clearing the decks (photo: mag3737)

In addition to patent reform, the Senate took another step last night with little fanfare. They allowed for the increase in the debt limit by $500 billion, per the agreement in the debt limit deal. Under the deal, the debt limit increased right away by $400 and the President was able to request another $500 billion, but the Congress could use a resolution of disapproval to essentially disapprove of the increase. Then the President could veto that disapproval, and that could be sustained by just 1/3 of either chamber. It was a silly, Rube-Goldberg way to increase the debt limit. But Democrats actually stopped the resolution of disapproval yesterday:

The action came under an unusual legislative procedure spelled out under the August agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. credit default. In a 52-45 vote, the Senate blocked an attempt by Republicans to slow down the process that will result in the $500 billion debt-ceiling increase [...]

There was a twist in this scenario Thursday evening, however. Democrats held firm, rejecting the resolution of disapproval, thereby speeding the process and increasing the borrowing limit immediately.

Only Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) broke from his party to vote with the Republicans in trying to move forward with the measure.

This didn’t have any fanfare attached to it, there was no campaign around it. The debt limit just got increased, and there wasn’t even a two-step of votes, but a one-step. This will be the case, too, when the next increase, of between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion depending on the outcome of the Catfood Commission II, comes into being.   [cont'd.]

Ghandi at the SF Ferry Building

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, my thoughts turn to peace. It’s hard to keep them there, though, because of the chorus of voices that scream for violence and war.

As Autumn Sandeen noted on Wednesday, there is something truly ghastly when one of the biggest cheers at the recent GOP presidential candidate debate at the Reagan Library went up when Brian Williams made reference to the high number of executions in Texas under Rick Perry.

“What do you make of that dynamic that just happened here?” Williams asked. “The mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause?”

“I think Americans understand justice,” Perry replied.

To borrow from Inigo Montoya, I do not think that word means what he thinks it means. To Perry — and to the folks that applauded — what they applaud, what they want, what they lust for is not justice, but vengeance.

There is a difference.

Faced with violence, too many voices are raised that call for vengeance. All too often, though, we become that which we attack. They send planes into our buildings, and we send predator drones into theirs. As the media embraces a huge 9/11 retrospective, my thoughts turn not to wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, “terror”, “drugs”, Libya . . . oh, wait, that’s not a war, and not even “hostilities”, right?), but to peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers . . .

U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Bob Houlihan. Creative Commons.

This weekend, the public will mourn a site of loss, recasting the painful memories and haunting fears that still hover over the aftermath at Ground Zero. But the people who worked and breathed that tragedy in the days and months following September 11 won’t be at the primary commemoration ceremony for the families of victims. The Mayor’s decision to limit the attendees by excluding the 9/11 first responders is an unnerving metaphor for an unhealed scar of 9/11. Many of the rescue and recovery workers who labored at Ground Zero have been plagued by a metastasizing medical crisis, aggravated by chronic political failure.

This week, 9/11 firefighters and police chiefs rallied to demand changes to the rules governing compensation for health problems tied to poisonous air and debris at Ground Zero. They want federal funds to support treatment for cancer, which is currently omitted from the primary legislation covering Ground Zero-related medical needs. For years, researchers have been uncovering fresh evidence of widespread and devastating illnesses afflicting a large portion of people exposed to the aftermath; ongoing health issues range from crippling lung and breathing problems to post-traumatic stress disorder. But adequate funding for 9/11 workers has often been ensnared in political gridlock, not to mention the general incompetence of the healthcare system.

The UK Guardian reports that new research could trump politicians’ concerns over potential cancer liabilities:  [cont'd.]