Capital: Austin

20090330
Norm Coleman - John Cornyn - Tim Pawlenty - Political - 2008 Election - Federal - Legal - History - Minnesota - Texas
"Cornyn: GOP [Republicans] Prepared To Fight ‘World War III’ To Keep Franken Out Of The Senate For ‘Years’." ... "Last week, the ongoing legal battle between [2008 Election Minnesota Senatorial Candidates] Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman officially became the “the longest recount in Minnesota history.” Though Franken leads Coleman in the current vote tally, according to the Minnesota Supreme Court, he can’t be certified until after election challenges have been decided in the state courts." ... "If Coleman loses in the state courts, he and his Republican backers are indicating that they may seek to bring it to the federal level, which could keep the Senate seat vacant for much longer. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman [and Texas Republican Senator] John Cornyn told Politico recently that the party is willing to keep the seat empty for “years“:"

"Texas [Republican Senator] Sen. John Cornyn is threatening “World War III” if Democrats try to seat Al Franken in the Senate before Norm Coleman can pursue his case through the federal courts."

"Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, acknowledges that a federal challenge to November’s elections could take “years” to resolve. But he’s adamant that Coleman deserves that chance — even if it means Minnesota is short a senator for the duration."

"The threat of an empty Senate seat for years — which would hold the Democratic advantage in the Senate at 58-41 — does not appear to be a welcome concept to the people of Minnesota. The Star Tribune reported last week that “the prospect of a protracted battle irks some regardless of their political leanings.”" ... "Additionally, Minnesota [Republican Governor] Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R [Republican]) believes that only having one senator is hurting Minnesota. In February, Pawlenty told C-Span that “it has put Minnesota at a disadvantage when there’s only 100 senators total and you are missing one.”"

WATCH: Minnesota Republican Governor explain that having only one serving US Senator "has put Minnesota at a disadvantage...."

" -By Matt Corley -ThinkProgress.org

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20090321
Barack Obama - Corporate - Government - Politics - History - Texas
"Despair over financial policy." ... "The [Democratic President Obama's Treasury Secretary Tim] Geithner plan has now been leaked in detail. It’s exactly the plan that was widely analyzed — and found wanting — a couple of weeks ago. The zombie ideas have won." ... "In effect, Treasury will be creating — deliberately! — the functional equivalent of Texas S&Ls in the 1980s: financial operations with very little capital but lots of government-guaranteed liabilities. For the private investors, this is an open invitation to play heads I win, tails the taxpayers lose. So sure, these investors will be ready to pay high prices for toxic waste. After all, the stuff might be worth something; and if it isn’t, that’s someone else’s problem." ... "Or to put it another way, Treasury has decided that what we have is nothing but a confidence problem, which it proposes to cure by creating massive moral hazard." -By Paul Krugman/Blog -NYTimes

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20090211
Phoenix - Arizona - Law - Terrorism - Politics - Drugs - California - Texas - US - Mexico
"Kidnapping Capital of the U.S.A.: Washington Too Concerned With al Qaeda Terrorists to Care, Officials Say." ... "In what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave, [Arizona's capital] Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City [Mexico's capital] and over 370 cases last year alone. But local authorities say Washington, DC [America's capital is too obsessed with al Qaeda terrorists to care about what is happening in their own backyard right now." ... ""We're in the eye of the storm," Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson told ABC News of the violent crimes and ruthless tactics spurred by Mexico's drug cartels that have expanded business across the border. "If it doesn't stop here, if we're not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation," he said." ... "California Attorney General Jerry Brown warned that as the U.S. [United States] government focuses so intently on Islamic extremist groups, other types of terrorists those involved with the same kidnappings, extortion and drug cartels that are sweeping Phoenix are overlooked." ... ""Those [criminals], for the average Californian or the average America, may be a more immediate threat to their well being," Brown said." ... "In fact, kidnappings and other crimes connected to the Mexican drug cartels are quickly spreading across the border, from Texas to California." (1, 2) -By Brian Ross, Richard Esposito and Asa Eslocker -ABCNEWS.com

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20090210
Financial - Crisis - Government - Accounting - Politics - History - Author - Texas
"Economist James Galbraith: Bailed-Out Banks Should Be Declared Insolvent." ... "With estimates of the cost of addressing the financial crisis exceeding $9.7 trillion, we speak with economist and University of Texas professor James Galbraith, author of [the book] The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too. Galbraith says rather than pouring billions into propping up troubled giant banks, the government should declare them insolvent." ... Watch - Listen JAMES GALBRAITH: ... "[W]hen you’re dealing with a bank which has already basically rendered itself insolvent by virtue of its complicity—it’s basically seeking for easy money, for big profits, out of mortgage originations and underwriting fees in the last part of this decade—then you’re dealing with a bank which is already underwater. The risk capital is already worth nothing. It’s being held up only by the expectation of a federal bailout." ... "The management is—the problem with leaving the management in place is that you cannot rely on the existing management to give you a full and fair accounting of what is in the books of the bank and what the practices of the bank are. That is why you need to bring in a new team. You need to bring in a team which is nominated by the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation], which has as its first objective coming clean, going through the books of the bank and separating the good assets from the bad assets, the assets which are—which have a reasonable chance of continuing to earn income from the assets which need to be written down or written off. Then you can make an assessment of just how big the losses are and what has to be done, whether the bank itself should be closed, which is sometimes the case; whether it can find a merger partner, which is sometimes the case; or whether what you do is reorganize it, isolate the bad assets from the good assets and relaunch the good assets as part of a new bank. One thing or another has to be done. And when it’s done, you can begin to basically grow the economy on the basis of these new newly reconstructed credit institutions." ... "But so long as you’re dealing with the old management and so long as you’re dealing with the old practices and so long as you don’t have a clean audit of the books, the chances are that the bank is going to behave in ways which are not constructive, which do not contribute to the growth of the economy, and which leave all kinds of suspicions present in the system about the integrity of the institution and of the regulatory process. And that’s the problem the Treasury Department seems to be determined not to face." ... "And so long as it doesn’t face it, we’re not going to get out of this, and the Treasury Department is not contributing constructively to the success of the recovery plan, which the Congress is about to enact. And that will mean that the recovery plan itself will be, sort of after the fact, too small to deal the problem of unemployment, which is just growing at the rate of a half a million jobs a month. So we are—and that’s the dilemma that we’re in."

AMY GOODMAN: "Professor Galbraith, are you for nationalizing banks?"
JAMES GALBRAITH: "You know, I think the term is a political misleading term. I learned a few months ago that in 1982, at the time of the Latin American debt crisis, the [Republican President] Reagan administration’s FDIC had a contingency plan to nationalize the major banks in the case that a major Latin American country—let’s say Mexico or Argentina or Brazil—had defaulted outright on its debt. This was not something that administration would have wanted to do. In the end, they didn’t have to do it. But they had a plan to do it, if it was necessary because the banks were rendered insolvent by the running to ruin of a major class of assets." ... "Well, we have a major class of assets—that is to say, all of these subprime mortgage-backed securities—which have run to ruin. They should never have been issued in the first place. They are very, very highly likely to default. They were issued on terms which makes them basically unmarketable, because there is not adequate loan documentation. And when there is loan documentation, that documentation evidently indicates that the loans are likely to go bad, so that nobody outside will buy them. That’s a problem that exists in the banking system, and the regulators simply have to deal with it." ... "And I don’t think—you know, it’s not—we’re not in 1945 in Attlee’s Britain, where we are taking the commanding heights of their economy or anything like that. We are doing what regulators always have to do, in conservative and liberal administrations, when faced with major intractable insolvencies in the financial system. If you don’t deal with that, the problem of fraud and loss just gets worse. And the losses that are incurred after insolvency are losses that fall on the taxpayer, because they come against deposits that are insured. So, one way or another, until we deal with this, the taxpayers’ liability just gets bigger and bigger."

AMY GOODMAN: "Professor Galbraith, I hate to ask you this last question with just about thirty seconds to go, but it’s about the title of your book and what it means, The Predator State."
JAMES GALBRAITH: "Well, the Predator State refers to the takeover of state power by private interests masquerading behind conservative principle and basically acting for private clients and private profit. That was the [Republican President] Bush administration in a nutshell. The title goes back to Veblen and a bit to my father’s New Industrial State, and it’s an attempt to capture in two words a phenomenon that I think really has transformed our economy, much for the worse in the last several decades." -DemocracyNow.org

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20090209
Drug - Investigation - Federal - Law - History - Texas - Calif - New York
"Sources tell SI Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003." ... "In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated." ... "Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004." ... "Though MLB's drug policy has expressly prohibited the use of steroids without a valid prescription since 1991, there were no penalties for a positive test in 2003. The results of that year's survey testing of 1,198 players were meant to be anonymous under the agreement between the commissioner's office and the players association. Rodriguez's testing information was found, however, after federal agents, armed with search warrants, seized the '03 test results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., of Long Beach, Calif. [California], one of two labs used by MLB in connection with that year's survey testing. The seizure took place in April 2004 as part of the government's investigation into 10 major league players linked to the BALCO scandal -- though Rodriguez himself has never been connected to BALCO." ... "Anticipating that the 33-year-old Rodriguez, who has 553 career home runs, could become the game's alltime home run king, the [New York] Yankees signed him in November 2007 to a 10-year, incentive-laden deal that could be worth as much as $305 million. Rodriguez is reportedly guaranteed $275 million and could receive a $6 million bonus each time he ties one of the four players at the top of the list: Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762), and an additional $6 million for passing Bonds." -By Selena Roberts and David Epstein -SI.com

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Pete Sessions - Michael Steele - Terrorism - Radio - Government - Economic - Legislation - Job - Tex - Ga - Maryland - 2006 Election
"Republicans See Long-Term Victory in Defeat on Stimulus Plan." ... "GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Sees Positives In Negative Stand: Leaders Seize On Spending Issue." ... "After giving the package zero [Republican] votes in the House, and 0 with their [Republican] counterparts in the Senate likely to provide in a crucial procedural vote today only the handful of votes needed to avoid a filibuster, Republicans are relishing the opportunity to make a big statement. [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex. [Representative-Texas]) suggested last week that the party is learning from the disruptive tactics of the Taliban, and the GOP these days does have the bravado of an insurgent band that has pulled together after a big defeat to carry off a quick, if not particularly damaging, raid on the powers that be." ... "And it means rallying to Rush Limbaugh, who has put himself forward as a de facto party leader, penning an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal and accepting the on-air apologies of [Georgia Republican Representative] Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga. [Republican-Georgia]), who criticized the radio host and paid for it in a deluge of angry calls." ... "[Republican National Committee chairman Michael S. Steele congratulated congressional Republicans in some of his first remarks as Republican chairman,] "The goose egg that you laid on the president's desk was just beautiful," he told them. "You and I know that in the history of mankind and womankind, government -- federal, state or local -- has never created one job. It's destroyed a lot of them."" ... "Steele is also facing a distraction -- a federal inquiry into allegations that his 2006 [election Maryland] Senate campaign paid a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed. The campaign's finance chairman made the allegations to federal prosecutors last year as he sought leniency during plea negotiations on unrelated fraud charges." -By Alec MacGillis and Perry Bacon Jr. -WashingtonPost

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20090207
Dick Cheney - Criminal - KBR/Halliburton - Corporation - Government - Politics -  - Military - People - Texas - US - Iraq - Nigeria - Oil - Construction
"KBR wins contract despite criminal probe of deaths." ... "Defense contractor KBR Inc. [Incorporated] has been awarded a $35 million Pentagon contract involving major electrical work, even as it is under criminal investigation in the electrocution deaths of at least two [United States] U.S. soldiers in Iraq." ... "The announcement of the new KBR contract came just months after the Pentagon, in strongly worded correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, rejected the company's explanation of serious mistakes in Iraq and its proposed improvements. A senior Pentagon official, David J. Graff, cited the company's "continuing quality deficiencies" and said KBR executives were "not sufficiently in touch with the urgency or realities of what was actually occurring on the ground."" ... ""Many within DOD (the Department of Defense) have lost or are losing all remaining confidence in KBR's ability to successfully and repeatedly perform the required electrical support services mission in Iraq," wrote Graff, commander of the Defense Contract Management Agency, in a [September] Sept. 30 letter." ... "Graff rejected the company's claims that it wasn't required to follow U.S. electrical codes for its work on U.S. military facilities in Iraq." ... "The deaths of [Staff Sergeant Christopher Lee] Everett and [Staff Sergeant Ryan] Maseth are among the 18 under review by the Pentagon's inspector general." ... "KBR was previously owned by Halliburton Co. [Company], the oil services conglomerate that former [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney once led." ... "Separately, court papers filed in Houston [Texas] on Friday show KBR is preparing to plead guilty to federal bribery charges for promising and paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Nigeria in exchange for engineering and construction contracts between 1995 and 2004." -By Kimberly Hefling -AP via -Yahoo

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20090205
Pete Sessions - Terrorism - Politics - Legislator - TX
"Rep. Pete Sessions: Taliban is ‘a model’ for how GOP [Republicans] can become an ‘insurgency.’." ... "In an interview with Hotline, [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX [Republican-Texas]) said the Republican party will have to be come an “insurgency” to counter Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and added that the Taliban can serve as “a model”:"

"[Pete Sessions:] “Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban,” Sessions said during a meeting yesterday with Hotline editors. “And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes. And these Taliban — I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that’s not what we’re saying. I’m saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with.” […]"

"When pressed to clarify, Sessions said he was not comparing the House Republican caucus to the Taliban, the Muslim fundamentalist group. “I simply said one can see that there’s a model out there for insurgency,” Sessions said before being interrupted by an aide."

"Sessions made a similar analogy last week at the House Republicans’ retreat, saying that Republicans “need to get over the idea that they’re participating in legislation and ought to start thinking of themselves as ‘an insurgency’ instead.”" -By Ali Frick -ThinkProgress.org

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20090120
Hillary Clinton - Texas - New York - Foreign - Donations
"Texas senator [Republican Cornyn] blocks [Democratic Senator] Clinton's state confirmation." ... "The confirmation of [New York Democratic Senator] Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state will be held up for at least a day due to the objection of a single senator. [Texas Republican Senator] Sen. John Cornyn, R[ Republican]-Texas, said he wanted "a full and open debate and an up-or-down vote on [Senator] Sen. Clinton's nomination."" ... "He said important questions remain unanswered concerning the foundation headed by former [Democratic] President Bill Clinton "and its acceptance of donations from foreign entities. Transparency transcends partisan politics and the American people deserve to know more."" ... "In her testimony, Clinton said the foundation would provide a clearer picture of its annual donations." -By Jim Abrams -AP via -Yahoo

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20081224
Karl Rove - Federal - Christmas - Trade - Texas
"Top Bush Aides to Linger on High-Profile Boards." ... "The Christmas Eve appointments will allow them to serve far beyond [2009, January] Jan. 20, the end of [Republican President] Mr. Bush’s term in office." ... "Ms. [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice got a spot on the John F. Kennedy Center’s board of trustees until September 2014." ... "Mr. Bush’s gift to Mr. [Commerce Secretary Carlos M.] Gutierrez: membership on the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a research institute in Washington. Joining Mr. Gutierrez as a trustee is Barry Jackson, a former deputy to Karl Rove, who serves as assistant to the president for strategic initiatives and external affairs." ... "Maria Cino, a longtime ally of the president who was deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation and helped run the 2008 Republican National Convention, received a four-year term on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. President Bush also extended the same courtesy to Israel Hernandez, who was once a personal aide to Mr. Bush in Texas and now serves as an assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the United States Commercial Service." ... "And the first lady, Laura Bush, appears to be taking care of her own, too. The president appointed her chief of staff, Anita B. McBride, to a three-year term on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board." -By Michael Falcone with contributions by Sheryl Stolberg -NYTimes

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20081222
Water - Technology - Company - Environment - Minnesota - Texas
"Nation's First 'Underwater Wind Turbine' Installed in Old Man River." ... "The nation's first commercial hydrokinetic turbine, which harnesses the power from moving water without the construction of a dam, has splashed into the waters of the Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota." ... "The 35-kilowatt turbine is positioned downstream from an existing hydroelectric-plant dam and — together with another turbine to be installed soon — will increase the capacity of the plant by more than 5 percent. The numbers aren't big, but the rig's installation could be the start of an important trend in green energy." ... "And that could mean more of these "wind turbines for the water" will be generating clean energy soon." ... ""We don't require that massive dam construction, we're just using the natural flow of the stream," said Mark Stover, a vice president at Hydro Green Energy, the Houston[ Texas]-based company leading the project. "It's underwater windpower if you will, but we have 840 or 850 times the energy density of wind."" ... "Hydrokinetic turbines like those produced by Hydro Green and Verdant capture the mechanical energy of the water's flow and turn it into energy, without need for a dam." ... "Hydro Green's Stover hopes that his company's new unit will help shorten that regulatory process by generating environmental impact data that could ease concerns the turbines will disrupt river ecosystems and habitats." -By Alexis Madrigal -Wired

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20081216
Corporate - Employees - New York - Texas - US - Worldwide
"Goldman Sachs’s Tax Rate Drops to 1%, or $14 Million (Update1) ." ... "Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [Incorporated], which got $10 billion and debt guarantees from the U.S. [United States] government in October, expects to pay $14 million in taxes worldwide for 2008 compared with $6 billion in 2007." ... "The company’s effective income tax rate dropped to 1 percent from 34.1 percent, New York-based Goldman Sachs said today in a statement. The firm reported a $2.3 billion profit for the year after paying $10.9 billion in employee compensation and benefits." ... "U.S. [Texas Democratic] Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat who serves on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said steps by Goldman Sachs and other banks shifting income to countries with lower taxes is cause for concern." ... "“This problem is larger than Goldman Sachs,” Doggett said. “With the right hand out begging for bailout money, the left is hiding it offshore.”" -By Christine Harper -Bloomberg

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20081211
John Boehner - Don Young - Doc Hastings - Jack Abramoff - Tom DeLay - Jerry Lewis - Ken Calvert - John Doolittle - Ohio - AK - WA -Texas - CA - Florida - Money - Politics - US Attorney - Law - Federal - Investigation
"House GOP [Republicans] Gives Scandal-Ridden Don Young’s Committee Seat To Scandal-Ridden Doc Hastings." ... " ... [Ohio Republican Representative and House Minority Leader John Boehner told Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) that he could no longer support him as ranking Republican on the Natural Resources Committee, leading to Young’s resignation from the post." ... "The AP reports that a panel of top House leaders picked [Washington state Republican Representative] Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA [Republican-Washington]) today to lead the committee. “The recommendation by the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Steering Committee is final under a rule change adopted Wednesday.”" ... "Recall, Jack Abramoff once boasted of having an “excellent relationship” with Hastings, who received $14,000 [*] from Abramoff’s firm, Preston Gates — including $1,000 from Abramoff himself. After taking control of the Ethics Committee, Hastings reportedly fired two staff lawyers involved in unanimous decisions to admonish [Texas Republican] Tom DeLay for improper fundraising. Hastings also contacted fired [United States] U.S. Attorney John McKay and attempted to pressure him in an ongoing investigation." ... "As ThinkProgress has documented, Boehner has a history of playing musical chairs with committee assignments for corrupt members:"

"[California Republican Representative] Rep. Jerry Lewis: Boehner ruled that Rep. Jerry Lewis of California could continue as the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee while under federal investigation on ethics charges."

"[California Republican Representative] Rep. Ken Calvert: The GOP Steering Committee appointed Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA[ Republican-California]) to [California Republican Representative] Rep. Jon Doolittle’s (R-CA[ Republican-California]) Appropriations seat, after Doolittle was the subject of an FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] investigation for his ties to Abramoff. Calvert has profited from legislation he supported and was caught in the act with a prostitute."

"[Florida Republican Representative] Rep. Tom Feeney: Feeney, who was questioned by the FBI over his relationship with Abramoff took over as GOP [Republican] leader on the space subcommittee for Calvert."

"Despite Boehner’s ethics pledge after ethics pledge, the culture of corruption still rules at the end of the day." -By Satyam Khanna -ThinkProgress.org

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20081210
Terrorism - Criminal - Political - History- Corporate - Religion - Prison - Pat Robertson - Abortion - Gay - Rights - Law - California - Texas - US - Iraq - Military
"Bush Awards Presidential Citizen Medal To Watergate Crook Chuck Colson." ... "Established in 1969, the Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest honor for a civilian, recognizing Americans “who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation.”" ... "Today, [Republican] President Bush honored 24 recipients of this year’s award, including actor Gary Sinise and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp. Also included in that mix was Chuck Colson, “the first member of the [Republican President] Nixon administration to serve prison time for Watergate-related offenses.” Colson was President Nixon’s counsel from 1969-1973 and pleaded guilty in 1974 to obstruction of justice. Colson received a one to three year sentence, but served just seven months. David Plotz at Slate described Colson’s role in the Nixon administration:"

"As special counsel to the president, he [Chuck Colson] was [Republican President] Richard Nixon’s hard man, the “evil genius” of an evil administration. According to Watergate historian Stanley Kutler, Colson sought to hire Teamsters thugs to beat up anti-war demonstrators, and he plotted to raid or firebomb the Brookings Institution. He eventually pleaded guilty to scheming to defame Daniel Ellsberg and interfering with his trial."

"Since that time, Colson has become an evangelical prison reformer, running the nonprofit Prison Fellowship, which advocates for “privately run prisons and the delivery of all social services by faith-based groups.” However, according to author Allan Lichtman in “White Protestant Nation,” Colson has also remained involved in conservative politics:"

"Colson brought together politically conservative Catholics and Protestands for a statement of common beliefs, advised conservative politicians including Texas [Republican] governor George W. Bush, and worked with Christian right leaders Pat Robertson and James Dobson on the development of political strategy. He disseminated conservative messages on sex roles, abortion, homosexuality, pornography, gay rights, and separation of church and state in his radio broadcasts and columns, reaching millions of Americans."

"On October 3, 2002, Colson was also one of the co-signers of a letter from prominent evangelical leaders supporting an invasion of Iraq. More recently he has spoken out in favor of California’s Prop. 8, accusing the LGBT community of “anti-religious bigotry.”" -By Amanda Terkel -ThinkProgress.org

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20081203
Dick Cheney - KBR - Corporation - Iraq - Texas - Indiana - US - Military - Employees -Health
"Ex-Guardsmen sue KBR over alleged poisoning." ... "KBR Inc. [KBR is a former subsidiary of Halliburton, the corporation formerly run by Republican Vice President Dick Cheney] was sued by ex-members of the Indiana National Guard and accused of knowingly exposing employees and the soldiers protecting them to cancer-causing dust at an Iraqi worksite in 2003." ... "Sixteen soldiers said in a complaint in federal court in Evansville, Ind. [Indiana], that Houston[Texas]-based KBR and related companies are responsible for chromium poisoning at Qarmat Ali, Iraq." ... "The plaintiffs, from the Tell City, Ind., Guard unit, were providing security for KBR during repairs of a water-treatment plant, according to the complaint. The site was contaminated for six months by hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen in powdered compounds used to control corrosion, it said." ... "“The Tell City Guardsmen were repeatedly told that there was no danger on site, even after KBR managers knew that blood testing of American civilians exposed onsite confirmed elevated chromium levels,” the soldiers’ lawyers said in court papers." ... "Hexavalent chromium on first exposure causes nosebleeds, respiratory ailments and rashes, which the soldiers said KBR officials told them was caused by dry desert air or sand allergies, according to the complaint. Chromium poisoning is irreversible, it said." ... "KBR sought to conceal the contamination and, once it was discovered, to limit exposed individuals’ knowledge about the level of poisoning they had suffered, the soldiers claimed." ... "Ed Blacke, who worked as a medic at Qarmat Ali, testified that KBR fired him when he discovered the chromium exposure and tried to warn workers." -Bloomberg via -Chron

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20081202
Dick Cheney - KBR - Corporation - Military - Laborers - Human Rights - Texas - US - Iraq - India - Nepal - Sri Lanka - Bangladesh
"Military contractor in Iraq holds foreign workers in warehouses." ... "About 1,000 Asian men who were hired by a Kuwaiti subcontractor to the U.S. [United States] military have been confined for as long as three months in windowless warehouses near the Baghdad [Iraq's capital] airport without money or a place to work." ... "Najlaa International Catering Services, a subcontractor to KBR [formerly a Halliburton subsidiary, the corporation formerly run by Republican Vice President Dick Cheney], an engineering, construction and services company, hired the men, who're from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. On Tuesday, they staged a march outside their compound to protest their living conditions." ... "The laborers said they paid middlemen more than $2,000 to get to Iraq for jobs that they were told would earn them $600 to $800 a month." ... "The conditions in which the men have been held appear to violate guidelines the U.S. military handed down in 2006 that urged contractors to deter human trafficking to the war zone by shunning recruiters that charged excessive fees." -By Adam Ashton -McClatchyDC.com

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20081029
Voting Machines - Political - Electronic - Technology - 2008 Election - Texas - West Virginia - Tennessee
"Texas Voters Urged to Avoid Straight-Party Option, After Vote-Flip Complaints." ... "A number of voters in several Texas counties have been complaining that voting machines they used to cast early votes flipped their votes from Democratic choices to Republican ones." ... "Voters have reported that when they tried to vote a straight-party Democratic ticket, the machine flipped their choices to Republican candidates instead. In some cases, voters reported a problem only with the presidential race; in other cases voters reported the entire ballot being marked Republican by the machine." ... "The counties where the problems were reported use different kinds of voting machines from three of the top voting machine companies -- Election Systems & Software [ES&S], Diebold Election Systems (now Premier Election Solutions) and Hart InterCivic." ... "The same ES&S machines are at the center of stories in West Virginia and Tennessee where voters also reported the machines flipping their votes, though the scenario in those states was slightly different since voters there weren't trying to vote a straight-party ticket when the problem occurred." ... "Complaints so far have come in from at least seven Texas counties -- Collin, Dallas, El Paso, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Palo Pinto." ... "Collin County uses Diebold paperless Accu-Vote touch-screen machines; Dallas uses ES&S paperless iVotronic machines;  El Paso uses Diebold paperless Accu-Vote touch-screen machines; Galveston uses Hart InterCivic paperless eSlate machines, which use a dial-and-click system that doesn't require voters to touch the screen; Harris uses Hart InterCivic paperless eSlate machines; Jefferson and Palo Pinto Counties use ES&S paperless iVotronic touch-screen machines." -By Kim Zetter -Wired

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20081020


John McCain - Barack Obama - Military - Politics - 2008 Election - AZ - Nevada - VA - TX - US -Iraq - Afghanistan - Vietnam - History
"McCain Lies Again, Repeats False Claim He ‘Received The Highest Honor And Awards’ From Every Vets Group." ... "Yesterday, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-AZ [Republican-Arizona]) held a telephone town hall meeting, in which “thousands” of Nevadans — according to the McCain campaign — called to listen in. Among some of the hostile, pointed, and critical questions came one from a veteran, who challenged McCain on his voting record regarding funding for the Veterans Administration and veterans’ priorities:"

"Q: I know you voted for lesser increases, and sometimes they were so much less, and our VA desperately needs the money. Can you tell me why you would vote for less money for the VA when there’s a war going on?"

"M: Well of course I have not and I’m afraid I’ve been endorsed by the VFW in every election that I’ve been in. I have been — received the honors, the highest honor and awards from all our veterans organizations for my consistent support of them. I don’t know what you’re looking at, but the DAV, the VFW, the American Legion, all of them have given me their highest awards for my consistent support of them."

"As ThinkProgress has repeatedly [-] documented, McCain is either willfully lying or he is delusional about his record — and the meaning of “highest awards.” In fact, McCain has recently stood on the opposite side of all three of the groups he mentioned:"

"– Disabled American Veterans (DAV): In a list of 36 “key votes,” shows McCain “Voted Against Us” 16 times. ([2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama “Voted With Us” 17 times, and against only once.)"

"– Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): Endorsed [Virginia Democratic Senator] Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA [Democratic-Virginia]) GI Bill that McCain vigorously opposed; called McCain’s alternative GI Bill “very partisan” and said they “didn’t have much input” in its crafting."

"– American Legion: Endorsed Webb’s GI Bill and criticized McCain’s concern about how it would affect retention, saying the bill “would encourage young men and women to join the military.”"

"Just last week, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans. (Obama got a B.) The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) have noted that in its “Key Votes,” McCain “Voted Against Us” 15 times and “Voted For Us” only 8. (Obama voted for VVA 12 times, and against only once.)" ... "Earlier this month, [Texas Democratic Representative] Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX [Democratic-Texas]), a leading veterans advocate, excoriated McCain in an interview with ThinkProgress: “If you look at John McCain’s record on veterans issues, it’s a failed one.” It’s a sentiment IAVA executive director Paul Rieckhoff agrees with. Noting McCain’s dismal voting record on VA funding, Rieckhoff told ThinkProgress, “If he says the VA’s not working, it’s in part because he hasn’t funded it properly.”"

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"Update In an interview with Richmond's [Virginia's capital] WTVR on Friday, McCain repeated his favorite lie: "I've been a friend of the veterans for a long time and I've received every award from every major veterans organization." He added, "I'm proud of my support for the veterans."" -By Ali Frick -ThinkProgress.org

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20081006
John McCain -2008 Election - Law - Politics - Investigation - Arizona - Texas -US - Iraqi
"FEC Queries McCain Campaign on 'Excessive Contributions'." ... "The FEC [Federal Election Commission] sent a letter to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's campaign treasurer [September] Sept. 30 demanding the candidate turn over more information about "contributions that appear to exceed the limits."" ... "The letter is accompanied by a nine-page list showing scores of overages from McCain's August campaign finance report, including nearly $13,000 from Texas rancher Ray R. Barrett Jr.; $9,200 from an Iraqi security consultant, H. Carter Andress; and $5,000 from Joseph F. Davolio, an executive at a major national liquor, beer and wine distributor." ... ""Please inform the Commission of your corrective action immediately in writing and provide photocopies of any refund checks and/or letters reattributing or redesignating the contributions in question," the letter from the FEC's senior campaign finance analyst, Leah S. Palmer, says. "The acceptance of excessive contributions is a serious problem."" -By Matthew Mosk -WashingtonPost

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20080925
Jobs - History - Weather - Disasters - Louisiana - Texas
"Jobless claims soar near 7-year high: First economic report since financial meltdown shows initial unemployment claims rose by 7%, boosted by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike." ... "According to a study by the Department of Labor, initial filings for state jobless benefits increased by a seasonally adjusted 32,000 to 493,000 in the third week of September. It was the highest number of weekly claims since Sept. 29, 2001, when unemployment soared in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." ... "The Labor Department said about 50,000 of the new claims were due to the effects of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. There were 18,400 more claims from the week before in Louisiana alone, and Texas added 1,200." ... "Earlier this month, the government reported that there were 84,000 jobs lost in August, bringing to 605,000 the number of jobs cut from payrolls by U.S. employers in the first eight months of the year." ... "The unemployment rate surged to 6.1% last month, a nearly five-year high and up from 5.7% in July. In the last recession, unemployment reached a high of 6.3%." -By David Goldman -CNN

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20080907
John McCain - Psychology - Politics - Texas - Miss - 2008 Election
"McCain's history of hot temper raises concerns." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain made a quick stop at the Capitol one day last spring to sit in on Senate negotiations on the big immigration bill, and [Texas Republican Senator] John Cornyn was not pleased." ... "Cornyn, a mild-mannered Texas Republican, saw a loophole in the bill that he thought would allow felons to pursue a path to citizenship." ... "McCain called Cornyn's claim "chicken-s---," according to people familiar with the meeting, and charged that the Texan was looking for an excuse to scuttle the bill. Cornyn grimly told McCain he had a lot of nerve to suddenly show up and inject himself into the sensitive negotiations." ... ""F--- you," McCain told Cornyn, in front of about 40 witnesses." ... "It was another instance of the Republican presidential candidate losing his temper, another instance where, as POW-MIA activist Carol Hrdlicka put it, "It's his way or no way."" ... "There's a lengthy list of similar outbursts through the years: McCain pushing a woman in a wheelchair, trying to get an Arizona Republican aide fired from three different jobs, berating a young GOP activist on the night of his own 1986 Senate election and many more." ... "In January, [Mississippi Republican Senator] Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. [Republican-Mississippi], told The Boston Globe that, "the thought of (McCain) being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." (Cochran has since endorsed McCain.)" -By David Lightman and Matt Stearns with contributions by Margaret Talev -McClatchyDC.com

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20080812
Bob Perry - Bob Schaffer - Colorado - Texas - Money - Politics - 2008 Election
"Swift Boat Vet Financier Dumping Huge Money Into Key Senate Race." ... "[Texas Republican] Bob Perry, the wealthy businessman who bankrolled the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth to the tune of several million dollars, has a new cause: He's lavishing huge funds on the conservative group Club for Growth, which is in turn putting big money behind GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidates in key Senate races." ... "Perry has just plowed a whopping $400,000 into the coffers of the Club for Growth, the big right-wing group that advocates for conservative economic policies, the latest FEC [Federal Election Commission] records show." ... "Club For Growth, in turn, is now spending about $227,000 of that money to air an attack ad in Colorado against [Colorado Democratic Senate Candidate] Mark Udall, who is the presumptive Dem nominee is going up against scandal-plagued [Colorado Republican] GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer." -By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld -ElectionCentral - TalkingPointsMemo.com

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20080805
John McCain - Oil - Money - Politics - 2008 Election - New York - Texas - Ocean - Environment
"Oilman greases skids for McCain campaign: Among the donors from John B. Hess' company are an office manager and her husband, who pony up $57,000." ... "On June 10, John B. Hess, a top executive at the oil company with his family name, summoned friends to the 21 Club, a former speakeasy in Manhattan [New York], and delivered $285,000 to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain and the Republican National Committee." ... "A week later, McCain traveled to Texas and announced his support for offshore oil drilling." ... "Hess Corp. is an East Coast gasoline retailer with major refining and exploration operations, some of which happen to be offshore in the Gulf of Mexico." ... "Hess was one of half a dozen hosts who tapped friends for the maximum $28,500 donation to the GOP. Others included investor Henry Kravis and hedge fund mogul Paul E. Singer." -By Dan Morain -LAtimes

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20080730
Pete Sessions - Texas - Nevada - Political - Entertainment
"'07 party hosted by Rep. Pete Sessions at Las Vegas adult club draws criticism." ... "A political party hosted by [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions at a Las Vegas [Nevada] adult club has jaws dropping." ... "The event, in March 2007 at a club called Forty Deuce, raised money for the Dallas [Texas] Republican's political action committee, People for Enterprise Trade and Economic Growth." ... "Aides to Mr. Sessions, a self-described conservative, and others said the act was a mild burlesque show, but some conservative activists were aghast that the event was held at an adult club." ... ""What's the difference?" asked Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum. "I don't think that it's representative of the constituents of the district. I'm in shock."" ... "[Pete Session chief-of-staff Guy] Mr. Harrison said Mr. Sessions has held the Vegas event for four years." -By Gromer Jeffers Jr. -DallasNews.com

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20080729
Pete Sessions - Nevada - Texas - Politics - Sports - Entertainment
"GOP Rep. Sessions' Defends His Burlesque Fundraiser." ... "We had never heard of a member of Congress holding a fundraiser at a Las Vegas [Nevada] burlesque nightclub... until now." ... "And the culprit is card-carrying conservative [Texas Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex. [Republican-Texas]). The same Pete Sessions who scolded Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for forcing "their liberal values upon the rest of the country" after their infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime striptease." ... "But that was then." ... "Now we learn that Sessions held a racey (for Washington) fundraiser for his leadership political action committee last year at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce nightclub in Sin City [Las Vegas]." ... "Sessions' PAC, called People of Enterprise, Trade and Economic Growth, paid $5,378 to rent out the entire Forty Deuce club last year, according to federal election records." -By Mary Ann Akers -WashingtonPost

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Homes - Nevada - Florida - Phoenix - Arizona - Los Angeles - San Diego - San Francisco - California - Florida - Michigan - Minnesota - Illinois - Ohio - Georgia - New York - Seattle - Washington - Massachusetts - Portland - Oregon - Colorado - Texas - North Carolina
"Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show." ... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix [Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego [California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa [Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC], down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down 9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City, New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts], down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%; Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch

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20080722
Listen - Pete Sessions - Texas - Political - Lawmaker - Entertainment
"PACs put the fun in fundraising: Think all political contributions go toward campaigns? Maybe if those campaigns include golf trips and nights at the burlesque house. In the last installment of his PAC Men series, Steve Henn reports." ... "Monica Notzen is a Republican consultant who plans parties like this for lawmakers." ... "Basically, her job consists of calling lobbyists and other insiders and inviting them to parties. But to come, she tells them they have to contribute to a politician's leadership political action committee, or PAC, first." ... "[Texas Republican] Congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas, is one of Monica Notzen's clients and he doesn't see anything wrong with this picture."

"Pete Sessions: I don't think that lobbyists in and of themselves are deceptive or deceitful people. I don't have any problem with people going and doing things whether it's at a pool or horse racing. What bothers me is if you say one thing and do something else."

"In the past three years, unions and corporate executives contributed more than $77 million to these leadership PACs according to Federal Election Commission reports. Lobbyists kicked in millions more." ... "Working together, Notzen and Pete Sessions run one of the more successful PACs on Capitol Hill and last spring, Notzen's company planned an event for Pete Session's PAC in Vegas {Las Vegas, Nevada]: a fundraiser at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce."

"Sessions: That's right, we do a Las Vegas fundraiser every year and not only raise money, but see Las Vegas. It's a beautiful town."

"Henn: Forty Deuce is a strip club."

"Sessions: You know, I've never seen that. It is what I would call a burlesque show where there's a woman who comes out and has a dress on... Uh, she never get's naked. There's no nudity, there's no nudity in there."

"This is how the club's owner, Ivan Kane, describes his brand of burlesque."

"Ivan Kane: The key component would be to have girls who were dancers taking their clothes off, not just girls taking their clothes off."

"Sessions spent more than $5,000 at Kane's club that night in March, according to federal disclosures. Those reports show Sessions spent another $2,100 on his hotel." ... "Officially, Pete Sessions' leadership PAC picked up the tab, but just days before the party at Forty Deuce, casino interests donated $5,000 to his PAC. Payday lenders threw in another $2,500." -By Steve Henn -Marketplace via -PublicRadio.org

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20080706
Don Young - Ted Stevens - Tom DeLay - Federal - Investigation -Legislative - Politics - 2008 Election - Alaska - Texas - Virginia - Florida - Transportation - Construction
"When Alaska's Young needed help, lobbyists ponied up." ... "Facing bad publicity and a dwindling campaign account, [United States Alaska Republican Representative] U.S. Rep. Don Young last year turned to the "AK Wolfpack," a group of more than 20 lobbyists, including former Young staffers and retired former congressmen, with close ties to the Alaska Republican." ... "Young's chief of staff, Mike Anderson, sent the Wolfpack an e-mail to tell them that national Democrats planned aggressive fundraising and claims of misconduct by Young to topple the 35-year incumbent congressman and his fellow Alaska Republican [Senator], U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens." ... "If they succeed, Anderson warned, "you and your clients will be impacted."" ... "They include Rick Alcalde, the lobbyist at the heart of a Young earmark that is under federal investigation. They also include lobbyists Colin Chapman, Anderson's immediate predecessor as Young's chief of staff, and Randy DeLay, the brother of former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas. Randy DeLay lobbied on a Virginia highway project before Young's transportation committee." ... "Anderson e-mailed his note a day after The New York Times ran a front-page story about Young's earmarking $10 million to study a Florida interchange that would benefit a developer who had raised money for an earlier Young campaign. The paper described the earmark as an "obvious" trade of campaign contributions for legislative favors." -By Sean Cockerham and Erika Bolstad -McClatchyDC.com

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20080703
John McCain - Carl H Lindner Jr - BobPerry -  - Money - Politics - Accounting -Marketing - 2004 Election - 2008 Election - Texas - Ohio - Arizona - Illinois - Obama
"McCain Allies Find Finance-Law Holes: Governors' Fund Recruits Big Donors; Bid to Catch Obama." ... "Allies of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain have found new loopholes in the campaign-finance law he helped write -- and they're using them to reel in huge contributions to help him compete with [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama." ... "In one method, a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain. His 2002 campaign law limits donations to presidential races to try to curtail the influence of wealth." ... "The Republican Governors Association isn't subject to those limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states." ... "Altogether, individuals can give $108,000 to federal campaigns within each two-year election cycle." ... "Donors with deep pockets also can avoid limits completely by contributing to groups called 527 organizations, after a provision in the tax code." ... "The [Republican] governors group counts a number of large corporations among its donors, including WellPoint Inc. [Incorporated] at $200,000, and Pfizer Inc. [Incorporated], Bank of America Corp. [Corporation] and Travelers Cos. [Companies] at $150,000 or more." ... "Texas developer Bob Perry, the largest financial backer of the Swift Boat group [that attacked the military service of 2004 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry], also is the largest individual donor to the governors group, at $250,000. Carl Lindner, a retired insurance executive in Ohio and another top Swift Boat financier, has contributed $100,000 to the governors' fund. The campaign-finance lawyer for the Swift Boat group in 2004 now serves the same role for the governors association." ... "In another Republican strategy, the McCain campaign itself last month began soliciting its biggest donations yet -- up to $70,100 per check." -By Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam -WSJ.com

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20080630
John McCain - Bud Day - Politics - 2004 Election - Ads -Military - History - Vietnam - Belgium - US - Massachusetts - Texas - Missouri - 2008 Election
"Price of Power: McCain accepts ex-Swift Boaters' donations." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain, who four years ago condemned independent ads challenging Democrat[ic Senator from Massachusetts and 2004 Election Presidential Candidate] John Kerry's military record, has accepted nearly $70,000 for his presidential campaign from the top donors of the group behind the attack ads and their relatives, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "In 2004, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later called SwiftVets and POWS for Truth) bankrolled ads charging that Kerry had lied about the incidents in Vietnam that led to his military decorations. The group included former members of the Navy who served in the same kind of river patrol boats as Kerry. McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, called the group's advertising "dishonest and dishonorable."" ... "Bob Perry, a Texas builder who gave nearly $4.5 million to Swift Boat Vets, and his wife, Doylene, each have given $4,400 to McCain's presidential campaign, some of which went to an account for legal and accounting expenses, records show." ... "Other donors include Sam Fox, a St. Louis [Missouri] businessman who was named [United States] U.S. ambassador to Belgium last year by President Bush." ... "On Monday, Kerry and national Democratic Party officials sharply criticized McCain for including retired Air Force colonel Bud Day in a conference call with reporters to defend McCain's military service. Day had appeared in Swift Boat ads." -By Fredreka Schouten -USATODAY

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20080616
Electricity - Market - Law -Enforcement - Texas
"Power firms’ treatment angers Texans." ... "Prices aren’t the only thing skyrocketing in the state’s deregulated electricity market." ... "Amid continuing company failures — and the resulting forced transfer of tens of thousands of ratepayers to default electric companies — Texans in growing numbers are griping about their ill treatment by power companies." ... "According to the Texas Public Utility Commission, complaints related to the electric market jumped from 704 in January to 1,123 in May. Complaints against three of the four recently failed electric companies jumped about 2,400 percent, from about 20 at the beginning of the year to 508 in May." ... "E-mails and phone calls also continue streaming into the Star-Telegram. Frustrated consumers tell stories of poor treatment by their regular electric competitors, confusing PUC rules, uninformed marketers and the near impossibility of obtaining reliable information about the financial status of companies seeking their business." ... "One company has collected payments from customers but not delivered any electricity, according to some complaints." -By R.A. Dyer -Star-Telegram.com

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20080615
John McCain - Clayton Williams - Women - Politics - Texas - Ariz - 2008 Election
"McCain Texas Fundraiser Back On, Sans Oilman." ... "[2008 Elecition Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz [Republican-Arizona]) has decided to hold a fundraiser initially sponsored by a controversial Texas oilman later in the summer at a different venue, according to an aide who asked not to be identified." ... "McCain had planned to hold a joint fundraiser with the Republican National Committee on Monday at the Midland, Tex., home of Clayton Williams, who ran for governor of his state in 1990. But after reporters from The Washington Post and ABC inquired Friday about a remark Williams made comparing rape to bad weather -- "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it" -- the campaign cancelled the fundraiser. Williams has apologized for the remarks" -By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

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John McCain - Clayton Williams - Money - Politics - Texas - 2008 Election
"McCain Cancels Event Over Texan's 1990 Rape Joke: Clayton Williams Made Comments While Running Against [then Texas Democratic Candidate for Governor] Ann Richards." ... "Questions from the media prompted Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain to cancel a fundraiser at the home of a Texas oilman who once joked that women should give in while being raped." ... "The Texan, Republican Clayton "Claytie" Williams, made the joke during his failed 1990 campaign for governor against Democrat Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." He also compared Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt."" ... "Williams told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for McCain." -AP via -cbs2chicago.com

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20080614
John McCain - Clayton Williams - Money - Politics - Texas - History - 2008 Election
"McCain fundraiser's joke about rape resurfaces: GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidate postpones event in Midland [Texas] after questions emerge." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's campaign late Friday said it had pulled the plug on a fundraising event scheduled for Monday at Williams' Midland home after reporters contacted the campaign asking about remarks made by the Texas Republican during his 1990 race against Democrat Ann Richards." ... "But Saturday afternoon, the McCain campaign told the Houston Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed until this summer and would be held in a public venue." ... "Late Saturday afternoon, a McCain aide confirmed to the Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed but had not been taken off the calendar. The compromise allowed McCain to say he had not held a fundraiser at Williams' house; it gave Williams an opportunity to say that the event he organized had not been canceled." ... ""Clayton Williams' totally inappropriate remarks about women are well-known," [daughter of Ann Richards, Cecile] Richards told the Chronicle. "Planning to host a fundraiser at his house is just another example of how out of touch John McCain is when it comes to women's issues. This is a major misstep for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By Richard S. Dunham with contributions by Alan Bernstein and Bennett Roth -Chron

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20080613
John McCain - Clayton Williams - Money - Politics - Family - Abortion - Law - Texas - 2008 Election
"McCain Cancels Fundraiser with Oilman Who Joked About Rape." ... "Clayton Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against the late Texas [Governor] Gov. Ann Richards (D [Democratic]), sparked controversy nearly two decades ago when he joked women should give in while being raped. "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it," the oilman remarked at the time." ... "The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which has sharply criticized [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain for his opposition to abortion rights and other family planning programs, first contacted the Post about Williams' remarks. The group's president, Cecile Richards, is the daughter of the late Texas governor." ... ""It's shocking that John McCain would choose to fundraise with Clayton Williams, who made his political career saying completely inappropriate and disrespectful remarks about women," Richards wrote in an e-mail. "This is a real misstep for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

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John McCain's contributor Clayton Williams "in His Own Words".

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J Robert Flores - Crime - Political -Juvenile - Justice - Science - Sports - New Jersey - Texas - "Football Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant: Despite Not Even Applying, the Charity Was Awarded a Grant; Some [Department Of Justice] DOJ Staffers Objected." ... "A group that promotes leadership through football says it doesn't know how it was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help stop juvenile crime, but that it "wasn't political."" ... "The grant is one of a number for the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) that has come under scrutiny after current and former employees said the official who awarded the money ignored professional staff recommendations and played favorites with groups connected to the [Republican] Bush White House. ABC News conducted an investigation into the OJJDP, which aired earlier this week on "Nightline"." ... "The National Football Foundation (NFF), formerly based in New Jersey and now in Texas, says they did not apply for the grant and have had no contact with J. Robert Flores, the official who awarded the money." ... "Some OJJDP staffers said this program did not deserve the funding." ... ""The football program, like the World Golf Foundation, has lots of private resources and outside funding. They have wealthy powerful people on the board," one staffer said." ... "The staffer added that by law the OJJDP's primary focus is to fund programs that intervene and protect kids who are on the cusp of entering into the juvenile justice system or who are already in the system, and there is no research that shows this program targets the most at-risk kids." (1, 2) -By Anna Schecter -ABCNEWS.com

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 Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal - http://www.uTexas.edu/law/journals/tiplj

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