Hearings this week: There are some interesting ones

[TayTay]

SFRC committee is talking about nuclear Iran and what it means. SFRC is also taking up the issue of NATO and Afghanistan, which could be kind of interesting.

There are some tax hearings in Finance (No, really, this stuff is important. Finance writes the tax code for the US and has jurisdiction over those 17,000 pages of exemptions and stuff and it's really, really interest... zzzzzzzzzzzzz. What, must have nodded off for a second there. Where was I? Yeah, tax code hearings are even more interesting than Fisheries Hearing. Honest.) Ahm, Commerce Comm holds another hearing about the Internet, but, sadly, I don't think Ted STevens will be there to try and explain again how the internet is not like a dump truck. (One for the ages, in my book.)

BTW, Tuesday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day, and the first anniversary of that kick-ass speech that Sen. Kerry gave at Brown Univ last year that I couldn't get into. (Gee, ah, I no longer file those kinds of complaints.) I wonder if anyone in Congress, at any hearing at all, will even utter one little Arrrgggghhhhhh! (Just for me. It would be nice.) http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

[TayTay]

1. SFRC, Tuesday, 9/19/06 Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

HEARING before the
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

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Time: 9:30 AM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Lugar Webcast from: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearing.html

Witnesses:

Panel 1
The Honorable R. Nicholas Burns
Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC

Panel 2

Dr. Ray Takeyh
Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Council on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC

The Honorable Ashton B. Carter
Co-Director
Preventive Defense Project
Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

The Honorable Martin S. Indyk
Director
Saban Center for Middle East Policy
The Brookings Institution
Washington, DC
*************************

Now just who was that tall fella who warned about the Repubs hyping Iran as a threat the closer the midterms got? It's on the tip of my tongue. Anyway, watch Sen. Allen and Coleman hyperventiate about which one hates Iran more and wants them to be 'dealt with' strongly. (Oh gawd, this could be ghastly.) A Rethug 'free-for-all' as to who is more scared by Iranian nukes could take place. Fore-warned is fore-armed. High Kerry sighting possibility, btw. Gawd, I hope so. We will need all the sanity we can find when this topic comes up.

[TayTay]

3. SFRC, Thursday, 9/21/06 Afghanistan and NATO and troops

From Coalition to ISAF Command in Afghanistan:
The Purpose and Impact of the Transition
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HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, September 21, 2006

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Time: 9:30 AM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Lugar

Witnesses:
Panel 1
General James L. Jones, Jr., USMC
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)
Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe
Mons, Belgium

Lieutenant General Karl W. Eikenberry
Commander, Combined Forces Command (CFC)
Kabul, Afghanistan

Panel 2
Dr. Barnett R. Rubin
Director of Studies and Senior Fellow
Center on International Cooperation
New York University
New York, NY

****************

I am actually kind of scared of this one. We need more NATO troops to go into Afghanistan and seriously start to help that country or we are looking at real bad problems. The Taliban is resurgent, the US doesn't have enough troops, the situation is dire and definitely off the radar of the Repubs who want everyone to think Afghanistan was 'solved' a while ago. I am also sort of thinking that this is the hearing that the Repubs will start to blame NATO for 'losing' Afghanistan by not coughing up more troops. It wasn't the fault of the US, we were busy in Iraq, we thought the NATO forces were minding the store in AFghanistan. (Can't you just hear that argument beginning? It wasn't my fault, I was doing my job. The Eruopeans dropped the ball. Sigh!)

I would say there is a moderate chance of a Kerry sighting. Again, I hope so. I do not want to hear just Rethugs pontificating about how great a victory Afghanistan was and how it's just wrong to think that it could be slipping away. (Only pessimists and thinking people talk like that.)

http://www.nato.int/issues/afghanistan/040628-factsheet.htm

[globalvillage]

2. I'm ready for TLAP Day.

Been practicing. Aaaarrrggggh, matey.
Are you sure there are no fisheries hearings on Tuesday? That would be apropos, don't you think?
I'm a little disappointed, you would think they'd have planned one to celebrate.

[TayTay]

4. I know. Arggghhhhh!

No Fisheries hearing anywhere in the immediate vicinity. Apparently, they are not a high priority going into an election midterm. Who knew?

BTW, I did see Allen today on MTP. He was marginally sufficient to warrant a certificate of breathing. (I can award him no more than that.) He and Santorum desperately need a stupid-off to see who says the dumbest things.

[TayTay]

5. There are two Finance Comm hearings

which no one here will watch anyway. (Okay, I tried to watch them, but Chuck Grassley is a sporofic of amazing power. I can't stay awake and listen to Sen. Grassley, they are mutually exclusive operations. Sigh!)

Hearing one is on Wedneday:

Our Business Tax System: Objectives, Deficiencies, and Options for Reform
September 20 , 2006, at 10:00 a.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building


Member Statements:
Charles Grassley, IA
Max Baucus, MT


Witness Statements:

Dn't worry, eventually they will get witnesses. There are a lot of people who know business tax law and make a nice living from it.


**********************8

The other FinComm hearing is approve a Deputy Trade Rep and I seriously doubt anyone will watch that either. The hearing to get the actual Trade Rep was not that interesting, I doubt the Deputy is any more exciting to watch, but you never know.

[TayTay]

6. Commerce Comm: There are hearings, not sure on what

The first one is a markup hearing, but the Commerce site declines to list what the markup bill in question is. It could be the Internet, it could be a bill to regulate Mimes. (I hate it when they do this. It's so existential of them.)

What bills are you in the final stages of sending to the Senate floor to be considered to become the Law of the Land for everyone but Bush? We are not telling you. Cuz, then you would know and have questions and stuff and we just hate that, it makes the hearing longer.

This hearing also occurs on Talk Like A Pirate Day, but it's not really that much fun in Commerce as Ted Stevens always talks that way. Arrrgggghhhh!

Full Committee Mark-up
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
10:00 AM

SR - 253

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has announced a full committee mark-up.

Add To My Calendar (vCal)


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Witnesses

No Witnesses Scheduled At This Time

There is a markup of something, but we aren't telling what it is. And no witnesses either. I don't know, maybe it's me but that sounds funny. Hmmmm, what could the mysterious Ted Stevens be planning on marking up anyway? We will know once he finishes mailing the internets to us so stay tuned.

[karynnj]

10. I thought the one to confirm Portman was very interesting

Kerry spoke a lot about the flaws in the various free trade bills - I thought it was interesting. The actual hearing on CAFTA were more interesting and it great to hear Kerry's concerns. (They showed another nice side of him.)

[TayTay]

12. That one was good.

But then he moved on and there was another USTR hearing and it was a snooze. The woman got in easily.

[globalvillage]

7. Wow.

You must be in a good mood. I thought he sucked big time.
Webb looked pretty good. Except for some pretty stupid statements in his distant (women in the military) and not so distant (I still can't seem to get past the Kerry bashing) past, he seems to be a good candidate.
I have stepped up my Casey duty to two evenings a week for now, in hopes Ricky and Felix can have their biggest loser contest out of office. I think we're going to be OK here. Santorum has a pretty nasty ad out right now, but I think Casey can handle it.

[TayTay]

8. Glad to hear. Yeah, I did know Allen was breathing

So I know his brain was engaged in controlling something. It sure as hell wasn't his mouth. He claims that he didn't know what his slur meant, but it has been proven that he did. What a jerk.

I also noted that Webb articulated Kerry's plan. He called for a Madrid like summit instead of a Dayton Summit, but it was Kerry's plan for withdrawal. I liked that. I didn't like his answer on women in the military, but he did at least address it.

So, icky Ricky is still slumping. That is good news. It figures that he would put out a nasty ad, he doesn't have anything positive to say. "Hi, I'm a Bush butt-kisser and I love his war, his economy, his torture policy and the way he handled Katrina. Ahm, I tried very hard to be at Terry Schiavo's beside so I could put up a manly fight to prevent her feeding tube from being disconnected but the libruls got their activist judge friends to stop me. BTW, vote for me, cuz I represent PA values." Yikes.

[karynnj]

9. I can't believe that he tried the Republican logic of Democrats

not understanding the war. Webb was very good on that part. I think he did as well as he could on the woman's issues - they are part of his past and he explained them as best he could. (he is not good on this issue). He did way better than Allen who is trying to defend the indefensible on makaka.

[ProSense]

11. That's plain dumb

when your opponent is a Vet.

Posted in LBN, this NYT article:

NYT: As Senator Falters, a Democrat Rises in Virginia