Mood:  d'oh

Dingy Harry Reid's Ethics Chicanery / Earmarks Exposed...

Reid's Ethics Chicanery Exposed

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Steve in Savannah, Georgia, welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. How are you doing?

RUSH: Fine, sir.

CALLER: You know, I get bothered any time I hear anybody on Capitol Hill point the finger at the president and say he didn't train the military, when the Pentagon was begging for bases to be closed under the Bratt Commission, but you had self-serving senators and congresspeople up there saying, "Oh, don't close these bases. Don't save millions and millions of dollars and put that towards training."

RUSH: Well, the idea here that Congress exempts itself from any responsibility for things is not new. Look, what do you think Feingold's real purpose here is?

CALLER: To stay in office. Any time you can blame someone else and say, "Well, hey, don't make us work more than we absolutely have to and let's let somebody else take a look at this," taking away from himself by keeping himself in office. Professional politician.

RUSH: Well, beyond that. There's a political purpose here beyond his own reelection which of course is the first thing these guys are concerned with. What they're trying to do here is secure defeat in Iraq any which way they can. They're trying to force the Republicans into fading away from their support for the president. They're trying to make it untenable for Republicans to support the president on this, and they're trying to get Republican votes for future resolutions to pull out of Iraq so they can saddle Republicans and Bush with the eventual defeat and bloodbath that would happen. They haven't the guts to do it on their own. They do not have the guts to actually de-fund the war with a majority of Democrat votes. They can't get it done without Republican votes, and this is what they're trying to do. It's isolate the president. Make him a pariah that no Republican can support. It hasn't been working so far. In fact, each time they try these resolutions, they lose support for them. So Dingy Harry has pulled the whole defense authorization bill. Speaking of that, Robert Novak's piece, his column today, for those of you who voted in 2006 to get rid of Republicans because you thought they had become corrupt and because of earmarks and so forth, wait 'til you hear what Novak has uncovered.

This is something you will never see in the rest of the Drive-By Media. He writes this: "When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ... went home following his staged all-night session last week, he saved from possible embarrassment one of the least regular members of his Democratic caucus: Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Reform Republican Sen. Tom Coburn had ready a defense authorization bill amendment to remove Nelson's earmark funding a Nebraska-based company whose officials include Nelson's son. Such an effort became impossible when Reid pulled down the bill. That Reid's action would have this effect was mere coincidence. He knew that Sen. Carl Levin's amendment to the defense bill mandating a troop withdrawal from Iraq would fall short of the 60 senators needed to cut off debate, and planned from the start to pull the bill after the all-night debate, designed to satisfy anti-war zealots... But Reid also is working behind the scenes with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to undermine transparency of earmarks and prevent open debate on spending proposals such as Nelson's. These antics fit the continuing decline of the Senate, including an unwritten rules change requiring 60 votes (out of 100) to pass any meaningful bill."

This is interesting. Novak says, "When I arrived on Capitol Hill 50 years ago, Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (like Reid today) confronted a slim Democratic Senate majority and a Republican president but was not burdened with the 60-vote rule. While Johnson used chicanery, Reid resorts to brute force that shatters the Senate's facade of civilized discourse. Reid is plotting to strip anti-earmark transparency from the final version of ethics legislation passed by the Senate and House, with tacit support from Republican senators and the GOP leadership." What this means is, when they talk about anti-earmark transparency... You know, everybody was upset about earmarks, and there have been a bunch of proposals that would make all these earmarks debated and publicly known before they were voted on. Reid and Pelosi are trying to strip that. They want to go back to "the culture of corruption," and the example here is Ben Nelson had an earmark that was going to fund a Nebraska company whose officials include Nelson's son. "In requesting [this] earmark, Nelson did not disclose his son's employment there. 'There's no requirement that he disclose that,' a Nelson spokesman said. 'But frankly, in this case, we didn't disclose it because it's so public.' An April 24 letter from Armed Services Committee Chairman Levin, giving all senators instructions on how to request earmarks, makes no mention of the 'Reid Amendment' passed by the Senate three months earlier but requires only certification that no senator's spouse will benefit from an earmark.

"Inclusion of Nelson's son, however, would be required if and when the ethics bill provision passes." They're trying to kill the ethics bill provision, exactly what they said they were going to fix when they ran against the so-called Republican culture of corruption last November. Novak talks about he has never seen the Senate behave the way it's behaving in his 50 years in Washington. "[I]n his tumultuous 6½ months as majority leader, [Harry Reid] has tended to suppress free expression in the [Senate]. Last week, he cut off an attempt to respond to him by Sen. Arlen Specter... in an abrupt way that I had not witnessed in a half century of Senate-watching. Neither had Specter. When Specter finally got the Senate floor, he declared: 'Nothing is done here until the majority leader decides to exercise his power to keep the Senate in all night on a meaningless, insulting session. ... Last night's performance made us the laughingstock of the world.'" That's Specter, after Reid wouldn't let him respond to something Reid was saying. Novak concludes by saying: "It may get worse if plans to eviscerate ethics legislation are pursued." They are being pursued. This is why I say I think the Democrats are putting a noose around their necks. Now, admittedly, the Drive-By Media is not interested in the details of this column by Novak. They will not report what is happening on the ethics side, but people will find out about it.

END TRANSCRIPT
Read the Background Material...
CST: Reid presses stealth attack on ethics legislation
*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.
Rush Limbaugh.com ** Reid's Ethics Chicanery Exposed

Posted by yaahoo_ at 8:02 PM EDT

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Two San Fransicko cops, also Army reservists, filed a lawsuit claiming they were passed over for promotions because they served in Iraq...

Reservists: Police department violated USERRA

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- Two South San Francisco police officers who are also Army reservists have filed a federal lawsuit claiming their department has passed them over for promotions because they served tours of duty in Iraq.

William Carter, 53, has served nearly three decades with the police force and is also a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve. Howard Zimmerman, 38, has spent 10 years with the department, and is a major in the California Army National Guard.

Both men claim that the time they spent in Iraq training police and security forces has resulted in their being repeatedly passed over for promotions, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. They now want the court to grant them back pay and promotions.

Their attorney, Daniel Crawford, argued that the police department has violated a 1994 law -- the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act -- prohibiting employment discrimination based on military service.

“These guys are putting their lives on the line, whether as police officers or as military officers, and to hold against them the fact that they serve in the military is horribly unjust,” Crawford said.

Police Chief Mark Raffaelli, who is also named in the suit, said the department has always supported officers serving in the armed forces. “We have abided by the rules we are supposed to abide by and that’s why it’s really surprising to receive [the suit],” he said.

Army Times ~ Associated Press ** Reservists: Police department violated USERRA

LOL ~ No way, not San Fransicko. I refuse to believe it. To heck with the evidence. San Fransicko is a libtard, "support the troops" utopia.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:10 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 23 July 2007 2:14 PM EDT

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Alarmist Gore, Cameron Diaz’s TV contest to save the planet

Washington -- After organising Live Earth concerts, former US Vice President Al Gore is now moving on to host a television contest about saving the planet, and this time, Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz will accompany him.

The contest, 60 Seconds to Save the Earth, challenges viewers across the US, the UK, and the Republic of Ireland to create brief public service announcements about how the problem of global warming can be tackled.

For this project, Al Gore and Diaz will work in association with independent media company Current TV, and Alliance for Climate Protection, an organization in the US that works towards gaining people’s support in solving the climate crisis.

"We are asking young adults to take a stance and use their creative voices to encourage change and help fight the climate crisis," Contactmusic quoted Gore as saying about his latest green initiative.

Diaz says that the project will offer an enormous opportunity to inculcate the desire for a change to save the Earth among the youth across the world.

"It is an exciting opportunity for young adults from around the world to inspire change because the planet needs a good publicist," she said.

She will be joined by Orlando Bloom, George Clooney, singer Rihanna and director Sam Mendes to select 20 finalists.

Bureau Report (with ANI inputs)
Zee News ** Al Gore, Diaz’s
TV contest to save planet

Maybe they should have brainiac Cheryl Crow appear on TV with them... then we could have a former music teacher, a science failure of a manbearpig, and a high school drop out -- lecturing us on the 'science' of global warming -- while giving a practical demonstration of how they wipe their asses with one sheet of toilet paper.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:59 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 22 July 2007 3:08 AM EDT

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British Big Brother: Eat Right... or Else! Even higher taxes on snacks, and Cameras analyzing exhaust fumes to fine emission violators...

Eat Right... or Else!

Researchers in Britain say a tax on foods some consider unhealthy could discourage people from eating them, make people healthier and save lives. The Oxford study suggested that extending Britain's existing tax on ice cream, snacks and drinks to dairy products, fatty meats and desserts could save up to 3,200 lives per year.

But critics in Britain and the U.S. say diet is a private matter and government should stay out. Still, New York City will start banning the use of trans-fats in restaurants beginning next year. Chicago is considering a similar ban and a bill in Maine to tax snack foods failed by just one vote this spring.

↓
Watching and Smelling

Officials in London have been testing a special kind of surveillance camera that can analyze exhaust fumes and record license plate numbers -- opening up the door to fine owners of vehicles that do not meet emission standards.

The Daily Telegraph reports the cameras can scan 3,000 vehicles per hour -- and could be used to enforce new pollution restrictions that go into effect next February -- with fines of around $400/day for violators.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Eat Right... or Else! / Watching and Smelling

Posted by yaahoo_ at 8:34 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 8:47 AM EDT

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Jay Rockefeller (D) reportedly plans to introduce a bill that would give FCC the power to regulate TV violence

Kill Bill?

Over in the Senate, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller reportedly plans to introduce a bill that would give the Federal Communications Commission the power to regulate violent content on television. The FCC already has authority over sexual and language content, but not violence.

Cybercast News reports the Rockefeller bill would require either the FCC or Congress to work up a "definition" of television violence. It would also attempt to increase family-friendly programming —- particularly in the first hour of prime time, known as the family hour.

Critics say all of this amounts to an effort to limit free speech and they are concerned with the fact that the bill would apply not only to broadcast TV, but to cable and satellite stations as well.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Bret Baier ** Kill Bill?

Posted by yaahoo_ at 8:20 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 12:15 PM EDT

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Mood:  special

Kick Ass Fred Thompson Bumper Stickers, Website

 See 'em all...

Fred Thompson t-shirts, golf-shirts, bumper-stickers, magnets, mugs and more!

http://www.fredstates.com/

Posted by yaahoo_ at 6:48 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 7:00 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Two Stories In One: Demented-crats Protect Union Impropriaties /
John Murtha's $1 Million Earmark to His Campaign Contributor

Union Oversight

While every enforcement agency in the Labor Department is due for a large budget increase -- House Democrats have cut $2 million from the small office of Labor-Management Standards -- which tries to ensure union dues are properly spent.

The Wall Street Journal Online reports the agency has helped secure 775 convictions of corrupt union officials since 2001 -- and the restitution of $70 million.

But Labor convinced Democrats to reject the president's request for a budget increase for the agency -- and instituted the cut instead. And despite a Republican effort to stop the cuts -- they were retained -- with the help of 16 GOP defectors.

Whose Money?

Battles over congressional earmarks are heating up. Alaska Republican Don Young -- known as a prolific earmarker -- came a little unglued recently when his request for education funds was questioned. He referred to the funds as "my money" and warned Republicans who were challenging him -- "those who bit me will be bitten back."

One of the people going against Young was North Carolina’s Virginia Foxx -- who said members are -- "stewards of the money that we legally steal from the people of this country."

Meanwhile Indiana Democrat Peter Visclosky allowed colleague John Murtha to slip a $1 million request into one of his bills -- for something called the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure. When asked if this organization really exists -- visclosky said -- "at this time I do not know."

Despite that -- the House rejected a move to cut the money. The Politico reports a certificate filed with the funds says they are actually destined for a consulting firm called Concurrent Technologies Corporation -- run by a Murtha campaign contributor.

UPDATE: Mystery Earmark

A follow-up on Thursday's item about that so-called "mystery" earmark request from John Murtha: the Pennsylvania Democrat was awarded $1 million for the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure -- which it turns out does not exist -- but is a planned part of a non-profit technology center that has received millions in Murtha earmarks over the years.

Now The Hill reports the Energy Department is denying Murtha's claim that it supports the request. A DOE spokeswoman says the earmark is not a program that meets its "mission critical" threshold and that it is "inconsistent" with its 2008 budget.

Nevertheless, the House overwhelmingly defeated a move to deny the earmark.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Brit Hume ** Union Oversight / Whose Money?
Update:
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Bret Baier ** John Murtha's 'Mystery' Earmark Request
Related: The Politico ~ Patrick O'Connor ** Earmarks Gone Wild: $1 Mil for Mystery Project
Charlie Rangel wants a $2 million earmark for the "Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service"... Earmark Overload: The Earmark Congressman Rangel Wants to Include in Next Year’s Federal Spending
Not to mention, Hillary Clintax wants a $1 million earmark for a '69 Woodstock Music Festival Museum.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 3:48 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 8:09 AM EDT

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Two Stories In One: NY Times Reporter, We Leave Iraq, "Cataclysmic Violence" / Libtard Animal-Rights and Enviro-mental Group Terror

What One Reporter Thinks Would Happen if U.S. troops Left Iraq

Withdrawal Consequences

John Burns of The New York Times -- who is considered the best print reporter on the beat in Iraq -- disagrees with Democrats and other administration critics who think a U.S. troop withdrawal would make things better in Iraq.

Burns told Charlie Rose -- "It seems to me incontrovertible that the most likely outcome of an American withdrawal any time soon would be cataclysmic violence."

Burns says the Sunni minority has the most to lose. He said one senior American official told him that Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hasimi -- when told of the serious possibility of a withdrawal -- said -- "then we will all be slaughtered."

Homegrown Terror

FBI officials say the most dangerous domestic terror groups in the U.S. might not be Islamic extremists -- but radical environmental and animal rights groups.

Recently-released excerpts of the National Intelligence Estimate say Americans can expect attacks from "single issue" groups within the next three years. In the past the FBI has said these include animal-rights and environmental groups.

Cybercast News reports a FBI counterterrorism official says actions such as the bombing of two California companies with ties to animal research in 2003 are part of "a relentless campaign of terror and intimidation." And a spokesman with the North American Animal Liberation group says the movement will use -- "any means necessary" to stop animal torture -- including violence.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report. Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine -
Brit Hume ** What One Reporter Thinks Would Happen if U.S. troops Left Iraq
Related: Environmentalist Wackos Vandalize Hummer...
Washington Post ~ Video ** Eco-vandals Attack Hummer

Posted by yaahoo_ at 3:27 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 3:57 AM EDT

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Libtards Want 'John Doe' Provision Cut, Report Terrorist Act & Dems Will Allow You To Be Sued...

Demented-crats Aid Radical Islamists, Trial Lawyers

RUSH: News item: "Democrats are trying to pull a provision from a homeland security bill that will protect the public from being sued for reporting suspicious behavior that may lead to a terrorist attack..." This bill was proposed by Peter King, and it was in the aftermath of the flying imams, those six of them that got on an airplane in Minneapolis and started behaving in a manner similar to what was reported on the flights on 9/11. So some passengers and flight crew reported 'em, and the imams threatened to sue the airline and the passengers and all that. So they introduced this legislation that would protect the public from being sued for reporting suspicious behavior.

But the government itself is telling us to do this. "Be vigilant out there! Keep an eye out! Keep a sharp eye out for suspicious behavior!" Now, the Democrats are trying to take this out. "This legislation moves to a House and Senate conference committee this afternoon and will implement final recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, and Peter King said, 'Democrats are trying to find any technical excuse to keep immunity out of the language of the bill to protect citizens who, in good faith, report suspicious activity to the cops or law enforcement. It's a slap in the face of good citizens who do their patriotic duty and come forward and it caves in to radical Islamists.'" It does! What in the world is the benefit to the Democrats of this? The trial lawyers! All right. "How dare you try to limit lawsuits?" is the answer to the question, ladies and gentlemen. The trial lawyers. This is a potential goldmine out there waiting to be raked in. I'm glad you asked.

Washington Times ~ Audrey Hudson ** Tipster shields lifted by Democrats

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:27 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 2:35 AM EDT

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There Is No Civil War in Iraq

Al-Qaeda created a fictional leader of a phony civil war

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: A senior operative for Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was caught this month -- now, this is not, by the way, Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was captured yesterday. This is a different guy. He was caught this month and he has told his US military interrogators that a prominent Al-Qaeda-led group in Iraq is just a front and that it's leader is fictitious and they hired an actor to be this guy on the Internet and so forth, and make videos and streaming, and so forth. Brigadier General Kevin Bergner told a news conference that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi -- and that means "of Baghdad," like Saddam Hussein's full name was Saddam something or other, you know, Abdul al-Tikriti, because he was born in Tikrit. Anyway, "Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, which was purportedly set up last year, did not exist. The Islamic State of Iraq was established to try to put an Iraqi face on what is a foreign-driven network, Bergner said. The name Baghdadi means the person hails from the Iraqi capital. Bergner said the information came from an operative called Khalid al-Mashadani who was caught on July 4 and who he said was an intermediary to Osama bin Laden. He said Mashadani was believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in Iraq network. 'In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al Qaeda in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq,' Bergner said."

What this means is that this is not a sectarian war. What it means is that this is not a civil war. What it means is that the Al-Qaeda in Iraq group is a phony group, its leader fictitious, designed to make it look like there is a civil war in Iraq but actually this is Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, or wherever they are. By the way, this Mashhadani is talking, and he's saying a lot. His cooperation, according to US officials, stems from his "strong sense of nationalism" and "anger" that foreign Al-Qaeda operatives were creating the false front and using Iraq as a staging ground for their own gain. This quote comes from Rear Adm. Gregory Smith in a telephone call from Iraq yesterday with the Washington Times. So the guy is out there blabbing his head off, folks, and he's apparently an Iraqi. He's very much upset that this outside group's coming in, trying to make it look like there's a group inside Iraq doing things, when it's not. His anger is that foreign Al-Qaeda operatives created this false front using Iraq as a staging ground for their own gain.

Here's something else. "Over the past two months, U.S. forces have killed or captured 26 al Qaeda senior operatives, but every month, nearly 60 to 80 foreign insurgents enter the country, he added. Most foreign operatives in Iraq came from Saudi Arabia, with jihadists from Syria, Egypt and Pakistan also common. The move by coalition forces to continue to put pressure on the al Qaeda network in Iraq is inhibiting the Islamist terrorist organization from developing a national movement from within the country, Adm. Smith said." So this is more evidence that the surge is working. And, you know, people are talking about this whole situation over there being a killing ground. It sounds like it's a burying ground for Al-Qaeda. It sounds like Petraeus, you know, we don't talk in body counts anymore, he told Hugh Hewitt this the other day on the radio, we don't talk about body counts anymore, but they're pretty significant here. He really praised his Special Ops. We had the call from the wife yesterday of the naval Special Ops unit, and apparently Petraeus is just singing the praises of these guys. They're out every night. They're doing some great stuff.

So Mashhadani, al-Mashhadani, Mahmoud al- whatever, is speaking, and this is a pretty big admission here that the whole Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a front. Well, I hope we did obtain it through forceful means. The point that the general is making, we didn't have to do anything. This guy is mad, and he's speaking on his own. I know that there will be some who will question the veracity. Well, this could be a giant lie. This guy could be setting us all up, or Bush and Cheney decided to do it.

END TRANSCRIPT
Read the Background Material...
Sydney Morning Herald: US says Iraqi rebel head is an invention
HH: General David Petraeus on the conditions on the ground in Iraq
WPH: Iraq terror leader exposes al Qaeda network
*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.
Rush Limbaugh.com ** There Is No Civil War in Iraq

Posted by yaahoo_ at 1:50 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 2:08 AM EDT

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