Bad Deeds for 6-15-2007

FEMA Authorized Insurance Companies to Overbill Taxpayers – According to a September 21, 2005 memo, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA may have authorized the insurance companies to overbill the taxpayer-funded federal flood program, while ripping citizens on other insurance payments.

Faced with law-breaking Bush official, Republicans play the race card – In a hearing Wednesday examining the findings that Bush appointee Lurita Doan of the General Services Administration appeared to violate the Hatch Act by politicking in a federal workplace, several Republican Congressmen played the race card. On a number of occasions, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led his colleagues in accusing their Democratic counterparts of targeting Doan because she was a black woman and a Republican. “You’re an African-American Republican so you’ve got a big bull’s eye on you,” Davis, the former chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said to Administrator Doan at one stage. You’re a Republican, a minority, and a woman, a GOP contributor, and they’ve targeted you, they’re circling you to come after you,” said Rep. John Mica (R-FL), who objected to the hearing at various occasions. Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) also said, “I find that when an African-American is a Republican, somehow, she is treated differently by Congress.”

FBI may have violated surveillance law over 1,000 times – FBI agents possibly violated a surveillance law over and over again while misusing the National Security Letter (NSL) authority vastly expanded by the Patriot Act. An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism. The audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau’s national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI’s domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews.

Gonzales uses US Attorney appointment power that Congress banned – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales once again used an interim appointment authority at the heart of the US Attorneys controversy that Congress banned in a bill sent to the President for signature on June 4.

Bias Cases Against Muslims on the Increase – Complaints in the United States of anti-Muslim discrimination rose 25 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to a new report by the US Council on American-Islamic Relations. The report released Thursday records 2,467 incidents and cases of anti-Muslim violence, bias and harassment last year, with a marked increase in cases involving government agencies, which CAIR said related to delays in processing citizenship and naturalization applications from Muslims. It cited the example an unnamed Muslim waiting five years after passing the citizenship test in 2002 before finally being granted citizenship in recent weeks — just before a lawsuit CAIR filed on the person’s behalf was to go to court this week. CAIR also said it counted 167 reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes, a rise of 9.2 percent over 2005.

Joe Lieberman Says He’ll Have Whatever Bill Kristol is Having – The Weekly Standard’s promotional package has this testimonial from Joe Lieberman:
“If Kristol says what I’m doing is right, it must be right.” I don’t think any more needs to be said about Joe Lieberman.

Doing the Jobs Americans Aren’t Willing to Do – Given the recent rhetoric in Republican circles about immigration policy, I found this story partictacularly amusing.

The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions — state deputy political director — and has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers.

Christopher Matthews, 35, a Canadian citizen, has worked for the state GOP as a campaign consultant since 2004. But he recently was hired as full-time deputy political director, with responsibility for handling campaign operations and information technology for the country’s largest state Republican Party operation, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring confirmed in a telephone interview this week.

In the nation’s most populous state — which has produced a roster of nationally known veteran political consultants — “it’s insulting but also embarrassing … to bring people from the outside who don’t know the difference between Lodi and Lancaster … and who can’t even vote,” said Karen Hanretty, a political commentator and former state GOP party spokeswoman.

Wait, it gets funnier. Matthews was hired by Michael Kamburowski, the state GOP’s chief operations officer, who is … wait for it … an Australian citizen.

In light of the GOP’s immigration policy, and it’s take on the H-1B visa program, these hires are a little surprising, aren’t they?

Tony Snow Lying (again) – Tony Snow from March 15, talking about the US Attorney firings: “It’s pretty clear that these things are based on performance and not on sort of attempts to do political retaliation, if you will.” But here’s Tony Snow from Wednesday’s (June 13) briefing at which a reporter asked Snow: “At the beginning of this story, the President, you, Dan Bartlett, others said on camera that politics was not involved, this was performance-based, but –” Snow’s reply: “No, that is something — we have never said that.”

Proud Republican Earmark Daddy – Rep. Don Young of Alaska, went on the House floor Tuesday night to declare himself “proud of my earmarks,” those provisions inserted into spending bills that designate federal funding to be directed to specific projects. Young has faced criticism for pushing forward a $10 million road-building project in southwest Florida that would benefit a campaign benefactor.

Fox News Spent Most Time on Anna Nicole Smith – According to research conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism at its height the Anna Nicole Smith saga consumed 30% of the available “newshole,” the space news organizations have to run content. When it was finally played out, the story of Smith’s death and the paternity struggle around her daughter had generated more coverage than the Democratic takeover of Congress. In the first quarter of this year, Smith accounted for 10% of Fox News’ total news coverage, 6% of MSNBC’s total coverage, and 4% of CNN’s total coverage.

Regards,

Jim