Texas Textbook Hearings

Texas Board Of Ed Approves Right-Wing History Textbook Standards (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 21, 2010, 6:36PM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

After months of debate and national controversy, the Texas State Board of Education Friday afternoon passed new high school textbook standards that recast U.S. history from the point of view of a movement conservative.

The AP reports on the 9-5 vote by the Republican-dominated board:

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Rand Paul

Rand Paul In '08: Beware The NAFTA Superhighway! (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 21, 2010, 1:42PM

Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul

Campaigning for his father in Montana back in 2008, Rand Paul spoke out against the NAFTA Superhighway, encouraging Congress to stop the mythical project that would connect Mexico, the U.S., and Canada and, critics say, deal a fatal blow to American sovereignty. Long a bugaboo on some segments of the Right, the NAFTA Superhighway does not actually exist.

"It's gonna go up through Texas, I guess, all the way to Montana," said Paul, at an event in Bozeman. "So, it's a real thing, and when you talk about it, the thing you just have to be aware of is that, if you talk about it like it's a conspiracy, they'll paint you as a nut."

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Orly Taitz

U.S. Attorney Threatens Taitz Over Unpaid $20,000 Fine

Justin Elliott | May 21, 2010, 10:54AM

Orly Taitz

The strong arm of the law is after Orly Taitz.

In a letter the Birther attorney says she received May 17, a Georgia U.S. Attorney demands that she pay a $20,000 fine -- imposed by a frustrated judge in October after Taitz made repeated frivolous filings -- or else the U.S. will "pursue enforced collection action against you."

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Rand Paul

Paul Has Been Guest Of Conspiracy Theorist Shock Jock Alex Jones (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 21, 2010, 9:14AM

Alex Jones and Rand Paul

Kentucky Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul has been a guest on the show of wacky conspiracy theorist radio host Alex Jones multiple times in the past couple years.

For Jones, who runs the site Infowars.com and broadcasts his eponymous radio show out of Austin, 9/11 trutherism is only the beginning. He regularly devotes his show to investigating the Bilderberg Group, the "rise of FEMA," the Bohemian Grove, how to fight the New World Order, etc.

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Rand Paul

FLASHBACK: Paul Campaign Spokesman Resigned Over Racism On Myspace Page

Justin Elliott | May 20, 2010, 2:44PM

Chris Hightower (left), former spokesman for Rand Paul, and his band Commander

Controversy is swirling over Rand Paul's doctrinaire libertarian take on the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. But this is not the first time the Kentucky Republican's campaign has hit a bump in racially sensitive territory.

In December, Chris Hightower, the spokesman for Paul's senate campaign, was forced to resign after a liberal Kentucky blog discovered that his MySpace page had a comment posted around Martin Luther King Day that read: "HAPPY N***ER DAY!!!" above what appears to be a historical photo of the lynching of a black man.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Senator Demands Info From Transocean On 'I'm Not Injured' Forms Signed By Workers

Justin Elliott | May 20, 2010, 9:05AM

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)

A Democratic senator is demanding answers from drilling giant Transocean about the forms that rescued workers from the Deepwater Horizon rig were given to sign stating that they were not injured and they were not witnesses to what happened.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Health Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee, fired off a letter to Transocean CEO Steven Newman calling the company's use of the forms "extremely troublesome."

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Ethics

New House Ethics Paradigm: Leadership Must Rat Out Members

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 7:28PM

Former Rep. Mark Foley, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), and former Rep. Eric Massa

After learning that Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) had an affair with a staffer, two House Republican leaders felt compelled to inform the ethics committee of the matter. Why?

Taking that step appears to be part of a new M.O. when leadership hears about an allegation of misconduct: tell the ethics committee quickly to inoculate yourself and your party against accusations of inaction later on.

"That's the new standard: the leadership ratting out its members where there's an allegation of misconduct," Stan Brand, a former House general counsel, tells TPMmuckraker.

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Mark Souder

Pence: I Notified Ethics Committee After Learning Of Souder Affair

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 4:40PM

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the No. 3 Republican in the House and an Indiana colleague of Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), informed the ethics committee that Souder was having an affair with a staffer after Souder informed him of the matter on Sunday, a Pence spokesman said today.

It's not clear why Pence went to the ethics committee about the affair.

Pence first heard about the Souder affair after a journalist approached him last Wednesday, he said at a press conference earlier today. Pence says he approached Souder on the House floor about the matter, and Souder told him about the affair.

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Mark Souder

Staffer Who Had Affair With Souder Resigns

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 3:00PM

Tracy Jackson

Tracy Jackson, the part-time staffer who had an affair with Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), on Tuesday resigned her position, which at least partly consisted of interviewing Souder for a Web video series, the AP reports.

Texas Textbook Hearings

What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been: TX Textbooks Rules Set For Final Vote

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 12:51PM

Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly

This week should determine Texas' nationally influential U.S. history textbook standards, as the conservative-dominated State Board of Education prepares to vote on the new standards Friday amid intense interest from activists on both sides.

These are the standards that publishers seeking to sell textbooks in Texas will have to use as a guide. TPMmuckraker started covering the story back in September, and it has since attracted national attention for what critics see as the board's outlandish right-wing recasting of U.S. history. Given the makeup of the board, look for a big win for conservatives Friday.

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Mark Souder

Conservative Women's Group: Souder Affair Shows 'It Could Happen To Anyone'

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 10:51AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) and Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) conducted a years-long extramarital affair with a staffer while preaching traditional family values, sponsoring a "Marriage Protection Amendment" to the Constitution, and even filming a pro-abstinence video with his girlfriend.

But it turns out Souder had no agency in the matter after all, according to the president of a leading conservative women's group.

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Mark Souder

Asked In '98 If He'd Had An Affair, Souder Hung Up On Interviewer (AUDIO)

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 9:20AM

Mark Souder in 2004 trying out Saddam Hussein's "Spider Hole"

This is fun: The folks at Democracy Now have posted Lewinsky scandal-era audio of host Amy Goodman asking Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), "are you now or have you ever been involved in an extramarital sexual affair?"

At which point, Souder's line goes dead.

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Tim Griffin

Split Decision Tuesday For U.S. Attorney Scandal Figures Turned Congressional Hopefuls

Justin Elliott | May 19, 2010, 8:46AM

Tim Griffin

Two Republicans with roles in the Bush-era U.S. attorney firings scandal were fighting for congressional nominations Tuesday, and the result is a split decision:

Mary Beth Buchanan, who was head of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys when the firing list was being drawn up in 2005, was, in the words of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, was "trounced" in Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District primary, getting just 33 percent of the vote. The winner was attorney Keith Rothfus.

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Mark Souder

Report: Souder And Mistress Allegedly Frequented State Parks

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 2:44PM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

The Washington Post provides some detail on why Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), who won a Republican primary earlier this month, decided to resign over his affair with a staffer at this particular moment:

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Mark Souder

Souder Announces Resignation, Without Wife, At Press Conference (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 1:15PM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Admitting an affair with a staffer, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) announced his resignation at a Fort Wayne press conference today -- and, in a comment not in his prepared statement, managed to briefly play the role of moralist by condemning philandering politicians who ask their wives to appear with them.

"My family were more than willing to stand here with me -- we are a committed family. But the error is mine and I should bear the responsibility," Souder said. "And, quite frankly, I'm sick of politicians who drag their spouses up in front of the cameras, rather than confronting the problem that they have caused."

And in another departure from his prepared remarks, Souder seemed to hint at some possible allegation of legal impropriety:

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Mark Souder

Rep. Souder And Mistress Recorded Video Praising Abstinence (WATCH)

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 10:37AM

Tracy Jackson

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) had an affair with a part-time staffer named Tracy Jackson, Fox is reporting. Jackson played the role of interviewer for a Souder Web video show on the issues of the day -- including one on the value of abstinence.

Dubbed "Congressional Update with Congressman Mark Souder," the show hit on issues like intelligent design and fencing the border.

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Mark Souder

Family Values GOP Rep To Resign Over Affair (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 9:23AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), a champion of abstinence education and traditional family values, will resign effective Friday after an affair with a female staffer in his district office, he announced today.

He said in a statement that he "sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff." And he blamed the atmosphere in Washington for forcing him to make the move:

"In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain. I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process."

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Andrew Breitbart

Breitbart Dreams Of Debating, Punching Sean Penn

Justin Elliott | May 18, 2010, 8:56AM

Andrew Breitbart

The New Yorker is out with a profile of Andrew Breitbart, and out of 7,000 words of bluster from the conservative media baron, this passage caught our eye:

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Miranda rights

Republican Darrell Issa, Champion Of Miranda Rights? (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 5:02PM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

In an appearance on Bill Maher's show Friday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who has previously slammed President Obama for coddling terrorists, emerged as an unlikely and eloquent defender of preserving Miranda rights, speaking out strongly against Attorney General Eric Holder's proposal to loosen the rule.

Issa, one of the Obama Administration's most persistent critics, has criticized the president for, in the words of a February Chicago Sun-Times column by Issa, "the administration's decisions to treat terrorist detainees like common criminals."

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New Orleans Police Department

Feds Announce Probe Of New Orleans Police Dept.

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 4:40PM

Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

In a press conference in New Orleans today, Justice Department Civil Rights chief Thomas Perez announced the DOJ is launching a formal assessment of the city's troubled police department, the first step to installing federal oversight.

The Times-Picayune reports:

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Florida

Report: Meek Sought Earmarks For Developer Who Paid His Staffer, Hired His Mom

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 10:26AM

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL)

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL), who is running for Senate in Florida, sought earmarks to help a developer who gave a top Meek staffer $13,000 in 2003 for a down payment on a house, and paid Meek's mother, former congresswoman Carrie Meek, $90,000 plus use of a Cadillac Escalade for consulting services, the Miami Herald reports.

The developer, Dennis Stackhouse, is now facing fraud charges associated with the Poinciana Park project in Liberty City, Miami, a proposed biopharmaceutical complex that was never built.

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Textbooks

TX Textbooks Proposal: Students Must Discuss Gutting Social Security, Explain How U.N. Undermines U.S.

Justin Elliott | May 17, 2010, 9:00AM

Don McLeroy

With the long-running Texas history textbooks standards fight scheduled to end with a final vote by the State Board of Education Friday, arch-conservative board member Don McLeroy is proposing a new set of changes that read like a tea party manifesto.

The new amendment (.pdf), which is expected to get a vote on Thursday, would require high school history students to "discuss alternatives regarding long term entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, given the decreasing worker to retiree ratio" and also "evaluate efforts by global organizations to undermine U. S. sovereignty."

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