June 26, 2009
Congressional Poker: The Energy Bill Hits the House Floor (Jim Mills)
High drama on the House floor this afternoon.
In just a few hours we will know if Nancy Pelosi has the votes to pass the controversial so-called cap-and-trade energy bill.
Loads of questions at this hour. Are the votes there? Why is Pelosi putting some of her centrists in harm’s way with a vote like this when the Senate may not take the bill up until the fall? How many of her liberals have fallen off because they think the bill has been tweaked too much to appease the moderates? On and on. > Read More
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What's This June 12, 2009
Congressional Cars ‘R’ Us (Jim Mills)
Congress has been obsessed with cars, car sales and car dealerships all week — and today is certainly no different.
The plight of the incredible and immediate shrinking number of car dealerships nationwide gets more attention today as Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) holds another Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing with the usual suspects of Fritz Henderson, CEO of General Motors, James Press, president of Chrysler, and John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. > Read More
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What's This May 29, 2009
Empathy for the Devil in the Details (Jim Mills)
Hello, class — Welcome to SCOTUS Summer School of Rock! I am so happy you are here. Although I am sure most of you would rather be at the beach, sailing, fishing, playing cards or doing just about anything else other than sitting around memorizing definitions, I am sure we are going to have a wonderful summer together. And if we all keep with up our book-learnin’ this summer, I am sure we can finagle a few special field trips to the Capitol and catch a little of that Supreme Court confirmation hearing action, just to spice things up a bit.
But first things first. > Read More
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What's This May 22, 2009
The Incredible Shrinking Speaker: Nancy Pelosi Dodges the Tough Questions — Then Hops a Plane … Again (Jim Mills)
The tactic of controlling floor time and denying others talk time by filibustering is a well-known, specialized tool of the United States Senate and not the House of Representatives. But based on Friday morning's weekly so-called “news conference” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — I would say she has been studying old Senate floor tapes in her spare time. > Read More
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What's This Jim Mills’s Congressional Week in Review (Jim Mills)
Note from the author: Stay tuned for some exciting details about how to get in on the ground floor of the new Jihad World Theme Park …
The news hits just kept on coming here in Washington this week.
On the same day President Obama was flexing his newfound automotive muscle at the White House by putting the pedal to the metal on new mileage rules, across town, his former Senate colleagues were slamming on the brakes by striking $80 million out of a war-spending bill designed to fund the Going Out of Business sale at Guantánamo Bay. > Read More
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What's This May 14, 2009
Nancy Pelosi and Waterboarding: You Make the Call (Jim Mills)
An extraordinary news conference in the Capitol today, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and what she did or did not know about waterboarding.
Immediately below I have included her comments on the matter. For the sake of continuity I have excised a question on healthcare. If you need some immediate context, you can click here and read my Tuesday column on the matter. Really interested in seeing the comments on this one. > Read More
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What's This May 1, 2009
John Boehner and Pete Hoekstra’s Despicable Web Video (Jim Mills)
Before you read any further — watch the video by clicking right here. Watch it several times if you want. Then come back here and share your thoughts with the entire class.
… Back now? What did you think?
If you are a boring, knee-jerky, off-the-shelf Obama-hater, you absolutely loved it. You have already made up your mind that Barrack HUSSEIN Obama is a one-worlding-lefty-socialist-pinko-traitor who wasn’t even born here in the U.S. Should never have been elected president of the United States, am I right? You love the video so much you already sent the thing around to all your similarly brilliant and sophisticated friends. > Read More
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What's This April 24, 2009
Mr. Quigley Comes to Washington … And Just in Time (Jim Mills)
As I wrote in one of my columns for The Hill newspaper this week, Mike Quigley (D) of Illinois was sworn in as the newest member of the House of Representatives on Tuesday night. Not a day too soon, if you ask me.
Just back in town one day after their traditional two-week spring break vacation (or Congressional District Work Period, to you and me) the Congress has already gotten itself all cranky and out of sorts with all this business about torture memos, the Jane Harmon wiretaps and any number of other matters. And it won’t get any better next week when everybody and their brother starts issuing report cards on President Obama’s first 100 days. > Read More
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What's This April 17, 2009
Twittering Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (Jim Mills)
Like most other unhealthy, neurotic Washington-based news junkies, the last thing I do before turning in at night is to check my BlackBerry just one last time for any evening news developments. I then dutifully place the little contraption that rules all on the nightstand about two inches from my face.
And yes, if I happen to awaken during the night, more likely than not I will take a quick glance just to make sure I haven’t missed anything important. Like I said, it is an unhealthy, neurotic, unbalanced way to live, but I suspect I am not alone in my electro-nocturnal habits.
Last night was no exception. > Read More
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What's This April 15, 2009
Dealing with Fidel: A Bad Idea Whose Time Has Come (Jim Mills)
Unfortunately, President Obama made the absolutely correct decision this week when he loosened travel rules for Cuba. I say unfortunately because the Castro brothers are complete scoundrels and their heavy-handed rule of Cuba’s 11 million citizens is totally pathetic. So any policy shift that might bring a smile to their faces is something that brings me no joy.
Just take a deep breath and read these quick observations about Fidel and Raul’s approach toward motivation and inspiration, lifted directly from the website of that radical right-wing group known as the U.S. State Department: > Read More
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