Up until recently, I followed Senator John Cornyn on Facebook, but his obsession with Attorny General Holder got to be a little much, and as his constituent, I expressed my opinion there. Well, it seems that Senator Cornyn can’t take the heat. I’ve had my Facebook account banned from posting comments on his page, and also had my Twitter account blocked by the Senator’s Twitter account.
The Senator questioned the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s change in deportation policy, and seemed to be saying it was the responsibility of Congress:
Art 1, sec. 8 US Const: Congress shall have the power to “establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization… .”
But the Senator appears far too obsessed and busy pursuing his witch-hunt against Attorney General Holder to spend any time on the Dream Act (or any other worthwhile legislation). He’s posted (some might call it spamming) over 25 links to articles this week calling for the resignation of Attorney General Holder on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, it appears that the charges Cornyn has leveled against Attorney General Holder are unfounded: Five Things To Know About The Republican Witchhunt Against Attorney General Holder.
This comment from Facebook sums it up pretty well:
Lori Ratcliff: I LOVE our president and am so happy that he is doing the right thing in spite of all the corporate shills in the Republican party. I am SO SICK of hearing all the hatred and racism spewing from the mouths (and computers) of Republicans. Never forget, Mr. Cornyn, that it is your job to represent ALL of us, not just your personal supporters. The president is doing the right thing in spite of the congress and I say, it’s about damn time.
General Wes Clark, retired four-star general and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Europe, has endorsed Mary Beth Harrell for Congress.
General Clark said he is endorsing Mary Beth because she “has taken a strong stand on the Iraq War and will never support any exit strategy that squanders her son’s service in Iraq nor dishonors her husband’s long service to our country. She will stand for crafting and implementing an exit strategy that protects our national interests and brings our soldiers home as soon as possible by setting achievable benchmarks for the Iraqi government.”
And General Clark noted that Mary Beth “will also ask the tough questions. The Bush Administration said that the Iraq War would be paid for by Iraqi oil. The newest budget presented to Congress calls for half a trillion dollars to pay for this war.”
“Harrell will be a strong voice in Washington to clear up these discrepancies between rhetoric and reality.” – Gen. Wes Clark
You know that Mary Beth’s opponent has called the Iraq War “a huge success” and has been a rubberstamp for failed policies and failed civilian leadeship.
“Sending Mary Beth Harrell to Washington, D.C. will guarantee that mainstream values are once again represented in Congress. MaryBeth Harrell represents the best of everything America is. She will make our country proud,” said General Wesley Clark.
Strong words of praise and support from General Wes Clark, a career soldier who has served his country with extraordinary distinction and honor.
JURIST Guest Columnist Jordan Paust of the University of Houston Law Center says that minimum due process guarantees under customary international law must not be denied when Congress attempts to articulate forms of procedure for new US military commissions…
When considering legislation for military commissions, members of Congress should be careful not to open themselves to personal war crimes liability by denying the due process requirements incorporated in common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
read on…
In other words… Congress May be Prosecutable For War Crimes
By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer Sat May 6, 7:03 PM ET
WASHINGTON – Prosecutors have e-mails showing Rep. Tom DeLay’s office knew lobbyist Jack Abramoff had arranged the financing for the GOP leader’s controversial European golfing trip in 2000 and was concerned “if someone starts asking questions.”
House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting free trips from lobbyists. DeLay, R-Texas, reported to Congress that a Republican advocacy group had paid for the spring 2000 trip that DeLay, his wife and top aides took to Scotland and England.
Yahoo! News
Pants on fire!
Oh, that’s just a stereotype, it’s not really true. 
From a Conservative, a Lack Of Compassion for Ralph Reed
By Thomas B. Edsall and Dan Balz
Sunday, March 26, 2006; Page A05
Reed, Olasky wrote March 4, “has damaged Christian political work by confirming for some the stereotype that evangelicals are easily manipulated and that evangelical leaders use moral issues to line their own pockets.”
Washington Post
Mr. Abramoff’s Meetings, Again
Saturday, January 28, 2006; Page A20
IF A TYPICAL picture is worth a thousand words, a picture of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, we suppose, might be worth about 10,000. And so we understand the desire of our more visually inclined colleagues to obtain photos of the president and the criminal. But the focus on the photos distracts from a more important question that the president managed to duck in his news conference Thursday: Who in the White House and administration met with Mr. Abramoff, and what were those meetings about?
It is no answer to this question to say, as Mr. Bush did, that “there is a serious investigation going on by federal prosecutors” and “if they believe something was done inappropriately in the White House, they’ll come and look, and they’re welcome to do so.” It is no answer to dismiss questions about Mr. Abramoff and the White House, as press secretary Scott McClellan has, by calling them a “fishing expedition.” If there is one thing that is now clear, anything involving Mr. Abramoff is, by definition, fishy.
Washington Post
Bush Aide Says Abramoff Photos Coincidence
1 hour, 59 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – An adviser to President Bush said Monday that Bush’s photographs in the company of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff amount to a coincidence and shouldn’t be interpreted any more seriously than that.
Yahoo
Guy raises over $100K for you, and you don’t know who he is?
that should read Democrats Seek to End Republican ‘Culture of Corruption’, because all the effort to deflect the Abramoff scandal away from the Republicans is kind of lame. As we saw back a few weeks ago from the list of contributions, all the money went to Republicans!
Anyway….
Democrats Unveil Lobbying Curbs
As Party Escalates Reform Push, GOP Calls Scandal Bipartisan
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 19, 2006; Page A01
Congressional Democrats yesterday laid out a plan to change what they called a GOP “culture of corruption” in Washington, even as Republicans pointed to ethics lapses on their antagonists’ side of the aisle.
Democratic leaders from the House and Senate endorsed proposals that closely mirror Republican plans unveiled this week to tighten regulations on lobbyists since the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal broke. But in a sign that an ethical “arms race” may be developing, the Democratic plans go further than the Republicans’ proposals.
Washington Post
Loophole in Lobbying Bill Leaves Wiggle Room
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 18, 2006; Page A04
Lawmakers are about to bombard the American public with proposals that would crack down on lobbyists. Several prominent plans, including one outlined yesterday by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), would specifically ban meals and privately paid travel for lawmakers.
Or would they?
According to lobbyists and ethics experts, even if Hastert’s proposal is enacted, members of Congress and their staffs could still travel the world on an interest group’s expense and eat steak on a lobbyist’s account at the priciest restaurants in Washington.
The only requirement would be that whenever a lobbyist pays the bill, he or she must also hand the lawmaker a campaign contribution. Then the transaction would be perfectly okay.
Washington Post
In Ga., Abramoff Scandal Threatens a Political Ascendancy
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 16, 2006; Page A01
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase:
“Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigation?”
As everyone knew, Pichon was referring to Jack Abramoff, whose outsize Washington lobbying scandal has reached down to Georgia. Abramoff and Reed — the former executive director of the Christian Coalition — have been friends for 25 years, and until recently it had been a mutually profitable association. Now it is proving highly inconvenient for Reed, and threatens to stall a career that has been emblematic of the modern GOP.
Washington Post
Damn, those Republicans are dirty.
Rep. Ney to Temporarily Cede Panel Chair
By DAVID HAMMER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record), an Ohio Republican implicated in a lobbying corruption investigation, said Sunday he will step aside temporarily as chairman of the House Administration Committee.
Ney is at the center of the Justice Department’s ongoing corruption probe and has been identified as the congressman referenced by Abramoff in his guilty plea earlier this month.
Ney’s decision comes as three House Republicans are waging a spirited campaign to replace Rep. Tom Delay (news, bio, voting record) of Texas as majority leader. Delay was forced by party rules to step aside after he was indicted by a state grand jury in Texas for alleged violation of campaign finance laws.
Delay also is a longtime friend of Abramoff and some of Delay’s former aides have been charged in the Abramoff investigation.
The Administration Committee that Ney headed controls disclosures of lobbying practices and would be a key part of efforts to reform the system.
Yahoo!
