1. Here's what fake thoughtful and independent leadership gets a district. Nothing more than a blank check for the Bush administration to stay in Iraq indefinitely. Again, we are left to ask: What happened to Kirk's comments to the Daily Herald and Pioneer Press that it is time to "wind down U.S. troops, not increase them"? Was he lying to get a sound byte he thought constituents wanted to hear and they'd forget before they vote in the next election or did he just lose his thoughtful and independent nerve.
2. Maybe Mark Kirk was wrong about only worrying about IP violations when trading with China. A trading partner's behavior toward its own people is a very good indication of what it will do to you. It wasn't just cat and dog food that got contaminated:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug administration (FDA) have learned that byproducts from pet food manufactured with contaminated wheat gluten imported from China have been used in chicken feed on some farms in the state of Indiana. This information came to light as part of the continuing investigation into imported rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten that have been found to contain melamine and melamine-related compounds.
What are the USDA and FDA going to do? Unclear with the current state of our health and safety regulatory scheme under the Bush crony administration. Ok republican commenters, do you really have no concerns for your own food supply. That one time $200 tax cut didn' t buy you your own chicken feed factory, did it?
3. Just because they say it doesn't make it true. As for the republican talking point that the US Attorney firings were completely legal, think again. It's looking like the investigation is uncovering hiring and firing completely based on political affiliation. Apart from the evidence of obstruction of justice which is illegal all by itself, it is illegal to hire and fire based on party affiliation.
4. The United States of the republican Party? Not directly related to US Attorney-gate, but evidence of the same attitude are the violations of the Hatch Act (see here too) , illegal politicking on the people's time with the people's dime.
8 comments:
Nice catches, Ellen. Keep going!
Hello Ellen-
I just found this on the web. It is an interview with Kirk.
SLJ caught up with Kirk to talk about his reasoning and motivation for the law.
Why is passing DOPA so important to you?
Kirk - "I have a group of kids I work with: my Student Leadership Advisory Board. They're 36 kids who are the high school class presidents of every high school in my district [Chicago's North Shore suburbs]. [Each year] we ask them, "What's the biggest danger to kids that your parents don't know about?" Last year, they said, "Creeps online." Our group is two-thirds female. I asked, "How many of you guys have been approached by a predator?" And nearly every girl raised her hand."
Your bill demands that schools and public libraries deny access to social networking sites and chat rooms unless an adult is present and there's an educational purpose. Define "educational purpose."
Kirk says: We haven't defined "educational purpose" in the legislation, but our purpose is a more basic one. In some places we have unfettered [computer] access, and disturbing incidents have resulted. In Lake County, IL, predators were using MySpace to reach high school computers.
It doesn't seem right if libraries outright ban social networking sites, wikis, and blogs.
Computers used by adults should be free and unfettered, whatever the local policy. In the realm of minor children, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the government has a compelling interest in protecting them. And I think that Congress and the laws of the United States have fallen dangerously behind the technology used by predators.
What about the First Amendment?
Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes said [in De Jonge v. Oregon] that there must be common sense put into the law, that you cannot yell "fire!" in a crowded theater and start a stampede—then defend your action on First Amendment grounds. And the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that there are compelling interests in protecting children.
What do you have to say to librarians and civil rights advocates who call the DOPA legislation vague and ineffective?
Kirk says: My response is that they're out of touch with over 400 members of Congress who are representing the American people.
Are you aware that your critics say that you're advocating censorship?
Yes, I am totally in favor of censoring predators from children!
What about just educating kids about smart and safe ways to surf the Web?
These are 10- and 11-year-old children. We want them to be educated and act responsibly. But they are children! They are so naive and so innocent. The danger is that with a [young] child, you can tell her about all the dangers in the world. But she's eight!
The only thing you can really do, as we do with car seats and door locks and making sure the front door is closed, is to physically protect the child. The Internet only came online in 1993, and this danger didn't emerge until a few years later, and our laws are totally behind the curve.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6430550.html
I'm certainly no fan of Kirk nor do I believe he is truly independent. But sometimes he does the right thing, as in his sponsorship of the hate crime bill that will certainly be vetoed by Bush because it will "muzzle" right-wing preachers. Boehner and Blunt voted against it, as did all but 25 Republicans. Hastert and 9 other Republicans weren't present.
What does the hate crime have to do with Mark Kirk trying to crack down on online predators??
The problem is the parents. Since Mark Kirk is not a parent he has absolutely no idea how children should be raised. It starts in the home. It is not up to alibrary to discipline children. Since he is also a proven liar his credibility is zero with anything.
Another bill that won't go anywhere and Kirk knows it. Bush already sent Pelosi a letter telling her in advance that he would veto any hate crimes bill- and how did he anticipate this coming up? Wow- what's kirk's effectiveness record? 0 bills passed. But he sure can swagger and get a lot of press for being independent. he wasn't a major part of the 'do nothing congress' for naught.
Actually Kirk probably really does support a hate crimes bill. Being a gay republican, he needs to send that message of tolerance to other gay republicans who support him and might otherwise be Democrats. I think it's the only way he can show support for gays as a republican without actually coming out, since the party has made such an overt stand against gays in general. I don't get it really- it seems like a form of self-loathing to identify with a party who reviles you. Maybe they think they can change it from the inside out.
Re: DOPA- It's all part of Kirk and Rove's bogus suburban agenda plan to make people think that he cares about them. This is his way of pretending that he's dealing with local issues. Kirk's so called DOPA, was, first of all, introduced by Mark Foley, the online predator with the knowledge of all of the GOP leadership. Kirk likes to incite alarm in people in areas like Buffalo Grove, where one of the schools have teachers who are under investigation for child molesting. More of the GOP trying to convince a gullible fearful public that he can keep them safe.
In fact, his bill won't help any of the children in the tenth district and will only hurt the ones who can't afford their own personal computers. So lying through his teeth Kirk manages to punish the tax paying public without doing a thing to punish or catch the predators.
Re: DOPA- It's all part of Kirk and Rove's bogus suburban agenda plan to make people think that he cares about them. This is his way of pretending that he's dealing with local issues. Kirk's so called DOPA, was, first of all, introduced by Mark Foley, the online predator with the knowledge of all of the GOP leadership. Kirk likes to incite alarm in people in areas like Buffalo Grove, where one of the schools have teachers who are under investigation for child molesting. More of the GOP trying to convince a gullible fearful public that he can keep them safe.
In fact, his bill won't help any of the children in the tenth district and will only hurt the ones who can't afford their own personal computers. So lying through his teeth Kirk manages to punish the tax paying public without doing a thing to punish or catch the predators.
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