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Hundreds gather in Oakland to discuss how to get U.S. troops home - OAKLAND -- Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn was the star attraction at a town-hall meeting in Oakland today where hundreds of people gathered to denounce the war in Iraq and call for an immediate withdraw of American troops. Neither Penn nor Rep. Barbara Lee, the Oakland Democrat who has opposed the war since before it began four years ago, offered much in the way of specifics for ending the war, and they were largely preaching to the choir. The enthusiastic, and occasionally boisterous, crowd of 800 or so...

IT'S A QUESTION we should all ask ourselves: Do we have the courage and conviction to stand up for what we believe in, even if everyone around us opposes our position? Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, tested her own character in 2001. In the emotional aftermath of 9/11, she cast the only "no" vote atop Capitol Hill regarding the United States' invasion of Afghanistan. That made the vote a staggering 518-1 against Lee, not to mention the overwhelming public opinion in a revenge-minded America stacked against her. Facing such tsunami-like opposition, she held strong. But where did she find the backbone...

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, was named to the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday, Lee's office reported. Lee will be one of five California Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, which is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government, according to Lee's office. `I look forward to working with my fellow Californians on the committee to ensure that our state is getting the federal resources we deserve,'' Lee said in a statement. `This committee assignment puts me in a better position than ever to continue to fight for and serve the people of California's 9th District.''

Democratic candidates spend time in church The Democratic candidates for governor went to church on Sunday and prayed for victory, as well they might in a race that is neck and neck heading into Tuesday's primary. Steve Westly, who made his fortune at eBay, and Phil Angelides, a wealthy former developer, have been battering each other with nasty television ads for several weeks. Analysts say voters may respond to the negativity campaign by not voting. Westly, the state controller, appeared with Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles, at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, which he joined three...

_________________________________________ _________________________________________ Harry's latest 'boo-boo'--------------------------------------------------------Posted: January 13, 20061:00 a.m. Eastern© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Just when you think the folks who comprise America's entertainment world can't sink to a new low in America-bashing, one of them goes and opens their mouth. The latest individual who seems to think the grass is greener on the totalitarian side of the world is crooner Harry Belafonte. Belafonte was leading a delegation of Americans to Venezuela to praise the nation's leader, leftist strongman, Hugo Chavez. Chavez has implemented a socialist takeover of Venezuela, and he sees himself in the style of one of his political...

Freeper and Lurkers because of you the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is starting to feel the heat from you who have signed the letter demanding the release of all donations made in the name of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The CBCF is in full defense mode and it is refusing comment on the growning scandal that this foundation and its members are withholding donations, while attacking President Bush, federal officials Republicans and Conservatives as being racist in responding to the needs of the victims. There is still time to apply heat to the CBC as they hope to duck...

BERKELEY - What's in a name? If we're talking about the Berkeley post office, we're talking a Category 5 storm of petty partisan politics, compliments of congressional Republicans. But liberal-minded Berkeley may get the last licks in this brouhaha, which has city leaders and citizens alike spitting mad. First, a little history. In case you missed it, our fearless leaders in Congress outdid themselves last week with their thumbs-down vote on a normally routine matter: the naming of a post office. According to Roll Call, measures to name post office buildings make up 12 percent of the laws Congress passes...

Maudelle Shirek may not get her name on a post office in her hometown, but the city could name a different building after the godmother of Berkeley progressives. She is so revered in one of the nation's most liberal cities that a committee of city officials and citizens has been meeting for four months to find ways to honor Shirek, who left the City Council last year after 20 years and was known for her political activism on national and global issues. On Wednesday, the day after Republicans in the House of Representatives rejected an effort to name Berkeley's main...

(AP) - WASHINGTON-House Republicans rejected a Democratic resolution to name a post office in Berkeley, California, after a longtime local activist and city councilwoman, saying 94-year-old Maudelle Shirek doesn't represent American values. The 215-190 vote was an unusual refusal of an honor that's normally routine. House rules allow lawmakers to propose renaming post offices in their district, and fellow lawmakers usually agree without debate. But Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican who led the opposition, said Shirek's background "sets her apart from, I will say, the most consistent of American values." King gave no details in a speech on the...

WASHINGTON - House Republicans on Tuesday rejected a Democratic resolution to name a post office in Berkeley, Calif., after a longtime local activist and city councilwoman, saying 94-year-old Maudelle Shirek doesn't represent American values. The 215-190 vote was an unusual refusal of an honor that's normally routine. House rules allow lawmakers to propose renaming post offices in their district, and fellow lawmakers usually agree without debate. But Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who led the opposition, said Shirek's background "sets her apart from, I will say, the most consistent of American values." King gave no details in a speech on the...

Cindy Sheehan is getting some help from far left Democrats in Congress, who are urging President Bush to meet with the so-called "Peace Mom." Rep. John Conyers of Michigan penned a letter to Bush making that request, and it was signed by 38 other members of the House of Representatives, all of whom are Democrats with the exception of Vermont's Bernard Sanders, who is an Independent. "We write to respectfully urge you to meet with Cindy Sheehan and other relatives of fallen soldiers who request a meeting to discuss their deep concerns about the war in Iraq," Conyers writes. "We...

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19 - T. J. Parsell was a lanky pimple-faced adolescent bent on mischief. So when he found a toy gun one evening in 1978 while wandering home from a high school party, he thought nothing of pointing it at a store clerk and grumbling, "Your money or your life." He got $50 for what he now calls "a stupid impulsive prank." The incident landed the 17-year-old Parsell in an adult jail, where on his first night, an older inmate spiked his drink with Thorazine and sexually abused and raped him. "While my friends prepared for our high...

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Her name is among 1,000 women from more than 150 countries collectively nominated for the annual award and one of 14 from the Bay Area. The nominees were chosen by an international team to represent the many women who have worked for peace throughout the world. Lee was selected for being the only member of Congress to vote against the post-Sept. 11 resolution that authorized Pres. Bush to use military force in the fight against terrorism. Project organizers also said that Lee promotes human rights policies and...

ALBANY - U.S. Rep Barbara Lee reiterated her opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and accused the Bush administration of shortchanging veterans by $3 billion in the next federal budget. Lee made her remarks Saturday at a 90-minute town hall meeting on veterans' issues at the Albany community center. Lee said the Iraq war has cost the country $300 billion and she expects a request for more money in the fall. The country needs to spend billions more to provide medical care and mental health services for veterans, she said. "Three to 5 billion dollars is nothing," Lee...

Bay Area Reps. Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey were unanimously elected Tuesday as co-chairwomen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Lee, D-Oakland, has been co-chairwoman of the group of several dozen liberal Democrats in the past; Woolsey, D-Petaluma, replaces Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. "During the last election cycle, tens of thousands of people got involved with politics for the first time because they were drawn to the basic principles of fairness and justice that the Progressive Caucus has long represented in Congress," said Lee, vowing to continue the commitment to those principles while building "stronger connections with young people and communities of...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Claims by the nation's biggest public pension fund that it has found no investments in Sudan prompted complaints Monday from U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, that the California Public Employees Retirement System is dismissing concerns about supporting Sudanese genocide. Lee released a CalPERS letter which stated it has discovered no Sudanese investments among 1,869 companies in which it owns shares. But CalPERS also acknowledged in the letter that only 11 percent of those companies responded to its survey last year about such investments. Lee spokesman Nathan Britton said the congresswoman considers the pension fund's response inadequate. Lee...

WASHINGTON - A group of congressional Democrats is asking President Bush (news - web sites) to dismiss a senior military intelligence officer who made church speeches that included inflammatory religious remarks while discussing the war on terrorism. In a letter to Bush released Thursday, Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., and 10 others said action in the matter of Lt. Gen. William Boykin is long overdue, and he must be removed from his post as deputy undersecretary for defense. A Pentagon (news - web sites) investigation concluded that Boykin violated regulations by failing to make clear he was...

Omega Letter Christian Intelligence Digest Ten Congress Members Call For Boykins' Removal They Were Appalled By His Mention Of GodCommentary on the NewsSaturday, September 04, 2004OL StaffTen members of Congress wrote a letter to President Bush stating that Lt. Gen. William Boykin should be dismissed as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. In case you don't remember, Boykin is the man in charge of hunting for Osama and was caught speaking to a church while in uniform. The letter states that Boykin has offended Muslims and he lacks objectivity. They seem to be overlooking the fact that it...

"I'm proud that John Kerry is with us," she continued. "He's going to continue to fight for human rights and civil rights for all." -Rep. Barbara Lee, CSSSM /// "...Democrat member of the House Armed Services Committee, Dellums went to Grenada to conduct his own fact-finding tour...Dellums acted as an agent of the Communist enemy in abetting his hostile designs against the United States. His emissary in this act of betrayal was Barbara Lee." -David Horowitz,FPM

On September 2, eleven members of Congress, led by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), submitted an official 'Dear Colleague' letter to President Bush calling on the dismissal and firing of Lt. Gen. William Boykin as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence for his anti-Muslim remarks made while in official military uniform. The letter reads, in part: "One such step…is for you to dismiss Lt. Gen. William Boykin as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. We were appalled when we learned of the comments General Boykin had made invoking religion in an inflammatory and inappropriate way while in uniform. Many of...