Quote of the Day

"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah."
President George W Bush

Quote of the Day

"A woman has got to love a bad man once or twice in her life, to be thankful for a good one."
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Quote of the Day

"When I thought I couldn't go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck."
Estee Lauder

Quote of the Day

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle

Frist Says He's Not Interested in Deals

I wonder if Frist, the admitted cat murderer, ever focuses outside of his own need for power (as murderers often do not)... even for a moment... to look in to the future when the tide turns and the dems are back in power?

Link: ABC News: Frist Says He's Not Interested in Deals.

Frist, in a rare news conference conducted on the Senate floor, said he would not accept any deal that keeps his Republican majority from confirming judicial nominees that have been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"My goal is to have fair up and down votes. Are we going to shift from that principle? The answer to that is no," Frist said.

That means he and Reid are still at deadlock, because Democrats have said they would not accept any deals that would permanently ban them from blocking Bush's nominees to the Supreme Court or the federal appellate courts, the top two tiers of the judicial system.

"As part of any resolution, the nuclear option must be off the table," said Reid, referring to the GOP threat to change the filibuster rules.

It Didn't Start With Tom DeLay | April 26, 2005�09:54:38

I hope this gets more play... but, it won't. Investigate them all!!! Screw it!

Link: CBS News | It Didn't Start With Tom DeLay | April 26, 2005�09:54:38.

The PoliticalMoneyLine study reviewed 5,410 trips taken by 605 members of the House and Senate. Democratic lawmakers had the edge, taking 3,025 trips, to 2,375 trips for GOP members.

The No. 1 trip-taker in dollar terms was Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Sensenbrenner took 19 trips valued at $168,000.

In contrast, DeLay finished 28th by taking 14 trips valued at $94,568.

Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., took the most trips - 63. But Ford's less expensive domestic jaunts only totaled $61,000.

Frist, Reid Work on Judge-Approval Deal

Well... it's come down to negotiating with the enemy... sad...

Link: Yahoo! News - Frist, Reid Work on Judge-Approval Deal.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is quietly talking to the Senate's chief Republican about confirming at least two of President Bush's blocked judicial nominees but only as part of a compromise that would require the GOP to end its threat to eliminate judicial filibusters, officials say.

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AP Photo

Reid also wants a concession from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, officials said speaking on condition of anonymity: the replacement of a third Michigan nominee with one approved by that state's two Democratic senators.

At the same time, these officials say Reid remains opposed to four conservative candidates for other appellate circuits, Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, William G. Myers III and William H. Pryor Jr.

Senators would not confirm details Monday, but Reid said that he has had had numerous conversations with senators in both parties in hopes of avoiding a showdown. "As part of any resolution, the nuclear option must be off the table," Reid said in a statement referring to the GOP threat to change filibuster rules.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing the confidential nature of the conversations between the two leaders.

But Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday there had been a "a lot of negotiations to try to get three judges from Michigan" confirmed. Other senators have referred vaguely in recent days to discussions surrounding Bush's nominations to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Michigan.

Quote of the Day

"Read books, listen to tapes, attend seminars - they are decades of wisdom reduced to invaluable hours."
Mark Victor Hansen

Quote of the Day

"It is white."
President George W Bush after being asked by a child in Britain what the White House was like.

Quote of the Day

"I have learned over the years that when ones mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."
Rosa Parks