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Quote of the Day

[L]long term, the investment that we’re making today will be a small price if we’re able to stop al Qaeda here, if we’re able to stabilize the Middle East, it’s not only going to be a small price for the near future, but think about the future for our kids and their kids.
 – John Boehner, September 12, 2007

Tom Toles

Think Progress, Center for American Progress

Congress quietly passes billions for Iraq.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 94-1 for “a stop-gap spending bill that gives the Bush White House at least $9 billion in new funding” for the Iraq war. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) was the sole dissenter in the Senate; the House voted 404-14 to approve the measure. Congress also granted the administration “emergency authority to tap further into a $70 billion ‘bridge fund’” for the occupation while “Congress works on appropriations bills.” 

September 28, 2007

CNN Money

Defense stocks hit new highs
September 26, 2007: 04:02 PM EST

Sep. 26, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) —

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense stocks on Wednesday hit new highs as Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested an extra $42 billion in funding from Congress to cover military costs in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008.

The AMEX Defense Index, which tracks 14 major defense company stocks, rose 14.25 to a high of 1,686.72 in afternoon trading. Since last year, the index has risen roughly 47 percent, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which has climbed nearly 15 percent over the same period…

Associated Press

GOP senators offer new timeline for Iraq

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 28, 6:02 PM ET

A small group of Republicans facing election fights next year have rallied around war legislation they think could unite the GOP: Call for an end to U.S. combat in Iraq, but wait until President Bush is almost out of office.

The Democrats on Friday deemed the legislation a nonstarter, and underscored the difficulty Congress has in striking a bipartisan compromise on the war. What attracts Democrats has repelled Republicans and vice versa, making it impossible so far to find a middle ground…

“That’s very courageous,” Reid, D-Nev., quipped when a reporter asked him Friday about the proposal…

The Heretik

McClatchy Newspapers

U.S. agrees to delay on new Iranian sanctions

By Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers

Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007

WASHINGTON — Opposition led by Russia forced the Bush administration Friday to slow its drive for tighter United Nations sanctions against Iran and give the Islamic republic until late November to disclose its entire nuclear program to U.N. inspectors.

In another measure of Russia’s increased influence over U.S. foreign policy, McClatchy Newspapers has learned that President Bush is sending his secretaries of state and defense on a rare joint mission to Moscow to try to persuade the Kremlin to drop its opposition to the deployment of U.S. missile defenses in Europe, two State Department officials said…

The talks between Rice and Gates and their Russian counterparts are set for Oct. 12, the officials said. The rare joint mission by Bush’s top national security aides underscores the growing clout that Russia now wields as it reaps windfall profits from rising oil prices and U.S. power ebbs because of the war in Iraq, America’s frayed alliances and domestic financial turmoil.

The administration’s drive to deploy missile defenses in two countries that were long allied with Moscow, meanwhile, has helped plunge U.S.-Russian relations to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War and called into question Bush’s assessment of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a soul mate and strategic ally…

Islamic Republic News Agency

Iran parliament labels US army, CIA as terrorist groups

Tehran, Sept 29, IRNA

Iranian lawmakers on Saturday labelled the US army and CIA as terrorist groups.

The parliament said in a statement that the US army has a record of terrorist operations citing bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons and CIA has been involved in establishment of terror networks and training terrorists worldwide…

McClatchy Newspapers

Blackwater cancels planned expansion

By Joseph Neff | McClatchy Newspapers

Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. — In more fallout from the Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad that left 11 Iraqis dead, Blackwater USA apparently has stopped its expansion projects.

On Wednesday, the North Carolina private military contractor canceled a $5.5 million deal to buy 1,800 acres of farmland near Fort Bragg, where it was going to set up a training ground for soldiers and corporate executives.

The diplomatic and public relations damage from the shooting, combined with next Tuesday’s scheduled testimony before Congress by Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince, prompted the company to put all new projects on hold, according to the president of the company that had agreed to sell the land to Blackwater…

Justin Bilicki (thanks to All Hat No Cattle)

McClatchy Newspapers

Congressman: State Dept. official threatened investigators

By Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers

Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007

WASHINGTON — Aides to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard threatened two investigators with retaliation this week if they cooperate with a congressional probe into Krongard’s office, the chairman of a House of Representatives panel and other U.S. officials said Friday.

The allegations are the latest in a growing uproar surrounding Krongard. Current and former officials in his office charge that he impeded investigations into alleged arms smuggling by employees of the private security firm Blackwater and into faulty construction of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Krongard has denied the charges and is due to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next month…

Los Angeles Times

A new poll tax?
Election fraud isn’t a problem, but the Supreme Court may OK an ID law that burdens poor and minority voters.

By Daniel P. Tokaji
September 28, 2007

The U.S. Supreme Court announced this week that it would hear a challenge to an Indiana law that requires people to show government-issued photo identification in order to have their votes counted. Two other states have passed such laws in recent years, and others have debated the issue. Promoters of these laws argue that they are needed to prevent fraud. Opponents claim that they will impede eligible citizens from voting — a disproportionate number of them poor, elderly, disabled or racial minorities.

In fact, there’s reason to believe that suppressing turnout is precisely the motivation behind the strictest voter ID laws. There are almost no documented cases of people pretending to be someone they’re not at the polls, the only “problem” that these laws purport to address. On the other hand, there is considerable evidence that requiring ID will suppress turnout among some groups of voters…

Jamiol’s World

McClatchy Newspapers

Racism may affect infant mortality rates

By Halimah Abdullah | McClatchy Newspapers

Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007

WASHINGTON — For decades, health experts have tried to determine why African-American babies are twice as likely to die as white infants.

A new series of studies from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies’ Health Policy Institute, along with a small but growing number of neonatalogists nationwide, suggests that the stressful effects of racism play a role.

“That’s the elephant in the room,” said Michael Lu, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies disparities in infant health. “When we’re studying racial disparities, for decades people have looked at stress and infant mortality without looking at the reasons for the stress.”…

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Military Reports It Has Killed A Senior Leader of Al Qaeda In Iraq, But Was He Killed A Year Ago?
The U.S. military announced today that it has killed a “senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.” Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson “identified the man as Abu Usama al-Tunisi, a Tunisian described as a close associate and likely successor to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s Egyptian leader.”… But terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann issued a “global terror alert” last year stating that al-Tunisi had died in July 2006…. While it’s possible that there could have been two different Abu Usama al-Tunisis, it is the responsibility of news organizations to resolve these kinds of questions and double-check the facts before reporting them.

Sycophant Savior
A great political general doesn’t tell his masters what they want to hear. He tells them what they need to hear, thereby nudging them to make decisions that must be made if the nation’s interests are to be served. In this instance, [Gen. David] Petraeus provided cover for them to evade their responsibilities. Politically, it qualifies as a brilliant maneuver. The general’s relationships with official Washington remain intact. Yet he has broken faith with the soldiers he commands and the Army to which he has devoted his life. He has failed his country. History will not judge him kindly.
That’s from the crazed, leftist, troop haters at The American Conservative. (Thanks to Keith Olbermann’s Countdown.)

Presto! False Associated Press Reporting Makes Limbaugh’s Bogus Pushback Sound Perfectly Reasonable
The Associated Press has now covered the controversy surrounding Rush Limbaugh’s now-infamous assertion that soldiers favoring withdrawal from Iraq are “phony soldiers.”… In the AP’s telling, Limbaugh first mentioned [a] specific phony soldier, and then “followed” with a reference to “phony soldiers.” This description, of course, makes Limbaugh’s pushback sound completely reasonable: Limbaugh established the specific context — a discussion of MacBeth — before using the controversial phrase. But this is not what Limbaugh’s transcript says at all, of course. Indeed, not even Limbaugh himself is arguing this.

WH distances itself from Rush on ‘phony soldiers’ remark.
In a press briefing this morning, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was pressed specifically about Rush Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” comment. She responded: “It’s not what the President would have used, no.”
Ah, but was it “disgusting”?  Click through to watch the video.

Mark Udall to introduce resolution to condemn Rush
“On Monday I will introduce a resolution honoring all Americans serving in the Armed Forces and condemning this unwarranted attack on the integrity and professionalism of those in the Armed Forces who choose to exercise their constitutional right to express their opinions regarding U.S. military action in Iraq. Sincerely, Mark Udall”

Senate Democratic Leaders Demand Apology For Limbaugh’s ‘Outrageous,’ ‘Unconscionable’ Remarks
ThinkProgress has obtained a letter being circulated on Capitol Hill today by the Senate Democratic Leadership that calls on Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays to repudiate its employee Rush Limbaugh’s “phony troops” remark… The letter, signed by Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV, Dick Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Patty Murray (D-WA), states that Limbaugh’s comments were “outrageous” and “unconscionable”

Outsiders Aim to Frame Political Debate
WASHINGTON — They raise millions of dollars, conduct provocative ad campaigns, work with a vast network of like-minded allies and have the power to frame the presidential election going forward as much as the candidates themselves. That used to define only the liberal MoveOn.org, an organization of 3.3 million members that has raised $25 million in the past 18 months and is helping spearhead an anti-war coalition. Now, a group of conservatives and Republicans with close ties to the White House have formed their own enterprise, Freedom’s Watch, landing on the political scene with a $15 million ad campaign to defend President Bush’s Iraq war strategy.
There’s one big difference.  MoveOn.org is a grassroots organization.  Freedom’s Watch is just another organization funded by rich right wingers.

Couric: ‘Not My Job’ To Critically Report On Iraq, ‘Unless Something Is Really Egregious’
This week, [CBS anchor Katie] Couric spoke at the National Press Club with host Marvin Kalb to discuss “Democracy and the Press.” Couric explained that her goal in Iraq was to appear neutral and avoid “a Walter Cronkite moment,” as she put it… Kalb rebutted Couric’s assertions, charging that she offered only neutered judgments about the status on the ground and missed an opportunity to critically assess the situation in Iraq.
Click through to watch the video.

Couric Admits Feeling NBC Pressure On Iraq (by Cliff Schecter)
This is the sad state of our corporate-owned media. Katie Couric is now admitting she felt “corporate pressure” to ease off of Condi Rice and The Bush Administration overall after a “tough interview” she conducted… It’s not as if we don’t know this kind of thing is going on… But for some reason, I still get that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I hear stories like this. It reminds me that as skeptical as I am of our corporate-crony media, I am not skeptical enough.

Foto Funnies Pt. II
[A press release from David Horowitz’s FrontPageMag] reads, “The photo accompanying this article, which shows a teenage girl buried before being stoned to death for alleged sexual offenses, will serve as the poster for the protest Week. The stoning took place in Iran.” This photo turns up all over the right-wing media, but the ’stoning’ actually takes place in a 1994 Dutch indie film called De Steen, directed by Mahnaz Tamizi. The ‘teenage girl’ is actress Smadar Monsinos.
The right-wing crazies are trying their best to demonize all Muslims in their attempt to justify an attack on Iran.

Blackburn’s TV tiff gets spotlighted
WASHINGTON — A recent television interview with U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has exploded in the blogosphere as pundits debate which is worse: that Blackburn couldn’t name the last soldier killed in her district or that the interviewer might have gotten that name wrong… [David] Shuster was forced to read a correction… But Shuster’s apology may have been premature. The tiny hamlet of Bon Aqua, Tenn., is where Bohannon lived in the months immediately prior to entering the Army. The Census Bureau places his home in Blackburn’s 7th Congressional District.

Dan Abrams and Shuster’s Apology
FishbowlDC hears that MSNBC General Manager Dan Abrams asked David Shuster to apologize for Wednesday’s Rep. Marsha Blackburn incident and even wrote the bulk of Shuster’s on-air apology. We also hear that an on-air explanation of this episode is not expected today [Friday], with MSNBC hoping to pretend the entire episode never happened.

Mythbuster: S-CHIP and Socialism (from The Democratic Strategist)
S-CHIP, in the expanded as well as in the existing version, typically purchases private health plans for those it covers [and therefore cannot be defined as “socialized medicine”, though right-wing pundits are doing just that]. And far from being some Washington leviathan, S-CHIP is run by the states, who make a wide variety of decisions about coverage, and also help finance the program.

The Wørd on Health Care
Stephen Colbert urges President Bush to veto the SCHIP bill, for the good of the children. “If we really care for our kids, we should deny them health insurance now to immunize them against expecting it as adults. If we don’t, when they grow up, who knows what other unrealistic things they’re going to expect? You know, if we fund Head Start now, later, they’ll expect education. If we fund school lunches now, later, they’ll expect food.”
Click through to watch the video.

CBS Launches New Online Video Initiative
CBS is launching a new project called EyeLab that will produce short clips relating to some of the popular shows on the network… According to the President of CBS Interactive, the network’s research indicates that less than a third of their viewers are interested in viewing full-length shows online, which is why they decided to offer short-form video as well. It’s a different approach than rival NBC, which plans to make available full-length downloads of their shows.

Corporate America Continues to Block Facebook
More companies are joining the bandwagon and blocking access to social networking sites. A web security firm called ScanSafe reports that a third of employers are now restricting access to social networking sites. Is it because of a loss of productivity? Not entirely. The report shows that companies are worried about security issues as well, with employees visiting social networks on company computers.

Lookery Moving Beyond Facebook to “Rent” Data from Smaller Networks
Scott Rafer’s Lookery, the ad network for Facebook apps, is branching out to encompass the entire web… Lookery on the Web will, in a sense, aggregate the personal information from many secondary social networks, like Hi5, and provide a large pool of data for market researchers, advertisers, and other companies that would want to use the demographic stats.

YouTube Puts AdSense in Embedded Players
This is very interesting: according to [a] page on YouTube, certain sites can now embed YouTube players that contain an AdSense unit above the clip. In other words: you could soon make money by embedding YouTube clips in your site. The page, spotted by ProBlogger today, doesn’t yet provide a way to sign up for this, and I can’t find any mention in my AdSense account. However, it does display a new type of embedded player that’s long enough to accommodate the ad unit. It also mentions that the player is customizable.

iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store Now Live
The iTunes wifi music store has officially launched. You can now access the wifi music store from your iPhone or the new iPod Touch in order to purchase songs and albums directly to your device. You can currently only download music with the wifi store, but television shows and movies may become available later on.