...And The Duck Is Back

By Semperpapa

Tomorrow, Monday November 15 2010, Congress gets back in session after the brief “vacation” that saw many of the members of the Democrats receiving the pink slip. And it looks like this lame duck session of Congress, which will last until January, will be an interesting one.

There is the small issue of the expiration of the tax cuts instituted by President Bush, for example. This is an issue of great interest to every American, because allowing the tax cuts to expire will result in the largest increase in tax the American people have been subjected to.

Democrats want the tax cuts to remain in place for all, except those that are considered “rich”, those Americans who earn more than $250,000 per year, which includes many of small businesses.

In times of economic stress, as we are experiencing these days, any tax increase would be detrimental to any possible economic recover.

When this scheme fails and unemployment will stay at the current level or get even worst, the federal government will have no choice but to look for other source of income (AKA more taxes) for more Americans. In other words, the definition of “rich” will be remodeled to include “anyone-with-a-job.”

There are also other issues that may appear in the lame duck session that the American people must remain vigilant about. Many of those who got fired on Nov. 2 will indeed attempt to stick it to the American people before they are to leave office.

One issue to look for is Immigration Reform (AKA Amnesty) that the Democrats are so enamored with as they look for the next enslaved voting block.

Harry Reid has already hinted that he will take up the subject, energized, as much as a cadaver could be, by his victory in the elections and the fact that he retains the position of Senate Majority Leader.

Another major issue is the declared intention by Obama to address the START II Treaty on nuclear weapons with Russia.

During the last day of Obama’s Asia trip, while in South Korea, President Obama sat down with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for some close door consultations. In regard to this meeting, President Obama declared that the ratification of the treaty by the US Senate was a top priority for him.

Clearly the President’s intension here is for START to be ratified before the new Congress is sworn in next January. Even if Democrats maintained the majority in the Senate, the loss of six senators to the Republicans may result in some difficulties for the President.

The proof of the administration’s high level of interest in this issue can be found in the scrambling of administration official to Arizona to brief Sen. Jon Kyl on the talks with the Russian president. Kyl is considered a key member of the Republican senators for the ratification of START.

Also on Monday, November 15, the ethics trial of Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York will begin.

The trial was postponed till after the 2010 mid-term elections by the House Ethics Committee to insure that Rangel would get re-elected, and it obviously worked.

Rangel’s ethics violations, which were already egregious, got even juicier as it has been reported that the NY Congressman also used $293,000 from his National Leadership PAC to pay for his personal legal defense cost, after taking another $100,000 in 2009.

According to the House Ethics Rules, the actions of Rangel were illegal, as the rules prohibit members of the House to use PAC funds for personal or official reasons.

It is shaping up to be an interesting lame duck session in Congress. One sure aspect of it is that many Americans will be taking good note of the behavior of those incumbents who won re-election to insure that those who fail the test of the people will be remembered in 2012.

Just my thoughts!