The Liberal Thread- No political debate please! Part 2

[bimshire]

Delay and his assistants sure know how to move the money.
*******************
E-mails detail effort inside DeLay office to help Abramoff
WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators have unearthed e-mails showing Rep. Tom DeLay's office tried to help lobbyist Jack Abramoff get a high-level Bush administration meeting for Indian clients, an effort that succeeded after the tribes began making a quarter-million dollars in donations.

Tribal money went both to a group founded by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the Cabinet secretary Abramoff was trying to meet, as well as to DeLay's personal charity.

"Do you think you could call that friend and set up a meeting," then-DeLay staffer Tony Rudy wrote to fellow House aide Thomas Pyle in a Dec. 29, 2000, e-mail titled "Gale Norton-Interior Secretary." President Bush had nominated Norton to the post the day before.

Rudy wrote Abramoff that same day promising he had "good news" about securing a meeting with Norton, forwarding information about the environmental group Norton had founded, according to e-mails obtained by investigators and reviewed by The Associated Press. Rudy's message to Abramoff was sent from Congress' official e-mail system.

Within months, Abramoff clients donated heavily to the Norton-founded group and to DeLay's personal charity. The Coushatta Indian tribe, for instance, wrote checks in March 2001 for $50,000 to the Norton group and $10,000 to the DeLay Foundation, tribal records show.

The lobbyist and the Coushattas eventually won face-to-face time with the secretary during a Sept. 24, 2001, dinner sponsored by the group she had founded.
....article in full at this website
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-03-DeLay-Abramoff_x.htm

 

[conciergekelly]

I couldn't help myself. This gossip is too good. Have you guys heard about the smut novel written by Libby (it came out in 1996)? I don't want to put the link so as not to offend anyone. It was written about in the New Yorker. Google it if you are interested. Warning it is very graphic. To think that they are bring dignity back to the White House. The morals police .

 

[barbeml]

I couldn't help myself. This gossip is too good. Have you guys heard about the smut novel written by Libby (it came out in 1996)? I don't want to put the link so as not to offend anyone. It was written about in the New Yorker. Google it if you are interested. Warning it is very graphic. To think that they are bring dignity back to the White House. The morals police .

I've been in WDW...just saw the Yahoo Story:

Scooter Libby novel becomes hot online item Mon Nov 7, 5:49 PM ET


A steamy novel by Lewis "Scooter" Libby has become a hot item now that Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff is under indictment.

An inscribed copy of "The Apprentice: A Novel," which Libby wrote in 1996 when he was a relative unknown outside Washington, was on sale on online bookseller Amazon.com on Monday for $2,400. Unsigned hardcover copies were going for $700.

Now out of print, the novel tells the story of an innkeeper apprentice in a bizarre coming-of-age story set in Japan in 1903. It is littered with edgy sexual material and strong language.

"Wow, who would have thought that clean living, family values man Scooter Libby was capable of writing such filth," said one reviewer on Amazon. Another Amazon reviewer noted its "lavish dollops of voyeurism, (2 more deleted by me) and corpse robbery."

Libby was charged last month with perjury in a special prosecutor's probe into how a CIA operative's identity was leaked to journalists.

Libby's writing skills also happened to be displayed in a widely published letter to reporter Judith Miller of The New York Times that showed a flair for literary allusion and ambiguity.

"Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them," he wrote to Miller as she sat in jail earlier this year for refusing to reveal Libby's identity as a source.

 

[LoraJ]

I couldn't help myself. This gossip is too good. Have you guys heard about the smut novel written by Libby (it came out in 1996)? I don't want to put the link so as not to offend anyone. It was written about in the New Yorker. Google it if you are interested. Warning it is very graphic. To think that they are bring dignity back to the White House. The morals police .

Rhandi Rhodes was reading parts of it on her show last week. LOL!

 

[conciergekelly]

$2400.00 Sign me up!

 

[barbeml]

I think I'll head over to Amazon to check out some of the reviews...should be fun!

 

[barbeml]

Looks like NJ is staying true blue in today's elections. Woo hoo!

 

[Reflection]

Looks like NJ is staying true blue in today's elections. Woo hoo!

And in VA, I'm glad to see Bush's last-minute waltz around the state with 'that oh too, too negative campaigning' Republican candidate, Kilgore, did not help Mr. Kilgore. The democratic candidate, Mr. Kaine is new governor of VA.

 

[Puffy2]

Does it astound anyone else that the "conservatives" (we should stop calling them conservatives because they are, in fact, not conservatives at all, but fascists) actually think that Joe Wilson is "lying"? Can these people have their heads any farther ....in the sand?

 

[LadyDay]

Does it astound anyone else that the "conservatives" (we should stop calling them conservatives because they are, in fact, not conservatives at all, but fascists) actually think that Joe Wilson is "lying"? Can these people have their heads any farther ....in the sand?

And doesn't it seem as if the rightwingers are recycling the talking points. No matter what the issue, they're pulling the same years-old talking points out of their.....................playbook.

However most of those originate from their back passage.

 

[ByTheSea]

And doesn't it seem as if the rightwingers are recycling the talking points. No matter what the issue, they're pulling the same years-old talking points out of their.....................playbook.

However most of those originate from their back passage.

Ah, the Swift Boating of Joseph Wilson..... when the facts hurt, make up new ones.

 

[Laura]

Yay NJ and VA!

 

[RobinMarie]

Nice to wake up to some political GOOD news for a change!

 

[LoraJ]

I love it when everything I vote for wins!!!


yay NJ!!!

 

[LoraJ]

Hey ! one more dancing banana because I just noticed my vacay countdown!!!!

 

[bimshire]

Is Scalito a wolf in sheep's clothing?

Posted 11/14/2005 1:45 PM
Alito argued against abortion rights in 1985 documents

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito wrote back in 1985 that he was proud of his Reagan-era work helping the government argue that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," documents showed Monday.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during a meeting with Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during a meeting with Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.
By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

Alito, who was applying in 1985 to become deputy assistant attorney general in the Reagan administration, boasted in a document that he helped "to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly."

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," he said.

The document was included in more than 100 pages of material about Alito released by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library on Monday.

Abortion will be a key topic in January at Alito's confirmation hearings to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is a crucial swing vote on abortion on the high court.

Alito, 55, has told senators in private meetings that he had "great respect" for the precedent set by the 1973 Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, that legalized abortion but did not commit to upholding it.

Some abortion rights groups already have come out against Alito because of his work as a federal appellate judge, including a dissent on a U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down a law requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.

Recently confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts also worked for the Justice Department, but argued during his confirmation that his work was just a lawyer representing his government client.

"Unlike Chief Justice John Roberts, Alito says these are his own strong personal views, and not just those of the administration he was working for," said Ralph Neas, head of the liberal People for the American Way. "Combined with his judicial record, Judge Alito's letter underscores our concern that he would vote to turn back the clock on decades of judicial precedent protecting privacy, equal opportunity, religious freedom, and so much more."

Alito's supporters say the judge's statement from 1985 shouldn't be held against him.

"For pro-choice extremists and other liberal activists to say that this legal statement by Judge Alito in 1985 somehow disqualifies him from serving as a Supreme Court justice is absurd," said Wendy Long, lawyer for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network. "Justice (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg and Justice (Stephen) Breyer had taken clear public positions to the contrary, and no one argued that those positions should be held against them."

In the document, Alito also declared himself a "lifelong registered" Republican and a Federalist Society member, and said he had donated money to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Conservative Political Action Committee and several GOP candidates.

When he wrote this document, he was working as an assistant to the solicitor general, where he stayed from 1981 to 1987. Although he sought the job of deputy assistant attorney general in 1985, he did not win that job until 1987.

"I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this administration," Alito said.

Alito wrote that he believed "very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values."

In the document, Alito said he drew inspiration from the "writings of William F. Buckley, Jr., The National Review and Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign."

"In college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause and reapportionment," he said.

The 1985 document on abortion was first reported by The Washington Times in Monday editions.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-14-alito-abortion-docs_x.htm

 

[Chicago526]

and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-14-alito-abortion-docs_x.htm

Now THAT line just jumped out and got my attention! Isn't "Traditional Values" code speak for just about everything on the Repubilican hit parade of ideals?

 

[Chicago526]

Oh isn't this interesting?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-alito,1,7704748.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Documents Reveal Alito's Abortion View

By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
Published November 14, 2005, 4:00 PM CST


WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito boasted about his work arguing that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" while trying to get a job in the Reagan administration as a deputy assistant attorney general, according to documents released Monday.

Alito, a federal appellate judge nominated by President Bush to the nation's highest court, was a young lawyer working for the solicitor general's office in 1985 when he applied for a position under Attorney General Edwin Meese.

As part of his application, Alito sent in a document saying his work in the solicitor general's office had included helping "to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly."

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," he wrote.

That sentence provides one of the first clear-cut statements attributed to Alito about abortion, which will be one of the main topics of his January confirmation hearing as retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement.

"I think that it is more reason to question him closely at the hearing," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who will run Alito's Jan. 9 hearings as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Specter, an abortion rights moderate, said a lot of people have shifted their views about abortion over the years and that he has found Alito to have "a very heavy commitment to legal interpretation which might differ from his own personal views."

Bush picked Alito after White House counsel Harriet Miers withdrew her Supreme Court nomination because of withering criticism by some conservatives.

"This may explain why the right wing expressed such enthusiastic support for Judge Alito after campaigning against Harriet Miers," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of several senators who will meet with Alito privately on Tuesday. "When he comes before the Senate, Judge Alito faces a heavy burden of demonstrating that he no longer holds these extremely troubling views and would bring an open mind and a real commitment to fundamental rights and freedoms."

O'Connor has been a crucial swing vote on abortion on the Supreme Court, and Alito's opponents fear that he and recently confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts would swing the Supreme Court to the right and lead to the overturning of the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision establishing abortion rights.

Alito, 55, has told senators in his two weeks of private meetings that he has "great respect" for Roe v. Wade, but he did not commit to upholding it.

Alito "joins a long list of jurists who have written that Roe was wrongly decided, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg before she was confirmed to the court," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Judiciary Committee. "The question is whether he will put his personal views aside as any judge should and base his rulings on what the Constitution says. His long track record as a federal appeals court judge shows that he has indeed put his personal views on abortion aside, and I have every confidence he will continue to do so."

The document was included in more than 100 pages of material about Alito released by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library on Monday.

Some abortion rights groups already have come out against Alito because of his work as a federal appellate judge, including a dissent on an appeals court decision striking down a law requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.

But White House spokesman Steven Schmidt said Alito's 15 years as a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shows "a clear pattern of modesty, respect for precedent and judicial restraint."

When he wrote this document, he was working as an assistant to the solicitor general, where he stayed from 1981 to 1987. Although he sought the job of deputy assistant attorney general in 1985, he did not win that job until 1987.

In the document, Alito declared himself a "lifelong registered" Republican and a Federalist Society member, and said he had donated money to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Conservative Political Action Committee and several GOP candidates.

"I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this administration," Alito said.

Alito also wrote that he believed "very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values."

The 1985 document on abortion was first reported by The Washington Times in Monday editions.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Oh isn't this interesting?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-alito,1,7704748.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Documents Reveal Alito's Abortion View

Interesting...yes, but don't worry. Today he admitted that the only reason that he took that point of view on abortion was because he was trying to get a job! Thank you President Bush...another example of the kind of people, those with honor and integrity, that you continue to surround yourself with!!

 

[SPAM]

bump
i realized this thread got buried and thought i'd bump it back up.