Drudge Retort: Jackass's blog

Drudge Retort: Jackass's blog http://www.drudge.com/user/jackass New links and comments. en-us http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Wordzilla/0.58 10 Dems Ask Repubs: Where's Your Bill?' http://www.drudge.com/news/127327/dems-ask-repubs-wheres-your-bill http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/senate-bill-all-2074-pages-posted-online/ The 2,074-page Senate health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is now up on the Web available for public scrutiny. And Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, spoiling for a fight, posed a challenge to his colleagues across the aisle. "We invite Senator McConnell to post the Republican health care reform bill on the Internet tonight so we can compare the two," Mr. Durbin said of the Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "We know they have been working on concepts. He has been working on a lot of things, talked about them on the floor day after day. Now is their chance. Come forward. Post your bill on health care reform. Let Americans compare the two." Republicans were not taking the bait. They have long said that they have no intention of offering a comprehensive bill. Instead, they intend to put forward a raft of amendments aimed at illustrating their policy positions on the full range of issues included in the health care legislation, and even some issues not in the bill. Republicans, meanwhile, reiterated their criticism of Democrats for working for weeks on the legislation in secret only to then push for an initial procedural vote within a matter of days "Until we have had a chance to read the full 2,074-page Reid bill, it's impossible for Americans to fully grasp what the majority leader has cooked up behind closed doors," Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said in a statement Wednesday evening. "It is my hope that Senator Reid will afford all Americans the same courtesy that he had: ample time to study the legislation and deliberate the best way to proceed." Mr. Cornyn, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, added: "Congress must take the time to get this right. If the president and majority are more interested in getting health care reform right for all 300 million Americans than they are in putting a political feather in their cap for the midterm elections, this shouldn't be an issue." Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:03:56 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/127327/dems-ask-repubs-wheres-your-bill#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.127327 news, 0.5 daily 127327 Jefferson Gets 13 Years for Corruption http://www.drudge.com/news/127170/jefferson-gets-13-years-corruption http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/13/jefferson.sentencing/index.html Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson (D.-La.) was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on 11 counts of corruption. Jefferson also was ordered to forfeit more than $470,000 after his conviction for using his office to solicit bribes. The case against the former nine-term Louisiana Democrat included allegations of influence-peddling and the discovery of $90,000 in cash in his freezer. "The court's sentence today reaffirms the principle that all people -- no matter what their title or position -- are equal before the law," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman in a statement. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:21:28 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/127170/jefferson-gets-13-years-corruption#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.127170 news, 0.5 daily 127170 I'm Now a 'Liberal' Because I'm a Conservative http://www.drudge.com/news/126929/im-now-liberal-because-im http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7499 I grew up in a fundamentalist missionary family that in the 1970s and 80s morphed into my father's activity as one of the founders of the Religious Right. We would hobnob with Republican leaders from Ronald Reagan to Gerald Ford and the Bush family, Jack Kemp and many others. One day it dawned on me that the far right of the Republican Party --- in other words its base --- actually hates America. The Religious Right reveled in rising crime statistics, "family breakdown" statistics, failing public schools and so forth. As I explain in my book Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism), if crime started going down, or public school test results started going up --- without the country "turning back to Jesus" --- then that would prove that somehow "we" were wrong. We wanted our country to fail because it had "turned away" from what we believed to be true. Combined with the fact that we began to lose parts of the culture war, when it came to other Americans beginning to recognize gay rights, expanding women's rights, abortion rights and such, the Religious Right and the Republican Party infected gun-toting America with a chip on its shoulder about a mile wide. This led to the myth that "they" (fill in the blank, gays, Jews, blacks, liberals --- whatever) are "taking away our country from 'us'"... "Conservative" means that you believe it's right to legalize torture, but reject health care for all. These days to be a conservative means that you hate the United States government elected by the people; believe that if millions of citizens are out of work that it's their own fault and that the rest of the community should not help them by spending tax dollars; think that Sarah-believes-in-casting-out-demons-before-she-ran-for-governorship-Palin speaks for you. To be a conservative means you believe that healthcare reform will lead to "death panels"; that the president of the United States is not a "real American"; that a university education is a dangerous thing; that Americans who live in big cities are less American than those who live in small towns; that brown people, blacks, progressive whites, gays, public school teachers, Hispanics, immigrants, are somehow conspiring to subvert the "real America" with a "gay agenda" or a "Muslim agenda" or at least the browning of "our" white America. The Religious Right reveled in rising crime statistics, "family breakdown" statistics, failing public schools and so forth. As I explain in my book Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism), if crime started going down, or public school test results started going up --- without the country "turning back to Jesus" --- then that would prove that somehow "we" were wrong. We wanted our country to fail because it had "turned away" from what we believed to be true. Combined with the fact that we began to lose parts of the culture war, when it came to other Americans beginning to recognize gay rights, expanding women's rights, abortion rights and such, the Religious Right and the Republican Party infected gun-toting America with a chip on its shoulder about a mile wide. This led to the myth that "they" (fill in the blank, gays, Jews, blacks, liberals --- whatever) are "taking away our country from 'us'"... "Conservative" means that you believe it's right to legalize torture, but reject health care for all. These days to be a conservative means that you hate the United States government elected by the people; believe that if millions of citizens are out of work that it's their own fault and that the rest of the community should not help them by spending tax dollars; think that Sarah-believes-in-casting-out-demons-before-she-ran-for-governorship-Palin speaks for you. To be a conservative means you believe that healthcare reform will lead to "death panels"; that the president of the United States is not a "real American"; that a university education is a dangerous thing; that Americans who live in big cities are less American than those who live in small towns; that brown people, blacks, progressive whites, gays, public school teachers, Hispanics, immigrants, are somehow conspiring to subvert the "real America" with a "gay agenda" or a "Muslim agenda" or at least the browning of "our" white America. In other words to be a conservative today is to be an anti-American, nihilistic libertarian know-nothing who believes in unregulated consumerism and the theology of dominion, and the Rapture that many conservatives also subscribe to along with such 'facts' as that Obama is the - literal! - Antichrist. In other words to be a conservative today is to be an anti-American, nihilistic libertarian know-nothing who believes in unregulated consumerism and the theology of dominion, and the Rapture that many conservatives also subscribe to along with such "facts" as that Obama is the --- literal! --- Antichrist. Other than trying to stop women from having abortions and fighting the whole world, our "terrorist enemies", in other words everyone "not like us", conservatism today is nothing more than a pent up reaction against everything "we" don't understand --- like art, literature, government, history, geography, diversity, how people get to be gay, black or female... things like that. Conservatism today is actually not for anything. It is just against everyone but "us" and a few like us bound together by an alternative reality, otherwise known as Fox/NRA/Beck/Palin/Jesus's Return--"News." The irony is that conservatives used to wrap themselves in the American flag and belonging to a cause built on higher ideals than pure selfishness and individual choice. Patriotism was based on principle, not fear and anger. Conservatism led by people such as the late William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater and others had its feet firmly planted in what it regarded as the reality-based community as opposed to liberal wishful thinking about progress coming from government, human nature, etc. The problem for the conservative movement --- hence the Republican Party --- is that the us in "us" was never more narrowly defined. No one said it openly, in fact it was denied, but it really amounted to we Real Americans boiling down to mostly uneducated white people, dumb enough to believe things such as Sarah Palin's barefaced lies about Obama consorting with terrorists, and/or, post the Obama election, conspiring to unleash "death panels" on unsuspecting elderly and/or handicapped Americans while turning us into a "Communist state" as everyone knows Hitler did to Germany, that other "communist country" famous right up there with Canada and the UK for killing its sick, tired and poor. What is the conservative movement today, and/or the Republican Party? It's about as far away from conservatism as it can get. It is a party ready to trash its own country in support of nihilistic, selfish market-driven "values" the very opposite of conservative values of family, community and stability. It is in fact what conservatives of the 60s said the hippies were: selfish brats with no sense of responsibility to anyone. It's also a party of armed revolution not so subtly egging on its lunatic fringe to commit violence. It applauds white rubes who show up at public meetings carrying loaded assault weapons "to make a point" and signs reminiscent of Timothy McVeigh and his famous T-shirt; "the tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants" and the like are held up by Murdoch/Beck/Fox and company --- those profiteers off the unregulated market --- as paragons of good sense and free enterprise and gun rights. To be an actual conservative today is to be a progressive Democrat. An actual conservative believes in community and accountability to a moral tradition that puts the greater good of others ahead of oneself. Take a look at the way the very conservative communities of New England's Puritan towns were arranged around the village green known as "the commons." Shared public spaces were owned by the community, for instance grazing land, and town meetinghouses. People were obliged to show up and participate in the fledgling democracy and vote. Taxes were dispensed by committees for charitable purposes. A duty to government and obligations placed on citizens by other citizens --- when it came to putting the life of the community ahead of the self --- were the norm. The free-market and individual enterprise were strictly curtailed based on not just the needs of the community but, when it came to things like banking and lending, the Old Testament teachings that frowned on "usury" --- in other words banks making more money than they should from ordinary people-- were upheld. President Obama is a conservative. He believes in the brotherhood of all people. He believes in the freedom of the individual to make moral decisions. He believes that sexuality, religion and skin color should not define us but the content of our characters should define us. He believes that we are our brother's keeper. He believes in loyalty to community and country --- in other words patriotism, whether that's the honor of serving in the military or the honor of paying taxes to support not just national defense but how we treat what the Bible calls the least amongst us. People ask me why I'm a progressive these days and "changed sides" from being a conservative. I didn't change sides. What changed --- ironically with my father's and my nefarious "help!" --- was a conservative movement that became an enclave for hate-filled ignorance, anti-American sentiment and nihilistic individualism. What changed was my bare faced self deception as I profited from the God business and the far right even though I knew better. Today I am an independent voter, and an Obama supporter, and a progressive because I am a conservative. * * * Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:51:09 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126929/im-now-liberal-because-im#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126929 discussion, 0.5 daily 126929 Medical Breakthrough Uses HIV for Good http://www.drudge.com/news/126895/medical-breakthrough-uses-hiv-good http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_med_gene_therapy French scientists mixed gene therapy and bone marrow transplants in two boys to seemingly halt a brain disease that can kill by adolescence. The surprise ingredient: They disabled the HIV virus so it couldn't cause AIDS, and then used it to carry in the healthy new gene. The experiment marks the first time researchers have tried that long-contemplated step in people -- and the first effective gene therapy against a severe brain disease, said lead researcher Dr. Patrick Aubourg of the University Paris-Descartes. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:11:04 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126895/medical-breakthrough-uses-hiv-good#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126895 news, 0.5 daily 126895 Boehner Confuses Declaration and Constitution http://www.drudge.com/news/126887/boehner-confuses-declaration-and-constitution http://www.examiner.com/x-15955-Madison-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Boehner-confuses-Constitution-with-Declaration-and-grievances-within-document-to-current-events At a recent TEA Party protest in Washington DC, House Minority Leader John Boehner stood before a crowd of thousands. Encouraging him to stand against the proposed health care bill in the House (which is now endorsed by the AARP), he spoke of a great founding document, the U.S. Constitution. Holding his personal copy of the document in his hand, Boehner recited the Preamble to the crowd: "We hold these truths to be self-evident," Boehner said, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." Without a doubt, many TEA Party protesters at the event felt a sense of pride in hearing those words. Some, however, probably felt a bit confused. Indeed, the document that Boehner was quoting was not the Constitution -- it was the Declaration of Independence. That someone in today's world may confuse the two (both documents date back over two hundred years ago) is not surprising. Equally as unsurprising is that a person at a TEA Party event missed the mark (protesters within the crowds have spread lies and misinformation for several months now). But what should worry some is that a ranking member of Congress, the leader of the oppositional party in the House of Representatives, got the two mixed up. Nevertheless, the sentiment is what matters more than the error. Boehner was articulating what many TEA Party protesters felt: that they had a right to protest this government, to bring it down, and to defeat Obama and his Democratic allies. The Declaration of Independence -- the real document that Boehner had quoted -- justifies just that. When "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are deprived from the people, then "it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it (government), and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." The Declaration indeed is a very rebellious document. But it's purpose was to address the grievances against the King of England at the time. Comparing those grivances to today's, and you'll notice something: the grievances of today are squat when you look back at history. Patriots of 1776 rallied against unfair taxation (without represenation in Parliament), quartering of soldiers in colonial homes, dissolving of "representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people," unfair trials without juries, and general disregard for the law made by King George. TEA Party protesters today are rallying against...taxes, high spending at the federal level, Barack Obama's birth certificate, health care reform...hardly anything comparable to the grievances of the late 18th century. Whereas King George took away the livelihood of the people, took away their just rights, took away their right to purue their own happiness, Barack Obama is asking the wealthy to pay a little bit more in taxes (something most Americans support, and that father of the Republican Party Abraham Lincoln imposed). He is asking that we not fear high spending. And he's asking that we use some of our revenue to help put in place a health care plan that will allow people to keep their insurance, or to purchase a public plan offered by the government itself. Oppose these policies all you want -- that's an American ideal that we all can celebrate, even if we do disagree with one another. Comparing the grievances of conservatives today, however, to the grievances the colonies had with King George, and you're out of line. Barack Obama has done nothing to constitute the removal of government as we know it, as Jefferson suggested we do in times destruction to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We mustn't be hasty, and we shouldn't over-dramatize the grievances we may have with the president, with some of us proposing an actual revolution to deal with them. Disagree with him. Be emotional about it. But don't compare apples to oranges. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:17:43 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126887/boehner-confuses-declaration-and-constitution#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126887 discussion, 0.5 daily 126887 Reform May Help Millions with Pre-Existing Conditions http://www.drudge.com/news/126730/reform-may-help-millions-pre-existing https://secure.passport.mnginteractive.com/mngi/servletDispatch/ErightsPassportServlet.dyn?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13671661?nclick_check=1&forced=true The fear of going without health insurance and the frustration of not being able to do anything about it because of a preexisting condition is shared by millions of Americans who have tried unsuccessfully to buy insurance on their own -- or worry about someday having to do so. Kelsey Jessup, 26, is a model of healthful living. The Palo Alto native runs five days a week, practices yoga and stays away from red meat. But none of that mattered when Jessup recently applied for health insurance. Because she had knee surgery to repair a high school soccer injury and went to the emergency room after fainting a few years ago, she was denied coverage by multiple insurers. Ronald Sturm, 62, of San Jose is diabetic but has managed his condition for five years with regular insulin shots and by eating right. Otherwise he's in good shape, he says, pointing to his part-time job as a referee running up and down high school gymnasiums. But Sturm, too, can't get coverage; he pays out of pocket for doctor visits and medications and prays nothing major happens to him before he qualifies for Medicare at age 65. "If I have a serious illness or get hit by a softball and have to go the ER," he said, "I'm in trouble." Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:33:11 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126730/reform-may-help-millions-pre-existing#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126730 news, 0.5 daily 126730 Palin's GOP Brand: Exclusionary and Short-Sighted http://www.drudge.com/news/126727/palins-gop-brand-exclusionary-and http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/11/02/palins-gop-brand-exclusionary-and-short-sighted-but-who-will/ It's one thing when Sarah Palin "goes rogue" as a candidate campaigning for herself and her running mate. It's another thing entirely when she does it as the charismatic, free-lance leader of a grassroots army. There's a direct line between Palin, the most famous Republican to endorse conservative third-party congressional candidate Doug Hoffman in Tuesday's special election in New York, and moderate Republican assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava's stunning decision Saturday to suspend her campaign. Hoffman could well win, giving short-term succor to the GOP and Palin's exclusionary, storm-the-barricades brand of Republicanism. And who knows when and where this will stop -- or where it will lead? It has all the elements of a runaway train, and very few Republicans are willing to step in front of it. Palin of course has every right to get involved in races and mobilize support for her picks. But the stampede among top Republicans to follow Palin's lead, or at least flee to the sidelines, has been embarrassing. To my thinking, the guy who came out looking best here was Newt Gingrich; I can't believe I just wrote that, but I'll explain later. The lessons from the revolt in New York's Canada-hugging North Country may not be what they seem at first glance. It is true that Hoffman, the owner of a development company and managing partner of a large CPA firm, picked up so many endorsements and so much steam that Scozzafava was driven out. It is true that a handful of county chairs selected Scozzafava -- that's the system in New York for a special election. But what really happened here? Did Palin and her allies correct a terrible mistake made by misguided local leaders? Did they play a vital catalytic role to make sure the people's voice is heard? Or did a local election get hijacked by ideologues with a national agenda? Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association and often mentioned as a 2012 White House prospect, blamed locals for an "inside baseball, smoke-filled room" process that produced the wrong person. "They should've had a primary" and let the people choose, he said on CNN. But that was not possible. You could even argue that those county party officials came as close as they could to a small-D democratic process by choosing a public official who had been elected by residents of the largest city in the congressional district. The Watertown Daily Times, which on Sunday switched its endorsement from Scozzafava to Plattsburgh lawyer Bill Owens, the Democratic nominee, comes down on the side of hijacking. Forget the money and manpower that national conservatives have poured into the race, and consider this anecdote from managing editor Bob Gorman. When Hoffman came to see the editorial board last month, he was accompanied by former House majority leader Dick Armey, now a prime fomenter of the tea-party protest movement against taxes and spending. When co-publisher John Johnson opened the meeting, the first person to speak was Armey, a Texan carrying his cowboy hat. Johnson told him "I'm not interested in hearing from you. I'm interested in hearing what Mr. Hoffman has to say," Gorman told me. Things went from bad to worse as it became clear that Hoffman didn't know much about the sprawling 23rd congressional district, which is dominated by the dairy industry, Fort Drum and issues involving the St. Lawrence Seaway, and Armey tried to convince the board the election there was about national issues. You can get the full flavor here of Hoffman's non-answers and schedule of national interviews with Glenn Beck and others. Or check out his campaign Web site. The first few words on the home page make his priorities clear: "No more bailouts. No more taxes. No more trillion-dollar deficits. That's what I'm fighting for." The Web site for Owens, by contrast, says he led redevelopment of Plattsburgh Air Force Base and will make "local job creation" his top priority. But Scozzafava had the deepest knowledge of the region and was the most accessible of the three. Unlike the others, Gorman said, she agreed to debates, made herself available for questions and gave her cell number to reporters so they could ask more. And she did have some conservative credentials. She signed a no-tax-increase pledge and won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. But her support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage (in her view, consistent with the conservative tenet that the government shouldn't make decisions for people) sent Palin and her grassroots into a tailspin. Scozzafava's husband's job probably didn't help matters either: He's a labor organizer. Palin announced her endorsement of Hoffman in a Facebook post that vowed "no more politics as usual." Once and future presidential possibles Fred Thompson, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum and Steve Forbes also endorsed Hoffman (and to be fair, Thompson was first, well before Palin). Others lodged themselves firmly in neutral. By the end, Gingrich was practically alone in defending Scozzafava, local prerogatives and the idea of a capacious GOP tent with room for candidates who are not 100 percent conservative (but maybe are more viable where they're running as a result). Despite the protestations of elected Republicans who say that they understand the diversity needed to win elections and majorities, and that this is an isolated case, you have to wonder what will happen to aspiring Republican moderates of the future -- or if there will even be any. Look at the price paid by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a pretty close match for Scozzafava's positions, in the 2008 presidential campaign. He skipped key contests in three conservative states and by the time he made his stand in Florida, it was too late. Look at moderate Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate primary battle against an opponent with conservative movement backing, and look at the lengths Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter went to -- becoming a Democrat -- in order to avoid that kind of showdown. And these are people with enormous stature and heft. How many non-politicians or obscure state legislators are going to step up after this, knowing that in mid-race their party may abandon them? How does this grow a party that's been contracting among minorities and in virtually every region but the South? How many contests does the Palin approach cede to Democrats, who have been happy to recruit moderates and conservatives in places they believe candidates like that can win? Candidates like that have indeed won, and the complications posed by the Democrats' diversity are now playing out for all to see in the intra-party struggle over health reform. But you better believe it's a good problem to have. I'm pretty sure zero Democrats would prefer to be out of power and in perfect accord. The Sarah Palin Blog calls the 23rd district race "a real test of political influence" and celebrates the verdict in its headline: "Sarah Palin Wins, Again." Events so far are, as the blog says, a vindication of Palin. Her party should brace for the deluge. Coming soon are the book ("Going Rogue"), the book tour and hundreds of 2010 contests. Don't expect Palin to sit them out. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:15:47 -0500 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126727/palins-gop-brand-exclusionary-and#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126727 discussion, 0.5 daily 126727 Soon-to-be graduate deported to Gaza http://www.drudge.com/news/126673/soon-graduate-deported-gaza http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/10/31/west.bank.college.student/index.html Jerusalem (CNN) -- For Berlanty Azzam, Wednesday's two-hour round trip from Bethlehem to Ramallah was supposed to signal the possibility of a new life chapter for the 21-year-old college student. Azzam, a senior studying business at Bethlehem University, had a job interview in the West Bank capital, hoping to land a sales position after her graduation in December. Azzam made it to the interview, but on her way back to Bethlehem she was stopped at an Israeli Army checkpoint. She handed over her identity papers to the soldiers who told her she could not leave. She said she was held at the checkpoint for five hours with no explanation, and then blindfolded, handcuffed and put into a military vehicle. "I did not know what they were going to do with me or where they were taking me," Azzam said in a interview. As it turns out, Azzam was being removed from the Palestinian West Bank and brought to the Gaza Strip. She called the experience "frightening and dehumanizing." The Israeli military released a statement saying Azzam was "residing illegally" in the West Bank and had overstayed a permit "allowing her to stay in Jerusalem for a few days in August 2005." Azzam, who grew up in Gaza, left her home four years ago after receiving a travel permit from the Israeli government to visit the West Bank. Azzam said she was "scared of something like this happening" and had not returned home to Gaza for that reason. She acknowledged that the Israeli government had issued a temporary permit but said she stayed on in the West Bank because it was the only way for her to attend school. Azzam's return to Gaza means there is a strong likelihood she will not be allowed back to the West Bank to finish her studies. In a stated effort to isolate the radical Islamist group Hamas which controls Gaza, Israel has imposed extremely tight restrictions on Palestinians leaving the densely populated coastal strip. The restrictions have extended to Gaza residents who have been accepted to universities in Europe and the United States in addition to the West Bank. The issue received notoriety last year when the U.S. State Department exerted pressure on Israel to allow some Fulbright scholarship winners to leave Gaza to attend schools in the United States. Azzam's case has been taken up by Gisha, an Israeli organization which advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement. The group's executive director, Sari Bashi, told CNN that they were petitioning the Israeli supreme court to allow Azzam to immediately return to her studies in the West Bank. Bashi said that Azzam's forced return to the Gaza Strip is part of a recent campaign by the Israeli military "to search the West Bank for Palestinians whose ID cards are registered in Gaza and to remove them to Gaza by force." Bashi said the right of Palestinians from Gaza to stay in the West Bank is being litigated in the Israeli courts and that the military's "aggressive" treatment of Azzam constituted "a blatant attempt to avoid judicial review." Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government, said he was not aware of any policy to remove Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza and said that in the past there have been concerns about Hamas using access to the West Bank as a way of placing their activists in universities. Officials at Bethlehem University said they were worried that Azzam's case could set a precedent for the removal of more of their students who come from Gaza and questioned why it was a problem to allow her to finish her studies. "She has been here since 2005," said Brother Jack Curran, a vice-president at the Vatican-sponsored university. "Name one security concern that she has been involved in." "It's really not about political posturing," he said. "It's about a young woman's life and her dream and her goal for her university education." Azzam said her return to Gaza has been bittersweet. After four years away, she said she was happy to see her family but disappointed she was returning without her degree. Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:15:24 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126673/soon-graduate-deported-gaza#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126673 discussion, 0.5 daily 126673 Students: Chicago Club Barred Blacks http://www.drudge.com/news/126457/students-chicago-club-barred-blacks http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/25/illinois.bar.racism.allegations/index.html Students from Washington University allege that a Chicago nightclub barred six black members of their class trip celebration while admitting nearly 200 white classmates. Bar personnel at Original Mother's bar cited baggy jeans as the reason to bar the students, but after a white student and black student exchanged jeans, the white was admitted while the black was still excluded. Student Fernando Cutz said his group from the St. Louis school filed complaints with the Chicago Human Rights Commission, the Illinois Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice and other organizations after the incident on October 17. The school planned to hold a town hall meeting Monday night to discuss the incident and a possible protest, he said. Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to express his "most intense disappointment" about the incident. In the letter -- a copy of which was provided to CNN by Cutz -- Wrighton told the mayor that he "can only imagine the humiliation and discouragement these six young students felt ... when they were turned away from this establishment because of their race." Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:00:52 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126457/students-chicago-club-barred-blacks#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126457 news, 0.5 daily 126457 JPMorgan, Citi Sued for Student Loan Scheme http://www.drudge.com/news/126250/jpmorgan-citi-sued-student-loan-scheme http://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-citi-charge-with-cheating-on-student-loans-2009-10 JPMorgan and Citigroup are being sued for conspiring with education finance company Nelnet (NNI) to allegedly receive federal student loan subsidies by making false claims and illegally recruiting more borrowers, previously sealed court documents show. The civil action suit was filed in May 2008 at U.S. District court in Omaha, Nebraska and was posted recently on Wikileaks, just before it was officially unsealed by the court. The 285 page suit (below) says Nelnet illegally induced students to apply for federal student loans, paying telemarketers to aggressively push the government product, and used false advertising to get more applications, like promising that students would save thousands of dollars in interest payments by consilidating their loans with Nelnet. They then presented false claims to the Department of Education to receive federal funding. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:33:43 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/126250/jpmorgan-citi-sued-student-loan-scheme#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.126250 news, 0.5 daily 126250 Nearly 1 in 4 People Worldwide is Muslim http://www.drudge.com/news/125895/nearly-1-4-people-worldwide-muslim http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/07/muslim.world.population/index.html?eref=rss_topstories Nearly one in four people worldwide is Muslim -- and they are not necessarily where you might think, according to an extensive new study that aims to map the global Muslim population. India, a majority-Hindu country, has more Muslims than any country except for Indonesia and Pakistan, and more than twice as many as Egypt. China has more Muslims than Syria. There are about 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, according to the report, "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That represents about 23 percent of the total global population of 6.8 billion. There are about 2.25 billion Christians, based on projections from the 2005 World Religions Database. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:31:15 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/125895/nearly-1-4-people-worldwide-muslim#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.125895 news, 0.5 daily 125895 Greenspan Predicts 3% Economic Growth http://www.drudge.com/news/125796/greenspan-predicts-3-economic-growth http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/04/u.s.economy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories The U.S. economy will grow more than expected in the third quarter, but unemployment is "going to penetrate the 10 percent barrier before heading down," former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday. "We are in a recovery, and I think it would be a mistake to say the September numbers alter that significantly," he said. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:30:43 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/125796/greenspan-predicts-3-economic-growth#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.125796 news, 0.5 daily 125796 8 Troops Killed in Afghanistan http://www.drudge.com/news/125773/8-troops-killed-afghanistan http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/04/afghanistan.troops.killed/index.html Eight U.S. service members and two members of the Afghan National Security Force were killed Saturday in a battle with militants in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. "My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish this fight," said Col. Randy George, commander of Task Force Mountain Warrior. "This was a complex attack in a difficult area." Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:43:56 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/125773/8-troops-killed-afghanistan#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.125773 news, 0.5 daily 125773 6 Killed as Storms Pound Georgia http://www.drudge.com/news/125372/6-killed-storms-pound-georgia http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5igyXc-4XxCFyBa_vJSPGbYlcO3mwD9AS0GN01 A two-year-old Georgia boy swept from his father's arms Monday was among six people killed by storms pounding the Southeast, and more rain was expected after the historic dumping that also forced drivers to scramble onto the roofs of cars on Atlanta's main artery. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:04:29 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/125372/6-killed-storms-pound-georgia#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.125372 news, 0.5 daily 125372 Israel rejects UN criticism of Gaza war conduct http://www.drudge.com/news/125216/israel-rejects-un-criticism-gaza-war http://features.csmonitor.com/globalnews/2009/09/16/israel-rejects-un-criticism-of-gaza-war-conduct/ Israel has adamantly rejected the recommendation of a United Nations report to carry out an independent inquiry into its conduct during the 22-day Gaza war in January. Although the 575-page report released Tuesday condemned Palestinian groups for rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, it came down hardest on Israel for its treatment of Palestinian civilians during and after the war. The report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes, "makes a mockery of history," said Israeli President Shimon Peres. The UN investigation of Israel's war in Gaza, code-named Operation Cast Lead, was led by Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African who has also served as a prosecutor for war crimes in the Balkans and Rwanda. The report looked at 36 cases that it said were representative of conduct during the war. The Israeli military has launched several investigations of its conduct during the war and all such investigations have cleared the Jewish state of any wrongdoing. The UN report seizes upon that fact to contend that "what occurred in just over three weeks at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 was a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate, and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local economic capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability." The report suggested that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority conduct independent investigations into their conduct during the war, reports The New York Times. The authors of the report threatened to have the United Nations Security Council refer the matter to the International Criminal Court if no such action was taken. Israel refused to cooperate with investigators during their fact-finding mission and now accuse the UN of appointing a team that had a "clear anti-Israeli bias," reports the Associated Press. Israeli Government spokesman Mark Regev said his government would conduct no independent investigation. "This report was conceived in sin and is the product of a union between propaganda and bias," Mr. Regev said. "Israel is a country with a fiercely independent judiciary. Everything done by the military in Israel is open to judicial review by the independent judiciary." Meanwhile, Mr. Goldstone's daughter has come out in defense of her father, calling him a "Zionist" who "loves Israel." In a telephone interview with Israel's Army Radio, Nicole Goldstone said that had her father not been involved with the UN investigation, the report would have likely come down even harder on Israel, reports the Jerusalem Post, a conservative Israeli newspaper. "I know that if he thought what he did would not somehow be for the sake of peace for everyone in Israel or that it would have hindered such efforts, he would not have accepted the job," she said. Nicole insisted that the fact the report also accused the Palestinians of crimes against humanity showed that her father tried to be balanced. "[I]t wasn't easy for him to see and hear what happened. I think he heard and saw things he didn't expect to see and hear, and I am one-hundred-percent sure he did it [conducted the investigation] in the hope that the Israelis would come to cooperate, and he wanted to help find a long-term solution for the state of Israel." Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:02:38 -0400 jackass http://www.drudge.com/news/125216/israel-rejects-un-criticism-gaza-war#discuss tag:drudge.com,2005:weblog.125216 discussion, 0.5 daily 125216