Legislative leaders party at Indian casino instead of passing budget

Trent Lott, Denny Hastert,Jack Abramoff, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed...cellmates

It is more important to them to show face at their special interest functions so they can get more comtributions to keep the jobs they don't do.

Upon the pope's death, temporary authority passes into the hands of the camerlengo (the highest ranking cardinal) and the College of Cardinals.

The camerlengo's first job is to confirm the pope's death with a traditional ceremony. He gently raps the pontiff's forehead with a silver mallet and calls the pope by his birth name three times. If the pontiff does not respond by the third time, he is pronounced dead. Of course nowadays, luckily for the sitting pontiff, they have a more contemporary medical procedure to determine his death but they still go through the ancient ceremony.

No earlier than 15 days and no later than 20 days after a pope's death, the College of Cardinals meets in conclave to elect a new pope. The cardinals are literally locked into a room, usually the Sistine Chapel, until they have elected a new pope. Cardinals are not permitted to have any contact with the outside world (no television, no newspapers, no letters, no phone calls) during the papal elections under pain of excommunication.

One would think our elected public servants would take it upon themselves to stay in the building, or at least on the job 12 hours a day until they arrive at something. I think they live by the term "public leaders" instead of what they really are, "public servants."

What Scot left out is that in olden days when the conclave dragged on and on, the would rip the roof off the building, stop sending coal, and reduse the amount of food delivered.

We should lock the buggers up and force them to eat a daily diet of sandwiches, like the ones served at the county jail, sleep on a cot until they get done with the business of doing the job required of.

MOI is a gobsmacked that more is not done to build a fire under these 'public servants'.

Those good folks were just fulfilling their job requirments, and courting casino money is paramount....i hope the FBI had the place wired like they did in Alaska, in an investigation that put alot of Republicans in jail. This is the Abramhoff legacy.

One is never too old to learn something new. I hope all those popes of
yore were really dead when they tapped them on the had with the silver
mallet. The silver bullet for a vampire is a more reliable indicator of death.

But some of those elected or appointed alive leaders of today could be hit
on the head with a led baseball bat, and they would not get it.

That fellow with the flute was a leader too. He led away all the children of Hamlin....to where?...The story does not tell.

I can see Assemblyman Villines and Senator Cogdill being in attendance since this sovereign government, the Chukchansi tribe are also their constituents. This expansion is a great economic boost to their districts and a generator of additional jobs! But, Speaker Bass is another story. What about Senator Florez? Where was he, did he miss out? Dean you need to protect your campaign contributions from this tribe, you better be there next time, you're going to need their money for your Lt Gov campaign.

There was one Pope that was quite dead. He was much hated and when the public heard that he was dead, the paraded his dead body thru the street of Rome and then hacked it to pieces before throwing it into the pit dug for it.

Perhaps the 'brain dead' folks in Sacramento should be made aware of the anger their actions brings out in folks.

Let's give our legislators some benifit. Maybe they had the intention to win big with hopes of bailing out our years long failed State Budget.

Possibly you can win 15 BILLION dollars on the dollar slots?

"Bass said that was terrible, but not terrible enough for her to require the Democratic caucus to stay in Sacramento and solve the problem. Villines and Cogdill didn't offer much more.

That means the fingerpointing will continue, and state workers and others relying on state programs are caught in the middle of a political showdown.

It is shameful behavior, yet both sides claim to be standing on principle. That says a lot about how out of touch they are with Californians."

What on earth does that woman mean by...terrible, but not terrible enough to stay in Sacramento...?

This female nobody believes that it is their job to stay in Sacramento till the job is done.

Apart from being elected to do the job, they are getting paid for it, and not federal minimum wage either.

What is that principle?

But Californians are out of touch with their responsibilities too.

Liberty, justice and pursuit of happiness do not rain down from heaven like manna. Freedom has to be earned over and over again. Or it is going to be abused over and over again by those who had been put at the helm of the ship. Sooner or later the pirates and privateers will emerge. That recent shameful affair proofs that we are in troubled waters. Otherwise they would not have dared.

Disappointing no matter what your affilliation. Sounds like it 's time to dress themselves in togas and stuff their useless faces to complete the mental image I have of them.Hey you guys at the Bee,yes you guys...why no blogging about the House Speaker Pelosi's deplorable behavior shutting down the house so they could go on vacation instead of working on some meaningful enery legislation.Defend those actions my left leaning...friends?

What is this "meaningful energy legislation" that is so urgent, Brian? It couldn't be offshore drilling, since it will be years, maybe decades, before that has any measurable effect on the oil supply (and not much at that).

Do you mean they should work on creating something along the lines of a Manhattan Project-type approach to create clean alternative energy sources, perhaps paid for by a windfall profit tax on Big Oil? If so, I would heartily agree that Congress should be called back in session to enact that.

Is there a time when congress ever worked through one of their many paid vacations to finish something? Republican or Democratic majority? Their vacation is bipartisan. I've never seen either party give it up to work instead. Am I wrong? Does anyone remember congress ever working through their vacation?

Easter recess 2005 (2 weeks
Schiavo case)

Vacation cut short due to Hurricane Katrina.

To be so tolerant of our public servants may be elegant, but it tends to enable them not to be the kind of government as out-
lined in the Declaration of Independence.
In a system of egalitarian principle no law maker has a pre-eminent position.
And if they are are on call 24/7 like a fireman or a police officer, then so be it. And over the years I have noticed that woman politician are the worst offenders in expecting to be treated as special privilege people.

Brian how about the years when we had a national surplus balanced budget, BEFORE the Republican controlled House and and Executive Administration? Yea it's your friend Bill Clinton and a Democratic Congress who were in Office.

Bill Clinton had a vice we all admit, but at least he did not run the Country into the ground.

I just wanted to mention Bill Clinton because he gets the right's blood pumping, and a few veins popping out by the neck.

Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton.

Thanks Isabell, I had remembered Terry Schiavo's case but I only found this at MSNBC:

The bill passed in Congress applies only to Schiavo and would allow a federal court to review the case. The House passed the bill on a 203-58 vote early Monday after calling lawmakers back for an emergency Sunday session. The Senate approved the bill Sunday by voice vote.

That suggested to me that it was just for a 1 or 2 day vote and only just more than half came back.

I went looking on Katrina as well. USA Today had this to say about a $10.5 billion measure funding immediate rescue and relief efforts for victims :

The relief bill passed the House by voice vote after Senate approval late Thursday. It comes as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government's front-line responder in natural disasters, is spending more than $500 million a day on Katrina.

The new aid averts the possibility that money might run out before Congress reconvenes on Tuesday.

The dates of hurricane Katrina are the end of August so that would indicate they were in summer break. They voted right before they reconvened.

Speaking of the dates of Katrina, here's the time line of events I found which is an interesting read.

So I'm still wondering if Congress has ever stayed working through their vacation. Certainly I'm not defending them. Not at all. I just don't want to hear people blaming one side or the other for this current vacation. When vacation comes up, no matter what stunts either side pulls, they all still go, and to hell with those who put them in office.

Mike D.
Your rant is classic Marxism.

Example: "Do you mean they should work on creating something along the lines of a Manhattan Project-type approach to create clean alternative energy sources, perhaps paid for by a windfall profit tax on Big Oil? If so, I would heartily agree that Congress should be called back in session to enact that."

To take the profits (fruits of labor) of any American (individual or company) based on envy, and retaliation is tyranny. Isn't this what the American Revolutionary War was fought for . . . freedom from the tyranny of overtaxation-legalized stealing. And the freedom to make a profit--capitolism.

At face value, this story does not give enough information for any of us to pass judgement. It is just another attempt by a very biased journalist to smear our elected officials.

Not one of us can say whether any official business was conducted before, during, or after the casino event.

Besides, public appearances are part of the job description of elected officials, and Chukchansi casino is not only vital to the local economy, it brings in a mountain of revenue for Madera County, and the state.

Pretty inhumane of Jim Boren (Bee staff) to suggest labor laws be ignored, and perpetuate the thought that locking people in rooms until the job is finished is sound policy. And others suggest we hit them over the head? Funny how the majority of these mean-spirited comments come from bleeding heart liberals.

Red, you must not be too familiar with Marx, if you think that's "classic Marxism." Taxes are a necessary part of a civilized society, and have been around in some form or another in every kind of economic and political system in recorded history. There's nothing sacrosanct about a particular level of taxation on a particular industry, your amusing appeal to the Revolutionary War nothwithstanding.

There are a few things there Red that I disagree with but no matter. I don't totally disagree with everything you said.

My further comment would be though that our state budget is way over due. This has affected many lives, albeit not yours obviously. You don't have much concern. You're a Republican who believes in "everybody for himself."

I don't mean that as a put-down, it's a common Republican position. Your comment about letting the oil company keep their billions in record profits (quarterly) at the expense of the economy and all Americans, is a good example. I can, however, see your point, and I don't totally disagree with your logic. After all, it's not their fault right? It is, however, greed.

At any rate, this isn't about labor laws. When you're an adult with a job to get done, you don't cry labor laws. I work in the film and video industry and working 12,14 or more hours a day when a deadline approaches is common. I have many times worked around the clock when the deadline was tomorrow. It's just what you do if you want to stay in business, or keep your job. You don't EVER miss a deadline. Those who do don't do the next job.

Our elected officials, local, state and federal seem to have forgotten that a deadline is a deadline and you do whatever it takes to make it. That's the bottom line. I understand the schmoozing, I'm not entirely against them going to the opening as long as their obligations are met. And there may or may not be any connection between the party and the state budget, but we elect and pay the salaries for these people and some seem to take their positions lightly. And what irks me the most is that they get all the perks. Free health care, gas, etc., all paid for by us.

Not one post suggested that the lawmakers ( who went partying at the Casino
instead of hammering out the State budget) should be hit over the head.

The closest to it was my remark (in context with dead popes being tapped on the head with a silver mallet) that somelawmakers if they were hit over the head with a lead baseball bat they would not get the message. (Grammar-wise; would and should are not interchangeable.)

The twisting or misquoting fellow bloggers is not unlawful, it does no physical or ideological harm; but to this writer it's a source of distinct annoyance and frustration.

A writer wants to be read Not necessarily to elicit consensus, but to invite
discussion; may it be pro or con. But it always should have validity in its own right. E.g.: Ranting and raving about Marxian theorem, without ever having read him is so much hot air coming across cyber space.

And cutting off dialogue with a "being all above it" is the bully-pulpit at its worst. It tends to raise the specter of controlling personality trait. And the need to have the last word always, often comes from low self-esteem. And last but not least, the good writer shares knowledge.

The good writer does not patronize.

Nicely said Isabell.