Bush Presses Iraqi Leader On Statehood
Not Giving Up But Action Needed If Iraq To Become 51st State
President Bush promised the Iraqi prime minister last Friday that he was "not giving up on the mission" of making Iraq the 51st State (See The Garlic, Tuesday 10 April; Bush Moves On Making Iraq 51st State; Wednesday 27 April 2005; Bush Plan For Iraq Statehood In Jeopardy) but needs action for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on moving the internal political process forward to achieve that goal.
Meeting at the White House, the first visit by a new leader from a free and democratic Iraq, the President chided al-Jaafari for not having the Iraq constitution in place. Back in April, Bush advised the Iraqis that the United States had already put together the Enabling Act, which would bestow statehood to Iraq, but that they need a full-functioning government in order to have Vice-President Dick Cheney submitted the legislation.
Cheney is eager for Iraqi to become the 51st State, believing that the congressmen elected from Iraq to serve will be conservative Republicans, adding to the majority and thereby enabling the President's agenda
The recent difficulties the Bush Administrations had incurred in Congress - Judicial filibusters, and the blocking of John Bolton as Ambassador to the United Nations, as well as a stalled domestic agenda - namely the President's Social Security reform - heighten the need for the Iraqis to act quickly.
A person inside the administration worried that "if we don't get this done before the July 4th break, we might not be able to save it later - especially if any Supreme Court resignations come down".
al-Jaafari seemed to be backing away from statehood, when, in clipped English, he called on Bush to "redo the Marshall Plan", referring to American rebuilding of Europe after World War II, and he suggested that the President call it "the Bush Plan, to help Iraq, to help the Iraqi people."
"If he backs away now" said the administration source, "there'll be hell to pay. We're talking a complete pullout by Christmas and Cheney calls out the Halliburton dogs. They'll be lucky if they can remember what water or electricity is … They'll make Afghanistan look like Club-Med".
Major Cities Waste No Time In Taking Court Ruling To Action
Acres Seized In Land Grab, Some Say Biggest Since West Was Settled In 1800's
No sooner had the ink dried on the Supreme Court's decision allowing municipalities to seize land by eminent domain, largely for projects involving private developers that were part of an "economic development" plan, acres of property were seized.
Major cities across the country had teams of lawyers serving home and small business owners over the weekend, seizing their property under the new ruling.
Reports from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, Denver, Miami, Kansas City, Minneapolis and more, say convoys of black SUV's rolled into neighborhoods, serving papers and posting signs, condemning properties.
In an unprecedented case, the State of Ohio served Cleveland Mayor Jane L. Campbell, seizing the entire city under the guise of having a new, "economic development" plan for the "mistake by the lake" as Cleveland is derisively referred to.
Reports are that the White House endorsed the mass serving of eminent domain notices as means of kick-starting President Bush's new initiative, 'The Clean City Act'.
Last Thursday, the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 decision, voted in favor of the City of New London, Conn., who had condemned 15 homes under the eminent domain law, as a means of putting forward a "economic development" on behalf of private developers.
In hailing the decision, White House Spokesman, Scott McClellan said "The President firmly believes that government has the right to develop their economic development programs, without hindrance".
The public-interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, who represented the 15 New London homeowners, were stunned by the action over the weekend.
"The Court's decision is less then a victory", offered an Institute spokesperson. "It basically was putting back into the state court, where we will continue the fight".
McClellan, at a press briefing yesterday noted the mass eminent domain takeovers.
"We're pleased to see so many people embracing the President's 'Clean City Act"
Asked if the President was worried about a lower court overturning the Supreme Court's decision, in individual cases, McClellan said, confidently;
"We have other means in which to advance this program. I believe there are provisions in the Patriot Act that allows for property seizure".
Katie Holmes Career In Jeopardy
First Sciencetology, Now Must Study Psychiatry
Sources in Hollywood report that actress Katie Holmes, recently engaged to actor Tom Cruise, is "on the verge of nervous breakdown", not from the inordinate media chasing the couple, but a constant schedule of studying issues so she can converse with her husband-to-be.
"The poor girl is a nervous wreck", offered an agent close to the couple.
"She's afraid to speak in Tom's presence … He challenges every single thing, and then belittles her for not being informed"
This side of Cruise surfaced last Friday, during an interview with Matt Lauer on the 'Today' program.
When Lauer referenced Cruise's criticism of actress Brooke Shield's use of anti-depressants, Cruise lashed out at Lauer, telling him that he didn't know what he was talking about and "''You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do".
The interview escalated to heated exchanges when Lauer defended people he knew that were helped by attention-deficit disorder drug Ritalin.
''Matt, Matt, you don't even -- you're glib,'' Cruise responded. ''You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK. That's what I've done.''
Holmes was overheard saying after the interview "God, I'm still working on the Sciencetology stuff, now I have to study drugs and psychiatry?"
A person in the office of Holmes's agent did confirm that "Katie is now well-versed in baseball, the Pottsdam Conference, Yo-Yo-Ma's body of work, metallurgy, the 1963 Philadelphia Eagles and the history of the microwave oven".
When reached later, Cruise offered a terse "no comment".
After walking a few steps, Cruise turned back to the media and berated the small gathering, chiding them for not know enough about comments, and that they should study the research papers, like he did, on comments. How, after that, "maybe we can hold a conversation - you know what a conversation is, don't you?"
