Will Peter Roskam Support Libyan Jihad on Switzerland?

On 02.28.10, In Foreign Policy, Libya, Peter Roskam, Terrorism, By RSR

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has made the news in the past few days with his call for a Jihad on the nation of Switzerland. Gaddafi’s call was in response to a recent approval by Swiss voters of a ban on the erection of minarets.

Gaddafi, who’s full title is Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, said the following:

“Let us wage jihad against Switzerland, Zionism and foreign aggression,”

“Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against Muhammad, God and the Koran.”

Now we believe that the Swiss minaret ban is misguided and an affront to religious liberty. But we deplore the unhinged Gaddafi’s call for holy war.

We are a little curious, however, what our Republican Congressman, Peter Roskam, thinks about Gaddafi’s actions.Voters in the 6th District may not realize that Peter Roskam is personally acquainted with Gaddafi. Roskam traveled to Libya in 2008 as part of a Congressional delegation led by Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan. Listen to Peter Roskam talk about his meeting with Gaddafi on WLS AM’s Don Wade & Roma show on April 2, 2008:

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The same day, Roskam wen ot WIND’s Big John & Cisco Show to talk about Gaddafi and Libya again:

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So why did Roskam go off to Libya and meet with Gaddafi and then come back and begin a tentative rehabilitation of the terrorist leader in these radio appearances?

Well, there’s the oil. They don’t call the GOP the “Gas & Oil Party” for nothing. Libya sits on huge reserves of oil and natural gas and there’s no doubt that the GOP’s clientele in the oil industry want a piece of that action.

And then there’s the campaign contributions. Yes, Gaaddafi’s Libya is a contributor to Roskam’s reelection campaign, albeit inirectly. Records made available by Congress and made accessible in the Sunlight Foundation’s Foreign Lobbying Influence Tracker show that Roskam & his staff had numerous contacts in 2008 with members of the Livingston Group, a lobbying form acting on behalf of the government of Libya, and that that firm, acting on behalf of it’s client, wrote at least 3 checks to Roskam’s re-election campaign. The livingston Group was seeking a normalization of U.S. trade relations with Libya, something that Roskam talks about as being desireable in his radio appearances. The data made available by Sunlight ends with 2008 so we have no knowledge of any ongoing relationship between Roskam and agents of the Libyan government.

Gaddafi in Libya. Uribe in Colombia. Micheletti in Honduras. Roskam sure does seem to have a thing for the world’s thugs and strongmen. We find it not a little disquieting.

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Peter Roskam Still Won’t Denounce Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

On 02.28.10, In Gay Rights, Human Rights, Peter Roskam, By RSR

Peter Roskam has still not signed on as a cosponsor of H. Res 1064 condemning the pending Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill that we first wrote about on February 15th. The bill, currently pending in the Ugandan legislature, is expected to come to a vote sometime early in March. The Ugandan measure criminalizes homosexual acts and applies lifetime imprisonment and even the death penalty in some cases.

H. Res 1064, introduced in the House on February 3rd by Democrat Howard Berman of California, resolves the following:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) strongly believes that–

(A) all people possess an intrinsic human dignity, regardless of sexual orientation, and share fundamental human rights;

(B) the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009’ introduced in the Ugandan Parliament, which includes the extreme penalties of death and life in prison, poses a serious threat to the life, liberty, and security of the person and, if enacted, would set a troubling precedent for other countries; and

(C) the requirement that individuals report suspected homosexual individuals to the Ugandan Government could undermine Uganda’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, and interfere with care and counseling by family members, doctors, pastors, teachers, and others; and

(2) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to–

(A) impress upon the Ugandan Government the United States belief in the intrinsic human dignity of all Ugandans, regardless of sexual orientation;

(B) express unequivocal United States opposition to the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009’ introduced in the Ugandan Parliament; and

(C) ensure that resources committed to the global HIV/AIDS response are utilized in a manner that is efficient, effective, and appropriate to the local epidemiology of the disease, including in Uganda.

So why won’t Peter Roskam sign on to show his support. He’s had plenty of time to do so. Why he’s already signed on to a resolution introduced on February 24 recognizing the 189th anniversary of the independence of Greece (yes, the 189th anniversary, not the 15oth, not the 200th) so he could have easily gotten his name on 1064.

We think the reason is partly Roskam’s hyperpartisan nature (he almost never crosses the aisle to support Democratic initiatives, even no-brainers like this one). More importantly, we believe that Roskam has a fundamental hostility to gay rights (he voted against hate crimes legislation, he voted against employment non-discrimination) and a deafness to human rights concerns in general. We also believe that he is sympathetic to the Christian extremists like Rick Warren and Sen James Inhofe who have stirred up an anti-gay hornets nest in Uganda. Both Warren and Inhofe have, after pressure, renounced the Ugandan bill. We think Peter Roskam needs to do the same.

Please contact Peter Roskam and ask him to cosponsor H. Res. 1064. You can reach him at (630) 893-9670 in Bloomingdale or at (202) 225-4561 in Washington.

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Peter Roskam Should Co-Sponsor Resolution Condemning Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

On 02.15.10, In Gay Rights, Human Rights, Peter Roskam, By RSR

Represenative Peter Roskam has recently co-sponsored important House resolutions honoring the New Orleans Saints on their Superbowl victory and congratulating Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle on pitching a perfect game. We can’t imagine, therefore, why it would be any trouble for him to sign-on to a resolution condemning a Ugandan bill that would implement extreme punishments, including the death penalty and lifetime imprisonment, for persons convicted of homosexual activity.

The resolution in question is H. Res. 1064 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009″ under consideration by the Parliament of Uganda, that would impose long term imprisonment and the death penalty for certain acts, threatens the protection of fundamental human rights, and for other purposes. It was introduced on February 3rd by Representative Howard Berman, a Democrat from California’s 28th District. As of this writing, only a single member of Mr. Roskam’s Republican party has signed on as a cosponsor – Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida’s 18th District.

The meat of the resolution is as follows:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) strongly believes that–

(A) all people possess an intrinsic human dignity, regardless of sexual orientation, and share fundamental human rights;

(B) the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009’ introduced in the Ugandan Parliament, which includes the extreme penalties of death and life in prison, poses a serious threat to the life, liberty, and security of the person and, if enacted, would set a troubling precedent for other countries; and

(C) the requirement that individuals report suspected homosexual individuals to the Ugandan Government could undermine Uganda’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, and interfere with care and counseling by family members, doctors, pastors, teachers, and others; and

(2) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to–

(A) impress upon the Ugandan Government the United States belief in the intrinsic human dignity of all Ugandans, regardless of sexual orientation;

(B) express unequivocal United States opposition to the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009’ introduced in the Ugandan Parliament; and

(C) ensure that resources committed to the global HIV/AIDS response are utilized in a manner that is efficient, effective, and appropriate to the local epidemiology of the disease, including in Uganda.

We think that there is little to complain of in that text – unless, of course, one believes that gay people should be put to death. Peter Roskam has never been friendly to legislation granting equal rights to gay people, but this is a wholly different matter. Mr. Roskam should run, not walk, to get his name added as a co-sponsor. A similar resolution is pending in the Senate.

American right-wing Christian extremists appear to have been at least influential in the origins of the Ugandan bill. These include Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Pastor Rick Warren of California’s Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life. Both Inhofe and Warren have finally, after considerable adverse press coverage, publicly denounced the Ugandan bill and denied any role in it’s genesis. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC has done some excellent reporting documenting their connections to Uganda and to leaders involved in propagation of the bill. A couple of her videos can be found at the end of this post.

The Oklahoman reported that Republican Senator Inhofe has made at least 20 trips to Africa since 1999 at a cost to taxpayers of more than $187,000, another example of the GOP’s stwewardship of your tax dollars. Inhofe has publically referred to the trips as “a Jesus thing” . According to journalist Jeff Sharlet, both Inhofe and David Bahati, the Ugandan who authored the bill, are members of a secretive Christian group known as “The Family” and Inhofe and Bahati were close.

A number of other members of the House and Senate are involved in The Family, including Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, with whom Peter Roskam traveled to Honduras last fall. After that trip, Roskam remarked that “Senator DeMint is so grounded and wise and I came away just very, very impressed with him.” We are unaware of any direct ties between Peter Roskam and The Family.

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Representative John Shimkus Warns You to Back Big Coal or Die

On 02.13.10, In Christianity, Coal Industry, Environment, Global Warming, John Shimkus, Peter Roskam, Religious Freedom, Utilities Industry, By RSR

Another chipper Twitter message from Illinois’ 19th Distric Representative  John Shimkus, Big Coal’s guy in Washington, to his constituents: “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We continue to be bothered by Shimkus’ biblical tweeting, not because he is not within his rights to do so or because we don’t like Christians, but because we think it demonstrates profound insensitivity toward his constituents who are not followers of Christ. Shimkus was elected to represent all residents of his district, not just the Christians. His choice of passages continue to reflect, however, an attitude that his spiritual path is the only path with any legitimacy. Perhaps Shimkus could mix it up a bit. (Our Congressman, Shimkus’ buddy Peter Roskam, could sure use to hear some biblical wisdom on the practice of usury or on welcoming the stranger.)

Perhaps as troubling to us is that Shimkus is using his Christian religion to absolve himself from acknowleding the sound science that tells us that our continued dependence on fossil fuels is poisoning our environment threatening the possibility of leaving global ecological catastrophe as our legacy to our children and grandchildren. Shimkus’ warped theology gives him an out to keep on accepting big contributions from the electric utilities, oil and gas companies, and coal companies while using his vote in Congress to advance their interests rather than those of his constituents.

Don’t believe me? Have a peek at these videos U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearings in March, 2009 (preserved thanks to the outstanding progressive news site, Progress Illinois)

From the March 25, 2009 hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Shimkus’ openening remarks using Genesis 8 and Matthew 24 to reassure us that we don’t need to worry about climate change because the “infallible word of God” tells us that only God will end the world:

Shimkus’ later with Christopher Monckton endorsing Monckton’s ridiculous conclusion that we are a “carbon-starved” planet and that cap & trade will starve plants of their food. Bear in mind as you listen to this drivel  that, in the Cambrian era, during which Monckton asserts our present “carbon shortage” did not exist, the world was a much warmer place and complex life was not found on land.  Shimkus concludes by again stating his biblically-justified belief that the “earth will not be destroyed by a flood”:

And, to wrap it up, because we couldn’t resist, here are the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity’s Clean Coal Carolers doing “Frosty the Coal Man”. ACCCE is a coal and utility industry astroturf group that thought this might be a good idea:

By the way, we understand Shimkus has a Democratic opponent, Tim Bagwell. We don’t know too much about him but 19th District voters might want to check him out.

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Shameless Illinois Rep Seeks Well-Endowed Industry Lobbyists Willing to Talk Dirty Coal

On 02.10.10, In Congressional Elections, Environment, Lobbyists, Peter Roskam, By RSR

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Polluter Harmony.com:

PolluterHarmony is the #1 matchmaking site

for polluters, industry lobbyists, & politicians!

EXPERIENCE THE pHARMONY DIFFERENCE!

* Now it’s FREE to receive and review your matches

* Each match pre-screened for you across 57 dimensions

* Start your long-term collusion today! Simply register and take the questionnaire to receive your matches!

Wow. This is so perfect for Peter Roskam. He’ll be able to meet  new coal and utility lobbyists who share his passion for unregulated contaminated coal waste to entertain him in Washington while filling his already brimming campaign coffers with more PAC money. Good luck, Peter!

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Peter Roskam Should Return Bank of America Campaign Contributions

On 02.04.10, In Banking Crisis, Economic Justice, Peter Roskam, Peter Roskam's Corporate Agenda, Regulatory Reform, By RSR
Photo of Bank of America ATM Machine by Brian ...
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One of Congressman Peter Roskam’s big camapaign donors, Bank of America,  was all over the news today. They made news for three reasons:

  • It was revealed yesterday that Bank of America will be paying it’s investment banking employees bonuses totaling approximately $4.4 billion – an average of about $400,000 for each employee receiving a payment.
  • New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a civil lawsuit against former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis and former CFO Joseph Price, accusing them of lying to shareholders and extorting the federal government surrounding its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in 2008. The allegation is that in order to complete its deal, Bank of America’s management misled its shareholders by not disclosing massive losses that were mounting at Merrill Lynch so that the shareholders would vote to approve the deal. Once the deal was approved, Bank of America’s management manipulated the federal government into saving the deal with billions in taxpayer funds by falsely claiming that they intended to back out of the deal through a clause in the Merger Agreement. You may recall that just before the deal went down, Merrill Lynch paid out a staggering $3.57 billion dollars in employee performance bonuses, even though the company was failing.  You may also remember that Ken Lewis received a $64 million retirement package when he left the company for a job well done. After the deal, B of A received a $45 billion bailout arranged by the Bush administration.
  • A Senate report report released today suggested that, despite money laundering regulations, corrupt foreign officials are still able to move “dirty” money into U.S. financial institutions. Bank of America was specifically cited for not having raised questions about movements of funds by a corrupt Angolan arms dealer now imprisoned in France.

All of this really makes me really angry.

Bank of America is a publicly traded company. That means that your 401K and mine have money invested in the bank. So when the bank pays out obscene bonuses to its executives, that money comes out of funds that would otherwise enrich the shareholders, that is, you and me. When the bank performs poorly, the bankers still get bonuses, our 401K gets the hit, and we have to pay to clean up the mess. On top of that, the Bank seems to think it is above our laws regarding money-laundering. If they get into criminal trouble on that account, we’ll be paying that bill too.

Bank of America is a significant contributor to Peter Roskam’s campaign and to his leadership PAC. They don’t give him that money out of the goodness of their hearts. They want something back, and, in my estimation, they get it. Roskam is a fierce opponent of bank regulation, even after the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. And he opposes the kind of financial tranaction tax supported by the Obama administration as well as consumer protections that protect you and me from the banks’ predatory practices.

Well, I think it is unseemly that Peter Roskam is getting money from B of A, and I think he ought to give it back. But don’t hold your breath.

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