Seeking Songs About Peace

Question:

If you were creating a CD with songs about peace and non-violence, which songs would you include?

"To have, to hold, and to act as a pass-through"

Daily Muck: In Abramoff Scandal, Wives Play Key Role

To move money to Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), ASG hired Doolittle's wife, Julie, to be an accountant. (Doolittle sits on two powerful committees.) Through his lobby firm, Abramoff hired Julie to raise money for a charity he founded. And Doolittle funneled off a portion of many large campaign contributions by paying Julie a 15 percent "commission" on each one she allegedly landed. Julie also got money from Abramoff.

And they're worried about gay marriage harming their so-called holy unions.

Mail for Mr. Doolittle (vol.6)

A couple letters making the Doolittle GOP machine connection with the push for the Auburn Dam. [Sacramento Bee March 27, 2006]

Fiscal reality and Auburn dam

Re: "Why an Auburn dam is a solid, sensible idea," commentary, March 17: It is baffling to me and others who find government waste appalling that Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz and other members of Rep. John Doolittle's Placer County GOP machine continue to call for the building of what would certainly be a shrine to misused government tax dollars.

A true fiscal conservative would faint at the $3 billion price tag. Actually, members of Doolittle's own party in Congress have done just that, rejecting it time and again. Kranz loves to cite polls of support for the dam. Perhaps he should ask residents of Sacramento County if they would agree to a hefty parcel tax to pay for pouring all that concrete into the American River Canyon?

A simple cost-benefit analysis proves that an Auburn dam would be a mistake and far from a "sensible idea."
- Gary Giacomo, Roseville

Using flood fear to push dam

Rep. John Doolittle's protégé Bruce Kranz stretches our credulity when he attempts to capitalize on public anxiety over Sacramento's levee system and use it to promote an Auburn dam.

We are expected to believe that the flood risk to Sacramento is comparable to the flood risk to New Orleans despite the fact that Sacramento is exposed to a pineapple express about once a decade, while New Orleans is a sitting duck for full-fledged hurricanes every year.

Sacramento can get all the flood control it needs much sooner and cheaper than it can waiting for an Auburn dam. Already planned improvements to Folsom Dam and the levees will handle a flood event 50 percent larger than any in the region's history.
- Terry Davis, Sacramento
Conservation Program Coordinator, Mother Lode Chapter, Sierra Club

Doolittle's Impact on Local Politics - This Time It's Personal

As an undergrad at University of California, Santa Barbara, sometime during the pleistocene epoch, I heard the phrase "the personal is political" more times than you would think humanly possible. Anyway, the phrase has stuck with me because it's been proven true -- many times. The political is also personal.

A local columnist, someone who has encountered Boss Doolittle up close and personal has written a column outlining the impact of the ethically-challenged Doolittle on local politics here in northern California. Doolittle, the evil puppeteer, has been pulling strings in local elections from school board races and county supervisors to races for the CA State Legislature:

He still holds the single campaign record of giving $64,000 to one supervisorial candidate.

-snip-

Having his protégés, Ted Gaines and Bruce Kranz, on the board of supervisors means money for open space gets directed somewhere else and development rights on farmland are handed out like candy on Halloween.

We have a chance to stop the next Doolittle by supporting Rob Haswell's candidacy against Ted Gaines.

To know where all this is going, all you have to do is follow the money. The big contributors locally are developers, who want to buy cheap ag land and have it rezoned for houses or condos. Doolittle joined forces with one of the largest developers in the Sacramento area years ago. Our congressman even attended a meeting with the planning department in an attempt to hasten the development of the Kalorama project in Applegate. Recently, the Doolittle acolytes on the board of supervisors pushed for the re-zoning for the same developer in West Placer. The developer now showers the Republican Central Committee and Doolittle candidates with campaign contributions.

-snip-

Placer County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state, but I guess that's not fast enough for Doolittle. How much more air pollution will we suffer with all this proposed growth? Will I-80 be gridlocked through Roseville and up into Loomis as projections show? What does Doolittle care? He doesn't live here any more, but he needs campaign dollars to trounce his opponents.

-snip-

Until the public understands the truth behind Placer County politics and ignores the glossy brochures and disingenuous political rhetoric, the politicians, who put their interests of reelection ahead of the desires of the people, will continue to sell the citizens out to those who put money in their campaign war chests.

It's apparent that the voters in northern CA cannot stop the spread of crony corruption by only getting rid of Doolittle -- we also need to elect Rob Haswell over Doolittle toady, Ted Gaines to finally put an end to the Doolittle corruption machine.

These guys are crooked, you know...

"These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen.
It's scary." ~ John Kerry

WaPo Former DeLay Aide Enriched By Nonprofit: Bulk of Group's Funds Tied to Abramoff
Excerpt:

Before the U.S. Family Network folded in 2001 under pressure from an FEC probe, it became involved in other controversial political matters.

In 1998, the group lobbied Congress against new regulations on cigarettes and collected a $100,000 donation from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. It also spent $75,863 that year on radio ads that called for President Clinton's resignation and attacked Democrats, according to the group's ledger and transcripts of the ads.

The following year, the National Republican Congressional Committee gave the USFN a $500,000 check to finance additional radio ads in the districts of vulnerable Democrats. Buckham told the FEC he solicited the check, and others told FEC investigators it was paid over the objections of the NRCC's director and chief counsel.

Of the $500,000, USFN gave just $300,000 to another nonprofit group for the ads. In his deposition, Buckham explained that he retained a portion of the Republican Party's check as a commission. "If I raise money, I get a portion," Buckham said. "It is in my contract."

The NRCC in 2004 paid the eighth-highest fine in FEC history to settle allegations that some of its officials colluded with USFN on the ads in violation of campaign finance laws.

The Doolittle Kick Back Arrangement: Outrageous!

Today's editorial in the Sacramento Bee, "Questionable Practices: Doolittle's campaign money headed home":

First elected in 1990, Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, announced on Jan. 5, 2001, that he had won a coveted seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Not long after, things changed for the Doolittle family.

On March 22, 2001, the congressman's wife set up a business - Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions in Virginia. By November 2002, Julie Doolittle's firm was receiving consulting fees and by September 2003 she began receiving a 15 percent commission for contributions to her husband's political action committee, the Superior California Federal Leadership Fund. That means since 2002, the Doolittle household has received a personal cut on money from his political fundraising.

-snip-

This arrangement raises obvious questions that Doolittle must answer for his constituents. How is his wife's taking a 15 percent cut of political contributions any different from the congressman himself saying he will take a 15 percent cut? How is this different from donors, instead of writing out a $1,000 check to the campaign, writing out two checks - an $850 check to the campaign and a $150 check to the Doolittles?

-snip-

"A family member drawing a campaign salary is nearly always controversial - it just doesn't look good. Campaign funds aren't supposed to be used for personal use or to enrich the candidate," says Massie Ritsch, communications director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

-snip-

We don't pretend to know whether the Doolittle arrangement is legal. It certainly strikes us as outrageous. If it is not illegal, it should be. Members of Congress, their spouses and children should not benefit financially from money given to their campaigns.

Sometimes It's the Little Things

There are many reasons to admire and respect Josh Marshall's work as a political writer and a blogger, but sometimes it's posts like this that really do it for me: here.

Doolittle brings Tahoe some bacon

Congressman John Doolittle is in full campaign mode as he makes a round of rare appearances throughout his district. He just popped up in No Lake Tahoe for a grip and grin photo op to accompany his press release about securing $500,000 in federal funds for fire prevention. Lest you become the least bit misty-eyed over this apparent concern over the environment at the lake, lets take a quick glance at Doolittle's environmental voting record:

• Voted YES on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
• Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
• Rated 0% by the League of Conservation Voters, indicating anti-environment votes. (Dec 2003)

Quotable

"God has blessed me because I never misused anybody," she said.

Mother Ruby said she eats meat and vegetables, drinks coffee and tea. She said she takes herbs, but no medicines. For exercise, she likes to walk around the block or dance along with the shimmying host of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

"She don't know who I am, but I get down with her," Mother Ruby said.

~ Mother Ruby Mohamed, on celebrating 109 years of living.

The Party's Over...

The Party's Over, it's time to call it a day.
They've burst your pretty balloon and taken the moon away.

It's time to wind up the masquerade.
Just make your mind up the piper must be paid.

The Party's Over.The candles ficker and dim.
You danced and dreamed through the night,
it seemed to be right just being with him.

Now you must wake up, all dreams must end.
Take off your make up, The Party's Over.
It's all over, my friend.

Read through this and I think you'll arrive at the same conclusion: TPM Hot Topic - John Doolittle

How to Get Rich in Congress without Really Trying: the John Doolittle Story

Who knew the Doolittles would be outed as the most ethically-challenged power couple in DC? They manage to make the DeLays look almost non-sleazy.

No one is going to look at Congressional wives the same way after today's story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

A week before former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was sentenced to prison, he stressed to the court that a number of other lawmakers also helped arrange federal funding for the defense contractors who bribed him.

-snip-

And at least one of the lawmakers, Doolittle, received a direct monetary benefit from those contributions through commissions paid to his wife, Julie.

Acting as her husband's campaign consultant, Julie Doolittle charged his campaign and his Superior California Political Action Committee a 15 percent commission on any contribution she helped bring in.

As a member of two key committees in the House – Appropriations and Administration – Doolittle is well-positioned to help contractors gain funding through congressional earmarks. Between 2002 and 2005, Wilkes and his associates and lobbyists gave Doolittle's campaign and political action committee $118,000, more than they gave any other politician, including Cunningham.

The article goes on to examine all the implications of Julie Doolittle's fundraising, including the small scope of clients and the seemingly small amount of actual work.

Josh Marshall asks Is John Doolittle's free ride in the Cunningham-Wade-Wilkes scandal coming to an end? And Paul Kiel of TPM Muckracker has some questions of his own:

The more you look into this, the more it stinks, stinks, stinks. Just how much money was Julie Doolittle getting from Wilkes, Buckham, and Abramoff? And how much longer can Doolittle get away with not telling?

Doolittle's going down.

Doolittle: You've Got Mail (vol. 5)

Highlights from the letters sent to the Sac Bee in resonse to the feature on the Auburn Dam:

Election politics of Auburn dam

It's amazing that with Rep. John Doolittle being mentioned with the Jack Abramoff scandal and with a Republican challenger (Mike Holmes) in the primary, the same worn-out idea of a dam at Auburn is being recycled.

Republicans have controlled everything in Washington for the past five years, but Doolittle couldn't get funding for his dam. Why can he now? This sounds very much like a ploy to get him through this election.

We will be hearing all sorts of brash ideas to save the current crop of bums, but it is time to throw them out and try someone new. We older folks should also remember that Doolittle and his ilk pushed to privatize Social Security and still have that on their agenda.

- Don Warden, Roseville

Just don't build in the flood zone

In the March 11 article "Doolittle, Auburn dam win key ally," Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, said, "To those that oppose it, I ask: Show me your alternatives." Here's one: How about not building in flood zones?

Thousands of structures have been built in areas that were underwater during the 1986 floods, yet little work has been done to strengthen the levees that are the only logical defense against future flooding.

We all know that the Auburn dam site sits over a known seismic fault and that there are no buyers for the water or the hydroelectric power, yet Rep. John Doolittle and his puppets such as Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz insist on building it. An Auburn dam would do nothing to stem the flows of the Sacramento or Feather rivers or the South Fork of the American River.

I found it laughable that a representative from Ohio was chairman of a committee on water. If anyone knows water it's Ohioans, since it was their river, the Cuyahoga, that caught fire seven times between 1912 and 1969.

- Bill Stephenson, Meadow Vista

California's missing earmarks

Re "Bid for levee funds denied," March 9: If levees failed, submerging low-lying areas, I'm sure our political leaders would dust off their Hurricane Katrina oratory and lament that they were caught off guard. I'm sure prayers would be offered and promises from President Bush and FEMA would follow. The truth is that the funds to rebuild our infrastructure have been squandered. The federal budget of 2006 is a classic case of missed opportunities.

We need to ask a few simple questions of our representatives: Did you vote to give earmarks to Alaska to the tune of over $1 billion ($985 per capita). Why did California's earmarks amount to only $6.62 per capita? Of the funds received by California, why were $2.3 million wasted on landscaping the Ronald Reagan Freeway?

Why are we currently funding a $1 million feasibility study for Auburn dam (our bridge to no where) when lives are at stake? We need to set priorities. Our California delegation is dysfunctional.

- Michael Stark, Rocklin

Breaking: Third Democrat to Challenge John Doolittle

From the candidate's news release:

Tax and Ethics Expert/Former KPMG
Whistleblower Michael Hamersley Announces Candidacy For Congress

ROSEVILLE, CA—Standing before an audience gathered outside the Roseville Civic Center, Michael Hamersley, the tax scam whistleblower who exposed the multi-billion dollar tax shelter fraud and conspiracy that prompted a U.S. Senate investigation announced his candidacy for the seat currently held by John Doolittle (R-Roseville) in California’s fourth congressional district.

Hamersley’s whistleblowing, done at great personal and professional hazard, resulted in the federal indictment of 19 individuals, including 17 partners and executives at the international accounting firm KPMG, in what the U.S. Department of Justice has referred to as “the largest criminal tax case in U.S. history.”

Hamersley’s experience at KPMG was chronicled in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Fortune Magazine, and other major media publications. In 2004, he appeared in the PBS Frontline documentary “Tax Me If You Can.” His travails as a whistleblower later became the subject of a case study in a leading law school ethics textbook and have been used to provide a lesson in ethics at Harvard University.

Hamersley is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. and also holds MBA and BBA degrees. He spent several years working in Washington D.C. as a federal tax expert before moving to California in 2000. He is currently employed with the California Franchise Tax Board as a member of its Abusive Tax Shelter Task Force where he has been a key contributor to California’s effort to further uncover abusive tax shelters and scams, an effort that so far has brought in approximately $6 billion dollars to the state general fund.

As a nationally recognized expert on abusive tax shelters and scams, Hamersley continues to testify before California and other state legislatures regarding the promotion of abusive tax shelters, and is a much sought-after speaker and participant at conferences on corporate and professional ethics.

Hamersley described his reasons for entering this congressional race: “I am absolutely appalled at Representative Doolittle’s conduct and dismayed at his blatant attempts to exploit the genuine faith of his constituents and to manipulate public perception in an effort to avoid admitting his improprieties and save his own hide,” Hamersley said. Referencing a recent interview in which John Doolittle quoted the Bible from the Book of John (Chapter 8, Verse 32, “…the truth shall make you free”), Hamersley remarked: “I know from my recent experience as a whistleblower that the truth will indeed set you free, and I firmly believe that John Doolittle is not being fully truthful with us. It is time for him to come clean. I have had enough of John Doolittle’s brand of ‘pay-to-play politics,’ and I don’t think I am alone in feeling that way.”

Hamersley called for an investigation into Doolittle’s dealings with lobbyists, campaign contributors, political action committees, and federal contractors, beginning with his association with Brent Wilkes, an unindicted co-conspirator in the bribery scandal of former Congressman Duke Cunningham. Earlier this month, Cunningham was sentenced to over 8 years in federal prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from two defense contractors in exchange for political favors. According to Cunningham, Brent Wilkes gave him more than $500,000 in cash and gifts as kickbacks in exchange for getting government contracts.” John Doolittle sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. Duke Cunningham was a member of its defense appropriations subcommittee.

“I find it exceedingly difficult to fathom that no illegal quid pro quo existed when John Doolittle ‘earmarked’ millions of dollars for a Department of Defense contract that was awarded to a man he calls his ‘close friend,’ Brent Wilkes, who contributed $85,000 to Mr. Doolittle’s campaign coffers and political action committee in close temporal proximity to the awarding of this contract. At the very least, this conduct is highly unethical.” Hamersley said.

Hamersley also said he is “equally dismayed that John Doolittle has refused to return any of the estimated $140,000 given to him or his wife by Indian gaming lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whom Mr. Doolittle also calls a ‘good friend,’ even after Mr. Abramoff has admitted to corruption, bribery, and tax evasion.” In an interview earlier this month, Doolittle said he doesn’t really know how much money he got from Abramoff, and that “it doesn’t make much difference anyways . . .All I know is that I try to raise as much money as possible. Because that's my job as a Republican leader.”

Hamersley is of the opinion that these recent “pay-to-play” arrangements are not isolated incidents, but rather are representative of a pattern of behavior that Representative Doolittle has exhibited throughout much of his career.

“Follow the money in John Doolittle’s “earmarking” efforts, fundraising activities, and lobbyist associations.” Hamersley said. “You will find a continuous ‘wheel of fortune’ benefiting his political action committees, his hand-picked lobbyists, his other ‘close friends,’ and John Doolittle himself—all at the expense of citizens of the fourth congressional district and other taxpayers.

Hamersley offered his views regarding the hypocrisy of legislators who seek to avoid the consequences of their actions by ferreting out or creating “loopholes” in the law so that they can engage in conduct indirectly that they know to be functionally and substantively equivalent to the very conduct Congress intended to render illegal. He said “one can hardly serve the public while simultaneously seeking to undermine our legal system to further one’s own self-interest. Failure of our elected leaders to scrupulously honor the law erodes the average citizen’s respect for our justice system. We must hold our public officials to a higher standard than just merely complying with the literal letter of the law while knowingly violating the intent and sprit of the law. Even when legal, such conduct is shameless, highly unethical, inherently inconsistent with the notion of public service, and unbefitting of a public representative.”

“Not only must our legislators do what is legal,” Hamersley said, “But they must also learn to do what is RIGHT.”

“As a member of KPMG’s mergers and acquisitions tax practice, I saw upfront and in depth the culture of big money, corruption, and greed,” Hamersley said. “That culture led to thievery no different from a pick pocket or shoplifter—but this thievery stole billions of dollars, and the ultimate victims were the honest citizens of the United States.”

Hamersley, who lives in El Dorado Hills, California with his wife Sylvia and their son Jared, sees the same influence of big money in politics. It’s high time we put an end to the ‘business as usual’ in politics.”

Hamersley said he believes “we are at a critical juncture in this great Nation’s history. It is a time for truth, or a time for consequences. We must demand ethical conduct from those we choose to lead us.” He said “a nation that does not seek and demand truth from its political leaders is a nation in peril.” Hamersley said ”I offer to the voters of the fourth congressional district my knowledge, my experience, and my unrelenting efforts to blaze this path towards restoring truth, honor, integrity, and accountability to the representation of this congressional district. I offer an era of Truth.”

Hamersley said he “finds it quite telling that Representative Doolittle equates the measure of a man’s credibility with the thickness of his wallet.” He raised the following example. “Last week, John Doolittle, commenting about his primary opponent, Mike Holmes, told the Auburn Journal ‘so far, he's raised $50,000, $20,000 of which is a loan. So you know, that's no credible candidacy.’ During another recent media interview John Doolittle was asked ‘Are you concerned about this perfect storm coming at a time when you're getting a GOP challenge from Mike Holmes?’ His response, ‘Well, all that means is it costs me money.’”

“To John Doolittle, it is all about the money, and never about the people, their ideas, or what they may have to offer. I say ENOUGH OF THIS! ENOUGH OF JOHN DOOLITTLE!” Hamersley said.

Hamersley said “notwithstanding Mr. Doolittle’s deep campaign coffers—much of which have been filled with our hard-earned tax dollars—and his ability to transform campaign bounty into ballot votes through subtle exploitation of our faith and public perception manipulation, the citizens of this fourth congressional district will not allow him to drown out the truth again.” He added, “money may indeed be the mother’s milk of politics, but in the words of Winston Churchill, ‘truth is incontrovertible’.”

He called on voters to send a loud and clear message to John Doolittle that “genuine credibility has nothing to do with money and everything to do with truth, integrity, and accountability” Hamersley said. He continued: “Send an unmistakable message that the voters of this congressional district are not sheep or cattle that can be bought and sold, rather we are real people with real concerns that have too long been ignored as Doolittle tends to the business of enriching himself and his small circle of friends.”

Hamersley concluded by saying: “And so I say, the time has come to turn Mr. Doolittle out of office. The time has come to return truth and dignity to an office that has too long been devoid of your hopes, your aspirations, and your values.”

* * *

"Tax Me If You Can" PBS Interview w/Hamersley

Folks, looks like we've got ourselves a real race here in California's fourth district.

Update: Hamersley for Congress web site

Robert Reich: Good Debt - Bad Debt

If I have to start the day by considering our nation's huge debt, it helps if Robert Reich is talking me through it. You can hear Reich's [brief] thoughts about the Republican plan to increase the debt limit by oh, say, hundreds of billions of dollars here.

Also, a documentary, "Fired" featuring Reich made its debut in Austin this week at the South by Southwest festival. SF Chronicle has a 15 minute podcast interview with the filmmaker, Annabelle Gurwitch. It's been about 80 some degrees in Austin this week too - next year I'm going to this.

Californians' Views on Reproductive Rights - Let's Keep it Real

In today's Sacramento Bee, the results of a California field poll on the topic of reproductive rights (abortion & access to contraception) is examined:

While some other states are considering new restrictions on abortion, most Californians continue to believe the state's abortion laws should remain unchanged or should be amended to make abortions easier to obtain, a new Field Poll has found.

The survey, taken in late February, found that nearly two-thirds of California adults said they supported the state's abortion laws or thought they should be relaxed. Nearly three-quarters of adults surveyed said they supported late-term abortion in cases when a woman's health is in danger.

-snip-

Nationally, debate on the abortion issue is heating up again. Lawmakers in South Dakota last week passed a new law criminalizing all abortions except those performed to save the life of the mother, the most restrictive state law since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that states could not ban abortion.

-snip-

About 63 percent of adults said they did not want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

I realize many people do not believe Californians represent mainstream views on national issues, however, it's important to get these facts out so that the extremism of the politicians in So Dakota remains obvious by contrast.

Here's a link to the best blog post I've read on the topic of the SD travesty: taking it personally. <---read this.

Justice Dept. Reviewed Doolittle's Financial Records

Raw Story covers a Roll Call report published today announcing that Doolittle is one of nine Members of Congress and at least seven former staffers whose financial records were reviewed by the Justice Dept. last summer and fall:

In a stretch running from June to October, a pair of aides at Justice examined the financial disclosure forms of Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Reps. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Bob Ney (R-Ohio), as well as ex-staffers for three of those lawmakers, according to House and Senate records.

While Justice officials declined to comment, many of the financial searches appear to be connected to the continuing two-year probe of Abramoff’s dealings on Capitol Hill and with the Bush administration.

Doolittle Makes Top Ten List for Most Expensive Vehicle Funded by Taxpayers

Members of the House of Representatives are allowed to lease a vehicle or vehicles at taxpayer expense. According to a Knight Ridder story, John Doolittle (mister-hates-government-entitlements) is number six in terms of having the most expensive leased vehicle. Not only that, Doolittle, of course, chose a foreign-made, luxury SUV. More at the Daily Muck.

Update: Turns out Doolittle's leased-on-the-taxpayer-dime foreign-made, luxury SUV is a hybrid.

Swimmy Award: Best Political Film

Best Political Film: Good Night, and Good Luck

Having seen only Wal-Mart and Good Night and Good Luck, I send an enthusiastic vote for the later.

...this film spoke clearly to the dangers of losing freedom of speech, association, etc- as well the dangers of fear mongering. It also pointed out the importance of having a "free" press and integrity and courage in journalism. All quite pertinent in today's political climate.

...documents how campaigns of fear, like we are currently enduring, have worked so well in the past... I will go with GN and GL, because the climate of fear is probably our biggest current problem, and if we can't get past that, the rest may not matter all that much.

So, I vote for Good Night and Good Luck, because it reminds us how much we have lost and that WE must be the media.

...the film showed the human, personal costs of right-wing extremism. It was humiliating and devastating for those targeted by McCarthy. Imagine how stressful it was to be called before a Senate committee to defend your patriotism? A painful part of America's recent history and one we need to remember.

Most Annoying Senator "Fancy Frist" Wins GOP Straw Poll

Bill "Fancy" Frist sure is a vote getter. Why, it seems like it was just the other day when he emerged the winner (from a large field of intense competition) in our Most Annoying Senator contest. Now he's won the GOP's Straw Poll. Turns out that unlike the vote conducted here, Frist had to make some effort in order to accomplish this latest victory. Tennessee Guerilla Women has the details [caution: could cause annoyance].

Gail Norton & Smilin' Jack Abramoff

Stay Away from California

It looks as though Gail Norton's sudden resignation may have something to do with $50,000 she accepted from smilin' Jack. In her resignation letter, Norton professes to love the mountains out West and specifically mentions Sequoia National Park. YIKES!

"...I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector. Hopefully, my husband and I will end up closer to the mountains we love in the West."

Hopefully, Gail, you will end up in prison along with smilin' Jack for your crimes against the very places and creatures in our environment you profess to love.

Added: Creek Running North - An Excerpt From Gail Norton's Resignation Letter First Draft

Friday Cat Blogging

What's on your mind today?

Anthrax or "Powder" Scare at Doolittle's CA Office

Something seems strange about this story in today's Sacramento Bee. Apparently, the staff at Doolittle's office has received both a threatening phone call and a letter with white powder. Hopefully, this is simply one deranged individual who will be caught and dealt with appropriately and NOT a serious threat against Doolittle or his staff. What I'm suspicious about, though, is the possibility that it is an orchestrated Rovian ploy to create sympathy for the 'beleaguered' Doolittle and to cast his vocal opponents as 'dangerous nut cases.' Stay tuned.

Things Heat Up Between Doolittle & Primary Challenger Mike Holmes

Excerpt from Gus Thompson's article in the Auburn Journal:

Doolittle co-sponsored legislation requiring a 45-day congressional review of the sale but has not directly criticized the Bush administration.

Holmes said that while the administration didn't thoroughly consult with Congress, Bush had assured Americans that all departments had thoroughly reviewed security issues.

"This effort by John Doolittle sounds like a little bit of grandstanding to me in order to reinforce what he pretends to be a strong national defense posture," Holmes said. "And this is clearly associated with his re-election efforts."

Holmes added that the British-owned P&O had been managing ports in the U.S. for some time.

BTW - Received yet another full-color, glossy, tax-funded mailing from Doolittle today.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is John Doolittle

The Republican led House is attempting to push through HR 4167, the Orwellian titled: National Uniformity for Food Act, without hearings but not without some notice by media and health advocates. Doolittle was one of the first co-sponsors. The purpose of this Act is to eliminate individual states' labeling requirements -- especially California's. From the Sac Bee:

California's food safety labels could be peeled off under legislation on Capitol Hill next week.

The House of Representatives is all but certain to approve the bill mandating national uniform standards for food safety labels. The legislation would pre-empt some individual state label laws, including some of California's groundbreaking safety requirements.

Although many of California's Republican House Reps are on board with this due to their obvious allegiance to the money they receive from agri-business interests, Doolittle is also a co-sponsor (one of the first again) of H. Con. Res. 210 - Supporting the goal of eliminating suffering and death due to cancer by the year 2015. Unlike the Act currently being pushed through congress that aims to strip warnings about carinogens from our drinking water and food, this resolution is languishing in committee.

Whereas cancer strikes one out of every two men
and one out of every three women;

A powerful statement to be sure, however, with the way in which Doolittle and his cronies behave as elected representatives it comes down to this: Do these cancer stricken men, women and children have powerful lobbyists?

Apparently they do not, but opponents of protective food labeling do. From the AP:

Lawmakers seeking to curtail food warning labels have personal ties to food industry lobbyists, critics said Monday.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and several other lawmakers support a bill that would keep states from adding warnings that go beyond federal rules.

The lawmakers have family, friends and former staff among the lobbyists for the bill.

"This helps explain why the food industry has blocked any efforts to have hearings," said Ben Cohen, attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group.

"They think they've got it greased by using well-connected lobbyists to slip this thing through the full House without following the normal procedures," Cohen said.

[...]

"It's a perfect storm of insider access, big money and bad policy," said Andy Igrejas of the Washington-based National Environmental Trust, which did the lobbying research. "They're sweeping away 200 state laws without a hearing, all because very wealthy interests want them to."

Is passage of HR 4167 a done deal - probably. People like Doris Matsui are doing what they can to fight it. There is still time to contact our Representatives, at the very least, to let them know we see what they're doing. In John Doolittle's case, we need to shout loudly about his hypocrisy because he has, after all, asked us to focus on his voting record. It's the least we can do - that, and vote this reprehensible and sorry excuse of an elected representative out of office in the June primary or on Nov. 7th.

Added: Alliance for a Better CA's reporting Arnold as MIA on the issue of protecting our state's food labeling.

Abramoff's Lawyer Rattles Chains - Who's He Trying to Scare?

Abramobb's lawyers have been routinely requesting delays in his sentencing and this is the response after learning the request for a rather lengthy delay had been denied:

Abramoff attorney Abbe Lowell warned that the defense would disclose information about the ongoing corruption investigation to demonstrate the level of Abramoff's cooperation, something that could affect Abramoff's sentence in the fraud case.

"We will name names," Lowell said by telephone at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck. "That is not a good thing for law enforcement."

MSNBC's Obermann thinks the threat is about Abramobb's connection with Karl Rove:

First it was the emails sent to “Washingtonian Magazine” by the disgraced lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, saying he met with the president nearly a dozen times and not just for photo ops. Then came the results of one of those photo ops, the first of a series of images of Mr. Bush and Mr. Abramoff in the same place at the same time, finally published.

Now perhaps inevitably, evidence of Abramoff‘s possible influence with the president, the link here, Karl Rove. The near 2002, the interested party, the government of Malaysia. Its goal, meeting between the president and its prime minister at the time, Mahathir Muhammad. No easy task, since that prime minister had already been chastised by the Clinton administration for anti-Semitic comments and for having jailed political opponents.

So the Malaysians hired Jack Abramoff and Mr. Abramoff contacted presidential adviser Rove at least four times in an effort to arrange that meeting.

Isn't John Doolittle also tied to Abramobb's Malaysian clients? Something about a trip...

• Two groups, the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council and the Malaysia Exchange Association, set up to promote trade with Asia in part by organizing trips for lawmakers, have ties to the Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying firm founded by Rep. Tom DeLay's former chief of staff, Ed Buckham. The groups financed $224,000 in travel for a dozen House members since 2001.

The lobbying firm set up the Korea group in 2001 with the goal of making Korean businessman Seung Youn Kim, chairman of one of Korea's largest conglomerates, the Hanwha Group, "the leading business statesman in U.S.-Korean relations," according to a strategy memo. But because the group registered as an agent of a foreign interest, it could not legally sponsor congressional travel.

The Malaysia organization, which did not register as a foreign agent, sent three House members - Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. and John Doolittle, R-Calif. - to Kuala Lumpur in February "to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Malaysia," according to Pomeroy's trip disclosure.

Quotable

"And finally, I would say that you know we are a little bit out of touch every now and then here in Hollywood - every once in a while - and I think that's probably a good thing. We're the ones to talk about AIDS when it was just being whispered. And we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. You know we bring up subjects. We're the ones, you know, this Academy gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters.

"I'm proud to be part of this Academy, proud to be part of this community and proud to be 'out of touch' - and I thank you so much for this," he concluded.

~ George Clooney

Nominees for Best Political Film - Vote Now

Nominees for Best Political Film

The Corporation

Brokeback Mountain

Wellstone!

Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost

ENRON: the Smartest Guys in the Room

Good Night & Good Luck

This Land Is Your Land

Loose Change 9/11

Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of the American Empire

Syriana

Please vote for one:

Swimmy Award: Best Political Book

Best Political Book

Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy

by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Juicy Rumor - Please let it be true!

Brent Wilkes (Duke Cunningham's sugar daddy) is rumored to have agreed to implicate four more Republicans in criminal activity:

Richard Pombo,
John Doolittle,
Duncan Hunter, and
Jerry Lewis.

Origin of rumor at Preemptive Karma and further speculated upon at Political Animal.

Man, I hope this is true.

Doolittle & Retirement Security - Same Old BS

Guest blogger: apocalips

The National Assn. Of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) met on Feb. 27^th to be reassured by Congressman Doolittle spokesperson, Brian Jensen that their promised pensions may or may not be in jeopardy. Tall, dark spokesperson Jensen indicated that Congressman Doolittle supports a reform of Social Security by

• raising the age limit;
• income limit;
  
• reducing benefits;
• or partial privatization.
  

It’s interesting to note that Doolittle supported Bush’s privatization scheme for two years before determining that other options might also be considered.

While discussing the approaching failure of the Social Security system, Mr. Jensen chose not to be critical of the cancerous growth of the federal budget deficit (plus interest) or the scientifically discredited Ballistic Missile program (billions of waste!), or Halliburton waste (merely hundreds of millions), or the the administrations distortions of the true cost of the mismanaged Medicare drug benefit program (Part D). This latter plan, implemented with the same precision and clarity as the Katrina recovery, was approved before government whistleblowers revealed that the cost was understated by over $200 billion – information suppressed by Republican bureaucrats.

Doolittle's surrogate went on to praise the proposed Medical Savings Accounts as a way of paying for unforseen costly medical emergencies. He failed to acknowledge that these accounts bear the same risks as the failed Social Security private accounts.Apparently, the devastating and still rising costs of private U.S. medical care (best system in the world – except for the 45 million who can’t afford it) are not problematic for Mr. Doolittle.

One audience member suggested that private accounts either in Social Security or in Medical Care would guarantee profits for stock market companies and would not eliminate the risk to account holders. Mr. Jensen said that private money ought to be in low risk and historically stable investments.However, since the number of families below the poverty line has increase some 17% during the 5 years of the Bush Admonistration, one has to wonder where such investment money will come from.

It is clear from Mr. Jensen’s comments that Mr. Doolittle’s approach will be more of the same: support the Bush Administration’s wholesale privatization, steer clear of meaningful government budgetary scrutiny, and hope the public doesn’t notice the rising level of poverty or the loss of government monies (and support) for promised pensions. He will, indeed, “do little” to consider creative solutions to problems in his district or the nation.

J-Doo's House of Scandal - Fan Mail (vol .4)

Can't post all the letters to the editor the Sacramento Bee printed and posted on its website that were submitted in response to the latest Doolittle interview. I'll just go with the first two - enjoy:

"Doolittle asks us to believe that he is the dull-witted piano player
in the brothel..."

Published Wednesday, March 1, 2006

'Earmark' for Sacramento?

Re "Doolittle: Scandal is troubling," Feb. 18: Geez, J-Doo "earmarked" a half-billion tax dollars for a "business" owned by Brent Wilkes. For the money, Wilkes supplied computer software bought on the open market to service Department of Defense contracts. So, J-Doo gets a half-billion dollars transferred from the public to his "friend." The "friend" then gives some money to his lobbyist "friend." Then the lobbyist transfers money to J-Doo's leadership PAC. Nice.

Say, why doesn't Sacramento just send J-Doo's favorite lobbyist "friend" a couple of million dollars and whatever it takes (a wink?) to get some tax money "earmarked" for the levees up north, Folsom Dam, new bridges, light rail, plus whatever else they can think of? We could get it done for pennies on the dollar, saving the city hundreds of millions of bucks. Maybe Julie-Doo could cater the next "Black Tie and Tennies" for a whole new arena. And he's still not sure if it's illegal. It's soooo funny. Should the rail be doug fir or valley oak?

- Max Dill, Sacramento

Doolittle, Abramoff and a dam

Another Bee exposé clearly illustrated smug and smarmy Rep. John Doolittle as our own poster boy for all that has gone terribly wrong with the Republican Party, specifically, and the American political system, generally.

In his Jack Abramoff scandal interview, Doolittle asks us to believe that he is the dull-witted piano player in the brothel, "shocked, shocked!" to find that his friends Tom DeLay and Abramoff are the worst sort of "pay-to-play" political pimps. We are asked to believe that they just forked over piles of cash to Doolittle because they liked his pious lifestyle.

Likewise, with the Auburn dam for Doolittle it is damn what the experts say! Damn what is safe, environmentally prudent and financially sound! Damn what voters in his district want! He only has the interests of his true constituency - big-money developers - at heart. Unfortunately for us all, he is not an aberration but another California contribution to this country's full-blown leadership crisis.

- Greg V. Hill, Sacramento

Doolittle Haunted by Bacon Wrapped Filet

Life is full of irony. This is the menu (courtesy of TPM) from a fund-raiser thrown for John Doolittle by Brent Wilkes. Brent's wife's business provided the catering. Who knew how ironic the entre would be a couple years later? Ah, yes, the bacon wrapped filet. Seems like not too long ago, I read a Sac Bee editorial with this particular menu item in its title.

Two Cents on Doolittle's Re-Election Bid from Sac News & Review

The alternative/independent weekly publication Sacramento News & Review ran a "just to let you know we're watching" editorial about John Doolittle's announcement to seek re-election. After providing a summary of Doolittle's various connections to Abramoff, the piece concludes with this:

So far, none of the above seems to have harmed Doolittle much in his district. Now in re-election mode, the congressman pulled in $183,500 in contributions during the last three months of 2005 and has a total of $300,000 in the bank.

At the very least it’s safe to conclude that our initial impression, that Doolittle likely would skate away from the scandal, was premature. Stay tuned.

I don't understand how the News & Review is measuring or assessing harm caused by media coverage of Doolittle's associations with the current corruption scandals in the 4th district. Sure, Doolittle has raised more money than any of his three challengers, but was this money nessessarily raised within the 4th district? I read Doolittle was targeting GOP strongholds in Sacramento for funding. And, we know he has a long history of culitvating "friends" throughout the nation who generously contribute to the cause of keeping their "good friend" in congress and on the House Appropriations committee.

To me, the fact that Doolittle is facing a primary challenger says volumes about his vulnerability. I also found interesting a comment I read on a 4th district right-wing blog regarding Doolittle's campaign announcement at the Auburn airport. The writer was quite pleased at the absence of protesters. This annoucement was a private, invitation only event and media did not let out any information or I can assure you that there would have been at least a few people expressing their displeasure of Doolittle's representation and decision to run again. Perhaps the veterans who protested Doolittle's voting record on veterans' issues this last summer at a GOP fund-raiser would have again exercised their right to express themselves - one of the rights they fought for as soldiers.

I hope the Sac News & Review has enough interest in this election 'up in the foothills' to assign their best investigative reporter to follow up on their "Boss Doolittle" cover story from July 2004. Maybe this reporter will even take a drive into the district and ask actual voters how we view Doolittle's participation in the biggest congressional scandal to date.