Who'll file an Ethics complaint v Sensenbrenner?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 10, 2010 · 1:46 PM PDT

2010/08/10 · 13:46

This comes from an unexpected direction. Terry McCormick is a Republican running for a second time in a contested primary for the nomination in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District, seeking to face off against Steve Kagen.

Republican blogger PartyofKNOW breaks McCormick's notes from a meeting between with 5th District Congressman James Sensenbrenner last October, in which Sensenbrenner tells her she'll get no support from the NRCC, even if she wins the Primary, retaliation for her refusing to clear the field 4 years ago for John Gard, the insiders' favorite.

YOU...YOU...have left scar tissue that has left residual by running in the primary against John Gard in 2006 with the NRCC.

"This is a problem YOU created, YOU will never get the support of the NRCC in any primary, and if you should win the primary... YOU will never get support from the NRCC in any General.

WE HAD TO SPEND ALL THAT MONEY TO BEAT YOU IN THE PRIMARY, and COULDN'T WIN IN THE GENERAL.

Read the whole thing, it's hilarious.

Poll

52 votes Show Results

Sensenbrenner

52 votes Vote Now!

Sensenbrenner

will face neither charges nor an Ethics complaint

41 votes

will get a mild rebuke from the Ethics Committee

6 votes

will lose his seat over this

1 vote

might lose re-election as a result

2 votes

will end up with Masel as a cellmate

2 votes

Help Wanted: Massachusetts Atty General

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 19, 2010 · 10:19 PM PST

2010/01/19 · 22:19

Decent pay, Great benefits.

Applicant must defeat an incumbent in the Democratic Primary, shouldn't be difficult, as she hates to campaign, and crusaded against the Massachusetts marijuana decrim initiative in 2008, and after it passed with 65% of the vote urged municipal governments to circumvent it with local ordinances. She then refused to pursue charges against the District Attorneys who illegally used government resources to campaign against the initiative.

Applicant must LIKE meeting people, be willing to shake hands in front of Fenway Park.

(Coakley had NO Myspace presence in the Senate race, tho there was a "Martha Coakley: Too Immoral for Teddy Kennedy's Seat" group about the Arsenault case.)

Poll

51 votes Show Results

Should Coakley face a Primary in November?

51 votes Vote Now!

Should Coakley face a Primary in November?

I'll donate and volunteer

15 votes

I'll donate

19 votes

Masel should be locked up.

10 votes

I support Coakley

7 votes

I'll run Coakley's MySpace page.

0 votes

My message to Massachusetts Marijuana smokers

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 19, 2010 · 10:58 AM PST

2010/01/19 · 10:58

We all know Coakley sucks. She crusaded against the Massachusetts decrim initiative in 2008, and after it passed with 65% of the vote urged municipal governments to circumvent it with local ordinances. She then refused to pursue charges against the District Attorneys who illegally used government resources to campaign against the initiative.

So why do I want you to vote for her?

Simple. Brown in the Senate will be just as bad on the issue, but by sending Coakley to Washinhgton we get her out of the Attorney General's office, while Brown remaining in the State Senate will have little impact.

Poll

154 votes Show Results

Marijuana?

154 votes Vote Now!

Marijuana?

All you potheads belong in prison

20 votes

Not all of you, just Masel

13 votes

I wanna be Ban's cellmate

4 votes

Where can I get some?

40 votes

Here, try a hit of mine.

77 votes

Some GOOD NEWS from Congress! Drug Policy

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 09, 2009 · 12:15 PM PST

2009/12/09 · 12:15

(HT to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's Cops say Legalize blog)

The Conference Committee dealing with the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act has approved three significant reforms, following the lead of the House version,

* Washington, DC will finally be allowed to implement the medical marijuana initiative that voters overwhelmingly approved in 1998 but has been blocked by Congress each year since then.
* Funding for the White House "drug czar's" ad budget has been slashed by more than a third of its size last year. Studies have repeatedly shown that these ads actually cause teens to use more -- not fewer -- drugs.
* Washington, DC will be able to use federal funds to implement syringe exchange programs.

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 07, 2009 · 3:44 AM PST

2009/12/07 · 03:44

Sold by the President as a temporary "surge," it now appears the Pentagon has overruled any thought of significantly diminishing its bootprint in Afghanistan at the end of the President's 18 month window.

This morning's Washington Post

McChrystal's Afghanistan plan stays mainly intact

Even the most specific change by the White House in McChrystal's war plan -- that U.S. forces begin leaving Afghanistan by July 2011 -- may be less of a turning point than envisioned. Senior administration officials said in television interviews broadcast Sunday the date would be only the beginning of a gradual withdrawal.

"We will have 100,000 forces, troops there," Gates said on NBC's "Meet the Press," "and they are not leaving in July of 2011."

They'll destroy the Obama Presidency as they did Lyndon Johnson's. It'll come home in the form of a bloody police riot outside the next Democratic Convention. We know how that turns out.

Forget about the FBI keeping an eye on domestic rightwing terrorists, they'll be too busy surveilling the anti-war movement.

Poll

58 votes Show Results

Will you be....

58 votes Vote Now!

Will you be....

Inside the Convention

1 vote

Outside raising hell to stop the War

22 votes

Far far away

20 votes

I'm enlisting to help the War effort.

7 votes

They should KEEP Masel locked up this time.

8 votes

Congressman Obey, tax phone bills to pay for the war.

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 25, 2009 · 9:57 AM PST

2009/11/25 · 09:57

House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (D-WI) recently suggested putting the Afghan misadventure on a pay as you go basis, as this would make the public aware of the costs. He hinted, and others here on dailykos have more explicitly suggested, that this tax hit the wealthy. I differ.

While I'm all for a progressive tax structure in general, the Afghan War Tax Surcharge, to create maximum pressure to end this 'dumb war,' should be in the face of every American. An excise tax on telephone service (30%?) like President Johnson imposed to help pay for his big mistake in Asia, is especially useful, as the bill comes due every month. Label the line on the phone bills clearly AFGHANISTAN WAR TAX SURCHARGE, and we'll see a monthly wave of irate calls to the White House and Congress demanding we get the fuck out.

Meanwhile, use any boost in income tax on the highrollers to pay for needed domestic programs.

Poll

75 votes Show Results

Who should pay?

75 votes Vote Now!

Who should pay?

I support the War, I'm happy to pay for it.

4 votes

I support the War, somebody else should pay.

2 votes

I support the War, lets borrow the money and make our kids pay.

0 votes

I oppose the war, but make the rich pay.

35 votes

I oppose the War, but I'm willing to help pay for it.

6 votes

I oppose the War, a targetted phone tax will give me a chance to refuse to pay.

20 votes

Masel's dangerous, and should be put behind bars.

8 votes

Obama came to town today. Free Speech took a hit.

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 04, 2009 · 6:11 PM PST

2009/11/04 · 18:11

President Obama was in my City this afternoon, for a speech on education at Wright Middle School.

Since the location had been announced too late for the normal permit process, the Madison Peace Action Coalition contacted the Police Department, and were told they'd be allowed to conduct a rally at a reasonable location a block away.

Come 10:45, the rules changed, and they were booted to a spot a few blocks farther, all but out of line of sight. According to this Wisconsin State Journal account, pedestrians without signs were still allowed in the area from which the protest had been evicted. This makes clear it was a speech motivated ban, not strictly speaking a legitimate security matter.

Poll

446 votes Show Results

Masel should have

446 votes Vote Now!

Masel should have

been locked up the day before, just in case

158 votes

just gone to the Free Speech Zone

86 votes

figured out that they'd use the Beltline

202 votes

URGENT: Grassly seeks to censor "legalization" discussion in Webb Crime Bill

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 03, 2009 · 11:53 AM PST

2009/11/03 · 11:53

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled markup Thursday for the Senator Webb's Crime Bill, S.1714 creating an expert panel to spend up to 2 years suggesting measures to overhaul our criminal Justice system.

Iowa Republican Charles Grassley's Amendment would bar the commission from "considering" "legalization" of presently controlled substances.

Found at LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibion's) copsaylegalize blog

Here's LEAP's automated email to your Senator widget

Poll

72 votes Show Results

We need to overhaul our justice system because:

72 votes Vote Now!

We need to overhaul our justice system because:

Masel keeps beating his charges.

21 votes

It's not worth it, he isn't hurting anyone.

15 votes

Legalize piethrowing!

36 votes

WI-Gov: Who wants it?

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 26, 2009 · 1:49 PM PDT

2009/10/26 · 13:49

Two developments today in the open seat 'race' for the Democratic Nomination for Wisconsin Governor.

First, the Milwalkee Journal/Sentinal's Dan Bice reports on White House efforts to get a reluctant Milwalkee mayor Tom Barrett to run. Barrett, who'd sought the post in 2002, put off a decision until next month, saying he wants to pass a City budget first.

Then, in a surprise email to supporters, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, the only declared candidate drops out, citing unspecified family commitments.

With previously presumed candidates Cong. Ron Kind and State Senator Jon Erpenbach (my first choice) having previously announced they'd seek re-election, rather than go for the executive post, there's currently nobody actively running.

I'll take this opportinity to reiterate I'm not interested. My talents are more legislative than executive, the hours suck, and I'm not inclined to have State Patrol officers following me around, even in a protective role. I remain a Candidate for the US Senate seat, currently occupied by Herb Kohl, up in 2012.

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday September 17, 2009 · 4:35 PM PDT

2009/09/17 · 16:35

As originally reported in my August 23 diary, Senators Feingold and Durbin, after waiting months for the Obama Administration to submit proposals to undo the damage to our Privacy Rights in the PATRIOT and FISA Amendment Acts, have submitted their own bill, joined by Senators Tester, Tom Udall, Bingaman, Sanders, Akaka and Wyden.

Dubbed the JUSTICE ACT (Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools In Counterterrorism Efforts) the measure, according to Feingold's press release, would curtail, but not eliminate FBI National Security letters, limit "Sneak and Peak' warrants to the most serious crimes, tighten roving wiretaps, repeal telecom immunity under FISA, block "bulk collection' of communications' content, limit the governments use of FISA data later determined to have been collected unlawfully, step up Congressional oversight, and tighten PATRIOT's definitions of "Domestic Terrorism' to not include peaceful civil disobedience. Also narrowed, the definition of "material support' for terrorism, so that a target or defendant would have to know their resources were being abused.

Poll

105 votes Show Results

PATRIOT and FISA should be used against

105 votes Vote Now!

PATRIOT and FISA should be used against

Ben Masel

5 votes

Glen Beck

13 votes

The NRA

3 votes

Teabaggers

8 votes

"Christian extremists"

14 votes

'Muslim extremists"

2 votes

"Quaker extremists"

0 votes

"Violent Anarchists"

0 votes

Earth Firsters

2 votes

Piethrowers

4 votes

Canadians

6 votes

Nobody

48 votes

Feingold, Durbin to intro FISA, PATRIOT fixes

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday August 23, 2009 · 11:24 AM PDT

2009/08/23 · 11:24

I caught up with Senator Feingold at his re-election fundraiser/picnic this morning.

He and Senator Durbin have given up on waiting for the Administration to submit a package of amendments to the PATRIOT and FISA Amendment Acts, and are drafting their own. Rollout in approximately a month.

I also asked Russ about legislation creating statutory privacy rights in the location database collected by cellphone carriers, which are not covered by existing law, and courts have been mixed in requiring warrants for law enflorcement access. He's going to see if Durbin wants to include this in the package, otherwise he'll do a standalone bill.

I'd discussed both topics with Representative Nadler, Chair of House Judiciary's Subcommitee on Courts and Constitution in the elevator at Netroots Nation, convinced him to hold hearings on the location privacy issue "in a couple months."

ben masel

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday August 14, 2009 · 10:34 AM PDT

2009/08/14 · 10:34

As diaried last night, a couple of us went to picket the Federal Courthouse in Pittsburgh to call for the removal of Mary Beth Buchanan as US Attorney for Western Pennsylvania.

Just before heading out, I'm in the hallway outside the Arlen Specter/Joe Sestak campaign event, trying to recruit more picketers with my anti-Buchanan signs. Arlen approached to inform me that he and Senator Casey had interviewed potential replacements earlier this week, and that Buchanan's already being canned.

She first cme to national attention going after Tommy chong for operating an online store selling fancy glassware pipes, then a failed prosecution of Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht, a partisan witchhunt which led even former Reagan Attorney General Richard Thornburg to call for her ouster when Bush was still President.

Her pursuit of an out of State couple in the first Federal pornography case in 15 years was tossed 2 weeks ago.

Newer
Older

RSS

Who'll file an Ethics complaint v Sensenbrenner?

Help Wanted: Massachusetts Atty General

My message to Massachusetts Marijuana smokers

Some GOOD NEWS from Congress! Drug Policy

18 month withdrawal withdrawn. Perpetual War!

Congressman Obey, tax phone bills to pay for the war.

Obama came to town today. Free Speech took a hit.

URGENT: Grassly seeks to censor "legalization" discussion in Webb Crime Bill

WI-Gov: Who wants it?

Fixing PATRIOT, FISA, the JUSTICE ACT introduced (Feingold, Durbin)

Feingold, Durbin to intro FISA, PATRIOT fixes

America's Worst Prosecutor on way out