images lewiscorinne bailey rae 
gc28262
09-26 10:14 AM
Democrats will continue their push for CIR even after election.
Illegal immigrant numbers are in millions.Illegals are guaranteed vote banks for democrats.These illegals once legalized will permanently shift the political fortunes in favor of democrats.
If CIR is pa*sed, we may not see another republican president in US history !
Illegal immigrant numbers are in millions.Illegals are guaranteed vote banks for democrats.These illegals once legalized will permanently shift the political fortunes in favor of democrats.
If CIR is pa*sed, we may not see another republican president in US history !
wallpaper Corinne Bailey Rae#39;s Album Cover- Large Graphic
singhsa3
08-05 09:09 AM
Obviously you pissed of lot of people.So what is you plan?How would you approach this.Please explain the steps including your source of funding...
Friends,
I need to find out how many people are interested in pursuing this option, since the wh*le interfiling/PD porting business (based on a year 2000 memo) can seriously undermine the EB2 category.
I am currently pursuing some initial draft plans with some legal representation, so that a sweeping case may be filed to end this unfair practice.We need to plug this EB3-to-EB2 looph*le, if there is any chance to be had for filers who have originally been EB2.
More than any other initiative, the removal of just this one unfair provision will greatly aid all original EB2 filers.Else, it can be clearly deduced that the ma*sively backlogged EB3 filers will flock over to EB2 and backlog it by 8 years or more.
I also want to make this issue an action item for all EB2 folks volunteering for IV activities.
Thanks.
Friends,
I need to find out how many people are interested in pursuing this option, since the wh*le interfiling/PD porting business (based on a year 2000 memo) can seriously undermine the EB2 category.
I am currently pursuing some initial draft plans with some legal representation, so that a sweeping case may be filed to end this unfair practice.We need to plug this EB3-to-EB2 looph*le, if there is any chance to be had for filers who have originally been EB2.
More than any other initiative, the removal of just this one unfair provision will greatly aid all original EB2 filers.Else, it can be clearly deduced that the ma*sively backlogged EB3 filers will flock over to EB2 and backlog it by 8 years or more.
I also want to make this issue an action item for all EB2 folks volunteering for IV activities.
Thanks.
pmpforgc
06-09 08:22 AM
I had looked around Alpharetta, cumming, Suwanee, Duluth etc.for new as well as recent houses.
I agree with Hiralal that prices have come down in all these area a lot compared to past.
In alphareeta in 200-300K you can get any new house you want.But not much new construction in that area because of lack of space.You can even get in Johns creek in that price range, which most costliest area in the north.Lot of new construction in the cumming.Not much new in the Suwanee as well as Duluth too.
You can hardly get a decent big and recent (relatively new) house below 200K in any of these area (not town home) unless it is foreclosure.I got in 175Kbecause it was foreclosure.
PM me if you need to talk and you are in market to buy new home.I can share my experiences.
thanks
I agree with Hiralal that prices have come down in all these area a lot compared to past.
In alphareeta in 200-300K you can get any new house you want.But not much new construction in that area because of lack of space.You can even get in Johns creek in that price range, which most costliest area in the north.Lot of new construction in the cumming.Not much new in the Suwanee as well as Duluth too.
You can hardly get a decent big and recent (relatively new) house below 200K in any of these area (not town home) unless it is foreclosure.I got in 175Kbecause it was foreclosure.
PM me if you need to talk and you are in market to buy new home.I can share my experiences.
thanks
2011 a Star /Corinne Bailey Rae
Better_Days
12-28 03:28 AM
Since more than a few hours have past since this thread was started, I can think that we can sleep in peace knowing that there won't be a war.
Having said that, I am startled at the number of Indians who seem to be sold on the idea that war is the answer.I went over to an Indian friend of mine and was shocked at the type of coverage.It seemed so much like the US media before the Iraq invasion.
Exactly what will India accomplish by squandering away the economic clout it has gathered?Yes India is a regional power and probably an emerging global power.Yes, in a long drawn out conflict, Indian will probably win.Happy now?But at what price?PLEASE, Indian is no US and Pakistan in no Iraq.
Pak has nukes, but their delivery mechanism is not sound and before Pak launches any nukes, US will disarm them and even if a few are launched India had a very good anti missile shield which will intercept and destroy all warheads before it enters Indian air.
What I need to know is that what %age of Indian population believes this and the wh*le "Chinese-made" nuke crap?Is it being spewed out on TV by arm-chair generals and defense analyst?This will explain why everyone is sold on the wh*le War idea.And this after the debacle that US finds itself in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Does anyone understand the concept of a nuclear doctrine?I have been out of it for a while and I don't think that Pakistan has published its nuclear doctrine but it has been speculated upon.The general consensus is that, at least initially, Pakistan will use the nukes on its own territory.Both as a means to inflict casualties on advancing Indian troops and as a means of area denial as neither army is equipped to fight large scale battles in a NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) theater.Forget Pakistan but do you have any idea what the fallout do to the fertile agricultural land in India?And this is not even considering that the Pakistani leadership may decide to go down in a blaze of glory and launch strategic strikes against major population centers.
War is no answer and should not (and probably will not) happen.
Disclaimer: I am a Pakistani.While I am in IT, at one point in time I was considering a career in Strategic Studies and was serious enough that I started applying at various colleges.Had to drop the idea as I could not secure funding.
Having said that, I am startled at the number of Indians who seem to be sold on the idea that war is the answer.I went over to an Indian friend of mine and was shocked at the type of coverage.It seemed so much like the US media before the Iraq invasion.
Exactly what will India accomplish by squandering away the economic clout it has gathered?Yes India is a regional power and probably an emerging global power.Yes, in a long drawn out conflict, Indian will probably win.Happy now?But at what price?PLEASE, Indian is no US and Pakistan in no Iraq.
Pak has nukes, but their delivery mechanism is not sound and before Pak launches any nukes, US will disarm them and even if a few are launched India had a very good anti missile shield which will intercept and destroy all warheads before it enters Indian air.
What I need to know is that what %age of Indian population believes this and the wh*le "Chinese-made" nuke crap?Is it being spewed out on TV by arm-chair generals and defense analyst?This will explain why everyone is sold on the wh*le War idea.And this after the debacle that US finds itself in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Does anyone understand the concept of a nuclear doctrine?I have been out of it for a while and I don't think that Pakistan has published its nuclear doctrine but it has been speculated upon.The general consensus is that, at least initially, Pakistan will use the nukes on its own territory.Both as a means to inflict casualties on advancing Indian troops and as a means of area denial as neither army is equipped to fight large scale battles in a NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) theater.Forget Pakistan but do you have any idea what the fallout do to the fertile agricultural land in India?And this is not even considering that the Pakistani leadership may decide to go down in a blaze of glory and launch strategic strikes against major population centers.
War is no answer and should not (and probably will not) happen.
Disclaimer: I am a Pakistani.While I am in IT, at one point in time I was considering a career in Strategic Studies and was serious enough that I started applying at various colleges.Had to drop the idea as I could not secure funding.
more...
just_wait_for_gc
08-11 11:53 AM
this moron has failed to realise the unfortunate fact that UK has been(and continues to be) the head quarters for all terrorists.In fact they need to fix their immigration system .
Anyway I dont give a shit to this freak.My favourite website is no more CNN...
Anyway I dont give a shit to this freak.My favourite website is no more CNN...
dartkid31
05-24 01:58 PM
That's censorship.Go ahead and good luck with your mentality.It seems you can't handle the truth and views that could give you better information to handle debates and put more intelligent requests ahead.
Go and learn something, learning01.Just stop reading the posts on this thread and stop posting here if you don't like.It is awful when people tries to take a censorship in open forums.
I've said this before: I usually dont like casting aspersions, but take a look at a lot of Communique's posts.Some look like they were copied and pasted word for word from the NumbersUsa or FAIR site.And now he's defending Lou Dobbs.Using terms like "ma*s migration" "unchecked immigration", etc.He claims to be an H1B, and he's trolling Lou Dobbs.I think most people on this site can see through the facade.
Go and learn something, learning01.Just stop reading the posts on this thread and stop posting here if you don't like.It is awful when people tries to take a censorship in open forums.
I've said this before: I usually dont like casting aspersions, but take a look at a lot of Communique's posts.Some look like they were copied and pasted word for word from the NumbersUsa or FAIR site.And now he's defending Lou Dobbs.Using terms like "ma*s migration" "unchecked immigration", etc.He claims to be an H1B, and he's trolling Lou Dobbs.I think most people on this site can see through the facade.
more...
smisachu
01-04 02:10 PM
So you should not have any problem if India kills a few of your cockroaches, right?In fact India will be doing a favour to you, since you are undble to kill the roaches in your house, India will do it for you..This has been my point all along in this thread.India should conduct surgical strikes and "clean" regions of Pakistan where these terrorists eminate from.Pakistan should in fact open its borders and aid Indian troops in cleaning up its mess.
India is not interested in occupying Pakistan nor is it interested in destroying it.Stop being paranoid, we only want the roaches killed.
And for your parallel of 9/11, 3K Americans were killed by 19 "Middle eastern" Muslims- not South Asians.The problem of terrorism ranges from Egypt in the west to Pakistan in the east.It does not bring India into play and the wh*le world is aware of this.India has been a victim of terrorism for the last 60 years.
"What apology?
I am not responsible for the actions of those people.Imagine if after 9/11, an American asked you to apologize for the actions of the 19 'Brown men' (I am a*suming here that you are a south asian male) who killed 3000 Americans, how silly do you think that situation would be.If cockroaches from my house take a dump in your kitchen, don't ask me to apologize for that.[/QUOTE]"
India is not interested in occupying Pakistan nor is it interested in destroying it.Stop being paranoid, we only want the roaches killed.
And for your parallel of 9/11, 3K Americans were killed by 19 "Middle eastern" Muslims- not South Asians.The problem of terrorism ranges from Egypt in the west to Pakistan in the east.It does not bring India into play and the wh*le world is aware of this.India has been a victim of terrorism for the last 60 years.
"What apology?
I am not responsible for the actions of those people.Imagine if after 9/11, an American asked you to apologize for the actions of the 19 'Brown men' (I am a*suming here that you are a south asian male) who killed 3000 Americans, how silly do you think that situation would be.If cockroaches from my house take a dump in your kitchen, don't ask me to apologize for that.[/QUOTE]"
2010 File:Corinne Bailey Rae
soni7007
08-06 10:04 AM
Personally I think "Obviously" response was derogatory and not funny at all.
I agree with "singhsa".
I was reading through this thread and couldn't help replying.
Before i voice my opinion, i would like to mention that I have a Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering (2002-2006 from a very reputed univ.in the US).My husband's employer (non-IT) had applied for his GC in EB3 - in 2005 which makes sense since the job required a B.S (Even though he was MS and was working for this company since 2002).We have our 485s filed and are using our APs/EADs.Now, i haven't applied for GC through my employer yet, but if i apply, it would most likely be EB1 or 2, and would love to port my PD of 2005.The reason i haven't done that is because i personally do not think that getting a GC couple of years earlier is going to make my life any different than it currently is.
Having said that, I completely understand what "rolling flood" is trying to say.And I also agree to what his point of view is.When a person who initially agreed to apply with EB3, changes his mind/company/ or whatever and wants to apply in EB2, he should theoretically start over.Why is it reasonable that he/she cuts in line ahead of a person who was already there.There is a reason why these categories are formed.
Shady means or non-shady means, EB2 means that u have superior qualifications and you are more desirable in the US.
EB3 means there are a lot like u, so u gotta wait more.Period.
I agree with "singhsa".
I was reading through this thread and couldn't help replying.
Before i voice my opinion, i would like to mention that I have a Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering (2002-2006 from a very reputed univ.in the US).My husband's employer (non-IT) had applied for his GC in EB3 - in 2005 which makes sense since the job required a B.S (Even though he was MS and was working for this company since 2002).We have our 485s filed and are using our APs/EADs.Now, i haven't applied for GC through my employer yet, but if i apply, it would most likely be EB1 or 2, and would love to port my PD of 2005.The reason i haven't done that is because i personally do not think that getting a GC couple of years earlier is going to make my life any different than it currently is.
Having said that, I completely understand what "rolling flood" is trying to say.And I also agree to what his point of view is.When a person who initially agreed to apply with EB3, changes his mind/company/ or whatever and wants to apply in EB2, he should theoretically start over.Why is it reasonable that he/she cuts in line ahead of a person who was already there.There is a reason why these categories are formed.
Shady means or non-shady means, EB2 means that u have superior qualifications and you are more desirable in the US.
EB3 means there are a lot like u, so u gotta wait more.Period.
more...
NKR
04-15 08:36 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/business/worldbusiness/14real.html?_r=2&ex=1365912000&en=5fc0b58ba0e5df8f&ei=5088&rtner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Now it is global.:D.India has started seeing decline too.After all a ponzi scheme is still a ponzi scheme wherever.
Ok there you go, now you cannot buy a house in India and you don't want to buy one here.Neither here nor there, but then i do not play with emotions as someone had accused me, so I wish you happiness whereever you are.
Now it is global.:D.India has started seeing decline too.After all a ponzi scheme is still a ponzi scheme wherever.
Ok there you go, now you cannot buy a house in India and you don't want to buy one here.Neither here nor there, but then i do not play with emotions as someone had accused me, so I wish you happiness whereever you are.
hair with Corinne Bailey Rae
Macaca
02-21 04:04 PM
Sometime back CNN (or Wolf Blitzer) used to say that CNN is the best news on network.Does anyone remember the exact words?Thanks.
more...
desi3933
07-09 01:56 PM
Related question - if your I94 is expiring say 8/11/2007 and ur H1 is still valid until 11/11/2009; do you have to renew the I94..while in the US (given that you are not travelling outside US)
The H1B does have a I94 at the bottom corner with 11/11/2009 as Exp Date.
You already have I-94 valid until 11/11/2209.
Just to verify, are the numbers same on both I-94s (8/11/2007, 11/11/2009)?If so, you are ok.Staple the new I-94 in the pa*sport along with the old one.
______________________
Not a legal advice.
The H1B does have a I94 at the bottom corner with 11/11/2009 as Exp Date.
You already have I-94 valid until 11/11/2209.
Just to verify, are the numbers same on both I-94s (8/11/2007, 11/11/2009)?If so, you are ok.Staple the new I-94 in the pa*sport along with the old one.
______________________
Not a legal advice.
hot But her husband Jason Rae died
Macaca
12-30 04:19 PM
But today, as the year ends, the netroots activists who adored Reid at the start of the new Congress have begun turning on him, musing out loud about encouraging senators to oust him as leader.They complained that Reid's Senate caved - allowing continued tax breaks for oil companies, approving a new attorney general who wouldn't call waterboarding torture, breaking the pay-as-you go promise by approving a tax break without a tax hike on the rich.
Some liberal lawmakers believe the way to accomplish their goals is for Reid to put even more pressure on Republicans to break.Democratic Rep.Barney Frank of Ma*sachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Reid should do more to "highlight who's obstructing."
"The one issue people have with Harry Reid, he's not embarra*sing enough people," Frank said.
Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate politics for The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan firm in Washington, said the problem for Democrats isn't that they haven't delivered much more than the Republicans.
"It's that voters don't see a difference," Duffy said."Voters are coming to the conclusion the parties are the same - not philosophically the same, but they conduct themselves in the same way."
Trying to end a war
Six weeks into the new Congress, as the promises of comity began to fade, Reid pulled a dramatic maneuver: He kept the Senate in session over Presidents Day weekend for a Saturday vote on Iraq.
Nine Republicans failed to show up, including Nevada's John Ensign, who was back home playing golf with his son.The Republican whip, Sen.Trent Lott of Mississippi, praised the absences, saying the senators were right to gum up a vote that his side saw as a stunt.
The measure opposing Bush's troop surge failed to get 60 votes needed to advance.But it helped set the stage for a poisoned atmosphere that would dominate the Iraq debate for the year.
The Senate conducted 34 votes on Iraq.Only once did a measure to bring troops home succeed.Bush vetoed it.
Critics say Reid spent too much time on Iraq, that it became personal.He called it "Bush's war" and "the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of our country."
By spring, as it became clear he could not find enough votes to override the president on Iraq votes, he embraced the party's left wing by putting his name on a bill to cut off troop funds.
Vote after vote only hardened Republicans' resolve.
Anti-war activists grew furious with Reid.All the while, the clock ticked down and other business went undone.
"If you're going to criticize him, you can criticize him for allocating so much floor time to the debate when it was pretty clear it wasn't going to accomplish anything," Mann said."And you can criticize him for his emotional investment."
Could Reid really have stopped trying?Opinion polls show that more than two-thirds of Americans continue to oppose the war.
The real question is whether Reid missed an opportunity to broker middle ground.As Republicans started speaking out against Bush's war policy in the summer months, Reid failed to entertain a more moderate bill - one without a withdrawal deadline - that could have peeled Republicans away from Bush.
Republican Sen.Susan Collins of Maine, who faces a tough reelection in 2008, said she finds it "frustrating that those of us who were trying to find a bipartisan path forward on Iraq were unable to get votes on our proposals.I think there was an opportunity to change the course in Iraq, and to send a strong message to the president about the future direction, but that opportunity was lost."
Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University who has written extensively on Congress, said leaders are judged by the choices they make.In his view, Reid made a mistake.
"The criticism the Democrats have been facing is they weren't aggressive enough," Zelizer said."I think the bigger failure was that he didn't get something more moderate through.I think it would have been a blow to the administration."
By fall the mood in Congress shifted as news from Iraq improved.The moment had pa*sed.Before Congress left for the holidays, lawmakers approved another war funding bill, with no strings attached.
"Great leaders realize there are just moments, windows of opportunity," Zelizer said, "and I think he missed."
Reid remains optimistic about his chances for securing Republican support in 2008."We're going to continue putting the pedal to the metal," he said at his year-end news conference.
But the Democrats and Reid are clearly trying to find their way under the new terms of the Iraq debate.
Endgame
The Senate chaplain, a retired Navy rear admiral, opens each day's business with a prayer.On the last Monday of the session, he called on God to remind the senators "that ultimately they will be judged by their productivity."
The Senate had become gridlocked.Reid had threatened to do cartwheels down the aisle if it would help shake things loose.
Democrats had accomplished plenty this year - raising the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, adopting the most sweeping ethics laws since Watergate, crafting the greatest college loan a*sistance program since the GI bill, increasing automotive fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 30 years and providing unprecedented oversight of the Bush administration, leading to the resignation of the beleaguered attorney general.
Congress worked more days than in any session in years.
But all that seemed overshadowed by what it couldn't do.Stop the war.Provide health care for working-cla*s kids.Address global warming by rolling back oil companies' tax breaks.Start a renewable energy requirement.End the torture of war prisoners.
Even pa*sing the budget to keep the government running seemed dicey.
"It's been a really lousy year," said Norman J.Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
In this hyper-partisan environment, where Reid liked to say Republicans were conducting "filibusters on steroids," could another kind of majority leader have achieved better results?
Republican Sen.Chuck Gra*sley of Iowa, who was among those leading efforts to provide children's health insurance, said if not for Reid, the State Children's Health Care bill known as SCHIP wouldn't have progressed as far as it did.
Dozens of Republicans crossed party lines to back the bill, which polls show was supported by 70 percent of Americans.Children's health care would have been paid for by increasing the tax on cigarettes.Bush vetoed the bill twice.
Democratic Sen.Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said even if "God himself" were in the majority leader's job, it would not have been a match for Republican obstructionism.Mann sums up Reid this way: "Were Tom Daschle and George Mitchell sort of smoother, were they more effective with the Washington press?You betcha.Could they make a more compelling, favorable case?Yes.Would either of them operating in this environment have a much more productive record?No."
By the office fireplace again
People say running the Senate is like herding cats, with 100 Type-A personalities going in every direction.But watching the Senate feels more like being at a baseball game - so much drama happens between the big home runs and base hits, even when it looks like nothing is going on at all.
The fire continues to burn strongly in Reid's office as snow covers the Capitol grounds.The workday is coming to a close.The Senate adjourns earlier than usual, without having taken a single roll-call vote.Christmas is almost here, and countless bills still needed to pa*s.
Reid is not one for regrets, or for comparing himself to those who held the office before his arrival.
"I can't be an Everett Dirksen, I don't have his long white hair, I don't have his voice.I can't be Mike Mansfield, I don't smoke a pipe," he says."I just have to be who I am."
Reid's home state has benefited substantially from his rise to the majority leader's job, as Nevada has enjoyed financial and political gains from being home to arguably the nation's top elected Democrat.
But on the national stage Reid sees little more he can do when faced with S
map of south africa provinces and capitals
Some liberal lawmakers believe the way to accomplish their goals is for Reid to put even more pressure on Republicans to break.Democratic Rep.Barney Frank of Ma*sachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Reid should do more to "highlight who's obstructing."
"The one issue people have with Harry Reid, he's not embarra*sing enough people," Frank said.
Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate politics for The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan firm in Washington, said the problem for Democrats isn't that they haven't delivered much more than the Republicans.
"It's that voters don't see a difference," Duffy said."Voters are coming to the conclusion the parties are the same - not philosophically the same, but they conduct themselves in the same way."
Trying to end a war
Six weeks into the new Congress, as the promises of comity began to fade, Reid pulled a dramatic maneuver: He kept the Senate in session over Presidents Day weekend for a Saturday vote on Iraq.
Nine Republicans failed to show up, including Nevada's John Ensign, who was back home playing golf with his son.The Republican whip, Sen.Trent Lott of Mississippi, praised the absences, saying the senators were right to gum up a vote that his side saw as a stunt.
The measure opposing Bush's troop surge failed to get 60 votes needed to advance.But it helped set the stage for a poisoned atmosphere that would dominate the Iraq debate for the year.
The Senate conducted 34 votes on Iraq.Only once did a measure to bring troops home succeed.Bush vetoed it.
Critics say Reid spent too much time on Iraq, that it became personal.He called it "Bush's war" and "the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of our country."
By spring, as it became clear he could not find enough votes to override the president on Iraq votes, he embraced the party's left wing by putting his name on a bill to cut off troop funds.
Vote after vote only hardened Republicans' resolve.
Anti-war activists grew furious with Reid.All the while, the clock ticked down and other business went undone.
"If you're going to criticize him, you can criticize him for allocating so much floor time to the debate when it was pretty clear it wasn't going to accomplish anything," Mann said."And you can criticize him for his emotional investment."
Could Reid really have stopped trying?Opinion polls show that more than two-thirds of Americans continue to oppose the war.
The real question is whether Reid missed an opportunity to broker middle ground.As Republicans started speaking out against Bush's war policy in the summer months, Reid failed to entertain a more moderate bill - one without a withdrawal deadline - that could have peeled Republicans away from Bush.
Republican Sen.Susan Collins of Maine, who faces a tough reelection in 2008, said she finds it "frustrating that those of us who were trying to find a bipartisan path forward on Iraq were unable to get votes on our proposals.I think there was an opportunity to change the course in Iraq, and to send a strong message to the president about the future direction, but that opportunity was lost."
Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University who has written extensively on Congress, said leaders are judged by the choices they make.In his view, Reid made a mistake.
"The criticism the Democrats have been facing is they weren't aggressive enough," Zelizer said."I think the bigger failure was that he didn't get something more moderate through.I think it would have been a blow to the administration."
By fall the mood in Congress shifted as news from Iraq improved.The moment had pa*sed.Before Congress left for the holidays, lawmakers approved another war funding bill, with no strings attached.
"Great leaders realize there are just moments, windows of opportunity," Zelizer said, "and I think he missed."
Reid remains optimistic about his chances for securing Republican support in 2008."We're going to continue putting the pedal to the metal," he said at his year-end news conference.
But the Democrats and Reid are clearly trying to find their way under the new terms of the Iraq debate.
Endgame
The Senate chaplain, a retired Navy rear admiral, opens each day's business with a prayer.On the last Monday of the session, he called on God to remind the senators "that ultimately they will be judged by their productivity."
The Senate had become gridlocked.Reid had threatened to do cartwheels down the aisle if it would help shake things loose.
Democrats had accomplished plenty this year - raising the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, adopting the most sweeping ethics laws since Watergate, crafting the greatest college loan a*sistance program since the GI bill, increasing automotive fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 30 years and providing unprecedented oversight of the Bush administration, leading to the resignation of the beleaguered attorney general.
Congress worked more days than in any session in years.
But all that seemed overshadowed by what it couldn't do.Stop the war.Provide health care for working-cla*s kids.Address global warming by rolling back oil companies' tax breaks.Start a renewable energy requirement.End the torture of war prisoners.
Even pa*sing the budget to keep the government running seemed dicey.
"It's been a really lousy year," said Norman J.Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
In this hyper-partisan environment, where Reid liked to say Republicans were conducting "filibusters on steroids," could another kind of majority leader have achieved better results?
Republican Sen.Chuck Gra*sley of Iowa, who was among those leading efforts to provide children's health insurance, said if not for Reid, the State Children's Health Care bill known as SCHIP wouldn't have progressed as far as it did.
Dozens of Republicans crossed party lines to back the bill, which polls show was supported by 70 percent of Americans.Children's health care would have been paid for by increasing the tax on cigarettes.Bush vetoed the bill twice.
Democratic Sen.Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said even if "God himself" were in the majority leader's job, it would not have been a match for Republican obstructionism.Mann sums up Reid this way: "Were Tom Daschle and George Mitchell sort of smoother, were they more effective with the Washington press?You betcha.Could they make a more compelling, favorable case?Yes.Would either of them operating in this environment have a much more productive record?No."
By the office fireplace again
People say running the Senate is like herding cats, with 100 Type-A personalities going in every direction.But watching the Senate feels more like being at a baseball game - so much drama happens between the big home runs and base hits, even when it looks like nothing is going on at all.
The fire continues to burn strongly in Reid's office as snow covers the Capitol grounds.The workday is coming to a close.The Senate adjourns earlier than usual, without having taken a single roll-call vote.Christmas is almost here, and countless bills still needed to pa*s.
Reid is not one for regrets, or for comparing himself to those who held the office before his arrival.
"I can't be an Everett Dirksen, I don't have his long white hair, I don't have his voice.I can't be Mike Mansfield, I don't smoke a pipe," he says."I just have to be who I am."
Reid's home state has benefited substantially from his rise to the majority leader's job, as Nevada has enjoyed financial and political gains from being home to arguably the nation's top elected Democrat.
But on the national stage Reid sees little more he can do when faced with S
map of south africa provinces and capitals
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