For some reason I find myself thinking of the Animaniacs sketch about “Good Idea/Bad Idea”.
Couldn’t possibly tell you, though, what Adam had in mind.
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Image note: Detail of Bug Martini by Adam Huber, 9 December 2015.
Day: 2015.12.11
The Latest Congressional Accomplishment (Take Five)
Good news, everybody!
Or, well, you know. It’s Congress.
The House on Friday passed by voice vote a five-day continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 16, securing a little more time for congressional leaders and appropriators to finish negotiating an omnibus spending measure.
President Barack Obama is expected to sign the five-day CR, which the Senate passed on Thursday.
There are a couple of things here. To the one, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA23) called off weekend work because of the new CR, which is intended to give the Appropriations Committee more time to finish an omnibus bill; Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY05) is aiming for 14 December, with the House returning to session the next day. What could possibly go wrong?
To the other, this is Congress.
And this is a five day continuing resolution.
Yes, really. Five days.
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Image note: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. (Detail of photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)
McPherson, Lindsey and Tamar Hallerman. “House Passes Five-Day Extension of Government Funding”. 218. Roll Call. 11 December 2015.
Something About Obama, Something About Putin (Jung on Rye Remix)
Narrative counts.
Steve Benen offers the setup:
By late 2014, Republican affection for Russian President Vladimir Putin was on the wane. After months of gushing praise for the autocratic leader, American conservatives saw Putin struggling and isolated, prompting his GOP fan club in the United States to fall quiet.
That is, until a few months ago, when the Russian president deployed forces to Syria, rekindling the American right’s love. Republican White House hopefuls once again praised Putin’s bold “leadership,” as did like-minded pundits. The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin argued, “In taking this action just days after meeting with President Obama, Putin is delivering one more finger in the eye of a president whom he continues to out-wit and out-muscle.”
Remind me, how’s that working out for the Russian president?
The punch line, of course, being: About as well as you would expect.
And, well, you know me; any chance to pick on Jennifer Rubin. The title of her October entry―and I shite thee not―is, “Breaking the feckless meter on Syria”.
Still, though, this thing with Republicans and Putin is even more embarrassing than the bit about a young Jung finding a dirty thrill in his admiration for the maestro Freud.
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Benen, Steve. “Obama again gets the last laugh against Putin”. msnbc. 11 December 2015.
Rubin, Jennifer. “Breaking the feckless meter on Syria”. The Washington Post. 1 October 2015.
This Is 