Edwards Groups Under Scrutiny
by Alec MacGillis
Probe of Campaign Spending May Look at Their FinancesAs John Edwards, the former Democratic senator, prepared for his second presidential run, he paid for his advisers and burnished his image through a collection of political action committees and nonprofit groups. |
Democrats mock GOP for 'reuniting the Bush operation'
by Alex Isenstadt
This article is just a complete mind twister.Politico's Alex Isenstadt reports: Republicans looking to recover from Bush-era defeats are turning to an unlikely source for advice: top aides to former President George W. Bush. Former White House press secretary Dana Perino, former Bush counselor Ed Gillespie and former White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto are among those set to provide words of wisdom to House Republican press secretaries at their annual workshop this Friday. |
Rice stumbles when asked about torture by fourth-grader
by John Byrne
Asked by a fourth grader about the Bush administration’s torture techniques, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared to stumble this weekend, repeating the same phrase three times.After taking heat last week for telling Stanford University students that waterboarding was legal “by definition if it was authorized by the president,” Rice took questions from a bit younger students at a Washington school. |
N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe
by Howard Kurtz
The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England's most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks.After down-to-the-wire negotiations did not produce millions of dollars in union concessions, the Times Co. said that it will file today a required 60-day notice of the planned shutdown under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification law. |
Falling Wage Syndrome
by Paul Krugman
Wages are falling all across America.Some of the wage cuts, like the givebacks by Chrysler workers, are the price of federal aid. Others, like the tentative agreement on a salary cut here at The Times, are the result of discussions between employers and their union employees. Still others reflect the brute fact of a weak labor market: workers don’t dare protest when their wages are cut, because they don’t think they can find other jobs. |
Remembering Jack Kemp
by Capitol Hill Blue
Jack Kemp, a 1960s American football hero who later became a US congressman and vice-presidential nominee, was remembered on Sunday as a man whose passion for politics permanently influenced his party and nation."Jack Kemp's commitment to public service and his passion for politics influenced not only the direction of his party, but his country," President Barack Obama said in a statement issued on Sunday. |
Freedom of the press declines in every region in 2008
by Joe Byrne
Journalists around the globe should have little reason to think that freedom of the press is safe, according to a survey report released on Friday by Freedom House, a human rights advocacy group. Freedom House’s annual ‘freedom of the press report’ analyzed the state of the news media in 195 countries; advocates found that the freedom of the press declined in every region for the first time since the annual report was published. |
Bob Barr: the GOP is in 'very deep trouble'
by Stephen C. Webster
Leave it to former Republican Congressman Bob Barr to put the obvious on the media's lips.CNN has the scoop: “The Republican Party is in very deep trouble right now,” Barr said in an interview with CNN. Barr, who was once a loyal soldier in the GOP, joined the Libertarian Party in 2006 and was the party’s presidential candidate in 2008. |
Choose free speech
by Stephen C. Webster
A legal battle which erupted in North Carolina over customized license plates sporting anti-abortion messages just may end up in front of the Supreme Court.From the Guardian: The rising popularity of specialised number plates – which allow drivers to express allegiances to everything from fishing to support for war widows – has enabled a growing number of states to offer Choose Life plates. That has prompted political and legal battles in states that are refusing to adopt them, as well as demands for plates in support of abortion rights in states that permit the Choose Life version. The arguments look increasingly likely to end up before the supreme court. |
Strife in Pakistan Raises U.S. Doubts Over Nuclear Arms
by David E. Sanger
WASHINGTON — As the insurgency of the Taliban and Al Qaeda spreads in Pakistan, senior American officials say they are increasingly concerned about new vulnerabilities for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, including the potential for militants to snatch a weapon in transport or to insert sympathizers into laboratories or fuel-production facilities. |
Obama Set for 'Intense' Pakistan, Afghan Summit
by Agence France Presse
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama meets Wednesday with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, hoping to shore up the fight against Islamic extremism as concerns about the region mount.The summit visibly showcases the new strategy of Obama, who says the United States must consider the neighboring countries together -- rather than focus just on fighting Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan. |
