LIVE THREAD: Domestic Spying Program (C-Span 1 11 A.M. Friday hosted by Conyers)

C-Span ^

[hipaatwo]

Domestic Spying Program
U.S. House of Representatives, Conyers, J. (D-MI)

Washington, District of Columbia (United States)

ID:

190809 - 01/20/2006 - 3:00 - No Sale

Conyers, John Jr., U.S. Representative, D-MI
Waters, Maxine, U.S. Representative, D-CA

Nadler, Jerrold, U.S. Representative, D-NY
Scott, Robert "Bobby", U.S. Representative, D-VA
Hinchey, Maurice, U.S. Representative, D-NY
Martin, Kate, Director, Center for Natl. Security Studies
Schiff, Adam B., U.S. Representative, D-CA
Bamford, James, Author

Van Hollen, Christopher, U.S. Representative, D, Maryland
Fein, Bruce, Attorney
Fredrickson, Caroline, Director, American Civil Liberties Union, Legislative Affairs

[Mo1]

I read on DUmp that CNN will be carrying it along with ABC radio.

You've got to be kidding me

This isn't a real hearing ... it's a joke

[ken5050]

Nah....not me..sounds like "Downing Street Memo Redux"

[A Citizen Reporter]

Just waking up this morning, have I arrived on the plantation?

Where O where is the bipartisanship on this...(cough) committee.

[Txsleuth]

I am here!!!

[Txsleuth]

If Conyers talks this slllllllllooooowwwww all of the time...this hearing could take DAYS!

[Howlin]

Oh, I almost forgot.

Who else is there?

[Howlin]

ROFLMAO..........they're in the BASEMENT again!

[Howlin]

I read on DUmp that CNN will be carrying it along with ABC radio.

Ah, no.

[Howlin]

It's in living color live!

[Mo1]

Did ya hearing the guy Welcome everyone to the Basement ??

ROFL!!

[Txsleuth]

yeah....and observed that it is odd that the other rooms were all in use...considering the House is not in session...


LOL...aren't they cute???

[Bahbah]

Thanks for the ping Mo. I didn't realize it was still up from last night so I didn't look far enough back.

[Howlin]

washingtonpost.com
Democrats Play House To Rally Against the War

By Dana Milbank
Post
Friday, June 17, 2005; A06



In the Capitol basement yesterday, long-suffering House Democrats took a trip to the land of make-believe.

They pretended a small conference room was the Judiciary Committee hearing room, draping white linens over folding tables to make them look like witness tables and bringing in cardboard name tags and extra flags to make the whole thing look official.

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) banged a large wooden gavel and got the other lawmakers to call him "Mr. Chairman." He liked that so much that he started calling himself "the chairman" and spouted other chairmanly phrases, such as "unanimous consent" and "without objection so ordered." The dress-up game looked realistic enough on C-SPAN, so two dozen more Democrats came downstairs to play along.

The session was a mock impeachment inquiry over the Iraq war. As luck would have it, all four of the witnesses agreed that President Bush lied to the nation and was guilty of high crimes -- and that a British memo on "fixed" intelligence that surfaced last month was the smoking gun equivalent to the Watergate tapes. Conyers was having so much fun that he ignored aides' entreaties to end the session.

"At the next hearing," he told his colleagues, "we could use a little subpoena power." That brought the house down.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/16/AR2005061601570_pf.html

[Howlin]

Judiciary GOP pulls the plug on Conyers 'forums'
By Albert Eisele and Jeff Dufour
If the Financial Services Committee is the best in the House when it comes to bipartisan comity, then the Judiciary Committee may well be the worst.

In December, ranking Democrat John Conyers (Mich.) began holding "forums" -- gatherings with all the trappings of official hearings -- after Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) refused to hold hearings on topics Conyers requested. The forums have been held in smaller committee rooms, often with C-SPAN coverage and formal witness lists.

In a sign of how far relationships on the committee have soured, majority staff recently announced a new policy to deny any request from a committee Democrat for the use of a committee hearing room.

Majority spokesman Jeff Lungren said the Republicans have given Democrats three opportunities to make clear that the forums are not official committee business. Nevertheless, Lungren said, in at least one case, members were addressing Conyers as "Mr. Chairman."

"They were unwilling or unable to make those changes," Lungren said. "At this point, if they want to hold these forums, they'll have to find some other place to do it."

Sean McLaughlin, deputy chief of staff for Sensenbrenner, recently wrote to a minority staffer in more pointed language.

"I'm sitting here watching your `forum' on C-SPAN," McLaughlin wrote. "Just to let you know, it was your last. Don't bother asking [for a room] again."

A committee source said committee Democrats are still planning to hold the forums when they find other available space.

[Bahbah]

I am interested to hear Prof. Turley talk. I think I have a pretty good grasp of this issue by now and I want to see whether his squares with mine.

[pepperhead]

Good grief they are at it again.

[Howlin]

Is Turley going to be there?

[Bahbah]

Is Turley going to be there?

I believe that I read he was...granted, it was late last night. Funny that they keep referring to wiretaps. Do they understand how this program works? (Rhetorical question)

[pepperhead]

If Turley is at this fake hearing I don't care what he says anymore.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Rep. Conyers, come out of the basement


I'm not in the basement, this is a hearing room...


Mom, Conyers is in the basement and he won't come out.

Come out of the basement, Rep. Conyers...