The Lobbying Epidemic

From The Charlotte Observer:

The drug epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s was horrific.

…snip…

That period is no longer considered the worst drug epidemic in the nation’s history. The ongoing opioid crisis has, unfortunately, taken that title – because no one was lobbying Congress on behalf of crack cocaine dealers the way they have for large drug companies. That’s the devastating finding from a joint investigation by “60 Minutes” and The Washington Post released last weekend. Between 2014 and 2016, the drug industry spent $106 million lobbying Congress for a law that makes it virtually impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotic shipments from the companies.

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Justice says, “Justified!”

From msnbc:

The killing of Osama bin Laden was legally justified, and would have been even if the al-Qaida leader had made some sign that he wished to surrender, Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday.

“The operation in which Osama bin Laden was killed was lawful,” Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “He was the head of al-Qaida, an organization that had conducted the attacks of September 11th. He admitted his involvement and he indicated that he would not be taken alive. The operation against bin Laden was justified as an act of national self defense.”

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Did Katherine Harris relocate and change her last name?

From the Appleton Post Crescent:

MILWAUKEE — The campaign manager for state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser says he’s open to a recount of Waukesha County votes.On Thursday, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said “human error” resulted in the city of Brookfield votes not being counted in their Tuesday tally to The Associated Press. The change gave Prosser a 7,500-vote edge over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.

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Crap Shoot

From the Los Angeles Times:

They want to repeal the healthcare overhaul, pare back financial regulations, slash federal spending and curtail the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency. In essence, they want to challenge the agenda of the Obama administration at every turn.

The new GOP chairmen of key House committees such as Appropriations, Budget, Energy and Commerce, and Oversight and Government Reform believe they have a mandate to check the size and scope of government.

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The Raisin Gives This Movie a Thumbs Down

From THINK PROGRESS:

– Newt Gingrich is using the September 11th anniversary to unveil a new movie called “America At Risk,” which Gingrich says will drive the “national dialogue” about President Obama’s failure to address the rise of “Radical Islam” and its attempt to impose Sharia law on the United States. Gingrich’s website notes that the public can “pre-order your copy now for just $19.95 plus $4 shipping.”

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(Front row, l to r: John Bolton, Callista Gingrich, Newt Gingrich. Back row, l to r: Michael Chertoff, David Bossie, Frank Gaffney, Michael Ledeen.)

Yeah, Tony, It’s All About You

There’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back.
—Tony Hayward, BP CEO, May 30, 2010

From Reuters:

Here are developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in U.S. history:

* After BP Plc (BP.L) said the complex “top kill” maneuver to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well had failed on Saturday, it is moving to the next option — the lower marine riser package cap, which will capture oil from the well rather than plug it.

…snip…

* Government scientists estimated that cutting the riser pipe coming out of the blowout preventer to prepare for the next containment option could result in a temporary oil flow increase of up to 20 percent.

…snip…

* The huge oil slick from the gushing well could threaten the Mississippi and Alabama coasts this week, driven by moderate southerly and southwesterly winds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

…snip…

* The NOAA forecast was a sober reminder that oil from the unchecked spill, broken up and carried by winds and ocean currents, could threaten a vast area of the U.S. Gulf Coast, including Florida, as well as Cuba and Mexico.

…snip…

* President Barack Obama met on Tuesday with the co-chairs of a commission he set up to investigate the spill, former Senator Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency chief William Reilly. Obama vowed to overhaul U.S. laws and regulations governing offshore drilling to prevent a repeat of the catastrophe.

* Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department has launched a criminal and civil investigation into the spill and rig explosion that killed 11 workers. The FBI is taking part.

The hell with all those polite investigations. I want it to look more like this…

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(left to right:  Tony I’m-Wearing-Rand-Paul’s-Hair Hayward, William No-I’m-Not-Bob-Newhart Reilly, Bob Graham, Eric Holder, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen)

He’s not sleeping, he’s just resting his brain

From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:

The relatively quick arrest in the botched May 1 Times Square bombing temporarily quieted the political sparring over national security policies.

But the cease-fire has now ended. Missouri Sen. Kit Bond, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he doesn’t yet buy the Obama administration’s claim that the alleged bomber, Faisal Shahzad, was trained, directed and likely financed by Pakistani Taliban militants.

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Captain Underpants, You Have the Right to Remain Silent. You Really Should Have!

From POLITICAL HOTSHEET at CBS NEWS:

Two congressional Republicans are questioning whether federal authorities should have read alleged terrorist Faisal Shahzad his Miranda rights after he was arrested late Monday night. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said reading Shahzad his Miranda rights would be a “mistake.”

Captain Underpants, the non-maverick, is very, very upset! So upset that he took time out from trying to figure out how to pander to Hispanic voters who are pissed off at him for supporting Governor Jan Brewer’s new racist anti-immigrant law (and how to not get arrested in Arizona wearing this outfit) to rail against law enforcement officers who didn’t act like Jack Bauer, yet still got their man. Don’t they know they’re supposed to shred the Constitution so that Capt U can look tough and win his primary? Sheesh!

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