Don't Worry, Gus Is On the Job

Problem solved! Don't Republicans make you feel safer?

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, has a few questions for the Transportation Security Administration about pipeline safety after a trio of teenagers drilled into a pipe carrying ammonia in the Riverview area of Hillsborough County, causing evacuations.

...

“I want to let you know that I am going to be contacting TSA about the security of these pipelines, especially in the Tampa Bay area," Bilirakis told Hawley. He plans to follow up with a letter. He added, “I hope that you will ... take this matter very seriously and respond to my inquiry expeditiously.”

Wow, a letter. I guess the terrorists out there are shaking their boots. Expeditiously.

Gus on Veterans Day

Armistice Day, The War to End All Wars. That was the original message of Veterans Day. The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month. The end of World War I.

When Gus Bilirakis spoke to the assembled veterans and their families at Curlew Cemetary to mark the day, he and fellow Bush enabler, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jerry F. Custin, used the solemn occasion to pimp their immoral war in Iraq on the back of a dead soldier. Nothing like a good Internet tome to stir up and confuse as you appeal to the patriotic feelings of the veterans. These guys are masters at it. Custin shared the story of Army Sgt. Eddie Jeffers, whose essay "Hope Rides Alone" has been circulated on the Internet

The 23-year-old soldier from Alabama addressed the criticism he heard against the Iraq war.
"Even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me," Jeffers wrote. "In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone."
Said Custin: "Unfortunately, Sergeant Jeffers won't get to walk down the streets of America next year. On September 19th, he was killed in Iraq

Nice to know that these war enablers have missed the point of Armistice Day completely, isn't it? Just more of the same from Bush's gang. Offer platitudes to the veterans while supporting policies that continue to put our military in harm's way. And of course, don't bother to take care of our veterans when they return home. God forbid we should raise taxes on the rich to pay for the GOP folly.

Gus Bilirakis - Another Shameful Vote

Veterans and Greeks - Thumbs Up!
Poor Children and Gays - Thumbs Down!

First the S-CHIP bill (NO to healthcare for poor children), and now Gus Bilirakis joins the hateful, homophobic caucus and votes a big NO on H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007.

Something to ponder--
What would Gus say to a gay Greek veteran about government healthcare or employment discrimination?

Hmmm.....

Where's Gus Bilirakis?

From Greek News :

"Accompanied by US Regional Coordinator for SAE Theodore Spyropoulos, Tamvakis also met with US House of Representatives members John Sarbanes, Gus Bilirakis and Zachary Space to discuss the promotion of Greece's national issues in the US Congress and the strengthening of relations between the Greek expatriates and the motherland."

S-CHIP? Healthcare for poor children? Ending the war? Holding the Bush administration accountable for lies and incompetence?

Gus Bilirakis in the News

In order to do our jobs here at GusWatch, we are signed up for "Google Alerts." For those of you not familiar with Google Alerts, they are a way to be notified, via email, whenever a certain name or phrase appears in the news. Google Alerts for Gus Bilirakis usually come into my email box, on average, three days a week. On those days, I may get three or four alerts of the same story when it is published in different media outlets or on blogs.

For the past two weeks, Gus Bilirakis has been in the local news for hosting a couple of workshops on identity theft. Good for him.

But much more common are stories like the one I got today. I would say 60-75% of the coverage of Gus is on Greek-related issues. Here is the link to the latest, along with an excerpt:

"Friday a Kiev issue of the Kommersant daily reported that Denisenko met with Republican Senators George Voinovich and Sam Brownback, and Gus Bilirakis, the head of the support group to the Greek Orthodox Church in the House of Representatives."

A few thoughts came to mind as I read this:

1. "...head of the support group to the Greek Orthodox Church in the House of Representatives." WTF? Support group for a church in Congress? Is this the best use of Gus' time in Washington?
2. If Gus Bilirakis puts that much time and energy into supporting the Greek Orthodox Church in Congress, shouldn't his votes reflect his religious values? If so, then why did he vote against giving more poor children healtchare through the S-CHIP program?
3. Is this another example of Gus pandering to one of his two big constituencies (Greeks and veterans) while ignoring the rest of us?