Where’s the Outrage?

One of the great things about You Tube is priceless moments on the floor of the House or Senate can be brought to our attention. C-Span records the proceedings but someone else edits those 3 and 4 hour marathons down to 2 minutes of pure stupidity. Representative Darell Issa serves up tonight’s course.

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From TP:

ISSA: We are going to miss Tim Russert when it comes to the people on both sides of the issue of why we have $5 oil — $5 gasoline and $135 oil. I think Tim Russert would have been just the right guy to hold people accountable, who would talk about the 68 million acres that are, quote, inactive, while in fact 41 million are under current lease and use and are producing millions of barrels of oil and natural gas a day. […] (more…)

 

 Rep. Issa connects Tim Russert and off-shore drilling [1:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Big Oil, House of Representatives by ecthompson
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I watched a U.S. Trade mission to Colombia a few days ago on C-Span.

You can watch it by clicking the link that says Vignette on U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The video will remain up on C-Span for another week or two.

The roughly half-hour I watched of the show involved U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives touring Medellin, Colombia and meeting with various officials.

The photo above is of Medellin where 2.4 million people live within the city and 3.2 million people live in outlying areas. Here is a brief history of the city.

My friends at the AFL-CIO oppose this agreement. They say union workers are routinely killed in Colombia and the deal will result in lost American jobs.

This blog, Plan Colombia and Beyond, is also opposed to this agreement on the grounds of human rights.

I have little doubt that the right-wing government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is on the wrong side of many basic human rights questions.

Here are arguments for the pact from a government web-page dedicated to trade agreements.

Currently, the deal is stuck in a disagreement between the Democratic House and President Bush.

Of the nine House members on the trip, there were seven Republicans and two Democrats.

I was interested in the presence of the two Democratic House members in the trade delegation. The two members were Bob Etheridge of North Carolina and Hank Johnson of Georgia. [Read more →]

Tags: Economy, House of Representatives by Texas Liberal
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Note that I resisted the title - Senator Craig has his panties in a twist.

Just in case you are wondering Senator Larry Craig is going to appeal his most recent court decision. He also feels that Mitt Romney has treated him unfairly.

Give me a break. The Senator has become Britney Spears. He does something stupid. The press covers it and he whines.

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From CNN.com:

Sen. Larry Craig says he will file an appeal Monday over a judge’s refusal to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting.

In an interview Sunday with KTVB-TV, Craig repeated he will not resign his post in the Senate and said he will continue to work his legal options.

“It is my right to do what I’m doing,” said Craig, an Idaho Republican. “I’ve already provided for Idaho certainty that Idaho needed — I’m not running for re-election. I’m no longer in the way. I am pursuing my constitutional rights.” (more…)

 

 Senator Craig Appeals [1:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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Most Republicans understand that Larry Craig is an anchor and he is pulling the Republican Party down with him. As far as I’m concerned Larry Craig and Mark Foley belong in the same sentence.

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From WaPo:

Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) vowed to serve out the remainder of his term yesterday despite losing his bid to withdraw his guilty plea for disorderly conduct in an airport men’s restroom.

Craig, who said earlier that he would resign if unable to withdraw his plea, said he is considering appealing yesterday’s decision by a Minnesota judge. The judge ruled that some of the senator’s legal arguments were “illogical.” (more…)

 

 More on Larry Craig [2:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Hardball, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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Ah, the gift that keeps on giving - Larry Craig. Senator Larry Craig announced today that he was not leaving the Senate. I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes when you are trying the think of the latest example of Republican hypocrisy you can’t come up with the right on. Some examples are too old. Some didn’t get enough press for everyone to know what you are talking about. Larry Craig on the other hand, can be pointed to as the best example of someone who opposed gay rights but clearly acted on gay impulses. You can’t convince me that this is the first time that he had gone to that bathroom. (more on Larry Craig - here and here)

So, now the judge in Minnesota says no way Jose to Larry Craig’s petition to have a re-trial. TPM has a great paragraph that sums up this whole case -

So Craig’s fellow Republicans basically do everything short of physically forcing him to resign. He “resigns”. Only it’s not a resignation. Rather, it’s a rather ingenious ploy to let the temperature ease off on the story, a post-dated resignation. Then it’s not a resignation. He’s going to fight the guilty plea — something of a novelty in the annals of jurisprudence. He’ll stay in office if he can get his plea withdrawn. And now he can’t get his guilty plea withdrawn so, well, too bad. He’s staying anyway.

It is kind of remarkable that it is the Republicans that look impotent for once.

 

 Craig's plea for a re-trial is denied [1:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, House of Representatives, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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He ain’t going nowhere. When you are addicted to power it is hard to let go. It looks like Senator Larry Craig is not going to leave the Senate at the end the month as he hinted a couple of weeks ago. it looks like he is going to wait until the judge hands down his verdict on whether or not he should get a retrial.

BTW, he shouldn’t get a retrial. If his judgment is so BAD that he pleads guilty to something that he is not guilty of then he needs to be removed from the Senate for being too stupid to govern. On the other hand, if he was soliciting sex like I think he was, he needs to be removed from office for being a 2-faced liar. There’s his choice. I look forward to him choosing.

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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From the court room stand, CEO of the oil company Veso, Bill Allen states that several of his workers did work on Stevens remodeled home.  Unfortunately, they were on the company dime at the time.  Oops.

I wonder how Ted Stevens would look in one of those prison jumpsuits.

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From TPM:

Under cross-examination by defense attorney James Wendt, representing former state Rep. Pete Kott, Allen acknowledged that the more than $400,000 he admitted spending in the bribery charge was for other legislators - and including for work done at the Girdwood, Alaska, home of Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate.”I gave Ted some old furniture,” Allen said. “I don’t think there was a lot of material, There was some labor.”

The workers were VECO employees, probably one to four at a time, Allen said. He said the work on the home lasted for “probably a couple of months.” Later, he said it might have been as much as six months.  (more…)

Tags: Congress, House of Representatives by ecthompson
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You know every now and then you find a story that gets under your skin.  It makes you mad.  You want to do something but there is nothing more to do than post.  The whole Mark Foley story is one of those kind of stories.  Now, it looks as if charges will not be filed.

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From RS:

“Barring any extraordinary circumstances, it is very unlikely for charges to be filed in a case once the statute of limitations has run its course,” Aya Gruber, a former federal public defender and professor of law at Florida International University, told ABC News.

“Federal officials turned the case over to Florida after concluding that Foley did not engage in any actual sexual contact until the former pages had turned 18, and had therefore not violated federal law. Washington, D.C. law defines the age of consent as 16,” ABC added.  (more…)

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley by ecthompson
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Sadly, The Daily Show has been on break for the last 2 weeks. They completely missed the Larry Craig scandal but because of the craziness that has infected Larry Craig’s brain, the scandal continues. So, Rob Cordory comes back (after a year long absence) and has been staking out the Men’s restroom at the Minneapolis airport for a year. Then we get an explanation of the whole ordeal complete with a soulful backup singer. It has to be seen to be believed.

 

 TDS - Larry Craig [8:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senator Larry Craig, The Daily Show by ecthompson
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The 3th installment of the first Star Wars trilogy…Well, It really wasn’t the first because the 2nd trilogy was a prequel. So, the movie Return of the Jedi was originally named Revenge of the Jedi. Jedi’s have nothing to do with Larry Craig but I’m running out of titles for these posts. Look for titles like Nightmare in the bathroom with Larry Craig, Jason vs. Larry in Friday the 13th part 69 and finally, Larry Craig - Reloaded.

Yep, I went there. This whole thing is so ridiculous, you have to go there. For the women out there that haven’t been in a men’s restroom, there is a protocol. It is just like getting in a elevator where no one talks, in the mens room there is very little chitchat. There is very little eye contact. You go. You do your business. You leave. Done. There is no foot touching. That just doesn’t happen. Never. There is no time when your stance is wide enough so that your foot goes under the stall divider. NOT. NEVER.

BTW, have you ever heard of someone pleading guilty then trying to take back him/her guilty plea? I’m not talking about 16 year old kid but instead, a 62 year old veteran of national politics.

 

 Countdown - More and More on Larry Craig [6:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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What is this Jason from Friday the 13th? Will this guy not just go away? He has disgraced himself and his family.

I, personally, think that he should stay so that everyone can see the hypocrisy of the Republican “Family Values” party.

(video later.)

The Carpetbagger Report has been all over Larry Craig - here, here and here.

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From MSNBC.com:

Sen. Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said Tuesday evening.

“It’s not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign,” Sidney Smith, Craig’s spokesman in Idaho’s capital, told The Associated Press.

“We’re still preparing as if Sen. Craig will resign Sept. 30, but the outcome of the legal case in Minnesota and the ethics investigation will have an impact on whether we’re able to stay in the fight — and stay in the Senate,” Smith said. (more…)

 

 Countdown - Craig [6:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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No matter what I think of his politics, my heart goes out to Tony Snow and his family. He has been diagnosed with recurrent colon cancer if I’m not mistaken. This is as serious as Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer if not more so. There are a variety treatments that are effective in certain types of breast cancer. For Stage IV colon cancer no treatment is that effective. 5 year survival rates are low. Very low. Tony Snow needs to leave the White House to make some money for his young children. I wish him all the best.

BTW, I know that Senator Craig has resigned. I thought about posting something on him separately but he speech was trite. His idea to “fight on” was silly. He plead guilty. Now, after the outcry, he was wronged? I’m afraid that the poor cop that arrested him is going to be stream rolled by a still powerful, self loathing, Republican with an axe to grind.

 

 Tony Snow exits [3:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate by ecthompson
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It is hard to watch a man shoot himself in the foot with his own gun then turn around and point the finger at some guy who is the assailant. I’m sure that this could be a Saturday Night Live sketch if we weren’t talking about a US Senator at a time when basic rights are being debated.

This is nuts (here is the transcript of the arrest interview). Larry Craig pleaded guilty. He plead guilty to a crime in which he was accused of lewd behavior. Now, there isn’t a heterosexual man in America who would admit to being Gay if he wasn’t. It just doesn’t happen. It is like a White guy walking around saying that he is Black. That doesn’t happen. (Except in that stupid Hollywood Movie Soul Man)

What’s up with him getting arrested and not telling his wife? If Craig truly thought that he was wronged wouldn’t his wife be the first person that we would tell? The only way that I don’t tell my wife is if I’m trying to hide something from her. Something like being accused of propositioning a police officer in a public bathroom when you have been plagued by rumors of homosexual activity for over 25 years!!

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From MSNBC.com:

… “You are sitting here lying to a police officer,” Karsnia (the arresting police officer) responded. “People vote for you. Unbelievable.”

…Craig pleaded guilty on Aug. 1 to a charge of disorderly conduct, but the case didn’t come to public light until Tuesday. Craig held a news conference then and said that despite his guilty plea, he had done nothing wrong and had hired an attorney.

He has received little public support from Republicans, however. Several GOP lawmakers have suggested he resign, some citing the fact that he pleaded guilty in the case.

 

 Audio of Craig's Arrest [8:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Craig audio [2:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
3 Comments »

Keith Olbermann does a great job in outlining what we now know. Senator Larry Craig has fatally fumbled this whole incident. I really don’t understand this. Craig has been in trouble before. He knows how Washington works but he chose to handle this matter by himself? Vitter is a great example of Republican hypocrisy but the R’s support him because he kept them in the loop the whole way. Craig, who has been in Washington for over 30 years, left the Republican leadership out in the cold. They now seem to be throwing him under the bus.

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From WaPo:

… In a highly unusual move, the entire Senate Republican leadership team issued a statement minutes before Craig’s press conference complaining that none of them were told of Craig’s legal troubles until yesterday. Craig issued a statement Monday confirming his arrest and guilty plea, which were first reported in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. The GOP senators asked the Ethics Committee to investigate the matter, vowing to consider other punitive sanctions.

“This is a serious matter,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and three other elected GOP leaders said in their joint statement. “Due to the reported and disputed circumstances, and the legal resolution of this serious case, we will recommend that Senator Craig’s incident be reported to the Senate Ethics Committee for its review. In the meantime, leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required.” (more…)

 

 Countdown - Craig Meltdown [9:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Countdown, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
2 Comments »

When you read everything that is out there about Senator Larry Craig a pattern begins to emerge. First, of all, it is clear that Larry Craig plead guilty to lewd conduct in a male public bathroom. Secondly, he thought that everything would blow over if he just paid the fine and didn’t make a fuss. Thirdly, there have been allegations of homosexual activity in the past. (see earlier post)

I find it interesting how the Republicans jumped on the resign bandwagon. Remember they really never came out and denounced Rep. Foley. They helped Denis Hastert badly fumble what should have been a cut and dry case of immoral behavior.

Check out Senator Craig’s statement (see vid below). He plead guilty with out telling anyone. Either he is dumber than dirt or he is lying. Then way he should never be elected to any post high than dog catcher.

Again, Glenn Greenwald has a great take on this. He points out the right wing hypocrisy.

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From MSNBC.com:

Under fire from leaders of his own party, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday said the only thing he had done wrong was to plead guilty after a complaint of lewd conduct in a men’s room. He declared, “I am not gay. I never have been gay.”

“I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport,” he said at a news conference with his wife, Suzanne, at his side.

Craig also lashed out at the Idaho Statesman newspaper, which reported Monday that, according to an anonymous source, Craig had a homosexual encounter in a Washington train station. Craig accused the paper of waging a witch hunt against him. (more…)

 

 Senator Craig's Statement [4:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Senate, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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So, Bob Allen of Fla propositions a cop in a bathroom just a couple of months ago. His explanation for what happened as racist at best. Now, we have Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. It appears that there was some lewd conduct in a men’s restroom. Of course, Craig is trying to spin this.

Update: It appears that Craig was a big supporter of Mitt Romney. They even had a commercial together. Now, that commercial has been pulled by Romney campaign. I can’t find a copy of it on the web anywhere.

Update II: Well, well, well. It appears that Larry Craig has a little history of homosexual behavior. At least he was accused of the behavior. Check out this video from 1982! Wait for the last 60 seconds of the video. (BTW, look at Lisa Myers!!! OMG!!!) Oh, if you look and look, you can find just about anything on the web. LiveLeak had a copy of this Craig’s pitch for Romney.

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From MSNBC.com:

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct after being arrested at the Minneapolis airport.

A Hennepin County court docket showed Craig pleading guilty to the disorderly conduct charge Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.

The court docket said the Republican senator was fined $1,000, plus $575 in fees. He was put on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the county workhouse was stayed. (more…)

 

 Larry Craig in 1982 [2:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Craig - Romney Ad [1:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Congressman Mark Foley, Party Politics, Senator Larry Craig by ecthompson
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Randy Cunningham is one of those Republican gifts that just keeps on giving. Some more info here and here.

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From NYT:

Federal prosecutors in San Diego announced on Tuesday an 11-count felony indictment charging a former high-ranking Central Intelligence Agency official with using his seniority and influence to steer contracts to a lifelong friend who had offered him a lucrative job and paid for lavish vacation travel.

The indictment charged Kyle D. Foggo, a former executive director at the C.I.A., with wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and failing to report vacation trips and other gifts paid for by the friend, Brent R. Wilkes, a contractor from San Diego. Mr. Wilkes who was charged with concealing his interest in the deals through shell companies and intermediaries.

Mr. Wilkes, who was included in the Foggo indictment, was charged on Tuesday in a second indictment for his role in a separate inquiry last year that resulted in the guilty plea by former Representative Randy Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for accepting more than $2 million in cash and gifts. In that indictment, Mr. Wilkes was charged with providing more than $700,000 to Mr. Cunningham in return for his influence in helping to direct federal contracts to Mr. Wilkes’s principal company, ADCS, which converted paper documents to digitized computer imagery. (more…)

Tags: House of Representatives by ecthompson
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I have had this vid for some time.  I just haven’t had time to post it.  Lou Dobbs is investigating the culture of corruption in Washington.  The culture really isn’t a Republican thing although they really perfected it.  Both R’s and Dem’s have shown that they can be bought.  Lou Dobbs has been looking out of the little guy, the average Joe.  I think for the most part he is 100% correct.  Corporate America has cut out the middle class.  They haven’t shared the wealth.  They have bought silence from Congress. This is a nice report.  (relatively poor quality.  sorry.)

 

 LD - Culture of Corruption [6:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Domestic Issues, House of Representatives by ecthompson
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investigate.  Investigate!  INVESTIGATE!!  Countdown looks at just what will be investigated.  Executives at Cheneyville need to begin to pack their bags.  They will be spending a lot of time in Washington and hopefully, in a federal bin somewhere after that.  They should be the first ones to go.  No bid contracts in Iraq and also in New Orleans. 

 

 Countdown - What are they going to do? [4:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: House of Representatives by ecthompson
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So, your campaign manager mentions, “Don’t keep $90,000 in cash in your freezer.”  Unfortunately, you don’t follow your manager’s advise and the FBI finds the cold hard cash (pun intended) in your freezer. So, how does your campaign figure out a way for you to win your congressional bid?

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From CNN.com:

U.S. Rep. William Jefferson easily defeated his fellow Democratic opponent in a runoff election Saturday, despite an ongoing federal bribery investigation.

In complete but unofficial returns, Jefferson, Louisiana’s first black congressman since Reconstruction, received 57 percent of the vote over state Rep. Karen Carter, who had 43 percent.

Carter was unable to capitalize on a scandal that included allegations the FBI found $90,000 in bribe money in Jefferson’s freezer.

In a concession speech, Carter embraced family members and pledged to work with Jefferson, especially on the area’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.  more

Tags: Election 2006, House of Representatives by ecthompson
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