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2008 Politics News History Archive

20080821

John McCain

Housing

Politics

Arizona

California

Virginia

2008 Election

"A housing issue: McCain not sure how many they own." ... "Days after he cracked that being rich in the U.S. [United States] meant earning at least $5 million a year, [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged that he wasn't sure how many houses he and his wealthy wife actually own." ... ""I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain responded to a question posed by Politico, according to a story Thursday on the publication's Web site. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."" ... "Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states, Arizona, California and Virginia. Newsweek recently estimated the two owned at least seven properties." ... "On the campaign trail, McCain doesn't refer to his wife's wealth, estimated by some at $100 million and based on her late father's Arizona beer distributorship." ... "According to her 2006 tax returns, Cindy McCain had a total income of $6 million." -By Douglass K. Daniel with contributions by Phil Elliott and Ann Sanner

-AP via -Yahoo

John McCain

Homes

Money

Politics

2008 Election

Working

Families

"McCain owns so many homes, he’s lost count." ... "It’s one thing to be so extraordinarily wealthy that you own multiple homes. It’s another to be so extraordinarily wealthy that you can’t even remember how many homes you own." ... "By one count, the actual number [of homes owned by 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain] is actually 10." ... "But in most respects, the exact number isn’t especially relevant. The point is a) McCain is so rich he owns a lot of homes; b) McCain is so out of touch he can’t even remember the number of homes he owns; and c) despite his extravagant wealth, McCain is anxious to push an agenda that favors the rich even more while screwing over the middle class and working families." -By Steve Benen

-TheCarpetbaggerReport.com

John McCain

Money

Politics

Phoenix

Arizona

Condo

2008 Election

"Two Become One." ... "I was wondering yesterday how it is that you manage to spend almost $4.7 million on a condo in Phoenix [Arizona], and the answer turns out to be that the McCains bought two luxury condos and combined them. The $4.66 million figure is the combined price of his cribs. What’s more, at 2211 Camelback you’re not just paying for a swanky pad, you’re getting top-notch amenities like an edgeless rooftop pool and a concierge staff prepared to cater to your every whim:"

"* Laundry and dry cleaning service with pick-up and delivery"
"* Personal spa services"
"* Travel and driver services"
"* Dining reservations and catering"
"* Special events tickets"
"* Shopping services"
"* Housekeeping and maintenance services"
"* Pet services, auto detailing, plant care, etc."
"* Business services"

" -By Matthew Yglesias

-ThinkProgress.org/Wonk Room

20080820

John McCain

Family

Bangladesh - Vietnam

History

2008 Election

"Watchdogs make it harder for politicians to stretch the truth: Cindy McCain's past is the latest to be questioned after errors were found." ... "The latest embellishments come from the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain camp. Cindy McCain has repeatedly referred to herself as an “only child.” This week came news that she actually has two half sisters, although apparently she had very little contact with them." ... "The McCain campaign had also put out the story that Mother Teresa “convinced” Cindy to bring home two orphans from Bangladesh in 1991." ... "Mrs. McCain, it turns out, never met Mother Teresa on that trip." ... "In another instance, McCain told the Chicago Tribune earlier this year that on one of her medical missions to Vietnam she was in “the very hospital – and in the very room – where her husband was brought after being shot down and then beaten by a mob during the war.”" ... "A 1992 Washington Times story recounts a different version: “Mrs. McCain asked to see the operating room and her husband’s cell, but was turned down. She took the rejection philosophically. ‘It’s 27 years later. Let’s go on,’ Mrs. McCain said.”" -By Alexandra Marks

-CSMonitor

20080818

John McCain

Ralph Reed

Jack Abramoff

Criminal Investigation

Religion

Politics

Georgia

2008 Election

"McCain nets $1.75 million at Reed-linked event." .. "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain raised more than $1.75 million for Republicans Monday at a fundraiser [in Georgia's capital Atlanta] clouded by confusion over the role of a political operative connected to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff." .. "The downtown event was promoted by Ralph Reed, a former head of the Christian Coalition. McCain's campaign said the event was organized by the Republican National Committee — not Reed, who was linked to the Abramoff scandal that McCain investigated in the Senate." .. "A House investigative committee in 2006 did not call Reed as a witness, but concluded that he interceded with the [Republican President] Bush White House to help some of Abramoff's clients. Reed's public relations firm also received $4.2 million from Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters to fight the opening of casinos that could compete with Abramoff's Indian tribe clients." .. "Abramoff went to prison for conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion." -By Philip Elliott

-AP via -Yahoo

John McCain

Ralph Reed

Jack Abramoff

Money

Religion

Georgia

2006 Election

2008 Election

"Protesters mark McCain’s visit to Atlanta for fund-raiser." ... "More than 50 protesters marched in front of the Marriott Marquis [in Georgia's capital Atlanta] on Monday, shouting “Bush, McCain, same thing!”" ... "Across Peachtree Center Avenue, Georgia Democratic Party chairwoman Jane Kidd and state [Georgia Democratic state Senator] Sen. David Adelman (D-Atlanta) held a news conference to add a more official voice of protest." ... "Kidd blasted McCain for only coming to the state to raise money and not to meet with regular voters." ... "“Instead of listening to Georgians, John McCain chose to talk with people who have given him thousands of dollars,” she said." ... "That includes Ralph Reed, said Adelman." ... "Reed is the former head of the Christian Coalition who in 2006 [election] lost a bid for the Georgia GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] nomination as lieutenant governor after he was implicated, but not charged, in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in Washington." ... "Reed e-mailed supporters and friends to urge them to give to the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain campaign. Reed also instructed potential donors to send contributions directly to him. Reed told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he sent the e-mail at the request of the campaign and was given boilerplate language to use. He said he has no role in the campaign or in this event, something the McCain campaign confirmed." ... "But Reed’s involvement in raising money has been a source of ridicule and scorn from Democrats." ... "Reed, Adelman said, “has sold his influence with Christian conservative voters to the highest bidder.”" -By Aaron Gould Sheinin

-AJC

20080814

Sarah Palin

Political

Law

Investigation

Alaska

"Palin staff pushed to have trooper fired: Governor says she's learned calls were made about Wooten's ouster." ... "[Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday revealed an audio recording that shows an aide pressuring the Public Safety Department to fire a state trooper embroiled in a custody battle with her sister." ... "Palin, who has previously said her administration didn't exert pressure to get rid of trooper Mike Wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper." ... ""I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist although I have only now become aware of it," Palin said." ... "But Palin said her decision to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last month had nothing to do with his refusal to dump trooper Mike Wooten." ... "The governor said evidence of what she called a "smoking gun" conversation, and other calls made by her aides, only recently surfaced as the attorney general started an inquiry at her request into the circumstances surrounding her firing of Monegan. Palin wanted the review because a special investigator hired by the Legislature is about to investigate the firing and a legislator has been quoted in a newspaper story talking about impeachment." ... "The majority of the calls came from Palin's chief of staff at the time, Mike Tibbles, according to information gathered by the state attorney general's office. Attorney General Talis Colberg and Palin's husband, Todd, also contacted Monegan about the trooper." ... "Palin said the "most disturbing" was a phone call Frank Bailey, the governor's director of boards and commissions, made to trooper Lt. Rodney Dial in February. The Public Safety Department recorded the call, as it does routinely." ... "Palin, who said she'd only just learned of the call, released a recorded copy of it to the press on Wednesday. In it, Bailey clearly pressures the lieutenant." ... "Bailey told him during the conversation that Palin and her husband want to know why Wooten still has a job." ... ""Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, 'Why on earth hasn't this, why is this guy still representing the department?' He's a horrible recruiting tool, you know," Bailey told the lieutenant." ... "Bailey made several accusations against Wooten in the call, including that he lied on his application. Dial asked Bailey how he knew about any issue with the application." -By Sean Cockerham

-ADN.com

Barack Obama

John McCain

Ron Paul

Military

People

Overseas

Politics

History

Iraq

2008 Election

"Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama." ... "During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside: two or three hundred dollars -- or whatever they can spare -- towards a presidential election that could very well determine just how soon they come home." ... "According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul." -By Luke Rosiak

-OpenSecrets.org

Recipient	Total
Obama, Barack Paul, Ron McCain, John Huckabee, Mike Thompson, Fred Romney, Mitt Clinton, Hillary	$60,642 $45,512 $10,665 $7,950 $6,350 $5,550 $3,240

via: OpenSecrets.org

20080813

John McCain

Randy Scheunemann

Money

Politics

Georgia

Russia

Military

Arizona

2008 Election

"While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia: Campaign Dismisses Timing of Phone Call, Contract." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic." ... "The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington." ... "The McCain campaign said Georgia's lobbying contract with Orion Strategies had no bearing on the candidate's decision to speak with President Mikheil Saakashvili and did not influence his statement. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers." ... "But ethics experts have raised concerns about former lobbyists for foreign governments providing advice to presidential candidates about those same countries. "The question is, who is the client? Is the adviser loyal to income from a foreign client, or is he loyal to the candidate he is working for now?" said James Thurber, a lobbying expert at American University. "It's dangerous if you're getting advice from people who are very close to countries on one side or another of a conflict."" ... "For months while McCain's presidential campaign was gearing up, Scheunemann held dual roles, advising the candidate on foreign policy while working as Georgia's lobbyist. Between Jan. 1, 2007, and May 15, 2008, the campaign paid Scheunemann nearly $70,000 to provide foreign policy advice. During the same period, the government of Georgia paid his firm $290,000 in lobbying fees." ... "Since 2004, Orion has collected $800,000 from the government of Georgia." -By Matthew Mosk and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum with contributions by Alice Crites

-WashingtonPost

John McCain

Randy Scheunemann

Politics

Georgia

Russia

Taiwan

Macedonia

Romania

Latvia

Law

2008 Election

"McCain adviser got money from Georgia." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia." ... "The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue." ... ""Scheunemann's work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain's judgment in choosing someone who — and whose firm — are paid to promote the interests of other nations," said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. "So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations."" ... ""If McCain wants advice from someone whose private interests as a once and future lobbyist may affect the objectivity of the advice, that's his choice to make."" ... "Scheunemann's firm lobbied McCain's office on four bills and resolutions regarding Georgia, with McCain as a co-sponsor or supporter of all of them." ... "In addition to the 49 contacts with McCain or his staff regarding Georgia, Scheunemann's firm has lobbied the senator or his aides on at least 47 occasions since 2001 on behalf of the governments of Taiwan and Macedonia, which each paid Scheunemann and his partner Mike Mitchell over half a million dollars; Romania, which paid over $400,000; and Latvia, which paid nearly $250,000." -By Pete Yost

-AP via -Yahoo

20080812

John McCain

Ralph Reed

Jack Abramoff

Grover Norquist

Politics

Georgia

Arizona

2008 Election

"McCain ignoring calls to cancel controversial fundraiser." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain so far is ignoring calls from several watchdog groups to cancel an Atlanta [Georgia] fundraiser promoted by [Georgia Republican] Ralph Reed, a longtime friend and business partner of imprisoned [Republican] lobbyist Jack Abramoff." ... "Public Citizen, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Campaign Money Watch are urging the Arizona senator to cancel plans for the [August] Aug. 18 fundraiser at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and remove Reed from McCain’s Victory 2008 Team." ... "Reed lost his 2006 campaign for Georgia lieutenant governor in large part because of details about his relationship with Abramoff — much of the information uncovered by McCain’s Indian Affairs Committee investigation into the wide-ranging lobbying corruption scandal." ... "The Senate probe discovered $4 million in payments Reed accepted to run a bogus anti-casino campaign aimed at reducing gambling competition. An Indian tribe with a competing casino made payments to Reed, which according to the Senate investigation’s final report, were “passed through” Abramoff’s firm, Preston, Gates, Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, and another organization, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform." -By Susan Crabtree

-TheHill.com

Bob Perry

Bob Schaffer

Colorado

Texas

Money

Politics

2008 Election

"Swift Boat Vet Financier Dumping Huge Money Into Key Senate Race." ... "[Texas Republican] Bob Perry, the wealthy businessman who bankrolled the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth to the tune of several million dollars, has a new cause: He's lavishing huge funds on the conservative group Club for Growth, which is in turn putting big money behind GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidates in key Senate races." ... "Perry has just plowed a whopping $400,000 into the coffers of the Club for Growth, the big right-wing group that advocates for conservative economic policies, the latest FEC [Federal Election Commission] records show." ... "Club For Growth, in turn, is now spending about $227,000 of that money to air an attack ad in Colorado against [Colorado Democratic Senate Candidate] Mark Udall, who is the presumptive Dem nominee is going up against scandal-plagued [Colorado Republican] GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer." -By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld

-ElectionCentral - TalkingPointsMemo.com

Barack Obama

John McCain

Racist

Political

Ads

2008 Election

"Missing the Point of McCain's Ads." ... "I've gotta disagree with Markos and Josh Marshall on this one. [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's new "hot chicks dig Obama" ad is not intended to be a racist dog-whistle. If it was, they would have put more effort into it and they'd be playing it in heavy circulation in the South. Instead, the ad is a hastily thrown together, low-budget web ad that only political junkies like Markos and Josh are likely to bother watching." ... "In other words, this particular dog-whistle isn't directed at racists; it's directed at liberals. The McCain camp knows that all they have to do is put a few young white women in an anti-Obama ad (even one they don't intend to air), and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama's liberal defenders will instantly flip out and accuse them of being racists. That then gives them the opportunity to, once again, play the role of the victim and accuse Obama and his defenders of "playing the race card." Wash. Rinse. Repeat." ... "The McCain camp knows that whenever the discussion turns to race, it's a bad day for Obama, so they are deliberately trying to bait Obama's supporters into making accusations of racism. They're [McCain's campaign are] trying to stoke white racial resentment indirectly by setting themselves up as the falsely accused."

-AnonymousLiberal.com

Barack Obama

Family

Hawai'i

Journalist

Politics

Military

Sports

Illinois

2008 Election

"Akaka defends Obama's Hawaii vacation from ABC commentator: Journalist questions [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama's vacation in 'foreign' destination." ... "A group called Asian Americans for Obama sent out a media alert yesterday with the headline, "BREAKING: Hawai'i is a State," as U.S. [Unisted States Hawaii Democratic Senator] Sen. Daniel Akaka and others defended U.S. [Illinois Democratic Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's decision to spend a weeklong vacation in the Islands." ... "Obama had another casual day yesterday: Visit his grandmother at her Makiki apartment again, watch a movie at the Ward Complex theaters and go to dinner. But his choice of vacation destinations — his hometown of Honolulu — prompted [Disney TV's] ABC News' Cokie Roberts to twice call Hawai'i a "foreign" and "exotic" vacation destination for the man who wants to be president." ... ""I know his grandmother lives in Hawai'i," Roberts said on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. "And I know Hawai'i is a state. But it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place. He should be in Myrtle Beach if he's going to take a vacation at this time."" ... "But Akaka didn't see any humor in Roberts' comments." ... ""Saying our 50th state is somehow 'foreign,' does a great disservice to the hardworking, patriotic Americans who call Hawai'i home," Akaka said. "For months, people have been asking me, 'When is Sen. Obama going to come home?' I'm so glad he found time to visit his sister and his grandmother, and for him and his family to bond and recharge in his home state. Hawai'i is a great U.S. destination; just ask the 5.5 million Americans who visited last year for business and pleasure."" ... "Akaka's press secretary, Jesse Broder Van Dyke, wants Roberts to see firsthand evidence of Hawai'i's history and its role in the country's future." ... ""I would love to take Ms. Roberts on a tour of O'ahu, with stops at the Arizona Memorial and Punchbowl, followed by a visit with Hawai'i Army National Guard soldiers training for their second deployment to the Middle East," he said. "Then I would take her to Eastside Grill to watch Team USA women's volleyball and Bryan Clay. I would introduce her to Hawai'i residents so she could witness our diversity and learn about the aloha spirit. Part of what makes America great is the unique contributions of all 50 states. Sen. Obama has every right to come home and visit his sister and grandmother."" -By Dan Nakaso

-HonoluluAdvertiser.com

20080810

John Edwards

John McCain

Media

Politics

2008 Election

Obama

Family

People

Money

History

"Catching the Wrong John: Why Are the Media Talking about John Edwards' Infidelity If They Aren't Going to Talk about John McCain's?" ... "If John Edwards' infidelity is news, and he's not a candidate for anything, why isn't [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's? He reportedly had numerous affairs in the years after returning home from Vietnam to a beautiful wife who had been disfigured in a car accident, and ultimately, by his own reports, he zeroed in like a laser on beautiful a 25-year-old heiress upon meeting her one evening in 1979 while he was still married, promptly lied to her about his age, and almost as promptly left his wife for her. We all extol John McCain for enduring 5 years of extreme hardship in Vietnam. But aren't his first wife's circumstances much like Elizabeth Edwards'? After all, the first Mrs. McCain waited in agony (and presumably fidelity) during those five long years for her beloved husband to return from Vietnam, raising their children while he was away and undergoing dozens of painful operations herself, only to be repaid by a philandering husband who ultimately left her for a younger woman." ... "Now personally, I don't think anybody's sex life has any bearing on a campaign, except to the extent that the candidate runs as a hypocrite, extolling family values, fighting gays while fighting his own gay demons, etc. But John McCain is increasingly making this campaign about character, and his actions over many years suggest some worrisome patterns that fly in the face of the entire story he tells about himself. Setting aside his cheating on his first wife, what about his attending to something other than the people's business as a member of the Keating Five (and ultimately contributing to a bailout that cost middle class American taxpayers the equivalent of nearly half a trillion in 2008 tax dollars -- imagine the middle class tax break we could offer if we weren't still paying off the principal and debt on that boondoggle); or hiring the most dishonest, amoral campaign team money could buy in 2008; or generating one fabricated or grossly misleading charge after another against [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama in the last three weeks (as in his sleazy new tax ad where, for example, he says Obama would raise taxes on small businesses when Obama has never proposed anything of the sort)? Like [Republican] George W. Bush, he doesn't seem like a man who once was lost but now is found. He [McCain] seems more like a man's whose principles are soluble in self-interest." -By Drew Westen

-HuffingtonPost.com

20080809

WATCH

John Edwards

People

"John Edwards ABC Interview: Discusses Affair With Rielle Hunter (VIDEO)." ... "John Edwards appeared on ABC"s Nightline Friday to discuss the revelations about his affair with Rielle Hunter. During the interview Edwards spoke about how the relationship began, what drove him to adultery, its effect on his political future, and whether or not he was the father of Hunter's child." ... "Read the full transcript"

-HuffingtonPost.com

WATCH: John Edwards ABC Interview (3 Parts)

20080808

John McCain

John Edwards

Family

People

2008 Election

Politicians

"How is John McCain's Affair Different than John Edwards'?" ... "We have this weird notion in America now that if a politician is caught in an affair that his career is done. We seem to be saying that what he did in his private life effects his policies or how he governs. But we all know that isn't true. We know that because almost all of our great presidents, and great leaders throughout history, have had numerous affairs. Obviously it didn't hurt how they governed at all." ... "Now, we get to the most relevant question - if [former 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards' political career is done, why isn't John McCain's? [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain had a well-documented affair on his first wife, with his current wife. He has admitted in the books he has written about his life that he ran around with several different women while still married to his first wife. And don't forget that he left her for a younger, richer woman - multi-millionaire Cindy Hensley who is now Cindy McCain - after she had been severely hurt in a car accident." ... "So, why are McCain's actions any more excusable than Edwards'? Because it was thirty years ago? Does that wash it away? Will we be fine with Edwards running for office again in a couple of years because then it will all be in the past? What is the statute of limitations on an affair?" ... "Remember Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan and Ross Perot were so upset with how John McCain dealt with his first wife that they didn't forgive him for a very, very long time. Perot still hasn't forgiven him. In fact, he said recently about McCain dumping his first wife for Cindy, "McCain is the classic opportunist. He's always reaching for attention and glory."" ... "So, I want every pundit who condemns John Edwards today to tell me what the difference between him and McCain is and why John McCain shouldn't also be run out of politics for his adulterous affairs and what he did to his first wife." -By Cenk Uygur

-HuffingtonPost.com

Elizabeth Edwards

John Edwards

Family

2008 Election

Politics

"Today." [By Elizabeth Edwards] ... "Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some – most recently – caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him." ... "John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private." ... "The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed." ... "John has spoken in a long on-camera interview I hope you watch. Admitting one’s mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John’s conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time." -By Elizabeth Edwards

-DailyKos.com

John Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards

North Carolina

Politics

"Transcript: John Edwards Interview: Read Selections of Bob Woodruff's Interview With John Edwards." ... "The following excerpts are from an interview by ABC News' Bob Woodruff of former [North Carolina Senator] Sen. John Edwards for ABC News "Nightline" on Aug. 8, 2008." ... "JOHN EDWARDS: In 2006 2 years ago, I made a very serious mistake. A mistake that I am responsible for and no one else. In 2006 I told Elizabeth about the mistake, asked her for her forgiveness, asked God for his forgiveness. And we have kept this within our family since that time. All of my family knows about this and just to be absolutely clear, none of them are responsible for it. I am responsible for it. I alone am responsible for it. And it led to this most recent incident at the Beverly Hilton. I was at the Beverly Hilton. I was there for a very simple reason, because I was trying to keep this mistake that I had made from becoming public." ... "BOB WOODRUFF: Is this affair completely over?" ... "JOHN EDWARDS: Oh yes, it's been over for a long time." ... "WOODRUFF: I know this is a very difficult question, but were you in love with [Rielle Hunter]?" ... "EDWARDS: I'm in love with one woman. I've been in love with one woman for 31 years. She is the finest human being I have ever known. And the fact that she is with me after this having happened is a testament to the kind of woman and the kind of human being she is. There is a deep and abiding love that exists between Elizabeth and myself. It's always been there, it in my judgment has never gone away. " (1, 2, 3, 4)

-ABCNEWS.com

20080806

John McCain

Oil

Politics

Military

2008 Election

Arizona

Calif

Fla

Iraq

International

"Bundler Collects From Unlikely Donors." ... "The bundle of $2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier [California], the manager of Rite Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge in Fullerton [California]." ... "But the man who gathered checks from them is no stranger to McCain -- he shuttled the Republican on his private plane and held a fundraising event for the candidate at his house in Delray Beach, Fla [Florida]." ... "Harry Sargeant III, a former naval officer and the owner of an oil-trading company that recently inked defense contracts potentially worth more than $1 billion, is the archetype of a modern presidential money man." ... "Some of the most prolific givers in Sargeant's network live in modest homes in Southern California's Inland Empire. Most had never given a political contribution before being contacted by Sargeant or his associates. Most said they have never voiced much interest in politics. And in several instances, they had never registered to vote. And yet, records show, some families have ponied up as much as $18,400 for various candidates between December and March." ... "Both Sargeant and the donors were vague when asked to explain how Sargeant persuaded them to give away so much money." ... "His firm, International Oil Trading Co. (IOTC), holds several lucrative contracts with the Defense Department to carry fuel to the U.S. military in Iraq." ... "The work has not been without controversy. Last month, [California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif. [Democratic-California]) initiated a review of IOTC's contract to determine whether it was overcharging the military for jet fuel, and to learn how the company, which did not submit the lowest bid, landed the contract to supply the fuel." (1, 2) -By Matthew Mosk with contributions by Ashley Surdin, Lucy Shackelford, Alice Crites and Julie Tate

-WashingtonPost

Barack Obama

John McCain

Oil

Companies

Politics

2008 Election

Ohio

Arizona

Working

Families

"Energy wars continue on trail." ... "In Youngstown [Ohio], [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama said that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain has "proposed an energy plan that’s nothing but four years more of the same," and that helps oil companies and not consumers, according to excerpts provided by the Obama campaign." ... "Obama says that "under [Arizona] Senator McCain’s plan, the oil companies get billions more, we don’t pay any less at the pump, and we stay in the same cycle of dependence on oil that got us into this crisis. The oil companies have placed their bet on Senator McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy.That’s the choice we face in this election. We can choose four years more of the same failed policies that have gotten us where we are. Four years more of oil companies calling the shots while hard working families are struggling. That’s what Senator McCain is offering."" ... "Obama then promotes his own plan for alternative energy and green-collar jobs." ... "Trying to reinforce Obama's point about McCain't ties to Big Oil, the Democratic National Committee posted a web video that shows McCain as a puppet whose strings are being pulled by oil company lobbyists." ... ""Big Oil in the White House. We've seen this show before," the video concludes. " -By Foon Rhee

-Boston/Globe

WATCH: McCain Oil Industry Lobbyists Puppet Masters ad

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Dick Cheney

Halliburton KBR

Blackwater

Corporate

Government

Disaster

Politics

Military

Peoples

Health

Investigators

Hurricane Katrina

Housing

Iraq

Cayman Islands

"No Crisis Is Immune From Exploitation Under Bush." ... [By HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:] "Tucked away on the Cayman Islands sits Ugland House, an unassuming, nondescript building of modest scale and size. However, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), this five-story office building is home to more than 18,000 corporate entities, nearly half of which have U.S. [United States] ties." ... "In the past few years, the number of corporations flocking to places like the Cayman Islands to evade U.S. taxes has exploded. One of these companies, [Republican Vice President Dick Cheney's] former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, has used offshore tax havens to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal taxes. To no one's surprise, instead of cracking down on KBR, the [Republican President] Bush administration has rewarded the company in April of this year with a 10-year, $150 billion contract in Iraq." ... "There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse are legion -- from KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract to AEY, Inc. [Incorporated], a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions to our allies." ... "But the fraud and waste are not limited to the war. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, for example, FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] awarded a contract worth more than $500 million for trailers to serve as temporary housing. The contractor, Gulf Stream, collected all of its money even though they knew at the time that its trailers were contaminated with formaldehyde." ... "While touting fiscal responsibility, [Republican] President Bush and his administration have lined the pockets of political cronies like Halliburton and Blackwater. While calling for earmark reform, the president has allowed no-bid and questionable contracting throughout the federal government to dwarf earmark spending by a 10-to-1 ratio." -By Hillary Rodham Clinton

-WSJ.com

20080805

John McCain

Rick Davis

Foreign

Corporate

Politics

Airport

Transport

Jobs

2008 Election

Obama

Ohio

Arizona

German

"McCain had role in original Wilmington DHL deal." ... "When [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain meets Thursday with citizens and officials in Wilmington, Ohio, he won't need a playbook to understand why they're worried about deep job losses at the local freight airport." ... "Little known to those citizens, McCain and his campaign manager, Rick Davis, played roles in the fate of DHL Express and its Ohio air park as far back as 2003. Back then, however, their actions that helped DHL and its German owner, Deutsche Post World Net, acquire the Wilmington operations resulted in expansion, not retraction." ... "In a private meeting Thursday, Wilmington residents will ask McCain for help in stopping DHL's proposal to quit using the airport as a hub, which could cost more than 8,000 jobs. DHL says that it wants to stay in the freight business but that it can stem financial losses if it can put its packages aboard the planes of a rival - United Parcel Service - before delivering them in DHL trucks. UPS flies out of Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky], so the proposed change would render the Wilmington airport unnecessary." ... "None of that was anticipated in 2003, when McCain and Davis, who was a Washington lobbyist before managing the presidential campaign, first got involved. Several Wilmington civic leaders said that what happened in 2003 created an economic gain for their community, lasting several years." ... "But because that gain, and now the prospective loss, came from the decisions of a foreign-owned corporation, look for some Democrats and labor to seek to tie Wilmington's current troubles to McCain." ... ""Those jobs are on the chopping block because [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain and his campaign were involved in a deal that resulted in control of those positions being shifted to a foreign corporation, and there's no getting around that," said Joe Rugola, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO." ... "Isaac Baker, a spokesman for [2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, said, "This episode represents everything that's wrong with Washington, D.C." " -By Stephen Koff

-PlainDealer

John McCain

Oil

Politics

2008 Election

"Did New York couple give $61,600 to McCain, GOP?" ... "Alice Rocchio is an office manager at the New York headquarters of the Hess Corp. [Corporation], drives a 1993 Chevy Cavalier and lives in an apartment in Queens, N.Y. [New York], with her husband, Pasquale, an Amtrak foreman." ... "Despite what appears to be a middle-class lifestyle, the couple has written $61,600 in checks to John McCain's presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, most of it within days of McCain's decision to endorse offshore oil drilling." ... "At a June fundraiser, the Rocchios joined top executives at Hess Corp. — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hess, his wife, Susan, his mother, Norma Hess, and six other officials in giving a total of $313,500 to a joint McCain-RNC [Republican National Committee] fundraising committee, Federal Election Commission records show." ... "The donations, first traced by Campaign Money Watch last week, were part of $1.2 million in oil industry contributions to McCain's Victory '08 Committee, 73 percent coming after McCain reversed his long-held opposition to offshore oil drilling." -ByGreg Gordon

-McClatchyDC.com

CampaignMoney.org/mccainoil

Dick Cheney

Iraq

Military

Intelligence

Terrorism

Politics

History

Book

"Did White House fake link between Saddam and Al Qaeda?" ... "First, former CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] Director George Tenet told the president it was a "slam dunk" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Then came efforts by the [Republican President] Bush White House to discredit critics, like ambassador Joe Wilson, who questioned the wisdom of going to war in Iraq." ... "Now comes a new book by author Ron Suskind claiming that the [Republican President Bush] White House ordered the CIA to forge and backdate a handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein to link the Iraq regime to Al Qaeda. The White House calls the assertion nonsense." ... "In “The Way of the World,” to be published today, Suskind writes:"

"The White House had concocted a fake letter from Habbush to Saddam, backdated to July 1, 2001. It said that 9/11 ringleader Mohammad Atta had actually trained for his mission in Iraq –- thus showing, finally, that there was an operational link between Saddam and al Qaeda, something the vice president’s office [Republican Dick Cheney] had been pressing CIA to prove since 9/11 as a justification to invade Iraq. There is no link."

"Suskind says the order to forge such a letter was written on “creamy White House stationery” but gives no details about how it was created or how it was delivered to Iraq." -By Johanna Neuman

-LAtimes

Political

Terrorism

Intelligence

Crime

Noteworthy

Government

Law

Iraq

Military

History

Journalist

"Author claims White House knew Iraq had no WMD: Journalist Ron Suskind says [Republican President] Bush ordered forgery linking Saddam, al-Qaeda." ... "President Bush committed an impeachable offense by ordering the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] to to manufacture a false pretense for the Iraq war in the form of a backdated, handwritten document linking Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, an explosive new book claims." ... "The charge is made in “The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, released today." ... "Suskind says he spoke on the record with U.S. [United States] intelligence officials who stated that Bush was informed unequivocally in January 2003 that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. Nonetheless, his book relates, Bush decided to invade Iraq three months later — with the forged letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam bolstering the U.S. [United States] rationale to go into war." ... "“It was a dark day for the CIA,” Suskind told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Tuesday. “It was the kind of thing where [the CIA] said, ‘Look, this is not our charge. We’re not here to carry forth a political mandate — which is clearly what this was — to solve a political problem in America.’ And it was a cause of great grievance inside of the agency.”" ... "The author writes that Bush’s action is “one of the greatest lies in modern American political history” and suggests it is a crime of greater impact than Watergate." ... "The letter" ... "On page 371 of “The Way of the World,” Suskind describes the [Republican President Bush's] White House’s concoction of a forged letter purportedly from the hand of [Iraqi intelligence chief Tahir Jalil] Habbush to Saddam Hussein to justify the United States’ decision to go to war." ... "CIA officers [Bob] Richer and John Maguire, who oversaw the Iraq Operations Group, are both on the record in Suskind’s book confirming the existence of the fake Habbush letter." -By Bob Considine

-MSNBC

WATCH: Ron Suskind interview on TODAY show.

Government

Intelligence

Secretly

Marketing

Media

Opinion - Noteworthy

Military

Terrorism

Political

History

Book

Iraq

"Book says White House ordered forgery." ... "A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein." ... "Suskind writes in “The Way of the World,” to be published Tuesday, that the alleged forgery – adamantly denied by the White House – was designed to portray a false link between Hussein’s regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war." ... "Suskind writes in his new book that the order to create the letter was written on “creamy White House stationery.” The book suggests that the letter was subsequently created by the CIA and delivered to Iraq, but does not say how." ... "The author claims that such an operation, part of “false pretenses” for war, would apparently constitute illegal White House use of the CIA to influence a domestic audience, an arguably impeachable offense." ... "Suskind writes that the White House had “ignored the Iraq intelligence chief’s accurate disclosure that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion." ... "“They secretly resettled him in Jordan, paid him $5 million – which one could argue was hush money – and then used his captive status to help deceive the world about one of the era’s most crushing truths: that America had gone to war under false pretenses,” the book says." ... "Suskind writes that the forgery “operation created by the White House and passed to the CIA seems inconsistent with” a statute saying the CIA may not conduct covert operations “intended to influence United States political processes, public opinion, policies or media.”" ... "“It is not the sort of offense, such as assault or burglary, that carries specific penalties, for example, a fine or jail time,” Suskind writes. “It is much broader than that. It pertains to the White House’s knowingly misusing an arm of government, the sort of thing generally taken up in impeachment proceedings.”" -By Mike Allen

-Politico.com

John McCain

Oil

Money

Politics

2008 Election

New York

Texas

Ocean

Environment

"Oilman greases skids for McCain campaign: Among the donors from John B. Hess' company are an office manager and her husband, who pony up $57,000." ... "On June 10, John B. Hess, a top executive at the oil company with his family name, summoned friends to the 21 Club, a former speakeasy in Manhattan [New York], and delivered $285,000 to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain and the Republican National Committee." ... "A week later, McCain traveled to Texas and announced his support for offshore oil drilling." ... "Hess Corp. is an East Coast gasoline retailer with major refining and exploration operations, some of which happen to be offshore in the Gulf of Mexico." ... "Hess was one of half a dozen hosts who tapped friends for the maximum $28,500 donation to the GOP. Others included investor Henry Kravis and hedge fund mogul Paul E. Singer." -By Dan Morain

-LAtimes

20080730

Pete Sessions

Texas

Nevada

Political

Entertainment

"'07 party hosted by Rep. Pete Sessions at Las Vegas adult club draws criticism." ... "A political party hosted by [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions at a Las Vegas [Nevada] adult club has jaws dropping." ... "The event, in March 2007 at a club called Forty Deuce, raised money for the Dallas [Texas] Republican's political action committee, People for Enterprise Trade and Economic Growth." ... "Aides to Mr. Sessions, a self-described conservative, and others said the act was a mild burlesque show, but some conservative activists were aghast that the event was held at an adult club." ... ""What's the difference?" asked Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum. "I don't think that it's representative of the constituents of the district. I'm in shock."" ... "[Pete Session chief-of-staff Guy] Mr. Harrison said Mr. Sessions has held the Vegas event for four years." -By Gromer Jeffers Jr.

-DallasNews.com

20080729

Pete Sessions

Nevada

Texas

Politics

Sports

Entertainment

"GOP Rep. Sessions' Defends His Burlesque Fundraiser." ... "We had never heard of a member of Congress holding a fundraiser at a Las Vegas [Nevada] burlesque nightclub... until now." ... "And the culprit is card-carrying conservative [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex. [Republican-Texas]). The same Pete Sessions who scolded Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for forcing "their liberal values upon the rest of the country" after their infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime striptease." ... "But that was then." ... "Now we learn that Sessions held a racey (for Washington) fundraiser for his leadership political action committee last year at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce nightclub in Sin City [Las Vegas]." ... "Sessions' PAC, called People of Enterprise, Trade and Economic Growth, paid $5,378 to rent out the entire Forty Deuce club last year, according to federal election records." -By Mary Ann Akers

-WashingtonPost

US_Debt

History

Government

Politics

"Bush to leave a record budget deficit of $482 billion: [Republican President Bush] White House officials say the economy and a bipartisan stimulus package caused the worsening picture for 2009, but Democrats blame Bush's tax cuts and fiscal management." ... "Democrats on Capitol Hill blamed the revised deficit figures on Bush's large tax cuts and freewheeling spending." ... ""If we gave Olympic medals for fiscal irresponsibility, President Bush would take the gold, the silver and the bronze, because he's got the three highest record deficits ever," said [South Dakota Democratic Senator] Sen. Kent Conrad (D-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. "He sets records in every single category: 2009 would be the gold; 2004 the silver; 2008 the bronze."" ... "[South Carolina Democratic Representative] Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.) noted that Bush inherited a budget surplus from his Democratic predecessor, so the blame for the poor fiscal performance rests with him." ... ""Mr. Bush came to office with the biggest surpluses in history and he will leave office with the biggest deficit in history. That's the bottom line," said Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee." -By Maura Reynolds

-LAtimes

20080728

Jim D Adkisson

Religious

Terrorism

Politics

Tennessee

Police

Law

"Police: Killer targeted church for liberal views: 2 people killed, seven hurt, after man opens fire in Tennessee church." ... "An unemployed man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people at a Unitarian church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal social policies, police said Monday." ... "Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said a letter had been been recovered from the SUV of Jim D. Adkisson, 58, by investigators seeking clues about the motive behind the attack. Authorities said he was an apparent stranger to the Tennessee church where gunfire punctuated a children's performance based on the musical "Annie." Two people were killed and seven wounded Sunday." ... ""It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said at a news conference."

-AP via -Yahoo

Jim David Adkisson

Terrorism

Media

Politics

Radio

TV/Channel

Tennessee

Religion

Law

Police

"Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list: 4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'." ... "Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell [Tennessee] home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show." ... "Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded six others during the presentation of a children's musical." ... "Knoxville Police Department Officer Steve Still requested the search warrant after interviewing Adkisson. who was subdued by several church members after firing three rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun into the congregation." ... "Adkisson targeted the church, Still wrote in the document obtained by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."" ... "Adkisson told Still that "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office."" ... "Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly [the latter two work for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp subsidiary Fox TV]." ... "The shotgun-wielding suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was motivated by a hatred of "the liberal movement," and he planned to shoot until police shot him, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this morning." ... "Adkisson, 58, of Powell wrote a four-page letter in which he stated his "hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said. "Liberals in general, as well as gays."" ... "Owen said Adkisson specifically targeted the church for its beliefs, rather than a particular member of the congregation." -By Hayes Hickman with contributions by Bob Fowler, J.J. Stambaugh, Frank Munger and Amy McRary

-KnoxNews.com

Jim Adkisson

Jobless

Politics

Police

Tennessee

Church

Gays

Women's

Rights

Desegregation

History

"US church 'killer' wrote of hate: A man accused of shooting dead two people in a Tennessee church was motivated by hatred of liberals and anger at being jobless, US police say." ... "The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church describes itself on its website as working for social change since the 1950s, including desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages, women's rights and gay rights."

-BBC/News

Jim Adkisson

Terrorism

Politics

Tennessee

Church

Gays

Jobs

Government

Food

Money

"Tennessee church shooter angry at "liberals"." ... "A man [Jim Adkisson] who opened fire inside a church, killing two people with a shotgun hidden in a guitar case, was frustrated at being unable to find a job and blamed liberals and gays, police said on Monday." ... ""It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Knoxville [Tennessee] Police Chief Sterling Owen told reporters of Sunday's incident at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church." ... "Suspect Jim Adkisson...." ... "... described his violent plans in a four-page letter found at his home, which also explained that his age and "liberals and gays" taking jobs had worked against him." ... "Another recent setback was that Adkisson's allotment of government-issued food stamps had been reduced, Owen said." -By Andrew Stern with contributions by Michael Conlon and Jackie Frank

-Reuters via -IHT.com

Jim Adkisson

Terrorism

Politics

Tennessee

Church

Children

"Timeline: Church service marred by gunfire." ... "A neighbor told 10News [suspected killer, Jim] Adkisson described himself as a "Confederate" and a "believer in the old South." She says Adkisson self-identified in this way to her on more than one occasion, but that she didn't know what he meant by it." ... "The shootings happened at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church on Kingston Pike." ... "A witness who spoke to 10 News said police had arrived and one person was being detained at the scene." ... "A children's production of "Annie" was taking place as part of the normal Sunday service at the time of the shooting, the witness, who is a member of the church, said. The gunman walked into a packed sanctuary and opened fire."

-WBIR.com

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church - TVUUC.org

Jim Adkisson

Political

Terrorism

Tennessee

Out-of-Work

Homeless

Food

Gay

Churchgoers

Women's

Rights

Children

"Police: Man shot churchgoers over liberal views." ... "An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church [in Knoxville, Tennessee], killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday." ... "[Jim] Adkisson, a 58-year-old truck driver on the verge of losing his food stamps, had 76 rounds with him when he entered the church and pulled a shotgun from a guitar case during a children's performance of the musical "Annie."" ... "The Unitarian-Universalist church advocates for women's rights and gay rights and has provided sanctuary for political refugees. It also has fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site." -By Duncan Mansfield

-AP via -Yahoo

Jim Adkisson

People

Emergency

Church

Terrorism

Politics

Police

Law

Tennessee

"Witnesses recall Knoxville church shooting horror: ‘He had gun leveled in our direction,’ says man who helped stop rampage." ... "Jamie Parkey thought the blast that ripped through the sanctuary of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was part of the play his daughter and other children were putting on. Then he saw blood on another parishioner behind him and saw a man with a 12-gauge shotgun calmly firing away at the congregation." ... "“He had the gun leveled in our direction,” Parkey told TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Monday, one day after the gunman killed two church members and wounded six others before being wrestled to the ground by parishioners. “That’s when I pushed my mother and daughter to the floor and got under the pew. When I saw the men rushing him was when I got up to join them.”" ... "Parkey was one of the people who tackled 58-year-old Jim D. Adkisson, kicking the shotgun away and holding the gunman on the floor with an arm-bar hold. Parkey’s 16-year-old daughter was in the play, and he had been sitting in the front of the church with his mother and his 6-year-old daughter when the attack began." ... "“For the situation, everyone responded phenomenally,” Parkey said. “June and Kevin Spooner mobilized and got the kids out the back.” Vicki Masters, the director of the play the children had been rehearsing for all summer, yelled for people to get out of the building. Another woman ushered children to the Presbyterian church next door after the gunman was subdued." ... "“Everybody did exactly what they needed to do,” Broyles added. “There was very little panic, very little screaming or hysteria. It’s a remarkable congregation of people. I’ve never seen such a loving response to such an overwhelming tragedy.”" ... "Adkisson is being held in lieu of $1 million bail while local police, with the assistance of FBI agents, gather evidence and search his home in a neighboring town. Police say they found a letter in Adkisson’s car which said that he planned the attack, that he couldn’t find a job, and “stated his hatred for the liberal movement.”" -By Mike Celizic

-TODAYShow.com -MSNBC

20080727

Barack Obama

John McCain

Broadcast

Opinion - Politics

2008 Election

"In study, evidence of [conservative bias] liberal-bias bias: Cable talking heads accuse broadcast networks of liberal bias -- but a think tank finds that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama than on [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain in recent weeks." ... "The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign." ... "You read it right: tougher on the Democrat." ... "During the evening news, the majority of statements from reporters and anchors on all three networks are neutral, the center found. And when network news people ventured opinions in recent weeks, 28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative." ... "Network reporting also tilted against McCain, but far less dramatically, with 43% of the statements positive and 57% negative, according to the Washington-based media center." -By James Rainey

-LAtimes

Barack Obama

John McCain

Media

Politics

Iraq

Pakistan

Afghanistan

Iran

Kuwait

Britain

Nuclear

Military

Terrorism

Gas

Money

2008 Election

"How Obama Became Acting President." ... "The growing [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama clout derives not from national polls, where his lead is modest. Nor is it a gift from the press, which still gives free passes to its old bus mate [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain. It was laughable to watch journalists stamp their feet last week to try to push Mr. Obama into saying he was “wrong” about the surge. More than five years and 4,100 American fatalities later, they’re still not demanding that Mr. McCain admit he was wrong when he assured us that our adventure in Iraq would be fast, produce little American “bloodletting” and “be paid for by the Iraqis.”" ... "Never mind. This election remains about the present and the future, where Iraq’s $10 billion a month drain on American pocketbooks and military readiness is just one moving part in a matrix of national crises stretching from the gas pump to Pakistan." ... "First, on July 7, the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, dissed [Republican President] Bush dogma by raising the prospect of a withdrawal timetable for our troops. Then, on July 15, Mr. McCain suddenly noticed that more Americans are dying in Afghanistan than Iraq and called for more American forces to be sent there. It was a long-overdue recognition of the obvious that he could no longer avoid: both Robert Gates, the defense secretary [of Republican President Bush], and [Admiral] Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had already called for_more American troops to battle the resurgent Taliban, echoing the policy proposed by Mr. Obama a year ago." ... "On July 17 we learned that [Republican] President Bush, who had labeled direct talks with Iran “appeasement,” would send the No. 3 official in the State Department to multilateral nuclear talks with Iran. Lest anyone doubt that the White House had moved away from the rigid stand endorsed by Mr. McCain and toward Mr. Obama’s, a former Rumsfeld apparatchik weighed in on The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page: “Now Bush Is Appeasing Iran.”" ... "Within 24 hours, the White House did another U-turn, endorsing an Iraq withdrawal timetable as long as it was labeled a “general time horizon.” In a flash, as Mr. Obama touched down in Kuwait, Mr. Maliki approvingly cited the Democratic candidate by name while laying out a troop-withdrawal calendar of his own that, like Mr. Obama’s, would wind down in 2010. On Tuesday, the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, announced a major drawdown of his nation’s troops by early 2009." -By Frank Rich

-NYTimes

20080722

Listen

Pete Sessions

Texas

Political

Lawmaker

Entertainment

"PACs put the fun in fundraising: Think all political contributions go toward campaigns? Maybe if those campaigns include golf trips and nights at the burlesque house. In the last installment of his PAC Men series, Steve Henn reports." ... "Monica Notzen is a Republican consultant who plans parties like this for lawmakers." ... "Basically, her job consists of calling lobbyists and other insiders and inviting them to parties. But to come, she tells them they have to contribute to a politician's leadership political action committee, or PAC, first." ... "[Texas Republican] Congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas, is one of Monica Notzen's clients and he doesn't see anything wrong with this picture."

"Pete Sessions: I don't think that lobbyists in and of themselves are deceptive or deceitful people. I don't have any problem with people going and doing things whether it's at a pool or horse racing. What bothers me is if you say one thing and do something else."

"In the past three years, unions and corporate executives contributed more than $77 million to these leadership PACs according to Federal Election Commission reports. Lobbyists kicked in millions more." ... "Working together, Notzen and Pete Sessions run one of the more successful PACs on Capitol Hill and last spring, Notzen's company planned an event for Pete Session's PAC in Vegas {Las Vegas, Nevada]: a fundraiser at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce."

"Sessions: That's right, we do a Las Vegas fundraiser every year and not only raise money, but see Las Vegas. It's a beautiful town."
"Henn: Forty Deuce is a strip club."
"Sessions: You know, I've never seen that. It is what I would call a burlesque show where there's a woman who comes out and has a dress on... Uh, she never get's naked. There's no nudity, there's no nudity in there."

"This is how the club's owner, Ivan Kane, describes his brand of burlesque."

"Ivan Kane: The key component would be to have girls who were dancers taking their clothes off, not just girls taking their clothes off."

"Sessions spent more than $5,000 at Kane's club that night in March, according to federal disclosures. Those reports show Sessions spent another $2,100 on his hotel." ... "Officially, Pete Sessions' leadership PAC picked up the tab, but just days before the party at Forty Deuce, casino interests donated $5,000 to his PAC. Payday lenders threw in another $2,500." -By Steve Henn

-Marketplace via -PublicRadio.org

20080719

Barack Obama

Military

Iraq

Politics

2008 Election

"Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan: report." ... "Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. [United States 2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months." ... "In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible." ... ""U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."" ... ""Whoever is thinking about the shorter term is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems."" ... "The White House said on Friday [Republican] President George W. Bush and Maliki had agreed that a security deal under negotiation should set a "time horizon" for meeting "aspirational goals" for reducing U.S. forces in Iraq." (1, 2) -By Madeline Chambers with contributions by Jon Boyle

-Reuters

20080718

Hillary Clinton

Women's

Medical

Science

Abortion

Language

Politics

Family

Federal

Money

New York

"Clinton vows to fight "insulting" abortion plan." ... "A [Republican President] Bush administration plan to define several widely used contraception methods as abortion is a "gratuitous, unnecessary insult" to women and faces tough opposition, [New York Democratic Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton said on Friday." ... "The former Democratic presidential candidate joined family planning groups to condemn the proposal that defines abortion to include contraception such as birth control pills and intrauterine devices." ... "It would cut off federal funds to hospitals and states where medical providers are obligated to offer legal abortion and contraception to women." ... ""We will not put up with this radical, ideological agenda to turn the clock back on women's rights," the New York senator told a joint news conference with New York [Democratic Representative] Rep. Nita Lowey, also a Democrat, at Bellevue Hospital." ... ""Women would watch their contraceptive coverage disappear overnight," said Clinton." (1, 2) -By Michelle Nichols with contributions by Ellen Wulfhorst and Eric Beech

-Reuters

20080716

Gordon Smith

Oregon

2008 Election

Politics

"Oregon Senate: Merkley tops Smith for first time 43% to 41%." ... "Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley for the first time has edged ahead of Republican Senator Gordon Smith 43% to 41% in Oregon, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. While the advantage is not statistically significant, it is noteworthy for an incumbent senator to receive such low levels of support at this point in a campaign."

-RasmussenReports

20080715

Gordon Smith

Oregon

Politics

2008 Election

"Merkley surpasses Smith in quarterly fundraising." ... "Republican [Oregon Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith still has millions more than does his [2008 Election] Democratic challenger, Jeff Merkley. But for the most recent quarter, it was Merkley who came out ahead." ... "Merkley reported Monday that he raked in $1.42 million from April 1 through June 30. That is by far the most Merkley has raised in a three-month stretch and represents more than half his fundraising since getting into the race last summer. And it surpasses the $1.38 million Smith raised in the same quarter." ... "In all, Smith still holds a sizable lead: $9.73 million raised and $4.47 million cash on hand for the entire election, compared with Merkley’s $2.5 million total raised and $569,435 on hand." -By David Steves

-RegisterGuard

McCain

Obama

2008 Election

Politics

Law

"McCain uses 'bundler' money more than Obama campaign." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain's elite fundraisers have helped collect more than half of his presidential campaign money, while Democratic [2008 Election Presidential] rival Barack Obama has relied on his own top fundraisers for nearly one-fifth of his coffers, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "More than 500 top McCain fundraisers brought in at least $75.6 million, or about 53% of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's receipts through June." ... "Obama, who also counts more than 500 people among his main fundraising corps, has collected at least $50.1 million through them. That's about 17% of the presumptive Democratic nominee's receipts through May. He has not released June totals." ... "The money from these fundraisers illustrates how McCain, who co-authored a 2002 law curbing the influence of special interests in campaign finance, is relying on a group of well-connected Republicans to fuel his bid. It also demonstrates that Obama has turned to wealthy donors to help collect cash — even though the bulk of his donations are from contributors who give $200 or less." ... ""This really proves how enormously valuable it is to have a network of fundraisers out there shaking the bushes for you," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics. "For McCain, who wants to project an image as a maverick on reform, it is precisely the wrong message to be so reliant on this tiny set of well-heeled donors."" -By Fredreka Schouten

-USATODAY

John McCain

Czech Republic

Slovakia

History

2008 Election

"McCain again cites current events in 'Czechoslovakia'." ... "For the second time in two days, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain has referred to current events in “Czechoslovakia” – a country that officially ceased to exist in January of 1993." ... "More than fifteen years ago, Czechoslovakia officially split into two nations – the Czech Republic and Slovakia." -By Rebecca Sinderbrand

-CNN

20080714

Barack Obama

Military

Police

Iraq

Afghanistan

Iran

Pakistan

Terrorism

Intelligence

Government

Money

Political

McCain

Arizona

2008 Election

"My Plan for Iraq." [By 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Canidate Barack Obama] ... "The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq presents an enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States." ... "The differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike [2008 Election Republican Senator and Arizona] Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban [in Afghanistan] by invading a country [Iraq] that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown." ... "In the 18 months since [Republican] President Bush announced the surge, our troops have performed heroically in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda — greatly weakening its effectiveness." ... "But the same factors that led me to oppose the surge still hold true. The strain on our military has grown, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and we’ve spent nearly $200 billion more in Iraq than we had budgeted. Iraq’s leaders have failed to invest tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues in rebuilding their own country, and they have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge." ... "The good news is that Iraq’s leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a timetable for the removal of American troops. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. [Lieutenant General] James Dubik, the American officer in charge of training Iraq’s security forces, estimates that the Iraqi Army and police will be ready to assume responsibility for security in 2009." ... "Only by redeploying our troops can we press the Iraqis to reach comprehensive political accommodation and achieve a successful transition to Iraqis’ taking responsibility for the security and stability of their country. Instead of seizing the moment and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government." ... "Ending the war is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Taliban is resurgent and Al Qaeda has a safe haven. Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been. As Adm. [Admiral] Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently pointed out, we won’t have sufficient resources to finish the job in Afghanistan until we reduce our commitment to Iraq." ... "As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan. We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there. I would not hold our military, our resources and our foreign policy hostage to a misguided desire to maintain permanent bases in Iraq. " -By Barack Obama

-NYTimes

John McCain

Czech Republic

Slovakia

History

Poland

Military

2008 Election

Politics

"McCain Again Refers To Czechoslovakia, A Non-Existent Country." ... "At his press avail today, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain referenced current relations between Russia and, um, a non-existent country [Czechoslovakia]." ... "Around three months ago, McCain told Don Imus that he would "work closely with Czechoslovakia and Poland and other countries" to install the European Missile Defense System in Poland, according to the Democratic National Committee. (The slip-up was referenced elsewhere, too.)" ... "And during a GOP debate in October 2007, McCain said: "The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don't care what his objections are to it."" ... "We're nitpicking a bit here. But McCain is running on his supposed foreign policy superiority. And the GOP and McCain would hit Obama as a foreign policy greenhorn based on less than this." -By Greg Sargent

-TPMElectionCentral .TalkingPointsMemo

From The World Factbook: "The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004."

John McCain

Czech Republic

Slovakia

History

Russia

Energy

Military

Phoenix

Arizona

2008 Election

Politics

"Note to McCain: Czechoslovakia doesn’t exist anymore." ... "This is almost certainly going to sound nitpicky, if not actually petty, but bear with me. It’s not unreasonable to note that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain continues to make references to a country that doesn’t exist." ... "At a press conference in Phoenix [Arizona] today, for example, McCain referenced Czechoslovakia. Again."

"“I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech’s agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern. So we see the tensions between Russia and their neighbors, as well as Russia and the United States are somewhat increasing.”"

"On first blush, this sounds like more antagonistic rhetoric towards Russia — which McCain wants to kick out of the G8 — which isn’t especially helpful." ... "But more importantly, Russia can’t “reduce energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.” Czechoslovakia, of course, doesn’t exist. It split into two countries more than 15 years ago. McCain has actually been to the Czech Republic and Slovakia since they became independent countries, and he’s met with their leaders." ... "First, as Greg Sargent noted, McCain has made this same mistake more than once during the campaign. About three months ago, McCain vowed to “work closely with Czechoslovakia” on missile defense. Last fall, during a Republican debate, McCain said: “The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don’t care what his objections are to it.”" ... "Second, before Republicans condemn Dems for being picky on this, let’s not forget that in the 2000 campaign, when McCain also screwed up Czechoslovakia, it was none other than [Republican] George W. Bush who said it deserved to be a campaign issue: “A guy gets up and quizzes me [on world leaders] … but John McCain says something about the ‘ambassador to Czechoslovakia.’ Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia [there’s a Czech Republic and a Slovakia], but yet it didn’t make the nightly national news." ... "But the raison d’etre of John McCain’s entire presidential campaign is the notion that he’s an expert on foreign policy, thanks to his decades of experience as a Washington insider. When the foreign policy expert keeps referencing a non-existent country, it’s not unreasonable to mention that maybe his expertise isn’t quite as impressive as his campaign and the political media establishment would like us to believe." ... "McCain, meanwhile, makes mistakes like this all the time, almost always with no media scrutiny at all.” -By Steve Benen -

TheCarpetbaggerReport.com

20080710

McCain

Rick Davis

Politics

2008 Election

"McCain, RNC: $95 million on hand." ... "The [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain campaign and Republican Party have nearly $95 million cash on hand combined for use in the presidential race, [lobbyist] campaign manager Rick Davis said Thursday. He said the McCain camp had more than $27 million, and the Republican National Committee has more than $67 million." ... "Including the matching funds, he estimated the campaign would have a total $400 million budget through Election Day." -By Domenico Montanaro

-MSNBC

Karl Rove

Don Siegelman

US Attorney

Politics

Investigation

Alabama

California

"Rove, Defying Subpoena, Doesn't Appear at Hearing (Update2)." ... "Former [Republican President Bush] White House political director Karl Rove, defying a subpoena, failed to appear before a [United States] U.S. House panel investigating whether the Justice Department prosecuted people for political reasons." ... "Rove's action today prompted the House Judiciary subcommittee to rule that his reasons for skipping the appearance weren't legally valid, a first step toward a possible contempt of Congress vote." ... "The panel is trying to determine whether Rove influenced the Justice Department's decision to bring a corruption case against former Alabama [Democratic] Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Rove has rejected the claim and said he would speak with the committee only in private, not under oath and without a transcript. He also proposed answering questions in writing." ... "[California Democratic Representative Linda] Sanchez noted that Rove's offer was limited to discussing the Siegelman case. The panel also wants to question him about other topics, including the 2006 firing of nine U.S. attorneys, she said." ... "The Justice Department's ethics office also is probing whether Siegelman was the victim of selective prosecution. " -By Robert Schmidt

-Bloomberg

John Cowdery

Kott

Kohring

Weyhrauch

Oil

Money

Politics

VECO

Federal

Crimes

Alaska

"Cowdery indicted on two corruption charges." ... "The federal indictment filed today against state [Alaska state Republican Senator] Sen. John Cowdery revolves around the oil tax legislation pushed so hard by Veco Corp. [Corporation] and its executives in 2006." ... "The Anchorage Republican is charged with conspiracy and bribery, accused of scheming with Veco executives to win over another senator in the battle for the tax favored by North Slope oil producers." ... "According to the 16-page indictment, Cowdery and others conspired to give the other state senator $25,000, characterized as campaign contributions." ... "[Veco chief executive Bill] Allen and Veco vice president Rick Smith have pleaded guilty to bribing legislators, including Cowdery, to push through a version of an oil tax favored by North Slope producers." ... "Two former legislators, [Republican] Pete Kott of Eagle River [Alaska] and [Republican] Vic Kohring of Wasilla [Alaska], are serving federal prison sentences after being convicted of corruption charges related to the push for the tax. A third former legislator, [Republican] Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau [Alaska's capital], was indicted too and is awaiting trial while courts consider an appeal on what evidence can be heard." -By Lisa Demer

-ADN.com

20080707

Mitt Romney

John McCain

Lay-Offs

Bain Capital

Corporation

History

Massachusetts

2008 Election

"Romney, McCain's `Logical' Choice, Must Overcome Primary Animus." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain, 71, said in December that he doesn't understand economics ``as well as I should'' and his lack of comfort is apparent on the stump." ... "[McCain's 2000 Election communications director Dan] Schnur said [Republican Mitt] Romney's apparent advantage on the economy may have a down side. During his unsuccessful 1994 run against incumbent [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Democrat Ted Kennedy for a Massachusetts Senate seat, Romney was criticized for overseeing layoffs while working at Bain [Capital]." ... "``The Democrats could have a heyday talking about downsizing and lay-offs,'' Schnur said. ``It's the type of thing that in a difficult economic climate could be a real problem.''" -By Heidi Przybyla

-Bloomberg

Roger Ailes

Terrorism

Television

Corporate - Media

Politics

People

"When Fox News Is the Story." ... "Like most working journalists, whenever I type seven letters — Fox News [owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (News Corp)] — a series of alarms begins to whoop in my head: Danger. Warning. Much mayhem ahead." ... "Once the public relations apparatus at Fox News is engaged, there will be the calls to my editors, keening (and sometimes threatening) e-mail messages, and my requests for interviews will quickly turn into depositions about my intent or who else I am talking to." ... "And if all that stuff doesn’t slow me down and I actually end up writing something, there might be a large hangover: Phone calls full of rebuke for a dependent clause in the third to the last paragraph, a ritual spanking in the blogs with anonymous quotes that sound very familiar, and — if I really hit the jackpot — the specter of my ungainly headshot appearing on one of Fox News’s shows along with some stern copy about what an idiot I am." ... "Fox News found a huge runway and enormous success by setting aside the conventions of bloodless objectivity, but along the way, it altered the rules of engagement between reporters and the media organizations they cover. Under its chief executive, [Republican media strategist] Roger Ailes, Fox News and its public relations apparatus have waged a permanent campaign on behalf of the channel that borrows its methodology from his days as a senior political adviser to [Republican Presidents] Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush." ... "At Fox News, media relations is a kind of rolling opposition research operation intended to keep reporters in line by feeding and sometimes maiming them. Shooting the occasional messenger is baked right into the process." ... "As crude as that sounds, it works. By blacklisting reporters it does not like, planting stories with friendlies at every turn, Fox News has been living a life beyond consequence for years." ... "Earlier this year, a colleague of mine said, he was writing a story about CNN’s gains in the ratings and was told on deadline by a Fox News public relations executive that if he persisted, “they” would go after him. Within a day, “they” did, smearing him around the blogs, he said. (I did not ask him for a comment because the information was of a private nature.)" ... "[Fox News public relations head Brian] Mr. Lewis denied that his staff had threatened one of my colleagues or planted private information about him on blogs." ... "That comes as a surprise to reporters I talked to who say they have received e-mail messages from Fox News public relations staff that contained doctored photos, anonymous quotes and nasty items about competitors. And two former Fox employees said that they had participated in precisely those kinds of activities but had signed confidentiality agreements and could not say so on the record. " (1, 2, 3) -By David Carr

-NYTimes

John McCain

Money

Law

Politics

2008 Election

"How McCain Is Skirting His Own Spending Caps." ... "When you combine [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's individual war chest with his party's bankroll, it turns out the Republican nominee has about $90 million currently burning a hole in his pocket, while Obama and the DNC weigh in at a relatively paltry $47 million, or half as much. And even though McCain has agreed to an $84.1 spending limit by accepting public funds--a decision he likes to portray as a principled stand against the corrupting influence of money on politics--at least double that sum will be dropped on his behalf before Election Day thanks to loopholes in the law that allow outside groups to effectively skirt such limits with largely unregulated "soft money" contributions." ... "Currently, Team McCain is soliciting checks of up to $70,100 from each donor--$28,500 for the RNC, $40,000 for a quartet of state parties and $2,300 for the candidate himself. But if the Governors' Association actually works on a local level to boost McCain's bid, even that ceiling on individual contributions--which is already high enough to ensure that the senator's publicly-financed campaign will raise about half of its money from private sources--would be shattered." ... "The irony here, of course, is that it was McCain who co-sponsored the 2002 law meant to curtail the influence of wealth on presidential politics by limiting direct donations to the campaigns. Now he's the one's doing everything imaginable to circumvent the very caps he fought to create." -By Andrew Romano

-Newsweek

Barack Obama

Faith

Civil Liberties

Law

Economics

History

US_Debt

Iraq

Military

2008 Election

"Why some conservatives are backing Obama." ... "The "Obamacans" that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama used to joke about - Republican apostates who whispered their support for his candidacy - have morphed into a new phenomenon, or syndrome, as detractors like to call it: the Obamacons." ... "These are conservatives who have publicly endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee, dissidents from the brain trust of think tanks, ex-officials and policy magazines that have fueled the Republican Party since the 1960s." ... ""The untold story of the [Republican President] Bush administration is the deliberate annihilation of the Reaganite, small-government wing of the Republican Party," said Michael Greve, director of the Federalism Project at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. "A lot of people are very bitter about it."" ... "Many conservatives are aghast at the rise in spending and debt under the Bush administration, its expansion of executive power, and what they see as a trampling of civil liberties and a taste for empire." ... "Douglas Kmiec is former chief of the Office of Legal Counsel in the [former Republican Presidents] Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and now a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University and a devout Catholic. Kmiec endorsed Obama earlier this year, despite his conviction that Obama "believes in a pretty progressive agenda."" ... "Kmiec said his support deepened after meeting with Obama and other faith leaders last month, during which the busy candidate spent 2 1/2 in a freewheeling discussion with people who differed with him." ... ""I think he's the right person at the right time to re-establish principles of constitutional governance that have been ill treated by the current administration, and to free us from the tar paper that we know is Iraq," Kmiec said, adding that many Republicans privately agree. "I think he's a man in the market for every good idea he can find, and he doesn't care what label it comes with."" ... "David Friedman, the son of late conservative icon and Nobel economist Milton Friedman, has also endorsed Obama." ... "[Conservative Bruce Bartlett:] "People don't understand that there has always been a small but very significant element of conservatives who have been against the war from day one and who, like me, also hate George Bush and think he's the most incompetent president in American history," said Bruce Bartlett, a supply-side economist who coined the term Obamacons. "The few people who are slavishly pro-Republican, live or die, slavishly pro-Bush like the Weekly Standard crowd, have gotten lot more publicity than they deserve."" -By Carolyn Lochhead

-SFGate.com

20080706

John McCain

Karl Rove

Money

Oil

Health Care

Iraq

Afghanistan

Military

Terrorism

2008 Election

Massachusetts

"Kerry: McCain's Judgment Is Dangerous." ... "[Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. John Kerry believes that the presumptive Republican nominee for president is adhering to the [Republican President] Bush Administration orthodoxy in ways that call into question his carefully-nurtured image as a political maverick." ... ""John McCain has changed in profound and fundamental ways that I find personally really surprising, and frankly upsetting," the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts said on CBS' Face The Nation." ... ""This is a different John McCain. This is not the Senator John McCain; this is want-to-be president John McCain." ... ""And the result is that John McCain has flip-flopped on more issues than I was even ever accused possibly of thinking about! I mean, this is extraordinary what he's done: He's changed on taxes; he's now in favor of the Bush tax cut. If you like the Bush economy, if you like the Bush tax cut and what it's done to our economy, making wealthier people wealthier and the average middle class struggle harder, then John McCain is going to give you a third term of George Bush and Karl Rove." ... ""If you like what has happened to oil prices, John McCain is going to continue that policy. If you like what you see about health care, John McCain has no health care plan." ... ""I would have at least expected the John McCain that I knew back then to realize what almost every person in the Pentagon has admitted. There are very few who walk around and say, 'Going into Iraq was the right thing to do, and we should have done it, or do it again if I have the chance.' John McCain does." ... ""I'm challenging Senator McCain's judgment," Kerry said, "that says, 'There's no violent history between Sunni and Shia.' That's wrong. His judgment that says, 'This is going to increase the stability of the Middle East.' It hasn't, it's made it less stable. The judgment that says, quote, 'This will be the best thing for America and the world in a long time. It's the worst thing that we've done in a long time. And he's turned his [focus] away from Afghanistan and al Qaeda and made America less safe. That's dangerous for our country.""

-FaceTheNation -CBSNews

WATCH Kerry list McCain's Flip-Flops

Don Young

Ted Stevens

Tom DeLay

Federal

Investigation

Legislative

Politics

2008 Election

Alaska

Texas

Virginia

Florida

Transportation

Construction

"When Alaska's Young needed help, lobbyists ponied up." ... "Facing bad publicity and a dwindling campaign account, [United States Alaska Republican Representative] U.S. Rep. Don Young last year turned to the "AK Wolfpack," a group of more than 20 lobbyists, including former Young staffers and retired former congressmen, with close ties to the Alaska Republican." ... "Young's chief of staff, Mike Anderson, sent the Wolfpack an e-mail to tell them that national Democrats planned aggressive fundraising and claims of misconduct by Young to topple the 35-year incumbent congressman and his fellow Alaska Republican [Senator], U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens." ... "If they succeed, Anderson warned, "you and your clients will be impacted."" ... "They include Rick Alcalde, the lobbyist at the heart of a Young earmark that is under federal investigation. They also include lobbyists Colin Chapman, Anderson's immediate predecessor as Young's chief of staff, and Randy DeLay, the brother of former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas. Randy DeLay lobbied on a Virginia highway project before Young's transportation committee." ... "Anderson e-mailed his note a day after The New York Times ran a front-page story about Young's earmarking $10 million to study a Florida interchange that would benefit a developer who had raised money for an earlier Young campaign. The paper described the earmark as an "obvious" trade of campaign contributions for legislative favors." -By Sean Cockerham and Erika Bolstad

-McClatchyDC.com

20080703

John McCain

Carl H Lindner Jr

BobPerry

Money

Politics

Accounting

Marketing

2004 Election

2008 Election

Texas

Ohio

Arizona

Illinois

Obama

"McCain Allies Find Finance-Law Holes: Governors' Fund Recruits Big Donors; Bid to Catch Obama." ... "Allies of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain have found new loopholes in the campaign-finance law he helped write -- and they're using them to reel in huge contributions to help him compete with [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama." ... "In one method, a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain. His 2002 campaign law limits donations to presidential races to try to curtail the influence of wealth." ... "The Republican Governors Association isn't subject to those limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states." ... "Altogether, individuals can give $108,000 to federal campaigns within each two-year election cycle." ... "Donors with deep pockets also can avoid limits completely by contributing to groups called 527 organizations, after a provision in the tax code." ... "The [Republican] governors group counts a number of large corporations among its donors, including WellPoint Inc. [Incorporated] at $200,000, and Pfizer Inc. [Incorporated], Bank of America Corp. [Corporation] and Travelers Cos. [Companies] at $150,000 or more." ... "Texas developer Bob Perry, the largest financial backer of the Swift Boat group [that attacked the military service of 2004 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry], also is the largest individual donor to the governors group, at $250,000. Carl Lindner, a retired insurance executive in Ohio and another top Swift Boat financier, has contributed $100,000 to the governors' fund. The campaign-finance lawyer for the Swift Boat group in 2004 now serves the same role for the governors association." ... "In another Republican strategy, the McCain campaign itself last month began soliciting its biggest donations yet -- up to $70,100 per check." -By Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam

-WSJ.com

20080702

John McCain

Carl H Lindner Jr

Terrorism

Money

Illegal

Military

Politics

Federal

Investigation

International

Food

Colombia

Arizona

Ohio

2008 Election

"McCain Backer's Firm Pleaded Guilty To Funding Terrorist Group In Colombia." ... "The co-host of a recent top-dollar fundraiser for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain oversaw the payment of roughly $1.7 million to a Colombian paramilitary group that is today designated a terrorist organization by the United States." ... "Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati [Ohio] businessman, was CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001, and remained on the company's board of directors until May 2002. Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC), which is described by George Washington University's National Security Archive as an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious civilian massacres."" ... "Following a Justice Department indictment [pdf] last year, Chiquita admitted to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million fine. Chiquita's payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years; roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001." ... "According to the Justice Department, the payments "were reviewed and approved by senior executives" of Chiquita, who knew by no later than September 2000 "that the AUC was a violent, paramilitary organization."" ... "Late last week, Lindner co-hosted a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for McCain and the Republican Party in the wealthy Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The event raised about $2 million; Lindner also serves on McCain's Ohio Victory Team." ... "While Lindner was CEO of Chiquita, the company began sending money to the AUC through its shipping subsidiary Banadex. A report by the Organization of American States states that Banadex also engaged in arms trafficking, helping to deliver 3,000 Nicaraguan AK-47 rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition to the AUC in 2001. According to federal prosecutors, when company officials realized the arrangement was illegal, they switched to making the payments in cash." -By Nico Pitney

-HuffingtonPost.com

Secret

Torture

War Crimes

Prisons

Guantanamo

Cuba

Chinese

Korean

History

Medical

Science

Psychological

Military

Intelligence

Politics

Investigators

"China Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo." ... "The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay [Cuba] in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exposure.”" ... "What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners." ... "The recycled chart is the latest and most vivid evidence of the way Communist interrogation methods that the United States long described as torture became the basis for interrogations both by the military at the base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and by the Central Intelligence Agency." ... "Some methods were used against a small number of prisoners at Guantánamo before 2005, when Congress banned the use of coercion by the military. The C.I.A. is still authorized by [Republican] President Bush to use a number of secret “alternative” interrogation methods." ... "Several Guantánamo documents, including the chart outlining coercive methods, were made public at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing June 17 that examined how such tactics came to be employed." ... "But committee investigators were not aware of the chart’s source in the half-century-old journal article, a connection pointed out to The New York Times by an independent expert on interrogation who spoke on condition of anonymity." ... "The 1957 article from which the chart was copied was entitled “Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions From Air Force Prisoners of War” and written by Alfred D. Biderman, a sociologist then working for the Air Force, who died in 2003. Mr. Biderman had interviewed American prisoners returning from North Korea, some of whom had been filmed by their Chinese interrogators confessing to germ warfare and other atrocities." ... "Those orchestrated confessions led to allegations that the American prisoners had been “brainwashed,” and provoked the military to revamp its training to give some military personnel a taste of the enemies’ harsh methods to inoculate them against quick capitulation if captured." ... "In 2002, the training program, known as SERE, for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape, became a source of interrogation methods both for the C.I.A. and the military. In what critics describe as a remarkable case of historical amnesia, officials who drew on the SERE program appear to have been unaware that it had been created as a result of concern about false confessions by American prisoners." ... "The only change made in the chart presented at Guantánamo was to drop its original title: “Communist Coercive Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance.”" (1, 2) -By Scott Shane

-NYTimes

PDF Documents via NYTimes:

"Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions From the Air Force Prisoners of War (pdf) [September 1957 article by A. D. Biderman, Bull, N.Y. Acad. Med, Vol. 33, No.9, pp 616-625. 10 pages. NB: p. 4 (619), Communist Coercive Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance]."

"Documents Released at Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on SERE Tactics (pdf)."

John McCain

Karl Rove

Rick Davis

Arizona

2004 Election

2008 Election

Media

"McCain camp puts Rove man in charge: New chief Steve Schmidt, right, a veteran of the [Republican President] Bush campaign, will focus on honing McCain's message. Republicans have complained the campaign lacked clear themes." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign has gone through its second shake-up in a year. Responding to Republican concern that his candidacy was faltering, McCain put a veteran of President Bush's 2004 campaign in charge of day-to-day operations, and stepped away from a plan to have the campaign run by 11 regional managers, McCain's aides said Wednesday." ... "The elevation of Steve Schmidt -- who worked closely with Karl Rove -- at McCain's headquarters represented a sharp diminishment of the responsibilities of Rick Davis, who has been McCain's campaign manager since the last shake-up nearly a year ago." ... "The move is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Rove's shop in the McCain operation. Nicolle Wallace, who was communications director for Bush in the 2004 campaign (and in his White House) has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, and will travel with McCain every other week. Greg Jenkins, another veteran of Rove's operation who is a former Fox News [TV] producer and director of presidential advance in the Bush White House, was hired by Schmidt last week after a series of what McCain's advisers acknowledged were poorly executed campaign events." (1, 2, 3)

-NYTimes -WashingtonPost via -StarTribune

20080701

Norm Coleman

Jeff Larson

Money

Politics

Investigators

House

Minnesota

2008 Election

"Ethics group files charge against Coleman over living arrangement." ... "[Minnesota Republican Senator Norm] Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, has been living in the basement of a Capitol Hill town house owned by campaign consultant Jeff Larson for the past year. He missed a couple of rent payments until the magazine National Journal brought them to his attention. Coleman also paid one month's rent by selling furniture to Larson." ... "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wants the Senate Ethics Committee to determine, among other things, whether the $600 monthly rent Coleman pays is fair market value and whether Coleman would have paid the missing rent checks had the magazine not flagged them." ... ""Few Americans have landlords who sometimes fail to cash their rent checks, ignore unpaid rent, or accept furniture in lieu of rent," said CREW's executive director, Melanie Sloan." ... ""That Sen. Coleman has just such a landlord, who also happens to financially benefit from his relationship with the senator, creates exactly the sort of appearance of impropriety that undermines the public's faith in government."" ... "Coleman faces a tough re-election challenge from [2008 Election Minnesota Senatorial Candidate] Democrat Al Franken."

-AP via -USATODAY

John McCain

Barack Obama

Military

Politics

History

Illinois

2008 Election

"McCain In 2003: ‘I Absolutely Don’t Believe’ Military Service Alone Qualifies Somebody For President." ... "This Sunday, on CBS’s Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer commented that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL [Democratic-Illinois]) may not have the experience to be president because he has not “ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.” After having already expressed his respect for McCain’s military record, [General] Gen. Wesley Clark responded by arguing that “getting shot down is [not] a qualification to be President.”" ... "Then, last night, on MSNBC’s Veridct with Dan Abrams, Clark again reiterated that “this is an issue about the qualifications to be President” and said, “I want to assure you I would never, never diss someone’s service.”" ... "[Watch Video of General Clark on McCain]" ... "Clark’s argument that military service is not sufficient alone to be president is an argument that has been made by McCain himself:"

"- During an interview with National Journal, John McCain was asked if “military service inherently makes somebody better equipped to be commander-in-chief.” McCain said, “Absolutely not…I absolutely don’t believe that it’s necessary.” [National Journal, 2/15/2003]"
"- I believe that military service is the most honorable endeavor an American may undertake. But I’ve never believed that lack of military service disqualifies one from occupying positions of political leadership or as Commander and Chief. In America, the people are sovereign, and they decide who is and is not qualified to lead us. [American Legion Speech, 9/7/1999]"
"- Earlier this year at Washington’s Gridiron Club, where humor is the required fare, McCain lay bare what underlies his candidacy. Wearing a jacket outlandishly festooned with dozens of fake military medals, McCain said, “The question I ask myself every morning while shaving in front of the mirror is: OK, John, you’re an incredible war hero, an inspiration to all Americans. But what qualifies you to be president of the United States?” [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11/7/1999]"

"In fact, in an interview on NPR on May 1, 2004, McCain noted that “some of our greatest presidents have not [had military experience]. … And all of them turned out to be fine commanders in chief.” Thus, by his own admission, McCain’s policies — not his military record — should determine if he is qualified to be president."

-ThinkProgress.org

John McCain

Poll - 2008 Election

"Americans Worry McCain Would Be Too Similar to Bush." ... "A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds about two in three Americans concerned that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain would pursue policies as president that are too similar to what [Republican President] George W. Bush has pursued. Nearly half -- 49% -- say they are "very concerned" about this." ... "McCain faces a challenge in trying to convince voters to allow him to follow an unpopular president of the same party. Democratic candidate Barack Obama has attempted to link McCain to Bush by saying that electing McCain would effectively lead to a "third Bush term." Although McCain remains competitive in head-to-head matchups with Obama, the poll suggests that McCain may have more work to do to distance himself from Bush." ... "It is clearly a delicate balancing act for McCain, as Bush remains relatively popular with the Republican base. While only 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing as president, a majority of Republicans (60%) still do. Bush's approval rating among current McCain supporters is slightly lower, at 55%." ... "Bush is deeply unpopular with Democrats (only 6% approve), and 9 in 10 Democrats say they are concerned that McCain's policies would be too similar to those of Bush. But among independents -- a group to which McCain has demonstrated appeal -- most are concerned about McCain-Bush similarities, including nearly half who are very concerned. Even one in five Republicans are very concerned about the similarities." -By Jeffrey M. Jones

-Gallup.com

20080630

John McCain

Barack Obama

2008 Election

Military

Media

Politics

"“Attacking” McCain’s Military Record: What [General] Wesley Clark really said; how the press missed it." ... "So: The latest round of mock outrage—in a presidential race that has turned the tactic into an art form—now comes in response to comments made by General Wesley Clark. Appearing as a surrogate for Barack Obama on CBS’s “Face the Nation”, Clark, in reference to John McCain, said:"

"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war…But he hasn’t held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded—that wasn’t a wartime squadron. He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall." ... "When moderator Bob Schieffer interjected that “Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences, either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down”, Clark responded: “Well, I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”"

"The McCain camp, sensing an opportunity, complained that Clark had “attacked John McCain’s military service record.” Of course, Clark had done nothing of the kind. He had questioned the relevance of McCain’s combat experience as a qualification to be president of the United States. This is a distinction that you’d expect any reasonably intelligent nine-year old to be able to grasp." ... "But many in the press have been unable to." -By Zachary Roth

-CJR.org

WATCH: General Wes Clark on John McCain on Face the Nation June 29, 2008

John McCain

Barack Obama

Military

2008 Election

World

Iraq

Afghanistan

Israel

Jordan

Germany

France

Britain

Ireland

"Former Nato commander questions value of McCain's military experience." ... "A top supporter of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama has questioned the value of Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain's military experience, suggesting it did not qualify him to be president." ... "Former Nato [NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization] commander Wesley Clark described Mr McCain as "untested and untried", lacking the executive experience needed to lead the country." ... ""He [McCain] has been a voice on the Senate armed services committee. And he has travelled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the navy that he commanded - that wasn't a wartime squadron," Mr Clark said. "I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."" ... "Mr Obama hopes to beef up his foreign-policy credentials with a visit to Iraq and Afghanistan later this year. His campaign announced at the weekend that the Democratic candidate would go to the Middle East and Europe next month. Mr Obama will visit Israel, Jordan, Germany, France and Britain, but does not apparently plan to stop in Ireland, where he has ancestral roots in Co Offaly [Ireland, Irish county in the Province of Leinster]." ... ""This trip will be an important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that are critical to American national security and to consult with some of our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we face," Mr Obama said." -By Denis Staunton

-IrishTimes.com

John McCain

Bud Day

2004 Election

Ads

Military

History

Vietnam

Arizona

Massachusetts

2008 Election

"McCain Uses Swift Boat Vet Bud Day To Rebut Wesley Clark." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's campaign on Monday launched the McCain "Truth Squad" - a group of political and Vietnam contemporaries who would counter attacks on the Senator's military record." ... "In hopes of nipping any criticism in the bud, the campaign brought on board a man quite familiar with how these types of attacks gain legs: Bud Day, a fellow POW who was part of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that worked so hard to defame [2004 Election Presidential Candidate and Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. John Kerry's own Vietnam record." ... "On the conference call, Day - in addition to the other participants - decried comments made by [General] Gen. Wesley Clark over the weekend, in which he questioned whether McCain's war experience really qualified him to be commander-in-chief. Defending McCain's service, Day was quick to personalize his remarks, attacking Clark's military record in the process." ... "That Day would politicize Vietnam in his defense of McCain is not surprising. During the 2004 campaign, he said of Kerry: "My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971." And after appearing in a national advertisement for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign, Day formed the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, an extension of the Swift Boat effort." ... "Not willing to let the irony go unnoticed, Kerry lashed out at McCain, on Monday, for using the same smear merchant he once decried." ... ""Colonel Day's comments today only further highlight the McCain campaign's disregard for a new kind of politics," said Kerry. "John McCain condemned these kinds of attacks in 2004 when he called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 'dishonest and dishonorable.' Senator McCain should condemn these remarks and cut ties with the Colonel and anyone else connected to SBVT. Day's comments only serve to disparage all those who served on swift boats in Vietnam."" -BySam Stein

-HuffingtonPost.com

John McCain

Bud Day

2004 Election

Ads

Military

2008 Election

"McCain Truth Squad defender was Swift Boat Vet member." ... "One of the members of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain’s new Truth Squad — which his campaign says was launched to respond to unfair attacks on his record of military service –- was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for the group in 2004." ... "The group was created to attack 2004 [Election Presidential] Democratic nominee John Kerry’s military service record." -By Rebecca Sinderbrand

-CNN

John McCain

Bud Day

Politics

2004 Election

Ads

Military

History

Vietnam

Belgium

Massachusetts

Texas

Missouri

2008 Election

"Price of Power: McCain accepts ex-Swift Boaters' donations." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain, who four years ago condemned independent ads challenging Democrat[ic Senator from Massachusetts and 2004 Election Presidential Candidate] John Kerry's military record, has accepted nearly $70,000 for his presidential campaign from the top donors of the group behind the attack ads and their relatives, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "In 2004, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later called SwiftVets and POWS for Truth) bankrolled ads charging that Kerry had lied about the incidents in Vietnam that led to his military decorations. The group included former members of the Navy who served in the same kind of river patrol boats as Kerry. McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, called the group's advertising "dishonest and dishonorable."" ... "Bob Perry, a Texas builder who gave nearly $4.5 million to Swift Boat Vets, and his wife, Doylene, each have given $4,400 to McCain's presidential campaign, some of which went to an account for legal and accounting expenses, records show." ... "Other donors include Sam Fox, a St. Louis [Missouri] businessman who was named [United States] U.S. ambassador to Belgium last year by President Bush." ... "On Monday, Kerry and national Democratic Party officials sharply criticized McCain for including retired Air Force colonel Bud Day in a conference call with reporters to defend McCain's military service. Day had appeared in Swift Boat ads." -By Fredreka Schouten

-USATODAY

John McCain

Bud Day

Politics

2008 Election

2004 Election

Military

History

"McCain’s new Truth Squad has former member of Swift Boat Veterans." ... "Following the lead of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama’s campaign, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain is establishing his own Truth Squad – an effort to “respond to unfair attacks” on him military record. One of the members of McCain’s new Truth Squad — Bud Day — was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for the group in 2004. Day said of [2004 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Kerry’s military service: “My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971.”"

-ThinkProgress.org

John McCain

Tom Loeffler

Susan E Nelson

Gordon England

EADS

European

Military

Aircraft

Manufacturing

Politics

Government

Auditors

2008 Election

"McCain’s Boeing Battle Boomerangs." ... "Government auditors ruled that the Air Force made "significant errors" when it rebid the [aerial refueling tanker] contract and awarded the $35 billion project to Boeing's chief rival, partners European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. [Company] (or EADS) and Northrop Grumman. It's likely the Air Force will have to redo the bid yet again, which analysts say will delay the replacement of the fleet's 1950s-era refueling tankers. The auditors' ruling has also cast light on an overlooked aspect of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's crusade: five of his campaign's top advisers and fund-raisers—including Tom Loeffler, who resigned last month as his finance co-chairman, and Susan Nelson, his finance director—were registered lobbyists for EADS." ... "Critics, including some at the Pentagon, cite in particular two tough letters McCain wrote to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England in 2006 and another to Robert Gates, just prior to his confirmation as Defense secretary. In the first letter, dated [September] Sept. 8, 2006, McCain wrote of hearing from "third parties" that the Air Force was about to redo the tanker competition by factoring in European government subsidies to EADS—a condition that could have seriously hurt the EADS bid. McCain urged that the Pentagon drop the subsidy factor and posed a series of technical questions about the Air Force's process. "He was trying to jam us and bully us to make sure there was competition by giving EADS an advantage," said one senior Pentagon official, who asked for anonymity when discussing a politically sensitive matter. The assumption within the Pentagon, the official added, was that McCain's letters were drafted by EADS lobbyists. "There was no one else that would have had that level of detail," the official said." -By Michael Isikoff

-Newsweek

20080628

Norm Coleman

Jeff Larson

Karl Rove

Cheney

Money

Politicians

Saint Paul

Minnesota

2008 Election

Lawmaker

Apartment

Tele

Marketing

"Friendly Dealings." ... "Along the road to the top of the political heap in Minnesota, [Republican Senator Norm] Coleman had plenty of help. But in the last dozen years, few if any supporters have played a more important role than a little-known Republican operative named Jeff Larson. Larson works in St. Paul [Minnesota's capital] but has gold-plated GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] connections in Washington and across the country. Or, as Coleman puts it: "He's the most connected person in D.C. that nobody in Minnesota knows."" ... "Their relationship--the ambitious, energetic, can-do lawmaker and the low-key, behind-the-scenes strategist--has proved to be mutually beneficial. Larson's political telemarketing business appears to have profited handsomely from the relationship, and Coleman has turned to his close friend in times of need, including in his tough battle to win a second Senate term in November [2008 Election]." ... "Most curiously, Larson provides Coleman with a place to live in Washington. In July 2007, Coleman began paying Larson $600 a month in rent for a portion of a one-bedroom basement apartment in a Capitol Hill town house that Larson owns. The way Coleman explained the arrangement, the apartment serves as a crash pad." ... "Earlier this month, after National Journal questioned Coleman and Larson about the living arrangement, the senator said he discovered that his rent for last November and January had not been paid. In mid-June, Coleman covered the back rent with a personal check for $1,200 made out to Larson and signed by the senator's wife. Last year, Coleman sold furniture to Larson to cover one month's rent, according to Larson. And Larson held on to yet another month's rent check for three months, cashing it a few days after NJ's inquiries." ... "Larson's St. Paul-based company, FLS Connect [partners: Feather, Larson, and Synhorst], is a critical component of Coleman's political operation. The firm, which has raised money and hustled up voters for Coleman, has been paid about $1.6 million since mid-2001 by Coleman's Northstar Leadership political action committee and two Senate campaigns, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Larson serves as the PAC's treasurer and provides it with office space in St. Paul; Coleman's Senate campaign stopped renting space from Larson last year." ... "Coleman has yet another Larson connection. He has employed Larson's wife, Dorene, for more than two years as a "casework supervisor" in the senator's St. Paul office. She is listed on his Senate payroll under her maiden name [Dorene Kainz]. After NJ questioned Coleman about the arrangement, his staff said that she would be leaving her constituent-services job on July 10." ... "Larson and his longtime partner, Tony Feather, are close to the [Republican President] Bush White House. Republican operatives said that Feather is especially close to Karl Rove, the former senior White House adviser who masterminded both of George W. Bush's presidential campaigns. In the 2003-04 presidential election cycle, the Bush-Cheney campaign paid FLS Connect, then known by other names, nearly $7.6 million, FEC records show." ... "But that's virtually chump change compared with what the Republican National Committee has doled out to FLS Connect since 2003--some $29.5 million, according to an analysis of federal campaign reports by the Center for Responsive Politics. And those numbers don't include money funneled to FLS Connect by at least 20 state GOP parties and House and Senate candidates." ... "In the end, Coleman's ties to Larson could prove politically damaging. Democrats, trying to unseat Coleman in his bid for a second term, have already publicly attacked him for his association with Larson's FLS Connect and another firm, DCI Group, a powerhouse Washington lobbying outfit." -By Edward T. Pound

-NationalJournal

20080627

David Vitter

Larry Craig

Sam Brownback

James Inhofe

Gay

Family

Law

Politics

Idaho

Kansas

Oklahoma

"The Federal Marriage Amendment is back — with Vitter’s and Craig’s support." ... "Republicans are looking at the political landscape, and they’re feeling awfully discouraged. The polls look bad, the base looks depressed, and fundraising looks iffy. Rallying the far-right troops with an anti-gay amendment to the Constitution — even though it has no chance at even getting so much as a hearing — might be helpful to the conservative movement." ... "But the funny part is looking over the list of the 10 original sponsors. Most of the names are predictable — [Kansas Republican Senator Sam] Brownback and [Oklahoma Republican Senator James] Inhofe, for example — but there are two others whose names stand out: [Republican Senators] Sens. David Vitter (R-La. [Republican-Louisiana]) and Larry Craig (R-Idaho [Republican])." ... "Yes, two of the principal sponsors of a constitutional amendment to “protect” marriage include one far-right Republican who hired prostitutes and another far-right Republican who was arrested for soliciting gay sex an airport men’s room." ... "As my friend Kyle put it, these two are “not exactly the poster boys of the family values crowd or particularly upstanding examples of the supposed sanctity of the ‘union of a man and a woman.”‘" -By Steve Benen -

TheCarpetbaggerReport.com

Grover Norquist

Jack Abramoff

John McCain

Racial

Politics

History

Military

People

Economic

Illinois

2008 Election

Obama

"Norquist describes Obama as ‘John Kerry with a tan’." ... "Grover Norquist has quite a history of being unhinged. He’s said the Estate Tax is morally equivalent to the Nazi Holocaust; he’s called WWII veterans “anti-American,” and he’s called bipartisanship “another name for date rape.”" ... "But this clown isn’t done pushing the envelope."

"Norquist dropped by The [Los Angeles] Times’ Washington bureau today and, as part of his negative critique of Obama’s liberal stances on economic issues and other matters, he termed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “John Kerry with a tan.”" ... "Since Norquist isn’t running for anything, he can get away with such remarks; we doubt McCain will be incorporating the line into his speeches anytime soon."

"Greg Sargent responded, “Guess it could have been worse. He could have termed the Illinois Senator ‘John Kerry in blackface.’ Such admirable restraint on Norquist’s part!" ... "Now, the LAT’s Don Frederick noted that Norquist can “get away with such remarks,” presumably because he’s not a candidate and everyone expects lunacy from him anyway. He’ll “get away with” this, just as Norquist got away with the other instances of insane rhetoric, not to mention his role in the Abramoff scandal, which somehow seems to have been largely forgotten." ... "But I’m going to go ahead and argue that this probably should matter in the context of the presidential campaign, not just because Norquist is using offensive racial language, but also because he’s suddenly best buddies with [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain." -Steve Benen

-TheCarpetbaggerReport.com

20080625

Faith

Politics

Justice

Obama

2008 Election

"James Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me." ... "Dr. James Dobson recently attacked [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama for a 2006 speech that Obama gave on his Christian faith. Does he speak for you?" ... "James Dobson doesn't speak for me. He doesn't speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide; He doesn't speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible; James Dobson doesn't speak for me when he uses the beliefs of others as a line of attack; He doesn't speak for me when he denigrates his neighbor's views when they don't line up with his; He doesn't speak for me when he seeks to confine the values of my faith to two or three issues alone; What does speak for me is David's psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity; Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him; The prophet Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of the vulnerable; The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our communities; The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those that curse you and pray for those who persecute you; The words of the apostle Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love amount to nothing. The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus' command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that love." ... "READBarack Obama "Call to Renewal" Speech. [Barack Obama on Faith and Politics: WATCH: Barack Obama "Call To Renewal" (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) ... Barack Obama: "10 Questions: Religion in America."]" -By Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell et al

-JamesDobsonDoesntSpeakForMe.com

"Call to Renewal"

by Barack Obama

McCain

Bin Laden

Chris Shays

Charlie Black

Terrorism

Politics

History

2004 Election

2008 Election

Connecticut

Pakistan

"McCain In 2004: "Bin Laden May Have Just Given Us A Little Boost"." ... "Back in 2004['s election], as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain was stumping in Connecticut on behalf of GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican Connecticut Representative] Rep. Chris Shays, McCain said flatly that the recent release of an Osama Bin Laden tape had likely given the GOP a "little boost."" ... "This is courtesy of The Hour, a daily paper in Norwalk, Connecticut, in November of that year [2004] (also verified in Nexis)..."

"But as McCain greets two breakfast-eating business partners, one from Stamford [Connecticut] and the other from Bridgeport [Connecticut], the topic turns to the presidential race. The two men tell the senator they support [Republican] President George W. Bush, and to that end, McCain says, "(Osama) Bin Laden may have just given us a little boost. Amazing, huh?".... " ... "The two men, who requested anonymity, nod their heads in agreement. Later, while riding with Shays on an RV to a rally at the Stamford Government Center, McCain further explains, "(The video) is helpful to President Bush because it puts the focus on the war on terrorism.""

"The reference was to a tape of Bin Laden that had emerged a few days earlier. The McCain camp didn't immediately return an email." ... "[McCain's top adviser Charlie] Black also said that the assassination of [Pakistan's Presidential Candidate] Benazir Bhutto had also helped McCain, something the McCain camp also disavowed. But back in December [2007], when the assassination happened, he [McCain] said it could "serve to enhance" his "credentials."" -By Greg Sargent

-TPMElectionCentral .TalkingPointsMemo

20080624

McCain

Charles R Black Jr

Foreign

Money

Politics

Human Rights

2008 Election

Arizona

Pakistan

Angola

Philippines

Zaire now: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nigeria

Somalia

Kenya

"Terror Strike Would Help McCain, Top Adviser Says." ... "A top adviser to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain said that a terrorist attack in the United States would be a political benefit to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a comment that was immediately disputed by the candidate and denounced by his Democratic rival." ... "Charles R. Black Jr., one of McCain's most senior political advisers, said in an interview with Fortune magazine that a fresh terrorist attack "certainly would be a big advantage to him." He also said that the December assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, while "unfortunate," helped McCain win the Republican primary by focusing attention on national security." ... "The comment reinjected the fear of terrorism into the campaign as both candidates had been shifting their conversation to the economy and $4-per-gallon gasoline." ... "The comments also returned the political spotlight to McCain's advisers and, in particular, to Black, who has drawn criticism for his long lobbying career and his representation of controversial foreign governments. McCain has been criticized for surrounding himself with top advisers who were lobbyists." ... "Black and his lobbying partners were at times registered foreign agents for a collection of U.S.-backed foreign leaders whose human rights records were sometimes harshly criticized, even as American conservatives embraced their opposition to communism. They included Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Nigerian [General] Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre, and the countries of Kenya and Equatorial Guinea, among others." (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear with contributions by Karl Vick and Alice Crites

-WashingtonPost

Tom Ridge

John McCain

Money

Politics

Albania

Pennsylvania

2008 Election

"Ridge lobbies for Albania, but doesn't report it." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge registered with the Department of Justice as a lobbyist for the government of Albania nearly two years after winning an almost half-million dollar lobbying contract, Roll Call reports this morning." ... ""I didn't think it was [necessary] to register," the Capitol Hill newspaper quotes the former [Republican] Pennsylvania governor and national co-chair of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential campaign as saying." -By Brett Lieberman

-PennLive.com

20080623

Abortion

Money

Medical

Law

2008 Election

Portland

Oregon

Woman

"Oregon City woman details abortion, relationship with Mike Erickson: Now a "pro-life" congressional candidate, he gave her $300 and took her to the clinic in Northeast Portland, Tawnya says." ... "An Oregon City [Oregon] woman who dated [Republican] congressional candidate Mike Erickson seven years ago said she asked him directly whether he wanted to have a baby. He shook his head no, she said, and paid for her abortion." ... "In interviews with The Oregonian, the woman said she met Erickson in September 2000, and she had the abortion in January 2001. They saw each other afterward, she said, even going on a trip to Mexico in March, before the relationship ended. She spoke on the condition that only her first name, Tawnya, be used." ... "Her story is backed up by medical and other records, and the accounts of two friends, one of whom was with her at the abortion. Their story conflicts directly with Erickson's version." ... "He agrees that he gave Tawnya $300 for medical help, and a ride to a doctor's office near Lloyd Center [in Portland, Oregon], but said he didn't know she was pregnant or planned to get an abortion. He said he doesn't think he saw her again after that day." ... "Erickson, a Lake Oswego [Oregon] businessman, is the Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District and is running on a "pro-life" platform. The charge that he provided money to Tawnya nearly derailed his campaign for the May 20 primary and could hobble his chances in the [2008 Election November] Nov. 4 general election against state [Oregon Democratic Senator] Sen. Kurt Schrader, D[Democratic]-Canby [Oregon]." ... "Erickson has campaigned on a strict anti-abortion platform that favors abstinence education and adoption over abortion." (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) -By Janie Har and Steve Mayes

-Oregonian

Media

Radio

Communications

Corporations

Government

Politics

"July 18 Deadline for Cross-Ownership Move Requests: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Gives Broadcasters, Media Activists Until July 18 to File Requests for Moving Appeal of FCC Decision." ... "The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals gave broadcasters and media activists until July 18 to file their requests for moving the appeal of the Federal Communications Commission's decision to loosen the ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership." ... "That's according to one of the parties involved." -By John Eggerton

-BroadcastingCable.com

John McCain

Political

Media

Television

Censorship

2008 Election

"FOX Erases McCain Saying He "Really Didn't Love America"." ... "On March 13, 2008, FOX's Sean Hannity interviewed [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain for the full hour. The interview started with questions about McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. At one point, this was said: HANNITY: You spent two years of this five-and-a-half-year period in solitary confinement. What does that do to a person, to spend that much time in solitary confinement? MCCAIN: I think it makes you a better person. Obviously, it makes you love America. I really didn't love America until I was deprived of her company." ... "Get that? McCain "really didn't love America" until he was a POW." ... "Jedreport.com discovered that the transcript of the McCain/Hannity interview on FoxNews.com had no mention of McCain saying he "really didn't love America" until he was a POW. I checked and sure enough, it wasn't there. So I started watching the video of the interview of FoxNews.com — it wasn't there either." ... "FOX has completely erased the first segment to hide McCain's statement that he "really didn't love America"." ... "They [Rupert Murdoch's Fox News television stations] are the republican propaganda machine." ... "PS This isn't even the first time McCain has said he "didn't really love America" until he was a POW. He's been saying it for years." -YouTube user Jsjkim

WATCH "FOX Erases McCain Saying He "Really Didn't Love America""

McCain

Charlie Black

Terrorism

2008 Election

Ariz

Pakistan

"McCain Adviser: Terrorist Attack Would Help McCain in Election." ... "McCain adviser Charlie Black told Fortune Magazine that national security events help [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona.]" ... ""The assassination of [Pakistani Presidential Candidate] Benazir Bhutto in December was an 'unfortunate event,' says Black. 'But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us.' As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. 'Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,' says Black."" -By Jake Tapper

-ABCNEWS.com

20080622

Iraq

Afghanistan

Military

Terrorism

Media

Politics

McCain

2008 Election

"Now That We’ve ‘Won,’ Let’s Come Home." ... "The Iraq war’s defenders like to bash the press for pushing the bad news and ignoring the good. Maybe they’ll be happy to hear that the bad news doesn’t rate anymore. When a bomb killed at least 51 Iraqis at a Baghdad market on Tuesday, ending an extended run of relative calm, only one of the three network newscasts (NBC’s) even bothered to mention it." ... "The only problem is that no news from Iraq isn’t good news — it’s no news. The night of the Baghdad bombing the CBS war correspondent Lara Logan appeared as Jon Stewart’s guest on “The Daily Show” to lament the vanishing television coverage and the even steeper falloff in viewer interest. “Tell me the last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier,” she said. After pointing out that more soldiers died in Afghanistan than Iraq last month, she asked, “Who’s paying attention to that?”" ... "Should voters tune in, they’ll also discover that the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain policy is nonsensical on its face. If “we are winning” and the surge is a “success,” then what is the rationale for keeping American forces bogged down there while the Taliban regroups ominously in Afghanistan? Why, if this is victory, does Mr. McCain keep threatening that “chaos and genocide” will follow our departure? And why should we take the word of a prophet who failed to anticipate the chaos and ethnic cleansing that would greet our occupation?" ... "Vanished into the memory hole are such earlier examples of the McCain Iraq wisdom as “the end is very much in sight” (April 9, 2003) and “there’s not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shiites” (later that same month)." -By Frank Rich

-NYTimes

Note: there is a very long history of violent clashes between the Sunnis and Shiites.

20080621

Barack Obama

Illinois

Politics

2008 Election

"Obama Making Christian Push." ... "With the Democratic presidential nomination in his grasp, [2008 Eleciton Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama is making a full-throttle push for centrist evangelicals and Catholics." ... ""I've never seen anything quite like it before," said evangelical author Stephen Mansfield, who wrote "The Faith of George W. Bush" and has a forthcoming book about Obama." ... ""To be running against a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and to be reaching into the Christian community as wisely and knowledgeably as (Obama) is -- understanding their terms and their values -- is just remarkable."" ... "This month, the Illinois senator held a closed-door meeting in Chicago [Illinois] with almost 40 Christian leaders, including evangelical heavyweights such as the [Reverend] Rev. Franklin Graham, publishing magnate Steve Strang and megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes." ... "Obama's campaign is also launching a grass-roots effort, tentatively called Joshua Generation, with plans to hold concerts and house meetings targeted at young evangelicals and Catholics." ... "A political action committee set to launch this month, the Matthew 25 Network, plans to direct radio advertising and mailers to Christian communities while talking up Obama in the media. The group is not officially tied to the Obama campaign." ... "Obama's emphasis on faith outreach plays to his strengths, campaign observers say. The senator is at ease speaking about religion and preaches a message of forging common ground with disparate communities. " (1, 2) -By Daniel Burke

-WashingtonPost

China

Hackers

GOV

Lawmakers

Human Rights

Politics

Military

Intelligence

Investigation

Ill

"More congressional computers hacked from China." ... "More Members of Congress have had their computers infiltrated by hackers within China than initially suspected, a lawmaker has revealed." ... "[Representatives] Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia), Chris Smith (R-N.J. [Republican-New Jersey), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) admitted to having data removed from their Capitol Hill computers last week, but Wolf says there are more." ... "“I would suspect that the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence, (and) Appropriations committees would all be top targets,” Kirk said." ... "Wolf and Smith said they believe the hackers focused on them because of their continued objections to China’s human rights violations, and suspected that the hackers were looking for information on dissidents." ... "The FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] asked the lawmakers not to speak publicly, fearing that if they did, they would be unable to track the IP addresses of the hackers, Kirk said." ... "“When you’re in the middle of a criminal investigation, you try not to alert the criminal of what’s happened so you can track it down,” he said." -By Jordy Yager

-TheHill.com

20080620

John McCain

Criminal

Financing

Lawyering

Politics

Federal

2008 Election

"McCain Breaking the Law in Plain Sight." ... "I mentioned earlier today that it was quite a thing to see John McCain denouncing Barack Obama for breaking his word on public financing when McCain himself is at this moment breaking the law in continuing to spend over the spending limits he promised to abide by through the primary season in exchange for public financing. (By the FEC's [Federal Election Commission's] rules, we're still in the primary phase of the election and will be until the conventions.)" ... "I want to return to this subject though because this is not hyperbole or some throw away line. He's really doing it. McCain opting into public financing, accepted the spending limits and then profited from that opt-in by securing a campaign saving loan. And then he used some clever, but not clever enough lawyering, to opt back out. And the person charged with saying what flies and what doesn't -- the Republican head of the FEC -- said he's not allowed to do that. He can't opt out unilaterally unless the FEC says he can." ... "The most generous interpretation of what happened is that McCain's lawyer came up with an ingenious legal two step that allowed him to double dip in the campaign finance system, eat his cake and spend it too. But even if you buy that line, successful gaming of the system doesn't really count as strict adherence. And the point is irrelevant since the head of the FEC -- a Republican -- says McCain cannot do this on his own. " -By Josh Marshall

-TalkingPointsMemo.com

WATCH: "TPMtv: [McCain] Campaign Finance Deformed"

By Josh Marshall -Veracifier

20080619

Military

Tech

Safety

Investigation

Government

Accounting

Politics

Taiwan

"US N-weapons parts missing, Pentagon says." ... "The US military cannot locate hundreds of sensitive nuclear missile components, according to several government officials familiar with a Pentagon report on nuclear safeguards." ... "Robert Gates, US [Republican President Bush's] defence secretary, recently fired both the US Air Force chief of staff and air force secretary after an investigation blamed the air force for the inadvertent shipment of nuclear missile nose cones to Taiwan." ... "According to previously undisclosed details obtained by the FT, the investigation also concluded that the air force could not account for many sensitive components previously included in its nuclear inventory." ... "One official said the number of missing components was more than 1,000." ... "The disclosure is the latest embarrassing episode for the air force, which last year had to explain how a bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear missiles across the US." -By Demetri Sevastopulo

s -FT.com

John McCain

Barack Obama

Iowa

Flood

Disaster

Law

Enforcement

2008 Election

"Culver aides: McCain ignored request to cancel Iowa visit." ... "An aide to [Iowa Democratic Governor] Gov. Chet Culver said Thursday that [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain ignored the governor's request to cancel a campaign visit amid a massive flood recovery effort in the state." ... "Patrick Dillon, Culver's chief of staff, said the governor was concerned that McCain's trip would divert local law enforcement from the flood recovery effort to provide security for McCain." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama canceled a scheduled visit to eastern Iowa last week at the request of state officials." -By Mike Glover

-AP via -Google

20080618

War Crimes

Criminal

Politicians

Iraq

Afghanistan

Guantanamo Bay

Cuba

Military

Intelligence

Prison

Torture

Human

Human Rights

Law

Medical

Psychological

Science

"General who probed Abu Ghraib says [Republican President] Bush officials committed war crimes." ... "The Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison accused the [Republican President] Bush administration Wednesday of committing "war crimes" and called for those responsible to be held to account." ... "The remarks by [Major General] Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who's now retired, came in a new report that found that [United States] U.S. personnel tortured and abused detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, using beatings, electrical shocks, sexual humiliation and other cruel practices." ... ""After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes," Taguba wrote. "The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."" ... "Taguba, whose 2004 investigation documented chilling abuses at Abu Ghraib, is thought to be the most senior official to have accused the administration of war crimes. "The commander in chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture," he wrote." ... "The group Physicians for Human Rights, which compiled the new report, described it as the most in-depth medical and psychological examination of former detainees to date." ... "Also this week, a probe by the Senate Armed Services Committee revealed how senior Pentagon officials pushed for harsher interrogation methods over the objections of top military lawyers. Those methods later surfaced in Afghanistan and Iraq." -By Warren P. Strobel

-McClatchyDC.com

Special Report

Noteworthy

Guantanamo Bay

Cuba

Military

Intelligence

Torture

War Crimes

Prison

Investigation

Legal

Rights

Religious

Terrorism

School

Politics

"Guantanamo Bay detainees investigation." ... "An eight-month McClatchy investigation of the detention system created after the [September] Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has found that the [United States] U.S. imprisoned innocent men, subjected them to abuse, stripped them of their legal rights and allowed Islamic militants to turn the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into a school for jihad."

"We got the wrong guys."
"'I guess you can call it torture'."
"A school for Jihad."
"'Due process is legal mumbo-jumbo'."
"'You are the king of this prison'."
+"Archive of investigation documents."

-McClatchyDC.com

Torture

Crimes

Unlawful

Iraq

Afghanistan

Guantanamo Bay

Cuba

Military

Intelligence

Prison

Terrorism

War Crimes

Politics

Human

Rights

Medical

Psychological

Science

"Broken Laws, Broken Lives: Medical Evidence of Torture by the US." ... "About: Broken Laws, Broken Lives shows the human consequences of harsh and unlawful US interrogation practices. This landmark report reveals the excruciating pain and continued suffering of men who, never charged with any crime, endured torture at US detention facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay [Cuba]. Based on internationally accepted standards for clinical assessment of torture claims, the report documents practices used to bring about long-lasting pain, terror, humiliation, and shame for months on end." -Physicians for Human Rights

-BrokenLives.info

20080617

Obama

2008 Election

Internet

Media

Cable Networks

Politics

Religion

Women

"Jon Stewart Mocks Media For Peddling Insane Obama Rumors." ... "On Monday night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart mocked the media's willingness to peddle insane rumors about [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama — and their tendency to blame the rumor-mongering on internet sites. Calling it "Baracknophobia," Stewart showed clips of anchor and pundits from all three cable networks repeating baseless rumors (Muslim, plagiarist, sexist, etc.) about Barack Obama (and his wife Michelle)."

-HuffingtonPost.com

WATCH!-) Jon Stewart on "Baracknophobia" ... "The irrational fear of hope."

20080616

Kevin Jeffrey Martin

Corporate

Government

Politics

Satellite

Spectrum

History

Communications

Media

Minorities

Women

Lawmakers

"Radio Merger Under Fire From Black Lawmakers: Caucus, FCC [Federal Communications Commission] Chair Differ On Setting Aside XM, Sirius Channels for Minorities." ... "Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday criticized a compromise plan for the proposed merger of the XM and Sirius satellite radio companies, saying the deal does not provide enough opportunities for minority-owned programming." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin said over the weekend that he would support the merger after XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio voluntarily agreed, among a series of other concessions, to lease 4 percent of their radio spectrums, or 12 channels, for programming run by minorities and women." ... "Members of the black caucus on Capitol Hill have been arguing for the merged company to lease five times that amount of spectrum to companies owned by racial minorities." ... "[Maryland Democratic Representative Elijah E. Cummings:] "It's shocking to the conscience in this day and age, where the minority populations comprise a significant part of the satellite radio audience, that Mr. Martin would settle for what I deem to be crumbs that have fallen off the table," Cummings said." ... "If the merger is approved, it would be a major reversal of FCC rules. The agency distributed licenses to XM and Sirius in 1997 on the condition the two companies never combine." -By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum

-WashingtonPost

20080615

John McCain

Clayton Williams

Women

Politics

Texas

Ariz

2008 Election

"McCain Texas Fundraiser Back On, Sans Oilman." ... "[2008 Elecition Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz [Republican-Arizona]) has decided to hold a fundraiser initially sponsored by a controversial Texas oilman later in the summer at a different venue, according to an aide who asked not to be identified." ... "McCain had planned to hold a joint fundraiser with the Republican National Committee on Monday at the Midland, Tex., home of Clayton Williams, who ran for governor of his state in 1990. But after reporters from The Washington Post and ABC inquired Friday about a remark Williams made comparing rape to bad weather -- "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it" -- the campaign cancelled the fundraiser. Williams has apologized for the remarks" -By Juliet Eilperin

-WashingtonPost

John McCain

Clayton Williams

Money

Politics

Texas

2008 Election

"McCain Cancels Event Over Texan's 1990 Rape Joke: Clayton Williams Made Comments While Running Against [then Texas Democratic Candidate for Governor] Ann Richards." ... "Questions from the media prompted Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain to cancel a fundraiser at the home of a Texas oilman who once joked that women should give in while being raped." ... "The Texan, Republican Clayton "Claytie" Williams, made the joke during his failed 1990 campaign for governor against Democrat Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." He also compared Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt."" ... "Williams told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for McCain."

-AP via -cbs2chicago.com

20080614

John McCain

Clayton Williams

Money

Politics

Texas

History

2008 Election

"McCain fundraiser's joke about rape resurfaces: GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidate postpones event in Midland [Texas] after questions emerge." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's campaign late Friday said it had pulled the plug on a fundraising event scheduled for Monday at Williams' Midland home after reporters contacted the campaign asking about remarks made by the Texas Republican during his 1990 race against Democrat Ann Richards." ... "But Saturday afternoon, the McCain campaign told the Houston Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed until this summer and would be held in a public venue." ... "Late Saturday afternoon, a McCain aide confirmed to the Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed but had not been taken off the calendar. The compromise allowed McCain to say he had not held a fundraiser at Williams' house; it gave Williams an opportunity to say that the event he organized had not been canceled." ... ""Clayton Williams' totally inappropriate remarks about women are well-known," [daughter of Ann Richards, Cecile] Richards told the Chronicle. "Planning to host a fundraiser at his house is just another example of how out of touch John McCain is when it comes to women's issues. This is a major misstep for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By Richard S. Dunham with contributions by Alan Bernstein and Bennett Roth

-Chron

20080613

Gordon Smith

Oil

Money

Auto

Makers

Oregon

Television

2008 Election

"Political ads try to tie Smith to gas prices." ... "An independent Democratic group launched two television ads today that try to tie [Oregon] Republican Senator Gordon Smith to skyrocketing gasoline prices." ... "Both contend that Smith has accepted huge contributions from oil companies and automakers, and that he had voted against higher fuel mileage standards while supporting tax breaks for oil companies."

-AP via KTVZ

WATCH Ad on Gordon Smith oil corporation "Billions"

WATCH Ad on Gordon Smith gasoline "Dollars"

John McCain

Clayton Williams

Money

Politics

Family

Abortion

Law

Texas

2008 Election

"McCain Cancels Fundraiser with Oilman Who Joked About Rape." ... "Clayton Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against the late Texas [Governor] Gov. Ann Richards (D [Democratic]), sparked controversy nearly two decades ago when he joked women should give in while being raped. "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it," the oilman remarked at the time." ... "The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which has sharply criticized [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain for his opposition to abortion rights and other family planning programs, first contacted the Post about Williams' remarks. The group's president, Cecile Richards, is the daughter of the late Texas governor." ... ""It's shocking that John McCain would choose to fundraise with Clayton Williams, who made his political career saying completely inappropriate and disrespectful remarks about women," Richards wrote in an e-mail. "This is a real misstep for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By Juliet Eilperin

-WashingtonPost

John McCain's contributor Clayton Williams "in His Own Words".

John McCain

Barack Obama

Economists

Accounting

2008 Election

"Will the real tax-and-spender please 'fess up? Economists across political spectrum question [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's portrayal of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama." ... "In a study of the candidates’ plans made public Wednesday, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center concluded that in contrast to Mr. McCain, “Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers.”" ... "The study said, “The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution,” whereas “Senator McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes.”" ... "Other groups that focus on tax and economic policy are preparing similar analyses, but say they regard the Tax Policy Center’s assessment as highly reliable, based on its work in the past." ... "According to the group’s computations, under Mr. Obama’s plan, the middle of the middle class, or those earning $37,595 to $66,354, would see taxes cut by $1,042 a year. Under Mr. McCain’s plan, taxes for people in that category would also fall, but by $319; the largest chunk of the benefits would go to those making $2.8 million a year or more." -By Larry Rohter

-NYTimes via -MSNBC

Tim Russert

Barack Obama

John McCain

Internet

EMail

Media

Politics

Religion

Indiana

Illinois

Iraq

Iran

Military

Money

Social Security

2008 Election

[NOTE: On the day MSNBC's Meet the Press television political journalist Tim Russert died, MSNBC published this interview with Tim Russert:]

"Vigilance needed on campaign claims: Big issues, not smears, need to be the focus." ... "Msnbc: Tim, www.fightthesmears.com is a web site launched by the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama campaign to combat potentially damaging rumor about the candidate and his wife, Michelle. Is this necessary? How big of a problem is this really?" ... "Tim Russert: It’s amazing how much the Internet has changed our lives. People get emails that make accusations without foundation and they are circulated around the country within seconds and suddenly become topics of conversations around water coolers or in lunchrooms." ... "I remember being in Indianapolis [Indiana's capital] covering the Indiana primary and a man came up to me and said he wasn’t going to vote for [Illinois] Senator Obama because he was very concerned about the comments made by Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor. I said, “That’s interesting. As a reporter, I’m curious what comments particularly bothered you?” He said, “Well, I can’t think of any that come to mind, but I also read on the Internet that he’s a Muslim.” And I said, “Now wait a minute. You can’t have both. You can’t be offended by his Christian minister and then say he’s a Muslim. You’ve got to pick one.”" ... "But that just underscores what we’re dealing with in this modern era." ... "Now I’m told there’s a counter organization with a very similar name that is going to be positioned and posted to spread the rumors, so that people that go to the Internet to get clarification will go to the wrong web site and get confused." ... "It’s a virus. You have bloggers on both sides, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats all trying to utilize this vehicle without any kind of fact checking and without any kind of editorial control." ... "Msnbc: Given the way people use the Internet, do you wonder if there are going to be some things said or done during the course of this campaign that will be very unsettling?" ... "Russert: That’s what we have to be conscious of and vigilant against, particularly at the end of the campaign as things are put out there. We’ve already had a few fake videos with different words dubbed in and people say, “This must be true because I saw it on the Internet.”" ... "What we hope to do in this campaign is recognize there are big differences on big issues between John McCain and Barack Obama – the war in Iraq, Iran, Social Security, taxes. You don’t need to get into this other stuff. If it does surface, then I think the mainstream media has an obligation not to just instinctively put it out there without vetting it. Or, if it is something that is manufactured as a virus, report on that – who did it and why. But sometimes it’s very hard to trace it back to its original source."

-MSNBC

John McCain

Rick Davis

Foreign

Money

Politician

Law

Ukraine

Russia

2008 Election

"Alleged Russia Ties Entangle McCain Campaign Manager." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential campaign is blasting a New York Times report suggesting that the candidate may have known since 2005 that his campaign manager's [lobbying] firm worked for a Kremlin[citadel in Moscow, Russia's capital]-backed politician." ... "The McCain campaign is strongly denying the paper's reporting that in 2005, a White House National Security Council staffer called John McCain's Senate office to complain that Rick Davis' lobbying firm was "undercutting American policy on Ukraine" by representing a Kremlin-backed politician [Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovich]." ... "If the account of the NSC [National Security Council] staffer's call is true, it suggests McCain should have known about the work by Davis' business -- but installed him as campaign manager anyway." ... "The story also raises the possibility that Davis' firm may have violated the anti-espionage Foreign Agents Registration Act, by failing to register work for Yanukovich with the [United States] U.S. government." -By Justin Rood

-ABCNEWS.com

J Robert Flores

Crime

Political

Juvenile

Justice

Science

Sports

New Jersey

Texas

"Football Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant: Despite Not Even Applying, the Charity Was Awarded a Grant; Some [Department Of Justice] DOJ Staffers Objected." ... "A group that promotes leadership through football says it doesn't know how it was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help stop juvenile crime, but that it "wasn't political."" ... "The grant is one of a number for the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) that has come under scrutiny after current and former employees said the official who awarded the money ignored professional staff recommendations and played favorites with groups connected to the [Republican] Bush White House. ABC News conducted an investigation into the OJJDP, which aired earlier this week on "Nightline"." ... "The National Football Foundation (NFF), formerly based in New Jersey and now in Texas, says they did not apply for the grant and have had no contact with J. Robert Flores, the official who awarded the money." ... "Some OJJDP staffers said this program did not deserve the funding." ... ""The football program, like the World Golf Foundation, has lots of private resources and outside funding. They have wealthy powerful people on the board," one staffer said." ... "The staffer added that by law the OJJDP's primary focus is to fund programs that intervene and protect kids who are on the cusp of entering into the juvenile justice system or who are already in the system, and there is no research that shows this program targets the most at-risk kids." (1, 2) -By Anna Schecter

-ABCNEWS.com

20080612

John E Sweeney

Jack Abramoff

Criminal

Money

Politics

Jobs

New York

Federal

Law

"Job for funding at issue: Work record of Gayle Sweeney [former wife of former New York Republican Representative John Sweeney] scrutinized as FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] probes congressional spouses getting work." ... "Federal investigators, several wearing Glock pistols, asked question after question about Gayle Sweeney's work habits in interviews with current and former employees of [Republican lobbyist] William D. Powers' lobbying firm, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday." ... "The FBI seized documents, computers and BlackBerries in a roughly six-hour occupation of Powers & Co.'s Albany office on Friday and questioned Powers, at least one of his sons and others who work for the influential lobbying firm, according to the informed sources." ... "Central to the inquiry is whether Powers and former Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, were involved in an improper quid pro quo arrangement in which Sweeney steered federal funds to Powers' lobbying clients and Powers set up a make-believe job for Gayle Sweeney, the congressman's wife at the time." ... "They are are now divorced." ... "Powers, of Chatham, is the former head of the New York Republican Party." ... "[Sweeney's lawyer E. Stewart Jones Jr.] Jones said he doubts the investigation is a remnant from the probe of former Washington [Republican] lobbyist Jack Abramoff." ... "But a person involved in the case, said the investigation is tied to the FBI's probes into congressional spouses getting jobs, an offshoot to the Abramoff bribery case." ... "Gayle Sweeney's work history did not include politics or directing donation drives, but her husband hired her as a fundraising consultant for his campaign. The job paid her consulting company a commission and it received at least $42,000, according to Sweeney's campaign records." ... "A person close to the investigation said the consulting arrangement, first reported in the Times Union, is the root of the current investigation." ... "Critics have questioned whether Sweeney was converting campaign cash for personal use." (1, 2) -By James M. Odato

-TimesUnion.com

Nepal

History

"Happiness, caution in Nepal as ousted king quits." ... "Nepalis greeted the king's departure with joy on Thursday but cautioned the country's new rulers must now deliver