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MMC
08-09-2011, 08:44 AM
House to end page program after nearly 200 years - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (AP) — After nearly 200 years, the House page program that allowed high school students to serve as messengers and learn about Congress is ending, rendered obsolete by the Internet and email in cost-cutting times.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday that the $5 million annual expense can no longer be justified when messages and other materials are delivered electronically. The blue-jacketed pages, who have been a common sight in the House since the 1820s, now have little to do, according to the two leaders.

The program, which also has been touched by scandal, will end by Aug. 31.....snip~

Here they are cutting out a 200 year old program. Kids will have to look for education to inform them all about The House now. Wonder why the Senate is not getting rid of their Page program. Should they be getting rid of this program? Will the Internet and email make up for the loss? Thoughts?

Mister D
08-09-2011, 08:57 AM
House to end page program after nearly 200 years - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (AP) — After nearly 200 years, the House page program that allowed high school students to serve as messengers and learn about Congress is ending, rendered obsolete by the Internet and email in cost-cutting times.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday that the $5 million annual expense can no longer be justified when messages and other materials are delivered electronically. The blue-jacketed pages, who have been a common sight in the House since the 1820s, now have little to do, according to the two leaders.

The program, which also has been touched by scandal, will end by Aug. 31.....snip~

Here they are cutting out a 200 year old program. Kids will have to look for education to inform them all about The House now. Wonder why the Senate is not getting rid of their Page program. Should they be getting rid of this program? Will the Internet and email make up for the loss? Thoughts?


This is purely symbolic. I guess there is something to be said for that but we need to focus on entitlements and to a lesser extent defense.

MMC
08-09-2011, 10:06 AM
House to end page program after nearly 200 years - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (AP) — After nearly 200 years, the House page program that allowed high school students to serve as messengers and learn about Congress is ending, rendered obsolete by the Internet and email in cost-cutting times.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday that the $5 million annual expense can no longer be justified when messages and other materials are delivered electronically. The blue-jacketed pages, who have been a common sight in the House since the 1820s, now have little to do, according to the two leaders.

The program, which also has been touched by scandal, will end by Aug. 31.....snip~

Here they are cutting out a 200 year old program. Kids will have to look for education to inform them all about The House now. Wonder why the Senate is not getting rid of their Page program. Should they be getting rid of this program? Will the Internet and email make up for the loss? Thoughts?


This is purely symbolic. I guess there is something to be said for that but we need to focus on entitlements and to a lesser extent defense.


Yeah but thing is with the page program.....there should be no reason why private industry could not pick this up. Moreover people that do such come from well to do homes and they pay money to send their kids. Kids stay at a boading school and such so it is not cheap. Where has the money gone that they have been getting? Also then why are they not cutting out the Senate's Page Program. If it is abut just saving money. 200 yrs is part of the Institution don't you think? Also how many ge tinto politics all due to such? Even if they are not a Politician.

Conley
08-19-2011, 09:17 AM
Somehow I missed this the first time around.

That's a shame that they are cutting out this institution. I don't understand how on earth it could cost $5 million dollars a year though. What, do the congress critters get kickbacks for taking on a page?

What do they mean it has been touched by scandal? Are they talking about Larry Craig?

Mister D
08-19-2011, 09:27 AM
Somehow I missed this the first time around.

That's a shame that they are cutting out this institution. I don't understand how on earth it could cost $5 million dollars a year though. What, do the congress critters get kickbacks for taking on a page?

What do they mean it has been touched by scandal? Are they talking about Larry Craig?


The wide stance guy? :o

Conley
08-19-2011, 09:33 AM
Somehow I missed this the first time around.

That's a shame that they are cutting out this institution. I don't understand how on earth it could cost $5 million dollars a year though. What, do the congress critters get kickbacks for taking on a page?

What do they mean it has been touched by scandal? Are they talking about Larry Craig?


The wide stance guy? :o


:D Yeah that guy...I think I am confused. There was some gay rep in Florida I think? who was using this as his own Craigslist (no not that Craig! ;D) Casual Encounters

Conley
08-19-2011, 09:34 AM
Mark Foley, that's it.

"Foley resigned from Congress on September 29, 2006 acting on a request by the Republican Leadership after allegations surfaced that he had sent suggestive emails and sexually explicit instant messages[1] to teenage men who had formerly served and were at that time serving as Congressional pages.[2][3] As a result of the disclosures, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted investigations of the messages to find possible criminal charges.[4] Each ended with no criminal finding. In the case of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the “FDLE conducted as thorough and comprehensive investigation as possible considering Congress and Mr. Foley denied us access to critical data,” said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey with the closure of the case.[5] The House Ethics Committee also conducted an investigation into the response of the House Republican leadership and their staff to possible earlier warnings of Foley's conduct.[6]"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Mark_Foley%2C_official_109th_Congress_photo.jpg/220px-Mark_Foley%2C_official_109th_Congress_photo.jpg

Conley
08-19-2011, 09:35 AM
That was a long time ago though, so if that's the only 'scandal' they can point to as far as shutting down the page program, that's not much. I want to know where those 5 mil are going.

Mister D
08-19-2011, 09:44 AM
Ugh...How do they think they can get away with this stuff? Maybe if all your pages happen to be gay? Quite a gamble though! :D

Conley
08-19-2011, 09:46 AM
Ugh...How do they think they can get away with this stuff? Maybe if all your pages happen to be gay? Quite a gamble though! :D


Yeah, what's up with that? Really he must have been into living dangerously. How many of the pages would actually be gay? 5%? Fewer? And then they'd have to be gay, plus looking for old dudes...it's just not happening :D

Mister D
08-19-2011, 09:55 AM
Ugh...How do they think they can get away with this stuff? Maybe if all your pages happen to be gay? Quite a gamble though! :D


Yeah, what's up with that? Really he must have been into living dangerously. How many of the pages would actually be gay? 5%? Fewer? And then they'd have to be gay, plus looking for old dudes...it's just not happening :D


Granted, it would be inapropriate for him to be chasing 20 year old girls but the gay aspect just takes it to a whole new level. I mean what does he do? Pat them on the ass when they do a good job? How does that work? What could he possibly be thinking? I guess I shouldn't ask questions I don't want the answers to...

Conley
08-19-2011, 09:58 AM
I hope they were 20 (and up)...I don't really want to go there.

Yeah, it was messed up and thankfully ancient history. The anti-gay homosexual politician is a weird phenomenon. I guess it's self loathing on some level.