by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.
Jose Padilla, the once-alleged "dirty bomber," and two co-defendants were convicted by a federal jury on terrorism conspiracy charges, giving the Bush Administration a victory in a case that the U.S. citizen and former Chicagoan will likely appeal in part because of his one-time detention as an enemy combatant.
The repeated sell-offs in the financial markets largely based on the crisis in the mortgage sector raise the possibility of a recession late this year or next, especially as anxious lenders make it harder for even good borrowers to get loans, according to analysts.
Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, said it tapped a $11.5 billion credit facility arranged through a global banking consortium to help it continue its operations and help stave off a bankruptcy that experts say could have a chilling affect on already skittish international financial markets.
U.S. embassies have been plagued with construction problems during the State Department's $5 billion building program, focusing the spotlight on the retired Army general who oversees the program and has been criticized for poor management in high profile jobs in the past.
Heavily redacted notes recorded by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller's contradicted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's version of the circumstances surrounding then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales's controversial 2004 visit to the hospital room of his Justice Department predecessor John Ashcroft.
NASA decided not to repair heat-resistant tiles on the space shuttle Endeavor that were damaged on liftoff, saying engineering studies indicated the gouge in the tiles wouldn't endanger the spacecraft on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere and obviating the need for a risk spacewalk to fix the problem.
Congressional Democrats plan to link a controversial tax increase on the private equity and hedge funds that helped to spur merger and buyout activities on Wall Street to continued alternative minimum tax relief for millions of taxpayers, a combination that could prove difficult for President Bush to veto.
John Edwards, the Democratic presidential candidate who has made the plight of the poor his presidential campaign cause, has significant investments in a company whose subprime mortgage units have sued low-income home owners in New Orleans as part of foreclosure proceedings.
Sen. Barack Obama, campaigning at the Iowa State Fair, defended foreign policy statements that have led his opponents to accuse him of being troublingly inexperienced.
The White House announced that Jenna Bush would be marrying Henry Hager, a business school student who once worked at the White House for Karl Rove, whose father is chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and a former lieutenant governor and who First Lady Laura Bush described on television two years ago as "not a serious boyfriend."
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Comments
The New York Times has an article rvealing Giuliani's exagerations, or outright lies, about the time he spent at Ground Zero and his exposure to the health hazards there.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20312799/
If you're going to base your whole Presidential campaign on your actions during a short period of time like that, you should at least be honest about what happened during that period of time.
Posted by: Tony | August 17, 2007 8:50 AM
The New York Times has an article rvealing Giuliani's exagerations, or outright lies, about the time he spent at Ground Zero and his exposure to the health hazards there.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20312799/
If you're going to base your whole Presidential campaign on your actions during a short period of time like that, you should at least be honest about what happened during that period of time.
Posted by: Tony | August 17, 2007 8:52 AM
Some poll results you probably won't read about in the Swamp, since the results aren't good for Obama or the Democrats:
1) The respected Field Poll in California has Clinton up a huge 30% over Obama (49%-19%) among that state's Democrats. See
ttp://www.sacbee.com/111/story/330072.html
for more.
2) The latest Rasmussen Poll has Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani beating Dem front-runner Clinton by 7% (47% to 40%).
Posted by: Bruce | August 17, 2007 9:19 AM
Hey wingnuts,
Now we're learning that Pakistan was supporting the Taliban leading up to 9/11. And this is our so-called ally? Face it, Obama was right about attacking the Afghan-Pakistan border because Pakistan isn't doing squat to help the "war on terror".
http://tinyurl.com/2wg5s3
Posted by: Marko | August 17, 2007 10:15 AM
..."Some poll results you probably won't read about in the Swamp, since the results aren't good for Obama or the Democrats:
1) The respected Field Poll in California has Clinton up a huge 30% over Obama (49%-19%) among that state's Democrats. See
ttp://www.sacbee.com/111/story/330072.html
for more.
2) The latest Rasmussen Poll has Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani beating Dem front-runner Clinton by 7% (47% to 40%).
Posted by: Bruce | August 17, 2007 9:19 AM"...
...yea, right, and Dewey Beats Truman...
Posted by: The Original BZ | August 17, 2007 10:41 AM
"If you're going to base your whole Presidential campaign on your actions during a short period of time like that, you should at least be honest about what happened during that period of time."
You're absolutley right Tony. Good thing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were around in 2004.
"I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for DUTY!!!!!!"
Ha Ha
Posted by: JD | August 17, 2007 1:15 PM