Need to Know

Rep. John Murtha (PA-D) has died at age 77. I'm actually sad about that. I thought he was a cool guy who stood up for working Americans.

You know who's not standing for Americans, just corporations. The 'Publicans, who just recently gave a chilly reception Monday to President Barack Obama's invitation to discuss health care in a bipartisan, televised setting later this month, part of the White House effort to revive the stalled legislation. I'm sorry. I thought that's one of the things they've been complaining about.

A Money Quote, Literally

Combine all that spending to boost home prices with a still-bloated financial industry – too big to fail, expecting to get bailed out, and rewarding executives with huge bonuses in exchange for taking big risks – and, warns Barofsky, the U.S. financial system is headed for The Great Crisis, Part II. "Even if TARP saved our financial system from driving off a cliff back in 2008, absent meaningful reform, we are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car," cautions the report.

The thing is, though, that we've got to keep people in their homes, right? So let's break up the banks, put caps on bonuses, and, well, it seems like we're gonna have to let the worst of the idiots fail. Or, rather, be foreclosed on. Read the rest of the article here.

Vindication?

I'm not sure this is vindication for ACORN, but it's something. ~ No1KState

Investigation Finds ACORN Didn't Break Laws
Christopher WeberEditor

A report commissioned by the House Judiciary Committee found ACORN, a community organizing group heavily criticized after an undercover video surfaced, has not violated any federal regulations.

The study by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service found that ACORN correctly used all federal dollars it received and did not improperly register any voters during last year's presidential election.

ACORN came under fire after undercover video footage surfaced that showed employees discussing prostitution, tax evasion, and smuggling with a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute. Earlier this month an outside legal expert hired by the group found no laws were broken by staffers caught on video.

While ACORN was found not to have violated any laws, its conservative critics who made the video may have. The CRS report said the covert filming may have broken laws in Maryland and California, where some of the footage was shot. Both states forbid shooting video when both parties aren't aware of the filming.

After the videos surfaced, Congress voted to strip ACORN of federal funding, but the CRS report said courts "may have sufficient basis" to rule that unconstitutional.

ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- remains the subject of at least 11 federal, state, and local investigations, according to the report.

Among other things, ACORN's Web site says the group campaigns for better housing, schools, neighborhoods, health care, job conditions, and more for low- and moderate-income families.

Read the full report here.

Tax Cuts?! Tax Cuts?!

I am fed up with the Republicans. They have to be the stupidest bunch in politics around the world. And to make matters worse, they have a healthy dose a pure evil, too.

After all this time and whining and complaining, they finally get something they should be happy with. Something they should be thrilled with in my opinion. A Senate stimulus plan that is 58% spending and 42% of the same tax cuts that got us in the mess in the first place. And David Vitter, who won his seat after castigating Bill Clinton for dishonoring the Oval then turned around a slept with a couple of prostitutes at least, is leading the Republican delegation who is asking for "time" to look things over. They wanna read exactly what's in the 42% of tax cuts.

Now, on one hand, you can't blame them. They don't want "tax cuts" that are targeted to workers. They especially don't want "tax cuts" that really aren't "tax cuts" at all that are targeted to the working poor, those who work but don't make enough to pay income tax. No. Even though these are the people who're really hurting, the people who haven't caused this whole mess, god forbid they get some help.

Not to mention, the unemployed, whose numbers keep growing by the day, don't pay taxes and therefore can't receive any tax relief.

Really. The Republicans are just putting on this whole show just to make sure President Obama fails. This isn't about the stimulus. This isn't about doing what's "right" for America. Economists across the ideological spectrum all agree Washington is gone have to turn the spigots wide open. So it's not the economics of the bill. Not the tax cuts, not the amount of spending, none of that. They just want Pres. Obama to fail, pure and simple.

The past 8 years have demonstrated that Republicans neither care nor know what's best for American citizens. Yet, they have the gall, the unmitigated audacity to get self-righteous over this?

You, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and all the other Congressional conservatives should be mortality ashamed of yourselves. Really.

You know what I hope? I hope Pres. Obama burns them Monday, and the final bill has everything the House Democrats wanted in the first place. The family planning spending, the National Mall grass, and everything. And if the Republicans want to filibuster, for once, make them stand and talk and explain to everybody why they want this recession to become worse.

About Blame Time!

Sorry I'm late with this. I've been busier than usual.

Though, I'm not the only one coming in a little late. And of course reparations are in order. Maybe the nation can't afford it, say that. But let's not act like reparations aren't order. Originally, racism was the reason reparations weren't paid. Only a handful of the tens of millions of slave received 40 acres and/or a mule. So, if racism's over and you're going to rectify the situation, reparations are in order.

House apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow
Resolution does not mention reparations; commits to rectifying 'misdeeds'


The Associated Press
updated 7:23 p.m. ET, Tues., July. 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws.

"Today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past," said Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only white lawmaker to represent a majority black district. Cohen faces a formidable black challenger in a primary face-off next week.

Congress has issued apologies before — to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws.

Five states have issued apologies for slavery, but past proposals in Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations — payment for damages.
No mention of reparationsThe Cohen resolution does not mention reparations. It does commit the House to rectifying "the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow."

It says that Africans forced into slavery "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage" and that black Americans today continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow laws that fostered discrimination and segregation.

The House "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow."
"Slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the greatest nation on the face of the earth," Cohen said. Part of forming a more perfect union, he said, "is such a resolution as we have before us today where we face up to our mistakes and apologize as anyone should apologize for things that were done in the past that were wrong."

White lawmaker reaches outCohen became the first white to represent the 60 percent black district in Memphis in more than three decades when he captured a 2006 primary in which a dozen black candidates split the vote. He has sought to reach out to his black constituents, and early in his term showed interest in joining the Congressional Black Caucus until learning that was against caucus rules.

Another of his first acts as a freshman congressman in early 2007 was to introduce the slavery apology resolution. His office said that the House resolution was brought to the floor only after learning that the Senate would be unable to join in a joint resolution.

More than a dozen of the 42 Congressional Black Caucus members in the House were original co-sponsors of the measure. The caucus has not endorsed either Cohen or his chief rival, attorney Nikki Tinker, in the Memphis primary, although Cohen is backed by several senior members, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. Tinker is the former campaign manager of Harold Ford, Jr., who held Cohen's seat until he stepped down in an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2006.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25921453/
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Now Comes the Attacks on Voting Rights

Getting into people's privacy wasn't enough for the Bush administration. Now, they're showing Congress up when it comes to voting rights. And, of course, minority, elderly, and poor voters are the ones who are prevented from voting. And that's how you get presidents like W.

Justice called uncooperative on voting rights
Conyers to Mukasey: There hasn't been enough cooperation with Congress

MLK's Birthday

I think this is important to share, especially for the next week. There's a lawsuit arising from the Nevada caucuses that look none too just or "equal." Alternet.org has an article about it. I first heard about it on Hardball with Chris Matthews and the video is below. Sad on MLK's birthday.

In other news, the Clinton and Obama campaigns have called a truce, which is good. And I disagree with Rep. Charles Rangel on the recent issue of race in the campaign. Though, I love his tax reform package! (Update: Rep. Rangel has apologized for his comments about Barack Obama. As soon as I can find more information, I'll post it.)

Uh, What? Run That by Me One More 'Gain

First, Mukasey says the Justice Department can't cooperate with Congress's investigation of the destruction of CIA tapes.

The Justice Department and the C.I.A.'s inspector general have begun a preliminary inquiry into the destruction of the tapes, and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said the department would not comply with Congressional requests for information now because of "our interest in avoiding any perception that our law enforcement decisions are subject to political influence."

No one's quite sure what's on the tape, but the Bush administration and the CIA had been instructed NOT to destroy the tape. Presumably, the tapes are of the CIA using torture. And, the Bush administration would cooperate with Congress, but they don't wanna the investigation to look political. In a move reversal its normal course of (in)action, Congress in planning to defy the administration.

Of course, there are questions about who in Congress was told about the tapes, what they were told about the tapes, and what they said about what they were told. Some say Congress wasn't told much. Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary claims Congress knew more than Bush.

Now, the Bush administration doesn't want a federal judge asking questions since Congress and the Justice Dept is already investigating CIA tapes.

In court documents filed Friday night, government lawyers told U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy that demanding information about the tapes would interfere with current investigations by Congress and the Justice Department.

Somebody please explain this logic!