May 21, 2006
Law and Disorder
Misjudgments Marred U.S. Plans for Iraqi Police
By MICHAEL MOSS and DAVID ROHDE
As chaos swept Iraq after the American invasion in 2003, the Pentagon began its effort to rebuild the Iraqi police with a mere dozen advisers. Overmatched from the start, one was sent to train a 4,000-officer unit to guard […]

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Dennis Haster Vs. Dick Cheney: The Speaker’s Wrath
Riobert Novak
May 18, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, a 64-year-old ex-high school wrestling coach, ordinarily is not a shouter. But according to Capitol Hill sources, he engaged in a high decibel rant last week when he met with Vice President Dick Cheney. The speaker was […]

Bush’s Base Betrayal
By Richard A. Viguerie
Sunday, May 21, 2006; B01

As a candidate in 2000, George W. Bush was a Rorschach test. Country Club Republicans saw him as another George H.W. Bush; some conservatives, thinking wishfully, saw him as another Ronald Reagan. He called himself a “compassionate conservative,” which meant whatever one wanted it to mean. […]

Attorney Gen.: Reporters Can Be Prosecuted

1 hour, 40 minutes ago
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.
The nation’s top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal […]

Congress Agrees to Raise Broadcast Indecency Fines
Conference to Decide Maximum Penalty
By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 20, 2006; D01

More than two years after proclaiming outrage over Janet Jackson’s briefly exposed breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, both houses of Congress have passed legislation that would significantly increase indecency fines for television and […]

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KINKY FRIEDMAN FOR GOVERNOR: WHY THE HELL NOT?
Texas candidate Kinky Friedman’s slogan sums up his campaign
By Mike Taibbi
Correspondent
NBC News

Updated: 7:34 p.m. ET May 16, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas - Kinky Friedman, country singer and mystery writer, is looking for another gig.
“The next governor of the great state of Texas” is how he’s introduced at campaign rallies these […]

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Top Air Force brass said to be under FBI probe
Thu May 18, 2006 7:29 PM ET
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force’s highest-ranking officer and his predecessor are the subjects of an FBI investigation into the handling of a $49.9 million dollar contract for the Thunderbirds, an air demonstration squadron, ABC News reported […]

Congress bribery probe could deepen
Records detail contractor’s sway
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | May 19, 2006
WASHINGTON — On March 8, 2004, after a private, chartered flight from Washington, Congressman Randy ‘’Duke” Cunningham checked into a luxury oceanfront suite at the Delano Hotel, a restored Art Deco jewel on Miami Beach. Prosecutors say the […]

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Jack Cafferty blasts trhe latest outrage by the Republican Senate.
Please find the video here.
Thanks to Crooks & Liars.com

…but it would produce one heckuva garage sale!
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Papers Shed Light on Billionaire’s Divorce

By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer Fri May 19, 5:05 AM ET
An appeals court ordered documents from billionaire Ron Burkle’s divorce proceedings unsealed after the state’s highest court struck down a law that allowed people to shield financial records in […]

Grand Jury Indicts Law Firm. 2 Partners
By ERIC BERKOWITZ
The Associated Press

Friday, May 19, 2006; 9:19 AM
LOS ANGELES — A federal grand jury has indicted a top class-action law firm in a scheme that paid more than $11 million in illegal kickbacks to get people to take part in shareholder lawsuits.
The charges follow years of […]

Karaoke trains to the roof of world

Thu May 18, 8:50 AM ET
Ticket to Tibet, sir? That’ll be $1,000 a day. But at least you’ll be able to have a good sing on the way.
China is planning to offer luxury trains to the roof of the world when it opens a long anticipated and highly […]

THE NATION
In the Black(water)
by JEREMY SCAHILL
[from the June 5, 2006 issue]
Tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims remain without homes. The environment is devastated. People are disenfranchised. Financial resources, desperate residents are told, are scarce. But at least New Orleans has a Wal-Mart parking lot serving as a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center with perhaps the […]

According to theHill.com, James Gandolfini said that W should “reinstate the draft, send 500,000 troops and finish it(War with Iraq).” In all fairness, Mr. Gandolfini offered to drive a truck–not the safest occupation in Iraq.

Please find the entire article is here.
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armynavysuperstores.com; markys.com; armyrecognition.com; entertainment-news.org

from the May 19, 2006 edition

Hayden defends NSA record to make his case
Senators pressed the nominee for CIA director Thursday.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON - In confirmation hearings Thursday, senators pressed Gen. Michael Hayden not only on his plans for the Central Intelligence Agency, […]

I found the following at the Hotlineblog of the National Journal via HuffingtoPost.

Have A Heart
This has to be just about the nastiest piece of direct mail we’ve ever seen.
A candidate for State Assembly in the central valley region of CA, Bill Conrad (R) is apparently running on the platform that his opponent won’t […]

May 18, 2006
Two Splits Between Human and Chimp Lines Suggested
By NICHOLAS WADE
The split between the human and chimpanzee lineages, a pivotal event in human evolution, may have occurred millions of years later than fossil bones suggest, and the break may not have been as clean as humans might like.
A new comparison of the human […]

Feingold, Specter Clash Over Gay Marriage

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 40 minutes ago
A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him “good riddance.”
“I don’t need to be lectured by you. You are no more a […]

The second paragraph states that Heather Mills McCartney wants to campaign against fur. I find that an odd method of demonstrating love for animals. Many of these creatures need fur to survive harsh climates and–from the fashion perspective–a polar bear would look stupid wearing a lined London Fog or some poofy, orange, down jacket from […]

Hawaiian Hideaway?
May 17, 2006 10:16 AM
Rhonda Schwartz Reports:
Sources close to the widening probe of official corruption in Washington tell ABC News that investigators are studying travel records of expensive trips to Hawaii and Europe taken by top CIA official Dusty Foggo and San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes.
Prosecutors want to know who paid for the […]

Bausch: We alerted FDA to infections

Company rejects earlier report by regulators that it did not make FDA aware of Singapore infection cases in timely fashion.

May 17, 2006: 6:09 PM EDT
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Eye products maker Bausch & Lomb Inc. said Wednesday it discussed initial case reports with U.S. regulators within days of receiving a report […]

Because I have not followed this conspiracy thread, the answer may have already been propounded. If that is the case, I apologize for wasting your time.
If, as the conspiracy thorists believe, a missile crashed into the E-ring of the Pentagon, where in God’s name are the 11 crew members and 71 non-terrorist passengers?  By now, […]

FAIRNESS AND ACCURACY IN REPORTING 
Tom Friedman’s Flexible Deadlines
Iraq’s ‘decisive’ six months have lasted two and a half years
5/16/06
New York Times foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman is considered by many of his media colleagues to be one of the wisest observers of international affairs. “You have a global brain, my friend,” MSNBC host Chris Matthews […]

The NSA is on the line — all of them

An intelligence expert predicts we’ll soon learn that cellphone and Internet companies also cooperated with the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on us.
By Kim Zetter SALON.com
May. 15, 2006 | When intelligence historian Matthew Aid read the USA Today story last Thursday about how […]

FBI Acknowledges: Journalists Phone Records are Fair Game
May 15, 2006 7:18 PM
Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:
The FBI acknowledged late Monday that it is increasingly  seeking reporters’ phone records in leak investigations.
“It used to be very hard and complicated to do this, but it no longer is in the Bush administration,” said a senior […]

The Free Press
Will the major media finally cover the electronic election fraud issue?
by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
May 15, 2006
That the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 were stolen has become an article of faith for millions of mainstream Americans. But there has been barely a whiff of coverage in the […]

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Doug Mills/ The New York Times; coxnewsweb.com; biblio.com

From Capitol Hill Blue
The Rant

Can a b*****b save America? (My asterisks-DBp)
By DOUG THOMPSON
May 15, 2006, 08:00
“You’re in more dire need of a b*****b than any white man in history!”
–Robin Williams to the late J.T. Walsh in Good Morning Vietnam
At lunch the other day, a relatively-refined female friend blurted out: “I wish somebody would catch George […]

The Daily Mail

The BBC’s latest star - a baffled cabbie
22:56pm 13th May 2006
A computer expert has described his astonishment at seeing the BBC’s 24-hour news channel interview a taxi driver - in the mistaken belief it was him.Guy Kewney - a white, bearded technology expert - was astonished to see himself appear on screen […]

Last update: May 14, 2006 – 10:54 AM
Report: Military Ignoring Mental Illness
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - U.S. military troops with severe psychological problems have been sent to Iraq or kept in combat, even when superiors have been aware of signs of mental illness, a newspaper reported for Sunday editions.

Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - U.S. military troops […]

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May 14, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
Will the Real Traitors Please Stand Up?
By FRANK RICH
WHEN America panics, it goes hunting for scapegoats. But from Salem onward, we’ve more often than not ended up pillorying the innocent. Abe Rosenthal, the legendary Times editor who died last week, and his publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, were denounced as treasonous in […]

CIA leak case court filing focuses on Cheney

By Kevin Drawbaugh
Reuters
Sunday, May 14, 2006; 12:02 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. prosecutor in the CIA leak case has told a court he plans to use as evidence a newspaper article with notes that he says were hand-written by Vice President Dick Cheney referring to Valerie Plame shortly […]

Newsweek Poll: Americans Wary of NSA Surveillance

By David Jefferson
Updated: 11:59 a.m. ET May 13, 2006

May 13, 2006 - Has the Bush administration gone too far in expanding the powers of the President to fight terrorism? Yes, say a majority of Americans, following this week’s revelation that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting […]

May 14, 2006
Cheney Pushed U.S. to Widen Eavesdropping
By SCOTT SHANE and ERIC LICHTBLAU
WASHINGTON, May 13 — In the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney and his top legal adviser argued that the National Security Agency should intercept purely domestic telephone calls and e-mail messages without warrants in the hunt for […]

Plan may put troops at Mexico, U.S. border
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 13, 2006
WASHINGTON - President Bush, trying to build momentum for an overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, is considering plans to shore up the Mexican border with National Guard troops paid for by the federal government, the Associated Press reported Friday, citing unnamed administration […]

 Alabama’s Candidate’s Views Startle Democrats
By JAY REEVES
The Associated Press
Friday, May 12, 2006; 7:05 PM

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Democratic Party leaders are wondering what to do about a candidate for attorney general who denies the Holocaust occurred and wants to “reawaken white racial awareness.”
Larry Darby, the founder of the Atheist Law Center, made an abortive bid […]

Boehner Ridicules Proposals From Republican Senators (Update1)
By Laura Litvan
May 12 (Bloomberg) — House Majority Leader John Boehner dismisses recent legislative proposals on energy and immigration as “stupid,’’ “insulting’’ and “a big mistake.’’
Boehner’s scorn isn’t directed at his usual target, the Democrats: The proposals drawing the […]

Flawed Wash. Post/ABC News poll suggested no link between NSA data collection and warrantless spying — despite Post’s own contrary report

Summary: A Washington Post/ABC News poll on the National Security Agency program to collect phone call records of tens of millions of United States residents found that 63 percent of respondents found the program acceptable. […]

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Jim Wilson/The New York Times
From left, Pfc. Richard Thurman, Pvt. Justin Nugent and Pvt. Damien McMahon in Lawton, Okla. The Army is acting to address accusations of abuse at the injured soldiers’ unit at nearby Fort Sill, Okla.

May 12, 2006
Army Acts to Curb Abuses of Injured Recruits
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
LAWTON, Okla. — The Army […]

ABC NEWS
Phone-Records Surveillance Is Broadly Acceptable to Public
By GARY LANGER and DALIA SUSSMAN
May 12, 2006 — - Americans by nearly a 2-1 ratio call the surveillance of telephone records an acceptable way for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, expressing broad unconcern even if their own calling patterns are scrutinized.
Lending support to the […]

“Hey, Ah’m George Bush ‘n Ah wanna make sure you tawkyewr frens ’bout my great plans fer tha countrah. Me ‘n mah mom are givin’ tam shares ta the ranch sows everone kin visit ‘n know A’hm notta bad guy.  Mom’ll rustle ya up some o’ her flapjacks ‘n I kin do some rope tricks […]

GAO: Few Troops Are Treated for Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Risk Gauged
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 11, 2006; A08

Nearly four in five service members returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who were found to be at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were never referred by government clinicians for further help, according to […]

“In George W. Bush’s petty, pathetic, partisan world, laws he doesn’t agree with don’t have to be obeyed, Congressional actions that differ from his political agenda can be ignored and the Constitution of the United States is just a “goddamned piece of paper.”

George W. Bush: An American Hitler
By […]

Bush, Gop Congress Losing Core Supporters
Conservatives Point to Spending, Immigration
By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 11, 2006; A01

Disaffection over spending and immigration have caused conservatives to take flight from President Bush and the Republican Congress at a rapid pace in recent weeks, sending Bush’s approval ratings to record lows and presenting […]