Archives: August 2006
Burns Says Terrorists Drive Taxis by Day
Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night." During a fundraiser Wednesday with first lady Laura Bush, the three-term Montana senator talked about terrorism, tax cuts and the money he has brought to his state. Burns is one of the more vulnerable Senate incumbents, facing a tough challenge from Democrat Jon Tester. He has drawn criticism in recent weeks for calling his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan man" during a June speech...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Pipe Down, Rummy
What the hell is Rumsfeld's major malfunction? Honestly, I don't care if/when the U.S. leaves Iraq. That's not the issue. What I care about is achieving lasting peace in Iraq, turning Iraq into a strong ally and not an enemy of America, and not running Iraq and the US military into the ground. My problem isn't with war, per se; it's with the dimwits turning the whole Mideast into a disaster area worse than it's been for a thousand years!» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Schwarzenegger's stock just climbed
California will become the first state in the country to require industries to lower greenhouse gas emissions under a deal struck Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrats that could dramatically reshape the state's economy. After weeks of intense negotiations between the administration and legislative leaders, and just a few hours after Schwarzenegger threatened to veto the bill, Democrats and the governor announced an agreement on legislation that sends the state on a markedly different environmental path from the federal government. By 2020...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
MSNBC's Olbermann slaps Rumsfeld upside his head
MSNBC columnist Keith Olbermann eviscerated Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for his comments last Tuesday defending his personal handling of the war in Iraq and the overal War on Terror. Rumsfeld said administration critics suffered from "moral or intellectual confusion.” Please watch how host Keith Olbermann responds... You'll love it!» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Harris enjoys "Ralph Nader" effect
Congresswoman Katherine Harris holds a double-digit lead in the race for Florida's Republican U.S. Senate nomination less than a week before the primary, according to a poll released Thursday. However, the poll also indicates that a large number of Republicans haven't settled on a candidate, and about a third of those supporting Harris said they still might change their minds. "If Rep. Harris had only one opponent she might be in deep trouble," said Peter Brown, assistant polling director for the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, which conducted the poll last week. "But having three candidates splitting the anti-Harris vote is a major plus for her."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
New Orleans "city of second chances"
Calling New Orleans, the "city of second chances," President Bush on Tuesday pledged the full cooperation of the federal government to help rebuild the region and called on the city's displaced residents to "come marching back." "I take full responsibility for the federal government's response. And a year ago, I made a pledge that we will learn the lessons of Katrina and that we will do what it takes to help you recover," the president told Crescent City residents at a high school gymnasium. Many of the first responders who came to help the trapped residents of New Orleans performed heroic feats of rescue, Bush said...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Conservative takes cause to the big screen
David N. Bossie earned a reputation as a relentless sleuth -- or right-wing hit man, depending on one's political persuasion -- during his years as a high-profile Republican congressional investigator and conservative activist. Through the 1990s, Bossie spent much of his time assembling caches of documents to push his admittedly ideological agenda. He was a ready promoter of stories about President Bill Clinton's sexual and ethical lapses, proved and otherwise. Bossie was fired as an investigator for the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee after overseeing the release of recordings of Hillary Rodham Clinton's phone conversations with Whitewater figure Webster L. Hubbell. The tapes were edited to create the impression that Clinton...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Carter Agrees to Hold Talks With Khatami
For an event that would turn a page in American history, former president Jimmy Carter has agreed in principle to host former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami for talks during his visit to the United States starting this week. Carter's term as president was dominated by the rupture in relations after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where 52 Americans...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush seeks silence to think
In a nationally televised address Monday, President Bush urged all citizens, regardless of race, creed, color, or political affiliation, "to quiet down for just one minute" so he could have "a chance to think." In a televised address to the nation, Bush called for "a little peace and quiet." "Every American has an inalienable right to free speech and self-expression," Bush said. "Nonetheless, I call upon the American people to hold off on it for, say, 60 seconds. Just long enough for me to get this all sorted out in my head." "Please," Bush added...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Republicans Target 'Islamic Fascism'
President Bush in recent days has recast the global war on terror into a "war against Islamic fascism." Fascism, in fact, seems to be the new buzz word for Republicans in an election season dominated by an unpopular war in Iraq. Bush used the term earlier this month in talking about the arrest of suspected terrorists in Britain, and spoke of "Islamic fascists" in a later speech in Green Bay, Wis. Spokesman Tony Snow has used variations on the phrase at White House press briefings. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., in a tough re-election fight, drew parallels...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush Still Fights for 9/11 Image
When the nation records the legacy of George W. Bush, 43rd president and self-described compassionate conservative, two competing images will help tell the tale. The first is of Mr. Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, bullhorn in hand, feet planted firmly in the rubble of the twin towers. The second is of him aboard Air Force One, on his way from Crawford, Tex., to Washington, peering out the window at the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina thousands of feet below. If the bungled federal response to Hurricane Katrina called into question the president’s competence, that Air Force One snapshot, coupled with wrenching scenes on the ground of victims who were largely poor and black, called into question something equally important to Mr. Bush: his compassion...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Poverty Rate Unchanged Last Year
The nation's poverty rate was essentially unchanged last year, the first year it hasn't increased since before President Bush took office. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 37 million Americans were living under the poverty line last year — about 12.6 percent of the population. That's down from 12.7 percent in 2004, but census officials said the change was statistically insignificant. The median household income — the point at which half make more and half make less — was $46,300, a slight increase from 2004. However, the number of people without health insurance increased to 46.6 million in 2005. About 45.3 million people were without insurance the year before. The last decline in the poverty rate was in 2000, during the Clinton administration, when it dropped to 11.3 percent...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Ex-FEMA Chief Blames White House
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who lost his job because of Hurricane Katrina, said Tuesday his biggest regret a year later is that he wasn't candid enough about the lack of a coherent federal response plan. "There was no plan. ... Three years ago, we should have done catastrophic planning," Brown said, charging that the Bush administration and his department head, Michael Chertoff, "would not give me the money to do that kind of planning." As levees broke down at Katrina's strike against New Orleans and people were forced from their homes, Brown said...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Kenya: Obama Terms Graft a Crisis
US Senator Barack Obama has expressed concern over endemic corruption, saying it must be tackled if the country is to develop. Obama, who gave a public lecture on governance at the University of Nairobi on Monday, said graft had reached a crisis level. He, however, added that the vice was prevalent worldwide and should be eradicated. "Corruption is not just a Kenyan problem, but is a worldwide cancer," said Obama. He cited his hometown of Chicago in Illinois, where, he said, the vice had existed for long. "Some US senators were forced to quit after they were found to have used their public offices for private gain. "This problem should be tackled by all, but even as others tell Kenya not to be corrupt, they must clean their house," he said amid applause from the audience...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Pluto Demoted, But Not Rumsfeld
Scientists who gathered in Prague last week to strip Pluto of its planet status said today that they were "baffled" that Pluto had been demoted but that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld still clung to his position of power. Dr. Hiroshi Kyosuke of the University of Tokyo was one of many scientists who favored the demotion of Pluto but thought that Secretary Rumsfeld should be stripped of his status as well. "It seems counterintuitive to me that we should say Pluto is no longer a planet...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Rove's Influence Undiminished by Scandal
Karl Rove was not "frog-marched" out of the White House in handcuffs as his detractors had hoped, but the past year was certainly a low point for President Bush's close friend and chief political strategist. A criminal investigation put Rove under scrutiny for months, then he was forced to surrender a key policy role in a move that raised questions about his authority in the White House. While Rove fought the allegations and kept a low public profile, he never lost his unparalleled influence on the president...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Biden not worried about Southern Dems
Sen. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record) says he can hold his own in a 2008 presidential primary against Democratic contenders from the South, noting that his home state of Delaware was a "slave state." Biden dismissed the notion that he was a "Northeastern liberal" who would have a poor showing in the South against other likely contenders such as Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and former...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Republicans see trouble
"We have to go back to 1974 (during Watergate) to find such a favorable environment,'' says James Carville, who ran Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. "If we can't win in this environment, we have to question the whole premise of the party.'' More telling is that the smartest Republican political minds agree. "The issue matrix and political dynamics are not good for us,'' says Representative Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican. "Only some big national or international event before the election can change that.''» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Time: Don't mess with Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats in the House, portrays herself as a polite, grandmotherly lady. She constantly discusses her five grandchildren, makes sure her office is stocked with Ghirardelli chocolates, perpetually smiles and never swears in a business in which almost everyone else does. She even has a few cute quirks she and her staff would love to tell you about: a diet consisting mostly of chocolate and chocolate ice cream, and so much energy, she rarely sleeps. Just the other night, she will tell you, she was up watching MTV after midnight. Don't believe it for a second. Would your grandmother ever say, "If people are ripping your face off, you have to rip their face off"?» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Harris: Not Christian means more sin
Unbeleivable but true. Katherine Harris says that a failure to elect Christians will make it possible for lawmakers to "legislate sin." Harris made the comments in an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness. Asked why Florida Baptists should care about this primary election, Harris said in part: "If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you're not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Gore: Democracy under attack
Former US Vice-President Al Gore warned an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that "democracy is under attack." The former presidential candidate said television networks in the world's biggest and most powerful democracies must do more to foster debate, which he said was crucial for democracy to flourish. "In my country and others around the world democracy is under attack," the 58-year-old said. Gore, who was also in Edinburgh partly to promote his film and book about climate change, both titled "An Inconvenient Truth", continued: "There's a feeling in the US on the part of many that the way democracy operates today is very different from the system we learned about in school."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Ala. Dems: Darby not welcome in party
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Democratic Party leaders want a former candidate for attorney general who denies the Holocaust occurred to stay out of their future primaries. The party's executive committee passed a resolution Saturday informing Larry Darby that "he is not welcome in the Alabama Democratic Party." Darby, the founder of the Atheist Law Center, responded by saying the vote shows that the state party's leadership is "intellectually and morally bankrupt." "This is the typical heavy-handed behavior of the Alabama Democratic Party for the last 30 years," Darby said. "They're censoring me...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush's New Iraq Argument: It Could Be Worse
Of all the words that President Bush used at his news conference this week to defend his policies in Iraq, the one that did not pass his lips was "progress." For three years, the president tried to reassure Americans that more progress was being made in Iraq than they realized. But with Iraq either in civil war or on the brink of it, Bush dropped the unseen-progress argument in favor of the contention that things could be even worse. The shifting rhetoric reflected a broader pessimism that has reached into even some of the most optimistic corners of the administration -- a sense that the Iraq venture has taken a dark turn and will not be resolved anytime soon. Bush advisers once believed that if...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
It's The Muppet Show, with our very special guest star...
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ThinkProgress: Katrina Timeline
To mark the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the White House is planning a “public relations blitz” to counteract criticism that it bears some responsibility for “the government’s tardy response and the region’s slow recovery.” It started when the President met with a Katrina victim (later exposed as a right-wing political activist) who said, “I just wish the President could have another term in office.” ThinkProgress is counteracting the spin with hard facts. We’ve created a Katrina timeline that documents all the key events over the last year...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Dems in close races reject rapid Iraq pullout
Most Democratic candidates in competitive congressional races are opposed to setting a timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, rejecting pressure from liberal activists to demand a quick end to the three-year-old military conflict. Of the 59 Democrats in hotly contested House and Senate races, a majority agree with the Bush administration that it would be unwise to set a specific schedule for troop withdrawal, and only a few are calling for substantial troop reductions to begin this year...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Iran defies U.N., opens reactor
An Iranian plant that produces heavy water officially went into operation on Saturday, despite U.N. demands that Tehran stop the activity because it can be used to develop a nuclear bomb. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the plant, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes. The announcement comes days before Thursday's U.N. deadline for Iran to stop uranium enrichment - which also can be used to create nuclear weapons - or face economic and political sanctions. Tehran has called the U.N. Security Council resolution "illegal" and said...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Clinton, Lamont meet about campaign
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont at her Westchester County home Friday morning, discussing campaign strategy and fundraising in an hourlong meeting over coffee, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said. "It was a great meeting. Senator Clinton thinks Ned Lamont...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Drug companies paid for Medicare ads
The pharmaceutical industry quietly footed the bill for at least part of a recent multimillion-dollar ad campaign praising lawmakers who support the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to political officials. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims credit for the ads, although a spokesman refused repeatedly to say...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush Demoted to Dwarf President
In a move heavily anticipated for the last five years, the National Academy of Historians has ratified what had been generally accepted knowledge, and officially demoted George W. Bush to status of “Dwarf President.” Although Bush stands over six feet tall, both the microscopic size of his brain, and his total lack of any gravitas, immediately disqualified him from the definition of a full-fledged President. As with Pluto...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Slate: Moronic Press Conference!
Among the many flabbergasting answers that President Bush gave at his press conference on Monday, this one—about Democrats who propose pulling out of Iraq—triggered the steepest jaw drop: "I would never question the patriotism of somebody who disagrees with me. This has nothing to do with patriotism. It has everything to do with understanding the world in which we live." George W. Bush criticizing someone for not understanding the world is like … well, it's like George W. Bush criticizing someone for not understanding the world.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Republican lawmaker to offer timetable for Iraq withdrawal
Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican defending his seat from an anti-war challenger, says the U.S. should consider setting a timeline for troop withdrawals from Iraq. Shays, long a supporter of the war and previously an opponent of withdrawal timetables, said he hopes to offer a specific time frame after he holds congressional hearings on Iraq next month. Few other congressional Republicans have supported setting a timeline. "Our troops cannot be there indefinitely..."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
GOP Senate challenger McGavick reveals DUI
Republican U.S. Senate challenger Mike McGavick, in a remarkable confession of what he called his personal and political shortcomings, revealed a drunken driving incident Thursday and discussed his divorce, a political dirty trick and payroll slashing at his old insurance company. The divorce, his regret over an earlier campaign tactic, and layoffs at Safeco Insurance Co. had all been noted in previous campaign coverage. Word of the DUI in 1993 was new...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Saddam: I Killed JonBenet
In the latest and possibly most bizarre twist in his trial for crimes against humanity, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein told a stunned courtroom in Baghdad today that he was responsible for the death of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. Mr. Hussein, who is currently being tried for the deaths of thousands of Kurds, appeared to be listening to the prosecution's evidence against him when he suddenly rose to his feet and, in an emotional outburst, said, "I did not kill all of those Kurds, but I did kill JonBenet."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush to help racist Senator
President George W. Bush has no qualms about attending a political fundraiser for a Virginia Senator who recently used a racial slur against a young American of Indian ethnicity. At a rally in southwest Virginia on August 11, Republican Senator George Allen belittled S.R. Sidarth, a 20-year-old campaign volunteer for the Senator’s Democratic opponent James Webb. Mr Sidarth was in the crowd filming the event when Mr Allen pointed him out. “This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his..."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Botched Katrina response haunts Bush
A year after Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast and left New Orleans in ruins, President George W. Bush is still grappling with the political fallout from a federal response widely viewed as inept. As the storm's Aug. 29 anniversary approaches, memories are being rekindled of corpses and debris piling up in the streets and desperate victims pleading for help from rooftops and the sweltering Superdome in New Orleans. Those pictures -- juxtaposed with the government's failure to muster an adequate initial response -- shattered the image that Bush sought to cultivate after the Sept. 11 attacks as a strong and effective leader. Katrina, which killed about 1,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands across four states, was a catalyst for a slide...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
A Political Fertility Gap
It is one of the more unusual battle lines in the culture wars. Liberals, it is said, have a baby problem. They don't have enough of them, compared to conservatives. And this failure to replenish their ranks is a reason why they lose elections. Call it a fertility gap. "The political right is having a lot more kids than the political left," Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks says. "The gap is actually 41 percent." Studying numbers from the General Social Survey — a government survey of social trends — Brooks found that 100 unrelated liberal adults have 147 children, while 100 unrelated conservatives have 208 kids. That makes a...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Schneider: Framing the debate
In politics, you have to frame the debate. That's what both parties are trying to do right now. Republicans want to frame the debate around the war on terror. Why? Because they believe it's their issue. Is it? The latest CNN poll shows Americans think Republicans in Congress would do a better job dealing with terrorism than Democrats. But not by a big margin -- 48 to 38 percent. Democrats want to frame the debate around the war in Iraq. Why? Same reason. Americans believe Democrats would do a better job than Republicans dealing with Iraq. Again, by a narrow margin -- 47 to 41 percent. The poll results mean that...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush pushes for health care info
President Bush, on a campaign fundraising trip Tuesday, signed an executive order that the administration said would help Americans choose health care the way they shop for airline tickets and cars. The order will require various federal agencies to compile information about the quality and price of health care they pay for, and share that information with their customers and each other. "How many of you have got insurance and you never really care about the cost because somebody else is paying the bill?" Bush asked rhetorically...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Marines Who Served Will Be Ordered Back
The Marine Corps said Tuesday that it would begin calling Marines back to active-duty service on an involuntary basis to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan — the latest sign that the American force is under strain and a signal that the military is having trouble persuading young veterans to return. Marine commanders will call up formerly active-duty service members now classified as reservists because the Corps failed to find enough volunteers among its emergency reserve pool to fill jobs in combat zones. The call-ups will begin in several months, summoning as many as 2,500 reservists at a time to serve for a year or more.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Stephen Colbert Rapidly Becoming Leader in Web-TV Integration
The people behind "The Colbert Report" may be the smartest minds in televison: While everyone else frets about YouTube, web TV, and platform integration Stephen Colbert & Co are already galvanizing the online to action and integrating fan content into the show, to hilarious effect. It is, in a word, freaking brilliant. Never mind citizen journalism, thanks to last night's episode "The Colbert Report" has become the first program to feature fan content — and open the...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush Promotes Iran to Axis of Eviler
Furious at Iran's decision to test-fire surface-to-surface missiles and push forward with its nuclear program, President George W. Bush today named Iran to a newly-formed "Axis of Eviler." The president said that he had invented the new Axis specifically for Iran because "evil does not describe just how evil these folks really are." Mr. Bush singled out Iranian Mahmud Ahmadinejad for special condemnation, calling the provocative head of state an "evilerdoer." The president said...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
GOP Fundraising Outpaces Democrats
Republicans trying to hold onto the House raised $12.5 million in July, outpacing Democrats by a 3-to-1 margin but leaving the GOP just $1 million ahead in cash on hand. The influx of money _ largely from political action committees _ gives Republicans a slight advantage more than two months before the November elections. Democrats hope to gain 15 seats to seize control of the House. The NRCC has raised $70 million so far and has $34.1 million in the bank. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $4.2 million in July, taking the group's total to $81 million this cycle and $33 million cash...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
GOP excels at framing argument
Democrats are eager to score points with voters by talking about President Bush's handling of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and gas prices. But yesterday Bush showed he, too, is eager to discuss those topics - framing them as winners for Republican candidates in November even if polls show voters disagree now. He did so during his third extended question-and-answer session with reporters in as many weeks, underscoring GOP strategists' hopes that even a president afflicted with low approval ratings can use his office to advantage by filling the airwaves with a...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Judge drops one charge against Padilla
A US judge has thrown out one of three charges against Jose Padilla, the US citizen who was held for more than three years as an "enemy combatant". Judge Marcia Cooke said the charge of "conspiring to murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country" referred to the same actions as other charges. As such, it violated a US ban on trying people for the same offence twice. Suspected al-Qaeda conspirator Mr Padilla was arrested in May 2002 and held in military custody until...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush defends himself on Iraq, again
As election slogans go, it was chilling rather than catchy. "If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend itself and sustain itself," U.S. President George W. Bush warned yesterday. With a rising Democrat chorus accusing Mr. Bush of waging a failed war on false pretenses and some calling to bring U.S. troops home -- after more than three years and 20,000 casualties amid worsening sectarian strife -- Mr. Bush made it clear that his Republican Party is girding for electoral battle this fall across the United States, and that an election fought over Iraq and the wider war on terrorism was...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Katrina struggle goes on for many
As the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches next week, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of those hit by the storm finds that just 16% say their lives are back to normal. While most people are still in their homes and back on the job, many report they are struggling with finances, battling with contractors and facing emotional strains. Among those with children under 18, 56% say their kids have been affected in negative ways. KATRINA RECOVERY : 27% say money needed most, 37% say nothing needed | Do you think it's going fast enough? "You take 10 steps forwards and 50 steps backwards," says Brandi Traylor, 26, of Pass Christian, Miss. She and her husband finally moved from a FEMA...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Baghdad: Snipers Target Shiite March
Gunmen took aim at multitudes of Shiite Muslim worshipers marching through this besieged capital Sunday, killing at least 22 and leaving hundreds injured in a vivid illustration of the sectarian violence driving Iraq toward open civil war. Panicked pilgrims, including women in full-length black robes, scattered in terror as opportunistic gunmen fired from positions on rooftops, inside buildings and on the streets. Security officers and Shiite militiamen returned fire during rolling gun battles along the routes to the worshipers' destination, a major Shiite shrine. Iraqi television showed images of pilgrims diving for cover...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Obama to get HIV test
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said today that he intends to get an HIV test here in Africa, hoping to send a message to men across the continent to follow his lead. "All leaders have a responsibility to speak loudly and clearly about this issue," Obama said, speaking to a group of young AIDS educators in this township outside Cape Town. "Leading by example is the right thing to do." On the second day of a two-week tour of Africa, Obama visited a hospital here this morning that treats people with HIV/AIDS. He gently criticized the South African government for its handling of the health epidemic that claims as many as 1,000 lives a day. Obama said he intends...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Kerry : Lieberman 'out of step' with voters
Senator John F. Kerry yesterday blasted Senator Joseph I. Lieberman over his decision to stay in the Connecticut senatorial race as an independent, saying Lieberman ``is making a Republican case" to voters and is echoing the words of Vice President Dick Cheney in his campaign.Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on ABC's "This Week" that Lieberman is "dead wrong" on the issue of the Iraq war, and said he is making a "huge mistake" by aligning himself with Republicans who support it...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
GOP Backs Doctor As Write-In for DeLay
Texas Republican leaders, unable to replace former Rep. Tom DeLay's name on the November ballot, sounded confident about the party's chances of holding onto his congressional seat after they voted to support the write-in campaign of a Houston city councilwoman. Party precinct chairmen from DeLay's 22nd Congressional District met Thursday night and chose Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, a dermatologist serving her third term on the city council, as the favored Republican candidate. DeLay, dogged by allegations of money laundering...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Hillary Clinton has emerged from Bill's shadow
If you ask anyone around Hillary Clinton the question that everyone is asking, the answer comes back in a shot: The freshman Senator from New York is far too busy concentrating on her re-election in November to be giving even a passing thought to 2008. Thank you very much. But politics is ultimately a game of logistics, and the junior Senator is putting the machinery in place for a campaign that looks far grander than a re-election cakewalk in New York. All it will need is for someone to throw the switch...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
DNC voting calendar infuriates N.H.
Democratic Party leaders voted yesterday to leapfrog New Hampshire in the 2008 presidential nominating calendar, scheduling Nevada's caucuses between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. But New Hampshire officials quickly served notice that they are considering flouting the party's rules by holding an earlier primary than the one authorized by the Democratic National Committee yesterday. They might schedule voting for as early as late 2007...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
8 vie to replace troubled Ohio Rep. Ney
Eight candidates beat the deadline to vie for scandal-scarred Rep. Bob Ney's congressional seat in a special election next month, including two men who lost races in the spring primary and the Republican state lawmaker Ney wants to take his place. If their petitions are approved, the eight will compete Sept. 14 to replace Ney on the November ballot in a race drawing widespread attention as Democrats try to retake control of the U.S. House. Ney dropped his re-election campaign last week, citing the strain of an intensifying corruption investigation that has focused for months on his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney denies...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Slate: Every Executive Needs a Limit
The Constitution is the winner in Thursday's decision by a federal judge in Detroit to invalidate the National Security Agency's program of warrantless wiretapping. The Bill of Rights is a constant reminder that the ends do not justify some means. Surely, there would be less crime and more safety if the police could search anyone's person or property, at any time, without a level of suspicion that meets the legal definition of probable cause. But a society that values privacy and dignity does not accord the police such authority, even when the...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Democrats May Make January Presidential Primary Month
Democrats are laying aside the debate over issues and philosophy and turning to something more prosaic — rejiggering the political calendar — as a way to boost the party's White House prospects in 2008. Barring a last-minute shift, Democratic leaders meeting here are expected to add Nevada and South Carolina to the states that hold early primaries, alongside perennials Iowa and New Hampshire. The move is the main business at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting, which opened Thursday in Chicago. It would be the most significant change in the presidential nominating process in years, and hasten the front-loading that has already transformed the contest from a months-long slog into a...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Blumenthal: Why Bush needs Lieberman
Senator Joe Lieberman's defeat in the Democratic party primary in Connecticut is unprecedented in US political history for a politician of his stature. Never before has anyone who appeared on the national ticket of any party been rejected in a primary. When you consider that he was running mate to Al Gore in the presidential election of 2000, in which the Democrat won the popular majority by more than half a million votes, Lieberman's ouster looks even more stunning. The alpha and omega of Lieberman's trouble is not that...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Wiretap program is ruled illegal
In a scathing rebuke, a federal judge ruled Thursday that the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program is unconstitutional and should be shut down, but legal scholars said the administration has a good chance of reversing the decision on appeal. "There are no hereditary kings in America and no power not created by the Constitution,'' U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of Detroit said in a 43-page opinion blasting the...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush frustration with level of public support in Iraq
President Bush made clear in a private meeting this week that he was concerned about the lack of progress in Iraq and frustrated that the new Iraqi government — and the Iraqi people — had not shown greater public support for the American mission, participants in the meeting said Tuesday. With the 2006 Election Guide, you can analyze over 500 races for the Senate, House and governor seats and paint the political map yourself. Those who attended a Monday at the Pentagon that included the president’s war cabinet and several outside experts...» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Hillary Offers to Housesit for Bush
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said today that she was "just trying to be helpful" when she offered to housesit for President Bush at the White House for the remainder of August. Sen. Clinton, who was immediately criticized by congressional Republicans for advancing the proposal, said that her only intention was to "hold down the fort" while Mr. Bush took his traditional August vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "I would water plants and take in the mail..."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Edwards says he effed up when he voted for Iraq
Former Sen. John Edwards said Thursday he made a mistake in 2002 when he voted to authorizePresident Bush to attack Iraq. Edwards was the keynote speaker at a rally with Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, the Democrat who defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in last week's primary. Edwards said Thursday he also believes the U.S. needs to withdraw its troops from the war-torn country. "I voted for this war. I was wrong," Edwards told...
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No Iraq deadline. No problem
Here’s a question as we plunge into the final 80 days of the campaign: what are the “anti-war Democrats” who are running for Congress telling voters about how they’d go about withdrawing American troops from Iraq? But here’s a more pertinent question: does it even matter what Democratic candidates tell voters about their plans for withdrawal? Could the Democrats gain control of Congress this Nov. 7 by simply being the generic “anti-Iraq war” party and not getting too specific about what that means?» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
FAA Bans People From Flights
In a move aimed at further tightening airport security, the Federal Aviation Administration announced today that it would ban all people from flights leaving or entering the United States, effective immediately. The FAA, which has in the past banned such objects as toenail clippers and hair gel, took the extraordinary step of banning people after the Department of Homeland Security conducted a thorough investigation of previous terror plots.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Dobbs: It's good to be a superpower
The Soviet Union, Marxist Leninism, the Evil Empire and their ugly metaphor, the Berlin Wall, crumbled and collapsed almost 17 years ago. At the time, I thought it was strange that the United States didn't have the inclination to celebrate. There were no victory parades and no fireworks; nor did Congress declare a V-CW Day, as in Victory in the Cold War. There weren't even any grand speeches about America's emergence as the World's Only Superpower. But a grand smugness did grip most of Washington. And hubris became the foundation of almost every national policy, foreign and domestic.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Prescott: Bush is crap
John Prescott has given vent to his private feelings about the Bush presidency, summing up George Bush's administration in a single word: crap. The Deputy Prime Minister's condemnation of President Bush and his approach to the Middle East could cause a diplomatic row but it will please Labour MPs who are furious about Tony Blair's backing of the United States over the bombing of Lebanon. The remark is said to have been made at a private meeting in Mr Prescott's Whitehall office on Tuesday with Muslim MPs and other Labour MPs with constituencies representing large Muslim communities.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Hezbollah To Send Warkeepers
Just hours after the United Nations pledged to send peacekeepers to Lebanon, the terror group Hezbollah pledged to send warkeepers to the same war-torn nation. At a press conference in Tehran, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said that warkeepers were needed because the U.N.-imposed ceasefire threatened to put an end to the fighting in Lebanon, adding, "And if that happens, we’re out of business." Mr. Nasrallah said that, contrary to news reports showing Lebanon embroiled in conflict, "The war there is actually very fragile and peace could break out at any moment."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Bush: America safer every day...
During a day of briefings and strategy sessions at the National Counterterrorism Center, President Bush on Tuesday again lamented that the enemy has an advantage, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller. "They've got to be right one time and we've got to be right 100 percent of the time to protect the American people," Mr. Bush said. The president hailed the disruption last week of the plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners with liquid explosives. He said because of the counterterrorism efforts of the United States and its allies, "America is safer than it has been, yet it is not yet safe."» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Carter's Son Wins Primary in Senate Bid
Former President Carter's son Jack won the Democratic nomination to face Republican U.S. Sen. John Ensign in November. Carter claimed 80% of the vote in early returns to defeat political unknown Ruby Jee Tun of Carson City, a middle school science teacher. Ensign won with more than 90% of the vote over Ed "Fast Eddie" Hamilton of Las Vegas, a former Chrysler Corp. supervisor. Voters also were picking candidates to replace popular Republican Gov. Kenny C. Guinn. Guinn, who is leaving office after eight years because of term limits, did not groom a successor, locking candidates from both parties in brutal primary contests that included offbeat personal attacks using sock puppets, "Star Wars" parodies and Internet images.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
George Will: The Triumph of Unrealism
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Feds Lose Another Laptop, This One with Data on 20,000 Veterans
For the third time in four months, someone has stolen a computer containing federal data. This time the stolen computer was a laptop belonging to Unisys, from their Reston, Va, office, and contained data belonging to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The laptop was liberated from Unisys’ office on Aug. 3, and the company is now notifying veterans that they are entitled to one year of free credit monitoring, for which Unisys will pay.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
U.S. Spends $64 Bil To Undermine Gates Foundation Efforts
The Bush Administration unveiled a new $64 billion spending package Monday for a joint CIA–Pentagon program aimed at neutralizing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's global humanitarian network. "The fight against Gates will not be easy, will not be quick, and will not be without enormous cost," said Director Of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte of the new program, which calls for the creation of a new $20 billion counter-philanthropy unit aimed at punishing those countries that accept or use, directly or indirectly, any financial support from the Gates Foundation. "If they want to use this money to purify a well, we will be there to fill it in with bacteria-infested soil before they get the chance," Negroponte said.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Katrina's legacy spreads to Houston
A letter to inmate No. 1352951 and a cell phone bill for $76.63, both found in a soggy New Orleans duplex ruined by Hurricane Katrina, led Louisiana bounty hunter James Martin to Texas. Again. It marked the seventh time since Katrina that Martin, whose pursuit of bail jumpers often begins with clues salvaged from abandoned New Orleans homes, has followed a trail to Texas. "I don't think Texas really knows what they got," Martin said. Katrina sent a lot of bad guys to Texas, as Houston is finding out. Houston took in 150,000 evacuees - the most of any U.S. city - after Katrina struck on Aug. 29.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
Mel Gibson Protests FAA's Ban on Liquids
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9-11 Commission says government lagging on security
The sudden change in air security rules imposed last week in response to the British terror plot has raised new questions for the Department of Homeland Security. Among them, why aren't systems for detecting liquid explosives already deployed or at least well along in development? And why isn't more being done to profile passengers, looking for suspicious behavior? At airports nationwide Monday, all passengers were ordered to remove their shoes — a rule that had been enforced inconsistently even though the danger was discovered, in Richard Reid's shoes, nearly five years ago. But members of the 9-11 commission say the government has done too little to stay a step ahead of the threat.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.
White House sought to cut $6M in screening technology
As the British terror plot was unfolding, the Bush administration quietly tried to take away $6 million that was supposed to be spent this year developing new explosives detection technology. Congressional leaders rejected the diversion of funds, the latest in a series of Homeland Security Department steps that have left lawmakers and some of the department’s own experts questioning the commitment to create better antiterror technologies. Homeland Security’s research arm, the Sciences & Technology Directorate, is a “rudderless ship without a clear way to get back on course,” Republican and Democratic senators on the Appropriations Committee declared recently.» There's more to this entry. Click here for the rest of it.