Networking Sites, Chat Rooms Face Banishment

Staff / Truthdig Jul 28, 2006 In an effort to combat sexual predators' use of social networking websites, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would effectively make sites like Amazon and MySpace inaccessible at public spaces. This is well-intentioned but horribly executed. Let's hope the worse-than-"Do Nothing" Senate can keep this one from becoming law. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Rep. Emanuel Makes Satirical Mincemeat of White House Salaries

Staff / Truthdig Jul 12, 2006 Responding to a recently published list of White House salaries--including $100,000 a year for the "director for lessons learned," Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) ran through a few "lessons" the White House apparently missed. Money quote: "When you've 'turned the corner' in Iraq more times than Danica Patrick at the Indy 500, it means you are going in circles." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Most Overpaid White House Staffers

Staff / Truthdig Jul 12, 2006 The National Journal just published the new salary list for Oval Office employees, and Think Progress deliciously singled out a few who definitely aren't earning their money. For instance: Deborah Nirmala Misir, the ethics advisor, earns $114,688; Stuart Baker, director for lessons learned, earns $106,641. There's a "director for lessons learned"? Where's his office? A solitary confinement box at Guantanamo? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Jack Abramoff Must Be Smiling…

Staff / Truthdig Jul 11, 2006 Because the House is considering an anti-gambling bill that would include an exemption for horse racing and intrastate lotteries The disgraced lobbyist worked to ensure the latter in a bill several years ago Gambling is bad, bad, bad Unless it's on horsies or lotteries Then it's OK . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Rep. Peter Hoekstra

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2006 Truthdig salutes Rep Peter Hoekstra, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who rapped Bush in a letter for not briefing Congress on various intelligence-gathering programs Check out a video of Hoekstra publicly defending the letter on Fox News: "It is not optional for this president or people in the executive community not to keep the intelligence committees fully informed of what they are doing". Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Suspect May Argue White House OK’d Phone-Jamming

Staff / Truthdig Jul 8, 2006 The guy indicted in the jamming of Democratic phone lines on election day in 2002 is set to argue that his scheme had the approval of both the Republican National Committee and the White House. If true, this would be huge: a White House-led attempt to sabotage a Senate election in favor of a Republican. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

McCain’s New Bosom Buddies: First Falwell, Now Bush

Staff / Truthdig Jul 3, 2006 In his likely bid for the White House, John McCain has not only embraced Jerry Falwell, the man he once called an "agent of intolerance," but he's now getting buddy-buddy with the man whose campaign spread a malicious rumor during the 2000 race that McCain had fathered an illegitimate child. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

House Votes to Cut Estate Taxes

Staff / Truthdig Jun 23, 2006 After the GOP-controlled Congress rejected an increase in the minimum wage, House lawmakers have now voted to exempt the heirs of millionaires from having to pay taxes on their inherited wealth. 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 )

Robert Scheer: Hillary’s Shameful Straddling on Iraq

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jun 21, 2006 If Sen. Clinton can't demonstrate clear leadership on Iraq now, why should we believe she would grow a backbone as president? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

GOP Engineers Sham Vote on Iraq

Staff / Truthdig Jun 16, 2006 The fierce debate on the Iraq war that began in Congress on Thursday will culminate on Friday with a nonbinding resolution that includes: labeling the Iraq war as part of the war on terror, and opposition to setting an "arbitrary" withdrawal date. Democrats decried the vote as an election-year sham. Video: Dems rip GOP lawmakers during Thursday's debate. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush’s Favorite Writer Leaving the White House

Staff / Truthdig Jun 15, 2006 Michael Gerson wrote every major speech of Bush's presidency, led a crusade to fund the fight against AIDS, malaria and poverty, and pushed for stronger action in Darfur. He also formulated Bush's plan to spread democracy around the globe--with somewhat mixed results. No apparent scandal here: He'd been talking about leaving since 2004. Dig deeper