A double-barreled blast on gun bill

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial page lets Congressman F. Jim Sensenbrenner have it with both barrels in its Friday edits for his support of and defense of a bill to keep secret the sources of guns used in crimes, an NRA-written bill if there ever was one.

A bad bill:

Sensenbrenner should disassociate himself from this soft-on-crime measure, which only makes the gun lobby and the outlaw class happy...

Sensenbrenner ... claimed opponents of the bill were trying "to take guns away from law-abiding citizens." Wrong again. The ability to trace guns to the initial buyers and to stores is hardly confiscation.

The National Rifle Association considers the bill a top priority, the Journal Sentinel's Daniel W. Reilly reports, because it would protect gun dealers from lawsuits filed by cities by restricting access to a federal database. But this Congress already has set the bar higher for suits against members of the gun industry than for civil action involving all other businesses. Does the gun lobby want total immunity from any conceivable lawsuit? No industry deserves that...

Over eight years, the NRA's political action fund contributed $12,200, in 13 installments, to Sensenbrenner's campaign fund, according to the Federal Election Commission. What's more, the NRA gives Sensenbrenner top grades. But does this mean that the congressman must do all the organization's bidding?

A graceless display:

... That would be his response to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's criticism of the gun bill Sensenbrenner helped push through the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Aside from the childish nature of the response, the more worrisome thing was its tone, which was reminiscent of the divisive politics practiced so often in the past that set city against suburb...

... it's so discouraging that a politician of national prominence would lash out at his own community. Because, make no mistake about it, Milwaukee is his community. Yes, Sensenbrenner represents the collar suburbs. But his suburban constituents benefit from a strong, healthy Milwaukee just as Milwaukee benefits from strong suburban areas. We're all in this together.

With politicians and business leaders across the region working to overcome years of internecine warfare between Milwaukee and its suburbs, Sensenbrenner's comments strike us as thoughtless...

Sensenbrenner is entitled to his view, of course. But he's not entitled to wage old wars of division without being called out.

It was wrong. And somehow, we think, even the congressman knows it.

Barrett calls Sensenbrenner out on guns

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is the quintessential nice guy who almost never gets his Irish dander up. But Jim Sensenbrenner managed to set him off by whoring off again to the NRA, as the Journal Sentinel reports:

Taking it personally
Sensenbrenner, Barrett quarrel over gun bill

By DANIEL W. REILLY

Washington - The mayor of Milwaukee and the congressman representing most of its suburbs engaged in a heated and somewhat personal long-distance exchange Wednesday over crime and its effect on the city.

The argument began with House Judiciary Committee passage of legislation that would prohibit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from releasing data used to trace guns used in crimes back to the dealers who sold them. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Menomonee Falls, is chairman of the committee.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called the approval of the bill "appalling," saying that "the federal government is turning its back on our fight to get illegal guns off the street."

Sensenbrenner, who voted for the bill, called Barrett a "crybaby" who is "attempting to use legislation pending in Congress to cover up his

White supremacists for Sensenbrenner

You probably won't see that on a bumper sticker, but that's what the Shepherd Express, Milwaukee's alternative weekly, reports:

White Supremacists Rally Behind Sensenbrenner

Immigration message loved by hate groups

The Anti-Defamation League has warned that white supremacists have been rallying behind the right-wing anti-immigration movement. It’s no surprise, then, that these hate groups have particularly embraced Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, the controversial Wisconsin Republican behind a harsh immigration proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Congressman James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin has been the most vocal mainstream politician standing up against the flood of illegals puring (sic) across our borders,” reads a post on Stormfront.org, an online forum for neo-Nazis.

“Fellow Whites In Wisconsin be sure In November to get out and vote for Sensenbrenner,” reads another from a self-described “Proud German-American from Wisconsin.”

Sensenbrenner’s proposal has even won him the approval of Wisconsin’s Nationalist Coalition, a white-power organization. “Because this has been the first step taken regarding illegal immigrants in this country the Nationalist Coalition supports the actions of Mr. Sensenbrenner,” Stephen Chadwick of the Coalition wrote in an e-mail.

“In short, I support Mr. Sensenbrenner,” Chadwick continued, “but I am sure that our endorsement will mean little to nothing to him nor would it carry him in the elections.”

'Sensenbrenner fooled no one' in NH

Add the conservative Union Leader of Manchester, N.H. to the list of critics of Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner's immigration hearings. An editorial:

Can you hear us now? Congressmen needed to listen

THE U.S. HOUSE Judiciary Committee held what it called an "immigration field hearing" in Concord last Thursday. But about the only hearing being done was by the audience.

Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., said he was invited to Concord by Rep. Charlie Bass. Supposedly, the committee came to hear testimony about illegal immigration. In reality, it came to give testimony.

Of the five speakers, all were pre-selected by the committee and only one was from New Hampshire. Members of the public who showed up were not allowed to address the committee. When people applauded and cheered one speaker, Sensenbrenner informed them that they could be removed.

Clearly, this was no hearing, it was a traveling road show, a campaign event disguised as a public hearing.

Of course, Sensenbrenner fooled no one. The folks who showed up knew perfectly well what was going on. This is New Hampshire, after all.

We agree with the general point Sensenbrenner came here to make, which is that illegal immigration is a serious problem that must be brought under control. But he would have done better to have an actual public hearing instead of trying to trick the public into thinking they were getting one.

Next time, we hope he will remember that the people of New Hampshire are more politically savvy than he thinks. If members of Congress are going to come here to hold a "hearing," we expect that they will be the ones doing the listening.

Phony immigration hearings flop

As the Sensenbrenner Judiciary Committee circus heads for its last "hearing" on immigration reform on Sept. 1 in Dubuque (Iowa is thinking of walling off the border), it appears the road show has fizzled.

It has probably accomplished its purpose of stalling Congressional action and getting some media coverage on the issue in places with contested elections. But public interest in the hearings -- and perhaps in the issue -- has waned, and the hearings did not excite the anti-immigrant crowd the way they were intended to.

Americans have short attention spans. Even House members have quit showing up.

AP reports:

People don't pay attention to these things, except the C-SPAN junkies," said Gary Jacobson, an expert in congressional politics at the University of California, San Diego. "It's not surprising that it's fizzled."

Democrats and immigrant groups have questioned the need for the hearings because such meetings are typically held before legislation is passed _ not after. Critics call the hearings an election-year tactic to delay negotiations on the competing immigration bills passed by the House and Senate.

Many House members have shown waning interest in the meetings, preferring to campaign during the August recess or go on vacation, Jacobson said.

A hearing in San Diego drew just two congressmen, even though it is a border city often described as a crucible of immigration politics. Another gathering in Dalton, Ga., attracted just three representatives.

A sparsely attended hearing in El Paso, Texas, was held in the dark and rebroadcast on C-SPAN with a note reading: "This hearing was held in a theater with lighting problems."

Another gathering scheduled for Friday in upstate New York was canceled with one week's notice. A spokesman for the Judiciary Committee blamed logistical difficulties getting members to the meeting from a panel in Concord, N.H., that took place the previous day.

Sensenbrenner, who's responsible for this massive waste of taxpayer dollars, naturally is pleased as punch with the hearings:

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said the meetings allowed lawmakers "to hear testimony from local people, as well as to talk with them informally."

The fact is, the only people who testified were a handful who had been invited. There was no chance for local people to testify. Maybe Sensenbrenner heard from them informally when they were driving his cab or cleaning his hotel room. AP notes:

But even some who agree with the House GOP's hardline stance against illegal immigration gave mixed reviews to the hearings, which generally involved Homeland Security officials, academics and activists discussing the issue.

Ron De Jong, spokesman for the activist group Grassfire.org, said he would have liked more accessible venues and an opportunity for audience members to speak.

"I would have provided a forum for citizens to speak," De Jong said. "Give them 90 seconds."

But that might have spoiled the show. The last thing these hearings were intended to do was to hear from the public.

'Immigration policy, not politics'

He's a travelin' man, and F. Jim Sensenbrenner's road show on immigration keeps drawing flak wherever it goes.

People in New Hampshire -- where illegal immigrants would seem more likely to be Canadians than Mexicans -- say they want to discuss immigration policy, not politics.

AP reports.

Road show, but no action on immigration

An editorial from the News Times of Danbury CT:

Congress talks about reform, but fails to act

Immigration reform has been put on the back burner in Washington; congressional leaders think the issue is too controversial to handle in an election year.

But that doesn't mean the politics of immigration has been put on the back burner. Indeed, Republican leaders in the House, who hold the majority and are in charge of scheduling action on legislation, are having a great time with an immigration roadshow they've organized.

It's much easier to talk about illegal immigration than it is to actually do something about illegal immigration.

Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, went to El Paso, Texas, to stage a public hearing on immigration.

Sensenbrenner told those in attendance that he was in Texas to hear whether the public wants the U.S. government to "consult with a foreign government when taking steps to strengthen the security of our borders."

That foreign government is Mexico, and Sensenbrenner claims supporters of the comprehensive immigration reform legislation approved in the Senate want to let Mexico run the show and let illegal immigrants overrun the United States.

Sensenbrenner says the Senate reform measure is an "unprecedented surrender of America's sovereignty."

In Texas, Wisconsin and elsewhere, Americans know that isn't true. They know something needs to be done, they know the issue is complex and they know that politicians who talk instead of act are not doing the job they were elected to do.

The House immigration roadshow comes to New England next week, with a hearing scheduled in Concord, N.H. Another day, another state, and still nothing is done.
The House, pushed by Sensenbrenner, passed legislation that would increase border security but ignores other pressing immigration issues. What about the illegals already here? The House doesn't provide a solution.

The Senate legislation addresses border security as well as the illegals already here. Recent arrivals would be required to leave, new arrivals could apply for guest worker status. Illegals who have been here longer could try to qualify for a path toward citizenship if they pass a background check and learn English.

That's the more reasonable approach toward immigration reform -- the only workable approach.

House leaders should get off the road and back to work negotiating a compromise with the Senate that will secure the borders and address the problem of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants who are already in the United States.

Naive, disingenuous, hypocritical and more ...

Naive. Disingenuous. Hypocritical. Evasive. Thin-skinned.

All of those words are used to describe Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner in the course of a single column in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Enjoy.

Immigration hearings target key districts

There will be a hearing on immigration in Dubuque, Iowa soon, presumably because a lot of people in Dubuque are worried about illegal immigrants crossing the Mississippi from Wisconsin.

Or could it be because there is a hotly-contested House race there?

Critics are suggesting that Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner's committee has scheduled hearings across the country to give some embattled Repubs a lift in the fall elections, the NY Times reports. Many of the hearings are being held in districts where there are close races.

Several immigration hearings are being held far from the border with Mexico, in districts where Republican lawmakers are engaged in competitive races for the House, including Evansville, Ind.; Concord, N.H.; and Glens Falls, N.Y. Hearings are also being held in Dubuque, Iowa, where Republicans are fighting to hold on to the seat being vacated by Representative Jim Nussle, and in Hamilton, Mont., where Senator Conrad Burns faces a tough challenge.

Politically motivated? Au contraire, says Sensenbrenner's spokesman, Jeff Lungren:

Mr. Lungren said many of the hearings were being held in border states where border security and illegal immigration from Mexico were critical concerns among voters. But he did not rule out the possibility that politics had played a role in the scheduling of the hearings.

“Policy is the substance of an issue,” said Mr. Lungren, the spokesman for Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “Politics is helping to explain the substance of it. The two go hand in hand.”

Right.

Sensenbrenner's heavy hand in Assembly race

This from a Waukesha County Republican observer, about the Republican primary for the State Assembly seat formerly held by Scott Jensen, who resigned after being convicted of three felonies for misusing his office and abusing the public trust. In the interest of stirring the GOP primary pot, here you go:

Q: How has Rich Zipperer, an individual with virtually zero ties to either Waukesha County or Wisconsin Republican politics, been able to nab so many choice endorsements, including Wisconsin Right to Life, Brookfield Mayor Jeff Speaker, Lt. Gov. Farrow, and Rep. Vukmir?

A: F. James Sensenbrenner has let it be known that electing Mr. Zipperer is his newest “project”, and anyone who gets in his way will be “off the Christmas card list. (his words)”

The fear of Sensenbrenner has caused usually courageous Republican politicians to toe the line. Local attorney Mike Maxwell was counting on endorsements and support from State Sen. Ted Kanavas, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, and Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas. Kanavas is the godfather to Maxwell’s son. Maxwell’s wife worked on Vrakas’ county executive campaign. Maxwell hosted a fundraiser (the “pheasant hunt” that took place soon after the Cheney shooting) for Walker that raised a reported $10,000. All three have declined to help Maxwell.

Politics is all about who you know, so I do not slight Mr. Zipperer for having Congressman Sensenbrenner as his guardian angel. However, as the frontrunner, Mr. Zipperer should expect additional scrutiny, for example:

1. When exactly did Mr. Zipperer move into the Assembly district, and did he do so with the intention of running because he thought Scott Jensen was going to be convicted?

2. Mr. Zipperer hit the ground running immediately after Jensen announced his resignation. Did Mr. Zipperer use government resources in the Sensenbrenner office (email, fax, computers, copier, etc.) to run for Assembly?

3. Mr. Zipperer has stated that he has taken a leave of absence to run for office. Is he 100% off payroll, or using comp or vacation? More importantly, are he and his family still covered by the Sensenbrenner office health insurance like Kathy Falk’s staffer was before stopping due to scrutiny?

Still number one

It really isn't news any more, since F. Jim Sensenbrenner regularly comes out on top of the list of Congress members who travel for free.

But here's the latest report:

Sensenbrenner tops list of privately funded travel

WASHINGTON - Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner has taken around $200,000 worth of privately funded travel over the past 6 1/2 years, more than any other lawmaker, according to a new report.

Political Money Line, which tracks money in politics, released the report, which covers the period from 2000 through June 30 of this year.

Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., topped the list last year as well.

F. Jim to constituent: Bother someone else, not me

"Don't bother me -- go bother your state legislator with these problems."

That's the response Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner gave to a leader of a citizens group at a Sensenbrenner town hall meeting -- an answer those activists aren't likely to forget.

Jeff Gonyo of Highway J Citizens Group reports in an email, from which this is excerpted:

During the Town Hall Meeting, I asked Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner why he has not stepped in to stop wasteful, federally-funded road and bridge projects in his 5th Congressional District (like the Highway 164 four-lane expansion project in Waukesha and Washington Counties) and why he has not helped the residents of Ackerville obtain a complete clean-up of the groundwater contamination problems in this area (which have greatly worsened since a federally-funded bridge project was built there three years ago).

Just like he has done so many times these past seven years, Congressman Sensenbrenner again "passed the buck" and refused to get involved in what he viewed as "state and local issues." His exact response was: "Don't bother me -- go bother your state legislator with these problems."

Congressman Sensenbrenner gave this response even though I had pointed out to him that the Highway 164 four-lane expansion project is a federally-funded and federally-designed project that is now the subject of "a federal lawsuit filed in federal court against four defendants (three of which are federal agencies -- the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) now being heard by federal judges citing the violation of numerous federal laws (including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Aid to Highways Act, the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, the Endangered Species Act and others).

Furthermore, the Ackerville groundwater contamination problems are under the jurisdiction of at least two federal agencies -- the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). With these very strong federal connections in our case, I am absolutely shocked that a federal legislator like Congressman Sensenbrenner would continue to tell his constituents that "these are state and local issues."

Want to know more? Contact Jeff Gonyo, Highway J Citizens Group, P.O. Box 152, Hubertus, WI 53033. Phone: (262)-644-8334. E-Mail: jmgonyo@execpc.com

Website: www.hwyjcitizensgroup.org

Sensenbrenner disses citizens group

An attempt by a 5th Congressional District citizens group to enlist their Congressman against a project in his district fell on deaf ears. You can guess who the Congressman was. From the Daily Reporter:

On Sunday night, the [Highway J Citizens Group] unsuccessfully tried to convince U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner to back its cause at the congressman’s Richfield Town Hall meeting.

“I have approached Congressman Sensenbrenner many times over the last seven years in regards to these problems, and all he ever says is that it’s not a federal issue and I should bug my state legislators,” said Gonyo. “He wants to pass the buck.”

Gonyo said 80 percent of the funds used for both the highway expansion and bridge project are federal and that the Federal Highway Administration signed off on them.

“We are suing in federal court over federal laws to stop a federal project, and yet (Sensenbrenner) is saying it’s a state and local issue,” Gonyo said.

Sensenbrenner could not be reached for comment.

The group has several local politicians in its corner, including Sensenbrenner’s opponent in this year’s election, Bryan Kennedy. State Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, Washington County Supervisor David Radermacher and state Assembly candidate Bob Collison were all present at a rally held prior to the town hall meeting. Citizens for Responsible Government is also supporting the group’s efforts.

In January, Pridemore and state Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, asked WisDOT not to enter any further contracts on the project until the lawsuit was settled.

Citizens group to confront F Jim on Sunday

Looks like Congressman Sensenbrenner might have a hot time at the old town meeting on Sunday night.

A citizens group fighting expansion of Highway 164 in Waukesha and Washington Counties plans to take its case to Sensenbrenner.

From the Highway J Citizens Group e-mail:

WE NOW HAVE ANOTHER GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO "MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD" ON THESE IMPORTANT COMMUNITY ISSUES! On Sunday, July 30, 2006, we are strongly encouraging everyone to attend and participate at a citizens rally and town hall meeting in the Town of Richfield (Washington County). Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner is holding this town hall meeting to solicit citizen comments on a wide variety of issues that are affecting residents in the 5th Congressional District (which includes Waukesha and Washington Counties). This event will be held at the Richfield Town Hall (4128 Hubertus Road -- about one mile east of the Highway 164/Hubertus Road intersection) with the citizens rally starting at 6:00 PM followed by the town hall meeting at 7:00 PM.

For the past seven years, the HJCG has repeatedly asked Congressman Sensenbrenner to work together with area residents and local, county and state elected officials to both help us stop the WisDOT's Highway 164 four-lane expansion project and obtain a complete clean-up of the serious groundwater contamination problems in the Ackerville area (which now have been made worse by the WisDOT's recent construction of a bridge project in that location along Highway 164).

As of this date, Congressman Sensenbrenner has refused to assist the people on these important community issues. With the 6:00 PM citizens rally (which will be covered by the television and newspaper media), we intend to put strong political pressure on Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner to stop ignoring his constituents' many long-standing concerns and start taking these issues seriously which are negatively impacting the people he is suppose to be representing here in the 5th Congressional District. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THE JOB DONE!

At the 6:00 PM citizens rally, we will have an impressive list of guest speakers who are supporting us on these key issues. Most notably, Bryan Kennedy (Congressman Sensenbrenner's opponent in this year's election) will be joining us to speak out both in favor of an immediate clean-up of the Ackerville area groundwater contamination problems and calling on the WisDOT to stop the Highway 164 four-lane expansion.

Second, 98th State Assembly Candidate Bob Collison will be speaking at the citizens rally on these issues. We also are inviting 99th State Assembly Representative Don Pridemore and Washington County Supervisor David Radermacher to participate in this citizens rally. Finally, we expect the leaders and members of several environmental, conservation and taxpayer watchdog groups to be at the rally to lend their support for our grassroots efforts. PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS BIG EVENT!

Sensenbrenner goes to the dogs

The Journal Sentinel gives him the benefit of the doubt, and makes it sound like F. Jim is just having fun. But it sounds like there's an edge to his humor, and that he may not have found it all that amusing to be described as a pit bill or to have a Judiciary Committee member say he treated members like dogs.

In any event, here's the story:

Sensenbrenner lets the dogs out
House Judiciary 'pit bull' responds to article with stunt

By DANIEL W. REILLY and KATHERINE M. SKIBA

Washington - In the House Judiciary Committee, there can be only one top dog.

And the man with the gavel, Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, clearly is it.

However, the Menomonee Falls Republican was a bit taken aback recently when some members of his committee made references to man's best friend while describing him in a profile in The New York Times.

When describing Sensenbrenner's leadership style, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) used a famous quote from former Green Bay Packer player Jerry Kramer about coach Vince Lombardi. "He treats us all equally," Lungren said. "He treats us all like dogs."

In the same article, Rep. Rick Keller (R-Fla.) called Sensenbrenner a "pit bull." Keller said "the Senate negotiators he's up against (on the issue of immigration) are wearing Milk-Bone underwear."

On July 12, the day after the story ran, Sensenbrenner responded in kind at a committee meeting, passing out copies of the Times story and replacing the usual doughnuts with a plate of Milk-Bone dog treats.

According to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Sensenbrenner was "clearly relishing the characterization, even wielding a dog bone instead of a gavel."

As lawmakers filed out of the meeting, Sensenbrenner had an aide blast the Baha Men's hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out" on the audio system. He presented Lungren with a collar and a leash.

But did Sensenbrenner go too far?

"The congressman didn't take offense; it was all in lighthearted fun," said an aide in Lungren's office. "His bark is worse than his bite," Lungren told Roll Call.

"Chairman Sensenbrenner deals with a lot of serious issues," said Jeff Lungren, spokesman for the Judiciary Committee and the California congressman's son. "Sometimes it's important to have a little fun."

Jeff Lungren said all of the committee members took the canine stunts in stride, adding that he saw one member of the committee actually eating his Milk-Bone.

Apparently, Sensenbrenner, a longtime dog owner, has taken to his new role. One Capitol Hill aide said he has heard the chairman barking up and down the halls of Congress to announce his presence.

Same old Sensenbrenner still feeding at the public trough

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner's penchant for free travel, paid for by the taxpayers opr special interests, has made news in the past year. Dave Zweifel, editor of the Capital Times, recalls covering Sensebrenner as a state legislator in the 1960s. Not much has changed, Zweifel says:

His reputation for freeloading at the public trough, a place he's been feeding at for nearly 40 years, began early on when Sensenbrenner, an heir to the Kimberly-Clark fortune, had his wife collect unemployment compensation after she was laid off by the state Republican Party when elections were over and her services were no longer needed.

I remember him waging a campaign to get the per diem payments made to legislators declared tax-exempt. They were $25 a day back then to cover room and board when legislators were in Madison and the IRS insisted on treating per diems as income.

Indeed, Sensenbrenner was one of the first of the Wisconsin legislators who started thinking of himself as full-time. There was a day, many will remember, when state legislators were regular Wisconsin folks who had actual full-time jobs along with the people they represented. They'd come to Madison for a few weeks, pass a budget and act on legislation that needed attention and then go home.

It was the Sensenbrenners of the world who started down the slippery slope that turned into the debacle we have today. He was one of the first to write letters on state stationery soliciting doctors and lawyers for contributions and blatantly tell them that Republicans would look favorably on their issues. That wound up as a major state ethics issue.

Here he comes again -- Brookfield on Sunday

In case you have missed previous opportunities to share your views with Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner, here's another: A town hall meeting.

Sunday, July 16, 7pm – Brookfield Safety Building, 2100 N. Calhoun Rd.

If I'm not there, start without me.

Our guy F. Jim -- big-bellied curmudgeon

From a NY Times profile on Sensenbrenner:

... He is commonly described as “prickly,” “cantankerous” and “unpleasant.” And this is by his friends.

“I would describe Jim as — what’s a nice word — how about ‘idiosyncratic’?” says Representative Dan Lungren, a California Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Lungren equates Mr. Sensenbrenner’s leadership to something the Green Bay Packer guard Jerry Kramer said about his coach Vince Lombardi. “He treats us all equally,” Mr. Lungren says of Mr. Sensenbrenner. “He treats us all like dogs.”

Mr. Sensenbrenner, 63, can be neutrally described as a Washington piece of work — a big-bellied curmudgeon with a taste for old Caddies, pontoon boats and enormous cigars. He is equally at home discussing policy minutiae or the details of his Dalmatian’s recent intestinal problems. His honking voice and Upper Midwestern enunciations make him one of the most mimicked politicians on Capitol Hill. (“Noooo interviews in the hallway” is a familiar refrain as he blows past reporters.)

Prepare to be boarded, ye immigrant lovers!

Community columnist Dan Banda in the Journal Sentinel:

Ahoy, Capt. Sensenbrenner!

I was recently standing on the deck of my ship, the USS Liberty, on a beautiful summer day, when an unexpected cannon shot rang out and tore a large hole through my jib.

The unexpected assault came from the USS Victim, commanded by my own congressman, Jim Sensenbrenner, who rarely enters the waters of Shorewood. He had slipped past my defenses through my mailbox.

"Arrrrrrrr, you be sailin' in troubled waters Mr. Banda," my rep bellowed from his deck to mine. "Didn't you get the memo?"

The memo? I pondered and then recalled the June mass mailing he sent to every home in his 5th district. "You mean the mass mailing?"

"Aye, you read it. Then you know I be putting an end to illegal immigration, and you, sir, didn't send your support."

Capt. Sensenbrenner's crew began to chant, "Don't ya know the meaning of illegal?"

"Yes, I know the meaning of illegal," I said. "But I'm curious. You said there are many 'polarized viewpoints about immigration' and that we needed 'a more thoughtful and respectful' dialogue."

"Yes, thoughtful and respectful, and that's what I'm here to provide, after I set your ship on the right course and build me one those high-tech walls," Sensenbrenner added.

"But goods and services are virtually borderless today. Why is the labor treated differently? A man as well-traveled as you should know immigration is a global issue," I said.

"Do you know how expensive those illegals are to law-abiding folks? Allow me to refer to the memo," he replied. "Those illegals be causin' more expensive police protection with their street gangs, hurting our own children's education and causing our health care costs to skyrocket. It's so sad it makes me weep like a baby."

His crew nodded in sympathy. "Now ya knows where I stand," he said, pointing to the name etched on his ship, the USS Victim.

Back in school years ago, I acquired an article for class that said, "If the wetback could be eliminated, so could the entire U.S. welfare system."

I guess scapegoating hasn't changed much.

Sensenbrenner pulled out a lace hankie and wiped his eyes. "So ya see, Mr. Banda, if you looks at the facts, my Immigration Control Act is really just trying to help you." I countered: "You don't say where your data comes from. Maybe if . . ."

Before I could finish, another cannon shot whistled overhead. "Now ya be askin' too many questions, Mr. Banda. Join us, or prepare to be boarded so we may check your legal papers."

Legal papers? "What happened to all men are created equal?"

"My ancestors came here legally," the first mate said from the poop deck. "These illegals can wait in line like everyone else."

"Times have changed," I said, "these undocumented workers were invited."

"Not by me," Sensenbrenner scorned. "It's them there employers." (That got a big ARRRGGGHHHH from the crew.)

"But we consumers seek out undocumented labor in our quest to consume more-for-less," I said, thinking when my ancestors arrived, most household goods were made in the United States.

"You're not enjoying your freedom, Mr. Banda," Sensenbrenner said. Pointing to the cannon, he ordered, "Ready, aim . . ."

"A duel," I screamed. "Let's have a duel to decide which ship is more American by seeing which is more American-made."

"Aye, American labels it is!" the crew cheered, before searching their ship appliances, electronics, furniture and, finally, their clothing for U.S. labels.

While my own ship disappointedly showed no evidence of any American-made products on board, my wardrobe included only one item made in the USA, a 26-year-old pair of gray slacks. (I hate to throw anything away.) On the other ship, panic ensued . . . nothing but the cannon was American made. It was a tie.

The crew of the USS Victim cried foul, saying American labor laws were merely guidelines, while others thought they should get an extra point for only speaking English on their ship.

I took the opportunity to slip quietly away, hoping my congressman would someday find his respectful dialogue and see the broken immigration system as a global issue, and not as a wetback or illegal alien vs. American victim issue.

Thus, I survived another chapter in the war of the Spanish Armada, the 420-year-old battle to achieve the most legal rights on the high seas, and most recently, turn the United States into the finest gated community on the planet.

Outside agitators grill Sensenbrenner

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner was grilled on Iraq, his ownership of Halliburton stock, and immigration at a town hall meeting this week, the West Bend Daily News reports. The paper says half of the 30 or so attendees appeared to be from outside Sensenbrenner's suburban district.

He'll be at the West Bend City Hall at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 9. Bring the family.

Sensenbrenner in West Bend July 9

Anything you'd like to tell Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner? Anything you can say in public?

Here's your chance. A town hall meeting:

Sunday, July 9th, 7pm – West Bend City Hall

Owen Robinson of Boots and Sabers will probably live blog it, whatever that is.

'I wish he would become Mexican for a day'

This from a San Francisco Chronicle profile on Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner and his role in the debate over immigration:

Dionisia Olmos, 33, owner of a mortgage company, has joined the Waukesha County GOP. Her father immigrated illegally to Chicago where he worked at a golf course, taking his 12 children with him. Unable to support his family, he sent the younger ones, including Olmos, back to Mexico with their mother, where they lived without running water or electricity.

In 1986, her father gained amnesty under the law that Sensenbrenner vows never to repeat. Olmos was in Mexico and did not qualify. But at age 15 she married a man in the United States and decided to return.

"Mexico is a wonderful country," she said, "but you can't survive on what they pay you. I had a lot of things I needed to do. I'm a very hardworking lady, and I really needed to do my dream."

She said she crossed the border in 1988 at least five times, and was turned back each time by the same Border Patrol officer on horseback. She wore a Chicago Cubs jacket, and the guide told her to close her eyes so the flashlights wouldn't pick them up. She would open them each time to see the officer sitting on his horse looking at her. He kept telling her she would never get to Chicago and to give up.

After the fifth time, it became a joke, and he gave her his card. She told him she would call him from Chicago. She finally succeeded. "It was really, really hard," she remembered, crossing the Rio Grande in a raft at night.

Her brother discovered Waukesha in the Army. She joined him and worked in a factory. Eventually she wound up as a bank teller. She met [Don] Taylor, the county GOP chairman, and his son at their bank, and later they recruited her for the party, convincing her that her values matched those of Republicans. The younger Taylor gave her the bank loan to start her business, which now has four branches and 22 loan officers.

Olmos wanted to work inside the party to change the minds of Republicans who oppose immigrants like her who came illegally. But now she expresses doubts.

She feels intimidated at meetings, especially when talk began about a mailing for Sensenbrenner.

"I thought, 'what am I doing here?' " Olmos said. "They're supporting this law, they're supporting Sensenbrenner. They think people should come here legally. But I ask them, how can they come here legally? Tell me."

Olmos, the mother of three teenagers, finally got her green card in 2001 through her brother. She soon will be eligible for citizenship and wants to vote.

She said she wishes Sensenbrenner "would become Mexican for a day. I wish he would exchange nationalities with me. I challenge him to do that, and I'll take him back to Mexico and have him cross the border with me, and see if he can do it."

It was suggested that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee would not want to break the law.

Olmos replied, "He would do it if he's poor. If he sees his family doesn't even have a glass of clean water. He would do it if he knows that his family goes to bed hungry and has nothing else to eat. If he had nothing in his pocket, I think he would do it. He would break the law."

See Sensenbrenner in the flesh July 6

Come and have your own questions ignored or sidestepped by Congressman Sensenbrenner at his town hall meeting:

Thursday, July 6th, 7pm – Hartford City Hall

Sensenbrenner ducks Latino event

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner has found some convenient scheduling conflicts that keep him from telling a national Latino group, meeting in his backyard, about his get-tough immigration plans. AP reports:

MILWAUKEE - The nation's oldest Hispanic rights group scheduled numerous speakers - both Democrats and Republicans - for its annual convention, but one sought-after name is missing from the agenda.

The League of United Latin American Citizens says it wants to hear from U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner on why he proposed a bill that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally and, among other things, build a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has not accepted any of its invitations, says the group, which this week is holding its annual convention in Milwaukee, the Republican's backyard.

More than 10,000 people are expected at the convention, which began Monday and wraps up Saturday. The week's programs include sessions on immigration, Hispanics and business, and health care.

Speakers include House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee and Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Sensenbrenner told representatives of the group that he has votes scheduled in Washington through Friday and constituent business on Saturday, said Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Sensenbrenner and the House Judiciary Committee.

"Therefore, when deciding between serving the constituents that elected him or giving a speech to a special interest group, Congressman Sensenbrenner will choose his constituents every time," Lungren said.

LULAC has been using the proximity of its convention to the home district of Sensenbrenner, nearby Menomonee Falls, to call attention to his proposals. On Sunday night, about five members of the group, including the executive director, attended a town hall meeting held by Sensenbrenner in the Milwaukee suburb of Thiensville, said Gabriela Lemus, director of policy and legislation for LULAC.

She said Sensenbrenner, like several other lawmakers associated with the measure, changed topics when asked by LULAC members about his immigration proposals.

F. Jim loses key vote, goes off -- again

[Update by Jay]: Crooks and Liars has the video.

Judiciary Chair F. Jim Sensenbrenner lost a big vote in his committee Wednesday, and one report says he reacted with his typical temper tantrum and disregard for the rules. This from AP:

'Under God' pledge protection measure fails
GOP members fail to show for vote

WASHINGTON - House Republicans failed Wednesday to advance a bill protecting the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Only a day earlier, the GOP had placed the measure on its "American Values Agenda" in hopes of bolstering the party's prospects in the fall election.

But Republicans could not muster a simple majority on the issue in a committee where they outnumber Democrats by six.

The legislation tries to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over cases challenging the pledge. It responds to a federal appeals court ruling in 2002 that the pledge is unconstitutional because it contains the words "under God." A district court judge made a similar ruling last fall, citing the appeals court precedent.

Another shot possible
A simple majority is required to report a bill to the House floor with a favorable committee recommendation. The House Judiciary Committee split 15-15 on the pledge bill Wednesday; Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., joined 14 Democrats to oppose it.

Inglis said he is concerned that if the Republican-dominated Congress passes "court-stripping" legislation, a future Democrat-dominated Congress might pass its own bill denying courts jurisdiction of more issues. In addition, he said, the legislation would allow state courts to rule on issues related to the Pledge of Allegiance while denying litigants the ability to appeal to a federal court.

Ten of the committee's 23 Republicans did not show up for the vote. The chairman, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said he would try again for a majority on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Senate Republican leaders failed by a single vote to pass a constitutional amendment to ban the burning of the American flag.

The GOP's "American Values Agenda" also includes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which died in the Senate before it even reached a vote; a prohibition on human cloning; and possibly votes on several popular tax cuts.

And this from Raw Story:

Dems say Judiciary Chair breaks rules, closes meeting after losing vote

Chairman of the House JudiciaryCommitteee F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) has broken House rules to adjourn a meeting after losing a vote to Democrats, Democratic sources tell RAW STORY.

The vote was on an item from the Republican's "American Values Agenda," which the party says will codify "the American character." Specifically, it aims to bar any court--including the United States Supreme Court--from hearing any legal challenge to the pledge of allegiance.

Sensenbrenner, according to sources, hoped to reverse the vote when the committee reconvened later in the afternoon.

Democrats on the committee, save ranking member John Conyers (D-MI) refused to attend. With many Republicans also absent, there was no quorum present to hold a vote.

Conyers attended, according to sources, only for the sake of raising a point of order, indicating that the previous adjournment had violated rules. Sensenbrenner responded by indicating that he had not heard the objection earlier. However, sources tell RAW STORY that Sensenbrenner actually responded to the earlier statement at the time.

RAW STORY hopes to make a transcript available shortly.

The committee was again adjourned, and is likely to reconvene Thursday. Whether or not they hold another vote remains to be seen, however sources tell RAW STORY that it is likely to happen. Several Republicans on the committee did not cast a vote in the first round.

Developing...

What makes this believable, of course, is that Sensenbrenner has done it before.

No support for national ID card

Hard-line as he may be on immigration, Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner remains firmly opposed to any efforts to authorize a national ID card.

The idea is not dead, and some still believe it is needed, the Washington Post reports, but neither house included it in their immigration bills:

"There's just no support for it," said Jeff Lungren, spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), who sponsored the House immigration bill that sparked hundreds of protests this spring. Sensenbrenner wrote his disdain for the idea into his bill. Nothing in the legislation "shall be construed to authorize . . . the establishment of a national identification card," the bill says.

Sensenbrenner favors the expansion of a worker verification system that employers would check through the Internet. In its companion bill, the Senate opted for a similar tactic rather than a national ID system.

Sensenbrenner: Darn that Senate, anyway!

If only there weren't a US Senate, life would be a lot better, Jim Sensenbrenner says. Those pesky checks and balances, and having two houses of Congress, make it so hard to get anything done.

When the Senate's not stopping Sensenbrenner's lock-em-up immigration laws, it's holding up action on property rights. Lack of Senate action puts every one of us at risk that the government is going to seize our homes and give them to Exxon or Halliburton, apparently.

You can almost hear the famous Sensenbrenner whine in this press release:

WASHINGTON, June 23 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's terrible decision in Kelo v. New London, House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) today praised President George W. Bush for signing an Executive Order reiterating support for private property rights and opposition to the government's using eminent domain for the economic benefit of private parties. ..

Chairman Sensenbrenner stated, "President Bush should be praised for doing what he can to ensure private property rights are protected by signing this Executive Order. The House of Representatives has acted by overwhelmingly passing by a 376-to- 38 margin the bipartisan 'Private Property Rights Protection Act.' Unfortunately, in the year since the horrendous Kelo decision, the U.S. Senate has not acted."

"The Senate's failure to act leaves every homeowner vulnerable to having the government seize their property and give it to a large corporation for a private business use. It has been 232 days since the House passed this legislation that is vital to protecting the rights of every property owner in America, yet this bill is stuck in the U.S. Senate. That needs to end," added Chairman Sensenbrenner.

Sensenbrenner a Spanish curse word?

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has become a Spanish curse word for his vicious anti-immigrant legislation, which could imprison nearly 12 million immigrants and anyone else kind enough to serve them food at a soup kitchen.

-- Joel McNally, in a Capital Times column about Wisconsin politicians cashing in on anti-immigrant sentiment.

Town hall meeting: Speak truth to power

Your chance to tell F. Jim Sensenbrenner what you think about what he's doing to embarrass his constituents on immigration and other issues:

Town hall meeting

Sunday, June 25, at 7 p.m.
Thiensville Village Hall
250 Elm Street
Phone: 262/242-3720

Be there or be square.

Spending money to save money

F. Jim Sensenbrenner -- advertising how he saves taxpayer money -- in a taxpayer-paid mailing.

Watchdog Milwaukee has the story.

Sensenbrenner: Lying with impunity

Xoff beat me to the punch on Sensenbrenner's continued abuse of taxpayer money through "junkets." (Aside: If F. Jim is so big on not wasting taxpayers' money for things like hurricane relief, why is he ok with traveling on our dime?) So I'll pick up on a tip from a reader instead.

I heven't spent a lot of time following F. Jim's press releases, but once you get into them, you can find them riddled with lies--lies no one in the Milwaukee-area press seems to be calling him on. For example, from May:

Over the past several months, organized anti-war protests have taken place around the country, including in Wisconsin, at the funerals of servicemen and women killed while fighting in the war against terrorism. These extremist demonstrators harass family members and friends with chants and signs that read, ‘Thank God for dead soldiers,’ ‘God hates you,’ and ‘Thank God for IEDs.’ This behavior is revolting and deeply disrespectful.

Whatever your political persuasion, or stance on the War on Terror, I think we all can agree that family members and friends should be protected during military funerals. [. . .] As a result, I, along with over 100 Republican and Democrat House Members, cosponsored HR 5037, the Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act. The bill would prohibit demonstrations on national cemetery grounds, unless specifically approved, and would silence all demonstrations one hour before and one hour following a military memorial service within a 500-foot radius.

Lies. Sensenbrenner clearly labels the protesters targeted here as "anti-war," and with his reference to "political persuasion," implies that said protesters are liberal. This is not true: The resolution came about as a direct result of protests at military funerals by Fred Phelps, an ultra-conservative who is not anti-war, but anti-gay, and feels that the US deserves to have its servicemembers die beczuse of our liberal policies regarding homsexuality in this country. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covered Phelps when he brought his circus to Wisconsin, and if F. Jim had bothered to read the paper, he'd know that the protests are not anti-war or liberal in nature.

The New York Times ran an op-ed just this week (behind their stupid subscription wall) in which the writer claimed that liberal anti-war protesters were disrupting military funerals. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) investigated and found that, in fact, it was all Phelps's group, not liberals.

Google all you want; you will not find that liberals--or anyone anti-war--are protesting military funerals.

(Tip on that one from Green opponent to F. Jim, Bob Levis.)

One example ought to be enough, but there's more. This release, for example, lies about what's in the Senate immigration bill. My favorite is possibly this one, which may not be a lie, but is certainly dripping with irony:

The National Taxpayers Union (NTU), an independent tax watchdog group, has awarded Menomonee Falls Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner the ‘Taxpayers’ Friend Award’ for 2005 because of his voting record to reduce and control the tax burden on American taxpayers. Congressman Sensenbrenner, the only Member of the Wisconsin delegation to get an ‘A,’ received the ninth highest score in the House of Representatives. [. . .]

“Ultimately, this is the taxpayers’ money we’re talking about and we’re the ones entrusted to spend it responsibly,” Sensenbrenner concluded.

Who is it being irresponsible with taxpayers' money again?

Travelin' man just keeps on travelin'

-- Stuart Carlson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Spivak and Bice:

Sensenbrenner still traveling on your dime

There he goes again.

Travelin' Jim Sensenbrenner has made it near the top of yet another congressional perk list.

And this time it's the taxpayers picking up the tab so the multimillionaire Republican can see the world

"It's a wonder he has the time to stay in Congress to vote," snapped Tony Raymond, co-founder of Political Money Line, a D.C. watchdog group.

Data compiled by the group shows that since 1994, Sensenbrenner has gone on junkets costing taxpayers $149,248, placing the Menomonee Falls congressman ninth among the 600-plus pols who have been in the House or Senate during that time.

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Most recently, Sensenbrenner went on a weeklong trip costing just under $10,000 to visit Poland, Lithuania and Amsterdam in January.

Last year, he traveled to France for 10 days, a trip that again cost a little less than $10,000.

Over the years, he also has used tax dollars to see Vietnam, Russia, China and Istanbul, among other places.

No other member of the Wisconsin delegation comes close to matching Sensenbrenner for cavorting on the taxpayers' dime. U.S. Rep. Mark Green, the Republican candidate for governor, finished second in the delegation and 173rd overall for taking publicly funded trips worth $24,436, including two jaunts to Africa.

These fact-finding missions, of course, come on top of all of the worldwide excursions Sensenbrenner and his aides have gone on in recent years at the expense of lobbyists, corporations, non-profits and other private interests.

Another Political Money Line study found that since 2000, Sensenbrenner is No. 1 among all federal lawmakers in the total cost of the trips he has accepted from private sources. And earlier this month, yet another report said the combined value of the privately funded junketeering by the veteran Wisconsin congressman and his staff over the past five years placed his office 12th on Capitol Hill.

Overall, Sensenbrenner - often accompanied by his wife - has gone on 33 trips at a total cost to taxpayers and private groups of more than $266,000 since January 2000.

Not a bad perk for a guy who's an heir to the Kimberly-Clark fortune.

Asked specifically about his boss' taxpayer-funded globetrotting, Sensenbrenner chief of staff Thomas Schreibel responded with exasperation: "Here we go again."

Schreibel said Sensenbrenner had to travel more than others in the Wisconsin delegation because he has been the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee since 2000 and was the head of the House Science Committee before that.

"Travel is a part of the job," he said, "where members of Congress learn of problems that other countries are having and problems the United States is experiencing with other countries."

You do have to wonder why being Judiciary chair requires more travel than chairing any of the other many House committees. International Relations is one that comes to mind.

Right vote, wrong reason

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner was one of 19 Republicans who voted "no" on an appropriations bill that poured another $66-billion into the bottomless pits of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sensenbrenner voted against the bill not because he has any problems with the blank check for war, but because it also included money for Hurricane Katrina aid. At least he is consistent in his cold-blooded heartlessness toward Katrina victims, which is well-documented.

Sensenbrenner thinks there's too much waste in New Orleans, but apparently that's not an issue in Iraq.

Capital Times editorial.

Working for Sensenbrenner not always cushy

Working for F. Jim Sensenbrenner isn't always cushy. Cory Liebmann of Eye on Wisconsin reports:

Apparently Sensenbrenner must draw a distinction between his office workers and those that do manual labor for companies in which he has vested interest.

Last month I posted a copy of Sensenbrenner’s disclosure statement, which showed that he owns $100,000 in Halliburton stock. At that time I also mentioned that with all of his tough talk on immigration, he never said anything when Halliburton was busted for using illegal immigrant workers. This happened during the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina. Just last week there was a report of how badly some of these kinds of illegal immigrants were treated.

Work for Sensenbrenner, see the world

It's not only Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner and his wife who travel the world for free, thanks the the generosity of public-spirited special interest groups who just want to make sure members of Congress and their staffs get all of the perks information they need, even if they have to fly to an exotic resort to get it.

Sensenbrenner's staff cashes in, too, with 94 trips worth $170,000 in the last five years. Spivak and Bice have details and the staff's attempt at defending the practice.

F. Jim breaks ranks on net neutralilty

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner was one of only 11 Republicans to vote in favor an amendment to put net neutrality into federal law. CNET News reports:

The U.S. House of Representatives definitively rejected the concept of Net neutrality on Thursday, dealing a bitter blow to Internet companies like Amazon.com, eBay and Google that had engaged in a last-minute lobbying campaign to support it.

By a 269-152 vote that fell largely along party lines, the House Republican leadership mustered enough votes to reject a Democrat-backed amendment that would have enshrined stiff Net neutrality regulations into federal law and prevented broadband providers from treating some Internet sites differently from others.

The other Badger Republicans -- Mark Green, Paul Ryan and Tom Petri --all voted no, with all four state Dems -- Gwen Moore, Dave Obey, Tammy Baldwin, and Ron Kind -- in favor.

Sensenbrenner hears only applause

Constituents of F. Jim Sensenbrenner who oppose his total hardheaded, hard line approach on immigration need to speak up a little more loudly. He clearly is not hearing you, as this exchange with US News and World Report illustrates:

What are you hearing in your district about immigration?

A: I'm getting very strong support in my district. There are some church groups that are opposed to what the House of Representatives has done. But over Memorial Day, I did four parades in four distinct parts of my district. I got cheered in all four parades. There were more people that came out in the middle of the street, saying: "I want to shake your hand because you're doing the right thing on immigration."

Read it here.

Avoiding illegals: How F. Jim does it

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner mostly gets a pass in a Chicago Tribune profile, which buys his line that he's "a workhorse, not a show horse."

Some have compared him to just one portion of a horse.

Folks in Wisconsin, or those who have witnessed his temper tantrums in Congress, may be surprised to see him described as a "low-key lawmaker."

How does he know he doesn't aid illegal immigrants himself -- which if he had his way would result in criminal charges?

A careful man, Sensenbrenner says he tries to live what he preaches, even as it relates to immigration. Asked how he avoids doing business with possibly illegal immigrant workers when, say, he goes to get his car cleaned, he said he uses an automatic car wash.

He asks contractors he hires about their legal status and that of their workers. His housekeeper in Washington is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Nicaragua.

Do you think he asks to see the paperwork, or just asks if everybody's legal?

Flamingo Jones on F. Jim

Wisconsin Blogger Flamingo Jones, posting at The American Street, reminds us of an irony:

Gee…we’re not happy that the Justice Dept. and Executive branch are trampling over Constitutional rights, Jim? I wouldn’t have guessed that, based on your pissy attitude when Democrats tried to point out those exact dangers during the Patriot Act debate a year ago.

Maybe that's not irony. Maybe that's hypocrisy.

Or is the F. for Frequent Flyer?

Sensenbrenner in top 10 frequent flyers

A Medill News Service report:

WASHINGTON -- Outside groups representing interests as diverse as nuclear energy and telecommunications have paid nearly $50 million since 2000 to shuttle members of Congress and their staffs around the world, from Kazakhstan to Kansas City, Paris to Palm Springs.

In fact, staffers often outpace their bosses in the number and the costs of trips that they took to far-flung edges of the world.

Overall, members of Congress went on globe-trotting excursions costing $18.9 million. But private interests paid much more -- $30 million -- to finance the trips of congressional staff members, who often are instrumental in shaping policy.

Wisconsin's skinflint frequent flyer, F. Jim Sensenbrenner, who never travels on his own dime if he can avoid it, made the Top 10 list:

Rep. Gene Green of Texas and five other Democrats were in the top 10 traveler list among members of Congress as measured by overall cost. Green topped the list with about $175,000 worth of trips, but Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Democrat Robert Wexler of Florida, and California Democrat George Miller were not far behind with about $170,000 each.

Flatigious Jim Sensenbrenner

Word for the day: Flatigious. Definition: Shameful, villainous.

The New American blog applies it to none other than F. Jim Sensenbrenner:

It is very rare when our “public servants” actually render a service to the public, and when this happens it is almost always unintentional.

Such is the case with the quite ironic service provided by Wisconsin Republican Representative James Sensenbrenner through his flatigious hypocrisy over civil liberties.

Is that what the F. stands for?

Is hearing a warning to protect GOP?

House Judiciary Chair F. Jim Sensenbrenner has been getting some praise, even from folks like the ACLU, for conducting hearings on the separation of powers in government, probing whether the Dept. of Justice had the authority to raid the offices of Rep. William Jefferson.

Now comes the suggestion that Sensenbrenner's motives may be less than pure, that the hearing is a warning shot to DOJ as it probes Congressional wrongdoing by Republicans.

E. J. Dionne Jr. of the Washington Post suggests Sensenbrenner is trying to send a message:

The hearing was dominated by talk of abuses of power by long-dead monarchs and the need of the people's representatives for untrammeled communication with their constituents.

But Rep. James Sensenbrenner's committee was really sending a message as the House confronts a far-reaching corruption investigation: Nice little Justice Department you have there, Mr. Attorney General. Too bad if anything were to happen to it. Stop messing with us before we mess with you.

How else to explain this from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.): "We have the power to impeach the attorney general. Now, I'm not sure that articles of impeachment are going to come out today. I think we're a couple shakes short of a quorum for that purpose. Although I suspect members would quickly be here if it was brought by the chair."

Why would House Republicans be so concerned with Jefferson, a Democrat from Louisiana who, according to prosecutors, kept $90,000 in cash in his freezer?

One answer is high principle. The more plausible answer is that Republicans are worried that the next shoes to drop in the congressional probes will belong to Republican members. Using a Democrat's case now to protect Republican members in the future is not so much clever as transparent.

If Wisconsin's Sensenbrenner and his fellow Republicans had shown an exquisite concern with civil liberties and accountability in the past, their challenge to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales might be seen as part of a consistent libertarian sensibility.

Read it all.

Sensenbrenner: The head brick

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner has been called a lot of things in the last year or so, several of them by me.

The New York Times, in a weekend editorial, had a new description for him: The head brick. Not to be confused with blockhead. Here's the context:

Americans should be proud of what the United States Senate did this week. It passed an ambitious bill that could lead to the most far-reaching overhaul of immigration laws in the nation's history. It did so after months of thoughtful debate and through a bipartisan compromise, a creature that many thought had vanished from Capitol Hill. The bill has many flaws, but its framework is realistic and humane. At various low points in the debate, this outcome could scarcely have been imagined, but the near-impossible happened on Thursday, by a vote of 62 to 36.

The Senate has given the cause of immigration reform a lot of momentum, which it will need since it is now heading for a brick wall: the House of Representatives.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman, James Sensenbrenner Jr., in the role of head brick, called the Senate bill "a nonstarter" the morning after it passed. Discussing the odds of reconciling the House and Senate legislation into one bill, Mr. Sensenbrenner struck a tone of deathly pessimism. The chambers had once been miles apart, but now they were "moons apart or oceans apart," he said, grasping for words to convey the vastness of his gloom, and the ferocity of his bargaining stance.

Read the rest.

More on old Brickhead: Cory Liebmann says Sensenbrenner has a real credibility problem when he talks tough about employers of illegals. And Joel McNally says F. Jim's crusade on immigration shows his true colors.

Jimmy gets his gavel

-- David Horsey, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (Hat tip: Brewtown Politico.)

When you're the House Judiciary chairman, you have a lot on your plate. You can't take up every little issue that comes along. You have to keep your priorities straight and focus on the things that really matter -- like the ones that affect members of Congress.

Dana Milbank in the Washington Post:

When asked to hold hearings on the rendition and torture of terrorism suspects, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) respectfully declined.

Invited repeatedly to probe the Bush administration's leaking of a CIA operative's identity, the chairman sent his regrets.

Urged to have hearings dedicated to the administration's warrantless eavesdropping, Sensenbrenner demurred once more.

But when FBI agents searched a congressional office 11 days ago, Sensenbrenner went up to the attic and found his gavel.

Yesterday, he held the first of at least four hearings into the raid -- the debut was dispassionately titled "Reckless Justice" -- and announced that he will haul the attorney general and FBI director before his committee. He also vowed that he will "promptly" write legislation to prevent a recurrence.

Read the rest.

A Tale Of Two Cities(' Newspapers)

It's true that I write an awful lot about F. Jim Sensenbrenner. Is he my congressman? No, thank goodness. The FBI would probably be living at my house, especially if I made a habit of going to his town hall meetings.

But this is also another in my continuing series on why the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel sucks. Give a news organization a monopoply, and this is what you end up with, folks: anemic reporting, and cluelessness in the editorial boardroom.

Check out today's front-page story by Craig Gilbert:

Iron will brings perils, payoffs for Sensenbrenner
He defends leadership style by showing results

When Jim Sensenbrenner is making news, it often means one thing. Somebody is ticked off. Sometimes it's him. Sometimes it's the Democrats. Sometimes it's his own side. But to the powerful House Judiciary Committee chairman, that isn't all bad.

"It is very hard to make a difference and actually change things if you have a reputation of 'going along to get along' for everything," said the Wisconsin Republican in a long interview about his event-filled chairmanship.

"People who cave too early simply because they like to see more 'smiles' end up failing at actually making the changes I think everybody who runs for office wants to accomplish," Sensenbrenner said.

And so begins a relatively flattering piece on F. Jim. Really--I read the whole thing looking for the promised "perils." Seems the only "peril" is that he makes people mad. The story even includes a number of Democrats who must have been lined up at Craig Gilbert's door to praise the pompous jerk. "Oooooh, he's so even-handed," they say. "Aaaaah, he's so good at what he does."

Horseflop.

Compare, now, the front page story in this morning's Chicago Tribune*:

Lawmaker prods court, raises brows
Demands longer term in Chicago drug case

In an extraordinary move, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee privately demanded last month that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago change its decision in a narcotics case because he didn't believe a drug courier got a harsh enough prison term.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), in a five-page letter dated June 23 to Chief Judge Joel Flaum, asserted that a June 16 decision by a three-judge appeals court panel was wrong. [. . .]

[Jay] Apperson, who is chief counsel of a House Judiciary subcommittee, argues that Sensenbrenner is simply exercising his judicial oversight responsibilities. But some legal experts believe the action by the Judiciary Committee chairman, who is an attorney, is a violation of House ethics rules, which prohibit communicating privately with judges on legal matters, as well as court rules that bar such contact with judges without contacting all parties.

Further, the letter may be an intrusion on the Constitution's separation-of-powers doctrine, or, at least, the latest encroachment by Congress upon the judiciary, analysts said.

David Zlotnick, a law professor at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and an expert on federal sentencing law, said, "I think it's completely inappropriate for a congressman to send a letter to a court telling them to change a ruling."

However, Stanley Brand, a Washington, D.C., attorney and former House counsel, said: "I don't think it's appropriate, but I don't know if it rises to the level of an ethical violation. It's unseemly. It's not something members ought to do, but they do it. . . . The context is troubling."

The story goes on for three web pages, providing solid reporting and thoughtful and varied analysis--as opposed to Gilbert's puff piece. The Trib notes that the appeals court issued a revised ruling specifically to explain why F. Jim was legally wrong on the issue, and how F. Jim the whined to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the matter. The Trib also provides a long and disturbing section on the context of F. Jim's interference--the long list of Republican's efforts to poke their noses in from Congress on judicial matters over the last several years.

I wonder if maybe Craig Gilbert should re-think the flattery: He notes that F. Jim gets compared to a rottweiller or pit bull. Jackal is more like it.

[* Login to the Trib: kos@dailykos, dailykos]

I wonder if he took his marbles, too

UPDATE: Barbara O'Brien has so much more. Go read, please.

What do you do when you people start telling you things you don't like? When you're the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, you just take your gavel and go home:

Following repeated Democratic criticism of the Bush administration, House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) on Friday gaveled a hearing to a close and walked out while Democrats continued to testify - but with their microphones shut off.

The hearing's announced topic was the USA Patriot Act, which granted broad new powers to federal law enforcement after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Republicans presented several witnesses who supported the administration's call for reauthorizing the legislation. But when four witnesses hand-picked by the Democrats launched into a broad denunciations of President Bush's war on terror and the condition of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Sensenbrenner showed his pique.

He urged witnesses to "wrap it up" and repeatedly told Democratic committee members that their time for questioning had expired.

A lot of people in Wisconsin's fifth CD think that having F. Jim in Congress is good for us, since he holds such a powerful position in the Judiciary Committee. Problem is, unless Republicans change their ethics rules (not unheard of), this is F. Jim's last year as chair.

And let's face it: This year of F. Jim's chairmanship has been nothing short of horrible. Remember a couple months back, when F. Jim took the liberty to rewrite Democratic descriptions of amendments to make Dems sound like they supported child molesters? Seems like F. Jim is more than willing to let partisan stupidity get in the way of good law. That's not what Wisconsin's fifth CD voters really want.

Video from the shut-down here and here.

Two Bad Bills, and they have F. Jim's name on them

It's been a while since we've updated here at the all-things-anti-Sensenbrenner ranch. So we're going to hit two balls with one bat:

By now you have probably heard of the REAL ID bill. This is F. Jim's pet project, leftover from last fall's inter-Republican fights. UNREAL ID has all the skinny you need. Essentially, the REAL ID is designed to be a national ID card. It adds countless layers of bureaucracy to the process of getting identification. (This is a big deal, considering how many states--including Wisconsin--are making moves toward requiring state ID to vote!) This is Big Brother come to life and from Brookfield.

The second bill is another of F. Jim's projects, the bill that, among other things, "provides for a two year jail sentence if you observe or come across information about drug distribution near colleges and do not report it to authorities within 24 hours and provide full assistance investigating, apprehending, and prosecuting those involved." That's right: Don't Snitch, Go To Jail. The Drug Policy Alliance has more.

*Everyone* is dumping on Sensenbrenner!

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about F. Jim and staff's unconscionable re-writing of Democratic amendments meant to protect innocent people, calling those innocent people "sexual predators."

Today, the blogosphere is a-buzz with disapproval. I thought I would point you to a few of my favorite bloggers and their responses:

• Kevin Drum, at the Washington Monthly: "But that won't stop me from noting the spectacular temper tantrum thrown by Judiciary Committee Republicans yesterday."
  
• Barbara O'Brien, at Mahablog: "[W]e're just looking at pettiness here. Or are we? It's possible we're looking at the work of someone--and be clear the someone is a conservative Republican--so demented that he/she believes Democrats want to protect sexual predators from prosecution, and the amendments were re-written to reveal the Dems' "true intentions." Farfetched, I know, but people on the edge of psychosis do stuff like this, and seems to me lots of righties are dancing close to the edge these days."
  
• Digby, in a post F. Jim would fine for bad language, at Hullaballoo: "Quick, somebody ask head security mom, Cokie Roberts, if she thinks it's ok for Republicans to act like juvenile delinquents on the taxpayers dime."
  
• Finally, Sensenbrenner opponent Byan Kennedy: "I am shocked that Sensenbrenner would stoop so low as to re-write the amendments and completely alter the proceedings of the committee.  Where is his respect for the legislative process?  Once again, we see that Mr. Sensenbrenner acts like a petulant child.  He has let his power as a committee chair go to his head.  This kind of puerile behavior is like a high school student changing someone’s grades in the teacher’s grade book and then getting mad because they got caught.  Sensenbrenner needs to grow up and start representing the people of the 5th district, not his own selfish interests."

In comments, feel free to link to any other bloggers or "real" news outlets reporting this story. And while you're at it, give F. Jim's office a call and ask him why he is lying about Democrats' amendments and engaging in this kind of childish behavior: (262) 784-1111 (district office); 1-800-242-1119 (the HOTLINE for those outside of the Milwaukee metro area); (202) 225-5101 (DC office).

Sensnbrenner must think he's King

We had a revolution about this sort of thing. I'll let Rep. Louise Slaughter give you the skinny:

I want to talk for a minute about another abuse which has occurred in this chamber, a personal affront to three of our colleagues I have never witnessed in my near twenty years serving in this House.

The Rules Committee discovered yesterday that the Judiciary Committee Report on this very bill, which was authored by the Majority Staff, contained amendment summaries which had been re-written by committee staff for the sole purpose of distorting the original intent of the authors.

This Committee Report took liberty to mischaracterize and even falsify the intent of several amendments offered in Committee by Democratic Members of this body.

At least five amendments to this bill, which were designed to protect the rights of family members and innocent bystanders from prosecution under this bill, were rewritten as amendments designed to protect sexual predators from prosecution and were then included in the committee report as if that was the original intent of the authors. The thing is, sexual predators were not mentioned anywhere in any of these amendments.

These amendments were no more about sexual predators then they were about terrorists or arsonists or any other criminal class in our society.

These amendments were about the rights of grandmothers and siblings and clergy and innocent bystanders.

I asked the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee [our very own F. Jim Sensenbrenner] about this deception yesterday afternoon at the Rules Committee hearing.

And instead of decrying what I certainly expected would be revealed as a mistake by an overzealous staffer...The Chairman stood by those altered amendment descriptions.

[F. Jim Sensenbrenner] made very clear to the Rules Committee that the alterations to these members’ amendments were deliberate.

When pressed as to why his committee staff took such an unprecedented action, the Chairman immediately offered up his own anger over the manner in which Democrats had chosen to debate and oppose this unfortunate piece of legislation we have before us today.

In fact…He said, and I quote... "You don’t like what we wrote about your amendments, and we don’t like what you said about our bill."

To falsely rewrite the intent of an amendment submitted by another member, to intentionally distort its description as being designed to protect sexual predators, is no different than accusing a fellow member of Congress as being an apologist for sexual predators themselves.

That is in effect what the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee has done here, with all deliberation.

And he has ensured that these amendment descriptions will be encapsulated in the record for all time by including those unfair and incorrect amendment summaries in the Committee report.

This is a new low for this chamber, Mr. Speaker.

And given all the recent news about Tom DeLay, the House has a pretty low standard already.

Reader JAB from over at the Daily Aneurysm also comments, as well as points us to Raw Story (watch out for the blankety-blank pop-up ads), which has actual samples of how F. Jim imperiously distorted the language used to descibe Democrats' amendments.

2006 cannot come soon enough, eh?

Vacation, had to get away

As a follow-up to our post a few days back, ABC News is also reporting on privately-funded trips by members of Congress. Guess who leads the way?

From the boulevards of Paris to the beaches of Puerto Rico, members of Congress — Democrat and Republican — have taken more than $16 million in trips paid by private sources in the last five years, according to a report released by PoliticalMoneyLine, an independent research group.

At the top of the list, at least monetarily, sits Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who has taken $167,000 worth of trips.

Sometimes Wisconsinites complain that F. Jim had "gone Washington." I think this cements the case: He spends so much time jetting around on the dime of people who never elected him that he barely has time for the people at home. (And when he is home, he doesn't always treat us well. See the post below.)

Seems like it's time to send F. Jim a message: We don't a Washington Congressman--we want a Wisconsin congressman. I say it's time to put F. Jim on permanent vacation.

Senselessbrenner talks out of both sides of his two faces

On Saturday April 23, 2005, F. James Sensenbrenner spoke to people at the Glendale Public Library, which was primarily composed of Democrats. At that meeting he made comments claiming that the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches should be kept separate and independent (I believe it was in response to a question regarding what was going on in the Senate, and that he being a member of the House of Representatives shouldn’t have a say in what they do, even while he blames the Senate for not moving forward on legislation passed by the House.) I made the comment that he should explain that to President Bush.

Later at the Menomonee Falls Village Hall meeting which was attended by only about 8 people, (only two of which were Democrats, US), Sensenbrenner commented that people needed to understand that majority means majority, and that majority rules should prevail. (That was in response to a question regarding the “holdup” of current judicial nominees, which, of course, is referring back to the gridlock in the SENATE - something that the Republicans did with Clinton’s judicial nominees in 1999 and 2000. The Senate does not have simple majority rules, because the original framers of the Constitution decided that the minority should have the ability to block the majority from passing legislation, unless there was at least a 60-40 vote.) So much for the separation, and independence, of the three branches of government when playing up to a partisan crowd.


At the Shorewood Town Hall meeting prior to the Easter Break, (the afternoon of the day that he had faced substantial opposition from the labor unions in Wauwatosa), Senselessbrenner refused to follow his own rules that he was so adamant about during the early part of the meeting, when people were willing to waive their place in the sign up list to allow people to speak ahead of them because they weren’t able to wait through the entire meeting to speak. (Sensenbrenner would tell them that if they weren’t in his Congressional District, they couldn’t speak until the end. He also claimed that a Hispanic woman didn’t live in his district and wouldn’t be allowed to speak until much later, even though she did live in his district.) Towards the end of the meeting, Sensenbrenner proclaimed that because he had made an agreement with the Village of Shorewood, (that we would be out of the building by a certain time), he only had time for one more question. Both my wife and I were on the list, but Sensenbrenner wouldn’t call on us, and when he called on someone who had already left the meeting, he fumbled around because he couldn’t find anyone else that he WANTED to call on. Then someone in the audience, who appeared to be a SHILL, raised his hand and asked to be heard, and Sensenbrenner immediately called on him, without question, even though he didn’t appear to be on the list. (He claimed he did, but I doubt it.) The SHILL immediately set the stage by asking a question of the audience, “Raise your hands if you believe in free choice.” Most people were surprised by this question, or perhaps puzzled by it, so there weren’t too many takers on it. Then he proceeded to go on a rant, proclaiming that: ”I’m glad you believe in free choice, because I also believe in free choice. And I believe that I should have free choice in deciding what to do with MY MONEY. I believe that I should be able to invest my money as I choose and that I can do it better than Social Security can.” He went on to praise Senselessbrenner and denounce the rest of us for being so much in favor of taxing the rich.

I got the distinct impression that Senselessbrenner, having been embarrassed by the opposition earlier in the day, made a few emergency calls to get someone to show up in support of him during the afternoon session. I also get the impression that he will probably do more of that, and do it in advance to get more Republican turnout to his Town Hall meetings in the future.

During that meeting and others prior to the Easter Break, Senselessbrenner played to the largely Democratic crowd, claiming that he was against drilling in ANWR. Of course, the Energy Bill, which he voted FOR last Thursday, included a provision which allowed drilling in ANWR. On his website, Senselessbrenner talks about how getting something passed is better than nothing, and claims that he was opposed to the provision that would not allow the removal of MTBE from reformulated gasoline, but doesn’t mention ANWR AT ALL. After the Easter Break at his Glendale Town Hall, I pointed out that drilling in ANWR was included in the Energy Bill that Senselessbrenner voted FOR. He vehemently claimed that he had fought to remove the ANWR provision from the Energy Bill. But given his anti-environmental stances against even REPUBLICANS in his own district, it appears that he is just putting on a dog and pony show to the faithful or uninformed. Those who have been paying attention to the Republican bills going through the past several Congresses under Republican control, are well aware that issues like ANWR that might get Republican Congressmen in hot water in their home districts, are intentionally bundled with larger bills so that they are lost in the paperwork. Most people are unaware that these issues have been voted on, in addition to the fact that it gives the Republicans an easy way to claim that they “fought” to remove the provision in the larger bill, but that the larger bill was a "better but imperfect compromise".

Sadly, Senselessbrenner didn’t take that position when refusing to allow the Amber Alert bill to move out of his committee and go to vote on the House floor several years ago, because he claimed that he wanted to include stricter penalties for those who committed kidnap, rape and murder against children, and make it “better”. During his almost year and a half holding up that emergency alert bill, it has been estimated by experts (including Clint Van Zandt, ex-FBI profiler), that there is a child kidnapped, raped and murdered almost every other day, every year in the United States. That works out to about 180 per year or almost 270 during the time that Senselessbrenner delayed that legislation. Most of those children killed were killed within 72 hours of abduction. And what did Senselessbrenner’s stronger legislation accomplish? Ask the families of the two recent victims in Florida, where Florida is now looking into creating even stronger legislation than Senselessbrenner’s Federal Bill, which didn’t prevent repeat offenders from getting out and doing it again

Vacation, all I ever wanted . . .

American Radio Works, in conjunction with Marketplace, has put together an index of sponsored travel by Congress members and the political parties in the last four years or so. Sadly, most of the top offenders are Democrats (proving there is much work still to be done on all sides). But, wouldn't you know it, our very own F. Jim is sitting at number 14 (the top 3%) on the list.

Here's what we know:

F. James Sensenbrenner, Republican Party
Total number of trips - 16
Total cost of trips - $126,424.65
Average cost per trip - $7,901.54
Total number of days spent traveling - 95 days
Rank of representative - 14 (Out of 582)

By comparison, Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold had a grand total of $1095 spent on him (this is why we love Russ).

Now, there's no guarantee that these paid-for trips affect F. Jim's ability to represent the good people of Wisconsin's fifth congressional district, but if he's regularly being wined and dined by, say, the National Association of Broadcasters every year or so, it, you know, looks bad for us.

F. Jim needs to spend more time actually listening to his constituents instead of jetting around on someone else's dime.

Welcome, Fighting Bobbers!

We're so glad you dropped by. We're still getting the ball rolling here at SensenbrennerWatch, but rest assured that as we get steam built up--and as we get closer to Election 2006--you will be able to get your daily diss of ol' F. Jim.

We're also looking for 5th CD volunteers who might want to help out on this project or others. Feel free to leave a comment and we'll get back to you!