U.S. House of Representatives Votes to Stop Selling F-14 Tomcat Parts to Iran

Is it possible that maybe the representatives in the U.S. House actually do have some common sense? After all, why would the United States actually want to help Iran keep their jet fighters in good working order?

This vote on Monday to ban sales of F-14 fighter parts to Iran was the second time the House voted on such a measure.

This measure to stop selling left-over F-14 parts was voted on in May that was part of the military funding legislation package approved by the House but vetoed by President Bush.

Now the House of Representatives is sending the so named "Stop Arming Iran Act" as a separate bill to the President for his approval. It would seem this is one bill President Bush will have a hard time vetoing when it comes to his desk.

This bill is expected to gain Senate approval, and from there this bill would then head to the White House for final approval. Considering President Bush has all stated Iran is part of the "axis of evil", White House approval seems to be a given. However, the White House has yet to comment on whether they support this funding ban to a country they consider one that freely fund terrorists, and especially terrorists in Iraq.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., proposed the legislation after The Associated Press reported in January that buyers for Iran, China and other countries exploited weaknesses in Pentagon surplus sale security to acquire sensitive military gear including parts for F-14s, other aircraft and missiles.

In one instance, a surplus auction held by the Department of Defense ended up making its way to Iran.

In citing this AP story, Giffords said the goal of her bill, H.R. 1441, was to stop having military surplus sales from inadvertently ending up in Iran to help Iran maintain their military weapons.

Giffords went on to say the United States must ensure parts that are unique to F-14 fighters do not end up in Iran.

After the AP broke this story about jet fighter parts ending up in Iran, the Department of Defense said they would voluntarily halt sales of Tomcat parts. The Department of Defense also said they would review whether these fighter parts could be sold as surplus parts on the world market without posing a national security risk.
The Department of Defense went on to say they had all ready planned to destroy parts unique to the F-14, but other parts that are common to the Tomcat, and other jet fighters, might still be sold on the open market.

Back in the 1970's, the United States gave Iran permission to buy the F-14 fighters because both countries were allies at the time. Iran is the only country still known to fly the F-14 because the United States just retired their F-14 fleet last year.

The Department of Defense just recently decided to tighten security of surplus military parts when it was discovered that GAO ( Government Accountability Office) investigators posing as defense contractors were able to obtain more than one million dollars worth of sensitive military surplus parts. One item these investigators were able to purchase was a rocket launcher.

One of the new measures adopted by the Pentagon is the accurate identification of military surplus items to ensure they are safe to sell before actually putting these items up for sale.

Giffords and Wyden say a broad, permanent ban on the Pentagon's sale of the thousands of spare F-14 components is needed to make sure sensitive parts do not accidentally wind up in surplus sales, as has happened in the past.
This legislation calls for the banning of export licenses for F-14 parts.

In addition, this legislation will ban the sale of F-14, and F-14 parts, to anyone except museums and historical groups. Before the F-14's are sold to these groups, these planes also have to be rendered useless.

Read more about bill HR 1441 at Yahoo News

Hillary Clinton Looks For Her Jock

Hillary Clinton would like to be known as a candidate that is not only smart, but is also considered a sports 'jock'. The 2008 Presidential hopeful has even gone so far as to list 'speed walking' as her favorite sport on her My Space account.

Besides listing 'speed walking' as one of her favorite hobbies, Sen. Clinton says she enjoys a good cross word puzzle, Scrabble, and gardening.

However, when it comes to actually showing herself as a weekend sports warrior, Hillary seems to miss the mark being hit by her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama.

Many pundits feel the Illinois Senator is bringing back the sports glory days of the Kennedy clan's touch football games by showing his sporty side during pick-up basketball games. Most men view someone as being cool if they can show any ability to play a pick-up basketball game or two.

The problem, as one of her donors put it: “How does 59-year-old Mama run against sexy Obama?” (The donor asked not to be named speaking critically of his candidate.)

The American public is used to seeing their President involved in some type of sport such as George W. Bush tossing the first pitch at a baseball game, George H.W. Bush racing speedboats, Ronald Reagan sitting atop a horse, and even Bill Clinton hitting the golf links. Some pundits even point to Condoleezza Rice's love for the National Football League as a plus if Rice ever decides to run for president.

And herein lies the problem for Hilliary-How does she show her 'inner jock' without it appearing as if she is forcing a persona that she has no idea how to project to the American public.

“I certainly don’t foresee her playing basketball,” said Alan Patricof, a Clinton fund-raiser.

While her camp does feel the NY Senator will win when it comes to brains and guts, many in her camp feels she will badly lose when it comes to projecting a personality the American public will come to accept.

Hillary's spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said Mrs. Clinton is a very intelligent, warm, friendly, compassionate, strong and experience person. Columnist Ellen Goodman even went so far as to say Sen. Clinton would be the ‘caring commander in chief'.

However, Mrs. Clinton does realize that when it comes to winning the Presidency, the American public wants a president who is not only strong and smart but likable as well. And when it comes to likable, Sen. Clinton knows she needs to make up a lot of ground, and this has led Hillary to start poking fun of herself more and more during recent campaign stops.

At a recent campaign stop, Hillary made fun of her weight by seeking the help of the Lord, and Hillary has even gone so far as to making a video that mocks her. Sen. Clinton even likes to joke about her lack of singing ability.

But when it comes to being a sports jock, well it appears the 59 year old Senator may find this job a little harder to pull off than the job of poking fun at herself.

Last week, Sen. Clinton teamed with tennis legend Billie Jean King while sharing stories about how she once played softball, pick-up basketball, and tennis. The erstwhile presidential candidate even mentioned she once won an Arkansas doubles tennis tournament.

Sen. Clinton may find out that trying to show a sporty side at her age may cost her votes instead of helping her gain votes. All Hillary has to do is look back to the 2004 race for the White House to see how tricky it will be to convince the America public about her sports prowess.

Many people feel Sen. John Kerry lost major points with the American public when he tried to show off his sports skills by windsurfing, hunting and downhill skiing. This sports persona move back fired on Kerry because the America public ended up viewing him as a phony because he looked more like a fool instead of someone who could lead our country.

So if Sen. Clinton is a smart as everyone thinks, she may want to leave the sports persona image to the glamours and athletic looking Sen. Obama because sometimes it is better to reminisce about your 'glory days' instead of actually trying to recapture that moment in time.

Read more about the sporty Hillary Clinton at NYT.com

Immigration Bill Dies A Quick Death in the Senate

Deep divisions within the U.S. Senate kills the Bush backed immigration bill allowing 'amnesty' to illegal immigrants. A compromise bill appears to be unlikely as Senate voting fell 15 votes short of the required 60 to move legislation forward.

The Democratic controlled Senate lead the charge in voting down a White House backed bill on immigration that may cause this hot button issue to be tabled for the remainder of 2007.

This deep divide with the Senate mirrors the feeling of Americans nationwide when it comes to deciding the fate of over 15 million people living and working illegally in the United States.

Despite the backing of most Democrats in the Senate, some of the more liberal Democrats voted against moving this bill forward because they felt this bill did not go far enough to ensure immigrant families were kept together. These more liberal Democrats also felt this bill did not adequately protect jobs for U.S.-born workers.

The division amongst Republicans came down to social conservatives wanting to remove any type of 'amnesty' language from this bill versus Republicans backing business who rely on these undocumented workers to fill unskilled and low paying jobs. Most of these jobs are found in the hotel, farming, construction and restaurant industries.

This immigration bill fell flat despite weeks of bipartisan work in the Senate. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives said they will not take up the immigration issue until the Senate is successful in passing an immigration bill.

Wondering what happened to President Bush pushing his people into helping the Senate pass a bill he supports, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, said he hopes that someday the Senate will come together in crafting a bill that will gain Senate approval.

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, defended the work of the White House by saying the White House, and particularly Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Cherto, worked liked dogs right up to Thursdays vote in the Senate.

A statement issued by the White House said this set back did not signal a death knell for one of the President's top domestic issues. The White House encouraged Sen. Reid to allow debate on the immigration issue in the hopes something can be worked out. Administration officials were closely monitoring this situation from Germany were they are attending the G-8 summit meetings, but President Bush did not call any lawmakers to discuss this hot button issue.

"He obviously is disappointed by the setback," White House counselor Dan Bartlett said of Bush. "But based on the latest information we have, there still is a good chance this bill could go forward."

Placing tighter limits on immigration is a top priority for many conservatives, and this was evident when fighting occurred earlier in the year because limits were placed on incoming temporary workers. In May, Senators reduced this temporary worker program from 400,000 to 200,000 workers. Some Senators became even more furious when the Senate voted to stop this temporary worker program all together after five years.

Top U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbyist R. Bruce Josten told The Associated Press this week that the immigration issue is "divisive in the Republican base, it's divisive in the Democratic base, it's divisive in the business community. It splits organized labor, it splits the immigration community."

Republican Senators backing President Bush on this immigration bill came under fierce heat from people in their home state, local GOP officials, and even from conservative talk show hosts.

A recent poll conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center indicates 55 percent of respondents favor imposing a penalty on businesses that hire illegal immigrants. 25 percent of the respondents said border agents are the best way to stop the flow of illegal workers, and 7 percent said more border fences would help stem the tide of illegals entering the country.

However, when the word 'amnesty' was removed from the polling questions, 62 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Republicans said they would favor giving U.S. citizenship to illegals all ready in the country if these illegals have jobs, pass background checks and pay fines. When the word 'amnesty' was put back into these poll questions, the percent of Republican responders who backed this type of program dropped to 47.

Read more about the defeat of this bill at Yahoo News

Hillary: Faith Helped Save My Marriage

During a speech on Monday, Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said faith in God helped her cope with Bill's numerous infidelities.

Still standing by her man, Sen. Clinton said Bill's admission that he did have an affair is what helped her decide to stay the course of her marriage to the former president.

"I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought," Clinton said during a forum where the three leading Democratic presidential candidates talked about faith and values.

Sen. Clinton also said she was not sure if she would have stayed with her marriage if not for her faith.

Hillary was speaking in front of a forum sponsored by the liberal Sojourners/Call to Renewal evangelical organization. Also invited to speak at this forum were rivals John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama. This forum allowed these three presidential hopefuls the opportunity to speak about their most personal beliefs.

Sen. Clinton spoke openly about the ways she was tested both publicly and privately while the world debated her marriage. Hillary said it was during times like this that prayers and faith helped her cope with the many issues surrounding her marriage. Sen. Clinton went on to say that it is times like these were it is essential that you are grounded by your faith.

When it was his turn to speak. former Senator Edwards he prays-and sins- everyday. The crowd at this forum gasped loudly when moderator Soledad O'Brien asked Mr. Edwards to name his biggest sin. Edwards was able to gain the crowds support when he said he sins were so many that he could not name just one.

"I sin every single day," said Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee. "We are all sinners and we all fall short."

Trying to score points with moderator O'Brien, Edwards appeared at this forum wearing a purple tie. Purple is Ms. O'Brien's favorite color. Edwards also described himself as the candidate best committed to the Democrats goal of fighting the war against poverty.

Edwards does not feel his belief in evolution goes against his belief in God. Edwards also feels gays should have the right to marriage, but he went on to say that as president he would not impose this marriage right on the rest of the country.

Edwards feels the United States should not be labeled as a Christian country even though Edwards states to have a deep and abiding love for God.

Edwards said he has been going to church since childhood and that he was baptized when he was a teenager. Mr. Edwards did admit he strayed off the path as an adult, but he came back to his belief in God when his teen-age son died in 1996.

"It was the Lord that got me through that," Edwards said, along with both of his wife's cancer diagnoses.

Sen. Clinton on the other hand admitted her religious belief's do not come easy for her.

"I take my faith very seriously and very personally," she said. "And I come from a tradition that is perhaps a little too suspicious of people who wear their faith on their sleeves."

This forum allowed each speaker to have their say for 15 minutes during this CNN broadcast before a live audience from George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Clinton, Edwards, and Obama were questioned by Ms. O'Brien and church leaders from across the country.

Sen. Obama preferred to talk more about policy issues instead of any personal issues he may have. When asked about if he agreed with President Bush that the war on terror is a war against good versus evil, Sen. Obama said there is a risk in using such a narrow vision in defining this global struggle.

"The danger of using good verses evil in the context of war is that it may lead us to be not as critical as we should about our own actions," Obama said to applause.

Sen. Obama went on to say the attacks of 9/11 were the results of evil, but Obama was quick to point out the United States treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay is unjust.

Read more about this group forum at Yahoo News

NASA Chief Says Global Warming Is Nothing to Worry About

The global warming debate was turned up a notch last Friday, June 1, when NASA chief Michael Griffin issued a statement saying he was unsure if global warming was an issue to be "wrestled with" at this time.

This bold statement on the issue of global warming is so counter to conventional wisdom because most scientists feel global warming is one of the top issues facing people around the world.

Mr. Griffin has come under fire from Congress in the past because Mr. Griffin has cut funding for programs designed to monitor global climate change. However, in a radio interview on Thursday, Mr. Griffin said he had no doubt there is a trend indicating global warming exists."

But, he told National Public Radio, "I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with."

James Hansen, NASA's top expert on climate change, was totally caught off-guard by this statement because he said he almost 'fell out of this chair' when hearing about Griffin's remarks.

"It was a shocking statement because of the level of ignorance it indicated with regard to the current situation," Hansen told NPR.

Mr. Hansen went on to say Mr. Griffin must not be aware that over 170 countries have all ready agreed that global warming and climate change is a serious issue with worldwide repercussions if this issue is not addressed as soon as possible.

In a statement released later in the day, Mr. Griffin did say it is NASA's responsibility to collect, analyze and then release reports on climate change, but it is not NASA's responsibility to implement policies regarding strategies to combat climate change and global warming.

The Democrats wasted no time in taking pot shots at Mr. Griffin.

Bart Gordon, D-TN, heads the House Science and Technology committee, and he issued a statement saying that based on NASA's five year budget plan NASA will not be able to start any new Earth observation programs that were recommended by the National Academies for the foreseeable future.

"That's not going to get us where we need to be in our understanding of climate change."

The League of Conservation Voters is a national pro-environment group that is calling for Mr. Griffin to resign over his outlandish statements.

Griffin's comments are "deeply troubling," said Gene Karpinski, the group's president.

Mr. Karpinski also said global warming is real and humans are contributing to this problem. Mr. Karpinski said it is not 'rocket science' when it comes to taking action in regards to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Griffin's comments seemed to go against comments made by President Bush on the same day.

On Friday, President Bush was calling for the major industrialized countries to come together in developing a new global warming pact that will replace the Kyoto Pact that is set to expire in 2012.

Read more on this issue at Yahoo News

Pelosi Wants to Pass Gas This Year

House leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying she would like to pass gas this year in hopes of reducing that bloated and pained looked on her face.

Of course the House leader is actually talking about Congress passing a bill that will cap the heat producing carbon dioxide emissions, and not natural occurring human and animal flatulence.

"I'd like to see it pass this year," Pelosi told reporters at a news conference. "Congress will act upon cap-and-trade legislation in this Congress."

These remarks by Pelosi came a day after President Bush called on the worlds 15 most influential countries to reach some type of agreement by the end of 2008 on a long-term plan to cut carbon emissions.

The Pelosi deadline for a carbon reduction bill marks the first time House leader Pelosi actually placed a time-line for Congress to take action on any type of legislation. Rep. Pelosi never demanded a time-line for troop withdrawals from Iraq because she left this 'hot potato' task to fellow minions like John Murtha.

The United States is the largest producer of heat causing carbon emissions, and Pelosi is endorsing the idea of a cap and trade system that she hopes will cut U.S. gas emissions in half by 2050.

Few details of this Pelosi gas reduction plan have been released, but it appears this bill will allow businesses to pollute as much as they want as long as they buy permits for pollution that exceeds set industry standards. There has not been any word on what would be done with the money generated from the selling of these pollution permits, but one can only wonder what wasteful programs will be funded with this money.

If Congress and the President are serious about reducing heat causing emissions, they would place a 'cap'on the amount of political 'hot air' and rhetoric that spews out of their mouths on a daily basis.

The United States and Iran End 27 Year Silence Towards Each Other

Iran and the United States broke 27 years of diplomatic silence on Monday so they could talk about the lack of security in Iraq.

This four hour meeting held in Iraq brought together the two major players that will mostly likely determine the fate of an unstable Iraqi country.

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said broad agreement over Iraq was made, but Mr. Crocker said Iran must stop giving arms and money to militants attacking U.S. and Iraqi security forces.

Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi issued a statement to the Associated Press (AP) indicating both the U.S. and Iran would meet again to further discuss Iraq's situation. However, Mr. Crocker said the U.S. will only meet again with Iran if Iraq invites the U.S. to further talks.

"We don't have a formal invitation to respond to just yet, so it doesn't make sense to respond to what we don't have," Crocker told reporters after the meeting.

These talks were held in the offices of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Mr. al-Maliki's offices are located in the Green Zone area of Baghdad.

The talks between the U.S. and Iran were the first formal talks between these former allies since Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1979. 1979 was the year of the Iranian Islamic Revolution and the seizure of the U.S. Embassy.

An AP reporter who viewed this meeting said Mr. Crocker and Mr. Kazemi shook hands.

The American envoy called the meeting "businesslike" and said at "the level of policy and principle, the Iranian position as articulated by the Iranian ambassador was very close to our own."

Mr. Crocker went on to say the United States and Iraq would like Iran to actually put their words into actions by doing on the ground what they are saying during these meetings.

Speaking later at a news conference in the Iranian Embassy, Kazemi said: "We don't take the American accusations seriously."

Crocker did not go into detail about what Mr. Kazemi said during these meetings;however, Crocker did hint that Mr. Kazemi said Iran is willing to train and equip the Iraqi Army and Police in order to establish a new military and police structure in Iraq.

Iranian Ambassador Kazemi said U.S. policy to rebuild Iraqi security forces were inadequate to handle the current chaos in Iraq. Mr. Kazemi's statement also places sole blame for this chaos at the feet of Washington. Mr. Kazemi further stated his offer is meant to help Iraq rebuild their security structure that has been totally demolished by the United States.

Both sides said this ice-breaking meeting did not delve into the more difficult questions surrounding U.S.-Iranian relations: Iran's nuclear program and more than a quarter century of giving each other the cold shoulder.

Iran's Shiite theocracy worries the Bush administration will push for regime change, and act on this impulse, in Tehran the same way they did against Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Meanwhile, the U.S. and their Sunni Arab allies are worried that Iran's growing influence in the Middle East will lead to further Islamic extremism.

On top of these worries, Iran is concerned with the U.S. relationship with Israel; and the U.S. is concerned about Iran's open hostility towards Israel.

The Americans maintain Iran must stop their Quad force from bankrolling and arming militants in Iraq. The U.S. was aiming this statement directly towards the aid going to Mahdi Army forces led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The U.S. also claims Iran is shipping the deadly explosive formed penetrators, or EFPs. These EFPs are the armor piercing explosives being used in roadside bombs that are killing hundreds of U.S. soldiers. Mahdi Army forces have told AP reporters the Revolutionary Guards are supplying and training Mahdi soldiers.

Kazemi and Crocker did not discuss the issue of the seven Iranians captured by U.S. forces in Iraq. Five of these Iranians are still in U.S. custody.

Mr. Crocker said these talks were about Iraq only.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki issued a statement from Tehran saying further talks between Iran and the United States are possible, but only if Washington admits its Mid-East policy is a total failure.

Read more about this historic meeting at Yahoo News.

Clinton Crony Sued Over His Use Of A Company Jet to Ferry Bill and Hillary Clinton Around The World

A long time Clinton crony is facing a lawsuit claiming the use of a company jet to fly Hillary Rodham Clinton around the country on business, personal and campaign trips is a waste of company resources.

This lawsuit claims Vinod Gupta has received more than $3 million worth of contracts from former President Bill Clinton to provide consulting services for Mr. Gupta's Nebraska based company infoUSA. These contracts are set to run from 2003 to 2008.

It is estimated Mr. Gupta has spent roughly $900,000 since 2002 flying Sen. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton on international trips to promote Clinton Foundation business and political events.

The suit, filed by infoUSA shareholders last year, claims those expenses as well as millions of others unrelated to the Clintons were a "serial misuse of corporate assets and resources." The Clintons are not a party to the suit.

Details of this lawsuit first appeared in a February edition of The Deal, a business publication. Further accounts of this lawsuit also appeared in Saturday editions of the New York Times and Washington Post.

This lawsuit only mentions a "high ranking" company official and his wife, but Clinton campaign staffers and unnamed company officials did confirm this case involves Mr. Gupta and the Clintons.

Messages left Saturday with lawyers for infoUSA and for Dolphin Limited Partnership, a hedge fund that brought the suit, were not immediately returned Saturday. Stamford, Conn.-based Dolphin owns 3.6 percent of infoUSA stock.

Phil Singer, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign said all flights were properly reimbursed and disclosed as outlined by FEC ( Federal Election Commission) rules. Mr. Singer also said Sen. Clinton followed Senate ethics rules in regards to these flights.

A message left on Saturday for a spokesman of the former president was not returned.

This suit will give the American public a rare view of how far a Clinton crony will go in order to gain the favor of these two very powerful politicians. This suit alleges Mr. Gupta spent $145,000 to fly the Clinton's, and himself, on a 2002 vacation trip to Acapulco, Mexico.

Gupta has always been a major contributor to Democratic fundraisers, and his loyalty was paid off when former President Clinton invited him to sleep in the White House's Lincoln bedroom. Mr. Gupta showed his appreciation for this night in the Lincoln bedroom by donating $1 million to the Clinton library in Little Rock, Ark.

FEC records show Gupta controlled entities supplied jets for Sen. Clinton on at least seven different occasions since 2002. Clinton campaign, and other political committee, staffers did pay the equivalent price of first-class air seat for those trips. These payments are required by law, but they are also a significant discount when compared to the actual cost of charter jet service.

So far, it does not appear Mr. Gupta has supplied any flights to Sen. Clinton for use during her presidential campaign stops.

Aides to Sen. Clinton say the 2008 Democratic Presidential hopeful paid $450,000 on flights during the first three months of her presidential campaign. Payment records show the $450,000 was for full charter flight service. The actual details of these expenses do not have to be reported until July 15.

FEC records also show that in addition to providing jet service for Sen. Clinton, Mr. Gupta has also donated $19.500 dollars to Hillary's Senate campaign, presidential campaign and her political action committee since 2001.

Before bringing the lawsuit against Mr. Gupta, Dolphin Limited Partnership did try to place three directors on the infoUSA board of directors.

Both in its suit and in its quest to alter the board, Dolphin has maintained that Gupta squandered company money not only on the Clintons but on a stadium sky-box and on a private yacht with an all-female crew.

Documents filed by Mr. Gupta defend this spending by indicating Mr. Gupta paid for the sky-box at the University of Nebraska with his own money, and then transferred the sky-box to infoUSA.

Mr. Gupta also sent a letter to infoUSA directors in 2005 to defend his expenditures on a boat and sky-box by saying these items are used to woo large clients and top performing company employees.

InfoUSA is a marketing information company that provides electronic, print and data processing services to its clients.

InfoUSA has come under intense heat and scrutiny not only because of Mr. Gupta's spending habits, but because of customer data sold by the company that ended up being used by crooks in bilking older people. The company has since issued a statement saying measures have been taken to ensure a sale such like this will not happen again.

Read more about this lawsuit at Yahoo News