Pennsylvania

Office of Congressional Ethics clears the biggest offenders of breaking bribery and accepting gifts. The ethics committee is still investigating and no word on Marcy's status on OCE's investigation. Marcy and the other reps are still not out of the woods yet. The Hill, Washington Post, and Roll Call have the latest.
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Washington Post is reporting Marcy Kaptur is one of the seven being investigated for her ties to the PMA Group in the PMA Scandal. To see the full history, please check out the link to the right.
http://swampbubbles.com/person-or-thing-interest/pma-scandal
According to the Post, Kaptur was interviewed last week about her activities.

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[DOCID: f:publ089.107]

[[Page 115 STAT. 876]]

Public Law 107-89
107th Congress

Joint Resolution

Amending title 36, United States Code, to designate September 11 as
Patriot Day. <>

Whereas on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four civilian
aircraft, crashing two of them into the towers of the World Trade
Center in New York City, and a third into the Pentagon outside
Washington, D.C.;

Whereas the fourth hijacked aircraft crashed in southwestern

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.f2768f923ef8a8ad851412476690...

As US newspaper publishers mull charging readers on the Web, a Pennsylvania daily announced plans on Monday to put some content behind a pay wall.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said "PG+" would be a "members-only website with interactive features and exclusive content" available to subscribers for 36 dollars a year or for 3.99 dollars a month.

I highly recommend this article by historian Rick Perlstein of the Washington Post. Take note of the role the media has played by reporting on the wild claims made--a sort of he said, she said reporting,

I highly recommend this article by historian Rick Perlstein of the Washington Post. Take note of the role the media has played by reporting on the wild claims made--a sort of he said, she said reporting,

Last week, the Washington Post had a story discussing potential conflicts of interest of the members of the House ethics committee over its investigation of alleged earmark irregularities linked to the lobbying firm PMA Group. PMA has close ties to a number of Members of Congress, including the powerful chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.). It turns out that the 10 members of the ethics panel have requested a number of earmarks from Murtha’s subcommittee.

I decided to call all the Moderates in the Senate to voice my opinion of the Kennedy-Dodd HC bill, Cap and Trade, and the current fiscal responsibility. Here's my call list, in case you've got some free time and want to take a stab at swaying the vote your way.

Moderate DEMOCRATS
Evan Bayh, Indiana(202) 224-5623
Kent Conrad, North Dakota(202) 224-2043
Mary Landrieu, Louisiana(202) 224-5824
Joe Lieberman, Connecticut (Independent, but caucuses as a Democrat)(202) 224-4041
Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas(202) 224-4843
Ben Nelson, Nebraska(202) 224-6551

Let's see where this goes and will Marcy be investigated?
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The House ethics committee said in a statement released tonight that the panel is investigating the ties between a now defunct lobbying firm and members of Congress.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/06/11/house-ethics-committee-takes-up...

The House Ethics Committee is officially investigating the relationship between the defunct PMA Group and lawmakers -- including Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Penn.) and Peter Visclosky (D-Indiana).

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0609/Ethics_committee_reviewin...

Too funny not to post!

It was like a cross between an episode on MSNBC's Dateline: To Catch A Predator With Chris Hansen and a re-enactment of those heady days in 2006 when Republican Congressman Mark Foley was exposed as a child molester. Jane Orie is a far right extremist, an anti-choice fanatic and the Republican majority whip of the Pennsylvania state Senate. She represents a backward district north of Pittsburgh. And if you'd guess that she's obsessed with sex and is a virulent and hysterical homophobe you'd be correct.

Friday she fired one of her top aides, Alan David Berlin. The report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is almost funny if it weren't so tragically Republican. It starts off like typical GOP fare-- another Republican closet case solicits sex from a young boy (15 years old) online. But then it gets really strange.
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/06/whole-lot-of-yiffing-going-o...

Marcy has to be in a bad spot. She is now stuck in a very bad situation although if she took her own advice, she would advocate for an investigation. From CQPolitics:
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Swept into office partly on promises to end a “culture of corruption,” many potentially vulnerable Democratic newcomers are pressing House leaders to confront allegations of unethical conduct involving fellow Democrats.

According to Blue Rhino, Toledo is #30 in the country for cookouts. Leads all other Ohio cities. This may not be of much consolation to those who don't have a job.
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Los Angeles Tops the Charts as the Country’s #1 ‘Cookout Capital’

Blue Rhino Announces Annual List of Ideal Grilling Cities

Travel & Leisure II, Summer Outdoors
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Rhino, the leading brand of propane tank exchange, announces the ideal cities to grill in with the top 100 Cookout Capitals for 2009. This year, the nation's top Cookout Capital is Los Angeles.

What a happy "first 100 days" gift! The Republican Party is in a state of disarray as Arlen Spector comes full circle in his career as Senator of Pennsylvania and returns to the Democratic Party..
To me he will always be known as the sexual harasser of Anita HIll along with Clarence Thomas.

The Plumbers Union is steaming over the news that Joe the Plumber has been enlisted by groups opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act to campaign at a number of Pennsylvania rallies against the measure.

A Plumbers Union official tells me that Joe is “selling out real plumbers.” (cont.)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge's ruling that keeps Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr on the ballot will force Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama to take him seriously in a key battleground state, a Barr campaign spokesman said Monday.

A panel of Pennsylvania lawmakers plans to review the pending sale of one of the nation's largest nursing-home chains to a private equity firm, citing concerns about how patient care will be affected.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5282872.html