From Iran Nuclear Watch:

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) told one member of Congress just before the 4th of July recess that he does not want to mark up H.Con.Res. 362, but he feels his hands are tied because of pressure from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Both the House and Senate committees are holding meetings this Wednesday. If you haven't already contacted your congresscritters, please do so immediately.  Here's some background.

While Howie Berman twists in the wind, at least one guy has done the right thing. Barney Frank's taken his name off the list of co-sponsors. Read on for a letter he sent to a constituent...

For Bob Blumenfield, with Love from Dad and Employer, Congressman Howard Berman
Ignored by the mainstream media this Wednesday, the Fair Political Practices Commission complaint filed against "Valley Democrats for Change" by attorney, Nicole Kuklok-Waldman, is heating up the race in the 40th Assembly District. It entered cyberspace Thursday through the subscription-only website, Capital Morning Report.

What it appears to be, said an employee at the Secretary of State's office, is another committee set up to circumvent California's legal contribution limits.

Background. California law sets a contribution limit for state candidates for the legislature at $3600 per person. A candidate can use an unlimited amount of his or her PERSONAL funds. But, a relative cannot. Which brings us to the present situation. What's a father to do???

As a visual artist, I have always known about the decades old copyright system in place for artists; in a nutshell, as soon as you write the copyright symbol on the work, it's good enough for the courts. You were always able to register your work or submit it for copyright, and this works well for many professional photographers and illustrators.

Well, all of that could change if legislation sponsored by Rep. Howard Berman of CA gets through the House. The issue in question is how to address fair use guidelines for works where the original author can not be identified. Unfortunately, this could lead to coerced registration with private registries (costing potentially thousands of dollars) in order to protect your rights.

I've read some extreme rhetoric from both sides of the issue, but it speaks volumes that many free-lance photographers have been active in opposing the legislation. It seems to me that the current laws work well and the only use this new legislation has is to enrich registry companies and make it easier for people to use your art without permission. The major problem is that the window of opportunity for making your voice heard on the law is shrinking fast!

Check out the details after the jump:

Former President Jimmy Carter, speaking in Cairo, stated the obvious: the blockade of Gaza is a "crime" and an "atrocity," Reuters reports.

"It's an atrocity what is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza. it's a crime... I think it is an abomination that this continues to go on," Carter said.

Since the blockade is aimed at punishing civilians, the Carter's statement that the blockade is a crime is simply a statement of fact. It's a clear violation of international law.

But when someone with access to the microphone states an important fact which is not being acknowledged, they deserve attention.

I wrote a post this morning about Howard Berman's sentencing blog.  Little did I know that the WSJ law blog seized on the same couple of posts to provide a non-inflammatory summary of the situation from a law prof who specializes in criminal sentencing issues.  

About forty peace activists from multiple groups gathered at the local Rite-Aid in the Valley Village area of the San Fernando Valley and paraded over to the home of Congressman Howard Berman May 26th to express their outrage over his NON-VOTE on the supplemental Iraq appropriations bill.

Activists say they have repeatedly met with Berman to try to turn around his hawkish views and votes on the war and have been largely unsuccessful. An earlier entry in this diary, last June 18,2006, details how he voted with the Republicans on HR 861.

Back in 2002, The Onion suggested that the RIAA (the trade organization for the music recording industry) might take their money-grubbing ways to the extreme, and try to hit up radio stations for royalties they've never legally been able to collect.  

(Why is it such an outrageous idea that the Onion ran with it as satire? Because it's the logical equivalent of Volkswagen charging ABC to air its commercials.  Airplay generates sales, which is why so many RIAA members and radio stations got their hands caught in the cookie jar in the most recent round of payola scandals.)

Oddly, Fark.com ran a link to The Onion's article earlier today, and I suspected they had a reason...and indeed they did.  (More after the break.)

In an article posted on the Impeach for Peace blog, during a meeting with Impeach for Peace supporters, Representative Keith Ellison is quoted as saying, "Impeachment should be on the table" and when asked about the possibility of impeachment actually occuring, Ellison immediately replied "yes, it can work". This is good news, as Congressman Dennis Kucinich is expected to file Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President this coming Wednesday. We will impeach Cheney first!

According to the article, Ellison also identitified Representative Howard L. Berman, from California's 28th Congressional District, the area described most often on the internet as "Porn Valley", to be a key Judiciary Comittee member who needs persuasion from his constituents that impeachment of the Vice President is both appropriate and necessary.

From an AP story comes news of this inspired characterization of the "surge":

As Rice testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., likened Bush's plan to a "hail Maliki pass",  jokingly combining Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's name with the football "Hail Mary" desperation pass.

That's priceless, Congressman Berman. Let's give it all the legs we can.

A copy of an e-mail which I just sent to my Congressman, Representative Howard Berman (D-CA). I wish I could say he wasn't on our side. Sadly he is. This may not mean much to you, but it pisses me off and I consider it just the sort of waste that we should be getting rid of.

The e-mail is as follows:

All The pundits say the War in Iraq is the most important issue as we go to the polls. Do we have 4 more years of incompetence, bogged down further in a quagmire? Do we make important changes and make sure there is opposition in Congress so we don't stay the course for 4 more years.

We have a chance in the 28th District to send a message to President Bush the Democratic and Republican Party that business as usual is no more. We don't and won't support a Congressman for the Joe Lieberman wing of the Democratic Party. We can make an important change by sending Byron DeLear to Washington the real candidate with Democratic Values who will oppose the War. Once elected Byron has pledged to caucus with the DEMS to turn the HOUSE BLUE just as Senator Jim Jeffords did when elected as an Independent in 2000.

Below the fold is Howard Berman's voting record. If you vote for Berman you're casting your vote for the failed policies of President Bush.

Dear Neighbor,

The election is finally here. I know we are bombarded with election messages. Please allow me to share my opinion about an important local race here in our district.

Do you know the name of our Congressman here in the 28th District? No? Allow me to introduce you, to Howard Berman. Howard voted for the War in Iraq. Howard Berman is a 12-term incumbent who hasn't had a town hall meeting in his district for 6 years. His views about the War do not reflect our district. Howard pretends he is a Democrat but on the most important issue in the beginning our new century he has been wrong. Howard Berman is a Pro War Democrat like Joe Lieberman in Connecticut.

The election hasn't happened quite yet, but with it just around the corner, it would be to our benefit to start looking at issues that we should take up in next year's Congress.  One thing that seems to be overlooked recently has been the growing unfair trade practices by the EU.  More below the fold!

What if the Democrats regain Congress on November 7th?  

We know what will happen on November 8th.  

There will be a big hue and cry in the mainstream media (MSM) for the Democrats to "move to the center" and seek a "bipartisan consensus."  If any unapologetic antiwar candidates successfully unseat any prowar incumbents, those people will be ignored. Instead, as surre as I am writing this post, the MSM will be hyping the "moderates" and urging Democrats to be "responsible" by signing onto some  "bipartisan" cover-your-ass strategy for Bush.

If it is the duty of my progressive antiwar brothers and sisters in "Red" states like Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to hold their noses and vote for some weird conservative Democrats, then it is my duty in "Blue" California to support candidates like Byron DeLear to "send a message" we ain't playing with Bush and his gang.  

The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the later October Revolution depended greatly on which side the Cossacks were positioned.  At time, they determined the outcome by just staying out of the fray.

In today's political revolution against the Bush regime, modern day Kossaks are no less influential.  It can easily be seen in the way that they have ralied to the support of outsider candidates like Ned Lamont and Jerry McNerney.  Without the netroost and blogosphere, McNerney would not not be where he is today and you all deserve a great deal of thanks.

Crossposted at MY LEFT WING as Question of the Day

I just spent over half an hour responding to an email from the Green candidate I met last weekend, Byron DeLear.

As I wrote, I found myself coming to an inescapable and nauseating realisation: I am a coward.

Crossposted from MY LEFT WING

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and speaking at length with a candidate for congress last weekend. As it happens, he is challenging the incumbent in my district -- Howard Berman, a Democrat. His name is Byron DeLear, and he's running as a member of the Green Party, while pledging to vote with the Democrats in the House.

After much consideration and study of the issues, however, I have to say that, despite DeLear's charismatic persona and, admittedly, near-perfect stances on the issues about which I care the most, I will still be voting for Howard Berman this year.

Berman regrets voting for the IWR, but believes, while recognising the irony, that we cannot leave now without condemning Iraq to total annihilation.

I disagree STRONGLY with that conclusion, but frankly, despite his serious shortcomings in this and a few other areas, I have to say my earlier opinion of Howard Berman still stands: he votes the right way (MY way) more consistently than almost any other elected Democrat in Congress.

I am incensed! If you're not already frothing at the mouth, then get ready to because this is not a story of eating good Chicago-style pizza or world famous Haagen Daz ice cream, which I hear the Speaker loves. This is a story about Cover Your Ass. This is about politicizing the truth to retain power in the House of Representatives.  This is the story of the Speaker throwing the ball to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, knowing that they will quiet the Foleygate story until after the November elections.