John Conyers

John James Conyers, Jr. (born May 16, 1929) is the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district, serving in Congress since 1965 (the district was numbered as the 1st District until 1993, and as the 14th district from 1993 to 2013). The district includes the western half of Detroit, as well as Dearborn, Highland Park, and most of the downriver suburbs including Wyandotte and Romulus. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Conyers, as its longest-serving current member, is the Dean of the House of Representatives. He is also the oldest and the longest-serving current member of the United States Congress, and is the only remaining member of Congress to have served during the presidential administration of Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Early life, education, and early career

After graduating from Northwestern High School in Detroit, Conyers served in the Michigan National Guard 1948–50; U.S. Army 1950–54; and the U.S. Army Reserves 1954–57. Conyers served for a year in Korea as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was awarded combat and merit citations. Conyers grew up in Detroit, and received both his B.A. and his law degree from Wayne State University.

Conyers, Georgia

Conyers is the only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, United States. It is twenty-four miles east of Atlanta. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,689. Census estimates of 2005 indicate a population of 12,205. The city is the county seat of Rockdale County. By 2009, the reported population was 13,941. The formerly separate town of Milstead is now part of Conyers.

History

Before European settlement, the area which is now Conyers, along with the surrounding county of Rockdale, was occupied by mound-building Native Americans. As time progressed, the Muscogee (or Creek) and Cherokee natives shared a common border here. This border was known as the "Great Indian Road," and is known now as the "Hightower Trail". This trail was used by white settlers following the American Revolution.

Between 1816 and 1821, the area known as Rockdale was open for settlement. John Holcomb, a blacksmith, was the first settler in what is now Conyers. He settled where the current Rockdale County Courthouse is located, in the middle of Conyers on Main Street.

Judiciary committee

A judiciary committee is a committee of a legislative body that considers issues related to the legal system.

Judiciary committees include:

United States House Committee on the Judiciary

The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is also the committee responsible for impeachments of federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required.

In the 113th Congress, the chairman of the committee is Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, and the ranking minority member is Democrat John Conyers of Michigan. In prior years, Lamar S. Smith of Texas was the chairman, and prior to that John Conyers served as chairman.

History

The committee was created on June 6, 1813 for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved articles of impeachment against three Presidents: Andrew Johnson (1868), Richard Nixon (1974), and Bill Clinton (1998).

Greg Palast

Gregory Allyn Palast (born June 26, 1952) is a New York Times-bestselling author and a freelance journalist for the BBC as well as the British newspaper The Guardian. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but has also been known to work with labor unions and consumer advocacy groups. Notably, he has claimed to have uncovered evidence that Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and Florida Elections Unit Chief Clay Roberts, along with the ChoicePoint corporation, rigged the ballots during the US Presidential Election of 2000 and again in 2004 when, he argued, the problems and machinations from 2000 continued, and that challenger John Kerry actually would have won if not for disproportional "spoilage" of Democratic votes.

Greg is the brother of Geri Palast.

Education

Palast was born in Los Angeles. He attended John H. Francis Polytechnic High School and transferred to San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge) in 1969 before his senior year of high school. Palast said about high school: "Basically they were melting my brain, and I had to save myself. Before I finished high school, I talked my way into college. Before I finished college, I talked my way into graduate school." Palast then attended the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Chicago, from which he graduated in 1974 with an Bachelor of Arts in economics and in 1976 with a Master's of Business Administration. Palast majored in economics at Chicago from the advice of a Weather Underground member he met at Berkeley who suggested Palast "familiarize himself with right-wing politics and learn about the 'ruling elite' from 'the inside.'"