Too Progressive

Via CNN:

“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”

Not good enough. Wilson embarassed himself, his state and the entire nation tonight. He should resign immediately.

The AP is reporting that Rep Joe Wilson called POTUS a liar during tonight’s address to Congress.

WASHINGTON — The nastiness of August reached from the nation’s town halls into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as President Barack Obama tried to move his health care plan forward.

South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” after Obama had talked about illegal immigrants.

Please call Rep Wilson at 202-225-2452 and let him know that disrespecting the President, the country and millions of Americans who tuned in is NOT ACCEPTABLE. You can also contact the Congressman through his website.

UPDATE: Website has been crashed, presumably by the overwhelming response?

9:35pm UPDATE: Website still not working, phone lines are still busy.

9:47pm UPDATE: John McCain calling on Wislon to apologize.

9:49pm UPDATE: CNN has a photo.

10:07pm UPDATE: Contribute to Joe Wilson’s 2010 opponent, Rob Miller, by clicking here.

10:48pm UPDATE: SC Democrats release statement: “Once again a South Carolina Republican has embarrassed our state.” How long before Joe Wilson apologizes?

11:27pm UPDATE: Rob Miller has already raised $40,000 tonight!!

11:32pm UPDATE: Wilson’s Wikipedia entry has been locked due to vandalism.

Seems the popular Cash For Clunkers program has been suspended. Why? Because it was working so well, and programs that work both scare and perplex Congress!

The government plans to suspend its popular “cash for clunkers” program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases, congressional officials said Thursday.

UPDATE: Okay, I was wrong. The New York Times is reporting that the program has actually exhausted it’s funds, thus it has been suspended. If that is the case, hopefully Congress will allocate more money for the program.

mi⋅nor⋅i⋅ty [mi-nawr-i-tee, -nor, -mahy-]
noun, plural -ties, adjective
–noun
1. the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.
2. a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.
3. a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population: legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.
4. a member of such a group.
5. the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility.

–adjective
6. of or pertaining to a minority.

Republicans had poor showings in the past two elections for a reason.

VA-02 is, in my opinion, one of our best chances to pickup a congressional seat in Virginia and as Lowell pointed out early last week, the DCCC agrees. Let’s help VA-02 elect Glenn Nye and thereby put one of America’s worst public servants in the unemployment line!

From a message I received this morning on Facebook from Glenn Nye:

Friends,

March 31st is an extremely important deadline for Glenn’s Campaign–its the day he has to file his first fundraising report! Thelma Drake, our opponent, had Dick Cheney host a fundraiser for her, but we can win if YOU help.

Can you contribute $25 or $15 or even $5?

http://glennnye.com/contributions

We’ve been seeing it a lot this year, time and again–change begins when we all work together. Small donations, when lots of committed people stand as one voice, can beat the rich and powerful.

Can you get five friends to contribute $5?

http://glennnye.com/contributions

Thank you for your interest in changing America, and for supporting our campaign.

-Glenn Nye

Like me I’m sure most of you get far more junk mail than legitimate mail when you open your mail box each day. There have been some days where I’ve received up to five pre-approved credit card offers! FIVE! IN ONE DAY! Not to mention other things such as catalogues addressed to “resident, ” 1800 Val-Pak envelopes daily, insurance offers, advertisements and business magazines you never even asked for and immediately throw in the trash or recycle bin. It may not seem like much but think about it, these things go out to every household across America. Think about how many trees we’re killing and basically throwing in to our garbage cans.

Well the U.S. Postal Service has a message for you and the environment: screw you, we’re making too much money off of what basically amounts to harassment.

Continue reading about the insanity after the jump.

Virginia may opt out of Every No Child Left Behind as soon as June 30, 2009.  That is, assuming the federal law still exist (in it’s current state or not).   Legislation cleared the G.A. yesterday that would direct the VA Board of Education to direct whether the Commonwealth should pull out of the federal school education accountability system.

Virginia is among several states in which officials have argued that the federal government has failed to provide enough funding and flexibility to carry out the No Child Left Behind law, which requires annual testing in math and reading for many children.

The measure that passed the House on Friday and the Senate on Saturday would not have an immediate impact. If the Board of Education recommends withdrawal from the federal accountability system, the bill would require the board to present a plan to the governor and legislature by June 30, 2009.

 At the Federal level, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will introduce a bill this Spring that would amend the failed piece of legislation which requires annual testing of children in grades 3-12.  Schools must show annual progress or face a cut in funding.  Also worth noting is that in January a lawsuit by the National Education Association was revived by the 6th circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that challenged the law as an unfunded mandate.

[Cross posted on Daily Kos]

I applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for it’s passage of a bill today that would fix flaws in the national gun background check system that allowed a Virginia Tech student to obtain weapons despite mental problems. I applaud the NRA for endorsing the bill, and I applaud the fact that it looks like the bill will get passage in the U.S. Senate as well. That having been said, I have a major problem with concessions that were made to the NRA in order to get them to endorse the bill.

The NRA did win some concessions in negotiating the final product.

It would automatically restore the purchasing rights of veterans who were diagnosed with mental problems as part of the process of obtaining disability benefits. LaPierre said the Clinton administration put about 80,000 such veterans into the background check system.

So let me get this straight, you can be mentally insane and still purchase weapons, as long as you’re an armed services veteran? Now, I have nothing against those who serve in the military, or those who have done so previously, but why the hell should anyone, regardless of military background (or lack thereof) be allowed to purchase weapons if they have been diagnosed with mental problems?

Not only that, but why aren’t the background checks being extended to every single American wishing to purchase a gun, period! As some of you already know, I’m getting ready to move to Arlington — and in looking for a new apartment, I was told I would have to have a background check run on myself at nearly every single place I was interested in. If having a background check run is almost always necessary in seeking a place to live, why isn’t it a necessity when looking to purchase a deadly weapon?

[Cross posted at Daily Kos]

Democrats on Capitol Hill today have supposedly reached a compromise with Republicans that would fund (to the tune of $90 billion dollars) the Iraq war through September 30, 2007. The bill would drop any required “time lines,” and would set benchmarks for Iraq that, if not met, would trigger a withholding of funding. None of that really matters though because the bill also gives George Bush the right to waive the requirements whenever he sees fit to do so.

On the flip side, the bill will also raise the national minimum wage from $5.15/hr to $7.25/hr. Funding for other domestic spending programs is still being negotiated.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will present a plan to House Democrats for a war funding bill that won’t include a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq but will feature benchmarks with consequences, according to Democratic leadership aides.

The bill also would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour from $5.15 per hour, and fund other domestic spending programs, which were still being negotiated.

The maneuvering over the past several weeks has been a Democratic attempt to show their anti-war base that party leaders were trying until the 11th hour to stand up to the president, the source said.

Earlier: Democrats cave to Republicans

My my, it certainly is sad how rampant hatred, and bigotry run in the Republican party these days.

Question: If a Congressional staffer holds racists beliefs, does the Congressman who employees said staffer, condone racism too? FULL DETAILS forthcoming tomorrow morning including names, and the potentially damaging email.

Earlier today I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Senator John Warner, who I’ve been covering very closely over the past few weeks, was going to coming out AGAINST the Bush plan to send 21,500 additional U.S. troops into the midst of a civil war in Iraq. However, after reading a bit more, it seems like yet another “do nothing” proposal from Senator Warner in an attempt to appear a sensible moderate. Once again I want to reiterate that the time for compromise over Iraq is LONG since gone, and it’s time to bring our troops home. While Warner apparently opposes the 21,500 troop increase, it would appear as if he isn’t opposed to a smaller increase, something every U.S. military official on the ground in Iraq, and at the Pentagon, agrees would be a disaster. Via CNN:

“The Senate disagrees with the ‘plan’ to augment our forces by 21,500, and urges the president instead to consider all options and alternatives for achieving the strategic goals set forth below with reduced force levels than proposed,” the measure states.

The same article went on to say:

Warner said senators aren’t trying to encroach on Bush’s authority as commander-in-chief of the military, but he cautioned that the war effort “can only be sustained and achieved with the support of the American people, and with a level of bipartisanship here in the Congress of the United States.”

Warner also said the senators were “accepting the president’s offer” to offer an alternative to his plans.

Well, suggesting that Bush “consider other alternatives” isn’t exactly an ALTERNATIVE PLAN, since President Bush has made it increasingly clear NOTHING short of cutting funding for the war, or impeachment will get the message across. The American people are increasingly against the war (and any escalation of the war), as shown in poll after poll, AND the November 7 elections. The time to “cozy up” to George Bush is over, the time for “compromise” is over. Congress MUST take serious action NOW, of they’re ALL going to have one helluva BAD day come Election Day 2008.

Surprisingly, I haven’t seen this covered yet in the blogosphere (and my apologies if I overlooked anyone). Both Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), and John Warner (R-VA) have co-authored a bill to authorize $250 million in federal technology grants to minority colleges. Some of you may remember that the same piece of legislation was twice introduced by former Senator George Allen (who also attempted to use it to his advantage on the campaign trail), both times passing in the Senate, but failing to move through the House.

Via the Richmond Times Dispatch:

When state Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III of Richmond, a senior black Democrat from Richmond, endorsed Allen over Webb in September, Lambert said Allen had delivered on his promises to support Virginia’s historically black colleges and universities.

With his endorsement of a Republican, Lambert angered fellow Democrats. Del. A. Donald McEachin of Henrico County, who is African-American and a Democrat, is expected to challenge Lambert in a Democratic primary in June.

“I always thought Webb was a good person, and I commend him for doing it,” Lambert said yesterday about the technology-grants bill.

According to that same article, five Virginia colleges and universities would benefit from the bill, including Norfolk State University, St. Paul’s College, Virginia Union University, Hampton University and Virginia State University.

UPDATE: The Richmond Democrat has this covered too!

Apparently Eric Cantor, and the rest of the Republican party, need to reread the Constitution, and perhaps, for the first time realize that we do not live in a monarchy, but rather, have three separate branches of Government all with “checks and balances” on each other. As some of you already know, a bill yesterday proposed by Republican Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, proposed a bill yesterday that will bar any interruption of funding for U.S. troops in a war zone. You know, never mind the fact that while the President is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the Congress has “power of the purse” as a means of keeping the Presidential power over the military in check. Time to go back to third grade History for all Republican Congressman.

Via the RTD:

“Open debate on Iraq is good, but our troops and the dollars that support them should not be used to play politics,” Cantor, the chief deputy minority whip, said at a news conference.

“It will only hurt our troops and encourage the terrorists who want to harm them.”

The bill was introduced yesterday by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Cantor has endorsed President Bush’s plan for a buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq and was a co-sponsor of Johnson’s measure.

Most had said long before the November elections that if Democrats took control, many Republicans in Congress would be “jumping ship” so to speak. That is, they would likely begin to speak out against Bush’s failed policy - not only in Iraq, but at home too. After dropping the hammer on “Conda-liesa-liesa-liesa-lot” in Senate hearings last week, Chuck Hagel (R-NE) on CNN today slammed the Bush administration again, AND claimed Congress needs to be more assertive, saying “this is not a monarchy,” and going on to say:

“We are no longer just going to quietly stand by, as we have done for the last four years, and let our young men and women be thrown into this conflict when they cannot affect the outcome.”

He can join a growing number of Republicans who oppose the McCain doctrine, and while some media reports claim he’s the “second” one to come out against it, he’s actually the seventh, including Sam Brownback of Kansas, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Gordon Smith of Oregon, George Voinovich of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, and Olympia Snowe of Maine.

According to an article on CNN’s website:

Acknowledging their party is divided on Iraq, Republican leaders are trying to stave off a showdown in Congress by casting Democratic efforts as a political ploy to embarrass the president.

The White House cautioned lawmakers about the consequences of voting against a buildup.

“The one thing the president has said is, whatever you do, make sure you support the troops,” Snow said at the White House. “And the question people who support this resolution will have to ask is, how does this support the troops?”

Awww, so George Bush thinks he can make idle threats now? CONSEQUENCES of voting against sending our troops into a civil war in Iraq? Now what would they be, pray tell? My guess would be that Bush would send them anyway! And to the Republican leaders: George Bush has done a fine job embarrassing himself, Democratic “efforts” to save the country aren’t responsible for it.

Here’s a copy of Howard Dean’s response to George Bush’s speech last night (I’ve highlighted a few key points):

Last night, George Bush plans announce that he wants to send tens of thousands more troops to Iraq.

The American people oppose it. The generals, both active-duty and retired, say that it won’t help. But George Bush thinks he can do it anyway.

He’s got another thing coming.

We believe the Democratic Congress must have the opportunity to review and approve the troop increase in Iraq.

Whether you agree with a policy of escalation or not, Congress’s involvement is fundamental to our democratic process. The people’s representatives must consent to sending troops and spending money — particularly on something as controversial as sending tens of thousands more troops into the middle of a civil war.

Unlike the way we got into this war, America must have a real conversation about how to end it. Congress finally asserting its constitutional authority is the only way that conversation will happen.

The most effective thing you can do right now is send a letter to the editor of your local paper about escalation, and let them know that you demand a vote on any troop increase. Writing your letter to the editor is simple using our PartyBuilder advocacy tools. Just click here to get started:

http://www.democrats.org/escalation

Why should Congress have to be consulted?

Because this is a new level of engagement in Iraq, far different than anything the Congress has authorized to date.

Whatever you felt about that Iraq vote in 2002, it’s impossible to deny that the situation now has deteriorated and the president’s policies have continually failed. We now know that the administration’s claims about WMD stockpiles and Saddam’s ties to al Qaeda were false. We also that the regime we went in to depose is long gone.

We’ve been fighting in Iraq for longer than we fought in World War II. There is a full-blown civil war there. And Saddam is dead.

The American people, through their elected representatives, deserve a voice in the decision to send tens of thousands more troops there.

Please take a moment and use the PartyBuilder Letters to Editors tool to make your voice heard:

http://www.democrats.org/escalation

Congressional oversight may seem strange to the pundits who have gotten used to a Republican-led group that barely showed up to work and didn’t take its constitutional responsibilities seriously.

But there’s plenty of precedent for it.

In the 1970’s Congress passed laws to stop Richard Nixon from expanding the Vietnam War into Cambodia and, later, to cap the number of personnel allowed in Vietnam in order to force the administration to wind down the war.

In the 1980’s Congress required Ronald Reagan to seek explicit authorization if he planned to expand U.S. forces in Lebanon and capped the number of troops on permanent duty elsewhere in the world.

Congress has the constitutional duty to represent the people, and the new Democratic Congress is prepared to live up to that responsibility.

Please write a letter to your local paper now demanding a debate on Bush’s escalation plan:

http://www.democrats.org/escalation

I opposed this war from the beginning. But no matter how you felt then, it’s clear that the president’s policy has failed.

Last year’s elections were a referendum on Iraq, and the president lost.

Ignoring the lessons of history by increasing troop levels is not an answer to the problems in Iraq. Nor is blaming the military for the President’s own mistakes an answer, or ignoring the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Commission recommendations, including an emphasis on diplomacy. And ignoring the will of the American people is certainly not an answer.

The people made their voices heard, and if the president isn’t going to listen, the Democratic Congress will.

Democrats in Congress heard the people loud and clear in 2006. In 2007, they are ready to act.

Let’s join them.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Since raising the federal minimum wage is more than likely to be a hot topic in Congress during the current session which began yesterday, I thought I’d post some interesting (and disturbing) facts about the minimum wage in this country. I received this in my email this morning from MoveOn.org:

- In the decade since the min wage was last raised, (the longest stall in history) Congress has increased it’s own pay by $31,600 dollars.

- A full time min wage worker earns just $10,712 a year, less than half the poverty rate for a family of four.

- Raising the min wage would help approximately 13 million wage earners and their families.

- Real world studies have consistently found that cities and states with higher minimum wages generally retain or even increase employment levels.

- 86% of small business owners report raising the minimum wage would not effect them.

- The average CEO makes 821 times the average min wage worker.

So much for that “we’ll run small business’ into the ground” argument from the Republicans. Although in the face of truth, I expect them to do what they’ve always done: IGNORE IT. I don’t doubt at all that they’ll continue to cite the same ridiculous argument, even though it’s been disproved. I challenge George Bush to veto a federal minimum wage increase if when the 110th Congress sends it to his desk.

The New York Post is reporting that Charlie Rangel has booted Dick Cheney from his office on Capitol Hill. Cheney’s staff’s belongings were removed over the holidays. Rangel reportedly moved quickly to boot Cheney who Rangel once told the Post was a “son of a bitch”.

Rep. Charles Rangel has evicted Vice President Dick Cheney from his office in the Capitol, and the Harlem heavyweight is moving into the prime digs today, The Post has learned.

Gilded letters were freshly painted atop the office door yesterday proclaiming “Ways and Means Committee” - confirming that the office now belongs to Rangel, the House panel’s new chairman.

Cheney enjoyed the office which was normally designated for the Ways and Means Committee chairman, but the puppeteer Republicans on the Hill gave it to Cheney after he won the Vice Presidency.

Meanwhile, the New York Post proved yet again that it is indeed an insignificant partisan piece of garbage though when it closed the article saying:

“Cheney’s office took the high road yesterday. Spokeswoman Mary McGinn told The Post, “It was always our understanding that that office was on loan.”

I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware so called journalist were supposed to interject their UNWANTED opinions. Furthermore, what the Post FAILS to mention is that Cheney has no role in the House. He’s the President of the Senate. But, he needed the House office so he could be the puppet master and prevent any oversight of the Bush/Cheney administration.

This is complete BULLSHIT (click the link to the left if image is unreadable in your navigator):

The date at the top was NOT from June 24, 2006 either, it should read June 24, 2004.

How convenient though that Eric Cantor, Patrick McHenry, and Tom Price are only NOW concerning themselves with the rights of the minority party in Congress, A FULL TWO YEARS AFTER THE SAME PROPOSAL WAS MADE BY NANCY PELOSI IN THE U.S. HOUSE, AND OF COURSE IGNORED BY REPUBLICANS.

I’m assuming that they forgot their own party using ruthless tactics over the past 12 years to muzzle Democrats in Congress and therefore the people THEY then represented. No no, they wouldn’t want to mention that. Eric Cantor is a hypocritical BLOWHARD who I’m ashamed to admit is the representative for my district. He’s well KNOWN in Congress for using the same tactics he seeks to stop with this piece of legislation (and for knowing nothing about foreign policy, but he likes to pretend he does).

From TPM Muckraker comes these quotes from congressional expert, and American Enterprise Institute scholar Norman Ornstein regarding the “strongarm” tactics used by Republicans during their 12 years in the majority:

“[R]eveling in the power they have, [Republicans] are using techniques to jam bills through even when they don’t have to . . . simply because they can.”

Republicans “have taken every one of the techniques that Democrats employed when they were in the majority, and ratcheted them up to another level.”

The article on TPM Muckraker went on to say of the strong arm tactics used by Republicans:

An ironic case in point: When Pelosi made her proposal to protect Democrats in 2004, GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert (IL) refused to entertain the idea, let alone reply to her correspondence.

I’ll be sure to send off a letter to Eric Cantor letting him know what I think, and I would encourage the rest of you to write your representative doing the same. Although, again, NOTHING the Republicans can do at this point will surprise me.

A commentary article which appeared on The Daily Progress’ website today gets gets it completely right:

Goode’s unapologetic comments about cutting off immigration from the Middle East and warning against more Muslims in the Congress capture a spirit of anti-immigrant fervor generally popular among rank-and-file Republicans.

More moderate Republicans from U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Alexandria, to Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Fairfax County, don’t speak for that large segment of the GOP faithful.

Goode is carrying the ball for a lot of people in the economically distressed southern half of his sprawling rural district.

Larger than the state of New Jersey, the 5th District stretches from its Jeffersonian minority in the north with a strong belief in religious freedom and tolerance to its antebellum antithesis in the fallow fields of Henry County along the North Carolina line.

There, some may have tweaked the words of Patrick Henry a bit to read: “Give us liberty and give them death.” This tweaking refers to Muslims, viewed generally as a monolithic body of extremists ready, willing and able to invade this country, take our jobs, subjugate our women and get elected to Congress, roughly in that order. Viewing all Muslims as such tends to ignore the 4 million to 6 million American Muslims who live peacefully and well among us.

The author of this commentary clearly gets what is going on, while the right wing clearly DOESN’T get it. They’ve made it increasingly clearer that they don’t care if they have to burn the Constitution in an effort to defeat what they perceive to be a “threat” (see: freedom of religion/speech/press).

The author of the article also mentions the situation with Waldo Jaquith’s blog aggregator:

Waldo Jaquith, a prolific Charlottesville blogger on the left side of the political spectrum, drew the line at a few graphic images one of the pro-Goode, anti-Muslim bloggers posted depicting the beheading of an American in Iraq by Islamic terrorists. He removed the offending images and the blogger from his well-read political blog aggregator.

Jaquith runs one of the few aggregators that shows every blog entry on about 170 Virginia political blogs - left, right, center or out there - offering a political commons for discussion and well-rounded reading.

Formerly known as the Virginia Political Blogs, Jaquith’s commons now appears as Waldo’s Virginia Political Blogroll, born last week after a 132-part discussion about his decision to delist the blogger who thought photos of a beheaded American added heft to his point of view.

A few right-wing blogs named after donkeys and dogs have taken themselves out of the commons, or have been tossed out, presumably to go where grass is greener and debate is leaner, or more one-sided.

For the rest of Virginia’s thriving collection of political blogs of all stripes, the commons remains a place for all to read and remark in peace and general good will.

The author nails it right on the head, again. However, as many of you may have noticed, when I’ve mentioned the so called “donkeys and dogs” (and SwacGirl), as of late, I’ve refrained from referring to them as bloggers, since their sub par publications which are constantly littered with factual, grammatical, and spelling errors, reflect poorly on the REAL bloggers of the blogosphere.

As you should all know by now, on Wednesday, Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) fell seriously ill with “stroke like symptoms.” While it turned out the Senator did NOT suffer a stroke, he did suffer a congenital arteriovenous malformation (basically, bleeding of the brain). A serious condition, but one Senator Johnson can hopefully enjoy a speedy, and full recovery from.

Yesterday, Johnson’s doctor called the Senator’s progress encouraging:

“Considering his initial presentation, his progress is encouraging,” Dr. Anthony Caputy, chairman of the George Washington University Hospital department of neurosurgery, said in a statement released by Johnson’s office.

Please join me in signing Senator Johnson’s Get Well Soon card from MoveOn.org