ThinkFast: August 22, 2007 »

White House manual released recently discloses extensive instructions given to White House staffers in the art of “deterring potential protestors” from Bush’s public appearances. The manual demonstrates “that the White House has a policy of excluding and/or attempting to squelch dissenting viewpoints from presidential events,” said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Miller.

President Bush, who avoided military duty in Vietnam, will open a new theme in support of sticking with the battle of Iraq today by warning Iraq critics against committing the errors of Vietnam. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responded that “the fundamental difference” between the conflicts is that Bush generated support for “the invasion of Iraq under false pretenses.”

A U.S. Army helicopter crashed north of Baghdad early Wednesday morning, killing all 14 soldiers onboard, the military said. The AP reports it is the deadliest crash since January 2005.

The Pentagon has seen a “sharp drop” in black active-duty recruits since the Iraq war began, falling to “to 13 percent in 2006 from 20 percent in 2001, the last year before the invasion of Iraq began to seem inevitable.” A recent CBS News poll found that 83 percent of blacks believe the United States was wrong to invade Iraq, compared to just 46 percent of whites.

Yesterday, Crandall Canyon mine co-owner Robert Murray said that while he plans to “abandon any effort” to mine at the site of the initial collapse where six miners were trapped, he believes “that other parts of the mine remained safe for work and that mining should resume.” An MSHA official said he was “shocked that the subject was even brought up.” expand post »

In a statement issued to E&P, the military responded to the NYT op-ed written by seven soldiers in the 82nd Airborne. “The individuals’ perspectives expressed in the New York Times reflect their unique ‘boots-on-ground’ experience,” the statement said.

Last November, President Bush deemed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “the right guy for Iraq.” “By Tuesday, that phrase had all but evaporated from Mr. Bush’s lexicon.” Experts say Bush does not appear to be trying to force Maliki out. “Rather, they say, the president’s remarks are aimed at a domestic audience.”

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Bush administration “violated U.S. law by failing to produce a study on the impact of global warming and must issue a summary by March.”

And finally: “Latvia’s former president, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, is considering using eBay to auction off the wardrobe she wore in office in an attempt to recoup money she spent to look attractive and presidential.” Freiberga, who was president from 1999 to this year, told Latvian public radio, “I literally spent all my salary to take care of myself.”

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