In a press conference today, Speaker John Boehner tried to sell himself as a true conservative, touting his supposed reforms and lamenting that there was only so much he could do with a Democratic president in the White House. Oh, cool. So if we get a Republican in, Boehner will suddenly turn around and be super-conservative, right? Too bad history tells a different story.

Appreciate the thought.

Capitol Hill Update, 10 February, 2014House & Senate/Schedule: Both chambers are in session this week.  Both will recess on Wednesday and leave town through the 24th of February, unless an agreement is reached on the debt ceiling.

When Washington raised the debt ceiling this week, the Beltway media breathlessly reported that the fiscal crisis had ended. Lawyers danced in hallways, bureaucrats twerked on the Metro, congressional aides kissed strangers in the streets — the Tea Party has been defeated! It was like VJ day for wonks.

Congress made President Obama a temporary king the other day. And the crown was placed upon his head by none other than the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell. No joke. On October 16th, Congress passed, and the following day the president signed into law, a bill (H.R.2775) to temporarily suspend the U.S. Government's statutory debt limit and also temporarily shift Congress's borrowing power to the president.

[POSTED: 10/15, 11:45 AM]

This morning, I walked through the rain to work. After arriving at the office, I proceeded to make myself a cup of coffee and log on to my computer.  The first thing I did was visit the Drudge Report to find out the big headline news today. What I found nearly made me throw my coffee at the computer screen. 

Default won't happen. This chart shows why the U.S. Government will not default on its debt, should it hit the statutory debt limit set by Congress (a limit that the Treasury Deparment suggests may be reached later this month).

It’s as if current events are working together to reform education, or, at the very least, to make it evident to all Americans why reform needs to happen. Between the current government shutdown and the looming debt ceiling, it’s becoming more evident every day that the safest place for education is as far away from the federal government as possible.