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365Gay
http://www.365gay.com/entertainment/news-gossip/021407shownewsA.htm
Paula: 'Never Been Drunk'
by The Associated Press
(Los Angeles, California) Paula Abdul's spacy behavior on "American Idol"has prompted many to ponder if there's a tumbler or two of booze in that redcup on the table in front of her on the Fox talent contest.
That's nonsense, the 44-year-old "Idol" judge tells Us Weekly magazine inits Feb. 16 issue. "I've never been drunk. I have never done recreationaldrugs," she says. "Just look at my 20-year career. Tell me someone who isinto partying or doing drugs that could have done that."
In her five years on "Idol," Abdul — a singer and a movie, TV and stagechoreographer — has weathered criticism about her sometimes odd behavior,which has included slurred and garbled speech, and her not-so-subtle gushingover the show's young, male singers.
"There have been 100 million lies about me," says Abdul, who has said she'staken prescription medication for health problems, including inflammatoryarthritis. "I'm squeaky clean. I've worked my ass off my entire life. (But)being involved in the show causes people to question everything."
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The New York Times
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/opinion/15herbert.html
February 15, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
For Tavis Smiley, Promises to Keep
By BOB HERBERT
One of the better-kept secrets in the U.S. is the wide reach andextraordinary commitment of Tavis Smiley.
Mr. Smiley is reasonably well known as a media personality. He’s the host ofa television talk show broadcast on PBS five nights a week and a weeklyradio show. He’s also a regular commentator on the widely syndicatedblack-oriented radio program “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”
But that doesn’t begin to capture the ever-widening swirl of activities,projects, programs and initiatives set in motion by this energetic,fast-talking, charismatic advocate and mentor, described by The Times’sFelicia R. Lee as “a cultural phenomenon.”
Largely out of the sight of the broader public, Mr. Smiley has quietlybecome one of the most effective black leaders in the nation. He’s always inmotion, giving speeches, meeting with national leaders, conducting annualseminars on the “State of the Black Union” and offering how-to tips onimportant aspects of daily life for African-Americans.
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The New York Times
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/opinion/15brooks.html
February 15, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
No Apology Needed
By DAVID BROOKS
Far be it from me to get in the middle of a liberal purge, but would anybodymind if I pointed out that the calls for Hillary Clinton to apologize forher support of the Iraq war are almost entirely bogus?
I mean, have the people calling for her apology actually read the speechesshe delivered before the war? Have they read her remarks during the warresolution debate, when she specifically rejected a pre-emptive, unilateralattack on Saddam? Did they read the passages in which she called for alonger U.N. inspections regime and declared, “I believe internationalsupport and legitimacy are crucial”?
If they went back and read what Senator Clinton was saying before the war,they’d be surprised, as I was, by her approach. And they’d learn something,as I did, about what kind of president she would make.
The Iraq war debate began in earnest in September 2002. At that pointClinton was saying in public what Colin Powell was saying in private:emphasizing the need to work through the U.N. and build a broad coalition toenforce inspections.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/16667179.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Sat, Feb. 10, 2007
VIRGINIA
Thousands gather to hear black leaders
Race and politics will be discussed at a symposium on the State of the BlackUnion.
By WILLIAM DOUGLAS
bdouglas@mcclatchydc.com
WASHINGTON - Politics and purpose are combining this weekend as thousands ofpeople gather near historic Jamestown, Va., to hear black leaders give theirtake on the political, social and economic issues affecting the black
community.
The eighth annual ''State of the Black Union'' symposium comes at a timewhen African-Americans' political fortunes -- punctuated by IllinoisDemocratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, which he alsoofficially expects to announce today -- have never been brighter andproblems affecting the community have never been more profound.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Douglas Wilder, thenation's first elected black governor, headline a panel of political,academic and economic heavyweights at the two-day meeting, which beganFriday at Virginia's Hampton University.
The panelists are discussing a range of topics -- from the 2008 presidentialrace to the state of the community's health to building and sustainingpersonal wealth -- and outlining potential solutions. A primary theme of thesymposium is self-empowerment, that blacks must find solutions to problemsinstead of waiting for the government or others to do it for them.
'I have given up on trying to change `they and them,' '' said Tavis Smiley,a television and radio talk show host and author who is host of thesymposium. 'I'm more concerned about `we and us.' How do we advance ouragenda? There is no time like a race for the White House to get traction onissues that matter to your community if you have an agenda.''
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The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama10feb10,1,777593,print.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Would Obama be 'the black president'?
Some African American activists doubt that he'd stand firmly behind theircauses. 'He would be the multicultural president,' one says.
By Peter Wallsten
Times Staff Writer
February 10, 2007
CHICAGO - Illinois state Sen. Rickey Hendon served eight years alongsideBarack Obama in the state Capitol and plans to endorse him today when Obamalaunches a bid for the White House. But that does not mean Hendon has setaside the long-simmering doubts that he and other black leaders hold about aman who could become the first African American to occupy the Oval Office.
"I can endorse someone now and change my mind next week," Democrat Hendonsaid from Springfield, Ill., where U.S. Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) will kick offhis campaign at the old state Capitol. "I'm going to look at how he runs hiscampaign. I'm going to look closely to see if he raises theissues that areimportant to my people."
For many black activists in Obama's adopted home state, who might beexpected to form the core of his political base, a central question stilllooms about the man who has risen speedily over 11 years from state lawmakerto U.S. senator to a sensation in the 2008 presidential campaign: As heworks to appeal to voters across the nation, will Obama stand firm for blackpeople and black causes?
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The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-giuliani10feb10,1,142989,print.story?coll=la-news-politics-national
Giuliani fares well for GOP social moderate
Calendar changes and the mix of presidential hopefuls mean that the time maybe ripe for a candidate like him.
By Michael Finnegan
Times Staff Writer
February 10, 2007
As he dashes across California over the next few days, Republicanpresidential hopeful Rudolph W. Giuliani has more on his agenda than justraking up campaign money.
Today, he plans to work crowds of Republican activists at a state partyconvention in Sacramento. On Monday, he speaks to executives in the SiliconValley. On Tuesday, he stops at a giant farm expo near Fresno. Along theway, he expects to announce new supporters, including former Los AngelesMayor Richard Riordan, a Republican.
For the former New York City mayor, who met privately with GOP Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger on Friday night, California plays an increasingly large partin his calculus for winning the Republican nomination. It is one of severalbig states on the verge of advancing their 2008 presidential primaries toFeb. 5, a shift that enhances the election climate for Giuliani.
Among other effects, the calendar change heightens the importance ofcelebrity, giving an edge to Giuliani and his best-known Republican rival,Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/14/AR2007021401424_pf.html
A Lack of Will
Senate GOP Leaders Fold on a Spending Bill
By Robert D. Novak
Thursday, February 15, 2007; A27
The Senate Republican leadership met behind closed doors this week to ponderMajority Leader Harry Reid's audacious power grab on the massive catchallappropriations bill. They decided they could not filibuster the bill forfear of being blamed for closing down the government, but they still wantedenough votes opposing cloture to make an impression. That would seem aformula for defeat, and indeed it was.
The cloture vote to end debate on the bill Tuesday was 71 to 26, with 23Republicans -- including the party's two leaders -- voting with Reid. TheGOP was accepting a bill that perpetuates earmarks, masks additionaldomestic spending under the disguise of fiscal responsibility andestablishes a precedent of prohibiting the opposition party from amending anappropriations bill.
The Republican defeat would have been a plausible outcome if Democrats helda commanding Senate majority, even as large as their edge in the House. Infact, the Senate divide is 51 to 49, with Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakotahospitalized and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut barely a Democrat. Whatails Senate Republicans is lack of principle and lack of will, two reasonsthey lost the 2006 elections.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/14/AR2007021401421_pf.html
Where Candidates Start
By David S. Broder
Thursday, February 15, 2007; A27
At this early stage of the presidential race, voters looking for ways tounderstand the candidates may be able to learn as much from the settings andsites of their debut events as from the words they speak.
This week, for example, Mitt Romney, whose two previous campaigns for publicoffice took place in Massachusetts, where he has made his principal home formany years, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination -- inDearborn, Mich.
Now, Romney has legitimate ties to Michigan; he grew up in the Detroitsuburbs when his father, George Romney, was running American Motors, and hehung around in Lansing when his dad became governor.
But his choice of Dearborn over Boston as his launching pad had more to dowith politics than nostalgia. Michigan will hold its primary ahead ofMassachusetts in 2008, and Romney has been busy organizing in the state fora challenge to Sen. John McCain, who won the primary in 2000.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16701257.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Thu, Feb. 15, 2007
THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT
Calderón should take on Chávez
Andres Oppenheimer
aoppenheimer@MiamiHerald.com
When President Bush visits Mexico next month, the top question in his mindis likely to be whether President Felipe Calderón will become the LatinAmerican leader who can counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's growinginfluence in the region.
As of now, virtually all other presidents in the region have declined thatrole. Most are being silenced by oil-rich Venezuela's checkbook diplomacy,or are simply cowed by Chávez's strategy of accusing any leader who defendsdemocracy and free markets of intervening in other countries' affairs, evenif the Venezuelan president lashes out daily against his neighbors'free-trade agreements and U.S. imperialism.
DAILY TIRADES
Right now, Chávez seems to have the monopoly on Latin America's headlines.New York University professor Patricio Navia notes that while recentelections in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and other countries were won by the mostpro-globalization candidate, nobody is consistently countering Chávez'sdaily anti-globalization tirades.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/opinion/15thur2.html?pagewanted=print
February 15, 2007
Editorial
Minimum Wage, Minimum Tax Cuts
In the coming week, the House is expected to pass a bipartisan bill aimed atscaling down the unwise tax cuts that the Senate has demanded in exchangefor raising the federal minimum wage. The House measure contains only modesttax cuts, worth $1.3 billion over the next 10 years, and is focused on thesmall businesses that are most likely to be harmed by a higher minimum wage,like mom-and-pop restaurants. We would have preferred a straightforwardminimum wage increase. But the House bill is a reasonable response to theSenate’s refusal to move forward without tax cuts.
Whether senators will find the moral clarity to see it that way is anothermatter.
In Round 1 of this year’s effort to raise the minimum wage, the House passeda clean bill, raising the wage from the pitiful $5.15 an hour, where it hasbeen stuck for 10 years, to $7.25 by 2009. In Round 2, the Senate refused tofollow the House’s lead. Acting as if the midterm elections had neverhappened, it passed a bill that pairs the wage increase withspecial-interest tax cuts priced at $8.3 billion over the next 10 years.
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Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/world/australia/articles/2007/02/15/uproar_over_obama_continues?mode=PF
Uproar over Obama continues
Australian leader under attack for criticizing senator
By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press | February 15, 2007
CANBERRA, Australia -- Prime Minister John Howard's fracas with SenatorBarack Obama of Illinois provoked a third straight day of politicalrecriminations yesterday, as the Australian leader told parliament that thepledge by the Democratic presidential candidate to withdraw troops from Iraqwould only invite more bloodshed.
Howard, a staunch ally of President Bush's global war against terror,suffered blistering attacks from members of the center-left Labor Party, whowant to bring Australian troops home from Iraq.
Howard on Sunday told an Australian TV network that Al Qaeda would bepraying for victories by Obama and other Democrats. His comments were madeone day after Obama, who has introduced legislation to withdraw US troops byMarch 31, 2008, entered the race for the Democratic nomination.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/business/15carbon.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
February 15, 2007
Study Questions Prospects for Much Lower Emissions
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 — As Democratic leaders in Congress prepare to putclimate change legislation on the agenda, some in the utility industry arearguing that it will take decades of investments and innovation to getsubstantial reductions in their emissions of greenhouse gases.
Electric power companies, which emit about one-third of America’s globalwarming gases, could reduce their emissions to below the levels of 1990, butthat would take about 20 years, no matter how much the utilities spend,according to a new industry study.
The report, prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofitconsortium, is portrayed as highly optimistic by its authors, who willpresent the findings on Thursday at an energy conference in Houston.
It assumes that “money grows on trees and all research is successful,” saidone of them, Bryan J. Hannegan. “This is as good as we think we can get,right now.”
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Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg15feb15,0,6678204,print.column?coll=la-home-commentary
Maybe a Democrat should win
The idea gains some traction in conservative circles, but it's still achilling thought.
Jonah Goldberg
February 15, 2007
THERE IS AN IDEA out there. Perhaps not a fully formed one. Perhaps morelike the whisper of one gusting like a sudden draft through the rafters ofthe conservative house, causing some to look toward the attic and askfearfully, "What was that?"
This wisp of a notion is simply this: Maybe a Democrat should win in 2008.
Personally, I don't believe in this poltergeist, at least not yet. But everynow and then, I must confess, I do shiver from its touch.
The idea goes something like this: If you believe that the war on terror isreal — really real — then you think it is inevitable that more and bloodierconflicts with radical Islam are on the way, regardless of who is in theWhite House. If the clash of civilizations is afoot, then the issuesseparating Democrats and Republicans are as pressing as whether the captainof the Titanic is going to have fish or chicken for dinner. There's ashowdown coming. Period. Full stop. My task isn't to convince you that thisview is correct (though I basically believe it is), but merely that it ishonestly and firmly held by many on the right and by a comparative handfulon the left.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/14/AR2007021401819_pf.html
Skepticism Over Iraq Haunts U.S. Iran Policy
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 15, 2007; A01
The specter of the war in Iraq -- a war the Bush administration denied itwas planning, supported by evidence that turned out to be false -- loomslarge over administration policy toward Iran.
Skeptical members of Congress have questioned administration charges ofTehran's support for Iraqi insurgents and President Bush's insistence thathis plans for dealing with Iran remain purely diplomatic. Theadministration, conscious of its low credibility, believes it has gone outof its way to convince doubters that Iran is not Iraq all over again.
"No, no, no, no," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Monday in response toquestions about whether the administration embellished evidence against Iranin a U.S. military briefing in Baghdad the previous day. "I'm almost readyto hit my head on the microphone."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/business/15auto.html?ei=5094&en=8f952a63012b521b&hp=&ex=1171602000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
February 15, 2007
Detroit’s Slump Could Break Up Chrysler Group
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 14 — Every decade provides a new lesson for theAmerican automobile industry.
In the 1980s, automakers underestimated their Japanese competitors, thinkingthey would never build anything but small cars. In the 1990s, the Americansfocused too heavily on sport utility vehicles, only to see profits wiped outwhen buyers’ tastes shifted back to cars.
The lesson of this decade? Better to go it alone than bulk up throughmergers and alliances.
DaimlerChrysler said as much on Wednesday, when it disclosed that it wasconsidering all options for its struggling Chrysler Group, including aspinoff. It has hired JPMorgan as a strategic adviser, people with knowledgeof the move said.
A breakup would end the historic acquisition nine years ago of Chrysler byDaimlerBenz of Germany, which was promoted as a merger of equals but hasevolved into an unhappy marriage of opposites.
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USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-14-iraq-resolution_x.htm?csp=34
GOP vs. GOP in House Iraq debate
Updated 2/14/2007 11:39 PM ET
By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Democrats now control the House, but for two hoursWednesday, they took a back seat as Republicans argued amongst themselvesover President Bush's Iraq policy.
Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican whose North Carolina district includes theMarine Corps' Camp Lejeune, led a dozen GOP lawmakers who spoke against thepresident's plan to commit 21,500 more troops to Iraq. Several said theywere doing so despite their personal affection and admiration for thepresident.
"I am personally very high on President Bush, but on the matter of the troopescalation, I am not in agreement," said Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C. "TheIraqi people were given a choice between freedom and civil war.Unfortunately, they chose the latter."
At the same time, the president took to the airwaves to try to sell hispolicy at a televised news conference.
The extent of the Republican opposition to Bush's plan is the only suspenseleft in the debate. Drafted by Jones and two senior Democrats, theresolution states support for the soldiers, but opposition to a troopincrease. The resolution is all but certain to win approval on Friday.
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Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/wireless/avantgo/la-na-media15feb15,0,2411153.story
February 15, 2007
Libby trial reveals the politics of reporting
The case highlights the codependency, even dysfunction, between governmentand the news media.
By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — In the trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter"Libby, the nation's capital comes across as a landscape dominated byhigh-ranking government officials trying to leak news and high-profilereporters trying to get news.
They are codependent breeds, each expert at manipulating the other. And yetboth sides often fail.
One of the signature moments in the case came this week, when veteranWashington Post reporter Walter Pincus was asked about the difficulty ofgetting top government officials to talk to him.
"Well, they'll talk to me," Pincus testified. "They just won't give meinformation."
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Advocate.com
http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid42070.asp
February 15, 2007
Al Franken enters Minnesota Senate race
Al Franken announced Wednesday that he will run for the Senate in 2008,making it clear that the comedian and author of Rush Limbaugh Is a Big FatIdiot wants to be taken seriously as a political figure.
Franken said he would seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republicanincumbent Norm Coleman and immediately acknowledged the doubts voters mayhave about electing a former Saturday Night Live performer.
''Minnesotans have a right to be skeptical about whether I'm ready for thischallenge and to wonder how seriously I would take the responsibility thatI'm asking you to give me,'' Franken said in a video on his Web site.
''I want you to know: Nothing means more to me than making government workbetter for the working families of this state, and over the next 20 months,I look forward to proving to you that I take these issues seriously,'' hesaid.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/business/15auto.html?ei=5094&en=8f952a63012b521b&hp=&ex=1171602000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
February 15, 2007
Detroit’s Slump Could Break Up Chrysler Group
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 14 — Every decade provides a new lesson for theAmerican automobile industry.
In the 1980s, automakers underestimated their Japanese competitors, thinkingthey would never build anything but small cars. In the 1990s, the Americansfocused too heavily on sport utility vehicles, only to see profits wiped outwhen buyers’ tastes shifted back to cars.
The lesson of this decade? Better to go it alone than bulk up throughmergers and alliances.
DaimlerChrysler said as much on Wednesday, when it disclosed that it wasconsidering all options for its struggling Chrysler Group, including aspinoff. It has hired JPMorgan as a strategic adviser, people with knowledgeof the move said.
A breakup would end the historic acquisition nine years ago of Chrysler byDaimlerBenz of Germany, which was promoted as a merger of equals but hasevolved into an unhappy marriage of opposites.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16701271.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Thu, Feb. 15, 2007
Coming home troubled, untreated
OUR OPINION: STANDARDIZE CARE FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
It was painful to read the Sunday story on veterans' mental-health problemsby Chris Adams of McClatchy's Washington Bureau. Painful because some of oursoldiers are coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq only to fall victim topost-traumatic stress disorder, and it turns out that the VeteransAdministration is not adequately equipped to treat all of them.
The meticulously researched article identified a Veterans AdministrationPTSD treatment system that varies widely from one end of the country to theother, even from state to state. The VA today has about 20 networksnationwide with more than 150 hospitals and 800-plus outpatient clinics.Each network has some autonomy to set its own care standards.
Expanding facilities
VA facilities in Western states generally provide a lower standard of PTSDtreatment than other regions, however, even though that region has morereserve and National Guard troops serving in Iran and Afghanistan. In somecases this adds up to longer wait times before veterans get help, and thenfewer and shorter sessions with mental-health caregivers.
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-aimmig15feb15,0,5444532,print.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla
Congressional panel debates raising naturalization fee from $330 to $595
By Dena Bunis
Orange County Register
February 15, 2007
WASHINGTON · U.S. House members Wednesday scrutinized the proposedimmigration fee increases, with Democrats saying they were unaffordable andRepublicans saying a price can't be put on the benefits of Americancitizenship.
Increasing the naturalization fee from $330 to $595 -- 80 percent -- is"increasing the costs of the American dream and telling the poorest among usthat they need not apply," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman JohnConyers, D-Mich.
But Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, called the immigration benefits provided bythe federal government "the best deal in America." Smith said there aremillions of people around the world who "would pay thousands of dollars justfor the opportunity," to legally move to the United States.
The lawmakers spoke at an immigration subcommittee hearing.
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