Senate Republicans Block Effort to Aid Paralyzed Veterans – The Christopher and Dana Reeve Act, named for the actor who was made famous by his portrayal of superman and later became a champion of the disabled, along with his late wife, is part of a broad package created by Democrats which lumps together 36 bills. It would have allocated $25 million for research on spinal cord injuries, rehabilitation and measures to improve the quality of life for paralyzed Americans. The effort is backed by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, which claims 19,000 members. Some 200,000 Americans suffer spinal cord-related injuries. The overall bill, dubbed the Advancing America’s Priorities Act, was blocked by a 50-42 vote, short of the 60 votes need to overcome a filibuster. The House passed the Reeve bill in 2007, but the Senate has never followed suit. Republicans blasted the bill as an attempt to bait them and distract from measures to deal with high gas prices (Republican code-talk for opening environmentally sensitive areas to oil drilling – JLV).
Texas Family-Values Republican Holds Burlesque Fundraiser in Las Vegas – Card-carrying conservative Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), who scolded Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for forcing “their liberal values upon the rest of the country” after their infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime flash, held a racey fundraiser for his leadership political action committee last year at Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce nightclub in Sin City. A description of the club is on its web site, which features a scantily clad dancer.
Despite Pledge to Run Positive Campaign, McCain Releases Series of Attack Ads Including One Comparing Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears – The McCain campaign is out with the latest in a string of sharply negative advertisements, this time mocking Barack Obama as a self-important celebrity along the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. In a 30-second spot that focuses absolutely zero attention on McCain himself, the ad makes patently false assertions such as, “Higher taxes, more foreign oil, that’s the real Obama.” The spot reflects what observers and reporters have described as a growing superficial negativity emerging from the McCain camp.
Government Questionnaires Asking About Matters Not Related to Job Suitability – Employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory got an ultimatum last year: Submit to new, more thorough background investigations or leave the agency. Twenty-eight JPL scientists, engineers and administrative support employees instead took their employers to court. The plaintiffs and some observers say the ensuing legal battle has raised questions about the federal government’s background investigation methods and the constitutionality of the trigger event: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. Problems include:
- NASA exceeded its authority under the Administrative Procedure Act in investigating contract employees.
- The investigations constitute unreasonable searches under the Fourth Amendment.
- They also violate employees’ constitutional right to informational privacy.
- The broad, open-ended questions used in NASA’s investigations “appear to range far beyond the scope of the legitimate state interests that the government has proposed.â€
“These new investigations are draconian,†said Matthew Biggs, legislative director of Washington-based International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. Under SF42, he said, “they can ask: ‘Why did you get a divorce? If I ask your friends and family, will I get the same answer?’ â€
“It has nothing to do with suitability for a job as a scientist or engineer,†he added.
Regards,
Jim
Andy Hailey