September 2007 Progress Reports

  • Values: The Global Common Good, September 28, 2007
    This week, as the international community gathered at the UN, "an alternate universe...set up shop across town." The third Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting brought together 1,200 people from 72 countries, including 52 current and former heads of state, to discuss poverty, education, energy and climate change, and global health.
  • Military: Worse Than Abu Ghraib, September 27, 2007
    A shooting at a busy Baghdad intersection nearly two weeks ago that killed 11 Iraqis and wounded 12 has focused much-overdue attention on the role of American private security contractors operating in Iraq.
  • Iraq: The Most Expensive Year of the War, September 26, 2007
    Today, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee to request an additional $50 billion from Congress to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, on top of $141.7 billion that has already been appropriated.
  • Environment: Bush's Bake Sale, September 25, 2007
    Dozens of world leaders are currently assembled at the United Nations to create a "road map" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
  • Economy: Wrath of the Maestro, September 24, 2007
    In his new memoir, The Age of Turbulence, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan takes the Bush administration and the 109th Congress to task for their stewardship of the American economy and the federal budget.
  • Congress: Filibuster Frenzy, September 21, 2007
    This week, a bipartisan majority of the Senate voted to restore the right of habeas corpus to detainees, grant the District of Columbia full voting representation in Congress, and mandate that U.S. troops receive at least as much time at home as they are deployed.
  • Health Care: Letting The SCHIPs Fall, September 20, 2007
    Earlier this summer, Congress passed bills that would increase five-year funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion in the House and $35 billion in the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced this week that the two chambers had reached a compromise, and the House would vote on a modified version of the bill.
  • Administration: Watchdogs Gone Wild, September 19, 2007
    Yesterday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to State Department Inspector General (IG) Howard Krongard to highlight allegations from seven employees that the IG "has repeatedly interfered with on-going investigations to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment."
  • Iraq: License to Kill? License Revoked., September 18, 2007
    Yesterday, the Interior Ministry of Iraq announced that it was revoking the license of Blackwater USA, a private American company that provides security to government and private officials in Iraq such as Amb. Ryan Crocker.
  • Justice: Who Is Michael Mukasey?, September 17, 2007
    Today, President Bush nominated retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as the nation's Attorney General.
  • Economy: A Smaller Slice of the Pie, September 14, 2007
    Despite President Bush's continued determination to paint a rosy picture of the economy over the past year, real Americans are feeling the pain of an economic downturn.
  • Administration: Politicizing Intelligence, September 13, 2007
    In his confirmation hearing, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell pledged to Congress: "I will be open to your questions, ideas, and proposals. I will use my interaction with the Committee as important input in shaping my recommendations and actions." But recent revelations show that McConnell has quickly shunned openness -- and honesty -- with Congress in favor of his role as "the prime Bush administration advocate" for making the Protect America Act permanent.
  • Administration: No More 'Loyal Bushies' At Justice, September 12, 2007
    Having taken control of the Department of Justice in 2005, Gonzales leaves the Department's credibility in tatters and with staff morale considered "worse...than during Watergate."
  • Iraq: Entering The Drawdown Phase, September 11, 2007
    In his much-anticipated testimony before the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees yesterday, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, called for the withdrawal of 30,000 troops by next summer. That move would return force levels to the "pre-surge" number of 130,000 by mid-July.
  • Iraq: Petraeus's Song And Dance, September 10, 2007
    Today, Gen. David Petraeus begins his much-anticipated report to Congress on progress in Iraq.
  • Civil Rights: 50 Years Of History, Six Years Of Corruption, September 7, 2007
    The Civil Rights Division under President Bush has seen the erosion of rights and been corrupted with politicization.
  • Ethics: Beyond Larry Craig, September 6, 2007
    Conservatives' efforts to cut ties with Craig while remaining silent over Sen. David Vitter's (R-LA) similarly lewd behavior have revealed a glaring "homophobic hypocrisy" in dealing with improper personal behavior. More importantly, it has showcased the unwillingness of lawmakers to display a similar desire to root out the existing corruption.
  • Civil Liberties: 'One Bomb Away' From No Oversight, September 5, 2007
    Last month, just before leaving for August recess, Congress caved to White House pressure and passed a revision to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), known as the Protect America Act, which "they may not have fully understood" and "may have given the administration more surveillance powers than it sought."
  • Iraq: Snow Job Summer, September 4, 2007
    With its report due to Congress in just one week, the Bush administration has used the month of August to mobilize its congressional, military, and other right-wing allies to spin the facts on the ground and create a false impression of progress in Iraq.