Praeter Nos, Nimirum

That should be the official motto of the entire Congress. "Except For Us, Of Course," in Latin. Perhaps it would look best engraved into a 24 carat gold seal and then reproduced as diamond studded platinum lapel pins for each member of Congress. As a show of their serious concern over spending of course.

I wax sarcastic because I just spent more than a little time trying to find Congress' own budget online somewhere. I couldn't find it, which is not all that surprising, given their commitment to transparency and all, but I did find some intriguing numbers.

Let's start with how much these clowns earn annually. The base salary for a freshly purchased Member of Congress is $174,000. For which they work an average of 3.5 (three and one-half!) days a week for about 6 hours a day with a minimum of 12 weeks paid vacation and unlimited sick time. That does not include almost unlimited expenses and benefits that most of us will never see or imagine. Like free postage. The "leadership" does even better for themselves, adding anywhere between $20K and $50K to that base. Committee chairs get a little boost in the paycheck, too.

So, figuring 535 members at base salary plus the add ons for the various leaders and chairs gives us a total cost for these fairly poor employees to We the People of around $94 million. Figure the same or a little more in expenses and let's call it $200 million.

Congressional staff is not cheap. And the largesse there is truly bipartisan. Here is what some of them spent on staff in 2009. Most of this info is from LegiStorm.

The false queen, Nancy Pelosi spent $1.13 million on her staff. This does not include some of the permanent Speaker's staff.

Famed budget and tax cutter Eric Cantor spent $1.12 million. Yep, within a rounding error of Pelosi.

House Minority Leader John Boehner spent just under an even $1 million. By Congressional standards, this is cheap.

Renowned and unrepentant tax and spend maestro Henry Waxman spent $1.3 million topping even Pelosi.

On the Senate side, where everything costs more, just like at the Neiman end of the mall, Majority Leader Harry Reid spent $2.27 million.

Minority Leader and self proclaimed budget balancing spending cutter Mitch McConnell spent $2.5 million.

Just for fun, I looked up Obama's 2007 (has last full year in the Senate) staff expenditure and he spent a whopping $3 million. No surprise there. I think we all know about the president and spending other people's money.

So, 435 House staffs at around $800K per (average) and 100 Senate at $2 million per (average) gives us about $550 million.

We are already at three-fourths of a billion dollars and we have not even counted standing staff, maintenance on the Capitol and office buildings, printing (2,000 page bills cost real money to reproduce in accordance with the Rules), Capitol Hill Police, office space (district offices cost rent), furniture and supplies and the rest. It would not surprise me to learn that it costs us over $3 billion per year for Congress. And that is a huge waste.

$3 billion so that they have a sandbox in which to have their petty partisan squabbles. $3 billion per year so they have back rooms in which to make the dead of night deals that end up costing us in money, freedoms or both.

The Democrat-Republican partisan chokehold on the Congress has rendered it useless and ineffective. It does not matter which party is in charge. In 2006 (the last year Republicans had control) Cantor spent a million dollars on staff. To add insult to the injury of a useless Congress is that they are deficit spending not only on stuff that we know about, but a lot of it on themselves.

The tired, corrupt 2 party system that controls the Congress makes sure that members of Congress are well taken care of. In fact, they have it set up so that they get an annual pay raise unless they vote not to. Yep, you read it right. The pay raise is automatic for Congress (and therefore staff) unless they actively vote no. To get the raise all they need to do is nothing.

Of course, nothing is what they do best. Come November, we can cut the cost of this huge waste of our resources by voting the whole lot of them out. They are not looking out for us, not interested in us and sure as heck not listening to us. So let's do the only thing we can - vote them away. They will have to hear that.

Praeter Nos, Nimirum indeed.


As a capitalist and a free thinking person, I am selling them for both profit and with the intent of donating to those candidates that are willing to step outside the parties and declare a concern for the Constitution and the people.

You can order them here: http://www.itisnotagame.spreadshirt.com

Issues? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Issues.

As the mid-term campaign drones on and candidates of all stripe begin to actively advertise, it is apparent that none of them has any desire to actually run on issues and ideas. In fact, I am fairly comfortable saying that they are going to avoid any and all issues. They being both parties and their anointed candidates.

The Democrats recently unveiled an ad that uses Joe Barton's apology to BP and John Boeher's analogy of the recession to an ant as proof that the Republicans are out of touch. In this ad, there is not one idea, issue or thought that might tell us what Democrats think. Just smacking around the fools. We already know that Barton and Boehner are as useless as the rest of the Congress and exist only to obstruct. So?

Democrats fail to understand that people want to hear solutions not problems.

Republicans are just as bad. Palin recently unveiled an ad for her PAC that basically says a lot of Republican women are running for office. I believe she calls them "pink elephants." Whatever. What she does not do in this ad is mention where any of them (or her for that matter) stand on actual issues. Apparently, to the GOP, just running women for office is adequate. But we already know that there are many campaigns that feature female candidates. So?

Republicans, just like their donkey logoed counterparts, fail to understand that people want solutions, not symbolism.

To be fair, Obama started the symbolic train really rolling in 2008. And McCain jumped right on the empty symbol bus with him. Both ran campaigns almost devoid of actual ideas and solutions. Obama talked Health Care and such, but in vague generalities. McCain just talked.

Well, it is now 2 years later and both parties are even further along in their obvious quest to be as non-specific as possible.

Let me get very local as an example. Here in Broward County, Florida we have a county commission race between 2 well known corrupt career politicians - incumbent Sue Gunzberger and former State Senator Steve Geller. Both are spending huge sums of money to accuse the other of corruption and to defend themselves against those same accusations.

Geller charges that Gunzberger steered millions in county business to her late husband's company. This is actually accurate. In fact, there is an investigation underway into her actions as a commissioner. The investigation is based on 17 years of complaints from competitors that were denied any business. Gunzberger's defense? She claims they are using her late husband to attack her. Novel, but untrue.

Gunzberger charged that Geller was a lobbyist during his tenure as a State Senator and made over a million dollars as a lobbyist during that time. This is also true. Geller did actively lobby many cities in Florida on behalf of private companies while a senator. No revolving door for Geller. No door at all. One big cash collecting office. His financial statements bear out the money. His pathetic defense? Gunzberger is attacking him for making a living in the private sector.

Well, both are corrupt and both belong in a jail cell somewhere. Both openly profited from public service and both claim they were right and the other wrong. But neither has advanced one single idea for this county. Nothing about budget issues or crime or anything other than the pointless attacks and lying defenses.

When I said corrupt career politicians, I meant it. Neither has even lifted a finger for anyone except themselves. Geller wouldn't know an honest day's work if it bit him in his leg and Gunzberger has apparently never heard the phrase "conflict of interest." Yet, these are the only choices we get for that seat. Why?

Because nobody wanted to take on the lobbyists' choice of candidates. Nobody wanted to try to run against the millions these 2 corrupt-o-crats will spend to shame each other. As if they could be shamed. Seriously. One is hiding behind her dead husband doing the grieving widow act and the other calls being a lobbyist while an elected official the private sector.

And this is what we see across the country. Boxer-Fiorina: Failing US Senator versus failed former CEO. McCollum-Sink: failed Attorney General versus failed state CFO. Reid-Angle: Failed Senate Leader versus failed repeat candidate. And so on.

None of them can run on actual issues because none of them has the courage to stand for anything. None of them is adequately independent of the tired, corrupt 2 party system to even try. they are all just thralls waiting to be told what to say and what to think. Republicans are swaying back and forth between moderate conservative to far right and Democrats between moderate liberal to far left.

Both parties care nothing about issues or the people. In fact, they would prefer to avoid all issues all the time. It would be so much easier for them to just run on blind symbolic ideology. Of course, that is how we got this non-functioning Congress in the first place. And that is how we will continue to have a non-functional Congress. Because the courage of one's convictions is also the last thing that is tolerated by the parties.

Unless we vote the party hacks out of office and start picking candidates based on their issues and not their party, we are doomed to continue this endless cycle of waste and corruption. the 2 parties have become too comfortable and too lazy. They are identical in almost every way. Look just below the rhetoric and you will find very few differences or distinctions. It is as if they are putting on a show for our benefit and then running backstage to count the proceeds.

We have the power to end their little game. On November 2, vote out all incumbents. All of them. Replace the entire stinking lot. It cannot be worse than it is now.


As a capitalist and a free thinking person, I am selling them for both profit and with the intent of donating to those candidates that are willing to step outside the parties and declare a concern for the Constitution and the people.

You can order them here: http://www.itisnotagame.spreadshirt.com

Dividers Divided

As if the seemingly unbridgeable gap between Democrats and Republicans on every issue was not bad enough, the last couple of days have brought us infighting within the 2 tired and corrupt parties. Since they seem so determined to turn every single issue into a wedge issue for the November election, it seems somehow sadly fitting that they should now be fighting among themselves. After all there is no honor among thieves and apparently no loyalty among politicians.

I suppose since they are in power, we should look first at the messy little fight at the very top of the Democratic Party power players. This week saw the false queen of America, Nancy Pelosi, announce that she would support an amendment challenging Obama's strategy for Afghanistan. She wants to bring the troops home now. Today. Regardless of consequence or cost. Why?

Because the false queen has problems at home. It seems that her constituents are no longer happy that she lied to them about her knowledge of waterboarding or military action. It appears that her commitment to country and party only extends as far as the next opinion poll. So, in a rare act, the Speaker of the House announced that she would vote for his amendment despite the damage it might cause to Obama's efforts in Afghanistan. Nancy first, party second, country last.

Now that Obama and Pelosi have managed to turn the already poisonous atmosphere in Washington into an all out war for dominance, the false queen decides she is going to add some more divisiveness for her own benefit. Not that this was not a predictable act. It is not like Nancy was ever anyone's actual friend or actually loyal to anything other than her own ambitions. It is however a cowardly action, since she did it right before leaving town for a week. Now she can go home to her district and proclaim her opposition to a war she has supported for 9 years.

The Democrats have been a divided party forever. Samuel Clemens expressed it best when he said, "I am not a member of any organized party. I am a Democrat." Democrats are not known for orderly process or the lockstep that is (or was) the trademark of the Republican party. For good or bad, the Democrats cannot help but quibble among themselves. The false queen does not help matters nor does Obama himself. they perpetuate the fiction of bipartisanship while secretly doing everything they can to prevent it. And then they happily alienate the more moderate members of the party.

Think about it. A Democrat in the White House and a Dem controlled Congress and they still argue about everything. The House Dems want to go to the hard left extreme while the Senate Dems just want to protect their phony-baloney jobs. And Nancy, the false queen, foments this chaos to keep her power intact.

The GOP should be dancing in the streets over this except their own house is now even more divided than it already was. It has been very obvious that the last year has really divided the GOP. The hard conservatives of the party have taken to ousting anyone who is even vaguely moderate. They have been all about the extreme. And they have been a large contributor to the bitter partisan atmosphere in Washington that has pretty much stopped any kind of progress or recovery. The label, "Party of No," has been an accurate one.

But just this week, GOP Chairman Michael Steele, in his haste to score points against Democrats at any cost, called the war in Afghanistan "a war of Obama's choosing," and not one the US wanted or needs. This despite the fact that we have been there for 9 years and the fact that most Republicans think we need to send more troops there. Steele, who has been committing gaffes at the Biden level, has actually outdone himself. In his desire to smear Obama with anything and everything, he actually agreed with the false queen.

Most senior GOP types want him to resign. Not Karl Rove, but then again, Rove will say almost anything to preserve the facade of a united Republican party. I am sure Steele will step forward and say he misspoke. Sure. That is always a good one. Misspoke. The same way he misspoke when he called government a game in the title of his column on the GOP website. Steele's statement and the reaction from the GOP tells the story of the Party of No. They are so anxious to reject everything and anything this president proposes, they are actually on the verge of rejecting their own war.

The GOP is already a party divided. Between the Tea Party folks, the Palin folks and the mainstream Republicans, they are in the midst of an identity crisis. The phrase "Republican in Name Only" should tell that story. Apparently some Republicans want to tell other Republicans what they should think and say. Otherwise, they are tossed out of the club. As far as I can tell, any Republican that dares agree with Obama on anything, including the day of the week, is simply out. It does not mater what the issue is. Even on those issues where they agree, they oppose anyway.

And what does all of this mean to us, the long suffering and ignored people of America? Well, it means we are the pawns in their pathetic chess game. We are the people they all claim to represent, while ignoring us totally. What is means is that until one of both parties are gone and replaced, we will continue to have a dysfunctional government. We will continue to have a Congress that exists solely to get itself reelected. We will continue to be the victims of their little game.

Well, we don't have to be. In November, we can send them all home. Permanently. Democrats and Republicans need to be tossed out of office and replaced with pretty much anyone. Seriously. We could not do a lot worse. They may be playing the game, but we can end it on November 2.


As a capitalist and a free thinking person, I am selling them for both profit and with the intent of donating to those candidates that are willing to step outside the parties and declare a concern for the Constitution and the people.

You can order them here: http://www.itisnotagame.spreadshirt.com

Supremely Silly

Hearings open today in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Of all of the things that the Senate does, this one is at the top of the important list. Not only is it actually in the actual Constitution (a document frequently ignored or misquoted by Senators on both sides) but it is a decision that will affect generations of Americans.

Most Senators take this very seriously. Most try to put aside the partisan nonsense and hold fair hearings. Or they used to anyway. I have noted before that Republicans are far more likely to have dignified proceedings than Democrats. This is simple history.

However, history is not preamble and things change. Sadly, I suspect that Kagan's hearings will be more about November elections and political spitballs than the actual Supreme Court.

Needless to say, the hard conservative branch of the GOP in the Senate is going to vote no on Kagan no matter what. They would vote no on their spouse's nomination if Obama made it. That is their plan and mantra. That voting no on everything regardless of what will somehow lead them to a glorious victory in November.

The hard liberal branch of the Democrats in the Senate will, of course, vote yes. They would vote to approve a rooster for Secretary of Defense if it was an Obama pick. Their mantra and plan - approving everything blindly with zero regard for the consequence will lead to a glorious victory in November.

For the record, these same sides voted the opposite way on most Bush nominations. They just vote reflexively and represent nobody as they do so. For these 2 hardened ideological camps, it is all about the next election and forwarding the packaged agenda.

That leaves a decent number of Senators that still exercise some free will when voting. Not many, but some. It is difficult to enumerate them or even identify them since they prefer to be very quiet and do not race for the cameras.

The hearings themselves will be about November. They will be more of the same stupid ideological tug of war that has effectively stymied progress for years if not decades. For the pathetic collection of soiled egos on the committee, these hearings will be about the president and the sitting court, not Kagan or her qualifications.

Both sides seem to agree that she is qualified. Nobody has come forth with anything that is really a factor that would lead to her not being confirmed. The weeks of research and investigation have turned up little that is even controversial. But that really won't matter when the lights come up in the committee room. It won't really be about Kagan.

The one serious controversy surrounding her is the decision she made as president of Harvard Law School to ban military recruiters over the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. Was this wrong? Well, as an American I am offended that our military is excluded from recruiting the best and the brightest. However, I also recognize that Harvard has a long tradition of this and rules in place regarding it. Is it a disqualifying factor? Probably not. However, it should raise serious questions about her position regarding the law (don't ask, don't tell is law) versus school policy.

Were this to be the level of disqualification, we would have no justices on the court. Not one of them would survive this process as it now stands. In fact, some of the great jurists to ever serve on the court would fail this nomination/confirmation process.

Two Senators' recent comments on the Kagan nomination stand out as particularly goofy.

Jeff Sessions says: "What Ms. Kagan's nomination says about President Obama will be part of the discussion." Really? Is Obama nominated for the court? Or is this just a way to toss a bunch of flaming spitballs around? Perhaps create some controversy and noise for the November election?

New York's own lawn mower man Chuck Schumer: "In decision after decision… corporations are winning over ordinary citizens. The current conservative bloc is bending the Constitution to suit an ideology." Come on Senator. We're not that stupid. First off, Kagan would not change the make up of the court. Secondly, didn't Schumer vote for most of those justices?

(New Yorkers will get the lawn mower man reference from his last re-election campaign)

Both are as wrong as wrong can be. Neither is looking at this nominee for her ability and qualifications. They see her as a pawn in their endless game. All they see is the next election cycle and the shifting majority. To them, it is all about the game and not at all about the people. Even something as important as a Supreme Court nomination is fodder for the endless partisan hackery. These Senators and their colleagues are unable to rise above their selfish little games and actually serve the people.

The Senate and the rest of the Congress are beholden to those that put them there. Not us. Not the voters. The money people. The lobbyists. The special interests. The 2 failed and corrupt political parties.

It is time to let these clowns in the Senate know that we are tired of these games. Tired of our government being just a kick ball in their school yard rivalry.

Come November, toss the lot of them out. No incumbent should return to office after this last Congress. They have shown themselves to be useless and irresponsible. They are blind ideologues, reading the day's talking points without comprehension. They are corrupt and arrogant.

They need to be fired. To drive home that message, I am offering T-Shirts with this message:


As a capitalist and a free market person, I am selling them for both profit and with the intent of donating to those candidates that are willing to step outside the parties and declare a concern for the Constitution and the people.

You can order them here: http://www.itisnotagame.spreadshirt.com

Supreme Court Confirmations

Today, the president announced the appointment of US Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the court. Now the process moves to the Senate. And that is where it can either work or not.

Let me first say that I do not know enough about this nominee to venture an opinion. I suspect nobody does. We have a lot to learn about her before anyone can actually have an opinion.

Oh, the pundits on both sides will yammer and clamor. Most of them are reading from index cards provided from the rapidly failing Republican and Democratic parties. The good news - Limbaugh, Olbermann and the rest of the clown squad don't matter here. They are background noise that needs to be ignored. I don't care what Matthews or Hannity think on this. Not at all.

Who does matter is the US Senate. In an earlier post, I pointed out that the Republicans in the Senate were handling the vacancy with appropriate dignity and fairness. I also pointed out that Democrats have historically been far less civilized about Supreme Court nominees.

For the Senate, this is one of their most important and significant functions. Whoever ascends to the court will be there for life and will hold sway over many key issues during their tenure. A Supreme Court nomination should always be handled with the dignity and respect due the position.

This means that no Senator should fall on party line nonsense. This is more of a hazard to Democrats than Republicans, but all should be aware that they need to take this Constitutional duty seriously and not in the context of the next election cycle.

Thus far, Republicans have said, (and I think it is fair for them to say) that their support for Ms. Kagan as Solicitor General should not be assumed for her court nomination. Congratulations to them for honesty and careful speech. They are making it clear that they see the difference between lead litigator for the administration and final decider on the court. They are correct in their statements and cautious to not predecide this.

And Democrats...well, they are trying to be cautious while supportive. This is not the action of a person that takes it seriously. Until she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, any promise of support (or promise of opposition) is wrong and inappropriate. Some Democrats have already promised support without the benefit of any testimony. They are wrong.

Both sides need to respect that she is not going to give issue based opinions. Nor should she. If she offered an opinion on any matter that might come before her on the court, than she is wrong and should be turned away. Again, historically, Republicans understand that while Democrats do not.

What she deserves and we the people are due is a fair hearing and review of her experience and writings. An examination of her temperament and how she sees the role of the courts on our government. This is not a matter of false diversity or leanings. Nor is it about politics and such. It is about deciding if Kagan is qualified to join what is arguably the most powerful branch of government.

All we can ask is that the Senate turn off the pundits, hang up on the party apparatchiks, ignore the pollsters and disregard the lobbyists. This process - the vetting and confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice - is their chance to prove they are actual adults with respect for the system and the people. Possibly their last chance.

Those that choose to follow the ongoing partisan lunacy do so at their own peril. Everything else may be fair fodder for this, but a Supreme Court nominee is not. Reid and McConnell should take heed here. This is not the time for their endless vote counting games. Allow the hearings to proceed and then bring the nomination to the Senate floor. Without head counts and the rest of the tired games those 2 play. As leaders, Reid and McConnell are offensive on a good day. This would be a great time for Reid and McConnell to take a long vacation. Or at least stop talking.

The coming weeks will tell the tale of the Senate. Are they serious about their duties or just playing for the next election? We will know soon enough.