Congress is Bush's bitch once again.
Congress appeared ready to launch an investigation into the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program last week, but an all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed the effort and may kill it, key Republican and Democratic sources said yesterday.
The Senate intelligence committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a Democratic-sponsored motion to start an inquiry into the recently revealed program in which the National Security Agency eavesdrops on an undisclosed number of phone calls and e-mails involving U.S. residents without obtaining warrants from a secret court. Two committee Democrats said the panel -- made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats -- was clearly leaning in favor of the motion last week but now is closely divided and possibly inclined against it.
They attributed the shift to last week's closed briefings given by top administration officials to the full House and Senate intelligence committees, and to private appeals to wavering GOP senators by officials, including Vice President Cheney. "It's been a full-court press," said a top Senate Republican aide who asked to speak only on background -- as did several others for this story -- because of the classified nature of the intelligence committees' work.
Lawmakers cite senators such as Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) to illustrate the administration's success in cooling congressional zeal for an investigation. On Dec. 20, she was among two Republicans and two Democrats who signed a letter expressing "our profound concern about recent revelations that the United States Government may have engaged in domestic electronic surveillance without appropriate legal authority." The letter urged the Senate's intelligence and judiciary committees to "jointly undertake an inquiry into the facts and law surrounding these allegations."
So, the President violating the law and American's 4th amendment rights, that can wait. They have more important things to do like... GET the GAYS!
Frist pledges marriage ban vote in Senate
Yes, turns out that gay people once again are the big threat to America.
Funny how they are only a threat during election years.
WASHINGTON -- The Senate is planning on a vote this year for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.
Sen. Bill Frist, R-Cat Killer., has announced that he expects to hold a vote in June on the measure, which would prevent states from allowing gay marriages. While the bill is unlikely to get the two-thirds majority needed to be approved, it will be an important test for lawmakers on gay rights before the midterm elections in November. Senators will be forced to go on the record about their support for gay marriage, which could help Republican candidates in conservative states.
"Today, the institution of marriage is under attack," Frist said in a speech Friday to the Conservative Political Action Committee Conference. The content of the speech was first disclosed Monday.
The marriage amendment has resurfaced several times in recent years, often in the months before a federal election. The Senate voted on a procedural motion to consider the ban in 2004, and 48 senators supported the measure.
Let's recap- President lying and breaking the law, not a big deal. Persecuting a peaceful, law-abiding, taxpaying minority- the utmost importance.
These people are scum. I want them all thrown out of office.