Posted on 06/10/2005 5:06:48 PM PDT by Pikamax
c By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago
The Republican chairman walked off with the gavel, leaving Democrats shouting into turned-off microphones at a raucous hearing Friday on the Patriot Act.
The House Judiciary Committee hearing, with the two sides accusing each other of being irresponsible and undemocratic, came as President Bush was urging Congress to renew those sections of the post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism law set to expire in September.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the panel, abruptly gaveled the meeting to an end and walked out, followed by other Republicans. Sensenbrenner declared that much of the testimony, which veered into debate over the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, was irrelevant.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., protested, raising his voice as his microphone went off, came back on, and went off again.
"We are not besmirching the honor of the United States, we are trying to uphold it," he said.
Democrats asked for the hearing, the 11th the committee has held on the act since April, saying past hearings had been too slanted toward witnesses who supported the law. The four witnesses were from groups, including Amnesty International USA and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, that have questioned the constitutionality of some aspects of the act, which allows law enforcement greater authority to investigate suspected terrorists.
Nadler said Sensenbrenner, one of the authors of the Patriot Act, was "rather rude, cutting everybody off in mid-sentence with an attitude of total hostility."
Tempers flared when Rep. Mike Pence (news, bio, voting record), R-Ind., accused Amnesty International of endangering the lives of Americans in uniform by referring to the prison at Guantanamo Bay as a "gulag." Sensenbrenner didn't allow the Amnesty representative, Chip Pitts, to respond until Nadler raised a "point of decency."
Sensenbrenner's spokesman, Jeff Lungren, said the hearing had lasted two hours and "the chairman was very accommodating, giving members extra time."
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, speaking immediately after Sensenbrenner left, voiced dismay over the proceedings. "I'm troubled about what kind of lesson this gives" to the rest of the world, he told the Democrats remaining in the room.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, in a statement, said the hearing was an example of Republican abuse of power and she would ask House Speaker Dennis Hastert to order an apology from Sensenbrenner.
___
Ah, yes---I see all of the Muslim scarved women in the audience...
Agreed, it Kay B Hutchison decides to run for Governor, I hope DeLay moves up! Can you imagine him in the Senate, with Allen, Sessions, Hatch and Santorum et al.! What a fun time that would be!
I love the curl on this Amnesty International guy! BLECH!
I agree. But reading it in papers looks like the sore loser. Removing them would have been better.
He reminds me of one of those Communists, Trotsky?
Thank you --- yeppers, I can see the dems have studied this list more than history!
Honor? The man can't even see his own feet!
Thanks for starting this thread. I stumbled upon it and am enjoying watching the C-Span replay.
hee hee
Delay in the Senate would have the DEMS and RINO's seeking cover under their desks.
I would enjoy that so much! I would have to work third shift so that I didn't miss any of the action!
Nah, if he had had them removed by the Sargent at Arms, the dems would have used the video of it to promote their newest mantra--
ABUSE OF POWER
ABUSE OF POWER
I can't believe the fawning over Sensenbrenner.
He's the one proposing legislation that would compel people to spy on their family members and neighbors, forcing all Americans to become foot soldiers in the war on drugs.
Sensenbrenner, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman, has introduced legislation that would essentially draft every American into the war on drugs.
H.R. 1528, cynically named "Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection Act," would compel people to spy on their family members and neighbors, and even go undercover and wear a wire if needed.
If a person resisted, he or she would face mandatory incarceration. Here's how the "spy" section of the legislation works: If you "witness" certain drug offenses taking place or "learn" about them, you must report the offenses to law enforcement within 24 hours and provide "full assistance in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution" of the people involved.
Failure to do so would be a crime punishable by a mandatory minimum two-year prison sentence, and a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Here are some examples of offenses you would have to report to police within 24 hours:
* You find out that your brother, who has children, recently bought a small amount of marijuana to share with his wife;
* You discover that your son gave his college roommate a marijuana joint;
* You learn that your daughter asked her boyfriend to find her some drugs, even though they're both in treatment.
In each of these cases you would have to report the relative to the police within 24 hours. Taking time to talk to your relative about treatment instead of calling the police immediately could land you in jail.
This reason alone tends to make me distrust his motives, and the PATRIOT Act in general.
People are cheering his LEADERSHIP.
THAT'S why they call Delay--THE HAMMER!!!!!
Notice that this is all about getting up an investigation of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib....not a darn thing about the Patriot Act!!!
Conyers and his friends don't give a damn about the millions of Muslims that our troops have freed---and they especially don't give a damn about our TROOPS!
Rosie, hands down. Sensenbrenner is doing a great job with this hearing. Conyers needs to retire.
Being arrested is often the catalyst for someone to get help. Drugs are illegal people should not be using them.
We need more Hammers!
The only Muslims these people care about are the ones murdering innocent Americans and Muslims.
If everybody was talking, that is no longer a hearing, it an edition of Hardball. No wonder the chairman ended the meeting.
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