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Impeach Bush--Index 9
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| March 25, 2005 Pentagon Will Not Try 17 GI's Implicated in POW Deaths. WASHINGTON, March 25 - Despite recommendations by Army investigators, commanders have decided not to prosecute 17 American soldiers implicated in the deaths of three prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004, according to a new accounting released Friday by the Army. October 17, 2004 Why abortion rate is up in Bush years Abortion was decreasing. When President Bush took office, the nation's abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4 percent decline during the 1990s. This was a steady decrease averaging 1.7 percent per year. (The data come from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life using the Guttmacher Institute's studies.) March 25, 2005 Big deficits leave U.S. more vulnerable to terror In an age of terrorism, big budget deficits and heavy dependence on foreign capital constitute a significant source of economic vulnerability -- increasing the chances of financial turmoil in the event of another attack. March 25, 2005 Oil prices buoyant amid talk of $ 100 Prices began soaring Thursday after the investment bank Goldman Sachs warned of a possible "super-spike" in oil prices above 100 dollars. March 24, 2005 Threat to the U.S.: Irans "nukes" or the Euro? Iran is treading the same economical war path Saddam Hussein started when in 2000 he converted all of the Iraq's reserve from the dollar to the Euro, and demanded payments in Euro for Iraqi oil. March 27, 2005 DeLay Kills Own Father More than 16 years ago, far from the political passions that have defined the Schiavo controversy, the DeLay family endured its own wrenching end-of-life crisis. The man in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and oxygen equipment, was DeLay's father, Charles Ray DeLay. March 25, 2005 Social Securty Web Site Out of Sync with Bush Plan In a Q. and A. on the agency's Web site meant to explain the retirement program, there is this exchange, which has apparently been there for years: "Question: I think I could do better if you let me invest the Social Security I pay into an individual retirement plan (I.R.A.) or some other investment plan. What do you think?" "Answer: Maybe you could, but then again, maybe your investments wouldn't work out. Remember these facts: * Your Social Security taxes pay for potential disability and survivors benefits as well as for retirement benefits. * Social Security incorporates social goals - such as giving more protection to families and to low-income workers - that are not part of private pension plans; and * Social Security benefits are adjusted yearly for increases in the cost of living - a feature not present in many private plans." October 02, 2002 A Blast from the past An Impeachable Offense US threatens to thwart inspectors' return to Iraq PROGRESS between Iraq and the United Nations hit an immediate snag last night when Washington said that it would work to block the swift return of weapons inspectors. March 19, 2005 Protests shatter calm at hospice PINELLAS PARK - At Woodside Hospice, dying patients come intending to spend their last days in tranquility, resting in beds carefully positioned for views of lush landscaping and gaily painted bird feeders. They're getting a circus instead. March 14, 2005 DeLay Ethics Allegations Now Cause of GOP Concern House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) has dismissed questions about his ethics as partisan attacks, but revelations last week about his overseas travel and ties to lobbyists under investigation have emboldened Democrats and provoked worry among Republicans. March 11, 2005 An Impeachable Offense Army, CIA Agreed on 'Ghost' Prisoners Top military intelligence officials at the Abu Ghraib prison came to an agreement with the CIA to hide certain detainees at the facility without officially registering them, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. Keeping such "ghost" detainees is a violation of international law. March 02, 2005 Is America going broke? Record deficits, colossal debt and no clear plan for digging itself out. If the U.S. sinks, it will take Canada down with it. March 14, 2005 CIA stripped of Power The nomination of John D. Negroponte as national director of intelligence this month signaled the end of the CIA's nearly 60-year run as the undisputed center of power and influence in the secret world of intelligence. March 03, 2005 CIA Tortured, Murdered Afghan POW In November 2002, a newly minted CIA case officer in charge of a secret prison just north of Kabul allegedly ordered guards to strip naked an uncooperative young Afghan detainee, chain him to the concrete floor and leave him there overnight without blankets, according to four U.S. government officials aware of the case. The Afghan guards -- paid by the CIA and working under CIA supervision in an abandoned warehouse code-named the Salt Pit -- dragged their captive around on the concrete floor, bruising and scraping his skin, before putting him in his cell, two of the officials said. As night fell, so, predictably, did the temperature By morning, the Afghan man had frozen to death. March 14, 2005 An Impeachable Offense Europeans probe CIA role in abductions The Italian probe is one of three official investigations that have surfaced in the past year into renditions believed to have taken place in Western Europe. Although the CIA usually carries out the operations with the help or blessing of friendly local intelligence agencies, law enforcement authorities in Italy, Germany and Sweden are examining whether U.S. agents may have broken local laws by detaining terrorist suspects on European soil and subjecting them to abuse or maltreatment. March 21, 2005 Pentagon Begs Halliburton to Stop Stealing from them. WASHINGTON — Pentagon auditors sharply criticized Halliburton Corp. for more than $100 million in questionable costs related to the delivery of fuel to Iraq in the early days of the war, according to a report released today. Among other items, the Pentagon's Defense Contract Audit Agency attacked a Halliburton bill of $27.5 million for the delivery of $82,100 worth of liquefied petroleum gas, calling it "illogical." March 21, 2005 Poll: No Role for Government in Schiavo Case March 21, 2005 -- Americans broadly and strongly disapprove of federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo case, with sizable majorities saying Congress is overstepping its bounds for political gain. March 19, 2005 Democrats slam budget cuts for veterans' services If the president's proposed budget cuts are enacted, nearly 60 percent of the 1,600 veterans will lose their daily stipend that allows them to stay in our state's nursing homes, literally forcing them out into the cold." March 12, 2005 US Soldiers Tortured Afghan Prisoners to Death New York, March 12 (RHC)-- Two Afghan prisoners held in US custody reportedly died after being chained up, kicked and beaten by US soldiers. According to this morning's edition of The New York Times, US Army criminal investigative reports show that the prisoners were tortured to death in 2002 -- nearly a year before the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq became public knowledge. March 11, 2005 An Impeachable Offense US detained children in Abu Ghraib An eight-year-old was among the children detained by US soldiers at Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib jail, a former prison commander has said. Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski told officials investigating prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib that the child was crying and wanted to see his mother. March 07, 2005 An Impeachable Offense U.S. CIA sends terror suspects abroad for interrogation WASHINGTON (US): The US State Department Spokesman has said that to date, 211 detainees have departed from Guantanamo Bay, 146 of those were transferred for release and 65 were transferred to the control of host governments for further detention, investigation, and/or prosecution as appropriate. March 14, 2005 UN Commission on Human Rights May Condemn US WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CIA has been allowed to secretly transfer terrorism suspects overseas for interrogation, a former U.S. official said Sunday, but a White House spokesman denied that the United States used the practice to "export torture." March 13, 2005 211 detainees have departed from Guantanamo Bay GENEVA - The United States, usually a finger-pointer on human rights, could end up in the dock itself over reports of torture and abuse in its war on terror when the United Nations begins a worldwide scrutiny this week. Activists, such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch, are urging members of the Commission on Human Rights to condemn Washington for mistreatment of prisoners detained abroad. March 13, 2005 Looting at Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Iraqi Says BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 12 - In the weeks after Baghdad fell in April 2003, looters systematically dismantled and removed tons of machinery from Saddam Hussein's most important weapons installations, including some with high-precision equipment capable of making parts for nuclear arms, a senior Iraqi official said this week in the government's first extensive comments on the looting. March 2005 Ann Coulter: fantasist Maureen Dowd, old Arab Helen Thomas The Social Security Administration is withholding documents regarding its $1.8 million contract with public-relations firm Fleishman-Hillard Inc. and possibly information on other contracts, an activist group alleges in a complaint filed in federal district court. For instance, callers to Social Security hear a taped message warning of a pending crisis and their notices of benefits include predictions that the system is facing serious future financial problems. "The SSA has been promoting the idea that Social Security is facing a crisis,' CREW said. March 2005 An Impeachable Offense SSA: Promoting Bush SS Crisis/Withholding documents The Social Security Administration is withholding documents regarding its $1.8 million contract with public-relations firm Fleishman-Hillard Inc. and possibly information on other contracts, an activist group alleges in a complaint filed in federal district court. For instance, callers to Social Security hear a taped message warning of a pending crisis and their notices of benefits include predictions that the system is facing serious future financial problems. "The SSA has been promoting the idea that Social Security is facing a crisis,' CREW said. March 11, 2005 Bush's Kiss of Death In the latest conventional wisdom about winds of freedom sweeping the Middle East, both mainstream and conservative commentators bought into the notion that Arabs were rallying to Bush's orations about liberty and finally appreciating his conquest of Iraq. But the reality is that Bush remains one of the region's most despised figures. March 10, 2005 South Korea Paid for Tom Delay's Trip A delegation of Republican House members including Majority Leader Tom DeLay accepted an expense-paid trip to South Korea in 2001 from a registered foreign agent despite House rules that bar the acceptance of travel expenses from foreign agents, according to government documents and travel reports filed by the House members. It spent at least $106,921 to finance the three-day trip in 2001 from Washington to Seoul by the Republicans, which DeLay (Tex.) and accompanying staff assistants described at the time as having an "educational" purpose. March 09, 2005 Poll: The United States Is Aggressive, Morally Decadent and Racist The survey, which specifically concentrated on attitudes toward the US, the United Kingdom and France, painted a bleak picture. The words most associated with the US and the UK were "racist," "aggressive," "morally decadent" and "imperialistic" among other uncomplimentary concepts. France was less harshly judged. It's not all bad, however. Western societies are seen as bastions of liberalism, individual liberty and technical progress, yet they are plagued by social problems. The countries surveyed see themselves as having a stronger adherence to tradition and to family. March 09, 2005 Senate Kills Bush Pollution Bill WASHINGTON Mar 9, 2005 — President Bush's top environmental priority giving power plants, factories and refineries more time to reduce their air pollution suffered a major setback Wednesday as a Republican-controlled committee rejected it in the Senate. March 10, 2005 Fox News: Making up News again Fox News' John Gibson has gone even farther than other journalists in falling, hook, line, and sinker, for the Bush claim that the Iraq elections are related to some Lebanese demonstrating for the removal of Syrian troops from their country. Gibson went over the line on "The Big Story" Wednesday (March 9), however, when he said the U.S. could bomb Lebanon "with a clean conscience" if it votes democratically to retain Syrian troops. The connection between the Iraqi elections and recent Lebanese demonstrations, of course, is ridiculous. Lebanon has been holding democratic parliamentary elections for years. They did not need to see the election in Iraq, where candidates' names were not even made public until the day of the voting, to learn about democracy. January, 2005 Global Poll: Bush's Reelection as Negative for World Security According to a new BBC World Service Poll of twenty-one countries from all regions of the world, the reelection of President Bush is seen as negative for world peace and security by a majority in sixteen countries and a plurality in another two. March 07, 2005 Bush backs policy on terror suspects NEW YORK -- The Bush administration is defending its decision to give the CIA extensive authority to send terrorism suspects to foreign countries for interrogation. The New York Times reported yesterday that President Bush signed a still-classified directive just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that gave the CIA broad power to operate without case-by-case approval from the White House in the transfer of suspects -- a process known as rendition. March 07, 2005 Warren Buffett: US Dollar is in trouble But the so-called Sage of Omaha, whose company is based in the Nebraskan city, added that policymakers' hopes for a soft landing were wide of the mark. "The evidence grows that our trade policies will put unremitting pressure on the dollar for many years to come," he said. March 05, 2005 Greenspan Has Gone From 'Maestro' to Partisan In Democrats' view, Greenspan's endorsement of President Bush's tax cut in 2001 reduced the Fed chairman's standing from when he was hailed by both sides in the 1990s as the "maestro" of a healthy economy. Then, last week, Greenspan urged changes to Social Security "sooner rather than later," private retirement accounts and a restructured tax code -- siding with Bush in each case. The White House pointed to this as nonpartisan validation; Democrats cried foul. March 05, 2005 China's influence seen positive China's influence on the world is seen as positive by more people than is the case for the US or Russia, according to a new BBC World Service poll. In total, 48% of people polled in 22 countries said China's role was mainly positive. Only 30% saw it as mainly negative. March 05, 2005 Venezuelan President Accuses US of Plotting to Assassinate Him Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has repeated a claim that the United States is plotting to assassinate him. He made the statement without elaborating Saturday in New Delhi. Washington has previously dismissed the allegation as ridiculous and false. March 03, 2005 An Impeachable Offense CIA sends terror suspects for interrogation abroad WASHINGTON, Mar. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been carrying out a secret government program of transferring suspected terrorists to foreign countries for interrogation without case-by-case approval from the White House, State or Justice Departments, The New York Times reported on Sunday. March 02, 2005 Canada Opts out of missile defense Mr. McKenna will arrive at his post with the waters still roiled by Ottawa's decision to opt out of the U.S. anti-missile shield. March 01, 2005 An Impeachable Offense Suit Alleges Rumsfeld Approved Torture WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. human rights groups sued Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday, saying he first authorized and then failed to stop torture of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. March 01, 2005 Novak Lies Twice about Howard Dean Following Media Matters for America's March 1 item noting that syndicated columnist and CNN host Robert Novak had misquoted Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean for the second time, CNN host Judy Woodruff corrected Novak's error. February 25, 2005 FOX promoting pro-Bush seniors group USA Next Republican candidates and policies, was founded and is currently led by prominent Republicans, and is advised by Republican consultants, FOX News did not identify USA Next as Republican -- or even conservative -- in any appearance by Jarvis or Linkletter. February 24, 2005 Report Faults Bush Initiative on Education Concluding a yearlong study on the effectiveness of President Bush's sweeping education law, No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers drawn from many states yesterday pronounced it a flawed, convoluted and unconstitutional education reform initiative that had usurped state and local control of public schools. February 28, 2005 'USA Next' Misappropriated Couples' Image for Anti-Gay Ad Campaign WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2005--Conservative front organization USA Next was accused today of illegally using a gay couple's wedding photo in an anti-gay ad campaign supporting President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security.. June 13, 2004 Torture Memos The memo was written at the request of the CIA. The CIA wanted authority to conduct more aggressive interrogations than were permitted prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The interrogations were of suspected al Qaeda members whom the CIA had apprehended outside the United States. The CIA asked the White House for legal guidance. The White House asked the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for its legal opinion on the standards of conduct under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. February 27, 2005 Republicans Hit Hard Over Social Security Plan Mr. Santorum complained that he was dogged all week by opponents of the White House plan who dominated news coverage. Mr. Santorum, who is the third-ranking Republican in the Senate leadership and chairman of the subcommittee on Social Security, was heckled by college students - the very audience the Bush administration was counting on - and peppered with questions from retirees. February 27, 2005 Within C.I.A., Worry of Prosecution for Conduct Of particular concern, the officials said, is the possibility that C.I.A. officers using interrogation techniques that the government ruled as permissible after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks might now be punished, or even prosecuted, for their actions in the line of duty. February 10, 2005 For the Record on Social Security Late February is now the time frame mentioned by the White House for unveiling President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. The timing is no accident. By waiting until then, the president will conveniently avoid having to include the cost of privatization - as much as $2 trillion in new government borrowing over the next 10 years - in his 2006 budget, expected in early February. In this and other ways, the administration is manipulating information - a tacit, yet devastating, acknowledgement, we believe, that an informed public would reject privatizing Social Security. February 21, 2005 Secret Tapes Show Bush's Concern Over Past President Bush was concerned "his mistakes as a youth" would disqualify him from running for the nation's highest office, said an old friend who secretly recorded private conversations in which Bush appears to acknowledge past drug use. February 21, 2005 It's not all that hard to know who is a true journalist Which is patently ridiculous. Contrary to the press secretary's Hamlet-like agonizing, it's not all that hard to know who is and is not a reporter. If an individual reports for a recognized media outlet that observes customary standards of journalistic integrity - even if it tends to view the world through a conservative or liberal editorial prism - that person is a reporter. But if the person works for an outlet that simply promotes, or advocates for, one political party or another, then the line between reporter and shill has been well and truly crossed. February 19, 2005 Administration Is Warned About Its 'News' Videos WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 - The comptroller general has issued a blanket warning that reminds federal agencies they may not produce newscasts promoting administration policies without clearly stating that the government itself is the source. Twice in the last two years, agencies of the federal government have been caught distributing prepackaged television programs that used paid spokesmen acting as newscasters and, in violation of federal law, failed to disclose the administration's role in developing and financing them. February 18, 2005 O'Reilly used phony stats to claim "staggering increase" in spending on food stamps, housing assistance FOX News host Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that "housing assistance is up 1,400 percent" from former President Clinton's final budget to President Bush's recent 2006 budget proposal. In fact, the increase is a more modest 22 percent. February 18, 2005 Bush's Barberini Faun It's hard to believe the White House could hit rock bottom on credibility again, but it has, in a bizarre maelstrom that plays like a dark comedy. How does it credential a man with a double life and a secret past? "Jeff Gannon" was waved into the press room nearly every day for two years as the conservative correspondent for two political Web sites operated by a wealthy Texas Republican. Scott McClellan often called on the pseudoreporter for softball questions. February 15, 2005 White House Turns Tables on Former American POWs WASHINGTON — The latest chapter in the legal history of torture is being written by American pilots who were beaten and abused by Iraqis during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. And it has taken a strange twist. The Bush administration is fighting the former prisoners of war in court, trying to prevent them from collecting nearly $1 billion from Iraq that a federal judge awarded them as compensation for their torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime. February, 2005 WH Reporter, Jeff Gannon: male prostitute Since it became known last week that he had hid his real identity, reports on some Web sites and in The Washington Post linked him to sexually explicit Web sites that have fueled the story and embarrassed White House officials who for years waved him into the building. February 18, 2005 Doubts About White House Reporter Recalled Since it became known last week that he had hid his real identity, reports on some Web sites and in The Washington Post linked him to sexually explicit Web sites that have fueled the story and embarrassed White House officials who for years waved him into the building. February 17, 2005 Why was Jeff Gannon in the White House before Talon existed? Washington, DC - During the February 10 White House briefing, Press Secretary Scott McClellan stated that Jeff Gannon, "...like anyone else, showed that he was representing a news organization that published regularly" in order to receive his day pass to press briefings. It has been confirmed that Jeff Gannon was in the White House briefing room, actively participating in these briefings, as early as February 28, 2003 a full month before Talon News even existed. February 17, 2005 AP Uncovers Ridge Meetings with Pollsters During Presidential Campaign WASHINGTON (AP) Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge met privately with Republican pollsters twice in a 10-day span last spring as he embarked on more than a dozen trips to presidential battleground states, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. Ridge's get-togethers with Republican strategists Frank Luntz and Bill McInturff during a period the secretary was saying his agency was playing no role in Bush's re-election campaign were revealed in daily appointment calendars obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act. February 16, 2005 Brit Hume lies about FDR and Social Security James Roosevelt Jr: Hume's "outrageous distortion" of FDR "calls for a retraction, an apology, maybe even a resignation" MSNBC host Keith Olbermann and former Social Security associate commissioner James Roosevelt Jr. examined how FOX News Washington managing editor Brit Hume and other pundits distorted a quote by Roosevelt Jr.'s grandfather, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in order to claim that the former president would have supported privatizing Social Security. July 8, 2003 WAR, TAX CUTS, AND THE DEFICIT Cause of deficit 2003-2004 Avg | % Tax cuts: -255 | 58% Defense and non-defense increases except war costs: -95 | 22% War on terrorism: -90 | 20% February 28, 2005 Social Security "fright mail" targeting seniors helped fund GOP leader's trips to UK, Asia A think tank which raised money by targeting elderly Americans with Social Security scare letters paid for more than $130,000 in travel expenses for the House Republican leader, his wife and his staff, RAW STORY has learned. The National Center for Public Policy Research, a highly controversial and little-known conservative think tank which has been sending Social Security "fright mail' for years, paid for two posh trips for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) in 1996 and 2000, each at the cost of at least $64,000. February 16, 2005 British troops face new charges as bodies of Iraqi civilians are exhumed LONDON (AFP) - British troops may face new charges in Iraq as investigators explore fresh allegations of civilian deaths, a newspaper reported. The Independent said it had uncovered evidence about the deaths of six Iraqi civilians in the British-controlled south of the country, whose families allege they were killed by British soldiers. March 04, 2004 CIA Leak Probe Wants Air Force One Records (CBS/AP) A federal grand jury probing the leak of a CIA officer's identity has subpoenaed the records of phone calls from Air Force One, the president's plane, made the week before the name of the officer was published in a July newspaper column, Newsday reported Friday. February 21, 2005 ‘Liberal' Media Silent About Guckert Saga Proof that "the liberal media" is but a figment of right-wing mythology has now arrived in the person of one James Guckert, formerly known as Jeff Gannon. Were the American media truly liberal—or merely unafraid to be called liberal—the saga of Mr. Guckert's short, strange, quasi-journalistic career would be resounding across the airwaves. February 15, 2005 Something is rotten in America This is the man the president has appointed to the top legal post in the US, and whose appointment the Senate has approved by 60 votes to 36. With such an example at the top, is it any surprise that there have been atrocities committed lower down, or that Mattis could speak publicly of what fun it is to shoot people in a war that is supposed to be liberating them from tyranny, or that his commanding officer should feel that deserved no more than a mild scolding? February 15, 2005 Reporters ordered to testify in CIA leak WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling against two reporters who could go to jail for refusing to divulge their sources to investigators probing the leak of an undercover CIA officer's name to the media. February 14, 2005 Democrats probe alleged mismanagement in Iraq WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats held a hearing Monday to probe concerns raised by whistleblowers, saying Republican leaders refuse to act on calls to investigate alleged U.S. mismanagement of resources in Iraq. "I think there was a massive waste of taxpayer money," said Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who said the Senate Democratic Policy Committee is trying to establish accountability in the wake of "stories about money being delivered in paper bags -- cash -- millions of dollars of cash being delivered in bags." February 14, 2005 Iraq election provides upside, downside "The administration is doing a very good job of selling these elections as a vital step toward success in Iraq and withdrawal of American troops," said Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the private Council on Foreign Relations. "I hope so, but history suggests we shouldn't bet on it." Without firmer footings for democracy than one election can provide, "odds are that the place would be taken over either by people who weren't democrats or were unfriendly to us, or both," Gelb said. February 14, 2005 Iraqis Vote Against US There are more single-digit messages embedded in the winning coalition's platform. Some highlights: "Adopting a social security system under which the state guarantees a job for every fit Iraqi... and offers facilities to citizens to build homes." The UIA also pledges "to write off Iraq's debts, cancel reparations and use the oil wealth for economic development projects." In short, Iraqis voted to repudiate the radical free-market policies imposed by former chief U.S. envoy Paul Bremer and locked in by a recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund. February 13, 2005 Tort Reform Will Hurt Consumers The Catch-22 built into the new law could prohibit state courts from hearing a case with out-of-state plaintiffs while federal courts refuse the same case because it involves the application of different state laws. February 13, 2005 Alan Keyes' Daughter Comes Out (CBS) The 19-year-old daughter of Alan Keyes has a Valentine for the anti-gay rights conservative pundit and frequent Republican candidate. Maya Marcel-Keyes will be making her first public appearance as a gay activist at a Valentine Day's rally in front of the Maryland State House, says Dan Furmansky, the leader of Equality Maryland, a gay rights group. February 13, 2005 An Act of War An Impeachable Offense U.S. Uses Drones to Probe Iran For Arms The Bush administration has been flying surveillance drones over Iran for nearly a year to seek evidence of nuclear weapons programs and detect weaknesses in air defenses, according to three U.S. officials with detailed knowledge of the secret effort February 11, 2005 An Impeachable Offense U.S. Scientists Say They Are Told to Alter Findings More than 200 scientists employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have been directed to alter official findings to lessen protections for plants and animals, a survey released Wednesday says. February 11, 2005 Trade Deficit Sets Record, $617 Billion More than 200 scientists employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have been directed to alter official findings to lessen protections for plants and animals, a survey released Wednesday says. February 11, 2005 China, Japan to Buy More Dollars WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 - The American trade deficit broke the $600 billion barrier in 2004, soaring to $617.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday, but the gap narrowed in December in part because sharply lower oil prices cut the cost of energy imports. February 10, 2005 WH's Scott McClellan Says He Knew 'Gannon' Was Guckert McClellan admitted today that he knew that "Jeff Gannon" was not the reporter's real name. Yet at numerous televised press briefings he addressed him as "Jeff." February 10, 2005 Democrats Want Investigation of Reporter Using Fake Name The Democrats, Representatives John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Louise M. Slaughter from Rochester, wrote yesterday to Patrick Fitzgerald, the independent prosecutor appointed in the Plame case, seeking an investigation into how the reporter, James D. Guckert, who used the name Jeff Gannon, had access to classified documents that revealed the identity of Ms. Plame. February 10, 2005 EU snubs US: lifts China arms embargo The European Union said yesterday it was moving ahead with plans to lift an arms embargo on China despite hearing a raft of reservations from the new American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. February 09, 2005 Jeff Gannon: Pseudo Reporter Quits Gannon began covering the White House two years ago for an obscure Republican Web site (Talon-News.com). He was known for his friendly questions, including asking Bush at last month's news conference how he could work with Democrats "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality." Gannon was also given a classified CIA memo that named agent Valerie Plame, leading to his grilling by the grand jury investigating her outing. February 9, 2005 Flip-flop Bush budget scraps 9,790 border patrol agents Washington -- The law signed by President Bush less than two months ago to add thousands of border patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border has crashed into the reality of Bush's austere federal budget proposal, officials said Tuesday. But Bush's proposed 2006 budget, revealed Monday, funds only 210 new border agents. February 07, 2005 An Impeachable Offense FAA had terror warnings before 9/11 "The president's budget is a hoax on the American people. The two issues that dominated the president's State of the Union Address -- Iraq and Social Security -- are nowhere to be found in this budget," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The budget plan also left out any recommendation on tackling the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. The tax, originally designed to hit wealthy taxpayers, threatens a growing number of middle income taxpayers each year. The Concord Coalition, a bipartisan budget watchdog group, warned that military spending supplementals and AMT relief could add $500 billion in deficits over five years, and $100 billion in 2009 alone. February 07, 2005 Bush Budget: Dead on Arrival "The president's budget is a hoax on the American people. The two issues that dominated the president's State of the Union Address -- Iraq and Social Security -- are nowhere to be found in this budget," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The budget plan also left out any recommendation on tackling the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. The tax, originally designed to hit wealthy taxpayers, threatens a growing number of middle income taxpayers each year. The Concord Coalition, a bipartisan budget watchdog group, warned that military spending supplementals and AMT relief could add $500 billion in deficits over five years, and $100 billion in 2009 alone. |
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