Friday Quick Hits

Five U.S. soldiers were killed when a "very large" roadside bomb exploded near their combat patrol in southern Baghdad, a U.S. general said Friday.

A combination of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades followed the blast Thursday, said Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., who described the attack as "showing a level of sophistication that we have not often seen so far" during the period of the so-called "surge" in U.S. forces.

Fil said four soldiers were killed initially. Seven others were wounded, he said, and one of those later died.


The New York Times has a new poll out. Here's a clue, it wouldn't be in this blog if it wasn't saying something I would not agree with.

What Women See in Hillary (or not)
from the Nation via Zogby

"I love [Hillary Clinton] so completely that, honestly, she would have to burn down the White House before I would say anything bad about her!" exclaimed Nora Ephron in a 1993 Newsday interview. Three years later, she told the Wellesley class of 1996, "Understand: Every attack on Hillary Clinton for not knowing her place is an attack on you." Come late 2006, however, Ephron was the one on the attack as one of the self-described "Hillary resisters" -- those who believe that "she will do anything to win, who believe she doesn't really take a position unless it's completely safe," as she wrote on her Huffington Post blog, "who believe she has taken the concept of triangulation and pushed it to a geometric level never achieved by anyone including her own husband, who can't stand her position on the war, who don't trust her as far as you can spit."

Hey Guantanamo Detainees, The Court's in Your Favor
The Supreme Court said today that it would review the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees to challenge their confinements in federal court, reversing a decision in April not to take up that issue.

A Syria-ous Charge
President George W. Bush on Friday banned Syrian and Lebanese officials whom Washington accuses of undermining the Lebanese government from entering the United States, the White House said.

Free Air Better Than Fair Air?
The House voted Thursday to bar the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the broadcast “fairness doctrine” even though there are no legislative or regulatory proposals to bring back the rule. The bill which was adopted, 309-115, puts the House on record as favoring “freedom on the public airwaves.” This is great news for Rush, Sean, Ann, and less good news for equal press. With consolidation of the airwaves, this points to the need for community radio.

Veggie Booty Might Make You a Sicko
Food poisoning isn't progressive so be aware a recall is underway for snack food Veggie Booty which may have a type of salmonella in it.

Bush "Putin" on the Ritz in Kennebunkport This Weekend For Russian Leader
Caviar from the Caspian Sea will be flown in to the land of lobster as what might be the final meeting between Presidents Bush and Vladimir Putin gets underway in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Dems Challenge Invocation of Executive Privilege
In a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding, the heads of the Senate and House Judiciary committees demanded an explanation in 10 days of why the White House claimed executive privilege on subpoenaed documents and vowed to invoke "the full force of law."

Homeland's Chertoff: He Don't Like, He Don't Like, He Don't Like--Propane
A long way to go for a pun, but Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin saw problems with new propane regulations proposed by the Department of Homeland Security. The proposal would list propane as a chemical of interest when kept in quantities greater than 7,500 pounds, forcing a costly risk assessment.

Peace is Every Step

If Politicians were really serious about ending the war, wouldn't they rescind the authority to the president for the War? It seems the movement toward ending the war is predicated more on the 2008 election result than bringing the troops home NOW. It is up to us, the public, to challenge that notion. So what can be done?

- Protest every Friday afternoon at 5:15 at the corner of Washington and Clinton Streets

- Bombard Congressman Loebsack's office with mail and/or set up a meeting through his staff to discuss ending the war with the Congressman, Senator Harkin and Senator Grassley's office (although drop-ins are always welcome--until 5 pm--ask the CR 11).

- Sign every petition that is sent your way that is intended to stop the war.

- Support the families who have sons and daughters in the conflict.

- Show up at Memorial Day events.

- Boycott companies that profit from the war. This includes stocks and mutual fund holders. A short list is below: Check out War Profiteers for more or here.

Boeing

Lockheed Martin

Northrop Grumman

General Dynamics

Raytheon

United Technologies

Halliburton

General Electric

Science Applications International Corporation

- Join with other people to resist the next one.

- Be persistent, be consistent, and don't take "no" for an answer.

- Add your own ideas.

Obama Says "It's Not Personal" about Grassley--But the War Is

Barack Obama was in Indianola on Thursday and defended his comments from Sunday. From the AP

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stepped up his pressure on Republican Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday, arguing voters should urge the Iowa lawmaker to help override President Bush's veto of a bill that would set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Obama addressed the issue during the eighth campaign swing through Iowa since he declared his candidacy for president.

"It isn't personal," Obama told about 300 people at a town hall meeting at Simpson College. "I respect him greatly. But I said then and I say now that he needs to hear from you and people across Iowa who understand that it's time to change course."

Obama has made his opposition to the war in Iraq a central theme of his campaign.
Congress passed a measure that would provide additional funds for the war, but Bush vetoed it because it also contained a timeline for bringing the troops home.

"We need 16 Republican votes in the Senate to overturn the veto," said Obama. "I said on Sunday that one of the senators we need to persuade is from right here in Iowa."

Grassley has rejected the suggestion that he can be pressured on the issue, saying Obama, an Illinois senator, is violating traditions of the institution by traveling to another state and publicly applying pressure to a colleague. He has labeled that step "not senatorial" and said he had no intention of voting to override the veto.

Obama said he has not overstepped his grounds, saying those senatorial traditions pale before the magnitude of the war.

"This isn't about Washington etiquette, it's about bringing our troops home," said Obama. "This is how real change happens in America. This isn't symbolic, this is real."

Grassley Says Obama " Not senatorial"

73 year-old Iowa senator, Chuck Grassley didn't take too kindly to Illinois senator, Barack Obama who said “There’s at least one senator right here in Iowa who could be helpful if he votes with us to bring this war to a close,” Obama said in Waterloo last weekend. He didn’t mention Grassley by name, but he issued a news release the same day that did.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said of Obama's comment “It’s not senatorial, and if you can’t be senatorial, how can you be presidential?”

Other Grassley quotes that make him the Grinch of Iowa:

"You know what? What makes our economy grow is energy. And Americans are used to going to the gas tank (sic), and when they put that hose in their, uh, tank, and when I do it, I wanna get gas out of it. And when I turn the light switch on, I want the lights to go on, and I don't want somebody to tell me I gotta change my way of living to satisfy them. Because this is America, and this is something we've worked our way into, and the American people are entitled to it, and if we're going improve (sic) our standard of living, you have to consume more energy."

"The bottom line is, there have been a lot of nuts elected to the United States Senate."

Got Balls?

University of Iowa students were among the 11 anti-war protesters who were arrested for staging a sit-in outside senior Senator Charles Grassley's office in Cedar Rapids. It appears the good Senator would not answer their phone calls, so they thought they would wait for him and speak personally to him about further funding of the war. Grassley, one of the inplacable Republicans still "staying the course," apparently believed that his staged public events were public enough for these raggamuffins. See the Daily Iowan for more.

The Des Moines Register and WHO TV report similar actions in the Iowa capital city where at least seven protesters were cited.

From Radio Iowa

Grassley was flying from Iowa back to Washington, D.C. at the time, after holding 17 town meetings across Iowa during the past week while Congress was on break.

Grassley says "There isn't a town meeting I had that we didn't have a non-emotional discussion of Iraq including people that were there from this group and for some reason or other, they saw it necessary to repeat the effort by coming to my office." The seven protesters were reportedly members of a group taking part in what's called the Occupation Project, which advocates non-violent demonstrations.

Grassley says they planned to remain in his office until he consented to vote against President Bush's request for supplemental funding for American troops in Iraq. He says "They were planning on just sitting in until I agreed to something." Grassley says.

From the CR Gazette 2/28
CEDAR RAPIDS

The 11 people who were arrested for protesting at the offices of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were charged Tuesday with criminal trespass in Linn County District Court. Seven of those charged are Iowans. Here are the names of all who were charged: Andrew J. Alemao, 19, of Cedar Falls; Joshua E. Casteel, 27, of 1242 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids; Frank J. Cordaro, 56, of Des Moines; Megan R. Felt, 19, of 2401 Highway 6 E., Iowa City; Timothy L. Gauger, 36, of Eugene, Ore.; David A. Goodner, 26, of 4649 Running Deer Ct. NE, Iowa City; John P. Hornbeck, 25, of 321 Hawkeye Ct., Iowa City; Ryan D. Merz, 20, of Maple Plain, Minn.; Conor A. Murphy, 29, of Madison, Wis.; Rosemary M. Persaud, 47, of 522 Rundell St., Iowa City and Justin N. Riley, 19, of Crystal, Minn. According to the court complaint, the defendants refused to leave the federal Courthouse at 101 First St. SE after it was closed, after they were told to leave several times and after they were given a trespass warning.