Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History
1789 the U.S. War Department established a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.
1910 The National Urban League is founded in New York City. It will evolve from the Committee on Urban Conditions to address the problems of Blacks in cities.
1941 The Booker T. Washington U.S. Merchant Marine Ship is launched and commanded by Captain Hugh Mulzac, a Black officer.
1948 Bryant Gumbel, who will become co-anchor of NBC's "Today Show", is born in New Orleans, LA.
1955 a one-act version of the Arthur Miller play "A View From the Bridge" opened.
1963 the second session of Second Vatican Council opened in Rome.
1978 Pope John Paul I was found dead in his Vatican apartment just over a month after becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church.
1979 Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit Ireland.
1982 seven people in the Chicago area died after unwittingly taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide.
1988 the space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., marking America's return to manned space flight following the Challenger disaster.
1994 the House voted to end the age-old practice of lobbyists buying meals and entertainment for members of Congress.
1998 Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor of Los Angeles, CA, dies
Missing in Action
1968 NEWBERRY WAYNE E. EAST ST LOUIS IL
1969 CURRAN PARTICK R. BENSENVILLE IL
1969 LONO LUTHER A. TACOMA WA
1972 BOSILJEVAC MICHAEL J. OMAHA NE REMAINS RETURNED 1988
1972 BRETT ROBERT A. JR. CORVALLIS OR
1972 COLTMAN WILLIAM C. PITTSBURGH PA
1972 O'NEIL JAMES W. LOS ANGELES CA 03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Opt Out!
Opt out of the Pentagon's illegal database and your school's military recruitment lists.
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
By completing the steps on these pages, you can create letters that will opt your child out of BOTH your high school recruitment list and the Pentagon database.
For background information about the Pentagon database, click here. For background information on No Child Left Behind's high school military recruiting provision click here.
To opt your own child out, you must submit Opt Out letters by *postal mail* to your School District Superintendent and to the Pentagon. If students are over 18, they may opt themselves out from school and/or Pentagon lists. If the person you want off the list is out of high school but under 25, go through the steps, print and then recycle your School Superintendent Opt Out letter and mail the Pentagon letter to the address indicated. It's easy! You'll need a printer, two envelopes and two stamps. Just follow these 4 steps:
Step 1. Find your School District Superintendent
Step 2. Automatically generate two Opt Out Letters
Step 3. Sign, stamp and mail your Opt Out Letters - one goes to your local Superintendent, one goes to the Pentagon.
Step 4. Follow-up with your district to make sure they have opted your child out!
Each high school receiving federal funding is REQUIRED to turn over student information (name, address, phone number) to local military recruiters unless parents opt out in writing. Follow the steps on this page to find your local school superintendent, and you will generate a letter to send in to opt out your child. If you'd like more information on No Child Left Behind and School Opt-Outs, click here.
http://www.leavemychildalone.org/index.cfm?event=showContent&contentid=63
Indicted DeLay Steps Down From House Post
Indictment (PDF format)
By Larry Margasak / Associated Press
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury Wednesday on a charge of conspiring to violate political fundraising laws, forcing him to temporarily step aside from his GOP post. He is the highest-ranking member of Congress to face criminal prosecution.
A defiant DeLay said he had done nothing wrong and denounced the Democratic prosecutor who pursued the case as a "partisan fanatic." He said, "This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history. It's a sham."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4309
SEC Opens Full Probe Into Frist Stock Sale
By Jonathan M. Katz / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - While insiders at HCA Inc. (HCA) were selling millions of dollars of their own stock this year, they were also painting a sunny picture of the company's outlook for investors. Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the sale of HCA stock by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., whose family founded the company that grew into the nation's largest for-profit health care chain.
The SEC turned its initial inquiry into a formal investigation of the company, HCA announced Thursday. The company said it is cooperating with investigators.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4322
Roberts confirmed as chief justice
Bush poised to name O'Connor replacement
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Senate voted to confrim Judge John Roberts as the nation's 17th chief justice Thursday.
Senate approval capped a two-month process surprisingly free of the partisan rancor widely expected when President Bush nominated Roberts in July.
Meanwhile, with Bush poised to fill a second Supreme Court vacancy -- possibly within a day of the Roberts vote -- the question on Capitol Hill will be how long the era of good feelings might last. (View a gallery of possible Supreme Court nominees)
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4320
Commander Now Backs Off Troop Pullout Idea
Top U.S. Commander Backs Off Prediction of Troop Pullout; White House Bids for War Support
By Hendra Pickler / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The top U.S. commander in Iraq backed away on Wednesday from his prediction that a substantial pullout of U.S. troops could begin by next spring, as the White House undertakes a new campaign to win public support for the war effort.
Gen. George Casey's latest assessment came as President Bush down in the polls and criticized for his hurricane response starts to turn his focus back to the fight against terrorism and to Iraq, the issues that helped him win re-election last year.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4317
Gunmen kill 9 in Iraq attacks
Rumsfeld, generals to brief congressional panels
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - Gunmen killed at least nine people including four police officers, and wounded 11 Thursday in attacks around Iraq, police said.
Attackers opened fire on a carload of teachers near Baquba, killing one of them. The three other teachers in the car survived the attack.
The incident occurred a few days after insurgents disguised as police shot and killed six teachers at an elementary school in Babil province, south of Baghdad.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4321
Republicans See Signs That Pentagon Is Evading Oversight
By Douglas Jehl / Washington Post
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 - Republican members of Congress say there are signs that the Defense Department may be carrying out new intelligence activities through programs intended to escape oversight from Congress and the new director of national intelligence.
The warnings are an unusually public signal of some Republican lawmakers' concern about overreaching by the Pentagon, where top officials have been jockeying with the new intelligence chief, John D. Negroponte, for primacy in intelligence operations. The lawmakers said they believed that some intelligence activities, involving possible propaganda efforts and highly technological initiatives, might be masked as so-called special access programs, the details of which are highly classified.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4316
"If you want to impress me, go to Baghdad."
Dear Michael Moore:
I must say that you are always on point. I am a soldier serving in Iraq and till this day we still don’t know why we are here.
I sit and watch television and the bull shit that our leaders are feeding to the people on a daily basis. How can you be a President and spend over 800 billions of dollars destroying and rebuilding another country when we need help in our own country? How do you live with yourself knowing that innocent soldiers are dying every day just for you?
http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/willtheyevertrustusagain/
Recruiting the Amish
A response to Jocelyn, the spouse of a military recruiter, who wrote in last May.
Dear Jocelyn,
Thank God, I am out of that mess that you are describing so eloquently. My husband was a Navy recruiter. Oh the hell we went through! (We are now divorced.) My husband had it the same way as your husband does. He was even told to work on Sunday. If they didn't meet their goals, they had to stay at the recruiting station and sleep on the desks. My husband had a very bad back at the time, and suffered even the more. He would come dragging in at midnight sometimes and be up before the sun was up all the way.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/willtheyevertrustusagain/index.php?id=34
U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 1931
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 14755
The Cheney Observer
Karzai wants end to U.S.-led operations
11:33 AM EDT on Tuesday, September 20, 2005
By DANIEL COONEY
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying air strikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
Karzai also demanded an immediate end to foreign troops searching people's homes without his government's authorization.
"I don't think there is a big need for military activity in Afghanistan anymore," he told reporters in Kabul. "The nature of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan has changed now.
"No coalition forces should go to Afghan homes without the authorization of the Afghan government. ... The use of air power is something that may not be very effective now."
http://www.krem.com/sharedcontent/nationworld/world/092005ccjccwIntKarzai.aed0c115.html?hp
Ballots transported under tight security for counting after landmark Afghan elections
By STEVE GUTTERMAN Associated Press
September 19, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan - As heavily guarded convoys on Monday hauled ballots from landmark legislative elections across Afghanistan's rugged terrain, evidence that turnout was sharply lower than in last year's presidential vote undermined celebrations of the polling as a key step toward stability.
Afghan and international officials hailed Sunday's elections as a major success, but chief electoral officer Peter Erben said turnout appeared to be just over 50 percent, based on reports from about one-third of the polling stations.
Barring a big increase, this would be significantly lower than the 70 percent for Hamid Karzai's victory in last October's euphoric presidential election. More than 8 million people voted then, even though the number of registered voters was lower than the 12.4 million eligible to cast ballots for the first new legislature in more than three decades.
http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/32685.html
Afghanistan: EU Monitors Say Vote Well-Run Despite Security Concerns
By Ron Synovitz
Emma Bonino
(RFE/RL)
The European Union’s election observation mission in Afghanistan has released its preliminary report on the 18 September parliamentary vote. It says election day was “generally well-administered” and largely peaceful. But the EU team also observed serious shortcomings during the two-month campaign and on the day of voting. RFE/RL spoke with Emma Bonino, the head of the monitoring team, about the positive developments and some of the serious concerns.
Kabul, 20 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Since the beginning of July, nearly 100 EU observers have been monitoring the electoral process in 29 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. On election day, they were joined by an additional 60 European observers.
Their preliminary report praises the vote as a significant step forward for Afghanistan’s democratic development. But it also says there were security and electoral shortcomings that cannot be overlooked.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/bf995d91-e540-4058-b9f2-a3c341ee3af9.html
Afghan turnout said below 2004's presidential poll
Sun 18 Sep 2005 6:47 AM ET
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Fewer Afghans appear to be voting in landmark assembly elections on Sunday than in a presidential election a year ago, polling observers said.
Residents in several parts of the country, including the capital Kabul, said voting appeared to be slow on Sunday morning and this was borne out by election observers.
"I'm going to be surprised if it (turnout) is more than the presidential election," said Richard Howitt, a British member of the European Parliament and a member of an EU observer mission.
"It's been very quiet in lots of places," he told Reuters.
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=ISL14758
'Taleban' target Afghan election
More than 1,000 people have been killed in fighting this year
Suspected Taleban militants launched a series of attacks as Afghanistan's landmark vote was getting under way.
There were overnight rocket and bomb attacks on several polling stations and a candidate's house, but they failed to disrupt the vote.
At least two policemen and three suspected militants died in a clash in Khost province. A French soldier died in a landmine blast in the south.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4257368.stm
Karzai Wants End to U.S.-Led Operations
By DANIEL COONEY
Published: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 8:05 AM PDT
KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying air strikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
Karzai also demanded an immediate end to foreign troops searching people's homes without his government's authorization.
"I don't think there is a big need for military activity in Afghanistan anymore," he told reporters in Kabul. "The nature of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan has changed now.
"No coalition forces should go to Afghan homes without the authorization of the Afghan government. ... The use of air power is something that may not be very effective now."
http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/09/20/ap/headlines/d8co22880.txt
Sasol to showcase its technology at 18th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Johannesburg
Sasol Limited
Posted: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 12:00 © Moneyweb Holdings Limited, 1997-2005
The In Business Today section is reserved for relevant company announcements and releases. Companies are not entitled to have their announcements published in this section, but from time to time, these may be selected by Moneyweb for publication in the interest of the Moneyweb Community of readers.
The copy has not been generated by Moneyweb nor should be attributed to Moneyweb. Nor has the information contained therein been verified by Moneyweb journalists.
Sasol technology and proven expertise in the fields of coal-to-liquids (CTL) and gas-to-liquids (GTL) will come under the spotlight as international energy experts converge on Johannesburg from 25 to 29 September for the 18th World Petroleum Congress.
Sasol is one of the gold sponsors of the WPC and co-sponsor of Africa Night, a social event that will provide global delegates with a true taste of African hospitality.
“The high oil price has renewed international focus on Sasol’s pioneering proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology in the fields of CTL and GTL. These technologies offer significant opportunities to the African continent as well as the rest of the world in unlocking hydrocarbon resources,” says Sasol chief executive Pat Davies.
http://www.moneyweb.co.za/business_today/492870.htm
AS LONG AS THEY DON'T MIND LOSING THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS
Church leaders seek more influence in state government
Sunday, September 4, 2005
By CHARITA M. GOSHAY Repository staff writer
Related Stories
Expert says religious right must stay galvanized to be effective
The Rev. Russell Johnson says he doesn’t want to take over Ohio; he just wants to improve it based on his Christian faith.
The way that he’s going about it is making some people nervous.
Bolstered by a pivotal role in President Bush’s re-election and passage of a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, some Ohio conservative evangelicals are working to ensure they have an impact in the 2006 elections.
Russell’s Ohio Restoration Project has set up a network of “patriot pastors” and “minutemen of prayer” to mobilize like-minded voters, pushing hard to align public policy with its biblically based views.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=240700&r=3&Category=11&external=&newCookie=yes&userID=164519
Here is the latest in discrimination. Nuclear.
Middle East News
Ahmadinejad slams nuclear discrimination
Sep 27, 2005, 10:50 GMT
TEHRAN, Iran (UPI) -- Iran`s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has complained of 'nuclear discrimination' in the world, stressing Iran`s right to have peaceful nuclear technology.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting late Monday night, Ahmadinejad said, 'Peoples of the world are subject to nuclear discrimination, as many countries possessing nuclear technology are seeking to monopolize this knowledge and deprive the rest of the world from this scientific capacity.'
The Iranian News Agency quoted him as saying the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty gives all members of the United Nations the right to possess peaceful technology and a nuclear fuel cycle.
'Only those with bad and evil intentions have managed to raise Iran`s nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency,' he added
Ahmadinejad pointed out that Iran has not started enriching uranium 'and that is why in the past 20 years Iran did not commit any violation of IAEA`s resolutions.'
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article_1050866.php/Ahmadinejad_slams_nuclear_discrimination
No Katrina Contracts for KBR and other Crooks and Cronies
WASHINGTON - September 27 - HalliburtonWatch.org and the Center for Corporate Policy support the 19 members of Congress who joined together to call upon the Bush administration to suspend Halliburton/KBR from any new contracts or task orders in Iraq or for post-hurricane reconstruction in the U.S., based on the company’s record in Iraq and elsewhere.
“Halliburton/KBR has an unrivaled record of waste, fraud, bribery and other violations in Iraq and elsewhere, and should be barred from taxpayer-funded contracts,” said Charlie Cray, director of the Center for Corporate Policy. “As happened with Enron, the federal government should suspend KBR from any new contracts until all ongoing criminal investigations are finished.”
The Department of Justice, SEC and Treasury Department are conducting separate investigations into various acts of bribery, fraud, violations of trade restrictions and other acts committed by Halliburton and/or its employees.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0927-12.htm
Deep Pockets, Small Government and the Man in the Middle
By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, September 27, 2005; Page A04
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) had the look of a hunted man as he walked from the Capitol to the Longworth House Office Building yesterday for a speech to young conservatives.
Pence, chairman of a group of House conservatives called the Republican Study Committee, was complaining to his companions about a Robert Novak column in yesterday's Washington Post saying Pence was subjected to a "closed-door auto-da-fe" from Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay for daring to suggest that the profligate House leadership should reconsider its big-spending ways. But Pence got the leadership's message, loud and clear.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/26/AR2005092601859.html
Dan Wants Second Go at Bush
Submitted by editor on September 28, 2005 - 2:15pm.
By DON KAPLAN
DAN Rather wants to reopen the investigation into President Bush and the National Guard story that resulted in the Memogate scandal and led to his early departure from the anchor desk.
But his bosses at CBS have forbidden him to go back at it, he said.
"CBS News doesn't want me to do that story," Rather said during an interview that aired on C-SPAN Monday night.
"They wouldn't let me do that story," he said during the shockingly frank interview with former NBC newsman Marvin Kalb.
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/1206
Rather: VIACOM CBS News Shills for Bush Cheney
by WAYNE MADSEN
(Sep. 27, 2005) -- Dan Rather says CBS wouldn't allow him to do a follow-up story on Bush's Texas Air National Guard (TANG) files.
Speaking at the National Press Club on September 26, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather responded to a question posed by moderator Marvin Kalb concerning the controversial TANG files of George W. Bush.
Kalb asked Rather why he did not return to the story and investigate those who created the guard files, passed them off to a former TANG officer and hence to CBS's 60 Minutes, and tipped off right-wing bloggers before the airing of the pre-2004 election exposé by 60 Minutes.
Rather responded, "You'll have to ask CBS that question."
Rather stated it was his desire to continue to delve into the story and the set-up.
According to CBS insiders, the original TANG files were scanned by GOP dirty tricks operatives using a sophisticated text scanner that changed the original IBM typewriter Courier font to a Times Roman font, automatically created a "th" superscript for date numbers, and created margins and pagination.
http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=65&contentid=2817
Peace rally opposes Iraq war
By Paul Boerger
Marchers opposed to the war in Iraq cross Mount Shasta Blvd. after a rally at the Mount Shasta city plaza.
Along with tens of thousands of other Americans across the United States, nearly 100 people rallied at the Mount Shasta city plaza September 24th to express their opposition to the war in Iraq.
The group circled up in front of the police department to hear citizens share their views on why they are against America's continued presence in Iraq. The rally then proceeded down Mount Shasta Blvd. carrying a wide variety of signs proclaiming everything from "Impeach Bush" to "Save Our Children."
Chants of "Bring them home now" and "No justice, no peace" rang out through the downtown business district.
Unlike previous rallies against the war in Mount Shasta, overt expressions of anger and outrage permeated many speeches. In addition, a single Bush supporter faced angry confrontations by several marchers.
http://www.mtshastanews.com/articles/2005/09/28/news/06peacerally.txt
CNN, other news outlets ignored Brown's false claim about Blanco's state of emergency request
On the September 27 editions of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 and NewsNight with Aaron Brown, anchor Anderson Cooper billed a report on former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown's congressional testimony as an effort to "check what he said against the facts." In the segment that followed, however, CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry simply reported on the "war of words" between Brown and members of the House committee investigating the handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster by local, state, and federal government agencies. Despite Cooper's introduction, Henry did not offer viewers the facts surrounding the Katrina response, nor did he discuss the veracity of Brown's statements. He merely noted that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D), in a "blistering" response, had described Brown as "either out of touch with the truth or reality." But if Henry had actually fact-checked Brown's testimony, he would have identified as clearly false Brown's claim that Blanco excluded several parishes from her federal emergency assistance request.
Under questioning from Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) during the September 27 House hearing, Brown claimed that President Bush's August 27 declaration of emergency for Louisiana did not include Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines parishes because Blanco had excluded them from her request earlier that day:
BUYER: So I'd like to know why did the president's federal emergency assistance declaration of August 27th not include the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines?
BROWN: Under the law, the governor makes the request for the declaration, and the governors of the states specify what areas, what counties they want included in that declaration. And, based upon the governor's request, that's the recommendation that we make to the president. So if a governor does not request a particular county or a particular parish, that's not included in the request.
BUYER: All right. Orleans Parish is New Orleans. I was listening to my colleague, Mr. [Rep. William J.] Jefferson's [D-LA], questions about when they talked about, you know, they asked for this assistance for three days and the president responded the very next day, not the day that it was made -- the request -- but the governor of Louisiana actually excluded New Orleans from the president's federal emergency assistance declaration?
BROWN: Again, congressman, we looked at the request. The governors make the request by --
BUYER: Let me ask this: Since you went through the exercise in [Hurricane] Pam [a FEMA training exercise], was that not shocking to you that the governor would exclude New Orleans from the declaration?
BROWN: Yes.
BUYER: When that request came in excluding these three parishes, did you question it?
BROWN: We questioned it. But I made the decision that we were going to go ahead and move assets in regardless, because we have the ability to add those parishes.
In fact, Blanco requested a federal declaration of emergency "in all southeastern parishes," which clearly included the three parishes in question, as the weblog Think Progress has noted. Despite Brown's assertion that Blanco was to blame for this oversight, the FEMA officials who drafted the federal declaration on August 27, which included a list of the parishes to which it applied, apparently were responsible for the omission -- a broad swath of parishes in the southern part of the state was omitted. The declaration was then amended on August 29 to include the missing parishes.
Henry was not the only journalist to highlight Blanco's criticism of Brown's testimony without noting Brown's false allegation regarding her emergency declaration request. Reports featured on the September 27 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight and the September 28 edition of CNN's Daybreak also ignored Brown's false claim, as did segments on the September 27 editions of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson and Special Report with Brit Hume. The Associated Press also overlooked this aspect of Brown's testimony, as did numerous newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Dallas Morning News, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
— J.K.
Posted to the web on Wednesday September 28, 2005 at 5:17 PM EST
http://mediamatters.org/items/200509280009
NRG Energy Gains on Report It's in Talks to Acquire Texas Genco
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of NRG Energy Inc. rose after a report the company is in talks to acquire Texas Genco Holdings LLC, the power company that serves Houston, for $5 billion or more in cash and stock.
NRG, based in Princeton, New Jersey, would also assume $2 billion in debt from four buyout firms that acquired the company in April 2004, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Texas Pacific Group, Blackstone Group LP, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Hellman & Friedman LLC paid $3.65 billion for Texas Genco, using $900 million in cash and borrowing the rest.
``If independent power producers want to survive they have to bulk up dramatically,'' said Ed Tirello, managing director at Berenson & Co., a New York-based investment bank that advises on utility deals. For NRG Energy, ``this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to almost double the size of the company.''
...Buyout firms this year have often sold assets within a year of buying them amid the best mergers and acquisitions market since 2000. In the past year, there have been $1.8 trillion in announced mergers or acquisitions, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Firms such as New York-based KKR and Washington based Carlyle Group have sold stakes in companies about a year after taking them over.
In April, Carlyle Group and its buyout-firm partners sold shares in former Enron Corp. unit Mariner Energy, an oil and gas company, more than tripling their investment in 13 months.
On Sept. 26, First Reserve Corp., a Greenwich, Connecticut- based buyout firm that specializes in buying energy companies, made about five times the equity it invested in Caledonia Oil & Gas Ltd. when it sold it to power and gas provider E.On AG for 470 million pounds ($830.5 million).
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=avH4sPXzjtFQ&refer=us
Analysis: For Republicans, DeLay adds to sea of problems
Robin Toner, New York Times
September 29, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This is not what the Republicans envisioned 11 months ago, when they were returned to office as a powerful one-party government with a big agenda and -- it seemed -- little to fear from the opposition.
The indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas and the House majority leader, on Wednesday was the latest in a series of scandals and setbacks that have buffeted Republican leaders in Congress and the Bush administration and transformed what might have been a victory lap into a hard political scramble. Republicans are still managing to score some wins -- notably, John Roberts' expected confirmation today as chief justice of the Supreme Court -- but their governing majority is showing major signs of strain.
Leadership woes
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5641179.html
SO BACK TO WORK. GOOD, DICK !! Off Workman’s Comp and back to earning your way ! Good !!
Cheney's aneurysm procedure a success
Wed 28 Sep 2005 07:10 am CST
VIRGINIA (myDNA News)
To treat Vice President Dick Cheney's popliteal aneurysm located behind his knee, interventional radiologists guided a flexible, self-expanding stent through a catheter into the damaged blood vessel to block off the aneurysm and create a reinforced pathway through which blood can flow. The popliteal endograft is typically performed while the patient is conscious, using only local anesthesia. The procedure offers less risk, less pain and less recovery time than surgical options.
http://www.mydna.com/health/heart/news/resources/news/200509/news_20050928_chen2.html
Charges Dropped Against Man Accused Of Stealing Bush-Cheney Signs
POSTED: 6:26 pm EDT September 28, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A judge dismissed charges against a man Wednesday accused of stealing presidential campaign signs from a Raleigh man's yard.
Edward Shook, was caught last October allegedly stealing Bush-Cheney campaign signs, reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
The victim, Bill Moore, staked out the woods near his house with a video camera. The videotape caught a man appearing to be Shook actually ripping up the signs.
With the video and a license plate number, Wake County deputies arrested Shook and charged him with misdemeanor larceny.
http://www.wral.com/news/5033334/detail.html
Rove and Norquist Ruining America
A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Gerald Plessner
George W. Bush has exposed the two greatest flaws in our political system -- the existence of the Electoral College and the non-existence of a parliamentary system.
Without the Electoral College George W. Bush would not be our president, and if we had a parliamentary system, George W. Bush would not long be our president.
Columnist E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post recently wrote that, "The Bush Era is over. The sooner politicians in both parties realize that, the better for them -- and for the country."
But the Bush era of incompetence, dishonesty, harmful ideology and greed is not over. Quite the contrary. The Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrate the disastrous consequences of its conservative political principles and Libertarian elitist economic ideas. And none of that has changed.
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/05/09/con05365.html
THE MYTH OF COMPETENCE IN THE BUSH WHITE HOUSE
by Randolph T. Holhut
DUMMERSTON, Vt. — Do you remember how, right after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, we heard all the pundits talk about how great it was that we finally had grownups in charge of our government in a time of crisis?
Does anyone still believe that nonsense now? Who would, especially when one considers the breathtaking incompetence of the Bush administration, as well as the cronyism, the lack of accountability and the total stupidity that has haunted every enterprise from 9/11 to Iraq to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
There are two dynamics at work in the Bush White House. There's the guiding philosophy that politics are more important than governance. Then there's the carefully constructed myth of the "CEO President" and how the best principles and ideas of the private sector are transforming government.
We have seen the effects of both, and they haven't been good.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_randolph_050928_the_myth_of_competen.htm
DeLay Is Indicted and Forced to Step Down as Majority Leader
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 – Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the powerful House Republican majority leader, was accused by a Texas grand jury today of criminal conspiracy in a campaign fund-raising scheme.
Mr. DeLay was indicted on one count charging that he violated state election laws in September 2002. Two political associates, John D. Colyandro and James W. Ellis, were indicted with him.
The indictment of Mr. DeLay, while not entirely unexpected, still reverberated through the Capitol. The House Republican rules require a member of the leadership to step down, at least temporarily, if indicted.
Late this afternoon, Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the majority whip, was appointed temporary House majority leader, with David Dreier of California, the chairman of the Rules Committee, designated to assist him. Earlier in the day, Republicans on Capitol Hill said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert intended to appoint Mr. Dreier to take over for Mr. DeLay.
A conviction on the felony charge against Mr. DeLay, 58, carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. The lawmaker has consistently maintained his innocence and today asserted that the indictment resulted from a "purely political investigation" by the Travis County district attorney, Ronnie Earle, a Democrat.
"I have done nothing wrong," Mr. DeLay said, adding that he had violated "no law, no regulation, no rule of the House." Mr. DeLay, speaking on Capitol Hill, described Mr. Earle, a longtime antagonist, as "a partisan fanatic" and a "rogue district attorney" and said the prosecutor had shamelessly courted journalists on "the only days he actually comes to the office." Mr. DeLay said the charge lodged against him today was "one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history," one that is "a sham, and Mr. Earle knows it."
Mr. Earle, in a separate news conference, disputed Mr. DeLay's contentions. "We have over the years prosecuted a number of public officials," he said in Texas, adding that it was his duty to go after "abuses of power." In fact, he said, he has prosecuted more Democrats than Republicans.
At the White House, the president's chief spokesman, Scott McClellan, expressed support for Mr. DeLay, telling reporters, "Mr. DeLay is a good ally and a leader who we have worked closely with for the good of the American people.'' "The president's view is to let the legal process work," Mr. McClellan said. "There's a legal process and we're going to let it work.''
Democrats were quick to seize on Mr. DeLay's troubles. "The criminal indictment of Majority Leader Tom DeLay is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people," the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, said in a statement.
Mr. DeLay is second only to Speaker Hastert of Illinois in power in the House of Representatives and has been credited with shepherding much of his party's legislative programs through Congress. He has also been seen as a key in expanding the Republican majority in the House, which now stands at 231 to 202 Democrats, with one independent and one vacancy.
Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said the indictment was further evidence that "alleged illegal activity reaches to the highest levels of the Republican Party."
"Tom DeLay is neither the beginning nor the end of the Washington Republicans' ethical problems," Mr. Dean said in a statement that also cited questions over a stock sale by the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, and an investigation into the leaking of the identity of a C.I.A. operative that has touched on the presidential adviser Karl Rove.
The DeLay indictment asserts that Mr. Colyandro and Mr. Ellis were part of a scheme in which corporations contributed large sums ($50,000 in one instance, and $25,000 in at least three other instances) that were destined for the Republican National Committee. The indictment includes a copy of a check for $190,000 made out to the Republican National State Elections Committee, a component of the party's national committee. That money was to go to various candidates for the Texas Legislature, the indictment says.
The indictment came just three weeks after a political organization formed by Mr. DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority, was indicted on charges of taking illegal corporate money while Mr. DeLay was helping Republicans win control of the Texas Legislature as well as strengthening their hold on Congress.
The DeLay organization was charged with accepting a contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care and one of $20,000 from AT&T. A statewide business group, the Texas Association of Business, was also charged.
State law prohibits use of corporate contributions to advocate the election or defeat of state candidates, and prosecutors accuse the DeLay organization of engaging in a complex scheme to circumvent the law.
Mr. DeLay, who has also come under fire from the House ethics committee on three occasions in recent months, will not have to leave his post as the congressman from Texas's 22d District, near Houston, as a result of the indictment. But by his having to step down from his leadership position, his power will be vastly diminished, at least for the time being.
Mr. DeLay has won the grudging respect of Democrats for his effectiveness, not only in pushing legislation through the House but for helping to strengthen the Republican majority. In Texas, he helped to engineer a redistricting plan that boosted the Texas Republican majority to 21-11 in the current Congress.
Mr. DeLay's troubles come at an awkward time for Republicans, as President Bush is sagging in public opinion surveys and as the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, has been defending himself against questions about the timing of the sale of stock in a family-owned business.
To compound embarrassment for the Republicans, Mr. DeLay is a close friend of Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the Justice Department for more than a year and who has been indicted on unrelated federal fraud charges in Florida. Democrats are sure to try to capitalize on the Republican troubles in next year's Congressional elections, and probably in the presidential election campaign of 2008.
Representative Tom Reynolds of New York, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, asserted today that the political motive behind the investigation of Mr. DeLay was obvious. "The majority leader has been a highly effective leader of our conference," Mr. Reynolds said. "Democrats resent Tom DeLay because he routinely defeats them — both politically and legislatively." "Until Majority Leader Tom DeLay has his day in court, it is vitally important he be afforded the same presumption of innocence afforded to every other American," Mr. Reynolds said.
As majority whip, Mr. Blunt has held the third-highest post in the House, with responsibility for rounding up votes to support the leadership's agenda. Before going to Congress in 1997, Mr. Blunt was Missouri's secretary of state and president of his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo.
Mr. Dreier, who will take over the majority leader's office, was first elected to Congress in 1980 and is currently chairman of the powerful Rules Committee. On his Web site he describes his "core principles" as "working to promote individual liberty, economic opportunity, strong U.S. global leadership, and limited but effective government."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/28/politics/28cnd-delay.html?ei=5070&en=9e0dad16fd9d33e8&ex=1128571200&adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1128039255-8mpOptdkNwPzInDU8QMrVg
Indictment of Republican Tom DeLay a serious blow for Bush agenda
08:10 PM EDT Sep 29
Rep. Tom DeLay, R- Tex., left, is escorted by police to a meeting on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
BETH GORHAM
WASHINGTON (CP) - In a serious blow for President George W. Bush, powerful Republican Tom DeLay was forced to step down Wednesday as House majority leader to face a conspiracy charge in a Texas campaign finance scheme.
Bush, who relied on DeLay's tough style to push policy, is already having a tough time dealing with a party beleaguered by the weak response to hurricane Katrina and divided over how to pay for a massive rebuilding project.
Now DeLay's indictment after years of pushing ethical boundaries provides an opportunity for Democrats to pound Republicans on corruption issues in the run-up to next year's congressional elections.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050928/w092888.html
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