Lazy Sunday

Have we entered a new era of governmental responsibility? Maybe, but probably not. The newly remade House, now heavily lopsided in the GOP's favor, has so far demonstrated a more open and democratic manner of legislating, allowing actual debate to occur, a far cry from the secrecy and parliamentary shenanigans favored by the Pelosi-led House. This is great. But the thing that gives me pause are the bills themselves being brought up for debate. Riding a wave of Tea Party fury, an overwhelming electoral mandate, and the enthusiasm of 87 freshmen representatives, the GOP seized control and promised to shake up the Washington establishment. But I fear they perhaps have overestimated their mandate yet again, just as they did '95, and as the Dems did the past two years.

Upon assuming leadership, they immediately reached into their social issue bag of tricks, voting to remove funding from Planned Parenthood, ostensibly to prevent federal funds from paying for abortions. Well, alert the Department of Redundancy Department: federal law already does prevent that. This defunding will simply take away pre-cancer screening and medical services from low income families. This funding cut and other cuts that eat away at our budget deficit cent by cent are their solutions to our $1.6 trillion deficit? Small potatoes. The President and the Republican House leadership are immersed in a political staring contest, with the first to blink being blamed with taking Social Security away from Grandma, and quite frankly, someone needs to grow a pair, step up and propose some entitlement cuts. I'm looking at you, Mr. President. Your hands-off strategy may end up working, but it would it kill ya to use some of that political capital and that charming smile and get out in front of this issue?


I love a good prank.

Any guesses as to what that is? An award-winning, 3-D representation of the AIDS virus. From National Geographic, "The two-tone color scheme shows HIV (orange) attacking and fusing with an immune cell (gray). The triangular cut-away shows how the virus integrates itself to turn the cell into a virus factory". Vicious.