Sorting Out the Convoluted Web....

...well, not so much.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
News Corp. Gives Money to Republicans
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Technorati Tags: The Daily Show, Glenn Beck, Fox News, GOP

The Media Finally Reports on a GT No Vote and Gets a Quote From Him

Last week House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (R-CA) called the House back into a rare August session to vote on an emergency funding bill for Medicaid and education. The bill passed, despite GOP opposition, and Obama signed it into law.

In Pennsylvania, its passage staved off a financial catastrophe.

The Pennsylvania Legislature approved a budget for 2010-11 based on the hope of receiving $850 million in Medicaid funding.
Gov. Ed Rendell, who once predicted as many as 12,000 layoffs if no additional Medicaid money were received, has said that, with $600 million, some layoffs are still possible next month. The governor and legislative leaders are expected to meet to decide how to close that gap.

But GT voted against the bill, and thanks to WENY-TV in Elmira, New York, we know, for once, what GT says about the reason he voted the way that he did.

Northern Tier Congressman Glenn Thompson voted against it, saying it's spending more money at a time when the country can't afford it. “This is about the fact that we're experiencing challenging times fiscally.” Thompson says, “and when you experience challenging times, everybody has to tighten the belt.”

However the Congressional Budget Office says while the bill does add to the deficit over five years, in ten years, it would break even and actually reduce the overall deficit

Well, there you have it, we, in the Centre Region, have to rely on an out-of-state TV station to get GT's bullshitting on record.

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), emergency medicaid education bill

@CongressmanBS

GT is at it again.

From Blogger Pictures

When people ask him  "How can we justify tax cuts[?]" he responds with bullshit.  Let's take a closer look at this.

First, let me concede that GT is almost correct when he says that more than 50% of those that will be affected by allowing the Bush/Cheney tax cuts to expire on high income taxpayers are small business owners. Almost because the figure applies to taxpayers that claim  small business income. Not all of these taxpayers are, in fact, small business owners. 

Setting that aside for the moment, let me  be clear that that this is not the same as 50% of small business owners will be affected by the expiration of the tax cuts, but my guess is that many who read GT's tweet get that wrong impression. And GT, or more likely a smarter staffer, probably  was aiming to induce that misunderstanding.

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center reports that a  large proportion (33%) of taxpayers claiming small business income either have incomes too low to pay taxes or are in the lowest tax bracket. In fact, 14.5% taxpayers claiming small business income claim the Earned Income Tax Credit for low income workers.

How many taxpayers claiming small business income will be hit by the expiration of the Bush/Cheney tax cut on high income taxpayers? That would be 1.9%,  again according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.  But about half of these taxpayers aren't small business owners. Included in this number are high income investors who receive part of their income from investments in small business. As the Tax Policy Center noted, of the 1.9% of taxpayers  with

...small-business income who face one of the top two tax rates are merely passive investors who have nothing to do with running the business. This is because the Tax Policy Center data cited above use the Treasury Department’s relatively broad definition of “small business.” Under the Treasury definition, for example, the $84 of income President Bush received in 2001 from a passive investment in an oil and gas company7 made him a “small-business owner.” About 35 percent of “small-business owners” with incomes above $200,000, and about 58 percent of “small-business owners” with incomes over $1 million, received some or all of their business income in the form of passive investments. The Treasury definition also counts as “small-business income” the fees that CEOs are paid for sitting on corporate boards.

From Blogger Pictures

So we see the reason that  more than 50% of taxpayers who would see their tax bill go up after the Bush/Cheney tax cut expires are "small business owners" is that many high income earners get some of their income classified by Treasury as coming from a small business even though they are not small business owners.

How much would extending the Bush/Cheney cuts for ten years cost the US Treasury? That would be $678 billion.

An how many jobs would we get for that price tag? Not too many would be my guess. Recall,  that during the whole Bush presidency while these cuts were in effect, which included, let us not forget, the housing bubble, the rate of job creation never matched that during the Clinton years. 

But I'd  still be interested in hearing how many jobs GT thinks this $678 billion give away to the rich would create and why?. Comon', give us a ballpark figure GT.

(h/t Kevin Drum)

Technorati Tags: Bush/Cheney tax cut extension, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5)

Powered by ScribeFire.

For GT Legislatin' is Like Paintin' by Numbers

Last week GT joined 158 of his Republican colleagues to defeat a bill which would have created a fund for  9/11 emergency responders who have health problems due to the toxic environment created by the collapse of the World Trade Center.

As with his no vote on extending emergency  unemployment insurance, GT has not  seen fit to issue a press release explaining  why he has voted the way he has on this. He hasn't  even a twitter twatted, his favorite form of keeping constituents abreast of the depths of his mind. I'm guessing he isn't too proud of the vote and hopes than no one in the local  press notices it. A pretty good bet around these parts.

You can find the background on the bill here and what other wingers in the House have said about their no votes here  The reaction of both Democrats and Republicans are  here and a  Democrat responded in detail here. Then you can try to guess which Clown Caucus approved talking points (PDF) GT would check off as his reason for voting no, if forced to explain his "reasoning."
(Cartoon via watertiger at Dependable Renegade ,a very funny blog which I highly recommended.)

Technorati Tags: 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5)

Powered by ScribeFire.

GT's Hamlet: To 'Bag or Not to "Bag: That is the Question

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

GT might find himself in a bit of a bind over Michele Bachmann's (R-Loony Tunes) Teabagger Caucus thing. Isn't that right, GT. If you join many of your better informed, and I might add more rational, constituents might think you're bit of a loon. On the other hand, if you don't join your Teabagger supporters, or as you once called them liberty-loving patriots, might think that you really aren't one of them. I say, go ahead  join and don't worry about us better informed constituents, we already think you're bit of a loon.

(H/T FeliciaK from Newsy.com for the heads up on the video)

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Teabagger Caucus

Powered by ScribeFire.

This Should Be Fun

Think Progress reported this morning that  yesterday,  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Crazytown)

.... filed paperwork to start a House Tea Party Caucus in the current 111th Congress. Possibly taking a cue from Kentucky Senate GOP hopeful and fellow Tea Partier Rand Paul, who recently said he might start a similar caucus in the Senate if he were elected, Bachmann sent a letter to the Committee on House Administration in an effort to “formaliz[e] the [Tea Party] movement within the federal government.” The letter read:

I would like to register the House Tea Party Caucus as a Congressional Member Organization for the 111th Congress. The House Tea Party Caucus will serve as an informal group of Members dedicated to promote American’s call for fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government. Presently, I will serve as the chair of the House Tea Party Caucus.

I'm curious if GT, who already serves in the Clown Caucus alongside Michele, will be joining her new  Teabagger Caucus. GT if you are planning on joining you better hurry, the first ten to sign up get a complimentary lawn chair.

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Tea Party Caucus, Teabaggers, wingnuts

Powered by ScribeFire.

Is GT Looking Out for His Constituents in His Own Twisted Way?

From Blogger Pictures

On July 1^rst, GT voted  with 141 of his Republican colleagues and 11 Democrats against the restoration of emergency unemployment compensation.  Fortunately, 241 Democrats and 29 Republicans voted in favor of the bill. Unfortunately, the Republicans in the Senate successfully blocked the bill from coming to a vote. So the long term unemployed sit this summer in limbo.


GT, so far as I know, has not explained the reasoning behind this vote, but it is clear from the table below that he; owes many of his constituents an explanation.  While the Pennsylvania Fifth Congressional District is home to Centre County the Pennsylvania county with the lowest May 2010 unemployment rate, 6.5%, it is also home to Cameron County the Pennsylvania County with the highest unemployment rate,14.8%. In fact, of the seventeen counties which are in, or part of which are in, the 5th 11 are  above the median of the county  rates and 15 are above the overall Pennsylvania rate of 9.1%. Further, the unemployment rates increased from April 2010 in all of the counties in the 5^th with the exception of Cameron which decreased from 15% in April. But that was likely due to people dropping out of the workforce. So the employment situation in GT's district is bad and many of his constituents will be hurt by the action of Republican colleagues in the Senate. An action which his vote shows that he supports.


So why did  GT vote to screw his constituents? There are several possible answers which I will explore in a future post.

Powered by Tableau

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), emergency unemployment insurance extesion

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Big Ten and Chuck Grassley's Encroaching Senility

A bit more on the IRS and The Big Ten. Actually, a bit more on Senator Chuck Grassley and the Big Ten. Most of the speculation around the sports world today is that Grassley and Harkin made the request to the Big Ten for financial data on June 10^th before Nebraska was made the offer to join the Big Ten, because they were upset that Iowa State wasn't in the running to be the twelfth member of the Big Ten or alternately that the Big 12 might desolve leaving ISU out in the cold.  The zietgeist is best captured by the DesMoinesRegsister.com.

It turns out that on June 11^th Grassley gave an interview to Radio Iowa on the topic. The reporter tells us Grassley's concern is the realignment "...could bring the demise of the Big 12 and hurt remaining schools like Iowa State University." So the zietgeist is on the mark.

In hindsight,  this interview is really interesting for what it reveals about Grassley.

Grassley says, “I’m not one that starts out with the idea Congress ought to or can solve every problem that we have and so I haven’t come to a conclusion of Congress doing anything.” He says there are some angles that could be investigated which may delay or prevent the conference realignment.

“The tax exempt status of these non-profit organizations and the other one is whether or not any anti-trust laws would be violated,” Grassley says. “In the case of anti-trust laws, Congress isn’t going to bring any action under anti-trust laws. That can only be the Attorney General, if there’s a reason for doing it because anti-trust laws have been pretty much the same for 120 years and we don’t prosecute, we only make laws.”

The bit that I've bolded isn't in quotes; its a paraphrase.  But according to the reporter,   Grassley believed that some sort of an  investigation might delay the realignment.

But is Grassley truly concerned that the actions of The Big Ten might jeopardize its tax-exempt status?

Critics of the conference change-ups remind that public universities are supposed to be focused on education, not on sports and making money. Grassley agrees. “Obviously, a tax exemption is for a specific purpose,” he says. “In the case of educational institutions, it’s for the education of kids, so does this in any way promote the education goals of the university?” Grassley says Congress can look into anything but it isn’t necessarily a good idea, and he clarified his comment on tax exemptions.

“I’m not looking for Congress to take action,” he says. “I’ve been asked by people is there anything Congress can do anything about it? I don’t know until you look into it and maybe even after that I’d say it’s not something we ought to get involved in. Lastly, I want to make clear I’m not trying to do anything about tax exemption. In fact, I’m just the opposite. I want to promote tax exemption.”

That's the rhetorical equivalent of a broken field run. Grassley is  telling the reporter, the day after he began an informal investigation into the tax-exempt status of The Big Ten, but a couple of weeks before that investigation became public knowledge, that Congress could look at the tax-exempt status of The  Big Ten, but he doesn't think that it's a good idea for Congress to get involved and, in fact, he supports the tax-exemption. Wow!

Look, I really hope that he and Harkin carry this investigation through, but my guess is that now that the Big Ten expansion is a done deal and The Big 12 hasn't fallen apart this thing is going to go quietly away.  But the real take away here, after watching Grassley's broken field running while he was negotiation HCR with Max Baucus, and now reading this, is that Grassley is getting senile.

Technorati Tags: Sen. Charles Grassley, Sen. Tom Harkin, The Big Ten Expansio, tax-exempt

Powered by ScribeFire.

Clowns on Parade

Com'on GT, tell us, do you agree with your buds in the Clown Caucus?

Technorati Tags: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5), GOP, BP, Republican Study Committee

Powered by ScribeFire.

Putting the Stupid in Congress

A little over a week ago the GOP unveiled their new energy plan. Well, new's a little strong;it's built mostly on ideas recycled from Bush/Cheney administration.

Now to be fair, there is a new wrinkle in the plan. The GOP wants to make global warming denial the law of the land.

And our Congressman couldn't be prouder to be part of the GOP braintrust that came up with this garbage.

U.S. Representative Glenn `GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, today joined other members of the GOP American Energy Solutions Working Group to introduce their alternative to the proposed Cap and Trade legislation.

“We have been criticizing strongly the `Cap and Tax’ program being considered. The next step is to propose a viable alternative—and today we do just that,” said Thompson.

GT, helping to putting the stupid in Congress for over five months.

Technorati Tags: GOP energy plan, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5)

Powered by ScribeFire.

In Time For Your Summer Movie Viewing Pleasure...

Technorati Tags: Healthcare reform, GOP

Powered by ScribeFire.

Good News for the GOP?

The GOP has been so beset by sex scandals that when they behave themselves it's news. For example, the New York Times saw fits to put the following headline on the front page today.
I have to say that it's setting the bar a little low when the fact that none of the Republican presidential contenders has groped a voter is condidered newsworthy.

The GOP Claims to Like a Tan. But They Might Prefer a Fake One from a Bottle.

Mixed news today on the move to bring sunshine to Old Main. First, the good news. The State Senate GOP leader Dominic Pileggi,of Delaware County,has come out in favor of a new open record law and he wants the law to cover Penn State.

Speaking at a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon in Harrisburg, Pileggi said Senate Republicans plan to introduce legislation within a month that would make several changes to the Right-to-Know Law.

One major change would be exposing legislative spending, which could reach about $341 million this year, to the state's open-records law.

While the House and Senate have released receipts of spending by individual legislators, the chambers are under no legal obligation to do so. Sometimes they restrict documents from being photocopied or take months to fulfill records requests, and little is available on the Internet.

"I'm going to make what I hope will be a compelling argument that there's nothing to hide there and we should make them available," Pileggi told reporters after the event. "I don't know any reason that they couldn't be available."

[...]

Some of the proposed changes Pileggi expects include reducing government response times to requests for records from 10 days to five days and allowing records requests to be submitted by e-mail.

Pileggi, the former Chester mayor who is in his first weeks as the Senate's majority leader, said he also expects the legislation to cover Pennsylvania's four state-related universities -- which include Penn State -- and make it clear that current law applies to the state's student loan agency.

Now here is the bad news.

Pileggi said, however, that he would not favor broadening the definition of a public record, criticized by open-records advocates as too narrow. They also say it puts the onus on the person requesting the record to show that it should be public, rather than forcing the government to prove that it should not be public.

We must work to make sure that a strong open record law is passed. It would be rather meaningless if Penn State is explicitly covered by a law which doesn't assure access to very much.

We won't know for sure where this is going until bills are actually introduced in the Assembly and Senate. I'll let you know when that happens.

Technorati Tags: Sunshine, Spanier, GOP, Mahoney
powered by performancing firefox