He also complained that the Senate has not yet confirmed Michael Mukasey as attorney general and scolded Congress for failing to approve more money for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rep. Doggett: “I assume, by Mr. Ryan being here, that every member of this panel, including every Republican member on that side of the aisle where all the seats are vacant, received notice about this hearing about the cost of war in Iraq?”
Chairman Spratt: “I’m sure they did.”
Rep. Doggett: “And when was this notice of the hearing sent out?”
Chairman Spratt: “Seven days ago, as required by the rules.”
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 3773, the Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007 or RESTORE Act of 2007. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefit of your views.As you may know, my colleague, Representative John Conyers (D-MI), introduced the RESTORE Act. This legislation seeks to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to provide that a court order is not required for the acquisition of communication between non-U.S. persons who are not located within the United States for collecting foreign intelligence information, whether or not the communication passes through the United States or the surveillance device is located within the United States.The RESTORE Act would also require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the Attorney General (AG) to jointly apply to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for an order, or the extension of an order, authorizing for up to one year the acquisition of communications of persons outside the United States who are non-U.S. persons. One of the more controversial provisions in this legislation concerns retroactive immunity. This legislation does not provide for retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP).Presently, the RESTORE Act is awaiting the completion of action in the House of Representatives. Please know that I will be sure to keep your views in mind when this legislation is addressed by the full House of Representatives. (in whose universe??)Again, thank you for writing. Please feel free to contact me in the future with any additional comments or concerns you may have.Sincerely,Jon C. PorterMember of Congress (Hopefully not for another term!!!)
"It was a mafia-like tactic. And the idea of going after your family, even in Washington, was an outrage. Nobody went after Karl Rove's family. Nobody went after Scooter Libby's family. They went after my family," Wilson says.
"But in all fairness, Karl Rove's wife doesn't work for the CIA," Couric remarks."How do you know?" Wilson says.
"Scooter Libby's wife doesn't work for the CIA," Couric says.
"How do you know? How do you know?" Wilson asks.
"I don't know for sure. But I think it's a safe assumption," Couric replies. (Note: You know what happens when one "assumes")
Says Wilson, "Yeah, you don't know. And we don't know what they did because nobody went after their families. And that's the way it should be. That's the way it would be. However you wanna play the game, the idea of going after somebody's family is an absolute outrage."
"You are still seething," Couric says.
"Oh, I think - absolutely," Wilson admits, laughing. "Absolutely. I'm seething because it was first and foremost a great betrayal of the national security of the country."
Desultory, that is, until Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) grumbled at Republicans: "Youdon't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to
blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."
It’s not always easy to figure out what the American public will think about a particular issue or scandal, but we know how they feel about pets.So they must have been thrilled — thrilled — when Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) issued a press release criticizing Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), a veterinarian, for his stance on an issue related to Medicare.“Sen. Ensign should go back to practicing medicine on animals as he was trained, not on senior citizens,” Stark said in a press release.For Ensign’s office, it was like Christmas.Spokesman Tory Mazzola quickly retorted in an e-mail to the Hill that just because Ensign has gotten support for his proposal “doesn’t mean you have to attack doctors that care for our puppies and kittens. I may be wrong, but I’d say veterinarians have a higher approval rating than Nancy Pelosi’s Congress,” Mazzola said. (My response: Boo-Hoo!!)
Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it.Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary on global warming, won an Academy Award this year and he had been widely expected to win the prize."His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change," the citation said. "He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted."It cited Gore's awareness at an early stage "of the climatic challenges the world is facing.The committee cited the Panel on Climate Change for two decades of scientific reports that have "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming."Members of the panel, a network of 2,000 scientists, were surprised that it was chosen to share the honor with Gore, a spokeswoman said.
The proposed House bill offers some concession to the administration, and it includes fixes in surveillance that Democrats and Republicans agreed were needed, such as a clarification that no warrant is required to spy on strictly foreign-to-foreign phone calls and e-mails.
Under the new law, the Attorney General or Director of National Intelligence would be authorized to receive blanket warrants to eavesdrop on several foreign intelligence targets who could call into the United States, but the bill would restore FISA court reviews of targeting procedures and steps taken to "minimize" Americans' exposure to surveillance. If an American is to become the "target" of surveillance, intelligence agencies would be required to seek an individualized warrant from the FISA court.
The American Civil Liberties Union said that concession would allow "blanket warrants" to authorize the National Security Agency and other US intelligence services to gather information on untold numbers of Americans who may not be suspected of doing anything wrong.
Q How can the President justify spending billions for a war and denying child health care sanctions in this country, where the needs are there?
MS. PERINO: Well, there are obviously very [sic] two different issues. The President is for the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. He wants to extend it by 20 percent for the next five years. There are those in Congress who want to expand it even further. And what we see -- we see that as a step towards more government-controlled health care. That is a policy difference that the President has.
MS. PERINO: Good afternoon. I have a statement on Burma, before taking your questions.The President and Mrs. Bush remain concerned about the reports of violence and intimidation that continue to come out of Burma. The United States is pleased that U.N. Special Envoy Gambari was able to see Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. Gambari remains in Burma in order to see the top junta leader, Than Shwe. We think it is important that they meet and that a process of national reconciliation can begin.The United States is committed to working with countries around the world and especially those in the region to move Burma to a peaceful transition to democracy. President Bush had a good meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang last week. And today Jim Jeffrey, the Deputy National Security Advisor, will meet with Chinese Ambassador Zhou to the United States to further these discussions.I think it's important to note comments made on Friday night by Chinese Premier Wen. He said that China is very much concerned with the situation and hopes that all parties show restraint, resume stability through peaceful means as soon as possible, promote domestic reconciliation and achieve democracy and development. The Chinese Premier said that China will continue to work with the international community to actively facilitate the proper solution to the problem.I'll take your questions.
Q Do you have any reason to believe that junta leaders will meet with the U.N. Envoy?
MS. PERINO: I don't have any reason to believe one way or the other. We -- he is there waiting to meet with him and as soon as we have an update, we'll provide it.Q And the protests, themselves, seem to have been stilled. What do you make of that?
MS. PERINO: Well, unfortunately, intimidation and force can chill peaceful demonstrations. And reports about very innocent people being thrown into detention, where they could be held for years without any representation or charges, is distressing; and we understand that some of the monasteries have been sealed. Now, obviously, this has, again, a chilling effect on protestors, but we would ask that everyone show restraint and allow those who want to express themselves to be able to do so in Burma.
Maybe the way people in other countries view us has something to do with Porter's enthusiastic support for the war in Iraq. Make no mistake, Porter was for the war before he was for it. Not only did he support it from the beginning, he's supported every funding bill, cheered on the surge and is now squarely positioned as one of the administration's go-to guys for the Iran message.If Porter didn't believe his own calculation that the "war on terror" plays well in his suburban district with lots of military families, he wouldn't be so stuck on his support for ongoing occupation.The way he puts it, the Middle East needs us there to keep the world safe. Oh yeah, and Israel is over there, too. Porter will do whatever it takes to win. That may mean forsaking so-called Republican principles of small government and low taxes.That may mean claiming support for the troops, or the children, or whatever else
is politically palatable.
