Thomas R. Eddlem
Bill Clinton Frets “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy”
President Bill Clinton resurrected the spectre of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” against President Obama in a Sunday interview with NBC's September 27 Meet the Press program. Asked by host David Gregory if he believed that the “vast right-wing conspiracy” his wife spoke of back during his presidency was behind the opposition to Obama's agenda, Clinton replied: “Oh, you bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed demographically, but it's as virulent as it was.”
Peter Schiff Announces Conn. Senate Candidacy
Peter Schiff, a former economic adviser to the Ron Paul presidential campaign, announced his candidacy Thursday for the U.S. Senate on MSNBC's Morning Joe against longtime Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd. Schiff became an Internet phenomenon last year after YouTube activists posted a compilation of his amazingly accurate predictions of the current economic crisis during 2006 and 2007 on national television shows, while other television pundits laughed at him.
Dick Cheney, Mohammad Jawad and Torture
While the U.S. mainstream media is awash in news that the Bush-era policy of torturing detainees “worked” in the case of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, neocon-influenced media outlets have virtually blacked out coverage of the case of child prisoner at Guantanamo Mohammad Jawad. Perhaps that because Jawad — who was released without charges last week and days later announced he would be suing the U.S. government — is a textbook example of how the Bush policy of torture not only didn't work, but how it corrupted the entire U.S. system of justice.
Citizen Protests Congressman Hiding From Town Hall
When two-term congressman Zack Space decided he didn't want to hold any public town hall-style meeting in his Ohio district this summer, local high-school football coach Dave Daubenmire took his right to air grievances straight to Rep. Space's doorstep. Daubenmire has been camping out in front of Space's district office since August 27, and says he will continue to do so until Space agrees to a “a fair and open forum” where citizens can air their complaints against the "Blue Dog" Democrat.
Ted Kennedy's Rank Partisanship
Massachusetts' senior Senator Ted Kennedy has reversed an earlier stance with his recent appeal to change Massachusetts' rules of Senate succession once again.
Rand Paul “Money Bomb” Exploding Today
U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul of Kentucky is reaping an online fundraising bonanza today, as a “money bomb” for his campaign efforts exploded from supporters of his father's 2008 presidential campaign.
CIA Hired Blackwater for Assassinations
The CIA outsourced its assassination program to controversial security company Blackwater Worldwide, according to the New York Times for August 20. The assassination program never got to the point of actually carrying out assassination missions, but the New York Times and other news sources reported that Blackwater had received a multimillion-dollar contract to draw up the program and provide training.
New, Lower Deficit Estimate: $1.58 trillion
President Obama is expected to revise his fiscal 2009 deficit estimate to $1.58 trillion, which is down from the $1.84 trillion estimate earlier in the year. Nearly all of the difference is based upon the Obama administration not using the $250 billion “placeholder” he had built into his budget for a second round of bank bailouts under the TARP program.
Cheney Says Bush Got “Soft” During Second Term
Former Vice President Dick Cheney is writing a memoir, and has claimed in that memoir that President George W. Bush “had gone soft” on a variety of issues during his second term, according to the August 12 Washington Post.
Key Questions for Congressmen at "Town Hall" Meetings
Congressmen are on what they call their summer recess or "district work period" right now, and angry constituents are competing with “AstroTurf” leftists that are being planted at these town meetings to generate the appearance of support for more government control of healthcare.