http://www.democraticunderground.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:16:29 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:16:29 [div class="excerpt"]The Pentagon pays an average of $400 to put a gallon of fuel into a combat vehicle or aircraft in Afghanistan.

The statistic is likely to play into the escalating debate in Congress over the cost of a war that entered its ninth year last week.

Pentagon officials have told ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/224 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:32:53 [div class="excerpt"]Hartford (WTNH) - A new study shows a growing number of people don't identify with any religion leaving many to wonder if faith is being put on the back burner.

"In God we trust"...or, do we? It seems when it comes to religion we, as a society, have become a bit skeptical. A ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/223 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:51:50 Source: [b]Washington Post[/b]

TOLEDO, Ohio -- A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government was wrong to freeze the assets of an Ohio-based charity accused of having ties to a militant Islamic group.

U.S. District Judge James Carr said Tuesday the government shouldn't be allowed to close d... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/221 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:20:24 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

Several Republican senators are urging Attorney General Eric Holder to scrap plans to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate CIA officials who interrogated suspected terrorists.

In a letter to Holder sent Wednesday, the nine GOP Senators, including Sen. Kit Bond (R-... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/222 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:47:16 On her good days, Metta Johnson can sit by a friend's pool and enjoy the sun. On her bad days, the 61-year-old Dallas woman with severe arthritis can do little more than lie in bed, writhing from the pain.

But whatever each morning brings her, Johnson at least knows she's one day closer to rece... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/220 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:37:00 Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, has turned out to be the only member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to stump Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

In the process, he sparked the biggest laughs of the so-far dry hearing, living up to his reputation as a fu... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/218 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:26:29 [div class="excerpt"]Perhaps desperate for new ways to undermine Barack Obama’s presidency, Fox News has joined forces with the “birthers,” the fringe who irrationally claim that Obama’s presidency is illegitimate because he was not born in the U.S. As Think Progress has reported, Obama’s Hawai... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/219 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:02:13 Source: [b]The Hill [/b]

Reflecting the troubles President Obama will have wrangling his own party into line, a wing of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a new television advertisement targeting nine of its own senators on healthcare.

The advertisement, funded by Organizing fo... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/216 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:32:38 Source: [b]Briefing Room The Hill[/b]

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) summoned the memories of his two late brothers to hail the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee's passage of healthcare legislation Wednesday.

"This room is a special place. In this room, my two brothers de... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/217 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:24:32 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

House Democrats will introduce their full healthcare reform bill Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday while acknowledging she has much work left to do to win over members of her own caucus.

"We’re still on schedule. We have plans to vote for this leg... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/215 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:56:27 Source: [b]Associated Press[/b]

PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Senate has confirmed Victor Mendez as the next administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

The confirmation was announced Monday by the highway administration. Executive director Jeff Paniati praised Mendez's leadership and experie... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/214 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:10:32 [b]HBO Carries a Torch For Teddy Kennedy[/b]

The neatest trick of the week would be to make a film about the life of Edward M. Kennedy that wasn't compelling. The man has lived the equivalent of a hyper-dramatic autobiographical novel, a story to give one's emotions a workout and a continuing sag... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/213 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:29:52 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

The White House on Monday said that President Obama would consider asking Congress to delay the summer break if he hasn't seen sufficient progress on healthcare reform by the August recess.

Hours after Obama told reporters that he is "going to get this done," White House ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/212 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:51:07 As if it's not bad enough we have to deal with Evan Bayh and his posse of Blue Dog Democrats in the Senate.

[i]A handful of conservative Republican senators "have made it their duty to review practically every amendment -- major or minor -- that passes through the Senate chamber, much to the cha... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/211 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:06:29 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

Key House Republicans are charging Attorney General Eric Holder of playing politics at the Justice Department.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said Holder has ignored at least three letters sent over the past month from Republicans demanding to know why Justice dismissed charges ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/210 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:02:21 Source: [b]Associated Press[/b]



WASHINGTON – The Associated Press has learned that President Barack Obama has chosen a well-known Alabama family physician, Dr. Regina Benjamin, to be the next surgeon general.

<snip>

Benjamin was the first black woman to head a state medical society, recei... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/209 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:43:38 Source: [b]Roll Call[/b]

House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Friday afternoon that the House’s health care bill would be unveiled Monday and would include a $540 billion tax increase on people making more than $350,000 a year.

The tax increase, which would take effect in 2... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/208 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:39:05 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) on Friday scolded Republicans for mischaracterizing briefings about a classified CIA program and revealed new details about alleged attempts to keep it secret from Congress.

Eshoo, a senior member of the intelligence panel, disputed assertions b... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/207 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:49:47 The Congressional Progressive Caucus has fired Bill Goold, its executive director, leaving the House Democrats’ liberal wing without a staff-level chief as they head into a critical legislative fight on health care.

Goold’s termination was effective immediately. The reasons behind the dismissal a... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/206 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:31:34 Source: [b]Associated Press[/b]

WASHINGTON – An appeals court has ruled, in a case arising from the Abramoff scandal, that statements federal lawmakers make during congressional ethics investigations cannot be used against them in criminal probes.

The case involves former Florida Republican Rep.... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/205 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:39:19 Source: [b]Roll Call[/b]

House Democrats’ health care bill has been delayed indefinitely as leaders continue negotiations with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats.

Committee chairmen had planned to release their bill on Friday and begin marking it up on Monday, but notices were sent out thi... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/204 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:36:52 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

Seventeen House members from both parties are calling on the Obama administration to investigate the Federal Reserve over its role in Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch at the height of the financial crisis.

The deal has caused significant controversy on Capit... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/203 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:34:42 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

The House rebuked President Obama for trying to ignore restrictions to international aid payments, voting overwhelmingly for an amendment forcing the administration to abide by its constraints.

House members approved an amendment by a 429-2 vote to have the Obama administ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/202 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:13:42 Source: [b]Associated Press[/b]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The face of homelessness in the United States is changing to include more families and more people who live in the suburbs and rural communities.

The number of homeless has remained steady since 2007, but within the overall count are trends that ... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/201 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:23:39 Source: [b]The Hill[/b]

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has taken up the mantle as the chief opponent of "Don't ask, don't tell" in Congress, and he's confident the policy banning gays from serving openly in the military will get its first full committee hearing in a decade and a half this session.

... http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/200 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:15:46