wasting their time and our money

GOP House leaders will devote rest of Congress to far-right special interests, will lock up House with debates on guns and abortion

Because what America really needs right now is more guns on the streets. And the biggest problem facing our troops in Iraq is abortion in America. The Republican controlling the US Congress aren't even pretending to address the problems of regular Americans anymore. They're afraid they may lose their seats in the fall elections so they're trying to pass every piece of special interest legislation they can, before it's too late:

Other bills are certain to spark controversy.One would to strip the Supreme Court and other federal courts of jurisdiction over cases challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. The legislation is a response to a 2002 Appeals Court ruling that held the pledge is unconstitutional because of the presence of the words "under God." A federal judge made a similar ruling last fall, citing the appeals court precedent.

Another measure would block the payment of attorney fees in challenges to the display of the Ten Commandments in public areas and other, similar church-state lawsuits.

An abortion-related proposal would require that some women seeking to end their pregnancies be informed the procedure "will cause the unborn child pain" and they have the option of receiving drugs to reduce or eliminate it. A separate measure would ban human cloning, a prohibition that cleared the House in the previous Congress.

Two measures relate to the rights of gun owners. One would prohibit the confiscation of legal firearms during national emergencies, barring practices such as the one that officials said arose in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit.

The measure is backed by the National Rifle Association, which has hailed the recent passage of a state law in Louisiana. "The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina became the proving ground for what American gun owners have always feared: the day that government bureaucrats throw the Bill of Rights in the trash and declare freedom to be whatever they say it is," Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, said in a statement posted on the organization's Web site.

Yes, for Republicans that was the true lesson of Hurricane Katrina. Not enough guns.

(Americablog)