Four senior congressional Democrats inadvertently confirmed Monday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—which, under Chairman Julius Genachowski’s leadership has been trying for months to impose contentious net neutrality rules—lacks the authority needed to regulate the Internet.

For weeks, the FCC has been threatening to “reclassify” broadband in order to subject it to regulation that would institute net neutrality, despite concerns regarding jurisdiction and agency powers.  However, now, Senators Jay Rockefeller and John Kerry, and Congressmen Henry Waxman and Rick Boucher say they will soon launch “a process to develop proposals” for revising the 1934 Communications Act, whose archaic framework the FCC wishes to impose on broadband services.

Rockefeller, Kerry, Waxman and Boucher chair the relevant communications, commerce and technology committees in the House and Senate.

According to a statement, “As the first step, [Rockefeller, Kerry, Waxman, Boucher] will invite stakeholders to participate in a series of bipartisan, issue-focused meetings beginning in June.” The release offered few other details on the move, which could prove controversial.  Even Democrats who facially support the FCC’s end-goal of net neutrality adoption were caught off-guard by the commission’s unprecedented move to reclassify.

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Give and you shall receive is the moral of the day coming out of Washington, DC.  Organized labor, principally the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are poised to spend at least $100 million on an “incumbent protection program,” according to The Hill.

This $100 million figure does not account for the AFL-CIO, which didn’t release its budgeted amount for political spending, or the two teachers’ unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, so it’s likely that figure is grossly underestimated.  Undoubtedly, progressive candidates are giddy for their piece of the Big Labor action.

The unions have a lot to defend.  Their agenda, pushed at break-neck speed by the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress, has upset a significant number of American voters and it’s going to cost a lot to defend.  Consider what this Obama water carrier said:

“We have got to protect the incumbency in the House. We have got to protect the incumbency in the Senate,” [AFSCME president Gerry] McEntee said. “It is going to be hard. Those tea-baggers are out there. There is an anti-incumbency mood out there.”

After the top tier, there will be a second tier of House candidates AFSCME will be monitoring and will step in to help defend if they become endangered by GOP challengers.

“We are not out there looking for new seats. We have our hands full the way it is,” said McEntee, who has been a key voice in pushing labor to play an active role in Democratic primaries across the nation.

You better order extra ink for your check printer, Ger.  America’s pretty mad at your shills in Congress.

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We’ve already noted how two HuffPo reporters ran defense for SEIU: First there was Erica Payne, HuffPo blogger, lover of all things Media Matters, who appeared on Fox News to try to shift blame of SEIU antics onto the tea party.

We’ve also read how HuffPo blogger Arthur Delaney was embedded with SEIU to cover their home invasion of Bank of America employee Greg Baer which terrified Baer’s young son who hid in the bathroom (we’re still waiting for the Carnahan Coffin-Gate drama queens to repeat their hysterics over this but so far, nothing); Delaney became the first to parrot SEIU’s baseless accusation of “conflict of interest” at Fortune columnist Nina Easton after she published her firsthand account, as Baer’s neighbor, of the same protest. Monday we exposed Huffington Post’s own conflict of interest when we discovered that SEIU had paid the site $15,000 categorized as “political activities and lobbying.”

Is this what SEIU money is buying? Two HuffPo bloggers running their media defense? Of course, this could be a routine advertising expense. But, Big Government has learned that the Huffington Post has inserted themselves into SEIU’s most notorious violent incident: the Kenneth Gladney beating of last August.

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At this point, we’re guessing that the Administration doesn’t really want to plug the oil leak in the Gulf. It would help them argue against any future deep sea drilling and allow their allies in the environmental community to fundraise for decades. Cynical? Yes. But, how else to explain the situation?

Attorney-client communications are among the most sacred in the American system of jurisprudence, so when James O’Keefe’s lawyers noticed at least two instances of privileged communication between them and their client appearing in the media, they wrote to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann in New Orleans: “O’Keefe materials improperly provided to media.”

The information that I have confirmed was disclosed to the media appears to be intentionally calculated to foment negative public opinion against Mr. O’Keefe, presumably in an unethical effort to prejudice any criminal proceedings… a clear violation of Chapters 1-7.500 and 1-7.600 (E) of the United States Attorneys’ Manual as well as a prosecutor’s ethical obligations…

When O’Keefe and three others were arrested in January, his computer and cell phone were seized, under the completely false premise that they were surveillance devices, and it appears that the documents came from them. If true, as O’Keefe’s lawyers note, this would constitute an outrageous violation of law-enforcement ethics as well as “severe prosecutorial misconduct.”

The letter follows:

March 4 letter to Jan Mann-1

UPDATE: O’Keefe promises more undercover investigations.  Full update after the jump.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Four conservative activists accused of trying to tamper with the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of entering federal property under false pretenses.  The most prominent activist, James O’Keefe, was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service and fined a $1,500 fine. The 25-year-old is known for wearing a pimp costume in a video that embarrassed ACORN.

Magistrate Daniel Knowles III sentenced the three others to two years probation, 75 hours of community service and fined them $1,500.

The FBI has said O’Keefe used his cell phone to try to capture video of two men who posed as telephone repairmen and asked to see the phones. O’Keefe spokesman Denis Calabrese disputed an earlier allegation that a fourth suspect waited in a car with a listening device, which was not mentioned in court records.

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We hit the streets of Chicago to gauge people’s reaction to the recent street mob action style protests organized by long time Obama allies – National People’s Action (NPA), SEIU and Heather Tobis Booth.

Almost everyone we spoke with believes going to private home of a bank employee is deplorable.

Almost everyone we spoke with thinks politicians shouldn’t take money from or support groups that use mob tactics like this.

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Two role-playing investigators with bogus documents and a hidden camera walked into Head Start centers across the country to expose fraud and corruption. They got more than they had bargained for, discovering a pattern of rule-bending fraud so shocking it prompted a briefing for President Obama.

Is this the latest James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles sting operation?

Nope. It was the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which used tactics remarkably similar to O’Keefe and Giles, sans the pimp and prostitute costumes.

GAO’s undercover investigation revealed a common practice among Head Start employees: the deliberate disregard — or even outright falsification — of income documentation to pad enrollment. “Now you see it, now you don’t,” said a Head Start employee in New Jersey who “disappeared” $23,000 worth of income for one applicant so that his fictitious child could be enrolled. GAO found Head Start programs were more than willing to help its investigators falsify applications at eight of the 15 centers it visited.

The duo that destroyed ACORN last year caught flak from liberals for their undercover tactics. Media critic Eric Alterman of the Center for American Progress called their investigation “dishonest.” He wrote that O’Keefe and Giles “ignore[d] the rules of honest information gathering and reporting.”

In reality, O’Keefe and Giles’ investigative prowess turned the ACORN story into a national episode of corruption at a government-funded organization. Turns out GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, is using essentially the same tactics to expose malfeasance.

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Anthony Weiner honed his political craft working for New York Senator Charles Schumer, and it shows in his recent attack on Glenn Beck and his sponsor Goldline.

Weiner and his comrades’ views are well reflected when he says in his Goldline Report:

…during troubling economic times it seems there is always someone ready to take advantage of the situation and profit from people’s fears.

In the past there is always the “product” that is either the next big thing (the dot com boom) or the investment that will never go down in price (the housing market), and in the past much of the media has failed in its duty to conduct due diligence, but never before have they worked so hand in hand to cheat consumers.  Commentators like Glenn Beck who are shilling for Goldline are either the worst financial advisors around or knowingly lying to their loyal viewers.

Goldline’s high pressure sales tactics and fear mongering about big government as well as their ability to hire sales staff and spokespeople who misrepresent their roles are case studies in why entities like the SEC and FTC are necessary.

Of course, it is the unscrupulous businessmen and their shills in the media who are preying on people’s fears to make a buck.  Guess what Mr. Weiner? It is because people like you are running our nation that is precisely why people are turning to gold, and precisely why places like Goldline can charge a premium.

You see, the reverse is true when it comes to your argument that because of the sales representatives at Goldline who “misrepresent their roles,” the SEC and FTC are necessary entities.  We need gold and thus gold salesmen because agencies like the SEC and FTC, along with you and your colleagues in Congress and over at the Fed help sanction and blow the very bubbles that you speak to and debase our currency, stealthily taxing us and leading us on a path to monetary and fiscal collapse.  It is because of your “consumer protections,” that consumers are made unsafe.  It is because of your regulations that we have distorted markets and the moral hazard that encourages imprudent risk-taking.

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Jo Ann Emerson is back in the news today as one of nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives sponsoring H.R. 3936, a $165 billion union pension bailout bill. But why?

It could be that the seven-term Republican elected in the 8th Congressional District of Southeast Missouri simply loves bailouts. After all, she did vote for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and “Cash for Clunkers”. But I don’t think her love for bailouts is the main reason why she is behind the bill.

Instead, I think her sponsorship of the union bailout bill stems from the fact that she is married to Ron Gladney.

In a May 3 post, I pointed out that her second husband is both a Democrat and an labor union attorney for St. Louis-based Bartley Goffstein LLC and that, according to Federal Election Commission records, she has received campaign contributions from a variety of union entities, including the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). And that’s not all!

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What do you call a man who’s donated to Bill Halter, a supporter of card check? You may call him the next head of the Government Printing Office (yes, there’s still a publicly run entity for smearing ink on pages).

Roll Call reports on the first confirmation hearing for William Boarman:

Currently a vice president at the Communication Workers of America union, Boarman appeared before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. Ranking member Bob Bennett (R-Utah) asked him about a recent $250 contribution he made to Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D), who is in a runoff against Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D). The contribution was not mentioned in the materials Boarman originally submitted to the committee.

Not mentioned, you say? Roll Call continues: “Boarman said he made the contribution quickly online and had forgotten he made it until he saw it mentioned in an article Monday, so he ‘immediately’ wrote the committee a letter about it. As a member of the union, he has made regular political contributions.”

It appears Mr. Boarman can simply print off cash to union causes, which brought up an important question: despite his assurances to the contrary, isn’t there reason to wonder whether this member of the Communications Workers of America won’t try to steer projects to unionized printers, in-source more work away from the private sector, or apply “prevailing wage” rules on taxpayer-funded projects?

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As you know, last week SEIU staged a protest at the home of an attorney for Bank of America. On a quiet Sunday in the Maryland suburbs of DC, SEIU sent 500 protesters onto the front lawn of the home of Greg Baer, a former Treasury official in the Clinton Administration. Mr. Baer wasn’t at home but, unfortunately, his 14 year old son was. The protesters succeeded in terrorizing the boy.

Let me quickly digress to point out that Bank of America is SEIU’s largest creditor. Under the leadership of Andy Stern, SEIU leveraged itself to the hilt, largely to support Democrat campaign efforts, and now owes the bank around $100 million. The loan payments are likely playing havoc with the union’s finances. (Rich that SEIU thinks it has a credible voice on financial reform, given that their own behavior is a set-piece for much of what went wrong.) Coincidence that the bank is the target of a comprehensive and coordinated protest from the union? (Dear Bank of America, Call the loan. Today.)

There is much to say about this protest, but the most fascinating part to me is the role played by the police. It seems the DC police followed/escorted/shadowed the protesters into Maryland. They may or may not have notified the Maryland police, who may or may not have been on the scene while the protesters stormed private property and terrorized a teenage boy. Yesterday, Megyn Kelly of FoxNews interviewed law enforcement officials from DC and Maryland and asked many specific, hard hitting questions.

I’m not going to say the law enforcement officials are lying in this interview. They parse their words expertly. When Ms. Kelly backs them into a corner, they shift the focus to irrelevant parts of the story. But, saying they aren’t lying here is a distinction without a difference.

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North Korea has cut off all contact with South Korea and is threatening war with its neighbor. The Chia Pet who runs North Korea has a long history of bluster and bombast. Nothing is quite what it seems in the old Hermit Kingdom. Still, it merits monitoring.

It’s only a trespassing charge, but there is something really gratifying about seeing the corrupt, race-baiting Bertha Lewis being led away in handcuffs. This happened just yesterday, at an immigration rally in NYC. Skip ahead to the 7:30 mark to see the arrest (Lewis is dressed in all white, at the far left of the still image below):

Their attempt to feign patriotism by singing the national anthem is despicable, as the immigration “reform” movement is only the latest front in the ongoing war socialists are waging against our nation.

But don’t take my word for it, Bertha Lewis outlined the whole strategy just a couple of months ago: (more…)

Representative Tom McClintock (R – California) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in response to the address to Congress by President Calderon of Mexico.  Excerpt:  “I rise to take strong exception to the speech of the President of Mexico while in this chamber today. The Mexican government has made it very clear for many years that it holds American sovereignty in contempt and President Calderon’s behavior as a guest of the Congress confirms and underscores this attitude.”

On Tuesday, May 18, in busy rush hour traffic, a suicide bomber drove his Toyota minivan, packed with 1650 lbs. of explosives, alongside a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan and detonated. Eighteen people were killed, including five American soldiers and one Canadian. Forty-seven others were wounded.

According to an NYPD Shield Intelligence brief, it was the deadliest attack on foreign forces operating in Kabul this year. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

2010-05-18-NYPD-SuicideBombingInKabul –

The very next day, an estimated thirty to forty Taliban fighters launched a brazen, pre-dawn assault on U.S.-run Bagram Airbase, thirty miles north of Kabul. Though sixteen Taliban insurgents (four of whom were intended to be used as suicide bombers) were killed, at the end of the spectacular attack one U.S. contractor had been left dead and nine to twelve service members were wounded.

The Taliban took credit once again and claimed that seven suicide bombers had detonated at Bagram’s gates while thirty other fighters slipped inside; a report the U.S. military flatly denies. But did the U.S. military have advance information that the suicide bombing attacks were imminent? According to sources in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the answer appears to be yes.

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General strikes in Greece have brought much of the country to a halt as trade unions and government workers stage more protests over austerity measures.  A 24-hour work stoppage  last week closed much of the country’s public sector and shut down  ferries, trains and public transport.

So here  is one unfunded social utopia’s score card so far:  Three have died already this month in massive riots  in the streets of Athens which are in danger of re-erupting anew.  Paralyzing strikes from civil servants, so used to getting so much largess for doing so little for so long.   A  $145 billion bailout is in jeopardy with the big dogs of the EU, Germany chief among them, expressing serious concerns that the austerity measures demanded of Greece as a condition to merit the loans will ever come to fruition.  Given the revised deficit projections and a public that seems unwilling to admit that their free ride brand of socialism as expressed in a financially unsustainable pension structure is collapsing, who can blame Europe?

Greece is bankrupt.   Their debt is 108% of GDP and will climb to almost 150% by 2013 when the bailout loans would come due.  25% of Greek taxes will go to service its debt — to mostly foreign investors.  Currently that nation’s government spending amounts to 50% of its GDP.

Consider then that in 2009 US debt was 86% of GDP and climbing.  It will go past 100% by 2012.  20% of U.S. federal taxes go to service the interest on the national debt.  That number too will rise.  Our major social entitlement programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, are bankrupt.  We are waging foreign wars almost entirely on our own—so that Europe doesn’t have to.  And now we have just enacted the mother of all entitlements in Obamacare  that only the most wishful of thinkers (or a cynical Democratic Congress and White House) would argue is anything but a multi-trillion dollar debt dog pile on top of an already strained budget.

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The America COMPETES Act, first signed into law three years ago, is a very popular bill because it provides funding for basic research, math and science education, and aims to improve our Nation’s competitiveness in the world.  Because COMPETES is so popular, everyone wants a piece of the pie.

In 2007, the House-passed bill was a $24 billion package.  However, the 2010 version was $96 billion, as introduced. Numerous new and unnecessary programs were added, and other programs were expanded well beyond the original scope and intent of the 2007 bill.  Even after a few very modest concessions, this reauthorization still spends twice as much as the original bill.

Regardless, a lot of people were disappointed when two weeks ago it was pulled from the House floor before final passage, and then again last week when it was defeated by a straight up or down vote.  Voting against a popular bill is a tough choice.  However, I and many of my Republican colleagues voted ‘no,’ not because we want to play political games, but because we believe the bill can be better.

The vote to improve the bill came on May 13^th in the form of a Motion to Recommit (MTR), which passed the House with bipartisan support, by a vote of 292 to 126, resulting in the Democrats’ decision to pull the bill from consideration.  Blogs and a few editorial boards have been openly critical of this attempt to improve the bill, going so far as to say it was instead an effort to “kill” or “derail” the COMPETES reauthorization.

Democrats argue that the MTR included a difficult-to-vote-against provision that would disallow funds from paying the salary of any government employee disciplined for viewing or downloading pornographic material on his or her work computer.  I believe the “porn” provision has merit in addressing a very serious policy issue. I believe what is overlooked is that the MTR also included very substantive provisions to address Republican concerns raised throughout the legislative process.

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