The Daily Muck56. Blackwater has been involved in 56 shootings this year while guarding American diplomats. Because so little information has been released on this subject, it is hard to comment on the significance of this number. For a comparison of apples and oranges, DynCorp International reported only 10 shootings in 1,500 convoy runs last year. (NY Times)
Childrens are a difficult word, and you cannot fault the President for each and every grammatical errors. But when the administration who support him try to cover up his failings, they make for good entertainment. Checks it out here. (WSJ’s Washington Wire)
Last week President Bush said he had been unaware of the oil deal between Hunt Oil and the Kurdistan Regional Government and needed to look into the matter before he would comment. Now, a senior state department official in Baghdad has spoken (off the record) about the fact that the deal “needlessly elevated tensions” and undermines U.S. efforts to unify Iraq and strengthen its central government. The official added that Hunt Oil (whose CEO is a close Bush friend) was warned in advance, that the deal is “legally uncertain.” (NYT, AFP)
Stevens’ Bridge to Nowhere has finally been scrapped. But don’t worry about those poor Alaskan islanders. Stevens has now requested that the Navy build a high speed ferry to shuttle people back and forth at the bargain price of $85 million. Never mind that the Navy had originally estimated costs of half of that, or that the original ferry was scrapped because it was a low priority. (USA TODAY)
The New York Times has picked up the story of Dock D, the D.C. hangout for politicians who are short on ethics and housing with foundations. Plus, they have pictures! (NY Times)
Norman Hsu is the gift that won’t stop giving to the Democrats. If
Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) decides to run for the Senate, he may have to answer questions about Norman Hsu because Kerry recruited Hsu to serve on the board of the New School during his presidency. (Politico)
A House Oversight hearing yesterday found that a key reason why six nuclear warheads were loaded onto a cross-country military flight was a simple error: the Air Force base of departure stored its fake nuclear warheads with its real nuclear warheads. As to why no one noticed this for 36 hours, let’s just blame gremlins. (Washington Post)
The U.S. is letting 14 key terrorism suspects at Guantanamo fill out legal request forms for lawyers. No word yet on how much of a step forward this is for the detainees, but if granted, they will be afforded their first outside contact since taken under U.S. control. (Reuters)