Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 6:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Until it was revealed that Jackson was also involved those exposed in reports of the scandal were:Democrats all. Where's that moral Congress Ms. Pelosi?
* Jim Johnson former chief of Fannie Mae, Obama advisor, and longtime Democratic Party power broker.
* Franklin Delano Raines, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae who served as White House budget director under President Bill Clinton, and “retired” from Fannie Mae to halt a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into accounting irregularities. He was accused by The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the regulating body of Fannie Mae, of abetting widespread accounting errors, which included the shifting of losses so senior executives, such as himself, could earn large bonuses.
* Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, who in 1993, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, along with several other groups, filed a lawsuit against Donna Shalala over closed-door meetings related to the HillaryCare socialized health care plan, and since leaving the administration was embroiled in scandals at the University of Florida due to her extravagant lifestyle at the University's expense.
* Richard Holbrooke, former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State, who as U.N. Ambassador ignored whistleblower reports about the infamous Oil-for-Food scandals
* Senator Christopher Dodd – D. Connecticut, who oversees the U.S. mortgage industry as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
*Gaylord Kent Conrad – D. North Dakota, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and one of the first politicians to support Obama over Hillary.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 8:04 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by The Editor 9:50 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
The Democrat governor of New York, Elliott Spitzer, former prosecutor and all-around crusader against sin in the state was apparently caught by the Feds and recorded conducting an illegal act or acts with a prostitution ring. Details will probably leak out as slowly as possible in the Dem/S attempt to keep a lid on it. Uh, huh, that'll work. Those that care will keep up with nefarious acts (including making his wife stand by his side during a very public mea culpa) while the vast majority will at the most make excuses for the governor's hypocritical inability to keep "it" in his pants or completely ignore the whole thing.Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 7:47 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
In their book about Clinton’s rise to power, Her Way, Don Van Natta Jr., an investigative reporter at The New York Times, and Jeff Gerth, who spent 30 years as an investigative reporter at the paper, wrote: “Hillary’s defense activities ranged from the inspirational to the microscopic to the down and dirty. She received memos about the status of various press inquiries; she vetted senior campaign aides; and she listened to a secretly recorded audiotape of a phone conversation of Clinton critics plotting their next attack.Of course the GOP isn't drawing that parallel but another...
A GOP official said, “Hillary Clinton’s campaign hypocrisy continues to know no bounds. It is rather unbelievable that Clinton would listen in to conversations being conducted by political opponents, but refuse to allow our intelligence agencies to listen in to conversations being conducted by terrorists as they plot and plan to kill us.”We shouldn't be surprised though, this is a recurring theme for both Bill and Hillary Clinton. I.e. do what I say, not what I do and the end justifies the means.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption, Politics
¶ posted by The Editor 7:26 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by The Editor 8:32 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by The Editor 11:13 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
State Representative Arrested In Park On Solicitation ChargesWould they have arrested him if they did know he was a state legislator?
POSTED: 6:07 pm EDT July 11, 2007
UPDATED: 12:17 am EDT July 12, 2007
TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- State Representative Bob Allen was arrested Wednesday for allegedly soliciting an undercover officer. The representative for Brevard County was arrested at a Titusville park.
According to police, Allen was arrested at 3:30pm at Veteran's Park along Broad Street in Titusville. Officers with the Titusville Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit noticed a car, Allen's leased Toyota Avalon, going back and forth near the park.
Three undercover officers, police said, watched him go into the bathroom three times. One of the undercover officers then went into the bathroom and into a stall. Allen allegedly started talking to the officer through the door of the stall.
Police said Allen offered the officer $20 for oral sex. When the undercover officer and Allen left the bathroom, officers arrested Allen. According to police, they did not know at the time that he was a state legislator.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 1:07 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
The Wall Street Journal smells something fishy emanating from a "tiny lime-green bungalow" in a working class suburb of San Francisco that's home to one of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Clinton.
After poring over the candidate's campaign filings, the paper reports that all six members of the Paw family who list the house as their home have contributed a total of $45,000 to the Democratic senator since 2005 and a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2000.
Considering that the head of the household is a mailman and his wife is a homemaker, the Journal notes "it isn't obvious how the Paw family is able afford such political largess."
The paper then notes with suspicion that the Paw family's substantial political donations "closely track" donations made by Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman who is one of the top contributors to Clinton's campaign.
Democratic fundraiser is a fugitive in plain sightfurther
By Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
August 29, 2007
California authorities have sought businessman Norman Hsu for 15 years. Since 2004, he has carved out a place of honor raising cash for such candidates as Hillary Rodham Clinton.
WASHINGTON -- For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish.
"He is a fugitive," Ronald Smetana, who handled the case for the state attorney general, said in an interview. "Do you know where he is?"
On Tuesday, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. -- a Washington lawyer who represents the Democratic fundraiser -- confirmed that Hsu was the same man who was involved in the California case. Barcella said his client did not remember pleading to a criminal charge and facing the prospect of jail time. Hsu remembers the episode as part of a settlement with creditors when he also went through bankruptcy, Barcella said.So what is it about the Clintons (and Dem/S) and Asian contributors and shady contributions. Charlie Tre, the Buddhist monks/nuns, and so forth. Oh, yeah, they have done this deal of a deep pockets donor using others as a front for his/her donations before this incident. Of course there are those who are offended by this conclusion. But unlike those conservatives like myself who would be happy that Larry Craig resigned, these folks on the left put "their" control (I'm afraid I had to wipe my eyes after that. The left's candidates are only in it for themselves.) of the government ahead of morality and ethics. I don't suppose we should be surprised as their candidates do that, too.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 12:39 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Filner disputes assault and battery chargesand his statement:
United employee claims congressman pushed him at baggage claim area
Associate Press
Updated: 8:24 a.m. ET Aug 21, 2007
WASHINGTON - Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., has been summoned to court on assault and battery charges after an incident at Dulles Airport on Sunday night where he allegedly pushed a United Airlines bag claim employee.
Filner allegedly attempted to enter an employees-only area, pushed aside an employee's arm and wouldn't leave when asked, according to a statement from Courtney Prebich, assistant media relations manager for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Filner disputed the account in a brief statement issued by his office
"Congressman Bob Filner is on his way to Iraq, visiting our troops, and will have a full statement when he returns. Suffice it to say now, that the story that has appeared in the press is factually incorrect - and the charges are ridiculous," the statement said without elaborating.Then we have Senator Larry Craig of Idaho who was apparently causing a disturbance in an airport latrine. Of course he denies it but he pled guilty. Ummmmm, you pled guilty Larry. But then, NOW you know it was not the best course of action for an innocent man. THAT decision calls into question your judgement, that is either way you are a loser.
Men's room arrest reopens questions about Sen. Larry CraigSen. Craig's statement:
Idaho senator pleads guilty to disorderly conduct after incident at Minnesota airport that echoes previous allegation of homosexual conduct.
By Dan Popkey - dpopkey@idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 08/28/07
Sen. Larry Craig, who in May told the Idaho Statesman he had never engaged in homosexual acts, was arrested less than a month later by an undercover police officer who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him in an airport men's room.
The arrest at a Minnesota airport prompted Craig to plead guilty to disorderly conduct earlier this month. His June 11 encounter with the officer was similar to an incident in a men's room in a Washington, D.C., rail station described by a Washington-area man to the Idaho Statesman. In that case, the man said he and Craig had sexual contact.
"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct.
"I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 7:44 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by The Editor 10:28 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Senator Webb Fesses Up About the Gun His Aide Was Jailed for Carrying*sigh* I certainly wish Senator Webb acted like the former Marines I know who take responsibility for their actions, don't lie, don't, well you get the point. I guess he's just taking a lesson from Colonel Congressman John Murtha, ABSCAMmer and unjust accuser of fellow Marines at war. What is it about us that allows us to accept such behavior? Why isn't there a recall petition in circulation?
Into the Capitol
Monday, June 18, 2007
By Brit Hume
Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Gun Smoke and Mirrors
Three months after his aide was arrested carrying a loaded pistol into the Senate office building, Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb is now acknowledging it was his gun.
Phillip Thompson was arrested in March as he tried to bring the gun and two loaded magazines into the building in a bag belonging to the senator.
But at the time, Webb said he did not give [Thompson] the gun. He now tells a Richmond, Virginia newspaper that it was in fact his gun. But he still says he did not give Thompson the weapon or ask him to do anything with it.
Webb would not address a question about whether he felt he was above complying with the District of Columbia handgun ban. But he did say he never carries a gun into the Capitol complex.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 9:10 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Labels: CultureOfCorruption, Politics
¶ posted by Old Ironsights 10:58 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, June 15, 2007
On June 13, the U.S. House of
Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2640, the “NICS Improvement Act,” by a
voice vote. H.R. 2640 is consistent with NRA’s decades-long support for measures
to prohibit firearm purchases by those who have been adjudicated by a court as
mentally defective or as a danger to themselves or others. Additionally, H.R.
2640 makes needed, and long overdue, improvements to the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
While the
media continues to characterize this bill as a “gun-control” measure, nothing
could be further from the truth. The national media either have not bothered to
read and accurately assess the text of the bill, or are deliberately
manipulating and “spinning” the facts in order to stir up controversy and
forward their agendas.
Here are the facts:
H.R. 2640 would provide financial incentives to states to make records of
prohibited individuals available for use in the NICS, and would also require federal agencies to
provide such records.
Those blocked from buying a gun due to these newly provided and
updated records in the NICS are already prohibited under current law from
owning firearms.
The basic goal of the bill is to make NICS as instant, fair, and accurate as possible. While no piece of legislation will stop a madman bent on committing horrific crimes, those who have been found mentally incompetent by a court should be included in the NICS as they are already prohibited under federal law from owning firearms.
H.R. 2640 is sound legislation that makes numerous improvements over existing federal law, including:
Certain types of mental health orders will no longer prohibit a person from possessing or receiving firearms.
Adjudications that have expired or been removed, or commitments from which a person has been completely released with no further supervision required, will no longer prohibit the legal purchase of a firearm.
Excluding federal decisions about a person’s mental health that consist only of a medical diagnosis, without a specific finding that the person is dangerous or mentally incompetent. This provision addresses concerns about disability decisions by the Veterans Administration concerning our brave men and women in uniform. (In 2000, as a parting shot at our service members, the Clinton Administration forced the names of almost 90,000 veterans and veterans’ family members to be added to a “prohibited” list; H.R. 2640 would help many of
these people get their rights restored.)
Requiring all participating federal or state agencies to establish “relief from disability” programs that would allow a person to get the mental health prohibition removed, either administratively or in court. This type of relief has not been available at the federal level for the past 15 years.Oh goody. A requirement without a definition or guideline. So as long as a State has some kind of “relief from disability” program they are OK. Never mind that they never have to actually provide that relief, just have the program. Never mind that with no guidelines that relief could be as easy to get as a Gun Permit in New York City. Never mind that, in today’s litigious society no doctor or judge in their right mind will take a “potential relapse/crazy” off the list. This clause “protects” only one class of people – the Rich and Politically Connected. Average Americans get to go hang.
Ensuring—as a permanent part of federal law—that no fee or tax is associated with a NICS check, an NRA priority for nearly a decade. While NRA has supported annual appropriations amendments with the same effect, those amendments must be renewed every year. This provision would not expire.
Requiring an audit of past spending on NICS projects to find out if funds appropriated for NICS were misused for unrelated purposes.
Neither current federal law, nor H.R. 2640, would prohibit gun possession by people who have voluntarily sought psychological counseling or checked themselves into a hospital:
Current law only prohibits gun possession by people who have been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or “committed to any mental institution.” Current BATFE regulations specifically exclude commitments for observation and voluntary commitments. Records of voluntary treatment also would not be available under federal and state health privacy laws.
Similarly, voluntary drug or alcohol treatment would not be reported to NICS. First, voluntary treatment is not a “commitment.” Second, current federal law on gun possession by drug users, as applied in BATFE regulations, only prohibits gun ownership by those whose “unlawful [drug] use has occurred recently enough to indicate that the individual is actively engaged in such conduct.”
In short, neither current law nor this legislation would affect those who voluntarily get psychological help. No person who needs help for a mental health or substance abuse problem should be deterred from seeking that help due to fear of losing Second Amendment rights.
This bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. NRA will continue to work throughout this Congressional process and vigilantly monitor this legislation to ensure that any changes to the NICS benefit lawful gun purchasers, while ensuring that those presently adjudicated by the courts as mentally defective are included in the system.
Someone from the NRA ought to look up what the Stalinists & Nazis did with their lists of “mental defectives”.
If anti-gun Members of Congress succeed in attaching any anti-gun amendments to this bill, we will withdraw support and strongly oppose it!
Does the NRA expect us to suddenly trust an agency that THEY condemned for violating privacy laws in the Virginia Gun Show fiasco?
Meh.
The NRA, in its mad dash to save itself from a PR problem has backed itself and all honest gun owners into a corner.
Let’s look at the “unintended” consequences one more time:
#1: This bill creates an enemies list of “prohibited persons” whose only “crime” is that of having a treatable, often short term neurochemical disorder, and labels them as “mentally defective” – destroying decades of advocacy that has attempted to lessen the stigma of neurochemical disorders.
#2: This list, when correlated with existing lists of firearms owners (CCW permits, Firearms ID Cards, etc.) constitutes probable cause for the search and seizure of all firearms in a household on the pretext of “firearms in the possession of a prohibited person”.
#3: The only way to prevent the above pre-dawn raids from happening will be to either Register Legal Gun Owners along with an Inventory of all firearms “owned”, or to redefine the legal term “Possession” in such a way as to make all Drug Raids meaningless. (You guess which they will prefer...)
#4: From a Political and Litigation standpoint, regardless of what “program” may be established by Government agencies, in practical terms no one but the Rich and Politically Connected will ever gain “relief from disability”.
There is no way that the virulently anti-gunowner Rep. McCarthy and the Brady Bunch didn’t see or plan this. Why else would they be so happy?
And what did the NRA say again?
If anti-gun Members of Congress succeed in attaching any anti-gun amendments to this bill, we will withdraw support and strongly oppose it!Mealy mouthed Spin and "plausable Deniability". Who needs to attach any anti-gun amendments? They are already built in. Convenient that the NRA doesn’t have to oppose it any more unless the Antis they are collaborating with get greedy.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption, Politics
¶ posted by Old Ironsights 2:22 PM 1 Comments Links to this post
It has come to pass now that the indictment against William Jefferson, US (DEM) Rep from Louisiana has been handed down.Jefferson has been accused of taking $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman. Authorities said they found $90,000 of the cash in a freezer at Jefferson's home.This is Nancy Pelosi's clean, above board Democrat Congress. Read the indictment here...
Federal agents seized nearly 19,000 pages of documents and electronic files from his office last year, but there had been an ongoing legal battle over the constitutionality of the raid.
Jefferson has denied the bribery allegations, but a former Jefferson aide and a Kentucky businessman have pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to get kickbacks for helping the businessman get contracts in Africa.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 7:20 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by The Editor 8:00 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Violations Force Feinstein Military Committee ResignationA veteran California senator has resigned as chair of a powerful military construction committee after reports that for years she abused her position to award her husband’s companies billions of dollars in government contracts.Last night the Republican candidates were asked about the culture of corruption in their party. Must have been one of the Dem/S asking as they continue to ignore the corrupt in their own party while the Bush administration prosecutes crooked Republicans.
During her six years as chair and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Dianne Feinstein annually supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars for specific military construction projects. The San Francisco lawmaker supervised her own staff of military construction experts and she lobbied Pentagon officials to support her favorite projects.
She wielded quite a bit of power and succeeded in steering hundreds of billions of dollars in military contracts to companies partially owned by her wealthy husband, Richard Blum. One company alone earned $792 million from military construction and environmental cleanup projects approved by Feinstein’s committee and another $759 million.
The blatant ethics violation and obvious conflict of interest was first exposed earlier this year by a weekly Northern California publication. The story details how Feinstein voted over the years for appropriations that enriched her husband’s firms and that her top legal advisor also happens to be one of her husband’s longtime business partners; in other words, a financial beneficiary of the senator’s decisions.
No wonder Feinstein, a former San Francisco mayor elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, is among the wealthiest members of congress. Last year she ranked eighth with a net worth of $42.6 million, boosted by assets she holds with her husband. Most of them are companies that have made their fortune from the very government contracts she has granted them.
Perhaps Feinstein quit her coveted military construction committee position because she is taking her new role as the senate ethics police quite seriously. As the new chair of the Senate Rules Committee Feinstein, for years an ethics violator, is actually in charge of regulating her colleagues’ ethical behavior.
Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 12:45 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Washington madam vows to reveal more names of clients and I'm sure there are some who are quaking in their boots. There's lots of speculation as to who will be named by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who is facing charges of running a 300-dollar-an-hour prostitution service for 13 years. The head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Randall Tobias, resigned after his name was leaked. Is he the first of many? Labels: CultureOfCorruption
¶ posted by The Editor 9:10 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by Old Ironsights 12:03 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Labels: Culture, CultureOfCorruption, Humor, Politics
¶ posted by Old Ironsights 9:05 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
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¶ posted by The Editor 12:15 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Among the unpublicized facts about Nancy Pelosi was that she was an investor in a real estate investment entity called PRESIDIO PARTNERS, which was set up shortly after the Nixon Administration first closure of federal military bases around the US. Among the choicest real estate properties were (a) San Francisco's Presidio Fort, then the headquarters for the sixth US Army (b) Treasure Island and Yreba Buena Island, the US Navy's parcels in San Francisco Bay (c) The Hunter's Point Naval Base, then biggest US navy base between Seattle Washington Long Beach & San Diego California. (d) The Alameda Naval Air Station in Oakland California-that was closed nearly twenty years later.But wait there's more...
It's been just over 10 years since Congress passed Rep. Nancy Pelosi's Presidio Trust legislation, effectively creating the first privatized national park in the United States (see "Stolen Base," 5/8/96). The results are pretty clear: Just cruise through the Presidio and check out the gigantic new office complex George Lucas has built. In fact, the private business interests that were given control of the park in 1995 now oversee more than 80 percent of the 1,408-acre parcel. The goal of the privatizers: raise enough money from development, leases, and other real estate deals to pay the entire cost of running the park by 2013. That's what Pelosi's legislation requires.and
It's a terrible disaster for San Francisco. And at the time we warned it would set a terrible precedent for the nation: Once you turn the national parks over to private interests and require the parks to pay for themselves, you'll get the equivalent of Nike Corp. putting logos on the Grand Canyon and casinos demanding concessions at Yosemite.
The Presidio Trust Act emerged from the fray that erupted after the Pentagon decided it no longer needed the San Francisco headquarters of the Sixth Army. Under legislation authored by the late Rep. Phil Burton, the Presidio was supposed to become part of the national park system the moment the military marched away.but it doesn't stop there!
But as soon as this stunning parcel – perhaps the single most valuable chunk of urban real estate in the world – popped up on the horizon, private interests in San Francisco began to eye it greedily. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. cut a backroom deal to have the Army spend $5.5 million upgrading the electrical grid on the base – and then pay PG&E $4 million to take it over. That was the first sign of trouble: For half a century the Army had run a public power system at the Presidio, and now it was going private, at public expense (see "The Presidio Power Grab," 1/12/94). Soon, a special planning council headed by the chair of Transamerica Corp., and involving the Gap's Don Fisher, PG&E executives, the University of California, the Energy Foundation, and other big interests, was poised to set the Presidio's future – and Pelosi was carrying the water.
Pelosi argued that the only way to save the base as a park was to let private businesses raise money through development and real estate deals to cover the operating costs. If that didn't happen, she argued, the conversion to civilian use would never take place – or, she even warned, Congress could try to sell it to the highest bidder.
About ten years ago, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi led the charge to turn San Francisco's former army base into the nation's first privatized national park. The former army base, the Presidio, is the hilly, forested area at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. You've seen it in pictures.to be paid for by city and state taxpayers?
Under Pelosi's Presidio Trust Act, most of San Francisco's Presidio and most of its buildings were to be controlled and managed not by the National Park Service but by a government-owned corporation called the Presidio Trust. Since then, film and video game mogul George Lucas has built his sprawling headquarters on some of the loveliest acres in this "park," and a multi-billion dollar development company, Forest City (http://www.forestcity.net), is angling for rights to redevelop an old hospital in the "park" into high-end apartments and/or condos.
Now, tonight in San Francisco, the Presidio Trust will hold a workshop to convince the public that the Presidio needs a "great lodge."
Question: Why?
Answer: According to a recent Presidio Trust mailing, "Every great national park deserves a great park lodge."
Labels: CultureOfCorruption, Politics
¶ posted by The Editor 7:34 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Labels: CultureOfCorruption, Politics, Religion
¶ posted by The Editor 3:17 PM Links to this post
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:
Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org
Labels: CultureOfCorruption, Politics
¶ posted by The Editor 7:23 PM Links to this post
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andSanchez Accuses Democrat of Calling Her a 'Whore,' Resigns from Hispanic Group
By: Josephine Hearn
February 1, 2007 01:34 PM EST
Rep. Loretta Sanchez has quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accusing the chairman, Rep. Joe Baca, of telling people she's a "whore."
Baca denied the charge.
In an interview with The Politico Wednesday, Sanchez, a California Democrat as is Baca, also cited concerns about whether Baca was properly elected Hispanic Caucus chairman in November and about his general attitude toward female lawmakers. The caucus represents 21 Hispanic Democrats in Congress.
"I'm not going to be a part of the CHC as long as Mr. Baca illegally holds the chair … I told them no. There's a big rift here," Sanchez said. "You treat the women like shit. I have no use for him."
In a statement to The Politico, Baca said Sanchez "has decided to resign from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and has chosen to air baseless statements. Let me be clear; her comments are categorically untrue."
The last time lawmakers withdrew from the Hispanic caucus was in the late 1990s when the group's Republican members left over partisan differences.
Sanchez said she had been approached earlier this year to contribute funds from her office budget to support the CHC's shared staff, a requirement for all its members. She refused.
"I told them to take me off the list, take me off the Web site, take me off everything," Sanchez said.
She said she was surprised and insulted when she learned that Baca had made the disparaging personal comment about her to California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and other legislators last year.
Nunez "is a friend of mine. Did he think he wouldn't tell me?" Sanchez asked.
Sanchez voted against Baca in the election for chairman in November. Four other female lawmakers abstained from the vote, raising concerns about whether the election followed proper procedures.
The Sanchez withdrawal is a blow to Baca and his allies who have been trying to bring the caucus back together after a series of internal spats last year. Many of the more junior members and the women have butted heads with him and senior lawmakers.
Last February, six members withdrew from the group's political action committee after Baca and his allies authorized political contributions to family members who were running for state and local offices.
Sanchez was among that group of defectors, which also included her sister, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., and Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza of California, Jim Costa of California, Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona and Hilda L. Solis of California.
In recent weeks, Rep. Xavier Becerra, Calif., a CHC member who serves in House leadership as assistant to the speaker, had been trying to persuade the six members to rejoin the political action committee, which is known as the Committee for Hispanic Causes/Building Our Leadership Diversity. So far, it appears those efforts have not succeeded. An invitation for a PAC fundraiser to be held Wednesday night continues to omit the six.
Earlier this month, four female lawmakers wrote Baca asking that the caucus repeat his election as chairman because the earlier vote failed to use secret ballots, as required in the group's bylaws.
Sanchez and other female CHC members have repeatedly complained that Baca and some of his male colleagues do not accord them a high level of respect.
"There is a big rift. Hello? Do they not get this?" Sanchez said.
Breaking News: Two More Reps. Complain About Treatment of Women in Hispanic Caucus
By: Josephine Hearn
February 1, 2007 01:31 PM EST
Two Democratic congresswomen released statements supporting a complaint that the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called Rep. Loretta Sanchez a "whore."
Said Rep. Hilda L. Solis, of California, about this rapidly developing story:
"I share Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez's sentiment about the lack of respect afforded to women members of the Hispanic Caucus. If the Hispanic Caucus is to be truly representative of the Latino community, it must give equal treatment to all its members, regardless of gender or seniority.
"I continue to be very concerned about the operation of BOLD-PAC, the Caucus' campaign arm. I withdrew from the PAC last year because it was moving away from its mission of electing Hispanic Congressional candidates by allowing contributions to Hispanic Caucus relatives running for local and state office. The PAC's recently revised by-laws continue to allow this practice. At a time when the public is crying out for a more ethical government, we should be taking every step to avoid any appearance of preferential treatment for relatives.
"We must address these issues and resolve them as soon as possible so we can continue fighting for the rights and the well being of the Latino community, as is the mission of the Caucus."
Added Rep. Linda Sanchez, also of California and the sister of Loretta Sanchez:
"I