Excerpt from the Aug. 1, 2002, ‘Torture Memo’:
For weeks, the right has heckled Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. for his plans to try the alleged 9/11 conspirators in New York City and his handling of the Christmas bombing plot suspect. Now the left is going to be upset: an upcoming Justice Department report from its ethics-watchdog unit, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), clears the Bush administration lawyers who authored the “torture” memos of professional-misconduct allegations.
Read more: Newsweek
Add Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) to the list of Democrats who now say their healthcare reform bills are imperiled.
During an interview on Friday, the congresswoman stressed it was going to be “very difficult” to pass that legislation in the coming weeks, mostly because House and Senate leaders are still without a “roadmap” and have yet to address key policy differences between the two chambers’ efforts
Read more: The Hill
Thank you, John, for the gracious introduction.
To Mike and Eric, thank you for hosting me.
Thank you to all of you for receiving me. It is wonderful to be here.
I want to also acknowledge Mark Strand, the president of the Congressional Institute.
To all the family members who are here and who have to put up with us who are in elective office each and every day, thank you, because I know that’s tough.
(APPLAUSE)
I very much am appreciative of not only the tone of your introduction, John, but also the invitation that you extended to me. You know what they say, “Keep your friends close, but visit the Republican Caucus every few months.”
(LAUGHTER)
Now, part of the reason I accepted your invitation to come here was because I wanted to speak with all of you, and not just to all of you. So I’m looking forward to taking your questions and having a real conversation in a few moments.
And I hope that the conversation we begin here doesn’t end here, that we can continue our dialogue in the days ahead
Read more: Washington Post
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A federal judge has ruled that the use of prayer to open a North Carolina county board of commissioners meeting violates the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge James A. Beaty Jr. on Thursday adopted recommendations made earlier by a magistrate judge.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued in 2007 on behalf of two Forsyth County residents who said many meetings opened with Christian-themed prayers
Read more: Church Report
President Barack Obama on Friday encouraged House Republicans to “challenge my ideas” and continue to “stand up for your beliefs,” but he pointedly criticized the caucus for playing politics on important, must-pass reforms.
Read more: The Hill
The Berkeley (CA) Board of Education will consider, at its February 3 meeting, whether or not to cancel before and after school Science Labs for Advanced Placement Science classes at Berkeley High School because the classes are attended largely by white students. The proposal is aimed at addressing “Berkeley’s dismal racial achievement gap”
Read more: Human Events
At least half a dozen leaders of the Republican Party have joined forces to create a new political group with the goal of organizing grass-roots support and raising funds ahead of the 2010 midterm elections, according to people familiar with the effort.
The organizational details of the group, expected to be called the American Action Network, are still being worked out, but it is expected to contain both a 501(c)3 and a 501(c)4 component. In simpler terms, a 501(c)3 can advocate on policy matters while a 501(c)4 is an election arm
Read more: WSJ
President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget will project hundreds of billions of dollars in new federal revenue from a proposed comprehensive cap-and-trade climate law, according to Democratic aides — despite dimming prospects for enacting such legislation this year
Read more: CQ Politics
By CHARLES M. BLOW
……
Take the enormous health care bill for instance. The president overreached, pushing a convoluted bill with a convoluted message. The Republican response: “Just say no.” They countered with a series of crisp attacks that shrouded the bill in a fog of confusion. Now it’s in danger, and the public may well blame the Democrats. People don’t care as much about process as they do about results
Read more: NY Times
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