The Daily MuckThe Detroit City Council made clear their wish to oust Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with a 7-1 no confidence vote on Tuesday. Kilpatrick is under fire after text messages revealed that he lied in court testimony about an affair with his former chief of staff. In response to the vote, Kilpatrick said he would not quit. He is, after all, on a mission from God. (Detroit Free-Press)
Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore — currently running for the U.S. Senate — was the chairman of a Bear Stearns subsidiary tied to some the highest-risk securities associated with the mortgage industry crisis. (Associated Press)
Five years ago, President Bush commenced the United States with a war in Iraq. The anniversary is this week, after an expensive (long term cost at $4 trillion) half-decade of violence and inner turmoil. Original cost-calculations by the Bush Administration to liberate the Iraqi people and build an entirely new government: $50 to $60 billion.(New York Times)
(This post was written by John Amick —- ed)
And speaking of Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney still asserts an association between 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, despite a Pentagon review that proved otherwise. (McClatchy)
Wiley Rein is attempting to have a $30 million legal malpractice lawsuit (sub. req.) brought against them by Blackwater thrown out. Blackwater claims that if Wiley Rein, and former partner Margaret Ryan, cited proper statutes and case precedents, the lawsuit by the families of the four guards killed in Fallujah in 2004 would have been dismissed by the federal court. (Law.com)
A South Carolina bill, in response to the flood of robo calls in this year’s presidential primary, would banish automated polictical phone calls, yet officials in both parties said they will oppose the legislation, citing the already over-reaching federal law. Personal phone calls from candidates are allowed under state law. (Associated Press)
Democrats are pressing to revise the White House’s plan to quell environmental standards of air pollution caused by animal waste. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed the rule change last December. (Associated Press)