Friday, September 21, 2007

From Bush vetoing kids' ins. to Abe Lincoln flying Delta...

From American Progress:

Think Fast...

"Republicans reacted angrily yesterday" to Bush's pledge to veto increased funding for children's health insurance. "I'm disappointed by the president's comments," said Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA). "I'm very, very disappointed," echoed Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR).

89.6 million: The number of Americans under the age of 65 who "had no health insurance for some or all of 2006 and 2007, according to a study released Thursday by Families USA, an advocacy group for the uninsured. The number is "almost double the number of uninsured reported by the Census Bureau for 2006."

The appointment of Donald Rumsfeld as a "distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution is drawing fierce protests from faculty members and students at Stanford University." "Some 2,100 professors, staff members, students and alumni have signed" a petition protesting his appointment.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who recently said "there are too many mosques" in America, continues to advise former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. Giuliani "chuckled" at the suggestion of dumping King. "I've known Pete for 41 years, so I'm not about to do that," he said.

The United States "corroborated" Israeli intelligence that formed the basis for Israel's decision to attack a site inside Syria on Sept. 6. While some reports indicate it was a suspected nuclear site, others report it was "missiles and/or weapons parts." Bush refused to make any comment on the matter yesterday.

Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey assured Senators yesterday "that he would limit contacts between the Justice Department and the White House to halt any political meddling with ongoing investigations." The Senate Judiciary Committee also approved a bill, introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), which will limit communications between the Justice Department and the White House regarding ongoing investigations.

In the first comprehensive account of Sunday's shootout in Baghdad involving Blackwater contractors, the Iraqi Interior Ministry concluded the guards fired "an unprovoked barrage" on Iraqis in their cars in midday traffic. The report recommends that "the dozens of foreign security companies" in Iraq "should be replaced by Iraqi companies, and that a law that has given the companies immunity for years be scrapped."

And finally: The famous wax museum Madame Tussauds "flew its wax statue of Abraham Lincoln to D.C. on a Delta Shuttle flight on Thursday. Abe rode in the coach section with regular, non-presidential passengers."

Wrap...

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