They just don't get it
We are coming up on the seven week mark of the 114th United States Congress and the Republican leadership is apparently convinced they need to do things to let the American people know that they haven't learned a damn thing from recent history.
These so-called leaders allowed the federal government to grind to a halt in October of 2013. From October 1st through October 16th, non-essential government functions were shut down. It was the worst of politics as usual in this era; an exercise in the futility of our fractured system of government. No money was saved, because the employees who were ordered not to report for work were ultimately paid for their time not working. In fact, money was wasted. This action accomplished nothing.
Now Speaker of the House Boehner and his cronies want to allow the Department of Homeland Security to run out of money. Ostensibly to prevent the Executive Order signed by President Obama to modify current immigration law enforcement; but in point of fact, if DHS shuts down, nothing related to the President's order will change.
Challenging the decision by President Obama to take action by Executive Order in the court system is the proper avenue. If his move is a violation of our constitutional system of checks and balances, that is the arena for the Republicans to seek redress. Not by getting into a pissing contest serves no useful purpose.
The years 2015 and 2016 are critical if the party of Lincoln is to have any hope of putting anyone other than another Democrat into the Oval Office. Doing dumb things like this damages those faint hopes. I guess these days the GOP should adopt the dunce cap as their emblem. It fits.
* * *
California State Senator Holly Williams has introduced legislation into the Senate to preclude cases involving police officer shooting deaths from being sent to a grand jury. The purpose of the legislation would be to prevent such cases from being examined in secret.
It's a good first step but it isn't enough. The alternative would be to hold preliminary hearings in such cases, and while they wouldn't be behind closed doors; the problem of the close relationship between prosecutors and police officers remains.
The answer is simple. Do as Senator Williams wants to do while providing for the investigation and prosecution of such cases to be done by the State Attorney General's office.
* * *
John Belushi
Chris Farley
Gilda Radner
Phil Hartman
Jan Hooks
Don Pardo
Bernie Brillstein
Andy Kaufman
Danitra Vance
Charles Rocket
Michael O'Donahue
Elliot Wald
Herb Sargent
These so-called leaders allowed the federal government to grind to a halt in October of 2013. From October 1st through October 16th, non-essential government functions were shut down. It was the worst of politics as usual in this era; an exercise in the futility of our fractured system of government. No money was saved, because the employees who were ordered not to report for work were ultimately paid for their time not working. In fact, money was wasted. This action accomplished nothing.
Now Speaker of the House Boehner and his cronies want to allow the Department of Homeland Security to run out of money. Ostensibly to prevent the Executive Order signed by President Obama to modify current immigration law enforcement; but in point of fact, if DHS shuts down, nothing related to the President's order will change.
Challenging the decision by President Obama to take action by Executive Order in the court system is the proper avenue. If his move is a violation of our constitutional system of checks and balances, that is the arena for the Republicans to seek redress. Not by getting into a pissing contest serves no useful purpose.
The years 2015 and 2016 are critical if the party of Lincoln is to have any hope of putting anyone other than another Democrat into the Oval Office. Doing dumb things like this damages those faint hopes. I guess these days the GOP should adopt the dunce cap as their emblem. It fits.
* * *
California State Senator Holly Williams has introduced legislation into the Senate to preclude cases involving police officer shooting deaths from being sent to a grand jury. The purpose of the legislation would be to prevent such cases from being examined in secret.
It's a good first step but it isn't enough. The alternative would be to hold preliminary hearings in such cases, and while they wouldn't be behind closed doors; the problem of the close relationship between prosecutors and police officers remains.
The answer is simple. Do as Senator Williams wants to do while providing for the investigation and prosecution of such cases to be done by the State Attorney General's office.
* * *
John Belushi
Chris Farley
Gilda Radner
Phil Hartman
Jan Hooks
Don Pardo
Bernie Brillstein
Andy Kaufman
Danitra Vance
Charles Rocket
Michael O'Donahue
Elliot Wald
Herb Sargent
posted by me at 6:20 PM
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