"It is a designation that brings us all a great deal of warmth and comfort and helps tie together the loose ends of our society," Bishop deadpanned. "I am grateful this resolution has been brought to the floor so that we can finally put this to bed."
Very, um, punny.
The price
of numismatics
Bishop also came to the defense of coin collectors everywhere in urging for the passage of a bill that would allow for limited production of the Sacagawea dollar coin.
A mistake in legislation last year accidentally halted production of the coins, which are rather unpopular with the public but apparently important to collectors.
The bill whizzed through Congress and will not add anything to the national debt. As Bishop put it: "It does not cost the taxpayers a dime, or in this case, it doesn't cost them a dollar."
Hatch: McCain
temper 'awful'
The Democratic National Committee touted a report about Sen. John McCain flaring up at a New York Times reporter over a question about him potentially running as vice president with Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 election. The DNC wants voters to remember past McCain temper tantrums, which Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, says happen on occasion.
Hatch was quoted by The Associated Press in 1999 saying his Senate colleague, "is a passionate person and he does have a temper and sometimes it's awful to be on the wrong side of it."
Spoken like one who knows.
Moving on up
Bishop and Sen. Bob Bennett recently got plum assignments from leadership of their respective chambers.
Bishop was named to the House Page Board, which overseas the congressional page program in which high school students come to Washington to serve as gofers for members while learning about the democratic process. The board is charged with protecting the pages, including from the members themselves.
Bennett, meanwhile, will serve on the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, where he will be part of the planning for the next president's formal swearing in. Senator, for the record, we'd love a speaking part, if possible.
I'm glad no one . . .
shot me
Sen. Bob Bennett suggested in the wake of the nation's largest beef recall that slaughterhouses may want to install a camera in the "chute" between where a veterinarian checks to make sure cattle are healthy before they are turned into hamburgers and steaks and pot roasts.
A camera in the chute, Bennett said during a subcommittee hearing last week, could provide a record of whether a cow that stumbled or fell after being initially checked out was rechecked to ensure against diseases."
"This is a virtual chute rather than a - I don't know what else to call it, because I'm not in the business," Bennett said in explaining why a camera could be helpful. "But [the cow] goes down the chute and if he stumbles and falls down, that's not necessarily an indication that he's sick. He may have just stumbled. I have stumbled and fallen down in front of the Capitol myself and I'm glad no one took me out and shot me."
No, that would be a pretty serious felony. We also doubt Bennett burgers would be a hit. Too lean.
---
* BURR and CANHAM report for The Tribune from Washington. They can be reached at tburr@sltrib.com or mcanham@sltrib.com. For more political tidbits, check out http://blogs.sltrib.com/utahpolitics.
