Priceless…

Playing the Race Card…Priceless

Barbara Boxer had a confrontation with the Chairman and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Congress Harry C. Alford. Mr. Alford opposes legislation working its way through Senator Boxer’s committee on the environment. To counter his arguments Senator Boxer quotes resolutions by two prominent black groups which Mr. Alford took as “pitting” him against fellow black associations and “racial”

H/T: Chuck Devore

Senate Doctor’s Live!

WASHINGTON – Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced today a new, live, online show – “Senate Doctors” – broadcasting here every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The first show will air Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.

Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) – an orthopedic trauma surgeon and former President of the Wyoming Medical Society – and Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) – a family practice physician specializing in obstetrics – will be regular hosts, with guests making appearances. The show will focus on policy discussions, with constituents sharing their questions, stories, concerns, and comments about health care proposals being debated in Congress.

Senate Doctors are looking for your questions on healthcare. Click HERE to submit your questions to the Senators.

Got Gas Pain?

Send your gas receipts to Sen. Jim Inhof!

Republican members of Congress are asking constituents to send them their gas receipts which they will then present to the MIA democrat Mr. Reid.

Perhaps I can follow suit and gather gas receipts to present to present to the absent PA democrat leadership – How is that vacation, Pat Murphy? I’m sure he is busy using his vaction to pad his campaign with out-of-state donations.

Calling the Democrat’s Bluff part 2:

WASHINGTON, DC – House Republicans today sent a letter to every member of the Democratic caucus requesting they join Republicans and the American people in calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reconvene the House of Representatives and pass a comprehensive, “all of the above” energy plan.

“If you agree that Congress should not be taking a five-week vacation until we address the energy crisis, will you join us in publicly calling on Speaker Pelosi to reconvene the House and allow a vote on increasing American-made energy,” the entire Republican leadership said in the letter.

H/T: Michelle Malkin

Pain at the Pump?0

Via Robert Bluey – RedState

Many of the constituents in Rep. Scott Garrett’s Northern New Jersey district commute to nearby New York City every day, so when the price of gas jumped to $4 per gallon, he heard about it.

Calls from constituents were so overwhelming, in fact, that his office established an e-mail address (PainAtThePump@mail.house.gov) for people to share their comments. Garrett, who returned to Capitol Hill today, told me he wanted to hear from constituents who changed their lifestyles in order to cut back on driving.

$10, $20, $30 per gallon of Gas…

Sign the Petition: Call Back Congress
Support the American Energy Act

It’s On – Republicans are back in Congress

Via House Republican Leader John Boehner:

Washington, Aug 3 – House Republicans will be back on the floor of theU.S. House of Representatives again Monday to continue the unprecedented protest that began last Friday, when dozens of Republicans joined hundreds of American citizens on the House floor to protest Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to send Congress home for the rest of the summer without a vote on legislation to lower gas prices and move America toward energy independence.

In an urgent memo sent to GOP Members and staff Saturday (“A Call to Action onAmerican Energy”), Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) hailed Friday’s action, which was led by Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Tom Price (R-GA), and others, and encouraged House Republicans to return to the Capitol beginning Monday morning to help keep the historic effort going.

“It’s not a request we make lightly. But the American people are suffering,” Boehner and Blunt said in the memo. “The consequences of continued congressional inaction on gas prices are unacceptable. We’ve called on the Speaker to call Congress back into an emergency session this month and schedule a vote on the American Energy Act. We must continue to make a stand until the Speaker complies.”

“We realize not everyone can be in Washington next week. But if you can be, we ask that you come to the Capitol, join our colleagues, and lend your voice, beginning this Monday at 10:00 am,” the GOP leaders wrote. “If you can’t be in Washington, we ask that you contribute to the cause in other ways – such as spreading the word among your constituents, writing an op-ed for your local newspaper, or taking our ‘all of the above’ energy message to your local airwaves.”

“Republicans stand with the American people. We share their passion and determination for energy independence, and we’ve pledged to fight boldly until Congress heeds their will,” Boehner and Blunt concluded.

Get your popcorn ready, this is going to be quite a show!

Congress Sinks To A New Low

The Democrat controlled Congress has broken into the SINGLE digit approval rating according to the latest Rasmussen Report on Congressional Performance.

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

Iraq Withdrawl: Not So Fast!

As usual the peace folk salivated too quickly:

The Iraqi proposal stipulates that, once Iraqi forces have resumed security responsibility in all 18 of Iraq’s provinces, U.S.-led forces would then withdraw from all cities in the country. After that, the country’s security situation would be reviewed every six months, for three to five years, to decide when U.S.-led troops would pull out entirely, al-Adeeb said.

H/T: This Ain’t Hell

Enough is Enough

John Boehner is the Republican Minority Leader for the House of Representatives penned an article outlining the abuses of the true dictatorial party in this nation. As much as the Dems engineered theft of the 215-213 vote Thursday night on the Republican motion denying taxpayer benefits to illegal individuals who violate the laws of this country annoys me – I see this as another step towards a Republican victory in 2008.

My friends: the Democrats’ ticket is being punched.

They stuck pork-barrel spending for peanuts and spinach on a bill meant to fund American troops in harm’s way.

They created slush funds for secret earmarks, attempting to spend billions of taxpayer dollars without transparency.

They jammed “green pork” accounts into the energy tax bill, allowing taxpayer funds to be used to subsidize things like Lexus Hybrids in Beverly Hills and putting copies of Al Gore’s book in children’s classrooms.

They voted to look the other way when the Speaker’s own choice for majority leader broke House rules by threatening a Republican member who dared to challenge an illegitimate earmark.

They stonewalled lobbying reforms that require lobbyists to disclose taxpayer-funded earmarks for which they’re lobbying Congress, repealed Republican reforms requiring earmarks in tax and authorizing to be publicly disclosed and subject to challenge on the House floor, and killed legislation requiring taxpayer-funded state and local government lobbyists from following the congressional gift ban as they lobby for pork.

Bad behavior breeds bad behavior. Who says Democrats don’t act like communists?

Scooter Libby Pardoned

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby’s request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.

I have said throughout this process that it would not be appropriate to comment or intervene in this case until Mr. Libby’s appeals have been exhausted. But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision.

From the very beginning of the investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame’s name, I made it clear to the White House staff and anyone serving in my administration that I expected full cooperation with the Justice Department. Dozens of White House staff and administration officials dutifully cooperated.

After the investigation was under way, the Justice Department appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel in charge of the case. Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged.

This case has generated significant commentary and debate. Critics of the investigation have argued that a special counsel should not have been appointed, nor should the investigation have been pursued after the Justice Department learned who leaked Ms. Plame’s name to columnist Robert Novak. Furthermore, the critics point out that neither Mr. Libby nor anyone else has been charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act, which were the original subjects of the investigation. Finally, critics say the punishment does not fit the crime: Mr. Libby was a first-time offender with years of exceptional public service and was handed a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.

Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable. They say that had Mr. Libby only told the truth, he would have never been indicted in the first place.

Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby’s case is an appropriate exercise of this power.

The mainstream Democrats at DU respond:

Edited on Mon Jul-02-07 06:05 PM by autorank

Any Democrat who opposes impeachment after this should be recalled.
This is the beginning of the end of something, don’t quite know what but things are going to explode in our corner of the world and, as we who follow public opinion know, DU is pretty mainstream (at least on elections and voting rights issues, Iraq, the environment).

This will be one of the most intense and productive periods in American history. We have three tracks of ultimate truth going:

1) The world is dying – according to mainstream science. We’re screwed unless we act in the next few years and then we’re still screwed to an extent.

2) We’re monsters to each other and allow each other to suffer vis a vis our health care system – Sicko is an indisputable argument proving that.

3) NO ONE can now deny this – Bush is utterly corrupt. Those 26% who still support him will dwindle by 20-30% so it will be only the 18% or so who always support the lunatic right (it was about 14% way back who continued to support McCarthy after he was disgraced thoroughly).

On edit: Not worth the effort to recall them. They just need to be scared into doing the right thing.

dicknbush Mon Jul-02-07 07:09 PM Response to Original message 233. HYE PELOSI…YOU BETTER PUT IMPEACHMENT BACK ON THE TABLE!

IMPEACHMENT IMPEACHMENT. THAT SHOULD BE THE ONLY TOPIC OF DISCUSION FORM NOW ON UNTIL THE END OF THIS TRAVESTY. IMPEACHMENT IMPEACHMENT IMPEACHMNET!!!

ProudDad Mon Jul-02-07 07:36 PM
Response to Original message 275. Cute he does this on July 2

so it can sink into the news hole under all of the patriotic BULLSHIT that’s going to flood the MSM for the next 2 days.
Clever…
PISS ON ALL FLAGS!!!!

Throwing Stones Mon Jul-02-07 07:36 PM
Response to Original message 277. FUCK THE FUCKING FUCKERS!

that is all.

kramer Mon Jul-02-07 09:59 PM
Response to Original message 378. I have a workable solution –

Every democrat or progressive in the country let’s start it today – refuse to go to the mall shopping until Bush takes back his order.

Absolutely no new purchases!

Watch the economy and the stock market going down.

It will work in just a few months.

Everybody, do you hear me?

The Bill is Dead

46 to 53 Immigration bill goes down in defeat

“What part of ‘no’ don’t we understand?,” asked Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who said the immigration fight had “reengaged the American people.”

George Borjas – an economist at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, wrote an insightful summary regarding the vote on the Hill today:

The President bet all his remaining political capital on a proposal he knew would tear his party apart. And the Senate came close to enacting very bad policy. It really makes me wonder: what the heck were they thinking?

There’s something else worth pointing out. Here’s a policy shift–amnesty and guest workers–that the entire political establishment as well as much of the mainstream media and academic elite wanted badly. It is seldom the case that something that the powers-that-be want so much fails to make it through. I am pretty sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere. And the tactics used by the bill’s opponents to fight the establishment’s power and to weaken their control over key junctures in the information flow will provide lots of case studies that will be studied far into the future. No “Mission Accomplished” banners this time around.

Does this end the debate over immigration? No.

Why? Because our immigration system is truly broken.

Regardless of what happened at the Senate today, there are still 12 million illegal immigrants living in the country, and that number is increasing at the rate of about half-a-million a year. And there’s no longer any need for the Bush administration to keep playing the charade of “more enforcement” that received wide media attention in the past few months. The economic and social dislocations caused by illegal immigration are not going to disappear simply because the issue is no longer in the political headlights.

Combine this with a legal immigration system that admits about 1 million immigrants a year–most of which tend to be low-skill workers. The economic pressures that both legal and illegal immigrants put on the low-skill labor market are severe, and have been ignored for years. I suspect that the immigration “problem” would have been long resolved had the labor markets for high-skill workers–say, for example, journalists and attorneys–faced the same pressures as those faced by low-educated workers.

Borjas is absolutely correct in his assessment that our immigration policies are broken. I’m not sold on the idea of President Bush losing political capitol over his support of this deeply flawed immigration bill. He is winding up his last years as POTUS and can throw his support to whatever legislation he likes with (political) impunity.

As for this latest debacle of the Senate – It was an already fractured GOP base that in 06 voted in a house and senate that in very short order voted on a non-binding Iraq resolution , continually looks for new and unique ways to defund our troops while they are in a war zone and now tried pass a deeply flawed immigration bill.

And all the pundits have to say is “what the heck were they thinking?”.

Hello – the question that needs to be asked is ‘What the heck was the public thinking when they voted these imbeciles into power in 06’? Quit your bitching – you voted for this change in 06, and now you are crying over the mess you created.

As a resident of Pennsylvania, I often sadly wonder if Senator Santorum was re-elected in 06, would such non-binding Iraq resolutions or flawed immigration bills ever have seen the light of day?

Veto Strikes Back!

With a stroke of his pen, President Bush saved the world,
yet again.