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By Sheldon S. Wolin
$19.77
By Robert Kuttner
$17.79
$17
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Flickr / jurvetson
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Arguing in a video message to supporters that “the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken,” Barack Obama announced Thursday that he will not accept public funds. John McCain would like to cast that decision as a major flip-flop, but as the Los Angeles Times notes, he’s got issues of his own.
Posted on Jun 19, 2008
14 COMMENTS 
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bbc.co.uk
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President Bush called for a speedy end to the ban on offshore oil drilling in American coastal waters Wednesday, chiding his congressional challengers by declaring that there’s “no excuse for delay” in lifting the “outdated and counterproductive” restrictions. However, some of his political opponents on this issue, like California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, are giving him heat from his own side of the political aisle.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008
86 COMMENTS
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Flickr / Steve Rhodes / VictoryNH: Protect our Primary
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Michelle Obama has a nine-point edge over Cindy McCain in the race for America’s hearts and minds, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll. But neither of the aspiring first ladies has a majority of America’s approval. Really, America, whatever one thinks of their husbands, it’s time to cut the wives some slack.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008
21 COMMENTS
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DoD / Sgt. Luis R. Agostini
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President Bush is trying to wrap up a new status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi government before the U.N. resolution under which the U.S. operates its occupation runs out. Team Bush has made some concessions to the Maliki government, but there’s one sticking point that threatens an agreement: veto power over military operations.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008
13 COMMENTS
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Northrop Grumman
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Boeing has friends in high places, as evidenced by the congressional Government Accountability Office siding Wednesday with the U.S. aviation giant in a protest against a multibillion-dollar refueling tanker contract that was awarded earlier this year to a U.S.-Europe team.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008
2 COMMENTS
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urbanprarie.net
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After coming to its public relations senses, medical firm Johnson & Johnson has decided it wouldn’t be wise to proceed with a lawsuit against the Red Cross charity over a trademark agreement made in 1895. The initial case was brought by the firm after the Red Cross began to sell safety kits to fundraise for its many disaster-relief campaigns.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008
3 COMMENTS
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UNHCR / John Wreford
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A U.N. report Tuesday estimated the number of the world’s displaced refugees in 2007 at 11.4 million, a majority of which the U.N. says come from the U.S.-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Analysts also say the number of refugees threatens to grow even more due to new concerns such as climate change, environmental degradation and increasingly scarce resources.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008
1 COMMENT
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trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com
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Some challenges to Sen. Barack Obama’s potential presidential authority might be considered covertly racist, but here’s one that baldly revels in its ignorance: At last weekend’s Republican state convention in Texas, a vendor booth hosted by Republicanmarket pushed a pin that brought racial politics to the fore in the most blatant and unproductive possible way.
Posted on Jun 17, 2008
13 COMMENTS
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Flickr / dsearis
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John McCain is hoping that Americans, particularly those living in coastal states, are so sick of high gas prices they won’t mind a little extra offshore drilling. That’s a risky assessment according to The Politico and the former head of the Florida GOP, who said that back before fuel costs skyrocketed it “would have been like pulling a pin on a grenade and rolling it into the state.”
Posted on Jun 17, 2008
10 COMMENTS
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commons.wikimedia.org
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With statements such as “if the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong” guiding our government’s thinking during the formation and implementation of interrogation techniques, it’s no wonder Carl Levin and others were outraged in the Senate on Tuesday.
Posted on Jun 17, 2008
11 COMMENTS
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AP photo / Oded Balilty
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Egypt has brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to end fighting in Gaza. The agreement calls for a six-month cease-fire, and the possibility of reopening Gaza’s borders and returning a captured Israeli soldier.
Posted on Jun 17, 2008
8 COMMENTS
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DoD / Cherie A. Thurlby
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Conservative columnist Robert Novak has reported that John McCain wants to make Joe Lieberman his running mate, but knows that he can’t for political reasons. That hypothetical ticket, possibly the least charismatic ever, would at least afford Lieberman the opportunity to complete his journey to the dark side.
Posted on Jun 17, 2008
5 COMMENTS
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Flickr / maveric2003
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The United States has long enjoyed lecturing the communist government of China over the conduct of that nation’s economy. How times have changed. Chinese officials have recently criticized the United States’ “warped conception” of regulation, among other economic blunders.
Posted on Jun 17, 2008
5 COMMENTS
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AP photo / Mel Evans, File
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During the final stages of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, a common refrain emerged among some of her more ardent supporters: If Barack Obama wins the nomination, we’re backing John McCain. Now that the dust has settled somewhat after Clinton’s concession, Obama is working to clarify the differences between his positions and McCain’s when it comes to issues that impact the lives of female voters.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008
2 COMMENTS
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AP photo / Tony Avelar, file
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On Monday, gay and lesbian couples celebrated the California Supreme Court’s recent lifting of the ban on gay marriage by, well, getting married. Tuesday is expected to be a bigger day, though, for devoted duos to make it official, as that’s the day when most California counties are slated to start giving gay couples marriage licenses.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008
7 COMMENTS
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Patti Solis Doyle was once one of Hillary Clinton’s closest advisers, but after the senator’s presidential ambitions took a nose dive, Doyle was essentially fired and reportedly no longer speaks to her longtime friend. Now the former Clinton campaign manager works for Barack Obama—a sign, Clinton insiders say, that the New Yorker won’t be invited to join the ticket.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008
1 COMMENT
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Flickr / World Economic Forum
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The former vice president is throwing his political capital behind the Democrats’ presumptive nominee. “From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States,” Gore blogged on Monday.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008
14 COMMENTS
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The Associated Press over the weekend challenged the very format of blogging, prompting an immediate boycott and, almost as quickly, a reversal. The blogosphere began organizing a bipartisan boycott after AP informed the Drudge Retort that its excerpts of AP stories—some as short as 39 words—were a violation of copyright. The news cooperative has since retreated, saying it will work toward “better and more positive” guidelines.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008
2 COMMENTS
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z.about.com
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If authoring a war against innocent civilians abroad and civil liberties at home wasn’t enough, George W. Bush is toying with the idea of writing a book upon leaving the Oval Office in January.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008
22 COMMENTS
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Flickr / BBQ Junkie
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Here’s a little something to get that dad or grad you may have missed these last couple of weeks: Honda is rolling out the first commercially available hydrogen fuel-cell car. They get great mileage, emit only water vapor and run real smooth, provided they don’t Hindenburg. True to form, some Southern Californians are already on the waiting list.
Posted on Jun 15, 2008
19 COMMENTS
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AP photo / Francois Mori
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Despite two major challenges to the U.S. from Iraq on Friday—in the form of a breakdown in negotiations between the two nations over long-term plans for U.S. involvement there and Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s renewed call to arms against U.S. forces in Iraq—President Bush maintained a positive tone while discussing American-Iraqi relations on the Parisian leg of his current European tour.
Posted on Jun 14, 2008
31 COMMENTS
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AP photo / Allauddin Khan
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A nighttime raid on Kandahar’s Sarposa Prison, carried out by Taliban operatives Friday, led to the escape of 1,200 prisoners, including around 400 Taliban members. The attack represented a serious security challenge in the Afghan city that’s considered the traditional home of the country’s leaders and the Taliban’s spiritual center.
Posted on Jun 14, 2008
7 COMMENTS
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flickr/hyku
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Veteran journalist and “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert died Friday of an apparent heart attack while recording voice-overs for Sunday’s show, according to NBC. Russert, 58, was also the network’s Washington bureau chief and had grilled politicians and public figures on “Meet the Press” since 1991.
Posted on Jun 13, 2008
39 COMMENTS
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washingtonpost.com
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The third time’s no charm for Fox News, which has been forced yet again to apologize to Barack Obama for making racist comments against the presumed Democratic nominee. This marks the third “oops” moment for the television channel, all in the span of only two weeks.
Posted on Jun 13, 2008
18 COMMENTS
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joezuikerforcongress.com
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Pork, as in earmarks, not as in pig, is again in vogue this political season only a year after a 2007 congressional promise to curb what some call wasteful spending in politicians’ home districts. At the top of the earmarking ladder is the defense authorization bill (read military-industrial complex), which saw a 29 percent increase in district spending since 2007.
Posted on Jun 13, 2008
5 COMMENTS
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Military Action Against Iran ‘Would Destabilize Iraq’
