Category: Congress

Bill Foster Goes to Bat for Veterans

Posted on by TL

U.S. Congressman Bill Foster from the 14th Congressional District in Illinois is quickly making a name for himself standing up for our military veterans. The 14th District is the seat vacated by former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert. According to the Daily Chronicle:

Beginning next year, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces will have easier access to higher education.

But, effective immediately, the U.S. military will have a tremendous new recruiting tool.

Monday, U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Batavia, delivered this news to a small gathering of war veterans at the St. Charles Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, lauding the recent passage of the so-called 21st Century GI Bill.

“Right after we have celebrated our independence for the 232nd time, we have a chance to honor and give back to the men and women who make sure we keep on having Independence Days,” Foster said.

Promoted by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, and signed into law by President Bush late last month, the GI Bill enhances college tuition benefits to active-duty service personnel who have served since Sept. 11, 2001. For veterans who have served at least three years, the bill guarantees that the federal government will fund 100 percent of tuition costs at public, in-state colleges and universities and 50 percent of private school tuition.

Veterans who served less than three years can also receive lesser benefits on a graduated scale, beginning at 40 percent of tuition and fees for at least 90 days of consecutive active duty service.

The bill also grants money for all fees, a new monthly housing stipend and $1,000 a year for books and supplies.

There was some opposition to this bill in both parties, but Jim Webb has a solid reputation among veterans, and the bill was supported by many of America’s leading veterans organizations, including the VFW, American Legion, AmVets and others. It had the support of Senator Barack Obama, but, amazingly, became the ill-advised punching bag of one veteran, Senator John McCain. Republicans did not stand with McCain on this one:

In a surprising rebuke to John McCain, 25 of his fellow Republican senators today approved a veterans’ benefits proposal that their presidential nominee has made a controversial decision to oppose.

The veterans’ plan passed today would strengthen education benefits for US soldiers that have not been updated since 1984. McCain, a Vietnam war veteran, echoes the Bush administration’s concerns that the plan could entice too many troops to leave the military for college.

But more than half of Republican senators disagreed, voting for the education proposal offered by Democratic senator James Webb — and against McCain’s stated position.

Bill Foster is turning into a unique blend. He’s spot on for the 14th District. While it might be expected of those of us on the left to continuously bash Republicans, the fact is Denny Hastert represented his constituents well for a very long time. Bill Foster is following that lead: he’s legislating, not politicking. And it’s very refreshing to see that coming from Congress these days.

Former Senator Jesse Helms Dead at 86

Posted on by TL

The Jesse Helms Center reports that former United States Senator Jesse Helms died at 1:15 a.m. this morning in Raleigh. Further details on funeral arrangements will be forthcoming.  He was 86.

From the New York Times:

Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July.

Helms left quite a legacy as he worked to demonize anyone slightly to the left of Mussolini. Among other things, Helms opposed civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights, foreign aid and modern art.  Helms led the Senatorial opposition to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in 1983. He rarely made a speech in the United States Senate without somehow managing to mention homosexuality, and was particularly vitriolic when speaking of blacks, gays and lesbians, blaming them for “the proliferation of AIDS,” and stating that he disliked using the word “gay” to refer to them since, “…there’s nothing gay about them.”

Jesse liked to sing, once serenading Senator Carol Mosely Braun:

Soon after the Senate vote on the Confederate flag insignia, Sen. Jesse Helms (R.-N.C.) ran into Mosely-Braun in a Capitol elevator. Helms turned to his friend, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah), and said, “Watch me make her cry. I’m going to make her cry. I’m going to sing ‘Dixie’ until she cries.” He then proceeded to sing the song about the good life during slavery to Mosely-Braun (Gannett News Service, 9/2/93; Time, 8/16/93).

More on his legacy of racism:

Helms’ impeccable racist credentials include calling the University of North Carolina (UNC) the “University of Negroes and Communists.” (Charleston Gazette, 9/15/95)

At the 1993 GATT conference in Geneva, Sen. Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) commented on the African delegates attending the conference: “Rather than eating each other, they just come up and get a good square meal in Geneva.” (Washington Post, 2/5/94)

Hollings reportedly referred to blacks as “darkies” in a 1986 interview, and has called supporters of Sen. Alan Cranston “wetbacks,” called the Rainbow Coalition the “Blackbo Coalition,” and called Sen. Howard Metzenbaum “the senator from B’Nai B’rith.”

On Don Imus’ radio show (4/4/95), Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.) mocked O.J. Simpson judge Lance Ito, calling him “Little Judge Ito” and speaking in a mock-Japanese accent that bore no resemblance to the native-born Ito’s speech.

In 1991, D’Amato commented on WABC radio (9/13/91) that New York’s African-American mayor, David Dinkins, should go to Africa “and stay there.” (Newsday, 9/16/91) In 1986, when D’Amato was asked about a low-income housing project in his state, he reportedly commented, “We didn’t do too well with the animal vote, did we? Isn’t it the animals who live in these projects? They’re not our people.” (New Republic, 3/10/86)

Praise has started coming in from Republicans, a party Helms dragged far, far to the right:

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said few senators could match Helms’ reputation.

”Today we lost a Senator whose stature in Congress had few equals. Senator Jesse Helms was a leading voice and courageous champion for the many causes he believed in,” McConnell said in a statement.

No doubt a dark-skinned, smiling Jesus welcomed him with a hearty, “Shalom!” and a big, wet kiss.

Lieberman Must Go!

Posted on by TL

This just in today from Brave New Films:

Joe Lieberman is a war hawk, plain and simple. He staunchly supports George Bush’s War in Iraq and John McCain’s plan to stay in Iraq for 100 years. But Lieberman’s new alliance with the Republican Party runs even deeper. He has endorsed and stumped for McCain, wants to be the star of the Republican National Convention, and has even served on a 527 group that smeared Barack Obama with a nasty attack ad.

And yet Lieberman still holds a top rank within the Senate Democratic Caucus as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Senate Democratic Steering Committee needs to know just how much of a conflict of interest this is. That’s why we created Lieberman Must Go.

Watch the video: http://bravenewfilms.org/watch/19924842/43061?utm_source=rgemail

Here’s what you can do: Sign our petition today and tell the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to strip Lieberman of his leadership role in Congress. Then, e-mail this video to everyone you know and spread it on sites like Digg and elsewhere.

Recently in Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall suggested that the best way to limit Lieberman is by encouraging the Steering Committee to render him powerless in 2009. Lieberman must go, and you can make that happen by donating to Brave New Films today.

Yours,
Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Team

I’m happy to give them a spot on Turning Left.  I agree…

Joe Lieberman Must Go!

Bill Daley wants to be your governor, Illinios

Posted on by TL

Bill Daley has been talking to all the right people, working to position himself for the 2010 Democratic nomination for governor of Illinois. Brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Bill took a shot at the governor’s mansion in 2002. According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

Bill Daley flirted with a race for governor in 2002 only to be bullied out by Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), father-in-law of Gov. Blagojevich.

Mell threatened to dirty up the mayor’s brother with talk of Bill Daley’s divorce and Daley’s stint as president of Amalgamated Bank.

With federal investigators swarming over the Blagojevich administration, the governor’s former fundraiser Tony Rezko now a convicted felon and Mell now estranged from his son-in-law, Bill Daley is apparently looking to scratch his lifelong political itch.

Well, Blagojevich has certainly become quite the itch.

I’m willing to take a look at Daley.

Daley has name recognition in his own right.  He served as Secretary of Commerce in President Bill Clinton’s second administration.  In July 2000 he became chairman of Vice President Al Gore’s presidential campaign.

This man has a respectable history already, and throws his hat into a crowded field.

For years we’ve heard talk that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was planning a run for governor.  Madigan is exceptional.  I’ve heard her speak on a number of occasions.  While her father is very well-connected, Lisa is not Speaker Mike.

Lisa is not a Todd-Stroger-wannabe, running just because daddy already holds office.  Neither is Bill Daley running because of his brother.

If these two throw their respective hats into the ring, Democrats are in for quite the ride.  Democrats will have two very respectable candidates to consider.

Personally, I’ll probably offer my support to the one who does not go negative first.

Rep. Bill Foster to Deliver Democratic Radio Address

Posted on by TL

Good news from Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL). Rep. Foster will be delivering the Democratic Radio Address Saturday, the official party response to the President’s Weekly Radio Address. This in today from Bill Foster for Congress:

Dear Friends,

We have some great news to report: Bill has the honor of delivering the Democratic Radio Address this weekend on strengthening America’s economy. The address will be broadcast nationwide reaching millions of Americans who face many of the same struggles we face here in the 14th District. Bill will advocate less bickering and more problem solving as ways we can overcome those challenges.

Please make sure you tune in to Bill’s address, which will air Saturday, March 29, 2008, at approximately 10:05 A.M. Central Standard Time. The major networks including including AP, ABC, NPR, CBS Radio, CNN Radio, Fox News Radio, and C-SPAN will air the address, but please check local listings for broadcast times.

In case you miss Bill’s response to President Bush’s radio address, the speech will be posted here in its entirety, along with a complete transcript.

We appreciate your support, and look forward to seeing all of you in the coming weeks and months ahead as we continue to move forward and work hard on behalf of the people of the 14th District.

Thanks again,

The Bill Foster for Congress Team

Good news for Rep. Bill Foster, businessman, scientist, DEMOCRAT!

The Sun Also Rises: Foster Wins!

Posted on by TL

Fighting Donkey of the Young Democrats

Unofficial results from the Associated Press show Bill Foster defeating Jim Oberweis for Congress. The Chicago Tribune calls it a “stunning upset” — and they’re right:

In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a harbinger of trouble for the GOP this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a seat drawn to re-elect former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Bill Foster defeated Republican Jim Oberweis, who lost his fourth high-profile election in six years, following an expensive and highly negative contest.

Unbelievable, and yet totally cool.

Foster told his supporters he gives a lot of credit to the Young Democrats of Illinois for helping him secure this victory. Hats off to the entire YD organization in historically Republican Kendall County, which Foster won by 91 votes. The Young Democrats helped turn a huge page in the 14th Congressional District. Spectacular.

John Crawford and every Young Democrat in Kendall County deserve credit for this one.

With 100% of precincts reporting, The Chicago Sun-Times shows Foster beating Oberweis by six points: 53% to 47%. Six whole points send Mr. Foster to Washington.

Congratulations to all who had a hand in this victory.

Foster is good stuff, and the residents of the 14th Congressional District deserve solid representation. I have no doubt the good doctor will serve them well.

It’s Gotta Be Foster

Posted on by TL

Bill Foster is running an amazing campaign for Congress in the 14th District, Illinois. Endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, Foster has gained a reputation for being smart, wise and honest.

Jim Oberweis, a perennial candidate for whatever-is-next, published literature with fictional people, complete with stock photographs. From an editorial in the Chicago Tribune:

Rob Wadsworth is a firefighter. His wife, Amanda, works as an office assistant. They live in Yorkville and get by OK on $73,000 a year. They have a mop-headed little boy and a cute little girl. Take a look at their photo here. Aren’t they just adorable?

Well, life’s not all rosy for the Wadsworths. Rob likes to hit the tavern with his buddies after work, so Amanda basically has two jobs because someone has to ride herd on the kids — one’s a chronic shoplifter, the other likes to play with matches and neither of them can recite the alphabet without prompting — and Rob says he’d come home if Amanda’s hag of a mother wasn’t there all the time …

Actually, we made up that last part … but who cares? Jim Oberweis made up the Wadsworths!

Pols are often criticized for alleged dishonesty. The voters of the 14th District considering voting for Oberweis should seriously consider taking a second look at Foster. The man carries endorsements from a string of Nobel Prize winners — not that the Nobel Prize qualifies anyone to choose the next congressman. But their endorsement is extremely impressive, nonetheless.

The Washington Post has taken notice of the race:

In a race that has become surprisingly close, voters will decide today whether a Republican dairy magnate or a Democratic scientist will fill out the remainder of former Republican House speaker J. Dennis Hastert’s term in Illinois’ 14th District.

Our Democratic scientist should be commended — and elected.  This one is well within reach, and Republicans and Democrats in the district should take a good look at Bill Foster.

Oberweis’ own actions raise too many credibility issues. The right choice for Congress is clearly Bill Foster.

Iraq – Actually Twice As Bad

Posted on by TL

Leave it to the Republicans to finally let the truth slip out.

Iraq is twice as bad as any of us thought.

For years now — yes, years — I’ve been using the National Priorities  Project as the quintessential barometer for how much the United States is spending in Iraq.  Turns out the NPP was wrong, by half.

No fault of their own.  The NPP says the United States is spending $275 million per day.  The truth is closer to $480 million per day.  That is, if you believe the Republicans.  I have the Bad Astronomer to thank for this woeful news.  Once again, he has “one-upped” the Liberal bloggers.

He cites Senator Ted Stevens in the Washington Post.  Stevens actually used the revised figures to demonstrate the need for more money.  According to Stevens:

The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worldwide battle against terrorism — nearly $15 billion a month — came last week from one of the Senate’s leading proponents of a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq.

“This cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month,” Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, said in a little-noticed floor speech Dec. 18. His remarks came in support of adding $70 billion to the omnibus fiscal 2008 spending legislation to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, as well as counterterrorism activities, for the six months from Oct. 1, 2007, through March 31 of next year.

So it’s even worse than we all thought.

So, where does that leave us with the numbers?  Do we actually know how much money we’ve spent in Iraq?

Our national debt right now is estimated to be at $9.127 trillion.  We have lost 3901 American soldiers in Iraq.  At least 80,137 Iraq civilians have been killed, although some estimates put the total much higher than 100,000.  And somewhere between 23,000 and 100,000 American soldiers have been wounded in Iraq.

Are all of these numbers not related to each other?  What possible solution can we count on while many of the most prominent members of Congress are running for President?

Does anybody care about this crisis?  Or is it all just useful for the current campaigns?

Thank You, Wil Wheaton

Posted on by TL

Wil Wheaton discusses just about anything on his blog, WWdN: In Exile. The one-and-only former Wesley Crusher is a Democrat, and a smart one at that.

I’ve shared before my dissatisfaction with the Democrats in Congress, their incredible failure to lead, and everyone’s dreams of living on Pennsylvania Ave. Too many of them are infatuated with the presidency, and the new Neverending Story is the campaign. Meanwhile, Congress simply cannot lead.

Hats off to Mr. Wheaton for his clarity. I couldn’t have said it better myself:

It is outrageous that Senators Clinton, Obama and Biden are asking for our votes, but are unwilling to provide leadership now. If they won’t stand up for the principles we all hold dear when they’re trying to earn our votes, how can we expect them to do it once they’re in the White House? Leadership is doing the right thing when it’s risky and when it’s unpopular. (And how depressing is it that upholding your oath of office is risky and unpopular? How doubly depressing is it that the only people who think that — and the only people being listened to — are Joe Klein, the DLC consultants, and the rest of the pundit class?)

Well, as a complete idiot once said: Fool me once, can’t get fooled again.

Amen.

Wheaton says he is inspired by John Edwards, and likes Chris Dodd. Even my Republican friends are saying we need a Democrat in ’08. But we need one who wants to work — not one who wants the White House. Showing leadership over the past several months would have been good, instead of having wet dreams about renting out the Lincoln Bedroom.

Can Anybody Really Touch the C.I.A.?

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I have to admit this one makes me worry. I’ve always had the idea — no doubt based on superstition and fear — that the C.I.A. was untouchable. I mean, who could possibly go after the C.I.A., really?

So the old chaps were destroying tapes. Takes me back to the 70s, it does.

According to the latest in the NYTimes.com:

White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday.

This one really has me worried. I don’t recall anyone ever really successfully going after the C.I.A. Have you? They really worry me. I’m convinced they operate outside of any laws we know of. Therefore, I want to see Congress really go after them … that is, if Congress is still working for us.

Today’s Washington Post says President Bush (All Praise His Holy Name) was unaware of these tapes, but was aware in some fashion:

The White House said that President Bush was unaware of the tapes or their destruction until this week, but administration sources acknowledged last night that longtime Bush aide Harriet E. Miers knew of the tapes’ existence and told CIA officials that she opposed their destruction.

So, somebody knew something, but we’re not quite sure who knew what, and we’re pretty certain the President knew nothing.

That sounds about right.

The real question is, “Does Congress have any balls to go after this?”

Really, that is what should be our concern.

Are we simply going to listen to Harry Reid ramble on about generalities? Or will someone attempt to really find out what happened here?

Listen: I really hope this is the “Land of the Free,” and “Home of the Brave.” I don’t want to go to sleep thinking that this is really the “Land Ruled By The C.I.A.” and “The Men In Black,” whoever the Hell they are.

“Give me liberty,” or something….