Congress passed H.R. 4 today over the President's veto threat, but supporters were unable to get enough votes to signal its ability to overcome that threat. That makes it an almost certainty that the legislation will be watered-down in the Senate.

H.R. 4 did not receive enough votes to override a veto. President Bush has promised to do so. Therefore, the legislation in its current form will not be what is eventually passed into law. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) is resistant to the House approach and is likely to seek out a compromise with moderate Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) that allows, but does not require, government negotiations to lower drug prices. The extent to which House Democrats will go along with what they will see as a watered-down version of their bill remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: The Senate does not have enough votes to override a veto, thus change to the bill is required to appease enough Senators to vote with the Democratic leadership.

Got a job? Go to school? Got kids? Got bills? Yeah, we all do.

It's not always easy to juggle your daily routine, so throwing in something else like trying to keep up-to-date on what Congress is spending your tax money on is a burden. It doesn't help that Congress doesn't really care to inform you of what they are doing. And even if they did... would you understand it all?

What Is Campaigns?

There are many pristine government simulators on the web. USG, AGS, CGS and many others have already established a foothold on a full-functioning simulation of the U.S. and Canadian governments. Simply, there is no need to clutter the web with anymore doomed sims. The problem with many of these games is that it requires constant effort to progress throughout the game and severly limits the playing ability of people who don't have time to log on every single day and make sure they interact in every part of the game.

Campaigns is purely a simulator which takes candidates, puts them in the field and then has an election. There is no House or Senate to work in, only elections. While the system is sometimes complicated, there is no doubt that it will take less time to play than other sims.

But mostly, it's a unique and interesting idea which can provide people someone cool to occupy their time with. And you don't have to be a political genius to play! Just register, read the rules and you'll be all set!

Play now!

Read below first, then read this. Scary, isn't it?

USGOVSIM is a great game which allows you to simulate yourself as a Representative. You have chance to become higher up in the goverment food chain as a Senator, Governor or maybe even President! So come to USGOVSIM and simulate the United States Goverment!

http://worldsimulations.com/USG/

Come and join now! We need Democrats and Progressive voices!

USGOVSIM is a great game which allows you to simulate yourself as a Representative. You have chance to become higher up in the goverment food chain as a Senator, Governor or maybe even President! So come to USGOVSIM and simulate the United States Goverment!

http://worldsimulations.com/USG/

Come and join now! We need Democrats and Progressive voices!

House of Scott has a new Talking Points Memo up that covers all of the major points of the President's new privitization scheme. It also makes a few points about the debate that we need to carry through the next weeks and months. Please give it a look... Click here to go to House of Scott.

I wasn't able to do liveblogging on the press conference - didn't have enough people. But I have compiled a list of facts to refute the claims in Bush's statement. You should all give it a look at:

http://www.scottharris.byethost22.com

(Like it? Recommend this diary so more people can read it!)