legislation
The bills that Congress reject are as informative as the ones it does. Reviews of all the legislation that meet their fate in government halls.
Bryan Watch: Feb 2020 II
Another fairly slow week for Congress, with only 16 votes taken. Eleven of them were party line, and Rep. Steil voted with the Republicans every time again this week. That brings us to six straight weeks of Bryan not thinking for himself.
John HeckenlivelyPublished 4 years ago in The SwampBryan Watch: Feb 2020 I
A relatively busy week for Congress this week, with 20 votes. 17 were party line, and Steil continued his record of non-thinking, voting with the Republican caucus every time this week.
John HeckenlivelyPublished 4 years ago in The SwampWhat does Separation of Church and State Really Mean
The phrase “separation of church and state” is one of the most commonly used yet least understood political sayings in all of modern vernacular. Many Christians claim this separation as the unrelenting law that took prayer from public schools, tore down crosses from public parks and seeks to removed America from being “one nation under God”. Others see it as an open minded and helpful gesture that ensures equality for a nation of immigrants that is a melting pot of global cultures. For both good and bad the term “separation of church and state” has been touted in more wrong ways that correct ways.
James RobinsonPublished 4 years ago in The SwampBryan Watch: Jan 27-30
Another fairly slow week in Congress, with only 12 votes this week, two of them procedural and five of them non-partisan. Steil missed three votes on Wednesday. Of the party line votes he did participate in, he was 100% with the Republicans this week. Meaning that Steil has spent all of January always answering at his party’s call and never thinking for himself at all.
John HeckenlivelyPublished 4 years ago in The SwampBryan Watch: Jan 2020
Here we go, the first Steil Watch of 2020. had to wait until there were enough votes to cover. BRYAN WATCH - JAN 2020 - Part 1
John HeckenlivelyPublished 4 years ago in The SwampThe politics of doing nothing.
The politics of doing nothing Sometimes doing nothing is the right thing. We live in a period of time when constant activity is the norm. Doing nothing is not acceptable; but it has not always been like this. The ancients in China had a philosophy, enshrined in the Tao Te Ching; that contained the statement that all things can be achieved by non action. This classic work has been translated from ancient Chinese, to modern Chinese and then to European languages and so may have lost the ancient meaning. ( ancient Chinese had several meanings for each “symbol” like most other nations at the time language was spoken and not often written) It is possible that non action should be interpreted as not acting in in a way that is not in tune with and part of the natural way. Farmers and gardeners know that impatience is counter productive. It is no good sowing seeds in mid winter; you have to do nothing ( about sowing seed --but you can prepare the ground in some climates) until the spring.
Peter RosePublished 4 years ago in The SwampWhy Vaping Bans Are a Terrible Idea
My grandpa quit smoking in 2002, after smoking cigarettes since he was 13 years old back in the early 60s. A time when doctors were the spokespeople helping tobacco companies sell their products.
Landon GirodPublished 4 years ago in The Swamp"Abortion Murder" for Failure to Do a Non-Existent Medical Procedure?
My road to having two healthy, feisty daughters came with a few unexpected turns. When I was first pregnant with my now-15-year-old daughter, I wasn't exactly sure just how pregnant I was. My cycles tended to be all over the map, to put it politely, and so, when I went for my dating ultrasound and the radiology technician saw a mass around one ovary, the assumption was I must be having an ectopic pregnancy and I was told to head to the local hospital immediately. Fortunately, that was where I met my very coolheaded obstetrician, who explained exactly what my hormone levels should be doing in a regular, healthy pregnancy and said firmly, "They don't make that decision (about whether a pregnancy was ectopic) - I do."
Christina St-JeanPublished 4 years ago in The SwampBryan Watch: Nov 18-21
While most of the attention this week was on the Impeachment hearings, where State Department officials revealed the criminal network disguised as a presidential administration, Congress actually did cast a few votes this week.
John HeckenlivelyPublished 4 years ago in The SwampAndrew Yang Wants to Put Money in Your Bank
Are you a kid that is gonna be turning or is already 18 years old? Do you young adults want 1,000 dollars to do anything you want! Well, Democratic Candidate/Entrepreneur Andrew Yang does. He wants you to become rich with the advocated policy “Universal Basic Income”. The Universal Basic Income policy wasn’t his idea in the first place. Explained in “Democratic Candidate Andrew Yang Wants To Make You $12,000 Richer” by Mike Prevatt, Universal Basic Income is a policy where everyone in a society gets a certain amount of money to do whatever you want to meet your basic needs,'' he explained, "And my plan—The Freedom Dividend—would put $1,000 a month into the hands of every American adult starting at age 18." As he is currently a democratic candidate, if he pulls through to becoming the nominated president, how would the Universal Basic Income policy thrive.
Rani LozanoPublished 5 years ago in The SwampWhat an Onondaga County Executive Can Do for the Community
Each state is divided into different counties because one state is geographically too large to be controlled entirely by just one government leader. To have better and more localized service delivered to the community, county executives act as heads of each subdivision in the state.
Sarah MorrisPublished 5 years ago in The SwampThe Correlation Between Gun Laws and Gun Violence
Sutherland Springs, Texas is about forty minutes away from my house. For most of my life, I hadn’t even heard of it. It’s not a very large town. However, after November 5th, 2017, when 26-year old Devin Kelley shot and killed 26 people at Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, the town gained publicity. This event became the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history (Ahmed). For me, this tragedy was different. It wasn’t in some far off state like New York. I had some friends who knew people in Sutherland Springs. Never before had I been so close to an event so devastating. It’s because that church, could’ve been my church that the issue of gun violence has became the utmost importance to me. Thus, the question must be examined, what is the relationship between gun laws and gun violence?
Antonio FloresPublished 5 years ago in The Swamp