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The extreme peaceniks and others expressing less venomous opposition to the Iraq war often begin their arguments with reference to inherent characteristics of war as their central theme. Aside from the obvious death and destruction that accompanies armed conflict, they stress the loss of troops and civilians as their largest concern. But they will never accept the fact that this same expression of opposition has prolonged the war in Iraq by strengthening the determination of the enemy. In other words, opposition prolonging the war shares responsibility for the death toll that the anti-war crowd views with such disdain. How’s that for irony?

Each day that politicians seek political cover on the war in Iraq from these same anti-war critics also causes more loss of life. A prudent and practical human being regardless of ideology would sacrifice their own selfish interest in favor of the valiant contributions by those actually at risk of death. To express the realities of politics is simply more rhetoric and of little consolation to those who shoulder the real burden. If you are not now nor have ever been in Iraq, shut the hell up and get this thing done so those who are can satisfy the demands of both sides of the issue by achieving victory in Iraq and coming home that much sooner.

To a much less dramatic issue but with equal potential for serious injury to the United States is illegal immigration. The reason for addressing it at the same time as the Iraq war is the focus afforded these two issues will distract from attending to other matters until resolved. The sympathy argument for illegals is another ploy that compels politicians to seek political cover rather than face the reality that this is simply an economic or financial issue.

The open borders crowd claims that illegals are merely seeking a better life is really describing a better income. The business community’s scare tactics about economic disaster without illegals is really describing lower costs and higher profits by exploiting artificial wage competition. Trying to solve the world’s problems by eliminating border and immigration control only exacerbates the symtoms.

Not securing the borders or controlling immigration is a national security risk we cannot afford. Allowing amnesty for lawbreakers only encourages its continuation. Not enforcing existing laws is a violation of the oath of office of all or most elected and appointed officials in the executive branch. Both sides of the issue, again, can be satisfied by effective control and management of the flow of people in and out of this country. Conceding to the demands of selfish special interest is not an option. Common sense demands this issue be solved now. The guiding force should be the rule of law not the whim of personal preference.

As a personal note, if you truly believe open borders are a good thing, I suggest this. Leave all your locks unlocked 24/7 from now on. Then let us know how long it takes before you experience something really bad. It is nice to think the best of people but that does not suggest ignoring the worst. They invented security because both exist.

Stanford Matthews
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Congressional Democrats Negotiate With Bush Aides on Iraq

Congressional Democrats and President Bush’s aides meet again Thursday to negotiate on funding for the Iraq war.

Senators Work With White House to Craft Immigration Deal

Bipartisan group of senators and White House officials work to craft an immigration agreement.

Just another simple reminder that the call for investigating Senator Dianne Feinstein is not going away. At this blog, we are still digging to collect any evidence we can to do one of two things. Provide assistance to any entity that would consider an investigation since it appears Rep Henry Waxman will never do it. And second, to bring enough to light through this blog to help force the issue on others responsible for oversight like the DOJ for example.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

For this reminder, an excerpt and link to a brief article from the President of Judicial Watch.

Investigating US Senator Diane Feinstein

By Tom Fitton
May 15, 2007
It seems like basic principle to me. According to Senate ethics rules, Members of the U.S. Senate, and their families, cannot benefit personally and financially from legislative decisions they make. Senator Feinstein, apparently, either doesn’t agree with this principle, or she has chosen to ignore it. Here’s a recap of a controversy surrounding Feinstein

It may sound outragious to the casual observer or typical apathetic or bleeding heart version of American, but the laws against treason should have a section that addresses politicians who sell this country by accepting money from every special interest and who do their bidding regardless of the negative impact on this nation.

A report from Politico has it right and wrong. The report describes the power and influence, meaning political contributions, etc., of the ‘goliath’ supporting amnesty in immmigration legislation. Senate bill 1348 is the culmination of Harry Reid’s push via Kyl, Kennedy and others to circumvent existing legislation that has been rendered useless through the Bush Administration and others before them refusing to enforce immigration and border control.

Amnesty lobby is immigration Goliath

Nearly every major corporation, trade association, union and civil rights group has a dog in this fight — but most of them seek slightly different things. Companies and trade associations mainly seek reforms in the green card and visa process, while most unions want changes in the guest worker program; civil rights groups press for a path to citizenship above all. The challenge, lobbyists say, remains for these groups to band together to thwart anti-immigration groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA and others trying to fan the flames of grass-roots angst against illegal — and legal — immigration.

The Politico report describes the ‘goliath’ push for easing unenforced immigration laws against what it called the grassroots angst against illegal and legal immigration. That part is wrong. It is not angst. And it is not against legal immigration.

There are seven immigration ‘reform’ bills on the active legislation list at the Senate. This is just a dog and pony show to mask the elimination of immigration and border control as ‘’immigration reform’. The middle class will pay for the crushing burden of opening the immigration flood gates while the politicians and corporate interests line their pockets with the profit from illegal immigration in the form of cheap labor and campaign contributions.

The result will include an increased risk in attack by terrorists that is being sanctioned by political and corporate wrongdoing that explains the ealier suggestion of expanding the laws against treason in this country to include this type of criminal behavior.

But the vast majority of Americans have not the vision to see what is being done to them and have developed such an iron clad shield of apathy they simply nod in agreement and continue to bend over and let it happen again. To which the powerful interests are unable to ignore the opportunity to abuse it again. The few individuals and ‘grassroots’ groups that continue to oppose such travesties are mostly ignored and the cycle repeats itself.

While some of us lobby our representatives and get involved in local, state or national efforts to thwart the open borders crowd and other threats to this nation, the rest of you sit idly by with a front row seat watching the ease with which special interest steals the country from under you.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

crossposted at Maggie’s Notebook | Conservative Blog
This blog has been quiet on Senator Dianne Feinstein for a while. That time should end right about now. If for nothing other than frustration. After echoing sentiments from a number of sources that should have some clout, it appears no one is quite ready to attend to the business of calling DiFi to account for her questionable actions. How about a little review to get this thing restarted.

A short visit to Senator Feinstein’s website was unsuccessful in locating any rebuttal statements to the allegations of conflict of interest in her involvement with the awarding of military contracts and her husband’s involvement in defense contracting including companies that benefit from DiFi’s influence. The following releases are what we found in the first couple of pages on a search with the term ‘ethics’:

Restoring Public Confidence in Elected Officials
As Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, I had the privilege of managing debate on the first bill brought to the Senate floor in the 110th Congress – S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act. This landmark e…

Ethics, Lobbying & Election Reform
The time has come for a change in the way Congress does business. At the beginning of the 110th Congress, I assumed the Chairmanship of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and made ethics reform and election reform my top two priorities….#

Senate Approves Feinstein-Rockefeller Amendment to Require Accountability and Transparency for Classified Earmarks
Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate today approved the amendment to the comprehensive ethics reform bill filed by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) that seeks to bring accountability and transparency to classified…
Press Release from Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Incoming Rules Committee Chairman Senator Feinstein Calls for Senate Passage of Ethics Reform Package, Pledges New Era of Bipartisanship and Transparency
Washington, DC – As the incoming Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today spoke on the Floor of the U.S. Senate to discuss the upcoming debate of the ethics, lobbying, earmark reform legislation – …
Press Release from Monday, January 8, 2007

Senator Feinstein to Become First Woman Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee
Washington, DC – In the wake of the Democratic takeover of the United States Senate, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is poised to become the first woman Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. Senator Feinstein will also retain h…
Press Release from Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Senate Committee Approves Feinstein Measure to Reform Earmark Process
Washington, DC – The Senate Rules Committee today unanimously approved a proposal by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to require 60 votes for any provision (earmark or otherwise) added to conference report that is not contained in the origin…
Press Release from Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The above releases are intended to convince the reader that Senator Dianne Feinstein is a fine example of honesty and integrity whose only interest is in serving her constituents. No release was found to deny the claims of conflict of interesst. In stark contrast to the puff pieces above are the more down to earth reports indicating their is a reasonable possibility that not all is well with Senator Feinstein’s activities nor those of her husband. And it would not be crazy to assume they are not the only two that could be involved since little goes on in a vacuum in Washington and other venues in the game of politics. Read on.

Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict
As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband’s firms
By Peter Byrne

IN THE November 2006 election, the voters demanded congressional ethics reform. And so, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is now duly in charge of regulating the ethical behavior of her colleagues. But for many years, Feinstein has been beset by her own ethical conflict of interest, say congressional ethics experts.

As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee.

Army contract for Feinstein’s husband
Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 22, 2003URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

The award to help with troop mobilization, weapons systems training and anti-terrorism efforts is the latest in a string of plum defense jobs snared by URS. In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years.

Feinstein Conflict Allegations ‘Aren’t Going Away,’ Watchdogs Say
Fred Lucas
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein may have had as much of a financial interest in two defense contractors as her husband who controlled them, according to California law.The state’s “community property law” could be relevant at a time when the senior Democratic senator from California is facing allegations of a conflict of interest and growing calls for an inquiry.

Feinstein stepped down late last year from the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on military construction (MILCON) after five years on the panel. The subcommittee was charged with reviewing construction projects, some of which were awarded to the Perini and URS firms owned by Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum.

These are just a few of the reports. This is just the beginning of an effort by this blog to keep the light focused on Senator Feinstein. There are watchdog groups and media outlets that show up in searches but no content can be found on the articles. There are political party sites that mention these allegations and yet hearings, investigations or even loud noises from the main stream media are not forthcoming. That seems a bit odd. Are we all supposed to believe there is nothing to the allegations? That would be more convincing if something more than a lame excuse was offered as an explanation. After contacting one Senator, I was offered the ‘there is nothing to this and everything is above board’ speech. Sorry, not buying it on that flimsy excuse. We want to see docs, lots of docs and validated, verified and proof positive evidence of the contracts Feinstein was involved in and any that were related to her husband’s and her business interests or any other entity that stood to provide them with improper gains.

Stay tuned. With any luck at all the results of a few more well placed inquiries and discussions with reporters, etc., might get something moving after all.

Stanford Matthews
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Trackposted to Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Big Dog’s Weblog, Adam’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, The Florida Masochist, Conservative Cat, Rightlinx, Allie Is Wired, third world county, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Many cliches, spin phrases, attempts at redirection or deflection of criticism abound shortly after allegations or accusations of a scandalous nature become public. That is why the small quantity of reports identifying a conflict of interest between Senator Dianne Feinstein’s committee activities including defense contract awards and her husband Richard Blum’s involvement in URS Corp and Perini Corporation not getting much play is a surprise.

Perhaps a scandal from these reports would involve so many other notable participants that it is ignored. In the early years, it is reported that Blum supported Moscone in SF politics. When Moscone was mayor of SF, Feinstein was President of the Supervisors. Feinstein was sworn in as mayor after Moscone and Harvey Milk were assassinated by Dan White. Somewhere during this time, Blum and Feinstein paths crossed and later they were married.

Blum had started in business with an investment firm. His interest in buying struggling properties or businesses and later reselling for a profit, launched his career as a financier. His first major success was buying the struggling - Ringling Bros - Barnum and Bailey. Circus for 8 million and a few years later selling it to Mattel,Inc. for 40 million.

Besides investing in URS Corp, Blum later helped them during an accounting scandal. URS Corp bought EG&G Technical Services from the Carlyle Group in 2002. This company has received contracts form the government which would contribute to the allegations of conflict of interest. President Bush 41, former British Prime Minister John Major and former SEC Commissioner Arthur Levitt are all involved with the Carlyle Group which is a 14 billion dollar buyout firm. Could these type of power brokers be what keeps some investigations from happening? Or is it just easier to appease the public appetite for political scandal with targets like the following examples.

Congressman resigns after bribery plea
California Republican admits selling influence for $2.4 million
Monday, November 28, 2005; Posted: 10:09 p.m. EST (03:09 GMT)

Congressman Quits Panel After Raid
Less than a week after the FBI raided the Northern Virginia home of his wife, Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) gave up his coveted seat on the House Appropriations Committee yesterday amid concerns that he had used that post to advance the interests of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other …

FBI Probe Sidelines GOP Lawmaker
CBS News, NY
(CBS/AP) For the second time in as many days, a Republican member of Congress is stepping down from a sensitive committee because he’s being investigated by …

Some have gone as far as to say Feinstein and her husband and possibly others have profited from blood money in the war in Iraq. While that may be a stretch or a personal viewpoint on anyone generates revenue as a result of a war, the following excerpts from GAO reports show some of the contracts awarded to Perini Corp.

About $1.38 billion has been made available for RIE projects to date.
Of this amount, $756 million was allocated from the Development Fund
for Iraq,[Footnote 70] and the remaining $626 million was made
available from funds Congress appropriated for the Iraq Relief and
Reconstruction Fund.[Footnote 71] The Corps’ Transatlantic Program
Center used $1.06 billion of this money to issue task orders to
contractors for the first phase of RIE projects, known as “RIE 1,”
beginning in September 2003. The three largest contract obligations for
this phase went to Perini Corporation ($356.5 million), Fluor
Intercontinental ($335 million), and Washington Group International
($310 million).[Footnote 72] According to Corps officials, as of May
5, 2004, the CPA’s Program Management Office had allocated to the Corps
almost $323 million for two additional RIE phases, known as “RIE 2″
and “RIE 3.” RIE 2 continues the efforts of RIE 1 to help achieve 6,000
megawatts of generating capacity by June 30, 2004. RIE 3 projects are
not of an emergency nature but are necessary to add additional capacity
to the electrical grid. Of the $1.38 billion made available for RIE
projects, about $1.32 billion has been committed to contracts and task
orders.

Security Concerns Add to Cost and Slow Reconstruction Pace:

To varying extents, RIE 1 contractors are reporting or are expected to
report substantial security costs. For example, Perini estimated the
total cost of security at $63.4 million through August 2004, or almost
18 percent of its $356.5 million contract, and Washington Group
International’s security costs were nearly $44.5 million, or 14.3
percent of its $310 million contract.[Footnote 76] According to Corps
officials, the variation in security costs is in part explained by
differences in the nature and location of the projects performed by the
three contractors. Fluor, for example, used the protection of the
coalition’s “Green Zone” in Baghdad for some functions. Security for
RIE projects under these contracts extends through the construction
period. At the end of construction, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity
will assume responsibility for security.

* In March 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a limited
competition resulting in multiple-award contracts with three firms–
Washington International, Inc., Fluor Intercontinental, Inc., and
Perini Corporation–for construction-related activities in the Central
Command’s area of responsibility. These contracts had a maximum value
of $100 million each. In the latter part of August 2003, as efforts to
restore electricity throughout Iraq lagged and amid concerns that the
electrical shortages presented social unrest and security threats to
the CPA and the military forces, the Central Command tasked the Army
Corps of Engineers with taking steps to rebuild the electrical
infrastructure as quickly as possible. In response, the Army Corps of
Engineers issued task orders under each of these contracts causing them
to exceed their maximum value.[Footnote 21] Consequently, the orders
are outside the scope of the underlying contracts.

Appendix II: Iraq Reconstruction Contracts/Task Orders and Obligations
as of September 30, 2003:

Contracting agency/Contractor: Department of Defense:
Department of the Army: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/
Brown & Root Services, a division of Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc;
Purpose: Restore Iraqi oil;
Procurement method: New contract;
Amount obligated: $1,390,095,044.

Contracting agency/Contractor: Department of Defense:
Department of the Army: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/
Washington International Inc;
Purpose: Restore Iraqi electricity;
Procurement method: Task order;
Amount obligated: $110,960,000.

Contracting agency/Contractor: Department of Defense:
Department of the Army: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/
Fluor Intercontinental, Inc;
Purpose: Restore Iraqi electricity;
Procurement method: Task order;
Amount obligated: $102,460,000.

Contracting agency/Contractor: Department of Defense:
Department of the Army: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/
Perini Corporation;
Purpose: Restore Iraqi electricity;
Procurement method: Task order;
Amount obligated: $66,589,900.

One of the next posts on this topic should have similar information on URS Corp. It would also be helpful to provide soem more information on the other players who may be involved. And there is no reason not to look at contracts from the no bid arrangement with the likes of Halliburton, KBR and others. It is easy to guess but hard to explain why so little has been done in the way of oversight of these matters. With the flood of a Democrat-led push to uncover suspicious activity as long as it involves Republicans, some may like to know why their focus is so narrow if it is not only a political vendetta. Surely, the GOP is not the only party capable of wrongdoing.

Stanford Matthews
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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Pet Haven Blog, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, Pet’s Garden Blog, Rightlinx, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, , Pirate’s Cove, The Right Nation, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Right Pundits, The Random Yak, 123beta, Maggie’s Notebook, Adam’s Blog, basil’s blog, MONICA, Phastidio.net, The Bullwinkle Blog, Cao’s Blog, , Conservative Cat, Jo’s Cafe, Conservative Thoughts, Allie Is Wired, stikNstein… has no mercy, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, CORSARI D’ITALIA, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

With all the flap over US AG Gonzales, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and Halliburton and any thing else the Democrats have time to ‘investigate’, it starts looking more like politics than a sincere interest to uncover wrongdoing. Most people would probably agree that there are a host of issues to investigate that would fall under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. One could also suggest that every American you could ask would have at least one proposal for an investigation into government activities that appear not quite right. So why has Rep. Henry Waxman’s committee not considered investigating improper activity involving Sen Dianne Feinstein?

According to the committee’s website these are their functions:

About the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Chairman Henry A. Waxman
Chairman Waxman represents the 30th District of California and served as ranking member of the Committee on Government Reform since 1997 before becoming chairman in 2007.

Rules and Jurisdiction
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction to investigate any federal program and any matter with federal policy implications.

Subcommittees
Chairman Waxman has announced the formation of five subcommittees for the 110th Congress.

If he and the committee have time for the following:

House Panel Weighs Subpoenas

Administration Has Ignored Oversight Requests, Chairman Says
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 21, 2007; A04

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) sought yesterday to pressure the Bush administration into divulging sensitive policy information, scheduling a committee vote for Wednesday on his plan to issue four subpoenas for the information.

and these over the last several weeks:

Rep. Waxman Renews Request After RNC Fails to Provide Information on White House Officials’ E-mails
(April 18, 2007) Chairman Waxman stated that it is unacceptable that - after three letters from the Committee - the RNC has provided only minimal information regarding White House officials’ use of RNC e-mail accounts.

Oversight Committee to Hold Hearing on Tillman, Lynch Incidents
(April 18, 2007) Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 focusing on misleading information following the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq.

Chairman Waxman Postpones Vote and Renews Request for Rice Testimony
(April 17, 2007) Chairman Waxman wrote to Secretary Rice announcing a one-week postponement of the Committee’s consideration of a subpoena and asking her to schedule a voluntary appearance before the Committee prior to the Memorial Day recess.

Chairman Waxman Requests Information on White House Contract with MZM
(April 10, 2007) Chairman Waxman requested information on a $140,000 contract awarded by the Executive Office of the President to MZM, Inc. in July 2002 as part of the Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigation into waste, fraud, and abuse in federal contracting.

The committee should have enough time to look into the matter of Senator Dianne Feinstein and her husband’s benefit from her influence over defense contract awards. That is the subject of the next post.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Here are some recent summaries and quotes from Democrats in Congress. You might want to file this away for later use.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Boxer and Pelosi:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barbara Boxer — Bay Area Democrats with similar political views — are on opposite sides.
Pelosi used to be an ardent foe of nuclear power but now holds a different view. “I think it has to be on the table,” she said.
Boxer, head of the Senate committee that will take the lead in writing global warming legislation, said that turning from fossil fuels to nuclear power was “trading one problem for another.”

Boxer:
“Let people stand up and vote no against curbing greenhouse gases,'’ Boxer, D-Calif., and chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said today in a speech to the National Press Club. “This will be a major issue in the next election. Elections have consequences. This issue isn’t going away.'’
“Climate change, other than the war in Iraq … is the most important thing we can work on,” Reid said last week.

Reid:
“I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and _ you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows _ (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday,” said Reid, D-Nev.

Feinstein:
Senator Diane Feinstein issued a statement saying “I believe this will re-ignite the dormant effort to pass common-sense gun regulations in this nation”.

Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., told D’Agostino, “My vote depends on whether I think this is a new warhead.”

I’ll go out a limb here and say if it has anything to do with Senator Diane Feinstein it is probably bad. And wouldn’t you know it has to be a discussion about nuclear warheads. Her stated concern is after checking with former Senator Sam Nunn, if this is a new nuke Iran and others may make noise about it. Ya, let’s worry about what Iran and North Korea think. Fortunately the Dems have not succeeded with cut and run, but already Feinstein is looking for the next prerogative to surrender to someone who might complain. You might not be so critical once Iran starts launching, but then you are a Democrat.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Senators Question U.S. Nuclear Warhead Project

By WILLIAM MATTHEWS
The Reliable Replacement Warhead: Is it a sly gambit by President George W. Bush to create a new nuclear weapon despite congressional disapproval? Or is it the key to convincing the U.S. military to make do with a much smaller stockpile of nuclear weapons?
Senators on the Appropriations energy and water subcommittee asked the chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration on April 18 for a detailed classified hearing on the RRW to find out.
Thomas D’Agostino, NNSA administrator, tried to convince senators that the Bush administration is “not trying to develop warheads for new or different military missions.”

Congressman Waxman represents the 30th District of California. He is also Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The Congressman has much information available on his website and that of the O&GR committee. On the committee site is an attention getting notice that follows:

House Passes the Accountability in Contracting Act
On March 15, 2007, the House passed H.R. 1362, the “Accountability in Contracting Act,” by a vote of 347-73. The legislation, reported by the Oversight and Armed Services Committees, changes federal acquisition law to require agencies to limit the use of abuse-prone contracts, to increase transparency and accountability in federal contracting, and to protect the integrity of the acquisition workforce.

Most Americans favor processes like oversight and reform believing it is good to uncover and remedy situations that may result in corruption and violations of law if allowed to proceed unchecked. Located just above this House Contracting Act notice was what appeared as a category under which this notice was filed and a link to that categories location. It was entitled Administrative Oversight. This raises the natural question of wondering if the Administration is the focus of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The Dems are in the majority and the Administration, among other things, represents the minority party. It is difficult not to be convinced that this committee is on a partisan mission to inflict whatever damage it can on the opposition party. It is fair to investigate allegations involving the Administration but to list it at the top and excessively as the focus of the committee needs a little oversight of its own. The committee’s name suggests being a watchdog over all government not just the Administration.

Therefore our question would be why is Senator Waxman not spreading his investigations around. Below is another attention getting notice from the site:

Administration Oversight
Congress has a responsibility under the Constitution to conduct oversight of the executive branch. The Committee on Government Reform has the specific responsibility to oversee whether laws and programs are being implemented and carried out in accordance with the intent of Congress and whether they should be continued, curtailed, or eliminated; the application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of laws and programs; and the organization and operation of federal agencies and entities having responsibilities for the administration and execution of laws and programs. As set forth in House Rule X, clause 4, the Committee also may, at any time, conduct investigations of any matter regardless of whether another standing committee has jurisdiction over the matter. (Last Updated Feb. 8,

Everything points to the committee investigating the Bush Administration and there is little to indicate using that same oversight mandate to investigate other domains. Especially since Senator Diane Feinstein has influence over contracts awarded to defense contractors and her husband IS a defense contractor, why is Henry Waxman not looking for problems there or holding hearings and receiving testimony from Senator Feinstein? She serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense. No one sees that as a conflict?

Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict

As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband’s firms

By Peter Byrne
In the November 2006 election, the voters demanded congressional ethics reform. And so, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is now duly in charge of regulating the ethical behavior of her colleagues. But for many years, Feinstein has been beset by her own ethical conflict of interest, say congressional ethics experts.

Feinstein Resigns

Senator exits MILCON following Metro exposé, vet-care scandal

By Peter Byrne
SEN. Dianne Feinstein has resigned from the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee. As previously and extensively reviewed in these pages, Feinstein was chairperson and ranking member of MILCON for six years, during which time she had a conflict of interest due to her husband Richard C. Blum’s ownership of two major defense contractors, who were awarded billions of dollars for military construction projects approved by Feinstein.

As MILCON leader, Feinstein relished the details of military construction, even micromanaging one project at the level of its sewer design. She regularly took junkets to military bases around the world to inspect construction projects, some of which were contracted to her husband’s companies, Perini Corp. and URS Corp.

Fair is fair Congressman Waxman. If you do not investigate Senator Diane Feinstein over this your credibility is zero. We expected you to be fair and honest and non-partisan and separate your party loyalty from your oversight duties. Are you up to the task? Or is it true that the reason for Harry Reid and Speaker Pelosi and the actions of other Democrats strictly a partisan attack as your only agenda in Congress?

If you want to investigate the Administration, fine. But kindly attend to all matters of oversight and reform. To be credible you cannot cherry pick issues solely on partisan politics. If you are conspiring with others in your party to direct all oversight actions toward the President, you not only undermine the purpose of the committee but the entire government. Do not be fooled by Speaker Pelosi that all her actions have been dictated by the American people. that is simply not true. It is merely her lame excuse for proceeding with her personal agenda. Fix it, Congressman.

Stanford Matthews
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Trackposted to Pet’s Garden Blog, Outside the Beltway, Right Pundits, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, The Pet Haven, Dumb Ox Daily News, High Desert Wanderer, Conservative Cat, and Pursuing Holiness, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.