Just after Califorinia lawmakers trump the voters 62 % veto of gay marriages they come back with another doozy today--
Calif. Votes to License Illegal Immigrants
Sep 09 3:29 AM US/Eastern
By STEVE LAWRENCE
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
California lawmakers voted Thursday to offer illegal immigrants special driver's licenses, a measure Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto.
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Berger to pay $50,000 for taking classified material
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A judge on Thursday ordered Sandy Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser, to pay a $50,000 fine for illegally taking classified documents from the National Archives.
The punishment handed down by U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson exceeded the $10,000 fine recommended by government lawyers. Under the deal, Berger avoids prison time but he must surrender access to classified government materials for three years.
The sentencing capped a bizarre sequence of events in which Berger admitted to sneaking classified documents out of the Archives in his suit, later destroying some of them in his office and then lying about it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
the rebs through in a clinker also--
Grand Jury Indicts PAC Connected to DeLay
Sep 08 12:56 PM US/Eastern
AUSTIN, Texas
A grand jury has indicted a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group in connection with 2002 legislative campaign contributions.
The five felony indictments against the two groups were made public Thursday. Neither DeLay nor any individuals with the business group has been charged with any wrongdoing.
The charge against Texans for a Republican Majority alleged the committee illegally accepted a political contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.
Four indictments against the Texas Association of Business include charges of unlawful political advertising, unlawful contributions to a political committee and unlawful expenditures such as those to a graphics company and political candidates.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
and from the grapevine--
Pork Barrel Projects
Thursday, September 08, 2005
By Brit Hume
Now some fresh pickings from the Hurricane Grapevine:
Democrats, and some former government engineers, blamed President Bush for cutting the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers (search), claiming the cuts left New Orleans unprepared for a major storm.
But The Washington Post reports the Bush administration has granted the corps more funding than the previous administration over a similar period and that Louisiana has received far more money for civil works projects than any other state. The paper says much of the funding has been spent not on flood control, but on lawmakers' pet construction projects, including a brand new $750 million canal lock in New Orleans unrelated to flood control.
Pelosi Didn't Know?
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (search) says she was caught unawares by the Republican announcement of a bipartisan investigation into the Hurricane response, saying, "There's been no discussion about this except I called the speaker and said I?m getting press calls about a bipartisan committee."
But sources in both parties say the idea was discussed at the White House earlier in the day by congressional leaders in a meeting with the president with Pelosi attending. In addition, Speaker Hastert was heard discussing it with Pelosi as they were leaving the White House.
Environmentally Friendly?
Neither the administration or its critics are saying this, but one reason anti-flooding measures failed to stop Katrina from inundating New Orleans is that some environmental groups successfully resisted new flood control projects. The Sierra Club (search) and other groups sued the Army Corps of Engineers to stop a 1996 plan to raise and fortify Mississippi River levees because the plan would jeopardize Louisiana forests.
And the New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that "Save our Wetlands" successfully sued the corps of engineers three decades ago to stop construction on floodgates to block storm surges from the Gulf of Mexico into Lake Pontchatrain (search), saying they were too damaging to the lake's eco-system.
Furry Relief
One international organization has announced it's launching the largest relief effort in its history to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina ? asking for food, bedding, and shelter to help victims with "special needs." The International Ferret Congress (search) says it needs all the help it can get to bring aid to their furry friends displaced by the storm. But finding stray ferrets in the Hurricane aftermath isn't enough for the congress, it's soliciting donations to make sure ferrets are never again endangered in a natural disaster.
Calif. Votes to License Illegal Immigrants
Sep 09 3:29 AM US/Eastern
By STEVE LAWRENCE
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
California lawmakers voted Thursday to offer illegal immigrants special driver's licenses, a measure Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Berger to pay $50,000 for taking classified material
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A judge on Thursday ordered Sandy Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser, to pay a $50,000 fine for illegally taking classified documents from the National Archives.
The punishment handed down by U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson exceeded the $10,000 fine recommended by government lawyers. Under the deal, Berger avoids prison time but he must surrender access to classified government materials for three years.
The sentencing capped a bizarre sequence of events in which Berger admitted to sneaking classified documents out of the Archives in his suit, later destroying some of them in his office and then lying about it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
the rebs through in a clinker also--
Grand Jury Indicts PAC Connected to DeLay
Sep 08 12:56 PM US/Eastern
AUSTIN, Texas
A grand jury has indicted a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group in connection with 2002 legislative campaign contributions.
The five felony indictments against the two groups were made public Thursday. Neither DeLay nor any individuals with the business group has been charged with any wrongdoing.
The charge against Texans for a Republican Majority alleged the committee illegally accepted a political contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.
Four indictments against the Texas Association of Business include charges of unlawful political advertising, unlawful contributions to a political committee and unlawful expenditures such as those to a graphics company and political candidates.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
and from the grapevine--
Pork Barrel Projects
Thursday, September 08, 2005
By Brit Hume
Now some fresh pickings from the Hurricane Grapevine:
Democrats, and some former government engineers, blamed President Bush for cutting the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers (search), claiming the cuts left New Orleans unprepared for a major storm.
But The Washington Post reports the Bush administration has granted the corps more funding than the previous administration over a similar period and that Louisiana has received far more money for civil works projects than any other state. The paper says much of the funding has been spent not on flood control, but on lawmakers' pet construction projects, including a brand new $750 million canal lock in New Orleans unrelated to flood control.
Pelosi Didn't Know?
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (search) says she was caught unawares by the Republican announcement of a bipartisan investigation into the Hurricane response, saying, "There's been no discussion about this except I called the speaker and said I?m getting press calls about a bipartisan committee."
But sources in both parties say the idea was discussed at the White House earlier in the day by congressional leaders in a meeting with the president with Pelosi attending. In addition, Speaker Hastert was heard discussing it with Pelosi as they were leaving the White House.
Environmentally Friendly?
Neither the administration or its critics are saying this, but one reason anti-flooding measures failed to stop Katrina from inundating New Orleans is that some environmental groups successfully resisted new flood control projects. The Sierra Club (search) and other groups sued the Army Corps of Engineers to stop a 1996 plan to raise and fortify Mississippi River levees because the plan would jeopardize Louisiana forests.
And the New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that "Save our Wetlands" successfully sued the corps of engineers three decades ago to stop construction on floodgates to block storm surges from the Gulf of Mexico into Lake Pontchatrain (search), saying they were too damaging to the lake's eco-system.
Furry Relief
One international organization has announced it's launching the largest relief effort in its history to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina ? asking for food, bedding, and shelter to help victims with "special needs." The International Ferret Congress (search) says it needs all the help it can get to bring aid to their furry friends displaced by the storm. But finding stray ferrets in the Hurricane aftermath isn't enough for the congress, it's soliciting donations to make sure ferrets are never again endangered in a natural disaster.
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