Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 - Troubled by news accounts of medical participation in coercive interrogations at Guantánamo Bay and the resulting unease in the professional medical community, the Pentagon led an intense one-day tour of the detention camp last month, several participants said in recent days. The purpose of the trip, some of the participants said, was for the military leadership to convince the ethicists, psychiatrists, psychologists and others who visited the detention camp at the United States Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that what was occurring there did not violate medical ethics and was necessary to strengthen the nation's...

George W Bush has seen off Al Gore, John Kerry and Saddam Hussein. But with the varnish fast disappearing from his administration, the president may finally be about to meet the man who could prove his undoing. Preet Bharara is a 38-year-old Indian-American lawyer, who made his name prosecuting the bosses of the Gambino and Colombo crime families in New York. Now the former district attorney has President Bush in his sights, as well as the man they call "Bush's Brain": Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser. Mr Bharara is spearheading the Democrat campaign to uncover corruption, mismanagement, incompetence...

Nigergate: the dangerous relations between Democrat Senators and ex spies Here follows an interesting article from the Italian newspaper Il Giornale. I make no comment at all other than ‘read it’. Very soon, under the title “The Rockefeller Connection”, I will post something revealing, something important that until now passed completely under the Radar Screen. Stay tuned .. Nigergate: the dangerous relations between Democrat Senators and ex spies Il GIORNALE 13 November 2005 By Gian Marco Chiocci and Mario Sechi October 9 2002, Rome. Elisabetta Burba, journalist with Panorama magazine, crosses Via Veneto. At the American Embassy someone is waiting...

UPDATED: With his strong ties to Israel, Carr came out ahead as the large field of westside Democrats split the vote in Tuesday's Congressional primary. Carr will face State Sen. Ted Lieu in the November general election. California's 33rd Congressional district has long been considered one of the Democrats' most valuable stretches of real estate, but in Tuesday's open primary Republican Elan Carr was the top vote-getter among a field of 18 candidates vying for a chance to advance to the general election. Carr jumped to an early lead as the Democrats split the vote in the race to succeed...

Seven Democratic lawmakers are pushing to ban the use of electronic cigarettes on the grounds of the Capitol complex as part of a wider campaign against them. Led by the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin (Ill.), the group called on rulemaking committees in both chambers to include e-cigarettes in the Capitol's existing ban on smoking in public places and near building entrances. "Given preliminary [federal] research finding harmful chemicals present in e-cigarettes, measures should be taken to ensure that the public is equally protected from the potential dangers posed by e-cigarettes and their vapor," the lawmakers wrote Tuesday. Via a...

Will the golden age of Henry Waxman-style progressivism continue? Fluke has filed with the California state Democratic Party to seek its endorsement in the race for retiring Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) seat, according to the state party Web site. A state party delegate confirmed to Post Politics that Fluke has filed and paid the fee to appear on the ballot this weekend. Fluke hasn’t officially announced her campaign or filed with the Federal Election Commission, and she didn’t immediately return a request for comment. But filing for the state party’s endorsement means she’s now officially part of the process.

Women's rights activist Sandra Fluke appears to be moving forward with a run for Congress. Fluke has filed with the California state Democratic Party to seek its endorsement in the race for retiring Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-Calif.) seat, according to the state party Web site.

The following is mostly satire! President Obama presented his state of the union speech to a joint session of Congress. The speech was widely criticized from both the left and right almost immediately after it was delivered. However, there was almost unanimous agreement that the President could have made his case on the issues stronger by employing the Mandela funeral sign language interpreter. The SOTU speech was used to address a key issue for the President and his party, “income inequality.” On this topic, he said, “An individual’s talent means nothing; just ask my union supporters. If my friends in...

**SNIP** In Congress, how much you raise depends on your committee jobs - especially chairmanships - and the influence you've built up with the people who donate money. Miller and Waxman have been at the top of the heap for Pelosi. And since both represent safe Democratic districts, the money they raise can be redistributed to candidates running in tight races. It will be years before their respective replacements will be able to carry that kind of weight. The two people who take Miller's and Waxman's seats will be on political welfare.

The retirement of two of Nancy Pelosi's closest confidants is raising questions about whether the House Democratic leader's reign could be nearing an end. The pending departures of Reps. George Miller and Henry Waxman mean Pelosi will have to do without her most trusted lieutenants if she decides to run again as Democratic leader. The two fellow California Democrats helped engineer the major achievements of her speakership on healthcare and climate change, and could be counted on during good times and bad. One former Democratic leadership aide described the loss as “a substantial changing of the guard” – a transition...

President Obama today lauded retiring 20-term Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) as one of the most accomplished legislators of all time. “Early in the 20th Century, Henry Waxman’s grandparents came to America, the land of opportunity, and found a place where they could build a better life for themselves and their families. Over the course of 40 years in Congress, their grandson has fought to give every American family that same chance,” Obama said in a statement. “Thanks to Henry’s leadership, Americans breath cleaner air, drink cleaner water, eat safer food, purchase safer products, and, finally, have access to quality, affordable...

...But what’s interesting about the decision of Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is that just last month — on December 11 to be precise — he made a lengthy post on his campaign blog about why he’s running again in 2014...

Each week, it seems another Democrat lawmaker announces their retirement from Congress. On Thursday, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) joined the growing list. It is only January, but 11 Democrat lawmakers have said they are quitting at the end of this current term.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Henry A. Waxman, whose legislative record has made him one of the country’s most influential liberal lawmakers for four decades, announced Thursday that he will retire from his Westside seat, the latest in a wave of departures that is remaking the state’s long-stable congressional delegation.

Following Waxman, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) compared the cancellations to the government forcing drivers to trade in Fords to buy Ferraris. Under Waxman's logic, the fact that consumers might benefit from cheaper plans, even if those plans did not offer the same array of benefits, is irrelevant. The free choice of individual consumers and insurance providers offering a legal and beneficial product is defined as "abuse." Under Waxman's definition, a student graduating from a professional school who happened to be older than 26 (and hence ineligible to stay on his or her parents' insurance) and who found a job in...

The ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee downplayed the mounting concerns about the efficacy and integrity of the Healthcare.gov website because he was able to log on while fiddling around on his mobile device during today’s hearing. Contractors including CGI Federal appeared before the committee today to answer questions about the failure of the Obamacare exchange website, but no administration officials testified. “We are disappointed that the system is not in place and running the way we envisioned. But the contractors have given us assurances that they think everything will be every day better to the point...

You might have thought that the ultimate culpability for the current problems plaguing ObamaCare belong to the administration that sloppily designed, forcefully passed, and hastily implemented the gigantic redistribution project — but you would have been wrong. Ranking Democrat of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the one holding the health care hearing this Thursday, is here to tell you why: KIRSTEN WELKER: Based on what you know right now, was the president or Secretary Sebelius made aware of those problems before this system was launched?WAXMAN: I don’t have any information about that, but no one could have possibly known...

Marianne Williamson running for Congress Best-selling author Marianne Williamson is running for the US House of Representatives in California's 33rd District. Marianne Williamson, the best-selling author whose “A Return to Love” spent 39 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 1992, announced Sunday that she is running as an independent for the US House of Representatives in California’s 33rd District, a seat currently held by 74-year old Democrat Henry Waxman, one of the most powerful members of Congress. Williamson, who made her candidacy official Sunday afternoon at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, has written extensively about the...

Currently, there's a bill (H.R. 2910) that will make it illegal to purchase lower receiver parts of any rifle. This bill was written by Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) has six other sponsors supporting it, obviously all are Democratic. Read about the H.R. 2910 bill here - westernshootingjournal.com/second-amendment/federal-gun-bill-to-ban-ar-15-lower-parts-kits-80/BTW yeh, this also includes barrels too not just lower receiver parts, and for any type of rifle. Is there going to be an increase in sales for these lower parts?

As California Congressman Henry Waxman promised, he has introduced a Bill to ban the sale of “Parts kits” for “Assault Rifles, Assault Shotguns, and Assault Pistols." This also includes a ban on Receiver blanks. The Bill defines an “assault weapons parts kit as: “ any part or combination of parts not designed and intended for repair or replacement but designed and intended to enable a consumer who possesses all such necessary parts to assemble a semiautomatic assault weapon…” Which raised the question of vagueness in the law as to which components of an “Assault Weapons Parts Kits” could be sold...