to the list when the Senate passes it, which will probably be after a continuing resolution is passed.

    The New York Times also tells (I am pretty sure it did, I don’t think Winston Smith has been active here, even replacing partially separated printed copies) something of how the death benefts bill passed the Senate, and you can get some from other sources.

    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-10/obama-signs-military-death-benefits-bill-passed-by-congress

    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-signs-bill-pay-military-death-benefits-20537501

    http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/10/20900361-senate-quietly-passes-death-gratuity-bill?lite (this one has video of Harry reid, but was written before Obama signed the bill)

    Sen. John Cornyn of Texas had been pushing for this bill on Wednesday. At 2:20 pm he hass for unanimous approval for the House’s death benefits legislation. Majority Leader Harry Reid objected but said try again at 4 pm and they’ll do something if the White House hasn’t come up with a solution by then. By then the Fisher House plan was announced.

    But somehow Cornyn renewed it on Thursday, and Harry Reid, while saying it was unnecessary, and just for show, consented, “if my friend from Texas feels more comfort as a result of doing this” and the bill passed.

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)


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