“U.S. Congress” on The Daily Caller

Why is Paris known as the City of Lights? Is it because the U.S. Congress banned Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulbs, so he had to take his invention offshore? (more)

This week is enough to make one long for the days when we’d just blame the Arizona shooting on video games and flagrantly use the tragedy to regulate that kind of speech. (more)

On Sunday, The Washington Post ran a long article noting (gloating?) that in 2010, “Construction did not begin on a single new coal-fired power plant in the United States for the second straight year,” with plans for 38 new plants dropped and even more older plants scheduled for retirement. Apparently we’re leaving that to our supposed “green” model, China, even though we have enough coal to last for centuries. This is reckless, the result of policies, threats and uncertainty out of Washington all tied to “global warming.” (more)

The lame-duck government is all the rage in the news these days. Entire news shows with talking head after talking head discuss what the lame-duck Congress will do, what it should do, what it is right for it to do, and so on. Meanwhile, states are having their own lame-duck sessions, with their own new laws, regulations and deals being pushed through by governments populated by people who’ve been rejected by their constituents. Yet that simple and obvious rejection by voters deters no one with a vote and inspires little questioning of the legitimacy of the concept. (more)

For years we have heard the common refrain that “the people don’t get it,” or we’re “stupid,” or we “really don’t care.” Ignoring the Americans who serially vote Democrat because they have been bought off with welfare payments or some other benefit, I have always argued otherwise, and Reagan’s 1980 and 1984 landslide victories bore me out. Of course, as president, the senior Bush quickly smashed that resurgent national spirit with a “wicked political pivot” back to insipid mediocrity. (more)

On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder held a press conference in which he stated: “Over the past few days, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the Department of Homeland Security and nine U.S. Attorneys’ Offices from across the country obtained and executed seizure orders against 82 domain names of websites.”  Because of the recent media frenzy over the WikiLeaks debacle, Americans may have assumed that one of the websites Mr. Holder had seized was Wikileaks.org.  Sadly, this wasn’t the case.  As of this moment, WikiLeaks is still alive and well and wreaking havoc on U.S. national security and our credibility around the world.  The attorney general instead was focused on intellectual property crimes. The ongoing WikiLeaks disaster has not been a priority for the Obama administration. (more)

In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency with 53 percent of the popular vote. He was the first Democrat to receive over 50 percent since FDR in 1932. In addition, his coattails gave his party control over both houses of Congress. (more)

According to the latest Gallup 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll, the U.S. Congress ranks dead last out of the 16 institutions rated. Only 11% of Americans have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in those who populate the institution, down from 17% in 2009 and a percentage point lower than the previous low (2008). (more)

Republicans talk about repealing and replacing ObamaCare.  The president counters that we should go forward with policies that are beginning to work.  Democrats say we should not return to the failed policies of the past. (more)

According to the latest Gallup 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll, the U.S. Congress ranks dead last out of the 16 institutions rated.  Only 11% percent of Americans have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in those who populate the institution, down from 17% in 2009 and a percentage point lower than the previous low (2008). (more)

By day’s end, Elena Kagan should be confirmed as the nation’s fourth Supreme Court justice, but she’ll attain the honor without the support of one of her home state senators. (more)

Few have read the 2,700 page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  Even if you have, it is difficult to absorb the full implications of the health reform bill.  Each week the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), and Treasury produce new regulations.  With so much happening so fast how can employers, insurance agents, consultants, lawyers, or insurance companies keep up with decisions to set strategies, make rational choices, and be legally compliant? (more)

Christine O’Donnell is going on the offensive in her bid for the Delaware Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden, in a race that could open up a new front in the war between Tea Partiers and those they describe as ‘RINOs,’ or Republicans in Name Only. (more)

The U.S. Congress gave final approval to legislation restoring unemployment benefits that were cut off to more than 2.5 million Americans by an election- year fight over whether the cost should be added to the federal deficit. (more)

(CNN) — Anti-establishment candidates are capitalizing on widespread anti-incumbent fervor and proposing term limits as a way to bring the power back to the people. (more)

If the African-American Republicans running for U.S. Congress find electoral success this November, the Congressional Black Caucus, long known for its progressive policy agenda, may suddenly become more politically diverse — but only if the newly minted elected officials decide to join.  As of now, there are currently no Republicans in the CBC as there are no black Republicans in Congress. (more)

Ladd Ehlinger Jr. jokes that he’s only shot campaign ads for three people, and he’s managed to get two of them named “worst person in the world” by left-wing MSNBC talk-show host Keith Olbermann. (more)

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Today, the Federal Communications Commission unveils its plan to regulate the Internet. The details are uncertain, but regardless of whether the FCC’s Internet takeover scheme is simply bad or outright horrendous, the move marks something significantly more important: the FCC has gone completely rogue. Hijacked by pronounced socialist organizations, the Commission is bucking strong opposition from the courts, U.S. Congress, and American public in a ruthless pursuit to regulate the Internet. (more)

Robert Nowotny started out as a frustrated voter. (more)