Monday edition -  October 16, 2006

I wonder what October Surprise the GOP has in store for the Democrats?

"President Bush at a press conference is like the dumb kid in school gets called up to the blackboard. You feel bad for him, but there's nothing you can do to help." --Jimmy Kimmel

The-World-Is-A-Safer-Place-Without-Saddam News

• U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,766 AP

• A look at US deaths in Afghan fighting Akron Farm Report, NE

• www.iraqbodycount.org

• 5 Americans Killed in Iraq, Bringing Month’s Toll to 53 New York Times

• Weekend toll in Iraq: 83 bodies CNN

• Two Marines killed in enemy action Sunday International Herald Tribune, France

• Blast kills ten in Iraq ITV.com, UK 

• 8 bullet-ridden bodies found in Baghdad AP

• Sunnis flee fighting that has killed 91 AP

• Brother of Saddam prosecutor is killed AP

• Saddam says Iraq 'liberation is at hand' AP

• U.S. citizen facing execution in Iraq AP

• Iraq Delays National Talks Amid Killings ABC News

• Thousands fleeing Iraq daily in 'silent exodus'-UN Reuters AlertNet

• US army relies on IBM to translate Arabic Inquirer

• US wasted chance to improve the world: Gorbachev Washington Post

• High oil prices swell the coffers of Arab nations HeraldNet, WA

Messenger Shortage

The number of embedded journalists reporting alongside U.S. troops in Iraq has dropped to its lowest level of the war even as the conflict heats up on the streets of Baghdad and in the U.S. political campaign.

In the past few weeks, the number of journalists reporting assigned to U.S. military units in Iraq has settled to below two dozen. Late last month, it fell to 11, its lowest, and has rebounded only slightly since.

 

“It's a lot safer than it was when he didn't go the first time.” — Ben Barnes
the former Texas lieutenant governor, when asked if he had any advice for President Bush as he prepares for his first-ever trip to Vietnam next month

Disturbing News

• Hawaiians Reeling From Strong Earthquake ABC News

• Unnamed ranch scoured for E. coli clues San Jose Mercury News

• Antarctic ice collapse linked to greenhouse gases Reuters

If you think the worst thing Congress doesn't protect young people from is Mark Foley, wake up and smell the burning planet. The ice caps are cracking, the coral reefs are bleaching, and we're losing two species an hour. The birds have bird flu, the cows have mad cow, and our poisoned groundwater has turned spinach into a side dish of mass destruction. Our schools are shooting galleries, our beaches are cancer wards, and under George W. Bush -- for the first time in 45 years -- our country's infant mortality rate actually went up. -  Bill Maher

Click here for video

Top Ten George W. Bush great moments - YouTube.com

Republican Shenanigans

• GOP chief denies helping Abramoff AP

• 2 GOP Senators Want New Iraq Strategy ABC News

• Scalia debates head of ACLU on TV AP

• Sept. surplus can't get feds out of red AP

• U.S. coal plant boom poses big questions AP

• Anti-war mom gets `cruel' returned mail Chicago Tribune

• Weldon faces probe on daughter's deals AP

• Rep. Murtha blasts GOP for name-calling AP

• Rices MotherinLaw Comment Raises Conservative Hackles USA Religious News, MN 

"Boy, he is a strange looking guy, that Kim Jong-Il guy is. He's little. He's got the big pompadour. Looks like Wayne Newton and William Hung had a kid." - Jay Leno

The Nut Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

At this month's christening of the nuclear aircraft carrier bearing his name, former President George H.W. Bush delivered a rousing endorsement of his son.
"I am very proud of our President," the elder Bush said in rain-swept ceremonies in Newport News, Va. "I support him in every single way with every fiber in my body."

Yet many of his closest former aides beg to differ.
 

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 264

Rock-The-Voter News

• Murtha accuses administration of 'baseless name-calling' in Iraq ... Mohave Valley News, NV

• GOP strategies for blue-state victories The Christian Science Monitor

• Poll: Democrat leads in Foley's district AP

• Husband of Pirro Says He's Not Getting Enough Attention WXXA

• Black US senator not ruling out White House run AFP

• Poll: Senate race in Virginia about even AP

• Tony Snow is raising cash and eyebrows International Herald Tribune, France 

Nation Building

Hard behind U.S. tanks and troops, America's big builders invaded Iraq three years ago. Now the reconstruction money is drying up and the builders are pulling out, leaving both completed projects and unfulfilled plans in the hands of an Iraqi government unprepared to manage either one.

"We did get some good news today that -- that thing in North Korea, that thing in North Korea, that was not a nuclear test. No, no, no. Turns out they were just blasting out the foundation for the world's largest nail salon."-- David Letterman

Foley Found in Austin, Texas

Biz/Tech News

• Oil prices rise ahead of possible production cut Kuwait News Agency

• Shake-up at top of UnitedHealth Group AP

• Chrysler struggles to shift unsold inventory: report Reuters

• Divorcees suffer highest debt burden Reuters

• Microsoft warns of PowerPoint attack Techworld.com

• Air America future? Radio watchers split New York Daily News, NY
   

"In a press conference this morning, President Bush said that he has no intentions of attacking North Korea. Then Bush said, 'However, I can't speak for Donald Rumsfeld.'." --Conan O'Brien
 

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Abu Ghraib officer faces hearing AP

• 2 Ordered Not to Discuss Gitmo Claims KFMB, CA 

• Guantanamo detainees go to Afghanistan Boston Globe
   

Go-F***-Yourself News

• Cheney Visits Fort Campbell WRCB-TV, TN 

Palm Beach asked Donald Trump Tuesday to scale down the new American flag he raised over his house because it's fifteen times larger than the town code allows. It's surprising. Most guys compensating for anatomical shortcomings just buy a Corvette. - Argus Hamilton, comedian

US Mail: Lisa Casey  PO Box 88  Ashford, AL 36312

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