MASSACHUSETTS News:

"What you see in a terrorist -- that's called the invisible enemy. There has always been an invisible enemy. What you see in Iraq, basically, is a manifestation of what's going on in this unseen world called the spirit world. ... We need to think like Jesus thinks. We are in a time and a season of war, and we need to think like that. We need to develop that instinct. We need to develop as believers the instinct that we are at war, and that war is contending for your faith. ... Jesus called us to die. You're worried about getting hurt? He's called us to die. Listen, you know we can't even follow him unless you are willing to give up your life. ... I believe that Jesus himself operated from that position of war mode. Everyone say "war mode." Now you say, wait a minute Ed, he's like the good shepherd, he's loving all the time and he's kind all the time. Oh yes he is -- but I also believe that he had a part of his thoughts that knew that he was in a war."

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-FaceTheNation -CBSNews

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John McCain - Jon Kyl - 2008 Election - Arizona - Massachusetts - US - Iraq - Military - Terrorism - Politics - "In An Iraq-Related Hole, McCain Keeps On Digging." ... "Both the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator [John McCain] and his aides sought to brush away his factually inaccurate statement that American troops in Iraq were down to pre-surge levels." ... "Reminded that troops in Iraq currently number 155,000, well above the pre-surge level of 130,000, McCain refused to acknowledge on Friday that he had misspoke." ... ""I said we had drawn down," the Senator declared during a press conference ([]watch video). "I said we have drawn down and we have drawn down three of the five brigades. We have drawn down three of the five brigades. We have drawn down the marines. The rest will be home the end of July. That's just facts, the facts as I stated them."" ... "But that isn't what he stated. On Thursday, in fact, he made a very specific measurement as to the extent of troop reductions." ... ""I can tell you that it [the mission in Iraq] is succeeding," said McCain. "I can look you in the eye and tell you it's succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels."" ... "And that was just the beginning. McCain's gaffe had already been exacerbated during a conference call earlier in the day, when aides to the Arizona Republican insisted that he had not misspoke, even while McCain surrogate [Arizona Republican Senator] Sen. Jon Kyl acknowledged on the same call that he had: "What he said was not entirely accurate. OK. So what?"" ... "During the same Thursday conference when he [McCain] misstated troop levels, he also argued that conditions were "quiet" in Mosul [Iraq]. That same day, three suicide bombers killed 30 in the city." ... ""It is very disturbing to have John McCain continue to raise questions about what he knows and what he bases his judgments on," [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. John Kerry said. "If you don't know the number of troops, it is difficult to make a judgment as to whether they are overextended. ... It raises serious questions about his comprehension of this challenge."" -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

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WATCH "John McCain Misrepresents The Facts On The Ground," where he made the false assertion: "I can tell you that it [the Surge] is succeeding. I can look you in the eye and tell you it's succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels. Basra, Mosul and now Sadr City are quiet." --John McCain, Town Hall meeting, May 28, 2008.

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Mary Peters - Covert - Language - Law - Politics - Greenhouse Gases - Clean Air Act - Environmental - Transportation - Auto - Makers - Fuel - Economy - San Francisco - California - Massachusetts - US - Global - Climate - "Bush fuel economy rules swipe at California." ... "When the [Republican President] Bush administration announced proposed regulations Tuesday to raise fuel economy standards for cars and trucks to 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015, even some environmentalists applauded. But then they read the fine print." ... "Tucked deep into a 417-page "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" was language by the Transportation Department stating that more stringent limits on tailpipe emissions embraced by California and 17 other states are "an obstacle to the accomplishment" of the new federal standards and are "expressly and impliedly preempted" by federal law." ... "California Attorney General Jerry Brown called it a covert assault on California's rules. Environmentalists said the language will be used by automakers in their legal challenges to two recent federal court rulings that sided with the states." ... "The language showed that beneath the bipartisan veneer of support for new fuel economy standards - approved by [the Democratic controlled] Congress and signed by [Republican] President Bush in December - the conflict is still raging between the White House and the states over who will set the nation's first limits on greenhouse gases." ... "Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who announced the proposed rules Tuesday, acknowledged that the preemption language was included in the document." ... "The Supreme Court ruled in the Massachusetts vs. EPA case last year that the Transportation Department's authority to set fuel economy standards should not impede other efforts under the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gases." ... "[California Democratic Representative and] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D[Democratic]-San Francisco [California], responded: "The administration is continuing to block climate change progress by asserting that California doesn't have the right to move forward with its own global warming regulations. That is completely unjustified."" -By Zachary Coile -SFGate.com

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John McCain - Media - Accounting - Politics - Arizona - Massachusetts - 2004 Election - 2008 Election - "Several media outlets advanced comparison between Cindy McCain's and Teresa Heinz Kerry's release of tax info, ignoring key distinction." ... "Summary: Several media outlets have reported that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's campaign justified refusing to release Cindy McCain's tax returns by citing [2004 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Massachusetts Senator] Sen. John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, as "precedent." But they did not report that, in contrast with Cindy McCain, Heinz Kerry did release a part of her 2003 income tax return that showed "total income," which enabled The New York Times to analyze how she benefited from the [Republican President] Bush tax cuts. Such an analysis of how the McCains have benefited from the tax cuts -- which Sen. McCain supports extending permanently -- is not possible, based on the information his campaign has released on Cindy McCain's income." ... "These media reports, therefore, have advanced the McCain campaign's comparison between Cindy McCain's limited release of financial information and Heinz Kerry's, and in doing so, ignored a key distinction in the information they released: Unlike Heinz Kerry, Cindy McCain did not release sufficient information for the public to determine the extent to which she benefited from the tax cuts her husband supports extending." -MediaMatters.org

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