from THINK PROGRESS

At the Fox News GOP presidential debate tonight, correspondent Carl Cameron asked a New Hampshire woman whether she wanted gay marriage banned. Her answer - “Absolutely not” - received cheers from the audience. When Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) then said he believes the nation should have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the audience loudly booed. Watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsTJAmoKpnQ

A recent CNN poll found that 57 percent of the American public believe gay marriages should have the “same rights as traditional marriages.”

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By DEEPTI HAJELA
Associated Press
via Breitbart News

NEW YORK (AP) - The army of yellow cabs that trolls New York City’s streets was somewhat smaller Wednesday as some drivers idled their cars to protest new global-positioning technology the city wants installed in all taxis.

Exactly how many of the city’s 44,000 licensed taxi drivers went on strike was hard to gauge: The group leading the work stoppage called it a “resounding success,” while city officials said disruption was minimal.

Officials put the number of striking cabbies at about 20 percent; the taxi group put it at more than 90 percent.

Cabdrivers in Philadelphia who face similar requirements also went on strike Wednesday, but organizers called off the planned 48-hour strike early and said taxis would return to work by Thursday morning.

“We don’t need to (strike a second day),” said Ronald Blount, a spokesman for the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania. “We got our message out.”

Only about 100 of the city’s 1,600 medallioned drivers were working by midday Wednesday, Blount said.

But Linda Miller, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Parking Authority, said that she had heard no complaints and that, although she had no estimate of how many cabs were on duty, she doubted Blount’s.

The New York strike, occurring as the city hosted the U.S. Open tennis tournament and Fashion Week, caused some headaches in midtown Manhattan and at LaGuardia Airport in the borough of Queens, where lines were longer than usual in the morning.

Outside midtown’s Pennsylvania Station-a commuter hub for subway, Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit trains-there were many more people than cabs during the morning rush hour. After waiting almost 20 minutes, financial analyst Matt Achilarre had no sympathy for the striking drivers.

“It’s pointless-they’re not making any statements,” said Achilarre, 26, who commutes by train from New Jersey. “I applaud the cabbies that are working. They’ll get a windfall.”

Some cabbies said idling their vehicles would have gotten them nowhere. Yasser El-Sayed stayed on the job Wednesday because he needed to pay his bills.

read more HERE

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By Daniel Gross
from Slate Online

If White House press secretary Tony Snow won’t save for retirement, why should you?

From the time he joined the Bush administration in May 2006 until he delivered his final briefing last week, White House press secretary Tony Snow had the unenviable job of defending an increasingly unpopular administration to a press corps intent on making up for its earlier fawning treatment. Snow has also been a chief spokesman for the Bush administration’s domestic agenda, forced to argue continually that the typical American is doing just fine, and bravely pushing the unpopular elements of Bush’s vaunted “ownership society”: privatizing Social Security, eliminating defined-benefit pensions in favor of 401(k)s; and replacing insurance with health savings accounts, high-deductible policies, and other consumer-driven health-care initiatives.

And yet Snow’s own life in many ways symbolizes the downside of the ownership society-and suggests how much a government role in health and retirement benefits is necessary.

When Snow came to the White House after several years at the Fox News Channel, it was clear that he had relied entirely on others to save for his retirement. Snow conceded: “As a matter of fact, I was even too dopey to get in on a 401(k). So there is actually no Fox pension. The only media pension I have is through AFTRA [a union].” Even though his employer provided a 401(k) and would have matched contributions, and even though he was earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, Snow had not shown either the interest or financial capability to manage his own retirement benefits.

read more HERE

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By Sibylla Brodzinsky
Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Venezuela’s leftist leader is now working to release the 45 hostages, including three Americans, held in Colombia.

Bogot, Colombia - Juan Sebastin Lozada tries not to get his hopes up too high. His mother has been a hostage of Colombia’s leftist rebels for six years, one of 45 pawns in a deadlocked political game between the government and guerrillas.

Time and again, Mr. Lozada and the families of other captives (including three Americans) have seen their dreams of being reunited with their loved ones dashed. A string of international diplomats, church officials, and local personalities have failed to broker a deal for the hostages in exchange for the release of jailed guerrillas.

But there’s a new player in the game now. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered to mediate between the government of conservative President Al-varo Uribe and the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). So Lozada’s hopes are up again. “This is a huge step, for Chavez to become involved,” says Lozada.

During the past two weeks, the charismatic, left-leaning Venezuelan leader has held a bilateral summit on the issue with Mr. Uribe, the FARC has agreed to meet with Chavez in Caracas, and he has visited the families of the hostages and families of rebel prisoners. Most significantly, the FARC appear open to the idea of holding formal negotiations in the neighboring country.

But Chavez knows making concrete progress won’t be easy. “People tell me that I’ve gotten myself into a mess. I don’t care. If I had to go to hell and back to achieve peace in Colombia, I would go,” Chavez said in Caracas Saturday after returning from a one-day visit to Bogot.

Among the captives held by the FARC are three Americans who were working for Northrop Grumman Corp. on a drug surveillance mission when their plane crashed in 2003. Also being held are former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who holds dual Colombian-French citizenship, Colombian governors, senators, and 37 police and military officers. Some have been languishing in hostage camps for nearly a decade.

read more HERE

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By LIBBY QUAID
The Associated Press

DURHAM, N.H. - Republican presidential contenders voiced support for the Iraq war Wednesday night despite a warning from anti-war candidate Ron Paul that they risk dragging the party down to defeat in 2008.

“Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor,” shot back former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, “and that is more important to the Republican Party.”

Huckabee was in the majority, Paul very much in the minority on a University of New Hampshire debate stage when it came to the war. The politically unpopular conflict has emerged as the dominant issue of the 2008 race for the White House.

The issue flared near the end of a 90-minute encounter in which all eight men on stage welcomed former Sen. Fred Thompson to the race with barbed humor and pointed advice.

“This is a nomination you have to earn,” said former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. “Nobody’s going to give it to you. Nobody’s going to grant it to you.”

read more HERE

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By ANNE FLAHERTY
The Associated Press

Get ready for the spin. I’m sure Bush will find a way to make this look like a good thing. And, of course, yet another of his ridiculous
reasons for more bloodletting of our troops as they’ll have to stay longer! - JS

WASHINGTON - Iraq’s security forces will be unable to take control of the country in the next 18 months, and Baghdad’s national police force is so rife with corruption it should be scrapped entirely, according to a new independent assessment.

The study, led by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, is a sweeping and detailed look at Iraq’s security forces that will factor heavily into Congress’ upcoming debate on the war. Republicans see success by the Iraqi forces as critical to bringing U.S. troops home, while an increasing number of Democrats say the U.S. should stop training and equipping such units altogether.

The 20-member panel of mostly retired senior military and police officers concludes that Iraq’s military, in particular its army, shows the most promise of becoming a viable, independent security force with time. But the group predicts an adequate logistics system to support these ground forces is at least another two years away.

The report also offers a scathing assessment of Iraq’s Interior Ministry and recommends scrapping Iraq’s national police force, which it describes as dysfunctional and infiltrated by militias.

read more HERE

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This soldier enlisted in June 03. In 4 years he’s been trained and done 4 tours of duty. How is this possible? Just asking…….

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Andrew Paul Nelson. I imagine your death is a HUGE HUGE HUGE loss to those who knew you.

Staff Sgt. Andrew Paul Nelson, age 22, of Moorhead, MN, died Wednesday, Aug. 29, while serving with the United States Army 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq. He was serving his third tour of duty in Iraq. He also served one tour in Afghanistan.

Andrew was born April 27, 1985, to Daniel and Suzanne (Pribula) Nelson. He attended St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Moorhead. Seeing how important faith was in his parents’ lives, Andrew made the decision to attend St. Anthony’s/Sullivan Middle Schools and Shanley High School in Fargo, graduating in 2003. At Shanley, Andrew was captain of the cross country team and participated in football, track and choir.

Andrew was a member of Boy Scout Troop 644 and held numerous youth leadership positions. He learned at an early age the importance of delegating responsibilities and working together to accomplish goals. He also modeled respect for leadership, an attribute that helped him excel in his later service to the U.S. Army. On July 29, 2002, he was awarded Scouting’s highest honor, the Eagle Scout Award. While in Scouting, Andrew participated in many camps and activities, including week-long canoe trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. He also served as a staff member of Camp Wilderness. For Andrew, no job was too small and no task too difficult. He met each challenge before him with an ever-present grin. Some of the Scouting parents shared that Andrew was not only a role model and hero to younger Scouts, but also a hero to them personally because of the example he provided their children.

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American families today are increasingly feeling the pinch of higher energy prices, housing market uncertainty, and growing health care costs. Historically, typical families could expect to see annual increases in their earnings to help cope with financial challenges, improve their standard of living, or just save for a rainy day. These expectations of economic progress are no longer being met.

Last week the Census Bureau released new estimates of inflation-adjusted household incomes and individual earnings. Median real household income in 2006 was $48,201, an increase of $356, or about 0.7%, from 2005. At this point in the economic recovery, we should expect to see an increase. But it is important to put this increase in historical context, as well as closely examine the causes.

In an alarming reversal of past progress, real household income for the typical family has declined over the last seven years. Despite increases over the prior two years, median household income for 2006 (the last year for which data are available) is still $1,043 below its peak in 1999. As the Figure shows, the three decades prior to 2000 saw average annual household income increases that ranged between 0.4% and 0.9%. This is in stark contrast with a 0.33% decline in the 2000s since hitting a peak in 1999.

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They don’t recall, they erased the emails, they change the White House website….whatever it takes to keep their evil doing from going public.

From CREW:

Two weeks ago, documented how the White House website conflicted with the Bush administration’s claim that the Office of Administration was not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. On August 23, 2007, the Washington Post took note of the conflict between the White House website and the White House position:

The claim, made in a motion filed Tuesday by the Justice Department, is at odds with a depiction of the office on the White House’s own Web site. As of yesterday, the site listed the Office of Administration as one of six presidential entities subject to the open-records law, which is commonly known by its abbreviation, FOIA.

The White House website has been scrubbed — and a new message indicates that the Office of Administration is now exempt from FOIA requests.

Before:

After:

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From The Hill:

Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) passed away suddenly Tuesday night, according to his office. He was 68.

According to an inter-conference email obtained by The Hill, Gillmor did not show up to the office this morning causing his staff to become concerned. When they went to his apartment to check on him, they found that the lawmaker had passed away.

Capitol Police is currently investigating, but sources believe that the 10-term lawmaker may have had a heart attack.

In November, Gillmor won his district with 57 percent of the vote, holding on to his seat in a year that saw Democrats take over a GOP Senate seat and the governor’s mansion in Ohio.

A special election will be necessary to find someone filling out the rest of the term. While Republicans are favored to retain the seat, such an election will likely be costly and an added burden to the GOP.

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With a busy autumn ahead for the Jack Abramoff investigation, prosecutors may be trying to send former aides - and even Abramoff himself - a message: Play nice with us and we-ll play nicer with you.

In August, Justice Department prosecutors investigating Abramoff and his wide-ranging corruption schemes reduced Will Heaton’s sentence to probation and recommended only home confinement for Neil Volz. The two former aides to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) played key roles in sending their former boss to jail for 30 months.

Prosecutors are continuing to talk to Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, his close associate and a former top aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). In late August, the government postponed scheduled status hearings with Judge Ellen Huvelle for both men, giving them three more months to continue to spill information.

More at the Hill

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Iraqi Sunni and Shia representatives have agreed to work towards peace during talks in Finland.

“Participants committed themselves to work towards a robust framework for a lasting settlement,” said a statement issued on Monday by the Crisis Management Initiative, a conflict-prevention group that organised the meeting.

In an agreement released by CMI, the participants “agreed to consult further” on a list of recommendations to begin reconciliation talks, including resolving political disputes through non-violence and democracy.

The recommendations also included the disarming of factions and forming an independent commission to supervise the disarming “in a verifiable manner”.

The four-day meeting which ended on Monday brought together 16 delegates from the feuding groups to study lessons learnt from successful peacemaking efforts in South Africa and Northern Ireland.

Key participants

Among those reportedly at the talks were representatives of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr; Adnan al-Dulaimi, a leader of the largest Sunni Arab political group; and Humam Hammoudi, the Shia chairman of the Iraqi parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

More at AlJazeera

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Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. - A B-52 bomber was mistakenly loaded with five nuclear warheads during a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The bomber carried advanced cruise missiles as part of a Defense Department program to retire 400 of the missiles, the Military Times said, quoting three officers who spoke on condition they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.

The officers said the nuclear warheads should have been removed before the missiles were mounted onto pylons under the bomber’s wings for the Aug. 30 flight from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, the newspaper said Wednesday.

A Minot Air Force Base spokeswoman, Sgt. Marelise Wood, referred questions by The Associated Press to the Air Force secretary’s office in Washington. A spokesman there was out of the office Wednesday morning and not immediately available for comment.

An Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Ed Thomas, told the Military Times that the weapons were in Air Force control at all times and the missiles were safely transferred.

read more HERE

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Real popcorn, brown paper lunchbag, microwave. Cheaper, safer, tastes better. Who eats microwave popcorn, or any popcorn for that matter, several times a day??? Nice diet!

Consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from fumes from buttery flavoring in microwave popcorn, according to a warning letter to federal regulators from a doctor at a leading lung research hospital.

A pulmonary specialist at Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal agencies to say doctors there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years.

More at the AP

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