Sometime in October, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office got a call from then-Congressman Eric Massa's (D-N.Y.) top aide detailing the Representative's questionable conduct.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Massa's aide, Joe Racalto, made the call. Racalto was concerned that his 50-year old boss had effectively been living in a bachelor pad. The Congressman's roommates were all young, unmarried male staffers, and Massa was well known for using sexually suggestive language with them, one source told the Post.
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March 11, 2010
House Afghanistan Debate: What Kucinich Accomplished
Yesterday, at long last, there was a vigorous debate about the war in Afghanistan on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. The legislative vehicle was a resolution introduced by Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of the year. But House critics of the war have long been agitating for a real debate.
This is the debate that should have been held - at least - last fall when the Administration was considering sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, or - at least - when the Administration announced its plans to send more troops. If the House had held this debate while the Administration was mulling its decision, the Congressional airing of arguments against military escalation and in favor of political and diplomatic solutions would have attracted a lot more attention, and could have affected the decision. No doubt, the possibility that a Congressional debate then might have affected the policy was a key motivation for some in the House leadership not to allow this debate to occur then.
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This is the debate that should have been held - at least - last fall when the Administration was considering sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, or - at least - when the Administration announced its plans to send more troops. If the House had held this debate while the Administration was mulling its decision, the Congressional airing of arguments against military escalation and in favor of political and diplomatic solutions would have attracted a lot more attention, and could have affected the decision. No doubt, the possibility that a Congressional debate then might have affected the policy was a key motivation for some in the House leadership not to allow this debate to occur then.
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President Obama’s Yellowstone Trip Footage Released (VIDEO)
The White House released never-before-seen footage of President Obama's family trip to Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2009, continuing a long-standing tradition of presidents visiting the park. Chester A. Arthur was the first president to visit it in 1883, and the last one before Obama was Bill Clinton in 1995.
"The notion that collectively we come together and we say, we're gonna preserve some things that last beyond our individual lives, that we're gonna pass that on ... that's part of hopefully what is best about our government," Obama said.
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"The notion that collectively we come together and we say, we're gonna preserve some things that last beyond our individual lives, that we're gonna pass that on ... that's part of hopefully what is best about our government," Obama said.
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March 10, 2010
You And What Armey?
Former House majority leader and presumed head of the Tea Party movement Dick Armey should perhaps be congratulated for excommunicating the anti-immigrant zealot Tom Tancredo. When I talked several weeks ago with Freedom Works, the group Armey leads that is behind much Tea Party activity, a representative authorized to speak for Armey expressed similar sentiments, telling me that they were "worried about Tom Tancredo" who could alienate the "libertarian branch" of the movement.
The spokesman contrasted the failed candidacy of the (very) culturally conservative gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell in Ohio in 2006 to the surging (by his account) campaign of the (very, like eliminate the state income tax) fiscally conservative John Kasich. The implication is that Tea Party candidates will succeed if they can focus attention on so-called pocketbook issues, such as cap-and-trade, the stimulus package, and earmarks. But if attention turns to divisive cultural issues, of which immigration is presumed to be one, the Tea Party will shatter like so many delicate teacups.
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The spokesman contrasted the failed candidacy of the (very) culturally conservative gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell in Ohio in 2006 to the surging (by his account) campaign of the (very, like eliminate the state income tax) fiscally conservative John Kasich. The implication is that Tea Party candidates will succeed if they can focus attention on so-called pocketbook issues, such as cap-and-trade, the stimulus package, and earmarks. But if attention turns to divisive cultural issues, of which immigration is presumed to be one, the Tea Party will shatter like so many delicate teacups.
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Message to Republicans: Stop Hiding Behind the Troops
In what can only be described as a cheap partisan attack masquerading as patriotic chest-thumping, House Republicans this morning issued a statement opposing Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich's resolution for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan because... [drum roll please] the Republicans strongly support the troops in Afghanistan.
In a statement of Republican policy forwarded to GOP politicians and their staffers, the House Republican Leadership and the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Republicans write, "Since the President's speech, more United States Armed Forces have been deployed to the Afghanistan theatre in support of the implementation of our nation's counterinsurgency strategy. Many of them leave behind family and friends for the second, third, and fourth time. They have been engaged in the largest offensive since the beginning of the war there, and they have done a magnificent job. House Republicans are mindful these troops and their families will be watching this debate and remain committed to working towards swift and clean action when the resources impacting their military readiness, operational needs, and family support is debated and passed this spring."
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In a statement of Republican policy forwarded to GOP politicians and their staffers, the House Republican Leadership and the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Republicans write, "Since the President's speech, more United States Armed Forces have been deployed to the Afghanistan theatre in support of the implementation of our nation's counterinsurgency strategy. Many of them leave behind family and friends for the second, third, and fourth time. They have been engaged in the largest offensive since the beginning of the war there, and they have done a magnificent job. House Republicans are mindful these troops and their families will be watching this debate and remain committed to working towards swift and clean action when the resources impacting their military readiness, operational needs, and family support is debated and passed this spring."
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Last Thursday, CNN was in Washington. Maybe they should have been in Coral Gables.
During the healthcare blahblahthon at Blair House, we watched on national TV how extreme politics poisons Washington's ability to resolve our most pressing problems. The same day, another meeting occurred in Coral Gables.
There, leaders of some of the country's most innovative organizations for social change met to advance their mission: finding more effective solutions to the challenges facing communities throughout the country with less government bureaucracy and fewer taxpayer dollars.
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There, leaders of some of the country's most innovative organizations for social change met to advance their mission: finding more effective solutions to the challenges facing communities throughout the country with less government bureaucracy and fewer taxpayer dollars.
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Grayson Offers Medicare Buy-In Bill, Makes Impassioned Speech (VIDEO)
When Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) first became a father, his health insurance company refused to pay for the birth of the child, and Grayson had to pay $10,000.
Grayson told the House that story Tuesday during an impassioned and personal speech urging fellow lawmakers to support legislation that would allow Americans to buy into Medicare. Grayson introduced a four-page bill Tuesday that would make that a possibility. He asked would-be opponents to grant Americans the option to buy into the same health care plan that the federal government already offers.
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Grayson told the House that story Tuesday during an impassioned and personal speech urging fellow lawmakers to support legislation that would allow Americans to buy into Medicare. Grayson introduced a four-page bill Tuesday that would make that a possibility. He asked would-be opponents to grant Americans the option to buy into the same health care plan that the federal government already offers.
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March 9, 2010
This Pentagon Needs Watching
This Thursday, March 11, Congress will hold two separate hearings at the Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate. In the morning, the Senate committee will hear the Pentagon's Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Ashton Carter, and another Pentagon official talk about the hugely problematic F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter." In the afternoon, Carter and other top officials will testify to the House committee on how they are managing he Pentagon's thoroughly broken weapons acquisition system. If these hearings go anything like they usually do, the committees will hear stale bathwater from Under Secretary Carter at both hearings. Everything, he will say, is under control; he's fixing a few minor problems on the F-35 and he is the cutting edge of reform of the Pentagon's weapons buying system.
What rubbish this will be. There are fundamental and widespread problems in the design and acquisition of the F-35 that remain unaddressed by Carter's sloppily applied band-aids, and the Pentagon's acquisition system continues to hurtle down the road of ruin at ever increasing cost. Both of these problems are only a part of the malaise in our decaying armed forces - a deterioration that is especially pronounced in our combat air forces.
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What rubbish this will be. There are fundamental and widespread problems in the design and acquisition of the F-35 that remain unaddressed by Carter's sloppily applied band-aids, and the Pentagon's acquisition system continues to hurtle down the road of ruin at ever increasing cost. Both of these problems are only a part of the malaise in our decaying armed forces - a deterioration that is especially pronounced in our combat air forces.
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