6/29

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/30/2006 11:01:00 AM 0 comments   

6/28 - Al Gore

• Buffet Donation. Renowned investor Warren Buffet has announced that he would begin giving away much of his fortune in July to five foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Article on-line here and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation statement on-line here.

• War of Words. Congress has in recent weeks debated calls for a withdrawal from Iraq, what some Republicans call “cutting and running.” On June 16, the House of Representatives passed by a 256-153 vote a resolution (H. Res. 861) that “it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq” and that “the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq.” The House has voted before on whether to call for a withdrawal. In November, after Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pennsylvania), criticized the U.S. presence in Iraq as prolonging the insurgency and called for redeployment (speech on-line here), the House voted 403-3 against a measure calling for immediate withdrawal.
  In the Senate, Democratic senators have made different proposals calling for some redeployment of U.S. troops. Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) announced on June 12 (release on-line here) that he would introduce an amendment that called for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2006, leaving only U.S. troops essential to helping Iraqi security forces, though he later agreed to delay his proposed deadline for redeployment until July 2007. Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) announced on June 19 (release on-line here) that they were offering an amendment calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops to begin by the end of 2006.
  President George W. Bush has rejected calls for a timetable for withdrawal and has said that U.S. forces will stay in Iraq until the mission there is done. In a March 29 speech (on-line here), he said that “[w]e should all agree that pulling our troops out prematurely would be a disaster” and that “[w]e will leave because Iraqi forces have gained in strength, not because America's will has weakened. We will complete the mission in Iraq because the security of the American people is linked to the success in Iraq.”

• Reference to Global Warming. The documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which features former Vice President Al Gore, is on-line here.
  Many people do agree that global average surface temperature has increased over the 100 years by about one degree and that higher concentrations of greenhouse gases relating to human activity such as the use of fossil fuels have contributed to this increase. President George W. Bush himself acknowledged the temperature increase and the greenhouse effect in a June 11, 2001 speech (on-line here), though he also raised questions about how much was known and what should be done in response.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/29/2006 07:43:00 AM 0 comments   

6/27 - Helen Thomas

• Reference to Israel. An article about Israel’s troop deployment and a draft agreement by Palestinian leaders reportedly recognizing Israel’s right to exist is on-line here.

• Stop the Press. The New York Times reported last week that sources had reported that the United States had initiated a secret program soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks to examine bank transactions involving people in the United States (article on-line here). President George W. Bush defended the program on June 23 as “fully authorized under the law” and criticized the disclosure of the program as “disgraceful” (transcript on-line here). Vice President Dick Cheney also defended the program and said he was offended by news media that “take it upon themselves to disclose vital national security programs, thereby making it more difficult for us to prevent future attacks against the American people” (transcript on-line here).

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/28/2006 07:51:00 AM 0 comments   

6/26 - Lance Armstrong

• Soft Cell. Attorney General Albert Gonzales announced on June 23 that seven individuals in Florida were indicted for a conspiracy to wage war against the United States and for attempting to obtain the support of al Qaida; a transcript of the press conference is on-line here and the indictment is on-line here. A June 24 New York Times article on the alleged conspiracy is on-line here.

• Reference to Bank Records. The New York Times reported last week that sources had reported that the United States had initiated a secret program soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks to examine bank transactions involving people in the United States (article on-line here). President George W. Bush defended the program on June 23 as “fully authorized under the law” and criticized the disclosure of the program as “disgraceful” (transcript on-line here).

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/27/2006 08:48:00 AM 0 comments   

6/22 - Adam Sandler

• Judgment at Nuremberg. The United States failed to advance out of its group in the 2006 World Cup, having lost two matches (to the Czech Republic and Ghana) and having tied one match (to Italy). More information about the June 22 match with Ghana is on-line here.

• Bad Pit. Some information about the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana can be found here and here.

• Hawking Conference. Stories about Stephen Hawking’s June 12 press conference are on-line here and here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/23/2006 08:41:00 AM 0 comments   

6/21

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/22/2006 06:11:00 AM 0 comments   

6/20 - Juliet Eilperin

• Votes on Iraq Withdrawal. Congress has in recent days debated calls for a withdrawal from Iraq. On June 16, the House of Representatives passed by a 256-153 vote a resolution (H. Res. 861) that “it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq” and that “the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq.” The House has voted before on whether to call for a withdrawal. In November, after Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pennsylvania), criticized the U.S. presence in Iraq as prolonging the insurgency and called for redeployment (speech on-line here), the House voted 403-3 against a measure calling for immediate withdrawal.
  In the Senate, Democratic senators have made different proposals calling for some redeployment of U.S. troops. Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) announced on June 12 (release on-line here) that he would introduce an amendment that called for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2006, leaving only U.S. troops essential to helping Iraqi security forces, though he later agreed to delay his deadline for redeployment until July 2007. Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) announced on June 19 (release on-line here) that they were offering an amendment calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops to begin by the end of 2006.
  President George W. Bush has rejected calls for a timetable for withdrawal and has said that U.S. forces will stay in Iraq until the mission there is done. In a March 29 speech (on-line here), he said that “[w]e should all agree that pulling our troops out prematurely would be a disaster” and that “[w]e will leave because Iraqi forces have gained in strength, not because America's will has weakened. We will complete the mission in Iraq because the security of the American people is linked to the success in Iraq.”

• North Korea Launch Special. According to some reports, North Korea may be preparing for long-range missile tests and the United States may be preparing its ground-based missile defense system in response (article on-line here). White House spokesman Tony Snow said on June 20 that the Bush administration hoped that North Korea would abide by a previously announced moratorium on launching missiles and would continue with six-party talks.
  “They've done these kinds of things to get attention before. They did a missile launch in 1998,” National Security Advisor Steve Hadley said (transcript on-line here). “What we've tried to convince them is that the kind of attention they will get is not attention that will be constructive towards getting back to the six-party talks, getting implementation of the September agreement, and really not conducive to the long-term interests of North Korea or its people.”
  The June 16 State Department press briefing shown in the segment is on-line here.

• Our Drowning Seas. By a 33 to 32 vote, members of the International Whaling Commission passed a resolution (on-line here) on June 18 that supported an end to the moratorium on commercial whaling that has been effective since 1986. Despite the moratorium, Japan and Norway have continued to conduct some whaling by invoking exceptions. Japan has claimed that it kills whales for a variety of scientific purposes, though critics doubt Japan's credibility here as the meat from such whales is sold in Japan. Norway has objected to the International jurisdiction and to the IWC's designation of the Northeast Atlantic minke whale population as protected stock.
  A transcript of President George W. Bush’s June 15 announcement of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/21/2006 08:05:00 AM 0 comments   

6/19 - Calvin Trillin

• Debate & Switch. Congress has in recent days debated calls for a withdrawal from Iraq. On June 16, the House of Representatives passed by a 256-153 vote a resolution (H. Res. 861) that “it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq” and that “the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq.” The House has voted before on whether to call for a withdrawal. In November, after Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pennsylvania), criticized the U.S. presence in Iraq as prolonging the insurgency and called for redeployment (speech on-line here), the House voted 403-3 against a measure calling for immediate withdrawal.
  In the Senate, Democratic senators have made different proposals calling for some redeployment of U.S. troops. Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) announced on June 12 (release on-line here) that he would introduce an amendment that called for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2006, leaving only U.S. troops essential to helping Iraqi security forces, though he later agreed to delay his deadline for redeployment until July 2007. Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) announced on June 19 (release on-line here) that they were offering an amendment calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops to begin by the end of 2006.
  President George W. Bush has rejected calls for a timetable for withdrawal and has said that U.S. forces will stay in Iraq until the mission there is done. In a March 29 speech (on-line here), he said that “[w]e should all agree that pulling our troops out prematurely would be a disaster” and that “[w]e will leave because Iraqi forces have gained in strength, not because America's will has weakened. We will complete the mission in Iraq because the security of the American people is linked to the success in Iraq.”

• Designated Bitter. A recent op-ed piece on the Congressional Softball League controversy is on-line here. The Congressional Softball League is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/20/2006 08:30:00 AM 0 comments   

6/15 - Louis CK

• The Write Wing. An article about White House speechwriter Michael Gerson leaving the Bush administration is on-line here.

• White House VH1 Best Week Ever. U.S. and Iraqi officials announced on June 8 that U.S. forces had killed Abu Zarqawi, a Jordanian leader who led the insurgency in Iraq; a statement by President George W. Bush is on-line here.
  . Karl Rove’s lawyer said on June 13 that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had informed Rove that Rove would not be indicted in connection with Fitzgerald’s investigation into the possible leak of an undercover CIA agent’s name; a New York Times article is on-line here. Transcripts of Bush’s remarks during his June 13 visit to Iraq are on-line here and here.

• He Ain’t Heavy, He’s Big Brother. The Electronic Privacy Information Center is on-line here. Bill Wilson’s book “Covering Your Tracks Without Changing Your Identity” is on Amazon here.
  More generally, some have raised concerns about the collection of information by the government, advertisers, and other organizations. In a May 11 appearance shortly after USA Today reported that the National Security Agency has maintained a database of information about domestic phone calls (on-line here), Bush did not confirm or deny the existence of the program but did defend intelligence activities generally. "First, our international activities strictly target al Qaeda and their known affiliates. Al Qaeda is our enemy, and we want to know their plans. Second, the government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. Third, the intelligence activities I authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat. Fourth, the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities," he said. "We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans. Our efforts are focused on links to al Qaeda and their known affiliates."

• Apocalypse: Now? The Sci-Fi Channel show Countdown to Doomsday is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/16/2006 08:31:00 AM 0 comments   

6/14 - Tim Russert

• Daryl Hannah. An article about Daryl Hannah’s joining a protest to prevent land that is used for an urban farm in Los Angeles from being sold is on-line here.

• Sound Garden. A transcript of President George W. Bush’s June 14, 2006 press conference about his June 13 visit to Iraq is on-line here. Transcripts of Bush’s remarks during his visit are on-line here and here.

• Donkey Showdown. Erie County, Ohio is in the state’s 9th congressional district, which is currently represented by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). Miller
• CO2 No Evil. The documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which features former Vice President Al Gore, is on-line here.
  Many do agree that global average surface temperature has increased over the 100 years by about one degree and that higher concentrations of greenhouse gases relating to human activity such as the use of fossil fuels have contributed to this increase. President George W. Bush himself acknowledged the temperature increase and the greenhouse effect in a June 11, 2001 speech (on-line here), though he also raised questions about how much was known and what should be done in response.
  The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s ads criticizing concerns about global warming are on-line here.

• Reference to Rove. Karl Rove’s lawyer said on June 13 that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had informed Rove that Rove would not be indicted in connection with Fitzgerald’s investigation into the possible leak of an undercover CIA agent’s name. A New York Times article is on-line here.
  Some have speculated that Rove may have disclosed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to conservative columnist Robert Novak in July 2005. According to the October 28, 2005 indictment of I. Lewis Libby (on-line here), Libby spoke on July 10 or 11 to a "senior official in the White House ("Official A") who advised Libby of a conservation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson's wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson's trip. Libby was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson's wife."
  This senior official may be White House advisor Rove. Matthew Cooper of Time has said that he discussed Wilson's wife with Rove on July 11. Moreover, White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who said on September 29, 2003 that the idea that Rove was the leak was a "ridiculous suggestion" (transcript on-line here) and who said on October 10, 2003 that Rove had provided assurances that he was not involved (transcript on-line here), declined in July 2005 press conferences to answer questions on Rove or to back up his prior statements, saying on July 12 (on-line here) that it was "not the appropriate time to talk about those questions while the investigation is continuing."

• Reference to Zarqawi. U.S. and Iraqi officials announced on June 8 that U.S. forces had killed Abu Zarqawi, a Jordanian leader who led the insurgency in Iraq. A transcript of the June 12 press briefing about the details of Zarqawi’s death is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/15/2006 08:32:00 AM 0 comments   

6/13 - Ken Mehlman

• Karl Rove. Karl Rove’s lawyer said on June 13 that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had informed Rove that Rove would not be indicted in connection with Fitzgerald’s investigation into the possible leak of an undercover CIA agent’s name. A New York Times article is on-line here.

• Just Visiting. Transcripts of President George W. Bush’s remarks during his June 13 visit to Iraq are on-line here and here.

• Baywatch. Military officials announced on June 10 that three detainees at Guantanamo Bay had died of apparent suicides earlier that day. Articles on-line here and here. The United States began holding detainees at Guantanamo Bay in late 2001 and early 2002, and currently has about 460 detainees in Guantanamo Bay. It has released 192 detainees and transferred 95 to other governments in the past four years. The following graph is based on Defense Department news releases and media kits (example: here).
  

• United Nations. A transcript of U.N. Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown’s June 7 comments about the United States is on-line here. A transcript of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton’s response is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/14/2006 08:02:00 AM 0 comments   

6/12 - Thomas Friedman

• World Cup 2006. The United States soccer/football team lost to the Czech Republic in its first match in the 2006 World Cup tournament on June 12, 3-0. The United States team has its second match against Italy on June 17 and its third against Ghana on June 22.

• Much Abu About Nothing. U.S. and Iraqi officials announced on June 8 that U.S. forces had killed Abu Zarqawi, a Jordanian leader who led the insurgency in Iraq. A transcript of the June 12 press briefing about the details of Zarqawi's death is on-line here. A New York Times article about a website naming a man named Abu Hamza al-Muhajir as Zarqawi's successor is on-line here.
  The reference to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is based on his March 17, 2005 statement in which he questioned the medical judgment that Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, who died after a public fight over whether she would have wanted to continue medical treatment, was in a persistent vegetative state. Frist said that he questioned the diagnosis "based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office here in the Capitol," (statement on-line here) though he did cite court affidavits and a discussion with one of Schiavo's neurologists as well.

• Grand Heft Auto. U.S. retail gasoline prices (info on-line here) have increased dramatically in recent years, with retail gasoline prices increasing from about $1.00 a gallon in January 2002 to $2.83 a gallon in June 2006.
  
  The photo of President George W. Bush meeting Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah is from an April 25, 2005 meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford , Texas. Bush said before the meeting (transcript on-line here) that he would talk about energy and about Saudi Arabia's capacity. The two issued a statement afterwards (on-line here) in which the United States and Saudi Arabia "pledge to continue their cooperation so that the oil supply from Saudi Arabia will be available and secure. The United States appreciates Saudi Arabia's strong commitment to accelerating investment and expanding its production capacity to help provide stability and adequately supply the market." Abdullah became king in August 2005.

• Reference to Gas Taxes. Federal gas taxes currently are 18.3 cents per gallon; the federal government also imposes an additional 0.1 cent charge per gallon to fund a trust fund for leaking underground storage tanks, and state taxes add another 21 cents on average per gallon. Federal and state gas taxes combined make up about 23 percent of the price of gasoline, according to the Energy Information Administration (on-line here). Gas taxes in the United States are less than in other countries, which impose more taxes and thus have higher gas prices.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/13/2006 09:59:00 AM 0 comments   

6/8 - Lily Tomlin

• Sheikh's Feet Under. U.S. and Iraqi officials announced on June 8 that U.S. forces had killed Abu Zarqawi, a Jordanian leader who led the insurgency in Iraq. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that Zarwai's death would not end violence in Iraq but was a "significant victory in the battle against terrorism in that country and I would say worldwide because he had interests well outside of Iraq" (transcript on-line here). A statement by President George W. Bush on the Zarqawi death is on-line here.

• Maple Leaf Rage. Canadian police announced on June 3 the arrests of 17 individuals on terrorism charges (press release on-line here). Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonnell said that the group planned attacks on Canadian targets in southern Ontario and were attempting to create explosive devices using ammonium nitrate.

• World Cup. The 2006 World Cup tournament in Germany begins on June 9 and is scheduled to end with a final match on July 9. The official World Cup site is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/09/2006 08:42:00 AM 0 comments   

6/7 - Bonnie Hunt

• The Road to Indecision 2006. Republican Brian Bilbray won a special election on June 6 to replace Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-California), who pled guilty in November 2005 to bribery, fraud and tax evasion charges. Bilbray won 49.33 percent of the vote, and Democrat Francine Busby received 45.46 percent of the vote (results on-line here).
  California state treasurer Phil Angelides won the Democratic party’s primary on June 6, getting 47.9 percent of the vote while state controller Steve Westly got 43.4 percent (results on-line here). Angelides will face Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the November general election.

• Fat Cat or Crumbum. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) recently has faced criticism for accepting free boxing tickets from the Nevada State Athletic Commission; Reid reportedly has said that his actions were not improper but would no longer accept such tickets.
  House members have criticized the Department of Justice’s May 20 search of the Capitol Hill office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-Louisiana), which was done with a search warrant and which was part of an investigation into public corruption. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) said on May 22 that the search raised constitutional questions regarding separation of powers (statement on-line here). In response to the controversy over the search, President George W. Bush said on May 25 (statement on-line here) that more time was needed to resolve the dispute and that all materials recovered from Jefferson’s office would be sealed off for 45 days.

• Back in Black: Immigration. The Senate passed on May 25 an immigration reform bill (S.2611) that would, among other things, require the replacing and extension of existing fences along the border and the creation of at least 370 miles of triple-layered fences along the Mexican border. The House of Representatives passed an immigration bill in December that also required more fences and security measures along the Mexican border, though the bills are further apart on other issues such as a guest-worker program and whether some illegal immigrants could apply for citizenship.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/08/2006 08:33:00 AM 0 comments   

6/6 - Bill Bennett

• 6/6/06. The number 666 is associated with one of the three enemies described in the Book of Revelations. Revelations refers to three different enemies: a dragon who is named as the Devil and Satan, a "beast" with seven heads and ten horns, and another "beast" with "two horns."
  As described in Chapter 13 of Revelation (on-line here), the first beast came from the sea, had authority over the world, which worshipped the dragon because the beast had its authority from it, and had one head that had recovered from a mortal wound. The beast appears to be described further in Chapter 17, where a woman is seen riding a beast that has seven heads and ten horns and appears to be the same as in Chapter 13; the seven heads are explained here as representing seven hills as well as seven kings, of whom five had fallen, one still lived, and the last was still to come but only for a while.
  The second beast is described as coming from the earth, wielding the first beast's authority, making the world worship the first beast, and forcing people to be given a stamped image of the first beast on their right hands or foreheads so that none could buy or sell without that image or the beast's number, which was 666.
  Some have seen the two beasts as being symbolic representations of the Roman Empire (Rome was known as having seven hills, and the emperor Nero was rumored to have suffered a head wound that he survived; Nero's Greek name can be converted to Hebrew letters with numeric values totaling 666), the governors who ruled on behalf of the Roman Empire, and false prophets. Some have seen the beasts more broadly as representations of the spiritual battles facing people or the ongoing battle between good and evil, suggesting, for example, that the seven heads of the first beast represent the seven deadly sins and that the ten horns represent violations of the Ten Commandments.
  Others, however, have seen the descriptions as signs of the "Antichrist" and have tried identifying various national leaders as the Antichrist. The list of would-be candidates, at least in some people's eyes, is long and includes leaders of the Soviet Union, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Pope John Paul II, and even U.S. presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

• Wedding Crasher. President George W. Bush has pushed in recent days for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages (June 5, 2006 remarks on-line here). The Senate, which last considered such a measure in the summer of 2004, now is considering a measure that would amend the U.S. Constitution so that marriage would be defined as “only of the union of a man and a woman” and preventing any federal or state constitution from being construed as allowing same-sex marriage. The measure, S.J. Res. 1, is unlikely to get the two-thirds support necessary in the Senate, and would need two-thirds support in the House and ratification by three-quarters of the states before becoming part of the U.S. Constitution.
  Massachusetts is the only state that recognizes same-sex marriages, as a result of two decisions by that state's highest court in 2003 and 2004. Two other states (Vermont and California) recognize same-sex couples' rights via an equivalent to marriage such as civil unions or domestic partnerships. In the wake of the Massachusetts rulings, voters in many states approved measures amending their constitutions to ban same-sex marriage either by defining marriage as between a man and a woman or by going further and stating that legal equivalents such as civil unions may not be recognized.

• Reference to Dick Cheney. Vice-President Dick Cheney’s position on same-sex marriage has changed from 2000, when he said in an October 5, 2000 debate (transcript on-line here), Cheney said that the federal government should not necessarily have a policy on same-sex marriages and should allow different states to have different policies. "We ought to do everything we can to tolerate and accommodate whatever kinds of relationships people want to enter into," Cheney said at the time.
  In the 2004 debate (on-line here), Cheney said that he supported people’s right to “choose any arrangement they want,” but said that this was a “separate question from the issue of whether or not government should sanction or approve or give some sort of authorization, if you will, to these relationships.” Cheney said that he supported Bush’s policy of seeking a constitutional amendment.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/07/2006 08:20:00 AM 0 comments   

6/5 - Caroline Kennedy

• Canada Terrorism Arrests. Canadian police announced on June 3 the arrests of 17 individuals on terrorism charges (press release on-line here). Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonnell said that the group planned attacks on Canadian targets in southern Ontario and were attempting to create explosive devices using ammonium nitrate.

• Supercuts. New York politicians have criticized the amount of 2006 federal homeland security funding for New York City that was announced by the Department of Homeland Security on May 31, 2006 (grant allocation on-line here). New York City received $47 million in 2004 (7 percent of total funding in program), $207 million in 2005 (25 percent of total), and would get $124 million in 2006 (17 percent of total) under the announced grant.
  Even with a drop in funding from 2005 to 2006, the New York metropolitan area still would get more in grants than any other metropolitan area (Los Angeles is second with $81 million, Chicago is third with $52 million, and Washington DC is fourth with $46 million).
  Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended the grant award in a June 1 appearance (on-line here):
  “If you looked at the total number of awards at all levels, you realize that both New York City and New York State got tremendous amounts of money this year. But beyond that, if you looked cumulatively over the past four years at the urban grants, what you will see is that if you averaged the prior three years of grants to New York City, this year's grant was directly in line with all of those prior years taken on an average,” he said. “What had happened was, New York had a very low year, followed by a very high year that counter-balanced it. And people making the comparison only compared it with the high year. I think anybody who does basic statistics knows that's not an effective way to make a real comparison.”

• Pump My Ride. Allowing self-service at gasoline stations was one of several measures recently proposed by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine to assist with high gas prices (release on-line here). New Jersey and Oregon currently are the only states that do not allow self-service.

• Cher Comment on Body Armor.

• Profiles in Courage. A list of Profile in Courage Award recipients is on-line here. The 2006 recipients are Rep. John Murtha (profile on-line here and Alberto Mora (profile on-line here).

posted by Stephen Lee @ 6/06/2006 08:25:00 AM 0 comments