Picasso had his guitars, I have my Chairs. (Life With Unicorns)

This is an older picture, but I didn't want to miss out on posting the fourth in what's actually become an ongoing series, one I couldn't have foreseen: Chair Pioneers.

This one is Mr F at the St. Vincent's "Dig and Save" outlet, where we went one day to look for a couple of used kitchen chairs to replace the ones that had been broken at our house. The Babies! are hard on chairs, especially Mr F, who likes to rock on them and who will toss them down when he gets mad -- a move that sometimes prompts Mr Bunches to mimic him and then look at us and say "oh, no," until we assure him that it's okay.

As Mr Bunches and I shopped around for chairs, Mr F made himself at home on this stack of two mismatched chairs. When I got him off and put the top chair right-side up -- I thought it wasn't that safe for him to sit this way -- he put it back this way and climbed on again. So I let him stay. That's called parenting.

Perhaps it's better for us if NONE of the Tea Partiers actually get sworn in. (Publicus Proventus.)

One thing's for sure: it's certainly not business as usual, so in part the Tea Partiers are making good on their pledge:

Two House Republicans missed the official congressional swearing in ceremony because they were hobnobbing at a fundraiser....Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and freshman Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., violated the Constitution by missing the ceremony, though apparently they did take the oath while watching the ceremony on TV from the shindig for Fitzpatrick at the Capitol Visitors Center. House Republicans had to put their health care repeal vote on hold when they found out that Sessions—who had been casting votes all day as a member of the House Rules Committee—wasn't a bona fide congressman yet. Committee Chair David Dreier, R-Calif., was forced to suspend hearings, and Sessions' blunder may cost the committee all their health care repeal work so far. House Speaker John Boehner is trying to persuade Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to approve the committee's work retroactively.

The best part about that? It's hard to decide.

First, there's the fact that the "shindig" that the people were at was a party to celebrate Fitzpatrick's swearing in.

Second, while the GOP/Tea Partiers want you to believe they take the Constitution seriously, Fitzpatrick and Sessions simply faced the TV and raised their hands to be sworn in -- and GOP Speaker John Boehner is trying to convince the rest of the House that it's no big deal that votes on health care repeal were cast by guys who weren't yet Congressmen.

Third, and my choice for the actual best part? The fact that Sessions and Fitzpatrick immediately lied about how this happened. Fitzpatrick lied and said, when asked, that being in front of supporters "wasn't planned. It just worked out that way."

But it was planned: The Bucks County Courier Times has an article noting that Fitzpatrick set it up exactly that way: Fitzpatrick bussed in 500 supporters to the Capitol Visitor's Center and was there with them at the time the swearing-in began, and posted photos bragging about how he'd been sworn in in front of the supporters.

GOP willing to spend $2 billion per month to kill children. (Publicus Proventus.)

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a nonpartisan, independent office that helps estimate the fiscal impact of bills pending before Congress. That's part of why it exists.

But when the fiscal impact of bills shows a contradiction of GOP policy, something has to give, and in this case -- as in all cases -- what has to give is fiscal responsbility.

The only-for-show bill introduced to repeal the health care reform was reviewed by the CBO, and the CBO found that repealing health care reform would add $230,000,000,000 to the deficit over the next 10 years. That's $23,000,000,000 per year -- nearly two billion dollars per mont added to the deficit if Republicans get their wish to repeal health care reform.

That bears repeating.
TWO BILLION DOLLARS PER MONTH.

What does House Speaker John Boehner say about the estimate? He dismisses it as CBO's opinion, and one he doesn't believe -- this time. Although Boehner has happily touted CBO's opinions in the past, he doesn't want to listen to facts when they contradict his beliefs. Especially when the beliefs in question are making sure that the insurance companies who were his number one campaign contributor this last election get what they paid for.

The health care reform law in part provides for continued insurance coverage to the age of 26, ends lifetime caps on care for insureds, and provides other protections for people, and especially children. But the Republicans have made clear, over and over and over that they do not care about the good of the country or the good of individual people if they can line the pockets of the rich who put them in power. Worst President Ever George W. Bush threw "conservatism" out the window when he bailed out Wall Street. Congressional Republicans threatened our country's safety and withheld unemployment compensation until they got "Hey I'm Still President" Obama to agree to tax cuts for millionaires, and now Boehner is willing to spend two billions dollars per month to make sure that children don't get health care.

It all just makes me sick. Which isn't good, considering I'm not rich.