Email to a Friend
Stumble It!
WARNER PACEMAKER
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., was in the hospital twice last week for the installation of a pacemaker to treat his atrial fibrillation.
Doctors at Inova Faifax Hospital implanted the device Saturday, July 12 and Warner left the hospital the next day.
After consulting with the Capitol Physician's Office and private doctors, Warner, 79, said on the Senate floor, he decided to be readmitted to the hospital Tuesday to have the pacemaker adjusted. He remained there "for observation," he said, through Thursday afternoon, when he returned to the Senate.
JUDICIAL NOMINEE
Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Warner announced their support Thursday for President Bush's nomination of Anthony Trenga to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Trenga, of Alexandria, Va., is currently an attorney at the Washington law firm Miller and Chevalier, specializing in litigation and trial practice. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia law school and served as a federal law clerk in the Western District of Virginia before entering private practice.
Trenga is one of five members of the Virginia State Bar whom Webb and Warner jointly recommended to the White House last year to serve on the federal bench.
"Trenga has demonstrated high legal intellect and sound interpretation of the law throughout his distinguished career. I know he will continue to do so as a United States District Judge," Webb said in a statement.
CHINA TALK
After giving up hopes of a presidential boycott of the 2008 Olympics in China, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10th, has a new request for President Bush. Wolf wants Bush to deliver a human rights address in China during the Beijing Games.
"If the president goes and doesn't say anything it would be demoralizing to dissident families," Wolf said. "You don't have to do this in a mean way. In a positive way, speaking out for human rights, mentioning names -that would send a message to the Chinese and equally to the dissidents."
Wolf called on the president to speak from a church or university in China, where pro-democracy advocates have been jailed and religious expression is restricted.
The White House has given no direct response to Wolf. Asked July 6 about human rights and his attendance at the Olympics, Bush said he was attending to cheer on the athletes.
"I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so."
VIDEO CLASH
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-7th, and Republican colleagues unveiled a new anti-Obama documentary Thursday on behalf of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.
The eight-minute campaign video, entitled "The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand," uses archived news footage to show Obama shifting his position regarding U.S. troop levels in Iraq.
After showing Obama criticizing the surge of 20,000 troops in Iraq, the video shows Obama crediting the surge for reducing violence.
"It was John McCain and his leadership and his vision when he came out and proposed the surge that made that happen," Cantor said.
Immediately after Cantor's news conference, Democrats responded by unveiling a video series of their own called "McCain on Iraq: Wrong from the Start," showing McCain and President Bush using the same catch phrases to support the continuation of the Iraq war.
GAS PETITION
Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd, is seeking to force a vote on a bill that would reduce the availability of so-called boutique fuels. On top of conventional fuel, there are said to be 13 such specialty fuels that meet more strict state and local government standards.
The Fuel Mandate Reduction Act (HR 2493) aims to reduce the number of special blend fuels, which could allow for faster production, and speed movement of gas between states. Drake said a similar measure after Hurricane Katrina helped avoid further fuel cost spikes then.
"Buying a tank of gas should not be as complicated as ordering a latte at Starbucks," Drake said in a statement. "It is a shame that the Democrat majority will not allow a vote on a comprehensive energy solution or on common sense measures that will lower gas prices now."
The petition needs 218 signatures to force a House vote on the bill. As of Friday Drake had around 130 signatures.
--Neil H. Simon
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., was in the hospital twice last week for the installation of a pacemaker to treat his atrial fibrillation.
Doctors at Inova Faifax Hospital implanted the device Saturday, July 12 and Warner left the hospital the next day.
After consulting with the Capitol Physician's Office and private doctors, Warner, 79, said on the Senate floor, he decided to be readmitted to the hospital Tuesday to have the pacemaker adjusted. He remained there "for observation," he said, through Thursday afternoon, when he returned to the Senate.
JUDICIAL NOMINEE
Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Warner announced their support Thursday for President Bush's nomination of Anthony Trenga to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Trenga, of Alexandria, Va., is currently an attorney at the Washington law firm Miller and Chevalier, specializing in litigation and trial practice. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia law school and served as a federal law clerk in the Western District of Virginia before entering private practice.
Trenga is one of five members of the Virginia State Bar whom Webb and Warner jointly recommended to the White House last year to serve on the federal bench.
"Trenga has demonstrated high legal intellect and sound interpretation of the law throughout his distinguished career. I know he will continue to do so as a United States District Judge," Webb said in a statement.
CHINA TALK
After giving up hopes of a presidential boycott of the 2008 Olympics in China, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10th, has a new request for President Bush. Wolf wants Bush to deliver a human rights address in China during the Beijing Games.
"If the president goes and doesn't say anything it would be demoralizing to dissident families," Wolf said. "You don't have to do this in a mean way. In a positive way, speaking out for human rights, mentioning names -that would send a message to the Chinese and equally to the dissidents."
Wolf called on the president to speak from a church or university in China, where pro-democracy advocates have been jailed and religious expression is restricted.
The White House has given no direct response to Wolf. Asked July 6 about human rights and his attendance at the Olympics, Bush said he was attending to cheer on the athletes.
"I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so."
VIDEO CLASH
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-7th, and Republican colleagues unveiled a new anti-Obama documentary Thursday on behalf of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.
The eight-minute campaign video, entitled "The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand," uses archived news footage to show Obama shifting his position regarding U.S. troop levels in Iraq.
After showing Obama criticizing the surge of 20,000 troops in Iraq, the video shows Obama crediting the surge for reducing violence.
"It was John McCain and his leadership and his vision when he came out and proposed the surge that made that happen," Cantor said.
Immediately after Cantor's news conference, Democrats responded by unveiling a video series of their own called "McCain on Iraq: Wrong from the Start," showing McCain and President Bush using the same catch phrases to support the continuation of the Iraq war.
GAS PETITION
Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd, is seeking to force a vote on a bill that would reduce the availability of so-called boutique fuels. On top of conventional fuel, there are said to be 13 such specialty fuels that meet more strict state and local government standards.
The Fuel Mandate Reduction Act (HR 2493) aims to reduce the number of special blend fuels, which could allow for faster production, and speed movement of gas between states. Drake said a similar measure after Hurricane Katrina helped avoid further fuel cost spikes then.
"Buying a tank of gas should not be as complicated as ordering a latte at Starbucks," Drake said in a statement. "It is a shame that the Democrat majority will not allow a vote on a comprehensive energy solution or on common sense measures that will lower gas prices now."
The petition needs 218 signatures to force a House vote on the bill. As of Friday Drake had around 130 signatures.
--Neil H. Simon