Congressional Antics

A friend who prefers anonymity sent me the above picture with the following analysis of the Connecticut congressional delegation:

House Minority Leader  Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a  new budget. (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two.... he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores.

These are the folks that couldn't get the budget out by Oct. 1, and are about to control your health care, cap and trade, and the list goes on and on….

Should we buy them larger screen computers - or - a ticket home, permanently?

This is one of their 3-DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for (salary is about $179,000 per year).  I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any of them stay in office for more than two terms.  No more lifelong healthcare, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc.

TRU TV's "Conspiracy Theory" Best Television News Show

My vodka bottle's running low and I needed something to do to relax from reading my students' papers so I violated my rule about not watching television news. In particular, my wife mentioned that Jesse Ventura's "Conspiracy Theory" is on truTV.  I'm watching the episode where a guy was talking about a nuclear bomb on the phone and the FBI came to his home six hours later because they can listen in via satellite. I think Jesse Ventura is performing a major public service. Whether the power plant in Alaska is really a Tesla death ray machine or there were bombs used at the World Trade Center on 9/11 are grist for Ventura's imagination.

What I think is especially important about this program is that it suggests that a large number of Americans have little or no trust in the government or the run of the mill media analysis and so emphasize conspiracy theories. In a sense this is a diversion because the underlying problems are ignored. Moreover, the conspiracy theories re enforce the sense of powerlessness that many feel.  But belief in conspiracy theories is a beginning.  The next step ought to be analysis, uncovering issues that are controllable. Then, empowerment is necessary so that people who have become alienated from the government can act on their concerns.

Many people have little faith in our government because it is too large.  The element of participation and control is lost with the enormity of the American state. This leads to a sense that shadowy powers are in control.  This may be close to the truth, although the conspiracies that Ventura emphasizes at most are symptomatic, if they are real.

The American state needs to be downsized through decentralization.  I'm not sure if "Conspiracy Theory" is empowering Americans or if it is just re enforcing their sense that Big Brother is out of control.  But I believe in the show's spirit to a much greater degree than say NPR, which apparently is now under George Soros's control and censorship.

Letter from Mayor Ed Koch Supporting George Phillips for Congress

Dear Friends:

With less than two weeks to go before the mid-term election, we know this letter -- asking for support for George Phillips for Congress – is coming very late in the day. But we are making this unusual request because this is both a moment of urgency and opportunity.

The urgency is that this is a crucial moment in the U.S.-Israel alliance. Iran is edging ever closer to becoming a nuclear power. If that should come to pass, a grave threat will become an existential threat for the state of Israel. All against the backdrop of an aggressive  international campaign of deligitimization and isolation against Israel. So now more than ever, Israel needs strong allies in America – and strong allies in the United States Congress.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Maurice Hinchey, who represents New York’s 22nd District, we have one of the least sympathetic, most hostile lawmakers in Congress on all issues impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship. Hinchey is a member of a small group of Representatives that routinely votes against the bipartisan resolutions and legislation by which Congress supports the U.S.-Israel alliance.

Consider just a few items from his record:

-In 2002, at the height of the Intifada, as Israeli civilians were being murdered by the hundreds in suicide bombings, a simple House resolution expressing solidarity with Israel passed by a 352-21 margin. Hinchey voted “present.”

-In 2006, Hinchey voted against a bill to promote democratic institution-building in the Palestinian territories titled the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.” It passed 361-37.

-In 2009, he voted against a resolution condemning the Goldstone Report, an infamous product of the UN that accused Israel of intentionally committing war crimes in Gaza. The anti-Goldstone resolution passed 344-36.

-This year, he signed a letter to President Obama that accused Israel of the “de facto collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza and demanded that President Obama pressure Israel to open its borders with Gaza, a move that would leave Israel dangerously vulnerable to terrorism.

-Most stunningly of all, Hinchey voted against one of the Obama administration’s most important foreign policy initiatives, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Act, passed by overwhelming margins in both houses of Congress and signed into law this summer. This key piece of legislation, vital to both American and Israeli security, sailed through the House 412-12.

Hinchey voted against it.

If there is a Member of Congress who has voted more consistently against consensus American foreign policy interests and against U.S.-Israel friendship, we would be hard-pressed to name him.

Fortunately, the opportunity comes in the person of George Phillips, a young and talented candidate who was born and raised in Endwell near Binghamton. Mr. Phillips -- a dedicated teacher who also brings foreign policy experience from his days as a Congressional aide -- has closed to within just a few points of Representative Hinchey. A race that was once thought of as untouchable is now winnable. New York’s 22nd District is now on the national political radar screen. A stunning upset is within reach. Which is where you come in.

The two  of us signing this letter differ on many issues and indeed belong to different political parties. But we are united in our criticisms of and opposition to Maurice Hinchey; and in our support and enthusiasm for George Phillips, who would prove to be a strong and faithful friend of the US-Israel relationship.

Your help during this sprint to the finish will make a meaningful, and quite possibility a decisive, difference in the outcome of this race. That is why we are asking that you join this effort by going to www.electgeorgephillips.com,  and make an online donation today.

George Phillips will prove to be what Maurice Hinchey has never been: A serious voice on American national security and a stalwart defender of Israel. In protecting the interests of Israel we are protecting the interests of America. The United States and Israel are animated by the same principles. We care about the same causes. We are hated by the same enemies. And our destinies are therefore inseparable. As one who cherishes the special relationship between both nations, we hope that you can find it within yourself to make a contribution.

It can make all the difference.

Sincerely,

Ed Koch  

Campaign for Liberty on Jack Conway and Harry Reid

Jack Conway is running against Rand Paul. H/t Ron Paul and the Campaign for Liberty.  As far as Harry Reid, the CFL does not go far enough. Reid is human discharge.