Bad Deeds for 11-15-06

DeLay’s staff all resign after a series of confrontations with Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
DeLay’s staff members all resigned from their positions in the office of Texas’s 22nd district after a series of confrontations with Sekula-Gibbs. “It started when she got to the office Thursday,” said one source. The staffers, say the source, “came to the realization that this was a boss they did not want to work for.”

Shelly in a Snit; She Can’t Understand Why Others Don’t Know How Important She Is
The woman who was sworn in this week as the interim Republican successor to ex-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was, shall we say, not a hit with holdover DeLay aides.

She showed up to take over DeLay’s old office on Thursday and, according to sources familiar the office dynamics, was “mean” to the staff. On Tuesday, at her new Member’s open-house reception in the office, sources charged that she was less than pleased that neither President Bush nor Vice President Cheney showed up with the rest of the welcome wagon, despite the fact that others who stopped by included Texas GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn and Texas GOP Reps. Kevin Brady and Michael Burgess. (Apparently, according to sources, she was under the impression that the president of the United States would be there to greet the seven-week Congresswoman.)

Shelly Gets Revved Up, then Shuts Down the House
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs was sworn in as a congresswoman on Monday night and already she’s a lame duck.
I’m working hard to accomplish the things I’m working for,” she said yesterday. “For tax cuts. For immigration reform. To make sure we have a good solution for the war in Iraq.”

All that? In a few weeks?
There, after being sworn in, she addressed her distinguished colleagues: “I look forward to getting to know each of you and working on the initiatives that will help strengthen our country.”

Getting to know all 434 of them? That’s a lot to do in a few weeks.
In the next hour, Sekula-Gibbs cast three votes. The first was on a bill to “suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendment” to something called the Trail of Tears Study Act. She stuck her brand-new voting card into a machine and voted yes. Then she looked up at the big screen behind the House speaker’s desk and saw a little green light appear next to her name.

It was a courageous vote for Sekula-Gibbbs. If she ever runs for office again, that vote could inspire a vicious attack ad. It’s not hard to imagine it: The worst photo ever taken of Sekula-Gibbs appears on the TV screen and an ominous voice says, ” She voted to suspend the rules of Congress . . . ”

When the voting ended, Sekula-Gibbs rose to make the first official motion of her congressional career: “Mr. Speaker,” she said, “I move that the House now adjourn.”

Wow, what a change! From a promise of accomplishing lots of things to motioning to take the rest of the day off!

Fox News memo written by the network’s Vice President of news reveals that Fox is a propaganda machine
Fox News internal memo says, “Be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents, who must be thrilled at the prospect of a dem controlled congress.” This memo makes it clear that Fox News is working a political agenda rather than reporting the news.

Fox News Show Does Exactly What the Networks Vice-President’s memo said to do
During the “Live Desk” show that aired the same day as the memo, MacCallum claimed without providing any details or sources that there were “some reports of cheering in the streets on the behalf of the supporters of the insurgency in Iraq, that they’re very pleased with the way things are going here and also with the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld.”

Bush Reappoints Broadcasting Chief Who Used Public Funds To Promote Conservative Programming
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson was nominated again as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and for a term on the board expiring Aug. 13, 2007. A report by the State Department’s inspector general, released Aug. 29, said Tomlinson misused government funds for two years as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Tomlinson signed invoices worth about $245,000 for a friend without the knowledge of other board members or staff, used the board’s office resources to support his private horse racing operation and overbilled the organization for his time, according to the report. On a few occasions, the report said, he billed for the same time worked on both the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, on whose board he was a member until resigning in November 2005.

CIA Acknowledges Bush Authorized Secret Prisons
In a letter sent by CIA lawyers last Friday to the ACLU, the agency acknowledged for the first time the existence of two classified documents guiding its interrogation and detention of terror suspects, including a directive signed by President Bush that authorizes the CIA to establish secret prisons on foreign soil.

Justice Dept. Brief on Detention Policy May allow Arrest of Legal Immigrants
Justice Department lawyers argued before a federal court this week that the new Military Commissions Act allows the government to detain any foreign national declared to be an enemy combatant, even if he is arrested and imprisoned inside the United States. Critics warn that interpretation raises the possibility that any of the millions of immigrants living legally in the country could be subject to indefinite detention and the suspension of all rights.

With Key Vote Approaching, White House Still Hasn’t Released Intelligence on India’s Nuclear Program
Last January, Congressional leaders requested a secret intelligence assessment of India’s nuclear program and its ties to Iran amid concerns about a White House effort to provide nuclear technology to New Delhi. Ten months later, as the Senate prepares to vote on nuclear trade with India, the intelligence assessment has yet to be seen on Capitol Hill. For the Bush administration, the deal is part of a strategy to accelerate India’s rise as a regional counterweight to China. In July, the House voted in favor of a similar bill. Lawmakers did not know at the time that the Bush administration was planning to sanction two Indian firms for selling missile parts to Iran — a fact that seemed to undercut administration assurances that India’s nonproliferation record is excellent. India and Iran “appear to have engaged in very limited nuclear, chemical and missile related transfers over the years.”

Glen Beck tells first Muslim elected to Congress, “Prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.”
On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress on November 7, and asked Ellison if he could “have five minutes here where we’re just politically incorrect and I play the cards up on the table.” After Ellison agreed, Beck said: “I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’ ” Beck added: “I’m not accusing you of being an enemy, but that’s the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.”

Regards,

Jim