April 7, 2008
April 7, 2008 
April 7, 2008 April 4, 2008
April 4, 2008 McCain discusses his legendary temper John McCain's temper is famous, and only becoming more so as he gets more time in the spotlight. In one example, as Salon's Mark Benjamin reported, conservative activist Grover Norquist says some people get what they refer to as "McCaingrams." "He yells at you, and before you get back to your office you get the apology note, which is the equivalent of somebody who knows that this happens and is prepared for it," Norquist told Benjamin. John McCain's top ten temper explosions 1) Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And “Screamed, ‘F*ck You!’ At Texas Sen. John Cornyn” (R-TX). “Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, ‘F— you!’ at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. ‘This is chickens—stuff,’ McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. April 2, 2008 Drilling for Answers on Oil and Gas Prices, Profits, and Alternatives On Tuesday, April 2, 2008, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) brought in top-level executives from the five largest oil companies to discuss the current state of oil and gas prices, oil company profits, and the need for clean, renewable fuels to ease demand for oil and cut global warming pollution. The Select Committee heard from the number two officers worldwide for the three United States-based oil companies and the presidents of U.S. operations for the foreign companies. ExxonMobil reported record profits of $40.6 billion in 2007, and the other top four oil companies like BP and Shell made billions more. These same companies are fighting to keep $18 billion in tax breaks that Congress is attempting to shift towards renewable energy incentives for wind, solar, biomass and other climate-friendly sources. The House recently passed the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, but President Bush and the top oil companies are fighting to defeat the measure in the Senate. April 1, 2008 
April 1, 2008 Two Purple Hearts and Five Surgeries Later, An Injured Iraq War Vet's Family Faces Another Battle at Home For the thousands of GI’s who have returned home from Iraq injured, another battle awaits them — having to prove they have a right to compensation for the damage done while they were serving their country. “Charles is now going through the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) which in and of itself seems to be an unfair process. Once they finally complete the report — a hodgepodge of mini-reports outlining surgeries, assessments, and psychological visits — the MEB then gives the soldier three business days to complete a rebuttal of the information. As you can imagine, for a 25 year-old soldier not familiar with bureaucratic protocols, this usually cannot be accomplished, or the rebuttal is completed very poorly, and they get shafted on their disability percentage pay.” Tallying up the human costs of war At a time when the health care of troops should be a priority, the Bush administration has requested cuts to the VA. Pressure imposed by important organizations such as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, VoteVets.org, Disabled Veterans of America and others have impacted the Senate Budget Committee. Members of the Committee have passed a budget resolution for fiscal year 2009 that will include $3.2 billion above the current administration’s request for veterans’ programs, and will serve as a blueprint as Congress works to draft the fiscal year 2009 VA appropriations bill. 
April 1, 2008 Iraq War Spending Cuts Deep into State Budgets The National Priorities Project, a research organization based in Northampton, Mass., looks at U.S. federal funding priorities and how tax dollars are spent by state, congressional district, and in some cases, counties and cities. The organization just released a new report analyzing President Bush's proposed 2009 budget, which examines the impact of spending on the Iraq War, maintaining the president's tax cuts for the wealthy and budget cuts in four federal programs: Section 8 housing, community development block grants, low-income heating assistance and social service block grants.  Douglas FeithHe is a hypocrite who justifies his support of torture and murder as being righteous, when actually it is evil. Feith is just another chickenhawk who endangered our own military personnel by encouraging the bypassing of the Geneva Convention and the American Constitution. more... Media Putz of the Week: Lou DobbsWhen asked to respond to Rice's remarks on the Situation Room last Friday, CNN host Lou Dobbs became agitated. TPM's Josh Marshall noted that Dobbs explained "how he's sick of 'cotton pickin' black leaders telling him how he can and can't talk about race (he catches himself at the last minute -- sorta)." While it appears that Dobbs was about to say "cotton picking" (often used as a racially charged slur) in reference to Rice, he caught himself, only uttering the word "cotton." more...
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