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TOP STORIES
Life
quickly gets a lot harder for White House
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-21-showdown-analysis_N.htm
Less than 100 days
into the new Congress, Capitol Hill's Democratic leaders have set in motion two
constitutional confrontations with a White House unaccustomed to such
challenges. A House Judiciary subcommittee authorized subpoenas Wednesday to
force several of President Bush's closest aides to testify about the firings of
federal prosecutors. The Senate Judiciary Committee will follow suit today,
said that panel's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. The Senate and House have
held a series of debates and votes on opposing Bush's plans to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq. Another may come before week's end: House leaders are trying to pass a
bill that ties continued funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to a September 2008 deadline for troop withdrawal. Bush is threatening a veto.
Both moves raise constitutional questions about the balance of power between
the executive and legislative branches of government and underscore how much
the atmosphere in the nation's capital has changed since voters gave Democrats
control of Congress.
RELATED: Bush’s Big-Picture Battle: Presidential Prerogatives
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/washington/22bush.html
In Iraq, Fear Takes a Holiday
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102584.html
In relative terms,
recent weeks in Baghdad have been quiet -- execution-style killings are down
and nearly a month has passed since the last massive bombing, an explosion at a
university that killed nearly 50 people. And so Zawra Park filled on Wednesday
with residents picnicking on the patchy grass, and allowing themselves a bit of
optimism. "I hope that this spring holiday will be accompanied by a spring
security," said Ali Jasim, 40, a government employee who brought his
children to the park from their home in Sadr City. "And I hope that Iraq will go back as it was." But the optimism of many parkgoers was wary.
RELATED: Holiday brings life back to park
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-holiday22mar22,1,2856283.story?coll=la-headlines-world
Prosecutor
Says Bush Appointees Interfered With Tobacco Case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102713.html
The leader of the
Justice Department team that prosecuted a landmark lawsuit against tobacco
companies said yesterday that Bush administration political appointees
repeatedly ordered her to take steps that weakened the government's
racketeering case. Sharon Y. Eubanks said Bush loyalists in Attorney General
Alberto R. Gonzales's office began micromanaging the team's strategy in the
final weeks of the 2005 trial, to the detriment of the government's claim that
the industry had conspired to lie to U.S. smokers. She said a supervisor
demanded that she and her trial team drop recommendations that tobacco
executives be removed from their corporate positions as a possible penalty. He
and two others instructed her to tell key witnesses to change their testimony.
And they ordered Eubanks to read verbatim a closing argument they had rewritten
for her, she said. "The political people were pushing the buttons and ordering
us to say what we said," Eubanks said. "And because of that, we
failed to zealously represent the interests of the American public."
Gore
Challenges Congress on Climate
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032100709.html
Environmental activist
(and former vice president) Al Gore descended on Capitol Hill yesterday,
telling two congressional panels that global climate change represents the most
dangerous crisis in American history and that the measures needed to fix the
problem -- such as an immediate freeze on new emissions from cars and power
plants -- are far more drastic than anything currently on the table. Gore, whose
documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" won an Academy Award last month,
testified before both House and Senate committees in an appearance that drew
international media attention and lines of would-be spectators trailing through
congressional hallways.
RELATED: Gore turns up heat on Congress
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703220135mar22,1,2904221.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
RELATED: Returning as
the 'Goracle'
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gore22mar22,1,5302998.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Today’s complete national news
Colorado
McInnis
not up for 2008 Senate run
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5491117
Republican Scott
McInnis dropped out of the 2008 U.S. Senate race Wednesday, leaving Republicans
scrambling for a worthy challenger to Democrat Mark Udall in what is billed as
the race for the only open Senate seat in the country. But the Colorado GOP
isn't what it used to be. The bench is shallow, money is scarce, and even party
regulars say the battles between conservatives and moderates show no sign of
abating. To make matters worse, the party is suffering waning support
nationally from a public tired of war and government scandals. That's not to
say there aren't any decent candidates eyeing the seat that Sen. Wayne Allard
will vacate - just not any mega-candidates like former Gov. Bill Owens, who has
repeatedly said he isn't interested. "There is definitely an adjustment
period going on," said Republican strategist Sean Tonner, president of Phaseline
Strategies in Denver. "Our bench will be strong in another two years, but
there is a slight gap right now. And there's a big gap on the funding side, and
that makes it difficult to find viable candidates." Newly elected state
GOP head Dick Wadhams, who was drafted to get the party back on track, said he
isn't concerned about the party's chances in November 2008.
RELATED: McInnis out of running
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5434715,00.html
RELATED: Former Rep.
McInnis won't enter Senate race
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/mar/22/former-rep-mcinnis-wont-enter-senate-race/
RELATED: Schaffer eyed
for 2008 Senate seat
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/NEWS01/703220350/1002
RELATED: McInnis out
of Senate race; field wide open
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/03/22/3_22_1a_McInnis.html
RELATED: McInnis won't
run for Senate
http://postindependent.com/article/20070322/VALLEYNEWS/103220038
Ethics
law gets a do-over
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5491116
The Capitol clash over
Colorado's new ethics law ended Wednesday when Senate and House leaders agreed
to set up an ethics panel and send the measure back to voters in 2008. The
compromise came just hours after a coalition pushing the legislature to clarify
Amendment 41 threatened to put a rewrite on the 2007 ballot that would have
included a tax on professional lobbyists. And it came one day after the debut
of a radio ad attacking Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald for putting up a
"roadblock" against a House bill that sought to clarify the ethics
law. Coloradans for Sensible Ethics was "pulling the ads off the air as
soon as possible" after the compromise, spokesman Eric Sondermann said.
The group also backed off plans to seek a 2007 vote. House and Senate leaders
announced their compromise at an impromptu evening news conference attended by
Republicans and Democrats. They vowed to pass Senate Bill 210, which sets up a
five-member ethics panel that would hear alleged violations of Amendment 41.
The legislature will ask the Colorado Supreme Court for guidance to help the
ethics panel determine the gift ban's scope - including whether it affects inheritances,
scholarships and gifts for rank-and-file government workers.
RELATED: Truce is reached to clarify ethics law
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5434228,00.html
RELATED: Ad takes aim
at Senate president
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5434131,00.html
RELATED: Lawmakers
address amendment on ethics
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=20438&template=article.html
Property-tax freeze called "too hot" to pass
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5491303
Top statehouse
Democrats said Wednesday that it's unlikely Gov. Bill Ritter's plan to freeze
property-tax rates to boost money for Colorado schools will pass this year.
Sen. Abel Tapia, chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, said holding property
rates steady is "too hot" politically for some of his fellow
Democrats, while Republicans are calling the effort a tax increase. Senate
President Joan Fitz-Gerald said the governor's office focused on policy over
politics in presenting the proposal - possibly imperiling the effort. "If
you're going to do it, there is an education campaign that is huge,"
Fitz-Gerald said. No such effort was made, so now the proposal is facing
trouble, she said.
RELATED: Ritter's property tax proposal in trouble
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5434700,00.html
RELATED: Dems weigh
school taxes
http://www.cortezjournal.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070322_2.htm
RELATED: Attorney
signs off on Ritter’s education fund plan
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=20440&template=article.html
Letting
parolees vote gets OK (Under the dome, 3/22)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5491305
After two hours of
debate on constitutional law, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday
endorsed a proposal to let felons on parole vote. The provision was added to a
broader election code cleanup earlier this month on the Senate floor. After
opponents - including Republicans Attorney General John Suthers and Secretary
of State Mike Coffman - raised questions about the constitutionality of such a
provision, the bill was sent back to committee. On straight party-line vote of
4-3, the panel sent the bill back to the full Senate unchanged. A
representative of Suthers' office, Solicitor General Dan Dominico, told
lawmakers they don't have authority to give parolees voting rights. "This
(parolee voting) portion redefines by legislation a constitutional phrase, and
the legislature does not have that authority," he said. "Full rights
of parolees return only when a full sentence is completed or after a pardon by
the governor."
RELATED: Dems back parolee voting rights bill amid criticism
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/03/22/3_22_3b_Parolee_voting.html
Today’s complete Colorado news
Today’s complete daily news: http://media.progressnowaction.org/digest/032207.htm
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