Posts tagged ‘U. S. Congress’

This is why we can’t have nice things

by , posted on Monday, November 19th, 2018 at 10:46 pm

Instead of mounting a progressive challenge to corporate Democrat Steny Hoyer as Majority Leader, Congressional Progressive Caucus Vice Chairs Ruben Gallego, Sheila Jackson Lee, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky, and Mark Takano, and rank-and-file CPC members Alma Adams, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Don Beyer, Lisa Blunt Rochester, André Carson, Judy Chu, Katherine Clark, Wm. Lacy Clay, Steve Cohen, Elijah Cummings, Danny Davis, Rosa DeLauro, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, Dwight Evans, Lois Frankel, Jimmy Gomez, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Joe Kennedy III, Brenda Lawrence, John Lewis, Ted Lieu, Dave Loebsack, Alan Lowenthal, Carolyn Maloney, Jim McGovern, Gwen Moore, Jerry Nadler, Grace Napolitano, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Frank Pallone, Lucille Roybal-Allard, José Serrano, Adam Smith, Darren Soto, Jackie Speier, Nydia Velázquez, Maxine Waters, Peter Welch, Frederica Wilson and John Yarmuth all signed a “Dear Colleague” letter [.pdf] on November 13th endorsing Hoyer, who is unopposed, for Majority Leader.

I wonder how many of them supported Levi Tillemann‘s campaign.

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Dennis Anderson begins string of town hall meetings in bid to win U.S. House seat in IL-14

by , posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2014 at 8:25 pm

To unseat what essentially is a ghost incumbent in the 14th district of northern Illinois, Democrat Dennis Anderson has decided to take his message to the people of the district by holding 20-25 town hall meetings. In St. Charles on Tuesday, Anderson said the only thing that will prevent more meetings is securing venues to hold them.

This is Anderson’s

second run for this office and he feels he learned a lot from the previous loss to make him a much stronger candidate. Anderson, who is now retired, said he is not looking for a career in politics. He vowed to do his best to address the issues of the day and if the voters of the district liked his accomplishments they would return him to office. With approximately fifty voters in attendance, Anderson limited his opening comments to a brief history of his past. After that he began taking questions regarding his views on every possible issue facing the nation today.

Here’s a synopsis of issues raised and his view regarding them:

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Austerity Chicken

by , posted on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 at 6:23 pm

In the maneuvering to affix blame for the mess that is sequestration, the Republicans in Congress would have us believe this was all the President’s idea to begin with,

while the Obama Administration would have us believe that it was a deal that was never supposed to take effect. Not really. And yet, both sides voted for it. Both sides agreed to play this dangerous game.

And that’s the problem. The debate has never been a question of whether or not we should even be pursuing a politics of austerity in the first place, it has merely been a question of the precise balance of pain that was to be exacted upon those less fortunate than those who will determine our fate.

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Hanging in the Balance: A Head Start for Low-Income Kids

by , posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2012 at 5:02 pm

from the Center for American Progress

Head Start is a program of the Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. With sequestration pending, funding for Head Start hangs in the balance.

This video spotlights what’s at stake if Congress fails to act to avert the automatic cuts to the area of the budget that funds many human needs programs, including Head Start. As many as 80,000 children could lose access to Head Start’s comprehensive services and more than 30,000 teachers, administrators, and support staff could lose their jobs. At a time when one in four children under age 5 are living in poverty, we need a strong Head Start program now more than ever.

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How Millennials and Students Won a Massive Victory on Loan Rates

by , posted on Friday, July 20th, 2012 at 10:06 pm

from Rebuild the Dream

In January, nearly everyone thought the student loan interest rate was going to double — and no one could stop it. Then students stood up. They fought and they won

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Found Objects for a Friday Afternoon: “the banner Progressive district of the United States”

by , posted on Friday, October 7th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Aurora, Ill.—Representative Ira C. Copley,

president of the Western United Gas and Electic Co., and director of the Rotary Meter Co., who represents in Congress what is said to be the banner Progressive district of the United States, is making a good campaign for re-election. Two years ago Mr. Copley got a plurality of more than 11,000 votes.

The Gas Age, September 1, 1914, p. 251.

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The Patriotic Thing to Do

by , posted on Sunday, September 11th, 2011 at 2:29 pm

Our military heroes will be returning soon to the States, and many of them will be looking for work. Most of them will have a struggle, though, because the jobs they seek simply are harder to find these days. Yes, we could blame one party or the other, but in the U.S., WE, the People are the government.

As President Barack Obama said in his speech on 9-8-2011, the people we elect to Congress work for us. They are servants of the people, and, We, the People demand more than just talk and posturing and political backbiting.

It is long past time that both parties, but in my eyes, especially the Republicans, start to understand that no one can have everything their own way. It is a simple rule of a democracy that you give some and you take some. If it were otherwise, we would be a dictatorship.

Thus far I have seen almost no give and all take from the GOP. I have seen the Democrats give a lot, often in vain, because, as I see it, when they agree to some line in the sand by the GOP, and want something in return, it is not passed because the GOP will not agree to meet them somewhere in the middle.

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WTF S&P? Shock Doctrine? Inside Job? Both?

by , posted on Monday, August 8th, 2011 at 12:48 pm

So today S&P downgraded the credit ratings of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the mortgage giants which were taken over by the feds in 2008 after the mortgage disaster/scandal/swindling-of-American-homeowners-and-investors in which S&P was a co-conspirator. I realize some people are going to have a big problem with me describing S&P as a “co-conspirator” but hey, facts are facts: look it up.

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