2013 - Page 27 of 106

Better than Average Odds the Government Will Shut Down

September 16, 2013 Buck Banks

60%

The chance that the federal government will shut down this month, according to Stan Collender, a budget expert.

Majority of Americans Approve of Job Kerry is Doing

September 16, 2013 Buck Banks

60%

Of Americans approve of the job John Kerry is doing as secretary of state, while 31% disapprove. His job approval rating eclipses those of President Barack Obama (45%) and Vice President Joe Biden (51%).

The Mysogeny Prodigy

September 16, 2013 Buck Banks

Not getting the Fed nod must’ve been a bummer
For former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
But his sexist comments on women
Opened the door for Janet Yellen,
And just proved of the two Summers is dumber.

Sun Sets on Summers’ Fed Nomination

September 16, 2013 Buck Banks

I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation’s ongoing economic recovery.

— Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, pulling out of the contest to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Majority Now Opposes Obamacare — Because They Don’t Understand It

September 16, 2013 Buck Banks

53%

Of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s health care law while 42% approve, a new USA Today/Pew Research survey finds. Key findings: “The 53% of the public who disapprove of the law are divided over what they would like elected officials who oppose the law to do now that the law has begun to take effect. About half of disapprovers (27% of the public overall) say these lawmakers ‘should do what they can to make the law work as well as possible,’ but nearly as many (23% of the public) say these officials ‘should do what they can to make the law fail.'”

Congressional Rank-and-File Resistance Bodes Ill for the Fall

September 16, 2013 Buck Banks

It’s almost as though it was the end of traditional power. I’ve been here for 20 years, and I’ve never seen so much of a repudiation of the conventional sources of power in the legislative or executive branch. It portends for a much more chaotic fall.

— Rep. James Moran (D-VA), quoted by the Washington Post, on the rank-and-file resistance to both President Obama and Speaker John Boehner on Capitol Hill.

Ted Cruz Calls for Electing a Senate of 100 Jim Crow Racists and Homophobes Like the Late Jesse Helms

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 Jon Ponder

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Back in the Bush era, GOP Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi lost his job as Senate majority leader after he remarked that the United States “wouldn’t have had all these problems” with African Americans if only S.C. Sen. Strom Thurmond had been elected president when Thurmond ran on the segregationist Dixiecrat Party ticket in 1948.

But Thurmond, who had turned 100 years old at the time Lott made that career-killing remark — had long ago swung decidedly to the left on civil rights, in part because he needed African-American votes to get elected and possibly because at least one of his children was black.

[…]

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Pope’s No Dope

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 Buck Banks

Pope Francis is cool — his own luggage he carries,
And he eschews limos for cabs, buses or ferries.
And when it comes to celibacy
He’s got some flexibility,
He’s willing to talk about priests getting married!

Cruz: We Need More Jesse Helmses

September 13, 2013 Buck Banks

We need 100 more like Jesse Helms.

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by Mother Jones, on the U.S. Senate he would like.

Congress’ Approval Rating on the Rise

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 Buck Banks

19%

Of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, up significantly from 14% last month and the highest in any month since October 2012, according to Gallup.
Congress’ approval rating has exceeded the current 19% only a few times in the last three years, including the all-time low ratings of 10% in February 2012 and August 2012.

60%

The chance that the federal government will shut down this month, according to Stan Collender, a budget expert.

60%

Of Americans approve of the job John Kerry is doing as secretary of state, while 31% disapprove. His job approval rating eclipses those of President Barack Obama (45%) and Vice President Joe Biden (51%).

I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation’s ongoing economic recovery.

— Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, pulling out of the contest to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reports.

53%

It’s almost as though it was the end of traditional power. I’ve been here for 20 years, and I’ve never seen so much of a repudiation of the conventional sources of power in the legislative or executive branch. It portends for a much more chaotic fall.

— Rep. James Moran (D-VA), quoted by the Washington Post, on the rank-and-file resistance to both President Obama and Speaker John Boehner on Capitol Hill.

We need 100 more like Jesse Helms.

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by Mother Jones, on the U.S. Senate he would like.

19%

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.