Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington yesterday released what we might have expected, nearly 100 members of Congress splatter federal funds on family members and/or their businesses. While this is not necessarily an indictable offense in every instance, it is a nice entry point into the ethics of US politicians.

Here is the link to the overview:

http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29095

In a speech delivered to a large crowd at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, NH, the subject of the Sonics' song "The Witch" once more offered here striking take on the ethics of taxation and redistribution. This time telling people to shut up if they might have a few qualms about the majority taking their money to pay for fetal stem cell research.

She actually had the gall to say she wanted "religion out of the stem cell debate," as if that could EVER happen, not only for the stem cell debate, but for many other unconstitutional and unethical federal programs. Regardless of whether fetal stem cell research currently kills and will continue to kill unborn human beings (scientifically speaking, this is the case, you decide how you feel about that reality, but it is a fact), morality and religion also play a part in thoughts on things like, oh... THEFT.

The Witches

The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

High as Hell

Witch

As Conspirators know, we have a slightly different take on the immigration debate (we actually consider things like the US Constitution and economics) than most "conservatives", but we were of the evidently misguided opinion that those "conservatives" like Trent Lott supported free speech for talk radio hosts.

As you will see in this New York Times article, Senator Lott is far from an ally, even on that issue. Read on, MacDuff! ---
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Senate Leaders Agree to Revive Immigration Bill

By ROBERT PEAR and JEFF ZELENY
Published: June 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, June 14 — Senate Democratic and Republican leaders announced on Thursday that they had agreed on a way to revive a comprehensive immigration bill that was pulled off the Senate floor seven days ago.

The Washington Post (so make sure you consider their slant when reading the story) reports that the FBI may have broken the law thousands of times when investigating American citizens.

Here is the piece:
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FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data

By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 14, 2007; Page A01

An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism.

Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice, and Peace to Rid the World of Evil

Attention Deficit Democracy

Amazing hypocrisy. The "inclusive" leftists want to prevent hurricane warnings from being aired on stations that carry Rush, Hannity, Glenn Beck, etc.

Here is what Glenn had to say on the subject:

Liberal officials in Broward County (FL) wanted to discontinue broadcasting emergency news on WIOD in Miami because they carried the Rush Limbaugh program. Commissioner Stacy Ritter said she did not want to support a station that's "out of step with area politics." It's not exactly clear when or how hurricane coverage became partisan, but apparently in Broward County warning citizens of incomin

ABC's Brian Ross reports that the FBI's watch list of US citizens grew to over 500,000 people in the last few years, far exceeding what many in the FBI consider reasonable aquisition of personal data. Here is the report, by Justin Rood, of Ross's Team:

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A terrorist watch list compiled by the FBI has apparently swelled to include more than half a million names.

Privacy and civil liberties advocates say the list is growing uncontrollably, threatening its usefulness in the war on terror.

The bureau says the number of names on its terrorist watch list is classified.

A portion of the FBI's unclassified 2008 budget request posted to the Department of Justice Web site, however, refers to "the entire watch list of 509,000 names," which is utilized by its Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force.

MSN and the Wall Street Journal have issued the results of a poll that one might have expected, given the rancor many people feel towards Bush on immigration (many conspirators have a different take on the immigration debate) and the spending of both Bush and Congress. Here is the report:
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By Mark Murray
Deputy political director
NBC News
Updated: 5 minutes ago

Mark Murray
Deputy political director

WASHINGTON - As President Bush attempts to revive the controversial immigration reform bill he supports, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that Republicans are abandoning the president, which has dropped his job-approval rating below 30 percent -- his lowest mark ever in the survey.

Check this out. Anyone remember the PMRC hearings of the late '80's?
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Jun 11, 11:29 AM (ET)

By ERIK SCHELZIG

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - If you saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers whispering to Al Gore when they accepted their Grammy Award for best rock album in February, that's the moment they committed to playing Live Earth.

Gore said he met with band members for more than an hour before this year's televised awards show, trying to persuade them to perform at one of the concerts.

While receptive to the idea, they weren't sure they could fit the July 7 concert into their schedule, Gore said Friday.

Check out Gard’s fill-in, along with the mighty talents of Julia, for the great hosts of Free Talk Live!

Go to www.freetalklive.com for more!

Check out Gard’s fill-in, along with the mighty talents of Julia, for the great hosts of Free Talk Live!

Go to www.freetalklive.com for more!

Check out Gard’s fill-in, along with the mighty talents of Julia, for the great hosts of Free Talk Live!

Go to www.freetalklive.com for more!

As the headline indicates, a US appeals court has ruled that a US citizen being held as an "enemy combatant" must be afforded the same habeas corpus privileges as other US citizens.

This is significant news, but could be overturned, since the "conservative" Bush administration is appealing the ruling to the US Supreme Court.

So happy to see them defending our liberties, aren't we...

Here is the article, from the Associated Press:
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Court Rules in Favor of Enemy Combatant
Jun 11 03:44 PM US/Eastern
By ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON
Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Bush administration cannot use new anti-terrorism laws to keep U.S. residents locked up indefinitely without charging them, a divided federal appeals court said Monday.

As of 10 pm, Sunday, NH Public Radio was reporting that US armored vehicles were being moved into position near the home of Ed and Elaine Brown, who were found guilty of tax evasion earlier in the year.

We will update you when information becomes available.

Lest we forget the broad proscription in the Second Amendment stating that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and the fact that if politicians and special interest groups would LIKE to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms, they can try to AMEND the Constitution, there is news that the NRA has struck a deal with Democrats in Washington on... background checks.

See what you think, and then consider that if someone does not want his background checked, even these seemingly innocuous and protective "background checks" are, strictly speaking, an infringement on the right to keep and bear arms. On balance, did the NRA do good or ill here? And why can't people be honest and actually try to amend the Constitution if they want to impose these supposedly salutory measures?

Here is the story, from Tom Fahey, of the Union Leader:

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Lynch launches last-minute rescue
By TOM FAHEY
State House Bureau Chief
16 hours, 11 minutes ago

CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch yesterday launched a rescue effort for a constitutional amendment on school funding.

Lynch persuaded members of the state Senate to suspend their rules so that an amendment can be introduced before the end of this month.

Lynch said shortly after a 17-7 vote in the Senate that he had spoken to Senate members about the importance of keeping a constitutional amendment alive.

Lynch has said he hopes to pass an amendment that would allow the state to more easily target aid to needy school districts at the same time it recognizes that the court has a role in school funding issues.

Many thanks to Ian and Mark of Free Talk Live (www.freetalklive.com) for asking Gard to fill in (tonight), Friday, and Saturday nights. He will be on with Free Stater Julia beginning at 7pm and will welcome Sheldon Richman, of the Foundation for Economic Education, to talk about the Republican Debates, energy policy, and even the travesty of US participation in World War I!

Check it out, and feel free to call!

As many Conspirators know, governor John Lynch's attempt to centralize education decision-making in NH by amending the NH Constitution was resoundingly defeated yesterday, June 6 (D-Day).

House Republican minority leader Mike Whalley believes this will lead us to an income tax, but, in fact, Lynch's amendment would have done that, and codified in the Constitution the destruction of local control. Whalley's alternative amendment would not have been any better, and would not have stopped future lawsuits, as he and his supporters claimed.

The best alternative is a proposal by Representative Paul Ingbretson to write into the NH Constitution explicit language that reiterates Section One Article Six, which gives the towns the power to contract with their teaching professionals and pay them according to their own plans. In Ingbretson's amendment, the State could provide supplimental funds when needed, and the court would be locked out.

In the Republican Debate at St. Anselm College in Goffstown (NOT MANCHESTER) NH, Rudy Giuliani emerged as strong on defense, devoted to the issue, and interested in gaining "energy independence" with an "Apollo-like" program to develop new sources of energy and increase refining. Increasing the number of refineries in the US is easily done -- simply lift the hand of government off the backs of the oil refiners, and LET THEM MAKE NEW REFINING PLANTS!

As far as developing government programs to "set us on a course for energy independence"? Bad idea. Let the market answer to the demands of consumers. Giuliani and his cohorts were all aglow over their supposed adoration of local control of education (nice, but let's see them back up those words rather than just talk). They didn't think Washington should be telling local parents and teachers how to run their schools. Yet they cannot see their inconsistency when they do not give the same trust to energy consumers and producers. Why not let them decide for themselves? Why, if these supposed defenders of freedom truly believe in freedom, don't they get the federal government out of energy regulation, the same way they would like to get the federal government out of education regulation?

Tonight Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, NH, will host the second Republican Debate, and it could prove to be a very important one for Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul.

Senator John McCain is done, and was done before he started, due to his own constitutional makeup (he seems to be out of steam for the contest) and his stance on immigration. The Republican roots are up in ARMS about the new McCain "remedy" to immigration. While we here at the Conspiracy take a stricter, pro-freedom economic and Constitutional view on immigration (controlling immigration is not a federally enumerated power), we recognize that many republicans are irate at the lack of "enforcement" on the borders. McCain's participation in the new federal plan has killed any chance he once had.

Even though the very boring Bono is involved in this story (if only U2 had never met Brian Eno!), this Appeals Court ruling is a half step in the right direction.

Note: The entire existence of the FCC is unconstitutional and irrational. When Ed Markey pushed to increase the fines for "indecency" no one testified that the federal government is not supposed to own the broadcast spectrum. Why would any one? The witnesses are called to Congressional hearings by the Congressman, and no Congressman (except one heroic figure, guess who) is willing to give up that power over speech on the air. Sad stuff!