Tag Archives: senate

“The Daily Show” Talks to 9/11 First Responders


www.thedailyshow.com

Whether you come down on the Republican or Democrat side, it’s hard not to watch this clip from “The Daily Show” and not be angry. As many of you know, a Republican filibuster prevented a bill allotting funds to September 11th first responders to come up to a vote in the Senate. As John Devlin, one of the first responders says, “We’re patriots to this country. We went down there for the love of this country … . We didn’t turn our back on anybody … . For us to be here, still, nine years later just to be fighting for our health our compensation … ” Keep reading »

Sorry, Ladies, The Paycheck Fairness Act Is Dunzo

Sorry, ladies, but the Paycheck Fairness Act is no more. Senate Republicans filibustered the bill and Senate Democrats fell two votes short of the 60 needed to put it to an up-or-down vote.

Generally speaking, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which passed in the House of Representatives in 2009, would have made it easier to seek damages over pay discrimination based on gender. The Paycheck Fairness Act also would have ensured employees aren’t retaliated against for seeking out info about what their colleagues get in their paychecks and would have created a new grant program to strengthen negotiation skills in girls and women.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Keep reading »

Linda McMahon Of The WWE Ready For A Congressional Smackdown

Her hubby Vince may have been the chairman willing to jump in the ring and get hit over the head with a metal folding chair, but, behind the scenes, Linda McMahon has been the one running the WWE as its CEO for the past 12 years. Having already smacked down wrestling‘s glass ceiling, Linda is now setting her sights higher. She wants to run for the U.S. Senate. While Vince is slipping into her chief executive chair, Linda is throwing her hat in the ring for a 2010 run for Congress. She has her eye on Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd’s seat. But first, in the Republican primary she’ll have to pin down economist Peter Schiff, who famously predicted the pop of the U.S. housing bubble and has been whoring himself out to fake news shows ever since. We think they should just take it to the ring—Linda has to have picked up some moves from Chyna. Oh, wait, maybe Linda can form a tag team with Stormy Daniels? Keep reading »

Magic 8 Ball Says “Outlook Not So Good” for Stormy Daniels’ Political Career

It’s stormy weather for porn star Stormy Daniels. Back in February, Stormy announced that she wanted to run for Senate in Louisiana, against Republican David Vitter, who’s one of the dudes linked to the DC Madam. She’d gotten as far as forming an exploratory committee in May. But her plans have been derailed lately. It’s as if the universe is telling Stormy, “It’s better to give a BJ for adult entertainment than for a political favor!” Keep reading »

Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor Takes The Stand

Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor takes the stand today in what looks like be one of the controversial confirmation hearings yet. (Well, besides that whole Clarence Thomas, pubic-hair-on-my-Coke thing.) In May, Barack Obama announced that Sotomayor was his pick to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court. Ever since then, the liberal Latina judge has faced wave after wave of Republican criticism. For the next seven days, Sotomayor will be nitpicked with the GOP’s fine sharp-toothed comb. While day one of the hearings is basically a warm-up, here’s what to expect as the questioning really heats up. [NY Times] Keep reading »

Caroline Kennedy Takes Herself Out Of The Senate Race

Caroline Kennedy is no longer in the running for Hillary Clinton’s seat in the U.S. Senate. Yesterday, Kennedy told New York Governor David Paterson that “…for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate.” And that’s all she’s said about it so far. [ABC News] Keep reading »

U.S. Ban On People With HIV Could Be Repealed

Did you know that people with HIV who want to visit the U.S. or move to the U.S. from another country basically can’t? For about 20 years, there has been a ban making it really hard for people with the virus to enter the country, even for health conferences. They’ve been able to apply for special hard-to-get wavers for short visits, but they’ve had little chance of obtaining permanent residency. Now, Senators John Kerry and Gordon Smith are trying to repeal the ban, as well as pass legislation that would provide $50 million over the next five years to fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa and poor areas around the world. Basically, people with HIV would be treated the same as those with communicable diseases, and experts would determine eligibility for admission into the United States. [AP] Keep reading »