Senate Votes for Retroactive Immunity

The Senate voted today on the Dodd/Feingold amendment, which would have struck provisions providing immunity from civil liability to members of the telecom industry that participate in the government’s warrantless wiretapping program.
Despite the best efforts of Senator Chris Dodd, the Senate voted 67-31 against the bill; Hillary Clinton and Lindsey Graham did not vote. Dodd [...]

Republican Electoral Scheme in California Fails

The campaign by California GOP strategists to reallocate the states’ electoral votes by congressional district has failed.  The effort was pushing to propose a ballot measure that would redistribute California’s 55 electoral votes by congressional district, instead of the normal winner-take-all system. If approved, the ballot measure would ensure an estimated twenty extra electoral votes [...]

Murdoch’s New Fox: Rove

From smh.com:

Karl Rove, the strategist behind President George W Bush’s ascendancy to the White House, will join Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel as a contributor starting with Super Tuesday.
Rove was chief strategist for Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign and joined him in the White House in several capacities, including deputy chief of staff. He left the [...]

Taunting Iran: A Delicate Balance

Last week, the US government and the media warned of a dangerous incident in the Persian Gulf. The accounts dramatized a serious threat posed by Iranian speedboats to three U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon released a video of the Hormuz confrontation, parroted here by CNN. Their version of the incident contained [...]

George McGovern’s Call For Impeachment

Former presidential candidate George McGovern (lost to Nixon in ‘72) has written an op-ed piece in the Washington Post calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney:
Why I Believe Bush Must Go
Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.
By George McGovern
Sunday, January 6, 2008
As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have [...]

Over the Holidays…

My apologies for the lack of posts the last couple weeks.  It’s been a hectic holiday season of returning home, battling sickness, and seeing friends and family.  I’ll try to post more often.
In case you missed them, here are a couple stories that occurred over the holidays:

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on [...]

Mid-week Roundup 12/12

Losing our minds over Illegal Immigration
NAFTA has the power to trump state laws!
The Historical Truth of Our Relations with Iran
Report shows Bush manipulated climate science, suppressed scientists.
Nigeria battles Pfizer in court for conducting an illegal, unauthorized drug trial on Nigerian children.
Bad News for Prescription Drugs: pharmaceutical sales reps may be given licenses.
Murdoch Ready to Makeover [...]

The Wolf Returns…

The disgraced ex-president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, has managed to find new work in familiar surroundings. Wolfowitz, known as one of the primary architects of Bush’s Iraq policy, was forced to resign as president of the World Bank after approving an illegal high-paying promotion for his girlfriend Shaha Riza.
Despite the disgraced [...]

Chicago to Pay $20mil for Police Torture

A bit of hometown news, from Democracy Now, 12/10/2007:
The city of Chicago has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to four former death row prisoners who gave false confessions after being tortured by Chicago police. The four men are all African-American. They sued former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and more than 20 officers who [...]

Halliburton/KBR Gang Rape Victim

From ABC News:
A Houston woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the US government are covering up the incident.
Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a [...]