It’s a sad day when you have members of Congress who are literally criminals go undisciplined by their colleagues

The word values used to mean something. If the word values was used just printed on a piece of paper without context most people would conjure a positive mental image. Republicans changed all that. Values is and has been for some time the punchline to a joke. Thanks to conservatives values became the theme to a con game, a cheap swindle, an exploitation of the common American. Though they lost control of Congress just nine months ago and look like they are about to lose the presidency ( or the throne of power as they interpret the presidency ) they’re still feeding like ravenous pigs at the public trough, The 22 most corrupt members of Congress
Members of the Senate:

Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Members of House:
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)

Dishonorable Mention:
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

Only four Democrats. Still too many. Something to keep in mind as these bad Dems run for re-election. It looks like Larry Craig gets up to more serious wrong doing then just restroom toe tapping.
A phrase that used to mean something was supporting the troops. Those too have become part of the cheap patter of the most corrupt political movement in American history, Welcome home. Now screw you.

When the President announced his surge, I wrote my first diary regarding my daughter and son-in law. He was one of nearly 3900 members of the 1/34th BCT of the Minnesota National Guard who found out through family members and media reports (not even their chain of command knew) they were being extended. Their unit served in Iraq longer than any other.

It wasn’t enough to have required they put their lives at risk, then on further hold for a madman’s delusion. Below the fold is the story of how many of our troops are being deliberately denied access to the full GI Bill educational benefits.

Both diaries are worth a read.If your home had this kind of support you’d be living in a pile of rubble.

All the right-wing temper tantrums about staying in Iraq and believing Gen. David Petraeus’ hasn’t persuaded the majority of the American people and Democrats can read poll numbers. Better late then never, Democrats Won’t Temper Iraq Legislation

After weeks of suggesting Democrats would temper their approach to Iraq legislation in a bid to attract more Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared abruptly Tuesday that he had no plans to do so.

The Democratic leader said he will call for a vote this month on several anti-war proposals, including one by Sen. Carl Levin that would insist President Bush end U.S. combat next summer. The proposals would be mandatory and not leave Bush wiggle room, said Reid, D-Nev.

“There (are) no goals. It’s all definite timelines,” he told reporters of the planned legislation.

Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Monday night he would have agreed to turn his summer deadline into a nonbinding goal if doing so meant attracting enough votes to pass. Several Republicans have said they are uneasy about Bush’s war strategy but do not like the idea of setting a firm timetable on troop withdrawals.

Reid’s hardline stance, announced after the party’s weekly policy lunch on Tuesday, reflects a calculation by Democrats that Levin’s proposal probably would have failed either way. Democrats hold a thin majority in the Senate and similar legislation has repeatedly fallen short of the 60 votes needed to break a GOP filibuster.

When asked why Democrats won’t soften the deadline, the majority leader said he doesn’t have confidence Republicans are willing to challenge Bush on the war.

“I think they’ve decided definitely they want this to be the Senate Republicans’ war, not just Bush’s. They’re jealous,” he said with a smile.

Democrats are in a box on the Iraq war debate, lacking the votes to pass legislation ordering troops home but tied to a support base that wants nothing less. Several Democrats, including Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Barbara Boxer of California, have said they will not vote for anything short of a firm deadline to end the war.

These members say they are responding to polls that show Americans still oppose the war, despite Gen. David Petraeus’ report to Congress and President Bush’s nationally televised address.

“It’s a sad day when you have members of Congress who are literally criminals go undisciplined by their colleagues. No wonder people look at Washington and know this city is broken.” ~ Senator John Kerry

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