One-person, one-vote, part II

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - A small group of Democrats agreed Thursday to force House and Senate debates on Election Day problems in Ohio before letting Congress certify President Bush's win over Sen. John Kerry in November.

"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Senator Barbara Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort.

The action seems certain to leave Bush's victory intact because both Republican-controlled chambers would have to uphold the challenge for Ohio's votes to be invalidated. But supporters of the drive hope their move will shine a national spotlight on the Ohio voting problems.

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One-person, One-vote

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) announced 12/23/04 that she will introduce an amendment abolishing the Electoral College when Congress reconvenes. She said the bill will be co-sponsored by Senator Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island).

Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16th) introduced a similar proposal in the House, and plans on reintroducing it again when Congress reconvenes.

"The Electoral College is an anachronishm, and the time has come to bring our democracy into the 21st century," Senator Feinstein stated.

It takes a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress followed by ratification by 38 states for a constitutional amendment to become law.

"He thinks scruples are money in Russia, and morals are pictures painted on walls."

House Republicans are considering changing ethics rules so it would be harder to bring complaints against fellow members.

One proposal requires that a majority of committee members must approve any investigation of a House member. Currently, investigations can move ahead even if the committee is deadlocked. Another proposal has been criticized for making it more difficult to enforce ethics rules.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) is also trying to remove ethics committee chair Rep. Joel Helfley (R-Colorado), who oversaw Rep. Tom DeLay's recent spanking.

Freedom is on the March, part III

According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon and CIA have asked the White House what they want to do about 550 "enemy combatants" currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo). Detainees include suspected terrorists who they don't plan on setting free, officially charging with a crime, or allowing "due process" by going through a military tribunal because the lack of evidence against them would result in their release. So far, 510 hearings have been completed, and continued detention has been repeatedly ordered.

One proposal being kicked around is to transfer detainees to prisons in their home countries and under State Department oversight. In the meantime, the Department of Defense wants to build a $254 million 200-bed prison at Gitmo, dubbed Camp 6. The facility would be "designed for prisoners the government believes have no more intelligence to share."

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) "suggested" on Fox News Sunday that holding suspected terrorists for life may be "unconstitutional" and a "bad idea" to boot.

Detainees have filed lawsuits requesting that federal judges order the Pentagon to let them have lawyers at tribunal hearings, see secret evidence against them, and exclude evidence gained by torture or to have civilian U.S. courts hear their cases.

While claiming there has been no torture at Gitmo, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle acknowledged that military panels would consider evidence gathered by torture of detainees in foreign countries, even though such statements have been barred from U.S. courts for 70 years because of unreliability.