The Miami Heat are working hard to form a cast strong support around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And took another step toward that goal Thursday. Yahoo Sports reports that the heat had agreed to a deal for two years with guard Eddie House. And House of Representatives, who spent last year with [...]

Source: [b]Reuters[/b]

A U.S. House of Representatives ethics panel is reviewing a tentative agreement to settle charges against Representative Charles Rangel, a congressional source said on Thursday.

The source said the panel may need at least a few days to decide whether to accept the accord ...

Industry trade body pours $1.1 million into Washington efforts during April-June quarter, adds attention to privacy, consumer protection.

With 11 states now supporting California's appeal to the US Supreme Court over violent video game legislation, the Entertainment Software Association has quite the fight on its hands. However, that legal wrangling hasn't given the ESA cause to increase its spending on lobbying efforts in Washington. In fact, during the April-June quarter, the industry's representative body actually curtailed spending.

According to a filing with the Office of the Clerk to the US House of Representatives, the ESA spent $1.1 million on swaying the opinion of lawmakers during the three-month period. That figure marks a 5 percent decline from the $1.2 million the ESA has spent on industry issues during each quarter since April 2009.

The ESA largely stuck to the same issues it traditionally advocates. These topics include constitutional issues, copyright law (piracy, intellectual property, and patent modernization), trade concerns, Internet governance, and access to H1-B visas for highly skilled workers. The industry body also addressed telecommunication issues--broadband policy, in particular--and attempted to sway lawmakers on the Energy Star standards.

Despite spending less on lobbying, the ESA actually added new issues to its dossier during the quarter. These included the Consumer Product Improvement Safety Act and various privacy-related topics.

Known primarily among gamers as the organizer behind the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the ESA also runs the Video Game Voters Network. Additionally, the ESA plays a large role in opposing restrictive game legislation, touting last year a 43-0 record. Members of the organization range from first-party publishers Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to third-party outfits of various sizes, including EA, Ubisoft, Epic Games, and 505 Games.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

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WASHINGTON (AP) — People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However, committee members have not agreed to the settlement. It was not immediately clear how many of ...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Bohener talk about draining the swamp in separate press conferences.



Nancy Pelosi - United States - Minority leader - Government - US House of Representatives

Washington - The House of Representatives passed a historic bill Wednesday that narrows sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine convictions, which civil rights and civil liberties experts say contributed to the disproportionate imprisonment of African-Americans in recent decades.

The Senate passed its version of the bill in March. President Barack Obama, who during the 2008 presidential campaign said the current legal disparity "cannot be justified and should be eliminated," is expected to sign the legislation.

read more

Lawyers for House Democrat Charles Rangel say a deal has been reached with representatives of an ethics committee over a series of charges against him.

People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However... committee members have not agreed to the settlement.
from ABC 7 News

AP – People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However, committee members have not agreed to the settlement. More: continued here

WASHINGTON — People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However, committee members have not agreed to the settlement. It was not immediately clear how many of the 13 charges of ethical violations Rangel agreed to accept.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) released a new searchable database today, allowing the public to search for “any Member-designated projects submitted by any Member of the House of Representatives in legislation originating in ...

In The Canberra Times for Tuesday, July 27, there appeared this item under the heading "Three-year terms to stay":

"Prime Minister Julia Gillard will not be asking Australian voters if they would like to see fixed four-year terms of office for the Federal Parliament. This is despite her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, promising in 2007 that he would hold a referendum on the issue with this year's election. Ms Gillard said yesterday that she had no plans for any constitutional changes or referendums about the term of the Parliament and how the term of the Parliament related to the term of the Senate. "It has three-year terms. We're fighting an election obviously about the next three years", the Prime Minister said. "I have no intention to put a referendum to the Australian people to change those arrangements."
When I read that item my reaction was to think "hear, hear". The only thing is that I would go further and say that the present arrangements are thoroughly sensible. Those arrangements do not need changing: they need defending. A most extraordinary amount of nonsense is written about the alleged evils of early elections and about how dreadful it is that the Prime Minister has the right to name the election date.

To the best of my knowledge I am the only person who has ever defined the term "early election" and I shall do that below. In the meantime I want to say something about the date August 21, the date sensibly chosen by Julia Gillard.

During the forties there were four general elections for the House of Representatives accompanied by the normal periodical election for half the Senate. They were held on September 21, 1940, August 21, 1943, September 28, 1946 and December 10, 1949.

Having long ago noticed that the calendars for 1943 and 2010 are identical I submitted an article to Crikey which was published on September 30 last year. In that article I correctly predicted that this election would be held on August 21. However, I made two errors. One was to assume that Kevin Rudd would call the election. The other was to predict that this would be a double dissolution election. I repeated those predictions in several subsequent articles for The Australian and The Canberra Times.

It is worth noticing, therefore, that the Curtin election of August 21, 1943 was a one-option choice. There were no double dissolution triggers in 1943 so Curtin had to make it for the House of Representatives and half the Senate. By contrast Julia Gillard had a choice not available to John Curtin. However, in the end she made the same choice as Curtin.

If the expression "early election" were defined by the distance in time between the election of half the senators and the date upon which those senators take their seats, then 1943 and 2010 are the two earliest elections for half the Senate. They are also two of the three winter elections. The other was the double dissolution election held on July 11, 1987, called by Bob Hawke.

Being in no doubt about the result of this election I now proclaim a new Malcolm Mackerras law of electoral history. It reads: "Winter elections are always called by Labor Prime Ministers who are always rewarded by the vote of the people on polling day."

I boasted above that, to the best of my knowledge, I am the only person who has ever defined the term "early election". I did that in an article in the learned academic journal Politics for May 1984, Volume 19, Number 1. In that article I defined an early election as one which results from an early dissolution of the House of Representatives. I have kept that article up to date and the current version of it can be found on the website of Old Parliament House where, now being retired at the age of 71, I am a volunteer guide.

The term "early dissolution" is defined by me to be any dissolution occurring other than in the last six months of the life of the Parliament. By definition, therefore, every double dissolution election is an early election. This election is self-evidently early. We know that because we know the double dissolution option was available. So the three winter elections give us two early cases (1987 and 2010) and one case when the election was not early, 1943.

This is our 43rd general election for the House of Representatives and our 19th early general election. The early elections have been held in December 1903, September 1914, May 1917, December 1919, October 1929, December 1931, September 1934, April 1951, December 1955, November 1963, May 1974, December 1975, December 1977, March 1983, December 1984, July 1987, March 1990, October 1998 and August 2010.

In my article referred to above I have a table "Early Dissolutions of the House of Representatives" in which I give all the information you need to know. For the purpose of this article the critical information is the length of the term and the reason to dissolve early.

Without going into too much, unnecessary, detail I notice that the length of the first Lyons Parliament was two years, five months and 22 days, the first ("elected") Menzies Parliament one year and 25 days, the third Menzies Parliament one year, three months and one day, the sixth Menzies Parliament one year, eight months and 13 days, the first Whitlam Parliament one year, one month and 15 days, the second Whitlam Parliament one year, four months and two days, the first Fraser Parliament one year, eight months and 25 days, the third Fraser Parliament two years, two months and ten days, the first Hawke Parliament one year, six months and five days, the second Hawke Parliament two years, three months and 16 days, the third Hawke Parliament two years, five months and five days, the first Howard Parliament two years and four months and the Rudd-Gillard Parliament two years, five months and seven days. Notice the striking similarity between the first Lyons Parliament and the Rudd-Gillard Parliament.

More interesting than the above, however, is the reason given by each Prime Minister for the early dissolution. The reason "to preserve/restore simultaneous elections with the half-Senate" accounts for six cases, 1903, 1917, 1955, 1977, 1984 and 1990. Section 57 dissolutions (double dissolutions) also account for six cases, 1914, 1951, 1974, 1975, 1983 and 1987. There are three cases of the need for a new mandate for policies, 1919, 1934 and 1998 and three cases coming under the heading "Instability in the House of Representatives", 1929, 1931 and 1963.

That leaves one case for which I need a description, the dissolution occurring on July 19, 2010. The present Prime Minister did not give a reason. She knew perfectly well that we did not need a reason - so she did not give one. In the end, however, I have entered this as the reason: "To enable Julia Gillard to become an elected Prime Minister". Since to me the whole idea of "elected Prime Minister" is a piece of nonsense I have placed it in inverted commas.

I offer no criticism of Gillard's choice of election date. I offer no criticism of the constitutional arrangements under which she, and her predecessors, have had that choice. I do, however, criticise her refusal to live at The Lodge, albeit for only a few weeks. That is a thoroughly silly piece of populism. I hope it does not become a precedent.

Malcolm Mackerras is Visiting Fellow in Political Science, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

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The geographic center of gravity for the new Tea Party Caucus is in Oklahoma -- significantly different from that of the House of Representatives at large



Tea Party Caucus - Republican - Roy Blunt - Jo Ann Emerson - Congressional caucus

The latest Cook Political Report forecasts a 32 to 42 seat net gain for Republicans in the House of Representatives. Republicans need to net 39 seats to reach a bare majority of 218 seats.

In the Senate, the forecast is for a 5 to 7 seat net gain for Republicans, not enough to take control of the chamber.

An Interview with Minnesota State Rep. Nora Slawik Throughout her six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Rep. Slawik has collaborated with foundations working to advance several early childhood and education initiatives. We chatted following her participation on a public policy panel hosted by the Minnesota Council on Foundations. Here is an excerpt of [...]

When President Obama took office he said that one of his priorities as to devise a US energy policy that would reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil and launch the US on a path to severely curtail carbon dioxide emissions. The US House of Representatives, with a significant Democratic majority, passed a bill last [...]

Lawyers for Rangel, ethics committee reach deal WASHINGTON ? People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However, committee members have not agreed to the settlement. It was not immediately clear how many of the 13 ... Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Lawyers for Rep. Charles Rangel, House ethics committee reach plea deal; no committee approval.

WASHINGTON — People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However, committee members have not agreed to the settlement. It was not immediately clear how many of the 13 charges of ethical violations Rangel agreed to accept.

Nearly a quarter of a century after President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act resulting in the infamous 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses the House of Representatives passed the Fair Sentencing Act by a voice vote yesterday with both Democrats and Republicans speaking on the floor in support of the legislation.

This historic legislation vastly reduces the infamous and discriminatory 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine to a ratio of 18:1. It is not perfect, but it is an improvement over current federal law and will make a real difference in the lives of men and women currently receiving needlessly cruel and very long mandatory minimum sentences for what are often low-level, non-violent drug offenses.

The legislation would also be the first since the Nixon administration to actually repeal a mandatory minimum sentence.

Speaking on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Obama declared:

“Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. It bends towards justice, but here is the thing: it does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice...."

With the Senate’s passage by unanimous consent earlier in the year and yesterday’s House passage by voice vote - the Fair Sentencing Act is one signature away from becoming law. As a long time advocate for eliminating the disparity President Obama is poised to sign this bill and restore a measure of fairness to federal sentencing law.

This is an amazing victory for criminal justice reform. But we're not done. We're making progress. But we are not finished. We are going to continue to push for complete elimination of the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. It is a distinction without justification. Indeed, we are going to keep working to bend the arc towards justice.

Thanks, and congratulations on this important victory for fairness and justice!

WASHINGTON — The Senate could go either way. Hopes are dimmer in the House. And Eric Cantor may at last have company.

At least that’s the conventional wisdom on how Jewish lawmakers will do in November.

If Jewish candidates sweep all the Senate races in this midterm election year, the Jewish total in the upper chamber would jump from 13 to 18.

But with tight races in California and Wisconsin dogging incumbents, the number of Jews in the Senate also could drop to 11.

In the US House of Representatives, where all the seats are up for re-election every two years, four of the country’s 31 Jewish representatives could lose their seats — two of them because of Jewish anger over President Obama’s relations with Israel.

In any case Cantor (R-Va.), the minority whip, stands a good chance of finally shedding his lonely sobriquet as “the sole Jewish Republican in the House.”

Mark Zuckerberg along with two other Facebook executives have gone to Washington D.C. this week to explain the company’s stance on privacy as momentum builds for online consumer privacy legislation.

The company’s chief technology officer Bret Taylor (pictured below) testified at a Senate hearing on online consumer privacy while chief security officer Joe Sullivan spoke before a House subcommittee earlier this week.

The company’s moves come after House representatives Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) each introduced draft legislation earlier this year that would regulate how online services can collect personal data and advertise to users. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) has also pledged to introduce similar legislation into the Senate.

Rush’s bill places more responsibility on companies to protect consumer privacy, while Boucher’s bill places the burden of responsibility on consumers, according to the Center for Democracy and Technology.

The Federal Trade Commission is also considering a “do-not-track” list for consumers to opt out of behaviorally targeted advertising, similar to the “do not call” list.

Taylor faced a skeptical audience when he testified earlier this week. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), who is chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation was critical of Facebook’s complex privacy controls:

“My question is — are we dividing ourselves into two classes of people? People who can understand and handle all of these instruments and those who can not. And those who cannot are paying a price for they cannot understand,” he said to Taylor.

In the face of all these efforts, Facebook has been aggressively stepping up its presence in the Capitol. It spent $60,000 on lobbying in the second quarter, according to disclosure records. It also recently hired White House economic advisor Marne Levine to help it manage relationships with governments around the world.

In telling public interview last week, David Kirkpatrick, a Fortune reporter and author of “The Facebook Effect,” asked Zuckerberg whether he was willing to step up to a role that would require more and more of his time to be spent on interfacing with government officials.

“You’re a product guy. Are you going to want to be dealing with government officials? I heard you did well with David Cameron [referring to Zuckerberg's meeting with the U.K. Prime Minister earlier this month] — but there are a lot of misconceptions abroad in dozens of other countries about Facebook.”

Zuckerberg responded,”What I find more often than not is that all of these people are reasonable. The key thing is to engage with all of these people and have real discourse.”

Companies: Facebook

Position Title: Part-Time Counselor (2 positions)
Program/Dept: Hawthorne House
Reports to: Program Director
Classification: Part-Time, Non-Benefited Position
Compensation: $15.44 hourly
Work Schedule: Tue 7:30 am – 1 pm, Wed 10 am – 12 pm and 5:30 pm – 11 pm (split shift), Fri 5:30 pm – 11 pm, Sat 5:30 pm – 11 pm
OR
Wed 10 am – 12 pm, Fri 1 pm – 11:59pm, Sat 12 am – 3 pm

Agency Description: Caminar is a nonprofit agency with over 40 years of experience providing community-based support services for people with disabilities. Caminar services are designed to enable adults and older adults with mental health, physical and developmental disabilities to live and work in their community in accordance with their ability and desire. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by providing opportunities to live in the community with dignity and independence. The agency employs approximately 400 of the most dedicated and professional staff serving the communities of San Mateo, Solano and Butte counties.

Position Description: This is a part-time position with a regular work schedule. Under the supervision of the Program Director and/or the Assistant Program Director the Counselor provides support and assistance to clients through individual and group counseling in a crisis or transitional residential treatment program.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities (All stated job functions are essential):
• Develop and maintain a respectful, caring, tolerant, ethical, and empowering relationship with all individuals served.
• Establish and maintain clear and effective communications with clients, ensure that their needs are met, assist them in the development and implementation of their treatment plans, and prepare them for the next level of care or other discharge options.
• Monitor and document clients' intake of psychiatric medications and ensure that medications are handled and stored in accordance with established program procedures and licensing regulations; regularly review medication logs to ensure that they are accurate and complete.
• Document clients' progress in program charts and conduct regular chart reviews in accordance with established program procedures.
• Assist program management in ensuring compliance with all agency policies and procedures, contractual agreements, licensing and certification requirements, and local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
• Provide one-to-one and group counseling to program clients, as assigned and as necessary.
• Provide accurate, timely, and complete transfer of program and client information to other staff as they begin their shift.
• Assist program management with ongoing development, implementation, evaluation, and refinement of documented curriculum in support of all classes and groups provided.
• Conduct educational classes for program participants, as assigned, ensuring that the curriculum for such classes is documented, regularly updated, improved, and expanded.
• Provide crisis intervention as necessary.
• Perform client intake interviews and assessments, as assigned.
• Remain alert and perform job functions as assigned and as necessary during awake overnight shifts.
• Orient new clients to the program, or, when possible, enable other clients to orient new clients.
• Coordinate client treatment and rehabilitation among all those involved, including therapists, other providers, and family members.
• Maintain and safeguard client monthly allowance accounts, petty cash funds and program funds. Provide accurate monthly accounting of these funds and ensuring that they balance properly and that all receipts are submitted to the corporate office in a timely manner.
• In conjunction with all other program staff members, actively participate in the effort to ensure that the facility environment is homelike, clean, safe, attractive, and comfortable at all times. Notify program management of all needs for repair or maintenance of the facility or program vehicles, involving clients when appropriate.
• Assist program management to create and maintain a safe and professional working environment free of hostility, harassment, and discrimination.
• Facilitate and lead structured program activities, as assigned.
• Educate clients about and enable them to make use of free and low-cost community resources for social and recreational use, as well as service resources, such as AA and NA.
• Participate in staff meetings and attend other meetings, as assigned.
• Attend and participate in regularly scheduled supervisions sessions.
• Negotiate several flights of stairs during each work shift and maintain ability to carry boxes and/or bags weighing up to 25 pounds each into the facility.
• Attend training events as assigned, completing a minimum of twenty (20) hours of in-service training annually.
• Complete and submit accurate time sheets and absence reports to program management in a timely manner.
• Assist program management in maintaining the program budget by carefully managing resources and by exploring and recommending cost saving measures and approaches to service delivery.
• Establish and maintain productive working relationships with funding agency representatives, referral sources, neighbors, merchants, police, and others with whom the program interacts.
• Promote within the agency and the general public the philosophy and practice of social rehabilitation.
• Assist clients with room maintenance, laundry, meal planning and preparation, shopping, and cooking.
• Perform other related duties, responsibilities and special projects as assigned.

Experience, Qualifications, Skills & Abilities:
• Must be passionate about Caminar's mission.
• Bachelor’s degree is required. Extensive experience may be substituted for the academic requirement.
• Experience in psychiatric rehabilitation, preferably in a social rehabilitation environment is preferred.
• Must have excellent computer skills, including extensive work with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Publisher, et cetera).
• Problem solving—identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner and gathers and analyzes information skillfully.
• Customer Service—manages difficult customer situations, responds promptly to customer needs and solicits customer feedback to improve service.
• Oral and written communication—speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts meetings. Completes written progress notes and other formal communications skillfully and professionally.
• Quality management—looks for ways to improve and promote quality and demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness.
• Planning/organizing—prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently and develops realistic action plans.
• Adaptability—adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing demands and is able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.
• Dependability—is consistently at work and on time, follows instructions, responds to management direction and solicits feedback to improve performance.
• Safety and security—actively promotes and personally observes safety and security procedures, and uses equipment and materials properly.
• Must be a dynamic self-starter with demonstrated ability to work independently on special projects.

Physical, Environmental and Mental Requirements:
• Physical: Occasionally required to push/pull objects up to 50 lbs, and to lift/carry objects up to 25 lbs. Frequently required to perform moderately difficult manipulative tasks such as typing, writing, etc. Must be able to walk, stand, sit for extended periods.
• Sensory: Frequently required to read documents, written reports, and plans. Must be able to distinguish normal sounds with some background noise, as in answering the phone, interacting with residents and staff, etc. Must be able to speak clearly and understand/be understood using the English language.
• Cognitive: Frequently required to concentrate on moderate detail with constant interruption. Must be able to attend to a task/function for 20-45 minutes at a time. Frequently required to understand and relate to specific ideas, several at a time. Must be able to remember multiple tasks/assignments given to self and others over a period of several days.
• Environmental Conditions: Frequent exposure to varied office and mixed (residential/office) environments. Occasional exposure to toxins and poisonous substances, dust, and loud noises.
• Equipment: Frequently required to use a computer, phone, and fax machine.

Special Requirements:
• Must be able to meet and receive a criminal records clearance, as required by Title XXII, other licensing regulations, and Caminar practices.
• This position will require frequent driving to and from Caminar’s branch offices so maintaining a valid driver license, reliable personal automobile, a clean driving record, and current insurance as required by law are essential job requirements.
• TB clearance and Physical exam post-offer, pre-employment.
• Must obtain and maintain CPR/First Aid Certification.

How to Apply:
Please send a letter of interest and current resume to: jobs@caminar.org (include “HHPTC” with preferred shift schedule in the subject header of your email). No phone calls please.


Caminar is a leader in providing innovative client-oriented mental health services. We are an equal opportunity employer. Please visit our web site at www.caminar.org

In the next 10 days, President Obama is expected to sign a bill into a law that, while not perfect, goes a long way to address one racist, counterproductive relic of a failed drug war.

I'm talking, of course, about the crack-cocaine sentencing disparity, which has long been one of the of our country's most egregiously unfair sentencing practices out there. But on Tuesday, advocates for change won a big criminal justice reform victory when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fair Sentencing Act. Actually, two victories. Not only did the House pass the Fair Sentencing Act — which reduces the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1 — it also passed the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, which will create a bipartisan commission to review the criminal justice system and recommend reforms to address existing injustices and inequalities.

Change.org community members have spoken up loud and clear in support of both bills, and your voices were heard. There's no doubt in my mind that the sustained advocacy from members of this site made a difference on each of these bills. Thanks to everyone who has taken action so far. Let's keep the pressure on.

Since the Senate has already passed the Fair Sentencing Act, the bill now heads to the Oval Office for Obama's signature.

However, the National Criminal Justice Commission still faces one last hurdle: the Senate.  Take 30 seconds now to tell your Senators urging to send this bill to Obama as well.

This commission, championed by Virginia Senator Jim Webb, will be a critical tool to bring about wide-ranging, bipartisan criminal justice reform. Readers of this site know that criminal justice reform is hard: politicians still use tough-on-crime rhetoric, while the public has little sympathy for invisible prisoners. This panel, though, has the potential to create a bipartisan body of evidence documenting what's wrong with the system. And fixes will follow.

You helped get the crack/powder bill passed. Raise your voice and urge the Senate to pass the criminal justice commission act today.

Photo Credit: Jose C Silva

Full disclosure: Although I work at the Innocence Project when I'm not blogging here, and the Innocence Project also supports passage of the Criminal Justice Commission, all views expressed in this space represent me alone.

Representatives of a number of medical- and publishing-related organizations will testify today at a hearing on “Public access to federally funded research” before the Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. You can catch the webcast of the hearing at 2 p.m. EDT. (Hat tip [...]

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 308-114 to fund the continued escalation of the faile

Candidates vying to replace Rep. Patrick Kennedy in the U.S. House of Representatives shared their views on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, energy policy and federal stimulus money during a forum at a senior citizens' residence on Thursday.

Republican Congressman Peter King says he expects a bill that would provide health care coverage for thousands of September 11th first responders will fall short in a vote in the House of Representatives.

President Obama managed to show just how nimble and how disingenuous an administration can be in his response to the WikiLeaks fiasco:

Obama, speaking from the Rose Garden after a meeting with congressional leaders to discuss funding for the war and other issues, deplored the leak, saying he was concerned the information from the battleground "could potentially jeopardise individuals or operations".

…

The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said he was appalled by the leaks, telling reporters "there is a real potential threat there to put American lives at risk."

Now, it may or may not be true that this leak put people in Afghanistan at risk, but I find that to be a very interesting point for this president to be making, considering that the policy and execution of his policy absolutely jeopardizes individuals in Afghanistan and around the world. After all, if you put Julian Assange and President Obama together in a room, only one person in that room is ordering heavily armed people into a hostile war zone filled with civilians. And only one of them is executing a policy that increases the likelihood of a suicide bombing campaign directed at the United States and its citizens and that kills thousands of civilians each year.

This is a tried-and-true warmonger move: according to this canard, it’s those that oppose the war policy or that take action to show the conflict between societal values and actual policies that endanger everyone, not the brutal, costly policy. I would say I was a bit shocked, but this is the same president that stood up during his Nobel Peace Prize lecture and opined about the necessity of war when he feels it’s justified. The President of the United States has tripled the number of troops in Afghanistan, thus putting them in harm’s way for a policy that doesn’t make us safer and that causes enormous hardship for those caught in the crossfire. Those who support this policy but are attacking WikiLeaks for releasing this data need to take a good, hard look in the mirror before they jump on Julian Assange for "endangering" anyone.

But he went on to say the material highlighted the challenges that led him to announce a change in strategy late last year that involved sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The policy is due to be reviewed in December.

…

"We failed for seven years to implement a strategy adequate to the challenge," Obama said today, of the period starting with the 9/11 attacks. That is why we have increased our commitment there and developed a new strategy," he said, adding he has also sent one of the finest generals in the US, General David Petraeus.

Insisting that the strategy "can work", he ended with a plea to the House of Representatives to join the Senate in passing a bill to provide funds for the Afghan war as a matter of urgency.

Help me out here. Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the WikiLeaks information is "proof" that the president was right to initiate a massive escalation. If I were the president, this would be the drop-dead last argument I’d be making, because it begs the question: Okay, well, what’s the situation on the ground like now, 7 months into the escalation policy, compared to the time period captured in the War Logs leak?

Short answer: the president should be pining away for the good ol’ days depicted in the WikiLeaks report.

Here’s a chart from the latest Afghan NGO Safety Office report, showing a massive jump in the seasonal peaks in insurgent-initiated violence since President Obama took office and started his repeated escalations.

Here’s a quote from a December 2009 military report, "The State of the Insurgency" (.pdf):

• Organizational capabilities and operational reach are qualitatively and geographically expanding
• Strength and ability of shadow governance increasing
• Much greater frequency of attacks and varied locations

Compare that with this quote from the latest "progress" report to Congress:

• Organizational capabilities and operational reach are qualitatively and geographically expanding.

…

• The strength and ability of shadow governance to discredit the authority and legitimacy of the Afghan Government is increasing.

…

• Insurgents’ tactics, techniques, and procedures for conducting complex attacks are increasing in sophistication and strategic effect.

Lots of change there, apparently. Good work, Mr. President.

Here’s a map from that same report that shows that the Kabul government is falling further behind the insurgents when it comes to winning sympathy or support in key regions of the country (a chart that the Pentagon laughably refers to when it wants to show "progress" to Congress, because they know Congress doesn’t actually read the reports).

Here’s another quote from the same source that compares the level of violence in 2010 to the level of violence at the time depicted in the WikiLeaks material:

Violence is sharply above the seasonal average for the previous year – an 87% increase from February 2009 to March 2010.

Like everyone else, I’m still combing through the documents and reading various summaries and reactions. But I don’t even have to get through any of the WikiLeaks material to see that the president’s attempt to spin this leak as a justification of his policies is totally bankrupt. The publicly available reports from his own administration prove it–no leak required.

Fed up with this brutal, costly war that’s not making us safer? Sign Rethink Afghanistan’s petition to politicians to end this war.

 

No related posts.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a NASA authorization bill as early as July 29.

Congratulations: The Administration (and its supporters) have successfully lobbied the House of Representatives to allow the PTO to keep $129 million of its funds collected over-budget. Because the CBO had already accounted for that money as general income, the return...

Congressional candidates vying to replace Rep. Patrick Kennedy in the U.S. House of Representatives are meeting at a forum.



United States House of Representatives - United States - US House of Representatives - Government - Rhode Island

When Kansans elected me in 2008, they sent me to Washington to stand up for their interests in policy debates in the House of Representatives. I take that responsibility very seriously, and I hope that my 434 colleagues in the House felt that same sense of responsibility the day we were sworn in for the 111th  Congress.

Agent Based Models (ABM) have been discussed as a method of modelling economic systems for sometime now in the complex systems community. With the economic crisis ABM has become of more interest to policymakers as a means to understand economic systems so that we are better able to anticipate future crises particularly as current economic models and conventional economic theory that dominates government failed to anticipate the financial crisis. The Economist reports on a hearing of the House of Representatives Committee of Science and Technology on July 20th to discuss alternative modelling techniques that potentially could be better in economic forecasting. At the end of June a workshop was organised by America’s National Science Foundation to explore the potential of ABM, and to develop an early warning system for future crises. One of the most intriguing ideas discussed was to develop a real-time simulation of the global economy that works in a similar way to traffic forecasting models. As the Economist point out we need better ways of modelling and predicting potential economic crises:bq. it might be more realistic and useful to employ a suite of such models, in the manner of global climate simulations, which project various possible futures. In either case, the models would need much more data on the activities of individuals, banks and companies. Such data-gathering raises privacy fears but is essential. Seismologists may not be able to forecast earthquakes precisely but it would be deplorable if they were to resign themselves to modelling just the regular, gradual movements of tectonic plates. Instead they have developed ways of mapping the evolution of stress patterns, identifying areas at risk and refining heuristics for hazard assessment. Why not do the same for the economy?

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by Abrahm Lustgarten

Tucked inside the Senate bill aimed at cracking down on oil drillers after the Gulf spill is a long-sought measure to protect groundwater from natural gas drilling.

The bill, called The Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act, would require that drilling companies make public a complete list of chemicals injected underground in proprietary formulas to break up rock deep underground and extract natural gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing.

It would not, however, reverse the exemption that prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the fracturing process like other forms of underground injection, another important regulatory change that was initially proposed in House and Senate bills last June along with the chemical disclosure.

That bill, called the Frac Act, was sponsored by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who pushed for its inclusion in the accountability bill now being considered.

"Proper regulation is another essential element in protecting drinking water and public health. That is a battle that we still need to fight," Casey told ProPublica in an e-mail. But he emphasized that disclosing the chemical names "is an important step toward informing the public and building accountability for oil and gas companies."

A push for disclosure and stricter regulation of the fracturing process began in earnest last year after a series of articles by ProPublica reported more than a thousand cases of ground and surface water contamination in drilling areas where the process was being used. The articles examined drilling records in more than seven states, and found both a consistent pattern of water contamination in drilling areas, and a gap in scientific knowledge about the way hydraulic fracturing affects underground layers of rock and aquifers.

Problems were severe in Casey's home state, where fast-paced development of the Marcellus Shale natural gas deposit quickly led to dozens of reports of drinking water well contamination in places where hydraulic fracturing had been employed. Residents reported flammable tap water, and state investigations found that methane had seeped into water supplies underground as a result of the drilling activity.

Investigating the cause of such incidents has been difficult in part because the EPA does not have the jurisdiction to regulate fracturing the way it does other injection processes, and because the chemical makeup of the fracturing fluids has been guarded as a trade secret.

Several states, including New York, Colorado and Wyoming, have recently passed disclosure laws of their own, and industry representatives have begun to support the notion. But the language of the Senate bill is the most specific, and would apply to all of the states where oil and gas is produced.

The disclosure proposed today would still allow companies to withhold the exact recipes they use, meaning they wouldn't have to disclose the concentrations to the public. But they would -- in case of emergencies -- be required to share that information on a confidential basis with doctors and hospitals responding to an accident.

It's not clear how far the bill will get in the face of Republican opposition. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who added the disclosure component to the accountability bill, has said he hoped to bring the bill to a vote next week. Even if it passes, it will need to be reconciled with a House version that does not include the fracturing disclosure language.

Congressional candidates vying to replace Rep. Patrick Kennedy in the U.S. House of Representatives are meeting at a forum.



United States House of Representatives - United States - US House of Representatives - Government - Rhode Island

ARLINGTON, Va., July 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter addressed to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Ranking Member Ed Whitfield (R-KY), National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President Chris Jahn outlined the Association's concerns with H.R. 5

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Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Congressman Chris Smith, who has led the pro-life battles in the House of Representatives for decades, will receive the Wilberforce Leadership Award on Thursday from Students for Life of America. The award will be presented at SFLA's third annual Summer Social in Washington.

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In 1980, Ronald Reagan led the GOP to a pick up of a net 34 seats in the House of Representatives as well as a Senate majority.

While the fall ballot isn’t yet decided, here’s a preview of a few of the races and candidates. This election season includes one of the closest U.S. senatorial races in the country and a possible unchallenged race for Illinois House of Representatives. This season also marks a few important changes. For the first time, voters don’t need an excuse to participate in early voting. Early voting will take place October 12-28.

House of Representatives resolution 1553, introduced by Congressional Republicans, and currently working its way through the system will endorse an Israeli attack on Iran, which would be going to war by proxy as the US would almost immediately be drawn into the conflict when Tehran retaliates. The resolution provides explicit US backing for Israel to bomb Iran, stating that Congress supports Israel’s use of “all means necessary…including the use of military force”. The resolution is non-binding, but it is dazzling in its disregard for the possible negative consequences that would ensue for the hundreds of thousands of US military and diplomatic personnel currently serving in the Near East region. Even the Pentagon opposes any Israeli action against Iran, knowing that it would mean instant retaliation against US forces in Iraq and also in Afghanistan. The resolution has appeared, not coincidentally, at the same time as major articles by leading neoconservatives Reuel Marc Gerecht and Bill Kristol calling for military action. AIPAC thinks it is wonderful.

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This is completely crazy. There is no reason for Israel to bomb Iran and no reason for Congress to support such aggressive action, especially as it will almost certainly draw the USA into war with Iran. I wish that more American Jews would speak out against this. It's like we are on some crazy car ride with no brakes and the gas pedal stuck to the floor. Members of Congress are voting for this because they fear the Israeli lobby, not because it is the right thing to do. To some of them, this may look like a small step going nowhere, but it is not because it effectively commits the US to war with Iran. As Giraldi says: "Even the Pentagon opposes any Israeli action against Iran, knowing that it would mean instant retaliation against US forces in Iraq and also in Afghanistan." There has been so much war and none of it has done the USA, or anyone else, any good. I honestly wonder if the people pressing for this resolution and for more war are not insane. ABN

ARLINGTON, Va., July 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter addressed to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Ranking Member Ed Whitfield (R-KY), National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President Chris Jahn outlined the Association's concerns with H.R. 5

NO LESS than the sectors he wanted to represent, security guards and tricycle drivers, filed a disqualification case against Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo at the House of Representatives E

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On 'This Week,' Speaker Pelosi addresses Congressional productivity.



Nancy Pelosi - United States - Government - US House of Representatives - Congressional District 08

Pelosi and McConnell express different prospects for bipartisanship.



United States - Government - US House of Representatives - California - Democratic

ESPN presenter Erin Andrews — who was illegally videotaped naked through a hotel door's peephole last summer — appeared in Washington this week to throw her weight behind stronger anti-stalking legislation. The bill, verbosely titled "Simplifying the Ambiguous Law, Keeping Everyone Reliably Safe Act," or STALKERS, aims to better protect victims against invasive new technology and has already passed the House of Representatives. "Stalking is about power and control," said Andrews. "It's a violation of the worst kind," and we need more robust laws that give us "every available tool."...

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On June 29, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Firearms Excise Tax Improvement Act of 2010 (HR 5552) by a vote of 412 to 6. The bill is now pending in the Senate. This legislation corrects a longstanding inequity in the Internal Revenue Code by permitting firearm and ammunition manufacturers to pay the federal [...]

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] approved a bill Wednesday that would reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 [S 1789 materials] would amend existing law to reduce the current sentencing ratio from 100:1 to 18:1. Under the existing law passed in 1986, an individual possessing five grams of crack cocaine would receive a mandatory five-year prison sentence, while an individual possessing powder cocaine would need to have 100 times that amount to receive the same sentence. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] praised [press release] the bill's passage, stating that the current law also created a racial disparity, with African Americans comprising 79.8 percent of all offenders sentenced for crack cocaine violations. Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] also supported [statement] the bill's passage, stating that it will "go a long way toward ensuring that our sentencing laws are tough, consistent, and fair." House Judiciary Committee member Lamar Smith (R-TX) [official websites] was the only member to speak out against the bill [NPR report], arguing that reducing penalties could lead to increased violence in communities [press release]:Crack cocaine is associated with a greater degree of violence than most other drugs. And more than any other drug, the majority of crack defendants have prior criminal convictions. ... I cannot support legislation that might enable the violent and devastating crack cocaine epidemic of the past to become a clear and present danger.According to a cost estimate [text, PDF] published by the Congressional Budget Office [official website] in March, the Fair Sentencing Act would save the federal prison system $42 million between 2011 and 2015. The bill will now be sent to President Barack Obama [official website] for his consideration and signature. Obama called for a reduction in the sentencing disparity during his presidential campaign in 2008. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Dick Durbin (D-IL) [official websites] and was passed in March, less than a week after the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the bill [JURIST reports]. Last year, the House Judiciary Committee voted 16-9 to approve a bill [JURIST report] that would have completely eliminated the sentencing disparity between the offenses. In April 2008, a study released by the US Sentencing Commission (USSC) [official website] reported [study, PDF; JURIST report] that more than 3,000 prison inmates convicted of crack cocaine offenses had their sentences reduced under an amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines [materials]. In 2007, the USSC voted unanimously [JURIST report] to give retroactive effect to an earlier sentencing guideline amendment that reduced crack cocaine penalties [press release].