President Bush wrapped up his visit to Israel yesterday, promising
to return in May to “continue pressing the Israelis and Palestinians into reaching
a peace agreement.” A recent poll of Israelis, however, found that “found that 77
percent of those questioned believed Mr. Bush would fail in the mission.”
“NASA’s watchdog office has sharply reduced its criminal investigations
under a leader
accused of mismanagement by a presidential commission and members of Congress,
the space agency’s records show.”
The Department of Homeland Security will announce today that “driver’s license
rules and procedures will be standardized across all 50 states” The new plan
is expected to anger many, including states that have to implement the changes and
civil rights groups who say “the changes will invade
individuals’ privacy.”
Several analysts and former military officials argue that the Iraq surge “may actually
have enhanced prospects for a bloodier civil war by effectively permitting
the warring sides” — now more
segregated than ever — “to re-group and re-arm in anticipation of a new round
of bloodletting as U.S. troops withdraw.”
“The chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees joined in asking the Justice
Department on Thursday for details of contracts that the department directed
to former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other outside lawyers” following reports
of favoritism by the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.
According to Federal Emergency Management Agency records provided to USA Today, only
about $1 billion of the $4.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects earmarked
for Louisiana and Mississippi” after the 2005 Gulf coast hurricanes has been spent,
“a sign that key
pieces of the region’s recovery effort are languishing in red tape.”
“Presenting a bleak
picture of a deteriorating national economy, Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the
Federal Reserve, strongly suggested on Thursday that the Fed would cut interest
rates soon, perhaps by a large amount.” “We stand ready to take substantive
additional actions,” Bernanke said.
Shortly after ABC News reported on the rape of former Halliburton/KBR employee,
Jamie Leigh Jones, Sen.
Bill Nelson (D-FL) wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for answers. Her
deadline of Dec. 21 passed with no reply. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) has also wrote
to Rice on Jan. 3, telling her of the “lack of cooperation from her department.”
No response yet.
And finally: On Wednesday, the conservative Heritage Foundation hosted guests for
a lunch event. They were served “turkey
and brie on cranberry bread.” The reaction to the sandwich by the right-wing crowd?
“This is kind of a liberal sandwich,” moaned one of the attendees.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/11/thinkfast-january-11-2008/
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