Democrats critical effort in California !!!

Midday Open Thread

by mcjoan

Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 11:50:48 AM PDT

• Jose Padilla has been convicted of federal terrorism support charges.
• Democrats are launching a critical effort in California to fight a ballot proposal that would award two electoral votes to the statewide winner in the presidential contest, with the rest allocated according to results in each congressional district. Dividing up California's huge electoral vote this way would likely mean the loss of 20 electoral votes to the Dem. It's good to see this proposal is getting national attention and pushback.
• This is a big surprise. Relatives and associates of GOP Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour are benefitting hugely from federal Katrina recovery dollars:

  Among the beneficiaries are Barbour's own family and friends, who have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from hurricane-related business. A nephew, one of two who are lobbyists, saw his fees more than double in the year after his uncle appointed him to a special reconstruction panel. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in June raided a company owned by the wife of a third nephew, which maintained federal emergency- management trailers.

• The suicide rate in the Army is at a 26-year high, with 99 U.S. soldiers committing suicided last year.

  More than one out of four soldiers who committed suicide did so while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a report scheduled to be released Thursday. Iraq was the most common deployment location for U.S. soldiers who either attempted suicide or committed suicide.

• Oregon Dem Senator Ron Wyden (also my former boss) is blocking Bush's nominee to be the CIA's chief lawyer over torture issues:

  "I'm going to keep the hold until the detention and interrogation program is on firm footing, both in terms of effectiveness and legality," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday.