Materials Voter Registration Online (CapWeb - VotetNet) Provides the information and forms necessary to register to vote in your state when online registration is permissable. 9-01 Voting - Register to Vote (BeAVoter.org) Allows you to begin the voter registration process online. They will then send you the completed materials for you to sign and mail to the voter registration authorities. The address for the voter registration authorities will already be on your envelope. 5-00. News -01-05-06 Alito Expected to Move Supreme Court Decisively to the Right (Christian Science Monitor) "Not since the 1987 nomination of Judge Robert Bork to replace retiring moderate Justice Lewis Powell has the high court faced such an abrupt move to the right in so many areas at once. And not since the Bork nomination has there been such a large and determined coalition assembled in opposition to a high court nominee, analysts say." "Supporters portray Alito as a careful, conservative jurist within the mainstream of American legal thought. Opponents paint him as an agenda-driven ideologue." 01-06 -01-14-05 CIA Advisors: War Made Iraq a Training Ground for Terrorists (MSNBC News) "Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of 'professionalized' terrorists, according to a report released yesterday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank." 1-05 -01-14-05 Senators Investigate Use of Education Funds (MSNBC News) "The [Education] department, through a contract with the public relations firm Ketchum, hired [commentator Armstrong] Williams to produce ads, featuring [Education Secretary] Paige, that promoted Bush’s No Child Left Behind law. The contract also called for Williams to provide media access for Paige and to persuade other black journalists to talk about the law." "Federal law bans the use of public money on propaganda." "As part of a contract worth more than $1 million with Ketchum, the Education Department paid for a video that appeared as a news story without making it clear the reporter was hired to promote No Child Left Behind. The agency also paid for ratings of news reporters, with points for stories that make the law, the Bush administration and the Republican Party look good." 1-05 -01-16-05 Pentagon May Be Planning a "Hit" on Iran (CNN News) "The Pentagon Monday criticized an article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that says the United States has been carrying out reconnaissance missions in Iran to identify nuclear, chemical and missile sites for possible airstrikes as soon as this summer." "[Former Secretary of Defense William] Cohen noted that Hersh's article has not been 'categorically denied' by the Bush administration." " 'So there seems to be some confirmation that there is a fairly serious effort under way to gather this kind of information for potential military operations,' he said."1-05 -01-16-05 Poll: Americans Hopeful About Bush's Second Term (ABC News) "A majority of Americans say they feel hopeful about President Bush's second term, but those hopes are clouded by doubts about when the bloodshed in Iraq will end." 01-05 -01-18-05 Brand Preferences: Bush vs. Kerry Supporters (C-SPAN.org) "Bush voters like Wal-Mart, while Kerry voters prefer Target. Bush voters like Microsoft, and Kerry voters are more likely to be fans of Dell. But when it comes to remodeling, there is no political divide — everybody likes Home Depot." 1-05 -01-18-05 Condoleeza Rice Quizzed by Senate (C-SPAN.org) Provides a video of the confirmation hearings for Condoleeza Rice for consideration for the position of Secretary of State for the United States. 1-05 -01-18-05 Condoleeza Rice Quizzed by Senate (MSNBC News) "Rice said she felt that troop strength going into Iraq was adequate and that 'we think the number [of Iraqi forces] right now is somewhere over 120,000.' ” "[Senator] Biden said he had been to Iraq three times and believed that her estimate was too high. 'I think you’ll find, if you speak to the folks on the ground, they don’t think there’s more than 4,000 actually trained Iraqi forces,' he said." "Biden continued that 'the exit strategy for America is a trained force of several hundred thousand people. We’re talking about a year or more to get anywhere close to that. We should level with the American people about it.' ” "Current U.S. policy is 'growing the insurgency, not diminishing it,' [Senator] Kerry said, adding that he met last week with Iraqis in Kirkuk, Mosul and elsewhere who said they were eager to help make democracy work but were not getting the support they needed from Baghdad." 1-05 -01-18-05 Condoleeza Rice Quizzed by Senate (PBS.org) Provides reactions from Republican and Democratic Senators on Rice's responses to questions on the use of torture by the U.S. and the real reasons for the U.S. invading Iraq. 1-05 -01-18-05 Poll: Bush Popularity Tepid (ABC News) "President Bush approaches his second inauguration with a comparatively weak job approval rating, subdued expectations for his performance in office and the daunting challenge of a single issue with the potential to make or break his second term: Iraq." 1-05 -01-19-05 Exit Pollsters: Bush Won "Fair and Square" (MSNBC News) "When Bush turned out to be the winner, some Kerry partisans used the exit polls to insist that the Republicans had somehow stolen votes, especially in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio and in districts that were using electronic voting systems for the first time." "But Edison and Mitofsky said a thorough examination of the survey data demonstrated that Bush won the election fair and square." Editor's Note: The complete explanation was contradictory. Edison and Mitofsky also stated: "...the polls overstated Kerry’s support by statistically significant margins in 26 states — more than half of them — and President Bush’s in four others. That was the worst performance since news organizations joined to begin using national exit polls together in 1988." The pollsters cannot at the same time argue that their results were significantly different from the actual results and that they are an accurate source of information. 1-05 -01-19-05 Senate to Delay Confirmation of Rice (MSNBC News) "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Wednesday to approve Condoleezza Rice’s nomination to be secretary of state, but after two days of strenuous questioning on the Bush administration’s handling of Iraq, Democrats planned to delay her widely expected confirmation by the full Senate, NBC News has learned." 1-05 -01-20-05 President Bush Vows to Fight World Tyranny (BBC News) "George W Bush has been sworn in for a second term as US president, and has vowed to support those who work to overthrow tyranny around the world." 1-05 -01-20-05 President Bush's Inaugural Speech (WashingtonTimes.com) Provides a transcript of President George W. Bush's second inaugural speech. 1-05 -02-02-05 Bush Presents State of the Union Speech (MSNBC News) "With the final phrases still echoing in the House chamber from President Bush’s State of the Union address, the mathematics became more important than the rhetoric." "After running for president in 2000 and again in 2004 on his call for Social Security redesign, Bush on Wednesday night added some substance to his proposal, although not enough for congressional Democrats." 2-05 -02-02-05 Social Security - Not a Nest Egg But a Loan (MSNBC News) "Under the White House Social Security plan, workers who opt to divert some of their payroll taxes into individual accounts would ultimately get to keep only the investment returns that exceed the rate of return that the money would have accrued in the traditional system." "In effect, the accounts would work more like a loan from the government, to be paid back upon retirement at an inflation-adjusted 3 percent interest rate — the interest the money would have earned if it had been invested in Treasury bonds, said Peter R. Orszag, a Social Security analyst at the Brookings Institution and a former Clinton White House economist." "That idea [under the Clinton administration] was criticized by conservatives because the federal government could end up choosing winners and losers in the financial markets. But under the Bush system, the government is still choosing the stocks and bonds to be bought with Social Security money, said Jason Furman, a former Clinton administration economist. Individuals would get a limited choice, and the government would still keep most of the returns." 2-05 -02-02-05 Social Security and President Bush (CBS News) "In the first State of the Union address of his second term, President Bush laid out an ambitious agenda, including an overhaul of Social Security and continued efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East." "He challenged Congress to take political risks "to strengthen and save Social Security," warning that the government's costliest social program was headed for bankruptcy unless changed." "Democrats vehemently oppose Mr. Bush's proposal to divert Social Security taxes into private investment accounts, a plan that offers the possibility of higher returns as well as risks from the stock market and almost certainly a cut in guaranteed benefits." 2-05 -02-03-05 Bush's Popularity (ABC News) "George W. Bush starts his fourth year in office with an intricate riddle unsolved: How to translate his broad popularity in one critical area — fighting terrorism — into strength in others where he's substantially weaker, from the economy to a range of domestic issues." "Despite his strengths, the task is a pressing one: On the eve of his third State of the Union address and at the start of an election year, the Democrats in Congress now match Bush in public trust to handle the nation's main problems, 44 percent to 45 percent." 2-05 -02-03-05 Democrats Blast Bush Social Security Plan (ABC News) "Democrats on Thursday said President Bush's proposed overhaul of Social Security would burden future generations with massive debt and undo income protection promised to the elderly since Democrat Franklin Roosevelt was president." "Standing at the entrance to the Roosevelt Memorial, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and a number of his colleagues said Bush's plan to divert Social Security taxes into private investment accounts would increase the nation's debt to as much as $30,000 per person by 2015, compared to $12,000 in 2001." "They urged Bush to avoid borrowing huge sums to pay for the private account plan." 2-05 -02-03-05 Gonzalez Confirmed as Attorney General (ABC News) "White House counsel Alberto Gonzales won U.S. Senate confirmation on Thursday as the nation's next attorney general with the second highest number of 'no' votes ever for a successful nominee for the post." 2-05 -02-03-05 NIH Workers Angered by Ethics Rules (MSNBC News) "National Institutes of Health Director Elias A. Zerhouni stood before hundreds of NIH employees yesterday to explain why it had become necessary for him to impose, in his words, 'drastic' restrictions on stock ownership and other forms of outside income, which take effect today for all agency employees." "The goal, as Zerhouni repeatedly explained, was to save the venerable agency's reputation, which had become badly sullied after 14 months of embarrassing revelations about conflicts of interest among NIH scientists." "One after another, scientists, doctors and other agency staffers stepped up to the microphones and raged against the new rules, made public Tuesday. By the time it was over, 90 minutes later, nary a positive word had been uttered about the new policy and there was more vented spleen around than a busy medical center like the NIH might normally see in a year." "Several attendees wanted to know why, if the goal is to restore public trust in the federal scientific enterprise, the rules are to be applied solely to NIH." " 'Does this apply to the Department of Energy? To the Department of Agriculture? To the Defense Department?' asked Elaine Jaffe, a pathologist who is chief of blood diseases at the National Cancer Institute, to cheers and applause." " 'If we really want to reassure the public," Emanuel added, 'why don't we apply these to everyone who gets an NIH grant?' " "Another attendee noted that NIH employees are subject to periodic outside evaluations and reviews by nongovernmental scientists who are not subject to the same ethics restrictions -- a bizarre situation, the employee said, in which people with real conflicts of interest will be sitting in judgment of those with none." 2-05 -02-03-05 Republicans Skeptical About Social Security Plan (ABC News) "President Bush's Social Security proposals stirred fresh political worries Thursday among Republicans and brought calls from some lawmakers to abandon the president's central idea: letting people divert part of their payroll taxes to private retirement accounts." "I've talked to some of my colleagues and they're panic-stricken," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who said he welcomes a serious debate over the sweeping changes Bush outlined in his State of the Union address Wednesday." 2-05 -02-03-05 State of the Union Speech - A History (ABC News) Provides a progress report on President Bush's past State of the Union addresses. 2-05 -02-03-05 State of the Union Speech - Reality Check (ABC News) Provides a progress report on President Bush's past State of the Union addresses. 2-05 -02-03-05 State of the Union Speech, Part 1 (ABC News) Provides the text of the President's speech. 2-05 -02-03-05 State of the Union Speech, Part 2 (ABC News) Provides the text of the President's speech. 2-05 -02-05-05 Opinions on News Coverage (PollingPoint.com) Provides results from polls on the credibility of the media. 2-05 -02-05-05 Politicians "Don't Get No Respect" (PollingPoint.com) Roger Dangerfield, comedian, was famous for butchering the English language with "I don't get no respect." Likewise, a recent poll shows that politicians as a group are not held in very high esteem by the general public. 2-05 -02-05-05 Polling Results After the Election (PollingPoint.com) Provides opinions on the election process and the future of the economy. Polling was conducted November 2-3, 2004. 2-05 -02-12-05 Corporations May Stop Some Budget Cuts (ABC News) "One of the 58 proposed cuts that survived — the Advanced Technology Program — serves as an example of how difficult it is to cut government spending." "Since its birth in 1990, ATP has provided billions to the private sector for research and development. Almost half of that funding has been directed to Fortune 500 companies like General Motors and IBM." " 'The Advanced Technology Program is the poster child for corporate welfare,' said Tom Schatz, president of the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste." " 'Major corporations such as General Electric, who are very powerful lobbies here on their own, get millions and millions of dollars of taxpayers' money to support their research,' said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. 'It's mind-boggling that a major corporation would require taxpayers' dollars to do their job, which is to research products that they will sell and make a profit on.' " 2-05 -02-12-05 Dean New Leader of the Democratic Party (USA Today) "Thirteen months after his presidential campaign imploded, Howard Dean became the voice of the Democratic Party on Saturday." "The former Vermont governor was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee in a unanimous voice vote of the 447 committee members. He becomes head of a Democratic establishment with which he was often at odds during his outsider quest for the White House in 2004." 2-05 -02-12-05 Was White House Using Fake News, Fake Reporter? (Salon.com) "Why was a partisan hack, using an alias and with no journalism background, given repeated access to daily White House press briefings?" "When President Bush bypassed dozens of eager reporters from nationally and internationally recognized news outlets and selected Jeff Gannon to pose a question at his Jan. 26 news conference, Bush's recognition bestowed instant credibility on the apparently novice reporter, as well as the little-known conservative organization he worked for at the time, called Talon News." 2-05 -02-14-05 Frist Has Votes to Destroy Filibusters (Washington Times) "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has the 51 votes needed to change Senate rules and make it easier for Republicans to overcome Democratic filibusters against President Bush's judicial nominees, but he hopes such a change won't be necessary." Editor's Note: Without the filibuster, a minority party cannot stop actions of the majority party and therefore cannot negotiate compromises in legislation. In short, the majority party will be able, for the first time, to take action as if the minority party were not there at all. 2-05 -02-18-05 Iran Talks May Fail Without USA (Bloomberg.com) "Germany, France and the U.K. may fail to dissuade Iran from seeking nuclear weapons unless the U.S. joins European-led talks with Iran's Islamic government, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's adviser on U.S. relations said." "The U.S. must back Europe's attempt to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy 'because only then will we manage to create an environment for these efforts to succeed,' said Karsten Voigt in a telephone interview from New York, where he is meeting with U.S. officials in preparation for a visit to Europe by President George W. Bush next week." 2-05 -02-25-05 Kansas AG Seeks Abortion Records (Fox News) "The Kansas attorney general, a staunch opponent of abortion, has demanded the medical records of nearly 90 woman and girls who had late-term abortions (search), saying he needs the material to investigate crimes." "The two abortion clinics involved in the case say the state has no right to such personal information and are fighting the request in the Kansas Supreme Court (search)." 11-04 -03-04-05 GAO: Unfunded Commitments Now $350,000 per U.S. Worker (MSNBC News) "“Americans are beginning to have a good understanding the system won’t be there unless we act soon,” he [Secretary of the Treasury John Snow] said." "In their annual report last year, the Social Security trustees said, 'Present tax rates would be sufficient to pay 73 percent of scheduled benefits after trust fund exhaustion in 2042 and 68 percent of scheduled benefits in 2078.' " "Meanwhile on Thursday Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan praised the virtues of a consumption tax, which economists such as Laurence Kotlikoff have argued would be one equitable way to help pay the staggering cost of unfunded liabilities for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security." "According to the General Accountability Office, the government’s fiscal watchdog, the federal government’s net liabilities, unfunded commitments, and other obligations now amount to more than $43 trillion, or about $350,000 for every full-time worker." 3-05 -03-04-05 Greenspan Touts Sales Tax (CBS News) "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday embraced the notion of overhauling the tax system in the United States and said that some form of a consumption tax — such as a national sales tax — could spur greater economic growth." "Bush's advisers have spoken favorably of the economic benefits that could be achieved by moving from a system that taxes income to one that taxes consumption. However, Democratic critics contend such a consumption tax would hit low-income Americans the hardest." 3-05 -03-12-05 Bankruptcy Rules Toughen (Christian Science Monitor) "For better or worse, the use of personal bankruptcy to make a fresh start is about to be sharply curtailed." "Legislation moving through the Senate this week is, to backers, a long overdue tightening in an era of rising indebtedness and bankruptcy declarations." 3-05 -03-15-05 Reid Promises Strong Consequences If Republicans "Abuse Power" (Bloomberg.com) "Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid threatened to bring the Senate to a halt if Republicans try to change the chamber's rules to prevent the minority party from blocking President George W. Bush's judicial nominees." "Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said during a news conference at the Capitol that he would 'rather dance than fight' with Republican leaders. He said changing rules that the Senate has followed for two centuries would represent an 'arrogant abuse of power.' '' "During Bush's first term in office, the Senate confirmed 204 judicial nominees and Democrats blocked votes on 10 -- a confirmation rate of over 95 percent." "Bush renominated seven of those 10; two received recess appointments -- requiring that the Senate eventually review their nominations again. A third, Washington lawyer Miguel Estrada, formally withdrew his nomination." "During former President Bill Clinton's eight years in office, the Senate withheld a vote on 64 of Clinton's nominees." -03-16-05 Dismay at Wolfowitch Nomination (BBC News) "There has been a cool response to President Bush's nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to be the next head of the World Bank, a key development agency." "Mr Wolfowitz, 61, currently US Deputy Defence Secretary, has a reputation as a 'neo-conservative' hawk and was a key architect of the Iraq war." 3-05 -03-16-05 Inquiry: Poor Administration Judgement (ABC News) "Senior Bush administration officials showed poor judgment and wasted money in hiring conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to promote the president’s agenda even though they violated no laws or ethics rules, an internal inquiry has concluded." 4-05 -03-16-05 Senate Rejects Bush Plan to Cut Medicaid (MSNBC News) "The Senate delivered a slap at President Bush and its own Republican leaders Thursday by passing a $2.6 trillion budget erasing his plans for cutting Medicaid, community development and school aid." "In the Senate’s watershed 52-48 roll call, a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans voted to yank all $14 billion in proposed five-year cuts from Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled." "Those reductions, 1 percent of expected Medicaid spending over the period, are the keystone of plans by Bush and GOP congressional leaders to start controlling federal deficits that surged to a record $412 billion last year and show little sign of abating." 3-05 -03-19-05 Negroponte - Policy Hack or Intelligence Reformer? (WorldPress.org) "The Negroponte appointment, preceded by that of Goss, signaled the end of the C.I.A.’s dominant position among the government’s 15 intelligence agencies. A diplomat with a four-decade history as a ruthless and highly effective foreign policy operative, Negroponte has most recently served as the ambassador to Iraq. Negroponte, who received quick Senate confirmation for his positions in Iraq and at the United Nations, can count on bipartisan support for his latest nomination." "Announcing the nomination on February 17, President Bush said that Negroponte will be the official who ensures that 'our intelligence officials work as a single, unified enterprise.' ” 3-05 -03-25-05 Military Health Coverage Extended (CNN News) "Until now, Guard and Reserve members could retain health care coverage under the Defense Department's Tricare system for no more than six months after they left active duty. Under the new arrangement they could retain coverage for at least one year and as long as eight years, depending on the length of their mobilization and the length of their commitment to remain in the Guard or Reserve." 3-05 -03-25-05 Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (ABC News) "A presidential commission investigating weapons of mass destruction is highly critical of U.S. intelligence agencies' performance on Iran, North Korea and Libya and attempts to lay out what went wrong on Iraq, according to individuals familiar with the findings." 3-05 -04-09-05 "Nuclear Option" for Changing Senate Rules (ChangeforAmerica.com) "I have been hearing the press and several Senators including Frist throw around the term 'the nuclear option'. It relates to the possibility that Vice President Cheney will make a 'ruling from the chair' with regard to changing the cloture rule reducing the now required 60 votes to end a filibuster to a simple majority." Since Republicans now have a simple majority, the purpose of this rule is to allow Republicans to approve judges, including Supreme Court Justices, without negotiating with Democrats. 4-05 -04-12-05 Boxer: Bolton, Nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Is a Bully (Fox News) "Calling Bolton a 'bully,' [U.S. Senator Barbara] Boxer said, 'I think Mr. Bolton needs anger management at a minimum and he does not deserve to be promoted" to the U.N. post.' " "The [Senate Foreign Relations Committee] chairman, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said the 'paramount issue' was giving President Bush the nominee he wants to undertake reform at the United Nations." 4-05 -04-12-05 Trade Deficit at All Time High (USA Today) "The U.S. trade deficit, exacerbated by surging imports of oil and textiles, soared to an all-time high of $61.04 billion in February." 4-05 -04-16-05 Experts Contradict Bush on Costs to Counter Warming (MSNBC News) "Mandatory limits on all U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse' gases would not significantly affect average economic growth rates across the country through 2025, the government says." 4-05 -04-20-05 Controversial GOP Leader Attacks Courts (Fox News) "The House Judiciary Committee is reviewing the activities of justices on the Supreme Court and in other circuits to determine whether they have overstepped their authority and must be reined in, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (search) told FOX News Radio's Tony Snow on Tuesday." "DeLay said he and other members of Congress have just begun using the long-held authority vested in them by the Constitution to conduct judicial review." " 'We've already passed six bills limiting the jurisdiction of the court in the last two years. They haven't gotten through the Senate but we're starting this body of thought. We have the opportunity to set up courts, we can also dismantle courts and re-organize them.' "4-05 -04-26-05 Florida Passes a "Shoot First" Law (CBS News) "With a National Rifle Association lobbyist at his side, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law Tuesday to make it clear that people have a right to meet 'force with force' to defend themselves on the street." "The measure, which passed the Legislature overwhelmingly earlier this year, says that people who are under attack do not have to retreat before responding. They have the right to 'meet force with force, including deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to do so.' " 4-05 -04-26-05 Republicans May Retreat on Ethics Rules (MSNBC News) "The chairman of the House ethics committee has conceded that his Republican colleagues must reverse partisan changes to investigative rules if they hope to break a deadlock that has virtually shut the panel down, a senior GOP aide said Tuesday." 4-05 -04-27-05 Bush Second Term Difficulties (Bloomberg.com) "President George W. Bush closes out the first 100 days of his second term this weekend with his ambitious agenda weighted down by political diversions and by public and partisan opposition to his signature issue." "National polls show Bush's support on Social Security has declined since he began promoting the plan. The most recent Gallup Organization survey, conducted April 18-21, found 37 percent of adults named fuel prices or economic concerns as the most important issues facing the country, compared with 7 percent who cited Social Security. In a Zogby International poll released April 26, 53 percent disapproved of Bush's handling of the presidency and 64 percent said they disapproved of how he's dealing with Social Security." 4-05 -04-27-05 House Passes Limits on Abortion (MSNBC News) "The House passed a bill Wednesday that would make it illegal to dodge parental-consent laws by taking minors across state lines for abortions, the latest effort to chip away at abortion rights after Republican gains in the November elections." 4-05 -05-03-05 Air Force Investigates Religious Bias at Academy (CNN News) "The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday it will appoint a task force to investigate allegations of religious intolerance at the Air Force Academy." 5-05 -05-05-05 First 100 Days, Second Term (MSNBC News) "President Bush has reached an important milestone— the end of the first 100 days of his second term. Not that many presidents have had second terms, and not that many have had terrific first hundred days." 5-05 -05-14-05 Senate Approves $441.6 Billion for Iraq and Afghanistan (USA Today) "A Senate committee approved a $441.6 billion defense bill for fiscal 2006 that envisions spending an additional $50 billion next year for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." "Congress had approved on Tuesday an additional $82 billion for war in Iraq and Afghanistan and to combat terror worldwide, boosting the cost of the global effort since 2001 to more than $300 billion." "The Senate approved the measure unanimously, 100-0. Earlier, the House of Representatives easily approved the measure. It now goes to President Bush for his signature, which is certain." 5-05 -05-15-05 Showdown in Senate Likely on Filibuster (USA Today) "The Senate's second-most powerful Republican and Democrat each claimed enough support for victory Sunday, as a showdown neared over the minority party's right to block a president's judicial nominees." 5-05 -05-16-05 Mayors Back Global Warming Pact (CNN News) "Despite the Bush administration's resistance to the Kyoto global warming pact, more than 130 U.S. mayors have applied the agreement's standards in a bid to reduce America's carbon dioxide emissions, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said Monday." 5-05 -05-16-05 Times of London: Memo Claims U.S. "Fixed" Data to Support War (CNN News) "Claims in a recently uncovered British memo that intelligence was 'being fixed' to support the Iraq war as early as mid-2002 are 'flat out wrong,' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Monday." "British officials have not disputed the authenticity of the memo published by the Times." "After the minutes of the meeting became public, 89 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Bush asking for an explanation." "The memo 'raises troubling new questions regarding the legal justifications for the war, as well as the integrity of your administration,' the letter said." 5-05 -05-24-05 Agreement Between Senate Republicans and Democrats to Avoid Showdown (BBC News) "A small group of US Senators has reached a last-minute deal to avoid a major political showdown in Congress." "The Democrats and Republicans have been increasingly at odds over President George W Bush's judicial nominations." "The agreement averts a threat to change one of the US Senate's most cherished traditions - use of the filibuster." 5-05 -05-24-05 Agreement Between Senate Republicans and Democrats to Avoid Showdown (EarthJustice.org) Provides the memorandum of agreement (MOU) among the 14 Senate members who wished to avoid a showdown in the the Senate in the form of a filibuster or a "nuclear option." 5-05 -05-24-05 Senate Confirms Owen as Judge (MSNBC News) "The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Priscilla Owen as a federal appellate judge, ending the four-year ordeal of the Texas jurist who was thrust into the center of the partisan battle over President Bush’s judicial nominations." 5-05 -05-26-05 Senate Delays Vote on Bolton (Bloomberg.com) "The U.S. Senate delayed a vote on the nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, carrying a drawn-out fight on President George W. Bush's choice over until after next week's congressional recess." 5-05 -06-05-05 Reservists at a Loss for Jobs (WashingtonTimes.com) "Although many employers take pride in hiring veterans and make up any pay an employee lost while deployed, some are reluctant to hire reservists and Guard members who might have to deploy again, said Bill Gaul, founder and president of Destiny Group, an online organization that seeks to match employers and veterans." "Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, Pennsylvania Democrat, and Rep. Joe Schwarz, Michigan Republican, are co-sponsoring legislation that would give companies up to $2,400 in tax credits for each veteran from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars they hire." 6-05 -06-06-05 Closest Gubernatorial Election in U.S. History Concluded (MSNBC News) "A judge Monday upheld Democrat Christine Gregoire’s victory in last fall’s governor’s election, and defeated GOP candidate Dino Rossi said he would not appeal — ending the legal fight over the closest gubernatorial election in U.S. history." 6-05 -06-06-05 Terrorist Threat Assessment Still Poor (ABC News) "Overlapping responsibilities among U.S. intelligence agencies could lead to failures in assessing terror threats, experts said Monday in examining changes at the CIA and FBI since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." 6-05 -06-07-05 Poll: Bush Performance Ratings Plummet (ABC News) "The corrosive effects of the war in Iraq and a growing disconnect on political priorities have pushed George W. Bush's performance ratings — notably on terrorism — to among the worst of his career, casting a pall over his second term and potentially over his party's prospects ahead." "For the first time, most Americans, 55 percent, say Bush has done more to divide than to unite the country. A career-high 52 percent disapprove of his job performance overall, and, in another first, a bare majority rates him unfavorably on a personal level. Most differ with him on issues ranging from the economy and Social Security to stem-cell research and nuclear power." 6-05 -06-08-05 Downing Street Memo (Times of London) Provides the text of a memo from Matthew Rycroft, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Private Secretary, dated July 23, 2002. At this time, U.N. inspectors had not yet returned into Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). No proof had been presented that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. In the memo, Blair's Secretary summarized a meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush. Among the Secretary's statements were: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." 6-05 -06-08-05 Poll: War in Iraq Has Not Made U.S. Safer (MSNBC News) "Perhaps most ominous for President Bush, 52 percent said war in Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States, while 47 percent said it has. It was the first time a majority of Americans disagreed with the central notion Bush has offered to build support for war: that the fight there will make Americans safer from terrorists at home. In late 2003, 62 percent thought the Iraq war aided U.S. security, and three months ago 52 percent thought so." 6-05 -06-13-05 Conservatives Now Oppose the Patriot Act (WashingtonTimes.com) "Former Rep. Bob Barr, who led conservative efforts to impeach President Clinton, is leading a group called "Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances" that is focused exclusively on opposing the renewal of the Patriot Act." "The effort also has the enthusiastic support of three of the most influential conservatives in Washington, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum." 6-05 -06-13-05 Conservatives Now Oppose the Patriot Act (WashingtonTimes.com) "Former Rep. Bob Barr, who led conservative efforts to impeach President Clinton, is leading a group called "Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances" that is focused exclusively on opposing the renewal of the Patriot Act." "The effort also has the enthusiastic support of three of the most influential conservatives in Washington, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum." 6-05 -06-13-05 Death Row Conviction Overturned Over Race Bias (ABC News) "The Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a black death row inmate who said Texas prosecutors unfairly stacked his jury with whites, issuing a harsh rebuke to the state that executes more people than any other." 6-05 -06-13-05 Klansman Set to Stand Trial for 1964 Slayings (USA Today) "Reputed Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen watched from a wheelchair Monday as jury selection began in his murder trial in one of most shocking crimes of the civil rights era — the 1964 slayings of three voter-registration volunteers." 6-05 -06-14-05 Christian Conservatives Behind Broad Political Positions (USA Today) "Many evangelical Christians got involved in politics because of a single issue: abortion." "The effort also has the enthusiastic support of three of the most influential conservatives in Washington, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum." 6-05 -06-15-05 Bush Climate Expert Joins Oil Giant (Guardian Unlimited) "A senior White House official accused of doctoring government reports on climate change to play down the link between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming has taken a job with ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company." "Philip Cooney, who resigned as chief of staff of the White House council on environment quality at the weekend, will begin work at the oil giant in the autumn." "Politicians and environmental groups in Washington condemned the move yesterday." 6-05 -06-15-05 House Blocks Portion of Patriot Act (ABC News) "In a slap at President Bush, lawmakers voted Wednesday to block the Justice Department and the FBI from using the Patriot Act to peek at library records and bookstore sales slips." 6-05 -06-16-05 Lawmakers Urge inquiry (ABC News) "Amid new questions about President Bush's drive to topple Saddam Hussein, several House Democrats urged lawmakers on Thursday to conduct an official inquiry to determine whether the president intentionally misled Congress." "The White House refuses to respond to a May 5 letter from 122 congressional Democrats about whether there was a coordinated effort to 'fix' the intelligence and facts around the policy [of invading Iraq], as the Downing Street memo says." "Misleading Congress is an impeachable offense, a point that Rangel underscored by saying he's already been through two impeachments." 6-05 -06-20-05 Bolton Blocked Again (Bloomberg.com) "Republicans in the U.S. Senate failed again to gain a vote on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations." "The Senate voted 54-38 on a motion to end debate on Bolton. Republicans needed 60 votes to override the Democrats' filibuster. Republicans hold a 55-44-1 majority in the 100-member chamber." 6-05 -06-20-05 FBI: Anti-terrorism Expertise Not Important (ABC News) "The FBI vowed to build national expertise for fighting terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks, but the supervisors who crafted that war plan now say Middle East and terrorism experience haven't been important for choosing their agents." "The lawsuit, brought against the FBI by one of its most accomplished pre-Sept. 11 terror-fighting agents, provides sharp contrasts between the bureau's public promises and the reality of how it has chosen the agents who run its war on terrorism." "In hundreds of pages of sworn testimony obtained by The Associated Press, senior FBI managers argued repeatedly that Middle East and anti-terrorism experience aren't required for promotion and that they see little difference between solving a traditional crime and a terror attack." "Bald, the FBI's current anti-terrorism chief, said his first training in that area came 'on the job' when he moved to headquarters to oversee anti-terrorism strategy two years ago. When asked about his grasp of Middle Eastern culture and history, he replied: 'I wish that I had it. It would be nice.' " 6-05 -06-20-05 New Energy Bill from Senate (MSNBC News) "The anti-Syrian opposition claimed victory Monday after unofficial results showed its candidates securing a majority in the Lebanese parliament, breaking Damascus' long political hold on its tiny neighbor." 6-05 -06-21-05 Klansman Found Guilty of Manslaughter for 1964 Slayings (USA Today) "A former Ku Klux Klansman was convicted of manslaughter Tuesday in the notorious 1964 murders of three civil rights workers — 41 years to the day after they disappeared." 6-05 -06-22-05 Poll: Bush Political Capital Gone (CBS News) "After his election victory, President Bush said he had earned political capital and he planned to spend it. But six months into his second term, that capital appears to be all but gone." 6-05 -06-23-05 General: Iraqi Insurgency Not Weakened (MSNBC News) "The top American military commander in the Persian Gulf disputed a contention by Vice President Dick Cheney that the Iraqi insurgency was in its 'last throes' and told Congress on Thursday that its strength was basically undiminished from six months ago." "Furthermore, Gen. John Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee, 'I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago.' ” "Iraqis are to vote on the proposed constitution in a referendum by Oct. 15. It must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of voters. If approved, elections for a permanent government would be held by Dec. 15." 6-05 -06-23-05 Poll: U.S. Not Popular Abroad (LATimes.com) "The United States' battered image has improved very slightly in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, boosted by U.S. aid to tsunami victims and the Bush administration's focus on promoting democracy in the Middle East, according to a 16-nation poll released today by the Pew Research Center." "However, people in European and largely Muslim nations continued to hold mostly unfavorable opinions of the United States, and large majorities in most nations believe U.S. foreign policies do not take their interests into account, the survey found." "In Indonesia, where U.S. relief efforts after the December tsunami were widely hailed, the U.S. favorability rating jumped from just 15% in 2003 to 38% in 2005 — even though 47% of those surveyed said they were less favorably inclined toward the U.S. as a result of its calls for more global democracy." "As in the past, Bush's unpopularity appears to be a leading cause of America's unfavorable image in many, although not all, countries." 6-05 -06-25-05 CIA Charged With Criminal Abductions (Observer International News) "The abduction is alleged to be part of America's 'rendition programme', in which terrorist suspects are forcibly removed to their home countries or to a third nation, where they can be interrogated without legal protection." "Earlier last week, an Italian judge issued arrest warrants for 13 people said to be CIA operatives involved in Omar's abduction. Another six people - all Americans - are also under investigation. It is the first time a foreign government has filed criminal charges against US citizens involved in counter-terrorism work abroad." "Other nations have also begun to oppose Washington's forcible removal of terror suspects. Canada is holding hearings into the deportation of a Canadian to Syria for questioning about alleged ties to al-Qaeda. German prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into the suspected kidnapping of a German man who was flown to Afghanistan. In Stockholm, a parliamentary investigator has already concluded that CIA agents violated Swedish law by subjecting two Egyptian nationals to 'degrading and inhuman treatment' during a rendition in 2001." 6-05 -06-26-05 CIA Charged With Criminal Abductions (International Herald Tribune) "The extraordinary decision by an Italian judge to order the arrest of 13 people linked to the CIA on charges of kidnapping a terrorism suspect here dramatizes a growing rift between American counterterrorism officials and their counterparts in Europe." Milan's deputy chief prosecutor said "I feel the international community must struggle against terrorism and international terrorist groups in accordance with international laws and the rights of the defendant." "Otherwise, we are giving victory to the terrorists." "Besides their objections to the American rendition policy, European counterterrorism officials also partly blame a lack of access to terrorism suspects and information held by the United States for their failure to convict a number of their own high-profile terrorism suspects." " 'The American system is of little use to us,' a senior Italian counterterrorism investigator said. 'It's a one-way street. We give them what we have, but we are given no useful information that can help us prosecute people.' " 6-05 -06-27-05 Commission: NASA Fails on Safety (BBC News) "The US space agency (Nasa) has failed to meet tough safety recommendations issued after the Columbia shuttle break-up in 2003, experts say." "The independent Stafford-Covey Commission said risk remained that pieces of foam and ice could break off and hit the shuttle at lift-off." "It also said the orbiter had not been sufficiently hardened and it lacked an in-flight repair system." 6-05 -06-27-05 Restoring Order In Iraq a National Priority (ABC News) "A sense of obligation balances negative public views on Iraq: Despite broad concerns and sharp criticism of the administration's performance, nearly six in 10 Americans say U.S. forces should remain in place until civil order has been restored there." "That expression of resolve works to President Bush's advantage as he prepares to address the nation on Iraq, as does a slight improvement in some bottom-line measures. But steep challenges remain: Recriminations against his administration have jumped, with a majority for the first time saying it 'intentionally misled' the public in going to war, and nearly three-quarters saying it underestimated the challenges involved." "On Iraq specifically, 56 percent disapprove of Bush's work, and 44 percent disapprove strongly. (Strong disapprovers outnumber strong approvers by 19 points.) A majority hasn't approved of his handling of the situation there since January 2004, shortly after the capture of Saddam Hussein. On a more emotional level, nearly a quarter of Americans say they're "angry" about the war." 6-05 -06-29-05 Contempt Findings Against Reporters (MSNBC.com) "A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld civil contempt of court findings against four journalists who refuse to reveal their sources for stories about former nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee." "On Monday, the Supreme Court, the nation's highest court, refused to intervene in another case in which New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper face jail time for refusing to reveal their sources in a federal court case. In that case, a federal prosecutor is investigating the Bush administration's leaking of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame." 6-05 -06-29-05 Schwarzenegger Popularity Dropping (CBS News) "The nonpartisan Field Poll of registered voters found that just 39 percent said they were inclined to give Schwarzenegger a second term, while 57 percent were not." "A series of polls released by Field researchers indicates Schwarzenegger has lost considerable ground among voters in recent months. The drop in the governor's popularity has coincided with his push for a fall special election for voters to consider several ballot measures aimed at curbing the power of Democrats and public employee unions in state government." Visitors sometimes misspell as Swartzennegger, Swartzenegger, Swartzenneger, Swartzeneger, Swarzenneger, Swarzennegger, Swarzeneger, Schwartzennegger, Schwartzeneger, Schwartzenneger, Schwarzeneger, or Schwarzenneger.) 6-05 -06-30-05 Italians Deny Working With CIA on Abductions (International Herald Tribune) "Facing growing embarrassment and louder questions, the Italian government broke a week of silence on Thursday and denied that it played any role in kidnapping a terror suspect from Milan and flying him to Egypt in 2003." 6-05 -07-01-05 Court Battle Will Shape America's Future (MSNBC News) "With the announcement Friday that Sandra Day O’Connor is retiring, the pent-up expectations will be fulfilled: This capital city and the nation are headed for a defining ideological struggle over the Supreme Court." "For better or worse, the battle over the O'Connor vacancy is a battle over the big four social issues of American politics: abortion, the death penalty, religious expression, and legal protections for gays and lesbians." 7-05 -07-01-05 Justice O'Connor Retires (CBS News) "Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement Friday after 24 years on the U.S. Supreme Court. The first woman ever to serve on the nation's highest court, she was considered a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty." 7-05 -07-01-05 Supreme Court Likely Candidates (BBC News) "Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the US Supreme Court and a key swing voter, has retired, setting the stage for a major political battle over her successor. The BBC News website examines some of the likely candidates to succeed her." 7-05 -07-02-05 Big Issues for Next Term of Supreme Court (ABC News) "Abortion, assisted suicide, gay rights, the death penalty. Some of the toughest issues in the land confront the Supreme Court in its new term in the fall." 7-05 -07-03-05 California Special Election a National Battleground (LATimes.com) "Even before the ballot is set, California's special election is drawing money and attention from interest groups and political partisans across the country who see the campaign as a way to invigorate their efforts in 2006 and beyond." 7-05 -07-04-05 Bush Rejects Agreement to Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Bloomberg.com) "President George W. Bush ruled out any accord on climate change at the Group of Eight summit that involves limiting carbon emissions as a threat to the U.S. economy." " 'We know that the surface of the Earth is warmer, and that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem,' a statement from Bush's office said Friday. 'Though there have been past disagreements about the best way to address this issue, we are acting to help developing countries adopt new energy sources.' '' 7-05 -07-06-05 Confidentiality and the First Amendment (ABC News) "New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed Wednesday for refusing to divulge a confidential source to a grand jury investigating the Bush administration's leak of an undercover CIA operative's name. Another reporter, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, agreed to talk and avoided jail." "[Judge] Hogan held the reporters in civil contempt of court in October, rejecting their argument that the First Amendment shielded them from revealing their sources. Last month the Supreme Court refused to intervene." 7-05 -07-14-05 Schwarzenegger Has a $1 Million Media Job (BBC News) "Arnold Schwarzenegger is being paid at least $1m a year as a consultant for fitness magazines, their publisher has revealed." Visitors sometimes misspell as Swartzennegger, Swartzenegger, Swartzenneger, Swartzeneger, Swarzenneger, Swarzennegger, Swarzeneger, Schwartzennegger, Schwartzeneger, Schwartzenneger, Schwarzeneger, or Schwarzenneger.) 7-05 -07-14-05 Wilson to Bush: Fire Rove (CBS News) "Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson called on President Bush on Thursday to fire top aide Karl Rove for discussing Wilson's wife's role as a CIA officer with reporters." 7-05 -07-15-05 Poll: Americans More Concerned About Terrorism (CBS News) "Last week’s bombings in London have brought at least some Americans’ attention back to the issue of terrorism-- more than twice as many now say terrorism is the most important problem facing the U.S. than did so last month." 7-05 -07-17-05 Consequences for Revealing Leak (CNN News) "A Time magazine reporter said Sunday his boss' decision to turn over his notes and e-mails to a grand jury could impair the magazine's ability to gather information." "The grand jury is investigating how the identity of a covert CIA operative was made public." Editor's Note: Please see "Karl Rove and Violation of National Security" below for provisions of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. Also see "Plame, Valerie" for the various legal and administrative restrictions against revealing secret government information. 7-05 -07-17-05 Rove Behind the Scenes (MSNBC News) "In the World According to Karl Rove, you take the offensive, and stay there. You create a narrative that glosses over complex, mitigating facts to divide the world into friends and enemies, light and darkness, good and bad, Bush versus Saddam. You are loyal to a fault to your friends, merciless to your enemies." 7-05 -07-25-05 Guard Recruitments Drop Sharply (Washington Times) "The National Guard is facing the deepest shortfalls in recruiting in more than a decade just when it is at its busiest since World War II, forcing commanders to rethink how they attract and keep part-time guardsmen." 7-05   -07-25-05 Italy Asks Interpol to Help Find Wanted CIA Agents (CBS News) "Italian prosecutors want to extradite 13 purported CIA officials accused of kidnapping a radical Muslim cleric and transporting him to Egypt where he reportedly was tortured, and they've asked Interpol to help track down the Americans, a court official said Tuesday." 7-05 -07-25-05 Organized Labor Rift (MSNBC News) "If all four boycotting unions quit the federation, they would take about $35 million a year from the estimated $120 million annual budget of the AFL-CIO, which has already been forced to layoff a quarter of its 400-person staff." 7-05   -07-29-05 Congress Approves Bill to Support Coal and Nuclear Fuels (CNN News) "The bill now ready for President Bush's signature won't stem high energy prices that have been viewed as a growing political concern, both in Congress and at the White House." "The bill provides $14.5 billion in tax breaks and potentially billions more in loan guarantees and other subsidies to encourage oil and gas drilling, improve natural gas and electric transmission lines, build new nuclear power reactors and expand renewable energy sources, especially construction of wind turbines." 7-05 -07-29-05 House Approves Highway Bill (Bloomberg.com) "The U.S. House approved $286.5 billion for thousands of highway, transit and safety projects, as President George W. Bush kept the spending lower than dozens of lawmakers and construction companies wanted." 7-05 -07-29-05 Senate Leader Supports Stem Cell Research (BBC News) "A top Republican senator has backed a bill easing restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, in a move that breaks rank with President George Bush." 7-05 -07-29-05 UFCW Leaves the AFL-CIO (ABC News) "The United Food and Commercial Workers on Friday joined the Teamsters and Service Workers in abandoning the AFL-CIO, depriving the labor federation of three of its largest unions and close to $28 million of its estimated $120 million budget." "The departure of the 1.4 million member UFCW from the labor federation means the AFL-CIO is losing more than 4 million of its 13 million members." 7-05   -07-30-05 Carter: Iraq War Based on False Premises (Fox News) "Former President Jimmy Carter said Saturday the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the United States." "Carter said, however, that terrorist acts could not be justified, and that while Guantanamo 'may be an aggravating factor ... it's not the basis of terrorism.' " " 'I thought then, and I think now, that the invasion of Iraq was unnecessary and unjust. And I think the premises on which it was launched were false,' he said Saturday." 7-05   -07-30-05 Oregon Passses Anti-Meth Bill (MSNBC News) "A bill passed by lawmakers Saturday would make Oregon the first state to require a doctor’s prescription for cold medicines containing an ingredient that can be used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine." 7-05 -07-30-05 Senate Votes to Shield Gun Manufacturers from Lawsuits (MSNBC News) "The Senate voted Friday to shield firearms manufacturers, dealers and importers from lawsuits brought by victims of gun crimes, a measure opponents said had been ordered up by the gun lobby." 7-05 -08-01-05 Bolton Named to Represent the US at the UN (BBC News) "US President George W Bush has formally appointed John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations, without waiting for approval from the Senate." 8-05 -08-01-05 Novak Defends Printing Secret CIA Operative's Name (CBS News) "In his syndicated column, Novak did not dispute that former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow told him he should not print the covert officer's name, Valerie Plame, during conversations they had prior to Novak's July 14, 2003 column." "But Novak reasserted that no CIA official ever told him in advance 'that Valerie Plame Wilson's disclosure would endanger her or anybody else.' " 7-05 -08-07-05 Peter Jennings Dies (CBS News) "Peter Jennings, the suave, Canadian-born broadcaster who delivered the news to Americans each night in five separate decades, died at age 67." "Jennings, who announced in April that he had lung cancer, died Sunday at his New York home." 08-05 -08-08-05 Friends Remember Peter Jennings (ABC News) "Colleagues, friends and newsmakers remembered Peter Jennings fondly today." 08-05 -08-08-05 Peter Jennings - Full Coverage (ABC News) Provides biographical information, including memories from colleagues and friends. 08-05 -08-10-05 Legislator: Four Attackers Identified in 1999 (ABC News) "Members of the commission that uncovered the government's failures to share intelligence among agencies before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks want to know whether U.S. defense intelligence officials knew for more than a year that four of the hijackers were part of an al-Qaida cell but failed to tell law enforcement." "Rep. Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican who serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said a classified military intelligence unit known as 'Able Danger' identified the men in 1999." 8-05 -08-10-05 Massive Highway Bill Becomes Law (MSNBC News) "President Bush, saying it will help economic growth, on Wednesday signed a whopping $286.4 billion transportation bill that lawmakers lined with plenty of cash for some 6,000 pet projects back home." 8-05 -08-31-05 Top Health Official Resigns Over Delay (CBS News) "A high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official resigned Wednesday in protest of the agency's refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception." "Susan Wood, director of FDA's Office of Women's Health, announced her resignation in an e-mail to colleagues at the agency. The e-mail was released by contraception advocates." "The FDA on Friday postponed indefinitely its decision on whether to allow the morning-after pill, called Plan B, to sell without a prescription. The agency said it was safe for adults to use without a doctor's guidance, but said young teenagers still needed a prescription and that it couldn't determine how to enforce an age limit, a decision contrary to the advice of its own scientific advisers." 8-05 -09-02-05 European Union Offers Oil to the U.S. (Guardian Unlimited) "The EU today offered to provide oil to the US if requested as America ran short of fuel after the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina." 9-05 -09-02-05 Russert: The "Haves" vs. the "Have Nots" After Katrina (MSNBC News - Russert) Russert: "As recently as a year ago there was a tabletop disaster scenario played out as to what would happen to New Orleans in a major hurricane. And the results of those studies have now been proven to be true." "So the questions that have to be asked are:" "Why weren’t the poor people evacuated? They don’t have SUVs. They travel by public bus. Could they have been evacuated?" "Secondly, in terms of pre-positioning, where were the troops, where were the National Guard? If people were to be sent to the Superdome, why weren’t there cots and water and food there?" "President George W. Bush said the other day that no one expected the levees to break." "Well, with all respect, study after study, including FEMA's own tabletop exercises last year, all included the breaking or the giving of the levees. Everyone who had studied the issue knew that with a Category 3, 4 or 5 storm, that was a very strong likelihood." 9-05 -09-03-05 U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who led the Supreme Court in curbing death-row appeals and limiting congressional power, died at 80. His death creates a second vacancy for President George W. Bush to fill and ratchets up the stakes in the fight over the high court's future." 9-05 -09-04-05 British MP Galloway Testifies Before U.S. Senate Committee (BBC News) "CNN's Wolf Blitzer described the British MP's evidence as 'a blistering attack on US senators rarely heard' in the seat of American power." "In 2003, the Christian Science Monitor issued a public apology to Mr Galloway over a story alleging that he accepted millions of pounds from Saddam Hussein, which turned out to be based on faked documents." "It headlined Mr Galloway's latest testimony: 'Galloway lashes out at senators'. " 9-05 -09-04-05 Polls: Republicans and Democrats Differ Sharply on Bush's Handling of Disaster (ABC News) "Partisanship, as noted, plays a huge role: Nearly three-quarters of Republicans approve of the president's performance, and two-thirds rate the government's overall response positively. About seven in 10 Democrats take the opposite view on both scores." "The most critical views cross jurisdictions: Two-thirds in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say the federal government should have been better prepared to deal with a storm this size, and three-quarters say state and local governments in the affected areas likewise were insufficiently prepared." "Other evaluations are divided. Forty-six percent of Americans approve of Bush's handling of the crisis, while 47 percent disapprove. That compares poorly with Bush's 91 percent approval rating for his performance in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but it's far from the broad discontent expressed by critics of the initial days of the hurricane response. (It also almost exactly matches Bush's overall job approval rating, 45 percent, in an ABC/Post poll a week ago.)" "When it gets to specifics, however, most ratings are worse: Majorities ranging from 56 to 79 percent express criticism of federal efforts at delivering food and water, evacuating displaced people, controlling looting and (especially) dealing with the price of gasoline. In just one specific area — conducting search and rescue operations — do most, 58 percent, give the government positive marks." 9-05 -09-04-05 Senate Report: U.S. Fostered Illegal "Kickbacks" to Iraq for Oil (BBC News) "The US turned a blind eye to the former Iraq regime's $8bn trade in smuggled oil, a new US Senate report says." "The report says the US was well aware of both the smuggling and the kickbacks Iraq solicited from players in the UN's oil-for-food programme." "The US was not only aware of Iraqi oil sales which violated UN sanctions and provided the bulk of the illicit money Saddam Hussein obtained from circumventing UN sanctions," the report said. " 'On occasion, the US actually facilitated the illicit oil sales.' " 9-05 -09-05-05 Bush Picks Roberts to Replace Rehnquist (ABC News) "Seizing a historic opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court, President Bush swiftly chose conservative John Roberts as chief justice Monday and weighed how to fill another vacancy that could push the nation's highest court to the right on issues from abortion to affirmative action." 9-05 -09-05-05 Clinton: Government Failed (CNN News) "Former President Bill Clinton on Monday said the government 'failed' the thousands of people who lived in coastal communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and said a federal investigation was warranted in due time." 9-05 -09-05-05 Displaced Americans Try to Make a Life in Astrodome (USA Today) "Smith is — well, was — a machine operator at a New Orleans seafood plant. Now he sleeps maybe two hours a day, from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., eats, showers, catches snippets of news on a TV in one of the concourses, minds his four kids with his wife, reclines on his cot, reads the Bible, or wanders his new home, trading numb stares with other aimless people." "Many folks here have lost contact with loved ones, and they worry if this will be permanent. They feel adrift, detached, anxious. What they did to deserve this, how long they'll stay, where they go — they've got plenty of time now to mull these questions." 9-05 -09-07-05 Bush Requests $50 Billion in Aid (CBS News) "President Bush is asking Congress for as much as $50 billion in immediate aid for the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, and the White House indicated Wednesday more money eventually would be needed." "New York Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton is calling for FEMA's removal from the Department of Homeland Security." "On whether Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Mike Brown should be fired, 'I would never have appointed such a person,' Clinton told CBS News' The Early Showco-anchor Hannah Storm (video). 'You would appoint somebody that is experienced.' " 9-05 -09-09-05 Michael Brown Removed from Katrina Duty (CBS News) "Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being relieved of his command of the Bush administration's Hurricane Katrina onsite relief efforts." 9-05 -09-10-05 Poll: Lowest Approval Rating Yet for Bush (MSNBC News) "President Bush’s job approval has dipped below 40 percent for the first time in the AP-Ipsos poll, reflecting widespread doubts about his handling of gasoline prices and the response to Hurricane Katrina." 9-05 -09-10-05 Questions About Robertson's Katrina Charity (ABC News) "Charity and religious leaders are questioning why the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated Operation Blessing as the No. 2 charity for donations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina." "Operation Blessing is the charity founded and still chaired by Pat Robertson, the politically well-connected television evangelist, who recently called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela." "According to its most recent filing with the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Blessing gave more than half of its yearly allocation of cash donations — $885,000 — to the Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, of which Robertson is also the chairman." 9-05 -09-12-05 ABC: Warnings Ignored (ABC News) " 'The fact that the [simulation] exercise predicted this kind of an outcome makes this response even more, just incompetent, at all levels of government' Hauer said." "Under the disaster plan, preparations for the storm should have begun at least three days before it made landfall. With Katrina, New Orleans ordered a mandatory evacuation 20 hours before the storm struck. FEMA officials were supposed to have critical resources in place before landfall." 9-05 -09-13-05 USA Slips in International Standing in Education (CBS News) "The United States is losing ground in education, as peers across the globe zoom by with bigger gains in student achievement and school graduations, a study shows." "Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree." "By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. The 30-nation organization develops the yearly rankings as a way for countries to evaluate their education systems and determine whether to change their policies." "Given what the United States spends on education, its relatively low student achievement through high school shows its school system is 'clearly inefficient,' McGaw said." 9-05 -09-14-05 Bush Supporters Get "No Compete" Contracts (CNN News) "Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina." "At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast." 9-05 -09-14-05 Neglect in the USA (MSNBC News) "It takes a catastrophe like Katrina to strip away the old evasions, hypocrisies and not-so-benign neglect. It takes the sight of the United States with a big black eye—visible around the world—to help the rest of us begin to see again. For the moment, at least, Americans are ready to fix their restless gaze on enduring problems of poverty, race and class that have escaped their attention." 9-05 -09-14-05 Roberts Gives Hints of Positions (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, treading a line between candor and caution, gave a Senate panel hints about his views on government seizure of private property, civil rights and the death penalty." "Roberts, undergoing a second day of questions on his nomination to be chief justice, said lawmakers could limit 'eminent domain' property seizures, blunting the impact of a June Supreme Court ruling. He said he would consider the 'real- world' impact of affirmative action and suggested agreement with a high court decision limiting death row appeals." "His answers drew praise from Republicans, including the moderate Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Democrats offered muted criticism, hailing his skills as a witness even while voicing frustration at his refusal to give detailed responses on abortion, assisted suicide and other social issues." 9-05 -09-14-05 Scientists: Government Not Prepared for a Quake in L.A. (ABC News) "As many as 18,000 people dead. More than $250 billion in damages. Hundreds of thousands of people left homeless. That's not the latest estimate of Hurricane Katrina's toll on the Gulf Coast. That's a worst-case scenario if a major earthquake were to hit Los Angeles." "The figures are hypothetical, from a model published in May by government researchers studying the Puente Hills fault under the city. Scientists warn that there's little doubt a major quake will hit California in coming years or decades, though many scenarios are not as disastrous as Puente Hills." "As was the case with Katrina, experts say the federal government hasn't done enough to prepare." 9-05 -09-15-05 Bush to Present a Hurricane Aid Package (MSNBC News) "Faced with the unprecedented destruction of a major U.S. city and communities across the Gulf Coast, President Bush — with damaged New Orleans as his backdrop — is offering a package of new federal aid to help uprooted hurricane victims." 9-05 -09-15-05 Bush: Largest Reconstruction Ever (ABC News) "President Bush promised Thursday night the government will pay most of the costs of rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast in one of the largest reconstruction projects the world has ever seen. 'There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again,' the president said." 9-05 -09-15-05 Global Warming and Hurricane Link (BBC News) "Records for the past 35 years show that hurricanes have got stronger in recent times, according to a global study." 9-05 -09-17-05 Iranian President Pledges Transparency for Nuclear (Bloomberg.com) "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his government would initiate a new ``partnership'' with companies and other nations to create confidence that its nuclear program won't lead to development of atomic weapons." "Ahmadinejad, who called the announcement a 'far-reaching step' to inspire confidence in his nation's peaceful intentions, also said Iran would continue talks with the U.K., France and Germany on the issue. He called on the UN General Assembly to establish a committee to study ways to achieve total nuclear weapons disarmament, while saying Iran would cooperate with the world body's Vienna-based nuclear watchdog agency." "At the same time, Ahmadinejad said Iran would continue a program of nuclear enrichment for peaceful energy production." 9-05 -09-22-05 Senate Committee Approves Roberts for Supreme Court (MSNBC News) "The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved John Roberts’ nomination as the next Supreme Court chief justice, virtually assuring his confirmation by the Senate next week." 9-05 -09-23-05 Senate Leader Frist Under Investigation (MSNBC News) "The news that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into Frist’s sale of stock in HCA Inc., the hospital operating company founded by his family, comes as a criminal investigation continues of Jack Abramoff, a high-powered Republican lobbyist, and his ties to DeLay of Texas." "Less than a week ago, a former White House official was arrested in the Abramoff investigation." 9-05 -09-24-05 Anti-War Marchers Estimated at 100,000 (USA today) "Three days of anti-war activities, including the largest such protest here since the war in Iraq began in March 2003, are scheduled to end today with what organizers hope will be peaceful arrests at the White House gates." 9-05 -09-24-05 Anti-War Marchers Flood D.C. (Bloomberg.com) "Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters streamed through Washington's streets and past the White House, demanding the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq." 9-05 -09-25-05 Military to Bush: Make a Plan (CBS News) "Military officials told President Bush on Sunday that the U.S. needs a national plan to coordinate search and rescue efforts following natural disasters or terrorist attacks." "CBS’s Mark Knoller reports that the generals issued blunt talk to the president. One called the federal response in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina 'a train wreck.' He was talking about an incident in which five helicopters responded to rescue one person." 9-05 -09-26-05 Bush Tries Enterprise Zones Again (Bloomberg.com) "President George W. Bush's main proposal for reviving the storm-stricken Gulf Coast has a history of failing to deliver on the promise of prosperity." "The Gulf Opportunity Zone that Bush outlined in a national address from New Orleans on Sept. 15 is the latest version of a Reagan-era idea for using tax breaks and other incentives to revitalize blighted urban areas. Backers of enterprise zones -- mainly Republicans, though they were also supported by Democratic President Bill Clinton -- argue that jobs and economic growth will flow into such areas." "In the two decades since such initiatives have come into widespread use, researchers have found little evidence they work very well. Critics say the main beneficiaries often aren't the people the zones are designed to aid, but businesses that end up with tax incentives for investments they would have made anyway." 9-05 -09-27-05 Murder Suspects Tied to Abramoff (MSNBC News) "Three men were charged with the 2001 gangland-style killing of the founder of the Miami Subs sandwich chain, who was involved in a business dispute with a prominent Washington lobbyist at the time, officials said Tuesday." "Konstantinos 'Gus' Boulis was ambushed after he left his office in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 6, 2001. He was involved in a dispute with lobbyist Jack Abramoff over the sale of a casino business." "DeLay, R-Texas, has asked the House Ethics Committee to review allegations that Abramoff or his clients paid some of DeLay’s overseas travel expenses. DeLay has denied knowing that the expenses were paid by Abramoff, whom he once described as 'one of my closest and dearest friends.' ” 9-05 -09-28-05 Borrowing the Money for War (ABC News) " 'Tax cuts are always popular,' Clinton said. 'But about half of these tax cuts since 2001 have gone to people in my income group, the top 1 percent. I've gotten four tax cuts." " 'Now, what Americans need to understand is that that means every single day of the year, our government goes into the market and borrows money from other countries to finance Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina and our tax cuts,' Clinton added. 'We depend on Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Korea primarily to basically loan us money every day of the year to cover my tax cut and these conflicts and Katrina. I don't think it makes any sense. I think it's wrong.' " 9-05 -09-28-05 DeLay Indicted, Resigns as House Majority Leader (ABC News) "House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted Wednesday by a Texas grand jury on a charge of conspiring to violate political fundraising laws, making him the highest-ranking member of Congress ever to face criminal indictment and forcing him to temporarily step aside from his GOP post." 9-05 -09-28-05 Pattern of Abuse (Time.com) "A decorated Army officer reveals new allegations of detainee mistreatment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did the military ignore his charges?" "Majority Leader Bill Frist, Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner and John McCain, a former torture victim in Vietnam. A Senate Republican staffer familiar with both the Captain and his allegations told TIME he appeared 'extremely credible.' " 9-05 -09-28-05 Texas Emergency Hotline Outsourced to India (ABC News) "As Hurricane Rita roared towards them, more than 300 people called the local emergency number broadcast all around Nacogdoches County in East Texas. What they didn't know was that the operators on the other end of the phone were 7,000 miles away in India." 9-05 -09-29-05 House Leader DeLay Replaced by Blunt After Indictment (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. House Republicans chose continuity over change in selecting Roy Blunt, a long-time lieutenant to Majority Leader Tom DeLay, to step into Delay's role after a Texas indictment forced him out of his post." 9-05 -09-30-05 DeLay to Report to Court (CNN News) "Rep. Tom DeLay was ordered to appear in a Texas courtroom on Oct. 21 to face the conspiracy charge that forced him to step down as House majority leader." 9-05 -09-30-05 Journalist Identifies Cheney Aide as Source (Guardian Unlimited) "An investigation into a White House intelligence leak was nearing its conclusion yesterday after a New York Times reporter, jailed in July for refusing to testify, identified Vice-President Dick Cheney's leading aide as her main source." 9-05 -09-30-05 Reporter Miller Agrees to Testify After Jail Sentence (ABC News) "Finally agreeing to testify, New York Times reporter Judith Miller's grand jury appearance throws a damaging spotlight once again on a White House whose credibility has been undermined in the criminal probe into the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity." 9-05 -09-30-05 Supreme Court Opens with New Chief Roberts (MSNBC News) "The Supreme Court takes up one of the new term's most significant cases just a few days after John Roberts occupies the center chair on the bench as the nation's 17th chief justice." "On Oct. 5, Oregon defends its Death with Dignity Act. It allows doctors to prescribe a lethal dose to terminally ill patients, who can use it to end their own lives." 9-05 -10-01-05 Disaster Relief Agencies: Bush Picked Another Unqualified Leader (Los Angeles Times) "Less than a month after the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency stepped down amid accusations of cronyism and incompetence, the Bush administration is being assailed for nominating another political ally to head a key agency for responding to foreign disasters." "Sauerbrey, a former member of the Republican National Committee who was Bush's Maryland state campaign chairwoman in 2000, is the U.S. representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women." "If confirmed by the Senate, which has not set a date for a hearing, Sauerbrey would head an agency with a $700-million annual budget that has responsibility for coordinating the U.S. government's response to refugee crises during natural disasters and wars." "Although appointing political allies to government jobs is a tradition in Washington, the refugee bureau is a complex agency with a broad portfolio. Past administrations, Republican and Democratic, have generally turned to someone with technical expertise to head it." 9-05 -10-03-05 Bush Picks His Lawyer for Supreme Court (Guardian Unlimited) "George Bush yesterday nominated his former personal lawyer, Harriet Miers, to take the supreme court seat which until now held the balance of power between the court's liberals and conservatives." 9-05 -10-04-05 Bush Nominee Miers a Mystery (CBS News) "Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' footprints on contentious social issues suggest a moderate position on gay rights, an interest in advancing women and minorities and sympathy for anti-abortion efforts. Judging from the Smith & Wesson she once packed, she favors gun rights, too." 9-05 -10-04-05 Bush Picks His Lawyer for Supreme Court (Bloomberg.com) "President George W. Bush is suing for political peace instead of trying to energize his base of conservative Republican supporters by nominating White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court." "With his standing in the polls near a five-year low, Bush picked a trusted legal adviser, who was recommended by none other than Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The first woman on the high court, O'Connor has been a key swing vote on many big cases in her 24 years." 9-05 -10-04-05 DeLay Indicted Again (CNN News) "A Texas grand jury brought a charge of money laundering Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader indicted last week on conspiracy charges stemming from a campaign finance probe." "DeLay and two associates are now also charged with conspiring to illegally steer $190,000 in corporate donations to state legislative candidates in 2002 and to disguise its source by sending it through national Republican campaign committees." 9-05 -10-05-05 Miers' Religious Conversion (Washington Times) "While the rest of the country debates the merits of Miss Miers' judicial qualifications, her Christian friends and confidants says she is a solid believer who, like President Bush, had a religious conversion in her 30s." 9-05 -10-05-05 Republican Senator Argues for Issues-Based Decision on Judge (ABC News) "A powerful conservative on the Senate Judiciary Committee says if Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers considers Roe v. Wade 'settled law' there is a 'good chance' that he will vote against her." 9-05 -10-05-05 Senate Votes Against Detainee Abuse (CNN News) "The Republican-controlled Senate voted Wednesday to impose restrictions on the treatment of terrorism suspects, delivering a rare wartime rebuke to President Bush." 9-05 -10-07-05 Bush Coalition Unhappy With His Performance (ABC News) "Evangelicals, Republican women, Southerners and other critical groups in President Bush's political coalition are worried about the direction the nation is headed and disappointed with his performance, an AP-Ipsos poll found." 9-05 -10-07-05 Bush Dismisses Conservative Complaints About Miers (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. President George W. Bush dismissed calls from some conservatives that he withdraw Harriet Miers's Supreme Court nomination as he stepped up efforts to win over reluctant Senate Republicans." 9-05 -10-07-05 Detainees Protest Lack of Trials or Charges (BBC News) "Inmates' lawyers say some 200 men have taken part in the fast which began in August. About 20 are being force-fed." "Amnesty International disputes US figures and says that 210 detainees are currently refusing food, protesting against their detention without trial or charges." "Many of the detainees have been held at the camp since it was set up in 2002, after the US-led offensive against the Taleban regime in Afghanistan." 9-05 -10-07-05 Judge Gives Vatican Immunity on Abuse Case (USA Today) "A federal judge in Kentucky has ruled that the Holy See is a foreign state that enjoys certain immunity protections, placing restrictions on a lawsuit by three men who allege the Vatican covered up the sexual abuse of children by priests. "The ruling is significant because it says that the Holy See's religious activity is irrelevant to the immunity protections it enjoys as a foreign state. It could have implications for other cases in which the Holy See is named as a defendant in the clerical sexual abuse scandal." 9-05 -10-07-05 Leaders Upset Over Hiring Practices in New Orleans (ABC News - Associated Press) "The situation in New Orleans is part of a controversial pattern seen across the country: Immigrants are often willing to do the dirty jobs many Americans won't take." "Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat who represents much of New Orleans, said they are trying to pressure federal authorities to ensure that government cleanup contracts use Louisiana labor. But private companies are free to hire outsiders, and state officials say they are powerless to do more than urge local hiring." 9-05 -10-07-05 Refugees Arrive After 16-Year Journey (ABC News - Associated Press) "The Nguyens are among 229 refugees from Vietnam who have landed in the United States after a journey that began when they fled the communist nation by boat in 1989, hoping to follow hundreds of thousands of other Vietnamese who immigrated here." 9-05 -10-07-05 Republicans Vote to Give More Funds to Oil Industry (CNN News) "The House narrowly approved a Republican-crafted energy bill Friday aimed at encouraging construction of new refineries, although opponents said it would do nothing to ease energy prices while handing unneeded benefits to a profit-rich oil industry." 9-05 -10-08-05 Hillary Clinton Inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame (MSNBC News) "Honored with her were Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Dr. Rita Rossi Colwell, who became the first female director of the National Science Foundation in 1998, and Betty Bumpers, a crusader for childhood immunizations who was Clinton’s predecessor as Arkansas’ first lady." " 'I don’t think there has ever been a better time to be a woman than in the United States of America in the 21st century,' Clinton said in an interview." 10-05 -10-08-05 Rove Denies Leaking CIA Information (CBS News) "Senior aide Karl Rove denied to President Bush that he engaged in an effort to disclose the identity of a covert CIA operative to discredit her husband's criticism of Iraq policy, say people familiar with Rove's statements in a criminal investigation." 10-05 -10-10-05 Approach to Quarantines: Medieval or Modern? (MSNBC News) "Quarantine — or some version of it — in a 21st-century flu pandemic would look very different from the medieval stereotype of diseased outcasts locked in a do-not-enter zone." "President Bush’s specter of a military-enforced mass quarantine is prompting debate of the Q-word as health officials update the nation’s plan for battling a pandemic — a plan expected to define who decides when and how to separate the contagious from everyone else." "Bush’s comments recall how quarantines were enforced in parts of this country in the 1890s, when armed guards patrolled streets to keep victims of smallpox and other dread diseases confined to their homes." On the other hand, "The SARS epidemic of 2003 illustrated that 'the public will voluntarily comply with measures to both protect themselves and their loved ones' — if doctors make the case that the steps are for their own good," said Dr. Marty Cetron, head of quarantine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. " 'Quarantine' means restricting the movement of still healthy people who may have been exposed to an infectious disease, in case they’re carrying it. It’s almost always for a brief time; during SARS, for instance, hospital workers exposed to suspect cases were asked to stay home from work during the respiratory disease’s 10-day incubation period." 10-05 -10-10-05 New Registered Traveler Program to Speed Security Checks (USA Today) "Airports, security companies and the federal government are mobilizing to launch the first nationwide program that speeds 'trusted travelers' through airport security." "On Friday, Congress paved the way for the program's expansion by approving the Homeland Security Department's request to charge people fees for background checks. Without that authority, Registered Traveler would have no money." 10-05 -10-11-05 DeLay Lawyers Supoena District Attorney (CBS News) "Lawyers for indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on Tuesday subpoenaed the prosecuting Texas district attorney in an effort to show he acted improperly with grand jurors." 10-05 -10-11-05 Ethics of Senate Leader Frist Again in Doubt (CBS News) "Outside the blind trusts he created to avoid a conflict of interest, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist earned tens of thousands of dollars from stock in a family-founded hospital chain largely controlled by his brother, documents show." 10-05 -10-17-05 Bush Job Approval Ratings Lowest (CBS News) "President Bush's overall job approval rating has reached the lowest ever measured in this poll, and evaluations of his handling of Iraq, the economy and even his signature issue, terrorism, are also at all-time lows. More Americans than at any time since he took office think he does not share their priorities." "The public's concerns affect their view of the state of the country. Sixty-nine percent of Americans say things in the United States are pretty seriously off on the wrong track — the highest number since CBS News started asking the question in 1983. Today, just 26 percent say things are going in the right direction." 10-05 -10-17-05 Concern from Conservatives Regarding Miers Nomination (MSNBC News) "Threatening conservatives is not how Bush rose to power—just the opposite." "But by picking [Harriet] Miers [for the U.S. Supreme Court], a judicial cipher and Texas crony, Bush infuriated a movement that had grown estranged from him for other reasons, particularly his big-spending approach to such matters as education, highway pork-barreling and now Gulf Coast relief. A clumsy effort to market Miers as an evangelical Christian backfired, striking some on the religious right as condescending and some on the secular left as dangerous." 10-05 -10-17-05 FEMA Memos Reveal Chaos (MSNBC News) "FEMA struggled to locate food, ice, water and even body bags in the days following Hurricane Katrina, a frantic effort punctuated by bureaucratic chaos, infighting and concerns about media coverage, according to memos obtained Monday by The Associated Press." 10-05 -10-17-05 Katrina Leaves Two Tales of Recovery (USA Today) "Long before Hurricane Katrina came and went, much more than a drawbridge separated these two neighborhoods and their people. Color, class, misconceptions, fear — differences of the heart and mind, as much as the pocketbook, made these two places two very different 'New Orleans.' " "Now there are other differences. In Uptown, a booming ballet of bulldozers scoop up tree limbs and drywall as workmen in hardhats direct traffic. Homeowners have hired crews to clear out and sanitize houses. Smiles have returned, along with some optimism." "In the Ninth Ward, an eery silence prevails as residents slowly arrive home." 10-05 -10-17-05 Support for Iraq War Fading (CBS News) "Public support for U.S. involvement in Iraq continues to fall. By two to one, Americans reject financing the war through an increased federal deficit, and 62% would finance paying for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast by cutting spending in Iraq." "More than half of Americans think Iraq is not secure enough to hold its constitutional referendum in just under a week, and many doubt that country will ever become a stable democracy." 10-05 -10-19-05 Arrest Warrant Issued for Tom DeLay (ABC News) "An arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday and bail set at $10,000 for former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay ahead of his scheduled court appearance this week in Austin, Texas for money laundering and conspiracy charges, a Texas court clerk said." 10-05 -10-19-05 Chertoff: Hurricane Response (CBS News) "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended his actions before and after Hurricane Katrina, telling lawmakers Wednesday he relied on Federal Emergency Management Agency experts with decades of experience in hurricane response." "Several Democratic congressmen from the affected areas have attended the hearings and questioned witnesses. They were joined Wednesday by Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., who blasted what she called a lack of leadership in the Bush administration's response to Katrina." "Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, objected when McKinney asked Chertoff why he should not be charged with negligent homicide because of the federal response." 10-05 -10-19-05 Questions Senate Submitted to Harriet Miers (C-Span.org) Provides answers of Harriet Miers, candidate for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. 10-05 -10-20-05 Bush Education Program a Disappointment (New York Times) "The first nationwide test to permit an appraisal of President Bush's signature education law rendered mixed results on Wednesday, with even some supporters of the law expressing disappointment." "From 2000 to 2003, before the federal law took full effect in classrooms, the percentage of fourth graders scoring proficient in math rose eight percentage points, compared with four points this year, Mr. Jennings said, and the percentage of eighth graders proficient in math rose three points before the law, compared with the one-point rise this year." 'The rate of improvement was faster before the law,' Mr. Jennings said. 'There's a question as to whether No Child is slowing down our progress nationwide.' " 10-05 -10-20-05 FEMA Official: Leadership Out of Touch (MSNBC News) "...on Aug. 31, Bahamonde frantically e-mailed Brown to tell him that thousands are evacuees were gathering in the streets with no food or water and that 'estimates are many will die within hours.' " " 'Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical,' Bahamonde wrote." "Less than three hours later, however, Brown’s press secretary wrote colleagues to complain that the FEMA director needed more time to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge restaurant that evening." " 'He needs much more that (sic) 20 or 30 minutes,' wrote Brown aide Sharon Worthy." 10-05 -10-22-05 Bi-Partisan Report: 2004 Election Had Poor Security and Reliability (BradLog.com) Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee said the report by the bi-partisan Government Accounting Office 'lends important credibility to the cause of election reform generally, and more specifically to requiring that every machine have a voter verified paper ballot that is used in election days audits and, if discrepancies are found in those audits, becomes the official record for the election.' " The name of the report is "Federal Efforts to Improve Security and Reliability of Electronic Voting Systems Are Under Way, but Key Activities Need to Be Completed." 10-05 -10-28-05 Meirs Withdraws as Supreme Court Nominee (ABC News) "The withdrawal by Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was an act of damage control by the White House." "There was a rebellion on the right that appeared to be threatening the president's ability to govern across a broader range of issues. (Indeed, one of the the most stunning things about the failure of the Miers nomination is that it occurred largely because of opposition from within the president's own party, rather than opposition from Democrats.)" 10-05 -10-31-05 Bush Nominates Conservative Alito for Supreme Court (CBS News) "Looking to move swiftly beyond the Harriet Miers fiasco, President Bush on Monday announced his nomination of federal appeals court judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court." 10-05 -10-31-05 Bush Nominates Conservative Alito for Supreme Court (CNN News) "Moving quickly to pick a Supreme Court nominee after his last selection withdrew her name, President Bush on Monday nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito -- a favorite of conservatives -- to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor." 10-05 -10-31-05 Samuel Alito, Bush Nominee for Supreme Court (BBC News) Provides a profile. "The man President Bush has chosen to be a US Supreme Court justice, Judge Samuel Alito, is seen as a staunch conservative." "Judge Alito, a 55-year-old Roman Catholic of Italian descent, was appointed to the federal appeals courts in 1990 by the first President George Bush." "The following year he voted to uphold all restrictions on abortion in Pennsylvania law, requiring a woman to notify her husband before an abortion." 10-05 -11-01-05 Dramatic Closed Session in the Senate (MSNBC News) "On a quiet Indian summer afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid dramatically wrenched the political agenda from the Republican majority Monday by forcing the Senate into secret session." "Reid’s gambit was designed to prod Republicans to agree to speed up 'Phase II' of the investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, into how spy data was used or misused in the prelude to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003." 11-05 -11-01-05 FDIC Chair to Lead Gulf Coast Recovery (USA Today) "Donald Powell, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has been assigned to oversee the federal government's disaster recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, the Bush administration announced Tuesday." "Powell, a wealthy contributor to President Bush's presidential campaign, will be in charge of the long-term plans to rebuild the states hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the late summer. The sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the first and most damaging of the two, particularly has been widely criticized." 10-05 -11-01-05 Rumsfeld Denies Access to U.N. Human Rights Investigators (ABC News) "Spurning a request by U.N. human rights investigators, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday the United States will not allow them to meet with detainees at the Guantanamo prison for foreign terrorism suspects." "Rumsfeld also told a Pentagon news conference that prisoners at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were staging a hunger strike that began in early August as a successful ploy to attract media attention." 11-05 -11-02-05 CIA Operates Secret Prisons (CNN News) "Human rights groups have criticized the practice of 'rendition,' in which the CIA purportedly has been allowed to secretly transfer terrorist suspects overseas for interrogation." "Human Rights Watch spokesman Tom Malinowsky said the practice of holding suspects incommunicado in secret facilities has done 'enormous damage' to the reputation of the United States without producing useful intelligence." "If true, the arrangement suggests U.S. agents are engaged in activities 'that under U.S. law and in U.S. territory and by U.S. personnel would be clearly illegal,' said former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, who was once a federal prosecutor." "In October the Senate voted 90-9 to require American troops to follow interrogation standards set in the Army Field Manual and barred 'cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment' of prisoners in U.S. custody." "The provision was not included in a House bill, and the White House has threatened to veto a $440 billion Pentagon spending bill if the measure is part of the final legislation." "The administration says existing law already prohibits the mistreatment of prisoners in American custody and the amendment would restrict Bush's power as commander-in-chief." 11-05 -11-02-05 Report: CIA Uses Secret Prisons (CBS News) "The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement, the Washington Post reported." "The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents, the paper said Tuesday on its Web site." "The hidden global internment network is a central element in the CIA's unconventional war on terrorism, the Post said. It depends on the cooperation of foreign intelligence services, and on keeping even basic information about the system secret from the public, foreign officials and nearly all members of Congress charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions." 11-05 -11-03-05 Bush Approval Rating at All Time Low of 35% (CBS News) "President Bush's job approval has reached the lowest level yet. Only 35 percent approve of the job he's doing." 11-05 -11-03-05 Bush Approval Rating at All Time Low of 35% (MSNBC News) "The dissatisfaction with Bush flows in part out of broad concerns about the overall direction of the country. Nearly 7 in 10 -- 68 percent -- believe the country is seriously off course, while only 30 percent are optimistic, the lowest level in more than nine years." "Beyond the leak case, Americans give the administration low ratings on ethics, according to the survey, with 67 percent rating the administration negatively on handling ethical matters, while just 32 percent give the administration positive marks." 11-05 -11-03-05 Former President Carter Advocates Shared Access to Iraqi Oil (Christian Science Monitor) "Carter, who during his presidency in the late 1970s was deeply and personally involved in peace talks in the Middle East, said the US should 'acknowledge that other countries ... have a right to have equal access to the ... economic benefits of associating with Iraq, primarily oil.' " 11-05 -11-03-05 House Republicans Propose Cutting Programs for the Poor (MSNBC News) "The food stamp cuts in the House measure would knock nearly 300,000 people off nutritional assistance programs, including 70,000 legal immigrants, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office." "About 40,000 children would lose eligibility for free or reduced-price school lunches, the CBO estimated." "But some Republicans worry that social service cuts, though relatively small, might have outsized political ramifications, especially when Republicans move in the coming weeks to cut taxes for the fifth time in as many years. Those tax cuts, totaling $70 billion over five years, would more than offset the deficit reduction that would result from the budget cuts." " 'The problem is the interrelationship between cutting taxes, which no matter what you do will be viewed as cutting taxes for the rich, and reducing programs for the poor,' said moderate Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.). 'It's that simple.' " 11-05 -11-04-04 'Moral Values' Carry Bush to Victory (ChristianityToday.com) "Much has been made in this campaign of Bush political adviser Karl Rove's contention that up to 4 million evangelicals stayed home from the polls in 2000. While Weblog cannot yet be certain about evangelical turnout, note that in 2000, 14 percent of voters identified themselves with the Religious Right and sided overwhelmingly with Bush. But yesterday, 22 percent of voters were white and described themselves as 'evangelical/born-again' (favoring Bush over Kerry 77-22), and another 8 percent were white and called themselves 'Protestant conservatives' (favoring Bush over Kerry 95-4). It might appear that white evangelical/conservative Protestants upped their share of the electorate from 14 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2004. But surely this difference can be largely attributed to the polling questions asked, particularly the use of a pejorative term like 'Religious Right.' Hard data on evangelical turnout is hard to come by as yet, but with Bush's surprisingly large popular-vote victory, Rove is likely to have located his 4 million evangelicals plus many more." 11-04 -11-04-05 Carter: Americans Misled on War (CNN News) "Former President Jimmy Carter said Friday that there isn't 'any doubt' the American people were misled about the war in Iraq and that President George Bush's policy on the war is a 'radical departure from the policies of any president.' " 11-05 -11-04-05 Senate Votes to Cut $35 Billion in Budget (Washington Post) "The Senate approved sweeping deficit-reduction legislation last night that would save about $35 billion over the next five years by cutting federal spending on prescription drugs, agriculture supports and student loans, while clamping down on fraud in the Medicaid program." "The measure would also open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, a long-sought goal of the oil industry that took a major step forward after years of political struggle. A bipartisan effort to strip the drilling provision narrowly failed." 11-05 -11-05-05 Argentines Not Supportive of Bush (Christian Science Monitor) "President George Bush finds little respect in Argentina. In some ways, the Guevara comparison is unfair. History hasn't judged Bush yet, and analysts here note that Argentina's favorite son benefits from a mythological status that allows vendors to sell Che T-shirts for $40 in London and New York. But there are revealing distinctions about Latin Americans' views of the freedom each symbolizes." 'What about Iraq, which Bush describes as a war of liberation from a detested dictator? 'He did that for the oil,' says the affable vendor. 'Surely people in America know that.' " 11-05 -11-05-05 Plaintiff Alleges Alito Conflict of Interest (Boston Globe) "Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. ruled in a 2002 case in favor of the Vanguard mutual fund company at a time when he owned more than $390,000 in Vanguard funds and later complained about an effort to remove him from the case, court records show -- despite an earlier promise to recuse himself from cases involving the company." "Maharaj, 50, discovered Alito's ownership of Vanguard shares in 2002 when she requested his financial disclosure forms after he ruled against her appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit." "In 2004, Anthony Joseph Scirica, the chief administrative judge for the circuit, vacated Alito's order and assigned the case to a new panel, which again ruled against Maharaj." 11-05 -11-05-05 Reid: Vice President Blocked Investigation (New Republic) "In the wake of his daring feint against the Republicans on Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid invited some congressional reporters down to his office on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol building for a chat." "More dramatically, Reid also made it clear that he believes the delay in the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation of prewar Iraq WMD--the underlying issue behind Tuesday's closed session--is entirely attributable to Vice President Dick Cheney." 11-05 -11-05-05 Senate to Probe How Case for War Was Made (Christian Science Monitor) "By moving the Senate into a secret session for two hours this week, Democrats put a politically charged question back on the table: Did the Bush administration exaggerate the case for war against Iraq?" 11-05 -11-06-05 U.N. Auditors: Halliburton Overcharged Iraq (BBC News) "The US should reimburse Iraq up to $208m for work done by a US contractor, a UN watchdog agency has said. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board said the work by Halliburton had been either overpriced or insufficiently documented." 11-05 -11-09-05 CIA to Probe "Leaks" About Secret U.S. Prisons (MSNBC News) "The CIA took the first step toward a criminal investigation of a leak of possibly classified information on secret prisons to The Washington Post, a U.S. official said Tuesday." 11-05 -11-09-05 Democrats Keep Governorships (CNN News) "Democrats kept their grip on the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey in Tuesday's off-year elections, while New York City's Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg, easily secured a second term in the Democratic-dominated Big Apple." 11-05 -11-09-05 European Union to Probe Reports of Secret U.S. Prisons (MSNBC News) "European Union officials said Thursday they would investigate a report that the CIA set up secret jails in Eastern Europe to interrogate top al-Qaida suspects. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch in New York said it has evidence indicating the CIA transported suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan to Poland and Romania." 11-05 -11-09-05 Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards Bestowed (CBS News) "Boxer Muhammad Ali led the roster of those honored by President Bush today with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S. government's highest civilian award." "The honorees included entertainers, athletes, authors, and hotelier Paul Rusesabagina, whose courage and compassion in sheltering people at the hotel he managed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide was depicted in the movie 'Hotel Rwanda.' " 11-05 -11-09-05 Schwarzenegger Loses on All Measures (MSNBC News) "In a stinging rebuke from voters who elected him two years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s efforts to reshape state government were rejected during a special election that darkened his prospects for a second term next year." "Poll after poll showed it was an election that Californians didn’t want, with a total lineup of eight initiatives that didn’t connect with every day issues such as gas prices, housing costs and the war in Iraq." "The special election was the most expensive in California history, costing at least $300 million including advertising and administering the poll." "Tim Wong, 48, an independent from Belmont, called the election 'a waste of the meager money we have.' ” 11-05 -11-10-05 GAO: Electronic Voting Systems Need Improvement (Democrats) The Government Accountability Office reported that the electroniic voting systems in the United States need improvement. 11-05 -11-10-05 Senate Leader Frist Not Concerned About Torture Allegations (MSNBC News) "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he is more concerned about the leak of information regarding secret CIA detention centers than activity in the prisons themselves." "Frist told reporters Thursday that while he believed illegal activity should not take place at detention centers, he believes the leak itself poses a greater threat to national security and is 'not concerned about what goes on' behind the prison walls." 11-05 -11-11-05 Bush Calls Questioning Pre-War Intelligence "Irresponsible" (MSNBC News) " 'While it’s perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began,' the president said." "The Bush administration’s main justification for the Iraq war was that it posed a threat because it had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, but none have been found." 11-05 -11-11-05 Poll: Majority Think Bush Not Honest (ABC News) "Two crucial pillars of President Bush's public support perceptions of his honesty and faith in his ability to fight terrorism have slipped to their lowest point in the AP-Ipsos poll." "While the CIA leak investigation, the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina and high energy costs have all taken their toll, the polling found the Iraq war at the core of Americans' displeasure with the president." "Eighty-two percent of those polled describe Bush as 'stubborn,' with seven of every 10 Republicans agreeing with that description." 11-05 -11-13-05 Wilma Hurricane Victims Still Suffering (USA Today) "The aftermath of damage left by Wilma around South Florida has gotten little national attention as Louisiana and Mississippi try to recover from the earlier devastation of Hurricane Katrina." "But more than 478,000 households in 13 Florida counties have applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individual help, about 70% from Broward and Miami-Dade counties." 11-05 -11-14-05 "Impossible" Reversal of Poll Results in Ohio (FreePress.org) "With the 2005 expansion of paperless touch-screen machines into 41 more Ohio counties, this year's election was more vulnerable than ever to centralized manipulation. The outcomes on Issues 2-5 would indicate just that." 11-05 -11-16-05 International Outcry Greets Allegations of Abuse in Iraq (Guardian Unlimited) Ayad al-Samarrai, a senior official with the Iraqi Islamic party, a mainstream Sunni group, said "The party wanted an independent Iraqi inquiry established, with support from the US military and perhaps the UN, but with the powers to enter interior ministry buildings to investigate the widely reported accounts of abuse and torture. If no suitable Iraqi inquiry team could be set up, then an international investigation should be set up, he said. He said officials from Iraq's human rights ministry had tried to investigate but had been refused access by the powerful interior ministry." " 'All those who were released from this prison were Sunnis,' Mr Samarrai said. 'It looks like part of a plan to make this community terrified, or to push them to leave Iraq or to leave their homes, or to force them into violence as they will think it is the only way to protect themselves.' " 11-05 -11-17-05 USA Pressured Over Alleged CIA "Renditions" (CBS News) "From Portugal to Iceland, reports of landings by private jets that have allegedly been used for the CIA's extraordinary renditions program have added fuel to already burning criticism of the treatment of prisoners in the U.S.-led war on terror." " 'This is proof that we are cooperating too intimately with the CIA and the American government in the so-called war on terror,' Sweden's Left Party leader Lars Ohly told the AP. He was referring to reports by Swedish news agency TT that CIA planes had landed in 2002 and in September this year." "The reports of possible CIA flights in at least six European countries since 2001 come at a time when the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, is investigating allegations that the U.S. intelligence agency set up secret prisons at Soviet-era compounds in Eastern Europe." 11-05 -11-18-05 Murtha: We Need a Well-Planned Withdrawal from Iraq (Los Angeles Times) "Signaling heightened opposition to the war in Iraq from a corner of long-standing support for the military, Rep. John Murtha, a conservative Pennsylvania Democrat, said today the United States should immediately begin to bring its troops home." "Murtha, the senior Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, said the U.S. military forces should be withdrawn as quickly as possible, which could be accomplished within six months. He called for maintaining a rapid-deployment force in the region." "His declaration, at a Washington news conference, suggested that President Bush has lost a key supporter of the war — a knowledgeable Democrat to whom others in the party turn for advice and leadership on military issues." 11-05 -11-20-05 Graham: What I Knew Before the Invasion (Washingotn Post) "In the past week President Bush has twice attacked Democrats for being hypocrites on the Iraq war. '[M]ore than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power,' he said." "The president's attacks are outrageous. Yes, more than 100 Democrats voted to authorize him to take the nation to war. Most of them, though, like their Republican colleagues, did so in the legitimate belief that the president and his administration were truthful in their statements that Saddam Hussein was a gathering menace -- that if Hussein was not disarmed, the smoking gun would become a mushroom cloud." "As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and the run-up to the Iraq war, I probably had as much access to the intelligence on which the war was predicated as any other member of Congress." "I, too, presumed the president was being truthful -- until a series of events undercut that confidence." "On Oct. 11, I voted no on the resolution to give the president authority to go to war against Iraq. I was able to apply caveat emptor. Most of my colleagues could not." "Editor's Note: "Caveat emptor" is commonly translated as "Let the buyer beware." In other words, do not trust what you are hearing because the source of information may not be truthful. 11-05 -11-22-05 Clinton Suggests a Third Way on Iraq (ABC News) "Joining the furious debate over withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., rejected calls for an immediate pullout while suggesting Iraq may not be stabilized until the new government is told that the U.S. troop commitment is not open-ended." 11-05 -11-22-05 Growing Corruption Scandal (Guardian Unlimited) "The Republican party was yesterday facing a fast-growing corruption scandal with potentially serious implications for next year's elections after a well-connected Washington lobbyist pleaded guilty to bribing a congressman and other public officials." "The plea by Michael Scanlon is a breakthrough in an investigation of influence-peddling in Congress that could reach top levels of the party. It comes at a time when the Republicans are already nervous about next November's congressional elections, with public support for the Iraq war falling away and the White House under the cloud of an intelligence leak investigation." 11-05 -11-22-05 Possible Free Speech Violations by the Bush Administration (Christian Science Monitor) "Concern is mounting that the US government is using antiterror laws - namely, the Patriot Act - to revive a now-discredited practice common during the cold war: the prevention of foreign intellectuals who are critical of administration policies from entering the country and sharing their views with Americans." "The practice, called ideological exclusion, became illegal in 1990. But a recent lawsuit - brought by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the PEN American Center under the Freedom of Information Act - is asking the Bush administration to explain its decisions to revoke or deny visas to several foreign scholars, and why they don't violate free-speech protections." 11-05 -11-23-05 Bush Targets Zimbabwe Accounts (CNN News) "President Bush is targeting the U.S. accounts of leading government officials in Zimbabwe, saying those who work with President Robert Mugabe must restore democracy or face sanctions." 11-05 -11-26-05 Iranian President Accuses President Bush of War Crimes (Fox News) " Iran's hard-line president said Saturday the Bush administration should be tried on war crimes charges, and he denounced the West for pressuring Iran to curb its controversial nuclear program." "Ahmadinejad did not elaborate, but he apparently was referring to the U.S. military's reported use of artillery shells packed with depleted uranium, which is far less radioactive than natural uranium and is left over from the process of enriching uranium for use as nuclear fuel." "Since the Iraq war started in 2003, American forces have fired at least 120 tons of shells packed with depleted uranium, an extremely dense material used by the U.S. and British militaries to penetrate tank armor. Once fired, the shells melt, vaporize and turn to dust." 11-05 -11-26-05 Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Notification Case (USA Today) "To some, a never-enforced New Hampshire law requiring parental notification before a minor has an abortion is a backward step for women's rights. To others, it protects parents' right to know if their child is having an abortion." "The U.S. Supreme Court will consider those arguments Wednesday as it begins to weigh whether to reinstate a law that requires parental notification 48 hours before an abortion can be performed on a woman under the age of 18." 11-05 -11-27-05 Indian Air Force Gives U.S. Air Force a Run (Christian Science Monitor) For now, US Air Force officials are saying only that the Cope India 2005 air exercises were a success, and a sign of America's growing appreciation for the abilities of its newfound regional ally." "But there are some signs that America's premier fighter jet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, is losing ground to the growing sophistication of Russian-made fighter planes, and that the US should be more wary about presuming global air superiority - the linchpin of its military might." " 'The [Indian] Sukhoi is a ... better plane than the [American] F-16,' says Vinod Patney, a retired Indian Air Force marshal, and former vice chief of air staff." 11-05 -11-28-05 U.S. Congressman Pleads Guilty (CBS News) "Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham resigned from Congress on Monday after admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to co-conspirators. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax charges in a case that grew from an investigation into the sale of his home to a wide-ranging conspiracy involving payments in cash, vacations and antiques." 11-05 -11-29-05 Evidence Mounts of Assassinations and Torture in Iraq (New York Times) "As the American military pushes the largely Shiite Iraqi security services into a larger role in combating the insurgency, evidence has begun to mount suggesting that the Iraqi forces are carrying out executions in predominantly Sunni neighborhoods." "The chief suspects, according to Sunni leaders, human rights workers and a well-connected American official here, are current and former members of the Badr Brigade, the Iranian-backed militia controlled by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a principal part of the current [Iraq] government." "The alarm in the Sunni community is so great the Um al-Qura Mosque, one of the largest temples in Baghdad, has begun documenting cases of allegations of executions and abductions. Mazan Taha, who is overseeing the project, said he has compiled the names of some 700 Sunni men who have disappeared or been killed in the past four months." 11-05 -11-29-05 Iran May Drop Voluntary Compliance With I.A.E.A. Nuclear Requirements (WorldPress.org) "On Nov. 20, four days before the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board began its three-day November meeting, the Majlis (Iran’s parliament) adopted a resolution requiring the government to cancel all its voluntary measures of cooperation with the I.A.E.A. if Iran is referred by the board to the U.N. Security Council for 'action.' " "The Western corporate media presented the Majlis decision as a threat by Tehran to block U.N. inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, Majlis member Kazem Jalali told Associated Press that the resolution required the government to only comply with its legal obligations under the 1970 international nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (N.P.T.) and Iran’s safeguards agreement with the I.A.E.A., signed in 1974." "More than a year ago, I.A.E.A. director general Mohammed ElBaradei reported to the I.A.E.A. board that 'all the declared nuclear material in Iran has been accounted for, and therefore such material is not diverted to prohibited activities,' i.e., to the development of nuclear weapons." 11-05 -12-01-05 Bush Outlines Plan for Victory (BBC News) "Mr Bush said victory would come 'when the terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, when the Iraqi security forces can provide for the safety of their own citizens, and when Iraq is not a safe-haven for terrorists to plot new attacks on our nation'." 12-05 -12-01-05 L.A. Times: Military Planting Stories in Iraqi Newspapers (MSN News) "Details about the program were first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. It marked the second time this year that Pentagon programs have come under scrutiny for reported payments made to journalists for favorable press." "Two other federal agencies have been investigated in the past year for similar activities, leading Congress’ Government Accountability Office to condemn one, the Education Department, for engaging in illegal covert propaganda." 11-05 -12-02-05 Greenspan: America's Exploding Deficit Could Disrupt the Global Economy (CBS News) "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed concerns Friday that America's failure to deal with its exploding budget deficit and worldwide efforts to erect trade barriers could disrupt the global economy." 12-05 -12-03-05 Congressional Research Service: EPA Slants Findings (Bloomberg.com) "A Bush administration analysis of air pollution legislation uses assumptions that boost the benefits of its own proposal while overstating the costs of alternatives, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service." "For example, the EPA assumes the availability of boilermaker labor for installing pollution-control equipment will be limited until 2010. Such a labor shortage would affect only the Carper and Jeffords proposals, which seek steeper emissions cuts sooner." "Lacking the ability to install pollution controls, coal- fired generators would be forced to shut down in the EPA analysis of Jeffords's proposal. In addition, natural gas-fired and renewable fuel generators would be required at a high cost, the report found." "Such a labor shortage has been questioned by some, including the Institute of Clean Air Companies, the trade association that represents the air pollution-control industry, the report said." 12-05 -12-04-05 Commissioners: Federal Government Squandered Homeland Security Funds (CBS News) "Commission members say homeland security dollars have been squandered, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports. Police and fire crews like those who struggled in Hurricane Katrina still can't talk to one another by radio. Columbus, Ohio, bought bulletproof vests for its fire department dogs. And Newark, New Jersey bought air-conditioned trash trucks." 12-05 -12-04-05 Commissioners: U.S. at "Great Risk" (ABC News) "The U.S. is at great risk for more terrorist attacks because Congress and the White House have failed to enact several strong security measures, members of the former Sept. 11 commission said Sunday." 12-05 -12-04-05 Editorial: Planting Stories in Iraqi Newspapers Ineffective (MSNBC News) "We got into the war with the help of something called the Rendon Group, a secretive firm that won a huge government contract to 'create the conditions for the removal of [Saddam] Hussein from power.' " "The contractor implicated in the planted Iraqi press story is the Lincoln Group, formerly Iraqex, which boasts to prospective clients that it provides services ranging from 'political campaign intelligence' (dirt on your opponents in American elections) to 'commercial real estate in Iraq' (so you can buy the choicest properties and tick off the Iraqis even more)." "Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Pentagon was using U.S. troops to write positive articles about Iraq (for instance, heralding the opening of a school), hiring Washington-based contractors to translate the articles into Arabic, then secretly planting them in the Iraqi press with bribes." "My problem with all of this is less ethical than practical. If it helped build Iraqi democracy or blunted anti-American propaganda, it might even be worth it (though certainly not at those prices). But exporting a bunch of budding Jayson Blairs simply feeds the perception of Americans as inept and hypocritical puppetmasters." 12-05 -12-08-05 "Integrity" Is the Word of the Year (CBS News) "The noun [integrity], formally defined as a 'firm adherence to a code' and 'incorruptibility,' has always been a popular one on the Springfield-based company's Web site, said Merriam-Webster president John Morse. But this year, the true meaning of integrity seemed to be of extraordinary concern. About 200,000 people sought its definition online." 12-05. -12-08-05 Dispatcher Sued for Slow Response (ABC News) "A Colorado mother is suing a 911 operator for not sending the police quickly enough to rescue her daughter from being kidnapped. After two calls, it took 47 minutes for police to arrive on the scene." 12-05 -12-08-05 Editorial: Bush Administration's Quest for "Victory" Difficult (Christian Science Monitor) "If there is one word the White House wants the American public to associate with the war in Iraq, it is probably 'victory.' President Bush said it 11 times Wednesday in his speech on rebuilding Iraq - following victory's 15 mentions in his address on the training of Iraqi forces last week." "On Wednesday, in his speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, the president said US victory will be achieved when terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, when Iraqi security forces can protect their own citizens, and when Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists to plot attacks against the US." 12-05 -12-08-05 Probe into Iraq News Coverage Widens (USA Today) "A U.S. investigation into allegations that the American military is buying positive coverage in the Iraqi media has expanded to examine a press club founded and financed by the U.S. Army." "The administration has expressed concerns about the allegations. Even if reporting is true, 'it's got to be done in a way that reinforces a free media, not undermines it,' national security adviser Stephen Hadley has said." "It's not uncommon for Iraqi journalists to accept gifts or cash in exchange for favorable stories, said Emad al-Sharr, a reporter for Radio Dijla in Iraq. Cash or gifts such as watches and pens are often handed out following press conferences or on trips with Iraqi officials, he said. 'The problem is you have poor journalists who will accept anything: $100, $50, $20 to publish articles under their names,' al-Hamdani said. 'They don't think it's wrong.' Most monthly salaries in Iraq are under $300." 12-05 -12-09-05 Patriot Act a Threat to Individual Liberties? (MSNBC News) "Congressional Republican leaders are pressing for passage next week of a new Patriot Act to combat terrorism, but a Senate filibuster looms on a measure that liberal and conservative critics alike say is a threat to individual liberties." 12-05 -12-09-05 Poll: Bush Approval Ratings Up from Last Month (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. President George W. Bush's job- approval rating rose to 42 percent from 37 percent in the past month, as more Americans backed his handling of Iraq and the economy, according to an Associated Press/Ipsos poll." 12-05 -12-09-05 U.S. Has Denied Red Cross Access to Detainees (CBS News) "A senior U.S. State Department official has confirmed that the United States has yet to grant the international Red Cross access to all its terror detainees, the Red Cross chief said Friday." 12-05 -12-11-05 Guardian: Emerging News Related to U.S. and British Positions on Torture (Guardian Unlimited) Provides dozens of news stories. 12-05 -12-11-05 Planespotters Unravel CIA Abductions (Guardian Unlimited) "The recording of flights by spotters like Paul from places as far afield as Bournemouth and Karachi has unintentionally played a significant role in helping journalists and human rights groups expose the scale of the CIA's renditions system." 12-05 -12-13-05 Poll: Majority Believes Bush Has No Victory Plan (CNN News) "Despite a series of recent speeches spelling out the administration's policies on Iraq, the majority of Americans in a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said they do not believe President Bush has a plan that will achieve victory in Iraq." 12-05 -12-13-05 Probe Evidence: CIA Illegally Abducted People (CNN News) "A Swiss investigator probing claims of secret CIA prisons in Europe said his committee has evidence that supports allegations that prisoners were transferred between countries and temporarily held 'without any judicial involvement.' " 12-05 -12-14-05 NBC: Military Spying on U.S. Citizens - Unjustifiably (CNN News) "The public was outraged [from a report on the military spying on citizens in 1970] and a lengthy congressional investigation followed that revealed that the military had conducted investigations on at least 100,000 American citizens. Pyle got more than 100 military agents to testify that they had been ordered to spy on U.S. citizens — many of them anti-war protestors and civil rights advocates. In the wake of the investigations, Pyle helped Congress write a law placing new limits on military spying inside the U.S." "But Pyle, now a professor at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, says some of the information in the [current military] database suggests the military may be dangerously close to repeating its past mistakes." " 'The documents tell me that military intelligence is back conducting investigations and maintaining records on civilian political activity. The military made promises that it would not do this again,' he says." 12-05 -12-15-05 Baby Tossed Out Window Caught (CBS News) "A New York man made the catch of a lifetime after a woman threw her baby out the window of a burning third-floor apartment in the Bronx, N.Y. Wednesday." 12-05 -12-15-05 Novak: President Knows Who Leaked Information (ABC News) "The White House took issue on Thursday with a claim by syndicated columnist Robert Novak that President George W. Bush knows who the source is who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame." 12-05 -12-15-05 Who's Who in the Iraqi Elections (BBC News) "The BBC News website looks at the parties and alliances contesting the 15 December parliamentary elections in Iraq." 12-05 -12-16-05 Newsweek: Bush May Not Have Given Up on Using Torture (MSNBC News) "Newsweek has obtained a draft of a less-known companion bill sponsored by two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl, and Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, in which the administration has won tougher language giving it the right to use information obtained from harsh interrogations overseas." "In theory, this would permit U.S. military tribunals to use evidence obtained through torture or abuse in the prisons of other countries. The new Graham draft also adds more restrictions on the rights of terror detainees to sue or launch an action against the U.S. government outside of a narrow appeals process." 12-05 -12-16-05 Report: Americans Spied On (CBS News) "The National Security Agency has eavesdropped, without warrants, on as many 500 people inside the United States at any given time since 2002, The New York Times reported Friday." "The Times said reporters interviewed nearly a dozen current and former administration officials about the program and granted them anonymity because of the classified nature of the program." " 'We're finding out that the president has possibly authorized the breaking of the law so that our government can eavesdrop on American citizens?' Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union, told CBS Radio News. 'We're still trying to process it, but it's truly amazing.' " 12-05 -12-16-05 Report: Americans Spied On - Rice Denies Illegality (Bloomberg.com) "The New York Times reported that Bush in 2002 secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without the court-approved warrants that are required for domestic spying." "[Secretary of State Condoleeza] Rice, interviewed on NBC's 'Today' show, said 'the president has been very clear that he would not order people to do things that are illegal.' She declined to comment directly on the New York Times report." "The paper said it interviewed nearly a dozen current and former administration officials about the program and granted them anonymity because the information was classified. The officials said the administration is confident that existing safeguards protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, the Times said." 12-05 -12-16-05 Senate Refuses to Authorize Controversial Parts of Patriot Act (CNN News) "The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders." 12-05 -12-16-05 Sunnis Came to the Polls (Fox News) "Turnout in what was a mostly peaceful election was overwhelming. Election officials estimated up to 11 million of the nation's 15 million registered voters took part in Thursday's vote, which would put overall turnout at more than 70 percent." "So many Sunni Arabs voted Thursday that ballots ran out in some places. The strong participation by Sunnis, the backbone of the insurgency, bolstered U.S. hopes that the election could produce a broad-based government capable of ending the daily suicide attacks and other violence that have ravaged the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein." "Sunni Arabs make up about 20 percent of Iraq's 27 million people, compared to about 60 percent for Shiites." 12-05 -12-17-05 Bush Acknowledges Eavesdropping (New York Times) "President Bush said Saturday he has no intention of stopping his personal authorizations of a post-Sept. 11 secret eavesdropping program in the U.S., lashing out at those involved in revealing it while defending it as crucial to preventing future attacks." "[Senator Russell] Feingold said it was 'absurd' that Bush said he relied on his inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps." " 'If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act because he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for,' Feingold told The Associated Press in a telephone interview." 12-05 -12-18-05 Bush Acknowledges Eavesdropping (CNN News) "In acknowledging the message was true, President Bush took aim at the messenger Saturday, saying that a newspaper jeopardized national security by revealing that he authorized wiretaps on U.S. citizens after September 11." "Senators contemplating a vote Friday on whether to renew some controversial portions of the Patriot Act used The New York Times' report as evidence that the government could not be trusted with the broad powers laid out in the act." ""In particular, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said such behavior by the executive branch 'can't be condoned,' and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the report swayed his decision on the Patriot Act proposal." Editor's Note: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act prevents presidents from deciding on their own--without court approval--whether someone in the United States can be spyed upon. In particular, a president cannot skirt the courts based on a claim that he is protecting national security. Court warrants can be issued within hours and should not slow down approval of justified spying; further, spying can begin immediately in emergencies, as long as the justification is court approved within 3 days of starting. The law was designed to prevent abuse of power by the president and ensure protection of civil liberties. 12-05 -12-18-05 Testing Wartime Limits (MSNBC News) "In his four-year campaign against al Qaeda, President Bush has turned the U.S. national security apparatus inward to secretly collect information on American citizens on a scale unmatched since the intelligence reforms of the 1970s." "The Post reported that the FBI has issued tens of thousands of national security letters, extending the bureau's reach as never before into the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans. Most of the U.S. residents and citizens whose records were screened, the FBI acknowledged, were not suspected of wrongdoing." "The burgeoning use of national security letters coincided with an unannounced decision to deposit all the information they yield into government data banks -- and to share those private records widely, in the federal government and beyond. In late 2003, the Bush administration reversed a long-standing policy requiring agents to destroy their files on innocent American citizens, companies and residents when investigations closed." 12-05 -12-19-05 Makers of Weapons of Mass Destruction Released in Iraq (MSNBC News) " 'The release was an American-Iraqi decision and in line with an Iraqi government ruling made in December 2004, but hasn’t been enforced until after the elections in an attempt to ease the political pressure in Iraq, said the lawyer, Badee Izzat Aref." "Among them were Rihab Taha, a British-educated biological weapons expert, who was known as 'Dr. Germ' for her role in making bio-weapons in the 1980s, and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as 'Mrs. Anthrax,' a former top Baath Party official and biotech researcher, Aref said." 12-05 -12-19-05 President Bush's Speech on December 18, 2005 (MSNBC News) Provides the full text of the President's speech. 12-05 -12-27-05 Report: Homeland Security Guilty of Delection of Duty (MSNBC News) "The Homeland Security Department, created in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has failed to fulfill 33 of its own pledges to better protect the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by House Democrats." 12-05 -12-29-05 Army Offers Reservists Full-Time Jobs in Hometowns (ABC News) "At a cost of as much as $20 million, more than 200 National Guard soldiers returning to Louisiana from Iraq are staying on active duty for up to a year so they can have full-time work in their hurricane-ravaged hometowns." 12-05 -12-29-05 Billions in 9/11 Loans Botched (CBS News) "Previous media reports found that terrorism recovery loans went to a South Dakota radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop, a Utah dog boutique and more than 100 Dunkin' Donuts and Subway sandwich shops in various locations." "Meanwhile, small businesses near Ground Zero in New York couldn't get the assistance they desperately sought." 12-05 -2-01-05 Dean in Lead for Democratic Chair Position (ABC News) "Former Texas Rep. Martin Frost dropped out of the race for Democratic national chairman on Tuesday after failing to win the backing of organized labor, winnowing the field to front-runner Howard Dean and three challengers." 02-05 -4-12-05 Tensions High Between China and Japan (CNN News) "Protests are rare in China, with the government keeping a tight rein on any public gatherings and banning most demonstrations." "But while China's government has urged protesters to remain calm, and avoid extremist behavior, it has been tolerant of these anti-Japanese demonstrations, urging Tokyo to take a 'responsible attitude' towards history." "The protests saw tens of thousands of protesters call for a boycott of Japanese products, burning flags and shouting anti-Japanese slogans." "Tokyo has demanded an apology and compensation from Beijing for the damage caused by protesters, and demanded that Chinese authorities protect Japanese in China." "The tensions can be traced back to Japan's military campaigns in the last century. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, and occupied various parts of China until 1945." 4-05 -News on Wilma (ABC News) Provides hurricane news. 10-05 08-11-05 Mom Who Lost Son in Iraq Inspires Protesters (USA Today) "[Cindy] Sheehan knows nothing can bring back her son, but she wants to talk to President Bush. The Vacaville, Calif., mother has been camping out along a road near his ranch since Saturday, vowing to remain until his Texas vacation ends later this month." " 'Before my son was killed, I used to think that one person could not make a difference,' she said Wednesday under a tent where she has slept since arriving. 'But one person that is surrounded and supported by millions of people can be heard.' " 8-05 08-13-05 Bush Raises Possibility of Military Action Against Iran (BBC News) "President George W. Bush yesterday raised the possibility of a U.S. military response to Iran's decision to restart its nuclear energy program." " 'We've used force in the recent past to secure our country,' Bush added, when asked to elaborate." "Western countries including the U.S., France and Germany, say they are worried the Islamic state will secretly develop nuclear weapons. Iran is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries." 8-05 08-20-05 Bush: Iraq War for Fighting Terrorism (MSNBC News) "President Bush said Saturday U.S. troops in Iraq were fighting to protect Americans at home from terrorism like the Sept. 11 attacks four years ago." "The Bush administration justified going to war in Iraq in 2003 by saying it posed a threat because of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. None have been found." "Critics say Iraq had nothing to do with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and that the administration has tried to tie Iraq to terrorism since the war to justify its actions." 8-05 08-20-05 First Disciplinary Action Against a Four-Star General (Washington Post) "The four-star Army general relieved of command this week is alleged to have had an extramarital affair with a female civilian who does not work for the military or the federal government, the general's attorney said Wednesday." "[Gen. Kevin P.] Byrnes, 55, a Vietnam veteran who entered the Army in 1969 as a second lieutenant, ranked third in seniority among the Army's 11 four-star generals." "Army officials said they could find no record of another four-star general being relieved of command for disciplinary reasons in modern history." 8-05 08-22-05 West Coast Unites for Cleaner Air (CBS News) "Despite an effort by auto industry lobbyists to kill the move, two Pacific Northwest States — Oregon and Washington — are getting ready to adopt California's new vehicle emission standards to reduce greenhouse gases." "When that happens, California's newly implemented emissions standards — the toughest in the United States — will be in effect along the entire West Coast from Canada to Mexico." 8-05 08-26-05 Bush Administration Bids to Derail UN Reform (Guardian Unlimited) "Britain will join an international alliance to confront George Bush and salvage as much as possible of an ambitious plan to reshape the United Nations and tackle world poverty next week." "The head-to-head in New York on Monday comes after the revelation that the US administration is proposing wholesale changes to crucial parts of the biggest overhaul of the UN since it was founded more than 50 years ago." 8-05 08-29-05 Army Demotes Halliburton Critic (CBS News) "A high-ranking Army Corps of Engineers official who publicly criticized the Pentagon's decision to award Halliburton Co. a no-bid contract for work in Iraq has been demoted, officials said Monday." 8-05 08-29-05 Lynch: Big Stories of the Summer (CBS News) "The summer of an off year in politics is supposed to be a snooze. No presidential campaign, no conventions, not even congressional elections to get the political blood churning." "The summer of ’05, however, was filled with intense political activity. Here’s my list summer stories that will still have legs in the fall:" 8-05 08-30-05 U.S. Court Siezes Palestinian Government Assets (ABC News) "A federal court in Rhode Island has ordered a freeze of all U.S.-based assets of the Palestinian Authority after the Palestinian government failed to pay $116 million in damages imposed by the court last year, according to legal documents obtained on Tuesday." "The Boston Globe, which reported on the freeze on Tuesday, said the frozen assets include U.S. holdings in a $1.3 billion Palestinian investment fund and bank accounts used to pay Palestinian representatives in Washington, but this could not be confirmed." 8-05 Bias in News Coverage in New Orleans (Seattle Times) "In one photo, a man wades through chest-deep waters with a large black bag filled with items from a grocery. In another, two people wade through equally high waters, carrying bread and soda." "What has drawn attention to these two photos, both taken Tuesday, is their captions." "In the first, the young man, who is black, is described as having 'looted' the items. In the second, a white or light-skinned couple are described as 'finding' the items." 9-05 Editorial: G8 Summit and Global Warming (BBC News) Journalist Susan Watts argues that Prime Minister Tony Blair must gain three agreements at the G8 in order to be successful. "He must pull off an agreement that says the science [of global warming] is compelling. This is the cornerstone, without which the rest is meaningless." "Second - concrete moves towards cutting emissions, with a timetable. And third - recognition that urgent action is imperative." 7-05 Highlights of 2005 (ABC News) "ABC News.com reviews 2005 with some memorable images, video clips and news items that defined the year." 12-05 Investigation of Homeland Security Violations (Awesome Library) Provides updates on the investigation of Bush advisor Karl Rove after he revealed or confirmed the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. O'Connor, Sandra Day - Biography (Awesome Library) Provides biographies of O'Connor. 7-05 Organized Labor (Awesome Library) Provides news on labor unions. 7-05   Spying and Intelligence News (Yahoo News) Provides comprehensive news on U.S. espionage and intelligence gathering news. 12-05 Terri Shiavo and Living Wills (Awesome Library) Provides news on the Terri Shaivo case. President Bush, the Governor of Florida (his brother), and the U.S. Congress have attempted to intervene in this case but courts have consistently refused to give this "life-and-death" decision to the government. Also includes information on health care advance directives, such as living wills, that help determine what should happen if the person involved cannot communicate his or her wishes for prolonging life. 3-05 Papers $300 Billion Spent to Fight Terrorism (MSNBC News) "President Bush was poised to officially ask Congress Monday for an estimated $82 billion to cover the costs of continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a myriad of other internationally related expenses, including training Iraqi security forces and aiding victims of the tsunami." "Using figures compiled by the Congressional Research Service, which prepares reports for lawmakers, the newest request would push the totals provided for the conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism past $300 billion. That includes $25 billion already provided for rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan." 2-05 -01-16-05 New York Times: Bush Administration Blocks Legislation Limiting Torture (CNN News) "In its Thursday editions, The New York Times reported that as recently as last month, the White House urged Congress to scrap provisions in legislation that would have imposed new limits on 'extreme interrogation measures' by CIA intelligence officers." 2-04 -01-25-05 Senators Blast Condoleeza Rice (MSNBC News) "Rice, who has been President Bush’s White House national security adviser for four years, was one of the loudest voices urging war, Democrats said. She repeatedly deceived members of Congress and Americans at large about justifications for the war, said Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn." “ 'I don’t like impugning anyone’s integrity, but I really don’t like being lied to,' Dayton said. 'Repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally.' " "Republicans who took the floor to endorse Rice included Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who has been a sometime critic of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies." “ 'Dr. Rice has the intelligence, the integrity and the experience for this job. She has the president’s confidence,' Hagel said." 1-05 -01-26-05 Condoleeza Rice Confirmed as Secretary of State (MSNBC News) "The Senate overrode Democratic critics of the Iraq war Wednesday and handily confirmed Condoleezza Rice, a chief architect of U.S. policy, to be secretary of state. The vote was 85-13." 1-05 -02-18-05 Negroponte New Intelligence Chief (CNN News) "President Bush on Thursday nominated John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as the first director of national intelligence." "Bush said that Negroponte would be his principal adviser on intelligence issues and would have authority over the budgets of the 15 U.S. intelligence agencies." "Negroponte also will have the authority to order the collection of new intelligence, information sharing between agencies and the establishment of common standards, Bush said." 2-05 -03-11-05 Congress Rewards Huge Gas Guzzlers (ABC News) Thanks to a generous tax credit, Karl Wizinsky is driving a very large vehicle these days — a 2002 Ford Excursion." "Congress recently passed a tax bill, as proposed in President Bush's economic stimulus plan, that offers a $100,000 tax credit for business owners who purchase any vehicle weighing 6,000 pounds or more when fully loaded." 3-05 -03-25-05 U.S. Decides to Sell F-16 Military Jets to Pakistan (BBC News) "The US government has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, Bush administration officials say." 3-05 -10-05-05 Bush: Use Military for Enforcement If Bird Flu Attacks (CNN News) "A call by President George W. Bush for Congress to give him the power to use the military in law enforcement roles in the event of a bird flu pandemic has been criticized as akin to introducing martial law." 9-05 -Editorial: Cheney Runs National Security (Slate.com) "With a national security staff that numbered 14 last year (Al Gore usually had four or five), Cheney's office has a finger in every pie." 11-05 -Editorial: Cheney Was Not a Victim of Bad Information (CBS News - The Nation) "Last week, Cheney blasted critics who claim Bush misled the nation into war, calling these accusations the most 'dishonest' and 'reprehensible' statements he's ever encountered in Washington." "Prior to the invasion, Bush, Cheney and other administration officials did make many statements that were not backed up by the available intelligence. Were these merely careless mistakes? Why not call for a quick conclusion to the Phase II investigation of the Senate intelligence committee and see what the evidence indicates?" "How does he explain that administration officials cited evidence that was in dispute — such as Iraq's infamous acquisition of aluminum tubes that Bush officials said could only be used for a nuclear weapons program — and claimed it was rock solid? Is it not a distortion to repeatedly cite an intelligence report that has been discredited by the CIA and the FBI?" 11-05 -Editorial: White House Opposes Law to Limit Cruel or Inhumane Treatment (Daily Sentinel - Teepen) "The White House is threatening to veto a $440 billion military spending bill unless the Senate scraps its amendment limiting the military in prisoner interrogations to, in essence, the techniques outlined in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation." "This is not for once a markedly partisan issue. (Though if the provision makes it to the hyper-partisan House, that would probably change.) The Senate vote was 90-9, with 46 Republicans, including even Majority Leader Bill Frist, concurring. That is about as close to consensus as either congressional chamber ever gets, short of resolutions congratulating spelling bee winners." "Bush's attorney general and defense secretary have invented rationales that would excuse torture and have asserted the bizarre notion that the president, as commander in chief, is welcome to brush aside any law he wishes." "The Senate provision simply bars 'cruel, inhuman or degrading' treatment of prisoners. Through most of our history, that would have gone without saying." 11-05 -Hurricane Rita News (Awesome Library) Provides news on the hurricane. 9-05 -New American Strategy (Christian Science Monitor - Chaddock) "National strategy, released Friday, calls for US dominance to expand global peace." "More broadly, the 31-page document asserts American dominance as the lone superpower – a status no rival power will be allowed to challenge." "And it provides a reason the world should accept this state of affairs: the expansion of peace and more freedom. A Pax Americana will be 'in the service of a balance of power that favors freedom.' " " ' We cannot let our enemies strike first.... To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively.' " 4-03 A History of Supreme Court Nominee Battles (MSNBC News) "Sometimes, as in the cases of Louis Brandeis in 1916 and Robert Bork in 1986, the nomination battle mirrored the ideological struggles of that time." "The Brandeis nomination served as a referendum on the country’s political direction: Should the court serve, as it had for decades, as a bulwark of protection for corporate interests?" 8-05 Analysis of President Bush's Speech on Iraq (ABC News) "President Bush was more frank about the problems we face in Iraq than he has been in the past." "Key parts of his speech, however, were driven by spin, rather than a frank effort to warn the American people of the sacrifices necessary to win and the risks involved. The end result was to mislead in ways that could come back to haunt the administration and reduce longer-term public support." "He implied the liberation, elections and democracy had somehow unified Iraq when they clearly have not, and glossed over the major political turmoil that will accompany the efforts to draft the constitution and elections to come. The president fundamentally misstated the true nature of the threat and risks in Iraq." 7-05 Boy: An Angel Saved Me (ABC News) "The 8-year-old was stabbed six times — slashed in the face, neck and chest, and cut twice in the liver. Despite bleeding profusely, he managed to call 911." "But Anthony says he wasn't acting alone. "God helped me. He sent his angel," he told Quiñones. "The angel carried me to dial 911." "Anthony says that as he lay there bleeding, he actually heard a voice telling him to play dead until his father left the house. 'I heard, "I will save you," ' he told Quiñones." 8-05 Brown, Janice Rogers - Nominee for Federal Judge (IndependentJudiciary.com) Provides news and biographical information on the nominee. 5-05 Brown, Janice Rogers - Support for Nominee for Federal Judge (U.S. Department of Justice) Provides a recommendation for Brown. Democrats have opposed her appointment. 5-05 Cities Face Economic Peril (New York Times) "Without money, governments cannot run buses so that residents without cars can search for jobs and go to work. They cannot educate the children of families that might try to return. They cannot provide health care, pick up garbage or begin the detailed planning and engineering necessary to bring a city back to life." "They are locked in a painful loop, unable to lure back exiled residents without services, but unable to provide the services without tax bases." 10-05 Courts Struggle to Strike a Balance on Personal Liberties (MSNBC - Lane) "Thus, the skeptics argue, it [terrorism] can be fought largely with the conventional tools of civilian law enforcement, wielded by an executive branch overseen and constrained by the courts and Congress — especially since the indefinite duration of the war could mean restrictions on liberty, once in place, could be perpetuated forever." '" 'The sacrifice of checks and balances has to be weighed not as a temporary expedient,' said Laurence H. Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard University, “ 'but assessed as a proposed permanent change.' ” 8-02 Eastern States to Cut Emissions (CBS News) "Nine U.S. states have reached a preliminary agreement on an initiative led by New York Governor George Pataki to freeze power plant emissions at current levels and reduce them by 10 percent by 2020." 8-05 Editorial on Priscilla Owen for Federal Judge - Against (IndependentJudiciary.com) "Justice Owen reliably votes to throw out jury verdicts favoring workers and consumers against corporate interests and dismisses suits brought by workers for job-related injuries, discrimination and unfair employment practices." "Justice Owen has taken campaign contributions from law firms and corporations, including Enron and Halliburton, and then, without recusing herself, ruled in their favor when their cases came before her." 5-05 Editorial on Priscilla Owen for Federal Judge - Against (National Organization for Women) "Enron's political action committee gave Owen $8,600 for her successful Supreme Court bid in 1994. Two years later, Owen wrote the majority opinion that reversed a lower court order and reduced Enron's school taxes by $15 million. Since 1993, Enron contributed $134,058 — more than any other corporation — to Owen and other members of the Texas Supreme Court. A study by Texans for Public Justice found that the court ruled in Enron's favor in five out of six cases involving the company since 1993." 5-05 Editorial: Dean New Spokesman for the Democratic Party (MSNBC News - Curry) "When Dean enters a room there is always a sense that something unexpected might happen. The Democrats’ two other national leaders at the moment, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, lack Dean’s verve and mastery of polemics." "Dean will, at least for the next few months, be the spokesman for his party, even though he said Saturday he won’t be propounding policy. And he said, 'I am not going to run in 2008.' " 2-05 Editorial: Generation Gaps and the Boomer Generation (CBS News) "Our economy depends on massive amounts of foreign oil, no one seems enthusiastic about energy conservation or slowing down our pursuit of conspicuous consumption, and the main goal for many parents is to make sure their children get perfect grades so they'll be accepted into elite colleges." "How long can we keeping heading in this direction? I feel like most of us boomers will be gone by the time the road finally reaches a dead end. But right now wouldn't be a bad time for you people in Generation X and Y and all the other ones coming behind us to start looking for alternative routes." 8-05 Editorial: Iraq Must Deliver Oil to Sunnis in the Constitution (Christian Science Monitor) "Rather, the key to Iraq's near-term stability is quite simply the rights and prerogatives of the 20 percent of Iraqis who are Sunni Arabs." "It is this group that provides perhaps 90 percent of the insurgency's active fighters and most of its new recruits. It is this group amid which the insurgency lives, hides its arms, plots its attacks, finds its safe houses. And it is this group that is on the verge of being fundamentally marginalized, in political power as well as economics, by what is happening in the constitution-writing right now." "The Kurds want not only the land back for the Kurdish families who once owned it - a reasonable enough proposition - but virtually all the rights and revenue to the oil produced in its vicinity." 8-05 Editorial: Major Power Shift in Government (MSNBC News - VandeHei) "As Democrats tell it, this week's compromise on judges was about much more than the federal courts. If President Bush and congressional allies had prevailed, they say, the balance of power would have been forever altered."" "Yet, amid the partisan rhetoric, a little-noticed fact about modern politics has been lost: Republicans have already changed how the business of government gets done, in ways both profound and lasting." 5-05 Editorial: Options in Iraq (Truthout.org - Senator Feingold) "Senator Russ Feingold has called on the President to issue a flexible timeframe for the completion of the military mission in Iraq and has suggested December 31, 2006 as a target date for returning American troops home from Iraq. In discussing his proposal, he has been debunking several myths about US policy in Iraq." 9-05 Editorial: Stop Amendment That Strips Fundamental Rights (Center for Constitutional Rights) "Last year the Supreme Court rejected the government's position that it can maintain a law-free zone at the Guantánamo Naval Base. The habeas corpus petitions on behalf of the men imprisoned in Guantánamo seek the most basic relief: a fair hearing with due process in federal court to challenge the factual and legal basis of their detention. Our system of justice is founded upon the notion that the Executive may not detain any individual without these fundamental protections. We are asking you to write your representatives to demand that they not to undo the work of the Supreme Court and that they uphold the rule of law and reject the Graham-Levin Amendment to the Military Authorization Bill." Editor's Note: The purpose of the writ of habeas corpus is to release a person from unlawful imprisonment. The writ addresses whether lawful procedures were used to imprison the person, not whether the person is guilty of a crime. 12-05 Editorials on Priscilla Owen for Federal Judge (EarthJustice.org) Provides Editorials and Commentary from major newspapers. 5-05 Editorials on Priscilla Owen for Federal Judge - Against (Save Our Courts) "A review of Justice Owen's record to date raises serious questions about her commitment to equal justice and civil rights for all Americans. Justice Owen's consistently conservative legal opinions reflect a judicial activism that falls outside the mainstream of judicial thought and seriously risk the continued vigorous enforcement of critical constitutional and statutory rights in the areas of civil rights and civil liberties." 5-05 FEMA Delays (CBS News) "Internal documents which came to light on Tuesday reveal that Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown waited until about five hours after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast before he asked his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region." "Brown, in asking Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff to have workers sent to the hurricane zone, is also said to have given the workers two days to arrive." "The airline industry says the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon." "Fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi were urged by FEMA not to send trucks or emergency workers into the disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments." 9-05 Gas Prices at Record High (ABC News) "Retail gas prices hit another record high over the past three weeks, mirroring a rapid increase in the cost of crude oil, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday." "The average price for all three grades rose nearly 20 cents to $2.53 in the three weeks ending Aug. 12, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country. The figures were not adjusted for inflation." 8-05 How the Bush Administration Has Allowed Torture (Newsweek) "In September 2002, former CIA Counterterrorism chief Cofer Black testified before Congress that 'there was a before 9/11, and there was an a fter 9/11. After 9/11 the gloves came off.' Nowhere did the Bush administration make that distinction more sharply than on the topic of torture. Now, with questions about secret prisons in the air and major torture legislation looming, a look back at that long road that led from the attacks on America to the abuses at Abu Ghraib." 11-05 How the U.S. Supreme Court Works (BBC News) "The Supreme Court is the highest court in the US. Its decisions cannot be appealed and can only be changed by another Supreme Court decision or a constitutional amendment." 6-05 Libby - Charges Against "Scooter" Libby (C-Span) Provides a copy of the indictment. 10-05 Libby - Timeline on Libby Indictment (Washington Post) Provides a timeline from February 2002 to the present to show what was said and done related to a top White House official leaking to the press the identity of a CIA undercover operative. The timeline clarifies why a grand jury indicted "Scooter" Libby, a top Bush administration official. 11-05 Libby Indicted (CBS News) "[Special prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald spoke to reporters at the Justice Department, following the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, after a two-year investigation." "Libby became the first high-ranking White House official in decades to be criminally charged while still in office." " 'It's important that a CIA officer's identity be protected, that it be protected not just for the officer, but for the nation's security,' the prosecutor said. 'Mr. Libby was the first official known to have told a reporter.' " 10-05 Libby Indicted (Guardian Unlimited) "The Bush presidency was profoundly damaged yesterday when Lewis Libby, a top White House official who helped push for the Iraq invasion, was charged with obstruction of justice, lying to the FBI and committing perjury before a grand jury." "Mr Libby immediately resigned his post as chief of staff to the vice-president, Dick Cheney. The president's own chief political adviser, Karl Rove, escaped indictment, but was warned that he was still under investigation in the case - a 2003 intelligence leak at the heart of the administration's case for going to war in Iraq." 10-05 Libby Indicted - Timeline (MSNBC News) "[Special prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald spoke to reporters at the Justice Department, following the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, after a two-year investigation." "Libby became the first high-ranking White House official in decades to be criminally charged while still in office." " 'It's important that a CIA officer's identity be protected, that it be protected not just for the officer, but for the nation's security,' the prosecutor said. 'Mr. Libby was the first official known to have told a reporter.' " 10-05 Libby Indictment - The Heart of the Issue (Christian Science Monitor) "At its heart lie questions about the Bush administration's case for war against Iraq. On Jan. 28, 2003, in his State of the Union address, President Bush included these 16 words: 'The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.' " "The implication was that Iraq was developing a nuclear-weapons program. But US intelligence officials had by then - and have since - expressed doubts about that claim. In July 2003, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador to two African countries and Iraq, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times disputing Mr. Bush's statement." "The CIA, he wrote, sent him to Niger in 2002 to determine if Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Africa. He concluded no. One week after Mr. Wilson's op-ed, syndicated columnist Robert Novak reported that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked as 'an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.' " "At issue is whether Mr. Novak's government sources blew her cover as a CIA agent, in violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982.11-05 Libby a Surprising Figure in CIA Leak Probe (Washington Post) "He also built a reputation in Washington as a self-effacing public servant, more interested in service than power, more interested in dealing with terrorism than pushing a political agenda. 'Despite what you read, Scooter Libby is not an ideologue,' said another longtime friend who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 'He was very much a pragmatist.' " "It is for this reason that those who know him are astonished that a quiet guy who writes fiction and is interested in poetry, and who strove to stay under the radar screen, is now viewed as a guy who talked too much to reporters, and who concocted a story to cover up his role in the revealing of Plame." 11-05 Libby, Missing Weapons, and the Coverup (International Herald Tribune) "The five-count indictment handed up on Friday against I. Lewis Libby Jr., accusing the vice president's chief of staff of lying to a grand jury in the Valerie Plame case, has left a lot of questions unanswered about which government official was responsible for outing a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer after her husband questioned one of the central justifications for the war in Iraq. But its account of the lengths to which the White House went in 2003 to quash talk of faulty intelligence on Iraq still does not answer the biggest question of all: How that intelligence, most of it meager and old and some of it flat wrong, was used by the White House to justify going to war." 10-05 Moderates Growing Stronger (CBS News) "In a presidency marked by partisan polarization, this may go down as the week of the ascendant moderates — first on judicial nominees and now on embryonic stem cell research." "The stem-cell legislation, passed by the House with a bipartisan majority and headed for likely passage in the Senate later this spring, would expand federal funding for research, a position President Bush vehemently opposes. He has promised his first presidential veto, after an extraordinary stretch without wielding that pen." 5-05 Murrow, Edward R. (PBS.org) "From the opening days of World War II through his death in 1965, Murrow had an unparalleled influence on broadcast journalism. His voice was universally recognized, and a generation of radio and television newsmen emulated his style. Murrow's pioneering television documentaries have more than once been credited with changing history, and to this day his name is synonymous with courage and perseverance in the search for truth." "His belief in journalism as an active part of the political process and a necessary tool within democracy has forever altered the politics and everyday life of the American people." 11-05 NBC: FEMA Almost Stopped Preparing for Hurricanes (MSNBC News) "A government document obtained by NBC News shows just how radically the focus shifted to terrorism. It is dated July 2004 and lists 222 upcoming FEMA and homeland security exercises scheduled to prepare for national emergencies. Only two involve hurricanes." 9-05 Non-Partisan Lawsuit to Repair Ohio Elections System (BusinessWire.com) "Seeking to redress decades-old Constitutional defects in the way Ohio conducts federal elections, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Toledo-Lucas County, and more than a dozen Ohio citizens today filed a historic, non-partisan lawsuit against the State of Ohio." "Filed in federal court in Toledo, the complaint chronicles deficiencies over more than three decades, including widespread problems with the voter registration system, the absentee and provisional ballot processes, the training of poll workers, the organization of polling places and precincts, and the allocation of voting machines. The lawsuit seeks to compel the state to uphold its constitutional obligation to provide for the voting-related needs of its citizens in time for the November 2006 general election. The relief sought would require the state to repair the problems at all stages of the electoral process that have disenfranchised and overly burdened Ohio voters and made the ability to vote and be counted vary widely from county to county." 7-05 O'Connor, Sandra Day - Immense Power (MSNBC News) "Never as consistently conservative as those on the right would have liked, but sometimes providing the decisive fifth vote in cases dear to the hearts of conservatives, such as her vote in 2002 to approve Ohio's school voucher plan, O'Connor, 75, has wielded immense power in her years on the court." 7-05 O'Connor, Sandra Day - Justice in the Balance (CBS News) "CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen said O'Connor's departure is 'far more significant' than the conservative Rehnquist's would have been." " 'She was the pivotal "swing" vote on many of the most contentious issues of the day, from affirmative action to abortion rights, from campaign-finance reform to federal disability access law, from gay rights to the death penalty,' said Cohen." 7-05 Past Presidential Inaugurations (Awesome Library) Provides links to facts and pictures. 1-05 Peter Jennings and Lung Cancer (ABC News) "ABC News anchors said they hope if anything positive can be taken from Jennings' death, it is a greater awareness of the dangers of smoking." 08-05 Politicians: Guard Stretched Thin (CBS News) "The National Guard is stretched so thin by simultaneous assignments in Iraq and the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast that leaders in statehouses and Congress say it is time to reconsider how the force is used." 9-05 Poll: Katrina Response Inadequate (CBS News) "Americans think the response to Hurricane Katrina was inadequate, and spread the blame around all levels of government. President George W. Bush finds disapproval on his handling of the matter, too -- and the public now shows diminished confidence in his abilities to handle a crisis or provide leadership, as well as in the government’s ability to protect the country." 9-05 Postage Stamps Price Change on January 8th (MSNBC News) "The Postal Service will begin selling a new 39-cent stamp portraying the Statue of Liberty and the American flag on Thursday to be used when the postal rate hike goes into effect Jan. 8." 12-05 Priscilla Owen for Federal Judge - For and Against (CNN News) "To President Bush and other supporters, Priscilla Owen is, in the president's words, 'a woman of integrity ... known to be a fair and impartial judge who strives to interpret the law fairly.' " "To her opponents, the 50-year-old Texas Supreme Court justice is a 'judicial activist ... (whose) record shows a bias in favor of government secrecy and business interests, and against the environment, victims of discrimination and medical malpractice,' in the words of Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee." 5-05 Privately Funded Travel by Legislators by State (ABC News) Provides how much was spent by private organizations to fund the travel of legislators. 6-05 Report: FBI Protected Killers (CBS News) "A House committee concluded Thursday that the FBI shielded from prosecution known killers and other criminals whom it used as informants to investigate organized crime in New England." 11-03 Report: Tenet Could Face Reprimand (CBS News) "CIA Director Porter Goss must decide whether to heed the recommendation of his top watchdog to hold disciplinary reviews for current and former officials who were involved in faulty intelligence efforts before the Sept. 11 attacks." 8-05 Report: Tenet Could Face Reprimand (Guardian Unlimited) "The former CIA director George Tenet is among more than a dozen current and former officials who could be subject to disciplinary proceedings over the agency's performance before the September 11 attacks." 8-05 Samuel Alito, Bush Nominee for Supreme Court (Wikipedia.org) Provides a profile. 10-05 Secretary of State Role (Christian Science Monitor) "As Condoleezza Rice faces confirmation hearing Tuesday, history offers many models." 1-05 State of the Union Speeches (ABC News) "On Jan. 8, 1790, President George Washington gave the first of what would become an annual message to Congress by speaking before both the House and Senate meeting in a joint session. Eleven years later, President Thomas Jefferson thought it was too 'kingly' to give oral presentations. He started sending a written message to each house of Congress, which was reprinted by newspapers so the American people could read it." "For the next 112 years, presidents submitted their assessments of the state of the union in writing. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson revived the oral presentation to Congress. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge was the first president to have his speech broadcast on radio. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman was the first to deliver it on television." 2-05 Study: Minorities Arrested More During Traffic Stops (ABC News) "Black, Hispanic and white motorists are equally likely to be pulled over by police, but blacks and Hispanics are much more likely to be searched, handcuffed, arrested and subjected to force or the threat of it, a Justice Department study has found." "The study, by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, was completed last April and posted on the agency's Web site after Bush administration officials disagreed over whether a press release should mention the racial disparities." 8-05 Supreme Court Nominations - Qualifications (Historynet.com - Garrow) "The last four decades have witnessed a fundamental transformation in the types of men, and now women, who exercise the broad and untrammeled judicial power of the U.S. Supreme Court." "On today's U.S. Supreme Court, judicial activists hold all nine seats, and only the substance of a particular case, rather than the justices' over-arching principles, determines whether the court's assertiveness is pigeonholed as 'liberal' or 'conservative' by media commentators." 10-05 Top FEMA Officials Not Experienced (MSNBC News) "Five of eight top Federal Emergency Management Agency officials came to their posts with virtually no experience in handling disasters and now lead an agency whose ranks of seasoned crisis managers have thinned dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." 9-05

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