HavenWorks.com/business/archive/2008

A-Z

!Search

News by Date

NewsStand

_Global_

_US_

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

- Business Archive
Business News, Business News History Archives
<--- Business Archive <- 2008 -> 2007 Business Archive

Use "Ctrl F" [control F] to FIND what you're looking for.
"Right Click" - "Open in New Window." to avoid reloading this page.

2008 Business News History Archive


	ARCHIVES NEWS Business News History Archives BUSINESS ARCHIVES 2008 Business Archive 2007 Business Archive 2006 Business Archive 2005 Business Archive 2004 Business Archive 2003 Business Archive 2002 Business Archive 2001 Business Archive 2000 Business Archive

2008 Business Archive:

20080929

Giuliani

Paulson

Corporate

Government

Law

Politics

History

"The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore." ... "The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, [Republican President] Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. [United States] Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door." ... "No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:"

    ""Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it."
    ""Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages."
    ""At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees."
    ""Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions.""

"Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even [Republican] Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout." ... "The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even [Republican President Bush's] Treasury Secretary [Henry] Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone. " -By Michael Moore

20080925

John McCain

Barack Obama

Financial

Law

Veterans

Housing

Energy

2008 Election

Iran

"McCain has not sponsored a banking bill this Congress." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential nominee John McCain has not introduced any banking or housing bills in the 110th Congress, while [2008 Election Presidential] Democratic rival Barack Obama has proposed five." ... "Obama’s legislation calls for bolstering housing assistance for veterans, amending the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to provide shareholders with an advisory vote on executive compensation, halting mortgage transactions that promote fraud, authorizing local and state governments to crack down on companies that invest in Iran's energy sector and authorizing a pilot program to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless." -By Bob Cusack

-TheHill.com

Financial

Crisis

Politics

Government

"Bailout Could Deepen Crisis, CBO Chief Says: Asset Sales May Lead to Write-Downs, Insolvencies, Orszag Tells Congress." ... "The director of the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that the proposed Wall Street bailout could actually worsen the current financial crisis." ... "During testimony before the House Budget Committee, Peter R. Orszag -- Congress's top bookkeeper --said the bailout could expose the way companies are stowing toxic assets on their books, leading to greater problems." ... ""Ironically, the intervention could even trigger additional failures of large institutions, because some institutions may be carrying troubled assets on their books at inflated values," Orszag said in his testimony. "Establishing clearer prices might reveal those institutions to be insolvent."" ... "In an interview later yesterday, Orszag explained using the following example: Suppose a company has Asset X, whose value is recorded on the books as $100. Because of the current economic decline, Asset X's real value has dropped to $50. If the company takes part in the government bailout and sells Asset X for $50, the company has to report a $50 loss on its books. On a scale of millions of dollars, such write-downs could ruin a company." ... "Such companies "look solvent today only because it's kind of hidden," Orszag said. "They actually are insolvent" already, he said." (1, 2) -By Frank Ahrens

-WashingtonPost

Germany

Global

Financial

Crisis

Politics

"Era of U.S. financial dominance at an end: Germany." ... "Germany blamed the United States on Thursday for spawning the global financial crisis with a blind drive for higher profits and said it must now accept more market regulation and a loss of its financial superpower status." ... "In some of the harshest criticism of the United States since the crisis threw Wall Street banks into financial disarray this month, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said the turmoil would leave "deep marks" on both sides of the Atlantic, but called it primarily an American problem." ... ""The world will never be as it was before the crisis," Steinbrueck told the Bundestag lower house of parliament." ... ""The United States will lose its superpower status in the world financial system. The world financial system will become more multi-polar," he said." ... "The crisis has put the [Republican President] Bush White House, which has long advocated a hands-off approach to markets, on the defensive and forced it to rethink its financial policy." -By Noah Barkin and Kerstin Gehmlich

-Reuters via -Yahoo

Jobs

History

Weather

Disasters

Louisiana

Texas

"Jobless claims soar near 7-year high: First economic report since financial meltdown shows initial unemployment claims rose by 7%, boosted by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike." ... "According to a study by the Department of Labor, initial filings for state jobless benefits increased by a seasonally adjusted 32,000 to 493,000 in the third week of September. It was the highest number of weekly claims since Sept. 29, 2001, when unemployment soared in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." ... "The Labor Department said about 50,000 of the new claims were due to the effects of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. There were 18,400 more claims from the week before in Louisiana alone, and Texas added 1,200." ... "Earlier this month, the government reported that there were 84,000 jobs lost in August, bringing to 605,000 the number of jobs cut from payrolls by U.S. employers in the first eight months of the year." ... "The unemployment rate surged to 6.1% last month, a nearly five-year high and up from 5.7% in July. In the last recession, unemployment reached a high of 6.3%." -By David Goldman

-CNN

20080924

John McCain

Financial

Disaster

Politics

Government

Massachusetts

Arizona

2008 Election

"Democrats claim Wall St. bailout breakthrough." ... "Democratic [Massachusetts Representative] Rep. Barney Frank said on Wednesday Democrats had reached an agreement to stem one of the worst U.S. financial disasters in decades, and that there would be enough votes to pass the measure and send it to [Republican] President George W. Bush to sign into law." ... "Frank took a dig at [2008 Election] Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who interrupted his campaign to return to Washington on Thursday to help work on a Wall Street bailout." ... ""All of sudden, now that we are on the verge of making a deal, John McCain here drops himself in to help us make a deal, Frank said." ... "He expressed fear that McCain, a U.S. [United States] senator from Arizona who has spent much of the year away from the Capitol campaigning, could end up slowing down work on the bill." ... "The Massachusetts Democrat noted that a meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday will be interrupted for a "photo op" at the White House with congressional Democrats and Republicans as well as Bush." ... ""We're trying to rescue the economy, not the McCain campaign," Frank said." ... "Democrats blamed the crisis largely on the failure of Bush to adequately regulate the financial industry." (1, 2, 3) -By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro with contributions by Doina Chiacu

-Reuters

John McCain

Rick Davis

Corporate

Politics

Federal

Housing

Law

2008 Election

"Unsevered Ties? Regulatory filings indicate that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain campaign chief Rick Davis remains an officer with his lobbying firm." ... "Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, has remained the treasurer and a corporate director of his lobbying firm this year, despite repeated statements by campaign officials that he had ended his relationship with the firm in 2006, according to corporate records." ... "The McCain campaign this week criticized news stories disclosing that, since 2006, Davis's firm has been paid a $15,000-a-month consulting fee from Freddie Mac, the troubled [housing] mortgage giant recently put under federal conservatorship. The stories, published Tuesday by NEWSWEEK, The New York Times and Roll Call, reported that the consulting fees continued until last month even though, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement, neither Davis nor anybody else at his firm did any substantial work for the payments." ... "Filings made by "Davis Manafort Partners" with the Virginia Corporation Commission as recently as April 1, 2008, show that Davis was still listed as one of only two corporate officers and directors of the firm, according to records on the commission’s Web site [PDF] reviewed by NEWSWEEK. That filing records Davis as the "treas/clerk" of the firm; his business partner, Paul Manafort is listed as the president and chief executive officer." ... "Another filing by “Davis Manafort, Inc.” [PDF] (with the same Alexandria, Va. [Virginia] address, and recorded on Oct. 17, 2007) also lists Davis as an officer and director of the firm, reporting his position as "T/Clerk," a reference to his formal title as corporate treasurer and clerk." ... "Both filings are annual reports of basic corporate information that are required by Virginia state law." -By Michael Isikoff

-Newsweek

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Financial

Crisis

Politics

Government

Law

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin: US could face another Great Depression." ... "[2008 Election] Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Wednesday that the United States could be headed for another Great Depression if Congress doesn't act on the financial crisis." ... "Asked whether there's a risk of another Great Depression if Congress doesn't approve a $700 billion bailout package, Palin said, "Unfortunately, that is the road that America may find itself on."" ... "Couric pressed Palin on examples of how McCain, a 26-year congressional veteran, had led the charge for more oversight." ... "The Alaska governor cited [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's warnings about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago as well as image as a maverick. Questioned again for examples, and reminded that McCain had been chairman of the Commerce Committee, Palin said, "I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you."" ... "McCain has insisted Palin is ready to take over as president, but he made no mention of including her in the meetings he wants in Washington to deal with the financial crisis." -By Sara Kugler

-AP via -Yahoo

John McCain

Politics

Money

2008 Election

"EXCLUSIVE: John McCain Uses Idol Makeup Artist!" ... "The 72-year-old [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain] was recently made TV-ready by makeup artist Tifanie White who's worked on So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol." ... "McCain paid the 2002 beauty-school grad $5,583.43 for her services, according to the Federal Election Commission."

-UsMagazine.com

20080923

John McCain

Rick Davis

Corporate

Politics

Federal

Housing

Wisconsin

2008 Election

"McCain Transition Head Lobbied for Freddie Mac Before Takeover." ... "The lobbying firm of the man Republicans say [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain has chosen to begin planning a presidential transition earned more than a quarter of a million dollars this year representing Freddie Mac, one of the companies McCain blames for the nation's financial crisis." ... "Timmons & Co., whose founder and chairman emeritus is William Timmons Sr., was registered to lobby for Freddie Mac from 2000 through this month, when the federal government took over both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae." ... "Newly available congressional records show Timmons's firm received $260,000 this year before its lobbying activities were barred under terms of the government rescue of the failed [housing] mortgage giant. Timmons, 77, is listed as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac on the company's midyear financial-disclosure form." ... "McCain has labeled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as prime culprits in creating the financial storm that has roiled Wall Street and Washington." ... "``At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,'' he said last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin." ... "``Using money and influence, they prevented reforms that would have curbed their power and limited their ability to damage our economy,'' he said. ``And now, as ever, the American taxpayers are left to pay the price for Washington's failure.''" ... "The McCain camp was also dealing with reports about the lobbying work of campaign manager Rick Davis." ... "The New York Times reported yesterday that Davis was paid almost $2 million in fees over five years by a group primarily funded by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that was intended to help stave off more stringent federal regulation of the housing companies. " -By Jonathan D. Salant and Timothy J. Burger

-Bloomberg

Henry Paulson

Financial

Crisis

Politics

Legislation

"Bad News For The Bailout: The [Republican President Bush Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson Plan." ... "At a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complained of being rushed to pass legislation or else risk financial meltdown." ... "In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy." ... ""It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."" -By Brian Wingfield and Josh Zumbrun with contributions by Liz Moyer

-Forbes

Dick Cheney

Henry Paulson

Corporate

Government

Lawmakers

Politics

"White House Dispatches Team to Push Economic Bill." ... "The White House today is drumming up extraordinary pressure on Congress to approve its plan to enact a $700 billion mortgage bailout fund, suggesting the markets cannot wait much longer and dispatching Vice President Cheney and other top officials up Pennsylvania Avenue to jawbone lawmakers." ... "Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who collaborated in drawing up the proposal, are testifying this morning on Capitol Hill in an effort to defend their handiwork." ... "[Republican President Bush's Deputy Press Secretary Tony] Fratto insisted that the plan was not slapped together and had been drawn up as a contingency over previous months and weeks by administration officials. He acknowledged lawmakers were getting only days to peruse it, but he said this should be enough." -By Keith Koffler

-RollCall.com

Iraq

Investigators

Reconstruction

Accounting

Politics

"$13 Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says." ... "A former Iraqi official estimated yesterday that more than $13 billion meant for reconstruction projects in Iraq was wasted or stolen through elaborate fraud schemes." ... "Salam Adhoob, a former chief investigator for Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity, told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, an arm of the Democratic caucus, that an Iraqi auditing bureau "could not properly account for" the money." ... "While many of the projects audited "were not needed -- and many were never built," he said, "this very real fact remains: Billions of American dollars that paid for these projects are now gone."" ... "He said a report that went to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top Iraqi officials was never published because "nobody cares" about investigating such cases. Many investigators, he said, feared for their safety because 32 of his co-workers have been murdered. " -By Dana Hedgpeth with contributions by Julie Tate

-WashingtonPost

Henry Paulson

Corporate

Government

Legislative

Politics

"Good ideas and lies." ... "So, this morning [Republican President Bush's Treasury Secretary] Hank Paulson told a whopper:"

[Hank Paulson:] "We gave you a simple, three-page legislative outline and I thought it would have been presumptuous for us on that outline to come up with an oversight mechanism. That’s the role of Congress, that’s something we’re going to work on together. So if any of you felt that I didn’t believe that we needed oversight: I believe we need oversight. We need oversight."

"What the proposal actually did, of course, was explicitly rule out any oversight, plus grant immunity from future review:"

"Sec. 8. Review."
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

"I’m not playing gotcha here. This is telling: if Paulson can’t be honest about what he himself sent to Congress — if he not only made an incredible power grab, but is now engaged in black-is-white claims that he didn’t — there is no reason to trust him on anything related to his bailout plan." -By Paul Krugman/Blog

-NYTimes

Housing

Consumer

People

Working

Families

"Millions spend half of income on housing." ... "[Al] Ray is one of more than 7.5 million people — almost 15 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage — who are spending half of their income or more on housing costs, according to 2007 data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up from nearly 7.1 million the year before." ... "Traditionally, the government and most lenders consider a homeowner spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs to be financially burdened. But that definition now covers almost 38 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage — 19 million of them." ... "Though home prices have fallen this year, in the most expensive markets where home prices tripled during the boom, many working families still cannot afford to buy a home." ... "More than 4 million homeowners were at least one month behind on their loans at the end of June, and almost 500,000 had started the foreclosure process, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association." -By Adrian Sainz and Alan Zibel with contributions by Allen Chen

-AP via -Yahoo

20080921

John McCain

Corporate

Government

Disaster

Politics

US_Debt

Healthcare

Social Security

Rights

Book

2008 Election

"Naomi Klein: Financial crisis part of Bush 'shock doctrine'." ... "The bailout of Wall Street’s largest players by the federal government is another example of the [Republican President] Bush administration pursuing a corporate agenda at the expense of average Americans, a prominent author argued on Friday." ... "In a Friday night interview on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Naomi Klein said President Bush’s $700 billion proposal to rescue the financial sector stems from a profiteering streak that has dominated the last eight years." ... ""The disaster is far from over," Klein said. "The disaster was on Wall Street and they have moved the disaster to Main Street."" ... "Referring to the bailout, Klein said the "bomb has yet to detonate" and that the real crisis will strike when tax payers are overwhelmed when faced with the debt from the bailouts." ... "According to Klein, the bomb will detonate if Sen. John McCain becomes president and "rationalizes" that it is necessary to privatize government programs like social security and healthcare because neither the government nor Americans can afford them." ... ""The real disaster has yet to come; the real disaster is the debt that is going to explode on American tax payers," Klein said." ... "Klein’s book, "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," outlines how crises, real or perceived, have been used by governments, especially the United States under George W. Bush, to strong-arm a disoriented citizenry into accepting changes to its rights, and its government, that it wouldn't otherwise accept." -By David Edwards and Andrew McLemore

-RawStory.com

WATCH: Naomi Klein on Republican Bush's "Shock Doctrine"

Henry Paulson

Government

Politics

Foreign

"Foreign Banks Can Unload Bad Debt Too: Paulson." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Sunday that foreign banks will be able to unload bad financial assets under a $700 billion U.S. proposal aimed at restoring order during a devastating financial crisis." ... ""Yes, and they should. Because ... if a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets, they have the same impact on the American people as any other institution," Paulson said on ABC TV."

-CNBC

John McCain

Barack Obama

Health-Care

Economy

Parents

Social Security

Journal

Fla

2008 Election

"McCain Health-Care Article Fuels New Clash Over Economy." ... "An article [by McCain] about health care published in an obscure journal led to a new skirmish Saturday between the campaigns of [2008 Election Presidential Candidates] Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain over who should be trusted with the ailing economy." ... "The article was published in Contingencies magazine, which is produced under the auspices of the American Academy of Actuaries. In it, McCain touted his plans for increasing competition in health care as one way to expand coverage and reduce costs." ... "McCain wrote, "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."" ... "Obama, appearing at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. [Florida], mocked his rival for sounding out of touch at a time when Washington is moving rapidly to re-regulate the financial industry to curb the excesses that put the system into near-paralysis in the past week." ... ""So let me get this straight -- he wants to run health care like they've been running Wall Street," Obama told the audience. "Well, Senator, I know some folks on Main Street who aren't going to think that's such a good idea."" ... "With millions of Americans worrying about their retirement security as federal officials rushed to stabilize the shaky financial system, Obama also seized on McCain's support for partial privatization of Social Security. He said McCain was prepared to gamble with people's life savings." ... ""If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week," he said. "Millions would've watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes. Millions of families would've been scrambling to figure out how to give their mothers and fathers, their grandmothers and grandfathers, the secure retirement that every American deserves."" (1, 2) -By Dan Balz

-WashingtonPost

Sarah Palin

Crime

Women

Medical

DNA

Law

Politics

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin's town charged women for rape exams." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown required women to pay for their own rape examinations while she was mayor, a practice her police chief fought to keep as late as 2000." ... "Former state [Alaska State Democratic Representative] Rep. Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law requiring cities to provide the examinations free of charge to victims. He said the only ongoing resistance he met was from Wasilla [Alaska], where Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002." ... ""It was one of those things everyone could agree on except Wasilla," Croft told CNN. "We couldn't convince the chief of police to stop charging them."" ... "Alaska's Legislature in 2000 banned the practice of charging women for rape exam kits -- which experts said could cost up to $1,000." ... "For years, Alaska has had the worst record of any state in rape and in murder of women by men. The rape rate in Alaska is 2.5 times the national average." ... "The bill, HB270, was before the legislature for six months. In testimony, one expert called the practice of billing the victim "incomprehensible." Others compared it to "dust[ing] for fingerprints" after a burglary, only "the victim's body is the crime scene."" ... "During a rape exam, the victim removes her clothing and a medical professional gathers DNA evidence from her body. There is also a medical component to assess her injuries." ... "[Tara] Henry, the forensic nurse, said charging victims "retraumatizes them."" ... ""Asking them to pay for something law enforcement needs in order to investigate their case, it's almost like blaming them for getting sexually assaulted," she said." -By Jessica Yellin

-CNN

20080920

John McCain

Cindy McCain

Barack Obama

Auto

Workers

Homes

Michigan

2008 Election

"All the Candidates’ Cars." ... "When you have seven homes [McCain], that's a lot of garages to fill. " ... "And based on public vehicle-registration records, here's the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one." ... "One vehicle in the McCain fleet has caused a small flap. United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger, an Obama backer, accused McCain this month of "flip-flopping" on who bought daughter Meghan's foreign-made Toyota Prius. McCain said last year that he bought it, but then told a Detroit [Michigan] TV station on [September] Sept. 7 that Meghan "bought it, I believe, herself." (The McCain campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)" ... "Obama's lone vehicle also is a green machine, a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid." -By Keith Naughton and Hilary Shenfeld

-Newsweek

20080919

Henry Paulson

Corporate

Government

Illegal

Accounting

Politics

History

Global

"Can you trust a Wall Street veteran with a Wall Street bailout?" ... "Making the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows, [Republican President Bush's] Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson repeatedly said today's financial problems were long in the making. He should know. He was part of the Gold Rush that has brought the global financial system to the brink of collapse." ... "Paulson presided over one of the most profitable runs on Wall Street as chairman and chief executive officer of investment banking titan Goldman Sachs & Co. from 1999 until [Republican] President Bush nominated him on May 30, 2006 to take over the Treasury Department." ... "But with Paulson now seeking virtually unfettered authority to administer the largest bailout of the financial industry in U.S. [United States] history, many are wondering whether Paulson also doesn't come with enormous potential conflicts of interest." ... "Paulson has surrounded himself with former Goldman executives as he tries to navigate the domino-like collapse of several parts of the global financial market. And others have gone off to lead companies that could be among those that receive a bailout." ... "The administration's draft law also would preclude court review of steps Paulson might take, something Joshua Rosner, managing director of economic researcher Graham Fisher & Co. in New York, said could be used to mask previous illegal activity." ... "The Treasury proposal sent to Congress also offers no process to hire asset managers in an open and competitive process. That's particularly questionable given that Wall Street players are now hiring Wall Street players, Rosner said." ... ""This seems to invite a risk of collusion between sellers and buyers to the detriment of the taxpayer," he wrote." ... "At a minimum, there's irony in Paulson being in charge of so large a bailout." ... "In the last annual report at Goldman that Paulson signed off on in November 2005, a year in which he received $38 million in compensation, investors were clearly told that the federal government wouldn't be there to save them from bad investments." ... "In 2002, Paulson received $12.1 million in compensation, including a $6.3 million bonus — an improvement over the previous three years when Wall Street accounting scandals unsettled investment banks, including a $1.5 billion settlement Goldman and other banks paid for issuing overly bullish research reports that promoted deals the banks themselves were involved in." ... "Published reports said Paulson received $30 million in compensation and salary in 2003." -By Kevin G. Hall

-McClatchyDC.com

Henry Paulson

Government

Money

Politics

Law

American International Group

Calif

"Bush Asking For $700 Billion Bailout." ... "Struggling to stave off financial catastrophe, the [Republican President] Bush administration on Friday laid out a radical bailout plan with a jawdropping price tag _ a takeover of a half-trillion dollars or more in worthless mortgages and other bad debt held by tottering institutions." ... "Congressional officials said they expected a request for legal authority to buy up the bad loans, at a cost in excess of $500 billion to the government." ... "The federal government already has pledged more than $600 billion [Reuters reports: $900 billion] in the past year to bail out, or help bail out, some of the biggest names in American finance. That includes the rescue of investment bank Bear Stearns in March, the takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earlier this month and the takeover of the world's largest insurance company, American International Group, just this week." ... "In a session with House Democrats, they described a plan where the government would in essence set up reverse auctions, putting up money for a class of distressed assets _ such as loans that are delinquent but not in default _ and financial institutions would compete for how little they would accept for the investments, said [California Democratic Representative] Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. [Democratic-California], who participated in the call." ... ""You give them good cash; they give you the worst of the worst," Sherman said of the plan, which he complained that Bush and his economic advisers were trying to panic lawmakers into rubber-stamping." ... "[Republican President Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson rejected Democrats' calls to include tighter regulations, corporate reforms or limits on executive compensation as part of the measure, Sherman said. "He's doing his best to paint a picture of the sky falling, and then he says, because the sky's falling, you have to do it my way."" -By Tom Raum and Jeannine Aversa with contributions by Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Martin Crutsinger, Andrew Taylor, Marcy Gordon, David Espo, Jim Abrams, and Joe Bel Bruno

-AP via -HuffingtonPost.com

John McCain

Banking

Health

Politics

Government

Law

2008 Election

"McCain on banking and health." ... "Here’s what [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and John] McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:"

"[McCain:] "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.""

"So McCain, who now poses as the scourge of Wall Street, was praising financial deregulation like 10 seconds ago — and promising that if we marketize health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry!" -By Paul Krugman/Blog

-NYTimes

20080917

Finance

American International Group

"S&P says pressure building on U.S. "AAA" rating." ... "Pressure is building on the pristine "AAA" rating of the United States after a federal bailout of American International Group Inc, the chairman of Standard & Poor's sovereign ratings committee said on Wednesday." ... "The $85 billion bailout of AIG on Tuesday by the U.S. Federal Reserve "has weakened the fiscal profile of the United States," S&P's John Chambers told Reuters in an interview." (1, 2, 3) -By Walden Siew with contributions by Jan Paschal and Chizu Nomiyama

-Reuters

American International Group

Government

Politics

Housing

"Tab for Government Rescues Rises to $900 Billion." ... "The U.S. [United States] Federal Reserve stepped in to rescue insurance giant American International Group from bankruptcy with an $85 billion loan on Tuesday, the latest in a series of bailouts and loans for the financial and housing sectors." ... "The action brings the total tab for government rescues and special loan facilities this year to more than $900 billion."

-Reuters via -CNBC

20080916

Money

Politics

Jobs

Federal

History

"Democrats are better for the economy than Republicans." ... "The figures below are all from the annual Economic Report of the President, and the analysis is primitive. Nevertheless, what these numbers show almost beyond doubt is that Democrats are better at virtually every economic task that is important to Republicans." ... "This exercise implicitly assumes that lower taxes are always good and higher government spending is always bad. " ... "The only point is that if you find the Republican mantra of lower taxes and smaller government appealing, and if you care only about how fast the economy is growing, not how that growth is shared, you should vote Democratic." ... "On average, in years when the president is a Democrat, the economy grows faster; inflation is lower; fewer people can't find a job; the federal government spends a smaller share of GDP, whether or not you include defense spending; and the deficit is lower (or—sweet [Democratic President] Clinton-years memory—the surplus is higher)." -By Michael Kinsley

-Slate

Money

Politics

Calif

"Federal bank insurance fund dwindling." ... "Banks are not the only ones struggling in the growing financial crisis. The fund established to insure their deposits is also feeling the pinch, and the taxpayer may be the lender of last resort." ... "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., whose insurance fund has slipped below the minimum target level set by Congress, could be forced to tap tax dollars through a Treasury Department loan if Washington Mutual Inc., the nation's largest thrift, or another struggling rival fails, economists and industry analysts said Tuesday." ... "Eleven federally insured banks and thrifts have failed this year, including Pasadena, Calif. [California]-based IndyMac Bank, by far the largest shut down by regulators." ... "The [FDIC] fund, which is marking its 75th anniversary this year with a "Face Your Finances" campaign, is at $45.2 billion — the lowest level since 2003." ... "The failure of IndyMac Bank in July cost $8.9 billion." ... "There were 117 banks and thrifts considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, the highest level since 2003, according to FDIC data released last month." -By Marcy Gordon with contributions by Christopher S. Rugaber

-AP via -Yahoo

Sarah Palin

Don Young

Money

Politics

Federal

Transportation

Construction

Animals

Environment

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin supports $600 million 'other' bridge project." ... "[Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin may eventually have said "no thanks" to a federally funded Bridge to Nowhere [after supporting it even after Congress had stopped it]." ... "But a bridge to her hometown of Wasilla [Alaska], that's a different story." ... "A $600 million bridge and highway project to link Alaska's largest city to Palin's town of 7,000 residents is moving full speed ahead, despite concerns the bridge could worsen some commuting and threaten a population of beluga whales." ... "Local officials already have spent $42 million on plans to route traffic across the Knik Arm inlet, a narrow finger of water extending roughly 25 miles northeast of Anchorage toward Wasilla. The proposal exists thanks to an earmark request by Republican [Alaska Representative] Rep. Don Young, whose son-in-law has a small stake in property near the bridge's proposed western span." ... ""This is basically an incredibly expensive project that doesn't help commuters, doesn't help create jobs and may drive whales to extinction," said Justin Massey, an attorney advising environmentalists opposed to the proposal. "It is also a project that serves the area where the governor is from, which is near and dear to her heart."" ... "Palin still supports the second bridge, officially named Don Young's Way in honor of the congressman." -By Garance Burke

-AP via -Yahoo

Sarah Palin

Criminal

Money

Politics

Women

Children

Law

Federal

Alaska

2008 Election

"Source: Sex Assault Program Cited in Monegan Firing Targeted Child Abusers." ... "So [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Sarah Palin's latest explanation for why she fired Walt Monegan is that he had gone over her head in seeking federal money for an initiative to combat sexual assault crimes, before she had approved the program." ... "But it now appears that the program in question is one that most elected officials would be wary of admitting they hadn't strongly backed. According to Peggy Brown, who heads the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Monegan wanted to use the federal money to hire retired troopers and law enforcement officials, and assign them to investigate the most egregious cases of sexual assault -- including those against children." ... "In other words, if Palin's new story is true, she fired Monegan for being too aggressive in going after child molesters." ... "ABC News reported yesterday that, although Alaska leads the nation in reported rapes per capita, Palin hasn't made the issue a priority as governor." ... "Monegan, however, appeared eager to change that. "He seemed to get the issue and really took it seriously," Brown told TPMmuckraker." ... "According to the Palin camp, too seriously." -By Zachary Roth

-TPMMuckracker .TalkingPointsMemo

Noteworthy

Emergency

Money

Politics

Legal

History

AIG

"U.S. to Take Over AIG in $85 Billion Bailout; Central Banks Inject Cash as Credit Dries Up: Emergency Loan Effectively Gives Government Control of Insurer; Historic Move Would Cap 10 Days That Reshaped U.S. [Unijted States] Finance." ... "[Under Republican President Bush] The U.S. government seized control of American International Group Inc. -- one of the world's biggest insurers -- in an $85 billion deal that signaled the intensity of its concerns about the danger a collapse could pose to the financial system." ... "The step marks a dramatic turnabout for the federal government, which had been strongly resisting overtures from AIG for an emergency loan or some intervention that would prevent the insurer from falling into bankruptcy. Just last weekend, the government essentially pulled the plug on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., allowing the big investment bank to go under instead of giving it financial support. This time, the government decided AIG truly was too big to fail." ... "Under terms hammered out Tuesday night, the Fed will lend up to $85 billion to AIG, and the U.S. government will effectively get a 79.9% equity stake in the insurer in the form of warrants called equity participation notes. The two-year loan will carry an interest rate of Libor plus 8.5 percentage points. (Libor, the London interbank offered rate, is a common short-term lending benchmark.)" ... "The loan is secured by AIG's assets, including its profitable insurance businesses, giving the Fed some protection even if markets continue to sink. And if AIG rebounds, taxpayers could reap a big profit through the government's equity stake." ... "It puts the government in control of a private insurer -- a historic development, particularly considering that AIG isn't directly regulated by the federal government. The Fed took the highly unusual step using legal authority granted in the Federal Reserve Act, which allows it to lend to nonbanks under "unusual and exigent" circumstances, something it invoked when Bear Stearns Cos. was rescued in March." ... "The U.S. on Sept. 6 took over mortgage-lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they teetered near collapse." ... "In bailing out AIG, the Federal Reserve appeared to be motivated in part by worries that Wall Street's financial crisis could begin to spill over into seemingly safe investments held by small investors, such as money-market funds that invest in AIG debt." ... "Indeed, on Tuesday the $62 billion Primary Fund from the Reserve, a New York money-market firm, said it "broke the buck" -- that is, its net asset value fell below the $1-a-share level that funds like this must maintain. Breaking the buck is an extremely rare occurrence. The fund was pinched by investments in bonds issued by now collapsing Lehman Brothers." ... "Money-market funds are supposed to be among the safest investments available. No fund in the $3.6 trillion money-market industry has lost money since 1994, when Orange County, Calif., went bankrupt. A number of money-market funds own securities issued by AIG. The firm is also a big insurer of some money-market instruments." -By Matthew Karnitschnig, Deborah Solomon, Liam Pleven and Jon E. Hilsenrath with contributions by Diya Gullapalli, Serena Ng, Damian Paletta and Ashby Jones

-WSJ.com

20080915

Federal

Law

Politics

History

"Wall Street crisis is culmination of 28 years of deregulation." ... "On Monday, one Wall Street bank, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy protection and another, Merrill Lynch, sought comfort by selling itself to Bank of America for $50 billion. Earlier this year, the government helped enable the sale of faltering investment bank Bear Stearns to J.P. Morgan Chase, and more recently took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." ... "Such troubles were supposed to have been prevented, or at least mitigated, by regulatory systems that the nation began to put in place after the banking system collapsed at the start of the Great Depression." ... "Many banks at the time were badly wounded by their personal and financial ties to securities trading. The 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, and later the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act, mandated the separation of banks, insurance companies and securities firms." ... "Those and many other federal laws stabilized the banking and securities markets, but by the 1970s, a stumbling U.S. [United States] economy led to a change in America's political-economic values. [Republican President] Ronald Reagan led a movement that came to power in 1980 proclaiming faith in free markets and mistrust of government. That conservative philosophy has dominated America for the past 28 years." ... "Even after taxpayers had to rescue deregulated savings and loans, or S&Ls, with a $200 billion bailout in the late 1980s, the push to loosen regulation paused only briefly." ... "In 1999, [Democratic] President Clinton signed the Financial Services Modernization Act, which tore down Glass-Steagall's reforms by removing the walls separating banks, securities firms and insurers." -By David Lightman

-McClatchyDC.com

John McCain

Sarah Palin

Federal

Money

Politics

Immigration

Religion

Alaska

Russia

Iraq

Military

2008 Election

"John McCain's Journey From Maverick to Liar." ... "When Jon Stewart asked [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain last year, "Are you going into crazy base world?" the celebrated maverick acknowledged, "I'm afraid so."" ... "McCain flip-flopped on the [Republican President] Bush tax cuts. He abandoned immigration reform. He reached out to Jerry Falwell and other religious conservatives." ... "It wasn't enough. And so, in a move that even one of his longtime advisers conceded (in a remark captured by an open microphone) was disturbingly "cynical," McCain gave the base [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin." ... "So far, the main "maverick" actions that McCain has promised as the next Republican president are to trim nonmilitary Democratic spending and continue the Iraq war. You can't get more conventional than that." ... "And even that message has been somewhat undermined by disclosures that Palin was a champion of those costly federal earmark projects she has lobbied for in Alaska—where, you know, you can see Russia." ... "At this point, McCain has taken the obvious way out—launching a series of distracting attacks on [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama, with slim regard for truth." ... "The ads have spurred a backlash, the consequences (or lack) of which may well decide the election." ... "For 18 months, Obama has wagered all his chips on the (quaint? idealistic? brilliant?) idea that the American people are tired of the same old sleazy and divisive politics. McCain has now chosen to bet against him." ... "And we are the cards." -By John Aloysius Farrell

-usnews.com

Barack Obama

John McCain

Sarah Palin

Disaster

Politics

Workers

Colorado

Arizona

Alaska

2008 Election

"Obama blames Wall St. crisis on Republican policy." ... "[Obama on McCain:] "In 19 months he [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain] has not named one thing he would do differently from this [Republican President Bush] administration on the central issue of this election," [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama said of McCain. "Not one thing. And we know that if we go down that path, that the next four years will look exactly like the last eight."" ... ""Can you afford to take a chance on someone who's voted against the minimum wage 19 times," Obama asked a crowd of thousands under a blazing sun at a rally in western Colorado at the start of a swing through contested Western states. "When it was $4, he was against it, when it was $5 he was against it, when it was $6 he was against it."" ... "Charging that McCain was out of touch, Obama said, "He doesn't get what's happening between the mountains in Sedona [Arizona] where he lives and the corridors of power where he works. Why else would he say that we've made great progress economically under George Bush. Why else would he say that the economy isn't something he understands as well as he should." ... ""Why else would he say, today of all days, just a few hours ago — think about this, we just woke up to news of financial disaster — and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong. Sen. McCain, what economy are you talking about?"" ... "He also took a little poke at McCain's running mate, [Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin, raising the "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska that she initially supported and later opposed. Saying that McCain had put some lobbyists in key roles of his campaign, Obama said, "If you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska."" -By Terence Hunt

-AP via -Yahoo

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Money

Politics

Travel

Family

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin Tax Mystery Enters Second Week: Itemizing The Questions." ... "When news broke last week that [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin received more than $17,000 in state-issued per diems for evenings spent in her own home, several tax experts and watchdogs asked whether [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's running mate had ever declared and paid taxes on that money as income. Including travel reimbursements for Palin's family members, the Washington Post reported that the total amount of potentially taxable income totals over $60,000 for Palin's first 18 months as governor." -By Seth Colter Walls

-HuffingtonPost.com

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Money

Politics

Federal

Alaska

Oil

2008 Election

"Palin's Project List Totals $453 Million." ... "Last week, [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate [and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain said his running mate, Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin, hadn't sought earmarks or special-interest spending from Congress, presenting her as a fiscal conservative. But state records show Gov. Palin has asked U.S. [United States] taxpayers to fund $453 million in specific Alaska projects over the past two years." ... "These projects include more than $130 million in federal funds that would benefit Alaska's fishing industry and an additional $9 million to help Alaska oil companies. She also has sought $4.5 million to upgrade an airport on a Bering Sea island that has a year-round population of less than 100." ... "During an appearance Friday on ABC's "The View," Sen. McCain said Gov. Palin shared his views, and hasn't sought congressional earmarks. "Not as governor she hasn't," he said." ... "In fact, in the current fiscal year, she is seeking $197 million for 31 projects, the records show. In the prior year, her first year in office, she sought $256 million for dozens more projects ranging from research on rockfish and harbor-seal genetics to rural sanitation and obesity prevention." ... "The state's earmark requests stand out in part because its state government is among the wealthiest in the U.S. Flush with oil and gas royalties, it doesn't impose income or sales taxes. In fact, money flows the other way: Every man, woman and child this year got a check for $3,200." ... "The McCain campaign has also come under fire for saying on the stump and in TV ads that Gov. Palin killed the controversial "Bridge to Nowhere," a $223 million earmark linking the mainland to a sparsely populated island. In fact, she supported the project initially and killed it after it was widely criticized and Congress allowed the state to use the funds for other projects." -By Laura Meckler and John R. Wilke

-WSJ.com

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Criminal

Politics

Women

Children

Safety

Law

Money

Religion

Alaska

2008 Election

"Critics Question Palin's Record on "Epidemic" Rape, Domestic Violence in Alaska: Effort to Tackle Sex Violence Stalled by [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah] Palin's Office, Sources Say." ... "Evangelicals and social conservatives have embraced [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's vice presidential pick for what they call her "pro-family," "pro-woman" values. But in Alaska, critics say [Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children." ... "Alaska leads the nation in reported forcible rapes per capita, according to the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation], with a rate two and a half times the national average – a ranking it has held for many years. Children are no safer: Public safety experts believe that the prevalence of rape and sexual assault of minors in Alaska makes the state's record one of the worst in the U.S. [United States] And while solid statistics on domestic violence are hard to come by, most – including Gov. Palin – agree it is an "epidemic."" ... "Despite the governor's pro-family image, public safety experts and advocates for women and children struggled when asked to explain how Palin's leadership has helped address the crisis. And current and former officials from Palin's administration confirmed that an ambitious plan to tackle the crisis has apparently sunk into doldrums after arriving at the governor's office." ... ""She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children. . . we haven't been on her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Juneau[Alaska's capital]-based group is an umbrella organization for shelters and anti-violence programs around the state." ... "State troopers respond to most domestic violence calls outside of Alaska's major cities, but they're too short-staffed and under-funded to do it well, according to Robert Claus, a recently retired trooper." (1, 2, 3) -By Justin Rood

-ABCNEWS.com

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Health

Alaska

2008 Election

"Sarah Palin Installed Tanning Bed at Governor's Mansion." ... "Self-proclaimed "hockey mom" [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Sarah Palin had a private tanning bed installed in the Governor's Mansion in Juneau, Alaska, Usmagazine.com confirmed on Monday." ... ""She did. She paid for it with her own money," Roger Wetherell, chief communications officer of Alaska's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities told Us." ... "The Narco News Bulletin first reported on the former beauty queen's penchant for a bronzed body." ... "Tanning beds can cost up to $35,000 to install in a home - not including the cost of parts, Color Me Tan manager Erin Weise told the Narco News." ... ""I don't think it's normal for people to have a tanning bed in their house, " Wiese, who is based in Fairbanks [Alaska] said. "It's expensive."" ... "Palin's running mate, [2008 Election Republican] presidential candidate John McCain battled skin cancer in 1993, and again in 2000."

-UsMagazine.com

20080914

John McCain

William E. Timmons, Sr.

Corporate

Government

Politics

Oil

Drug

Housing

Consumer

Investigation

Law

Foreign

Japan

2008 Election

"Obama Memo on a [Republican McCain] "Lobbyist-Run White House"." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's Team of Lobbyists Grows, As They Plan for a Lobbyist-Run White House" ... "Joining the ranks of the seven lobbyists running McCain's campaign, William Timmons, a top Washington lobbyist, has been named to plan McCain's transition effort. With at least 177 lobbyists helping advise, raise money and run his campaign, there was little doubt who would be influencing McCain's White House, should he win, but this appointment just confirms: a John McCain White House will be organized, managed and influenced by lobbyists and the same old Washington politics John McCain has decried. Campaigning on reform while surrounding himself with lobbyists for the oil industry, big drug companies and foreign interests doesn't seem much like change, and nothing shows that more than naming a top Washington lobbyist to plan his transition." ... "SEPTEMBER 2008: TIMMONS JOINS MCCAIN TEAM" ... "One Of DC's “Most Senior Inside Players,” A Special Interest Lobbyist To Help McCain Transition Planning Effort. William E Timmons, Sr., the McCain campaign's new senior advisor of a hypothetical transition, is a “prominent Washington lobbyist who has worked for every Republican president since Richard Nixon” pointed out Time magazine. This year alone, he is registered as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac, Anheuser-Busch, an insurance industry trade group, an oil industry group, and a pharmaceutical company. Time called him one “of Washington's steadiest and most senior inside players.” [Time, 9/12/08; Senate Office of Public Records]" ... "Timmons, A Former Nixon Aide, Founded Lobbying Shop In The Aftermath Of Watergate. “Aftershocks of the Watergate scandal were still rumbling in 1975 when William Timmons and three other former Nixon aides decided to launch their own lobbying shop. ‘We figured if we got 10 clients to pay us $100,000 a year, we'd be in the clover,' recalls the 76-year-old Timmons.” [Politico, 3/7/07]" ... "WHILE MCCAIN CRITICIZED FREDDIE MAC'S LOBBYISTS, TIMMONS EARNED MILLIONS LOBBYING FOR FREDDIE MAC." ... " ... Timmons Earned More Than $2.7 Million for His Firm Lobbying for Freddie Mac from 2000-2008. William Timmons earned $2,795,000 in lobbying fees for his firm lobbying from 2000 through the 2nd Quarter of 2008. His firm lobbied for Freddie Mac on housing issues. [Timmons and Company Lobbying Disclosures, 2000-2008]" ... "TIMMONS ALSO EARNED MILLIONS FOR HIS FIRM LOBBYING FOR OIL COMPANIES" ... "Timmons Earned $2.1 Million for His Firm Lobbying for Unocal and Also Lobbied for Chevron. William Timmons lobbied for Unocal from 1999-2005 and then briefly lobbied for Chevron in 2005 after the firm purchased Unocal. [Timmons and Company Senate Lobbying Disclosures, 1999-2005]" ... "Timmons Lobbied on Two Price Gouging Prevention Bills For Oil Industry. According to lobbying disclosure forms, William Timmons – on behalf of the American Petroleum Institute – lobbied on S. 94 and S. 1263 in 2007, two bills which dealt with prohibiting price gouging by merchants. Timmons continued his registration, which began in 1999, into the summer of 2008. [Timmons and Company Senate Lobbying Disclosures]" ... "HITACHI: Timmons Contract Came As US Government Opened Investigation" ... "8/2/85: Justice Dept. Opens Investigation Of Hitachi For Antitrust Violations. In early August 1985, the US Dept. of “investigation of Hitachi Ltd. for alleged unfair pricing practices.” The probe “accused the Japanese of closing their doors to U.S.-produced goods while using unfair tactics to make gains in the domestic U.S. marketplace.”. [San Diego Union Tribune, 8/7/85]" ... "8/27/85: Hitachi Hires Timmons's Firm. The $75,000 contract (one year) was to “represent the interests of Hitachi before the legislative and executive branches.” [FARA, Exhibit AB, http://www.fara.gov/docs/3489-Exhibit-AB-19850901-D0V9DI01.pdf ]" ... "[FARA (Foreign Agent Registration Act) filings, US Dept. of Justice (fara.gov)]" -From the capaing of Barack Obama

-TIME.com

McLobbyist.com

20080913

John McCain

Barack Obama

Military

Investment

Arizona

2008 Election

"McCain on FCS: Flip-flop or fib?" ... "Has [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain renounced his longtime antagonism toward the Army’s Future Combat Systems?" ... "On [September] Sept. 8, the Republican presidential candidate told a rally crowd in Lee’s Summit, Mo. [Missouri], about an [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama video message to a liberal advocacy group." ... "“He promised them he would, quote, ‘slow our development of Future Combat Systems,’” McCain said, according to wire reports. “This is not a time to slow our development of Future Combat Systems.”" ... "Flashback to July, however, when his campaign furnished McCain’s economic plan to The Washington Post, declaring that “there are lots of procurements — Airborne Laser, [C-17] Globemaster, Future Combat System [sic] — that should be ended and the entire Pentagon budget should be scrubbed.”" ... "In fact, McCain has long criticized the over-budget, behind-schedule FCS program. In 2005, he blasted the Army for allowing the program to balloon to $161 billion, and forced the service to rewrite the main FCS contract." ... "So where does McCain really stand? Some bloggers and analysts have suggested that he used the term “future combat systems” generically. Obama’s campaign maintains their candidate was speaking specifically about FCS, in which case McCain may be twisting his rival’s words." ... "Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute called it deceitful." ... "“McCain’s interpretation of Obama’s position is typical of the way in which the Republicans have twisted Democratic views in order to undercut their opponents and at the same time obscure the past positions of the Republicans,” Thompson said. “Future Combat Systems is the centerpiece of Army modernization. However, McCain has been more critical of it than anyone else in the chamber. Obama has been much more detailed and thoughtful in his comments about future military investment than McCain’s very superficial statements.”" -By Bradley Peniston with contributions by Antonie Boessenkool

-ArmyTimes.com

Sarah Palin

Ted Stevens

Don Young

Money

Politics

Federal

Transportation

Construction

Architecture

Alaska

Nevada

2008 Election

"Palin Administration Still Pursuing ‘Nowhere’ Project." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has portrayed herself as a foe of pork-barrel spending, pointing in particular to her role in killing the $398 million "Bridge to Nowhere” between Ketchikan (pop. 7,400) and its airport on Gravina Island (pop. 50). I "told the Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks,'" she said in her speech accepting the Republican vice presidential nomination. "If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves."" ... "But Gov. Palin’s administration acknowledges that it is still pursuing a project that would link Ketchikan to its airport -- with the help of as much as $73 million in federal funds earmarked by Congress for the original project." ... ""What the media isn't reporting is that the project isn't dead," Roger Wetherell, spokesman for Alaska’s Department of Transportation, said. In a process begun this past winter, the state’s DOT is currently considering (PDF) a number of alternative solutions (five other possible bridges or three different ferry routes) to link Ketchikan and Gravina Island." ... "The DOT has not yet developed cost estimates for those proposals, Wetherell said, but $73 million of the approximately $223 million [Alaska Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) and [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) earmarked for the bridge in 2005 has been set aside for the Gravina Access Project." ... "In an interview that aired Friday night, ABC’s Charles Gibson challenged Palin about the fact that she’d initially supported the “Bridge to Nowhere” during her 2006 run for governor. “I was for infrastructure being built in the state,” she said, but repeated her line that Alaska would “find a way to build [the bridge] ourselves."” ... "The massive $398 million "Bridge to Nowhere" was to replace ferry service from the airport to Ketchikan (departing every half-hour), a 15-minute ride -- meaning that air travelers are assured of reaching Ketchikan in no more than 45 minutes. It would have done so in grand style: the planned structure would have been nearly as long as the Golden Gate and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge." -By Paul Kiel

-ProPublica.org

Sarah Palin

Money

Politics

Federal

Transportation

Construction

Alaska

Nevada

2008 Election

"Palin's 'Bridge to Nowhere' line returns." ... "In her first solo campaign rally outside of Alaska, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin drew an enthusiastic crowd at the Pony Express Pavilion [Carson City, Nevada] Saturday and returned to a familiar refrain about the “Bridge to Nowhere.”" ... "Palin has come under fire in recent days for misleadingly saying she told Congress “thanks but no thanks,” refusing an earmark for a bridge to a sparsely inhabited island in her home state. Independent groups and media fact-checkers have said Palin advocated for the federal earmark before opposing it, only ended after Congress had essentially killed it, and kept the $223 million for the appropriation after the project was killed." ... "She reiterated a line that she put the governor’s luxury jet on eBay. While accurate, the jet wasn’t sold on eBay." ... "Nevada [Lieutenant Governor] Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki said on stage that 10,000 people were in the crowd, but parks officials said the pavilion held only 3,500 people." -By Matthew E. Berger with contributions by Mark Murray

-MSNBC

20080912

John McCain

William Timmons

Rick Davis

Corporate

Government

Political

History

Oil

2008 Election

"McCain Taps Lobbyist for Transition." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain transition planner William] Timmons is the chairman emeritus of Timmons and Company, a small but influential lobbying firm he founded in 1975 shortly after leaving the [Republican Nixon-Ford] White House. According to Senate records, he registered to lobby in 2008 for a wide range of companies and trade groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, the American Medical Association, Chrysler, Freddie Mac, Visa USA and Anheuser-Busch." ... "His registrations include work on a number of issues that have become flashpoints in the presidential campaign. He has registered to work on bills that deal with the regulations of troubled [home] mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, a bill to provide farm subsidies and bills that regulate domestic oil-drilling." ... "By tapping Timmons, McCain has turned to one of Washington's steadiest and most senior inside players to guide him in the event of a victory — but also to someone who represents the antithesis of the kind of outside-of-Washington change he has recently been promising. One Republican familiar with the process said the decision to involve Timmons could become a political liability for the campaign's reformist image, especially in the wake of the controversies over the lobbying backgrounds of other McCain staffers, including campaign manager Rick Davis. "It's one more blind spot for Rick Davis and John McCain," the person said." -By Michael Scherer

-TIME.com

20080911

Sarah Palin

Criminal

Money

Politics

Medical

Law

Alaska

2008 Election

"New Evidence: Palin Had Direct Role In Charging Rape Victims For Exams." ... "Despite denials by the [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah] Palin campaign, new evidence proves that as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams conducted by the city to gather evidence." ... "Palin's role is now confirmed by Wasilla City budget documents available online." ... "Under Sarah Palin's administration, Wasilla cut funds that had previously paid for the medical exams and began charging victims or their health insurers the $500 to $1200 fees. Although Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella wrote USA Today earlier this week that the GOP vice presidential nominee "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test...To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice," Palin, as mayor, fired police chief Irl Stambaugh and replaced him with Charlie Fannon, who with Palin's knowledge, slashed the budget for the exams and began charging the city's victims of sexual assault. The city budget documents demonstrate Palin read and signed off on the new budget. A year later, alarmed Alaska lawmakers passed legislation outlawing the practice." ... "News of the controversial policy has leaked slowly into the press this week as the presidential campaign has heated up and Palin's record has been subject to increasing scrutiny. The practice of charging rape victims has called into question Palin's stated commitment to women's issues, her judgment as an executive and her honesty about her record. " -By Jacob Alperin-Sheriff

-HuffingtonPost.com

Corporate

Oil

Government

Political

Accounting

Legal

Investigation

Drugs

"Sex, drug use and graft cited in U.S. agency scandal." ... "As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct." ... "In three reports delivered to Congress on Wednesday, the department's inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually and is one of the government's largest sources of revenue other than taxes." ... ""A culture of ethical failure" pervades the agency, Devaney wrote in a cover memo." ... "The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the [Republican President] Bush administration's watch." ... "The highest-ranking official criticized in the reports is Lucy Denett, the former associate director of minerals revenue management, who retired earlier this year as the inquiry was progressing." ... "One former official named in the report, Jimmy Mayberry, pleaded guilty to a felony conflict-of-interest charge in August and faces a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine." ... "In late 2002, when he was about to retire from the government, Mayberry drafted a "statement of work" for a consulting contract to perform essentially identical functions to his own. He then retired, started a company, and in June 2003 won the contract with the help of Denett and Milton Dial, another friend at the agency who later went to work for Mayberry." ... "Denett did not return a message left at her home on Wednesday with her husband, Paul Denett, who was the top procurement official in the [President Bush] White House Office of Management and Budget until he resigned this month. He declined to comment." ... "The other high-ranking official the Justice Department has declined to prosecute is Gregory Smith, the former program director of the royalty-in-kind program." ... "Some 19 officials — a third of the program's staff — took gifts from oil and gas executives, some with "prodigious frequency."" ... "On one occasion, the report said, the royalty-in-kind program allowed a Chevron representative who won a bid to purchase some of the government's oil to pay taxpayers a lower amount than his winning offer because he said he had made a mistake in his calculations. A report from Devaney's office earlier this year found that the program had frequently allowed companies that purchase the oil and gas to revise their bids downward after they won contracts. It documented 118 such occasions that cost taxpayers about $4.4 million in all." (1, 2, 3) -By Charlie Savage

-NYTimes via -IHT.com

Media

Mexico

"Carlos Slim Helu, World's Second Richest Man, Buys Large Stake In New York Times." ... "Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu and members of his family now own 6.4 percent of publicly traded shares in The New York Times Co., according to a regulatory filing Wednesday." ... "The 9.1 million Class A Common Shares were purchased by Inmobiliaria Carso, S.A. de C.V, a Mexican holding company controlled by members of the Slim family, according to a disclosure report the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

-AP via -HuffingtonPost.com

20080910

Gordon Smith

Illegal

Immigration

Business

Food

Workers

Politics

Agriculture

Property

History

Oregon

Hawaii

Utah

Wash

"Señor Smith: Low-wage Latino workers keep [Oregon Republican Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith’s family business humming. Not all of them are legal." ... "Up on a hill overlooking this Eastern Oregon town of 701 people, Smith Frozen Foods turns raw produce from the surrounding fields into ready-to-eat products." ... "Smith’s goods appear in grocery stores under other brand names. But in tiny Weston [Oregon], a water tank emblazoned with the capital letters S-M-I-T-H sits like a sentry greeting travelers on nearby Highway 11." ... "Gordon Smith, a United States senator from Oregon and the only Republican senator representing a West Coast state, has owned the plant his grandfather founded in 1919 for nearly 30 years." ... "“Son,” father Milan Smith once said, according to Gordon Smith’s 2006 memoir, “you can sell ice to Eskimos and coals to Newcastle.”" ... "Today, Smith Frozen Foods generates millions in income for the senator, according to Smith’s 2007 financial disclosure report." ... "And in this town, Smith’s wealth looms large, even though the 56-year-old lawmaker seldom visits and calls nearby Pendleton [Oregon] his home. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Smith is the 12th-richest member of the U.S. [United States] Senate, with an estimated net worth between $8 million and $39 million—wealth that’s allowed him to buy a $3.5 million mansion in Bethesda, Md. [Maryland], property on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a Park City, Utah, condominium and—more famously—four antique golf clubs worth $1.25 million." ... "The workers at Smith Frozen Foods, who clean the machinery, monitor production and pack upward of 50 million pounds of produce each year, earn about $80 a day, four or five days a week, 10 months a year—if they’re lucky." ... "One other thing—some of them appear to be illegal immigrants." ... "WW recently spent several days in Weston, and the nearby cities of Milton-Freewater [Oregon] and Walla Walla, Wash. [Washington], where most of Smith’s employees live. WW spoke to dozens of current and former Smith workers, Latino advocates, court personnel, public defenders, educators, police administrators, church officials, social service agents and business owners and determined that some portion of Smith’s workforce comprises undocumented immigrants." ... "It’s a revelation that may not be newsworthy around Weston, where most people this reporter interviewed knew, or assumed, that the agricultural processing plant hired illegal immigrants." ... "Additional interviews and review of public records reveal that Smith’s company appears to have employed illegal immigrants for decades, stretching back as far as the 1980s." -By Beth Slovic

-WWeek.com

Sarah Palin

Money

Politics

Children

Travel

Meals

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin expensed her children's air travel to the state." ... "Since [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin took office nearly two years ago, the state of Alaska has routinely bought commercial airline tickets for her daughters when they travel with her, a practice that raises questions about the governor's claim to being a fiscal conservative." ... "Travel records from the governor's office show that the state has spent at least $31,800 on dozens of airline tickets for the family, and more for meals and hotels." ... "Records show the family has traveled with Palin for events such as the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks [Alaska] last fall and to shoot official first family photos in Juneau [Alaska's capital], to draw raffle tickets at an event in Anchorage [Alaska] and to tour a teen center spearheaded by the Juneau Christian Center. " -By Kyle Hopkins

-ADN.com via -McClatchyDC.com

20080909

Sarah Palin

Money

Politics

Travel

Food

Family

Sports

Entertainment

Alaska

New York

2008 Election

"Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home: Taxpayers Also Funded Family's Travel." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business." ... "The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife." ... "Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post." ... "The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show." ... "She wrote some form of "Lodging -- own residence" or "Lodging -- Wasilla residence" more than 30 times at the same time she took a per diem, according to the reports. In two dozen undated amendments to the reports, the governor deleted the reference to staying in her home but still charged the per diem." ... "Palin charged the state a per diem for working on Nov. 22, 2007 -- Thanksgiving Day. The reason given, according to the expense report, was the Great Alaska Shootout, an annual NCAA college basketball tournament held in Anchorage." ... "In separate filings, the state was billed about $25,000 for Palin's daughters' expenses and $19,000 for her husband's." ... "One event was in New York City in October 2007, when Bristol accompanied the governor to Newsweek's third annual Women and Leadership Conference, toured the New York Stock Exchange and met local officials and business executives. The state paid for three nights in a $707-a-day hotel room." ... "The family also charged for flights around the state, including trips to Alaska events such as the start of the Iditarod dog-sled race and the Iron Dog snowmobile race, a contest that Todd Palin won." (1, 2, 3) -By James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick with contribution by Alice Crites

-WashingtonPost

20080908

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Housing

Market

Government

Alaska

Colorado

2008 Election

"Palin Makes Her First Gaffe." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin made her first potentially major gaffe during her time on the national scene while discussing the developments of the perilous housing market this past weekend." ... "Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs [Colorado], the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."" ... "Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement, which came before the government had spent funds bailing the two entities out, saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration." ... ""You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country's mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn't speak well for her, I'd say."

" -By Sam Stein

-HuffingtonPost.com

WATCH: Palin falsely asserted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." John McCain applauded the false assertion.

20080907

Henry Paulson

Government

Money

Housing

Politics

Historic

"U.S. seizes Fannie and Freddie: Treasury chief Paulson unveils historic government takeover of twin mortgage buyers. Top executives are out." ... "Federal officials on Sunday unveiled an extraordinary takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants and the $5 trillion in home loans they back." ... "The move, which extends as much as $200 billion in Treasury support to the two companies, marks Washington's most dramatic attempt yet to shore up the nation's housing market, which is suffering from record foreclosures and falling prices." ... "The sweeping plan, announced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, places the two companies into a "conservatorship" to be overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under conservatorship, the government would temporarily run Fannie and Freddie until they are on stronger footing." ... "Freddie CEO Richard Syron and Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd will no longer run the agencies, while the FHFA will assume control of the boards." ... "The government, in agreeing to backstop the firms, said it would receive $1 billion in each company's senior preferred stock. The government will also receive a quarterly dividend payment and the right to own 79.9% of each company." ... "Fannie and Freddie have become virtually the only source of funding for banks and other home lenders looking to make home loans. Their ability to do so is crucial to the recovery of the battered home market and the broader U.S. economy." ... "The two firms buy loans, attach a guarantee, then sell securities backed by the loans' income stream. All told, they own or back $5.4 trillion worth of home debt - half the mortgage debt in the country." ... "The cost of the government intervention remains unclear however. Experts argue that it will depend in large part on the structure of the rescue, the direction of home prices and mortgage default rates." ... "Still it seems almost certain it will run into the billions and will most likely eclipse such other high-profile government bailouts including than the Federal Reserve's $29 billion backing of Bear Stearns assets when it was taken over by J.P. Morgan Chase." -By David Ellis with contributions by Tami Luhby and Patricia Sellers

-CNN

20080906

Sarah Palin

Money

Politics

Sports

Roads

Construction

Land

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin's Hockey Rink Leads To Legal Trouble in Town She Led." ... "The biggest project that [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Sarah Palin undertook as mayor of this small town [Wasilla, Alaska] was an indoor sports complex, where locals played hockey, soccer, and basketball, especially during the long, dark Alaskan winters." ... "The only catch was that the city began building roads and installing utilities for the project before it had unchallenged title to the land. The misstep led to years of litigation and at least $1.3 million in extra costs for a small municipality with a small budget. What was to be Ms. Palin's legacy has turned into a financial mess that continues to plague Wasilla." ... ""It's too bad that the city of Wasilla didn't do their homework and secure the land before they began construction," said Kathy Wells, a longtime activist here. "She was not your ceremonial mayor; she was in charge of running the city. So it was her job to make sure things were done correctly."" ... "Litigation resulting from the dispute over Ms. Palin's sports-complex project is still in the courts, with the land's former owner seeking hundreds of thousands of additional dollars from the city." -By Michael M. Phillips

-WSJ.com

20080905

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Money

Politics

Accounting

Alaska

Wisconsin

2008 Election

"Plane Not Sold on eBay." ... "One of the compelling anecdotes about [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin is that she auctioned off the Alaska governor's jet on eBay after taking office -- a swift move made by a reformer hoping to clean up the excesses of her predecessor." ... "But in fact, the jet did not sell on eBay. It was sold to a businessman from Valdez named Larry Reynolds, who paid $2.1 million for the jet, shy of the original $2.7 million purchase price, according to contemporaneous news reports, including a story in the New York Times." ... "Dan Spencer, the director of administrative services for Alaska's Public Safety Department, said that the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, John L. Harris, brokered the deal. Reynolds made campaign contributions to both Palin and Harris in 2006 and 2007." ... "But that hasn't stopped Palin, or John McCain, from implying -- and, on Friday, claiming outright -- that Palin did sell the jet on the Internet." ... ""You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay -- and made a profit!" [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain declared in Wisconsin at a campaign stop on Friday." -By Anne E. Kornblut

-WashingtonPost

20080904

Sarah Palin

Money

Politics

Federal

Transportation

Construction

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin Also Supported The "Road To Nowhere" (And May Still)." ... "While a debate rages over how honest [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin has been in stating her opposition to the infamous Bridge To Nowhere, another massive, widely-criticized transportation project is lingering in Alaska." ... "The "Road To Nowhere" is a $375 million "mega-project" designed to connect Juneau [Alaska's capital] to the [Alaskan] towns of Haines and Skagway via 50 miles of new road along the steep slopes of an avalanche-battered canal, ending at a ferry terminal at the Haines river." ... "As of 2005, Haines had a population of 2,400, while Skagway had 870 residents." ... "According to the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, a group promoting "sensible transportation systems in the state," the Road to Nowhere is an irresponsible waste. The project has received more than $100 million in federal and state funding. This includes a $15 million dollar federal earmark and approximately $24 million in federal dollars passed through to the state. But it remains far from completion - hampered by opposition, environmental and safety concerns, and general wariness over its utility." ... "Palin has been anything but a steady fiscal hawk on the matter. The Governor came into office saying she supported the road, which was started under her predecessor Frank Murkowski. In an October 2006 questionnaire by Anchorage Daily News, she simply wrote "Yes" when asked "Do you support building a road from Juneau to Skagway?"" -By Sam Stein

-HuffingtonPost.com

20080903

Cindy McCain

John McCain

Fashion

Politics

Arizona

Houses

2008 Election

"Cindy McCain's $300,000 Outfit." [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's wife Cindy and Republican President George Bush's wife Laura at the Republican National Convention.]

"Laura Bush
Oscar de la Renta suit: $2,500
Stuart Weitzman heels: $325
Pearl stud earrings: $600–$1,500
Total: Between $3,425 and $4,325"
"Cindy McCain
Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000
Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500
Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000
Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000
Shoes, designer unknown: $600
Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100"

"Wow! No wonder McCain has so many houses: his wife has the price of a Scottsdale [Arizona] split-level hanging from her ears." ... "(All prices except Laura’s shoes and Cindy’s watch are estimates, and the jewelry prices are based on the assumption that the pieces are real.)"

-VanityFair.com

Sarah Palin

Iraq

Military

Politics

Alaska

Gas

Companies

2008 Election

"Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'." ... "Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God."" ... "In an address last June, the [2008 Election] Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it "God's will."" ... ""Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she said. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."" ... "Palin told graduating students of the church's School of Ministry, "What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys." As they preached the love of Jesus throughout Alaska, she said, she'd work to implement God's will from the governor's office, including creating jobs by building a pipeline to bring North Slope natural gas to North American markets." ... ""God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she said." -By Gene Johnson

-AP via -Yahoo

WATCH: "Sarah Palin: War in Iraq is "God's Plan""
WATCH: "Sarah Palin: Alaskan Pipeline is "God's Will""

Sarah Palin

Money

Politics

Lawsuit

Alaska

Arizona

2008 Election

"Another Controversy for Sarah Palin: Former Police Chief Says He Was Fired for Challenging Palin's Campaign Contributors." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin is already facing ethical questions over her firing of the Alaska public safety commissioner, and now she faces questions over the firing of a longtime local police chief." ... "After taking over as Mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Palin fired the longtime local police chief. The former police chief, Irl Stambaugh says he was fired because he stepped on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors, including bar owners and the National Rifle Association." ... "Stambaugh's lawyer, William Jermain, says the chief tried to move up the closing hours of local bars from 5 a.m. to two a.m. after a spurt of drunk driving accidents and arrests." ... ""His crackdown on that practice by the bars was not appreciated by her and that was one reason she terminated Irl," said Jermain." (1, 2) -By Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee

-ABCNEWS.com

Sarah Palin

Federal

Money

Politics

Oil

Alaska

Arizona

2008 Election

"Sarah Palin: Earmark Queen Of The Earmark State." ... "In 2000, [Republican Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin, as mayor of the Alaskan town of Wasilla, hired a Washington lobbyist to secure federal earmarks for her community." ... "This is not totally atypical in her state. Alaska’s government receives more money per capita in federal earmark money than any other state, despite being the only state in the union with no income tax and no sales tax. They fund their government primarily with petroleum money, and recently distributed oil profits to its citizens in the form of rebate checks." ... "But even in her heavily earmarked state, Sarah Palin was the earmark queen." ... "From 2000 to 2003, she secured over $27 million in earmarks, averaging $6.7 million in federal money every year for her town of about 6,700 people." ... "An analysis of the databases of Taxpayers for Common Sense by Center for American Progress Action Fund Senior Fellow Scott Lilly puts these numbers in perspective."

"Per Capital Federal Earmark Funding"
"(All figures for 2008 except Wasilla, which is for 2002)"
"Arizona:            $18.70"
"National Average:   $51.19"
"Alaska:            $506.34"
"Wasill, AK:      $1,000.00"

"He notes the following amounts:"

"–$50: The amount the average state received in earmarked funds, per capita in 2008"
"–$506: The amount received by Alaska’s citizen per capita in 2008, represented by the Senate’s earmarker in chief, Ted Stevens, ten times the national average"
"–Over $1000: The annual amount received per capita in Wasilla between 2000 and 2003, twice the 2008 Alaska state average"

"Some of these earmarks drew the scorn of Senator John McCain. The LA Time reports that, “three times in recent years, McCain’s catalogs of ‘objectionable’ spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time — Sarah Palin.”" ... "As Scott Lilly writes, “Palin has advertised herself as a reformer and a skeptic of earmarking while maneuvering to become the earmark queen of the earmark state.”"

-ThinkProgress.org/Wonk Room

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Ted Stevens

Federal

Money

Legislative

Politics

Alaska

Arizona

2008 Election

"McCain had criticized earmarks from Palin." ... "Three times in recent years, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's catalogs of "objectionable" spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town [Wasilla], requested by its mayor at the time -- [Republican Politician] Sarah Palin." ... "Now, McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has chosen Palin as his running mate, touting her as a reformer just like him." ... "But records show that Palin -- first as mayor of Wasilla and recently as governor of Alaska -- was far from shy about pursuing tens of millions in earmarks for her town, her region and her state." ... "This year, Palin, who has been governor for nearly 22 months, defended earmarking as a vital part of the legislative system. "The federal budget, in its various manifestations, is incredibly important to us, and congressional earmarks are one aspect of this relationship," she wrote in a newspaper column." ... "Wasilla had received few if any earmarks before Palin became mayor. She actively sought federal funds -- a campaign that began to pay off only after she hired a lobbyist with close ties to [Alaska Republican Senator]] Sen. Ted Stevens (R[Republican]-Alaska), who long controlled federal spending as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He made funneling money to Alaska his hallmark." ... "This year she submitted to Congress a list of Alaska projects worth $197.8 million, including $2 million to research crab productivity in the Bering Sea and $7.4 million to improve runway lighting at eight Alaska airports." ... ""So while Sen. McCain was going after cutting earmarks in Washington," said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, "Gov. Palin was going after getting earmarks."" -By Tom Hamburger, Richard Simon and Janet Hook

-LAtimes via -ChicagoTribune

20080902

Sarah Palin

Ted Stevens

Don Young

Federal

Money

Politics

Alaska

Oil

Law

2008 Election

"Palin's earmark requests: more per person than any other state: GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] vice presidential candidate Alaska [Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin touts her record as a reformer who worked to end the "abuses of earmark spending in Congress." But Palin has embraced earmarks from early on in her career as a mayor of Wasilla [Alaska] to the governor's mansion in Juneau [Alaska's capital]. Just this year she sent to [Alaska Republican Senator] Sen. Ted. Stevens a proposal for 31 earmarks totaling $197 million — more, per person, than any other state." ... "Palin's requests to Congress came at a time of huge federal deficits, while Alaska state revenue was soaring due to rising oil prices and a major tax increase on oil production that Palin signed into law in late 2007." ... "As a result, Alaska this year was in such a money-flushed condition — with no state income tax or sales tax and total state revenues of $10 billion, double the previous year's — that Palin gained legislative approval for $1,200 cash payments to every Alaskan." ... "In addition, each Alaska resident gets an annual dividend check, about $2,000 this year, from Alaska's oil-wealth savings account, known as the Permanent Fund, now fattened to more than $35 billion." ... ""She was hungry for earmarks just like everybody else," said Larry Persily, who worked at the Alaska state office in Washington, D.C., until earlier this year. "Everyone was feeding at the trough."" ... "Before she left office, Wasilla, with aid of the lobbyist and the blessing of Stevens and [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young, got $27 million in earmarks, according to the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense." ... "During her fall 2006 campaign for governor, Palin appeared to embrace the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," even after Alaska had been held up for ridicule by McCain and others for what was seen as a wasteful boondoggle, a $233 million bridge that would replace ferry service connecting [Alaska's] Gravina Island and its Ketchikan airport to mainland Ketchikan [Alaska]." ... "In a debate, Palin said she would fight for the earmark to build the bridge." ... "Last year, Palin requested $254 million in earmarks[....]" -By Hal Bernton and David Heath

-SeattleTimes

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Don Young

Ted Stevens

Illegal

Federal

Money

Politics

Alaska

Transportation

Construction

Arizona

2008 Election

"Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds." ... "Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group." ... "There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla [Alaska], located about 45 miles north of Anchorage [Alaska]." ... "In introducing Palin as his running mate on Friday, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain cast her as a compatriot in his battle against wasteful federal spending." ... "As mayor of Wasilla [Alaska], however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage[ Alaska]-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young and [Alaska Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm." (1, 2) -By Paul Kane

-WashingtonPost

20080901

Sarah Palin

Federal

Money

Politics

Alaska

Transportation

Construction

2008 Election

"Palin Received Millions In Earmarks, Clouding Reformer Image." ... "The presentation of [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah] Palin as an anti-earmark, fiscally conscious pol is challenged by a review of recent political records. As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she hired the firm of Hoffman Silver Gilman & Blasco to help secure spending projects for her town. The expenditure apparently paid off. From 2000 through 2002, Wasilla received more than $5.5 million in federal cash for transportation and social service projects." ... "The use of the earmark system that -- as a vice presidential candidate -- Palin now criticizes continued into her tenure as governor. As the Los Angeles Times reported, the state of Alaska requested 31 earmarks worth $197.8 million for next year's federal budget. And according to Citizens Against Government Waste, Alaska received $379,669,715 in pork during fiscal year 2008, nearly $100 million more than any other state." -By Sam Stein

-HuffingtonPost.com

Sarah Palin

Ted Stevens

John McCain

Corporate

Politics

Government

Alaska

Arizona

2008 Election

"Palin Was a Director of Embattled Sen. Stevens's 527 Group." ... "Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin began building clout in her state's political circles in part by serving as a director of an independent political group organized by the now embattled Alaska [Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens." ... "Palin's name is listed on 2003 incorporation papers of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. The group was designed to serve as a political boot camp for Republican women in the state. She served as one of three directors until June 2005, when her name was replaced on state filings." ... "Palin's relationship with Alaska's senior senator may be one of the more complicated aspects of her new position as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's running mate; Stevens was indicted in July 2008 on seven counts of corruption." ... "At the time Stevens revealed the existence of the 527 group -- a type of independent political corporation named for its the section of the tax code -- ethics experts questioned whether it was appropriate." ... "The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported that several experts called the group an example of the fine legal line between a legal effort to conduct political activity and then-new prohibitions against raising unlimited soft-money." ... "Board members of Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service were legally allowed to raise as much money as they wanted from corporations or unions or unlimited donations from individuals -- all of which would have been illegal for Stevens to do himself." -By Paul Kane

-WashingtonPost

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Ted Stevens

Federal

Legislative

Money

Politics

Alaska

2008 Election

"Palin relied on earmark system she now opposes." ... "Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin presents herself as an ally of [2008 Election Republican] presidential candidate John McCain when it comes to curbing wasteful government spending." ... "On Friday, when McCain introduced her as his running mate, she said she "championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending," the legislative technique used to slip projects into appropriations bills without rigorous congressional review." ... "But under her leadership, the state of Alaska has requested 31 earmarks worth $197.8 million in next year's federal budget, according to the website of [Alaska Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens (R[Republican]-Alaska), the former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee." ... "Palin has recently been publicly critical of requests made in past years by Stevens and others for $223 million in federal funds for a bridge from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Gravina Island, calling it "the Bridge to Nowhere," a derogatory label critics attached to the project." ... "As a candidate for governor in 2006, she backed funding for the bridge." -By Tom Hamburger

-LAtimes

20080831

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Ted Stevens

Money

Politics

Government

Alaska

Transportation

Construction

History

Ohio

2008 Election

"Palin backed 'bridge to nowhere' in 2006." ... "In her nationally televised speech accepting the job as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's running mate, Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin said she "championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress" and opposed federal funding for a controversial bridge to a sparsely populated island." ... "[However] While running for governor in 2006, though, Palin backed federal funding for the infamous bridge, which McCain helped make a symbol of pork barrel excess." ... "And as mayor of the small town of Wasilla [Alaska] from 1996 to 2002, Palin also hired a Washington lobbying firm that helped secure $8 million in congressionally directed spending projects, known as earmarks, according to public spending records compiled by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste and lobbying documents." ... "Wasilla's lobbying firm was headed by Steven Silver — a former chief of staff to Alaska [Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens, a key proponent of the bridge project." ... ""We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge, and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative," Palin said in August 2006, according to the Ketchikan Daily News."" -By Ken Dilanian

-USATODAY

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Federal

Money

Alaska

Transportation

Construction

2008 Election

"Palin touts stance on 'Bridge to Nowhere,' doesn't note flip-flop." ... "When [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain introduced [Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, her reputation as a tough-minded budget-cutter was front and center." ... ""I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere," Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to [Alaska's] Ketchikan's Gravina Island bridge." ... "But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it." ... "The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them "nowhere." They're still feeling pain today in Ketchikan [Alaska], over Palin's subsequent decision to use the bridge funds for other projects -- and over the timing of her announcement, which they say came in a pre-dawn press release that seemed aimed at national [Eastern] news deadlines." ... ""I think that's when the campaign for national office began," said Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein on Saturday." ... "Alaska's congressional delegation endured withering criticism for earmarking $223 million for Ketchikan and a similar amount for a crossing of Knik Arm at Anchorage [Alaska]." ... "Congress eventually removed the earmark language but the money still went to Alaska, leaving it up to the administration of then-[Alaska Republican Governor ]Gov. Frank Murkowski to decide whether to go ahead with the bridges or spend the money on something else." ... "In September, 2006, Palin showed up in Ketchikan on her gubernatorial campaign and said the bridge was essential for the town's prosperity." -By Tom Kizzia

-ADN.com

Sarah Palin

John McCain

Political

Investigation

Attorney

Government

Transportation

Construction

Money

Alaska

Oil

Global

Climate

2008 Election

"What McCain Didn't Know About Sarah Palin." ... "They've [the 2008 Election Republican Presidential campaign of John McCain] bragged that [Alaska Republican Governor Sarah] Palin opposed the famous "Bridge to Nowhere," only to learn that Palin supported the project and even told residents of Ketchikan [Alaska] that they weren't "nowhere" to her. After the national outcry, she decided to spend the funds allocated to the bridge for something else. Actually, maybe it's more fair to say that coincident with the national outcry, she changed her mind. The story shows her political judgment, but it is not a reformer's credential." ... "Likewise, though she cut taxes as mayor of Wassila [Alaska], she raised the sales tax, making her hardly a tax cutter." ... "She denied pressuring the state's chief of public safety to fire her sister-in-law's husband even though there's mounting evidence that the impetus did indeed come from her. Ostensibly to clear her name, Palin asked her attorney general to open an independent investigation—the legislature had already been investigating. (I am told that the campaign was aware of the ethics complaint filed against her but accepts Palin's account.)" ... "McCain's campaign seemed unaware that she supported a windfalls profits tax on oil companies and that she is more skeptical about human contributions to global warming than McCain is." ... "They did not know that she took trips as the mayor of Wasilla to beg for earmarks." ... "They did not know that she told a television interviewer this summer that she did not fully understand what it is that a vice president does." -By Marc Ambinder

-TheAtlantic.com

John McCain

Joe Biden

Barack Obama

Hillary Clinton

Hurricane Katrina

Weather

Emergency

Investigation

Legislation

Politics

History

Federal

New Orleans

Louisiana

Communications

Funds

Children

Transportation

2008 Election

"McCain To Katrina Victims In 2005: You're On Your Own." ... "It doesn’t really come as a surprise to those of us who have watched [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain over the years that he's about to make a campaign stop in New Orleans [Louisiana] after Hurricane Gustav hits this week. After all, he's been exploiting the troops for years, what's a few hurricane victims after that?" ... "What does seem odd is that McCain thinks Gulf Coast residents will forget how he, [Republican President] George W. Bush and the then-Republican Congress turned their backs on them so many times in the months after Katrina thundered ashore in 2005." ... "Too bad he spent the months to follow leading the Republican charge against every Senate bill that would have actually helped Katrina victims or mandated investigations on how the Bush administration could have blown disaster response so thoroughly." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden jumped immediately to the aid of hurricane victims in the week after the 2005 disaster, authoring S.Amdt. 1661 "…to provide emergency funding for victims of Hurricane Katrina."" ... "Biden's legislation would have provided many things including money to purchase interoperable communications equipment to help first-responders dealing with the disaster, $10 million "to find, unite, and transport children impacted by Hurricane Katrina to their parents, legal guardian, or next of kin" and funding to assist victims of domestic violence in affected areas." ... "But with John McCain's help, the Republican-led Senate shot down the funding on a 41-56 vote with McCain voting against, while Biden and Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama voted for the funding." ... "When [New York Democratic] Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY[ Democratic-New York]) proposed the creation of a Congressional Commission to "examine the Federal, State, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.. and make immediate corrective measures to improve such responses in the future," John McCain was once again exactly where [Republican President] George W. Bush wanted him to be: On the "nay" side of a straight party-line vote (44-54) that killed that legislation." ... "And lest you think it was McCain taking a stand against what might become a Democratic witch hunt on the failures of his bosses in the White House, the bill called for a wholly bipartisan panel, stating specifically of the 10-member group that "not more than 5 members of the Commission shall be from the same political party."" ... "Unlike McCain, Barack Obama was one of the cosponsors of that bill and both he and Biden voted for immediate oversight on the bungled Katrina response." ... "But that's not all." -By Bob Geiger

20080829

John McCain

Sarah Palin

Science

Politics

Oil

Money

Wildlife

History

Global

Climate

Ice

Law

Alaska

Arizona

2008 Election

Canada

"McCain VP Pick No Friend to Polar Bears." ... "Alaska [Republican] Governor Sarah Palin has ignored research showing that polar bear populations are declining in the quest to plumb new sources of energy, according to scientists, and environmental groups who fought to put the bears on the endangered species list." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain tapped Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential candidate Friday. Palin is only the second woman to be on a major party's ticket as VP -- the first was Geraldine Ferraro, who ran with Democrati Walter Mondale in 1984." ... "The 44-year-old Palin, a beauty pageant winner and former mayor of a small town in Alaska, is an advocate of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has infuriated environmentalists for her support of the aerial shooting of wolves as a way to build up herds of moose and caribou. She's also sued the Interior Department for putting polar bears on the endangered species list." ... "In the lawsuit, filed this month in federal district court in the District of Columbia, Palin argues that the government's move to list polar bears as endangered is not based on sound science, and restricts oil and natural gas development. The Interior Department had put the bears on the list in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, who argued that the bears are being threatened by global warming." ... "In an interview on the conservative CNN talk show hosted by Glenn Beck earlier this year, Palin said that she was worried that environmentalists are using the Endangered Species Act to block the extraction of oil and gas." ... ""In fact, the number of polar bears has risen dramatically over the past 30 years," she said. "Our fear (is) that extreme environmentalists will use this tool, the ESA, to eventually curtail or halt the North Slope production of very rich resources that America needs."" ... "But biologists who have studied polar bear populations counter that the facts simply do not support Palin's assertion that polar bear populations are on the rise." ... ""Polar bear populations have not been increasing for the past 30 years, and that's a well-known fact," said Ian Stirling, an emeritus scientist with Canada's Department of the Environment and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta in an interview. Stirling has studied polar bears for 37 years -- the longest of anyone." ... "In fact, the polar bear population has actually declined by 20 percent in Alaska's Southern Beaufort Sea since the mid-1980s, he says, referring to peer-reviewed research that he's conducted with other scientists for the US Geological Survey. The reason: Loss of their habitat in the form of melting ice." -By Sarah Lai Stirland

-Wired

20080828

KBR

Corporation

Jordan

Nepal

Workers

Human

Rights

Iraq

Military

California

"KBR, Partner in Iraq Contract Sued in Human Trafficking Case." ... "Agnieszka Fryszman, a partner at Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, said 13 Nepali men, between the ages of 18 and 27, were recruited in Nepal to work as kitchen staff in hotels and restaurants in Amman, Jordan. But once the men arrived in Jordan, their passports were seized and they were told they were being sent to a military facility in Iraq, Fryszman said." ... "As the men were driven in cars to Iraq, they were stopped by insurgents. Twelve were kidnapped and later executed, Fryszman said. The thirteenth man survived and worked in a warehouse in Iraq for 15 months before returning to Nepal." ... "The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California on behalf of the workers' families and the survivor, claims that the trafficking scheme was engineered by KBR and its Jordanian subcontractor, Daoud & Partners, according to Fryszman." -By Dana Hedgpeth

-WashingtonPost

KBR

Lawsuit

Human

Rights

Iraq

Nepal

Workers

Company

Military

"KBR Suit Alleges 'Forced Labor' and 'Slavery'." ... "We've now looked through the lawsuit against KBR that we told you about this morning. The complaint (pdf) alleges that the company -- the biggest U.S. [United States] contractor in Iraq during the period at issue -- engaged in a human trafficking scheme whereby 12 Nepali men were brought to Iraq to work and were prevented from leaving. The men were then kidnapped by insurgents, and all but one were executed." ... "In sum: "Defendants' actions as set forth above constitute the torts of trafficking in persons, involuntary servitude, forced labor, and slavery."" ... "This is hardly the first time that KBR has been in hot water, of course. As we noted back in June, the company "was criticized in March for making troops sick by failing to provide clean water. And top military officials have given false statements to Congress to quell controversy over the company." In addition, at least two female former KBR employees in Iraq have alleged that they were raped or sexually assaulted by co-workers, and that KBR was less than aggressive in investigating their claims." -By Zachary Roth

-TPMMuckracker .TalkingPointsMemo

20080827

Iraq

Military

Money

"U.S. increases spending on contractors in Iraq." ... "The United States is spending more money than ever on private security contractors in Iraq as thousands of troops return home amid steady declines in insurgent attacks, federal records show." ... "This year, spending on contractors, who protect diplomats, civilian facilities and supply convoys, is projected to exceed $1.2 billion, according to federal contract and budget data obtained by USA TODAY. Most of that bill — about $1 billion —is State Department spending, which is up 13% over 2007. The remaining $200 million covers Pentagon contracts." ... "A Congressional Budget Office report released this month showed that U.S. agencies spent a total of $85 billion on contractors of all types in Iraq from 2003 through 2007 — about 20% of all U.S. spending for operations in the country during that period." ... "Some security costs may be undocumented because they're buried inside contracts for other services, the report said." ... "That's an unacceptable lack of clarity, says [Pennsylvania Democratic Representative] Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa [Democratic-Pennsylvania]., who chairs the House subcommittee that controls defense spending. He has proposed to cut $4.5 billion from contracting accounts in next year's defense budget and add $943 million to other Pentagon accounts so more of the work can be shifted to civilian government employees." -By Peter Eisler

-USATODAY

Ted Stevens

Don Young

Oil

Money

VECO

Legal

Investigation

Alaska

Florida

Road

Construction

"Indicted Senator Wins G.O.P. Primary." ... "[Alaska Republican] Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska won the Republican primary in his home state on Tuesday, soundly defeating six Republican challengers less than a month after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for concealing more than $250,000 in gifts from an oil services company." ... "The victory for Mr. Stevens, 84, means he now moves to a tough general election campaign against [Anchorage, Alaska Democratic] Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, who easily won the Democratic primary on Tuesday and leads the senator in polls. Mr. Stevens enters the general election also having to prepare for his trial, which is scheduled to begin in late September." ... "[Alaska Republican] Representative Don Young, the state's lone House member and a 35-year incumbent, was locked in a close primary race with Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell early Wednesday. With nearly 98 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Young led by fewer than 150 votes out of more than 85,000 cast." ... "Like Mr. Stevens, Mr. Young is under federal investigation for his ties to VECO, a former oil services company, but he also faces scrutiny on other matters, including a controversial $10 million earmark he pushed through for a Florida road project. Mr. Young has spent more than $1 million of his campaign funds on legal fees." -By William Yardley

-NYTimes

John McCain

Houses

Economy

Car

Internet

Foreign

Gas

Torture

Guantanamo

Prison

Stem Cells

Health Care

Politics

2008 Election

"Trust Me." ... ""You’re the Republican candidate for president and you want to fix the country's problems even though you don’t know much about the economy, you don’t know how to use the internet, you don’t know how many houses you own or what kind of car you drive, you admit you don’t think clearly when you’re tired, you make frequent gaffes on foreign policy, you think offshore drilling is a short-term solution to high gas prices, you support torture and keeping the Guantanamo prison open, you make rash decisions and statements from which you have to quickly backtrack, you have an explosive temper on a hair trigger, your idea of health care reform is 'wear more sunscreen,' you're for stem cell research except when it's done on stem cells because you consider them all American citizens, and you voted to support the policies of the worst president ever 100 percent of the time this year?"" ... ""Trust me, my friends. I was a POW."" ... "Only in Republicanland." -Bill in Portland Maine

-DailyKos.com

20080826

Money

History

"FDIC Warns of More Bank Troubles: The Government Insures Depositors When Banks Fail, But Does It Have Enough Cash?" ... "The health of U.S. banks is quickly deteriorating, and the government fund set up to protect depositors might not have enough money to insure everybody, analysts told ABCNews.com." ... "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, insures bank deposits of up to $100,000 at nearly 8,500 of the nation's banks and also keeps a watch list of banks that it considers in trouble." ... "At the beginning of the year, 90 banks were on the FDIC watch list. There are now 117, FDIC chairwoman Sheila C. Bair announced at a news conference this afternoon. That is the highest number in five years, but some analysts expect the list to grow even more in coming months." ... ""I think there's going to be a steady drip, drip, drip of bad news," said Sean Ryan, a banking analyst with Sterne Agee. "We've only seen the very tip of the iceberg in terms of bank failures."" ... "The FDIC, created in 1933 during the Great Depression to help restore the public's confidence in the nation's banking system, receives no federal tax dollars and is funded through the institutions that it insures. Currently it has $50.2 billion set aside to cover bank failures, nearly 20 percent of which is likely to be depleted in the IndyMac insurance payback alone." (1, 2, 3) -By Scott Mayerowitz

-ABCNEWS.com

20080825

WATCH

2008 Election

Politics

Noteworthy

Iraq

Military

Global

Climate

Environment

Fiscal

History

Iowa

"Full Text: Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach Speech to Democratic National Convention." ... [Speech by Iowa Republican Representative Jim Leach:] "In troubled times, it was understood that country comes before party, that in perilous moments mutual concern for the national interest must be the only factor in political judgments. This does not mean that debate within and between the political parties should not be vibrant. Yet what frustrates so many citizens is the lack of bipartisanship in Washington and the way today’s Republican Party has broken with its conservative heritage." ... "The party that once emphasized individual rights has gravitated in recent years toward regulating values. The party of military responsibility has taken us to war with a country that did not attack us. The party that formerly led the world in arms control has moved to undercut treaties crucial to the defense of the earth. The party that prides itself on conservation has abdicated its responsibilities in the face of global warming. And the party historically anchored in fiscal restraint has nearly doubled the national debt, squandering our precious resources in an undisciplined and unprecedented effort to finance a war with tax cuts." ... "America has seldom faced more critical choices: whether we should maintain an occupational force for decades in a country and region that resents western intervention or elect a leader who, in a carefully structured way, will bring our troops home from Iraq as the heroes they are. Whether it is wise to continue to project power largely alone with flickering support around the world or elect a leader who will follow the model of General Eisenhower and this president’s father and lead in concert with allies." ... "Whether it is prudent to borrow from future generations to pay for today’s reckless fiscal policies or elect a leader who will shore up our budgets and return to a strong dollar. Whether it is preferable to continue the policies that have weakened our position in the world, deepened our debt and widened social divisions or elect a leader who will emulate John F. Kennedy and relight a lamp of fairness at home and reassert an energizing mix of realism and idealism abroad." ... "The portfolio of challenges passed on to the next president will be as daunting as any since the Great Depression and World War II. This is not a time for politics as usual or for run-of-the-mill politicians. Little is riskier to the national interest than more of the same. America needs new ideas, new energy and a new generation of leadership." ... "Hence, I stand before you proud of my party’s contributions to American history but, as a citizen, proud as well of the good judgment of good people in this good party, in nominating a transcending candidate, an individual whom I am convinced will recapture the American dream and be a truly great president: the senator from Abraham Lincoln’s state—Barack Obama. Thank you." -By Jim Leach

via -Clips&Comment

WATCH: Jim Leach, Republican of Iowa at the Democratic National Convention

20080821

John McCain

Housing

Politics

Arizona

California

Virginia

2008 Election

"A housing issue: McCain not sure how many they own." ... "Days after he cracked that being rich in the U.S. [United States] meant earning at least $5 million a year, [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged that he wasn't sure how many houses he and his wealthy wife actually own." ... ""I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain responded to a question posed by Politico, according to a story Thursday on the publication's Web site. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."" ... "Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states, Arizona, California and Virginia. Newsweek recently estimated the two owned at least seven properties." ... "On the campaign trail, McCain doesn't refer to his wife's wealth, estimated by some at $100 million and based on her late father's Arizona beer distributorship." ... "According to her 2006 tax returns, Cindy McCain had a total income of $6 million." -By Douglass K. Daniel with contributions by Phil Elliott and Ann Sanner

-AP via -Yahoo

John McCain

Homes

Money

Politics

2008 Election

Working

Families

"McCain owns so many homes, he’s lost count." ... "It’s one thing to be so extraordinarily wealthy that you own multiple homes. It’s another to be so extraordinarily wealthy that you can’t even remember how many homes you own." ... "By one count, the actual number [of homes owned by 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain] is actually 10." ... "But in most respects, the exact number isn’t especially relevant. The point is a) McCain is so rich he owns a lot of homes; b) McCain is so out of touch he can’t even remember the number of homes he owns; and c) despite his extravagant wealth, McCain is anxious to push an agenda that favors the rich even more while screwing over the middle class and working families." -By Steve Benen

-TheCarpetbaggerReport.com

John McCain

Money

Politics

Phoenix

Arizona

Condo

2008 Election

"Two Become One." ... "I was wondering yesterday how it is that you manage to spend almost $4.7 million on a condo in Phoenix [Arizona], and the answer turns out to be that the McCains bought two luxury condos and combined them. The $4.66 million figure is the combined price of his cribs. What’s more, at 2211 Camelback you’re not just paying for a swanky pad, you’re getting top-notch amenities like an edgeless rooftop pool and a concierge staff prepared to cater to your every whim:"

"* Laundry and dry cleaning service with pick-up and delivery"
"* Personal spa services"
"* Travel and driver services"
"* Dining reservations and catering"
"* Special events tickets"
"* Shopping services"
"* Housekeeping and maintenance services"
"* Pet services, auto detailing, plant care, etc."
"* Business services"

" -By Matthew Yglesias

-ThinkProgress.org/Wonk Room

20080819

Prices

History

Energy

Labor

"Wholesale prices: Highest annual rate in 27 years: The Labor Department reports that its Producer Price Index increased by 1.2% in July and by 9.8% in the past year." ... "In another indication of growing inflation, wholesale prices increased in July to the highest annual rate in 27 years, according to a government report released Tuesday." ... "The annual Producer Price Index for finished goods rose 9.8% in the 12 months that ended in July." ... "The jump in wholesale prices is the fastest rate of increase since a 10.4% bump-up in June 1981, according to Joseph Kowal, economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics." ... "The Labor Department also reported that PPI rose 1.2% in July, after increasing 1.8% in June. Analysts polled by Briefing.com had expected an increase of only 0.6%." ... "The surge in producer prices is in large part due to higher energy prices, said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist for ChannelCapitalResearch.com."

-CNN

20080818

John McCain

Ralph Reed

Jack Abramoff

Criminal Investigation

Religion

Politics

Georgia

2008 Election

"McCain nets $1.75 million at Reed-linked event." .. "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain raised more than $1.75 million for Republicans Monday at a fundraiser [in Georgia's capital Atlanta] clouded by confusion over the role of a political operative connected to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff." .. "The downtown event was promoted by Ralph Reed, a former head of the Christian Coalition. McCain's campaign said the event was organized by the Republican National Committee — not Reed, who was linked to the Abramoff scandal that McCain investigated in the Senate." .. "A House investigative committee in 2006 did not call Reed as a witness, but concluded that he interceded with the [Republican President] Bush White House to help some of Abramoff's clients. Reed's public relations firm also received $4.2 million from Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters to fight the opening of casinos that could compete with Abramoff's Indian tribe clients." .. "Abramoff went to prison for conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion." -By Philip Elliott

-AP via -Yahoo

John McCain

Ralph Reed

Jack Abramoff

Money

Religion

Georgia

2006 Election

2008 Election

"Protesters mark McCain’s visit to Atlanta for fund-raiser." ... "More than 50 protesters marched in front of the Marriott Marquis [in Georgia's capital Atlanta] on Monday, shouting “Bush, McCain, same thing!”" ... "Across Peachtree Center Avenue, Georgia Democratic Party chairwoman Jane Kidd and state [Georgia Democratic state Senator] Sen. David Adelman (D-Atlanta) held a news conference to add a more official voice of protest." ... "Kidd blasted McCain for only coming to the state to raise money and not to meet with regular voters." ... "“Instead of listening to Georgians, John McCain chose to talk with people who have given him thousands of dollars,” she said." ... "That includes Ralph Reed, said Adelman." ... "Reed is the former head of the Christian Coalition who in 2006 [election] lost a bid for the Georgia GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] nomination as lieutenant governor after he was implicated, but not charged, in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in Washington." ... "Reed e-mailed supporters and friends to urge them to give to the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain campaign. Reed also instructed potential donors to send contributions directly to him. Reed told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he sent the e-mail at the request of the campaign and was given boilerplate language to use. He said he has no role in the campaign or in this event, something the McCain campaign confirmed." ... "But Reed’s involvement in raising money has been a source of ridicule and scorn from Democrats." ... "Reed, Adelman said, “has sold his influence with Christian conservative voters to the highest bidder.”" -By Aaron Gould Sheinin

-AJC

20080814

Barack Obama

John McCain

Ron Paul

Military

People

Overseas

Politics

History

Iraq

2008 Election

"Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama." ... "During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside: two or three hundred dollars -- or whatever they can spare -- towards a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon they come home." ... "According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul." -By Luke Rosiak

-OpenSecrets.org

Recipient	Total
Obama, Barack Paul, Ron McCain, John Huckabee, Mike Thompson, Fred Romney, Mitt Clinton, Hillary	$60,642 $45,512 $10,665 $7,950 $6,350 $5,550 $3,240

via: OpenSecrets.org

Michigan

Economic

History

Auto

Manufacturing

"[Michigan] State's jobless rate is 8.5%: Unemployed number remains steady as work force drops by 33,000. U.S. [United States] average is 5.7%." ... "The state's unemployment rate remained stubbornly high at 8.5 percent in July, the third consecutive month the jobless rate remained at a level not seen since the recession of the early '90s." ... "The rate remained steady not because the state stopped losing jobs -- a total of 29,000 positions were cut by employers with few new jobs added -- but because the number of people in the work force fell by 33,000." ... "Michigan's jobless rate -- far higher than the national rate of 5.7 percent -- is another sign the woes of the auto industry continue to grip the state. Since July 2007, the number of unemployed workers in the state has increased by 65,000 or 18.4 percent." ... ""With somewhat more than half of the year already in the books, it is pretty obvious that 2008 will be the fifth consecutive year of recession for Michigan," said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Inc." -By Louis Aguilar

-DetNews.com

20080813

Michigan

Economy

"Foreclosure fallout: Houses go for a $1." ... "One dollar can get you a large soda at McDonald's, a used VHS movie at 7-Eleven or a house in Detroit [Michigan]." ... "The fact that a home on the city's east side was listed for $1 recently shows how depressed the real estate market has become in one of America's poorest big cities." ... "And it still took 19 days to find a buyer." ... "The sale price of the home may be an anomaly, but illustrates both the depths of the foreclosure crisis in Detroit and the rapid scuttling of vacant homes in some of the city's impoverished neighborhoods." ... "The home, at 8111 Traverse Street, a few blocks from Detroit City Airport, was the nicest house on the block when it sold for $65,000 in November 2006, said neighbor Carl Upshaw. But the home was foreclosed last summer, and it wasn't long until "the vultures closed in," Upshaw said. "The siding was the first to go. Then they took the fence. Then they broke in and took everything else."" ... "The company hired to manage the home and sell it, the Bearing Group, boarded up the home only to find the boards stolen and used to board up another abandoned home nearby." ... "Scrappers tore out the copper plumbing, the furnace and the light fixtures, taking everything of value, including the kitchen sink." ... "So desperate was the bank owner of 8111 Traverse Street to unload the property that it agreed to pay $2,500 in sales commission and another $1,000 bonus for closing the $1 sale; the bank also will pay $500 of the buyer's closing costs. Throw in back taxes and a water bill, and unloading the house will cost the bank about $10,000." -By Ron French

-DetNews.com

John McCain

Randy Scheunemann

Money

Politics

Georgia

Russia

Military

Arizona

2008 Election

"While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia: Campaign Dismisses Timing of Phone Call, Contract." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic." ... "The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington." ... "The McCain campaign said Georgia's lobbying contract with Orion Strategies had no bearing on the candidate's decision to speak with President Mikheil Saakashvili and did not influence his statement. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers." ... "But ethics experts have raised concerns about former lobbyists for foreign governments providing advice to presidential candidates about those same countries. "The question is, who is the client? Is the adviser loyal to income from a foreign client, or is he loyal to the candidate he is working for now?" said James Thurber, a lobbying expert at American University. "It's dangerous if you're getting advice from people who are very close to countries on one side or another of a conflict."" ... "For months while McCain's presidential campaign was gearing up, Scheunemann held dual roles, advising the candidate on foreign policy while working as Georgia's lobbyist. Between Jan. 1, 2007, and May 15, 2008, the campaign paid Scheunemann nearly $70,000 to provide foreign policy advice. During the same period, the government of Georgia paid his firm $290,000 in lobbying fees." ... "Since 2004, Orion has collected $800,000 from the government of Georgia." -By Matthew Mosk and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum with contributions by Alice Crites

-WashingtonPost

John McCain

Randy Scheunemann

Politics

Georgia

Russia

Taiwan

Macedonia

Romania

Latvia

Law

2008 Election

"McCain adviser got money from Georgia." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia." ... "The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue." ... ""Scheunemann's work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain's judgment in choosing someone who — and whose firm — are paid to promote the interests of other nations," said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. "So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations."" ... ""If McCain wants advice from someone whose private interests as a once and future lobbyist may affect the objectivity of the advice, that's his choice to make."" ... "Scheunemann's firm lobbied McCain's office on four bills and resolutions regarding Georgia, with McCain as a co-sponsor or supporter of all of them." ... "In addition to the 49 contacts with McCain or his staff regarding Georgia, Scheunemann's firm has lobbied the senator or his aides on at least 47 occasions since 2001 on behalf of the governments of Taiwan and Macedonia, which each paid Scheunemann and his partner Mike Mitchell over half a million dollars; Romania, which paid over $400,000; and Latvia, which paid nearly $250,000." -By Pete Yost

-AP via -Yahoo

20080812

John McCain

Ralph Reed

Jack Abramoff

Grover Norquist

Politics

Georgia

Arizona

2008 Election

"McCain ignoring calls to cancel controversial fundraiser." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain so far is ignoring calls from several watchdog groups to cancel an Atlanta [Georgia] fundraiser promoted by [Georgia Republican] Ralph Reed, a longtime friend and business partner of imprisoned [Republican] lobbyist Jack Abramoff." ... "Public Citizen, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Campaign Money Watch are urging the Arizona senator to cancel plans for the [August] Aug. 18 fundraiser at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and remove Reed from McCain’s Victory 2008 Team." ... "Reed lost his 2006 campaign for Georgia lieutenant governor in large part because of details about his relationship with Abramoff — much of the information uncovered by McCain’s Indian Affairs Committee investigation into the wide-ranging lobbying corruption scandal." ... "The Senate probe discovered $4 million in payments Reed accepted to run a bogus anti-casino campaign aimed at reducing gambling competition. An Indian tribe with a competing casino made payments to Reed, which according to the Senate investigation’s final report, were “passed through” Abramoff’s firm, Preston, Gates, Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, and another organization, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform." -By Susan Crabtree

-TheHill.com

Bob Perry

Bob Schaffer

Colorado

Texas

Money

Politics

2008 Election

"Swift Boat Vet Financier Dumping Huge Money Into Key Senate Race." ... "[Texas Republican] Bob Perry, the wealthy businessman who bankrolled the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth to the tune of several million dollars, has a new cause: He's lavishing huge funds on the conservative group Club for Growth, which is in turn putting big money behind GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidates in key Senate races." ... "Perry has just plowed a whopping $400,000 into the coffers of the Club for Growth, the big right-wing group that advocates for conservative economic policies, the latest FEC [Federal Election Commission] records show." ... "Club For Growth, in turn, is now spending about $227,000 of that money to air an attack ad in Colorado against [Colorado Democratic Senate Candidate] Mark Udall, who is the presumptive Dem nominee is going up against scandal-plagued [Colorado Republican] GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer." -By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld

-ElectionCentral - TalkingPointsMemo.com

20080810

John Edwards

John McCain

Media

Politics

2008 Election

Obama

Family

People

Money

History

"Catching the Wrong John: Why Are the Media Talking about John Edwards' Infidelity If They Aren't Going to Talk about John McCain's?" ... "If John Edwards' infidelity is news, and he's not a candidate for anything, why isn't [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's? He reportedly had numerous affairs in the years after returning home from Vietnam to a beautiful wife who had been disfigured in a car accident, and ultimately, by his own reports, he zeroed in like a laser on beautiful a 25-year-old heiress upon meeting her one evening in 1979 while he was still married, promptly lied to her about his age, and almost as promptly left his wife for her. We all extol John McCain for enduring 5 years of extreme hardship in Vietnam. But aren't his first wife's circumstances much like Elizabeth Edwards'? After all, the first Mrs. McCain waited in agony (and presumably fidelity) during those five long years for her beloved husband to return from Vietnam, raising their children while he was away and undergoing dozens of painful operations herself, only to be repaid by a philandering husband who ultimately left her for a younger woman." ... "Now personally, I don't think anybody's sex life has any bearing on a campaign, except to the extent that the candidate runs as a hypocrite, extolling family values, fighting gays while fighting his own gay demons, etc. But John McCain is increasingly making this campaign about character, and his actions over many years suggest some worrisome patterns that fly in the face of the entire story he tells about himself. Setting aside his cheating on his first wife, what about his attending to something other than the people's business as a member of the Keating Five (and ultimately contributing to a bailout that cost middle class American taxpayers the equivalent of nearly half a trillion in 2008 tax dollars -- imagine the middle class tax break we could offer if we weren't still paying off the principal and debt on that boondoggle); or hiring the most dishonest, amoral campaign team money could buy in 2008; or generating one fabricated or grossly misleading charge after another against [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama in the last three weeks (as in his sleazy new tax ad where, for example, he says Obama would raise taxes on small businesses when Obama has never proposed anything of the sort)? Like [Republican] George W. Bush, he doesn't seem like a man who once was lost but now is found. He [McCain] seems more like a man's whose principles are soluble in self-interest." -By Drew Westen

-HuffingtonPost.com

20080806

John McCain

Oil

Politics

Military

2008 Election

Arizona

Calif

Fla

Iraq

International

"Bundler Collects From Unlikely Donors." ... "The bundle of $2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier [California], the manager of Rite Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge in Fullerton [California]." ... "But the man who gathered checks from them is no stranger to McCain -- he shuttled the Republican on his private plane and held a fundraising event for the candidate at his house in Delray Beach, Fla [Florida]." ... "Harry Sargeant III, a former naval officer and the owner of an oil-trading company that recently inked defense contracts potentially worth more than $1 billion, is the archetype of a modern presidential money man." ... "Some of the most prolific givers in Sargeant's network live in modest homes in Southern California's Inland Empire. Most had never given a political contribution before being contacted by Sargeant or his associates. Most said they have never voiced much interest in politics. And in several instances, they had never registered to vote. And yet, records show, some families have ponied up as much as $18,400 for various candidates between December and March." ... "Both Sargeant and the donors were vague when asked to explain how Sargeant persuaded them to give away so much money." ... "His firm, International Oil Trading Co. (IOTC), holds several lucrative contracts with the Defense Department to carry fuel to the U.S. military in Iraq." ... "The work has not been without controversy. Last month, [California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif. [Democratic-California]) initiated a review of IOTC's contract to determine whether it was overcharging the military for jet fuel, and to learn how the company, which did not submit the lowest bid, landed the contract to supply the fuel." (1, 2) -By Matthew Mosk with contributions by Ashley Surdin, Lucy Shackelford, Alice Crites and Julie Tate

-WashingtonPost

Barack Obama

John McCain

Oil

Companies

Politics

2008 Election

Ohio

Arizona

Working

Families

"Energy wars continue on trail." ... "In Youngstown [Ohio], [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama said that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain has "proposed an energy plan that’s nothing but four years more of the same," and that helps oil companies and not consumers, according to excerpts provided by the Obama campaign." ... "Obama says that "under [Arizona] Senator McCain’s plan, the oil companies get billions more, we don’t pay any less at the pump, and we stay in the same cycle of dependence on oil that got us into this crisis. The oil companies have placed their bet on Senator McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy.That’s the choice we face in this election. We can choose four years more of the same failed policies that have gotten us where we are. Four years more of oil companies calling the shots while hard working families are struggling. That’s what Senator McCain is offering."" ... "Obama then promotes his own plan for alternative energy and green-collar jobs." ... "Trying to reinforce Obama's point about McCain't ties to Big Oil, the Democratic National Committee posted a web video that shows McCain as a puppet whose strings are being pulled by oil company lobbyists." ... ""Big Oil in the White House. We've seen this show before," the video concludes. " -By Foon Rhee

-Boston/Globe

WATCH: McCain Oil Industry Lobbyists Puppet Masters ad

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Dick Cheney

Halliburton KBR

Blackwater

Corporate

Government

Disaster

Politics

Military

Peoples

Health

Investigators

Hurricane Katrina

Housing

Iraq

Cayman Islands

"No Crisis Is Immune From Exploitation Under Bush." ... [By HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:] "Tucked away on the Cayman Islands sits Ugland House, an unassuming, nondescript building of modest scale and size. However, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), this five-story office building is home to more than 18,000 corporate entities, nearly half of which have U.S. [United States] ties." ... "In the past few years, the number of corporations flocking to places like the Cayman Islands to evade U.S. taxes has exploded. One of these companies, [Republican Vice President Dick Cheney's] former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, has used offshore tax havens to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal taxes. To no one's surprise, instead of cracking down on KBR, the [Republican President] Bush administration has rewarded the company in April of this year with a 10-year, $150 billion contract in Iraq." ... "There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse are legion -- from KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract to AEY, Inc. [Incorporated], a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions to our allies." ... "But the fraud and waste are not limited to the war. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, for example, FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] awarded a contract worth more than $500 million for trailers to serve as temporary housing. The contractor, Gulf Stream, collected all of its money even though they knew at the time that its trailers were contaminated with formaldehyde." ... "While touting fiscal responsibility, [Republican] President Bush and his administration have lined the pockets of political cronies like Halliburton and Blackwater. While calling for earmark reform, the president has allowed no-bid and questionable contracting throughout the federal government to dwarf earmark spending by a 10-to-1 ratio." -By Hillary Rodham Clinton

-WSJ.com

Hacking

Business

Computer

Consumer

Data

Identity Theft

Privacy

Ukraine

China

"Theft ring accused of hacking 41 million credit card numbers." ... "Eleven people, including a U.S. [United States] Secret Service informant, have been charged in connection with the hacking of nine major retailers and the theft and sale of more than 41 million credit- and debit-card numbers, the Justice Department announced Tuesday." ... "The data breach is believed to be the largest hacking and identity-theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice, which said the suspects were charged with conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft." ... "Three of those charged are U.S. citizens, while the others are from places such as Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus and China."

-StarTribune

20080805

John McCain

Rick Davis

Foreign

Corporate

Politics

Airport

Transport

Jobs

2008 Election

Obama

Ohio

Arizona

German

"McCain had role in original Wilmington DHL deal." ... "When [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain meets Thursday with citizens and officials in Wilmington, Ohio, he won't need a playbook to understand why they're worried about deep job losses at the local freight airport." ... "Little known to those citizens, McCain and his campaign manager, Rick Davis, played roles in the fate of DHL Express and its Ohio air park as far back as 2003. Back then, however, their actions that helped DHL and its German owner, Deutsche Post World Net, acquire the Wilmington operations resulted in expansion, not retraction." ... "In a private meeting Thursday, Wilmington residents will ask McCain for help in stopping DHL's proposal to quit using the airport as a hub, which could cost more than 8,000 jobs. DHL says that it wants to stay in the freight business but that it can stem financial losses if it can put its packages aboard the planes of a rival - United Parcel Service - before delivering them in DHL trucks. UPS flies out of Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky], so the proposed change would render the Wilmington airport unnecessary." ... "None of that was anticipated in 2003, when McCain and Davis, who was a Washington lobbyist before managing the presidential campaign, first got involved. Several Wilmington civic leaders said that what happened in 2003 created an economic gain for their community, lasting several years." ... "But because that gain, and now the prospective loss, came from the decisions of a foreign-owned corporation, look for some Democrats and labor to seek to tie Wilmington's current troubles to McCain." ... ""Those jobs are on the chopping block because [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain and his campaign were involved in a deal that resulted in control of those positions being shifted to a foreign corporation, and there's no getting around that," said Joe Rugola, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO." ... "Isaac Baker, a spokesman for [2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, said, "This episode represents everything that's wrong with Washington, D.C." " -By Stephen Koff

-PlainDealer

John McCain

Oil

Politics

2008 Election

"Did New York couple give $61,600 to McCain, GOP?" ... "Alice Rocchio is an office manager at the New York headquarters of the Hess Corp. [Corporation], drives a 1993 Chevy Cavalier and lives in an apartment in Queens, N.Y. [New York], with her husband, Pasquale, an Amtrak foreman." ... "Despite what appears to be a middle-class lifestyle, the couple has written $61,600 in checks to John McCain's presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, most of it within days of McCain's decision to endorse offshore oil drilling." ... "At a June fundraiser, the Rocchios joined top executives at Hess Corp. — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hess, his wife, Susan, his mother, Norma Hess, and six other officials in giving a total of $313,500 to a joint McCain-RNC [Republican National Committee] fundraising committee, Federal Election Commission records show." ... "The donations, first traced by Campaign Money Watch last week, were part of $1.2 million in oil industry contributions to McCain's Victory '08 Committee, 73 percent coming after McCain reversed his long-held opposition to offshore oil drilling." -ByGreg Gordon

-McClatchyDC.com

CampaignMoney.org/mccainoil

John McCain

Oil

Money

Politics

2008 Election

New York

Texas

Ocean

Environment

"Oilman greases skids for McCain campaign: Among the donors from John B. Hess' company are an office manager and her husband, who pony up $57,000." ... "On June 10, John B. Hess, a top executive at the oil company with his family name, summoned friends to the 21 Club, a former speakeasy in Manhattan [New York], and delivered $285,000 to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain and the Republican National Committee." ... "A week later, McCain traveled to Texas and announced his support for offshore oil drilling." ... "Hess Corp. is an East Coast gasoline retailer with major refining and exploration operations, some of which happen to be offshore in the Gulf of Mexico." ... "Hess was one of half a dozen hosts who tapped friends for the maximum $28,500 donation to the GOP. Others included investor Henry Kravis and hedge fund mogul Paul E. Singer." -By Dan Morain

-LAtimes

20080804

Employers

"Looming job cuts march on - report: The number of job cuts announced in July jumps 26%." ... "Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement consultancy firm, said Monday that planned job cuts announced by employers in July jumped 26% to 103,312 from 81,755 announced in June. That's up 141% from a year ago, when employers announced planned job cuts totaling 42,897." ... "The July figure marks the second-highest number of planned job cuts this year, rivaling the May reading that showed 103,522." ... "The Challenger report follows a Labor Department report Friday that showed the nation's unemployment rate climbing to a four-year high of 5.7%. It was the worst reading since March 2004, and slightly worse than economists' forecast of 5.6%." -By Ben Rooney

-CNN

Money

Gasoline

Unemployment

"U.S. Economy: Inflation Erodes Buying Power, Tax-Rebate Effects." ... "The biggest increase in prices in almost three years eroded consumers' buying power, reinforcing speculation the Federal Reserve won't raise interest rates in the face of faster inflation and slow growth." ... "Consumer inflation in June climbed 0.8 percent, the most since September 2005, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Spending increased 0.6 percent, more than forecast, compared with a gain of 0.8 percent the prior month. Price jumps in petroleum and chemicals also swelled the value of orders to American factories in June." ... "Tax rebates from $168 billion in fiscal stimulus will provide only a temporary boost for Americans facing $4 a gallon gasoline and unemployment at the highest level since 2004. Fed officials, meeting tomorrow, must find a way to acknowledge the risk of accelerating inflation without signaling a rate increase that would worsen the economic slowdown, economists said." ... "The Fed's preferred gauge of prices, which excludes food and fuel, climbed 0.3 percent, more than economists forecast." -By Bob Willis and Shobhana Chandra

-Bloomberg

US_Debt

Government

Money

Countrywide Financial Corporation

Real Estate

North Carolina

New York

United Kingdom

"Fewest Treasury Traders Since 1960 Hit Taxpayers (Update4)." ... "For the first time since 1960, when it created the network of securities firms obligated to buy and sell Treasury bonds, the U.S. government has the fewest bond traders making markets in its debt and a bigger burden for American taxpayers financing record federal deficits." ... "The number of so-called primary government securities dealers declined to 19 last month when Bank of America Corp., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired the troubled Countrywide Financial Corp. The sale was the climax of dozens of bank failures, triggered by the biggest decline in residential real estate since the Great Depression and the seizing up of credit markets from New York to London [United Kingdom's capital]. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the agent of the U.S. Treasury, plans to shrink the dealers again when JPMorgan Chase & Co. completes its takeover of Bear Stearns Cos." ... "The paucity of primary dealers coincides with the largest borrowing requirement in American history and the acknowledgment by the administration of [Republican] President George W. Bush that the U.S. will finance a budget deficit totaling a record $482 billion next year. When the dealer system began 48 years ago with 18 firms, the U.S. had a $300 million surplus. The group has shrunk from a peak of 46 in 1988. " -By Sandra Hernandez

-Bloomberg

20080730

Pete Sessions

Texas

Nevada

Political

Entertainment

"'07 party hosted by Rep. Pete Sessions at Las Vegas adult club draws criticism." ... "A political party hosted by [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions at a Las Vegas [Nevada] adult club has jaws dropping." ... "The event, in March 2007 at a club called Forty Deuce, raised money for the Dallas [Texas] Republican's political action committee, People for Enterprise Trade and Economic Growth." ... "Aides to Mr. Sessions, a self-described conservative, and others said the act was a mild burlesque show, but some conservative activists were aghast that the event was held at an adult club." ... ""What's the difference?" asked Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum. "I don't think that it's representative of the constituents of the district. I'm in shock."" ... "[Pete Session chief-of-staff Guy] Mr. Harrison said Mr. Sessions has held the Vegas event for four years." -By Gromer Jeffers Jr.

-DallasNews.com

20080729

Pete Sessions

Nevada

Texas

Politics

Sports

Entertainment

"GOP Rep. Sessions' Defends His Burlesque Fundraiser." ... "We had never heard of a member of Congress holding a fundraiser at a Las Vegas [Nevada] burlesque nightclub... until now." ... "And the culprit is card-carrying conservative [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex. [Republican-Texas]). The same Pete Sessions who scolded Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for forcing "their liberal values upon the rest of the country" after their infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime striptease." ... "But that was then." ... "Now we learn that Sessions held a racey (for Washington) fundraiser for his leadership political action committee last year at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce nightclub in Sin City [Las Vegas]." ... "Sessions' PAC, called People of Enterprise, Trade and Economic Growth, paid $5,378 to rent out the entire Forty Deuce club last year, according to federal election records." -By Mary Ann Akers

-WashingtonPost

Consumer

Financing

"Home prices fell at record pace in May: S&P." ... "Falling home prices are seen at the crux of a growing crisis in foreclosures as homeowners find themselves "underwater," with the value of their homes now less than their loans." ... "Expectations that prices will continue to fall into 2009 also makes refinancing of loans tougher, leaving homeowners in high-cost mortgages peddled during the housing boom." -By Al Yoon with contributions by Theodore d'Afflisio

-Reuters

Homes

Nevada

Florida

Phoenix

Arizona

Los Angeles

San Diego

San Francisco

California

Florida

Michigan

Minnesota

Illinois

Ohio

Georgia

New York

Seattle

Washington

Massachusetts

Portland

Oregon

Colorado

Texas

North Carolina

"Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show." ... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix [Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego [California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa [Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC], down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down 9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City, New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts], down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%; Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%." -By Rex Nutting

-MarketWatch

US_Debt

History

Government

Politics

"Bush to leave a record budget deficit of $482 billion: [Republican President Bush] White House officials say the economy and a bipartisan stimulus package caused the worsening picture for 2009, but Democrats blame Bush's tax cuts and fiscal management." ... "Democrats on Capitol Hill blamed the revised deficit figures on Bush's large tax cuts and freewheeling spending." ... ""If we gave Olympic medals for fiscal irresponsibility, President Bush would take the gold, the silver and the bronze, because he's got the three highest record deficits ever," said [South Dakota Democratic Senator] Sen. Kent Conrad (D-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. "He sets records in every single category: 2009 would be the gold; 2004 the silver; 2008 the bronze."" ... "[South Carolina Democratic Representative] Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.) noted that Bush inherited a budget surplus from his Democratic predecessor, so the blame for the poor fiscal performance rests with him." ... ""Mr. Bush came to office with the biggest surpluses in history and he will leave office with the biggest deficit in history. That's the bottom line," said Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee." -By Maura Reynolds

-LAtimes

20080728

Jim Adkisson

Terrorism

Politics

Tennessee

Church

Gays

Jobs

Government

Food

Money

"Tennessee church shooter angry at "liberals"." ... "A man [Jim Adkisson] who opened fire inside a church, killing two people with a shotgun hidden in a guitar case, was frustrated at being unable to find a job and blamed liberals and gays, police said on Monday." ... ""It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Knoxville [Tennessee] Police Chief Sterling Owen told reporters of Sunday's incident at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church." ... "Suspect Jim Adkisson...." ... "... described his violent plans in a four-page letter found at his home, which also explained that his age and "liberals and gays" taking jobs had worked against him." ... "Another recent setback was that Adkisson's allotment of government-issued food stamps had been reduced, Owen said." -By Andrew Stern with contributions by Michael Conlon and Jackie Frank

-Reuters via -IHT.com

20080727

Barack Obama

John McCain

Media

Politics

Iraq

Pakistan

Afghanistan

Iran

Kuwait

Britain

Nuclear

Military

Terrorism

Gas

Money

2008 Election

"How Obama Became Acting President." ... "The growing [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama clout derives not from national polls, where his lead is modest. Nor is it a gift from the press, which still gives free passes to its old bus mate [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain. It was laughable to watch journalists stamp their feet last week to try to push Mr. Obama into saying he was “wrong” about the surge. More than five years and 4,100 American fatalities later, they’re still not demanding that Mr. McCain admit he was wrong when he assured us that our adventure in Iraq would be fast, produce little American “bloodletting” and “be paid for by the Iraqis.”" ... "Never mind. This election remains about the present and the future, where Iraq’s $10 billion a month drain on American pocketbooks and military readiness is just one moving part in a matrix of national crises stretching from the gas pump to Pakistan." ... "First, on July 7, the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, dissed [Republican President] Bush dogma by raising the prospect of a withdrawal timetable for our troops. Then, on July 15, Mr. McCain suddenly noticed that more Americans are dying in Afghanistan than Iraq and called for more American forces to be sent there. It was a long-overdue recognition of the obvious that he could no longer avoid: both Robert Gates, the defense secretary [of Republican President Bush], and [Admiral] Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had already called for_more American troops to battle the resurgent Taliban, echoing the policy proposed by Mr. Obama a year ago." ... "On July 17 we learned that [Republican] President Bush, who had labeled direct talks with Iran “appeasement,” would send the No. 3 official in the State Department to multilateral nuclear talks with Iran. Lest anyone doubt that the White House had moved away from the rigid stand endorsed by Mr. McCain and toward Mr. Obama’s, a former Rumsfeld apparatchik weighed in on The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page: “Now Bush Is Appeasing Iran.”" ... "Within 24 hours, the White House did another U-turn, endorsing an Iraq withdrawal timetable as long as it was labeled a “general time horizon.” In a flash, as Mr. Obama touched down in Kuwait, Mr. Maliki approvingly cited the Democratic candidate by name while laying out a troop-withdrawal calendar of his own that, like Mr. Obama’s, would wind down in 2010. On Tuesday, the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, announced a major drawdown of his nation’s troops by early 2009." -By Frank Rich

-NYTimes

20080722

Listen

Pete Sessions

Texas

Political

Lawmaker

Entertainment

"PACs put the fun in fundraising: Think all political contributions go toward campaigns? Maybe if those campaigns include golf trips and nights at the burlesque house. In the last installment of his PAC Men series, Steve Henn reports." ... "Monica Notzen is a Republican consultant who plans parties like this for lawmakers." ... "Basically, her job consists of calling lobbyists and other insiders and inviting them to parties. But to come, she tells them they have to contribute to a politician's leadership political action committee, or PAC, first." ... "[Texas Republican] Congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas, is one of Monica Notzen's clients and he doesn't see anything wrong with this picture."

"Pete Sessions: I don't think that lobbyists in and of themselves are deceptive or deceitful people. I don't have any problem with people going and doing things whether it's at a pool or horse racing. What bothers me is if you say one thing and do something else."

"In the past three years, unions and corporate executives contributed more than $77 million to these leadership PACs according to Federal Election Commission reports. Lobbyists kicked in millions more." ... "Working together, Notzen and Pete Sessions run one of the more successful PACs on Capitol Hill and last spring, Notzen's company planned an event for Pete Session's PAC in Vegas {Las Vegas, Nevada]: a fundraiser at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce."

"Sessions: That's right, we do a Las Vegas fundraiser every year and not only raise money, but see Las Vegas. It's a beautiful town."

"Henn: Forty Deuce is a strip club."

"Sessions: You know, I've never seen that. It is what I would call a burlesque show where there's a woman who comes out and has a dress on... Uh, she never get's naked. There's no nudity, there's no nudity in there."

"This is how the club's owner, Ivan Kane, describes his brand of burlesque."

"Ivan Kane: The key component would be to have girls who were dancers taking their clothes off, not just girls taking their clothes off."

"Sessions spent more than $5,000 at Kane's club that night in March, according to federal disclosures. Those reports show Sessions spent another $2,100 on his hotel." ... "Officially, Pete Sessions' leadership PAC picked up the tab, but just days before the party at Forty Deuce, casino interests donated $5,000 to his PAC. Payday lenders threw in another $2,500." -By Steve Henn

-Marketplace via -PublicRadio.org

20080718

Hillary Clinton

Women's

Medical

Science

Abortion

Language

Politics

Family

Federal

Money

New York

"Clinton vows to fight "insulting" abortion plan." ... "A [Republican President] Bush administration plan to define several widely used contraception methods as abortion is a "gratuitous, unnecessary insult" to women and faces tough opposition, [New York Democratic Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton said on Friday." ... "The former Democratic presidential candidate joined family planning groups to condemn the proposal that defines abortion to include contraception such as birth control pills and intrauterine devices." ... "It would cut off federal funds to hospitals and states where medical providers are obligated to offer legal abortion and contraception to women." ... ""We will not put up with this radical, ideological agenda to turn the clock back on women's rights," the New York senator told a joint news conference with New York [Democratic Representative] Rep. Nita Lowey, also a Democrat, at Bellevue Hospital." ... ""Women would watch their contraceptive coverage disappear overnight," said Clinton." (1, 2) -By Michelle Nichols with contributions by Ellen Wulfhorst and Eric Beech

-Reuters

20080715

Gordon Smith

Oregon

Politics

2008 Election

"Merkley surpasses Smith in quarterly fundraising." ... "Republican [Oregon Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith still has millions more than does his [2008 Election] Democratic challenger, Jeff Merkley. But for the most recent quarter, it was Merkley who came out ahead." ... "Merkley reported Monday that he raked in $1.42 million from April 1 through June 30. That is by far the most Merkley has raised in a three-month stretch and represents more than half his fundraising since getting into the race last summer. And it surpasses the $1.38 million Smith raised in the same quarter." ... "In all, Smith still holds a sizable lead: $9.73 million raised and $4.47 million cash on hand for the entire election, compared with Merkley’s $2.5 million total raised and $569,435 on hand." -By David Steves

-RegisterGuard

McCain

Obama

2008 Election

Politics

Law

"McCain uses 'bundler' money more than Obama campaign." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain's elite fundraisers have helped collect more than half of his presidential campaign money, while Democratic [2008 Election Presidential] rival Barack Obama has relied on his own top fundraisers for nearly one-fifth of his coffers, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "More than 500 top McCain fundraisers brought in at least $75.6 million, or about 53% of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's receipts through June." ... "Obama, who also counts more than 500 people among his main fundraising corps, has collected at least $50.1 million through them. That's about 17% of the presumptive Democratic nominee's receipts through May. He has not released June totals." ... "The money from these fundraisers illustrates how McCain, who co-authored a 2002 law curbing the influence of special interests in campaign finance, is relying on a group of well-connected Republicans to fuel his bid. It also demonstrates that Obama has turned to wealthy donors to help collect cash — even though the bulk of his donations are from contributors who give $200 or less." ... ""This really proves how enormously valuable it is to have a network of fundraisers out there shaking the bushes for you," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics. "For McCain, who wants to project an image as a maverick on reform, it is precisely the wrong message to be so reliant on this tiny set of well-heeled donors."" -By Fredreka Schouten

-USATODAY

20080714

Barack Obama

Military

Police

Iraq

Afghanistan

Iran

Pakistan