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ARCHIVES NEWS History News History Archives 2006 History Archives 2005 History Archives 2004 History Archives 2003 History Archives 2002 History Archives 2001 History Archives History Archives |
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Barack
Obama
- 
Hillary
Clinton
- 
Iowa
- 
2008
Election - 2004
Election - 
History
- "Obama:
Gore, Kerry Alienated "Half the Country"." ... "In
a speech this afternoon in central Iowa, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate] Barack Obama seems to have widened his criticism of the politics
of the past to encompass not only [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate] Hillary Clinton but [former Presidential Candidates] John Kerry
and Nobel Laureate Al Gore." ... "Making an argument for his electability,
Obama said, "I don't want to go into the next election starting off with
half the country already not wanting to vote for Democrats -- we've done
that in 2004, 2000," according to a person at the event (rush transcript)."
-By Glenn Thrush -Newsday.com
John
Edwards
- 
Music
- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- Farm
- History
- 
Working
- Poverty
- Race
- 2008
Election - "Edwards
Wins the Mellencamp Primary." ... "So it is that
[singer John] Mellencamp will come to Iowa Wednesday to close the [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards campaign off with
a "This Is Our Country" rally at the not-exactly-Hollywood Val Air Ballroom
in West Des Moines [Iowa]. (In case anyone is missing the point here, they
will be distributing the tickets from the United Steelworkers Local 310
hall.)" ... "Where [Oprah] Winfrey brought a big name but little in the
way of a track record on the issues that are fundamental to the rural and
small-town Iowans who will play a disproportional role in Thursday's caucuses,
Mellencamp is more than just another celebrity taking a lap around the
policy arena." ... "For a quarter century, the singer has been in the thick
of the fight on behalf of the rural families he immortalized in the video
for "Rain on the Scarecrow," his epic song about the farm crisis that buffeted
Iowa and neighboring states in the 1980s and never really ended." ... "Mellencamp
has not merely sung about withering small towns and farm foreclosures.
As a organizer of Farm Aid, he has brought some of the biggest stars in
the world to benefit concerts in Iowa and surrounding states, and he has
helped to distribute the money raised at those events to organizations
across Iowa." ... "Farm Aid is nonpartisan. It's not endorsing in this
race. But Mellencamp is. The singer, who this year will be inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but whose music remains vital enough to
have earned a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, was
lobbied for support by other campaigns, especially Clinton's. But he has
a long relationship with Edwards. He has an even longer relationship with
the issues that Edwards is talking about. Indeed, his credibility is grounded
in the recognition that Mellencamp has repeatedly taken career-risking
anti-war, anti-racist and anti-poverty stances that other celebrities of
his stature tend to avoid." ... "What matters, of course, is the fact of
that credibility -- and the fact that it is so closely tied to the farm
and rural issues that have meaning even in the more urbanized regions of
Iowa. That is why, if there is an endorsement that is going to have meaning
with the people who drive down country roads to attend caucuses on what
looks to be a very cold and unforgiving Thursday night, it is likely to
be that of the guy who proudly sings that, "I was born in a small town...""
-By John Nichols -TheNation.com
Economic
- Construction
- History
- "Sales
of New Homes in U.S. Dropped 9% to 12-Year Low (Update3)."
... "Sales of new homes in the U.S. fell to a 12-year low in November,
pointing to bigger declines in construction that will hobble economic growth
throughout 2008." ... "Purchases dropped 9 percent to an annual pace of
647,000 and October sales were revised down to a 711,000 rate, the Commerce
Department said today in Washington. Last month's sales were weaker than
the lowest forecast in a Bloomberg survey. " ... "A Bloomberg survey of
68 economists forecast sales would fall to an annual pace of 717,000 from
a previously reported 728,000 rate in October, according to the median
estimate. Economists' forecasts ranged from a low of 685,000 to a high
of 750,000." ... "Sales of new homes were down 34 percent from the same
time last year, the biggest 12-month drop since January 1991." ... "The
housing recession has deepened since the August turmoil in subprime mortgages
led to a worldwide credit shortage. Stricter borrowing standards and a
freeze on lending to borrowers with poor credit put mortgages out of reach
for more potential buyers. That's driving home prices lower, weakening
sales as people hold out for even bigger reductions." -By
Bob Willis -Bloomberg
Government
- Corporations
- Employee
- 
Retirees
- 
Health
- 
Law
- 
Politics
- History
- "U.S.
Ruling Backs Benefit Cut at 65 in Retiree Plans."
... "The [Republican President Bush run] Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits
for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare." ... "The
policy, set forth in a new regulation, allows employers to establish two
classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65
and more limited benefits — or none at all — for those older." ... "More
than 10 million retirees rely on employer-sponsored health plans as a primary
source of coverage or as a supplement to Medicare, and Naomi C. Earp, the
commission’s chairwoman, said, “This rule will help employers continue
to voluntarily provide and maintain these critically important health benefits.”"
... "But AARP and other advocates for older Americans attacked the rule.
“This rule gives employers free rein to use age as a basis for reducing
or eliminating health care benefits for retirees 65 and older,” said Christopher
G. Mackaronis, a lawyer for AARP, which represents millions of people age
50 or above and which had sued in an effort to block issuance of the final
regulation. “Ten million people could be affected — adversely affected
— by the rule.”" ... "The new policy creates an explicit exemption from
age-discrimination laws for employers that scale back benefits of retirees
65 and over. Mr. Mackaronis asserted that the exemption was “in direct
conflict” with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967." ... "Under
the new rule, employers may, if they choose, provide retiree health benefits
“only to those retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare.” Likewise,
the rule says, retiree health benefits can be “altered, reduced or eliminated”
when a retiree becomes eligible for Medicare." ... "Further, employers
will be able to reduce or eliminate health benefits provided to the spouse
or dependents of a retired worker 65 or over, regardless of whether benefits
for the retiree are changed." -By Robert Pear
-NYTimes
US
- 
Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- 
Worldwide
- 
Military
- Government
- 
Accounting
- 
Terrorism
- Politics
- History
- 
Alaska
- 
Ted
Stevens - "Wars
Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says." ...
"The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
and the worldwide battle against terrorism -- nearly $15 billion a month
-- came last week from one of the Senate's leading proponents of a continued
U.S. [United States] military presence in Iraq." ... ""This cost of this
war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion
of that every month," [Alaska GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican Senator] Sen.
Ted Stevens (Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense
subcommittee, said in a little-noticed floor speech Dec. [December] 18."
... "While most of the public focus has been on the political fight over
troop levels, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported this month
that the [Republican President] Bush administration's request for the 2008
fiscal year of $189.3 billion [$189.3/12=$15.775 billion per month] for
Defense Department operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and worldwide counterterrorism
activities was 20 percent higher than for fiscal 2007 and 60 percent higher
than for fiscal 2006." (1, 2)
-By Walter Pincus -WashingtonPost
Pakistan
- Terrorism
- Politics
- 
Police
- Religious
- 
Female
- History
- "Benazir
Bhutto assassinated." ... "Pakistan's former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in the wake of a suicide
bombing that killed at least 14 of her supporters, doctors, a spokesman
for her party and other officials said." ... "Bhutto suffered bullet wounds
in the aftermath of the bomb attack, TV networks were reporting." ... "Police
warned citizens to stay home as they expected rioting to break out in city
streets as a shocked Pakistan absorbed the news of Bhutto's assassination."
... "Bhutto, who led Paksitan from 1988 to 1990 and was the first female
prime minister of any Islamic nation, was participating in the parliamentary
election set for January 8, hoping for a third term." ... "A terror attack
targeting her motorcade in Karachi killed 136 people on the day she returned
to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile." -Contributed
to by Mohsin Naqvi -CNN
Consumer
- Money
- History
- "U.S.
Home Prices Fell 6.1% in October, Index Shows (Update2)."
... "Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in October by the most
in at least six years, a private survey showed today." ... "Property values
fell 6.1 percent from October 2006, more than forecast, after dropping
4.9 percent in September, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price
index. The decrease was the biggest since the group started keeping year-over-year
records in 2001. The index has fallen every month this year." ... "Prices
will probably remain under pressure as the jump in foreclosures puts even
more homes on the market just as stricter lending rules make it harder
for buyers to find financing. Declining values make it harder for owners
to tap home equity for extra cash, posing a risk to consumer spending."
-By Joe Richter and Courtney Schlisserman
-Bloomberg
Mitt
Romney
- Political
- Corporation- Marketing
- History
- Gay-Rights
- Pro-Choice
- Stem
Cell - 
Science
- Health
- Law
- Religious
- Salt
Lake City - 
Utah
- 
Massachusetts
- 
New
Hampshire - US
- Torture
- Prison
- Guantanamo
Bay - 
Cuba
- 2008
Election - "Romney
should not be the next president." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt] Romney's main business experience
is as a management consultant, a field in which smart, fast-moving specialists
often advise corporations on how to reinvent themselves. His memoir is
called Turnaround - the story of his successful rescue of the 2002 Winter
Olympics in Salt Lake City [Utah] - but the most stunning turnaround he
has engineered is his own political career." ... "If you followed only
his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, you might imagine Romney as a
pragmatic moderate with liberal positions on numerous social issues and
an ability to work well with Democrats. If you followed only his campaign
for president, you'd swear he was a red-meat conservative, pandering to
the religious right, whatever the cost. Pay attention to both, and you're
left to wonder if there's anything at all at his core." ... "As a candidate
for the U.S. [United States] Senate in 1994, he boasted that he would be
a stronger advocate of gay rights than his opponent, [Massachusetts Democratic
Senator] Ted Kennedy. These days, he makes a point of his opposition to
gay marriage and adoption." ... "There was a time that he said he wanted
to make contraception more available - and a time that he vetoed a bill
to sell it over-the-counter." ... "The old Romney assured voters he was
pro-choice on abortion. "You will not see me wavering on that," he said
in 1994, and he cited the tragedy of a relative's botched illegal abortion
as the reason to keep abortions safe and legal. These days, he describes
himself as pro-life." ... "There was a time that he supported stem-cell
research and cited his own wife's multiple sclerosis in explaining his
thinking; such research, he reasoned, could help families like his. These
days, he largely opposes it. As a candidate for governor, Romney dismissed
an anti-tax pledge as a gimmick. In this race, he was the first to sign."
... "In the 2008 campaign for president, there are numerous issues on which
Romney has no record, and so voters must take him at his word. On these
issues, those words are often chilling. While other candidates of both
parties speak of restoring America's moral leadership in the world, Romney
has said he'd like to "double" the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay [Cuba],
where inmates have been held for years without formal charge or access
to the courts. He dodges the issue of torture - unable to say, simply,
that waterboarding is torture and America won't do it." ... "When New Hampshire
partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary,
we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions
and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves
and the rest of the world, we'll know it." ... "Mitt Romney is such a candidate.
New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no."
-ConcordMonitor.com
Mitt
Romney
- Civil
Rights - Race
- History
- 2008
Election - "Romney
never saw father on King march: Defends figurative
words; evidence contradicts story." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] Mitt Romney acknowledged yesterday that he never saw his father
march with Martin Luther King Jr. as he asserted in a nationally televised
speech this month, and historical evidence shows that Michigan's Governor
George Romney and the civil rights leader never did march together." ...
"Romney said his father had told him he had marched with King and that
he had been using the word "saw" in a "figurative sense."" ... "But historical
evidence, including news accounts at the time, shows that George Romney
never marched with King, though he supported King's agenda." ... "Romney
has repeated the story of his father marching with King in some of his
most prominent presidential campaign appearances, including the "Tonight"
show with Jay Leno in May, his address on faith and politics Dec. 6 in
Texas, and on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday, when he was questioned
about the Mormon Church's ban on full participation by black members. He
said that he had cried in his car in 1978 when he heard the ban had ended,
and added, "My father marched with Martin Luther King."" ... "Mitt Romney
went a step further in a 1978 interview with the Boston Herald. Talking
about the Mormon Church and racial discrimination, he said: "My father
and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit.""
... "Yesterday, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom acknowledged that was
not true. "Mitt Romney did not march with Martin Luther King," he said
in an e-mail statement to the Globe." -By Michael
Levenson -BostonGlobe
Mitt
Romney
- Pro-Choice
- Stem
Cells - Illegal
- Immigrant
- Health
- Crime
- Politics
- History
- Massachusetts
- 
Michigan
- 2008
Election - "King
said George Romney didn't march: But, as usual, the
truth wasn't good enough for Mitt." ... "Running for Senate in Massachusetts,
in 1994, and trying to establish pro-choice credibility that he had done
nothing to earn, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt]
Romney told stories about his mother, Lenore Romney, running on a strong
pro-choice platform in her own unsuccessful bid for public office in 1970.
Those tales were debunked by Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara."
... "Then, as now, Romney tried to buttress his statement with weak documentation
at odds with the precision of the claim: in that case, Romney provided
the Globe with a vaguely-worded campaign document that could be read as
supporting the pre-Roe v Wade status quo, in which abortion was a felony
in Michigan. ''I support and recognize the need for more liberal abortion
rights while reaffirming the legal and medical measures needed to protect
the unborn and pregnant woman [sic]," the document read." ... "Again, at
that time, Romney did not just pass along falsehood as fact. He sold it
as personal truth, speaking of the painful memories of a close relative's
death, from complications of an illegal abortion." ... "Romney was telling
that tale, of course, when it was politically expedient to be pro-choice.
Today, needing to be pro-life, he has a new, highly personal and emotional
tale of personal conversion after a doctor showed him how stem cells are
handled in research — another specific but uncorroborated story, about
which even the doctor involved has expressed skepticism." ... "Romney once
favored gun control; now, needing gun-rights voters, he has falsely claimed
to be a "lifelong hunter" and to have been endorsed in 2002 by the National
Rifle Association – an endorsement the NRA never gave him. Needing to establish
anti-illegal-immigrant credentials, he boasts of an attitude that he never
displayed while governor — when he expressed no concern over several "sanctuary
cities" in the state — until the very end of his term, when he had turned
his attention to the Republican Presidential nomination." ... "This week,
he finds the need to attack [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidat]
Mike Huckabee on crime, and so Romney has re-invented his record there,
falsely claiming, in a new ad, to have cracked down on methamphetamine."
... "It is not just that these are untruths. They are the actions of a
man desperate to cater to the whims of his audience. What they want, he
must appear to be. " -By David S. Bernstein
-ThePhoenix.com
Mitt
Romney
- Civil
Rights - Race
- Politics
- Michigan
- Massachusetts
- 
Texas
- 2008
Election - "Romney
fields questions on King: Campaign says claim not
literal." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney
has said he watched his father, the late Michigan Gov. [Governor] George
Romney, in a 1960s civil rights march in Michigan with Martin Luther King
Jr." ... "On Wednesday, Romney's campaign said his recollections of watching
his father, an ardent civil rights supporter, march with King were meant
to be figurative." ... ""He was speaking figuratively, not literally,"
Eric Fehrnstrom, spokesman for the Romney campaign, said of the candidate."
... "The campaign was responding to questions raised by the Free Press
and other media after a Boston [Massachusetts] publication challenged the
accuracy of Mitt Romney's account." ... "In a major speech on faith and
politics earlier this month in Texas, Mitt Romney said: "I saw my father
march with Martin Luther King."" ... "He made a similar statement Sunday
during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." He said, "You can see what
I believed and what my family believed by looking at our lives. My dad
marched with Martin Luther King. My mom was a tireless crusader for civil
rights."" -By Todd Spangler and Alice Pepper
-FreeP.com
Mitt
Romney
- 
Rudy
Giuliani
- 
Mike
Huckabee - 
Tom
Tancredo - Criminal
- Illegal
- Employer
- Immigrants
- Employees
- Language
- Terrorism
- History
- 
Colo
- 
New
York
- 
Arkansas
- US
- 
Mexican
- 
People- Noteworthy
- 2008
Election - "GOP
hopefuls run in a hypocrisy derby." ... "Everybody
knows that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney
was running - as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy
Giuliani put it - a "sanctuary mansion." But not many people know that
he was not the only one." ... "No less an anti-immigrant zealot than [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Colorado Representative]
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.[Republican-Colorado]), the would-be President
who built a failing campaign on the single issue of persecuting "criminal
aliens" - as he is fond of calling undocumented immigrants - also has a
few skeletons in his closet." ... "Listen to this: Five years ago, when
Tancredo wanted to install a home theater and make other renovations in
his house, he had no qualms hiring a contractor that - gasp! - also employed
undocumented workers." ... "The man who had said, "[The face of illegal
immigration] is the face of murder. It is the face of infiltration into
the country of people who are coming to do us great harm," wasn't at all
troubled by the fact that only two in the crew of five or six laborers
spoke English." ... "[In 1994, then New York Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani
said] "If you come here and you work hard, and you happen to be in an undocumented
status, you're one of the people who we want in this city," he told The
New York Times in 1994." ... "While in Arkansas, he [Arkansas Republican
Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee]
was instrumental in bringing a Mexican Consulate to Little Rock [Arkansas's
capital]. That consulate issued thousands of identification forms that
now, after he has become a presidential hopeful, Huckabee has begun to
call "illegal immigrant identification cards."" ... "And do not forget
that if he is elected President, he has vowed to expel the nation's estimated
12 million undocumented immigrants within 120 days, which comes to deporting
100,000 people per day." -By Albor Ruiz -NYDailyNews.com
Stephen
Johnson - 
Mary
E Peters
- 
Dick
Cheney
- Government
- Political
- 
Gas
- 
Auto
- Makers
- 
Fuel
- Economy
- Laws
- 
Environmental
- Health
- Safety
- American
- People
- Transportation
- 
California
- History
- Global
- 
Climate
- Clean
Air Act - "EPA
blocks California bid to limit greenhouse gases from cars."
... "The [Republican President] Bush administration blocked efforts by
California and 16 other states Wednesday to limit greenhouse gas emissions
from cars and trucks, setting up a political and legal fight over whether
states can take a lead role in combatting global warming." ... "[Republican
President Bush's] Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen
Johnson rejected California's request for a waiver from the federal government
to impose its tough tailpipe emissions standards. The other states were
poised to adopt similar rules if California's request was granted." ...
"The states represent nearly half the U.S. [United States] population,
and their laws would effectively require automakers to cut greenhouse gas
emissions nationwide, despite [Republican] President Bush's rejection of
mandatory national standards." ... "Johnson said Congress' passage of an
energy bill this week that raises fuel economy standards for all cars and
trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 made the state laws unnecessary."
... "California officials said they believed Johnson had long ago decided
to oppose the state's waiver, and said he was using the newly passed energy
bill as an excuse. Nothing in the new law prevents states from taking stronger
action, they said." ... ""I find this disgraceful," said [California Democratic
Senator] Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.[Democratic-California], who helped
write the fuel-economy law. "The passage of the energy bill does not give
the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] a green light to shirk its responsibility
to protect the health and safety of the American people from air pollution.""
... "It was the first time the EPA has flat-out denied a waiver request
by California under the Clean Air Act. The law gives California special
authority to set stronger standards because the state has a long history
of smog and other air-quality problems." ... "California officials complained
that EPA's decision-making process for the waiver was tainted months ago
when documents revealed that Transportation Secretary Mary Peters led a
lobbying campaign to urge lawmakers to call the EPA and oppose the waiver
request." ... "Automakers have been meeting regularly at the White House
to discuss the new fuel-economy standards. The Detroit News reported that
[Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney met with the CEOs [Chief Executive
Officers] of Chrysler and Ford this fall to try to influence the policy."
-By Zachary Coile -SFGate.com
Secret
- 
Alberto
R Gonzales - 
David
S Addington - Dick
Cheney
- 
Harriet
E Miers
- Torture
- War
- Crimes
- 
Tapes- Censorship
- Law
- Politics
- Military
- Government
- 
Intelligence
- Terrorism
- History- US
- Iraq
- "Bush
Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes." ... "At least
four top [Republican President Bush] White House lawyers took part in discussions
with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether
to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives
from Al Qaeda, according to current and former administration and intelligence
officials." ... "The accounts indicate that the involvement of White House
officials in the discussions before the destruction of the tapes in November
2005 was more extensive than [Republican President] Bush administration
officials have acknowledged." ... "Those who took part, the officials said,
included Alberto R. Gonzales, who served as White House counsel until early
2005; David S. Addington, who was the counsel to [Republican] Vice President
Dick Cheney and is now his chief of staff; John B. Bellinger III, who until
January 2005 was the senior lawyer at the National Security Council; and
Harriet E. Miers, who succeeded Mr. Gonzales as White House counsel." ...
"It was previously reported that some administration officials had advised
against destroying the tapes, but the emerging picture of White House involvement
is more complex. In interviews, several administration and intelligence
officials provided conflicting accounts as to whether anyone at the White
House expressed support for the idea that the tapes should be destroyed."
... "One former senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the
matter said there had been “vigorous sentiment” among some top White House
officials to destroy the tapes. The former official did not specify which
White House officials took this position, but he said that some believed
in 2005 that any disclosure of the tapes could have been particularly damaging
after revelations a year earlier of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq."
... "The current and former officials also provided new details about the
role played in November 2005 by Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the chief of
the agency’s clandestine branch, who ultimately ordered the destruction
of the tapes." ... "The officials said that before he issued a secret cable
directing that the tapes be destroyed, Mr. Rodriguez received legal guidance
from two C.I.A. [Central Intelligence Agency] lawyers, Steven Hermes and
Robert Eatinger. The officials said that those lawyers gave written guidance
to Mr. Rodriguez that he had the authority to destroy the tapes and that
the destruction would violate no laws." ... "Current and former officials
said the two lawyers informed the C.I.A.’s top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, about
the legal advice they had provided." (1, 2)
-By Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane with contributions
by David Johnston -NYTimes
Gordon
Smith - 
Trent
Lott - Racism
- History
- 
South
Carolina - 
Mississippi
- 
Oregon
- "Gordon
Smith Defends Lott's Segregationist Comments." ...
"Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday morning, [Oregon Republican Senator]
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-OR [Republican-Oregon], offered a passionate defense
of the pro-segregationist comments made by his colleague and friend, [Mississippi
Republican Senator] Sen. Trent Lott, more then three years ago." ... ""I
was half way around the world when an event befell Trent Lott that shook
me deeply," Smith said, referencing Lott's 2002 remarks in praise of Dixiecrat
[South Carolina Republican Senator] Strom Thurmond's 1948 run for the White
House. "I was celebrating my re-election and on vacation. I watched over
international news as his words were misconstrued, words which we had heard
him utter many times in his big warm-heartedness trying to make one of
our colleagues, Strom Thurmond, feel good at 100 years old. We knew what
he meant. But the wolfpack of the press circled around him, sensed blood
in the water, and the exigencies of politics caused a great injustice...""
... "In 2002, Lott lost his Senate Republican Leader post after he was
quoted praising the staunch segregationist Strom Thurmond during Thurmond's
100th birthday party. "I want to say this about my state: when Strom Thurmond
ran for President, we voted for him," Lott boasted. "We're proud of it.
And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have
had all these problems over all these years, either."" ... "Lott apologized
repeatedly for his remarks, calling
them "insensitive," "repugnant" and "inexcusable" during an appearance
on a black-oriented cable channel." ... "Lott recently found himself back
among the leadership ranks. His election as minority whip in November 2006
came by a 25 to 24 vote. Sen. Smith
played a key role in the internal party election."
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
WATCH
Oregon Republican Gordon Smith defend Mississippi Republican Trent Lott's
celebration of South Carolina Republican Strom Thurmond's segregationist
run for President in 1948.
Fed
- Money
- Politics
- Investigate
- Law
- History
- People's
- 
Homes
- Consumer
- California
- New
York
- 
Wyo
- "Fed
Shrugged as Subprime Crisis Spread." ... "Until the
boom in subprime mortgages turned into a national nightmare this summer,
the few people who tried to warn federal banking officials might as well
have been talking to themselves." ... "Edward M. Gramlich, a Federal Reserve
governor who died in September, warned nearly seven years ago that a fast-growing
new breed of lenders was luring many people into risky mortgages they could
not afford." ... "But when Mr. Gramlich privately urged Fed examiners to
investigate mortgage lenders affiliated with national banks, he was rebuffed
by Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman." ... "In 2001, a senior Treasury official,
Sheila C. Bair, tried to persuade subprime lenders to adopt a code of “best
practices” and to let outside monitors verify their compliance. None of
the lenders would agree to the monitors, and many rejected the code itself.
Even those who did adopt those practices, Ms. Bair recalled recently, soon
let them slip." ... "And leaders of a housing advocacy group in California,
meeting with Mr. Greenspan in 2004, warned that deception was increasing
and unscrupulous practices were spreading." ... "John C. Gamboa and Robert
L. Gnaizda of the Greenlining Institute implored Mr. Greenspan to use his
bully pulpit and press for a voluntary code of conduct." ... "“He never
gave us a good reason, but he didn’t want to do it,” Mr. Gnaizda said last
week. “He just wasn’t interested.”" ... "“The Federal Reserve could have
stopped this problem dead in its tracks,” said Martin Eakes, chief executive
of the center [Center for Responsible Lending]. “If the Fed had done its
job, we would not have had the abusive lending and we would not have a
[home] foreclosure crisis in virtually every community across America.”"
... "Mr. Greenspan and other Fed officials repeatedly dismissed warnings
about a speculative bubble in housing prices. In December 2004, the New
York Fed issued a report bluntly declaring that “no bubble exists.” Mr.
Greenspan predicted several times — incorrectly, it turned out — that housing
declines would be local but almost certainly not nationwide." ... " “Why
are the most risky loan products sold to the least sophisticated borrowers?”
Mr. Gramlich asked in a speech he prepared last August for the Fed’s symposium
in Jackson Hole, Wyo[Wyoming]. “The question answers itself — the least
sophisticated borrowers are probably duped into taking these products.”"
(1, 2,
3)
-By Edmund L. Andrews with contributions by Gretchen
Morgenson -NYTimes
Mitt
Romney
- Abortion-Rights
- Money
- 
Parent
- Mass
- History
- 2008
Election - "Romney
Attended Planned Parenthood Fundraiser in 1994."
... "ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] Mitt Romney attended a fund-raising reception for Planned Parenthood
in 1994 in conjunction with a $150 donation his wife made to the organization
-- notwithstanding Romney's contention that he had "no recollection" of
the circumstances under which his wife gave money to the abortion-rights
group." ... "In the photograph obtained by ABC News, Romney and his wife,
Ann, are shown in a yellow-and-white tent chatting with local political
activists, including Nicki Nichols Gamble, who was then president and CEO
of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts." ... "Nichols Gamble
-- whose back is the camera in the photograph -- told ABC that the event
was a Planned Parenthood fundraising "house party" in Cohasset, Mass.,
in June 1994. At the time, Romney, R-Mass., was locked in a tight Senate
campaign with [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.,
and was touting his support for abortion rights." ... "That event, Nichols
Gamble said, was the occasion where Ann Romney wrote her $150 check --
drafted on a joint checking account she had with her husband -- to Planned
Parenthood of Massachusetts." ... ""They were both there, and I remember
very well chatting with both of them, and talking about his support for
the pro-choice agenda," she said. "We talked about the fact that he was
taking a pro-choice position on the issues, and we were very pleased about
that."" -By Rick Klein -ABCNEWS.com
Ron
Paul
- Mitt
Romney
- Politics
- History
- 
Online
- 2008
Election - 2004
Election - "Ron
Paul Supporters Make History with $6 Million Online Haul -- Updated."
... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul made history
Sunday by raising $6 million in online contributions in 24 hours, breaking
the record for the most money raised by a national candidate in a single
day, and potentially putting Paul on track to surpass the fourth quarter
fund raising of all of his competitors in both parties." ... ""I just think
it's extraordinary," says Anthony J. Corrado, a campaign finance expert
and professor of government at Colby College in Maine. "In my view, I expect
that Ron Paul will raise more money than any other candidate this quarter.
At this point, his main competition will be [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] (Mitt) Romney's checkbook."" ... "The $6 million number beats
the 2004 [Election] record set by Democratic presidential nominee John
Kerry, who raised $5.7 million after he gave his nomination speech." -By
Sarah Lai Stirland -Wired
Mitt
Romney
- Abortion- Gay
- Money
- Law
- History
- Massachusetts
- 2008
Election - "Romney
Defends Charges Of Flip-Flopping: Says He Will Keep
Campaign Promises Despite Changing Views On Abortion, Same-Sex Rights."
... "Republican [2008 Election Presidenticdal Candidate] Mitt Romney sought
Sunday to deflect charges that he is a flip-flopper, insisting he had learned
from experience and could be counted on to keep his campaign promises if
elected president." ... "Romney acknowledged changing his views in 2004
from supporting abortion rights to opposing abortion. He said he did not
entirely betray abortion-rights voters, either, because he did not seek
to change Massachusetts abortion laws." ... "Romney said he promised not
to raise taxes as governor and did not go back on his word by raising fees
by about $240 million to help balance the budget. The fees were on services
such as gun licenses and training to combat domestic violence." ... "Romney
acknowledged that he initially supported federal efforts to ban discrimination
based on sexual orientation, but now only supports such laws at the state
level. In an unsuccessful Senate run in 1994, Romney promised to be "more
effective on gay rights in the Senate than [Massachusetts Democratic Senator]
Ted Kennedy."" -AP
via -CBSNews
John
Edwards
- Online
- Finance
- Law
- Politics
- History
- 
North
Carolina - 2008
Election - "FEC
Rules Against Online Fundraiser ActBlue and John Edwards."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and] Former North
Carolina senator John Edwards can't match up the more than $4 million he's
raised from thousands of individuals through an innovative online raising
hub because of an outdated 1971 campaign finance law." ... "The Federal
Election Commission [FEC] on Friday decided that the more than $4.2 million
raised for the Democratic presidential candidate by ActBlue
doesn't conform to what's defined as individual contributions under federal
regulations, and thus can't be eligible for matching funds under the public
financing system that the candidate opted for earlier this year." ... ""A
matchable contribution consists of 'a gift of money made by a written instrument
which identifies the person making the contribution by full name and mailing
address,'" wrote FEC attorneys in an opinion that the commission approved
Friday afternoon. "The Matching Payment Act specifically excludes from
the definition of matchable contribution 'funds received by a political
committee which are transferred to that committee from another committee.'""
... "ActBlue is registered as a political action committee." ... "The problem
is that the money that ActBlue sent along to John Edwards was sent as a
weekly agglomerated check rather than funneled along marked from individuals."
-By Sarah Lai Stirland
-Wired
Mike
Huckabee - Homosexuality
- Science
- Politics
- History
- Federal
- Funding
- Civil
Rights - 2008
Election - Arkansas
- "Huckabee
wanted to isolate AIDS patients." ... "[2008 Election
Repbulican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating
AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding
in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could "pose a dangerous
public health risk."" ... "[Campaigning unsuccessfully to be an Arkansas
Senator] In 1992, Huckabee wrote, "If the federal government is truly serious
about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would
isolate the carriers of this plague."" ... ""It is difficult to understand
the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of
civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated
from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which
there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the
true health crisis it represents."" ... "When Huckabee wrote his answers
in 1992, it was common knowledge that AIDS could not be spread by casual
contact." ... "Also in the wide-ranging AP questionnaire in 1992, Huckabee
said, "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle,
and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."" -By
Andrew DeMillo -AP
via -Yahoo
Teen
- Women
- Government
- Science
- Money
- 
Education
- Politics
- History
- "First
rise in U.S. teen births since '91." ... "In a troubling
reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years,
surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about
abstinence-only sex education." ... "The birth rate had been dropping since
its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday,
government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006." ...
"The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials
said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new
upward trend." ... "However, some experts said they have been expecting
a jump. They blamed it on increased federal funding for abstinence-only
health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other
contraception." ... "The new teen birth numbe