Instead of arguing about who should have health care and who gets to pay for it, they could look into why it costs $10 for asprin and $15 for a band aid... But nah 8-}
Published on Sep 3, 2013 Police Boat Hit and Run While responding to a call, this police boat near Washington, D.C. slams into two docked vessels while making a U-turn.
Head Start programs have been shuttered, small businesses can’t get loans and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown. A House aide confirmed to ThinkProgress that the House member’s gym is open. The House gym features a swimming pool, basketball courts, paddleball courts, a sauna, a steam room and flat screen TVs. While towel service is unavailable, taxpayers remain on the hook for cleaning and maintenance, which has been performed daily throughout the shutdown. There are also costs associated with the power required to heat the pools and keep the lights on.
Oh, the horror. They'll have to launder their own towels? How in the world will they manage? Apparently, the gym has been deemed essential by none other than House Speaker John Boehner. The Senate gym is also open, but the lack of towel service or perhaps janitorial service has a senator with delicate sensibilities (cough, Lindsey Graham) disturbed by the odors. Poor babies.
The GOP House's temper-tantrum-induced shutdown of the U.S. government can be called many things—an extortion, a frustration, an outrage... name your unflattering descriptor. But if it does anything of use for the American people, it serves up an inarguable indication of the government’s true priorities. It shows us, verbatim, which programs are deemed “essential” and which aren't.
For instance, the national parks and almost a million federal employees have been cutoff, while the military continues to operate full-force.
And while the injustices of the shutdown are many, among the most hypocritical government priorities is the continued funding of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)—an organization focused on ending the war on drugs—sent an email to supporters on Friday asking why the DEA was considered essential during the government shutdown.
“You and I both know the DEA isn’t effective,” he wrote. “So why is it considered essential?”
A very good question considering the fact that, even if fighting the war on drugs was reasonable priority to maintain during a shutdown (it isn't) the DEA has long since lost the war. Since its inception in 1973, it has failed to reduce the number of drug-related crimes in the U.S., and continues to place more than 1.2 million people behind bars each year for the mere possession of illegal substances.
As a report last week by the British Medical Journal Open declared, the war on drugs has failed—not just in America but around the globe. The report shows how, despite decades of 'war on drugs' efforts, the potency of illegal drugs has increased, prices have dropped, and the number of users is on the rise.
Even U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appears to be humming a tune contrary to that of the drug war, as he announced in August the Department of Justice will stay out of the way when it comes to the state-regulated legalization of marijuana.
The DPA’s email called for supporters to sign a petition urging Congress to defund the DEA once and for all.
“The DEA is one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of marijuana law reform and ending the drug war,” the email notes. “It blatantly lies about marijuana and other drugs while blocking and ignoring scientific research. It relies on dishonesty and scare tactics to promote its vested interests. It undermines the will of voters in medical marijuana states with militarized raids that have resulted in the deaths of innocent people. And it’s been secretly using NSA and CIA programs to spy on virtually all Americans.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Police say the U.S. Capitol has been put on a security lockdown amid reports of possible shots fired outside the building.
People standing outside the Supreme Court across the street from Congress were hurried into the court building by authorities.
U.S. Capitol police said they had received reports of gunshots and one police officer has been injured.
so...the cops ran through the barriers. then why did they shoot and kill that woman?
this shit reeks
Hopefully he kills himself
A House aide confirmed to ThinkProgress that the House member’s gym is open. The House gym features a swimming pool, basketball courts, paddleball courts, a sauna, a steam room and flat screen TVs. While towel service is unavailable, taxpayers remain on the hook for cleaning and maintenance, which has been performed daily throughout the shutdown. There are also costs associated with the power required to heat the pools and keep the lights on.
Oh, the horror. They'll have to launder their own towels? How in the world will they manage? Apparently, the gym has been deemed essential by none other than House Speaker John Boehner. The Senate gym is also open, but the lack of towel service or perhaps janitorial service has a senator with delicate sensibilities (cough, Lindsey Graham) disturbed by the odors. Poor babies.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/08/1245203/-Don-t-worry-about-your-stressed-out-representative-they-still-have-their-exclusive-gym?detail=facebook#
For instance, the national parks and almost a million federal employees have been cutoff, while the military continues to operate full-force.
And while the injustices of the shutdown are many, among the most hypocritical government priorities is the continued funding of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)—an organization focused on ending the war on drugs—sent an email to supporters on Friday asking why the DEA was considered essential during the government shutdown.
“You and I both know the DEA isn’t effective,” he wrote. “So why is it considered essential?”
A very good question considering the fact that, even if fighting the war on drugs was reasonable priority to maintain during a shutdown (it isn't) the DEA has long since lost the war. Since its inception in 1973, it has failed to reduce the number of drug-related crimes in the U.S., and continues to place more than 1.2 million people behind bars each year for the mere possession of illegal substances.
As a report last week by the British Medical Journal Open declared, the war on drugs has failed—not just in America but around the globe. The report shows how, despite decades of 'war on drugs' efforts, the potency of illegal drugs has increased, prices have dropped, and the number of users is on the rise.
Even U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appears to be humming a tune contrary to that of the drug war, as he announced in August the Department of Justice will stay out of the way when it comes to the state-regulated legalization of marijuana.
The DPA’s email called for supporters to sign a petition urging Congress to defund the DEA once and for all.
“The DEA is one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of marijuana law reform and ending the drug war,” the email notes. “It blatantly lies about marijuana and other drugs while blocking and ignoring scientific research. It relies on dishonesty and scare tactics to promote its vested interests. It undermines the will of voters in medical marijuana states with militarized raids that have resulted in the deaths of innocent people. And it’s been secretly using NSA and CIA programs to spy on virtually all Americans.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/08/government-shutdown-immigration-rally/2942257/
What a piece of shit