This is a periodic newsletter on election and
health care reform. If you wish not to receive it please unsubscribe at the
bottom and accept my apologies for the intrusion.
.
In this issue:
1) Congressional Travelgate
2) New Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Report
3) Line Item Veto
4) Tidbits
5) Dem Elders call for action
6)
Give me a break
7) Book recommendations
.
Please
do not respond
to this email address. It is used for cleanup purposes only. Please use
jelohman@gmail.com
1
|
Congressional Travelgate |
|
The New York Times Politics Begins at Home June 16, 2006 The nation is fortunate that a sudden attempt to kill one of the hallowed anticorruption reforms from the Watergate scandal -- the option of public financing in presidential elections -- was smoked out in the House this week. The sponsor, Representative John Doolittle, a powerful California Republican, may try another day with his plan to block the flow of taxpayers' voluntary contributions from the government treasury. Mr. Doolittle has such faith in private money-raising that he boosted his family income by setting up his wife, Julie, as a consultant being paid a 15 percent commission on every dollar his campaign raises. Call it family values. Call it brazen. But the missus has received $180,000 since late 2001, operating this private business out of the couple's suburban Virginia home, including among her clients the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The pathetic state of Congressional ethics is that such nepotic profiteering is deemed legal so long as the compensation is ''consistent with the market rate.'' Questions have gone unanswered about whether Julie Doolittle has any real experience in the field. Professional fund-raising associations have condemned payment by commission as unethical, but Mr. Doolittle's office defends it as legal and based on ''tireless and effective work.'' Mr. Doolittle sits on the Appropriations Committee, to which lobbyists and special interests have an attraction that borders on Pavlovian. No great drumbeating is needed to fill those campaign kitties. Like other lawmakers, Mr. Doolittle indulges ''earmarking'' -- the odious practice of delivering government contracts to favored pleaders who often requite with campaign contributions. Such quid pro quo politicking predates Watergate. But the insult to taxpayers by Doolittle Inc. is compounded by the move to kill the public financing alternative to big-money political pandering. The presidential check-off system has worked well for three decades, but is being strained by the rocketing private donations that politicians eagerly welcome. Congress needs to update the system's matching fund and spending limits, not obliterate them. ------------------------------------------------------
June 13, 2006 Someone Has to Find Facts in Paris
Even in Congress's own sloppy paperwork, the bottom line for
junketeering looks shameful: over just five and a half years,
lawmakers and members of their staffs went off on
23,000 "fact-finding" trips worth almost $50 million,
with the tab picked up by private sponsors intent on capturing
legislative access and favors. Expense-paid fact finding proved
particularly irresistible in Paris, the destination of more than
200 trips, Hawaii (150) and Italy (140). |
|
|
2
|
New Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Report |
|
|
|
3
|
Line Item Veto |
|
|
|
So now US Rep. Paul Ryan has introduced HR 4890, a bill to allow
the president to line item veto.
They say that things will have to get much worse before they get better, and the line item veto will clearly make things much worse. If that passes the campaign bribes that went to congressmen to get the pork inserted in the first place, then must generate an equal amount for the president so the pork is not vetoed when signed. Unless, of course, you are already a political briber of the right persuasion. No, the real answer is to get the private money entirely out of the political system, and that can only be done with full public funding of campaigns. For $10 per taxpayer per year we could fully fund the federal elections and eliminate the bribery that fuels the annual $300 billion of congressional giveaways. That’s over $3000 per taxpayer per year, so a $10 investment is a bargain at 100 times the price. If I had an employee giving away company assets while taking bribes on the side, I’d have him jailed. We Americans are not very smart. When politicians do this we just re-elect them. Jack Lohman |
4
|
Tidbits |
|||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Source: The Too Much
newsletter:
Just goes to show you. I almost invested in a hedge fund, but
they surely didn't need my measly hoard.
------------------------------------------------------ |
|||||||||||
Excellent Radio Interviews of David Sirota, Author of Hostile Takeover
------------------------------------------------------ Ethics Committee Members, Staff Among the Well-Traveled - House legislators mulling rules and their aides took about $1 million in trips. See complete articles at
------------------------------------------------------ Though the Estate Tax lives, see this interesting piece by Robert Reich ------------------------------------------------------ From the Too Much newsletter:
|
|||||||||||
5
|
Or, it's called "Throw the Rascals Out" time!!!! |
||
|
|
||
|
Three of the state's most senior
Democratic leaders - former Gov. Tony Earl,
former gubernatorial candidate Ed Garvey and
Milwaukee County District Attorney E.
Michael McCann - today urged Gov. Jim Doyle
to call lawmakers to a special session
devoted to cleaning up Wisconsin politics.
The three, who have more than 75 years'
political experience among them, said that
the issue of restoring public confidence in
state government "must be addressed on an
urgent basis." See the complete Capital Times article at
www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=88313&ntpid=1
|
6
|
Give me a break |
|
And a little piece called Resonate
at
http://tinyurl.com/zrol7
If you ever need to take an inventory of
what's on your computer, there are two free programs to do that.
My first experience was with
BeLarc
Advisor but there is also a new one called
WinAudit
which provides a different format and print options. They list
all hardware and software on your computer and are handy when
communicating to tech support people your configuration. Try
them and choose which works best for you. |
|
|
7
|
Book Recommendation |
|
Dime's Worth of Difference: Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils
(Counterpunch)
From the Publisher: Dime's Worth of Difference shows, for all who dare look, that the fake choice of the lesser of two evils still leaves you with evil. It doesn't matter which door you chose. This timely book calls on progressives to begin a new movement outside the death-embrace of the Democratic Party. (Mostly far Left, but they're not always wrong. Whatever happened to the "political middle"?)
|
|
|
8
Contact information
Lohman is a
retired business owner in
Contact: Jack E. Lohman
jelohman@gmail.com
or
jelohman@charter.net
Phone 414-477-8686
(cell)
www.WiCleanElections.org
www.wi-cfr.org
www.SmokeFreeDining.net
9
Removal Instructions
To leave the list, send a blank email to jlohman2@execpc.com with “Remove” in the subject line
To subscribe, send a blank email to jlohman2@execpc.com with “subscribe” in the subject line
The system is automatic and you must send from the email address you want added or removed.
If removed successfully you should receive a confirmation. If it fails please notify me directly at jelohman@gmail.com