BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2650 Location: Colorado

Just in case you missed it, here is the fabulous work your federal congress has been up to lately.

As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....51793.html

I love this quote...

Quote:
"We also recognize that we have more to do, and we will do so, both in the remaining weeks of this year's Congress and next year when we will have expanded Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, working with President Barack Obama," says Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California.

In other words we can't get jack done without the CHANGE man. Pathetic.

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1499 Location: Alaska

Thank you for posting that. Classic stuff. As I've stated, the Democratic party has devolved into rock throwers and Bush bashers that don't bring anything else to the table. And when they're called on it, all they can do is offer more excuses of why it's not their fault. That in itself is an admission of weakness and inability to govern.

SoCoKHntr · Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 697 Location: Pueblo Colorado

expatriate wrote: Thank you for posting that. Classic stuff. As I've stated, the Democratic party has devolved into rock throwers and Bush bashers that don't bring anything else to the table. And when they're called on it, all they can do is offer more excuses of why it's not their fault. That in itself is an admission of weakness and inability to govern.

Yup, and you have devolved to blaming everything on 'Democrats' when your guys controlled congress for six of the last eight years and your 'Dubya' has had the Presidency for the last eight. In your world even with all of the keys to the Kingdom the evil, scary, communist, tree hugging, appeasing, gay loving, 'libs', have kept poor misunderstood Georgy from creating a perfect America and saving the world. Poor fellers.

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1499 Location: Alaska

SoCoKHntr wrote: Yup, and you have devolved to blaming everything on 'Democrats' when your guys controlled congress for six of the last eight years and your 'Dubya' has had the Presidency for the last eight. In your world even with all of the keys to the Kingdom the evil, scary, communist, tree hugging, appeasing, gay loving, 'libs', have kept poor misunderstood Georgy from creating a perfect America and saving the world. Poor fellers.

Whoa...nice rant. Do you feel better now?

It's hard to blame the Democrats for anything when they haven't DONE anything. Did you even read the article? They've done less than any other congress in at least twenty years -- and that's during a time of war and following the transfer of power in both houses. It's one thing to criticize and then go do something about it, but another thing entirely to criticize, sit on your butt, and come up with excuses when you don't deliver. This is the first time I've heard any party blame lack of action on not having all three branches under control.

If you hire a kid to mow your lawn, are you content to watch your grass go to seed while he gives you excuses about tuning up his mower or waiting for a day with less than 20 percent cloud cover?

SoCoKHntr · Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 697 Location: Pueblo Colorado

expatriate wrote: SoCoKHntr wrote: Yup, and you have devolved to blaming everything on 'Democrats' when your guys controlled congress for six of the last eight years and your 'Dubya' has had the Presidency for the last eight. In your world even with all of the keys to the Kingdom the evil, scary, communist, tree hugging, appeasing, gay loving, 'libs', have kept poor misunderstood Georgy from creating a perfect America and saving the world. Poor fellers.

Whoa...nice rant. Do you feel better now?

It's hard to blame the Democrats for anything when they haven't DONE anything. Did you even read the article? They've done less than any other congress in at least twenty years -- and that's during a time of war and following the transfer of power in both houses. It's one thing to criticize and then go do something about it, but another thing entirely to criticize, sit on your butt, and come up with excuses when you don't deliver. This is the first time I've heard any party blame lack of action on not having all three branches under control.

If you hire a kid to mow your lawn, are you content to watch your grass go to seed while he gives you excuses about tuning up his mower or waiting for a day with less than 20 percent cloud cover?

Nice rationalizations there Expat, but they don't address you calling them the worst after two years when your guys held all the reigns for damn near eight years, hell more if you consider the repub controlled congress of the Clinton years.

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1499 Location: Alaska

Stop trying to dodge and evade, SoCo. The issue here is a Democtratic Congress that has accomplished the least of any congress in 20 years. In all of your labeling and rhetoric, you've yet to address it.

SoCoKHntr · Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 697 Location: Pueblo Colorado

expatriate wrote: Stop trying to dodge and evade, SoCo. The issue here is a Democtratic Congress that has accomplished the least of any congress in 20 years. In all of your labeling and rhetoric, you've yet to address it.

K, everything was running perfectly from 02 until 06 then the Dems were elected and our perfect world ended and everything went to hell in a hand basket. C'mon now expat that's what you believe right?

One of the main reasons they were elected is many Americans wanted the Iraq war over and though they have tried to do this they had such a narrow majority in Congress they still didn't have the votes to get their agenda passed and Bush still has veto power. That pretty much sums it up.

But, you will focus on many minor issues Congress has before them which any congress might at any given time in history whether repub or dem and focus on the side show. If everything plays out like it's looking like it will they will have more ability to get things done in the next few years.

Now you explain to me how things got so screwed up from 02 to 06 because unlike my sarcastic post above things just didn't go down hill in 06.

civetcat · Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 320

Good grief, we have an internet just cut and paste. That WSJ piece was for humor not for real, bit bro you have to learn to discriminate between the two.

The two biggies that bothered me, torture and GI bill for vets. America doesn't do to anyone what the NVA did to McCain, not our values. Vets deserve to go to college with all the trimmings after gosh knows how many tours.

Here it is.

Ironically, Democrats accomplished much of what they had promised last year. Of the six issues on the Democrats' "Six for '06" agenda, Congress sent five to the president, and won his signature on four: a minimum-wage increase, implementation of the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations, college-cost reduction and an energy law that mandates conservation and the use of more renewable energy.

Federal funding for stem-cell research was vetoed.

Congress also boosted spending on veterans' needs and overhauled ethics and lobbying rules. Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to create the first nonpartisan ethics-review panel in House history and passed the most significant gun-control legislation since the early 1990s, by tightening instant background checks.

Beyond that, Democrats secured the biggest overhaul of ethics and lobbying rules since Watergate. And they passed a slew of bills that received little notice, such as money for math and science teachers, tax relief for homeowners in foreclosure, a doubling of basic research funding and reclamation projects for the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast.

But the long-awaited showdown with Bush on the federal budget was a draw. The president got his war funding, while Democrats — using "emergency" funding designations — broke through his spending limit by $11 billion, the amount they promised to add after Republicans rejected a proposed $22 billion domestic spending increase.

Remarkably, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, praised the final "omnibus" spending bill in glowing terms.

Yet, Democrats failed on some of the issues that key constituents wanted most.

The prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, remains open. Bush's warrantless-eavesdropping program was codified and expanded. Lawmakers could not eliminate the CIA's use of harsh interrogation tactics.

Democratic leaders also could not overcome vetoes on an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), despite winning over large numbers of Republicans.

Bush prevailed on every Iraq-themed fight, beginning in February with a nonbinding resolution that opposed the winter troop increase.

Some senior Democrats do not expect a significant change in Iraq policy unless a Democrat wins the White House in 2008.

This has left many Democrats resorting to openly political arguments, picking up a theme that Republicans hurled — obstructionism — during the Democrats' years in the minority. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., conceded it was time for Democrats to change the message to a starkly political one: If you want change, elect more Democrats.

Whelland · Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 511 Location: Kingston, MI

In two decades of record keeping, no sitting Congress has passed fewer public laws at this point in the session -- 294 so far -- than this one.

Civetcat, you should go back and read the article. You'll find the truth there.

SoCo, you need to get it right. Liberal's are tree hugging environmentalist, animal rights activists, that want to take our guns, provide full term partial bith abortions and raise our taxes to give our money to people that don't want to work for it, while setting criminal's free, because they've been "rehabilitated. And all of this while weakening the patriot act and releasing known terrorists to make us more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

Neither of you completely fit this mold, so settle down. The problem is that so many on the far left do fit that mold. I've had quite a few conversations with liberal's lately, and these are the topics that I continually hear. A woman told me she was voting for Obama, because she knew he'd be able to finally take guns away from private citizens. Her friend told me it was because he would help women with their right to have an abortion. One guy (sadly he's a relative)told me it was because Obama was going to take from the rich and give to the poor..........he just KNOWS his welfare check will go up. Conversations like these definitely turn people off.

cowgal · Joined: 10 Mar 2002 Posts: 980 Location: Colorado

civetcat wrote: That WSJ piece was for humor not for real,

Elizabeth Williamson is a journalist, not a comedian. That you would think this is humor shows how little you know about what congress really accomplished this year. Not much, and yes its laughable. They pushed silly resolutions like "watermelon month." This country is in crisis and our democratic congress doesn't have a clue.

SoCoKHntr · Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 697 Location: Pueblo Colorado

cowgal wrote: civetcat wrote: That WSJ piece was for humor not for real,

Elizabeth Williamson is a journalist, not a comedian. That you would think this is humor shows how little you know about what congress really accomplished this year. Not much, and yes its laughable. They pushed silly resolutions like "watermelon month." This country is in crisis and our democratic congress doesn't have a clue.

cowgal, who put us in this crisis in the first place? Doesn't it raise any issue with you that of all the people hurting during this 'crisis' that the oil industry is raking in profits hand over fist and that Bush and Cheney are oilmen?

cowgal · Joined: 10 Mar 2002 Posts: 980 Location: Colorado

The problems are far more complex than just oil related. Look at the housing market, are you going to blame that on Bush too? Its been stated repeatedly that speculators & wall street had a lot more to do with runaway gas prices than the oil companies. Its true that oil companies have made some hefty profits. Is it out of line with the amount of product they produced and sold? I don't really know. I'd have to dig into the numbers to determine if the profits were obscene or not.

The original post was about the ineffectiveness of our current Democrat congress. If Democrats are so concerned, why aren't they working instead of twiddling their thumbs?

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 584 Location: Eatonville, Wa

SoCoKHntr wrote: cowgal, who put us in this crisis in the first place? Doesn't it raise any issue with you that of all the people hurting during this 'crisis' that the oil industry is raking in profits hand over fist and that Bush and Cheney are oilmen?

Using that logic obama is a liabily due to his associations with money launder's and weather underground, and thus should be considered a terrorist and felon right. Come on, if you are going to discredit bush and cheney via their prior employment and associations you have to do the same with obama. And You like to put all the blame on the republicans in congress but if you notice the approval ratings didnt start falling until the dems came into control and nothing started happening. Believe it or not people dont like indecisiveness in government and thats all congress has become.

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1499 Location: Alaska

SoCo, you're still DODGING. Same old tired stuff, going on about me, trying to pigeonhole my views, trying to sidestep in to discussion about how badly Republicans have screwed things up in your opinion...

But you still haven't addressed the fact that the Democrats have had the power and haven't been using it. Their lack of action for the past two years has nothing to do with what the Republicans did beforehand.

I don't know how it works where you are, but I sure can't sit on my butt all day and not do my job, and then blame my inaction on the guy who had my position before me. Were I to do that, my boss would say, "Well, if the guy that had the position before you did such a bad job, why have you been sitting here wasting your time instead of fixing it? I didn't hire you to tell me what a bad job he did -- I hired you to do what you said you'd do in the interview."

civetcat · Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 320

I thought we were talking about wether or not the 101st congress had passed legislation or not.

Most laws that any congress passes are BS anyway, naming of post offices and what not. Four out of six objectives seems not bad to me, with one veto due to GW attitude towards stem cells. I like the minimum wage laws, wish it were higher, people who work should be paid a livable wage.

Cowgall if the piece wasn't humor, what was it? Surely not a story about what the congress accomplished or else the writer would have said something about what was accomplished, not the silly stuff. The writer is a hack, not a journo.