"Stand and be Counted!"

It's time to Break It Down!

Tomorrow is Election Day…in a manner of speaking. Oh it will not require going to your polling place, or completing an Absentee Ballot, or figuring out where Early Voting will take place. But make no mistake about it; elections will be influenced by the outcome of actions taken Thursday.

The United States Constitution mandates what is known as a decennial census. In other words, every 10 years, the U.S. Government conducts an initiative to count the population. The results of which are used to apportion Congressional seats (congressional apportionment), allocate electoral votes, and determine levels of federal funding.

The census is conducted by the United States Census Bureau, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. The first American Census was performed in 1790 under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. The current census is our 23rd. The next is scheduled for the year 2020. However, the U.S. constantly revises population estimates between one Census and the next. This is accomplished by using surveys and statistical models.

There are a number of key terms and principals associated with the census. These terms include:

• Citizens

• Non-citizen legal residents

• Non-citizen long-term visitors

• Illegal immigrants

The guiding principle used to sift through the maze of residential status is known as “Usual Residence,” defined as:

• The place a person lives and sleeps most of the time

As might be imagined, the practice of incorporating non-citizens in official data is controversial. That is, at least in part, because as was noted earlier, the census is used to determine apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives, which directly affects the calculus for electors for the Electoral College. And as if that were not enough fuzzy policy, the census also uses a concept known as hot deck imputation to extrapolate data from housing units where occupation status is unknown. This practice is actually supported by case law, and was ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Utah v. Evans.

There are other controversial practices utilized by the census, which regularly draw criticism, including:

• Counting prisoners as residents of prisons instead of their erstwhile home address

• Excluding from the count some Americans who live overseas

• Counting only Federal employees and their dependents living overseas

Based on the aforementioned information, it is understandable that some citizens, while understanding the basic purpose of the census, Congressional Apportionment, may find the idea of participating in the collection of census data, both intrusive, and counter intuitive to their reasoned personal beliefs, tenets, and philosophies. That is one of the key reasons that for many years now, the Census includes a massive public information campaign. Such an effort is necessary to break down natural barriers to participation.

Ultimately, a precept born and nurtured during the original Tea Party era, “No taxation without representation,” is the compelling underlying motivation that should instruct each of us to read, complete, and return our individual household Census data. "We can't move forward until you mail it back." To do otherwise is to forgo our right and abdicate our responsibility to “Stand and be counted!” Remember, it will be a decade before we can revisit this opportunity; so in the event you have not done so, take 10 minutes and complete your 2010 Census Form.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/.  A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census

http://www.commerce.gov/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11082573/2010-CENSUS-US-DEPARTMENT-OF-COMMERCE-US-Census-Bureau

http://www.nbc29.com/global/story.asp?s=12165149

http://americanaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/united-states-census-2010--2010censusgov

http://americanaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/census-2010-overview

http://laist.com/2010/03/29/angelenos_slow_in_returning_2010_ce.php

http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/SandL_ConstituentFAQ.pdf

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100323014122AA72uaG

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/index.php

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/why/index.php

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/privacy/index.php

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/involved/index.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_congressional_apportionment

President Obama Avoids Waterloo; GOP Delares Armageddon Has Ensued

It's time to Break It Down!

In July, 2009, Senator Jim DeMint, SC declared that if Republicans could defeat Healthcare Reform, it would be President Obama’s Waterloo…it would in fact break him. Fast forward eight months to March 2010, after the President adroitly managed to avert a nightmare of Napoleonic proportion. House Minority Leader John Boehner upped the ante, asserting, with Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele cosigning, that the newly passed Healthcare Reform law has created Armageddon in America; “it will ruin the nation,” they contended.

Of course the tone of the debate centering on the initiative to reform Healthcare has been fractious for some time. In an frequently uncivil discourse that has lingered for more than a year, it has often appeared that the GOP has substituted, enthusiastically, increasingly course rhetoric for any semblance of earnest negotiations to produce a bill that reflected a reasonable mix of ideas, based on their relative share of the representational split. Democrats control 233 of 435 seat in the House, and 59 of 100 seats in the Senate. In spite of that, it is fair to say the GOP has fiercely set out to execute a strategy to embarrass, minimize, and defeat this President, at almost every turn.

The media, long alleged to be among Mr. Obama’s biggest boosters during the 2008 Presidential campaign, at one point declared the Healthcare proposal dead. After the GOP emerged victorious in the Massachusetts Senatorial election, following Gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey, the President was deemed to have lost his mojo, that mid-term elections would return Republicans to power as a majority was considered fait accompli, and oh yeah, Healthcare; no chance!

From the emergence of the Tea Party protests, depictions of the President as the Grim Reaper, the world’s most famous shock jock openly exulting in his expression of hope for the President’s failure, a phalanx of opponents excoriated President Obama unceasingly, in an effort to defeat Healthcare reform, and exile President Obama to his political Elba.

Interestingly, in the wake of the House's approval of the Health Care bill, David Frum, a prominent conservative opines that the GOP miscalculated in formulationg a strategy of defeating Healthcare Reform at all costs.  In doing so, Frum contends that Republicans took it upon themselves to forfeit a seat a the table.  By going "all-in" on creating President Obama's Waterloo, they underserved their constituents.  It remains to be seen how that gambit plays out.

Laying to the side all the drama associated with efforts to demonize the President, or anyone else who supported Healthcare Reform, the truth of the matter, as is the case with most legislative sausage-making, is that there are plusses and minuses. First on the plus side:

• The CBO and other nonpartisan studies show the new law will curb the deficit by billions of dollars
• The law will cover 32 million additional Americans

• Children may be covered by their parents insurance for longer periods than in the past

• Insurance companies may no longer drop coverage due to preexisting conditions

• Maximum coverage provisions will be eliminated

• Wasteful spending in Medicare will be reduced or eliminated

It is worth noting that opposition to the law is split among conservatives who believe it costs too much, and liberals who believe the initiative stops short of what is needed to truly reform healthcare. So in a strange bedfellows sort of way, the downside includes:

• Costs; Congress will be required to enact the increases necessary to fund the law

• Single-payer System not a part of the law

• No Public Option; a key principle of Mr. Obama’s campaign-version of reform

To be sure there are other items that could be added to both sides of the ledger. But for the moment, the 219 members of the House of Representatives in the 111th Congress who stepped forward to vote yea for this measure, and the President who refused to go quietly into that good night, deserve a moment of silence for their commitment to do what they believed to be the right thing, in the face of relentless opposition by a GOP in lockstep. For many this was a courageous act; one that may tip the scales unfavorably in a tight November race.

In the weeks and months leading to the election, it is already clear that Healthcare Reform was not President Obama’s Waterloo. It remains to be seen whether it is the Democrats’ Armageddon.

I have a good friend who frequently reminds me, politics is not a spectator sport. To that end, you have the final say. After getting an earful several times over between now and November, you will have an opportunity to exercise your citizenship-authorized right to the ballot. In effect it is you who will decide whether 2011 and beyond looks and feels more like Armageddon…or Camelot, for those patriots who opted to look forward by providing better healthcare options to all Americans, rather than look backward and trade in slurs, epithets, and played-out stereotypes.

It’s your call. I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_DeMint

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/president-obama/audio-of-jim-demint-saying-health-care-will-be-obamas-waterloo/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boehner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Steele

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/steele-yes-health-care-reform-is-armageddon.php

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34727.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Frum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elba

http://celebrifi.com/gossip/Protesters-said-to-use-slurs-spit-on-Rep-1915393.html

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Cleaver-Claims-He-Was-Spit-On-During-Debate/x1dqZlDu4UaJ3IkKIkfKwQ.cspx?rss=764

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Cleaver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis_(U.S._politician)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100322/ts_csm/289415

http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article/rr/9000/10751863/FACT_CHECK_Spinning_the_new_health_care_law/3

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/03/17/catholic_nuns_urge_passage_of_obamas_health_bill/

"Healthcare Reform: It's Going Down to the Wire!"

It's time to Break It Down!

There is no crystal ball on my desk. I profess to know neither the future, nor the outcome of the Healthcare debate; just that all indications are a decision will come sooner rather than later. The odds on the outcome depend heavily on which spinmeister’s rhetoric you choose to embrace.

Teabaggers, members of the Far Right, Blue Dog Democrats and a host of others publicly insist, and privately hope “The Die is cast,” and that Healthcare, as formulated and proposed by the Obama Administration, is past the stage of being aided by life-support systems. In other words, DOA!

Of course, if you listen to Yellow Dog Dems, Left-leaning Liberals, and those members of Congress who live to promote the Pelosi or Reid agenda, and they are different, you are apt to firmly parrot the “Party Line,” at least publicly, and maintain that the President’s Healthcare proposal will pass by the end of this week so President Obama can move on to his already once delayed trip to Asia.

At this point the right call appears to be, Healthcare Reform: It’s Going Down to the Wire! As an American who is not a physician, not employed by a pharmaceutical company, not a member of Congress being courted or fawned over by organized lobbies of physicians or pharmaceutical firms, I believe the American Healthcare System is broken, or at least supremely flawed. I do not know many people who passionately disagree with that sentiment.

In fact, after a year of public, nation-wide debate on this matter, that there is still a debate is perplexing. We live in an age when everyone is a critic. Numerous experts in virtually any field of endeavor one might name insist that accountability is a key precondition for success. As a mere amateur evaluator of the Healthcare debate and the struggle to galvanize support for and enact reform, I admit I believe there is a clear culprit.

For more than a year, Democrats have held a clear majority in both houses of Congress, at one point even maintaining a Filibuster-proof edge in the Senate. Their inability to unite, or unwillingness to use all of the tools at their disposal is striking. Even now as the opposition chides them for considering Reconciliation as a tactic to push the bill through, the irony is Republicans brashly brandish the Filibuster as a way to disrupt and derail the initiative.

Simply put, collectively, Democrats have consistently failed to act assertively to represent the interests of the majority of constituents who elected and empowered them to do just that. In the closing stages of what has been a protracted year-long battle, President Obama appears, at last, to be stepping forward in a way that makes it evident this is a “Change He Believes In.” Many analysts, and especially the President’s critics suggest this is in itself a risky proposition; that if it fails, he will have undermined the remainder of his Presidency.

This is where I reiterate, I have no idea what the outcome of the vote will be. But I am delighted this President has found his voice, his passion, and his conviction, and that he has done so to promote a measure he has defined as perhaps the single most important on his domestic agenda. To underscore both his personal resolve, and the necessity for Democrats in Congress to act likewise, President Obama, during a trip Monday to Ohio to highlight the plight of a cancer-stricken woman, injected a personal challenge to reluctant fellow Democrats. He said, “We need courage, that’s what we need…we need an up or down vote – it’s time to vote.”

And he is right. Right to push for an initiative he campaigned for, and that was integral to his being elected; right to call for a vote on the matter. Such is the democratic way. Ultimately, it is significant to establish that he and his Party are equipped and fully capable of leading, not just chasing polls. Everyone knows the downside of President Obama forcing this matter to closure; he might lose! Conversely, quiet as it is kept, the upside is, he may just win!

Without question, the President and his Party have had a difficult year, as the country has, as a whole. There is no time like the present for Mr. Obama to show, emphatically, that he is driven more by his willingness to take a stand, lead, and do the right thing, than he is led by fear of failure, polemic opponents, and shock jock-driven opinion polls.

Nearly two months ago, on January 25th, President Obama, in a pre-State of the Union interview with Diane Sawyer, told the reporter, “I’d rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.” That statement may have marked the beginning of the Obama resurgence. The moment he finally said, out loud, "I can make a difference…and I intend to do so!" To that end, Healthcare Reform: It’s Going Down to the Wire!” Let’s see how it plays out.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100316/ts_alt_afp/uspoliticshealthcareobama

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703382904575059723179331384.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580438,00.html

http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-treatment/down-the-wire

http://www.peoplesworld.org/health-care-reform-goes-down-to-the-wire/

http://keenesentinel.com/articles/2010/03/13/news/national/free/id_393821.txt

http://bigthink.com/ideas/19038

http://topic.feeds4all.nl/The-Debate-on-Healthcare-Goes-Down/1720149188.aspx

http://www.themudflats.net/2010/03/13/down-to-the-wire-support-is-there-for-the-public-option/

http://multimedia.boston.com/m/29830119/obama-drums-up-support-for-health-care-in-ohio.htm

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/15/new-health-care-whip-count-190-yes-205-no-with-leaners-202-207/

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/03/04/healthcare_2010

"The Great Economic Conundrum of 2009!"

It's time to Break It Down!

Perhaps you have heard 2009 was the year of the penultimate recession; the single most devastating economic downturn in this country since The Great Depression (TGD). Before taking this allegory any further, let it be clear, the phenomenon known as TGD was a vast economic upheaval; both severe, and worldwide in scope. Perhaps most important, for comparative purposes, TGD was excruciatingly long, starting with the October 29, 1929 Wall Street Crash, and lasting well into the 1940’s.

Moreover, to further expand upon the contextual significance of the term TGD, the Dow reached its lowest level of the 20th century July 28, 1932, and did not return to pre-1929 levels until November 1954. While there is no mistaking the fact, our contemporary economic malaise is not behind us, few analysts, if any, predict the United States or the world will plummet to the depths of TGD, nor that we will remain at our nadir as long.

Now that we have exercised the opportunity to step, collectively, away from the ledge of hyperbole, there are a few inescapably depressing truths worth noting about our current economic state. The fiercely intractable, negatively spiraling economic conditions of the past eighteen months have changed the way we view the world. An apparently booming economy, bolstered by a seemingly robust housing market conspired to foist a most devastating “trick; no treat,” on American consumers.

Thrust into a sudden free-fall, key elements in the economic universe, made famous, in part because of haughty, “so-called” free market principles, were abruptly redefined as “too big to fail.” This confounding and incongruous turn-about was more than a little confusing. Almost instantly, or so it seemed, America morphed from the most dynamic engine of global capital the world has ever known to a depressed republic, drowning in a sea of red ink, failed businesses, foreclosed homes, abandoned projects, and unemployed workers.

In an effort to forestall tipping over into the economic abyss, Congress collaborated in the fall of 2008, and again early in 2009 (or conspired according to certain opponents) to frame and enact legislation to prevent a collection of luminary institutions from listing into bankruptcy. Thus began a period of unprecedented American governmental largesse. The Treasury department assumed the role of de facto Bank of America; bailing out corporate titans, such as AIG, the original Bank of America, Citibank, and others, and taking a strong stock position in former American Automotive flagship, General Motors.

The misery index spread far and wide. A number of key employment sectors were affected by the consuming disruption, including:

• Banking
• Housing
• Jobs
• Auto Industry

As a result of the effects of instability in the above referenced, a series of related indicators rose sharply, including:

• Evictions
• Foreclosures
• Bankruptcies
• Layoffs
• Abandoned projects
• Unemployment

To be unaware of the deleterious affects of the rampant economic distress caused by the current recession, one would have to be Rip Van Winkle-like; asleep, and or unexposed to any of the variety of media outlets that trumpet details down to the minutia, endlessly and repeatedly, during the 24-7 news cycle. That is of course, unless you are among the fortunate few; a select group of executives whose companies doled out millions in “discretionary bonuses” to top managers.

Executives at companies that awarded such bonuses stand at the apex of “The Great Economic Conundrum of 2009!” In a period when many jobs not already send offshore, are simply being eliminated, the champions of industry at a number of “too big to fail” enterprises are apparently also “too big to fail to get a bonus. The absence of universal sardonicism in the face of this cruel irony is a function of the jaded nature of society. In other words, far too many of us are immersed in and consumed by a surreal déjà vu. How can one muster up yet another bout of righteous indignation, when confronted with the reality of the nth round of mega-bonuses at AIG?

Finally, there is no doubt AIG is the classic poster child for this pattern of behavior, but they are by no means alone. The Triple E (Exceptionally Economically Elite) crowd includes, but is not limited to:

• Bank of America
• United Technologies
• Starbucks
• Hewlett-Packard
• Hologic
• Goldman Sachs
• Morgan Stanley
• JPMorgan Chase
• Wells Fargo
• Citigroup, Inc

That makes a nice round group of ten companies, who apparently are defying the long economic odds that have derailed most Americans. There are many more, but that’s enough to make the point. So the next time you hear a reporter or an economist reciting the scary-gory details of our economy, take a moment to reflect on the resourcefulness of those individuals who have managed to leverage all that economic dislocation and disassociation into a small fortune. Remember: Don’t hate the playa; hate the game.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/14/global-recession-2009-oped-cx_nr_0115roubini.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/09/news/companies/bonuses/index.htm?hpt=C2

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/23/news/economy/wall_street_bonus_increase/index.htm?postversion=2010022312

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/09/news/companies/bonus_taxes_congress/index.htm/

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/05/news/companies/blankfein_bonus/index.htm?postversion=2010020518

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/05/news/companies/dimon_chase_bonus/index.htm?postversion=2010020511

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/03/news/companies/bank_of_america_compensation/index.htm?postversion=2010020311

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/news/companies/aig_bonuses/index.htm?postversion=2010020309

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/29/news/companies/aig_sec/index.htm?postversion=2010012914

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/18/AR2009031803188.html

http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2010/03/05/cell-therapeutics-offers-bigger-cash-bonuses-for-2009-while-stock-languishes/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34865562/ns/business-economy_at_a_crossroads/

http://recession.org/news/how-rich-are-differentrecession-hits-investment-psyche

Bunning Plays Hard Ball!

It's time to Break It Down!

James Paul David “Jim” Bunning, venerable junior Senator from Kentucky may have achieved most of his notoriety as a conservative Republican politician. Senator Bunning has been involved in politics since first winning elective office on the local level in 1977. He served several terms on the Fort Thomas, KY City Council, before moving up to serve in the Kentucky General Assembly, the US House of Representatives and two terms in the US Senate. The Senator has announced he will not run for re-election in November.


But before walking the Halls of Congress, Bunning spent 17 years matching wits with Major League Baseball’s best hitters. As a pitcher, he excelled at his craft. He is one of only six pitchers to throw both a no-hitter and a perfect game, and one of only five players to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. He played in seven All-Star Games.

The crafty pitcher was known to challenge not only opposing hitters, but occasionally, his Manager as well. Bunning would frequently shake off pitches from the catcher that he knew had been signaled from the manager in the dugout. Of course this had the effect of irritating Philadelphia Phillies Manager Gene Mauch. That was classic “Bunning Playing Hard Ball!”

Bunning retired from Major League Baseball in 1971. Fast forward to today; Jim Bunning, about to retire from his second career, is at it again, thumbing his nose at authority figures, and playing hard ball. When Jim Bunning, the baseball player resorted to these exercises in rejecting authority, he was a wily veteran, supremely confident in his ability to control the game and his batting opponent, more skillfully through his own devices than via the calculations of a manager working from the dugout.

Today, at 78, the sixth oldest member of the Senate, and the oldest Republican, Bunning is often regarded as ornery and cantankerous…by members of both parties. The Senator’s most recent thumb in the eye episode was finally overridden yesterday as the Senate voted 78-19 to pass an emergency spending bill. Bunning’s obstructionist measures had held up passage of the bill, and caused the furloughing of 2,000 federal employees, placed jobless benefits for millions in jeopardy, and halted more than 40 highway projects.

In baseball, Bunning faced many of the greats of his era, and he never backed down. In fact, he didn’t hesitate to bean a batter as he faced the likes of Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris. He was the first pitcher to record 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts in both leagues. But Bunting was more than a jock. He was also a Xavier University trained economist, and during his political career, he consistently assumed hard line positions on fiscal issues.

Using the rigid rules of the Senate, Bunning single-handedly held up the spending bill. But make no mistake, the junior Senator from Kentucky is no stranger to controversy. This was not his first adventure. Other rows he has been involved include, but are not limited to:

• Last year Senator Bunning apologized after predicting Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, would be dead within a year.

• During his 2004 re-election campaign, Bunning said his Democratic opponent, Daniel Mongiardo, who is of Italian descent, looked “like one of Saddam Hussein’s sons.” Another apology.

• Senator Bunning has openly feuded with Mitch McConnell, the senior Senator from Kentucky

• The Senator has been known to curse at reporters

• ABC and CNN showed footage of Bunning refusing to talk to reporters about blocking the spending bill. “Excuse me!” he snapped. “This is a senators-only elevator.” ABC said he gave the finger to one of its producers.

• Bunning is considered so toxic, Republican Leadership pushed him to retire when his second term is up at the end of this year.

• George Boyd a Louisville resident who lost his job a year ago and could be affected by the impasse said of Bunning, He’s heartless. He doesn’t think about the needs of other people.”

Of course, the Senator has his supporters as well as detractors. Yesterday, in the midst of a divided crowd in front of Bunning’s Lexington Office, one woman waved a placard that read: “Stand Tall Senator Bunning. You Are Pitching A Perfect Game.” At the same gathering Senate candidate Bill Johnson yelled into a bullhorn, “Bunning for president!”

Spotted in the crowd another sign read: Senator Al Franken is a comedian. Jim Bunning is a bad joke; while Lexington businessman Andy Davis, a Republican, said, “Bunning has been nothing but a disgrace.”

Donald Gross, a University of Kentucky political scientist speculated that Bunning’s antagonistic involvement with the spending bill and its sponsors make signal frustration on Senator’s part. Feeling forced to step down; absent any notable legislative legacy, this may simply represent his last chance to take a slap at the system.

“He’s always been an argumentative type of person, testy. This may be his last hurrah, his last chance to take a slap at people before he leaves.”

The Senator had been holding up the spending bill since last Thursday. He had proposed paying for the bill with money from the stimulus bill, but Democrats objected to that idea. In response to the rejection of his proposal to pay for the bill, Bunning used the rules of the Senate to block the bill.

While this tactic generated a predictable antagonistic reaction from Democrats, a number of Republicans also experienced significant discomfort due to Bunning's actions.

“He hurting the American people,” Senator Susan Collins, Republican, Maine said, when asked if Bunning was hurting the Republican Party.

After deciding to end his one-man filibuster, Senator Bunning blamed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for his resorting to this procedural tactic. But Senator Dick Durban of Illinois noted, “The Senator from Kentucky, after one week, has decided to accept exactly what was offered to him last week. The Senator from Kentucky said initially, “No, I may lose. I am not going to offer an amendment; I am just going to object.”

This crisis has been averted. But for another fleeting 15 minutes, once again, there was another classic example of “Bunning Playing Hard Ball!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/.  A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bunning

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQcerGxiCpGx8Fw5q0okBSfV08BwD9E6T9L80

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/02/jobless.benefits.bill/index.html?hpt=T1

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/02/politics/main6258785.shtml?tag=topnews

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100302/ap_on_go_co/us_budget_impasse_8

http://politifi.com/news/Democrats-rip-GOP-senator-for-blocking-jobless-benefits-extension-235056.html

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100301/NEWS01/3010341

http://mediamatters.org/research/201003020021

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/01/89610/gops-bunning-told-off-senators.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/01/jobless.benefits.bill/index.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/26/politics/main6246198.shtml

http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/sen-jim-bunning-blocks-extension-of-unemployment-benefits/19378482

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-unemployment-benefits-illinois-03020100301,0,538011.story

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9974427

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124217445

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2011231509_apusbudgetimpasse.html

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/02/jim_bunning_block_unemployment_benefits

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-01-Budget_N.htm