Politics

Feds Secretly Reviewed Bank Data to Fight Terror

Staff / Truthdig Jun 23, 2006 Under a post 9/11 Bush administration program, CIA agents officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database called SWIFT, examining banking transactions involving thousands of Americans without specific warrants in each case. (This program is working in parallel with the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping system) The N.Y. Times has the scoop The Washington Post has government officials confirming the story Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Jon Stewart, Enemy of Democracy?

Staff / Truthdig Jun 23, 2006 Remember when Jon Stewart famously told the "Crossfire" boys that they were "hurting America"? Well, now two political scientists are saying the same thing about Stewart. In a study, students who watched "The Daily Show" developed cynical attitudes about politics, the news media and the electoral system. Actually, more cynicism and skepticism would be helpful in the age of Bush and his Lies. But if, as the study suggests, "The Daily Show" turns young people off from voting, we can't be happy about that. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

CIA Veteran: White House Was Subtle in Twisting Analysts’ Arms

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 The CIA's former top man in the Middle East and South Asia says in a PBS interview that Americans shouldn't be persuaded by official reports that prewar intelligence on Iraq wasn't politicized; twisting the arms of analysts may not have been official policy but it happened nonetheless. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Most Polls Show Wide Support for Iraq Troop Withdrawal

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 Next time you hear a conservative bloviating about how most of the country is united behind "staying the course" in Iraq, you can respond with the truth: Almost every major poll shows strong support for a troop pullout in Iraq, and most Americans declared long ago that the Iraq war was a mistake. Dig deeper

Senate Rejects Calls for Iraq Troop Withdrawal

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 The stricter of the two bills being voted on--a measure that would have mandated a pullout by 2007--went down 86-13 The bill that didn't have a timetable was defeated 60-39, with all but one Republican and six Democrats voting against the measure UPDATE: The Senate is weighing a modest troop reduction in the coming months . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Questions About 3 Republicans’ Land Deals

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 The House speaker cleared a cool $2 million from the sale of land near a highway project that he helped to finance with targeted federal funds. Two other GOP congressmen had similar questionable dealings in their own districts. The Washington Post has the goods. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

GOP Senators Kill Minimum Wage Boost

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 Not even a week after the Congress voted itself a pay raise, the not-so-compassionate conservatives in the Senate voted down any bump in the $5.15 national minimum wage. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fox News Debunks Santorum’s WMD Claim

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 Mere hours after Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) announced breathlessly at a press conference that ?we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,? a Fox news reporter found out that Santorum was hyping a document that describes degraded, pre-1991 munitions already acknowledged and dismissed by the White House?s Iraq Survey Group. Watch Santorum dissemble when confronted with these truths on air. (h/t: Think Progress) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

House Delays Renewal of Voting Rights Act

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 House Republicans canceled a vote to extend the historic act because some said it unfairly singled out Southern states. The "rebellion" was "a significant embarrassment for the party leadership," according to the N.Y. Times. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Joe Conason: On Capitol Hill, a Burning Issue

Joe Conason / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 As the Fourth of July approaches, show your support for our hard-won freedoms: Urge your senator not to make a mockery of them by voting for the flag burning ban. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Hollywood Studio Produces Ad Against Suicide Bombing

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 A Hollywood studio and a Lebanese production company have produced a $1-million public service ad aimed at discouraging suicide bombings. Their funding came from "an independent, non-governmental group of scholars, non-political people," according to an exec. (Via Huff Po) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Suskind: Western Union Gave Transfer Info to Feds

Staff / Truthdig Jun 22, 2006 In the wake of 9/11, the parent company of Western Union gave the FBI information on financial transactions and wire transfers, Ron Suskind charges in his new book, "The One Percent Doctrine." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )