"Will and Grace" Financial Manipulation Lawsuit Settled (posted 4-29-07) 
The creators of the "Will and Grace" television show settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit on Friday that they had filed against NBC Studios. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

NBC Studios had agreed to provide creators David Kohan and Jason "Max" Mutchnick a profit- sharing agreement as a major portion of their pay for work they did on the series. The lawsuit says that NBC violated its agreement in the following ways (partial list):

1. The contract stated that NBC would pay each of the show's creators at least as much as it would pay anyone else involved with the show.  This turned out not to be the case.
2. Initial production costs were put on the books at $68 million, which was an inflated figure. 
3. NBC Studios' sale of rights for the show to its sister company, the NBC Network, was below fair market value for Seasons 5, 6, & 7.
4. Ratings bonuses for the show's main director were improperly deducted from profit-sharing payments due to Kohan and Mutchnick.

The jury determined that Kohan and Mutchnick were due $48.5 million, but a settlement was reached before the award could be announced.
Yahoo News (4-27-07)
HollywoodReporterEsq.com article by Leslie Simmons (2-7-07)

Former CIA Director Implies Bush Wanted to Attack Iraq (posted on 4-27-07)
Former CIA director George Tenet has charged in a new book that the Bush administration took the nation to war without ever conducting a serious discussion of whether Iraq was an imminent threat. In addition, he stated that, to his knowledge, no alternative views of containing Saddam Hussein besides "regime change" were discussed.

Dick Cheney has said in the past that Tenet's use of the term "slam dunk" to describe whether a case could be made that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction was a significant factor in the president's decision to invade. While acknowledging that he used the term, Tenet said that he used it in expressing his opinion that a White House presentation he saw about the need to invade Iraq could be made more convincingly.
New York Times article by Scott Shane and Mark Mazzetti (4-26-07)

Jessica Lynch Says Army Lied in Portraying Her as "Rambo" (posted on 4-25-07) 
Jessica Lynch was a 19-year-old private who was taken prisoner during an ambush in the early days of the US invasion of Iraq. The Army described her as a one-woman killing machine who was captured while firing at the enemy. Instead, she said, in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, she was simply riding in a truck at the time.

She said, "I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary."  
guardian.co.uk article by Ewen MacAskill (4-25-07)

Lynch is apparently unaware that the military is in the advertising and promotion business, selling the war to the American public so that it can attract more funding and recruits.

Head of US General Services Administration Uses Government Resources to Back Republican Agenda (posted on 4-23-07)
Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) today publicly called for the resignation of Government Services Administration (GSA) head Lurita Doan. The GSA is in charge of federal government purchasing.  Doan is a political appointee who has allegedly used her office to remove several career negotiators from their positions for not giving a contract to Sun Microsystems, a large Republican donor. She then gave Sun the contract, reportedly at an additional cost of $5 million to the taxpayers.

Doan also dramatically cut the budget for the Office of the GSA Inspector General, which investigates waste, fraud, and abuse.

Twenty-five Democratic senators today signed a letter to White House chief-of-staff Josh Bolten, asking for an explanation for a meeting Doan apparently organized that had a high ranking White House political insider make a presentation to her staff on Republican goals for the 2008 election. At the meeting, she reportedly asked her team what they might do to help get "our candidates elected." Presumably, she was suggesting they give purchasing contracts to Republican donors that weren't the low bidder.
wyden.senate.gov (4-23-07)
tpmmuckraker.com article by Paul Kiel (4-23-07)

Alec Baldwin Angrily Disparages Daughter in Voice-Mail Diatribe (posted on 4-21-07)
Actor Alec Baldwin, irritated that his daughter, Ireland, did not answer the telephone when he called at an apparently pre-arranged time, unleashed his rage on her in a several minute long voice-mail in which he called her a "rude, thoughtless little pig."

He also asserted that "You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being--- I don't give a damn that you are 12 or 11 or a child or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn't care what you do."

In an apology released yesterday, Baldwin said "I'm sorry for losing my temper with my child. I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now. You have to go through this to understand."

Baldwin and Basinger are engaged in a bitter custody dispute five years after their divorce. Baldwin claims that Basinger has blocked his visitation rights and also his right to speak with his daughter on a number of occasions.
metimes.com (4-21-07)
Yahoo News (4-21-07)
MonstersandCritics.com (10-5-06)

Bush Nominates Corporate Lobbyist to Head Consumer Product Safety Commission (posted on 4-19-07)
President Bush has nominated Michael Baroody, who has spent the last 13 years lobbying to eliminate product safety laws, to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  As executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, Baroody has overseen its efforts to limit medical malpractice awards, make it more difficult for to use class action lawsuits, prevent government agencies from suing companies that engage in illegal activities, and limit companies' liability from unsafe products and practices.

The attempt to hire a person with a background like this to head a federal regulatory agency engaged in helping consumers remain safe likely means that the president (a) wants to hamstring the commission, or (b) he wants to reward a loyal Republican. 
citizen.org (4-07)

Irony for Sale: AT&T and Microsoft Urge Justice Department to Nix Google Acquisition (posted on 4-17-07)
AT&T, whose monopoly was broken up by the federal government in 1984, and Microsoft, which has been investigated and sued by both the US government and the European Commission for anti-competitive practices, are asking the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to stop Google's purchase of DoubleClick ad agency.

DoubleClick is the nation's leading supplier of digital advertising services and Google has the largest network of advertising partners on whose space ads can be placed. Together, they would have large economies of scale and a unique ability to both create and place ads quickly and easily on the Internet. This would allow Google to create ads that better take advantage of what it has learned about people who click on its sites.
LA Times editorial (4-17-07)
Forbes.com (4-16-07)

LAPD Asks for and Receives $50,000 from Philip Morris for Counterfeit Cigarette Investigation (posted on 4-16-07)
Chief Bill Bratton of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) recently solicited and received $50,000 from Philip Morris USA to help pay for an investigation into the distribution and sale of some of its brands' counterfeit cigarettes.

There is concern that if corporations provide funding for the police, the city will come to rely on those funds more, and less taxpayer funds become available.  The LAPD has a severe shortage of officers and this opens the door to people and corporations receiving police services like Congress receives lobbyists, where the police provide the best service to those who pay them the most money.
LA Times article by Patrick McGreevy (4-15-07)

US Attorney in New Mexico Appears to Have Been Fired for Political Reasons (posted on 4-15-07)
New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici was the driving force behind the firing of US Attorney David Iglesias, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Domenici wanted Iglesias to indict a Democrat in a tight New Mexico congressional race prior to the 2006 election, but Iglesias did not think it was proper.

Domenici tried to get Iglesias moved into a different position in the Justice Department, but he wouldn't take it.  Then the Senator asked Alberto Gonzales to fire Iglesias but Gonzales refused. So Domenici went to Karl Rove about the issue and later spoke to President Bush in a telephone meeting.
abqjournal.com article by Mike Gallagher (4-15-07)

Senator Domenici had no business seeking the removal of David Iglesias. Once a US attorney is placed in office, he cannot be removed just because a politician doesn't like who he does and does not choose to prosecute. However, Domenici appears to think differently behind the scenes than he does in public. 

Wolfowitz Manipulates World Bank Rules for His Girlfriend's Benefit (posted on 4-13-07) 
President Bush appointed Paul Wolfowitz, one of the key architects of the Iraq War, to be president of the World Back, in spite of his lack of qualifications. Now, Wolfowitz has used his position to secure a higher level job for his girlfriend at the State Department at a higher salary than Condoleeza Rice gets. Shaha Riza had previously worked at the World Bank, but both she and Wolfowitz were violating its rules forbid couples from working together.

This is not the first controversial personnel decision Wolfowitz has made at the World Bank. He violated bank policy by promoting another Bush administration political appointee, Kevin Kellems, to a directorship position and making him a Senor Advisor. Directors at the World Bank report to vice-presidents and never are supposed to serve as Senior Advisors to the president of the Bank. Kellems previously served as Dick Cheney's communications director and spokesman.

Wolfowitz also hired Robin Cleveland, an authoritarian figure who regularly offends people she talks to. Cleveland was a long-time aide to Senator Mitch McConnell, one of George W. Bush's biggest supporters on the War in Iraq.
guardian.co.uk article by Richard Adams (4-13-07)
TheWashingtonNote.com article by Steve Clemons (4-12-07)
TheWashingtonNote.com article by Steve Clemons (1-20-06)

Imus Finally Gets What He Has Deserved for So Long (posted on 4-12-07)
When Don Imus described the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos," he thought he was making just one more disparaging characterization of people in the spotlight.

Criticism and judgment are such a large part of his persona that he didn't get that this time he was going too far in making fun of a group of vulnerable young African American women who had over-achieved in ascending to the national stage through hard work. His depiction over the public airwaves of the women as tough, unattractive blacks who were making earning money in the world's oldest profession belied not only their basketball skills, but also their academic and musical talents, which were described at a press conference on Tuesday.

Imus is an example of a man who has made a career of put-downs and criticism and is finally paying for his sins. People will take negativity and judgment for only so long before they finally start fighting back.  And now they're taking him down.

Badly Planned Iraq War Stretches Military (posted on 4-11-07)
Four more National Guard brigades (1500-to-3500 troops) have been called up and five regular army brigades may have their one year duty increased by as much as four months. The National Guard brigades won't be sent until December.

As of now, the troop surge ordered by President Bush in January will last through August. The Army has already sent two brigades back into combat without their normal one year respite.
 
When a state's National Guard is sent to Iraq, their vehicles and equipment normally go with them. Florida has about 650 National Guard members in Iraq, along with 500 Humvees, 600 trucks, and needed supplies. If a major hurricane hits the State, there may be less than an adequate number of troops and equipment to save lives.
latimes.com article by Peter Spiegel and Richard Simon (4-10-07) 
latimes.com article by the Associated Press (4-10-07)

Bush Appoints $50,000 Donor As Ambassador to Belgium While Senate is on Recess  (posted on 4-5-07)
Sam Fox, 77, whose main qualification appears to have been making a $50,000 donation to "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," was appointed yesterday while the Senate was on recess as Ambassador to Belgium by President Bush. Bush had previously nominated Fox for the position but withdrew his nomination a week ago after strong opposition from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In 2004, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth worked to discredit John Kerry's military service during the Vietnam War. It's success in doing so contributed significantly to Bush's victory over Kerry. Since the election, the Swift Boaters' claims have been largely discredited.

Fox has donated over $1 million to Republican candidates and causes since 1990.
stltoday.com article by Philip Dine (4-5-07) 
cnn.com (4-4-05)

Bush Is A Little Too Anxious to Fund the War (4-5-07)
At his press conference on Tuesday, President Bush emphasized that it had now been 57 days since he sent Congress his request for more funds for the War in Iraq. He added, "It's irresponsible for the Democratic leadership in Congress to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds.

However, he failed to mention that during the last Congressional session led by Republicans, his request for $82 billion for took 86 days to fund and and his request for $72 billion took 119 days to fund.

After the 119 day delay, he said "I applaud those Members of Congress who came together in a fiscally responsible way to provide much-needed funds for the War on Terror and continued Hurricane Katrina recovery, as well as for securing our border and protecting against a possible avian flu pandemic. Responding to these critical needs in a timely way is not easy, but it must be done if we are to fight terrorism, defend our homeland, enforce our borders, and fulfill our moral obligation to help our fellow Americans in need."
thinkprogress.org (4-3-07)
whitehouse.gov (6-15-06)

Pharmaceutical Industry and Federal Government Conspire to Defraud the Public (posted on 4-2-07)
The pharmaceutical industry currently spends $100 million annually for campaign contributions and lobbying activities to build and protect its profits. The best example of this is the Medicare prescription drug bill, passed 3 1/2 years ago by a Republican Congress and signed by President Bush.

This law prohibits the federal government from negotiating on behalf of seniors, allowing companies to charge US citizens more money than people in any other country. It also allows drug companies to continue to raise prices over time. The Veterans Administration, because it negotiates on behalf of veterans, is able to secure significantly lower prices than seniors for the same drugs.

Prior to their vote, Congress was told that the projected cost of the bill was $395 billion over 10 years. However, the Medicare Chief Actuary, Richard Foster, later told Congress that he revised this number to $534 million before the vote; but the head of the Medicare program for the government, Tom Scully, told him to withhold the new estimate if he wanted to keep his job. At the same time, Scully was negotiating a job for himself at a Washington law firm as a high-powered lobbyist. He took the job about ten days after President Bush signed the bill into law. A minimum of 15 congressmen, staffers, and federal officials who worked on the Medicare bill have since left to go to work for the pharmaceutical industry.

Since the new Democratic Congress took over in January, the House has passed a bill to require that the federal government negotiate on behalf of seniors. However, the drug industry is spending millions of dollars in the Senate to try to defeat it, and even if it passes, President Bush says he will veto it.
"60 Minutes" transcript (4-1-07)