by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.
As recovery efforts continued in Minneapolis following the bridge collapse, with federal officials promising money to rebuild and a weekend presidential visit to the disaster site scheduled, engineers said the bridge failure underscored the deterioration of the nation's once vaunted interstate highway system.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and his Dawa political party appeared unable to move political reconciliation forward because of their tendency to be inward looking and suspicious of other political players instead of inclusive.
The State Department is offering its foreign-service officers plum assignments in the highly sought postings like London and Paris if first they agree to a year-long Iraq posting.
The Senate, following the House, approved a marked expansion of a federal health insurance program aimed at children of working poor parents, essentially daring pressure President Bush to carry through on a veto threat.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved lobbying reform legislation, clearing the bill, which despite its far-reaching changes still has many critics, to be sent to President Bush's desk.
A new federal effort to enforce immigration laws by cracking down on the employment of illegal immigrants, a plan that would require employers to fire workers who can't adequately explain discrepancies in their Social Security accounts, is being criticized as a potential threat to even some legal workers.
More doctors are refusing, on religious grounds, to use a growing range of therapies for patients including artificial insemination and prescribing Viagra, raising questions about the balance between First Amendment religious freedom and discrimination.
The YearlyKos convention of political progressives began in Chicago with seven of the eight Democratic presidential candidates as well as top congressional leaders scheduled to appear, a measure of the gathering's importance.
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Simic, a native of the former Yugoslavia who learned English only after immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager, was named the nation's new poet laureate.
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Comments
"Many doctors are refusing, on religious grounds". I will bet that this is not a common problem and not a significant percentage of doctors are involved in this sort of nonsense. This is one of those contrived problems.
Posted by: c. perry | August 3, 2007 9:00 AM
Not reported in the Swamp or the Trib so far. The Washington Post headlines on another example of John Edwards' hypocrisy:
"Former senator John Edwards, who has been throwing punches at Rupert Murdoch and his Fox News Channel, demanded yesterday that the other Democratic presidential candidates return contributions from Murdoch's media conglomerate.
"John Edwards will never ask Rupert Murdoch for money -- he won't accept his money," said a statement e-mailed to supporters.
Not so fast, Murdoch's people say. His publishing unit, HarperCollins, paid Edwards a $500,000 advance -- and $300,000 in expenses -- for his 2006 book "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives."
"We assume the senator is going to give back the money from his advance," News Corp. spokesman Brian Lewis said."
Posted by: Bruce | August 3, 2007 10:47 AM
Another DC story not yet reported in the Swamp or the Trib:
"An outrage was committed on the House floor tonight. I still can't quite believe what happened. While voting on a motion to recommit for the agricultural appropriations legislation, the presiding chair (who is a Democrat member) gaveled the vote closed. The tally was clear and the vote was over. The Republicans had won. Then, realizing what had happened - the Dems allowed just their people to keep voting to change the result. Let's be clear, this wasn't holding the vote open - they changed the results of a vote that was legally declared over.
Rep. Eric Cantor wrote a (blog post) describing what happened.
This is an insult to our democracy, something that Stalin would recognize. It is an unprecedented violation of our democracy that can not be allowed to stand. Do we live in a democracy or a dictatorship?
And, what was so important that the Dems went to all this trouble -- it was a vote to ensure that illegal immigrants couldn't get taxpayer funding in the agriculture bill. The Dems are so opposed to this, that they would violate our democracy."
This would be page 1 news if Republicans did it to Democrats.
Posted by: Bruce | August 3, 2007 11:33 AM
The Fox News Candidate
If you were running for the Republican presidential nomination, whose support would be worth the equivalent of many millions in campaign dollars? Newt? Nah. Bush? Ha. Try Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News and former media adviser to Richard Nixon.
Mr. Ailes was the media consultant to Mr. Giuliani’s first mayoral campaign in 1989. Mr. Giuliani, as mayor, officiated at Mr. Ailes’s wedding and intervened on his behalf when Mr. Ailes’s company, Fox News Channel, was blocked from securing a cable station in the city.
This year, they were tablemates at the White House correspondents dinner, which Mr. Giuliani attended as a guest of Fox’s parent company, the News Corporation.
The festival of back-scratching continues with Giuliani's presidential campaign. Despite Fox claims of impartiality, Giuliani has certainly been getting his turn as the scratchee.
So far this year, one political journal found, Mr. Giuliani has logged more time on Fox interview programs than any other candidate. Most of the time has been spent with Sean Hannity, an acknowledged admirer of the former mayor, according to the data compiled by the journal, known as The Hotline.
Should Rudy ever get the opportunity, I'm sure Roger -- and Rupert -- have a few ideas about how he might pay them back for their favoritism.
With all the rope that Ailes is tossing Giuliani, the wonder is not that the Democratic presidential candidates won't conduct a debate on Fox, the wonder is that the Republican candidates will agree to debate on a network that already has it's champion (Rudy), a guy who sometimes wears a dress and was once married to his cousin.
You gotta love those Fox Noise Channel Wankers....NOT!
Posted by: John E | August 3, 2007 12:30 PM
How about it, Swamp? Are you really going to ignore the Edwards story that's the hot political item in every newspaper today?
How many examples of hypocrisy, exactly, do you need from Mr. Two Americas?
Worst of all, Edwards' original statement was an attack on Hillary. He didn't even know where he, himself, got the advance on his book from and attacked another candidate for taking money from Murdoch. $480,000 more than Hillary got at that! Edwards is the new John Kerry, a gift that keeps on giving to the right.
You guys are a joke if you don't post an item on this.
Posted by: Hillaryis44 | August 3, 2007 1:51 PM
Hey "Hillaryis44",
Is this the story you were talking about.
Republican Lawmakers Are Hard At Work Passing The Bills That America Really Cares About (not Iraq):
(R) Senator from Kentucky hits the sauce again:
Everyone's favorite former ballplaying Republican got a 'heritage' motion passed on the Senate floor yesterday:
S.RES.294 [110th]
Title: A resolution designating September 2007 as "National Bourbon Heritage Month".
Sponsor: Sen Bunning, Jim [R-KY] (introduced 8/2/2007)
Latest Major Action: 8/2/2007 Passed/agreed to in Senate.
Status: Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.
Former Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, who sponsored 2003's 'Freedom Fries' change in the Congressional cafetarias, issued a statement from his jail cell in response:
"It's all well and good that my friend from Kentucky seeks to honor his state's patriotic American distillers of fine liquors," Ney said in his jailhouse statement.
He went on, "But Bourbon is far too French a name to honor a uniquely American drink. When we raise our glasses, the embodiment of a French royal family should not be what we tipple."
Instead, Ney announced a petition of his own.
"I call on Congress to change the name of Bourbon to 'Freedom Fire Water,' herewith," he said.
Posted by: John E | August 3, 2007 2:34 PM