"AWOL-Gate: Were Portions of Bush's Military Record Scrubbed in 1997?" If W. won't come clean about his service record, one possibility is that he can't. On Democracy Now! (Feb. 13), reporter James Moore discusses his research into the allegation "that portions of Bush's military record were thrown away in 1997 after a top Bush aide asked the head of the Texas National Guard to remove embarrassing items from his file." Listen to Moore's interview with hosts Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, or read a transcript, at http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/13/1543213. Democracy Now! (TV version) screens locally 8-10 a.m. Mon.-Fri on PCTV21. The radio version airs 8-9 a.m. Mon-Fri. and 9-10 a.m. Mon., Tue., Thu. and Fri. on WRCT 88.3 FM
"Bush's Sheldon Game." A little-noted but especially scary face at the Bush White House is Lou Sheldon, a California-based right-wing activist who's become a "faith-based adviser" to the president. Sheldon calls gays "dark forces," has backed the quarantining of people with AIDS, and generally works to turn back the clock on gay rights. Hans Johnson, writing in In These Times (Feb. 6), details how this extremist -- one of whose anti-gay measures was denounced in the '70s by even Ronald Reagan -- is wedded to George W. (http://inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=598_0_2_0_C)
"Alien." "Our nation needs an immigration system that serves the American economy and reflects the American dream," said Bush in January, introducing his plan for resident aliens. But Bush's scheme will do "just the opposite," according to The New Republic (Jan. 26): Resident alien workers will have no good incentive to apply for the new employer-sponsored "guest-worker" status, and will have so little chance of obtaining citizenship that any "dream" is likely to remain just that. But two bipartisan bills that would better serve immigrants probably won't get White House backing.
"Why the U.S. is Running Scared of Elections in Iraq." With U.S. casualties continuing to mount even in the wake of Saddam's capture, the White House is counting on transferring power to an unelected group of Iraqis this summer. But Washington's plans have hit a wall of resistance from Shiites who fear being excluded from power and who want direct elections instead. Writing in The Guardian, Jonathan Steele concisely explains why the U.N., and not the U.S., should be handling the transfer of power (Jan. 19). www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1126040,00.html
