THE American Congress Thread (merged)

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3676

Washington Post--Senate grills oil execs
US Senate Energy Committee

shakespear1 · Light Sweet Crude Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 1552

Yehhhh, grilling, Chicken and Pork. Very Happy

_________________
Men argue, nature acts !
Voltaire

"...In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation."

Alan Greenspan

emersonbiggins

Why don't republicans like capitalism? Surprised

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3676

some_guy282 · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jul 18, 2004 Posts: 691

GIS for "scapegoat."

_________________
In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule. – Nietzsche

Time makes more converts than reason. – Thomas Paine

History is a set of lies agreed upon. – Napoleon Bonaparte

Clouseau2

Although this article doesn't address energy per se, I think it's a good indication of why the current "leadership" is destined to go down with the ship (and is busy punching holes in the bottom of the ship) ... None of our [American] energy or any other problems will be fixed due to a thorougly corrupt system of government.

Searching for a new direction

The Abramoff scandal has been described as the biggest Washington scandal ever: bigger than Watergate; bigger than Abscam; bigger than Koreagate; bigger than the House banking scandal; bigger than Teapot Dome. Possibly so. It’s certainly serious and significant.

It has prompted urgent proposals of suggested reforms to deal with the mess. If only we have more rules and regulations, more reporting requirements, and stricter enforcement of laws, the American people will be assured we mean business. Ethics and character will return to the halls of Congress. It is argued that new champions of reform should be elected to leadership positions, to show how serious we are about dealing with the crisis of confidence generated by the Abramoff affair. Then all will be well. But it’s not so simple. Maybe what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg, an insidious crisis staring us in the face that we refuse to properly identify and deal with.

It’s been suggested we need to change course and correct the way Congress is run. A good idea, but if we merely tinker with current attitudes about what role the federal government ought to play in our lives, it won’t do much to solve the ethics crisis. True reform is impossible without addressing the immorality of wealth redistribution. Merely electing new leaders and writing more rules to regulate those who petition Congress will achieve nothing.

Could it be that we’re all looking in the wrong places for a solution to recurring, constant, and pervasive corruption in government? Perhaps some of us in Congress are mistaken about the true problem; perhaps others deliberately distract us from exposing the truth about how miserably corrupt the budget process in Congress is. Others simply are in a state of denial. But the denial will come to an end as the Abramoff scandal reveals more and more. It eventually will expose the scandal of the ages: how and to what degree the American people have become indebted by the totally irresponsible spending habits of the U.S. Congress-- as encouraged by successive administrations, condoned by our courts, and enjoyed by the recipients of the largesse.

This system of government is coming to an end-- a fact that significantly contributes to the growing anxiety of most Americans, especially those who pay the bills and receive little in return from the corrupt system that has evolved over the decades.

TommyJefferson

Dr. Paul has a gift for telling it like it is. I wish we had 400 more like him.

Watching the Great American Swindle reach cresendo is truely nauseating. It's like watching a formerly extraordinary athelete stumble around drunkenly on the playing field while his supporters sit in their skyboxes calculating ways to profit from his stinking, bloated corpse.
_________________
Conform . Consume . Obey .

rogerhb · Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:10 am Post subject: THE American Congress Thread

Not being from the US I am constantly amazed at the way US politics works.
A good example is:

julianj

I've given up on them.

Tony Blair said, with a straight face - "the Iraqis don't want foreign fighters in their country."

Satire is truly dead.

JoeCoal · Heavy Crude Joined: Feb 02, 2006 Posts: 296

Straight answer
_________________
Good night, and good luck...

Spideykid · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 22, 2005 Posts: 65

It's called give and take it's not a perfect system but there isn't a perfect system out there.

JoeCoal · Heavy Crude Joined: Feb 02, 2006 Posts: 296

entropyfails · Moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 607

Kingcoal

You mean attaching a bill to provide money for the study of dog sex to a homeland security bill doesn't happen in other countries? In the US it's all about what they can do and what they can't do. If the constitution doesn't prohibit it, then they do it. If the constitution does prohibit it, they still do it, but try to keep it from getting brought before the supreme court.

fossil_fuel · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 408

we need line veto.