Drudge Retort

Ensign's Parents Paid Mistress $96,000

rcade — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:35:46 -0400

Sen. John Ensign's (R.-Nev.) parents paid their son's mistress $96,000 in 2008, Ensign's attorney said. Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign's mistress Cynthia, told a Nevada television show this week that Ensign left his family in shambles by relentlessly pursuing his wife, even after writing a February 2008 letter purporting to break off the affair.

Stalking Charges Against Barry Dropped

TrueBlue — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:32:59 -0400

Stalking charges filed this weekend against former Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry have been dropped, federal prosecutors said.

Researcher: Parents Matter Less Than Peers

Zarathustra — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:03:52 -0400

Judith Rich Harris, an independent researcher and textbook author, argues that peers are much more important than parents, that psychologists underestimate the power of genetics, and that we have a lot to learn from Asian classrooms. "The belief that parents have a great deal of power to determine how their children will turn out is actually a rather new idea," said Harris. "Not until the middle of the last century did ordinary parents start believing it."

Buffett: Second Stimulus Might Be Needed

rcade — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:02:09 -0400

Legendary investor Warren Buffett said in an interview aired Thursday that unemployment could hit 11% and a second stimulus package may be needed. "I think a second one may well be called for," he said. "It is not a panacea. A stimulus is the right thing. You hope it doesn't get watered down."

North Korea Discovers Beer

tosser — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:31:56 -0400

North Korea now makes more than nuclear missiles. The country is running its first-ever commercials for Taedonggang Beer, a beer made from a brewery that was bought from Britain and shipped to the communist nation. "It represents the new look of Pyongyang," an announcer says of the beer, called the Pride of Pyongyang. "It will be a familiar part of our lives."

350 Dogs Seized in Five-State Dogfighting Raid

Doc_Sarvis — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:32:53 -0400

As many as 350 dogs were seized and 30 people arrested in five states during the largest simultaneous raid of dogfighting operations in the U.S. Arrests in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma followed a more than year-long investigation prompted by information gathered by the Humane Society of Missouri. "This heinous, heinous bloodsport is not going to be tolerated," said society president Kathy Warnick.

Lithwick: Goodbye Governor Gobbledygook

rcade — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:28:10 -0400

Dahlia Lithwick: Sarah Palin's completely inscrutable resignation speech last week was only the most recent example of a lengthy political communication from her that explained nothing, clarified nothing, and expounded upon nothing, save for the fact that she speaks in riddles and koans. Watch it as many times as you like; you still come away feeling you've been treated to a cozy chat with the Mad Hatter. The media are bad. Those ethics complaints are expensive. Alaska was a great idea. She is not a dead fish. Put it all together and what do you get? A born fighter who has given us no sense whatsoever of what she's fighting for.

Panetta: CIA Lied to Congress

reinheitsgebot — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:31:32 -0400

CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress last month that senior CIA officials have concealed significant actions and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001, the chairman and other members of the House Intelligence Committee said in letters revealed Wednesday. Exactly what actions Panetta disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 is unclear, but committee chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said that the CIA outright lied in one case. "This committee has been misled, has not been provided full and complete notifications, and (in at least one case) was affirmatively lied to," Reyes wrote in a letter Tuesday to Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the committee's senior Republican.

Cesca: Don't Like Public Option? Don't Use It

DARTHCHENEY — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:43:48 -0400

Bob Cesca: The proposed government-run public health insurance option probably won't cost nearly as much as the CBO is suggesting. Because clearly there won't be any Republicans signing up for it. I mean, no Republican would dare sign up for inexpensive, easily portable health insurance. Not when red, white and blue All American for-profit health insurance is available. After all, free market private health insurance will probably continue to be the more expensive option, so that must mean it's the finest insurance, right?

Mass. Challenges Defense of Marriage Act

MURPHY — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:34:30 -0400

Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, has become the first to challenge the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The suit filed in US District Court in Boston claims that the Congress, in enacting the DOMA, "overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people."

Greenpeace Hangs Banner on Mount Rushmore

TheTom — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:26:17 -0400

Greenpeace activists scaled Mount Rushmore and hung a banner next to the carved face of Abraham Lincoln urging President Barack Obama to get tough on climate change. The banner read, "America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming." A video posted on the environmental group's website showed the massive banner hanging on the South Dakota mountain face.

Bennett: The Nature of Temptation

reinheitsgebot — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:31:31 -0400

Drake Bennett: It's almost as if a reputation for morality is a gateway into vice. And in fact, according to a growing body of psychological research, that may be exactly what's going on. The study of how we form opinions of our own moral worth is a budding field, and it suggests that the human mind works in powerful, subtle ways to make hypocrites out of all of us -- especially those who hold themselves in the highest moral esteem. People who inveigh against a vice in others are often themselves fixated on it, and more likely to succumb to its allure. And, the research suggests, virtuous deeds are often a form of penance for thoughts a person is ashamed of.

NATO Looking for New Mission

Diablo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:31:08 -0400

The secretary general of NATO said the organization must redefine its role to take on 21st century threats such as piracy, terrorism and cyberattacks. "We need an in-depth examination of NATO's strengths and weaknesses," said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. "NATO cannot evolve without a new strategic concept."

GAO: Major Security Flaws at Federal Buildings

IraqiBukkake — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:14:33 -0400

In the past year, investigators successfully smuggled bomb-making materials into 10 high-security federal buildings, constructed bombs and walked around the buildings undetected, exposing weaknesses in security provided by the Federal Protective Service.