A new survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures finds that the “finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that’s true for the nation as a whole.”
“As the home foreclosure crisis sweeps across America,” a rising number of troops “say they are falling behind on their mortgage payments” and are struggling to keep their homes, according to military and financial aid groups. Soldiers “have limited foreclosure protection” under current law and “lenders can seek a court order to foreclose on a house, even if the soldier is in combat.”
Yesterday, the Senate Ethics Committee admonished Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) for placing an inappropriate call to then-U.S. attorney David Iglesias shortly before the 2006 elections. In its letter of “letter of “qualified admonition” — the committee found that Domenici should have known better than to contact Iglesias about an ongoing investigation.
A new report from Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen says “Iraq’s military and police forces need years of improvements before they have enough recruits, officers and support systems to secure the country.”
“Iraq’s largest Sunni bloc has agreed to return to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s cabinet after a boycott of nearly a year” citing “a recently passed amnesty law and the government’s crackdown on Shiite militias.” The deal “could still fall through” but the return “would represent a major political victory for Mr. Maliki.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) may push a plan to move the Iraq war supplemental, which includes “three separate legislative vehicles: one to exclusively provide emergency funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; another aimed at stimulating the economy through a mix of domestic spending measures; and potentially, a third that would advance some sort of language on troop withdrawals.”
Though he once opposed President Bush’s tax cuts and warned against growing budget deficits and high war costs, “[n]ow that he is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “is marching straight down the party line.” The Washington Post notes that “McCain’s concerns…have proved eerily prescient.” “Yet McCain appears determined to leave such predictions behind.”
73 percent: American consumers who are worried about rising food prices. “According to the USA Today/Gallup Poll, 46% of respondents say higher food prices have caused a hardship, including 10% who said they’ve created a severe hardship.”
Due to soaring heating costs, “millions of Americans are behind on electric and gas bills,” which means that over the next two months “a record number of families could face energy shut-offs.”
And finally: Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) just doesn’t understand cold weather — or why anyone would want to live in such climates. Meeting with a group of high school students from frigid Cold Bay, AK, Abercrombie wondered, “Let me get this straight: The name is Cold Bay. You are talking about Alaska. This is something called Cold Bay. When you are in Alaska and something is called Cold Bay, is it colder than other bays or something? Why the hell are you even out there?”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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