For about a nanosecond, General Anthony Zinni was everywhere. He made several talk shows. He was on Al Franken show. He was also on The Daily Show. I’m not sure how his book, The Battle for Peace, did in total sales. I do know, he was thoughtful, articulate and a breath of fresh air. But just like a gentle breeze, he was gone before you knew it. I tried to get him on my show. His agent laughed as she hung up the phone. 
Looks like faith-based initiatives only got lip service at the White House. New book tells this tale. New books are killin’ the White House.
Great points. The administration is going to have to actually talk to North Korea. Wow. A discussion.
The horse race analysis continues. Laura Bush adds a little punch to the GOP but really. What has she done? She has smiled and really hasn’t said much.
Hastert (I wonder if Bush as a colorful nickname for him like Brownie) gets the support he needs.
I’m going to post a series of facts on Charles Taylor in the coming weeks.
Not only did Representative Charles Taylor (R) put GE-authored legislation into a bill in order to help delay clean-up of a polluted river-site, and help, with Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Jack Abramoff’s client, the Saginaw Tribe, secure federal funding for a school in exchange for campaign donations. But now it seems that he’s also mired in a few garden variety scams to enrich himself and his friends: he allegedly helped a friend commit bank fraud and used his status as a member of Congress to buy the better part of a Russian bank. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a Congressional watchdog group, released an ethics complaint against Taylor yesterday, alleging that he violated eight laws and House ethics statutes since he joined the House in 1990.
From TPM cafe:
From RS:
Early Thursday morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied that she gave the “brush-off” to an “impending terrorist attack” warning by former C.I.A. director George J. Tenet and his counterterrorism coordinator in July of 2001, two months before the September 11 attacks, which was first reported in Washington Post investigative reporter’s Bob Woodward’s latest book State of Denial.
The former National Security Adviser, interviewed on Detroit’s Paul Smith Show on WJRI Radio, said that the “assertion that [she] would hear about a specific attack and not do anything” is “obviously just not true.”
“On July 10, 2001, the book says, Mr. Tenet and his counterterrorism chief, J. Cofer Black, met with Ms. Rice at the White House to impress upon her the seriousness of the intelligence the agency was collecting about an impending attack,” David E. Sanger reported for the New York Times in September. “But both men came away from the meeting feeling that Ms. Rice had not taken the warnings seriously.” more
From CNN.com:
Two U.S. government officials with access to classified information tell CNN that the initial air sampling over North Korea shows no indication of radioactive debris from the event Monday that North Korea says was an underground nuclear test.
The U.S. Air Force flew a WC-135 Constant Phoenix on Tuesday to collect air samples from the region.
A third official reiterated that at this point “there isn’t information to allow confirmation it was a nuclear test.” more
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So what’s the next move? Do we continue to ignore and name call? Or do we pull back from the UN security council? What does North Korea do?
Video to follow.
Well, I’m sure that this looks good for the Republicans also.
From Cnn.com:
Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty Friday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, the first lawmaker to confess to crimes in a scandal that has stained the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration.
Standing before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. He acknowledged taking money, gifts and favors in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff and his clients.
The 52-year-old lawmaker faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Huvelle said prosecutors had agreed to recommend a term of 27 months, and said federal guidelines suggest a fine of between $5,000 and $60,000.
Ney did not immediately resign from Congress, and within minutes, Republican and Democratic leaders vowed to expel him unless he steps down. more
From CNN.com:
Air America Radio, a liberal talk and news radio network, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a network official told the AP.
The network had denied rumors just a month ago that it would file for bankruptcy, but on Friday Air America said negotiations with a creditor from the company’s early days had broken down.
The network will stay on the air while it resolves issues with its creditors, spokeswoman Jaime Horn told the Associated Press.
A formal announcement was expected to be made later Friday.
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No announcement on Air America’s web site. Nothing. Recall that Air America was suppose to announce 2 weeks ago that they were filing for bankruptcy. So, we’ll see.
Friday is the last day to register to vote, change your address, or party affiliation. Hopefully you have taken care of that! If you know of any good Democrats who have waited until the last minute, that minute has arrived!
You can click here to find your voter registration status.
You can pick up registration forms at area libraries, the Board of Elections, or Democratic HQ but you must hand deliver them to the Board of Elections by 5 PM.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
