(Former) Member Of The Week

(Former) Member of the Week

I know we have taken our August Recess from Member of the Week … well more like June, July and August Recess but hey our debt ceiling was just fine, we deserved the hiatus. In any event we are back for this week’s installment of Member of the Week. Due to the fact that it is August and Members are being boring with their constituents (surprisingly everyone’s constituents happen to reside on a beach community in the East Coast and/or Hawaii…) we have decided to congratulate a Former M for MOW, Former Congressman George Nethercutt of Washington (the state, located somewhere to the west of the real Washington…DC). Nethercutt made headlines back in 1994 when he de-seated Speaker of the House Tom Foley, an occurance un-seen since 1862. But let’s keep things relevant folks. Nethercutt has just released a book (hymnal) entitled “In Tune With America: Our History in Song”.

That, to us, would be enough to gain F-MOW status, because who doesn’t want to read picture books or sing songs, ranging from Gutherie to Coldplay (Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” was conspicuously left out) and assume you’re being educated in political diatribe.

However, Nethercutt clinched his spot in MOW history in a short interview with Politico. Former Senator Nethercutt had some gems of responses, both insightful and awe-inspiring, presented here without comment:

Would you rather get the Oprah book club nod, hear that President Obama is reading your book or neither?

I choose Oprah over Obama--she has higher approval ratings.

Is there a politician whose writing you admire?

I admire the writings of President George W. Bush. He is forthright, humorous and insightful, reminding me of President Ronald Reagan's diary notations – principled, self-assured and fully committed to America.

Best last line in a book:

The last line from a classic book, "Gone with the Wind" is memorable and timeless: "After all, tomorrow is another day."

Rock on Nethercutt, after all tomorrow is a Thursday.

What The Frack?

Natural gas is often seen as a clean and safe alternative to most other domestic energy sources.  (Hey- nothing can go wrong when drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, right.....)  But the dark side of natural gas- hydraulic fracturing might just dampen your spirits.

Hydraulic fracturing or as the cool kids call it, fracking, (according to Wikipedia it may also be referred to as “frac jobs”) is a process that involved injecting water, sand and chemicals into shale rock, “fracturing” the rocks and releasing natural gas.  Advances in fracking techniques have helped generate an explosion in US natural gas production in the past few years, revolutionizing US energy markets.  With a surge in production, natural gas prices are dropping, making them cheap compared to oil.  According to the American Natural Gas Alliance, the US has more natural gas reserves than Saudi Arabia has oil reserves.   Natural gas is also a cornerstone to President Obama’s energy policy.

But this past Wednesday, thousands of gallons of chemical-laced fluids were spilled when drillers lost control of a well in Northern Pennsylvanian near Canton in Bradford County.  The thousand of gallons of the drilling fluid escaped containment and proceeded to crossover farmland, running into local streams.  Residents of the nearby Leroy Township were evacuated, though the Chesapeake Energy Corporation said no one was hurt.  The cause of the breach is unknown, but according to the Chesapeake Energy Corp, crews have reduced its flow.

In the past, environmentalists and residents near natural gas drilling sights have complained that fracking can pollute water supplies, citing blowouts similar to the one that happened this week.  Together, these have raised calls for increased regulations on the process of acquiring natural gas.   And the fracking fluid spill of this week just stokes the debate about whether fracking should continue unabated in the US.

A day before, the State of Pennsylvania asked state’s natural gas industry to halt disposing of millions of gallons of contaminated frack water through plants that discharge into streams and rivers.  Apparently all of the plants were ill-equipped to remove the pollutants from the frack fluids, after recent water tests suggest that the discharges could harm drinking water supplies and human health.  In other natural gas producing states, the frack fluids are injected deep underground into disposal wells.   In PA, most drilling water is trucked from well sites to sewer authorities, where it is partially treated and then discharged to be drinking water.

Meanwhile in Arkansas, two natural gas exploration companies have agreed to shutdown their injection wells as researchers study whether their operations are linked to the over 1,000 unexplained earthquakes in the region.  Injection wells dispose of the frack water when it can no longer be re-used. 

I mean we're not ones to preach, but it being almost Easter and all, we feel the need to drop some insight on all ya'll. If coal is the devil and clean energy is God's gift to the O-Zone, where does natural gas fit in? It is absolutley not the alternative answer that moderate Democrats were lauding just a few short months ago. And the EPA is planning to release regulations on them shortly (the EPA  stating they may or may not or could or i don't know will at some point, maybe, if they feel so compelled to do something.....shocked). Coal is the cheapest answer to the instant headache you get when you open your energy bill every month, natural gas as a (safe??? read above post) alternative to coal is really dwindling by the day. So let's all take a moment and think about the so called "alternatives" as we light our candles in our dining room to save electricity costs tonight.

Election Connection: 2012 Collection

Remember the 2008 Presidential election?  If you don’t you might want to check out another type of blog- there is a pretty good one about messed up cakes.  Anyway, OF COURSE you remember that election, probably because that election was not just a 2008 election; people started announcing their candidacy years in advance.  So we shouldn’t be surprised that people are already forming “exploratory committees” (basically seeing if they can raise enough dough to run).  And you shouldn’t be surprised we will be blogging about it.  (Check back in January 2013 if you don’t want to see any election coverage.)

The first member of our “Collection of Candidates” was going to be none other than Barack H. Obama, but we couldn’t find his birth certificate, so we are going with the man, the hair, the Donald. (Pictured in a mock up 10$ bill of the future, because if you were not born in the United States you shouldn’t be President and you SHOULD NOT be on money.  Take that Alex Hammy).

He currently tops all other Republicans in a GOP poll and in amazing facial expressions while firing people.   And apparently Mr. Trump has been preparing for this run for a while- he bought the domain: trump2012.com in 2004.  Also when you’ve got Christ on your side, you might as well.*

*In no way can we speak for Jesus Christ, but Donald Trump’s dad's actual name was Fred Christ Trump,  or it says so on his birth certificate (probably)

We’ve had so many questions since Mr. Trump started asking for a single piece of Hawaii certified paper- Will he really run? Is this some amazing publicity stunt that would only be attempted by Mr. Trump himself?  Does he really think that he is the best candidate for the job?  Is he even a Republican?  (In 1987, he took out full page ads in several newspapers criticizing the Reagan Administration- which is kinda a no-no for Republicans.)

But he isn’t exactly talking policy- nothing specific at least (hey! Isn’t that what Obama does all the time?)  His biggest issue is not taxes, or the recession, or the wars.  It’s a birth certificate.   It apparently doesn’t matter that Obama actually has produced a certificate of live birth and that most Republicans have dropped the issue (even Mrs. Palin herself has). 

Of course, the Donald hasn’t always been one for facts: his entire world is crazy exaggeration.  Is the best show on television really The Celebrity Apprentice? (Might be now that Lost is over…)  And these ridiculous claims even have Glenn Beck (who has made a ridiculous claim or two) talking: "I could walk around the streets of New York without pants, and I could get attention," Beck said of Trump's assertions "But that's not going to help me."

The thing about Donald Trump is that he was a reality star before there were reality stars and like most reality stars you cannot tell if he is very stupid, very oblivious, or just VERY VERY smart (cough Snooki cough).  Even Rush Limbaugh had to ask “What is he doing? What is his objective?”  Is it a plot to split GOP votes? Is it a publicity stunt? Will he actually run?? (Seriously, I cannot wait for May 22^nd because Celebrity Apprentice ends and I won’t have to look at Gary Busey in the commercials while I watch Parks and Recreation; also we might finally get a glimpse into Mr. Trump’s mind and figure out what’s up with the media parade about birth certificates?)

Of course we will all have to wait for a post- May 22^nd world to know if he will actually put his hat in the ring (figuratively speaking of course because The Donald never puts synthetic fiber on his worth-more-than-my-life head of God awful hair) and if he does, this blog will obviously have something to say about it.  Until then, channel the Donald by always combing your hair to the left, marrying multiple times (to Eastern Europeans only), buying hotels and dipping them in gold, and of course never backing down to any reverse psychology dare by Sharon Osbourne (" You won't run for President in 2012, you won't").

You're Fired!

On On to the Next One - Debt Ceiling Debate Part 1

So, we are partially funded for the foreseeable future (ahem 6 months), the EPA riders were not included, there was somewhat of a mutually beneficial accord set up between both sides, so you all must be asking yourself the same question "what's next to bitch about?". The answer of course is the debt-ceiling.

Now, if you are looking for answers on how to raise your debt ceiling after your weekend binge at Nordstrom’s, stop reading. However, if you are wondering what a debt ceiling is, what the debate will consist of, who the big players will be in the debates, and how this will affect you, then find a comfy chair, grab yourself a Celestial Seasoning's Vanilla Chamomile Tea (hoping shameless promotion will get TAG employees free tea), and read on.

Let me preface the Pulitzer Prize winning work below* (if I do say so myself) by saying that this is Part 1 in a series of multiple blogs on this topic. So don't be discouraged that you will only get TAG insights on it just once, and even before the debates begin, because we aren't going anywhere folks.
*votes still being tallied

The debt-ceiling, simply stated and inherent in its name, is basically the capped amount of money a government entity can borrow. Wait!? We don't just print money whenever we need it!? Nope, and please refer yourself to paragraph 2, sentence one of this blog, and enjoy the rest of your day. So today the US debt-ceiling is at $14.3 Trillion dollars, which is ridiculously low if you A. own a group of islands in the Caribbean B. bath in 100 dollar bills C. are Richard Branson. D. are an out of control first world country with spending and borrowing practices that have yet to be reined in.

The US owes today $14.23 trillion dollars, according to Timothy Geitner, Treasury Secretary, and I am inclined to believe him due to the fact that he is...treasury secretary... we will reach out debt ceiling by May 16th, 2011 (ahem less than a month). If you guys were watching the CR debates as closely as I was then you probably already know that they won't begin debate on this until May 15th....kidding (although there is a precedence here guys!).

Essentially the debate is, and by essentially I mean the debate is, over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling, that is to say that all parties really want to raise the debt ceiling but not without some sort of assurance that this doesn't just mean more out of control borrowing/spending. If the government does not raise the debt ceiling then it will shutdown....wait a minute did we just transport back to two weeks ago?? Nope, same result different issue, it's like an R.L. Stine Choose Your Own Ending novel, except its always the same ending, different story, so it’s not like that at all...annnyway, if we go over the borrowable (made that word up) amount then emergency measures will be taken and it will extend the debt ceiling for 8 weeks.

Geitner warns that failure to act on the debt ceiling will cause and I quote “would cause a financial crisis potentially more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover.” ughhh I thought we were over that! I just started TIVOing CNBC's Mad Money again; don't make me not want to watch!

Marco Rubio (R-FL), the rico suave answer to all GOP's Latino prayers, has recently said he will not vote for the debt-ceiling. As someone that the GOP is putting a lot of hopes on for future leadership, I would suggest this is not the last time you hear from Rubio on this issue. Another big player, Conrad (D-ND) Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, stated he will not committee to a long-term debt limit raise without significant progress/policies to shrinking the federal deficit. Conrad, being in the position he is, and being a relatively moderate Democrat, will be a prominent voice in this debate as well.

This is Part 1 in an ongoing post regarding the Debt Ceiling Debates (2k11) because we at TAG are positive it will be an intense fight down until the closing bell, and our insights will keep you apprised to where your country is going fiscally*, which party is doing what, and mostly will make you the hit of your dinner parties


*TAG does not claim to know where the country is going physically, as we are not experts (yet) on Pangaea, tectonic plates, or how countries move.

A Change For Congress?

Many people complain about Congress (great joke: if the opposite of pro is con than isn't the opposite of progress, congress?).  All these rich people vying for power, votes, and money and not really caring about Americans..

But for their credit, they do try:  they (try to) dress well (love those power suits Ms. Pelosi), they (try to)work together, they (generally) stay away from sex scandels, they do their research, they (try to) get things done, among many other positive attributes..

There is just one thing wrong and if you have ever watched C-SPAN (and you probably haven't) you know the problem.  Congress is all about show: there is a reason the MoC's sit high up on benches while the witnesses are on level with the audience. So one would assume they cared what the committee rooms looked like..How much money was spent on all that oak paneling? On those cozy chairs the Chair sits in for a few hours once a week? So this just leads to one problem: What is up with those microphones?

Probably true: all of the microphones are on loan from Bob Barker.

Definitely true: at one point or another every MoC has started talking without turning it on.

Most likely true: there has not been a witness that has sat before a committee or subcommittee who has NOT been asked to turn on their mic at one time during their testimony.

Now, I have never been elected to Congress (and probably won't ever be, thanks in part to this blog), so I don't know what they teach the new members there.  But I am proposing that they maybe tell them to turn them on at some point, it will make it easier for those of us who like (get paid) to watch the hearings.  Or really it might be easier (and save some electricity) if we scrapped the whole deal and threw in some tin can phones..

Note to self: Bring HTI's SeaPack on next trip around the world..

Still want to know more about Victor Mooney's doomed trip around the world?

Check out NY1's video by clicking HERE.

Or Check out this slightly less focused video:

Member of the Day: Senator Rand Paul (KY)

The Senator from Kentucky says he is considering a Filibuster of the 2011 Budget which will fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Paul said: "Ask me tomorrow."  Some Republicans, like Mr. Paul, feel that the spending cuts don't go far enough.  Earlier, House Republicans vote to cut $61 billion.  Paul said he would  be more inclined to block action in the upper chamber if it could possibly lead to a consideration of the Senate GOP's balanced budget amendment. 

BUT under Congressman Ryan's plan the Budget won't be balanced for another 28 years, giving many MoC's reason not to pursue the balanced budget Constitutional Amendment.

The vote on the Budget (that cuts almost $39 billion in spending) may come as soon as Thursday.

So here's to Mr. Paul- for sticking to his guns, for allowing us to use the best word in government "filibuster" and for drawing out this "Shutdown-Showdown will they or won't they" longer than anyone could have expected.

Do we think Sen. Paul will enact that Filibuster? Let us gather our thoughts and ask us again later, perhaps tomorrow?