ONTD: Politics

By Anthony Weiner

Last week I got angry on the floor of the House. In this age of cable and YouTube, millions of people evidently saw the one-minute-plus clip. But there has been relatively little focus on why the substantive debate that sparked it matters.

( Republicans are douchebags, no one is surprised. )

Anthony Weiner is a member of the House of Representatives from Queens and Brooklyn.

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I thought that I had already plumbed the depths to which conservatives in the United States could sink, but apparently I was wrong! 9/11 -- the tragic attack that brought everyone together as a nation, the event which every Republican politician paid lip service to in order to send us overseas to a war that is exponentially increasing our national deficit with each passing day -- is apparently no longer a legitimate concern for the Republican Party. The people who died at the hands of hostile enemies and the people who are dying of the toxic exposure and stress injuries they suffered while tirelessly working to aid the rescue effort are apparently no worthier of regard than a speck of lint on the suits of Republicans.

Yes, people die everyday of unsafe work conditions, inadequate healthcare, not being able to afford the cost of living, and gross neglect. But they shouldn't. Not Americans, anyway, and definitely not -- especially not -- American heroes. If we don't take care of the brave and selfless people who saved our country when they're in need now, then we shouldn't expect anyone to come running when it comes time to face our next great crisis.

I applaud Representative Weiner for standing up to this bullshit and not being afraid to be angry about it.

TRENTON -- Stephen M. Sweeney, the president of the State Senate here, glowered with disgust as he described how one New Jersey town paid out nearly $1 million to four retiring police officers for their unused sick days and vacation time.

Mr. Sweeney, a Democrat, also scowled about the estimated $46 billion New Jersey owes in pension contributions and its $58 billion in liabilities to finance retiree health coverage for government employees.

For years, Republican lawmakers have railed against public employees' pay and benefits, but now another breed of elected official is demanding labor concessions, too: current and former labor leaders and allies themselves.

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I'm siding with the public workers on this one; if librarians or teachers made decent wages, do you think I'd be studying for a PharmD so I can work for Big Pharma? I'd at least take the slow track (eight years instead of six) so I could enjoy myself and get a Linguistics degree. Shit, even the scientists at the FDA barely make half of what people in comparable private sectors do.