Politically Illustrated.com

After Endeavour, Gabrielle Giffords Undergoes Skull Surgery

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords will undergo surgery to replace part of her skull, more than four months after a failed assassination plot by alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner left her in a precarious situation, according to medical doctors.

• Gabrielle Giffords Watches Endeavour Lift Off on Final Flight

Gabrielle Giffords Watches Endeavour Lift Off on Final Flight

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords watched the final lift off of space shuttle Endeavour on Monday after electrical trouble grounded the flight for two-weeks.

Senate Democrats Re-Introduce DREAM Act to Help Illegal Immigrants

Senate Democrats re-introduced a bill to offer citizenship to illegal immigrants who came to the United States as a child.

Gabrielle Giffords: ‘I Miss Tucson’

Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) is struggling to piece together full sentences and remember events prior to her shooting, but she “misses Tucson,” she told the Arizona Republic newspaper.

• Gabrielle Giffords Enters Rehab in ‘Good’ Condition

House of Boehner to Pay $520/Hour to Defend Ban on Gay Marriage

The Boehner-led House of Representatives will pay nearly $520 an hour to defend the Defense of Marriage Act limiting the federal recognition of marriage to straight couples.

• Bill Banning Gay Adoptions Fails in Illinois Senate

It’s Way Too Early to Sort Out the Winners in the Big Budget Showdown

It’s way too early to sort out the winners and the losers in the big budget showdown on Capitol Hill the last couple weeks. They’re still extricating bodies from behind the hay bales of the Gunfight at the D.C. Corral, and will be for months. It’ll take even longer to identify the white-hatted good guys from the no-good rustlers of the public trust. All depends on your point of view. Everybody thinks he’s Wyatt Earp.

• House Passes Budget Deal to Avert Government Shutdown

Paul Ryan Is an Ayn Rand Fanboy Unaware She Wrote Libertarian-Fantasy Fiction

We must love boisterous blowhards. As Americans, we are fixated on people who make loud, definitive declarations so we can stand behind them waving our oversized number-one foam-fingers chanting: “Go team! Win!” If you take away all the nebbishy number-crunching and bureaucracy - which is most of government – politics is all posturing and platitude landing

• House Passes Budget Deal to Avert Government Shutdown
• Government Shutdown to Leave U.S. Troops Unpaid

House Passes Budget Deal to Avert Government Shutdown

The House of Representatives passed a budget deal on Thursday to fund the government for the second half of the year, cutting nearly $38 billion in government spending.

• Government Shutdown to Leave U.S. Troops Unpaid

GOP-Controlled House Passes Spending Bill to Fund Government for a Week

The House of Representatives passed a spending bill to fund the government for a week on Thursday as the White House vows to veto the measure.

• Government Shutdown to Leave U.S. Troops Unpaid

House Republicans Defund National Public Radio

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would defund National Public Radio – a target of Republicans who consider it an outlet for liberal ideals.

Democrats Introduce Bill to End Defense of Marriage Act

Democrats in the Senate and House on Friday introduced a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that would give same-sex couples federal benefits.

John Kerry, Mitch McConnell and John McCain Support No-Fly Zones Over Libya

Should the United States support no-fly zones in Libya? Yes, according to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and John McCain (R-AZ), who told reporters on Sunday that the no-fly zones would prevent Col. Muammar Gaddafi from massacring rebel groups.

House Passes Temporary Spending Bill to Avert Shutdown

The House of Representatives passed a two-week spending bill to avert a government shutdown on Tuesday cutting nearly $4 billion from the government budget. Senate Democrats plan to quickly follow suit, according to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada).

Goldman Sachs: Republican Budget Cuts to Slow Economy

A proposed plan by Republicans to slash government spending will slow the economic recovery and lower growth by 1.5 to 2 percent, according to a report released by Goldman Sachs.

• House Passes Bill to De-fund Planned Parenthood

House Passes Bill to De-fund Planned Parenthood

The House of Representatives passed a bill to defund Planned Parenthood on Friday limiting the services provided by the center.

Republican-led House Set to Cut Government Jobs, Spending

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is on a slashing spree, cutting spending on everything, including money supporting jobs in the United States.

• Hu’s Your Sugar Daddy? U.S. Clears China of Currency Manipulation