Yay! House votes 389 -30 to hold BlackWARTer accountable to legal standard.

[paparush]

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to place private contractors in Iraq and other combat zones under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, as Congress continues to investigate last month's deadly shootings by Blackwater USA employees.

The 389-30 vote expanding the scope of the existing Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act came over the strong opposition of the Bush administration.

Under the bill, U.S. law would apply to contractors who commit offenses overseas punishable by at least a one-year prison sentence if the same crime were committed in the U.S. The Justice Department's inspector general would have to report to Congress on the status of investigations of alleged contractor abuses. The FBI would have to establish investigative units for each war zone where contractors are operating.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/iraq/2003926633_contractors05.html

Yay! BlackWARTer might have to start obeying the law.

[malaise]

1. Who are the 30? n/t

[BRB_TheFireball]

6. I got the list of 30 right here:

All Republicans... no surprise there.

Alexander (LA)
Baker (LA)
Barton (TX)
Boustany (LA)
Broun (GA)
Burgess (TX)
Buyer (IN)
Cannon (UT)
Deal (GA)
Doolittle (CA)
Franks (AZ)
Hastert (IL)
Hoekstra (MI)
Hunter (CA)
S. Johnson (TX)
Lamborn (CO)
Linder (GA)
McCrery (LA)
Gary Miller (CA)
J. Miller (FL)
Pitts (PA)
T. Price (GA)
Renzi (AZ)
M. Rogers (AL)
Rohrabacher (CA)
Sessions (TX)
Shadegg (AZ)
Tancredo (CO)
Westmoreland (GA)
Young (AK)

What the hell is up with Georgia and Louisiana?!

[TwilightGardener]

7. Duncan Hunter...LOL! Thank God even Republicans think he's a loon.

[TwilightGardener]

9. Also relieved at least to NOT see Lee Terry, Jeff Fortenberry or Adrian Smith on there--

Nebraska's conservative, but it's not nuts.

[likesmountains 52]

10. Tancredo...of course.

[XOKCowboy]

15. AND Lamborn... *sigh*

Two of Colorado's finest.

[malaise]

11. You forgot Texas!

Sick people

[bookman]

14. Hey!

There are some Texans here! :)


Actually my right wing rep voted for it -- much to my surprise.

[LondonReign2]

16. Burgess and Johnson

No surprise there. The Burgess cretin is my Congressassholeman.

[blogslut]

20. Hold on there, partner

Texas has 32 congressional seats. Four made the list. Considering the circumstances, the fact that there are only four who voted against from my fair state, is downright amazing. Hell, even my critter (Mac Thornberry) voted for the bill. I'm sorta stunned.

[malaise]

21. LOL

Valid point :D

[Bitwit1234]

17. Alexander LA is a republican and

I think the GA guys are also. Gonna check.By the way if I was in as much trouble as Doolittle I wouldn't call attention to my self by voting against this. But then again maybe he thinks he can get some help from the other crooks if he does.

[BrotherBuzz]

22. Doolitttle is on the list. Hoot!

[Cirque du So-What]

8. Haven't found a list for the rogue's gallery, but the usual suspects are there in spades

<snip>

That didn’t stop 164 Republicans, including every member of Republican leadership, from voting for the bill. Not one Democrat voted against it. Among the 30 Republicans who voted no included Chris Cannon (Utah), John Doolittle (Calif.), Dennis Hastert (Ill.), Gary Miller (Calif.) and Don Young (Alaska).

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/despite-bush-opposition-house-easily-passes-blackwater-bill-2007-10-05.html

[radfringe]

2. don't break out the champagne

it still has to get through the Senate and past a bush veto

[Deep13]

4. The House vote at least is veto-proof. nt

[sharp_stick]

5. 389 is veto proof in the house

I'd be surprised if they don't get 2/3 of the Senate on it, but anything is possible with the rupublicks.

My hope is that too many people are too pissed off for the pukes to cower behind some procedural ploy getting this close to an election.

[paparush]

13. Yeah. I was kind of being sarcastic with the Yay!

As if its national news that our *ahem* government actually does something of substance.

[Deep13]

3. Honestly, since Blackwater goons are civilians...

...I would rather have them subject to the local law. Still, this is a major step in the right direction.

[lovuian]

12. this is going to put the Senate in a bind

its really making a statement against Blackwater Cheney's Rogue Army

[TwilightGardener]

19. Actually, I'm betting it will pass the Senate, veto-proof. Just a guess...

[TheUniverse]

18. Good, that means theres enough for in case of a Mr Chimp veto.

WTF is wrong with idiots like Tancredo?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

24. Simple....

"WTF is wrong with idiots like Tancredo?"


Answer: His name is Tom Tancredo.

[Oak2004]

26. I ask that a lot, and I'm an old friend of his

(out of touch with him for years now).

Tom was once an idealistic, Ron Paul type: not someone most people here would vote for, but certainly someone one could respect for his conviction and integrity. Nowadays, he just puzzles me. Granted, what I see of him today is moderated by the corporate media (i.e., is inherently unreliable), but even if I give him the greatest possible benefit of the doubt, he's acting like an unrepentant quasi-fascistic demagogue who has left a trail of broken promises and abandoned principles behind him.

Seduced by power? Perhaps. Just plain off his rocker? Maybe. Sucked into a bad crowd, and remade in its image, for sure.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

23. I can't see the Senators doing anything but following suit.

Can you imagine the backlash if they vote that Blackwater is exempt from prosecution? Especially since soldiers aren't exempt. The public would go apeshit.

[global1]

25. Do You Think Blackwater Will Be A Little Less Vigilant When Acting As....

bodyguards for those who voted 'yea' on this the next time they visit Iraq?