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Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Well, it can’t hurt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jewish Telegraph Agency is reporting that “a thousand Orthodox rabbis are sending an emissary to Atlanta to pray for rain.”
The emissary, Rabbi Yehuda Levin, will perform an “ancient prayer ritual” Wednesday night, though the report didn’t say where.
The report says, “Levin reportedly performed the ritual in 1986, after which there was four days of rain.”
“Orthodox Jews wish to show solidarity with those suffering from the drought and other natural disasters,” said Levin.
Will it work? Who knows. But it’s gotta be quicker than waiting for the governors of Georgia, Florida and Alabama to work out a water-sharing agreement for Lake Lanier.
It’s rare, but it does happen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), a longtime of ally of President Bush - as are most Georgia Republicans in Congress - announced this week that he’s “deeply disappointed” that Bush is threatening to veto a Farm Bill Chambliss spent two years putting together.
Bush said Chambliss and the rest of the Senate Ag Committee just aren’t frugal enough. Whoa! Why doesn’t he insult their mothers while he’s at it?
The White House says the 2007 Farm Bill continues to send most of its farm subsidy money to the top 2 percent of America’s richest people and continues the subsidies despite the growth in farm earnings. Bush advisors said the nearly $300 billion Farm Bill contains $37 billion in “increased tax revenue and gimmicks.”
“Our committee worked for months to craft a strong bipartisan farm bill while remaining fiscally responsible,” Chambliss, the top Republican on the Ag Committee, said in a statement.
“I truly believe we have made serious reforms and meaningful improvements to current law considering the budget constraints we are facing,” Chambliss said.
So there, Mr. President! Veto away!
SCHIP: Negotiations are race against the clock
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even as President Bush prepares to veto for a second time legislation that funds the States Children’s Health Insurance Program, congressional Republicans and Democrats are negotiating privately on a third version of the bill.
Democrats are still trying to get about 15 House Republicans to support a new version of the bill so Congress can override an expected third Bush veto. At the same time, Democrats are only willing to go so far in changing the legislation that is a top election issue for their party.
So far, there’s been little meaningful progress in those negotiations even though SCHIP, known in Georgia as PeachCare, could run out of money next Friday, said Rep. Nathan Deal, a Clermont Republican who is sitting in on the negotiations.
“There still are major issues that separate both sides and some of those issues are not even being addressed,” said Deal, who continues to oppose the Democrats’ bill.
Democrats continue to insist that SCHIP be expanded by $35 billion, insure 10 million children and be funded by a tobacco tax, positions most House Republicans reject.
“They may be ready to make some changes. The question is if those changes are serious enough,” said Deal, who involved in the meetings because he’s the top Republican on a subcommittee that oversees SCHIP. “There are still major philosophical differences.”
Rep. Tom Price, a Roswell Republican who submitted an alternative SCHIP bill that Democrats ignored, isn’t sound very hopeful about passing a new bill.
“We certainly haven’t been impressed by the Democrats’ efforts to include some of the principles we’re interested in,” Price said.
One such GOP request is to insure 90 percent to 95 percent of the children living in homes with incomes of about $40,000 a year before allowing any higher-income families to enroll. Such a provision, however, would make it difficult for Democrats to use SCHIP to insure an additional 4 million children, for total of 10 million insured kids.
Meanwhile, over at the PeachCare office in Atlanta, Amanda Seals said officials are suffering through another déjà vu. They can only hope that Congress will act before the temporary agreement that has kept the program running since Oct. 1 runs out of money next Friday.
“For us, if they don’t pass another (temporary funding measure) or a bill the president can sign our program goes away,” she said.
