It's not a surprise to hear Republicans criticize President Obama's proposed budget. However, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) writes this in today's Wall Street Journal:

The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 is a sprawling, $410 billion compilation of nine spending measures that lacks the slightest hint of austerity from the federal government or the recipients of its largess...

Congress should vote "no" on this omnibus and show working families across the country that we are as committed to living within our means as they are.

Last year, rather than pass a budget for fiscal 2009 (October 2008 - September 2009), Congress approved money to continue operations until after the inauguration. The bill that Sen. Bayh references is designed to fund the federal government through September of this year.

Learn more about the budget process.

I just stumbled upon this new resource (a directory) from the Washington Post: Who Runs Government. The goal is for the site to eventually become reader-edited, but that user-generated content will be vetted by WaPo editors before going live. The site has a blog for site-related matters as well as ThePlumLine, Greg Sargent's blog.

A few weeks ago, Deborah White noted that the New York Times rumor mill had Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) pegged as the Obama Administration choice for Health & Human Services Secretary. Today, President Obama finally confirmed the rumor, asserting that she can bridge partisanship issues surrounding health care.

About's Guide to Catholicism, Scott P. Richert, calls the move a "slap in the face" for the nation's Catholics because Sebelius is "radically pro-abortion." He also believes that "it also signals a willingness to confront the Catholic Church on the question of unborn life."

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It's the opposite of bi-partisanship, a key element in the rhetorical formula of the Obama presidential campaign.

"It" is using the budget reconciliation process to "pass" controversial legislation by slipping it into the filibuster-proof process. And President Obama's OMB Director, Peter Orswag, suggested Sunday that getting controversial legislation passed "this year" is so important that the means doesn't matter.

He's wrong.

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