19. Number of times President Bush referenced al Qaeda during his hour-long press conference yesterday. “There was no evidence that Osama bin Laden was responsible” for the bird droppings that landed on Bush, but “just about everything else that came up during the hour-long news conference was traced to bin Laden’s terrorist network.”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “voted at least three times Thursday in the Senate after missing more than a month of votes to campaign for a presidential bid.” The only Senator to miss more votes than McCain “is Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), who’s recovering from a brain hemorrhage.”
“The system for delivering badly needed gear to Marines in Iraq” has failed to meet over 90 percent of the “urgent requests for equipment from troops in the field.” Among the items held up “were a mine resistant vehicle and a hand-held laser system.”
In a 396-22 vote, the House yesterday passed ethics legislation “that would penalize lawmakers who receive a wide range of favors from special interests, and would require lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they collect and deliver to lawmakers.”
Under pressure from watchdog groups, the Air Force and Army “partially distanced themselves yesterday from a three-day evangelical Christian event this weekend at a Georgia theme park.” The group sponsoring the event bills its purpose as “sharing the fullness of life in Jesus Christ with all US military, military veterans, and families.”
“Farmers in southern Iraq have started to grow opium poppies in their fields for the first time, sparking fears that Iraq might become a serious drugs producer along the lines of Afghanistan.”
A NYT/CBS poll finds “broad support among Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — for the major provisions” in the new immigration legislation, including giving undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship and the creation of a guest worker program.
“Sallie Mae executives met with Bush administration budget officials in December, less than two months before the company chairman sold $18.3 million of Sallie Mae stock. Three days after the sale, President Bush unveiled a budget that included unexpectedly large cuts to lending subsidies, after which the company’s shares plummeted.”
Iraqi cleric Moktada al- Sadr “has quietly returned to southern Iraq after a four-month sojourn in Iran,” possibly to “strengthen his position in anticipation that provincial elections may be held next year.”
And finally: Colorado jury agrees that “doggie doo can be free speech.” A political activist faced a “misdemeanor charge of criminal use of a noxious substance” after leaving “a campaign flyer filled with dog poop” at the office of a politician. But he jury agreed that her statement — the politician’s positions “stink” — was covered by free speech.
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