A Week In Review - June 23, 2013

This is something new here @ The Other Shoe, a ‘Week In Review’. Today I am going to share the traffic reports, for both of the ‘Shoe’(s) and then I will review what I have published of late. We will see how this goes, but I am hopeful people will like a review. [Too many readers don’t have time to check by during the week, this review will touch on all the stories we have covered and the topics we represent.]

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First, on my agenda today, is something I am kind of proud of, the Mid-June traffic report. Now first I will explain that all the traffic reports that I post here @ The Other Shoe all show a-month-in-review. They extended from March 23^rd until today June 23^rd 2013. A thirty day cycle is what we will be looking at, although you can see the traffic for this month is better on both blogs. First is my traffic report from the ‘Other’ The Other Shoe.

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[caption id="attachment_826" align="aligncenter" width="630"] The Other Shoe @ Word Press Mid-June Traffic Report[/caption]

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I must profess, that with this, I am quite content. Considering the fact, that singlehandedly I; research, document, write, edit (well, I try) and publish everything you read. All by myself in a room 13x20 feet I create what you read. On each of these charts you will quite easily see, that there are big lulls in traffic. These are created by my level of pain. Funny that, my traffic is always ‘Bell Curved’. I produce a lot of content, in usually a short time. Then I plunge into the darkness, created by my pain. I try so hard to work through it, I try to put it aside (taking more pain meds just doesn’t work… because then I cannot write! Next is the traffic layout for my primary blog @ The Other Shoe.

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[caption id="attachment_825" align="aligncenter" width="630"] The Other Shoe @ Blog.com Mid-June Traffic Report[/caption]

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How that is all done, and finished quite nice. Move forward, I will, to the ‘Week In Review’. In the past week, here @ The Other Shoe we covered many topics. Here are but a few; The Sequester, Martian 3D Views, and Brown Water and not a drop to drink.

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Here is the listing, with links to them included:

• · My Dad – A Father’s Day Tribute: “This is a tribute to my father, Ken Hanning. Not until the past two years, did I find out I hardly spoke about him in high school and college. Not sure ‘Why’ I didn’t talk about my father, at that time… most likely because it came after the divorce. My father was very talented; he mastered more technologies and sciences that, in another time, he would have been thought a genius. The image below, I just recently pieced together where it was taken”


• · Much Ado About Nothing: “Employees of the IRS choose to scrutinize applications by obvious Tea Party organizations. That was wrong. That is not “Nothing” (wooo weee I finally properly used a double negative), not to me not to the American people. However, not everything is Watergate. Not every problem with the many tentacles of the Federal government reaches the White House”


• · Cypress Lodge w Brown Water, STILL!: “For the past several years (the last two working with the current manager, Kevin) I have tried to get the Cypress Lodge to provide drinkable water to the residents. As of today, June 19 2013, the Cypress Lodge and Satellite Management have refused to adequately or properly (or professionally, their last ‘solution’? To flush the rust and calcium out of one of the hot water storage tanks into the street and storm drains!”


• · The Mars Report – In 3D! : “Welcome, My Dear Readers, to the 3D issue of The Mars Report here @ The Other Shoe. This entire issue will contain nothing but three-dimensional images from curiosity on Mars. I have wanted to bring a three-dimensional issue to you, My Dear Readers, but until this week the NASA JPL website just did not have enough images. That situation changed this week.”


• · A House, Upside Down! : “Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe and ‘A House Upside Down’. House Speaker Boehner suffered, yet another, public and humiliating defeat in the House of Representatives. The Farm Bill Authorization Act, Boehner’s bill he sponsored it, and it failed to get enough votes to pass the House of Representatives. This most recent setback for Speaker Boehner, and the Republican Party, should serve as a signal to the rest of America that the United States House of Representatives(at least the Republicans) are ‘A House, Upside Down’.”


• · June 2013, A Republican Waterloo? : “The question is, My Dear Readers, will June 2013 turn into the Republican Party’s Waterloo? Let me take a moment to outline the; blunders, failures and problems the Republican Party has made in just the past 20 days. So grab a cup of coffee and maybe a little nosh and let’s spend the next three minutes discussing Republican loss.”

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And, that’s ‘A Full Lid!’ As always I am deeply honored that you choose The Other Shoe for your entertainment and news editorial. “Thank You!”

A House, Upside Down

Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe and ‘A  House Upside Down’. House Speaker Boehner suffered, yet another, public and humiliating defeat in the House of Representatives. The Farm Bill Authorization Act, Boehner’s bill, he sponsored it, and it failed to get enough votes to pass the House of Representatives. This most recent setback for Speaker Boehner, and the Republican Party, should serve as a signal to the rest of America that the United States House of Representatives(at least the Republicans) are upside down. They are unable to function and completely out of sync with the vast majority of hard working Americans.

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This farm bill is a piece of legislation that passes through the House of Representatives on a yearly basis. Inside the Beltway they call this a yearly authorization bill. The people ‘in the know’,  known it as ‘housekeeping’ legislation. For decades this farm authorization act has passed the House of Representatives, and the United States Senate, and gone to be signed by the President of the United States without notice mention or problem. Hence, the name of ‘housekeeping’ legislation meaning something done out of rote. Like vacuuming or doing the dishes.

This farm authorization bill has a sister. Its sister’s name is The Debt Ceiling. Later this year I’m going to have plenty of time to write about it.  Therefore, I’m not going to get everybody confused and discuss two pieces of legislation in one article. For my followers on Facebook, my friends in Texas that read my articles and post frequently, and My Dear Readers this is the bill I was talking about that would not knock millions off of food stamps. (as well as your truly)

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I will be completely upfront and tell you, My Dear Readers that I’m very happy this bill failed. That it would have taken food off my table. I will be honest, this was the very first reason I would hope that it failed. But something happened, in the United States House of Representatives, this week that’s spelled disaster for this legislation. The floor of the House of Representatives was open for a process of amendments to be added to the farm bill. This is a normal step in the legislative process. Actually this farm bill originated in the United States Senate. It was voted on by a majority of senators if I’m not mistaken 70. And was handed past if you will over to the House of Representatives for approval.

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If it had passed the House of Representatives this bill than of what would’ve gone into the reconciliation [Reconciliation is a legislative process of the United States Senate intended to allow consideration of a budget bill with debate limited to twenty hours under Senate rules.^[1] Reconciliation also exists in the United States House of Representatives, but because the House regularly passes rules that constrain debate and amendment, the process has had a less significant impact on that body.] part of the legislative process. Late last week a Senator from Texas said that this process was “secretive” and “done behind closed doors”. Neither statement is anywhere near the truth. The process of reconciliation has been done since the Founding of our Democracy, it occurs under the watchful eyes of the cameras from CSPAN and can be attended by any American that suffers from insomnia. This statement is not only disingenuous, it is offensive.

Later that day Senator McCain (from the floor of the Senate) expressed surprise that the other Senator was unaware the reconciliation process is not secret, anyone who wants to attend a boring meeting can attend, and that CSPAN cameras record all reconciliation meetings.

[This isn’t like me… I have just finished publishing the 3D Mars Report. I am in tremendous pain, but I need to have this up while I just might catch some traffic due to the subject matter. Please excuse that I do not provide links, as I usually do, and will try to research ALL the names and provide linkage just asap. Thank you for your understanding.]

So, what killed the farm bill? I will tell you what killed the farm bill. Radical amendments by French representatives elected from gerrymandered districts. I, like many Democrats, screamed and yelled that one day gerrymandering would bite America and that tookus. That day has now arrived. Let me share the amendments I heard about.

1. Felons it would no longer receive food assistance. If you had ever been convicted of, found guilty of, and served your time for a felony of murder rate on child molestation. You would be refused food stamps based on that fact alone. One of the basic tenets of the United States of America is want any man served his time for the crime he’s been convicted and sentenced for he shall not be punished for that crime again. Republicans kicked the Constitution and the cojones and tact an amendment to the farm approach appropriation bill that prevented any felon from America from getting food stamps. (#1056 by Rep. Vitter)[1]


2. Urine testing. That’s right and unfunded mandate for the states to run $150 drug tests on every food stamps recipient. Just a little back-story for those that don’t make policy there wonkie obsession. This urine testing has been tried by Michigan, and by Florida in just the past decade. Michigan implemented this policy for one year and it ended up with 8 to 12 pot smokers caught at the cost of nearly $150,000. In Florida this was used for welfare recipients and again you find a handful of pot smokers at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, taxpayer dollars. (Republicans Doug LaMalfa of California and Ted Yoho of Florida)[2]


3. Third that I will talk about is a work requirement that is already in place in many states but not universal. In California this work requirement already exists. However, many religious organizations have come together with several civil rights organizations to try and overturn this action in California.


4. Defunding portions of Obamacare. (#927 Rep. Heller)[3]

Ending Food Subsidies for illegal aliens: “To require the use of the systematic alien verification for entitlements program in the administration (#946 Rep. Sessions) of the supplemental nutrition assistance program. (#947 Rep. Sessions)

5. "To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp…” (#952 Wyden)


6. Too eliminate junk food purchases on SNAP (#1000 Rep. Coburn)


7. Excluding individuals with “extreme tax debt…” (#1003 Rep. Coburn)

Those are seven of the 103 proposed in just one day. I was reading these there’s an amendment defining what in Indian tribe is. There’s an amendment to expand broadband. There is an amendment limiting the EPA from defining spills uncertain farms. I read through the whole list and I for the life of me cannot think of a Speaker of the House, in the past 50 years that would allow this kind of nonsense. This farm bill became an omnibus bill, a catchall bill, and a nightmare for House Speaker Boehner.

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The United States House of Representatives is proving that it is no longer a functional body. This bill was sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, yet it died a death of 103 cuts. To me this proves that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has no control whatsoever over either party. The 85 tea party backed Republicans are pulling the United States House of Representatives to the extreme right. Moreover, just in an effort to avoid being primaried for 2014, they are tacking to the far far right.

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This spells certain death for any immigration legislation that might make it out of the Senate. House Speaker Boehner can’t even shepherd his own food and farm subsidy legislation through a House of Representatives controlled by his party. To say that Speaker Boehner is superfluous is a gross over estimation of his abilities and a gross underestimation of the tragedy about to befall our great nation. This signals a lack of communication and coordination within the party in control of the House of Representatives. They are the controlling party, the nation rises and falls with their actions, and THIS is the best that Congressional republicans can muster? This is complete and utter failure, My Dear Readers, this is an international embarrassment!

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I hope it all my Republican readers of checked out this article. I hope that all my Republican readers are listening carefully and reading carefully, understanding fully the great many forces that are rending their great party asunder. Because, My Dear Readers, and my Republican readers don’t understand this is a very distinct possibility their party will bring about ruin for our Republic. That’s not partisan Daniel talking, that’s now a reality on every front page of the face of this planet.

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I’d like to say thank you to everyone who’s drop by and read my article. I know you have a lot of places to get your content, news, entertainment and I’m honored that you come here to the other shoe. Have a great weekend!

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[1] http://www.nasda.org/File.aspx?id=19791 (PDF)

[2] http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/18/drug-testing-for-food-stamps-and-10-other-gop-amendments-to-the-farm-bill/

[3] ibid