Politics. On Point.

The United States government is officially closed for business - as of January 19, 2018. Happy New Year. After not reaching an agreement late Friday night on several issues including  DACA , the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that would protect immigrant children from being deported to countries of their supposed origin, republican and democratic representatives allowed for a government shutdown, instead. ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   Who's to blame for the shut down? Seemingly, there's enough blame to go around. The White House has issued a statement on the shutdown which lays blame on Democrats, calling the government closure 'The Schumer Shutdown', casting Democrats as "losers." "Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown. Tonight, they put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans. We will not negotiate the status of unlawful im...

Akin to filibustering, House Democrats today staged a sit-in on the House floor in an effort to get Congress to act on gun violence legislation.  The sit-in, initiated by Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), includes 40 other democratic representatives who have taken to Twitter with the hashtag # NoBillNoBreak . When asked for order on the floor, Rep. John Larsen (D-CT) bounded the House lectern saying, "We will NOT come to order. We want a vote." Democrats, acting in response to this month's Orlando nightclub massacre , demanded that Congress, at the very least, discuss measures to enact commonsense gun legislation, to include background checks.  Congress, as it has been reported, favors gun lobbyists and the NRA. Republicans shut down C-SPAN cameras covering the event, leaving Democrats to take matters into their own hands, in an unprecedented move, by  Periscoping  and live-tweeting the event. Rep. John Larsen on the house floor today.  h/t: Heral...

**Update** President Obama spoke at Del Sol High School to announce actions he plans to take to reform the country's immigration policy.  Click here to view. President Obama is set to address the nation Thursday, November 20, to lay out the executive actions he's taking on America's immigration system. Many are expecting that the president will allow illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. and will assist those wanting a path to citizenship with obtaining citizenship status, "the right way." For many undocumented immigrants, immigration reform is a very real issue; one they hope will be resolved quickly. Protest have occurred across the country from Latino Americans, the demographic immigration reform heavily emphasizes, urging the president to cease the deportation of illegal immigrants. Said Jose Cabellos at a campaign event in 2013, (see at 1:11 video mark here ), "We want comprehensive immigration reform.  Right now families are being ...

President Obama took to the Key Bridge, two years since his last visit , to make the case that the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the fund designed to help  states repair and rebuild America's infrastructure, could potentially run out of funds if Congress doesn't act soon. "It’s not crazy, it’s not socialism.   It’s not the imperial presidency. No laws are broken.  We’re just building roads and bridges like we’ve been doing for the last, I don’t know, 50, 100 years.  But so far, House Republicans have refused to act on this idea.  I haven’t heard a good reason why they haven’t acted. "It’s not like they’ve been busy with other stuff", the president said.   Also weighing in on this issue is  DC Rep.  Eleanor Holmes Norton. “If Congress does not act by the end of the month  it will force the Department of Transportation to ration reimbursements to the states, and will be directly responsible for the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs, ...

Many of us are aware of the divisive rhetoric over the so-called issue of 'illegal' immigration and  immigration  reform. As the two political sides continue to debate over what to do about an issue that seems to have no end in sight, nor the chance of going away, one person wants America to see the issue in a slightly different, dare we say, human way. Take a look at "The Secrets of Strangers" by Honduran-born TV host Rosci Diaz .   The video, posted on You Tube on June 10th, comes on the heels of recent reports stemming from the  transport of underage illegal immigrant s and how they are being treated in detention, or 'holding' centers while waiting to be processed. Diaz tries to show the fear and anguish that is imposed upon undocumented people living in the U.S. The issue of illegal immigration reform is believed to partially be the reason Rep. Eric Canto r (R-VA) lost his seat as House Majority Leader during this week's Virginia primaries...

Republicans gathered last week at the beautiful National Harbor Resort in National Harbor, Maryland for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference ( CPAC ), where conservative Republicans continued their divisive discord on American politics by use of their repetitive, and redundant, bashing of their U.S. president and his administration's policies. CPAC 2014 may go down in history as the gun toting, NSA bashing, Dr. Seuss reciting political conference of the decade. When Rand Paul spoke on the NSA "monitoring" American's cell phone calls, one can only ask - if that were true, why didn't they prevent Chris Christie's 'Bridge gate' after a cellphone text from a Christie staff member suggested shutting down the bridge?  Was it brilliant strategy, or the one cellphone text that got away? Here's a Wapo video clip highlighting a few of CPAC's 2014 speeches, including the Green Eggs and Ham parody, by Sarah Palin. For more, and w...

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama addressed the media, then took questions regarding the government shutdown, healthcare, the debt ceiling and other concerning issues he says the Republicans are being uncooperative about. House Speaker John Boehner took to the podium moments later arguing the case that President Obama is unwilling to negotiate. It's time both parties but an end this war of words and take action to put Americans back to work and on solid footing. Thankfully, good Samaritans have come forward to assist Americans in their time of need where the shutdown has affected everyday Americans.  (See military | See education ). Related On the Affordable Care Act, Republicans have fought the president tooth and nail. Oct 2008 : "You'll never get elected and pass healthcare." Nov 2008: "We'll never let you pass healthcare." Jan 2009: "We're gonna shout you down every time you try to pass healthcare." July 2009: ...

GOP Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) posted the below photo on his Twitter account  showing House GOP members sitting across the table from a row of empty seats, depicting them waiting to have a meeting with Democrats.  The crafty photo is the latest attempt in the war of the House v Senate to point fingers, and place blame, for why this government can't get anything done. Cantor tweeted, “In divided government, the only way forward is to sit down at the table. The House awaits the Senate". That's what the Republicans said. Democrats, as you might imagine, have a different take.  Democratic representative Tim Kaine (D-VA), speaking yesterday on Richmond, Virginia's Jack Gravely Show stated that it was after Republicans decided to shut down the government, they decided to reach out to Democrats for a meeting.   This placard is placed on the White House web site, blaming Congress for shutting down the government. R...

Here we are, six months into the New Year, with the reelection of the first African American president and seemingly the rights and civil liberties of African Americans are looking even more bleak. Explanation forthcoming. As the trial of George Zimmerman continues in Florida, Americans are waiting with bated breath to see if 16 year old Trayvon Martin will receive justice after being viciously assassinated, almost one year ago, by the self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman.   Food Network’s television cook, Paula Deen was ousted last week over years of her use of the ‘N word ‘ to her staff employees. African American youth around the country, especially in New York City, are still being profiled and singled out by police for “being in the wrong neighborhood” under the state’s Stop-and-Frisk policies. And yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States, with its only African American judge, decided   that Section IV of the Voting Rights bill, would best ser...

Republicans are pushing their 'No Budget. No Pay' agenda. In an email that went out yesterday House Republicans state: "Today the House passed No Budget, No Pay legislation with bi-partisan support. The bill will require the House and Senate each to pass a budget, and Member pay will be withheld if they fail. The principle is simple: no budget, no pay. It's time for the Senate to act. It has been almost four years since the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a budget, while our national debt has skyrocketed by over $5 trillion." Watch their new video "Earning It", about Senate Democrats' failure to do their jobs and pass a budget, says the email. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, House Republican Conference encourages Americans to help them "keep the pressure on the Senate to follow the law and pass a budget".  She also asks her constituents to forward share the above video on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. She further wr...

Earlier today Rick Perry gracefully bowed out of the presidential race after a lackluster performance in Iowa.  Amid that announcement, Perry outdoes himself one further by announcing he is endorsing the 'open marriage' minded Newt Gingrich. "Today, I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for President of the United States", Perry said during a morning press conference . The final four sparred off in a heated debate in South Carolina where Gingrich came under fire (again). Meanwhile, former presidential candidate Herman Cain , who 'suspended' his campaign first, announced during the Southern Republican Leadership Conference today at the College of Charleston, SC that he plans to endorse the "We the People" campaign. Quoting the Preample to the Constitution : We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union, Cain said, "The union is in trouble." View his remarks here , at ...

While the decision to raise the debt ceiling in an effort to ward off a government default was finally passed in both the House and Senate this afternoon by a vote of 74-26 ( a total of 60 votes was needed) , the contents of 74 page legislation has raised a lot of questions. During yesterday's Senate and House last ditch effort to get the bill passed, minority speaker Nancy Pelosi kept asking law makers on the House floor "why are we here"? . "We have come here to make the future better for future generations".  The delay has never happened  quite like this before, neither has the opposition  over the its contents been so heavily scrutinized, even by perhaps the biggest supporter of the Obama administration, Nancy Pelosi, who admitted she has been on the fence, but pleaded for law makers to pass the debt ceiling legislation, even if they were "on the fence", just as she was. There was no shortage of opinion on the proposed legislatio...

After meeting with both sides today at the White House, it's politics as usual and the sides remain divided. In remarks afterwards President Obama said, " We discussed the various options available to us.  Everybody reconfirmed the importance of completing our work and raising the debt limit ceiling so that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is not impaired.  What we decided was that staffs, as well as leadership, will be working during the weekend, and that I will reconvene congressional leaders here on Sunday with the expectation that, at that point, the parties will at least know where each other’s bottom lines are and will hopefully be in a position to then start engaging in the hard bargaining that’s necessary to get a deal done" .    All or Nothing. "I want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.  And the parties are still far apart on a wide range of issues.  But, again, I thought that ...

The Congresswoman first secured a vote in the Committee of the Whole during the 103rd Congress, when Democrats were in the majority. Norton submitted a legal memorandum and obtained the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole for D.C residents who pay federal taxes without a vote in either congressional body. Because D.C. had never voted on the House floor, Democrats vetted the issue with outside attorneys, and Republicans later lost a challenge to delegate voting in the federal courts. Delegate voting in committees has long been permitted by House Rules, and the Committee of the Whole is also a committee created by House rules. When Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, however, they eliminated the delegate vote in the Committee of the Whole. In 2007, Democrats regained control of the House again and instituted the delegate vote again. Because it had worked so well without controversy, Norton had hoped to retain the vote this time, even writing House Speaker John Boe...

President Obama Gets Back To Work. The First Family returned to Washington this morning amid chilly, but sunny Washington, DC skies.   The First Family returns to Washington after vacationing in Hawaii over the Christmas Holiday.  Photo/CD Brown.  President Obama, after spending a lengthy, but much needed vacation in Hawaii with his family (where he golfed and played basketball), returns to work this week expecting first to sign into law the Food Safety bill.  The legislation represents a critical step forward in making sure America's food supply is safer by giving the Food and Drug Administration important new tools to protect our food supply and keep consumers safe.  While on vacation President Obama signed into law H.R. 847, the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act,” which establishes the World Trade Center Health Program and extends and expands eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of ...

And The Tries That Do Not Bind. The Repubs are at it again - trying to do everything they can to put a wedge between the plans of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to move the country forward. They voted 'No' (almost holding up medical insurance for American people for over a year) on virtually all phases (and facets) of the newly passed Health Care Bill. They started the so-called Tea Party Movement , a group of angry US  mobsters citizens(across the nation) who have protested the Stimulus Package , continue to get weak minded people riled up in the name of Democracy, been allowed to shout vile (and foul) language to members of Congress , and really set a bad example for our children to follow regarding conflict resolution. The Republicans have even held up Senate nomimations from President Obama, such that badly needed vacancies have been unfilled for almost an entire year. “Most of the men and women whose appoint...