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Attourney General: Contempt of Congress?
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, has threatened to hold Attorney General Michael Mukasey in contempt of Congress if he does not provide documents that have been subpoenaed by his committee relating to the CIA leak investigation.
The investigation, run by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, surrounded the leak of former CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity and resulted in the conviction of I. Lewis Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Cheney.
Waxman's House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena on June 12, 2008, to the Justice Department to produce documents relating to the case, specifically details on what Cheney and President Bush told investigators.
The Justice Department responded in a June 24 letter, citing a separation of powers argument in refusing to provide the information. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, has threatened to hold Attorney Gene... more -
Fed Concludes Economic Woes Likely to Spill Into 2009
WASHINGTON — Federal policy makers have reached a consensus that the turmoil plaguing the housing and financial markets is likely to spill deep into 2009, becoming one of the most significant domestic problems to confront the next president when he steps into the Oval Office in January.
In a speech on Tuesday, Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, gave his strongest hint to date of an emerging consensus that problems will persist when he outlined a series of steps the Fed is considering taking in the coming months. One such step would extend into next year low-interest lending programs to Wall Street’s largest investment banks.
The programs, one of which was set to expire in September, can exist only if the Fed issues a finding that there are “unusual and exigent circumstances” that justify them.
Mr. Bernanke also recommended that Congress grant the Fed broader authority to monitor and supervise the financial markets to assure greater stability in the future. But with time running out on this session, lawmakers are unlikely to adopt such legislation before next year.
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., also speaking Tuesday, said that the Bush administration was working to prevent as many home foreclosures as possible, but that “many of today’s unusually high number of foreclosures are not preventable.” Mr. Paulson said 1.5 million home foreclosures were started in 2007 and that an estimated 2.5 million more will take place this year.
Still, the markets seemed reassured that Washington officials were redoubling their efforts to resuscitate the weak housing sector, despite the downbeat comments. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 1.4 percent, or 152 points.
Mr. Bernanke said that the Fed would issue next week long-awaited rules to restrict the issuance of new exotic mortgages and high-cost loans for people with weak credit. Such mortgages have been a central cause of the current market problems.
The Federal Housing Administration will also begin an expanded effort next week to help a larger group of troubled homeowners refinance their adjustable mortgages. Under the plan, homeowners are eligible to refinance even if they have missed up to three monthly mortgage payments over the last 12 months. Homeowners who have fallen behind on their payments because of job loss, declining wages and family illness will also be eligible, even if their rates have not increased. Homeowners are now eligible only if they were current on their mortgages before their interest rate was adjusted upward.
For its part, Congress is close to completing legislation on a $300 billion foreclosure-rescue plan that would help troubled borrowers refinance into more affordable loans insured by the federal government. The Senate is expected to approve a measure by next week.
... WASHINGTON — Federal policy makers have reached a consensus that the turmoil plaguing the housing and financial markets is likely to s... more -
Single digit approval of Congress
A whopping 9% of those surveyed in the latest Rasmussen survey think that Congress is doing a good or an excellent job - the lowest ever and the first time in single digits since the group started tracking. The harshest voter-critics are those not affiliated with any party: 3% of independents rate Congress well, compared to 13% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans.
Democrats control Congress right now - does this bode well for John McCain? A whopping 9% of those surveyed in the latest Rasmussen survey think that Congress is doing a good or an excellent job - the lowest ev... more -
U.S. exports weapons to Iran:
U.S. exports to Iran — including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons — grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran, at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.
Other surprising shipments to Iran during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume and musical instruments. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of seven years of U.S. government trade data.
Despite increasingly tough rhetoric toward Iran, which Bush has called part of an "axis of evil," U.S. trade in a range of goods survives on-again, off-again sanctions originally imposed nearly three decades ago. The rules allow sales of agricultural commodities, medicine and a few other categories of goods. The exemptions are designed to help Iranian families even as the United States pressures Iran's leaders.
"Our sanctions are targeted against the regime, not the people," said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the sanctions. The government tracks exports to Iran using details from shipping records, but in some cases it's unclear whether anyone pays attention.
Sanctions are intended in part to frustrate Iran's efforts to build its military, but the U.S. government's own figures show at least $148,000 worth of unspecified weapons and other military gear were exported from the United States to Iran during Bush's time in office. That includes $106,635 in military rifles and $8,760 in rifle parts and accessories shipped in 2004, the data shows.Also shipped to Iran were at least $13,000 in "aircraft launching gear and/or deck arrestors," equipment needed to launch jets from aircraft carriers, according to U.S. records. Iran's navy is not believed to own or operate any carriers.
Those numbers may seem small, but military items can sell for pennies on the dollar compared with what the Pentagon paid. Last year, federal agents seized four F-14 fighter jets sold to domestic buyers by an officer at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Calif., for $2,000 to $4,000 each, with proceeds benefiting a squadron recreation fund. When F-14s were new, they cost roughly $38 million each.
Szubin said it was unlikely exports of military gear occurred, but added that the government was looking into it after the AP raised questions. He said shipping records are subject to human error, such as citing wrong commodity codes or recording "Iran" as the destination rather than "Iraq." The Treasury Department said Monday it was still checking to see whether it could offer an explanation.
" U.S. exports to Iran — including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons — grew more than tenfold during President... more -
The Constitution dies tomorrow
Over 200 years ago, we enshrined the rule of law as the only monarch in America. Tomorrow, the Senate will likely vote to shred that precedent. Democrats, "compromising" with Republicans, will act together, in a bipartisan fashion, to destroy your right to be free from search without a warrant. Over 200 years ago, we enshrined the rule of law as the only monarch in America. Tomorrow, the Senate will likely vote to shred that p... more
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Dr. Death makes ballot for seat in Congress
Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian has collected enough signatures to be on the November ballot as a congressional candidate in Michigan. Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian has collected enough signatures to be on the November ballot as a congressional candidate in ... more
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Bush: Telecom Immunity More Important Than Surveillance Powers | Electronic Fronti...
Today the Bush Administration released a letter threatening to veto the upcoming FISA legislation if it included the Bingaman Amendment, which puts both telecom immunity and the court cases on hold until after the Inspector General reports about the warrantless wiretapping program. If given the choice between new surveillance powers without immunity for telcos on the one hand, or surveillance under the existing law on the other, the Bush Administration said its choice was clear: keep with the existing law.
Even though the White House "strongly support[s]" the FISA bill, and contends it is necessary to provide "our intelligence professionals the tools they need to keep our Nation safe," and urges the Senate "to act as soon as it returns from its recess," the Bush Administration is willing to veto the legislation and forgo these tools unless the telecom immunity is given effect immediately.
The Administration has said "[t]hat the failure to enact long-term FISA modernization legislation is costly and dangerous is beyond any serious dispute," contending that "[i]t's vital that our intelligence community has the ability to learn who the terrorists are talking to, what they're saying, and what they are planning."
However, according to today's veto threat, none of this is as important as immediate immunity for the telecommunications carriers. Even if the President gets an unprecedented expansion of government surveillance power, and the bill merely delays telecom immunity until Congress has more information, this, Bush contends, is not better than continued surveillance under the current version of FISA.
Assuming that the President would not put the financial interests of large corporations ahead of the safety of the American people, today's veto threat puts the lie to the dire warnings put forth by the Bush Administration. Alternatively, if the government is being honest about the need for immediate legislation, today's veto threat shows a callous indifference to that purported danger, favoring special interests over security.
Senator Kennedy addressed this issue in his floor statement back in December:
Think about what we’ve been hearing from the White House in this debate. The President has said that American lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not change FISA. But he has also said that he will veto any FISA bill that does not grant retroactive immunity. No immunity, no new FISA bill. So if we take the President at his word, he is willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies. The President’s insistence on immunity as a precondition for any FISA reform is yet another example of his disrespect for honest dialogue and for the rule of law.
It’s painfully clear what the President’s request for retroactive immunity is really about. It’s a self-serving attempt to avoid legal and political accountability and keep the American public in the dark about this whole shameful episode.
The Senate is set to vote on the FISA bill and the Bingaman Amendment this week. Please call your Senators and ask them to call the President's bluff by supporting the Bingaman Amendment and to vote against the unconstitutional FISA bill. Today the Bush Administration released a letter threatening to veto the upcoming FISA legislation if it included the Bingaman Amendmen... more -
Save Arecibo! (because aliens don't do voicemail)
The folks at SETI@home have put out a desperate plea for the community to bust out those quill pens and start writing strongly-worded letters to congress persons. Apparently the Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest radio telescope and SETI@home's data source, is being threatened with some massive budget cuts. Given that a replacement for Arecibo won't be online until 2020 at best, folks are understandably upset. Turns out Arecibo is also one of the best shots we have at detecting an earth-threatening astroid before it's too late and we have to sit through another Elijah Wood movie on the subject. You know what you have to do.
[Via Engadget] The folks at SETI@home have put out a desperate plea for the community to bust out those quill pens and start writing strongly-worded ... more -
Jesse Helms on Secrecy
The late Senator Jesse Helms, who died on July 4, was an arch-conservative opponent of civil rights legislation, arms control treaties and other liberal causes. Though none of the obituaries mentioned it, he was also an outspoken critic of government secrecy.
“This government is shot through with willy-nilly applications of secrecy,” he complained in January 1995 at the first meeting of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy (the Moynihan Commission), of which he was a member.
“I’ve been fussing for years about the application of secrecy on just about every document in this town,” he said then.
Senator Helms co-sponsored secrecy reform legislation based on the recommendations of the Moynihan Commission. That legislation was not enacted. But as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he helped pass legislation to require disclosure of most U.S. arms sales to foreign governments, which was signed into law.
“Secrecy all too often … becomes a political tool used by Executive Branch agencies to shield information which may be politically sensitive or policies which may be unpopular with the American public,” he testified at a Senate hearing in 1997. “Worse yet, information may be classified to hide from public view illegal or unethical activity.”
“On numerous occasions I, and other Members of Congress, have found the Executive Branch to be reluctant to share certain information, the nature of which is not truly a ‘national secret,’ but which would be potentially politically embarrassing to officials in the Executive Branch or which would make known an illegal or indefensible policy,” Sen. Helms said.
The late Senator Jesse Helms, who died on July 4, was an arch-conservative opponent of civil rights legislation, arms control treaties... more -
Bush: Olympic boycott would insult Chinese.
He's worried about insulting them, thats a surprise, he doesn't mind insulting me an a regular basis
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Look out the sky is falling
Well i guess maybe we did need the star wars defense system, but is there really any country that can say they are prepared for a asteroid? Well i guess maybe we did need the star wars defense system, but is there really any country that can say they are prepared for a aste... more
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Big Pharma spent $168 million lobbying Congress in '07
Washington's largest lobby, the pharmaceutical industry, racked up another banner year on Capitol Hill in 2007, backed by a record $168 million lobbying effort, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of federal lobbying data. Among the industry's successes: getting two controversial laws extended and thwarting congressional efforts to restrict media ads for prescription drugs.
Washington's largest lobby, the pharmaceutical industry, racked up another banner year on Capitol Hill in 2007, backed by a record $16... more -
Declaration of Independence
This is a rarely seen dramatic reading performed by a group of famous actors.
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A national speed limit of 55 MPH?
An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.
Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.
As motorists headed on trips for this Fourth of July weekend, gasoline averaged $4.10 a gallon nationwide with oil hovering around $145 a barrel.
Warner cited studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year. An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save ga... more -
Bush urges Congress to pass AIDS funds
$50 billion proposed to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
President George W. Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to approve funds to fight AIDS in Africa and other countries, and said the issue was high on his agenda for a Group of Eight summit in Japan next week.
Members of the U.S. Senate sought last week to pass legislation to more than triple funds to fight AIDS, but some Republicans vowed to block it because of its cost.
The House of Representatives has approved its version of the measure which proposes $50 billion in U.S. funds over five years to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since it was first recognized more than a quarter century ago. About 33 million people are infected with HIV, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa where it is spread primarily through heterosexual sex. $50 billion proposed to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria ... more -
Bush's Covert Operations in Iran
The New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh on CNN. "If that doesn't make people nervous, I don't know what would."
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Bush signs war funding bill, flood victims get some help too
Ever wonder how, despite the unpopularity of the war in Iraq, President Bush manages to get a democrat dominated congress to fund it?
Easy!, just get someone to tack on an amendment that no one facing an election could ever vote against...in this case 2.7 billion dollars in emergency flood relief for the US midwest.
I suppose politicians have always been playing these kinds of tricks, but what frustrates me in this case is the completely opposite nature on these two endeavours. Its so distorted!
War on one hand, humanitarian assistance on the other....what a world!
Ever wonder how, despite the unpopularity of the war in Iraq, President Bush manages to get a democrat dominated congress to fund it? ... more -
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congresss to Stand Up and Check the Balance
In exactly two weeks, we are going to find out whether members of Congress have any respect for the institution they represent. We will see whether they have the courage to stand up to the Bush administration and defend the Constitution they took an oath to protect. Specifically, we will discover whether they are willing to take the measures necessary to ensure that Bush administration officials testify before Congress.
On July 10, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to investigate the firings of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and the questionable prosecution and imprisonment of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman. Karl Rove, a potentially key figure in both incidents, has been issued a subpoena to testify before the committee. Rove's lawyer has said that Rove will not appear.
Congress has a few options here. First, if Rove fails to appear, they could pass criminal contempt charges against him, as they did against White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. This is good, but will not result in immediate testimony.
The second option is to have Karl Rove arrested, under the theory of inherent contempt, and brought to Congress to testify. This is better, but may still be eventually unsatisfying if Rove ends up testifying yet asserts executive privilege repeatedly in order to avoid disclosing important information.
Another option - and the one supported by the American Freedom Campaign Action Fund - is to tell the president immediately that he will be impeached if members of his administration do not provide full testimony before Congress by a date certain in July. This has historical precedent as one of the three articles of impeachment ultimately brought against President Richard Nixon was based on his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas.
The final option is to do nothing and set a precedent for the future by which any administration can claim that Congress does not have the ability to force executive branch officials to testify before Congress. This would be an affront to our Constitution and Congress is dancing perilously close to this line already.
We cannot allow Congress to become subservient to the executive branch. It must exert its oversight authority and force administration officials to testify. Please tell your U.S. representative to take whatever steps are necessary to compel testimony.
Thank you for sharing your feelings with your U.S. representative.
Steve
Steve Fox
Campaign Director
American Freedom Campaign Action Fund
I got the email a week ago. Sign petitions, send emails, and mail letters. heres links to legislators and bills.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
http://www.house.gov/
http://catalog.loc.gov/ In exactly two weeks, we are going to find out whether members of Congress have any respect for the institution they represent. We wi... more -
US Congress vacations while economy burns
"With Americans still reeling from this week's report that gas may cost $7 a gallon in a few years and with millions either losing their homes to foreclosure or unable to sell their homes, people are looking looking for help.
Congress has gone on holiday and told the nation, "See you after July 4th." Nobody here but tourists, who can't understand why Congress would leave with so much undone.
Congress failed to agree on energy legislation and in the most surprising failure, lawmakers couldn't come to terms on a housing bill to rescue homeowners threatened with foreclosure.
Senate Democrats blame Republicans for delay tactics including filibusters. Republicans say they resort to stalling because Democrats ignore them when they are writing legislation.
The bill to help homeowners is being held up because of a dispute between the Democratic and Republican senators from Nevada, which just happens to be the state with the highest home foreclosure rate in the country ..."
By John Cochran "With Americans still reeling from this week's report that gas may cost $7 a gallon in a few years and with millions either losing the... more -
Nancy Pelosi Altars Passed Congressional Bill to Favor Israel
Does anybody elected official represent the United States anymore?
Nancy Pelosi just takes it upon herself to cut out portions of a passed bill? Who does she think she is? What kind of out-of-control-power does our country's leadership possess?
Thank God Ron Paul is actively aware of the sly workings of elected officials.
People we can't continue to have this kind of representation and have a democratic republic much longer. If you care at all, call your elected official and let them know you care and disapprove of what Nancy did. Does anybody elected official represent the United States anymore? ... more
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