bill frist

Here are some interesting tidbits from this New York Times article:

All but one of the 44 Senate Democrats — Ben Nelson of Nebraska — have voiced opposition to the measure, as have some moderate Republicans, a result that would kill the measure for the year.

Remember this vote requires 2/3rds of the Senate to vote for it so now they got 56 of the needed 67 votes. Perhaps they are getting closer or perhaps:

Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said that while he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman, he said he would vote against the amendment to ban gay marriage because the matter was already being addressed by the states. He quoted the late Sen. Barry Goldwater as saying that government "ought to be kept off our backs, out of our pocketbooks and out of our bedrooms."

"This is a matter which ought to be left to the states, and the states are taking care of it," he said. "It's a matter of privacy, it's a matter of tolerance, two very, very highly placed values in our society."

On April 18, 2005, the Washington Post did a write up about Rick Santorum entitled "Father First, Senator Second". This story was really creepy as it talked about Santorum bringing the dead fetus home from his wife's miscarriage and treating it as part of the family. You can read more about it in my post titled The Creepy Side of Santorum from last July or read the entire article here.

13 months later and the Washington Post does not cease to amaze. They published an article today entitled "Bill Frist: A Doctor at Heart". Again they show us how creepy these Republicans are. Instead of going into details, I urge you to either read the article or check out the great synopsis Aravosis did on it. Both of these articles are about the creepiest thing that could have ever been published in a newspaper.

Think Progress is reporting that Frist has said they are ready to vote on the motion to censure Bush.

Minutes ago, Sen. Bill Frist said on the Senate floor that “we are ready to vote on” a censure of President Bush over warrantless domestic wiretapping “this afternoon or tonight.”

This might be one of the best things Frist has ever done. This is a perfect time to find out which Democrats are with us or with Bush. It is that simple. Feingold's motion is very moderate. He does not focus on Iraq, Katrina, the Economy, the CIA leak case or anything else. It is simply about the President being able to ignore the law or follow it when it comes to our basic rights under the Constitution of the United States. Any Democrat that does not support this resolution needs to get the hell out of the party now. The Republicans constantly say the Democrats have no unity. Well show them that they are wrong or give it up. It is as simple as that.

Out of all the Republicans in the country, the pick by the Southern Republican Convention to be the next President is (excuse me while I wipe the tears from my eyes, I have been laughing hard) Bill Frist. I got only one thing to say about that. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (ok three things).

Frist would be a great choice to win the primary in 2008. The Democrats couldn't ask for someone better. True he very well could be in jail or facing trial by then because of his insider trading investigation, but hey, this is the kind of guy the party of corruption wants to lead this country. Maybe we could be as lucky as to have him misdiagnose the country over a monitor.

What really gets me is the fact that Frist was isolated from the GOP last week during the Dubai ports deal. While Senate Republicans wanted legislation to block the plan, Frist tried to block the Senate Republicans. Now they want him to lead this country? LISTEN UP PEOPLE. The Republicans showed even more this weekend that they do not care about national security. Frist supported the action of Bush which has caused him to become alienated by his party this week.

So there you got it. The Southern Republicans feel that a corrupt doctor that finds politics more important than the proper diagnosis of a patient and was willing to sell our ports to a country with known ties to our attackers is he best choice to lead this country. Hell I might have to register as a Republican now just so I can vote for Frist in the 08 primaries. That is a guaranteed win for the Democrats.

When oil executives took to Capital Hill last month to testify before Senate
about their profits, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was outraged that Democrats
would want them sworn in. What did he know? As it turns out, these executives
lied when asked if they ever met with Cheney about energy policy. In fact they
did meet with him in 2001. Now Democrats are calling for an Attorney General
investigation into the lies told by these executives.

This from

Raw Story:

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) called on both Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist (R-TN) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Thursday to join him
in pressing the Attorney General for an investigation into whether top oil
executives made false statements during a recent Senate hearing when they
said they did not meet with Vice President Dick Cheney about energy policy.
His call was subsequently joined by Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid
(D-NV).

During a joint hearing of the Commerce and Energy Committees on Nov. 9,
senators heard testimony from the CEOs of the nation’s largest oil
companies. When Lautenberg asked these witnesses whether their companies had
participated in Vice President Cheney’s energy taskforce in 2001, they
denied -- answers that were later contradicted by a report in the Washington
Post. Cheney has refused to disclose who he met with at those meetings,
citing executive privilege.

View complete story

here

For those that still don't believe the Republicans are perfect examples of
hypocrites then perhaps this article from

Reuters will change your thinking.

Congress may probe leaks in CIA prisons
story

Top Republicans in Congress are considering a investigation into leaks of
information used by The Washington Post in an article on a covert global CIA
prison system, congressional sources said on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and House of
Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois were "contemplating"
requesting the investigation and had drafted a letter proposing such a
probe, a congressional source said. The source said letters to the
intelligence committees had not yet been sent.

The Washington Post reported last week that the CIA has been holding and
interrogating al Qaeda captives at a secret facility in Eastern Europe, part
of a covert prison system established after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The administration has not confirmed or denied the report.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the administration had just
learned of the congressional leaders' move for an investigation.

"The leaking of classified information is a serious matter. It ought to
be taken seriously," McClellan said. "But this is a congressional
prerogative and it was a decision that was made by those leaders and that's
the way I would describe

Looks like trouble could be compounding for Bill Frist according to this
article which appears today in the

Washington Post:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has been subpoenaed to turn
over personal records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe
of his July sales of HCA Inc. stock, according to sources familiar with the
investigation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the subpoena within the
past two weeks, after initial reports that Frist, the Senate's top
Republican official, was under scrutiny by the agency and the Justice
Department for possible violations of insider trading laws.

Frist aides previously said he had been contacted by regulators but did
not mention that the lawmaker had received a formal request for documents.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
investigation, said Frist is expected to testify under oath about what he
knew about the company's health in the weeks before he sold stock. Frist has
told reporters that he did nothing wrong and that he directed the sale to
eliminate potential conflicts as he considered a 2008 presidential bid.

View rest of the article

here (free registration required).

As this investigation broadens, it will raise the question of how the right
can put blame onto the left. Ken Mehlman talking points should be really
interesting when it comes to this story.

From the Associated
Press

Frist Knew About Blind Trust
Investments Despite Denials,

 Frist Updated on His Investments in Blind Trust Investments

By JONATHAN M. KATZ and LARRY MARGASAK Associated Press Writers The
Associated Press Sep. 24, 2005 - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.,
was updated several times about his investments in blind trusts during 2002,
the last time two weeks before he publicly denied any knowledge of what was
in the accounts, documents show.

The updates included stock transactions involving HCA Inc., the hospital
operating company founded by Frist's family.

Frist's sale of HCA stock is under scrutiny by the federal government.
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA said Friday it had received a subpoena from
prosecutors for the Southern District of New York, asking for documents the
company believes are related to Frist's sale of company stock this past
summer.

Prosecutors also have contacted the senator's office, Frist spokesman Bob
Stevenson said Friday. He said neither the senator nor his office had
received a subpoena.

Frist's office confirmed the Securities and Exchange Commission was
looking into the sale.

"Senator Frist had no information about the company or its performance
that was not available to the public when he directed the trustees to sell
the HCA stock," Stevenson said in a statement.

Frist sold his HCA stock from several blind trusts this summer, at a time
when insiders in the company also were selling off shares worth $112 million
from January through June. Frist aides say he sold his stock to avoid any
appearance of a conflict of interest.