Cheney and McCain Don't Give a Damn What You Think About Iraq

ABC News:
RADDATZ: Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?

TPM:
John McCain: "We're succeeding. I don't care what anybody says."

10 reasons your taxes are going up

No matter who's elected president, the debt party's over

MarketWatch:
Reason No. 1: "Most Americans have yet to feel any of the costs of the Iraq war," write Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes in an excerpt of their new book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War," in Vanity Fair. "The price in blood has been paid by members of the volunteer military. The price in treasure has been financed entirely by borrowing. Taxes have not been raised to pay for the war."

Former U.S. general defends Obama's patriotism

Reuters:
During a speech in North Carolina on Friday, the former president said: "I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country," according to media reports....

"These tactics have no place in American politics," said McPeak, a co-chair of Obama's campaign.

"Both Barack Obama and John McCain are great patriots who love this country and are devoted to it. So is Hillary Clinton. Any suggestion to the contrary is flat wrong," McPeak said as he introduced Obama.

"I am happy and proud that he (Obama) loves this country so much that he would never play that kind of divisive tactics," said McPeak, who was appointed air force chief of staff by U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

FISA Fight: When Blue Dogs (Jim Cooper) lie

Dailykos:
It's bad enough when a Democrat abandons the party to do something like support Bush and the Protect AT&T Act, but it's really bad when he lies to his constituents about his vote and the legislation.
To wit, an e-mail from Rep. Jim Cooper

AP president: US arrests war journalists to 'control' information

Rawstory:
Associated Press president Tom Curley says his news organization does not buy the government's argument that one of its photographers arrested in Iraq was working on behalf of the enemy, and he alleged the US is rounding up journalists in an attempt to control information.

"To say the least, we see things very differently," Curley commented dryly, regarding photographer Bilal Hussein, who was arrested two years ago and remains in military custody.

IRAQ -- MCCAIN REPEATEDLY CONFLATES IRAN AND AL QAEDA

Center for American Progress:
Despite Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) frequent assertions that he could "best address a national security crisis" and that he has "the most experience...when it comes to foreign policy," yesterday he severely undermined this claim when he conflated Shiite Iran with Sunni al Qaeda. Speaking to reporters in Jordan, McCain said he was concerned about Iranian operatives "training" al Qaeda in Iran "and sending them back" to Iraq -- a claim he made at least twice during that press conference. Only after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) whispered a correction in his ear did McCain correct himself to say he meant "extremists," not al Qaeda. He made the same assertion on Hugh Hewitt's right-wing radio show as well. Despite the fact that McCain repeated this fundamental error at least three times and only corrected himself at Lieberman's urging, McCain's campaign insisted McCain "misspoke and immediately corrected himself."

Full Text Of Obama's Big Race Speech: A Big Break With Political Precedent

TPM:
We have a full transcript of Obama's big race speech for you after the jump. He's set to deliver it in Philadelphia within moments.

Reading it, you can't escape the fact that in various ways it represents a massive break with conventional political precedent.

In the speech Obama goes big big big, quite consciously presenting his personal story -- and candidacy -- as both symbol and realization of American history...

Click Here for the full transcript.

Mag: Abu Ghraib interrogator 'didn't give a f*ck' how detainees treated

Rawstory:
Photographer wanted to expose 'what the military was allowing to happen'
Some of the most iconic images of the Iraq war came not from photojournalists on the front lines, but US soldiers carrying point-and-shoot digital cameras. In its latest issue, the New Yorker profiles the woman who snapped many of the photos depicting abuse at Abu Ghraib prison that the same magazine revealed nearly four years ago.

Like many of the soldiers in charge of the detained Iraqis at Abu Ghraib, Sabrina Harman had little experience running a prison. As Philip Gourevitch and Errol Morris report, she and others in her Army Reserve unit didn't stick out at the prison, "where almost nothing was run according to military doctrine."

Climate Change: The World's Biggest Security Threat

Christian Science Monitor:
Rising sea levels are what some nations fear most about global warming. But in Europe, climate change is likely to mean a new flood of immigrants from Africa and other poorer countries, according to a new report.

That was one of the issues before the heads of state from the 27-member European Union as they gathered in Brussels Thursday and Friday to address climate change and, in particular, the security threats it raises.

Going to Jail for Being a Democrat: How Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman Got Roved

Alternet:
Don Siegelman, a popular Democratic governor of Alabama, a Republican state, was framed in a crooked trial, convicted on June 29, 2006, and sent to Federal prison by the corrupt and immoral Bush administration.