November 18, 2008

The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a plaintiff in the successful 1993 lawsuit to open the meetings and records of Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care task force, today criticized Barack Obama for selecting Eric Holder as his Attorney General nominee. According to NLPC President Peter Flaherty, "Holder is not ethically qualified to serve as Attorney General. His track record is not one of independence or objectivity. Instead, he has been guided by politics and self-interest." Full release

Consumer Watchdog released a new on-line video exposing privacy problems with Google's Gmail service and other Google applications in the wake of Google's recent marketing efforts on Capitol Hill. At a speech in Washington D.C. today, Google CEO Eric Schmidt acknowledged the group's privacy concerns and expressed an interest in addressing them. He said his concern was balancing performance and speed of the system with privacy and security demands. Full release

Last week, Ramona E. Romero, the HNBA National President, formally congratulated President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden for their victory in the 2008 presidential election. In her letter, Ms. Romero noted that two-thirds of the Latino electorate joined President-Elect Obama's diverse base of supporters to contribute to his win on November 4th. The Latino vote was key in battleground states such as Florida, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. In fact, at least 10 million Latino voters cast ballots, an increase in participation of 32% from the 2004 Presidential Election. Full release

A new report by AARP's Public Policy Institute highlights the impact of low vaccination rates for influenza and pneumonia among older black and Hispanic populations. Rates for these groups lag significantly behind whites. Together, influenza and pneumonia represent the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, despite the availability of annual flu shots and the one-time pneumococcal vaccination. Full release

Since revelations of Iran's nuclear intentions became public in 2002, the U.S. and its allies have remained focused on the question of what a nuclear Iran would mean for the Middle East. Given the monumental concerns about the prospect of a nuclear Iran, less attention has been paid to Iran's two key proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Both terrorist organizations have been instrumental in attempting to destabilize the Levant in the past few years, whether by undermining the democratically elected Lebanese government through violent tactics or by attacking Israel. Full release

The following Op-Ed by Robert M. "Mike" Duncan is from The Washington Times and is being released today by the Republican National Committee: The first Article of the Bill of Rights in our Constitution prohibits Congress from denying the American people the freedom of speech and the freedom of association. Our Founders recognized that these rights were fundamental to a peaceful political process and to the future of our democracy. More than two centuries later, their wisdom has been proven correct time and time again. Full release

Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored (POPULAR) is an association of Juris Doctors and public interest attorneys committed to helping poor and other disadvantaged people access affordable and competent legal representation, important civil and criminal justice system reforms, as well as appropriate judicial oversight. POPULAR strives to tear down the figurative "Wall of Poverty" by helping safeguard justice and the rule of law in America. Full release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered the welcoming remarks at the bipartisan New Member dinner tonight in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Below are her remarks, as prepared: "As Speaker of the House, it is my distinct honor and high privilege to welcome our New Member class for the 111th Congress and their families to the United States Capitol. For the first time in many years, this dinner is bipartisan, and I would like to take the opportunity to recognize and thank Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican Leader John Boehner for their outstanding leadership. With great confidence in your abilities, and great faith in the future, your constituents have sent you to these halls to represent them. Your job title is the description of your work here: representative. I'm sure you agree that there is no higher honor. In the Capitol, you will serve three things: your constituents, your conscience, and the Constitution." Full release

Archive of Previous Posts