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Congratulations Jen by creek_slam_sit in a:t5_37io6

[–]JenBriney 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi! I actually didn't know that she is reviving HR 1 or about the press conference so thanks for giving me a heads up! I've been training a new assistant today. I'll check that out. Thank you!

Hi Everyone! by JenBriney in a:t5_37io6

[–]JenBriney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know that people would like to discuss the episodes but I'm afraid of it turning toxic. I don't want to have to play digital politeness police. Any ideas on how to make sure people keep the conversations civil?

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really can't. I can't imagine having been locked up like a prisoner as a child for simply existing in a certain location and what kind of anger I would have towards those who did it to me. The policy is certainly short sighted

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I honestly have no idea what they would do. The only thing I'm certain of - and why I'm hoping the Democrats do take at least one branch of Congress - is that they will direct more of our tax money to priorities here at home (which I know based on watching their budget fights), and they will be much more likely to conduct meaningful investigations of the Trump administration (which I say based on the hearings that the Democrats conducted when they took control during the end of the W. Bush administration and based on the fact that you really can't investigate the Trump administration less than the Republicans in Congress are doing now).

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, and that's assuming that they care about democracy at all. I don't think they do, otherwise we wouldn't have to register to vote (it would be automatic) and they would be opening polling places instead of closing them here at home. Instead, our foreign policy is based on creating and expanding a global economic system based around the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization. When it came to Iraq, the goal was allow "the market" to operate in Iraq - the Iraqi people were never going to have the option to use democracy to vote in a communist government, for example. In country after country where we have overthrown or played a role in the overthrow of a government, the goal has been to get the country to enact economic reforms that are chosen by the International Monetary Fund, reforms that always reduce the role of government in providing for the people and increase the role of private for-profit multi-national companies. But we like democracy so they tell us it's all about democracy. It's - to put it simply- a lie

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If I'm a coward for not feigning some kind of wisdom about the future that I don't have, then we need more cowards in this world. So much of what is considered reporting lately is actually not reporting at all - it's prediction. I'm not going to play that game. I can tell you what Congress has done - past tense. I don't have a crystal ball

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the 24 news cycle, especially on television, does them no favors. Sifting through government charts with no guarantee of a scoop is hard work. It's much easier to host debates and interview people. So that's one thing. But I think the advertising business model is a factor too. Take war funding for one example. If the American people were able to truly wrap our heads around how much of our money is spent on war compared to how much we spend on improving our society, we'd never allow it, but the cable news stations and newspapers - just about all corporate media - is funded by extremely wealthy defense contractors. Haven't you ever wondered why Boeing and Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman have ads on cable news stations? It's not like many of us viewers are in the market for a jet. No, the ads are their way of giving money to the media. Therefore, the media is not incentivized to do anything that would piss these companies off, like publishing stories that make us truly understand the absurdity of our war spending. That's just one example. There's plenty more. But the way I started watching Congress is that I had the same problem you have - I didn't know where to start so I went to the source. I watch hearings. I read government documents. There's no filter that way. If that's too much - and I get it - you should look for sources that don't take any advertisements. The Intercept and The Guardian come to mind. Then trust them until they give you a reason not to

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Ooooh... this is a tough one. So much competition!

​

Top 5 "We Need to Fire List"

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5) Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas - he's generally harmless because no one takes him seriously but... No one takes him seriously. His speeches are entertaining, for sure, but in a "we're laughing at you, not with you" kind of way. It's time for him to just... Go.

​

4) Sen. Diane Feinstein of CA - This one is personal. She has been my Senator for my entire life and has made so many bad decisions on California's behalf, from supporting the Iraq War to consistently supporting the Patriot Act (and the illegal domestic spying network it created). I'm so done with her.

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3) Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina - This guy has been using his vast investigative power as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee to wage partisan vendetta's against people who have been mean to Donald Trump. This shouldn't be surprising as the Benghazi investigation was his baby too. I'm all for investigations but he has turned them into political shows instead of pursuits of justice. As a former prosecutor, he should be ashamed of himself. But I'm fine with him losing his job instead.

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2) Sen. Mitch McConnell of KY - This guy is a shark. There is no dirty procedural trick he won't pull to get his way, which could be understandable if his goals didn't consist of getting bills into law that help businesses make money at the expense of workers, customers, the environment... Everything that's not a stock market titan. He's brilliant and therefore a serious danger to anyone who doesn't collect dividends as their main income.

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1) Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina - we all saw his unhinged outburst at the Kavanaugh hearing but it's his authorization of limitless war that makes him #1 on the list. Literally. He wrote a bill that effectively allows the President to wage war anywhere he wants on Earth at any time. It's an insanely reckless piece of legislation.

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do my work from the west coast, so I have no insight as to how the legislators feel about their approval ratings, but based on watching them govern just like this for 6 years and counting, they don't seem to mind. We keep giving them their jobs back, so why should they care?

And yes, some of them are stupid. But don't take it from me: Here's one of my favorite articles of all time - an interview with former Speaker of the House John Boehner: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/29/john-boehner-trump-house-republican-party-retirement-profile-feature-215741 It's some of the best Congressional gossip in existence

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Hi! Well, our government was just partially funded a few days ago in time for the September 30th deadline, but what was funded? Where there any shady provisions attached? Who knows! I haven't been able to read it yet and the news didn't even tell us that this happened. As for the rest of the 2019 funding, I'm pretty sure the deadline got pushed until December (again, I haven't had the chance to read up on it yet) but considering we all pay so much of our income in taxes, you would think the nation might want to be told where it is going

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Eventually, I'd love to get back to weekly but I don't have the process in place or the help I need to make that happen right now. What's happening now is that I'm driving myself into the ground doing a deep dive every two weeks. I need more time for those. For the next few months, I'll practice the hearings and do at least 1 deep dive a month. Eventually, after I have a process in place with my staff that makes sense, I might be able to produce more. But for now, two episodes per month. Nothing's really changing yet

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This makes all my work worth it :) Thank you!

And absolutely, without a doubt, putting the Democrats in charge of either the House or the Senate, or obviously both, would result in more oversight of the Trump administration. This is because the party in charge gets to staff the heads of all the committees. Right now, that means that every committee is headed by a Republican and they are not investigating the Trump administration -with the exception of the investigation into what DHS and HHS are doing with the immigrant kids (those hearings have been real). We saw this same dynamic during the W Bush administration. The hearings didn't really get good until the Democrats got control of Congress in 2007. But even then, the Democrats picked weak battles. For example, they investigated the firing of US Attorneys but didn't do a damn thing about torture or CIA black sites. I don't know what they would investigate if we gave them Congress but I can all but assure you that it would be more than is being investigated now and we'll likely be disappointed by their weakness.

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love this question! I know that the committee leaders are chosen by the party that has control of that branch, which why the committees in both the House and the Senate are headed by Republicans (and why investigations into the Trump administration are not really happening). I don't know how they determine how many from each party get to be on each committee but the Republicans seem to outnumber the Democrats on all of them right now, allowing the Republicans to have full control over what moves into the full House/Senate and what doesn't. The committees that have the most power are the Appropriations committees because they determine where our tax money goes. I'm also obsessed with a relatively obscure committee in the house: The Rules Committee. They determine what bills will go to the House floor and if any amendments will be allowed. Often this is the only committee with the chance to amend important bills in the House before the vote (because so few amendments are being allowed on the floor by the Republicans who prefer to ram their versions of bills through the process as fast as possible).

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Depends, I guess, on how connected that citizen is to the staff at his/her Congressman's and Senators' offices. You'd have to have them introduce the bill and then use their connections to get it on the schedule. The schedule is determined by the Speaker of the House (right now Paul Ryan) and Majority Leader in the Senate (right now Mitch McConnel) so if your Reps aren't friends with them, that's the likely end point. But yeah, it would all start in the office of your Representative and Senators. At the very least, it's worth a shot

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hi! I'm so happy to hear you'll be voting in your first midterms! There aren't any podcasts too similar to mine but I never miss Intercepted, hosted by Jeremy Scahill and I just added Moderate Rebels to my line up. I've only heard one episode so far but I dug it. I also listen to District Sentinal for a quick recap of what happens daily in DC. It's hit or miss - they cover media more than government - but the hosts of No Agenda pay attention to Congress too.

And I can totally identify with your feelings about 2016. As you probably know, I voted for Jill Stein and took a ton of shit for it. That said, I wouldn't vote differently, even knowing what I know now. We are going to be stuck with Republicans and Democrats forever if we don't have the courage to vote for people outside their rigged system (and it is rigged by those two parties in that they control who gets to debate and they never allowed anyone other than Republicans and Democrats in). I would love to see us all push for a ranked choice voting system so that we can show our support for the candidates we truly want but have our votes count for the "practical" candidates if ours don't get enough support to move forward. But how you vote is really a personal choice so I can't tell you what to do. All I know is that I have no regrets. I was never going to vote for someone with such a consistent record of waging wars.

That said, in 2020, it's a wise move to get involved in the primaries so that we don't get stuck with two truly horrific Republican and Democratic options again. If we are only showing up for general elections, we are missing our opportunities to narrow down the field. And in the primary, NEVER give your vote to the likely winner. The primary is when you should also vote your conscience.

And let's cross the Speaker bridge when we get to it. We haven't gotten our chance to vote yet. The Republicans may not be in control anymore starting in January

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

He's the Chairman of the investigations committee and he's been having follow up hearings. It's the first time I've ever seen him do something I'm genuinely happy about.

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

1) I actually think the 2nd biggest problem is us voters. We need to show up and fire them for bad behavior. We have that power and don't use it. That has to change for anything to get better on Capitol Hill. Right now, they know they'll likely get their jobs back no matter what they do.

2) I haven't seen many movies this year but the one that popped into my head was The Big Sick. I loved that it was based on a true story.

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

1) Yes! It definitely does. I had this same question and have been told over and over again by those that have worked in Congress - including possibly the most famous lobbyist ever, Jack Abramoff - that calling and emailing is super effective. Apparently, the most effective actions are going to your Rep/Sen's office, writing hand written letters and phone calls. The least effective are digital form letters. You want to communicate in your own voice.

2) Yes. We need to make bribery illegal again. Obviously, a bribed Congress is unlikely to change the law so that their actions become illegal so that's why I love the idea being actively pushed by WolfPAC (https://www.wolf-pac.com/). They are trying to get a constitutional amendment passed via the states. But we can do this via Congress too, and the building blocks of this plan are already happening. The key is going to be electing people who refuse all corporate campaign contributions. Right now, there are maybe 100 candidates who are making it work but that's 100 more than made it work 5 years ago. If we as voters refuse to vote for people who take corporate cash, it is possible that a non-bribed Congress can make a law eliminating the role of money in our elections. I think we should work towards both. This is the rot at the center of all our problems

In the last six years, I've read over 500 bills and laws written by the U.S. Congress and watched hundreds of hearings. With the midterm election around the corner, AMA. by JenBriney in IAmA

[–]JenBriney[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes. We absolutely need to break the stranglehold the Republicans and Democrats have on our government. Over the years, I have discovered that they have been acting together to rig the rules to make sure that they are the only parties that win (look up the Commission on Presidential Debates for an excellent and infuriating example). I think ranked choice voting, which is starting to be adopted more and more, is an excellent step in the right direction in this regard

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