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Kerry: Bush officials 'so discredited' they're not relevant to Syria debate By Julian Pecquet - 09/05/13 08:41 PM ET Bush administration officials are “so discredited” by the war in Iraq that their criticism of President Obama on Syria is irrelevant, Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. Kerry's comments on MSNBC's “All in with Chris Hayes” come after former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday called Obama the nation's “so-called commander in chief.” And Bush's hawkish ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said Tuesday he'd vote “no” to avoid “taking sides.” “It just doesn't make a difference to...

ANNAPOLIS (AP) — Maryland's highest court yesterday rejected a case filed by Republican lawmakers to overturn taxes approved during last year's special General Assembly session. The suit by the lawmakers and a Carroll County businessman stated the Democrat-controlled Assembly violated a constitutional provision when the Senate took a long break without permission of the House. As a result, they said, the whole session was invalid. During the session, lawmakers raised more than $1.3 billion in new taxes to help close a budget shortfall. The state Court of Appeals rejected the claim without comment after a hearing Tuesday. A longer ruling...