Congress likely to give shutdown workers back pay - COLLECTIVE CHAOS

WASHINGTON (AP) — A partial government shutdown enters its fifth day, with Congress convening for a session that promises no progress in breaking the impasse but will at least offer back pay to furloughed federal workers.

The GOP House is scheduled Saturday to vote on legislation backed by the White House and congressional Democrats that would make sure the 800,000 sidelined government employees would get their pay when the shutdown ends. The Senate is expected to clear it later, even as early as Saturday, for President Barack Obama's signature.

Lawmakers keep replaying the same script on Capitol Hill: House Republicans pass piecemeal bills to reopen popular and politically sensitive programs — on Friday, disaster relief and food aid for the poor — while Democrats insist that the House vote on a straightforward Senate-passed measure to reopen all of government.

"But the far right of the Republican Party won't let Speaker John Boehner give that bill a yes-or-no vote," Obama said in his Saturday radio and Internet address. "Take that vote. Stop this farce. End this shutdown now."

There seemed little chance of that. For one thing, flinching by either side on the shutdown might be seen as weakening one's hand in an even more important fight looming just over the horizon as the combatants in Washington increasingly shifted their focus to a mid month deadline for averting a first-ever default.

"This isn't some damn game," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said as the White House and Democrats held to their position of agreeing to negotiate only after the government is reopened and the $16.7 trillion debt limit raised. Republicans pointed to a quote in The Wall Street Journal from an anonymous White House official that "we are winning ... It doesn't really matter to us" how long the shutdown lasts.

NRA gets on board ...........

After a last-ditch appeal by the White House fell flat Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters this morning that he will proceed on a vote Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for withholding certain documents related to the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation.

"The United States government ran a gunrunning operation that has resulted in hundreds of deaths," Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "Brian Terry's family has a right to know what happened. The American people have a right to know what happened and we're going to proceed."

The contempt resolution passed out of committee strictly down party lines and the debate Thursday promises to be a bitter dispute as well. Propounding the partisanship is the National Rifle Association, which announced last week it "will consider this vote in our future candidate evaluations." 

While that warning could persuade some Democrats to vote with the GOP, Boehner said the NRA has "no role" in the contempt vote as far as he's concerned, but rather the unprecedented move "is about getting to the truth."

SOTU Drinking Game

When President Obama's fourth State of the Union address was taking place across all the major networks, some were following along playing the State of the Union drinking game.

The instructions are too numerous to list in their entirety, but here are some highlights:

Drink once every time you hear "progress," "let me be clear" or "make no mistake"
If you hear "debt," borrow a shot from a friend, promise you'll really pay it back this time
If you hear "deficit," finish your drink; borrow the drink of the person next to you and drink it too
Drink twice when the President calls a tax increase "asking someone to pay more"
When he adds a color qualifier to jobs ("green" jobs, "blue collar" jobs), drink one drink of the same color
When they show the First Lady, drink once. When they show the First Lady's arms, drink once, delivered by bicep curl
Drink once when they show Speaker Boehner. Drink again if he's crying.
Drink once if they show any of your Congressional representatives, then pat yourself on the back for being able to identify your Congressional representatives.

Should have made for a more entertaining SOTU, and if you fully comprehend the "actual" State of the Union, might go easier if you had a "buzz" on.

Author Schweizer: Pelosi Made Killing Off of Most In-Demand IPO in History

By Paul Scicchitano and Ashley Martella

As Congress weighs a measure that would ban insider trading among lawmakers and federal workers, the conservative author whose book touched off a national maelstrom on the topic, insists that the practice rises to the level of corruption.

“There’s no question about it. We are supposed to be a country governed by laws, not by men,” charges conservative author Peter Schweizer in an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV.

A research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Schweizer chronicles alleged abuses by members of both the House and the Senate in his new book, “Throw Them All Out,” which was heavily featured on “60 Minutes” with reporter Steve Kroft going after leaders of the two parties in the House on camera.

Both Speaker John Boehner and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied they had done anything wrong. But officials have been considering various measures to stop the practice, including the STOCK Act, which has attracted wide support.

“There’s no laws that are broken. They’re free to take these sweetheart, so-called friends and family [Initial Public Offering” IPO stock,” explains Schweizer. “One of the reforms I propose is that we need to ban them because they are doled out to friends in terms of people looking for favors.”

Schweizer says there should be a “zero tolerance policy” for any lawmaker who benefits financially from knowledge acquired through their House or Senate jobs, similar to trading rules that have existed for years with respect to corporate executives.

So VERY True

More about the PEP RALLY

These were some replies on a blog in regards to the fact that Speaker Boehner chose not to ride on AFONE and attend the political rally, sorry, memorial service in Arizona. Damned if you DO and damned if you DON'T.

"It was a political rally with mention of the victims. Not very classy or respectful."


"I am sure that the Giffords family was more appreciative of the presence of her good friends, Pelosi, Gillibrand, and Wasserman Schultz."

"Thank you, Speaker Boehner for not attending the farcial memorial turned rally."

"Boehner did well to forego appearing at the typical Democrat hootenanny/memorial service. These people do not do “propriety.”

"Thank God for John Boehner, who is looking out for the decency of the office he holds. Presidential “perks” did not dissuade him from his own priorities. How rare is that?"

"A memorial with applause lines and extended applause in Obama’s speech? I’m glad Boehner had the decency not to go."

"Why? From what I saw it was a Pep Rally at a PAAARTA School. Has to be one of the most disturbing displays of inappropriate behaviour I have EVER seen."

"Why should Republican Boehner attend a Democrat political rally? It makes NO sense."