Ex-Justice Dept. Lawyer Under Investigation

April 28, 2007
Ex-Justice Dept. Lawyer Under Investigation

A federal task force investigating the activities of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has in recent weeks been looking into whether one of Abramoff's colleagues improperly traded favors with a Justice Department lawyer, sources familiar with the Abramoff investigation said yesterday.

The lawyer, Robert E. Coughlin II, resigned on April 6 as deputy chief of staff in the Criminal Division, citing personal reasons, a department spokesman said.

"Bob gave a personal reason for his resignation," said spokesman Bryan Sierra. He stressed that Coughlin "had no involvement" in the department's investigation of Abramoff.

Coughlin had worked in the criminal division since 2005 but was recused from the Abramoff inquiry because of a longtime personal friendship with Kevin A. Ring, one of Abramoff's lobbying colleagues whose actions are under investigation, a law enforcement source said. Investigators are looking into dealings between the two in 2001 and 2002, when Coughlin worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, the sources said.

Terror attacks up 29%

April 27, 2007
Terror attacks up 29%

WASHINGTON - A State Department report on terrorism due out next week will show a nearly 30 percent increase in terrorist attacks worldwide in 2006 to more than 14,000, almost all of the boost due to growing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Friday.

The annual report's release comes amid a bitter feud between the White House and Congress over funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and a deadline favored by Democrats to begin a U.S. troop withdrawal.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her top aides earlier this week had considered postponing or downplaying the release of this year's edition of the terrorism report, officials in several agencies and on Capitol Hill said.

In 2005, the department was again accused of playing politics with the report when it decided not to publish the document after U.S. officials concluded that there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985.

British soldier: Basra is lost

April 27, 2007
British soldier: Basra is lost

A British soldier has broken ranks within days of returning from Iraq to speak publicly of the horror of his tour of duty there, painting a picture of troops under siege, "sitting ducks" to an increasingly sophisticated insurgency.

"Basra is lost, they are in control now. It's a full-scale riot and the Government are just trying to save face," said Private Paul Barton.

The 27-year-old, who returned from his second tour of Iraq this week along with other members of 1st Battalion, the Staffordshire Regiment, insisted that he remains loyal to the Army despite such public dissent. He said he had already volunteered to go to Afghanistan later this year.

Bush Mired in Stealth, Lies and Cover-Ups

April 26, 2007
Bush Mired in Stealth, Lies and Cover-Ups

April 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration will do, say and spend anything to maintain its façade of command and control.

To hear them tell it, the administration would be winning the war, if only those traitorous Democrats would stop pointing out that they aren't. Everything would be fine at Walter Reed Army Hospital and likewise New Orleans, if only the locals weren't wasting money. Those fired U.S. attorneys? Mishandled maybe, but they were properly let go "for performance-related reasons.''

Two of the most disgraceful attempts to replace the truth with propaganda were brought to vivid light on Tuesday at a congressional inquiry into the death of Corporal Pat Tillman, killed by friendly fire in 2004, and the capture of Private Jessica Lynch.

In the interest of their own PR machine, which has spent more than a billion dollars on propaganda, the Pentagon shamed itself by lying about what really happened to these two heroic patriots, who need no government flackery to make them so.

Administration considered firing at least a dozen U.S. attorneys

April 27, 2007
Administration considered firing at least a dozen U.S. attorneys

WASHINGTON - Congressional sources who have seen unedited internal documents say the Bush administration considered firing at least a dozen U.S. attorneys before paring down its list to eight late last year. The four who escaped dismissal came from states considered political battlegrounds in the last presidential election: Missouri, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The latest revelation could provide new evidence to critics who contend that politics, not performance, played the determining role in the firings. The White House and the Justice Department have repeatedly denied that politics played any role.

Put Bush's 'puppy dog' terror theory to sleep

April 25, 2007
Put Bush's 'puppy dog' terror theory to sleep

Does the President think terrorists are puppy dogs? He keeps saying that terrorists will "follow us home" like lost dogs. This will only happen, however, he says, if we "lose" in Iraq.

RICHARD CLARKE: The puppy dog theory is the corollary to earlier sloganeering that proved the President had never studied logic: "We are fighting terrorists in Iraq so that we will not have to face them and fight them in the streets of our own cities."

Remarkably, in his attempt to embrace the failed Iraqi adventure even more than the President, Sen. John McCain is now parroting the line. "We lose this war and come home, they'll follow us home," he says.

How is this odd terrorist puppy dog behavior supposed to work? The President must believe that terrorists are playing by some odd rules of chivalry. Would this be the "only one slaughter ground at a time" rule of terrorism?

Justice Dept. Lists Withheld Documents

April 26, 2007
Justice Dept. Lists Withheld Documents

The Justice Department released a list of internal documents Thursday focusing on lawmakers' concerns and media questions about the firings of eight federal prosecutors, but the department resisted congressional demands for copies of the memos.

The list of 159 e-mails and memos, spanning nearly three months, at the least demonstrates concern about how the dismissals were being publicly received before they erupted into a firestorm that has resulted in calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

The House Judiciary Committee has demanded the full text of all documents that had been partially or completely blacked out among nearly 6,000 pages of e-mails, calendar pages and memos released to Congress as it investigates whether the firings were politically motivated. The documents being sought include correspondence with lawmakers and journalists about the firing.

60% of Republicans support Immediate Action on Global Warming

April 27, 2007
60% of Republicans support Immediate Action on Global Warming

Americans in large bipartisan numbers say the heating of the earth's atmosphere is having serious effects on the environment now or will soon and think that it is necessary to take immediate steps to reduce its effects, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds.

Ninety percent of Democrats, 80 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said immediate action was required to curb the warming of the atmosphere and deal with its effects on the global climate. Nineteen percent said it was not necessary to act now, and 1 percent said no steps were needed.

Giuliani flips: Opposes Civil Unions

April 27, 2007
Giuliani flips: Opposes Civil Unions

In a startling departure from his previously stated position on civil unions, Mayor Giuliani came out to The New York Sun yesterday evening in opposition to the civil union law just passed by the New Hampshire state Senate.

"Mayor Giuliani believes marriage is between one man and one woman. Domestic partnerships are the appropriate way to ensure that people are treated fairly," the Giuliani campaign said in a written response to a question from the Sun. "In this specific case the law states same sex civil unions are the equivalent of marriage and recognizes same sex unions from outside states. This goes too far and Mayor Giuliani does not support it."

Iraqis welcome U.S. Congress vote

April 27, 2007
Iraqis welcome U.S. Congress vote

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis are glad U.S. soldiers could soon depart but fearful of what they might leave behind, after the U.S. Congress approved a bill linking troop withdrawals to war funding.

"U.S. forces have to leave Iraq but not now," said Abu Ali, a 47-year-old trader from the southern city of Basra, on Friday.

"The Iraqi government and its security forces are unable to control security, especially in Baghdad and its neighborhoods."

Like many, he said tying funding to a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops over the next 11 months would force Iraq's police and army units to shape up quicker.

Exxon Mobil Earnings Surge

April 27, 2007
Exxon Mobil Earnings Surge

HOUSTON, April 26 — Despite a winter of relatively soft oil and natural gas prices, Exxon Mobil on Thursday reported another surge in profit for the first quarter of the year because of stronger earnings from its refining, marketing and chemicals businesses.

Exxon's continuing good fortunes — it said the results were its best ever for any first quarter — were particularly noteworthy given the mixed earnings picture reported in recent days by other large oil companies. Most of them cannot match the cost management and range of investments held by the world's largest publicly traded oil company.

Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, Hess and other companies that reported this week generally acknowledged that profits from oil sales, though still hefty, had slowed in recent months.

Political briefings at 15 agencies could have violated Hatch Act

April 26, 2007
Political briefings at 15 agencies could have violated Hatch Act

White House officials conducted 20 private briefings on Republican electoral prospects in the last midterm election for senior officials in at least 15 government agencies covered by federal restrictions on partisan political activity, a White House spokesman and other administration officials said Wednesday.

The previously undisclosed briefings were part of what now appears to be a regular effort in which the White House sent senior political officials to brief top appointees in government agencies on which seats Republican candidates might win or lose and how the election outcomes could affect the success of administration policies, the officials said.

The existence of one such briefing, at the headquarters of the General Services Administration in January, came to light last month and provoked the Office of Special Counsel to begin an investigation into whether the officials at the briefing felt coerced into steering federal activities to favor those Republican candidates cited as vulnerable.

Tom DeLay Tries to Rewrite His Congressional Record

April 11, 2007
Tom DeLay Tries to Rewrite His Congressional Record

As Media Matters has noted, a July 11, 2003, Congressional Quarterly article reported that during DeLay's tenure, if Republican House members defied their leadership, "punishment" or "threats" would follow, or committee memberships could be put in jeopardy. Congressional Quarterly cited the examples of Rep. Christopher Shays (CT), who was denied a committee chairmanship after using a procedural rule to advance campaign finance reform legislation the Republican leadership opposed, and Christopher H. Smith (NJ), who was threatened with the loss of a committee chairmanship if he advanced legislation to guarantee veterans' health spending.

A failure in generalship

April 25, 2007
A failure in generalship

Lt. Col. Paul Yingling : For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies to their fate at the hands of North Vietnamese communists. In 2007, Iraq's grave and deteriorating condition offers diminishing hope for an American victory and portends risk of an even wider and more destructive regional war.

These debacles are not attributable to individual failures, but rather to a crisis in an entire institution: America's general officer corps. America's generals have failed to prepare our armed forces for war and advise civilian authorities on the application of force to achieve the aims of policy. The argument that follows consists of three elements. First, generals have a responsibility to society to provide policymakers with a correct estimate of strategic probabilities. Second, America's generals in Vietnam and Iraq failed to perform this responsibility. Third, remedying the crisis in American generalship requires the intervention of Congress.

The Iraq insurgents' surge

April 27, 2007
The Iraq insurgents' surge

The build-up of United States forces in Iraq as part of the "surge" is now past its halfway point, with three of the five additional combat brigades deployed, principally in Baghdad. The policy is evidently facing severe setbacks - including the attack on the Iraqi parliament and on one of the main bridges over the Tigris in Baghdad, and numerous bombings and murders. The relentless insurgent assault continues against both US forces (eighty-seven of whom have been killed in the first twenty-five days of April 2007) and their Iraqi allies (nine of whom lost their lives in a suicide-bomb attack at an army checkpoint in Khalis, Diyala province, on 26 April).

At the same time, the supporters of the new policy remain active in insisting that it is working or can be made to work. The neo-conservative house journal, the Weekly Standard, carries three positive articles in its current issue (see, for example, Reuel Marc Gerecht, "On Democracy in Iraq", 30 April 2007); its regular authors such as Frederick Kagan are advocating the same broad message elsewhere (see, for example, "Turning the Corner in Iraq," Guardian, 24 April 2007).

Tenet Says WH Lied About 'Slam Dunk' Remark

April 27, 2007
Tenet Says WH Lied About 'Slam Dunk' Remark

WASHINGTON (AP) - When CIA Director George Tenet uttered the now-infamous phrase ``slam dunk" at a 2002 White House meeting, he says he was referring broadly to the case that could be made against Saddam Hussein - not his alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"We can put a better case together for a public case. That's what I meant," Tenet said, explaining his remark for the first time in an interview to air Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes." Short excerpts were released Thursday.

The phrase "slam dunk" was associated with Tenet after it was leaked by a senior administration official to author and journalist Bob Woodward. According to Woodward's book "Plan of Attack," Bush turned to Tenet during the meeting and asked if the information he had just presented on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was the best Tenet had.

Rice signals rejection of U.S. House subpoena

April 26, 2007
Rice signals rejection of U.S. House subpoena

OSLO, Norway: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she has already answered the questions she has been subpoenaed to answer before a U.S. congressional committee and suggested she is not inclined to comply with the order.

Rice said she would respond by mail to questions from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the Bush administration's prewar claims about Saddam Hussein seeking weapons of mass destruction, but signaled she would not appear in person.

Rove Investigator Faces Own Allegations

April 24, 2007
Rove Investigator Faces Own Allegations

But government watchdogs have accused (Scott) Bloch himself of similar behavior. In April 2005, they and others complained the White House appointee had allowed his office to "sit on" a complaint that then-White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice used government funds to travel in support of President Bush's re-election bid.

By contrast, they said, Bloch ordered an immediate on-site investigation of a complaint that Bush's challenger for the White House, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., improperly campaigned in a government workplace, which had been filed around the same time.

In late 2005, the White House-run President's Committee on Integrity and Efficiency opened an investigation into that charge and several others, including accusations that Bloch's office retaliated against employees who took issue with internal policies and discriminated against employees who were gay or members of religious minorities. The investigation is pending.

Those charges led the left-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to charge that Bloch is "the wrong choice" to investigate. In addition to probing Hatch Act violations, OSC is also responsible for defending the rights of government whistle-blowers and protecting government employees from discrimination and other prohibited practices.

Romney's Deputy Campaign Manager Resigns

April 24, 2007
Romney's Deputy Campaign Manager Resigns

Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney's deputy campaign manager has resigned, a Romney aide confirmed to the Hotline Tuesday.

Jason Roe, who functioned as the campaign's top daily operating officer, told campaign officials today that he planned to leave.

"Jason informed the campaign on Tuesday that he decided to resign, citing familial obligations," said Matt Rhoades, Romney's communications director, in a prepared statement. "We understood and accepted what must have been a hard decision."

Roe, like several top Romney aides, commutes between Boston and Washington. Roe's wife lives in the D.C. area.

Roe was hired by the campaign after serving as chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney since 2003. He has also managed several congressional races. On Monday, the St. Petersburg Times reported that FBI agents had asked Feeney about a 2003 golfing trip with convicted ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The Times also reported that the FBI asked the newspaper to turn over an e-mail Roe sent to the paper. The e-mail's contents, according to the paper, included the sentence: "Any assertion that this office knew Abramoff paid for the Scotland trip is a g--d----- lie."

Religious leaders attack Catholic Church

April 24, 2007
Religious leaders attack Catholic Church

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of religious leaders took on the Catholic Church, the
U.S. Supreme Court and the Bush administration on Tuesday with a plea to take religion out of health care in the United States.

They said last week's Supreme Court decision outlawing a certain type of abortion demonstrated that religious belief was interfering with personal rights and the U.S. health care system in general.

The group, calling itself the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said it planned to submit its proposals to other church groups and lobby Congress and state legislators.

"With the April 18 Supreme Court decision banning specific abortion procedures, concerns are being raised in religious communities about the ethics of denying these services," the group said in a statement.

"They are imposing their points of view," Barbara Kavadias, director of field services for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

She noted that the five Supreme Court justices on the majority in the 5-4 decision were all Catholic men -- Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice
Clarence Thomas and Justice Antonin Scalia.

Capitol protestors campaign to impeach Bush

April 26, 2007
Capitol protestors campaign to impeach Bush

American anti-war activists and other opponents of the Bush Administration are trying to drum up a nationwide campaign to impeach the President.

A rally at the US Capitol overnight attracted a diverse coalition of administration critics, all united in the view that George W Bush has abused his powers and lied to the American people.

One of the key speakers was Cindy Sheehan, who has been railing against Mr Bush ever since her son was killed in Iraq.

"The only solution to end this war is to impeach them, impeach the liars, impeach the murderers, and get our troops home," she said.

Senate passes Iraq withdrawal bill; veto threat looms

April 26, 2007
Senate passes Iraq withdrawal bill; veto threat looms

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is warming up his veto muscles after the Senate passed a war funding bill Thursday that sets a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by next April.

The 51 votes cast for the bill are nowhere near the 67 needed to override a veto, which Bush says he will deliver swiftly. The House passed the same measure on a 218-208 vote Wednesday night.

But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said demanding a withdrawal while U.S. commanders are claiming progress in pacifying the Iraqi capital would hand a victory to the al Qaeda terrorist network, which has taken root in Iraq.

Ex-congressional Aide Pleads Guilty

April 24, 2007
Ex-congressional Aide Pleads Guilty

An ex-congressional aide pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an influence-peddling scandal that has touched the White House, Interior Department and congressional Republicans.

Mark Zachares was the 11th person to be convicted in the Justice Department probe.

Zachares admitted engaging in official acts on Abramoff's behalf while working for Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who chaired the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Abramoff assisted Zachares in obtaining his committee post. Zachares left Young's staff in 2005. Young's office did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment Monday and Tuesday.

U.N. officials accused Iraq of withholding civilian death figures

April 25, 2007
U.N. officials accused Iraq of withholding civilian death figures

BAGHDAD - U.N. officials accused Iraq on Wednesday of withholding civilian death figures to try to deflect attention from escalating violence and a worsening humanitarian crisis despite the U.S.-led Baghdad security crackdown.

Those conclusions by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq drew a sharp rebuke from the Iraq's political leadership, which called the report "unbalanced" and said it raised questions about the credibility of the U.N. staff in Iraq.

The clashing views over the document — which covered three months ending March 31 — reflect a wider debate that goes beyond attempts to tally the bloodshed: whether the Baghdad security operation has made any lasting progress since the crackdown was launched in mid-February.

Home sales: Worst drop in 18 years

April 24, 2007
Home sales: Worst drop in 18 years

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home sales posted their sharpest drop in 18 years in March, a real estate group said Tuesday, as problems in the subprime mortgage sector pushed sales well below what economists had forecast.

Sales of existing homes fell 8.4 percent to an annual rate of 6.12 million in March from February's 6.68 million rate, the National Association of Realtors said. It was the biggest one-month drop since January 1989. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast sales would fall to an annual rate of 6.45 million in March.

OSHA Leaves Worker Safety in Hands of Industry

April 25, 2007
OSHA Leaves Worker Safety in Hands of Industry

WASHINGTON, April 24 — Seven years ago, a Missouri doctor discovered a troubling pattern at a microwave popcorn plant in the town of Jasper. After an additive was modified to produce a more buttery taste, nine workers came down with a rare, life-threatening disease that was ravaging their lungs.

Puzzled Missouri health authorities turned to two federal agencies in Washington. Scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which investigates the causes of workplace health problems, moved quickly to examine patients, inspect factories and run tests. Within months, they concluded that the workers became ill after exposure to diacetyl, a food-flavoring agent.

But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, charged with overseeing workplace safety, reacted with far less urgency. It did not step up plant inspections or mandate safety standards for businesses, even as more workers became ill.

Analysis: Veto Won't End Iraq Dispute

April 24, 2007
Analysis: Veto Won't End Iraq Dispute

In the political test of wills over Iraq, congressional Democrats opposed to the war have public opinion on their side and President Bush has enough Republican votes to make his vetoes stick. Long term, that's not a winning formula for the White House.

"This war must end," Sen. Joseph Biden said Tuesday, one day after Democrats decided to send Bush legislation that funds the conflict but sets a one-year timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Conceding Bush's current strength among Republicans, the Delaware Democrat said he looked forward to the day when enough GOP senators could be persuaded to "stop backing the president and start backing the troops."

Tillman's Fictional Heroic Death: Did Bush Know?

April 24, 2007
Tillman's Fictional Heroic Death: Did Bush Know?

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2007 — The Bush administration and the Pentagon came under fire today for creating false myths of military heroes, and the criticism came from unlikely sources — one of the heroes, and the family of another.

He charged the Pentagon with falsifying information to achieve those ends — "writing up a field hospital report, stating that Pat was 'transferred to an intensive care unit for continued CPR' after most of his head had been taken off by multiple 5.56 rounds … stating that a giant rectangle bruise covering his chest that sits exactly where the armor plate that protects you from bullets as being, quote 'consistent with paddle marks' from a defibrillator.' These are not misleading comments," he charged. "Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep," Tillman said. "These are intentional falsehoods that meet the legal definition for fraud."

Noting a Pentagon e-mail from April 28 about White House speech writer John Currin seeking information about Tillman for the president's speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner a few days later, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., suggested that it was more than just a coincidence that when "the president spoke at the Correspondents' Dinner, he was careful in his wording.

"[President Bush] praised Pat Tillman's courage but carefully avoided describing how he was killed," said Cummings. "It seems possible that the P4 memo was a direct response to the White House's inquiry. And if that is true, it means that the White House knew the true facts about Cpl. Tillman's death before the memorial service and weeks before the Tillman family was told."

Kevin Tillman added, "It's a bit disingenuous to think that the administration did not know about what was going on, something so politically sensitive."

The White House today said it could find no evidence to suggest that the president was informed of that memo at the time. The Pentagon has yet to discipline anyone for spreading any of this false information.

Ranger alleges cover-up in Tillman case

April 24, 2007
Ranger alleges cover-up in Tillman case

WASHINGTON - An Army Ranger who was with Pat Tillman when he died by friendly fire said Tuesday he was told by a higher-up to conceal that information from Tillman's family.

"I was ordered not to tell them," U.S. Army Specialist Bryan O'Neal told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

He said he was given the order by then-Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, the battalion commander who oversaw Tillman's platoon.

Pat Tillman's brother Kevin was in a convoy behind his brother when the incident happened, but didn't see it. O'Neal said Bailey told him specifically not to tell Kevin Tillman that the death was friendly fire rather than heroic engagement with the enemy.

Abortion Ruling Raises Backlash for Catholic Justices

April 23, 2007
Abortion Ruling Raises Backlash for Catholic Justices

Observers Raise Questions about Justices' Catholic Faith After the Supreme Court's Upholding of Late-Term Abortion Curbs

The Supreme Court's landmark abortion ruling last week has triggered an anti-Catholic backlash, with critics pointing to the Catholic faith of the five justices in the majority and suggesting their religious views influenced their decision in the case.

The allegations have outraged Catholic organizations and conservative commentators, who have called the criticism bigoted and intolerant.

In the days after the court's 5-4 decision upholding the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, a number of liberal commentators homed in on religious views of the justices in the majority who had voted to uphold the act.

Talk show panelist Rosie O'Donnell was among the first to make the point.

"You know what concerns me?" O'Donnell asked last week on ABC's "The View." "How many Supreme Court judges are Catholic?"

"Five," said host Barbara Walters.

"Five," O'Donnell said. "How about separation of church and state in America?"

Walters counseled against drawing conclusions, saying, "We cannot assume that they did it because they're Catholic."

But O'Donnell had more to say.

"If men could get pregnant," O'Donnell said, "abortion would be a sacrament."

Kucinich News Conference After Introducing Articles of Impeachment Against Cheney

April 24, 2007
Kucinich News Conference After Introducing Articles of Impeachment Against Cheney

Because I believe the vice president's conduct of office has been destructive to the founding purposes of our nation. Today, I have introduced House Resolution 333, Articles of Impeachment Relating to Vice President Richard B. Cheney. I do so in defense of the rights of the American people to have a government that is honest and peaceful.

It became obvious to me that this vice president, who was a driving force for taking the United States into a war against Iraq under false pretenses, is once again rattling the sabers of war against Iran with the same intent to drive America into another war, again based on false pretenses.

Let me cite from the articles of impeachment that were introduced this afternoon, Article I, that Richard Cheney had purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and the Congress of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify the use of the United States armed forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security.

Articles of Impeachment Against Cheney

April 24, 2007
Articles of Impeachment Against Cheney

Resolved, That Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of 1
the United States, is impeached for high crimes and mis- 2
demeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment 3
be exhibited to the United States Senate: 4

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 5
Representatives of the United States of America in the 6
name of itself and of the people of the United States of 7
America, against Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the 8
United States of America, in maintenance and support of 1
its impeachment against him for high crimes and mis- 2
demeanors. 3

Jessica Lynch, Tillman's brother accuses military of 'intentional falsehoods'

April 23, 2007
Jessica Lynch, Tillman's brother accuses military of 'intentional falsehoods'

WASHINGTON — Former Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch and the brother of Pat Tillman castigated the U.S. government on Tuesday for lying to the American public to create heroes from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating inaccurate accounts of the battlefield actions of Lynch and Tillman.

Lynch was badly wounded in Iraq in 2003, in the early days of the war; Pat Tillman, a former NFL star and Army corporal, was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

Early versions of Lynch's capture and rescue, quoting unnamed U.S. officials, said Lynch fought her captors fiercely — "little girl Rambo," in her words. In truth she said she was wounded too badly to fight.

Reid Transcript: Congress Leading The Way For A New Direction In Iraq

April 23, 2007
Reid Transcript: Congress Leading The Way For A New Direction In Iraq

He went in the opposite direction -- and he went alone -- by ordering his troop surge - a plan that ignored the advice of the Iraq Study Group, ignored the will of the people, and dismissed the advice of many of his own generals.

Now in the fifth year of President Bush's mismanagement and mistakes, there is no magic formula. But, there is a way forward that gives us our best chance for a responsible end to the war - that protects our strategic interests, strengthens our security, and brings our troops home.

That way forward is being forged today in Congress, with the help and advice of Democrats and Republicans, civilian experts and retired generals, as well as the good judgment of the American people, who have made their voices heard loud and clear.

Dems lay out plan to end the war

April 23, 2007
Dems lay out plan to end the war

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on language to begin bringing U.S. troops home as early as this July. The final legislation:

-- Establishes benchmarks for the government of Iraq, including measurable progress in developing Iraqi security forces, giving U.S. troops more authority to pursue Islamist extremists, establishing a program to disarm militia, pursuing Sunni-Shiite reconciliation initiatives, enacting an oil revenue-sharing law, easing the program to oust all former Baath Party members from the government, reducing sectarian violence and protecting minority rights.

-- If the president fails to determine that the benchmarks are being met, troops shall begin withdrawing by July 1, 2007, with a goal of completing withdrawal 180 days later.

-- If the president determines the benchmarks are being met, troops shall begin withdrawals by Oct. 1, 2007, with a goal of completing the withdrawals 180 days later.

-- U.S. forces may remain in Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and facilities, serve in diplomatic positions, pursue al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations and train and equip Iraqi forces.

Suicide at Walter Reed Went Unnoticed For Two Days

April 23, 2007
Suicide at Walter Reed Went Unnoticed For Two Days

April 23, 2007 — - On July 4, 2003, Carol and Richard Coons had planned to welcome home their son Master Sgt. James Coons, a career soldier who had seen action in Iraq in 2003 and during the first Gulf War. Instead, they found out James was dead.

He had committed suicide in his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was found hanging from a bed sheet just inside his room in an outpatient hotel. Walter Reed staff did not find him until at least two days after his death, and only then at the insistence of his family, who were desperate to locate their son.

George McGovern: "I expect to see Cheney and Bush forced to resign their offices before 2008 is over."

April 24, 2007
George McGovern: "I expect to see Cheney and Bush forced to resign their offices before 2008 is over."
It is my firm belief that the Cheney-Bush team has committed offenses that are worse than those that drove Nixon, Vice President Spiro Agnew and Atty. Gen. John Mitchell from office after 1972. Indeed, as their repeated violations of the Constitution and federal statutes, as well as their repudiation of international law, come under increased consideration, I expect to see Cheney and Bush forced to resign their offices before 2008 is over.

Aside from a growing list of impeachable offenses, the vice president has demonstrated his ignorance of foreign policy by attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria. Apparently he thinks it is wrong to visit important Middle East states that sometimes disagree with us. Isn't it generally agreed that Nixon's greatest achievement was talking to the Chinese Communist leaders, which opened the door to that nation? And wasn't President Reagan's greatest achievement talking with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev until the two men worked out an end to the Cold War? Does Cheney believe that it's better to go to war rather than talk with countries with which we have differences?

Office of Special Counsel will investigate Karl Rove

April 24, 2007
Office of Special Counsel will investigate Karl Rove

WASHINGTON — Most of the time, an obscure federal investigative unit known as the Office of Special Counsel confines itself to monitoring the activities of relatively low-level government employees, stepping in with reprimands and other routine administrative actions for such offenses as discriminating against military personnel or engaging in prohibited political activities.

But the Office of Special Counsel is preparing to jump into one of the most sensitive and potentially explosive issues in Washington, launching a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political operations that for more than six years have been headed by chief strategist Karl Rove.

The new investigation, which will examine the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities, could create a substantial new problem for the Bush White House.

Iraqi PM Orders Halt to Baghdad Barrier

April 23, 2007
Iraqi PM Orders Halt to Baghdad Barrier

CAIRO, Egypt Apr 23, 2007 (AP)— Iraq's prime minister said Sunday that he has ordered a halt to the U.S. military construction of a barrier separating a Sunni enclave from surrounding Shiite areas in Baghdad after fierce criticism over the project at home.

The challenge to the U.S. initiative came as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki began a regional tour to shore up support from mostly Sunni Arab nations for his Shiite-dominated government as sectarian violence persists despite a nearly 10-week-old security crackdown.

The U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile-long and 12-foot-tall concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold in northern Baghdad whose residents have often been the victims of retaliatory mortar attacks by Shiite militants following bombings usually blamed on Sunni insurgents.

$3.6B in FEMA awards probed

April 23, 2007
$3.6B in FEMA awards probed

WASHINGTON — FEMA exposed taxpayers to significant waste - and possibly violated federal law - by awarding $3.6 billion worth of Hurricane Katrina contracts to companies with poor credit histories and bad paperwork, investigators say.

The new report by the Homeland Security Department's office of the inspector general, set to be released later this week, examines the propriety of 36 trailer contracts designated for small and local businesses in the stricken Gulf Coast region following the 2005 storm.

It found a haphazard competitive bidding process in which the winning contract prices were both unreasonably low and high. Moreover, FEMA did not take adequate legal steps to ensure that companies were small and locally operated, resulting in a questionable contract award to a large firm with ties to the Republican Party.

Gingrich Blames Liberalism for Increasing Violence

April 23, 2007
Gingrich Blames Liberalism for Increasing Violence

April 23, 2007 — On Sunday former House Speaker Newt Gingrich blamed 40 years of liberalism for an increasingly violent and vicious society.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Gingrich said young people are being dehumanized by violence in video games, and liberalism has created a "zone of not being willing to talk about any of these things."

"We don't have any discussion about what's happened to our culture because while we're restricting political free speech under McCain-Feingold, we say it's impossible to restrict vulgar and vicious and anti-human speech," Gingrich said.

Feds investigate "No child left behind"

April 21, 2007
Feds investigate "No child left behind"

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is conducting a probe of a $6 billion reading initiative at the center of President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, another blow to a program besieged by allegations of financial conflicts of interest and cronyism, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The disclosure came as a congressional hearing revealed how people implementing the $1 billion-a-year Reading First program made at least $1 million off textbooks and tests toward which the federal government steered states.

"That sounds like a criminal enterprise to me," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House education committee, which held a five-hour investigative hearing. "You don't get to override the law," he angrily told a panel of Reading First officials.

Bush Administration Awash in Scandals

April 22, 2007
Bush Administration Awash in Scandals

WASHINGTON — Campaigning in 2000, Texas Gov. George W. Bush would repeatedly raise his right hand as if taking an oath and vow to "restore honor and integrity" to the White House. He pledged to usher in a new era of bipartisanship.

The dual themes of honesty and bipartisanship struck a chord with many voters and helped propel Bush to the White House in one of the nation's closest-ever elections. Americans re-elected him in 2004 after he characterized himself as best suited to protect a nation at war.

Now, with fewer than two years left of his second term, the Bush administration is embroiled in multiple scandals and ethics investigations. The war in Iraq still rages. Bush's approval ratings are hovering in the mid-30s. And Democratic-Republican relations have seldom been more rancorous.

US Soldiers Accept Tortured Prisoners

April 22, 2007
US Soldiers Accept Tortured Prisoners

BAGHDAD, April 21 — Out here in what the soldiers call Baghdad's wild west, sometimes the choices are all bad.

In one of the new joint American-Iraqi security stations in the capital this month, in the volatile Ghazaliya neighborhood, Capt. Darren Fowler was heaping praise on his Iraqi counterparts for helping capture three insurgent suspects who had provided information he believed would save American lives.

"The detainee gave us names from the highest to the lowest," Captain Fowler told the Iraqi soldiers. "He showed us their safe houses, where they store weapons and I.E.D.'s and where they keep kidnap victims, how they get weapons, where weapons come from, how they place I.E.D.'s, attack us and go away. Because you detained this guy this is the first intelligence linking everything together. Good job. Very good job."

The Iraqi officers beamed. What the Americans did not know and what the Iraqis had not told them was that before handing over the detainees to the Americans, the Iraqi soldiers had beaten one of them in front of the other two, the Iraqis said. The stripes on the detainee's back, which appeared to be the product of a whipping with electrical cables, were later shown briefly to a photographer, who was not allowed to take a picture.

John Dean: GOP Presidential Standard for Protecting Cronies

April 20, 2007
John Dean: GOP Presidential Standard for Protecting Cronies

What was not surprising, however, was Gonzales's determination to stay in the job and Bush's disinclination to remove him- for this is consistent with the GOP presidential standard. Let's look at each of these features of the hearings, in turn.

The Striking Lack of Republican Support for Gonzales

There are nineteen members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ten Democrats and nine Republicans. Based on the conduct displayed during the Gonzales hearing it appears that the Attorney General has the support of only two Republicans: Senator Orrin Hatch (R.UT), who tried repeatedly to rehabilitate Gonzales during the hearings; and Senator John Cornyn (R.TX), who sought to protect fellow Texan Gonzales. Both Hatch and Cornyn are hardcore conservatives.

Infant Deaths Climb in South

April 22, 2007
Infant Deaths Climb in South

HOLLANDALE, Miss. — For decades, Mississippi and neighboring states with large black populations and expanses of enduring poverty made steady progress in reducing infant death. But, in what health experts call an ominous portent, progress has stalled and in recent years the death rate has risen in Mississippi and several other states.

The setbacks have raised questions about the impact of cuts in welfare and Medicaid and of poor access to doctors, and, many doctors say, the growing epidemics of obesity, diabetes and hypertension among potential mothers, some of whom tip the scales here at 300 to 400 pounds.

"I don't think the rise is a fluke, and it's a disturbing trend, not only in Mississippi but throughout the Southeast," said Dr. Christina Glick, a neonatologist in Jackson, Miss., and past president of the National Perinatal Association.

Training Iraqi troops no longer driving force in U.S. policy

April 19, 2007
Training Iraqi troops no longer driving force in U.S. policy

WASHINGTON - Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.

Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration's Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said.

No change has been announced, and a Pentagon spokesman, Col. Gary Keck, said training Iraqis remains important. "We are just adding another leg to our mission," Keck said, referring to the greater U.S. role in establishing security that new troops arriving in Iraq will undertake.

AP details Tillman’s death cover-up

April 19, 2007
AP details Tillman’s death cover-up

SAN FRANCISCO — Within hours of Pat Tillman's death, the Army went into information-lockdown mode, cutting off phone and Internet connections at a base in Afghanistan, posting guards on a wounded platoon mate, and ordering a sergeant to burn Tillman's uniform.

New investigative documents reviewed by The Associated Press describe how the military sealed off information about Tillman's death from all but a small ring of soldiers. Officers quietly passed their suspicion of friendly fire up the chain to the highest ranks of the military, but the truth did not reach Tillman's family for five weeks.

The clampdown, and the misinformation issued by the military, lie at the heart of a burgeoning congressional investigation.

GOP Congressman Doolittle Says He Won't Resign

April 20, 2007
GOP Congressman Doolittle Says He Won't Resign

WASHINGTON - A day after stepping down from a House committee amid news that his home was searched by the FBI, Rep. John Doolittle on Friday proclaimed his innocence and vowed to stay in Congress and seek re-election.

The California Republican, a nine-term incumbent under scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff congressional corruption scandal, also said he will seek the House Ethics Committee's permission to establish a legal fund to raise money for his defense. Doolittle agreed Thursday to resign his coveted spot on the House Appropriations Committee temporarily.

"I have no intention of resigning from Congress and I have every intention of running for re-election again," Doolittle told reporters from his district in a conference call.

Bush 2004 - War On Terror:"I don’t think you can win it."

A blast from the past
Sept. 2, 2004
Bush 2004 - War On Terror:"I don’t think you can win it."

Lauer: You said to me a second ago, one of the things you'll lay out in your vision for the next four years is how to go about winning the war on terror. That phrase strikes me a little bit. Do you really think we can win this war on terror in the next four years?

President Bush: I have never said we can win it in four years.

Lauer: So I'm just saying can we win it? Do you see that?

President Bush: I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world — let's put it that way.