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Analysis: Health care will run into spending bills after recessBy Ed Hornick CNN updated 7:16 a.m. EDT, Tue August 11, 2009 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Members of Congress will come back from their summer break in September to a plate full of health care reform -- that's if they survive the latest rancorous and sometimes violent town hall meetings. Senators are getting an earful on the subject from constituents. House members, who began their recess a week earlier, also got a head start on hearing from residents in their districts, facing sometimes contentious comments. But when Congress returns, members will be...

These are the ethics guidelines which govern United States Congressional behavior with respect to town hall meetings, holding them while gain support from any partisan or issue-related policy group, what they can and cannot do or spend, etc. Your elected Congressperson, whether Democrat, Republican or Indepdent, must adhere to these.This is for the super researchers and legal minds here on FR; have at it and "Eagles Up!" At first glance, it appears some of the recent tactics Democrats are engaging in to avoid the "angry mobs" and limit participation, or stack gatherings, could well be defacto or dejure Congressional...

I've been trying to reach Eshoo about Health Care. Take a look at the long list of hard-hitting townhall meetings she has lined up in during the August recess to address constituents' concerns about the major issues of the day: On Wednesday, August 26th, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo will host a Town Hall Meeting to discuss High Speed Rail. Experts from the High Speed Rail Authority and Caltrain will make presentations and answer questions. In November, 2008, Californians passed Proposition 1A, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century. How this will impact local communities has...

Just because Congress is on recess doesn't mean we still can't put pressure on them to stand up against President Barack Obama's socialist agenda. In fact, this is the best time to do so. Most Congressmen are heading back to their districts until Sept. 8 for a little face-time with constituents. Many times this includes town hall meetings where constituents and Congressmen are able to talk in a personal setting about political issues. This is where TEA party activists and other grassroots conservatives have had a tremendous impact. Take a look at this story from POLITICO. The article focuses on...

Before rank-and-file House Democrats bolted for summer break last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave them each a three-by-eight-inch pocket card and told them never to leave home without it. For Pelosi and her top aides, the two-sided, blue-and-maroon glossy — a personalized cheat sheet to help Democratic members tell their constituents what they’ll gain from health care reform — is the key to winning the critical month of August. Republicans have their own summer strategy: With Americans growing wary of plans for health care reform, GOP leaders are telling their members to take the fight straight to the Democrats. “You...

WASHINGTON -- August is shaping up as a make-or-break month for a health-care overhaul -- not because Congress will be hard at work in Washington, but because it won't. Home for summer recess, lawmakers will be more accessible to constituents worried about the direction of the unfinished legislation. Supporters and opponents plan to pour millions of dollars into television ads, phone banks and other efforts to shape public opinion. Conservative groups, big business and others opposed to Democrats' health proposals plan to aim their fire at the push to create a publicly run insurance plan that will compete with private...

CNN) -- President Obama said Thursday that the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has made America less safe. President Obama wants to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, but Congress wants a detailed plan. "The record is clear: rather than keep us safer, the prison at Guantanamo has weakened American national security," he said during an address on national security at the National Archives in Washington. "It is a rallying cry for our enemies. It sets back the willingness of our allies to work with us in fighting an enemy that operates in scores of countries. By any...

1. Is Harry Reid keeping the Senate open again? It doesn't seem like it.... 2. In that case - is Bush making recess appointments? He ought to. Thanks.

Emergency Petition to Congress No Summer Holiday For Congress Unless The Offshore Drilling Ban Is Lifted! Grassfire.org Petition

Save the Children by: Deborah Lambert, July 17, 2008 First it was dodge ball, then it was tag. Now it is sack races and three-legged races that might cause children harm. These games were recently cancelled right before an Edwardian-themed school sports day, which affected hundreds of kids, according to the London Telegraph. The move was criticized as “completely over the top.” But teachers at the John F. Kennedy Primary School in Washington, Tyne and Wear, defended the decision, saying that although games that involved running and hopping would still be played, the cancellation of the three legged-race and sack...

The Senate is famed for its longwinded debates, but on Friday it took Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown just seconds to stop Republicans in their tracks. With the Senate entering the first day of its Memorial Day recess, the Ohio senator was briefly in the chair, before a near-empty chamber, to gavel in and gavel out what is called a pro forma session. Without that procedural move, the Senate would technically be adjourned and President Bush could install administration officials or judges as "recess appointments" — without Senate confirmation. "That's the fastest I've ever done it," said Brown, who like other...

Children at Oakdale School here in southeastern Connecticut returned this fall to learn that their traditional recess had gone the way of the peanut butter sandwich and the Gumby lunchbox. No longer could they let off youthful energy — pent up from hours of long division — by cavorting outside for 22 minutes of unstructured play, or perhaps a vigorous game of tag or dodgeball. Such games had been virtually banned by the principal, Mark S. Johnson, along with kickball, soccer and other “body-banging” activities, as he put it, where knees — and feelings — might get bruised. Instead, children...

Congress has been brought to a grinding halt by hardening Democratic and Republican stances on taxes and spending just days before lawmakers begin leaving Washington for Christmas and New Year’s. The two sides are, in some cases, refusing even to speak to each other about the massive omnibus and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) bill. Senate Republicans refused to meet Democrats Tuesday on spending and House Democrats rejected the Senate’s AMT “patch,” preparing a new version paid for with corporate tax increases. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered the majority’s plans with a proposal that would require Democrats to...

Great explanation of how Congress works http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/26b0d09397

It’s Uncle Jay’s first-ever rerun! Here’s his educational “vacation” episode, explaining why Congress needs so many vacation days. If you missed it the first time, here’s another chance to miss it again!

Bozrah (AP) _ For many students at a school in Bozrah it will be less play and more work. The principal at Fields Memorial School has decided to cancel recess in the upper grades. The decision affects students in grades five through eight. Maureen McLaughlin Scott, the superintendent and principal in Bozrah, sent a letter to parents last week telling them about the recess decision. Her letter says students need more time in class to meet minimum state requirements for classroom hours and to improve their performance on the Connecticut Mastery Test. A state Department of Education spokesman says middle...

By Christine S. Moyer STAFF WRITER CARPENTERSVILLE — Pumping homemade signs and chanting and cheering, about 800 Lakewood School pupils in Community Unit School District 300 fought for their freedom Friday morning. They protested. "What do you want? Recess. When do you want it? Now!" Responding to Lakewood Principal Tim Loversky's decision last week to cut the pupils' extra 15-minute recess and the cafeteria's snack line, the fifth- and sixth-graders filed out of classes at about 8:45 a.m. and marched around the school's perimeter with their teachers...

Judge Grants Injunction Allowing Child's Recess Bible Reading and Sharing By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker March 24, 2006 (AgapePress) - A federal judge has ordered an elementary school in Knoxville, Tennessee, to stop prohibiting a fifth-grade student from reading his Bible with a friend during recess. Luke Whitson and his parents had filed a motion for preliminary injunction against Knox County School District officials for threatening to punish the fifth grader for reading his Bible during recess at Karns Elementary School. According to press reports, Knox County Schools officials had argued that Bible reading jeopardizes student safety. They also...

Principals Cut Recess Time Schools Want More Time For Instruction POSTED: 5:52 pm EST March 23, 2006 UPDATED: 11:15 pm EST March 23, 2006 FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Two elementary schools in Fall River have decided to eliminate morning recess to give kids more time to study. NBC 10's Larry Estepa talked to parents who call that decision a mistake. "I absolutely believe they should have recess. I'm a liaison for the school, and I'm the one who's advocating for recess," said Kathy King, a parent of a third-grader. Fall River Superintendent Nicholas Fischer said some of his principals decided...

In June, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid promised an up-or-down vote, but only if the White House opened sensitive files to Senate rummaging. The White House refused — and quite appropriately so. And so the game drags on. Well, again, it's time to bring it to a halt. Rumors abound in Washington that Bush will take the opportunity of a congressional recess to put Bolton in the U.N. in time for September's General Assembly convocation. The so-called recess appointment would keep Bolton on the job until February 2007 — and who knows what would happen then? Sure, such a course...

SACRAMENTO -- State legislators wrapped up work Friday for a monthlong summer recess with focus already sharply shifted to the looming battle over the November special-election agenda and an August deadline for compromise on ballot measures. With a state budget approved and out of the way, the legislators will spend the next 30 days at home in their districts while legislative leaders ostensibly work with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to craft a compromise on his special-election agenda that both sides can live with. Yet with discussions currently occurring only at the staff level and Democrats having little motivation -- politically or...

John R. Bolton's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations was the hottest issue in Congress a few months ago. But it has virtually evaporated this summer, eclipsed by speculation over a Supreme Court nominee and the fate of the president's top political adviser. With neither the White House nor Senate Democrats showing any sign of yielding in their long-running dispute over documents related to Bolton's State Department work, speculation is rife that Bolton is prepared to accept a recess appointment good through the end of 2006, despite warnings from some GOP senators that it would weaken his influence...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Peabody elementary school students will get a lesson in subtraction come Monday as the district cuts recess time in half - to 10 minutes - a move that has parents fuming. ``My kid has a hard time putting on a jacket in that amount of time,'' said Donna DiNapoli, who has a second-grader attending Capt. Samuel Brown School. ``By the time most of these kids get ready, recess will be over.'' Some parents said that even with the current 20-minute recess, kids have to hustle to get in some fun. Child's play has gotten more than a bit serious in...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Edward Kennedy is trying to file a "friend of the court," or amicus, brief that argues that the recess appointment of Judge William Pryor Jr. was unconstitutional, according to a new court document. The request was sent Wednesday to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Adefemi v. Ashcroft, which challenges a Board of Immigration Appeals (search) decision that the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service had enough evidence to deport Adefemi, a citizen of Nigeria, on a firearms offense. The case is set for arguments in front of the full court, or "en banc,"...

Bush Nominates, Appoints 24 to Various Posts Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:03 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush nominated or appointed 24 people to various posts on Friday. Bush used the presidential power to appoint four nominees while Congress is in recess -- something that has infuriated Democrats, especially when it involves judges. In this case, Bush is promoting four men and women to federal positions including undersecretary of education Eugene Hickok to become Deputy Secretary of Education. Edward McPherson, now chief financial officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was recess-appointed to replace Hickok as undersecretary. Other recess...

PRESIDENT BUSH'S decision Friday to install controversial judicial nominee Charles W. Pickering Sr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit using a recess appointment is yet another unwarranted escalation of the judicial nomination wars. We have lamented some of the attacks on Mr. Pickering, but his record as a federal trial judge is undistinguished and downright disturbing, and Senate Democrats are reasonable to oppose his nomination. Installing him using a constitutional end run around the Senate only inflames passions. The right path is to build consensus that nonpartisanship and excellence are the appropriate criteria for judicial selection....

President Bush tossed a bone to his conservative base yesterday and made an end run around Senate Democrats, appointing a controversial judge to the federal appeals court. Democrats had blocked Charles Pickering's nomination for two years, but the President handed the Mississippi judge a temporary recess appointment yesterday that requires no Senate approval. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a leading opponent of Bush's judicial nominations, denounced the move as "a finger in the eye to all those seeking fairness and bipartisanship in the judicial nominations process." "A man who [once] defended cross-burning does not deserve elevation to the bench," Schumer added...

Bad News for Islamists: Bush MakesRecess Appointment of Daniel Pipes to USIP By Andrew L. Jaffee, August 22, 2003 Home   Search   Forum   Terms The White House announced today that: The President has signed the recess appointment of Daniel Pipes of Pennsylvania to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace. The President nominated Mr. Pipes on April 2, 2003. By signing appointments during a congressional recess, an American president can avoid the Senate's confirmation process. Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and their Islamist friends, CAIR - The...

E-mail AuthorSend to a Friend <% dim printurl printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Print Version April 29, 2003, 8:45 a.m. Benching BorkHow to end the war over judges.By Randy E. Barnett ith their unprecedented filibuster of Miguel Estrada, Priscilla Owen, and others, Senate Democrats have once again raised the ante in the war over the present and future of the judiciary. The New York Times is opposing yet another Bush appointee, Carolyn Kuhl. The Washington Post has come out against yet another, Bill Pryor. And the list goes on. With each escalation, Democrats have confronted Republicans with the option of either...

Recess appointment of judges that leftists hate.

Recess Time With Senate Democrats taking obstructionism to new levels, the president should re-read Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 3. by Hugh Hewitt 04/23/2003 12:00:00 AM Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer THE LEFT EDGE of the Senate Democratic caucus has taken control of the judicial-nomination process and has forced the entire Senate into what is, at best, an extra-constitutional swamp. With their filibuster of D.C. Circuit Court nominee Miguel Estrada, their threatened filibusters of Fifth Circuit nominees Priscilla Owen and Charles Pickering, and their obstruction of other nominees such as John Roberts, Carolyn Kuhl, and a half-dozen Sixth Circuit nominees, Senate...

With all the focus on the election here, this topic may have been overlooked. I'm wondering if the President is waiting until November 6, or later ( but before the lame duck session of Congress begins on 11/11)--AFTER control of the Senate is determined--to start some recess appointments.Seems if the Dems keep control, Lord we pray not, but if they do, it would behoove him to start putting these judges in place. The only thing that might keep him from doing it would be the long-term "tone" thing. But if the Republicans get control, he might be inclined to wait,...

Play nice, kids By Jim Caple Page 2 columnistWe are one step closer toward raising a generation of paste-devouring Ralph Wiggums. Is this what you want, wussies?If you thought some schools went overboard when they banned dodge ball last year, consider this: A Santa Monica elementary school principal recently banned tag, saying the game can only be played under the strict supervision of physical education teachers and not at all during the lunch hour recess. That's due to: one, the risk of injury; and two, a "self-esteem issue," because whoever is "it" could be considered a "victim." "We had some...