The Owls' Nest

Today's Talking Points

1. Legitimacy of recess appointments struck down by a federal court (will be appealed to the Supremes).
    - Obama appointed people to fill 3 vacancies in NLRB -- when there were only 2 members, with 3 needed for a quorum -- and a director of the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) whose legitimacy is now in question. 3 NLRB nominations were made in 2009, no Senate action by March of 2010. 
    - 3-judge panel says recess appointments can only be made during the period of transition from one Congress to another; two of three say it can only be to fill a position that arises during the transition, effectively meaning there can be no recess appointments. (Period allowed would be the end of December session in even-numbered years, through January 2 of the following year.)
    - The law providing for recess appointments has existed since 1823, and was used by all of the last 5 presidents. Clinton made 139 recess appointments, Bush made 171, Obama has made 32.

2. Hillary Clinton, congressional hearings on Benghazi.
    - Republicans having been saying since September 12 that this is Watergate and 9/11 rolled into one, the worst thing the U.S. government ever did.
    - Most important question not asked: How can Republicans use Benghazi to harm Clinton in 2016?
    - "Did you see that cable?" "The State Department gets 1.43 million cables a year, all addressed to me. I don't read them all."

3. Decline in union membership.
    - 11.3% of the work force, lowest rate in 97 years.

4. Apple share price down steeply despite decent profits.
    - Losing smartphone ground to Samsung.

5. Republicans in all-red states trying to award electoral college votes by congressional district.
    - If the proposed system had been in place nationally, Romney would have won, while losing the popular vote by nearly 5 million.
    - Romney would get 13 of Pennsylvania’s 20 Electoral College votes; Obama won 52%
    - Obama won Virginia by 4%, but Romney would get 7 of Virginia’s 11 electoral votes.
    - Obama won Ohio by 3%, but Romney won 12 of 18 congressional seats.
   
6. Women allowed in front-line combat in the U.S. military.
    - This has been in practice in Canada since 1989, as well as Scandinavia, Australia, NZ, France, Germany, Netherlands, Israel, North Korea. (Not Italy, Spain, Portugal, U.K.)
    - 140 U.S. female soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    - 800 injured, including House member Tammy Duckworth, helicopter pilot who lost both legs in enemy fire.

7. Saxby Chambliss, wing-nut Republican senator from Georgia, says he will resign; most popular Republican replacement at the moment -- Herman Cain.
     - That's good for a laugh, but it won't last.
 
8. Virginia jams through redistricting with an ambush amendment on MLK Day in a 20-20 senate when one old black Civil Rights senator missed the day to attend Obama's inauguration -- and then closed the day's proceedings in honor of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.
    - Republican governor disapproves, but ambivalent about veto (has presidential aspirations).

9. Republican wingnuttery: Congresscritters come from such deep red districts, they care about pleasing their voters regardless of national opinion.
    - 91% of Americans approve of background checks for guns; some Congressmen will vote against it anyway to curry favor with their deep red constituencies.

10. Colorado Catholic hospital denies responsibility for fetal death on legal grounds that a fetus is not a person; church freaks out.

11. Anonymous declares war on U.S. government, Operation Last Resort.
    - Demands less harsh treatment of hackers and whistleblowers like Aaron Swarz and Michael Bradley.
    - Hacked U.S. Sentencing Commission and distributed encrypted files, says it will release de-encryption keys if the government doesn't meet its demands for legal reform.

12. Sandy Hook truthers.
    - It was a government gun control, or New World Order, or Israeli commando plot.

13. Beyonce.
    - If Romney had won, we could have had Meat Loaf.

14. Bobby Jindal: "We have to stop being the stupid party."
    - And he's a creationist who once performed an exorcism.

15. Republicans oppose any path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
    - Because they'll vote Democratic.

17. Bill Maher: "President Blackenstein."