'Ground Zero Mosque'

Rent-This-Missile Ad Agency Donates Two 'Missiles' To Protest Against Manhattan Mosque

Rachel Slajda | August 27, 2010, 5:58PM

Need a missile for your next corporate event or political rally? Have we got the guys for you.

The missile appeared in several photos of last weekend's protests against the planned Islamic community center in downtown Manhattan. It's pointed at the sky, wrapped in a poster that reads, "Ground Zero Mosque -- Religion Preying On Freedom."

The owner of the missile is an ad agency called JetAngel, which until recently was a charity that carted decommissioned missiles and jet cockpits to children's hospitals to cheer up the kids. But now, as the agency's owner describes in a CraigsList ad, it's "now turning in to an advertising business."

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Efraim Diveroli

Miami Arms Dealer Dude Had Complex Web Of Business Dealings

Ryan J. Reilly | August 27, 2010, 1:00PM

The world headquarters of Pinnacle Minerals Corporation and AEY Inc.

In their newest case against the already-convicted 20-something Miami arms dealer Efraim Diveroli, the feds accused him this week of using a front company to hide his continuing involvement in the arms trade. But a closer look at Diveroli's recent dealings suggest that, even as he was awaiting sentencing on his initial conviction for selling the U.S. government poor-quality and illegal munitions for use in Afghanistan, Diveroli engaged in a series of transactions designed to obscure his involvement in companies involved in the arms business.

AEY, Inc., the business that Diveroli used a few years back to sell the U.S. Army out-of-date Eastern European munitions, is still around and is run out of Diveroli's upscale home in Miami Beach.

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Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin's Speaking Contract: $75K And Bendy Straws

Rachel Slajda | August 27, 2010, 11:24AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

A speaking contract for Sarah Palin, released by California State University Stanislaus, shows that Palin was paid a $75,000 speaking fee, plus travel expenses, and required bottled water with bendy straws at the podium.

The school's charitable foundation was ordered by a judge to release the contract after the school was sued by a watchdog group for refusing to release it. CSU is a state school and, therefore, a public institution. The judge ruled that the school had violated open records laws.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Most Americans Believe Gay Men And Lesbians Should Be Able To Serve In The Military

Rachel Slajda | August 27, 2010, 10:17AM

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

A new CBS News poll shows that 75% of Americans believe gay men and lesbians should be allowed to serve in the military.

Only 19% are opposed to having gay or lesbian service members. That's about the same percent of the country that believes President Obama is Muslim.

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Stephen Colbert

Colbert On Mosque Rug Urinator: It Really Angered 'Imam Mohammed Nadir Al-Dude' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 27, 2010, 10:09AM

Last night, Stephen Colbert was surprised to hear about accused Muslim cabbie slasher Michael Enright's background, especially when he went through recent editions of the New York Post. Enright "wasn't even in this one titled 'If You're Mad About Islam You Should Pull Over A Muslim Cab Driver And Stab Him,'" Colbert said.

He continued that people like Enright are "sully[ing] Muslim bashing for the rest of us law abiding bigots," like the drunk man who was arrested for urinating on a prayer rug in a New York mosque, or as Colbert called it, "criminal tres-pissing."

This act, Colbert said, elicited strong reactions from "Imam Mohammed Nadir Al-Dude," more commonly known as the character "The Dude" in The Big Lebowski.

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Michael Enright

Alleged Cabbie Attacker Transferred To Psych Ward

Rachel Slajda | August 27, 2010, 9:25AM

Michael Enright

Michael Enright, the 21-year-old student filmmaker accused of slashing a cab driver because he is Muslim, has been transferred from jail to the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital.

The AP reports that Enright was transferred from Rikers Island last night. He is being held without bond pending a court appearance Monday morning in Manhattan.

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Jim Traficant

Ohio's Brunner Rules On Traficant Appeal: He Still Has A Chance

Rachel Slajda | August 27, 2010, 8:15AM

Former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH)

In another turn on our emotion roller coaster, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has ruled on ex-con ex-Rep. Jim Traficant's appeal to get on the ballot for his old House seat. And she's giving him one more chance to try.

As you may recall, Traficant, who was released from prison last fall, made a push to get on the ballot but fell short of the signatures needed. He appealed, saying that the elections board both overestimated how many signatures he needed and threw out some valid signatures.

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David Paterson

Investigator: Paterson's Testimony On Yankees Tickets May Warrant Charges

Rachel Slajda | August 26, 2010, 4:42PM

New York Governor David Paterson

A state investigator said today that Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) mislead investigators under oath about paying for tickets to Game One of the World Series -- something that could warrant criminal perjury charges against the governor.

Judith Kaye, a retired judge appointed by the state attorney general, said in her report that Paterson lied to the state ethics commission when he said he had intended to pay for the tickets for his son and his son's friend before the game.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Koran-Burning Pastor: We Want To Send A 'Clear, Radical Message' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 26, 2010, 4:40PM

Pastor Terry Jones

Terry Jones, the Dove World Outreach Center pastor who plans to lead a mass Koran-burning on -- and in commemoration of -- 9/11, said on MSNBC today that his intent is to send a "very clear, radical message to Muslims," that the United States will not tolerate sharia law in its courts.

Jones said he fears that the U.S. will become like Europe, where as the Muslims "gained in population, they also began to demand sharia law, sharia courts, which is a very violent form of punishment." The Koran-burning day, he said, is about sending a "warning" that "that is not welcomed in America."

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Robert Blagojevich

Charges Dropped Against Blago's Brother Robert

Ryan J. Reilly | August 26, 2010, 3:49PM

Robert Blagojevich

Federal prosecutors will not retry Robert Blagojevich, the brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, for two counts of extortion conspiracy and one count each of wire fraud and extortion reports the Chicago Tribune.

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Michigan Tea Party

Probe Sought For Possible Sham Tea Party In Michigan

Jillian Rayfield | August 26, 2010, 2:27PM

A Tea Party rally in Michigan.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson is calling for a probe into the Oakland County Democratic Party in connection with allegedly fraudulent candidate filings by the mysterious Tea Party there.

Tea Partiers in Michigan claim that the Michigan Tea Party -- which had aimed to get 23 candidates on the ballot this fall -- was set up by Democrats in an effort to split the Republican vote. And the conservative Patterson is calling for a one-man grand jury to investigate whether Jason Bauer, former political director of the Oakland County Dems, committed a crime when he notarized and filed papers for those Tea Party candidates.

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Prison Rape

DOJ: 88,500 Inmates Sexually Victimized In 2008 And 2009

Ryan J. Reilly | August 26, 2010, 2:04PM

An estimated 88,500 inmates reported one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff during 2008 and 2009, according to a new study by the Justice Department.

That statistic is based on a survey of 81,500 from a sample of 463 facilities between October 2008 and December 2009. Inmates were asked about incidents that occurred in the 12 months before they were surveyed.

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Al Iman Mosque

Drunk Man Arrested After Urinating In New York Mosque

Eric Lach | August 26, 2010, 1:19PM

The Al-Iman Mosque, Queens, NY

Omar Rivera of the Bronx was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing last night, after he entered a Queens mosque drunk and urinated inside, the NYPD confirmed to TPM.

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Russ Carnahan

Ex-Campaign Worker ID'd As Suspect In Carnahan Arson

Rachel Slajda | August 26, 2010, 12:27PM

Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO)

Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) confirmed in a press conference yesterday that a man identified as a suspect in an alleged arson at Carnahan's campaign office is a former paid campaign worker.

The man, Chris Powers, was arrested but has not been charged in the arson case. In a phone interview this morning with TPMmuckraker, Powers denied having any involvement with what local reports have described as a "fire bombing."

"I'm innocent," Powers said. "I was at home when Congressman Carnahan's office was fire bombed. I have nothing to do with it."

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Michael Enright

Student Charged In Muslim Cabbie Slashing Kept Diary With Anti-Muslim Writings

Ryan J. Reilly | August 26, 2010, 11:41AM

Michael Enright, right, with his lawyer

Two seemingly contradictory portraits are emerging of Michael Enright, the 21-year old aspiring filmmaker arraigned yesterday on hate crimes charges for allegedly stabbing a New York City cab driver because he was Muslim.

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Madera Islamic Center

Report: California Islamic Center Vandalized

Eric Lach | August 26, 2010, 11:30AM

The Madera Islamic Center in central California has been vandalized several times over the last few days, and the Madera County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incidents as hate crimes, according to The Fresno Bee.

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Ahmed Sharif

Ahmed Sharif Describes Alleged Hate Crime Attack (VIDEOS)

Eric Lach | August 26, 2010, 10:26AM

Ahmed Sharif

Ahmed Sharif, the New York City cab driver stabbed after allegedly being asked if he was Muslim, described the violent attack to local TV news reporters, saying he pleaded with his attacker not to kill him.

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Jon Stewart

Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi: Peaceful Muslims In TN Ruining It For The Rest Of Us (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 26, 2010, 9:41AM

Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi was on the scene in Tennessee to report on local opposition to a planned mosque in Murfreesboro. "Opponents say building a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero is simply too close," Mandvi said. "But did you know that 18,000 blocks is also too close?"

Mandvi found out that there was already a mosque in the town that had been there for about 30 years. So he asked a local Muslim woman: "Thirty years? What is taking so long? I mean, let's go people. I mean, you're not a sleeper cell. You're a comatose cell!"

When she contended that all they want is a place to worship, Mandvi replied: "A few good apples like you could really ruin it for the rest of us, you know that?"

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Muslim Group: Cabbie Slashing A Warning On Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 6:29PM

Friends and classmates say Michael Enright, the 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker who was arraigned on a hate crimes charges this afternoon for allegedly slashing a NYC cab driver because he was a Muslim, had a serious drinking problem. But a representative of one of the country's predominant Muslim groups told TPMMuckraker that the incident should serve as a warning to those using inflammatory rhetoric about those who practice Islam.

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Michael Enright

Enright's Classmates: Alleged Cabbie Slasher Had History Of Alcohol Abuse

Eric Lach | August 25, 2010, 5:47PM

Michael Enright

The picture of Michael Enright, the 21-year-old New York film student accused of stabbing a cab driver after asking if he was Muslim, is still emerging, but two of his classmates at the School of Visual Arts told TPM that Enright struggled with alcohol abuse.

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Michael Enright

Enright Arraigned On Hate Crime Charges

Rachel Slajda | August 25, 2010, 5:14PM

Michael Enright

Michael Enright was arraigned this afternoon in Manhattan criminal court, but entered no plea for the three charges: attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime, assault in the first degree as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

The judge ordered him held without bond. His next court date is Monday, Aug. 30.

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Michael Enright

Group Enright Worked With: 'Deeply Distressed If This Is The Mike Enright We Know'

Rachel Slajda | August 25, 2010, 4:45PM

Michael Enright

Intersections International, the interfaith group "dedicated to promoting peace and understanding" between cultures which has a volunteer named Michael Enright, said today they hope their volunteer is not the same man who allegedly slashed a cab driver last night after asking if he was Muslim.

"I am deeply distressed if this is the Mike Enright that we know," the group's executive director, the Rev. Robert Chase, told TPMmuckraker.

"Especially, or sadly, ironic, is that our work is about building bridges between different faiths, different ethnicities, different cultures," Chase said. "This is exactly the opposite of what we stand for."

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Michael Enright

What We Know About Michael Enright, The Alleged Slasher Of The Muslim Cabbie

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 2:19PM

Michael Enright

The man accused of stabbing a Muslim NYC cab driver hardly has the background one might expect from someone charged with a hate crime committed in a drunken rage.

Michael Enright is a film student at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and has been working with the Intersections International, an interfaith and multicultural effort which seeks to promote justice and peace. The project's website is strongly supportive of the Cordoba House project in lower Manhattan and videos of its leader, Imam Faisel Rauf, are posted on their website.

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Ahmed H. Sharif

NY Cab Driver Allegedly Stabbed For Being Muslim: 'I Feel Very Sad'

Eric Lach | August 25, 2010, 1:45PM

Taxi cab in New York

The New York City cab driver allegedly stabbed repeatedly by a 21-year-old man who first asked if the driver was Muslim has released a statement through the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, saying "I never feel this hopeless and insecure before."

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Tom DeLay

As Hearing Continues, A Win For DeLay

Rachel Slajda | August 25, 2010, 12:14PM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) has chalked up one win in a pretrial hearing that began yesterday: He will be tried before his co-defendants.

DeLay, who was charged in 2005 with money laundering, has been pushing for a trial for five years. Prosecutors wanted to try two other defendants, former aides of DeLay's first; but the judge denied them.

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Anti-Defamation League

Anti-Semitism Envoy Responds To ADL

Rachel Slajda | August 25, 2010, 12:02PM

Special Envoy and the head of Office To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal

Hannah Rosenthal, the president's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, responded to criticism by the Anti-Defamation League that she shouldn't have accompanied a group of Muslim-American clerics on a visit to former concentration camps in Europe.

ADL director Abe Foxman, after reports that he had lobbied U.S. officials not to go on the trip, said he had simply "raised the question" of why Rosenthal attended, saying she should be dealing solely with other governments.

Rosenthal doesn't see it that way.

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Michael Enright

NYPD Charges Man With Hate Crime After He Allegedly Stabbed Muslim Cab Driver

Eric Lach | August 25, 2010, 11:43AM

Taxi cab in New York

The New York Police Department has confirmed to TPM that a cab driver in Manhattan was allegedly stabbed by a passenger who asked if the cabbie was Muslim, and says the incident is being treated as a hate crime. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and other crimes.

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Washington Times

Reports: Rev. Moon To Buy Back Washington Times

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 10:34AM

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Four years ago, Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon gave the Washington Times to his eldest son. Now, following a year of turmoil and uncertainty at the publication, he is considering paying millions to buy it back, the Washington Post reports.

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Jim Traficant

Supporters Of Traficant Threaten Lawsuit To Get Him On Ballot

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 10:30AM

Former Congressman James Traficant (D-OH)

Just when you think he's out, supporters of disgraced former Ohio Rep. Jim Traficant are trying to pull him back in.

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Hurricane Katrina

Report: NOPD Told Officers To Shoot Looters

Rachel Slajda | August 25, 2010, 9:23AM

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

In the days after Hurricane Katrina, an order reportedly came down through the New Orleans Police Department for officers to shoot looters.

According to a joint investigation by ProPublica, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and PBS Frontline*, some officers report being told they could shoot looters in order to "take back the city."

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

How 30 Million DVDs Sent In 2008 Election Fuel The Anti-Mosque Debate Today

Rachel Slajda | August 25, 2010, 8:15AM

A still from "The Third Jihad"

In the last weeks before the 2008 elections, an organization called the Clarion Fund spent some $16 million to reprint and distribute 28 million copies of their 2005 film about radical Islam and terrorist groups. "Obsession" was inserted into newspapers -- and packaged with scary photos of scarf-clad men -- in swing states.

That move, funded by a single anonymous donor, may still be echoing in 2010's protests about the Cordoba House and other mosques around the country.

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Sheriff Joe

DOJ 'Hopeful' Sheriff Joe Will Cooperate With Discrimination Probe (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 8:05AM

Niel Cavuto and Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Lawyer, Bob Driscoll.

A lawyer representing controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio met with lawyers at the Justice Department on Tuesday to discuss the government's request for documents as part of their inquiry into whether Arpaio's immigration enforcement is discriminatory.

In early August, DOJ sent a letter to Arpaio's attorneys which established a deadline for his office to voluntarily turn over documents. The letter said the Justice Department would sue if Arpaio did not cooperate.

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TSA

TSA Testing New, More Invasive Pat-Downs For Those Who Refuse Scans

Rachel Slajda | August 24, 2010, 6:22PM

A man looks at the body scan of a subject at the activation of the first body scanner for international flights at Fiumicino airport in Rome.

Those who refuse to walk through the new full-body scanners at the airport could be subject to a new style of pat-down, one that's much more invasive and, well, probing than before.

The Boston Herald reports that the Transportation Security Administration is testing the new pat-downs in Boston and Las Vegas, but plans to institute the searches nationwide.

From man on the street Rob Webster, who said he was a subject of the new search when flying out of McCarren-Las Vegas International last week:

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Michigan Tea Party

Possible Sham Tea Party In Michigan Gets Booted Off Ballot -- For Now

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 24, 2010, 5:18PM

A Tea Party rally in Michigan.

Organizers behind the mysterious Michigan Tea Party won't see their party make the ballot in Michigan this fall unless a judge says it's OK.

Tea party movement supporters in Michigan have called the mysterious Tea Party -- which hopes to field 23 candidates this fall -- a sham organization set up by Democrats with the hopes of splitting the Republican vote. (The state Democratic Party has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Tea Party since allegations were first raised, but some Democrats have confessed to being involved in creating the Party and recruiting candidates.)

Real tea partiers vowed to challenge the Tea Party as it endeavored to make its way onto the ballot. Yesterday, they made good on their promise, packing a state canvassing board hearing that was reviewing the close to 60,000 signatures the Tea Party turned in earlier this year as part of the balloting process. Tea party activists from around Michigan implored the board not to let the Tea Party join the ballot and, they said, taint their movement's name.

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Efraim Diveroli

Beemers, Fronts and Gators: The Life Of Miami's Young Gun Runners

Ryan J. Reilly | August 24, 2010, 4:21PM

Dejan Djuric and Efraim Diveroli

When Efraim Diveroli wanted to show off some of his ammunition supply to a potential business partner, he rolled up in a silver Audi convertible with his friend and business associate: Dejan Djuric, the owner of Advanced Munitions.

Diveroli, as we told you earlier, was arrested on Friday and charged with possession of firearms as a convicted felon and with possession of firearms while under indictment for a felony offense. But all signs indicate that there's a bigger case on the horizon.

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Cordoba House

Mark Williams Calls For American-Style Cordoba House In Mecca

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 24, 2010, 2:10PM

Tea Party Express spokesperson Mark Williams.

Former Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams defended his "Judenrat" blog post in an interview with CNN last night, and called for a Cordoba House-style cultural center reflecting Americana to be built in Mecca as a response to the Islamic center planned for lower Manahattan.

Williams, an avowed critic of the Cordoba House, raised eyebrows yesterday when he took to his blog and called New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer "Judenrats" for their outspoken support of the project. Both men are Jewish, and Williams' comparison of their actions to the local Jewish councils that ran the ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe led some to cry anti-Semitism. In an updated version of his original Judenrat post, Williams defended the phrase much as he did in an email to me last night.

"The closest American term for what they are is one that I believe arose in New York," he wrote. "'Rat Bastard' in some circles comes with the same attached open season on the holder of the title."

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Afghanistan

CIA Afghanistan Station Chief 'Spider' Is Karzai's Favorite American

Ryan J. Reilly | August 24, 2010, 12:06PM

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

The head of the Central Intelligence Agency's Afghanistan Bureau has taken on a quasi-diplomatic role in U.S. relations with President Hamid Karzai in the midst of an American-backed effort to root out corruption in the fledgling democracy.

Known to some of his colleagues by the nickname "Spider," the station chief is a former Marine in his 50s, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Their relationship was cemented in December 2001, when the U.S. military accidentally ordered a bomb drop on a meeting between Karzai and other tribal leaders, and "Spider" leapt on Karzai to shield him, saving the soon-to-be Afghan president. Now, "Spider" is brought in at critical times, including in May when the White House tapped him to calm the Afghan president after he lashed out at the U.S.

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Tom DeLay

DeLay To Finally Face A Texas Court In Money Laundering Case

Rachel Slajda | August 24, 2010, 12:02PM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

On the heels of the Justice Department's decision not to charge former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay with any crimes related to his association with Jack Abramoff, the Hammer will appear in an Austin court today for a pretrial hearing over charges that he laundered money to secure Republican victories in the 2002 elections.

According to prosecutors, DeLay and two aides donated $190,000 -- raised from corporations -- to the Republican National Committee. Along with the cash, they allegedly provided a list of Texas Republican candidates they wanted to help. The RNC then donated that same amount, $190,000, to seven candidates.

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Efraim Diveroli

Young Miami Gun Runner Just Wouldn't Quit

Ryan J. Reilly | August 24, 2010, 10:50AM

Efraim Diveroli

"Once a gun runner, always a gun runner."

That's what 24-year-old Efraim Diveroli told an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives before he was arrested and charged with possession of firearms as a convicted felon and with possession of firearms while under indictment for a felony offense.

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Shirley Sherrod

Sherrod Refuses USDA Job Offers; May Consult Instead

Rachel Slajda | August 24, 2010, 10:31AM

Shirley Sherrod and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Shirley Sherrod, the USDA appointee who was fired this summer over allegations of racism stemming from a misleading video, will not take another job with the Departure of Agriculture.

Sherrod and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the decision in a press conference this morning after meeting face-to-face for the first time since the hullabaloo happened last month.

Sherrod was asked to resign her position as director of rural development for Georgia after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted an edited video of Sherrod speaking to a local Georgia NAACP. In the clip, Sherrod speaks of prejudice she once felt toward a white farmer while working for a nonprofit that was created to help black farmers.

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart To Blago: I Really 'Want To Believe You're Not A Sociopath' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 24, 2010, 9:56AM

Jon Stewart had former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on his show last night, and questioned him about the decision not to testify in his corruption trial. "There is not a person in the world that I believe could get you to pipe down," Stewart said. "Here's what concerns me. I would like to see you as a Dickens character. I would like to see you as a victim. But you make it so hard."

Stewart added: "You're a guy who's the most adamant about his innocence that I have ever met. So, like I say, you're either the victim of a terrible persecution, or you're a sociopath. I want to believe that you're not a sociopath."

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Danziger Bridge

Lawyers For NOLA Cops Charged In Danziger Killings To Meet With DOJ

Rachel Slajda | August 24, 2010, 9:37AM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

Lawyers for the four current and former New Orleans police officers charged with killing civilians in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will meet with Justice Department lawyers today to urge the DOJ not to pursue the death penalty.

The four were charged in July with violating the civil rights of unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge when they allegedly opened fire, killing two and wounding four, and then, allegedly, covered up what happened on the bridge.

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Anti-Defamation League

Did ADL Director Lobby Against Interfaith Trip To Concentration Camps?

Rachel Slajda | August 23, 2010, 6:17PM

Abraham Foxman, Director, Anti-Defamation League

Earlier this month, several imams joined U.S. officials to visit the Dachau and Auschwitz concentration camps, a trip which resulted in the clerics issuing a statement condemning anti-Semitism and vowing "to make real the commitment of 'never again.'"

The eight Muslim-American clerics were joined by Hannah Rosenthal, the presidential special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, and a handful of other officials from the Obama, Bush and Reagan administrations.

But according to Politico, "Organizers of the trip say they were dismayed that the Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman lobbied U.S. officials against participating."

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Rick Perry

PAC To Gov. Perry: 'Face Texans Like A Man'

Ryan J. Reilly | August 23, 2010, 6:01PM

Texas governor Rick Perry.

An full-page advertisement set to run in several Texas newspapers on Tuesday labels Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) a "coward" for refusing to debate his Democratic opponent and not meeting with editorial boards.

"We think it speaks for itself," said Cliff Walker, the PAC Director for Back To Basics, the group running the ad. "We know it's bold language."

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Cordoba House

Mark Williams' New Line On NYC Mosque: Mayor Bloomberg Is A 'Judenrat'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 23, 2010, 5:45PM

Mark Williams and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (insert)

Mark Williams, former Tea Party Express spokesman and current leader of the tea party support group Citizens for Constitutional Liberty is back with another blog post that's sure to cause at least some eyebrows to raise. Williams, you'll recall, has a habit of using his blog to get himself into trouble over posts widely seen as bigoted and/or blatantly inciting the worst in the conservative movement. Today he's up with a new post calling New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer "Judenrats" for publicly supporting the proposed Cordoba House project in Lower Manhattan.

"Politically correct Judenrats like New York Mayor Michael Boomberg and Scott Stringer (Manhattan Borough President) and domestic enemies who are supporting the mosque - with open ties to Islamic Terrorist organizations and supporting states are doing nothing more than erecting a giant middle finger to be trust at the victims of 911... which includes all of civilized Mankind," Williams writes.

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago Signs Autographs, Rides Batmobile, At Chicago Comic Con

Eric Lach | August 23, 2010, 11:51AM

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na -- BLAGO!

Fresh off being found guilty of lying to the FBI -- after the jury couldn't reach agreement on 23 other counts in his corruption trial -- former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appeared alongside other cartoonish heros and villains Saturday at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con.

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Rick Renzi

Renzi's Lawyers: Prosecution Interferes With Rep's 'Legislative Acts'

Ryan J. Reilly | August 23, 2010, 10:03AM

Former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)

An extortion indictment against former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) should not be thrown out because of concerns over the constitutional separation of powers, federal prosecutors told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

While Renzi's case has yet to go to court, his lawyers have argued that the indictment violates the speech clause of the Constitution because prosecutors from the executive branch are intruding on Renzi's "legislative acts" reports David Ingram of the National Law Journal.

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Blackwater

Blackwater To Pay $42 Million For Violating Export Control Regulations

Ryan J. Reilly | August 23, 2010, 9:42AM

A Blackwater employee

Xe Services, the private security company formerly known as Blackwater, has reached a settlement with the State Department in which the company will pay $42 million in fines for hundreds of violations of U.S. export control regulations, the New York Times reported.

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Illinois

IL Gov Chief Of Staff Resigns After Ethics Probe Over Emails

Rachel Slajda | August 23, 2010, 9:35AM

IL Gov. Pat Quinn (D)

The Illinois governor's chief of staff resigned yesterday after the state ethics investigator found that he violated ethics rules by sending campaign-oriented emails from his state email address.

In a twist, the investigator, Executive Inspector General James A. Wright, was fired by Gov. Pat Quinn (D) on Aug. 13, the same day Wright released his findings against the chief of staff, Jerry Stermer, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Quinn's office denies that the report against the COS had anything to do with Wright's firing.

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wikileaks

WikiLeaks' Founder: I Never Forced Anyone to Have Sex

Ryan J. Reilly | August 23, 2010, 9:16AM

Australian journalist Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks.org

Julian Assange, founder of the website Wikileaks, was charged with rape in Sweden over the weekend. Then, a few hours later, he wasn't.

Prosecutors are still considering one warrant for the lesser charge of molestation, and a decision is apparently expected this week.

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