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(08/06/09 8:06pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor Thursday as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.The vote was 68-31 for Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s first high court nominee. She becomes the 111th justice and just the third woman to serve.Democrats praised the 55-year-old Sotomayor as a mainstream moderate. But most Republicans voted against her, saying she’d bring personal bias and a liberal agenda to the bench.Senators took the rare step of assembling at their desks on the Senate floor for the historic occasion, rising from their seats to cast their votes.She replaces retiring Justice David Souter, a liberal named by a Republican president, and she is not expected to alter the court’s ideological split.Still, Republicans and Democrats were deeply at odds over confirming Sotomayor, and the battle over her nomination highlighted profound philosophical disagreements that will shape future battles over the court’s makeup as Obama looks to another likely vacancy — perhaps more than one— while he’s in the White House.The GOP decried Obama’s call for “empathy” in a justice, painting Sotomayor as the embodiment of an inappropriate standard that would let a judge bring her personal whims and prejudices to the bench.Her writings and speeches “reflect a belief not just that impartiality is not possible, but that it’s not even worth the effort,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader. “In Judge Sotomayor’s court, groups that didn’t make the cut of preferred groups often found that they ended up on the short end of the empathy standard.”Democrats, for their part, hailed the vote as a breakthrough achievement for the country, on par with enactment of civil rights laws. They warned Republicans they risked a backlash from Hispanic voters in the short term and an enduring black mark on their party in history books by opposing Sotomayor’s confirmation.“History awaits, and so does an anxious Hispanic community in this country,” said Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the Senate’s lone Hispanic Democrat and the head of his party’s campaign arm, just minutes before the vote. “When she places her hand on the Bible and takes the oath of office, the new portrait of the justices of the Supreme Court will clearly reflect who we are as a nation, what we stand for as a fair, just and hopeful people.”The Senate chamber was heavy with history as senators cast their votes in turn.Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., 91, the longest-serving senator who has been in frail health following a long hospitalization, was brought in in a wheelchair to vote. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., suffering from brain cancer, was absent.In the final tally, nine Republicans joined majority Democrats and the Senate’s two independents to support Sotomayor’s confirmation.The Republicans said that they might disagree with some of her rulings, statements or views, but that she was well-qualified to serve on the nation’s highest court.“Judge Sotomayor’s decisions, while not always the decision I would render, are not outside the legal mainstream and do not indicate an obvious desire to legislate from the bench,” said GOP Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio.Like Democrats, many of them called Sotomayor’s background inspirational. The daughter of Puerto Rican parents, she was raised in a South Bronx housing project, then educated in the Ivy League before rising to the highest legal echelons.
(12/10/08 5:53pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>WASHINGTON – Majority Democrats and the Bush White House have finalized a deal to spend $14 billion on emergency loans for struggling U.S. automakers, congressional officials said Wednesday. Strong opposition lingered among some Republicans.The White House did not go as far as to say the deal was final, although it did report “very good progress.” The measure could see a House vote later Wednesday and be enacted by week’s end.It would create a government “car czar” to dole out the loans, with the power to force the carmakers into bankruptcy next spring if they didn’t cut quick deals with labor unions, creditors and others to restructure their businesses and become viable.Congressional Republicans, left out of negotiations on the package, are expressing grave reservations and may seek to block it.Sen. David Vitter, R-La., promised to filibuster the measure, which could delay a final vote for days.He said the package has an “ass-backwards” approach to curing what ails the U.S. auto industry— giving carmakers money immediately, and only later demanding that they restructure.Nevertheless, Democratic leaders were confident enough that a bill could advance that they set a procedural vote for the House floor later Wednesday. Even still, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the GOP leader, said in late morning that his side hadn’t seen the measure yet and wouldn’t agree to votes on the measure Wednesday.“Republicans will not allow taxpayers to subsidize failure,” McConnell said, although he added that the auto situation would be addressed by the end of the week.The congressional officials revealed agreement on a bill only on grounds of anonymity because the deal has not been formally announced.At the White House, Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan said the administration and Congress have made “very good progress on a conceptual agreement.”
(07/07/08 6:57pm)
WASHINGTON – Democrats bent on showing they can govern and Republicans anxious about a sour re-election climate are pushing a pared-down summer agenda in Congress. Lawmakers want to try to save homeowners from foreclosure, avert Medicare cuts and give the government power to spy on suspected terrorists.\nGasoline prices have emerged as a chief concern among voters. But lawmakers probably will not put aside their partisan blame-fest and compromise on an energy measure that could offer some relief, either immediately or down the road.\nThe Senate planned to return Monday and the House on Tuesday. Their abbreviated election-year calendar leaves little time to cut deals. Lawmakers will scatter again in August for their annual monthlong break and the two parties’ presidential conventions.\nWith their attention turning increasingly to re-election campaigns, not to mention the White House race, members of Congress will be away from Washington much of the fall.\n“There just isn’t much sand left in the top of the hourglass,” said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution congressional scholar. “They’ve done whatever heavy lifting they’re capable of doing.”\nIn the time that remains, leaders intend to act on an array of politically appealing legislation. Examples include banning lead in toys and approving an ambitious global health initiative – a $50 billion program to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and elsewhere.\nThe annual measure renewing Pentagon programs could be completed, and a catchall spending measure to pay for government programs through year’s end is a must-pass item.\nThe promise of a new president and prospects for a different Congress next year have sapped lawmakers’ incentive to engage in major debates this year. Majority Democrats hoping to dominate both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue in 2009 have little reason to compromise on their priorities.\n“Whose interest is it to settle anything now?” Hess said.\nStill, leaders will try for votes on some issues provoking partisan tensions: energy measures; a second economic rescue bill; extending expiring tax cuts; saving tens of millions of people from a tax increase averaging $2,300 due to the alternative minimum tax.\nThe two parties have battled over gas prices for months. Democrats are pushing for more conservation and energy alternatives while Republicans favor more domestic energy production, including oil drilling on federal lands and waters now off-limits because of environmental concerns. More votes are expected in July.\nRepublicans have been hostile to Democrats’ calls for a second economic relief measure on top of the one that sent rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most wage earners this year. Congress and President Bush took a half-step in that direction last month, enacting a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits averaging $300 a week for up to 4 million jobless workers.\nTax legislation is ensnared in a dispute between Democrats who insist on pairing any extension of expiring tax cuts with tax increases elsewhere to prevent a rise in the deficit, and Republicans who oppose such increases. Action could wait until September.\nThe housing rescue is designed to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners buckling under subprime mortgage payments avoid foreclosure and get new, cheaper loans. This could be the last major compromise to be signed by Bush this year.\nIt has drawn broad support in the Senate, where test-votes show it has enough backing to override a veto. A procedural vote was expected Monday, and the measure is expected to pass the Senate as early as week’s end.\nFirst, though, lawmakers have to break a logjam over Republican Sen. John Ensign’s bid to add $8 billion worth of renewable energy tax breaks. Then leaders have to resolve disputes among Democrats and with the White House about important details.\nThe measure includes a plan for the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to $300 billion in new, more affordable fixed-rate loans for borrowers otherwise considered too financially strapped to qualify. The proposal also would overhaul the FHA and tighten rules for government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.\n“I think we can get us a bill,” Bush said recently. “But it’s going to require less politics and more focus on keeping our minds on who we need to help, and that’s the homeowner.”\nDemocrats are divided on how high to place limits on the loans FHA can insure and those two companies can buy. The House proposed a roughly $730,000 cap and the Senate embraced a $625,000 ceiling.\nLeaders are tussling with the White House over including at least $3.9 billion in grants for buying, fixing up and reselling foreclosed properties. This is an idea that Democrats say is critical to battling blight and Bush calls a government bailout for lenders who helped cause the housing crisis.\nThe terrorist surveillance legislation faces fewer obstacles. It is expected to win approval Tuesday for Bush’s signature.\nNext, Senate leaders plan to reprise a bill preventing a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. It passed the House overwhelmingly in defiance of Bush’s threat to veto it, but fell just one vote short of the 60 it needed to advance in the Senate.\nBush and Senate Republicans do not like offsetting cuts to insurance companies that use Medicare money to offer private health care coverage to about 20 percent of older people. The lower fees to doctors went into effect Tuesday. Medicare officials are holding off processing new claims, hoping Congress will act within the next couple of weeks to restore the higher payments.
(07/19/07 4:00am)
Lionsgate has made a killing on exploiting the fear of moviegoers in much the same way as amusement parks use impending death on roller coasters to scare their patrons. From "Saw" to "Hostel," the dark and desolate are the company's signature money-makers. The concepts are often as horrific as the torture. Unfortunately, in association with After Dark Films, Lionsgate's latest piece "Captivity" forgets about plot and concentrates on brutality.\nWhen Jennifer (Elisha Cuthbert) wakes up in a confined room made of brick and steel, her psychological torture begins and leads to the realm of physical pain. Attempting to free herself from her captor, she meets Gary (Daniel Gillies), and together they work to escape. But "Captivity" is a vile film that will turn your stomach before it grazes your intellect. Basically, the film is an hour and 15-minute torture-fest until the protagonist breaks out and attempts to kill her abductor. Forty-five minutes into the film I actually said out loud, "Why would anyone want to watch this?" Evidently, Lionsgate thought they could once again dupe the public who enjoyed the torture that was the "Saw" trilogy.\n"Captivity" fails to horrify because it's too disgusting to be scary. The only decent part of the film (and it is a small bit of decency) is Cuthbert's performance as a convincing victim who plays the accustomed pretty girl almost perfectly.\nFor horror-lovers, "Captivity" will be one of the summer's biggest disappointments. For film-lovers, it will be appalling. For fun-lovers, it will be a bore. For slaughter-house owners, it will be like a day at work. Skip "Captivity" if you want to keep your dinner down.
(03/23/07 4:00am)
WASHINGTON – A Senate panel, following the House’s lead, authorized subpoenas Thursday for White House political adviser Karl Rove and other top aides involved in the firing of federal prosecutors.\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee decided by voice vote to approve the subpoenas as Republicans and Democrats sparred over whether to press a showdown with President Bush over the ousters of eight U.S. attorneys.\nDemocrats angrily rejected Bush’s offer to grant a limited number of lawmakers private interviews with the aides with no transcript and without swearing them in. Republicans counseled restraint, but at least one, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, backed the action.\nA House Judiciary subcommittee authorized subpoenas in the matter Wednesday, but none has been issued.\nDemocrats said the move would give them more bargaining power in negotiating with the White House to hear from Bush’s closest advisers.\n“We’re authorizing that ability but we’re not issuing them,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the subpoenas. “It’ll only strengthen our hand in getting to the bottom of this.”\nRepublicans countered, however, that subpoenas were premature.\n“I counsel my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to work hard to avoid an impasse. We don’t need a constitutional confrontation,” said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the panel’s top Republican.\nEven as Democrats derided the White House’s offer, Bush spokesman Tony Snow maintained that lawmakers will realize it is fair and reasonable once they reflect on it.\n“We’re not trying to hide things. We’re not trying to run from things,” he said. “We want them to know what happened.”\nDemocrats, however, called Bush’s position untenable.\n“What we’re told we can get is nothing, nothing, nothing,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary chairman. “I know he’s the decider for the White House – he’s not the decider for the United States Senate.”\nAttorney General Alberto Gonzales, fighting for his job amid the prosecutor furor, vowed he would not step aside and promised to cooperate with Congress in the inquiry.\n“I’m not going to resign,” Gonzales told reporters after an event in St. Louis. “No United States attorney was fired for improper reasons.”\nThe Senate panel voted to approve subpoenas for Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and her former deputy, William Kelley. The House subcommittee Tuesday authorized subpoenas for Rove, Miers and their deputies.
(02/28/07 5:00am)
WASHINGTON – The United States and the Iraqi government are launching a new diplomatic initiative to invite Iran and Syria to a “neighbors meeting” on stabilizing Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.\n“We hope that all governments seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region,” Rice said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Senate committee. Excerpts were released in advance by the State Department.\nThe move reflects a change of approach by the Bush administration, which previously had resisted calls by members of Congress and by a bipartisan Iraq review group to include Iran and Syria in diplomatic talks on stabilizing Iraq.\n“I am pleased to announce that we are also supporting the Iraqis in a new diplomatic offensive: to build greater support, both within the region and beyond, for peace and prosperity in Iraq,” Rice said, adding that U.S. and Iraqi officials agree that success in Iraq “requires the positive support of Iraq’s neighbors.”\nThe announcement came even as the United States is engaged in its latest confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program, which U.S. officials say is aimed at developing nuclear weapons but Tehran says is for new sources of energy.\nA U.N. Security Council deadline for Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment has just expired, and in response the U.S. wants the council to expand the limited sanctions the world body has imposed on Iran.\nRice stressed that it was the Iraqi government inviting Iran and Syria to participate, with the United States in support.\nAt the White House, press secretary Tony Snow told reporters the administration is “happy that the government of Iraq is taking this step and engaging its neighbors. And we also hope and expect that Iran and Syria will play constructive roles in those talks.”\nBut Snow cautioned people to be patient, noting that “this is one where the agenda is being set up by the government of Iraq. And the conditions, especially for bilateral conversations with the Iranians, are pretty clear.”\nThe administration in recent weeks had increased its public criticism of Iran’s role in Iraq, charging it with supplying deadly weapons, including advanced technologies for the most lethal form of roadside bombs. The administration also has accused Syria of harboring anti-Iraqi government forces and allowing weapons to cross its border.\nRice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were testifying Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the administration’s budget request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.