Holy... anyone hearing what is being said on the house floor? (empire)

[Freya]

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D) Illinois is on the floor right now. She started speaking by saying she likes to be a congress person because she gets cards from various people in government.

She said that she got a greetings card from Cheney and she was planning on putting it up like she does other cards. She went on to say though that she noticed it had a quote saying (and this is not an exact quote as I don't remember it exactly) "If a sparrow can fall with his (being god) consent, can an empire not rise with his consent?"

She said the quote was somewhat disturbing. Really shows you what is on these peoples minds... Who (that is not insane) sends a greeting card with that kind of quote?

Full quote should be in the record after adjournment.

[dflprincess]

1. I thought the Biblical quote about the sparrow

had something to do with God being aware of when even a single sparrow fell - not saying "Ok you, fall". The point of the passage suppose to illustrate that if even a sparrow is that important to God, how much more valuable are humans to Him. I don't recall anything about empires except that render onto Ceasar the things that are Ceasear's line.

[finecraft]

4. Not biblical...from Ben Franklin

"And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid"

[dflprincess]

7. Thank you

I wasn't familiar with the Franklin quote (obviously). There is something about sparrows in the Bible but I'm too lazy to look it up to see how I got so confused.

I have to wonder what Ben would think of Cheney using his words. Let's hope Cheney remembers Franklin's line about "Those who would give up liberty for security deserve neither." the next time the Patriot Act comes up.

[gmoney]

2. What are these sessions?

What are these sessions where they have like 5 people in the entire building? Is this just a way of getting stuff into the record? Shouldn't these three democrats hold a quick vote to repeal the Patriot Act and enact single-payer health coverage?

[kiahzero]

6. Does the word "quorum" mean anything to you? (n/t)

[gmoney]

14. sure, but if there's no quorum, why all the speeches?

Isn't a quorum required to conduct any business, or just to hold a vote?

What's the point of making these speeches to a nearly empty room?

Your tax dollars at work. And typical of the type of meaningful leadership we endure.

[Hippo_Tron]

13. There's a reason why a majority member must preside

Although that would be hillarious if they tried.

[Lisa]

3. is this the card?

http://slate.msn.com/id/2092800/

(close-up of actual card)
http://slate.msn.com/id/2092804/

"And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"
--Ben Franklin

[Tellurian]

5. Hmmm..

"And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?" --Ben Franklin

And if the empire rises without His aid, who then is supplying the aid to the empire? The darkside?!

[buycitgo]

11. THAT deserves some positive ree

well done, cadet!

may the forcemeat be with you

[JohnnyRingo]

8. I thought that was on their Xmas card

I remember something 'bout that last Jan.

Maybe she just got it. (Congress mail screenings)

[Zorra]

9. I bet that's got old Ben rolling in his grave.

Dick Cheney's Empire Christmas Card
24dec03
"If a sparrow can fall to the ground without His notice,
it is likely that an empire can rise without His help?"


'If a sparrow can fall to the ground without His notice, is it likely that an empire can rise without His help?'Ben Franklin

[Octafish]

10. Very much insane.

Criminally insane.



Being Dick Cheney

By David Sirota

There are moments in the life of every politician when the public gets an unfiltered glimpse of the person behind the platitudes. For the first President Bush, it was cameras catching his wonderment at a supermarket scanner. For Mike Dukakis, it was his bobble head impression in the tank. And for Bill Clinton, it was his pained effort to define what “is” is.

But we are rarely treated to the morsels Vice President Dick Cheney recently served up. By the time he had finished a trio of public statements, Cheney confirmed our worst fear: He is divorced from reality.

First, Cheney held up Fox News Channel as the pinnacle of objective reporting. Despite the brazen sensationalism and hard-right tilt that have made Fox the laughingstock of American journalism, Cheney last month told thousands of Republican Party loyalists that he “ends up spending a lot of time watching Fox News, because they’re more accurate” than any other media outlet. Of course, just last year, a University of Maryland study found that Fox may well be the most inaccurate news organization in America. The study found, among other things, that 80 percent of people, like Cheney, who watched Fox held at least one major factual misperception about the war in Iraq—a far higher rate than viewers of any other network.

SNIP...

Yes, these out-of-touch comments evoke jokes about spending too much time in a secure undisclosed location. But they also illustrate something far more serious: the man who in one instant could be president has lost touch with reality. His judgment is so severely impaired that he relies on Fox for facts, Wal-Mart for economics, Halliburton for ethics and Don Rumsfeld for security. Cheney’s psychological profile has become suspiciously similar to your “crazy Uncle Ned”—a man you don’t want anywhere near your family. And yet, just one heartbeat separates Uncle Ned from all of our families.

CONTINUED...

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/being_dick_cheney/

[iconoclastic cat]

12. Someone tell that moran that Franklin was warning AGAINST empire.

Here's more on that card:
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2003/Cheney-Empire-Christmas24dec03.htm

Hey, Big Time: Please self-fornicate. I wave flatus in your general direction. Your father smelled of elderberries.