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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
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TalkLeft: "Blair cuts and runs from Bush."
Captain's Quarters: "Tony Blair will announce the start of force reductions in the southern, Shi'ite regions of Iraq. Blair will tell the UK that their mission to train the native Iraqi security forces and transfer responsibility to them had succeeded, and that their presence is no longer required."
"2008 pres"
7:07:01 AM 
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Oliver Willis: "Imagine if you will, a substantial group of regular churchgoing Christians. They are active in their community, they believe in God and Heaven and Hell. Their entire life is about living up to the Word of God, and when they vote that belief is a driving moral force in how their ballot is cast. These Christians are vital to their party, if they stayed home on election day there's no way the party could win."
"2008 pres"
7:00:54 AM
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beSpacific: "On February 20, 2007, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 that detainees held at Guantánamo Bay could not challenge their detention, thereby upholding provisions of the Military Commissions Act denying 'enemy combatants' the right to file habeas corpus claims in U.S. Court."
Daily Kos: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 today that 400 foreign nationals detained at Guantanamo don't have the right to challenge their imprisonment, ruling that the Military Commissions Act passed last fall in a tour de force of Rubber Stamp dereliction of duty by Congress blocked the detainees right to appeal their indefinite imprisonment without charges."
Captain's Quarters: "Iranian negotiators refused to consider the necessary step of suspending their uranium enrichment program, and so the efforts to avoid a negative IAEA report to the UN Security Council have failed. The UNSC will need to decide whether the global community can retain its uncertain unity long enough to escalate the sanctions against Iran."
"2008 pres"
6:47:50 AM
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HB 07-1298 [pdf], Concerning the Conservation of Wildlife Habitat in Connection with the Development of Oil and Gas, made it out of committee yesterday, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Hunters donned Day-Glo Orange gear today to plug a landmark bill to protect Colorado's wild creatures and their habitat from a record oil and gas exploration boom. House Bill 1298 was unanimously advanced by the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee. Sponsored by Rep. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, and Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, the bill directs the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to work with the Division of Wildlife in crafting rules that require energy companies to use cutting-edge technology to avoid or reduce harm to elk, mule deer, grouse and native trout and the places they call home."
"2008 pres"
6:42:06 AM
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Here's a short article about Bill Richardson from the Denver Post. Mr. Farrell writes, "Gov. Bill Richardson's first swing through New Hampshire as a presidential contender began with the kind of bracing query that has won the state renown. Noting how Richardson has at times described himself as a conservative, a progressive and a moderate Democrat, Arnie Arnesen, the host of a local public access cable TV show, asked him: 'It's 2007. What the heck are you now?' 'I'm a New Progressive,' Richardson said, without quite explaining what that meant.
For the next 20 minutes, Arnesen dared Richardson to get more specific in his answers; challenged his gilded portrayal of his record as governor in New Mexico; and grilled him about taxes, health care, immigration, nuclear energy and foreign policy. Outside the studio, at campaign events here and in nearby Manchester, the questions were as tough - and Richardson's answers sometimes wavering and unfocused. 'The Democratic Party has too often concentrated on the poor - and I'm for that,' he said at a neighborhood restaurant in Manchester on Saturday morning. 'But there's a middle class.' 'I'm still working on my shtick,' Richardson said a few moments later. 'I'm not perfect. I'll make mistakes.' Short on message, Richardson still had cause for cheer. He arrived in New Hampshire on Friday, fresh from a Thursday fundraiser in New Mexico that raised, according to his campaign, more than $2 million."
Political Wire: "In a very strong showing, Rudy Giuliani (R) leads Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), 48% to 43%, among American voters in a 2008 national Quinnipiac poll. Key findings: 'Giuliani tops Clinton 55% to 38% in Red states, which voted Republican in the 2004 presidential election, and ties her 46% to 46% in Blue states, which went Democratic in 2004. He gets 44% to Clinton's 45% in Purple states, where the margin in 2004 was less than 7%.'"
Political Wire: "For a glimpse of how former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) Mormonism might affect his presidential ambitions, look no further than the Mormon bastion of Utah. According to a SurveyUSA poll, 82% of respondents believe Mormonism is not well understood by most Americans. Accordingly, only 15% of residents believe his Mormonism will help his chances of being elected, while 55% believe it will hurt."
Oliver Willis is running video of Mitt Romney espousing a "Woman's right to choose."
Political Wire: "On Meet the Press, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said he's still considering a presidential bid. 'I'll make a decision within a couple of weeks, and make that public,' he said."
"2008 pres"
6:33:32 AM
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Most Democratic presidential candidates are in Nevada for an early forum tonight, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "The majority of Democratic presidential hopefuls land today in Nevada, ready to court Western voters who, thanks to a change in the party's nomination schedule, should have a significant voice in the race for the White House. But the candidates, whose playbooks address strategies for the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, may be missing chapters on how and where to court Western voters or the best way to nimbly answer a three-part question on water storage. In fact, presidential retail politicking in the Silver State, where 87 percent of the land is owned by the federal government and more than 400 miles separate Las Vegas and Reno, is nearly uncharted territory...
"When the candidates make their first joint appearance at a Carson City forum today and continue to campaign throughout the state, they should be cautious, advised Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Reno. Democrats should address some issues affecting Nevada, such as water rights and the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. And when it comes to seeing national issues through a Democratic lens, it isn't one-size-fits-all."
"2008 pres"
5:32:59 AM
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Here's an update about border enforcement efforts down in Arizona, from the Lakeland Ledger. From the article, "All along the border, there are signs that the measures the Border Patrol and other federal agencies have taken over the last year, from erecting new barriers to posting 6,000 National Guardsmen as armed sentinels, are beginning to slow the flow of illegal immigrants. The only available barometer of the decline is how many migrants are caught. In the last four months, the number has dropped 27 percent compared with the same period last year, the biggest drop since a crackdown immediately after 9/11. In two sections around Yuma and near Del Rio, Tex., the numbers have fallen by nearly two-thirds, Homeland Security officials say."
The Irish Voice: "Senator John McCain electrified an audience of more than 2,000 at an Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) town hall meeting in the Bronx last Friday, and expressed a strong belief that Congress will soon find common ground on a way to legalize a majority of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
"McCain, the Arizona Republican who is working in tandem with Democratic colleague Senator Edward Kennedy to win approval for a strong version of their McCain/Kennedy reform bill in the Senate this week, also stressed that the recent pro-immigration rallies in the U.S. are having a significant impact on the shape of the debate on Capitol Hill."
"2008 pres"
5:25:11 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 12:37:27 PM.
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