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2006
California News History Archives
Government- Legislative
- Money
- Military
- Health
- Food
- Elderly
- Calif
- "Some
Republicans Take a Scorched-Hill Tack: Leaving Budget
Decisions To Democrats Could Disrupt New Leadership's Agenda." ... "Like
a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting
legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they
take power in Congress next month." ... "Already, the Republican leadership
has moved to saddle the new Democratic majority with responsibility for
resolving $463 billion in spending bills for the fiscal year that began
Oct. 1. And the departing chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,
Rep. Bill Thomas (R., Calif.), has been demanding that the Democrat-crafted
2008 budget absorb most of the $13 billion in costs incurred from a decision
now to protect physician reimbursements under Medicare, the federal health-care
program for the elderly and disabled." ... "The unstated goal is to disrupt
the Democratic agenda and make it harder for the new majority to meet its
promise to reinstitute "pay-as-you-go" budget rules, under which new costs
or tax cuts must be offset to protect the deficit from growing." ... "The
collapse of the appropriations process will be felt soon in the Justice
and Commerce departments, food-safety agencies and veterans' health care."
... ""It's a demonstration of the irresponsibility of Republicans that
they would leave this country with this mess," said the next House speaker,
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). "But we won, we will deal with it."" -By
David Rogers -WSJ.com
Richard
Shelby - Corporate
- Crime
- Government
- Law
- Politics
- Digital
- Technology
- Online
- Consumer
- California
- Alabama "Inside
America's Richest Insurance Racket: Title insurance
firms rake in $18 billion a year for a product that is outdated, largely
unneeded--and protected by law." ... "Parker Kennedy's roots run deep in
the California company his family founded 112 years ago. Through four generations
the clan (unrelated to the Massachusetts political dynasty) has run what
today is First American [Corporation], the largest title-insurance company
in the nation. It collects $5.8 billion a year selling this age-old mainstay
of homeownership." ... "All that cash--for an outdated product that should
have been all but wiped out by digital technology." ... "Title companies
appeared a century ago, helping to protect home buyers from being swindled
by crooks who sold properties they didn't own. A title insurance policy
protects the buyer in case the deed turns out to be defective but the seller
cannot be collared to refund the purchase price. It is far less necessary
in these days of computerized records, online searches and rare instances
of title fraud or hidden liens." ... "Yet First American and its two main
rivals--number two Fidelity National (no relation to Fidelity mutual funds)
and third-ranked LandAmerica--are fat and thriving in an $18-billion-a-year
business that has quadrupled in ten years." ... "First American has doubled
its prices in a decade, to an average charge of $1,472 per home for a title
search and insurance. Meanwhile, thanks to computerized record-keeping,
the cost of searching for a home's ownership records online has fallen
to as low as $25. Technology also has helped make mistakes rarer; now only
$74 of each policy goes to pay claims--that is, make home buyers with defective
deeds whole. That leaves a $1,373 spread for overhead and for profit."
... "Fancy this: racetracks that keep 93% of your money and return only
5% in winning tickets. They wouldn't last long, not unless they could somehow
rig the rules to both forbid price competition and make the purchase of
race bets mandatory. That's more or less what the title insurance industry
has done to American homeowners." ... "Kennedy attributes his profits to
the long housing boom and the efforts his company has made to deploy technology
and move jobs offshore. "Nobody's cutting a fat hog," he says." ... "But
the title industry's halcyon days owe much to antiquated state laws that
thwart new competition, allow prices to soar despite declining costs and
force almost every home buyer to pay for insurance that most of them will
never need. In all but a handful of states, laws bar insurance giants in
other fields, such as AIG or State Farm, from offering title insurance
and undercutting incumbents' prices. It also is illegal for anyone to offer
guarantees that provide the same protection as title insurance." ... "In
2004 the title industry stared down another threat, this one in Washington,
D.C. HUD [Housing and Urban Development] had pushed for rules that would
allow lenders to package title insurance with a mortgage, something federal
law currently forbids. The title industry, fearing the power of banks to
negotiate lower title insurance rates, was violently opposed to the rules
and found a key ally in [Alabama Republican] Senator Richard Shelby, the
Alabama Republican who is chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing &
Urban Affairs Committee--and who owns the Tuscaloosa Title Co. [Company.]
(A Shelby spokesman says the senator's attitude toward HUD's proposals
is unrelated to his sideline business.) HUD is now considering other options
for reforming the industry." ... "Yet another movement for change comes
from efforts by the nation's county recorders to agree on a uniform way
to store property records online, which could severely curtail the need
for title insurers. But even if they succeed, most state legislatures would
have to lift a thicket of creaky old laws that have enriched the title
industry for decades--and bilked home buyers out of billions of dollars."
(1, 2)
-By Scott Woolley -Forbes
Note: First
American Corp contributed $56,000 to Alabama Republican Senator Richard
Shelby (2001-2006) via -OpenSecrets.org
Ken
Calvert
- Gay
- Government
- Transportation
- Real
Estate - Money
- Law
- California
- "Running
for Their Lives." ... "Ken Calvert, a Republican
representative from California, was caught in a car with a prostitute during
his first term but, after putting out campaign literature implying that
his Democratic opponent was gay, held on to his seat. Last year Calvert
and a business partner bought a four-acre parcel of land in Riverside County
for $550,000; after securing federal funds for the expansion of a nearby
freeway interchange, along with federal money to support commercial development
in the area, they sold the property for nearly $1 million. But Democrats
say they are not running a serious challenger against Calvert, because
the seat leans strongly Republican." -By Juliet Eilperin
-TheAtlantic.com
20061014
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
20061013
Abramoff
- Doolittle
- Family
- Business
- E-Mail
- California
- Military
- "E-mail
adds fuel to the fire: It suggests Doolittle wanted
wife to work for Abramoff in 2000." ... "A day after a hot campaign debate
in which [California Republican] Rep. John Doolittle said there was nothing
unethical in his relationship with Jack Abramoff, a new e-mail surfaced
Thursday indicating he was hoping his wife could go to work for the disgraced
lobbyist as early as 2000." ... "The e-mail released Thursday was written
by Kevin Ring, an Abramoff associate and former Doolittle staffer, to his
boss. In it, Ring relates that Doolittle is "very very excited and appreciative"
about the possibility of his wife, Julie, going to work for an Abramoff
nonprofit group called Toward Tradition." ... ""JTD knows of the group
and would like to talk to you about it," the e-mail says." ... "The e-mail
suggests Doolittle was trying to get a job for his wife two years before
she ultimately took a position working for Abramoff at his law firm, Greenberg
Traurig." ... "[Democrat Charlie] Brown, a retired Air Force officer, is
seeking to unseat Doolittle, who is running for a ninth term representing
the 4th Congressional District. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the
district 48 percent to 30 percent." -By David Whitney
-SacBee.com
20061012
Abramoff
- Doolittle
- Family
- Politics
- California
- Virginia
- "Abramoff
e-mail indicates more ties with Doolittle." ... "[California
Republican] Rep. John Doolittle wanted to talk to lobbyist Jack Abramoff
in 2000 about a position for his wife Julie Doolittle at a nonprofit now
accused of doing favors for Abramoff in exchange for cash, according to
an e-mail released Thursday." ... "Doolittle has denied any wrongdoing
in his ties with Abramoff and has said he's not been contacted by prosecutors
in connection with the ongoing investigation. Among other ties, Doolittle
accepted campaign money from Abramoff, interceded on behalf of two of his
tribal clients and used Abramoff's luxury sports box for a fundraiser without
initially reporting it." ... "Julie Doolittle's company, Sierra Dominion
Financial Solutions Inc. of Oakton, Va. [Virginia], was paid $66,690 by
Abramoff's firm Greenberg Traurig from September 2002 to February 2004."
-By Erica Werner -AP
via -MercuryNews
20061011
Abramoff
- Pombo
- Money- Lawmakers
- History
- US
- Northern
Mariana Islands - Garment
- Labor
- California
- "AP
Exclusive: Records suggest Abramoff, Pombo lobbying contacts."
... "California [Republican] Rep. Richard Pombo has insisted he was never
lobbied by [Republican lobbyist] Jack Abramoff. Records show the disgraced
lobbyist billed a client for at least two contacts with Pombo a decade
ago." ... "The lobbying records released by the Northern Mariana Islands
show that Abramoff billed once for calls to Pombo, chairman of the House
Resources Committee, and a second time for a discussion with him, while
lobbying in 1996." ... "On more than two dozen other occasions from 1996
through 2001, Abramoff associates called or met with members of Pombo's
staff, including his chief of staff, the records indicate. As the contacts
picked up, Pombo voted Abramoff's way on a bill important to Abramoff's
clients." ... "The Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of 14 islands near
Guam, became a U.S. commonwealth in 1986. Residents have nonvoting citizenship
but the islands are exempt from many federal labor laws." ... "Democrats,
complaining about reported abuses at low-paying garment factories, have
sought to end those exemptions and increase the minimum wage, now $3.05
an hour. The Marianas government hired Abramoff to block such moves." ...
"On Sept. 10, 1996, Abramoff billed for a discussion with Pombo. Two days
later he gave Pombo a $500 donation, the first of what would become $7,500
in campaign contributions. Pombo has since donated the money to charity.
On Nov. 21, 1996, Abramoff reported putting in calls to Pombo and other
lawmakers." -By Erica Werner
-AP via -MercuryNews
20061002
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
20061001
Mark
Foley - Secret
- E-Mails
- IMs
- Lawmakers
- Dennis
Hastert - Thomas
Reynolds
- New
York
- Illinois
- California
- Florida
- "Dems
Slap GOP for Keeping E-Mails Secret: Democrats Slap
Republicans for Keeping E-Mail Scandal a Secret, Demand Thorough Probe."
... "House Republican leaders should have kept Democrats in the loop and
now must conduct a thorough investigation about the inappropriate e-mails
that led to [Florida Republican] Rep. Mark Foley's resignation, a top Democrat
said Sunday." ... ""This should be investigated objectively. I think the
Democratic leadership should have been told 10 months ago," said Rep. Jane
Harman of California, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
"I gather that basically nothing was done except that Foley was warned.""
... "Foley, R-Fla., quit Congress on Friday after the disclosure of the
e-mails to a teenage boy who was a former congressional page and the lawmaker's
sexually suggestive instant messages to other pages." ... "House Speaker
[Illinois Republican] Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said at first he had learned
only last week about the e-mails Foley sent to a page. Hastert later acknowledged
that aides referred the matter to the authorities last fall." ... "[New
York Republican] Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election
effort, said Saturday he told Hastert months ago about concerns Foley sent
inappropriate messages to a teenage boy. Reynolds, R-N.Y., is under attack
from Democrats who say he did too little to protect the boy." (1, 2)
-By John Heilprin -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
Mark
Foley - Computer
- E-Mail
- Messages
- Laws
- Children- Politics
- Dennis
Hastert - Illinois
- Florida
- Nevada
- California
- Louisiana
- "FBI
looking into Foley computer exchanges." ... "The
FBI is looking at whether former Florida [Republican] Rep. Mark Foley's
computer exchanges with underage House pages broke any laws, an FBI spokesman
said late Sunday." ... "Under fire from Democrats, House Speaker Dennis
Hastert [Illinois Republican] also asked Sunday that [Republican] U.S.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales - and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
- look into the case." ... "Foley, a Florida Republican, gave no reason
for leaving but said he was "deeply sorry" and resigned Friday after the
subsequent, sexually explicit instant messages were disclosed by ABC News."
... "Earlier Sunday, Democrats in both chambers, Senate Democratic leader
Harry Reid of Nevada and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California,
called for investigations." ... "Hastert's office said Saturday his office
was contacted last fall by a staff member in the office of Louisiana Republican
Rep. Rodney Alexander, where the page once worked. The boy said in an e-mail
to Alexander's office that the computer exchange with Foley "freaked him
out" and was "sick..sick..sick."" -By Lesley Clark
-McClatchy via
-MercuryNews
20060930
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
20060929
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
20060921
Government
- Housing
- Money
- Law
- Alphonso
Jackson - Calif
- "HUD
Secretary urged favoritism in awarding of contracts."
... "Top aides to Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson testified that they
and other senior staff members were advised to take political leanings
into consideration when awarding discretionary contracts, according to
an internal report issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development's
inspector general." ... "Despite Jackson's edict, there is no evidence
that "information regarding political affiliation was routinely or generally
received, maintained or applied to the contracting process; however, there
were some limited instances where political affiliation may have been a
factor in contract issues involving Jackson," the report found." ... "The
findings led Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., to call Thursday for Jackson's
resignation." ... ""If this report is accurate, Secretary Jackson should
resign immediately," Waxman said. "We must not allow taxpayer-funded contracts
to be handed out to political allies as rewards for loyalty."" -By
Christine Perez -BizJournals
20060902
California- Oregon- Arizona
- Computer
- Intel
- Jobs
- "Intel
to shed up to 20,000 jobs with AMD on its heels."
... "It will be a long holiday weekend for about 100,000 Intel Corp. employees,
with the world's largest chipmaker --facing tough competition from chief
rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. -- expected to announce as many as 20,000
job cuts next week, its largest retrenchment in two decades." ... "Chief
Executive Officer Paul Otellini, who already has begun to slash jobs and
sell businesses in response to falling sales and market share, is expected
to discuss with employees the results of a 90-day stem-to-stern review
of company operations on Tuesday via Webcast" ... "Intel has about 6,000
employees in its Santa Clara [California] headquarters and about 7,000
in Folsom. Other large West Coast operations include about 17,000 employees
in Oregon and 11,000 in Arizona." -By Jessica Guynn
-SFGate.com
20060831
California
- Air
- Law
- Climate
- Politics
- LA
- "Calif
Legislature passes bill to cut greenhouse gases."
... "The California Assembly on Thursday approved, as expected, a bill
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels by 2020."
... "The state Senate earlier in the day approved the measure, which was
forged by a compromise reached Wednesday between the legislature's Democratic
Party leadership and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger." ... "Only
one Republican assemblymember, Shirley Horton of San Diego, voted for the
measure, which passed 46-31. Not one Republican in the state Senate voted
for Assembly Bill 32, which was sponsored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez,
D-Los Angeles." -By Mark Golden
-MarketWatch
20060815
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 bureaus 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." ... "Its 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, its beginning
to spill over into some Midwestern states, like Indiana and Ohio. Its
even moving up into New England." ... "Over all, immigrants now make up
12.4 percent of the nations 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
Secret
- Reporters
- Business
- Sports
- Drugs
- San
Francisco - California
- "Reporters
must testify over Bonds leak." ... "A federal judge
told two San Francisco Chronicle [California newspaper] reporters
they must comply with a subpoena and tell a grand jury who leaked them
secret testimony of Barry Bonds and other elite athletes ensnared in the
government's steroid probe." ... "The decision by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey
White means reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada must appear
before a grand jury investigating the leak unless a higher court blocks
the ruling. The pair have said they would not testify and would go to jail
rather than reveal their source or sources." ... "The Hearst Corp., owner
of the Chronicle, argued that the reporters should be immune to testifying
because of a combination of factors, including the First Amendment." ...
"Hearst said the leak doesn't involve national security and that a lot
of good has come from the writers' reporting." -By
David Kravets -AP
via -USATODAY
Search
the case: <United States v. Fainaru-Wada, 06-90225> via <Google-[News]>
20060810
Secret
- Government
- Military
- Intelligence
- Business
- Law
- Cunningham
- California
- "'Duke'
Inquiry Cites Breakdowns: The findings could widen
the [California Republican] Cunningham scandal, a Democratic memo suggests."
... "An internal congressional investigation has found that "major breakdowns"
in legislative controls enabled former Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham
to use his position on the House Intelligence Committee to steer classified
government contracts to political cronies, according to a memo distributed
this week to Democrats on the panel." ... "The memo accuses Republicans
of backing out of an agreement to subpoena Cunningham, and calls for the
public release of a 20-page unclassified report documenting the findings
of the investigation." ... "The criminal investigation of Cunningham focused
largely on the military contracts he influenced as a member of the House
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee." ... "But the internal House probe
has found a similar pattern of abuses in contracts involving U.S. intelligence
agencies and includes language describing cases in which the disgraced
congressman pressured committee aides to set aside secret funds for his
associates, according to congressional sources familiar with the investigation."
(1, 2)
-By Greg Miller -LAtimes
DCI
- Marketing
- Oil
- Corporation
- Politics
- Global
- Climate
- Internet
- Computer- Entertainment
-
- Environment
- Al
Gore - "Al
Gore YouTube Spoof Not So Amateurish: Republican
PR [public relations] Firm Said to Be Behind 'Inconvenient Truth' Spoof."
... "A tiny little movie making fun of Al Gore, supposedly made by an amateur
filmmaker, recently appeared on the popular Web site YouTube.com." ...
"At first blush, the spoof seemed like a scrappy little homemade film poking
fun at Gore and his anti-global warming crusade." ... "The film actually
came from a slick Republican public relations firm called DCI, which just
happens to have oil giant Exxon as a client." ... "Public relations firms
have long used computer technology to create bogus grassroots campaigns,
which are called "Astroturf."" ... "Now these firms are being hired to
push illusions on the Internet to create the false impression of real people
blogging, e-mailing and making films. " (1, 2)
-By Jake Tapper and Max Culhane
-ABCNEWS.com
DCI
- Marketing
- Psychology
- Oil
- Corporation
- Politics
- Opinion
- Internet
- Video
- California
- Entertainment
- Media
- Search
Engine - Computer
- Communications
- EMail
- Environmental
- Science
- Global
- Climate
- Al
Gore - "Where
did that video spoofing Gore's film come from?" ...
"Everyone knows Al Gore stars in the global warming documentary "An Inconvenient
Truth." But who created "Al Gore's Penguin Army," a two-minute video now
playing on YouTube.com?" ... "Like other videos on the popular YouTube
site, it has a home-made, humorous quality. The video's maker is listed
as "Toutsmith," a 29-year-old who identifies himself as being from Beverly
Hills [California] in an Internet profile." ... "In an email exchange with
The Wall Street Journal, Toutsmith didn't answer when asked who he was
or why he made the video, which has just over 59,000 views on YouTube.
However, computer routing information contained in an email sent from Toutsmith's
Yahoo account indicate it didn't come from an amateur working out of his
basement." ... "Instead, the email originated from a computer registered
to DCI Group, a Washington, D.C., public relations and lobbying firm whose
clients include oil company Exxon Mobil Corp [Corporation]." ... "The anti-Gore
video represents a less well-known side of YouTube. As its popularity has
exploded, the public video-sharing site has drawn marketers looking to
build buzz for new music releases and summer blockbusters. Now, it's being
tapped by political operatives, public relations experts and ad agencies
to sway opinions." ... "DCI is no stranger to the debate over global warming.
Partly through Tech Central Station, an opinion Web site it operates, DCI
has sought to raise doubts about the science of global warming and about
Mr. Gore's film, placing skeptical scientists on talk-radio shows and paying
them to write editorials." ... "Internet videos could prove particularly
potent, because they may influence watchers in ways they don't realize.
Nancy Snow, a communications professor at California State University,
Fullerton, viewed the penguin video and calls it a lesson in "Propaganda
101." It contains no factual information, but presents a highly negative
image of the former vice president, she says. The purpose of such images
is to harden the views of those who already view Mr. Gore negatively, Dr.
Snow says." ... "Traffic to the penguin video, first posted on YouTube.com
in May, got a boost from prominently placed sponsored links that appeared
on the Google search engine when users typed in "Al Gore" or "Global Warming."
The ads, which didn't indicate who had paid for them, were removed shortly
after The Wall Street Journal contacted DCI Group on Tuesday." -By
Antonio Regalado and Dionne Searcey with contributions by Jeffrey Ball
-WSJ.com via -Post-Gazette.com
20060728
California
- Elderly
- Disaster
- Energy
- Food
- Work
- Water
- Animal- Oregon
- Wildfire
- "At
least 132 deaths likely linked to heat Calif. heat wave."
... "At least 132 deaths, mostly elderly residents, were likely linked
to a nearly two-week heat wave in California, county coroner's offices
reported Friday." ... "Both Northern and Southern California had been gripped
by triple-digit temperatures since July 16, with the Central Valley suffering
the most with temperatures as high as 115." ... "Before this week, the
utility's highest peak energy use was recorded at 5,661 megawatts. The
heat wave created a demand of 6,165 megawatts shocking officials who
predicted usage wouldn't top 6,100 megawatts for another four years." ...
"In Northern California, a wildfire near the Oregon state line was threatening
major power transmission lines between California and the Pacific Northwest."
... "Farmers have been struggling as well, trying get work crews into the
fields in the early mornings to avoid the worst of the heat and running
water misters to keep cattle from dying. Vegetables, fruit and even wine
grapes could be affected." -By Olivia Munoz
-AP via -SFGate.com
20060723
Randy
Cunningham
- Secret
- Government
- Political
- Business
- Legislation
- California
- "Study:
Ex-Rep. Made Use of 'Black' Budgets: Study: Cunningham
Slipped Items Into Classified Bills That Benefited Him, His Associates."
... "An independent investigation has found that imprisoned former [California
Republican] Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took advantage of secrecy and
badgered congressional aides to help slip items into classified bills that
would benefit him and his associates." ... "The finding comes from Michael
Stern, an outside investigator hired by the House Intelligence Committee
to look into how Cunningham was able to carry out the scheme. Stern is
working with the committee to fix vulnerabilities in the way top-secret
legislation is written, said congressional officials who spoke on condition
of anonymity because the committee still is being briefed on Stern's findings."
... "Cunningham's case has put a stark spotlight on the oversight of classified
or "black" budgets. Unlike legislation dealing with social and economic
issues, intelligence bills and parts of defense bills are written in private,
in the name of national security." ... "Federal prosecutors found that
Cunningham accepted $2.4 million in bribes, including payments for a mansion,
a Rolls-Royce and a 65-foot yacht, in return for steering defense and intelligence
contracts to certain companies. Cunningham pleaded guilty and was sentenced
to more than eight years in prison." (1, 2,
3)
-By Katherine Shrader
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
20060626
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Calif
- Mich
- "Democrats
Cite Report On Troop Cuts in Iraq: Pentagon Plan
Like Theirs, Senators Say." ... "Senate Democrats reacted angrily yesterday
to a report that the U.S. commander in Iraq had privately presented a plan
for significant troop reductions in the same week they came under attack
by Republicans for trying to set a timetable for withdrawal." ... "Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that the plan attributed to Gen. George W.
Casey resembles the thinking of many Democrats who voted for a nonbinding
resolution to begin a troop drawdown in December. That resolution was defeated
Thursday on a largely party-line vote in the Senate." ... ""That means
the only people who have fought us and fought us against the timetable,
the only ones still saying there shouldn't be a timetable really are the
Republicans in the United States Senate and in the Congress," Boxer said
on CBS's "Face the Nation." "Now it turns out we're in sync with General
Casey."" ... "Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), one of the two sponsors of the
nonbinding resolution, which offered no pace or completion date for a withdrawal,
said the report is another sign of what he termed one of the "worst-kept
secrets in town" -- that the administration intends to pull out troops
before the midterm elections in November." -By Michael
Abramowitz and Thomas E. Ricks -WashingtonPost
20060622
Lawmakers
- Government
- Transportation
- Money
- Dennis
Hastert - Real
Estate - Illinois
- California
- "Lawmakers'
Profits Are Scrutinized: Hastert and Others Defend
Land Gains." ... "House Speaker [Illinois Republican] J. Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill.) made a $2 million profit last year on the sale of land 5 1/2 miles
from a highway project that he helped to finance with targeted federal
funds." ... "A Republican House member from California, meanwhile, received
nearly double what he paid for a four-acre parcel near an Air Force base
after securing $8 million for a planned freeway interchange 16 miles away.
And another California GOP congressman obtained funding in last year's
highway bill for street improvements near a planned residential and commercial
development that he co-owns." ... "In all three cases, Hastert and Reps.
Ken Calvert [California Republican] and Gary Miller [California Republican]
say that they were securing funds their home districts wanted badly, and
that in no way did the earmarks have any impact on the land values of their
investments. But for watchdog groups, the cases have opened a fresh avenue
for investigation and a new wrinkle in the ongoing controversy over earmarks
-- home-district projects funded through narrowly written legislative language."
(1, 2)
-By Jonathan Weisman -WashingtonPost
20060601
Reporters
- Law
Enforcement - Politics
- Sports
- Drugs
- San
Francisco - California
- "Justice
Dept. Is Criticized by Ex-Official on Subpoenas."
... "Subpoenas issued last month to reporters for The San Francisco Chronicle
were criticized yesterday by a former chief spokesman for Attorney General
John Ashcroft as a "reckless abuse of power."" ... "The former spokesman,
Mark Corallo, made similar statements in an affidavit filed in federal
court yesterday. He said Mr. Ashcroft's successor, Alberto R. Gonzales,
had acted improperly in issuing the subpoenas." ... ""This is the most
reckless abuse of power I have seen in years," Mr. Corallo said in an interview.
"They really should be ashamed of themselves."" ... "The subpoenas, part
of an effort to identify The Chronicle's sources for its coverage of steroid
use in baseball, would not have been authorized by Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Corallo
said. "You just don't ride roughshod over the rights of reporters to gather
information from confidential sources," he added." -By
Adam Liptak -NYTimes
20060530
Government
- Employees
- Law
- Los
Angeles - California
- Samuel
Alito
- John
Roberts
- Antonin
Scalia
- "Justices
Set Limits on Public Employees' Speech Rights." ...
"The Supreme Court declared today, in a ruling affecting millions of government
employees, that the Constitution does not always protect their free-speech
rights for what they say on the job." ... "In a 5-to-4 decision, the court
held that public employees' free-speech rights are protected when they
speak out as citizens on matters of public concern, but not when they speak
out in the course of their official duties." ... "Today's ruling, involving
a deputy Los Angeles [California] district attorney who contended that
he had been denied a promotion for challenging the legitimacy of a search
warrant, came in a case that has been closely watched not just by public
workers but by those who have worried that it could discourage internal
whistle-blowers from speaking up about government misconduct and inefficiency."
... ""We hold that when public employees make statements pursuant to their
official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment
purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from
employer discipline," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court."
... "The court's newest justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr., was in the majority
as were Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas." -By David Stout
-NYTimes
Political
- Hacking
- Technology
- Business- Voting
Machine Risks - Utah- California
- Pennsylvania
- "Debating
the Bugs of High-Tech Voting: Test of Software in
Machines Renews Security Concerns." ... "A coalition of voting rights activists
and prominent computer scientists argues that some of the machines are
not sufficiently secure against tampering and could result in disputed
elections, while voting machine vendors and many election officials say
that view is exaggerated." ... "The latest dispute occurred several weeks
ago after it was discovered at a test in Utah that someone with a reasonable
knowledge of computer code could gain access to and tamper with the system
software on a popular brand of voting machine manufactured by Diebold Election
Systems. The developments prompted California and Pennsylvania to send
urgent warnings to counties that use Diebold's touch-screen voting systems
to take additional steps to secure them." ... "In California, David Jefferson,
a computer scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who consults
with the state on its elections, said he was "stunned when he found out"
about the vulnerability identified in the Utah test and agreed with the
"frequently expressed opinion that this is the worst vulnerability that
we have ever seen."" -By Zachary A. Goldfarb
-WashingtonPost
20060518
US
- Memorial
Day - Military
- Homeless- Poverty
- Health
- Government
- Money
- Politics
- Iraq
- Calif.
- "Number
of Homeless Vets Called a 'Disgrace': A Third of
Homeless Men in the U.S. Have Served in the Military." ... "One of every
three homeless males in the United States is a veteran, and each night
as many as 200,000 men and women veterans go to sleep with no place to
call home, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs." ... "With
Memorial Day approaching, Democratic members of the House Veterans Affairs
Committee held a forum on homeless veterans." ... "Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.,
who chaired the forum, was blunt. "It's a disgrace that we let any of our
vets get in this position. If we spend a billion dollars every 2½
days in Iraq, we can spend a lot more for those who have served us but
will be out on the streets tonight."" ... "According to recent statistics,
the VA provided health care services to more than 100,000 homeless veterans
in 2004, and the agency spent more than $1 billion to assist tens of thousands
of homeless and at-risk veterans." (1, 2)
-By Dean Norland -ABCNEWS.com
Kyle
"Dusty" Foggo
- Randy
"Duke" Cunningham
- Brent
Wilkes - Intelligence
- Law
- Money
- Politics
- San
Diego - California
- Virginia
- "FBI
searches home of ex-CIA official: The FBI searched
the home and office of former CIA Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo
on Friday, the CIA said." ... "Foggo, who was the spy agency's third-ranking
official, is part of a broad law enforcement investigation into allegations
of corruption, according to officials familiar with the probe." ... "The
Associated Press reported that Foggo has been under investigation by the
FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service,
the CIA's inspector general and the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego,
California, according to FBI spokeswoman April Langwell in San Diego. Langwell
told the AP that officials -- under a sealed warrant -- searched Foggo's
Virginia home and his office at the CIA's Langley, Virginia, campus." ...
"Foggo, who resigned this week from his job overseeing day-to-day CIA operations,
is under investigation over his ties to a defense contractor linked to
the bribery case against former [California Republican Representative]
U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-California." ... "The investigations
stem from Foggo's relationship with defense contractor Brent Wilkes." ...
"After reports surfaced last week alleging Wilkes provided Cunningham with
limousines and prostitutes at two Washington hotels, Foggo said he had
attended poker parties thrown by Wilkes there." -Contributed
to by Kevin Bohn and John Roberts -CNN
Noteworthy
- Voting
Machines - Science
- Hacker
- Politics
- Business
- 2006
Election - 2008
Election - Pennsylvania
- California
- Iowa
- "New
Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems."
... "With primary election dates fast approaching in many states, officials
in Pennsylvania and California issued urgent directives in recent days
about a potential security risk in their Diebold Election Systems touch-screen
voting machines, while other states with similar equipment hurried to assess
the seriousness of the problem." ... ""It's the most severe security flaw
ever discovered in a voting system," said Michael I. Shamos, a professor
of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who is an examiner of
electronic voting systems for Pennsylvania, where the primary is to take
place on Tuesday." ... ""This is the barn door being wide open, while people
were arguing over the lock on the front door," said Douglas W. Jones, a
professor of computer science at the University of Iowa, a state where
the primary is June 6." ... "The new concerns about Diebold's equipment
were discovered by Harri Hursti, a Finnish computer expert who was working
at the request of Black Box Voting Inc., a nonprofit group that has been
critical of electronic voting in the past." ... "Aviel Rubin, a professor
of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, did the first in-depth
analysis of the security flaws in the source code for Diebold touch-screen
machines in 2003. After studying the latest problem, he said: "I almost
had a heart attack. The implications of this are pretty astounding."" -By
Monica Davey with contributions by Gretchen Ruethling and John Schwartz
-NYTimes
20060511
Secret
- Government
- Terrorism
- Telephone
- Database- Intelligence
- Law
- Civil
Liberties - Politics
- California
- Russ
Feingold- Wisconsin
- "Bush
Says U.S. Spying Is Not Widespread." ... "President
Bush today denied that the government is "mining or trolling through the
personal lives of innocent Americans," as Democrats expressed outrage over
a news report describing a National Security Agency program that has collected
vast amounts of telephone records." ... "He [Bush] said all intelligence
work was conducted "within the law" and that domestic conversations were
not listened to without a court warrant." ... ""The privacy of all Americans
is fiercely protected in all our activities," he said. "Our efforts are
focused on Al Qaeda and their known associates."" ... "But Democrats reacted
angrily to the USA Today article and its description of the program's vast
size, including an assertion by one unnamed source that its goal was the
creation of a database of every phone call ever made within the United
States' borders." ... "Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat
who is a member of the Intelligence Committee as well as the Judiciary
Committee, appeared to confirm at least the gist of the article, while
stressing that what was under discussion was not wiretapping. "It's fair
to say that what is in the news this morning is not content collection,"
she said." ... "Even so, she warned, "I happen to believe that we are on
our way to a major Constitutional confrontation on the Fourth Amendment
guarantees over unreasonable search and seizure."" ... "Senator Russell
D. Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who is also on both the judiciary and
intelligence panels, expressed dismay over what he termed the administration's
"arrogance and abuse of power." He said the United States can fight terrorism
and still protect privacy, "but only if we have a president who believes
in these principles."" (1, 2)
-By John O'Neil -NYTimes
20060512
Privacy
- Opinion
- Secret
- Military
- Government
- Intelligence
- Phone
- Database- Civil
Liberties - San
Francisco - California
- "Breaking
the Law? A privacy advocate explains why Americans
should care about the NSA's database of phone records." ... "Domestic spying
or national security? The debate over whether the government is poking
too closely into Americans' lives was inflamed this week following reports
that the National Security Agency (NSA) is creating a massive database
of millions of phone records-and that three major telecom companies have
cooperated in the effort. For privacy advocates like the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF), a [California] San Francisco-based nonprofit, the answer
is clear: the NSA is spying on Americans. And, according to EFF, it is
illegal for telecom companies to supply customer calling details to the
NSA unless they follow established legal procedures to obtain a warrant."
... "If the EFF has its way, the onus may soon be on the federal government
to prove that its requests to the telecom companies were legal. In January
of this year, the group filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T for
"allowing and assisting" the NSA's "illegal wiretapping and data-mining."
The Department of Justice has already stepped in, indicating April 28 that
it intends to seek dismissal of the case by asserting the "military and
state secrets privilege." With recent allegations in USA Today that Verizon
and BellSouth also covertly provided information about domestic phone calls
to the federal government, the progress of EFF's suit will be scrutinized
by civil libertarians and other privacy advocates. A hearing to determine
the court schedule for this case will be held May 17." (1, 2)
-By Susanna Schrobsdorff -MSNBC/Newsweek
Intelligence
- Porter
Goss - Randy
Cunningham
- California
- Military
- Business
- Politics
- Law
- "Law
Enforcement Searches Exiting CIA Deputy's Home."
... "CIA and FBI officers today searched the home and former office of
the recently retired third-ranking official at the CIA, who is under investigation
for his ties to a defense contractor linked to the bribery scandal that
has landed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-San Diego [California])
in jail." ... "Kyle "Dusty" Foggo resigned as CIA executive director Monday.
He had been a top aide to CIA Director Porter J. Goss, who was forced to
resign the previous Friday." ... "A CIA spokeswoman said Foggo's legal
troubles had "absolutely nothing" to do with Goss' decision to resign."
... "They have been investigating whether Foggo played an improper role
in the awarding of defense contracts to Brent Wilkes, a personal friend
and San Diego businessman who has been implicated in the bribery scandal
involving Cunningham." -By Richard Schmitt
-LAtimes
20060511
Oil
- Business
- College
- 2006
Election - Calif- NY
- "Senate
votes to extend $70 billion in tax cuts." ... "The
Senate voted Thursday to extend $70 billion in tax cuts but heatedly clashed
over whether the plan would continue to boost the economy and create jobs
or would penalize middle-income families in favor of the wealthy and big
oil conglomerates." ... "Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., noted that a person
who earns more than $1 million a year would get a tax break worth $41,977."
... ""Well, you might say, `What does someone who earns $41,000 get back?'
$46. Not even enough to fill up your gas tank in some cases," she said.
"Whose side is the Senate on?"" ... "Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the
chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, noted that Republicans
decided to drop a provision allowing Americans to deduct up to $4,000 in
college tuition costs worth $4.5 billion." ... "Instead, Schumer pointed
out, Republicans included a tax break for oil companies worth $4.3 billion
despite the industry's record profits." ... ""The choice is stark and clear
- big oil or middle-class families," Schumer said. "The Republican Congress
chose big oil and that's why voters want change."" -By
Jill Zuckman with contributions by William Neikirk-ChicagoTribune
via -MercuryNews
20060426
Animal
- Psychology
- Science
- California
- "Songbirds
can sing, but can they learn grammar?" ... "The simplest
grammar, long thought to be one of the skills that separate man from beast,
can be taught to a common songbird, new research suggests." ... "Starlings
learned to differentiate between a regular birdsong "sentence" and one
containing a clause or another sentence of warbling, according to a study
in Thursday's journal Nature. It took University of California at San Diego
psychology researcher Tim Gentner a month and about 15,000 training attempts,
with food as a reward, to get the birds to recognize the most basic of
grammar in their own bird language." ... "Yet what they learned may shake
up the field of linguistics." -AP
via -USATODAY
20060425
Oil
- Companies
- Law
- California
- "Calif.
Assembly Committee OKs Oil Tax Bill." ... "A bill
that would slap a windfall profits tax on California oil producers was
approved by a state Assembly committee as gasoline prices surged past $3
a gallon." ... "The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Johan Klehs, a Democrat,
accused oil companies of taking advantage of the Gulf Coast devastation
caused last year by hurricanes Katrina and Rita." -By
Steve Lawrence -AP
via -SFGate.com
United
States - Mexico
- US
Immigration - Labor
- Law
- California
- "President
gets tepid welcome on GOP turf: Immigration policies
vigorously opposed." ... "President Bush, aiming to shore up sagging support
in a Republican bastion, came for a heart-to-heart talk on immigration
Monday, acknowledging that some were puzzled by his choice of Orange County
[California] -- the heart of an area opposed to his immigration policies."
... "But even as he spoke, the breadth of the president's political problems
on immigration was evident in Orange County -- a longtime GOP stronghold
that is being transformed by a vast influx of immigrant laborers, mostly
from Mexico. From Republican-dominated Newport Beach to Democratic-leaning
Santa Ana, interviews found few supporters for Bush's positions." ... "The
president's conservative base is angry with his support for a guest-worker
program, which would increase the number of temporary visas for those with
jobs in the United States, while many Latino groups argue he hasn't stopped
the effort in his party to criminalize illegal immigration." -By
Carla Marinucci -SFGate.com
20060424
Secret
- Government
- Intelligence
- Noteworthy
- Reporters- Calif.
- Massachusetts
- "Democrats
Suggest Double Standard on Leaks: White House Aides'
Actions Are Cited." ... "Key Democratic legislators yesterday joined Republicans
in saying they do not condone the alleged leaking of classified information
that led to last week's firing of a veteran CIA officer. But they questioned
whether a double standard exists that lets the White House give reporters
secretly declassified information for political purposes." ... ""I don't
know this woman, and I do not condone leaks of classified information,"
said Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, referring to the firing of Mary McCarthy."
... "Harman added that "while leaks are wrong, I think it is totally wrong
for our president in secret to selectively declassify certain information
and empower people in his White House to leak it to favored reporters so
that they can discredit political enemies," she said on Fox News Sunday."
... "Then drawing a parallel to the Plame case, [on ABC's "This Week,"
Massachusettes Senator John] Kerry said that with McCarthy, "you have somebody
being fired from the CIA for allegedly telling the truth, and you have
no one fired from the White House for revealing a CIA agent in order to
support a lie. That underscores what's really wrong in Washington, D.C.""
-By Walter Pincus -WashingtonPost
Pete
Sessions - Jack
Abramoff - John
Ashcroft - Gale
Norton - Dana
Rohrabacher - Curt
Weldon - Tony
Rudy - Michael
Scanlon - Money
- Politics
- Law
- Military
- Technology
- TX
- San
Francisco - CA
- Louisiana
- NY
- PA
- US
- Malaysia "CREW
Files DOJ Complaint Against Texas Rep. Pete Sessions."
... "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today
filed a Department of Justice (DOJ) complaint against [Texas Republican
Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX [Republican-Texas]) for official
actions he may have taken on behalf of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff,
as well as possible bribes he may have accepted from a San Francisco [California]
defense technology company. The complaint asks for the DOJ to immediately
begin an investigation into Rep. Sessions." ... "Abramoff Ties"
... "CREWs complaint alleges that Rep. Sessions co-signed two letters,
one to former Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001 and another to former
Interior Secretary Gale Norton in 2002, which benefitted Mr. Abramoffs
client, the Louisiana Coushatta. One month after his 2002 letter was sent,
Rep. Sessions political action committee, PETE PAC, received $3,500 from
the Louisiana Coushatta and another $3,500 from other tribes with casinos.
Within 18 months, PETE PAC received $20,500 from tribes associated with
Abramoff." ... "Rep. Sessions also traveled to Malaysia on an Abramoff-arranged
trip with indicted public relations executive Michael Scanlon, two lobbyists
from Abramoffs firm Greenberg Traurig, one of which, Tony Rudy has been
indicted, and two other Members of Congress, [California Republican Representative]
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA [Republican-California]) and [New York Democratic
Representative] Gregory Meeks (D-NY [Democratic-New York]). Prior to the
trip, Rep. Sessions had shown no public interest in Malaysia, but four
months after the trip, Rep. Sessions became an advocate for Malaysia by
forming the Malaysia Trade, Security and Economic Cooperation in the House
with trip-mate Rep. Meeks." ... "Promia Ties" ... "Additionally,
Rep. Sessions promoted the interests of Promia, a firm based in San Francisco
that hired Sessions former communications director, Adrian Plesha, as
vice president and director of its Washington office. Mr. Plesha pleaded
guilty to felony charges related to FEC [Federal Election Commission] offences
shortly after he began working for Promia." ... "Promia was able to garner
a nearly $800,000 Navy research and development contract in May, 2000 and
Rep. Sessions, along with [Pennsylvania Republican Representative] Rep.
Curt Weldon (R-PA [Republican-Pennsylvania ]), publicly worked to get an
additional $8 million for Promia through a Department of Defense grant."
... "In October 2000, the same month that Promia received $2 million from
Trautman Wasserman & Co., a New York venture capital firm, Rep. Sessions
received the maximum allowed $1,000 each, from eight Promia executives
for his re-election campaign. In 2002, Promia gave $30,000 to PETE PAC.
In total Promia and its executives have contributed nearly $55,000 to Rep.
Sessions since 2000 by far the largest contribution Promia has made to
any Member of Congress." ... "Why would Rep. Sessions, who represents
a northern Texas district, work so hard for and receive so much cash from
a San Francisco firm? Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW asked
today. The Department of Justice should open a criminal investigation
to determine whether the campaign contributions Rep. Sessions received
from Abramoff, the tribes and from Promia executives were a quid pro quo
for official actions." -CitizensForEthics.org
20060412
California
- Randy
Cunningham - Law
- "Republican
race for Cunningham's seat remains up in the air."
... "The Republican Party's choice to replace jailed former [Republican]
Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham remained up in the air Wednesday, with the
two leading candidates separated by less than 900 votes and neither side
claiming outright victory." ... "The Republican nominee will face a June
runoff against Democrat Francine Busby, who advanced easily with 44 percent
of the vote to lead all 18 candidates on the ballot. The winner of the
June runoff will finish the final eight months of Cunningham's term - and
immediately begin campaigning for November." ... "Cunningham represented
the wealthy coastal district for 12 years before he resigned in disgrace
late last year. He was sentenced in March to more than eight years in prison
for accepting $2.4 million in bribes." -By Allison
Hoffman -AP
via -MercuryNews
20060410
US
Immigration - Law
- Economics
- Workers
- Civil
Righs - GA
- PA
- KS
- CA- TX
- FL
- "U.S.
Immigration Protests Fill Streets, Seek Reforms (Update5)."
... "Protesters waving American flags and shouting their support for looser
immigration laws took to U.S. streets by the hundreds of thousands today,
keeping the heat on congressmen who will reconsider the issue in two weeks."
... "The marches, coupled with scattered business boycotts designed to
demonstrate immigrant economic power, blocked traffic for blocks in cities
ranging from Atlanta [GA] and Philadelphia [PA] to Garden City, Kansas."
... "The National Capital Immigrant Coalition of Washington, an organizer
of the marches, said on its Web site the protests were to pressure Congress
for citizenship for an estimated 11 million people, plus workplace and
civil rights protections. ``Si, se puede'' (``Yes, we can'') was the rallying
cry in Washington [DC] and San Francisco [CA]." ... "On Sunday, more than
half a million people turned out for protests in Dallas [TX], Miami [FL]
and other cities in 10 states." -By Shannon D. Harrington
-Bloomberg
20060407
Terrorism
- Government
- Telephone
- Privacy
- Law
- Politics
- Calif.
- "Warrantless
Wiretaps Possible in U.S.." ... "Attorney General
Alberto R. Gonzales left open the possibility yesterday that President
Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely
within the United States -- a move that would dramatically expand the reach
of a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program." ...
"In response to a question from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during an appearance
before the House Judiciary Committee, Gonzales suggested that the administration
could decide it was legal to listen in on a domestic call without supervision
if it were related to al-Qaeda." ... ""I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales
said." ... "In yesterday's testimony, Gonzales reiterated earlier hints
that there may be another facet to the NSA program that has not been revealed
publicly, or even another program that has prompted dissension within the
government. While" -By Dan Eggen
-WashingtonPost
20060330
US
- Mexico
- US
Immigration - Law
- Food
- Business
- Workers
- Prisoners
- California
- Iowa
- "'Let
The Prisoners Pick The Fruits'." ... "The debate
over immigration reform is causing a major split within the Republican
Party." ... "On Thursday, House conservatives criticized President Bush,
accused the Senate of fouling the air, said prisoners rather than illegal
farm workers should pick America's crops and denounced the use of Mexican
flags by protesters in a vehement attack on legislation to liberalize U.S.
immigration laws." ... ""I say let the prisoners pick the fruits," said
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, one of more than a dozen Republicans
who took turns condemning a Senate bill that offers an estimated 11 million
illegal immigrants an opportunity for citizenship." ... ""Anybody that
votes for an amnesty bill deserves to be branded with a scarlet letter
A," said [Republican] Rep. Steve King of Iowa, referring to a guest worker
provision in the Senate measure." (1, 2)
-AP
-CBSNews
US
- Iraq
- Turkey
- California
- 2006
Election - Terrorism
- Web
- Photo
- Media
- "Candidate
admits 'stupid' Web error: Conservative [Republican
Howard Kaloogian] uses photo of Turkey, calls it Baghdad." ... "A leading
conservative California congressional candidate who has made support for
the war in Iraq a central issue acknowledged Wednesday that a campaign
Web site photo -- billed as a peaceful street scene taken during his recent
trip to Baghdad [Iraq] -- was actually photographed in Turkey." ... "The
campaign posted the photo from Kaloogian's July trip to Iraq, a mission
dubbed the "Truth Tour" and organized to "tell the American people about
the accomplishments (troops) are making in Operation Iraqi Freedom and
the fight against terrorism,'' according to the tax-exempt group Move America
Forward, a conservative grassroots organization Kaloogian helped found."
... "The caption read that "we took this photo of downtown Baghdad while
we were in Iraq'' which is "much more calm and stable than what many people
believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring
in the country and screams and shouts about it -- in part because many
journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism.''" ... "But
bloggers on the popular liberal Daily Kos Web site revealed the photo depicted
a street scene in Turkey." -By Carla Marinucci
-SFGate.com
US
- Iraq
- Turkey- California
- 2006
Election - Web
- Photo
- Media
- "Photo
by candidate not taken in Baghdad." ... "For weeks,
[California Republican Howard] Kaloogian's campaign Web site featured a
photo of a peaceful city block to help make his case that things are going
well in Iraq." ... "We took this photo of Baghdad while we were in Iraq,
the caption accompanying the photo read. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much
more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be." ... "There
was one problem with the photo. It wasn't Baghdad. It was a suburb of Istanbul,
Turkey. " ... "Kaloogian's explanation that it was an innocent mix-up isn't
being bought by bloggers across the nation who uncovered the bogus photo."
... "Some of them believe he's guilty of what he's accused the mainstream
media of doing: slanting the news to fit his own beliefs." -By
Bill Ainsworth -SignOnSanDiego.com
20060328
US
Immigration - Law
- Politics
- Language
- Los
Angeles - California
- Media-
"How
DJs Put 500,000 Marchers in Motion." ... "He's one
of the hottest Spanish-language radio personalities in the nation. So when
Los Angeles deejay Eddie Sotelo joined hands with his radio rivals to urge
listeners to turn out for a pro-immigrant rally in downtown Los Angeles
[California] on Saturday, organizers hoped for a big turnout." ... "But
many said Monday that they were stunned by how many responded to the call
to march against federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented
immigrants and penalize those who assist them." ... "As a result, what
was initially expected to draw fewer than 20,000 ballooned into a massive
march that police estimated at 500,000 and said was one of the largest
demonstrations in Los Angeles' history." ... "The deejays did more than
publicize the march. Working with the organizers, they also helped develop
some ground rules: Marchers had to be peaceful and clean up after themselves."
... "They were also encouraged to wave American flags." (1, 2)
-By Teresa Watanabe and Hector Becerra with contributions
by Scott Martelle -LAtimes
20060326
US
Immigration - Labor
- Religious
- Civil
Righs - Law
- Los
Angeles - California
- "500,000
Pack Streets to Protest Immigration Bills: The rally,
part
of a massive mobilization of immigrants and their supporters, may be the
largest L.A. has seen." ... "A crowd estimated by police at more than 500,000
boisterously marched in Los Angeles on Saturday to protest federal legislation
that would crack down on undocumented immigrants, penalize those who help
them and build a security wall along the U.S.' southern border." ... "Spirited
but peaceful marchers ordinary immigrants alongside labor, religious
and civil rights groups stretched more than 20 blocks along Spring Street,
Broadway and Main Street to City Hall, tooting kazoos, waving American
flags and chanting, "Sí se puede!" (Yes we can!)." ... "At a time
when Congress prepares to crack down further on illegal immigration and
self-appointed militias patrol the U.S. border to stem the flow, Saturday's
rally represented a massive response, part of what immigration advocates
are calling an unprecedented effort to mobilize immigrants and their supporters
nationwide." (1, 2)
-By Teresa Watanabe and Hector Becerra
-LAtimes
20060325
Terrorism
- Military
- Politics
- Advertising
- San
Francisco - California
- "Evangelical
teens rally in S.F.." ... "More than 25,000 evangelical
Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco [California] for a two-day
rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture,
and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of
protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally.""
... ""This is more than a spiritual war," [Leader Ron] Luce said. "It's
a culture war."" ... "Military metaphors abound in Luce's descriptions
of the struggle. He tells young people of how "an enemy has launched a
brutal attack on them." At a pre-Battle Cry rally Friday afternoon on the
steps of City Hall, Luce told his mostly teenage audience that "terrorists
of a different kind" -- advertisers -- were targeting them and that they
were "caught in the middle of the battle."" ... ""Are you ready to go to
battle for your generation?" he asked, and the young people roared "yes!"
and some waved triangular red flags flown from long, medieval-looking poles."
-By Joe Garofoli -SFGate.com
20060311
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
20060308
Business
- California
- New
York
- "For
Trader Joe's, a New York Taste Test." ... "Long before
Trader Joe's went national, its inexpensive but unusual products things
like wild blueberry juice, Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil and frozen chicken-lemon
grass spring rolls inspired an intense following among American food
lovers, rarely seen in the aisles of a supermarket." ... "The Polynesian-themed
chain was established by Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Calif., in the 1960's,
in an attempt to rescue his convenience stores after 7-Eleven came to town.
"We decided to go in the other direction to appeal to people who are
well-educated, well-traveled and underpaid," Mr. Coulombe said. (He sold
his final interest in the company in 1989, but many of his innovations
are still in place.)" ... "The chain's expansion is of recent vintage:
the first store outside California opened in 1993. Today, each of the 250
stores still carries only about 3,000 items (a large supermarket will stock
55,000 or more), in proportions that invert the industry norm: a tiny selection
of canned soup, for example, but case after case of French ice cream confections
and frozen Indian entrees. About 80 percent of the items carry the Trader
Joe's label, many imported from small producers in Europe and Asia, and
all free of artificial colors, preservatives, flavors and MSG." (1, 2,
3)
-By Julia Moskin -NYTimes
20060307
Montana
- Consumer
- Market
- Politics
- California
- "Deregulation
Has Stung Montanans: The state went from having some
of the lowest electricity rates to among the highest in the region. Efforts
to undo the effects face hurdles." ... "Almost a decade after the utility
deregulation fad swept through Montana, state is learning the hard way
it isn't easy to rebuild the broken pieces of a stable, publicly regulated
utility once it's gone." ... "California got all the headlines for its
post-deregulation fiasco in 2000-01 that was topped by energy market manipulation,
but it's Montana that some point to as the poster child for deregulation
gone awry. Montana was seen as the only low-cost energy state talked into
deregulation." ... "Along the way, Montana went from having some of the
lowest electricity prices in the country to having among the highest in
the region." (1, 2)
-By Matt Gouras -AP
via -LAtimes
Mitchell
J Wade - Randy
"Duke" Cunningham - Katherine
Harris - Virgil
H Goode Jr - Criminal
- Money
- Politics
- Election
- Illegal
- Government
- Military
- Intelligence
- MZM
- Calif
- Va
- Fla
- "Contractor
Pleads Guilty to Corruption: Probe Extends Beyond
Bribes to Congressman." ... "Washington defense contractor Mitchell J.
Wade admitted yesterday in federal court that he attempted to illegally
influence Defense Department contracting officials and tried to curry favor
with two House members, in addition to lavishing more than $1 million in
cash, cars, a boat, antiques and other bribes on convicted [California
Republican Representative] Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif. [Republican-California])."
... "The new admissions, including details that identify [Republican Representatives]
Reps. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia]) and Katherine Harris
(R-Fla. [Republican-Florida]) as recipients of illegal campaign contributions,
are contained in Wade's agreement to plead guilty to four criminal charges
stemming from his role in the Cunningham probe. The congressman resigned
after pleading guilty in November to taking $2.4 million in bribes from
Wade and others in return for steering federal funds and contracts their
way." ... "The court filings indicated a new direction for the corruption
inquiry, as Wade pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge that he also provided
benefits to an unnamed Defense official and other Defense employees to
get them to help Wade's company, MZM Inc." ... "The description of the
official-turned-MZM-employee in the court papers matches Robert Fromm,
who worked at the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville
[Virginia] as program manager for a computer project known as FIRES and
subsequently went to work for MZM." ... "Wade also pleaded guilty to election
law fraud for making nearly $80,000 in illegal campaign contributions to
"Representatives A and B," who are identifiable as Goode and Harris." ...
"The congressman identifiable as Goode received $46,000 in such disguised
contributions in 2003 and 2005, the court papers said. That was part of
about $90,000 Wade and his workers contributed to Goode. Wade then asked
the member to request appropriations for an MZM facility in his district,
the Wade papers said, and a Goode staff member confirmed to Wade that the
bill would include $9 million in funding." ... "The member identifiable
as Harris received $32,000 in illegal donations from Wade and his employees
in 2004. Documents filed with Wade's plea say that he took Harris to dinner
early last year, where they discussed the possibility of another fundraiser
and the possibility of getting funding for a Navy counterintelligence program
in the member's district. One source familiar with the inquiry said Harris
made such a request for funding, but it was not granted." -By
Charles R. Babcock with contributions by Walter Pincus and Madonna Lebling
-WashingtonPost
20060224
GOV
- Military
- Intelligence
- Politics
- California
- "Defense
contractor: I paid $1 million in bribes." ... "Mitchell
Wade pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring with former [California
Republican] Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to bribe the lawmaker with cash,
cars and antiques, and to help him evade millions of dollars in tax liability."
... "Wade, former president of defense contractor MZM Inc. in Washington,
also acknowledged making nearly $80,000 in illegal campaign contributions
in the names of MZM employees and their spouses to two other members of
Congress, who were not identified." ... "MZM does classified intelligence
work for the military. MZM's government contracts soared from less than
$1 million a year to tens of millions of dollars annually in recent years."
-AP via -CNN
20060214
Abramoff
- Pombo
- DeLay
- Texas
- California
- Animal
- Environmental
- Legislation
- Money
- "Foe
of Endangered Species Act on Defensive Over Abramoff."
... "After finally getting a bill through the House last fall that would
eliminate habitat protections on more than 150 million acres, [California
Republican Richard] Pombo has never been closer to reaching his goal. But
as the Senate prepares to take up his measure this year, Pombo finds himself
on the defensive, with his ideology increasingly viewed as extreme and
his connections to industry and to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff under
scrutiny." ... "Pombo's critics have focused on his campaign's reliance
on donors from industries that stand to benefit from his legislation. Just
months before the mining proposal made it out of Pombo's committee, a former
committee aide who once worked for Abramoff's firm and is now a lobbyist
for mining interests hosted a $1,000-a-head fundraiser for Pombo." ...
"The Times reported earlier this year that Pombo joined forces with former
House Majority Leader [Republican] Tom DeLay of Texas in efforts to squelch
a federal banking investigation of Texas financier Charles Hurwitz. Pombo,
who had previously received a campaign contribution from Hurwitz, has contended
that the investigation was unfounded and abusive." ... "A Massachusetts
tribe and client of Abramoff's that donated $20,000 to Pombo received the
congressman's help seeking federal tribal recognition. Pombo supported
the resumption of commercial whaling while accepting thousands of dollars
in international travel from a private foundation funded by the seafood
industry and a whaling association." ... "According to data compiled by
the Campaign Finance Analysis Project, Pombo has, during his congressional
career, collected more than $800,000 from agriculture, timber and fishing
interests. The building industry has given him $205,000; oil and gas, $169,000;
mining, $55,000; and casinos and gambling, $147,000." ... "Pombo denies
any improprieties and says he has no fear of being tainted by the Abramoff
scandal. "I met the guy a few times. He never lobbied me on anything. Never
set foot in my office." -By Bettina Boxall with contributions
by Maloy Moore -LAtimes
20060213
Business
- CA
- "Out
of the retail rat race: Consumer group doesn't buy
notion that new is better." ... "About 50 teachers, engineers, executives
and other professionals in the [California] Bay Area have made a vow to
not buy anything new in 2006 -- except food, health and safety items and
underwear." ... ""We're people for whom recycling is no longer enough,"
said one of the members of the fledgling movement, John Perry, who works
in marketing at a high-tech company. "We're trying to get off the first-market
consumerism grid, because consumer culture is destroying the world."" ...
"They call themselves the Compact. They have a blog, a Yahoo group and
monthly meetings to reaffirm their commitment to the rule, which is to
never buy anything new." -By Carolyn Jones
-SFGate.com
20060210
Government
- Business
- School
- Politics
- California
- "California
environmentalists oppose Bush plan to sell forest land."
... "Environmental groups sharply criticized the Bush administration's
proposal to sell up to 85,000 acres of national forests in California to
pay for rural schools, saying the loss of protected land in an already
crowded state would be devastating." ... "California would lose the most
acreage of any state under the plan, which calls for the sale of more than
300,000 acres in 34 states. The list includes up to 500 parcels in 16 national
forests located across the Golden State, with the Central Valley and Northern
California potentially losing the most open space." ... "The plan also
lists possible, smaller, sales in seven national forests in Southern California,
including the Los Padres, Angeles and San Bernardino forests." -By
Gillian Flaccus -AP
via -MercuryNews
20060209
Government
- Business
- Politics
- California
- "Bush
administration moves to sell national forest land."
... "The Bush administration will unveil a proposal Friday to sell up to
200,000 [other sources report 300,000] acres of national forest land in
"isolated parcels" ranging from a quarter of an acre to 200 acres, much
of it in California." ... "Details about what plots of land would be put
up for sale are expected to be revealed at a noon press conference by Undersecretary
of Agriculture Mark Rey, a former timber industry lobbyist." ... "Sen.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., attacked the plan as "crazy," saying: "Here
the administration wants to pass more tax cuts for the rich, and to pay
the bill, they want to sell off public land - our nation's natural heritage.""
-By Seth Borenstein -KnightRidder
via -RealCities
20060119
Jerry
Lewis - California
- New
York
- Military
- Legislation
- Politics
- "The
congressman & the hedge fund." ... "One day after
a New York investment group raised $110,000 for Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis
[California Representative], the House passed a defense spending bill that
preserved $160 million for a Navy project critical to the firm. The man
who protected the Navy money? Lewis." ... "The fundraiser, which took place
July 7, 2003, and the subsequent vote illustrate the kind of relationship
between congressman and contributor that's under increased scrutiny in
the nation's capital." ... "Lewis, 71, insists he did nothing improper.
"I'm darn sensitive to make certain we keep arm's length from certain efforts"
by political donors to influence legislation, Lewis said." ... "Both Lewis
and the investment company, Cerberus Capital Management, benefited from
the relationship. Eighteen months after the fundraiser and the House vote,
Lewis won the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee. He acknowledges
that the fundraising efforts of Cerberus "played a very significant role"
in winning the post. The ties between Cerberus and Lewis, a 14-term congressman
from Redlands, Calif. [California], have not been publicly examined before."
... "In the opinion of Larry Noble, executive director of the non-partisan
Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, the timing of the fundraiser
within days of a favorable vote "looks like influence buying." Noble is
a former chief lawyer for the Federal Election Commission." -By
Matt Kelley -USATODAY
20060109
Jerry
Lewis - Government
- Money
- Law
- California
- "Watchdog
group calls for investigation of California congressman."
... "A federal watchdog group is asking the U.S. attorney general to open
a corruption investigation of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry
Lewis because of the congressman's ties to a lobbyist who has legally donated
thousands of dollars to Lewis' causes." ... "Citizens for Responsibility
and Ethics in Washington wants the Public Integrity Section of the Department
of Justice to investigate the California Republican's relationship with
lobbyist and friend Bill Lowery." ... "Lewis's PAC has contributed hundreds
of thousands of dollars to help Republicans maintain control of the House.
In January, he was named head of the Appropriations Committee, which oversees
about $900 billion in federal spending." -AP
via -SFGate.com
20060108
DeLay
- Doolittle
- Pombo
- Government
- Money
- Law
- Enforcement
- Texas
- California
- "A
Donor Who Had Big Allies: DeLay and two others helped
put the brakes on a federal probe of a businessman. Evidence was published
in the Congressional Record." ... "In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff
influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen
used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of
a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions."
... "Reps. John T. Doolittle [California Republican] and Richard W. Pombo
[California Republican] joined forces with former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay [Republican] of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking
regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents
recently obtained by The Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a
Texas savings and loan that cost taxpayers $1.6 billion." ... "The investigation
was ultimately dropped." ... "The effort to help Hurwitz began in 1999
when DeLay wrote a letter to the chairman of the FDIC denouncing the investigation
of Hurwitz as a "form of harassment and deceit on the part of government
employees." When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo both considered
proteges of DeLay used their power as members of the House Resources
Committee to subpoena the agency's confidential records on the case, including
details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz." ...
"Then, in 2001, the two congressmen inserted many of the sensitive documents
into the Congressional Record, making them public and accessible to Hurwitz's
lawyers, a move that FDIC officials said damaged the government's ability
to pursue the banker." ... "The FDIC's chief spokesman characterized what
Doolittle and Pombo did as "a seamy abuse of the legislative process."
But soon afterward, in 2002, the FDIC dropped its case against Hurwitz,
who had owned a controlling interest in the United Savings Assn. of Texas.
United Savings' failure was one of the worst of the S&L debacles in
the 1980s." (1, 2,
3)
-By Richard A. Serrano and Stephen Braun, with contributions
by Ted Rohrlich -LAtimes