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House Republicans are preparing a continuing resolution to keep the government open. In doing so, they’ve decided to be total sluts for K Street and Wall Street. The Crony Capitalists, emboldened by the Chamber of Commerce’s help during primary season, are doing some very unusual things. Here’s what I hear is happening. First, they will reauthorize the Ex-Im bank, which is something K Street is desperate to see happen. Second, current reports are that they will spend more than the original Paul Ryan — Patti Murray deal that had included a tax hike. However, that is subject to change. Third,...

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Update: Sen. DeMint is set to stage a non-filibuster filibuster of the ominous spending bill (and the START treaty). Two headlines greet Americans today. 1. Reid threatens to keep Congress into next year: New spending bill totals $575.13 million per pageAnd2. Congress’ Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup HistoryCall me crazy, but I think these headlines just might be related.  The Congress that runs until January has been called a “lame duck,” but that vastly understates the actual threat this Congress now poses.On November 2, the voters turned this rotten Congress out.  But yet it’s still there like some...

In the real world, an employee fired for insubordination, incompetence and stealing from the company is directed to clean out his desk and leave the premises forthwith under the watchful eye of a security guard. The disgruntled former employee is ordered never to return with or without a gun.

Signaling the growing seriousness of the Obama administration's commitment this year to ending the military's ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, the Defense Department said Sunday that it will release a long-awaited report on the matter earlier than planned because senators are eager to vote on whether to repeal the policy. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered the report to be released on Nov. 30, one day earlier than planned, "to support Congress's wish to consider repeal before they adjourn," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Sunday. The Senate is slated to vote again on a defense...

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Congress should act quickly, before new members take their seats, to repeal the military's ban on gays serving openly in the military. He, however, did not sound optimistic that the current Congress would use a brief postelection session to get rid of the law known as "don't ask, don't tell." "I would like to see the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" but I'm not sure what the prospects for that are," Gates said Saturday, as he traveled to defense and diplomatic meetings in Australia. Unless the lame-duck Congress acts, the repeal effort is...

The Politico‘s Mike Allen puts this in his morning newsletter: EXCLUSIVE: Phil Schiliro, the White House congressional liaison, has told the Senate to aim to take up an energy bill the week of July 12, after the July 4 break (and after the scheduled final passage of Wall Street reform). Kagan confirmation will follow, ahead of the summer break, scheduled to begin Aug. 9. The plan is to conference the new Senate bill with the already-passed House bill IN A LAME-DUCK SESSION AFTER THE ELECTION, so House members don’t have to take another tough vote ahead of midterms.Every Republican challenger...