News Roundup

Rehnquist surprises - supports equal rights in family leave act

By a 6-3 vote, the court said public employees who are denied requested leave may later sue their state employers for money damages under the FMLA. The decision helps ensure that the nation's 5 million state workers will get time off to care for ailing relatives.

Eleven from Congress ask Ashcroft to clear S.C. protester

Bursey, 54, of Lexington, faces trial June 24 in Columbia on a federal charge of refusing to leave a restricted area at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, where the president was visiting Oct. 24. Bursey carried a sign that read, "No War For Oil."

The letter to Ashcroft, released by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said there is "no plausible argument that can be made that Mr. Bursey was threatening the president by holding a sign which the president found politically offensive."

US looks away as new ally tortures Islamists

"People have less freedom here than under Brezhnev. The irony is that the US Republican party is supporting the remnants of Brezhnevism as part of their fight against Islamic extremism."

Independent human rights groups estimate that there are more than 600 politically motivated arrests a year in Uzbekistan, and 6,500 political prisoners, some tortured to death. According to a forensic report commissioned by the British embassy, in August two prisoners were even boiled to death.

Pentagon was repeatedly warned over policing Iraq

Robert Perito, a former diplomat who had designed a similar police mission in Haiti nine years ago, put together a detailed plan on how to deal with postwar lawlessness, warning that regular troops, trained to shoot to kill or retreat, were not right for the job.

He wrote a report for the United States Institute for Peace and briefed the defence policy board, a Pentagon advisory panel, in February. He said the board had appeared to agree with his conclusions but no action was taken.

Similar warnings and recommendations were made by experts at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Atlantic Council, and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

U.S. has gained little if Bush lied about reason for war

War supporter and Blackhawk Down author - I can imagine no greater breach of public trust than to mislead a country into war. A strong case might have been made to go after Hussein just because he posed a potential threat to us and the region, because of his support for suicide bombers, and because of his ruthless oppression of his own people. But this is not the case our President chose to make... When the President of the United States addresses the nation and the world, I expect the spinning to stop. He represents not just a party or a cause, but the American people... I trusted Bush, and unless something big develops on the weapons front in Iraq soon, it appears as though I was fooled by him.

US finds evidence of WMD at last - It's own buried in a field near Maryland

Even more embarrassing for the Pentagon, there was no documentation about the various biological agents disposed of at the US bio-defence centre at Fort Detrick. Iraq's failure to come up with paperwork proving the destruction of its biological arsenal was portrayed by the US as evidence of deception in the run-up to the war.

Neo-cons move quickly on Iran

Reports that top officials in the administration of President George W Bush will meet this week to discuss US policy toward Iran, including possible efforts to overthrow its government, mark a major advance in what has been an 18-month campaign by neo-conservatives in and out of the administration.

Liberal Oasis Interviews Sidney Blumenthal

22 million new jobs under President Clinton. 3 million lost under Bush.

The greatest surplus in our history versus the greatest deficit.

Money to spend on education and health care and new and innovative proposals.

Under Bush, cuts. The worst fiscal crises of the states. And destruction of education programs and health care institutions throughout the country, as a result of his programs.

Which are not simply misguided but deliberate. They intend to do this. The Democrats need to say that.

And they need to put it into historical perspective. And that’s why I hope my book is valuable.

Talking Points Memo -
Committee Chairman Kevin Bailey (D-Houston/Pasadena) and his staff have now reviewed the tapes of the command center which the Texas Department of Public Safety set up next door to House Speaker Tom Craddick's office to coordinate the manhunt for the runaway Dems.

It turns out that long-time DeLay aide Jim Ellis doesn't show up on the tape. But someone else does: Texas' Homeland Security Czar, Assistant Attorney General Jay Kimbrough. "We don't know how much of a role he played," Bailey told the Houston Chronicle, "but it does appear he was very heavily involved in the process." Bailey says Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) also popped in from time to time.

Crossfire Transcript with Blumenthal as guest

Tax-Cut Skepticism

The start-and-stop formulas, with incentives phasing in and phasing out on a schedule that was dictated by the scramble for votes -- not by any economic rationale -- make this even more of a gamble than the Bush tax cut of 2001. That one, as we all know, was supposed to boost the economy, but it has not prevented the loss of more than 2 million jobs.

The public is plainly skeptical about the medicine this administration keeps prescribing. The most stunning evidence of these doubts is found in last week's NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. Only 29 percent said they agreed with the statement that tax cuts are the best way to increase economic growth and create jobs, while 64 percent said there are better ways to improve the economy.

Only 25 percent said they thought the Bush tax cuts of 2001 have helped the economy, with most of the others saying they had no real effect. When those polled were offered five alternative ways of stimulating the current economy, the most popular option was to give financial aid to state governments facing budget deficits. A $20 billion bailout is something Bush accepted only reluctantly, as the price of gaining one or two Senate votes.

How Sweet It Is: Respect for Clinton rebounds among Americans

Only Abraham Lincoln (chosen by 15%) and John F. Kennedy (13%) finished ahead of Clinton (11%) in the April poll, which asked Americans who was "the greatest" president. George W. Bush managed to tie Clinton for third place.

In 9/11's wake, Americans seem more focused on elected officeholders' work than their personal lives. When asked to name the USA's "most important problem," 52% of those responding to a May Gallup Poll said it is the economy. Just 8% said it is terrorism.

This may explain why the number of people who view Clinton as the best president has more than doubled in the past two years — and why Bush managed only to tie Clinton in this ranking. Many Americans are once again worried about pocketbook issues, and many of them remember the Clinton years' good economic times.

Dick Morris trashes The Clinton Wars in incredibly vicious attacks

Looks like he's decided Hillary won't give him a job.

Seeing Islam as 'Evil' Faith, Evangelicals Seek Converts

At the grass roots of evangelical Christianity, many are now absorbing the antipathy for Islam that emerged last year with the incendiary comments of ministers. The sharp language, from religious leaders like Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Jerry Vines, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has drawn rebukes from Muslims and Christian groups alike. Mr. Graham called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion, and Mr. Vines called Muhammad, Islam's founder and prophet, a "demon-possessed pedophile."

In evangelical churches and seminaries across the country, lectures and books criticizing Islam and promoting strategies for Muslim conversions are gaining currency. More than a dozen recently published critiques of Islam are now available in Christian bookstores.

The oratorical tone of these authors and lecturers varies, but they share the basic presumption that the world's two largest religions are headed for a confrontation, with Christianity representing what is good, true and peaceful, and Islam what is evil, false and violent.

Why Was The NY Times Pro-War? WMD's, Where Did they Get Their Info? - Crooked Exile Leader Ahmad Chalabi!

A little fact that leaked out between the lines in an email battle. The bottom of the column has another interesting point I'll repeat here:

One of the lingering mysteries of the Jayson Blair affair is why the people whose quotes were fabricated or plagiarized didn't complain to the New York Times.

The Associated Press managing editors surveyed 3,000 people through its Credibility Roundtables Project, and many people said they don't contact newspapers about mistakes. "What's the point?" said Deborah Hudgins of Manchester, Md. "Do they really care?"

"Why waste the time," said John Martin Meek of Green Valley, Ariz., adding that the local paper has never responded to his calls or e-mails. Newspaper errors, said Karen Johnson of Otis Orchards, Wash., are really "deliberate embellishments or fabrications to make the story more interesting." Pretty depressing stuff.

No Light In Afghan Tunnel

It takes me awhile to bother with conservative sources but I thought it is interesting that even dittohead rag World Net Daily had a column about our failure in Afghanistan.

More on the Times Being Taken For Fools

Weekly Lowdown -- Permit me a few moments to stop laughing. My God, and these people call themselves journalists? She took the thrust of their WMD coverage from AHMED CHAHABI, the current puppet-ruler-to-be of Iraq? That's like covering Israel solely through press conferences with Arafat. Chalabi had, and has, an even more vested interest in deposing Saddam than Bush, and thus makes Ari Fleischer look like a holy fountain of unmitigated truth.

Arianna Huffington -- Democrats need to go on offensive

The Democratic National Committee's Terry McAuliffe needs to stop worrying about Bush's "Top Gun" landing and start worrying about finding a presidential candidate who isn't afraid to take decisive stands on the party's core issues. If the Democrats can't compete on style, they should at least give it a shot on substance.

After all, the problem isn't that Democrats are on the wrong side of the issues. It's that they are afraid to make an issue of being on the right side - not to mention smack dab in the middle of the mainstream.

Amen.