White House probably broke law re Medicare costs

Bush administration officials were wrong to prevent a budget expert from giving Congress estimates of the cost of Medicare legislation, congressional researchers have concluded.

In a report made public Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said efforts to keep Richard Foster, the chief Medicare actuary, from giving Democratic lawmakers his projections of the bill's cost - $100 billion more than the president and other officials were acknowledging - probably violated federal law....

Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., the committee chairman, said he would be willing to issue subpoenas if laws had been broken. - AP

Read More......

Editor-in-chief of U.S.-funded Iraqi newspaper quits, complaining of American control

No great surprises here. Read More......

Cheney owns a machine gun?

You have go to be kidding. This just came into my in-box, the latest email update for Newsmax:

1. Machine Gun Cheney

Dick Cheney is a proud gun owner and hunter.

In April the Vice President addressed the NRA to wild cheers and acknowledged his own interest in guns.

But a source close to the White House tells NewsMax that Dick Cheney is a true gun aficionado.

Cheney's collection, our sources say, is in the hundreds of guns, including pistols, shotguns and machine guns -- from antique Thompsons to the most modern European automatic machine guns.

To let off some steam (God knows he has some to let off these days), the Vice President has been known to go out to the federal training center in Maryland where the Secret Service does its own gun practice.

A typical Cheney visit, told to us by a person who attended one, included the Vice President bringing some 30 guns from his own collection.

On the ranger, Cheney would blow away his targets -- with Thompson machine guns, the latest German and Austrian machine guns, Lugars, MP5s, shot guns, you name it.

One after another an aide would hand the Vice President his latest armament, and Cheney would fire away, no doubt imagining al-Qaeda terrorists in his gun sights.

We're told Cheney is a good shot to boot.

Cheney is not shy about his shooting activities. Another Cheney friend tells us that at the Cheneys' Christmas party last year he showcased to guests a video of himself shooting while hunting.

Read More......

John Kerry pens a pro-gay op ed

PlanetOut: "The Bush administration repeatedly uses gay rights as a political tool to divide the nation. That's just wrong. We don't need a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. We need civil unions with full and equal rights. We don't need opposition to hate crime legislation. We need to reject hate and embrace tolerance. And we don't need a president who plays politics with gay adoption. We need a president who works every day to protect and support all children and families."

Read More......

With friends like these...

MEMRI:: "In reaction to the May 1, 2004 terrorist shooting in the offices of an oil contractor in Yunbu', Saudi Arabia, in which seven, among them two Americans, were killed, Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah ibn Abd Al-'Aziz stated at a gathering of Saudi dignitaries, including top Muslim clerics and preachers, that 'the Zionists' were to blame."

Read More......

More details of abuse of Iraqi prisoners

Just me, or is what they did also a tad homophobic?

"'I went down to Tier 1 (the cellblock where much of the abuse is said to have occurred) and when I looked down the corridor, I saw two naked detainees, one masturbating to another kneeling with its mouth open,' he is quoted as saying. 'I thought I should just get out of there. I didn't think it was right, as it seemed like the wrong thing to do. I saw Staff Sergeant Frederick walking towards me, and he said, `Look what these animals do when you leave them alone for two seconds.' '" - NYT

Read More......

Buffett Joins Kerry Campaign as Economic Advisor

Wow. Read More......

Bremer Takes Back Criticism of Bush

Big surprise there. Sounds like his mea culpa was written by the Ministry of Truth:

"I regret any suggestion to the contrary. In fact, I have since learned that President Bush had shared some of these frustrations, and had initiated a more direct and comprehensive approach to confronting terrorism consistent with the threats outlined in the National Commission report.

"I am strongly supportive and grateful for the President's leadership and strategy in combating terrorism and protecting American national security throughout his first term in office." - AP

Read More......

Why does Dick Cheney hate the military?

Media Matters makes note of this on their home page today, and it's a point that I'd remembered as well. Dick Cheney oversaw one hell of a cut in our defense budget and total forces when he was secretary of defense during the first Bush administration. So how dare these guys now blame Clinton for all the problems the military is having.

But I needed proof. Where to find it? Hmmmm.... How about the Defense Department's own Web site! Yes, they have a profile of Dick Cheney online that details every single weapons system and troop the man cut. And it's a lot:

President Bush had already said publicly that the proposed FY 1990 Defense budget of more than $300 billion had to be cut immediately by $6.3 billion, and soon after Cheney began work the president increased the amount to $10 billion. Cheney recognized the necessity of cutting the budget and downsizing the military establishment, but he favored a more cautious approach....

Early in 1991 the secretary unveiled a plan to reduce military strength by the mid-1990s to 1.6 million, compared to 2.2 million when he entered office. In his budget proposal for FY 1993, his last one, Cheney asked for termination of the B-2 program at 20 aircraft, cancellation of the Midgetman, and limitations on advanced cruise missile purchases to those already authorized. When introducing this budget, Cheney complained that Congress had directed Defense to buy weapons it did not want, including the V-22, M-1 tanks, and F-14 and F-16 aircraft, and required it to maintain some unneeded reserve forces. His plan outlined about $50 billion less in budget authority over the next 5 years than the Bush administration had proposed in 1991....

[Rather than bold the entire next paragraph, I'm simply telling you, read the entire thing, it's amazing.]

Over Cheney's four years as secretary of defense, encompassing budgets for fiscal years 1990-93, DoD's total obligational authority in current dollars declined from $291.3 billion to $269.9 billion. Except for FY 1991, when the TOA budget increased by 1.7 percent, the Cheney budgets showed negative real growth: -2.9 percent in 1990, -9.8 percent in 1992, and -8.1 percent in 1993. During this same period total military personnel declined by 19.4 percent, from 2.202 million in FY 1989 to 1.776 million in FY 1993. The Army took the largest cut, from 770,000 to 572,000-25.8 percent of its strength. The Air Force declined by 22.3 percent, the Navy by 14 percent, and the Marines by 9.7 percent.

Read More......

Media Matters launches - right-wingers beware

David Brock, a personal friend, has finally launched his fight-the-right organization, Media Matters, and their Web site is a treasure trove of info for salivating progressive bloggers everywhere. Check out the site, the content is GREAT: http://www.MediaMatters.org Read More......