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The Office of Congressional Ethics has closed its investigation into Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) and their relationships to the lobbying firm PMA Group, and the OCE advised against a formal House ethics investigation, the lawmakers’ offices said Friday. George Behan, Dicks’ chief of staff, said the OCE, which reviews potential rules violations and refers investigations to the House ethics committee, informed the Washington lawmaker on Dec. 2 that it had recommended the inquiry be dismissed. “In his case, there was never anything there,” Behan said. Murtha spokesman Matt Mazonkey and Moran spokeswoman Emily...

Reading this interview of Sarah Palin by Rush Limbaugh was alarming if you care about the direction of the conservative movement and the Republican party. It’s alarming because Sarah Palin is not living in this century. Example: RUSH: You mean that you don’t even hear it (tax cuts) being discussed on the Republican side or within the administration?GOV. PALIN: Within the administration, and as it is discussed on the Republican side, Republicans need to be bolder about it. Independents need to be bolder about that solution that has got to be considered and plugged in. This is the only solution...

That’s certainly the conclusion one can draw from two stories over the last couple of days. Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who pushed Barack Obama to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US for criminal trials, says that criticism of the decision is “un-American”: Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial. “They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” he said. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.”

That’s certainly the conclusion one can draw from two stories over the last couple of days. Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who pushed Barack Obama to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US for criminal trials, says that criticism of the decision is “un-American”: Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial. “They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” he said. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.”...

Matthew Berry, a former Clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas, has launched an exploratory committee into a possible run against Democratic Congressman Jim Moran in Virginia's 8th congressional district. Matthew Berry, a strong Conservative Republican on most issues, would be challenging a radical leftist who has compared Republicans to the "Taliban", and just yesterday called those who oppose bringing terrorists into the country for civilian trials "un-american". While Mr.Berry is not officially a declared candidate for the Republican nomination, he has agreed to answer some questions for a brief email interview, however, I felt it would be proper to include you...

At a get-out-the-vote rally in Fairfax County, Moran said: “I mean, if the Republicans were running in Afghanistan, they’d be running on the Taliban ticket as far as I can see.” Moran was talking about Republicans Robert F. McDonnell for governor, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, who is running for attorney general. By some accounts, the three represent the most conservative Republican ticket to run in Virginia in many years. Moran’s comments clearly were aimed to motivate Democratic voters to turn out on Tuesday and vote blue. According to WAMU, McDonnell spokeswoman Crystal Cameron...

When software firm MobilVox wanted to break into the lucrative world of defense contracting, it pursued an unmistakable strategy: It expanded operations from its Northern Virginia base in Rep. James P. Moran's congressional district to the southwestern Pennsylvania district of Rep. John P. Murtha. Working with two of the most powerful members of a House subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, the company also hired lobbying firms that employed former top aides of both the Democratic lawmakers and Mr. Murtha's brother. Company executives and their lobbyists donated thousands of dollars to the two congressmen. Soon, money flowed the other way. Between...

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), who is currently running for the Republican nomination in a contested 2010 U.S. Senate primary, has now endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election -- the second sitting member of Congress to openly do so, after Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). Tiahrt's press release blasts the moderate GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava, questions her party loyalty, and casts the race as a test for the soul of the GOP:

When software firm MobilVox wanted to break into the lucrative world of defense contracting, it pursued an unmistakable strategy: It expanded operations from its Northern Virginia base in Rep. James P. Moran's congressional district to the southwestern Pennsylvania district of Rep. John P. Murtha. Working with two of the most powerful members of a House subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, the company also hired lobbying firms that employed former top aides of both the Democratic lawmakers and Mr. Murtha's brother. Company executives and their lobbyists donated thousands of dollars to the two congressmen. Soon, money flowed the other way. Between...

Yes, but is Glenn Beck good for the conservative movement? After all, even if the man who seriously wondered whether the fasces symbol on the back of a 1917 dime meant that the US government under Wilson was promoting fascism is a little excitable, and, by his own admission, a “clown,” many rock ribbed conservatives seem to have adopted this paranoid waif as one of their own.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran's campaign for a Senate seat says it has scored an endorsement from Sen. John McCain — of Arizona and the GOP's unsuccessful nominee for president last year. “I’m proud to endorse my friend Jerry Moran in his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Moran has a proven record of fiscal responsibility. He has stood up to irresponsible spending on both sides of the aisle and is not afraid to oppose wasteful earmarks that cheat the American taxpayer,” McCain said in a statement released by Moran's campaign. “With government spending levels reaching record highs and trust in Washington, D.C.,...

...I could start a blog and fill it with such reflections without any trouble - as could most of you, I’m sure. Learning from our mistakes is the essence of being human - probably the major factor in the rise of Homo Sapiens. Don’t get too close to that mammoth or you won’t come home from the hunt. Going after a Saber Tooth cat alone is not a good idea if you want to pass your genes on to the next generation. Trial and error not only advanced human evolution, it forms the basis of modern science and has led...

BKOBarbara K. Olson1955 - 2001Member since 11/5/1999 Tributes                                Homepage   BCMJohn Moran1959 - 2001Member since 9/28/1998 Tributes                                Homepage  

When I received my invitation in the mail from Jim Moran himself that mentioned his Health Care Town Hall would include special guest Howard Dean I knew I had to go. I wanted to get front and center, which meant taking a 1/2 day from work to get there early. Doors were scheduled to open at 6:00, and Ron, our local Tea Party organizer alerted us that Moran was bringing in tons of his troops to fill the rafters with "be there by 5:00" marching orders. Word was that this initially was only open to folks from Moran's district but...

In America, school security guards don't get to revise the First Amendment to suit their whims. Nobody does. But that's exactly what happened at a Reston town-hall meeting sponsored by Alexandria Democratic Rep. James P. Moran last week. Fairfax County Public School Security Officer Wesley Cheeks Jr. took it upon himself to decide that one sign -- among a panoply found outside the event -- crossed the line.

Officer Wesley Cheeks, Jr. didn't agree with a sign a protester carried at Jim Moran's town hall in Reston, VA last week. Cheeks told the protester he would charge him with trespassing (of all things) if he didn't take down the sign because it had a picture on it. When the protester questioned the officer, Cheeks responded, "If I told you once to take it down and you put it back up then I can charge you with whatever I want to charge you with." The protester didn't back down, saying, "This is America. This used to be America." Officer...

In this video at Representative Jim Moran’s (D-VA) town hall meeting on ObamaCare held at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA, many people were left outside when the school filled to capacity. School security officer Wesley Cheeks, Jr. did not like a protester’s anti-ObamaCare poster which used one of the viral "Joker" graphics. Officer Cheeks told some town hall protesters to put away their signs or he’ll "charge them with trespassing or whatever he wants." Then, when a protester said to Officer Cheeks, "This used to be America!" his response was: “It ain’t no more, OK?” Pro-Obama Cop to...

In case you missed it! Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) would not allow a critic to ask a question at a town hall forum...until the man showed identification. Watch video...

Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean encountered angry protesters Tuesday at a health care town hall sponsored by Congressman Jim Moran in Virginia. (Aug. 26) AP/YouTube Video

Howard Dean to Join Rep. Moran for Town Hall on Health Care Reform Efforts This event is for residents of Virginia's 8th District only. When: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 7:00PM - 9:00PM --Doors open at 6:00PM Where: South Lakes High School, Gymnasium 11400 South Lakes Dr. Reston, Virginia What: Town Hall meeting hosted by Rep. Jim Moran featuring Governor Howard Dean, M.D., former Governor of Vermont, Democratic National Committee Chair Emeritus, author, and national grassroots leader on health care. The meeting will discuss current efforts in Congress to reform our nation’s health care system. Why: Congress is attempting to craft...

This is the info I have been able to find so far on Health Care Townhalls coming up in Virginia. Rep. Rick Boucher DUBLIN: 08/18 09:00 AM: Town Hall - New River Valley Community College Edwards Hall, Dublin, VA, ABINGTON: 08/20 09:00 AM: Town Hall - Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Abingdon, VA, =================== Rep. Gerry Connolly ANNANDALE: 08/22/09 10 AM -12 Noon. Health Care Tea Party. 4115 Annandale Road, Suite 103 Details: http://teapartypatriots.org/Group/Northern_Virginia_Tea_Party =================== Rep. James Moran RESTON: 08/25 07:00 PM - 09:00 PM: Town Hall - South Lakes High School , 11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston, VA. Also...

When: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 7:00PM - 9:00PM --Doors open at 6:00PM Where: South Lakes High School, Auditorium 11400 South Lakes Dr. Reston, Virginia What: Town Hall meeting hosted by Rep. Jim Moran featuring Governor Howard Dean, M.D., former Governor of Vermont, Democratic National Committee Chair Emeritus, author, and national grassroots leader on health care. The meeting will discuss current efforts in Congress to reform our nation’s health care system. Why: Congress is attempting to craft the first major reform of our nation’s health care system in 45 years. With over 47 million Americans uninsured, medical costs rising everyday, and...

Seven House Democrats have written Attorney General Eric Holder invoking a list of grievances from radical Islamist groups and asking that Holder meet with representatives from those groups to hear their concerns, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned. The grievances include the use of convicted felons as informants in mosques, alleged religious profiling of Somali Muslims in Minnesota and elsewhere and allegations that the FBI is working with foreign governments to question American citizens who are terror suspects. In the letter, the representatives said: "These concerns raise legitimate questions about due process, justice, and equal treatment under the law....

<p>Some Freeper named Jim Robinson has an off the deep end post up at Free Republic that illustrates in a nutshell why no one is taking conservatism very seriously these days.</p> <p>You have to read the whole thing to grasp the underlying hysteria, the exaggeration, the misperceptions, and the paranoia, but a few choice passages should suffice.</p>

WASHINGTON -- Despite cries for reform, the earmark process is alive and well in Congress. As lawmakers write the military budget for fiscal-year 2010, every member on the House defense-appropriations subcommittee has requested funds for contractors and other organizations with employees who have donated money to their campaigns. The 18 members of the subcommittee are seeking a total of about $2 billion on behalf of such companies, universities and nonprofit groups, according to a review of campaign-finance data and nearly 400 earmark requests in the 2010 defense-spending bill by the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense. Employees of those entities donated...

WASHINGTON – The revelation that Democratic appropriations kingpins may face a House ethics investigation of their campaign receipts from lobbyists for recipients of government grants and contracts moves Republicans closer to gaining a corruption issue in 2010. ... The Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the House ethics committee dropped their political bomb Thursday night, announcing that the panel is reviewing the practice of lawmakers steering money and contracts to favored companies, and then receiving campaign contributions in return for the "earmarks." The announcement came months after the Justice Department began a criminal investigation of the matter and a repetition...

Va. Candidates Enter Homestretch of Tight Primary Race By Anita Kumar and Rosalind S. Helderman Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, June 8, 2009 The three men seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia continued their final push across the state today in the sprint before tomorrow's primary. Moran concluded his week-long "Fighting for Virginia" tour with a pre-election rally at Market Square in Alexandria. Deeds spent the day hosting get-out-the-vote rallies in Southside and Southwest including stops in Danville, Martinsville, Bristol and Roanoke. Tonight, he will head back to his Charlottesville campaign headquarters for a rally. McAuliffe started his...

On Tuesday June 9th, 2009, the Democratic Primary will be held in the great Commonwealth of Virginia. The Democratic candidates vying for their party’s nomination to run for governor are former Democratic National Committee chairman and Clinton insider Terry McAuliffe, State Delegate Brian Moran and State Senator Creigh (pronounced CREE) Deeds. Because of the significant gun rights issues raised by these particular candidates, OpenCarry.org has taken the unprecedented step of endorsing Delegate Moran in the Democratic primary and encouraging Republicans, Libertarians and Independents to cross the aisle and vote in the Democratic primary.

JUNE 6, 2009 Democrats' Rainmaker Aims to Hold Virginia By JOHN R. EMSHWILLER and T.W. FARNAM One of the most prolific fund-raisers in Democrats' history is trying to help the party hold on to its newfound power in Virginia. Terry McAuliffe, the 52-year-old former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and longtime Clinton insider, is running for governor of Virginia, a race that is shaping up as one of the hottest -- and costliest -- electoral battles of 2009. Terry McAuliffe takes on two other Democrats on May 19 in the final debate in the Virginia governor race. Virginia was...

Virginia's Democratic Primary is five days away, and the three-way race for the party's governor nomination is tight. Gun rights advocates don't typically engage in democratic politics. However, Northern Virginia-based "opencarry.org" is encouraging its members, republican, independent, and libertarian, to go vote in the Democratic primary and cast their vote for Brian Moran. During his time in the House of Delegates, the website says Moran had what they call a pro-gun record. That includes votes to allow concealed handguns in school parking lots and to preempt all local gun control laws. They say that "pretty good" record is far superior...

KABOOM: "A Rasmussen poll released today shows Chris Christie opening up a 13 point lead, 51-38 percent, over Jon Corzine in the New Jersey governor’s race. It marks the first time in the race that a candidate has polled above 50 percent. The poll also showed that 58 percent of New Jersey voters have an unfavorable opinion of Corzine and his net approval rating is negative 16 percent." Markos Moulitsas — yes, the creator of Daily Kos — writes in with some analysis of the latest poll of Virginia voters he commissioned. Bottom line, it's still a very close race,...

Did you know Virginia is an open primary state? Yup, it is - you can vote in anybody's primary you want. That means that since the Republican party is handling their state office party candidate nominations this year by convention, every registered voter in Virginia might as well crash the Democratic party primary on June 9th! . . . A vote for Moran is therefore the best strategic vote for gun owners for two reasons. First, because a Moran vote is more likely to defeat McAuliffe than a vote for Deeds. And second, a vote for Moran sends traditionally pro-gun...

It's not every day that a congressman asks for terrorists to be shipped to his hometown. So we were surprised to see Rep. Jim Moran, Democrat of Virginia, pen a column entitled "From Guantanamo to Alexandria" in Saturday's Washington Post. He actually championed the idea of bringing terrorists like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other al Qaeda detainees to historic Alexandria. What's next? Does he want the nuclear waste that Nevada won't take? We understand why congressmen work to bring federal office buildings to their district or fight off noisome incineration plants. So we read Rep. Moran's column with...

Arlington County in Northern Virginia will try to maximize its population number in the 2010 Census by counting illegal immigrants, and part of the reason for doing so is to capture some of the $300 billion in federal funds distributed to local governments each year based on census numbers. That’s what local officials, Census Bureau officials and documents, and Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) indicated at a meeting on Wednesday. Moran and Census officials told CNSNews.com they are preparing to reach out to illegal immigrants by emphasizing that they have nothing to fear from the census because it does not differentiate...

Differences between Moran and Tiahrt Several readers have been wondering about how the current race for U.S. Senate will shake out. What separates these candidates? There are few policy differences between Congressmen Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt - both of whom are fiscal and social conservatives. After listening to several GOP operatives across Kansas, this is what SRK is hearing about the differences between Moran and Tiahrt. Tiahrt - More of a Fighter Todd Tiahrt is labeling himself as a proven fighter against Obama, Sebelius and Pelosi. His official office has released numerous press releases highlighting his firm opposition to...

After the inauguration ended, Rep. Jim Moran's wife tried to enter the Capitol building. It's standard operating procedure when the President is in transit, that the area be locked down. This wasn't an acceptable answer for refusing her entrance into the building, and she called her husband demanding that the Capitol police officer immediately talk to him. The officer calmly explained that he's not alllowed to, but rather the congressman could call the Seargent At Arms who could call his boss and then call him. Soon Moran stormed out of the building and angrily confronted the police officer looking at...

It’s this type of political rhetoric that brings out the “Joe the Plumber” in all of us. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., thinks it’s a “simplistic notion” for people who are successful in their bid to become wealthy to hold on to that wealth and not have it “redistributed” by the government. “Now in the last seven years we have had the highest corporate profit ever in American history,” Moran said in a video posted to YouTube on Oct. 31. “Highest corporate profit – we’ve had the highest productivity. The American worker has produced more per person than at any time,...

“Now in the last seven years we have had the highest corporate profit ever in American history. Highest corporate profit! We’ve had the highest productivity! The American worker has produced more per person at any time, but it hasn’t been shared, and that’s the problem because we have been guided by a republican administration who believes in this simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it and they have an antipathy towards the means of redistributing wealth.”

Listen to what Obama himself is saying: Colin Powell will have a role as a top presidential adviser in an Obama administration, the Democratic White House hopeful said Monday. "He will have a role as one of my advisers," Barack Obama said on NBC's "Today" in an interview aired Monday, a day after Powell, a four-star general and President Bush's former secretary of state, endorsed him. "Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that's a good fit for him, is something we'd have to discuss," Obama said. Being a top presidential adviser, especially on foreign policy, would be...

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

If whoever plays the Nazi-analogy card first loses, then Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) is a double loser. First, for having played the Bush = Hitler card, second, for lacking the courage to stick by his slander. Moran, a member of Congress' Out-of-Iraq Caucus, was a guest on this evening's Tucker. The eponymous host was hammering him over the fact that despite all their inflamed anti-war rhetoric, the Dems have folded like the proverbial lawn chair, caving to all President Bush's funding requests for Iraq. When Moran could take the taunting no longer, he resorted to the loser's strategy. But watch...

In case we forgot Harry Reid's fantasy of al-Qaeda "civil war" in Iraq from yesterday, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) reminds us why Democrats have gone out of their minds on the Iraq debate. Moran tells Congress during the funding debate that American troops "ethnically cleansed" Baghdad. No kidding (via The Corner): "Sure, there's less violence, but that's because we've ethnically cleansed most of Baghdad." The UN and most of the rest of the world define ethnic cleansing as a form of genocide. Moran believes that American troops have conducted that crime in Baghdad as part of a pacification program. His...

Yes, that headline is accurate. Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) said:"Sure there’s less violence but that’s because we have ethnically cleansed most of Baghdad.” Maybe Moran wants to bring Gen. Petraeus up on charges. His friends at MoveOn would be pleased. More (watch the video of his comments) here.

Iranian Policy Questioned at Alexandria Town Meeting November 14, 2007 Washington Post Kirstin Downey A town hall meeting on U.S. policy toward Iran drew more than 800 people in Alexandria last night, many of them denouncing government policies that they said are pushing the country toward another war in the Mideast. At a sometimes-heated public forum conducted by U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), almost all of the area residents who spoke raised pointed questions about the possible consequences of a U.S. attack on Iran, which many seemed to believe was imminent. Moran, a vocal opponent of the war...

Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran is getting slammed by fellow House Democrats over comments that pro-Israel forces in the U.S., "pushed the Iraq war from the beginning." The Politico newspaper reports Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman called Moran's remarks "deeply offensive." A group of 16 Jewish Democrats wrote what is described as a withering letter to Moran, saying in part, "The idea that the war in Iraq began because of the influence of Jewish Americans is factually incorrect and unfortunately fits the anti-Semitic stereotypes some have used historically against Jews." But Moran is not backing down. A spokesman conceded...

What is it with Jim Moran? The nine-term Democratic congressman from Northern Virginia can't seem to keep his head on straight when it comes to talking about Iraq and the reasons we have ended up over there. In the run-up to the March 2003 invasion, during an event at a Reston church sponsored by a peace coalition, Moran said: "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this." Not stopping there, he added, "The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change...

August 1, 2007 Tomorrow, the House is expected to take up the defense appropriations bill, and despite the good news coming out of Iraq in recent days, the Democratic leadership is prepared to do everything it can to tack on amendments aimed at discrediting the war on terror. The chairman of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep. Jack Murtha, says he will offer an amendment to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where approximately 360 jihadists captured abroad are being held. For years political opponents of the Bush administration led by organizations like the Center for Constitutional Rights,...

For Roger Moran, the most powerful Baptist in Missouri, the past represents victory and personal grace. He has spent nearly a decade building a political Baptist empire, one based on a conservative foundation that he put in place. But when talk turns to the future — specifically, the future of the Missouri Baptist Convention — Moran is suddenly an Old Testament prophet of doom. His target: a young band of moderate Christians that he believes is trying to steal back the convention, undercutting his empire. It's a growing movement he'd like to see disappear. "You begin to see this new...

Some U.S. House Democrats who want to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center are floating an idea to move captives to American military brigs on U.S. soil. Republicans are opposing the idea, with one Florida congressman issuing a press release, ``America's Most Wanted Terrorists Not Welcome in the Sunshine State.'' Rep. James Moran, D-Va., a member of the House defense subcommittee, said in a recent interview on Fox News Channel, ``I'm simply offering some options. If you close [the Guantánamo detention center], we do have military brigs that are secure.'' ''I don't see the momentum yet within Congress, although I...