“A bomb rocked Iraq’s parliament building in the heavily fortified Green Zone Thursday, killing at least two lawmakers in a stunning security breach in the third month of a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown on violence in the capital … The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations.”
White House officials privately concede that much of the added domestic funding projects in the Iraq supplemental is necessary, contrary to Bush’s claim that they are “pork barrel projects.” “We agree that the funding is needed,” one official said, specifically citing added funds for homeland security and to help Gulf Coast states still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
“Tony Blair yesterday claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture. His remarks angered community leaders, who accused him of ignorance and failing to provide support for black-led efforts to tackle the problem.”
“A librarian who fended off an FBI demand for computer records on patrons said Wednesday that secret anti-terrorism investigations strip away personal freedoms.” George Christian said his experience “should raise a big patriotic American flag of caution” about the strain that the Bush administration has put on civil liberties.
The war in Iraq has “spawned new terror in the region,” the Oxford Research Group, a British think tank, states in a new report. The U.S. and Britain have tried to “keep the lid on” terrorism problems with military force but “failed to address the root causes.” The report also states that Iran, Syria and North Korea have become “emboldened.”
“Al Qaeda’s new affiliate in North Africa asserted responsibility Wednesday for the deadliest attacks in Algeria’s capital in a decade as 24 people were reported killed and 222 injured in bombings that shattered the prime minister’s headquarters and a police base.”
Facing strong congressional opposition, the White House yesterday withdrew its nomination of William Wehrum to head the EPA’s air pollution office. Wehrum was the “the behind-the-scenes architect” of some of the Bush administration’s most controversial initiatives, including a plan to loosen emission caps on dangerous air toxins.
Conservative state legislators killed an effort yesterday to hang Coretta Scott King’s portrait in Georgia’s Capitol, next to a photo of her late husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Mrs. King certainly is a wonderful humanitarian…but this is not a museum,” said State Rep. Calvin Hill (R).
“Five years after the Bush administration began a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department has turned up virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections.” Just 120 people have been charged with voter fraud crimes, and 86 convicted as of last year.
And finally: Freshmen Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) “are locked in a tight race over who will be class geek.” They are competing to win the Golden Gavel Award, which “goes to any senator who has presided over the Senate for 100 hours in any given year.” At this point, Klobuchar is winning by a mere 20 minutes.
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