Swords at Dawn, Rove, for You Have Insulted the Honor of Multnomah!
“Voting officials from Multnomah County, Oregon strike back at Karl Rove and dissect his distortions leveled against their mail-in voting system.” (Blue Oregon)
New Walter Reed Questions
“Senate Democrats demanded Thursday that the Bush administration explain its failure to respond earlier to warnings about the grave problems plaguing veterans’ healthcare at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The senators were responding to the disclosure by Salon that a 2004 government report — based on focus group sessions with veterans and their families — had highlighted the conditions at Walter Reed six months before the first reports of the scandal appeared in the press.” (Salon)
Alleged DC Madam Tosses Out a Name
“A woman charged with running a prostitution ring in the nation’s capital made good on her threat to identify high-profile clients, listing a military strategist known for his “shock and awe” combat theories as a regular customer in court documents Thursday. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who is acting as her own attorney, said Harlan K. Ullman, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “is only one of dozens of such officials” who will be exposed as she prepares her defense.” (Associated Press)
Flawed System May Hurt Disabled Soldiers
“The Army might be shortchanging injured soldiers by rating the severity of their disabilities with a system that is both unwieldy and inconsistent, the head of a special commission said Thursday. Scott suggested there could be an effort to keep costs down as the military rates the severity of soldiers’ disabilities. He said the Pentagon “has strong incentive to assign ratings less than 30 percent” so the military won’t have to pay disability benefits.” (Associated Press)
Education Department Oversight Questioned
“An Education Department official placed on leave over a potential conflict of interest in his management of the government’s student loan program filed disclosure forms that raise questions about the department’s oversight of its own employees. The forms, released by the department late Thursday, show the official, Matteo Fontana, listed ownership in 2002 of stock in two companies that manage student loans: Direct III Marketing Inc. and Education Lending Group.” (Associated Press)
Wolfowitz Apologizes Over Girlfriend’s Job
“His staff in open revolt, World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz apologized Thursday for his role in landing his girlfriend a job at the State Department that gave her more than $60,000 a year in raises and a salary greater than that of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He declined to answer questions about how his girlfriend’s new job and her pay had been arranged beyond saying it had been done to avoid a conflict of interest because of his position and their personal relationship. She was working for the World Bank when he became its president in 2005.” (LA Times)
The Governor’s Database
“Piece by piece, Gov. Rick Perryâs homeland security office is gathering massive amounts of information about Texas residents and merging it to create the most exhaustive centralized database in state history. What is most striking, and disturbing, about the database is that it is not being run by the stateâs highest law enforcement agencyâthe Texas Department of Public Safety. Instead, control of TDEx, and the power to decide who can use it, resides in the governorâs office.” (The Texas Observer)
Corruption Cases Above Politics, Prosecutors Says
“Suddenly embroiled in the national political fight over federal prosecutors, U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic on Thursday defended his record and vowed to pursue more public corruption cases just a week after a federal appeals court shredded his prosecution of a state purchasing supervisor. Biskupic denied receiving pressure to file charges in political cases – from his bosses in Washington, D.C., or Republican officials locally.” (Journal Sentinel)
