April 2008 News History Archives

April 2008 News:
2008 Election News

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April 30, 2008 News URL: #April-30-2008-News
20080430 Wednesday

- Don Young - Connie Mack - Money - Politics - Law - Alaska - Michigan - Florida - Road - Real Estate
"Young blasts Mack over Coconut Rd.." ... "[Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) on Wednesday defended changes his staffers made to the notorious Coconut Road [in Florida] earmark, the third time in a year he took to the House floor in an attempt to justify one of his suspect pet projects." ... "Young also accused his GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] colleague, [Florida Republican Representative] Rep. Connie Mack (Fla.[Florida]), of first supporting the earmark in 2005, and then distancing himself from it once watchdogs and the media began raising concerns." ... "Ethics watchdogs have raised red flags over the Lee County, Fla., road project, the language of which was changed after that measure passed the House and the Senate but before it reached the president’s desk. Such a change may have violated House rules, which prohibit substantive alterations to bills during the enrollment process, the formal procedure in which a measure is recorded before it moves on to be signed by the president." ... "The earmark has been tainted by controversy. Lobbyist Rick Alcalde represented both FGSU [Florida Gulf State University] as well as the company owned by Daniel Aronoff, a real estate developer who owned 4,000 acres along Coconut Road and helped organize a fundraiser for Young during one of his visits to the area in 2005. Both entities requested the Coconut Road earmark." ... "Young flew to FGSU for a town hall meeting in 2005 on a chartered plane owned by a Michigan company; the owner told the Naples Daily News that the Aronoffs were among his biggest clients." ... "After the town hall, Young went directly to a fundraiser at the Hyatt Coconut Point, which Aronoff helped organize." ... "Young said Mack invited him to the town hall meeting." ... "Young also posted documents and photos on his website in an effort to demonstrate that Mack was deeply involved in the earmark. In one letter in March 2006 to FGSU’s president, Mack supported it." -By Susan Crabtree -TheHill.com

- John McCain - 2008 Election - Poll - Economy
"NBC/WSJ Poll: Bush a liability for McCain." ... "In the survey, 43 percent of registered voters say they have major concerns that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain is too closely aligned with the current administration." ... "According to the poll, 73 percent of respondents disapprove of [Republican President] Bush’s handling of the economy and 81 percent believe the United States is in a recession." (1, 2) -By Mark Murray -MSNBC

- US - Pakistan - Afghanistan - Iraq - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence
"US report says al-Qaida gaining strength." ... "Al-Qaida has rebuilt some of its pre-[September]Sept. 11 capabilities from remote hiding places in Pakistan, leading to a major spike in attacks last year in that country and neighboring Afghanistan, the [Republican President] Bush administration said Wednesday." ... "Attacks in Pakistan more than doubled from 375 to 887 between 2006 and 2007, and the number of fatalities jumped by almost 300 percent from 335 to 1,335, the State Department said in its annual terrorism report." ... "In Afghanistan, the number of attacks rose 16 percent, to 1,127 incidents last year, killing 1,966 people, 55 percent more than the 1,257 who died in 2006, it said." ... "The report said attacks in Iraq dipped slightly between 2006 and 2007, but they still accounted for 60 percent of worldwide terrorism fatalities, including 17 of the 19 Americans who were killed in attacks last year. The other two were killed in Afghanistan." -By Matthew Lee -AP via -SeattleTimes

- US - Worldwide - Intelligence - Terrorism - Politics
"More Suicide Bombers, New Tactics, More Victims: U.S. [United States] Has Bad News on Terror War." ... "Are we winning? Looking at the just-released State Department report on terrorism, the answer appears to be "no."" ... "The number of terror victims killed or injured is on the rise worldwide, according to the report, and al Qaeda's senior leadership has restored some of its control over the terror group's operations, and increased its mobility and ability to plan attacks." ... "Most dramatically, there was a 50 percent increase worldwide in suicide bombings last year. All told, 66,995 people were killed or wounded in terror attacks in 2007 (up from 59,327 in 2006 and 39,469 in 2005)." -By Jonathan Karl and Kirit Radia -ABCNEWS.com

- US - Pakistan - Afghanistan - Global - Usama bin Ladin - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence
"Country Reports on Terrorism 2007." ... "Chapter 1 -- Strategic Assessment." ... "AL-QA’IDA AND ASSOCIATED TRENDS: Al-Qa’ida (AQ) and associated networks remained the greatest terrorist threat to the United States and its partners in 2007. It has reconstituted some of its pre-9/11 operational capabilities through the exploitation of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), replacement of captured or killed operational lieutenants, and the restoration of some central control by its top leadership, in particular Ayman al-Zawahiri. Although Usama bin Ladin remained the group’s ideological figurehead, Zawahiri has emerged as AQ’s strategic and operational planner." ... "AQ and its affiliates seek to exploit local grievances for their own local and global purposes. They pursue their own goals, often at large personal cost to the local population. These networks are adaptive, quickly evolving new methods in response to countermeasures. AQ utilizes terrorism, as well as subversion, propaganda, and open warfare; it seeks weapons of mass destruction in order to inflict the maximum possible damage on anyone who stands in its way, including other Muslims and/or elders, women, and children." ... "Despite the efforts of both Afghan and Pakistani security forces, instability, coupled with the Islamabad [Pakistan's capital] brokered cease-fire agreement in effect for the first half of 2007 along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, appeared to have provided AQ leadership greater mobility and ability to conduct training and operational planning, particularly that targeting Western Europe and the United States. Numerous senior AQ operatives have been captured or killed, but AQ leaders continued to plot attacks and to cultivate stronger operational connections that radiated outward from Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe." -State.gov

- Lurita Doan - Money - Politics - Hatch Act - Investigation - Election - Law
"GSA Head Doan, Under Fire From Democrats, Resigns (Update1)." ... "Lurita Doan resigned as head of the [Republican President Bush run] General Services Administration following criticism from Democrats about her political activity and handling of contracts." ... "A House committee has investigated whether Doan used her office to support Republican political candidates and the awarding of a contract to a company that had been accused of fraud in earlier contracts." ... "GSA [General Services Administration], the government's acquisitions and property management agency, awards approximately $69 billion in contracts each year." ... "Doan has been investigated for allegedly asking GSA officials during a briefing how they could ``help our candidates,'' referring to Republicans, win the next election." ... "The Hatch Act prohibits partisan activity on government property. Six GSA political appointees who appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voluntarily testified that she made the statement about helping Republicans." -By Christopher Stern -Bloomberg

- Hillary Clinton - Indiana - Workers - 2008 Election - US - China - Military - Technology - Manufacturing - Corporation
"Clinton blasts Bush for not stopping a project Bill OK'd." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton loves to tell the story about how the Chinese government bought a good American company in Indiana, laid off all its workers and moved its critical defense technology work to China." ... "It’s a story with a dramatic, political ending. Republican President George W. Bush could have stopped it, but he didn’t." ... "If she were president, Clinton says, she’d fight to protect those jobs. It’s just the kind of talk that’s helping her win support from working-class Democrats worried about their jobs and paychecks, not to mention their country’s security." ... "What Clinton never includes in the oft-repeated tale is the role that prominent Democrats played in selling the company and its technology to the Chinese. She never mentions that big-time Democratic contributor George Soros [who also contributed to Republican John McCain's 2000 Presidential Candidacy] helped put together the deal to sell the company or that the sale was approved by her husband's [former Democratic President Bill Clinton's] administration." ... "In response, the Clinton campaign said that Bill Clinton's administration had gotten assurances at the time it approved the deal that production would remain inside the United States, and that the shift of jobs to China didn't occur until under the Bush administration." ... "In 2001, it [the Chinese manufacturing company] closed its original plant in Anderson, Ind[Indiana]." ... "And in 2003, it decided to close the Valparaiso [Indiana] plant, laying off its 225 workers." ... "Indiana politicians asked the Bush administration to intervene." ... "The [Republican President Bush] administration didn't block the move." -By Steven Thomma -McClatchyDC.com

- Agriculture - Factory - Companies - Poor - People - Nutrition - Health - US -  - World - Biofuel - Air - Soil - Water - Environment - Animals - Plants - Science
"Shortages Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: Fertilizer." ... "Some kinds of fertilizer have nearly tripled in price in the last year, keeping farmers from buying all they need. That is one of many factors contributing to a rise in food prices that, according to the United Nations’ World Food Program, threatens to push tens of millions of poor people into malnutrition." ... "Rising demand for food and biofuels prompted farmers everywhere to plant more crops." ... "Fertilizer companies are confident the shortage will be solved eventually, noting that they plan to build scores of new factories. But that will probably create fresh problems in the long run as the world grows more dependent on fossil fuels to produce chemical fertilizers." ... "The demand for fertilizer has been driven by a confluence of events, including population growth, shrinking world grain stocks and the appetite for corn and palm oil to make biofuel. But experts say the biggest factor has been the growing demand for food, especially meat, in the developing world." ... "Fertilizer is plant food, a combination of nutrients added to soil to help plants grow. The three most important are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The latter two have long been available. But nitrogen in a form that plants can absorb is scarce, and the lack of it led to low crop yields for centuries." ... "That limitation ended in the early 20th century with the invention of a procedure, now primarily fueled by natural gas, that draws chemically inert nitrogen from the air and converts it into a usable form." ... "Environmental groups fear increased use, particularly of nitrogen fertilizer made using fossil fuels. Because plants do not absorb all the nitrogen, much of it leaches into streams and groundwater. That runoff has long been recognized as a major pollution problem, and it is growing." ... "A barometer of the pollution is the rising number of dead zones where rivers meet the sea. In the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, nitrogen runoff from fields in the Corn Belt washes downstream and feeds plant life in the gulf. The algae blooms suck oxygen from the water, killing other marine life." (1, 2) -By Keith Bradsher and Andrew Martin -NYTimes

- Clinton - McCain - Obama - Infrastructure - Auto - Transportation - North Carolina - 2008 Election - Oil - Companies - Politics
"Clinton-McCain gas tax holiday slammed as bad idea." ... "The [gas] tax is used to fund the Highway Trust Fund that builds and maintains roads and bridges." ... "Economists said that since refineries cannot increase their supply of gasoline in the space of a few summer months, lower prices will just boost demand and the benefits will flow to oil companies, not consumers." ... ""You are just going to push up the price of gas by almost the size of the tax cut," said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama criticized the plan as pure politics and said the only way to lower the price of gas is to use less oil." ... ""It would last for three months and it would save you on average half a tank of gas, $25 to $30. That's what Senator Clinton and Senator McCain are proposing to deal with the gas crisis," he said on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina." ... ""This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's an idea designed to get them through an election."" (1, 2, 3) -By Alister Bull with contributions by Bill Trott -Reuters

- Chinese - Child - Labor - Human Rights - Politics
"Chinese children sold "like cabbages" into slavery." ... "Thousands of children in southwest China have been sold into slavery like "cabbages", to work as labourers in more prosperous areas such as the booming southern province of Guangdong [China], a newspaper said on Tuesday." ... "China announced a nationwide crackdown on slavery and child labor last year after reports that hundreds of poor farmers, children and mentally disabled were forced to work in kilns and mines in Shanxi province and neighboring Henan." (1, 2) -Contributed to by Nick Macfie and Valerie Lee -Reuters

- Racism - Texas - Prison - History - People - DNA - Human Rights
"DNA frees Texas man imprisoned for 27 years." ... "James Woodard [a black male], 55, spent more time in prison than any other wrongfully convicted inmate in U.S. [United States] history who was subsequently freed by DNA testing, local media reported." ... "He was also the eighteenth person freed in Dallas County [Texas] based on a post-conviction DNA analysis, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that specializes in righting grave miscarriages of justice." ... "That is more than any other U.S. county, highlighting problems in the local justice system that include what critics have said is a history of racism and racial profiling." -By Ed Stoddard with contributions by Todd Eastham -Reuters

- McCain - Clinton - Obama - Transportation - Infrastructure - Federal - Money -Arizona - New York - Illinois - 2008 Election - Labor_Day - Memorial Day -Consumer - Car - Gas - Politics
"What a gas: Candidates seem far less presidential when they talk about 'gas tax holidays' rather than the nation's ongoing needs." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's idea to give Americans a summer holiday from federal gas taxes is about as weighty as a Barbie Dream Car, yet he can't stop driving it into the ground." ... "Neither can [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton. The two presidential contenders can't resist the chance to pander to voters and, as a bonus, paint [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama as an elitist. By doing so, they're missing an opportunity to show leadership on some major long-term challenges -- such as updating the nation's crowded roads and aging bridges." ... "In a speech on April 15, McCain proposed that the federal government suspend the 18.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax and the 24.4-cent-per-gallon diesel tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. ... "McCain's idea is problematic on several levels. First, it would begin and end several months before the next president takes office, so it's more of a thought balloon than a plan. Second, the tax relief would save the typical American family only about $40 per car, while also siphoning $10 billion from the cash-strapped federal highway fund." ... "What's more, leading economists say the tax break would do little to lower the prices at the pump. More likely, the slightly lower prices would lead to higher demand, which would push the prices back up, allowing oil companies to make more money while federal tax coffers go hungry." ... "This is an election-year sop, not a plan for the future. " -Oregonian

- Military - NC -US - Afghanistan - Worldwide
"Army widens probe after finding bad conditions at Fort Bragg." ... "Army officials said Tuesday they are inspecting every barracks building worldwide to see whether plumbing and other problems revealed at Fort Bragg, N.C. [North Carolina], last week are widespread." ... "[Brigadier General] Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, who is responsible for maintaining barracks throughout the Army, told reporters at the Pentagon that most inspections were done last weekend but he had not seen final results." ... "Rogers said it was too soon to know whether the Fort Bragg problem was an isolated incident. He acknowledged the revelations from a video shot by the father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier showing poor conditions such as mold inside the barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage." ... "The soldier's father, Ed Frawley, said he was disgusted by the conditions that greeted his son and the rest of his 82nd Airborne unit that returned on April 7-8 after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan." -By Robert Burns -AP via -SeattleTimes

- Military - North Carolina
"Dad: 'Good things are happening' after Fort Bragg video." ... "A man who posted a video online showing deplorable conditions in his son's barracks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, said Tuesday that "good things are happening" regarding repairs." ... "Edward Frawley's 10-minute video shows still photos from throughout the barracks, which include shots of mold and rust in several areas. The video is posted on the popular file-sharing site YouTube and Frawley's business Web site." ... "Paint, which Frawley says is lead-based, is chipping off. Ceiling tiles are missing. A broken drain pipe allows sewer gas into the building, while another one has tissues stuffed into it in an apparent effort to stop the gas from coming in." ... "Photos from the communal bathroom show some of the most disturbing images. In one, a soldier stands in a sink to avoid what Frawley says is 3 inches of sewage that covered the floor when toilets overflowed." ... "At times, "sewage water backs up into the sinks in the lower floors of these barracks," Frawley says in his narration." -

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Media - Politics - Religion - 2008 Election - Maryland
"Is Jeremiah Wright a colossal disaster for Barack Obama or a press trick?" ... "The [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright couldn't have done more damage to Barack Obama's campaign if he had tried. And you have to wonder if that's just what one friend of Wright wanted." ... "Shortly before he rose to deliver his rambling, angry, sarcastic remarks at the National Press Club Monday, Wright sat next to, and chatted with, Barbara Reynolds." ... "It also turns out that Reynolds - introduced Monday as a member of the National Press Club "who organized" the event - is an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter." ... "On a blog linked to her Web site- www.reynoldsnews.com- Reynolds said in a February post: "My vote for Hillary in the Maryland primary was my way of saying thank you" to Clinton and her husband for the successes of Bill Clinton's presidency." ... "Wright has, unquestionably, been caricatured and vilified unfairly. The feeding programs, prison outreach and other social services he has built over more than 30 years are commendable, and his reading of the Judeo-Christian tradition as an epic story of people trying to escape slavery is far more right than wrong - and not something to be caricatured or compressed into a 10-second sound bite." ... "But Wright should have known - and his friend and ally Reynolds, a media professional, surely knew - that bickering with the press can only harm Wright and, by extension, Obama. " -By Errol Louis -NYDailyNews.com

- Barack Obama - 2008 Election - Religion - Politics
"The Pastor Casts a Shadow." ... "The [Reverend] Rev. Jeremiah Wright went to Washington on Monday not to praise Barack Obama, but to bury him." ... "Smiling, cracking corny jokes, mugging it up for the big-time news media — this reverend is never going away. He’s found himself a national platform, and he’s loving it." ... "It’s a twofer. Feeling dissed by Senator Obama, Mr. Wright gets revenge on his former follower while bathed in a spotlight brighter than any he could ever have imagined. He’s living a narcissist’s dream. At long last, his 15 minutes have arrived." ... "The question that cries out for an answer from Mr. Wright is why — if he is so passionately committed to liberating and empowering blacks — does he seem so insistent on wrecking the campaign of the only African-American ever to have had a legitimate shot at the presidency." -By Bob Herbert -NYTimes

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Accounting - Indiana - North Carolina - Illinois - New York - Colorado - 2008 Election
"Obama Heads for Superdelegate Edge." ... "The 795 superdelegates, who can vote for any nominee, fall into one of two groups -- the elected and the unelected." ... "The elected are the party's 28 governors, 234 House members, 49 senators and assorted big-city mayors and state officeholders." ... "The nonelected superdelegates are the more than 400 national and state party officers of the Democratic National Committee." ... "Among elected officials, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator Barack] Sen. Obama leads in endorsements from governors and senators. He is behind among House members by one, but both camps expect him to pull ahead unless he does badly in next Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina primaries. If he doesn't stumble, enough elected Democrats are expected to back Sen. Obama after the last primaries June 3 to give him the delegate majority needed for nomination." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator Hillary] Sen. Clinton still leads in endorsements from nonelected officials. Many have known her and former [Democratic] President Clinton since the couple's White House years, or worked for them then." ... "About 300 of the 795 superdelegates remain uncommitted; they don't have to endorse anyone until [August] Aug. 27 at the Democrats' Denver [Colorado] convention." -By Jackie Calmes -WSJ.com

- Ron Paul - John McCain - Nev - 2008 Election
"Nev. GOP recesses state convention, angering Paul supporters." ... "Outmaneuvered by raucous [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Ron Paul supporters, Nevada Republican Party leaders abruptly shut down their state convention and now must resume the event to complete a list of 31 delegates to the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] national convention." ... "Outnumbered supporters of expected [2008 Election] Republican presidential nominee John McCain faced off Saturday against well-organized Paul supporters." ... ""I've seen factions walk out. I've never seen a party walk out," said Jeff Greenspan, regional coordinator for the Paul campaign." -AP via -SeattleTimes
 

- Elizabeth Edwards - Edwards - Biden - Barack Obama - Media - Television - Corporations - Sports - Politics - 2008 Election - Pennsylvania - Freedom - Health
"Bowling 1, Health Care 0." ... "For the last month, news media attention was focused on Pennsylvania and its [2008 Election] Democratic primary. Given the gargantuan effort, what did we learn?" ... "Well, the rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But in Pennsylvania, as in the rest of the country this political season, the information about the candidates’ priorities, policies and principles — information that voters will need to choose the next president — too often did not make the cut. After having spent more than a year on the campaign trail with my husband, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards, I’m not surprised." ... "Why? Here’s my guess: The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country’s inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments." ... "But I am saying that every analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture." ... "Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Joe Biden’s health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama’s bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties." ... "What’s more, the news media cut candidates like Joe Biden out of the process even before they got started." ... "News is different from other programming on television or other content in print. It is essential to an informed electorate. And an informed electorate is essential to freedom itself. But as long as corporations to which news gathering is not the primary source of income or expertise get to decide what information about the candidates “sells,” we are not functioning as well as we could if we had the engaged, skeptical press we deserve." ... "If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it." (1, 2) -By Elizabeth Edwards -NYTimes
 

- Military - Religious - Freedom - Politics - Kansas - US - Iraq
"Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats." ... "When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending." ... "But minutes into the talk, the officer, [Major] Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement." ... "Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement." ... "Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers." ... "Specialist Hall’s lawsuit is the latest incident to raise questions about the military’s religion guidelines. In 2005, the Air Force issued new regulations in response to complaints from cadets at the Air Force Academy that evangelical Christian officers used their positions to proselytize." ... "To Specialist Hall and other critics of the military, the guidelines have done little to change a culture they say tilts heavily toward evangelical Christianity. Controversies have continued to flare, largely over tactics used by evangelicals to promote their faith. Perhaps the most high-profile incident involved seven officers, including four generals, who appeared, in uniform and in violation of military regulations, in a 2006 fund-raising video for the Christian Embassy, an evangelical Bible study group." (1, 2) -By Neela Banerjee -NYTimes

- Obama - McCain - Clinton - Law - Politics - 2008 Election
"Obama-DNC Fundraising Deal." ... "After a series of discussions, the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have decided to file papers with the Federal Election Commission establishing a “joint fundraising agreement.” Under the law, such a committee can accept up to $28,500 from individuals, most of which would go to the DNC." ... "[2008 Election] Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has already formed such an alliance with the Republican National Committee." ... "The fact that the Obama campaign is moving forward and Clinton is not at this time reflects certain important realities: Obama’s team is more confident that he will win the nomination than is Clinton’s — and Obama’s campaign has the necessity and luxury of thinking about and planning for the general election to come." -By Mark Halperin -TIME.com

- Consumer - Opinion - History - Fuel - Employment - Houses - Cars - Michigan
"U.S. Economy: Sentiment Weakens More Than Anticipated (Update3)." ... "U.S. [United States] consumer confidence fell more than forecast in April to a 26-year low as record fuel prices and rising unemployment threatened to reduce spending." ... "The Reuters/University of Michigan sentiment index decreased to 62.6, from 69.5 the previous month. The measure was down from a preliminary estimate of 63.2 issued on April 11." ... "Consumers are growing increasingly anxious because the economy has lost almost a quarter million jobs so far this year, gasoline is up 17 percent and property values have fallen. Sales of houses and cars have declined as a result, contributing to a slowdown that may bring an end to the six-year expansion." ... "The index of consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, dropped to 53.3 from 60.1 last month." ... "The economy lost 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years, following a 76,000 drop in payrolls in each of the prior two months, according to figures from the Labor Department." ... "The average price of regular unleaded gasoline rose to a record $3.58 a gallon yesterday, according to data from AAA [American Automobile Association]." ... "Cars and light trucks sold at an average 15.2 million annual pace in the first three months of the year, the fewest since the third quarter of 1998." -By Bob Willis -Bloomberg

- WATCH - US - Iraq - Military - Government - Intelligence - Illegal - Psychological - Media -  - Marketing - Politics
"Government Curries Favor With Military News Analysts." ... "The Pentagon may influence the analysis of some retired military personnel who appear on television news programs, the New York Times recently reported. Media insiders discuss the details of this murky world of defense companies, the current administration and the war in Iraq.

[PBS NewsHour Reporter] JUDY WOODRUFF: These former generals and colonels have been a mainstay of commentary and analysis. And the networks paid them for their appearances.

Now, a lengthy New York Times investigation, published on Sunday, revealed the Pentagon targeted many of these analysts as part of an information apparatus to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance.

Pentagon officials organized hundreds of private meetings with senior military leaders and the military analysts. They included talks with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

According to the Times, analysts were also taken on tours of Iraq and given access to classified intelligence. In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated.

It was also disclosed that most of the analysts have ties to military contractors [corporate military money ties].
...
JOHN STAUBER, Center for Media and Democracy [and author of the book, "Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq."]: Well, Judy, first of all, congratulations to the NewsHour for doing this report. And it's a shame on the networks who were duped this way that they didn't show up to defend or explain their actions.

What happened here was a psy-ops campaign [a psychological operations campaign], an incredible government propaganda campaign whereby Donald Rumsfeld and Torie Clark, the head of public relations for the Pentagon, designed a program to recruit 75, at least 75 former military officers, as your report said, most of them now lobbyists or consultants to military contractors, and insert them, beginning in 2002, before the attack on Iraq was even launched, into the major networks to manage the messages, to be surrogates.

And that's the words that are actually used, "message multipliers" for the secretary of defense and for the Pentagon. This program continues right up to now.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And is the essence of this that what they did was -- what the Pentagon did was illegal?

JOHN STAUBER: Yes, what they did was illegal. Now, the Pentagon might contest that, but we've had various laws on the books in our country going back to the 1920s. It is illegal for the U.S. government to propagandize citizens in this way.

In my opinion, this war could have never been sold if it were not for this sophisticated propaganda campaign. And what we need is congressional investigation of not just this Pentagon military analyst program, but all the rest of the deception and propaganda that came out of the Bush administration and out of the Pentagon that allowed them to sell and manage this war.

- Terrorism - Language - Radio - Politics - 2008 Election - Denver - Colorado
"Rush Limbaugh Calling For Riots In Denver." ... "Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is sparking controversy again after he made comments calling for riots in Denver [Colorado] during the [2008 Election] Democratic National Convention this summer." ... "He said the riots would ensure a Democrat is not elected as president, and his listeners have a responsibility to make sure it happens." ... ""Riots in Denver, the Democrat Convention would see to it that we don't elect Democrats," Limbaugh said during Wednesday's radio broadcast. He then went on to say that's the best thing that could happen to the country." -TheDenverChannel.com

- Military - Terrorism - Language - US - International - Politics - Religious - Vocabulary
"'Jihadist' booted from government lexicon." ... "Don't call them jihadists any more." ... "And don't call al-Qaida a movement." ... "Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as "jihadists" or "mujahedeen," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Lingo like "Islamo-fascism" is out, too." ... "The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates." ... "For example, while Americans may understand "jihad" to mean "holy war," it is in fact a broader Islamic concept of the struggle to do good, says the guidance prepared for diplomats and other officials tasked with explaining the war on terror to the public. Similarly, "mujahedeen," which means those engaged in jihad, must be seen in its broader context." ... "U.S. [United States] officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims," says a Homeland Security report. It's entitled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims."" ... ""Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says." ... "Language is critical in the war on terror, says another document, an internal "official use only" memorandum circulating through Washington entitled "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism Communication."" ... "The memo, originally prepared in March by the Extremist Messaging Branch at the National Counter Terrorism Center, was approved for diplomatic use this week by the State Department, which plans to distribute a version to all U.S. embassies, officials said." ... ""It's not what you say but what