Today in the Senate

[TayTay]

The Senate will take a formal vote on the nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at 11:30 am (EST). All Senators were requested to be in the chamber and at their desks at 11:20. (Big photo op.) I am not crazy about Roberts, but this will be a historic moment.

So, tune in already. It's on C-Span2 http://www.c-span.org/

[TayTay]

1. SFRC hearing at 2:30 Kerry is Ranking Member

So, he should show: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearing.html

A Review of U.S. - Japan Relations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEARING
before the

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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, September 29, 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 2:30 PM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Murkowski

Witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Christopher R. Hill
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC
The Honorable Richard P. Lawless
Deputy Under Secretary for Asia-Pacific Affairs
Department of Defense
Washington, DC
Panel 2
Ms. Amelia Porges
Counsel
Sidley, Austin Brown & Wood LLP
Washington, DC
Mr. Stephen P. MacMillan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Stryker Corporation
Kalamazoo, MI
Dr. Gerald Curtis
Department of Political Science
Columbia University
New York, NY

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

Sub-committee is:
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Lisa Murkowski, Chairman
Lamar Alexander
Chuck Hagel
Lincoln Chafee
George Allen
John F. Kerry, Ranking Member
Joseph R. Biden
Russell D. Feingold
Barack Obama


I just pray that George Allen is out catching footballs somewhere and doesn't show up and ruin what has been a breathtaking week.

[whometense]

2. Due to an officemate

who is hypersensitive to senatorial voices :mad: I can't listen to c-span at work any more. So if something exciting happens, could you do a quick post? It's not much fun watching their mouths move in silence. :(

[TayTay]

3. Can you use headphones?

Every office is different and depends on what the boss wants. I work in a very laid-back place where everyone is encouraged to bring in music and headphones and stuff. (Makes the rote work that we have to do sometimes pass more quickly and keeps us focused.)

My daughter worked at a place this summer that was so strict she wasn't even allowed to listen to the radio. And she was in a basement and didn't have to deal with customers face-to-face.

My sympathies and I will try to 'feed the cube-rats.'

[whometense]

4. I can use headphones

to listen to the radio (listening to Stephanie Miller right now!), but haven't figured out how to attach them to my computer. I'm working on it, though.


Never mind - just figured it out! Now I need an extension for my headphone cord, and I'll be all set!

Edited to add, Chuck Schumer was nice. But now the gaseous Trent Lott. Ugh.

[jillan]

5. I wonder how Trent's new porch is coming along.

Bsh wants to sit and drink on his porch, so it should be about done.

Actually Mitch McConnell made me more ill than Trent.
Why are most repugs so nauseating?

[TayTay]

6. Wow! Kerry is questioning about troop committment to IRaq

Very focused on how Japan is supporting the Iraq war.

Got the ambassador to talk about troop support.

Gee, KErry says Australia is going to withdraw all troops by May of 2006, and maybe Japan.

Questioning:The Honorable Richard P. Lawless
Deputy Under Secretary for Asia-Pacific Affairs
Department of Defense
Washington, DC

I will post the transcript tomorrow. He's getting at something. Don't have my finger on it yet.

[whometense]

7. Agree.

He's much more intense than I expected. He is getting at something.

[TayTay]

8. Support for Iraq

Mentioned that
Australia is going to withdraw fairly soon
Japan only has 600 troops

Now: What is the level of support ofr Iraq among the people.

He's going somewhere with this or is building a case for something else. Hmmmmmmm. Very intense. Vefore this the Rethug was talking about sucker fish or something. Very different feel to this now.

Damn, he's good.

[whometense]

10. I was just thinking how

people who are testifying must hate hearing the words, "Senator Kerry?"

[karynnj]

13. Didn't he mention something to Sheehan

about other countries not wanting to work with Bush? Wasn't Austrailia the third largest presence in Bush's wonderous coalition? So we'll be left with Britain and all the countries there in spirit only. No wonder he's intense. Bush has almost destroyed this country in 5 years.

Are the Republicans annoyed that he's not interested in sucker fish????

[TayTay]

15. Sen. Murkowski is dumber than a bag of cold rocks!

That was one of the dumbest Senate hearings ever, that didn't have George Allen at it. (Thank Gawd they're both already married. Otherwise I would have nightmares about these two dim bulbs getting together and breeding. That is an apocalyptic vision. Yuck!) Honestly, that woman can't chair a committee. She had no idea what to ask the guy from State or the DoD guy. So, she reached back into her mental fugue state and pulled out a fish complaint about the Japanese. I was embarrassed for her and I don't even live in Alaska.

Then Sen. Kerry comes in, sits down and does his thing, only in overdrive, cuz he's in a hurry and probably in mortal fear that some of Murkowski's dumbness might be catching. (I hope he's been immunized. Allen and Murkowski on Foreign Relations, sigh. Rethugs hate other countries don't they?)

Sen. Kerry had about 15 minutes and then he had to go somewhere so he just starts in on the DoD guy. In world record time of about 1 minute, he had the guy saying, 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir.' (The true mark that you have a bureaucrats respect, the ever trusty 'how long does it take before you sit up straight, realize you are talking to an intelligent grownup and show some respect' test. He passed.)

Sen. Kerry talked to the guy about Japan and asked how many non-combat people from Japan were in support in Iraq. About 600. Kerry asked why they didn't have 1,000. DoD guy mumbled and punted. Kerry kept on him and he had to admit that, quite possibly, no one knows. (Sigh! Read between the lines, the Japanese are never going to send more people. Stupid DoD guy.)

Kerry then went in for the kill and asked if the rumors were true about Australia and Japan pulling all troops out by next May. Dumb DoD guy says, "Ahm, I haven't heard that." My Junior Senator is too smart not to know the answer to a question before he asks it, so he just grilled the guy on it. Upshot, DoD guy doesn't know diddly. (He probably figured it was just going to be Murkowski at the hearing so he only prepared military answers to fish questions.)

Kerry then asked some trade questions and moved in on the guy from State. That guy was stuck trying to figure out what the f*ck we are doing with North Korea. He didn't know. (Again, only prepared to speak to Murkowski, obviously not prepared for Kerry, never mind a Kerry on a time schedule.)

Upshot. Next time people, prepare. There will be quizzes on this stuff.

Oh, and I love my Junior Senator. And my sympathies to the people of Alaska. Sigh!

What is it with some west coast Senators? Did the brains line stop in Illinois or what? I don't get that. I know people from the West Coast and they are smart as all get-out. Why aren't their Senators?

[rox63]

16. Nice play-by-play

Thanks TayTay. Reading your description, I felt like I was watching it myself. :)

[TayTay]

17. Ahm, did it come across that Murkowski is on my sh*t list?

Honestly, I nearly fell asleep and almost put something else on the video link. Then Kerry walked in, took care of business in about 15 minutes and that was that.

Why does he get tagged with being boring and long-winded? He was concise, precise and intense today.

(And he was getting at something with those Iraq questions. I was listening to Murkowski attempt to ask something interesting for 45 minutes and all I got was boring stuff. Then Kerry comes in, change the tone of the meeting, talks suddenly about Iraq and bang, it was a different hearing.)

I wish that SFRC would put their meetings online in a library like the Commerce committee does. Then you could endure 5 minutes of Murkowski, 15 or so delightfully intense minutes of Kerry and move on.

Friggin Barbie!

[ginnyinWI]

22. thanks, TayTay

It was almost better reading your play-by-play than if I had seen it myself. I can see JK and the other guy so clearly.

[TayTay]

9. Nice pivot to trade issues

The Honorable Christopher R. Hill
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC

On-going war over access to markets. Is Japan shutting us out?

Pivot to North Korea? (Woiw, hope these witnesses are ready for this.)

What about Korea and the recent kerfluffle about nukes?

Answer: Ahm, we need to get some stuff settled first, then, ahm, we can talk. North Korea is ful of liars and neer-do-wells and we won't get fooled again. They are crazy you know.

[whometense]

11. Did you hear her

just apologize for cutting him off?

His voice carries really well even without the mike on. :-)

[TayTay]

12. Mirkowski is a Barbie

What was her insistence on talking about sucker fish or something. Ah, I'll get the transcript tomorrow. She is a big Barbie. The hearing was going along nicely and they were stroking each other's ego's and then KErry came in and asked real questions.

What is wrong with people who vote for these uninteresting lightweights? (Ahm, I keep trying to remember that Congress doesn't meet just to amuse me. Sorry. )

[jillan]

14. Where did you get to listen to this at?

I had cspan 2 recording while I was gone, and went thru it 2x looking
for Kerry. Saw Durbin, Kennedy, Obama, Bayh, Stevens, no Kerry :(

[TayTay]

18. Committee hearing: Senate Foreign Relations Comm

I went to the committee web site and found the video link and watched/listened to it. I wish the SFRC archived their videos of committee hearings like other Senate Comms do, but they don't (Sometimes you can get this stuff at C-Span. I infer from this that the SFRC probably doesn't want to let people watch hearings because Allen and Murkowski are on the committee and they are too dumb to bear repeating. Sigh!)

I posted a notice about this, honest.

I even mentioned that Sen. Kerry is Ranking Member and didn't even follow that up with a joke or anything. He had to show for this one. (It's inhuman to leave witnesses in a room with Murkowski for two hours. He had to show, just for humanitarian reasons.)

[karynnj]

19. But there are only two sides,

Somewhere out on right wing boards, they are probably laughing that Murkowski brilliantly understood all the ramifications of the sucker fish problem, which John Kerry seemed to have not been prepared to speak about, choosing instead to grill the witnesses about Japanese and Australian support in Iraq. (Why is he always more concerned with foreigners instead of real Americans) Then he talked about trade policy ... and North Korea, so what, it has nukes - It was great he had to leave after 15 minutes. So we could get back to the truely important issue of suckerfish.


Wouldn't it be hard to really defend Murkowski - why did they re-elect her! (other than oil money)

[TayTay]

21. I believe you speak the truth, Jersey woman!

Oh somewhere in this shining land and somewhere on the web there are suckerfish enthusiasts who are damning Kerry as a party pooper. They were sitting at their computers saying, "Wait for it, wait for it, Murkowski is going to ask about suckerfish, I just know it, it's her only issue." Then Kerry comes in and starts talking about foreign relations and it isn't even dirty or nothing. (Damn it. Foreign Relations sounds like it should be, I don't know, interesting. I woud love to have foreign relations with someone, maybe someone who spoke French at opportune moments and ordered dessert in Italian, maybe.)

You are so right, the suckerfish crazies are just so disappointed. But I didn't hear the end of the hearing, so maybe Lisa got back to the most important foreign relations question facing the nation today: if the Japanese planned on getting our suckerfish or not. (The fate of the world hangs on the reply.)

[jillan]

20. I was thinking it was going to be on Cspan.

I wish I would have paid more attention to your original post on it.
When it comes to Kerry, it should be on CSpan, or on the 6:00 news.
What's wrong with these people?;( :+