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WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2008 – The passage of a “bundle” of three important laws in Iraq shows a new legislative maturity for the Iraqi parliament, Pentagon officials said here today during a news conference in which they also discussed the redeployment of troops. The three laws – an amnesty law, a provincial powers law and the Iraqi calendar year 2008 budget – passed the Council of Representatives yesterday, said Marine Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the Joint Staff director of strategic plans and operations. Sattler and Army Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, the Joint Staff director of operations, spoke during the news...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — Thirty-six judges received laptops equipped with an Iraqi law database and a training program containing Iraqi police procedural information, Nov. 14 and 15 at Forward Operating Base Delta. The database gives the judges access to all Iraqi laws and precedence, according to Capt. Philip Maxwell, the 214th Fires Brigade command judge advocate. “We are trying to make sure they have all the resources they need to prosecute and put away any terrorist or other criminals,” Maxwell said. “The judges are able to follow the laws and do their jobs.” Prior to the distribution of the...

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he will call a special session of the state Legislature to deal with health care, as lawmakers debated a Democratic plan he has pledged to veto. The state Senate passed that plan on a 22-17 vote and sent it to the Assembly shortly after the governor announced his intention. Health care is the governor's top priority this year, and the special session would buy time for him to strike a deal with Democrats on how to cover millions of uninsured Californians. The regular legislative session is scheduled to end this week, and...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2007 – The provincial reconstruction team in Iraq’s Salah ad Din province is hard at work with local leaders to promote organization in governance, economic development, and rule of law, the team’s leader said yesterday. Steven Buckler, speaking with Internet journalists and “bloggers” in a conference call, said the Salah ad Din PRT has about 50 members. “A third of them are our security personnel, who escort us in the Humvees when we go into town,” he explained. The other two thirds, 35 or so, are a mix of civilian and military members. “We're in town five,...

For Immediate ReleaseJanuary 6, 2007 President's Radio Address       Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Earlier this week, the newly elected members of the House and the Senate took their oaths of office and became part of the 110th Congress. I congratulate them all, and I look forward to working with them over the next two years. Since the November elections, I've had a number of productive meetings with the new leaders in Congress, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. I was encouraged...

Over the past decade and a half, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson has become the one of the most important figures in the state in setting prison policy, or at least trying to change it. Henderson's rulings have placed the judge firmly in control over issues ranging from use of force at Pelican Bay State Prison to internal discipline to improving medical care. They've also put him in position to direct billions in state spending into the correctional system -- with no legislative oversight. The 72-year-old judge's career has just been chronicled in Abby Ginzberg's documentary, "Soul of Justice:...

Legislative leaders on Monday said they had reached a tentative agreement on a roughly $131 billion state budget and hope to bring the spending plan to a vote before Saturday, the start of the new fiscal year. The announcement indicated Republicans and Democrats have broken a logjam over health care funding for children of illegal immigrants and competing plans for using a tax windfall to pay down state debt. Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, Assembly Republican Leader George Plescia of La Jolla and Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman of Fullerton released a joint...

After a helicopter tour of the U.S.-Mexico border here, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launched a broadside yesterday against House Republican leaders for threatening to scuttle a sweeping overhaul of immigration laws. “It would be totally inexcusable for them to say, 'This year we couldn't do it,'” Schwarzenegger said at a news conference minutes after landing near the border fence, yards away from Tijuana, on a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter. The Republican governor had just completed a 23-minute aerial tour that took him from Brown Field east nearly to Otay Mountain and then west to seaside Border Field State Park. After landing...

PHOENIX — A special legislative panel is preparing to seek an Attorney General's Office investigation into whether the Tucson Unified School District and a guest speaker broke state laws against using school resources to influence elections. A draft report obtained Friday also concludes that TUSD should remove the audio of what the panel called a "hate speech" by Dolores Huerta from its Web site immediately. It also says the district should apologize to students who were at the April 3 assembly where Huerta spoke — and their parents. The preliminary findings by the House Select Committee on Government Operations, Performance...

"Trust the president." That was the Bush administration's main defense of the president's bizarre choice of corporate lawyer Harriet Miers for a seat on the Supreme Court. But the administration also had a backup rationale: as D.C.'s Hill newspaper reported, in an October 3, 2005, conference call with conservative leaders, Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman stressed "the need to confirm a justice who will not interfere with the administration's management of the war on terrorism." It was a bit unsettling to hear that proposition stated so baldly, but no one who has followed the administration's drive to expand executive...

From 1999 through 2002, I was the Vice Chair of the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee. During that time, a number of bills presented to the committee increased pension and retirement benefits for state and local government employees. Every single one of these bills were passed and signed by Governor Davis. At the hearing on each of these bills, the lobbyists for the government employee unions showed up and begged the committee members to vote for the bill. In addition, the representative for the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) told the committee that the retirement system could afford...

SACRAMENTO - California lawmakers should scale back a planned increase in education funding, raise the gas tax and let college fees rise, state Legislative Analyst Liz Hill said Thursday in her annual critique of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget. The nonpartisan analyst recommended cutting $2.3 billion from Schwarzenegger's proposed $125 billion spending plan for fiscal 2006-07, including slashing $1 billion from education. Her recommendations, she said, would help reduce the state's long-term structural budget deficit and eliminate some of the "autopilot" spending measures that tie state officials' hands in designing budgets. "If you think of California as a patient fighting...

The 2,234 employees of the California Legislature earn an average of $56,675 annually, up slightly from the year before, in jobs that range from maintaining order in the houses to running the bosses' errands to crafting complex and politically charged legislation. The per-capita average is about $12,000 a year higher than workers in Marin County, which has the highest per-capita income average of California's counties, and nearly triple the level of workers in surrounding Sacramento County. Nearly 200 employees earn $100,000 annually, or more. The figures were compiled by the Legislature at Capitol Weekly's request. A complete listing of the...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghans chose a legislature for the first time in decades Sunday, embracing their newly recovered democratic rights and braving threats of Taliban attacks to cast votes in schools, tents and mosques. --- snip ---- With nearly three-quarters of the populace illiterate, voting was slow as people spent as much as 10 minutes wading through ballots up to seven pages long to find pictures of candidates or symbols that represent them. Each voter dipped a finger in indelible purple ink to prevent repeat voting.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders reached agreement Tuesday on a state budget that adds money for schools and road projects without resorting to the deficit spending that has plagued California in recent years. "This is a terrific budget," the governor said in a late-afternoon news conference. "It's a budget that moves California forward." The accord on the roughly $116 billion spending plan comes five days after the start of the new fiscal year and after a weekend of negotiations between the governor and leaders of both major parties. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said Schwarzenegger...

President Bush came to Washington with the goal of serving as a domestic reformer. In 2000, he became one of the few Republican candidates to focus less on defense and more on reforms to domestic social programs and public education. That was before 9/11, and the ensuing wars in the Middle East. Then, it appeared that the audacious Bush doctrine would set the pace for the ultimate legacy that will be George W. Bush. However, early into his second term, President Bush has another opportunity to leave behind a sturdy legacy in the form of the court system. In the...

AUGUSTA - Checks totaling $514,430 will go out this month to more than 70 percent of Maine lawmakers who participated in last year's emergency session precipitated by a partisan dispute over a supplemental budget. Nearly all the Republicans, more than half the Democrats, two of the three unenrolled members and the Legislature's lone Green Independent lawmaker accepted the checks, which averaged $3,775 each before taxes. The special, or emergency, session was necessitated by majority Democrats who accelerated the timetable for passing a supplemental budget in order to avoid compromises with minority Republicans. Ironically, many Democrats wound up taking the money...

With folks like Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) speaking for Democrats, it would appear Democrats prefer minority status and will remain on the periphery of political relevancy. Howard Dean has proven time and again that his screaming tirade in Iowa, which arguably ended his presidential candidacy, was not an out of character moment, but rather is the norm. Harry Reid is spewing misinformation and falsehood so rapidly, one is left to wonder if he is profoundly ignorant and uninformed or simply so mendacious that he has become comfortable with deception and falsehood. Let’s...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to use some $4 billion in unanticipated tax money to pay off debt and reduce borrowing won approval Monday from the state's nonpartisan legislative analyst. Schwarzenegger released a $115.7 billion budget proposal last week that put more money into highways and some education programs but avoided spending increases on most other services. Educators criticized the governor's plan for not doing more for schools, but Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill warned lawmakers that any additional spending would add to a shortfall in the 2006-2007 budget. That shortfall is now expected to be at least $5...

Three Strikes yer Out: Time For Republicans to Step up to the Plate. by N. BeaujonApril 30, 2005 George Bush, former part owner of the Texas Rangers should understand this baseball analogy: It’s the 8th inning in the second game of the World Series and you’re down 12 runs. You were last years World Series champions, so how did you go from hero to goat? Likely, by resting on your laurels and taking your fan base for granted. Republicans had better not count on the successes of last season to think they’re going to win in 2006 or 2008. In...

A government of the people, by the people, for the people ... of power The judicial branch of our government has come in for increasing criticism in recent years and it seemed to peak in the Terri Schiavo incident. Unfortunately, the concern of the people over the actions of the judicial have somewhat masked the concern of the people over the actions of the legislative branch, the Congress. Abe Lincoln's famous saying that Americans like to quote does not totally stand up as to how Congress actually performs. When it comes to Congress, or even to state legislatures, you have...

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands... We have all said the pledge more times then we can remember; but what does it mean to pledge your allegiance to a republic, our republic? By definition you pledge your loyalty, commitment, adherence, faithfulness and duty to the republic. When we pledge our allegiance we are duty bound to faithfully adhere to which our republic stands. Our commitment is proclaimed and defined in our founding documents, The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and the Amendments (Bill of...

The Citizen's Manifesto Posted on January 19, 2005 at 11:11:09 AM by George Some of the most eloquent words ever written in jurisprudence were penned recently by one of the most august courts in the world. Unfortunately these words were not written to heap praise on a government, they were written to chastise it for breaking a sacred oath to defend freedom and democracy. It is generally understood that there are three levels of government commonly referred to as the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. Their purpose is to serve the less commonly understood fourth level of government -...

When Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore refused a federal court order to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from that state’s Supreme Court building, he became the central figure in a firestorm of criticism from the left. But his liberal critics weren’t alone. Conservatives also chided Moore, contending that his defiance of the order undermined the “rule of law” in America. Throughout history, the law has served several functions. In a free and morally upright society, it provides a framework within which the people can safely live their lives and pursue their dreams. In a dictatorship, however, it devolves...

Since 1994, the Democrat Party has managed to lose control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. In the face of their obviously diminishing power and influence, Democrats have become a party whose activities and pronouncements betray a growing desperation. As they founder, casting about broadly, seeking remedies to reverse their diminishing influence, it is no surprise that their attention has come to rest on the courts. It can be argued that Democrats see their only remaining hope for holding onto political power in mounting a strenuous resistance to President Bush's federal judicial nominees. The court system, overpopulated...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill suggested new ways Thursday to solve the state's budget problems, including suspending the after-school initiative championed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before the actor turned politician. Though the program hasn't begun, Hill said it could soon add $424 million to the state's bills while California remains in a budget crisis. Schwarzenegger, who headed the Inner-City Foundation to provide after-school programs for children, successfully qualified and passed Proposition 49 on the 2002 ballot. Days after Hill suggested revenues are up $2.2 billion due to an improving economy, she labeled the governor's measure - which gives...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - State Auditor Elaine Howle said Tuesday that the secretary of state's office is "headed in the right direction" to better manage millions of dollars in federal election funds, but she acknowledged it's still too early to tell if a lasting turnaround is in place. Howle, testifying one week before Secretary of State Kevin Shelley was scheduled to step down from the state's top elections post, said Shelley's office has showed progress toward removing a "cloud" over its operations. A consulting firm hired by the office also detailed its work toward tightening the scandal-tinged operation within the next...

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who has resigned effective March 1, will not appear Tuesday before a legislative committee investigating his handling of millions in federal voting funds. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee opted not to seek Shelley's testimony, but retains the right to request his presence at a future hearing, said Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, a Hanford Democrat who chairs the committee. "We want to build a foundation before we even discuss calling Shelley forward," Parra said. Tuesday's hearing will focus largely on what Shelley's office is doing to correct problems cited in a state audit, which portrayed his agency...

Why do we not use the term, Legal Industry? Instead, we euphemistically use the term, legal community, as if the members of the legal industry are in actuality a class that is separate from the rest of society. Have many of us considered how the legal industry OWNS the legislative AND judicial branches of government? Think about it -- America has one single INDUSTRY with the power to legislate, adjudicate, interpret, and execute our nation's laws. The legal industry is a special interest that is built-into Congress and the State Legislatures and comprises the largest "professional" membership of those bodies....

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

SACRAMENTO -- While pundits are all but calling the presidential and U.S. Senate races in California, the potentially far-reach- ing effects of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity -- spurred by the GOP convention -- are fueling fierce election battles. Schwarzenegger may score weighty victories in the Nov. 2 general election on propositions he backs or opposes, analysts say, but probably even more importantly, additional Republicans could ride his political coattails into a Legislature he says has far too many "girlie-men" Democrats. Pollsters say the governor's popularity has soared while the Legislature's has sunk. "Schwarzenegger is a unique phenomenon in a...

Some of the legislation voted on Friday by the California Legislature: COMPUTER CONTRACTS: - State agencies would be encouraged to use performance-based procurement practices when entering information technology contracts. The Assembly approved Senate amendments on AB2120, by the Assembly Budget Committee, on a 70-0 vote. It goes to the governor. AUTISM SERVICES: - The Department of Social Services would create a clearinghouse of information for autism services available through various government agencies. AB857, by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, was approved by the Assembly on a 55-10 vote. It goes to the governor. FIRE EQUIPMENT: - The state Office of...

Some of the legislation voted on Tuesday by the California Legislature, and bills signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: CAMPAIGN MONEY: - Political parties that donate to candidates in the last 16 days before an election would have to disclose the contribution within 24 hours. AB890, by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Sherman Oaks, was approved by the Senate 30-1 and returned to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments. TIME SHARES: - Consumer protections would be strengthened for the sale and marketing of vacation time-shares. AB2252, by Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez, D-San Fernando, was approved by the Senate 30-1, sending it to the Assembly...

Some of the bills voted on Monday by the California Legislature: EDUCATION: - The state Department of Motor Vehicles would be required to license home-study traffic violator schools under a bill approved by the Senate, 23-13. The measure, AB2377, by Assemblyman John Longville, D-Rialto, returns to the Assembly for a vote on Senate amendments. - Random testing of students for drug or alcohol use would be restricted under a bill by Sen. John Vasconcellos. The Senate voted 26-6 to approve Assembly amendments to the measure, SB1886, and send it to the governor. ENVIRONMENT: - The Sierra Nevada Conservancy would be...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The powerful U.S. gun lobby seems poised for victory in a high profile battle to end a ban on some assault weapons and experts say it has also been piling up numerous quiet victories at the state level. A federal ban on certain military-style semi-automatic weapons enacted in 1994 is due to expire on Sept. 13. The Republican congressional leadership, backed by the National Rifle Association and other gun groups, seems determined to allow the law to lapse. Gun control groups say only vigorous intervention by President Bush (news - web sites) could change congressional minds. They...

<p>California's Legislature has a problem. Its members are preparing to gut vital programs in other parts of government. At the same time, the cost of its own operations continues to rise, modestly but steadily.</p> <p>The Senate and Assembly combined budgets of $205 million this year increased by $7.5 million over last year, about 4 percent. Lawmakers propose to increase legislative allocations by another $10 million next year.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - In the bruising, contact sport of campaign fund-raising it appears everyone loves Claudia Alvarez, the 34-year-old Santa Ana City Council member seeking an Orange County state Assembly seat.</p> <p>While Alvarez does her own-fundraising, groups of corporate and business interests, dentists and senior citizens have also spent an extra $604,392 - the most in any statewide legislative race - to help her beat opponent Tom Umberg on Tuesday and become the Democrats' November candidate.</p>

American Constitutional Research Service Jan. 3, 2004 In a recent case North Florida Women's Health & Counseling Services, Inc. v. State of Florida[decided July 10th, 2003] Senior Justice Shaw delivering the opinion of the Court which struck down Florida’s “Parental Notice of Abortion Act” stated the following: “In the final analysis, we cannot fault the trial court for faithfully applying the controlling law. The court reasoned simply as follows (1) This Court in T.W. held that the Parental Consent Act imposed a significant restriction on a pregnant minor’s right of privacy. (2) The Court in T.W. further held that, in...

American Constitutional Research Service 12-14-03 JUDICIAL TYRANNY: FROM PARENTAL RIGHTS TO TERRI’S LAW BACKGROUND On Oct. 21, 2003 Florida’s Legislature passed a bill know as “Terri’s Law” authorizing Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene in a case in which a judge, Judge Greer, ordered a feeding tube to be removed from Terri Schiavo who was, and had been, in an incapacitated state for a number of years. The order of the judge to remove Terri’s feeding tube was in consequence to a court action by Terri’s husband who claimed Terri’s wish was to be left to die and sought the Courts...

<p>For gay Americans and our millions of allies, 2003 is the year that just kept on giving.</p> <p>Again and again and again, we were given reason to celebrate. And now, largely because we advanced in 2003 as never before, 2004 promises to be very exciting -- and very scary.</p>

<p>Personal profile Name: Dan Kyle. Age: 66, born Aug. 29, 1937. Hometown: Baton Rouge. Party affiliation: Republican. Previous work experience: Legislative Auditor 1989-2003; LSU associate professor of accounting 1968-89; also taught at University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Tulane 1961-68. Profession: Auditor.</p>

Democrats made gains in New Jersey's legislative election on Tuesday, breaking a 20-20 split in the state Senate and winning six additional seats in the Assembly. In Virginia, Republicans added a seat in the state Senate, but Democrats captured at least two, maybe three, extra seats in the House of Delegates. This is the first time the Democratic Party has gained Virginia House seats since 1975, but regardless, both the Virginia Senate and House maintained their Republican majorities. In New Jersey, Democrats made gains despite polls indicating that Democrat Gov. Jim McGreevey is very unpopular with voters. According to one...

GOVERNORS - Mississippi: Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove was locked in a tight race with Haley Barbour, a top Washington lobbyist and former head of the Republican National Committee. State Sen. Barbara Blackmon lost a bid to become Mississippi's first black female lieutenant governor after losing to incumbent GOP Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck. - Kentucky: GOP Rep. Ernie Fletcher easily defeated Democratic Attorney General Ben Chandler to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Paul Patton, becoming the first Republican to lead the state in 32 years. Former University of Kentucky basketball player Richie Farmer, a Republican, defeated Democrat Alice Baesler for agriculture commissioner...

The Federal Judiciary Is A Spoiled Child, And Congress And The President Are The Pushover Parents That Spoiled It! By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon September 16, 2003 People today seem to think that the federal judiciary is the supreme law of the land. They are wrong! The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Just as the executive and legislative branches of government are bound to uphold the Constitution, so is the judicial branch. However, for too long now, the federal judiciary has assumed tyrannical tendencies. What liberal socialists could not do through...

URGENT action Alert !! HR 7 / Land Trust Tax Scam : ONE More Day!!! Fellow Americans: Apparently, we may have the Land Trusts on the run - Congressmen Herger, Blunt, Pombo and Cannon are really speaking out for us - we may win this!!! PLEASE PLEASE forward the email below to your lists, and act on it yourself, we can win this issue and keep private property on the same playing field with the gigantic, super-rich "non-profit" Land Trusts. Your activism has made a HUGE difference - this is the NUMBER ONE legislative priority for the Land Trusts, and...

Special legislative session ends without redistricting By RACHEL GRAVES and R.G. RATCLIFFE Aug. 26, 2003, 3:31PM The Texas Legislature adjourned its second special session of the summer today, thwarted in an effort to redraw congressional districts by 11 Senate Democrats who spent the session in New Mexico to prevent a Senate quorum. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, went immediately into meetings with House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and Gov. Rick Perry, who has vowed to call another session on redistricting. Dewhurst said he had advised the boycotting Democrats that he intends to propose changes in Senate...

Smokers stock up before getting smoked on taxes By Ilene Olson Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE – Smokers lined up at stores Monday in a last-ditch effort to buy cigarettes before they have to pay a 48-cent tax on each pack they buy. “We’re extremely busy today with people stocking up before the increase,” said Jerry Reinholtz, district manager for Smoker Friendly stores. The cigarette tax is one of several new laws that go into effect today after passing the 2003 Legislature and being signed into statute by Gov. Dave Freudenthal. Other laws effective today include: • A measure...

SAN FRANCISCO &#8211; Two dozen bills designed to bolster California's Megan's Law are struggling in the Legislature as politicians haggle over details and accuse each other of going soft on sex offenders. "Who loses are the parents and kids. Megan's Law has gotten caught between Republicans and Democrats. It's really a game of who can outdo the other, who's got the toughest law or whose does the most," said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter. Florez thinks the most important piece of legislation is his proposal requiring law enforcement to check in with sex offenders instead of the other way around. He...

<p>June 10 - A snakelike conglomeration of thirteen southern and central Bergen County municipalities, the 38th District is home to notoriously fickle voters who are about as loyal to their incumbents as residents of Los Angeles were to their football teams.</p>

<p>June 4 - With a primary season that set spending records but failed to generate significant voter interest over, the state Democratic and Republican parties began looking ahead today to November, when control of the Assembly and Senate will be determined.</p>