by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.
President Bush is apparently shifting the goal posts for measuring Iraq success by adding a new indicator of success, alliances with the tribal and local groups that once were part of the insurgency but are now working with U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda.
U.S. military commanders disagreed with the harsh critique of Iraqi progress by the General Accountability Office saying it contained factual errors.
Iraqi civilian deaths haven't declined because of the surge started in February according to the GAO's assessment of the military's data.
Sen. Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign from the Senate following his Minneapolis conviction after being charged with lewd behavior in a public restroom.
The District of Columbia asked the Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision that overturned the city's gun ban setting up a situation in which, if the high court takes the case, it could issue a historic decision on whether the Second Amendment provided a constitutional right to own a handgun.
Terrorism suspects were arrested in Germany before executing their plot, according to government officials, of attacking a U.S. military base and Frankfurt airport.
The economic sanctions against Teheran have had the unintended consequence of increasing the power of the theocratic state's leaders.
The shift of primaries to earlier dates are raising pressures on election officials who must navigate the complexities of absentee ballots, new voting machines, and poll workers, and make them sure everything works on election day.
Federal and state banking officials urged lenders to restructure the loans of millions of homeowners at risk of defaulting because their adjustable-rate mortgages are about to reset to higher rates.
The Army exceeded its August recruiting goal by 528 through the use of bonuses and extra recruiters.
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Comments
We will soon see just how much those "original intent" preachers on the Supreme Court really believe in it. The Founding Fathers wanted militia men to be sllowed to keep their weapon in their homes. It is not conceivable that they intended for every highwayman and brigand to have the right to bear arms. My guess is that the bunch of right wing activists on the court will support the overturn of the DC law.
Posted by: c. perry | September 5, 2007 10:14 AM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0906lawsep06,1,4532387.story
Darned Liberal media! Always making exceptions to support Democrats.
Posted by: Tony | September 5, 2007 10:36 AM
How unusual for Bush to shift the goal posts yet again. At this point though, he's moved them so many times, and planted them so many places, it's like the equivalant of moving real goal posts from Soldier Field to, say, Des Moines.
Posted by: Gibster | September 5, 2007 11:14 AM
Since the Swamp saw fit to run an article on actor Leonardo DeCaprio's new "eco-movie", some follow-up is in order. Drudgereport.com is reporting that the movie is a box office disaster. The money quote from the article:
"I hesitated to say before "11th Hour" actually opened how mind-numbingly dull it was for fear that I would ruin it for those interested in the subject of global warming. But at Cannes, when the film by Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen was shown to journalists, nearly the entire room fell asleep.
A Russian filmmaker told us afterward that she was the only person in the room who was awake at one point.
I can believe it. "The 11th Hour" is grindingly boring. Basically, a series of scientists, one after another, warn the audience that the world is coming to an end. These talking heads are interspersed with stock footage of melting glaciers. The film has the effect of Ambien — with no hangover post-nap."
Posted by: Bruce | September 5, 2007 11:45 AM