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Smoke out the Senator
[Later Update: According to Coburn, via TPM, it was Ted Stevens who blocked him bill. Not too surprising, since Coburn took on Stevens over the bridge to nowhere. Your classic Senate pissing match. Pathetic. Your tax dollars, hard at work.]
[Update: And then there were six...and my money is STILL on Ted Stevens, who pissy attitude who love of all things pork, make him the perfect candidate.]
[Editor's Note: I came across this story yesterday on TPM Muckraker, which is also keeping a rolling tally. There are plenty of Senators who still need calling (32, as of this posting). Just pick up the phone....]
From Center for American Progress:
According to this report, a mystery Senator has placed a secret hold on open government legislation. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced legislation that would create a free database of government contracts, grants, financial assistance (worth $2.5,000,000,000,000 last year). The legislation (S.2590), the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, had already been passed unanimously by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, with bipartisan support.
Unless the senator who placed a hold lifts the hold, the bill will never receive a Senate vote. The Senatorial "hold" is not even part of the Senate rules. It allows a senator to delay legislation or a presidential appointment, indefinitely and can be done secretly.
Bloggers on the left (TPM Muckraker) and the right (Porkbusters) have joined forces to 'smoke out' the Senators behind the hold. Both sites are featuring a running tally of which Senators have been called and who have issued denials or statements.
Time to act.
My two Senators are not suspects, but I see many who are and am ready to make phone calls. The numbers are provided. Please join me in calling. Help use the process of elimination to "smoke out" the mystery Senator who placed the hold. When you get verification that your Senators are no longer suspects, email Porkbusters or TPM Muckraker and allow them to update figures in real time.
Also of interest: Here is an amazing tool that we can use. It calculates what taxpayers in each state and Congressional district will spend this year on nuclear weapons, tax cuts for the wealthy, war in Iraq and ballistic missile defense -- and compares it to the amount of health care, elementary school teachers, affordable housing, university scholarships, port container inspecors etc. that could have been provided for the same amount. (Hattip to Kayakbiker)
Short reminder--don't wait to get in on the fun. Call a Senator today. Find out who's been naughty and who's been nice. And them get them on the record.
Great post, DiAnne!
Here's another one, off topic, but Zach Singleton shares with us his Memorial Day experience earlier this year. He's just writing it now. Grab the kleenex.
http://misoldierthoughts.blogspot.com/
Watch Camp Democracy's Press Conference on C-Span Today, August 29, from 6-7 p.m. ET
http://www.c-span.org
http://www.campdemocracy.org
FORWARD WIDELY AND QUICKLY
PLEASE help get this out!!
karen,
I posted at DU, Firedoglake, and Ron Chusid's liberalvaluesblog.
Looking forward to watching in 8 minutes!
Totally off topic (sorry) but newsworthy for the sheer audacity of the comments.
Rumsfeld: Bush foes lack courage on terror
POSTED: 2:00 p.m. EDT, August 29, 2006
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror.
In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral and intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.
Addressing several thousand veterans at the American Legion's national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failed efforts to appease the Adolf Hitler regime in the 1930s.
"I recount this history because once again we face the same kind of challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism" he said.
Rumsfeld spoke to an American Legion convention as part of a coordinated White House strategy, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, aiming to take the offensive against administration critics at a time of doubt about the future of Iraq and how long U.S. troops must remain there.
Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from the 9/11 attacks to bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.
"But it is apparent that many have still not learned history's lessons," he said, adding that part of the problem is that the American news media have tended to emphasize the negative rather than the positive.
There's more
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/29/rumsfeld.ap/index.html
Carol,
Thanks!
It's also here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/29/174619/135
"I recount this history because once again we face the same kind of challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism" - Donald Rumsfeld
F.U. Dr. Death
Jack Cafferty just did this story, and asked for email feedback.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid lashed back at the Secretary of Defense in a press release today after Rumsfeld criticized the media for the "myths, and lies, and distortions being told about our troops and our country."
"Secretary Rumsfeld’s reckless comments show why America is not as safe as it can or should be five years after 9/11," said Reid's statement. "The Bush White House is more interested in lashing out at its political enemies and distracting from its failures than it is in winning the War on Terror and in bringing an end to the war in Iraq."
"If there's one person who has failed to learn the lessons of history it's Donald Rumsfeld," Reid said.
Rumsfeld had addressed the 88th Annual American Legion National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah earlier Tuesday.
"It seems that in some quarters there is more of a focus on dividing our country, than acting with unity against the gathering threats," Rumsfeld had said.
Reid called for Rumsfeld to resign for being "consistently wrong" on Iraq.
"We have a choice to make today," said Reid's statement.
"Do we trust Secretary Rumsfeld to make the right decisions to keep us safe after he has been so consistently wrong since the start of the Iraq War?" Reid asked. "Or, do we change course in Iraq and put in place new leadership that will put the safety of the American people ahead of partisan games?"
"For the sake of the safety of this country, it is time to make a change," concluded Reid's statement.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Senator_Reid_Rumsfeld_doesnt_get_it_0829.html
Hey -
Raed Jarrar's story about having to change his shirt for a flight has hit the news! (hat tip to rawstory)
http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/63716
original post here on his blog (with mention of Fear Up!)
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/
Carol,
That happened the day after he spoke at FEAR UP...
Biggest Drop in SAT Scores in 31 Years
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/education/30sat.html?hp&ex=1156910400&en=835b9576f58d18d4&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Is your child learnin'?
No Child Left Behind
Co-worker's scientifically-inclined son told me stem cell researchers are heading to Singapore in droves, because the research facilities there are state-of-the-art.
William Rivers Pitt on the upcoming ABC miniseries running to mark the anniversary of 9/11...
A film made by a right-wing group that lies repeatedly in the film to blame 9/11 on Bill Clinton.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/083006J.shtml
This is outright propoganda, and ABC needs to get their a**es kicked on it. Personally, I'm starting today.
Thanks, vigilent Editor!
Just got this from Howard Dean. You were right!!
You know the joke about how the government paid $640 for a toilet seat?
It's true.
So a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 -- a bill that would create a public, searchable database of all federal grants and contracts. Letting the public and the press see where the money goes would be a huge step towards eliminating ridiculous, wasteful spending.
A Google-like web site to find out where your tax dollars go -- seems like a no-brainer, right?
Think again. A Republican Senator famous for pork barrel spending placed a "secret hold" that's preventing the proposal from even getting a vote. The mystery Senator has revealed himself -- it's none other than Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who became famous for trying to waste taxpayer dollars to build a "bridge to nowhere".
Bloggers exposed the Blocker, Ted Stevens!
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15400462