Watching Sausage Made

Constitutional Scholars AlertL

The Providence Journal explains what happened:

(Quote)In part, it has to do with the U.S. Constitution. Article 7, Section 1 says tax bills must originate in the House of Representatives.

In order to improve chances that the bailout bill, which the House defeated on Monday, would be approved this time around, the Senate tacked on several popular provisions, such as extending the life of business tax cuts that were set to expire and changing the alternative minimum tax, a much-loathed part of the tax code intended to ensure that the well-to-do pay their fair share but that in recent years has increasingly affected the middle class.
And an element of the tax package was legislation advanced by [Rhode Island’s Rep. Patrick] Kennedy that requires health-insurance companies to offer coverage of mental illness on a par with that of physical illness.

Once the Senate added those provisions to the rescue bill, it qualified as a tax bill, which the upper chamber is constitutionally prohibited from originating.
In order to get around the Constitution, the leaders turned to the time-honored stratagem of finding a live but dormant House bill–Kennedy’s mental-health parity bill–to use as a shell.

“They take out the entire text” of Kennedy’s old bill, “and then, by amendment, they substitute the other bill,” said Don Ritchie, an assistant Senate historian.(UNQUOTE)

Affirmative Action

I suspect that it might be crass to enter into this question of the economic crises by mentioning that the current economic crises is the result of affirmative action, based partly on race, and partly on class, but always on providing a leg up to people who would not otherwise qualify for the loans they got.

The Lawyer Party Needs to Step In

Sarah needs your help – No, not Palin, Sarah Berhnard.

 

You know, the “actress” who said Palin would be ““gang-raped by my big black brothers.”

 

Well, Bernhard’s  “act” has been canceled by a Women’s Center, and Bernhard is trying to explain herself:

“In no way am I making any sort of joke about crimes against women—quite the contrary. I’m speaking out about someone who doesn’t do enough to protect women,” Bernhard said. “I think if you look at the real issues I’m addressing, my intent becomes clear. I am a die-hard advocate for women’s rights, and fully support the work of Rosie’s Place.”

 

Let me interpret. “My comment needs to be “nuanced.”

Have at it Barack, Joe, & Michelle!

Pork Bill from the Senate

Did you know the Senate Pork Bill, called the Bailout, set up a Wool Trust Fund?

 

How about relief for the manufacturers of wooden arrows?

 

ABC reports: “Other goodies intended to attract the votes of individual members of Congress include $192 million for the rum producers of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, $128 million for car racing tracks, $33 million for corporations operating in American Samoa, and $10 million for small film and television productions,”

 

The Senate needs the same sort of law that the Propositions in California has, limiting a bill to just ONE subject!

Are We Still in Iraq?

That is a question often asked on Blogs — as if we have a choice.

Assume that Iraq was a mistake. As Sec. State Powell said:”You break it, you own it.”

We own it, it’s that simple. The mistake was four years ago but unless we want to set a new policy of bombing “enemies” back to the Stone Age and not trying to rebuild them as we have historically done, we are “in for a penny, in for a pound.”

I have no objection to a new, and announced policy: “Screw with us and you become a Wal-Mart parking lot, and all we will do is to establish a macadam plant to pave it.” That is the norm for warfare throughout history, and in fact in history, warfare was followed by rape and pillage.

In the interest of civilization, i propose we forego the rape and pillage. We could call the new policy, the Wal-Mart policy. Perhaps that would satisfy the “Get out of Iraq, Now!” crowd.

Bailout Analysis III

GE Stock opened today down 10% — but Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) bought $3 billion in GE Preferred stock and GE closed down 3% for the day.   That is called a “market.” Investors make money when the market rises, and investors make money when the market falls, Bet red or bet black,   Investors are taking houses off the market almost as fast as they come on the market, and if they could get a moratorium on new foreclosures for a short period, the investors would clean up the trash.   Roger Hedgecock mad a number of calls today to a random group of retailers — Fry’s, Toyota of San Diego, Sleep Train Mattress, etc. and asked if they were having a credit crunch — not ONE said they were having any problem getting credit.   Fear is how government gets its way with us. It scares us to action — but it is seldom in our best interest. It is ALWAYS in government’s best interest.   I give you the fight between labor and business. First labor cries foul and goes to government to get a law passed to control business practices — business gets weaker and government has another law to enforce, and hires new people for “oversight.” Labor is happy, government is happy, business is weaker.   Then business goes to government complaining about a labor practice, government passes a law making labor less powerful, but government has another law to enforce, hires new people for “oversight” and government grows stronger. Labor is weaker, business is happier, but government is happy.   Do this a few hundred times and both labor and business are weaker, but happy they got into each others’ knickers — only government is larger and more powerful.   We are being had in this bailout, and only government and their friends are making out.