Last week, Rep. Darrel Issa held a Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing on the contraception controversy. The good chairman, however, did not see the need to invite any WOMEN to talk about health care and birth control. The Democrats had a young woman witness selected, a student at Georgetown University who uses the Pill for health reasons additional to contraception. Chairman Issa would not allow her to testify. Instead he accepted a panel of men, all opposed to the Obama Administration's new rule, and those men testified against women's access to contraception. Talk about tone deaf. And insulting. And downright stupid. The GOP's concentration on taking away women's contraception is already galvanizing women voters, and will continue to do so through Election Day.
The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Monday, February 20, 2012
An Appropriate Response to GOP's All-Male Hearing on Women's Contraception
Friday, February 25, 2011
Lawmakers Won't Miss a Paycheck in Government Shutdown
Under United States law, elected Representatives and Senators are exempt from government furloughs. Thus, if the bickering children on Capitol Hill cannot come to some budget agreement, and the government shuts down, members of Congress and their $174,000 a year pay checks would keep flowing.
Yes, you read that right. While thousands of government employees would be furloughed, federal agencies and parks would close, and the paychecks of Hill staff (who will probably work anyway) would stop, elected reps and senators, as well as the president, would still get paid.
Meanwhile, a confidential new report from Goldman Sachs has found that the GOP House spending cuts, passed last week, would cut economic growth by about 2 percent of GDP. This at a time when we are just starting to see a glimmer of recovery. Way to go boys.
Congress, especially the Republicans, have lost their ever-lovin' minds. Just sayin'.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/50050.html#ixzz1EuGyzSAr
The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
House GOP: Mother F#@ckers
Brilliant piece from Jon Stewart and The Daily Show about how the House GOP's slash and burn continuing resolution to complete the budget for FY11 lands squarely on the backs of women.
Daily Show: Mother F#@kers Stork BucksKristen Schaal wants to cut funding for any organization that has anything to do with abortions, including firefighters, the FAA and NASA.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Mother F#@kers - Stork Bucks | ||||
| ||||
Copyright 2010 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Forecast Says GOP House Takeover More Likely
The Cook Political Report raised its House forecast "from a Republican net gain of between 32 and 42 seats to a gain of between 35 and 45 seats, with the odds of an outcome larger than that range greater than the odds of a lesser outcome." House Republicans would need a net turnover of 39 seats to take control of the chamber.
"At this point, only 214 House seats are Solid, Likely or Lean Democratic, while 181 seats are Solid, Likely or Lean Republican, and 40 seats are in the Toss Up column. While this would imply an advantage for Democrats, given the continuous erosion we have seen in dozens of contests so far this cycle, races shifting from Solid and Likely Democrat to Lean Democratic and Toss Up, we would be surprised if there was not more movement over the 78 days from now until Election Day."
Ugh. We need to turn out the vote, people. Just remember where the last "Republican Revolution" got us. Besides that, if poor Rep. Boehner becomes speaker, he won't be able to devote so much time to his beloved golf game.
The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Must Watch: Jon Stewart's Brilliant Roasting of Rep. Charlie Rangel
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Charlie Rangel's War | ||||
| ||||
Copyright 2010 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Fab Ohio Billboard Hits Boehner Where it Hurts
Friday, August 6, 2010
Turning the Tide: from the Great Recession to Job Creation
Here's some fab propaganda from the office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D-MD) office. It also has the added benefit of being true. Enjoy, and share with friends...the more folks who see it, the better.
Copyright 2010 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Classic Dave Obey: The Retiring King of House Appropriations Speaks His Mind about Education Reform
Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the irascible longtime chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is retiring. He says he leaves more discontented than when he started. Here is a quote -- and Mr. Chairman is in fine form, I must say -- from an Obey interview with The Fiscal Times:
And by the way, Obama Administration, if you really proposed cutting food stamps, shame on you."The secretary of education [Arne Duncan] is whining about the fact he only got 85 percent of the money he wanted .… [W]hen we needed money, we committed the cardinal sin of treating him like any other mere mortal. We were giving them over $10 billion in money to help keep teachers on the job, plus another $5 billion for Pell, so he was getting $15 billion for the programs he says he cares about, and it was costing him $500 million [in reductions to the Race to the Top program]. Now that’s a pretty damn good deal. So as far as I’m concerned, the secretary of education should have been happy as hell. He should have taken that deal and smiled like a Cheshire cat. He’s got more walking around money than every other cabinet secretary put together.
It blows my mind that the White House would even notice the fight [over Race to the Top]. I would have expected the president to say to the secretary, “Look, you’re getting a good deal, for God’s sake, what this really does is guarantee that the rest of the money isn’t going to be touched.” We gave [Duncan] $4.3 billion in the stimulus package, no questions asked. He could spend it any way he wants. … I trusted the secretary, so I gave him a hell of a lot more money than I should have.
My point is that I have been working for school reform long before I ever heard of the secretary of education, and long before I ever heard of Obama. And I’m happy to welcome them on the reform road, but I’ll be damned if I think the only road to reform lies in the head of the secretary of education.
We were told we have to offset every damn dime of [new teacher spending]. Well, it ain’t easy to find offsets, and with all due respect to the administration their first suggestion for offsets was to cut food stamps. Now they were careful not to make an official budget request, because they didn’t want to take the political heat for it, but that was the first trial balloon they sent down here. … Their line of argument was, well, the cost of food relative to what we thought it would be has come down, so people on food stamps are getting a pretty good deal in comparison to what we thought they were going to get. Well isn’t that nice. Some poor bastard is going to get a break for a change."
The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
WPI's 111th Congress, First Session At-A-Glance: Legislative Action Affecting Women and Families
Women’s Policy, Inc. has produced an excellent summary of legislative action affecting women and their families in the first session of the 111th Congress (2009).
Read this wonderful recap for the latest substantive legislation action on the following issues:
Adoption
Appropriations
Breast Cancer
Federal budget
Child Support
Children’s Health Insurance
Domestic violence
Early childhood education
Employment
Equal Pay
Family and Medical Leave
Hate crimes
Health Care Reform
HIV/AIDS
Housing
Indian Health
Infant Mortality
International Women’s Day
Juvenile Justice
Microloans made to women-owned small businesses
Military families
Missing children
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
National Women’s History Month
Nutrition programs
Ovarian cancer
Paid sick days
Postpartum Depression
Science, Techonolgy, Engineering and mathematics education
Sexual Assault
Small Business
Stalking
Teen Dating Violence
Violence against women
Women and business
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Preliminary Target List to Stop Stupak Amendment in Senate
It's my understanding that Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Bob Casey (D-PA) are considering proposing an amendment to the Senate's healthcare reform bill that would resemble the disastrous anti-choice Stupak-Pitts Amendment that passed in the House bill. The strategy to defeat this middle class abortion ban must have several prongs.
First, we must convince Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), an anti-choice member in the re-election race of his life, to NOT put any Stupak-like provision into the Senate bill. He is currently working to combine the HELP committee bill and the Finance committee bill, neither of which has a Stupak-like provision. If Reid is truly just the "mixer" as he says, then adding Stupak should not even be a question -- he can only combine the bills, not add new elements. In fact, the Finance bill has already addressed this question by including the House's Capps abortion-neutral language, so if Reid were to add Stupak-like language it would be a radical change to the combined bill. You can call the Majority Leader's office at 202-224-5556, and ask that he not add a Stupak-like language to the combined Senate bill.
Second, at this point it looks like there are roughly 31 senators who would likely agree to a Stupak-like amendment. That means, for an amendment strategy (assuming Reid does not add Stupak to the underlying reform bill), the anti-choicers would need to find at least 29 more votes to clear the Senate's 60 vote cloture hurdle. So, calls need to be made to senators to firm up their support against the addition of any Stupak-like provision in the Senate healthcare reform bill. Given the confusion many of the House members have expressed post-Stupak vote, its critical senators understand that Stupak IS NOT HYDE codified. It is a monumental overreach, and results in not only a middle class abortion ban but leaves poor women out in the cold as well. Further, the Stupak amendment would make abortion the only legal medical procedure expressly forbidden in the healthcare reform bill, leaving women worse off before reform when it comes to reproductive health than they are now.
See the list below:
Senate Target List
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Mark Begich (D-AK)
Bob Casey (D-PA)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Arlen Specter (D-PA)
Mark Warner (D-VA)
Jim Webb (D-VA)
Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121, and ask for your senator's office. Tell them you opposed the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House, and are calling to urge the senator to NOT support the inclusion of any such provision in the Senate healthcare reform bill.
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
There's Something Rotten on C Street: The Family Goes Bipartisan
Don't look now, but embattled Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) has moved out of the Family's C Street, DC enclave. Apparently he did not want to bring more attention on the Family and the C Street frat house while his ethics investigation on the horizon -- you know, where they look into whether he and his parents paid off his staffer mistress, her staffer husband, and their son. Yeah, that ethics investigation.
But there is so much more to this C Street nonsense. Actually, I wish it was nonsense, but actually its an evangelical gathering of right wing Republicans and conserva-Dems that plot legislation together. For example, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), authors of the lately lamented middle class abortion ban known as the Stupak amendment to the House Democrats health care reform bill.
Check out this latest piece on the The Family by the Rachel Maddow Show. WARNING: It might make you throw up a little in your mouth.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Stop the Stupak Anti-Choice Amendment to Health Care Reform!
House Democrats bowed to pressure from anti-abortion rights Democrats and the Council of Catholic Bishops early this morning and agreed to let the Stupak amendment be offered to their healthcare bill. This anti-choice amendment will ban the public plan from covering abortions and prohibit insurance companies who participate in the new exchanges from offering abortion coverage.
Here is the target list for the Stupak Amendment, which would actually leave women worse off under health care reform -- when it comes to abortion care -- than we are now!! Call 202-2234-3121, and ask for the office of your representative and tell them VOTE NO on Stupak!
Target List
Arcuri (D, NY-24)
Bean (D, IL-08)
Bishop, S. (D, GA-02)
Boswell (D, IA-03)
Butterfield (D, NC-01)
Cardoza (D, CA-18)
Chandler (D, KY-06)
Cooper (D, TN-05)
Costa (D, CA-20)
Doyle (D, PA-14)
Edwards, C. (D, TX-17)
Etheridge (D, NC-02)
Gordon (D, TN-06)
Kratovil (D, MD-01)
Langevin (D, RI-02)
McMahon (D, NY-13)
Michaud (D, ME-02)
Minnick (D, ID-01)
Neal (D, MA-02)
Nye (D, VA-02)
Obey (D, WI-07)
Owens (D, NY-23)
Ruppersberger (D, MD-02)
Ryan, T. (D, OH-17)
Salazar (D, CO-03)
Space (D, OH-18)
Unknown
Biggert (R, IL-13)
Carney (D, PA-10)
Castle (R, DE-AL)
Cuellar (D, TX-28)
Davis, A. (D, AL-07)
Dent (R, PA-15)
Ellsworth (D, IN-08)
Frelinghuysen (R, NJ-11)
Kirk (R, IL-10)
Lynch (D, MA-09)
Pomeroy (D, ND-AL)
Snyder (D, AR-02)
Tanner (D, TN-08)
Visclosky (D, IN-01)
Leaning anti-choice
Altmire (D, PA-04)
Barrow (D, GA-12)
Berry (D, AR-01)
Boccieri (D, OH-16)
Bright (D, AL-02)
Capito (R, WV-02)
Donnelly (D, IN-02)
Hill (D, IN-09)
Jenkins (R, KS-02)
Kildee (D, MI-05)
Lance (R, NJ-07)
Lee, C. (R, NY-26)
Matheson (D, UT-02)
Mollohan (D, WV-01)
Ortiz (D, TX-27)
Paulsen (R, MN-03)
Perriello (D, VA-05)
Rahall (D, WV-03)
Ross (D, AR-04)
Spratt (D, SC-05)
Wilson, C. (D, OH-06)
I hope EMILYs List recruits a primary opponent for Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI). Also, you can give Rep. Stupak a great wake up call by calling Stupak for Congress at 906-863-2800 and telling them you're digusted and plan to give generously to a prochoice opponent!
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, November 6, 2009
How Would House Health Care Reform Bill Affect YOU?
Click on the image below to walk through an interactive "choose-your-own-adventure" style program to learn how H.R.3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, will affect you and your family. The House will be voting this weekend, so it's not too late to call and make your voice heard. Simply call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202/224-3121 and ask for your representative's office. If your representative is a member of the Blue Dog Caucus, you especially need to call. Speak now or forever hold your peace -- at least until the Senate takes up the bill.
Copyright 2009. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Strike One Against the Military-Industrial Complex: F-22 Raptor Finally Eliminated
The F-22 Raptor is a virtually useless paperweight of a fighter jet that can't communicate with any other American aircraft and melts in the rain. Oh yeah, they also cost $356 million EACH, and are made in 44 different states in an effort to make it program too big to fail to politicians worried about losing jobs in their districts.
Well, it took a fight, but the Raptor is no more. The program is defunded, and the Pentagon will buy no more of these useless aircraft. The story of the Raptor is an excellent example of the Military-Industrial Complex gone horribly awry. Take a look at this marvelous Rachel Maddow Show segment that highlights this scary taxpayer ripoff that has finally been ended -- sort of.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Newest Progressive Superstar in Congress: Rep. Alan Grayson Tells it Like It Is on Healthcare
Freshman Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) made waves a week or so ago by characterizing the Republicans health care plan as the "hope you die quickly" plan. House Republicans demanded that he apologize, and not only did he not cave in, Rep. Grayson has picked up the gauntlet and smacked the Republicans upside the head. Just Thursday, Rep. Grayson, now also an Internet sensation, made another floor statement and put forward some hard truths to both Democrats and Republicans. Bravo to the distinguished gentleman from Florida. Take a look.
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Obama Health Insurance Reform Plan in Four Minutes
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
DC Briefs: ACORN, Joe Wilson and the Chamber of Commerce Met in a Bar...
Ivan Marte, ex-chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Hispanic Assembly, announced he is quitting the Republican Party because he was embarrassed by Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-SC) “you lie” outburst.
Watch how SNL tackles the anatomy of Joe Wilson's "You Lie!" comment.
The rest of the story from the Washington Post: How the ACORN 'pimp and hooker' videos came about.
Pacific Gas & Electric quits the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because it disagrees with the Chamber's aggressive opposition to the climate change bill.
The latest consequence of this recession: the tough job market is splitting up couples and families as they hunt for work.
A new report from the Bureau on Labor Statistics shows that the wage gap between men and women working full time is persistent. In 2007, the average woman made almost 78 cents for each dollar earned by her male counterpart. According to newly released 2008 figures, that number now stands at just over 77 cents for each dollar earned by a man. This drop is statistically significant, according to the Department of Labor.
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tom Delay on DWTS: It Burns, My Eyes, It Burns!
Former Republican Majority Whip Tom Delay, so famous for his strong-arm floor management that he was nicknamed 'The Hammer,' made his debut on Dancing with the Stars this week. It is an uncomfortable viewing experience to say the least. Worse, the indicted former congressman from Texas' song choice was 'Wild Thing.' The dance was supposed to be a cha cha, but really -- especially when he shakes his ass and plays air guitar -- it's more of an ugh ugh. While I guess I have to give him props for the effort and the guts, my eyes still watered when I watched Delays 'moves.' Warning, young children should not be exposed. Two-time champ Cheryl Burke got screwed when she got stuck with 'The Hammer.'
Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Obama Joint Session Speech: Resources for Analysis
While this wasn't truly a State of the Union, President Barack Obama's speech to a Joint Session of Congress tonight was still the political equivalent of the Super Bowl. The pressure was on, the rivalries were clear, the nation was tuned in -- and the newly-minted president delivered in spades. Below are some great pieces to help you analyze the speech's impact and import.
Quotable Quotes: Speech Transcript
Winners and Losers: Which federal programs and agencies got verbal real estate, and which didn't?
Shades of Grey: Fact Checking the Speech
He Said What? Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and The Republican Response
Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Battle Royale from Our Friends at OpenCongress: The Must Have Accessory this Holiday Season
There are some great sites on the Internet to help you track the political issues of your choice, as well as the hottest issues du jour. One of the best things about the web is that it allows people quicker, faster access to information than ever before -- so you, too, can help change the world, one person at a time. Many of the best sites serve a critical watchdog function by educating and informing the populous. Only a truly informed electorate can make good decisions and solid choices -- but the information needs to come from respected sources, too. One of the best, most trusted sources for that information comes from our friends at OpenCongress.gov. And, just in time for the season of giving -- but mostly just in time for the new Congress teeing up on January 6th -- they've introduced Battle Royale. Read their missive below -- a holiday gift for us all.
Dec. 11, 2008
Hi everyone,
We just launched a really fun new tool on OpenCongress called "Battle Royale" -- take a look ::
http://www.opencongress.org/battle_royale
Like a Billboard Chart for legislation or a Digg for Congress, Battle Royale lets you see what bills people are loving or hating.
Battle Royale builds on all the votes and comments that OpenCongress users generate every day. For the first time ever, we’re creating a dynamic data set of public opinion on Congress. You can easily see:
- The most- and least-popular bills in Congress, with more than two thousand bills in the mix
- The highest- and lowest-rated senators and representatives, including your own elected officials
- The most tracked and commented-on bills, issues, and Members of Congress
… for more info, visit today’s announcement on our blog: http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/782
… and if you have a Digg account, give a quick digg and help spread the word:
http://digg.com/politics/Digg_for_Bills_in_Congress
This new tool is a key part of our work to harness the social wisdom created on OpenCongress and make it accessible & useful across the web. Dive in to vote up or down on bills and lawmakers you care about, see what’s hot with our open user community, and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
-David & the OC Team
http://www.opencongress.org/
Posts
