Congress

By Anne Pritchett

Congressman Dennis Moore, Bush Democrat, has finally agreed to meet with me!

Today's protest was a success! Moore has agreed to meet with me. FINALLY!!

It was peaceful. No one got mad and no one got arrested but the cops did drive by several times.

Another interesting thing was a lot of the people who came to his office party came over and talked to us before or after they went to the party. They thought we were supporting his republican opponent! We told all of them the same thing we told Moore's campaign staff when they came out - we are all Democrats and we want a Democrat to represent us, not a blue dog who votes for war.

PHOTO GALLERY.

Open for videos.

From Rep. Barney Frank:

I thank you for contacting me about language in the resolution
regarding Iran that calls for a blockade of its naval activity. I agree
that this should not be our policy, and I regret the fact that I did not
read this resolution more carefully. I'm going to consult with the
authors to see if a change can be made that would omit this
language, and if they are unwilling to do that, I will make very
clear my disagreement with this in the most appropriate form. I
am grateful to those who called this to my attention. I apologize
again for not having read this more carefully.

I do support sanctions against Iran and I disagree with those who
think that sanctions are inappropriate. I believe that sanctions
appropriately done can have an impact on the behavior of countries
whose behavior ought to be changed. The fact that our European
allies, and even Russia and China, have agreed with us on the

Watch this.

The story.

A Bush-41-appointed Federal District Judge yesterday became the third judge -- out of three who have ruled on the issue -- to reject the Bush administration's claim that Article II entitles the President to override or ignore the provisions of FISA. Yesterday's decision by Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California also guts the central claims for telecom immunity and gives the lie to the excuses coming from Congress as to why the new FISA bill is some sort of important "concession." More than anything else, this decision is but the most recent demonstration that, with this new FISA bill, our political establishment is doing what it now habitually does: namely, ensuring that the political and corporate elite who break our laws on purpose are immune from consequences. READ THE REST.

And consult this Time-line Of Obama's Statements On FISA.

Here's the story. To coin a phrase, BRING IT ON already!

By David Swanson

Congressman Virgil Goode recently responded to a statement I'd blogged about him. Here's what I wrote and his response:

"The Unitary Executive is scheduled to disgrace the grounds of Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Va., making a speech on the morning of July 4, 2008. The event is open to the public, and is Monticello's annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. Numerous immigrants will become citizens in an event besmirched by the presence of a war criminal, and held in the district of Congressman Virgil Goode, whose entire reelection campaign platform consists of hatred for immigrants."

Goode replied:

By Carolyn Eisenberg, t r u t h o u t

With the president's signature now affixed to the bill, the clever deal is done. In exchange for another "blank check" for a year of war, the Democrats have wrested from their Republican colleagues and the White House a host of domestic benefits - tens of billions of dollars in educational funding for returning GIs, a thirteen-week extension of unemployment insurance, millions for Midwest flood relief and other laudable projects. "This shows that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together," George W. Bush boasted.

By Rep. Ron Paul, Source

Statement on House Congressional Resolution 362 before the US House of Representatives, June 28, 2008

Today the Dow Jones Average was down 350-some points, gold was up $32, and oil was up another $5. There is a lot of chaos out there and everyone is worried about $4 gasoline. But I don't think there is a clear understanding [of] exactly why that has occurred.

For the last nine months, when retroactive immunity has surfaced, we have been able to delay its passage.

We were able to stop it in December because I had an army behind me.

Two months later, it stalled again -- this time in the House.

And last week, we managed to delay action one last time.

But when the Senate returns from the July 4th recess, we will vote on FISA legislation that includes retroactive immunity for telecom companies that may have illegally helped the Bush administration spy without warrant.

It's a bad bill and we need action to stop retroactive immunity from becoming law.

I've introduced an amendment with Senator Feingold to strip immunity from the bill.

This amendment has the support of Majority Leader Reid and Senator Obama, but it needs 51 votes to pass.

Will you sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of our amendment?

Sign on now!

Together, we can prevent this assault on our Constitution.

NATIONAL IMPEACHMENT NETWORK ACTION ALERT RE KEY REPS

The first list combines the cosponsors of H. Res. 333/799, cosponsors of H. Res. 1258, and signers of Robert Wexler's letter to John Conyers asking for immediate hearings for Cheney. After each name is "333", "1258", or "W" if they signed on to any of these three. Reps who've done all three are in bold, as they would seem to be the most committed of the lot. At the end are the separate lists for 333, 1258 and Wexler's letter.

LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES SUPPORTING IMPEACHMENT
Abercrombie, Neil, HI-1 W
Baldwin, Tammy, WI-2 * 333/1258/W
Boswell, Leonard, IA-3 333
Brady, Robert, PA-1 333
Capuano, Michael, MA-8 W
Clarke, Yvette D., NY-11 333/W
Clay, Wm. Lacy, MO-1 333/W
Cohen, Steve, TN-9 * 333/W
Davis, Danny, IL-7 333
DeFazio, Peter, OR-4 W
Ellison, Keith, MN-5* 333/W
Farr, Sam, CA-17 333/1258/W
Filner, Bob, CA-51 333

Here are three different ways to preserve some tattered remnant of the Fourth Amendment while generally discarding it: READ MORE.

Twenty Years Later: Tipping Points Near On Global Warming
By James Hansen, the Huffington Post

I testified to Congress about global warming, 20 years after my June 23, 1988 testimony, which alerted the public that global warming was underway. There are striking similarities between then and now, but one big difference.

Again a wide gap has developed between what is understood about global warming by the relevant scientific community and what is known by policymakers and the public. Now, as then, frank assessment of scientific data yields conclusions that are shocking to the body politic. Now, as then, I can assert that these conclusions have a certainty exceeding 99 percent.

The difference is that now we have used up all slack in the schedule for actions needed to defuse the global warming time bomb. The next president and Congress must define a course next year in which the United States exerts leadership commensurate with our responsibility for the present dangerous situation.

Bomb Iran? What's to Stop Us?
by Ray McGovern | Anti-War.com

Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox – in the form of air and missile attacks – begin.

This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details.

Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two leaders were of one mind:

"We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House." --Italics by ~Chip :).

Panel Issues Subpoena for Justice Department Documents
By Keith Perine, CQ

The House Judiciary Committee on Friday subpoenaed Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey for Justice Department documents on an array of subjects.

Chairman John Conyers Jr. , D-Mich., took the step after Mukasey did not satisfy panel requests for the department records.

Conyers subpoenaed Mukasey for documents related to the criminal probe into the disclosure of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s covert status, including unredacted transcripts of interviews of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

The subpoena also demands department records related to allegations of politically motivated prosecutions of Democrats, and the department’s enforcement of civil rights laws, among other subjects.

The panel’s Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee authorized the subpoena by voice vote on June 26.

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Rick Boucher
9th District, Virginia
NINTHNET@mail.house.gov
HTTP://www.house.gov/boucher/
June 27, 2008

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views with me.

I strongly share your concerns regarding the Bush Administration. However, House Speaker Pelosi has publicly announced that based on their conduct as of the present, impeachment charges will not be brought against President Bush or Vice President Cheney.

Interview with Rep Robert Wexler on his new book "Fire Breathing Liberal" and Impeachment - with Adam Roufberg: MP3.

By David Swanson

I posted the following on TomDispatch at the start of the current (and last?) Congress:

Can Congress End the War?
Democratic Leaders May Prefer to Claim They Tried But Failed
By David Swanson

The shortest route to ending the Iraq war (and preventing additional wars) is almost certainly through Congress. Influencing the White House directly is unimaginable, and stopping the war through the courts unlikely. Clearly, Congress is the way to go. But what specifically can Congress do?

How We Got Here