"the world is always about to end"

[hfojvt]

I cannot get the exact quote from "Men in Black" but there is a scene where Will Smith is freaking out because "the world is about to end" and Tommmy Jones says "the world is always about to end".

So I was preparing to write an LTTE blasting my Republican Representative for playing chicken with the debt ceiling, and just for comparison decided to see how many times it was raised under Bush. Much to my surprise, there were a number of times in Bush's first term when Congress seemingly dragged its feet about raising the debt ceiling, as recounted here http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/105193.pdf In December 2001, the Bush administration asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling. Yet Congress, for some reason, did nothing.

The House was under Republican control, with Speaker Tom Delay, and the Senate under a slim Democratic Control with Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Yet the Treasury department needed to shuffle funds in order to keep the Government from defaulting as Congress still didn't raise the ceiling. The CRS says this:

"As the debt moved closer to and reached the debt limit over the first six months of FY2002, the Administration
asked Congress repeatedly to increase the debt limit, warning of adverse financial consequences were the limit not raised.

On April 4, 2002, the Treasury held debt below the limit by invoking its legislatively mandated authority to suspend reinvestment of government securities in the G-Fund of the federal employees’ Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). This allowed the Treasury to issue new debt and meet the government’s obligations."

Finally, on June 11th the Senate passed a bill S-2578 and with default looming on June 28th, the House passed the same bill by a mere one vote http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll279.xml, with almost all Democrats voting against it. One notable exception, and perhaps the deciding vote - Dennis Kucinich was one of three Democrats who voted to raise the ceiling, while 6 Republicans, including now Kansas Senator Jerry Moran, voted against it.

Funny thing is, that I cannot remember that incident. Although it appears that the US came within a few days of a default/shut down. What were Democrats demanding? Can anyone remember that event in real time?

Again, in 2003 there was another many month delay in raising the debt ceiling and a warning of "imminent default" "The Senate received the debt-limit legislation on April 11, but did not act until May 23, after receiving further Treasury warnings of imminent default."

Again, although I can remember other events of the time - the start of the Iraq war and the protests thereof, CBS News with Dan Rather starting all its broadcasts with a "Countdown to War" segment, the "Mission accomplished" nonsense on May 1st, and the Bush tax cuts, which also passed by one vote in the Senate (Dick Cheney's) on May 23rd, but I cannot remember any discussion of the debt ceiling, although that timing would seem to be perfect for Democrats to make hay. There they were passing tax cuts for the rich on the same day that they raised the debt ceiling.

Yet it would seem that the US was facing default and I, along with perhaps most other Americans, was blissfully unaware of it. Apparently the Men in M$M saw to that without even needing a flash pen.

[hfojvt]

1. since the world is still about to end

I better kick this

[hfojvt]

2. well I think the link is informative anyway

let's see if I can pick up an unrec.