'Prince Of Pork' Funneled $236M To His Nonprofit Groups
The new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), has funneled more than $236 million in federal funds to nonprofit groups he created since 2000, according to a new report by an ethics watchdog group.
Another $227 million in federal loans, grants and contracts went to a group of private firms linked to Rogers and the nonprofit companies, the report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found.
"During the past few months, there have been many glowing stories about Rep. Rogers, and how he has supposedly sworn off his porkish ways," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement.
"CREW's research shows, however, this is not an accurate portrayal of the true Hal Rogers," Sloan said. "In reality, Rep. Rogers has built a fiefdom, where millions in federal funding can continue to be funneled to home state projects each year."
START (for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994 . The treaty was signed by the United States and the USSR, that barred its signatories from deploying more than 6,000 nuclear warheads atop a total of 1,600 ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers. START negotiated the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history, and its final implementation in late 2001 resulted in the removal of about 80 percent of all strategic nuclear weapons then in existence. Proposed by United States President Ronald Reagan, it was renamed START I after negotiations began on the second START treaty, which became START II.
The START I treaty expired 5 December 2009. On 8 April 2010, the new START treaty was signed in Prague by U.S. President Obama and Russian President Medvedev. It will enter into force after its ratification through the parliaments of both countries.
PROPOSAL The first START proposal was presented by United States President Ronald Reagan in Geneva on 29 June 1982. Reagan proposed a dramatic reduction in strategic forces in two phases, which he referred to as SALT III at the time.[2] The first phase would reduce overall warhead counts on any missile type to 5,000, with an additional limit of 2,500 on ICBMs. Additionally, a total of 850 ICBMs would be allowed, with a limit of 110 "heavy throw" missiles like the SS-18, with additional limits on the total "throw weight" of the missiles as well. The second phase introduced similar limits on heavy bombers and their warheads, and other strategic systems as well.
So, the original START Treaty was presented by GOP Hero Ronald Reagan. Ronald ' He defeated the Commies' Reagan.
The President has negotiated START II, and now it needs ratification by the Senate. The problem with is that all treaties need 2/3 majority in the Senate to be ratified.
Of course, the problem is the GOP. They suddenly have a problem with START II.
WHY?
Because President Obama negotiated it.
If this had been George Bush, and he had negotiated anything with our international allies, the first thing that would have been said about any Democrat who opposed it was how the Democrats were once again ENDANGERING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY. And, how dare they oppose the President. Aren't they REAL Americans?
You know it. I know it.
START II IS about the national security of the United States of America, and these mofos could care less. It's quite obvious that they could care less. How bad is it?
LUGAR: Please do your duty for your country. We do not have verification of the Russian nuclear posture right now. We’re not going to have it until we sign the START treaty. We’re not going to be able to get rid of further missiles and warheads aimed at us. I state it candidly to my colleagues, one of those warheads…could demolish my city of Indianapolis — obliterate it! Now Americans may have forgotten that. I’ve not forgotten it and I think that most people who are concentrating on the START treaty want to move ahead to move down the ladder of the number of weapons aimed at us.
Appearing on Meet The Press, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said that the Senate would not be able to ratify the START treaty during the lame-duck session: "If the leader of the Senate, Senator Reid, were to allow a couple of weeks for full debate and amendment of the resolution of ratification, then theoretically there would be time. But he has made it clear that he has a different agenda in mind. And I, I think clearly they've got to set some priorities here. Are they going to deal with the funding of the government for the remainder of the fiscal year? They've got to do that. Are they going to deal with the issue which is on everybody's mind, that you mentioned earlier, and that is to ensure that we don't have a big tax increase, the largest tax increase in the history of the country. These are higher priority items."
Higher priority than the national security of the United States?
G-T-F-O-H
You have other Republicans calling the Senate out for their insanity.
Former Republican Sen. Warns GOP May ‘Have Gone So Far Overboard That We Are Beyond Redemption’
In an age when far-right tea party activists have taken over the Republican Party and demanded lockstep allegiance, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has been one of the few GOP lawmakers to step out of line. In particular, Lugar, the ranking GOP member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has blasted his own party for relentlessly blocking ratification of the New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia, calling on his fellow GOP senators to “do your duty for your country” and complete the pact.
Not surprisingly, this insubordination has earned Lugar significant scorn within the Republican base, which now seems to value blind obedience over principled independent decision-making. In a New York Times profile of Lugar published today, former GOP Sen. John Danforth feared that the backlash against Lugar from his own party signals that the GOP has gone “far overboard” with no hope of turning back:
“If Dick Lugar,” said John C. Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri, “having served five terms in the U.S. Senate and being the most respected person in the Senate and the leading authority on foreign policy, is seriously challenged by anybody in the Republican Party, we have gone so far overboard that we are beyond redemption.”
Mr. Danforth, who was first elected the same year as Mr. Lugar, added, “I’m glad Lugar’s there and I’m not.”
THIS from the man who brought us Unca Clarence.
Richard Lugar, could in no way, be considered a liberal anything. Hell, he couldn't even be considered a moderate anything. He is a conservative, but the man actually thinks about the national security of this country over getting a defeat of the President.
Imagine that - National Security of America and what's in America's international best interests - EVEN IF IT GIVES PRESIDENT OBAMA A WIN - over being a loyal GOP slop.
A REAL American, would want our country to be safe internationally. Would want this country to be in good standing - around the world.
These people are not Real Americans. They are not Good Americans. And, the left has to stop believing that they have any redeeming qualities. That they are nothing but powerhungry animals who could give a rat's ass if this country goes down the tubes, as long as they are in power and can loot the treasury for their friends. They have had MONTHS to look over this treaty. The only reason why they are objecting is because they don't want the President to get any credit for an International Foreign Policy Success.
PERIOD.
A sum up of the GOP Obstructionists with START II on Olbermann:
This is a great piece from Rachel Maddow. The Democrats need to stop letting these GOP hypocrites get away with having it both ways: IF you vote against the earmarks, and IF you go out and talk smack about earmarks.. THEN YOU SHOULDN'T GET ANY.
PERIOD.
Strip them right out of the bill and give that money to a member of Congress willing to put their vote where their mouth is.
This continues to anger me. The GOP wraps itself in the flag and gets away with making votes that HURT THE AVERAGE SOLDIER AND VETERAN. Over and Over.
Now, you have Senator Coburn, the same Senator Coburn who told a woman asking about how to take care of her invalid husband that she should ' depend on neighbors' - THAT Coburn, is holding up legislation that would help the caregivers of Veterans. The Veterans that fall through the cracks. I was a caregiver to my mother, but she had a terminal illness, and I knew, sadly, that my time as a caregiver would end. These people are caregivers to the injured, the maimed, the casulties of war that don't wind up in a cemetary, but do wind up with medical problems for the rest of their lives....and this man has the NERVE to be blocking this.
So after all the lying and misleading with phony stories about hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, Mark Sanford has been forced to publicly admit his affair. "Mr. Religious"...and "Mr. I'm not going to provide my citizens with stimulus money to keep food on their tables" has been creeping on his wife.
If he wants to creep around on his wife...that's fine. But what leaves me scratching my head is the fact that he practically abandoned his State in order to do his creeping around. He abandoned his responsibilities as Governor. Apparently this wasn't the only time he has done so.
How could he leave the State as Governor and not fully inform the Lt. Governor and the leadership in his legislature? This is especially shocking in this post Sept. 11th World we live in. It's ironic because these Republicans, especially Republican Governors, are always invoking 9/11 and touting their leadership responsibilities.
I should have known Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow were on to something when they kept sniffing around on this. You don't have to be a bloodhound to pick up on the odor of Bull----.
He's resigned as the chairman of the Republican Governors Assoc. .... hopefully he'll resign as Governor next. It's enough that he tried to starve his own people. It's also enough that he's a religious hypocrite. But now he has abandoned his State and his responsibilities as Governor.
From Rikyrah: You tell your wife 5 MONTHS AGO, and you're still messing around?
HELL NO.
If MY husband steps to me with ' I'm having an affair'
the next sentence better be a) it's over with HER and I want to work things out with YOU
or
b) I believe OUR marriage is over, because I want to be with HER.
The ' I dunno, and I'll hump her for a few more months while I make up my mind' is NOT an option.
He only ' confessed' BECAUSE HE WAS CAUGHT!
Follow the money...how many other ' trips' did he take like this...and how many were on the public's dime?
It has been making my blood pressure rise, and my eyes roll, watching these GOP lowlifes degrade the Stimulus package, all the while saying, ' sure we'll take the money'. Then there are the lunatics, whose states are collapsing around them, posturing that they're 'debating' about not taking the money.
I give you Rude Pundit:
2/19/2009 Shut the Fuck Up and Take the Money:
Really, Republican Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, and Sarah Palin of...well, you fuckin' know? Really? You're really thinking about rejecting some of the money coming to your states in the federal stimulus? Well, not really, since the law says your legislatures can take the money without your okay. So you can huff and puff and talk about "strings attached" or what-the-fuck-ever, but in the end, you know that you're gonna shut the fuck up and take the cash, bitches.
Of course, you won't admit why you find your state budgets going down the shitter. Because to do so would mean that Republicans would have to admit that their beloved federalism is a big fuckin' failure, another rank ideological stench emanating from the Reagan era. You put more and more control of projects in the individual states, you pile ungodly debt on top of tax cuts, you toss in a few unfunded mandates (see No Child Left [with a seat for their] Behind), and that piss sound you hear is trickle down, conservatives, except it's the costs that are trickling to the states, not any largesse. Until, you know, right now.
So, sure, Bobby Jindal, you exorcisin' great Republican hope, you go ahead and say you don't want the $308 million in highway construction funds or the half a billion or so in Medicaid money or the over $400 million for education in a state more notable for its official attempts to keep its students stupid (see creationism bills over the years). Which part are you gonna tell Washington to keep? The unemployment benefits? The tax credits?
You're fuckin' adorable. You go ahead and say it all you want. Say how you wouldn't have voted for the bill if you'd still been in Congress. And then, at some point, probably after you give your cute little response to Barack Obama's speech to Congress on Tuesday, with your state's budget shortfall on the fast track to $2 billion and cuts happening everywhere, you know you're gonna have to shut the fuck up and take the money. Same goes for all of the idiot Republicans.
And don't worry. No matter if it helps a little or a lot, no one will expect you to say, "Thanks." At this point, we all know what ungrateful, selfish dicks you are. Like what the quickly crumbling Governor Sanford said this morning. Being against the bill "doesn't preclude taking the money." The thought of that $8 billion not coming to his state? Well, no one's an atheist in a foxhole, right?
Ah, the sweet, plaintive, familiar sigh of Republican hypocrisy. It echoes from the domes of DC to the state houses around the nation.
Now, Lindsay Graham is talking about nationalization of the banks. Can it be anymore clear as to how phony he and the Republicans are? Yelping about the Stimulus, yet, when push comes to shove, the good old ' free market' Graham can't even pretend that the banks of this country are stable. They are PHONIES. This should also tell you something else - that when a ' free market' disciple can even utter the word ' nationalization', that means the banks are in far more trouble than even we believed them to be.
"The two parties have combined against us to nullify our power by a ‘gentleman's agreement' of non-recognition, no matter how we vote ... May God write us down as asses if ever again we are found putting our trust in either the Republican or the Democratic Parties." -- W.E.B. DuBois (1922)
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