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Water Cooler Archive: July 2011

• PICKET: Sen. Bernie Sanders: (Audio) Somebody must primary Obama

  In a radio interview with Thom Hartman recently, Senator Bernie Sanders, Vermont Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told a caller (Ryan) he believed President Barack Obama has moved too far to the right and a more progressive candidate should primary the president in 2012. Published July 24 2011

• PICKET: Obama saw Gang of Six plan and likely wanted more from Boehner

  Why did debt ceiling talks on Friday fall apart to begin with? A few hints lie within President Obama's own speech on Friday night, the timing of when the details of the Gang of Six plan was revealed, and Speaker Boehner's morning meeting with the GOP Conference. Published July 23 2011

• PICKET: (Audio) Moran says Jefferson would be 'embarrassed' to be associated with cut, cap, and balance

  Two Virginia congressmen interpret differently what Thomas Jefferson would have thought about the cut, cap, and balance plan. Published July 22 2011

• PICKET: Rep. Poe looks to have VAWA rewritten as gender neutral

  The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is up for reauthorization this year and Congressman Ted Poe, Texas Republican and long time I-VAWA supporter, says he would now support re-writing the legislation as gender neutral. Published July 21 2011

• PICKET: Norquist's ATR responds to WaPo editorial-WaPo posts audio of Norquist interview

  American for Tax Reform's (ATR) Grover Norquist finds he is continually explaining what exactly violates his organization's taxpayer protection pledge that many politicians on the hill have signed. Published July 21 2011

• PICKET: Scott Walker-Wis. accounts for half of net new jobs in U.S. in June

  For all the protests public union employees in Wisconsin organized this past year in an attempt to halt labor reforms within the state's budget proposed by Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, it looks as if Wisconsin is on it's way to growing more jobs than many naysayers ever predicted. Published July 21 2011

• PICKET: Kaplan said disgruntled alumnus at Harkin HELP hearing previously called school experience 'very beneficial'

  A witness who testified before Senator Tom Harkin's HELP committee about the "gainful employment" rule may not have told the committee the full truth about his experiences at Kaplan. Published July 20 2011

• PICKET: (video) Murdoch attacked by proteser at UK hacking hearing

  News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch and his son James testified before British MP's at a Parliamentary hearing on Tuesday about the Murdochs' knowledge regarding the hacking of cell phones by individuals who were paid by former News Corp. employees at the now defunct News of the World publication. Midway through his testimony, Mr. Murdoch was rushed by a protester who slammed a shaving cream pie in his face. Published July 19 2011

• PICKET: (VIDEO) Obama '08: We're going to make social security solvent forever

  On the 2008 campaign trail, President Barack Obama promised social security would remain solvent forever under his administration, yet he is threatening to withold social security checks this year if the federal government defaults after the August 2 debt ceiling deadline. Published July 18 2011

• PICKET: GOP lawmakers call on leadership in both parties to take military pay off table

  Texas Republicans Congressman Louie Gohmert and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison discussed on Thursday their military pay bills at a joint press conference on Capitol Hill. Published July 18 2011

• PICKET: (VIDEO) Geithner and Lew dodge questions on Social Security myths and threats

  The Obama administration has already threatened to withhold social security checks if the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2, but does not to talk about cutting back on government jobs instead or whatever happened to the Social Security trust fund Democrats so often referred to. Published July 17 2011

• PICKET: Omaha public school stimulus money teaches kids to stop 'being a color-blind' society

  Public schools in Omaha spent $130,000 in federal stimulus money on cultural diversity books for all 8,000 school staffers including: teachers, administrators, and even janitors that teaches that a color-blind society is not enough to end racism. Published July 14 2011

• PICKET: Movie review site Rotten Tomatoes lists Palin film as 'science fiction & fantasy'

  A popular movie review website lists the new Sarah Palin film as both science fiction and fantasy. Published July 13 2011

• PICKET: Issa urges SEC to probe possible insider trading activity around DoED policy

  The Department of Education has been under fire by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as well as non-profit organizations ranging from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) since DoEd proposed and eventually published the Gainful Employment rule this year. Published July 13 2011

• PICKET: (VIDEO) Immelt to Chamber on job creation: 'The people in this room can do more too'

  The Obama administration's job's czar, General Electric's Jeffrey Immelt, addressed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday and discussed job creation ideas to the Chamber's audience at the annual jobs summit. Mr. Immelt's speech was relatively defensive and placed most of the onus on private sector businesses to take the first step towards creating jobs. Published July 12 2011

• PICKET: Light bulb ban repeal bill fails in the House

  The Hill reported on Monday that the House bill headed to the floor today that would repeal the ban on incandescent light bulbs would 'likely' go down in defeat, as it would be a vote under suspension and therefore require a 2/3 majority in order to pass the lower chamber. Published July 12 2011

• VERNUCCIO: MD union finds sneaky way to force non-members to pay up

  The move by AFSCME in Maryland to begin collecting dues from non-members recently is indicative of union organization drives across the country. Unions in the private sector have been atrophying for years and now make up less than seven percent of the workforce. Government union membership on the other hand has been sky rocketing. Published July 7 2011

• PICKET: (video) Flashback: Reid and Obama explained their '06 debt ceiling vote was 'political'

  Here are two interesting clips from earlier this year of President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, talking about why they voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006, yet feel differently today about their votes from five years ago. Published July 7 2011

• PICKET: (video) Rep.Tim Scott: Obama side-stepping Congress over debt-ceiling is 'impeachable act'

  Congressman Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, spoke to his constituents on Thursday about the debt ceiling debate in Washington. He talked about the constitutionality of the president bypassing the Congress over the debt ceiling issue. Published July 7 2011

• PICKET: (video) Van Jones slams Norquist's taxpayer protection pledge

  Former Obama administration Green Jobs Czar Van Jones spoke to the Washington Times on Wednesday after he addressed a Campus Progress audience in Washington. We asked him why he took issue with the Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge that many Republicans sign before running for office. Published July 7 2011