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HavenWorks.com/ohio - Ohio News |
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Ohio News, Ohio State News, Ohio capital: Columbus, OH News |
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 US
States
Ohio capital: Columbus Ohio US
Capitals
State Postal Code: OH: Ohio State Abbreviation State
Abbr.
Ohio state is bordered by the states of Pennsylvania (northeast), West Virginia (southeast), Kentucky (south), Indiana (west), and Michigan (north). 
Ohio state is also bordered by the Great Lake of Lake Erie (north). Ohio News OH News |
 Ohio
OHIO News:
 Federal
-  Economic
-  History
- Ohio
"U.S. Rep. Austria [falsely] blames Depression on Roosevelt." ... "U.S. [United States Ohio Republican Representative] Rep. Steve Austria said he supports a scaled-down federal economic-stimulus proposal, but the Beavercreek Republican told The Dispatch editorial board that the huge influx of money into the economy could have a negative effect." ... ""When (President Franklin) Roosevelt did this, he put our country into a Great Depression," Austria said. "He tried to borrow and spend, he tried to use the Keynesian approach, and our country ended up in a Great Depression. That's just history."" ... "Most historians date the beginning of the Great Depression at or shortly after the stock-market crash of 1929; Roosevelt took office in 1933." -DispatchPolitics.com 
 Media
-  Politics
-  Radio
- Market
- Florida
- San
Diego - Sacramento
-  California
- Ohio
-  Minnesota
-  Wisconsin
- Portland
-  Oregon
"Another Right-Wing Conspiracy in Washington?" ... "The commercial use of public airwaves is supposed to reflect the diversity of the local community, but that's not how it works in Washington [DC, America's capital]. On the AM dial, WMAL (630) features wall-to-wall conservative talk. So do stations WTNT (570) and WHFS (1580). For the past two years, OBAMA 1260 -- even with a weak signal that cannot be heard in downtown Washington -- was the exception. No longer. Starting tomorrow, our nation's capital, where Democrats control the House, the Senate and the White House, and where Democrats outnumber Republicans 10 to one, will have no progressive voices on the air." ... "Or maybe one." ... "To mollify critics, Red Zebra has said it will add Ed Schultz to its conservative lineup on 570 AM. This means Shultz will be outgunned in this market by at least 15 conservative talkers: Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Chris Plante, Michael Smerconish, Michael Savage, Andy Parks, Fred Grandy, Bill Bennett, Monica Crowley, Bill O'Reilly, Dennis Miller and Lars Larsen. No matter how good Schultz is, that's not a fair contest -- nor a fair use of the public airwaves." ... "Unfortunately, what's happening in Washington reflects what has happened in one city after another across the country. In Miami [Florida], Clear Channel recently dumped progressive talk for sports: Clear Channel stations made the same move in San Diego [California] and Cincinnati [Ohio]. Sacramento [California] abandoned progressive talk for gospel music. In fact, according to a study released by the Center for American Progress and Free Press, there are nine hours of conservative talk for every one hour of progressive talk." ... "Why? Station owners complain they can't get good ratings or make any money with progressive talk, but that's nonsense. In Minnesota, independent owner Janet Robert has operated KTNF (950 AM) profitably for five years. In Madison, Wis. [Wisconsin], WXXM, 92.1 FM, just scored its highest ratings ever. And KPOJ in Portland, Ore. [Oregon], soared with progressive talk from No. 23 in market ratings to No. 1. Nationwide, progressive talkers Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller have proven that, given a level playing field, they can more than hold their own in ratings -- and make money for their stations." ... "In fact, the only reason there's not more competition on American airwaves is that the handful of companies that own most radio stations do everything they can to block it." ... "There is no free market in talk radio today, only an exclusive, tightly held, conservative media conspiracy." -By Bill Press -WashingtonPost 
 John
A Boehner
-  Peter
Hoekstra - Secret
-  Trip
-  Lawmaker
-  Electronic
-  Communications
-  Military
- Ohio
-  Mich
-  US
-  Iraq
"Congressman Twitters an Iraq Security Breach." ... "A congressional trip to Iraq this weekend was supposed to be a secret." ... "But the cat’s out of the bag now, thanks to a member of the House Intelligence Committee who broke an embargo via Twitter." ... "A delegation led by [Ohio Republican Representative and] House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R[Republican]-Ohio, arrived in Iraq earlier today, and because of [Michigan Republican Representative] Rep. Peter Hoekstra , R-Mich. [Republican-Michigan], the entire world — or at least Twitter.com readers—now know they’re there." ... "“Just landed in Baghdad [Iraq's capital],” messaged Hoekstra, a former chairman of the Intelligence panel and now the ranking member, who is routinely entrusted to keep some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets." ... "Before the delegation left Washington, they were advised to keep the trip to themselves for security reasons." ... "Not only did Hoekstra reveal the existence of the lawmakers’ trip, but included details about their itinerary in updates posted every few hours on his Twitter page, until he suddenly stopped, for some reason, on Friday morning. " -By John M. Donnelly -CQPolitics.com
 Cable
- Media
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- Lawmakers
- Federal
- Economics
- John
Boehner
-  John
McCain - OH
-  AZ
"REPORT: GOP Lawmakers Outnumber Democratic Lawmakers 2 To 1 In Stimulus Debate On Cable News." ... "As Media Matters has documented, during the [Republican President] Bush administration, the media consistently allowed conservatives to dominate their shows, booking them as guests far more often than progressives. The rationale was that Republicans were “in power.”" ... "It appears that old habits die hard. Even though [Democratic] President Obama and his team are in control of the executive branch and Democrats are in the majority in Congress, the cable networks are still turning more often to Republicans and allowing them to set the agenda on major issues, most recently on the debate over the economic recovery package." ... "On Sunday, conservatives began an all-out assault on President Obama’s economic recovery plan, with [Ohio Republican Representative and Republican] House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH [Republican-Ohio]) and [Arizona Republican Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-AZ [Republican-Arizona]) both announcing that they would vote against the plan as it stood. Despite Obama’s efforts at good faith outreach, congressional conservatives have continued to attack the stimulus plan with a series of false and disingenuous arguments." ... "The media have been aiding their efforts. In a new analysis, ThinkProgress has found that the five cable news networks — CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Business and CNBC — have hosted more Republican lawmakers to discuss the plan than Democrats by a 2 to 1 ratio this week:" "(By Party - January 26-28, 2009)" 
[Red=Republican / Blue=Democratic]
John
Boehner
- Government
- Economic
- Legislation
- Politics
- History
- Poor
-  Family
-  Women's
-  Medical
- Abortion
-  AL.
- FL
-  MS
-  SC
- CA
-  LA
- MN
-  RI
-  MO
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
"Republicans Irate Over Expansion of Republican-Approved Program." ... "[T]he family-planning program that [California Democratic Representative and House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi supports expanding in the stimulus bill was created in 1972 under the leadership of Republican president Richard Nixon." ... "What's being proposed is an expansion in the number of states that can use Medicaid money, with a federal match, to help low-income women prevent unwanted pregnancies. Of the 26 states that already have Medicaid waivers for family planning, eight are led by Republican governors (AL [Alabama], FL [Florida], MS [Mississippi], SC [South Carolina], CA [California], LA [Louisiana], MN [Minnesota] and RI [Rhode Island] -- a ninth, MO [Missouri], had a GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] governor until this past November). If this policy is truly a taxpayer gift to "the abortion industry," as [Ohio Republican Representative] John Boehner and House Republicans claim, where are the GOP governors promising to end the program in their states?" ... "Additionally, the process of obtaining a waiver for Medicaid family-planning coverage is extremely cumbersome. A letter written by Wisconsin health regulators in 2007 noted that some states have had to wait for as long as two years before their request was approved. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that eliminating the waiver requirement would save states $400 million over 10 years." -By Elana Schor -TPMDC .TalkingPointsMemo 
Business
- Politics
- Election
-  Auto
-  Manufacturing
- Law
- California
- Mich
- Ohio
"Auto bailout's death seen as a Republican blow at unions: For some Senate Republicans, a vote against the [American auto manufacturing] bailout was a vote against the United Auto Workers, and against organized labor in general." ... ""Handing a defeat to labor and its Democratic allies in Congress was also seen as a preemptive strike in what is expected to be a major battle for the new Congress in January: the unions' bid for a so-called card check law that would make it easier for them to organize workers, potentially reversing decades of declining power. The measure is strongly opposed by business groups." ... ""This is the Democrats' first opportunity to pay off organized labor after the election," read an e-mail circulated Wednesday among Senate Republicans. "This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it." ... "One major car dealer said conservatives let political ideology get in the way of protecting the country's interests." ... ""Being a Republican myself, I feel very betrayed by the Republican Party right now," said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Motors Inc. in North Hills [California]. Galpin has the nation's largest Ford dealership as well as lots where it sells eight other foreign and domestic brands." ... "[Michigan Democratic Representative] Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.[ Democratic-Michigan]), a labor ally, said Friday that Republican senators who opposed the bailout might have "wanted to crush a longtime political rival, the United Auto Workers," without concern for the economic consequences." ... "[Ohio Democratic Senator] Sen. Sherrod Brown (D[Democratic]-Ohio) characterized the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] opposition as "class-warfare assault by the Republicans."" ... ""They never ask about banker salaries. . . . They never asked they give money back," he said." (1, 2) -By Jim Puzzanghera with contributions by Ken Bensinger -LAtimes
John
Boehner
-  Don
Young -  Doc
Hastings -  Jack
Abramoff -  Tom
DeLay -  Jerry
Lewis -  Ken
Calvert -  John
Doolittle - Ohio
-  AK
-  WA
- Texas
- CA
- Florida
- Money
- Politics
- US
Attorney - Law
- Federal
-  Investigation
"House GOP [Republicans] Gives Scandal-Ridden Don Young’s Committee Seat To Scandal-Ridden Doc Hastings." ... " ... [Ohio Republican Representative and House Minority Leader John Boehner told Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) that he could no longer support him as ranking Republican on the Natural Resources Committee, leading to Young’s resignation from the post." ... "The AP reports that a panel of top House leaders picked [Washington state Republican Representative] Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA [Republican-Washington]) today to lead the committee. “The recommendation by the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Steering Committee is final under a rule change adopted Wednesday.”" ... "Recall, Jack Abramoff once boasted of having an “excellent relationship” with Hastings, who received $14,000 [*] from Abramoff’s firm, Preston Gates — including $1,000 from Abramoff himself. After taking control of the Ethics Committee, Hastings reportedly fired two staff lawyers involved in unanimous decisions to admonish [Texas Republican] Tom DeLay for improper fundraising. Hastings also contacted fired [United States] U.S. Attorney John McKay and attempted to pressure him in an ongoing investigation." ... "As ThinkProgress has documented, Boehner has a history of playing musical chairs with committee assignments for corrupt members:" "[California Republican Representative] Rep. Jerry Lewis: Boehner ruled that Rep. Jerry Lewis of California could continue as the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee while under federal investigation on ethics charges.""Despite Boehner’s ethics pledge after ethics pledge, the culture of corruption still rules at the end of the day." -By Satyam Khanna -ThinkProgress.org
 Jeff
Sessions -  Bob
Corker -  George
Voinovich - Corporate
- Government
- Law
- Auto
-  Workers
-  Thanksgiving
- Manufacturer
- Michigan
-  Tenn
- Ala
- Ohio
-  2010
Election - US
-  Japan
-  South
Korea
"'Card check' best hope for auto workers union? Congress to vote on Employee Free Choice Act to make unionization easier." ... "Congress returns after Thanksgiving to decide whether to approve a $25 billion loan to General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. The future of United Auto Workers members in Michigan and other states is at stake." ... "“It appears to me we possibly have one too many auto makers,” said [Tennessee Republican Senator] Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.[ Republican-Tennessee], who opposes the loan [and recommends Chapter 11 bankruptcy]." ... "But it will be an industry in which fewer workers are represented by the United Auto Workers. And that doesn’t cause Republicans like [Alabama Republican Senator] Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.[ Republican-Alabama], any regret." ... "One advantage the [Japanese and South Korean auto manufacturers] Honda and Hyundai plants in Alabama have over the General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford plants in Michigan is lower labor costs. That's because, in part, auto workers in Michigan are represented by the UAW and workers in Alabama aren’t." ... "But what if the UAW [United Auto Workers] could more easily organize workers at Honda and Hyundai? UAW-represented workers at Honda and Hyundai could then bargain for higher wages." ... "The Employee Free Choice Act, passed by the House of Representatives last year, but stymied in the Senate, aims to make unionization easier by allowing workers to join a union by signing a card rather than by going through a secret-ballot election. The bill is called “card check” for short." ... "A UAW ally, [Ohio Democratic Representative] Rep. Tim Ryan, D[Democratic]- Ohio, said enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act “would level the playing field. Each facility would be competing on the same playing field.”" ... "In the vote next year, Republicans up for re-election in 2010, such as [Ohio Republican Senator] Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio will be under pressure to vote for it." (1, 2) -By Tom Curry -MSNBC 
Jeff
Sessions - Auto
- Makers
-Workers
- Health
Care -  Pension
- Politics
- Federal
- Economy
- 2010
Election - Michigan
- Ohio
-US
-  Foreign
- Alabama
-  Georgia
-  Kentucky
- Japan
- South
Korea
"It's North vs. South in Big Three bailout fight." ... "Should taxpayers in Alabama be required to bail out [American] automakers whose plants are concentrated in Northern states like Michigan and Ohio?" ... "Alabama is home to three Honda [Japan automaker] and Hyundai [South Korea automaker] plants. And just across the state line in Georgia, a new Kia [Hyundai] plant is set to open and will likely employ many Alabamans." ... "[Alabama Republican Senator] Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Ala. [Republican-Alabama], told reporters Wednesday, “I can not imagine a real justification for a worker in Alabama who does not have any health insurance at his company to be taxed to maintain a Cadillac health care plan for somebody in Detroit [Michigan].”" ... "The struggle over whether Congress should make the loan is a classic regional battle: North vs. South, unionized states like Michigan vs. mostly non-union ones like Alabama." ... "“There are some states that might think there’s a competitive advantage for them if the Big Three don’t make it,” [Michigan Democratic Senator] Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich. [Democratic-Michigan], a Big Three ally, told reporters Tuesday." ... "[Kentucky Republican Senator] Sen. Jim Bunning, R- Ky. [Republican-Kentucky], who is up for re-election in 2010, said Wednesday, “It’s not a balancing act. It’s whether the federal government should intervene in the private-sector economy. And I believe it should not. I am very concerned that people as hard-headed as the three people who spoke to us yesterday would not have a plan in place and not have any concession to make, but they would just want the money so they can burn through it. That’s unacceptable.”" ... "And if Chrysler and General Motors go into bankruptcy or liquidation?" ... "“I think that’s probably the best thing that can happen,” [Kentucky Republican Senator] Bunning replied. “Then there will be a reorganization and they’ll be able to jettison things they couldn’t ordinarily jettison, like health care benefits, like pension benefits and there will be someone to pick those up like the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. And then they will be able to restructure their salaries to get more in line with foreign producers and they may come out of bankruptcy a heck of a lot better off than they go into it.”" (1, 2) -By Tom Curry -MSNBC 
Auto
- Makers
- Federal
- Politics
-Unemployment
- Michigan
-Ohio
-  Indiana
"GM Collapse at $200 Billion May Exceed Bailout Plan (Update1)." ... "General Motors Corp., seeking a federal bailout as its cash dwindles, would cost the government as much as $200 billion should the biggest U.S. [United States] automaker be forced to liquidate, a forecasting firm estimated." ... "A GM [General Motors] collapse would mean ``more aid to specific states like Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and more money into unemployment and extended benefits,'' Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, said today in an interview. He prepared the estimate for Bloomberg News." ... "The projected expense of $100 billion to $200 billion covers funds for existing programs, such as unemployment insurance, and new measures that would be needed to revive economic growth after millions of auto-related job losses." ... "Such a sum would be an eightfold increase over the $25 billion bailout package that will be debated in Congress next week to help prop up Detroit-based GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC amid the industry's worst sales year since 1991." ... "A GM shutdown would cost jobs among suppliers as well as at the automaker itself, pushing the U.S. unemployment rate next year to 9.5 percent, compared with current projections of as high as 8.5 percent due to the weakened economy, Behravesh said." -By Alex Ortolani and Mike Ramsey -Bloomberg
Auto
- Makers
- Jobs
- Government
- History
- Military
- Politics
- Ohio
"Failure of auto industry could set off catastrophe." ... "Advocates for the nation's automakers are warning that the collapse of the Big Three -- or even just General Motors -- could set off a catastrophic chain reaction in the economy, eliminating up to 3 million jobs and depriving governments of more than $150 billion in tax revenue." ... ""We've got to do this because the cost of inaction is so high to communities, to workers, to companies," said [Ohio Democratic Senator] Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio. He was among many lawmakers worried that an industry collapse would be devastating for everything from school districts to small businesses." ... "Even if just GM [General Motors] collapsed, the failure could bring down the other two companies -- and even the U.S. [United States] operations of foreign automakers -- as parts suppliers run out of money and shut down." ... "Concern about the automakers hit new heights Friday when GM and Ford reported they spent a combined $14.6 billion more than they took in last quarter. GM said it could run out of money by the end of the year." ... "Ford said it could last through 2009, but only because it arranged a hefty credit line last year." ... "All this comes after tight credit and economic uncertainty in October reduced U.S. auto sales to their lowest level in 25 years -- with no rebound in sight." ... "The Big Three have cut their combined U.S. hourly work force more than 40 percent since 2005, from 244,000 to about 139,000." ... "Brown, the Ohio senator, said letting the industry collapse would also be a national security risk, eliminating companies that were essential in two world wars." -By Tom Krisher and Ken Thomas -AP via -Yahoo
 Barack
Obama -John
Boehner
-  Karl
Rove - 2008
Election - Media
- Politics
- Corporate
- Healthcare
- Ohio
- US
- Iraq
- Global
-  Climate
"Sunday Roundup." ... "In the wake of [2008 Election Democratic President-Elect Barack] Obama's overwhelming victory, and Democratic gains in the House and Senate, conservatives are desperately trying to convince the world that these results are meaningless. "Democrats should not make the mistake of viewing Tuesday's results as a repudiation of conservatism," insisted [Ohio Republican Representative] John Boehner. "Barack Obama understands this is a center-right country," claimed Karl Rove. "This country remains every bit as center-right as it has for a generation," parroted Brent Bozell. And David Brooks dreamed of an Obama administration that understands "this was an election where the middle asserted itself." Drunk on self-delusion, a staggering GOP whistles past the electoral graveyard, missing the whole point of this election: the center has shifted, and positions that used to be considered "left-wing" -- on healthcare, on global warming, on corporate responsibility, on Iraq -- are now solidly mainstream." -By Arianna Huffington -HuffingtonPost.com
Barack
Obama -
- Ad
- Media
- 2008
Election - Families
- Economy
- Military
- Ohio
- Missouri
-  Kansas
-  New
Mexico - Florida
- Arizona
- - US
- Iraq
"30-minute Obama ad shows campaign muscle." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's 30-minute TV ad, which ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable networks at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, is muscle-flexing that has little precedent, a campaign advertising expert said." ... ""It's evidence, if you needed any, that the Obama campaign has more money than there is ad time left to buy," said Evan Tracey, director of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "This is flexing the muscles."" ... ""The strategic brilliance of this for Obama is that he is going to consume about 24 hours of the news cycle," Tracey said. "It boxes [John] McCain in, takes the oxygen out of the room."" ... "In the carefully produced infomercial, Obama laid out his plans for the economy and for bringing an end to the war in Iraq." ... "It also featured stories of struggling families in swing states such as Ohio and Missouri and included testimonials from high-profile supporters, including Kansas [Democratic Governor] Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and New Mexico [Democratic Governor] Gov. Bill Richardson." ... "Obama's Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, was not mentioned, nor was the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]. The spot ended with a brief, live Obama address to a rally in Florida, another hotly contested state in this year's campaign." -By Richard Allen Greene -CNN  WATCH
Barack
Obama ad: "American Stories, American Solutions."
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Federal
- Law
- Politics
- Investigation
-  Colorado
- Indiana
- Ohio
-Michigan
-  Nevada
-  North
Carolina -  New
HampshireWisconsin
"Obama Campaign: Count Every Vote." ... "Republicans have been raising a huge stink about voter fraud in recent days, but the much bigger question on Election Day [2008] is whether every vote (or at least most of them) will actually be counted." ... "The New York Times published a shocking story last week, reporting that "tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law."" ... "The article continued: "Although much attention this year has been focused on the millions of new voters being added to the rolls by the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, there has been far less notice given to the number of voters being dropped from those same rolls." The paper looked at six swing states: Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina. "Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote. Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio seem to be improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters."" ... "The net effect: in Michigan 33,000 voters were removed from the rolls in August and in Colorado 37,000 voters were purged in three weeks since mid-July. Imagine this scenario--on Election Day thousands of voters will show up to the polls, only to be told they're not registered, leading to chaos and confusion, perhaps in large enough numbers to swing the results in crucial swing states." ... "It's a scary thought--and one the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama campaign says they're preparing for. On a conference call today, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe and legal counsel Bob Bauer laid out their plans to ensure that every vote is counted." ... ""This has been an election of enormous interest to the American people and we think that's something that should be celebrated," Plouffe said. "Our opponents seem to have a different view."" ... "Obama counsel Bob Bauer pointed to examples in Montana, where Republicans have used change-of-address forms to improperly challenge new Democratic registrants (a federal judge called the GOP's tactics "political chicanery"); in Ohio, where Republicans challenged same-day registration and absentee voting (the 6th circuit court said the claim rested on "shaky ground"); in Michigan, where Republicans tried to use foreclosure lists to purge voters; and in Wisconsin, where the Republican Attorney General is suing the state's board of elections. (And just today, a GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] operative was indicted for lying to the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] about charges that he jammed the phones of the New Hampshire Democratic Party on Election Day 2002.)" -By Ari Berman -TheNation.com
 Sarah
Palin - Ohio
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Palin and the Teleprompter." ... "At a fundraiser in Canton, Ohio, this evening, [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had an interesting description of her speech to the Republican convention." ... "“There Ohio was right out in front, right in front of me," Palin said. "The teleprompter got messed up, I couldn’t follow it, and I just decided I’d just talk to the people in front of me. It was Ohio.”" ... "This struck many of us -- who, as she spoke, followed along with her prepared remarks, and noted how closely she stuck to the script -- as an unusual claim. (Especially those of my colleagues on the convention floor at the time, reading along on the prompter with her, noticing her excellent and disciplined delivery, how she punched words that were underlined and paused where it said "pause," noting that "nuclear" was spelled out for her phonetically.)" ... "I should note that, after Palin's speech, some conservative bloggers reported that sources close to McCain had told them that the teleprompter had broken and Palin "winged it."" ... ""The teleprompter did not break," wrote Politico's Jonathan Martin. "Sarah Palin delivered a powerful speech last night, but she did not 'wing it'..."" ... "Says Martin, "Perhaps there were moments where it scrolled slightly past her exact point in the speech. But I was sitting in the press section next to the stage, within easy eyeshot of the teleprompter. I frequently looked up at the machine, and there was no serious malfunction. A top convention planner confirms this morning that there were no major problems."" -By Jake Tapper -ABCNEWS.com |
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David
Lee Hobson - Ohio
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Estate - Politics
- Lawmaker
- Federal
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- "Rep.
David Hobson steered federal money to projects near properties he owns."
... "U.S. [United States Ohio Republican Representative] Rep. David Hobson
of south-central Ohio has directed millions of taxpayer dollars to two
Ohio projects near real estate he owned, a Plain Dealer review of congressional,
personal-finance and real estate records shows." ... "One project used
federal money to build a freight transfer center at a Columbus [Ohio's
capital] airport to help move goods to and from central Ohio. Hobson co-owns
an office building near the project, and his tenants -- among them U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and several freight companies, including
FedEx -- use that freight center." ... "Since buying into the building
in 2001, records show, Hobson has used his position in Congress to obtain
more than $30 million in federal transportation money to build the freight
transfer station, part of a conversion involving the old Rickenbacker Air
Force Base outside Columbus." ... "In a separate project, Hobson obtained
nearly $2 million from Congress to widen a road in Beavercreek [Ohio],
near Dayton [Ohio], in front of a condominium development in which he was
an investor, the review of records shows." ... "Neighbors of his investment
properties say area real estate values rose, at least partly as a result
of the projects he funded through Congress. Hobson is a senior member of
a committee that determines how to spend federal money." ... "Members of
the budget-writing committee decide in closed meetings which lawmaker-requested
earmarks will get tax money and typically give themselves a greater share."
-By Sabrina Eaton -PlainDealer
John
McCain - 
Rod
Parsley - 
John
Hagee - Military
- Terrorism
- Religion
- Politicians
- Homosexuals
- Racism
- Television
- Media
- Ohio
- Texas
- 2008
Election - "In
Rebuking Minister, McCain May Have Alienated Evangelicals."
... "The [Republican televangelist, Reverend] Rev. Rod Parsley paces the
stage, wiping his forehead and shouting to his congregation in a taped
sermon that marriage is under attack by "tortured and angry homosexuals.""
... "During another of his nationally broadcast television shows, he compares
Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan, saying that its goal is to "eliminate"
blacks. And at another service at his 12,000-member World Harvest Church
in Columbus, Ohio, he punches the air and calls Islam a "false religion"
that God has told America to destroy." ... ""We were built for battle!
We were created for conflict! We get off on warfare!" he adds."
... "Images of one of the nation's rising stars of television evangelism
are widely available on DVDs and Web sites, with sermons that are almost
certain to inflame some segment of the voting public. But in its quest
to secure support from evangelical Christians, the campaign of presumptive
[2008 Election] Republican presidential nominee John McCain did not note
a long record of inflammatory statements by Parsley and the [Republican
televangelist, Reverend] Rev. John Hagee of Texas, another TV evangelist,
until long after McCain had accepted their endorsements." ... "The move
backfired last week when clips of the ministers' sermons gained national
attention, prompting McCain to reject their support. The candidate's abrupt
turnabout brought criticism not only from secular viewers, who questioned
why he had aligned himself with controversial religious voices, but also
from evangelicals, who said he may have alienated a powerful bloc of potential
Republican voters." ... "In February, McCain appeared with Parsley to accept
his endorsement and called him a "spiritual guide."" ... "He [Parsley]
and his family reside in a 7,462-square-foot house, valued at more than
$1 million, on a 24-acre gated property." ... "In 2005, Parsley created
a voter registration organization called Reformation Ohio, telling Christians
that it was time to "lock and load" and to prepare for a "Holy Ghost invasion"
of government." (1, 2)
-By Kimberly Kindy with contributions by Alice Critics,
Meg Smith, and Madonna Lebling -WashingtonPost
WATCH
Rod Parsley, McCain's "Spiritual Guide" who claims God wants America to
destroy Islam, and screamed, "We get off on warfare."
McCain's "Spiritual Guide" Rod Parsley "We get off on warfare!" |
Corporate
- 
Environmental
- Health
- Politics
- Investigation
- Manufacturing
- 
Water
- Michigan
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
- "U.S.
Senators Probe Departure of EPA Midwest Administrator."
... "The circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mary Gade, formerly
the U.S. [United States] EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's]
regional administrator for the Midwest, are under investigation by an environmental
committee of the U.S. Senate." ... "On May 2, the "Chicago Tribune" reported
that two top aides to Johnson demanded that Gade resign or be fired by
June 1, 2008. She has since submitted her resignation and is currently
on administrative leave." ... "According to the Tribune's story, Gade believed
her forced resignation was due to her efforts to push Dow Chemical Company
to clean up dioxin contamination in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron stemming
from its Midland, Michigan chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxin is a known
carcinogen." ... "The paper also reported that officials from Dow Chemical
had met with EPA officials in Washington in January 2008 because they were
unhappy with Gade's approach, and that Gade's handling of this issue became
the subject of criticism from her superiors in Washington." ... "On January
4, 2008, Gade terminated negotiations with Dow Chemical aimed at a settlement
to conduct a study and interim cleanup actions for dioxin contamination
along the Tittabawassee River system, the Saginaw River and the Saginaw
Bay. The negotiations under the Superfund Act began in October 2007 with
the participation of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality."
... ""I am extremely disappointed with this outcome," said Gade on January
4. "EPA approached negotiations with high hopes and realistic expectations.
Our team put in many long hours of good faith efforts that came to an unfortunate
end today. EPA is now reviewing its options for ensuring that dioxin contamination
in the river system and the Midland area can be fully addressed."" ...
"An environmental attorney, Gade was appointed regional administrator of
EPA Region 5 in October 2006 to oversee federal environmental programs
in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin."
-ENS
John
McCain - Corporate
- Politics
- Ohio
- Factory
- History
- 
People
- Poverty
- 2008
Election - "McCain
picks failing Ohio factory to laud free trade." ...
"Standing before a nearly shuttered factory pocked with broken windows
in a city devastated by the erosion of its industrial base, John McCain
on Tuesday urged Americans to reject the "siren song of protectionism"
and embrace free trade." ... "The hardships are all too real in Youngstown
[Ohio]. The city has lost more than 40,000 jobs since its signature steel
industry collapsed in the 1970s and '80s. Its population is less than half
its peak of 170,000 in the 1950s. About 25 percent of those who remain
live below the poverty line." ... ""It may be a photo op for John McCain
but people in Youngstown and cities across America are really hurting from
the Bush economy and are looking for real help," Democratic National Committee
Chairman Howard Dean said. "McCain's only plan is to continue Bush's failed
economic policies but the American people are saying enough is enough.""
-By Matt
Stearns -McClatchyDC.com
American- Women
- KBR
- Corporate
- Government
- Criminal
- Politics
- Military
- Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- Florida
- Ohio
- Texas
- "U.S.
fails to move on Iraq sexual assault complaints."
... "While working in Iraq as a ''morale coordinator'' for a U.S. [United
States] government contractor, a Tampa [Florida] woman says, she was raped
by a drunken colleague who secured a key to her apartment from an unlocked
storage box." ... "That was in December 2005, and her attorney said he's
unaware of any criminal charges in the case." ... "The U.S. Justice Department
has the authority to prosecute, but she and at least three other women
who say they were assaulted complain of being trapped in legal limbo between
a military system that doesn't oversee the private contractors and a justice
system that appears unwilling to do so." ... "''American women are vulnerable
not only to assault, but to achieving justice,'' said [Florida Democratic
Senator] Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who since December has been
pressing the [Republican President] Bush administration for answers over
the treatment of U.S. citizens sexually assaulted by contractors in Iraq
and Afghanistan." ... "''I'm in a war zone, and I have to worry about my
co-workers,'' said Mary Beth Kineston, an Ohio woman who drove a truck
in Iraq for Houston[Texas]-based military contractor KBR and said she was
raped by another driver." -By Lesley
Clark-MiamiHerald
via -McClatchyDC.com
US
- Iraq
- Politics
- Ohio
- "U.S.
Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia:
Americans Appear To Take the Lead As Iraqi Units Wait." ... "U.S. [United
States] forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday
in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad [Iraq's capital],
as an offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day. Iraqi
army and police units appeared to be largely holding to the outskirts of
the area as American troops took the lead in the fighting." ... "Four U.S.
Stryker armored vehicles were seen in Sadr City by a Washington Post correspondent,
one of them engaging Mahdi Army militiamen with heavy fire. The din of
American weapons, along with the Mahdi Army's AK-47s and rocket-propelled
grenades, was heard through much of the day. U.S. helicopters and drones
buzzed overhead." ... "The clashes suggested that American forces were
being drawn more deeply into a broad offensive that Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, a Shiite, launched in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday,
saying death squads, criminal gangs and rogue militias were the targets.
The Mahdi Army of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite rival of Maliki, appeared
to have taken the brunt of the attacks; fighting spread to many southern
cities and parts of Baghdad." ... "As [Republican] President Bush told
an Ohio audience that Iraq was returning to "normalcy," administration
officials in Washington held meetings to assess what appeared to be a rapidly
deteriorating security situation in many parts of the country." ... "Maliki
decided to launch the offensive without consulting his U.S. allies, according
to administration officials." (1, 2)
-By Sudarsan Raghavan and Sholnn Freeman wtih contributions
by Karen DeYoung, Naseer Nouri, Zaid Sabah, K.I. Ibrahim and Dalya Hassan
-WashingtonPost
Iraqi
- US
- Ohio
- Politics
- "Iraqi
leader threatens fight 'to the end'." ... "As gun
battles raged in the southern port city of Basra, parts of Baghdad [Iraq's
capital] and neighboring provinces, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in effect
declared war on Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army, saying he'd
fight the militia "to the end" and never negotiate." ... "In Dayton, Ohio,
on Thursday, [Republican] President Bush praised Maliki's "bold decision"
to confront Shiite militias and said it was evidence that the Iraqi military
is increasingly confident and able to act on its own. In fact, the U.S.
[United States] military is providing air cover, embedded advisers and
ground reinforcements for the Iraqi offensive." ... "Three days into a
U.S.-backed government offensive, however, the Mahdi Army retained control
of key neighborhoods of the southern port city of Basra and was able to
prevent Iraqi soldiers and police from penetrating its strongholds." ...
"At least 189 people have been killed in the Basra offensive, neighboring
provinces and Baghdad since early Tuesday morning, government health and
security officials reported." -By Leila
Fadel with contributions by Qassim Zein and Ali al Basri -McClatchyDC.com
John
McCain
- Rod
Parsley - Racist
- Politics
- Government
- Abortion
- Law
- Women
- Parents
- Health
- Arizona
- Ohio
- 2008
Election - "McCain
Spiritual Guide Accused Gov't Of Enabling 'Black Genocide'."
... "Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, Ohio
-- whom [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain hails as a spiritual adviser -- has suggested on several
occasions that the U.S. [United States] government was complicit in facilitating
black genocide." ... "In speeches that have gone largely unnoticed, Parsley
(who is white) compares Planned Parenthood, the reproductive care and family
planning group, to the Klu Klux Klan and Nazis, and describes the American
government as enablers of murder for supporting the organization." ...
""If I were call for the sterilization or the elimination of an entire
segment of society, I'd be labeled a racists or a murderer, or at very
best a Nazi," says Parsley. "That every single year, millions of our tax
dollars are funding a national organization built upon that very goal --
their target: African Americans. That's right, the death toll: nearly fifteen
hundred African Americans a day. The shocking truth of black genocide.""
... "He goes on." ... ""Right now our own government is allowing organizations
like Planned Parenthood to legally take the innocent lives of precious
baby girls and baby boys and even footing the bill for it all with our
tax dollars, turning every single one of us into accessories to murder,"
he says. "You know who their biggest fans must be, that must be the Klu
Klux Klan, because the woman who founded this organization detested black
people.... African Americans were number one on Margaret Sanger's list.
So this 'Lady MacDeath,' as I like to call her, studied the works of Englishman
Thomas Robert Malthus, and embraced his plan of eugenics."" ... "However,
there are issues with Parsley's stats. While black populations in America
do
have higher abortion rates than white populations, there are far more
abortions among white mothers than among blacks."
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
John
McCain
- Rod
Parsley - Terrorism
- Language
- Military
- Religious
- Politician
- Arizona
- Ohio
- 
Arkansas
- 
Huckabee
- 2008
Election - "McCain's
Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator John McCain hailed
as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians
to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying
it." ... "On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati
[Ohio] with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus
[Ohio], a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat
sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and
a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before
the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner
as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." The endorsement was important
for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge
from [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] former Arkansas
governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically
influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's
effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with
Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister
a "spiritual guide."" ... "In a chapter titled "Islam: The Deception of
Allah," Parsley warns there is a "war between Islam and Christian civilization."
He continues:"
John
McCain
- Corporate
- Government
- Politician
- Arizona
- 
Pennsylvania
- Ohio
- Florida
- Miss
- 
Trent
Lott - 2008
Election - "Lobbyist
to run McCain's Hill effort." ... "Presumptive [2008
Election] Republican presidential candidate [and Arizona Senator] Sen.
John McCain has engaged a leading GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]
lobbyist to coordinate his message and travel schedule with congressional
Republicans —the most concrete sign yet that the biggest battleground in
the 2008 presidential race may not be Pennsylvania or Ohio or Florida’s
I-4 corridor but rather the floor of the United States Senate." ... "John
Green, a founding partner of what is now Ogilvy Government Relations, will
soon take a leave of absence from that firm to work as a full-time liaison
between McCain’s presidential campaign and Republicans in the House and
the Senate, according to GOP aides on Capitol Hill and McCain surrogates
downtown. Green, a Mississippi native, has strong ties in the Senate after
his years of work for [Mississippi Republican Senator and] former Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss. [Republican-Mississippi]), a vocal
McCain supporter who left Congress late last year to set up his own lobbying
shop." ... "Green is part of a small cadre of lobbyists who have met regularly
to help build support for McCain on Capitol Hill. The group, which includes
fellow Ogilvy partner [lobbyist] Wayne Berman, has been helping the senator
secure congressional endorsements in recent weeks to ensure he solidifies
his status as the GOP front-runner." -By Martin Kady
II and Patrick O'Connor -Politico.com
Barack
Obama
- John
McCain
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- Osama
bin Laden
- Terrorism
- 2008
Election - Ohio
- "Obama
also has news for McCain." ... "[2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama departed from his regular stump speech
today in Columbus [Ohio's capital] to respond to [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain." ... ""John McCain may like to say
he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but so far all
he’s done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq," he said."
... ""McCain thought that he could make a clever point by saying, 'Well
let me give you some news, Barack, Al Qaeda is in Iraq,' like I
wasn’t reading the papers, like [I] didn’t know what was going on." Obama
said, leaning into his developing McCain impression." ... "He then described
the context -- a hypothetical question from Tim Russert -- and said, "First
of all, I do know Al Qaeda is in Iraq, and that’s why I said we should
continue to strike Al Qaeda targets."" ... ""I have some news for John
McCain," Obama continued, "That’s there was no Al Qaeda in Iraq until George
Bush and John McCain" began the Iraq war, he said." ... ""They took their
eye off the people who really were responsible for 9/11," he said." -By
Ben Smith -Politico.com
John
McCain
- 
Jack
Abramoff
- 
Bob
Riley
- 
Tom
DeLay- 
Bob
Ney
- Money
- Politics
- Investigation
- Law
- 
EMail
- Alabama
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Arizona
- Texas
- Ohio
- History
- 2002
Election - 2006
Election - 2008
Election - "McCain
Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email." ... "In the
2006 Senate report concerning [Republican Lobbyist Jack] Abramoff's activities,
which [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain spearheaded,
the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how
Alabama [Republican Governor] Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's
influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November
2002, and was reelected in 2006." ... "In a December 2002 email
[PDF] obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff
had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains
to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help"
he received from Abramoff's tribal clients." ... "An official with the
Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek
operation," Abramoff wrote, "including his announcing that anyone caught
gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that.""
... "The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions
about Riley's victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in
Alabama history." ... "And yet, despite the implications of the information,
McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sat on the controversial
portion of the email. According to an official familiar with the investigation,
McCain also subsequently refused to make the email public after the report
was released." ... "There was a brief footnote in the report that quoted
William Worfel, former vice chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana,
saying that Abramoff told the chief of a Mississippi tribe to spend $13
million "to get the governor of Alabama elected to keep gaming out of Alabama
so it wouldn't hurt ... his market in Mississippi."" ... "But Riley's name
and the details of what was being asked of him were not mentioned once
in the 373-page document." ... "Indeed, as the Associated Press noted
in 2006, McCain stayed deliberately agnostic as to Riley's involvement."
... ""Although Sen. McCain has long bragged of his role in the Abramoff
investigation, he let [former Texas Republican Representative] Tom DeLay
and the other members of Congress who were doing Abramoff's bidding completely
off the hook. The sole exception was [former Ohio Republican Representative]
Rep. Bob Ney, who served time in prison," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director
of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington told the Huffington
Post recently. "Sen. McCain knew what his colleagues were up to, he chose
to take the easier path and give them a free pass.""
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
Hospital
Corporations - 
Pharmaceutical
- Corporations
- Federal
- Investigators
- 
New
Jersey - New
York
- Tennessee
- Ohio
- Louisiana
- Pennsylvania
- "Federal
investigators recoup $2.2B in healthcare-fraud prosecutions."
... "The largest recovery came from a settlement with Tenet Healthcare
Corp. [Corporation], one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the
United States. In a well-publicized case, whistleblowers from inside the
company alerted federal authorities, which uncovered evidence that Tenet
was manipulating Medicare’s payment system to boost revenue and paid kickbacks
to physicians who sent their patients to Tenet facilities. To settle the
charges and avoid a court judgment on the accusations, Tenet agreed to
pay the government $900 million over the course of four years." ... "Other
hospital companies also coughed up millions to the federal government in
fraud and abuse cases in fiscal 2006, including St. Barnabas Health Care
System in New Jersey ($265 million), Beth Israel Medical Center in New
York ($73 million), the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority
in Tennessee ($37 million), University Hospitals Health System in Ohio
($13.8 million), Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Louisiana
($3.8 million) and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania
($2.9 million)." ... "The pharmaceutical company Serono paid $704 million
to settle charges that it illegally advised doctors to prescribe an AIDS
medicine called Serostim for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), paid kickbacks to cooperative physicians, and conspired with the
diagnostic device maker RJL Sciences to market a device not approved by
the FDA. RJL Sciences pleaded guilty to its role." ... "Schering-Plough,
another drug company, is on the hook for $435 million as a result of several
charges, including allegedly giving false information to the FDA, which
was investigating whether the company’s marketing practices violated the
law." -By Jeffrey Young
-TheHill.com
Jack
Abramoff
- 
John
A Boehner- John
T Doolittle
- Legal
- Politics
- Ohio
- California
- Georgia
- 
Utah
- Colorado- Indiana
- California
- Texas
- "Fellow
Republicans Help Doolittle Pay Legal Bills Stemming From Abramoff Ties."
... "A House Republican under Justice Department investigation because
of ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff has garnered help with his
legal bills from a handful of colleagues, including [Ohio Republican Representative]
Minority Leader John
A. Boehner." ... "[California Republican Representative] Rep. John
T. Doolittle, R-Calif., reported in a filing made available Thursday
that his legal expense fund had received $5,000 from Boehner’s leadership
PAC. The money was part of $36,500 kicked in by GOP colleagues to Doolittle’s
legal defense between June 27, when he opened the fund, and year’s end."
... "Other Republican lawmakers who contributed money from their campaign
funds or leadership committees included [Republican Senator] Sens. Saxby
Chambliss of Georgia, [Republican Senator] Orrin
G. Hatch of Utah and [Republican Senator] Wayne
Allard of Colorado, and Reps. [Republican Representative] Dan
Burton of Indiana, [Republican Representative] Wally
Herger of California, [Republican Representative] Jack
Kingston of Georgia, [Republican Representative] Sam
Johnson of Texas, and [California Republican Representative] Howard
P. “Buck” McKeon and [Republican Representative] Dana
Rohrabacher of California." -By Kathleen Hunter
-CQPolitics.com
Dennis
Kucinich - 
Dick
Cheney
- Law
- Health
Care - Gay
Marriage
- Ohio
- Energy
- US
- International
- Trade
- Seattle
- Washington
- 2008
Election - History
- "Kucinich
Abandons White House Bid." ... "[2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Ohio Representative] Democrat Dennis Kucinich
is abandoning his second, long-shot bid for the White House as he faces
a tough fight to hold onto his other job - U.S. congressman." ... "Once
dubbed the "boy mayor" of Cleveland [Ohio], he made an unpopular decision
to refuse to sell a publicly owned utility that pushed the city into default
and drove him from office." ... "In 1994, Kucinich was elected state senator
and he then won a seat in Congress in 1996. His once unpopular stand against
the sale of the municipal electric system was praised as courageous. In
1998, the Cleveland City Council issued him a commendation for having the
foresight to refuse to sell it." ... "During his time in Congress, Kucinich
has been one of the most outspoken liberals, opposing international trade
agreements like the North America Free Trade Agreement and marching with
protesters in Seattle [Washington] during a meeting of the World Trade
Organization." ... "As a presidential candidate, he has proposed a Department
of Peace, backed universal health care and supported gay marriage. He also
pushed for impeachment of [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney." -By
Joe Milicia -WRAL.com
Dennis
Kucinich - US
- Iraq
- Military
- Law
- 2008
Election - Ohio
- "Kucinich
Starts New Impeachment Drive." ... "[T]oday [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Ohio Democratic Representative
Dennis] Mr. Kucinich took to the floor to fire off his latest salvo at
the [Republican President] Bush administration: his plans to introduce
Articles of Impeachment against President Bush on Jan. 28 — the day of
Mr. Bush’s State of the Union speech." ... "Accusing the [Republican President
Bush] administration of lying about the need for the war in Iraq, Mr. Kucinich
said he did not need to hear the president’s assessment. “We know the State
of the Union,” he declared. “It’s a lie.”" ... "“If impeachment is off
the table,” Mr. Kucinich said, “truth is off the table. If truth is off
the table then this body [Congress] is living a lie.”" -By
David
M. Herszenhorn -NYTimes
Money
- Discrimination- Crime
- 
Maryland
- Homeowners
- Consumers- Ohio
- New
York
- "Baltimore
Is Suing Bank Over Foreclosure Crisis." ... "Baltimore’s
[Maryland state] mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending
that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led
to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased
its costs." ... "The recent surge in homeowner defaults nationwide, generated
by lax lending practices during the real estate boom, has officials bracing
for a range of problems that often accompany foreclosures. Some municipalities,
including Cleveland [Ohio] and Buffalo [New York], are trying to make lenders
responsible for abandoned properties to ward off crimes like arson, drug
use and prostitution." ... "In the suit, Mayor Sheila Dixon joined with
the City Council to ask that the court bar Wells Fargo from charging higher
fees to black borrowers. Many of these borrowers paid more under the bank’s
subprime lending program, designed for less creditworthy consumers, and
are more likely to default on their loans." ... "In 2006, Wells Fargo made
high-cost loans, with an interest rate at least three percentage points
above a federal benchmark, to 65 percent of its black customers in Baltimore
and to only 15 percent of its white customers in the area, according to
the lawsuit. Similarly, refinancings to black borrowers were more likely
to be higher cost than to white ones and to carry prepayment penalties."
-By Gretchen Morgenson
-NYTimes
South
Carolina - Voting
Machines - Hacking
- 2008
Election - Politics
- Ohio
- Colorado
- "S.C.
to use voting machines banned in other states." ...
"South Carolina election officials say they still plan to use touch-screen
voting machines [in the 2008 Elections] despite the fact that other states
have banned the use of similar systems made by the same company." ... "Last
month, top election officials in Ohio and Colorado declared that Election
Systems and Software's iVotronic is unfit for elections." ... "The ban
was prompted by a study done for the state of Ohio in which researchers
found electronic voting systems could be corrupted with magnets or handheld
electronic devices such as Palm Treos." ... "The Ohio study found the machines
"lack the fundamental technical controls necessary to guarantee a trustworthy
election under operational conditions."" ... ""Exploitable vulnerabilities
allow even persons with limited access — voters and precinct poll workers
— to compromise voting machines and precinct results, and, in some cases,
to inject and spread software viruses into the central election management
system," the report says. " -AP
via -PostAndCourier
Hacking
- Ohio
- Voting
Systems - Computers- Elections
- 
Technology
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "Ohio
Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed." ... "All
five voting systems used in Ohio, a state whose electoral votes narrowly
swung two elections toward [Republican] President Bush, have critical flaws
that could undermine the integrity of the 2008 general election, a report
commissioned by the state’s top elections official has found." ... "“It
was worse than I anticipated,” the official, Secretary of State Jennifer
Brunner, said of the report. “I had hoped that perhaps one system would
test superior to the others.”" ... "At polling stations, teams working
on the study were able to pick locks to access memory cards and use hand-held
devices to plug false vote counts into machines. At boards of election,
they were able to introduce malignant software into servers." ... "Ms.
Brunner proposed replacing all of the state’s voting machines, including
the touch-screen ones used in more than 50 of Ohio’s 88 counties. She wants
all counties to use optical scan machines that read and electronically
record paper ballots that are filled in manually by voters." ... "The study
released Friday found that voting machines and central servers made by
Elections Systems and Software; Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold;
and Hart InterCivic; were easily corrupted." -By Bob
Driehaus -NYTimes
Rudy
Giuliani
- Federal
- Energy
- Legislation
- Politics
- 
Wind
- Technology
- Environment
- 2008
Election - Massachusetts
- Georgia
- Ohio
- "Giuliani
Firm, Utilities Team Up to Fight Renewable-Energy Plan."
... "A lobbying blitz by some of the U.S.'s biggest utility companies is
likely to strangle the most potent provision in energy legislation that's
making its way through Congress." ... "[Atlanta, Georgia-based] Southern
Co., [Ohio based] American Electric Power Co. and other producers hired
top Washington lobbyists, including [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] Rudy Giuliani's firm, to help defeat a measure that would force
them to boost electricity generated by wind, solar and other forms of renewable
energy to 15 percent of the U.S. total by 2020. That's up from less than
2 percent today, and is a move the industry says would cost at least $67
billion." ... "The Senate failed on Dec. 7 to get the 60 votes needed to
move the legislation, a day after the House of Representatives approved
it. To get the bill to [Republican] President George W. Bush's desk this
year and steer clear of a White House veto threat, the Senate will probably
have to pass a weakened measure." ... "``The lobbying effort led by Southern
Co. is the principal obstacle to America unleashing a renewable-electricity
revolution,'' says Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat[ic
Representative] who has led the fight for a federal standard on the new
energy sources." ... "The legislation pits the utilities and oil companies
against wind and solar-electricity producers, as well as venture-capital
firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where former [Democratic]
Vice President Al Gore is a partner. Those firms have made billions of
dollars in clean-energy-technology investments, which would pay off if
the bill becomes law." -By Daniel Whitten and Tina
Seeley -Bloomberg
Dick
Cheney
- Dennis
Kucinich - US
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Intelligence
- Law
- Ohio
- 2008
Election - "Debate
on Cheney impeachment averted." ... "House Democrats
on Tuesday narrowly managed to avert a bruising debate on a proposal to
impeach [Republican Vice President] Dick Cheney after Republicans, in a
surprise maneuver, voted in favor of taking up the measure." ... "Republicans,
changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a
debate on the resolution sponsored by longshot [2008 Election Democratic]
presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich." ... "The anti-war Ohio Democrat,
in his resolution, accused Cheney of purposely leading the country into
war against Iraq and manipulating intelligence about Iraq's ties with al-Qaida."
... "The resolution said that Cheney, "in violation of his constitutional
oath to faithfully execute the office of vice president," had "purposely
manipulated
the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United
States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to
justify the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in
a manner damaging to our national security interests."" -By
Jim Abrams -AP
via -Yahoo
Dick
Cheney
- Dennis
Kucinich - Ohio
- US
- Iraq
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "House
tied in knots over resolution to impeach Cheney."
... "[Ohio Democratic Representative and 2008 Election Presidential Candidate]
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is trying to impeach [Republican] Vice President
Cheney for what he describes
as "high crimes and misdemeanors" before the invasion of Iraq."
-USATODAY
Dennis
Kucinich - Dick
Cheney
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Ohio
- "Kucinich
plans to force vote on Cheney impeachment." ... "[Ohio
Democratic Representative and 2008 Election Presidential Candidate] Rep.
Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a long-shot presidential candidate, plans to
force the House to vote this week on whether to impeach [Republican] Vice
President Dick Cheney." -By Mike Soraghan
-TheHill.com
Dennis
Kucinich - US
- 
Iran
- 
Nuclear
- Military
- Mental
- Health
- 2008
Election - Ohio
- Pennsylvania-
"Kucinich
questions Bush's mental health." ... "[2008 Election]
Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich questioned President
Bush's mental health in light of comments he made about a nuclear Iran
precipitating World War III." ... ""I seriously believe we have to start
asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich, an Ohio congressman,
said in an interview with [Pennsylvania's] The Philadelphia Inquirer's
editorial board on Tuesday. "There's something wrong. He does not seem
to understand his words have real impact."" ... "He [Republican President
Bush] said: "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World
War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran)
from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.""
-AP via -Yahoo
Craig
- 
Vitter
- Stevens
- DeLay
- Ney
- 
Cunningham
- 
Sherwood
- 
Renzi
- Doolittle
- Jefferson
- Politicians
- Lawmakers
- Homosexual
- 
Idaho
- Louisiana
- Alaska
- Texas
- Ohio
- California
- Pennsylvania
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - "House
G.O.P.'s History Could Repeat in Senate." ... "The
embarrassing [Idaho Republican Senator] Larry Craig episode combined sex
and the justice system – always a potent political mix and one reason the
Republican leadership moved so swiftly to jettison Mr. Craig." ... "Already,
Mr. Craig is the star of a Web
video from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee featuring a
lineup of recent Republican scandals being shown to the tune of the “Bad
Boys” theme song from the television show “Cops.” It seeks to ridicule
Republican claims to hold the moral high ground." ... "Mr. Craig’s guilty
plea to a sexually related disorderly conduct charge only served to remind
people about Mr. [Louisiana Republican Senator] Vitter’s [alleged prostitution]
case – and prompt accusations of a double standard since Republicans took
no action against the Louisiana lawmaker for his heterosexual incident
compared to Mr. Craig’s homosexual one." ... "Republicans can point to
the indictment of Louisiana Democrat[ic Representative] William Jefferson,
but Democrats can counter with the names of Senators Craig, Vitter and
[Alaska Republican Senator Ted] Stevens not to mention those of former
Representatives [Texas Republican] Tom DeLay, [Ohio Republican] Bob Ney,
[California Republican] Duke Cunningham and [Pennsylvania Republican] Don
Sherwood." ... "Representative Rick Renzi of Arizona, another Republican
under investigation, has already announced he will not seek re-election
[in 2008] and top aides to [Republican] Representative John Doolittle of
California, a former member of the Republican leadership, were called before
a grand jury this week." -By Carl Hulse
-NYTimes
Ohio
- Politician
- "Ohio
Rep. Gillmor found dead: No immediate word on the
cause of 68-year-old Republican's death." ... "Ohio [Republican Representative]
Rep. Paul Gillmor was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican
leadership aide said." -AP
-MSNBC
Neil
Volz - Bob
Ney
- Jack
Abramoff
- Michael
Scanlon
- 
Tony
Rudy
- 
David
Safavian - Money
- Law
- Politics
- Ohio
- "Document
details Volz’s cooperation in Abramoff case." ...
"A new court document details the extent to which Neil Volz, who at one
point was the top aide of former [Ohio Republican Representative] Rep.
Bob Ney (R-Ohio) before going to work for lobbyist Jack Abramoff, assisted
federal authorities in building a case against the lawmaker that resulted
in a guilty plea on charges of bribery and public corruption last year."
... "Volz was one of the first people to begin to explore cooperating with
federal prosecutors in its investigation of the wide-ranging corruption
scheme Abramoff and others perpetrated. According to a “substantial assistance
memorandum” filed in the D.C. district court Wednesday, his cooperation
was both “timely and substantial.”" ... "In May of last year, Volz pleaded
guilty to a charge of conspiring with Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, Tony
Rudy and others to commit honest services fraud and to violate the federal
one-year lobbying ban, For his help in bringing down Abramoff, Ney and
others, prosecutors are recommending home confinement as punishment." ...
"In February 2006, he began providing “unlimited cooperation in dozens
of debriefings, and his cooperation was substantial, especially in connection
with the investigation and prosecutions of Ney, [William] Heaton and [General
Services Administration chief of staff] David Safavian,” according to the
document." -By Susan Crabtree
-TheHill.com
Rudy
Giuliani
- Media
- Politics
- Opinion
-
- Radio
- Marketing
- Ohio
- New
York
- 2008
Election - "Giuliani's
Fox-y pal cash flap." ... "It's no secret that Sean
Hannity, the conservative Fox News commentator, has helped to raise [2008
election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani's profile - but
now he's helped the former mayor [New York City, New York] raise money,
too." ... "In a little noticed event this month, Hannity - co-host of Fox
News' "Hannity & Colmes" and host of a popular WABC radio show - introduced
the Republican front-runner at a closed-door, $250-per-head fund-raiser
Aug. 9 in Cincinnati [Ohio], campaign officials acknowledge." ... "In so
doing, some believe that Hannity - while clearly a commentator paid to
express his opinions -crossed the line from punditry into financial rainmaking
for a presidential candidate whose bottom line is now better for it." ...
""Fox's in-kind contribution to Republican politicians in the form of softball
coverage is one thing," said Steve Rendall, senior analyst at Fairness
and Accuracy in Reporting, a left-leaning media watchdog group. "But this
is the first time they have crossed this line into fund-raising."" ...
"More independent observers said Hannity's appearance underscored the blurring
lines between news and advocacy and could be interpreted as a kind of endorsement."
... "The Hotline, a political journal, has noted that through July 15,
Giuliani had enjoyed 115 minutes of free face time on Fox - more than half
of that on "Hannity & Colmes." His airtime on Fox was 25% higher than
any other Republican candidate, data show." -By David
Saltonstall -NYDailyNews.com
J
Dennis Hastert - DeLay
- 
Foley
- Cunningham
- Ney
- Legislation
- History
- Illinois
- Texas
- Ga
- La
- Florida
- California
- Ohio
- "Hastert
Planning to Retire at End of 2008, GOP Sources Say."
... "After less than a year as a rank-and-file House member, former Speaker
[Illinois Republican Representative] J. Dennis Hastert is expected to call
an end to a political career that made him the longest serving Republican
Speaker in the history of the House of Representatives." ... "Hastert,
65, was first elected to Congress in 1986 after GOP [Illinois Republican
Representative] Rep. John E. Grotberg retired. He quietly worked his way
up the ranks in the House, propelled into the Republican leadership in
1994 by then-Rep. [Texas Republican Representative] Tom DeLay, R-Texas."
... "Hastert ran DeLay’s successful upstart campaign for majority whip
after Republicans captured control of Congress, and DeLay in turn named
Hastert as his chief deputy. Four years later, in 1998, DeLay helped to
elevate Hastert to Speaker after [Georgia Republican Representative] Newt
Gingrich, R-Ga., stepped down following the loss of GOP seats in that year’s
elections and [Louisiana Republican Representative] Robert L. Livingston,
R-La., withdrew abruptly from contention after acknowledging an extramarital
affair." ... "Throughout his time as Speaker, Hastert was personally popular
with rank-and-file Republicans, who never saw him as part of the ethics
problems that plagued DeLay and former [Florida Republican Representative]
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. (1995-2006), or the criminal misdeeds of former
[California Republican Representative] Reps. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif.
(1991-2005) and [Ohio Republican Representative] Bob Ney, R-Ohio (1995-2006)."
... "He also set a standard for the GOP majority by only allowing legislation
on the floor of the House that was backed by the “majority of the majority,”
[of Republicans] an approach that all but denied Democrats a chance to
help shape legislation." ... "The minority party had little say in conferences
with the Senate during Hastert’s tenure, because conference committees
became an after-the-fact formality that rubber-stamped deals worked out
by a handful of House and Senate Republican members who operated under
the thumb of party leaders." -By Jonathan Allen with
contributions by Alan K. Ota, Martin Kady II, and David Nathe
-CQPolitics.com
Government
- Secrecy
- Telephone
- Civil
Liberties - Law
- Ohio
- "Secrecy
May Be Spy Program's Defense." ... "The [Republican
President] Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program has a
built-in feature the Justice Department believes may shield it from ever
being challenged as unconstitutional: secrecy." ... "The administration
has acknowledged it intercepted some U.S. telephone conversations without
warrants as it hunted for terrorists. Whose calls? The government isn't
saying. And since only those who were spied on have grounds to sue, it's
almost impossible to mount a successful legal challenge." ... "A federal
appeals court in Ohio dismissed one such challenge last month because the
American Civil Liberties Union and other groups could not prove the government
had listened to their conversations. The court did not rule on whether
the program was constitutional." ... "The U.S. Supreme Court has held that
people can't sue merely to right a wrong. They must have standing, meaning
they must be able to prove they were harmed by the government's behavior.
Even if it might mean nobody will ever have standing to sue, the Supreme
Court has said that proof is required." ... "``Without that, I think there
is that Catch-22,'' said Charles Fried, who served as solicitor general
under [Republican] President Reagan." -By Matt Apuzzo
-AP via -Guardian.co.uk
Bob
Ney
- Jack
Abramoff
- Money
- Politics
- Law
- Secrets
- Ohio
- "Ney's
Chief of Staff Wore Wire, Was Key To Boss's Conviction."
... "When Will Heaton went to work for [Ohio Republican Representative]
Rep. Robert W. Ney in 2001, he was 23 years old and still in awe of the
members of Congress he had come to know years earlier as a congressional
page. Within six months, the Ohio Republican promoted the fresh-faced neophyte
to be the youngest chief of staff in Congress." ... "For the next five
years, Heaton stuck by Ney, even as the House Administration Committee
chairman accepted free meals at super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's downtown
restaurant, sports tickets in his arena skyboxes and luxurious junkets
around the world. Heaton accompanied Ney on a golf junket to Scotland with
Abramoff, and he helped Ney return the favors to Abramoff." ... "But as
Ney's political career disintegrated amid revelations of his ties to Abramoff,
Heaton became disillusioned and began secretly helping an FBI task force
investigating Abramoff. At first, through his attorney, Heaton handed over
internal documents from Ney's office to the FBI. Then he recorded colleagues
in Ney's office." ... "Last summer, Heaton began secretly recording his
conversations with the six-term congressman, according to documents filed
in court last week by the government and Heaton's lawyers. Heaton taped
numerous phone calls and wore a hidden wire to a 2 1/2 -hour, face-to-face
meeting with Ney that provided "exceptionally important" help to the FBI's
investigation of Abramoff." (1, 2)
-By James V. Grimaldi
-WashingtonPost
Pete
Hoekstra - John
Boehner
- United
States - World
- Intelligence
- Secrets- Politics
- Media
- Mich
- Ohio
- "Are
GOP Leaders Leaking State Secrets?" ... "For the
second time in as many weeks, a senior House Republican may have divulged
classified information in the media." ... "In an opinion article published
in the New York Post Thursday, [Michigan Republican Representative] Rep.
Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., reported the top-secret budget for human spying
had decreased -- the type of detail normally kept under wraps for national
security reasons." ... ""The 2008 Intelligence Authorization bill cut human-intelligence
programs," Hoekstra wrote in the piece, in which he also criticized "leaks
to the news media."" ... "Formerly the chairman of the intelligence committee,
Hoekstra is now its highest ranking Republican." ... "Secrets are apparently
hard to keep these days. On July 31, House Minority Leader [Ohio Republiacan
Representative] John Boehner, R-Ohio, allegedly disclosed a secret court
ruling during a television interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto." ... ""There's
been a ruling, over the last four or five months, that prohibits the ability
of our intelligence services and our counterintelligence people from listening
in to two terrorists in other parts of the world where the communication
could come through the United States," Boehner said." ... "Government officials
have since confirmed to reporters that Boehner was discussing classified
information, although the GOP leader denies it." -By
Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com
Secret
- US
- World
- Intelligence
- E-Mail
- Communications
- 
Spying
- Government
- Law
- Politics
- John
A Boehner
- Ohio
- Illinois
- California
- New
York
- "Ruling
Limited Spying Efforts: Move to Amend FISA Sparked
by Judge's Decision." ... "A federal intelligence court judge earlier this
year secretly declared a key element of the [Republican President] Bush
administration's wiretapping efforts illegal, according to a lawmaker and
government sources, providing a previously unstated rationale for fevered
efforts by congressional lawmakers this week to expand the president's
spying powers." ... "House Minority Leader [Ohio Republican Representative]
John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) disclosed elements of the court's decision in
remarks Tuesday to Fox News as he was promoting the administration-backed
wiretapping legislation. Boehner has denied revealing classified information,
but two government officials privy to the details confirmed that his remarks
concerned classified information." ... "The judge, whose name could not
be learned, concluded early this year that the government had overstepped
its authority in attempting to broadly surveil communications between two
locations overseas that are passed through routing stations in the United
States, according to two other government sources familiar with the decision."
... "The practical effect has been to block the NSA's [National Security
Agency's] efforts to collect information from a large volume of foreign
calls and e-mails that passes through U.S. communications nodes clustered
around New York and California." ... ""There's been a ruling, over the
last four or five months, that prohibits the ability of our intelligence
services and our counterintelligence people from listening in to two terrorists
in other parts of the world where the communication could come through
the United States," Boehner told Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto in a Tuesday
interview." ... "Commenting on Boehner's remarks, [Illinois Democratic
Representative] Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), the House Democratic Caucus chairman,
said yesterday that "John should remember the old adage: Loose lips very
much sink ships."" (1, 2)
-By Carol D. Leonnig and Ellen Nakashima with contributions
by Dan Eggen, Barton Gellman, and Paul Kane -WashingtonPost
Childrens
- Health
- Finance
- Politics
- Ohio
- John
A Boehner
- "G.O.P.
Leaders Fight Expansion of Children’s Health Insurance."
... "Republican leaders of the House and Senate on Tuesday attacked proposals
that call for a major expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program,
to be financed with higher tobacco taxes." ... "“Republicans will fight
these proposals,” said the House Republican leader, Representative John
A. Boehner of Ohio." ... "House Democrats announced their proposals on
Tuesday night and estimated that they would provide coverage for five million
children who are now uninsured. The Senate bill is expected to cover 3.2
million children." -By Robert Pear
-NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Ohio
- Indiana
- "Voinovich,
Lugar call on Bush to plan Iraq withdrawal." ...
"WIn an ominous sign of wavering GOP support for the White House's Iraq
strategy, two more Republican senators have called on President Bush to
begin planning the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq." ... "Ohio [Republican
Senator] Sen. George Voinovich sent a letter to the president today, stressing
the need for a "comprehensive plan for our country's gradual military disengagement
from Iraq."" ... "And Indiana [Republican Senator] Sen. Richard Lugar,
the widely respected former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee,
Monday evening went to the floor of the Senate to call on the president
"to downsize the U.S. military's role in Iraq."" ... ""Our course in Iraq
has lost contact with our vital national security interests in the Middle
East and beyond," Lugar said in an anguished address that expressed deep
reservations about the president's policy as well as disappointment with
the highly partisan debate over the war in Washington." -By
Noam N. Levey -LAtimes
Ohio
- Race
- Politics
- Law
- Enforcement
- 2004
Election - Civil
Rights - Homes
- "Ex-Justice
official accused of aiding scheme to scratch minority voters."
... "Four days before the 2004 election, the Justice Department’s civil
rights chief [under Republican President George Bush] sent an unusual letter
to a federal judge in Ohio who was weighing whether to let Republicans
challenge the credentials of 23,000 mostly African-American voters." ...
"The case was triggered by allegations that Republicans had sent a mass
mailing to mostly Democratic-leaning minorities and used undeliverable
letters to compile a list of voters potentially vulnerable to eligibility
challenges." ... "In his letter to U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott of Cincinnati
[Ohio], Assistant Attorney General Alex Acosta argued that it would "undermine"
the enforcement of state and federal election laws if citizens could not
challenge voters’ credentials." ... "Former Justice Department civil rights
officials and election watchdog groups charge that his letter sided with
Republicans engaging in an illegal, racially motivated tactic known as
"vote-caging" in a state that would be pivotal in delivering President
Bush a second term in the White House" ... "The tactic ["vote caging"]
entails sending mail stamped "do not forward" to voters’ homes and requiring
a return receipt. Voters who do not sign for the letters or postcards can
then be challenged at the polls or in pre-election hearings on grounds
such as whether they meet legal residency or age requirements." ... "J.
Gerald Hebert, a head of the Voting Rights Section in the early 1990s and
now executive director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, says the
tactic is unfair for multiple reasons: it is often racially motivated;
voters may be out of town or refuse to sign return receipts on letters
from the GOP, and addresses may be inaccurate." -By
Greg
Gordon -McClatchyDC.com
Colombia
- US
- Ohio
- Food
- Company
- Law
- "Chiquita
Charged With Terrorist Dealings: Banana Company Admits
Former Subsidiary Paid Right-Wing Group In Colombia To Protect Employees."
... "Banana company Chiquita Brands International Inc. was charged Wednesday
with doing business with a terrorist organization." ... "Court documents
filed Wednesday are an indication the company has settled a lengthy Justice
Department investigation into its financial dealings with terrorist groups
in Colombia." ... "Federal prosecutors said the [Ohio] Cincinnati-based
company and several unnamed high-ranking corporate officers did business
with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The group is described
in court documents as a violent right-wing organization that the U.S. has
designated as a terrorist group." -AP
via -CBSNews
Hastings
- Ed
Cassidy
- Boehner
- Ohio
- California- Washington
- 2004
Election - US
Attorneys - Law-
"Hearing
on U.S. attorney's ouster reveals Hastings' office contacted McKay."
... "During the recount of the hotly contested 2004 governor's race in
Washington state, the chief of staff to [Washington state Republican Representative]
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., called former U.S. Attorney John McKay to inquire
about the status of any federal investigations into voter fraud, McKay
told a Senate committee today." ... "McKay told the Senate Judiciary Committee
that Ed Cassidy, who now works for [Ohio Republican Representative] Republican
Minority Leader John Boehner, called him "some weeks" following the 2004
election, and after a third re-count had determined that Democrat Christine
Gregoire had narrowly defeated Republican Dino Rossi." ... ""I was told
the purpose of the call was to inquire on behalf of congressman Hastings"
about the status of ongoing investigations of voter fraud, McKay said in
response to a question from [California Democratic Senator] Sen. Dianne
Feinstein." ... "McKay said that he informed Cassidy that the office of
the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington had already asked
the public to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation with any evidence
of voter fraud, so it could be investigated." ... "Cassidy then began to
ask McKay whether any future action would be taken by the U.S. Attorney's
office with regard to the governor's race." ... ""When Mr. Cassidy called
me on future action I stopped him and I told him I was sure that he wasn't
asking me on behalf" of Congressman Hastings, McKay told the committee,
"because we both knew that would be improper. [Cassidy] agreed it would
be improper and he ended the conversation in a most expeditious manner.""
-By David Bowermaster, Mike Carter and Alicia Mundy
-SeattleTimes.NWsource
Election
2006 - US
- Iraq
- Military
- Missouri
- 
Montana
- 
Virginia
- Pennsylvania
- Santorum
- Rhode
Island - Ohio
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- "Democrats
win House control in midterm elections; Senate still in doubt."
... "Democrats took over the House in Tuesday's midterm elections but Senate
control might take weeks to decide, in an election shaped by voter discontent
with President Bush and the direction of the Iraq war." ... "Democrat Claire
McCaskill's victory over incumbent [Republican] Sen. Jim Talent in Missouri
has put Senate control within her party's grasp. Two Senate races remained
undecided early Wednesday -- Montana, where a Democratic challenger led,
and Virginia, where another Democratic challenger was ahead by the slimmest
of margins. Democrats must win both to seize Senate control." ... "Four
incumbent Republicans lost in the Senate. Pennsylvanians voted out conservative
stalwart Rick Santorum [Republican] — the No. 3 GOP leader in the Senate
— in favor of Democrat Bob Casey; Rhode Island voters picked Democratic
challenger Sheldon Whitehouse over incumbent Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee;
Ohio voters chose Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown over Republican incumbent
Mike Dewine; and McCaskill beat Talent." ... "Democrats also won major
House races in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky and the closely contested
governor's race in Ohio, the AP projected. And Democrats seized a majority
of the nation's governorships for the first time in 12 years."
-USATODAY
Voting
Machine Problems - Indiana
- Illinois
- Ohio
- Florida
- Utah
- Kentucky
- 2006
Election - Politics
- "Voting
machine problems bedevil multiple states." ... "As
both parties revved up their massive get-out-the-vote operations across
the nation, programming errors and inexperience dealing with electronic
voting machines caused some early problems:" ... "• Election officials
in Delaware County, Ind., planned to seek a court order to extend voting
after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots
in 75 precincts. Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that
activate the machines were programmed incorrectly. "We are working with
precincts one-by-one over the telephone to get the problem fixed," Wenger
said." ... "• Illinois officials were swamped with calls from voters complaining
that poll workers did not know how to operate new electronic equipment[.]"
... "• In Ohio, some machines wouldn't function."We got five machines —
one of them's got to work," said Willette Scullank, a troubleshooter from
the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board." ... "• In Florida, voting
was briefly delayed at four districts because of either mixed up ballots
or electronic activators being unintentionally wiped out, according to
Mary Cooney, spokeswoman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.
Voters were forced to use paper ballots after an electronic machine broke
in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park." ... "• In Utah County, Utah,
workers failed to properly encode some of the cards that voters use to
bring up touchscreen ballots." ... "• In Kentucky, a school board race
was inadvertently left off the touchscreen ballot in two precincts in Bourbon
County, requiring the county clerk to make paper ballots on the spot. "
-By Douglas Stanglin with contributions by Bill Nichols,
Kathy Kiely, and David Jackson -AP
via -USATODAY
Ney
- Abramoff
- Money
- Politics- Ohio
- "Ney
Says He’ll Resign From House." ... "Rep. Bob Ney,
facing certain expulsion from the House after being convicted of two felonies
in relation to the Jack Abramoff scandal, said on Friday he will resign
by the end of the day." ... "Ney’s corruption case was detailed in Justice
Department documents released in September, and they revealed a five-year
association with Abramoff that included taking trips to Scotland, luxury
sports suite tickets and gambling chips from a foreign businessman." ...
"In return for these favors, Ney tried to give Abramoff clients favorable
treatment." ... "In the plea document, Ney says he accepted free trips,
including a $160,000 excursion to play golf in Scotland in 2002; a $7,200
gambling vacation in New Orleans in 2003; and a $3,500 vacation in Lake
George, N.Y., that same year, with lobbyists picking up the tab in each
case." ... "Ney also accepted thousands in gambling chips at a British
casino. He had a staffer carry $5,000 in cash through U.S. Customs so he
wouldn’t have to report tens of thousands in winnings from the casino."
-By Martin Kady II -CQ.com
Foley- Ohio
- Florida
- NM
- NY
- Police
- Election
2006 - "Scandals
Alone Could Cost Republicans Their House Majority."
... "Indictments, investigations and allegations of wrongdoing have helped
put at least 15 Republican House seats in jeopardy, enough to swing control
to the Democrats on Tuesday [2006 Election] even before the larger issues
of war, economic unease and President Bush are invoked." ... "Democrats
have repeatedly hit [Republican] Rep. Deborah Pryce (Ohio), the House Republican
Conference chairman, for inaction on the [Florida Republican Mark] Foley
matter. And Democrats have tried to hold two former members of the Page
Board, [New York Republican] Reps. Sue W. Kelly (N.Y.) and [New Mexico
Republican] Heather A. Wilson (N.M.), accountable for Foley's actions."
... "Meanwhile, new allegations continue to spring up. Vern Buchanan, a
Republican running for the Florida seat vacated by Rep. Katherine Harris
(R), was the target of local media reports this week detailing his use
of business entities in Caribbean tax havens to reduce levies on his auto
dealerships. The Albany Times Union published an article yesterday charging
that the wife of [New York Republican] Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-N.Y.) called
police late last year to report that her husband was "knocking her around"
during a late-night argument." -By Jonathan Weisman
and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost
Hastert- Foley
- 
Reynolds
- Boehner
- Illinois
- Florida
- New
York
- Ohio-
"Hastert
testifies in sex scandal investigation: Presses panel
to move quickly." ... "Speaker J. Dennis Hastert [Illinois Republican]
yesterday became the first leader of the House of Representatives in a
decade to testify before its ethics committee, fielding hours of questions
about what he knew about former [Florida Republican] representative Mark
Foley's inappropriate approaches to teenage pages and when he knew it."
... "At least two Republican leaders -- Representative Thomas M. Reynolds
of New York, who is leading the party's House reelection effort, and House
majority leader John Boehner of Ohio -- have said they told Hastert last
year that they were concerned about Foley's behavior after they learned
about "overly friendly" e-mails that Foley, a Florida Republican, sent
to one former male page." ... "Hastert has said he does not recall those
conversations, but he does not dispute that he may have forgotten them."
-By Maura Reynolds -LAtimes
via -BostonGlobe
Hastert
- Foley
- Fordham
- Palmer
- 
Kolbe
- 
Alexander
- Boehner
- Reynolds
- 
Shimkus
- Trandahl
- Florida
- Illinois
- Arizona
- Louisiana
- Ohio
- New
York
- "House
panel questions Hastert's top aide in Foley case."
... "Kirk Fordham, [Florida Republican Mark] Foley's former chief of staff,
said he alerted [Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert's chief of staff Scott]
Palmer several years ago to his concerns about Foley's friendships with
pages." ... "Palmer has denied Fordham's account." ... "So far, these people
have claimed they warned congressional leaders or their staff about Foley:"
... "• Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], said he alerted Hastert's
staff in 2000 or 2001." ... "• Fordham said he spoke with the speaker's
office in 2002 or 2003." ... "• Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La. [Republican-Louisiana],
said he alerted the speaker's office last year and spoke to House Majority
Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio [Republican], and Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y.
[Republican-New York], again this spring." ... "• Boehner and Reynolds
said they brought up Alexander's complaints with Hastert. The speaker said
he does not remember the conversation, but does not dispute that it occurred."
... "After Alexander contacted Hastert's office last year about e-mails
that Foley had sent a Louisiana page, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois],
head of the House Page Board, and former House clerk Jeff Trandahl confronted
Foley, who promised to stop." -By Kathy Kiely
-USATODAY
Alexander
- Foley
- Hastert
- Boehner
- Trandahl
- Reynolds
- Lawmakers
- E-Mails
- Child
- Louisiana
- Florida
- Ill
- Ohio
- NY
- "House
Panel Probes Foley Page Scandal: Sponsor Of Louisiana
Page Tells Ethics Panel Others Knew Of E-Mails Before He Did." ... "GOP
Rep. Rodney Alexander [Louisiana Republican] appeared Wednesday morning
and says that after he and his staff learned of the [Florida Republican
Mark Foley] e-mails to the former page, his aides contacted the office
of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.[Republican-Illinois], for advice
on what to do about communications the boy's family thought were inappropriate."
... "His testimony is a small piece of a more confusing puzzle that puts
Hastert and his aides at odds with the accounts of other top GOP lawmakers
and their aides." ... "Two of those figures, Majority Leader [Republican]
John Boehner, R-Ohio, and former House Clerk Jeff Trandahl, are scheduled
to testify Thursday." ... "Boehner has said he discussed the Foley situation
with Hastert last spring after Alexander informed him of the e-mails, as
has Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y. [Republican-New York.]"
-AP via
-CBSNews
Ney
- Abramoff
- Doolittle
- Volz
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio- Montana
- California
- "Ney
Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges: Lawmaker's Conviction
Is 8th in Abramoff Probe." ... "[Ohio Republican Bob] Ney is the eighth
person convicted in the continuing federal investigation into Abramoff's
activities. A federal task force that includes a dozen Justice Department
prosecutors is investigating Abramoff's dealings with other congressional
offices, including those of Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont. [Republican-Montana])
and Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif. [Republican-California]), according
to lawyers and witnesses involved in the probe." ... "The Ohio Republican
had been a target of the investigation for a year and came under increasing
pressure -- first in January with Abramoff's guilty plea and agreement
to cooperate in the investigation, then with the guilty plea in May of
his former aide Neil G. Volz, who admitted conspiring to corruptly influence
the congressman and others. Ney admitted encouraging Volz to violate the
one-year ban on lobbying by former staffers." ... "Earlier this year, Ney's
committee passed ethics legislation to strip convicted lawmakers of their
pensions, but the bill died in the House." -By Susan
Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi with contributions by Alice Crites
-WashingtonPost
Ney
- Abramoff
- Norquist
- 
Rove
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio
- "Rep.
Bob Ney Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charges: Linked
to Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Ney Says He'll Resign Soon but Perhaps Not Soon
Enough for GOP Leadership." ... "Republican Bob Ney, a six-term congressman
from Ohio, pleaded guilty today in Federal District Court to taking bribes
in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal." ... "Standing before
Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false
statements. He acknowledged taking money, gifts and favors in return for
official actions on behalf of Abramoff and his clients." ... "Three former
House GOP aides have already pleaded guilty to corruption charges involving
Abramoff, a once powerful lobbyist with especially close ties to top Republicans."
... "The Abramoff fallout has now spread wider, with a Senate Finance Committee
report maintaining that five conservative nonprofit groups may have illegally
helped the once powerful lobbyist." ... "Most notable are the charges aimed
at Americans for Tax Reform, headed by Grover Norquist, an influential
adviser to Republicans with close ties to President Bush's top political
adviser, Karl Rove. The organizations cited in the report deny any wrongdoing."
... "Committee investigators said the groups may have violated their tax-exempt
status by helping Abramoff and his clients." (1, 2,
3)
-By John Cochran -ABCNEWS.com
Ney
- Abramoff
- Volz
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio
- "Rep.
Ney to enter guilty plea." ... "The Jack Abramoff
influence-peddling investigation claims its first member of Congress with
Rep. Bob Ney set to plead guilty to taking bribes." ... "Ney, an Ohio Republican
in his sixth term, faces up to 10 years in prison in a scandal that has
tainted the White House as well as Capitol Hill." ... "Ney, scheduled enter
his plea Friday, signed papers a month ago admitting to charges of conspiracy
and making false statements. He also acknowledged that he had deprived
the public of his honest services." ... "Ney's former chief of staff Neil
Volz, who left Capitol Hill to work with Abramoff, pleaded guilty in May
to charges that he conspired to corrupt his former boss and others."
-AP via -USATODAY
Hastert
- Foley
- Shimkus
- Boehner
- Reynolds
- Ill
- Fla
- Louisiana
- Ohio
- NY
- "Staffer
Cites Earlier Role by Hastert's Office: Confrontation
With [Florida Republican] Foley Detailed." ... "House Speaker [Illinois
Republican] J. Dennis Hastert's chief of staff confronted then-Rep. Mark
Foley about his inappropriate social contact with male pages well before
the speaker said aides in his office took any action, a current congressional
staff member with personal knowledge of Foley and his behavior with pages
said yesterday." ... "The staff member said Hastert's chief of staff, Scott
Palmer, met with the Florida Republican at the Capitol to discuss complaints
about Foley's behavior toward pages. The alleged meeting occurred long
before Hastert says aides in his office dispatched Rep. John M. Shimkus
(R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) and the clerk of the House in November 2005
to confront Foley about troubling e-mails he had sent to a Louisiana boy."
... "The staff member's account buttresses the position of Foley's onetime
chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, who said earlier this week that he had appealed
to Palmer in 2003 or earlier to intervene, after Fordham's own efforts
to stop Foley's behavior had failed. Fordham said Foley and Palmer, one
of the most powerful figures in the House of Representatives, met within
days to discuss the allegations." ... "Hastert maintains that he knew nothing
of Foley's actions until last week, when the story first broke and Foley
resigned. His stance contradicts that of House Majority Leader John A.
Boehner (R-Ohio) and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman
Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), both of whom said they had informed Hastert
this spring." ... "Palmer, who shares a townhouse with Hastert when they
are in town, is more powerful than all but a few House members. Members
know that he speaks for Hastert." (1, 2)
-By Jonathan Weisman with contributions by Jim VandeHei,
Charles Babington, Dan Eggen, and Allan Lengel -WashingtonPost
Foley
- Hastert
- Cunningham
- DeLay
- Ney
- Children
- Lawmakers
- Politics
- 2006
Election - Florida
- Illinois
- California
- Texas
- Ohio
- "FBI
looks at [Florida Republican] Foley's e-mails to teens."
... "[Illinois Republican] House Speaker Dennis Hastert asked the Justice
Department on Sunday to investigate former [Florida Republican] congressman
Mark Foley's communications with teenage boys who worked as House pages."
... "Hastert has said he knew about non-sexual e-mails that Foley, 52,
a Florida Republican, sent to a 16-year-old former page, first reported
by ABC News on Thursday." ... "Foley is the fourth House Republican forced
out by ethics problems. [Republican] Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California
resigned in November after pleading guilty to accepting $2.4 million in
bribes. Former majority leader [Republican] Tom DeLay of Texas was indicted
on state campaign finance violations and resigned in June. [Republican]
Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio has agreed to plead guilty to charges of corruption
and is not seeking re-election [in 2006]." ... "House Democratic leader
Nancy Pelosi [from California] called on the House ethics committee Sunday
to question GOP leaders under oath. "They chose to cover it up rather than
to protect these children," she said." -By Richard
Wolf and Kevin Johnson with contributions by Kathy Kiely, Jill Lawrence,
Matt Kelley, and Wendy Koc -USATODAY
Reynolds
- Hastert
- Foley
- Boehner
- E-Mails
- Louisiana
- Teen
- Noteworthy
- Lawmakers
- Enforcement
- Secrets
- 2006
Election - NY
- Ill
- Fla
- Ohio
- Mich
- "GOP
Leader Rebuts Hastert on Foley: [New York Republican
Thomas] Reynolds: Speaker Knew of E-Mails in Spring." ... "House Speaker
J. Dennis Hastert ([Republican, Illnois] R-Ill.) was notified early this
year of inappropriate e-mails from former representative Mark Foley ([Republican,
Florida] R-Fla.) to a 16-year-old page, a top GOP House member said yesterday
-- contradicting the speaker's assertions that he learned of concerns about
Foley only last week." ... "Hastert did not dispute the claims of Rep.
Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), and his office confirmed that some of Hastert's
top aides knew last year that Foley had been ordered to cease contact with
the boy and to treat all pages respectfully." ... "Reynolds, chairman of
the National Republican Congressional Committee, became the second senior
House Republican to say that Hastert has known of Foley's contacts for
months, prompting Democratic attacks about the GOP leadership's inaction.
Foley abruptly resigned his seat Friday." ... "House Majority Leader John
A. Boehner ([Republican] R-Ohio) told The Washington Post on Friday that
he had learned in late spring of inappropriate e-mails Foley sent to the
page, a boy from Louisiana, and that he promptly told Hastert, who appeared
to know already of the concerns. Hours later, Boehner contacted The Post
to say he could not be sure he had spoken with Hastert." ... "Yesterday's
developments revealed a rift at the highest echelons of House Republican
ranks a month before the Nov. 7 [2006] elections, and they threatened to
expand the scandal to a full-blown party dilemma." ... "Republicans appeared
to have kept the matter under wraps. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (Mich.), the only
Democrat on the House Page Board, said yesterday: "I was never informed
of the allegations about Mr. Foley's inappropriate communications with
a House page, and I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter.""
(1, 2)
-By Jonathan Weisman and Charles Babington with contributions
by R. Jeffrey Smith and Magda Jean-Louis -WashingtonPost
Secret
- Children
- Crime
- Politics
- Mark
Foley - Florida
- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- Louisiana
- New
York - Illinois
- Alabama
- 2006
Election - "G.O.P.
Aides Knew in Late ’05 of E-Mail." ... "Top House
Republicans knew for months about e-mail traffic between [Florida Republican]
Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but kept the matter
secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a Congressional caucus on
children’s issues, Republican lawmakers said Saturday." ... "Among those
who became aware earlier this year of the fall 2005 communications between
Mr. Foley and the 16-year-old page, who worked for Representative Rodney
Alexander, Republican of Louisiana, were [Ohio Republican] Representative
John A. Boehner, the majority leader, and [New York Republican] Representative
Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, chairman of the National Republican Congressional
Committee. Mr. Reynolds said in a statement Saturday that he had also personally
raised the issue with Speaker J. Dennis Hastert [Illinois Republican]."
... "Democrats moved quickly to criticize Mr. Reynolds, who while overseeing
House campaigns nationally is facing the potential of a serious [2006 Election]
challenge from Jack Davis, a wealthy businessman who has vowed to spend
at least $2 million of his own money in the contest. “Tom Reynolds had
a moral obligation to protect our children,” said Curtis Ellis, a spokesman
for Mr. Davis." ... "At the Justice Department, an official said that no
investigation was under way but that the agency had “real interest” in
examining the circumstances to see if any crimes were committed." ... "Several
of Mr. Foley’s former colleagues demanded a criminal inquiry." ... "Representative
Robert E. Cramer, an Alabama Democrat who was co-chairman with Mr. Foley
of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, condemned Mr. Foley’s
actions as “shocking and disturbing.”" ... "“Anyone, including Foley, involved
in this type of behavior should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of
the law,” Mr. Cramer said." (1, 2)
-By Carl Hulse and Raymond Hernandez with contributions
by Kate Zernike, David Johnston, and Abby Goodnough -NYTimes
Mark
Foley - Florida
- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- Ill
- Calif
- "Rep.
Foley Quits In Page Scandal: Explicit Online Notes
Sent to Boy, 16." ... "Six-term [Florida Republican] Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)
resigned yesterday amid reports that he had sent sexually explicit Internet
messages to at least one underage male former page." ... "The resignation
rocked the Capitol, and especially Foley's GOP colleagues, as lawmakers
were rushing to adjourn for at least six weeks. House Majority Leader John
Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned
this spring of some "contact" between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner
said he told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and that Hastert
assured him "we're taking care of it."" ... "It was not immediately clear
what actions Hastert took. His spokesman had said earlier that the speaker
did not know of the sexually charged online exchanges between Foley and
the boy." ... "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took the House
floor last night to demand an investigation into the Foley matter. But
Boehner headed her off, calling on the House to refer the matter to the
ethics committee, which the House promptly voted unanimously to do." (1,
2)
-By Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman with contributions
by Lucy Shackelford and Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost
Mark
Foley - Florida
- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- NY
- Ill
- Mich
- Calif
- "Foley
Interviewed About Page Last Year; Democrats Not Told: Ethics Inquiry Ordered."
... "[Florida Republican] Ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who resigned Friday
after reports of his improper communications with a former male House page
were made public, was interviewed about some of those contacts by the chairman
of the House Page Board and the then-Clerk of the House last year." ...
"At least four Republican House Members, one senior GOP aide and a former
top officer of the House were aware of the allegations about Foley that
prompted the initial reporting regarding his e-mail contacts with a 16-year-old
House page. They include: Majority Leader [Ohio Republican] John Boehner
(R-Ohio), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman [New York
Republican] Tom Reynolds (N.Y.) and Reps. [Louisiana Republican] Rodney
Alexander (R-La.) and [Illinois Republican] John Shimkus (R-Ill.), as well
as a senior aide to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and former Clerk of
the House Jeff Trandahl." ... "[Michigan Democrat] Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.),
who serves on the page board, was never told of the interview with Foley."
... ""I became aware of it this afternoon when [Shimkus] came by my office.
I think we should have had a page meeting right away," Kildee said, referring
to last year's discovery of Foley's e-mails." ... "When asked if was upset
about being excluded, Kildee said yes, adding, "I've been on the page board
for 20 years."" ... ""I'm the chairman of the page board," Shimkus said
when asked why he didn't include Kildee. "The Clerk and I addressed this
issue."" ... "House Minority Leader [California Democrat] Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.), who introduced a privileged resolution friday night to require
an ethics probe, criticized Republican leaders, who she said, "have known
of the egregious behavior of Congressman Mark Foley, yet were prepared
to adjourn tonight without an Ethics Committee investigation."" ... ""The
investigation must determine when Mr. Foley sent the inappropriate emails,
who knew of them, whether there was a pattern of inappropriate activity
by Mr. Foley with pages or former pages, when the Republican leadership
was notified, and what corrective action was taken once officials learned
of any improper activity," she added." -By John Bresnahan
and Susan Davis -RollCall.com
Ohio
- Bob
Ney
- Jack
Abramoff
- Politics
- 2006
Election - "GOP:
Ohio Rep. Ney To Plead Guilty: Expected To Plead
To At Least One Criminal Charge, Republican Officials Say." ... "[Republican]
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, is expected to plead guilty as early as Friday to
at least one criminal charge in an election-year congressional corruption
investigation, Republican officials said Thursday night." ... "Ney, whose
ties with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff have long been under scrutiny
by prosecutors, has consistently denied all wrongdoing. He announced earlier
this summer he
would not seek re-election, a step he took reluctantly and at the prodding
of party leaders fearful of the loss of his seat."
-AP via
-CBSNews
Seniors
- Illinois
- 
Iowa
- Ohio
- Georgia
- "[Republican]
Candidates Duplicate in AARP Survey." ... "The answers
were so good, Republican candidates wanted to use them as their own. The
embarrassment was at least seven did." ... "Republicans in House races
copied their party's talking points and included parts of the answers as
their own for an AARP survey. The answers related to Medicare, Social Security,
insurance plans and retirement." ... "Among the candidates who used the
borrowed language were Andrea Zinga and Peter Roskam, both running in Illinois,
Jeff Lamberti in Iowa, Chuck Blasdel in Ohio and Max Burns in Georgia."
-By Philip Elliott -AP
via -Forbes
US
- 
Mexico
- US
Immigration - 2006
Election - Politics
- California
- New
York - Texas
- Florida
- New-Jersey
- Illinois
- Georgia
- North
Carolina - Indiana
- 
South
Dakota - 
Delaware
- Missouri
- Colorado
- New
Hampshire - Ohio
- "Census
Shows Growth of Immigrants." ... "The number of immigrants
living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years,
fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data
released by the Census Bureau." ... "Coming in the heart of an election
season in which illegal immigration has emerged as an issue, the new data
from the bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey is certain to generate
more debate." ... "By far the largest numbers of immigrants continue to
live in the six states that have traditionally attracted them: California,
New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois." ... "Immigrants also
continue to flow into a handful of states in the Southeast, like Georgia
and North Carolina, a trend that was discerned in the 2000 census." ...
"But it is in the less-expected immigrant destinations that demographers
find the most of interest in the new data." ... "Indiana saw a 34 percent
increase in the number of immigrants; South Dakota saw a 44 percent rise;
Delaware 32 percent; Missouri 31 percent; Colorado 28 percent; and New
Hampshire 26 percent." ... "“It’s the continuation of a pattern that we
first began to see 10 or 15 years ago,” said Jeff Passel, senior research
associate at the Pew Hispanic Center, who has examined the new census data.
“But instead of being confined to areas like the Southeast, it’s beginning
to spill over into some Midwestern states, like Indiana and Ohio. It’s
even moving up into New England.”" ... "Over all, immigrants now make up
12.4 percent of the nation’s population, up from 11.2 percent in 2000.
That amounts to an estimated 4.9 million additional immigrants for a total
of 35.7 million, a number larger than the population of California." (1,
2)
-By Rick Lyman -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Religious
- Election
2006 - 2004
Election - Free
Speech - Law
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Montana
- Tennessee
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- New
Jersey - Minnesota
- California
- "Conservatives
Put Faith in Church Voter Drives: Evangelicals seek
to sign up a new flock of GOP supporters in states with crucial November
races." ... "As discontent with the Republican Party threatens to dampen
the turnout of conservative voters in November, evangelical leaders are
launching a massive registration drive that could help counter the malaise
and mobilize new religious voters in battleground states." ... "The program,
coordinated by the Colorado-based group Focus on the Family and its influential
founder, James C. Dobson, would use a variety of methods — including information
inserted in church publications and booths placed outside worship services
— to recruit millions of new voters in 2006 and beyond." ... "The effort
builds on the aggressive courtship of evangelical voters in 2004 by President
Bush's reelection campaign, even as the Internal Revenue Service has announced
renewed scrutiny of nonprofit organizations, including churches, that engage
in political activities." ... "The program, announced in an e-mail to activists
last week, is seeking county and church coordinators in the targeted states
of Maryland, Montana, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Minnesota." ... "Registering voters in churches is not a new tactic
for either party, but Republicans have proved far more effective in recent
years at combining religion and politics for electoral gain." ... "Critics
say the practice is potentially illegal, citing tax laws that prohibit
churches from engaging in partisan activities." ... "The IRS has launched
a program to crack down on violators, with investigations pending against
dozens of churches." ... "The IRS probe with the highest profile is that
of All Saints Church in Pasadena, one of Southern California's largest
and most liberal congregations." ... "After a priest delivered a sermon
critical of the Iraq war two days before the 2004 presidential election,
the IRS began reviewing the Episcopal church's tax-exempt status. No decision
has been announced." -By Peter Wallsten
-LAtimes
Ohio
- 2006
Election - Bob
Ney
- Abramoff
- Law
- "Ney's
formal withdrawal sets clearer stage for House race."
... "[Ohio Republican] Rep. Bob Ney's official withdrawal from a southeast
Ohio congressional race Monday was more than a procedural formality." ...
"It ended a week of intense speculation about how and if the embattled
Republican would be replaced on the Nov. 7 [2006 Election] ballot and brought
at least some clarity to the legal fight ahead over his hand-picked successor's
ability to run in his place." ... "Monday's letter from Ney to the controlling
election board in Tuscarawas County, the most populous in the sprawling
rural district, formally ends his bid for a seventh term. It also means
Republican voters, not the leaders of various party committees, will choose
his replacement." ... "When Ney announced his plans to withdraw, he cited
the strain of an intensifying corruption investigation that had focused
for months on his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney denies
wrongdoing and has not been charged." -By David Hammer
with contributions by John McCarthy -APvia
-MercuryNews
US
- 
British
- Iraq
- Global
- Military- Intelligence
- Airline
- Terrorism
- Religion
- Politics
- Election
2006 - John
Boehner
- Ohio
- "Can
Democrats make case Iraq diverted war on terror?"
... "The immediate domestic political impact of the latest airliner-bombing
plot is to bolster Republican fortunes in the campaign leading to midterm
elections
on Nov. 7." ... "Terrorism has been the issue that has kept the Bush administration
afloat since Sept. 11, 2001. The White House and its Republican allies
should benefit at least momentarily from the traditional rallying effect
that helps the party in power in the face of a national threat." ... "How
long that moment lasts will be the supreme test for Democratic candidates
in the coming days. For if Democrats now, with the revelation of the British-based
plot, cannot make the case that the Bush administration has mishandled
the fight against terrorism, they deserve whatever may befall them 12 weeks
from Tuesday." ... "This will not be easy, given Republican possession
of the White House and its bully pulpit and Republican willingness to demagogue
the issue." ... "The British suspects were barely in handcuffs before House
Majority Leader John Boehner was complaining about "Defeatocrats." Funny,
but I don't recall it was Democrats who stood in the way of full implementation
of the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission." ... "This isn't about
whether you can pack hand cream in your carry-on bag. This is about how
President Bush has squandered manpower and materiel in the war in Iraq,
a conflict that has emboldened radical Islamists and made their cause more
acceptable and recruiting much easier." ... "In his first public response
to the arrest of suspects in Britain, Bush said that uncovering the plot
was "a stark reminder that this nation is still at war with Islamic fascists.""
... "What Bush did not say was that the continuing war in Iraq has been
a diversion from U.S. leadership in the global war on terrorism." -By Cragg
Hines -HoustonChronicle.com
Texas
- Money
- Abramoff
- Ralph
Reed
- Georgia
- DeLay
- Ney
- Ohio
- Politics
- "Texas
Tribe Names Abramoff, Reed in Suit." ... "A Texas
Indian tribe filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that ex-lobbyist
Jack Abramoff, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed [Republican
running for Lt. Governor in Georgia] and their associates engaged in fraud
and racketeering to shut down the tribe's casino." ... "The Alabama-Coushatta
tribe of Livingston, Texas, alleged the defendants defrauded the tribe,
the people of Texas and the Legislature to benefit another of Abramoff's
clients _ the Louisiana Coushatta tribe _ and "line their pockets with
money."" ... "The lawsuit also names Abramoff's ex-business partner Michael
Scanlon, a former aide to former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas; Neil Volz, a
former aide to Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio; and Jon Van Horne, Abramoff's former
colleague at his law and lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig." ... "Abramoff,
Scanlon and Volz have pleaded guilty in a public corruption probe involving
Abramoff's former tribal clients and possibly members of Congress. The
Alabama-Coushatta never hired Abramoff." (1, 2)
-By Suzanne Gamboa -AP
via -WashingtonPost
David
Safavian
- Abramoff
- Government
- Money
- Politics
- Bob
Ney
- Ohio
- Tom
DeLay
- Texas
- "Former
Bush official convicted of lying about ties to Abramoff."
... "A federal jury convicted a former Bush administration official Tuesday
of lying about his relationship with a high-powered Washington lobbyist
who's at the center of a broadening investigation into influence-peddling
on Capitol Hill." ... "David Safavian, former chief of staff of the General
Services Administration, the federal government's procurement agency, was
found guilty of four charges of making false statements and misleading
investigators who were looking into Jack Abramoff's dealings with other
public officials and lobbyists." ... "Four other former Abramoff associates,
including a former chief of staff for Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and two former
aides to former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, have pleaded guilty in the scandal.
Ney and DeLay have denied any wrongdoing." ... "Neil Volz, Ney's former
chief of staff, pleaded guilty in May to conspiring with Abramoff. Former
DeLay aides Michael Scanlon and Tony Rudy have pleaded guilty to committing
fraud and violating the federal one-year lobbying ban. Volz testified on
behalf of the government during Safavian's trial." -By
Marisa Taylor -KnightRidder
via -RealCities
Political
- Government
- Police
- Louisiana- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- "F.B.I.
Raid Divides G.O.P. Lawmakers and White House." ...
"After years of quietly acceding to the Bush administration's assertions
of executive power, the Republican-led Congress hit a limit this weekend."
... "Resentment boiled among senior Republicans for a second day on Tuesday
after a team of warrant-bearing agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
turned up at a closed House office building on Saturday evening, demanded
entry to the office of a lawmaker and spent the night going through his
files." ... "The episode prompted cries of constitutional foul from Republicans
— even though the lawmaker in question, Representative William J. Jefferson
of Louisiana, is a Democrat whose involvement in a bribery case has made
him an obvious partisan political target." ... "[Republican] Representative
John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House majority leader, predicted that the
separation-of-powers conflict would go to the Supreme Court. "I have to
believe at the end of the day it is going to end up across the street,"
Mr. Boehner told reporters gathered in his conference room, which looks
out on the Capitol plaza and the court building." ... "A court challenge
would place all three branches of government in the fray over whether the
obscure "speech and debate" clause of the Constitution, which offers some
legal immunity for lawmakers in the conduct of their official duties, could
be interpreted to prohibit a search by the executive branch on Congressional
property." -By Carl Hulse
-NYTimes
Jack
Abramoff- Political
- Money
- Bob
Ney
- Ohio
- Tom
DeLay
- Texas
- "Ney's
Former Aide Volz Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case (Update2)."
... "Neil Volz, former chief of staff to U.S. Representative Bob Ney, pleaded
guilty in the corruption scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff." ...
"The agreement may increase the pressure on Ney, an Ohio Republican who
accompanied Abramoff on a golf trip to Scotland in 2002. Papers filed as
part of Volz's plea and three others in the Abramoff case referred to ``things
of value'' Ney accepted from Abramoff and his team. Ney has denied wrongdoing."
... "Ney, 51, cited the allegations surrounding him in the Abramoff case
when he temporarily stepped down in January from his post as chairman of
the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections and
day-to-day House functions such as assigning parking places." ... "Abramoff,
47, was one of Washington's best-connected lobbyists and a major fundraiser
for the Republican Party and President George W. Bush. Before his downfall,
Abramoff's ties extended into the Bush administration and throughout Congress
to the office of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican
who on April 4 announced he will resign from Congress." -By
Kristin Jensen and Michael Forsythe -Bloomberg
Jack
Abramoff
- Political
- Money
- Bob
Ney
- Ohio
- "Update
6: Former Aide to Rep. Ney Pleads Guilty." ... "A
former top aide to Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty Monday in the Jack
Abramoff influence peddling scandal, admitting he conspired to corrupt
Ney, his staff and other members of Congress with trips, free tickets,
jobs, meals and campaign events." ... "In a nine-page document that focused
on Ney's conduct, Volz enumerated 16 actions he said his old boss took
on behalf of Abramoff clients. During the period from January 2000 through
April 2004, Volz said Abramoff and his lobbyists gave Ney and members of
his staff trips to Lake George in New York state, New Orleans, the Fiesta
Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., in 2003, and a weeklong golfing retreat to the Old
Course at St. Andrews in Scotland." ... "In addition, Volz wrote, Abramoff
provided the congressman and his staff numerous tickets to concerts and
sporting events in the Washington, D.C., area; regular meals and drinks
at restaurants including Abramoff's restaurant Signatures, and unreported
use of Abramoff's box suites at the MCI Center Arena in Washington and
Camden Yards Stadium in Baltimore for political fundraisers for Ney and
for candidates and political organizations he supported." -By
Pete Yost with contributions by Mark Sherman and David Hammer
-AP via -Forbes
Jack
Abramoff
- Political
- Money
- Ohio
- Bob
Ney
- Texas
- "Ex-Aide
in House to Cooperate in Abramoff Inquiry." ... "Neil
G. Volz, formerly the chief of staff to [Ohio Republican] Representative
Bob Ney, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud before Federal Judge Ellen
Segal Huvelle." ... "Mr. Volz said in the court document that while he
was on Mr. Ney's staff from 1995 until early 2002, he accepted "a stream
of things of value" from Mr. Abramoff and others in return for taking official
action on their behalf, including introducing a bill to help an Indian
tribe in Texas with a gambling enterprise." ... "In early 2002, Mr. Volz
left his Congressional position to join Mr. Abramoff's lobbying firm. In
his new position, his role in the conspiracy changed to "providing a stream
of things of value to other public officials," including a lawmaker identified
as "Representative #1," the document states." ... "It has long been known
that "Representative #1" is Mr. Ney, who immediately denied any wrongdoing,
as he has since it emerged months ago that investigators were scrutinizing
his activities." -By David Stout
-NYTimes
Jack
Abramoff
- Money
- Law
- California
- Illinois
- Ohio
- "Push
to Tighten Lobbying Rules Loses Strength." ... "The
drive for a tighter lobbying law, just two months ago a major priority
on Capitol Hill, is losing momentum, a victim of shifting political interests,
infighting among House Republicans and a growing sense among lawmakers
of both parties that wholesale change may not be needed after all." ...
"In the House, Representative David Dreier of California, the Republicans'
point man on lobbying legislation, said reaching consensus on what the
bill should include had been more difficult than he had expected." ...
"In January, shortly after the lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to
corruption charges, Mr. Dreier and [Illinois Republican] Speaker J. Dennis
Hastert called for tough restrictions, including a ban on gifts, meals
and privately financed travel. They said their aim was to have legislation
drafted by February. But the new majority leader, [Republican] Representative
John A. Boehner of Ohio, is not keen on the travel ban, and there is still
no legislation." ... "The initial fervor for legislation was fueled by
the Abramoff scandal, coupled with the resignation of Representative Randy
Cunningham, Republican of California, after he pleaded guilty in another
corruption case." (1, 2)
-By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
-NYTimes
Government
- Police
- Business
- Employee
- Technology- Ohio
- "US
group implants electronic tags in workers." ... "An
Ohio company has embedded silicon chips in two of its employees - the first
known case in which US workers have been “tagged” electronically as a way
of identifying them." ... "CityWatcher.com, a private video surveillance
company, said it was testing the technology as a way of controlling access
to a room where it holds security video footage for government agencies
and the police." ... "Embedding slivers of silicon in workers is likely
to add to the controversy over RFID technology, widely seen as one of the
next big growth industries." -By Richard Waters
-FT.com
Tom
DeLay
- Jack
Abramoff
- Money
- Missouri
- Ohio
- "Blunt,
Boehner Share Broad Network of Lobbyist Ties With DeLay."
... "Representatives Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Boehner of Ohio have
been among the key intermediaries between Republican lawmakers and lobbyists
since their party took control of the U.S. Congress in 1995." ... "Both
[Blunt and DeLay] men's political action committees employ Jim Ellis, who
was indicted along with DeLay. DeLay's PAC gave Blunt's committee a $150,000
donation in 2000, and Blunt's PAC gave $10,000 to DeLay's non-profit foundation
that same year. Both lawmakers' PACs have employed Alexander Strategy Group,
a Georgetown-based firm whose partners include former Abramoff and DeLay
associates." ... "In 1995, Boehner handed out campaign checks from the
tobacco industry to members on the House floor at a time when lawmakers
were considering eliminating a tobacco subsidy." -By
Laura Litvan -Bloomberg
Government
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Florida
- 
Oregon
- Ohio
- Virginia
- "Defense
Lawyers in Terror Cases Plan Challenges Over Spy Efforts."
... "Defense lawyers in some of the country's biggest terrorism cases say
they plan to bring legal challenges to determine whether the National Security
Agency used illegal wiretaps against several dozen Muslim men tied to Al
Qaeda." ... "The lawyers said in interviews that they wanted to learn whether
the men were monitored by the agency and, if so, whether the government
withheld critical information or misled judges and defense lawyers about
how and why the men were singled out." ... "The expected legal challenges,
in cases from Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Virginia, add another dimension
to the growing controversy over the agency's domestic surveillance program
and could jeopardize some of the Bush administration's most important courtroom
victories in terror cases, legal analysts say." -By
Eric Lichtblau and James Risen (1, 2)
-NYTimes
Ohio
- Texas
- Montana
- California
- Jack
Abramoff
- Tom
DeLay
- Political
- Business
- "Corruption
probe swells in Congress, lawyers say." ... "Justice
Department prosecutors investigating former lobbyist Jack Abramoff are
beginning to move on evidence pointing to possible corruption in Congress
and executive-branch agencies, lawyers involved in the case said." ...
"Prosecutors have told one lawmaker, Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, and his former
chief of staff that they are preparing a possible bribery case against
them, according to two sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity."
... "Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican now facing
separate campaign-finance charges in his home state, is one of the members
under scrutiny, the sources said. Others include Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.
[Montana], Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif. [California], and several other
members of Congress involved with Indian affairs, one of Abramoff's key
areas of interest." -By Susan Schmidt and James V.
Grimaldi
-WashingtonPost
via -SeattleTimes.NWsource
Ohio
- Florida
- Political
- Business
- "Feds
probing SunCruz links to GOP: Federal investigators
are scrutinizing a $10,000 donation made five years ago by SunCruz Casinos
to a Republican campaign committee on behalf of an Ohio congressman." ...
"When U.S. Rep. Bob Ney assailed the owner of SunCruz Casinos in 2000,
it seemed puzzling that an Ohio lawmaker would go out of his way to attack
a South Florida businessman who was trying to sell his floating gaming
empire." ... "It turns out, according to federal investigators, Ney publicly
called SunCruz founder Konstantinos ''Gus'' Boulis a ''bad apple'' in exchange
for the company's new owners contributing $10,000 -- in his name -- to
a national campaign fund to help elect Republicans to Congress." -By
Jay Weaver-Miami/Herald
