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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (26463)	4/22/2008 9:54:21 AM
From: Ann Corrigan	Respond to of 224724

GOP fights civil war for elimination of earmarks: >Earmark ban push prompts GOP turmoil By: Patrick O'Connor and John Bresnahan, politico.com April 22, 2008 House Republicans, who had hoped to restore their fiscal credibility by bludgeoning Democrats on pork-barrel spending, are instead targeting one another in an intraparty election-year earmark fight that appears to have divided members of the House GOP leadership. Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and four other GOP members — including Chief Deputy Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) — sent their colleagues a letter Friday urging them to agree to a self-imposed one-year moratorium on earmarks. The call to arms is particularly sensitive for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who fell short earlier this year when he challenged his Republican colleagues to accept a moratorium while members study the annual earmarking process. Boehner gave ground during the GOP’s annual retreat in West Virginia in January, after some of the members in attendance raised questions about the effectiveness — and the potential political pitfalls — of a unilateral disarmament. Instead, he and the other leaders opted to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats to embrace a bilateral moratorium on earmarks until leaders and members of the powerful Appropriations Committee could develop a process to limit abuse. Democrats voted down that proposal in February, forcing Republicans to reconsider their strategy on the matter. Entire article at politico.com

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (26463)	4/24/2008 6:43:32 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Respond to of 224724

Amigos? >Mexican official caught stealing White House Blackberries, invokes diplomatic immunity By Michelle Malkin • April 24, 2008 You are not going to believe this story. It is really something else. The White House, I predict, will look the other way at the flagrant law-breaking by a Mexican official caught on tape by the Secret Service filching U.S. government property. After all, looking the other way at systemic law-breaking by Mexico is the official Bush policy. Fox News has the scoop: Whether he was up to no good or simply desperate to play BrickBreaker, a Mexican press attaché was caught on camera by Secret Service pocketing several White House BlackBerries during a recent meeting in New Orleans, FOX News has learned. Sources with knowledge of the incident said the official, Rafael Quintero Curiel, served as the lead press advance person for the Mexican Delegation and was responsible for handling logistics and guiding the Mexican media around at the conference. He took six or seven of the handheld devices from a table outside a special room in the hotel where the Mexican delegation was meeting with President Bush earlier this week. Everyone entering the room was required to leave his or her cell phone, BlackBerry and other such devices on the table, a common practice when high-level meetings are held. American officials discovered their missing belongings when they were leaving the session. It didn’t take long before Secret Service officials reviewed videotape taken by a surveillance camera and found footage showing Quintero Curiel absconding with the BlackBerries. At first, Quintero Curiel denied the criminal acts. But when confronted with the tape, he chalked it up to an “accident”–then promptly invoked diplomatic immunity: He initially denied taking the devices, but after agents showed him the DVD, Quintero Curiel said it was purely accidental, gave them back, claimed diplomatic immunity and left New Orleans with the Mexican delegation. It is unclear what disciplinary measures, if any, await him in Mexico. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino refused to discuss the incident, telling FOX News, “We are aware of the situation, but as it’s under investigation by law enforcement officials, we will decline to comment.” Just looting the White House electronic devices Americans won’t loot… *** Now, imagine if it were an American government official caught south of the border stealing Mexican government property.