congress
A handy guide to all Congress happenings on both sides of the aisle. Thank goodness for this political body that keeps Presidential power in check.
One Problem With the Constitution
Article 2 of the Constitution sets up the executive branch. In section 1 it specifically says “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the same time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be illegible to the office of president…” This basically means that any person born in any country other than United States cannot run for president.
aoirhg a;oeirhg;oPublished 6 years ago in The SwampThe Challenge of Revising the Iran Nuclear Deal
On Thursday, October 12th, Zachary Cohen of CNN reported on fear of potential consequences of decertification of the Iran nuclear deal. He cited Jake Sullivan, a top foreign policy advisor to Hillary Clinton who helped negotiate the original nuclear deal in 2015, and Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council, as two particular doubters of President Trump's potential approach to the deal. Sullivan, when testifying before the House Foreign Relations Committee, said that President Trump risked leaving America with the sole responsibility for whatever happens, a scenario similar to what America faces with North Korea. In a statement to CNN, Parsi said "The risks are too great to allow Trump to open up a nuclear Pandora's box in the Middle East. Trump's national security team, and all serious thinkers in Congress, must block the President from a failed certification before it is too late."
Michael McKeeverPublished 7 years ago in The SwampDear President Trump
President Trump, First, thank you for running and taking on the enormous undertaking of MAGA. Recently, as talk grew about the large Powerball jackpot, I began to think what could be done with that kind of jackpot... like many others for sure. As a former term limited legislator here in Montana, I have some experience on how difficult the legislative process can be to navigate. Getting comprehensive legislation passed... well Congress has proven lately that is nearly impossible. The dynamics are so complex and fluid that even the most desired public interests cannot be achieved. While I could point to many different failures and problems America faces, I think one need only look at our debt to realize congress is part of our problems.
Daniel FuchsPublished 7 years ago in The SwampWe the People...
I don't give a shit how long its been or how far Black people (and others) have come since 1789. NO. FUCKING. BODY... should be allowed to hide behind freedom of speech to spew and express racial, religious, gender-based, and non-heterosexual hatred towards others. Hiding behind a 228-year old document? Cowards.
Dre JosephPublished 7 years ago in The SwampDraining the Swamp
In American society, there are some careers, which may be very lucrative that people just aren't able to do forever. Professional athletes, commercial airline pilots, supermodels, even artists in certain genres of music all have an unwritten shelf life policy in their hypothetical employee handbook that classifies their careers as stepping stones to assuming more senior levels in their individual industry.
Victor TrammellPublished 7 years ago in The SwampConflicts of the Father
As of 2017, conflict of interest rules apparently don’t apply legally to the Office of the President of the United States. Though, with that being said, it does not outrightly remove the issue from the slate entirely either. The concept exists not solely for the purpose of keeping an officeholder from profiting from his or her office: it exists to protect the rest of us from having that officeholder’s decisions influenced by his or her business interests, rather than by (in this case) the national interest. Someone with the business interests Trump has — unless he divests (which he seems unwilling to do: he’s been extremely opaque about his personal finances from the start) — is, essentially, operating on the honor system, and anyone who relies on that might well consider buying some swampland (or a casino) from Trump. (The idea that if someone is very rich, he is therefore incorruptible, relies on the notion that he is no longer interested in making money. Trump’s resistance to divestiture suggests that for him, this is not the case. Rather tellingly, the only entity Trump has pledged to dissolve to date is his nonprofit foundation.)
Dre JosephPublished 7 years ago in The SwampPolitical Leadership
Formerly, my articles discussed some legislation to help our nation as well as some history to alleviate the tension with our new president. Continuing on, what does it sum up to be? All of it is based upon leadership. We look to leadership during our busy schedules to tackle issues facing society. Although, we do not look to be led as sheep to the slaughter and treated like we are not the sovereign. Anyway, we hope in the elected to be leaders and manage, but also to serve. Being a servant is the purest and most definitive form of leadership and management. A leader helps by guiding, teaching, encouraging, uplifting, setting and following through on goals and visions of others like a mentor. If one thinks that being a big executive or top-line manager is superiority, that one is thinking in falsehood. In reality, they are servants to the stakeholders, the creditors. The nation.
Dr. Brian SmithbergerPublished 7 years ago in The SwampTrumpcare Dies in the Senate. Cause: Pre-Existing Conditions
In recent days and weeks, the debate over the future of Trumpcare in the media has generated a kind of Health Metaphor Full Employment Act. You’ve read the words: Trumpcare was On Life Support. It was in Critical Condition or Guarded Condition. It was hashtagged with #Emergency Room or it was Flatlining. Its declining fortunes dovetailed with the phrases available to describe it.
Michael Eric RossPublished 7 years ago in The SwampEducation Reimagined
Education Reimagined is a book that was self-published to tackle the issues facing the U.S. education system. The book takes a student's perspective to inform and give students a voice to speak up and speak out against the bureaucracy of the system and the U.S. government. The book looks at nine major issues facing the U.S. education system in part one of the book and lastly looks to the future of the system. The second part of the book is narratives from students that volunteered to write for the book. It allows students to freely speak on an issue they care about and share their personal story regarding the topic they choose to write about. Lastly, it ends with the students giving a solution to the problem they discuss and how to go about changing or fixing the issue.
Maruf HossainPublished 7 years ago in The SwampSearching for Political Viagra
The definition of dysfunction is the state of being unable to perform in a normal way. The Republican-led Senate fits that definition, as it is unable to pass health care reform despite having the majority. This, despite the beating of their collective chest following Trump’s election that gave the Republicans the trifecta of owning the White House, Senate, and the House, which every party supporter believed would be the elixir to their flagging legislative accomplishments as much as Viagra is to erectile dysfunction.
Mike BernosPublished 7 years ago in The SwampWhat Would Our Forefathers Do?
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Jenna LoganPublished 7 years ago in The SwampThe GOP Punched Itself in the Face
In one of my previous pieces, I put forward the idea that the healthcare bill championed by Mitch McConnell was a huge political miscalculation. Since then, the bill was put on the back burner for a lack of votes and the social media and actual media response has been brutal at a minimum.
Joshua GuessPublished 7 years ago in The Swamp