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I received a brochure with a young woman on the cover and the statement, “When victims of sexual assault had no place to turn … state Rep. Brent Hassert listened and took action.” This was to inform me that he voted for legislation requiring hospitals to provide information about emergency contraception for sexual assault victims, but that is not what I learned. Instead, I learned that Hassert is willing to exploit the victims of rape for political gain, and he apparently thinks that women are stupid enough to believe he’s an advocate for

I haven't enjoyed a chris mathews interview since Zell Miller. I must say that this is pretty good and mathews keeps the heat on. State Senator kirk watson (d) from Texas gets asked to list Obama's accomplishments. Like me, he is unable to do so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGeu_4Ekx-o

There are RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) and then there are RINOs who call themselves Republicans for Environmental Protection. Founded in 1995, REP seeks to save the planet through decidedly un-Republican, big-government socialism. It also annually hands out its "Greenest Republican in Congress" award. This year's co-winner is Rep. Christopher Shays, RINO-4th District, who by sheer coincidence is on REP's "Honorary Board of Distinguished Republicans," along with co-winner Sen. Susan Collins, RINO-Maine. On REP's 0-100 scorecard, Rep. Shays scored 103 for promoting policies that are responsible for today's record energy prices and much more. Out of the other side of...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Bridgett Luther Thompson to head the state Department of Conservation Friday. Thompson, 50, was previously a regional development director for Hands on Bay Area, which matches its network of volunteers to local charities. Prior to that, she was national development director for Republicans for Environmental Protection. "Bridgett shares my dedication to protecting our environment and ensuring our natural resources are wisely conserved," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. Thompson, a member of both the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, has also served as program director for the Trust for Public Land in Charlotte,...

Prior to Tuesday's vote, Republicans for Environmental Protection announced its slate of endorsed candidates for U.S. Congress. “Each of these candidates is a conservation-minded Republican dedicated to responsible environmental stewardship,” said REP President Martha Marks. “While our party as a whole is not where it should be when it comes to environmental stewardship, electing this slate of Republican candidates would represent a giant stride toward changing that.” Thought it might be interesting to see how they did in the election. Did being green garner them any turn-out-the-vote support?Here’s how things shaped up. Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk. Info in [...

the Phase II report says: “The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which is leading the exploitation effort of documents (DocEx) uncovered in Iraq, told Committee staff that 120 million plus pages of documents that were recovered in Iraq have received an initial review for intelligence information. As of January 2006, 34 million pages have been translated and summarized to some extent and are available to analysts in an Intelligence Community database.” pg 62/400 And while that might mislead people into thinking that the assessments made are full and complete, it isn’t until later in the report that a little caveat is...

Many of the quasi-conclusions are based largely on claims of innocence from Saddam Hussein, “a top official in Saddam’s government, Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Kattab al-Tikriti,” Tariq Aziz and Faruq Hijazi. These are 4/7 of the primary players in any involvement or potential involvement between Saddam’s regime and al Qaeda. The other 3 primary players are Mohammed al-Douri (He is Saddam’s VP/muscle man/Thug-In-Charge who remains at large. He is also suspected of being the primary source for most of a large portion of the insurgency and most reports place him as directing operations from inside Syria). The last 2 primary players...

As soldiers and Marines by the hundreds of thousands return home from Iraq they are telling their stories. They are telling family and friends of what they saw and of who they fought. They are writing books that tell of their experiences. Amazon.com is full of them. They have fought and lived through a dramatic and on-going historical event. To them it is real-not politics and so they tell the truth. They describe an invasion and an occupation where Islamic extremists and Iraqi thugs are the enemy. They tell tales of a fight against terrorists; people who rammed cars filled...

How many times have we heard members of the media say, “We know now that there were no ties between Saddam and Al Qaeda”? Typically, people make this claim based on any combination of four sources: President Bush’s 9/17/03 statement, Sec. Powell’s 1/8/04 statement, the 9/11 Commission’s Final Report of 7/22/04 or the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s (SSCI) report on Pre-war Iraq intelligence reports: 7/7/04. Yet, in each of these cases, the very quotations that opponents of the war in Iraq point towards as definitive claims of “no ties” are only half quotes. When they refer to President Bush’s...

The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. [snip] But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to bribing him.

The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. Jefferson is anxious to overturn the ruling of federal Judge Hogan of the Washington, DC federal District Court, who allowed the raid. One can only surmise that the seized documents contain material even more embarrassing than the discovery of $90,000 in cash in Jefferson’s freezer. But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to...

WASHINGTON — Police labor officials, angry over a federal grand jury's refusal to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney for assaulting a police officer, said Monday they want the House ethics committee to review her conduct. And they said the grand jury's decision last week sent the message that "it's okay to hit a police officer." "We hope that members of Congress will review her actions in light of their rules within their own ethics committee," Andrew Maybo, chairman of the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee, told reporters Monday at a news conference in Washington.

Rep. accused of trying to bribe NigerianBy STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 28 minutes ago GREENBELT, Md. - Rep. William Jefferson called the package he allegedly delivered at midnight to the suburban Maryland home of Nigeria's vice president "African art." Authorities say the "art" was meant to be cash — lots of it. Court documents filed in the bribery probe of the Louisiana Democrat allege that Jefferson told an FBI informant he took the "art," which authorities believe was code for $100,000 in $100 bills, to the Potomac home of Atiku Abubakar on July 31. The money was...

Aide says Jefferson cooked up schemeAssistant sentenced to 8 years in prison Saturday, May 27, 2006 By Bill Walsh Washington bureau ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- A former aide to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, said Friday that it was the congressman's idea to solicit bribes to promote a telecommunications deal in West Africa that began as a legitimate business venture. "I've gone over it 10 million times in my head," Brett Pfeffer, 37, said at his sentencing in U.S. District Court. "I don't know why I didn't look him in the eye and say 'No.' " **SNIP** According to court...

WASHINGTON — President Bush stepped into the Justice Department's constitutional confrontation with Congress on Thursday and ordered that documents seized in an FBI search of a congressman's office be sealed for 45 days. "The Department of Justice's search was part of an important investigation of alleged public corruption. At the same time, the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives believe the search violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers and the speech and debate clause of the Constitution," according to the president's statement.

GOP dares Pelosi: Sign on the line By Josephine Hearn U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gestures as she speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios in Washington, DC May 7, 2006. NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/Alex Wong/Meet the Press Freshman Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.) wants to help House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — well, sort of. McHenry has prepared an ethics complaint for Pelosi to file against a fellow Democratic lawmaker, Rep. William Jefferson (La.), who is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly having received more than $450,000...

Murtha tells City Club the war is lost Pa. congressman outlines failures Saturday, April 08, 2006 Donna J. Miller Plain Dealer Reporter U.S. Rep. John Murtha's booming Marine colonel's voice filled the tight spaces between Greater Clevelanders packed into the City Club Friday to hear him protest President Bush's war on Iraq. He repeated the message he began trumpeting in November: that American military efforts in Iraq are failing and will continue to fail, while costing taxpayers $450 billion by the year's end. The 37-year decorated Marine and 32-year congressman from Pennsylvania said: Iraqis with 80 percent of them wanting...

Law firm records sought by fedsJefferson's daughter once worked there Thursday, March 23, 2006 By Bruce Alpert Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- In an indication that the federal investigation of Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, is continuing, a Virginia grand jury has subpoenaed records from a law firm where one of the congressman's daughters once worked, according to sources familiar with the case. In addition, Judge T.S. Ellis III has agreed to delay sentencing for Brett Pfeffer, 37, a former Jefferson congressional aide who pleaded guilty in January to two felony charges, including aiding and abetting the solicitation of bribes. The...

DeLay told he's not a target of probe BY MICHELLE MITTELSTADT The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON - In recent months, Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has insisted he's not a target of the Justice Department public corruption investigation involving a one-time ally, disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He now has gone a step further, telling conservative columnist George Will in a column published Thursday that the Justice Department has informed his lawyers that he is not a target of the probe. A federal official said the investigation is "wide open." "It's looking at a number of subjects. And actual targets of a...

Jefferson might claim deals private 'Official acts' issue could play key role in case Saturday, January 21, 2006 By Bruce Alpert Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's public response to the federal government's investigation of his business dealings suggests his legal defense could be that his actions were distinct and separate from his congressional responsibilities and therefore not subject to federal bribery statutes, legal experts say. The New Orleans Democrat last week said he had never requested or accepted anything to "perform a service for which I have been elected." He said he is disappointed and perplexed by...