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WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – A detainee transfer and two base renaming ceremonies recently signified the changing role of U.S. forces in Iraq. Soldiers salute behind a tribute to Army Staff Sgt. Todd Olson during a base renaming ceremony in Samarra, Iraq, June 30, 2009. The base had been named in honor of Olson, who was killed in an attack in Samarra in 2006. It is now called Fond'k Abo Hera. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jazz Burney   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Iraqi officials traveled to the Remembrance II theater internment facility on Camp Cropper in Baghdad...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – Iraqi forces, aided by coalition advisors, arrested suspected terrorists, including an insurgent cell leader, in operations in Iraq yesterday, military officials reported. Members of an Iraqi Emergency Response Brigade, along with coalition advisors, arrested a suspected key leader of an insurgent cell in Ladafiyah. The suspect is believed to be tied to terrorist activities against coalition and Iraqi security forces in the area. Elsewhere, the Iraqi National Police Justice Battalion, with coalition advisors, arrested a suspected terrorist in Salahuddin province. The suspect is believed to have emplaced roadside bombs and supplied terrorists in the province...

hey Say/We Say The debate over Palin is sort of ossified. The Left continues to ridicule her accent, family, and middling roots. The Right enjoys such authenticity-but enjoys even more the hysteria it incurs in liberals. Will it Be Politics or Money? But lost in all of this is whether she is up to national politics, or simply wishes to capitalize (an Oprah-like talk show?) on her sizable financial potential. On the one hand, Palin is obviously bright. Few could raise a family without capital in Wasilla, and within a decade end up as Governor of a large state-whose protocols...

Mike Cox Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox today threw his support behind the National Rifle Association's challenge of a City of Chicago ordinance banning possession of most handguns by filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. Cox's amicus brief -- a document filed in court by someone not directly related to a case -- supports the request by the NRA to the Supreme Court for an appeal of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in June favoring the City of Chicago.At least 33 other states support the NRA's request for the court to hear an appeal in...

Despite announcing her resignation as Alaskan governor with 18 months to spare, Sarah Palin is still a sought-after asset in the Republican Party. The Des Moines Register is reporting that Iowan Republicans have extended a hand to Palin to headline the annual Reagan Day Dinner, set for this fall. Iowa GOP Executive Director Jeff Boeyink told the Register that the party had been pursuing Palin since January and that her resignation has increased the effort to secure her at the fundraising event. Boeyink's confirmation came after Senator Chuck Grassley told the The Des Moines Register Wednesday that he believes Palin...

Listen to the Reagan - Obama debate...Ronald Reagan blows away Barack Obama on socialism, healthcare, the Consititution and Liberty.

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – From the use of newspapers and pamphlets to stoke the American Revolution to embedded journalists in the War in Iraq, the media has played a major role in every American conflict. A story often lost in the mix is that of military journalists -- men and women in uniform whose weapon of choice isn’t an M4 carbine with a laser sight, but a D3 with a 17-to-200mm lens. Members of the Air Force’s Combat Camera team spoke in a July 7 “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable about their role in documenting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan....

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the chief culprits in the housing crisis because they encouraged people who could not afford payments to borrow money, according to a congressional report released Tuesday. The claims in the report have long been advanced by conservatives, who argue that the Community Reinvestment Act and other federal programs fed the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and led to the economic downfall in 2008. But the report explains in detail how Fannie and Freddie -- government sponsored enterprises (GSE) that were not subject to the same oversight as other publicly traded firms -- “privatized...

The fed, Under Obama's personal direction, has begun printing mo money. No word yet as the China's reaction. Click here for more to this story

The headline: The “good news.” NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims fell sharply last week, while those filing ongoing claims rose to another all-time high, according to government data released Thursday. There were 565,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended July 4, down 52,000 from a revised 617,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest number since January and was below the consensus estimate of 603,000 from economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Analysts said last week’s drop was distorted by a change in the pattern of seasonal layoffs in...

BAGHDAD, July 9, 2009 – A San Antonio-based Army Reserve unit is getting much praise for its road improvements around Baghdad. A bulldozer operator with the 277th Engineer Company completes the ripping process for the reshaping of a roadway on Victory Base Complex in Iraq, July 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. George Velez  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The “Dirt Devils” of the 277th Engineer Company have wrapped up resurfacing and upgrades to the roadways north of Western Bypass Road connecting Camp Liberty and Camp Victory here. The Soldiers worked to keep the road serviceable so...

Burris Won't Run in 2010 By Emily Pierce Roll Call Staff July 9, 2009, 6:14 p.m. Burris Won't Run in 2010 House Chairmen Thumb Noses at White House Health Care Deal Updated: 6:48 p.m. Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) will announce Friday that he will not seek election to a full term in 2010, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Burris’ office issued a press release Thursday evening saying the Senator would make a “major announcement” Friday during a scheduled speech at the Chicago South Loop Hotel. However, his spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. Burris’ decision is likely based on...

Operation Falcon, a multiagency effort led by the U.S. Marshals Service, nabbed 258 fugitives in Minnesota during the week of June 22, officials announced Thursday. Fugitives included 18 sex offenders and at least nine known gang members, and all of the fugitives were considered violent, officials said. The number of arrests this year during the one-week sweep from Duluth to Rochester doubled the number of arrests last year, said Michael McGinn, U.S. marshal for the state of Minnesota.

North African extremist group, whose senior leaders were crucial allies of Osama bin Laden, has denounced terrorism and become the first organisation ever to leave al-Qaeda. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which once sought to overthrow Col Muammar Gaddafi, dealt a blow to bin Laden by reversing a decision made in 2007 to join al-Qaeda. A statement from the LIFG leadership criticised "indiscriminate bombings" and the "targeting of civilians", saying that violence "did not achieve the aims of the group in removing oppression". Al-Qaeda has come under mounting pressure in recent months. Missile attacks executed by American drones in...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic official says Roland Burris will not run for a full Senate term in 2010. The source says Burris has begun informing Democratic officials about his decision. The official spoke anonymously because Burris had yet to announce his decision publicly.

Thomas Boyd/The OregonianOregon State Police troopers on Wednesday remove an anti-logging protester from the Elliott State Forest near Reedsport. Police arrested the final four logging protesters in the Elliott State Forest today, including one who had rappelled down from a tree during the night and was later caught about four miles from the site.The arrests brought to 27 the number of protesters taken into custody for blocking access to a timber sale near Reedsport, in Douglas County. Oregon State Police and Douglas County sheriff's deputies arrested 23 people at the scene Wednesday, including some who had chained themselves inside...

DETROIT, July 9 (UPI) -- A well-dressed Detroit panhandler says his silk suits and London Fog trench coat , all obtained for free from a Catholic church, help him make money. Kirby Jack Green, 58, told The Detroit News he has been able to collect enough, an average of $150 a week, to pay for a small apartment to stow his wardrobe. He works the sidewalks around city hall, waiting for drivers or pedestrians to ask for directions, and then adds a request for bus fare to his response. Green keeps his wardrobe in good shape, using an ironing board...

There is something in Danny Eaglesfield's pale blue eyes that wasn't there a week ago. He still looks ridiculously young. And, at only 5ft 4in in height, he seems barely tall enough to lift his rifle. But the wide-eyed youthfulness I saw when I first met him on the eve of battle last Friday has been replaced. A loss of innocence? Certainly. For Danny Eaglesfield has experienced a great tragedy this past week. His closest friend, Robbie Laws, was killed by a Taliban rocket as the pair of them travelled in the same vehicle, side by side to the last....

Lectures in Medieval History -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Great Famine (1315-1317) and the Black Death (1346-1351) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 14th century was an era of catastrophes. Some of them man-made, such as the Hundred Years' War, the Avignon Papacy, and the Great Schism. These were caused by human beings, and we shall consider them a bit later. There were two more or less natural disasters either of which one would think would have been sufficient to throw medieval Europe into a real "Dark Ages": the Great Famine and the Black Death. Each caused millions of deaths, and each in its way demonstrated in...

The world's most powerful media moguls are "very bearish" on the economy, but they don't seem to be blaming President Obama for the tough times, Rupert Murdoch says. Apart from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, both owned by News Corp., the media "remains very supportive of him, perhaps not of all of his policies," Murdoch told Stuart Varney of Fox Business Network. Speaking during an interview with Varney on Thursday at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, the News Corp. chairman and CEO also criticized the stimulus bill that was supposed to have juiced the...