Got Me Some McCain/Palin Swag

And you can have some too....

Katrina Redux

So Hurricane Gustav is bearing down on the Gulf States the week of the GOP convention. Today was John McCain's 72nd birthday and the anniversary of Bush and McCain sharing birthday cake in Arizona while an American city drowned.
With Gustav poised to make an impact on the GOP convention, King had this to say "If it does work out well, it will probably be a small plus for us," said New York Rep. Peter King, top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, which oversees federal disaster response operations. "Obviously, if it doesn't work out well, then the Republicans are going to have a problem."

Here is a post from this site post-Katrina about King and his committee chairmanship "From 9/16/06: What the FEMA is up with Peter King?
We've been going over King wanting to be the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee during the past few weeks here at King Watch Central and with each passing day, more questions arise about his qualification. Right now, he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology.
Notice the words "Emergency Preparedness."
What just recently occured that showed us we are NOT prepared? A devasting hurricane.
Before we go any further though, we have to throw some history in here...
Back in the day - before Bush - FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was made a Cabinet level position by President Clinton. Clinton appointed James Lee Witt, a man with a decade of Emergency Management experience, as head of FEMA.
After 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security was created and Bush drop-kicked FEMA out of the Cabinet and into DHS. Bush then took a man with no emergency management experience and put him on charge of FEMA. Director Micheal Brown is a political hack with a patronage job
Back to today... DHS and FEMA are answerable to congress. The Homeland Security Committee has oversight of the department. FEMA is now deep in the bowels of a department created to protect us from terrorism.
Do you see the emerging problem?
FEMA which deals with all sorts of crisis from natural to man-made disasters is placed under the control of a department charged dealing with only man-made disasters.
So where are we going with this and what does King have it do with it?
King's sub-commitee over-sees "Emergency Preparedness."
BUT the problem seems to be the focus is only on terrorism. From the sub-commitees website:"Preparedness for and collective response to terrorism, including federal support to first responders; terrorism-related incident management and response; consequence mitigation; Department of Homeland Security-administered homeland security grants to first responders; conduct and coordination of exercises and training relating to mitigating the effects of and responding to terrorist attacks (including nuclear, biological, radiological, and chemical attacks on civilian populations); federal government coordination of terrorism-related emergency preparedness and response with and among state and local governments, the private sector, and the public; research, development and deployment of technology for combating terrorism; adaptation of existing technologies to homeland security prevention priorities; coordination and enhancement of Department of Homeland Security interaction on science and technology matters with the private sector, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, the National Laboratories, and other scientific resources; Department of Homeland Security-based science and technology entities and initiatives; conducting relevant oversight; and other matters referred to the Subcommittee by the Chairman."
See the many uses of the words "terrorism" and nothing about "natural disasters?"
That is a big issue.What is the sub-commitees role in over-seeing FEMA and natural disaster preparedness?
Go through the full commitee website and the stated mission for each sub-commitee is all about "terrorism."
Now King's sub-commitee should be dealing with the over-sight of FEMA disaster plans right?
What exactly was the sub-commitee's role in making sure FEMA natural disaster planes were up to snuff?
If King wants to be chairman of the full Homeland Security Commitee he needs to show he was an effective sub-commitee chairman."

Back from Vacation

Much on Peter "Archie Bunker" King coming right up.

The King of Forgetfullness

King spoke to Newsday about declining republican fortunes and says “I think they’re two separate [problems] that came together at the same time,” King said yesterday. “There were local issues, going back to the late 1990s, in Nassau County with its budget problems. And Suffolk has had a disunited Republican party. Even just taking the congressional seats on Long Island, we didn’t lose any of them due to national issues,” he said, as some local losses came in otherwise flush GOP years."

Just in case King forgot, Carolyn McCarthy ran on Gun Control which is a national issue and she won and keeps winning.

And FYI Peter, the Nassau County budget problems existed in the early 1990's when YOU were the County Comptroller.

King Forgets Who He Supported for President, Takes Completely Opposite Position

I think it is because King likes to hear himself talk that most times he just says dumb things. In a comment to the NYSun about Senator Joe Lieberman being picked as McCain's VP, King says Lieberman is the right choice "Rep. Peter King, a Long Island Republican, said social conservatives are making a mistake by opposing Mr. Lieberman, arguing that the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee could help deliver Mr. McCain the election in November. While ardent abortion foes have said the "pro-life" principle is too important to give up for the sake of political pragmatism, Mr. King turned the argument on its head, saying that electing an anti-abortion president in Mr. McCain outweighs the risk of a more conservative vice presidential pick that would ultimately lose to Senator Obama in November.
""They would be the ones morally responsible for electing a pro-choice president," Mr. King said of Mr. Lieberman's right-wing critics in an interview with The New York Sun yesterday."

So, King is OPPOSED to elected a pro-choice president.
So why did he support Guiliani for president. Rudy has always been pro-choice.
King wants his party that has very few principles give up on it's remaining principle just like King does just to get elected.

King Supports Off-Shore Oil Drilling.. on Long Island

I knew King supported off-shore drilling but like his support for Nuclear Power plants, I figured he'd be against it here.
Surprise, surprise.
King supports drilling in the waters off Long Island.
He appeared Friday on FOX News' 'Your World with Neil Cavuto.' Here is King in his own words:
"ASMAN: Let me ask you specifically, personally, there's the NIMBY factor here, not in my back yard. Are you even for drilling off the coast of New York?

KING: Absolutely.
And, listen, we can't be saying somebody else always has to do it. I have absolutely no problem at all, because today's drilling is so environmentally sensitive and safe, and what's at stake here is far too important.
We're talking about, really, taking on Islamic terrorism. We can't allow ourselves to be held hostage to countries which could become enemies tomorrow."

Yeah, today's drilling is so "environmentally sensitive and safe." Just ask Norway which had it's second worst spill in history a few months ago; "...the spill was estimated at 3,840 cubic meters of oil, which corresponds to 24,154 barrels of oil."

Happy Fourth of July and 'Why I Do This"

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and enjoyable Independence Day.

I am often attacked and derided by those I post about on my websites. They don't like that I am watching what they are doing and letting others know how their elected officials are doing or not doing the people's work.
To those who believe that Freedom of Speech should not extend to factual criticism of the government, I will continue like The Albany Project and Daily Kos and so many others do and use my voice and my right to speak up.

I offer the poem 'First they came...' written by Pastor Martin Niemöller:

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

King Gets Hypocritical on Illegal Irish ex-IRA fugitive

King is all about protecting the borders, no amnesty for illegals and taking a hardline on law-breakers... unless of course they are ex-IRA gunmen here in the US.
The Brownsville Texas Herald reports that IRA fugitive from justice Pol Brennan was arrested at the Sarita checkpoint. Border Patrol agents caught him with an expired work permit. He was denied bail and held at a detention facility.
King comes to Brennan's defense "My experience dealing with (Irish) republicans is that they don't jump bail in this country. They honor their commitments. Based on my experience, and also the republican movement's commitment to the peace process, I think he should get bail."

Brennan already proved himself untrustworthy when he BROKE OUT OF PRISON 25 years ago!!!!!
Exactly what "committment" did Brennan "honor" then?????

And what does the peace process in Ireland have to do with a former IRA gunman here on an expired work visa?
Brennan "had been serving a 23-year sentence at the prison after being convicted of possessing a bomb and a firearm." when he broke out of prison 25 years ago.
Just an innocent Irish lad trying to get by in this world right Peter?

Why was Brennan allowed to stay here in the first place? He was a terrorist.
Why is King once again defending a terrorist?

"In April, Texas immigration judge Howard Achtsam rejected Brennan's bail petition because he deemed Brennan a flight risk and a danger to society."

More background from the article "For much of the 1980s and ‘90s, while being pursued by British authorities, Brennan lived quietly under the name Pol Morgan, and worked in the construction industry throughout the United States. He was arrested in 1994, and fought a lengthy battle against extradition. During the fight, he spent three years in Bay Area prisons.
But in 2000, the British government withdrew requests for Brennan and other participants of the 1983 Maze prison break as a part of the Belfast Agreement. The agreement normalized relations between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom."

The Belfast Telegraph reports "US authorities have known about Brennan’s whereabouts since the FBI arrested him in Berkley, California in 1993.
Although Britain dropped its seven-year drive to have Brennan extradited in 2000, Department of Homeland Security prosecutors now want him deported because he entered the US using a phony name months after the escape."

Peter King is Lying to You... Again and Again

This is really getting old. King seems to have a running battle with the truth.
In his new "Special Report from Washington" mailing, King writes about him fighting "gas price increases." In this he just plain lies to his constituents that got the mailing last week.
King writes "Drill for oil in Alaska. This can be done without damaging the environment and would provide us with as many barrels of oil as we currently buy from Saudi Arabia."

First lets start with the fact that it would take a few years before we see any oil from Alaska with new drilling. This does nothing to gas prices.
Second, and most importantly the lie, King wants you to believe that the drilling will provide the same amount of oil as we get from the Saudi's. That of course is completely false.
The US uses about 20 million barrels per day at current usage levels. Drilling in Alaska would yield about 2 million barrels per day and provide ZERO barrels in less than 25 years at that level. Increase production and the window shrinks.

King also wants off-shore drilling. How would you feel with an oil platform off the coast of Long Island?

Oh and for a point of fact, we get a larger percentage of oil from Canada than we do Saudi Arabia.

King Gets Beat Up in the Post Letters Page

Last week King wrote a delusional attack on the media for reporting on Vito Fossella.
The letters page in the Post is usually far-right friendly. Not this time.
"May 23, 2008 -- THE ISSUE: How the media covered the Fossella scandal and news that he won't run for reelection.

'Do you mean to tell me that Mark Foley, David Vitter and Larry Craig shouldn't have gotten strict press scrutiny ("Vito Fossella and the Press," Peter King Post Opinion, May 21)?

They all violated a sacred trust.

Leading a duplicitous second life, Vito Fossella has embarrassed his poor wife and family.

Peter King, ever the lawyer, tries to mitigate the damage Fossella has done by blaming the press.

Maybe if his friend had acted like an honorable human being, King's article wouldn't have been necessary.

Bob Jennings
Larchmont'

--------------------------

'Is King for real? Does he honestly expect the public to feel his pain because his good friend, Fossella, was not only busted with a DUI but also had a spare family stashed away in Virginia?

King whines about unfair media coverage, but he was quite vocal in expressing his displeasure when Eliot Spitzer and Bill Clinton's extra-marital shenanigans dominated the headlines for weeks on end.

If Fossella had been a Democrat, King would be demanding his head on a plate.

Sharon Rutman
Far Rockaway'

--------------------------

'The Post and the other newspapers are covering this story because it's news, and people are interested.

Build a bridge and get over it.

William Beran
Norwalk, Conn."

Peter King for Vice-President?????

Thankfully I wasn't drinking anything when I read this.
The National Review Online blog 'The Corner' has this from contributor John J. Miller:
"I recently asked a prominent House Republican who should be McCain's running mate. His answer, without a moment of hesitation: Rep. Pete King of NY. The idea is that the election will hinge on Midwestern Catholic blue-collar voters of the type who reject Obama, are willing to vote for Hillary, and are of mixed mind about McCain. They'd love King, a 64-year-old pro-lifer who would connect with them far better than just about anybody else who is likely to end up on either ticket. He also supported McCain in 2000 and McCain values loyalty. So that's the theory. I'm not saying I'm for it or against it. But it was the most interesting veep suggestion I've heard in a while."

Why do I get the feeling that the "prominent House Republican" was Peter King in glasses and a fake mustache?

When the Midwestern Catholic blue-collar voters find out King was a supporter of terrorism for years prior to 9/11 there won't be any 'love."

Peter King is Truly the King of Hypocrites

It's simply amazing that someone like Peter King with his past ties to terrorists and his almost innate ability to speak out of both sides of his mouth gets elected.
King writes an op-ed for the New York Post today going way off the rails in his defense of his buddy Vito Fossella.
Lets start with the simple fact that King was the first out of the gates attacking Eliot Spitzer and calling for him to resign. With Vito the drunk driver, King wanted everyone to shut up and give Vito some space.
King writes in the Post "... it's time to examine how the media conducted themselves during this entire matter."
So it's the medias fault for Fossellas legal and moral problems???
King always LOVES to blame the media.

"... did Fossella's transgressions really warrant endless days of front-page coverage with color photos? Was this saga that much more newsworthy than the more than 100,000 innocent people who were killed in Myanmar or whatever number of New Yorkers who were murdered, raped or robbed during this time?"

Yes Peter, it did. A member of congress who is "Mr. Family Values", Fossella turns out to be a drunk driver and the father of his girlfriends child.
That's not news?
You bet it's news and FYI, the local papers DID cover Myanmar and other news.

King says of the DWI "The DWI charge against him, though a first offense, is a serious matter and must be dealt with by the courts."

I'm going to go with "first time he got caught." It is highly unlikely that Vito one day decides to get smashed and beyond recognition and then drive. He has undoubtedly done it before and would have done it again if not caught.

King rails at the media "Objective journalists would look at the entire person and not present a trivialized, prurient caricature."
Kinda like how King treated Spitzer???

And King tries to be a character witness "... I went with Vito and his wife Mary Pat to a low-income Catholic neighborhood in West Belfast, where we met with a bunch of Irish kids who'd never before encountered a guy called Vito. He couldn't have been more gracious or cordial - talking, smiling and posing for pictures with kid after kid."

So?
A few years later, Vito went on taxpayer-funded trips with his girlfriend and got her pregnant.
And isn't a little insulting to say that the West Belfast kids are so backwards, the name "Vito" is something to marvel at?
But seriously, what does this paragraph mean?

King concludes this the only way he knows how: Arrogant Hubris with a HUGE helping of Hypocricy.
"Bottom line: Vito Fossella is a good man - and far better than many of his self-right- eous detractors."

No Peter, Vito Fossella cheated on his wife, lied to his girlfriend, was not going to ever publically acknowledge his daughter and used taxpayers funded trips for romantic getaways.
Fossella is not better than anyone else and he certainly is not a "good man."
And neither are you.

King's Drunk Driving Buddy Fossella Will Not Seek Re-Election

Fossella has decided not to seek re-election.
This is still a far cry from resigning like King demanded Spitzer do.

From the Staten Island Advance..
"May 20, 2008
To the Constituents of the 13th Congressional District:

After a great deal of consideration, I have made the decision not to
seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives this
November. This choice was an extremely difficult one, balanced
between my dedication to service to our great nation and the need to
concentrate on healing the wounds that I have caused to my wife and
family.

For over 10 years, I have had the distinct privilege of representing
the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn. I have been humbled by their
support and honored to represent them in Congress. Over the years, we
have achieved many great things that have helped make our community
and this country a better place to live - from closing the Fresh Kills
Landfill, to saving Fort Hamilton, to helping New York cope with the
pain and recover from the 9/11 attacks. I am extremely proud of these
and other achievements and the fact that our work has made a positive
difference in the lives of so many people.

It is for this reason that I will continue to serve you and our
community for the duration of my term, which will expire on January 3,
2009.

Despite the personal mistakes I have made, I am touched by the
outpouring of support and encouragement I have received from so many
people. Their kind words and prayers during this difficult time mean
more to me than I can express. And while many have urged me to run for
re-election, I believe this course of action is best for my family and
our community.

Representing the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn has been the
most rewarding professional experience of my life. I am forever
grateful to all those I have had the honor to serve.

Sincerely

Vito J. Fossella
Member of Congress"

Gee, I guess to Vito his daughter is now a "mistake." He's in the running for Father of the Year.

Is King Playing Stupid about Fossella's Girlfriend?

King tells the Staten Island Advance "No one knew anything about this child or this woman."

That kinda contradicts the NY Post story "Rep. Vito Fossella's Air Force mistress was so distracted by their affair that she couldn't perform her official duties on a junket they attended - so the top aide to then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert reported her to the Pentagon, he claims."
"At the end of the trip, it became obvious that . . . they were doing something more than briefing each other," said another staffer on the trip."

And Vito's best-buddy Peter knew absolutely nothing.
Right.

Is King Lying About What He Knew About Fossella?

King has said that "I'm certainly pretty close to Vito. I had never heard of Laura Fay. I certainly didn't know anything about the child. We would be with each other a lot. I never saw him drink too much, I never heard him talk about other women, I never heard him say anything but positive things about his family."

Really?

The NY Daily News is reporting that Vito's romance was not a big secret "They were spending a lot of time together, and they had just met," a source who traveled with them said. ". . . . All of a sudden, they were inseparable."

The source said their attraction was obvious, and they soon become more daring, sneaking off together in the after-hours and skipping official functions when the delegation moved on to Italy and finally Portugal."

It was in Granada, Spain, the last stop of the trip, that the lovers began flaunting their affair, sources said.

Several top congressional officials first noticed the couple snuggling and kissing there, according to a source who was on the trip, once again led by Hastert.

"We had a weekend in Granada at the end of the trip," the source said. "That's when people began to notice Vito and Laura acting very affectionately.

"They showed up late together for a tour of the [Moorish fortress of] Alhambra, and they were walking together," the source said.

Word about the affair spread, and Republican officials soon became concerned, fearing it would be exposed, sources said."

Oh and here is the "good guy" as King calls him... "Fossella repeatedly lied to Fay, telling her he had separated from his wife, Mary Pat, his former high school sweetheart and the mother of his three children in Staten Island, a source said.

Fay only realized the extent of his deception when he confessed to fathering a love child last week, but made no mention of leaving his wife."

Is King lying to cover for his pal Vito?
Was King covering for Vito for years?

King the Hypocrite Just Keeps Going - Support for Fossella Sends King Over the Edge

It's just amazing what comes out of Kings mouth. In the Washington Post, King comes out swinging against the media for reporting the story "The media in New York has become Vito's enemy," he said, singling out the New York Daily News and the New York Post. He says while he acknowledges there are serious issues, they "don't warrant eleven days of front-page stories with color pictures of his kids and his wife."

Drunk driving, mistress, hidden child is not worth eleven days of stories? What is he kidding?
Fossella was a moralizing asshole, standing atop the "family values" soapbox attacking others lifestyles. Of course this is news.

And King's reasoning for Vito not resigning? "despite all that's swirling around him right now...Vito could win in November. He's extremely popular there. He has to decide what that could do to his family."

I guess King is missing the bigger story now where it looks like Vito and his goomah went on taxpayer paid trips together. "Democratic and GOP congressional officials are scrutinizing Rep. Vito Fossella's mysterious and pricey January 2003 trip to France, the Daily News has learned.
He was the sole lawmaker authorized to go - and his mistress is suspected of joining him. The Staten Island Republican visited La Hague, France, supposedly on a "fact-finding" mission."

When it all comes down to it, I think King doth protest too much.
If you know what I mean.

King Stands Behind Fossella the DWI Adulterer

It was no suprise that King would come out and demand the resignation of DEMOCRAT Eliot Spitzer but support REPUBLICAN Vito Fossella.
King was up in arms over Spitzer and was one of the more vocal and vicious attackers. Now with Fossella, he is in a very forgiving mood. King is even angry that other republicans are ready to cut Vito loose... "To me, it's putting a knife in the back of a good guy who's made a mistake."
Yeah, "a mistake."
Which "mistake" is King talking about?
1) Drunk Driving with a .17 BAC
2) Adultery
3) Out of wedlock child

King who was relentless about Spitzer is a big cuddly bear about Fossella "King said Republicans "who are supposed to be his friends" should be giving the Staten Island-Brooklyn Republican "the time and opportunity to make that decision" -- whether to resign, to serve out his term but leave afterward or to stay in office and seek another term -- "himself."
"He's entitled to an interval of decency without having this constant pressure coming from his own party," King said of his friend charged with drunken driving in a Virginia suburb."

King has been trying to split hairs saying Spitzer "broke the law" by hiring a prostitute... so what exactly is blowing a .17 BAC? Oh yeah, "a mistake."
And FYI, Adultery is illegal in Virginia.
And how is Vito a "good guy" when he cheated on his wife and had a child with his girlfriend?
Where was Vito going to be when the child grows up? Would he have been a part of her life? Would he ever have publically acknowledged her as his daughter?
No Peter, Fossella has not been a "good guy." And I doubt if he hadn't been caught, he would never have been a "good guy" to his daughter.

Remember, Fossella whole-heartedly supported the Defense of Marriage Act and then voted for a Constitutional Amendment that would enshrine anti-gay legislation denying same-sex couples from getting married. Because, you know, he wants to defend the "sanctity of marriage" and all that.

King tells NewsRadio880 "When he is trying to put things back together, trying to alleviate some of the pain, there is no need for people in his own party to be adding to that. He doesn't need them to tell him he has to make a decision. He knows he has to make a decision,"
What is the "pain?" That he now has to acknowledge his child?
And last week, he was feeling no pain as he partied hard and decided he was okay to drive.

And King's defense of Vito on WCBS "I'm certainly pretty close to Vito. I had never heard of Laura Fay. I certainly didn't know anything about the child. We would be with each other a lot. I never saw him drink too much, I never heard him talk about other women, I never heard him say anything but positive things about his family."

So what we get from this is that either King is lying or Fossella spent no time with his daughter and one night last week decided for the first time ever that after drinking all night he would drive drunk.

King is also saying that Rep. John Boehner, the republican leader in the House is suddenly NOT not supporting Fossella "He goes, 'no, no, I didn't,' " King said, referring to Boehner. He said Boehner added: "That's not at all what I meant."

In the end, King can't even say if he has an opinion on his DWI friend "I probably do but I'm not going to say it now."

King Votes Against Mothers

So much for Happy Mothers Day from Peter King and the House Republicans..

H RES 1113 Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother’s Day

House Vote #275 --- May 7, 2008

Ayes: 237 (55%)
Nays: 178 (41%)

Nay King, Peter [R]

King is Being a Hypocrite... Again.

A few months ago when news broke that NY Governor Eliot Spitzer hired a call-girl, King was one of the first out of the gates with a call for resignation. "He's going to have to resign...At one level, it has to do with his integrity and his personal morality, but I don't even want to go into that. Without even touching on that, he has to resign.
One of the reasons "To leave himself open to blackmail — putting himself and the state in a compromised position like that — it's just awful."

Today after we learn that Fossella not only had a BAC of .17 double the legal limit, drove almost 10 miles drunk, and lied to the police officers but he was headed to the home of the mother of his child. That mother not being his wife.
What does King say about Fossella? "Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who said he was one of Fossella’s closest friends in Congress, said the political future of his New York colleague can be dealt with in due time. “What happens politically can be decided later,” King said. “Right now all we should be thinking about is what is best for him and his family.”

How very forgiving of King. Another line of attack on Spitzer from King was that Spitzer was "self-righteous or unforgiving."

Here is Vito on his support for President Clintons impeachment " . . Earlier today, one of my colleagues said that this would be the most divisive issue since the Vietnam War. While he may believe that to be true, I take strong exception with that, and I'll tell you why. Men and women were sent overseas like every other war or military conflict since our nation's birth, to defend the rule of law, the notions of personal freedom and individual liberty.

And in the case before us today, we're asking a simple question: "Did the president of the United States violate any of those rules of law that we cherish and that so many men and women have died for and are willing to die for at every point around the globe?"

I don't want to be here today, like so many of my colleagues. But the generations of Americans yet unborn must look back on this day in this matter, in this situation, and see this as our finest hour. . . . Reluctantly, I am here. I proudly, though, support this resolution."

Peter King Wishes You an English-Only Happy Fifth of May

yes he does.