Posted on 10/04/2005 6:36:49 AM PDT by OXENinFLA
Since "Free Republic is an online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web. We're working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America.", I and others think it's a good idea to centralize what the goes on in the Senate (or House).
So if you see something happening on the Senate/House floor and you don't want to start a new thread to ask if anyone else just heard what you heard, you can leave a short note on who said what and about what and I'll try and find it the next day in THE RECORD. Or if you see a thread that pertains to the Senate, House, or pretty much any GOV'T agency please link your thread here.
If you have any suggestions for this thread please feel free to let me know.
Here's a few helpful links.
C-SPAN what a great thing. Where you can watch or listen live to most Government happenings.
C-SPAN 1 carries the HOUSE.
C-SPAN 2 carries the SENATE.
C-SPAN 3 (most places web only) carries a variety of committee meetings live or other past programming.
OR FEDNET has online feed also.
A great thing about our Government is they make it really easy for the public to research what the Politicians are doing and saying (on the floor anyway).
THOMAS where you can see a RECORD of what Congress is doing each day. You can also search/read a verbatim text of what each Congressmen/women or Senator has said on the floor or submitted 'for the record.' [This is where the real juicy stuff can be found.]
Also found at Thomas are Monthly Calendars for the Senate Majority and Senate Minority
And Monthly Calendars for the House Majority and Roll Call Votes can be found here.
THE WAR DEPARTMENT (aka The Dept. of Defense)
Yeppers Kerry just voted aye....
If this passes then that hugh attachment with the torture stuff will be attached...and I don't know if any of the amendments will be actually debated or just rubber stamped.
I can't believe that they would be able to just rubber stamp changing the Army Field Manual....
I am just confused. big time...but I know that Harry Reid pitched a hissy fit...and it looks like he might win....with Sessions and Talent's help.
When little pieces of your world fall apart, just screw your courage to the sticking place and carry on. It is hard though. Anything with the power to damage our military gives me serious problems. Is there any possibility that this is not what is going on. I haven't been able to watch for the last couple of hours.
When I first heard that Landrieu said NO...I was surprised...then I realized that she prolly thinks that if they do attach those 100 amendments...they might cut some of her pork!!!
IMHO It could if Warner, Graham and McCain insist on having hearings into how the military should use the Field Manual as a guideline for treatment of prisoners..
I feel that anything that starts rehashing Abu Ghraib, and speculates on torture at Gitmo, is very bad for our troops right now...
We are at a critical phase in Iraq, with the elections...and I think that anything that reflects negatively in anyway on past or possible present "torture" could be very dangerous...
My gosh, Lindie England was just sentenced to prison last week...so the military is prosecuting the bad guys...but, you have McCain ranting to grandstand for his POTUS candidacy in 2008...with his little buddy Lindsay and for some reason Warner...
Warner defines shallow.
Oh, I don't know. McCain is up berating our service people for torture. Such pontificating is almost unbearable. Reliving his imprisonment in Nam again. Geneva convention stuff. He is very hard to take.
Stevens's back up.
Did Allen just vote for this thing?
I missed it.
Yea, Allen did vote for this.
I think I only heard 4 or 5 nays.
They had their hearings and their grandstanding speeches
Those who committed these acts were prosecuted and sentenced to jail
We have seen the picture already
There is nothing more to have hearings about
And not to sound mean ... but I don't really give a hoot what happens to the terrorists that are trying to murder us
I think this is a hideous mistake. Am I wrong?
Something has happened in the last few hours, behind the scenes...
Because at one time this was not supposed to be voted on, now it is...and Sen. Frist stands up and says that he will back its passage, BUT it needs changes in conference...
THEN, Stevens gets up and says that it definitely needs changes in order to keep people out of uniform, working for the US, (I am assuming CIA)....safe....and that it DOES need changes...and to NOT vote for it...
It seems that only a handful of the REPS are voting against it...and it seems to be some of the ones that are really behind Bush and the war...
Like I have said about 4-5 times today...I am so confused..and I think there has been some dealing behind the scenes to make the fighting stop and McCain get his way...EVEN THOUGH, they will be voting for an amendment that they all admit needs to be changed!!!!
Ridiculous----
NOW, if they did this to keep it from hurting our troops, fine, but I didn't hear anyone say that...
Also, I want to know why, when Harry Reid was throwing his hissy-fit...he said "this all has to do with Katrina, and them not wanting an independent commission"...
It seemed like such a non-sequiter...
90-9
I wish I could explain what is going on....but, I have lost track...and the translation from the Senate is not forthcoming...
At one point today, Stevens was argueing with Warner and Levin about attaching to this Defense Spending Bill, an attachment that had 101 amendments, that Warner and Levin wanted to just PASS without debate...
Byrd got up and said that isn't right..(which I also called Cornyn and Hutchison's office and told the receptionist)...that they shouldn't be passing bills without floor debate...yada..yada...
THEN, Frist stood up and said that the attachment that Warner, Levin wanted attached was NOT germane...so they voted...and it was voted NOT GERMANE....
THEN, Sen. McCain gets up and offers an amendment about torture that I THOUGHT was supposed to be in the attachment that was voted as NON-GERMANE....and it passed....
Go Figure!!!
They voted 90-9 saying that the Army Field manual will be used as guidelines for prisoner treatment...
I am assuming, since this manual hasn't been updated latelty, (from what I have heard in the past)...that this doesn't cover treatments of Islamofascist suicide bombers, and beheaders...
Huh.
I am so lost.
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