Our Elected Officials are Simply LEECHES, even in Death

Byrd’s family will receive remainder of his salary

The must-pass spending bill pending in the Senate includes a little-noticed provision that would pay the family of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd for the salary he would have commanded in the next fiscal year.

The Senate handbook says that upon the death of a senator who had been serving in office, “in the next appropriations bill, an item will be inserted for a gratuity to be paid to the widow(er) or other next- of-kin, in the amount of one-year’s compensation.”

As a result, the bill calls for “equal shares” of the late senator’s $193,400 salary to be split between Byrd’s seven children and grandchildren.

The practice has been long followed by both parties and in both chambers, including in 2007 when the widows of the late Wyoming GOP Sen. Craig Thomas and the late Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) each received $165,200 for the salary that the two men would have received.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0910/Byrds_family_will_receive_remainder_of_his_salary.html

Funny that Politico mentions 2 GOP widows who received this benefit, but they don’t mention whether Vicki Kennedy received the same last year after Ted died, or did she decline it, which could be noted as well.

With Teddy Gone, Obama Administration Approves “Wind Farm” off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

The Obama administration has approved what would be the nation’s first offshore wind farm, off Cape Cod, inching the U.S. closer to harvesting an untapped domestic energy source — the steady breezes blowing along its vast coasts.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced his decision Wednesday in Boston, clearing the way for a 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound. Cape Wind was in its ninth year of federal review, and Salazar stepped in early this year to bring what he called much-needed resolution to the bitterly contested proposal.

“We are beginning a new direction in our nation’s energy future,” Salazar said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100428/ap_on_bi_ge/us_cape_wind

Mass. Governor & Secretary to Certify Senate Election; Scott Brown to be Sworn in on 02-04

     The special election for the vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts was two weeks ago. Senator-elect Scott Brown has made the official request for final certification of the results. In Massachusetts, the Governor’s Council certifies the results, said Council including the Governor and the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

     The Office of Governor Deval Patrick has confirmed that the results will be certified tomorrow, and Scott Brown is expected to be sworn in as the junior Senator of Massachusetts by late afternoon on Thursday, February 4th. Under the law that Massachusetts had revised to make sure that Gov. Patrick could appoint a temporary replacement after Sen. Kennedy died, the State of Massachusetts has only had one Senator (Kerry) since the January 19th election….. technically Sen. Paul Kirk’s temporary appointment to the Senate ended upon Scott Brown’s elections, effectively nullifying any votes that he has made in the last two weeks.

Channelling the “Kennedy” Spirit

     Say what you want about Ted Kennedy, but rest assured that he would NOT have supported this one-sided obamanation we refer to as ObamaCare. As Sen. Jihn McCain pointed out, Kennedy would have found the common ground to use as the foundation for legislation.

     In the long debates in the Senate, Sen. Max Baucus appears to be “literally” invoking Kennedy’s spirit(s)….. who has the keys to Teddy’s office?

A Time for Leadership

     In a few short hours, the Senate will convene, the roll will be called, and Sen. Harry Reid, flanked by the likes of Dodd, Schumer, and Durbin, will proclaim a “historic” moment in history as the Seante passes its version of ObamaCare, a travesty against the American pubic who have overwhelmingly rebuked it. The tears will be shed and the voices will be choked as the name of the blessed saint of healthcare, St. Ted of Kennedy, is invoked over and over again, ad nauseum. They will then disappear into the nethers of the holiday season that Reid used as his scare tactic.

      Amidst this backdrop, with the bribes for votes for the “must do now” legislation, Nelson’s folly and Landrieu’s Louisiana Purchase (to name just a few), we will see that among our elected officials no leader has emerged. There will be no one Senator on the Democrtas’ side that shows the “profile of courage” that would place him or her among the ranks of great leaders. There will not be a Jefferson or a Lincoln among them. No Rosa Parks will sit down and force Harry Reid to stop this insane process. There will be no leader of conviction, no Wilberforce among these cowards.

       Our healthcare system needs reform, of that there is not a doubt. But it does not require us to forsake our freedoms, our blood-earned liberties, to do that reform. It would take the brave words of one Democrat at 7am, this Christmas Eve, to save us from the battle that will lie ahead in the coming weeks on Capitol Hill. Is there just one leader among the 60 Democrats?

Bishop Disappointed in Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s Comments about “Spiritual Conversation” 3 Years Ago

Washington (CNN) — Rhode Island’s top Roman Catholic leader has asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy to stop taking Communion over his support for abortion rights, the diocese said Sunday.

In a statement issued Sunday, Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin said he told Kennedy in February 2007 that it would be “inappropriate” for him to continue receiving the fundamental Catholic sacrament, “and I now ask respectfully that you refrain from doing so.”

Kennedy, a Democrat, is the son of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy and a scion of the most prominent Catholic family in modern U.S. politics.

In an interview published Sunday, Patrick Kennedy told the Providence Journal that Tobin had barred him from receiving communion and instructed priests in the diocese not to administer the sacrament “because of the positions that I’ve taken as a public official.”

Tobin, in a statement issued in response to the Kennedy interview, said his advice to the congressman was “pastoral and confidential,” and he was surprised that Kennedy chose to discuss it publicly.

“I am disappointed that the congressman would make public my request of nearly three years ago that sought to provide solely for his spiritual well-being,” he said.

See article: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/22/kennedy.abortion/

Harry Reid to American Public: Screw You, I have the Votes

     The American public is beng one step closer to being permanently SCREWED by our elected officials– you know, our EMPLOYEES. And we’re not even getting a kiss with it!

     Despite the unease that several Democrats have about the robust public option, and the abortion language contatined in the Harry Reid legislation, Harry Reid says that he has the 60 vote commitments to bring the bill forward to the floor for debate. Democrat Sen. Mary Landraeu of Louisiana, whose vote was secured by a $100 million dollar earmark in the bill for Louisiana, Sen. Ben Nlson, and Sen. Blanche Lincoln all have publicly stated that they will vote to move the bill forward for debate, but that by no means is that considered a vote for the final bill.

      If the 60 votes move the bill forward to the floor tonight, the deabte and modifications will begin during the coming weeks. To make amendments, the votes on each amendment need the simple majority of 51 votes to pass. But when the final product is ready for vote by the Senate, Harry Reid once again must get the 60 votes to pass the bill, and move it on to conference with the House bill that Nancy pelosi pushed through earlier this month. Democaratic strategist Bob Beckel says that even with the certain changes already being negotiated, 60 votes is going to be a hard stretch for Reid, especially with 2010 elections looming ahead.

       Harry Reid is going to strive to make sure that the legislation is pushed through the Senate and through conference, and then votes in both houses before the Massachusetts Seante election on January 19th, for fear of a Republican winning the seat of the late Ted Kennedy. Of course, the Lion’s name was being invoked ad nauseum throughout today’s debate.

Update: Harry Reid’s Screwing of America passed the “Cloture” phase, 60-39. Debate will begin after Thanksgiving!

“I Have a Sister who can see Iran from her House!!”

      Martha Coakley is running for the Senate seat that Sen. Ted Kennedy occupied for nearly five decades. She is in the lead for the January 19th special election.

    In light of the attacks on Gov. Sarah Palin’s “I can see Russia from my house”, Ms. Coakley’s explanation of her foreign policy experience makes one wonder where Tina Fey and MSNBC are right now:

Martha Coakley is the front-runner for the Dem nomination for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat.  In a recent debate, asked about her lack of foreign policy experience, the first credential Coakley offered in response was that “I have a sister who lives overseas, and she’s been in England and now lives in the Middle East.”

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2009/10/27/martha-coakleys-sister-can-see-middle-east-her-house

Mass. Legislature Approves Senate Succession change, but there is a catch!

     Yesterday it was reported that the Massachusetts Legislature had approved the changes in the Senate succession laws that would enable the present Governor Deval Patrick to appoint an interim replacement for the Senate seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. As previously mentioned, this was a move of political hypocrisy, since the legislature had changed the law to require a special election instead of Governor appointment to fill a vacancy, and the change was done to keep the Republican Governor from appointing someone if Se. John Kerry had won the Presidency in 2004.

      Rumors have circulated that Gov. Patrick will appoint Kennedy friend Paul Kirk to fill the vacancy until the January 19th, 2010 special election.

      But the legislation has created a slight quandry for the Governor. It seems that he must wait “90 days” before naming an appointee, unless he declares that the vacancy is an EMERGENCY. Like all good legislation, “EMERGENCY” is subject to interpretation.Since the special election law requires the special election be held 145-160 days after the vacancy, the 90 day rule obviously doesn’t do much to fill the gap that the Democrats were concerned about. In the Kennedy seat, the 90 days would be about 4 weeks before the special election.

        Gov. Patrick, should he declare the vacancy an emergency, will open the court doors for the Massachusetts Republican Party to challenge the legislation and the appointment, possiby keeping the Kennedy seat vacant until the evening of January 19th.

Massachusetts Pushes for New Senator while West Virginia goes on Byrd Watch

     The Massachusetts’ Legislature has paid homage to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy by approving his “last request” that they hypcritically reverse the law that he had them change in 2004 with regard to the Senate succession procedure in the State. Remember, Kennedy feared in 2004 that his Senate buddy, John Kerry would win the White House and the Republican Governor, Mitt Romney, would have the opportunity to appoint a Republican to Kerry’s seat. A mere 4 years later, that had come back to haunt them, and Kennedy urged the Massachusetts Legislature to reverse the law so the present Democratic Governor could appoint a replacement to Kennedy’s seat until the special election in January 2010.

     Today, the Massachusetts’ Legislature took that hypocritical step, and passed the law change that gives Gov. Deval Patrick the rught to appoint an interim Senator. The Republican Party in Massachusetts has been preparing in anticipation of this action, so the replacement may still not come to fruition immediately.

     Of course, the intent here is to ensure the Obama Administration a filibuster-proof majority (60 votes) in the senate as the health care debates over ObamaCare heat up. At the same time, Sen. Harry Reid has reiterated his threat to use the tool of reconciliation (51 vote majority) if the Senate Finance Committee does not get their act together.

      But that 60 vote position is a tight rope act at the moment. Even as the State of Massachusetts moved to quickly get a replacement into the Senate, the State of West Virginia has gone into “Byrd-watching” mode, with the hospitalization of their senior statesman, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) after a fall in his home. Sen. Byrd, at 91, has been an ardent opposer of some of the “power-grabbing” that he saw in the Obama White House, but as a close associate of Ted Kennedy, the Democrats have been assured of his support for healthcare reform.

      However, Sen. Byrd is the Senator until he resigns or dies, or his term ends, whichever comes first. Yet the Senator cannot vote from the confines of his hospital room. Yes, West Virginia has a Democratic Governor, so the Senate will undoubtedly get a Democratic replacement for Sen. Byrd. It is still a waiting game!