Michael Brown: ‘Life after government’
Michael Brown, then director of FEMA, with Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, an agency which Brown had earlier that year accused of an “unfocused empire-building’’ agenda.
Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.
by Mark Silva
Michael Brown, the former federal official who bore the brunt of criticism for the government’s handling […]
Coulter immediately agrees.
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August 17, 2007 6:44 PM
ABC News’ Rick Klein Reports: Former Sen. John Edwards on Friday fired the latest round in his ongoing verbal feud with Ann Coulter, calling her a “she-devil” at a public event before quickly adding that he shouldn’t engage in name-calling.
Edwards, D-N.C., was railing against the right-wing media — including […]
August 19, 2007
Concern Over Wider Spying Under New Law
By JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 — Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include — without court approval — certain types of physical searches of American citizens […]
but he was murder in the chorus line.
August 17, 2007
For Giuliani, Ground Zero as Linchpin and Thorn
By RUSS BUETTNER
As Rudolph W. Giuliani campaigns around the country highlighting his stewardship of New York City after the Sept. 11 attacks, he is widely hailed for bringing order to a traumatized city. But he has also raised the […]
Houston & Texas News
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Korean War veteran Nyles Reed purchased his own Purple Heart for $42 after he was told the medal was “out of stock.’’ Dave Rossman: For the Chronicle photos
Aug. 17, 2007, 6:59PM
Short of Purple Hearts, Navy tells vet to buy own By ANNE MARIE KILDAY Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
PEARLAND — Korean […]
Yahoo Headlines…As of 10:02 a.m. EDT
• Hurricane Dean churns through Caribbean
• Turkish plane hijacking ends peacefully
• German woman kidnapped in Kabul eatery
• Spacewalk trimmed for shuttle return
• Mortgage brokers facing higher hurdles to home loans
• Canada’s last igloo to be flattened amid Arctic boom
• Saks Fifth Avenue unveils its new shoe department
Murray absent from news conference at Crandall Canyon Mine
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
Published: Aug. 17, 2007 1:59 p.m. MDT
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UBIQUITOUS BOB MURRAY
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His absence was conspicuous.
Bob Murray, the outspoken owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine, did not appear at a news conference today to discuss the deaths of three rescue workers and the injuries of six […]
This makes those $1000 toilet seats look like a steal.
Pentagon Paid $998,798 to Ship Two 19-Cent Washers (Update3)
By Tony Capaccio
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to an Army base in […]
Mine Safety Czar Richard Stickler: Another Bush Fox Guarding the Henhouse
Huffington Post | Max Follmer | August 15, 2007 02:28 PM
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Mr. Safety: Dick Stickler
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The man who will oversee the federal government’s investigation into the disaster that has trapped six workers in a Utah coal mine for over […]
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Ozier Muhammed/The New York Times
Max Roach at the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival at Columbia University in 2000.
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August 16, 2007 Max Roach, a Founder of Modern Jazz, Dies at 83
By PETER KEEPNEWS
The New York Times
Max Roach, a founder of modern jazz who rewrote the rules of drumming in the 1940’s and spent the rest of […]
New York Times
August 16, 2007
U.S. Defends Surveillance to 3 Skeptical Judges
By ADAM LIPTAK
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 15 — Three federal appeals court judges hearing challenges to the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs appeared skeptical of and sometimes hostile to the Bush administration’s central argument Wednesday: that national security concerns require that the lawsuits be dismissed.
“Is it […]
Danes say sorry for Viking raids on Ireland
Owen Bowcott, Ireland correspondent
Thursday August 16, 2007
The Guardian
More than 1,200 years ago hordes of bloodthirsty Viking raiders descended on Ireland, pillaging monasteries and massacring the inhabitants. Yesterday, one of their more mild-mannered descendants stepped ashore to apologise.
The Danish culture minister, Brian Mikkelson, who was in Dublin to participate […]
PAGE ONE
U.S. to Expand
Domestic Use
Of Spy Satellites
By ROBERT BLOCK
August 15, 2007; Page A1
The U.S.’s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation’s vast network of spy satellites in the U.S.
The decision, made three months ago by Director of National Intelligence Michael […]
had Major League Baseball expanded to Havana instead of Houston.
Sadly, it’s not a sport familiar with mulahs and probably will never be.
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Image: (Lo Duca) blogs.nydailynews.com; (Martinez) media.scout.com via phillies.scout.com (Drew) doubledogmusic.com via thehotcorner.org; (Main photo) via thinkprogress.com
The party that rolls over to the likes of Dick, W ‘n L’il Torquey
deserves Lieberman!
Thomas B Edsall
The Huffington Post
Sitting Pretty, Lieberman Thumbs His Nose At Dems
August 15, 2007 09:32 AM
Seven years ago, Joe Lieberman, hungry for the vice presidency and determined to remove any roadblocks to his nomination as Al Gore’s running mate, renounced his […]
Rove’s Blind Spot
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By Harold Meyerson
Wednesday, August 15, 2007; Page A11
Decades from now, historians will have trouble fathoming why Karl Rove’s contemporaries hailed him as a genius. An expert practitioner of wedge politics, in the tradition of Lee Atwater? Sure. But architect of an enduring Republican majority? The great realigner? What were the pundits of 2002 […]
by Emma Charlton
Sun Aug 12, 4:27 PM ET
Cecilia Sarkozy’s decision to bow out of a picnic with the president of the United States this weekend is the latest proof of the French first lady’s unpredictable, even rebellious take on her new role.
President Nicolas Sarkozy travelled alone to meet George W. Bush and his family at […]
OK: Oklahoma license plate touts terror fight
For Sooners looking to show their terror-fighting pride while tearing up the asphalt, the Oklahoma Tax Commission has extended the deadline to order the global war on terrorism license plate (aka GWOT) pictured here.
It’s a great idea which will fire the imagination of other states’
departments of motor vehicles…
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[…]
Most movie fans think of this as a costume drama.
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But, most fans would reveal their ignorance of Hollywood Definitions.
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Images: (Elizabeth & Essex stills) via dvdbeaver.com; (Popeye) nextag.com; (Michael) costumezone.com; (Porky Pig) Looney Tunes via a-1video.com via care2.com; (Daffy Duck) Looney Tunes via allposters.com; (Lion) keepkidshealthy.com; (Rubble) buycostumes.com; (Bunny) spookynite.com; (Batman) costumesupercenter.com;
August 11, 2007
Reported Drop in Surveillance Spurred a Law
By ERIC LICHTBLAU, JAMES RISEN and MARK MAZZETTI
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 — At a closed-door briefing in mid-July, senior intelligence officials startled lawmakers with some troubling news. American eavesdroppers were collecting just 25 percent of the foreign-based communications they had been receiving a few months earlier.
Congress needed to […]
Texas pastor arrested for dragging girl at camp
Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:54AM EDT
This is an edifying story because we are able to go beyond the ephemeral
“What Would Jesus Do?”
to see how true Christianity works…in the Lone Star state.
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SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas pastor and a colleague have been charged with tying a […]
“Would you please give me the definition?”
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Image: (Bush ‘n Fredo) (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) via lowculture.com
I can certainly see why the ban has taken effect. See below!
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By ALEXA OLESEN
The Associated Press
Sunday, August 5, 2007; 2:20 PM
BEIJING — China has banned crude and insensitive slogans promoting the country’s ‘one-child’ family planning policy, such as “Raise fewer babies but more piggies,” which have stoked anger in rural areas, state media said Sunday.
China’s […]
Lee Glendinning
Tuesday August 7, 2007
The Guardian
He expelled Jewish and Russian musicians from concert halls during the Third Reich, claimed in Mein Kampf that there was no independent Jewish culture, and referred to Russians as sub-humans, yet at the same time Adolf Hitler listened to their music in secret.
Around 100 gramophone records which apparently belonged to […]
Fly me to the moon: space hotel sees 2012 opening
By Pascale Harter Fri Aug 10, 1:21 PM ET
BARCELONA (Reuters) - “Galactic Suite,” the first hotel planned in space, expects to open for business in 2012 and would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes.
Its Barcelona-based architects say the space hotel will be […]
Bush’s Muse Stands Accused
Speeches Weren’t His, Colleague Says
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By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 11, 2007; Page A01
He has been hailed as the best White House speechwriter since Kennedy’s Theodore Sorensen, the muse behind President Bush’s most famous phrases, the moral conscience of the West Wing. But now Michael J. Gerson is accused by a […]
The first question summed up the party…
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1. Which of the following issues is the most important to you? Please rank from 1-10 with “1″ being the most important to you
___Improving public education
___Protecting the environment
___Iraq war
___Economics/tax policy
___Reproductive freedom
___Social Security reform
___Ethics in Government
___Health care affordability
___National energy policy
___Stem cell research
___Other
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The next twelve questions dealt with topics of […]
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I don’t think think they had envisioned this, either, Big Bill.
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When Idaho State Rep. Bill Sali was running for Congress in 2006, Vice President Cheney visited his state and said, “Bill is ready to make a difference in Washington, and he’s going to be the kind of Congressman who will make you proud.” Now-Congressman […]
The Teddy Bears’ Picnic
If you go out in the woods today
You’ll be followed ‘n scrutinized
If you go out in the woods today
You’d better go in disguise.
For every spy on Common Cause
Will waterboard e’en Santa Claus, because
Today’s the day NGA has their picnic.
If you drive out to the woods today,
Your bumpers best not be […]