I am leaving Congress. Thank You for Being on My Team.

Today, with both sadness and excitement, I announced that I am leaving Congress in January to accept the position of President of the Center for Middle East Peace, a non-profit institute devoted to achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East

This decision was not easy: I love my job and my devoted staff, and have a long, close relationship with my constituents – many of whom I’ve served for nearly 20 years.

Throughout my 13 years in Congress, I sought to be an advocate for democratic values and provide a voice to vitally important progressive causes. Whether it was working to end the use of torture by the Bush Administration, fighting for a legitimate vote during election 2000, successfully pushing for a voter verified paper trail in Florida, or our shared quest for genuine accountability these last few years – I’m proud of the stands I’ve taken. I am even prouder to have had you standing with me.

Those who have followed my career know that in addition to the progressive causes I have championed, one of my overriding passions has been my work on the Foreign Affairs Committee helping to ensure the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel, and promoting a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab world.

While I regret that I will be unable to complete my current term in office, I truly believe we are at a unique and critically tense moment in the history of the Middle East and decisions made today will shape the world for years to come. There is no time to waste.

The work on issues of accountability did not start with me, nor will it end with me leaving office. This movement has always been driven by you – and your support for the vital causes we have worked on together.

One of the great lessons I learned in my time in Congress I learned from you - and it is this:
If you stand up for and defend the constitution and rule of law, you will gain the support of hundreds of thousands of citizens across the country.

Thank you for having being part of my team and, most especially, for being brave American patriots.

With warm regards,

Congressman Robert Wexler

Where's our money?

Last week, Ron Paul and I sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee about the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke.

Before he is confirmed for a second term, we think the Senate and American public should know who got the $2 trillion the Federal Reserve has lent out over the last two years. Only then will the Senate be able to judge whether he should keep his job.

It's important that the Senate hear from you. That's why we've launched UnmaskTheFed.com, an easy online tool to let you contact your Senators.

Visit UnmaskTheFed.com and ask your Senators to vote NO on Ben Bernanke's confirmation until the Federal Reserve comes clean on what it has done with OUR money.

It would simply be unreasonable for the Committee to confirm Bernanke to another term given how little is known about what he has actually done. Remember, Ben Bernanke didn't see the crisis coming and has added $1.2 trillion to the Fed's balance sheet through covert bailouts.

The Senate cannot hope to have a full debate over his record if nothing is public. That's why I'm asking them to refuse to move forward until Bernanke releases the following:

Information that Bloomberg reporter Mark Pittman has requested via a Freedom of Information Act Request on the Bear Stearns rescue and that the Federal Reserve is contesting in the courts.

Information I requested in February on which institutions received the additional $1.2 trillion, how much each institution received, and what was promised in return.

All Federal Reserve documents that went to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office relating to the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch merger in which potentially illegal and coercive activity might have occurred, as well as all Federal Reserve documents relating to the lawsuit pursued by Merrill Lynch shareholders in the U.S. District court for the Southern District of New York.

Transcripts of all Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes up to and including that of September 2009.

Full disclosure of all terms and conditions of all off-balance sheet Fed transactions in the past three years.

It's the Senate's responsibility under the Constitution to properly question and debate any of the President's nominees. Without these documents, I don't see any way they can live up to that responsibility. Help me make sure they do.

We deserve to know what the Fed did with OUR money. Click here to visit UnmaskTheFed.com and tell your Senators to vote NO on Ben Bernanke's confirmation until the Fed comes clean.

Thanks for what you do,

Alan Grayson
Member of Congress

Hope for Florida’s Budget: Curb Executive Compensation at Privatized Companies

From Representative Elaine J. Schwartz, Florida House District 99:

I have kept a promise that I made in April during a debate on the floor of the Florida House of Representatives' chamber. It was a promise to examine and review the compensation packages enjoyed by the executives of those companies that are awarded state contracts which provide services formerly held by state employees.

The promise was made in response to a bill that passed both the House and Senate, but was vetoed, thankfully, by Governor Charlie Crist. It mandated a decrease of 4 to 5 percent in salaries of most state employees.

There are considerably fewer state employees now than there were in 1998, when then-Governor Jeb Bush administration threatened to nearly put government out of business, and substitute it with private companies. In every aspect of state government, private companies headed by “privateers” with cushy perks have attempted to replace the lessening numbers of public servants.

Determining how much of our hard-earned taxpayer dollars are secreted away in the form of executive compensation for these private companies is a question that my district staff, interns and I have attempted to learn this summer.

It is especially urgent that streams of income be found immediately. In 2010, Florida is likely to face another tight state budget.

During the 2009 legislative session, the Republican leadership failed to design and implement new and fair revenue streams. Instead, they cut benefits to those who need services the most and tried to decrease state employee salaries. My fear for the coming session is that privatization will continue to suck the lifeblood out of our taxpayers. Privatization failed to save money or streamline government.

Some people believe that critical state services are best performed solely by private entities. Their rallying cry is that private companies are more efficient than government. To refute this point, one need only compare Medicare’s approximate 3 percent overhead with the 30-plus-percent overhead incurred by private insurance companies, as some researchers have indicated.

Let no one be mistaken or deceived when the ideas start flying next session. The true focus of privatization is not efficiency, it is profit. Unfortunately, favored private companies continue raking in huge sums of taxpayer money, especially when compared to the salaries of the state employees who previously performed these services.

My staff and I, with the help of Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink’s office, and the staff of numerous committees, councils and state agencies, have looked at executive salaries, perks, and compensation packages. Our findings went far beyond our worst expectations.

In many cases, it is impossible to determine how much the executives are earning proportionate to the value of their contract with the state. But our research brought to light one thing: these firms, especially their executives, are held accountable for very little and their work is insufficiently monitored. These contracts must be transparent and easily accessible.

I propose a mandatory revision of state contracts. All firms seeking to provide services to the state should have to disclose their executives’ compensation packages, and the information must be open to public review.

Meanwhile, I commend State Senators Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, and Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, for their proposals to limit automatic increases in privatized contracts.

I am hopeful that these and other reforms will bring crucially needed new oversight to state spending and improve the public’s confidence in our state government, while halting the drain on my precious resources – taxpayer dollars.

Sen. Ted Deutch Condemns Outrageous Actions of GOP Candidate

"In a nation that has a tragic history of violence against our leaders it is unconscionable that Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz's opponent would fire an assault rifle at a silhouette bearing her name.

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz is a dedicated public servant who has earned the respect of her constituents. She deserves far more than a halfhearted apology. The Republican Party of Florida should condemn this candidate in the strongest terms. Unfortunately, this is just the latest example of outrageous vitriol in our political discourse and it needs to stop."

Help me in my fight against nearshore drilling

I’m running for the state legislature because I believe voters want a Representative who is more in line with their Democratic values. As I speak with people throughout my district, they express their desire for change. They tell me they want someone who will fight to keep oil drilling away from Florida’s beaches. They want someone who will stand up for Florida’s working families when it matters most. And they want someone who believes that the best way to ensure equal pay for women is to include the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

My opponent was one of only two Democrats who voted to allow oil drilling as close as 3 miles from Florida shores. I believe that nearshore drilling poses too great a risk to our beaches and our $56 billion coastal tourism industry. I hope you’ll support me, so that District 9 residents will have a strong Democrat and a proven leader who will fight to protect our beaches and tourism business.

For more information about my candidacy, visit my campaign website at www.RickMinor.com.

Thank you for your support and I hope you can join us this evening,

Rick Minor
Democratic Candidate for State House, District 9

Statement of U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek on President Obama Winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek released the following statement after President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize:

“President Barack Obama is a transformational leader whose agenda for hope extends beyond our nation's borders. I witnessed the power of American diplomacy firsthand as a member of the U.S. Delegation that traveled with our Commander in Chief to the Summit of the Americas in April. Although he was the most junior statesman there, world leaders regarded him as the head of state most able to affect change in our hemisphere. The presidency is the most powerful position in the world and today the responsibility that comes with that office was only reinforced. President Obama's platform to make everlasting change for the better in our world just got bigger."

Eight Years Later

From Doug Tudor:

After eight years of combat operations in Afghanistan, “The Graveyard of Empires,” America needs to have a national conversation on our future in that hostile, unyielding country. To begin the conversation, I believe one point needs to be very clear: we were never supposed to go to war in Afghanistan. Instead, we were supposed to go into Afghanistan to topple the Taliban and kill or capture (K/C) the leadership of al Qaida. We succeeded at the first objective and partially succeeded at the second.

Eight years ago today, America invaded Afghanistan. Operation ENDURING FREEDOM was born. On November 12, 2001, Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, fell to our forces. The Taliban was in full retreat. Objective number one accomplished.

In December 2001, conventional wisdom holds that we had Osama bin Laden trapped in the complex series of caves and fortresses in Tora Bora. Due to political pressures and cultural sensitivities, it was decided that, instead of using America’s overwhelming military force, our Special Forces should combine their efforts with the militia of Afghan warlords Hazret Ali and Haji Zaman Ghamsharik. When our efforts at Tora Bora did not realize the mission of killing or capturing al Qaida’s top commanders, America should have redeployed our forces for another phase of operations intended to achieve the K/C objective.

Instead, as often happens in wartime, mission creep set in. We had troops within Afghanistan’s border, so we figured we needed to find a mission for them.

President Obama is currently reviewing our current mission in Afghanistan. If he were to ask me for advice, which he hasn’t (yet), I would tell the Commander-in-Chief this: Stop counter-insurgency operations and concentrate on counter-terrorism operations. In other words, leave Afghanistan to the Afghanis and concentrate on killing or capturing the leaders of al Qaida.

To me, it really is that simple. After eight years of combat operations abusing America’s military force which is stretched dangerously thin, let’s concentrate on capturing or killing the people who killed nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens on September 11, 2001. We cannot make Afghanistan a Jeffersonian democracy. We cannot abet thousands of years of ethnic and tribal conflicts. We CAN use the awesome technological and intelligence advantages America holds to kill or capture the leadership of al Qaida. Not to be cliché, but “Yes, We Can.”

If you agree with me, please Please Contribute to Our Grass Roots Campaign Now!. My only campaign promise is “I will always vote my conscience, no matter the politics of the issue.”

Thank you for all you have done, for all you are doing, and all you will do.

Your Brother, Doug

http://www.teamtudor.org