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sisyphusshruggedDid you know there was a war on? Rampant unemployment? The threat of terrorism?
I bet you thought that Congress would be working on all that.
Welcome to single-party control of the government.
As the Washington Post pointed out yesterday, when we were all pretending that the outcome of this particular bit of nonsense was in doubt, the sponsor of this bill has not up to this point addressed how having assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets on the streets of the nation's capital will serve to make Congress and the White House safer.
House Republicans aren't concerned about that. They know perfectly well this bill won't pass through the Senate. They passed it over the unanimous opposition of police chief, the school superintendent and all 13 members of the City Council because... they could. Also because they wanted Democrats to vote against a gun bill right before an election (which some of them, given their districts, couldn't).
Taking time out from his busy schedule of avoiding indictments, Tom DeLay made a point of adding insult to injury.
This is a whimsical observation on Mr. DeLay's part, when you consider that the only reason they were able to act out this little charade is that the people of Washington DC, who overwhelmingly enacted the ban because they were tired of watching their children die, do not have all the rights of citizens.
They don't get voting representation in Congress either. Home Rule for DC has been a constant running battle for years, but it goes nowhere because those gallant populists in the GOP have blocked it every time.
DC is, you see, a Democratic city.
A Mr. Morrison is running against Mr. DeLay, and he could use some help. He's running a strong race, and it looks as if he can make it (Mr. DeLay's district is apparently unhappy with some of his less small- and large-D democratic decisions in the redistricting battle in Texas, and the flood of corruption scandals and, well, this sort of crap).
Give him a hand. I want to see this guy lose.
I also would very much like to see the Republicans lose the House. You notice with all the gamed polls out there trying to make the presidential race look like a foregone conclusion no-one's talking too much about the House?
That's because they'd rather you didn't pay too much attention. They're in trouble.
Go see if there's something you can do to pull this out for us. I'm tired of watching my Congress used as a rumpus room for badly-behaved children.
Then maybe we can work on fixing what these people have spent the past four years breaking.
edit: just lovely. ABC News (motto: Is it too early to call the election?) frames the issue this way
I bet you thought that Congress would be working on all that.
Welcome to single-party control of the government.
Two weeks after the Republican leadership in Congress allowed the federal assault weapons ban to expire, the House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to repeal the District of Columbia's 27-year-old ban on certain firearms, one of the strictest gun laws in the nation.
The vote, 250-171 with one member voting present, came over the strenuous objections of Mayor Anthony Williams and other district officials.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the delegate to Congress from the District of Columbia, called the measure "sheer lunacy" and described it as an exercise in election-year symbolism.
With the November elections approaching, Republican leaders in the House have scheduled a series of votes on hot-button social issues that they hope will force Democrats into a difficult position at the polls, particularly in areas where support for gun rights is strong.
Today, lawmakers are expected to take up a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage; last week, they passed a bill that would prohibit the federal courts from hearing challenges to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
As the Washington Post pointed out yesterday, when we were all pretending that the outcome of this particular bit of nonsense was in doubt, the sponsor of this bill has not up to this point addressed how having assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets on the streets of the nation's capital will serve to make Congress and the White House safer.
House Republicans aren't concerned about that. They know perfectly well this bill won't pass through the Senate. They passed it over the unanimous opposition of police chief, the school superintendent and all 13 members of the City Council because... they could. Also because they wanted Democrats to vote against a gun bill right before an election (which some of them, given their districts, couldn't).
Taking time out from his busy schedule of avoiding indictments, Tom DeLay made a point of adding insult to injury.
"For years, Americans citizens in Washington, D.C., have had their right to self-protection denied them, and it's time to set things right," Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, said after the vote yesterday. "Washington residents are American citizens and therefore deserve the right to bear arms to defend themselves as much as anyone else."
This is a whimsical observation on Mr. DeLay's part, when you consider that the only reason they were able to act out this little charade is that the people of Washington DC, who overwhelmingly enacted the ban because they were tired of watching their children die, do not have all the rights of citizens.
Although the district has a limited form of home rule, federal lawmakers can still override local decisions.
They don't get voting representation in Congress either. Home Rule for DC has been a constant running battle for years, but it goes nowhere because those gallant populists in the GOP have blocked it every time.
DC is, you see, a Democratic city.
A Mr. Morrison is running against Mr. DeLay, and he could use some help. He's running a strong race, and it looks as if he can make it (Mr. DeLay's district is apparently unhappy with some of his less small- and large-D democratic decisions in the redistricting battle in Texas, and the flood of corruption scandals and, well, this sort of crap).
Give him a hand. I want to see this guy lose.
I also would very much like to see the Republicans lose the House. You notice with all the gamed polls out there trying to make the presidential race look like a foregone conclusion no-one's talking too much about the House?
That's because they'd rather you didn't pay too much attention. They're in trouble.
Go see if there's something you can do to pull this out for us. I'm tired of watching my Congress used as a rumpus room for badly-behaved children.
Then maybe we can work on fixing what these people have spent the past four years breaking.
edit: just lovely. ABC News (motto: Is it too early to call the election?) frames the issue this way
Bill Would Restore DC Rights to Handguns
ABC News, United States - 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON Sept. 30, 2004 — Residents of the nation's capital would be able to own handguns and other firearms under a House-passed ...
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EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
Date: 2004-09-30 05:55 am (UTC)The influence peddling with Native Americans, casinos, and *gasp* RALPH REED are heating up.
Right.
Date: 2004-09-30 06:58 am (UTC)Pardon me - my head just blew off again. Must go and find head.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-02 01:34 pm (UTC)Little did I know that I was giving up my rights as a citizen for moveing to a city that I liked. No wonder I'm planning to immigrate to Canada.