Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House

This page contains material about the first female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, her goals and her agenda, and the news and opinion you may have missed if you get all your information from television.

Her main goal, presumably, is the advancement of the Democratic Party Platform, which has a page of its own.

Recently, Ms. Pelosi seems to have come to a fork in the road:  She is a Catholic, but she also is a proponent of abortion, also known as fetal homicide.  This subtopic is now discussed in a subsection of its own, located here.

Another big subtopic that comes and goes from the headlines is Ms. Pelosi's taste for luxurious air travel at the taxpayers' expense.  That topic is discussed here.



Standing for Freedom Against Pelosi.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent threat to "investigate those opposing the mosque" at Ground Zero is indicative of how sick our once-free society has become.  Clearly her remarks were directed at those of us who are leading the opposition to the gross offense and humiliation of the Ground Zero Islamic supremacist mosque.  But more than that, it is a direct threat to the 70% of Americans vehemently opposed to the mosque.

Speaker of the Institutionalized.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a national embarrassment with a long train of gaffes and abuses. ... Pelosi told a San Francisco radio station on Tuesday [8/24/2010] that she wants to know who's funding those opposed (make that nearly 70 percent of Americans) to building a mega mosque at Ground Zero.

Stuck on Stupid.  Aside from their general ineptitude, President Barack Obama, New York City Michael Bloomberg, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, three of the most influential politicians in the country, have something else in common:  they are completely and utterly wrong on the Ground Zero Mosque debate.

Recovery Bummer.  "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some.  And I join those who have called for looking into how ... this opposition to the mosque is being funded."  -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, weighing in on the proposed Ground Zero mosque.  Boy do I feel silly.  I've made a "political issue" out of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero in two straight columns, and no one has "funded" me a nickel for it.

Pelosi's poison.  The San Francisco Democrat (actually, San Francisco roots explain a lot) wants to form up a posse and set off after the evildoers fomenting opposition to the Ground Zero mosque.  "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some," she told a hometown radio interview Tuesday. ... Now, if she succeeded in rounding up the obvious suspects, polls suggest she'd have more than 60 percent of the American public in custody.

A speaker, not a listener.  These can't be easy times for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  But even the prospect of a crushing defeat in November, and the related recriminations from within her caucus (which probably have already commenced), can't explain her call for an investigation regarding protests against the building of the Ground Zero Mosque.

More about the proposed Ground Zero mosque.

Waters charges taint Pelosi's House.  House investigators on Monday [8/9/2010] charged Rep. Maxine Waters with "improperly" exerting influence to help bail out a bank in which her husband held stock, handing more ammunition to Republicans eager to blast House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for overseeing a "House of scandal."

From Cordoba to Marbella.  Last summer's town halls quickly morphed into the Tea Party movement and, in turn, into open rebellion by states and voters alike.  Through all of this, the political class, locked in its parochial self-aggrandizing bubble, sees nothing amiss.  Speaker Pelosi called vacationing Congress back to enact a $26 billion payoff to public service employees and the improvident states, which will enable them to bankrupt us all.

Drain the swamp.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously promised to "drain the swamp" back in 2006 when Democrats successfully campaigned against corruption in the Republican-led Congress.  She formed the Office of Congressional Ethics two years later to show that she meant business.  Now, the charges filed against Reps. Charles Rangel of New York and Maxine Waters of California are putting her promises to the ultimate test — public ethics trials against members of her own party at a time when the GOP is hoping to recapture control of the House.

Rangel Scandal Reveals the Extent of Capitol Corruption.  Four years ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to "drain the swamp" of corruption in Washington, D.C., but after failing miserably to do so it now appears she's choosing to ignore it — while letting her colleagues sweep it under the rug.

The Enablers of Charlie Rangel.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the world's worst cleaning lady.  How has she fulfilled her vaunted promise to "drain the swamp" and preside over the "most ethical Congress in history"?  By shrugging her shoulders, downplaying the gravity of myriad ethics charges against corruptocrat Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel and waiting for the "political chips" to "fall where they may."  Imagine a custodial service that fixed toilet clogs by letting the overflowing waste and polluted waters "fall where they may."

"Fruit Loop" Nancy's Stimulus.  Does Nancy Pelosi actually expect Americans to believe extending unemployment insurance is the fastest way to create jobs?  Just a reminder:  This ridiculous woman is two-short-steps from the presidency.  Nancy claims that handing out unemployment checks to the 10% of the jobless labor force is "one of the biggest stimulus' to our economy."  The Speaker supports such an absurd statement by saying "economists will tell you this money is spent quickly."  Nancy can you name the brilliant, and I use this title loosely, economist?  Wait; let me guess, economic genius Paul Krugman?

Speaker Pelosi:  It's The Senate's Fault.  With the Democrats' "recovery summer" not exactly taking off as they planned, the leadership has begun playing one of Washington's favorite games:  finger-pointing.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., did her part by telling reporters today that it's all the Senate's fault for not passing all the legislation that her party had rammed through the House.

Democrats deeming themselves defeated come November.  On the first day of July, the House of Representatives passed a "budget enforcement resolution" that "deemed as passed" a $1.12 trillion budget. ... Pelosi's spineless minions did not dare pass a real budget, for a real budget would have shown in black and white — in red ink, actually — just how wildly mismanaged the federal fisc has become.  The trio of President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Pelosi is putting the finishing touches on a one-year deficit of $1.6 trillion, while setting in motion an expansion of the standing debt to well north of $14 trillion.  This is no mean feat in an era when Democrats themselves denounced George W. Bush's deficit of a mere $160 billion in 2007.

Dems in denial.  The great Democratic revolution of 2008 is entering its pitiful stage.  If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a guillotine, Robert Gibbs' head would be rolling around in a basket.  His offense?  Uttering perhaps the most unassailably accurate statement of his tenure as White House press secretary:  that there is "no doubt" Republicans might take back the House.  Theories abound for why Gibbs would say such a flatly true thing.  The simplest is that Gibbs was asked whether the House is in play on "Meet the Press" and in the flush of the moment slipped up with an honest answer.

A Hapless Administration.  Last week was extraordinary. ... Nancy Pelosi, known for her innovative solutions such as passing major pieces of legislation without voting on them, announced that the best way to create jobs was to extend unemployment insurance beyond 99 weeks.  The President himself simply reminded the American people that it's all George Bush's fault, and it will take "some time" before things get better.  That should boost the public's confidence in the economy.

Pelosi:  Unemployment benefits create more jobs than any other initiative.  I hear Nancy Pelosi speak, and all around me I can envision a bustling service sector sprouting up, creating new jobs to serve all of the Americans who are receiving their $425/week in unemployment benefits.

Nancy Pelosi's taxpayer-funded, exorbitantly expensive, eco-friendly office space.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recently moved into a new district office, located in the San Francisco Federal Building.  All sorts of reasons were cited for the move — she'd been in the old office for twenty years; the new office's location is more accessible for her constituents; she needed more space; the new office is in a "green" building.  These explanations seem reasonable, until you find out how much she's paying for them. ... Speaker Pelosi is paying $18,736 a month for her lovely new workspace.

Pelosi's New District Office Costs $18,736 a Month.  San Francisco is a high-rent city.  Just ask Nancy Pelosi.  The House Speaker's district office in the new federal building in San Francisco costs a whopping $18,736 a month — the highest rental paid by any member of the House — or, more precisely, the highest rental paid by taxpayers on behalf of a member of the House.

Pelosi's new office is House's costliest by far.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has more than quadrupled the rent on her San Francisco district office, making the $18,736-a-month cost of her new South of Market space the highest in the House, according to a new report.

Pelosi offers Democratic example of frugality and responsibility.  Roll Call reports on Nancy Pelosi's decision last year to move her San Francisco district offices to a new building, supposedly because she needs more security as Speaker of the House.  However, something doesn't add up, because she had been Speaker for almost three years at the time of the move — and her new offices will cost four times as much as her old suite.

A room with a view.  Pelosi recently moved her office into the new "green" San Francisco federal building, explaining she needed more space.  Why it's an outrage:  The move quadrupled her rent to $18,736 a month, making hers the most expensive congressional district office in America and nearly twice as expensive as any other member's.

Pelosi's Crooked Catholicism.  Few would have guessed it, but Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi has become quite the outspoken Catholic. ... But Pelosi's legislative record does not suggest there is any truth to this spiritual proclamation.  She has actually been one of the biggest obstacles to the passing of legislation supported by Christian doctrine, and it takes only a brief glance at Pelosi's history to deduce that this speech was just lip service to a group of people that would find such notions agreeable.

Obama and Pelosi Hijack Christianity.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided to follow President Obama's lead in claiming that God directs her lawmaking, invoking the Bible as her legislative roadmap.  If a conservative Republican did this, it would be the top of the news.  Last week, Pelosi made a rambling, redundant, somewhat incoherent monologue in which she claimed that "The Word" directed her. ... We can't imagine what Bible Speaker Pelosi is reading.  The Bible does not sanction gay marriage or abortion.

Constitution of No.  When a reporter asked House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) during a press conference last year where the Constitution granted Congress the authority to enact an individual health-insurance mandate, she answered, "Are you serious?  Are you serious?"  Speaker Pelosi then dismissed the question and moved on to the next reporter.  This exchange illustrates the way "yes we can" liberals treat the Constitution:  They simply ignore it when it gets in the way of their big-government bailouts and takeovers.

Pelosi:  We'll stop blaming Bush when his problems go away.  Democrats will keep blaming George W. Bush until the problems from his administration end, according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  In an interview with MSNBC, Pelosi said congressional Democrats feel justified in blaming the Bush administration because of the problems it left behind for President Barack Obama.  Asked if there was a statute of limitations on blaming Bush, Pelosi said:  "Well, it runs out when the problems go away.

The Editor says...
I hope Speaker Pelosi doesn't mind that she and Obama get the blame for the duration of all the problems they have caused, because that will be a long time.

Are Democrats defecting from Nancy Pelosi?  With 100 seats in play and abysmal congressional approval ratings, Democrats are starting to wonder aloud if they should continue to support Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi blames Bush administration for BP oil spill.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blamed the Bush administration for any lack of oversight leading up to the Gulf oil spill.  The Obama administration, on the other hand, is blameless.

Marx, Keynes, Pelosi.  [Scroll down]  Keynes has given us a glimpse into the heart of modern progressivism:  For now, progress requires a respect for work, for jobs, for economics.  So the left embraces the use of government for economic ends.  But ultimately all of this is for the sake of transcending "pseudo-moral principles" like precaution.  So the left embraces big government while disdaining the need for self-government.

The Speaker Who Won't Speak with the People.  [Scroll down]  Whether for banking or health care or — if cap-and-trade regulations become law — selling a home or choosing what to eat, these transactions will be subject to a barrage of applications, either filled out by the citizen directly or shuffled upstream to companies supplying the goods and services we use every day.  You like trans fats?  Too bad.  New York's Bloomberg regulations are going national.

How ignorant would you have to be to believe this?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi:  Democrats reduced taxes to historic low.  Congressional Democats are responsible for the lowest U.S. tax bills in a half-century, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday.  Pelosi was responding to a USA Today report that said Americans' tax bills in 2009 were at their lowest point since the Truman presidency.

Where are the "separation of church and state" people now?
Pelosi Told Catholic Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops to Push Immigration Reform.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she has told Catholic cardinals, archbishops and bishops that she wants them to speak from the pulpit for immigration reform and tell Catholics who oppose it that reform "is a manifestation of our living the gospels."

The Gospel According to Nancy.  Despite global warming, hell might be freezing over, because the very liberal Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is apparently encouraging the Catholic clergy to campaign for immigration reform from the pulpit during Sunday mass.  Wow.  Speaking at the Catholic Community Conference in Washington, Pelosi said:  "Cardinals, the Archbishops, the Bishops come to me and say we want you to pass immigration reform.  But I say I want you to speak about it from the pulpit. ... I want you to instruct ... the people (who) oppose immigration reform and are sitting in those pews ... that this is a manifestation of our living the Gospels."

The 'Messiah' swaggers down the aisle of church.  We should have known that the moment the UN became involved that Jesus wouldn't be found in church anymore.  Jesus is being squeezed out of the House of God to make way for global warming/climate change proselytizing.  Indeed, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered "Social Justice" as the new message she wants heard from the pulpit.

Pelosi:  It's Cheaper to Treat Teens for Drug Use Than Interdict Drugs at Border.  While pointing out that it is the responsibility of the federal government to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) said Thursday [5/6/2010] it is cheaper to treat teens for drug use than it is to interdict drugs being smuggled across the border.

Cover girl Pelosi looking rather ... airy in D.C. glossy.  If Kim Kardashian and Britney Spears get flak for airbrushing their photos, why not the speaker of the House?  If you haven't managed to score a copy of the May/June 2010 edition of Capitol File magazine (typically flanked on every table or bathroom at any D.C. social function) you'll notice the cover girl Nancy Pelosi looking particularly young.

The Editor says...
The article above could easily be dismissed as gossip, were it not for the disingenuousness of it all.  Not only is Ms. Pelosi pretending to be something she is not, this is all just another red herring deployed to divert attention from the underhanded way Obamacare was foisted upon us all.  Keep reading.

Fancy Nancy.  [Scroll down]  It may actually be, if we could measure it, that the photo's impact on the general public is not one of positive approval, but of stunned amazement.  John and Jane Doe, fed up with taxes, unemployment, and Washington double-think, recognize this for what it is — political spin.  We all know Nancy Pelosi has been around the block a few times and has had some "work" done.  So whom do they think they are kidding?  Another new "do" and some pictures are not going to improve her numbers with the public.

Congress Becomes Madison's "Overbearing Majority".  The purpose of this bill is — as Pelosi put it — to "kick through this door" to prepare the way for even further "reform."  But what does this metaphor even suggest?  Who kicks through doors, anyway?  It is ordinarily the police — or even the secret police.  Not a constitutional legislative body of the United States of America.  Pelosi's phrase was profoundly aggressive, although perhaps she used it without complete consciousness of what she might be conveying.  But it was no accident.  This is an extraordinary way for a speaker of the House to talk, congruent with the Democratic Party's newly combative attitude towards the wishes of the American people.

Economics for Dummies.  You probably missed it.  But a new school of economics was unveiled last week shortly after health care reform passed the House of Representatives.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped to the podium in the House chamber and said the legislation will "unleash tremendous entrepreneurial power" and create millions of jobs.  "Our economy needs something new, a jolt," she said.  And she and her Democratic colleagues had just delivered it.

Pelosi Calls Press Conference to Unveil $140,000 Light Fixtures in House Cafeteria.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday [4/21/2010] to unveil new light fixtures in the House cafeteria.  The light fixtures cost $140,000 and will take almost 10 years to pay off in saved energy.

When the Lights Go Down, It Ain't Pretty.  So how did the fixtures' cost drop so quickly and so dramatically?  Because they were made by Durham, N.C.-based Cree Inc., a company whose LED lighting products are heavily subsidized by the government.

Pelosi sends chill.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered a most disturbing promise to PBS's Jim Lehrer on Wednesday [3/24/2010], proudly announcing that the methods employed and nearly employed to force ObamaCare on the American people (formerly the most free people on the planet) would, from this day forward, serve as her "model for future reforms."  Chilling words, indeed.

The United States Has Been Sold Out And The International Police Have Arrived.  The Tea Party, Patriot and 9/12 movements are supporters of Liberty and the Constitution.  They struggle against Progressive, Social Justice and left-wing ideologues.  They want less government and more individual responsibility without being handicapped by government.  Underlying the Tea Party and Patriot protests is anger against unchecked, corrupt, back-room secret double-dealing government.  Hiding his values and agenda Mr. Obama stealthily campaigned from the center, but he's a full-throated Progressive.  His acolyte Ms. Pelosi mastered triple-speak, a perverse, double-cross form of propaganda.

Coercive Charity Destroys the Human Spirit.  After the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate's health care bill (without changes because they could not craft and pass a bill of their own), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed that the effort reflected American's founding declaration of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  Nothing could be farther [sic] from the truth.

An Historic Pelosi?  I suppose one could interpret the health care bill as "Pelosi's historic achievement," as the media has been insisting, but that would also mean that an unpopular President and a more unpopular Congress and a most unpopular Speaker together railroaded through an unpopular, sweeping piece of legislation without a single opposition vote, and through the sort of tawdry legislative bribery and procedural gimmicks we haven't seen since the 19th century.

Poll:  Low Favorability Ratings For Pelosi, Reid.  [Scroll down]  Pelosi and Reid are viewed unfavorably by roughly three times as many people as they are viewed favorably.  Pelosi's favorable rating in the poll stands at 11 percent.  Her unfavorable rating, meanwhile, is 37 percent — meaning that more than one in three views the California Democrat negatively.

Sunday's socialist triumph.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday launched the Democrats' argument for the health care bill, claiming, "This is an American proposal that honors the traditions of our country."  Does that suggest that opposition is un-American?  And what are the traditions that are American that this law fulfills?  The Democrats argue that the bill fulfills the "right" of all Americans to government-assured health care services.  The congressional Democrats claim many other things that a majority of the country believes to be inconsistent with truth and reality.

House Speaker Pelosi is teetering on the edge of a cliff and it's a long way down.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is prepared to sacrifice her members like lambs to the slaughter.  Literally.  Pelosi (D-Calif.) is so desperate to get health care passed this week before members take a break that she will likely employ the "Slaughter Strategy" — a very appropriately named, arrogant abuse of House rules that would allow members of Pelosi's caucus to simply vote on changes to the Senate bill and "deem" the bill passed without a member ever having to choose "aye" or "nay."

Stop kicking in our doors, Madame Speaker.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used an unexpected analogy Monday [3/15/2010] during a conference call with liberal bloggers to discuss Obamacare, saying "once we kick through this door, there'll be more legislation to follow."  At least four things need to be said about Pelosi's braggadocio.

GOP Doc Asks Pelosi:  'Are you so arrogant ... ignorant ... incompetent?'  Democrats might have themselves a health reform bill, but Republicans have doctors — way more doctors in Congress, anyway, than Democrats.  And they're steamed.

Pelosi's Comeuppance:  Why Democrats May Sack the Speaker.  No matter what the outcome of the elections next November, it is time to consider the possibility that the House of Representatives will have a new speaker in January 2011.  Having made heavy-handedness a hallmark of her leadership style, Nancy Pelosi now appears well on the way to receiving her comeuppance, if not from her fellow Democrats then from the American people.

We don't need to pass health care reform to find out what's in it.  As you can see, the Senate's Christmas Eve Bill originated in the House satisfying the Constitutional imperative that tax bills originate there and it gets them around the ex post facto provision of the Constitution; you and I will be retroactively responsible for paying the taxes on Obamacare from the January 1 of 2010.  (Perhaps, as far back as 1/1/2009.)

Pelosi's Arrogance Knows No Bounds.  Arrogance, contempt and obfuscation in the health care debate — that's Speaker Pelosi's idea of transparency.

Pelosi's Republic:  If liberal Boomers such as Nancy Pelosi insist on creating government incentives for a generation of people to be unemployed artists who nonetheless have their health care paid for by productive members of society, there will be fewer productive members of society.

Nancy Pelosi and the CIA:  Who's Lying Now?  Along with her difficulties ramming health care down our throats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has an ugly, slightly "cobwebbed" credibility issue that is about to get dusted off and given full, sunlit exposure due to new documents being pried loose by court order.  Pelosi's "credibility" is under scrutiny due to her unusually harsh criticism of the Central Intelligence Agency last year.

Applying Alinsky:  Why Obamacare Makes No Sense.  [T]he ordinary American can be excused for being confused, frustrated, and angry.  That's exactly where President Obama, the Chicago political mafia around him, Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi want people to be.  At one point in the pointless all-day meeting on Thursday, she even claimed that passing Obamacare would create four million jobs overnight!  Even for Speaker Pelosi, that's a new level of insane babble.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Deficient Cleaning Service:  "Maybe it will take a woman to clean up the House," Nancy Pelosi boasted before the 2006 midterm elections.  Looks like those XX chromosomes didn't give her much advantage over the old cleaning crew.  The swamp she was supposed to drain is overflowing.

Draining the Swamp?  Before Rep. Nancy Pelosi became speaker of the House, she promised during the Bush administration that if voters allowed Democrats to regain a congressional majority Democrats would establish "the most ethical Congress in history."  Pelosi pledged to "drain the swamp" of corruption in Washington.  Not only has the swamp not been drained, Democrats have begun treating it as a hot tub.

Wake Up, Media, Pelosi's Lying About Tea Parties.  Our Speaker of the House has suddenly changed her tune about tea parties.  So why won't the media call her on it?

Nancy's dirty house.  This is a mess ideally suited for Nancy Pelosi's broom — if it weren't stashed in a closet alongside President Obama's promises to curtail earmarks drastically and to broadcast sensitive legislative negotiations.  Pelosi pleads for patience for Rangel, who's still being investigated in many other matters and, after all, has not done "something that jeopardized our country in any way."  This means Rangel will only step down as chairman after exacting the maximum possible political embarrassment.

How Pelosi will game the Stupak 12.  Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) has warned that he and other pro-life Democrats are ready to kill health-care legislation unless the pro-abortion provisions enacted by the Senate are removed.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must win their votes to pass her bill.

Pelosi Says She's Running 'Most Ethical' Congress Ever.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) insisted on Friday that she is running the most ethical and honest Congress in history.  At the same time, however, she indicated she will not ask House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D.-N.Y.) to resign his chairmanship — at least for now.

Charlie Rangel ruling puts Nancy Pelosi in a jam.  The House ethics committee's decision to admonish New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel over improper corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean leaves Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the ethics committee itself facing difficult questions.  When then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was admonished by the ethics committee in October 2004, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders went on the offensive against him.

The Rangel swamp:  The ethics committee has been investigating [Congressman Charles] Rangel at a glacial pace for numerous ethical violations, but has yet to rule on other, even more serious, charges. ... This ethical cloud has hung over Rangel, who runs one of the most powerful committees in Congress, for 18 months.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who promised to preside over the "most honest and open Congress in history," knows an ethics violation when she sees one.  He's "ethically unfit to lead", she said.  Oh, wait, she didn't say that about Rangel.  She said that about former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay when the House ethics committee admonished the Texas Republican in 2004.

Pelosi Says She's Running Most Ethical Congress Ever, Media Mum.  During a Friday [2/26/2010] press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she was running the most ethical Congress ever. ... Despite the absurdity of this remark, CNSNews.com and Fox News were by themselves amongst major press outlets in finding it newsworthy.

Saying No to Emperor Obama:  It is almost beyond comprehension how Obama could have engineered a failed presidency within the space of just one year.  He got a lot of help from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as mendacious and imperious an individual to have ever held that office.

Our 'agnostic' president.  It's getting crowded under the bus.  Higher income earners need to move over — here comes everyone else as the president reneges on his only tax the rich pledge. ... Its ironic that his phrase of the moment is now agnostic.  While millions of American suffer in the recession, he's agnostic to Speaker Pelosi's spending on air travel, booze and hotel rooms.

Rep. King:  Pelosi should be concerned about upcoming CIA doc dump.  The public interest group Judicial Watch announced on Tuesday [2/2/2010] that a court order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia states the Central Intelligence Agency must give Judicial Watch documents regarding congressional briefings on "enhanced interrogation techniques" by April 15 of this year.  Judicial Watch is seeking documents detailing CIA briefings involving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, and/or her staff.

The Incredible Deflation of Barack Obama:  [Scroll down]  Who could be surprised that the critical bills — the stimulus program and healthcare — degenerated under a welter of pork and earmarks that had so outraged the American public in the past?  Pelosi benefited from $54 million to relocate a Bay Area wine train, not to speak of a secret deal with the drug industry lobby to preclude negotiations on Medicaid drug prices and exclude drug imports from Canada, concessions that had previously been strongly rejected by Obama.

Obvious Opacity.  According to Nancy Pelosi, campaign promises have one purpose:  getting a candidate elected.  After voting, a candidate's word can be shelved like a magician's prop.  If the Speaker is to be taken seriously, nothing Barack Obama said during the presidential campaign holds weight and should be disregarded as roadside rhetoric.  If Pelosi's ruling versus rhetoric conjecture is correct, then it explains the last twelve months.

The Dog That Was Not Allowed To Bark.  On November 7th, 2009, Speaker Pelosi marched to the podium and paraded her lap dogs to the microphone to proclaim "Victory" for herself, her Democratic House colleagues, and President Obama.  What about every other American?  The "Victory" was the passage of the second part of ObamaCare, "The Health Care Bill."  That's right, the second part of ObamaCare is the 1,990 page bill that created 118 new boards, commissions, offices and bureaus.

Best. Week. Ever.  A supremely aloof and arrogant president whose chief policy idea was to ignore what Americans wanted on nearly every front was humbled if not humiliated.  Nancy Pelosi herself admitted that the Senate health care bill she darkly promised to ram through Congress "one way or another" was, as of a couple days later, resolutely non-rammable.

Hey, Speaker Pelosi, Where Are the Jobs?  In August 2003, then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a press statement demanding to know from President Bush, "Where Are the Jobs"?  The statement was released in response to the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, which, at that time showed that over 400,000 Americans had given up looking for work and had left the labor force.  It should be noted that today, every job measurement she cited is worse now than it was in 2003.

No one punished under congressional ethics rules.  Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to "drain the swamp," as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing.  In that time, allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety have been lodged against lawmakers.

Pelosi tells C-SPAN:  'There has never been a more open process'.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended Congress' work on a healthcare bill Tuesday [01/05/2010] saying the process has displayed historic transparency, just as C-SPAN mounts an effort to open the negotiations. ... "We will do what is necessary to pass the bill," Pelosi said.

A Day Off.  [Scroll down slowly]  Nancy Pelosi's promise to end the "culture of corruption" in Congress and Barack Obama's promise to run the "most transparent administration in history" were unadulterated lies.  An ominous thought:  both of them might actually believe they're doing just that, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.  Such a profound disconnect from reality is making Americans furious.

Little Miss Sunshine.  Days after becoming the nation's first female Speaker of the House in 2006, Nancy Pelosi pledged to create "the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."  The statement appears ludicrous now given Congress' smarmy image, thanks in large part to Pelosi's theatrics on a host of issues.

A Minority View:  Constitutional Contempt.  At Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Oct. 29th press conference, a CNS News reporter asked, "Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?"  Speaker Pelosi responded, "Are you serious?  Are you serious?"  The reporter said, "Yes, yes, I am."  Not responding further, Pelosi shook her head and took a question from another reporter.

The Death of Deliberative Democracy.  In 2006, the minority party in Congress issued a dire report on the "unprecedented erosion of the democratic process."  Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter, then the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, authored the scathing document.  She blasted the majority Republicans' violations of "procedural fairness," short-circuiting of debate, and late-night meetings "to discourage members and the press from participating" in legislative deliberations.  My, how history repeats itself.

For Their Next Trick...  Look for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to try to circumvent the traditional conference committee process by which the different versions of health care reform passed by each house will be reconciled.  If so, it will be the latest example of violating principles of transparency and accountability in the single-minded pursuit of legislative victory.

Pelosi Pledged to Give Public 'Ample Amount of Time' to Read Final Health Bill.  While Nancy Pelosi is now dodging a request from C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb to open up House-Senate negotiations over the final version of the health-care bill so C-SPAN's cameras can show them to the public, back in July she pledged she would give the public an "ample amount of time" to read the final bill before brining it to a vote.

Four Tactical Steps That Will Defeat Obamacare.  [#1.]  Denounce this bill for the lying fraud scheme it is:  Just as an example:  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) "scored" the Pelosi bill to cost $1.055 trillion — far above Barack Obama's $900 billion ceiling.  Pelosi immediately held a press conference and announced her bill would cost $894 billion — a figure that did not appear in the CBO report and which could be reached only by subtracting projected IRS-administered penalties from the actual cost.

Pelosi says Americans could 'absorb' increased deficit if it means more jobs.  Americans could be ready to "absorb" increases to the deficit if it means higher employment, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday [11/24/2009].  As the Congress prepares to put together a new spending package focused on creating new jobs in the U.S., the Speaker said that while it's a "false choice" to pose the situation facing lawmakers as a balance between jobs and increased deficits, Americans would rather have jobs.

The Editor says...
This is right down the middle of the fast track to socialism:  Paying for make-work jobs with money borrowed from future taxpayers.  Exactly the opposite approach would produce more employment — reduce government intervention (and taxes) to zero, and full employment will follow.

Nancy Pelosi spends $2,993 on flowers.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent $2,993 in taxpayer money on flowers between June and October.  House Majority Whip James Clyburn has a thing for Chantilly Donuts, spending about $265 at the Virginia shop in the past quarter. ... Pelosi, who has come under fire in the past for spending on flowers, also spent roughly $30,610 in food and beverage and about $2,740 on bottled water, contributing to the nearly $120,531 total from all congressional leadership accounts.

The $1.9 Trillion Gimmick.  Any day now, the House is expected to vote on a $210 billion fiscal swindle that will prevent automatic cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. ... The "doc fix" was originally part of ObamaCare, until Mrs. Pelosi realized that adding a quarter-trillion dollars to the total tab made it difficult to pretend the bill would reduce the deficit.

Pelosi was for three-day "read the bill" rule before she forgot it on Obamacare.  There are two ways to view this video of a 2005 floor speech by then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, condemning Republican leaders for not allowing members three days to read "a bill of thousands of pages" before voting on it.  The video is posted on Breitbart TV and is well worth watching in the aftermath of Speaker Pelosi's legislative blitzkreig of the past week to gain passage of her version of Obamacare at all costs.

The Madness of Queen Nancy.  It's one thing to be serene under fire, it's another to be delusional.  More than a few Democrats in Congress are perplexed and worried that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is insisting on ramming through a 1,900-page health care bill on Saturday [11/7/2009], just days after her party took heavy losses in Tuesday's elections.

Pelosi's Suicide Pact.  This is likely to be the high-water mark for liberal Democrats.  They're likely to lose House seats next year anyway, and there's no guarantee President Obama will be re-elected.  At 69, Pelosi stands a good chance of facing a death panel before she leads a majority of this size again.  Besides, her seat is in no jeopardy.  She comes from a safe ultraliberal district.

Pelosi Breaks Pledge to Put Final Health Care Bill Online for 72 Hours Before Vote.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office tells The Weekly Standard that the speaker will not allow the final language of the health care to be posted online for 72 hours before bringing the bill to a vote on the House floor, despite her September 24 statement that she was "absolutely" committed to doing so.

By hook or crook...
More on the post-election ballot question in NY 23.  It appears, though it was not widely reported, that in an effort to prevent Hoffman from being seated should he win, Owens preemptively contested the results, and the ballots were impounded so the New York Board of elections could not — and did not — certify the NY 23 election results.  This the House knew when Pelosi ordered Owens sworn in to vote for the atrocious health care reform bill.

The Pelosi Plan.  With Barack Obama as her front man, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — the real power in the Democratic party — has gone Clinton and Gingrich one better.  Clinton tried to hike taxes.  Gingrich sought to cut Medicare.  Pelosi wants to do both at once.  This is quite a feat:  She's combined the most unpopular Democratic and Republican proposals of the last generation in one piece of legislation.

Pelosi's Kamikazes?  Pelosi is ordering her fearful members to vote for the Obama-cum-Pelosi healthcare "reform" bill that has voters up in arms all over the country.  House Blue Dog "moderates" are already caught in a crossfire between their constituents and their leadership.  The Tea Partyers have been heard, and they are watching carefully.

Old-school corruption.  Before taking control of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."  However, with dozens of mostly Democratic lawmakers and various staff under investigation by the House's twin ethics bodies, the majority clearly values political power over clean government.

The Worst Bill Ever.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly told fellow Democrats that she's prepared to lose seats in 2010 if that's what it takes to pass ObamaCare, and little wonder.  The health bill she unwrapped last Thursday [10/29/2009], which President Obama hailed as a "critical milestone," may well be the worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced.  In a rational political world, this 1,990-page runaway train would have been derailed months ago.

Pelosi Rebuffs Constitutional Question.  [Judge Andrew] Napolitano says Congress has conveniently forgotten that the federal government was granted specific enumerated powers, limited by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.  The power to regulate interstate commerce was intended to keep regular the trade between states and eliminate unfair in-state advantages.  Stretching the interpretation of interstate commerce regulation that Pelosi and others are attempting to do, and applying it to a very intimate matter like health care is far beyond the scope of the Commerce Clause.

VAT's The Matter?  At least twice a decade, it seems, desperate politicians latch on to the idea of a VAT as the best way to raise lots of money for their spending schemes.  No wonder.  Unlike our current system, a VAT would impose a uniform levy at each level of production, from raw materials to finished goods, so the revenue potential is huge.  Which is why it keeps coming up in our free-spending Capital.

Lied To Enough Already?  Individuals nationwide, regardless of political allegiance, have taken to the streets this year in opposition to the radical liberal agenda and assert that we're taxed enough already, but we should also recognize that liberals have lied to us enough already in regards to the further taxes we oppose.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) continued her regularly scheduled display of dishonesty during a recent discussion of the value-added tax.

Mrs. Pelosi's VAT.  Candor about taxes is rare in Washington, so when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admits that Democrats may have to impose a huge new tax on the middle class to fund their spending ambitions, believe her.  Speaking with PBS's Charlie Rose on Monday [10/5/2009], Mrs. Pelosi mused publicly about the rising possibility of enacting a value-added tax, or VAT, as part of broader tax reform.  "Somewhere along the way, a value-added tax plays into this," she said.

The Editor says...
That's a national sales tax, in other words, on top of all our other taxes.

Piracy on Treasure Island.  Politicians with ties to land developers are trying to force the Navy to hand over one of the most valuable pieces of property in the country for free.  The House version of the 2010 Defense authorization bill scheduled for conference today contains language that would speed the transfer of Naval Station Treasure Island to the city of San Francisco at no cost. ... A Pelosi spokesman stressed that she did not author the provision, but her involvement is unmistakable.

Thugs, Tea Parties And Treacle.  The unwillingness of the Democratic establishment to defend free markets emboldens the [Pittsburgh] rioters.  In destroying private property and impeding trade, these anarchists prove their aims aren't democratic.  They resemble the mobs of Castro's Cuba who engage in violence against citizens to enforce conformity.  The outrage of it all raises questions about Pelosi's real agenda in her one-sided criticism of tea partiers.  By criticizing only tea partiers and ignoring rampant thugs, she seeks to repress peaceful dissent.  With that setup, it's no surprise that there's a mudslide of violence now rolling down on us from an energized radical left.

Joe Wilson Raps Pelosi Over Making Bills Available Online.  Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) marshaled his newfound celebrity Friday [9/25/2009] by sending a fundraising letter to Republicans that accuses House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of failing to post all bills online at least 72 hours prior to votes.  Wilson, who rose to notoriety for interrupting President Obama's health-care address to Congress by yelling "You Lie!," charged Friday that Democratic congressional leaders "continue to spin and mislead the public" in the contentious debate over health-care reform.

Pelosi Seeks to Make Health Reform Bill More Liberal.  When House leadership brings a final health care bill to the full House floor, it may be more liberal than moderate House Democrats expected, according to reports.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is planning to include in the bill a tax on wealthy Americans, as well as a more robust government-run health insurance plan (or "public option"), abandoning the compromises leaders in a key committee worked out with the moderate Blue Dog Democrats, according to Roll Call.

The Democrats' Hypocrisy.  But as every San Franciscan knows, Dan White shot Moscone and Milk because Moscone would not give him his supervisor's post back and Milk supported Moscone. ... So it is hysterical and disingenuous for Pelosi to equate tea-party protests with the murders of Moscone and Milk and the riots that followed.  She knows better.  She herself said Thursday that people should take "responsibility" for what they say and any "incitement" their words cause.  She owes lawful protesters an apology.

Still Lying.  The Speaker of the House is right.  The Bay Area was indeed a mecca of political violence during the 1970s.  But the violence exclusively came from people whose outlook more closely resembled Nancy Pelosi's, not Joe Wilson's.

Pelosi's Pretense:  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held an "emotional" press conference to caution the rest of us "about the language" we use. ... It's hard to decide which is more repugnant, her acting ability or her double standard.  Madam Speaker, perhaps you're the one who isn't "balanced."

Pelosi Puts Her Foot In It.  Sorry folks, bigotry is bigotry; doesn't matter if you are white, black, yellow or plaid.  Obama is a bigot, Carter is not only an economic moron, he is also a bigot.  Pelosi is biased against heterosexuals and has a rabid bigotry against Christian white males.  In fact the entire tone of her statement indicates that she believes the greatest danger this country faces is the prototypical angry white male.  She is fearful that one of us who has a platform for our opinion will write or say something derogatory about Obama and one the members of our unstable redneck flock will sally forth to perform a heinous deed.

Speaker Of Lies.  What did the speaker know, and when did she know it? With CIA documents contradicting Nancy Pelosi's claims on classified briefings, will a death watch begin on her leadership?

Doubling Down On A Losing Strategy.  You've likely seen the video of Nancy Pelosi ostensibly choking back tears as she warns that violence is on the way, just as in 1970s San Francisco — one of the oddest analogies we've seen in a long time.  No, she wasn't talking about union thugs, the only people who have actually committed political violence during the current administration.  She was trying to smear and demonize conservatives and others who have rebelled against the Democrats' radical agenda:  government-run health care, bailouts, trillion dollar deficits, and so on.

They Hate the American We Love.  As militant as this president is, he is not alone in his extremism. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a woman two heartbeats away from the presidency herself, is perhaps even more radical than Obama, if that is possible.  Pelosi and her counterpart in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), have thus far done this president's bidding.  That may change, especially in the Senate, but one thing is clear.  These people hate the America you and I love, and they will do whatever they can to alter it forever.

Nancy's Nazis:  Nancy Pelosi has a very florid imagination.  In her mind's eye she is seeing people "carrying swastikas" at Town Hall meetings to protest Obama's Central Plan for American medicine. ... It's a control freak's dream, after all, and the Nazis were totalitarian control freaks.

Recycling the contempt.  Angry lynch mobs (to hear House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her sidekick Steny Hoyer tell it) of elderly gents on walking sticks and little blue-haired ladies in their 80s have descended on congressmen at town meetings across the country — in California, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia and other places.  They're taking out their anger and frustration at the Obama health care "reform" in the robust American way, but Mrs. Pelosi professes to see "reform" adrift on a turbulent sea of Nazi swastikas.

Health care outrage is plenty real.  When two of Congress' most powerful Democrats bash disagreeing citizens as "un-American," you know the hinges have fallen off.  Their smug lecture in a USA Today op-ed piece this week radiates the sanctimonious condescension that is dragging down President Barack Obama's suddenly human approval ratings.  "Health care is complex," professors Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer warn.  The attendant message:  Those displeased are stupid; if they were smarter, they would agree with us.  This is an old game for the left.  Only they are the smart, virtuous and responsible stewards of the mountains of taxpayer money that is their lifeblood.

Pelosi:  I'm clueless about cash cut-off.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday [9/16/2009] she is clueless about an amendment to prohibit government funds for embattled ACORN, although it overwhelmingly passed the Senate Monday and the White House is calling for the group to be held accountable.  "I don't even know what they passed," Pelosi told The Post yesterday.  "What did they do?  They defunded it?"

The Theory is Now a Conspiracy — Part II.  The US Constitution has very specific requirements for the office of President and Vice President and NO federal or state statute supersedes those Article II requirements.  The political Parties and each state Elector is charged with the legal responsibility of vetting and certifying that the candidates they nominate meet all necessary legal requirements for the office sought.  The RNC has done that, the DNC has NOT, except in the case of Obama's alleged birth place, Hawaii.  Where does this place Nancy Pelosi?  In a place of knowing, aiding and abetting?

The Opportunity of a Century.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi said one correct thing:  health care legislation is our "opportunity, not of a lifetime, but of the century."  Passage of the bill she supports would put us forever on the road to trillions of dollars in debt, bankruptcy, and European mistakes; defeat of the bill will safeguard the unique American recipe for liberty and prosperity.  Pelosi and her friends would give more control to patients over their medical care IF the liberals really wanted to improve quality and reduce cost.  Instead, they are trying to push our nation in the opposite direction, taking away control from patients over access and choices for medical care.

In Case You Had Any Doubts.  The Wall Street Journal editors in a helpful summary make two key points about the newly released CIA documents.  First, Nancy Pelosi did indeed lie.  She was briefed on the enhanced interrogation techniques ... And second, the interrogation techniques worked.

Are Pelosi's lies impeachable?  It is simply implausible that — in the dark days and weeks and months following 9/11, and the anthrax attacks which actually shut down the Capitol building in which she works — Pelosi remained unaware of the intelligence community's efforts to prevent further attacks.  We are supposed to believe that Pelosi, as ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, showed such disinterest as to fail to ask whether EIT's were actually being used and that, as the leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, she couldn't find fulfill her responsibilities to discuss such a vital matter with her own top aide.

Pelosi's Swastika Claim Is A Crock.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) proclaimed that those attending health care town hall meetings are "carrying swastikas."

Mr. President, Americans are not an 'angry mob'.  They aren't carrying swastikas, either, contrary to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's rant about the legions of worried citizens who have been standing up in multiple town halls and congressional forums to demand straight answers from their congressmen about what they are doing under the guise of "health-care reform."  Pelosi's attempt to smear honest citizens as Nazis is only the most reprehensible manifestation of a White House-directed propaganda campaign to discredit anyone who disagrees with President Obama's health-care proposal.

'Grassroots' vs. 'Astroturf': A Pitched Battle Over Health Care.  Is the Astroturf always greener on the other side?  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has characterized outspoken protests at town hall meetings on health care as "astroturf" — or disingenuous grassroots organization by conservative opponents of the legislation.  But President Obama is now calling on his online network of supporters, Organizing for America (OFA), to get involved in the debate.

Pelosi's plan: wine, dine big donors.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moves in a rarefied world of high society and high-level politics — and nothing underscores that fact quite like her plans for the August recess.  Pelosi will spend next weekend quietly tending to top party donors and political allies at a series of private events in Northern California.

Cap Taxes, Trade Congress.  While these Roman throwbacks [in Congress] attempt to save the planet, pagan style, so they can set up their Darwinian nirvana on earth, the rest of us have enough sense not to try to make the state our church.  While we, in the other America, use reason to guide our decisions, Nancy Pelosi actually seems to think she's the reincarnation of some pagan goddess on a mission to save the planet. ... Meanwhile, New England has just reported the coldest June on record, while the Global Warming hoax is revealed as a pile of pure poppycock by more real scientists every single day.  This Congress and their pagan-god delusions have got to go.  Has ever a more witless group reigned from on high in such vainglorious fashion?

Spies, lies and Speaker Pelosi.  The latest kerfuffle has Congressional Democrats accusing the Central Intelligence Agency of having a "secret plan" to capture or kill al-Qaida leadership. ... Of course, this whole issue has been constructed to protect Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the most remarkable moonbats ever to appear in American public life.  Back in May, while attempting to chew her way out of a leg-trap set by her left-wing base as to whether she was aware of waterboarding and enhanced interrogation by the CIA, Pelosi accused the agency of misleading Congress "all the time."

Pelosi v. CIA.  The last time the CIA and Nancy Pelosi were in the news together, the House Speaker was accusing the agency of lying about its briefings to Congress on the interrogation of al Qaeda detainees.  This week, the Speaker's fellow Democrats are set to block public disclosure of what Ms. Pelosi was really told and when.

The Democrats' War on our Spies.  The Democrats' war against our spies has taken two new turns.  In their zeal to punish Bush administration officials — and protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) from publication of the facts showing her complicity in then-legal waterboarding of terrorist prisoners — the Democrats have again accused the CIA of lying.

Another Phony Scandal.  With Speaker Pelosi caught in the web of her own deceit over what the CIA told her about "torture," and the Obama administration in the middle of its latest 180-degree reversal over CIA interrogators (Attorney General Holder is now considering prosecutions despite Obama's promise of no prosecutions), Democrats have trumped up a charge that the CIA, on the orders of Vice President Dick Cheney, failed to notify Congress that it was contemplating — not implementing, but essentially brainstorming about — plans to kill or capture top al-Qaeda figures.  This is their most ludicrous gambit in a long time — and that's saying something.

Protecting Pelosi, not America.  President Obama made the hunt for Al-Qaeda a repeated theme of his 2008 election campaign, scolding Bush for diverting resources from the "real" war on terror.  "We will kill bin Laden," he vowed in the second presidential debate in October.  "We will crush Al-Qaeda."  So why the outrage from Schakowsky and her colleagues?  It appears that the controversy has less to do with protecting America than protecting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

ACES Up Her Sleeve.  Well before Barack Obama brought hope to the White House, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was adamant that something new and different and wonderful had arrived.  In 2006, the incoming Speaker pledged that hers would be the "most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."  At the time, we were skeptical — to say the least.  Our refusal to accept her rhetoric was roundly vindicated last week.  That was when Madam-Speaker used every dirty trick at her disposal to coldly ram a 1,500 page global warming bill through the House of Representatives.

Capping and Trading Away Our Jobs.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says this is a jobs bill, "Jobs, jobs, jobs."  Unfortunately, the jobs created in alternative energy sources will be more than offset by job losses; and the "millions" of jobs that the bill is supposed to create can indeed be outsourced.  In fact, GE is already importing wind turbines from its plants in China, Germany and Spain to supply wind farms in the United States.

Democrats Continue to Protect ACORN.  Abraham Lincoln once remarked that "nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."  This week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her liberal colleagues demonstrated once again that in matters where power may conflict with principle, these liberals will put power first every time.

GOP hits Pelosi for mouse funds.  The tiny mouse that became a hotly disputed symbol of wasteful spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill has returned to pester House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  The Obama administration revealed last week that as much as $16.1 million from the stimulus program is going to save the San Francisco Bay Area habitat of, among other things, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.

Approval Ratings for Pelosi Hit a New Low.  A month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's showdown with the CIA over interrogation techniques, just 38 percent of Americans approve of her job performance, while 45 percent disapprove, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released yesterday.  That's the lowest approval rating she has received in the poll.

Pelosi will profit from Obama-Waxman-Markety cap-and-trade energy bill.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to bring the Obama-Waxman-Markey (OWM) anti-global warming cap-and-trade energy bill to the floor for a final vote Friday [6/26/2009], which raises an interesting question:  How much money will Pelosi make if the measure becomes law, as seems quite likely?  Pelosi, of course, is not the only member of Congress to own significant shares of energy companies. ... But as House Speaker, Pelosi's ownership of an unknown number of shares in the Clean Energy Fuels Corp. valued at between $15,000 and $50,000, may deserve particular attention.

Pelosi's Pork Problem.  Picture a freight train roaring down the tracks.  Picture House Speaker Nancy Pelosi positioning her party on the rails.  Picture a growing stream of nervous souls diving for the weeds.  Picture all this, and you've got a sense of the Democrats' earmark-corruption problem.  This particular choo-choo has the name John Murtha emblazoned on the side, and with each chug is proving that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

Pelosi 'dressed up' as Gore in China.  The trouble has been well publicized.  She was briefed by the CIA on waterboarding when it was first transpiring, did nothing to object and later told various stories meant to deny her tacit complicity.  In short, she lied, and because of witnesses and documentation, got caught.  Reporters loved this story, and it got to where Pelosi had an increasingly hard time revealing how horrible Republicans were.

Pelosi Censors Republicans.  Monday night [7/13/2009] Democrats voted to shut down the U.S. House Representatives rather than allow a handful of Republican Congressmen to speak on the floor.  What could have been so offensive or frightening about our discourse that Speaker Pelosi felt she had to protect her party by gagging free speech in the House?

totalitarian
We've heard this Washington song before.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made history Wednesday [6/17/2009] by barring Republicans from offering any amendments to spending legislation.  This has never been done before in the entire history of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Time for Nancy Pelosi to Resign.  Bush, Cheney and the CIA protected American lives.  Pelosi has attempted to undermine the credibility of those who kept us safe, in order to save her own job and status.  Furthermore, her behavior flies directly in the face of Obama's promise of a new era of integrity in politics, and he shouldn't stand by her while she lies.  Pelosi needs to step down, or the Obama administration and their allies in the House should end Pelosi's disgraceful political career.

Pelosi's Chinese Climate Change.  Back when Mrs. Pelosi was a rising liberal star her signature issue was human rights in China.  In 1991, she famously unfurled a pro-democracy banner in Tiananmen Square. During the Clinton Administration, she argued against normalizing trade relations with China unless linked to human-rights progress.  Yet throughout last week's China tour Mrs. Pelosi said nothing of note about human rights — despite the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre this week.

Speaker Pelosi's Controversial Marxist Connections:  Like the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not have to go through a background investigation in order to get a security clearance.  This loophole in the law enables the president and members of Congress to automatically qualify for security clearances, even if they have controversial backgrounds and associations, by virtue of the fact that they get elected to high office in Washington, D.C.  In the case of Speaker Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice president, there is increasing concern about whether she can be trusted with national security secrets.

Pelosi appeals for China's help on climate change.  U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Beijing on Thursday [5/25/2009] to cooperate on climate change, calling a safe environment a basic human right. ... "We have so much room for improvement," she said.  "Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory ... of how we are taking responsibility."

Pelosi vs. CIA: Why It Matters.  "Bush lied, people died" became a refrain uttered endlessly by Bush haters.  But Bush didn't lie — and the Democrats know it.  Indeed, to extricate herself from Torture-gate, Pelosi now compliments the CIA, the very agency Bush relied on in making the case for war.  But public opinion turned against the war.  Then waterboarding became "torture."

Pelosi's story has lots of holes in it.  This all matters because Pelosi has been leading the charge for a so-called "truth commission" to probe the means by which the Bush administration convinced itself it was within its moral and legal bounds in torturing people.  As Republicans have sensibly pointed out, that becomes problematic if you knew about said torture for seven years and said nothing.

Pelosi's Lies Roil Dem Establishment.  Nancy Pelosi was loudly applauded by the liberal media when she became Speaker of the House.  She is one of their own.  She's a true believer from the pinkest precincts of San Francisco. ... Pelosi is up for reelection next year.  If her San Francisco voters understand that she's been lying to them for eight whole years about waterboarding, furious peasants with pitchforks will be marching up the Castro.

Richard Milhous Pelosi.  Pelosi, like Nixon, is caught in her own web of denials.  She knew waterboarding was being employed and did nothing to stop it.  Her continued denials only dig her hole deeper in a failed Watergate-like cover-up, and she knows it.  Her body language in the May 14 press conference, fumbling with papers and flustered stops and starts all betray her intent to mislead.  Pelosi knew about the waterboarding and did nothing to stop it.  She is caught between the facts and her own radicalism in condemning the CIA.

Nervous Nancy.  Senior House Democrat leadership aides say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi believes that members of the Central Intelligence Agency aren't the only people who have been lying to her.  "Since she stepped into the middle of this waterboarding controversy she's become almost paranoid about her own people," says one leadership aide, who has worked with Pelosi, most recently in strategizing about House efforts on health care reform.

Pelosi's chickens home to roost.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi is engaged in the fight of her career.  The embattled speaker has resorted to attacking the credibility of the CIA over the extent of their disclosure of enhanced interrogation tactics, even as her own credibility melts away.  The truth of the matter, though, is that the situation in which Mrs. Pelosi finds herself is one of her own making, and just the latest in a series of irresponsible political moves.

Pelosi bewildered, but unbothered.  OK, fine.  The CIA — gasp! — fibbed, and she fell for it.  To me, that is not the real question, however.  To me, the real question is what on earth Pelosi thought the CIA meant when it said it was using "enhanced interrogation techniques" on detainees.  Did Pelosi think the CIA was sending these men to bed without dinner?

Cheney: Pelosi knew of interrogations.  Accusing President Obama of giving Americans "less than half the truth," former Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday [5/21/2009] tough interrogation tactics worked, and said the tactics had the approval of members of Congress including current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Is Nancy Pelosi a liar or a hypocrite?  If people were legitimately concerned that we were going to be attacked again in 2002, how does Pelosi become absolved of responsibility but Bush lawyers are guilty of war crimes?  We've long known that Pelosi, now calling for a truth commission to investigate the use of interrogation methods she once condoned, is a hypocrite.  The more pertinent question now is whether she's a liar.

Pelosi should 'fess up.  Down deep she has to realize that she's beginning to look not just foolish, but like others before her who have refused to admit they've been caught in a misstatement (Washingtonese for a lie).  To delay the inevitable, she's claiming that everyone around her is lying.

The witch hunt has caught the witch.  It's been fascinating to watch perhaps soon to be former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal) dig her political grave.  The first rule of holes is that when you find yourself in one, stop digging.  But for her press conference Thursday, Ms. Pelosi rented a steam shovel.

Pelosi Did Nothing With Knowledge About Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.  Seemingly lost in the dispute over what Speaker Pelosi says she was not told are the implications of what she acknowledges she was told.

Why Liberals Never Lie.  Leon Panetta also made clear that the CIA had truthfully, and fully briefed the speaker as to the techniques used, that she was in attendance, acknowledged the techniques, and had no problem with them at the time.  Thus the history books will say, began the downfall of Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House.

In Pelosi flap, whoever is lying must pay.  The greatest challenge in absorbing the Nancy Pelosi story is shelving our personal and political feelings about her.  For her supporters, that means suppressing the instinct to defend her at all costs.  For critics, that means suppressing the default setting of despising her.

Why Pelosi must go.  It's obvious that either Leon Panetta, Obama's head of the CIA, or Nancy Pelosi, his party's Speaker of the House, has to go.  No administration can tolerate a permanent, public civil war between two such high-ranking officials.

Why Pelosi Should Step Down:  To test how much damage Speaker Pelosi has done to the defense of our nation, ask yourself this:  If you were a young man or woman just starting out today, would you put on a uniform or become an intelligence officer to defend America, knowing that tomorrow a politician like Nancy Pelosi could decide you were a criminal?  Would you?

Let's Find Out Who's Lying: Pelosi or CIA.  There's nothing to agree or disagree about when it comes to intelligence officials misleading Congress.  Pelosi didn't say she might have misunderstood.  She isn't saying things have changed.  As I understand it, she is claiming that intelligence officials lied to her.  That needs to be investigated.  If Pelosi was misled, those responsible should step aside.  If she wasn't — if she is pointing at others to avoid taking responsibility for herself — then she will face loud calls to do so herself.

Pelosi's accusations against the CIA can no longer be met with silence.  He's the man with the silver tongue, "a gift," as he once called his inspired ability with words.  Yet while a heated battle with national security implications rages around him, President Obama has pushed his mute button.  It's been six days since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went wiggy and accused the Central Intelligence Agency of repeatedly lying to her and others in Congress, saying "they mislead us all the time."

She said, he said.  Both Pelosi and Obama are caught between the political necessity of preventing another 9/11 and losing their jobs or explaining what might have to be done and risk losing their jobs.  Kerry was right:  "torture elicits lies."  But not in the way he meant.

Systemic Democrat Rot:  The systemic rot within the Democrat Party is obvious to anyone other than the 13 million people on Obama's campaign email list. ... We got a more recent look at it during the Lewinski scandal of the Clinton years, but now it has burst upon the political scene again as it is obvious to everyone that the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has been lying about her knowledge and acceptance of "enhanced interrogations."  Calls from any House Democrat that she should step down or be removed are muted or non-existent.

Nancy 'Scooter' Pelosi.  Scooter Libby went to prison for the "outing" of a desk-jockey CIA agent.  He forgot conversations.  Pelosi forgets briefings.  And the outing of our entire intelligence apparatus by Democrats is OK.

Nancy's Versions:  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is almost certainly not telling the truth about her foreknowledge of EITs — what the CIA calls "enhanced interrogation techniques" and critics call "torture."  To answer the inevitable question, we turn to recently released CIA records.

Pelosi Blames Bush for Social Security and Medicare Woes.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, reacting to a dire government report on the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, says it's all the Bush administration's fault.

Pelosi in a Pickle.  CIA Director Leon Panetta yesterday [5/15/2009] let House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democrat, have it with both barrels.  Without naming his one-time House colleague — who, a day earlier, had charged that Panetta's agency "mislead[s] us all the time" — the CIA chief sent an agency-wide memo citing "the long tradition in Washington of making political hay out of our business."

Panetta's Pelosi Smackdown.  Our guess is that Nancy Pelosi will come to regret her accusation on Thursday that CIA officials lied to her about their interrogation of terrorists.  It took only a day for the agency to fire back, in the form of a statement from Director Leon Panetta, a Democrat, an Obama appointee and a long-time California Congressional colleague of the House Speaker.

Flailing In Quicksand.  The CIA will bite back after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's wild new allegations of a cover-up on terrorist interrogations.  When that truth comes out, she'll lose big.  It may be the lie that ensnares her.

The truth about Nancy Pelosi's lie:  Three things are now clear about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent comments about what she knew and when she knew it concerning the CIA's use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), including water-boarding:  First, it is no longer possible to doubt that Pelosi knew as of September 4, 2002 that the CIA included water-boarding among its tools for interrogating high-value terrorists like al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah.

Lies And Liars.  Last week saw an unusual number of outright lies from our media and political class.  Lies that went virtually unchallenged. ... Lie #2:  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced to the world that she was never told during a congressional briefing in 2002 that waterboarding or other "enhanced" interrogation techniques were being used on terrorism suspects.

Masters of deception.  Students of intelligence-gathering will tell you deception and outright lying are essential to the art.  Having now reviewed the controversy over who in Congress knew what about the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques, I have concluded that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might make a superb intelligence officer.  She claims she was utterly unaware of the CIA's rough treatment of terrorists detained after Sept. 11, 2001.  She says this without betraying a hint of deception or uncertainty.

Dems' effective one-two punch.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) is the most partisan Democrat in the House, while her deputy, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), is one of the most bipartisan lawmakers in the lower chamber, according to a survey conducted by The Hill.  The two Democratic leaders have established a good-cop-bad-cop modus operandi, which may be a key to their effectiveness since taking control in 2007.

Pelosi Briefed on Use of Interrogation Tactics in Sept. 2002.  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, according to a report prepared by the Director of National Intelligence's office and obtained by ABC News.

Pelosi lied about interrogation briefing.  If a CIA memorandum obtained by Jed Babbin of Human Events is genuine, then Nancy Pelosi shook her finger in the face of the nation and lied about not being told water boarding was used.

Have You No Sense of Decency, Ms. Pelosi, at Long Last? Have You No Sense of Decency?  The news that Nancy Pelosi was, in fact, briefed on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques as early 2002 should have two repercussions. ... What we are seeing is yet another chicken, albeit a large one, coming home to roost...

Pelosi refutes intelligence memo.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday questioned the accuracy of an intelligence memo that appeared to conflict with her previous statements that she was not told of waterboarding at a classified briefing she attended in 2002 on CIA interrogation techniques.

Probe Yourselves.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a broad "probe" of Wall Street, much like the 1932 Pecora Commission that led to sweeping bank reforms. ... Why do this now?  Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues are feeling the heat from Tea Party demonstrations and growing voter anger over the massive waste entailed in the $4 trillion (and rising) stimulus-bailout bonanza.  Again, the Democrats created all this spending.  Now, as it proves unpopular, they just walk away from it.

Is Pelosi a War Criminal?  Pelosi is just as guilty as George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, other members of Congress who were briefed in detail on the CIA interrogation program, the Justice Department lawyers who wrote the opinions and the CIA personnel who crafted the interrogation program.  But none is guilty of any crime if, as it appears, they obeyed the law as it was written then.

Pelosi's Library Quarantine:  In February, an overzealous law governing lead in products resulted in toys going from store shelves to the trash heap.  Now, confusion over how the rules affect children's books has led some libraries to rope off kids' sections.  Last summer, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) interpreted the 2008 law to include children's books, though exactly what that means is anyone's guess.

Pelosi Tells Illegal Immigrants That Work Site Raids are Un-American.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told a group of both legal and illegal immigrants and their families that enforcement of existing immigration laws, as currently practiced, is "un-American."  The speaker, condemning raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, referred to the immigrants she was addressing as "very, very patriotic."

Hillary, Pelosi in la-la-land on immigration.  Last week Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) described the law-enforcement activities of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as "un-American."  Which triggers the question — since when is enforcing federal law by a federal agency "un-American"? ... Pelosi's comments reveal just how out of touch she is — like most of her party's leadership — with most Americans.

Speaker Pelosi's Latest Move to Regulate the News.  While clearly there are serious issues engulfing the newspaper industry, in San Francisco and elsewhere, the problem isn't one of anti-trust violations.  Pelosi has made her feelings known.  She would like a return to the Fairness Doctrine.  This is a nose under the tent.  Yes, the industry is changing.  It has been for years.  But other than perhaps some limits on one company owning too many TV, radio and newspapers in a single market, the government really should have no role in the business of news.

Pelosi dodges chance to end automatic pay raises.  Congress' automatic pay raises are in little immediate danger of being scrapped for good, even with the economy slumping and millions of Americans unemployed.

Liberals and the Stimulus.  Nothing captured quite so perfectly the manic state among those eager for the passage and implementation of the so-called "stimulus" as the wild remark by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, that "every month we do not have an economic recovery package, 500 million Americans lose their jobs."  There are only 300 million Americans in all, among them 75 million under the age of eighteen and 36 million over the age of sixty-five.  The number of employable Americans is thus somewhere around 190 million.  If one were to calculate using Pelosian math, by the end of this month alone, the United States would be facing an unemployment rate approaching 1,200 percent.

The People Who Can Make or Break Obama.  [#2] Nancy Pelosi:  Almost single-handedly Speaker Nancy Pelosi destroyed President Obama's image as a moderate conciliator.  Her pork-a-thon spending bill dressed up as a stimulus and her decision to exclude Republicans entirely from the legislative process not only revived the Republican opposition, but needlessly sacrificed the Democrats' appeal to moderate swing voters.  Now that her appetite has been whetted (and it is clear the president has no interest or ability in restraining her), there is no telling how far to the left she will leap.

Pelosi throws cold water on weapons ban.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tossed cold water on the prospect of reinstating the assault weapons ban, highlighting Democrats' reluctance to take on gun issues.  Attorney General Eric Holder raised the prospect Wednesday [2/25/2009] that the administration would push to bring back the ban.  But Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that he never talked to her.  The Speaker gave a flat "no" when asked if she had talked to administration officials about the ban.

'I am the Speaker of the House'.  When the book is written on Nancy Pelosi's reign as speaker of the House, the thinnest chapter just might turn out to be:  "Bipartisanship and the 111th Congress."

Pope tells Nancy Pelosi life must be protected.  Pope Benedict XVI received Nancy Pelosi, one of the most prominent abortion rights politicians in America, and told her Wednesday [2/18/2009] that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development."

Catholic Group Petitions Pope to Excommunicate Nancy Pelosi.  Human Life International (HLI), a Catholic pro-life group based in Front Royal, Va., had a letter from its Rome office delivered to the Vatican this week, in which it called upon Pope Benedict XVI to "formally excommunicate" from the Catholic Church House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).  The pope met with Pelosi on Wednesday.

Ten Ways Obama Can Get a Grip:  First, never, ever let Nancy Pelosi carry the ball for the administration.  Her contempt for bipartisanship, political extremism, and inability to defend her own handiwork make her politically toxic.  From here on out President Obama would do well to deliver the legislation he wants, and position himself as a force for moderation, not the lackey of the speaker.

Pelosi Advocates Greater Government Investment in Banks.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, describing the U.S. economy as "dark, darker, darkest," indicated that further nationalization of American banks may be necessary, although she shied away from using the word "nationalization."

'I am the Speaker of the House'.  To hear her aides and associates tell it, Pelosi entered last week on her best bipartisan behavior, hoping that billions in tax cuts would be enough to lure six to 10 Republican House members to vote for the $819 billion stimulus plan.  To Republicans, it was a typical Pelosi pose  — and they accused her of ramming one of the biggest spending bills in history down their throats while scaling back President Barack Obama's tax-cut proposal to fund 40 years' worth of liberal wish-list items.

Pelosi's Abortion Stimulus Package.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) will bring her "Kill the Children" economic stimulus plan to the floor of the House this week for a likely vote on Thursday [1/29/2009].  On ABC's "This Week" last Sunday, Pelosi justified the inclusion of expanded federal funding for abortions as part of an economic stimulus plan on the grounds that reducing the number of children being born would help stimulate the economy.

Nancy Pelosi's neo-eugenics.  Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is no economist, judging by her comments made to ABC's George Stephanopoulus, in asserting population growth in the US would be a drag on economic growth.  Population growth usually is an economic stimulant, especially in developed countries.  It always is a stimulant in developed democracies with private property rights and free markets.  Otherwise we wouldn't have a consumer society.

Pelosi Open to Prosecution of Bush Administration Officials.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receptive to the idea of prosecuting some Bush administration officials, while letting others who are accused of misdeeds leave office without prosecution, she told Chris Wallace in an interview on "FOX News Sunday."  "I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it," the California Democrat said.

The honeymoon ends promptly at noon.  So far [the Obama] administration looks more like a Clinton Restoration than anything anticipated by the embittered cult on the far fringes of the nutcake left.  That's better than some of us expected.  But Nancy Pelosi, the dowager queen of the San Francisco Democrats, and some of her congressional acolytes still dream of resurrecting Nuremberg and putting George W. and Dick Cheney in the dock, like Hermann Goering.

Pelosi's Toy Story:  Under a new law set to go into effect February 10, unsold toys, along with bikes, books and even children's clothing are destined for the scrap heap due to an overzealous law to increase toy safety.  The damage comes from new rules governing lead in children's products.  After last year's scare over contaminated toys made in China, Congress leapt in to require all products aimed at children under 12 years old to be certified as safe and virtually lead-free by independent testing.

House re-elects Nancy Pelosi as speaker.  The woman who made history two years ago by becoming the first female speaker of the House has been re-elected to that post.  House colleagues today [1/6/2009] chose Nancy Pelosi to continue as speaker.

The Pelosi Doctrine:  What's good for her is good for the U.S.  President-elect Barack Obama meets today with Democratic congressional leaders to discuss their forthcoming economic stimulus package.  On Wednesday a Democrats-only committee hearing will convene to push for congressional action before Obama's January 20 inauguration.  Thus advances a sham economic stimulus bill via a sham legislative process.

Pelosi Erases Gingrich's Long-Standing Fairness Rules.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation.  Pelosi's proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office.

The Pelosi Record:  Ms. Pelosi likes to thunder against "the failures of eight years of the Bush economic policies."  The stock market has collapsed, she hisses, "because of a Republican philosophy of greed, deregulation, and tax cuts."  But almost the entire decline in the economy has come since she picked up the Speaker's gavel.  The stock market has decisively voted thumbs-down on the Pelosi paradigm, with the Dow falling from 12,157 in November 2006 to 8,600 today.  And it's not just the stock market that has imploded.  Let's consider the gale of destruction since the Pelosi era began.

Pelosi Defends Rangel.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told NBC's Meredith Vieira in an interview taped Monday [12/8/2008] that Rep. Charles Rangel should not step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.  Pelosi said she didn't see "any reason" that Rangel should step down.

If she needs a few reasons, she should click here.

In Alaska, The Drill Is Gone.  Remember those 68 million acres House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the oil companies had to use or lose?  According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, they can't drill there either.

Pelosi's Quandary:  Jobs or Cross-eyed Mosquitoes?  Until now, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been adamant in insisting that funds from a $25B package intended for making automobiles more environmentally friendly NOT be used to help bail out the auto industry.  With her crazy liberal perspective, Pelosi has consistently favored the needs of insects and polar bears over hard-working Americans who need jobs.

Nationalizing Detroit:  In the Washington mind, there are two kinds of private companies.  There are successful if "greedy" corporations, which can always afford to pay more taxes and tolerate more regulation.  And then there are the corporate supplicants that need a handout.  As the Detroit auto makers are proving, you can go from being the first to the second in the blink of an election.

The Editor says...
Aren't these corporate bailouts exactly what Obama's supporters thought they were voting against?

Pelosi censors poster of troops.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-S.F., has done something worse than commit a crime against the First Amendment.  The speaker's censorship of nonobtrusive posters featuring men and women who gave that last full measure of devotion in service to their country is a blunder that could alienate 23 million veterans and their families from the Democratic Party.  If she is endowed with a crumb of constitutional or political sense, she will reverse course.

Pelosi paid husband with PAC funds.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has directed nearly $100,000 from her political action committee to her husband's real estate and investment firm over the past decade, a practice of paying a spouse with political donations that she supported banning last year.  Financial Leasing Services Inc. (FLS), owned by Paul F. Pelosi, has received $99,000 in rent, utilities and accounting fees from the speaker's "PAC to the Future" over the PAC's nine-year history.

House Speaker Pelosi Used Political Donations to Pay Husband's Firm.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid her husband's real estate and investment firm nearly $100,000 from her political action committee over the past decade, a practice that she voted to ban last year and that her party condemned as part of the "culture of corruption" when Republicans did it.

A failure to lead.  "For six years, Pelosi served on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (the Ethics Committee)."  Six years later, what do we have?  Indicted Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who maintains his House seat in the middle of a corruption trial, without so much as a reprimand from Mrs. Pelosi.  Neither did she issue a single admonition to Rep. Charles Rangel, New York Democrat and Ways and Means Committee chairman, for his apparent failure to pay income taxes.

Democrats Fumble Ball On Energy.  In a letter just this week to House Republican leader John Boehner, Pelosi touted an extensive record of energy success.  But a look at Pelosi's "record" shows it to be pretty pathetic.  She and congressional Democrats have pursued energy "price-gougers," even though more than 17 studies have shown the practice is virtually nonexistent; they've punished "Big Oil" with higher taxes, while handing subsidies to alternative energy; and they've sought to punish "market manipulators."  None of these ideas work.

The drilling bill that bans drilling.  This bill permanently bans all drilling within 50 miles of the US coast, which just happens to be where most of the recoverable oil and gas reserves are.  It permits drilling between 50 and 100 miles out only if the adjoining states agree — which they won't, since the bill denies them any share in the royalties the oil companies would have to pay, thereby eliminating any financial incentive for a state to say yes.  Virtually all the oil off the California coast and beneath the Eastern Gulf of Mexico would be locked up for good.

The Glories of Socialism.  Nancy Pelosi said a few weeks ago that we should nationalize the oil companies.  Well, Hugo Chavez has already done that and perhaps we should examine the results.

New Evidence of Nancy Pelosi Associate Supporting Chavez, Marxists, & Terrorists.  A Colombian associate of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is once again linked to FARC terrorists and Marxist Dictator Hugo Chavez with the revelation of damning new messages concerning Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba that are currently being investigated by Colombian military officials.  Once again we have a powerful American politician, this one the Speaker of the House of Representatives, linked to those attempting to institute Marxist regimes to our South.

Pelosi's Energy Stonewall:  Democrats appear ready to sacrifice their whole agenda, even spending, rather than allow new domestic energy production.  Or even a mere debate about energy.  The Democratic leadership is stonewalling any measure that might possibly relax the Congressional ban on offshore drilling.  Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid know that they would lose if a vote ever came to the floor, and they're desperate to suppress an insurrection among those Democrats who are pragmatic about one of the top economic issues.

The 21st century Boston Tea Party.  On Aug. 1, Speaker Nancy Pelosi — without addressing gas prices that continue to hover near $4 per gallon — adjourned Congress for five weeks, dimmed the lights, turned off the microphones and C-SPAN cameras and attempted to remove the press and visitors from the House chamber.  Republicans refuse to leave the chamber because the issue is about much more than gas prices.  It is about much more than energy.  It is about the U.S. economy, jobs and national security.  It is about who we are as a people.

Where's the Energy?  Locked up, thanks to Speaker Pelosi.  With complete disregard to the rights of the minority party, the Democrat leadership in Congress will not allow a vote on drilling for America's vast domestic resources.  Producers have made great strides in minimizing ecological damage.  Over the past 25 years, 7 billion gallons of oil have been pumped to shore, without a single significant spill.  In fact, the last oil spill of any impact from a drilling rig off our shores occurred 37 years ago.  Yet, congressional Democrats refuse to acknowledge these facts, choosing instead to remain beholden to the fringe environmental extremists who oppose advancement.

Pelosi looks to load up drilling bill.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may be ready to allow a vote on offshore drilling, but that doesn't mean she's going to make it easy on the Republicans who've been goading her for weeks on energy.  As she announced her willingness to hold a drilling vote Monday night, she stressed that it would have to be part of a larger energy package.  And the contents of that package might include some items that would be tough for Republicans and the energy industry to swallow….

Pelosi's Ploy:  It's not that we think Pelosi won't let something with the word "drilling" in it come up for a vote.  It's just that it's likely to be stuck in one of those big omnibus bills with all sorts of pork-barrel spending, new taxes, restrictions on oil use, new economy-damaging limits on global warming gases or plans to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices — a silly idea most sensible centrist Democrats are walking away from.

Pelosi's Drilling Ruse:  When Democrats opposed every measure to increase domestic oil production, they angered millions of Americans.  And when they finally tried to claim they were for new drilling by producing two bills that allowed new drilling only where there was little or no oil, Americans quickly picked up on the scam.  On all of the major issues of the past two years, the Democrats chose to play political gotcha instead of actually govern.

Nancy Pelosi's Power Recipe:  Although 73 percent of Americans favor offshore drilling, Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't allow the House of Representatives to vote on the Republican bill to lift the drilling ban.  In a recent CNN interview, Pelosi said she has "no plans" to schedule a vote on it because she opposes drilling in "protected areas."  She is contradicting the pledge she made in 2007 at her swearing-in as speaker:  "I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship, and I look forward to working with you, [Minority Leader John] Boehner, and the Republicans in Congress for the good of the American people."  What's her excuse for her recent stand?

Pelosi won't limit vote to offshore drilling.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday firmly rejected the idea of a House vote solely on the issue of offshore oil drilling, calling it "a hoax on the American people" backed by oil companies. ... "You want to drill?  We want the royalties for the American people, and we want that to pay for renewable energy resources," the San Francisco Democrat said in an interview for KQED television's weekly news show, "This Week in Northern California."  "We want to connect all that together."

The Editor interjects...
But Ms. Pelosi, those royalties are not yours to give away.

Pelosi's oil slick.  On one hand, what kind of leader would she be if she didn't acknowledge that movement in public opinion? ... But on the other hand, she hails from California where there's long been a "No way, Jose", or better yet "No way, San Jose" attitude about off-shore drilling.  So she can't just give up on opposing such drilling without inviting a severe backlash from her constituency.

Pelosi's top five list for the next president:  When the next U.S. president moves into the White House on January 20, 2009, he shouldn't be surprised to get a call from Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill with a list of legislative demands.  "End the (Iraq) war, expand health care, create jobs through innovation, rebuild infrastructure and ensure our energy independence."  In that order.

The Editor says...
I don't know what the next president will say in reply, but here's what I would say:
  1. We should win the war, not just end it.
  2. Socialized medicine is for socialists.
  3. Private businesses create jobs through innovation — but only
  when they can overcome layers of bureaucratic red tape and huge tax bites.
  4. The Constitution says nothing about "infrastructure", so that is up to the 50 states.
  5. Energy independence is impossible as long as Democrats oppose every practical source of energy.
What are the next five items on your list, Nancy?

Pelosi's spatula:  Americans don't think the 110th Congress — the one under the leadership of Democrats Harry Reid in the Senate and Nancy Pelosi in the House — has much to say for itself.  Regardless of the issue, Americans are clearly of the mind that Congress is shirking its responsibilities.  The energy/oil issue is no exception.  In fact, Republicans are more in sync with voters than Democrats.

What America's Daughters Need To Know About Nancy Pelosi:  The Democratic Speaker of the House and a co-author hired to try to add flavor to bland Beltway establishment oatmeal have penned a self-help book for "America's daughters" to help them "Know Your Power."  It's a dreadfully pedestrian text ("As long as we recognize the power within us, we will continue to have choices, and we will continue to lead."), surpassed in its dreadfulness only by the timing of its publication.

The Imperious Nancy Pelosi.  Power is known to do some mighty strange things to otherwise quite normal people.  At this perilous moment in our history, we have given a great deal of power to a kindly Catholic grandmother named Nancy.  And, unfortunately for us little people, it seems to have gone straight to the little lady's head.

Pelosi:  Drilling in protected areas 'a hoax'.  "This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, it's an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration" Pelosi said at her weekly press conference.  "It's a decoy to punt your attention away from the fact that their policies have produced $4-a-gallon gasoline."

That assertion is easily disproven by looking at the causes of high oil and gas prices.

The Drill-Nothing Congress.  The average price for regular gas hit $4 a gallon over the weekend.  Gas prices have risen 75% since Nancy Pelosi took over.  Where's the energy independence Democrats promised two years ago?

Blame Democrats for high gas prices.  Two years ago then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi boldly proclaimed, "Democrats have a common-sense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices."  Since she became speaker of the House, gas prices have skyrocketed from about $2.33 per gallon to $3.85 as I write this.

Over to You, Speaker Pelosi.  Gas is still at $4 a gallon, but the good news is there's an emerging consensus on a measure that would help:  Drill for more oil here at home.  President Bush dropped the executive ban on offshore oil and natural gas exploration last week, and House GOP leader John Boehner plans to lead a congressional delegation to Colorado and Alaska to highlight America's abundant energy resources this week.  Polls show more than two-thirds of the public support increased domestic energy exploration and production.  Guess who stands in the way.

Power of one:  Pelosi vows to block offshore drilling vote.  A plan to lift the ban on coastal drilling is stalled on Capitol Hill, for one simple reason: A Californian who opposes President Bush's proposal is calling the shots in the House of Representatives.  Despite growing public support for ending the ban, even in California, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won't allow a vote.  "I have no plans to do so," Pelosi said Thursday [7/17/2008].

Boehner says majority of Congress wants to drill.  House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Congress is ready to lift the ban on offshore drilling but is being blocked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).  "Nancy Pelosi and the liberals here in the Congress, they worship at the altar radical environmentalism.  The last thing that that group wants is more drilling," said Boehner in an interview with Bloomberg TV Saturday.

Pelosi stands firm against offshore drilling.  Her voice carries considerable weight since, as speaker, Pelosi is in a position to prevent a vote on expanded drilling from reaching the floor.  And she and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, appear intent on holding the line against calls to approve drilling in areas now off limits.

Pelosi blocks vote on Bush request to lift ban on offshore oil drilling.  A plan to lift the ban on coastal drilling is stalled on Capitol Hill, for one simple reason:  A Californian who opposes President Bush's proposal is calling the shots in the House of Representatives.  Despite growing public support for ending the ban, even in California, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said she won't allow the immediate vote the president wants.

Blunt blasts Pelosi for not allowing drilling vote.  House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Sunday [7/20/2008] strongly criticized Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not allowing a vote on a measure that would allow offshore drilling.  While acknowledging that Pelosi can prevent such a vote, Blunt said the Democratic leader would have to live with that decision, which he argued "does not make sense to the American people."

Democrats target Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California wants President Bush to tap millions of barrels of oil stored in underground salt caverns near Lake Charles and Baton Rouge.  The West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw storage facilities, and two others on the Texas Gulf Coast, make up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a federal storage system of more than 706 million gallons of oil to be used in a national emergency.

Feckless To Reckless, Pelosi Should Resign.  Any leader with an energy record as derelict as Speaker Pelosi's ought to step down.  Where she once was just incompetent and irresponsible, she has now — with her latest scheme to fix oil prices — become dangerous.  Despite polls showing Americans in favor of drilling more oil from America's huge untapped supplies, Pelosi won't allow it.  She just wants to empty our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for a short-term fix to get through Election Day.

This is Not a Drill.  [Speaker of the House Nancy] Pelosi announced that the Democrats also plan to push for "an historic investment in biofuels, efficiency, conservation and the rest."  The "rest" is apparently what she called our "important and essential" investment in alternative energy.  That certainly would be historic:  We would make history by throwing our money away on unproven energy boondoggles that have eaten up untold billions since the 1960s without producing a single net kilowatt of power while we all starve to death.

The Democrats' energy policy is hot air.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning [8/24/2008].  Pelosi was asked whether it is proper for her to be investing in natural gas at the same time she is pushing for a federal program that would require its use.  "I'm investing in something I believe in," Pelosi replied.  "I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels."  Natural gas cannot be an alternative to fossil fuels for the simple reason that natural gas is a fossil fuel.

Pelosi's failure:  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the pot calling the kettle black.  On Thursday [7/17/2008], she referred to President Bush as a "total failure."  Yet, the Democrat-led Congress that she captains has even lower poll ratings than Mr. Bush.  In fact, according to the latest AP-Ipsos poll, only 18 percent of Americans approve of Congress' performance.  This is the all-time lowest rating for Congress since Gallup began asking voters to rate the institution in 1974.

America's Energy Held Hostage.  A recent CNN poll showed more than 73 percent of Americans in favor of offshore drilling.  But the House Speaker can keep the issue from even reaching a vote, and Pelosi seems bent on just that.  "(In California) We learned the hard way that oil and water do not mix on our coast," she said back in 1996.  Pelosi was referring, of course, to the famous Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969, an event that serves as the Alamo of the anti-drilling cause.

The Editor says...
Nancy Pelosi has gotten a lot of political mileage out of that one oil spill almost 40 years ago.  The Santa Barbara incident was a blowout.  Prior to the development of blow-out preventers, blowouts were common and were referred to as gushers.*  In other words, there's so much oil and gas out there, it can hardly wait to get out of the ground.

Pelosi's Price:  It's bad enough that Rep. Pelosi refuses to embrace reality, evaluate facts and oversee meaningful debate.  But the hissy fits she throws against President Bush and the Republican minority are worse yet.  This is a sad situation.  Pelosi's reaction to Bush's lifting of the ban on offshore drilling is a perfect example.

Pelosi:  'I'm trying to save the planet'.  After promising fairness and open debate, Pelosi has resorted to hard-nosed parliamentary devices that effectively bar any chance for Republicans to offer policy alternatives.  "I'm trying to save the planet; I'm trying to save the planet," she says impatiently when questioned.  "I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy."

Nancy Pelosi Tries to 'Save the Planet'.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will block Republican attempts to lift the moratorium on offshore energy exploration because, "I'm trying to save the planet."  David Rogers at the Politico newspaper reports that Pelosi, who initially promised an open debate, has now resorted to what he calls hard-nosed parliamentary devices to block any Republican proposals on offshore oil and gas exploration.

Pelosi's Planet:  If the San Francisco Democrat's magisterial narcissism isn't off-putting enough, her intent should be.  She's saying that her importance to the survival of Earth transcends our system of open government, elections and power-sharing.  Because she's trying to save the world, she can't be challenged and dissent will not be tolerated.  Pelosi's arrogation of power is not unlike that of the monarchs of old who claimed a divine right to rule.

How's That Minimum Wage Hike Working, Speaker Pelosi?  Since the second leg of the minimum wage hike is about to go into effect, and since we are in the middle of presidential and congressional election season that has to a great extent focused on the state of the economy, one cannot help wondering what Speaker Pelosi and the rest of her Democratic cronies have to say about the success of their "progressive economic agenda."

The Goodwill of Nancy Pelosi:  You'd think after giving credit for American success to America's sworn enemies, the Speaker of the House would back off from flattering the mullahs.  She might even attempt to clarify or correct the record.  A mere "'goodwill' was the wrong term" would have gone a long way.  Yet no clarification or correction was issued.

The Democrats' Fairness Doctrine Dilemma:  Congressional Democrats remain silent, acquiescing in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's determination to prevent legislation to block the reimposition of the so-called Fairness Doctrine.  For all their prattling about protecting civil liberties, none of them — not a single one — has so far signed the discharge petition to allow the Broadcasters' Freedom Act to be wrested from Pelosi's grip to protect our freedom of speech.

How's That Minimum Wage Hike Working, Speaker Pelosi?  Since the second leg of the minimum wage hike is about to go into effect, and since we are in the middle of presidential and congressional election season that has to a great extent focused on the state of the economy, one cannot help wondering what Speaker Pelosi and the rest of her Democratic cronies have to say about the success of their "progressive economic agenda."

Speaker Pelosi in Ethical Hot Water?  Campaign finance experts say Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have violated federal law by appearing in a television commercial advocating a response to global warming.  Cybercast News reports the ad ran nationwide between mid-April and May 6.  The spot was planned and paid for by Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.  It may be a violation of the McCain-Feingold law that Pelosi enthusiastically supported.

Pelosi's Wealth Greater Than Other Congressional Leaders.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is the wealthiest of the top congressional leaders, with total assets valued at somewhere between $30 million and $131 million, according to federal financial disclosure statements.

Where's the wealth gap?  Try Congress.  Together with her husband, Paul, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi owns a vineyard in St. Helena, Calif., valued at $5 million - $25 million; a town house in Norden, Calif., valued at $1 million - $5 million; rental property in Napa, Calif., valued at $500,000 - $1 million; and a Wells Fargo bank account containing $100,000 - $250,000.… Rent from the Napa property totaled $15,000 - $50,000; rental income from the vineyard totaled $50,001 - $100,000.

House members doing well despite economic slump.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., one of the wealthiest members of Congress, and her real estate-magnate husband Paul Pelosi spent between $1 million and $5 million to buy the home they'd been living in on San Francisco's Broadway.  They also own a vineyard in St. Helena, Calif., worth between $5 million and $25 million and a town house in Norden, Calif., valued between $1 million and $5 million, according to annual financial disclosures released Monday [6/16/2008].

Madame Speaker has Reality Slap her in the face in Iraq.  It will be hard for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to go back to her Democratic colleagues and keep declaiming on the House floor about how the surge isn't working in Iraq now that she has been there and seen for herself.  What she saw was buried in an AP report on her trip.  Powerline's Paul Mirengoff:  "Buried deep in this AP report, between news of a crackdown on al Qaeda in Mosul and a suicide bombing in Baqouba, is Nancy Pelosi's concession that the surge is succeeding."

Biblical Scholars Challenge Pelosi's 'Scripture' Quote.  In her April 22 Earth Day news release, Pelosi said, "The Bible tells us in the Old Testament, 'To minister to the needs of God's creation is an act of worship.  To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.' … Claude Mariottini, a professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Cybercast News Service the passage not only doesn't exist — it's "fictional."  "It is not in the Bible," Mariottini said.  "There is nothing that even approximates that."

Biblical Scholars Challenge Speaker Pelosi's Old Testament Quote.  Biblical scholars are challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's continued use of what she characterizes as a Bible verse to support her push for global warming legislation. … She has quoted the same passage on several other occasions.  But Cybercast News reports several experts say the passage does not exist and does not appear to be a paraphrase of something similar.

Pelosi's War:  The cowardly start more wars than the courageous.  Nancy Pelosi's craven altering of House rules to kill off Colombia's trade pact brings that danger to the Andes.  If war breaks out, her name will be on it.

Derailing the Colombian trade pact was political pandering at its worst.  The Democratic Party pandered the life out of the Colombian Free Trade Agreement this week.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi effectively killed the proposal with a deft parliamentary maneuver that was designed to secure votes from trade protectionists and the executive staff of the AFL-CIO.  The fact that the maneuver may have hurt our relationship with a good trading partner, Colombia, apparently doesn't matter.  Colombians don't vote in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary.

Pelosi plays politics.  Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has done well by her party.  The pact is opposed by unions and therefore is opposed by both Democratic presidential candidates, who are courting labor votes.  But because its economic benefits are plain, a vote would force Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York to choose between politics and the national interest.  Pelosi's solution:  stall.

Petraeus vs. The Party of Defeat:  Thou shalt not speak well of Iraq.  That was the commandment imperiously handed down by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week, in anticipation of General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker's testimony before Congress.

Liberal Meltdown:  Speaker Pelosi complained that antiwar liberals 1) invaded her private space, 2) ticked off her neighbors, 3) set up "protest camps" outside her home, 4) made her life inconvenient with their antics.  Of course, all of that was fine when they were doing it to President Bush outside his home in Crawford, Texas.

Guns And Butter:  A Primer.  Speaker Pelosi says that for the cost of 41 days in Iraq, 10 million children can receive health insurance for a year.  The Constitution says a lot about national defense.  It says nothing about insurance.  Cut-and run Democrats argue that it's an either/or proposition.

Better SAVE Than Sorry.  Why would nearly 50 Democrats not allow legislation they co-sponsored to get to the House floor for a vote?  Because their boss, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, doesn't want meaningful immigration reform that protects our borders.

Pelosi's Bill Could Benefit Husband's Stock Holding.  On July 27, 2007, 28 executives of the Thousand Oaks, Calif., pharmaceutical firm Amgen contributed more than $20,000 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) campaign.  On Aug. 2, Pelosi (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Early Treatment for HIV Act, a bill that could boost Medicaid coverage of HIV-related drugs, including Procrit, which is manufactured by Amgen and marketed by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, a firm in which Pelosi's husband owns at least $250,000 in stock, according to Pelosi's disclosure forms.

Pelosi Won't Divest Drug Stock, Dismisses Conflict Claim.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dismissed any notion Thursday [3/6/2008] that her sponsorship of Medicaid legislation that would likely help her husband's financial holdings in a pharmaceutical company presented a conflict of interest.

Democrats Ignore Progress in Iraq.  It has been said that there are none so blind as those who will not see. … That's a perfect description of Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid, both of whom disingenuously state that that there has been no sign of progress in Iraq and that we are losing the war there and must pull up stakes and run as fast as we can with our tails between our legs.

Pelosi hits bottom.  Just when you think the dominant left wing of the Democratic Party has hit rock-bottom, one of their partisans reaches new depths in slandering people who have an honest difference with them on policy.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hit the gutter on Thursday [12/13/2007], when she tried to explain why Democrats are losing the budget war to President Bush.

Pelosi-Rangel Really Is "Mother of all Tax Hikes".  The very last thing families need is to see more of their paycheck confiscated by Congress.  Unfortunately, the U.S. House that already has passed $100 billion in tax increases this year to pay for bigger government and wasteful pork thinks otherwise.

Pelosi buys $16,000 worth of flowers.  [Rep. Dennis] Hastert didn't bill much official travel last year, spending only about $1,700, while Pelosi racked up many times that at nearly $60,000 — a figure that does not include her "congressional delegation" journeys to Europe and the Middle East.  It does, however, include many visits to congressional districts.

Lying to voters carries high price.  One California newspaper summed up the Democrat's first session well.  "The D in Democrat stands for Do-Nothing."  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hometown paper joined in the criticism, blasting her for reneging on her party's promise to run a more open Congress.  The San Francisco Chronicle went on to attack Pelosi for forgetting her promises about budget discipline.

Pelosi defends refusal to put "God" on flag certificates.  Dayton-area GOP Rep. Michael Turner and more than 100 of his Republican colleagues sent a letter to Pelosi last week after an Eagle Scout in his district asked that a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol be sent to his grandfather with a certificate inscribed with the message:  "In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country, and family."  The boy and his father contacted Turner's office after noticing the word "God" was left off the certificate included with the flag.

Update:
Teen helps lift ban on 'God' in U.S. flag certificates.  A 17-year-old Eagle scout wanting to honor his grandfather's "love of God, country and family" with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol has helped remove a ban on the word "God" in certificates that accompany these flags.

Democrats Playing With Fire.  Democrats can have any foreign policy they want — if and when they are elected to the White House.  Until Nancy Pelosi came along, it was understood by all that we had only one president at a time and — like him or not — he alone had the Constitutional authority to speak for this country to foreign nations, especially in wartime.  All that Pelosi's trip can accomplish is to advertise American disunity to a terrorist-sponsoring nation in the Middle East while we are in a war there.

Rep. Pelosi criticizes border fence.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a plan to build fencing along parts of the Mexico border a "terrible idea" that overlooks local communities.  Pelosi made the comments during her trip to the Rio Grande Valley for the annual Hispanic Engineering, Science & Technology Week conference at the University of Texas-Pan American.

Party Like It's 1822.  On becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi said the nation wanted "a new vision, a new America."  "New" apparently includes new taxes — by reverting to rules in force 185 years ago.

Speaker Pelosi sends the wrong message.  One of our endearing traits as Americans is that on most issues we seldom speak with one voice.  On the other hand the Constitution makes it pretty clear who is in charge of what.  The last time anyone looked, foreign policy, with the advice and consent of the Congress on treaty matters and war, is the province of the White House.

Eric The Red Vs. Nancy The Green.  After seeing portions of Greenland's glaciers break off into the North Atlantic, [Nancy] Pelosi opined:  "It wasn't caused by the people of Greenland — it was caused by the behavior of the rest of the world."  Well, judging by the record, she must mean the European Union.  Maybe, just maybe, it was caused by the repeated natural warming and cooling of the earth.  And maybe Greenland isn't melting at all.  Icebergs are not a recent phenomenon.

Pelosi:  Just Forget the Word 'Earmark'.  The more than 32,000 earmarks requested in the Homeland Security spending bill have roiled the House this week, and now Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) wants the word 'earmark' to just go away.  In a Tuesday press conference about appropriation bills, Pelosi said, "Why don't we leave here today forgetting the word earmark?"  She said they should be called "legislative directives" instead.

The Pelosicrats' Coup d'Etat:  By the time Nancy Pelosi left for Syria, she had accumulated a hyper-liberal anti-war track record only Cindy Sheehan could equal.  Syria's leaders sensed that they were dealing with a sucker the likes of whom hadn't been seen in Damascus since Clinton's first Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, visited Daddy Assad.

Pelosi steps out of bounds on ill-conceived trip to Syria.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi crossed a line this week by visiting Syria, where she met with President Bashar Assad.  She violated a long-held understanding that the United States should speak with one official voice abroad — even if the country is deeply divided on foreign policy back home.

Her $an Fran Treat.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used her clout to get lawmakers to back a San Francisco redevelopment project near her multimillion-dollar rental properties, disclosure documents reveal.  Pelosi got House members to authorize $25 million to improve the Embarcadero port area, clearing the way for cruise-ship-dock development and other improvements to aid the neighborhood's comeback.

Pelosi's Waterworks:  Did Nancy Pelosi do anything wrong when she sponsored a $25 million earmark for a waterfront-redevelopment project near several properties in which her husband has a financial stake?  It depends on whether she had any reason to believe that the project would cause the values of her husband's properties to rise.

The Great Cap-And-Trade Scam:  Of all the crazed global warming proposals being put forth by the new masters of Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Barbara Boxer, chairperson of the Public Works Committee, by far the worst would be a mandated cap-and-trade program that would supposedly offset carbon dioxide emissions.

Samoan fish politics:  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's push for ethics reform didn't get very far.  The California Democrat, who said she'd clean house, so to speak, apparently thinks her district is exempted from under-the-table deals and stinky politics.

Nancy Pelosi May Not Be Only Democrat "Tuna Helper".  The largest employer in American Samoa is Del Monte Foods' StarKist Tuna, home to over 75% of the island's workforce.  Del Monte Foods, as it turns out, is headquartered in the District of the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  Smelling a whiff of impropriety, House Republicans have thrown up some serious questions about the exemption and who inserted it into the bill.

FNC Reports Speaker Pelosi's Star-Kist Gap in the Minimum Wage Hike.  Over at The Corner*, Kathryn Jean Lopez reported GOP Reps. Eric Cantor and Patrick McHenry have found there's a loophole in the new minimum-wage increase:  no hike for American Samoa.  Why?  Star-Kist Tuna is a major employer there, with its headquarters in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district.  Will the media notice?

Pelosi Creates Global Warming Committee.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought to create a special committee Thursday [1/18/2007] in an effort to jump-start long-delayed government efforts to deal with global warming and produce a bill by Independence Day.  Pelosi, D-Calif., said the committee would hold hearings and recommend legislation on how to reduce greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide generated by fossil fuels, that most scientists blame for a gradual warming of the earth's climate.

Did someone mention Global Warming?

The Torch Has Been Passed — to America-Hating Anarchists.  After Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as the new Speaker of the U.S. House and Harry Reid as Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, major parts of the American Dream will be shattered.  Some parts of that dream will die.  Among the dead parts:  The part that is committed to a strong national defense and victory in the war on terror.  The part that loves freedom and less government and promotes personal responsibility.  The part that recognizes capitalism as the greatest hope for all peoples to escape the yoke of poverty and oppression.  The part that holds to the beliefs of our forefathers in a divine and omnipotent being knows as God.

Cheney Won't Take Back Pelosi Comment.  Vice President Dick Cheney refused Friday to take back his charge that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's opposition to President Bush's Iraq war buildup is playing into the hands of the al-Qaida terrorist network.  "If you're going to advocate a course of action that basically is withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, then you don't get to just do the fun part of that, that says, 'We'll, we're going to get out,' and appeal to your constituents on that basis," Cheney said.

Cheney Remark Rankles Pelosi.  Speaking with ABC News during a visit to Australia, the vice president addressed the criticism of Pelosi, who earlier this week said that Cheney's remarks were "beneath the dignity of the debate we're engaged in."  She also spoke with White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten to register her complaint.  "She accused me of questioning her patriotism," Cheney said.  "I didn't question her patriotism.  I questioned her judgment."

Enter Pelosi, Stage Left.  This morning it is the Iraq war that is the eight-hundred-pound gorilla, [Tom] Mann says.  And the minute he lets this metaphorical cat out of the bag the other people in the room grab it by the horns and kick it through the goal posts.

Life as normal, &c.  In her opening remarks, Speaker Pelosi said, "This is an historic moment — for the Congress, and for the women of this country.  It is a moment for which we have waited more than 200 years."  Pardon me, but is there a single human being who has been waiting for a woman to be Speaker of the House?  One? … I don't see why Nancy Pelosi's being Speaker helps any woman other than herself, and I don't see why women at large should take pride in her ascendance.

It's estrogen, and plenty of it.  The Democrats finally installed Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the House yesterday [1/4/2007], and the talk of Capitol Hill was not about what to do about the war in Iraq, the minimum wage, finding that oxymoron quaintly called "congressional ethics," or even the prospect of raising congressional pay.  Yesterday was all about celebrating estrogen. … "This is a historic moment for the Congress, and for the women of this country," Mzz Pelosi told her jubilant partygoers.  "It is a moment for which we have waited for more than 200 years."

[Militant, presumptuous, arrogant feminism has been around for about fifty years, not 200.]

Pelosi Will Bring 'Speaker Pork' to San Francisco.  Tip O'Neill secured down payments for Boston's Big Dig.  Sam Rayburn sent gushers of cash back to Texas, along with tax breaks that helped its oil industry.  Hospitals, schools and nonprofits in Dennis Hastert's hometown of Aurora, Ill., have seen millions roll in during his reign.  Now Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is poised to follow them as speaker of the House — a perch predecessors used to channel big cash to pet projects back home.

Speaker-to-be is no stranger to earmarking.  When the House passed a massive spending bill last November, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi made sure her constituents knew what they were getting.  "Pelosi Secures $115 Million for San Francisco Transportation, Housing, Science and Arts," she proclaimed in a news release.  It wasn't an unusual announcement.  Like many of her colleagues in Congress, Pelosi for years has celebrated bringing home the bacon to her district.

The Pelosi News Networks.  If we rigidly applied truth-in-advertising laws to the national media in their coverage of the 2006 campaign, we would have first declared that the stuff between the commercials wasn't "news" as much as a boatload of free infomercial advertising for the Democrats.  The news reports should have led with the sentence, "I'm Nancy Pelosi, and I approved this newscast."

Call her 'Nancy Shrew'?  In just a few short days, House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has turned into a caricature of the shrill, petty woman boss. … So if "Nancy Shrew" becomes the image of the highest-ranking woman ever in American politics — Pelosi will be second in line of succession to the presidency — it'll be a problem for all women politicos, including 2008 prospect Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

Pelosi's First Flop:  House Democrats have made several correct judgments about their victory.  The first is that Nancy Pelosi was not its architect and requires little or no deference.  If anything, they won in spite of her, not because of her. … There are reasons to question Pelosi's political judgment, as Murtha's bungled majority leader bid demonstrates.  The fact that Democrats did question it and went their own way suggests they're not going to march over a cliff behind Pelosi, whose views constitute almost a caricature of American left-liberalism at its most provincial.

Quo Vadis?  Since the results of Tuesday's election became obvious, Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly made clear her party's priorities are:  "Jobs, healthcare, education, energy independence, a safer America, a dignified retirement — that's what the Democrats are all about."  What about Iraq?  Answer:  The Democrats don't have an easy answer and they have no prescription.

Nancy Pelosi's "San Francisco Values"

Unindicted co-conspirator as House majority leader?  Incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says she will fight for Rep. John Murtha, an unindicted co-conspirator in the FBI sting operation Abscam, as the next House majority leader.

Speaker-to-be is no stranger to earmarking.  When the House passed a massive spending bill last November, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi made sure her constituents knew what they were getting.  "Pelosi Secures $115 Million for San Francisco Transportation, Housing, Science and Arts," she proclaimed in a news release.  It wasn't an unusual announcement.  Like many of her colleagues in Congress, Pelosi for years has celebrated bringing home the bacon to her district.

Desperate Congresswomen of Hysteria Lane.  In the past week, there are 476 documents on Nexis heralding the magnificent achievement of Nancy Pelosi becoming the FIRST WOMAN speaker of the House. … So in addition to bringing back a cut-and-run national security strategy, tax-and-spend domestic policy and a no-enforcement immigration policy, the new Democratic Congress is apparently ushering in a return to feminist milestones.

The Real San Fran Nancy:  When the confetti finally settles at DNC headquarters and the bottles of champagne run dry, Americans will get a good, hard look at their new leaders.  With the House, the Senate, and the statehouses in their grasp, the country has spoken.  But for many voters, lured by the promise of fresh faces and ideas, the reality may be sobering.

How Pelosi cleans the House.  She's conducting Beltway business as usual, just like the good old boys she demonized throughout the campaign.  (Madame Pelosi just happens to do it in an Armani aqua blue-gray pantsuit that gets thumbs-up from obsequious Washington fashion writers.)  Well, a back-scratching corruptocrat in pastel is still a back-scratching corruptocrat.

Democrats aren't ready for prime time.  Charles Rangel wants to reinstate the draft.  Nancy Pelosi wants to put a judge who accepted bribes in charge of the House intelligence committee.  And Barney Frank wants to promote inequality.  Well, it did not take long for Democratic leaders in the House to show they are not ready for prime time.

The Nancy I Knew:  [Scroll down…] Impressive ruthlessness, by my lights.  But I suspect Pelosi would never acknowledge the duplicity.  She was just as committed to the appearance of pristine righteousness as she was to her own political success, and assumed she could have both.

If You Thought Impeaching Bush Was a Dead Issue, Think Again.  Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told other Democrats there will be no talk of efforts to impeach President Bush or anyone else, but that won't stop the anti-war left from clamoring for the President's head this weekend.  The liberal group ImpeachPAC has organized more than 50 protests across the country on Sunday [12/10/2006]….  Democrats as a group may not be pushing the idea but some individual Democrats are.

Update:
Pelosi Slips Impeachment Onto the Table.  As Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich moved a "privileged resolution" to force House to consider the question of whether President Bush should be impeached for lying to Congress and the American people about the reasons for invading and occupying Iraq, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi surprised almost everyone by suggesting that the Judiciary Committee might indeed take up the issue.

Incoming House intelligence chief botches easy intel quiz.  Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, who incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped to head the Intelligence Committee when the Democrats take over in January, failed a quiz of basic questions about al Qaeda and Hezbollah, two of the key terrorist organizations the intelligence community has focused on since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Republicans Name Panel to Investigate 'Stolen House Vote'.  According to House Republican Leader John Boehner, the GOP proposal passed 215-213 on the night of Aug. 2.  But Democratic leaders promptly reopened the vote and allowed several Democrats to change their minds.  When Democratic leaders ordered the vote closed for a second time, the Republican motion was defeated — and taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants were restored, Boehner said.

The Democrats will take the economy in a new direction.
Down periscope.  What kind of changes does Nancy [Pelosi] have in mind for this engine of prosperity, besides calling it an instrument of the rich and damning those who depend on its positive returns?  Better kill it with taxes, regulations, and lengthy investigations.  Unemployment is at a 25 year low, hovering around 4.5 percent depending on a few seasonal breaks.  How can Nancy and the new Democrats foul this up?

Caught Between Iraq and a Hard Base.  [In late 2006] Democrats had a foolproof plan to gain power:  Use the "disastrous" war in Iraq to split the Republican base off from the center, force Republicans in Congress to desert the president, defund the war effort, and compel withdrawal.  Declaring defeat in advance, and even embracing it, they tried to cripple the surge before it started.  Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate led a chorus of Democrats who declared the war lost.

Congress frets as its ratings plummet.  "Not only does Congress have an approval rating below bubonic plague and head lice, I saw a recent poll that as many as 40 percent of people still believe that Congress is in Republican hands," says Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R) of Texas.  "I wish we could get a little accuracy out there about who is in charge — and let those ratings fall where they may."  A recent Gallup Poll confirms what many lawmakers say they're hearing from their constituents:  that confidence in Congress has never been lower.

Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever.  The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history.  This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job.  Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.  Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings.  Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008.

A job for the right woman.  If there's still room under the bus where Barack Obama throws his discards — his white granny, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, William Ayres, Bernadine Dohrn and even Hillary Clinton — that's the right place for Nancy Pelosi.  The congressional bailout of Wall Street, as unpopular as it is, was nevertheless headed for grudging acceptance Monday until Mzz Pelosi, the dowager queen of the San Francisco Democrats (where there are many queens), killed it with a particularly mean-spirited attack on the Republicans whom the Democrats were counting on to join them for just this one bipartisan vote.

House Republicans Blame Pelosi's Speech.  House Republicans blamed the failure of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan Monday on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), saying that Pelosi had been too partisan in a floor speech prior to the vote.

Excerpts from House speaker Pelosi's speech.  Republicans in the US House of Representatives blamed Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi for the failed bail-out vote, claiming she made a partisan speech near the end of a debate on the rescue plan.



Pelosi, the pro-abortion Catholic

It is not possible to play on both sides of this fence.  Abortion, or fetal homicide, is not an option that is approved by the Catholic church.  Recently Ms. Pelosi tried to assert that only recently has there been any controversy over abortion, but that is not the case.

Pope Pelosi at the Gate.  When Democrats decided they wouldn't let the GOP be "God's Only Party," they weren't kidding.  Thanks to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, none other than St. Augustine has been summoned to Denver.  He was resurrected as Pelosi was trying to respond to the question that refuses to die:  When does human life begin?  This time, it was Tom Brokaw asking on Sunday's "Meet the Press."

What Makes a Speaker Catholic?  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, describing herself as an "ardent practicing Catholic," announced that when life begins "shouldn't have an impact on a woman's right to choose."  She explained that "over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy." Ignoring both embryology and the Vatican, she insisted on giving the impression that abortion is somehow an open, undecided question in the Roman Catholic Church.

Washington archbishop rips Pelosi on abortion.  In a rare public rebuke of a top politician, the archbishop of Washington said Monday [8/25/2008] that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was incorrect when she recently said the moment of conception has long been a matter of controversy within the Catholic Church.

Pelosi stands by abortion comments.  Under fire from U.S. Catholic bishops, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not backing off contentious comments about abortion she made during a weekend television talk show appearance.  Pelosi said Sunday [8/24/2008] on NBC's "Meet the Press" that "doctors of the church" have not been able to define when life begins.  That prompted swift rebukes from Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl and Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, who said Pelosi was incorrect and that Catholic teaching has consistently condemned abortion.

A Huge Embarrassment.  Pelosi's big mouth has ensnared Obama in Catholic abortion issues, and campaign issues from four years ago that he wanted no part of and wasn't a part of just a week ago.  Further, Pelosi's continued gaffes on the subject have renewed examination of Pelosi's poor standing in the Catholic Church.

Pelosi gets unwanted lesson in Catholic theology.  Politics can be treacherous.  But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked on even riskier ground in a recent TV interview when she attempted a theological defense of her support for abortion rights.  Roman Catholic bishops consider her arguments on St. Augustine and free will so far out of line with church teaching that they have issued a steady stream of statements to correct her.

When does life begin?  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," said "as an ardent, practicing Catholic" and someone who has extensively researched church teachings on this issue, she has found church fathers were unsure when life begins.  She further claimed that the Catholic Church has only during the last 50 years begun to insist that life begins at conception.

Speaker of the House (of God).  As a theologian, Nancy Pelosi is a great politician.  This was evident in her unnecessary foray on "Meet the Press" into the history of Catholic thought about when human life begins.  The San Francisco Democrat's statement "as an ardent, practicing Catholic" that "doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition" was imprecise and impolitic.

Pelosi slapped down by Catholic Church — again.  It appears the Catholic Church is not about to let Nancy Pelosi have the last word on abortion.  As discussed here yesterday, high Church officials rebuked Pelosi for her erroneous statements about Catholic abortion doctrine on a Sunday news show; undeterred, Pelosi had a spokesman announce that she stood by her statements.  Wednesday, the Church made it clear it was standing just as firm.

Catholic lawmakers decry Pelosi 'error'.  Nineteen Roman Catholic Republican members of Congress have written to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging her to "correct the public record" on remarks she made a week ago on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion.

18 months earlier...
Pro-Abortion Pelosi Insults the Catholic Faith.  The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is showing what I consider extreme arrogance, even for a pro-abortion figure in public life who claims to be a faithful Catholic.  Her handlers are making it abundantly clear that anything goes in their effort to showcase Pelosi and her life story, including the use of a Catholic Mass to cement her public image as a Catholic mother and grandmother.  That, my friend, is a disgrace that I cannot ignore.

Pelosi's church has not withheld communion.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she, unlike other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, has not clashed with her church about receiving communion. ... Pelosi, a Roman Catholic whose district includes most of San Francisco, said she has not encountered such difficulties in her church.

Pelosi:  God Bless the Child that's not at Home.  The history-making first Madame of the House marketed her recent three day victory-dance as a celebration of children. … At a trendy afternoon tea with like-minded ladies, Pelosi reiterated her campaign promise that the 110th Congress would be "all about children." … But just how does one of the most outspoken advocates for unrestricted abortion in Congress — with a perfect 100% rating from the radical pro-abortion group NARAL, — maintain a straight face when declaring a concern for children? … Beneath the surface, the Femocrat's broader scheme genuinely is about the children, albeit hardly as advertised.  Rather, it involves the little tykes' removal as obstacles to the empowerment of ambitious liberal-minded women.

Video:  "Catholic Scholar" Nancy Pelosi Lies To Help Obama.

The Gospel, According to the Book of Nancy.  Attempting to defend her support of abortion rights in response to a question posed by Tom Brokaw on "Meet the Press," Pelosi startled everyone who has ever been, is now, or is even considering becoming a Catholic with this comment, in part:  "I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue (abortion) that I have studied for a long time.  And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition."

Congressman Calls Pelosi's Abortion Remarks 'Scandalous'.  Anti-abortion advocate Michigan Rep. Thad McCotter blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday [8/26/2008] for controversial statements she made over the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion.  In an interview with FOX News, McCotter said Pelosi is "free to join other faiths" if she disagrees with the church.

Pelosi 'pastor' asks to meet on abortion.  San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer, home bishop to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, released a letter Friday [9/5/2008] saying that local Catholics are pressuring him to forbid the California Democrat to receive Holy Communion because of her recent televised remarks favoring abortion.



Air Force Three — Nancy Pelosi's gas-guzzling jet

Test message

Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker of the House, is third in line to the Presidency.  In this new position, she has demanded and received a very large Air Force jet to shuttle from Washington to San Francisco without refueling.  (Mustn't stop for fuel — security concerns, you know.)

But isn't that one of the arguments Ms. Pelosi had against Tom Delay — that he flew around the country in a gas-guzzling jet at the government's expense?

And here's a little detail that is left out of the very few news reports about this story:  the Speaker's jet has a military escort.  That means there is at least one more gas-guzzling jet flying alongside Air Force Three as Ms. Pelosi shuttles from coast to coast.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Gets Big Jet.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have access to an Air Force jet larger than the one used by her predecessor so she can fly nonstop between Washington and her San Francisco district.  Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the speaker — who is second in line for the presidency after the vice president — has been able to use a military aircraft for security reasons.  But the jet used by the previous speaker, Rep. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, was too small to fly to California without refueling.

Pelosi's hard landing.  As this newspaper reported yesterday [2/7/2007], for travels to her home district in San Francisco Mrs. Pelosi wants the best air accommodations the U.S. military can offer.  No wonder:  The craft she has reportedly requested, the Air Force's C-32, seats an entourage of 42, business class, with a state room, entertainment center, private bed and a fully operational communications center.  Its crew numbers 16 and reportedly costs $15,000 per hour to operate.  That's downright presidential.

The Speaker of the House — Her 747 request and competing publicity.  Given that Ms. Pelosi is two heartbeats from the Presidency, I felt perhaps her request was not unreasonable.  That is, until I learned the following:  the plane former Speaker Hastert used is capable of flying 3,700 nautical miles without refueling.  That is well beyond the requirement for a San Francisco to Washington D.C flight.  No, that wasn't good enough.  She wanted the larger aircraft.  Then I learned that the Speaker had sought a change in the rules that govern such trips.  If anyone other than a spouse rides along he must pay commercial rates.  She wanted an exemption so she could take grandchildren and a larger staff and maybe even lobbyists or financial contributors.

Nancy's New Ride?  After cutting $3.1 billion from the President's budget request to pay for military restructuring efforts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) was exposed trying to commandeer an Air Force jet from the Pentagon for routine trips.  An aide to Pelosi's has confirmed that an inquires were made from her office to the Department of Defense to seek approval for a federally-funded military provided flight approximately 152-miles from Washington, D.C. to Williamsburg, Virginia for House Democrats' February 3 retreat.  The request was made with the intent of making the jet permanently available to ferry her on a regular basis.

CBS Covers Pelosi Jet Controversy Skipped by Other Networks.  On Wednesday evening [2/7/2007], CBS became the first of the broadcast networks to cover the controversy over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's efforts to acquire access to a larger jet than what her predecessor used.  CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric relayed that Pelosi's request for a "big travel upgrade" was coming at a time when "they're cracking down on congressional perks."

Pelosi's push for jet remains up in the air.  Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri called it a "flying Lincoln Bedroom," and Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, North Carolina Republican, labeled the speaker's plane "Pelosi One."  "This is a bullet point to a larger value — Pelosi's abuse of power continues," Mr. McHenry said yesterday.  "It began when the speaker denied minority rights to Republicans, continued with her 'TunaGate' scandal, and now she's exploiting America's armed forces and taxpayers for her own personal convenience."

Pentagon limits Pelosi jet size.  The Department of Defense yesterday [2/7/2007] sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that puts limits on the size of the plane she may use to travel across the country and restricts the guests she can bring, The Washington Times has learned.

Speaker's Plane Becomes a Point of Criticism.  Republicans said one plane that might be available for the speaker had a game room, stateroom, entertainment center and bedroom and seated 42 to 50 people.  "I hardly think these amenities help with security, and I personally would describe them as inappropriate and unnecessary extravagances," said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, chief deputy Republican whip and sponsor of the amendment.

Liberals:  A very modest proposal.  First off, [Nancy Pelosi] insisted on an upgrade to a larger military jet than the one her predecessor had.  She wanted one with a private bedroom, a kitchen, and room for her entire family — second cousins included — on a jet that was capable of flying non-stop from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco.  When some people began to question the need she had for this airborne palace, she insisted that rabble-rousers were only raising a stink because she was a woman.  Poor dear!  She had no sooner lifted that marble ceiling all by her wonderful self, and here it came crashing down on her tiara!

Pelosi's jet request met with partisan bickering.  Most media reports said Pelosi had requested a C-32, a military version of the Boeing 757-200 that seats 45 passengers and has a crew of up to 16, according to an Air Force Web site.  The Los Angeles Times reported that Pelosi had asked for a C-40, a modified Boeing 737-700 that seats at least 26 passengers and has a crew of 10, according to the Air Force.  The C-20 used by Hastert is described by the Air Force as a military version of the Gulfstream III, with seating for 12 passengers and a crew of five.

Photos of the Boeing C-32:  [1] [2] [3] [4]
Photos of the Boeing 757-200:  [1] [2] [3]

Controversy flies around Pelosi's plane request.  "It has nothing to do with family and friends and everything to do about security," Pelosi said yesterday.  Still, it's a potential image problem for the first female speaker — already caricatured for her wealth, love of designer clothes and chocolate obsession — to be portrayed as thinking she deserves her own Air Force Three.  Pelosi and the Defense Department are discussing letting her fly in a C-32 plane, a military version of the Boeing 757-200.

Only the little people fly commercial.
Nancy Pelosi Demands Big Private Jet.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants taxpayers to finance a lavish private jet large enough to ferry her and her entourage — including family members — from coast-to-coast without stopping.  Like all members of Congress, House speakers use commercial flights to travel but Pelosi claims she needs a private U.S. Air Force jet for security reasons, even during personal travel with her family and supporters.

Global Warming:  What Are You Willing to Do?  How can a believer in man-made global warming be so utterly unconcerned about accelerating the coming catastrophe?  Is the convenience of a non-stop flight more important than helping to prevent the rising seas from destroying coastal cities?  Shouldn't she be arguing against a private jet and perhaps closing down one of her homes or moving her family within a few blocks of her office?  She, of course, is perfectly willing to champion regulation of others, but, again, I ask, what is she willing to do personally.

Pelosi flies disputed military jet home.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the subject of Republican criticism for her mode of air travel, flew home nonstop Thursday night [2/8/2007] aboard a 12-seat [C-37A] military aircraft set aside for use by lawmakers.  Republican House members, aided by friendly radio and television talk show hosts, created a political tempest this week, claiming Pelosi was pressuring the Pentagon for the use of an "Air Force Three" and a "flying Lincoln Bedroom."

In D.C., non-stop plane talk.  Pelosi wants to fly non-stop, which means a bigger plane.  Critics have assailed her request, saying she wants the bigger plane solely so she can have parties at 30,000 feet with her family and supporters.  On Thursday, Pelosi announced at a news conference that she would fly commercial if the military could not provide a plane with a cross-country-size fuel tank.

House GOP Blasts Pelosi for Plane Request.  A waste of the taxpayers' money, some said, claiming her trips would cost $15 million a year if she used planes such as the military version of the Boeing 757-200.  In its commercial configuration the 757-200 usually seats 175-190 passengers.  Pelosi should lead by example, argued others, because a bigger plane consumes more fuel and contributes more to the global warming she expresses concern about.  "The jet that Pelosi has produces 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide an hour, far more than the previous speaker used," said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.

Jim Webb Pulls a Pelosi.  Shortly after becoming Speaker of the House, Representative Pelosi began a feud with the Pentagon over private air service for her travel needs to San Francisco.  After September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense provided Speaker of the House, Denny Hastert, a Gulfstream jet to fly back and forth to his constituency.  Speaker Pelosi then blindsided the Pentagon with her insistence that she be granted a Boeing 757 to fly her friends, family, and staff with her back and forth to San Francisco.  According to Senate sources, Senator Jim Webb is now staging a similar struggle for family travel.

Pelosi Jets out of Town Leaving Energy Bill Hanging.  As Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats jetted out of town negligently neglecting to deal with the urgent energy situation I'm reminded of the unseemly scandal over her use of military jets that erupted shortly after she was sworn in as Speaker of the House.

Judicial Watch Uncovers Documents Detailing Pelosi's Repeated Requests for Military Travel.  Judicial Watch ... announced today [3/10/2009] that it has obtained documents from the Department of Defense (DOD) detailing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's multiple requests for military air travel.  The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), include internal DOD email correspondence detailing attempts by DOD staff to accommodate Pelosi's numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft as well as the speaker's last minute cancellations and changes.

Queen Nancy:  Fly as I Say, Not as I Fly.  Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is the Jennifer Lopez of congressional travel — fickle, demanding and notoriously insensitive to the time, costs and energy needed to accommodate her endless demands. On Tuesday, the indispensable government watchdog Judicial Watch released a trove of public records through the Freedom of Information Act on Pelosi's travel arrangements with the U.S. military.

Revealed:  Pelosi's 'Air Rage'.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gone from frequent flier to jet-aircraft connoisseur, with aides berating military officials to get the best planes, e-mails revealed yesterday.  Pelosi, who clashed with the military to get nonstop service when she flies home to California with police protection on government planes, revealed a particular fondness for Gulfstream's sleek G-5 — a plane glamorized in Hollywood films and rap videos.

Watchdog Group:  Pelosi Takes More Military Flights Than Hastert.  ABC News' Jonathan Karl and Luis Martinez report:  Which Speaker of the House used military aircraft more frequently:  Nancy Pelosi or Dennis Hastert?  ABC News reported earlier this week that former aides to Hastert say the former Illinois congressman traveled more frequently on military aircraft to his district when he was Speaker than the current House Speaker does, but now the watchdog group Judicial Watch says the records show Pelosi takes more flights.

Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians" for 2009.  [Including] Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):  At the heart of the corruption problem in Washington is a sense of entitlement.  Politicians believe laws and rules (even the U.S. Constitution) apply to the rest of us but not to them.  Case in point:  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her excessive and boorish demands for military travel.  Judicial Watch obtained documents from the Pentagon in 2008 that suggest Pelosi has been treating the Air Force like her own personal airline.

Evidently there's a lot of partying on that plane.
Pelosi's Last Hurrah:  San Francisco's congresswoman of 23 years, the daughter of a Baltimore mayor, has a sense of self-entitlement and extravagance unimagined by most public servants and ordinary folk.  Her indulgences charged to American taxpayers are now documented and damning.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has spent or authorized spending at least $3.2 million on trips, hotels, food, high-priced liquor, and military jet rides in the past two years.

The Friendly Skies Of Nancy Pelosi.  Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Judicial Watch show that Pelosi has incurred expenses of $2.1 million for her use of Air Force jets the past two years.  Then there's the matter of the $101,000 tab taxpayers picked up over that period for "in-flight services," including a selection of top-shelf booze.  One receipt for "in-flight services," World Net Daily reports, showed a liquor purchase for one flight that included Maker's Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey's Irish Creme, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewar's scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniel's whiskey and Corona beer.

The latest:
Congressman to Pelosi:  Give up personal jet.  A Florida congressman plans to offer an amendment to the 2011 Defense Authorization bill that would require House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fly coach — just as she requires of other Congress members.  The California Democrat commutes across the continent in a jet provided by the military, a policy first authorized for the House speaker following the 9/11 terror attacks.



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