Bachmann Gets House Approval for Tea Party Caucus

MoonHowler

According to Huffington Post:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said on Monday that her proposal to create a Tea Party caucus in the United States House of Representatives has been officially approved.

Bachmann announced that she had filed paperwork to establish the House group last week. The mission of the coalition she said at the time would be to promote “fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government.”

And now, it seems that Bachmann’s Tea Party caucus dream has become a reality. “Just got word that the Committee on House Administration officially approved the House Tea Party Caucus,” said the conservative congresswoman in a tweet on Monday afternoon.

Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence became the first House member to signal his intention to join Bachmann’s newly-created caucus. Talking Points Memo reports:

At a press availability this afternoon, Pence was enthusiastic. “You betcha,” Pence said when asked if he’d join

Does this mean that there will be real Tea Party leaders? This is beginning to sound fairly formal rather than loose-knit, grass roots organizing.

How many various caucuses are there in the House? This seems like a good time to take a wait and see approach. It will be interesting to see who joins and what all the common denominators are. Birds of a feather will flock together. It should be telling.

“Robin Hood” Drops the F Bomb on Fox News

MoonHowler

The Las Vegas Robin Hood dropped the F Bomb on Fox News  yesterday.  Imagine Doocy’s surprise.

Everyone handled it well.  In this case, the family bread winner had some horrible form of cancer and couldn’t work and they had lost their home.  A self-professed Robin Hood uses his gambling winnings to make people’s lives better.  I guess he just got a little overly excited.

I was watching this segment and didn’t even pick up on it at the time. I guess I just have potty ears.

Open Thread Monday, July 19, 2010

MoonHowler

  Time for another free for all.  For those interested in the City of Manassas, there was  a great article in the Washington Post on Sunday about Councilman Steve Randolph and his 25 year of service to his community.  The title of the article is 25-year council member Randolph reflects on changed Manassas.   It is a great read.  From what I hear, no one represents the City with any more zeal, gusto  and energy than Mr. Randolph.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071606290.html

Virginia AG continues to go rogue, over-steps boundaries

MoonHowler

The latest stunt that AG Cuccinelli has pulled is filing an amicus brief on on behalf of Arizona, along with 8 other states. Bacon’s Rebellion Blogspot has an interesting take on the antics of the AG and just how much he is costing the commonwealth:

Sooner or later, someone is going to have to pay for the dogma-saturated legal forays of Kenneth Cuccinelli, Virginia’s firebrand Attorney General.

It’s a shame because hardly any of Cuccinelli’s high-profile legal actions seem to be worthy cases that protect citizens of the Old Dominion. Instead, his actions are aimed at firing up the hard-right fringes of the Republican Party and maybe dragging some in the center along as congressional elections approach this fall and General Assembly races follow next year.

Meanwhile, “The Cooch’s” legal initiatives are getting some substantial push-back and they are far from litigation slam-dunks.

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Top Secret America

MoonHowler

From the Washington Post:

Perhaps everyone is worrying about the wrong thing. How much does this opaque network of top secret agencies, departments, private companies cost the taxpayers  How much duplication is there?  ? How effective is it? Who is really in control?   How do we evaluate it?  Has terrorism become even more politicized?

I think I am growing concerned. It sounds like the Patriot Act is on steroids and we didn’t know it.

This story uncovers a tangled web of inner departments that exemplify that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.  Often there are multiple departments doing the same thing.  Our own counter terrorism now becomes too big to fail. Where has the Congressonal oversight been the past  5-6 years?  GAO cannot investigate intelligence.

The Washington Post uncovers 2 years of investigative reporting. A 4th branch of the government is not mandated by the Constitution. Perhaps the Tea Parties need to start demanding some answers. Perhaps they don’t know who to direct those questions toward.  Is this the new Intel-gate?

Dana Priest and William Arkin, the inevestigative journalists  just might be the next Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.  This is the first of a three part series.

Tea Party ‘Spokesman’ Mark Williams Ejected from the Tea Party Federation

MoonHowler

The Tea Party Federation has dismissed a tea party commentator named Mark Williams from the Federation over a fictional letter he wrote on behalf of ‘colored people.’ It went something like this:

“Dear Mr. Lincoln,” began Williams’ letter. “We Coloreds have taken a vote and decided that we don’t cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!”

Federation spokesman Mark Webb said the letter on the blog was clearly offensive.

Mark Webb squares off with Ben Jealous of the NAACP to discuss the 2 groups differences. The video shows a far more productive conversation.

 

We keep getting told that there is no national leadership for the Tea Party and then someone keeps trotting out a spokesman/person. I find this confusing. Is there a leader or is there not a leader? Leaders seem to come and go.

This silliness had gotten more time than it deserves.

Man With Neo-Nazi Ties Leads Patrols in AZ

MoonHowler

From Huffington Post:

 

 

PHOENIX — Minutemen groups, a surge in Border Patrol agents, and a tough new immigration law aren’t enough for a reputed neo-Nazi who’s now leading a militia in the Arizona desert.

Jason “J.T.” Ready is taking matters into his own hands, declaring war on “narco-terrorists” and keeping an eye out for illegal immigrants. So far, he says his patrols have only found a few border crossers who were given water and handed over to the Border Patrol. Once, they also found a decaying body in a wash, and alerted authorities.

But local law enforcement are nervous given that Ready’s group is heavily armed and identifies with the National Socialist Movement, an organization that believes only non-Jewish, white heterosexuals should be American citizens and that everyone who isn’t white should leave the country “peacefully or by force.”

“We’re not going to sit around and wait for the government anymore,” Ready said. “This is what our founding fathers did.”

An escalation of civilian border watches have taken root in Arizona in recent years, including the Minutemen movement. Various groups patrol the desert on foot, horseback and in airplanes and report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol, and generally, they have not caused problems for law enforcement.

But Ready, a 37-year-old ex-Marine, is different. He and his friends are outfitted with military fatigues, body armor and gas masks, and carry assault rifles. Ready takes offense at the term “neo-Nazi,” but admits he identifies with the National Socialist Movement.

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Chupacabras in Hood County, Texas?

MoonHowler

Chupacabra: A creature also known as a ‘Goat Sucker’ simply because it drains the blood and body fluids out of goats, leaving them dry and lifeless. Some people believe it came from another planet. Some say it looks much like a kangaroo.

The chupacabra is more myth than anything else. There is folk lore all over Latin American counties about this beast.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What on earth is this ugly creature? Is this a hoax? It is all over the internet. I vote for hoax.

Loudoun Times EDITORIAL: The ‘race’ to be the face of intolerance

MoonHowler

From the Loudoun Times 7/13/10

Are you brown-skinned? Do you speak Spanish outside when walking down the street with friends? Do you wear clothing that has Hispanic styles, themes or lettering?

Let’s say all this applies to you – and you’re an American citizen, born and raised right here in Virginia, as were your parents. You follow the law. You pay your taxes. You’re as much an American by law as any sixth-generation white American. Too bad.

If Corey Stewart has his way in the Old Dominion, you could be a suspected illegal immigrant, detained and thrown in jail. Your crime? The color of your skin. Your ethnicity. The way you talk. The way you look.

Stewart is the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, with previous and likely future intentions to run for statewide office here. But before he pads his political resume, he wants to complete his mission of making Prince William, and all of Virginia, his personal, political and cultural Petri dish of emotionally toxic wedge issues like immigration.

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Open Thread: Friday, July 16, 2010

MoonHowler

Good news! The oil leak cap has so far held. Oil is not pouring out into the ocean. It is too soon to start cheering however. The new cap has to withstand the pressure.

More good news–the Fincical Reform Bill has passed Congress. Next stop, the Prez’s desk for signature.

What else is happening?

More on NAACP Condemnation of Racism

MoonHowler

I am actually horrified at Phillip Dennis’ rhetoric, starting the the double quarter-pounder and Rosie O’Donnell and finishing with him telling Hilary Shelton his organization is simply irrelevant and an extortion group. The sad thing is, I don’t even think Phillip Dennis realizes how inappropropriate he is.

How does someone tell the oldest civil rights organization that it is no longer relevant?

Phillip Dennis just made the NAACP’s case. Case closed.

Briefs Filed by 9 States, including Virginia, Supporting Arizona’s New Law

MoonHowler

Although not mentioned, Virginia was one of those states.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Richmond, Va. —
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli joined eight other states today in support of Arizona’s new immigration law.

The amicus brief, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, defends Arizona’s and all states’ authority to enforce federal immigration laws along with the federal government. This is particularly true because of the selective and lack of enforcement by the federal government, the brief states.

“While much of border enforcement is left to the federal government, federal law expressly allows states to arrest people who are not legally present in the United States,” Cuccinelli said in a statement.

“Arizona’s law doesn’t change any of this. That’s why we are stunned that the government has sued Arizona.”

The Arizona, set to take effect July 29, requires officers, while enforcing other laws, to question a person’s immigration status if there’s a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally.

It also makes it a crime for legal immigrants not to carry documentation of their status in the U.S.

The Obama administration has filed suit against the Arizona law, contending that federal law pre-empts the Arizona statute. It seeks an injunction against its enforcement.

How many briefs and law suits has the AG files since his inauguration? More importantly, how much has all of this cost? Those $350 filing fees are going to add up.