It was 1985 when I first covered Tulsa City government and while the form of that government has changed, the circus is much the same. There is humor, drama, competing agendas, pontificating politicians, disingenuous staff, gossip everywhere and I didn’t even make ALL the meetings Thursday December 13.
To attend all, a person must dedicate the day and, I have joked, ease the pain with a bottle in front me or a frontal lobotomy. Ok, it’s not that bad – all the time.
The Associated Press is reporting that while the “fiscal cliff” of looming tax increases and spending cuts dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a “regulatory cliff” that they say could be just as damaging to the economy.
For months, federal agencies and the White House have sidetracked dozens of major regulations that cover everything from power plant pollution to workplace safety to a crackdown on Wall Street.
The world famous artist Van Gogh signed all of his known paintings using only his first name, Vincent. Poor Mr. Van Gogh sold only one painting (for about 400 francs) during his lifetime: “Red Vineyard at Arles (1888).” That work is currently housed at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
Archives indicate that the first boat to be successfully powered by an internal combustion engine was launched in 1886 by two men named Daimler and Maybach on the Neckar River (Germany). Bystanders were astonished. Later that same year, the new invention was publicly demonstrated to cheering crowds near Stuttgart.
Michelle Malkin writing for www.gopusa.com published today an excellent analysis of union violence in Michigan.
Not so many moons ago, President Obama urged us all to “make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.” He Who Heals advocated “a more civil and honest public discourse” in the wake of the January 2011 Tucson massacre. As usual, though, the White House has granted Big Labor bullies a permanent waiver from the lofty edicts it issues to everyone else.
This week, menacing union goons unleashed threats, profanity and punches in Michigan, which is now poised to become a “right-to-work” state. Obama met the initial outbreak of violence with the same response he’s given to every other union outbreak of violence under his reign: dead silence.
Today 150,000 individually signed petitions demanding that GOP leaders stand against any tax increase will be presented by TheTeaParty.net, a conservative grassroots organization, to members of Congress.
The press conference will include Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun, TheTeaParty.net, leading Tea Party activist Niger Innis and other conservative leaders.
“There are troubling signs that all is not well here in Washington. First GOP leaders purge conservatives from key committees. Now they signal they are willing to cave on revenue increases, even though President Obama hasn’t offered the slightest concession in return. It’s an embarrassment that these are people who claim to stand for conservatism,” said TheTeaParty.net’s founder, Todd Cefaratti. “President Obama is acting as if he was elected with a mandate, but he received just over 50 percent of the vote. Republicans again earned a majority in the House, and they need to remember this.”