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Home Front: Politix

Rep. Tlaib: My Anti-Semitic Views Are Being "Shushed" Because I'm A Woman Of Color

2019-02-13

[RedState] It’s been a bad week for the newest anti-Semitic members of Congress. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was forced to apologize for blatantly anti-Semitic tropes she tweeted Sunday night. The apology came after House Democratic leaders condemned her comments Monday in a rare public rebuke of a Congresswoman by members of her own party. Also on Monday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) close associations with anti-Semites were once again revealed when it was discovered she wrote a column in 2006 for "the official communications organ of the Nation of Islam." In response to the discovery, a spokesman for the freshman Michigan Congresswoman told Business Insider’s Joe Perticone that the piece "was not an endorsement of Farrakhan or anyone for that matter. The Congresswoman has not had any direct contact with Farrakhan and condemns his anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ views." Not having "any direct contact with Farrakhan" does not and should not absolve Tlaib ‐ nor Omar, for that matter ‐ of their well-known hostility towards Jewish people. In seeming exasperation over the last two days of events, Tlaib took to the Twitter machine last night and pulled out the "Woman of Color" card: Rashida Tlaib ✔ @RashidaTlaib The hardest part of serving in Congress as a WOC & as a "first" is how people hear you differently. No matter how much we take on the hate & stay true to who we are through our experiences, our voices are shushed and reduced. We aren't perfect, but neither is this institution. 35.4K 3:20 AM - Feb 12, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 9,540 people are talking about this Not to be outdone, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) jumped on Twitter in defense of Omar, pretending that Omar’s apology was sincere (it wasn’t) and retweeting this spectacularly ignorant tweet: Ady Barkan🔥🌹 ✔ @AdyBarkan · Feb 11, 2019 Replying to @AdyBarkan AIPAC is a central pillar of the occupation. Without Congressional support, the Likud/anti-Palestine/pro-occupation project would be radically undermined. AIPAC is the anchor of that support, and its money and Sheldon Adelson’s money are indispensable to the work. Ady Barkan🔥🌹 ✔ @AdyBarkan We have a growing anti-semitism problem in America. @IlhanMN is not part of it. @lindasrsour is not part of it. They are allies of mine and of Jews across this country who are fighting for peace, racial justice, immigrants’ rights, and the defeat of fascism. AOC, another "woke" Democratic member of Congress who is helping mainstream anti-Semitism within the party, also likes to pretend criticism of her’s and her "squad’s" absurd policy proposals boils down to the fact that they’re "brown women" or something. This has nothing, zero, nada to do with the fact that any of them are women of color and everything to do with the fact that they are ‐ to put it charitably ‐ openly hostile to Jewish interests. Anyone who doesn’t believe that should read about retired Democratic Rep. Jim Moran, a white guy from Virginia who was frequently criticized for his anti-Israel views. None of these women are being "shushed." What’s happening to them is what happens to any other politician, male or female, no matter their color, when their hatred for a group of people is exposed. They all need to put on their big girl panties and deal with the criticism like grown women instead erupting into fits of the vapors and falling onto the fainting couch. Time to grow up, ladies. And guess which color that is?

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Home Front: WoT

US Senate Unanimously Backs Jerusalem On Gaza Op

2014-07-21

[IsraelTimes] The US Senate unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution in support of Israel's right to defend itself against rocket fire from the Gazoo Strip. The resolution, which had 78 bipartisan sponsors, passed late Thursday by unanimous consent, a week after it was introduced by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham ... the endangered South Carolina RINO... (R-SC), Chuck Schumer Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. (D-NY) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH). A similar resolution, introduced by Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and with over 140 cosponsors, passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives on July 11. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which backed both resolutions, praised the Senate for its passage. "Israel launched Operation Protective Edge to defend its citizens against hundreds of rockets launched from Gazoo by Islamist terrorists," AIPAC said in a statement, referring to the Arclight airstrikes launched by Israel July 8 in response to an intensification of rocket fire from Gazoo. "While Israel accepted a cease-fire plan offered by the Egyptian government, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, rejected it and continues to send rockets into the Jewish state," AIPAC said. The resolution "reaffirms its support for Israel's right to defend its citizens and ensure the survival of the State of Israel," "calls on Hamas to immediately cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel" and "calls on Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... to dissolve the unity governing arrangement with Hamas and condemn the attacks on Israel." Abbas had entered into unity talks with Hamas prior to the current outbreak. Separately, six Democrats in the House wrote President B.O. and US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... urging them to bring about a cease-fire and return the parties to peace talks, which collapsed in April. "Ground troops, air strikes, and rockets do not lead to permanent peace in the Middle East," said the July 17 letter, first reported by Al-Monitor and signed by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Jim Moran (D-Va.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). "The United States government, together with international partners, must redouble our efforts to urge all parties to avoid further loss of life on both sides by coming to a cease-fire."

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Home Front: Politix

Virginia Dem Moran: Hamas Rockets are 'Fairly Feckless'

2014-07-16

[PJMEDIA] A Virginia congressman characterized the rockets being fired into Israel by Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, as "fairly feckless," pointing to "too many" Paleostinian deaths as the problem. "Well, Israel has the overwhelming support of the American Congress. There are a few of us who feel that, you know, a cease-fire is the only way to go, and it's in Israel's, as well as the Paleostinians' interest to have a cease-fire," Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) said on MSNBC last night. "Lives are of value. And there are going to be too many innocent Paleostinians killed in this. I don't think that there are going to be many Israelis. We have helped Israel secure the Iron Dome. And really these rockets that have been fired from the Gazoo Strip, they're fairly feckless. I mean, they fall in land that is generally unoccupied, but nevertheless, they are a threat. And I suspect if Hamas could kill people with them, they certainly would," Moran said. The Israeli Defense Forces reported this morning that a rocket fell on a house in Ashkelon. "But Israel clearly has the capacity to kill more Gazooks and I think they will as long as rockets continue to be fired from the Gazoo Strip," Moran said. "So, a cease-fire seems to be in everyone's interest. The fact is Israel only generates more hatred, not just from Hamas, but the Arab and Moslem community throughout the world, I suspect with what's going on, with the possible exception of Egypt, perhaps." The Egyptians seem to be just fine with the Juices whacking Hamas. I think a private, confidential poll throughout the Arab world would demonstrate little sympathy for the Paleos, whatever is said publicly... "And certainly from the Paleostinian standpoint, they're going to continue to lose lives and many of them are going to be innocent women and kiddies," he added.

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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Congressman's Kid Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Girlfriend

2012-12-13

[Weekly Standard] Democratic congressman Jim Moran's Democrat Congressman-for-Life from Northern Virginia... son, Patrick Moran, This was the guy Project Veritas got on tape telling how to set up a little voter fraud. has pleaded guilty to beating his girlfriend. I doubt that'll actually hurt his political career. By the time Dad retires in 2066 it'll be a youthful peccadillo. The assualt outside a nightclub left Moran's girlfriend with bloody nose and a fractured skull. Not just a little game of slapsy with her, but a full-fledged thumping. He must feel ever so manly... "MPD Sgt. Paul, S from the Fifth District Vice unit along with ABRA investigator Stewart, Craig observed a white male, later found to be known as D-1 (Moran) grab a white female by the back of her head with his hand and slam her head into the metal trash can cage in front of the nightclub 'The Getaway'. So he didn't notice the vice cop unobtrusively hanging around when he thumped her. The vice cop must not have realized he was the son of a Congressman-for-Life, mistaking him instead for a frisky pimp. No doubt the cop's career is over, since the arrest can't be undone... After both parties were separated investigation revealed that the female (CW-1) was D-1's girlfriend "Yeah! She's my girlfriend, so piss off! I wanna call my Dad!" and they had been in an argument inside the nightclub over D-1 talking to another female inside the club. CW-1 stated that she and D-1 have been together for six months," the report continues. "Yeah! Six months! Wanna see my bruises?" "Shuddup! You love me, baby!" "People like you are the reason undercover cops don't carry nightsticks, kid!" "The argument filtered outside "I'm leaving!" "No, you ain't!" where D-1 then assaulted CW-1. Officer Murphy (4041) and Officer Anderson (Curfew 42) responded to assist. "[Rrrrrrrrrr!] [Screech!]" Officer Murphy observed CW-1 to be bleeding heavily from her nose "Jeez! She looks like she's been kicked in the face by a horse!" and also observed that her nose and right eye were extremely swollen. "Did yer nose always point to the left like that, miss?" "Doe!" "Then I think it's busted!" Ambulance 11 responded to the scene "[Rrrrrrrrrr!] [Screech!]" for treatment and transportation to Howard Hospital. I'm guessing that's Howard University Hospital, rather than Howard County, which is pretty far from there... The medical technician advised Officer Murphy that CW-1's nose looked to be broken and that her right socket could possibly be fractured which is actually considered a skull fracture. "It's an eye socket! How can you consider that a skull fracture!" "Shuddup, kid! Eye sockets are on the skull that's why." "I wanna call my Dad!" "Shuddup." "D-1 was placed under arrest for Felony Assault, Domestic Violence "You have the right to remain silent..." "I wanna call my Dad!" and was transported to the Fourth District for processing. "Book him, Muldoon!" Officer Murphy who is a certified crime scene technician processed the crime scene." "Jones, get me a cast of that trash bin! Jackson, [FLASH!] take some pictures!" The Washington City Paper reports that the younger Moran plead guilty to the assault. Good idea, since he did it in front of a vice cop and they got pictures of the bloody trash bin. Wonder if I'd get probation if they had that kind of evidence on me. On second thought, I don't wonder at all... Patrick Moran was fired from his father's campaign earlier this year "Son, you're fired! Pack your spit and get out!" "I wanna call Mom!" after a video exposed him of conspiring to commit voter fraud. "But really, I was just joshing!" "You didn't look like you were joshing!" [SLAM!] "Owww! My eye socket!" "I hope their privacy will be respected," Congressman Moran told the paper. "They look forward to putting this embarrassing situation behind them." [RING!] "Hi! This is Tiffany! I'm not at my phone and if you're Patrick Moron I never will be again! Please leave a message at the tone!" [BEEP!] "You love me, baby! Call me!" CW-1? Things got a little out of hand. It's just this damn war and that lying son of a bitch Johnson Bush Obama Bush and...I would never hurt you. You know that...

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-Election 2012

Virginia AG on Patrick Moran: 'No Indication That Any Offense Took Place'

2012-10-26

When the story broke, Dr. Steve wanted to know what would happen to the miscreant. The answer appears to be: nothing. Oh, oh, I feel faint, I'd best go lie down... (CNSNews.com) -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says "there's no indication that any offense took place" when Patrick Moran , the son of Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), discussed voter fraud with an undercover news hound on Oct. 8. Moran resigned as his father's campaign field director Wednesday, after the video -- produced by the Project Veritas activist group -- was published online. The video shows the congressman's son engaging a discussion -- which he did not initiate -- about forging utility bills, which can be used as voter identification at the polls in Virginia. They'd "have to look legit," Patrick tells the undercover news hound. Cuccinelli said he does not expect to be asked by the State Board of Elections to investigate Moran. Asked why, he responded, "Well first of all it's not my decision. Second of all because unlike take the Shenandoah Valley situation (a case involving voter registration fraud), we literally had voter registration forms that were pulled out of the trash. I mean the offense had already occurred," Cuccinelli said Thursday on the WMAL radio show "Mornings on the Mall" with Brian Wilson. "Here they (Moran and the news hound) were talking about how one might commit an offense, but there's no indication that any offense took place. That's a major, major difference. We don't go after people because we don't like their openness to these sorts of things. We go after people for criminal violations when they actually commit violations," he said. Cuccinelli also said the Attorney General's office "does not have authority to investigate" Moran, unless it is asked to do so by the State Board of Elections. Asked why he doesn't have the authority to investigate, Cuccinelli replied, "Because we have lousy enforcement laws, in my humble opinion, related to our election laws. Now -- having said that -- when the State Board of Elections votes unanimously as they did yesterday to ask us to investigate something--they asked us to investigate the trashing of voter registration forms in the Shenandoah Valley-- then we are brought into a case but not until then." He continued, "Right now, the only person who will have any authority over this is the Commonwealth Attorney, the elected prosecutor for Arlington County, because I believe this happened in Arlington." In a statement issued Wednesday night, Patrick Moran said, "In reference to the 'O'Keefe' video, at no point have I, or will I ever endorse any sort of illegal or unethical behavior. At no point did I take this person seriously. He struck me as being unstable and joking, and for only that reason did I humor him. "In hindsight, I should have immediately walked away, making it clear that there is no place in the electoral process for even the suggestion of illegal behavior: joking or not," he said. "In regards to my position on the campaign, I have stepped down because I do not want to be a distraction during this year's critical election."

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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Rep. Moran's son resigns from father's campaign amid voter fraud scandal

2012-10-25

Patrick Moran, the son of Virginia Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and the field director for his father's reelection bid, resigned abruptly Wednesday after a video linked him to voter fraud. The video -- released earlier in the day by Project Veritas, a conservative organization headed by the Republican activist James O'Keefe -- revealed that the younger Moran had weighed options for helping an undercover operative cast votes on behalf of 100 people who allegedly weren't planning to vote. "There will be a lot of voter protection, so, if they just have, you know, the utility bill or bank statement -- bank statement would obviously be tough ... but faking a utility bill would be easy enough," Moran says, apparently referring to options for getting around Virginia's voter ID laws. Moran's campaign issued a statement confirming the congressman's son had stepped down. "Patrick is well liked and was a well-respected member of the campaign team. This incident, however, was clearly an error in judgment. The campaign has accepted Patrick's resignation, effective immediately," the statement said. The resignation comes just a day after Rep. Moran and two other Virginia Democrats -- Reps. Gerry Connolly and Bobby Scott -- had urged the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Strategic Allied Consulting, a GOP firm linked to separate allegations of voter registration fraud in Virginia and Florida. Questions for anyone with the time to run them down: 1) what will Mr. Patrick Moran be doing Monday? He has left his father's campaign and no longer has a paid job. How will he spend his time? I'm afraid I know the answer but I don't want to appear too cynical. 2) what will Mr. Patrick Moran be doing in six months? Twelve months? Unless I miss my guess, he'll be employed by a Soros-funded NGO. 3) remember those folks at ACORN Mr. O'Keefe previously burned? Where do they work today? Who signs their checks? What are they doing in the two weeks before the election? I'm speculating that the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree. The points are simple: first, that these folks are crooked through and through. But more important, unless the conservative side has concerted follow through and an institutional memory, folks like Mr. Moran and the ACORN-ites will simply lay low for a short while and then pick up doing just what they were doing before. Someone else will be signing their checks but the job will be the same. I applaud Mr. O'Keefe, and I'm especially happy with Prof. Jacobson's efforts at Legal Insurrection. But one thing the conservative moment needs is the ability to watch the people we've caught. Leopards don't change their spots.

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Home Front: Politix

Obama Executive Order: Republican Vote Blocks Funding For New Gun-Sale Requirements

2011-07-14

Third down, 5 feet to go, coach calls an end run..... big right tackle takes it down..... House Republicans on Wednesday voted to strip funding for a new Obama administration policy that increases reporting requirements for some gun dealers who sell semiautomatic rifles. The rule from the Department of Justice (DOJ) requires dealers to report within five days multiple sales to the same person of semiautomatic rifles with removable magazines. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) sponsored the amendment to the fiscal 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill that would nix funding for the rule. "For more than a decade, efforts to track rifle purchases and create a national gun registry have failed to gain support in Congress, so the ATF is working to implement these regulations using rules written by unelected bureaucrats," Rehberg said. "I'm going to keep this government accountable to the people." Democrats vehemently opposed Rehberg's measure, which was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) said stripping the funding from the rule would be akin to "virtual wholesale slaughter." "The NRA is so afraid that the people who are really funding the NRA, the gun manufacturers, might lose some sales that we're willing to sacrifice the lives of these people that are casualties of this gun war," Moran said during the markup. "And we're promoting it. We're enabling ... that slaughter to continue," Moran said. The new reporting requirement focuses on gun dealers in Southwestern states with close proximity to the Mexico border. It comes amid a push from the Obama administration to strengthen security in the border region. The issue has received increased attention recently because of a congressional investigation into a controversial gun-tracking operation established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Operation Fast and Furious authorized the sale of thousands of weapons in the border region to known and suspected straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels. Rehberg's amendment passed with 25 members voting for it and 16 voting against. The measure garnered support from retiring Democratic Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.), who partnered with Rehberg earlier this year to successfully amend H.R. 1 with nearly identical language blocking funds for the heightened reporting requirements from the fiscal 2011 continuing appropriations bill. That bill later died in the Senate, and Democrats stripped the reporting-requirement provision from a subsequent measure. The requirement focuses on dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. ATF estimated the rules would affect about 8,500 gun dealers in the area. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a leading gun-control group, said the ATF's rifle rule would not put many, if any, new burdens on gun shops. The group's acting president, Dennis Henigan, pointed to the nearly identical reporting requirement that has existed for more than 40 years requiring gun dealers to report multiple sales of handguns by the same person within a five-day period. "It is a modest burden for gun dealers to have them fill out this form, but it is an enormous help for law enforcement to be able to identify as quickly as possible purchasers who are walking away from gun shops with five, 10 or 20 of these assault rifles," said Henigan in an interview after the vote. Citing the severity of the Mexican gun violence, the ATF in December asked the White House to fast-track the new reporting requirement, which the administration promptly declined. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said earlier this week that the requirement was aimed at curbing sales of high-powered guns to traffickers for drug cartels, not average citizens attempting to arm themselves for sport or protection. "This new reporting measure ... will improve the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to detect and disrupt the illegal weapons trafficking networks responsible for diverting firearms from lawful commerce to criminals and criminal organizations," he said in a statement. Rehberg's amendment was one of many offered during Wednesday's markup that pushed a heated gun-rights debate to the forefront of the committee's agenda, as Republicans soundly defeated a Democratic attempt to limit gun purchases by suspected terrorists and succeeded in inserting language to allow imports of more powerful types of shotguns.

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Home Front: Politix

Save O by Pushing Him Left

2010-12-04

WaPo editorial page, next to the "Palin is bad, but not deserving of the horrible treatment by the GOP blue bloods" - hitting two conservative birds with one stone. To many liberals and progressives, the president's unwillingness to veto any measure that includes continued tax relief for billionaires is the last straw, building on a record of spinelessness that includes his escalation of the war in Afghanistan, abandonment of a public option for health-care reform, refusal to prosecute those who tortured in Iraq or lied us into that war, and unwillingness to tax carbon emissions. One sentence. I know it seems like three, but I checked! But there is a real way to save the Obama presidency: by challenging him in the 2012 presidential primaries with a candidate who would unequivocally commit to a well-defined progressive agenda and contrast it with the Obama administration's policies. Such a candidacy would be pooh-poohed by the media, if he/she were ever able to rise to the level of recognition by the media, but if it gathered enough popular support - as is likely given the level of alienation among many who were the backbone of Obama's 2008 success - this campaign would pressure Obama toward much more progressive positions and make him a more viable 2012 candidate. Two, three. WOT money quote next. The basic platform for such a candidate is clear: Unequivocally call for an immediate end to the presence of U.S. troops, advisers and private U.S.-based security firms in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, and replace the "war on terror" with a Global Marshall Plan that roots homeland security in a strategy of generosity and concern for the well-being of everyone on the planet. Four sentences, but trust me, it gets better! Public officials who would make excellent candidates should they run on this platform include Sens. Russ Feingold, Bernie Sanders, Barbara Mikulski or Al Franken; Reps. Joe Sestak, Maxine Waters, Raul Grijalva, Alan Grayson, Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich, Lois Capps, Jim Moran and Lynn Woolsey. Why not Rachel Maddow, Bill Moyers, Susan Sarandon or the Rev. James Forbes? All suggestions need to be part of this critical conversation. What's clear is that we need such a candidate, and the finances to back her or him, very soon. Eight. Somebody told me that was fair use. I think this guy has a great idea! Go San Fran Nan!

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-Lurid Crime Tales-

House Ethics Office Ends Probe of Murtha, 2 Others

2009-12-20

A key House investigating body has dropped its probe of Rep. John Murtha (D., Pa.) and two other members of the House's defense-spending committee, according to people familiar with the matter. The Office of Congressional Ethics has informed aides to Murtha as well as Reps. Norm Dicks (D., Wash.) and Jim Moran (D., Va.) that it is no longer looking into allegations that they traded government funding earmarks for campaign donations. Dick's chief of staff, George Behan, said the congressman received a phone call earlier this month from an official at the Office of Congressional Ethics informing him that he matter has been closed. Dicks was told that the body "found no basis for further action and the matter was closed," Behan said. The Office of Congressional Ethics could still be looking into several other members of the defense-spending committee. It was already known that the Office of Congressional Ethics was examining the actions of Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio), Todd Tiahrt (R., Kan.), Rep. Peter Visclosky (D., Ind.), and Bill Young (R., Fla.). The Office of Congressional Ethics was created a few years ago to examine possible ethics violations by lawmakers and recommend action to the House Ethics Committee. The story was first reported this afternoon by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper. The development doesn't mean that the lawmakers are in the clear. The Justice Department is looking into several companies that have received earmarks from Visclosky, Murtha and other members of the House defense-spending panel. The Office of Congressional Ethics has been criticized for being too aggressive in pursuing ethics inquiries. After the development, Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said congressional investigators have not been aggressive enough. "Yet again it appears that the congressional ethics committees exist to clear people of wrong doing," she said.

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Home Front: Politix

Berry Blasts Offensive Comment By Jim Moran

2009-11-15

ARLINGTON, VA (Rantburg News Service) Matthew Berry today criticized Congressman Jim Moran's offensive comment that those opposed to the Obama Administration's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9-11 attacks, and four co-conspirators in a civilian New York City court are "un-American". "It is wrong," Berry stated, "for Congressman Moran to question the patriotism of the millions of Americans who believe that terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried by military commissions rather than in civilian courtrooms." "Furthermore," Berry continued, "Congressman Moran's comment reflects a basic ignorance of American history. Military commissions were used to try war crimes during the Revolutionary War, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War II." "Therefore," Berry concluded, "the use of a military commission to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would have been entirely in keeping with American history and tradition." On Tuesday, Berry announced the formation of an exploratory committee as the first step to running for the Republican nomination in Virginia's 8th District, the seat currently held by Congressman Moran.

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Home Front: Politix

Dozens of House members scrutinized, report shows

2009-10-31

Dozens of lawmakers have drawn scrutiny from their ethics monitor this year for everything from financial dealings to travel and campaign donations, according to a leaked account showing an active House panel secretly at work. Seven of the lawmakers--four not previously known--serve on a defense appropriations subcommittee that divvies up money for Pentagon contractors. Most of the names and investigative subjects, mentioned in a summary of the ethics committee's work last July, were known. But the summary--obtained by The Washington Post--shows the widespread scope of preliminary reviews and investigations the panel can have before it at any one time. If anything, the document rebuts arguments of some watchdog groups that members of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct--the ethics committee--do little to investigate their colleagues. The document shows the scrutiny involved some 30 members last summer, but it lumps together lawmakers who are subjects of a complete investigation with subpoena powers with those who may simply have asked for a ruling on a proposed trip to be financed by a private sponsor. Full investigations by an investigative subcommittee are announced publicly. Committee Chairman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and ranking Republican Jo Bonner of Alabama, went further than usual on June 11 by announcing they were examining the conduct of some lawmakers on the defense panel even though no investigative panel was formed. Members of the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee had steered targeted appropriations called earmarks to clients of a now-defunct lobbying firm--PMA--and received contributions from the firm and its clients. The names of defense subcommittee chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., and Democratic members Jim Moran of Virginia and Peter Visclosky of Indiana had previously surfaced in connection with the inquiry. The document adds the names of Norm Dicks, D-Wash.; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; ranking subcommittee Republican C.W. Bill Young of Florida and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan. All four have received campaign contributions from PMA's political action committee and employees. Donation figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics show that: _PMA's PAC and employees together were the single biggest source of political money to Dicks in each election cycle from 2003 through 2008 when donations are analyzed by the givers' employers. Dicks received roughly $89,500 from them during that period. _The lobbying firm's PAC and staff also were Kaptur's top single source of donations by employer during the 2008 election cycle. Collectively, they gave her about $28,500 for the last election and $12,500 for the 2006 election, a total of about $41,000. They gave her nothing in 2003-04. _Tiahrt raised roughly $19,750 from PMA's PAC and employees from 2003 through 2008. _Young collected about $9,250 from the 2003-04 election cycle through last year. The Pentagon budget panel had such an allure for Kaptur--who represents a Toledo-anchored Rust Belt district--that in 2005 she gave up her party's top seat on the agriculture subcommittee to claim a rare open seat on Murtha's subcommittee. She would have become one of a dozen Appropriations subcommittee chairmen had she stayed put. A spokesman for Kaptur, Steve Fought, said she expected to be cleared. "The congresswoman has always emphasized openness and transparency, and it almost goes without saying she will continue to cooperate," he said. "She's saying there was no quid pro quo." Dicks said, "I can assure you that I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with all applicable House rules and statutes. I am confident that all of my actions as a member of the House have been appropriate, and I expect that when all the inquiries are concluded, I will be completely exonerated." The document was leaked to The Washington Post after a junior ethics staff member saved it on the hard drive of a home computer. The staff member, who had information sharing software, didn't realize that someone could download the file but was subsequently fired anyway. A House staff member, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, said the committee employee's actions were inadvertent but violated House rules requiring the safeguarding of official documents. The Recording Industry Association of America said the disclosure was evidence of a need for controls on peer-to-peer software to block the improper or illegal exchange of music. Some lawmakers have tried for years to bring this about.

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Home Front: Politix

White House attacks worry moderate Democrats

2009-10-24

A White House effort to undermine conservative critics is generating a backlash on Capitol Hill -- and not just from Republicans. "It's a mistake," said Rep. Jason Altmire, a moderate Democrat from western Pennsylvania. "I think it's beneath the White House to get into a tit for tat with news organizations." Altmire was talking about the Obama administration's efforts to undercut Fox News. But he said his remarks applied just the same to White House efforts to marginalize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobby targeted for its opposition to climate change legislation. "There's no reason to gratuitously piss off all those companies," added another Democrat, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. "The Chamber isn't an opponent." POLITICO reported earlier this week on an all-fronts push by the White House to cut the legs out from under its toughest critics, whether it's the Chamber, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck and the rest of the Fox News operation. White House Communications Director Anita Dunn has defended the push, saying the administration made "a fundamental decision that we needed to be more aggressive in both protecting our position and in delineating our differences with those who were attacking us." Congressional Republicans counterattacked Thursday. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the administration was "targeting those who don't immediately fall in line" with "Chicago-style politics" aimed at "shutting the American people out and demonizing their opponents." Boehner's No. 2, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) complained that the nation's problems are growing while the White House "bickers with a cable news network." Liberal Democrats have little heartburn over the administration's attacks on Fox and Limbaugh. But the attacks make moderates uneasy -- especially when they extend to the Chamber of Commerce. While Limbaugh and Fox commentators like Beck make no secret of their dislike for Democrats, the Chamber's Republican lean is partially counteracted by nominal and financial support for pro-business Democrats who need to win votes from pro-business Republicans. The campaign websites of moderate Democrats from across the country are filled with endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce. Rep. Brad Ellsworth of Indiana, for example, has this testimonial from a Chamber official on his site: "On issues ranging from lowering taxes to increasing trade, Indiana's businesses and workers have no better friend than Brad Ellsworth."

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