Blackwater's Private CIA

Jeremy Scahill, The Nation

War on Iraq: The notorious mercenary company now offers spy "services" to Fortune 500 companies, for the right

Deb Price:

Gays Could Split Over McCain
Gay Republicans need to think twice before supporting McCain, whose record on gay rights is dangerously similar to Bush's.

Barack Obama has Women Troubles
Charlie Wolf
Barrack Obama has women troubles, and Hillary Clinton is far from alone as being a problem. Danger lurks much closer to home. More

Obama's War
Andrew Walden
Those who believe Barack Obama would avoid wars after withdrawing from Iraq are not paying attention. He has laid out a coherent strategy for fighting wars. More

A Third Option For McCain
Lee Cary
When both options available are problematic, create a third one. That's what the McCain campaign can do to find a way for him to communicate without delivering a prepared speech. More

Obama appoints Wal-Mart defender as economic policy adviser
June 10, 2008
Some leftists are in a tizzy because Barack Obama has appointed an economic policy adviser who has dared to praise the benefits Wal-Mart's low prices bring to low income consumers More

Obama campaign pretends it never existed
June 09, 2008
On a day when the story around the blogsphere is about the scrubbing of anti-Semitic material from Obama's website, something else is now missing. More

Terrorist waiting to deal with next president
June 09, 2008
Brig. General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the terror group the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is biding his time, afraid to stoke terror while President Bush is in his waning days in the Oval Office. More

Bush off for European Farewell tour
June 09, 2008
President Bush left today for his last European Union summit being held in Slovenia and will visit several other countries while he is over there: More

Columbia University MidEast Studies professor blames West for gays in Muslim lands
June 09, 2008
Columbia University professor Joseph Massad numbers one more mark against the West. More

What kind of war crimes trials does Obama plan? (updated)
June 09, 2008
Barack Obama's plan for imposing unity on the nation after he takes office apparently entails a close look at war crimes trials for Bush administration officials. More

Radical Priest to return to Parish on June 16
June 09, 2008
Despite using shockingly racist language in a sermon at Trinity United Church, Father Michael Pflger is being allowed to return to his St. Sabina parish next week: More

Obama Needs 'Clinton Women' to Win
June 09, 2008
A very good piece in USA Today about how Obama must pick up a good percentage of women who voted for Hillary Clinton or he can kiss the presidency goodbye: More

Stunning news from Hugo Chavez
June 09, 2008
The Marxist president of Venezuela has ytold the FARC guerillas in neighboring Colombia to give up their struggle to overthrow the US ally. More

Progress in Asia in WOT
June 09, 2008
The most dangerous terrorist networks in Southeast Asia are on the run thanks to multinational cooperation, good police work, good intelligence, and well executed military operations: More

Most Americans see Widespread Media Bias in Election Coverage
June 09, 2008
It shouldn't come as a shock that most Americans see a bias at work in media coverage of the election this year. More

Hillary's Concession, VP Rumors and Moreby John McCaslinGetting the dirt inside DC with this week's Washington Rumor Mill.

Team Obama's Foreign Policy Is No Goodby Douglas StoneIt isn't too early to project what an Obama Administration might look like -- and it's not a comfortable vision.

The Myth of the Glass Ceiling by Martha ZollerThe Glass ceiling for Hillary, race in radio and opportunity.

How Obama Won -- and May Winby Patrick J. BuchananThus did Joe Biden famously describe his rival for the nomination, Barack Obama, to the The New York Observer, a year ago.

Hillary: Jilted Loverby David NammoThe long and sometimes painful love affair between the Clintons and the national Democratic …

Obama and the New Partyby Erick EricksonWhat this group's endorsement says about the Democratic nominee for President.

Bernanke’s Bind
by Nicholas von Hoffman
The Fed chairman’s attempt to raise the price of real estate while lowering food and fuel costs would give M.C. Escher a migraine.


Admitting Failure
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
Stretched thin, the Armed Forces lower standards to fill the ranks.


Smart Money
By Michael Brendan Dougherty
Political futures markets are better than pollsters at predicting returns.

• Dennis Prager : When I Was a Boy, America Was a Better Place
• David Limbaugh : McCain's Potentially Fatal 'Exit, Stage Right'
• Cal Thomas : Lessons From the Poor
• Patrick J. Buchanan : How Obama Won -- and May Win
• Paul Weyrich : Bus Rapid Transit - Deficiencies and Defects
• Carrie Schwab Pomerantz : Financially Savvy Gifts for Grads
• Bill Murchison : And So It Begins...
• Chuck Norris : Congress, Get Off Your Gas, and Drill
• Ed Feulner : At This Restaurant, Taxpayers Are Cooked
• Thomas Sowell : Cocky Ignorance
• Chuck Colson : Demographic Winter and the Economy
• Phyllis Schlafly : Bar Association and Sen. Joseph Biden Enlist in War on Dads
• William Rusher : Obama nails it down
• Rich Lowry : Mark Steyn: Enemy of the State?
• Amanda Carpenter : Obama's Vetter Gets Vetted
• Lawrence Kudlow : Voters Say "Drill"
• Dick Morris and Eileen McGann : Hillary Circles Slowly Overhead
• Bill Steigerwald : Will Big Media Look at Obama and His Leftwing Influences?
• Phil Harris : Biting and Eating Hands That Feed You
• Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. : Firing Offense
• Matt Barber : Taking the Plunge in a Pool with No Water
• Douglas MacKinnon : "McBush" - A Strategy of a Losing Campaign
• John McCaslin : Yee-Haw!
• Jennifer Roback Morse : Memo To Advocates of "The Conservative Case for Same Sex Marriage"

MILITARY -- MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT'S FATHER URGES BUSH TO SUPPORT GI BILL: Last week, Tom and Romayne McGinnis accepted the Medal of Honor from President Bush on behalf of their son, Ross, who was killed in Iraq in 2004 after diving in front of a grenade to save four of his fellow soldiers. Tom McGinnis used the opportunity to push Bush to support the 21st Century GI Bill, which passed both houses of Congress with substantial majorities and which Bush has threatened to veto. Speaking at the Pentagon, McGinnis emphasized that the troops "need our support," and said that the GI bill "only needs the signature of the president." "I think it's time that George Bush can sign this bill and make it law to show his appreciation for the support these loyal youth have given him," he said. Bush is growing increasingly isolated in his opposition to the bill, which is supported by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion. The Military Officers Association of America has also announced that it "strongly supports" the bill. The group disputed concerns about how it would affect retention rates, arguing that "the GI bill has always been a veterans' benefit, not a military retention benefit."

JUSTICE -- SUPREME COURT TILTS RIGHT IN O'CONNOR'S ABSENCE: Since retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stepped down in January 2006, "much of her legal signature already is fading from the court." In her absence, the court "has undercut several of her most important rulings on issues such as abortion rights, campaign finance law and government policies intended to help racial minorities." Under chief justice John Roberts, the court has "upheld a federal ban on the procedure opponents call 'partial birth abortion' and backed away from a 2000 O'Connor opinion that required an exception in such laws to protect the health of the mother." In 2003, O'Connor "cast the swing vote to allow affirmative action in higher education and stressed the importance of racial diversity" in schools. But in her absence, "the court made it harder for public school districts to assign students to schools outside their neighborhoods to achieve racial diversity." In a move away from the standard O'Connor crafted to regulate campaign financing, "[t]he court opened the door to corporate and union financing of broadcast ads right before an election." Richard Hasen, an election-law specialist at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said that as a former legislator, O'Connor "understood the role that money can play in politics" and "took a realistic view of the need for money in the system but also saw some of the problems associated with it."

ETHICS -- WHITE HOUSE DID NOT FULLY DISCLOSE ABRAMOFF INFLUENCE: Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), released a draft report confirming the influence that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff had within the Bush White House. "The White House failed to conduct even the most basic internal investigation of the White House relationship with Mr. Abramoff before making public statements characterizing the connection," the report said. In fact, "as White House officials were telling the public they were thoroughly reviewing contacts with Abramoff, they failed to question five former officials who were key points of contact for the Abramoff lobbying team." Abramoff, who is already serving a prison term for fraud and faces up to eleven more years, gave gifts of sports tickets and meals to White House officials, including Karl Rove. The report claims that Abramoff influenced the firing of State Department official Alan Stayman and that the White House sought Abramoff's input on appointees to the Office of Insular Affairs. Though the report did not find evidence of Abramoff directly lobbying the President, the report includes six photographs of Abramoff appearing with President Bush, even though the White House previously acknowledged only two prior meetings.

A Vote for McBama - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
The Rise of the Obamacons - Bruce Bartlett, The New Republic
The McCain Miracle - Michael Gerson, Washington Post
The Johnson Test - John Dickerson, Slate
What the Media Mistakes About Itself & Obama - Noemie Emery, WS
Dems Will Unite & Win in November - Rep. Charles Rangel, NY Daily News
Dems Struggling w/'Party Unity' Thing - Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Who's to Blame? It Was Mark Penn - Dick Morris, The Hill
Economic Change is All Around Us - Brian Wesbury, Wall Street Journal
Sustaining Growth is Century's Challenge - Martin Wolf, Financial Times
Talking to Tyrants - Nicholas Wapshott, New York Sun
Bush Regrets Legacy as Man Who Wanted War - Baldwin & Baker, Times
The Trial Bar Behind Bars - Steven Malanga, RealClearMarkets
How to Get Back to Growth - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
The Great Financial Seduction - David Brooks, New York Times
Voters Say Drill. Will Candidates Listen? - Larry Kudlow, RealClearPolitics
High Oil Prices? Weak Dollar? Blame Bush - Martin Frost, The Politico

Editorials
Friends of Barack? - Wall Street Journal
A Welcome Flip-Flop - Washington Post
Silly Season for Oil Policy - Los Angeles Times
Bush in Europe - New York Sun

Political News & Analysis
Obama's Choice of Insider Draws Fire - Washington Post
Candidates Hit Old Notes on the Economy - New York Times
Obama Begins More Relaxed General Campaign - USA Today
McCain Criticizes CEO Pay - Bloomberg

Best of the Blogs
The Case for Biden - Ezra Klein
The Veepstakes Show - Marc Ambinder
McCain on Abortion - Kevin Drum
Race, Polling and the 'Bradley Effect' - The Fix
Welcome Back Carter - Confederate Yankee

Obama's Defense Policy
Ed Lasky
Barack Obama's defense policy plans threaten foreign policy consequences inimical to American interests, and would pose perilous problems for some of our key allies More

Obama and his Next Goal
James Edmund Pennington
Democrat elders and activists, having engineered, or submitted to, their choice of Obama, can now begin attending to the risk they have created. More

Chavez Decrees More Castroism -- then Backs Off
Humberto Fontova
Last week Hugo Chavez took his aping of Castro's regime to a frightening new level... and then backed off. More

Kyle-Anne Shiver on air
June 11, 2008
Kyle-Anne Shiver will appear on the nationally syndicated Laura Ingraham Show today More

Ed Lasky on 'The Rick Moran Show'
June 10, 2008
American Thinker's Ed Lasky will talk politics and more on The Rick Moran Show with the host, AT Associate Editor Rick Moran. More

'The Natural' Gets His Due
June 10, 2008
Ken Griffey Jr., owner of one of the most perfect swings in all of baseball, hit his 600th home run Monday More

How the Media misrepresents the Candidates' Tax Plans
June 10, 2008
When President Bush signed the 2001 tax cuts into law, the new lower rates had a ten year life, and are set to expire in 2010. More

Target date of July for completion of Iraq-US Troop Deal
June 10, 2008
The deal is necessary to replace the UN Mandate for US presence in Iraq set to expire in July. More

Bush, EU Threaten new round of Iran Sanctions
June 10, 2008
No word on what kind of sanctions the president and the Europeans are willing to place on Iran for not suspending their enrichment activities More

Obama's 50 state strategy
June 10, 2008
Barack Obama's campaign has announced they will put campaign staff in all 50 states - the first time that has happened in a generation: More

The Ignorance of Entertainers
June 10, 2008
Historically, performers, of any kind, singers, actors, actresses, storytellers (i.e. fiction writers) and the like, occupied the lowest rung in society. And for good reason they didn't do anything constructive. More

Newsweek: Dreidels for Obama
June 10, 2008
National Review documents how Newsweek distorts the facts on Lieberman, Obama's anti-Israel advisers and colleagues, and Jewish support for Obama. More

1970's Redux: Senate Democrats Debate 'Windfall Profits' Tax
June 10, 2008
If senate Democrats keep this up, I'll be able to break out my bell bottom jeans and start revving up my Donna Summers records: More

Seems like old times
June 10, 2008
This list of people being named to Obama's campaign makes it look like a full employment act for Democrat spouses, children and long time consultants. More

Kucinich comes down to earth; offers Bush Impeachment Resolution
June 10, 2008
Lefty blogs are beside themselves with joy this morning because Congressman Dennis Kucinich has beamed down from his spaceship long enough to offer resolutions of impeachment against President George Bush. More

Conservatives Master Obstruction
Yesterday, Senate conservatives continued their stated strategy of "making political points" by obstructing legislation meant to address America's energy and environmental challenges. First, in a 51-43 vote, conservatives successfully used the threat of a filibuster to block the Consumer-First Energy Act, which would have "levied a 25 percent tax on 'windfall profits' of major oil companies" that don't invest more in renewable energy. Daniel J. Weiss, the Center for American Progress's Director of Climate Strategy, says that such a tax would "spur investments in clean energy alternatives." The bill would also have "given the government more power to address oil market speculation, opened the way for antitrust actions against countries belonging to the OPEC oil cartel, and made energy price gouging a federal crime." The second bill blocked by conservatives, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, failed by a vote of 50-44. It would have extended popular tax breaks for renewable energy that are set to expire at the end of this year. The failure to pass the tax breaks is worrisome to the renewables industry, which is "already seeing a slowing of growth in the sector because companies are hesitant to start new projects without the assurance that these credits will be available." Yesterday's obstructionism is the third time in less than a week that Senate conservatives have used parliamentary tactics to block energy legislation. On Friday, conservatives blocked the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act after first shutting down the Senate by forcing the clerk to read the entire bill on the Senate floor.

A 'CYNICAL' STRATEGY OF OBSTRUCTION: A Republican strategy memo obtained last week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made clear that the obstructionist tactics employed by conservatives were aimed solely at "making political points" rather than "affecting policy." "You could not make up anything more cynical," said Reid when he revealed the memo on the Senate floor. As Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) noted on the Senate floor yesterday, conservatives in Congress have broken historical precedent by engaging in 75 filibusters this Congress. But the filibuster isn't the only obstructionist tactic employed by Senate Republicans. Yesterday, Senate conservatives used a rare maneuver to shut down a Judiciary Committee hearing on torture by forcing the Senate into recess. Reid called the maneuver by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) "part of a pattern of obstruction." Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who has been in the Senate since 1992, remarked that the shut down was "very, very unusual."

CONSERVATIVES WANT TO DRILL: At the same time they are blocking investment in alternative energy, conservatives, allied with Big Oil, are claiming that the cure to America's energy problems is simply "increasing domestic oil supplies by permitting new exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in the waters on the Outer Continental Shelf." Their mantra, in the words of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is to "drill here, drill now." The entire conservative noise machine is getting behind the call for increased domestic drilling. "We need to be drilling more and drilling now here at home," bellowed Rush Limbaugh on his radio show yesterday. Just yesterday, House Republicans filed a discharge petition to "force a floor vote on legislation on oil drilling in Alaska." The White House agrees with its conservatives allies. "Instead of populist votes that would do nothing for gas prices, we need to allow domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways," said spokesman Tony Fratto yesterday.

BUT DRILLING WON'T HELP: "More drilling. More drilling. More drilling. That is the Johnny One Note policy" of conservatives, charged House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in response to the discharge petition. "Feeding that addiction by tapping another vein just drills us into a deeper hole," said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Furthermore, opening up drilling domestically in places such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wouldn't have the effect on gas prices that conservatives claim. The U.S. Geological Survey believes that drilling in the refuge would likely produce only 3.2 billion barrels of oil, which is "not even enough to satisfy six months' demand." Additionally, it would take 10 years for oil drilled in the Arctic to reach the market and another 40 years to extract the full amount of oil. Instead of making "long-term investments in affordable transportation alternatives that use significantly less gasoline or oil," conservatives want to double down on more and more domestic drilling.

IRAQ -- CONTRACTOR IMMUNITY SEEN AS DEAL BREAKER FOR US/IRAQ SECURITY PACT: Yesterday, David Satterfield, the top State Department official in Iraq, conceded to reporters that the impasse over the long-term U.S.-Iraqi security deal is due in large part to issues regarding the presence of foreign "security contractors." Iraqi lawmakers have expressed outrage that the U.S.-sponsored deal would continue to extend immunity from prosecution to private military contractors such as Blackwater, the private military firm implicated in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians last September. According to the AP, U.S. officials are considering alternative solutions for ensuring Iraqi sovereignty over airspace and U.S. troop movements, but are steadfast in their demand for blanket immunity for security contractors working under the Defense and State Departments. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) yesterday sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requesting information about the controversial decision to renew Blackwater's contract in Iraq and inquiring about the "driving forces that resulted in the U.S. government needing to rely so heavily upon private security contractors." Security contractors are getting increased scrutiny for their U.S. operations as well. San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre is pushing for local oversight over a planned Blackwater military training facility by forcing state courts to handle the city's attempt to review the security firm's application.

MILITARY -- VA SAYS RELEASING DOCUMENTS ON UNDER-DIAGNOSING PTSD 'WOULD NOT REVEAL ANYTHING NEW': The Department of Veterans Affairs has denied a request for a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) fee waiver by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on the under-diagnosing of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The decision forces CREW to pay for the costs of finding and copying documents. In a four-page denial letter, the Veteran Affairs chief counsel wrote that CREW is not entitled to a fee wavier because the documents requested would not "significantly contribute to the public's understanding" or "reveal anything new." CREW's request was prompted by an internal VA e-mail obtained by CREW and VoteVets.org that instructed VA staff to "refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out" and to consider a diagnosis of the less-serious "adjustment disorder" instead. VA Secretary James Peake said last month that concerns about PTSD in veterans are "overblown," and many veterans suffering from PTSD just "might need a little counseling."

AFGHANISTAN -- RAND REPORT SAYS VIOLENCE IN AFGHANISTAN RISING: Last week, former Joint Chiefs of Staff senior intelligence officer John McCreary released an analysis of the security situation in Afghanistan and concluded that the month of May "saw more violence than any other month since the 2001 U.S. intervention that toppled the Taliban and forced Osama bin Laden and his followers to flee into Pakistan." In his full report released this week, McCreary said that "an increase in attacks in and around Kabul is particularly noteworthy because it indicates a physical and psychological worsening of the security situation," adding, "Kabul is becoming slowly surrounded." At the same time, a new RAND corporation, Pentagon-funded report has found that Taliban safe-havens in Pakistan are at the root of Afghanistan's security problems. The report concludes, "The United States and other international actors need to eliminate the insurgents' support base in Pakistan," and a"failure to do so will cripple long-term efforts to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan." But not only are Afghan insurgents using bases in Pakistan for cover, but authorities there are providing assistance. "The Taliban and other groups are getting help from individuals within Pakistan's government, and until that ends, the region's long-term security is in jeopardy," the report says.

Flunk the Electoral College: Getting Rid of the Exploding Cigar of American Politics

Michael Waldman, Brennan Center for Justice

Democracy and Elections: The Electoral College is an affront to basic democracy, warping competition and subverting political equality -- even when it works.


Talk Radio's Last Stand?

Rory O'Connor, AlterNet

MediaCulture: Talk radio "shock jocks" are fretting publicly about the supposed return of the long-defunct Fairness Doctrine.


Why Oil Prices Are So High

Sam Pizzigati, Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Looking for villains around the gas pump? Look at the super-rich making bets with billions while regular people always lose.

McCain's Health Care Plan for Americans: Don’t Get Sick

Center for American Progress Action Fund

Health and Wellness: McCain, a cancer survivor, would be unlikely to get coverage under his own plan if he did not have government-provided insurance.


Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman

Mary Tillman, Rodale Inc

War on Iraq: Mary Tillman writes about when her family first began hearing conflicting details of the Army's account of her son Pat's death.


Key Women Clinton Supporters: McCain Won't Get Our Vote

Ari Berman, TheNation.com

Election 2008: McCain is out of touch with women's lives. Women know that he would be a dangerous choice for them.

Battle of the Budget Slideshows
Mark Schmitt
June 10, 2008
Budget hawks are trying to convince the public that we face an unavoidable choice between cutting social programs and budgetary Armageddon. But in reality, our budgetary problems stem from our out-of-control health care system.

Losing the Information War with Amendment 56
Lance Fairchok
It's also time for a little vengeance on the Pentagon by Congressional Democrats. More

Countering Democrats on Drilling
Patrick J. Casey
The Democrats have rolled out their main talking point against any more domestic drilling. Here's how to disarm it. More

It's Getting Crowded Under Obama's Bus
Rick Moran
On Tuesday, Barack Obama faced the glare of the cameras and tried to deal with what was rapidly becoming one of those "distractions" he so despises. More

Free the offshore drillers
June 11, 2008
Rep. John Peterson (R-PA) has introduced an amendment to s spending bill that would free up offshore drilling more than 50 miles off our coast, enabling American companies to drill in waters already being exploited by the Chinese, among others. More

Apparently I'm a 'racist'
June 11, 2008
The other night, while I was at a local comedy club, Robin Williams showed up unexpectedly and did his act, a mixture of old and new. More

Report: US Led Forces Kill 11 Pak Soldiers
June 11, 2008
This could be a very big deal or it could just have been a mistake but the Pakistani army - our erstwhile ally - are very upset over reports a US-led coalition airstrike along the Pakistani-Afghan border More

Has an American hero come out as a Republican?
June 11, 2008
In the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Nazi enemies of Dr. Jones have been replaced by Soviet communists. More

Internal Strife at Highest Levels of Iranian Government
June 11, 2008
Trouble in the Islamic paradise. More

Despicable animal rights demonstrators
June 11, 2008
The animal rights movement seems to be home to more than its share of people who believe their cause is so right that they are excused from normal human constraints. More

Bush 'regrets' Legacy of War
June 11, 2008
George Bush told the Times OnLine that he regrets the fact that his rhetoric gave the impression that he wanted war in Iraq. More

George Soros and Obama's veep
June 11, 2008
Barack Obama's choice of Jim Johnson to vet vice presidential choices is worse than previously understood More

Albright pointing fingers in the wrong direction - again
June 11, 2008
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has yet another Bush-bashing and self-serving column out in today's New York Times. More

Michelle Obama to co-host 'The View'
June 11, 2008
It will be free advertising (not that the Obama campaign needs any) that reaches a key demographic group that has eluded the clutches of Obamamania.... More

Let the crossover donations begin
June 11, 2008
Hillary's "suspension" of her campaign has opened a door to crossover Democrats donating to and supporting John McCain. More

How low can the UN go?
June 11, 2008
It's impossible to imagine how much lower the UN could go beyond this. More

Will the Election Be All About Obama? - Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix
November's Magic Numbers - George Will, Washington Post
A Deafening Silence in Canada - David Warren, Ottawa Citizen
Bush Does Europe Incognito - Roger Cohen, New York Times
Gates the Great: SecDef a Patriot with Guts - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Getting to Know Jim Webb - Joe Klein, Time
The Decline of the Senate - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Obama's Unvetted Vetter - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post
Is Obama Prepared for the World Stage? - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal
Obama Sure Walks the Talk - Garrison Keillor, Chicago Tribune
Democrats Embrace Fog of Complex Tax Plans - Amity Shlaes, Bloomberg
Obama's Economic Challenge - David Ignatius, Washington Post
Do the Right Thing - Start Drilling - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics
Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment - Marie Cocco, Indianapolis Star
What I Saw in Afghanistan - Laura Bush, Wall Street Journal
Obama/Webb Ticket and the Race Factor - Jonathan Tilove, Newhouse
McCain, GOP Face Hispanic Tipping Point - Reid Wilson, RealClearPolitics

Editorials
McCain's Gamble - San Diego Union-Tribune
Ex-Friends of Barack - Wall Street Journal
Climate Change - Wait 'Til Next Year? - San Francisco Chronicle
Gouging Big Oil Means Gouging You - New Hampshire Union Leader

Political News & Analysis
Johnson Out as VP Vetter - The Politico
Obama Scolds Credit Card Companies - Los Angeles Times
McCain, Obama Reaching Out To Women - Washington Post
Unions Critical of Obama Economics Aide - New York Times

Transcripts & Speeches


McCain's Speech to the NFIB - John McCain
Barack Obama on "All Things Considered" - All Things Considered
McCain Interview w/Peter Cook - Bloomberg
Ohio Governor Strickland Takes Himself Off Of VP List - ATC
Advisors Debate Candidates' Economic Agendas - The NewsHour

Best of the Blogs
George W. Bush, Dove - Power Line
Obama's Clinton Bounce - MyDD
Jon Tester's Party Building - Daily Kos
A Quiet Goodbye to Europe - The Corner
Bring Impeachment to a Floor Vote - Open Left

Coming to a Kabuki theater near you -- the search for a vice president
Every four years, the who-for-No.-2 drama follows the same insincere rituals, from comically straining to soothing the party's base

By Walter Shapiro

ENVIRONMENT
Global Boiling
The evidence for the consequences of global warming is appearing with alarming frequency. This morning's headlines are filled with tales of deadly weather: "At least four people were killed and about 40 injured when a tornado tore through a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa on Wednesday night"; "two people are dead in northern Kansas after tornadoes cut a diagonal path across the state"; "[t]wo Maryland men with heart conditions died this week" from the East Coast heat wave. These eight deaths come on top of reports earlier this week that the heat wave "claimed the lives of 17 people" and the wave of deadly storms killed 11 more: "six in Michigan, two in Indiana and one each in Iowa and Connecticut," as well as one man in New York. Tornadoes this year are being reported at record levels. States of emergency have been declared in Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Michigan because of floods and wildfires. Counties in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, South Dakota, and Wisconsin have been declared disaster areas due to the historic flooding that has breached dams, inundated towns, and caused major crop damage, sending commodity futures to new records. The floodwaters are continuing down the Mississippi River, with "crests of 10 feet or more above flood level" for "at least the next two weeks."

GLOBAL BOILING: This tragic, deadly, and destructive weather -- not to mention the droughts in Georgia, California, Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, North Dakota, and elsewhere across the country -- are consistent with the changes scientists predicted would come with global warming. Gov. Chet Culver (D-IA) called the three weeks of storms that gave rise to the floods in his state "historic in proportion," saying "very few people could anticipate or prepare for that type of event." Culver is, unfortunately, wrong. As far back as 1995, analysis by the National Climatic Data Center showed that the United States "had suffered a statistically significant increase in a variety of extreme weather events." In 2007, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that it is "very likely" that man-made global warming will bring an "increase in frequency of hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation." The Nobel Prize-winning panel of thousands of scientists and government officials also found, "Altered frequencies and intensities of extreme weather, together with sea level rise, are expected to have mostly adverse effects on natural and human systems." In 2002, scientists said that "increased precipitation, an expected outcome of climate change, may cause losses of US corn production to double over the next 30 years -- additional damage that could cost agriculture $3 billion per year." Scientists have also found that the "West will see devastating droughts as global warming reduces the amount of mountain snow and causes the snow that does fall to melt earlier in the year."

WAKE-UP CALL?: Of the Memorial Day storms that killed eight people and "led to about $160 million in claims," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) rose on the Senate floor on June 5 to say, "the storm may serve as a wake-up call to those of us who have become somewhat complacent about severe weather warnings." The next day, Grassley joined 37 of his colleagues to filibuster climate legislation, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. This week, he and other conservatives filibustered two more bills to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and support renewable energy and energy efficiency. In response to "[T]he most destructive flood in Indiana history," estimated to have caused "$126 million in damages," Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) told reporters that President Bush "called 'simply to inquire about how Hoosiers were getting through this, and to ask me -- as I have asked local officials -- was his level of government doing all it can to support us here and to cooperate with us? I told him, 'So far, so good.'" At the beginning of the month, Bush said he would veto these climate and clean energy bills if they came to his desk, declaring, "I urge the Congress to be very careful about running up enormous costs for future generations of Americans."

'TURNING THE KNOB': Although the deadly weather has been front-page news all season, and news channels dedicate hours of coverage to "Extreme Weather," the media are strangely reluctant to discuss severe weather events in the context of climate change. Perhaps some of the reason is the virulent response from the right wing whenever a journalist or scientist dares to discuss how "the upsurge in the number and power of the deadly storms could be related to a warming climate." In a rare instance of good coverage, ABC's Good Morning America ran a segment on Monday about the East Coast heat wave that noted "90 records have been tied or broken" across the East and interviewed eminent climatologist Dr. Stephen Schneider. Schneider explained, "While this heat wave like all other heat waves is made by Mother Nature, 4DCAC82179C9EBF" by turning the knob and making a little bit hotter." Schneider then pointed out that we are making the climate hotter through carbon dioxide and methane emissions. In response, the right-wing media outlet Newsbusters wrote that Schneider "Blames Greenhouse Gases for Current Heat Wave," saying, "[G]lobal warming activists have another way to frighten the public -- using steamy weather to suggest human greenhouse gas emissions are worsening a heat wave."

IRAN -- BUSH MAY BE SEEKING TO USE BASES IN IRAQ FOR STRIKE AGAINST IRAN: Despite vocal and fierce opposition by some of Iraq's top politicians to his plan to establish permanent bases in Iraq, President Bush yesterday expressed confidence the plan would go through. He dismissed the opposition as the "noise" of a freer Iraq society and insisted that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "appreciates our presence there." "I think we'll get the agreement done," Bush said. Media accounts indicate that the White House's determination to finalize the deal may have more to do with Iran than Iraq. The Bush administration is reportedly seeking "the power to determine if a hostile act from another country is aggression against Iraq," a provision that would allow the United States to brand Iran an enemy of Iraq and attack Iran in the name of defending Iraq. Bush is also seeking "the prerogative for U.S. forces to conduct operations without approval from the Iraqi government." Additionally, the U.S. determination to control Iraqi airspace "added to concerns that the United States was preparing to use Iraq as a base to attack Iran."

RADICAL RIGHT -- COBURN PLACES HOLD ON HIV/AIDS PREVENTION LEGISLATION: The Senate has introduced a bipartisan bill to triple funding for President Bush's program to fight HIV/AIDS. The $50 billion budget over five years would go toward the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is set to expire in September. The legislation, however, is being held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and six other conservative senators who object to the fact that the program would direct most of the spending to the "prevention" of HIV/AIDS, rather than just "treatment." The treatment of HIV/AIDS-infected individuals is "the No. 1 prevention protocol we have," argued Coburn. Coburn may be an obstetrician, but he is out of the mainstream with other medical professionals on this issue, who say that focusing on treatment as a form of prevention is short-sighted and ineffective. "The prevention effect of treatment is not likely to be anywhere near the magnitude of prevention through prevention," including safe-sex education and condom distribution, said Mead Over, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. Coburn has a habit of blocking bills funding medical research, and his record on health care is abysmal. Coburn has repeatedly blocked legislation funding breast cancer research, doing so as recently as April. He also held up funding to screen returning veterans for signs of suicide risk. In 2005, he proclaimed that silicone breast implants "make you healthier."

CONGRESS -- CONSERVATIVES NARROWLY BLOCK UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS BILL: Yesterday, the House of Representatives fell three votes shy of passing a bill that would extend unemployment insurance benefits by 13 weeks, while giving 26 to citizens living in states with unemployment rates higher than 6 percent. The bill, which was brought to the floor under an expedited floor procedure and needed two-thirds of the House for approval, failed by a vote of 279 to 144, with 49 Republicans voting in favor. The legislation was introduced in response to last month's jump in unemployment to 5.5 percent, the largest one-month jump since 1986. The White House had promised a veto unless extended benefits were targeted "to high-unemployment states alone." Proponents of the bill "argued that the 8.5 million already unemployed should not have to wait for things to get worse before the federal government helps them." "These millions count on us to do the right thing and respond when they are in need," said Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). House Democrats plan to reintroduce the bill today, when it will need only a simple majority to pass.

The Climate Alarmist Manifesto
Marc Sheppard
Just as class struggle forms the nucleus of Marxism, so does it sit at the very core of the Left's climate alarmism. More

Return of the Dupes and the Anti-Anti-Communists
Paul Kengor
Liberals are (still) suckers for the far left; Obama's radical past proves the point More

Revisiting Obama's Speech to AIPAC
Rick Richman
Barack Obama's June 4 speech to AIPAC received a favorable initial response, but the more one scrutinizes it, the more troubling it becomes. More

Is the US Constitution a suicide pact after all?
June 12, 2008
The US Supreme Court has opened a Pandora's Box. More

The Curious Behavior of Hugo Chavez
June 12, 2008
Hugo Chavez's abrupt switch to moderate and rational speech is understandably disconcerting. More

Rezko Says Prosecutors leaned on him for Obama Dirt
June 12, 2008
Antoin "Tony" Rezko and "The Chicago Way" More

Obama: I was for high gas prices before I was against them
June 12, 2008
Jim Geraghty reports on an interview Obama gave CNBC on the gas crisis where the candidate came out four square - for higher gas prices: More

How to get America drilling for our own oil (updated)
June 12, 2008
AT contributors share some thoughts on how America can re-start aggressive development of our own oil resources, instead of relying on OPEC. More

Obama on why he shouldn't have run for president
June 12, 2008
Back in 2004, Obama felt that it would be too soon for a newly-minted senator to run for president. More

Supreme Court Insists Terrorists have Habeus Corpus Rights
June 12, 2008
By the narrowest of margins, 5-4, the United States Supreme Court granted the constitutional protection of Habeus Corpus to foreign nationals being held at Guantanamo: More

Jimmy Carter on Obama's lack of substance and experience
June 12, 2008
Oops! Jimmy Carter told the truth about Obama before it looked likely Obama would win the nomination. More

Politics in Zimbabwe beyond hardball
June 12, 2008
While commentators fret that the GOP will attack Michelle Obama and alienate voters, supporters of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe don't limit themselves to mere criticism. More

Another day, another radical supporter of Obama
June 12, 2008
Next time Obama takes to the stump, let's watch and see if he's wearing anything pink. More

McCain 1 - Obama 0 in Foreign Policy Debate
June 12, 2008
From "Page Six," we get the news that there was a debate in Canada between surrogates for Obama and McCain on foreign policy: More

Judith Levine
As Cranes Fall and People Die

Patrick Cockburn
Amid Iraqi Fury, U.S. Offers Concessions on Military Bases

Saul Landau
The Iraq War Becomes Suicidal

Christopher Brauchli
Bush Bling-Bling: Government by Crony

Norman Solomon
Deadly Diplomacy

Helen Redmond
Why Can't We All Get KennedyCare?

Laura Carlsen
No Rest for the Working Poor

Jeremy R. Hammond
Threats Against Iran Escalate

If McCain Wins, GOP May Lose - Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call
McCain Can Win Election on Iraq - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
A Realigning Mood Toward Obama? - E. J. Dionne, Houston Chronicle
Gitmo Decision Could Roil '08 Race - Rowley & Stohr, Bloomberg
An Astonishingly Dangerous Decision - Hugh Hewitt, Townhall
Supreme Court to Bush: You're Not Above the Law - James Ross, Salon
McCain's Incoherence on Energy - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Whether or Not to Swift-Boat - Michael Kinsley, Time
Obama, Liberalism and the Challenge of Reform - David Brooks, NY Times
Will Lieberman Deliver McCain Jewish Votes? - Matthew Berger, Nat'l Jrnl
Failure to Regulate is Bad for Business - Paul Krugman, New York Times
This Election's Pointless Lobbyist Wars - Kimberley Strassel, WSJ
Bush's Iran Coalition Too Little Too Late - Con Coughlin, The Telegraph
What Rumsfeld Got Right - Robert Kaplan, The Atlantic
Afghanistan Needs a Definition of Victory - Philip Stephens, FT
Life's Really Not So Bad in the US - Gregg Easterbrook, Wall Street Journal
Conspiracy Theories Everywhere - David Harsanyi, Denver Post
RCP Blog: A Little Whitey Lie | Boumediene v. Bush Roundup

Editorials
Boumediene v. Bush: Justice 5, Brutality 4 - New York Times
More Americans Likely to Die As a Result - Wall Street Journal
Solution for the Iran Crisis - Boston Globe
McCain Fumbling FISA - Washington Times

Political News & Analysis
McCain, Obama Split on Guantanamo Ruling - New York Times
Dems Attack Record of McCain's VP Vetter - The Hill
News Outlets Facing Increased Scrutiny - Wall Street Journal
Obama Campaign Dispatching Thousands - Washington Post

Best of the Blogs
Conservatism v. Authoritarianism - Glenn Greenwald
Does Obama's Campaign Foreshadow His Presidency? - Pajamas Media
Boumediene and Judicial Realism - Obsidian Wings
Boumediene the Day After - Power Line
Defending Webb the Confederate - The Moderate Voice

A New Start for Russia and Europe - Mikhail Gorbachev, Intl Herald Tribune
Prince Charles Organic Conservatism - Michael Gerson, Washington Post
Europe Falls in Love with America Again - Alan Philps, The National
Raul Castro's Reforms - Rupert Cornwell, The Independent
Does India Need a New Electoral System? - Arvind Sivaramakrishnan, The Hindu

Playing Diplomatic Hardball with FARC
Paul Leaf and Eli Sugarman
Nonstate terror organizations like the FARC narcoterrorists attacking Colombia can be attacked diplomatically as well as militarily. More

Straight talk from Clinton's trade negotiator
Howard Richman, Raymond Richman, and Jesse Richman
It is rare when a government official actually blames himself for his mistakes. That More

Thank you, Big Oil
Todd Keister
So, you hate "big oil" and the soaring gasoline prices they are forcing on you? You've bought into the rhetoric. More

The battle for the Senate
June 13, 2008
According to Rasumessen, Senator Cornyn has opened up a 17 point lead in texas (it had been 4), almost killing the Dems' hopes of picking up 9 to gain a filibuster-proof 60 seats. Here's how the key Senate races look. More

Inflation up: Fed Ready to Pivot on interest rates
June 13, 2008
The cost of food and fuel soared in May and that pushed the cost of living up 0.6% - about what analysts had expected: More

Maliki says Security Talks 'at dead end'
June 13, 2008
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the Associated Press that talks with the United States on a security pact had broken down because neither side would accede to each other's demands: More

Hands off Michelle Obama you GOP Meanies!
June 13, 2008
It appears a major effort is underway to smear as "racist" or "sexist" (or perhaps both) anyone who criticizes Michaell Obama. More

Irish voters reject EU power grab
June 13, 2008
The Treaty of Lisbon, in effec