The U.S. Congress hasn’t been too great on a lot of things (getting us out of Iraq, stopping Bush’s conservative agenda), but they’ve been doing a great job going to bat for students on the issue of Student Loans & College Cost Reduction.

Just last week a very important piece of legislation was passed through the Congress which (if signed into law) is going to make college costs a lot lower for all of us. The speaker’s office put the above video together… it’s a spoof on all those eHarmony dating service adds.

Democrat Bob Kerrey says he’s “excited” about the prospect of running for the U.S. Senate again, but he said today that he still isn’t ready to commit to the race.

Kerrey said he would be calling friends and supporters in the next two days to explain to them the pros and cons of his running.

He wants them to know his thinking before he decides whether he’s in or out. A final decision will come “soon,” he said.

He declined to set a specific deadline. “I have to get it done soon, it’s all I know,” Kerrey said.

I’d expect something in the next week or so, but his comments in this article look encouraging.

You see, today Terry & 158 of his extreme-right-wing friends (including Nebraska’s other two congressmen, Smith & Fortenberry) voted against the SCHIP renewal and expansion. Thankfully, the bill still passed with a huge bipartisan majority of 265 votes.

CHIP (the Childrens Health Insurance Program) was a 1990s program that provided Medicare-style health insurance to poor kids who can’t otherwise get coverage.

On a personal note… I am a direct beneficiary of CHIP. Without it, I would not have had health insurance for a significant portion of my childhood. Anyone who has ever had the fortune / misfortune to hear me play guitar can thank CHIP, since I broke my finger when I was little playing football, and CHIP allowed me to get it fixed.

But passing this bill isn’t about me, it’s about the 65,000 kids in Nebraska who will loose their health insurance options if Lee Terry has his way.

Here are some key stats on Nebraska SCHIP health insurance:

Number of Nebraskan kids enrolled in CHIP: 44,981
Number of Nebraskan kids eligible for CHIP or Medicaid but not enrolled: 18,211
2008 Funds available under bipartisan bill: $42,204,503

So, let’s get this straight: Lee Terry just voted against insuring poor kids. Specifically, he voted against 65 thousand of those kids right here in Nebraska, and he voted against 40 million dollars in funding Nebraska would have gotten to help pay for those kids.

Good job Lee, way to show your true colors.

Chambers is apparently doing this to prove a point about frivolous lawsuits, prompted by a lawsuit that he sees as frivolous.

24 year-old Tory Bowen accused Pamir Safi, 33, of rape. At Safi’s trial, Bowen was barred from using language that described the crime. Words like “sexual assault” and “rape” were explicitly forbidden by judge Jeffre Cheuvront. Words like “sex” were allowed. As Bowen and her attorneys quite correctly point out, forcing her to describe a sexual assault as “sex” basically forces her to relive the crime, and lie on the stand, all at once. Bowen filed suit against Cheuvront for violating her first amendment rights. Chambers claims this is frivolous because the state supreme court has already ruled on this matter.

From the AP story:

Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused “widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants.”

The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused “fearsome floods … horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes.”

He’s seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.

Congressman Hal Daub challenged sitting U.S. Senator David Karnes in the Republican Primary in 1988. Karnes, who was appointed by unpopular governor Kay Orr after the death of Ed Zorinsky, won the nomination and then proceeded to get thrashed by - who else? - former Governor Bob Kerrey in the general election.

In 1990, Daub was back at it, challenging popular Democratic Senator Jim Exon, losing that election as well.

After a brief time away from the spotlight, he returned when Omaha Mayor P.J. Morgan decided he didn’t want to be mayor of Omaha anymore. Daub won the special election against Brenda Council in 1994, by a slim margin. In 1997, the margin was even slimmer, one of the closest elections in city history, as Daub defeated Council by a few hundred votes.

By 2001, though, Daub’s personality had grated the citizens of Omaha to the point where they not only threw him out - they took half the city council with him. It was another close election, Democrat Mike Fahey won by another slim margin, but the change in attitude at city hall was apparent. The era of divisiveness in Omaha was over. And as 2005’s election confirmed, Omaha responded to Mike Fahey.

Daub is asking the voters of Nebraska to give him another chance. He has yet to prove his worth of the first chance, and the voters of Nebraska roundly rejected him twice, already. Perhaps the third time is the charm for Daub? I’ve learned to never count out the willingness of Nebraska Republicans to nominate an unsuitable candidate for office, but a mayor of Omaha who even Omahans don’t like?

• Chuck Hagel announced his retirement,  setting events into motion.
• Bob Kerrey met with DSCC chair Chuck Schumer in D.C. on Tuesday.
• Dave Heineman strongly hinted that Bush administration cabinet official Mike Johanns might get in the race.
• Jon Bruning released a poll showing Johanns with a 9 point lead in the primary.
• Pat Flynn is apparently still in the race. Because, hey, why not have a former pothead run for the Republican nomination?
• And Hal Daub is joining the fray on Monday.

We’re getting very close, folks. Only a matter of time - is a triumphant homecoming in the works? Stay tuned.

Here’s a screen shot from the NEGOP website:

Not only that, but besides their 360 word frontpage attack piece (with 13, count them 13 bullet points!), the only 2 press releases ago, they have another attack on Bob Kerrey (or as they call him, “Cosmic Bob”).

All this from a guy who hasn’t even said he’s going to run.

Personally, I think Fahey or Kleeb would be amazing candidates for Senate, and I kinda want to see one of them get the nomination. But when I look at how incredibly scared all the Republicans seem to be of Bob Kerrey, I get a little more excited to see him run.

Sen. Chuck Hagel will announce Monday he’ll not seek re-election next year.

Hagel also will tell an Omaha news conference he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008, clamping a lid on speculation he might be pondering a late-inning presidential bid.

In a prelude to Monday’s announcement, he conferred Friday with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Later, Hagel gathered his Washington staff together to inform them of his decision, according to sources close to the senator.

Hagel’s departure at the end of 2008 will bring an end to a meteoric 12-year Senate ride that propelled him to national prominence as the most outspoken Republican opponent of President Bush’s Iraq war policies.

• The Douglas County Democratic Party got some good all around press coverage for the 2008 caucus. More from our own Catherine Leo at the NDP here. Kyle discusses the Republican response here.
• In case you missed it: Jon Bruning blatantly ignores campaign finance laws and pays for a newspaper ad with soft money.
• Lincoln City Councilman Dan Marvin is running for state legislature, for the seat that will be vacated by DiAnna Schimek.
• Ben Nelson says it’s time to change course in Iraq, and the surge isn’t working.
• Chuck Hagel may be making an announcement in the next couple of weeks announcing his retirement, but I’d venture a guess that it won’t be on a Saturday.
• State Senator Mick Mines makes it another potential legislative target in Douglas County, announcing his resignation from the unicameral - District 18.
• Mike Lux of Open Left writes on Bob Kerrey and Scott Kleeb’s potential plans for 2008, saying that Kerrey for Senate is generally a good thing, and that Kleeb’s probably going to shoot for a rematch against Adrian Smith.
• Last week, Lee Terry called for Larry Craig to resign. No word from Adrian Smith yet on what he thinks of Senator Craig’s behavior.
• The Nebraska GOP is already trying to attack Kerrey’s voting record. Not sure such a strategy will work since it only serves to remind voters that Bob Kerrey has a record. Experienced Leader versus Partisan Hack, Round 2? One thing Jon Bruning doesn’t have that Ricketts did is the boatload of cash.
• Speaking of Ricketts, it seems that he’s angling to be the new National Committeeman for the Nebraska Republican Party, after Hal Daub resigned the post. Ricketts seems ready and willing to buy the Nebraska Republican Party. And given his track record of electoral success, I’m sure that he’ll achieve great things in the future.