So, now that we’re set to embark upon The Most Constitutional Congress in Six Thousand Years of World History, what’s the first thing that happens?

House Rules Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) abruptly adjourned a hearing on a GOP health care repeal bill Thursday after he became aware that Rep. Pete Sessions was not sworn in as a Member of the 112th Congress, committee spokeswoman Jo Maney said.

No, the Chief Justice wasn’t at the scene of the crime — Pete wasn’t in the room when everybody sweared fealty to teabaggers yesterday.

But wait, it gets better: Civilian Pete “offered the motion to constitute the Rules Committee,” which was duly passed, and is now duly canceled. And with no Rules Committee, there’s no Obamacare Repeal bill. Oh, there aren’t any House rules, either.

Read more »

As you’ve probably heard by now, one of the first moves of the new GOP majority in congress was to call for a reading of the U.S. Constitution from the House Floor. And if you weren’t paying attention, that’s probably what you though happened today. The Las Vegas Sun, for instance, reported on the incident thusly:

Despite it being the government’s founding document, it’s the first time it’s been read out, every article, signature, and amendment, on the floor of the House of Representatives. But the event wasn’t just in homage to the founding fathers. It was also a sign of the new influence of the Tea Party, for whom adherence to the Constitution was — as Nevadans will remember from Sharron Angle’s senatorial campaign — a major rhetorical campaigning point during the 2010 midterms.

But was that what really happened? As a matter of fact, no, that’s not what really happened. Read more »

“When Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) read the part of Article II, Section 1 mandating that only a ‘natural-born citizen’ may be president, the woman, seated in the front row of the public gallery, screamed ‘Except Obama, except Obama. Help us Jesus.'” [Politico]

“In bidding a sort-of farewell to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, he noted the ‘relatively modest pay’ for which Gibbs has labored. In fact, he earns $172,200 in a nation where the average family income hovers around $55,000, unemployment is high, record foreclosures persist and wages for most folks are at best stagnant.” [Atlantic]

It must have been late 1994 or early 1995 when we met Pete DeFazio, Eugene’s Congresscritter for Life, at a campus event. Having missed that particular installment of Schoolhouse Rock, we asked him what the practical difference was between Demrats and Repugs controlling The People’s Funhouse.

We forget the exact wording of his response, so we prefer to remember it as follows: “It means you don’t get to do shit.”

Meaning: Repugs were now driving, and the best Demrats could hope was that the airbags were working. Maybe you can crack open a window for air, but hands off the radio. We’re cruising on Classic Rock the next two years, and stop whining, you indie poser.

That’s as it should be in These United States, never mind that the Senate is driving some training car where everybody gets a brake. You win, you get the wheel.

Read more »

WARNING: Vegetarians, animal lovers, or squeamish folks, read this post at your own risk.

Intrepid reporters from Canada City report that Sarah Palin and her father will not be subject to an investigation by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for possible violation of a state law that prohibits the “wanton waste of big-game meat,” described as “an extremely serious offense punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and one year in jail.”

Read more »

Body turns up in landfill, TV plot ensues:

Police in Delaware have discovered evidence that a former Pentagon aide may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his murder, a law enforcement source has told The Inquirer.

Police found evidence linking John Parsons Wheeler 3d to devices planted at the New Castle home of a neighbor with whom he had been feuding, said the source, who is close to the investigation. The feud was over the size of the neighbor’s house, which was under construction in the city’s historic district.

And who is John Parsons Wheeler 3d? Well, among many other things, he was chairman of the organizing committee for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the first CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He also worked on a book with The Atlantic’s James Fallows, who posted a remembrance Monday.

Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt [Philadelphia Inquirer]