Saturday, January 06, 2007
U.S. House Digest Blog
Very cool new site-
A moderately detailed account of the on-goings of the People’s House.
Because you shouldn’t have to be a scholar to figure out what your government is doing.
U. S. House Digest
Friday, January 05, 2007
Incoming Judiciary Chairman Leahy Targets Corruption
Paging Harry Truman........
Then
As a U.S. senator in 1941, Truman drove thousands of miles around the country going from one defense plant to another documenting waste and fraud. He then headed the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program -- the Truman committee, for short. The process saved American taxpayers $15 billion (in 1940s dollars). And by uncovering faulty military equipment, he prevented the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of U.S. soldiers.
And Now....
Incoming Judiciary Chairman Leahy Targets Corruption
In First Bills Of 110th Congress
Leahy Introduces Bills To Combat War Profiteering, Public Corruption
WASHINGTON (Thursday, January 4) – Signaling a renewed emphasis on combating corruption at home and abroad, incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), introduced a package of bills Thursday targeting corrupt officials and private companies seeking to defraud American taxpayers and troops.
(snip)
Many Democratic Senators joined Leahy in reintroducing a bill creating criminal penalties for war profiteers and cheats who would exploit taxpayer-funded efforts in Iraq and elsewhere around the world. The War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007 builds on earlier efforts by Leahy, who is also a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, to crack down on this type of rampant fraud and abuse. It is similar to legislation Leahy introduced in 2003, that was subsequently passed by the Senate as part of an appropriations bill but later torpedoed by the White House and the House Republican leadership, which stripped out the Leahy provision.
Take a good look at the wording of this. To my eye, it looks like a total shitbomb for the Republicans. What's not to like? What wording could they complain about and not be outed as the total hypocrites and "War Profiteers" they really are.
What ever are the R's to do?
Relish the Moment!!! (dill relish of course)
Think ProgressIn its first legislative act, the 110th Congress voted 430-1 yesterday to approve “the broadest ethics and lobbying revision since the Watergate era.” Today, the House will vote on a package to end anonymous sponsorship of earmarks.
Yesterday, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) not only introduced himself to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), but also asked him out for coffee. “By reaching out to Congressman Goode I’m not trying to be accepted, I’m trying to build bridges. In this world there are too many misunderstandings. I want to put a human face on things,” explained Ellison.
Yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) ascension to Majority Leader was almost overshadowed by former President Bill Clinton’s quest for a bathroom. Minutes before Reid was to be sworn in, Clinton “sauntered into the Senate press gallery in search of a urinal. Reporters swarmed, some abandoning their seats in the chamber. … ‘They told me the closest restroom was in the press gallery,’ Clinton explained.”
30%. President Bush’s approval rating, according to a new CBS News poll. Sixty-eight percent said they had optimistic feelings about the 110th Congress, while 25 percent said they were pessimistic. 
Thursday, January 04, 2007
That's it Tucker, I've HAD IT with YOU!!
Just now Tucker on his freaking show, mewling and whining
(whining was in the R meme today) to Bill Press.....
"But WHY is it a big deal she's the first woman Speaker? Why? I Don't UNDERSTAND!!!!"
Well Tucker, I understand your confusion (all those years of bow-tie wearing impeded proper blood flow to your brain) let me help you along by posing a question to YOU.
What if Bow-Tie Wearing White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who go to Private Schools and come from Priveleged Monied Backgrounds were first given the right to vote in 1920?
What if up until the last part of the past century BTWWASPPSPM's were expected to live the lives their mothers, sisters, uncles and wives TOLD them to live? (and sometimes even now)
What if EVEN NOW BTWWASPPSSPM's were curtailed in their rights to how and when they would father a child, even to the point of being harassed and vilified ATTEMPTING to obtain condoms?
What if you Mr BTWWASPPSPM only made 76.5% of women's wages.
JUST BECAUSE OF HOW YOU WERE BORN?
What if the representative government of the country that YOU loved and served in had only 90 BTWWASPPSPMs out of 535 when BTWWASPPSPMs made up more than half of the population of said beloved country?
Tell me, wouldn't you be ecstatic a BTWWASPPSPM became the third most powerful person in the United States for the first time?
AND YOU HAVE THREE DAUGHTERS? Oy oy oy.
Now go STFU you pasty faced perv.
Celebratory Congressional Chili!!!!
Coyote's Pickle Chili Recipe courtesy of Kellie McDonald from Virginia Beach, VA, for the FoodTV.com Manly Man Chili Cook-Off 
3 cups chili beans, pre-cooked (canned chili beans work too)
1 large can V-8 Spicy tomato juice
4 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3 lbs. ground beef or steak cubed
2 cups dill pickle juice
1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
In a large pot, start to cook the chili beans or start warming them if precooked. Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute the onion and minced garlic until onion is slightly transparent, then add the ground beef or steak, brown until half cooked, add to the beans.
Add the tomatoes, pickle juice, and just enough water to come barely over the top of chili. Simmer until water is almost boiled off, stirring occasionally. Chili is done when it is nice and thick and a wooden spoon will almost stand up in it. Garnish with coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese and onion pieces.
Next He'll Be Digging In Our Underwear Drawers...
Honestly, we should all just grab our copies of "1984" and use them as daily guides to living in GWB's Amerika......
New York Daily News
W pushes envelope on U.S. spying
New postal law lets Bush peek through your mail
BY JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
President Bush added a "signing statement" in recently passed postal reform bill that may give him new powers to pry into your mail - without a warrant.
WASHINGTON - President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned.
The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.
That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it.
Bush's move came during the winter congressional recess and a year after his secret domestic electronic eavesdropping program was first revealed. It caught Capitol Hill by surprise.
"Despite the President's statement that he may be able to circumvent a basic privacy protection, the new postal law continues to prohibit the government from snooping into people's mail without a warrant," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming House Government Reform Committee chairman, who co-sponsored the bill.
Experts said the new powers could be easily abused and used to vacuum up large amounts of mail.
"The [Bush] signing statement claims authority to open domestic mail without a warrant, and that would be new and quite alarming," said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies in Washington.
"The danger is they're reading Americans' mail," she said.
"You have to be concerned," agreed a career senior U.S. official who reviewed the legal underpinnings of Bush's claim. "It takes Executive Branch authority beyond anything we've ever known."
A top Senate Intelligence Committee aide promised, "It's something we're going to look into."
Even Better
Than hearing Joe vote for "Nancy Pelosi!" on the floor of the 110th,
is the sight of this...
For those of you with bad eyes, it says
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, Majority Leader
Good News for All!!!
I am proud to have campaigned for Joe this last election, and even more proud that he will be one of three new Indiana Democratic Representatives sworn in today. (BTW Joe, thanks for putting on a neon bright tie. Made it much easier to spot you on the floor!!)
South Bend Tribune
Donnelly ceremonies today on Capitol Hill
Second District Congressman-elect Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, will take his oath of office in a Capitol Hill ceremony today.
The official ceremony will take place on the House floor beginning at noon today and will be televised over C-Span, according to a Donnelly spokesman, Andrew Lattanner.
In a separate ceremony, former U.S. Rep. John Brademas will administer Donnelly's oath of office at 2 p.m. today. That gathering will take place in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Donnelly will officially occupy his new congressional office at noon today. The office is in room 1218, Longworth House Office Building.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
There's a Football Metaphor in Here Somewhere.....
But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!
By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Wednesday, January 3, 2007; Page C03
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran -- especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.
Yet the holy book at tomorrow's ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We've learned that the new congressman -- in a savvy bit of political symbolism -- will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.
If Keith Ellison takes the ceremonial oath of office using Thomas Jefferson's Koran, will he and Virgil Goode at long last be on the same page? Don't hold your breath.
"He wanted to use a Koran that was special," said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison's 5th District, was happy to help.
(snip)
One person unlikely to be swayed by the book's illustrious history is Goode, who released a letter two weeks ago objecting to Ellison's use of the Koran. "I believe that the overwhelming majority of voters in my district would prefer the use of the Bible," the Virginia Republican told Fox News, and then went on to warn about what he regards as the dangers of Muslims immigrating to the United States and Muslims gaining elective office.
Yeah, but what about a Koran that belonged to one of the greatest Virginians in history? Goode, who represents Jefferson's birthplace of Albemarle County, had no comment yesterday.
Winger Radio Host Calls For Execution of Half of Congress
'Assassination' schedule announced for Congress
Radio-show host says leaders won't be allowed to 'betray' nation
Posted: December 6, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Hal Turner
A radio talk-show entertainer whose earlier statements that he "may" have to assassinate members of Congress if the wrong people were elected Nov. 7 now has set a timetable for those killings.
In a statement on his website, Hal Turner noted that a newspaper has reported that a bill granting amnesty to illegal aliens is expected to be enacted in January, when the Democratic Party takes control of the U.S. Senate and House.
"ANY MEMBER OF CONGRESS WHO INTRODUCES, CO-SPONSORS OR VOTES IN FAVOR OF ANY SUCH AMNESTY WILL BE DECLARED A DOMESTIC ENEMY AND WILL BE CONSIDERED A LEGITIMATE TARGET FOR ASSASSINATION," Turner posted on his website.
Go read the whole thing, it is scary as hell.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Government by Inclusion
I'm not usually into retrospection, but in moving stuff around the house today, getting ready for my housemates' knee replacement surgery tomorrow, I started thinking about "inclusion" i.e. just making sure he could continue to be a part of the home, part of his life.
Inclusion is the way I've always thought about how religion in the United States of America should be.... everyone welcomed, none pushed away.
But maybe I've been selling inclusion short.
The opposite of inclusion is...
To seclude...
se·clude /sɪˈklud/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[si-klood] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -clud·ed, -clud·ing. 1. to place in or withdraw into solitude; remove from social contact and activity, etc.
2. to isolate; shut off; keep apart: They secluded the garden from the rest of the property.
I look forward this Thursday to be included in how my government works. Smiling my butt off over the fact that I in Indiana, can watch Joe Donnelly swear in front of Men and Country to uphold these truths....
Because I have a television, I can see this. Because I have a computer I can discuss it.
I am hopeful
We are past the days of secluded men in secluded offices deciding our lives. Tearing open the veil, poking our oh so ready heads thru, we are part of the cogs now.
We are an integral component of the machine.
Welcome to the beginnings of our government........
Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish.
I grew up in a small "township" right next to St Marys' & Notre Dame in South Bend called Roseland. For the past few years the town council has been run roughshod by some strange bullies, Dorothy & Dave Snyder.
Intimidation, bending and twisting of rules and downright silliness has been the hallmark of the 3 person council that the couple dominated.
It's finally over with Ms Snyder stepping down, but of course she had to get one last bizarro dig in...
Roseland ends year in squabble
Dorothy Snyder files police report against successor.
KEN BRADFORD
Tribune Staff Writer
The new year will bring new leadership to the Roseland Town Council.
Before the new board takes over, there's going to be one more squabble involving Dorothy Snyder.
Her term as board president expired at midnight Sunday.
But in one of her last acts, she has filed a police report against Ted Penn, who was elected in November to replace her on the three-person board.
She said Sunday that she filed the report with the Indiana State Police because she received a letter from Penn that she found "intimidating and hostile."
Penn said the whole episode is shameful and is an example of why outsiders make fun of the town.
(snip)
The latest trouble began when Penn asked two town police officers to deliver a letter to Dorothy Snyder on Friday night.
In the letter, Penn quoted state law saying Dorothy Snyder should deliver to him on Jan. 1 "all government items and all paperwork" in her possession.
Dorothy Snyder was bothered by the demanding tone.
By having two uniformed officers appear at her door after dark to deliver the letter, he was attempting to intimidate her, she said.
Penn asked the town police to deliver the letter because it is related to official town business and "because there's a potential for stress between David and I," he said.
According to Penn, Dorothy Snyder asked the town police officers to file charges against Penn because it was a threatening letter.
The officers reportedly read the letter, told her they saw no threatening language and told her they saw no need to file a report.
According to Penn, she then accused them of insubordination and asked Town Marshal Mike Howell to suspend them both.
Honestly, what would you really expect from a person who has a town resident ejected from a meeting because they said "Amen" at the end of the pledge of allegiance too loud?
Toodles Dot, don't let the....... (you know)
Sunday, December 31, 2006
2007.... Ya know it's gotta be better....
A Polish Blessing for 2007
". May the land be fertile beneath your feet.
May your days be gentle as the sun-kissed dew.
May your hand be outstretched to all you meet.
And may all men say "Brother" When they speak to you.
Na Zdrowie
And an Irish one as well.....
May your feet never sweat,
your neighbor give you ne're a treat.
When flowers bloom, I hope you'll not sneeze,
and may you always have someone to sqeeze!
Pugnacious Pols & Pundits for 2007!!!!
2007? The year of fighting back.
Remember this guy? The first shooter across the bow.....
Why have we allowed the dialogue of politics to degrade to a point where you have to state who you are and explain why you are the way you are. It’s a waste of time. It’s ridiculous.
When I walk into the courthouse, when you walk into the courthouse there is not and should not be a form where you check off and it says, “I’m gay. I’m straight. I’m bi. I’m not sure.”
We as Democrats have facilitated that conversation by allowing, what I call the radical right, to politicize. It’s just stupid. Gay Americans. Straight Americans. We’re all the same. We all get the same rights.
Anybody who wants to say that there’s a litmus test on who gets rights and who doesn’t get rights based on their sexuality, it’s just un-American. And that’s how I view it.
Shorter Paul Hackett, "Jeez that's stupid."
Hmmm, how about this guy?
"Since 2003, President Bush has laid out nine different plans for victory in Iraq, none of them serious and none of them workable. And most seriously, this incompetence has hindered our ability to fight international terror,"
Shorter Jim Webb, "The president is stupid."
Or this gal?
Well you know, I think that‘s the problem. I mean, we went in there—you know, the height of irresponsibility is going into a conflict like that with the kind of problems internally that were there, without any plan for peace.
Shorter Claire McCaskill, "What the president did is stupid."
Things are shifting with out pundits also.....
In ya face Tucker!!!
Maddow: This is a global war on terror. This is a war for you or for us to win. You need patience...He sounds like Ken Mehlman when he’s saying that only less gay. I mean this is ridiculous.
Shorter Rachel Maddow, "Of course Mehlman is gay you stupid bow-tie wearing dweeb!"
Oooooh, Whap, Slap,Snip, SNAP!!
Schecter:"Your party is a party of criminals and predators"
Shorter Cliff Schecter, "I'm not stupid and neither are the viewers, Noron!!"
And of course, Madam Speaker.....
The fact is that there is no Ethics Committee.
It has been completely gutted by the Republicans.
And this should be a cause of great outrage in the country.
What the Republicans are saying is:
"We are above the law. Because we are above the law, we may decide on our own to take the law into our own hands when it comes to your personal decisions in your lives, but for us, we are above the law."
No shorter version for Ms Pelosi. Pretty succinct.
We're not taking it any more. We're not even gonna pretend to take it.
Dissent and disagreement with government is the life’s blood of human freedom; and not merely because it is the first roadblock against the kind of tyranny the men Mr. Rumsfeld likes to think of as “his” troops still fight, this very evening, in Iraq.
It is also essential. Because just every once in awhile it is right and the power to which it speaks, is wrong.
And this is only the beginning.......
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