New Bush Adviser Has Vast Lobbying Ties

June 13, 2007
New Bush Adviser Has Vast Lobbying Ties

A new high-ranking adviser to President Bush will enter the White House with lobbying ties to dozens of companies seeking the federal government's help on everything from proposed acquisitions to patent disputes.

Ed Gillespie, named Wednesday as the next White House counselor, is a partner in Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC, a lobbying firm whose clients include: Sirius Satellite Radio, which needs antitrust approval to acquire a rival; Qualcomm, which wants Bush to veto a federal agency's ban on imported cell phones made with its chips; and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group trying to limit drug industry regulation.

32,000 Iraqi police quite, 12,000 not on the job but drawing salaries

June 12, 2007
32,000 Iraqi police quite, 12,000 not on the job but drawing salaries

WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- About 32,000 Iraqi police who have been trained and equipped are no longer on the job, having left for various reasons over the last 18 months.

And as many as 12,000 police not on the job are drawing salaries anyway, said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, who has just returned from more than two years in Iraq overseeing the development of Iraqi security forces.

Approval of Congress lowest in a decade

June 12, 2007
Approval of Congress lowest in a decade

WASHINGTON — Fueled by disappointment at the pace of change since Democrats assumed the majority on Capitol Hill, public approval of Congress has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll.

Just 27% of Americans now approve of the way Congress is doing its job, the poll found, down from 36% in January, when Democrats assumed control of the House and the Senate.

And 63% of Americans say that the new Democratic Congress is governing in a "business as usual" manner, rather than working to bring the fundamental change that party leaders promised after November's midterm election.

Bush Scandals List

June 14, 2007
Bush Scandals List

1. Walter Reed outpatient treatment, poor living conditions, lack of caseworkers to oversee and facilitate patient care for amputees, brain injured, and psychologically disabled veterans; Walter Reed is not the only military hospital about which questions have been raised; also out there the underfunding of the VA.

The problems at Walter Reed came to the public's attention through a series of articles by Dana Priest beginning February 18, 2007. Following them, Gen. George Weightman who ran Walter Reed for 6 months resigned March 1, followed by the forced resignation of Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey the next day. Weightman's boss Army Surgeon General Gen. Kevin "I don't do barracks inspections at Walter Reed" Kiley who lived across from the notorious Building 18 and who had run the hospital from 2002-2004 lasted one day as the new head of Walter Reed before he was removed. He resigned from the Army on March 12.

U.S. Mortgage Foreclosure Filings Rise 90% in May

June 12, 2007
U.S. Mortgage Foreclosure Filings Rise 90% in May

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosure filings surged 90 percent in May from a year earlier as more homeowners fell behind on their monthly mortgage payments, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

There were 176,137 notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions last month, led by California, Florida and Ohio, the Irvine, California-based seller of foreclosure data said in a report today. The median price for a U.S. home slid 1.8 percent the first three months of 2007 as the housing slump entered its second year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The filings rose 19 percent from April.

Democratic Leaders Face Growing Disapproval, Criticism on Iraq

June 7, 2007
Democratic Leaders Face Growing Disapproval, Criticism on Iraq

The survey finds that Americans are less impressed now by the Democratic congressional leadership than when the party took control of Congress in January. While approval of the job Democratic leaders are doing has dipped only slightly - from 39% in January to 34% today - disapproval has grown substantially from 34% to 49%. Independents, in particular, express a much more negative opinion of Democratic congressional leaders. Fully 58% disapprove of their job performance, up from 40% in January.

A 9/11 Father, Lifelong Republican, Says: Time To Impeach Bush

June 2, 2007
A 9/11 Father, Lifelong Republican, Says: Time To Impeach Bush

The person most responsible for the failure to exclude dangerous aliens from our country, most responsible for refusing to use his power to remove those already here, has been America's Chief Disregarder of the Law: President George W. Bush.

Consider: Four of the Fort Dix Six would have been eligible for the Bush Amnesty. Several of those who were involved in the 1993 World Trade Center attacks (including ringleader Ramzi Yousef) had been granted legal permanent resident status thanks to the 1986 amnesty (specifically the Agricultural Worker provision authored by then NYC Representative Charles Schumer, presumably on behalf of the strawberry farmers of Brooklyn). All of the 9/11 terrorists would have been eligible for the Bush amnesty if they had postponed their attacks until after passage of the Kyl-Kennedy-Bush bill. The list of these amnestied or eligible-for-amnesty criminals goes on and on. And we really only know of the criminals whose crimes made the front pages. How many other Americans were killed or raped in crimes committed by Bush amnesty eligible aliens in crimes that did not make the headlines?

Male veterans have higher suicide risk

June 11, 2007
Male veterans have higher suicide risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Male U.S. veterans are twice as likely to die by suicide than people with no military service, and are more likely to kill themselves with a gun than others who commit suicide, researchers said on Monday.

The findings indicate that doctors and others who may treat U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan should be alert for signs of depression and suicidal tendencies, said lead researcher Mark Kaplan of Portland State University in Oregon.

Cleaning up after the elephants

June 12, 2007
Cleaning up after the elephants

ATLANTA - It's like cleaning up after the elephants in the circus parade -- unpleasant but necessary.

The challenge after the disaster of the Bush presidency will be to regain our once-good international standing, essential precursor for the durable cooperation abroad which, in turn, is essential to blunt and parry terrorism.

To do that, we first will have to repair our national soul.

Bush's Surgeon General Nominee: "Ex-Gay" Therapy On Trial

June 10, 2007
Bush's Surgeon General Nominee: "Ex-Gay" Therapy On Trial

Holsinger's allies -- those who lobbied the White House for his nomination -- include James Dobson's Focus on the Family and the Heritage Foundation. They have predictably cast his confirmation battle as a religious test, alleging that his homophobia is a reflection of orthodox Christian views. To oppose Holsinger on the grounds of his anti-gay sentiments, the right says, is to discriminate against him simply for being a bible-believing Christian. Why should he have to check his Christianity at the church exit door? they ask. This worn-out appeal to the Christian right's victimhood complex distracts from the most salient argument against Holsinger's confirmation -- which is exactly what it is intended to do.

Immigration Judges Often Picked Based On GOP Ties

June 11, 2007
Immigration Judges Often Picked Based On GOP Ties

The Bush administration increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting the judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, despite laws that preclude such considerations, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

At least one-third of the immigration judges appointed by the Justice Department since 2004 have had Republican connections or have been administration insiders, and half lacked experience in immigration law, Justice Department, immigration court and other records show.

CBS: Military Concerned It Can't Respond to Crisis

June 11, 2007
CBS: Military Concerned It Can't Respond to Crisis

CBS News reported Sunday that the final members of the 82nd Airborne are about to leave Fort Bragg for Iraq, saying, "This is only going to be to be the second time since World War II that the entire 82nd Airborne will be deployed overseas. Just one more sign of how thinly stretched the Army is right now."

The report continues, "Commanders say if an emergency happened elsewhere in the world, they could draw ground troops from Iraq and units recuperating at bases back in the U.S. But it won't be easy" because neither equipment nor personnel on leave would be immediately available. As a result, there are concerns about the ability of the military to respond to a crisis.

War Takes Up Less Time on Fox News

June 11, 2007
War Takes Up Less Time on Fox News

Neither story merited a mention on Fox News Channel that hour.

That wasn't unusual. Fox spent half as much time covering the Iraq war than MSNBC during the first three months of the year, and considerably less than CNN, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The difference was more stark during daytime news hours than in prime-time opinion shows. The Iraq war occupied 20 percent of CNN's daytime news hole and 18 percent of MSNBC's. On Fox, the war was talked about only 6 percent of the time.

Sharp drawdown of troops is likely to begin by the middle of next year

June 10, 2007
Sharp drawdown of troops is likely to begin by the middle of next year

This goal, drawn from recent interviews with more than 20 U.S. military officers and other officials here, including senior commanders, strategists and analysts, remains in the early planning stages. It is based on officials' assessment that a sharp drawdown of troops is likely to begin by the middle of next year, with roughly two-thirds of the current force of 150,000 moving out by late 2008 or early 2009. The questions officials are grappling with are not whether the U.S. presence will be cut, but how quickly, to what level and to what purpose.

Body armor donated by Legion sits unused in Iraq

June 8, 2007
Body armor donated by Legion sits unused in Iraq

The body armor that West Seneca's American Legion Post 735 bought for Marines in Iraq is gathering dust somewhere in dusty Anbar province, thanks to Marine Corps orders preventing its use.

And the local Legionnaires who spent nearly $6,000 for the state-of-the- art protective gear are none too happy about it.

"It's asinine," said Mark McMahon, whose purchase of the body armor for his son and two of his buddies prompted the Legion post to buy 20 sets for the West Seneca Marine's entire unit.

Court Orders Release Of "Enemy Combatant" In U.S

June 11, 2007
Court Orders Release Of "Enemy Combatant" In U.S

The 2-1 appellate ruling was a major setback for Bush's contention in the war on terrorism that he has the power to detain people in the United States without charging them.

The court panel based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that the Qatari national involved, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, must be released from military custody.

"The decision protects legal residents and citizens from secret detention," said al-Marri's lawyer, Jonathan Hafetz of the Brennan Center for Justice in New York.

House Progressive leaders sign on to Cheney impeachment motion

June 8, 2007
House Progressive leaders sign on to Cheney impeachment motion

The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have signed on to Articles of Impeachment introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio Congressman who is seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 2008. But a staff-member of one of the Congress members tells RAW STORY that the move comes only in their personal capacity.

"I don't know of any effort to whip members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to back the impeachment resolution," said a spokesman for Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), who is a co-chair of the CPC.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Translate

June 8, 2007
Don’t Ask, Don’t Translate

IMAGINE for a moment an American soldier deep in the Iraqi desert. His unit is about to head out when he receives a cable detailing an insurgent ambush right in his convoy's path. With this information, he and his soldiers are now prepared for the danger that lies ahead.

Reports like these are regularly sent from military translators' desks, providing critical, often life-saving intelligence to troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the military has a desperate shortage of linguists trained to translate such invaluable information and convey it to the war zone.

June 9, 2007
Dean criticizes GOP as obstructionist

He noted his party has made little progress toward ending the war, the cause, he said, that returned them to power.

"The American people hired Democrats last November to ensure that we end this war," Dean said during the weekly Democratic radio address. "So let me be clear, we know that if we don't keep our promise, we may find ourselves the minority again."

In Italy, trial of CIA agents begins

June 9, 2007
In Italy, trial of CIA agents begins

MILAN, ITALY — As President Bush headed for Italy on Friday, a Milan court opened the trial of a group of CIA agents accused of kidnapping a radical Egyptian cleric — the first legal prosecution of one of the administration's most controversial counter-terrorism tactics.

Twenty-six American defendants, including two CIA station chiefs and an Air Force colonel, are being tried in absentia in the 2003 abduction from a Milan sidewalk of the cleric known as Abu Omar.

Gonzales cloture push falls seven votes short

June 12, 2007
Gonzales cloture push falls seven votes short

Senate Republicans yesterday shot down a Democratic resolution of no confidence in embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, presaging a setback for the new majority's expanding investigation of the Justice Department.

Four of the six GOP members who have called for Gonzales's resignation backed cutting off debate on the no-confidence measure, a sight more common in the British Parliament than in the U.S. Congress. Democrats had hoped the vote would land a new blow in their high-stakes battle with the White House over last year's firing of nine U.S. attorneys and the politicization of the Justice Department.

Harry Reid’s Favorables Fall to 19%

June 8, 2007
Harry Reid’s Favorables Fall to 19%