WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
All here. Too bad the GOP Congress will simply ignore its responsibility to hold him accountable. Props to Charlie Savage of The Boston Globe for taking the lead on this story.
LONDON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday he had made the case to President George W. Bush for the United States to send more troops to Iraq to deal with the aftermath of the war.
Nice try at rehabilitating his ruined reputation. Sure, things might have gone better with 500,000 troops, but that doesn't change the fact that the whole invasion, conquest and occupation was unnecessary.
A long-running effort by the Bush administration to send home many of the terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been stymied in part because of concern among United States officials that the prisoners may not be treated humanely by their own governments, officials said.
So they're stuck there indefinitely. But it's for their own good.
Watching Livan Hernandez pitch in the Cards/Nats game reminded us of when the Giants traded him to the former Expos a few years back. The San Francisco Chronicle headline:
Four bar owners want enforcement suspended, damages and the law clarified. Here's what we'd like to know: Can we buy a sandwich and fries at, say, Bourbon Boys' and take it into Alligator Ray's right next door to eat? Ray's wouldn't be serving the food.
MKHUZE GAME RESERVE, South Africa (Reuters) - Humans and big beasts have lived side by side in Africa since the dawn of our species but rapid population growth is now stoking friction with dangerous animals, experts say. "In general terms, I think with increasing human populations we will inevitably see an increase in conflict between humans and wildlife," said Jeff McNeely, chief scientist with the Swiss-based World Conservation Union.
All here. Funny how in science-related stories people become "humans."
Arkansas junior guard Ronnie Brewer will announce his future plans in a news conference at 5 p.m. Thursday (4-27). KNWA/KARK will carry the announcement live. Brewer plans to announce whether he'll be entering his name in the NBA draft.
These early departures, if that's what happens, always remind us what Tom Izzo said about them a few years back (paraphrasing): If I could have gotten away with it, I'd still be in college.
It's official. Gov. Mike Huckabee is refusing to provide routine media services to the Arkansas Times. The newspaper has been stricken from the e-mail lists for routine news releases, public scheduling and other items widely disseminated to members of the public and the media.
Don't miss the comments. This will backfire on Huck. Romenesko picked it up.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the credibility of the U.N. Security Council was as stake as it decides how to deal with Iran's likely rejection of a deadline to bring its nuclear program in line with international demands. "In order to be credible, the Security Council, of course, has to act," Rice told reporters at a NATO foreign ministers' meeting.
The problem here is that she and the White House she serves have no credibility. Flashback to September 2003 in re Iraq:
"The French plan which would somehow try to transfer sovereignty to an unelected people just isn't workable," U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told reporters.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A diver hired by the city to retrieve golf balls from a lake was attacked by a 9-foot alligator that bit the man's arm, authorities said.
Sure, Elliott Yamin isn't old enough to remember it -- he probably thought it was by Donnie Hathaway -- but you'd think someone on "American Idol" could have mentioned that it was a Leon Russell song.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The multimillion-dollar lobbying effort to repeal the federal estate tax has been aggressively led by 18 super-wealthy families, according to a report released today by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy at a press conference in Washington, D.C. The report details for the first time the vast money, influence and deceptive marketing techniques behind the rhetoric in the campaign to repeal the tax.
They're running one of their lying ads here a lot. Learn the truth the Waltons don't want you to know. The full press release is here. The full report(pdf) is enlightening, too. via Warwick.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Tuesday ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the pump. He also halted for the summer the purchase of crude oil for the government's emergency reserve.
Relax pollution controls. This is kind of like his solution a few years ago when there were lots of wildfires out west: Open up more federal lands to logging.
That wasn't easy to write. But, credit where credit is due:
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- President Bush, rebutting lawmakers advocating a law-and-order approach to immigration, said Monday that those who are calling for massive deportation of the estimated 11 million foreigners living illegally in the United States are not being realistic. "Massive deportation of the people here is not going to work," Bush said as a Congress divided over immigration returned from a two-week recess. "It's just not going to work."
This issue splits the GOP base. W was speaking to businesspeople, who want cheap labor. The xenophobic Minutemen were left to protest outside the event.
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) -- Police hunted Monday for chimpanzees that escaped from a Sierra Leone preserve and mauled a group of American and local sightseers, killing one man and injuring four people.
Meanwhile, AP follows up on the Washington bear attack. It turns out the "victim" was chasing the bear -- and caught it.
Everyone sentient knew, or has since decided, they were lying. For those who weren't sentient, or were giving them the benefit of the doubt, this proves that they knew they were lying when they lied. Josh explains why.
Congress is going to hand the operation of the Internet over to AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Democrats are helping. It's a shame. Don’t look now, but the House Commerce Committee next Wednesday is likely to vote to turn control of the Internet over to AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner and what’s left of the telecommunications industry. It will be one of those stories the MSM writes about as “little noticed” because they haven’t covered it.
Benton County deputies discovered a rare find Thursday when they went to a Rogers home to arrest a man wanted on drug charges. ... Investigators found 32 grams of opium valued at $180 to $200 per quarter gram, [Sheriff Keith] Ferguson said at a news conference Friday.
MIAMI (Reuters) - A 76-year-old man claiming to be a doctor went door-to-door in a Florida neighborhood offering free breast exams, and was charged with sexually assaulting two women who accepted the offer, police said on Thursday.
"Last year someone saw a mosquito," said a bemused Paul Attagootak, a hunter living in the hamlet of Resolute Bay some 2,100 miles northwest of Ottawa and 555 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Wednesday at 9, 10 p.m., respectively. Thanks to Tom Shannon, GM, for that info -- technical problem, he said. In the past 15 minutes they have restored FOX programming, so it looks like "American Idol" is a go tonight.
See Atrios here. Remember 2001? Remember all the hand-wringing about "why do they hate us?" after 9/11? Well, one reason they hated us was because so many of us didn't even know they hated us. And remember what CNN devoted so much time to covering in the summer of 2001? Chandra Levy. This is a fifth-consecutive-day story.
Equity Broadcasting's KPBI, what passes for a FOX affiliate in this neck of the woods, for some reason ran UPN programming tonight, depriving Northwest Arkansas viewers of "Prison Break" and "24." We hadn't missed an episode of "PB" or of (this season's) "24." We asked the station GM why via e-mail; we don't expect a reply. Is that OK with FOX? Ditto asking FOX.
Michelle Malkin and her idiotic acolytes are plumbinguncharted depths. There should be consequences for such cowardly behavior. Of course, because they are cowards, their death threats are as empty as their souls and minds, but if someone threatens your life, you are quite justified in taking their threat seriously and defending yourself.
In The American Prospect, Robert Dreyfuss overturns the rock where Dick Cheney's staff hides. There was speculation earlier that W would jettison the unpopular veep. Don't bet on it. Why would Cheney leave? He gets to make all the decisions and has no accountability. Who'd give that up?
In just three days, we have won €1 million and $2.5 million in separate Dutch lotteries, according to our e-mail. Oddly enough, the e-mail messages originated in Slovakia and Italy, respectively.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Protection of marriage amendment? Check. Anti-flag burning legislation? Check. New abortion limits? Check. Between now and the November elections, Republicans are penciling in plans to take action on social issues important to religious conservatives, the foundation of the GOP base, as they defend their congressional majority.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The black bear believed to have attacked a family at a popular mountaintop campground, killing a 6-year-old girl, was caught on Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy hiking with his family was attacked Saturday by a mountain lion. The cat was later killed by a wildlife officer.
Bear, lion -- our money's on a wolf attack next, maybe a gator.
The Union of Concerned Scientists describes the effects of what our Dr. Strangeloves are considering doing to Iran -- and Afghanistan, Pakistan, India etc. via MyDD.
Due to technical problems with the KHOG transmitter, Channel 29 is off the air. Cable and satellite viewers will see no loss of service, but we apologize to our over-the-air viewers. KHOG should be up and operational by Wednesday. KHBS, Channel 40 is unaffected. We’re very sorry for any inconvenience, and we thank you for your patience.
Sorry, indeed. No "Desperate Housewives" for us. Starting May 1, this crap won't be a problem, because they'll be available online. At least they'll be back for "Lost," if we can believe their "important notice."
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System doesn't encourage its members to call phone sex lines. But that changed this week, thanks to a typo. The retirement system sent out letters to retirees and active teachers explaining how to name beneficiaries in the event of their death, said David Malone, the association's executive director. Some of the pages in the letter listed the correct toll-free number associated with the program, he said. But one page listed a toll-free number that brought callers to a recording of a seductive woman's voice. "Hi, baby! Do you want to massage my feet or suck my toes?" the woman asks.
This is what's known in the trade as a back-in lede, and not a very good one at that.
"Out of hundreds of retired generals out there ..."
We didn't think Craig was smart enough to think up this spin on his own. We were right. What about that, Dana Priest?
Certainly there are not hundreds of retired generals who were involved with Iraq planning or execution the way generals Eaton, Neubold and Batiste were. Also, despite the recent attention, it is unusual for military officers to speak up like this, particularly at that rank. It's fundamentally against the culture, as it should be really. Military officers have to accept subordination to civilian control and authority or we're in big, big trouble. That makes these statements all the more interesting.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water, and a precarious perch at the heart of Iraq's turbulent future. ... State Department spokesman Justin Higgins defended the size of the embassy, old and new, saying it's indicative of the work facing the United States here. "It's somewhat self-evident that there's going to be a fairly sizable commitment to Iraq by the U.S. government in all forms for several years," he said in Washington.
We can't expect our bureaucrats to live on our permanent bases. They're in the middle of the desert.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A controversial Texas program to send undercover agents into bars to arrest drunks has been halted after a firestorm of protest from the public.
The grand jury in Benton County has handed up an indictment charging a state trooper with negligent homicide in the fatal shooting of a mentally disabled guy he mistook for a fugitive. Link.
We believe that our country was founded on the principles of freedom, the traditional family, and faith in the Almighty God. We believe that those freedoms guaranteed by our country's founding documents, those traditional family values so long held dear by our society, and the faith referred to time and again by Washington, Adams, Lincoln, and practically every other political[sic] in our country's history are the truths that made this country great... and those truths are fading fast.
Nothing against these folks. They can believe anything they want, and wingnuts are fond of the notion that the founders were wingnuts and the country was founded as a Christian nation, ignoring the First Amendment. Whether Washington was even a Christian is unclear. What is known about his actual religious beliefs is here. Adams was a Unitarian. They don't mention Jefferson, but his beliefs don't exactly match Southern Baptist doctrine. And here's what Wikipedia says about Lincoln's so-called faith:
[H]e never joined his parents' church, or any other church, and as a youth ridiculed religion.
Here we go again. With a congressional election looming in November, President Bush’s support continues to erode. ... So it must be time for a nuclear war scare.
The Page Six scandal prompts Joe Conason to reminisce about Rupert Murdoch.
On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.
Maybe we'll all wake up someday and learn that this was all a bad dream. Because none of it seems real.
Disease-mongering promotes non-existent diseases and exaggerates mild problems to boost profits, the Public Library of Science Medicine reported. Researchers at Newcastle University in Australia said firms were putting healthy people at risk by medicalising conditions such as menopause. But the pharmaceutical industry denied it invented diseases.
Of course it did. The report singles out restless leg and irritable bowel. They should ban prescription drug ads again.
Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman wouldn't have anything to do with this, would they?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.
They're going to court to protect their right to hate and discriminate against gay people.
Christian activist Gregory S. Baylor ... says he supports policies that protect people from discrimination based on race and gender. But he draws a distinction that infuriates gay rights activists when he argues that sexual orientation is different — a lifestyle choice, not an inborn trait. By equating homosexuality with race, Baylor said, tolerance policies put conservative evangelicals in the same category as racists. He predicts the government will one day revoke the tax-exempt status of churches that preach homosexuality is sinful or that refuse to hire gays and lesbians. "Think how marginalized racists are," said Baylor, who directs the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom. "If we don't address this now, it will only get worse."
Yeah, the racists can't catch a break anymore. A look inside the mind of a wingnut.
"I wanted people to see what some of those statements were based on. I wanted people to see the truth. I thought it made sense for people to see the truth. That's why I declassified the document."
ABC will make "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" available free online the day after they air on TV. "Alias" and "Commander in Chief," too. And Kiefer Sutherland has signed up for three more seasons of "24."
We should hope so. Journalists, even op-ed writers, don't selectively boldface parts of material when they quote it. This blogging practice annoys us. Please curtail it (as if).
Sy Hersh reports that they're making plans now. It's hard to tell how much this fearmongering about Iran is cynical manipulation in the context of trying to hold onto power in the midterms and how much is paranoid fantasy. In any case, the people doing the planning have the power to get a lot of people killed -- ours and theirs -- and are apparently hell-bent on doing so.
[S]ecret information that supports their policies, particularly about the Iraq war, has surfaced everywhere from the U.N. Security Council to major newspapers and magazines. Much of the information that the administration leaked or declassified, however, has proved to be incomplete, exaggerated, incorrect or fabricated.
These clowns are as dishonest as the day is long. People are finally figuring it out. If Democrats retake the House or Senate in November and get subpoena power, heads will roll.
Such comparisons are usually overblown, but in this case, it's inescapable:
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- Government lawyers tried to confiscate the gold tooth caps known as "grills" from the mouths of two men facing drug charges, saying the dental work qualified as seizable assets. They had them in a vehicle headed to a dental clinic by the time defense attorneys persuaded a judge to halt the procedure.
For the second week running, because there's a thunderstorm over in Oklahoma. Actually, last week KFSM pre-empted at least two hours of prime-time programming for wall-to-wall coverage of storms that never produced a tornado, but they taped and rebroadcast "CSI" and "Without a Trace" starting at 12:37 a.m. Oh, well. CBS will rerun them a few times. But having gone live for more than an hour last week they pretty much went into tech meltdown by 9:30, when the storms fizzled out, superimposing their webcam shot (a black rectangle) on the radar, sputtering and spending the last 15 minutes justifying their coverage. At least it looks like they might have a real tornado(es) this week. Or maybe not. Here, we're about to get lightning, so we'll unplug the gear. LATER: They showed the last five minutes of "CSI." Then they interrupted and pre-empted "WaT" for about 15-20 minutes for a "life-threatening" storm. Grrrr.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- President Bush, told by a critic he should be ashamed of his policies, defended the government's secret eavesdropping program Thursday and said he would not apologize for listening in on the phone and e-mail conversations of Americans talking to people with suspected al-Qaida links. A man who identified himself as Harry Taylor rose at a forum here to tell Bush that he's never felt more ashamed of the leadership of his country. He said Bush has asserted his right to tap phone calls without a warrant, to arrest people and hold them without charges and to revoke a woman's right to an abortion, among other things.
Just as we suspected. Scooter Libby says Bush, Cheney authorized him to leak classified info to Judith Miller, Bob Woodward. Murray Waas (who else) has the details for National Journal. They leaked secrets from the National Intelligence Estimate that would bolster their case for war with Iraq while concealing a summary of the same NIE that demonstrates that Bush knew some of it was shaky.
Does Katie Couric have the gravitas to read the evening news on CBS? We aim to find out. We've always been partial to ABC News, but that was mainly because we preferred Peter Jennings. Couric deserves a shot, especially when the competition is Elizabeth Vargas and Brian Williams. Eric Boehlert provides some perspective.
BOSTON (AP) -- Lawmakers have approved a sweeping health care reform package that dramatically expands coverage for the state's uninsured, a bill that backers hope will become a model for the rest of the nation. The plan would use a combination of financial incentives and penalties to expand access to health care over the next three years and extend coverage to the state's estimated 500,000 uninsured.
If the GOP (and many Democrats) wasn't in the bag for PhRMA and the managed-care industry we could have universal health care.
Gene highlights the racist, lowlife cowards who pass for radio "personalities" for their attacks on the heroic Jill Carroll, presumably because she gives a damn about Iraqis. Joe foresees the aftermath of the DeLay resignation vis-a-vis its reformative effect on the corrupt GOP-controlled House:
Obviously, we should only expect more of the same.
(Stealing this image from Atrios, for lack of tech expertise.) Righteous:
Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay shocked supporters Monday night by announcing that he is retiring from the House that he once ruled with an iron fist rather than face defeat in November. DeLay told the Galveston Daily News and Time magazine that he would withdraw from his re-election bid and move to the Washington D.C. area. The former U.S. House majority leader cited internal polling and not the swirl of criminal indictment and innuendo as his reason for quitting.
Jury decides he's eligible for death penalty. He certainly had murderous intentions. Whether he was competent to carry them out is questionable. But he clearly is aspiring for martyr status. We'd probably vote to let him rot in jail for life just to spite him.
Atrios noticed that the Social Security trustees' annual report on the trust funds -- the statutory deadline is April 1 -- is overdue. He thinks the productivity gains in recent years should show that the funds are solvent forever. In any case, we're inclined to agree with Josh: "Something's up."
Now that the GOP has been transformed by the rise of the South, the trauma of terrorism and George W. Bush's conviction that God wanted him to be president, a deeper conclusion can be drawn: The Republican Party has become the first religious party in U.S. history. We have had small-scale theocracies in North America before -- in Puritan New England and later in Mormon Utah. Today, a leading power such as the United States approaches theocracy when it meets the conditions currently on display: an elected leader who believes himself to speak for the Almighty, a ruling political party that represents religious true believers, the certainty of many Republican voters that government should be guided by religion and, on top of it all, a White House that adopts agendas seemingly animated by biblical worldviews.
Read the rest. The end-timers running our country constitute a clear and present danger to the entire human race.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military deaths declined in the Iraq war for a fifth straight month in March even as insurgent attacks continue unabated with Iraqis increasingly the targets.
