TODAY'S TOPICS: NAFTA Lie, Hillary "Rove" Clinton, Daily Show, Colbert, John W. McBush, Diebold/Defense Contractor

As I said, the phony NAFTA/Canada story was a crock of shit. I’ve got an article down the post that will detail this fact even further, but here’s Olbermann breaking the “story”, and Hillary’s role in the big lie. As in, Hillary was the one that reassured the Canadian government that she still believes in the failed ideological lie of “free” (as in NOT FREE) trade, not Obama. Hillary Rove Clinton must be stopped, at all costs. If not, and she “wins” this way, I will vote Nader:

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78955/

A great tribute to the fascist presidential candidates of the GOP…I just don’t know how anyone, outside the religious fanatics, fascists, and warmongers could support this cabal (which only make up about 25% of the country!)? Watch and be reviled by their own words on the campaign trail:

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78854/

The Hagee double standard: when McCain actively seeks out, and praises, a complete psycho, bigot, and “end of times” promoter, and gets the endorsement, barely a peep from the media. When someone overhears Farrakhan (whose no where near the parasite that Hagee is) say he liked Obama, and Obama rejects the endorsement…it gets a TON of media scrutiny.

Do you get the feeling that race just has a little bit to do with that? And of course, the media has a big time crush on McCain. If he told them to take their clothes off at press conferences and stick their thumbs in their mouths, they’d do it with glee…and probably say what a Maverick he was for making them do it.

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78783/

Daily Show on the price of oil…remember, when Bush took office it was at $31 a barrel, now, esp. after the invasion of Iraq, its at $104 and rising…gee, do you think there’s a connection???

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/07/the-daily-show-the-price-of-oil/

Another great Onion fake news story: this on the importance of bullshit stories with voters…funny, and based on how the media covers politics, you would think its true (but its not). Like, “candidates' relationships with their current or ex spouses, what their religion is or if they're patriotic enough.”

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78899/

Stephen Colbert breaks down the wiretapping/immunity/FISA debate…classic:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/07/the-colbert-report-at-treason/

Check out Robert Greenwald’s new video about the love affair between Bush, and the real John W. McBush:

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78955/

Some facts compiled by our friends at ProgressNowAction:

McCain Is Exactly Like Bush
McCain Cast 377 Votes in Support of President Bush’s Position, Supported Bush a Majority of the Time
McCain/Bush Friendship Based On Shared Views On Issues
McCain “Steadfast” And “Outspoken” In His Support For War In Iraq
McCain Said “Stay The Course,” Downplayed Violence And Denied Civil War
McCain Supported Bush Escalation, Claimed Success Despite Previous Criticism
McCain’s Reputation Tied To Bush’s Handling Of Iraq
“A Consistent Supporter Of Personal Social Security Accounts”; Helped Sell Bush Overhaul
Flip-Flop On Bush Tax Cuts A “Breathtaking Turnabout”
McCain Supported No Child Left Behind
McCain’s Health Plan Just Like Bush’s Failed Health Plan
McCain Supported Bush Nominees

END

The “3 am” ad is such a cheap shot, it’s actually the first thing that’s made me mad at Hillary Clinton. It almost made me as mad as the thing she said, ‘oh as far as I know he’s not a Muslim.’ Those have been the two worst things that she has done. The ‘3 am’ ad was wrong because it cedes the argument to the Republicans over the Democrats in terms of whether or not Americans voters ought to be scared into voting for someone…There’s a difference between talking about the threats that are faced by a country and talking about how to stand up to them and how we as a nation can face them as…with unified…with unity and from a position of strength. It’s another thing to say “Be afraid! Vote for me.” which is what Hillary Clinton is doing, which is George W. Bush politics.

-- the great Rachelle Maddow of Air America starting to tell it like it is about Hillary.

Now, look, I understand stereotypes are hard to defeat. People get an image planted in their head, and sometimes it causes them not to listen to the facts. But America is in the lead when it comes to energy independence; we’re in the lead when it comes to new technologies; we’re in the lead when it comes to global climate change — and we’ll stay that way.

-- George W. Bush…proving once again, he’s an idiotic sociopath

“As premiums have ballooned by 87 percent in the past decade, insurance-industry profits have climbed from $20.8 billion in 2002 to $57.5 billion in 2006. During that same period, health-care interests spent $2.2 billion on federal lobbying, more than did any other sector...”

-- California Nurses Association making the case for a single payer system

ARTICLE SECTION

The truth about the phony NAFTA story, Hillary's years of support of the catastrophic trade agreement (and her lies about it), and the role played by right wing canadian officials.

A few clips:

Given these sentiments, Hillary chose not to defend her husband’s actions, but instead claimed Obama was distorting her position because she’d privately opposed the agreement at the time, had “long been a critic” and now similarly supported stronger labor and environmental standards. Echoing her reinvention on the Iraq War, these claims were flat-out nonsense. As David Sirota points out, she’d praised NAFTA repeatedly in public settings from the time of its inception, even praising corporations for mounting “a very effective business effort” on behalf of its passage. And as Obama highlighted their contrasting positions and approaches on this and other issues, he was gaining in the polls.

Then, on Feb 27, the Canadian network CTV reported that even as Obama was publicly attacking Bill’s role in NAFTA, and arguing for a drastic overhaul, he’d had key economic advisor Austin Goolsby arrange a meeting with the Canadian ambassador where Goolsby reassured them that this was all just “political positioning,” pandering for campaign trail. The likely source of the anonymous Valerie Plame-style leak was right-wing Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie, and US media jumped all over it as proof of Obama’s hypocrisy. The Canadian embassy denied the story and Obama also said it was false. A follow-up March 3d leak then sent a supposed memo summarizing the meeting to the major US media outlets, quoting Goolsby as saying Obama’s statements were more “political positioning than the clear articulation of policy plans.” Clinton made the controversy a centerpiece of her home stretch speeches and ads, saying “You come to Ohio and you both give speeches that are very critical of NAFTA and you send out misleading and false information about my position regarding NAFTA and then we find out that your chief economic advisor has gone to a foreign government and basically done the old wink wink, don’t pay any attention this is just political rhetoric.” She even ran a radio ad that misleadingly presenting itself as a news story, which concluded, “As Senator Obama was telling one story to Ohio, his campaign was telling a very different story to Canada.”

SNIP

But as the CBC report and others make clear, the core of the story turned out to be false. The Canadian government contacted Goolsby to clarify Obama’s position on trade, not the reverse. Although Goolsby did meet with Canada’s Chicago consul general George Rioux (not, as was reported in the original leak, Ambassador Michael Wilson), there’s no evidence that he ever described Obama’s position as mere political posturing. Instead, Goolsby responded to Canadian questions by clarifying that Obama wasn’t pushing to scrap the agreement entirely, but that labor and environmental safeguards were important to him. The memo was simply inaccurate, as even the Harper government now acknowledges after a firestorm of criticism by opposition parliament members, who’ve accused the Harper government of trying to help their Republican allies across the border by trying to take down the likely and stronger of the Democratic candidates. In response, Harper called the leak “blatantly unfair,” pledged to get to the bottom of it, and said, “there was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA.”… The Harper government has now apologized for any interference in an American political campaign, but the damage is done.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/06/7528/

DEFENSE CONTRACTOR AND MCCAIN TOP AIDE WANT TO BUY DIEBOLD

I found out that the lobbying firm that represents this defense contractor is run by a top aide of John McCain, and, get this, Mark Penn, hillary's top advisor, represents another firm in on this deal. If you tried to convince Oliver Stone to make a film about this he'd say you're being too conspiratorial...yet here we are:

A New Role for Defense Contractors?: Counting Votes

By The Editorial Board of the New York Times

There has long been good reason to worry about Diebold voting machines. Many are “black box” electronic machines that do not produce paper records, so voters have to accept the results they report on faith.

Diebold, however, has not inspired much faith. It has been accused of illegally using uncertified software on its voting machines, exposing elections to possible tampering, and of making glitchy machines that misrecord votes.

Then there’s the little matter of the company’s CEO signing a letter before the 2004 election — in which his machines would be counting many of the votes — saying that he was committed to helping deliver Ohio to President Bush.

(The Onion has a hilarious video up on Youtube, a mock news report about Diebold accidently releasing the results of the 2008 presidential election before the voting occurs. View it here.)

Now, there’s a new reason to worry that Diebold plays such a large role in presidential elections. United Technologies has made an unsolicited $3 billion bid to take over Diebold.

United Technologies is one of the nation’s leading defense contractors, which means it has an enormous corporate interest in who gets elected President.

END

Okay...altogether now, get rid of the e-voting machines and let's go back to paper ballots!

Reports Emerge of Diebold Failures in Montgomery County, Ohio

'40-50 People in Line...4 of 8 Machines Not Working...Poll Workers Didn't Offer Paper Ballots...Get Rid of These Diebold Machines and Get Something That Works!,' Declares one Buckeye Voter

Switch to Paper Ballots Reportedly Going 'Exceptionally Well' in Cuyahoga (Cleveland), So Far,

According to New Election Director...

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5764

Suprime Lenders, Greenspan, the Bush Admin, and Fed Reserve FOUGHT to ALLOW the foreclosure crisis

Edward M. Gramlich, a Federal Reserve governor who died in September, warned nearly seven years ago that a fast-growing new breed of lenders was luring many people into risky mortgages they could not afford.But when Mr. Gramlich privately urged Fed examiners to investigate mortgage lenders affiliated with national banks, he was rebuffed by Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman. In 2001, a senior Treasury official, Sheila C. Bair, tried to persuade subprime lenders to adopt a code of “best practices” and to let outside monitors verify their compliance. None of the lenders would agree to the monitors.

http://bonddad.blogspot.com/2008/03/they-were-warned-and-didnt-listen.html

SUBPRIME CEO'S CONTINUE TO MAKE A KILLING

So remember all you kids, if you break the law, run your company into the ground, and ruin the lives of millions of people you will get A RAISE! Now that's family values in action...

From AP:

The session before the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked Congress' latest foray into one of corporate America's most enduring controversies -- the sky-rocketing compensation of chief executive officers.

On a global scale, U.S. CEOs earn vastly more money on average than their peers abroad, and about 600 times more than the average U.S. worker, up from just 40 times in 1980, according to academic studies of executive pay.

"Incredibly, 10 percent of corporate profits are now flowing to the top executives," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat and chairman of the committee.

The handsome compensation of some financial executives in recent months has contrasted starkly with the billions of dollars in losses being recorded by their companies due to the deflating home price bubble and the subprime mortgage debacle.

In 2007, Mozilo was paid $1.9 million in salary, received $20 million in stock awards based upon performance and sold tens of millions of dollars worth of stock. In that year, Countrywide, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, announced big losses and weathered an 80 percent drop in its stock price.

Prince quit at Citigroup in November as the largest U.S. bank warned it would write off billions of dollars in subprime related losses. Overall, he was compensated that year with a $40 million pay and severance package. The board also awarded Prince with perquisites worth $1.5 million a year upon his retirement that include an office, an administrative assistant and a car and driver for five years.

O'Neal's retirement packet from Merrill was $161 million. He got it despite being ousted days after the world's biggest brokerage reported the largest quarterly loss in its history.

END

"Voters in two southern Vermont towns passed articles Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for violating the Constitution. More symbolic than substantive, the items sought to have police arrest Bush and Cheney if they ever visit Brattleboro or nearby Marlboro or to extradite them for prosecution elsewhere — if they’re not impeached first."

Despite recent speculation of a compromise, Congress is still deadlocked over controversial electronic surveillance legislation. Democratic aides met yesterday in an effort to resolve differences between House and Senate bills, but "Republicans boycotted the meetings — as they have previous meetings on the issue."

A top Centers for Disease Control official told a congressional panel yesterday that the agency "should have reacted sooner to concerns about hazardous fumes in government-issued trailers housing thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims." "Formaldehyde in trailers didn't rise to the top of our priority list at that time," the official said.

CONTRACTOR KBR SKIRTS TAXES THROUGH OFFSHORE HAVENS: The Boston Globe reports today that Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) -- until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp. and the nation's top Iraq war contractor -- "has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies" based in the Caymen Islands. More than 21,000 employees -- 10,500 Americans -- are listed as employees of two companies there, one of which was established two months after Vice President Cheney's appointment as Halliburton's chief executive in 1995. In addition to the loss in tax revenue for Medicare and Social Security, "the practice enables KBR to avoid paying unemployment taxes in Texas," where the company's headquarters are located, which means that "workers hired through the Cayman Island companies cannot receive unemployment assistance should they lose their jobs." The Globe notes that "[o]ver the course of the five-year war" in Iraq, KBR's "tax bill would have been more than $500 million."

"Black Americans still trail whites on such basics as income, education and health," according to a new study by the National Urban League. The study found that three times as many African-Americans as whites live below the poverty line, while African-Americans are twice as likely to be jobless.

TODAY'S TOPICS: Post Election Analysis, Hillary/Walmart, Iran/Iraq, War v. Climate Change, Net Neutrality

VIDEO SECTION

Hillary and Walmart…as in, not only did she serve on the Board for one of the worst corporate criminals in the world today, she also gets the most contributions from Walmart executives than any other elected official. Watch the report by ABC…which includes footage of walmart gatherings attacking unions…which she never defended. Also footage of Hillary praising the company as “the best”:

http://alternet.org/blogs/workplace/78657/

A great montage of all those American flag lapin wearing hypocrites and the crimes they have committed…as they attack Obama’s patriotism…defies rationality, humanity, and reality:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/04/open-thread-737/

Watch Howard Dean deal with the idiocy of Chris Mathews, who just can't let his opinion go from an interview...Dean's been fantastic lately at framing McCain by the way:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/06/draft-howard-dean-to-matthews-oh-thanks-for-taking-me-out-of-context-chris/

And as I'll get to in a minute in my post election analysis, here's Olbermann discussing what Dean may or may not do about Michigan and Florida. Clearly, Dean is on the side of reason, which is Obama's, and that being since EVERYBODY - including Hillary - agreed those delegates would not count, and that Obama wasn't even on the Michigan ballot, they shouldn't go to Hillary now after the fact. Incredibly, and this should be a "respect breaker" for anyone watching her, she now argues she SHOULD get all those delegate. Beyond the pale...

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/06/countdown-dean-will-not-bend-delegate-rules-for-michigan-florida/

THE "DOUBLE TALK EXPRESS":

"I do not agree with your sentiment that there has been widespread corruption [in Washington]. I just don't accept that."

-- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 3/4/08

VERSUS

"You've seen the corruption in Washington. We have former members of Congress in federal prison. ... [I]f anybody thinks that special interests didn't write legislation in Washington, they didn't work there."

-- McCain, 10/21/07

POST ELECTION ANALYSIS

Clearly, Texas was a disappointment (though he will win the caucus there, and maybe win MORE DELEGATES in the state). I knew he would lose Ohio...particularly in light of the bogus NAFTA story...when in fact, Hillary supported it for about 12 years, and Obama NEVER did.

So, before anyone starts getting hysterical, and believing the media hype, and somehow thinking Hillary has made some big comeback, let's take a step back and review, shall we?

Number one: she was up 20 points in both Ohio and Texas just two weeks ago...amazing she, and the media would have the gall to call her wins there a "giant upset", no?

In total, once the caucus delegates are counted in Texas, she likely only picked up FOUR to EIGHT DELEGATES! So she still can't win fairly...yet sadly, this campaign is now going to labor on, she will keep mudslinging, and we may not have a nominee until the summer (unless he can win Pennsylvania, which is possible)...and Obama will be damaged by the dual attacks of Hillary and McCain. If it only goes to Pennsylvania, I think we'll be okay...

Further, in light of Hillary's huge lead two weeks ago, combined with the incredible onslaught of under the belt attacks by her, and the media gobbling it all up in the last few days of the campaign there, its quite impressive that Obama nearly won Texas (split it actually), and barely lost any of his insurmountable delegate lead.

I think what Obama is going to need to figure out is whether to, and if so, how, to go negative against Hillary. And when I say negative, I'm not talking dirty or deceptive, one can be completely truthful, and negative against the likes of her at the same time. But personally, I'd rather not see him wade into the mud that Hillary so loves, and instead continue to articulate a grand vision of change, perhaps slightly retooled with more populist overtones and a bit more specifics. I'd rather not see him lose that appeal as a different kind of politician, which positivity is a major component. But, that's not to say he needs to fire back, immediately, at any attacks and mis-characterizations made against him. He was a bit slow on the NAFTA one...and others.

Clearly that's what finally stopped his momentum...all the attacks from her, and then the media clearly feeling pressure to be "tougher" on him due to SNL and others...Whether it was the ludicrous "Rezko" scandal (anyone remember Whitewater??? Same bullshit...but now Clinton is doing what was done to her!), the NAFTA/Canada crap (which looks to me like a setup by Canada's bush friendly administration), the "scary" 3AM phone call ads, the public financing non-story, the “Barack stole lines from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick”, the “Barack stole a page from Karl Rove when he sent out negative mailings” lie, the Obama dresses like a Muslim” photo, and the Obama has only made a speech, while her and McCain are "experienced" (apparently at lying).

Yet, when all is said and done, the bottom line remains the same: she still CAN'T WIN fairly, unless there is a superdelegate revolt against Obama, which I don't see happening if he keeps and even expands his ELECTED delegate lead (which he will), or, which Howard Dean has already said no to, that all of Michigan and Florida "delegates" go to Hillary AND the superdelegates revolt (that's the only way she really wins...by both happening).

The Obama campaign notes:

Our projections show the most likely outcome of yesterday's elections will be that Hillary Clinton gained 187 delegates, and we gained 183. That's a net gain of 4 delegates out of more than 370 delegates available from all the states that voted.

For comparison, that's less than half our net gain of 9 delegates from the District of Columbia alone. It's also less than our net gain of 8 from Nebraska, or 12 from Washington State. And it's considerably less than our net gain of 33 delegates from Georgia. The task for the Clinton campaign yesterday was clear. In order to have a plausible path to the nomination, they needed to score huge delegate victories and cut into our lead. They failed.

Back to me:

The reality is no matter what H wins and no matter the spin, it is impossible for her to get the nomination on delegates unless what I discussed above takes place. If this continues for a couple more months (and H behaves the way she has in last few weeks), it could be a problem in Nov. because Obama will be so damaged from Clinton and McCain attacks by the time he gets the nomination. Obama’s organization will also be so fatigued from this, and they may not be able to as quickly switch to top gear for the General.

What I hope is that Gore/Edwards/Richardson (and others) step in for Obama maybe after he wins the next two states - which he will (Mississippi, Wyoming) - in the next week, thereby taking back the "momentum"...thus making it easier for them to say, "Hillary can't win, she should hang it up" or, we endorse Obama, as have the voters...etc. Stepping in right now wouldn't come across as well, being she just won two big states.

I know Gore's reasoning (and he urged others like Edwards to do the same) was by not endorsing he could be an unbiased mediator to help work this whole thing out if the fight continues on to the summer and threatens to damage the party. But the time has come...Hillary could sabotage the entire election for the dems if she keeps campaigning like she is...which is downright Rovian.

Clearly, if Obama wins Pennsylvania on April 22nd that would end it…of course, this means we’ve got another 6 weeks of the Clintons and the Repubs smearing him...which isn't the end of the world, but if its 3 months more, it could be. But, Pennsylvania is most definitely a "should win" for Hillary, as its demographically geared toward her (older, white, lower class, less educated) AND she has the strong endorsement of its popular Governor and the Mayor of Philly. So if she wins close again, it will make no difference, but if he wins, that would be the end of her...
And someone has to figure out what the hell to do with Michigan and Florida.

The Dems appear to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. But I'm still hopeful, not just because Obama would be such a strong candidate, but also because McCain has so many weaknesses to exploit it borders on the upsurd.

My new nickname for him: John W. McBush...because he does represent, on every issue now, a third term for Bush.

ARTICLE SECTION: IRAN AND IRAQ…NEW BEST FRIENDS

Robert Scheer breaks down the unbelievable story that the media WON'T TOUCH - yet they love talking about the "success" of the surge! That being Iran and Iraq becoming so close, as demonstrated by Ahmadinejad's recent visit - and warm welcome there (while Bush has to secretly fly in at night so he doesn't get killed). This all highlights one important FACT: This war has been a complete and total failure, in every sense of the word, by every imaginable measuring stick. PERIOD. DOT. No surge changes one thing about this reality.

A few clips:

Are the media dumb or just out to lunch? Sorry to be intemperate, but how else can one explain the meager attention paid to the truly historic visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Iraq? Not only is he the first Mideast head of state to visit the country since its alleged liberation, but the very warm official welcome offered by the Iraqi government to the most vociferous critic of the United States speaks volumes to the abject failure of the Bush doctrine.

SNIP

Saddam Hussein went to war with Iran, but George W. Bush has given his Iranian foes a Shiite-run ally. Iran is now a major trading partner of Iraq that has offered a $1 billion loan, the border is increasingly porous as religious pilgrimages have become the norm, and many investment projects supervised by Iranians are in the works. Instead of isolating the “rogue regime” of Iran, the Bush administration has catapulted the theocrats of Tehran into the center of Mideast political power. There can be no peace, whether in Lebanon, Gaza or Iraq, without the cooperation of the ayatollahs of Iran. If that was the intention of the neoconservative cabal that led Bush into this folly, its members should be tried for treason.

SNIP

But for Bush, his signature issue, the battle against terrorism, is a shambles. The terrorists are very much on the rise in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which Bush neglected for an Iraq sideshow that has cost over a trillion dollars and tens of thousands of lives. But the long-run price will be far higher, with the blowback from the massive instability that he has engendered in the region.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/05/7491/

PROTECT NET NEUTRALITY, STOP MEDIA CONSOLIDATION

From Free Press: Now's your best chance to stop media consolidation in California.

The Senate introduced legislation this morning that would reverse the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to let the nation's largest media companies swallow up more local and independent news outlets. Congress has just 60 legislative days to pass this bill. By acting now, you can help make it happen:

Veto the FCC's Big Media Handout

We have Big Media to blame for local news that's steeped in celebrity gossip, corporate hype and sensationalism. If the FCC gets its way, you'll see your local news get even worse.

The FCC's decision further consolidates local media markets, taking away the independence and diversity that comes from local ownership. Simply put, this is a sweetheart deal for a handful of companies that have been breaking media ownership rules for years with impunity.

In December, 200,000 people called on their senators to take action against the FCC. The Senate has responded with a “resolution of disapproval,” a type of congressional veto that would throw out the new rules. Now we need to get another 50,000 citizens on the record supporting the Senate’s action.

Companies like News Corp. and Sinclair already have shown their willingness to abuse the public trust for political ends. During this election year, when diverse, quality and unbiased information is essential for voters, we cannot allow Big Media to silence even more independent voices. It’s our turn to use our collective grassroots power to stop Big Media and make sure that our airwaves are used to better serve the public.

THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL ON THE ISSUE

The Internet is a major artery through which new ideas and creativity flows. This conduit for Americans’ innovative abilities is in jeopardy.

The Internet has developed into a clean canvas for all to play on and create. The cable and telecommunication companies that dominate broadband in the United States are fighting any network-neutrality law that would ensure the Internet stays this way. Consumer groups, and many Internet users, are worried that network providers want to disrupt competing services or content. There are a number of recent examples of this happening. The most high profile being AT&T censoring comments critical of President Bush by Pearl Jam during a concert shown over the telecom’s network.

SNIP

The issue moves beyond censorship. There is well-founded fear that network providers want to degrade content, or charge companies more to use their networks. Inevitably, an extra charge to a company gets passed on to the consumer.

Lawmakers need not wait for the FCC to act. Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Chip Pickering, R-Miss., have introduced the Internet Preservation Freedom Act of 2008. In addition to creating a net-neutrality law, the bill would require a series of summits about the future of Internet policy.

END

WAR SPENDING VERSUS CLIMATE CHANGE SPENDING

Some support for that view surfaced this week, as the Institute for Policy Studies released a new report by Miriam Pemberton titled "Military vs. Climate Security." Pemberton found that for each dollar the U.S. government spends on fighting global warming, it throws $88 at the military. It's a stunning -- and telling --ratio, but it's not the whole story; according to the report, "even the modest $7 billion in the federal climate change budget is badly targeted toward what ought to be low priorities, while major climate priorities get short shrift."

The shocking thing is that the 88:1 ratio is actually an improvement over recent years; from the report:

Releasing its latest report to Congress on federal climate spending, the Bush administration highlighted the fact that during the previous five years it had spent more than $37 billion for this purpose. During the same period, it spent more than $3.5 trillion on its military forces. That means:

• During the last five years the ratio of military security to climate security spending has averaged 97 to 1.
• The government is allocating 99% of combined federal spending on military and climate security to military security.
• The U.S. government budgeted $20 to develop new weapons systems for every dollar it requested to develop new technologies to stabilize the climate.
• We will devote 50 times as much to arming the rest of the world as to helping it prepare for and avoid global climate catastrophe.

TODAY'S TOPICS: Obama's 2002 Speech, Solomon, Franklin Roosevelt, War Costs, Kerry, Immigrant Study, 60 Minutes

Everybody keep your fingers crossed for Texas to deliver - for all intents and purposes - the nomination for Obama...more tomorrow. Though even if he wins there it wouldn't shock me if Hillary stays in the race...even though she statistically can't win.

I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House .I know that Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House . And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002 . "

-- Hillary Clinton almost endorsing McCain. She's also been saying things like “I take him at his word he’s not a muslim” (subtly implying he might be…what a disgrace…) as well as circulating those photos of Obama in african garb

THE BIRTH OF MODERN DAY PROGRESSIVISM...IN PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT INAUGURATION SPEECH OF ALL TIME:

“This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

SNIP

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money. It lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

SNIP

If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other. We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.

SNIP

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have too much, It is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

-- Franklin Roosevelt, inauguration speech of 1932...

COST OF WAR NOT COVERED BY MEDIA

We've been hearing a lot about "Saturday Night Live" and the fun it has been having with the presidential race. But hardly a whisper has been heard about a Congressional hearing in Washington last week on a topic (cost of war) that could have been drawn, in all its tragic monstrosity, from the theater of the absurd.

...the money spent on the war each day is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for a year, or make a year of college affordable for 160,000 low-income students through Pell Grants, or pay the annual salaries of nearly 11,000 additional border patrol agents or 14,000 more police officers.

"Because the administration actually cut taxes as we went to war, when we were already running huge deficits, this war has, effectively, been entirely financed by deficits. The national debt has increased by some $2.5 trillion since the beginning of the war, and of this, almost $1 trillion is due directly to the war itself ... By 2017, we estimate that the national debt will have increased, just because of the war, by some $2 trillion."

-- Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz

Great news! Whales to be Protected...

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reports that on Friday night, February 29, 2008, “the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Navy's appeal of restrictions that banned high-powered sonar within 12 nautical miles of the coast and set other limits that could affect Navy training exercises to begin this month. Also on Friday, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a similar ban for that state's coastline. The Navy itself estimates that its ‘SOCAL’ sonar exercises, an on-going series of drills being conducted over two years, will significantly disturb or injure 170,000 marine mammals, including causing permanent injury to more than 450 whales and temporary hearing impairment in at least 8,000 others.”

VIDEO SECTION

Health care in America…this is a disgrace:

C&L: If you’re looking for a story that shows the abysmal state of health care in America, look no further. 60 Minutes traveled to Knoxville, TN to film a free clinic set up by a charity group called Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps, or RAM. The charity was initially started in the 90’s by it’s founder, Stan Brock, former co-star of Wild Kingdom, to give health care relief to remote areas of Latin America, but after watching this segment it’s clear that America’s health care system doesn’t look too much different than that of a third world country.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/03/60-minutes-charity-trying-to-make-up-for-failing-us-health-care-system/

John Kerry does a fantastic job at taking it to the clintons the other day...esp. about half way through...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tu4_rWhwtT4

The Pentagon’s ray gun (60 Minutes again)…a “non violent” way to disperse crowds…like say, peace protesters?

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/04/60-minutes-the-pentagons-ray-gun/

Olbermann’s Bushed series continues…

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/04/countdowns-bushed-immunity-economy-and-other-priorities/

Where’s Osama? A new documentary coming out from the guy that did "Supersize Me"...or whatever that was called. Looks awesome!

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78508/

A good sign from Bill Richardson...the party is going to start coming after the Clintons if they don't do what's right. From Alternet: ...most importantly he says whoever has the most delegates after tonight, that's pledged delegates, should be the Democratic nominee. That may not have been an outright endorsement of Obama, but barring a shocking across the board landslide victory by Hillary, it appears he will still maintain a commanding delegate lead after tonight..

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/78596/

OBAMA'S 2002 ANTI-WAR SPEECH

I figured since its been getting so much attention we should go back and see what he actually said, BEFORE the invasion. It's brilliant, and profound:

What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics. Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity. He’s a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.

I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars. So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the President today.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s finish the fight with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn’t simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil. Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair.

The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not — we will not — travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.

-- Barak Obama, 2002 (this is the Obama I want to see more of!!)

ARTICLE SECTION: ARGUING THE WAR

Norm Solomon hits the nail on the head...its not "how the war" is fought, its that the very war itself is illegal, unjust, and based on lies. This is where the Dems have so failed to understand how to argue this issue.

A few clips:

Maybe it sounded good when politicians, pundits and online fundraisers talked about American deaths as though they were the deaths that mattered most. Bush administrationMaybe it sounded good to taunt the as a bunch of screw-ups who didn’t know how to run a proper occupation. And maybe it sounded good to condemn Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush for ignoring predictions that several hundred thousand troops would be needed to effectively occupy Iraq after an invasion.

But when a war based on lies is opposed because too many Americans are dying, the implication is that it can be made right by reducing the American death toll. When a war that flagrantly violated international law is opposed because it was badly managed, the implication is that better management could make for an acceptable war.

SNIP

With all the recent media spin about progress in Iraq, many commentators say that the war has faded as a top-level “issue” in the presidential race. Claims of success by the U.S. military have undercut precisely the antiwar arguments that were supposed to be the most effective in political terms — harping on the American death toll and the inability of the occupying troops to make demonstrable progress at subduing Iraqi resistance and bending the country’s parliament to Washington’s will.

SNIP

The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place. There’s little reason to believe that Obama is inclined to break away from the routine militarism of U.S. foreign policy. But it’s plausible that grassroots pressure could pull him in a better direction on a range of issues. He seems to be appreciably less stuck in cement than the other candidates who still have a chance to become president on January 20, 2009.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/04/7460/

Federal Communications Commission commissioner Michael Copps has asked the board's chair to open an inquiry into "the blacking out of a politically charged segment of the CBS News magazine '60 Minutes' by a local television station in Alabama." "Was this an attempt to suppress information on the public airwaves, or was it really just a technical problem?" asked Copps.

Report busts migrant myth -- According to research bolstered last week by a report from the Public Policy Institute of California, immigrants are less likely than native-born residents to commit crime. The institute's findings, while supported by earlier research, are nonetheless at odds with at least one argument advanced in an increasingly contentious immigration debate: that illegal immigrants, especially those from Mexico, raise crime rates. Jennifer Torres in the Stockton Record -- 3/4/08

ACLU on Republican efforts to steal another election:

“Freedom to Vote: Protecting the Ballot” examines new voter ID initiatives that could disenfranchise millions, and shows how ordinary people and their elected representatives are trying to preserve the constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. The program focuses on legislative efforts in Georgia and Texas to require all prospective voters to present government-issued photo identification, though such rules would create barriers for low-income, elderly and disabled people. Nationwide, 16% of the nation’s elderly voters and 25% of African Americans do not have current government-issued IDs. While supporters of photo IDs say the goal is to eliminate voter impersonation, such fraud is extremely rare, and many believe the initiatives are aimed at diluting Democratic votes.”

TODAY'S TOPICS: Maher, Rich, Reich, NAFTA/Immigration, Howard Dean!, Sibel Edmonds/Moyers, Siegelman Case

VIDEO SECTION

“A fundamental trait of today’s right wing is the willingness to lie, baldly and repeatedly and without shame. And it always catches the Democrats off guard. Just ask war criminal John Kerry or Munchausen Syndrome sufferer Al Gore. Are people like Sean Hannity really so dumb that they think Barack Obama is an African spy who’s plotting to be the Lion King? Well, in his case, yes, but…People like Karl Rove know that the more ridiculous the charge you make, the better. Because they’re not aimed at rational people. They’re aimed at that great teeming mass of Americans who wept with joy when they heard “American Gladiators” was coming back. They’re called “undecideds” or “swing voters”, but I prefer the traditional term, “morons”.”

WATCH BILL MAHER’S NEW RULES:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/01/real-time-with-bill-maher-new-rules-2/

Howard Dean shows EVERY democrat how its done: go after the McCain myth!!! How long have I been saying this??? He’s a fraud, and he must be exposed as such. His ONLY chance of winning this election depends on two critical components, without either, he’s finished. Those are: the progress of the war…in terms of the way the media frames it of course. And two, the perception of him as a “straight talking maverick” with untouchable ethics. Both of these components are by definition false…but Democrats have been woefully inadequate at deconstructing the “straight talk” myth…Howard Dean just has. Watch!

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/02/late-edition-howard-dean-john-mccain-is-a-flawed-candidate/

Bill Moyers Journal looks into the wiretapping program, the Sibel Edmonds case (which no mainstream media has mentioned to date!), and other constitution stomping scandals that have been covered up by this administration. One problem, the reporter implies that because of the secrecy of the Edmonds case, reporters can’t get to the facts…which isn’t really true, and gives news outlets an excuse not to cover it. This is proved by the great reporting on the story in England. Remember, we’re talking about high level political officials selling nuclear information to rogue nations…important stuff that every news agency should be investigating.

Watch:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2008/02/rick_karr_on_government_secrec.html

ARTICLE SECTION: Rich, Reich, NAFTA/IMMIGRATION

Frank Rich continues to prove himself to be one of the most perceptive political analysts in the business today…and of course, a fantastic writer. Much of what he says in this piece should sound familiar to those that read or hear my takes on this election. Of particular interest is the way in which the Clinton and McCain campaigns seem to be reading from the same anti-Obama playbook…both of which aren’t going to work this year.

Fear won’t beat hope this time around, nor will past (or “experience”) beat future. We’ve got another advantage this time around (and remember: Gore and Kerry WON!), Obama is far more charismatic than either of our past two nominees, and he’s clearly adept at immediately swatting down attacks (I still wish his platform was more progressive though). He’s also got his opposition to the war from the start and his appeal as an outsider going for him. I also agree with Rich’s hope, or hint, that Jim Webb would make an ideal VP candidate for Obama. Not only was he against the war from the beginning, which is a must for Barack, he’s an economic populist and a war hero and former Secretary of the Navy under Reagan.

And as I will keep saying, McCain has been so propped up by the media as something he isn’t - he has that much further to fall once exposed.

A few clips:

You can’t blame Mr. McCain for trying. His role back then in enabling the fiasco was far more active than Mrs. Clinton’s, and it’s far more visible on videotape. He didn’t just vote to authorize the war; in response to a question from Tim Russert in September 2002, he lent his military credibility to the administration’s undermanned war plan. When Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, challenged that strategy in a February 2003 Senate hearing by calling for “several hundred thousand soldiers,” Mr. McCain did not speak up in support. That month he went on “Hannity & Colmes” to say that the war “will be brief,” that post-Saddam Iraq is “going to be paid for by the Iraqis,” and that America will “send a message” from Syria to Saudi Arabia that “democracy can take hold in the Middle East.”

SNIP

Since the mere mention of Iraq is dangerous to Mr. McCain’s and Mrs. Clinton’s claims about the exalted value of their experience, they have countered by trying to portray Mr. Obama as a foreign policy moron. They’ve even alighted on the identical bogus charge, accusing him of threatening to recklessly bomb our dear ally Pakistan. What Mr. Obama actually said last summer was that he would go after Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan’s mountains when there was actionable intelligence even if a recalcitrant President Musharraf refused to act.

As with his early opposition to the Iraq war, Mr. Obama has proved to be prescient once more. His Pakistan stance anticipated both the latest Bush administration policy — the C.I.A. killed the senior Qaeda commander Abu Laith al-Libi in just such a unilateral strike within Pakistan in late January — and Mr. McCain’s own campaign posture. When Mr. McCain promises to follow Osama bin Laden to “the gates of hell,” he too is vowing to go after Al Qaeda in Pakistan without restraint.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/opinion/02rich.html?ref=opinion

Here’s a good piece that I hope every democrat reads on the connection between the huge increase in illegal immigration and NAFTA. If Democrats make this connection, as obama is beginning to do a little, they can simultaneously address the issues of illegal immigration, job lost and wage stagnation, and the damage done by “corporate free trade” agreements.

The fact is no wall will make as much of a difference in stemming illegal immigration as good jobs in Mexico…something NAFTA has greatly reduced...which had a direct role in the wave of Mexicans coming here over the past 15 years. Think about it this way: would you risk your life crossing a desert, leaving your family, and working in a foreign country that is hostile to you if you could make a decent living in your own country? Of course not...

A few clips:

During the NAFTA debate in 1993, advocates assured the U.S. and Mexican people that it would greatly alleviate unauthorized immigration by increasing employment opportunities in Mexico and closing the gap between U.S. and Mexican wages. But the promise of prosperity has been a mirage for millions of Mexicans: the value of the Mexican minimum wage dropped 23 percent in NAFTA’s first decade; 19 million more Mexicans are living in poverty than 20 years ago, and today, one quarter of Mexico’s population cannot afford basic foods.

Increased income disparity and poverty in the post-NAFTA years correlated with a sharp rise in migration to the United States, especially from the Mexican countryside. Even the most conservative estimates make it clear that during the first decade of NAFTA the annual number of undocumented immigrants arriving in the United States from Mexico nearly doubled.

SNIP

Short of canceling the agreement outright, the United States, Mexico and Canada could agree to a series of steps to shield the most vulnerable farmers and workers. First among these would be to restore the power of national governments to shape agricultural policies with a special eye to stabilizing small and subsistence-level farmers, who are the most easily displaced. Additionally, we should assist communities that have been the hardest hit by targeting government, private and nongovernmental investments to grass-roots initiatives that stabilize communities and, in Mexico, reduce the pressure to migrate.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/02/7413/

And one of my favorite economists to read, Robert Reich - one of the only true “progressives” to serve in the Clinton administration (and only for the first two years) - breaks down what we need to do to address income inequality, wage stagnation, and our burgeoning economic crisis.

A few clips:

There's no magic bullet for reversing the trend toward widening inequality. Surely, better schools for children from poor and lower-middle class communities are part of the answer. So is a bigger refundable tax credit - in effect, a cash supplement - for working families. Both should be financed by a higher marginal tax rate on the rich.

But an additional part of the solution - rarely talked about these days - is stronger labor unions. This is especially true for low-paid workers in local service occupations, such as retail workers, hotel and restaurant employees, and people who work in hospitals. If they were unionized, they'd have the bargaining leverage they need to get better wages. They'd also have a voice for suggesting to management better ways of delivering services - often improving productivity enough to cover the higher pay.

But it's been difficult for low-wage workers to organize themselves into unions. Employers often fire or intimidate those who take the lead. While it's illegal to do so, the penalty for employers who get caught is in effect a slap on the wrist. Charges of illegal dismissals take years to wind their way through the National Labor Relations Board. And even when the board finds that an employer acted illegally, the worst that can happen is the worker has to be rehired and given back pay that was lost.

SNIP

The American economy is in trouble largely because lower and middle-income workers no longer have the buying power they need to keep it going. Inequality is wider now than it's been in more than 70 years. Unions could help reverse this trend.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030308E.shtml

EPA DISMISSED SCIENTIST AFTER RECEIVING INDUSTRY COMPLAINTS: At the request of the chemical industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dismissed a toxicologist who had chaired a panel investigating the harmful effects of a flame retardant widely used in consumer electronics, the LA Times reports. According to documents obtained by industry watchdog Environmental Working Group (EWG), the EPA took Dr. Deborah Rice off the panel last August after the American Chemistry Council, a lobby for chemical manufacturers, complained she was "biased." The industry took issue with testimony Rice gave to the Maine Legislature last February, around the time the EPA panel convened, in which she called for a state ban on the chemical known as "deca" because "scientific evidence shows it is toxic and accumulating in the environment and people." EPA officials cited "the perception of a potential conflict of interest," agreeing with a May letter in which the American Chemistry Council wrote that Rice is "a fervent advocate of banning" deca and said she "has no place in an independent, objective peer review." The EWG calls Rice's removal a "dangerous double standard where scientists and experts working for state or federal health agencies can be removed from EPA advisory panels simply because they express the views of their agency in public as a part of their job responsibilities."

Credit card debt is skyrocketing, leading a growing number of Americans to pay of their credit card bills "before -- and sometimes instead of -- their mortgages." According to a Center for American Progress analysis, even as "mortgage growth slowed from April 2006 through December 2007, card debt accelerated."

Senate Republicans "blocked consideration of a bill designed to prop up the struggling housing industry" yesterday. The bill would have provided billions of dollars to local communities and changed bankruptcy laws to help low-income homeowners -- against which the "mortgage industry has waged a stiff lobbying campaign."

"For the first time in the nation's history, more than one in 100 American adults are behind bars," according to a new report. This statistic includes one in 15 adult black men and one in 36 adult Hispanic men.

SIEGELMAN CASE FINALLY GARNERING MEDIA ATTENTION

Remember, its not just that he's been jailed by a Republican conspiracy that goes all the way up to Rove and the Justice Dept., but that he actually looks to have won the governorship...that is until the results suddenly flipped over night thanks to our friendly e-voting machines...giving the Republican the victory. You can't make this stuff up people...

NYTimes Editorial on the Alabama Blackout of 60 Minutes' Report on Don Siegelman
'It would be deeply troubling if a partisan broadcaster could suppress information on the public airwaves'...

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5747

VIDEO: MSNBC's Abrams Re-Iterates Call for Release, Pending Appeal, of Siegelman; Details Chief Concerns About Case

Interviews Attorney of Alabama's Former, Now-Jailed, Democratic Governor, and a Former Republican Attorney General Who is Calling for a Special Prosecutor...

MSNBC's Dan Abrams continued, for the third day in a row, on the Don Siegelman beat today. The former Democratic Alabama Governor, who still sits in jail pending an appeal for his non-violent crime, is alleged to have been railroaded by Karl Rove and political operatives in the state while running for re-election in 2006.

In 2002 he had won his election, according to the announced results on Election Night, only to wake up the next morning to find that a Republican election director claimed to have discovered a "glitch" (sound familiar, regular BRAD BLOG readers?) in the electronic vote counts overnight, resulting in Siegelman's loss. He was never allowed a recount after the vote tallies somehow changed on the electronic voting machines due to the "glitch," as it was described officially, by court probate officers.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5751

McCAIN CLUELESS ABOUT OWN SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN, PUTS INCORRECT INFO ON WEBSITE: In a Wall Street Journal interview today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) appeared clueless about his own Social Security plan. In 2000, he supported President Bush's efforts to divert part of Social Security payroll taxes to fund private accounts. Asked about his current position, McCain said, "I'm totally in favor of personal savings accounts." On his website, however, McCain offers a different plan. He proposes "supplementing" the system with personally managed accounts, which, as the Wall Street Journal observed, would not be financed by diverting Social Security payroll taxes. McCain denied there was a change in his position. "I'll correct any policy paper that I've put out that might intimate that personal savings accounts are not a very important factor," he said. But his website has still not been changed to reflect his support for private accounts. The WSJ also noted that McCain is now distancing himself from his pledge not to raise taxes, saying his statement, "no new taxes," was not a firm commitment.

IRAQ -- CIVILIAN DEATHS ROSE BY 36 PERCENT IN FEBRUARY: While the Bush administration has consistently touted decreased casualties in Iraq in recent weeks as proof that new counterinsurgency tactics are working, Iraqi civilians are still living in a volatile environment. In fact, "violent civilian deaths in Iraq rose 36 percent in February from the previous month," according to Iraq's interior, defense, and health ministries. The rise from 466 violent civilian deaths in January to 633 in February "was the first increase after six consecutive months of falling casualty tolls." "February's casualty figures spiked after female bombers killed 99 people at two pet markets in Baghdad on February 2 and a suicide bomber killed 63 people returning from a Shi'ite religious ritual south of Baghdad on February 24."

MUKASEY REFUSES TO ENFORCE CONTEMPT CITATIONS OF WHITE HOUSE AIDES: Last month, the House voted to recommend that former White House counsel Harriet Miers and chief of staff Joshua Bolten be held in contempt of Congress for their refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the Judiciary Committee regarding the U.S. attorney scandal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) requested a grand jury investigation last Thursday. Responding the next day, Attorney General Mike Mukasey "rejected referring the House's contempt citations against" Miers and Bolten, saying they had "committed no crime." Mukasey said the Department of Justice "will not bring the congressional contempt citations before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute Mr. Bolten or Ms. Miers." In response, Pelosi issued a statement noting that House would enforce the contempt citations in civil court: "Anticipating this response from the Administration, the House has already provided authority for the Judiciary Committee to file a civil enforcement action in federal district court and the House shall do so promptly."