Whoa: SFRC Hearings this week, ah Kissinger testifies

[TayTay]

This is going to be some week in that Committee. (And that Committee has been having some really intense hearings lately.)

Ah, wow!

[TayTay]

1. SFRC: Tuesday, 9:30 am. Negroponte Nom to State

Nomination
HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Time: 9:30 AM
Place: 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Biden


Nominee:
+The Honorable John D. Negroponte
To be Deputy Secretary of State

***********************

This is a huge chance to question Negroponte, the current Intelligence Czar under the plan that had aggregated all the agencies under one person for oversight and see how that went. Also, there were tons of rumors on why Negroponte would ditch a Cabinet level post in order to be Condi's deputy Secretary. Seriously, what is up with that? We will find out.

[TayTay]

2. SFRC: 1/31/07 (Wed) Kissinger and Albright

Whoa!

Securing America’s Interests in Iraq:
The Remaining Options.

Iraq in the Strategic Context
Session 1

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Time: 9:15 AM
Place: 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Biden


Witnesses:
Panel 1
+The Honorable Henry A. Kissinger
Former Secretary of State
Chairman
Kissinger McLarty Associates
New York, NY

Panel 2
+The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright
Former Secretary of State
Principal
The Albright Group L.L.C
Washington, DC

************************

OMG. OMFG! We get Kissinger and Kerry together in one room. Ahm, OMFG!

Okay, remember, L. Paul Bremer was working for Kissinger when Bush plucked him to be the Viceroy over Iraq under the Coalition Provisional Authority. (What was Bremer's real title anyway? Special Envoy, Ambassador, I forget. But he was the Viceroy over Iraq, formulated the critical laws on DeBaathification and on debanding the Iraqi Army, the two critical post-invastion mistakes of the occupation.

Ah, set a tape. This could be either a total snooze fest or one for the ages.

[MBS]

7. WOW

I'll get my VCR ready.

[TayTay]

8. Ah, maybe no Kerry on this one.

There is a Small Business hearing, same bat time, nearly the same bat channel.

Sigh!

10 a.m.
Small Business and Entrepreneurship
To hold hearings to examine Federal small
business assistance programs for veterans and
reservists.
SR-428A

This hearing is in the room constructed to drive me insane. No audio, no webcasts until weeks later. Sigh!

*****************

I cannot imagine Kerry missing a chance to question Henry. But, the other hearing does conflict and JK does chair Small Biz. Arragements must be made.

[TayTay]

12. No, my bad. No competing hearing

I just misread the CapitolHearings.org site. (Ahm, a little constructive criticism from a friend. Updating the website for these hearings is a good thing. Really. Honest. It's innovative even.)

Sigh!

[TayTay]

3. SFRC: 2/1 Scowcroft and Brzezinski

Securing America’s Interests in Iraq:
The Remaining Options.

Iraq in the Strategic Context
Session 2

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Time: 9:15 AM
Place: 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Biden


Witnesses:
Panel 1
+Lt. General Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.)
Former National Security Advisor
President
The Scowcroft Group
Washington, DC

Panel 2
+Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski
Former National Security Advisor
Counselor and Trustee
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Washington, DC

*****************

Ah, wow! What a week. Scowcroft worked, of course, for Bush 41 and was/is highly critical of this present policies and this President. He was very vocal about saying that Bush 43 has gone about this the wrong way, made critical mistakes and fundamentally doesn't understand how to conduct foreign policy.

Geez, this is some week. Oh, and on 2/8, Condi comes back to give the budget request for FP for the year. Geez.

[ginnyinWI]

4. looks like an interesting week! n/t

[beachmom]

5. Especially since in Woodward's book, it said that Kissinger

is re-fighting the Vietnam War in Iraq. (nothing but VICTORY!!!)

:popcorn:

[wisteria]

6. I won't be missing Wednesday for sure. What a line up.

Now is there going to be an interpreter available for Kissinger? Mumble, mumble, mumble.

[TayTay]

9. SFRC: Tues 1/30: Iraq Study Group, Baker & Hamilton 1:00 pm

Securing America’s Interests in Iraq:
The Remaining Options.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative Plans: The Iraq Study Group
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 2:00 PM 1:00 PM
Place: 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Biden

Witnesses:
The Honorable James A. Baker, III
Co-Chair, Iraq Study Group
Partner, Baker-Botts L.L.P.
Houston, Texas

The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton
Co-Chair, Iraq Study Group
Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars
Washington, DC

***********************

So, ah, why do you think that Bush treated your report like it was retrieved from some sewer and coughed up onto his desk like a diseased thing? Baker, you know the family, is it really because little Georgie didn't get enough love from Mommy or attention from Daddy? What the hell?

[blm]

10. I put this in GD and got some good reaction.

.

[TayTay]

11. Commerce: 2/1, 10 am, Communications Marketplace & the FCC

I actually have no friggin clue what this is about. None. Communications Marketplace is NewSpeak for something and nobody gave me the code book to figure it out. It could be interesting stuff, if could be a friggin snooze fest. I will try and find out before Thursday. Anyway, here is the barest of bare notices on this:

Assessing the Communications Marketplace: A View from the FCC
Thursday, February 1, 2007
10:00 AM

SR - 253

Witnesses

No Witnesses Scheduled At This Time

[TayTay]

15. Ooooooh, this could get good. More info (BLM, your ship has come in.)

GOP-led FCC now faces Democrats' scrutiny
Posted on : Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:29:01 GMT | Author : Entertainment News Editor
News Category : Entertainment

New ( News Alerts by Email click here )


WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which infrequently sparred with the Republican-run Congress, faces more scrutiny with Democrats in charge.

The Republican-controlled FCC -- which makes decisions on telephone, television, radio, Internet and other services that people use daily -- is expected to be grilled Thursday during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, The Washington Post said.

Senators said they would press the FCC chairman and its four commissioners on issues such as media-ownership diversity, Internet access and broadcast decency standards.

They have effectively emasculated any public-interest standards that existed for radio and TV stations, said committee member Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D., adding that Congress for years failed to provide oversight. Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., a senior House Commerce Committee member, said he plans to call comprehensive hearings on net neutrality later this year. Net neutrality refers to measures barring telephone and cable service providers from charging Web-based companies for priority access to the Internet. Markey supports such proposals while the FCC ' s three Republican members generally oppose them.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/24274.html

[TayTay]

13. Finance: 2/1, 10 am, CHIP program. (Children's Health Program)

The Future of CHIP: Improving the Health of America’s Children

February 1, at 10:00 p.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Member Statements:
Max Baucus, MT
Charles Grassley, IA

Witness Statements:
**************************

OMG, the Democrats really are back in town. There is a hearing on Children's Health and the CHIP program. Wow. The Sub-Committee of Health Care ran hearings last year on the CHIP program, but it was mostly for show. That money is needed to fund the meaningless war in Iraq, after all. (Priorities here people, Repubs have their priorities.)

BTW Tay, uber-wonk-goddess, what does the Finance Committee do anyway and what is their mandate? Glad you asked me, oh humble supplicant:

It's all here in mostly understandable English: http://www.senate.gov/~finance/sitepages/jurisdiction.htm

EXCERPT FROM RULE XXV OF THE STANDING RULES OF THE SENATE

1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each Congress, and shall continue and have the power to act until their successors are appointed, with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their respective jurisdictions:

(i) Committee on Finance, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:

1. Bonded debt of the United States, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

2. Customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery.

3. Deposit of public moneys.

4. General revenue sharing.

5. Health programs under the Social Security Act and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund.

6. National social security.

7. Reciprocal trade agreements.

8. Revenue measures generally, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

9. Revenue measures relating to the insular possessions.

10. Tariffs and import quotas, and matters related thereto.

Clear? Anybody reading me. Sigh, ahm, anybody at all? :cry: I get so lonely out here in committeeville.

[Inuca]

14. Yes, I am reading you :-)

and I am sure many others do as well, and appreciate the advance notice and information, oh you Godess!