(no subject)

I refuse to sign a loyalty oath for this idiot.


Peter King - The New McCarthy?
posted by: Robin Marty

New York Representative Peter King has made it clear that tracking an alleged creeping sharia threat is his number one priority in Congress. In the wake of his investigation into "Muslim Extremists" in the United States, civil rights advocates and others are becoming concerned that he is ushering a new era of witch-hunts unseen since the days of the 50's anti-communist agendas.

Via Politico:


A band of civil-rights, community and faith groups called Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) a modern-day Joe McCarthy in a letter to House leaders, for his plans to single out Muslims during hearings later this month on extremism which will examine the "radicalization of Islam."

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the group Muslim Advocates, along with 50 groups that co-signed, demanded that King, the chair of the House Homeland Security committee, tone down his rhetoric and hold "fair and objective" investigations that examine "all forms of violence motivated by extremist beliefs."

"Singling out a group of Americans for government scrutiny based on their faith is divisive and wrong," the groups wrote in the letter. "These hearings will almost certainly increase widespread suspicion and mistrust of the American Muslim community and stoke anti-Muslim sentiment."

If King zeroes in on Muslims, group leaders said in the letter dated Tuesday, he'd be following in the footsteps of figures like former Sen. Joe McCarthy.

"That dark chapter in our history taught us that Congress has a solemn duty to wield its investigatory power responsibly," the letter states.

But there may not be a lot of other congresspeople willing to stop King once he gets started. After all, it wasn't so long ago that another congressman named King -- this time Steve King from Iowa, said McCarthyism really wasn't that bad of an idea after all.

(no subject)

Last month, Rep. Fred Upton became chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In that role, he will have significant influence on our nation’s environmental and energy policies.

I trust him explicitly.
YEAH Right........


1.THEN: Upton supported the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
NOW: He wants to stop the EPA from enforcing commonsense safeguards to curb pollution under the Act.


2.April 2009: Upton acknowledged that climate change is "a serious problem that necessitates serious solutions."
January 2011: He scrubbed this position from his website when Fox News highlighted it.


3.Upton coauthored a Wall Street Journal op-ed with the president of Americans for Prosperity, stating he's "not convinced that carbon is a problem in need of regulation."


4.In 2007, Upton co-authored a measure to ban inefficient, incandescent light
bulbs, but after pressure from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, said he will "reexamine the issue."


5.Koch Industries, one of the leading oil companies seeking to block the EPA, was among Upton's top contributors last election cycle, along with other dirty energy companies.


6.Upton was among the top 20 recipients in the U.S. House of oil and gas money in 2010, and has taken almost $250,000 from the oil and gas industry during his career.


7.Oil industry lobbyists on Upton: "our interests and his and the Republican
conference's align, especially on EPA stuff."


8.Days after becoming Chair, Upton took a front row seat at the American Petroleum Institute's preview of their 2011 agenda.


9.To advise him on energy issues, Upton hired Maryam Brown, a veteran of Big Oil's ConocoPhillips.


10.Aides to Upton and Jim "Global Warming is a Hoax" Inhofe met with lobbyists behind closed doors to plot an all-out push to block federal and state climate rules.