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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration Tuesday launched a bid to rein in the use of tax-exempt groups for political campaigning. The effort is an attempt to reduce the role of loosely regulated big-money political outfits like GOP political guru Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS and the pro-Obama Priorities USA. The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department said they want to prohibit such groups from using ‘‘candidate-related political activity’’ like running ads, registering voters or distributing campaign literature as activities that qualify them to be tax-exempt ‘‘social welfare’’ organizations.

“Speak Out in Public On Memorial Day, get your friends, kids, co-workers, neighbors, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, grandmothers, and anyone and everyone you know together to show your support for the troops and end the war. Bring “Support the Troops! End the War!” signs. Invite any local speakers who you think share our message of patriotic responsibility. Be sure to check with your local authority for any permits you need for public gatherings. Contact local media to publicize your event. Make sure you conduct yourself respectfully-both for those serving in Iraq and the memory of the brave servicemen and women that...

Tom Rawles, pictured in his office Tuesday, protested the war in Iraq by deciding not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance during a City Council meeting Monday night. Jennifer Grimes Tribune Fear of foreign threats real and perceived, anger at the loss of America’s post-9/11 unity, mounting apprehension about future security and prosperity: These served as the fuel. A Mesa City Councilman’s simple protest gesture was the spark. Related Links Failure to say Pledge creates backlash Today's Top Stories Mesa The vitriolic public reaction to Tom Rawles’ silence during the Pledge of Allegiance at Monday’s council meeting now...

Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck have crafted an insightful and heartfelt look at the experiences of the Dixie Chicks over the last three years, chronicling the often bizarre consequences of singer Natalie Maines' anti-Bush wisecrack on a London stage. Maines' statement is captured in "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing," as are the meetings where they plot how to circumvent the core country audience and, eventually, how to reroute a tour and cancel shows due to poor ticket sales. It's the rare thorough documentary on a musical act whose dilemmas are faced in the here and now, one that should...

KZLA Wrestles With Chicks" Star Power The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines “made nice” with an L.A. radio station last week, but it wasn’t the station that’s played new Chicks music almost 225 times. Instead, Maines talked to the Jamie, Jack & Stench morning show at Clear Channel Hot AC KYSR (Star 98.7), which has played new tunes from the Chicks only 38 times. As you might imagine, this didn’t exactly thrill the folks at Emmis’ crosstown Country outlet, KZLA. What upset KZLA OM/PD R.J. Curtis is that his station has been very supportive of the Chicks. “The really frustrating part...

American photojournalists and their editors are frustrated that they can't show more photos of U.S. soldiers dying in Iraq, saying that the nation isn't getting an accurate picture of the horrors of war. In a comprehensive report on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times noted: "A review of six prominent U.S. newspapers and the nation's two most popular newsmagazines during a recent six-month period found almost no pictures from the war zone of Americans killed in action." The paper explained: "Many photographers and editors believe they are delivering Americans an incomplete portrait of the violence that has killed 1,797 U.S. service...

FEB. 29, 2004: PASSIONATA Early Thoughts on the Passion On the Other Hand On the other hand, I have to say I was very disturbed by something Gibson said in his interview with Peggy Noonan in Reader’s Digest. Gibson’s father is of course a notorious Holocaust denier and trafficker in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Noonan offered Mel Gibson an opportunity to separate himself from his father’s views. Here is Gibson’s reply: “I have friends and parents of friends who have numbers on their arms. The guy who taught me Spanish was a Holocaust survivor. He worked in a concentration camp in...

Gwyneth Paltrow wants to raise her first child in Britain - because America is 'too weird'. The 31-year-old wife of Coldplay singer Chris Martin is due to have their first child later this year. Paltrow said she would worry about bringing up a baby in the US adding: 'There's a weird over-patriotic atmosphere. It's like, "We're No.1 and the rest of the world doesn't matter". 'With all the guns in schools, it's not too great. We'll probably move about until school age and then choose a place and stick with it.'

<p>Is President Bush the Iraq war's "useful idiot"? The phrase was coined by Vladimir Lenin to refer to Communist sympathizers who believed what they were told - and what they were told was mostly lies. It could be somewhat the same with Bush. He may well be the last person to believe the Iraq war was waged virtually in self-defense. He believes that dictator Saddam Hussein was on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction, and was linked to Osama Bin Laden.</p>