Kitty Felde

Kitty Felde's Washington blog for the inside story on California's congressional delegation.

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Latest Entries
Hell no, we won't show up

Nov. 2, 2009|Kitty Felde|1 comment

Tomorrow, Barbara Boxer's Senate Environment Committee is supposed to begin debate (or "markup") the climate change bill. The only problem? GOP senators say they aren't coming.

So what to do?

In about half an hour, the Democratic junior Senator from California is speaking to the press.

Stay tuned.

Taking your work home can get you fired

Oct. 30, 2009|Kitty Felde|0 comments

News broke late last night that a pair of southern California Congresswomen are under investigation by the House ethics committee. The Congresswomen are both Democrats - Laura Richardson of Long Beach and Maxine Waters of Los Angeles. The allegations aren't new: Richardson is accused of getting preferential treatment related to a foreclosure; Waters is accused of using her political clout for personal gain in the bank meltdown.

What is news is how we all found out about it.

Ethics investigations are notoriously secret. Committee members take an oath promising not to reveal anything about its investigations. Complaints weren't even taken up by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct unless they came from another member of Congress. That's why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set up a second ethics committee, the Office of Congressional Ethics, which does take complaints from citizens, interest groups, etc. Those complaints are now considered by the primary ethics committee.

There is a reason for the secrecy: it's an investigation, not a pronouncement of guilt. News of investigations usually break when those back in the district being questioned about the allegations start talking. Not this time.

The news about Richardson and Waters and seven members on the House Appropriations Committee came to light because a junior staffer on the Standards of Official Conduct was working from home and apparently put the 22 page committee report on a publicly accessible computer network. Somebody spotted it and sent a copy to the Washington Post. Before the Yankees-Phillies game was over Thursday night, staffers for the accused Congresswomen were sending out statements.

Meanwhile, the ethics committee is looking at its practices and procedures.

The staffer was fired.

Football

Oct. 28, 2009|Kitty Felde|0 comments

After living in a city that hasn't had an NFL team in almost a generation, it's very odd to end up in a town that's football mad. And mad at its football team.

The Redskins are awful. You'd think you were living with Cubs fans the way Washingtonians tear their hair out and publicly lament about the state of their 'Skins. On this first day of the World Series, the sports pages are covered with nothing but football news.

Even Capitol Hill got into the act.

Last night was the annual flag football matchup between the Capitol Police and Congress. Unlike the annual baseball game where California Congresswoman Linda Sanchez usually plays, this is a boys' game. (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was allowed to preside over the coin toss.) A bipartisan squad of more than a dozen Congressmen - including Republican Duncan Hunter of San Diego - took the game into overtime. And won for the first time. Final score: 32-26.

It wasn't really fair. The Congressional team was full of ringers: former NFL players were allowed to join the squad. But nobody complained. It was all for charity.

And both the Capitol Police and the Congressional members played better than the Redskins this week.

Want Ads Are More Fun Out Here

Oct. 27, 2009|Kitty Felde|0 comments

It's a lot more fun reading want ads out here. Especially when you have no interest in looking for a job. It's kind of like reading the dating column even though you've been married nearly two decades.

So here's the latest one to catch my eye:

"US Treasury International Economic Crimes Advisors." The job title itself conjures a TNT drama starring Chris Noth or Mark Harmon. And it gets better:

"Treasury is seeking candidates who possess expertise in the detection, investigation and prosecution of federal white collar, organized crime and corruption cases." They're particularly looking for folks with an expertise in money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and forensic accounting.

Before you sign up, you should know the posting isn't in Italy or even Moscow. It's for the Economic Crimes Program in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

Perhaps it's more of a George Clooney movie.

If you're still interested, check out the website: www.treasuryota.us.

Nina and the Fox

Oct. 26, 2009|Kitty Felde|0 comments

Washington is a very small town.

And fall is an absolutely gorgeous time of year here!

It's sweater weather - clear and cloudless and just enough of a nip in the air to remind you that you aren't in California anymore. And everywhere you look, trees are showing off. Red leaves, orange leaves, brilliant yellow leaves. Vines all sport berries in blue, red, and purple. Sunday was the kind of day that demanded you get out and explore. So we did.

Remember studying the canals in American History class? I never could figure out why they were important - a technology that lasted a few years before being overshadowed by the railroads. Why the heck were kids in California learning about an outdated technology that kids in California would never even see? (Imagine if you will, canal boats floating down the LA River...)

George Washington tried building a canal here. And went broke. So did the builders of the C&O Canal that runs from Georgetown to Maryland. I think they made a profit just three years. The good news is that a Supreme Court Justice lobbied to save the old canals which left Washingtonians with a wonderful place to hike and bike. More than a hundred miles of tow path run alongside the canals, past those trees showing off in the autumn sunlight.

So in the middle of nowhere, walking on that towpath, who do you run into? NPR's Supreme Court guru Nina Totenberg. Out for a walk herself. A very small town indeed.

But the highlight of the afternoon came at twilight.

In Los Angeles, if you take a hike in Griffith Park or Temescal Canyon at dusk, you're likely to encounter a coyote. And that's what he looked like - a small, skinny dog-like creature. But with a red tail tipped in white. And a face that could be nothing else but a fox. He looked up and jogged away, over a bridge, and into the gloaming. Enjoying the perfect end to a perfect autumn day.