(Thanks to NBC News.com)
House Speaker John Boehner actually said that Congress should be judged on how many laws it repeals, rather than how many new laws it enacts.
"We should not be judged on how many new laws we create," the nation's top elected Republican said on CBS. "We ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal."
House Republicans, after 30-some attempts to repeal all or parts of President Barack Obama's health care reform law, are still trying.
Boehner says this all exists as the result of divided government. No shit Sherlock!!! And Boehner is most certainly at the head of the line-on the right of that divided government.
Journalist William Rivers Pitt, in his http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/17641-on-the-cover-of-the-rolling-stone article called the recent controversy (I call it 'stink') about Rolling Stone magazine's cover featuring alleged terrorist Dzhohkar Tsarnaev the "outrage du jour", which indeed it is.
I'm no journalist mind you, but I must say he expressed the same thoughts that crossed my mind when this developed. The two major points that he (and I) make are that- 1. the fact that the young man is honestly handsome makes the situation seem all the worse to those up in arms; and 2. there are so many other more important issues that we should be upset about that this is, in truth, a non-issue.
Then in his usual eloquence, Mr. Pitt lists some of those other things like Harry Reid's recent attempt to change the senate filibuster rules, recent abortion legislation in several states, the Trayvon Martin shooting, Syria, Egypt and the NSA etc. to which I might add big business in politics, the 1%, the banking system, gun laws (related to Trayvon Martin and others) etc. etc.
Songwriters Showcase at Brewer's Alley
This Week's Piano Prelude
by Ray Jozwiak- Gonzo Piano
Monday
July 22, 2013
7:30PM
Monday Night Songwriters Showcase at Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery (take the elevator on the right to the 2nd floor) 124 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701 Telephone: 301-631-0089 Fax: 301-631-1874 http://www.brewers-alley.com/
. . . but it is a glimpse into the mindset of another of our 'diligent' public servants' . . .
(from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/representative-virginia-fox-on-student-debt_n_1431050.html)
". . . Representative Virginia Foxx (R - N.C.) expressed either tough love or ambivalence toward students who find themselves deep in debt, depending on who you ask.
Foxx, who is chairwoman of the house Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, said on the Gordon Liddy Radio Show that it took her seven years to finish school. She added that over those seven years, she borrowed nothing.
"I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there's no reason for that," Foxx continued. "We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that. I remind folks all the time that the Declaration of Independence says 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' You don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap."
The Bronx native worked as one of her high school’s janitors before she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated in 1968, according to her congressional biography.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) responded to her comments on Monday afternoon from the house floor.
"Incredibly, the chair of the Subcommittee for Higher Education spoke last week in North Carolina and said, 'I have very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with $200,000 in debt or even $80,000 of debt.' Really?
"It is a sad statement when today's Republican party turns its back on a program that helps millions of Americans fulfill their dreams, and that is named after a Republican Senator, Robert Stafford of Vermont," Courtney said.
Foxx’s spokesperson told The Huffington Post via email, “Congresswoman Foxx is concerned about rising college costs and the burdensome effect a large sum of debt can have on a student's future. She believes the focus should be on making college more affordable and providing students and parents with the information necessary to make informed decisions about college and understand the cost and the implications of those personal decisions. . .”
".
. . I would like to send you a copy of my latest release (via whichever
medium YOU prefer) Black & White Then Back in hopes of a review,
interview or other airtime.
Creative Musician Ray
Jozwiak's new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music
release BLACK & WHITE then BACK transports you to aural locales
inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges
we've all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of a song you
remember from childhood, have flashes of your first date, recall aromas
from the kitchen when you visited your grandmother, remember your
favorite summer vacation or when you fell in love.
BLACK & WHITE then BACK is available through digital distribution only (www.cdbaby.com).
"RAY
JOZWIAK is back with his gonzo piano, boldly taking us to places no-one
has gone before, not even him! (Rod Deacey, Board Member of the
Frederick Acoustic Musicians Enterprise (FAME), Musician, Performer,
Writer, Poet, Organizer, Emcee, Bluesman 11/20/11
". . . Anywhere
he dabbles along the piano keys, he produces sonic glitz forming
impressionistic images. . . " (Susan Frances, cdreview.com)
". . .
He’s got some terrific ideas there and an unusual approach to rhythm
and song structure. These are fantastic assets and more than one of his
songs could find tons of fans who appreciate music which isn’t the same
ol’ same ol’ all the time. . . " (Paul Sedkowski, Fairplayformusic.com)
I
would like to send you (either digital music files via 'WeTransfer.com'
or a physical CD-whichever you prefer) of my new release of solo, piano
recordings.
The George Zimmerman trial has consumed the American public the past two weeks and certainly for good reason. I may as well weigh-in on it like everybody else because, hey, I'm not above it. As a matter of fact, no one is.
First, the obscene quote and knock-knock joke by the prosecution and defense respectively were totally out of order - especially the joke. On one hand, seeing photos and film of Zimmerman and hearing comments from his parents, I can't help but think that Zimmerman sorely regrets what he has done. He just appears to be a bit tortured. (It's just a feeling I get.) But that doesn't mean that what he did wasn't wrong and that he should not pay some penalty for taking an innocent, human life. You can't antagonize someone to the point of confrontation then pull out a weapon and kill him in the name of self-defense. That appears to me to be exactly what happened.
It also seems that by strict letter of the law, in a trial for 2nd degree murder (or manslaughter), one and only one thing has to happen. The prosecution must prove that Zimmerman killed for reasons other than self defense. And the prosecution must convince the jury that Zimmerman killed for reasons other than self defense beyond a shadow of a doubt. The defense only needs to place that doubt in the minds of the jurors. And that is exactly what, I believe, happened in that courtroom.
So I do believe that by the time that George Zimmerman pulled that trigger, he did feel that his life was in danger. Trayvon Martin was by that point very angry. Trayvon Martin was provoked. Trayvon Martin felt that his life was in danger. The trial did not broach anything remotely close these questions.
The trial also failed to address the series of events that occurred prior to that pulling of the trigger that led to that awful, crucial moment. The trial failed to address how Trayvon Martin must have felt when he finally, and mistakenly, confronted George Zimmerman. Sure, it would have been better to walk away. But it was not the absolutely-required thing to do.
Finally, if we learn anything at all from the Zimmerman debacle, it is that the contention of the NRA that the more guns we have in society the better off we will be is sheer and utter nonsense. No one should have to fear the prospect of a loaded gun being carried by another human being who is foolishly taking comfort in a
law that is cartoonishly named the "Stand Your Ground" law.
The kid who was incarcerated over an alleged threat on Facebook is now free thanks to an anonymous donor who posted his $500,000 bail. The threat came during an argument about a video game when he claims to have 'sarcastically' said he was going to "shoot up a kindergarten." He was jailed in February.
School violence and free speech came head to head as a result of the incident. In response to reporters, the young man said, "I certainly would have thought a lot more about what I said and how permanent my writing -- and everyone's writing -- is (on the Internet). People should be very, very careful of what they say. It's being recorded all the time, if you say it on any website, anywhere. And you can get in trouble for something that's not something you should get in trouble for. I just want people to be warned."
