Posted by D. Cupples | Tonight, we'll likely know which presidential candidates won which states' primaries and caucuses: except, perhaps, in California, whose switch to paper ballots may delay the results. I don't mind waiting -- and I wouldn't mind doing without exit polls and pundits' predictions.
As the media obsesses over Super Tuesday, insisting on making Off-Track-Betting-style commentary, things are happening in the World. For example, the U.S. Senate plans to go back to debating the FISA bill and Telecom Amnesty. (TPM) BN-Politics has repeatedly covered why Telecom Amnesty would be a terrible thing for us taxpayers (including here and here). Now's a good time to email senators and congressmen, urging them to vote "No" on Telecom Amnesty."
Today, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, delivering a report that had seemingly contradictory statements about threats to our national security. (NY Times via Memeorandum) Last year, McConnell twice made questionable statements to Congress -- one of which he retracted after the fact.
The U.S. Senate is still squabbling over a proposed economic stimulus package, and Majority Leader Harry Reid has refused to allow a vote today so that Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be able to participate when they return to Washington tomorrow. (The Hill)
President Bush is seeking $2 billion to build a high-security fence between Mexico and the U.S., along with $500 million for extra border patrol agents (Houston Chronicle).
Meanwhile, a government-ethics group has requested a criminal probe into the White House's millions of missing emails. (AP) Two weeks ago, the White House made statements about the emails that conflicted with prior statements.
Corrente points out that five years ago today, Colin Powell addressed the U.N. and made the erroneous (some say false) case for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Many view this move on Powell's part as a dreadful turning point in our nation's history, partly because nearly 4,000 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died as a result.
The more fiscal-minded people grimace at the thought that our nation has now spent around half a trillion dollars on the Iraq war -- a significant portion going to government contractors and war profiteers.
Over in Kenya, whose recent presidential election brought turmoil to that nation, some 1,000 people have died and 300,000 have been driven out of their homes. (NY Times)
Rebels in Chad killed hundreds of civilians in a coup attempt. (Washington Post) The French government is considering an intervention.
Oh, and the ever-fickle thing we call the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by nearly 370 points today. (Washington Post)
Other BN-Politics Posts:
* Gas Prices rise, So Do Profits
* More Troops Disapprove of War, Support Anti-War Candidates
* Pre-Primary Polls Still Conflict
* "Billions over Baghdad": Poor Accounting Enabled Waste & Fraud
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