News of the Day
Capitol Police are investigating reports of gunfire in the parking garage underneath the Rayburn Office Building, where House members have their offices.
Today the Senate easily confirmed Gen. Michael Hayden to be the next head of the CIA. President Bush applauded the confirmation, praising the man who has drawn criticism for being the architect of the NSA’s domestic eavesdropping program.
In a joint press conference yesterday in Washington, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted mistakes have been made in Iraq but defended their decision to invade the country without UN approval. Specifically, Bush mentioned the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and learning from what he feels was the misinterpretation of his cowboy rhetoric, while Blair insisted that a free Iraq “was a cause worth fighting for.”
Congressional, military, and Pentagon officials said yesterday that a military investigation into the deaths of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha could result in murder charges against U.S. Marines.
The Senate voted 62-36 yesterday to pass legislation that would put illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship and create a guest-worker program. House Republicans, denouncing the Senate’s legalization provisions as “amnesty,” remain adamantly opposed to the bill.
The sole surviving suspect from the 2004 Beslan school siege has been found guilty of murder and terrorism after a year-long trial. In other Russian legal news, an editor of an online newspaper is under investigation for publishing an article mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the murder of Forbes Russia American editor Paul Klebnikov remains unsolved after acquittals in a trial closed to the public.
... and, of course, many Democrats, including Sen. Reid, voted for him. What a pathetic excuse for an opposition party - vote for the guy who runs the IV Amendment busting program. Disgraceful!
Tom
May 26, 2006 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did anyone catch the Senate testimony on CSpan today by FTC commissioner? She was asked about excessive oil company profits and responded that it happened with some other resource-based industries like timber when the price of raw materials goes up, also blaming OPEC for manipulating prices. She went on to suggest that price-gouging was most common among gas stations owners who didn't speak English. Shameless! Even Sen. Pryor of Arkansas was unconvinced that she knew what she was talking about. It was a clear example of why we can expect no oversight from these incompetents.
May 26, 2006 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I did not watch, and so I admit this may not have happened, but I'll just bet old Joe Biden did his usual excrusciatingly pithy question session, snarled a few times, and then voted for the bastard!
We have to ask ourselves, if Bush is a weakened president, how does it show up? He is getting everything he asks for. Tax cuts again? Sure! Put the guy in charge of the NSA spying (which is being kept far quieter than the red herring du jour--immigration) in charge of the CIA.
The next thing they'll do is write a law that makes all kinds of spying on citizens retroactively legal...just wait. When they drag out the next pathetic medical case to grab everyone's attention, look out!
But was everyone as frightened as I was when you heard that Alberto -it's ok to torture- Gonzales threatened to quit? Gee, What would we do without him?
If this is an example of weakness, I guess we should be very glad that his polls are so low.
Jan Knaus
May 29, 2006 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink