Cross Posted at Crooks and Liars

From The Project For New American Century’s Website: Their statement of principles:

The Project for the New American Century is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; and that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle.

The Project for the New American Century intends, through issue briefs, research papers, advocacy journalism, conferences, and seminars, to explain what American world leadership entails. It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America’s role in the world.

William Kristol, Chairman

Bill Moyers explains most of it in this video: Download file

During a C-SPAN appearance this morning, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol was confronted by a military wife living in Ft. Hood, TX, who called in to criticize him for “pushing the war.”

The woman explained the incredible stress of having her husband deployed in Iraq:

I-m sure when your head hits the pillow you have a luxury of dreaming about anything that your mind will allow you to dream about… I sleep with the phone under the pillow. My kids - if someone rings the doorbell, instead of normal kids they freeze. And they-re in elementary school. You all don-t understand. We are military people but we are people, too. And the stress that we are under is tremendous.

While she spoke, Kristol appeared uncomfortable, looking downward and scratching markings into a piece of paper.

The caller also told Kristol that he was a “liar” for claiming that it’s “mostly the insurgents attacking us,” versus members of the Iraqi population. “They don-t want us there,” she said. “I understand you truly believe what you-re saying but it’s not working. We can-t want it for them more than they want it for themselves.”

Kristol offered little in response, using the caller’s criticism of the stress she’s under to advocate for a larger Army. He concluded, “The strains on family life are obviously very real…and I hope we do more to deal with that.”

See Kristol Video and remainder of story at Think Progress

White House officials have admitted that they “conducted 20 private briefings on Republican electoral prospects in the last midterm election for senior officials in at least 15 government agencies covered by federal restrictions on partisan political activity.” Today, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino tried to defend these briefings, stating, “There’s nothing in the law that says you can-t do that. It’s not unethical.”

But the Hatch Act prohibits partisan campaign activities on federal property. CNN’s Ed Henry pointed out that six witnesses remember that at one of the briefings, Lurita Doan, the head of GSA, asked Karl Rove-deputy Scott Jennings, “What then, after getting this briefing, can we do to go help Republican candidates? And he said, Let’s talk off-line about that.”

Perino responded that she didn-t know what Jennings meant, adding, “I haven-t spoke to Scott Jennings about this. I don-t think that I will.” Henry asked Perino how she could “make a blanket statement saying no laws were broken” without knowing any details.

Read the story and watch the video at Think Progress

Closed door with McNulty tomorrow…oh to be a fly on the wall.
From the Sun Sentinel:

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department released a list of internal documents Thursday focusing on lawmakers’ concerns and media questions about the firings of eight federal prosecutors, but the department resisted congressional demands for copies of the memos.

The list of 159 e-mails and memos, spanning nearly three months, at the least demonstrates concern about how the dismissals were being publicly received before they erupted into a firestorm that has resulted in calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

The small pile of documents, sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday night, also included articles published in The Washington Post and The New York Times that quoted unidentified Justice officials justifying the firings. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said congressional investigators requested those two stories to determine who the unidentified officials were.

The new documents were released on the eve of closed-door congressional testimony by Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty on Friday. Documents listed as not being released were all authored by Kyle Sampson, Gonzales’ former chief of staff, who resigned March 12 over the handling of the firings.

Overall, I thought the debate was very informative. We got the opportunity to see what the candidates would bring to the table. Although, when the candidates were asked if there have been any mistakes they made during the previous four years, Mrs. Clinton had the perfect opportunity to say that she had made a mistake by voting for the Iraq War. She did not mention it.

A great patriotic moment came when candidate Dennis Kucinich pulled a “pocket edition” of the U.S. Constitution from his jacket pocket and said he kept it with him all the time because “I took an oath to uphold this Constitution”.

Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s “Softball” said there really were no fireworks. Well, Chris, look skyward on July 4th.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. - Democratic presidential hopefuls flashed their anti-war credentials Thursday night, heaping criticism on President Bush’s Iraq policy in the first debate of the 2008 campaign.

“The first day I would get us out of Iraq by diplomacy,” said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, one of eight rivals on the debate stage.

“If this president does not get us out of Iraq, when I am president, I will,” pledged Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

But Clinton found herself on the receiving end of criticism moments later when former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said she or anyone else who voted to authorize the war should “search their conscience.”

Edwards, in the Senate at the time, also cast his vote for the invasion, but he has since apologized for it.

Of the eight foes participating in the debate at South Carolina State University, four voted earlier in the day to support legislation that cleared Congress and requires the beginning of a troop withdrawal by Oct. 1. The legislation sets a goal of a complete withdrawal by April 1, 2008.

“We are one signature away from ending this war,” said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. He said if Bush won’t change his mind about vetoing the bill, Democrats need to work on rounding up enough Republican votes to override him.

Read more at YAHOO!

Brandi Carlile - “The Story”

In a world of pre-packaged, plasticine pop princesses with heavily engineered vocals to hide their lack of voice, and American Idol, which features a few decent singers among their future lounge singers of tomorrow, it’s refreshing to hear Brandi Carlile, who’s turning 26 in a couple months. (I wanted to post a live version, but it got yanked!)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - David Huckabee, a son of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was arrested at an Arkansas airport Thursday after a federal X-ray technician detected a loaded Glock pistol in his carry-on luggage.

“I removed the bag and asked Mr. Huckabee if he knew what he had in the bag,” Little Rock police officer Arthur Nugent wrote in a report after being summoned to a security checkpoint. “He replied he did now.”

Huckabee, 26, later pleaded guilty in Little Rock District Court after being charged with a misdemeanor count of possessing a weapon in a prohibited place.

“It was a silly mistake,” Huckabee told reporters as he left the Pulaski County Jail. When asked whether it would affect his father’s presidential campaign, Huckabee responded, “It shouldn’t.”

District Judge Lee Munson gave Huckabee a one-year suspended jail sentence and ordered him into 10 days of community service - which Huckabee can avoid by paying $100. Huckabee will be on probation for a year. Fines and costs totaled $855.

Read more at YAHOO!

Rhandi Rhodes just threw out some interesting figures.

How many subpoenas during the Clinton administration? 1052

How many subpoenas during the Bush administration? 5

Yet we have headlines like this from the New York Times:

By NEIL A. LEWIS and ERIC LIPTON
Published: April 26, 2007
WASHINGTON, April 25 - In a vivid display of their new power, Democrats across Capitol Hill on Wednesday approved a flurry of subpoenas to fuel a series of investigations of the Bush administration.

A flurry? 3 Subpoenas is a flurry???? Then what’s 1,052?

From the WSJ:

Subpoena Assault
Congress’s real goal is crippling the Bush Presidency.
Thursday, March 22, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

5 friggin subpoenas is an assault?? Gee, what was 1,052????

Will anyone remember what they said come November 08?

South Carolina State University becomes the national political stage today, hosting the first debate among Democratic Party candidates for president of the United States.

The event gives the Orangeburg campus once-in-a-lifetime exposure from dawn to evening on NBC’s family of networks. It has also provided the campus with a few fix-ups - from new plants to new seamless network of wireless Internet access.

The campus was a beehive of activity Wednesday, as gardeners put finishing touches on the grounds, electricians tested every light to ensure the bulbs were good and students acted as stand-ins for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards for television technicians to adjust lights on the stage.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin said corporate sponsors have contributed $500,000 to cover expenses and make permanent improvements at the historically black college.

Read more here

At what point might impeachment be on the table? Just askin…….

White House officials conducted 20 private briefings on Republican electoral prospects in the last midterm election for senior officials in at least 15 government agencies covered by federal restrictions on partisan political activity, a White House spokesman and other administration officials said yesterday.

The previously undisclosed briefings were part of what now appears to be a regular effort in which the White House sent senior political officials to brief top appointees in government agencies on which seats Republican candidates might win or lose, and how the election outcomes could affect the success of administration policies, the officials said.

The existence of one such briefing, at the headquarters of the General Services Administration in January, came to light last month, and the Office of Special Counsel began an investigation into whether the officials at the briefing felt coerced into steering federal activities to favor those Republican candidates cited as vulnerable.

Read more at the Washington Post

The President complains that it took 80 days to get the bill to his desk. How about the past Congress where two bills took over 110 days? No mention of that, is there?

A defiant Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1, propelling Congress toward a historic veto showdown with President Bush on the war.

At the White House, the president immediately promised a veto.

“It is amazing that legislation urgently needed to fund our troops took 80 days to make its way around the Capitol. But that’s where we are,” said deputy press secretary Dana Perino.

The 51-46 vote was largely along party lines, and like House passage of the same bill a day earlier, fell far short of the two-thirds margin needed to overturn the president’s threatened veto. Nevertheless, the legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January.

“The president has failed in his mission to bring peace and stability to the people of Iraq,” said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He later added: “It’s time to bring our troops home from Iraq.”

The $124.2 billion bill requires troop withdrawals to begin Oct. 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks. The House passed the measure Wednesday by a 218-208 vote.

Across the Potomac River at the Pentagon, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, told reporters the war effort likely will “get harder before it gets easier.”

Republicans said the vote amounted to little more than political theater because the bill would be dead on arrival after reaching the White House. Bush said he will veto the bill so long as it contains a timetable on Iraq, as well as $20 billion in spending added by Democrats.

Read more at YAHOO!

I’ve posted about soldiers who have died in Iraq now and then since starting this blog. After the response last week on the post about 1st Lt. Shaun Blue, I’ve decided to do a weekly post. I yearn for a week where no U.S. soldiers die, but until that happens, I’ll keep this up. No politics. No matter your politics, we all agree these men and women are heroes.

This week I’m posting about Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper. A 34 year old father of 3. Again, I ask that anyone who knew Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper to post comments. Give us a glimpse of this fallen hero. My deepest sympathies and warm thoughts go to his family and friends.

R.I.P Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper.

Three young children lost a father.

A wife lost a husband.

And the United States has lost another hero.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper, 34, was killed Saturday in Baghdad, Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Harper, whose young children and wife moved to Pensacola while he fought in Iraq, was killed during a patrol after engaging combatants who were using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

Staff Sgt. Harper of Baltimore was on his third tour of Iraq.

“He was a soldier who loved his job,” said his wife, Stacy Harper, 33. “He didn’t like to be away from his family, but he was a patriotic person. He definitely loved his soldiers.”

Besides his wife, Harper leaves behind three children — twin 10-year-old daughters, Jennifer and Jessica, and a 12-year-old son, Dominic.

He also leaves behind a grateful nation.

At Blue Angels Elementary School, where the Harpers’ daughters are in the fourth grade, students are learning lessons in sacrifice. Dominic is a sixth-grade student at Jim Bailey Middle School.

“We’ve been talking about what a hero he was,” said Karen Montgomery, Blue Angels Elementary assistant principal. “We’re talking to the students about how brave he was to defend our freedom so they can come to school every day.”

All three of the children are still attending school this week.

“They’re soldiers like their dad,” Stacy Harper said. “They wanted to go and be with their friends. And I didn’t want them to be alone. I want their routine to be as normal as possible.”

Both schools are providing counseling for the children, she said.

Staff Sgt. Harper was serving with the 1st Calvary Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.

He joined the military in January 1993 as an armor crew member.

Read more about Harper here

I admit it….. I watch American Idol. I like it. So shoot me. I’m banished to the bedroom to watch it….. but I do. My pick for this year’s winner….Melinda Doolittle. She’s a great talent. Anywhooo….. what they did last night is amazing. I didn’t watch the show because I was watching Bill Moyer’s special. (I’m not addicted to it, I just like it). Kudos to them for this most successful fundraising event!!

TV talent show American Idol proved its clout today by raising more than $US30 million ($A35.9 million) for young people in Africa and the United States.

A two-hour show filled with inspirational songs, movie, television and music stars and stories of poverty from Africa and the United States rounded off the two-night special.

“People say you can’t be the generation that ends brutal, stupid poverty, but we can and we will,” Bono, U2’s lead singer and leading spokesman for the ONE Campaign to Make Poverty History, said in a prerecorded segment.

“I have been in front of 70,000 people here in LA and its a pretty amazing feeling. I can’t think of any feeling better except perhaps the feeling that you can save somebody’s life and there is not one person watching this program tonight who cannot save a life,” he said.

The six Idol contestants closed the Idol Gives Back show with American Prayer - the song written by Bono and Dave Stewart some years ago about the AIDS emergency in Africa.

More at The Herald Sun

NEW DELHI - According to media reports, a court issued arrest warrants for Hollywood actor Richard Gere and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, saying their kiss at a public function “transgressed all limits of vulgarity.”

Judge Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants in the northwestern city of Jaipur after a local citizen filed a complaint charging that the public display of affection offended “local sensibilities“.

Gupta earlier viewed television footage of the event, which he called “highly sexually erotic,” saying the pair violated India’s strict public obscenity laws.

The judge was quoted as saying Gere and Shetty “transgressed all limits of vulgarity and have the tendency to corrupt the society.”

Such cases against celebrities - often filed by publicity seekers - are common in conservative India. They add to a backlog of legal cases that has nearly crippled the country’s judicial system.

Gere left India shortly after the kissing incident and it was not immediately clear how the warrant would affect him.