Category: Behind The Black

Vote on “clean” debt ceiling increase set for tonight

1:06 pm

The next budget battle begins: A vote on a “clean” debt ceiling increase has been set for tonight by the House Republican leadership.

More than 100 House Democrats recently signed a letter demanding that Speaker John Boehner bring forward a vote for an increase in federal debt levels without any conditions for cuts or future spending curbs. Imagine their surprise when Boehner agreed and will serve up a bill that would provide enough borrowing to cover all of president Obama’s spending requests for next year without any preconditions.

It is expected that the legislation will be defeated soundly in a very bipartisan vote. To quote the article again:

The political reality is that increasing the nation’s swollen $14.3 trillion debt is a political loser. Voters hate it and lawmakers don’t even get anything new to give away since the money is going to cover existing obligations.

If the bill is defeated as predicted, it will be very good news, as that defeat will bolster the efforts of those who want big cuts in spending to go with any debt ceiling increase.

2 comments

New York Metropolitan Opera stars, fearing radiation, skip Japan tour

9:43 am

Cowards: Two New York Metropolitan Opera stars, fearing radiation, have backed out of a Japanese tour in the cities of Tokyo and Nagoya. This, despite the documented lack of radiation:

Tokyo briefly registered nominally higher radiation levels in its air and water, but they have subsided to pre-tsunami levels. There was never any scientific concern of a radiation impact on Nagoya, which is much farther away.

Meanwhile, the efforts to stabilize the reactors in Fukushima are proceeding.

One comment

USDA ‘Rabbit Police’ Stalking Magicians

10:35 pm

More government stupidity: The USDA is now going after magicians for using rabbits in their shows.

Finally, it was time for the inspection at the Hahne’s home. Marty [the magician] decided to ask some questions.

“My friend has a snake,” he said. The [USDA] inspector quickly told him they don’t regulate snakes.

“No,” Marty said, “I mean he feeds his snake rabbits. He breaks their necks and drops them in the cage for the snake’s food. Does he have to have a permit for that?” Again, she told him there’s no regulation for that.

“So I could break my rabbit’s neck and feed him to my friend’s snake and I wouldn’t need a license?” Marty asked.

“Correct,” she said, “But you need a license to use him in your magic show.”

Leave a comment

Obama budget receives zero votes in Senate

12:05 am

Obama’s budget request for 2012 received zero votes today when it came up for a vote in the Democratic controlled Senate. Meanwhile, the House budget, proposed by Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) was also rejected, but by the much closer vote of 40-57.

I’m not sure if this is good or bad. It suggests that there is increasing recognition in the Senate that cuts must happen, and that Obama’s budget failed in this regard. It also suggests that the Senate is also not ready to make those cuts.

Leave a comment

Provincial official in Algeria orders churches to close

11:49 pm

Tolerance in the Middle East: A provincial official in Algeria has ordered seven Christian churches to close.

In 2008 the government applied measures in accordance with Ordinance 06-03 to limit the activities of non-Muslim groups, ordering the closure of 26 churches in the Kabylie region because they were not registered. No churches had been closed down since then. [Protestant Church of Algeria] members argue, however, that the law is impossible to implement as officials refuse to register their churches despite efforts to comply. They said the authorities apply the law when they want to harass churches.

Leave a comment
1 … 960 961 962 963 964 … 1,055