I received an email from a Kossak last night which read, in part,
"...Just think -- another 500 and something votes in Florida and we could be living in a normal country right now . . ."
We're not living in a normal country. Every day, 1600 Penn takes us further into Bizarro World. Every time I think my outrage meter is broken, a new report comes out which pins it in the danger zone. This is on Page A29 in the WaPo. I guess they didn't find it alarming, world-shaking, whatever....
White House Puts Limits on Queries From Democrats
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 7, 2003; Page A29
The Bush White House, irritated by pesky questions from congressional Democrats about how the administration is using taxpayer money, has developed an efficient solution: It will not entertain any more questions from opposition lawmakers.
The decision -- one that Democrats and scholars said is highly unusual -- was announced in an e-mail sent Wednesday to the staff of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. House committee Democrats had just asked for information about how much the White House spent making and installing the "Mission Accomplished" banner for President Bush's May 1 speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The director of the White House Office of Administration, Timothy A. Campen, sent an e-mail titled "congressional questions" to majority and minority staff on the House and Senate Appropriations panels. Expressing "the need to add a bit of structure to the Q&A process," he wrote: "Given the increase in the number and types of requests we are beginning to receive from the House and Senate, and in deference to the various committee chairmen and our desire to better coordinate these requests, I am asking that all requests for information and materials be coordinated through the committee chairmen and be put in writing from the committee."
*snip*
"It's saying we're not going to allow the opposition party to ask questions about the way we use tax money," said R. Scott Lilly, Democratic staff director for the House committee. "As far as I know, this is without modern precedent."
As a teacher for more than a quarter of a century, I've always taught that there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. If you can't ask questions, then you won't get stupid answers.