TV News LIES

Will the shocking insider trading revelations that have come to light in recent days finally be enough to motivate the American people to start throwing all of the con men and charlatans out of Congress?  On Sunday, 60 Minutes opened up a huge can of worms when it did a feature story on insider trading by members of Congress.  Up until now, the vast majority of Americans had no idea that insider trading was actually legal for members of Congress.  In fact, as will be documented later on in this article, members of Congress have been using secrets that they have learned during the course of their duties to make huge amounts of money in the stock market.  If you can believe it, during the financial crisis of 2008 some members of Congress were making huge stock moves that would only pay off if the stock market crashed really hard at a time when they should have been focusing on creating legislation that would help the U.S. financial system survive.  It is hard not to feel sick after learning how low some of our "leaders" have stooped to enrich themselves.  Now that the American people are learning the truth, how can they ever trust Congress again?

At a hearing yesterday on the bill in the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands, Republicans called a witness to the stand who is a retired United States Geological Survey scientist. Dr. Karen Wenrich noted in her testimony supporting the bill that the Bureau of Land Management has “vastly overstated the environmental harm caused by past and potential uranium development.”

However, under questioning from Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), it became clear through public Securities and Exchange Commission filings that Wenrich stands to make $225,000 by selling 61 uranium claims that she owns only if the Interior Department’s withdrawal does not go forward.

Republicans in the Senate have killed legislation sponsored by President Barack Obama to spend $60 billion on building and repairing roads, rail lines and other infrastructure to help kick-start the sluggish economy.

The 51-49 vote fell well short of the 60 votes required under Senate procedures to start work on the bill. The infrastructure measure is the third in a string of Senate defeats for Obama's stimulus-style jobs agenda, which would be financed by a tax surcharge on the very wealthy.

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Complaints of harassment and hostile work environments are on the rise on Capitol Hill, where offices aren’t required to keep personnel records, provide mandatory anti-discrimination training or protect whistleblowers despite forcing other government agencies and private employers to do so, according to a new report.

A majority of the counseling requests came from employees of the Architect of the Capitol and U.S. Capitol Police, with just 19 percent of requests prompted by House staffers and four percent from Senate employees.

A congressional drive to punish the Palestinian Authority for its statehood bid by cutting American aid is being greeted with enthusiasm by lawmakers of both parties.

But the White House is giving the move a cold shoulder, and even Israel itself and its strongest supporters have serious reservations. The legislation being discussed in Congress would cut all or part of the nearly $600 million annual aid package if Palestinians move ahead with their plan to seek statehood at the United Nations.

More proof that Washington is corrupt? A new Legistorm study reveals there is a "revolving door" between Congress and lobbying firms, showing that almost 5400 lawmakers have jumped from the government to lobbying firms in the last decade. Washington Post:

Of the 5,400 lobbyists with recent Hill experience, the study found that 2,900 were registered to lobby on behalf of clients this year. Twenty-five powerhouse firms and organizations employ 10 or more former Hill workers. The largest number are at the Podesta Group, followed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which employs at least 21.