Nullification

Health Care Nullification Bill Moving Through Idaho Legislature

Eric Kleefeld | February 4, 2011, 3:36PM

Another battle over attempts by Republican state legislators to nullify the federal health care reform law is bubbling up in deep-red Idaho, where legislation was introduced last week.

As the Spokane Spokesman-Review (located just on the other side of the Washington state border) reports, legislators in a key Idaho state House committee voted to advance the bill on a party-line vote, 15 Republicans for four Democrats. However, some GOP legislators said at the same time that they had reservations about the bill, and were voting for the bill in committee in order to allow for further debate.

The bill's main sponsor, state Rep. Vito Barbieri (R) said: "The question becomes, is the Legislature going to become a rubber stamp of everything that the government decides to do, or is the Legislature going to be able to interpose between onerous laws that the federal government decides to implement and its citizens? That's the question before us."

However, this move is also being strongly opposed by the few Democrats in Idaho's state legislature -- and the office of the state attorney general, a Republican.

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Arizona

Arizona Bill Would Let State Nullify Federal Laws At Will

Eric Lach | February 4, 2011, 10:26AM

State Senator Russell Pearce (R-AZ)

Republican lawmakers in Arizona -- including State Senate President Russell Pearce (R), who sponsored the state's controversial immigration law -- have introduced a bill that sets up a way for the state to ignore federal laws it doesn't like.

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Abortion

LiveAction Releases Second Planned Parenthood Vid

Rachel Slajda | February 4, 2011, 8:44AM

LiveAction's Lila Rose

LiveAction, the anti-abortion group that targets Planned Parenthood with undercover videos, released a second video Thursday of what it says is a Planned Parenthood employee aiding in child sex trafficking.

In the video, a man -- identified by LiveAction as an actor -- tells a Planned Parenthood employee in Virginia that he is in "sex work" and "manages girls" as young as 14 and 15. He asks questions about disease testing and abortions for girls under 18, and the employee provides answers.

This, LiveAction says, proves that Planned Parenthood aids federal criminals and fails to report crimes such as the ones the actor was pretending to have committed.

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Muslims

Report Says Half As Many Muslims Accused In Terror Plots In 2010

Ryan J. Reilly | February 4, 2011, 8:40AM

The number of U.S. Muslims accused in terror plots dropped by more than half in 2010, according to a new report by a professor with the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

The report notes that 20 American Muslims were suspects in terror plots last year, whereas 47 were suspects in 2009. The 2009 spike, as the Associated Press reports was due mainly to a large number of Somali-Americans who tried to join Somalia's al-Shabab militant movement.

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Cynthia Stroum

Luxembourg Ambassador Demoralized Embassy; Had Staff House Hunt, Splurged On Mattress

Ryan J. Reilly | February 4, 2011, 8:30AM

Cynthia Stroum

The now-former U.S Ambassador to Luxembourg, Cynthia Stroum, had members of the small staff of the embassy spend the majority of their time on the important task of finding her a temporary residence that met her high standards; made refurbishing the bathroom at the ambassador's residence a top personal priority; told them that she could snoop on their e-mails; and left her office so demoralized that some top staffers volunteered to serve in two war zone embassies rather than continue to work under her leadership.

That's all according to a State Department Inspector General report, which concludes that Stroum's "confrontational management style, chronic gaps in senior and other staffing caused by curtailments, and the absence of a sense of direction have brought major elements of Embassy Luxembourg to a state of dysfunction."

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Mark Foley

Mark Foley Appears With Local Young Republicans, Allen West

Eric Kleefeld | February 3, 2011, 5:58PM

Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL

Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), the ex-Congressman who infamously resigned in 2006 as a result of a scandal involving his sexually explicit instant message conversations with male Congressional pages, is making his way back out into the public eye. As the Palm Beach Post reports, he spoke last week -- at a meeting of the Palm Beach County Young Republicans.

In addition, the paper notes, he gave an introduction speech this past Tuesday for freshman GOP Rep. Allen West, who hails form a neighboring district, at the grand opening of West's district office in West Palm Beach.

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Egypt

Mubarak: I Want To Quit But If I Do, Egypt Will Sink Into Chaos

Rachel Slajda | February 3, 2011, 3:33PM

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

In his first interview since violence broke out in Cairo yesterday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says that he wants to step down immediately, but cannot because he's afraid Egypt would sink into chaos.

Mubarak gave a brief interview to ABC News' Christiane Amanpour in the presidential palace today.

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Fort Hood Shootings

Lieberman, Collins Report: Fort Hood Shooting Could Have Been Prevented

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2011, 2:05PM

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

The federal government could have prevented the massacre at Fort Hood allegedly perpetrated by Nadal Hasan if it had recognized signals of his radicalization prior to the attack, a special report issued by members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs concluded.

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Drug Enforcement Agency

Marijuana Backers To GOPers: Why Not Cut The DEA Budget?

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2011, 11:15AM

With Republicans in the House looking to cut down on spending in the next fiscal year, supporters of legalizing marijuana have a suggestion for where they should start -- the Drug Enforcement Agency's budget.

Sure, they know it's a long shot. But the Marijuana Policy Project's Steve Fox told TPM it makes a lot of sense.

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Scott Bloch

Judge Says Scott Bloch Must Spend At Least A Month In Prison

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2011, 9:35AM

Former U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch

Today was supposed to be Scott Bloch's day in court and, given that he'd reached a deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to misdemeanor contempt of Congress, the outcome had seemed relatively certain -- he wasn't headed to prison. But a judge had other plans.

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MEK

Ex-Sen. Torricelli: MEK Has Done 'Wrong' In Past But Is Useful Now

Eric Lach | February 3, 2011, 8:48AM

Robert Torricelli

Former Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), who moderated an event on behalf of the Iranian opposition group MEK in Washington D.C. two weeks ago, told TPM in an interview that he is "personally offended" that the group is currently considered a terrorist organization by the State Department. He acknowledged that some of the group's history -- which includes the assassination of several U.S. military personnel and civilians in the 1970s -- is "not good," but argued that the MEK has changed, and is now "one of the only effective tools against the government in Tehran."

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Defense Contractors

Pentagon Paid Billions To Defense Contractors Who Defrauded Clients

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2011, 8:46AM

Over a three year period, the Defense Department spent hundreds of billions of dollars on defense contractors who paid millions in civil fines to resolve fraud cases -- and even spent $682 million on 30 contractors who were convicted in criminal fraud cases.

That's according to a report prepared by the Pentagon thanks to a provision in their spending bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that requires them to prepare a report on the fraud committed by contractors. The latest report covers fiscal years 2007 through 2009, and says that the government paid $270 billion to 91 various contractors who were involved in civil fraud cases that resulted in judgments of more than $1 million.

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Frank Gaffney

Right Wing Reacts To Egypt Protests: Obama Is In League With The Muslim Brotherhood

Jillian Rayfield | February 3, 2011, 8:40AM

For the right-wing, it's not much of a leap to go from "President Obama is a secret Muslim" to "President Obama is secretly in league with the Muslim Brotherhood." And in the wake of protests in Egypt, leap they did.

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John Ensign

Why Can't Congress Police Itself? Ensign Case is Exhibit A

Susan Crabtree | February 3, 2011, 8:30AM

The Senate Ethics Committee's decision to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation into activities surrounding Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) affair with a political staffer is raising age-old questions about the panel's relevancy.

Members of Congress are the first to admit that they hate serving on the Ethics Committee, and policing their peers puts them in an unusually awkward position. If that's the case and the panel has to farm out its work to true professional investigators, then why have lawmakers investigating their colleagues misbehavior in the first place?

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Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Fires Employee Who Helped Pro-Lifer Posed As Pimp

Rachel Slajda | February 2, 2011, 3:43PM

Planned Parenthood has fired an employee who apparently advised a man pretending to be a pimp to underage girls and illegal immigrants. The New Jersey attorney general is also investigating.

The firing stems from an undercover video released by the anti-abortion, anti-Planned Parenthood group LiveAction. LiveAction staged visits to eight Planned Parenthood clinics this month, including the Central New Jersey clinic shown in the video, during which an activist pretended to be a pimp. He told employees that he "managed girls," including 14- and 15-year-olds and illegal immigrants, and wanted to know how to get them tested for sexually transmitted diseases and potentially get abortions without alerting authorities.

In the video, a manager at the clinic appears to advise the man and a female companion on how to avoid scrutiny by having the girls lie about their age or go to another non-Planned Parenthood clinic altogether.

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Immigration

Pew Immigration Study Undermines 'Anchor Baby' Argument

Eric Lach | February 2, 2011, 1:56PM

New estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center find that the "number of children born to at least one unauthorized-immigrant parent in 2009 was 350,000, essentially the same as it was a year earlier." These children accounted for 8% of newborns in the U.S. from March 2009 to March 2010. But interestingly, only a fraction of the babies were born to parents who have recently arrived in the country -- running counter to an argument made by conservatives who want to do away with birthright citizenship.

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Barack Obama

Birther Bills Pop Up In Connecticut And Arizona

Eric Lach | February 2, 2011, 11:17AM

President Barack Obama

And the birther tune plays on. Lawmakers in two states are pushing bills that would make presidential candidates "prove" that they are natural-born American citizens.

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Drug Enforcement Agency

DEA Agent Who Shot Self Presses Forward In Suit Against Gov't (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | February 2, 2011, 11:10AM

A Drug Enforcement Agency agent who shot himself in the foot during a classroom demonstration in a video that went viral on YouTube is asking an appeals court to rule that the disclosure of the video was an invasion of privacy.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Bandits football player and undercover agent Lee Paige first sued over the disclosure of the April 2004 video in April 2006. Now, Mike Scarcella of National Law Journal reports, he wants an appeals court to overturn a ruling that ended the suit in December.

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Egypt

Violence Erupts In Cairo; CNN Crew, Other Journalists Attacked

Rachel Slajda | February 2, 2011, 9:37AM

Anderson Cooper

Violence erupted Wednesday afternoon in Cairo a day after President Hosni Mubarak vowed to step down in September, as thousands of Mubarak supporters stormed Tahrir Square, some on horseback and camels, and reportedly attacked anti-government protesters.

The Mubarak supporters are said -- according to Al-Jazeera English, the BBC, CNN and the New York Times -- to be carrying machetes, sticks and other weapons. The two groups are reportedly throwing rocks at each other in Tahrir Square and the surrounding streets.

Anderson Cooper, the CNN anchor, reported that he and his crew were attacked by Mubarak supporters today.

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Bobby Franklin

Georgia Republican: Nobody Should Need A Driver's License

Ryan J. Reilly | February 2, 2011, 8:50AM

Bobby Franklin

Republican Georgia state legislator Bobby Franklin thinks that driver's licenses impose undue restrictions on the right of citizens to travel. So he's proposed legislation to stop the state from issuing them.

"Free people have a common law and constitutional right to travel on the roads and highways that are provided by their government for that purpose," Franklin's legislation states. "Licensing of drivers cannot be required of free people, because taking on the restrictions of a license requires the surrender of an inalienable right."

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Canada

Gov't Accountability Office Slams DHS Control Of Northern Border

Ryan J. Reilly | February 2, 2011, 8:37AM

Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security have long been facing criticism over whether the feds are doing enough to secure the Mexican border. But the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report this week that the government is ignoring the threat on the porous border shared with our neighbors to the north.

DHS has been challenged in its efforts to address the threat of illegal activity on the northern border "where the extent of illegal activity is unknown, but the risk of terrorist
activity is high," the authors of the GAO report write.

The GAO's review of reports from 2010 showed that for the northern border overall, just 32 of the nearly 4,000 border miles had reached an acceptable level of control.

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FOIA

Issa Expands Probe Of Alleged Politicization Of FOIA Requests At DHS

Susan Crabtree | February 1, 2011, 8:56PM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is stepping up his investigation of the Homeland Security Department's alleged selective handling of Freedom of Information Act requests from citizens, journalists and others.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, Issa said he plans to interview one of her senior political advisers and other political appointees as part of a expanded investigation into department's alleged practice of stalling hundreds of requests for federal records while political advisers looked into the backgrounds of people requesting the documents.

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Colleen LaRose

'Jihad Jane' Pleads Guilty To Terror Charges

Eric Lach | February 1, 2011, 3:30PM

Colleen LaRose, a.k.a. Jihad Jane

Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania woman also known as "Jihad Jane," pleaded guilty in her terrorism case on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements and attempted identity theft. LaRose, 47, faces up to life in prison and a $1 million fine.

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Planned Parenthood

Sex Ring Was A Hoax; Live Action Posts Video Targeting Planned Parenthood

Rachel Slajda | February 1, 2011, 2:22PM

When a man showed up at eight Planned Parenthood clinics in five states within five days, claiming that he ran an underage sex trafficking ring, Planned Parenthood reported it to the FBI. They also figured it was probably a "hoax" in which anti-abortion types were trying to catch clinic employees saying something damning on tape.

Planned Parenthood was right. Today, Live Action, an anti-abortion group run by James O'Keefe associate Lila Rose, posted a video it claims shows a Planned Parenthood employee in New Jersey instructing a "pimp" on how to get his underage and illegal immigrant sex workers STD testing and abortions.

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Jihad Jane

Report: 'Jihad Jane' To Plead Guilty Today In Terror Case

Eric Lach | February 1, 2011, 11:05AM

Colleen LaRose, a.k.a. Jihad Jane

At a hearing today, Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania woman facing terrorism charges and allegedly known as 'Jihad Jane' online, is expected to change her plea to guilty, CNN reports. The government alleges that LaRose used the Internet to recruit people for violent global Jihad, and that she planned to murder the Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.

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Awais Younis

The Facebook Messages The Alleged D.C. Metro Threatener Sent To Friend

Ryan J. Reilly | February 1, 2011, 11:00AM

Awais Younis, the 26-year-old Virginia man who federal authorities say threatened to set off bombs on the D.C. Metro system, sent threatening messages to a female acquaintance of his who was living in the New Orleans area at the time. The woman informed the FBI of the threats, and an agent reportedly took photos of the messages on what appears to be an iPhone.

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John Ensign

Senate Ethics Committee Moves Forward In Ensign Investigation

Rachel Slajda | February 1, 2011, 10:32AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The Senate Ethics Committee has appointed a special counsel to handle the committee's preliminary investigation into Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).

The committee announced today that it has hired Carol Elder Bruce, a partner at K&L Gates LLP. Bruce will lead the investigation into whether Ensign broke Senate rules and/or federal law.

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Emerson Begolly

Father Of 'Nazi Jihadist' Wants His Arsenal Of Guns Back

Ryan J. Reilly | February 1, 2011, 10:10AM

Shawn Begolly, the father of 'Nazi jihadist' Emerson Begolly (who allegedly bit two FBI agents when they tried to question him about extremist writings the feds say he posted online), wants the arsenal of weapons the government seized from his home back now that his son is behind bars.

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MEK

State Dept. Refutes Ridge Claim That MEK Has Special Protection Under Geneva Convention

Eric Lach | February 1, 2011, 8:48AM

Fmr. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (R)

When a who's who of Washington heavyweights spoke at a panel two weeks ago on behalf of the MEK, an Iranian opposition group currently considered a terrorist organization by the State Department, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge made a claim that the members of the group who currently reside in Iraq enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention. But the State Department tells TPM that's not true.

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Henry E. Bailey

Feds: Cincinnati Landlord Kicked Out Tenants Who Wouldn't Perform Sex Acts

Ryan J. Reilly | February 1, 2011, 8:30AM

Cincinnati landlord Henry E. Bailey currently owns 22 apartments in three separate buildings in Ohio. And since at least 2008, the federal government says he's been sneaking into the apartments of his female residents without their permission, groping them without their consent, offering reduced rent and maintenance repairs in exchange for sexual favors and refusing to make repairs for or offer rent discounts to those who refused.

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Michael Bloomberg

NYC Investigation Into AZ Gun Show Finds Dealers Sold Guns Without Background Checks

David Taintor | January 31, 2011, 5:35PM

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday announced the results of an undercover investigation into a gun show in Arizona -- and that those results show just how simple it is to buy a gun there with minimal oversight.

According to the the Gun Show Undercover: Arizona report, undercover investigators successfully bought guns after telling unlicensed dealers, "I probably couldn't pass a background check." The investigation took place January 23 at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix.

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Jo Bonner

GOP Ethics Chair: Ethics Office Would Take Info From A Tabloid

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 4:15PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) told a reporter for a newspaper in his home state that political realities kept House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) from shutting down the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which he said would begin an investigation "out of the National Enquirer."

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Guns

Utah Bill Supporter: Naming A State Gun Will Show They Are Useful (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 3:30PM

Clark Aposhian of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, a supporter of the Utah bill which would make the M1911 .45-caliber handgun the official state firearm, says now is the appropriate time to honor the weapon.

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MEK

MEK Event Sponsor: Iranian Group Is Not A Terror Organization

Eric Lach | January 31, 2011, 2:36PM

Neil Livingstone

The D.C. insider whose firm sponsored an event in support of an Iranian opposition group which is currently considered a terrorist organization by the State Department admits that the group, known as the MEK, is unlikely to be the successor to the Khamenei regime. Neil Livingstone, the Chairman and CEO of Executive Action, LLC, told TPM in an interview that his group was supporting the MEK for the sake of "the Iranian opposition in general."

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John Wheeler

Family Offers $25K Reward After Officials Say John Wheeler Died Of Blunt Force Trauma

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 2:30PM

John P. Wheeler

The family of John Wheeler III, the former Republican appointee who worked on behalf of Vietnam veterans, is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest after the state medical examiner's office said Wheeler died of blunt force trauma.

The Associated Press reported that family attorney Colm F. Connolly told the News Journal of Wilmington that the family is desperate for more information about his death.

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voter fraud

Republican Majorities Pushing Photo ID Voter Requirements Across Country

Rachel Slajda | January 31, 2011, 1:10PM

A voter shows ID in Atlanta, Ga.

With Election Day three months behind us and new legislators settling in across the country, Republicans in many states are trying to push new laws that would require photo ID at the polls. The laws, they say, would prevent rampant voter fraud.

Seven states already have laws requiring photo ID at the polls. Another 19, including some of the states below, require some form of identification, but it doesn't need to have a photo.

Critics say it such requirements impose undue hardships on those trying to vote, reminiscent of the literacy tests of yore that kept black voters from voting in the South.

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Scott Bloch

Scott Bloch Feels Vindicated By Report On Bush-Era Abuse Of Gov't Resources

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 12:15PM

Scott Bloch and and former Pres. George W. Bush.

Bush-era official Scott Bloch, the former head of the Office of Special Counsel who will be sentenced on Thursday for misdemeanor contempt of Congress, told TPM in an interview that he felt vindicated by the report on the Bush administration's use of taxpayer funds for political purposes.

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Paul Babeu

Pinal County, Arizona's Paul Babeu Named Sheriff Of The Year

Eric Lach | January 31, 2011, 12:05PM

Sheriff Paul Babeu

The Arizona sheriff who has claimed "our own government has become our enemy" and starred in a campaign ad for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been awarded the 2011 Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs' Association. The group, which calls itself the largest association of law enforcement professionals in the U.S., credits Sheriff Paul Babeu, of Pinal County, Arizona with becoming "one of the most progressive Sheriffs in the country."

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Roger Stockham

Alleged Mosque Plotter Had Long History Of Crime, Mental Illness

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 10:30AM

Roger Stockham, the 63-year-old Vietnam vet who was arrested last week for allegedly plotting to attack the largest mosque in North America, has a long history of run-ins with the law and mental health issues.

Contemporaneous news reports spanning the past five decades chronicle a number of troubling incidents that resulted in both state and federal charges. Stockham has frequently argued that he's insane and has been put in a variety of programs.

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Roger Stockham

Imam Says Alleged Mosque Attack Plotter, Loughner Should Be Called Terrorists

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 9:45AM

Police and officials informed about the arrest of a man who allegedly threatened to attack mosques and was found with explosives outside of the largest Islamic center in North America last week had planned to keep it quiet. Then the imam of the threatened mosque weighed in.

Imad Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini informed worshippers about the arrest of Roger Stockham during his sermon on Friday, and a video of his speech was posted to YouTube. That's when the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) decided to put out a press release over the weekend.

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Sharia

South Carolina Lawmakers Hop On The Sharia Ban Bandwagon

Eric Lach | January 31, 2011, 8:32AM

Lawmakers in South Carolina have introduced a bill that would "prevent a court or other enforcement authority from enforcing foreign law in this state." This effectively makes South Carolina the latest state to consider legislation that would ban sharia law, though one of the bill's sponsors insists its more than that.

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Terrorism

Michigan Cops: Army Vet Threatened Mosques At Bar, Found With Explosives Outside Islamic Center

Ryan J. Reilly | January 30, 2011, 3:35PM

Roger Stockham, a 63-year-old Army veteran from California who was reportedly angry at the U.S. government, was arrested by police in Michigan and charged with allegedly threatening to blow up a Mosque in Dearborn.

Dearborn police allegedly found Stockham inside his vehicle outside the Islamic Center of America with a load of M-80s in his trunk and other explosives, the Detroit News reported.

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