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BAGHDAD – The top U.S. military commander in Iraq on Tuesday accused Iran of continuing to support and train militants who are carrying out attacks, including most of the ones in Baghdad. Gen. Ray Odierno said the attacks have fallen in number but are still a problem. He made the comments just after the U.S. relinquished security for Baghdad and other urban areas to Iraqi forces, part of a security agreement that will see all American soldiers out of the country by the end of 2011. "Iran is still supporting, funding and training surrogates who operate inside of Iraq. They...

Perhaps its time. There have been a number of people on the forum talking about this, with one of the most recent converts being "iflyjetzzz". Look, we can rant and rave about market manipulation and government-sponsored games. We can petition the SEC, the FBI and Congress. We can demand that they stop it all we want. But they haven't and likely won't until and unless America gets pissed off enough to force them to act. So how do we make that happen, yet remain within the law? Its not that hard, and in the intermediate and longer-term it would be...

The MSM are busy talking about Michael Jackson, Frah Fawcett, Billy Mays and other fluff stories - but not here! Below is a collection of hard-hitting news articles and opinion peices you'll want to read and digg. As always, please feel free to forward us any stories you think deserve to make the daily digg list. http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/ We'll get the video diggs to you all later tonight. =)

Unlike some of my predictions, this one proved out. In fact, even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's 39-page dissent for the four more liberal justices quietly but unmistakably rejected the Sotomayor-endorsed position that disparate racial results alone justified New Haven's decision to dump the promotional exam without even inquiring into whether it was fair and job-related. Justice Ginsburg also suggested clearly -- as did the Obama Justice Department, in a friend-of-the-court brief -- that the Sotomayor panel erred in upholding summary judgment for the city. Ginsburg said that the lower courts should have ordered a jury trial to weigh the evidence...

The Gannett Company, owner of the nation’s largest newspaper chain, will go through another round of layoffs soon, with an announcement possible in the next few days, executives said Tuesday. The company’s United States and British newspaper divisions eliminated more than 10,000 jobs in 2007 and 2008, including about 2,000 layoffs last fall, and Gannett executives have said repeatedly that they expect more downsizing, including layoffs. The company, which also owns a chain of television stations and Internet ventures, ended last year with 41,500 employees, including 35,800 in its newspaper divisions. On Gannett Blog, a former Gannett editor who closely...

01:49 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 By CHRIS HAWES / WFAA-TV FORT WORTH - Fort Worth has received national attention after a controversial inspection at a gay bar. The nation's largest gay and lesbian civil rights organization has called for an investigation, and they're not alone. Council member Kathleen Hicks said she wants the community to know that there is a recourse for complaints such as the ones that arose after officers were accused of violence without just cause. Seven were arrested and one hospitalized after violence broke out during a raid at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort...

The National Republican Senatorial Committee spent nearly $1 million on Norm Coleman’s legal fees to back the Republican's appeals and draw out the Minnesota Senate race. But now that the state Supreme Court made its final ruling, NRSC Chairman John Cornyn said he "respects" Coleman's decision to concede: "Throughout the last several months, Senate Republicans have made clear that the people of Minnesota, not politicians in Washington, should decide this election. Now that the courts have spoken, I join Norm in respecting that decision and moving forward to address the important issues facing our country....

Please FReep this poll!

Alaskan Governor and GOP 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin may be nice looking, but she sure wasn’t a very good candidate is the bottom line of Vanity Fair’s 9,920-word profile about her released Tuesday. The comments about her beauty weren't entirely complimentary, either. Vanity Fair writer Todd S. Purdum said her looks probably hurt her as much it helped win voters during the campaign. The brunt of his article, the notion that she was never suited to run nationally, relied heavily on unattributed quotes from McCain campaign staffers who felt she wasn’t up to snuff and refused properly study...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday that the Pentagon is looking into “more humane” ways to comply with a law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Gates said that the Pentagon’s general counsel is exploring ways of making the law, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” more flexible until it is eventually changed, according to the Pentagon’s news service. Gates' remarks, made aboard a military plane on the way to Germany on Tuesday, come one day after President Obama reiterated his support for repealing the 1993 ban during a reception with gay and lesbian advocacy...

Today, al-Qaeda threatened France over the ostensible issue of the burqa. Tommorrow, America will be in their gun sights on this same issue. The burqa, niqab–even hijab–are being used as pawns in the power struggle between jihadic Islam and the West. These dress codes are primarily political in nature. For those people who really and truly believe that the burqa is a religious and not a political/jihadic issue–consider this: According to the United States monitoring service SITE Intelligence, Al-Qaeda, has just announced that it plans to “take revenge on France for its opposition to the burka, calling on Muslims to...

Finally, the burgeoning Nirther movement is starting to attract some serious celebrity star power, as the great one, Pat Boone, leverages his considerable gravitas to demand {...} : Mr. Obama, Show Us Your Birth Certificate.

Yesterday I posted a video which showed some of the media turning on Obama and Co. I stated that Obama should enjoy the next 3 1/2 years, because the country is already becoming fed up with him and his policies. Now Our Country Deserves Better has come out with a great video attack on Obama and here is a preview. You guys will love this, the tide is turning on Dictator Obama.

It received much fanfare, speculation and criticism when it was first introduced both in February and in March. Now, the Private Public Investment Program (PPIP) is about set to launch. Secretary Geithner first talked about this in February. When he made his initial speech on the matter, he was very vague and general. The market proceeded to plunge four hundred points in the aftermath. Secretary Geithner came back in March with a much more detailed plan and the market responded more favorably. The plan is extremely complicated and it's ultimately unclear if it will work. It has also since gone...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford declared his Argentine mistress his soul mate Tuesday but said he is committed to reconciling with his wife in hopes of saving his family and what is left of his political career. Sanford, who also admitted meeting his lover more times than he had previously claimed, told The Associated Press in emotional interviews that he "crossed lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage. But he said he never went as far as he did with Maria Belen Chapur, the woman at the center of...

If the government wants to spend money on a program — presuming it’s unwilling to simply roll the printing presses — it must choose between two ways of acquiring the needed funds. It can borrow the money, or it can raise it through taxation. Neither source is ideal. The disadvantage of raising taxes is obvious. The disadvantage of borrowing stems from markets taking notice, and — if you do it often and irresponsibly enough — punishing you for it.

Hurdia victoria was originally described in 1912 as a crustacean-like animal. Now, researchers from Uppsala University and colleagues reveal it to be just one part of a complex and remarkable new animal that has an important story to tell about the origin of the largest group of living animals, the arthropods. The fossil fragments puzzled together come from the famous 505 million year old Burgess Shale, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in British Columbia, Canada. Uppsala researchers Allison Daley and Graham Budd at the Department of Earth Sciences, together with colleagues in Canada and Britain, describe the convoluted history and...

Who’s behind the Cap-and-Tax 8 Republicans? You won’t be surprised. Kevin Mooney at the Examiner reports: Rep. Kirk of Illinois, for instance, was among the top 20 recipients of PAC donations from environmental groups in the 2008 election cycle. He received $1,000 from the League of Conservation Voters (PAC), $4,000 from Ocean Champions (PAC) and $4,000 from Republicans for Environmental Protection (PAC). In this same cycle Republicans for Environmental Protection also donated $4,000 in PAC funds to Rep. Reichert.

“I am deeply disappointed in the decision made by the state Supreme Court, and I share the frustration of Minnesota’s voters. At the core of our democracy lies two concrete principles: No valid vote should go uncounted and all votes should be treated equally. Sadly, those principles were not adhered to during this election. While I would have proudly stood behind Norm Coleman had he chosen to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, I know that his decision to withdraw from this race was not an easy one, but one that he felt was the best decision for the people...