Free Republic

CNN's CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: 'IRAQ WAR HAS BEEN A DISASTER' Mon Jan 30 2006 21:56:52 ET CNN's top war correspondent Christiane Amanpour now says the Iraq war has been a disaster and has created a "black hole." Amanpour made the comments Monday evening on the all-news network. "The Iraq war has been a disaster. It's a spiraling security disaster," Amanpour explains to Larry King. "It just gets worse and worse." MORE

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) failed today to address rumors that Nevada Senator Harry Reid will step down next month as Senate Minority Leader. Reid has been stung by revelations that his political action committee (PAC) accepted more than $60,000 in contributions from Indian tribes linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Appearing on CNN's Late Edition, Biden avoided discussing either the Reid situation or any upcoming changes in Senate Democratic leadership. Reid is no stranger to scandal, having been the subject of a 1979 Justice Department probe into allegations that Reid — then Nevada Gaming Commission chairman — had received bribes...

WASHINGTON -- Long-smoldering Democratic dissension flared openly Friday as liberals sought support for a last-minute filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito against the advice of leaders worried about a backlash in the 2006 elections. "I reject those notions that there ought to somehow be some political calculus about the future. ... The choice is now," said Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential candidate and a White House hopeful for 2008. He said it was imperative to fight for "those people who count on us to stand up and protect them." Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., announced she would...

"Senator Clinton will vote against cloture, thereby supporting the filibuster of Judge Alito’s nomination," said Philippe Reines, press secretary to Sen. Clinton.

Filibuster Alito by John Kerry Do I support a filibuster? The answer is yes. Yesterday Senator Kennedy and I spoke with our colleagues about it. I don't have a shred of doubt in my opposition to Sam Alto's nomination. I know Senator Kennedy does not either. He has truly been a great leader in the effort to oppose Judge Alito. I spent a lot of time over the last years thinking about the Supreme Court and who America needs on the highest court in the land. So I don't hesitate a minute in saying that Sam Alito is not that...

NEW ORLEANS -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco complained on Thursday that Louisiana is not getting its fair share of hurricane aid from the federal government. Blanco said that Louisiana suffered 70 percent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina but that it is not getting an equivalent amount in aid. "We are all American citizens, we cannot allow ourselves to be treated like second-class citizens," the governor said during an update on rebuilding to the New Orleans city council. Sam Jones, Blanco's deputy director of community programs, pointed out that Louisiana got only $6.2 billion out of $11.5 billion in Community...

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006 10:00 p.m. EST President Bush Blamed for Mine Disaster Less than 24-hours after 12 of the 13 workers trapped by a West Virginia mine explosion were found dead, critics were already politicizing the disaster, with at least one mine safety expert blaming President Bush. "This mine should have been closed," former director of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, Jack Spadaro, told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" Wednesday night. "There were too many serious [safety] violations and the record is very clear," he added. Asked why the allegedly unsafe mine continued to operate, Spadaro...

Global petition to stop the war in Iraq Date: 5 Jan 2006 GLOBAL CALL FOR NONVIOLENT CIVIL RESISTANCE TO END THE U.S.-LED MILITARY OCCUPATION OF IRAQ Contact: dm@aglobalcall.org Global Call to Action Voluntown, CT, USA Our website: www.aglobalcall.org FROM: Nobel Peace and Literature Laureates Cindy Sheehan and other peace and human-rights activists Religious leaders of various traditions Prisoners of Conscience Former government ministers Poets, authors, journalists A Global Call for Nonviolent Civil Resistance at U.S. and British government installations around the world has been issued by Nobel Peace and Literature Laureates along with Cindy Sheehan and other peace and human-rights activists, religious...

A too-close-to-call federal election campaign in Canada has spurred the nation’s beleaguered Liberal leader to try and cling to power by attacking the nation’s oldest ally and largest trading partner. That Canada sells 83% of its world exports to the United States and some 50% of all Canadian jobs depend either directly or indirectly on those exports seems irrelevant right now. It’s a bizarre world Up North these days. Prime Minister Paul Martin is in the fight of his political life against Conservative leader Stephen Harper and that’s obviously why he’s been trying to whip up anti-American fervor in the...

DePaul U Confronts Amerikan "Empire" By Steven Plaut FrontPageMagazine.com | January 3, 2006 Q: How do you know when America has crossed the line into an oppressive, occupational empire? A: When DePaul University begins studying it. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at DePaul and its Dean, one Chuck Suchar (a sociologist), have officially announced a “College Theme Series” entitled “Confronting Empire” for the 2005-6 academic year. This is a DePaul faculty initiative involving the participation of various departments and programs throughout the college. The organizers call themselves the “Empire Committee,” sounding like something out of Star Wars. Naturally,...

Nevadan told he'll get chilly reception "Don't lump me in with Jack Abramoff. This is a Republican scandal." HARRY REID WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to take on Republicans in their own backyards when he visits five "red states" next month to promote a theme that Republican-led Washington is corrupt and needs to be cleaned up, a spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.Reid, the Senate minority leader, has scheduled a three-day tour with stops in Phoenix; Denver; Salt Lake City; Pocatello, Idaho; and Omaha, Neb. All are in "Republican red" states that President Bush carried in the 2004 election. "He...

DENVER (AP) - The Air Force Reserve is discharging a lieutenant colonel accused of causing thousands of dollars in damage by defacing cars bearing pro-Bush bumper stickers, his lawyer and military officials confirmed Friday.

A few weeks back, a Code Pinko named Diane Wilson got her name in the papers by disrupting a Houston fundraiser for Rep. Tom Delay that was attended by Vice President Cheney.At the time, Ms. Wilson bragged that she only paid $50 to gain entrance to the event. However, her stunt has ended up costing her a whole lot more: 120 days in jail and a $2000 fine, to be precise.It seems she had a warrant out for her arrest stemming from her conviction almost two years ago for trespassing when she hung a banner from a Dow Chemical platform...

NEW BEDFORD -- The UMass Dartmouth student who claimed to have been visited by Homeland Security agents over his request for "The Little Red Book" by Mao Zedong has admitted to making up the entire story. The 22-year-old student tearfully admitted he made the story up to his history professor, Dr. Brian Glyn Williams, and his parents, after being confronted with the inconsistencies in his account. Had the student stuck to his original story, it might never have been proved false. But on Thursday, when the student told his tale in the office of UMass Dartmouth professor Dr. Robert Pontbriand...

Sen. Joe Lieberman stands virtually alone among Democrats after expressing his staunch support for the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq. An official with the liberal activist group MoveOn.org said the group might go so far as to back a Democratic challenger to Lieberman in next year’s Senate race, according to the Hartford Courant. On Tuesday Lieberman published an editorial in the Wall Street Journal – reported by NewsMax – saying that his recent trip to Iraq convinced him further that the U.S. should not abandon "27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists.” The next day in an address...

Security: Ex-Senate leader Tom Daschle now claims Congress never intended to let President Bush look for terrorists here, only in Afghanistan. The World Trade Center was in New York, senator, not Kabul. On Sept. 14, 2001, as the ruins of the Trade Center still smoldered, the Senate passed a resolution authorizing the president "to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided" the Sept. 11 attack on America. Al-Qaida is one of those organizations, and a prerequisite for using "force" against it is to gather intelligence on it and...

The former Bronx Boys & Girls Club at the center of a scandal over $875,000 funneled to the liberal radio network Air America is fighting eviction............ .........known as the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club until its charter was revoked by the youth organization's national headquarters, was ordered to turn in the keys............ Gloria Wise lost $9.7 million in city contracts...... because of an investigation of its finances. "There was a time when they provided services for senior citizens, the frail and for youth," said Herbert Freedman, chief officer of Co-op City's management firm, Riverbay Corp. "Now it looks like...

MA. Sen. John Kerry said last night that if Dems retake the House, there's a "solid case" to bring "articles of impeachment" against President Bush for allegedly misleading the country about pre-war intelligence, according to several Dems who attended. Kerry was speaking at a holiday party for alumni of his WH '04 bid. About 100 campaign vets gathered at Finn McCool's bar in D.C. to hear him. In a short speech, Kerry praised Dems who were working on Senate and House campaigns, and then said, according to one listener: "If we take back the House, there's a solid case to...

December 15, 2005--Thirty-two percent (32%) of Americans believe that President George W. Bush should be impeached and removed from office. Fifty-eight percent (58%) take the opposite view.However, just 30% of Americans would be more likely to vote for a Congressional candidate who promised to work for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. Fifty-two percent (52%) would be less likely to vote for such a candidate.Results by gender, age, party, income, and other demographic subsets are available for Premium Members.The Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 adults was commissioned by After Downing Street, a coalition working "to pressure both Congress and the...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia said Monday he doesn't expect Democrats to filibuster the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, but he still chastised Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for threatening to stop any such effort through a drastic parliamentary effort that has been dubbed the "nuclear option." "If he ever tries to exercise that, he's going to see a real filibuster if I'm living and able to stand on my feet or sit in my seat," Byrd said in a Senate debate with Frist, R-Tenn. "If the senator wants a fight, let him try it,"...