[UPDATE] In honor of Troglopundit’s request for respect for the KISS principle, here goes:

Fred Weiderhold quit rather than tell Congress he was under Biden’s thumb.

If you don’t have time to read the report that apparently triggered the Weiderhold matter (said report is also available via Senator Grassley’s office, as part of his ongoing investigation) – or even Stacy McCain’s article – here’s a quick timeline.

• June 18, 2009: Fred Weiderhold, Inspector General for Amtrak, receives a report from a third-party legal firm indicating that Amtrak’s Law Department’s oversight of the Office of the Inspector General resulted in a situation where (as Grassley’s letter put it) “Amtrak’s policies and procedures have systematically violated the letter and spirit of the Inspector General Act.” The firm recommends that Congress be notified, either at the next semiannual report or immediately.
• June 18, 2009 (evening): Weiderhold resigns.

Well, sometimes the story isn’t complex.  Please read on – but one last summary detail: the General Counsel for Amtrak is Eleanor Acheson, who is well-connected with the Biden family.

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Much as I hesitate to argue with my colleague Brian Faughnan on the Obey/Waters fracas… it is possible that she may not be at fault here. Obey’s been showing more and more of a temper over the last few years. There was the yelling match that he got into with antiwar protesters in 2007:

See also here.

I don’t know if this is going to be an isolated incident, in other words.

Moe Lane

If you don’t have time to read this letter from Rep. Joe Barton, or watch the video below:

…let me summarize:

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Literally.

I’ve read the Constitution several times, but I’ve never seen the part that says that elected officials are allowed to physically assault people who’d like to ask questions. Like, say, about his questionable earmark habits:

Congressman Alan Grayson has had a close relationship with the civil rights group for which he tried to get hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. As WDBO first reported, the freshman Representative requested $350,000 for the Florida Civil Rights Association, despite its history of controversy, and being run by a man the state says is not trustworthy enough to be a bail bondsman.
(H/T: the NRCC)

Finding the constraints demanded by the dignity of the office too much to bear, Rep. Grayson? Because that’s easily fixed.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

I have no particular love for NY Governor David Paterson, given that he had to start his tenure as Governor by mentioning the adultery that he had somehow forgotten to mention to the voters up to that point – but that being said, this was funny:

Gov. David Paterson just put the kibosh on the Senate Democrats’ plans to leave the Capitol tonight, warning that he will sic the State Police on them and try to dock their pay if they don’t show up for the extraordinary session – the third so far this week – he’s calling for 3 p.m. tomorrow.

[snip]

Paterson said “it offends me personally” to hear talk by some senators (“I won’t name any names”) that they don’t really mind being forced to return to Albany day after day because they get to collect their per diems while they’re in town.

The governor said he’s going to ask the state comptroller, and direct the state treasurer (We have one of those?), to “withhold any paychecks or any per diem checks from June 8 forward,” adding: “If you’re not coming to work, you’re not getting paid.”

At least one state Senator (Kevin Parker) reacted to the news that his allowance was being threatened by declaring that this was bull[expletive deleted], that the Governor couldn’t do that, and then sulkily storming off to his room to blast out the most offensive music on his iPod.

Amazingly, I only made one of those three things up.

Anyway, more here and here: there’s supposed to be a session today, and it’s yet to be seen whether the Democratic state senators are going to be needing a timeout or not.

Moe Lane

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First off, this is what the White House considers a ‘dialogue:’

…the rest of us, of course, would call it a “lecture.” One of the funny things about dialogues is that it’s more or less assumed that both sides are prepared to change their minds if necessary.

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Michael Williams, current Texas Railroad Commissioner* and candidate for Senate, is doing a multi-part survey of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill currently before Congress. He’s up to Part III (see also Part I & Part II, of course), and here’s what he’s hoping to accomplish with it:

Democrats in Congress, joined with the Obama administration, are proceeding along parallel tracks to impose CO2 regulations so sweeping as to become the most expensive and expansive environmental reach of government into the lives of American families, businesses and consumers in history.

In May, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill that is designed to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming. The full House could complete action on the bill within the next two weeks.

[snip]

The prospect for cap and trade is less certain in the Senate and the EPA, while poised to finalize its landmark finding, has not done so, yet. If enough Americans band together, we can still protect the American economy, jobs, and incomes from undue and unnecessary CO2 regulations.

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If you’re into science fiction at all, you’ve probably come across the concept of the Puppet Masters: creatures, usually alien (although sometimes demonic), that insidiously take over people and make them into organic robots with no free will or volition. Staple of the genre, in fact – but one thing that never really got addressed in the books or movies is what happened to long-term victims of the insidious mental parasites, once the control had been removed. Sure, the hero or heroine always snapped back, but they were usually only mind-controlled for several hours or weeks, tops. What would a puppet who had been ridden for thirty years look like, once that rider was removed?

Probably much like this:

The Bay State senator was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the “bizarre’’ tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had “disappeared for four days’’ and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts.

“Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’

[Via Hot Air: bolding mine]

…Yes. Yes, she is Governor of Alaska, Senator. Well done!

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

(Via Instapundit) What the frak is going on with the Cap and Trade bill is that it’s being shepherded through Congress by a government that is:

• dominated by one political party;
• controlled by one wing of that political party, mostly because they are senior (and senior because they are ideologues from safe seats);
• largely unconcerned with addressing the concerns, honoring the ideals, and/or valuing the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation.

I hope that this helps clear up any lingering confusion.

Moe Lane

PS: I note that Paul Blumenthal’s post quoted Chris Bowers. I know how the latter voted in the last election; I’m curious as to how the former did. After all, it’d be a shame to include Blumenthal in the standard Elections have consequences comment if he actually had nothing to do with compounding the problem…

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

LA-03: Cook has it at R+12, and McCain took the district with 61% of the vote in 2008. Its current incumbent Charlie Melancon is widely believed to be planning to challenge Senator Vitter next year, but the NRCC is going to be whaling on this one any which way:

In recent months, the NRCC had been ratcheting up the pressure on the three-term Congressman with a radio and print media campaign challenging his claims of being a fiscal conservative and criticizing him for his votes on issues such as the economic stimulus bill. In addition, the committee has continually promised to put up a well-known, well-funded challenger in 2010 regardless of whether Melancon opts to leave the House behind.

With Melancon’s jump to the Senate race now seen as likely, the committee believes it has an even better shot of flipping a district that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won with 61 percent in 2008.

“After months of being confronted with negative ads and hostile crowds, it seems clear that Charlie Melancon has decided he’d rather risk losing statewide than be defeated for re-election,” NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay said Monday. “This is a district that has trended more conservative while Melancon has become more liberal.”

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Admittedly, Ensign’s taken one heck of a drop, but he’s still at least more liked than disliked.

Favorable / Unfavorable
Sen. Ensign (R): 39 / 37 (May 12-14: 53 / 18)
Sen. Reid (D): 34 / 46

Job Approval/Disapproval
Reid: 43 / 55
Ensign: 48 / 45

Jim Geraghty thinks that Reid should try having an affair; I will not be cruel and write the first three things that come to mind*. I will however, note that the Presidential numbers:

Favorable / Unfavorable
Pres. Obama: 49 / 32
Job Approval/Disapproval
Obama: 47% Excellent/Good, 50% Fair/Poor

…seem a bit weak for somebody who won Nevada 55/43.

Moe Lane

*But not the fourth: “Nobody needs shoes that bad.”

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Like Lakeshore Laments, back in April I commented on the fairly obvious results of banning phosphates in Washington state (here and here): short version is, you end up with people driving out of state to get products that work and snarky conservatives pointing out to libertarians that elections have consequences.

Well, guess that we’ll have to do that again: only this time, it’ll involve people from Wisconsin.  Which this time includes Lakeshore Laments, whom I’m pretty sure does not need to be told the bit on consequences:

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It turns out that former Amtrak IG Fred Wiederhold quit right after Senator Grassley started asking some questions.

As a senior member of the United States Senate and as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance (Committee), it is my duty under the Constitution to ensure that Inspectors General, which were created by Congress, are permitted to operate without political pressure or interference from their respective agencies.  Inspectors General were designed for the express purpose of combating waste, fraud, and abuse and to be independent watchdogs ensuring that federal agencies were held accountable for their actions.  I understand that Inspector General Fred Weiderhold, Jr. has retired today.

Based on contacts that my staff had with Mr. Weiderhold on two recent occasions (April 2, 2009 and June 4, 2009), I understand that the OIG has suffered from repeated and continuous interference from the agency.  After the most recent discussion, it was agreed that the OIG would provide, among other things, a White Paper and specific examples of agency interference with OIG audits and/or investigations.  To date, the OIG has not yet provided any documents.  As you know, any interference such as that was described in these previous discussions is a direct violation of the Inspector General Act of 1978.

In light of Mr. Weiderhold’s unexpected retirement, please provide the previously requested documentation immediately.

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[UPDATE] AoSHQ thinks it’s a coup, and has its own suggestion for a resolution.

Because either the NY Senate Democrats are trying something sneaky…

Democrats in the Chamber! (But Still No Agreement)

ALBANY—Most the Democrats in the State Senate have barricaded themselves in the chamber.

[snip]

The Democrats arrived around 12:30. It’s unclear what’s going on. All the doors are locked, and journalists as well as Republican staffers cannot get in.

…or they’re acting like kids…

Republicans ‘Legislate’ as Democrats Sit in Silence

ALBANY–Now Republicans have entered the Senate chamber and are reading bills and ostensibly passing them as Democrats do nothing.

The remainder of the 62 senators entered the chamber around 2:30, and the lights went on. State Senator George Winner, an Elmira Republican, attempted to take he dais. He was blocked by a deputy sergeant at arms, who said he was acting on the orders of Senate Secretary Angelo Aponte.

Without hesitating, Winner walked to the area below the chamber, said the Pledge of Allegiance (the Dems didn’t say anything) and began moving through an active list of local bills and extenders. The bills were read, the roll was called, and as Democrats sat silently, Republican parliamentarian Jack Casey said the bills were passed, 62-0.

…or (probably) both.

ENOUGH OF THIS!

SIXTY-TWO ENTER!
THIRTY-ONE LEAVE!
SIXTY-TWO ENTER!
THIRTY-ONE LEAVE!
SIXTY-TWO ENTER!
THIRTY-ONE LEAVE!

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

The video is via here:

…and is in Farsi, obviously, which neither Allahpundit nor I speak.  The Jawa Report has more; the translations that exist so far are problematical.  Allahpundit goes on to say:

I realize that aside from Tapper and a few people at Fox virtually no one in big media reads our site, but I’d like to think we have enough of an audience to collectively figure out what’s going on here. Any Farsi speakers/Iran experts willing and able to help? I’m 90% sure this can’t be as significant as it seems, but the 10% chance makes it worth investigating.

So if you have the right skill set, contact either him or the Jawas.

Moe Lane

Question: What do these two stories have in common?

Iran Unrest Reveals Split In U.S. on Its Role Abroad

[snip]

Obama’s approach to Iran, including his assertion that the unrest there represents a debate among Iranians unrelated to the United States, is an acknowledgment that a U.S. president’s words have a limited ability to alter foreign events in real time and could do more harm than good. But privately Obama advisers are crediting his Cairo speech for inspiring the protesters, especially the young ones, who are now posing the most direct challenge to the republic’s Islamic authority in its 30-year history.

[Via The Campaign Spot]

US says hot dog diplomacy still on with Iran

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters.

President Barack Obama’s administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

[Via Weasel Zippers, via Hot Air]

Answer: Both demonstrate that the administration’s only real focus on any issue is its effect on domestic policy.

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Those being the four states that are not running a deficit right now. The relative sizes of the rest can be seen via this handy visual tool:

Via @MelissaTweets

I’d make more commentary on this, except that I can sum it up as stop spending money you don’t have, you idiots. And that is one of those binary things: people either already get that, or they don’t. Either way, there’s not much point for follow-up material. I will note, though, that the ‘top’ five deficit-ridden states (who make up 52% of the total deficit, interestingly enough) have one thing in common: their state legislatures are all dominated by Democratic politicians*.

Yes. Shocking.

Moe Lane

*With the sort-of exception of New York’s; their State Assembly is run by Democrats, and their Senate is currently being run by nobody at all…

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

The subject: This administration’s lack of transparency!

The spokesperson for the Left: Jane Hamsher, of FireDogLake!

The battle:

…called on account of mutual agreement, more or less.

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(Via, obviously, Fausta’s Blog) Mostly on Iran, and may I be proven wrong on all of it after tomorrow’s press conference. Just don’t ask me if I do anything more than hope.

I think that they’ve fixed the autoload problem on this.

(The book being referenced is You Can Do Anything, Daddy, which was MoeLane.com’s Book of the Week because I got it for Father’s Day.)

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Real quick summary: the FTC wants to keep an eye on blogs to see whether we’re trading favorable reviews of products for financial reward – which doesn’t sound so bad, until you consider that this apparently includes things like Amazon Associates links.

But they would need to think twice if, for instance, they praise parenting books they’ve just read and include links to buy them at a retailer like Amazon.com Inc.

That’s because the guidelines also would cover the broader and common practice of affiliate marketing, in which bloggers and other sites get a commission when someone clicks on a link that leads to a purchase at a retailer. In such cases, merchants also would be responsible for actions by their sales agents – including a network of bloggers.

Going down the list:

• Ed Morrissey suspects a political aspect.  The administration’s reputation precedes them, you see.
• James Joyner doesn’t suspect a political aspect, but he used the word ‘insane’ a lot.
• Aaron Brazell apparently thinks that this is an appropriate extension of existing marketing rules, and that affiliate marketing is ‘borderline seditious’ anyway. Err, OK?
• Daily Danet mentions that he’s not getting any of this sweet, sweet blogger swag. Something that popped into my head, too*.
• And I’m guessing that this is going to be Glenn Reynold’s roundup post. Might as well link to it now.

My personal opinion?  The FTC doesn’t have to want to muck up our lives in order to successfully muck them up.  Always assume that any regulation or law that can be used inappropriately will be used inappropriately, whether or not malice was intended.

Also: buy stuff at Amazon Associates. While you still can!

Moe Lane

*I got a used copy of a book mailed to me once so that I could be up to speed for a conference call. Whoopee.

Crossposted at Moe Lane.