Kudos to C-SPAN

Something very valuable is available free to many citizens; C-Span I, II and III.
I do not know what I would do without this info resource, because it plays such important role in my life as a citizen. I referred to C-Span in my very first post on this blog and have done so 27 times since. Because of the service I am able to stay informed in several significant ways:

• Nonpartisan objective and balanced reporting on national and international news
• Broadcasts and replays of congressional hearings
• Gavel to gavel coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate
• Events of national interest that happen in Washington, such as marches, conferences from think tanks, etc.
• Book TV, book fairs, interviews with authors and panel discussions about current events
• America and the Courts - and information about the Supreme Court, including occasional live audio broadcasts
• Citizen call-in programs on current events and controversial subjects

During recent days I was able to listen to the very useful and important debates about Democratic amendments to the Defense Authorization bill that would have begun the process of bring our soldiers home from Iraq. These measures were defeated by the Republicans, unfortunately, but I was very proud of Senate Democrats who made these valiant efforts, particularly Senator Carl Levin, D-Michigan.
I also watched two House hearings on "pretexting," a new word for me. Read this short pdf document published by the Federal Trade commission to find out more about this despicable practice. To quote,

Pretexting is the practice of getting your personal information under false pretenses. Pretexters sell your information to people who may use it to get credit in your name,
steal your assets, or to investigate or sue you. Pretexting is against the law.

Tags: C-SPAN Senate Iraq war Senator Levin pretexting
My "creative post" today at Southwest Blogger is also about C-SPAN.