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Bush Offering ‘Back-Channel’ Political Advice To Democratic Candidates: Stay In Iraq
In an interview with GQ correspondent Robert Draper for his book Dead Certain, President Bush described his Iraq strategy as “playing for October-November.” He explained that his hope was to “get us in a position where the presidential candidates will be comfortable about sustaining a presence,” and, he said, “stay longer.”In an interview with the [...]

Escalation.
Atrios notes the latest Pentagon data on the average daily casualties in Iraq:

Foreign service group calls for ouster of State Dept IG.
Last week, allegations surfaced that State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard had “repeatedly interfered with on-going investigations to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment.” Now, the American Foreign Service Adminstration wants Krongard gone:The worse-case scenario in corruption is when it endangers lives. The worse-case scenario in public service is when [...]

Nine out of 10:
Number of people worldwide who believe that action on global warming is necessary, according to a new BBC poll. An average of 79 percent in the 21 countries surveyed agreed that “human activity, including industry and transportation, is a significant cause of climate change.”

Prosecutor: Craig is politicking and game playing.
In court papers filed today, a Minneapolis prosecutor urged the court to deny Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-NV) efforts to escape his guilty plea. Denying Craig’s motion “prevents further politicking and game playing on the part of the defendant in relation to his plea,” the prosecutor wrote. Craig clearly “had hoped that he could plead guilty [...]

41 days in Iraq vs. insuring 10 million children.
President Bush has threatened to veto legislation renewing and expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The legislation would extend health coverage to as many as 10 million children — four million of whom are currently uninsured. Bush has claimed the SCHIP bill contains “excessive spending,” but in fact, just 41 days of the [...]

High health care costs lead to strike at GM.
Today, the United Auto Workers union announced they would launch a nationwide-strike, the first in 37 years, against General Motors over job security and benefits, as GM has sought to cut costs. Markos links the strike to GM’s astronomical health care costs, noting that the company spent $5.2 billion on health care in 2005. GM [...]

Hunter: I Will Try To ‘Cut Off Funds To Columbia University’ Because Of Ahmadinejad Speech
Earlier today, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) said in a statement that if Columbia University President Lee Bollinger “follows through with this hosting of the leader of Iran, I will move in Congress to cut off every single type of Federal Funding to Columbia University.”Introduced as a “petty and cruel dictator” by Bollinger, Iranian President Mahmoud [...]

Fox bangs Iran war drums.
In an interview with Newt Gingrich today on Fox News, The Big Story With John Gibson moved away from the shot of Gingrich and the interviewer to display a screenshot stating, “Is war the only way to stop Mahmoud?”:

Rice’s Waning Influence: Networks Reject Secretary Of State As Sunday Show Guest
Over the past two years, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been on the Sunday talk shows 30 times, making her the most second frequent guest after Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE). But that may be changing. In his Washington Post column, Howard Kurtz reveals that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is no longer a [...]

Ahmadinejad denies existence of gays in Iran.
In his speech at Columbia University today, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was asked about the treatment of gays in Iran. Ahmadinejad responded, “In Iran, we dont have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you we have [...]

NY lawmakers threaten to punish Columbia over speech.
State and city lawmakers in New York are threatening to punish Columbia University for hosting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who spoke at the Ivy League university earlier this afternoon, by potentially “withholding public funds from the school“: “[Columbia President Lee] Bollinger made a big mistake, and there should be consequences for him for making that [...]

Alaska + Texas:
The area — half a million square miles — of ice melted in the Arctic “compared to its last record low just two years ago.” The current rate puts the region “on track for an ice free Arctic by 2030, decades ahead of the climate models.”

Bush: We Can’t Spend $22 Billion On America Because We Need $200 Billion For Iraq War
The Democratic leadership in Congress is set to pass a host of domestic funding bills that would exceed Bush’s request by $22 billion. The extra funding would help go towards veterans health care, infrastructure improvements, education, and other domestic priorities.Speaking to business leaders at a White House event this morning, Bush railed against the relatively [...]

Top 100 effects of global warming.
Mic Check, the radio prep service of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, released a report today highlighting the “Top 100 Effects of Global Warming.” Some examples: – Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir: The reason you adore pinot noir is that it comes from a notoriously temperamental thin-skinned grape that thrives in cool climates. [...]

Greenspan: Because Of Oil, Saddam Was ‘Far More Important To Get Out Than Bin Laden’
In his new memoir, The Age of Turbulence, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan writes that he is “saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.” Greenspan later clarified his remark in an interview with the Washington Post, saying that while oil was not “the [...]

More than 20 retired generals speak out against Iraq war.
“In op-ed pieces, interviews and TV ads, more than 20 retired U.S. generals have broken ranks with the culture of salute and keep it in the family. Instead, they are criticizing the commander in chief and other top civilian leaders who led the nation into what the generals believe is a misbegotten and tragic war.” [...]

Podhoretz Granted Secret Access To Lobby Bush On ‘The Case For Bombing Iran’
Norman Podhoretz, the “patriarch of neoconservatism,” recently published a book entitled “World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism,” staunchly supporting the Iraq war and pushing for war with Iran. In June, Podhoretz published a controversial piece in Commentary magazine titled “The Case for Bombing Iran.”The Politico reports today that President Bush has been listening [...]

Cheney: I’m the ‘flavor of the month.’
In the new book The Evangelical President, the Washington Examiner’s Bill Sammon writes that Vice President Cheney isn’t sure whether or not he’ll be remembered throughout history. “It may be because nobody can remember the earlier vice presidents. I’ll let the historians worry about that.” He joked that he is more likely the “the flavor [...]

Mukasey signals support for torture.
Newsweek reports that in recent private meetings with “hard-liners,” Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey reassured conservatives that he was committed to the Bush administration’s right-wing ideology: According to three sources, who asked not to be named discussing the private meetings, Mukasey said that he saw “significant problems” with shutting down Guantnamo Bay and that he [...]

ThinkFast: September 24, 2007
Pope Benedict will use his first address to the United Nations to “deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a ‘moral’ cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following.”President Bush will “skip U.N. talks on global warming,” opting instead to organize his own meeting [...]