During the markup process of a bill before the Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) proposed the following amendment:
"Adds a new section at the end of the bill
stating that "[n]one of the funds made
available under this Act or the
amendments made by the Act" (1) may be
used for lobbying the legislative or
executive branches of the Federal, State,
or local governments; or (2) may be
awarded to any entity if that entity or any
employee has been charged by a
government agency with waste, fraud,
abuse of government funds, or any illegal
activities."
I can't imagine who or what organization might be the target of this amendment, but I suspect it starts with A and ends with CORN. Also noticed the wording. Not convicted of waste, fraud or abuse, but simply "charged." Now watch as Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) gives Broun a lesson on the Constitution as it pertains to bills of attainder:
" I yield my remaining 5 seconds." You gotta love Alan Grayson.
"Adds a new section at the end of the bill
stating that "[n]one of the funds made
available under this Act or the
amendments made by the Act" (1) may be
used for lobbying the legislative or
executive branches of the Federal, State,
or local governments; or (2) may be
awarded to any entity if that entity or any
employee has been charged by a
government agency with waste, fraud,
abuse of government funds, or any illegal
activities."
I can't imagine who or what organization might be the target of this amendment, but I suspect it starts with A and ends with CORN. Also noticed the wording. Not convicted of waste, fraud or abuse, but simply "charged." Now watch as Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) gives Broun a lesson on the Constitution as it pertains to bills of attainder:
" I yield my remaining 5 seconds." You gotta love Alan Grayson.
My post above omitted ~crickets~ after i asked my b-in-law what GDP meant...
Heres the latest Alan GRayson:
Grayson "Captain Cajones" on Cheney: "I have trouble listening to what he says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he’s talking."
Whooooooo-wow!
This reminds me of an exchange i had with my brother in law last night in discussing the debt and his prediction that we would be paying 50% taxes to pay it off in 10 years. He rather arrogantly stated, "I have a business degree (he does) and ive taken economics, accounting, and business classes." So i asked him what the GDP was....
What i love most is that WE have many young, sharp and talented folks waiting in the wings...Al Franken, Adm Sestak, Grayson, Weiner, shoot, im even thinking Spitzer isnt done-noone knows Wall Street and their shenanigans like he does...They have...er, um, er..Palin (haw), Romney (snicker), maybe Jeb Bush..(a BIG stigmatism to overcome tho-), Cheney (s), Rove, Newtie, Blimpy...lololol!
thanks des, the patriot mommies would, without question sit down with beck, pour the gasoline and strike the match. probably wearing nike's under their robes. in any case they could not speak their mind, vocalize ideas and mobilize their angry mob without getting their marching orders from GB. i'm board with these zombies, thinking of dropping them and joining the billionaires for wealthcare. rachal maddow showed them today, showing up at GOP fundraisers singing opera about the public option and the other ones in the group singing that they have to make billions off healthcare in order to remain wealthy. there never taken out by force, they simply are asked to leave and leave the do, singing all the way out the door! mayby someone here can post a link to rachael's show tonight.
Congressman Grayson is one of our finest. If he runs for prez, he has my vote. My fav example of a Grayson schooling though remains Grayson laughs in Ben Bernanke's face. He makes a point that should enrage and engage every voter in this country. Grayson/Franken or a Franken/Grayson ticket would be awesome!
I certainly don't!
Good point. You might remind those patriot mommies that under the original Constitution they wouldn't be allowed to vote. See if they want to go "back" to that.
conservatives and tea partiers largely have no grasp of reality about the constitution, founders or what kind of "america" they want back. they take no responsibility for the actions or positions that propelled obama into office and set back civil liberties decades. almost daily for two weeks i've asked the patriot mommies if they understand that under founders they would not surround anything but a kitchen stove and their domestic chores. grayson and franken should be holding weekend workshops which should be mandatory for all democrats holding office. obama should do himself a favor and take one in as well. franken should think about a 2012 challenge with grayson as veep.
Refreshing beyond words... I love that word "no."
Artemus,
most Americans, I'm sure...but that guy from Georgia is a 'legislator'. It speaks volumes about the "We want our personal rights granted by the Founding Fathers" crowd. It's complete unadulterated BS.
That guy is tough and good. I wish everybody (meaning the American public) could see these exchanges.
I enjoy the way he holds their feet to the fire. He is polite and determined to get them to display their ignorance and then pounces at the very end. We need a lot more just like him and that would drive the other side of the aisle nuts. They have no answer for him.
Now Artemus, you know that if you ask Sparkie about things like "double jeopardy", she would think it's an-hour long rerun of a classic TV game show.
I love Grayson. He has stepped up to the plate in the last few weeks to show that he, for one, does understand the Constitution and that he knows what the people want. Maybe he will inspire some of his fellow Dems to grow a pair themselves.
The spirit of Rep. Broun's amendment would apply to plenty of defense contractors, too.
The Congressman from Florida (Alan Grayson) does his homework.
He is such a pleasure to watch. One of the most polite smackdowns, in the history of the House of Representatives.
No, I don't know what a Bill of Attainder is. But, neither is it my job to know. Before "the gentlman from Georgia" proposed his amendment --- he should have known.
Great fun for a Friday morning, Des.
Thanks.
I do love Grayson. Wish Dems had a lot more like him and fewer Harry Reid's. But Broun's ignorance about the constitution is hardly surprising. Most Americans probably don't know what a bill of attainder is, nor do they give a rat's behind about double jeopardy, due process, equal protection, ex post facto or a bunch of other solid legal concepts that our Founders thought important.