FootnoteTV® : The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: August 2005
- Recent episodes
- August 25, 2005: Christopher Hitchens
- August 24, 2005: Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.)
- August 23, 2005: Rachel Weisz
- August 22, 2005: Chris Wallace
- August 18, 2005: John H. Richardson
- August 17, 2005: John Irving
- August 16, 2005: Seymour Hersh
- August 15, 2005: Steve Carell
- August 11, 2005: Andre Benjamin
- August 10, 2005: John Hockenberry
- August 9, 2005: Kate Hudson
- August 8, 2005: Paul Rudd
- August 4, 2005: Miles O'Brien
- August 3, 2005: John Crawford
- August 2, 2005: Sen. Joe Biden
- Other months
August 25, 2005 (Guest: Christopher Hitchens) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Lance Armstrong. Cyclist Lance Armstrong has been accused of using a banned performance-enhancing substance during his first win of the Tour de France in 1999, based on a test done of urine samples taken in 1999 but reportedly not tested until recently. Armstrong has denied the accusations.
| | > | * He Said, Sheehan Said. A transcript of President George W. Bush's August 24 speech is on-line here.
Cindy Sheehan, a founding member of Gold Star Families for Peace (on-line here), waited outside President George W. Bush's Crawford ranch for more than a week for an opportunity to discuss the war in Iraq with him, left temporarily for a family emergency, and then resumed her wait. Sheehan's son, Casey, died at the age of 24 in Baghdad on April 4 when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire (Defense Department release on-line here). Bush reportedly has sent aides to meet with Sheehan, though Sheehan has insisted on meeting with Bush himself. Sheehan reportedly met with Bush with other military families in June 2004; Sheehan reportedly has criticized Bush's behavior in this meeting.
Bush has said several times that troop withdrawals would occur once Iraqi forces were prepared to defend themselves. "As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. And when the Iraqi forces can defend their freedom by taking more and more of the fight to the enemy, our troops will come home with the honor they have earned," he said in his August 24 speech.
| | > | * You, Your Health and You: The Cluckening, Flu Fighters, Sprayground. According to the World Health Organization (on-line here), outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry were reported in Russia and Kazakhstan in late July, indicating the first spread of avian influenza outside southeastern Asia. Prior outbreaks in southeastern Asia reportedly resulted in the death of destruction of more than 150 million birds and have resulted in 112 reported human cases in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, including 57 deaths (WHO information on-line here).
According to WHO (on-line here), the Ministry of Health in China has reported 215 human cases of infection related to streptococcus suis, a bacteria commonly found in pigs, with 39 cases resulting in death. WHO reported that data from China indicates an outbreak that peaked in July and that no new cases have been reported since early August.
New York State officials announced on August 25 (on-line here) that there were 3,131 cases of gastrointestinal illness linked to the Sprayground attraction at Seneca Lake State Park, with 369 cases being confirmed as cryptosporidiosis, which is caused by the microscopic parasite cryptosporidium. Officials previously announced that tests conducted by the state health department had confirmed the presence of cryptosporidium in two storage tanks that supply water to the attraction. The park's attraction has been closed for the rest of the season.
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August 24, 2005 (Guest: Sen. Trent Lott) (back to top)
| > | * Pat Sounds. Televangelist Pat Robertson issued a statement on August 24 apologizing for statements on August 22 approving of the potential assassination of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez. "Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him," Robertson said in the statement (on-line here).
Chavez recently has accused the United States of engaging in espionage and has said that Venezuela would end its cooperation with U.S. anti-drug activities. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on August 23 (transcript on-line here) that Robertson's comments were "inappropriate" and "do not represent the policy of the United States," and that "any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan Government are completely baseless and without fact."
| | > | * Bob Costas. The New York Times reported on August 24 that Bob Costas, who had agreed earlier this year to be an occasional substitute for Larry King on CNN, declined to host an August 18 program devoted to the Natalee Holloway missing-person case. Holloway, 18, reportedly disappeared on May 30 while in Arbua.
| | > | * Reference to Birthday Party Comments. Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.) sparked controversy in December 2002 for comments that the United States would have been better served if Strom Thurmond had been elected president in 1948. Facing criticism from many, including President George W. Bush, Lott apologized several times for his comments and then declined to serve his upcoming term as Senate Majority Leader.
The 1948 presidential election showcased splits within the Democratic Party in the wake of World War II and of Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in 1945. Southern conservatives led by Strom Thurmond, then governor of South Carolina, defected from the party after it embraced African-American voters and adopted a strong civil-rights platform at its national convention (the Republican party had adopted a similar platform weeks earlier), and liberals led by George A. Wallace defected as well in protest of the Cold War buildup.
Southern conservatives' plan was not necessarily for Thurmond to win the presidential election, which would have been nearly impossible given the late start of his campaign and the difficulties that any third-party candidate faces given the electoral-college system, but to win enough electoral votes in the South to hold the balance of power in a close election and to offer those electoral votes for concessions on civil-rights. Thurmond tried making the election in the South one about states' rights, and not necessarily about race, in order to broaden his candidacy's appeal, but was unsuccessful in this regard.
Despite the defections from his own party, President Harry S. Truman ultimately won the 1948 election with 49.8 percent of the popular vote and 303 electoral votes; Republican Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York, won 45.4 percent of the popular vote and 189 electoral votes. Election results surprised many since early polling had discounted the importance of the previously undecided vote; a famously premature edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune proclaimed "Dewey Defeats Truman." Thurmond and Wallace each took about 2.4 percent of the popular vote, with Thurmond winning 39 electoral votes and Wallace none.
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August 23, 2005 (Guest: Rachel Weisz) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Pat Robertson. Televangelist Pat Robertson has been criticized by some for comments on August 22 approving of the potential assassination of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, who has recently accused the United States of engaging in espionage and has said that Venezuela would end its cooperation with U.S. anti-drug activities. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on August 23 (transcript on-line here) that Robertson's comments were "inappropriate" and "do not represent the policy of the United States," and that "any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan Government are completely baseless and without fact."
| | > | * Mess O'Potamia. President George W. Bush said in an August 22 speech to veterans (on-line here) that political developments in Iraq would increase freedom and stability in the Middle East and that U.S. troops would withdraw once Iraqi forces were prepared to defend themselves. "As Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down. And when Iraqi forces can defend their freedom by taking on more and more of the fight to the enemy, our troops will come home with the honor they have earned," he said.
| | > | * This Week in God. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reportedly is considering a plan by Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to project laser images of two large Buddha statues that stood for about 1,600 years in the cliff faces in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley. The statues were destroyed by the Taliban in early 2001 as part of its efforts against Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past.
| | > | * Tonik. An affiliate of Blue Cross of America announced the Tonik health plan (on-line here) for what it calls "young invincibles" in November 2004. According to Blue Cross of America (release on-line here), there are about 1.6 million uninsured 19 to 29-year-olds in California.
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August 22, 2005 (Guest: Chris Wallace) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Iraq Constitution. Some Iraqi leaders submitted a draft constitution to the National Assembly on August 22, though some issues still needed to be worked out, which some Iraqi leaders say can be done in the next few days. Some Sunni leaders involved in the drafting reportedly have said that they are still far apart from consensus.
According to earlier timetables, the Transitional National Assembly elected in January 2005 was to draft a new constitution by August 15, the constitution was to be voted on in a nationwide referendum by October 15, and the election of a government based on the constitution was to be held by on December 15, with a democratically-elected, permanent government taking control by December 31. The Iraqi legislature voted on August 15 to extend the deadline to August 22.
"Producing a constitution is a difficult process that involves debate and compromise. We know this from our own history," President George W. Bush said in an August 22 speech (on-line here). "We admire their thoughtful deliberations; we salute their determination to lay the foundation for lasting democracy amid the ruins of a brutal dictatorship."
| | > | * Mess O'Potamia. Debate seems to have focused recently on how and when the United States can withdraw its forces from Iraq. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) said on the August 21 edition of This Week that the United States needed to develop a strategy to leave Iraq, saying that the United States was not winning the war and that U.S. involvement had "destabilized" the Middle East and would continue to do so. President George W. Bush said in an August 22 speech to veterans (on-line here) that political developments in Iraq would increase freedom and stability in the Middle East and that U.S. troops would withdraw once Iraqi forces were prepared to defend themselves. "As Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down. And when Iraqi forces can defend their freedom by taking on more and more of the fight to the enemy, our troops will come home with the honor they have earned," he said.
| | > | * Clubbed Med. A Texas jury found on August 19 that Merck was negligent in marketing and designing the drug Vioxx and ordered Merck to pay the widow of a Vioxx user $450,000 for economic damages due to lost wages, $24 million for mental anguish and lost companionship to the widow, and $229 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages amount will be reduced automatically by Texas law to $1.65 million for a total verdict of $26.1 million; Texas law caps punitive damages at the greater of either two times the amount of economic damages plus a maximum $750,000 for non-economic damages or $200,000. Vioxx was voluntarily withdrawn from the market by Merck in September 2004.
| | > | * How Safe Aren't We? The Washington Post reported on August 13 that the Transportation Security Administration has been examining possible changes to airline screening procedures and that an August 5 document discussed changes such as allowing some currently prohibited items to be brought on board. A TSA spokesman reportedly confirmed that a group had considered changes but said that the changes did not constitute recommendations yet.
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August 18, 2005 (Guest: John H. Richardson) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to BTK Killer. Confessed murderer Dennis Rader was sentenced on August 18 to 10 life sentences for murders he admitted committing between 1974 and 1991; Rader, who had called himself BTK for "bind, torture and kill," pled guilty in June.
| | > | * The Jew Carry Show. Around 10,000 Israeli soldiers and police began evacuating families from Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip on August 17, forcibly removing some. Most of the original 21 settlements reportedly were evacuated as of August 19; plans call for some smaller settlements in the West Bank to be evacuated after the Gaza Strip evacuation is complete. Some of the evacuations have been marked by protests.
As one step towards implementing the April 2003 "roadmap" to Israeli-Palestinian peace, Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced plans in the winter of 2003-04 to remove all Israeli settlements from Gaza as well as parts of the northern West Bank and won approval from Israel's Parliament in March 2005 to do so.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on August 18 (on-line here) that President George W. Bush "continues to support Prime Minister Sharon and what he has called a very bold initiative" and that "we agree that the disengagement will only make Israel stronger." When asked about an August 17 incident in which a settler in the West Bank killed four Palestinians, Perino said that Bush commended Sharon for denouncing this incident as terrorism.
The Gaza Strip, which covers an area about twice the size of Washington D.C., is one of the territories that Israel occupied during the 1967 War; Israel did transfer some responsibilities for civil government to the Palestinian Authority in recent years. According to a U.S. Department of State report released in February 2004, it has a population of about 1.4 million people, not including about 8,000 Israeli settlers. The economy was considered underdeveloped and had been affected by Israeli curfews, closures, and military actions.
| | > | * Back in Black. An August 9, 2005 Washington Post story about Vietnam reenactments is on-line here. A CNN article about the August 11 unveiling of a statue based on the famous "V-J Day" photo by Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstadt at the end of World War II is on-line here.
| | > | * Reference to Valerie Plame. Federal investigators have been investigating whether anyone illegally disclosed the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame. Conservative columnist Robert Novak first identified Plame as an "Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction" in a July 14, 2003 column; Novak later wrote that he did not receive a planned leak and that he simply put together some information and made an imprecise word choice. Recent attention has focused on the potential role of White House advisor Karl Rove; Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper told a federal grand jury on July 13, 2005 about a conversation he had with Rove about Plame on July 11, 2003.
President George W. Bush addressed the topic in a July 18 press conference (transcript on-line here) in which he said that "it's best that people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions" and that "if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."
Under federal law, 50 USC 421 (on-line here), anyone who had access to classified information about an undercover agent's identity and discloses any information identifying that agent to unauthorized persons can be found criminally liable, if the person knew that the disclosed information identified the covert agent and that the United States was taking measures to conceal that agent's connection to the United States government.
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August 17, 2005 (Guest: John Irving) (back to top)
| > | * Justice Sunday II: Prayback Time. The August 14 television broadcast, "Justice Sunday II - God Save the United States and This Honorable Court," marks a follow-up to the first such broadcast in April. According to the Family Research Council (on-line here), the broadcast reached 79 million households. Information on the broadcast is on-line here.
The first Justice Sunday broadcast came in the midst of a debate over the filibuster, a procedural device by which a minority of Senators could block a vote. Republicans currently hold enough Senate seats (55) to confirm any nomination by President George W. Bush if brought for a full vote, but they do not hold the 60 seats necessary to stop any filibuster attempt which could prevent a nomination from getting a full vote. In late May, a bipartisan group of senators agreed to a compromise that allowed some judicial nominations to be voted upon and prevented change of the filibuster rule.
Generally, complaints about "activist judges" sometimes refer to decisions on social issues such as the role of religion in government activity and same-sex marriage. In June 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided two cases involving challenges to public displays of the Ten Commandments, upholding one such display but rejecting another. As for school prayer, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot require their students to recite prayers, cannot encourage students to pray during moments of silence, and cannot offer prayers at official school ceremonies such as graduation ceremonies, though students can pray during free time at school, and schools can even allow official moments of silence in which students can do whatever they want, including pray (for more, go here). Massachusetts' highest court ruled in November 2003 that denying same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples would violate that state's constitution and then ruled in February 2004 that same-sex couples were entitled to "marriages," not just "civil unions."
| | > | * The People's Court. President George W. Bush nominated Judge John G. Roberts on July 19 to take the place of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court. O'Connor had announced on July 1 that she would retire from the court upon the confirmation of her successor.
Roberts now is scheduled to face confirmation hearings in September. Roberts probably will be asked in such hearings about his views on particular issues including Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case in which the Supreme Court recognized a woman's constitutional right to have an abortion as a specific form of privacy right, limited only by the state's interest in protecting the life of the unborn child once it has reached a certain level of viability outside the womb. When facing confirmation to the D.C. Circuit in 2003, Roberts reportedly said that he considered Roe v. Wade "binding precedent" and that he would "be bound to follow it" if confirmed. Roberts reportedly worked as a government lawyer on a 1990 brief arguing that Roe should be overruled, but reportedly said in 2003 that his views should not be inferred from his connection to that brief.
Battles over Supreme Court nominations began long before the infamous Bork nomination of 1987. According to a survey by legal scholar Henry Abraham, the Senate has rejected 30 of the 144 nominees formally sent for confirmation and it rejected 1 out of 3 nominees in the 19th century. In the late 20th century, the nominations of Judge Robert Bork by Ronald Reagan and of Clarence Thomas by George H.W. Bush were controversial. Bork's unsuccessful nomination is popularly seen as a turning point for the confirmation process; Bork was accused of being too conservative (for example, he had criticized the Roe v Wade decision as an example of judicial activism, though he said in confirmation hearings that he respected precedent and would not commit to voting to overturn or uphold Roe) and he was rejected 58-42. Reagan then nominated Donald Ginsburg, who withdrew after his regular use of marijuana became public, and finally nominated Anthony Kennedy, who was confirmed, 97-0. Thomas was nominated in 1992, was accused of sexual harassment shortly before the Senate's vote, and was ultimately confirmed 52-48.
| | > | * The Rx Files. According to a Federal Trade Commission statement (on-line here), Kevin Trudeau is banned from appearing in infomercials that advertise any product or service, but is allowed to appear in truthful infomercials for informational publications. Trudeau also reportedly agreed in 2004 to pay the FTC $2 million to settle charges that he falsely claimed that certain products had certain medical benefits.
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August 16, 2005 (Guest: Seymour Hersh) (back to top)
| > | * Tome Delay. The Iraqi legislature elected in January 2005 voted on August 15 to extend the deadline for a new constitution to August 22, with some citing differences on key issues such as the role of Islam and federalism. According to a timetable agreed to in 2004, the Transitional National Assembly was to draft a new constitution by August 15, the constitution was to be voted on in a nationwide referendum by October 15, and the election of a government based on the constitution was to be held by on December 15, with a democratically-elected, permanent government taking control by December 31.
President George W. Bush, who had pushed for keeping the August 15 deadline, said in a statement (on-line here) that "Iraqi leaders have announced that they have made substantial progress toward a draft constitution. They have indicated that their deliberations will continue beyond today to refine the text and build an enduring consensus … We wish the Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people well as the negotiators complete the constitutional drafting process."
This is not the first deadline to be missed since the United States began military operations in Iraq. A timetable approved in November 2003 by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority and the non-elected Iraqi Governing Council had also called for a new government taking control by December 31, 2005, though that timetable had called for election of the Transitional National Assembly by the end of May 2004, half a year before that election ultimately took place.
| | > | * Reference to Bush Health. Doctors from the National Naval Medical Center said President George W. Bush was "fit for duty" after his annual physical exam on July 30, according to a release on-line here. Bush weighed 191.6 pounds, 8 pounds less than at his last exam in December 2004, had a body fat percentage of 15.79, showed a very low risk of coronary artery disease, and had a resting pulse rate of 47 beats per minute.
| | > | * A Chef Selected. First Lady Laura Bush Cristeta "Cris" Comerford was recently named the White House Executive Chef and will be designing and executing menus for state dinners, social events, holiday functions, receptions and official luncheons hosted by President and Mrs. Bush. Comerford is the first woman to serve in the position. A press release about this is on-line here.
| | > | * Hersh's Prior Appearance. Footnotes for Hersh's prior appearance on the Daily Show are on-line here.
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August 15, 2005 (Guest: Steve Carell) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Iraq. The Iraqi legislature elected in January 2005 voted on August 15 to extend the deadline for a new constitution to August 22, with some citing differences on key issues such as the role of Islam and federalism. According to a timetable agreed to in 2004, the Transitional National Assembly was to draft a new constitution by August 15, the constitution was to be voted on in a nationwide referendum by October 15, and the election of a government based on the constitution was to be held by on December 15, with a democratically-elected, permanent government taking control by December 31.
President George W. Bush, who had pushed for keeping the August 15 deadline, said in a statement (on-line here) that "Iraqi leaders have announced that they have made substantial progress toward a draft constitution. They have indicated that their deliberations will continue beyond today to refine the text and build an enduring consensus … We wish the Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people well as the negotiators complete the constitutional drafting process."
| | > | * Texas Scold 'Em. Cindy Sheehan, a founding member of Gold Star Families for Peace (on-line here), has waited outside President George W. Bush's Crawford ranch for more than a week for an opportunity to discuss the war in Iraq with him. Sheehan's son, Casey, died at the age of 24 in Baghdad on April 4 when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire (Defense Department release on-line here.
Bush said on August 11 (transcript on-line here) that he had "heard the voices of those saying, pull out now, and I've thought about their cry, and their sincere desire to reduce the loss of life by pulling our troops out. I just strongly disagree. Pulling the troops out would send a terrible signal to the enemy." When asked if his comments referred to Cindy Sheehan, Bush said that "I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her -- about her position. And I am -- she has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America. She has a right to her position. And I've thought long and hard about her position. I've heard her position from others, which is, get out of Iraq now. And it would be -- it would be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace in the long-run, if we were to do so."
Bush reportedly has sent aides to meet with Sheehan, though Sheehan has insisted on meeting with Bush himself. Sheehan reportedly met with Bush with other military families in June 2004; Sheehan reportedly has criticized Bush's behavior in this meeting.
| | > | * Indecision 2006. Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced on August 10 that she was running for the Senate seat held by Democrat Hillary Clinton; the text of Pirro's announcement is on-line here. Representative Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) announced on August 9 that she was running for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Bill Nelson; the text of Harris's announcement is on-line here.
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August 11, 2005 (Guest: Andre Benjamin) (back to top)
| > | * The Judge Report. Confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin in September to consider the July 19 nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to take the place of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court.
Abortion rights NARAL Pro-Choice America (on-line here) reportedly announced on August 11 that it would withdraw its recent ad linking Roberts to anti-abortion rights groups. In 1991, Roberts helped write a brief filed by the government in a case in which abortion clinics and organizations tried bringing a federal lawsuit to stop Operation Rescue and individuals from blocking access. The Supreme Court decision in this case is on-line here.
Conservative group Public Advocate of the United States announced that it would oppose Roberts' nomination because of his pro bono work on behalf of a group opposing a 1992 Colorado referendum that amended the state constitution to prohibit any state or local government action to provide governmental protection for gay and lesbian people. This amendment was declared unconstitutional in 1996; the Supreme Court decision is on-line here. Roberts was a partner at the Hogan & Hartson law firm and was the head of its appellate practice group when he reportedly assisted other lawyers working on the case.
Some Democrats have asked for documents relating to cases that Judge John G. Roberts worked on while in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; Roberts was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 19 to take the place of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on July 26 (transcript on-line here) that the White House was providing "all the appropriate information that [senators] need to do their job" and that some documents had to be withheld on the basis of attorney-client privilege.
| | > | * This Week in God. The Fiqh Council of North America released a fatwa on July 28 condemning "religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram - or forbidden - and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not 'martyrs'. " The fatwa is on-line here.
The U.S. State Department, which annually reports on the state of religious freedom in other countries, has noted some issues involving Rastafarians. According to a 2002 report on South Africa (on-line here), a South African court held in 2002 that Rastafarians could not be exempt from laws prohibiting cannabis possession and use, and some students reportedly were suspended in 2001 for wearing dreadlocks (they were subsequently allowed back in after they argued that they wore dreadlocks because of their religion).
| | > | * "bananas." Venezuela President Hugo Chavez reportedly said on August 6 that Venezuela would end its cooperation with U.S. anti-drug activities and that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had engaged in espionage. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli on August 8 (transcript on-line here) denied Chavez's espionage accusation and said that the United States "want[s] to continue counternarcotics cooperation but I would note that over the past several months, we've seen a steady deterioration in the Government of Venezuela's commitment on this front."
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August 10, 2005 (Guest: John Hockenberry) (back to top)
| > | * War on Terrour. Weeks after the July 7 bombing attacks in London that resulted in at least 50 deaths, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced on August 5 new measures that would allow the removal or imprisonment of people who support terrorism, including expanding the grounds for deportations and re-evaluating citizenship requirements. Blair also announced that two Islamic organizations, Hizb-ut-Tahira and Al Mujahiroun, would be banned. Blair said that he took tehse measures with the support of the Muslim community. "This is not in any way whatever aimed at the decent law-abiding Muslim community of Great Britain. We know that this fringe of extremism does not truly represent Islam. We know British Muslims, in general, abhor the actions of the extremists," Blair said. A transcript of the press conference is on-line here.
| | > | * Iran. Iran resumed activities at its Esfahan nuclear facility on August 8 under the supervision of the Interna, raising concerns in Europe and the United States. Such activities took place under the supervision of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said on August 9 that he hoped that the latest development was "simply a 'hic-cup' in the process and not a permanent rupture" and called for continued negotiations.
Iran had been engaged in negotiations with the European Union for many months; as a result of such negotiations, Iran announced in November 2004 that it would temporarily suspend many enrichment-related and reprocessing activities voluntarily and then announced that it would allow international inspectors to place surveillance cameras on additional components that it initially wanted to keep using. A United Kingdom statement on August 9 expressed "deep regret" for Iran's actions, and noted that "we do not believe that Iran has any operational need to engage in fissile material production activities of its own, nor any other reason to resume activity at Esfahan, if the intentions of its nuclear programme are exclusively peaceful."
| | > | * Article on Military Blogs. John Hockenberry's article on military blogs is on-line here.
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August 9, 2005 (Guest: Kate Hudson) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Discovery. The space shuttle Discovery safely returned on the morning of August 9 after making the first shuttle flight since the loss of the Columbia in February 2003. Discovery's return was delayed one day due to weather problems. NASA has information on the shuttle mission on-line here.
| | > | * Reference to al-Qaeda Tape. A new tape apparently by al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri reportedly threatened new attacks. President George W. Bush said on August 4 (on-line here) that the comments "make it clear that Iraq is a part of this war on terror, and we're at war. In other words, he's saying, leave … They want to spread that point of view throughout the world, starting in the broader Middle East. And part of their goal is to drive us out of the broader Middle East, precisely what Zawahiri said. In other words, he's threatening."
| | > | * Reference to War on Terror. About a week and a half after the New York Times reported that the Bush administration was shifting its language from the "global war on terror" to "global struggle against extremism," President George W. Bush used the terms "war on terror" and "war" several times in an August 3, 2005 speech (on-line here).
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld referred to the "global struggle against the enemies of freedom, the enemies of civilization" in a July 22 speech (on-line at http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050722-secdef3462.html) and General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a July 26 speech that he had objected to the use of the phrase "war on terror."
Administration spokesmen discussed the phrase further in a July 26 briefing (on-line at http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050726-3502.html), in which they reiterated the appropriateness of the "global war on terror" phrase while acknowledging some limitations. Defense Department spokesman Larry Di Rita said that "we are indeed in a global war on terror" but noted that more than military activity was needed. Lieutenant General James T. Conway said that the phrase "'global war on terrorism' translates pretty well into the various languages. So I think that continues to make it a part of the discussion." At the same time, he noted that terrorism was "a tactic and it's not a tangible with which you engage. Global, I think, is appropriate, both in terms of the nature of the threat and in terms of the nature of the number of countries that are engaged. So I think that part of [the phrase] certainly needs to stand."
| | > | * Reference to Energy Bill. President George W. Bush, who had been pushing for an energy bill from early on in his first term, signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law on August 8. Before signing the bill, Bush called it (transcript on-line here) "a first step toward a more affordable and reliable energy future for the American citizens. This bill is not going to solve our energy challenges overnight. Most of the serious problems, such as high gasoline costs, or the rising dependence on foreign oil, have developed over decades. It's going to take years of focused effort to alleviate those problems. But in about two minutes, we're going to have a strategy that will help us do that."
| | > | * Kernel Knowledge. Made from corn, ethanol is an alternative fuel that has long had strong political support for its importance to corn growers, particularly in key presidential primary state Iowa, and for its potential environmental uses. Ethanol can be used as a fuel additive to reduce toxic emissions resulting from the use of gasoline. The Clean Air Act of 1990 requires the use of such reformulated gasoline in areas with the worst smog pollution, although ethanol is less commonly used than another additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Ethanol also can be used in a blend with gasoline as an alternative fuel in and of itself, typically an 85/15 percent mixture called E85.
Nonetheless, use of ethanol by either method is still low as a percentage of overall vehicle fuel consumption, due to factors such as high production costs and the difficulties in transporting ethanol from the Midwest to states such as California. According to Department of Energy statistics (on-line here), reformulated gasoline using ethanol comprised 0.8 percent of the total vehicle fuel consumed in 2002 and E85 comprised 0.01 percent, with traditional gasoline comprising 77 percent and diesel comprising another 22 percent.
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August 8, 2005 (Guest: Paul Rudd) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Iraq. Iraqi leaders met on August 7 to make new progress on drafting a constitution and were to meet again on August 9, after a scheduled meeting on August 8 was delayed by a sandstorm. According to a timetable agreed to in 2004, the Transitional National Assembly elected in January 2005 was to draft a new constitution by August 15, for the constitution to be voted on in a nationwide referendum by October 15, and for the election of a government based on the constitution on December 15, with a democratically-elected, permanent government taking control by December 31.
| | > | * Reference to Discovery. The space shuttle Discovery safely returned on the morning of August 9 after making the first shuttle flight since the loss of the Columbia in February 2003. Discovery's return was delayed one day due to weather problems. NASA has information on the shuttle mission on-line here.
| | > | * Hello Submarine. A rescue operation involving the United States successfully brought a Russian mini-sub and its seven crew members to the surface on August 7. The mini-sub had been trapped undersea off Petropovlovsk on the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
| | > | * Indecision 2008. Governors Mitt Romney and George Pataki of Massachusetts and New York recently vetoed bills that would allow pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill over the counter without a prescription. Romney did so on July 25 and Pataki did so on August 4.
Emergency-contraceptive pills (commonly known as morning-after pills, though they can be used for up to 72 hours after sex) have been available in some parts of the world since the 1980s, but were not available in the United States until 1998, when the first pills were approved for the market. Emergency-contraceptive pills contain stronger, concentrated doses of the hormones used in regular birth-control pills and prevent a pregnancy from developing; they are not the same as RU-486 (also known by its scientific name mifepristone), which terminates a pregnancy that has already begun.
The Food and Drug Administration announced in May 2004 that it had issued a letter denying an application to make one emergency-contraceptive pill available without a prescription. The FDA reportedly is to decide another application by September.
| | > | * Indecision 2008. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said on July 29 that he believed that President George W. Bush's policy regarding embryonic stem cell research should be modified. "The limitations put in place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases. Therefore, I believe the President's policy should be modified. We should expand federal funding (and thus NIH oversight) and current guidelines governing stem cell research, carefully and thoughtfully staying within ethical bounds," Frist said, according to prepared remarks (on-line here.
Bush's policy, announced in August 2001, was to allow federal funding for research on then-existing stem cell lines as long as the lines were derived from embryos that were already destroyed and that had not been created specifically for research. Bush said at the time that there would be 60 such lines that research could be done on; Frist said that only 22 lines have proven to be eligible, and that there are limitations on the usefulness of these lines.
| | > | * Indecision 2008. Senator Hillary Clinton announced on July 14 (release on-line here) that she would introduce legislation that would prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors and set a $5,000 penalty for violators. Clinton announced legislation with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) regarding health information technology on July 19 (statement on-line here).
| | > | * Road House. Both houses of Congress approved in late July a transportation appropriations bill, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005, which calls for reportedly $286.4 billion.
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August 4, 2005 (Guest: Miles O'Brien) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Flight 358. Air France 358 suffered an incident on August 3 as it landed in Toronto. More than 300 people reportedly evacuated the plane in less than two minutes, and the incident resulted in no deaths.
| | > | * The Less You Know: Abu Ghraib Photos. Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have sought access to government photographs and videos of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison (some of which are posted on-line here). A federal district court ordered on June 1 that certain photographs taken by military policeman Joseph Darby be produced. The government subsequently prepared photographs and videos for production and on July 22 submitted legal papers arguing that the materials should not be made public on the basis that the materials could incite further violence similar to the reported riots in Afghanistan that followed Newsweek's May report that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay placed copies of the Koran on toilets and at least once "flushed a holy book down the toilet."
In its brief, the government acknowledged that Darby's materials "depict abuse and mistreatment that are completely abhorrent to the way the United States treats detainees under its control. The detainees in the images are 'often naked or otherwise inappropriately clothed, posed in ways designed to embarrass and humiliate the individuals in the pictures.'"
The ACLU has made public documents in this case available on-line here. Further hearings on the matter are scheduled for later in August.
| | > | * The Less You Know: Prisoner Legislation. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced two proposed amendments on July 25 to the defense appropriations bill for FY 2006; these amendments would prohibit torture and would set limits on interrogation procedures. Specifically, SA 1556 would require that "[n]o individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" and SA 1557 would required that "[n]o person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense or under detention in a Department of Defense facility shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation."
| | > | * The Less You Know: Judge Roberts. Some Democrats have asked for documents relating to cases that Judge John G. Roberts worked on while in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; Roberts was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 19 to take the place of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on July 26 (transcript on-line here) that the White House was providing "all the appropriate information that [senators] need to do their job" and that some documents had to be withheld on the basis of attorney-client privilege.
| | > | * Reference to Shuttle Repair. Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery on August 2 repaired two protruding gap fillers between tiles on the bottom of the space shuttle. Discovery launched on July 26 and is scheduled to return on August 8; Discovery's launch was the first shuttle launch since the loss of the Columbia shuttle in February 2003. NASA has information on the shuttle mission on-line here.
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August 3, 2005 (Guest: John Crawford) (back to top)
| > | * Reference to Shuttle Repair. Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery on August 2 repaired two protruding gap fillers between tiles on the bottom of the space shuttle. Discovery launched on July 26 and is scheduled to return on August 8; Discovery's launch was the first shuttle launch since the loss of the Columbia shuttle in February 2003. NASA has information on the shuttle mission on-line here.
| | > | * Reference to Rafael Palmeiro. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced on August 1 that Baltimore Orioles player Rafael Palmiero had been suspended for 10 days effective August 1 for violations of baseball's drug-use policies. Palmiero was one of several players who testified before the House Government Reform Committee on March 17 amidst charges in a book by former baseball player Jose Canseco that he and other baseball players regularly used steroids. A prepared statement in which Palmiero denied steroid use is on-line as a PDF here.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan was asked about the Palmeiro suspension on August 1 and how this affected Bush's friendship with Palmeiro. McClellan noted (transcript on-line here) that he had just heard about the suspension and that Bush viewed drug use as a "serious matter."
| | > | * Passing Fahd. King Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud died on August 1, having been king since 1982. Crown Prince Abdullah, who had taken on many responsibilities since King Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, was named king shortly after King Fahd's death. President George W. Bush said in a statement (on-line here) that King Fahd "was a man of wisdom and a leader who commanded respect throughout the entire world. He was a friend and strong ally of the United States for decades."
| | > | * Fuel on the Hill. The House of Representatives and then the Senate passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 at the end of July, clearing the way for the bill to become law. President George W. Bush, who had been pushing for such a bill from early on in his first term, said in a statement (on-line here) that the bill "will give America a comprehensive national energy strategy for the first time in more than a decade and is critically important to our long-term national and economic security. I look forward to signing it into law."
| | > | * House of Ill Recruit. Military recruiters are facing a "very, very challenging environment," U.S. Army Recruiting Commander Major General Michael Rochelle said in a May 20 press briefing (on-line here). Rochelle specifically identified the following factors making recruiting more difficult than at any time in his 33 years of service: "very low" unemployment, continued combat in Iraq (which Rochelle referred to as "the first time that the all-volunteer force has been challenged in sustained land combat"), and the "very, very low propensity to enlist" among young Americans and their parents, coaches, and other "influencers" (who Rochelle said are now less inclined to recommend military service).
Some have alleged that quotas on army recruiters (they are expected to "enlist two young men or women each month," Rochelle said on May 20) put too much pressure on recruiters and have led to incidents of misconduct. On May 20, Rochelle said that there had been seven incidents where the Army had enough information to suspect a particular recruiter of committing an impropriety; he described these incidents as "taking shortcuts." Rochelle called a stand-down day on May 20 specifically to emphasize values in the recruiting process.
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August 2, 2005 (Guest: Sen. Joe Biden) (back to top)
| > | * The Vetting Crashers. President George W. Bush named John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on August 1, nearly five months after first nominating Bolton for the post. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on May 12 to allow the full Senate to vote on the nomination, but Republicans lacked the votes necessary to prevent a filibuster by Democratic senators. Bush's appointment of Bolton without Senate confirmation means that Bolton's position is only until the end of the next Congressional session, at which time he must be confirmed or step down.
"America has now gone more than six months without a permanent ambassador to the United Nations. This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform," Bush said on August 1 (transcript on-line here), adding that he was "sending Ambassador Bolton to New York with my complete confidence."
Bolton was nominated on March 7, 2005 to serve as ambassador to the United Nations; a transcript of a press conference at which the nomination was announced is on-line here. At that time, Bolton acknowledged his past criticism of the United Nations, and said that he would work to provide U.S. leadership, which he said "is critical to the success of the UN, an effective UN, one that is true to the original intent of its charter's framers."
Some have questioned Bolton's fitness based on allegations that he attempted to influence intelligence analysts improperly and that he improperly expressed his views as that of the government. Much attention has focused on Christian Westermann, a State Department intelligence analyst who testified that Bolton yelled at him in 2002 after Westermann questioned language that Bolton wanted to give about the state of Cuba's biological weapons program; others have testified that Bolton subsequently requested Westermann's removal, though Westermann ultimately was not removed. Some testimony relating to Westermann is available on-line here. | | > | * Reference to Rafael Palmeiro. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced on August 1 that Baltimore Orioles player Rafael Palmiero had been suspended for 10 days effective August 1 for violations of baseball's drug-use policies. Palmiero was one of several players who testified before the House Government Reform Committee on March 17 amidst charges in a book by former baseball player Jose Canseco that he and other baseball players regularly used steroids. A prepared statement in which Palmiero denied steroid use is on-line as a PDF here.
MLB began conducting random tests of all players for steroids in 2003, following anonymous tests the prior year showing that more than 5 percent of tested players were positive for steroids. Results in 2003 showed that five to seven percent of the players tested were positive for steroids and results in 2004 showed a drop to one to two percent of players. Commissioner Allan Selig defended MLB's drug policy at the hearing, saying that "the 2002 agreement that has been roundly criticized in some circles actually resulted in a significant reduction in steroid use." The policy is also being changed so that more substances are banned, players can be subjected to multiple random tests, players can be tested during the off-season, and penalties have been stiffened so that first-time offenders will be suspended and publicly identified and repeat offenders will face higher fines and longer suspension periods.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan was asked about the Palmeiro suspension on August 1 and how this affected Bush's friendship with Palmeiro. McClellan noted (transcript on-line here) that he had just heard about the suspension and that Bush viewed drug use as a "serious matter."
| | > | * Reference to Biden Candidacy. A senator from Delaware since 1973, Senator Joe Biden ran for the 1988 Democratic nomination but withdrew amidst allegations that he had committed plagiarism in campaign speeches and a law school paper. Biden has said that he has been proceeding since November 2004 as if he was going to run in 2008 and that he will make a decision to run by the end of the year.
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West Wing: Santos discusses a lawsuit about intelligent design
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