Bunning's Filibuster Causes 2000 Workers to Lose Pay; Furloughed

Senator Jim Bunning -- a Republican from Kentucky -- has filibustered a bill to extend unemployment and health benefits and to pay for transportation bills. Bunning's actions could result in the expiration of unemployment benefits. It has, however, already impacted the jobs of 2000 federal workers. According to ABC News, the Department of Transportation has furloughed 2000 workers, and this number could grow as the week progresses:

So, the Department of Transportation as of Monday morning, furloughed 2,000 federal workers. DOT says that number could climb if this stalemate over funding drags on. Employees affected include federal inspectors overseeing highway projects on federal lands. If the inspectors aren't there, the projects must shut down. DOT says that will affect 41 critical construction projects from Alaska to the U.S. Virgin Islands. . . .

Without the highway trust fund dollars, the federal government also cannot reimburse states for any ongoing construction projects. There is usually a federal-state match and the states get reimbursed on a real-time basis. States are scheduled to get some $768 million dollars from the feds this week. They will get the money eventually, but will have to figure out how to make do without, for now.

Source: ABC News

Judicial Death Watch? Senator's Comments Raise Eyebrows

Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky raised eyebrows recently when he predicted that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who recently had surgery for pancreatic cancer, would soon die and that this would present an opportunity for a conservative judicial appointment.

Here's a clip from the article:

During a wide-ranging 30-minute speech on Saturday at the Hardin County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, Bunning said he supports conservative judges "and that's going to be in place very shortly because Ruth Bader Ginsburg. . .has cancer."

"Bad cancer. The kind that you don't get better from," he told a crowd of about 100 at the old State Theater.

"Even though she was operated on, usually, nine months is the longest that anybody would live after (being diagnosed) with pancreatic cancer," he said.

While it is true that Supreme Court observers have often expressed concerns about Justice Ginsburg's health, this is the first time I have heard a public official predict that she will die. It seems a tad uncouth.