New Law May Spell End To Iraq Contractors

CBS News The government of Iraq has notified private security firms their immunity from Iraqi law is about to end, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. The title of a letter sent by the interior ministry - and obtained exclusively CBS News - says it all: “Removing the legal immunity.” Until now, security firms like Blackwater have operated under a grant of immunity issued in 2004 by the then-top American in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer. But the draft of a new law says “all immunities … shall be cancelled." That law still must be ratified by the Iraqi parliament, and if and when it is, private security firms would almost certainly pull out of Iraq.
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What Love means to a 4-8 year old

I just got this email and I had to share it. Thanks Melissa

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . . Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it. Touching words from the mouth of babes. A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds,

"What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
____________________________________

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her
toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time,
even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8
____________________________________

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name
is different. You just know that your name is safe in their
mouth."
Billy - age 4
____________________________________

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts
on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5
____________________________________

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody
most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6
____________________________________

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4
____________________________________

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy
and she takes a sip before
giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7
____________________________________

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you
get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8
____________________________________

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas
if you stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
____________________________________

"If you want to learn to love better, you should
start with a friend who you hate,"

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
____________________________________

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt,
then he wears it everyday."

Noelle - age 7
____________________________________

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old
man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6
____________________________________

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I
was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and
smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."

Cindy - age 8
____________________________________

"My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."

Clare - age 6
____________________________________

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."

Elaine-age 5
____________________________________

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty
and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."

Chris - age 7
____________________________________

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after
you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4
____________________________________

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives
me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4
____________________________________

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and
down and little stars come out of you."

Karen - age 7
(what an image)
____________________________________

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and
she doesn't think it's gross."

Mark - age 6
____________________________________

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you
mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Jessica - age 8
____________________________________

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo
Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most
caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next
door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard,
climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the
neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

What If “24″ Happened In 1994?

US Debt Tops $9 Trillion For First Time

Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday publicly held U.S. debt breached $9 trillion this week for the first time ever, just five weeks after Congress had raised the statutory borrowing limit.

At the end of September, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a measure to increase the debt limit ceiling to $9.815 trillion from $8.965 trillion, allowing the government to keep issuing debt.

The increase in the debt limit is the fifth since Bush took office in January 2001. The U.S. debt stood at about $5.6 trillion at the start of his presidency.

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McCain Says Kerik Reflects on Giuliani

By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Bernard Kerik did an irresponsible job training police in Iraq, presidential contender John McCain said Friday, adding to criticism of Kerik as Rudy Giuliani's former police commissioner surrendered to face charges in New York.

McCain cited Kerik's relationship with his Republican presidential foe as a reason to doubt Giuliani's judgment.

Giuliani's longtime associate, business partner and friend surrendered Friday to face federal corruption charges in New York, where he had been police commissioner when Giuliani was mayor. Kerik was also a failed nominee to head the Homeland Security Department, a post Giuliani recommended him for.

McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, pointed to Kerik's performance in Iraq, along with complaints about how Giuliani treated first-responders after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as reasons why the former mayor's presidential campaign should deserve greater scrutiny from voters.

"I don't know Mr. Kerik. I do know that I went to Baghdad shortly after the initial victory and met in Baghdad with (Ambassador Paul) Bremer and (Lt. Gen. Ricardo) Sanchez. And Kerik was there. Kerik was supposed to be there to help train the police force. He stayed two months and one day left, just up and left," McCain told reporters traveling on his campaign bus.

"That's why I never would've supported him to be the head of homeland security because of his irresponsible act when he was over in Baghdad to try and help train the police. One of the reasons why we had so much trouble with the initial training of the police was because he came, didn't do anything and then went out to the airport and left."

Republican McCain campaigned on Friday with Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the nation's first secretary of homeland security under President Bush.

"It was clear the mayor and I had a different view what the department does and the kind of leadership it needed," Ridge told reporters. "His judgment would've been different than mine."

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Happy Friday!

Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase Old Skit

Kerik Indicted

Poll: Will Giullani's relationship with Keril impact Giullani's
run for president?


New York City Local ABC News Report On Kerik Indictment


Allegations Here: NYT-Kerik Is Accused of Abusing Post as City Official

Obama, "We Need A New Generation"

Obama and America

On point
By host Tom Ashbrook

It's the first Tuesday in November. A year from today, America picks a new president. Barack Obama may or may not be on that final ballot. The votes that will determine the fate of his candidacy start just weeks from now, in Iowa and New Hampshire.

That short clock is pushing new considerations of Obama and -- whether one supports him or not -- just what an extraordinary product of the American and global culture he is. In his person, and in his way of thinking, he could be a game-changer for this country.

Is it a change Americans want? A change they can trust?

This hour, On Point: looking again at a one-of-a-kind contender, Barack Listen Here

Guests:
· James Traub, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine
· Laura Washington, columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times
· Andrew Sullivan, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly and author of the
blog "Daily Dish"

Clinton tunes out of 'Today' appearance?

Chicago Tribune
by Glenn Thrush

It looks like Hillary Clinton is backing out of a sit-down on NBC's "Today" this week, according to sources (not with the Clinton campaign) who claim knowledge. Barack Obama, you might recall, appeared on the show last week to accuse the frontrunner of improperly playing the gender card, a performance even Clinton's supporters thought was effective.You might also recall that Clinton rolled out the phrase "vast right-wing conspiracy" during a 1998 chat with the show's Matt Lauer.

UPDATE: A Clinton aide tells Newsday the campaign discussed appearing on the show, seriously considered doing so, but never officially "confirmed" she'd appear.

Hat Tip: Mike

New Hampshire Dem Polls

Obama Gaining

At 34%, Clinton’s current level of support is the lowest measured in any Rasmussen Reports poll this year. Four previous polls in New Hampshire found her consistently in the 37% to 40% range.

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Fred Thompson’s First TV Ad and CMA Appearance

No wonder Hillary is running scared

POLL: Zogby Iowa Democratic Caucus

A new Zogby telephone survey of 502 likely caucus goers in Iowa (conducted 11/6) finds:

• Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly leads Sen. Barack Obama (28% to 25%) in a statewide caucus; former Sen. John Edwards trails at 21%, Gov. Bill Richardson at 9%. All other candidates trail at less than five percent each.

• When votes for candidates with less than 15% are reallocated*, Clinton receives 30%, Obama 29%, and Edwards 27%.

• *Note: "In the [Democratic] caucuses, a first round of "balloting" is conducted, and those candidates who do not win at least 15% support are ruled "unviable" and supporters are directed to a second choice among those who remained "viable" before a second round of "balloting" is conducted."

GOD No Longer Bless America, But Rudy Has Pat Robertson Blessing

Pat Robinson says, "America deserved 9/11"



Video Hat Tip: TMP

I'm just a little confuse as to why Pat Robinson just endorsed Rudy Giuliani who has a record that documents support for abortion rights and gay rights not to mention his cross dressing. Could it be the first sign of Rudy's "Southern Strategy" appeal at work?

Federal Prosecutors Plan to Seek Charges Against Kerik

New York Times
City Room
By William K. Rashbaum

Federal prosecutors are scheduled to seek a grand jury indictment on Thursday of Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York police commissioner, on a list of charges that include tax fraud, corruption and conspiracy, according to people who have been briefed on the case.

The grand jury, sitting in Westchester, has been hearing evidence about Mr. Kerik for more than a year as part of a broad federal investigation into a variety of allegations, including his acceptance of $165,000 in renovations from a contractor who was seeking a city license.

If an indictment is voted up, as prosecutors are expected to request, it would remain sealed until Friday, when Mr. Kerik would be arraigned in United States District Court in White Plains.

Google: Map Where Congress Budgets Your Taxes

A new Google Earth layer keeps tabs on political spending by pinpointing where and for what projects U.S. government officials are budgeting funds for across the country:

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Suspended Morton students demand return to class

Chicago Sun-Times

BY KATE N. GROSSMAN Education Reporter

About 10 Morton West High School students suspended over an anti-war protest at the school last week returned to the Berwyn school today to demand they be allowed back in classes.

The kids were accompanied by about 20 parents and anti-war activists at a press conference in front of Morton West. About 25 students were suspended and face expulsions after staging a protest against the Iraq war in the school cafeteria last Thursday.

The kids were accompanied by about 20 parents and anti-war activists at a press conference in front of Morton West. About 25 students were suspended and face expulsions after staging a protest against the Iraq war in the school cafeteria last Thursday.

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Please help the Morton West High School Antiwar Students and sign a petition here:

A ‘Southern Strategy’ for a new generation

Crooks and Liars

By: Steve Benen

There was some talk in Republican circles that using race as a wedge was simply no longer a viable political strategy in the 21st century. It led then-RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, for example, to address the NAACP in 2005, in order to acknowledge how wrong the party has been on the issue. He conceded that Republicans, for decades, tried to “benefit politically from racial polarization.” Mehlman concluded, “I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong.”

So, can we throw Republican Southern Strategies into the dustbin of history? Apparently, not yet.

Strategists for Rudy Giuliani are quietly preparing a significantly race-based campaign strategy to strengthen support among socially conservative white voters, in the South as well as in the North. […]

Giuliani’s eight years as New York’s chief executive exemplified a Northern adaptation of the GOP’s politically successful “Southern strategy” - the strategy playing on white resistance to and resentment of federal legislation passed in the 1960s mandating desegregation - resistance that produced a realignment in the South and fractured the Democratic loyalties of white working class voters in the urban North from 1968 to 2004.

It’s hard to know exactly what this strategy would look like in practice, but Tom Edsall’s report suggests Giuliani will appeal to white conservatives by emphasizing his conflicts with NYC’s African-American community. The idea, apparently, is to deflect attention from his positions on abortion, gays, guns, and immigration by pointing to race — the implicit message being: “How liberal can Giuliani be if he constantly fought with black people in New York?”

Shameless.

Why Is The Writers Guild On Strike?

Update: The WGA dropped its demand for 8 cents per DVD sold - offering to keep settling for 4 cents, if they just got money for internet use.

The People Are Fed Up

Americans United For Change: Listen Up GOP

Keith Olbermann's Special Comments: George Brush's Criminal Conspiracy

MSNBC's COUNTDOWN with Keith Olbermann, Special Comment Transcript Here

Is Hillary Running Scared...What Do You Think?

Obama rejects Bill Clinton's criticism

AP Interview: Obama Rejects Bill Clinton's Comparison of Criticism of Hillary to 'Swift Boats'
NEDRA PICKLER, AP News

Barack Obama said Tuesday that former President Clinton was making a leap to compare treatment of his wife in the presidential race to the "swift boat" criticism of John Kerry in 2004.

The former president encouraged an audience in Nevada Monday not to let "trivial matters" take away the election from the Democrats as they have in the past. He cited the television ads during the 2004 presidential campaign that questioned Kerry's patriotism and campaign commercials in 2002 suggesting that Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga. was soft on terrorism.

Both Kerry and Cleland were honored for their service in Vietnam, during which Cleland lost three limbs. Both were defeated after the ads aired.

"I was pretty stunned by that statement," Obama said with a chuckle when asked about the former president's comment in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

He said that when debating last week whether illegal immigrants should be given driver's licenses, Hillary Rodham Clinton "seemed to contradict what she said previously."

Both Obama and John Edwards have criticized her repeatedly on that score, but Obama said in the interview: "How you would then draw an analogy to distorting somebody's military record is a reach."

Frank Luntz, "Take Me Off Your Mailiing List"

It's not been uncommon for the Washington wordsmith to pass along communication advice to a sitting commander in chief, either. But now it appears Mr. Luntz, who last we knew was a registered Republican, has given up on President Bush.

"I don't want to be on your White House list anymore," Mr. Luntz wrote to Bush White House official Scott R. Arogeti on Friday, after he had received a text copy of the president's speech on fighting global terrorism to the Heritage Foundation. "This is my third attempt to get my name removed. And if the language below is any indication, there are a lot of people who feel like me. This is how you open a speech on global terror — with a pathetic joke?"

Mr. Luntz apparently thought Mr. Bush was a bit too jovial when he began his remarks: "Thanks for the kind introduction. I'm looking forward to working with you for the next 14 months — but you better put on your running shoes, because my spirits are high, my energy level is good and I'm sprinting to the finish line."

The Washington Times, Inside the Beltway

TPMtv, asked the question ... Rudy Giuliani, Grade School Fibber or World Class Megalomaniac?

Late Update: As you can see from today's episode we focused in on Rudy as Recovery Worker and Rudy as Torture Expert. But as we were putting the show together, my sense was that there were several more of these crackerjack boasts that we'd forgotten about. If you remember more, let us know.

--Josh Marshall, TPM

Is Waterboarding Torture?

Dan Abrams. Live with Malcolm Nance, Counter Terrorism Analyst,
Rachel Maddow, Air Americia and Pat Buchanan

For The Love Of God NO Cell Phones Please

ANdrew Sullivan: Why Obama Matters

My essay on the transformational potential of Barack Obama's candidacy is now online:

Strictly speaking, Obama is at the tail end of the Boomer generation. But he is not of it.

“Partly because my mother, you know, was smack-dab in the middle of the Baby Boom generation,” he told me. “She was only 18 when she had me. So when I think of Baby Boomers, I think of my mother’s generation. And you know, I was too young for the formative period of the ’60s—civil rights, sexual revolution, Vietnam War. Those all sort of passed me by.”

Obama’s mother was, in fact, born only five years earlier than Hillary Clinton. He did not politically come of age during the Vietnam era, and he is simply less afraid of the right wing than Clinton is, because he has emerged on the national stage during a period of conservative decadence and decline. And so, for example, he felt much freer than Clinton to say he was prepared to meet and hold talks with hostile world leaders in his first year in office. He has proposed sweeping middle-class tax cuts and opposed drastic reforms of Social Security, without being tarred as a fiscally reckless liberal. (Of course, such accusations are hard to make after the fiscal performance of today’s “conservatives.”) Even his more conservative positions—like his openness to bombing Pakistan, or his support for merit pay for public-school teachers—do not appear to emerge from a desire or need to credentialize himself with the right. He is among the first Democrats in a generation not to be afraid or ashamed of what they actually believe, which also gives them more freedom to move pragmatically to the right, if necessary. He does not smell, as Clinton does, of political fear.

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ABC News: Who Is Obama

Is Poppa Bush A Terrorist Sympathizer?

Bush: “…See, that side of the war never got — the fact that we treated those people with respect in spite of the fact they were the enemy, it’s really good.

Saturday Night Live: Obama

To Cool Not To View

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART

Obama And Race

Hardball Chris Mathews with Ed Schultz

This Is Torture Says Daniel Levin, Fmr. Acting Assistant Attorney General

Countdown's Keith Olbermann with
John Dean, Frm. Special Counsel To Nixon