Embattled Rep. Gregory Meeks wants to muzzle the independent ethics watchdogs that Democrats unleashed after taking control of Congress.
Meeks (D-Queens), who is being probed by the feds for missing charity money and other possible wrongdoing, co-sponsored a bill that would rein in the new Office of Congressional Ethics.
Another New Yorker, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn), also was among the 20 lawmakers who signed on to the bill that was quietly introduced last week. All the co-sponsors are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Neither Meeks' nor Clarke's offices responded to questions about the legislation.
The bill would make it harder for the office to open investigations. It also would stop the office, which does not have power to sanction lawmakers but serves an advisory role, from publicizing its referrals to the more powerful House Ethics Committee.
The office "is currently the accuser, judge, and jury. This isn't the case in the American justice system, and it shouldn't be so in Congress," said Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio), the bill's chief sponsor.
The citizen-run ethics panel has whacked at least eight Congressional Black Caucus members, including Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem).
Meeks has attracted scrutiny since a federal probe was launched over questions -- first raised by The Post -- about what became of money collected by a charity that he set up to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The Post first reported that Meeks' New Yorkers Organized to Assist Hurricane Families paid out only $1,392 of the roughly $31,000 it collected for victims of the New Orleans disaster.
Meeks has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
A federal grand jury slapped him with a subpoena in April demanding records as part the expanding corruption probe, which also targets two other Queens Democrats, state Senate President Malcolm Smith and former Rep. Floyd Flake.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2010 14:23 ||
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CBC covering corrupt CBC members? Ima shocked
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/03/2010 20:50 Comments ||
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The California Assembly on Wednesday passed legislation prohibiting pharmacies and grocery, liquor and convenience stores from giving out plastic bags. The bill also calls for customers to be charged for using store-issued paper bags.
The goal is to get rid of unsightly disposable plastic bags that often wind up in urban rivers and the ocean, as well as to reduce the number of bags heading for landfills.
"The biggest way to eliminate this kind of pollution is to ban it," said Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, who authored the bill.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2010 14:26 ||
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maniacs, while the state is sinking in the red.
#3
Sorry, HammerHead, I must respectfully disagree. I understand that the state is filled with moonbats but I really don't mind using reusable bags at the grocery store. I think this is a good idea.
#8
As amply demonstrated by the Nkor and former Soviet model, when the socialist are entrenched, you won't need a bag to carry home what little you'll find in the stores that you can reach within walking distance. [privately owned and powered vehicles, not to mention stores reserved for the inner party, are luxuries for the chosen.]
#9
I am old enough to remember environmentalist demanding that plastic bag be used to "save the trees."
Of course, there are also the new articles telling us that all sorts of nasty bugs and infections can live in the re-usable bags.
Damned if you do; damned if you don't.
#10
I keep forgetting to bring my canvas ice bag to the store and use the convenient plastic ones they give me. Charge me a dime each, and continue to pack one item per bag and I'll probably manage to remember to bring my own.
#11
The plastic bags around here double as lunch bags and dog-poop bags. Paper bags can't compete. I think it would be better to find a way to stop knuckleheads from littering with them in the first place.
#12
I'm with rjschwrz. I use our plastic bags to line the small trash cans, use them as lunch bags and also use them as extra bags for clothes for the munchkin when he goes to pre-school. Then they can be used to bring any accident clothes home.
Reduce and reuse in its simplest form.
Then we use cloth bags to bring home dry goods.
I'm not an environmentalist in the extreme, but I believe in making the most out of what we have before discarding it.
Nah, it probably wouldn't be as exciting as the testosterone-fueled Patrick Swayze movie "Red Dawn" back in the '80s, but if the latest poll from Gallup is any indication of things to come, then those wearing the red colors (Republicans, not the Soviets) will do some invading of their own this fall.
Gallup calls it their "generic ballot" survey. Pollsters ask a simple question: "If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party's candidate would you vote for in your congressional district?"
Of the 1,549 respondents, 49% said they would vote for the Republican while 43% said they preferred the Democrat.
Although the six-point lead is significant, it's not to say the Democratic Party has been swallowed up by a Guatemalan-sized sinkhole. But, as Ross Perot put it, there is a giant sucking sound. And it's the Democratic Party that's caught in the vortex.
"The advantage in public support the Democratic Party built up during the latter part of the Bush administration and the early part of the Obama administration has all but disappeared," wrote Gallup's Jeffrey Jones while examining the first quarter's party affiliation gap.
It's not that people are jumping over to the Republican Party in droves. They're not. It's just that ... the number of voters identifying themselves with the Democratic Party has slipped. And those calling themselves Independents have spiked.
And Independents, in this survey, are much more likely to vote Republican than Democrat by a 47% to 34% margin.
And then there's the enthusiasm factor. To use another '80s movie reference, the "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" factor.
The Republicans have been ousted. The Republicans are motivated. Much more so than the party in power.
"Republicans continue to enjoy a healthy advantage in reported enthusiasm over Democrats -- 39% to 24% in the latest update," writes Jones. "For the last four weeks, Democrats' voting enthusiasm has been at or below that of Independents."
Then you add in President Obama's job approval rating (46%) -- which was his lowest weekly average to date -- and you've got those on the right predicting big gains.
But it's far too early for celebration or depression depending on your party affiliation.
There's a long time to go between now and November. And there are plenty more movie references to go too. If the vote were held today, the GOP would be excited. But Gallup exercises plenty of caution.
"With a lead on the generic ballot, Republicans could be in a slightly stronger position than they have been in, though it is not clear whether the recent shift marks the beginning of a lasting change in the structure of the race or perhaps a short-term response to political events such as the Obama administration's handling of the BP oil spill," Jones writes. "The latter appeared to be the case earlier this year as Republicans built a small lead after the healthcare bill's passage into law, but the slight bump for the GOP among registered voters did not last."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2010 14:45 ||
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While a majority may be dissatisfied with the Dems, in the end they'll vote Dem out of fear of losing their livlihood. Close on to 50% of American households depend to some degree on government largesse.
#2
they aren't motivated though, after all, the skittles-shitting unicorns haven't showed up. Obama hasn't paid their gas bills, mortgage, bought dinner at Ruth's Chris for them, or any other fantasies. Get out and vote, dammit, GOP!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/03/2010 20:27 Comments ||
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As long as the skittle-shitting unicorn believers go, if they stay home because they aren't motivated/interested/stoned that is one less vote for socialism.
One of President Barack Obama's top advisers suggested to a Colorado Democrat that he forgo a primary challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet and instead apply for one of three international development jobs.
The disclosure came just days after the White House admitted orchestrating a job offer in the Pennsylvania Senate race with the similar goal of avoiding a messy or divisive Democratic primary.
The back-room deals - former President Bill Clinton led the Pennsylvania effort and White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina worked with former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff - called into question Obama's repeated promises to run an open government.
Romanoff said in a statement Wednesday night that he was contacted by Messina last fall and told that the White House would support Bennet in the primary. When he said he would seek the nomination anyway, Messina "suggested three positions that might be available to me were I not pursuing the Senate race," Romanoff said. "He added that he could not guarantee my appointment to any of these positions."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2010 14:06 ||
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The back-room deals - former President Bill Clinton
Slick and the Hildebeast, the gifts that just keep on giving.
Apparently 59 percent of Americans agree with White Supremacists, according to Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif.:
"The Arizona laws are not a mistake," said Sanchez, D-Lakewood, referring to Arizona's S.B. 1070, that requires police enforcing another law to question a person about his or her immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the United States illegally and makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally.
"They're not accidental or one person's crazy idea," she said of the law. "There's a concerted effort behind promoting these kinds of laws on a state-by-state basis by people who have ties to white supremacy groups," Sanchez said.
"It's been documented. It's not mainstream politics. (Legislators) are being approached by folks, who are front organizations for white supremacist hate groups. They propose the language of these bills and get people to carry these bills in the state legislatures," she said.
The Examiner has called the Congresswoman's office and asked for the evidence Sanchez has to support her claim white supremacists are behind the Arizona immigration law. We'll update when we have more information.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2010 14:03 ||
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She said she got her info from a blogger. What a loon
#2
Linda Sanchez beat a native-born baby seal to death for opposing illegal immigration. I read it on a blog. That makes it real, I guess. Vote accordingly.
Society For Anchor-Baby Pinnipeds™ approved this message
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/03/2010 22:43 Comments ||
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To funny...just another day in California politics..
#4
If anyone believes the LLL are smarter than conservatives all you have to do is say: "Sheila Jackson, Cynthia McKinney, and Linda Sanchez." They are the quintessential IQ<100 group that represent the core of the LLL.
Former Weather Underground leaders William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, as well as Code Pink founder Jodie Evans, helped organize the Free Gaza Movement, which launched the six-ship flotilla from Turkey to Israel that ended in a violent clash with Israeli Defense Forces, BigGovernment.com reported.
In January, the trio were spotted in Egypt attempting to stir up crowds on the streets with 1,400 other left-wing activists after the Egyptian government refused to allow Free Gaza Movement members to enter the Gaza Strip. About 100 marchers were eventually allowed to cross the border, where they were met by former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.
BigGovernment quotes author Philip Weiss, who wrote that he witnessed Ayers and Dohrn arguing with fellow activists over whether to accept Egypt's offer to allow a small number of them into Gaza:
"Dohrn said that the principle of 'All or none' was a miserable one for activist politics. You always took what you could get and kept fighting for more. A European man in a red keffiyeh screamed at her that she was serving the fascisti. Her partner Bill Ayers gently confronted him and asked him why he was so out of control. Between getting on and off the bus, Dohrn, who wore a flower in her hair, said that she didn't like the absolutist certainty of the people on the other side of the police barricades, and having been in the Weather Underground, she knew something about absolutist feeling."
As political theater, an argument between the aging flower child/domestic terrorist and a fellow traveler over who knew more about "absolutist feelings" would be hard to top.
This wasn't the first time that the Free Gaza Movement, whose board of directors include well-known leftists Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein, sent vessels to Gaza to deliberately provoke a reaction from Israel.
"On August 23, 2008, two FG boats -- one of them a 66-foot yacht named The Dignity -- sailed from Cyprus to Gaza, where they docked and symbolically 'broke' the Israeli 'siege' when their passengers disembarked. The Israeli navy, seeking not to ignite international disapproval by intercepting the boats, made no attempt to stop them. The passengers, who were greeted by crowds of thousands in Gaza, claimed to be the first people to freely enter Gaza in 41 years," according to David Horowitz.
"Two months later The Dignity made its second trip from Cyprus to Gaza, this time carrying 26 FG activists and some medical supplies. The yacht arrived at a Gaza port on October 29, 2008 -- again with no resistance from the Israeli navy... FG made another voyage to Gaza in November 2008, when its members accused Israel of conducting 'chemical warfare on Palestinian fishermen.'"
"On December 29, 2008, The Dignity, bound for Gaza, was loaded with 3.5 tons of Cypriot-donated medical supplies and 16 radical activists, including former Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney. At the time, a major Israeli military offensive was taking place in Gaza, in retaliation for Hamas' relentless rocket attacks against southern Israeli cities....Because of the tense situation, on this occasion the Israelis diverted The Dignity before it could arrive in Gaza."
And if there's any doubt that this was a political set-up instead of a humanitarian mission, the fact that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez promised to join a future convoy should dispel any doubts.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2010 14:02 ||
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If they were involved I have to believe Zero was too.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
