(got up this morning, sun peeking through the mountains on the left, several inches of snow)
· 2007 Deadliest for US Troops in Iraq
· Bush Will Veto Vet Benefits to Protect Iraq — From Lawsuits
· Suicide shocks Montana into assessing vets' care; All across America, veterans are slipping through the cracks, left to languish by their military units and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The experience in Montana, which by some measures does more than any other state to support America's wars, shows how far the military and the VA have to go.
· Saddam Provided More Food to Iraqis Than the U.S.; War on Iraq: The U.S.-backed Iraqi government will half Iraqis' rations because of "insufficient funds and spiraling inflation."
· Ever Wonder Why Comcast Is So Expensive? The family of Comcast founder Roberts will continue to receive his salary ($1.8 million/year) for five years after he dies.
· Ron Paul excluded from FOX News debate in NH Primary
· Video of the Moment: 'More Dead Cause of Ohio'
· GOP Mess in Iowa: Romney Stalls, Giuliani's Flailing, Huckabee Scares the GOP Establishment; Heading into the Iowa caucuses, the Republican field is in historic disarray with no obvious contender to take on the Democratic nominee.
· Pensito Review’s 2007 Nominees to the GOP Adulterers Hall of Fame
· Edwards: Obama Too "Nice" For The Presidency
· Pensito Review: Why I’m Endorsing John Edwards for President
· Kucinich wins in Virginia Poll; Kucinich at 30% in an poll sponsored by Democratic Party of Virginia.
· Huckabee would criminalize abortion and punish doctors.
· Yesterday The Times published a highly informative chart laying out the positions of the presidential candidates on major issues. It was, I’d argue, a useful reality check for those who believe that the next president can somehow usher in a new era of bipartisan cooperation. Reactions From Around the Web For what the chart made clear was the extent to which Democrats and Republicans live in separate moral and intellectual universes. On one side, the Democrats are all promising to get out of Iraq and offering strongly progressive policies on taxes, health care and the environment. That’s understandable: the public hates the war, and public opinion seems to be running in a progressive direction. What seems harder to understand is what’s happening on the other side — the degree to which almost all the Republicans have chosen to align themselves closely with the unpopular policies of an unpopular president. And I’m not just talking about their continuing enthusiasm for the Iraq war. The G.O.P. candidates are equally supportive of Bush economic policies.
· Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: My Mother Said Democracy Is The Best Revenge
· Bhutto's son, husband named to lead party; The party of slain former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto tapped her 19-year-old son Sunday as its new chairman, preserving one of Asia's most enduring political dynasties, but it turned real power over to her husband, a one-time businessman dogged by corruption allegations.
· Bhutto's Doctors Felt Pressure To Adopt Govt Story On Her Death
· The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007, and the trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a step ahead of security and laptops disappear with sensitive information.
· The Year in Pain: Top Ten Economic Stories of 2007; We even found a few bright spots. Which ones did you miss?
· U.S. seen internationally as an ‘Endemic Surveillance Society.’
· Republican-backed voter ID law heads to Supreme Court (bd: a way for Republicans to disenfranchize non-Republican voters...FAKE voter fraud accusations!)
· Lobbyists abetted mortgage mess; Lender lobbyists spent over $20M in political donations to relax lending laws.
