Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at the end of a campaign rally, aides said.
"The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred," Bhutto's lawyer Babar Awan said.![http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/ww/news/2007/12/27/bhutto2_big.jpg](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/ww/news/2007/12/27/bhutto2_big.jpg)
::::: Original Blog Post::::::
The Senate Will Come to OrderEven though they are still out for the holiday's, the Senate is still blocking any possible Bush Recess appointments.A nine-second session gaveled in and out by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., prevented Bush from appointing as an assistant attorney general a nominee roundly rejected by majority Democrats. Without the pro forma session, the Senate would be technically adjourned, allowing the president to install officials without Senate confirmation.
The business of blocking Bush's recess appointments was serious. It represents an institutional standoff between Congress and the president that could repeat itself during Congress' vacations for the remainder of Bush's presidency.
In such situations, pro forma sessions also could give Bush some political cover on popular legislation he doesn't want to sign. When Congress is holding pro forma sessions and is not formally adjourned, a bill sent to a president automatically becomes law 10 days after he receives it — excluding Sundays — unless he vetoes it.
That could be the fate of two bills Congress passed last week. One growing out of the Virginia Tech massacre makes it harder for people with mental illness records to buy guns. The other makes it easier for journalists and others to obtain government documents through the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA bill, for example, would become law on New Year's Eve if not vetoed before then, according to Senate Judiciary Committee officials.
In a year when I myself and others have been disappointed by the Dems, it is stories like this that remind me that they are making progress. So much has happened in a year, so many scandals have finally been brought to the forefront of America's consciousness. These were things that many of us blogged, and wrote about over the past few years, that always seemed to have fallen on deaf ears in congress and the media. A sampling of scandals, names, misdeeds and major irritations include:
- Iran not having nuclear capabilities,
- CIA destroying tapes;
- Smearing of Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson;
- Alberto Gonzales and his injustice;
- Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, Harriet Miers;
- Walter Reed Army hospital and the misdeeds by the pentagon of our Vets;
- FISA and the Telecomms;
- Dick Cheney;
- Blackwater;
- Larry Craig and the merry band of gay Republicans caught in hypocrisy;
- Missing Nukes in the USA;
- Global Warming Deniers;
- SCHIP vetoes;
- The War (that is an entire scandal with thousands of subscandals and illegalities)
The list goes on. Many of these issues have had hearings, many were obstructed and many are still to come.
With all these thoughts, I think it is very important that the senate is blocking any appointments Bush may want to sneak in. It seems that sometimes even if the process is to at least slow the bloodletting until reinforcements arrive, it is better than to do nothing or even everything all at once. We are making progress, and that has to count for something, The Senate is in session everyday, thanks to Senator Jim Webb, and that slows down the damage that Bush does. minimizing the damage is better than nothing.
The coffee and tea are ready, and today, in honour of the last Thursday of 2007, we have fresh New York Bagels , some lox, smear, red onions, tomatoes and capers. Enjoy.
:peace: and :heart:
Raine