President Bush books

A neat NYTimes Book Review of two books on the Bush presidency. Here's a quote from the review, which contains a quote from Dead Certain.

Vice President Dick Cheney is trying to persuade Dick Armey, the Republican House majority leader, who was skeptical about a war on Iraq, in a private meeting in September 2002: “We have great information. They’re going to welcome us. It’ll be like the American Army going through the streets of Paris. They’re sitting there ready to form a new government. The people will be so happy with their freedoms that we’ll probably back ourselves out of there within a month or two.”

The Christian Right

A thorough and interesting article about the Christian right's decline of political power. Thoroughly reported in the pages of the NYTimes Magazine.

Just in time for Halloween, it's Frankenstein appears...

... in veto format.

Wisconsin's governor has unique veto powers: the stuff presidents and many other governors can only dream of.

Read here and here.

Investigating stuff

This could be a very interesting - and needed - experiment:

As struggling newspapers across the country cut back on investigative reporting, a new kind of journalism venture is hoping to fill the gap.

Paul E. Steiger, who was the top editor of The Wall Street Journal for 16 years, and a pair of wealthy Californians are assembling a group of investigative journalists who will give away their work to media outlets.

The nonprofit group, called Pro Publica, will pitch each project to a newspaper or magazine (and occasionally to other media) where the group hopes the work will make the strongest impression. The plan is to do long-term projects, uncovering misdeeds in government, business and organizations.

Nothing quite like it has been attempted, and despite having a lot going for it, Pro Publica will be something of an experiment, inventing its practices by trial and error. It remains to be seen how well it can attract talent and win the cooperation of the mainstream media.

Osprey

Thorough article about an interesting weapon system. Lots of controversy.

Getting Ol' Party

The Wall Street Journal has an absolutely fantastic article on the changing dynamics of the Republican Party. Apparently, according to journalist Jackie Calmes, the Party is losing some moderate business folks due to the GOP's inability to balance the budget and the rise of social issues. The article may in fact be free today, or you should be able to find it through NOVA's Library website.

Left of Boom

Rick Atkinson of the Washington Post is about to conclude a fantastic four part series on US efforts to counter IEDs in Iraq. (IEDs are Improvised Explosive Devices and are the major killer of US troops in Iraq.) Atkinson recently won a Pulitzer for his book, An Army at Dawn, which is about the US military's fight in Northern Africa.

S-CHIP

Some helpful and fair information on the S-CHIP program and President Bush's likely veto of Congress's bill to expand coverage.
From the Congressional Research Service: Click HERE.
Another, better, CRS Report on what happens if the President vetoes the legislation: Click HERE.
Information on the inaccuracy of some of the claims President Bush has made regarding SCHIP: Click HERE. Although this one report at FactCheck only focuses on President Bush's inaccuracies, the website appears to level inaccuracy charges at both parties, depending on the issue. Worth visiting: factcheck.org.

California health care

States often show initiative in taking on issues that the federal government has not taken on. California and health care is an example.

Important anniversary from the Civil Rights Era

Juan Williams writes an important piece on an important moment in American history.

Fun with Reese

Don't drink the Blackwater

Lots of controversy regarding the use of private security firms in Iraq. The issue was brought front and center because of civilians allegedly killed by Blackwater. In depth article on the difficulties of using private security firms in Iraq.

Hillary and Health care, Round 2

Senator Hillary Clinton announced a new plan to address health care problems in America. With 47 million Americans uninsured, which is up from the approximately 35 million when she last tackled the issue during President Bill Clinton's Administration), Sen. Clinton believes she has a better plan this time around. EJ Dionne of the Washington Post and the WP editorial board agree. Everything usually looks good on paper, but...

More coverage at the Washington Times and the Washington Post.

Trees

Perhaps because I have too much free time, I have always wondered about the legal issues of trees that grow beyond the property lines of owners. I need not wonder anymore, and now I can go about my life.

Surge-onomics

One of the more interesting, fun-to-read books is Freakonomics. It's co-written by Steven Levitt (an economist) and Stephen Dubner (a journalist). Based on Levitt's economics work, the Steves try to use unique methods to explain some interesting phenomena. The most interesting and controversial chapter regarded what they believe is the best explanation for decreases in crime levels in the 1990s. I'm no statistician, but at least they make statistical analysis interesting and fun-to-read. Anyway, they offer some interesting thoughts on whether or not the surge in Iraq is working. Other neat stuff if you care to dig on their blog.

The Student Voice

The student newspaper for Northern Virginia Community College is recruiting for a number of positions:

Your student newspaper, The Student Voice, is accepting application for all positions. If you are interested in a career in journalism, this is a great opportunity to receive hands-on training and develop "clips" for your portfolio.
For all students, this is a chance to hone your critical thinking and communications skills. As a staff member, you will learn to gather information and present it in an organized form - an essential skill for any career. As an editor, you will bolster your leadership skills and gain valuable experience that will enhance your resume.
You can find more information about the numerous opportunities we offer on the internet at: http://staff.thestudentvoice.org/apply. If you have any questions, you may email us at apply at apply@thestudentvoice.org.

The Student Voice main website is thestudentvoice.org.

Stewart to host the next Oscars!

Jon Stewart will host the 80th Annual Oscar Awards show. Fans of the Daily Show rejoice! My wife and I dig Steward AND the Oscars, so this is a double treat. The little guy really makes me laugh. As CNN notes, Stewart got mixed reviews for his Oscar hosting gig, but I thought he did a fine job. Billy Crystal is still my favorite, but Stewart, Steve Martin, and Ellen have done fine too. Whoopi really ruins it for me. Ugh.

Testimonials

General Petraeus, the US military leader in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador to Iraq, have spent yesterday and today testifying before House and Senate committees.
The consensus of their testimony is that the US has been militarily successful in improving security, but that this increasing level of security has not led to political success by the Iraqi government. A few thousand troops may come home by the end of the year, and more next year, but the US presence in Iraq will carry on.

The NFL is underway

Local fans should be excited by the Redskins' victory over the Miami Dolphins. In other NFC East action, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants, and the Eagles lost to the Packers. Seems like there should be some exciting NFC East games this season. Still, nothing beats college football!

Interesting surge article

The issue is continuously heating up. The Post has a great behind the scenes account.

Go COCKS!

My beloved GAMECOCKS of South Carolina defeated those nasty Bulldogs of Georgia in a fantastic college football upset. Final score: 16 for the good guys, 12 for the forces of evil.

The next VA Senate GOP Nominee

The Washington Times has an interesting article on how the Virginia Republican Party will select the next nominee to run for John Warner's US Senate seat. The GOP can choose either a primary or a convention. A convention favors the more conservative likely-candidate James Gilmore. A convention is likely to attract the more conservative supporters of the Republican Party. A primary favors the less conservative likelycandidate Tom Davis. He has more money too, so he can reach out better to more Virginians through a larger campaign. It's worth reading the article to gain a fuller explanation of the differences between primaries and conventions.

More on Iraq from the Washington Post

The Washington Post offers yet another daily dose on articles that weigh the success of key goals of the surge. This is important work. Too many people offer simplistic "it's working" or "it's not working" assessments. In fairness to those associated with such simplistic comments, often those folks are much more thorough, but their work is quoted with simple summaries. But the Post is digging a little deeper and pointing out the complexity of what the US is trying to accomplish in Iraq, and though many things are going well, there are significant hurdles to overcome in areas that are believed to be keys to success. For example, there is much to overcome to see an oil sharing law passed, or to see the Iraqis able to defend their own country.

Here's a link to today's Post articles.
1) No Relief From Fear: Despite U.S. Buildup, Families Still Fleeing Baghdad Homes As Violence, Rivalries Loom Over Paralyzed Iraqi Government.
2) Missteps and Mistrust Mark the Push for Oil Legislation.
3) U.S. Efforts May Work Against Iraqi Self-Sufficiency.

Iraq articles

With General Petraeus's and Ambassador Crocker's report to be sent in soon, there are lots of efforts to evaluate the surge. Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have some fantastic articles on the state of Iraq.

The WSJ begins with this interesting observation:

The Bush administration is quietly moving toward a major shift in Iraq policy, driven by successes in formerly intractable insurgent strongholds combined with dispiriting failures at fostering national reconciliation.

After almost four years of trying to build Iraq's central government in Baghdad, the U.S. has found that what appears to work best in the divided country is just the opposite. So senior military officials are increasingly working to strengthen local players who are bringing some measure of stability to their communities. The new approach bears some striking similarities to the "soft partition" strategy pushed by senior Democrats, and suggests that despite the often bitter debate in Washington on Iraq policy, a broad consensus on how to move ahead in the war-torn country may be forming.Democratic Senator Joe Biden, a no-chance candidate for president, is rolling over in his political grave. He has been talking about such an approach for a long time. Another more recent entry into the "no-chance" category has been Sen. McCain, and he has been a long time proponent of increasing troop levels in Iraq. So, if you're keeping score at home, both parties will probably easily reject two fellows who may be offering the most effective strategies for dealing with Iraq. (NOTE to NOVA students: The article is accessible through the NOVA library.)

The Washington Post offers three interesting articles:
1) On working with insurgents: HERE.
2) On dealing with Iraqi forces who are often more closely aligned with insurgents: HERE.
3) And on the politics of evaluating Surge policy success: HERE.

What does the military think? This is from McClatchy:

In a sign that top commanders are divided over what course to pursue in Iraq, the Pentagon said Wednesday that it won't make a single, unified recommendation to President Bush during next month's strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations.

The American Worker is Alive and Well, or at least not as bad as we thought

This article from the Washington Post is the perfect piece to help us understand the current status of the American worker. It shouldn't be surprising, but there is a lot of promise. Where there has been pain and job loss, there have been some interesting gains. Most interesting for the community college teacher and student is the role that community colleges have played in helping workers get to the next - and higher - level. The last sentence points out just how interconnected and confusing the globalized world has become:

the efficiency of the machines that have eliminated jobs at its plants has allowed Glen Raven to pay the remaining workers enough to afford cars, health care and homes. Some of those homes boast patios and lawns now shaded by sun umbrellas made in China using fabric woven just down the road.

The entire article is worth reading. America is alive and well. Here's another guy who agrees. As Achenbach points out, negativity flows freely from both sides of the political spectrum. Still, all good things do not necessarily need to come to an end.

President Bush visits Iraq

This is always a wise thing for President Bush to do. Says a lot, however, about the security of the area that he has to sneak in.

Labor Day stuff

What a nice day to sit back and read the Washington Post! Two new books coming out about the Bush Administration, so the Post has plenty of space on a slow news day to tell us about the books (one of which was written by one of their journalists). First, the Post publishes an excerpt from Glenn Kessler's new book about Condoleezza Rice. Second, a new book by Robert Draper offers a behind-the-curtain account of the Bush Administration inner circle. To write the book, Draper had a surprising amount of access to the President, Vice President, and others. Not something the Bush folks do a lot of, so hopefully it offers a few gems.

Draper's book: Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush.
Kessler's book: The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy.

US Senate stuff

Two GOP US Senators will not be working in Congress for too much longer. One, of course, is leaving at a time of his choosing and with his dignity fully intact. John Warner of Virginia announced his decision to not seek reelection in 2008. He has been more critical than most GOP politicians of President Bush's handling of the war, so without a fear of losing an election, Warner may feel even more free from political restraints.

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is leaving by September 30, 2007 for completely different reasons. Here's how his exit was forced upon him.

With perhaps some irony, the Senate seat surrounded in scandal is the one more likely - almost certainly - to remain Republican, even after 2008 elections.

The Long War(s)

Some difficulties in Afghanistan and Iraq. With Afghanistan, it's the matter of keeping once secured areas secure. With Iraq, there's the difficulty of making of getting their energy sector in some semblance of order. Tough to do for both.

Iraq report

The General Accounting Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, offers a dour assessment of progress - or the lack thereof - in Iraq. Heres the report in graphical form.

Here's a blurb from the Washington Post:

Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report. The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found within the administration.

The strikingly negative GAO draft, which will be delivered to Congress in final form on Tuesday, comes as the White House prepares to deliver its own new benchmark report in the second week of September, along with congressional testimony from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. They are expected to describe significant security improvements and offer at least some promise for political reconciliation in Iraq.

Tomorrow (Friday, September 1, 2007) is the big day!

Senator John Warner will announce tomorrow whether or not he plans to run for reelection.

Virginia Transportation Issues

Uh oh: As Dulles Rail Staggers, Players Share in Blame
Delays, Cost Run-Ups and a Threatened Loss of Funds Combine to Cloud the Project's Future.
Help is on the way?

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, looking for more lobbying muscle to help secure federal approval for the troubled Dulles rail project, is negotiating with former U.S. transportation secretary Norman Y. Mineta to represent the agency.

Mineta, 75, is vice chairman of Hill & Knowlton, the communications and lobbying firm, where he advises clients on transportation and national security issues. He joined the company after leaving the Bush administration in July 2006.

Regional tax increases are deemed legal, which should help improve commuter woes in Northern VA. At least, that's the goal. Is it worth it?
From WP:

An Arlington County Circuit Court judge upheld the constitutionality yesterday of a new state law allowing the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to impose taxes and issue bonds to finance as much as $300 million a year in regional highway and transit projects.

Circuit Court Judge Benjamin N.A. Kendrick ruled that nothing in the state or U.S. constitutions blocks the General Assembly from allowing a regional authority to assess taxes. And the panel's members are not required to be elected directly by Northern Virginia voters, he ruled. The decision was a defeat for opponents of higher taxes and the Loudoun County government.

Great articles on American politics

NOTE: The articles linked to below may not be accessible via these links. These are access points for general readers and may require subscriptions. However, NOVA students should have electronic access to the articles via the NOVA Library. Click HERE to access the NOVA Library.

Two recent articles are particularly fascinating. Joshua Green wrote an interesting piece in the Atlantic Monthly on Karl Rove's failure to transform the American party system, or to even succeed at getting most of his and President Bush's initiatives passed into law. Useful is his overview of the various realignments in American political party systems. Here is a particularly interesting quote on the pettiness that is often politics:

Dick Armey, the House Republican majority leader when Bush took office ..., told me a story that captures the exquisite pettiness of most members of Congress and the arrogance that made Bush and Rove so inept at handling them. “For all the years he was president,” Armey told me, “Bill Clinton and I had a little thing we’d do where every time I went to the White House, I would take the little name tag they give you and pass it to the president, who, without saying a word, would sign and date it. Bill Clinton and I didn’t like each other. He said I was his least-favorite member of Congress. But he knew that when I left his office, the first schoolkid I came across would be given that card, and some kid who had come to Washington with his mama would go home with the president’s autograph. I think Clinton thought it was a nice thing to do for some kid, and he was happy to do it.” Armey said that when he went to his first meeting in the White House with President Bush, he explained the tradition with Clinton and asked the president if he would care to continue it. “Bush refused to sign the card. Rove, who was sitting across the table, said, ‘It would probably wind up on eBay,’” Armey continued. “Do I give a damn? No. But can you imagine refusing a simple request like that with an insult? It’s stupid. From the point of view of your own self-interest, it’s stupid. I was from Texas, and I was the majority leader. If my expectations of civility and collegiality were disappointed, what do you think it was like for the rest of the congressmen they dealt with? The Bush White House was tone-deaf to the normal courtesies of the office.”

An article well worth reading to understand current American politics and some American political history.

Here's a fantastic article about Rudy Giuliani. By Peter Boyer of the New Yorker.

Fred Thompson

Will he or will he not? Is it too late? Does he have the energy or, more importantly, the money?
Thompson, a likely candidate for the 2008 GOP nomination, talks about his lackluster performance so far. He may have let too much time pass since the hype of his potential candidacy to the point when he finally announces. Many Republicans are not happy with their field of candidates, and Thompson could have really stepped into fill that need, but he may have missed the point of optimal impact.

More on Senator Craig

Funny point made in the National Review's The Corner:

Leaving my obvious disgust aside for a moment, my first thought on this Larry Craig bathroom thing is how rotten a job that plainclothes officer has. The second is that we may have another vacant Senate seat in a few days.

The prime candidate, in the event that Craig resigns, is Lt. Gov. Jim Risch (R), who was widely expected to run for the seat anyway. Risch stepped aside to let Butch Otter (R) take the nomination and win as governor last year. In some sense Otter left him little choice by announcing his own candidacy so early, but the perception is that it's Risch's turn now. He could even be in better shape running as the incumbent.

Here's the article from Roll Call newspaper that originally uncovered the story. Roll Call is one of two newspapers that focuses on all things Capitol Hill and Congress.

A few big names in the conservative blogosphere are quite frustrated with Craig: Hugh Hewitt calls for his resignation; and Ed Morrissey believes that Craig should not seek reelection.

More on the Gonzales resignation

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board offers the conservative response to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Bizzare story

This story might get bigger in the coming days. From the Washington Post:

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to misdemeanor disorderly conduct after being arrested at the Minneapolis airport.

Attorney General Gonzales Quits

According to most media reports, including the Washington Post, Gonzales told President Bush of his desire to resign on Friday. Some have said that Michael Chertoff will be nominated as the new AG. Time will tell.

Sen. Warner on the Iraq War

Senator John Warner, R-VA, is an important fellow to watch for a few reasons:
1) He represents Virginia.
2) He hasn't yet announced whether or not he will run for reelection next year. That announcement, according to Warner, should come in early September.
3) He is pushing the Administration to embrace modest proposals to decrease the US military presence in Iraq.
You can hear what Warner has to say for himself: he was the featured guest on NBC's Meet the Press, and the entire episode can be viewed online. The round table with NBC's Richard Engel, NYTime's Michael Gordon, and Washington Post's Thomas Ricks is well worth watching too.
Washington Posts write-up on their blog, The Talk.

Some Iraq news

New National Intelligence Estimate.
Some VERY different views on how things are going there, or how US leaders depict the situation:
Jim Hoagland.
Charles Krauthammer.
Big news from Virginia's GOP US Senator, John Warner:

Sen. John W. Warner, one of the most influential Republican voices in Congress on national security, called on President Bush yesterday to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in time for Christmas as a new intelligence report concluded that political leaders in Baghdad are "unable to govern effectively."

Warner's declaration -- after the Virginia senator's recent four-day trip to the Middle East -- roiled the political environment ahead of a much-anticipated progress report to be delivered Sept. 11 by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Although Warner had already broken with Bush's strategy, this was the first time he endorsed pulling troops out by a specific date.

March on Washington

A March on Washington will take place on September 15.
The goal is to end the war.
For more information, here are a few contacts:
www.answercoalition.org

Where there's a Will, there's an op-ed

George Will is an interesting cat: a conservative who was quite doubtful about the wisdom of invading Iraq. In today's Washington Post, he offers an excellent analysis of both sides of the Washington battle to interpret and act upon the September Petraeus/White House report on the state of Iraq.

Consider this blurb:

One faction -- essentially, congressional Democrats -- is heavily invested in the belief, fervently held by the party's base of donors and activists, that prolonging U.S. involvement can have no benefit commensurate with the costs. The war, this faction says, is lost because even its repeatedly and radically revised objective -- a stable society under a tolerable regime -- is beyond America's military capacity and nation-building competence, and it is politically impossible given the limits of American patience.

The other faction, equal in anger and certitude, argues, not for the first time (remember the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq, Iraqi voters' purple fingers, the Iraqi constitution, the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons, the capture of Hussein, the killing of Zarqawi, etc.), that the tide has turned. How febrile is this faction? Recently it became euphoric because of a New York Times column by two Brookings Institution scholars...

One is left to wonder how much the report REALLY matters. Will it change anyone's mind about whether or not the US is succeeding there, or whether or not the US should stay? Read the whole op-ed.

Interesting article regarding Karl Rove's recent comments on a Hillary candidacy. Negative ratings she may have, but not insurmountable - so says Gallup.
See THIS.