It was a mistake that Germany became so heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia. — It was a mistake that Germany became so heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia. Christian Lindner, German finance minister Could you ever imagine the allied nations buying wheat, fertilizer, or fuel oil from Nazi Germany once battle lines had been crossed? I couldn’t either. …

I’m all for that. Ban it! - Nancy Pelosi — I’m all for that. Ban it! - Nancy Pelosi Like hundreds of millions of Americans, my heart breaks for Ukraine — and yet it soars at the courage and strength of her people. We are such a divided nation. …

We’re not going to get distracted this time, and the Democratic leadership in both the House and the Senate will see this thing across the… — We’re not going to get distracted this time, and the Democratic leadership in both the House and the Senate will see this thing across the goal line. The Senate bill is perhaps the most bold and comprehensive China compet-itiveness legislation that our country has ever passed.

I did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn’t… — I did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn’t get anything done. President Joe Biden The question everyone in Capital City is asking these days is — has President Biden over-promised and under-delivered? Part…

Manchin is a lying liar who lies. — Manchin is a lying liar who lies. - Jennifer Taub[i] I dislike making predictions in January about what to expect in October. Although I have my suspicions about what’s lurking out there and getting ready to pounce, the value of year-ahead prognostication is mostly entertainment. Sadly, I’ve lost my sense…

What Do You Know, Joe? — What Do You Know, Joe? Introduction The Manchin saga continues. In Part 1 of this occasional series, I discussed the aftermath of Manchin’s abrupt announcement on Fox Sunday News a week before Christmas that he would not be voting in favor of President Biden’s Build Back Better act (BBB) —…

“We were close,” Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) — “We were close,” Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) Introduction There’s a jolly old soul in West Virginia who’s laughing his a** off today. Who is this laugh-master? Why it’s Old King Coal, of course; and, he just got off the phone with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). On the call, West Virginia’s…

Well, it finally happened. An infrastructure bill has found its way onto a president’s desk for signing. Affectionately called the BIF in… — Well, it finally happened. An infrastructure bill has found its way onto a president’s desk for signing. Affectionately called the BIF in the halls of Cong-ress and along the K Street corridor where the cognoscenti congregate, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework was truly that — bipartisan.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves. — The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves. — Cassius For the first Earth Day in 1970, the famed illustrator Walt Kelly paraphrased Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry when his Pogo character looked across a field of debris and uttered the now iconic phrase. …