Quote :

"When lawmakers travel overseas on official business they are given up to $250 a day in taxpayer funds to cover meals and expenses. Congressional rules say they must return any leftover cash to the government. They usually don't"

Oh shit! $250? Think of the children!

3/2/2010 6:51:16 PM

$250 per day

There are 535 congressmen and 100 senators.

I hope you have the mental capacity to figure out the math there. Or you are so blinded by your love of big government that you don't care. That's your prerogative.

--

On a better note, at least there is one person in our government who is judicious with tax dollars.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/tx14_paul/MRESurplus.shtml

Quote :

"Congressman Paul Returns Over $100,000 to Treasury Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ron Paul has continued to run his Congressional office in a frugal manner, and was able to return more than $100,000 from his allotted office budget to the Treasury this year, an increase over the $90,000 returned last year. “Since my first year in Congress representing the 14th district I have managed my office in a frugal manner, instructing staff to provide the greatest possible service to the people of the 14th district at the least possible cost to taxpayers,” said Paul."

3/2/2010 8:35:51 PM

Quote :

"Politico, 3/6/2010 Democratic Rep. Eric Massa will resign from Congress on Monday, only days after reports first surfaced that the freshman New York lawmaker was under investigation by the House ethics committee for allegedly sexually harassing a male staffer."

Another stunning example of Nancy Pelosi's "most ethical congress ever."

3/6/2010 10:53:27 AM

Quote :

"There are 535 congressmen and 100 senators. I hope you have the mental capacity to figure out the math there."

Sure, let's do the math. Let's suppose that every single one of the 635 lawmakers are out of the country on official business every single day of the year, furthermore, there's nothing they like better than stealing, right, so they pocket every penny of that whopping $250, I don't know how over 600 people got by without any sort of spending, but let's just say they do. Let's do the math an see how much this kind of government waste would cost:
635*265=$168,275
Yep, a little over 150 thousand dollars, less than the yearly salary of another lawmaker would cover every single senator's travel expenses for every single day of the year. Not really a huge example of waste. In fact, considering the real number is a small fraction of that, I really don't think it's anything to be concerned about. It's fucking pennies. Maybe you should have done the math before you said such a stupid thing.

3/6/2010 12:51:47 PM

^Not that I think its a terrible expense but your math is way off.

If every single congressmen/senator was out of the country every single day like you suggested that would be 635*250*365 = 58 million dollars not 168k

3/6/2010 1:16:15 PM

Awww, guys...

Yes, there are 535 Congresspeople--

That means 435 representatives (not including 6 nonvoting members) and 100 senators.

3/6/2010 1:20:42 PM

It's still 49 million

3/6/2010 1:25:01 PM

Quote :

"well that's because these idiots are trying to create construction and highway jobs were the vast amount of money spent on such projects are to pay for material, not labor."

bull fucking shit. you know that the porkulous bill had very little to do with construction jobs, despite being touted as such

3/6/2010 10:10:15 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs23CjIWMgA

From a chit chat thread...
Hank Johnson genuinely believes that islands are the same as boats, and he is worried that Guam might "tip over and capsize" due to over-population.

4/2/2010 9:14:51 AM

4/7/2010 10:08:17 AM

.

7/22/2010 4:16:04 PM

in before hooksaws post

7/22/2010 4:16:24 PM

Time for a change? Poll shows only 11% approval for Congress
5 hrs ago

Quote :

" KSDK – A new Gallup poll shows that only 11 percent of Americans say they have a great deal [or] quite a lot of confidence in Congress, which is down from 17 percent in 2009. The poll was conducted July 8-11. Half of Americans say they have very little or no confidence in Congress. That's up from 38 percent in 2009. It's the highest since Gallup first asked the question in 1973. The poll also found a 15-point drop in the high confidence in the presidency, down to 36 percent from 51."

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=208430&catid=3

In before God et al post something like "SO WHAT?!!1" or "WHAT ABOUT EVIL BUSH?!!1"

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 4:24 PM. Reason : Right?]

7/22/2010 4:23:43 PM

I agree with you. The Democratic Congress has been a bunch of spineless idiots who couldn't pass a bill if they had 99% of Congress controlled.

I have a choice between voting for a retard who I agree with, or voting for a cartoon villain who will destroy the earth if he gets power.

It sucks.

7/22/2010 4:25:55 PM

Let's link straight to the gallup numbers rather than the journalistic spin (though to the article's credit, most of the spin is confined to the title):
http://www.gallup.com/poll/141512/Congress-Ranks-Last-Confidence-Institutions.aspx

EDIT: Speaking of those Gallup numbers... Confidence in organized religion is now <50%, and confidence in unions and big corporations are down to 20% and 19%, respectively. I find those things interesting and generally approve of the downtrend.
...On the other hand, confidence in police stayed unchanged at 59%, and that kind of surprises me.


As for the "Time For a Change?" bit...
I agree, it's time to throw out the goddamned two-party structure. Just because the Democrats are failing, it doesn't mean a return to Republican leadership will be any better.

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 4:34 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2010 4:30:13 PM

^^ and ^ Well, we can agree at least to the point that I, too, wish we had more and better choices of leaders. I would even be willing to try a coalition government of some sort--I mean, they way we've been doing it is leaving a lot of folks of all political stripes dissatisfied.

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 4:32 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2010 4:31:21 PM

Hell, I'd even go so far as to say that a two-party structure is not an inherent problem, and I hate the two-party structure...

The biggest problem is that both sides have realized that people will continue to vote for them so long as they just oppose the other side. In terms of policy, there's just too little difference between the two... Bush (and his congress) led a period of HUGE government expansion and Obama (and his congress) isn't really far behind him. The only thing stopping each side is the feigned outrage and empty rhetoric of the other.

We get a choice between a pro-government party that pretends to dislike corporations and a pro-corporation party that pretends to want small government. Either way we end up with a bunch of authoritarian fucks.

7/22/2010 4:53:48 PM

^ To me, the two-party system is the approach with the either-or logical fallacy built right in.

7/22/2010 4:59:41 PM

Democrats debate extending Bush tax cuts for the rich
July 22, 2010

Quote :

"Recently a few House Democrats have publicly come out in support of extending President George W. Bush's tax cuts for families making over $250,000 for two or more years. These Democrats are of the view that with the nation expected to continue in a severe recession for the next 18-to-24 months, according to respected economists, and that the tax cuts should not expire, because wealthy families would tighten their belts and not put as much of their fortune toward disposable income. Politically, many also fear being labeled as tax-raisers in the months before the contentious midterm elections. The idea has gained traction within the Democratic Caucus over recent days, Gerry Connolly, a vulnerable freshman House Democrat from Virginia, told The Hill newspaper, 'I think the recovery is sufficiently fragile that we ought to leave tax rates where they are.'"

http://tinyurl.com/36qdadb

LOL!

7/23/2010 12:50:34 PM

ughguggugughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

HI I'M TERRIFIED ABOUT BEING REELECTED SO I WILL VOTE FOR SOME STUPID SHIT

[Edited on July 23, 2010 at 12:51 PM. Reason : ]

7/23/2010 12:50:58 PM

Flippity-floppity / Election Day's on its way!

7/23/2010 1:00:37 PM

Sen. Kerry docks yacht in R.I., saves on taxes
Lawmaker saves $500k in taxes on $7 million yacht
July 23, 2010

Quote :

"BOSTON — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to his cash-strapped home state. If the Isabel were kept at the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes. Rhode Island repealed those taxes in 1993. That has made the state something of a nautical tax haven. Kerry spokesman David Wade said Friday the boat is being kept at Newport Shipyard not to evade taxes, but 'for long-term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes.'"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38378992/ns/politics/

Why did I even post this? I guess I forgot that only Republicans can be hypocrites.

7/23/2010 6:24:54 PM

I think you might have forgotten how much of a BIG FUCKING DEAL where a senator parks his boat is.

7/23/2010 6:26:42 PM

^ Half a million dollars worth of a big deal. But Democrats can't be hypocrites, right?

7/23/2010 6:31:31 PM

Maxine Waters faces ethics charges
July 31, 2010

Quote :

"A House panel is preparing to accuse Rep. Maxine Waters of at least one ethics violation in her efforts to help a bank with ties to her husband, and the longtime Los Angeles Democrat plans to fight the charges in a House trial, according to a source familiar with the case. The allegations were presented Friday to Waters, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is confidential. Waters, an outspoken legislator who has held elective office in Sacramento or Washington for more than three decades, could not be reached Friday night."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-waters-20100731,0,6472045.story

I'm sure that yet another ethics investigation will prove very helpful for Democrats in November.

7/31/2010 6:39:52 AM

Ignore.

8/2/2010 9:09:19 PM

The Blue State Blues
Taxing the rich, except in my district.
August 4, 2010

Quote :

"One irony of the tax increase that arrives on January 1 is that the it will hit residents of high-income, Democratic-leaning states like California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York the hardest. This is a problem for pro-tax Democrats. Enter New York Representative Jerrold Nadler, who wants to exempt his own six-figure constituents from the tax hike he supports. Mr. Nadler's bill would 'require the IRS to adjust tax brackets proportionally in regions where the average cost of living is higher than the national average.'"

http://tinyurl.com/2ae3m4j

8/5/2010 3:54:17 PM

quadruple post? really?

8/5/2010 4:06:28 PM

^ Clearly, that's what's important--not the substance of the posts. And they were four posts with four different subjects.

Why don't you and others care about congressional credibility?



[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 4:11 PM. Reason : Oh, I remember why! It's because the Democrats run Congress--for now. ]

8/5/2010 4:09:23 PM

Democrat Nick Rahall misused official stationery
(AP) – 1 day ago

Quote :

"WASHINGTON — Rep. Nick Rahall (RAY'-hahl) says he improperly used congressional stationery to ask a judge for leniency for his son in a 2005 robbery case. The West Virginia Democrat said in a statement that he should have used personal stationery when writing about his son Nick Joe Rahall."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOM2iJE7aLkxUUMwsRwn0VcNeCbwD9HI7LOG0

FYI: House ethics rules state, "Official stationery, like other official resources, may be used only for official purposes."

http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf

8/14/2010 7:00:53 AM

Quote :

"To me, the two-party system is the approach with the either-or logical fallacy built right in."

Honestly, it is, but it's not just coincidence that the two party system came about. That's the only possibility with the way our electoral system is rigged up. Really, the problem is on the state level. Partisans draw up the district lines. Everything's based on plurality, a.k.a. winner takes all/first past the post. A third party candidate might consistently have the support of 15% of people in a district, but they'll never get any representation.

If we had something like proportional representation, like in Europe, you'd see a lot more parties, but a lot more views would make it into the legislature. For instance, make a state election for representatives where the minimum vote quota is 5 or 10% of the vote. That way, let's say Republicans get 40% of the vote, Democrats get 40%, Libertarians get 10%, and Greens get 10%. Republicans send 4 representatives, Democrats send 4, Libertarians send 1, Greens send 1. You could tweak it based on specific needs, but I think overall, it'd be a much more democratic process.

8/14/2010 12:58:22 PM

Quote :

"If we had something like proportional representation, like in Europe,"

Sounds like something a communist would say.

Next thing you know, you'll be voting for Obama.

Also, why do you hate the constitution? the Founding Fathers were guided by the Christian God to set up to write the Constitution, and you are trying to wipe your ass with it, and the Bible.

[Edited on August 14, 2010 at 1:06 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2010 1:05:37 PM

Quote :

"We get a choice between a pro-government party that pretends to dislike corporations and a pro-corporation party that pretends to want small government. Either way we end up with a bunch of authoritarian fucks"

Quote :

"To me, the two-party system is the approach with the either-or logical fallacy built right in."

8/14/2010 1:07:28 PM

^^It seems like you don't even bother with critical thinking anymore.

8/14/2010 1:51:11 PM

I was trying to see what it would be like to think like a Conservative.

Looks like I succeeded...

8/14/2010 2:33:32 PM