The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
This category is for posts related to actions by the Congress of the United States (House and/or Senate), and any member’s of Congress.
Republicans are packaging as “reform” a plan that would gut FISA, leaving the president free to spy on Americans without obtaining a warrant. A NY Times editorial expresses appropriate outrage at this cynical ploy to shield the president’s lawless behavior:
Read moreTreasury Secretary John Snow notified Congress yesterday that the administration had taken “all prudent and legal actions” to keep from hitting the $8.2 trillion national debt limit.
Read moreIn a letter yesterday to senators in which he asked to clarify his Feb. 6 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales also seemed to imply that the administration’s original legal justification for the program was not as clear-cut as he indicated three weeks ago.
Read moreWell, it is interesting that after Little Al Gonzales got ripped a new one during the Senate Hearings on King George’s domestic warrantless spying, the King suddenly decided it was OK to declassify some bogus “threat” so he could tell us about it (you know 9/11, airplanes into buildings, be afraid, be very afraid). Bush says he will not talk about specific security threats to America. Unless, of course, he needs to talk about a specific threat to Los Angeles to confuse the public and gain some cheap political advantage.
Read moreThe New York Daily News reports on an internal Veterans Health Administration (VHA) study showing 120,000 U.S. soldiers — “more than one of every four who served in Iraq and Afghanistan” — have already sought VHA treatment.
Read more“The White House said Thursday that it planned to ask Congress for an additional $70 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, driving the cost of military operations in the two countries to $120 billion this year, the highest since the Sept. 11 attacks.” The new spending will add to the cost of an Iraq war that is currently estimated at $250 billion. Total war spending since 9/11 would rise to $440 billion.
Read moreBush’s defense of his illegal domestic spying program in the State of the Union was almost entirely disputed yesterday by legal specialists across the ideological spectrum. “Bush’s assertion that his program was legal prompted a group of 14 prominent law professors, including both liberals and conservatives, to pen a joint letter objecting to his arguments.” Legal scholars disputed three false claims made by Bush.
Read moreHouse Republicans are taking a mulligan on the first ballot for Majority Leader. The first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting. They can’t even conduct their own elections without cheating.
Read moreSection 605 of the House version of the Patriot Act renewal legislation. It calls for the creation of a Federal Police Force. Your imperial presidency at work.
Read moreJust over a week ago, the White House promised to provide the legal, constitutional and moral justifications for the sort of warrantless spying on Americans that has been illegal for nearly 30 years. Instead, we got the familiar mix of political spin, clumsy historical misinformation, contemptuous dismissals of civil liberties concerns, cynical attempts to paint dissents as anti-American and pro-terrorist, and a couple of big, dangerous lies.
Read moreHistorically-low job growth, declining wages, rising poverty, record deficits, and the worst deterioration of America’s fiscal situation in history characterize the current state of the U.S. economy. President Bush continues to tout tax cuts as the central part of his economic plan, which he claims will “help the economy create new jobs today while permanently raising the wages and living standards of American workers now and in the future.” But the tax cuts have failed to deliver, leaving more people worse off. The typical middle class family is doing no better today than it was 25 years ago, facing stagnant incomes and staggering costs. Next Tuesday, you’ll hear a lot of happy talk about the economy. American Progress has the facts.
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