Libby sentenced

Lewis Libby was formally sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying about his role in the CIA leak of Valerie Plame even though the prosecutor did not find any wrong doing. Political analysts have speculated whether Libby will be pardoned by the president. Libby was the former Chief of Staff to VP Cheney. It was later learned that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the original source of the leak.

Congressman indicted on corruption and bribery

LA Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) was indicted by the Justice Department on 16 counts of corruption and bribery. This investigation has been a year long investigation in which Jefferson is accused of using his office for personal gain for himself and his family. Several of his aides are currently serving jail time as well. Controversy erupted when Jefferson's Capitol Hill office was raided by the FBI after numerous requests for cooperation failed. Jefferson was also re-elected despite the investigation. He was removed from key committees by the Speakers Office pending the investigation. The Ethics committee is expected to convene to consider the seriousness of the charges. Jefferson is not likely to be expelled from congress unless he is convicted. Another congressman from Ohio was recently expelled from congress for corruption and bribery convictions. He is currently serving prison time in PA.

Clash in Washington

Pres. Bush followed through on his threat to veto the war funding bill because it put a date certain which he objected to from the beginning. Congress attempted an override but failed to get the necessary votes to do so. This was classic political theatre. Both sides not budging to see who will blink first. Congress believing they have the public on their side and seeing a weekened White House figured to score political points. Bush is too far into the War in Iraq to pull out now and believes in the policy of a free Iraq long term to stabilize the Middle East. Continuing to tolerate the former Saddam regime after 9/11 was viewed as a potential threat to the United States. Since he has no political worries to worry about he could afford to take a hit. Democrats were counting on a disgruntled public that while wants to win the war is clearly agitated with the progress. Democrats needed to make sure that they opposed the policy as strongly as they could while also supporting the troops. If the public perceived this as being opposed to the troops they would have immediately backed off.

Boris Yeltsin dies

The first freely elected President of Russia Boris Yeltsin died yesterday.

Campus deals with bomb threat

A few days after one of the deadliest shootings in US history the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus went underlock down after a threatening note was found in a bathroom. University officials said they had no choice but to lockdown the school and cancel classes afte the incident out at Virgina Tech.

Supreme Court upholds ban on partial birth abortion

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that the law that was passed by congress in 2003 was legal. Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority said that the proponents did not make a sufficient case to warrant lifting the ban. Proponents say the ruling pushes womens rights back significantly and will allow states to put further restrictions on abortions and womens rights. Right to Life advocates claimed victory saying that the court made the right decision by following the constitution and protecting the unborn.

No deal yet on Iraq

Bush and congressional leaders met today to try and hammer out a deal to continue funding for the troops. However there was no progress made. Democrats claimed that they had made concessions with the White House. Bush said that he did not want a deadline for troop withdrawal and promised to veto the bill when it reaches his desk. Democrats will likely not have enough votes for a override so the bill will likely be renegotiated in conference committee.

NC Attorney General dismisses charges against Duke players

The North Carolina Attorney General in a press conference today declared that all charges related to the alleged rape by Duke students were going to be dropped. This after it was earlier learned that Mike Nifong the Durham city prosecutor mishandled the evidence. The Attorney General's office was brought in after it was determined that the city prosecutor was no longer effective in bringing the case forward and that there was not enough evidence and that the prosecutor was operating under prejudicial conduct. Nifong had been accused of using the rape case to ensure his re-election as city prosecutor. A member of congress from NC has asked the Justice department to investigate whether the college students civil rights were violated.

Congress and White House at odds over war funding

The White House and Congress continued to exchange volleys as the president vowed to veto a war funding bill that contains pork and a timetable which Bush says will hamstring the generals in the field. Congress said that it is trying to create accountability and that they have a constitutional right and obligation to get answers to questions they say that the previous congress failed to do. Congress also said that they are also doing the will of the people which they accuse the president of failing to do.

Twins stadium deal almost done

After passing a bill through the legislature and signed by the governor the Twins stadium has hit a hurdle. the Board of the Hennepin County has been negotiating with the owners of the would be site of the proposed outdoor stadium. the County voted to take the land by eminent domain and agreed to pay $13.35 million. The owners of the current space dispute that saying that the land is worth much more than that. A court appointed panel is expected to take oral arguments and issue a ruling. The Twins have stated that they are willing to pay additional costs for land aquisition although they did not elaborate on how much. The rest of the funding is expected to come from a county sales tax. The open air stadium is scheduled to be open for the 2010 season.

Red light camera overturned

The MN State Supreme Court sustained a District courts ruling that the red light camera ordinance by the City of Minneapolis was unconstitutional. It stated that the owners were assumed to be the violators and that the goverment did not provide a way for the offender to defend their actions. The City of Minneapolis failed in its attempt at the legislature to get an a exception in state law. State law requires an officer to be present to issue such a citation. The city ordinance is likely to be ruled unconstitutional because of the 4th Amendment due process clause.

Iran to release British sailors

After a 13 day standoff with Britain, Iran has agreed to turn over 15 British sailors. Iran claimed that the British sailors had entered into territory that is in Iran. Some experts believed that this was a trap by Iran to gain concessions. Iran claims that they were in Iranian territory. However the British said that according to their maps they were in Iraq territory. Iran currently has a dispute with the UN regarding its nuclear program. The price of oil dropped on the news.

Supreme Court rules against Gitmo detainees

The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Gitmo detainees to get acess to the federal court system. The court did not elaborate on the reason behind their decision. This decision did not address a previous ruling that allows the congress to determine the formulation of military tribunals by the administration.

Bush threatens veto

President Bush continued his threat to veto legislation that would force a timetable for US forces to withdraw from Iraq. In a test of political wills the Senate passed a bill that would require the Bush administration to set timetables. The bill is likely to get vetoed by the president and the Democrats will likely be forced to withdraw that provision. Bush urged the congress to act quickly on this defense appropriation because they will need the money by the middle of the month. The congress is on a two week recess.

Bush backs embattled AG Gonzalez

Despite the firestorm of controversy surrounding the firings of several federal prosecutors the White House continues to support Attorney General Gonzalez. The White House released a statement in support of the embattled Attorney General after his former Chief of Staff suggested that Gonzalez made statements that were contrary to internal email communications. The Senate has been adament about finding out why these US Attorneys were fired. The White House defended the decision on the grounds that US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president thus are political appointments not civil servants. The controversy comes because it was thought that the federal prosecutors were fired for incompetence not politics. The White House also stated that the federal prosecutors were fired because they were not following the presidents priorities.

UN approves sanctions against Iran

The UN Security Council approves sanctions against Iran for continuing its nuclear program. The US and its European allies have been trying for many months to try and get Iran to suspend its nuclear program because they believe its being developed for military rather than civilian use. Iran has stated that they will not be reporting to the UN. Iran must be careful because unlike Iraq Iran doesnt have as many friends when it comes this issue.

Congress vs The White House

As the democrats took over the Congress in November the White House has had a much more hostile relationship with the Congress. The current controversy is a prime example of payback by congressional democrats who say that republicans failed to provide adequate oversight of the White House. Congress has held numerous hearings including the War in Iraq. Congress held a vote this week to provide funding for the war which was requested by the president but was contingent on an exit strategy of early 08. With a significant number of Senators running for president in 08, the Senate is likely to get just as political as the US House. Dont feel too much sympathy for the White House as republicans have privately complained that the White House has not done a good job of explaining its policy and strategy goals. Rather they have just wanted to execute their strategy and expected that republicans would fall in line. While they were willing to do that in the first time most republicans are now looking for answers.

Bush draws crticism for Iraq plan

Pres. Bush drew criticism from both sides of the political aisle. He laid out a plan in which he would add an additonal 20,000 troops to secure Baghdad which is been plagued by secterian violence and IED's. Privately White House aides say they have told the Iraqi government that America's resolve is wearing thin and that they need to start making progress. The White House fears that a pull out of US forces would have far deadlier consequences both short term and long term. In the short term they fear that Syria and Iran would have a heavier hand in the political affairs of Iraq and would give Iran further incentive to puruse its nuclear programs. Also that Al-Qaeda would use Iraq as a base of operations to commit attacks dircectly against the United States. The long term consequence would result in a very unstable region which is already dealing with enough turmoil.

Democrats get ready to takeover Congress

The democrats are getting ready to takever Congress as the new majority. The Congress will be lead by Nancy Pelosi and the Senate will be lead by Harry Reid. Some of the items on the agenda for the 110th congress include border security, minimum wage increase and the Iraq War among others. The Pentagon has requested 110Billion for the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Appeals Court upholds Saddam conviction

In a ruling not unexpected an appeals court has ruled that Saddam's conviction has satisfied the legal requirements that now paves the way for his execution. The Sunni's hailed this as a botched trial while the Shiite majority hailed it as major victory and officially puts an end to the Saddam regime. Experts believe that this may quell any hopes that Saddam would be returning to power.