October 7, 2009 – Capitol Hill Blue

Gang Violence in Chicago

October 7, 2009

I’ve never lived near gangs but I’m certain they can be found in many cities. Can anyone explain why so many teenagers have the kind of free time to allow them to look for trouble? We are in the period where schools are in session. In my child hood we took on kids from other schools but on the volleyball and tennis courts.

Our Attorney General Holder is attending the meeting in Chicago which could mean our National Guard might be asked to intervene. These are teen gangs. Rev. Jesse Jackson mentions that the kids are hungry and we should be furnishing 3 meals a day to the kids. He is trying to blame all of us for the out-of-control teens in our cities.

On my watch!!!

October 7, 2009

Again it happens, history returns a cycle
Old events wears new attire
Man´s worst ingenuity on the move
As active disguise transforms guilt to fun.

Dust to dust and ashes to ashes
Woe to the man in the middle
Efforts wane and eyes deaden
But hope revived by the voice of Thunder.

Vexed nature in cosmic revolt
Multiple excuses for erratic evolution
Happy or sad, great Darwin, his work overdone
Yet to explain the return of time.

On my watch I have seen
Postures assumed based on artificial realities
Realities portraying another reality
Angry nature in quest of clarity
Versus man in consistent state of denial.

……… From Gitmo to here. Doug it´s great that you are still here.

Let’s face it: Obama is a failure

October 7, 2009

Originally, the promise was universal health care for all Americans but not one bill in the House or the Senate provides that and the main Senate bill mandates health care for all Americans whether they can afford it or not. Those who can’t face a fine…or maybe even jail.

Originally, the promise was “affordable” health care but the legislation percolating in both Houses of Congress will drive health insurance costs up, not down.

Once again, reality falls short of promises and actuality fails to meet expectations.

President Barack Obama wanted health care reform to be the centerpiece of his Presidency. Now it could be the failure that limits his time in office to a single term.

The lazy, lax work schedule of Congress

October 7, 2009

Like most Americans, members of the House are expected to report promptly — no excuses — when summoned by their bosses for the start of another workweek. One difference: For lawmakers, starting time doesn’t come until about 6:30 Tuesday evening.

After taking control of the House in 2006 — and again when President Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) boasted that lawmakers would work four or five days a week to bring change to America.

But midway through Obama’s first year in office, Hoyer’s House has settled into a more leisurely routine. Members usually arrive for the first vote of the week as the sun sets on Tuesdays, and they’re usually headed back home before it goes down again on Thursdays.

Obama weighs his options on Afghan war

October 7, 2009

On the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama is gathering his national security team for another strategy session.

Obama is examining how to proceed with a worsening war that has claimed nearly 800 U.S. lives and sapped American patience. Launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to defeat the Taliban and rid al-Qaida of a home base, the war has lasted longer than ever envisioned.

House and Senate leaders of both parties emerged Tuesday from a nearly 90-minute conversation with Obama with praise for his candor and interest in listening. But politically speaking, all sides appeared to exit where they entered, with Republicans pushing Obama to follow his military commanders and Democrats saying he should not be rushed.

Afghan war gives antiwar movement momentum

October 7, 2009

The protesters convened for a final planning meeting, already triumphant, convinced that nine months of preparation was about to pay off. Antiwar organizers who had come to Washington from 27 states exchanged hugs inside a Columbia Heights convention hall and modeled their protest costumes: orange jumpsuits, “death masks,” shackles and T-shirts depicting bloody Afghan children. Then Pete Perry, the event organizer, stood up to deliver a welcome speech.

“This is a great moment for our movement,” he said. “We are continuing an incredible tradition.”

“Like Gandhi,” said the next speaker.

“Like Martin Luther King,” said another.

Little or no oversight over war costs

October 7, 2009

During a routine check of a watch tower at a U.S. military base in Kuwait, an Army sergeant found the guard leaning back in a chair, his sunglasses on, apparently sound asleep. When the soldier woke the guard, an employee of a defense contractor named Combat Support Associates, he denied he’d dozed off while on duty.

“It’s so weird that I can close my eyes for one second and then you appear out of nowhere,” the guard said, according to the sergeant’s March 2008 inspection report.

Obama’s public approval ratings on the mend

October 7, 2009

President Barack Obama’s approval ratings are starting to rise after declining ever since his inauguration, new poll figures show as the country’s mood begins to brighten. But concerns about the economy, health care and war persist, and support for the war in Afghanistan is falling.

Poll gives health care reform a new lease on life

October 7, 2009

The fever has broken. The patient is out of intensive care. But if you’re President Barack Obama, you can’t stop pacing the waiting room. Health care overhaul is still in guarded condition.

The latest Associated Press-GfK poll has found that opposition to Obama’s health care remake dropped dramatically in just a matter of weeks. Still, Americans remain divided over complex legislation that Democrats are advancing in Congress.

The public is split 40-40 on supporting or opposing the health care legislation, the poll found. An even split is welcome news for Democrats, a sharp improvement from September, when 49 percent of Americans said they opposed the congressional proposals and just 34 percent supported them.

Tax credit for hiring gains traction

October 7, 2009

The idea of a tax credit for companies that create new jobs, something the federal government has not tried since the 1970s, is gaining support among economists and Washington officials grappling with the highest unemployment in a generation.

The proposal has some bipartisan appeal among politicians eager both to help their unemployed constituents and to encourage small-business development. Legislators on Capitol Hill and President Obama’s economic team have been quietly researching the policy for several weeks.

“There is a lot of traction for this kind of idea,” said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republican whip. “If the White House will take the lead on this, I’m fairly positive it would be welcomed in a bipartisan fashion.”