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_JUNE 2008 NEWS_
YEAR 2008 CALENDAR Printable 2008 Calendar June 2008 News History May 2008 News April 2008 News March 2008 News February 2008 News January 2008 News |
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-
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama -
2008
Election -
Military
-
Media
- Politics
"“Attacking”
McCain’s Military Record: What [General] Wesley Clark
really said; how the press missed it." ... "So: The latest round of mock
outrage—in a presidential race that has turned the tactic into an art form—now
comes in response to comments made by General Wesley Clark. Appearing as
a surrogate for Barack Obama on CBS’s “Face the Nation”, Clark, in reference
to John McCain, said:"
"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war…But he hasn’t held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded—that wasn’t a wartime squadron. He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall." ... "When moderator Bob Schieffer interjected that “Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences, either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down”, Clark responded: “Well, I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”""The McCain camp, sensing an opportunity, complained that Clark had “attacked John McCain’s military service record.” Of course, Clark had done nothing of the kind. He had questioned the relevance of McCain’s combat experience as a qualification to be president of the United States. This is a distinction that you’d expect any reasonably intelligent nine-year old to be able to grasp." ... "But many in the press have been unable to." -By Zachary Roth -CJR.org
-
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama - US
-
Military
-
2008
Election -
World
- Iraq
-
Afghanistan
-
Israel
-
Jordan
- Germany
-
France
-
Britain
-
Ireland
"Former
Nato commander questions value of McCain's military experience."
... "A top supporter of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Barack Obama has questioned the value of Republican [2008 Election Presidential
Candidate] John McCain's military experience, suggesting it did not qualify
him to be president." ... "Former Nato [NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization]
commander Wesley Clark described Mr McCain as "untested and untried", lacking
the executive experience needed to lead the country." ... ""He [McCain]
has been a voice on the Senate armed services committee. And he has travelled
all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large
squadron in the navy that he commanded - that wasn't a wartime squadron,"
Mr Clark said. "I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot
down is a qualification to become president."" ... "Mr Obama hopes to beef
up his foreign-policy credentials with a visit to Iraq and Afghanistan
later this year. His campaign announced at the weekend that the Democratic
candidate would go to the Middle East and Europe next month. Mr Obama will
visit Israel, Jordan, Germany, France and Britain, but does not apparently
plan to stop in Ireland, where he has ancestral roots in Co Offaly [Ireland,
Irish county in the Province of Leinster]." ... ""This trip will be an
important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that
are critical to American national security and to consult with some of
our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we face," Mr
Obama said." -By Denis Staunton
-IrishTimes.com
-
John
McCain -
Bud
Day -
2004
Election -
Ads
-
Military
- History
-
Vietnam
- US
-
Arizona
-
Massachusetts
-
2008
Election
"McCain
Uses Swift Boat Vet Bud Day To Rebut Wesley Clark."
... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's campaign on Monday launched the McCain "Truth Squad"
- a group of political and Vietnam contemporaries who would counter attacks
on the Senator's military record." ... "In hopes of nipping any criticism
in the bud, the campaign brought on board a man quite familiar with how
these types of attacks gain legs: Bud Day, a fellow POW who was part of
the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that worked so hard to defame [2004 Election
Presidential Candidate and Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. John
Kerry's own Vietnam record." ... "On the conference call, Day - in addition
to the other participants - decried comments made by [General] Gen. Wesley
Clark over the weekend, in which he questioned whether McCain's war experience
really qualified him to be commander-in-chief. Defending McCain's service,
Day was quick to personalize his remarks, attacking Clark's military record
in the process." ... "That Day would politicize Vietnam in his defense
of McCain is not surprising. During the 2004 campaign, he said of Kerry:
"My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict
Arnold of 1971." And after appearing in a national advertisement for the
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign, Day formed the Vietnam Veterans
Legacy Foundation, an extension of the Swift Boat effort." ... "Not willing
to let the irony go unnoticed, Kerry
lashed out at McCain, on Monday, for using the same smear merchant
he once decried." ... ""Colonel Day's comments today only further highlight
the McCain campaign's disregard for a new kind of politics," said Kerry.
"John McCain condemned these kinds of attacks in 2004 when he called the
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 'dishonest and dishonorable.' Senator McCain
should condemn these remarks and cut ties with the Colonel and anyone else
connected to SBVT. Day's comments only serve to disparage all those who
served on swift boats in Vietnam."" -By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
-
John
McCain -
Bud
Day - Politics
-
2004
Election -
Ads
-
Military
- History
-
Vietnam
-
Belgium
- US
-
Massachusetts
-
Texas
-
Missouri
-
2008
Election
"Price
of Power: McCain accepts ex-Swift Boaters' donations."
... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain, who
four years ago condemned independent ads challenging Democrat[ic Senator
from Massachusetts and 2004 Election Presidential Candidate] John Kerry's
military record, has accepted nearly $70,000 for his presidential campaign
from the top donors of the group behind the attack ads and their relatives,
a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "In 2004, the Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth (later called SwiftVets and POWS for Truth) bankrolled ads charging
that Kerry had lied about the incidents in Vietnam that led to his military
decorations. The group included former members of the Navy who served in
the same kind of river patrol boats as Kerry. McCain, a former Vietnam
prisoner of war, called the group's advertising "dishonest and dishonorable.""
... "Bob Perry, a Texas builder who gave nearly $4.5 million to Swift Boat
Vets, and his wife, Doylene, each have given $4,400 to McCain's presidential
campaign, some of which went to an account for legal and accounting expenses,
records show." ... "Other donors include Sam Fox, a St. Louis [Missouri]
businessman who was named [United States] U.S. ambassador to Belgium last
year by President Bush." ... "On Monday, Kerry and national Democratic
Party officials sharply criticized McCain for including retired Air Force
colonel Bud Day in a conference call with reporters to defend McCain's
military service. Day had appeared in Swift Boat ads." -By
Fredreka Schouten -USATODAY
-
John
McCain -
Bud
Day -
2004
Election -
Ads
-
Military
- US
-
2008
Election
"McCain
Truth Squad defender was Swift Boat Vet member."
... "One of the members of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
John McCain’s new Truth Squad — which his campaign says was launched to
respond to unfair attacks on his record of military service –- was a member
of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for
the group in 2004." ... "The group was created to attack 2004 [Election
Presidential] Democratic nominee John Kerry’s military service record."
-By Rebecca
Sinderbrand -CNN
-
John
McCain -
Bud
Day - Politics
-
2008
Election -
2004
Election -
Military
- History
"McCain’s
new Truth Squad has former member of Swift Boat Veterans."
... "Following the
lead of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama’s
campaign, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain
is establishing his own Truth Squad – an effort to “respond
to unfair attacks” on him military record. One of the members of McCain’s
new Truth Squad — Bud Day — was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for the group in 2004. Day said of
[2004 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Kerry’s military
service: “My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the
Benedict Arnold of 1971.”" -ThinkProgress.org
-
John
McCain -
Tom
Loeffler -
Susan
E Nelson -
Gordon
England -
EADS
-
European
-
Military
- Aircraft
-
Manufacturing
- Politics
-
Government
-
Auditors
- US
-
2008
Election
"McCain’s
Boeing Battle Boomerangs." ... "Government auditors
ruled that the Air Force made "significant errors" when it rebid the [aerial
refueling tanker] contract and awarded the $35 billion project to Boeing's
chief rival, partners European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. [Company]
(or EADS) and Northrop Grumman. It's likely the Air Force will have to
redo the bid yet again, which analysts say will delay the replacement of
the fleet's 1950s-era refueling tankers. The auditors' ruling has also
cast light on an overlooked aspect of [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate John] McCain's crusade: five of his campaign's top advisers and
fund-raisers—including Tom Loeffler, who resigned last month as his finance
co-chairman, and Susan Nelson, his finance director—were registered lobbyists
for EADS." ... "Critics, including some at the Pentagon, cite in particular
two tough letters McCain wrote to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England
in 2006 and another to Robert Gates, just prior to his confirmation as
Defense secretary. In the first letter, dated [September] Sept. 8, 2006,
McCain wrote of hearing from "third parties" that the Air Force was about
to redo the tanker competition by factoring in European government subsidies
to EADS—a condition that could have seriously hurt the EADS bid. McCain
urged that the Pentagon drop the subsidy factor and posed a series of technical
questions about the Air Force's process. "He was trying to jam us and bully
us to make sure there was competition by giving EADS an advantage," said
one senior Pentagon official, who asked for anonymity when discussing a
politically sensitive matter. The assumption within the Pentagon, the official
added, was that McCain's letters were drafted by EADS lobbyists. "There
was no one else that would have had that level of detail," the official
said." -By Michael Isikoff
-Newsweek
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 28, 2008 News URL: #June-28-2008-News
20080628
Saturday
-
Norm
Coleman -
Jeff
Larson -
Karl
Rove -
Cheney
- Money
-
Politicians
-
Saint
Paul -
Minnesota
-
2008
Election - Lawmaker
-
Apartment
-
Tele
-
Marketing
"Friendly
Dealings." ... "Along the road to the top of the
political heap in Minnesota, [Republican Senator Norm] Coleman had plenty
of help. But in the last dozen years, few if any supporters have played
a more important role than a little-known Republican operative named Jeff
Larson. Larson works in St. Paul [Minnesota's capital] but has gold-plated
GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] connections in Washington and across
the country. Or, as Coleman puts it: "He's the most connected person in
D.C. that nobody in Minnesota knows."" ... "Their relationship--the ambitious,
energetic, can-do lawmaker and the low-key, behind-the-scenes strategist--has
proved to be mutually beneficial. Larson's political telemarketing business
appears to have profited handsomely from the relationship, and Coleman
has turned to his close friend in times of need, including in his tough
battle to win a second Senate term in November [2008 Election]." ... "Most
curiously, Larson provides Coleman with a place to live in Washington.
In July 2007, Coleman began paying Larson $600 a month in rent for a portion
of a one-bedroom basement apartment in a Capitol Hill town house that Larson
owns. The way Coleman explained the arrangement, the apartment serves as
a crash pad." ... "Earlier this month, after National Journal questioned
Coleman and Larson about the living arrangement, the senator said he discovered
that his rent for last November and January had not been paid. In mid-June,
Coleman covered the back rent with a personal check for $1,200 made out
to Larson and signed by the senator's wife. Last year, Coleman sold furniture
to Larson to cover one month's rent, according to Larson. And Larson held
on to yet another month's rent check for three months, cashing it a few
days after NJ's inquiries." ... "Larson's St. Paul-based company,
FLS Connect [partners: Feather, Larson, and Synhorst], is a critical component
of Coleman's political operation. The firm, which has raised money and
hustled up voters for Coleman, has been paid about $1.6 million since mid-2001
by Coleman's Northstar Leadership political action committee and two Senate
campaigns, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Larson serves as the PAC's treasurer and provides it with office space
in St. Paul; Coleman's Senate campaign stopped renting space from Larson
last year." ... "Coleman has yet another Larson connection. He has employed
Larson's wife, Dorene, for more than two years as a "casework supervisor"
in the senator's St. Paul office. She is listed on his Senate payroll under
her maiden name [Dorene Kainz]. After NJ questioned Coleman about
the arrangement, his staff said that she would be leaving her constituent-services
job on July 10." ... "Larson and his longtime partner, Tony Feather, are
close to the [Republican President] Bush White House. Republican operatives
said that Feather is especially close to Karl Rove, the former senior White
House adviser who masterminded both of George W. Bush's presidential campaigns.
In the 2003-04 presidential election cycle, the Bush-Cheney campaign paid
FLS Connect, then known by other names, nearly $7.6 million, FEC records
show." ... "But that's virtually chump change compared with what the Republican
National Committee has doled out to FLS Connect since 2003--some $29.5
million, according to an analysis of federal campaign reports by the Center
for Responsive Politics. And those numbers don't include money funneled
to FLS Connect by at least 20 state GOP parties and House and Senate candidates."
... "In the end, Coleman's ties to Larson could prove politically damaging.
Democrats, trying to unseat Coleman in his bid for a second term, have
already publicly attacked him for his association with Larson's FLS Connect
and another firm, DCI Group, a powerhouse Washington lobbying outfit."
-By Edward T. Pound -NationalJournal
-
US
-
Afghanistan
-
Pakistan
-
Military
- Terrorism
-
Intelligence
-
Illegal
-
Drug
- Money
-
Human
Rights -
Reconstruction
-
Police
"Pentagon
report: Taliban regroups, likely to up pace of attacks in Afghanistan."
... "The Taliban has regrouped after its initial fall from power in Afghanistan
and the pace of its attacks is likely to increase this year, according
to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly seven-year-old
war." ... "Noting that insurgent violence has climbed, the report said
that despite U.S. and coalition efforts to capture and kill key leaders,
the Taliban is likely to "maintain or even increase the scope and pace
of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008."" ... "The Taliban, it said,
has "coalesced into a resilient insurgency."" ... "Vast problems — corruption,
the illegal poppy trade, human rights abuses and slow progress in reconstruction
— were detailed, as well as the struggle to train and equip the Afghan
Army and police." ... "The report described a dual terror threat in Afghanistan
that includes the Taliban in the south, and "a more complex, adaptive insurgency"
in the east. That fragmented insurgency is made up of groups ranging from
al-Qaida and Afghan warlords such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's radical Hezb-i-Islami
group to Pakistani militants such as Jaish-e-Mohammed." ... "Insurgents
will continue to challenge the government in southern and eastern Afghanistan,
and the may also move to increase their power in the north and west, the
report predicted." (1, 2,
3)
-By Lolita C. Baldor with contributions by Robert
Burns -AP
via -StarTribune
-Defenselink.mil Publications[PDFs]:
"Report
on Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan."
"United
States Plan for Sustaining the Afghanistan National Security Forces."
-Defenselink.mil/Pubs
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 27, 2008 News URL: #June-27-2008-News
20080627
Friday
-
David
Vitter -
Larry
Craig
-
Sam
Brownback -
James
Inhofe -
Gay
-
Family
- Law
-
Politics
-
La
-
Idaho
-
Kansas
-
Oklahoma
"The
Federal Marriage Amendment is back — with Vitter’s and Craig’s support."
... "Republicans are looking at the political landscape, and they’re feeling
awfully discouraged. The polls look bad, the base looks depressed, and
fundraising looks iffy. Rallying the far-right troops with an anti-gay
amendment to the Constitution — even though it has no chance at even getting
so much as a hearing — might be helpful to the conservative movement."
... "But the funny part is looking over the list of the 10 original sponsors.
Most of the names are predictable — [Kansas Republican Senator Sam] Brownback
and [Oklahoma Republican Senator James] Inhofe, for example — but there
are two others whose names stand out: [Republican Senators] Sens. David
Vitter (R-La. [Republican-Louisiana]) and Larry Craig (R-Idaho [Republican])."
... "Yes, two of the principal sponsors of a constitutional amendment to
“protect” marriage include one far-right Republican who hired prostitutes
and another far-right Republican who was arrested for soliciting gay sex
an airport men’s room." ... "As
my
friend Kyle put it, these two are “not exactly the poster boys of the
family values crowd or particularly upstanding examples of the supposed
sanctity of the ‘union of a man and a woman.”‘" -By
Steve Benen -TheCarpetbaggerReport.com
-
Grover
Norquist
-
Jack
Abramoff
-
John
McCain -
Racial
- Politics
-
History
-
Military
- People
-
Economic
-
Illinois
-
2008
Election -
Obama
"Norquist
describes Obama as ‘John Kerry with a tan’." ...
"Grover Norquist has quite a history of being unhinged. He’s said the Estate
Tax is morally
equivalent to the Nazi Holocaust; he’s called WWII veterans “anti-American,”
and he’s called bipartisanship “another name for date
rape.”" ... "But this clown isn’t done pushing
the envelope."
"Norquist dropped by The [Los Angeles] Times’ Washington bureau today and, as part of his negative critique of Obama’s liberal stances on economic issues and other matters, he termed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “John Kerry with a tan.”" ... "Since Norquist isn’t running for anything, he can get away with such remarks; we doubt McCain will be incorporating the line into his speeches anytime soon.""Greg Sargent responded, “Guess it could have been worse. He could have termed the Illinois Senator ‘John Kerry in blackface.’ Such admirable restraint on Norquist’s part!" ... "Now, the LAT’s Don Frederick noted that Norquist can “get away with such remarks,” presumably because he’s not a candidate and everyone expects lunacy from him anyway. He’ll “get away with” this, just as Norquist got away with the other instances of insane rhetoric, not to mention his role in the Abramoff scandal, which somehow seems to have been largely forgotten." ... "But I’m going to go ahead and argue that this probably should matter in the context of the presidential campaign, not just because Norquist is using offensive racial language, but also because he’s suddenly best buddies with [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain." -Steve Benen -TheCarpetbaggerReport.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 25, 2008 News URL: #June-25-2008-News
20080625
Wednesday
-
Faith
- Politics
-
Justice
-
Obama
-
2008
Election
"James
Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me." ... "Dr. James
Dobson recently attacked [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Barack Obama for a 2006
speech that Obama gave on his Christian faith. Does he speak for you?"
... "James Dobson doesn't speak for me. He doesn't speak for me when he
uses religion as a wedge to divide; He doesn't speak for me when he speaks
as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible; James Dobson doesn't
speak for me when he uses the beliefs of others as a line of attack; He
doesn't speak for me when he denigrates his neighbor's views when they
don't line up with his; He doesn't speak for me when he seeks to confine
the values of my faith to two or three issues alone; What does speak for
me is David's psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come
together in unity; Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires
us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him; The prophet
Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and
also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of
the vulnerable; The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work
with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our
communities; The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those
that curse you and pray for those who persecute you; The words of the apostle
Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love
amount to nothing. The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus'
command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that
love." ... "READ
Barack Obama "Call to Renewal" Speech. [Barack Obama on Faith and Politics: WATCH:
Barack Obama "Call To Renewal" (1, 2,
3,
4,
5)
... Barack Obama: "10
Questions: Religion in America."]" -By Pastor
Kirbyjon Caldwell et al -JamesDobsonDoesntSpeakForMe.com
-
McCain
-
Bin
Laden
-
Chris
Shays
-
Charlie
Black - Terrorism
-
Politics
-
History
-
2004
Election -
2008
Election -
Connecticut
- US
-
Pakistan
"McCain
In 2004: "Bin Laden May Have Just Given Us A Little Boost"."
... "Back in 2004['s election], as [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate John] McCain was stumping in Connecticut on behalf of GOP [GOP=Grand
Old Party=Republican Connecticut Representative] Rep. Chris Shays, McCain
said flatly that the recent release of an Osama Bin Laden tape had likely
given the GOP a "little boost."" ... "This is courtesy
of The Hour, a daily paper in Norwalk, Connecticut, in November of that
year [2004] (also verified in Nexis)..."
"But as McCain greets two breakfast-eating business partners, one from Stamford [Connecticut] and the other from Bridgeport [Connecticut], the topic turns to the presidential race. The two men tell the senator they support [Republican] President George W. Bush, and to that end, McCain says, "(Osama) Bin Laden may have just given us a little boost. Amazing, huh?".... " ... "The two men, who requested anonymity, nod their heads in agreement. Later, while riding with Shays on an RV to a rally at the Stamford Government Center, McCain further explains, "(The video) is helpful to President Bush because it puts the focus on the war on terrorism."""The reference was to a tape of Bin Laden that had emerged a few days earlier. The McCain camp didn't immediately return an email." ... "[McCain's top adviser Charlie] Black also said that the assassination of [Pakistan's Presidential Candidate] Benazir Bhutto had also helped McCain, something the McCain camp also disavowed. But back in December [2007], when the assassination happened, he [McCain] said it could "serve to enhance" his "credentials."" -By Greg Sargent -TPMElectionCentral .TalkingPointsMemo
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 24, 2008 News URL: #June-24-2008-News
20080624
Tuesday
-
Tom
Ridge -
John
McCain - Money
-
Politics
-
Albania
- US
-
Pennsylvania
-
2008
Election
"Ridge
lobbies for Albania, but doesn't report it." ...
"[Republican President Bush's] Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
registered with the Department of Justice as a lobbyist for the government
of Albania nearly two years after winning an almost half-million dollar
lobbying contract, Roll
Call reports this morning." ... ""I didn't think it was [necessary]
to register," the Capitol Hill newspaper quotes the former [Republican]
Pennsylvania governor and national co-chair of [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential campaign as saying."
-By Brett Lieberman -PennLive.com
-
McCain
-
Charles
R Black Jr -
Foreign
- Money
-
Politics
-
Human
Rights -
2008
Election -
Arizona
- US
-
Pakistan
-
Angola
- Philippines
-
Zaire
now: Democratic Republic of the Congo -
Nigeria
-
Somalia
-
Kenya
"Terror
Strike Would Help McCain, Top Adviser Says." ...
"A top adviser to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and
Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain said that a terrorist attack in the United
States would be a political benefit to the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee, a comment that was immediately disputed by the candidate and denounced
by his Democratic rival." ... "Charles R. Black Jr., one of McCain's most
senior political advisers, said in an interview with Fortune magazine that
a fresh terrorist attack "certainly would be a big advantage to him." He
also said that the December assassination of former Pakistani prime minister
Benazir Bhutto, while "unfortunate," helped McCain win the Republican primary
by focusing attention on national security." ... "The comment reinjected
the fear of terrorism into the campaign as both candidates had been shifting
their conversation to the economy and $4-per-gallon gasoline." ... "The
comments also returned the political spotlight to McCain's advisers and,
in particular, to Black, who has drawn criticism for his long lobbying
career and his representation of controversial foreign governments. McCain
has been criticized for surrounding himself with top advisers who were
lobbyists." ... "Black and his lobbying partners were at times registered
foreign agents for a collection of U.S.-backed foreign leaders whose human
rights records were sometimes harshly criticized, even as American conservatives
embraced their opposition to communism. They included Angolan guerrilla
leader Jonas Savimbi, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese
Seko of Zaire, Nigerian [General] Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Somali President
Mohamed Siad Barre, and the countries of Kenya and Equatorial Guinea, among
others." (1, 2)
-By Michael D. Shear with contributions by Karl Vick
and Alice Crites -WashingtonPost
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 23, 2008 News URL: #June-23-2008-News
20080623
Monday
-
Abortion
- Money
-
Medical
-
Law
-
2008
Election -
Portland
-
Oregon
-
Woman
"Oregon
City woman details abortion, relationship with Mike Erickson:
Now a "pro-life" congressional candidate, he gave her $300 and took her
to the clinic in Northeast Portland, Tawnya says." ... "An Oregon City
[Oregon] woman who dated [Republican] congressional candidate Mike Erickson
seven years ago said she asked him directly whether he wanted to have a
baby. He shook his head no, she said, and paid for her abortion." ... "In
interviews with The Oregonian, the woman said she met Erickson in September
2000, and she had the abortion in January 2001. They saw each other afterward,
she said, even going on a trip to Mexico in March, before the relationship
ended. She spoke on the condition that only her first name, Tawnya, be
used." ... "Her story is backed up by medical and other records, and the
accounts of two friends, one of whom was with her at the abortion. Their
story conflicts directly with Erickson's version." ... "He agrees that
he gave Tawnya $300 for medical help, and a ride to a doctor's office near
Lloyd Center [in Portland, Oregon], but said he didn't know she was pregnant
or planned to get an abortion. He said he doesn't think he saw her again
after that day." ... "Erickson, a Lake Oswego [Oregon] businessman, is
the Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District and is running
on a "pro-life" platform. The charge that he provided money to Tawnya nearly
derailed his campaign for the May 20 primary and could hobble his chances
in the [2008 Election November] Nov. 4 general election against state [Oregon
Democratic Senator] Sen. Kurt Schrader, D[Democratic]-Canby [Oregon]."
... "Erickson has campaigned on a strict anti-abortion platform that favors
abstinence education and adoption over abortion." (1, 2,
3,
4,
5,
6)
-By Janie Har and Steve Mayes
-Oregonian
-
Media
-
- Radio
-
Communications
- Corporations
-
Government
- Politics
"July
18 Deadline for Cross-Ownership Move Requests: Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals Gives Broadcasters, Media Activists Until July
18 to File Requests for Moving Appeal of FCC Decision." ... "The Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals gave broadcasters and media activists
until July 18 to file their requests for moving the appeal of the Federal
Communications Commission's decision
to loosen the ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership." ...
"That's according to one of the parties involved." -By
John Eggerton -BroadcastingCable.com
-
John
McCain - Political
-
Media
-
Television
-
Censorship
-
2008
Election
"FOX
Erases McCain Saying He "Really Didn't Love America"."
... "On March 13, 2008, FOX's Sean Hannity interviewed [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain for the full hour. The interview started
with questions about McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. At
one point, this was said: HANNITY: You spent two years of this five-and-a-half-year
period in solitary confinement. What does that do to a person, to spend
that much time in solitary confinement? MCCAIN: I think it makes you a
better person. Obviously, it makes you love America. I really didn't love
America until I was deprived of her company." ... "Get that? McCain "really
didn't love America" until he was a POW." ... "Jedreport.com
discovered that the transcript of the McCain/Hannity interview on FoxNews.com
had no mention of McCain saying he "really didn't love America" until he
was a POW. I checked and sure enough, it wasn't there. So I started watching
the video of the interview of FoxNews.com — it wasn't there either." ...
"FOX has completely erased the first segment to hide McCain's statement
that he "really didn't love America"." ... "They [Rupert Murdoch's Fox
News television stations] are the republican propaganda machine." ... "PS
This isn't even the first time McCain has said he "didn't really love America"
until he was a POW. He's been saying it for years." -YouTube
user Jsjkim
WATCH
"FOX Erases McCain Saying He "Really Didn't Love America""
-
McCain
-
Charlie
Black - Terrorism
-
2008
Election -
Ariz
- US
-
Pakistan
"McCain
Adviser: Terrorist Attack Would Help McCain in Election."
... "McCain
adviser Charlie Black told Fortune Magazine that national security
events help [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona
Senator] Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona.]" ... ""The assassination
of [Pakistani Presidential Candidate] Benazir Bhutto in December was an
'unfortunate event,' says Black. 'But his knowledge and ability to talk
about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief.
And it helped us.' As would, Black concedes with startling candor after
we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. 'Certainly it
would be a big advantage to him,' says Black."" -By
Jake Tapper -ABCNEWS.com
-
Blackwater
- Corporate
-
Military
-
Federal
-
Crime
-
North
Carolina
"Blackwater
using cache of AK-47s: Rifles given to sheriff in
deal that skirts law." ... "The private military company Blackwater [owned
by Erik Prince] has found an unusual way to skirt federal laws that prohibit
private parties from buying automatic weapons. Blackwater bought 17 Romanian
AK-47s and 17 Bushmasters, gave ownership of the guns to the Camden County
[North Carolina] sheriff and keeps most of the guns at Blackwater's armory
in Moyock [North Carolina]." ... "Tiny Camden County -- population 9,271
-- is one of the most peaceful in North Carolina. In the last 10 years,
there have been two murders, three robberies and seven rapes reported.
The sheriff has just 19 deputies." ... "Sheriff Tony Perry said his department
has never used the 17 AK-47s outside of shooting practice at Blackwater.
None of his 19 deputies are qualified to use the AK-47s, Perry said, and
his department's need for automatic weapons is "very minimal."" ... "In
the summer of 2005, Blackwater CEO Gary Jackson signed two agreements with
[Major] Maj. Jon Worthington of the Sheriff's Office. Worthington has worked
as a firearms instructor for Blackwater." ... ""Blackwater has financed
the purchase of 17 Romanian AK-47 rifles for the Camden County Sheriff's
Office for use by Sheriff's Office," the agreement says. "The Camden County
Sheriff's Office will have unlimited access to these rifles for training
and qualification, and state of emergency use." Worthington and Jackson
also signed an agreement for the purchase of 17 Bushmaster XM15 E2S automatic
rifles." ... "Why did Blackwater strike this deal with the Camden County
sheriff?" ... ""Because they needed guns, I imagine," Jackson said." ...
"Under federal law, it is illegal for a person to receive or possess an
automatic weapon that is not registered to that person in the National
Firearms Registration and Transfer Record." -By Joseph
Neff -NewsObserver.com
-
US
-
Iraq
-
Afghanistan
-
Military
- Terrorism
-
Media
- Politics
-
McCain
-
2008
Election
"Now
That We’ve ‘Won,’ Let’s Come Home." ... "The Iraq
war’s defenders like to bash the press for pushing the bad news and ignoring
the good. Maybe they’ll be happy to hear that the bad news doesn’t rate
anymore. When a bomb killed at
least 51 Iraqis at a Baghdad market on Tuesday, ending an extended
run of relative calm, only one of the three network newscasts (NBC’s)
even bothered to mention it." ... "The only problem is that no news from
Iraq isn’t good news — it’s no news. The night of the Baghdad bombing the
CBS war correspondent Lara Logan appeared
as Jon Stewart’s guest on “The Daily Show” to lament the vanishing television
coverage and the even steeper falloff in viewer interest. “Tell me the
last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier,” she said. After
pointing out that more soldiers died in Afghanistan than Iraq last month,
she asked, “Who’s paying attention to that?”" ... "Should voters tune in,
they’ll also discover that the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
John] McCain policy is nonsensical on its face. If “we are winning” and
the surge is a “success,” then what is the rationale for keeping American
forces bogged down there while the Taliban regroups
ominously in Afghanistan? Why, if this is victory, does Mr. McCain
keep threatening that “chaos and genocide” will follow our departure? And
why should we take the word of a prophet who failed
to anticipate the chaos and ethnic cleansing that would greet our occupation?"
... "Vanished into the memory hole are such earlier
examples of the McCain Iraq wisdom as “the end is very much in sight”
(April 9, 2003) and “there’s not a history of clashes that are violent
between Sunnis and Shiites” (later that same month)." -By
Frank
Rich -NYTimes
[Note: there is a very long history
of violent clashes between the Sunnis and Shiites.]
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 21, 2008 News URL: #June-21-2008-News
20080621
Saturday
-
Housing
-Market
-
History
"Rise
in Renters Erasing Gains for Ownership." ... "Driven
largely by the surge in foreclosures and an unsettled housing market, Americans
are renting apartments and houses at the highest level since President
Bush started a campaign to expand homeownership in 2002." ... "The percentage
of households headed by homeowners, which soared to a record 69.1 percent
in 2005, fell to 67.8 percent this year, the sharpest decline in 20 years,
according to census data through the end of March. By extension, the percentage
of households headed by renters increased to 32.2 percent, from 30.9 percent."
... "The figures, while seemingly modest, reflect a significant shift in
national housing trends, housing analysts say, with the notable gains in
homeownership achieved under Mr. Bush all but vanishing over the last two
years." ... "Many of the new renters, meanwhile, are struggling to get
into decent apartments as vacancies decline, rents rise and other renters
increasingly stay put. Some renters who want to buy homes are unable to
get mortgages as banks impose stricter standards. Others remain reluctant
to buy, anxious that housing prices will continue to fall." ... "The confluence
of factors has largely derailed what Mr. Bush called “the ownership society,”
his campaign to give millions of people — particularly minority and lower-income
families — a shot at homeownership by encouraging lenders to finance more
home purchases." ... "“We’re not going to see homeownership rates like
that for a generation,” said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s
Economy.com, a research company." (1, 2)
-By Rachel
L. Swarns -NYTimes
-
Barack
Obama -
Illinois
- Politics
-
2008
Election
"Obama
Making Christian Push." ... "With the Democratic
presidential nomination in his grasp, [2008 Eleciton Democratic Presidential
Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama is making a full-throttle
push for centrist evangelicals and Catholics." ... ""I've never seen anything
quite like it before," said evangelical author Stephen Mansfield, who wrote
"The Faith of George W. Bush" and has a forthcoming book about Obama."
... ""To be running against a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and to be reaching
into the Christian community as wisely and knowledgeably as (Obama) is
-- understanding their terms and their values -- is just remarkable.""
... "This month, the Illinois senator held a closed-door meeting in Chicago
[Illinois] with almost 40 Christian leaders, including evangelical heavyweights
such as the [Reverend] Rev. Franklin Graham, publishing magnate Steve Strang
and megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes." ... "Obama's campaign is also
launching a grass-roots effort, tentatively called Joshua Generation, with
plans to hold concerts and house meetings targeted at young evangelicals
and Catholics." ... "A political action committee set to launch this month,
the Matthew 25 Network, plans to direct radio advertising and mailers to
Christian communities while talking up Obama in the media. The group is
not officially tied to the Obama campaign." ... "Obama's emphasis on faith
outreach plays to his strengths, campaign observers say. The senator is
at ease speaking about religion and preaches a message of forging common
ground with disparate communities. " (1, 2)
-By Daniel Burke -WashingtonPost
-
China
-
Hackers
- US
-
GOV
- Lawmakers
-
Human
Rights - Politics
-
Military
- Intelligence
-
Investigation
-
Va
-
NJ
-
Ill
"More
congressional computers hacked from China." ... "More
Members of Congress have had their computers infiltrated by hackers within
China than initially suspected, a lawmaker has revealed." ... "[Representatives]
Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia), Chris Smith (R-N.J. [Republican-New
Jersey), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) admitted to having
data removed from their Capitol Hill computers last week, but Wolf says
there are more." ... "“I would suspect that the Foreign Affairs, Armed
Services, Intelligence, (and) Appropriations committees would all be top
targets,” Kirk said." ... "Wolf and Smith said they believe the hackers
focused on them because of their continued objections to China’s human
rights violations, and suspected that the hackers were looking for information
on dissidents." ... "The FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] asked the
lawmakers not to speak publicly, fearing that if they did, they would be
unable to track the IP addresses of the hackers, Kirk said." ... "“When
you’re in the middle of a criminal investigation, you try not to alert
the criminal of what’s happened so you can track it down,” he said." -By
Jordy Yager -TheHill.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 20, 2008 News URL: #June-20-2008-News
20080620
Friday
-
John
McCain -
Criminal
- Financing
-
Lawyering
-
Politics
-
Federal
-
2008
Election
"McCain
Breaking the Law in Plain Sight." ... "I mentioned
earlier today that it was quite a thing to see John McCain denouncing Barack
Obama for breaking his word on public financing when McCain himself is
at this moment breaking the law in continuing to spend over the spending
limits he promised to abide by through the primary season in exchange for
public financing. (By the FEC's [Federal Election Commission's] rules,
we're still in the primary phase of the election and will be until the
conventions.)" ... "I want to return to this subject though because this
is not hyperbole or some throw away line. He's really doing it. McCain
opting into public financing, accepted the spending limits and then profited
from that opt-in by securing a campaign saving loan. And then he used some
clever, but not clever enough lawyering, to opt back out. And the person
charged with saying what flies and what doesn't -- the Republican head
of the FEC -- said he's not allowed to do that. He can't opt out unilaterally
unless the FEC says he can." ... "The most generous interpretation of what
happened is that McCain's lawyer came up with an ingenious legal two step
that allowed him to double dip in the campaign finance system, eat his
cake and spend it too. But even if you buy that line, successful gaming
of the system doesn't really count as strict adherence. And the point is
irrelevant since the head of the FEC -- a Republican -- says McCain cannot
do this on his own. " -By Josh Marshall
-TalkingPointsMemo.com
WATCH:
"TPMtv: [McCain] Campaign Finance Deformed"
-By Josh Marshall -Veracifier
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 19, 2008 News URL: #June-19-2008-News
20080619
Thursday
-
Military
- Tech
-
Safety
-
Investigation
-
Government
-
Accounting
- Politics
-
US
-
Taiwan
"US
N-weapons parts missing, Pentagon says." ... "The
US military cannot locate hundreds of sensitive nuclear missile components,
according to several government officials familiar with a Pentagon report
on nuclear safeguards." ... "Robert Gates, US [Republican President Bush's]
defence secretary, recently fired both the US Air Force chief of staff
and air force secretary after an investigation blamed the air force for
the inadvertent shipment of nuclear missile nose cones to Taiwan." ...
"According to previously undisclosed details obtained by the FT, the investigation
also concluded that the air force could not account for many sensitive
components previously included in its nuclear inventory." ... "One official
said the number of missing components was more than 1,000." ... "The disclosure
is the latest embarrassing episode for the air force, which last year had
to explain how a bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear missiles across
the US." -By Demetri Sevastopulos
-FT.com
-
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama -
Iowa
-
Flood
-
Disaster
- Law
-
Enforcement
-
2008
Election
"Culver
aides: McCain ignored request to cancel Iowa visit."
... "An aide to [Iowa Democratic Governor] Gov. Chet Culver said Thursday
that [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain ignored
the governor's request to cancel a campaign visit amid a massive flood
recovery effort in the state." ... "Patrick Dillon, Culver's chief of staff,
said the governor was concerned that McCain's trip would divert local law
enforcement from the flood recovery effort to provide security for McCain."
... "[2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama canceled
a scheduled visit to eastern Iowa last week at the request of state officials."
-By Mike Glover -AP
via -Google
-
Disaster
- Environment
-
Human
-
Agriculture
-
Land
- Science
-
Iowa
- History
-
Weather
"Iowa
Flooding Could Be An Act of Man, Experts Say." ...
"[Cedar Falls, Iowa college professor and City Council member Kamyar] Enshayan,
director of an environmental center at the University of Northern Iowa,
suspects that this natural disaster wasn't really all that natural. He
points out that the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered
by humans. Plowed fields have replaced tallgrass prairies. Fields have
been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have
been straightened. Most of the wetlands are gone. Flood plains have been
filled and developed." ... ""We've done numerous things to the landscape
that took away these water-absorbing functions," he said. "Agriculture
must respect the limits of nature."" ... "Officials are still trying to
understand all the factors that contributed to Iowa's flooding, and not
everyone has the same suspicions as Enshayan. For them, the cause was obvious:
It rained buckets and buckets for days on end. They say the changes in
land use were lesser factors in what was really just a case of meteorological
bad luck." ... "But some Iowans who study the environment suspect that
changes in the land, both recently and over the past century or so, have
made Iowa's terrain not only highly profitable but also highly vulnerable
to flooding." ... "" (1, 2)
-By Joel Achenbach with contributions by Kari Lydersen
-WashingtonPost
-
War
Crimes -
Criminal
- Politicians
-
US
-
Iraq
-
Afghanistan
-
Guantanamo
Bay - Cuba
-
Military
- Intelligence
-
Prison
-
Torture
- Human
-
Human
Rights - Law
-
Medical
-
Psychological
- Science
"General
who probed Abu Ghraib says [Republican President] Bush officials committed
war crimes." ... "The Army general who led the investigation
into prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison accused the [Republican
President] Bush administration Wednesday of committing "war crimes" and
called for those responsible to be held to account." ... "The remarks by
[Major General] Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who's now retired, came in a
new report that found that [United States] U.S. personnel tortured and
abused detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, using beatings,
electrical shocks, sexual humiliation and other cruel practices." ... ""After
years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports
from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether
the current administration has committed war crimes," Taguba wrote. "The
only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered
the use of torture will be held to account."" ... "Taguba, whose 2004 investigation
documented chilling abuses at Abu Ghraib, is thought to be the most senior
official to have accused the administration of war crimes. "The commander
in chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture,"
he wrote." ... "The group Physicians for Human Rights, which compiled the
new report, described it as the most in-depth medical and psychological
examination of former detainees to date." ... "Also this week, a probe
by the Senate Armed Services Committee revealed how senior Pentagon officials
pushed for harsher interrogation methods over the objections of top military
lawyers. Those methods later surfaced in Afghanistan and Iraq." -By
Warren
P. Strobel -McClatchyDC.com
-
Special
Report
-
Noteworthy
- US
-
Guantanamo
Bay - Cuba
-
Military
-Intelligence
-
Torture
-
War
Crimes -
Prison
-
Investigation
- Legal
-
Rights
-
Religious
- Terrorism
-
School
-
Politics
"Guantanamo
Bay detainees investigation." ... "An eight-month
McClatchy investigation of the detention system created after the [September]
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has found that the [United States] U.S. imprisoned
innocent men, subjected them to abuse, stripped them of their legal rights
and allowed Islamic militants to turn the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba into a school for jihad."
-
Torture
-
Crimes
- Unlawful
-
US
-
Iraq
-
Afghanistan
-
Guantanamo
Bay - Cuba
-
Military
- Intelligence
-
Prison
- Terrorism
-
War
Crimes - Politics
-
Human
-
Rights
- Medical
-
Psychological
- Science
"Broken
Laws, Broken Lives: Medical Evidence of Torture by
the US." ... "About: Broken Laws, Broken Lives shows the
human consequences of harsh and unlawful US interrogation practices. This
landmark report reveals the excruciating pain and continued suffering of
men who, never charged with any crime, endured torture at US detention
facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay [Cuba]. Based
on internationally accepted standards for clinical assessment of torture
claims, the report documents practices used to bring about long-lasting
pain, terror, humiliation, and shame for months on end." -Physicians
for Human Rights -BrokenLives.info
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 17, 2008 News URL: #June-17-2008-News
20080617
Tuesday
-
Obama
-
2008
Election - Internet
-
Media
-
Cable
Networks - Politics
-
Religion
-
Women
"Jon
Stewart Mocks Media For Peddling Insane Obama Rumors."
... "On Monday night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart mocked the media's willingness
to peddle insane rumors about [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Barack Obama — and their tendency to blame the rumor-mongering on internet
sites. Calling it "Baracknophobia," Stewart showed clips of anchor and
pundits from all three cable networks repeating baseless rumors (Muslim,
plagiarist, sexist, etc.) about Barack Obama (and his wife Michelle)."
-HuffingtonPost.com
WATCH!-)
Jon Stewart on "Baracknophobia" ... "The irrational fear of hope."
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 16, 2008 News URL: #June-16-2008-News
20080616
Monday
-
Kevin
Jeffrey Martin - Corporate
-
Government
- Politics
-
Satellite
-
Spectrum
- History
-
Communications
-
Media
-
Minorities
-
Women
- Lawmakers
-
Md
"Radio
Merger Under Fire From Black Lawmakers: Caucus, FCC
[Federal Communications Commission] Chair Differ On Setting Aside XM, Sirius
Channels for Minorities." ... "Senior members of the Congressional Black
Caucus yesterday criticized a compromise plan for the proposed merger of
the XM and Sirius satellite radio companies, saying the deal does not provide
enough opportunities for minority-owned programming." ... "[Republican
President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin
said over the weekend that he would support the merger after XM Satellite
Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio voluntarily agreed, among a series
of other concessions, to lease 4 percent of their radio spectrums, or 12
channels, for programming run by minorities and women." ... "Members of
the black caucus on Capitol Hill have been arguing for the merged company
to lease five times that amount of spectrum to companies owned by racial
minorities." ... "[Maryland Democratic Representative Elijah E. Cummings:]
"It's shocking to the conscience in this day and age, where the minority
populations comprise a significant part of the satellite radio audience,
that Mr. Martin would settle for what I deem to be crumbs that have fallen
off the table," Cummings said." ... "If the merger is approved, it would
be a major reversal of FCC rules. The agency distributed licenses to XM
and Sirius in 1997 on the condition the two companies never combine." -By
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost
-
Electricity
-
Market
-
Law
-
Enforcement
-
Texas
"Power
firms’ treatment angers Texans." ... "Prices aren’t
the only thing skyrocketing in the state’s deregulated electricity market."
... "Amid continuing company failures — and the resulting forced transfer
of tens of thousands of ratepayers to default electric companies — Texans
in growing numbers are griping about their ill treatment by power companies."
... "According to the Texas Public Utility Commission, complaints related
to the electric market jumped from 704 in January to 1,123 in May. Complaints
against three of the four recently failed electric companies jumped about
2,400 percent, from about 20 at the beginning of the year to 508 in May."
... "E-mails and phone calls also continue streaming into the Star-Telegram.
Frustrated consumers tell stories of poor treatment by their regular electric
competitors, confusing PUC rules, uninformed marketers and the near impossibility
of obtaining reliable information about the financial status of companies
seeking their business." ... "One company has collected payments from customers
but not delivered any electricity, according to some complaints." -By
R.A. Dyer -Star-Telegram.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 15, 2008 News URL: #June-15-2008-News
20080615
Sunday
-
John
McCain -
Clayton
Williams -
Women
- Politics
-
Texas
-
Ariz
-
2008
Election
"McCain
Texas Fundraiser Back On, Sans Oilman." ... "[2008
Elecition Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz [Republican-Arizona]) has decided to hold a fundraiser initially
sponsored by a controversial Texas oilman later in the summer at a different
venue, according to an aide who asked not to be identified." ... "McCain
had planned to hold a joint fundraiser with the Republican National Committee
on Monday at the Midland, Tex., home of Clayton Williams, who ran for governor
of his state in 1990. But after reporters from The Washington Post and
ABC inquired Friday about a remark Williams made comparing rape to bad
weather -- "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and
enjoy it" -- the campaign cancelled the fundraiser. Williams has apologized
for the remarks" -By Juliet Eilperin
-WashingtonPost
-
John
McCain -
Clayton
Williams - Money
-
Politics
-
Texas
-
2008
Election
"McCain
Cancels Event Over Texan's 1990 Rape Joke: Clayton
Williams Made Comments While Running Against [then Texas Democratic Candidate
for Governor] Ann Richards." ... "Questions from the media prompted Republican
[2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain to cancel a fundraiser
at the home of a Texas oilman who once joked that women should give in
while being raped." ... "The Texan, Republican Clayton "Claytie" Williams,
made the joke during his failed 1990 campaign for governor against Democrat
Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as
it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." He also compared
Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof
her and drag her through the dirt."" ... "Williams told his hometown newspaper,
the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for
McCain." -AP
via -cbs2chicago.com
-
John
McCain -
Hillary
Clinton -
Women
- Health
-
Abortion
- Money
-
Law
"Angry
Clinton Women [HEART] McCain?" ... "Ten years ago
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain had to apologize
for regaling a Republican audience with a crude
sexual joke about Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and Janet Reno. Last
year he had to explain why he didn’t so much as flinch when a
supporter asked him on camera, “How do we beat the bitch?” But these
days Mr. McCain just loves the women." ... "You’d never guess that Mr.
McCain is a fierce
foe of abortion rights or that he voted to terminate the federal family-planning
program that provides breast-cancer screenings. You’d never know that his
[McCain's] new campaign blogger, recruited from The Weekly Standard, had
shown his genuine affection for Mrs. Clinton earlier this year by portraying
her as a liar and whiner and by piling on with a locker-room jeer after
she’d been called a monster. “Tell us something we don’t know,” he wrote."
... "But while the McCain campaign apparently believes that women are easy
marks for its latent feminist cross-dressing, a reality check suggests
that most women can instantly identify any man who’s hitting on them for
selfish ends. New polls show Mr. Obama opening up a huge lead among female
voters — beating Mr. McCain by 13 percentage points in the Gallup and Rasmussen
polls and by 19 points in
the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News survey." ... "... the notion
that all female Clinton supporters became “angry white women” once their
candidate lost — to the hysterical extreme where even lifelong Democrats
would desert their own party en masse — is itself a sexist stereotype.
That’s why some of the same talking heads and Republican operatives who
gleefully insulted Mrs. Clinton are now peddling this fable on such flimsy
anecdotal evidence." -By Frank
Rich -NYTimes
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 14, 2008 News URL: #June-14-2008-News
20080614
Saturday
-
John
McCain -
Clayton
Williams - Money
-
Politics
-
Texas
- History
-
2008
Election
"McCain
fundraiser's joke about rape resurfaces: GOP [GOP=Grand
Old Party=Republican] candidate postpones event in Midland [Texas] after
questions emerge." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
John] McCain's campaign late Friday said it had pulled the plug on a fundraising
event scheduled for Monday at Williams' Midland home after reporters contacted
the campaign asking about remarks made by the Texas Republican during his
1990 race against Democrat Ann Richards." ... "But Saturday afternoon,
the McCain campaign told the Houston Chronicle that the Midland event had
been postponed until this summer and would be held in a public venue."
... "Late Saturday afternoon, a McCain aide confirmed to the Chronicle
that the Midland event had been postponed but had not been taken off the
calendar. The compromise allowed McCain to say he had not held a fundraiser
at Williams' house; it gave Williams an opportunity to say that the event
he organized had not been canceled." ... ""Clayton Williams' totally inappropriate
remarks about women are well-known," [daughter of Ann Richards, Cecile]
Richards told the Chronicle. "Planning to host a fundraiser at his house
is just another example of how out of touch John McCain is when it comes
to women's issues. This is a major misstep for the McCain campaign, who
is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By
Richard S. Dunham with contributions by Alan Bernstein and Bennett Roth
-Chron
-
Flood
-
Iowa
-
Des-Moines
-
Illinois
- History
-
Health
"Thousands
Flee Rising Waters In Iowa, Ill.: Breaking Levees
Flood Des Moines [Iowa's capital], Western Ill. [Illinois]; Streets In
Cedar Rapids [Iowa] May Be Underwater For Two Weeks." ... "Days after it
rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, the
Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes, emergency
officials said Saturday." ... "The bleak news came as swollen rivers breached
levees in the state capital, Des Moines, and in far western Illinois, leading
to the evacuation of hundreds more homes." ... "Officials guess it will
be four days before the Cedar River drops enough for workers to even begin
pumping out water that has submerged at least 438 blocks, threatened the
Cedar Rapids drinking water supply and forced the evacuation of a downtown
hospital." ... "The Cedar River crested Friday night at nearly 32 feet,
12 feet higher than the old record set in 1929." (1, 2)
-AP -CBSNews
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 13, 2008 News URL: #June-13-2008-News
20080613
Friday
-
Gordon
Smith - Oil
-
Money
-
Auto
-
Makers
-
Oregon
-
Television
-
Ad
-
2008
Election
"Political
ads try to tie Smith to gas prices." ... "An independent
Democratic group launched two television ads today that try to tie [Oregon]
Republican Senator Gordon Smith to skyrocketing gasoline prices." ... "Both
contend that Smith has accepted huge contributions from oil companies and
automakers, and that he had voted against higher fuel mileage standards
while supporting tax breaks for oil companies."
-AP via KTVZ
WATCH
Ad on Gordon Smith oil corporation "Billions"
WATCH
Ad on Gordon Smith gasoline "Dollars"
-
John
McCain -
Clayton
Williams - Money
-
Politics
-
Family
-
Abortion
- Law
-
Texas
-
2008
Election
"McCain
Cancels Fundraiser with Oilman Who Joked About Rape."
... "Clayton Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against the late Texas [Governor]
Gov. Ann Richards (D [Democratic]), sparked controversy nearly two decades
ago when he joked women should give in while being raped. "As long as it's
inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it," the oilman remarked
at the time." ... "The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which has sharply
criticized [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain
for his opposition to abortion rights and other family planning programs,
first contacted the Post about Williams' remarks. The group's president,
Cecile Richards, is the daughter of the late Texas governor." ... ""It's
shocking that John McCain would choose to fundraise with Clayton Williams,
who made his political career saying completely inappropriate and disrespectful
remarks about women," Richards wrote in an e-mail. "This is a real misstep
for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from
women."" -By Juliet Eilperin
-WashingtonPost
John
McCain's contributor Clayton Williams "in His Own Words".
-
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama - Economists
-
Accounting
-
2008
Election
"Will
the real tax-and-spender please 'fess up? Economists
across political spectrum question [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate John] McCain's portrayal of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack] Obama." ... "In a study of the candidates’ plans made
public Wednesday, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center concluded that in contrast
to Mr. McCain, “Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and
middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers.”"
... "The study said, “The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would
go to those at the bottom of the income distribution,” whereas “Senator
McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes.”"
... "Other groups that focus on tax and economic policy are preparing similar
analyses, but say they regard the Tax Policy Center’s assessment as highly
reliable, based on its work in the past." ... "According to the group’s
computations, under Mr. Obama’s plan, the middle of the middle class, or
those earning $37,595 to $66,354, would see taxes cut by $1,042 a year.
Under Mr. McCain’s plan, taxes for people in that category would also fall,
but by $319; the largest chunk of the benefits would go to those making
$2.8 million a year or more." -By Larry Rohter
-NYTimes via -MSNBC
-
Tim
Russert -
Barack
Obama -
John
McCain - Internet
-
EMail
-
Media
-
- Politics
-
Religion
-
Indiana
-
Illinois
- US
-
Iraq
-
Iran
-
Military
- Money
-
Social
Security -
2008
Election
[NOTE:
On the day MSNBC's Meet
the Press television political journalist Tim Russert died, MSNBC published
this interview with Tim Russert:]
"Vigilance
needed on campaign claims: Big issues, not smears,
need to be the focus." ... "Msnbc: Tim, www.fightthesmears.com
is a web site launched by the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Barack Obama campaign to combat potentially damaging rumor about the candidate
and his wife, Michelle. Is this necessary? How big of a problem is
this really?" ... "Tim Russert: It’s amazing how much the Internet
has changed our lives. People get emails that make accusations without
foundation and they are circulated around the country within seconds and
suddenly become topics of conversations around water coolers or in lunchrooms."
... "I remember being in Indianapolis [Indiana's capital] covering the
Indiana primary and a man came up to me and said he wasn’t going to vote
for [Illinois] Senator Obama because he was very concerned about the comments
made by Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor. I said, “That’s interesting.
As a reporter, I’m curious what comments particularly bothered you?”
He said, “Well, I can’t think of any that come to mind, but I also read
on the Internet that he’s a Muslim.” And I said, “Now wait a minute.
You can’t have both. You can’t be offended by his Christian minister
and then say he’s a Muslim. You’ve got to pick one.”" ... "But that
just underscores what we’re dealing with in this modern era." ... "Now
I’m told there’s a counter organization with a very similar name that is
going to be positioned and posted to spread the rumors, so that people
that go to the Internet to get clarification will go to the wrong web site
and get confused." ... "It’s a virus. You have bloggers on both sides,
liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats all trying to utilize
this vehicle without any kind of fact checking and without any kind of
editorial control." ... "Msnbc: Given the way people use the
Internet, do you wonder if there are going to be some things said or done
during the course of this campaign that will be very unsettling?" ... "Russert:
That’s what we have to be conscious of and vigilant against, particularly
at the end of the campaign as things are put out there. We’ve already
had a few fake videos with different words dubbed in and people say, “This
must be true because I saw it on the Internet.”" ... "What we hope to do
in this campaign is recognize there are big differences on big issues between
John McCain and Barack Obama – the war in Iraq, Iran, Social Security,
taxes. You don’t need to get into this other stuff. If it does
surface, then I think the mainstream media has an obligation not to just
instinctively put it out there without vetting it. Or, if it is something
that is manufactured as a virus, report on that – who did it and why.
But sometimes it’s very hard to trace it back to its original source."
-MSNBC
-
John
McCain -
Rick
Davis -
Foreign
-Money
-
Politician
-
Law
-
Ukraine
- Russia
-
US
-
2008
Election
"Alleged
Russia Ties Entangle McCain Campaign Manager." ...
"[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential
campaign is blasting a New
York Times report suggesting that the candidate may have known since
2005 that his campaign manager's [lobbying] firm worked for a Kremlin[citadel
in Moscow, Russia's capital]-backed politician." ... "The McCain campaign
is strongly denying the paper's reporting that in 2005, a White House National
Security Council staffer called John McCain's Senate office to complain
that Rick Davis' lobbying firm was "undercutting American policy on Ukraine"
by representing a Kremlin-backed politician [Ukrainian politician Viktor
Yanukovich]." ... "If the account of the NSC [National Security Council]
staffer's call is true, it suggests McCain should have known about the
work by Davis' business -- but installed him as campaign manager anyway."
... "The story also raises the possibility that Davis' firm may have violated
the anti-espionage Foreign Agents Registration Act, by failing to register
work for Yanukovich with the [United States] U.S. government." -By
Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com
-
J
Robert Flores
-
Crime
- Political
-
Juvenile
- Justice
-
Science
-
Sports
-
New
Jersey -
Texas
"Football
Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant: Despite
Not Even Applying, the Charity Was Awarded a Grant; Some [Department Of
Justice] DOJ Staffers Objected." ... "A group that promotes leadership
through football says it doesn't know how it was awarded a $500,000 federal
grant to help stop juvenile crime, but that it "wasn't political."" ...
"The grant is one of a number for the Department of Justice's Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) that has come under
scrutiny after current and former employees said the official who awarded
the money ignored professional staff recommendations and played favorites
with groups connected to the [Republican] Bush White House. ABC
News conducted an investigation into the OJJDP, which aired earlier this
week on "Nightline"." ... "The National Football Foundation (NFF),
formerly based in New Jersey and now in Texas, says they did not apply
for the grant and have had no contact with J. Robert Flores, the official
who awarded the money." ... "Some OJJDP staffers said this program did
not deserve the funding." ... ""The football program, like the World Golf
Foundation, has lots of private resources and outside funding. They have
wealthy powerful people on the board," one staffer said." ... "The staffer
added that by law the OJJDP's primary focus is to fund programs that intervene
and protect kids who are on the cusp of entering into the juvenile justice
system or who are already in the system, and there is no research that
shows this program targets the most at-risk kids." (1,
2)
-By Anna Schecter -ABCNEWS.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 12, 2008 News URL: #June-12-2008-News
20080612
Thursday
-
Nepal
- History
"Happiness,
caution in Nepal as ousted king quits." ... "Nepalis
greeted the king's departure with joy on Thursday but cautioned the country's
new rulers must now deliver the goods." ... "A day after deposed King Gyanendra
quit the main palace to live like a common citizen, the streets of Kathmandu
[Nepal's capital] buzzed with discussions about his departure." ... "A
specially elected assembly overwhelmingly voted last month to turn Nepal
into a republic, ending the 239-year-old monarchy." -By
Gopal Sharma with contributions by Krittivas Mukherjee
-Reuters
-
John
McCain -
Osama
bin Laden
- Afghanistan
-
Iraq
-
US
-
Military
- People
-
Arizona
-
Del
-
Nev
-
2008
Election
"McCain’s
remark sparks an uproar." ... "[2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain triggered
a tempest over Iraq on Wednesday, saying it was "not too important" to
set a timetable for American troop withdrawals from Iraq." ... "The presumptive
Republican presidential nominee was asked on NBC's "Today" show if he had
an estimate for when [United States] U.S. troops might leave Iraq." ...
""No, but that's not too important," he replied. "What's important is casualties
in Iraq. . . . Americans are in South Korea. Americans are in Japan. American
troops are in Germany. That's all fine. . . . The key to it is, we don't
want any more Americans in harm's way."" ... "[Delaware Democratic Senator
Joseph Biden:]" ... ""Sen. McCain's comment is evidence that he is totally
out of touch with the needs of our troops and the national security needs
of our nation," said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del. [Democratic-Delaware]).
"I think many of our brave soldiers and their families would disagree that
it's 'not too important' when they come home."" ... "[Nevada Democratic
Senator and] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev. [Democratic-Nevada])
joined in. "McCain's statement today that withdrawing troops doesn't matter
is a crystal-clear indicator that he just doesn't get the grave national
security consequences of staying the course," Reid said in a statement.
"Osama bin Laden is freely plotting attacks, our efforts in Afghanistan
are undermanned, and our military readiness has been dangerously diminished.""
-By John McCormick with contributions by Mike Dorning
and Mark Silva -ChicagoTribune
via -LAtimes
-
Barack
Obama -
John
McCain - Corporate
-
Politics
-
History
-
Missouri
-
2008
Election
"Obama
vs. McCain: Taxing and Spending." ... "Campaigning
in St. Louis [Missouri] on June 10, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack] Obama called the current [Republican President Bush]
Administration "the most fiscally irresponsible in our history" and argued
that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain would
be even worse. "I've said John McCain is running to serve out a third term,
but when it comes to taxes, that's not being fair to George Bush. Senator
McCain wants to add $300 billion more in tax breaks and loopholes for big
corporations and the wealthiest Americans," Obama said." ... "First
Round to Obama" ... "According to a new analysis by the nonpartisan
Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and the
Brookings Institution, two Washington think tanks, this round goes to Obama.
The TPC took a look at the various tax proposals put forth by the two candidates
and estimated that Obama's plan would lead to a boost in aftertax income
for all but the highest earners, while taking a smaller bite out of government
tax revenues than would McCain's plans." ... "Len Burman, a former Treasury
tax official who is now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, says if
Obama's proposals—which include plans to rescind the Bush tax cuts on couples
making more than $250,000, close corporate tax loopholes, and tax private
equity earnings known as "carried interest" as ordinary income—were adopted
in 2009, for example, married couples with earnings in the lowest quintile
of the population would see their aftertax income rise 5.8%. Those in the
next quintile would see an increase of 4%. Those breaks would be paid for
by those with high incomes: the top 1% of taxpayers would see aftertax
income fall 8.4%." ... "Under McCain's proposals, by contrast—including
an extension of the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers, a corporate tax cut,
and a larger reduction in estate taxes than Obama would support—far more
of the benefits would go to the top. If his plans went into effect in 2009,
married couples in the bottom fifth of the population would see aftertax
income go up just 0.2%, while those in the next quintile would see a 0.7%
hike. But those in the top quintile would see a bump up in aftertax income
of 2.7%." ... ""It's just flat wrong" to say people would do worse under
Obama, says Burman. "Most lower- and middle-class people would pay less
taxes under Obama than they would under the proposals being put forth by
McCain."" ... "[Obama's economic policy director Jason Furman:] "Some 23%
of the tax cuts they [McCain and Republican's] are proposing would go to
households making more than $2.8 million under the McCain plan," he says.
"That's a phenomenally large benefit for the super rich, beyond anything
George Bush has proposed." " (1, 2)
-By Jane Sasseen -BusinessWeek
-
Health
-
Science
-
Environmental
-
Safety
- Laws
-
Manufacturing
- Industries
-
EU
- US
-
Global
-
Consumers
-
Government
- Politics
-
Computer
-
Privacy
-
Newborns
"Chemical
Law Has Global Impact: [European Union's] E.U.'s
New Rules Forcing Changes By [United States] U.S. Firms." ... "Europe this
month rolled out new restrictions on makers of chemicals linked to cancer
and other health problems, changes that are forcing U.S. industries to
find new ways to produce a wide range of everyday products." ... "The new
laws in the European Union require companies to demonstrate that a chemical
is safe before it enters commerce -- the opposite of policies in the United
States, where regulators must prove that a chemical is harmful before it
can be restricted or removed from the market. Manufacturers say that complying
with the European laws will add billions to their costs, possibly driving
up prices of some products." ... "The changes come at a time when consumers
are increasingly worried about the long-term consequences of chemical exposure
and are agitating for more aggressive regulation. In the United States,
these pressures have spurred efforts in Congress and some state legislatures
to pass laws that would circumvent the laborious federal regulatory process."
... "Adamantly opposed by the U.S. chemical industry and the [Republican
President] Bush administration, the E.U. laws will be phased in over the
next decade. It is difficult to know exactly how the changes will affect
products sold in the United States. But American manufacturers are already
searching for safer alternatives to chemicals used to make thousands of
consumer goods, from bike helmets to shower curtains." ... "The European
Union's tough stance on chemical regulation is the latest area in which
the Europeans are reshaping business practices with demands that American
companies either comply or lose access to a market of 27 countries and
nearly 500 million people." ... "From its crackdown on antitrust practices
in the computer industry to its rigorous protection of consumer privacy,
the European Union has adopted a regulatory philosophy that emphasizes
the consumer. Its approach to managing chemical risks, which started with
a trickle of individual bans and has swelled into a wave, is part of a
European focus on caution when it comes to health and the environment."
... "A study by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group found an average
of 200 industrial chemicals in the cord blood of newborns." (1, 2)
-By Lyndsey Layton -WashingtonPost
-
J
Robert Flores
- Political
-
Federal
-
Juvenile
- Justice
-
Health
-
Science
"Questions
Surround Govt Funded Abstinence Program: Why Did
a Lower-Ranked Organization Get Money While Higher-Ranked Groups Were Denied
Funding?" ... "An organization that promotes sexual abstinence for teens
received a federal grant of over a million dollars, twice what it had requested,
despite the skepticism Department of Justice staffers had about the group
and the fact that it refused to participate in a congressionally mandated
study." ... "So why did the Best Friends Foundation receive the grant from
the Justice Department's juvenile justice office even though dozens of
competing organizations were rated higher by the office's own reviewers?
Current and former staffers say it was because of Best Friends' powerful
president and founder, Elayne Bennett." ... "Not only is Bennett the wife
of Bill Bennett, a former [Republican President] Reagan and [Republican
President] Bush administration official and conservative political commentator,
but she is also personally close to the chief administrator of the Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), J. Robert Flores."
... "DOJ staffers were deeply skeptical when Best Friends applied for a
grant of around a half-million dollars last summer. For one thing, the
organization had backed out of a congressionally mandated study to examine
whether or not abstinence programs are effective." ... "Then there were
the DOJ staffers own internal reviews, which placed Best Friends behind
dozens of other competing organizations. Out of 104 grants in their category,
Best Friends ranked 53rd." ... "But those other organizations didn't have
Elayne Bennett. Bennett, say current and former DOJ staffers in the OJJDP,
often spoke on the phone with Flores and had access to him and his aides
that other juvenile organizations ordinarily wouldn't have." ... "Meanwhile,
competing with Best Friends for a federal grant from the OJJDP was a Washington
non-profit, the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an advocacy
group for victims of rape and sexual assault." ... "In the category of
OJJDP grants for which both organizations applied, Best Friends ranked
51st, while RAINN came in at 14th. RAINN did not receive a grant from the
OJJDP." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Murray Waas -ABCNEWS.com
-
John
McCain -
Rick
Davis -
Paul
J Manafort Jr -
Foreign
- Money
-
Politicians
-
Russia
-
Ukraine
-
Military
- Intelligence
-
Legislation
-
History
-
Germany
-
US
-
New
York
-
2008
Election
"Lawmakers
Seek to Close Foreign Lobbyist Loopholes." ... "Loopholes
that lobbyists for foreign clients sometimes use to keep their activities
under wraps would be closed under legislation that two Democratic senators
are expected to offer on Thursday." ... "“The idea you could lobby an American
citizen and that it would not be disclosed is really very troubling,” [New
York Democratic Senator Charles] Mr. Schumer said in a telephone interview."
... "The issue of foreign lobbying has flared up in the current presidential
campaign because of past dealings abroad by several former lobbyists working
for Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee." ... "For instance,
a lobbying firm owned by Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager, has worked
in recent years for a Ukraine politician, Viktor Yanukovich. Both Mr. McCain
and the [Republican President] Bush administration supported the opponent
of Mr. Yanukovich, who had close ties to Vladimir V. Putin, then the president
of Russia and now prime minister." ... "During this time, however, Mr.
Davis’s firm, Davis Manafort, never registered as a lobbyist for Mr. Yanukovich
even though Paul Manafort, Mr. Davis’s business partner, had met with the
United States ambassador in Kiev [Ukraine's capital] on Mr. Yanukovich’s
behalf." ... "In a related development, Mr. McCain may have first become
aware of Davis Manafort’s activities in Ukraine as far back as 2005. At
that time, a staff member at the National Security Council called Mr. McCain’s
Senate office to complain that Mr. Davis’s lobbying firm was undercutting
American foreign policy in Ukraine, said a person with direct knowledge
of the phone call who spoke on condition of anonymity." ... "Such a call
might mean that Mr. McCain has been long aware of Mr. Davis’s foreign clients."
... "The current law governing foreign lobbying, the Foreign Agents Registration
Act, requires those representing a foreign government or foreign officials
in the United States to inform the Department of Justice. The act does
not cover meetings abroad with United States officials." ... "The law was
enacted in the late 1930s in an effort to flush out Nazi propagandists
working in the United States. As a result, several experts have said, the
law is outdated and fails to reflect the current global nature of lobbying.
" -By Barry Meier -NYTimes
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 11, 2008 News URL: #June-11-2008-News
20080611
Wednesday
-
Secret
- Surveillance
-
Cellphone
- Tracking
-
Technology
-
Internet
-
Financial
-
Data
-Electronic
-
Intelligence
-
Counterterrorism
-
Investigation
- Law
-
Politics
"Secret
Spy Court Repeatedly Questions FBI Wiretap Network."
... "Does the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] track cellphone users'
physical movements without a warrant? Does the Bureau store recordings
of innocent Americans caught up in wiretaps in a searchable database?
Does the FBI's wiretap equipment store information like voicemail passwords
and bank account numbers without legal authorization to do so?" ... "That's
what the nation's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court [FISC] wanted
to know, in a series of secret inquiries in 2005 and 2006 into the bureau's
counterterrorism electronic surveillance efforts, revealed for the first
time in newly declassified documents." ... "The inquires are the first
publicly known questioning of the FBI's post-9/11 surveillance activities
by the secret court, which has historically
approved nearly every wiretap application submitted to it. The
court handles surveillance requests in counterterrorism and foreign espionage
investigations. The inquiries add to questions surrounding how the FBI
has used the broad powers handed to it by Congress in the 2001 USA Patriot
Act, including the FBI's admitted
abuse of so-called National Security Letters to get stored telephone
and financial records." ... "Among other things, the declassified documents
reveal that lawyers in the FBI's Office of General Counsel and the Justice
Department's Office of Intelligence Policy Review queried FBI technology
officials in late July 2006 about cellphone tracking. The attorneys asked
whether the FBI was obtaining and storing real-time cellphone-location
data from carriers under a "pen register" court order that's normally limited
to records of who a person called or was called by." ... "Separately, the
secret court questioned if the FBI was using pen register orders to collect
digits dialed after a call is made, potentially including voicemail passwords
and account numbers entered into bank-by-phone applications." ... "EFF's
Bankston says it's clear that FBI offices had configured their digit-recording
software, [Digital Collection System] DCS 3000, to collect more than the
law allows." ... "For more on the FBI's sophisticated wiretapping technology
and how it links in with the nation's phone and internet infrastructure,
see Point,
Click, Eavesdrop." -By Ryan Singel
-27B/6 -Wired
![]()
-
Racist
-
Media
- Politics
-
2008
Election -
Obama
-
Family
-
Mom
"Fox
News calls Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"." ...
"An alert reader wrote in just a little while ago to let us know about
something he'd spotted on Fox News Wednesday afternoon. During a segment
discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of [2008
Election] presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described
the former as "Obama's baby mama."" ... "I checked, and sure enough, as
you can see below, our e-mailer was right. In fact, that description was
displayed on-screen several times during the segment, which featured anchor
Megyn Kelly and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, an FNC [Fox News
Channel] contributor. " -By Alex Koppelman
-Salon
-
Barack
Obama -
John
McCain - Corporate
-
Law
-
Politics
-
Arizona
-
2008
Election
"Obama
attacks U.S. credit card companies, McCain." ...
""For too long, credit card companies have been using unfair and deceptive
practices to trick Americans into signing agreements they can't afford,"
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama said." ...
"Obama said the laws and regulations governing credit card companies have
been lax and that the companies have paid millions of dollars to curry
favor with members of Congress "to get laws written to their liking.""
... "Obama said [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] "John
McCain has been part of the problem," accusing the presumptive Republican
nominee of siding with banking industry lobbyists on credit issues and
voting against an effort to increase transparency on credit card bills."
... ""When he had the chance to help families avoid falling into debt,
John McCain sided with the credit card companies," Obama said of the Arizona
senator." (1, 2)
-By Steve Holland -Reuters
-
Barack
Obama -
John
McCain - Money
-
Politics
-
Workers
-
Retirees
-
Homeowners
- Students
-
Farmers
-
Families
-
US_Debt
- Law
-
Illinois
-
Arizona
-
2008
Election
"A
Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans."
[Full
Report PDF] ... "Senator [from Illinois and 2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama would permanently extend certain provisions
of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts primarily affecting taxpayers with incomes
under $250,000; increase the maximum rate on capital gains and qualified
dividends; and enact new and expanded targeted tax breaks for workers,
retirees, homeowners, savers, students, and new farmers. Senator [from
Arizona and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain
proposes to extend permanently the AMT "patch" that has prevented most
individuals and families with incomes below $200,000 from being affected
by the tax, and in our interpretation of his proposal, Senator Obama would
do the same." ... "Although both candidates have at times stressed fiscal
responsibility, their specific non-health tax proposals would reduce tax
revenues by $3.7 trillion (McCain) and $2.7 trillion (Obama) over the next
10 years, or approximately 10 and 7 percent of the revenues scheduled for
collection under current law, respectively. Furthermore, as in the case
of [Republican] President Bush's tax cuts, the true cost of McCain's policies
may be masked by phase-ins and sunsets (scheduled expiration dates) that
reduce the estimated revenue costs. If his policies were fully phased in
and permanent, the ten-year cost would rise to $4.1 trillion, or about
11 percent of total revenues." -TaxPolicyCenter.org
-
Oil
-
Corporation
-
Government
- Politicians
"Republicans
Block Extra Taxes On Oil Companies." ... "Senate
Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the
largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure
to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline." ... "The Democratic
energy package would have imposed a tax on any "unreasonable" profits of
the five largest [United States] U.S. oil companies and given the federal
government more power to address oil market speculation that the bill's
supporters argue has added to the crude oil price surge." ... "The Democrats
failed, 51-43, to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP [GOP=Grand
Old Party=Republican] filibuster and bring the energy package up for consideration."
... "The oil companies could have avoided the tax if they invested the
money in alternative energy projects or refinery expansion. It also would
have rescinded oil company tax breaks _ worth $17 billion over the next
10 years _ with the revenue to be used for tax incentives to producers
of wind, solar and other alternative energy sources as well as for energy
conservation." -By H. Josef Hebert
-AP via -HuffingtonPost.com
-
Religion
-
2008
Election
"Southern
Baptists target political arena." ... "America's
largest evangelical denomination adopted a resolution on political engagement
on Wednesday signaling its intention to flex its muscles in the November
[2008] presidential election." ... ""Christians should seek to apply their
spiritual and moral values to the political process," read the resolution,
adopted on the second and final day of the Southern Baptist Convention's
annual meeting." ... "The 16 million-strong SBC is a bedrock of political
and cultural conservatism and a key plank in the Republican Party's evangelical
base which is credited with helping secure two White House terms for [Republican]
President George W. Bush." ... "" (1, 2)
-By Ed Stoddard with contributions by David Wiessler
-Reuters
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 10, 2008 News URL: #June-10-2008-News
20080610
Tuesday
-
Special
Report
-
J
Robert Flores
- Money
-
Politics
-
Secret
-
Government-
Juvenile
- Justice
-
Nev
"Special
Report: Juvenile Justice." ... "The following documents
accompany Youth Today's ongoing
reporting on the [United States] U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention." ... "*From "At
Justice, 84th Place Wins"" ...
"OJJDP spreadsheets
containing scores and place-rankings for bids submitted under various 2007
grant programs, including mentoring, research and delinquency prevention
(winners are highlighted by red borders)." ... "*From "Former
Justice Official Says Juvenile Chief Misled Her" and
"A
Friend at Justice"" ... "A memo
that U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Administrator
Robert Flores wrote to Regina Schofield last July, in which he explained
how he chose 10 winning proposals from among more than 100 bids for the
National Programs grants." ... "*From "Juvenile
Judges Group Secretly Pays to Settle U.S. Fraud Claim""
... "Under a set of confidential agreements, the National Council of Juvenile
and Family Court Judges will pay $300,000 to settle allegations
that it committed fraud to get grant money from the U.S. Department of
Justice, while its director [Mary Mentaberry] will pay $16,500 to settle
conflict-of-interest charges." ... "The Justice Department charged that
the council falsified employee time sheets, billed the federal government
for work by "ghost" employees, failed to disclose that it hired the spouses
of employees and fired a worker who questioned those practices, according
to settlements
filed this month in U.S. District Court in Reno, Nev. [Nevada]" ... "Serena
Hulbert, who alleges she was wrongfully fired from the council, filed a
new
lawsuit for wrongful termination on April 23, according to court
records." ... "*From "Juvenile
Justice, A Panel of One"" ...
"Here are PDFs
of the winning 2007 National Juvenile Justice Program bids." ... "Here
is a detailed
list of bidders for OJJDP's 2007 National Juvenile Justice Program
grants (winners are highlighted)." ... "Here is a spreadsheet
of all OJJDP 2007 discretionary grants." -YouthToday.org
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 9, 2008 News URL: #June-9-2008-News
20080609
Monday
-
J
Robert Flores
-
Crime
- Political
-
Federal
-
Sports
-
Religious
-
Juvenile
- Justice
"Justice
Department Official Awards $500,000 Grant to Golf Group:
Former Staffer Tells ABC News Anti-Crime Funds Given to Programs With The
"Right" Connections." ... "A senior Justice Department official says a
$500,000 federal grant to the World Golf Foundation is an appropriate use
of money designed to deal with juvenile crime in America." ... "The Justice
Department, in a decision by [Republican President Bush's Department of
Justice Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention J. Robert] Flores, gave the money to the World Golf Foundation's
First Tee program, even though Justice Department staffers had rated the
program 47th on a list of 104 applicants. The allegations were first reported
earlier this year by the trade journal Youth
Today." ... "Current and former Justice Department employees allege
that Flores ignored the staff rankings in favor of programs that had political,
social or religious connections to the [Republican President George W.]
Bush White House." ... "The honorary chairman of the First Tee program
is former [Republican] President George [H.W.] Bush [George W. Bush's father]."
... "A key witness will be a former employee of Flores' office, Scott Peterson,
who says the grants were awarded based more on politics than merit." ...
""This is cronyism, this is waste, fraud and abuse," Peterson told ABC
News in an interview aired on Nightline Monday night." ... "Many top-rated
programs were denied federal grants." ... "Flores was appointed to the
position by President Bush six years ago and has overseen about $1.5 billion
dollars in grants during that time." ... "A Washington, D.C. program, Best
Friends, that promotes abstinences was awarded $1.1 million by Flores even
though it ranked 53rd on a list of 104 applicants." ... "Best Friends is
run by Elayne Bennett, the wife of Bill Bennett, a former Republican cabinet
member and now political commentator." (1, 2,
3)
-By Brian Ross, Anna Schecter, and Murray Waas
-ABCNEWS.com
WATCH:
"Does the White House favor social programs based on politics?"
-
John
McCain -
Racism
-
Homophobia
-
Sexism
-
Language
- Politics
-
Internet
-
Media
-
Obama
-
2008
Election
"McCain's
Web site talks about the anti-Christ being 'a Jew,' Hillary being a 'bitch,'
Obama being a 'Muslim fag,' and America bringing 9/11 on itself."
... "UPDATE: Jed
finds more on other McCain sites, including a reference to Obama as
a n*gger." ... "Some folks on the right thought they'd pull an "I gotcha"
on Obama by trying to find kooky things visitors have written on [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama's blog. So, I
thought I'd take a look at [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
John McCain's campaign Web site and do a search for words like "fag," "bitch,"
and "Jew," for starters. What I found wasn't pretty. It's interesting to
note that each comment has a "flag as offensive" button next to it, so
that readers can inform the moderator that the comments are offensive.
Either McCain's readers don't find any of this offensive, or McCain's staff
was informed and didn't care." -By John Aravosis
-AmericaBlog.com
-
John
McCain -
Tom
Loeffler -
Susan
E Nelson -
Rick
Davis - Illegal
-
2008
Election -
Accounting
- Politics
-
Federal
-
Investigation
"Group
files complaint against McCain campaign." ... "A
group that supports public financing of campaigns filed a federal complaint
against [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's
presidential campaign Monday, calling for an investigation into two financial
transactions involving two top McCain aides." ... "The Federal Election
Commission complaint by Campaign Money Watch, a group that has received
financing from Democratic leaning donors, questions payments from former
finance chair Tom Loeffler to campaign finance director Susan Nelson. It
also questions the reduction of a debt to a Web services firm co-owned
by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis." ... ""A campaign manager renegotiating
a debt with a company he partly owns raises serious conflict of interest
questions," said David Donnelly, the director of Campaign Money Watch."
... "Donnelly also questioned whether Loeffler's payments to Nelson amounted
to an illegal subsidy to a campaign staffer. Loeffler is a lobbyist and
former congressman and Nelson is a former associate of Loeffler's lobbying
firm." -By Jim Kuhnhenn
-AP via-AJC
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 8, 2008 News URL: #June-8-2008-News
20080608
Sunday
-
John
McCain -
Tom
Loeffler -
Susan
E Nelson -
Rick
Davis -Illegal
-
2008
Election - Politics
-
French
-
US
-
Military
- Aircraft
-
Technology
-
EADS
Airbus
"McCain
Lobbyist Ties Questioned in Ad, Complaint." ... "The
TV ad from Campaign Money Watch, set to run on Washington, D.C., broadcast
and cable outlets starting Monday, focuses on [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate John] McCain's role in the awarding of an Air Force
contract that would eventually go to the French company Airbus [EADS] instead
of the American company Boeing." ... ""Seven of McCain’s staff and fundraisers
lobbied for Airbus," the
ad says. "And guess what? John McCain intervened, which helped
Airbus get that Pentagon contract. Tell John McCain to kick those lobbyists
off the Straight Talk Express."" ... "The group is also asking the Federal
Election Commission to investigate two other public reports that touch
on McCain's connections to lobbyists: That a lobbying company, the Loeffler
Group LLP, made payments this year to McCain's national finance director,
Susan Nelson; and that a company controlled in part by campaign manager
Rick Davis sliced
more than $100,000 off of McCain campaign's tab, when the campaign
was starved for cash last year." ... "While working for Loeffler, Nelson
lobbied on behalf of Airbus. Newsweek
reported last month that Nelson was rehired early this year as
a consultant for the company, while on the McCain campaign's payroll."
... "Campaign Money Watch alleges that the payments made by the Loeffler
Group and the discount arranged by the company 3eDC could amount to illegal
corporate contributions, according to an FEC complaint to be filed Monday."
-ABCNEWS.com
WATCH:
"The McCain File" ad claiming, "Some straight talk about John McCain and
his lobbyists' involvement in a deal that landed a French defense contractor
a big-money contract." via FireTheLobbyists.com
and Public Campaign Action Fund's
Youtube
channel.
-
Barack
Obama -
John
McCain -
Hillary
Clinton -
2008
Election -
North
Carolina -
Missouri
-
Montana
-
Virginia
-
Illinois
-
Arizona
-
New
York
- Economy
-
History
-
Gasoline
-
Unemployment
"Obama
Maps a Nationwide Push in G.O.P. Strongholds." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois] Senator
Barack Obama’s general election plan calls for broadening the electoral
map by challenging [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and
Arizona] Senator John McCain in typically Republican states — from North
Carolina to Missouri to Montana — as Mr. Obama seeks to take advantage
of voter turnout operations built in nearly 50 states in the long Democratic
nomination battle, aides said." ... "On Monday, Mr. Obama will travel to
North Carolina — a state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential
candidate in 32 years — to start a two-week tour of speeches, town hall
forums and other appearances intended to highlight differences with Mr.
McCain on the economy. From there, he heads to Missouri, which last voted
for a Democrat in 1996. His first campaign swing after securing the Democratic
presidential nomination last week was to Virginia, which last voted Democratic
in 1964." ... "With [New York] Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton now having
formally bowed out of the race and thrown her backing to him, Mr. Obama
wants to define the faltering economy as the paramount issue facing the
country, a task probably made easier by ever-rising gasoline prices and
the sharp rise in unemployment the government reported on Friday." (1,
2)
-By Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny with contributions
by Jim Rutenberg -NYTimes
-
Election
- Law
-
Florida
-
Al
Gore - History
"Nelson
bill would abolish Electoral College." ... "[Florida
Democratic Senator] Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla. [Democratic-Florida]) introduced
a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College on Friday,
less than a week after the Democrats settled on how to handle delegates
from Florida at their national convention." ... "“It’s time for Congress
to really give Americans the power of one-person, one-vote, instead of
the political machinery selecting candidates and electing our president,”
Nelson said in a release announcing the amendment." ... "Nelson said his
principal argument for making the change is that the Electoral College
permits a candidate with fewer votes nationally to win the presidency by
capturing narrow victories in big states. In 2000, then-[Democratic] Vice
President Al Gore won the popular votes but [Republican] George W. Bush
won the Electoral College." ... "The second part of the initiative would
establish rotating, interregional primaries between March and June during
a presidential election year as an alternative to the current primary and
caucus system. The third portion would permit early presidential
voting nationwide, require voting machines to produce a verifiable paper
record, and encourage voting by mail, among other things." -By
Michael O'Brien -TheHill.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 7, 2008 News URL: #June-7-2008-News
20080607
Saturday
-
Money
-
Accounting
- Politics
-
Investigation
-
Maryland
-
Home
-
Construction
- "Former
NRCC [Republican] Treasurer Embezzled $500,000, Court Papers Say."
... "The former treasurer of a key Republican campaign committee embezzled
more than $500,000 over a five-year period, using it to fund mortgage payments
and a six-figure remodeling of his Bethesda [Maryland] home, according
to court documents filed yesterday." ... "The papers were filed by federal
prosecutors in an attempt to force the former treasurer, Christopher J.
Ward, to forfeit his home to the government." ... "The government alleges
that Ward, who had worked for National Republican Congressional Committee
(NRCC) since the 1990s, made numerous unauthorized diversions of funds
from its accounts and joint accounts set up with Senate Republicans. He
often shifted money into his personal account just as payments for his
mortgage or home remodeling were due, according to the court filing." ...
"Ward, who was fired earlier this year, has not been charged with a crime,
but the civil action filed yesterday seeks to seize his home in the 6300
block of Massachusetts Avenue. Such efforts prevent subjects of investigations
from selling properties that were allegedly part of their crimes and hiding
the proceeds." -By Paul Kane and Del Quentin Wilber
-WashingtonPost
-
Hillary
Clinton -
Barack
Obama -
New
York -
Illinois
-
2008
Election
"Clinton
endorses Obama, calls for party unity." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary
Clinton formally ended her presidential campaign Saturday, saying to a
packed house of thousands of supporters, "I will continue to stand strong
with you every time, every place and every way that I can."" ... "She urged
the cheering crowd to support [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
and Senator from] Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic
nominee, in his bid for the White House, saying she and supporters should
"take our energy, our passion and our strength and do all we can to help
elect Barack Obama ... I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for
Barack Obama as you have for me."" ... "Shortly after the speech, Obama
released a statement praising Clinton's presidential run." ... ""Obviously,
I am thrilled and honored to have Sen. Clinton's support. But more than
that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run.
She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere,
who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired
millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause
of working Americans."" ... "Clinton has battled Obama in a primary season
that stretched over nearly 18 months and 57 contests, culminating in Obama's
winning the 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the party's nomination Tuesday."
-Contribution to by Mark Preston, Sasha Johnson, Candy
Crowley, Scott J. Anderson and Ed Hornick -CNN
-
John
McCain - Surveillance
-
Amnesty
-
Politics
-
Corporate
-
Military
-
Government
-
Phone
-
E-Mail
- Intelligence
-
History
-
Arizona
- American
-
International
-
2008
Election
"Adviser
Says McCain Backs Bush Wiretaps." ... "A top adviser
to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona] Senator
John McCain says Mr. McCain believes that [Republican] President Bush’s
program of wiretapping without warrants was lawful, a position that appears
to bring him into closer alignment with the sweeping theories of executive
authority pushed by the Bush administration legal team." ... "In a letter
posted online by National Review this week, the adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
said Mr. McCain believed that the Constitution gave Mr. Bush the power
to authorize the National Security Agency to monitor Americans’ international
phone calls and e-mail without warrants, despite a 1978 federal statute
that required court oversight of surveillance." ... "Although a spokesman
for Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, denied
that the senator’s views on surveillance and executive power had shifted,
legal specialists said the letter contrasted with statements Mr. McCain
previously made about the limits of presidential power." ... "In an interview
about his views on the limits of executive power with The Boston Globe
six months ago, Mr. McCain strongly suggested that if he became the next
commander in chief, he would consider himself obligated to obey a statute
restricting what he did in national security matters." ... "Mr. McCain
was asked whether he believed that the president had constitutional power
to conduct surveillance on American soil for national security purposes
without a warrant, regardless of federal statutes." ... "He replied: “There
are some areas where the statutes don’t apply, such as in the surveillance
of overseas communications. Where they do apply, however, I think that
presidents have the obligation to obey and enforce laws that are passed
by Congress and signed into law by the president, no matter what the situation
is.”" ... "Following up, the interviewer asked whether Mr. McCain was saying
a statute trumped a president’s powers as commander in chief when it came
to a surveillance law. “I don’t think the president has the right to disobey
any law,” Mr. McCain replied." ... "David Golove, a New York University
law professor who specializes in executive power issues, said that while
the language used by Mr. McCain in his answers six months ago was imprecise,
the recent statement by Mr. Holtz-Eakin “seems to contradict precisely
what he said earlier.”" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
Barack Obama campaign adviser Greg Craig:] “American voters deserve to
know which side of this flip-flop [McCain is] he’s on today, and what he
would do as president,” Mr. Craig said in a phone interview." ... "And
Glenn Greenwald, a Salon columnist and critic of the Bush administration's
legal claims, wrote that the statement was a "complete reversal" by McCain,
accusing the candidate of seeking "to shore up the support of right-wing
extremists."" (1, 2)
-By Charlie
Savage -NYTimes
-
Dick
Cheney -
Douglas
Feith - Terrorism
-
Politicians
-
Government
- People
-
Military
- Intelligence
-
US
-
Iraq
"Clarke
On Iraq War Architects: ‘We Shouldn’t Let These People Back Into Polite
Society’." ... "Noting that “prominent Democrats”
had ruled out impeachment, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann asked former counterterrorism
adviser Richard
Clarke on his show last night, what “remedy” there could be for the
lies and misinformation highlighted in the new Senate Intelligence Committee
reports
on the Bush administration’s misuse of pre-war Iraq intelligence." ...
"“Someone should have to pay in some way for the decisions that they made
to mislead the American people,” said Clarke. He suggested that “some sort
of truth and reconciliation commission” might be appropriate because, he
said, we can’t “let these people back into polite society”:"
"CLARKE: Well, there may be some other kind of remedy. There may be some sort of truth and reconciliation commission process that’s been tried in other countries, South Africa, Salvador and what not, where if you come forward and admit that you were in error or admit that you lied, admit that you did something, then you’re forgiven. Otherwise, you are censured in some way.""Unfortunately, as Clarke hints, most of the architects of the Iraq war are still fully embraced by “polite society.”" ... "Some, like [Republicans] President Bush and Vice President Cheney, are still working in the White House. But for many of those who left, “the neocon welfare system” has been generous:""Now, I just don’t think we can let these people back into polite society and give them jobs on university boards and corporate boards and just let them pretend that nothing ever happened when there are 4,000 Americans dead and 25,000 Americans grieviously wounded, and they’ll carry those wounds and suffer all the rest of their lives"
WATCH VIDEO: "Clarke on Iraq War Architects."
"- Last fall, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was named a “distinguished visiting fellow” at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he focuses on “issues pertaining to ideology and terror.”""Despite their re-emergence into “polite society,” these war architects have largely refused to admit that they lied. In fact, some, like former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Doug Feith, insist that the American people only feel misled about Iraq because “they misremember a lot."" -ThinkProgress.org"- After a controversial tenure as the president of the World Bank, former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank."
"- Richard Perle, the chairman of Defense Policy Board during the run up to the Iraq war, also landed on the payroll of the American Enterprise Institute, where he is a resident fellow."
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 5, 2008 News URL: #June-5-2008-News
20080605
Thursday
-
Dick
Cheney -
Secret
-
Government
-
Military
- Terrorism
-
Intelligence
-
Politics
-
Investigation
-
Osama
bin Laden
-Nuclear
-
- US
-
Iraq
-
Iran
-
Czech
"Senate
committee: Bush knew Iraq claims weren't true." ...
"[Republicans] President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top
officials promoted the invasion of Iraq with public statements that weren't
supported by intelligence or that concealed differences among intelligence
agencies, the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Thursday in a report
that was delayed by bitter partisan infighting." ... "A second report found
that a special office set up under then-secretary of defense Donald H.
Rumsfeld conducted "sensitive intelligence activities" that were inappropriate
"without the knowledge of the Intelligence Community or the State Department."
That report revealed that Pentagon counterintelligence officials suspected
that Iran might have tried to use the group to influence administration
policymakers." ... "The Senate report, the first official examination of
whether top officials knew that their public statements were unsubstantiated
when they made them, reviewed five speeches by Bush, Cheney and former
Secretary of State Colin Powell between August 2002 and February 2003.
It also dissected key statements made by them and other top officials,
including Rumsfeld and then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice."
... "The committee found that the administration's warnings that former
dictator Saddam Hussein was in league with Osama bin Laden, a highly inflammatory
assertion in the wake of the [September] Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaida attacks,
weren't substantiated by U.S. intelligence reports. In fact, it said, [United
State] U.S. intelligence agencies were telling the White House that while
there'd been sporadic contacts over a decade, there was no operational
cooperation between Iraq and al Qaida, the report said." ... "The administration's
repeated statements "suggesting that Iraq and al Qaida had a partnership,
or that Iraq had provided al Qaida with weapons training, were not substantiated
by intelligence," it said." ... "Contentions by Bush and Cheney that Saddam
had to be removed because he could give terrorists weapons of mass destruction
to strike the United States were "contradicted by available intelligence
information" that found that the late Iraqi dictator was unlikely to make
such transfers, the report said." ... "Cheney's assertions that Mohammad
Atta, the chief Sept. 11 hijacker, had met months before the attack with
an Iraqi intelligence officer in the Czech capital, Prague [Czech Republic],
were also unsubstantiated, the inquiry found." ... "The committee said
that Bush and Cheney "failed to reflect concerns and uncertainties" expressed
in intelligence analyses that questioned administration assertions that
Iraqis would welcome U.S. troops as liberators and warned that American
forces could face violent resistance." ... "Statements by Bush, Cheney
and other top officials that Saddam had stockpiled chemical and biological
weapons in violation of U.N. resolutions were "generally substantiated"
by what turned out to be erroneous U.S. intelligence analyses, the report
said." ... "However, while intelligence reports "generally substantiated"
their claims that Iraq had secretly restarted a nuclear weapons program,
the committee said, Bush and other officials failed to disclose that the
State Department disputed that finding." ... "The administration's statements
also failed to disclose that the Energy Department joined the State Department
in rejecting allegations that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa,
the report said." ... "The reports released Thursday brought to an end
a lengthy investigation into how U.S. intelligence appeared to be so wrong
in the run-up to the Iraq war." -By Jonathan
S. Landay with contributions by Nancy
A. Youssef and
Mark
Seibel -McClatchyDC.com
[PDF]
- "Senate
Intelligence Iraq Phase II Report (Phase 2 a): REPORT on Whether Public
Statements Regarding Iraq by U.S. Government Officials Were Substantiated
by Intelligence Information."
[PDF] -
"Senate
Intelligence Iraq Phase II Report (Phase 2 b): REPORT on Intelligence
Activities Relating to Iraq Conducted by the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation
Group and the Office of Special Plans Within the Office of the Under Secretary
of Defense for Policy."
[PDF] -
"Phase I Senate
report on Iraq Intelligence."
-
Dick
Cheney -
Stephen
A Cambone -
Larry
Franklin -
Noteworthy
- US
-
Italy
-
Iraq
-
Iran
-
Military
- Politics
-
Investigation
"Did
Iranian agents dupe Pentagon officials?" ... "Defense
Department counterintelligence investigators suspected that Iranian exiles
who provided dubious intelligence on Iraq and Iran to a small group of
Pentagon officials might have "been used as agents of a foreign intelligence
service ... to reach into and influence the highest levels of the [United
States] U.S. government," a Senate Intelligence Committee report said Thursday."
... "A top aide to [Republican President Bush's] then-secretary of defense
Donald H. Rumsfeld, however, shut down the 2003 investigation into the
Pentagon officials' activities after only a month, and the Defense Department's
top brass never followed up on the investigators' recommendation for a
more thorough investigation, the Senate report said." ... "The revelation
raises questions about whether Iran may have used a small cabal of officials
in the Pentagon and in [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney's office
to feed bogus intelligence on Iraq and Iran to senior policymakers in the
[Republican President] Bush administration who were eager to oust the Iraqi
dictator." ... "Iran, which was a mortal enemy of Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein and fought a bloody eight-year war with Iraq during his reign,
has been the primary beneficiary of U.S. policy in Iraq, where Iranian-backed
groups now run much of the government and the security forces." ... "The
aborted counterintelligence investigation probed some Pentagon officials'
contacts with Iranian exile Manucher Ghorbanifar, whom the CIA [Central
Intelligence Agency] had labeled a "fabricator" in 1984. Those contacts
were brokered by an American civilian, Michael Ledeen, a former Pentagon
and National Security Council consultant and a leading advocate of invading
Iraq and overthrowing Iran's Islamic regime." ... "Stephen Cambone, then
the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, shut down the counterintelligence
investigation after only a month, the Senate report said." ... "The Senate
committee also found that Pentagon officials concealed the contacts with
Ghorbanifar from the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State
Department. Pentagon officials also provided Senate investigators with
an inaccurate account of events and, with support from two unnamed officials
in Cheney's office, continued meeting with Ghorbanifar after contact with
him was officially ordered to stop." ... "The first meetings with Ghorbanifar,
which were disclosed in August 2003 by the Long Island, N.Y. [New York],
newspaper Newsday, took place in Rome [Italy's capital] in December 2001.
They were attended by two Pentagon Iran experts, Harold Rhode and Larry
Franklin; by an Italian military intelligence official, and by Ledeen."
-By John
Walcott -McClatchyDC.com
-
Secret
- US
-
Iraq
-
Military
- Airspace
-
Corporate
-
Law
-
Politics
-
McCain
-
Obama
-
2008
Election
"Revealed:
Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control: [Republican
President] Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and
legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors." ... "A secret
deal being negotiated in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] would perpetuate the
American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome
of the [United States] US presidential [2008] election in November." ...
"The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to
The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq.
Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy
permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity
from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and
lay the basis for unending conflict in their country." ... "But the accord
also threatens to provoke a political crisis in the US. President Bush
wants to push it through by the end of next month so he can declare a military
victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated. But by perpetuating
the US presence in Iraq, the long-term settlement would undercut pledges
by the [2008 Election] Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to
withdraw US troops if he is elected president in November." ... "The timing
of the agreement would also boost the Republican [2008 Election Presidential]
candidate, John McCain, who has claimed the United States is on the verge
of victory in Iraq – a victory that he says Mr Obama would throw away by
a premature military withdrawal." ... "America currently has 151,000 troops
in Iraq and, even after projected withdrawals next month, troop levels
will stand at more than 142,000 – 10 000 more than when the military "surge"
began in January 2007. Under the terms of the new treaty, the Americans
would retain the long-term use of more than 50 bases in Iraq. American
negotiators are also demanding immunity from Iraqi law for US troops and
contractors, and a free hand to carry out arrests and conduct military
activities in Iraq without consulting the Baghdad government." ... "The
precise nature of the American demands has been kept secret until now.
The leaks are certain to generate an angry backlash in Iraq. "It is a terrible
breach of our sovereignty," said one Iraqi politician, adding that if the
security deal was signed it would delegitimise the government in Baghdad
which will be seen as an American pawn." ... "The US has repeatedly denied
it wants permanent bases in Iraq but one Iraqi source said: "This is just
a tactical subterfuge." Washington also wants control of Iraqi airspace
below 29,000ft and the right to pursue its "war on terror" in Iraq, giving
it the authority to arrest anybody it wants and to launch military campaigns
without consultation." ... "Mr Bush is determined to force the Iraqi government
to sign the so-called "strategic alliance" without modifications, by the
end of next month." -By Patrick Cockburn
-Independent.co.uk
-
John
McCain - Corporate
-
Military
-
Government
-
Telecommunications
- Surveillance
-
Amnesty
-
Politics
-
Intelligence
-
John
Yoo -
Torture
-
Detainee
-
Human
Rights -
Enforcement
-
Florida
-
2008
Election
"McCain
tangled in flip-flop flap over wiretapping immunity."
... "A series of statements about immunizing telecommunications companies
that violated federal wiretapping laws have become something of an embarrassment,
and perhaps even a problem, for [2008 Election Republican] John McCain's
presidential campaign." ... "The statements revolve around whether McCain,
like [Republican] President Bush, supports legislation that could be voted
on this month extending retroactive immunity to those companies and perhaps
many more." ... "In 2005, at least, McCain was in favor of letting
the courts decide whether
AT&T
and other telecos violated the law." ... "... [Late December 2007]
McCain told
the Boston Globe this: "I think that presidents have the obligation to
obey and enforce laws that are passed by Congress and signed into law by
the president, no matter what the situation is."" ... "But after McCain
became the all-but-official nominee, his political principles appear to
have become more malleable. He voted
in February for retroactive immunity -- even though there were no explicit
statements telling AT&T and other telecommunications companies that
this is not a "blessing." There were no deals providing for "oversight
hearings." And there certainly were no "provisions" to ensure this won't
happen again." ... "Our story may have ended there. Except that campaign
representative Chuck Fish (not an actual campaign lawyer, as has been incorrectly
reported, but a surrogate) subsequently suggested
that his candidate still wanted "hearings," which The Washington Post
picked
up on last week. McCain's campaign fired off a nastygram to the Post
saying that their candidate's "position on immunity has not changed.""
... "Meanwhile, McCain was questioned about his position at a town hall
meeting the next day -- he replied that Congress needs to "have hearings"
-- which The Wall Street Journal dutifully reported.
The fuss became enough to prompt the conservative National Review
to begin questioning McCain's the-executive-can-wiretap-as-it-pleases credentials.
Salon entered
the fray too." ... "[Florida Democratic Representative] Rep. Robert
Wexler of Florida, who is a member of the House Judiciary committee, sent
us this statement on Wednesday:"
"I am appalled by Senator John McCain's reaffirmation of support for the use of warrantless wiretapping on American citizens. Senator McCain has once again chosen to align himself with President George Bush, whose reprehensible spying program on Americans is a grave threat to our Constitutions guarantees of privacy and limited executive power. It is clear that Senator McCain, President Bush, and their Republican allies in Congress will continue to use scare tactics and fear mongering to claim that a president can simply chose to ignore America's laws... Senator McCain opposes a bipartisan House compromise bill that preserves appropriate court review of all surveillance of US citizens and gives judges the discretion to review all the necessary documents related to telecom lawsuits without offering blanket immunity.""Yet there's a more important issue here, which is why the neo-cons are pressing McCain to adhere to the Bush administration's line. And that's the administration's theory of the so-called unitary executive, which says that the president's use of military force cannot be reviewed by courts." ... "McCain's earlier statements -- especially where he says presidents must "obey and enforce laws that are passed by Congress" -- seem to question the administration's interpretation. Beyond wiretapping, that touches on topics such as John Yoo's so-called torture memos, the applicability of the Geneva Convention to detainees, Bush's signing statements, and military commissions. Questioning the justifications for Bush's warrantless wiretapping means questioning the rest; no wonder McCain seems a little worried about where this may lead." -By Declan McCullagh -CNET
-
Mitch
McConnell -
James
Inhofe - Gas
-
Emissions
-
Global
-
Climate
- Environment
-
Nevada
-
Kentucky
-
Oklahoma
- US
-
Law
"Republicans
stall climate change bill to punish Reid." ... "When
[Nevada Democratic Senator] Sen. Harry Reid rose to become the majority
leader in 2007, many believed he had met his match in the Republicans’
new Senate leader, [Kentucky Republican Senator] Mitch McConnell of Kentucky."
... "Shrewd parliamentarians both, they brought the prospect of each trying
to outsmart the other on the Senate floor, promising good viewing." ...
"Those skills were on display Wednesday when McConnell brought the Senate
to a standstill." ... "Just as the chamber was about to begin a feisty
debate on the most sweeping effort yet to address climate change, McConnell
shut down the Senate by forcing full reading of the 491-page bill." ...
"Rather than hearing a spirited battle over carbon emissions, gas prices
and new fees for polluters, one lonely clerk after another read page after
page of minutia to a nearly empty chamber." ... "In his own statement,
Reid said: “Republicans are yet again doing everything in their power to
slow, stop and stall. These petty, partisan tactics waste the American
people’s time, and ignoring the crisis of global warming endangers all
of us.”" ... "By early evening, with a few remaining tourists in the gallery
watching the nearly empty floor, Republican [Oklahoma Senator] Sen. James
Inhofe of Oklahoma, the chamber’s leading global warming skeptic, sat in
waiting, prepared to object should Democrats ask for the hours-long reading
to end." -LasVegasSun.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 4, 2008 News URL: #June-4-2008-News
20080604
Wednesday
-
Consumer
-
Home
- Legislation
-
Politics
"`Sliced,
Diced' Mortgages More Likely to Default, Offit Says."
... "Most of the 5.85 million subprime [home] mortgages in the U.S. are
in danger of defaulting
in the next 12 months because of restrictions on changing terms of the
loans, according to Offit Capital Advisors." ... "About 80 percent of the
loans are in bonds that ``slice and dice'' rights to a mortgage's interest
or principal in multiyear segments, said Todd Petzel, chief investment
officer for the New York-based firm, which manages $5 billion. Lifting
restrictions on loan modifications spelled out in the securities requires
the agreement of everyone who has invested in them, Petzel said." ... "``If
you could get all the investors in the same room, there's no limit to the
modifications that could be made to a loan, but that's not likely to happen,''
Petzel said. ``Once you cut up a pig into pork chops and loins and hams
it's nearly impossible to put the pieces back together.''" ... "Anti-foreclosure
legislation in the [United States] U.S. House and Senate asks lenders to
voluntarily reduce mortgage principal and banking regulators are urging
lenders to modify loan terms to stem the worst surge of foreclosures in
seven decades. About half of the subprime adjustable mortgages in securities
had payments delinquent for more than 60 days or was in foreclosure, according
to a report on the Federal Reserve's Web site." ... "The collapse of the
subprime market that began last year caused at least $380 billion of asset
writedowns and credit losses and damaged the economy. Measured annually,
U.S. economic growth probably will reach a seven-year low of 0.9 percent
in 2008, Fannie Mae, the world's largest mortgage buyer said in a May 8
forecast. " -By Kathleen M. Howley
-Bloomberg
-
Hillary
Clinton - Politics
-
2008
Election - "Clinton's
dilemma: Awash in both cash and debt." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary] Clinton's latest report
to the Federal Election Commission showed an April 30 cash balance of nearly
$29.7 million, but that was deceiving. FEC spokesman George Smaragdis said
the figure included $6 million in primary-season cash and $23.7 million
in donations designated for the fall general election campaign. None of
the general election donations can be used to retire debts accrued during
the primary season." ... "Clinton's biggest problem, of course, is the
$21 million in IOUs, which include $11,425,000 she is known to have lent
her campaign through the first week of May and possibly millions of dollars
more in yet-to-be-disclosed loans during her last-ditch primary campaign
efforts." ... "As for Clinton's $23.7 million general election treasure
chest, that money amounts to a political opportunity fund." -By
Greg
Gordon -McClatchyDC.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 3, 2008 News URL: #June-3-2008-News
20080603
Tuesday
-
Brazil
-
Satellite
-
Photographs
-
Global
-
Climate
-
Gases
-
Food
-
Animals
-
Farming
- Illegal
-
Business
"New
satellite photos show Amazon deforestation exploding."
... "New satellite photographs show that the destruction of Brazil's fragile
Amazon rainforest has exploded this year, fueling fears that the government's
efforts to stop deforestation have been fruitless." ... "Brazil's DETER
real-time monitoring system found that more than 430 square miles of forest,
an area a bit smaller than the city of Los Angeles, vanished in the month
of April, while about 2,300 square miles, larger than the state of Delaware,
were destroyed between last August and April." ... "That nine-month total
surpassed the entire acreage in the Amazon that was destroyed over the
previous 12 months, according to DETER data. What's worse, the satellites
couldn't see about half of the forest in April due to cloud cover, suggesting
that actual deforestation likely was much greater." ... "That's raised
red flags among environmentalists, who say that soybean farming, cattle
production and illegal logging are destroying the world's largest rainforest
despite the government's attempts to halt the deforestation." ... "Chopping
down and burning the rainforest releases tons of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change.
Brazil is the world's fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, largely
because of deforestation, according to the U.S.-based World Resources Institute."
... "Worse is yet to come, environmentalists said." ... "The Amazon's dry
season, when farmers do most of their burning and clearing, starts this
month." -By Jack
Chang -McClatchyDC.com
-
Abortion
- Law
-
History
-
Politics
-
Women's
- Health
-
Science
-
New
York
"Repairing
the Damage, Before Roe." ... "I am a retired gynecologist,
in my mid-80s. My early formal training in my specialty was spent in New
York City [New York], from 1948 to 1953, in two of the city’s large municipal
hospitals." ... "There I saw and treated almost every complication of illegal
abortion that one could conjure, done either by the patient herself or
by an abortionist — often unknowing, unskilled and probably uncaring. Yet
the patient never told us who did the work, or where and under what conditions
it was performed. She was in dire need of our help to complete the process
or, as frequently was the case, to correct what damage might have been
done." ... "The patient also did not explain why she had attempted the
abortion, and we did not ask. This was a decision she made for herself,
and the reasons were hers alone. Yet this much was clear: The woman had
put herself at total risk, and literally did not know whether she would
live or die." ... "This, too, was clear: Her desperate need to terminate
a pregnancy was the driving force behind the selection of any method available."
... "The familiar symbol of illegal abortion is the infamous “coat hanger”
— which may be the symbol, but is in no way a myth. In my years in New
York, several women arrived with a hanger still in place. Whoever put it
in — perhaps the patient herself — found it trapped in the cervix and could
not remove it. " -By Waldo L. Fielding, M.D. [Doctor
of Medicine] -NYTimes
-
John
McCain -
Criminal
- Spying
-
Secretly
-
Military
-
Government
- Intelligence
-
Corporate
-
Telecom
- Amnesty
-
Terrorism
-
Politics
-
2008
Election -
Arizona
-
Civil
Liberties
"McCain:
I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too." ... "If elected
president, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona]
Senator John McCain would reserve the right to run his own warrantless
wiretapping program against Americans, based on the theory that the president's
wartime powers trump federal criminal statutes and court oversight, according
to a statement released by his campaign Monday." ... "McCain's new tack
towards the [Republican President] Bush administration's theory of executive
power comes some 10 days after a McCain surrogate stated, incorrectly it
seems, that the senator wanted hearings
into telecom companies' cooperation with [Republican] President Bush's
warrantless wiretapping program, before he'd support giving those companies
retroactive legal immunity." ... "As first reported by Threat
Level, Chuck Fish, a full-time lawyer for the McCain campaign, also
said McCain wanted stricter rules on how the nation's telecoms work with
U.S. [United States] spy agencies, and expected those companies to apologize
for any lawbreaking before winning amnesty." ... "But Monday, McCain adviser
Doug Holtz-Eakin, speaking for the campaign, disavowed those statements,
and for the first time cast McCain's views on warrantless wiretapping as
identical to Bush's."
"[N]either the Administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions that most people, except for the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] and the trial lawyers, understand were Constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001. [...]""The Article II citation is key, since it refers to [Republican] President Bush's longstanding arguments that the president has nearly unlimited powers during a time of war. The administration's analysis went so far as to say the Fourth Amendment did not apply inside the United States in the fight against terrorism, in one legal opinion from 2001." -By Ryan Singel -Wired"We do not know what lies ahead in our nation’s fight against radical Islamic extremists, but John McCain will do everything he can to protect Americans from such threats, including asking the telecoms for appropriate assistance to collect intelligence against foreign threats to the United States as authorized by Article II of the Constitution."
-
Hillary
Clinton -
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama -
2008
Election -
New
York -
Arizona
-
Illinois
-
Nevada
-
California
"Pelosi,
Reid, Dean Go Public: Democrats Need To Endorse."
... "In the absence of a concession speech from [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday
night, top figures in the Democratic Party went public, urging all uncommitted
officials to declare their presidential affiliations." ... "[Nevada Democratic
Senator and] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, [California Democratic
Representative and] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chairman Howard Dean,
and an official with the Democratic Governors Association released a public
statement on Wednesday morning requesting that the party close its ranks
and prepare for the race against [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain." ... "The move, which
had been anticipated but seemed unnecessary following [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator Barack] Obama's clinching of
the nomination on Tuesday night, is an indication that few figures beyond
Clinton's utmost loyalists are willing to stomach a prolonged vacation
period for the New York Democrat to make up her mind."
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
-
Hillary
Clinton -
Barack
Obama -
2008
Election -
Puerto
Rico - Politics
-
Government
- History
"Puerto
Rico vote an enigma of complexities." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Rodham Clinton won
big in Puerto Rico. She got 68 percent of the vote, to [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama's 32. But while the Clinton campaign
was hoping for a large showing of at least 700,000 voters, the turnout
was a poor 16 percent, with fewer than 400,000 Puerto Ricans voting." ...
"So instead of walking away with half a million votes, Clinton wound up
with fewer than 300,000. Not bad, but not quite enough to make her popular-vote
argument convincing, based on her own criterion." ... "Clinton also walked
away from Puerto Rico with about 38 delegates to Obama's 17. She's now
203 delegates short of the nomination, compared with Obama's 45, with the
last two primaries taking place today. Without the popular-vote argument,
Clinton's sunk. And Puerto Rico, despite giving her that big percentage
win, could be considered the culprit because of the poor turnout." ...
"Puerto Rico turned out to be a bit of an enigma. It has a history of voter
participation that's much higher than that in the United States. Its residents
are U.S. citizens but are not allowed by the United States to vote in the
November elections for president. They are Hispanics who run their own
local government and have a history of functioning like their own nation,
despite being a territory of the United States (they have their own Olympic
team, for example) - so they are not quite the same as Hispanics in the
United States." ... "Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, or nonincorporated
territory (read: colony), of the United States, and its people are debating
whether it should remain so, become a state or become independent - a decision
that is ultimately in the hands of the U.S. Congress." -By
Angelo Falcón -Newsday.com
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 2, 2008 News URL: #June-2-2008-News
20080602
Monday
-
US
-
Military
- Intelligence
-
Government
- Politics
-
Unlawful
-
Iraq
-
Afghanistan
-
Torture
-
Prisons
- History
-
Book
"Lt.
Gen Sanchez: [Republican President] Bush Administration Guilty of "Gross
Incompetence and Dereliction of Duty"." ... "In [retired
Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez's book] "Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's
Story," [General] Gen. Sanchez goes into detail about various military
blunders that led to where we are today." ... "In one excerpt, published
by TIME,
Sanchez explains why there were inadequate troop levels in Iraq for a time:"
[From retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez's book, "Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story:]"In an excerpt published on NPR's website, Sanchez writes[:]"
""CENTCOM had originally called for twelve to eighteen months of Phase IV activity with active troop deployments. But then CENTCOM had completely walked away by simply stating that the war was over and Phase IV was not their job."" ... ""That decision set up the United States for a failed first year in Iraq. There is no question about it. And I was supposed to believe that neither the Secretary of Defense nor anybody above him knew anything about it? Impossible! Rumsfeld knew about it. Everybody on the NSC [National Security Council] knew about it, including Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, and Colin Powell. [Republican] Vice President Cheney knew about it. And [Republican] President Bush knew about it."" ... ""There's not a doubt in my mind that they all embraced this decision to some degree. And if it had not been for the moral courage of [General] Gen. John Abizaid to stand up to them all and reverse Franks's troop drawdown order, there's no telling how much more damage would have been done."" ... ""In the meantime, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent, and worse yet, too many of our most precious military resource, our American soldiers, were unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result. In my mind, this action by the Bush administration amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.""
[From retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez's book, "Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story:]"And regarding Abu Ghraib, Sanchez writes -- according to Eli Lake of the New York Sun -- that the [United States] U.S. was torturing prisoners." ... "A remarkable admission."
""In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I watched helplessly as the [Republican President] Bush administration led America into a strategic blunder of historic proportions. It became painfully obvious that the executive branch of our government did not trust its military. It relied instead on a neoconservative ideology developed by men and women with little, if any, military experience. Some senior military leaders did not challenge civilian decision makers at the appropriate times, and the courageous few who did take a stand were subsequently forced out of the service...I saw the cynical use of war for political gains by elected officials and acquiescent military leaders. I learned how the pressure of a round-the-clock news cycle could drive crucial decisions. I witnessed those resulting political decisions override military requirements and judgments and, in turn, create conditions that caused unnecessary harm to our soldiers on the ground..."" ... ""Over the fourteen months of my command in Iraq, I witnessed a blatant disregard for the lives of our young soldiers in uniform. It is an issue that constantly eats away at me.["]"
[From retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez's book, "Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story:]-By Jake Tapper -ABCNEWS.com
"During the last few months of 2002, while the highest levels of the U.S. government were sparring with Saddam Hussein and setting up the case for an invasion of Iraq, there is irrefutable evidence that America was torturing and killing prisoners in Afghanistan...In retrospect, the Bush administration's new policy triggered a sequence of events that led to the use of harsh interrogation tactics against not only al Qaeda prisoners, but also eventually prisoners in Iraq—in spite of our best efforts to restrain such unlawful conduct.""
-
US
-
Iran
-
Foreign
-
Military
- Politics
"Americans
Favor President Meeting With U.S. Enemies: Six in
10 think it’s a good idea to meet with president of Iran." ... "Large majorities
of Democrats and independents, and even half of Republicans, believe the
president of the United States should meet with the leaders of countries
that are considered enemies of the United States. Overall, 67% of Americans
say this kind of diplomacy is a good idea." -By Lydia
Saad -Gallup.com
-
John
McCain -
Barack
Obama - US
-
Iran
-
Military
- Technology
-
Intelligence
-
Politics
-
Terrorism
-
Iraq
-
-
Ariz
-
Ill
-
2008
Election
"Both
McCain, Obama exaggerating Iran's nuclear program."
... "The presumptive Republican nominee for president and the leading contender
for the Democratic nomination are exaggerating what's known about Iran's
nuclear program as they duel over how best to deal with Tehran." ... "[2008
Election Presidential Candidates and Senators] Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.
[Republican-Arizona], and Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois], say
that Iran is developing nuclear weapons." ... "The U.S. intelligence community,
however, thinks that Iran halted an effort to build a nuclear warhead in
mid-2003, and the [United Nations] U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency,
which is investigating the program, has found no evidence to date of an
active Iranian nuclear-weapons project." ... "The candidates' comments
raise questions about how carefully the two have studied the public record
on what's become a major campaign issue and is one of the most difficult
foreign-policy challenges likely to confront the next president." ... "The
issue is also significant because the [Republican President] Bush administration
inflated assessments of the Iraqi nuclear threat and the possibility that
former dictator Saddam Hussein could pass nuclear weapons to terrorists
as it sought to whip up public support for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq."
... "Iran has been expanding an industrial-scale uranium enrichment program
in defiance of U.N. Security Council demands that it be suspended. Enrichment
is the process that produces low-enriched uranium fuel for nuclear generating
stations and highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons." ... "Iran, whose
known enrichment facilities are under IAEA monitoring, says it's making
low-enriched uranium reactor fuel and has no intention of developing weapons.
Few experts, however, think that Iran has come clean about all its nuclear
activities." -By
Jonathan
S. Landay -McClatchyDC.com
-
Dick
Cheney - Humor?-(
-
Family
-
Lineage
- History
-
Book
-
West
Virginia
"Dick
Cheney's Incest Joke Irks West Virginian Lawmakers."
... "[Republican Vice President Dick] Cheney explained that during the
course of researching his family lineage for Lynne's memoir "Blue Skies,
No Fences" last year, he learned there were Cheneys on both his father's
and his mother's side of the family. There was a Richard Cheney on his
mother's side, the vice president said." ... ""So I had Cheneys on both
sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped."
... "[West Virginia Democratic Representative Robert Byrd later responded:]
"That a man who has ascended to the seat of vice president of the United
States would openly display such contempt and astounding ignorance toward
his own countrymen is an insult to all Americans. Now that he or the administration
he represents no longer needs their vote, Mr. Cheney apparently feels that
he is now free to mock and belittle the people of West Virginia."" -By
Mary Ann Akers -WashingtonPost
WATCH
Republican Cheney make West Virginia incest joke.
-
John
Hagee -
John
McCain -
Joseph
Lieberman -
Racist
-
Homosexual
-
Religious
-
Military
- Politics
-
Arizona
-
Connecticut
-
New
York
-
Indiana
- History
-
Germany
-
Israel
-
Iraq
-
US
-
2008
Election
"Pastor
Hagee: The Antichrist Is Gay, "Partially Jewish, As Was Adolph Hitler"
(Paging Joe Lieberman!)." ... "On March 16, 2003,
on the eve of the United States' invasion of Iraq, [Republican Televangelist]
Pastor John Hagee took to the pulpit to warn of the coming Antichrist.
In his sermon, "The
Final Dictator," Hagee described the Antichrist as a seductive figure
with "fierce features." He will be "a blasphemer and a homosexual," the
pastor announced. Then, Hagee boomed, "There's a phrase in Scripture used
solely to identify the Jewish people. It suggests that this man [the Antichrist]
is at least going to be partially Jewish, as was Adolph Hitler, as was
Karl Marx."" ... "This "fierce" gay Jew, according to Hagee, would "slaughter
one-third of the Earth's population" and "make Adolph Hitler look like
a choirboy."" ... "Exposed here for the first time, Hagee's comments identifying
the Antichrist as a partly Jewish homosexual arrive in the wake of a furor
the pastor provoked by describing the Holocaust as an act of God. Hagee's
chilling sermon
about the Holocaust prompted [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain to reject the preacher's support,
an unexpected turnabout after McCain spent over a year soliciting his endorsement."
... "Days after McCain's rejection, I reported
that a key McCain ally, [Connecticut Independent Senator] Sen. Joseph Lieberman,
planned to deliver the keynote speech at Hagee's upcoming Christians United
For Israel (CUFI) summit. As the story exploded
into the mainstream press, pressure mounted on Lieberman to withdraw."
... "[New York Democratic Representative Eliot] Engel is slated to speak
on CUFI's "Middle East Briefing" panel this July. He will be joined on
the panel by Republican [Indiana Representative] Rep. Mike Pence, Weekly
Standard editor and New York Times columnist [and Fox contributor] Bill
Kristol, and Christian right activist Gary Bauer." -By
Max
Blumenthal -HuffingtonPost.com
LISTEN
to McCAIN endorser John HAGEE claim the Antichrist will be a Jewish homosexual.
WATCH
McCAIN endorser John HAGEE relate a story of how Florida Jews "mysteriously"
voted for Republican George W Bush and subsequently explain, "And I believe
it is because that this nation is doing what God intended us to do from
the day that Christopher Columbus discovered this nation."
-
Hillary
Clinton -
Accounting
- Politics
-
Florida
-
Michigan
-
Iowa
-
Puerto
Rico -
Nevada
-
Washington
-
Maine
-
Barack
Obama -
2008
Election
"Hillary:
Peddling pop vote canards to the end." ... "The facts,
which must be repeated:" ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Hillary [Clinton] does not lead in the popular vote by any measure other
than her own idiosyncratic belief that Florida should count even though
it didn't and hundreds of thousands of Floridians didn't vote because they
were told it wouldn't; that Puerto Rico should count even though Puerto
Ricans can't vote in the general election ("lead us to victory in November"???);
that Michigan should also count even though it didn't and thousands of
Michiganders didn't vote because they were told it wouldn't and she was
the only person on the ballot; that Obama should get zero votes -- Zero!!!
-- from Michigan ["Uncommited" received 238,168 votes, Clinton received
328,309 votes]; and that Obama also should get no votes from four states
that he won [Iowa, Nevada, Washington, and Maine], because they held caucuses
and didn't count the popular vote." -By John Riley
-Newsday.com
- Education
-
Consumer
-
Poor
-People
-
Oregon
-
Calif
-
Federal
"Student
Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges." ... "Some
of the nation’s biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community
colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions,
even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the
nation’s top universities." ... "Citibank has been among the most aggressive
in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust
say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as
well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University
[Oregon] and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif. [California],
say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders." ... "The practice
suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student
loan business persist, some of the nation’s neediest students will be hurt
the most. The difficulty borrowing may deter them from attending school
or prompt them to take a semester off. When they get student loans, they
will wind up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of default
if they have to switch lenders in the middle of their college years." ...
"Tuition and loan amounts can be quite small at community colleges. But
these institutions, which are a stepping stone to other educational programs
or to better jobs, often draw students from the lower rungs of the economic
ladder. More than 6.2 million of the nation’s 14.8 million undergraduates
— over 40 percent — attend community colleges. According to the most recent
data from the College Board, about a third of their graduates took out
loans, a majority of them federally guaranteed." ... "“If we put too many
hurdles in their way to get a loan, they’ll take a third job or use a credit
card,” said Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant dean for financial aid at
Mendocino College in California. “That almost guarantees that they won’t
be as successful in their college career.”" (1, 2)
-By Jonathan
D. Glater -NYTimes
_2008
News News Reference June
2008 News
June 1, 2008 News URL: #June-1-2008-News
20080601
Sunday
-
Politics
-
Networking
-
Entertainment
"Every
Thursday Night, Liberal Politics and Pints." ...
"Mr. [Justin] Krebs was one of the founders of the progressive social networking
group called Drinking Liberally that has been meeting at Rudy’s [New York
City, New York's Bar and Grill] every Thursday night for the past five
years." ... "“We knew our friends wanted to talk about politics and the
state of the country, but it felt like that was a taboo thing to do in
a social setting,” Mr. Krebs said. “We wanted to create an environment
where people would be told that politics is not off the table — that in
fact, it’s what we’re here for,” said Mr. Krebs, a founder of The Tank,
a nonprofit space for performance and public-affairs events in Midtown
[New York City]." ... "In the beginning, Mr. Krebs and his partner in starting
the club, Matthew O’Neill, 30, would show up on Thursday, with just the
two of them sharing a pitcher of beer. Since then, online social networking
has helped the group grow into a national organization with 250 chapters
across the country, at least one in each state. " -By
J. Courtney Sullivan -NYTimes
DrinkingLiberally.org
/ STATE/City Locations:AK
- AL - AR
- AZ - CA
- CO - CT
- DE - FL
- GA - HI
- IA - ID
- IL - IN
- KS - KY
- LA - MA
- MD - ME
- MI - MN
- MO - MS
- MT - NC
-
ND -
NE
- NH - NJ
- NM - NV
- NY - OH
- OK - OR
- PA - RI
- SC-
SD
- TN - TX
- UT - VA
- VT - WA
- WI - WV
- WY, also:DC,
Australia:Melbourne
- Canada:
Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia - Japan:
Osaka - New
Zealand: Wellington
