“This is a basic function of Congress to keep the government running. And so, what we ought not to do is play politics with those who have been affected by disasters.” Has BeensPlayGovernmentRunningOughtFunctionCongressDisasterAffected Author:David Plouffe
“Too often critics seem more intent on seeking new ways to alter Congress than to truly learn how it functions. They might well profit from the advice of Thomas Huxley, who said a century ago: Sit down before facts as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notionor you shall learn nothing.” WayGivingWellsChildrenLittlesSaidFactsSeemsMightAdviceCenturyGiving UpFunctionPreparedCriticsCongressProfitSeekingNew WaysBe PreparedHuxleyPreconceived Notions Book:Selected speeches Source: Selected speeches
“after a generation or two of shedding the deliberate political encumbrances to war ... of dropping Congress from the equation altogether, of super-empowering the presidency with total war-making power and with secret new war-making resources that answer to no one but him, of insulating the public from not only the cost of war but sometimes even the knowledge that it's happened - war making has become almost an autonomous function of the American state. It never stops.” TwoWarSometimesStatesPoliticalAnswersSecretGenerationsHappenedCostResourcesFunctionCongressEmpoweringPresidencyEquationsDeliberateDroppingTotal WarAutonomousCost Of War Author:Rachel Maddow
“[T]he bill exceeds the rightful authority to which governments are limited by the essential distinction between civil and religious functions, and violates in particular the article of the Constitution of the United States which declares that Congress shall make no law respecting a religious establishment.... This particular church, therefore, would so far be a religious establishment by law, a legal force and sanction being given to certain articles in its constitution and administration.” StatesGovernmentLawCertainGivenForceChurchReligiousUnitedUnited StatesAtheismParticularEssentialsAuthorityFunctionConstitutionBillsCongressPositive AtheismAdministrationDistinctionArticlesEstablishmentExceedSanctionsConstitution Of The United States Author:James Madison
“The function of traditional history is to create a citizenry that looks to the top - the president, Congress, the Supreme Court - to make the important decisions. That's what traditional history is all about: the laws that were passed, the decisions made by the court. So much of history is built around "the great men." All of that is very anti-democratic.” MenLooksMadeImportantLawPresidentDecisionBuiltFunctionCourtDemocraticCongressSupremeTraditionalGreat MenSupreme CourtCitizenryDecisions MadeImportant Decisions Author:Howard Zinn
“Because of a mass media more interested in gossip and sensationalism than real issues, I would say a vast majority of the American public doesn't have a clue about how the Congress functions and what goes on.” RealIssuesMediaGoes OnMassFunctionMajorityCongressGossipClueMass MediaSensationalism Author:Bernie Sanders
“Nothing gets done (in Congress) unless it's bipartisan. And the reason that matters is that it's a function of reality.” MatterReasonDoneRealityFunctionCongressBipartisan Author:Newt Gingrich
“The shutdown itself is bad but not devastating. The real danger will come up in a couple of weeks. There's legislation which is in fact routine - it's passed every year - which allows the government to borrow money, otherwise it can't function. If Congress does not approve this budget request, the government may have to default.” IfsYearsMayDoeRealFactsGovernmentWeekDangerCoupleFunctionCongressCome UpBudgetsRoutineLegislationRequestDefault Author:Noam Chomsky
“The notion that Congress can change the meaning given a constitutional provision by the Court is subversive of the function of judicial review; and it is not the less so because the Court promises to allow it only when the Constitution is moved to the left.” LeftGivenPromiseFunctionConstitutionCourtMovedNotionCongressReviewsProvisionJudicialSubversiveJudicial Review Book:The Tempting of America Source: The Tempting of America
“In my judgment it is the duty of Congress, while respecting to the uttermost the conscientious convictions and religious scruples of every citizen, to prohibit within its jurisdiction all criminal practices ... Nor can any ecclesiastical organization be safely permitted to usurp in the smallest degree the functions and powers of the National Government.” StatesGovernmentChurchReligiousAtheismDutyCitizensDegreesJudgmentOrganizationFunctionCongressConvictionPresidentialSmallestScruples Author:James A. Garfield