First glanceThe New York Times reports this morning that, per notes now in special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's hands, Lewis "Scooter" Libby learned of Valerie Plame's identity from Vice President Cheney rather than from journalists, as Libby had previously testified. The Times thus becomes the first to report direct involvement by Cheney in the White House effort to learn more about Joe Wilson -- though the story notes that it's unclear whether either Cheney or Libby knew at the time they discussed Plame that her status was classified. "But any effort by Mr. Libby to steer investigators away from his conversation with Mr. Cheney could be considered by [Fitzgerald] to be an illegal effort to impede the inquiry."
President Bush may or may not take questions today after his Rose Garden statement at 2:55 pm with the head of the Kurdistan regional government (note that Bush has another event, a photo op, scheduled for just 15 minutes later). White House spokesperson Scott McClellan suggested yesterday that Bush's 11:35 am address to a joint armed forces officers’ wives’ luncheon will include some recognition of the looming 2,000 KIA milestone for US troops in Iraq. Tonight, Bush headlines another $1 million fundraiser for the Republican National Committee.
(Is that not the definition of disconnect???)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9749969/
10.24.2005
Frist is Caught in the Lie:
In January 2003, after winning election as majority leader, Frist was asked on CNBC whether his HCA holdings made it difficult for him to push for changes in Medicare, a federal health program for seniors that added to the hospital company's revenue.
"I think really for our viewers it should be understood that I put this into a blind trust," Frist replied. "So as far as I know, I own no HCA stock." He added that the trust was "totally blind. I have no control."
Two weeks before that interview, M. Kirk Scobey Jr., a Frist trustee, informed the senator in writing that one of his trusts had received HCA stock valued at between $15,000 and $50,000.
Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said she was surprised that Frist had ever claimed before this summer's liquidation that he might have owned no HCA stock. "Did he say that? What was he thinking of?" she asked. "How did he know to tell the trustee to sell it [his HCA stake] if he didn't know that he had it in the first place?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102301201_pf.html
"I think really for our viewers it should be understood that I put this into a blind trust," Frist replied. "So as far as I know, I own no HCA stock." He added that the trust was "totally blind. I have no control."
Two weeks before that interview, M. Kirk Scobey Jr., a Frist trustee, informed the senator in writing that one of his trusts had received HCA stock valued at between $15,000 and $50,000.
Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said she was surprised that Frist had ever claimed before this summer's liquidation that he might have owned no HCA stock. "Did he say that? What was he thinking of?" she asked. "How did he know to tell the trustee to sell it [his HCA stake] if he didn't know that he had it in the first place?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102301201_pf.html
Republican Family Values
Embattled Sherwood Raises $26,000
The Hotline's called it "the quietest scandal ever." It's Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Don Sherwood 's legal battle over a $5.5 million assault and battery lawsuit filed by his former mistress, who claims he repeatedly beat her during their five-year relationship.
Sherwood, 64, married and hailing from a rural district around Wilkes-Barre, has admitted the affair with the now 29-year-old woman but denies assaulting her.
Perhaps as a result of this matter, Sherwood's poll ratings have dropped from 60 to 54 percent. But recent reports that a Green Party activist may enter the race next year should doom any Democratic chances of picking up the seat.
Even so, the House GOP leadership must be concerned enough about the little adultery/domestic violence distraction that it's going to the aid of its pal. A review by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington finds that Sherwood's October monthly financial report, filed recently with the Federal Election Commission, indicates his campaign committee received $5,000 contributions from the Keep Our Majority PAC (Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois), Rely on Your Beliefs Fund (Majority Leader Roy Blunt of Missouri), the Freedom Project ( John A. Boehner of Ohio) and TOMPAC ( Thomas M. Reynolds of New York).
Sherwood's campaign also received $2,500 from the PRYCE Project PAC ( Deborah Pryce of Ohio) and the Prosperity Helps Inspire Liberty PAC ( Phil English of Pennsylvania); and $1,000 from the Help America's Leaders PAC ( Harold Rogers of Kentucky).
That's $26,000 from GOP leadership PACs. Sherwood probably won't need it for his campaign, but CREW executive director Melanie Sloan notes the money can be spent on legal expenses as well as campaign expenses. Anything to support family values.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102300948.html
The Hotline's called it "the quietest scandal ever." It's Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Don Sherwood 's legal battle over a $5.5 million assault and battery lawsuit filed by his former mistress, who claims he repeatedly beat her during their five-year relationship.
Sherwood, 64, married and hailing from a rural district around Wilkes-Barre, has admitted the affair with the now 29-year-old woman but denies assaulting her.
Perhaps as a result of this matter, Sherwood's poll ratings have dropped from 60 to 54 percent. But recent reports that a Green Party activist may enter the race next year should doom any Democratic chances of picking up the seat.
Even so, the House GOP leadership must be concerned enough about the little adultery/domestic violence distraction that it's going to the aid of its pal. A review by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington finds that Sherwood's October monthly financial report, filed recently with the Federal Election Commission, indicates his campaign committee received $5,000 contributions from the Keep Our Majority PAC (Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois), Rely on Your Beliefs Fund (Majority Leader Roy Blunt of Missouri), the Freedom Project ( John A. Boehner of Ohio) and TOMPAC ( Thomas M. Reynolds of New York).
Sherwood's campaign also received $2,500 from the PRYCE Project PAC ( Deborah Pryce of Ohio) and the Prosperity Helps Inspire Liberty PAC ( Phil English of Pennsylvania); and $1,000 from the Help America's Leaders PAC ( Harold Rogers of Kentucky).
That's $26,000 from GOP leadership PACs. Sherwood probably won't need it for his campaign, but CREW executive director Melanie Sloan notes the money can be spent on legal expenses as well as campaign expenses. Anything to support family values.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102300948.html
Abromoff & Reed - A match made in Washington loot...
Here is an excertp, but all the meails published here really need to be read:
From Abramoff to Reed, January 18, 2002 2:28 p.m.:
I have an urgent matter for him. The Choctaws [the Mississippi Choctaws were an Abramoff client] -- who have given literally hundreds of thousands to our candidates and groups - are getting screwed at DoJ [The Department of Justice] on a jail funding . . . We really need some serious swat from Karl [Rove]. I have asked Susan [Ralston] to get me in to see him on this, but if you could mention it, perhaps I could get him the materials and save the need to meet? Thanks Ralph.
Reed to Ambramoff, January 20, 2002 10:57 p.m.:
ok
In addition to broaching the matter with the White House, Abramoff also lobbied Republicans and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, who wrote letters to Attorney General John Ashcroft supporting the jail's funding. Later in 2002, the Department of Justice released the money to the Mississippi Choctaws—another victory for Abramoff and Reed.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1121969,00.html
From Abramoff to Reed, January 18, 2002 2:28 p.m.:
I have an urgent matter for him. The Choctaws [the Mississippi Choctaws were an Abramoff client] -- who have given literally hundreds of thousands to our candidates and groups - are getting screwed at DoJ [The Department of Justice] on a jail funding . . . We really need some serious swat from Karl [Rove]. I have asked Susan [Ralston] to get me in to see him on this, but if you could mention it, perhaps I could get him the materials and save the need to meet? Thanks Ralph.
Reed to Ambramoff, January 20, 2002 10:57 p.m.:
ok
In addition to broaching the matter with the White House, Abramoff also lobbied Republicans and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, who wrote letters to Attorney General John Ashcroft supporting the jail's funding. Later in 2002, the Department of Justice released the money to the Mississippi Choctaws—another victory for Abramoff and Reed.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1121969,00.html
Just as a reminder..
“It’s pretty interesting that all the generals see it the same way, and all the others who have never fired a shot, and are hot to go to war, see it another. … We are about to do something that will ignite a fuse in this region. [We] will rue the day we ever started.”
—Major General Anthony Zinni, (ret.) former chief of US Central Command, October 2002
—Major General Anthony Zinni, (ret.) former chief of US Central Command, October 2002
Miers Recieved "unprecedented" Legal Fees From Bush Campaign Funds
George W. Bush's rising political fortunes provided a windfall for Harriet Miers' law firm.
Campaign records show Bush's Texas gubernatorial campaigns paid Miers a total of $163,000 in legal fees, most of it for work done during the future president's 1998 re-election bid.
Some senators are planning to explore Miers' legal work for Bush during her confirmation process to be the newest Supreme Court justice, but the White House says it won't release any memos detailing that work.
"I'm baffled," said Randall B. Wood, a partner in the Austin firm of Ray, Wood and Bonilla, and former director of Common Cause of Texas. "I've never seen that kind of money spent on a campaign lawyer. It's unprecedented."
Dana Perrino, a White House spokeswoman, said the legal fees to Miers' firm were for routine campaign work, but declined to be more specific. Presidential aides declined to say whether Miers ever worked on researching Bush's past, such as his military record.
Former Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, a Democrat who was defeated handily by Bush in the 1998 campaign, said both the amount and the timing of the payments are curious. In late September, when Miers' firm received the first of two $70,000 payments, Mauro said he trailed Bush in the polls by 35 points.
"If they're spending that kind of money," said Mauro, now an Austin attorney who estimates he spent less than $20,000 on legal fees during the campaign, "they're spending it to protect themselves from something."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051021/ap_on_go_su_co/miers_campaign_windfall
Campaign records show Bush's Texas gubernatorial campaigns paid Miers a total of $163,000 in legal fees, most of it for work done during the future president's 1998 re-election bid.
Some senators are planning to explore Miers' legal work for Bush during her confirmation process to be the newest Supreme Court justice, but the White House says it won't release any memos detailing that work.
"I'm baffled," said Randall B. Wood, a partner in the Austin firm of Ray, Wood and Bonilla, and former director of Common Cause of Texas. "I've never seen that kind of money spent on a campaign lawyer. It's unprecedented."
Dana Perrino, a White House spokeswoman, said the legal fees to Miers' firm were for routine campaign work, but declined to be more specific. Presidential aides declined to say whether Miers ever worked on researching Bush's past, such as his military record.
Former Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, a Democrat who was defeated handily by Bush in the 1998 campaign, said both the amount and the timing of the payments are curious. In late September, when Miers' firm received the first of two $70,000 payments, Mauro said he trailed Bush in the polls by 35 points.
"If they're spending that kind of money," said Mauro, now an Austin attorney who estimates he spent less than $20,000 on legal fees during the campaign, "they're spending it to protect themselves from something."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051021/ap_on_go_su_co/miers_campaign_windfall
In Case Anyone Else Loves Mythbusters as Much as I Do...
Researchers all but zap ancient death ray myth
Attempt to recreate Greek solar weapon creates smoke, but little else
It wasn’t exactly the ancient siege of Syracuse, but rather a curious quest for scientific validation.
According to sparse historical writings, the Greek mathematician Archimedes torched a fleet of invading Roman ships by reflecting the sun’s powerful rays with a mirrored device made of glass or bronze.
More than 2,000 years later, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona set out to recreate Archimedes’ fabled death ray Saturday in an experiment sponsored by the Discovery Channel program “MythBusters.”
Their attempts to set fire to an 80-year-old fishing boat using their own versions of the device, however, failed to either prove or dispel the myth of the solar death ray.
The MIT team’s first attempt with their contraption made of 300 square feet of bronze and glass failed to ignite a fire from 150 feet away. It produced smoldering on the boat’s wooden surface but no open flame. A second attempt from about 75 feet away lit only a small fire that burned itself out.
Mike Bushroe of the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory tried a mirrored system shaped like flower petals, but it failed to produce either smoke or flames.
“If this weapon had worked, it would have been the equivalent of a nuclear weapon in the ancient world,” Rees said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9787596/
Attempt to recreate Greek solar weapon creates smoke, but little else
It wasn’t exactly the ancient siege of Syracuse, but rather a curious quest for scientific validation.
According to sparse historical writings, the Greek mathematician Archimedes torched a fleet of invading Roman ships by reflecting the sun’s powerful rays with a mirrored device made of glass or bronze.
More than 2,000 years later, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona set out to recreate Archimedes’ fabled death ray Saturday in an experiment sponsored by the Discovery Channel program “MythBusters.”
Their attempts to set fire to an 80-year-old fishing boat using their own versions of the device, however, failed to either prove or dispel the myth of the solar death ray.
The MIT team’s first attempt with their contraption made of 300 square feet of bronze and glass failed to ignite a fire from 150 feet away. It produced smoldering on the boat’s wooden surface but no open flame. A second attempt from about 75 feet away lit only a small fire that burned itself out.
Mike Bushroe of the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory tried a mirrored system shaped like flower petals, but it failed to produce either smoke or flames.
“If this weapon had worked, it would have been the equivalent of a nuclear weapon in the ancient world,” Rees said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9787596/
Today in History - Bush is trying to erase edition...
1940
The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
On Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20051024.html
The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
On Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20051024.html
Republicans: Lying is Politics
Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, and I. Lewis Libby Jr., who is Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, have been advised that they are in serious legal jeopardy. Other officials could also face charges in connection with the disclosure of the identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer in 2003.
On Sunday, Republicans appeared to be preparing to blunt the impact of any charges. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas , speaking on the NBC news program "Meet the Press," compared the leak investigation with the case of Martha Stewart and her stock sale, "where they couldn't find a crime and they indict on something that she said about something that wasn't a crime."
Ms. Hutchison said she hoped "that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars."
But allies of the White House have quietly been circulating talking points in recent days among Republicans sympathetic to the administration, seeking to help them make the case that bringing charges like perjury mean the prosecutor does not have a strong case, one Republican with close ties to the White House said Sunday. Other people sympathetic to Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have said that indicting them would amount to criminalizing politics and that Mr. Fitzgerald did not understand how Washington works.
On Sunday, Republicans appeared to be preparing to blunt the impact of any charges. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas , speaking on the NBC news program "Meet the Press," compared the leak investigation with the case of Martha Stewart and her stock sale, "where they couldn't find a crime and they indict on something that she said about something that wasn't a crime."
Ms. Hutchison said she hoped "that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars."
But allies of the White House have quietly been circulating talking points in recent days among Republicans sympathetic to the administration, seeking to help them make the case that bringing charges like perjury mean the prosecutor does not have a strong case, one Republican with close ties to the White House said Sunday. Other people sympathetic to Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have said that indicting them would amount to criminalizing politics and that Mr. Fitzgerald did not understand how Washington works.
Gossip: DeLay had a facelift
Is DeLay delaying ravages of age?
Did Tom DeLay have a face lift?
Nip-and-tuck aficionados have been buzzing about the strangely stretched visage in the mug shot of the former Majority Leader, who is facing charges of conspiracy and money laundering.
The folks at AwfulPlasticSurgery.com have studied the recent pic and an earlier one, and concluded that DeLay has had a nose job. “One nostril is almost nonexistent, while the other looks normal,” it notes, adding, “Sometimes, when a rhinoplasty surgery goes wrong, there can be problems with nostrils healing properly.”
Additionally, bloggers have dug up info that when DeLay was elected majority leader, he had his teeth capped and that he once had his eyelids lifted, supposedly to help his vision.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9546085/
Did Tom DeLay have a face lift?
Nip-and-tuck aficionados have been buzzing about the strangely stretched visage in the mug shot of the former Majority Leader, who is facing charges of conspiracy and money laundering.
The folks at AwfulPlasticSurgery.com have studied the recent pic and an earlier one, and concluded that DeLay has had a nose job. “One nostril is almost nonexistent, while the other looks normal,” it notes, adding, “Sometimes, when a rhinoplasty surgery goes wrong, there can be problems with nostrils healing properly.”
Additionally, bloggers have dug up info that when DeLay was elected majority leader, he had his teeth capped and that he once had his eyelids lifted, supposedly to help his vision.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9546085/
Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, addressed the administration's arrogance..
...and ineptitude in a talk last week that was astonishingly candid by Washington standards.
"The case that I saw for four-plus years was a case that I have never seen in my studies of aberrations, bastardizations, perturbations, changes to the national security decision-making process. What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made."
When the time came to implement the decisions, said Mr. Wilkerson, they were "presented in such a disjointed, incredible way that the bureaucracy often didn't know what it was doing as it moved to carry them out."
Where was the president? According to Mr. Wilkerson, "You've got this collegiality there between the secretary of defense and the vice president, and you've got a president who is not versed in international relations and not too much interested in them either."
http://select.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/opinion/23herbert.html?th&emc=th
"The case that I saw for four-plus years was a case that I have never seen in my studies of aberrations, bastardizations, perturbations, changes to the national security decision-making process. What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made."
When the time came to implement the decisions, said Mr. Wilkerson, they were "presented in such a disjointed, incredible way that the bureaucracy often didn't know what it was doing as it moved to carry them out."
Where was the president? According to Mr. Wilkerson, "You've got this collegiality there between the secretary of defense and the vice president, and you've got a president who is not versed in international relations and not too much interested in them either."
http://select.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/opinion/23herbert.html?th&emc=th
10.23.2005
Miers Takes Advantage of Govt in Land Sale...
Miers family received 'excessive' sum in land
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers collected more than 10 times the market value for a small slice of family-owned land in a large Superfund pollution cleanup site in Dallas where the state wanted to build a highway off-ramp.
The windfall came after a judge who received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Miers' law firm appointed a close professional associate of Miers and an outspoken property-rights activist to the three-person panel that determined how much the state should pay.
The resulting six-figure payout to the Miers family in 2000 was despite the state’s objections to the "excessive” amount and to the process used to set the price. The panel recommended paying nearly $5 a square foot for land that was valued at less than 30 cents a square foot.
Mediation efforts in 2003 reduced the award from $106,915 to $80,915, but Miers, who controls the family’s interest in the land, hasn’t reimbursed the state for the $26,000 difference, even after Bush appointed her to the Supreme Court.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12973371.htm
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers collected more than 10 times the market value for a small slice of family-owned land in a large Superfund pollution cleanup site in Dallas where the state wanted to build a highway off-ramp.
The windfall came after a judge who received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Miers' law firm appointed a close professional associate of Miers and an outspoken property-rights activist to the three-person panel that determined how much the state should pay.
The resulting six-figure payout to the Miers family in 2000 was despite the state’s objections to the "excessive” amount and to the process used to set the price. The panel recommended paying nearly $5 a square foot for land that was valued at less than 30 cents a square foot.
Mediation efforts in 2003 reduced the award from $106,915 to $80,915, but Miers, who controls the family’s interest in the land, hasn’t reimbursed the state for the $26,000 difference, even after Bush appointed her to the Supreme Court.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12973371.htm
"You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to retrieve the bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be."
An unidentified U.S. soldier, in a videotape by an Australian photojournalist that appears to show troops burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters and taunting villagers with their smoking corpses; the Army is investigating
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9785753/site/newsweek/
An unidentified U.S. soldier, in a videotape by an Australian photojournalist that appears to show troops burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters and taunting villagers with their smoking corpses; the Army is investigating
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9785753/site/newsweek/
10.22.2005
Green's Washington Values: It's Okay to Take Freebies from Indicted D.C. Lobbyist
After Taking Tickets from the Indicted Jack Abramoff’s Firm, Green’s Campaign Manager Says That’s Just How Washington Works
MADISON – After trying to cover up the fact that he took ticket freebies from indicted Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s firm, Mark Green’s campaign manager Mark Graul is now excusing the behavior by saying that’s just the way business is done in Washington.
Records show that Graul, as Green’s Washington Chief of Staff, repeatedly took ticket freebies for Abramoff’s skybox in D.C. for NBA games, concerts, and a WWF event. But Graul initially tried to deny it, saying he never asked for tickets from Abramoff and doesn’t know the scandal-plagued lobbyist.
Now Graul’s story is changing once again. His new excuse: taking freebies from indicted lobbyists is just business-as-usual in Washington.
“I believe it’s illegal in Madison” to take freebies, Graul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s legal in Washington.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/21/2005]
“Once again, Mark Green is showing the people of Wisconsin that he supports the culture of corruption that has entangled Republicans in Washington,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Mark Green seems to think it’s okay for his staffers in Washington to take freebies from an indicted Washington lobbyist. That may be how business is done in Washington, but it’s not how things are done in Wisconsin.”
After first saying he never took any tickets from Abramoff, Graul then said he did attend a Washington Wizards-Milwaukee Bucks game in Washington, but didn’t remember how he got the tickets. But an email from Graul buddy and Abramoff staffer Jennifer Calvert to Abramoff’s assistant says: “May I get four tickets to this game for Mark Graul, COS for Rep. Green? If that works, I’d like to get two for myself as well, to host Mark. Thanks.” [TalkingPointsMemo.Com, 10/10/2005]
Now Graul says he attended three Wizards-Bucks games in D.C., and that he was the contact person to receive freebies. “From time to time, people would call and offer tickets,” Graul told the Journal Sentinel. “There were a handful of times we said yes.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/21/2005]
And, while Graul continues to deny knowing Abramoff, it seems Abramoff knew him. After a Graul request for tickets to the NBA All Star Game and Dunk Contest, Abramoff himself replied that Graul would be put on the list for tickets while he figured out what he was going to do with the suite that night.
“The number of favors given to Green’s congressional office raises the question of why Mark Green and his staff were such favorites of Jack Abramoff,” Wineke said. “What else did Mark Green get from Abramoff, and what did he do to win such favor?”
Considering the large number of tickets Graul took from Abramoff’s firm, it appears Graul may have even violated Washington’s limit on freebies from lobbyists, Wineke said.
Graul’s deception is similar to Green’s ever changing story about why he won’t get rid of the more than $30,000 he’s taken from the indicted Tom DeLay, a close Abramoff associate. Green now admits it would be legal to return the money, but says he needs the dirty DeLay money for his run for Governor.
http://www.wisdems.org/ht/display/ReleaseDetails/i/689253
MADISON – After trying to cover up the fact that he took ticket freebies from indicted Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s firm, Mark Green’s campaign manager Mark Graul is now excusing the behavior by saying that’s just the way business is done in Washington.
Records show that Graul, as Green’s Washington Chief of Staff, repeatedly took ticket freebies for Abramoff’s skybox in D.C. for NBA games, concerts, and a WWF event. But Graul initially tried to deny it, saying he never asked for tickets from Abramoff and doesn’t know the scandal-plagued lobbyist.
Now Graul’s story is changing once again. His new excuse: taking freebies from indicted lobbyists is just business-as-usual in Washington.
“I believe it’s illegal in Madison” to take freebies, Graul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s legal in Washington.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/21/2005]
“Once again, Mark Green is showing the people of Wisconsin that he supports the culture of corruption that has entangled Republicans in Washington,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Mark Green seems to think it’s okay for his staffers in Washington to take freebies from an indicted Washington lobbyist. That may be how business is done in Washington, but it’s not how things are done in Wisconsin.”
After first saying he never took any tickets from Abramoff, Graul then said he did attend a Washington Wizards-Milwaukee Bucks game in Washington, but didn’t remember how he got the tickets. But an email from Graul buddy and Abramoff staffer Jennifer Calvert to Abramoff’s assistant says: “May I get four tickets to this game for Mark Graul, COS for Rep. Green? If that works, I’d like to get two for myself as well, to host Mark. Thanks.” [TalkingPointsMemo.Com, 10/10/2005]
Now Graul says he attended three Wizards-Bucks games in D.C., and that he was the contact person to receive freebies. “From time to time, people would call and offer tickets,” Graul told the Journal Sentinel. “There were a handful of times we said yes.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/21/2005]
And, while Graul continues to deny knowing Abramoff, it seems Abramoff knew him. After a Graul request for tickets to the NBA All Star Game and Dunk Contest, Abramoff himself replied that Graul would be put on the list for tickets while he figured out what he was going to do with the suite that night.
“The number of favors given to Green’s congressional office raises the question of why Mark Green and his staff were such favorites of Jack Abramoff,” Wineke said. “What else did Mark Green get from Abramoff, and what did he do to win such favor?”
Considering the large number of tickets Graul took from Abramoff’s firm, it appears Graul may have even violated Washington’s limit on freebies from lobbyists, Wineke said.
Graul’s deception is similar to Green’s ever changing story about why he won’t get rid of the more than $30,000 he’s taken from the indicted Tom DeLay, a close Abramoff associate. Green now admits it would be legal to return the money, but says he needs the dirty DeLay money for his run for Governor.
http://www.wisdems.org/ht/display/ReleaseDetails/i/689253
Milwaukee Magazine: Every morning, former legislator and current state Democratic chair Joe Wineke gets up, chews glass for breakfast...
..and starts chomping on Republicans, mostly Congressman Mark Green. Day in and day out, we get another broadside from Wineke, demanding that Green return the $30,000 in campaign donations he got from Congressman Tom DeLay.
This is hardly a major issue, but Wineke keeps firing away, and the issue has gotten play in the press and discussion by bloggers. And that’s exactly what Green doesn’t want.
Unlike Scott Walker, whose campaign has been plagued by mistakes, Green had been sailing along, with no negatives attached to his name. So why not just give back the $30,000? It’s a small price to pay to eliminate the issue. This is Public Relations 101: Put the story behind you and the public will forget by tomorrow.
Instead, Green has gotten into a game of claim and counterclaim with Democrats. Green says he can’t return the money legally. Democrats say he could give the money to a nonpartisan electoral cause. Green says the money has already been spent. Democrats say he has a huge war chest of donations. Green says he no longer has a federal campaign account (from his last race for Congress). Democrats say he does.
Does anyone really care about this? No, but it’s a diversion from Green’s message, and it puts him on the defensive. I would think Green is getting calls from Republican insiders telling him to give the money away and kill the issue. He would be well advised to listen.
http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/murphyslaw/2005-10-11.asp
This is hardly a major issue, but Wineke keeps firing away, and the issue has gotten play in the press and discussion by bloggers. And that’s exactly what Green doesn’t want.
Unlike Scott Walker, whose campaign has been plagued by mistakes, Green had been sailing along, with no negatives attached to his name. So why not just give back the $30,000? It’s a small price to pay to eliminate the issue. This is Public Relations 101: Put the story behind you and the public will forget by tomorrow.
Instead, Green has gotten into a game of claim and counterclaim with Democrats. Green says he can’t return the money legally. Democrats say he could give the money to a nonpartisan electoral cause. Green says the money has already been spent. Democrats say he has a huge war chest of donations. Green says he no longer has a federal campaign account (from his last race for Congress). Democrats say he does.
Does anyone really care about this? No, but it’s a diversion from Green’s message, and it puts him on the defensive. I would think Green is getting calls from Republican insiders telling him to give the money away and kill the issue. He would be well advised to listen.
http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/murphyslaw/2005-10-11.asp
A Good, Quick Write-up of Patient Abandonment
WI: Governor Vetoes 'Conscience Clause' Legislation
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D) stood up for patients' rights by vetoing a bill last week that aimed to expand so-called 'conscience clause' protections for health care workers. Medical students and pharmacists who refused to participate in medical procedures or fulfill prescriptions they found objectionable would have been covered under the so-called ‘conscience clauses,’ and the bill would have protected workers from punishment even if they refused to refer a patient to another professional for the treatment, reports the Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report. The bill would also have lengthened the list of protected procedures to include the destruction of embryos, and the use of embryonic cells or fetal tissue not obtained from a miscarriage or stillbirth, in addition to already-protected abortion, euthanasia and sterilization procedures. The veto will stand, as there are not the necessary votes for an override, according to the Madison Capital Times.
In his veto message, Governor Doyle described this bill as “identical” to one that he vetoed in 2004, and strongly objected to the lack of referral requirements. “This bill doesn't even require health care providers to give you a referral to someone else if they object to a particular treatment,” Gov. Doyle said. “In fact, the doctor wouldn't even have to tell you about a treatment option that might exist. Even if your life was threatened, this bill would allow a doctor to withhold lifesaving medical care.” In a public statement announcing his veto, Doyle said, “Because it puts a doctor's political views ahead of the best interests of patients, this legislation ought to be called the ‘unconscionable clause.’”
http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=9342
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D) stood up for patients' rights by vetoing a bill last week that aimed to expand so-called 'conscience clause' protections for health care workers. Medical students and pharmacists who refused to participate in medical procedures or fulfill prescriptions they found objectionable would have been covered under the so-called ‘conscience clauses,’ and the bill would have protected workers from punishment even if they refused to refer a patient to another professional for the treatment, reports the Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report. The bill would also have lengthened the list of protected procedures to include the destruction of embryos, and the use of embryonic cells or fetal tissue not obtained from a miscarriage or stillbirth, in addition to already-protected abortion, euthanasia and sterilization procedures. The veto will stand, as there are not the necessary votes for an override, according to the Madison Capital Times.
In his veto message, Governor Doyle described this bill as “identical” to one that he vetoed in 2004, and strongly objected to the lack of referral requirements. “This bill doesn't even require health care providers to give you a referral to someone else if they object to a particular treatment,” Gov. Doyle said. “In fact, the doctor wouldn't even have to tell you about a treatment option that might exist. Even if your life was threatened, this bill would allow a doctor to withhold lifesaving medical care.” In a public statement announcing his veto, Doyle said, “Because it puts a doctor's political views ahead of the best interests of patients, this legislation ought to be called the ‘unconscionable clause.’”
http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=9342
GAO: Electronic Voting Machines Can Be 'Fixed' Causing Hijacked Elections
While electronic voting systems hold promise for a more accurate and efficient election process, numerous entities have raised concerns about their security and reliability, citing instances of weak security controls, system design flaws, inadequate system version control, inadequate
security testing, incorrect system configuration, poor security management, and vague or incomplete voting system standards, among other issues. For example, studies found (1) some electronic voting systems did not encrypt cast ballots or system audit logs, and it was possible to alter both without being detected; (2) it was possible to alter the files that define how a ballot looks and works so that the votes for one candidate could be recorded for a different candidate; and (3) vendors installed uncertified versions of voting system software at the local level. It is important to note that many of the reported concerns were drawn from specific system makes and models or from a specific jurisdiction’s election, and that there is a lack of consensus among election officials and other experts on the pervasiveness of the concerns. Nevertheless, some of these concerns were reported to have caused local problems in federal elections—resulting in the loss or miscount of votes—and therefore merit attention.
Here's the report:
http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/GAOReport_ElectionSecurity_102105.pdf
Hre's one blogger's take:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001940.htm
security testing, incorrect system configuration, poor security management, and vague or incomplete voting system standards, among other issues. For example, studies found (1) some electronic voting systems did not encrypt cast ballots or system audit logs, and it was possible to alter both without being detected; (2) it was possible to alter the files that define how a ballot looks and works so that the votes for one candidate could be recorded for a different candidate; and (3) vendors installed uncertified versions of voting system software at the local level. It is important to note that many of the reported concerns were drawn from specific system makes and models or from a specific jurisdiction’s election, and that there is a lack of consensus among election officials and other experts on the pervasiveness of the concerns. Nevertheless, some of these concerns were reported to have caused local problems in federal elections—resulting in the loss or miscount of votes—and therefore merit attention.
Here's the report:
http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/GAOReport_ElectionSecurity_102105.pdf
Hre's one blogger's take:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001940.htm
10.21.2005
The Great Eric Alterman in the Nation: The Liberals are the Majority
Here is the liberals' problem in a nutshell: More than 30 percent of Americans happily answer to the appellation "conservative," while 18 percent call themselves "liberal." And yet when questioned by pollsters, a super-majority of more than 60 percent take positions liberal in everything but name. Indeed, on many if not most issues, Americans hold views well to the left of those espoused by almost any national Democratic politician.
In a May survey published by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 65 percent of respondents said they favor providing health insurance to all Americans, even if it means raising taxes, and 86 percent said they favor raising the minimum wage. Seventy-seven percent said they believe the country "should do whatever it takes to protect the environment.'' A September Gallup Poll finds that 59 percent consider the Iraq War a mistake and 63 percent agree that US forces should be partially or completely withdrawn.
The money quote:
(If our leading political reporters were forced to address these authors' evidence or to stop mouthing the nonsense dominating their own stories, our politics would be transformed overnight.)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051107/alterman
In a May survey published by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 65 percent of respondents said they favor providing health insurance to all Americans, even if it means raising taxes, and 86 percent said they favor raising the minimum wage. Seventy-seven percent said they believe the country "should do whatever it takes to protect the environment.'' A September Gallup Poll finds that 59 percent consider the Iraq War a mistake and 63 percent agree that US forces should be partially or completely withdrawn.
The money quote:
(If our leading political reporters were forced to address these authors' evidence or to stop mouthing the nonsense dominating their own stories, our politics would be transformed overnight.)
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051107/alterman
The Beginning of the End of the Middle Class...
“Workers didn't simply earn more,” says Shaiken. “They drove into the middle class. Now we're looking at far more exit ramps from the middle class.”
Thursday, Ford said it will announce a restructuring plan in January that cuts plants and jobs. Meanwhile, auto parts maker Delphi began presenting proposals to its unions to reduce their pay. Before declaring bankruptcy, Delphi asked for a 60 percent wage cut.
The UAW Thursday acknowledged labor's tough choices.
"The tentative agreement is an essential step toward insuring that General Motors is a competitive and financially sound corporation," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.
Retiree John Sanderson wants GM to survive, but he also wants the health care promised him. “For them to take anything away from me, to change anything, is stealing from me,” he says.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9766281/
Universal, single-payer healthcare is the only save for American industry and the middle class.
Thursday, Ford said it will announce a restructuring plan in January that cuts plants and jobs. Meanwhile, auto parts maker Delphi began presenting proposals to its unions to reduce their pay. Before declaring bankruptcy, Delphi asked for a 60 percent wage cut.
The UAW Thursday acknowledged labor's tough choices.
"The tentative agreement is an essential step toward insuring that General Motors is a competitive and financially sound corporation," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.
Retiree John Sanderson wants GM to survive, but he also wants the health care promised him. “For them to take anything away from me, to change anything, is stealing from me,” he says.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9766281/
Universal, single-payer healthcare is the only save for American industry and the middle class.
10.20.2005
Am I to assume this guy plans on being buried in a Native-American burial mound?
I read the article about the Hmong heritage for funeral services, and it make me angry that the Hmong want so much to come to the United States and live instead of their own land, and they want to keep their heritage going? Nonsense. If the Hmong chooses to leave their land, leave their heritage back there too. Learn our rules and our heritage. Period!
Dan Fisher Oshkosh
Click headline for link...
Here's a nomination for Olbermann's 'Worst Person in the World'....
Dan Fisher Oshkosh
Click headline for link...
Here's a nomination for Olbermann's 'Worst Person in the World'....
10.19.2005
Thought of the Day...
You never notice how many old-school Ford Escorts there are out there until you start driving one...
Sen. Carpenter: Potential $340 Million Windfall to Wisconsin Election Campaign Revealed
10/19/2005 Contact: State Senator Tim Carpenter (608) 266-8535
Madison — State Senator Tim Carpenter (D--Milwaukee) today revealed that he has donated to the Wisconsin Election Campaign Fund a lottery ticket for today’s PowerBall lottery drawing, which has an estimated $340 million jackpot. “While the odds of the ticket I donated being a winning ticket are reported to be 1 in 146,107,962 it appears that the chances of the GOP-controlled legislature passing meaningful campaign finance reform is only slightly better,” stated Carpenter.
See Carpenter's Letter to Kennedy with the Lottery ticket: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=46781
If the $2 I spent on Lotto tix wins, it will be financing my elections for whatever I run for next!
Madison — State Senator Tim Carpenter (D--Milwaukee) today revealed that he has donated to the Wisconsin Election Campaign Fund a lottery ticket for today’s PowerBall lottery drawing, which has an estimated $340 million jackpot. “While the odds of the ticket I donated being a winning ticket are reported to be 1 in 146,107,962 it appears that the chances of the GOP-controlled legislature passing meaningful campaign finance reform is only slightly better,” stated Carpenter.
See Carpenter's Letter to Kennedy with the Lottery ticket: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=46781
If the $2 I spent on Lotto tix wins, it will be financing my elections for whatever I run for next!
DeLay Train of Corruption to Come to Wisconsin
MADISON – Republicans in Washington are planning to bring their culture of corruption to Wisconsin next week when the scandal-plagued Ohio Congressman Bob Ney holds a campaign rally in Milwaukee for Wisconsin Congressman Mark Green.
An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today reports that Green has asked Ney to bring his U.S. House Administration Committee to Milwaukee to study alleged voter fraud. The hearing’s line-up is full of Republicans and no Democrats, and smacks of partisan politics. Ney’s committee scheduled the hearing at a time when they knew the committee’s three Democrats would be unable to attend. And only after Democrats raised questions about the partisan line-up did the committee invite Democrat Congresswoman Gwen Moore to participate.
Although the hearing focuses on the election process in Milwaukee, no one from Milwaukee was invited to testify. And while the GOP-proposed voter ID “remedy” would disenfranchise seniors and the disabled, no representatives from those groups or independent groups like the League of Women Voters were invited either.
“Monday’s event is nothing more than a sham hearing that is really a campaign road show for Mark Green,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “It’s bad enough that Republicans are bringing Washington corruption to Wisconsin to try to teach us about clean elections. What’s even worse is that Bob Ney – one of Jack Abramoff’s lieutenants who is under federal investigation – is leading the show.”
It’s no surprise that Green has requested that Ney bring his congressional committee to Wisconsin to help out his campaign for Governor, Wineke said. Green has a close relationship with Ney’s political patron – the indicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – and has taken more than $30,000 in tainted money from DeLay to use in his bid for governor. Although he could get rid of the DeLay money today if he wanted to, Green has refused to do so, coming up with excuse after excuse. Ney has also taken almost $25,000 from DeLay, and both Ney and Green vote with DeLay more than 90 percent of the time.
Green’s campaign manager Mark Graul also has close ties to the indicted Washington lobbyist Abramoff. As Green’s Washington chief of staff, Graul repeatedly took skybox ticket freebies from Abramoff’s firm, and when asked about it, tried to cover it up.
Ney is not only a close associate of DeLay, but also of Abramoff. Ney accepted many favors from Abramoff, including campaign contributions, dinners at the lobbyist’s D.C. restaurant, skybox fundraisers, and a golfing junket to Scotland in 2002, according to the Washington Post. Ney is under investigation by Florida federal prosecutors who are looking into Abramoff’s acquisition of a Florida casino boat company. Abramoff is facing fraud charges in that case. [Washington Post, 10/18/2005].
“You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep,” Wineke said. “By keeping company with the likes of Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, and Bob Ney in Washington, Mark Green has shown the people of Wisconsin his true colors.”
http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=46789
Great Press Release, Joe!
An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today reports that Green has asked Ney to bring his U.S. House Administration Committee to Milwaukee to study alleged voter fraud. The hearing’s line-up is full of Republicans and no Democrats, and smacks of partisan politics. Ney’s committee scheduled the hearing at a time when they knew the committee’s three Democrats would be unable to attend. And only after Democrats raised questions about the partisan line-up did the committee invite Democrat Congresswoman Gwen Moore to participate.
Although the hearing focuses on the election process in Milwaukee, no one from Milwaukee was invited to testify. And while the GOP-proposed voter ID “remedy” would disenfranchise seniors and the disabled, no representatives from those groups or independent groups like the League of Women Voters were invited either.
“Monday’s event is nothing more than a sham hearing that is really a campaign road show for Mark Green,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “It’s bad enough that Republicans are bringing Washington corruption to Wisconsin to try to teach us about clean elections. What’s even worse is that Bob Ney – one of Jack Abramoff’s lieutenants who is under federal investigation – is leading the show.”
It’s no surprise that Green has requested that Ney bring his congressional committee to Wisconsin to help out his campaign for Governor, Wineke said. Green has a close relationship with Ney’s political patron – the indicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – and has taken more than $30,000 in tainted money from DeLay to use in his bid for governor. Although he could get rid of the DeLay money today if he wanted to, Green has refused to do so, coming up with excuse after excuse. Ney has also taken almost $25,000 from DeLay, and both Ney and Green vote with DeLay more than 90 percent of the time.
Green’s campaign manager Mark Graul also has close ties to the indicted Washington lobbyist Abramoff. As Green’s Washington chief of staff, Graul repeatedly took skybox ticket freebies from Abramoff’s firm, and when asked about it, tried to cover it up.
Ney is not only a close associate of DeLay, but also of Abramoff. Ney accepted many favors from Abramoff, including campaign contributions, dinners at the lobbyist’s D.C. restaurant, skybox fundraisers, and a golfing junket to Scotland in 2002, according to the Washington Post. Ney is under investigation by Florida federal prosecutors who are looking into Abramoff’s acquisition of a Florida casino boat company. Abramoff is facing fraud charges in that case. [Washington Post, 10/18/2005].
“You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep,” Wineke said. “By keeping company with the likes of Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, and Bob Ney in Washington, Mark Green has shown the people of Wisconsin his true colors.”
http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=46789
Great Press Release, Joe!
Bush Approval Even Lower in WI:
According to Survey USA, only 36 percent of Wisconsinites approve of the President’s job performance – an approval rating even lower than the latest national numbers. Yesterday’s poll by CNN/USA Today has the President at a 39 percent approval rating nationwide.
“Republican lawmakers who walked lock-step with this President on his failed Iraq policy and ignored repeated calls for energy reform better prepare for some tough questions when they go to the doors of voters next year,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Wisconsin families are fed up with the failed leadership of President Bush and Republicans in Congress.”
Wineke said recent polls show that the people of Wisconsin are becoming increasingly upset with President Bush over rising energy costs, his failure in Iraq, record federal deficits, his failure to extend the MILC program for Wisconsin dairy farmers, and the federal government’s failure to respond swiftly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“How many polls will it take for Republicans both in Washington and Madison to realize that their to-do list doesn’t match the priorities of the people of Wisconsin?” Wineke asked. “People are worried about how they’re going to adjust family budgets to pay for skyrocketing gas and home heating prices, and why their health insurance premiums are going up again this year.”
http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=46806
“Republican lawmakers who walked lock-step with this President on his failed Iraq policy and ignored repeated calls for energy reform better prepare for some tough questions when they go to the doors of voters next year,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Wisconsin families are fed up with the failed leadership of President Bush and Republicans in Congress.”
Wineke said recent polls show that the people of Wisconsin are becoming increasingly upset with President Bush over rising energy costs, his failure in Iraq, record federal deficits, his failure to extend the MILC program for Wisconsin dairy farmers, and the federal government’s failure to respond swiftly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“How many polls will it take for Republicans both in Washington and Madison to realize that their to-do list doesn’t match the priorities of the people of Wisconsin?” Wineke asked. “People are worried about how they’re going to adjust family budgets to pay for skyrocketing gas and home heating prices, and why their health insurance premiums are going up again this year.”
http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=46806
Bucher Prosecutes Alleged Felon for Voting - the catch: She had a valid ID!
How will Voter ID stop this? It won't. Are we going to list if someone is a felon on their driver's licence? If so, that goes right back to using ID for gun purchases...
On election day, Mitchell-Frazier filled out a voter registration card and voted at Prairie Elementary School, the complaint says. It states she listed a valid Wisconsin driver's license on her voter registration application.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/oct05/363323.asp
On election day, Mitchell-Frazier filled out a voter registration card and voted at Prairie Elementary School, the complaint says. It states she listed a valid Wisconsin driver's license on her voter registration application.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/oct05/363323.asp
Government Allows Troops to Gamble Away Their Pay, in Military-Owned Slot Machines
Military gambling is a big business. About $2 billion flows through military-owned slot machines at officers' clubs, activities centers and bowling alleys on overseas bases each year. Most flows back out as jackpots, but 6 percent remains with the house, about the same ratio as in Las Vegas.
Each year, the armed forces take in more than $120 million from on-base slot machines and $7 million from Army bingo games at home. These funds help pay for recreational programs for the troops.
But even military researchers have acknowledged that the armed forces are heavily populated by people who, like Aaron Walsh, may be especially vulnerable to gambling addiction: athletic, risk-taking young people who are experiencing severe stress and anxiety.
Slot machines have been a fixture of military life for decades. They were banned from domestic military bases in 1951, after a series of scandals. They were removed from Army and Air Force bases in 1972, after more than a dozen people were court-martialed for skimming cash from slot machines in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
But 1,500 machines remained on Navy and Marine Corps bases overseas after that scandal, and in 1980, the Army and Air Force started to restore the machines at many of their overseas bases. The Marine Corps and Navy slot machine programs are now run by the Army; the Air Force still runs its own program.
Today, there are approximately 4,150 modern video slot machines at military bases in nine countries, according to Mr. Isaacs and an Air Force spokesman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/business/19slots.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
Each year, the armed forces take in more than $120 million from on-base slot machines and $7 million from Army bingo games at home. These funds help pay for recreational programs for the troops.
But even military researchers have acknowledged that the armed forces are heavily populated by people who, like Aaron Walsh, may be especially vulnerable to gambling addiction: athletic, risk-taking young people who are experiencing severe stress and anxiety.
Slot machines have been a fixture of military life for decades. They were banned from domestic military bases in 1951, after a series of scandals. They were removed from Army and Air Force bases in 1972, after more than a dozen people were court-martialed for skimming cash from slot machines in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
But 1,500 machines remained on Navy and Marine Corps bases overseas after that scandal, and in 1980, the Army and Air Force started to restore the machines at many of their overseas bases. The Marine Corps and Navy slot machine programs are now run by the Army; the Air Force still runs its own program.
Today, there are approximately 4,150 modern video slot machines at military bases in nine countries, according to Mr. Isaacs and an Air Force spokesman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/business/19slots.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
Pentagon Deceives Soldiers Boost Re-enlistment - Bonuses Offered Are Not Paid
The Pentagon has reneged on its offer to pay a $15,000 bonus to members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who agree to extend their enlistments by six years, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle).
The bonuses were offered in January to Active Guard and Reserve and military technician soldiers who were serving overseas. In April, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs ordered the bonuses stopped, Murray said.
“This is outrageous,” the senator said in a telephone interview. “It makes me angry that this administration has broken another promise to our troops.”
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, confirmed the bonuses had been canceled, saying they violated Pentagon policies because they duplicated other programs. She said Guard and Reserve members would be eligible for other bonuses.
The decision to cancel the bonuses had caused “tremendous uncertainty” among Guard members who had been counting on the money after they decided to re-enlist, Murray said in her August letter.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5258954p-4774126c.html
The bonuses were offered in January to Active Guard and Reserve and military technician soldiers who were serving overseas. In April, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs ordered the bonuses stopped, Murray said.
“This is outrageous,” the senator said in a telephone interview. “It makes me angry that this administration has broken another promise to our troops.”
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, confirmed the bonuses had been canceled, saying they violated Pentagon policies because they duplicated other programs. She said Guard and Reserve members would be eligible for other bonuses.
The decision to cancel the bonuses had caused “tremendous uncertainty” among Guard members who had been counting on the money after they decided to re-enlist, Murray said in her August letter.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5258954p-4774126c.html
NYT on Voter ID (Is the Wisconsin Republican Party Trying to Establish Jim Crow in WI?):
Abolishing the Poll Tax Again
Critics of Georgia's new voter-identification law, which forces many citizens to pay $20 or more for the documentation necessary to vote, have called it a modern-day poll tax, intended to keep blacks and poor people from voting. A federal judge supported these claims yesterday and blocked the law from taking effect. Instead of continuing to defend the statute in court, Georgia should remove this throwback to the days of Jim Crow from its lawbooks.
Georgia Republicans, who get few votes from African-American voters, pushed a bill through the Legislature this year imposing the nation's toughest voter-identification requirements. When it was passed, most of the state's black legislators walked out of the Capitol. Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King Jr., urged the governor to veto it. Under the new law, voters with driver's licenses were not inconvenienced. But it put up huge obstacles for voters without licenses, who are disproportionately poor and black. Most of them would have to get official state picture-identification cards and pay processing fees of $20 or more. Incredibly - beyond the cost imposed on such voters - there was not a single office in Atlanta where the identification cards were for sale.
Republicans claimed the law was intended to prevent fraud, but that was just a pretext. According to Georgia's secretary of state, Cathy Cox, in recent years there have been no documented cases of fraud through voter impersonation. There have been complaints about the misuse of absentee ballots, Ms. Cox says, but the new law actually loosened the antifraud protections that apply to them. Clearly, Georgia Republicans supported the law because they believed that making it harder for blacks and poor people to vote would help their electoral chances.
The League of Women Voters of Georgia, the N.A.A.C.P. and other civil rights and voting rights groups sued. In a lengthy and hard-hitting opinion, Judge Harold Murphy of Federal District Court enjoined the state from enforcing the law. He relied in part on the 24th Amendment, which banned the old racist requirement that citizens pay poll taxes before being allowed to vote in federal elections.
At least one Georgia state senator is vowing to appeal, if necessary, all the way to the Supreme Court. That would send an ugly message about the state of American democracy. In the civil rights era, Southern states had to be told again and again by federal courts not to try to stop their black citizens from voting. It is shameful that in 2005, Georgia needs to be told again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/opinion/19wed2.html?th&emc=th
Critics of Georgia's new voter-identification law, which forces many citizens to pay $20 or more for the documentation necessary to vote, have called it a modern-day poll tax, intended to keep blacks and poor people from voting. A federal judge supported these claims yesterday and blocked the law from taking effect. Instead of continuing to defend the statute in court, Georgia should remove this throwback to the days of Jim Crow from its lawbooks.
Georgia Republicans, who get few votes from African-American voters, pushed a bill through the Legislature this year imposing the nation's toughest voter-identification requirements. When it was passed, most of the state's black legislators walked out of the Capitol. Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King Jr., urged the governor to veto it. Under the new law, voters with driver's licenses were not inconvenienced. But it put up huge obstacles for voters without licenses, who are disproportionately poor and black. Most of them would have to get official state picture-identification cards and pay processing fees of $20 or more. Incredibly - beyond the cost imposed on such voters - there was not a single office in Atlanta where the identification cards were for sale.
Republicans claimed the law was intended to prevent fraud, but that was just a pretext. According to Georgia's secretary of state, Cathy Cox, in recent years there have been no documented cases of fraud through voter impersonation. There have been complaints about the misuse of absentee ballots, Ms. Cox says, but the new law actually loosened the antifraud protections that apply to them. Clearly, Georgia Republicans supported the law because they believed that making it harder for blacks and poor people to vote would help their electoral chances.
The League of Women Voters of Georgia, the N.A.A.C.P. and other civil rights and voting rights groups sued. In a lengthy and hard-hitting opinion, Judge Harold Murphy of Federal District Court enjoined the state from enforcing the law. He relied in part on the 24th Amendment, which banned the old racist requirement that citizens pay poll taxes before being allowed to vote in federal elections.
At least one Georgia state senator is vowing to appeal, if necessary, all the way to the Supreme Court. That would send an ugly message about the state of American democracy. In the civil rights era, Southern states had to be told again and again by federal courts not to try to stop their black citizens from voting. It is shameful that in 2005, Georgia needs to be told again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/opinion/19wed2.html?th&emc=th
AMEN NYT!!!!!!
They get it 100% correct:
But successful companies do more than squeeze workers' pay and benefits. G.M. has to make cars that people want to buy. And policy makers in Washington also have to play a role. Our automakers compete with countries with national health care, like Japan and Germany. Lawmakers need to get it through their heads that health care reform isn't about handouts as much as competitiveness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/opinion/19wed4.html?th&emc=th
But successful companies do more than squeeze workers' pay and benefits. G.M. has to make cars that people want to buy. And policy makers in Washington also have to play a role. Our automakers compete with countries with national health care, like Japan and Germany. Lawmakers need to get it through their heads that health care reform isn't about handouts as much as competitiveness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/opinion/19wed4.html?th&emc=th
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