Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Republicans: They're at it again!

1. Drilling
Raw Story is reporting that there will be a vote on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Here is an excerpt from Raw:
Republicans have inserted language into the budget bill that would allow drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge, RAW STORY has learned. The move would make the matter immune to filibuster, requiring only a simple majority to pass....
Call your senators office and tell them that we are taking names and we will let everyone know who votes to drill in the wildlife refuge.

2. Did Bush sign a bill that did not pass?
Raw has this also:
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has alleged in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card that President Bush signed a version of the Budget Reconciliation Act that, in effect, did not pass the House of Representatives.

Further, Waxman says there is reason to believe that the Speaker of the House called President Bush before he signed the law, and alerted him that the version he was about to sign differed from the one that actually passed the House. If true, this would put the President in willful violation of the U.S. Constitution....

3. Republicans stop bill for port security.
Despite the fact the Americans are asking for more secure ports, Republicans shot down Democratic efforts to push for oversight and security in foreign investments. Shame on the Republicans. ABC News has the story.
{Note: I learned that only 5% of the containers coming into our ports are inspected. I also found out that other places have a much higher rate. Hong Kong has a 100% container inspection rate. Why can't we do this?}

4. From the Houston Chronicle: PEW POLL: President Bush has an approval rating of 33%. Here is are some excerpts from the article:
...Several recent polls, including the AP-Ipsos poll, have found Bush's approval ratings in the 30s. The Pew poll found Bush's job approval at 33 percent, the lowest ever in that poll.
_Bush's approval on handling terrorism was at 42 percent, down 20 points from the start of his second term...