Sunday, June 29, 2025
LOWER COURT POWERS CURTAILED BY SCOTUS & GOP BBB BILL
The DDT GOP omni bill provides tax breaks to the rich, and reduces services for the less wealthy. It imposes conditions on recipients of Medicare that will remove many current participants from assistance.
Less well known or mentioned are provisions that attempt to restrict the power of the Courts to restrain the actions of the Executive Branch.
The bill is expected to reduce taxes significantly for rich Humans and big Corporations. That is expected to increase inflation and raise the deficit by $$$ trillions . There is some candy (tax breaks) for less wealthy Americans, but they have strings attached, and are not expected to significantly compensate for the services that are being eliminated.
Here is a link to a draft of the whole bill. The Senate is modifying it. If passed by the Senate, the bill goes back to the House.
FULL TEXT
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
Here is the text of the SCOTUS (6-3) decision curtailing the ability of lower court judges to block (except locally) implementation of Presidential orders they rule to be unconstitutional or unlawful: (6-3 = All 6 GOP appointed Justices concurring; all 3 Justices appointed by Democratic Presidents dissenting.)
TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL. v. CASA, INC., ET AL.
FULL TEXT -
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a884_8n59.pdf
Labels: BBB, Congress, courts, Executive Orders, House, President, SCOTUS, Senate, Tax bill
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
BOOKER'S SPEECH
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has, over the last 24 and more hours, delivered the longest speech in the history of the US Senate, elegantly and passionately calling attention to the great promise and reality of the US in history, and the dangers the US faces in the actions of the current Trump administration.
Attention drawing events are the most important tools of Democratic resistance to the GOP's attempts to concentrate power in the Executive Branch of government, and with that power to cut vital services, to eliminate equality and diversity in both the government and private sectors, to alter the priorities of the Department of Justice, and to dramatically alter the system of taxation from an income tax (which can and should be progressive) to a tariff based "external" tax, which is basically regressive. (Tariffs are paid by importers, who pass along the cost to consumers, resulting in inflation, with the greatest burden falling on the poorest consumers.)
SENATOR CORY BOOKER'S OFFICE
https://www.booker.senate.gov/
Labels: Cory Booker, Democrats, Senate, Senator, speech
Thursday, August 08, 2013
CORY BOOKER WINS BIG AT THE DEMOCRATIC NJ SENATORIAL DEBATE
Mayor Cory Booker was the big winner of the NJ Senatorial Democratic debate.
He was intelligent, well spoken, dynamic, and did a great job of describing his effectiveness in bringing jobs and cultural support to Newark through his outreach to the public sector.
Congressman Rush Holt, a former teacher and scientist, was exceptionally knowledgeable about the problems that the Federal government needs to address. Unfortunately he is a poor speaker and debater. A former teacher, he should have availed himself of extensive coaching and training in public speaking and debating to present his own positions effectively and attractively.
The role of a Senator includes...
• Direct support, through his office, of the needs of the people of New Jersey
• Support for legislation and policy changes important to NJ and the nation
• The ability to convert those positions into laws
• And the ability to be an active and successful spokesperson for those issues
Cory Booker showed clearly he was the leader in each of those areas. Congressman Rush Holt did not demonstrate experience in supporting his Congressional District, (except, of course, by voting along with other Democrats in a conventional way). He supports many important positions, with sophisticated understanding, but he absolutely did not demonstrate the ability to be a charismatic advocate, much less an effective leader on the national stage.
Congressman Frank Pallone and NJ House Speaker Shiela Oliver were out of their depth, They were ineffective and did not demonstrate the stature and qualities required of a Senator.
Congressman Pallone spent a considerable portion of his time criticizing Mayor Booker for some of Booker’s actions (and non-actions), including his role in a new entrepreneurial venture**. While Booker did vigorously defend his role in travelling outside of Newark to engage and obtain support for Newark, he was silent on some of the other criticisms.
Booker, in turn, was very critical of the support by the Congressmen of the Patriot Act (and the resultant current level of surveillance), and of their support for deregulation of the banks.
Booker is a forceful and attractive candidate. It is easy to see why Governor Christie decided to hold the special election (to fill the remaining term of Senator Frank Lautenberg) for the Senate separate from the election for his own job.
The NJ Primary election is on Tuesday August 13.
FRANK LAUTENBERG - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lautenberg
MORE ABOUT THE CANDIDATES... FROM WIKIPEDIA:
CORY BOOKER
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker
(Note: Cory Booker has been promoting a rally in Hackensack:
Twitter: "Rally with
But, oddly, there is no website to promote this event, just the phone number. Booker's official site is: http://www.corybooker.com/)
RUSH HOLT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_D._Holt,_Jr.
FRANK PALLONE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Pallone
SHEILA OLIVER
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Oliver
** Booker's venture was described in the NYT on Wednesday ("Tech Magnates Bet on Booker And his Future" NYT Aug 7, 2013 p1, col 5). He described it himself in a video on USA Today. The idea behind it (a site called WAYWIRE) is a very good one: it wants to be a way for people to find the videos they are interested in. It wants to be a new way for you to search and find the videos you want among the zillions that have been uploaded. And it wants to connect that to socially valuable objectives. (It should be duly noted that if the founders of the company -- that includes Booker himself --gave Booker a valuable stake for his roles as co-founder, as thinker and advocate, as funds raiser, and for the promotional value of the large presence he has on the public stage, they guessed right on every count.)
WAYWIRE HOME PAGE
www.waywire.com
BOOKER TALKING ABOUT WAYWIRE ON USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2012/11/22/mayor-booker-and-waywire/1715461/
NYT ON BOOKER AND WAYWIRE
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/nyregion/tech-magnates-bet-on-booker-in-web-venture.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Labels: Cory Booker, Debate, Frank Lautenberg, Frank Pallone, Rush Holt, Senate, Senatorial Primary, Sheila Oliver, WAYWIRE
Thursday, October 29, 2009
THE HOUSE AND SENATE HEALTH CARE BILLS
After a matter is investigated in Congressional Committees, eventually
(a) A bill comes to the floor of the House and another comes to the floor of the Senate.
(b) These bills may be amended.
(c) If they are passed in each house of Congress, a Committee consisting of members of both houses creates a single bill using elements of the two separate bills from the two houses.
(d) This final, single, "compromise" bill must then be passed by each house.
(e) After the bill is passed, it must be signed by the President, and then becomes law.
The current bills from the House of Representatives and the Senate are now being amended before coming to a vote in each house. (We are just at step (a)).
Here is the text of the two HEALTH CARE bills. They are very long and complex pieces of legislation:
HOUSE BILL as of October 29, 2009 (1018 pages)
http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
SENATE BILL as of July 15, 2009 (615 pages)
http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf
Labels: Congress, HEALTH CARE BILL, House of Representatives, Senate
Thursday, October 30, 2008
TRACK ELECTION RESULTS
Election results -- for anything except President and hot Senate races -- are sometimes hard to come by.
So it's great that CNN is providing a page for users to track in real time their own customized list of races (President, Senate, and House).
Go to
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/your.races/index.html
You have to register and log in to save your races, but then you can pick up to 35 races to track.
Labels: CNN, Congress, election results, House of Representatives, Senate
