Wall Street’s role in housing meltdown probed

State, cities go to court and may pave way for private suits . . . Regulators are trying to punish Wall Street for mortgage finance practices that expanded home ownership and spread risk among a host of new players — but also may have duped borrowers and investors who supplied cash to fuel a housing boom that’s turned bust. [to read more]

from Associated Press/MSNBC | updated 18 Feb. 2008

How Republicans might sink Obama

In 1976, they nearly beat Carter with the fear card.

A fresh-faced Democratic presidential candidate promising change. An economy in turmoil. A nation soured on Republican rule. . . It sounds like a recipe for a big win for Sen. Barack Obama this November. It also sounds a lot like the 1976 campaign, which I covered as White House correspondent for the Associated Press. And if history is any guide, don’t count the GOP out just yet. [to read more]

By Walter Rodgers | csmonitor.com | Published: 19 February 2008

Vatican slows sainthood process

The Vatican has issued new rules making the route to sainthood more difficult. . . Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins called for firmness and sobriety in the Catholic Church’s saint making process. . . Cardinal Martins, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, issued new guidelines to clarify and modernize the procedure. . .
[to read more]

Story from BBC NEWS | Published: 18 February 2008

Whistle-blower site taken offline

A controversial website that allows whistle-blowers to anonymously post government and corporate documents has been taken offline in the US. . . Wikileaks.org, as it is known, was cut off from the internet following a California court ruling, the site says. . . The case was brought by a Swiss bank after “several hundred” documents were posted about its offshore activities. [to read more]

Story from BBC NEWS | Published: 18 February 2008

McCain Wrong On This One

Sen. John McCain is the republican party front runner for the 2008 presidential nomination. He stated that we could be in Iraq for a 100 years and that is okay with him. We realize that politicians speak before they think occasionally; but whether he meant it or not, it is part of his campaign platform. This gives us an insight into what he is thinking and what type of leader he would be for our nation.

Senator John McCain is okay with our children and our grandchildren and their children fighting and dying in a war that the majority of the world believe was a mistake? We don’t know about you, but we have a problem with that statement.

To be fair, we opposed this war in Iraq from the very beginning, we personally thought the President, Vice President and Secretary of Defense have all collectively lost their minds. Now some 4000 deaths later the next leader of the republican party states that he has no problem with our sons and daughters fighting in Iraq for the next 100 years. We, the staff , as small as we are say in the strongest possible terms. Hell No!
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G7 issues global economy warning

The global economy could deteriorate further in the wake of the global credit crunch, a meeting of the G7 group of wealthy nations has warned.

But the group pledged to act individually and together to promote stability and growth. . . It also urged banks to disclose all their losses and bolster their balance sheets to help stabilize markets[ to read more]

from BBC NEWS | Published: 09 February 2008

Why Campaign Consultant Douglas Schoen Says It’s Time for a Third Party

When it comes to major national issues such as slavery, Prohibition, the federal deficit, and civil rights, as well as energy policy and the environment, third parties have long served as an important outlet for moving political debates forward. As we’ve repeatedly seen in American history, even when a third-party candidate loses, sometimes his ideas win. Political scientist Daniel Mazmanian points out that “usually after a strong showing [to read more]

By Douglas Schoen | www.usnews.com | Published: 01 February 2008

Obama Wins Maine, Giving Him 4 Victories in Weekend

U.S. / Politics – - Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Maine caucuses on Sunday, giving him his fourth victory this weekend as he headed into three more state contests on Tuesday. . . Mr. Obama’s victory in Maine follows those in Washington, Louisiana and Nebraska on Saturday. Combined with his advantage in fund-raising, these victories should give him momentum going the primaries on Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. [to read more]

By Kate Zernike and John Sullivan | www.nytimes.com | Published: February 10, 2008

Libertarian Party sends condolences to GOP

FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY

TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

Libertarian Party sends condolences to the Republican National Committee

With the rise of John McCain, LP offers sympathy for the death of small-government values within the GOP

Washington, D.C. – Following a solid McCain victory in the Super Tuesday primaries, the Libertarian Party has sent Republican headquarters a funeral wreath marking the death of limited-government values within the Republican Party.  The wreath was hand-delivered to the D.C. offices of the Republican National Committee.  “We simply felt the need to express our heartfelt sympathy for the Republican Party as they undergo this tough time within their party,” says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis, who delivered the wreath.

“Given that it has become readily apparent that Senator McCain will soon be the presidential nominee for the Republican Party,” reads a card that accompanied the wreath addressed to RNC Chairman Mike Duncan,

 “we, the staff of the Libertarian National Committee, send our condolences to you upon the death of small-government principles within the GOP.” 

The note continues:

Libertarians encourage competition within both the free-market and politics.  Unfortunately, with the rise of John McCain and the big-spending practices of the Bush administration, the two-party system has emerged as representing only one philosophy – big-government liberalism.

With your loss, the Libertarian Party will continue to move forward to represent those American patriots who still believe in smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom.

“McCain’s Super Tuesday win marks the death of limited government values within the Republican Party, which had struggled with its principles throughout the Bush administration,” says Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian Party. “It is a day of mourning for the few remaining small-government Republicans.”

The Re-imagining of Hillary Clinton

“She has spent the majority of her life working for poor families, poor children, fighting for the principles that Martin Luther King stood for.” –Minyon Moore, Clinton Campaign Advisor, as quoted in the January 11th New York Times

Rather than attempt to sway votes, I want to discuss what it means when people who have put personal ambitions ahead of principles suddenly reimagine their life histories to achieve immediate goals. Hillary Clinton not only has not spent the majority of her life “working for poor families,” [to read more]

by Randy Shaw |  www.beyondchron.org | Published: 14 Jan. 2008