Now, in order for Senator Tom Daschle to agree to bring a stimulus package to a Senate vote he insists that President Bush provide "...Payroll tax rebates for those who do not pay income tax and therefore did not receive a check last year."

Webmaster note: I have heard South Dakota voters refer to him as "Tommie the Commie", now I know why.

"Nevada Sen. Harry Reid contributed $500 last spring to the legal defense fund of fellow Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli, who was fighting a criminal investigation into his finances.  Now Torricelli's fate is in the hands of Reid and five other members of the Senate Ethics Committee.  Nathan Naylor, a spokesman for Reid, said the donation to Torricelli's defense fund was nothing unusual. ``They've been friends and colleagues for years, and Senator Reid has always supported his friends,'' Naylor said.  But Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a watchdog group, said Reid's donation shows that a ``clubby'' institution like Congress should not be trusted to police itself.

Webmaster note: Any guesses how this will turn out?.

Appearing on NBC's DATELINE, Sen. Hillary Clinton told how daughter Chelsea cheated death on that fateful morning.  "She had gone on what she thought would be a great jog," Hillary Clinton explained.  "She was going down to Battery Park, she was going to go around the towers.  She was going to get a cup of coffee and - that's when the plane hit!" Hillary's dramatic story about her daughter's close call with the Twin Towers became a media sensation.  "At that moment, she was not just a Senator, but a concerned parent," TODAY show's Katie Couric told viewers.  But now, in her own words, Chelsea does not mention a jog.  Does not mention her plans to go to Battery Park, around the towers -- only to be stopped by a coffee break.  In fact, Chelsea writes that she was at her friend's apartment on Park Avenue South -- miles from Ground Zero -- when she learned of the attacks!  "I stared senselessly at the television," Chelsea writes.  Calls to Senator Clinton went unreturned.".

Webmaster note: I guess it depends on what the meaning of "jog" is.

"If we had to single out the moment that our nation moved from an intelligence to anti-intelligence footing, we'd say it came 26 years ago this week, when front pages across America featured a photograph of Senator Frank Church, the Idaho liberal, brandishing a special dart gun that ex-CIA director William Colby had brought to the committee hearings. In Senator Church's view, the CIA was a "rogue elephant on the rampage," and the image of the dart gun underscored the accusation that our agents were goon squads. That was the same year that CounterSpy magazine published the names of CIA agents around the world."

Webmaster note:  I am glad some one remembers the traitorous actions of Frank Church.  He single-handedly cost more than 2,900 American lives at the World Trade Center.

California Senator Diane Feinstein said of fellow California Representative Gary Condit's relationship with Chandra Levy "He said he did not have a romantic relationship with her," Feinstein said. "He lied to me, and that's something I just can't forgive."

Webmaster note:  Hmmmm .... You didn't seem to have any such concern about Bill Clinton's lying, Diane.

Democrats said Wednesday they will reject GOP calls for special procedural protections for Bush administration nominees after the Senate changes hands and will propose that Democrats have a one seat majority over Republicans in all Senate committees. Democrats said Wednesday they would follow precedent set by the 83rd Congress in 1953..."

Webmaster note:  Hmmmm....1953...why not go back to the agreement of JANUARY 2001, Senator Dashle?

The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed two Justice Department nominations: Viet Dinh and Michael Chertoff as assistant attorneys general.  Chertoff will head the department's criminal division and Dinh will be in charge of legal policy.  Sen. Hillary Clinton cast the only vote against Dinh and Chertoff, who were both lawyers for the Senate Whitewater Committee.

Webmaster note:  Hmmmm....so much for reason and deliberative judgement.

"But a word of warning to my fellow Democrats at this time:  What is sorely needed around here is much more getting along and much less getting even.  The poisonous partisanship that has pervaded this place on both sides of the aisle must end.  I said the day that I came to the Senate that 'I will serve no single party, but rather 7.5 million Georgians.'  That is exactly what I have done every day since, and that is exactly what I will continue to do - regardless of the makeup or the leadership of the Senate." Georgia Democrat Senator Zell Miller.

Webmaster note:  Well said Senator.

Republican Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont has told Democrats he intends to abandon the Republican party and become an independent, officials said Wednesday, a switch that would end GOP control of the Senate and crimp President Bush's ability to pass his agenda.  A Democrat senator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said party leaders had told him Jeffords would align himself with Democrats for organizational purposes, thereby giving them control of the Senate."

Webmaster note:  See other articles on Jeffords below.

"What is it about poisoning the nation's children that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle enjoys? Daschle was one of 18 Democratic senators in October 2000 who voted to give the Environmental Protection Agency more time to implement a new rule on arsenic in drinking water. Barbara Boxer had offered an amendment to the VA-HUD appropriations bill that would have forced the EPA to finalize its new rule by January 1st, 2001, instead of giving it until June 22, 2001. If one accepts the terms in which Democrats have attacked Bush on arsenic recently, the Boxer amendment would have meant six fewer months for innocent Americans to drink corrupted and dangerous water. Yet, 18 Democrats — 42 percent of the caucus — voted against it."

"Federal election investigators yesterday ordered Sen. Charles Schumer to refund $850,000 in contributions, accusing his 1998 campaign of some of the biggest fund-raising violations in a decade.  The Federal Election Commission said Schumer's campaign took $1 million in "excessive contributions," and identified 289 expenses, totaling $6.4 million, that "were not disclosed properly."

"Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday ruled out ever running for president - a startling declaration that seemed to leave even her own aides stunned.  The surprise vow to never make a White House bid came when Clinton was pressed to clarify a statement she'd made minutes earlier about the presidency being "not something I'm going to be doing."  As she headed to her car, Clinton was asked by The Post: "So, Sen. Clinton, are you ruling out a run for president not just in 2004, but in 2008 and beyond?"  "Yes," replied Clinton."

Webmaster note:  Wanna bet?

The so-called McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance "Reform" bill has been passed by the Senate.  This bill if it becomes law will face Supreme Court scrutiny and may well be ruled unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds.   Some have said it favors Democrats and disadvantages Republicans due to the kinds of restrictions it entails.   The 11 Republicans voting for passage were Chafee, RI; Cochran, MS; Collins, ME; Domenici, NM; Fitzgerald, IL; Jeffords, VT; McCain, AZ; Snowe, ME; Specter, PA; Stevens, AK; Thompson, TN.   The 3 Democrats voting against passage were Breaux, LA; Hollings, SC; Nelson, NE.

All Republicans voted to affirm John Ashcroft's appointment as Attorney General.  The Following Democrats voted against him: Akaka, Hawaii; Baucus, Mont.; Bayh, Ind.; Biden, Del.; Bingaman, N.M.; Boxer, Calif.; Cantwell, Wash.; Carnahan, Mo.; Carper, Del.; Cleland, Ga.; Clinton, N.Y.; Corzine, N.J.; Daschle, S.D.; Dayton, Minn.; Durbin, Ill.; Edwards, N.C.; Feinstein, Calif.; Graham, Fla.; Harkin, Iowa; Hollings, S.C.; Inouye, Hawaii; Johnson, S.D.; Kennedy, Mass.; Kerry, Mass.; Kohl, Wis.; Landrieu, La.; Leahy, Vt.; Levin, Mich.; Lieberman, Conn.; Lincoln, Ark.; Mikulski, Md.; Murray, Wash.; Nelson, Fla.; Reed, R.I.; Reid, Nev.; Rockefeller, W.Va.; Sarbanes, Md.; Schumer, N.Y.; Stabenow, Mich.; Torricelli, N.J.; Wellstone, Minn.; Wyden, Ore.

Senator Orin Hatch (R) Utah said that " President-elect Bush [should] pardon President Clinton –– whether he is indicted or not –– to "end a problem in America that needs to be ended."

The 55-45 roll call by which the Senate voted to reject the article of impeachment alleging that President Clinton committed perjury and provided false testimony before a grand jury with regard to the Paula Jones's sexual harassment lawsuit and his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. A two-thirds vote 67 was needed to convict.

All Democrats voted Not Guilty.  Republicans voting Not guilty were:

Shelby (R) AL    Stevens (R) AK    Collins (R) ME
Snowe (R) ME    Specter (R) PA    Chafee (R) RI
Thompson (R) TN    Jeffords (R) VT    Warner (R) VA
Gorton (R) WA