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LIVE BLOGGING THE CONYERS HEARING
[Editor’s Note: "Live Blogging The Conyers Hearing" is available in chronological sequence here.]
UPDATE:18:42:15: [from rally after delivering the signed petitions to the White House] John Bonifaz has just called for the impeachment of President Bush. He's demanding "Give our country back."
He's now turning the mike over to John Conyers.
John Conyers said that 50 members of Congress showed up for the hearing. Mr. Conyers is beginning to lose his voice, but he is calling for "More Protests, More Marches, More Letters, More Hearings, More Signatures...". He said, "We are going to continue to collect more signatures... 1 million signatures, 5 million signatures, 20 million signatures.... However many it takes..."
2 fathers of sons who died in Iraq:
Bill Mitchell from California, "My son, Mike, died on the same day Casey died in Iraq on 04/04/04... The revolution has started here..."
Zappala from Philadelphia: "We finally have a brave man in Congress... thank John Conyers."
Maxine Waters is now speaking... "We are having the most significant hearings in the history of our nation... we are focusing on the big lie. ... We are going to take on this president in a real way. We are going to take this to the streets... Our vice president is a liar... not only is he a liar, he's a thief and a betrayer of the public trust. ... We have organized the Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus... 50 members of Congress have already signed up... These people shall not have died in vain. We're going to turn this around, we're going to bring our people home."
UPDATE:18:30:35: People in the inside the gate are taking pictures of people outside the gate. A woman in a red suit accompanied by a young man in a gray suit has just arrived at the gate. She doesn't look like she's having a very good day. She's received the petitions. This is democracy in action. The petitions have been received at the White House.
The White House press corps is retreating away from the gate. There's a small conclave at the gate talking. Someone is yelling "Power to the People". Karen is returning to the rally.
UPDATE:18:19:05: They have moved to the gate of the White House. Representatives John Conyers, Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee are just waiting there quietly. Cindy Sheehan has joined them. Everyone is just waiting, people are hugging one another, some are crying. Chants of "Conyers is our hero" can be heard. There are perhaps 1000 people there. There are 2 huge stacks of petitions right in front of Karen. Pictures will be forthcoming.
UPDATE:18:01:35: Karen has moved to rally in front of white house...
It's a beautiful day... the sun is smiling on our efforts.
Announced by one of the rally organizers: Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, Rep. Walter Jones, R-NC, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH and Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-HI are sponsors of a bill introduced today in the House of Representatives that states that President Bush would have to start bringing home U.S. troops from Iraq by Oct. 1, 2006.
Medea Benjamin is speaking now. She's the head of Code Pink, Women for Peace. Received a roar of applause from the crowd when she called for impeachment. Medea announced that Rep. Maxine Waters started a new caucus in Congress today named The Out of Iraq Caucus.
Rep John Conyers speaking now: says we are now up to 550,000 signatures and he will keep holding hearings.
UPDATE:17:28:46: The hearing is adjourning. Mr. Conyers asks people to reassemble at the horsehoe outside the Rayburn building so that they may proceed to Lafayette Park, across from the White House in order to deliver the petition signatures of over 550,000 signature and the letter from 122 members of Congress requesting that the President and appoint a special prosecutor to begin an immediate investigation into these matters.
We are adjourned.
UPDATE:17:28:46:Sheila Jackson Lee is making a request of the Chairman of the House Judiciary committee and the Senate Judiciary committee that they begin to hold hearings so that people will be able to testify on the record and begin to understand the process that needs to be undertaken to investigate these matters and get the American people the truth.
UPDATE:17:10:46: Ann Wright, of who we wrote earlier in our live-blogging, believes this to be the most important document because it is evidence of the illegality of the war. A war based on regime change is illegal. Ms. Wright has travelled from Africa to testify at the hearing today. She stated that the increased bombing of Iraq in the lead up to the war in order to provoke response "is an aggressive and illegal attack." She believes that "we need to impeach the President and the Vice-President, and hold criminal trials for members of the administration, Congress and the CIA."
Conyers annouced that there will be more hearings, at least several more hearings, and they will be using their subpoena powers as well, as a member of the judiciary committee.
UPDATE:16:57:46: Congressmembers Jay Inslee and Gregory Meeks are now in the house. Marcy Kaptur now up. Also, noting "the timing of this hearing is very strange [being at the EXACT SAME TIME]... as the largest appropriation committee meeting with more votes needing to be cast on 11 amendments in a two hour period (the same time as the hearings) than they have had all week. Just curious timing." Ms Captur continues, "I am very worried about the number of contractors in Iraq. We don't even know how many there are. We can't get numbers, and couldn't get numbers and we are voting on the budgets for this."
UPDATE:16:47:46: Congressmembers Hilda Solis and Don Payne (D-Ranking member, International Relations Committee) and George Miller are in the house. Solis points to the House Leadership scheduling this hearing at a time when 11 amendments are being voted on, and the fact that the hearing is happening so late in the day. Ms. Solis putting on the record that DoD is not telling parent even HOW their children died. Cindy Sheehan also testifying that she and other parents have been trying for months and months with the help of her Congressman (present today, George Miller), to get a meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, or ANYONE in order to be able to find out how their loved ones died in Iraq. [Editor's Note: This disgusts me as much as anything I have heard today (and that's a long damn list).]
UPDATE:16:43:46: Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) now up, and talking about the cover up of this as an issue by the media, and the Leadership of the house, by not being able to get coverage from the press, and not even being able to get a room for discussing this matter from the House Leadership.
UPDATE:16:12:46: Congressman Moran notes that they will need to leave soon (at least for a while), because there is a five minute vote coming up on the Pelosi Amendment to the military spending bill which will require the President to present a strategy, within 30 days of passage of the bill, which will require him to lay out and define the terms of winning, and what the exit strategy is for Iraq. As Sheila Jackson Lee just stated, "We are out of the box on Iraq, now. We will continue to agitate until we get some answers."
UPDATE:16:02:46: Congressmembers Charles Rangel, Rush Holt, Bob Wexler, Lynn Woolsey, Jay Ensley, Marcy Captur, Jan Schakowsky, and Ed Markey are now in the House.
UPDATE:15:45:46: SCOOP FROM KAREN AT THE HEARING:HC-5, The Big Room for hearings that are held in Congress, is open, and has been open during this entire time.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office called this morning and requested it, even offering to change the time of the hearing, as the room was open for two hours this morning, but were denied the use of the much larger room by the House Leadership. The evidence is clear--the House Leadership deliberately prevented this hearing from taking place in a room that would accomodate the large number of people slated to attend. Karen asks that everyone put this information out on all the blogs you can. It seems that the House Leadership thinks that it can do things like this without anyone finding out about it. Let's show them they are wrong.
UPDATE:15:32:46:Congressmembers Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Jerry Nadler, Maurice Hinchey are now also in the house.
In response to questioning by Maxine Waters (D-CA)Ray McGovern testifying that not only was it unusual for a sitting Vice-President to come on a working visit to the CIA headquarters, it was unprecedented. When Tenet started to accompanying the briefer to meeting with the President each morning, it became impossible for analysts to give complete and accurate statement, because of the pressure being placed on them to give the answers the White House wanted to hear. Further, with the Vice-President visiting CIA HQ somewhere between 8-12 times, "everyone at the CIA knew that Tenet was cooking the books on the intelligence". He also testified that the professional intelligence agents were disgusted not only by the pressure being placed on analysts by the administration, but the failure of George Tenet to protect his analysts from that kind of pressure. [Editor's note: This is consistent with the findings and reports of the 9-11 Commission, but was not reported by them officially in their report on 9-11. It was left out, according to statements from Jay Rockefeller, because if it had been included, they would not have been able to bring forth the report with unanimous support.]
Barney Frank is now doing the questioning. He points out the conflicting stories in the media by the same people that the Downing Street Minutes are untrue, while arguing that this information was known all along. Frank asks about the media, "if they knew that all along, why the hell didn't they do something about it?"
UPDATE:15:18:00:John Bonifaz (founder of www.afterdowningstreet.org) has just crossed the Rubicon, by entering into the Congressional record, the case for impeachment of President George Bush, and has been recorded by major media outlets doing so.
FROM KAREN: Dena, John Conyers communications staffer for the judiciary committee just came in an apologized for the small size of the room. Karen, told her that it was far more important for all of us to have the MSM in there. Dena stated that she, and Conyers, were so grateful for the bloggers, because without them, this would no have been possible.
UPDATE:15:13:13:
Ann Wright has also joined the panel. Ms. Wright, in March of 2003, on the eve of war, took a stand against what she knew, was an injust war. Ms. Wright is the Foreign Service officer, who resigned from the State Department two years ago. Ms. Wright was a 16-year veteran of the State Department, having joined the State Department after serving in the Army for 29 years. She is traveling and writing on the subject of dissent in a democracy. She will be speaking later today at the rally at the White House.
John Bonifaz, author of "The Warrior King: The Case for the Impeachment of George Bush" is speaking and giving an explanation of the terms and conditions for impeaching a President.
UPDATE:15:09:13:Congressman Jim Moran has just made a statement to ABC news that they may have made the decision to go to war during the secret Cheney energy meetings.
Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern is speaking, showing a short video of what the White House said about Iraq and Saddam Hussein only a short time defore they accused them of having WMD. Mr. McGovern is giving testimony which is deconstructing the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq, and describing the manipulation by VP Cheney of intelligence in a carefully strategized process aimed at deceiving the Congress and the public, and is taking the media very harshly to task for their supremely supine behavior leading up to the war.
UPDATE:15:00:13:Congressman Jim Moran, along with NBC, ABC Nightline, C-SPAN, and CNN, MSGOP and a number of print and independent media are in the house.
UPDATE:14:53:13:
Cindy Sheehan is giving incredibly powerful testimony. It is people like Cindy Sheehan who will bring to account those who are are the subject of the Downing Street Memo. She also speaks with courage, not only of her son's death, but also of the crimes that may have been committed by the members of the Bush administration should the Downing Street Memo be proved true.
UPDATE:14:49:13: Members of Congress Maxine Waters, John Tierney, Sheila Jackson Lee, Jim McDermott, and Barney Frank, are in the house.
UPDATE:14:27:23:The meeting has started and after a brief statement by Conyers, Joe Wilson, former US Ambassador to Niger, who's wife was a covert CIA operative until her cover was blown by Robert Novak (as stated by Wilson today in testimony). This hearing is being streamed by C-SPAN3, so if you do not have access to a television or cable to watch it, you can still get it on your computer. Just click here to go to that link, and select your viewer (Windows Media, Quicktime, etc.) in the far right hand column on the page).
Following Joe Wilson's testimony, Gold Star Mom, Cindy Sheehan is scheduled to speak.
UPDATE, 14:27:31: Conyers is about to make a statement. While that statement is not yet up on his website, it takes the media to task, in a joint effort with Media Matters For America, for not covering this important issue. Karen notes that there are alot of media there today, and she reports that the room is virtually "a sea of cameras, obscuring any view of the front of the room with line after line of thick black lenses."
LIVE BLOGGING THE CONYERS HEARING, 14:15:30:
FROM KAREN:
Lovely, the hearing room the Republicans assigned to Congressman Conyers for this hearing is FAR too small. People are squished into it and she can't even get in yet, but our intrepid girl reporter is hanging in there, in the hallway, despite the urging of staff to go and watch the proceedings over at the DNC.
Clearly the Republican leadership is showing their disrespect to the Congressman by holding this important hearing in a room the size of my clothes closet.
However, they may find to their surprise that this is fooling No One, especially not Dana Milbank of the Washington Post who just arrived to cover the story.
There are 11 witnesses scheduled to testify. The hearing has not yet begun, but we will be live-blogging all of the action as soon as things get underway at the mob scene.
Everyone it seems, knows what the message is about the importance of the Downing Street Minutes.
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Please add your thoughts and observations in the comments. I’m going to do my best with the quotations, but consider these paraphrases rather than word-for-word quotations (I don’t have Tivo to confirm them). My observations will be mark... Read More
Today has been an exciting day in Washington. Rep. Conyers held his hearing on issues related to the Downing Street Minutes (which he was forced to hold in a ~15' x 30' room in the capitol), and after that meeting he walked over and delivered a lette... Read More
Thanks for the update, Casey.
Go Karen - hang in there! The Republican obstructionists (wasn't that what they called US?) are running scared, those cowards. They should get some guts and stand up for what is right for the people, rather than protecting their lying, cheating un-president and his cronies.
We're watching with you, Karen!
Anyone got the cspan streaming link...?
I keep pulling up a blank page.
Actually www.michaelmoore.com has a live video link also MM will prob be keeping up with pics from outside around the WH.
Meeting is on CSPAN3 here in Brooklyn.
got it
DIRECT LINK cspan 3 streaming video
http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan3_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3
Meeting will be reaired on C-SPAN 2 Friday eve. at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Meeting will be reaired on C-SPAN 2 Friday eve. at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Boy - that Cindy Sheehan is quite a woman.
Sheehan was very moving.
cspan 2 picking it up eh..?..very very interesting.
Nail It to the White House Door
William Rivers Pitt
Wednesday 15 June 2005
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/061505X.shtml
Almost five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church, initiating a sequence of events which forever altered the geometry of global religion, politics and power. Luther's Theses began with the words, "Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg."
Another document is going to be nailed to another door on Thursday, June 16th. This door opens not to a church, but to the White House. This document is freighted with hard truths, stern demands and nearly a million names. This document, once nailed up, likewise carries with it all the possibilities of change.
Very slowly, and after an embarrassing gap of silence from the news media, the American people have come to hear about the Downing Street Minutes. This document, once confidential but leaked by a British version of Deep Throat, describes in plain language the manner in which the Bush and Blair administrations planned to manipulate their way into an invasion of Iraq. The Minutes describe how intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy of invasion, and that a pretense for war had to be manufactured in order to paint a veneer of legitimacy over what everyone involved knew was a patently illegal military action.
Subsequent secret documents have followed the release of the Downing Street Minutes, further exposing the lies, distortions and moral convolutions put forth by the offices of Bush and Blair in their rush to war. According to these documents, which have been verified as genuine by the British government, the decision to invade Iraq was made as early as April 2002, months before anyone in America or Britain became aware that such an act was even being considered.
This April 2002 decision was made between Bush and Blair at a summit in Crawford, Texas. The fact that the decision to invade had been made so early shatters all the mealy-mouthed protestations of Bush and his people, who spent those months before the attack preaching peace and international cooperation while sharpening their knives behind closed doors.
One document, a briefing paper partnered with the Downing Street Minutes, states bluntly that British officials knew an invasion would be illegal, but had no choice but to figure out a way to frame it as legal, because Bush was going into Iraq no matter what and would use British bases in Cyprus and Diego Garcia to do so. This would make Britain complicit in the invasion even if they decided not to send troops, and so it was "necessary to create the conditions" which would make it legal.
How does one go about creating the conditions for legality? By framing facts and intelligence around the policy, of course. The word "Lie" does not appear in any of the released documents, but the need to lie, the decision to lie, in order to justify war permeates every word. This document also exposes the Bush administration's rhetorical nonsense about "supporting the troops" by describing how their war plans did anything but. In a section of this briefing paper titled "Benefits/Risks," the authors wrote, "Even with a legal base and a viable military plan, we would still need to ensure that the benefits of action outweigh the risks. A post-war occupation of Iraq could lead to a protracted and costly nation-building exercise. As already made clear, the U.S. military plans are virtually silent on this point."
Virtually silent. 1,706 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq thanks to the virtual silence of the Bush administration, for a total of 1,891 "Coalition" soldiers dead. Multiply that number by at least ten to count the wounded and maimed. Twenty-five American soldiers have been killed in the last week alone. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed and wounded, and the car bombs continue to explode on a daily basis.
The decision to make war at all costs, the decision to lie about the reasons for going to war, the massive trans-Atlantic effort to make an illegal act appear legal, and the astounding fact that more effort went into manufacturing a political pretext for invasion than went into planning for the invasion and aftermath, all of this led us into the horror-show that is this occupation.
The American military has all but conceded the fact that this war is lost. "I think the more accurate way to approach this right now is to concede that this insurgency is not going to be settled, the terrorists and the terrorism in Iraq is not going to be settled, through military options or military operations," Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, chief American military spokesman in Iraq, said last week. "It's going to be settled in the political process." There are no more viable military options. The war is lost. It is going to be settled in the political process.
So be it.
On Thursday, June 16th, Rep. John Conyers will hold a hearing to
investigate and expose the facts revealed by the release of the Downing Street Minutes and the other documents. A variety of witnesses will be called to describe the contents of these documents, and to describe what has been done to Iraq, and to us all, by this administration. Lurking in the corners of the hearing will be a phrase - "High Crime" - that aptly describes what has taken place.
The Conyers hearing will be held on Thursday at 2:30pm EST in room HC-9 in the Capitol Building in Washington DC. This is a small room, so any overflow of public viewers will be directed to the Wasserman Room in the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.
At 5:00pm EST, a rally will take place in Lafayette Park, at the gates of the White House. Rep. Conyers will speak, along with Ambassador Joseph Wilson and Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in Iraq in May 2003, as Bush was unfurling his "Mission Accomplished" banner. The hearing and rally have been organized by the After Downing Street coalition, a collection of more than 120 organizations and news outlets that came together for the purpose of nailing the facts of the Downing Street Minutes to the White House door.
That, just before the opening of the rally on Thursday, is exactly what will happen. Several weeks ago, Rep. Conyers published a letter demanding answers from the Bush administration regarding the Minutes. That letter has been signed by more than one hundred Congresspeople, and by nearly a million American citizens. Rep. Conyers will personally deliver this letter and all those signatures to the White House on Thursday.
Jawaharlal Nehru, who with Mahatma Gandhi successfully freed India from British colonial rule, once said, "A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the sound of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance."
Thursday, June 16th, may see such a moment come to pass. It has been a long time coming, and so much remains to be done if the terrible damage of these last years is to be repaired. But a moment is before us. Let us see where this moment takes us. ++
I don't have any speakers so all your comments are very much appreciated. (lol, I feel like I
am in the dark ages :) .)
"These are the days of miracles and wonder
This is the long-distance call
The way the cameras follow us in slow-mo
The way we look to a song
The way we look at the myriad constellation
lay dying in the corners of the sky
These are the days of miracles and wonder
so don't cry baby don't cry don't cry don't cry."
(pardon my mondegreens if they appeared in the above text--FB)
McGovern was good. He connected the dots.
John Bonifaz brings impeachment to the table. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of the republican chambers!
Posted by: Fe at June 16, 2005 03:07 PM
I hope so, Fe. I so very hope so.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at June 16, 2005 03:10 PM
Truth, you are not alone. My coworkers won't set up a LAN because they are afraid of viruses spreading through the company computers. And all our computers are Dells - meaning lots of extra $$$ for the Republican Party. And of course there is no sound - too frivolous for work, they say.
I really need to look for a new line of work. Construction is too d*mn Republican!
They are really going after Cheney. They're gonna bring him down.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at June 16, 2005 03:12 PM
Truth:
WE are the miracle.
This is from the Arizona Ecumenical Council...
For those of us in Phoenix, Little John is coming..
The Arizona Minimum Wage Coalition
invites you to join Senator John Edwards
Tuesday, June 28th
in the fight to raise the minimum wage for Arizona's working families.
Special guest speakers include
Senator John Edwards, 2004 Vice Presidential candidate
and
Maude Hurd, National President of ACORN
(Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate income families.
The two will appear as part of a three-day, four-state tour to build support for campaigns to raise the minimum wage across the country.
Church of the Beatitudes,
555 West Glendale Avenue (SE corner of Glendale and 7th Ave.) in Phoenix
Doors will open at 11:15 a.m.
Please RSVP to Sarah Markey 602-254-5299 or email azacorn@acorn.org.
Fe,
There have been few times I have ever been this emotionally invested in anything. This is almost bigger than a get married, have a baby moment to me.
I want this so bad.....
(We can be so grateful for the internet.)
CNN also has live link to the forum on its website
"Her record for veracity is undistinguished"
Ray McGovern on Condi Rice
Casey and Karen,
That information (about the room) already went to all my media email addresses, an hour ago. I thought they should know that, too.
:)
Another way to educate the unaware about DSM... via the good old American T-shirt
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/06/updated-dsm-t-shirt-hearing-is-at.html
I thought I read that THK always hated the idea of Santorum in her former husband's seat. But anyway....
Heinz’s 57 Varieties of Vengeance
Former first lady-in-waiting Teresa Heinz Kerry is devoting her considerable wealth and resources to routing paleo-con Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in the 2006 election, sources say. Last time she dipped into her political war chest, it was for second husband John Kerry. This time, it’s to avenge the memory of her first husband, Republican Senator John Heinz.
http://www.radarmagazine.com/fresh-intelligence/2005/06/16/index.php#report_001279
Isn't the room so small b/c its Nancy Pelosi's reserved meeting room - not fit for dozens of people.
The Other ' Memos' from Downing Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
by Greg Palast
Greg Palast, unable to attend hearings in Washington Thursday, has submitted the following testimony:
continue~
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0616-29.htm
itsjeff -
I thought I read somewhere that the Repubs wouldn't let Conyers hold this hearing in the room he had hoped for,so determined, they decided to hold it in the room usually reserved for Dem use.
THK did not stump for Santorum.....
"She told Pennsylvania Republicans in 1994 that their conservative Senate nominee, Rick Santorum, was "an unfortunate example" of politicians who "rule by fear and ridicule."
She still hasn't forgiven Santorum, who had suggested John Heinz was not conservative enough. Some Republicans haven't forgiven her."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-05-23-heinz-kerry-cover_x.htm
"Those who are in charge of the Congress are participating in a coverup"
Zoe Lofgren
Didn't hear that. Peter Rodino passed away a few weeks ago. I remember Rodino well from Watergate.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/16/downingst.memo.ap/index.html
"The Sunday Times also reported on an eight-page briefing paper prepared for Blair which concludes that the U.S. military has given "little thought" to the aftermath of a war in Iraq."
You can stay that again. Bush Administration preparations didn't go far beyond Cheney's prophecy that the Iraqis would treat us as liberators.
In other news....
The WH is finally looking at developing an Exit Strategy for, not Iraq, but SS. Good article below:
Exit strategy on Social Security sought
GOP leaders cite impasse over private accounts
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8235966/
Marcy Kaptur is making a great point. Deployments. Follow the deployments.
"The Spiders Web" - Book that Congressmen reports has been suppressed by MSM.
Does anyone know what is happening with the sit-in around the White House....????
Follow the deployments?
Follow the pattern of deployments, and how the Bush Administration continued to act as if war was unavoidable both before the US went to the United Nations, and during the period when weapons inspections were attempting to do their job.
tutterfly: you should be thrilled to read of Teresa's campaigning to unseat Santorum. That story gives me real hope that we will prvail in Pa next Nov.
GO NAIL THEM HALF MILLION SIGNATURES TO THE DOOR OF THE WHITEHOUSE MR.CONYERS.
GOD BLESS YOU SIR.
Sorry, I have to slip this one in here...
Fox News signs Wesley Clark
RAW STORY
From a snippet in the Baltimore Sun.:
Fox News Channel has signed Gen. Wesley Clark as a military and foreign affairs analyst, Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming, said yesterday.
Clark, briefly a candidate in the 2004 Democratic primary before throwing his support behind Sen. John Kerry, said, "I am excited by this opportunity to ... offer my perspective to the important issues facing the United States and the global community."
Karen REMEMBER the PICTURES at the White House.!!!
It is so nice to know that Hilda Solis, George Miller, and other members of the California Democratic Congressional delegation are the ones putting on the heat.
No wonder Ahnuld wants to redistrict the whole state, with promises to sellout immigrants like the Korean community who are hungry for some Cuban-style "representation." (Just read some pro-special election articles on the neocon-owned Korean language newspapers in Los Angeles today... This is one of those days when I am truly ashamed of my father's heritage. I may have to consider changing my last name...)
I will NEVER let California become the next Florida. I will NEVER let Los Angeles become the next Miami. The fight is on. I will grow my cell, starting with my writing teacher based in Inland Empire, to get my job done.
Posted by: Cyrano at June 16, 2005 05:14 PM
Yep. I heard it straight out of a soldier's mouth that they "knew they were going into Iraq"
at least 6 months in advance. I heard it from the soldier 4 months before the strike.
WH Press Secretary Mocks 'Downing Street Memo'
By E&P Staff
Published: June 16, 2005 4:25 PM ET
NEW YORK With a hearing about to begin on Capitol Hill on the so-called Downing Street Memo, hosted by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), reporters at today's White House briefing by Press Secretary Scott McClellan naturally raised the subject, albeit briefly.
Rather than ask about details or implications of the 2003 internal British document -- which seemed to suggest that the Bush administration was determined to go to war against Iraq and that intelligence would be “fixed” to support it -- the correspondents wondered if the White House was ever going to respond to a letter authored by Conyers and signed by 88 of his colleagues asking for information about the memo.
A transcript of two separate exchanges follows:
***
Q Scott, on another topic, has the President or anyone else from the administration responded to the letter sent last month by Congressman John Conyers and signed by dozens of members of the House of Representatives, regarding the Downing Street memo? Has the President or anyone else responded?
McCLELLAN: Not that I'm aware of.
Q Why not?
McCLELLAN: Why not? Because I think that this is an individual who voted against the war in the first place [Conyers] and is simply trying to rehash old debates that have already been addressed. And our focus is not on the past. It's on the future and working to make sure we succeed in Iraq.
These matters have been addressed, Elaine. I think you know that very well. The press --
Q Scott, 88 members of Congress signed that letter.
McCLELLAN: The press -- the press have covered it, as well.
Q But, Scott, don't they deserve the courtesy of a response back?
McCLELLAN: Again, this has been addressed….
***
Q Scott, on John Conyers, John Conyers is walking here with that letter again, as you have acknowledged from Elaine's comment. But 88 leaders on Capitol Hill signed that letter. Now, I understand what you're saying about him, but what about the other 88 who signed this letter, wanting information, answers to these five questions?
McCLELLAN: How did they vote on the war -- the decision to go to war in Iraq?
Q Well, you have two -- well, if that's the case, you have two Republicans who are looking for a timetable. How do you justify that?
McCLELLAN: I already talked about that.
Q I understand, but let's talk about this.
McCLELLAN: Like I said --
Q Well, just because -- I understand -- but if you're talking about unifying and asking for everyone to come together, why not answer, whether they wanted the war or not, answer a letter where John Conyers wrote to the President and then 88 congressional leaders signed? Why not answer that?
McCLELLAN: For the reasons I stated earlier. This is simply rehashing old debates that have already been discussed.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000963228
...and this from today's press briefing for the gaggle. (thanks to holden at firstdraft for the heads up)
Q Scott, is the insurgency in Iraq in its last throes?
MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, you have a desperate group of terrorists in Iraq that are doing everything they can to try to derail the transition to democracy. The Iraqi people have made it clear that they want a free and democratic and peaceful future. And that's why we're doing everything we can, along with other countries, to support the Iraqi people as they move forward. The fact that they are making great progress on the political front is significant because that helps defeat the terrorists, because the terrorists don't want to see democracy take hold. They don't want lasting democratic institutions to be put in place. And that's why we are standing with the Iraqi people as they move forward on the political front.
[snip]
Q But the insurgency is in its last throes?
MR. McCLELLAN: The Vice President talked about that the other day -- you have a desperate group of terrorists who recognize how high the stakes are in Iraq. A free Iraq will be a significant blow to their ambitions.
Q But they're killing more Americans, they're killing more Iraqis. That's the last throes?
MR. McCLELLAN: Innocent -- I say innocent civilians. And it doesn't take a lot of people to cause mass damage when you're willing to strap a bomb onto yourself, get in a car and go and attack innocent civilians. That's the kind of people that we're dealing with. That's what I say when we're talking about a determined enemy.
Q Right. What is the evidence that the insurgency is in its last throes?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think I just explained to you the desperation of terrorists and their tactics.
Q What's the evidence on the ground that it's being extinguished?
MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, we're making great progress to defeat the terrorist and regime elements. You're seeing Iraqis now playing more of a role in addressing the security threats that they face. They're working side by side with our coalition forces. They're working on their own. There are a lot of special forces in Iraq that are taking the battle to the enemy in Iraq. And so this is a period when they are in a desperate mode.
Q Well, I'm just wondering what the metric is for measuring the defeat of the insurgency.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you can go back and look at the Vice President's remarks. I think he talked about it.
Q Yes. Is there any idea how long a last throe lasts for?
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Steve.
It's not Scott McClellan... If you listen to Stephanie Miller, you know his name is really Puffy McMoonface! With every lie, his face swells.
How many people are there? At the rally.My TV is broke.
My weekend objective....visit tee-shirt shop.
NEW SHIRT!!!!
The untouchables are now the impeachables!!!
ABOUT TIME!!!!
Colleen,
Karen said approximately 1,000 people at the rally. Scroll to the very top of this thread, and refresh. Karen is reporting to us live from the event, and Casey is keeping us posted with updates from time to time. You will need to refresh to get an update every once in a while.
Posted by: battlebob at June 16, 2005 03:55 PM
Are you going?
I apologize for being WAY off topic here, but I can't seem to get into the IRC, is it shut down or am I doing something wrong?
Hey Veritas!
No it is working ...
just try again and make sure you have Java loaded on the computer
=]
The IRC is open for business. Any specific error message?
THREE CHEERS FOR KAREN!!! :-) THREE CHEERS FOR CASEY!!! :-) Thank you, Karen, for your wonderful reporting from the hearing! I hope you know we love you and anyone with you who have attended the Conyers hearing today! IMHO, it is true nobility of character to help keep people across this nation informed with the truthful observations about events in our nation's capitol.
Seems like DC legislators are just catching up with the "news" about the timeline of when the invasion of Iraq was planned. I knew during the pres. debates of 2000 before the "selection" took place that if the cretin was elected he'd invade Iraq to finish his daddy's war. The bloggers knew about the illegality of the invasion before the last election in 2004.... So many lives lost in all that time... Makes one weep in frustration over the unnecessary deaths of Americans, Iraqis and other people who were part of Bu$hCo's 'coalition'! There have been two funerals in my state alone within the last couple of weeks over deaths in Iraq, and a month ago a son of one of our state legislators was killed there, too.
An additional three cheers for the British Deep Throat who has leaked the Downing Street Memos!!! They have a real hero in that person!
Now, if the American Lamebrain Media would just catch up with the Internet information and bloggers who have known the truth all along - and REPORT the TRUTH to the rest of this country, perhaps real progress could be made.... starting with impeaching the pResident and the v-pResident.... Ah, I have such pretty dreams!
KUDOS to Karen and Casey and the other people close to the action who are reporting the truth to us!!! We appreciate and applaud your work!!! :-)
Posted by: Christy at June 16, 2005 05:45 PM
You know Christy, this first story give me much to be encouraged about. Why? Because you will notice that Scott McClellan didn't deny any of the accusations contained therein. You know the last time they did that, this non-denial/non-denial? When Bush had the black box on. This is the don't take this person seriously and it will go away. That way, if he is completely dismissive of it, it means that he doesn't really know for sure, and is scared to death of getting caught saying the wrong lie about it.
Thank you so much Rep Conyers. You have lead the
fight in real voting reform, where I first saw you at Bradblog. Then you took on the DSM.
My son is going to Iraq in Sept. I cried today listening to people telling the truth to America.
Blogs rule!!!
dwahzon, when I try to log on, I get the following messages:
Connecting...
Logging in...
-matrix.winbeta.org-***Looking up your hostname...
-matrix.winbeta.org-***Found your hostname
-matrix.winbeta.org-***If you are having problems connecting due to ping timeouts, please type /quote pong 17B7D872 or /raw pong 17B7D872 now.
[IRC VERSION]
-matrix.winbeta.org-***You are banned from WinBeta (30days ban to get a kindERgarden vacation)
Error: Closing Link: Veritas [ip address] (User has been banned from WinBeta (30days ban to get a kindERgarden vacation))
Disconnected from irc.winbeta.org
Posted by: colleen at June 16, 2005 07:19 PM
Colleen,
Thank you for posting with us today. Visit us often and keep us updated. Best wishes for safety for your son, and prayers from me. Peace to you....
Veritas... after consulting... the recommendation is to reboot.
If that works, we'll see you in the IRC.
If it doesn't, I have 2 more steps for you to try.
Colleen,
Thank you for blogging with us today. We will be keeping your son in our thoughts and prayers.
Thanks, NonnyO--kind words are much appreciated.
Thank you and Kudos to our mods and tech staff that allow us to be able to focus while they keep everything else running smoothly.
Thanks and Kudos to the invisi-ones!
Thanks to everybody in the DCP Crew, for all your toil and efforts. It makes a big difference, and you are much appreciated.
C=SPAN2 has the rebroadcast of today's hearing with Conyers on right now!!
Cspan2 streaming online is carrying the hearing as well... Joe Wilson is speaking right now
http://www.cspan.org/watch/cspan2_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2
Veritas (and anyone else having problems)
pcdoc did some checking with the powers that be and it seems that one of the irc ops applied a very broad ip ban and it caught you in it.
It’s being removed. Try getting in now… and if it doesn’t work try again in a few minutes.
Good luck and see you in there
HI ALL,
We just got home and now we MUST EAT!!
I will have much more in an hour or so--it was an AMAZING day--THANK YOU to Casey and dwahzon for tireless scribing--and people, today, democracy returned to Washington.
It is only a start.
But we commence...
Karen, Casey and Dwahzon:
I am reminded of the story I once heard while I was visiting the Philippines.
We drove by Edsa Plaza, the place where thousands of Filipinos marched and rallied peacefully for the overthrow of the Marcos regime and legitimize the election of Cory Aquino.
The civilians faced down the Filipino military that day, and they won. I asked at the time, why is there a church here now in Edsa Plaza to commemorate a political event?
I was told that it was a miracle.
"How could a simple protest be a miracle?"
She said, "On that day, the people realized their own army would not kill them".
Miracles happen when we make the everyday something special.
Karen, Casey and dwahzon, we owe you a huge debt of thanks for helping make history, HUGE history today. You did it by doing what you do everyday for the DCP. And you made this day something special.
Go Vote here-- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8248969/
Do you believe President Bush misled the nation in order to go to war with Iraq?
96% voted yes....! He "misled" the nation....
Misled??? Hell, he LIED!!! Call it what it is and stop being so polite and politically correct about the whole fiasco!!!
Democrat Urges Inquiry on Bush, Iraq
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
38 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Congress should conduct an official inquiry to determine whether President Bush intentionally misled the nation about the reasons for toppling Saddam Hussein, a senior House Democrat suggested Thursday.
New York Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record) was among Democratic House members who participated in a forum to air demands that the White House provide more information about what led to the decision to go to war in Iraq.
"Quite frankly, evidence that appears to be building up points to whether or not the president has deliberately misled Congress to make the most important decision a president has to make, going to war," said Rangel, senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) and other Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee organized the forum to investigate implications in a British document known as the "Downing Street memo." The memo says the Bush administration believed that war was inevitable and was determined to use intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the ouster of Saddam.
Conyers pointed to statements by Bush in the run-up to invasion that war would be a last resort. "The veracity of those statements has — to put it mildly — come into question," he said.
In the opening hours of the forum, witnesses spoke mainly about their views on the decision to go to war and not the memo, which the Bush administration has dismissed.
"We are having this discussion today because we failed to have it three years ago when we went to war," former Ambassador Joseph Wilson said.
"It used to be said that democracies were difficult to mobilize for war precisely because of the debate required," Wilson said, going on to say the lack of debate in this case allowed the war to happen.
Wilson wrote a 2003 newspaper opinion piece criticizing the Bush administration's claim that Iraq had sought uranium in Niger. After the piece appeared someone in the Bush administration leaked the identity of Wilson's wife as a CIA operative, exposing her cover.
Wilson has said he believes the leak was retaliation for his critical comments. The Justice Department is investigating.
The Downing Street memo states the "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy," recounting a July 23, 2002, meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his national security team. The meeting took place just after British officials returned from Washington.
U.S. officials and Blair deny the assertion about intelligence and facts being "fixed," a comment that the memo attributes to the chief of British intelligence at the time.
"This is simply rehashing old debates that have already been discussed," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday.
The London Sunday Times disclosed the contents of the memo May 1. It also reported on an eight-page briefing paper prepared for Blair that concluded the U.S. military had given "little thought" to the aftermath of a war in Iraq.
The briefing paper of July 21, 2002, said that a postwar occupation of Iraq could lead to a protracted and costly nation-building exercise and that "as already made clear, the U.S. military plans are virtually silent on this point. Washington could look to us to share a disproportionate share of the burden."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress should conduct an official inquiry to determine whether President Bush intentionally misled the nation about the reasons for toppling Saddam Hussein, a senior House Democrat suggested Thursday.
New York Rep. Charles Rangel was among Democratic House members who participated in a forum to air demands that the White House provide more information about what led to the decision to go to war in Iraq.
"Quite frankly, evidence that appears to be building up points to whether or not the president has deliberately misled Congress to make the most important decision a president has to make, going to war," said Rangel, senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Rep. John Conyers and other Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee organized the forum to investigate implications in a British document known as the "Downing Street memo." The memo says the Bush administration believed that war was inevitable and was determined to use intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the ouster of Saddam.
Conyers pointed to statements by Bush in the run-up to invasion that war would be a last resort. "The veracity of those statements has — to put it mildly — come into question," he said.
In the opening hours of the forum, witnesses spoke mainly about their views on the decision to go to war and not the memo, which the Bush administration has dismissed.
"We are having this discussion today because we failed to have it three years ago when we went to war," former Ambassador Joseph Wilson said.
"It used to be said that democracies were difficult to mobilize for war precisely because of the debate required," Wilson said, going on to say the lack of debate in this case allowed the war to happen.
Wilson wrote a 2003 newspaper opinion piece criticizing the Bush administration's claim that Iraq had sought uranium in Niger. After the piece appeared someone in the Bush administration leaked the identity of Wilson's wife as a CIA operative, exposing her cover.
Wilson has said he believes the leak was retaliation for his critical comments. The Justice Department is investigating.
The Downing Street memo states the "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy," recounting a July 23, 2002, meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his national security team. The meeting took place just after British officials returned from Washington.
U.S. officials and Blair deny the assertion about intelligence and facts being "fixed," a comment that the memo attributes to the chief of British intelligence at the time.
"This is simply rehashing old debates that have already been discussed," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday.
The London Sunday Times disclosed the contents of the memo May 1. It also reported on an eight-page briefing paper prepared for Blair that concluded the U.S. military had given "little thought" to the aftermath of a war in Iraq.
The briefing paper of July 21, 2002, said that a postwar occupation of Iraq could lead to a protracted and costly nation-building exercise and that "as already made clear, the U.S. military plans are virtually silent on this point. Washington could look to us to share a disproportionate share of the burden."
FACTS-FIXER-AROUND-THE-POLICY!(LIAR!)...FACTS-FIXER-AROUND-THE-POLICY!(LIAR!)....PANTS-ON-FIRE!!!
Enjoy your dinner Karen et all!
I find it stunningly amazing the media reports:"this is nothing NEW and is old news,however it's NOW in writing!"
Now that the polls are showing less support for the chimp,people are finally waking up..too bad it's this year and not the last one. Think we have voters remorse?? I didn't think I could survive another one but again,all your efforts have proved me wrong.
Again the thugs are saying:" we're stronger,dems no message", and let's hope to prove them WRONG!!
Thanks for the wonderful coverage throughout the day on the DSM hearings. Watching it now on cspan2...but your being there makes it much more real, than is possible by watching TV. Way to go, Karen!...nice job ;)
Hats off to Ray McGovern,Joe Wilson,John Conyers and everyone else that made this day possible.
The "party of values" and that snake in the grass Cheney will be tested,hopefully burned at the stake!!!
Thanks so much to Karen et al, your very hard work is much appreciated by all!
What an amazing live blog! This is making history. Seems like the good ship DowningStreetMemo is really moving! I hope so.
Conyers et al. have my full support. The media and our country needs to realize that war is not a game--not a sport, and it should not be an industry for profit. It's about life and blood; truth and honor--and this administration has wasted all of the above in this awful Iraqi misadventure.
Karen,
Thank you so much for representing us and doing such a wonderful job relaying the information back to us. Today for the first time a very long time I felt as though we are Finally being heard!
Thankfully very courageous people like Conyers are stepping forward and asking did the President deceive us about why we should go to war in Iraq?
The News Hour on PBS produced a whole 15 minute segment on the Downing Street Memos including a former CIA Analyst who testified at the hearings.
See what happens when you mess with Ernie, Bert, Kermit and Big Bird...Ms. Piggy holds her own.
My plan:
Red eye to Minneapolis
Bush arrives just after I do
3 days of political action
on to North Dakota
no computer access, no blogs
no internet, just Fox news
I will report back as able.
The replay of the Conyers hearing just concluded and at the end they said,
this program airs again tomorrow night at 8 pm edt on cspan2
So tune if if you didn't get to see it... and tell your friends and family!!
I missed the hearing, but attended the rally with Karen. It was awesome. Positive energy. People were hopeful, not depressed. Happy, not angry. A general feeling that this is the begining of something good. We got there at 4:00, the sametime as the camera crew from CNN. There was good press coverage. Saw most of the local channels and numerous reporters.
Casey,
Been a long day....
About the meeting in Phoenix with John Edwards to raise the minimum wage..
Mary and I are both registered via phone and email.
Indy
NPR had good coverage of the Downing Street Memo story as well.
I also heard the dissenting Republican reviews about the Patriot Act renewal & the (lack of) exit plan from Iraq & also some bipartisan work on the energy plan.
I had work media blackout so only a peek at Google news but was also able to observe the Schiavo autopsy comments - Frist etc. A little backpedalling required, I think.
Congress will need to work hard to be re-elected - they had better start listening to their constituents. I think I read a Scott McClellan comment implying that any of the liberals on the left or libertarians on the right who didn't agree with Bush on various issues (especially Patriot Act) were more or less out of the mainstream - something about fringe elements on the left and the right. He is the one who is out of touch with the populace.
This term Bush will probably veto some. Last term he didn't need to, as he had all blank checks. & now he has to stand on his own - no opponent to kick around - no program to run on & now no program in place except ones no one likes (Social security etc).
Patti
Chimp people - LOL
Our president lied to us and hijacked the nations military to pursue a personal and or religious agenda.
Now the Nation asks why our best and most courageous are being killed and Maimed. Why we are using borrowed money to finance a religious quest. Why our children are watching their schools closed, teachers dismissed, and education cut while defense contractors are enjoying record profits.
So we petition our representatives to demand an answer, and they ask. They collect signatures, and break with their party to fulfill the office they hold. And we blog, and write, and call and fax and support each other. This is how it is supposed to work.
We fight back, and fight hard. We need to take this struggle to Washington, Detriot, San Francisco and Houston. The Constitution exists to guarentee Americans the right and the Obligation to question the motives and reasoning of our elected leadership.
And when that leadership comes up short, we have the right to dismiss it. We have that obligation to our children, to our nations finances and most importantly to the courageous young soldiers serving their nation.
The tragedy is only if the country does nothing.
The president ``may have deliberately deceived the United States to get us into a war,'' Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said. ``Was the president of the United States a fool or a knave?''
With Shrub's approval ratings plummeting, I think it's now time for Dems to "add salt" so to speak and get on talking point and start spreading the message that Americans are having "buyer's remorse."
Anyone with me on this?
Florida dem,NOW is the time to get in line with a "WAR ROOM" of our own. If the DNC chair and the rest of us don't take advantage of our message we NEVER will. Voices need to resonate LOUD and CLEAR!!
In other words:""BRING IT ON." Gosh how I miss those words!!
FD-I'd love to, but buyers remorse means others, especially Dems, would have to recognize we had a great candidate, an alternative, who didn't believe in regime change or unilateral, pre-emptive war without WMDs.
All the places where people are taking back the country, I never see Kerry. He was special guest recently, but I never heard comment here what happened.
Not to take away how absolutely hopeful I feel!!!!
Buyer's remorse!
Buyer's remorse!
Spread the concept - nice frame!
also...the idea that, "The President decieved the congress, the people of the US, and the world" should be stressed...imho :)
deception of congress is a felony, and impeachable offense...
T-Shirt idea:
Picture of Bush with words Buyers Remorse under it. And under those words: Demand a refund.
Posted by: oncall at June 17, 2005 12:06 AM
I wonder if there is a 'lemon law' that might be applicable? :O)
oncall....wonderful!!
I wanted to say so many great frames from the hearing, and then I think of the joining of framing and crime. Both the freedom fries press conference and hearing were like a watershed moment of hope.
People now prepared to think, because they were so afraid, then, of a change of leadership, and couldn't opt for change of leaders because they wouldn't think. Thanks media.
Wonder how those not as convinced, maybe seeing it new, a basement huddle, what they think?
Didn't just allude to impeachment, but over and over with pretext and connecting the dots.
Lemons are acidic, but these characters are beyond that to really corrosive.
Hi all. Been busy keeping locals active and out of the house, but had to come home to celebrate.
Marjorie - I hear what you're saying, but it's worth a shot. BUYER'S REMORSE! :) Yes, JK and Bill Clinton were special guests at Rainbow Push's Monday opening session which was themed around labor. John Edwards was the keynote. BC didn't show either. JK had a scheduling conflict but in lieu of not attending he did show up that morning at the press conference for the anti-lynching bill because he was a co-sponsor. He also got some ink in the WP for calling out those who didn't sign onto that bill and brought to light the fact that the bill wasn't put to roll call vote in the first place so the Repubs who didn't sign on didn't get embarrassed by having their racism and/or indifference on permenantly on public record. Also, there is word that JK has drafted his own DSM letter to the president demanding answers and he's currently floating it around to other senators to get them to co-sign.
Hey DiAnne! Will be thinking of you while you're away ODin' on FOX. Poor baby!
Great ideas pcdoc and oncall! :)
Patti-
Re: The War Room....
Yep. Harry Reid started one but it was primairly to stop Shrub's SS scam. Once Shrub backtracks on his SS scheme - which rumblings are he will - maybe we can get a more all encompassing and nimble war room. Here's hoping.
T-Shirt idea:
Picture of Bush with words Buyers Remorse under it. And under those words: Demand a refund.
Posted by: oncall at June 17, 2005 12:06 AM
Oncall, I love it!!
DiAnne,
You may be well on your way to the airport, but if not, have a great trip! No telling who you might bump into up there!
DCP, rest well my comrades. I am so proud to know all of you.
Bush's SS program will be toast now that he has to deal with the anti-war sentiment...bah..haaa!!
Reid speaks up,however, I think more should speak up,like Durbin did yesterday. Kuchinich minces no words for sure....and kept his mantra from the last campaign:"Courage my friends,courage." I try and tune in c-span and the house in the AM as Dennis is always a wonderful voice to start my day off right.
Everytime these thugs put out a "plan",we need speakers from the heart and soul of dems!!
Jun 16, 11:13 PM EDT
House Panel Cuts Public Broadcast Funds
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Public television stations and National Public Radio would lose 25 percent of their federal funding next year under a bill cleared by a House committee Thursday night, although some of their funding for future years would be restored.
The moves came as the House Appropriations panel approved a tightly drawn spending bill for labor, health and education programs. For the first time since the early days of GOP control of Congress 10 years ago, the measure, taken as a whole, makes actual cuts to the programs funded by the bill.
The bill is perhaps the most controversial spending bill that passes Congress each year, and Senate GOP moderates have traditionally forced more money into it. Tight budget times, however, promise to make that difficult this time around.
The measure eliminates almost 50 programs totaling $2.3 billion and cuts many others, including a $100 million cut from an already-enacted budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the budget year starting Oct. 1. The corporation provides grants to local public broadcasting stations and creators of programming.
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., brought puppets of "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie to remind Republicans of the battle 10 years ago when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., unsuccessfully led the charge to take away subsidies for public broadcasting but relented after a public outcry.
A Democratic amendment to provide CPB with $400 million in future-year funding was approved by voice vote, but $79 million in cuts for new infrastructure programs would force delays in converting public TV stations to digital technology.
The bill contains $142.5 billion in spending under lawmakers' control, but makes cuts to many of the more than 500 programs funded by the bill. For example, President Bush's signature No Child Left Behind education initiative would be cut by $806 million - more than 3 percent.
The overall bill is essentially frozen at current levels but new demands have forced cuts in long-established programs.
Republicans were able to find $1 billion over current-year funding for Pell Grants, allowing a $50 increase in the maximum annual grant to $4,100. Lawmakers were also forced to find almost $1 billion for the cost of implementing the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Those increases forced Labor Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, to comb through the measure for cuts in other popular programs.
The cuts include $198 million from subsidies for low-income people to pay for their heat and air conditioning bills. The National Institutes of Health, whose budget has doubled over recent years, would be essentially frozen at $28.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the committee rejected an attempt by social conservatives to ban federal funding for new research involving the transfer of genetic material into human eggs to grow stem cells. Opponents of the research, led by Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla., say it unethically creates cloned embryos. The research is under way at Stanford University and Harvard University.
"The cloning is about to begin," Weldon said.
Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., argued against the amendment, saying it would hang up the underlying funding bill in unending battles over stem cell research. Weldon's amendment was defeated by a 36-29 vote.
Separately, the committee approved a $2.8 billion bill funding the budget for the House of Representatives. The committee added legislation aimed at ensuring the continuity of Congress in the case of a catastrophic terrorist attack. The measure would require special elections within 49 days of an attack that kills or incapacitates 100 House members.
U.S. pressure weakens G-8 climate plan
Negotiators agree to soften language
By Juliet Eilperin
The Washington Post
Updated: 11:37 p.m. ET June 16, 2005
Bush administration officials working behind the scenes have succeeded in weakening key sections of a proposal for joint action by the eight major industrialized nations to curb climate change.
Under U.S. pressure, negotiators in the past month have agreed to delete language that would detail how rising temperatures are affecting the globe, set ambitious targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions and set stricter environmental standards for World Bank-funded power projects, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. Negotiators met this week in London to work out details of the document, which is slated to be adopted next month at the Group of Eight's annual meeting in Scotland.
The administration's push to alter the G-8's plan on global warming marks its latest effort to edit scientific or policy documents to accord with its position that mandatory carbon dioxide cuts are unnecessary. Under mounting international pressure to adopt stricter controls on heat-trapping gas emissions, Bush officials have consistently sought to modify U.S. government and international reports that would endorse a more aggressive approach to mitigating global warming.
Last week, the New York Times reported that a senior White House official had altered government documents to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding the science on global warming. That official, White House Council on Environmental Quality chief of staff Phillip Cooney, left the administration last Friday to take a public relations job with oil giant Exxon Mobil, a leading opponent of mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
The wording of the international document, titled "Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development," will help determine what, if any, action the G-8 countries will take as a group to combat global warming. Every member nation except the United States has pledged to bring its greenhouse gas emissions down to 1990 levels by 2012 as part of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- who currently heads the G-8 -- is trying to coax the United States into adopting stricter climate controls.
Read more... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8249458/
Where can I find a complete text of the hearing. There are so many lies being issued by the press. I want to know what was actually said so I can share it with my students at my university.
Thanks
prof. ernest duke
Professor Duke,
There is a streaming audio version of the hearing available here
Complete Audio now posted, courtesy of BRAD BLOG secret weapon, David Edwards!
- Streaming RealAudio
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/media/cspan/cspan_dsm_forum_050616-01.ram
- Mirrored Streaming RealAudio
http://www.bradblog.com/audio/cspan_dsm_forum_050616-01.ram
And Rep. Conyers gives a lot of information on his blog site with references to other sites where info on the hearing is available. I did not find a site that has the transcript yet in my search.
Check this out though
http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000140.htm