Rep. James Lankford Talks Payroll Tax Cut on C-SPAN
Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, appeared on C-SPAN on Tuesday morning to give his views on the fight over extending the payroll tax cut. Lankford said the two-month extension approved by the Senate on Saturday was “destabilizing” because of the uncertainty created.
“You cannot really do tax policy in a two-month term,” Lankford said.
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Sen. Tom Coburn Releases New Report on 2011 Waste
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, released a report on Tuesday documenting some of what he considers the worst government waste of 2011.
“Video games, robot dragons, Christmas trees, and magic museums _ This is not a Christmas wish list, these are just some of the ways the federal government spent your tax dollars,” Coburn said.
“Over the past 12 months, politicians argued, debated and lamented about how to reign in the federal government’s out of control spending. All the while, Washington was on a shopping binge, spending money we do not have on things we do not absolutely need.…
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Sen. Tom Coburn Says He Lacks “Skill Set” to Run for President
In an appearance Wednesday morning on C-SPAN, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, said he had thought about running for president because of “the weakness of our potential nominees right now” but that it was nothing serious. Moreover, he said, he “probably doesn’t have the skill set that’s necessary for that.”
On the call-in show, three different viewers said they would support Coburn, while another tweeted that the support likely had more to do with the weakness of the Republican field than with Coburn’s virtues.…
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Library of Congress: Listen to Historical Recordings from 1880s
The Library of Congress, working with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has unlocked historical recordings made by Alexander Graham Bell and others in the 1880s. The (quite technical) explanation of how the recordings were converted into digital form is below. The recordings are available here.
From a Library of Congress news release:
In the early 1880s, three inventors _ Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter, collectively making up the Volta Laboratory Associates _ tried to record sound.…
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Senate Leader Ready to Kill House Bill on Payroll Tax, Pipeline
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday morning that the Senate should quickly kill the House-passed bill to extend the payroll tax cut for another year and require an expedited decision on the 1,700-mile pipeline to carry oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Reid, D-Nevada, said that it was time “to get the vote over with so real negotiations can begin” on extending the payroll tax. Democrats control the Senate and opposed the Republican bill. President Barack Obama also opposes the GOP legislation.…
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Rep. Dan Boren Supports Republican Plan for Tax Cut Extension
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, announced Monday that he would support the House Republican plan for extending the payroll tax cut in 2012 because it includes a provision to expedite a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada through Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast.
“At a time when many are without work, it is time that we come together in a bi-partisan way to pass this legislation which will create tens of thousands of new jobs,” Boren said.…
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Rep. Frank Lucas to Lead Questioning of Jon Corzine
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is holding a hearing Thursday morning to question former U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine about the failure of MF Global, a brokerage firm that went bankrupt in October, leaving a financial mess in its wake.
Here is an Associated Press preview of Corzine’s testimony to Lucas’ committee, which issued a subpoena last week for Corzine’s appearance.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jon Corzine plans to tell a House committee that he doesn’t know the location of clients’ money that went missing from failed investment firm MF Global.…
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Former Oklahoma Rep. Mickey Edwards Criticizes Newt Gingrich
In an interview to be broadcast on Friday, former Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards, a Republican who represented a district that stretched from Oklahoma City to Bartlesville, says former House Speaker Newt Gingrich made the political situation in Washington worse.
Edwards, who served in Congress from 1977 to 1993, is part of a roundtable discussion on a segment of the PBS show Need to Know.
According to the show, Edwards says the problems during his tenure began with former Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright’s efforts to shut out Republican proposals.…
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President Obama’s Speech in Osawatomie
President Barack Obama traveled to Osawatomie, Kansas, the site of a famous speech by Teddy Roosevelt, on Tuesday to give a major address about the middle class in America and broad philosophical approaches to tax policy and regulation. A speech that perhaps sets the framework for his 2012 campaign themes, it was also a direct rebuke to much of the work by House Republicans in 2011.
The speech appeared to be well-received in the home state of the president’s mother, one of the most Republican states in the country.…
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President Obama Issues Pearl Harbor Remembrance Proclamation
NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY, 2011
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On a serene Sunday morning 70 years ago, the skies above Pearl Harbor were darkened by the bombs of Japanese forces in a surprise attack that tested the resilience of our Armed Forces and the will of our Nation. As explosions sounded and battleships burned, brave service members fought back fiercely with everything they could find. Unbeknownst to these selfless individuals, the sacrifices endured on that infamous day would galvanize America and come to symbolize the mettle of a generation.…
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