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HavenWorks.com/politics/archive/2006 |
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/ Archive
/ 2006
Military
- 
Money
- 
Law
- 
Politics
- "Interior,
Pentagon Faulted In Audits: Effort to Speed Defense
Contracts Wasted Millions." ... "The Defense Department paid two procurement
operations at the Department of the Interior to arrange for Pentagon purchases
totaling $1.7 billion that resulted in excessive fees and tens of millions
of dollars in waste, documents show." ... "Defense turned to Interior,
which manages federal lands and resources, in an effort to speed up its
contracting. Interior is one of several government agencies allowed to
manage contracts for other agencies in exchange for a fee." ... "But the
arrangement between Interior and Defense "routinely violated rules designed
to protect U.S. Government interests," according to draft audit documents
obtained by The Washington Post." ... "More than half of the contracts
examined were awarded without competition or without checks to determine
that the prices were reasonable, according to the audits by the inspectors
general for Defense (DOD) and Interior (DOI). Ninety-two percent of the
work reviewed was awarded without verifying that the contractors' cost
estimates were accurate; 96 percent was inadequately monitored." ... "They
examined 49 deals and concluded that 61 percent had evidence of "illegal
contracts, ill advised contracts, and various failings of contract administration
procedures."" ... "The Interior inspector general said Defense "could have
used these monies to purchase as many as 50,000 sets of body armor to protect
our soldiers."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham
-WashingtonPost
Iran
- 
UN
- Military
- 
Technology
- Business
- Politics
- "Iran
Is Defiant, Vowing to U.N. It Will Continue Nuclear Efforts."
... "Iran on Sunday reacted defiantly to the United Nations Security Council
resolution imposing sanctions because of the country's nuclear program.
Iranian officials vowed to continue efforts to enrich uranium and warned
that the Security Council action would change Iran's relationship with
the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency." ... "The Security Council
voted unanimously on Saturday to impose sanctions on Iran banning the import
and export of materials and technology used in uranium enrichment, reprocessing
and ballistic missiles." ... "The Security Council on Saturday requested
that Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the United Nations' nuclear monitoring
agency, report to the Council within 60 days on whether Iran had complied
and suspended its enrichment program." -By Nazila
Fathi -NYTimes
US
- Iran
- 
Iraq
- Military
- "U.S.
arrest of Iranians reportedly upsets Iraqi president."
... "Iraqi and Iranian authorities slammed the United States on Monday
for having arrested several Iranians who were visiting Iraq." ... "A U.S.
official said the Iranians were suspected of involvement in attacks against
Iraqi security forces." ... "A spokesman for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
said Talabani had invited the Iranians to the country, and the president
was "unhappy" about the arrests." ... "The U.S. National Security Council
confirmed that the American military arrested at least four Iranians in
raids during the past week in Iraq, including two diplomats." ... "NSC
spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the two diplomats were questioned, turned
over to the Iraqi government and released." ... "At least two others, who
are members of the Iranian military, remain in U.S. military custody while
an investigation is conducted on whether they were involved in attacks
on security forces in Iraq, Johndroe said." -Contributions
by Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Sam Dagher, Jomana Karadsheh and Suzanne Malveaux
-CNN
US
- Iraq
- 
People
- 
Police
- Military
- Politics
- "12,000
Iraqi policemen killed since '03; 6 U.S. soldiers killed."
... "Some 12,000 Iraqi policemen have been killed since the ouster of Saddam
Hussein, the country's interior minister said Sunday, as clashes, a suicide
bomber and weekend explosions killed more than a dozen Iraqi officers and
six American soldiers." ... "Police and police recruits have been frequent
targets of insurgent attacks. In one of the worst single attacks, a suicide
car bomber detonated his explosives near a line of national guard and police
recruits waiting to take physicals in February 2005. The blast in Hillah,
about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed 125." ... "Police have also been
blamed for violence. Gunmen in Iraqi army and police uniforms have been
responsible for recent bank robberies in Baghdad and the kidnapping of
more than 40 workers and volunteers at the Iraqi Red Crescent." ... "The
Iraqi Ministry of Health estimated in November that 150,000 Iraqi civilians
been killed in the war that began in 2003. Other estimates put the figure
as low as 51,000 or as high as 600,000." -AP
via -USATODAY
Noteworthy
- 
Japan- US
- 
World
- 
Auto
- Technology
- 
Workers
- Politics
- 
History
- 
Fuel
- "Toyota’s
Sales Projections Show It Surpassing G.M.." ... "Toyota
Motor said today it plans to sell 9.34 million vehicles next year, a figure
that analysts said would put it ahead of troubled General Motors as the
world’s largest auto company." ... "Toyota reported global group sales
this year of 8.8 million cars and trucks, below G.M.’s 2006 sales forecast
of 9.2 million vehicles. But the figures released today showed the two
rival car giants on starkly different trajectories, with Toyota expecting
to add a half million vehicle sales next year, at a time when G.M. is shuttering
plants and laying off workers." ... "Surpassing G.M. would be a crowning
achievement for Toyota, a company that got its start in the 1930s by reverse-engineering
G.M. and Ford cars, and that spent decades catching up with Detroit. It
would also end G.M.’s 81-year reign over the global auto industry, and
mark another step in the rise of Asian carmakers." ... "Analysts also said
reaching the top would not exhaust Toyota’s opportunities for growth. They
said Toyota will continue to gain in the American market, where higher
gas prices have increased the popularity of smaller, more fuel-efficient
vehicles." ... "Toyota’s rise would also prove a victory of sorts for its
unique corporate culture, the so-called Toyota Way, which is rooted in
an obsession with craftsmanship and constant improvement, or “kaizen.”"
-By Martin Fackler -NYTimes
Opinion
- Politics
- "Most
outrageous comments of 2006." ... "How extreme were
conservative commentators in their remarks this year? How about calls to
nuke the Middle East and an allegation that a "gay ... mafia" used the
congressional page program as its own "personal preserve." Right-wing rhetoric
documented by Media Matters for America included the nonsensical
(including Rush Limbaugh's claim that America's "obesity crisis" is caused
by, among other things, our failure to "teach [the poor] how to butcher
a -- slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter"), the
offensive (such as right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel's question about
"Barack Hussein Obama": is he "a man we want as President when we are fighting
the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?"), and
the simply bizarre (such as William A. Donohue's claim that some Hollywood
stars would "sodomize their own mother in a movie"). Since there were so
many outrageous statements, we included a list of honorable mentions along
with the top 11, which, if not for Ann Coulter, we might have limited to
10." -MediaMatters.org
Religious
- 
Books
- People
- 
Virginia
- 
Minnesota
- 
Michigan
- US
Immigration - Virgil
H Goode Jr - "Va.
Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized: Republican
Had Decried the Use of the Koran for Congressman's Oath of Office." ...
"[Virginia Republican] Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) is coming under
sharp criticism for lashing out against the decision by [Minnesota Democrat]
Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who will become the first Muslim member of Congress
next month, to use the Koran during a swearing-in ceremony." ... "In a
recent letter to constituents, Goode, a five-term congressman from Rocky
Mount, wrote that he does "not subscribe to using the Koran in any way"
and added: "The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the
voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt
the Virgil Goode position on immigration, there will likely be many more
Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."" ... "When
members of Congress are sworn in, they simply raise their right hand. In
a ceremony afterward, they may take the oath of office on a Christian Bible,
another religious book or no book at all." ... "Ellison, who was born in
Detroit [Michigan], could not be reached to comment." -By
Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Police
- 
Terrorism
- Religion
- 
Intelligence
- Politics
- Analysis
- "Intensified
Combat on Streets Likely." ... "President Bush's
plan to send tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements to Baghdad
to jointly confront Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias is likely to touch
off a more dangerous phase of the war, featuring months of fighting in
the streets of the Iraqi capital, current and former military officials
warned." ... "The prospect of a more intense battle in the Iraqi capital
could put U.S. military commanders in exactly the sort of tough urban fight
that war planners strove to avoid during the spring 2003 invasion of the
country. The plan to partner U.S. and Iraqi units may compel American soldiers
to rely on questionable Iraqi army and police forces as never before. And
while the president insisted there is no timetable associated with the
troop increase, military officials said sustaining it for more than a few
months would place a major new strain on U.S. forces that already are feeling
burdened by an unexpectedly long and difficult war." ... "Most of all,
the White House's insistence on confronting all insurgents and militias,
both Sunni and Shiite, may mean that the U.S. military will wind up fighting
the Mahdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. That militia is estimated
by some U.S. intelligence officials to have grown over the past year to
about 60,000 fighters, and some in the Pentagon consider it more militarily
effective than the Iraqi army." -By Thomas E. Ricks
and Ann Scott Tyson -WashingtonPost
Food
- Business
- Law
- 
GOV
- Science
- Consumer
- Politics
- "Outbreaks
Reveal Food Safety Net's Holes: Produce Growers Balk
At Calls for Regulation." ... "First it was spinach. Then tomatoes. Now
possibly green onions." ... "Over the past three months, fresh produce
has been the culprit in one episode of food-borne illness after another,
the latest an E. coli outbreak that appears to be linked to green onions
served at Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast. More than 60 people have
been sickened in that outbreak." ... "The patchwork of federal and state
regulations that is supposed to ensure food safety has become less effective
as the nation's produce supply has grown increasingly industrial. Three
months after the spinach scare, there is no agreement on what should be
done to reduce health risks from the nation's fruits and vegetables even
as each episode of illness has heightened a sense of urgency." ... "The
number of produce-related outbreaks of food-borne illness has increased
from about 40 in 1999 to 86 in 2004, according to the Center for Science
in the Public Interest. Americans are now more likely to get sick from
eating contaminated produce than from any other food item, the center said."
(1, 2,
3)
-By Annys Shin -WashingtonPost
Tom
Anderson - 
Alaska
- 
Texas
- Prison
- Money
- Politician
- "Anderson
indicted on seven counts: Federal bribery case centers
on link to prison firm lobbyist." ... "[Alaska Republican] State Rep. Tom
Anderson pleaded not guilty Friday to a series of federal charges accusing
him of selling his legislative office for $12,828 in bribes from a lobbyist
representing private prison interests." ... "Anderson, a 39-year-old Republican
who has represented Muldoon's District 19 since he was elected in 2002,
was ordered freed Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Roberts on an unsecured
$10,000 bond after his arrest Thursday by FBI agents. Roberts said Anderson
could travel to Mexico on a previously scheduled vacation next week with
his wife, Republican state Rep. Lesil McGuire, who was elected to the state
Senate in November, and their infant son." ... "The 18-page indictment
against Anderson said the lobbyist was secretly recorded July 21, 2004,
boasting that for a price, Anderson would be "our boy in Juneau [Alaska's
capital]."" ... "A week later, the same lobbyist was recorded telling a
confidential informant, "If I was a Soviet spy and I was looking for a
legislator to recruit, (Anderson) would be the one I'd get." Anderson "needs
the money," the lobbyist said." ... "The government didn't charge the lobbyist.
He is identified only by the letter "A," but the facts in the case point
to Bill Bobrick of Anchorage, who represented Cornell Companies [Inc. of
Houston, Texas], a private prison firm Outside." -By
Richard Mauer, Lisa Demer, and Tom Kizzia -ADN.com
Gay
- 
Parent- Dick
Cheney - "A
pregnant pause in right wing: Social conservatives
remain silent or temper their criticism about news that Cheney's gay daughter
is expecting." ... "No Republican in Washington is more beloved by social
conservatives than Vice President Dick Cheney, who with his wife, Lynne,
has backed and breathed every issue dear to them for six tumultuous years."
... "News that Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, is pregnant has therefore
touched a nerve, as advocates for conservative values struggle to reconcile
their loyalty to the Cheneys with their visceral opposition to same-sex
relationships — and particularly to raising a child without a father."
... "The vice president's office confirmed Wednesday that Mary Cheney,
37, an executive at AOL, was expecting her first child with her partner
of 15 years, Heather Poe." -By Johanna Neuman
-LAtimes
Government
- Legislative
- Money
- Military
- 
Health
- Food
- 
Elderly
- 
Calif
- "Some
Republicans Take a Scorched-Hill Tack: Leaving Budget
Decisions To Democrats Could Disrupt New Leadership's Agenda." ... "Like
a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting
legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they
take power in Congress next month." ... "Already, the Republican leadership
has moved to saddle the new Democratic majority with responsibility for
resolving $463 billion in spending bills for the fiscal year that began
Oct. 1. And the departing chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,
Rep. Bill Thomas (R., Calif.), has been demanding that the Democrat-crafted
2008 budget absorb most of the $13 billion in costs incurred from a decision
now to protect physician reimbursements under Medicare, the federal health-care
program for the elderly and disabled." ... "The unstated goal is to disrupt
the Democratic agenda and make it harder for the new majority to meet its
promise to reinstitute "pay-as-you-go" budget rules, under which new costs
or tax cuts must be offset to protect the deficit from growing." ... "The
collapse of the appropriations process will be felt soon in the Justice
and Commerce departments, food-safety agencies and veterans' health care."
... ""It's a demonstration of the irresponsibility of Republicans that
they would leave this country with this mess," said the next House speaker,
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). "But we won, we will deal with it."" -By
David Rogers -WSJ.com
Gay
- Dick
Cheney - Law
- Politics
- "Groups
mixed on Cheney pregnancy." ... "Conservative leaders
voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter
of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president
faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" for serving in an administration
that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples." ... "Mary Cheney, 37,
and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a baby in late
spring, said Lea Anne McBride, a spokeswoman for the vice president." ...
"Family Pride, which advocates on behalf of gay and lesbian families, noted
that Virginia last month became one of 27 states with a constitutional
amendment banning same-sex marriage." ... ""Unless they move to a handful
of less restrictive states, Heather will never be able to have a legal
relationship with her child," said Family Pride executive director Jennifer
Chrisler." -AP
via -USATODAY
Global
- 
Climate
- 
Ocean
- Animal
- Food
- 
Environment
- Science
- People
- Business
- Politics
- "Some
happy that a family film flaunts dire facts." ...
"Michael Hirshfield has long struggled to get across his earnest but wonky
message: that global warming and overfishing are killing off the oceans'
food supply." ... "Then, along came the animated movie "Happy Feet" and,
voila, tens of millions of youngsters -- and their parents -- across the
country are suddenly aware that man-made problems are threatening the penguins
near the South Pole, and almost everything else in the South Seas." ...
"The blockbuster film, the top box-office hit for the past three weekends,
is about emperor penguins struggling to survive with a depleted food supply,
and one tap-dancing penguin's epic search to learn what is causing the
colony's fish to disappear." ... "A study published recently in the journal
Science predicted that if overfishing of depleted seafood populations continued
at current rates, the world would run out of commercial stocks by 2048."
-By John Donnelly
-Boston/Globe
US
- Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- Government
- Military
- Technology
- Money
- Politics
- People
- 
Flying
- Vehicles
- 
Alabama
- "U.S.
Army Battling To Save Equipment: Gear Piles Up at
Depots, Awaiting Repair." ... "Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered
M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the
15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot [Alabama] -- the idle, hulking formations
symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt."
... "The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their
ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according
to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment
is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert
sand and used up to nine times the rate in times of peace. The gear is
piling up at depots such as Anniston, waiting to be repaired." ... "The
depletion of major equipment such as tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles,
and especially helicopters and armored Humvees has left many military units
in the United States without adequate training gear, officials say. Partly
as a result of the shortages, many U.S. units are rated "unready" to deploy,
officials say, raising alarm in Congress and concern among military leaders
at a time when Iraq strategy is under review by the White House and the
bipartisan Iraq Study Group." ... "Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's
chief of staff, is lobbying hard for more money to repair what he calls
the "holes" in his force, saying current war funding is inadequate to make
the Army "well." Asked in a congressional hearing this past summer whether
he was comfortable with the readiness levels of non-deployed Army units,
Schoomaker replied: "No."" ... "Despite the work piling up, the Army's
depots have been operating at about half their capacity because of a lack
of funding for repairs." -By Ann Scott Tyson
-WashingtonPost
Richard
Shelby - Corporate
- Crime
- Government
- Law
- Politics
- 
Digital
- Technology
- 
Online
- 
Consumer
- California
- Alabama
US
- Government
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- 
Privacy
- Environment
- Health
- Seniors
- Drugs
- Oil
- Industry
- Legal
- History
- 
Missouri
- "Democrats
are set to subpoena: The new majority is expected
to hold hearings on military spending and the Iraq war -- just for starters."
... "[Missouri Democrat] Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one
of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led
House: resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations." ...
"The panel was disbanded by the Republicans after they won control of Congress
in 1994. Now, Skelton (D-Mo.) intends to use it as a forum to probe Pentagon
spending and the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war." ... "With
control of every committee in Congress starting in January, the new majority
will inherit broad powers to subpoena and investigate. And that is expected
to translate into wide-ranging and contentious hearings." ... "The agenda
is likely to be dominated by the Iraq war, but could include probes into
the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance, environmental policies
and new prescription-drug program for seniors. Industries, such as oil
companies, could also come under closer scrutiny." ... ""This could be
remembered as a historically unique period in which an administration got
immunity from Congress to engage in errors with impunity," said Charles
Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor and a former House counsel."
... "Democrats are expected to bore into the Iraq war, including review
of no-bid contracts for reconstruction, intelligence failures and decisions
to ignore the advice of military commanders about troop levels." (1, 2)
-By Richard B. Schmitt and Richard Simon
-LAtimes
US
- Afghanistan
- Military
- People
- Law
- Investigation
- 
Journalism
- "AP:
Startling findings in Tillman probe." ... "The latest
inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities
have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their
report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of 2 1/4
years of investigations — reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army
documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case — and uncovered
some startling findings." ... "Investigators are looking at who pulled
the triggers and fired at Tillman; they are also looking at the officers
who pressured the platoon to move through a region with a history of ambushes;
the soldiers who burned Tillman's uniform and body armor afterward; and
at everyone in the chain of command who deliberately kept the circumstances
of Tillman's death from the family for more than a month." ... "Military
investigators under Gimble's direction this year visited the rugged valley
in eastern Afghanistan where Tillman was killed. It was a risky trip; the
region is even more dangerous today than it was in 2004." -By
Scott Lindlaw and Martha Mendoza -AP
via -Yahoo
2006
Election - Virginia
-
Allen
- 
Montana
- 
Burns
- "Allen
concedes defeat, sealing transfer of Senate." ...
"Virginia [Republican] Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) conceded today, putting
the Senate in Democratic hands for the first time since 2003 and giving
the Democrats a sweep of both houses — a seismic shift in the Washington
political climate." ... "Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns conceded
earlier today in his reelection bid after his Democratic challenger, Jon
Tester, claimed victory Wednesday." ... "Coupled with Allen's defeat, those
Senate victories give the party a 51-49 Senate majority, counting two independents
who are expected to caucus with the Democrats." -By
Johanna Neuman with contributions by Janet Hook -LAtimes
Noteworthy
- Secret
- US
- Iraq
- Iran
- Religious
- Terrorism
- Military
- Intelligence
- History
- "Gates’
CIA Past Could Haunt Him in Confirmation Hearings."
... "President Bush’s pick to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld with former CIA
Director Robert Gates is an odd one, considering it’s almost certain to
revive festering questions about the Bush administration’s handling of
pre-war intelligence on Iraq." ... "In early 1987, his role in the so-called
Iran-Contra affair, a secret White House operation to sell weapons to radical
Islamic Iran in exchange for the release of U.S. hostages — and cash for
CIA-backed rebels in Nicaragua — came under scrutiny." ... "Then, in during
his 1991 nomination hearings to run the CIA, Gates ran into a buzz saw
of testimony from a former agency analyst who said that during the 1980s
Gates had skewered intelligence to fit the convictions of senior Reagan
administration officials that Soviet agents had concocted a plot to assassinate
the pope and were arming and encouraging Marxist revolutionary groups to
carry out terrorist attacks." ... "Both theories turned out to be wrong,
according Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl, who headed a team of CIA analysts
assigned the task of investigating the theory." ... "Senior former CIA
analyst Mel Goodman charged Gates with a number of improprieties, including
“the imposition of intelligence judgments, often over the protests of the
consensus in the Directorate of Intelligence, to slant intelligence . .
. suppression of intelligence that didn’t support the Casey agenda . .
. (and) use of the Directorate of Operations to slant intelligence of the
Directorate of Intelligence.”" -By Jeff Stein
-CQ.com
2006
Election - Government
- Money
- Abortion
- Health
- Stem
Cells - Science
- "GOP
already starts the 'blame game' over its big losses."
... "Dick Armey, former House majority leader and an architect of the Republicans'
1994 takeover of Congress, told National Public Radio's Diane Rehm that
the GOP had become the big government party. "They actually grew the government,"
he said." ... "The Republican Majority for Choice, a lobbying group for
Republicans who support abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research,
blamed the losses Tuesday on Iraq and "social extremism," Co-chairwoman
Jennifer Stockman said. "Moderates have been alienated for years. This
was the last straw."" -By Emily Bazar
-USATODAY
Election
2006 - US
- Iraq
- Military
- Missouri
- Montana
- Virginia
- 
Pennsylvania
- Santorum
- 
Rhode
Island - 
Ohio
- 
Indiana
- 
Kentucky
- "Democrats
win House control in midterm elections; Senate still in doubt."
... "Democrats took over the House in Tuesday's midterm elections but Senate
control might take weeks to decide, in an election shaped by voter discontent
with President Bush and the direction of the Iraq war." ... "Democrat Claire
McCaskill's victory over incumbent [Republican] Sen. Jim Talent in Missouri
has put Senate control within her party's grasp. Two Senate races remained
undecided early Wednesday -- Montana, where a Democratic challenger led,
and Virginia, where another Democratic challenger was ahead by the slimmest
of margins. Democrats must win both to seize Senate control." ... "Four
incumbent Republicans lost in the Senate. Pennsylvanians voted out conservative
stalwart Rick Santorum [Republican] — the No. 3 GOP leader in the Senate
— in favor of Democrat Bob Casey; Rhode Island voters picked Democratic
challenger Sheldon Whitehouse over incumbent Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee;
Ohio voters chose Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown over Republican incumbent
Mike Dewine; and McCaskill beat Talent." ... "Democrats also won major
House races in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky and the closely contested
governor's race in Ohio, the AP projected. And Democrats seized a majority
of the nation's governorships for the first time in 12 years."
-USATODAY
US
- 2006
Election - Opinion
- Government
- Iraq
- Military
- "Corruption
named as key issue by voters in exit polls." ...
"By a wide margin, Americans who voted Tuesday in the midterm election
say they disapprove of the war in Iraq." ... "But when asked which issue
was extremely important to their vote, more voters said corruption and
ethics in government than any other issue, including the war, according
to national exit polls." ... "And defying the traditional political maxim
that "all politics is local," 62 percent of voters said national issues
mattered more than local issues when deciding which House candidate to
pick." -CNN
US
- Iraq
- Military
- People
- 
TV
- Money
- Oil
- Politics
- Japan
- 
New
York
- "Rupert
Murdoch -- who once predicted Iraq war could lead to $20/barrel oil --described
war casualties as "minute"." ... "On November 6,
News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch reportedly said at a conference
in Tokyo [Japan] that U.S. casualties in Iraq, "by the terms of any previous
war are quite minute," as the weblog Democratic Underground noted.
He further stated: "I believe it was right to go in there. I believe that
certainly the execution that has followed that has included many mistakes.
But that's easy to say after the event." Murdoch, whose conservative media
empire includes Fox News Channel, the New York Post, and The Weekly
Standard, vocally supported the war in 2003, citing potential economic
benefits. As of November 3, according to CNN,
a total of 2,836 U.S. soldiers have been killed since the invasion of Iraq
in March 2003." -MediaMatters.org
Voting
Machine Problems - Indiana
- 
Illinois
- Ohio
- 
Florida
- 
Utah
- Kentucky
- 2006
Election - Politics
- "Voting
machine problems bedevil multiple states." ... "As
both parties revved up their massive get-out-the-vote operations across
the nation, programming errors and inexperience dealing with electronic
voting machines caused some early problems:" ... "• Election officials
in Delaware County, Ind., planned to seek a court order to extend voting
after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots
in 75 precincts. Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that
activate the machines were programmed incorrectly. "We are working with
precincts one-by-one over the telephone to get the problem fixed," Wenger
said." ... "• Illinois officials were swamped with calls from voters complaining
that poll workers did not know how to operate new electronic equipment[.]"
... "• In Ohio, some machines wouldn't function."We got five machines —
one of them's got to work," said Willette Scullank, a troubleshooter from
the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board." ... "• In Florida, voting
was briefly delayed at four districts because of either mixed up ballots
or electronic activators being unintentionally wiped out, according to
Mary Cooney, spokeswoman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.
Voters were forced to use paper ballots after an electronic machine broke
in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park." ... "• In Utah County, Utah,
workers failed to properly encode some of the cards that voters use to
bring up touchscreen ballots." ... "• In Kentucky, a school board race
was inadvertently left off the touchscreen ballot in two precincts in Bourbon
County, requiring the county clerk to make paper ballots on the spot. "
-By Douglas Stanglin with contributions by Bill Nichols,
Kathy Kiely, and David Jackson -AP
via -USATODAY
Virginia
- 2006
Election
- Politics
- Law
- "FBI
looking into possible Va. voter intimidation: Officials
probing reports of phone calls allegedly intended to confuse voters." ...
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the possibility of
voter intimidation in the hard-fought U.S. Senate race between Sen. George
Allen, a Republican, and Democratic challenger James Webb, officials told
NBC News." ... "State officials alerted the Justice Department on Tuesday
to several complaints of suspicious phone calls to voters who attempted
to misdirect or confuse them about election day, Jean Jensen, Secretary
of the Virginia State Board of Elections, told NBC's David Shuster." ...
"Jensen told NBC that she had been contacted by FBI agents. The FBI in
Richmond refused to comment." ... "State Democratic Party counsel Jay Myerson
said in a written statement issued by the Webb campaign that he believed
Republicans are behind an orchestrated effort to suppress votes for the
Democratic challenger." -MSNBC
2006
Election - Money
- Phone
- Law
- "It's
a Candidate Calling. Again." ... "Republicans Deny
Subterfuge as Phone Barrages Anger Voters." ... "This year's heavy volume
of automated political phone calls has infuriated countless voters and
triggered sharp complaints from Democrats, who say the Republican Party
has crossed the line in bombarding households with recorded attacks on
candidates in tight House races nationwide." ... "Some voters, sick of
interrupted dinners and evenings, say they will punish the offending parties
by opposing them in today's [2006] elections. But critics say Republicans
crafted the messages to delude voters --especially those who hang up quickly
-- into thinking that Democrats placed the calls." ... "Democrats cited
federal records indicating that the NRCC recently spent about $600,000
in at least 45 contested House districts for robo-calls, which are among
the least expensive campaign tools." ... "Many voters hang up as soon as
a robo-call begins -- without waiting for the criticisms or the NRCC sign-off
at the end -- so they think it was placed by the Democratic candidate named
at the start, said Sarah Feinberg, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee." ... "Democrats also cited Federal Communications Commission
guidelines saying the originators of automated calls must identify themselves
at the beginning of each call. Republican Party lawyers, however, said
the requirement does not apply to political nonprofit organizations. They
rebuffed a "cease and desist" letter sent yesterday by the DCCC." (1, 2)
-By Charles Babington and Alec MacGillis with contributions
by Jonathan Weisman, Dale Russakoff, and Michael Powell -WashingtonPost
Ted
Haggard - Gay
- Drug
- Politics
- 
Colorado
- "Disgraced
Haggard: I am a "deceiver and a liar." ... "In a
letter of apology read to the congregation of [Colorado's] New Life Church
Sunday morning, Ted Haggard confessed to sexual immorality and described
himself as "a deceiver and a liar."" ... ""There is a part of my life that
is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult
life," Haggard wrote." ... "Describing a lifelong battle against temptations
that were contrary to his teachings, Haggard said he had sought assistance
"in a variety of ways," and while he had stretches of "freedom," nothing
proved effective." ... "Haggard was fired as senior pastor of the church
on Saturday by an oversight board of pastors that concluded Haggard committed
"sexually immoral conduct." The board had investigated claims by a male
prostitute who said publicly this week that Haggard paid him for sex and
took methamphetamine over a three-year period." -By
Eric Gorski -DenverPost.com
Ted
Haggard - Gay
- Drug
- Politics
- Colorado
- Law
- "Haggard
fired for "sexually immoral conduct"." ... "Ted Haggard,
the beleaguered pastor of a Colorado Springs [Colorado] evangelical church
who had denied having sex with a male prostitute, has been fired by an
oversight board, which found him guilty of "sexually immoral conduct.""
... "The findings stand in stark contrast to the immensely popular public
image of the New Life Church's founding pastor. A rising star, Haggard,
50, was at times a consultant to the White House, the author of several
books, and until he stepped down this week, president of the National Association
of Evangelicals, which represents more than 30 million worshippers." ...
"The board that made the decision, called the "Overseer Board of New Life
Church," said in a prepared statement Saturday afternoon: "Our investigation
and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that
he has committed sexually immoral conduct."" ... "Mike Jones, 49, of Denver
[Colorado], had come forward Wednesday and said Haggard had had a paid
sexual relationship with him monthly for three years. Jones also said Haggard
used crystal meth." ... "And though he said he didn't want to ruin Haggard's
life, there was too much at stake in keeping silent. Haggard is a vocal
support of Amendment 43, which would define marriage in Colorado as being
strictly between a man and a woman." -By Chuck Plunkett
with contributions by Kirk Mitchell -DenverPost.com
Secret
- US
- Iraq
- 
Nuclear
- Government
- Military
- Intelligence
- Internet
- Archive
- History
- Hoekstra
- Michigan
- Roberts
- 
Kansas
- Legislation- Politics
- "U.S.
Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer."
... "Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public
a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration
did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they
hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers
posed by Saddam Hussein." ... "But in recent weeks, the site has posted
some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed
accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf
war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building
an atom bomb." ... "Last night, the government shut down the Web site after
The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control
officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access
to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content
is appropriate for public viewing.”" ... "Officials of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like
Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American
ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on
condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One diplomat
said the agency’s technical experts “were shocked” at the public disclosures."
... "The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams,
equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts
who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet
and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information
on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well
as the radioactive cores of atom bombs." ... "The director of national
intelligence, John D. Negroponte, had resisted setting up the Web site,
which some intelligence officials felt implicitly raised questions about
the competence and judgment of government analysts. But President Bush
approved the site’s creation after Congressional Republicans proposed legislation
to force the documents’ release." ... "The campaign for the Web site was
led by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative
Peter Hoekstra [Republican] of Michigan. Last November, he and his Senate
counterpart, Pat Roberts [Republican] of Kansas, wrote to Mr. Negroponte,
asking him to post the Iraqi material." (1, 2,
3)
-By William J. Broad with contributions by Scott Shane
-NYTimes
Ney
- 
Abramoff
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio
- "Ney
Says He’ll Resign From House." ... "Rep. Bob Ney,
facing certain expulsion from the House after being convicted of two felonies
in relation to the Jack Abramoff scandal, said on Friday he will resign
by the end of the day." ... "Ney’s corruption case was detailed in Justice
Department documents released in September, and they revealed a five-year
association with Abramoff that included taking trips to Scotland, luxury
sports suite tickets and gambling chips from a foreign businessman." ...
"In return for these favors, Ney tried to give Abramoff clients favorable
treatment." ... "In the plea document, Ney says he accepted free trips,
including a $160,000 excursion to play golf in Scotland in 2002; a $7,200
gambling vacation in New Orleans in 2003; and a $3,500 vacation in Lake
George, N.Y., that same year, with lobbyists picking up the tab in each
case." ... "Ney also accepted thousands in gambling chips at a British
casino. He had a staffer carry $5,000 in cash through U.S. Customs so he
wouldn’t have to report tens of thousands in winnings from the casino."
-By Martin Kady II -CQ.com
Ted
Haggard - Drugs
- Gay
- Colorado
- Politics
- "Powerful
pastor's drug purchases shocks evangelicals." ...
"The Rev. Ted Haggard, who has resigned as one of the nation's top evangelical
leaders, admitted Friday he had contacted a male prostitute for a massage
and bought methamphetamine." ... "Haggard also acknowledged contacting
Mike Jones but has denied Jones' accusation that the two men regularly
had sex over three years." ... "The admissions -- after Haggard's earlier
denials that he even knew Jones -- resonated among America's evangelicals
and Christian leaders." ... "Haggard resigned as president of the National
Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group representing more than 45,000
churches with 30 million members." ... "He also temporarily stepped aside
Thursday as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado
Springs [Colorado], pending an internal investigation into Jones' allegations."
... "Haggard was one of a group of religious leaders who regularly participated
in conference calls with White House aides, Time magazine reported." -Contributed
to by Delia Gallagher -CNN
Ted
Haggard - Drugs
- Gay
- Religious
- "Evangelist
Admits Meth, Massage, No Sex: National Evangelical
Leader, Gay Marriage Opponent, Admits to Meth and Massage but Not Gay Sex."
... "Evangelist Ted Haggard admitted Friday that he bought methamphetamine
and received a massage from a gay prostitute who claims he was paid for
drug-fueled trysts by the outspoken gay marriage opponent." ... "Talking
to reporters outside his house Friday, Haggard denied the sex allegations
but said that he did buy meth from the man because he was curious." ...
"Haggard was appointed president of the evangelicals association in March
2003. He has participated in conservative Christian leaders' conference
calls with White House staffers and lobbied members of Congress last year
on U.S. Supreme Court appointees after Sandra Day O'Connor announced her
retirement." (1, 2,
3)
-By Catherine Tsai with contributions by Dan Elliott
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
Gay
- Military
- 
Entertainment
- Money
- Law
- "RNC
Accepts Money From Army Porn Movie Distributor."
... "Despite running an attack ad accusing a Democratic senatorial candidate
of accepting money from "porn movie producers," the Republican National
Committee itself has accepted several donations over the past few years
from the president of a large pornographic movie distribution company."
... "Marina Pacific Distributors calls itself "the leader in adult video
distribution." Included in the movies for sale on their Web site are videos
made by "Active Duty Productions." Active Duty, as their name suggests,
has cast active duty soldiers in some of their films but not without serious
consequences for the soldiers." ... "Three Fort Bragg soldiers were found
guilty and sentenced to prison in separate courts-martial earlier this
year for appearing in pornographic videos made by Active Duty." -By
Maddy Sauer -ABCNEWS.com
Sherwood
- Secret
- Money
- Politics
- Pennsylvania
- Election
2006 - "Rep.
paying ex-mistress about $500K." ... "A Republican
congressman [Don Sherwood of Pennsylvania] accused of abusing his ex-mistress
agreed to pay her about $500,000 in a settlement last year that contained
a powerful incentive for her to keep quiet until after Election Day, a
person familiar with the terms of the deal told The Associated Press."
... "The settlement, reached in November 2005, called for Cynthia Ore to
be paid in installments, according to a person who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the deal is confidential. She has received less than
half the money so far, and will not get the rest until after the Nov. 7
election [2006], the person said Thursday." ... "A confidentiality clause
requires Ore to forfeit some of the money if she talks publicly about the
case, according to this person and two other people familiar with elements
of the case." -By Michael Rubinkam
-AP via -Yahoo
Foley
- Ohio
- Florida
- 
NM
- NY
- Police
- Election
2006 - "Scandals
Alone Could Cost Republicans Their House Majority."
... "Indictments, investigations and allegations of wrongdoing have helped
put at least 15 Republican House seats in jeopardy, enough to swing control
to the Democrats on Tuesday [2006 Election] even before the larger issues
of war, economic unease and President Bush are invoked." ... "Democrats
have repeatedly hit [Republican] Rep. Deborah Pryce (Ohio), the House Republican
Conference chairman, for inaction on the [Florida Republican Mark] Foley
matter. And Democrats have tried to hold two former members of the Page
Board, [New York Republican] Reps. Sue W. Kelly (N.Y.) and [New Mexico
Republican] Heather A. Wilson (N.M.), accountable for Foley's actions."
... "Meanwhile, new allegations continue to spring up. Vern Buchanan, a
Republican running for the Florida seat vacated by Rep. Katherine Harris
(R), was the target of local media reports this week detailing his use
of business entities in Caribbean tax havens to reduce levies on his auto
dealerships. The Albany Times Union published an article yesterday charging
that the wife of [New York Republican] Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-N.Y.) called
police late last year to report that her husband was "knocking her around"
during a late-night argument." -By Jonathan Weisman
and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost
Noteworthy
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Politics
- History
- "Bush
owes troops an apology, not Kerry: Olbermann: Bush
'appearing to be stupid' about Kerry's joke." ... "A brief reminder, Mr.
Bush: You are not the United States of America." ... "You are merely a
politician whose entire legacy will have been a willingness to make anything
political; to have, in this case, refused to acknowledge that the insult
wasn't about the troops, and that the insult was not even truly about you
either, that the insult, in fact, is you." ... "So now John Kerry has apologized
to the troops; apologized for the Republicans' deliberate distortions."
... "Thus, the president will now begin the apologies he owes our troops,
right?" ... "This president must apologize to the troops for having suggested,
six weeks ago, that the chaos in Iraq, the death and the carnage, the slaughtered
Iraqi civilians and the dead American service personnel, will, to history,
"look like just a comma."" ... "This president must apologize to the troops
because the intelligence he claims led us into Iraq proved to be undeniably
and irredeemably wrong." ... "This president must apologize to the troops
for having laughed about the failure of that intelligence at a banquet
while our troops were in harm's way." ... "This president must apologize
to the troops because the streets of Iraq were not strewn with flowers
and its residents did not greet them as liberators." ... "This president
must apologize to the troops because his administration ran out of "plan"
after barely two months." ... "This president must apologize to the troops
for getting 2,815 of them killed." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By
Keith Olbermann
-MSNBC
Secret
- US
- Iraq
- Religious
- Police
- Politics
- Intelligence
- "Military
Charts Movement of Conflict in Iraq Toward Chaos."
... "A classified briefing prepared two weeks ago by the United States
Central Command portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos, in a chart that the
military is using as a barometer of civil conflict." ... "A one-page slide
shown at the Oct. 18 briefing provides a rare glimpse into how the military
command that oversees the war is trying to track its trajectory, particularly
in terms of sectarian fighting." ... "The slide includes a color-coded
bar chart that is used to illustrate an “Index of Civil Conflict.” It shows
a sharp escalation in sectarian violence since the bombing of a Shiite
shrine in Samarra in February, and tracks a further worsening this month
despite a concerted American push to tamp down the violence in Baghdad."
... "In fashioning the index, the military is weighing factors like the
ineffectual Iraqi police and the dwindling influence of moderate religious
and political figures, rather than more traditional military measures such
as the enemy’s fighting strength and the control of territory." ... "The
conclusions the Central Command has drawn from these trends are not encouraging,
according to a copy of the slide that was obtained by The New York Times.
The slide shows Iraq as moving sharply away from “peace,” an ideal on the
far left side of the chart, to a point much closer to the right side of
the spectrum, a red zone marked “chaos.” As depicted in the command’s chart,
the needle has been moving steadily toward the far right of the chart."
... "An intelligence summary at the bottom of the slide reads “urban areas
experiencing ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaigns to consolidate control” and “violence
at all-time high, spreading geographically.” According to a Central Command
official, the index on civil strife has been a staple of internal command
briefings for most of this year. The analysis was prepared by the command’s
intelligence directorate, which is overseen by Brig. Gen. John M. Custer."
-By Michael R. Gordon
-NYTimes
John
E Sweeney - Politician
- New
York - Law
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Government
- Media
- Terrorism- Politics
- "Statement
of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions, Pathetic Tony Snow
Diversions and Distractions." ... "Senator John Kerry
issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary
Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts
desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert
attention from their disastrous record:" ... "“If anyone thinks a veteran
would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the
president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P.
playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that
always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war,
but love to attack those who did." ... "I’m not going to be lectured by
a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy
Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael
J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have
lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never
worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly
about those who have." ... "The people who owe our troops an apology are
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given
us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed
our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it.
These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the
concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that
sent our brave troops to war without body armor." ... "Bottom line, these
Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real
men. And this time it won’t work because we’re going to stay in their face
with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions.
No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run
policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq.”"
-JohnKerry.com
Energy
- Money
- Politics
- 
Accounting
- 
MA
- "U.S.
Drops Bid Over Royalties From Chevron." ... "The
Interior Department has dropped claims that the Chevron Corporation systematically
underpaid the government for natural gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico,
a decision that could allow energy companies to avoid paying hundreds of
millions of dollars in royalties." ... "The agency had ordered Chevron
to pay $6 million in additional royalties but could have sought tens of
millions more had it prevailed. The decision also sets a precedent that
could make it easier for oil and gas companies to lower the value of what
they pump each year from federal property and thus their payments to the
government." ... "The reversal in the case, which involves Chevron’s accounting
of natural gas sales to a company it partly owned, has renewed criticism
that the Bush administration is reluctant to confront oil and gas companies
and is lax in collecting royalties." ... "In return for the right to drill
on federal lands and in federal waters, energy companies are required to
pay the government a share of their proceeds. " ... "Administration officials
knew that dozens of companies had incorrectly claimed exemptions from royalties
since 2003, but they waited until December 2005 to send letters demanding
about $500 million in repayments." ... "In February, the Interior Department
acknowledged that oil companies could escape more than $7 billion in payments
because of mistakes in leases signed in the 1990s." ... "In addition, four
government auditors last month publicly accused the Interior Department
of blocking their efforts to recover more than $30 million from the Shell
Oil Corporation, the Kerr-McGee Corporation and other major companies."
... "“This latest revelation proves that the Bush administration is incapable
of preventing big oil companies from cheating taxpayers,” said Representative
Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, a senior Democrat on the House Committee
on Resources. “The public has been systematically fleeced out of royalties
that these companies owe for the privilege of drilling for oil and gas
on lands belonging to all of us.”" (1, 2)
-By Edmund L. Andrews
-NYTimes
US
- 
Italy
- 
Weldon
- Government
- Military
- Money- Pennsylvania
- "Italian
Arms Contractor and a Pennsylvania Congressman Share Close Ties."
... "In November at the five-star Hotel Splendido overlooking the harbor
in Portofino, a playground of the Italian rich, [Pennsylvania Republican]
Representative Curt Weldon was the center of attention." ... "The second-ranking
Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Mr. Weldon was a main
speaker at a conference sponsored in part by the Italian military giant
Finmeccanica. At the gathering of Italian, British and American political
leaders, Mr. Weldon, of Pennsylvania, spoke on behalf of Italian arms makers
who were seeking a bigger share of Pentagon contracts." ... "Taxpayers
paid for Mr. Weldon’s stay. He received a $1,153 daily expense allowance
from the federal government and flew over on a military jet." ... "For
Mr. Weldon, the conference was a victory lap. After several years of promoting
Italian military contractors, the Italians had scored some big victories
at the Pentagon. But Mr. Weldon’s efforts were equally beneficial for his
district, his family, his friends and his campaign coffers." ... "His daughter
Kim, 29, a former social worker, was hired by AgustaWestland, the Finmeccanica
subsidiary that won the Marine One contract, shortly after her father’s
speech in Portofino. Kim Weldon’s work is to set up booths at trade shows
and perform public relations." ... "More than 10 Americans at Finmeccanica
subsidiaries in the United States, along with their spouses, were among
the biggest contributors to Mr. Weldon’s campaign in 2006. Their combined
donations of $20,400 edged out donations from American giants like Boeing
and Lockheed Martin." -By Leslie Wayne with contributions
by David Johnston -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Families
- "Army:
7 Families Misled On War Deaths: Review Finds Soldiers'
Families Given Incorrect Information On Their Deaths." ... "The families
of seven soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan were given incorrect
or misleading information about the deaths, the Army has concluded after
a review of war casualty reports." ... "The best-known was Cpl. Patrick
Tillman, the former star player in the National Football League whose family
initially was told he had died a hero's death, killed by enemy forces in
Afghanistan. After Tillman's memorial service the family was told the truth:
He was killed unintentionally by gunfire from his fellow soldiers." ...
"More than 1,800 Army soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began in
March 2003; about 240 have died in Afghanistan. Overall, more than 2,800
U.S. military members have died since the start of the Iraq war."
-AP via-CBSNews
George
Allen - Virginia
- "Senator's
Supporters Push, Tackle Protester: Video Shows Man
Knocked To Ground." ... "A protester who shouted questions at Virginia
Sen. George Allen was pushed to the floor during Allen's campaign appearance
Tuesday at a Charlottesville hotel." ... "CNN showed video of the confrontation.
The video showed the protester trying to get Allen's attention and asking
the Republican incumbent about his first wife. "Why did you spit at your
first wife, George?" the man asked." ... "Allen declined to answer the
question." ... "On the video, three men, all wearing blue Allen lapel stickers,
immediately grabbed the man, dragged him backward and slung him to the
carpet outside a hotel meeting room. The video showed one man tackle him."
... "The man who tackled the protester said, "Now you're getting personal."
The protester answered by saying he hadn't touched anybody." ... "WVIR
reported that afterward, a reporter asked Allen what he thought of the
incident and Allen said, "Stuff like that happens.""
-AP -Click2Houston.com
George
Allen - Virginia
- Military
- "Breaking:
[Virginia Republican George Allen] Republican's Staff Assault Marine Vet
[VIDEO]." -AlterNet.org
Ken
Calvert
- Gay
- Government
- Transportation
- 
Real
Estate - Money
- Law
- California
- "Running
for Their Lives." ... "Ken Calvert, a Republican
representative from California, was caught in a car with a prostitute during
his first term but, after putting out campaign literature implying that
his Democratic opponent was gay, held on to his seat. Last year Calvert
and a business partner bought a four-acre parcel of land in Riverside County
for $550,000; after securing federal funds for the expansion of a nearby
freeway interchange, along with federal money to support commercial development
in the area, they sold the property for nearly $1 million. But Democrats
say they are not running a serious challenger against Calvert, because
the seat leans strongly Republican." -By Juliet Eilperin
-TheAtlantic.com
Trandahl
- 
Kolbe
- Foley
- 
Arizona
- Florida
- "Trandahl
Names Kolbe as a 'Problem' With Page Program, Source Says."
...
"A source close to former House Clerk Jeff Trandahl told ABC News that
Arizona [Republican] Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) was one of a small
number of "problem members" of Congress who page program supervisors complained
spent too much time socializing with pages, taking them to dinner or sporting
events outside of official duties." ... "[Florida Republican] Mark Foley
was also on the list." ... "The source said Trandahl frequently cautioned
both congressmen that "adults should hang out with adults, pages should
hang out with pages," a message Trandahl also conveyed to pages during
their orientation." -By Rhonda Schwartz and John Yang
-ABCNEWS.com
Hastert
- Foley
- 
Reynolds
- 
Boehner
- Illinois
- Florida
- New
York
- Ohio
- "Hastert
testifies in sex scandal investigation: Presses panel
to move quickly." ... "Speaker J. Dennis Hastert [Illinois Republican]
yesterday became the first leader of the House of Representatives in a
decade to testify before its ethics committee, fielding hours of questions
about what he knew about former [Florida Republican] representative Mark
Foley's inappropriate approaches to teenage pages and when he knew it."
... "At least two Republican leaders -- Representative Thomas M. Reynolds
of New York, who is leading the party's House reelection effort, and House
majority leader John Boehner of Ohio -- have said they told Hastert last
year that they were concerned about Foley's behavior after they learned
about "overly friendly" e-mails that Foley, a Florida Republican, sent
to one former male page." ... "Hastert has said he does not recall those
conversations, but he does not dispute that he may have forgotten them."
-By Maura Reynolds -LAtimes
via -BostonGlobe
Renzi
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Real
Estate - Money
- Politics
- Law
Enforcement - "Lawmaker's
Influence in Land Deals Probed." ... "U.S. prosecutors
in Arizona have opened a preliminary investigation into whether [Republican]
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) twice pressured landowners to buy a 480-acre
parcel owned by his former business partner, a major backer of Renzi's
political campaign, according to federal law enforcement sources." ...
"The deal ultimately netted the business partner a $3 million profit, according
to Arizona land records." ... "The Arizona transaction has drawn the interest
of the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI's Phoenix field office. Three
law enforcement officials said both are investigating Renzi's involvement
in two land deals -- one of which was not completed -- designed to put
the 480 acres under federal protection from development in exchange for
land more fit for commercial development." ... "According to sources, the
investigation is focusing on whether, in exchange for political contributions
and business support, James Sandlin received special treatment from Renzi
for a parcel of land that earned him a $3 million profit." ... "Sandlin
bought into Renzi's real estate firm in 2001, then paid about $200,000
for half the business and, after he was elected to Congress, $1 million
to $5 million for the rest." ... "Investigators want to know whether Renzi
twice attempted to arrange deals for Sandlin, including once by proposing
legislation, two sources with knowledge of the investigations said." -By
Jonathan Weisman and Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost
Renzi
- Arizona
- Legislation
- Politics
- International
- Money
- Family
- Military
- Communications
- Virginia
- "Congressman
From Arizona Is the Focus of an Inquiry." ... "Federal
authorities in Arizona have opened an inquiry into whether [Arizona Republican]
Representative Rick Renzi introduced legislation that benefited a military
contractor that employs his father, law enforcement officials said Tuesday."
... "Mr. Renzi, 48, a Republican who represents the First Congressional
District, is a former insurance executive and real estate investor who
was first elected in 2002. Almost from the start, he has been a target
of citizen watchdog groups who have accused him of ethical laxity in office."
... "Law enforcement officials said that the most serious accusation involved
Mr. Renzi’s sponsorship of legislation in 2003 that appeared to indirectly
benefit the ManTech International Corporation, a communications company
based in Virginia that employs Mr. Renzi’s father, Eugene, a retired Army
general, as executive vice president." -By David Johnston
-NYTimes
Noteworthy
- US
- Guantanamo
Bay - 
Cuba
- Military
- Intelligence
- Torture
- Terrorism
- Prison
- Religion
- People
- War
Crimes - Law
Enforcement - Politics
- "Can
the '20th hijacker' of Sept. 11 stand trial? Aggressive
interrogation at Guantanamo may prevent his prosecution." ... "Mohammed
al-Qahtani, detainee No. 063, was forced to wear a bra. He had a thong
placed on his head. He was massaged by a female interrogator who straddled
him like a lap dancer. He was told that his mother and sisters were whores.
He was told that other detainees knew he was gay. He was forced to dance
with a male interrogator. He was strip-searched in front of women. He was
led on a leash and forced to perform dog tricks. He was doused with water.
He was prevented from praying. He was forced to watch as an interrogator
squatted over his Koran." ... "That much is known. These details were among
the findings of the U.S. Army's investigation of al-Qahtani's aggressive
interrogation at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." ... "But only now is a picture
emerging of how the interrogation policy developed, and the battle that
law enforcement agents waged, inside Guantanamo and in the offices of the
Pentagon, against harsh treatment of al-Qahtani and other detainees by
military intelligence interrogators." ... "In interviews with MSNBC.com
- the first time they have spoken publicly -former senior law enforcement
agents described their attempts to stop the abusive interrogations. The
agents of the Pentagon's Criminal Investigation Task Force, working to
build legal cases against suspected terrorists, said they objected to coercive
tactics used by a separate team of intelligence interrogators soon after
Guantanamo's prison camp opened in early 2002. They ultimately carried
their battle up to the office of Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld,
who approved the more aggressive techniques to be used on al-Qahtani and
others." ... "Although they believed the abusive techniques were probably
illegal, the Pentagon cops said their objection was practical. They argued
that abusive interrogations were not likely to produce truthful information,
either
for preventing more al-Qaida attacks or prosecuting terrorists." ... "And
they described their disappointment when military prosecutors told them
not to worry about making a criminal case against al-Qahtani, the suspected
"20th hijacker" of Sept. 11, because what had been done to him would prevent
him from ever being put on trial." ... "Defense Department e-mails seen
by MSNBC.com show that a delegation visiting Guantanamo on Sept. 25, 2002,
included Alberto R. Gonzales, then the White House counsel and now attorney
general; David S. Addington, legal counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney,
now his chief of staff; Timothy E. Flanigan, the deputy White House counsel;
William Haynes III, the Pentagon general counsel; Larry Thompson, then
deputy attorney general; Christopher A. Wray, the principal associate deputy
attorney general, now head of Criminal Division at the Justice Department;
and John Yoo, a lawyer in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel,
who reportedly had just helped write an Aug. 1, 2002, "torture memo" to
Gonzales, defining torture narrowly as causing pain equivalent to organ
failure or death." ... "The visiting VIPs met with Gen. Dunlavey and his
staff, but not with any of the law enforcement investigators who opposed
the aggressive interrogations." ... "Under the Military Commissions Act
signed last week by President Bush, statements made under torture would
not be admissible in a military trial." ... "But the law says a military
judge could accept statements made under coercion. A court may have to
decide which category, torture or coercion, encompasses such techniques
as a fake trip to Egypt, sleep deprivation, and being forced to do dog
tricks. The new law also extends legal protection from prosecution for
war crimes to any U.S. personnel who used coercive tactics, if they believed
in good faith that what they were doing was lawful." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Bill Dedman -MSNBC
Renzi
- Arizona
- Real
Estate - Money
- Politics
- Government
- Legislation
- "Officials
scrutinize Ariz. land deal." ... "A land deal involving
Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], is being scrutinized by
the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona, a law enforcement official in Washington
said Tuesday." ... "Records and officials involved in the October 2005
deal say Renzi helped promote the sale of land that netted a former business
partner $4.5 million." ... "The property eventually was to be part of a
swap in which potential buyers could exchange it for land owned by the
federal government. And while Renzi's business partner, James Sandlin,
made money off the land sale, Renzi never introduced legislation in Congress
to complete the swap for the new owners." ... "State records indicate that
Renzi and Sandlin were partners in a real estate development firm dating
back to at least 2002. It is unclear whether the two still have a business
relationship." -By Jennifer Talhelm with contributions
by Arthur H. Rotstein -AP
via -BostonGlobe
Virginia
- Electronic
- Voting
Machines - Election
2006 - "Some
Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names: Computer
Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions; Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov.
7 [2006 election]." ... "U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has
been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in [the Virginia
state cities of] Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of
a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city
officials said yesterday." ... "The error shows up only on the summary
page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting
the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where
voters choose for whom to vote." ... "Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will
appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " --
on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only
jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart
InterCivic of Austin." -By Leef Smith
-WashingtonPost
Hastert
- Foley
- Fordham
- Palmer
- Kolbe
- 
Alexander
- Boehner
- Reynolds
- 
Shimkus
- Trandahl
- Florida
- Illinois
- Arizona
- 
Louisiana
- Ohio
- New
York
- "House
panel questions Hastert's top aide in Foley case."
... "Kirk Fordham, [Florida Republican Mark] Foley's former chief of staff,
said he alerted [Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert's chief of staff Scott]
Palmer several years ago to his concerns about Foley's friendships with
pages." ... "Palmer has denied Fordham's account." ... "So far, these people
have claimed they warned congressional leaders or their staff about Foley:"
... "• Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], said he alerted Hastert's
staff in 2000 or 2001." ... "• Fordham said he spoke with the speaker's
office in 2002 or 2003." ... "• Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La. [Republican-Louisiana],
said he alerted the speaker's office last year and spoke to House Majority
Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio [Republican], and Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y.
[Republican-New York], again this spring." ... "• Boehner and Reynolds
said they brought up Alexander's complaints with Hastert. The speaker said
he does not remember the conversation, but does not dispute that it occurred."
... "After Alexander contacted Hastert's office last year about e-mails
that Foley had sent a Louisiana page, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois],
head of the House Page Board, and former House clerk Jeff Trandahl confronted
Foley, who promised to stop." -By Kathy Kiely
-USATODAY
Secret
- Electronic
- Voting
Machines - Company
- Hackers
- Technology
- Election
2006 - Politics
- 
Maryland
- "Electronic
Voting Machines Could Skew Elections: Researchers,
Candidates Have Little Confidence in Machines Designed to Make Elections
Easier to Call." ... "Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland Democratic legislator,
was shocked when she opened her mail Wednesday morning." ... "Inside, she
discovered three computer discs. With them was an anonymous letter saying
the discs contained the secret source code for vote-counting that could
be used to alter the votes cast through Maryland's new electronic voting
machines." ... ""My understanding is that with these disks a malicious
person could skew the outcome of an election," Kagan said." ... "Diebold,
the company that makes the voting machines, told ABC News, "These discs
do not alter the security of the Diebold touch-screen system in any way,"
because election workers can set their own passwords." ... "But ABC News
has obtained an independent report commissioned by the state of Maryland
and conducted by Science Applications International Corporation revealing
that the original Diebold factory passwords are still being used on many
voting machines." ... "The SAIC study also shows myriad other security
flaws, including administrative over-ride passwords that cannot be changed
by local officials but can be used by hackers or those who have seen the
discs." (1, 2)
-By Jake Tapper, Rebecca Abrahams, and Eduardo Sunol
-ABCNEWS.com
John
E Sweeney - 
Jack
Abramoff - 
Tony
Rudy - Politician
- 
Trip
- 
Northern
Mariana Islands - US
- New
York - Law
Sherwood
- Pennsylvania
- 2006
Election - Law
- Police
- "During
National Character Counts Week, Bush Stumps for Philanderer."
... "So it has come to this: Nineteen days before the midterm elections,
President Bush flew here [Pennsylvania] to champion the reelection of a
congressman who last year settled a $5.5 million lawsuit alleging that
he beat his mistress during a five-year affair." ... ""I'm pleased to be
here with Don Sherwood," a smiling president told the congressman's loyal
but dispirited supporters at a luncheon fundraiser Thursday. "He has got
a record of accomplishment."" ... "Quite a record. While representing the
good people of the 10th District, the married congressman shacked up in
Washington with a Peruvian immigrant more than three decades his junior.
During one assignation in 2004, the woman, who says Sherwood was striking
her and trying to strangle her, locked herself in a bathroom and called
911; Sherwood told police he was giving her a back rub." ... "At a time
when Republicans are struggling to motivate religious conservatives to
go to the polls next month, it is not clear what benefit the White House
found in sending Bush to stump for Sherwood -- smack dab in the middle
of what Bush, in an official proclamation, dubbed "National Character Counts
Week."" ... "The nature of the accuser's allegations -- she said Sherwood
gave her "facial lacerations, bruises about the head, neck and other portions
of her body, head injury, injuries to her teeth, mouth and gums, back and
neck strain, injuries to her scalp" -- makes it more than a distraction.
Sherwood continues to deny abuse after reaching the secret settlement."
-By Dana Milbank -WashingtonPost
Sherwood
- Pennsylvania
- 2006
Election - Lawmaker
- Police
- "Bush
campaigns for Pennsylvania congressman enmeshed in sex scandal."
... "He said she was "a casual acquaintance." She said they were extra-marital
lovers, but told police that he tried to choke her. His wife says she forgives
him. So does President Bush." ... "In fact, Bush traveled to northeastern
Pennsylvania Thursday to help the wayward husband, Republican Rep. Don
Sherwood, keep his seat in Congress. Perhaps it's a measure of the Republicans'
plight that the president would throw his prestige behind a candidate whose
marital misbehavior conjures memories of Bill Clinton." ... "Sherwood's
five-year fling with a woman half his age has all the elements of a bad
soap opera, but voter reaction to his performance could help decide whether
Republicans keep control of the House of Representatives. Polls show Sherwood
trailing Democratic challenger Chris Carney in a district that had been
considered a lock for the GOP." ... "Sherwood's problems started in September
2004, when Cynthia Ore called police to the congressman's Capitol Hill
apartment claiming that he'd choked her for no apparent reason." ... "She
was 29 at the time; he was 63." ... "Sherwood was never charged, and the
matter attracted little attention until the following spring, when Ore
threatened legal action and provided details of a relationship that Sherwood
had initially denied. The two met in 1999 at a gathering for young Republicans."
-By Ron Hutcheson -McClatchy
via -KansasCity.com
Alexander
- Foley
- Hastert
- Boehner
- Trandahl
- Reynolds
- Lawmakers
- E-Mails
- Child
- Louisiana
- Florida
- Ill
- Ohio
- NY
- "House
Panel Probes Foley Page Scandal: Sponsor Of Louisiana
Page Tells Ethics Panel Others Knew Of E-Mails Before He Did." ... "GOP
Rep. Rodney Alexander [Louisiana Republican] appeared Wednesday morning
and says that after he and his staff learned of the [Florida Republican
Mark Foley] e-mails to the former page, his aides contacted the office
of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.[Republican-Illinois], for advice
on what to do about communications the boy's family thought were inappropriate."
... "His testimony is a small piece of a more confusing puzzle that puts
Hastert and his aides at odds with the accounts of other top GOP lawmakers
and their aides." ... "Two of those figures, Majority Leader [Republican]
John Boehner, R-Ohio, and former House Clerk Jeff Trandahl, are scheduled
to testify Thursday." ... "Boehner has said he discussed the Foley situation
with Hastert last spring after Alexander informed him of the e-mails, as
has Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y. [Republican-New York.]"
-AP via
-CBSNews
Jim
Kolbe
- Foley
- Lawmakers
- Teens
- Ariz
- Fla
- "Kolbe
Matter Is Referred to House Ethics Panel: Allegations
Involve Contact With Male Former Pages." ... "The House committee looking
into allegations that former congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla. [Republican-Florida])
had improper contact with male former pages has been asked by lawmakers
overseeing the page program to look into allegations involving a second
lawmaker, House sources said yesterday." ... "Members of the Page Board
sought the review after news reports last week that the Justice Department
had opened a preliminary inquiry into a camping trip that Rep. Jim Kolbe
(R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona]) took with male former pages in 1996. That
report sparked a conference call Monday among board members." ... "It was
not clear what allegations the board was concerned about. But The Washington
Post has learned of a potentially inappropriate incident involving Kolbe
and a male page. The man recently told the House clerk's office and the
FBI about an encounter with the Arizona Republican that occurred about
five years ago when he was 16, according to someone familiar with the man's
account. The page told authorities that he was "uncomfortable with a particular
social encounter" that involved physical contact when he and Kolbe were
alone, the source said yesterday." -By Jonathan Weisman
and James V. Grimaldi -WashingtonPost
Secret
- Military
- Terrorism
- Torture
- Prisons
- Legislation
- Religious
- Civil
Liberties - History
- Politics
- "Bush
Signs Terror Interrogation Law." ... "President Bush
signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects
and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions, calling it
a "vital tool" in the war against terrorism." ... "Bush's plan for treatment
of the terror suspects became law just six weeks after he acknowledged
that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas
and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military
commissions." ... "A coalition of religious groups staged a protest against
the bill outside the White House, shouting "Bush is the terrorist" and
"Torture is a crime." About 15 of the protesters, standing in a light rain,
refused orders to move. Police arrested them one by one." ... "The law
protects detainees from blatant abuses during questioning - such as rape,
torture and "cruel and inhuman" treatment - but does not require that any
of them be granted legal counsel. Also, it specifically bars detainees
from filing habeas corpus petitions challenging their detentions in federal
courts." ... "Many Democrats opposed the legislation because they said
it eliminated rights of defendants considered fundamental to American values,
such as a person's ability to go to court to protest their detention and
the use of coerced testimony as evidence." ... "The American Civil Liberties
Union said the new law is "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever
enacted in American history."" ... ""The president can now, with the approval
of Congress, indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections
against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence,
authorize trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally
beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions,"
said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero." ... ""Nothing could be
further from the American values we all hold in our hearts than the Military
Commissions Act," he said." -By Nedra Pickler
-AP
US
- Government
- Money
- Politics
- Legislators
- Election
2006 - TV
- 
Radio
- Ads
- 
Washington
- Virginia
- Indiana
- 
Connecticut
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- "Dems
using hourly wage issue against GOP rivals." ...
"Democratic challengers in more than two-dozen House and Senate races are
attacking Republicans in Congress for taking pay raises while voting against
a minimum wage increase." ... "The attacks are contained in television
and radio ads running from Washington state to Virginia. In some races,
such as House contests in Indiana and Connecticut, Democrats also link
pay raises to Republican votes against combat bonuses for U.S. troops fighting
in Iraq and Afghanistan." ... "Most members of Congress currently earn
$165,200 a year; top leaders earn more. That's $31,600 more than in 1997,
when the federal minimum wage was raised to the current $5.15 an hour.
Unless legislators act during a lame-duck session after [2006] Election
Day, lawmakers who will be part of the Congress that convenes in January
will get an automatic 2% raise to $168,504." -By Andrea
Stone -USATODAY
US
- 
Russia
- Energy
- Weldon
- Money
- Law
- Politics
- PA
- Florida
- "FBI
raids four homes, two offices in Weldon probe." ...
"FBI agents investigating U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R., Pa. [Republican, Pennsylvania])
conducted six raids this morning - including at the homes of his daughter
and a longtime friend." ... "In Center City [Pennsylvania], agents searched
the law office of John Gallagher, a Weldon friend who has conducted extensive
business in Russia and former Soviet Republics." ... "In Media [Pennsylvania],
agents searched the offices of the public relations firm formed by Weldon's
longtime friend Charles P. Sexton Jr., and the congressman's daughter,
Karen." ... "Sexton and Karen Weldon formed Solutions North America in
2002, and won $1 million in contracts from two Russian energy firms and
a Serbian family with ties to Slobodan Milosevic." ... "FBI agents in Jacksonville,
Fla. [Florida], raided the office of one of the Russian energy firms, Itera,
and a private residence whose connection to the investigation was not disclosed."
... "" -By John Shiffman, Mitch Lipka and Patrick
Kerkstra -Philly.com
Government
- Terrorism
- Prisons- Law
- Enforcement
- Money
- Politics
- Colorado
- "Supermax
Staffing Too Low To Be Safe: Arbitrator Finds Problems
At Prison That Holds Moussaoui, Unabomber." ... "Staffing at the Supermax
prison has gotten so low that job hazards have increased for correctional
officers watching over the nation's worst terrorists, an arbitrator has
ruled." ... "The arbitrator stopped short of ordering the Bureau of Prisons
to hire more staff, but union officials representing Supermax officers
said the ruling would bolster their argument to Congress for more prison
funding." ... ""If the most maximum security federal penitentiary is indeed
understaffed, what is happening across the entire Bureau of Prisons as
far as staffing levels?" asked [Colorado Democrat] state Rep. Buffie McFadyen,
who testified for the union at an arbitration hearing in May. Her district
includes Supermax and 11 other state and federal prisons."
-AP via
-CBSNews
Poverty
- Legislation
- Politics
- Book
- "A
Loss Of Faith: Former White House Insider Tells Lesley
Stahl Staffers Called Evangelicals "Nuts" And "Goofy"." ... "David Kuo
is an evangelical Christian and card-carrying member of the religious right,
who got a job in the White House in the president’s Office of Faith-Based
and Community Initiatives. He thought it was a dream-come-true: a chance
to work for a president whose vision about compassionate conservatism would
be matched with sweeping legislation to help the poor." ... "But Kuo says
the so-called compassion agenda has fallen short of its promise and he
blames President Bush for that in his new book." ... "As correspondent
Lesley Stahl reports, he also says the White House was a place that
cynically used religion for political ends and that White House aides ridiculed
the very Christian leaders who helped bring Mr. Bush to office." ... "Kuo
speaks as an insider. Even before he became the number two guy in the White
House faith-based office, he had a long resume in the world of Christian
conservatives." ... ""This message that has been sent out to Christians
for a long time now: that Jesus came primarily for a political agenda,
and recently primarily a right-wing political agenda - as if this culture
war is a war for God. And it’s not a war for God, it’s a war for politics.
And that’s a huge difference," says Kuo." ... ""God and politics had become
very much fused together into a sort of a single entity. Where, in a way,
politics was the fourth part of the trinity. God the father, God the son,
God the holy spirit, God the politician," says Kuo." ... ""You’re calling
for a fast. That’s your expression," Stahl remarks." ... ""Yes. I think
that Christians, particularly evangelical Christians need to take a step
back. To have a fast from politics," he replies. "People are being manipulated.
Good well-meaning people are being told, ‘Send your money to this Christian
advocacy group or that.’ And that’s the answer. It’s just not the answer.
It’s not the answer."" (1, 2,
3)
-CBSNews
US
- 
North
Korea - Nuclear
- Military
- History
- Politics
- "N.
Korean Nuclear Conflict Has Deep Roots: 50 Years
of Threats and Broken Pacts Culminate in Apparent Atomic Test." ... "Democrats
and Republicans have been quick to use North Korea's apparent nuclear test
to benefit their own party in these final weeks of the congressional campaign,
but a review of history shows that both sides have contributed to the current
situation." ... "There is more than 50 years of history to Pyongyang's
attempt to gain a nuclear weapon, triggered in part by threats from Presidents
Harry S. Truman [Democrat] and Dwight D. Eisenhower [Republican] to end
the Korean War." ... "In 1950, when a reporter asked Truman whether he
would use atomic bombs at a time when the war was going badly, the president
said, "That includes every weapon we have."" ... "Three years later, Eisenhower
made a veiled threat, saying he would "remove all restraints in our use
of weapons" if the North Korean government did not negotiate in good faith
an ending to that bloody war." ... "In 1957, the United States placed nuclear-tipped
Matador missiles in South Korea, to be followed in later years, under both
Republican and Democratic administrations, by nuclear artillery, most of
which was placed within miles of the demilitarized zone." ... "It was not
until President [Democrat] Jimmy Carter's administration, in the late 1970s,
that the first steps were taken to remove some of the hundreds of nuclear
weapons that the United States maintained in South Korea, a process that
was not completed until 1991, under the first [Republican] Bush administration."
-By Walter Pincus -WashingtonPost
Ney
- Abramoff
- 
Doolittle
- 
Volz
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio
- Montana
- California
- "Ney
Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges: Lawmaker's Conviction
Is 8th in Abramoff Probe." ... "[Ohio Republican Bob] Ney is the eighth
person convicted in the continuing federal investigation into Abramoff's
activities. A federal task force that includes a dozen Justice Department
prosecutors is investigating Abramoff's dealings with other congressional
offices, including those of Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont. [Republican-Montana])
and Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif. [Republican-California]), according
to lawyers and witnesses involved in the probe." ... "The Ohio Republican
had been a target of the investigation for a year and came under increasing
pressure -- first in January with Abramoff's guilty plea and agreement
to cooperate in the investigation, then with the guilty plea in May of
his former aide Neil G. Volz, who admitted conspiring to corruptly influence
the congressman and others. Ney admitted encouraging Volz to violate the
one-year ban on lobbying by former staffers." ... "Earlier this year, Ney's
committee passed ethics legislation to strip convicted lawmakers of their
pensions, but the bill died in the House." -By Susan
Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi with contributions by Alice Crites
-WashingtonPost
Abramoff
- Doolittle
- Family
- Business
- E-Mail
- California
- Military
- "E-mail
adds fuel to the fire: It suggests Doolittle wanted
wife to work for Abramoff in 2000." ... "A day after a hot campaign debate
in which [California Republican] Rep. John Doolittle said there was nothing
unethical in his relationship with Jack Abramoff, a new e-mail surfaced
Thursday indicating he was hoping his wife could go to work for the disgraced
lobbyist as early as 2000." ... "The e-mail released Thursday was written
by Kevin Ring, an Abramoff associate and former Doolittle staffer, to his
boss. In it, Ring relates that Doolittle is "very very excited and appreciative"
about the possibility of his wife, Julie, going to work for an Abramoff
nonprofit group called Toward Tradition." ... ""JTD knows of the group
and would like to talk to you about it," the e-mail says." ... "The e-mail
suggests Doolittle was trying to get a job for his wife two years before
she ultimately took a position working for Abramoff at his law firm, Greenberg
Traurig." ... "[Democrat Charlie] Brown, a retired Air Force officer, is
seeking to unseat Doolittle, who is running for a ninth term representing
the 4th Congressional District. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the
district 48 percent to 30 percent." -By David Whitney
-SacBee.com
Abramoff
- Norquist
- 
Rove
- Money
- Government
- Newspaper
- Op-Ed
- Politics
- "Report
Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff." ...
"Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent
Republican Grover Norquist, "appear to have perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers
by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators
said in a report issued yesterday." ... "The report includes previously
unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the
nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff funneled money from his clients
to the groups. In exchange, the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly
independent newspaper op-ed columns or news releases that favored the clients'
positions." ... "Officers of the groups "were generally available to carry
out Mr. Abramoff's requests for help with his clients in exchange for cash
payments," said the report, issued by the Senate Finance Committee." ...
"The Senate report released yesterday states that the nonprofit groups
probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then
disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange
for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's
clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government
officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization
for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."" ... "The
report bolstered earlier revelations that Abramoff laundered money through
the nonprofits to pay for congressional trips and paid Norquist to arrange
meetings for Abramoff's clients with government officials including White
House senior adviser Karl Rove." (1, 2)
-By James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt with contributions
by Alice Crites -WashingtonPost
Jim
Kolbe
- Gay
- Ariz
- Legislator
- Teenager
- Politics
- "Feds
probe trip that Kolbe made with pages: NBC exclusive:
Congressman alleged to have been inappropriate in '96." ... "Federal prosecutors
in Arizona have opened a preliminary investigation of a camping trip Congressman
Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], took 10 years ago that included
two teenage congressional pages, a Justice Department spokesman told NBC
News. NBC News first reported
on the camping and rafting trip on Tuesday." ... "A spokesman for the
Justice Department in Washington said that the U.S. attorney in Arizona
has started a "preliminary assessment" of the trip, after an unidentified
source made allegations about the congressman's behavior on the expedition."
... "As NBC News first reported, Kolbe took a tour down the Grand Canyon
in July 1996 with a group that included two 17-year-old males who had recently
left the congressional page program." ... "Kolbe, the only openly gay Republican
legislator in both houses of Congress, had not acknowledged his homosexuality
publicly at the time." ... "NBC News interviewed several people who were
on the trip, and their accounts vary. One participant, who requested anonymity,
said he was uncomfortable with the attention Kolbe paid to one of the former
pages. He was "creeped out by it," he said, adding that there was a lot
of "fawning, petting and touching" on the teenager's arms, shoulders and
back by Kolbe." -By Jim Popkin and Aram Roston
-MSNBC
Abramoff- Norquist
- Rove
- Money
- Government
- Newspaper
- Op-Ed
- Politics
- "Report
Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff." ...
"Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent
Republican Grover Norquist, "appear to have perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers
by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators
said in a report issued yesterday." ... "The report includes previously
unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the
nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff funneled money from his clients
to the groups. In exchange, the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly
independent newspaper op-ed columns or news releases that favored the clients'
positions." ... "Officers of the groups "were generally available to carry
out Mr. Abramoff's requests for help with his clients in exchange for cash
payments," said the report, issued by the Senate Finance Committee." ...
"The Senate report released yesterday states that the nonprofit groups
probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then
disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange
for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's
clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government
officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization
for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."" ... "The
report bolstered earlier revelations that Abramoff laundered money through
the nonprofits to pay for congressional trips and paid Norquist to arrange
meetings for Abramoff's clients with government officials including White
House senior adviser Karl Rove." (1, 2)
-By James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt with contributions
by Alice Crites -WashingtonPost
Ney
- Abramoff
- Norquist
- Rove
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio
- "Rep.
Bob Ney Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charges: Linked
to Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Ney Says He'll Resign Soon but Perhaps Not Soon
Enough for GOP Leadership." ... "Republican Bob Ney, a six-term congressman
from Ohio, pleaded guilty today in Federal District Court to taking bribes
in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal." ... "Standing before
Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false
statements. He acknowledged taking money, gifts and favors in return for
official actions on behalf of Abramoff and his clients." ... "Three former
House GOP aides have already pleaded guilty to corruption charges involving
Abramoff, a once powerful lobbyist with especially close ties to top Republicans."
... "The Abramoff fallout has now spread wider, with a Senate Finance Committee
report maintaining that five conservative nonprofit groups may have illegally
helped the once powerful lobbyist." ... "Most notable are the charges aimed
at Americans for Tax Reform, headed by Grover Norquist, an influential
adviser to Republicans with close ties to President Bush's top political
adviser, Karl Rove. The organizations cited in the report deny any wrongdoing."
... "Committee investigators said the groups may have violated their tax-exempt
status by helping Abramoff and his clients." (1, 2,
3)
-By John Cochran -ABCNEWS.com
Secret
- US
- World
- 
German
- 
Syrian
- Military
- Terrorism
- Torture
- Prisons
- Politics
- Journalist
- Book
- "Inside
the CIA's Secret Prisons Program: An explosive new
book provides a rare glimpse into the full extent of the agency's controversial
terror renditions — and the curious coalition of partners who helped the
U.S. pull them off." ... "In December of 2001, U.S. agents arranged to
have a German citizen flown to a Syrian jail called the Palestine Branch,
renowned for its use of torture, and later offered to pass written questions
to Syrian interrogators to pose to the prisoner, according to a secret
German intelligence report shown to TIME on Wednesday. The report is described
in the new book Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program
by British investigative journalist Stephen Grey. The complex arrangement
was part of the CIA's sprawling practice of extraordinary renditions, the
secret transfer of terror suspects to hidden prisons across the world —
which has involved the aid of numerous foreign governments and the knowledge
of key Western European allies, according to the book, which was shown
to TIME by the author. After U.S. officials long refused to confirm the
CIA's secret detention of terror suspects abroad, President Bush last month
admitted that terror suspects had been transferred abroad to secret CIA
facilities, but U.S. officials continue to deny that such prisoners have
been tortured, saying that foreign governments assured them that they would
be treated fairly." ... "The cooperation between an unlikely coalition
of intelligence agencies did not end there. The intelligence report gives
a rare glimpse into the favors exchanged between governments during the
CIA renditions. One day after Germany learned that the Syrians were holding
Zammar, the CIA offered the German foreign-intelligence agency BND the
chance to put written questions to their prisoner. The intelligence report
doesn't make clear whether CIA interrogators had direct physical access
to Zammar. In June 2002, Syrian officials offered German interrogators
access to Zammar in prison, according to the 263-page report by the BND,
marked "Geheim" (Secret). That same day, the BND chief asked Germany's
federal prosecutors to drop their charges against Syrian intelligence agents
who had been arrested in Germany for allegedly collecting information on
Syrian dissidents." (1, 2)
-By Vivienne Walt
-TIME.com
Rove
- Faith
- Politics
- Book
- Foley
- FL
- "Book:
Bush Aides Called Evangelicals 'Nuts': White House
advisors sought the support of conservative Christians but mocked them
in private, writes a onetime administration official." ... "A new book
by a former White House official says that President Bush's top political
advisors privately ridiculed evangelical supporters as "nuts" and "goofy"
while embracing them in public and using their votes to help win elections."
... "The former official also writes that the White House office of faith-based
initiatives, which Bush promoted as a nonpolitical effort to support religious
social-service organizations, was told to host pre-election events designed
to mobilize religious voters who would most likely favor Republican candidates."
... "The assertions by David Kuo, a top official in the faith-based initiatives
program, have rattled Republican strategists already struggling to persuade
evangelical voters to turn out this fall for the GOP." ... "Some conservatives
lamented Thursday that the book, "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political
Seduction," also comes in the midst of the scandal involving former [Florida
Republican] Rep. Mark Foley, another threat to conservative turnout in
competitive House and Senate races." ... "In the book, Kuo, who quit the
White House in 2003, accuses Karl Rove's political staff of cynically hijacking
the faith-based initiatives idea for electoral gain. It assails Bush for
failing to live up to his promises of boosting the role of religious organizations
in delivering social services." ... "Kuo is not the first insider to accuse
the White House of politicizing the faith-based program. John J. DiIulio
Jr., the first director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives,
resigned after seven months and was quoted as saying that the White House
was run by "Mayberry Machiavellians" who sometimes put politics ahead of
other causes." ... "While many Democrats opposed the initiative as a violation
of church-state separation, the White House used the program to build alliances
with prominent African American ministers, some of whom switched political
allegiances to back Bush. It was part of a larger minority outreach program
designed by Rove and other conservative activists to slice off pieces of
the traditional Democratic coalitions in order to build a lasting GOP majority."
-By Peter Wallsten -LAtimes
US
- Russia
- Weldon
- Family
- Money
- Politics
- Law
- Pennsylvania
- "FBI
investigates Rep. Curt Weldon." ... "The Justice
Department is investigating whether Republican Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania
traded his political influence for lucrative lobbying and consulting contracts
for his daughter, according to sources with direct knowledge of the inquiry."
... "The FBI, which opened an investigation in recent months, has formally
referred the matter to the department's Public Integrity Section for additional
scrutiny. At issue are Weldon's efforts between 2002 and 2004 to aid two
Russian companies and two Serbian brothers with ties to strongman Slobodan
Milosevic, a federal law enforcement official said." ... "The Russian companies
and a Serbian foundation run by the brothers' family each hired a firm
co-owned by Weldon's daughter, Karen, for fees totaling nearly $1 million
a year, public records show." ... "Karen Weldon was 28 and lacked consulting
experience when she and Charles Sexton, a Weldon ally and longtime Republican
leader in Delaware County, Pa., created the firm of Solutions North America
Inc. in 2002." ... "Spokesmen for the FBI and the Justice Department declined
to confirm or deny that an inquiry is under way." ... "But McClatchy Newspapers'
sources said the FBI only over the last few months obtained evidence suggesting
that the congressman may have broken the law. One of the sources, a federal
law enforcement official, said that Weldon had not yet been told about
the inquiry." -By Greg Gordon
-McClatchy via
-RealCities
Weldon
- Pennsylvania
- Media
- Market
- Military
- "Navy
Vet Sestak Coming Closer to Sinking Weldon in Pa. 7."
... "The Democratic nominee is Joe Sestak, a retired Navy vice admiral
whose well-financed campaign in a strongly Democratic campaign year ranks
him as the biggest threat yet to [Pennsylvania Republican Curt] Weldon’s
continued incumbency." ... "Sestak’s campaign has been buoyed by fundraising
strength that ensures him visibility in the pricey Philadelphia media market,
and an independent poll showed the race is a dead heat." -By
Greg Giroux -CQPolitics.com
via -NYTimes
Ney
- Abramoff
- Volz
- Money
- Politics
- Ohio
- "Rep.
Ney to enter guilty plea." ... "The Jack Abramoff
influence-peddling investigation claims its first member of Congress with
Rep. Bob Ney set to plead guilty to taking bribes." ... "Ney, an Ohio Republican
in his sixth term, faces up to 10 years in prison in a scandal that has
tainted the White House as well as Capitol Hill." ... "Ney, scheduled enter
his plea Friday, signed papers a month ago admitting to charges of conspiracy
and making false statements. He also acknowledged that he had deprived
the public of his honest services." ... "Ney's former chief of staff Neil
Volz, who left Capitol Hill to work with Abramoff, pleaded guilty in May
to charges that he conspired to corrupt his former boss and others."
-AP via -USATODAY
UK
- Iraq
- Politics
- "General
seeks UK Iraq withdrawal: The presence of UK armed
forces in Iraq "exacerbates the security problems" and they should "get
out some time soon", the head of the British Army has said." ... "Chief
of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt told the Daily Mail that the military
campaign fought in 2003 had "effectively kicked the door in"." ... "He
also said that initial planning for the post-war period had been poor."
... "There are currently more than 7,000 British soldiers in Iraq, based
largely in Basra in the south of the country." ... "BBC political editor
Nick Robinson described Sir Richard's remarks as "quite extraordinary"."
... "He said the new head of the British army's comments "directly contradicted
so much of what the government had said"." ... "Sir Richard, who took on
his role in August, also said planning for what happened after the initial
successful war military offensive was "poor, probably based more on optimism
than sound planning"." ... "Major General Patrick Cordingly said: "I think
it is a very brave thing for him to say. I do agree. I think there comes
a time when you have got to let Iraq get on and look after its own security.""
-BBC /News
Abramoff
- Doolittle
- Family
- Politics
- California
- Virginia
- "Abramoff
e-mail indicates more ties with Doolittle." ... "[California
Republican] Rep. John Doolittle wanted to talk to lobbyist Jack Abramoff
in 2000 about a position for his wife Julie Doolittle at a nonprofit now
accused of doing favors for Abramoff in exchange for cash, according to
an e-mail released Thursday." ... "Doolittle has denied any wrongdoing
in his ties with Abramoff and has said he's not been contacted by prosecutors
in connection with the ongoing investigation. Among other ties, Doolittle
accepted campaign money from Abramoff, interceded on behalf of two of his
tribal clients and used Abramoff's luxury sports box for a fundraiser without
initially reporting it." ... "Julie Doolittle's company, Sierra Dominion
Financial Solutions Inc. of Oakton, Va. [Virginia], was paid $66,690 by
Abramoff's firm Greenberg Traurig from September 2002 to February 2004."
-By Erica Werner -AP
via -MercuryNews
Oregon
- Immigration
- Labor
- Law
- "Saxton
ads fuel scrutiny of farm's labor: Immigration -
Attacks on Gov. Ted Kulongoski over illegal migrants draw attention to
the GOP hopeful's past." ... "The Republican candidate for governor, Ron
Saxton, has run ads saying illegal immigrants are "pouring in" to Oregon
and criticizing Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his handling of the
issue." ... "But Saxton, who was part owner of a farm near Salem until
about 2000, acknowledges that he used migrant workers on his farm and that
he can't say for sure whether some of them were undocumented." ... "In
a September interview with The Oregonian, Saxton responded, "I don't know,"
when asked whether illegal immigrants worked on the farm. Illegal immigration
wasn't such a big issue in the 1990s, he said." ... "This year, illegal
immigration has become a hotly debated national issue, and Saxton has made
it a high-profile topic of his campaign. His uncertainty over hiring practices
at his farm, however, shows how quickly a sound-bite issue can get complicated
in the heat of a political campaign." (1, 2)
-By Harry Esteve and Alex Pulaski
-OregonLive.com /Oregonian
2008
Election - Virginia
- "Warner
Won't Run for Presidency in '08." ... "Former Virginia
[Democrat] Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) announced this morning that he will
not seek the presidency in 2008, saying he wants to spend more time with
his family." ... "In a statement released shortly before his 11 a.m. press
conference here, Warner said, "This has been a difficult decision, but
for me, it's the right decision." He said he made up his mind after celebrating
this father's 81st birthday in Connecticut and touring colleges with his
oldest daughter." ... "The decision to abandon a presidential run could
position Warner to be a vice presidential pick for the eventual Democratic
nominee. Or it could allow him to seek Virginia Republican John Warner's
U.S. Senate seat if Warner retires in 2008." ... "The ex-governor could
also run for his old job again. Virginia law does not allow sitting governors
to run for reelection, but does allow them to seek the office again after
a four-year hiatus. Warner, who left office with record approval ratings,
has expressed repeatedly that he might want the job back someday." -By
Michael D. Shear -WashingtonPost
UK
- Iraq
- Religious
- Politics
- "Sir
Richard Dannatt : A very honest General." ... "[Head
of the UK's Army] Sir Richard's lead in shining a light on the Armed Forces
extends to the mission in Iraq. He says with great clarity and honesty
that "our presence exacerbates the security problems". "I think history
will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful
war-fighting phase was poor, probably based more on optimism than sound
planning." ... ""History will show that a vacuum was created and into the
vacuum malign elements moved. The hope that we might have been able to
get out of Iraq in 12, 18, 24 months after the initial start in 2003 has
proved fallacious. Now hostile elements have got a hold it has made our
life much more difficult in Baghdad and in Basra." ... ""The original intention
was that we put in place a liberal democracy that was an exemplar for the
region, was pro-West and might have a beneficial effect on the balance
within the Middle East." ... ""That was the hope. Whether that was a sensible
or naïve hope, history will judge. I don't think we are going to do
that. I think we should aim for a lower ambition."" ... "Sir Richard adds,
strongly, that we should "get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence
exacerbates the security problems". "We are in a Muslim country and Muslims'
views of foreigners in their country are quite clear. "As a foreigner,
you can be welcomed by being invited into a country, but we weren't invited,
certainly by those in Iraq at the time. Let's face it, the military campaign
we fought in 2003 effectively kicked the door in." ... ""That is a fact.
I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing around the world
are caused by our presence in Iraq, but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq
exacerbates them."" ... "He contrasts this with the situation in Afghanistan,
where we remain at the invitation of President Hamid Karzai's government."
... ""There is a clear distinction between our status and position in Iraq
and in Afghanistan, which is why I have much more optimism that we can
get it right in Afghanistan."" -By Sarah Sands
-DailyMail.co.uk
Jim
Kolbe
- Arizona
- Gay
- Foley
- Florida
- E-Mails
- "Rep.
Kolbe visited Grand Canyon with pages: Park Service
workers, office staffers accompanied group during 1996 trip." ... "[Arizona
Republican Jim] Kolbe is the only openly gay Republican congressman. He
has been active with the congressional page program for years, and was
himself a page in 1958 for Sen. Barry Goldwater." ... "This week, Kolbe
got dragged into the controversy surrounding disgraced Rep. Mark Foley
(R-Fla. Republican-Florida). In a statement on Tuesday, Kolbe acknowledged
that he had known for years about e-mails from Foley that had made one
former page "uncomfortable."" -By Jim Popkin and Aram
Roston -MSNBC
Gay
- Foley
- FL
- Teenage
- E-Mail
-2004
Election - "Page
scandal exposes GOP's gay identity crisis." ... "At
a State Department ceremony this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
warmly acknowledged the family members of Mark Dybul, whom she was swearing
in as the nation's new global AIDS coordinator." ... "As first lady Laura
Bush looked on, Rice singled out his partner, Jason Claire, and Claire's
mother. Rice referred to her as Dybul's "mother-in-law."" ... "The celebratory
moment for a gay couple was emblematic of the political identity crisis
facing the Republican Party, two years after an election the GOP won in
part by making gay marriage an issue and less than two weeks after revelations
about a Republican House member's advances toward teenage boys." ... "For
Republicans, the most difficult problem posed by the e-mail exchanges that
former [Florida Republican] congressman Mark Foley had with pages is not
necessarily the flagrant misbehavior of one member. Rather it's the fact
that the investigation is exposing a politically awkward fact of life:
some GOP leaders practice a more tolerant brand of politics in their office
hiring than some in the party have preached on the campaign trail." ...
"The revelations have disturbed some conservative activists, who believe
that Republicans owe their victories in the 2004 elections to the thousands
of "values voters" who trooped to the polls to vote for anti-gay-marriage
measures on the ballots of 11 swing states." -By Kathy
Kiely -USATODAY
Abramoff
- 
Pombo
- Money
- Lawmakers
- History
- US
- Northern
Mariana Islands - 
Garment
- Labor
- California
- "AP
Exclusive: Records suggest Abramoff, Pombo lobbying contacts."
... "California [Republican] Rep. Richard Pombo has insisted he was never
lobbied by [Republican lobbyist] Jack Abramoff. Records show the disgraced
lobbyist billed a client for at least two contacts with Pombo a decade
ago." ... "The lobbying records released by the Northern Mariana Islands
show that Abramoff billed once for calls to Pombo, chairman of the House
Resources Committee, and a second time for a discussion with him, while
lobbying in 1996." ... "On more than two dozen other occasions from 1996
through 2001, Abramoff associates called or met with members of Pombo's
staff, including his chief of staff, the records indicate. As the contacts
picked up, Pombo voted Abramoff's way on a bill important to Abramoff's
clients." ... "The Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of 14 islands near
Guam, became a U.S. commonwealth in 1986. Residents have nonvoting citizenship
but the islands are exempt from many federal labor laws." ... "Democrats,
complaining about reported abuses at low-paying garment factories, have
sought to end those exemptions and increase the minimum wage, now $3.05
an hour. The Marianas government hired Abramoff to block such moves." ...
"On Sept. 10, 1996, Abramoff billed for a discussion with Pombo. Two days
later he gave Pombo a $500 donation, the first of what would become $7,500
in campaign contributions. Pombo has since donated the money to charity.
On Nov. 21, 1996, Abramoff reported putting in calls to Pombo and other
lawmakers." -By Erica Werner
-AP via -MercuryNews
Jim
Kolbe
- Arizona
- Foley
- Florida
- "Ex-Page
Aired Concerns About Foley to Congressman in 2000."
... "A former Congressional page approached Representative Jim Kolbe, Republican
of Arizona, as long as six years ago to report feeling uncomfortable by
messages sent from [Florida Republican] Representative Mark Foley, but
a spokeswoman for Mr. Kolbe said Monday that it was unclear if Mr. Kolbe
had forwarded the complaint to House leaders." ... "Mr. Kolbe, a former
member of the board that oversees the House page program, remembers talking
to a page with concerns about Mr. Foley's conduct, said Korenna Cline,
Mr. Kolbe s press secretary. But Mr. Kolbe could not remember whether he
confronted Mr. Foley directly, Ms. Cline said, or delegated the matter
to his staff." ... "Mr. Kolbe, who briefly served as the acting chairman
of the page board, often talked about his admiration for the program, once
declaring on the House floor that he had a “special relationship with the
page program.”" -By Jeff Zeleny and David D. Kirkpatrick
-NYTimes
Foley
- Hastert
- Reynolds
- Kirk
Fordham
- Scott
Palmer
- Florida
- Illinois
- New
York
- "Foley's
Reputed Visit to the Page Dormitory: New Testimony
May Pose Problems for GOP Leadership." ... "House speaker Dennis Hastert,
R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois], tries to change the subject. But the accusations
about Hastert subordinates who were apparently told about Congressman Mark
Foley's questionable behavior keep coming." ... "Meanwhile, ABC News has
learned that one former staffer who worked for the GOP leadership will
tell the House Ethics Committee Thursday about an incident several years
ago in which he was alerted that an apparently inebriated Foley [Republican-Florida]
had tried to gain access to the pages' dormitory." ... "A source with firsthand
knowledge of events says that this coming Thursday, Kirk Fordham — former
chief of staff to both Foley and more recently Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y.
[Republican-New York] — will testify that a few years ago he was told by
then-House clerk Jeff Trandahl that Foley had been stopped while trying
to enter the pages' dorm in an apparently intoxicated state. The source
said Fordham will testify that he recalls this being the event that convinced
both him and Trandahl to warn Hastert's office, with Fordham designated
to have the conversation with Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer. The
source said that both aides had been watching Foley's behavior with pages
and that Fordham had counseled Foley to watch his behavior." ... "The source
tells ABC News that Fordham will testify that he alerted Palmer that Foley
had a pattern of displaying inappropriate behavior toward pages. Asked
about Fordham's claim that he met with Palmer in approximately 2003 to
warn him about Foley's behavior, Palmer said in a statement, "What Kirk
Fordham said did not happen."" ... "Last month, before the Foley scandal
broke, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla. [Republican-Florida], also learned
about the dormitory incident, which she said she was told about from firsthand
sources." (1, 2,
3)
-ABCNEWS.com
George
Allen - Virginia
- Politics
- 2006
Election - "Allen's
Undisclosed Stock Options Were Worth Up to $1.1 Million."
... "Stock options that Senator George Allen [Virginia Republican] described
as worthless were worth as much as $1.1 million at one point, according
to a review of Senate disclosure forms and U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission filings." ... "The records appear to contradict remarks he made
to the Associated Press. ``I got paid in stock options which were worthless,''
AP quoted him as saying." ... "Allen served as a board member of Chantilly,
Virginia-based Xybernaut Corp. from 1998 until December 2000 and was awarded
options on 110,000 shares during that period. His Senate financial disclosure
form for 1999, required for candidates as well as officeholders, doesn't
report that he owned the options." ... "The stock options issue didn't
arise during a televised debate last night between Allen, a 54-year-old
Republican, and Democratic nominee Jim Webb, 60. Nevertheless, Mark Rozell,
a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia,
said the issue poses a problem for Allen, who polls show is in a close
[2006 election] race with Webb." ... "``In an election season in which
congressional ethics and morality are at the top of public discussion,
Allen may now be seen by much of the public as part of a larger problem
afflicting his party,'' Rozell said. " -By Michael
Forsythe and Miles Weiss -Bloomberg
George
Allen - Virginia
- 2006
Election - Police
- Lawmakers
- Government
- Military
- Politics
- "AP:
Sen. Allen failed to disclose stock options." ...
"Sen. George Allen [Virginia, Republican], locked in a tight re-election
[2006] race, still holds stock options from his time as director of a high-tech
company, but has failed to disclose them to Congress and the public the
past five years." ... "The Virginia Republican also asked the Army to help
another business that gave him similar options." ... "Congressional rules
require senators to disclose to the Senate all deferred compensation, such
as stock options. The rules also urge senators to avoid taking any official
action that could benefit them financially or appear to do so." ... "Those
requirements exist so the public can police lawmakers for possible conflicts
of interest, especially involving companies with government business that
lawmakers can influence." ... "At least twice during his corporate service,
companies told the SEC that Allen had failed to promptly file required
reports on insider stock transactions." -AP
via -CNN
North
Korea - International
- US
- Japan
- 
South
Korea - 
China
- Russia
- UN
- Military
- Politics
- "Outcry
at N Korea 'nuclear test': North Korea's claim to
have successfully tested a nuclear weapon has sparked international condemnation."
... "President George W Bush said the US was working to confirm the claim,
which he branded a "provocative" act." ... "Japan and South Korea also
condemned the test and even Pyongyang's closest ally China expressed its
"resolute opposition", calling the move "brazen"." ... "Members of the
United Nations Security Council have begun meeting in New York to discuss
their reaction." ... "The size of the bomb is uncertain. South Korean reports
put it as low as 550 tons of destructive power but Russia said it was between
five and 15 kilotons. The 1945 Hiroshima bomb was 12.5-15 kilotons." ...
"South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said it would be "difficult" to maintain
his country's policy of engagement with the North." ... "He feared the
move could "spark a nuclear arms build-up in other countries", although
Japan quickly said it would maintain its ban on nuclear weapons." ... "If
confirmed, the test would make North Korea the ninth country known to have
nuclear weapons." -BBC
/News
Foley
- Hastert
- Shimkus
- Alexander
- Fla
- Ill
- La
- Ariz
- Gay
- Lawmaker
- Internet
- E-Mail
- Communication
- Messages
- "Lawmaker
Saw Foley Messages In 2000: Page Notified GOP Rep.
Kolbe." ... "A Republican congressman knew of disgraced former representative
Mark Foley's inappropriate Internet exchanges as far back as 2000 and personally
confronted Foley about his communications." ... "A spokeswoman for Rep.
Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona]) confirmed yesterday that a former
page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel
uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla. [Republican-Florida]) was
taking their e-mail relationship. Last week, when the Foley matter erupted,
a Kolbe staff member suggested to the former page that he take the matter
to the clerk of the House, Karen Haas, said Kolbe's press secretary, Korenna
Cline." ... "The revelation pushes back by at least five years the date
when a member of Congress has acknowledged learning of Foley's behavior
with former pages. A timeline issued by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) suggested that the first lawmakers to know,
Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]), the chairman of the
House Page Board, and Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La. [Republican-Louisiana]),
became aware of "over-friendly" e-mails only last fall. It also expands
the universe of players in the drama beyond members, either in leadership
or on the page board." ... "A source with direct knowledge of Kolbe's involvement
said the messages shared with Kolbe were sexually explicit, and he read
the contents to The Washington Post under the condition that they not be
reprinted." ... "Kolbe, the only openly gay Republican in Congress, is
retiring at the end of the year." -By Jonathan Weisman
with contributions by James V. Grimaldi -WashingtonPost
Rove
- Abramoff
- 
Ralston
- Sports
- Entertainment
- Money
- Government
- Intelligence
- Northern
Mariana Islands - E-Mail
- 
Safavian
- "Rove
Aide Linked To Abramoff Resigns: Scandal Claims Its
First West Wing Job." ... "A top aide to White House strategist Karl Rove
resigned yesterday after disclosures that she accepted gifts from and passed
information to now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, becoming the first
official in the West Wing to lose a job in the influence-peddling scandal."
... "Susan B. Ralston submitted her resignation to avoid causing political
damage to President Bush a month before the midterm elections, officials
said. "She did not want to be a distraction to the White House at this
important time," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino." ... "A congressional
report showed last week that Ralston accepted sometimes-pricey tickets
to nine sports and entertainment events from Abramoff while she provided
him with inside White House information. The bipartisan report said there
is no evidence that Rove knew of or approved of Ralston's actions, and
sources said yesterday that the White House was surprised by the report's
revelations." ... "The only other White House official caught up in the
probe has been David H. Safavian, the procurement chief for the Office
of Management and Budget, who was convicted in June of lying about his
ties to Abramoff." ... "As a former Abramoff assistant, Ralston played
intermediary between the lobbyist and Rove. The congressional report found
66 Abramoff contacts with the White House, more than half of them with
Ralston. In addition, Abramoff's lobbying colleagues contacted Ralston
69 times." ... "On Oct. 21, 2001, Ralston e-mailed Abramoff that Rove had
read an Abramoff memo about a political endorsement in the Mariana Islands
governor's race, a little-noticed election but one important to Abramoff
because he had lucrative clients there. Ralston reported to Abramoff that
Rove had agreed, writing the next day: "You win :)."" (1, 2)
-By Peter Baker and James V. Grimaldi
-WashingtonPost
Hastert
- Foley
- Shimkus
- Boehner
- Reynolds
- Ill
- Fla
- Louisiana
- Ohio
- NY
- "Staffer
Cites Earlier Role by Hastert's Office: Confrontation
With [Florida Republican] Foley Detailed." ... "House Speaker [Illinois
Republican] J. Dennis Hastert's chief of staff confronted then-Rep. Mark
Foley about his inappropriate social contact with male pages well before
the speaker said aides in his office took any action, a current congressional
staff member with personal knowledge of Foley and his behavior with pages
said yesterday." ... "The staff member said Hastert's chief of staff, Scott
Palmer, met with the Florida Republican at the Capitol to discuss complaints
about Foley's behavior toward pages. The alleged meeting occurred long
before Hastert says aides in his office dispatched Rep. John M. Shimkus
(R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) and the clerk of the House in November 2005
to confront Foley about troubling e-mails he had sent to a Louisiana boy."
... "The staff member's account buttresses the position of Foley's onetime
chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, who said earlier this week that he had appealed
to Palmer in 2003 or earlier to intervene, after Fordham's own efforts
to stop Foley's behavior had failed. Fordham said Foley and Palmer, one
of the most powerful figures in the House of Representatives, met within
days to discuss the allegations." ... "Hastert maintains that he knew nothing
of Foley's actions until last week, when the story first broke and Foley
resigned. His stance contradicts that of House Majority Leader John A.
Boehner (R-Ohio) and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman
Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), both of whom said they had informed Hastert
this spring." ... "Palmer, who shares a townhouse with Hastert when they
are in town, is more powerful than all but a few House members. Members
know that he speaks for Hastert." (1, 2)
-By Jonathan Weisman with contributions by Jim VandeHei,
Charles Babington, Dan Eggen, and Allan Lengel -WashingtonPost
Foley
- E-Mail
- Politics
- Fla
- "Watchdog
Group Disputes FBI's Claims on E-Mails." ... "The
watchdog group that first provided the FBI with suspicious e-mails from
then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla. [Republican-Florida]) said yesterday that
FBI and Justice Department officials are attempting to cover up their inaction
in the case by making false claims about the group." ... "Law enforcement
officials said the allegations by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics
in Washington (CREW) are without merit, and they stood by allegations that
the group had refused to provide some information to the FBI." ... "CREW
held a news conference Monday to announce that in July it had provided
the FBI suspicious e-mails between Foley and a former House page. The group
criticized the bureau for not taking more aggressive action and asked Justice
Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine to investigate the FBI's handling
of the case." -By Dan Eggen
-WashingtonPost
Foley
- Teens
- Messages
- Florida
- "Ex-Page
Says He Got Messages From Foley." ... "A former congressional
page said Thursday he received sexually suggestive messages from then-Rep.
Mark Foley [Republican Florida] in 1997." ... "Tyson Vivyan's account appears
to show the earliest exchange of suggestive messages reported so far between
Foley and teens who had served in the Capitol page program. Previous accounts
placed the earliest contacts in 2003." ... "Vivyan, 26, told The Associated
Press that Foley began sending him instant messages about a month or two
after his nine-month stint as a page ended in June 1997." -By
Greg Bluestein -AP
via -SFGate.com
Foley
- Internet
- Communications
- E-Mail
- Messages
- Florida
- "Three
More Former Pages Accuse Foley of Online Sexual Approaches."
... "Three more former congressional pages have come forward to reveal
what they call "sexual approaches" over the Internet from former [Florida
Republican] Congressman Mark Foley." ... "The pages served in the classes
of 1998, 2000 and 2002. They independently approached ABC News after the
Foley resignation through the Brian
Ross & the Investigative Team's tip line on ABCNews.com. None
wanted their names used because of the sensitive nature of the communications."
... "All three pages described similar instant message and e-mail patterns,
with remarkably similar escalations of provocative questions." ... ""This
was no prank," said one of the three former pages who talked to ABC News
today about his experience with the congressman." -By
Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz, and Maddy Sauer
-ABCNEWS.com
Hastert
- Foley
- E-Mails
- Messages
- Teenage
- Election
2006 - Mil
- Illinois
- Florida
- "Under
Siege in D.C., Hastert Is at Least Safe at Home."
... "After maintaining a rather low personal profile for most of his tenure
as House Speaker, 10-term Illinois Republican Rep. J. Dennis Hastert is
getting a dose of unwanted publicity, stemming from his handling of the
scandal involving resigned Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley’s inappropriate
e-mails and instant messages to teenage male pages. The furor has put Hastert’s
continued service as Speaker at serious jeopardy." ... "But — at least
at this juncture, more than four weeks out from Election Day [2006] — Hastert’s
continued hold on his seat in Illinois’ Republican-leaning 14th District
appears far less at risk. CQPolitics.com, though carefully watching developments,
is holding its rating on the race at Safe Republican." ... "That does not
mean the Foley scandal is not of some potential benefit to Hastert’s longshot
Democratic challenger, 32-year-old U.S. Navy veteran John Laesch. It has
drawn the kind of attention to him and his bid to be a political “giant-killer”
that the underfunded candidate certainly hasn’t been able to buy." ...
"As of June 30, Laesch had raised a minuscule total of just more than $91,000
to Hastert’s roughly $3.6 million." ... "Laesch said he was motivated to
enter the race because of his views against the war in Iraq. His brother,
a sergeant in the U.S. Army, is currently serving in Baghdad."
-CQ.com via -NYTimes
Sherwood
- Pennsylvania
- 2006
Election - TV
- Ad
- Politics
- Law
- "Congressman
apologizes for affair in TV ad: [Pennsylvania Republican]
Rep. Don Sherwood, R-Pa. also denies abusing mistress." ... "Rep. Don Sherwood,
a Republican fighting for [2006] re-election in northeastern Pennsylvania,
says in a TV ad that he is "truly sorry" for cheating on his wife but denies
ever abusing the woman he had the affair with." ... "Sherwood, a four-term
congressman, has a seat that had been considered safe until it was revealed
last year that police in 2004 investigated an incident between Sherwood
and Cynthia Ore at his Washington apartment." ... "Charges were never filed,
but Ore sued Sherwood, claiming he had choked her. Sherwood apologized
for the affair but denied abusing Ore. The suit was settled for an undisclosed
sum." -AP
via -MSNBC
Shimkus
- Foley
- Hastert
- Teen
- E-Mail
- Photograph
- Media
- Illinois
- Florida
- Lawmakers
- "Defiant
Shimkus says he'll keep post." ... "[Illinois Republican]
Rep. John Shimkus mounted an intense media offensive Wednesday, saying
he has no intention of resigning from the House Page Board and angrily
lashing out at the press and Democrats who have questioned him about his
role investigating [Florida Republican] ex-Rep. Mark Foley's contact with
former House pages." ... "Shimkus said he had no knowledge of and no comment
on new reports that Foley's former chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, told House
Speaker [Illinois Republican] Dennis Hastert's office three years ago that
Foley had improper contact with House pages." ... "Shimkus, R-Collinsville,
serves as head of the board that oversees the page program, and he has
said he confronted Foley last year about a set of e-mails that Foley, R-Fla.,
sent to a former page. In a telephone interview Wednesday with the Post-Dispatch
from his Collinsville office, he maintained his actions were sufficient."
... "The news that Fordham may have alerted the GOP leadership to Foley's
conduct more than three years ago raised new questions about both Hastert's
and Shimkus' role in the scandal. On Wednesday, Hastert's chief of staff
said he had no such warning from Fordham." ... "And the two Illinois lawmakers
said that they only knew about one set of e-mail messages, in which Foley
asked a former page how he was doing, what he wanted for his birthday,
and for a photograph of the teen." -By Deirdre Shesgreen
-SLTrib.com
Hastert
- Reynolds
- Foley
- Computer
- Messages
- Teenage
- Lawmaker
- Law
Enforcement - 2006
Election - Illinois
- New
York - Florida
- "Aide
says he told Hastert's office about Foley's conduct more than 3 years ago."
... "House Speaker [Illinois Republican] Dennis Hastert's political support
showed signs of cracking on Wednesday as Republicans fled an election-year
[2006] scandal spawned by steamy computer messages from former Rep. Mark
Foley to teenage male pages." ... "At the same time, Foley's former chief
of staff said in an Associated Press interview that he first warned Hastert's
aides more than three years ago that Foley's behavior toward pages was
troublesome. That was long before GOP leaders acknowledged learning of
the problem." ... "Kirk Fordham, who was Foley's top aide until January
2004, said he had "more than one conversation with senior staff at the
highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene"
several years ago." ... "Fordham resigned Wednesday as staff chief for
another lawmaker caught up in the scandal, New York [Republican] Rep. Thomas
Reynolds, the House GOP campaign chief who says he alerted Hastert to concerns
about Foley last spring." ... "The Justice Department ordered House officials
to "preserve all records" related to Foley's electronic correspondence
with teenagers, and one law enforcement official said FBI agents have begun
interviewing participants in the House page program." -By
Devlin Barrett with contributions by Andrew Taylor, Lara Jakes Jordan,
David Hammer, Laurie Kellman, Bruce Schreiner, and Marus Kabel
-AP via -STLtoday.com
Hastert
- Foley
- Alexander
- Teenage
- E-Mail
- Messages
- 2006
Election - Illinois
- Florida
- Louisiana
- "[Illinois
Republican] Hastert clings to power as scandal swirls:
Top Republicans question speaker's inaction on [Florida Republican] Foley
sex messages." ... "House Speaker Dennis Hastert [Illinois Republican]
was fighting for his political life Wednesday after new disclosures surfaced
that his office knew that a Republican House member was sending sexually
provocative messages to underage congressional pages as long as three years
ago." ... "Pressure on Hastert has built since it was reported that an
aide to Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La. [Republican-Louisiana], complained
last year to Hastert's office about an "overly friendly" e-mail message
that Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., had sent to a teenage male page sponsored
by Alexander. Alexander said he did not ask for any specific action at
the request of the boy's parents." ... "The scandal has reinvigorated the
campaign of Hastert’s Democratic challenger in the November [2006] election,
John Laesch, who said Hastert was “absolutely” guilty of a cover-up Wednesday."
... "Asked whether he believed Hastert was a man of integrity, Laesch told
MSNBC-TV’s Chris Matthews: “I think that this issue has defined the clearest
difference between myself and Mr. Hastert, that being I stand for honesty
and integrity, and I’ll let the voters decide where he stands.”" ... "The
scandal has energized his supporters, said Laesch, 32, a former naval intelligence
officer. “Our phone has been ringing off the hook, and this is they only
thing people want to talk about.”" (1, 2)
-Contributed to by Alex Johnson, Chris Matthews, and
Joe Scarborough -AP
-MSNBC
Hastert
- Foley
- Reynolds
- Children
- Illinois
- Florida
- New
York
- "Hastert
Was Warned About Foley Two Years Ago, GOP Aide Says."
... "Despite claims by senior [Republican] congressional aide Kirk Fordham
that he notified House Speaker [Illinois Republican] Dennis Hastert's office
more than two years ago about possible inappropriate contact between former
[Florida Republican] Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., and underage congressional
pages, the Speaker's office insists it did nothing wrong in the way it
handled the investigation." ... ""That never happened," Hastert spokesman
Ron Bonjean told ABC News." ... "But Fordham, who resigned as Foley's chief
of staff to work for another member of the GOP leadership, Rep. Tom Reynolds,
R-N.Y. [Republican-New York], said that as far back as 2003, Hastert's
chief of staff, Scott Palmer, had been told that Foley was too friendly
with pages. According to Fordham, Palmer spoke to Foley about the matter."
(1, 2) -By
Jake Tapper and John Yang -ABCNEWS.com
Government
- Military
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- History
- Politics
- Reporting
- Book
- "Records
Show Tenet Briefed Rice on Al Qaeda Threat." ...
"A review of White House records has determined that George J. Tenet, then
the director of central intelligence, did brief Condoleezza Rice and other
top officials on July 10, 2001, about the looming threat from Al Qaeda,
a State Department spokesman said Monday." ... "The account by Sean McCormack
came hours after Ms. Rice, the secretary of state, told reporters aboard
her airplane that she did not recall the specific meeting on July 10, 2001,
noting that she had met repeatedly with Mr. Tenet that summer about terrorist
threats. Ms. Rice, the national security adviser at the time, said it was
“incomprehensible” she ignored dire terrorist threats two months before
the Sept. 11 attacks." ... "Mr. McCormack also said records show that the
Sept. 11 commission was informed about the meeting, a fact that former
intelligence officials and members of the commission confirmed on Monday."
... "When details of the meeting emerged last week in a new book by Bob
Woodward of The Washington Post, Bush administration officials questioned
Mr. Woodward’s reporting." ... "Now, after several days, both current and
former Bush administration officials have confirmed parts of Mr. Woodward’s
account." ... "Officials now agree that on July 10, 2001, Mr. Tenet and
his counterterrorism deputy, J. Cofer Black, were so alarmed about an impending
Al Qaeda attack that they demanded an emergency meeting at the White House
with Ms. Rice and her National Security Council staff." ... "According
to two former intelligence officials, Mr. Tenet told those assembled at
the White House about the growing body of intelligence the Central Intelligence
Agency had collected pointing to an impending Al Qaeda attack." -By
Philip Shenon and Mark Mazzetti -NYTimes
Government
- Military
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- History
- Politics
- "Rumsfeld,
Ashcroft received warning of al Qaida attack before 9/11."
... "Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and former Attorney General John
Ashcroft received the same CIA briefing about an imminent al-Qaida strike
on an American target that was given to the White House two months before
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." ... "The State Department's disclosure Monday
that the pair was briefed within a week after then-National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice was told about the threat on July 10, 2001, raised new
questions about what the Bush administration did in response, and about
why so many officials have claimed they never received or don't remember
the warning." ... "One official who helped to prepare the briefing, which
included a PowerPoint presentation, described it as a "10 on a scale of
1 to 10" that "connected the dots" in earlier intelligence reports to present
a stark warning that al-Qaida, which had already killed Americans in Yemen,
Saudi Arabia and East Africa, was poised to strike again." ... "Former
CIA Director George Tenet gave the independent Sept. 11, 2001, commission
the same briefing on Jan. 28, 2004, but the commission made no mention
of the warning in its 428-page final report. According to three former
senior intelligence officials, Tenet testified to commissioner Richard
Ben-Veniste and to Philip Zelikow, the panel's executive director and the
principal author of its report, who's now Rice's top adviser." ... "A new
book by Bob Woodward of The Washington Post alleges that Rice failed to
take the July 2001 warning seriously when it was delivered at a White House
meeting by Tenet, Cofer Black, then the agency's chief of top counterterrorism,
and a third CIA official whose identity remains protected." ... "Rice's
deputy, Stephen J. Hadley, who became national security adviser after she
became secretary of state, and Rice's top counterterrorism aide, Richard
Clarke, also were present." -By Jonathan S. Landay,
Warren P. Stroebel, and John Walcott with contributions by Matt Stearns
and Drew Brown -McClatchy
via -RealCities
Secret
- Government
- Military
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Politics
- History
- "9/11
Commission failed to disclose 'scary' briefing also given to White House."
... "The independent Sept. 11, 2001, commission was given the same “scary”
briefing about an imminent al Qaida attack on a U.S. target that was presented
to the White House two months before the attacks, but failed to disclose
the warning in its 428-page report." ... "Former CIA Director George Tenet
presented the briefing to commission member Richard Ben Veniste and executive
director Philip Zelikow in secret testimony at CIA headquarters on Jan.
28, 2004, said three former senior agency officials." ... "Tenet raised
the matter himself, displayed slides from a Power Point presentation that
he and other officials had given to then-national security adviser Condoleezza
Rice on July 10, 2001, and offered to testify on the matter in public if
the commission asked him to, they said." ... "Richard Clarke, who was the
National Security Council's top counter-terrorism advisor, confirmed the
former senior intelligence officials’ account. Clarke was present when
Tenet briefed Rice, along with deputy national security adviser Steven
Hadley, CIA counter-terrorism chief Cofer Black and another CIA officer
whose identity remains protected." -By Jonathan S.
Landay -McClatchy
via -RealCities
Foley
- Hastert
- 
Cunningham
- 
DeLay
- Ney
- Children
- Lawmakers
- Politics
- 2006
Election - Florida
- Illinois
- California
- Texas
- Ohio
- "FBI
looks at [Florida Republican] Foley's e-mails to teens."
... "[Illinois Republican] House Speaker Dennis Hastert asked the Justice
Department on Sunday to investigate former [Florida Republican] congressman
Mark Foley's communications with teenage boys who worked as House pages."
... "Hastert has said he knew about non-sexual e-mails that Foley, 52,
a Florida Republican, sent to a 16-year-old former page, first reported
by ABC News on Thursday." ... "Foley is the fourth House Republican forced
out by ethics problems. [Republican] Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California
resigned in November after pleading guilty to accepting $2.4 million in
bribes. Former majority leader [Republican] Tom DeLay of Texas was indicted
on state campaign finance violations and resigned in June. [Republican]
Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio has agreed to plead guilty to charges of corruption
and is not seeking re-election [in 2006]." ... "House Democratic leader
Nancy Pelosi [from California] called on the House ethics committee Sunday
to question GOP leaders under oath. "They chose to cover it up rather than
to protect these children," she said." -By Richard
Wolf and Kevin Johnson with contributions by Kathy Kiely, Jill Lawrence,
Matt Kelley, and Wendy Koc -USATODAY
US
- Afghanistan
- Religious
- Military
- Government
- Bill
Frist
- 
Tennessee
- Florida
- "U.S.
Senate majority leader calls for efforts to bring Taliban into Afghan government."
... "U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday [in Afghanistan]
that the Afghan guerrilla war can never be won militarily and called for
efforts to bring the Taliban and their supporters into the Afghan government."
... "The Tennessee Republican said he had learned from briefings that Taliban
fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated
by military means." ... ""You need to bring them into a more transparent
type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian
military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's
accomplished we'll be successful."" ... "Frist said asking the Taliban
to join the government was a decision to be made by Afghan President Hamid
Karzai." ... "Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida accompanying
Frist, said negotiating with the Taliban was not "out of the question"
but that fighters who refused to join the political process would have
to be defeated." -APvia
-IHT.com
Reynolds- Hastert
- Foley
- Boehner
- E-Mails
- Louisiana
- Teen
- Noteworthy
- Lawmakers
- Enforcement
- Secrets
- 2006
Election - NY
- Ill
- Fla
- Ohio
- Mich
- "GOP
Leader Rebuts Hastert on Foley: [New York Republican
Thomas] Reynolds: Speaker Knew of E-Mails in Spring." ... "House Speaker
J. Dennis Hastert ([Republican, Illnois] R-Ill.) was notified early this
year of inappropriate e-mails from former representative Mark Foley ([Republican,
Florida] R-Fla.) to a 16-year-old page, a top GOP House member said yesterday
-- contradicting the speaker's assertions that he learned of concerns about
Foley only last week." ... "Hastert did not dispute the claims of Rep.
Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), and his office confirmed that some of Hastert's
top aides knew last year that Foley had been ordered to cease contact with
the boy and to treat all pages respectfully." ... "Reynolds, chairman of
the National Republican Congressional Committee, became the second senior
House Republican to say that Hastert has known of Foley's contacts for
months, prompting Democratic attacks about the GOP leadership's inaction.
Foley abruptly resigned his seat Friday." ... "House Majority Leader John
A. Boehner ([Republican] R-Ohio) told The Washington Post on Friday that
he had learned in late spring of inappropriate e-mails Foley sent to the
page, a boy from Louisiana, and that he promptly told Hastert, who appeared
to know already of the concerns. Hours later, Boehner contacted The Post
to say he could not be sure he had spoken with Hastert." ... "Yesterday's
developments revealed a rift at the highest echelons of House Republican
ranks a month before the Nov. 7 [2006] elections, and they threatened to
expand the scandal to a full-blown party dilemma." ... "Republicans appeared
to have kept the matter under wraps. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (Mich.), the only
Democrat on the House Page Board, said yesterday: "I was never informed
of the allegations about Mr. Foley's inappropriate communications with
a House page, and I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter.""
(1, 2)
-By Jonathan Weisman and Charles Babington with contributions
by R. Jeffrey Smith and Magda Jean-Louis -WashingtonPost
Mark
Foley - Secret
- E-Mails
- IMs
- Lawmakers
- Dennis
Hastert - Thomas
Reynolds
- New
York
- Illinois
- California
- Florida
- "Dems
Slap GOP for Keeping E-Mails Secret: Democrats Slap
Republicans for Keeping E-Mail Scandal a Secret, Demand Thorough Probe."
... "House Republican leaders should have kept Democrats in the loop and
now must conduct a thorough investigation about the inappropriate e-mails
that led to [Florida Republican] Rep. Mark Foley's resignation, a top Democrat
said Sunday." ... ""This should be investigated objectively. I think the
Democratic leadership should have been told 10 months ago," said Rep. Jane
Harman of California, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
"I gather that basically nothing was done except that Foley was warned.""
... "Foley, R-Fla., quit Congress on Friday after the disclosure of the
e-mails to a teenage boy who was a former congressional page and the lawmaker's
sexually suggestive instant messages to other pages." ... "House Speaker
[Illinois Republican] Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said at first he had learned
only last week about the e-mails Foley sent to a page. Hastert later acknowledged
that aides referred the matter to the authorities last fall." ... "[New
York Republican] Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election
effort, said Saturday he told Hastert months ago about concerns Foley sent
inappropriate messages to a teenage boy. Reynolds, R-N.Y., is under attack
from Democrats who say he did too little to protect the boy." (1, 2)
-By John Heilprin -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
Mark
Foley - Computer
- E-Mail
- Messages- Laws
- Children
- Politics
- Dennis
Hastert - Illinois
- Florida
- 
Nevada
- California
- Louisiana
- "FBI
looking into Foley computer exchanges." ... "The
FBI is looking at whether former Florida [Republican] Rep. Mark Foley's
computer exchanges with underage House pages broke any laws, an FBI spokesman
said late Sunday." ... "Under fire from Democrats, House Speaker Dennis
Hastert [Illinois Republican] also asked Sunday that [Republican] U.S.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales - and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
- look into the case." ... "Foley, a Florida Republican, gave no reason
for leaving but said he was "deeply sorry" and resigned Friday after the
subsequent, sexually explicit instant messages were disclosed by ABC News."
... "Earlier Sunday, Democrats in both chambers, Senate Democratic leader
Harry Reid of Nevada and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California,
called for investigations." ... "Hastert's office said Saturday his office
was contacted last fall by a staff member in the office of Louisiana Republican
Rep. Rodney Alexander, where the page once worked. The boy said in an e-mail
to Alexander's office that the computer exchange with Foley "freaked him
out" and was "sick..sick..sick."" -By Lesley Clark
-McClatchy via
-MercuryNews
Secret- Mark
Foley - Internet
- Messages
- Florida
- Lawmaker
- "Foley's
Behavior No Secret on Capitol Hill: A GOP staff member
told congressional pages to watch out for former Congressman Foley." ...
"It turns out Foley's obsession with 16- and 17-year-old male pages has
been known to Republicans on Capitol Hill for at least five years." ...
"But other than issue a warning, little else seems to have been done about
the congressman." ... "A former page has come forward to tell ABC News
warnings were issued about Foley to the pages in 2001." ... "ABC News has
obtained Internet messages sent by Foley to three different pages after
that warning." ... "Two of them were sent to pages in the 2001-2002 class,
with sexually explicit messages, most too graphic to be broadcast, from
Foley using the screen name Maf54." ... "Former pages tell ABC News the
pages involved with Foley were afraid to offend the powerful Republican
congressman." -By Brian Ross
-ABCNEWS.com
School
- Children
- Internet
- Messaging
- Law
- Politics
- Foley
- Florida
- "FBI
Opens "Preliminary Investigation" of Foley." ...
"The FBI has opened a "preliminary investigation" of disgraced former [Florida
Republican] Congressman Mark Foley over the sexually explicit Internet
messages he sent to congressional pages, all male high school students
under the age of 18." ... "It's possible Foley could be prosecuted under
laws he helped to enact, as the co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing
and Exploited Children." -By Brian Ross
-ABCNEWS.com
Children
- Enforcement
- Politics
- Mark
Foley - History
- Florida
- "GOP
Staff Warned Pages About Foley in 2001." ... "A Republican
staff member warned congressional pages five years ago to watch out for
[Florida Republican] Congressman Mark Foley, according to a former page."
... "Matthew Loraditch, a page in the 2001-2002 class, told ABC News he
and other pages were warned about Foley by a supervisor in the House Clerk's
office." ... "Loraditch says that some of the pages who "interacted" with
Foley were hesitant to report his behavior because "members of Congress,
they've got the power." Many of the pages were hoping for careers
in politics and feared Foley might seek retribution." -By
Maddy Sauer and Anna Schecter -ABCNEWS.com
Secret
- Children
- Crime
- Politics
- Mark
Foley - Florida
- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- Louisiana
- New
York - Illinois
- Alabama
- 2006
Election - "G.O.P.
Aides Knew in Late ’05 of E-Mail." ... "Top House
Republicans knew for months about e-mail traffic between [Florida Republican]
Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but kept the matter
secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a Congressional caucus on
children’s issues, Republican lawmakers said Saturday." ... "Among those
who became aware earlier this year of the fall 2005 communications between
Mr. Foley and the 16-year-old page, who worked for Representative Rodney
Alexander, Republican of Louisiana, were [Ohio Republican] Representative
John A. Boehner, the majority leader, and [New York Republican] Representative
Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, chairman of the National Republican Congressional
Committee. Mr. Reynolds said in a statement Saturday that he had also personally
raised the issue with Speaker J. Dennis Hastert [Illinois Republican]."
... "Democrats moved quickly to criticize Mr. Reynolds, who while overseeing
House campaigns nationally is facing the potential of a serious [2006 Election]
challenge from Jack Davis, a wealthy businessman who has vowed to spend
at least $2 million of his own money in the contest. “Tom Reynolds had
a moral obligation to protect our children,” said Curtis Ellis, a spokesman
for Mr. Davis." ... "At the Justice Department, an official said that no
investigation was under way but that the agency had “real interest” in
examining the circumstances to see if any crimes were committed." ... "Several
of Mr. Foley’s former colleagues demanded a criminal inquiry." ... "Representative
Robert E. Cramer, an Alabama Democrat who was co-chairman with Mr. Foley
of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, condemned Mr. Foley’s
actions as “shocking and disturbing.”" ... "“Anyone, including Foley, involved
in this type of behavior should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of
the law,” Mr. Cramer said." (1, 2)
-By Carl Hulse and Raymond Hernandez with contributions
by Kate Zernike, David Johnston, and Abby Goodnough -NYTimes
Mark
Foley - Florida
- NY
- Ill
- "Reynolds
Informed Hastert of Allegations Against Foley." ...
"National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds (N.Y.)
issued a statement Saturday in which he said that he had informed Speaker
[Illinois Republican] Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) of allegations of improper
contacts between then-[Florida Republican] Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and
at least one former male page, contradicting earlier statements from Hastert."
-By John Bresnahan -RollCall.com
Mark
Foley - Florida
- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- Ill
- Calif
- "Rep.
Foley Quits In Page Scandal: Explicit Online Notes
Sent to Boy, 16." ... "Six-term [Florida Republican] Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)
resigned yesterday amid reports that he had sent sexually explicit Internet
messages to at least one underage male former page." ... "The resignation
rocked the Capitol, and especially Foley's GOP colleagues, as lawmakers
were rushing to adjourn for at least six weeks. House Majority Leader John
Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned
this spring of some "contact" between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner
said he told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and that Hastert
assured him "we're taking care of it."" ... "It was not immediately clear
what actions Hastert took. His spokesman had said earlier that the speaker
did not know of the sexually charged online exchanges between Foley and
the boy." ... "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took the House
floor last night to demand an investigation into the Foley matter. But
Boehner headed her off, calling on the House to refer the matter to the
ethics committee, which the House promptly voted unanimously to do." (1,
2)
-By Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman with contributions
by Lucy Shackelford and Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost
George
Allen - Language- History
- US
- Virginia
- 
Indian
- 2008
Election - 2006
Election - Military
- Law
- 
Israel
- "Guess
Who's Mad At George Allen Now? Confederate Group
Slams Va. Senator For Demeaning Rebel Flag." ... "[Virginia Republican]
Sen. George Allen's use [of] the word "macaca" for a young man of Indian
descent forced him to spend the past six weeks disputing claims that his
past is littered with racist language and a fondness for Confederate symbols."
... "What had been a warm-up race for a 2008 presidential [election] bid
has become the fight of Allen's political life. He had been a strong [2006
election] favorite over Democrat Jim Webb, a decorated combat veteran who
once served as President Reagan's Navy secretary." ... "Stories about how
the Confederate flag he kept in his home and a hangman's noose in his law
office have gained new currency. At a debate, Allen was startled and irritated
by a question about whether his grandfather was Jewish, then confirmed
it a day later." -AP
via -CBSNews
Noteworthy
- US
- Iraq
- Political
- Intelligence
- History
- Book
- "Book
Says Bush Ignored Urgent Warning on Iraq." ... "The
White House ignored an urgent warning in September 2003 from a top Iraq
adviser who said that thousands of additional American troops were desperately
needed to quell the insurgency there, according to a new book by Bob Woodward,
the Washington Post reporter and author. The book describes a White House
riven by dysfunction and division over the war." ... "The warning is described
in “State of Denial,” scheduled for publication on Monday by Simon &
Schuster. The book says President Bush’s top advisers were often at odds
among themselves, and sometimes were barely on speaking terms, but shared
a tendency to dismiss as too pessimistic assessments from American commanders
and others about the situation in Iraq." ... "As late as November 2003,
Mr. Bush is quoted as saying of the situation in Iraq: “I don’t want anyone
in the cabinet to say it is an insurgency. I don’t think we are there yet.”"
... "Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld is described as disengaged
from the nuts-and-bolts of occupying and reconstructing Iraq — a task that
was initially supposed to be under the direction of the Pentagon — and
so hostile toward Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser,
that President Bush had to tell him to return her phone calls. The American
commander for the Middle East, Gen. John P. Abizaid, is reported to have
told visitors to his headquarters in Qatar in the fall of 2005 that “Rumsfeld
doesn’t have any credibility anymore” to make a public case for the American
strategy for victory in Iraq." ... "Robert D. Blackwill, then the top Iraq
adviser on the National Security Council, is said to have issued his warning
about the need for more troops in a lengthy memorandum sent to Ms. Rice.
The book says Mr. Blackwill’s memorandum concluded that more ground troops,
perhaps as many as 40,000, were desperately needed." ... "It says that
Mr. Blackwill and L. Paul Bremer III, then the top American official in
Iraq, later briefed Ms. Rice and Stephen J. Hadley, her deputy, about the
pressing need for more troops during a secure teleconference from Iraq.
It says the White House did nothing in response." (1, 2)
-By David E. Sanger with contributions by Mark Mazzetti,
David Johnston, and Julie Bosman -NYTimes
Mark
Foley - Florida
- John
Boehner
- Ohio
- NY
- Ill
- Mich
- Calif
- "Foley
Interviewed About Page Last Year; Democrats Not Told: Ethics Inquiry Ordered."
... "[Florida Republican] Ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who resigned Friday
after reports of his improper communications with a former male House page
were made public, was interviewed about some of those contacts by the chairman
of the House Page Board and the then-Clerk of the House last year." ...
"At least four Republican House Members, one senior GOP aide and a former
top officer of the House were aware of the allegations about Foley that
prompted the initial reporting regarding his e-mail contacts with a 16-year-old
House page. They include: Majority Leader [Ohio Republican] John Boehner
(R-Ohio), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman [New York
Republican] Tom Reynolds (N.Y.) and Reps. [Louisiana Republican] Rodney
Alexander (R-La.) and [Illinois Republican] John Shimkus (R-Ill.), as well
as a senior aide to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and former Clerk of
the House Jeff Trandahl." ... "[Michigan Democrat] Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.),
who serves on the page board, was never told of the interview with Foley."
... ""I became aware of it this afternoon when [Shimkus] came by my office.
I think we should have had a page meeting right away," Kildee said, referring
to last year's discovery of Foley's e-mails." ... "When asked if was upset
about being excluded, Kildee said yes, adding, "I've been on the page board
for 20 years."" ... ""I'm the chairman of the page board," Shimkus said
when asked why he didn't include Kildee. "The Clerk and I addressed this
issue."" ... "House Minority Leader [California Democrat] Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.), who introduced a privileged resolution friday night to require
an ethics probe, criticized Republican leaders, who she said, "have known
of the egregious behavior of Congressman Mark Foley, yet were prepared
to adjourn tonight without an Ethics Committee investigation."" ... ""The
investigation must determine when Mr. Foley sent the inappropriate emails,
who knew of them, whether there was a pattern of inappropriate activity
by Mr. Foley with pages or former pages, when the Republican leadership
was notified, and what corrective action was taken once officials learned
of any improper activity," she added." -By John Bresnahan
and Susan Davis -RollCall.com
Mark
Foley - Gay
- Children
- Politics
- Florida
- "Reaction
to Rep. Mark Foley's resignation." ... "• Matt Foreman,
executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: ``This type
of behavior is what I try to protect my grandchildren from. It is unacceptable.
He should have resigned. Members of Congress are responsible for protecting
the most vulnerable among us -- our children. I support the Speaker's decision
to investigate the Page Program.''" ... "• Gov. Jeb Bush on ABC WPLG television
in South Florida: ``As somebody who has met Mark Foley personally and has
mutual friends, I am sad for Mark and I hope he doesn't go to jail. The
last time I saw Mark, he was 19 years into a relationship. That was sad
that it had to be hidden. I hope the Republican Party continues to evolve
so it's not so difficult to be an openly gay Republican. Will this play
into the fears that all gay people are pedophiles? I hope not. There are
heterosexual situations as well. Everybody decries this kind of situation.
Even Mark Foley did, but he couldn't control it.''"-Miami/Herald
Mark
Foley - Florida
- Children
- Enforcement
- Politics
- IM
- "Florida
Republican Foley Resigns From U.S. House Seat (Update2)."
... "[Republican] Representative Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned
his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives today after ABC News queried
him about sexually explicit messages with underage congressional pages."
... "ABC News today said the network had read excerpts of instant messages
provided by former pages who said Foley made references to sexual organs
and acts." ... "[Speaker of the House, Illinois Republican Dennis] Hastert
said he had asked the head of the page board, Illinois Republican John
Shimkus, ``to look into this issue regarding Congressman Foley. We want
to make sure that all our pages are safe and the page system is safe.''"
... "Foley was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and co-chairman
of the House's Missing and Exploited Children Caucus." -By
Nicholas Johnston and Brian Faler -Bloomberg
Mark
Foley - Internet
- Messages
- Children
- Mental
Health - Enforcement
- Politics
- Fla
- "Exclusive:
The Sexually Explicit Internet Messages That Led to [Republican] Fla. Rep.
Foley's Resignation." ... "Florida Rep. Mark Foley's
resignation came just hours after ABC News questioned the congressman about
a series of sexually explicit instant messages involving congressional
pages, high school students who are under 18 years of age." ... "In Congress,
Rep. Foley (R-FL) was part of the Republican leadership and the chairman
of the House caucus on missing and exploited children." ... "He crusaded
for tough laws against those who used the Internet for sexual exploitation
of children." ... ""They're sick people; they need mental health counseling,"
Foley said." ... "But, according to several former congressional pages,
the congressman used the Internet to engage in sexually explicit exchanges."
... "They say he used the screen name Maf54 on these messages provided
to ABC News."Another
message:
Maf54:
What
ya wearing?
Teen:
tshirt
and shorts
Maf54:
Love
to slip them off of you.
And
this one:
Maf54:
Do
I make you a little horny?
Teen:
A little.
Maf54:
Cool.
Mark
Foley - E-Mails- Florida
- Parents
- Enforcement
- Politics
- 2006
Election - La
- NY
- Ill
- "[Republican]
Foley Resigns From Congress Over E-Mails." ... "[Republican]
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., abruptly resigned from Congress on Friday in the
wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former teenage male page." ...
"His departure sent Republicans scrambling for a replacement candidate
less than six weeks before midterm [2006] elections in which Democrats
are making a strong bid to gain control of the House." ... "Foley, 52,
had been a shoo-in for a new term until the e-mail correspondence surfaced
in recent days." ... "[Louisiana Republican] Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La.,
who sponsored the page from his district, told reporters that he learned
of the e-mails from a reporter some months ago and passed on the information
to [New York Republican] Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the
House Republican campaign organization." ... "Carl Forti, a spokesman for
the GOP campaign organization, said Reynolds learned from Alexander that
the parents did not want to pursue the matter. Forti said, however, that
the matter did go before the House Page Board — the three lawmakers and
two House officials who oversee the pages." ... "It was unclear what the
officials did." ... "The board currently is headed by [Illinois Republican]
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who did not respond to requests for an interview."
-By David Espo and Jim Kuhnhenn with contributions
by Brendan Farrington, Larry Margasak, and Natasha Metzler
-AP via -SFGate.com
Mark
Foley - Florida
- Children
- Enforcement
- Politics
- E-Mail
- "[Republican]
Rep. Foley resigns from Congress." ... "[Republican]
Rep. Mark Foley, a six-term Florida Republican, resigned from Congress
and apologized to constituents Friday after questions arose regarding e-mail
and other electronic exchanges with former Capitol pages under the age
of eighteen." ... "ABC News on Friday said that earlier in the day it had
read to Foley excerpts of instant messages provided by former male pages
who said the congressman made repeated references to sexual organs and
acts." ... "Foley was the chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited
children and had authored legislative language signed into law by President
Bush this year designed to crack down on sexual predators." -By
William L. Watts -MarketWatch
Military
-