While President Bush proclaims his support for democracy around the world, his Justice Department is busy stifling it here at home. The Department of Justice recently approved Georgia’s plan to force voters to show a state-issued ID that can be obtained in only 59 of the state’s 159 counties, none of which are in the six counties with the highest percentage of African Americans.

This is especially troubling because of the apparent racist motivations of the bill’s backers. The chief sponsor of Georgia’s bill told the Justice Department that “if there are fewer black voters because of this bill, it will only be because there is less opportunity for fraud.” Even the Justice Department’s own experts believe this will disenfranchise eligible voters.

Today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) announced that he would veto similar legislation in his state because “it would disenfranchise some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.”

The Department of Justice used to focus on expanding minority voting rights — now they are approving plans to restrict them. There was a time when conservatives would balk at disenfranchising voters — today it’s standard practice.

– Sam Davis

“Donald Rumsfeld is backing off his claim last week that the Pentagon had stopped paying to plant stories in the Iraqi news media,” the AP reports. Rumsfeld today said he “misstated the facts” when he said last Friday that the practice was halted; apparently the program “was put under review” but “he doesn’t know if it continues.”

a bill that would stop the UAE port deal, Fox News is reporting.

Today, Scooter Libby launched a new website – ScooterLibby.org — to raise money for his legal defense. Here is the banner that runs across the top:

Of course Cheney wouldn’t have any problem with Libby disclosing classified information to reporters. He was the one who ordered Libby to do it.

The site also contains endorsements by President Bush, Paul Wolfowitz and Brit Hume. Make sure to sign up for e-mail updates.

Roberts, Alito and the rest of the court consider the constitutionality of a federal law that bans a certain type of abortion without “an exception to protect the health of the mother.” The law has already been struck down by judges in California, Nebraska and New York.

What Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said about Saddam Hussein’s relationship with al-Qaeda on Saturday:

Nobody denies that [Saddam Hussein] was supporting al-Qaeda…Well, I shouldn’t say nobody. Nobody with brains.

What the bi-partisan 9-11 commission said about Saddam Hussein’s relationship with al-Qaeda:

The Sept. 11 commission reported yesterday that it has found no “collaborative relationship” between Iraq and al Qaeda, challenging one of the Bush administration’s main justifications for the war in Iraq.

Hatch made his remarks at an invitation-only luncheon. They’ve only been reported in a small Utah paper, The St. George Daily Spectrum.

President Bush may publicly slam congressional earmarks, but he put 15,877 of them in his 13 appropriations bills in FY2005, largely benefitting social conservatives and his wife.

ThinkFast is a new feature of ThinkProgress. Coffee and donuts not included. (It’s still a work in progress – let us know what you think.)

Investigations into suspected Iraqi death squads are now focusing on a 1,500-member Iraqi highway patrol force with close ties to Shiite militia groups, which U.S. officials suspect of being “deeply involved in illegal detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings.” Also: “We are not going to invest the resources of the American people to build forces run by people who are sectarian.”

Despite the U.S. having spent $1.4 billion on power supply, ordinary Iraqis “will have to wait another five to seven years for a reliable electricity supply that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week across the country.”

Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to arrange a meeting between former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and President Bush. The Rove connection: Abramoff contacted Karl Rove “on at least four occasions to help arrange a meeting, according to an eyewitness to the activities.” When the meeting was finalized, “Rove’s office called to tell Abramoff personally.”

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) appears to be using campaign contributions for personal expenses: 66 trips to Starbucks, 11 meals at Arby’s and ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s.

Problems with the Medicare prescription drug program‘s implementation continue, with only 1.4 million people out of 8 million eligible low-income seniors enrolled thus far. The Bush administration has spent $400 million urging people to sign up, and according to some calculations, the program might end up costing $250 for every person who eventually enrolls.

Cingular Wireless: among telecom firms, it singularly bucks the antiunion trend. Read more