November 20, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: One Comment
Cable news yesterday and today’s newspapers are full of references to the embarrassment Detroit’s “big three” automakers’ chief executives occasioned by flying to DC in 3 separate private jets to ask for a $25 billion “bailout” bridge loan. Pleading poverty while showing off the extravagance of one’s expenditures is poor form, no matter what the season, but it clearly displays a lack of awareness of how much the economic culture of the nation has changed.
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September 29, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
With the nation facing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and voices in private finance calling for a major bailout, with the Republican president, his financial advisers, leaders of both parties in Congress calling for a $700 billion bailout package, the US House has voted down the rescue package. The stock market closed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 777.68 points. Talks of a “done deal” are obviously over, and the administration and Congressional leaders will now be starting over.
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July 30, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
The longest serving Republican member of the US Senate, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), called by some the “king of pork” for his success in bringing federal money to his state, has been indicted for not reporting, under penalty of perjury, gifts he received from at least one oil firm, totaling as much as $250,000. The gifts are allegedly related to a home-renovation project and assistance obtained through his connection to an oil firm.
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July 11, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
President George W. Bush yesterday signed an update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) into law, after the Senate passed the controversial legislation, giving telecommunications firms retroactive immunity for cooperating with warrantless wiretapping conducted on American citizens, with no foundation in US law and in direct violation of the original FISA law, and the US Constitution. A federal court had ruled that the warrantless wiretaps violated the US Constitution, prompting a move by Pres. Bush and his allies in Congress to pass a new law correcting the legal problem.
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July 11, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
Karl Rove has chosen to ignore a subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in relation to allegations he was part of an administration campaign against officials who did carry out a partisan agenda. By not appearing to testify under subpoena, he has opened himself up to charges of contempt of Congress, and the committee’s chairman, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has threatened to prosecute Rove if he does not comply, as has Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), chairwoman of the subcommittee on commercial and administrative law.
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July 9, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
After many accusations and much speculation, a US government whistleblower has said the vice-president ordered testimony altered to hide findings of the negative impact of carbon emissions and the threats from global warming. VP Cheney is accused of demanding that official EPA findings be altered and that sworn testimony before Congress be “redacted” to exclude […]
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June 29, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
New Yorker investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reports this week that US joint special operations forces are intensifying “covert military operations” inside Iran. A US State Dept. spokesperson told CNN that US forces are “not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran”, though he did not deny there were operations organized and executed from inside Iran.
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June 23, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Democratic and Republican leaders have reached an agreement on legislation that would expand the government’s legal right to wiretap foreign suspects on American soil, including up to 7 days surveillance on Americans, where such a method is deemed necessary to target foreign suspects. Warrants will not be passed over completely, and the bill should bring government policy in line with Constitutional provisions on privacy.
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March 11, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
11 March :: NY Times reports “The House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to force the White House chief of staff and the former White House counsel to cooperate with the committee’s investigation into the firing of a group of federal prosecutors”; Bolten, Miers have been protected by Bush-appointed AG Mukasey, who […]
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March 8, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
8 March :: US pres. George W. Bush has vetoed legislation that would have barred the CIA from using harsh interrogation techniques classed by critics as torture, such as “waterboarding”, a form of simulated drowning; the New York Times reports the veto is affirmation of Bush’s “legacy” as jealous defender of expanded executive power: “The […]
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January 23, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
“President George W. Bush and seven of his administration’s top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Nearly five years after the […]
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January 2, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
2 January :: Crude oil prices hit record $100, before falling to $99, amid claims of high demand, violence in oil producing countries, driving prices higher; the rapidly weakening dollar is also considered to be a factor in the rising prices… US Justice Dept. launches criminal probe of CIA destruction of hundreds of hours of […]
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December 22, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
22 December :: The two chairmen of the investigatory commission for the 9/11 attacks, Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean, have said their review of classified evidence suggests the CIA made a concerted effort to “impede” the inquiry by hiding evidence of abusive interrogation techniques; according to Reuters, “Among statements that the memo suggested were misleading […]
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December 17, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
17 December :: Michigan Republican Peter Hoekstra, ranking GOP member of the House intelligence committee, has said the committee will pursue its investigation of the CIA’s destruction of tapes of alleged torture; Hoekstra told the press it was important that there be accountability in the intelligence community, adding “The CIA did not tell us about […]
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December 16, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
16 December :: Bali climate change conference goes into extra day, as EU, US reach agreement on language for roadmap to global emissions rules; CNN reports “The European Union and the United States reached agreement on a compromise for a global warming pact Saturday, setting the stage for intense negotiations in the next two years […]
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December 13, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
13 December :: Pro-industry forces in the US Senate have blocked the sweeping energy-policy reform bill that Democrats have touted as necessary for future economic and ecological wellbeing of the nation; “in order to bring the bill to a vote, Democrats were forced to drop a provision that required utilities to obtain at least 15% […]
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December 12, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
12 December :: CIA director Hayden has said harsh interrogation techniques appearing on destroyed video tapes “reviewed and approved by the Department of Justice and by other elements of the Executive Branch”; he has briefed Senate intelligence committee, but said he was unable to answer all questions, because tapes were made under one predecessor and […]
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December 9, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
9 December :: LA Times reporting “The Justice Department and the CIA’s Office of the Inspector General said Saturday that they had launched a joint inquiry into the CIA’s controversial destruction of videotaped interrogations of two Al Qaeda suspects”; unnamed staffer for Senate judiciary committee said probes could lead to charges of obstruction of justice, […]
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December 7, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
7 December :: CIA has admitted it destroyed video tapes documenting interrogations critics have labeled torture; Senate judiciary committee chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said the destruction of the tapes, potential evidence, was “hidden away from accountability”, while ACLU National Security Project director told press “The destruction of these tapes suggests an utter disregard for the […]
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November 9, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
9 November :: Musharraf’s forces in riot gear have surrounded home of Bhutto’s home, alleging suicide bombers are waiting to strike, no one being allowed in or out; move is aimed at preventing her holding massive rally in Rawalpindi; after she attempted to leave, she was prevented by gov’t forces, she has been placed under […]
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November 6, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
6 November :: Privacy advocates say Real ID —a Homeland Security plan to force all US citizens to carry uniform biometric ID cards— may be finished, as DHS official reportedly indicated to officials from several states their citizens will not be penalized for the states’ rejecting Real ID; 17 states have passed legislation opposing the […]
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November 4, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
4 November :: Pakistan pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf declares martial law, suspends constitution, fires chief justice, raising ire of world leaders; opposition politicians, top lawyers, including Chief Jutice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry’s personal lawyer, were detained in raids across the country… “U.S. officials are considering granting Guantánamo Bay detainees substantially greater rights as part of an […]
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November 3, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
3 November :: Senate subcommittee approves America’s Climate Security Act, legislation aimed at capping greenhouse gas emissions, now to be voted by full Environment and Public Works committee; bill touted as milestone in US climate policy; Sen. Lieberman has said it is the “Manhattan Project” for climate change that activists have long called for, bill […]
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November 1, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
1 November :: Spain’s top criminal court has sentenced masterminds of 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings to more than 42,900 years each for mass murder; the Audiencia Nacional also ruled out definitively any involvement by Basque separatist group ETA, citing Islamist extremist conspiracy as proven by evidence… Sen. John McCain, a Republican presidential candidate, […]
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October 26, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
26 October :: Report from Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds terrorist watch list may be targetting too many people to be effective, including 755,000 names as of May 2007, 860,000 at present; critics of the list say it threatens civil liberties, contravenes Constitutional protections; Sen. Lieberman has expressed concern about its “500 percent increase in […]
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October 25, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
25 October :: Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice admits to House human rights subcommittee that the US handling of the case of Maher Arar, was “by no means perfect, in fact it was quite imperfect”, adding “we do absolutely not want to transfer anyone to a place where they might be tortured”; Arar is a […]
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October 20, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
20 October :: US Senate crafts ‘compromise’ wiretapping bill that grants telecoms immunity from prosecution for illegally handing customer information to NSA; deal was made after intel. committee chair Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV), obtained the secret documents debating, justifying and authorizing the warrantless wiretapping program which spied on American citizens; White House has said it will […]
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October 5, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
5 October :: House and Senate judiciary committees have ordered Justice Dept. to turn over legal opinions on harsh interrogation techniques, alleging the Department’s lawyers, who had in 2004 found torture “abhorrent” had in 2005 “reversed themselves and reinstated a secret regime, in essence reinterpreting the law in secret”; White House spokesman says “The policy […]
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January 16, 2006 :: staff :: One Comment
Congressman Barr and I have disagreed many times over the years, but we have joined together today with thousands of our fellow citizens-Democrats and Republicans alike-to express our shared concern that America’s Constitution is in grave danger.
In spite of our differences over ideology and politics, we are in strong agreement that the American values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the Administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power.
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December 10, 2005 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
In early December, the Hurricane Katrina Survivors’ General Assembly gathered in Jackson, Mississippi, saw evacuees from devastated Gulf Coast communities accuse the federal government of “criminal indifference” and demand reparations for damage resulting from government negligence. They also sought the “right to return” to their homes, even as New Orleans remains under a state of emergency, whole sections of the city still closed to residents who may seek to return, and much of Mississippi still languishing with little to no substantive federal aid.
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