chat away: musical early st. patrick’s day edition

First a little Chieftains.

Now, of course, some Van the Man.

Nothing says “St. Paddy’s Day” like The Pogues.

And finally, the late lamented Kirsty MacColl, who was English, but should have been Irish.

And no, no Enya.

Consider this your evening open thread.

The farce of John Boehner

These were the words of the second in line to the Presidency as the deadline for the sequester neared: “We should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and begins to do something.”

In a situation which bordered on the surreal, where draconian cuts—which were never intended to come into effect—were, in fact, set to come into effect, Speaker of the House John Boehner, weighted down with the stress of the moment, had what could only be described as a public political psychotic break.

Faced with the pressure of a self-inflicted doomsday deadline—because, don’t forget, the Republican-controlled House voted for the sequester as a mechanism to force a compromise on spending and taxes—and faced with a caucus which increasingly didn’t listen to him, he blamed the Senate for failing to act on two bills passed in the House to avoid the sequester.

Of course, he failed to mention certain salient facts. Firstly, the bills passed in the House were never going to pass the Democratically controlled Senate, and certainly never going to survive a presidential veto. Secondly, and more importantly, those “fixes” were passed in the previous Congress. They were dead letters, as pertinent to the realities of the new Congress as flat-earth theory to modern astrophysics. Mr. Boehner was putting forth a position which he should have known, as Speaker of the House, had no bearing on the current situation. The Senate had to pass the Violence Against Women Act again in the new session because the bill it passed in the previous Congress lapsed due to inaction by the GOP-led House. Not only wouldn’t the Senate pass the House bill on avoiding sequester; it couldn’t; the bills had expired, and new legislation was needed. And, thirdly, all spending bills have to pass the House first. The idea that it was incumbent upon the Senate to do the House’s work for it is something new in American politics. One branch of the legislature has, seemingly, abdicated all responsibility for legislating, merely waiting for the other body to take all the work upon itself.

tod toon time

*****

******

******

******

******

******

******

Chat Away

******

February was indeed a good month…and so is Friday.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama record a message for ABC “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts, in the Library of the White House, Feb. 19, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama talk with Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden in the Blue Room of the White House before the National Governors Association Dinner, Feb. 24, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama watches as First Lady Michelle Obama playfully greets him on the Colonnade of the White House, Feb. 12, 2013. Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady, and Personal Aide Kristin Jones, left, accompany Mrs. Obama. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama hugs students during a visit to a pre-kindergarten classroom at the College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center in Decatur, Ga., Feb. 14, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visit with former Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and his family in the Oval Office prior to a ceremony to award Romesha the Medal of Honor, Feb. 11, 2013. Remesha’s family members, from left, are: son Colin Romesha, 2; daughter Gwen Romesha, 4; wife Tammy Romesha, daughter Dessi Romesha, 11; and mother Tish Rogers. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama greets veterans of the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) in the Oval Office, Feb. 27, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama throws a basketball in the air during departure photos with Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, and her family in the Oval Office, Feb. 22, 2013. Watching the President, from left, are: Rian Power-Sunstein, Cass Sunstein, Samatha Power, Declan Sunstein, James Bourke, and Veronica Delany. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

******

More Pete Souza genius here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/sets/72157632984452357/with/8553943909/

Rise and Shine

 

WH introduces a “Being Biden” series, telling stories behind photos taken through the years
http://

http://http://www.whitehouse.gov/being-biden
http://www.whitehouse.gov/being-biden

*****
SOS Kerry Speaking Norwegian 4 2 Secs, lived w/ his father in FS. By my count that’s 6 lang so far

http://t.co/NnCH1FWtZK
Jen Psaki training to take over SOS Kerry’s press secretary

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/psaki-in-training-for-state-department-job/2013/03/11/404c42d6-8a5f-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_blog.html

*****
White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett with the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project team

http://wh.gov/ooaB

*****
Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s cruel budget knocks 40-50 million people of health care

http://t.co/OMHklrA4px TOON PROVIDED BY SWBLUEGA
Cable Obsessively Covers Cuts To WH Tours, Virtually Ignores Cuts To Programs For The Poor

http://thkpr.gs/ZCcivf
White House Points To Republicans Bemoaning Sequester Back Home

http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/white-house-points-to-republicans-bemoaning-sequester-back-h
Justices warn spending cuts put critical legal services at risk

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/14/politics/supreme-court-spending-cuts/index.html

*****
Solar power has record year in 2012, with total U.S. capacity surging 40%, despite setbacks

http://t.co/7pfA7wL0p9
Last year @ENERGYSTAR certified buildings helped save $2.7 billion in annual utility bills
http://t.co/LGKhAVbF3D
PBO approved 1100MW of new Solar on fed land, more power than Nuclear produced in 30 years.

http://t.co/tQGVeqkEBj

*****
Healthcare Providers and Health Information Technology Infographic, part of the Stimulus

*****
Iraq War: 190,000 lives, $2.2 trillion up to 6 trillion eventually affecting Veteran’s benefits

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-war-costs-u-more-2-trillion-study-144627599.html

Brown University Study: http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/03/warcosts
Command threat advisory, sent by Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. after Karzai remarks.
http://t.co/nicimOUBiq
MoD admits campaign in Afghanistan is ‘an unwinnable war’ Damming report

http://t.co/fnLXTAK1D6

*****
@scottprouty (47%) Videographer has received death threats and legal bills,may have to move.
http://t.co/XoI0BaEQHH
If you would like to help him out here is the link to his legal fund http://www.gofundme.com/1ix17c

*****

Pres Obama tomorrow visits the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois for a speech on energy policy at 230pm/ET.

*****

GM TOD, WP was invaded by the Matrix yesterday on my end, and ended up erasing my thread 4 separate times……. I hope this turns out ok for everyone, I was not going to waste another god knows how long trying to post this again. I do not know how this will show up, their may be some glitches, please be patient with me I’m running blind on this one…………Thanks LovelyPlains.