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Transcripts & Speeches
Obama's Remarks to NALEO - Barack Obama
McCain's Speech to NALEO - John McCain
Democratic Unity Event in Unity, NH - The Obama Campaign
Panel Reviews the Obama/Clinton Event - Special Report w/Brit Hume
Shields & Brooks Discuss the Unity Rally - The NewsHour
Best of the Blogs
Obama's New Iraq Policy? - Jennifer Rubin, Contentions
Anthony Kennedy's Song of Himself - Scott Johnson, Power Line
Obama Isn't a Progressive - Taylor Marsh
Taking Obama at His Word - Chris Bowers, Open Left
Netroots: 60 or Bust - Patrick Ruffini, Next Right
Obama's Callous Indifference
Peter Kirsanow
I disagree with nearly all of Obama's positions, but that wouldn't necessarily make me dislike him. One matter, however, is different. More
McCain, My Man
Kyle-Anne Shiver
I'm ready to stand front and center now, dear readers, and admit that I voted for John McCain in the 2000 Republican primary. More
Those Mean-Spirited Liberals
Christopher Chantrill
Every now and again our learned scholars in the liberal university come up with a study, financed by taxpayers' money, that concludes what every liberal already knows. Conservatives are rigid and not very intelligent. More
Peter Kirsanow
I disagree with nearly all of Obama's positions, but that wouldn't necessarily make me dislike him. One matter, however, is different. More
McCain, My Man
Kyle-Anne Shiver
I'm ready to stand front and center now, dear readers, and admit that I voted for John McCain in the 2000 Republican primary. More
Those Mean-Spirited Liberals
Christopher Chantrill
Every now and again our learned scholars in the liberal university come up with a study, financed by taxpayers' money, that concludes what every liberal already knows. Conservatives are rigid and not very intelligent. More
Obama birth certificate mystery solved?
June 29, 2008
Could it be a case of much ado about nothing? Doug Ross thinks so. More
Airline notes
June 29, 2008
Two somewhat hair-raising stories today: More
So Tell Us, Sen. Obama, 'Who Else Sent You?'
June 29, 2008
It was, of course, inevitable. How could any politician rise so quickly on the legendarily corrupt Chicago political scene and be as pure as Obama's devoted followers were purporting him to be? More
Your America
June 29, 2008
Agenda driven politicians and media have created a negative world view of America. To them, America's glass is forever half empty. I see our glass well over half full. More
June 29, 2008
Could it be a case of much ado about nothing? Doug Ross thinks so. More
Airline notes
June 29, 2008
Two somewhat hair-raising stories today: More
So Tell Us, Sen. Obama, 'Who Else Sent You?'
June 29, 2008
It was, of course, inevitable. How could any politician rise so quickly on the legendarily corrupt Chicago political scene and be as pure as Obama's devoted followers were purporting him to be? More
Your America
June 29, 2008
Agenda driven politicians and media have created a negative world view of America. To them, America's glass is forever half empty. I see our glass well over half full. More
A pander too far?
June 29, 2008
True to form, the man who claims he is not a typical politician and who claims he won't cater to special interests caters to the one group that he has most trouble with politically: seniors. More
June 29, 2008
True to form, the man who claims he is not a typical politician and who claims he won't cater to special interests caters to the one group that he has most trouble with politically: seniors. More
Pretending That Bush is Not a Tyrant
Robert Parry, Consortium News
Rights and Liberties: If you listen to Bush's legal advisors, questions about the limits of his authority might not be hypothetical anymore.
The 'Mortgage Meltdown' Was No AccidentKai Wright, The Nation
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: How the mortgage industry stole black America's hard-won wealth.
10 Things to Know About McCain Advisor Charlie BlackJon Ponder, Pensito Review
Election 2008: Black was an early innovator of the GOP attack machine, and a very successful lobbyist and political strategist in the Reagan and Bush eras.
U.S. Continues to Brutalize Iraqis in the Cause of the 'Surge'
By Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com
War on Iraq: Five years after the invasion, to speak of this urge to surge and its results as "success" or as "good news" is essentially obscene.
Women Have the Voting Power to Control This Election
Martha Burk, Ms. Magazine
Reproductive Justice and Gender: The economy, war, the health care crisis and tax policies all affect women differently than men. And women have the power to change them all.
How Long Does Drug Prohibition Need to Continue Before It's Declared a Failure? David Borden, Drug War Chronicle
DrugReporter: The day we legalize drugs is the day we can begin to clean up the mess that the drug prohibition experiment has created.
In Egypt, "Prostitute" Is a Slippery TermL.L. Wynn, American Sexuality Magazine
Sex and Relationships: In Egypt the label "prostitute" is often applied to women who defy traditional social and sexual codes of conduct.
Just How Much Is the Iraq War Costing Us Each Minute?
Post by ZP Heller
Video: Putting the obscene cost into perspective. More »
The War Inside NBC by Jed Babbin The sudden death of "Meet the Press" anchor Tim Russert brought a long-simmering war inside NBC to a boil.
ECONOMY
McCain Tax Cuts = Bush On Steroids
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) consistently fearmongers that "Democrats...want to raise your taxes...I want to lower your taxes" and threatens that under Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) tax plan, "Americans of every background would see their taxes rise." Not only is McCain's claim that Obama will raise every American's taxes false, but in reality, it is McCain's economic and tax plans that Americans should fear. His plan would double President Bush's tax cut while offering little in the way of offsetting those costs. As New York Times columnist and Princeton University economics professor Paul Krugman noted, McCain's economic proposals are "Bush made permanent" that "would leave the federal government with far too little revenue to cover its expenses." But while McCain tries to rebut claims that his administration would not represent a continuation of Bush's policies, even his top surrogate, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), acknowledged reality, admitting recently that McCain's economic policies would "absolutely" be an "enhancement" of Bush's. Oddly though, McCain's top economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin has tried to claim Obama is a continuation of Bush, a remark even conservatives find absurd. Today, a Center for American Progress Action Fund event -- dubbed "McCain University" -- will educate and inform voters, reporters, and pundits about the consequences of adopting McCain's policies.
BIG CORPORATIONS WILL CASH IN: Part of McCain's overall economic policy is to reduce the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. What does this actually mean for America's largest corporations? According to a new report from the Center For American Progress Action Fund, McCain's tax plan would save corporations $175 billion per year, with $45 billion going to America's 200 largest corporations as identified by Fortune Magazine. McCain has also said the "nation cannot reduce its dependency on oil unless we change how we power our transportation sector." But at the same time, he is calling for increased oil exploration and production, which will not only do little to relieve energy prices here at home but also will put billions more into Big Oil's pockets. McCain's corporate tax rate reduction plan would save the five largest U.S. oil companies a grand total of $3.8 billion per year. Exxon Mobil, whose $11.7 billion 2007 fourth quarter profits shattered records, will see an extra $1.2 billion under McCain's tax plan. America's big corporations seemed to have taken notice of the potential benefits. A recent analysis by the Public Campaign Action Fund found that McCain's campaign has received $5.6 million from the PACs and executives of the Fortune 200, including nearly $800,000 from oil and gas industries.
THE RICH WILL GET RICHER: The largest American corporations aren't the only ones who will cash in under McCain's plan. Add the richest Americans to the list. In a recent study, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has found that McCain's tax plan "would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households." Indeed, McCain offers no benefit for the poorest taxpayers; Obama's plan increases after-tax income for the poorest taxpayers by 5.5 percent. The Tax Policy Center also found that Obama "offers three times the break for middle class families than" McCain. While Obama will raise taxes on the richest 1 percent of taxpayers, McCain will increase after-tax income of the richest 3.4 percent. In fact, another beneficiary of McCain's plan are the McCains themselves. A recent paper by the Center for American Progress Action Fund found that John and Cindy McCain would save $373,429 under McCain's tax plan.
INCREASED DEFICITS: McCain has not explained how he would pay for these reckless tax cuts. His plan would cost nearly $300 billion and, so far, he has accounted for just $33 billion, or 11 percent of that total. Holtz-Eakin himself said, "You have to pay for that somehow or you are George Bush III." Indeed, a Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis released last month confirms Holtz-Eakin's assessment. McCain's entire economic plan, tax cuts included, would create massive deficits by the end of a two-term presidency -- the highest federal budget deficit in 25 years -- and would accumulate the biggest debt since the Second World War. Under McCain, yearly deficits would increase sharply, beginning with $505 billion in FY2009 that would skyrocket to $1.2 trillion by FY2017. In 2018 these deficits would reach 6 percent of GDP, tied with the largest deficits since WWII, while McCain's plan would leave a debt of $12.7 trillion after a two term presidency. McCain has claimed that he would eliminate earmarks (citing a constantly shifting figure of costs saved) to pay for his economic plan. The Washington Post FactChecker, however, gave McCain's plan to pay for his doubling of the Bush tax cuts through eliminating earmarks "Four Pinocchios" (the highest rating for deceit), calling it "largely fantasy" and "voodoo economics."
McCain Tax Cuts = Bush On Steroids
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) consistently fearmongers that "Democrats...want to raise your taxes...I want to lower your taxes" and threatens that under Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) tax plan, "Americans of every background would see their taxes rise." Not only is McCain's claim that Obama will raise every American's taxes false, but in reality, it is McCain's economic and tax plans that Americans should fear. His plan would double President Bush's tax cut while offering little in the way of offsetting those costs. As New York Times columnist and Princeton University economics professor Paul Krugman noted, McCain's economic proposals are "Bush made permanent" that "would leave the federal government with far too little revenue to cover its expenses." But while McCain tries to rebut claims that his administration would not represent a continuation of Bush's policies, even his top surrogate, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), acknowledged reality, admitting recently that McCain's economic policies would "absolutely" be an "enhancement" of Bush's. Oddly though, McCain's top economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin has tried to claim Obama is a continuation of Bush, a remark even conservatives find absurd. Today, a Center for American Progress Action Fund event -- dubbed "McCain University" -- will educate and inform voters, reporters, and pundits about the consequences of adopting McCain's policies.
BIG CORPORATIONS WILL CASH IN: Part of McCain's overall economic policy is to reduce the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. What does this actually mean for America's largest corporations? According to a new report from the Center For American Progress Action Fund, McCain's tax plan would save corporations $175 billion per year, with $45 billion going to America's 200 largest corporations as identified by Fortune Magazine. McCain has also said the "nation cannot reduce its dependency on oil unless we change how we power our transportation sector." But at the same time, he is calling for increased oil exploration and production, which will not only do little to relieve energy prices here at home but also will put billions more into Big Oil's pockets. McCain's corporate tax rate reduction plan would save the five largest U.S. oil companies a grand total of $3.8 billion per year. Exxon Mobil, whose $11.7 billion 2007 fourth quarter profits shattered records, will see an extra $1.2 billion under McCain's tax plan. America's big corporations seemed to have taken notice of the potential benefits. A recent analysis by the Public Campaign Action Fund found that McCain's campaign has received $5.6 million from the PACs and executives of the Fortune 200, including nearly $800,000 from oil and gas industries.
THE RICH WILL GET RICHER: The largest American corporations aren't the only ones who will cash in under McCain's plan. Add the richest Americans to the list. In a recent study, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has found that McCain's tax plan "would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households." Indeed, McCain offers no benefit for the poorest taxpayers; Obama's plan increases after-tax income for the poorest taxpayers by 5.5 percent. The Tax Policy Center also found that Obama "offers three times the break for middle class families than" McCain. While Obama will raise taxes on the richest 1 percent of taxpayers, McCain will increase after-tax income of the richest 3.4 percent. In fact, another beneficiary of McCain's plan are the McCains themselves. A recent paper by the Center for American Progress Action Fund found that John and Cindy McCain would save $373,429 under McCain's tax plan.
INCREASED DEFICITS: McCain has not explained how he would pay for these reckless tax cuts. His plan would cost nearly $300 billion and, so far, he has accounted for just $33 billion, or 11 percent of that total. Holtz-Eakin himself said, "You have to pay for that somehow or you are George Bush III." Indeed, a Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis released last month confirms Holtz-Eakin's assessment. McCain's entire economic plan, tax cuts included, would create massive deficits by the end of a two-term presidency -- the highest federal budget deficit in 25 years -- and would accumulate the biggest debt since the Second World War. Under McCain, yearly deficits would increase sharply, beginning with $505 billion in FY2009 that would skyrocket to $1.2 trillion by FY2017. In 2018 these deficits would reach 6 percent of GDP, tied with the largest deficits since WWII, while McCain's plan would leave a debt of $12.7 trillion after a two term presidency. McCain has claimed that he would eliminate earmarks (citing a constantly shifting figure of costs saved) to pay for his economic plan. The Washington Post FactChecker, however, gave McCain's plan to pay for his doubling of the Bush tax cuts through eliminating earmarks "Four Pinocchios" (the highest rating for deceit), calling it "largely fantasy" and "voodoo economics."
AFGHANISTAN -- CIVILIAN DEATHS UP 62 PERCENT IN 2008: New U.N. figures show that the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan in the first half of this year rose 62 percent over the same period last year, marking increased instability and deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan, the "Forgotten Front." The U.N. report shows that insurgents caused 422 civilian deaths while government or NATO forces caused 255, with 21 deaths unclear. A NATO spokesman said that "those numbers were far, far higher than we would recognize" but "provided no alternative figures." Earlier this month, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told staff at a public meeting that in Afghanistan "violence is up this year by every single measure we look at." Thirty-nine coalition forces were killed in Afghanistan this month, making June the deadliest month of the war and marking the first month that coalition deaths in Afghanistan surpassed those in Iraq. Military commanders "believe they need three brigades, or 10,000 troops, to address the situation in Afghanistan, but with the heavy U.S. commitment in Iraq, those numbers are difficult to muster."
IRAN -- HERSH: U.S. INCREASING COVERT OPERATIONS AGAINST IRAN: The New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh reported yesterday that late last year, "Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran." The "Presidential Finding" was designed to destabilize religious leadership and gather "intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program. "But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded," Hersh wrote. "The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change" and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money." Those activities reportedly include capturing members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and taking them into Iraq for interrogation. When asked to respond to Hersh, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker stated, "I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran." Responding to Crocker, Hersh said, "The fact is we're inside. We're not necessarily 'cross-border.' We have teams inside Iran."
IRAQ -- U.S. ADVISED IRAQI MINISTRY ON OIL CONTRACTS WITH WESTERN COMPANIES: Two weeks ago, the New York Times reported that the Iraq Oil Ministry was set to award no-bid contracts to develop Iraq's oil fields to five Western oil companies. Today, the Times discloses that "a group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up [the] contracts," which is "the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq's oil to commercial development." The advisers "provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts," though they claim their involvement was meant only "to help an understaffed Iraqi ministry...and that they in no way helped choose which companies got the deals." Critics point to the presence of advisers as confirmation that the administration is "working behind the scenes to ensure Western access to Iraqi oil fields." The White House has denied pushing Iraq towards any decision. "Iraq is a sovereign country, and it can make decisions based on how it feels that it wants to move forward in its development of its oil resources," said White House spokesperson Dana Perino. Frederick D. Barton, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Times that explanations like Perino's are disingenuous. "We undermine our own veracity by citing issues like sovereignty, when we have our hands right in the middle of it."
IRAN -- HERSH: U.S. INCREASING COVERT OPERATIONS AGAINST IRAN: The New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh reported yesterday that late last year, "Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran." The "Presidential Finding" was designed to destabilize religious leadership and gather "intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program. "But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded," Hersh wrote. "The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change" and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money." Those activities reportedly include capturing members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and taking them into Iraq for interrogation. When asked to respond to Hersh, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker stated, "I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran." Responding to Crocker, Hersh said, "The fact is we're inside. We're not necessarily 'cross-border.' We have teams inside Iran."
IRAQ -- U.S. ADVISED IRAQI MINISTRY ON OIL CONTRACTS WITH WESTERN COMPANIES: Two weeks ago, the New York Times reported that the Iraq Oil Ministry was set to award no-bid contracts to develop Iraq's oil fields to five Western oil companies. Today, the Times discloses that "a group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up [the] contracts," which is "the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq's oil to commercial development." The advisers "provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts," though they claim their involvement was meant only "to help an understaffed Iraqi ministry...and that they in no way helped choose which companies got the deals." Critics point to the presence of advisers as confirmation that the administration is "working behind the scenes to ensure Western access to Iraqi oil fields." The White House has denied pushing Iraq towards any decision. "Iraq is a sovereign country, and it can make decisions based on how it feels that it wants to move forward in its development of its oil resources," said White House spokesperson Dana Perino. Frederick D. Barton, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Times that explanations like Perino's are disingenuous. "We undermine our own veracity by citing issues like sovereignty, when we have our hands right in the middle of it."
The Good News in Iraq (Don't Count on It)
by: Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com
OPINION
Barack Care Versus John Care
by: Dean Baker, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
OPINION
The Same Old Politics of Terror
- It Was Oil, All Along
by: Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, t r u t h o u t | Perspective - Scalia Cites False Information in Habeas Corpus Dissent
by: Marjorie Cohn, t r u t h o u t | Perspective - Congressional Resolution Demands Bush Act on Iran
by: Maya Schenwar and Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t | Report - Congress Still Corrupt and Useless
by: Marc Ash, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
American Fingers in Iraq’s Cookie Jar 
The theory that the Bush administration wanted Iraq for its oil has just gotten a major boost. It turns out that the U.S. State Department sent over a team of lawyers and consultants to help the Iraqi government work out several high-profile no-bid contracts with five Western oil giants.
The theory that the Bush administration wanted Iraq for its oil has just gotten a major boost. It turns out that the U.S. State Department sent over a team of lawyers and consultants to help the Iraqi government work out several high-profile no-bid contracts with five Western oil giants.
The Nuclear Expert Who Never Was 
As a former U.N. weapons inspector, Scott Ritter knows a thing or two about nuclear threats around the world. So when so-called experts go on television or appear in print to help make the case for war with Iran, it gets his attention.
As a former U.N. weapons inspector, Scott Ritter knows a thing or two about nuclear threats around the world. So when so-called experts go on television or appear in print to help make the case for war with Iran, it gets his attention.
Editorials
Congress is Still Spending Big - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Guns: The Next Step - Washington Post
Fear and Loathing in Denver - New York Post
France's Military About-Face - Christian Science Monitor
Political News & Analysis
Clark Hits McCain's Military Credentials - The Politico
McCain Gets Praise, Not Backing, From Grahams - New York Times
Michelle Obama: 'I Don't Want To Be a Distraction' - USA Today
In Flag City, USA, False Obama Rumors Are Flying - Washington Post
The America We Love - Senator Barack Obama, Independence, Missouri
The Private Character of John McCain - Abraham Katsman, Jerusalem Post
Obama's VP Conundrum - John Heilemann, New York Magazine
Romney Tops McCain Veep List - Mike Allen, The Politico
Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan - Mazzetti & Rohde, NYT
Forcing Oil Companies to Subsidize Competition - Deroy Murdock, NRO
Anti-Science Conservatives Must Be Stopped - Joseph Romm, Salon
Some Gun Rules We Can All Agree On - M. Bloomberg & T. Menino, WSJ
Unlike Roe, Gun Decision Was Limited - Dennis Byrne, Chicago Tribune
National Tracking Polls: Gallup: Obama +5 | Rasmussen: Obama +5
VP Watch: Heilemann's Conundrum Applied to McCain
The Private Character of John McCain - Abraham Katsman, Jerusalem Post
Obama's VP Conundrum - John Heilemann, New York Magazine
Romney Tops McCain Veep List - Mike Allen, The Politico
Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan - Mazzetti & Rohde, NYT
Forcing Oil Companies to Subsidize Competition - Deroy Murdock, NRO
Anti-Science Conservatives Must Be Stopped - Joseph Romm, Salon
Some Gun Rules We Can All Agree On - M. Bloomberg & T. Menino, WSJ
Unlike Roe, Gun Decision Was Limited - Dennis Byrne, Chicago Tribune
National Tracking Polls: Gallup: Obama +5 | Rasmussen: Obama +5
VP Watch: Heilemann's Conundrum Applied to McCain
Do the Math: Obama Won't Win the South - Thomas Schaller, NY Times
Americans Worry McCain Too Similar to Bush - Jeffrey Jones, Gallup
Obama's Real Patriotism Problem - Jonah Goldberg, USA Today
Moving to the Middle Is For Losers, Barack - Arianna Huffington, Huff Post
John McCain's JFK Opportunity - William McGurn, Wall Street Journal
How Obama Can Avoid the Carter Trap - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Obama Faces Netroots Revolt Over FISA - Ari Melber, The Nation
The High Court's Supreme Clown - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Court Will Be Last Bastion of Conservatives - E. J. Dionne, Washington Post
Rights, Arms and the Man - Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
Gun Rights and Responsibilities - Marie Cocco, Indianapolis Star
Al-Qaeda's Plan B - Amir Taheri, New York Post
What Bush Hath Wrought - Andrew Bacevich, Boston Globe
Israel Deal Will Embolden Extremists - Benny Morris, Los Angeles Times
Let's Shoot the Oil Speculators! - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Hillaryland at War - Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair
Does Patriotism Matter? - Thomas Sowell, RealClearPolitics
RCP Blog: AM Report / Politics Nation: Strat Memo: Clark Barred
Americans Worry McCain Too Similar to Bush - Jeffrey Jones, Gallup
Obama's Real Patriotism Problem - Jonah Goldberg, USA Today
Moving to the Middle Is For Losers, Barack - Arianna Huffington, Huff Post
John McCain's JFK Opportunity - William McGurn, Wall Street Journal
How Obama Can Avoid the Carter Trap - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Obama Faces Netroots Revolt Over FISA - Ari Melber, The Nation
The High Court's Supreme Clown - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Court Will Be Last Bastion of Conservatives - E. J. Dionne, Washington Post
Rights, Arms and the Man - Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
Gun Rights and Responsibilities - Marie Cocco, Indianapolis Star
Al-Qaeda's Plan B - Amir Taheri, New York Post
What Bush Hath Wrought - Andrew Bacevich, Boston Globe
Israel Deal Will Embolden Extremists - Benny Morris, Los Angeles Times
Let's Shoot the Oil Speculators! - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Hillaryland at War - Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair
Does Patriotism Matter? - Thomas Sowell, RealClearPolitics
RCP Blog: AM Report / Politics Nation: Strat Memo: Clark Barred
Editorials
Obama Takes to the Middle of the Road - The Economist
Obama Moves On - New York Post
Enabling Mr. Mugabe - New York Times
Clark on McCain: Keep Talking, General - New Hampshire Union Leader
Political News & Analysis
McCain Heads To Colombia Today - New York Times
Obama Defends His Patriotism - Chicago Tribune
NRA Gathers Ammo Against Obama - The Politico
Obama and Bill Clinton Talk - New York Times
Transcripts & Speeches
The America We Love - Barack Obama
Panel Discusses Obama's Patriotism Speech - Special Report w/Brit Hume
McAuliffe on the Obama/Clinton Phone Chat - The Situation Room
Interview w/Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - Hannity & Colmes
Analysts Discuss Campaign Smears - The NewsHour
Best of the Blogs
General Clark Not Backing Down - Todd Beeton, MyDD
MoveOn.org: Thrown Under The Bus - Pejman, Redstate
The General's Big Mouth - Marc Ambinder, Atlantic
Google and the Anti-Obama Bloggers - Miguel Helft, Bits
McCain's Michigan-Ohio Strategy - Patrick Ruffini, Next Right
Sy Hersh: Congress Is Funding Major Escalation in Secret Operations Against Iran
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
ForeignPolicy: Hersh reports on a secret Congress-approved plan for activities ranging from supporting dissident groups to spying on Iran's nuclear program.
The Strange Journey of Larry JohnsonDavid Weigel, The American Prospect
The former CIA officer has morphed from defender of Valerie Plame to crazed purveyor of a debunked Michelle Obama rumor. What happened?
McCain the Reformer? You've Got to Be JokingAri Berman, The Nation
Election 2008: The level of John McCain's ties to lobbyists has reached dizzying proportions.
A poisoned chalice
Senator Barack Obama is in celebratory mood as the White House appears within his and the Democratic Party's reach. Yet tackling and even resolving the US and global economic crisis over the next four years may cast any eventual victor of the presidential election and his winning party into political oblivion for the foreseeable future. - James Cumes
THE BEAR'S LAIR
Infrastructure's inefficiencies
Condemnation of the state of US infrastructure in the wake of recent flooding of the Mississippi River overlooks the political and financial obstacles facing big-spending projects. The problem is one of US economic structure, and it urgently needs to be solved.- Martin Hutchinson
Intervention will not
stop dollar's slide
The US Federal Reserve's optimism in regard to the inflation outlook masked a fear of a continued slide in the dollar, even if it raised rates. And with foreign currency reserves less than those of Poland, and allies with no reason to intervene on its behalf, the US Treasury has little to counter such a slide. - Peter Schiff
Senator Barack Obama is in celebratory mood as the White House appears within his and the Democratic Party's reach. Yet tackling and even resolving the US and global economic crisis over the next four years may cast any eventual victor of the presidential election and his winning party into political oblivion for the foreseeable future. - James Cumes
THE BEAR'S LAIR
Infrastructure's inefficiencies
Condemnation of the state of US infrastructure in the wake of recent flooding of the Mississippi River overlooks the political and financial obstacles facing big-spending projects. The problem is one of US economic structure, and it urgently needs to be solved.- Martin Hutchinson
Intervention will not
stop dollar's slide
The US Federal Reserve's optimism in regard to the inflation outlook masked a fear of a continued slide in the dollar, even if it raised rates. And with foreign currency reserves less than those of Poland, and allies with no reason to intervene on its behalf, the US Treasury has little to counter such a slide. - Peter Schiff
Robert Parry:
Iran-Contra’s ‘Lost Chapter’
James Carroll:
A Blind Eye on Soldiers’ Suicides
Tom Engelhardt:
The Good News in Iraq
Caroline Arnold:
Of Surpluses and Survival
Glenn Greenwald:
The Baseless, and Failed, ‘Move to the Center’ Cliche
Dean Baker:
Barack Care vs. John Care: Health Care Under the Next President
The Obamas and their Mortgage
Richard Henry Lee
Sweetheart mortgage loans to Senators are much in the news of late, so I took a look at some of the publicly available information on Senator and Mrs. Obama's mortgage. The campaign has got some explaining to do. More
The Obamas are Just the Ghosts of Clintons Past
James Lewis
It's amazing how much the Obamas are like the Clintons -- who are now attacked by the same people who used to kiss the ground they stepped on. Carl Bernstein talks about Hillary's "dark side." Bill, says an MSNBC blogger,... More
Colombia's Turnaround Story
Mark Loftin
Next week John McCain will be visiting Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a brave leader surrounded by leftist regimes who deserves much praise for turning the country around. More
Richard Henry Lee
Sweetheart mortgage loans to Senators are much in the news of late, so I took a look at some of the publicly available information on Senator and Mrs. Obama's mortgage. The campaign has got some explaining to do. More
The Obamas are Just the Ghosts of Clintons Past
James Lewis
It's amazing how much the Obamas are like the Clintons -- who are now attacked by the same people who used to kiss the ground they stepped on. Carl Bernstein talks about Hillary's "dark side." Bill, says an MSNBC blogger,... More
Colombia's Turnaround Story
Mark Loftin
Next week John McCain will be visiting Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a brave leader surrounded by leftist regimes who deserves much praise for turning the country around. More
Clark Finds a Home Among Obama Advisors
July 01, 2008
Wes Clark should feel right at home among other anti-Israeli Obama advisers. More
Apostasy: NY Times Outsources Internet Hosting and Services
June 30, 2008
Obama and Clinton both took up the battle cry in the primaries to rally big labor bosses and agitate the rank and file. They need to criticize the New York Times now. More
Mugabe Hailed as "Hero" At African Summitt
June 30, 2008
Pity the people of Zimbabwe who these "leaders" have abandoned to a terrible fate: More
Is Romney the Veep Frontrunner?
June 30, 2008
If he is, I predict an awful lot of disgruntled conservatives are going to be sitting on their hands on election day in November. More
July 01, 2008
Wes Clark should feel right at home among other anti-Israeli Obama advisers. More
Apostasy: NY Times Outsources Internet Hosting and Services
June 30, 2008
Obama and Clinton both took up the battle cry in the primaries to rally big labor bosses and agitate the rank and file. They need to criticize the New York Times now. More
Mugabe Hailed as "Hero" At African Summitt
June 30, 2008
Pity the people of Zimbabwe who these "leaders" have abandoned to a terrible fate: More
Is Romney the Veep Frontrunner?
June 30, 2008
If he is, I predict an awful lot of disgruntled conservatives are going to be sitting on their hands on election day in November. More
Google Shutting down Anti-Obama Websites?
June 30, 2008
Sure looks that way although the fault may lie with an organized attempt by Obama activists to silence blogs that disagree with their candidate. More
Corrupt Mexican Soldiers Bring the Drug war to the US
June 30, 2008
Mexican soldiers in service to drug cartels attacked a rival who had fled his home in Juarez. The problem is, the rival had fled to Phoenix, Arizona More
Lies, Statistics and Trends
June 30, 2008
In case you had not noticed, the liars in today's public arena use trends in place of facts. More
Chavez rival being kept out of election
June 30, 2008
Hugo Chavez naturally fears a popular rival, Leopoldo López, the mayor of central Caracas, who is only 37 years old, highly popular, and sports boyish good looks More
Radicals for Obama
June 30, 2008
A lot of unrepentant 60s radicals -- the type of people who used to reject electoral politics as a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee -- are supporting Barack Obama. More
McCain's POW Status Slimed by Democrats High and Low
June 30, 2008
I wondered how the Democrats were going to cut McCain down to size when it came to national security More
Bill Clinton Will Make Obama Grovel for his Support
June 30, 2008
How angry is Bill Clinton towards Barack Obama for defeating his chance to be First Man? More
Another Raw Deal for Israel
June 30, 2008
Am I missing something here, or is Israel agreeing to one of rawest deals in recent memory? More
June 30, 2008
Sure looks that way although the fault may lie with an organized attempt by Obama activists to silence blogs that disagree with their candidate. More
Corrupt Mexican Soldiers Bring the Drug war to the US
June 30, 2008
Mexican soldiers in service to drug cartels attacked a rival who had fled his home in Juarez. The problem is, the rival had fled to Phoenix, Arizona More
Lies, Statistics and Trends
June 30, 2008
In case you had not noticed, the liars in today's public arena use trends in place of facts. More
Chavez rival being kept out of election
June 30, 2008
Hugo Chavez naturally fears a popular rival, Leopoldo López, the mayor of central Caracas, who is only 37 years old, highly popular, and sports boyish good looks More
Radicals for Obama
June 30, 2008
A lot of unrepentant 60s radicals -- the type of people who used to reject electoral politics as a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee -- are supporting Barack Obama. More
McCain's POW Status Slimed by Democrats High and Low
June 30, 2008
I wondered how the Democrats were going to cut McCain down to size when it came to national security More
Bill Clinton Will Make Obama Grovel for his Support
June 30, 2008
How angry is Bill Clinton towards Barack Obama for defeating his chance to be First Man? More
Another Raw Deal for Israel
June 30, 2008
Am I missing something here, or is Israel agreeing to one of rawest deals in recent memory? More
Bush's Failed Bin Laden Hunt
An article in yesterday's New York Times criticized the Bush administration for failing "to develop a comprehensive plan to address the militant problem" along the Afghan-Pakistan border, where Osama bin Laden is reportedly rebuilding the al Qaeda terror network. After expressing enthusiasm for capturing bin Laden shortly after the Sept.11 attacks, the Bush administration has since indicated that "bin Laden doesn’t fit" with its "strategy for combating terrorism" and is "not a top priority use of American resources." Beginning in 2002, the administration "shifted its sights...from counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan to preparations for the war in Iraq" and outsourced the hunt for bin Laden to Pakistan. As a result, "the Bush administration will leave office with Al Qaeda having successfully relocated its base from Afghanistan to Pakistan's tribal areas, where it has rebuilt much of its ability to attack from the region and broadcast its messages to militants across the world."
SHIFTED RESOURCES TO IRAQ: According to "current and former military and intelligence officials" interviewed by the Times, "the war in Iraq diverted resources and high-level attention from the tribal areas" on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan and "drained away most of the CIA officers with field experience in the Islamic world." Intelligence officials have long warned the administration of the dangers of shifting resources prematurely. On Feb.19, 2002, Gen. Tommy Franks reportedly told then-Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), "We are not engaged in a war in Afghanistan" because "military and intelligence personnel are being redeployed to prepare for an action in Iraq." Similarly, an Army War College report published in December 2003 concluded that the Iraq war "diverted attention and resources away from securing the American homeland against further assault by an undeterrable Al Qaeda." Where the specialists went, the equipment followed. Officials told the New York Times, for instance, that when they "requested additional Predator drones to survey the tribal areas, they were told no drones were available because they had been sent to Iraq." As Graham pointed out, the removal of Predator drones from Afghanistan is "a clear case of how the Bush administration's focus on Iraq undermined the war against al Qaeda in Afghanistan."
UNRELIABLE ALLY: The Iraq war also bolstered the view "among Pakistanis that American forces in the tribal areas would be a prelude to an eventual American occupation" and made it difficult for the administration "to have insisted that American forces be allowed to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan." In fact, the Pakistani government "flatly refused" American proposals to allow Special Operations forces to establish operational bases along the border, and in 2003, "under pressure from Pakistan, the Bush administration decided…to end the American military presence on the ground." With the hunt for bin Laden virtually outsourced to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and the administration distracted by the "spiraling violence in Iraq," Bush backed Pakistan’s failed strategy of signing cease-fire agreements "with the Taliban inside Afghanistan." But rather than reducing "cross-border incursions," the agreements allowed al Qaeda to establish an even stronger foot hold in the Pakistan tribal regions. Thus while the Bush administration has propped up "the Muslim world’s most powerful military dictator as an essential ally," Pakistan has shown little commitment to capturing bin Laden. In fact, in January 2008, Musharraf admitted that "the 100,000 troops that we are using...are not going around trying to locate Osama bin Laden and Zawahri, frankly."
BOLSTERED AL QAEDA: The war in Iraq and Bush's over-reliance on Pakistan have allowed al Qaeda to regroup along the Pakistan-Afghan border. Intelligence sources interviewed by the Times suggest that "the makeshift training compounds" in Pakistan's tribal areas "now have as many as 2,000 local and foreign militants, up from several hundred three years ago." The build-up of members has reshaped al Qaeda into a threat that is "comparable" to what the United States faced on Sept. 11, 2001. Similarly, according to the 2006 National Intelligence Estimate, "Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives." Rather than reducing the terror threat, the Iraq conflict has become the "cause célèbre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement," the report concluded.
JUSTICE -- JUDGES CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT'S FLIMSY EVIDENCE IN DETAINEE RULING: Yesterday, an appeals court released unclassified sections of its ruling in the first case to review the government's secret evidence for holding a detainee at Guantanamo Bay. The opinion, which is "likely to guide federal judges in weighing evidence in up-coming hearings" for other detainees, not only invalidated the designation of Huzaifa Parhat, a Chinese Uighur, as an "enemy combatant," but also determined that a military tribunal relied on highly questionable evidence to justify his six-year detention. The judges found particular concern with the military assertion that evidence was reliable simply because it was repeated in at least three separate documents, comparing the government's legal argument to the nonsensical 1876 Lewis Carroll poem "The Hunting of the Snark." "Lewis Carroll notwithstanding," the court wrote, "the fact that the government has 'said it thrice' does not make an allegation true." Justice Merrick Garland, one of the judges on the appeals court panel, also expressed skepticism about the evidence used against Parhat because at least some of it appears to have been offered by the Chinese government, which has a record of persecuting ethnic Uighurs.
IRAQ -- PENTAGON ORDERS RE-INSPECTION OF KBR BUILDINGS: The Defense Department ordered electrical inspections of all buildings in Iraq maintained by the Houston-based military contractor KBR after reports found that at least 13 Americans had died after being electrocuted at bases KBR operated. In a written statement made public yesterday by Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), Gen. David Petraeus revealed that 10 Army soldiers, a Marine, and two contractors were fatally electrocuted and many others "received painful shocks" because of shoddy electrical work. The New York Times reports that although "KBR and other companies have been paid millions of dollars to repair and upgrade the buildings, including their electrical systems," the work was never carried out, and the company did not respond to repair orders. Casey has requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) "investigate all accidental electrocution-related deaths or injuries of military and contract personnel in Iraq as well as any other military installation where such an incident has occurred." ETHICS -- TORTURE ADVOCATE JOHN YOO MISLED CONGRESS TO CAST ASPERSIONS ON CRITIC'S CREDIBILITY: Last week, while testifying before Congress, former Justice Department lawyer and torture advocate John Yoo sought to discredit torture critic Philippe Sands by suggesting Sands had lied about interviewing him. "I can say that he did not interview me for the book," said Yoo. "So I didn't quite understand why he would tell the committee that he had actually interviewed me." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) used the allegation to claim it "would perhaps reflect on the veracity" of all of Sands' allegations. But, as MoJo blog points out, Sands never actually said he had "interviewed" Yoo for his book. Rather, Sands said, "Over hundreds of hours I conversed or debated with many of those most deeply involved. They included…the Deputy Assistant Attorney General at DoJ (Mr Yoo)." Indeed, Yoo and Sands had debated torture at the World Affairs Council in 2005. At MoJo Blog, Brian Beutler wrote that though perjury might not be the appropriate word, Yoo's goal was likely "to discredit a critic who's brought to light a great deal of damning information about the Bush administration and its allies."
IRAQ -- PENTAGON ORDERS RE-INSPECTION OF KBR BUILDINGS: The Defense Department ordered electrical inspections of all buildings in Iraq maintained by the Houston-based military contractor KBR after reports found that at least 13 Americans had died after being electrocuted at bases KBR operated. In a written statement made public yesterday by Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), Gen. David Petraeus revealed that 10 Army soldiers, a Marine, and two contractors were fatally electrocuted and many others "received painful shocks" because of shoddy electrical work. The New York Times reports that although "KBR and other companies have been paid millions of dollars to repair and upgrade the buildings, including their electrical systems," the work was never carried out, and the company did not respond to repair orders. Casey has requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) "investigate all accidental electrocution-related deaths or injuries of military and contract personnel in Iraq as well as any other military installation where such an incident has occurred." ETHICS -- TORTURE ADVOCATE JOHN YOO MISLED CONGRESS TO CAST ASPERSIONS ON CRITIC'S CREDIBILITY: Last week, while testifying before Congress, former Justice Department lawyer and torture advocate John Yoo sought to discredit torture critic Philippe Sands by suggesting Sands had lied about interviewing him. "I can say that he did not interview me for the book," said Yoo. "So I didn't quite understand why he would tell the committee that he had actually interviewed me." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) used the allegation to claim it "would perhaps reflect on the veracity" of all of Sands' allegations. But, as MoJo blog points out, Sands never actually said he had "interviewed" Yoo for his book. Rather, Sands said, "Over hundreds of hours I conversed or debated with many of those most deeply involved. They included…the Deputy Assistant Attorney General at DoJ (Mr Yoo)." Indeed, Yoo and Sands had debated torture at the World Affairs Council in 2005. At MoJo Blog, Brian Beutler wrote that though perjury might not be the appropriate word, Yoo's goal was likely "to discredit a critic who's brought to light a great deal of damning information about the Bush administration and its allies."
BRAD REED
The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency alternet.org — There are entirely too many of them; almost too painful to remember, and entirely too hard to forget. But history demands that we at least make the effort. So, here is a short version of our long national nightmare.
ANDREW J. BACEVICH
What Bush Hath Wrought boston.com — Few Americans will mourn George W. Bush's departure from office. Democrats and Republicans alike are counting the days until the inauguration of a new president will wipe the slate clean. Yet in crucial respects, the Bush era will not end Jan. 20, 2009. The administration's many failures, especially those related to Iraq, mask a considerable legacy.
EUGENE ROBINSON
Bush's Loose Ends truthdig.com — George W. Bush's presidency seems exhausted and irrelevant, but that's a dangerous illusion. The Decider remains in command of the world's most advanced and powerful military force, and he has just a few months to tie up what he might consider loose ends.
SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Preparing the Battlefield newyorker.com — In late 2007, Congress to President Bush's request to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, are designed to destabilize the country's religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program.
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
Moving to the Middle Is For Losers huffingtonpost.com — Realpolitik is one thing. Realstupidpolitik is quite another.
E.J. DIONNE
Battle for the Bench truthdig.com — If the long conservative era that began with Ronald Reagan's election is over, will the judges appointed during the right's ascendancy be able to block, frustrate and undermine the efforts of a new progressive majority? Is the Supreme Court, as two influential journalists describe it, 'the last hope of the conservative interests in the United States.'
JAMES K. GALBRAITH
The GOP's December Surprise motherjones.com — Is the GOP cooking the books to avoid recession till after Election Day?
STEVEN GREENHOUSE
What Do Working-Class Voters Want? They Want A Fair Deal tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Workers recognize there is no magic wand to make unfairness disappear, but they are nonetheless eager for political leaders to take some serious steps to ease the big squeeze.
The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency alternet.org — There are entirely too many of them; almost too painful to remember, and entirely too hard to forget. But history demands that we at least make the effort. So, here is a short version of our long national nightmare.
ANDREW J. BACEVICH
What Bush Hath Wrought boston.com — Few Americans will mourn George W. Bush's departure from office. Democrats and Republicans alike are counting the days until the inauguration of a new president will wipe the slate clean. Yet in crucial respects, the Bush era will not end Jan. 20, 2009. The administration's many failures, especially those related to Iraq, mask a considerable legacy.
EUGENE ROBINSON
Bush's Loose Ends truthdig.com — George W. Bush's presidency seems exhausted and irrelevant, but that's a dangerous illusion. The Decider remains in command of the world's most advanced and powerful military force, and he has just a few months to tie up what he might consider loose ends.
SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Preparing the Battlefield newyorker.com — In late 2007, Congress to President Bush's request to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, are designed to destabilize the country's religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program.
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
Moving to the Middle Is For Losers huffingtonpost.com — Realpolitik is one thing. Realstupidpolitik is quite another.
E.J. DIONNE
Battle for the Bench truthdig.com — If the long conservative era that began with Ronald Reagan's election is over, will the judges appointed during the right's ascendancy be able to block, frustrate and undermine the efforts of a new progressive majority? Is the Supreme Court, as two influential journalists describe it, 'the last hope of the conservative interests in the United States.'
JAMES K. GALBRAITH
The GOP's December Surprise motherjones.com — Is the GOP cooking the books to avoid recession till after Election Day?
STEVEN GREENHOUSE
What Do Working-Class Voters Want? They Want A Fair Deal tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Workers recognize there is no magic wand to make unfairness disappear, but they are nonetheless eager for political leaders to take some serious steps to ease the big squeeze.
Obama and His Need to Show the Love - Dick Polman, Philadelphia Inquirer
Who's Smearing Whom? - James Kirchick, The Politico
McCain: Noun, Verb, Terrorism - Paul Waldman, The American Prospect
What the Swift Boat Vets Actually Said - Jim Geraghty, National Review
Obama Shifts on Welfare Reform - T. Davis & G. Wallace, ABC News
Bill Clinton's Anti-Barack Tantrum - Kirsten Powers, New York Post
Obama's Money Class - David Brooks, New York Times
Mugabe Weakened but Not Going Anywhere - Simon Tisdall, Guardian
The Ground Zero Disaster - John Podhoretz, Contentions
Clay Felker, 1925-2008 - Kurt Andersen, New York Magazine
CNN Nat'l Poll: Obama 50, McCain 45 / RCP Blog: Bob Barr, Unplugged
Who's Smearing Whom? - James Kirchick, The Politico
McCain: Noun, Verb, Terrorism - Paul Waldman, The American Prospect
What the Swift Boat Vets Actually Said - Jim Geraghty, National Review
Obama Shifts on Welfare Reform - T. Davis & G. Wallace, ABC News
Bill Clinton's Anti-Barack Tantrum - Kirsten Powers, New York Post
Obama's Money Class - David Brooks, New York Times
Mugabe Weakened but Not Going Anywhere - Simon Tisdall, Guardian
The Ground Zero Disaster - John Podhoretz, Contentions
Clay Felker, 1925-2008 - Kurt Andersen, New York Magazine
CNN Nat'l Poll: Obama 50, McCain 45 / RCP Blog: Bob Barr, Unplugged
Does America Need a Wartime President? - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
Bush Can Take Pride in Scorn - Mark Davis, Dallas Morning News
A Ray of Hope in Baghdad - Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer
Spy Games in Iran - David Ignatius, Washington Post
The Zero at Ground Zero - Steven Malanga, RealClearMarkets
McCain Game Plan Worries Insiders - David Paul Kuhn, The Politico
Courage Under Fire - Kathleen Parker, Chicago Tribune
Debating Obama's 'Move' to the Middle - Ed Kilgore, RealClearPolitics
The Boldness of Obama's Chicago Campaign - Jay Cost, HorseRaceBlog
Plugging the Patriotism Gap - Dick Morris, New York Post
Obama Win Would Help Brand America - Frederick Kempe, Bloomberg
Why More Jews Won't Vote Dem This Year - Jennifer Rubin, Jerusalem Post
What Latinos Want from President - Alberto Gonzales, Los Angeles Times
The Return of Thomas Malthus - Robert Kaplan, The Atlantic
Dire News from My Colleagues - John Stossel, RealClearPolitics
Three Cheers for July Second - Andrew Trees, Washington Post
Patriotism is Fair Game - Vincent Carroll, Rocky Mountain News
CNN National Poll: Obama 50, McCain 45 / State Polls: MA, FL, GA & CT
Bush Can Take Pride in Scorn - Mark Davis, Dallas Morning News
A Ray of Hope in Baghdad - Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer
Spy Games in Iran - David Ignatius, Washington Post
The Zero at Ground Zero - Steven Malanga, RealClearMarkets
McCain Game Plan Worries Insiders - David Paul Kuhn, The Politico
Courage Under Fire - Kathleen Parker, Chicago Tribune
Debating Obama's 'Move' to the Middle - Ed Kilgore, RealClearPolitics
The Boldness of Obama's Chicago Campaign - Jay Cost, HorseRaceBlog
Plugging the Patriotism Gap - Dick Morris, New York Post
Obama Win Would Help Brand America - Frederick Kempe, Bloomberg
Why More Jews Won't Vote Dem This Year - Jennifer Rubin, Jerusalem Post
What Latinos Want from President - Alberto Gonzales, Los Angeles Times
The Return of Thomas Malthus - Robert Kaplan, The Atlantic
Dire News from My Colleagues - John Stossel, RealClearPolitics
Three Cheers for July Second - Andrew Trees, Washington Post
Patriotism is Fair Game - Vincent Carroll, Rocky Mountain News
CNN National Poll: Obama 50, McCain 45 / State Polls: MA, FL, GA & CT
Editorials
The Iran Dilemma - The Australian
Surrogate Silliness - Washington Post
Straight-Trade Express - USA Today
Still Ignoring the Entitlement Tsunami - Washington Examiner
Political News & Analysis
Obama Got Home Loan Discount - Washington Post
How Bush's Ratings Complicate McCain's Run - Wall Street Journal
Obama Calls For More Faith-Based Funding - Chicago Tribune
Obama Letter Puts Gay Rights at Forefront - San Francisco Chronicle
Transcripts & Speeches
Roundtable Discusses Iraq Benchmarks - Special Report w/Brit Hume
Interview with Wesley Clark - The Situation Room
Obama's Speech on Faith-Based Organizations - Barack Obama
McCain's Speech to the National Sheriffs' Association - John McCain
The America We Love - Barack Obama
Best of the Blogs
The Case for Mitt Romney - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Durbin Was Wrong - John Cole, Balloon Juice
Change the Teamsters Can Believe In - Scott Johnson, Power Line
The Far-Right's Patriotism Problem - Larisa Alexandrovna, HuffPo
Blogger Orgy of Self-Congratulation - Tom Maguire, JustOneMinute
Bringing Ireland to Baghdad: How the Resistance Will Eventually Kick the Americans Out
Gary Brecher, AlterNet
War on Iraq: One thing the United States doesn't get about guerrilla warfare: It's not over until the guerrillas win.
Seeking the Hairless Porn Star IdealHeather Wood, Sirens Magazine
Sex and Relationships: The temptations and hype surrounding the Brazilian wax turn into a case of buyer's remorse for this author.
Inside Obama's Christian CrusadeMax Blumenthal, TheNation.com
Election 2008: Obama has made a major effort to woo evangelicals, but at what cost to church-state separation?
Ignorant America: Just How Stupid Are We?
By Rick Shenkman, Tomdispatch.com
Democracy and Elections: Millions of Americans are embarrassingly ill-informed and they do not care that they are.
- July 2, 2008
- More »
Bringing Ireland to Baghdad: How the Resistance Will Eventually Kick the Americans OutGary Brecher, AlterNet
War on Iraq: One thing the United States doesn't get about guerrilla warfare: It's not over until the guerrillas win.
Seeking the Hairless Porn Star IdealHeather Wood, Sirens Magazine
Sex and Relationships: The temptations and hype surrounding the Brazilian wax turn into a case of buyer's remorse for this author.
Inside Obama's Christian CrusadeMax Blumenthal, TheNation.com
Election 2008: Obama has made a major effort to woo evangelicals, but at what cost to church-state separation?
Republican Campaign Against Likely Democratic Voters BeginsSteven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
Democracy and Elections: The GOP’s latest accusations are long on rhetoric but short on facts.
Is a Big Hunk of Steak Worth Almost 2,000 Gallons of Water?Collin Dunn, Huffington Post
Water: Sometimes the kick we need to green our lives is a hard look at the numbers.
Exercising Ballot Power to Push Back Attacks on Immigrant CommunitiesJackie Mahendra, AlterNet
Immigration: The message has never been clearer: Become a citizen and then vote… before it’s too late.
The Meta-Messages in Obama's Patriotism Speech
Lee Cary
Senator Obama's "The America We Love" speech, delivered in Independence, Missouri on June 30, might be more accurately entitled, "My Definition of Patriotism." It was as much about him as America. More
The Lighter Side of Obama
Paul Shlichta
There is something intrinsically ridiculous about Obama's retinue of starstruck devotees. History has seen this sort of thing before, and a couple of famous satirists have made merry at exactly the same phenomenon. More
How to Lower Oil Prices Now and in the Future
Patrick J. Casey
Last week, Barack Obama and his ideological fellowship mocked John McCain after the Senator stated that opening up domestic oil exploration would have an immediate negative impact on oil prices More
Lee Cary
Senator Obama's "The America We Love" speech, delivered in Independence, Missouri on June 30, might be more accurately entitled, "My Definition of Patriotism." It was as much about him as America. More
The Lighter Side of Obama
Paul Shlichta
There is something intrinsically ridiculous about Obama's retinue of starstruck devotees. History has seen this sort of thing before, and a couple of famous satirists have made merry at exactly the same phenomenon. More
How to Lower Oil Prices Now and in the Future
Patrick J. Casey
Last week, Barack Obama and his ideological fellowship mocked John McCain after the Senator stated that opening up domestic oil exploration would have an immediate negative impact on oil prices More
Let's Talk Qualifications
July 01, 2008
Obama campaigner Wesley Clark raised the issue of qualifications for office. Fine. More
North Pole ice melting fear mongers strike out
July 01, 2008
Global Warmists are once again observing cyclical changes and declaring them "proof" of the dire effects of global warming. More
Report: Iran to suspend Uranium Enrichment?
July 01, 2008
From the "I'll believe it when I see it" Department... More
Jindal reverses self on legislators' pay raise
July 01, 2008
Bobby Jindal finally did the right thing. He admitted he made a mistake More
The flip-flop chronicles (cont.)
July 01, 2008
Living down to his motto as the candidate of change, Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) has changed his mind again. More
July 01, 2008
Obama campaigner Wesley Clark raised the issue of qualifications for office. Fine. More
North Pole ice melting fear mongers strike out
July 01, 2008
Global Warmists are once again observing cyclical changes and declaring them "proof" of the dire effects of global warming. More
Report: Iran to suspend Uranium Enrichment?
July 01, 2008
From the "I'll believe it when I see it" Department... More
Jindal reverses self on legislators' pay raise
July 01, 2008
Bobby Jindal finally did the right thing. He admitted he made a mistake More
The flip-flop chronicles (cont.)
July 01, 2008
Living down to his motto as the candidate of change, Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) has changed his mind again. More
People's homes still their castle
July 01, 2008
Yesterday's refusal to indict Joe Horn who shot and killed two men who were burglarizing his neighbor's home akin to the Second Amendment. More
Mayor Daley and the Chicago Trib: 'Repeal the 2nd Amendment'
July 01, 2008
Hizzoner the mayor and the Trib both must have taken silly pills this week. More
Unfailing class
July 01, 2008
Making one's way across the country via airplane can be a hectic experience. But one experience makes up for it. More
Wesley Clark keeps digging
July 01, 2008
In case you missed it, General Wesley Clark made an exclusive appearance on ABC's Good Morning America today to reiterate his statements about John McCain. He did not back down at all but rather he defended his statements. More
Identifying perps as illegal immigrants (updated)
July 01, 2008
It is almost an iron law of the MSM that the race and immigration status of criminals will not be identified if they are members of racial minorities or not in the country legally. More
Lost in the Shufffle
July 01, 2008
Obama's exploitation of the flag pin to innoculate himself against criticism won't convince anyone of his patriotism. More
Clark Finds a Home Among Obama Advisors (updated)
July 01, 2008
Wes Clark should feel right at home among other anti-Israeli Obama advisers. More
July 01, 2008
Yesterday's refusal to indict Joe Horn who shot and killed two men who were burglarizing his neighbor's home akin to the Second Amendment. More
Mayor Daley and the Chicago Trib: 'Repeal the 2nd Amendment'
July 01, 2008
Hizzoner the mayor and the Trib both must have taken silly pills this week. More
Unfailing class
July 01, 2008
Making one's way across the country via airplane can be a hectic experience. But one experience makes up for it. More
Wesley Clark keeps digging
July 01, 2008
In case you missed it, General Wesley Clark made an exclusive appearance on ABC's Good Morning America today to reiterate his statements about John McCain. He did not back down at all but rather he defended his statements. More
Identifying perps as illegal immigrants (updated)
July 01, 2008
It is almost an iron law of the MSM that the race and immigration status of criminals will not be identified if they are members of racial minorities or not in the country legally. More
Lost in the Shufffle
July 01, 2008
Obama's exploitation of the flag pin to innoculate himself against criticism won't convince anyone of his patriotism. More
Clark Finds a Home Among Obama Advisors (updated)
July 01, 2008
Wes Clark should feel right at home among other anti-Israeli Obama advisers. More
Linda McQuaig:
Averting Our Gaze From US Cruelty
Bob Herbert:
'Oh Happy Day'
Arianna Huffington:
Memo to Obama: Moving to the Middle Is for Losers
George Monbiot:
This Economic Panic Is Pushing the Planet Right Back Down the Agenda
Sally Kohn:
Real Change Happens Off-Line
Peter Dreier:
Will Obama Inspire a New Generation of Organizers?
Tad Daley:
40 Years Later, Nuclear States Still Haven’t Kept Promises
Derrick Jackson:
McCain’s Agenda on Amtrak
Stephen Zunes:
African Dictatorships and Double-Standards
Averting Our Gaze From US Cruelty
Bob Herbert:
'Oh Happy Day'
Arianna Huffington:
Memo to Obama: Moving to the Middle Is for Losers
George Monbiot:
This Economic Panic Is Pushing the Planet Right Back Down the Agenda
Sally Kohn:
Real Change Happens Off-Line
Peter Dreier:
Will Obama Inspire a New Generation of Organizers?
Tad Daley:
40 Years Later, Nuclear States Still Haven’t Kept Promises
Derrick Jackson:
McCain’s Agenda on Amtrak
Stephen Zunes:
African Dictatorships and Double-Standards
Brian Cloughley
Sense of Honor, French and US Style
Robert Fantina
General Stupidity: McCain, Obama and
Sense of Honor, French and US Style
Robert Fantina
General Stupidity: McCain, Obama and
HEALTH CARE
Conservatives Filibuster Medicare Patients
On Thursday, Senate conservatives blocked a bill that would have averted a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. The bill, which would have canceled a reduction in Medicare fees and increased doctor pay by 1.1 percent, passed the House last week 355-59. But the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill by only one vote. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was the only senator to miss the vote, besides Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The bill had proposed offsetting the increased doctor pay by reducing payments to Medicare Advantage's private fee-for-service insurers, a provision opposed by the White House. In a "misleading" move, the Bush administration announced this week it had asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay making payments to physicians until July 15, giving the Senate time to pass another bill after the July 4th recess. Yet as Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained, the administration was simply following existing law, and it is "misleading the public by claiming" to help ameliorate the negative effects of a legislative move it endorsed.
SENIORS SUFFER MOST: The recalcitrant position of the conservatives and the White House creates real victims. As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said, Senate conservatives "are playing a dangerous game of chicken. The only losers will be Medicare patients, old people." "A lot of physicians will limit the number of Medicare patients they will see" as a result of the pay cut, said Dr. Lee Schoeffler, a Tulsa, OK ophthalmologist. A poll by the American Medical Association found that 60 percent of physicians "said they would limit the number of new Medicare patients they would see if a cut took effect." Even as doctors sought to ward off the latest cuts, the CMS announced Monday the legislation would mean Medicare payments to doctors would undergo a further drop another 5.4 percent in 2009. It is not just Medicare patients and doctors who will feel the pinch. "Most private insurance companies will begin reducing their reimbursement rates to doctors because they use Medicare as a benchmark" in setting their rates. "It doesn't hit just Medicare," Schoeffler said. "It works its way down into every part of the community."
CONSERVATIVES VERSUS DOCTORS: Physicians groups aim to remind voters of the fact that the blame for the pay cut lies squarely at the feet of conservatives this fall. The American Medical Association is planning a television and radio campaign ad targeting conservative senators who voted against the legislation. The ads will run initially in six states: Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Yesterday, the Texas Medical Association withdrew its endorsement of Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for reelection, citing his vote against the Medicare payment bill. "The Texas Medical Association Political Action Committee (TEXPAC) is outraged that you made the decision to follow the direction of the Bush Administration and voted to protect health insurance companies at the expense of America's seniors, those with disabilities, and military families," wrote El Paso physician Manuel Acosta, chairman of the medical association's board, in a letter to Cornyn.
BUSH BULLYING: The White House was adamant in its opposition to the bill, citing concerns that it cut privatized Medicare Advantage (MA) funding, in effect prioritizing a minority of MA patients at the expense of the more than 80 percent of seniors who are enrolled in traditional Medicare programs. Senate conservatives used the White House veto threat as a shield for their own votes. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) denounced the congressional leadership for bringing the measure for a vote, "[d]espite knowing that their bill was doomed from the start." Politico reports that the White House pushed vulnerable senators to switch their votes in some "eleventh-hour" dealings. Officials promised Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and previously supported a similar Medicare bill, "an administrative fix to increase Medicare reimbursements for oncologists." Specter denied that there was a "quid pro quo." Speaking on the Senate floor after the failed vote, Reid ridiculed conservatives for being too afraid to stand up to the deeply unpopular president. "But I'm watching a few of them pretty closely and I would say to all these people who are up for election, if you think you can go home and say 'I voted no' because this weak president, the weakest political standing since they have done polling, 'I voted because I was afraid to override his veto.' Come on!"
Conservatives Filibuster Medicare Patients
On Thursday, Senate conservatives blocked a bill that would have averted a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. The bill, which would have canceled a reduction in Medicare fees and increased doctor pay by 1.1 percent, passed the House last week 355-59. But the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill by only one vote. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was the only senator to miss the vote, besides Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The bill had proposed offsetting the increased doctor pay by reducing payments to Medicare Advantage's private fee-for-service insurers, a provision opposed by the White House. In a "misleading" move, the Bush administration announced this week it had asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay making payments to physicians until July 15, giving the Senate time to pass another bill after the July 4th recess. Yet as Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained, the administration was simply following existing law, and it is "misleading the public by claiming" to help ameliorate the negative effects of a legislative move it endorsed.
SENIORS SUFFER MOST: The recalcitrant position of the conservatives and the White House creates real victims. As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said, Senate conservatives "are playing a dangerous game of chicken. The only losers will be Medicare patients, old people." "A lot of physicians will limit the number of Medicare patients they will see" as a result of the pay cut, said Dr. Lee Schoeffler, a Tulsa, OK ophthalmologist. A poll by the American Medical Association found that 60 percent of physicians "said they would limit the number of new Medicare patients they would see if a cut took effect." Even as doctors sought to ward off the latest cuts, the CMS announced Monday the legislation would mean Medicare payments to doctors would undergo a further drop another 5.4 percent in 2009. It is not just Medicare patients and doctors who will feel the pinch. "Most private insurance companies will begin reducing their reimbursement rates to doctors because they use Medicare as a benchmark" in setting their rates. "It doesn't hit just Medicare," Schoeffler said. "It works its way down into every part of the community."
CONSERVATIVES VERSUS DOCTORS: Physicians groups aim to remind voters of the fact that the blame for the pay cut lies squarely at the feet of conservatives this fall. The American Medical Association is planning a television and radio campaign ad targeting conservative senators who voted against the legislation. The ads will run initially in six states: Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Yesterday, the Texas Medical Association withdrew its endorsement of Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for reelection, citing his vote against the Medicare payment bill. "The Texas Medical Association Political Action Committee (TEXPAC) is outraged that you made the decision to follow the direction of the Bush Administration and voted to protect health insurance companies at the expense of America's seniors, those with disabilities, and military families," wrote El Paso physician Manuel Acosta, chairman of the medical association's board, in a letter to Cornyn.
BUSH BULLYING: The White House was adamant in its opposition to the bill, citing concerns that it cut privatized Medicare Advantage (MA) funding, in effect prioritizing a minority of MA patients at the expense of the more than 80 percent of seniors who are enrolled in traditional Medicare programs. Senate conservatives used the White House veto threat as a shield for their own votes. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) denounced the congressional leadership for bringing the measure for a vote, "[d]espite knowing that their bill was doomed from the start." Politico reports that the White House pushed vulnerable senators to switch their votes in some "eleventh-hour" dealings. Officials promised Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and previously supported a similar Medicare bill, "an administrative fix to increase Medicare reimbursements for oncologists." Specter denied that there was a "quid pro quo." Speaking on the Senate floor after the failed vote, Reid ridiculed conservatives for being too afraid to stand up to the deeply unpopular president. "But I'm watching a few of them pretty closely and I would say to all these people who are up for election, if you think you can go home and say 'I voted no' because this weak president, the weakest political standing since they have done polling, 'I voted because I was afraid to override his veto.' Come on!"
RADICAL RIGHT -- RIGHT WING APOPLECTIC OVER WALL-E'S ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE: Pixar's latest film, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-Class), debuted at number one last weekend, earning $65 million at the box office, scoring overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, and reportedly gained praise from children and adults alike. The film depicts a world in which humans have polluted the earth to the point where it is uninhabitable. Conservatives, disgusted with WALL-E's message about the dangers of "over consumption, big corporations, and the destruction of the environment," are expressing their outrage. The National Review's Greg Pollowitz has called for a boycott of WALL-E merchandise. Jonah Golberg accused Pixar of spreading "Malthusian fear mongering." CNN's Glenn Beck, who denounced Happy Feet, an animated film about dancing penguins, as environmental "propaganda," chimed in with other conservatives to sarcastically deride WALL-E, crowing, "I can't wait to teach my kids how we've destroyed the Earth." Goldberg’s enormous list of evidence of "liberal facism" already includes vegetarianism, love of animals, and Captain Planet.
IRAN -- HERSH: CHENEY 'PRIVATELY' SAYS HE WANTS U.S. TO STRIKE IRAN: Earlier this week, in an article called "Preparing the Battlefield," the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh reported that the Bush administration has been escalating covert operations against Iran. On MSNBC yesterday, Andrea Mitchell asked Hersh if the United States is "planning military action" against Iran or "planning to support Israeli military action?" "What I can tell you is we're loaded for bear," he said. "And we've been looking at it for three years. Hersh added that Vice President Cheney "privately" is against an Israeli attack because the United States will "be blamed anyway." "What he says privately is, 'we can't let Israel go because, first of all, they don't have the firepower, we do,'" Hersh said. Though Hersh says Cheney only conveys this view "privately," he has made a similar argument at least once before in public. On Jan. 20, 2005, Cheney went on the "Imus in the Morning" show and said, "Israel might do it without being asked," leaving the world to clean up "the diplomatic mess afterwards."
ENVIRONMENT -- CONSERVATIVES SEETHE OVER REID'S 'COAL MAKES US SICK' COMMENT: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has earned the ire of the conservatives and a spot on YouTube's Most Viewed page with a video explaining that the use of coal power "makes us sick" and is harming the environment. In the video, which has over 350,000 views, Reid says that the use of fossil fuels is "ruining our country, it's ruining our world." Politico yesterday reported that conservatives are "sending around the video as part of an effort to make Democrats appear out of touch on the need to produce more energy and drill more oil wells." Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt complained on Townhall that Reid "declaims against two giant and productive industries that employ hundreds of thousands of Americans." "Fossil fuels don't make us sick," said Fox News guest Chris Horner. "Fossil fuels make us wealthy." But Reid was correct in his assessment that coal is dirty. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), "the toll of death, disease, and environmental destruction caused by coal-fired power plant pollution continues to mount." The ALA attributes 24,000 premature deaths each year to power plant pollution, as well as 550,000 asthma attacks, 38,000 heart attacks, and 12,000 hospital admissions annually.
IRAN -- HERSH: CHENEY 'PRIVATELY' SAYS HE WANTS U.S. TO STRIKE IRAN: Earlier this week, in an article called "Preparing the Battlefield," the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh reported that the Bush administration has been escalating covert operations against Iran. On MSNBC yesterday, Andrea Mitchell asked Hersh if the United States is "planning military action" against Iran or "planning to support Israeli military action?" "What I can tell you is we're loaded for bear," he said. "And we've been looking at it for three years. Hersh added that Vice President Cheney "privately" is against an Israeli attack because the United States will "be blamed anyway." "What he says privately is, 'we can't let Israel go because, first of all, they don't have the firepower, we do,'" Hersh said. Though Hersh says Cheney only conveys this view "privately," he has made a similar argument at least once before in public. On Jan. 20, 2005, Cheney went on the "Imus in the Morning" show and said, "Israel might do it without being asked," leaving the world to clean up "the diplomatic mess afterwards."
ENVIRONMENT -- CONSERVATIVES SEETHE OVER REID'S 'COAL MAKES US SICK' COMMENT: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has earned the ire of the conservatives and a spot on YouTube's Most Viewed page with a video explaining that the use of coal power "makes us sick" and is harming the environment. In the video, which has over 350,000 views, Reid says that the use of fossil fuels is "ruining our country, it's ruining our world." Politico yesterday reported that conservatives are "sending around the video as part of an effort to make Democrats appear out of touch on the need to produce more energy and drill more oil wells." Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt complained on Townhall that Reid "declaims against two giant and productive industries that employ hundreds of thousands of Americans." "Fossil fuels don't make us sick," said Fox News guest Chris Horner. "Fossil fuels make us wealthy." But Reid was correct in his assessment that coal is dirty. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), "the toll of death, disease, and environmental destruction caused by coal-fired power plant pollution continues to mount." The ALA attributes 24,000 premature deaths each year to power plant pollution, as well as 550,000 asthma attacks, 38,000 heart attacks, and 12,000 hospital admissions annually.
JACK A. SMITH
What's Up with The Democratic Congress globalresearch.ca — During the month of June the Democratic-controlled Congress in the U.S. voted to fund the Iraq war deep into next year, to support a compromise version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that endangers civil liberties, and, in effect, eliminated the possibility of impeaching President George W. Bush. Why are progressives and the left not particularly surprised? Because it is consistent with the timidity, compromise, and opportunism that has come to characterize many of the actions and inactions of the Democratic Congress since it took power in January 2007.
ROBERT SCHEER
Happy Oil Dependence Day huffingtonpost.com — As we head into the Fourth of July weekend of patriotic bluster and beer swilling — but before we are too besotted with ourselves — might we also for once consider our imperfections?
MARTIN WOLF
Lessons to be Learned from the Financial Crisis ft.com — The Bank for International Settlements has long warned of the dangers of unrestrained credit growth and asset price inflation. In its annual report this year, the BIS felt free to say "We told you so."
ROBYN BLUMNER
The Vanishing Middle Class huffingtonpost.com — We are moving from a three-class society to a two-class society, consisting of a somewhat larger upper class and the rest of America — people who are "constantly living on the edge of a cliff." They might appear to earn a decent income, but enjoy none of the financial security normally associated with middle-class status.
STEVEN GREENHOUSE
The Up-Escalator May Be Broken tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Today's young workers are the first generation to come of age after the high-tech bubble burst, after the offshoring of jobs exploded, and after millions of factory jobs disappeared. They are entering a workplace where paychecks are smaller, and the job security that previous generations took for granted has all but evaporated. What, if anything, are they going to do about it?
LAUREN WOLFE
Student Loans: A Step In the Right Direction huffingtonpost.com — President Bush spends billions in Iraq, but American students can barely scrape enough money together to go to college. Luckily, Democratic leaders in Congress have addressed increasing college costs by decreasing interest on student loans.
LARISA ALEXANDROVNA
The Right's Patriotism Problem huffingtonpost.com — According to conservatives, the "true patriot" must surrender reason and conscience, and simply know (without knowing in any meaningful way) that their government can do no wrong. In other words, Americans can't hold their government accountable and still be patriotic.
What's Up with The Democratic Congress globalresearch.ca — During the month of June the Democratic-controlled Congress in the U.S. voted to fund the Iraq war deep into next year, to support a compromise version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that endangers civil liberties, and, in effect, eliminated the possibility of impeaching President George W. Bush. Why are progressives and the left not particularly surprised? Because it is consistent with the timidity, compromise, and opportunism that has come to characterize many of the actions and inactions of the Democratic Congress since it took power in January 2007.
ROBERT SCHEER
Happy Oil Dependence Day huffingtonpost.com — As we head into the Fourth of July weekend of patriotic bluster and beer swilling — but before we are too besotted with ourselves — might we also for once consider our imperfections?
MARTIN WOLF
Lessons to be Learned from the Financial Crisis ft.com — The Bank for International Settlements has long warned of the dangers of unrestrained credit growth and asset price inflation. In its annual report this year, the BIS felt free to say "We told you so."
ROBYN BLUMNER
The Vanishing Middle Class huffingtonpost.com — We are moving from a three-class society to a two-class society, consisting of a somewhat larger upper class and the rest of America — people who are "constantly living on the edge of a cliff." They might appear to earn a decent income, but enjoy none of the financial security normally associated with middle-class status.
STEVEN GREENHOUSE
The Up-Escalator May Be Broken tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Today's young workers are the first generation to come of age after the high-tech bubble burst, after the offshoring of jobs exploded, and after millions of factory jobs disappeared. They are entering a workplace where paychecks are smaller, and the job security that previous generations took for granted has all but evaporated. What, if anything, are they going to do about it?
LAUREN WOLFE
Student Loans: A Step In the Right Direction huffingtonpost.com — President Bush spends billions in Iraq, but American students can barely scrape enough money together to go to college. Luckily, Democratic leaders in Congress have addressed increasing college costs by decreasing interest on student loans.
LARISA ALEXANDROVNA
The Right's Patriotism Problem huffingtonpost.com — According to conservatives, the "true patriot" must surrender reason and conscience, and simply know (without knowing in any meaningful way) that their government can do no wrong. In other words, Americans can't hold their government accountable and still be patriotic.
DAVID SIROTA
Uprising Against Oil & Gas Drilling Intensifies In the West The St. Louis archway may bill itself as the gateway to the West, but the real gateway this election to the West for Democrats could be through oil and gas politics.
RICK PERLSTEIN
Bills Come Due A friend recently asked me to summarize why conservatives seem to be in such disarray these days. I listed four reasons, in separate paragraphs. "Bills come due," was how I began the fourth. And now...the rest of the story Here's the rest of my answer to my friend who asked me to explain why conservatives are in disarray. The Pumafinks, Part 2: The Movie Do these guys look like Democrats to you?
Uprising Against Oil & Gas Drilling Intensifies In the West The St. Louis archway may bill itself as the gateway to the West, but the real gateway this election to the West for Democrats could be through oil and gas politics.
RICK PERLSTEIN
Bills Come Due A friend recently asked me to summarize why conservatives seem to be in such disarray these days. I listed four reasons, in separate paragraphs. "Bills come due," was how I began the fourth.
And now...the rest of the story Here's the rest of my answer to my friend who asked me to explain why conservatives are in disarray. The Pumafinks, Part 2: The Movie Do these guys look like Democrats to you?
ISAIAH J. POOLE
Hundreds Tell Fox: "Stop The Attacks" More than 600 people from all over the country have responded in the first 48 hours of our call to tell Fox News to stop branding progressives as unpatriotic, and instead contribute to a respectful debate about the future direction of the country
MICHAEL WINSHIP
What Patriotism Is Details of Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism got buried in the wake of General Wesley Clark's politically lunkheaded comment that "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" doesn't qualify Sen. John McCain to be president. But over the Fourth of July weekend, it might be appropriate and enlightening to take a few minutes to read or watch the whole thing.
Hundreds Tell Fox: "Stop The Attacks" More than 600 people from all over the country have responded in the first 48 hours of our call to tell Fox News to stop branding progressives as unpatriotic, and instead contribute to a respectful debate about the future direction of the country
MICHAEL WINSHIP
What Patriotism Is Details of Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism got buried in the wake of General Wesley Clark's politically lunkheaded comment that "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" doesn't qualify Sen. John McCain to be president. But over the Fourth of July weekend, it might be appropriate and enlightening to take a few minutes to read or watch the whole thing.
JOEL BLIEFUSS
Bush's Selective Mourning inthesetimes.com — The Fourth of July is the time for patriotic hoohah by national poobahs. So, Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush will no doubt invoke, as he did on Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery, the "sacrifice" of that "awesome bunch of people." Bush then dressed up his war with tales of the fallen. But some victims of his war didn't merit the president's notice.
PAUL WALDMAN
McCain: Noun, Verb, Terrorism prospect.org — For all John McCain's supposed experience, he has the same absurdly simplistic and factually ignorant understanding of the problem as President Bush.
AMITABH PAL
Bush?s Legacy and the Damage Done progressive.org — With President Bush attending his last G8 summit in Japan, it is a good time to assess the foreign policy legacy of his Administration — and what a legacy!
ROGER BYBEE
The Doctors' Revolt prospect.org — Doctors, the traditional advocates for the medical status quo, are increasingly in favor of major reforms to the U.S. health-care system.
GREG ANRIG
One Small Step for Equality of Opportunity tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Generous subsidies from some ivy league schools have encouraged a broader range of students across the income spectrum to compete for slots, with some lower-income public school applicants beating out the prep school grads.
TERENCE M. O'SULLIVAN
Invisible Tragedies - Four Construction Workers Killed Every Day Building America huffingtonpost.com — Every day an average of four construction workers are killed as they go about building America, because OSHA under President Bush is failing construction workers.
Bush's Selective Mourning inthesetimes.com — The Fourth of July is the time for patriotic hoohah by national poobahs. So, Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush will no doubt invoke, as he did on Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery, the "sacrifice" of that "awesome bunch of people." Bush then dressed up his war with tales of the fallen. But some victims of his war didn't merit the president's notice.
PAUL WALDMAN
McCain: Noun, Verb, Terrorism prospect.org — For all John McCain's supposed experience, he has the same absurdly simplistic and factually ignorant understanding of the problem as President Bush.
AMITABH PAL
Bush?s Legacy and the Damage Done progressive.org — With President Bush attending his last G8 summit in Japan, it is a good time to assess the foreign policy legacy of his Administration — and what a legacy!
ROGER BYBEE
The Doctors' Revolt prospect.org — Doctors, the traditional advocates for the medical status quo, are increasingly in favor of major reforms to the U.S. health-care system.
GREG ANRIG
One Small Step for Equality of Opportunity tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com — Generous subsidies from some ivy league schools have encouraged a broader range of students across the income spectrum to compete for slots, with some lower-income public school applicants beating out the prep school grads.
TERENCE M. O'SULLIVAN
Invisible Tragedies - Four Construction Workers Killed Every Day Building America huffingtonpost.com — Every day an average of four construction workers are killed as they go about building America, because OSHA under President Bush is failing construction workers.
House Suppresses Key Global Warming Document
A ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that details both the threat of global warming and our ability to address the problem has been suppressed by the White House since December. This document, produced in response to a "monumental" Supreme Court mandate, includes a "multimillion-dollar study conducted over two years" that finds "the net benefit to society could be in excess of $2 trillion" if strong carbon dioxide emissions standards for the automotive industry are issued. The proposal to increase today's fuel economy standards by 50 percent from 25 miles per gallon to 38.3 mpg by 2020 is stronger than those included in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, which called for a 40 percent increase. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson used the signing of the act as the public excuse to reject the findings of his staff and block California's proposal to regulate greenhouse tailpipe emissions. In fact, congressional investigations have revealed that officials in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) refused to open the email containing the EPA plan and that Johnson has been stonewalling to prevent disclosure of President Bush's role.
$2 TRILLION BENEFIT: As first revealed by the Detroit News, an advanced model used by the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) foundthat iincreasing fuel economy standards by 4 percent a year would have a net benefit to society of $1.4 to two trillion dollars by 2040. The benefit is strongly tied to the price of gasoline. Using the latest estimates from the Energy Information Administration, the EPA study assumed that gasoline prices would get no higher than $3.50 a gallon. Those figures are already outdated, as gasoline prices have reached an average of $4.09 a gallon, and oil prices are nearing $146 a barrel. With higher gasoline prices, the benefits of high carbon dioxide standards would be even greater. Consumers are responding already to the spiking price by moving away from gas guzzlers. Detroit automakers have suffered hard sales declines: "Ford Motor was down 28 percent in June, General Motors was off 18 percent, and Chrysler dropped 36 percent." Toyota likewise fell 21 percent. Only Honda Motor, with its fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles, saw any sales gains.
NEW STANDARDS: The ruling prepared by the EPA in December, after being rejected by the White House was pared down and recrafted as an "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" -- a draft version with a request for further rounds of public comment, thus delaying any implementation until the next administration. Even after major cuts from the December version, this document makes a mockery of Bush's claim in April that applying the Clean Air Act to global warming pollution "would have crippling effects on our entire economy" and be a "glorious mess." In fact, the ruling finds "technology is readily available to achieve significant reductions," "the benefits of these new standards far outweigh the costs," and the new standards "would result in substantial reductions" in greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, under the terms of the 2007 Energy Act, NHTSA proposed gas-mileage standards that the Center for Biological Diversity criticized for being kept low "through a number of bizarre assumptions, including asserting that gas will cost $2.36 per gallon in 2020 and $2.51 in 2030." In contrast, the automotive industry -- after arguing they "acted in good faith" to develop the law -- is challenging these standards saying the NHTSA implementation "goes beyond what it is technologically feasible and economically practicable" and will create "net social costs."
INTENSE BATTLE: Johnson testified before Congress on May 20 that he would issue this rulemaking draft by the end of spring. (A version acquired by The Progress Report is dated May 30.) The Detroit News reported that the EPA proposal would be published June 23, but an "intense private battle" between OMB officials and the EPA has blocked publication. According to published reports, the political appointee in charge of the plan, Jason K. Burnett, stepped down because of this "collision course between the agency and the OMB." As the Wall Street Journal reported, the OMB "has asked the EPA to delete sections of the document that say such emissions endanger public welfare, say how those gases could be regulated, and show an analysis of the cost of regulating greenhouse gases in the U.S. and other countries." The OMB instead "wants the document to show that the Clean Air Act is flawed and that greenhouse-gas regulations should be developed under new legislation," reflecting the public stance taken by Bush. The EPA's findings raise serious questions about whether Bush’s statements to the American public were made in good faith and why he asserted executive privilege on June 20 to block the congressional investigation.
CIVIL LIBERTIES -- ACLU: ADMINISTRATION 'CONTROLS AND SUPPRESSES' WAR INFORMATION: Yesterday the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released "thousands of pages of documents related to Navy investigations of civilians killed by coalition forces in Iraq." The documents were obtained from the Navy through a Freedom of Information Act request and reveal that the Bush administration and Defense Department have gone "to unprecedented lengths to control and suppress information about the human cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," the ACLU noted. The practices detailed in the documents include "inviting U.S. journalists to 'embed' with military units but requiring them to submit their stories for pre-publication review; paying Iraqi journalists to write positive accounts of the U.S. war effort; and erasing journalists' footage of civilian deaths in Afghanistan." Appearing on the Daily Show last month, CBS Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan said that "no one really understands" the situation in Iraq, saying: "Tell me the last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier. What does that look like? Who in American knows what that looks like?"
CONGRESS -- COMMITTEE: ADMINISTRATION KNEW ABOUT BUSH DONOR'S OIL CONTRACTS: Yesterday, the House Oversight Committee concluded that despite White House denials, "administration officials knew that a Texas oil company with close ties to President Bush was planning to sign an oil deal with the regional Kurdistan government (KRG) that ran counter to American policy and undercut Iraq's central government." The company, Hunt Oil, is owned by Ray L. Hunt, a former Halliburton board member who has donated $35 million to the Bush presidential library. When the oil deal was made in September 2007, Bush claimed that he "knew nothing about the deal." The State Department called it "counterproductive" and said that the contract "needlessly elevated tensions between the KRG and the national government of Iraq." The documents, however, show that State Department officials were well aware of Hunt's intentions, "did nothing to discourage the deal and in some cases appeared to welcome it." These findings led House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to send a letter yesterday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice questioning the U.S. role in the awarding of other Iraqi oil contracts with Western companies.
ETHICS -- TEXAS REALTORS TO PROTEST ROVE AT UPCOMING CONVENTION SPEECH: The Daily News of Galveston County, TX reported yesterday that former top Bush aide Karl Rove is scheduled as the keynote speaker at the Texas Realtors Association's convention in San Antonio this September. But when local realtors Karen Derr and Alice Melott heard the news, "they were appalled." In fact, Derr, Melott, and other area realtors have "launched an e-mail campaign to persuade the association's leaders to strike Rove from the speaker lineup." "What kind of message are we sending to the public we seek to serve by our very invitation to such an infamous politico?" Melott said in a letter to association leaders. Bill Hammond, an associate of Kerr's, agreed, saying he if the campaign proves unsuccessful, he plans to protest Rove at the convention. "Rove definitely does not embody the ethics we want the public to associate with Realtors," Hammond said. While the realtors are concerned that Rove would disrupt the convention, the realtors association chairman Randy Jeffers said that he has no plans to withdraw the offer to Rove to speak at the convention, saying he is proud that the organization will feature "one of the most influential and controversial people in public policy today."
The Justice Department is currently considering "letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups." The ACLU criticized the announcement, saying that the FBI could begin investigations simply "by assuming that everyone's a suspect, <a target="_blank" href="http://app.mx3.americanprogressaction.org/e/er.aspx?s=785&lid=7040&elq=0B6752C69B0E4DEE9DC91F301148CA02">and then you weed out the innocent."
ABC News reports that in the past week, high-level discussions amongst senior administration officials about the status of Guantanamo Bay have "escalated," and President Bush is expected to soon decide whether to close the prison.
According to the G8 Climate Scorecards 2008, "the U.S. has done the least among the world's eight biggest economies to address global warming." The study also found that none of the G8 nations has taken enough steps to prevent catastrophic temperature changes.
"High levels of formaldehyde found in trailers provided to Hurricane Katrina evacuees on the Gulf Coast probably resulted from cheap wood and poor ventilation in designs used by manufacturers." The revelations confirm "the role that manufacturers' practices and weak federal regulation played in the public health disaster after" the hurricane.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen warned Wednesday that an Israeli air strike against Iran would make the Middle East more unstable. "Opening up a third front right now would be extremely stressful for us," he said. "This is a very unstable part of the world, and I don't need it to be more unstable."
And finally: Long before he wanted to join government, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wanted to be…a zookeeper. In the introduction to "America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans and Families," Gingrich writes that he "fell in love with seeing animals in all their glory and diversity." Guidebook co-author Allen Nyhuis said his publisher was initially "skeptical" of allowing Gingrich to write the introduction "because of the image that conservatives don't like the environment."
Independence Day Should Reinstill Hope for America - Detroit News
Two Truths Should Be Self-Evident - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review
Safeguarding Liberty and Justice - Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe
Lt. Burks and the Price of Freedom - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Freedom: First Step In Pursuit of Happiness - Steve Chapman, Chicago Trib
Changing Iraq Dynamics Pose Challenge for Obama - Cooper & Zeleny, IHT
Obama the Cynic, Part II - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
Karl Rove's Third Term - Paul Krugman, New York Times
The Politics of Can't-Possibly-Do - Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal
Crossing the Great Divide - Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
Bad Time to Question McCain's Qualifications - Steve Huntley, Chicago S-T
What McCain Didn't Learn in Vietnam - Joe Conason, Salon
Does Military Service Matter? - Margaret Talev, McClatchy
The Fed Fiddles While Financial System Smolders - Steve Forbes, Forbes
Backstory on a Bad North Korea Deal - James Rosen, National Review
The Founding Mudslingers - Edward Larson, Washington Post
A Day at the Beach - Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
Two Truths Should Be Self-Evident - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review
Safeguarding Liberty and Justice - Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe
Lt. Burks and the Price of Freedom - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Freedom: First Step In Pursuit of Happiness - Steve Chapman, Chicago Trib
Changing Iraq Dynamics Pose Challenge for Obama - Cooper & Zeleny, IHT
Obama the Cynic, Part II - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
Karl Rove's Third Term - Paul Krugman, New York Times
The Politics of Can't-Possibly-Do - Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal
Crossing the Great Divide - Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
Bad Time to Question McCain's Qualifications - Steve Huntley, Chicago S-T
What McCain Didn't Learn in Vietnam - Joe Conason, Salon
Does Military Service Matter? - Margaret Talev, McClatchy
The Fed Fiddles While Financial System Smolders - Steve Forbes, Forbes
Backstory on a Bad North Korea Deal - James Rosen, National Review
The Founding Mudslingers - Edward Larson, Washington Post
A Day at the Beach - Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
Editorials
All Hail the First Amendment - Dallas Morning News
America at 232: Liberty's Fight - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The New and Not Improved Obama - New York Times
Freedom in Colombia - Chicago Tribune
Political News & Analysis
White House, Candidates Plot Smooth Transfer of Power - WSJ
McCain Puts New Strategist Atop Campaign - Washington Post
Obama Picks Up Fundraising Pace - New York Times
McCain Works the Room, One Meeting At a Time - Los Angeles Times
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