The American Trial Lawyers Association

This certainly is a bad day to be a Republican. After Tuesday night's address by the president to Congress, and overwhelming number of Americans said they felt better about the economic situation, and the President's approval rating rose by 17%. However, chosen GOP spokesman and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal didn't fare so well. Conservatives across the country are unhappy with Jindal's performance, saying that he was incredibly weak, amateurish, and that he didn't look like someone who could lead this country. Even the folks at Fox News, who are always friendly towards Republicans, had harsh words for his speech delivery, saying that Jindal never even stood a chance. Many believe that Jindal is currently being groomed to be the next GOP presidential candidate, but if Tuesday night was any indicator, this effort will be very short lived. However, and this is just a point of trivia for today, aside from being a governor, Jindal has also been an exorcist in his past. While in college, Jindal claims that he was able to exorcise a demon from his roommate who had been acting strange. He honestly believes that he expelled a demon and that he was able to cure his roommate's cancer as a result. Perhaps if this politics thing doesn't work out, he could get a job as a professional healer.


And more bad news for the Republicans today, the Senate is preparing plans to investigate allegations of torture under former President Bush, according to comments published Wednesday by Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse, a Senator from Rhode Island, is “spearheading” the efforts, and as a member of both the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, is privy to information about interrogations he can't yet share. Whitehouse noted that a torture commission might need the power to immunize witnesses on a case-by-case basis. The prospect of future prosecutions are beside the point, he said, and the most important thing was putting a spotlight on abuses committed by the Bush administration. Obama's CIA director, Leon Panetta, announced to a Senate hearing earlier this month that the Obama administration would not prosecute CIA officers who participated in harsh interrogations that critics say constituted torture. However, Whitehouse and Leahy are confident that Obama will allow a panel to hear about the abuses.


And finally today, if you're really upset about some of the budgets and spending packages in Congress, perhaps you should take that up with the GOP. In spite of the fact that they are now the minorities in both Houses, they've requested a 10% increase in the Congressional budget so that they can still retain the staff levels that they had when they were the majority. Congressional Republicans have been pouncing on any instance of wasteful spending they can find, but the congressional-operations line item will likely remain safe from their ire. The one-tenth hike brings the budget for Congress itself to $4.4 billion. A GOP leadership aide said it's unfair to blame Republicans for the increase, saying quote "I just don't know how they can get away with blaming us for that 10 percent figure. Republicans aren't getting a dime more in committee money for staff than we got last year.” Ok, so you aren't getting any MORE money, but you also aren't getting any LESS money. And keep in mind that the Republicans lost 20% of their seats in this last election. I'm no mathematician, but shouldn't that amount to a 20% decrease in funding for their party?

Labels: Bobby Jindal, Budget, Congress, Demon, Economy, Exorcism, Exorcist, Farron Cousins, GOP, Pat Leahy, Sheldon Whitehouse, Staff, The Daily Left, Torture