Think Progress

Under the Radar

ETHICS -- CONGRESS DEMANDS INFO LINKING WHITE HOUSE TO CUNNINGHAM PROBE AND ATTORNEY FIRING: Recently, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) questioned on the Senate floor whether former San Diego-based U.S. attorney Carol Lam was fired because she was "about to investigate other people who were politically powerful." Media reports have noted that among Lam's politically powerful targets were former CIA official Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and then-House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA). There is evidence to believe that the White House may have also been on Lam's target list. From her investigation into former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA), Lam revealed: the White House awarded a one-month, $140,000 contract to MZM contractor Mitchell Wade, who had never previously held a federal contract. Two weeks after Wade was paid, he used a cashier's check for exactly $140,000 to buy a boat for a now-imprisoned congressman (Cunningham) at a price that the congressman had pre-negotiated. Yesterday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote a letter to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten demanding "all contracts, subcontracts, and task orders between MZM, Inc. ... and the Executive Office of the President." He wrote, "Subsequent investigations have uncovered serious irregularities, and in some cases criminal conduct, by MZM employees, members of Congress, and Bush Administration officials relating to MZM contracts with the federal government. To date, however, there has been no examination of the circumstances surrounding MZM's initial federal contract and the role that White House officials played in the award and execution of the contract."In the letter, Waxman requests that the administration provide documents relating to the White House-MZM contracts as soon as possible, but in no case later than April 6.

SCIENCE -- INVESTIGATION FINDS MORE FLAWS IN ADULT STEM CELL STUDY TOUTED BY RIGHT WING: A new investigation has "raised doubts about pioneering adult stem cell studies, leaving questions about the much-touted medical potential of these cells." The results of the original study published in 2002 in the journal Nature suggested that "adult stem cells offered the same replacement tissue potential as embryonic without involving the destruction of embryos," but an investigation conducted by New Scientist magazine found "apparently duplicated images being used to describe results from different experiments." "The magazine says the images appear 'flipped and modified,' first claiming to show adult bone marrow stem cells, which regularly turn into blood cells, unexpectedly turned into bone. Then the same images were flipped to claim the same cells had unexpectedly turned into cartilage." This is not the first time the study has been questioned. Last month, University of Minnesota researchers concluded the methods of the study were "significantly flawed, and that the interpretations based on these data...are potentially incorrect." Other researchers were unable to duplicate the study's results, a scientific litmus test for the validity of any paper. The scientific establishment has long known that adult stem cells hold far less differentiation ability than their embryonic counterparts, but Bush administration officials have frequently claimed otherwise. Last year, Karl Rove claimed that "recent studies" show that researchers "have far more promise from adult stem cells than from embryonic stem cells." But the White House "could not provide the name of a stem cell researcher who shares Rove's views on the superior promise of adult stem cells."

ENVIRONMENT -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO 'GUT' THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: In what is described as a "no-holds-barred end run around one of America's most popular environmental protections," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is "maneuvering to fundamentally weaken" the Endangered Species Act, according to documents obtained by Salon.com. The strategy would "limit the number of species that can be protected and curtail the acres of wildlife habitat to be preserved." As Salon reports, many in the FWS feel the proposed changes are "not based on 'defensible science.'" Such reports come just months after the Washington Post reported last fall that senior political appointees in the Department of the Interior had ignored or rejected the advice of government scientists at the "behest of landowners or industry." These complaints were confirmed in a survey conducted by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility which found that "nearly half" of FWS employees that work with endangered species reported "being directed by their superiors to ignore scientific evidence that would result in recommendations for the protection of species." Under the leadership of President George W. Bush and Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, a long-time critic of the Endangered Species Act, the FWS has declared only 57 species endangered since 2000. In contrast, Bill Clinton listed 512 species endangered in his 8-year term, and George H. W. Bush listed 234 species as endangered in his 4-year term. As one FWS employee stated, "I have 20 years of federal service in this and this is the worst it has ever been."

Think Fast

On Monday morning's "Bill Bennett's Morning in America" radio show, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) claimed that the United States "is beginning to succeed" in Iraq and said that "there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could through...today."

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) yesterday "dismissed" any comparison between the Bush administration's prosecutor purge with the replacement of 93 U.S. attorneys when her husband took office in 1993. "That's a traditional prerogative of an incoming president," she said, adding that this purge "is part of a long record of trying to upset the traditional separation of powers."

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday "began its largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by a pair of aircraft carriers and backed by warplanes flying simulated attack maneuvers off the coast of Iran. The maneuvers bring together two strike groups of U.S. warships and more than 100 U.S. warplanes to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes."

59 percent: Americans who want their congressional representatives to support a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by Aug. 2008. Only 33 percent are opposed. Thirty-six percent believe escalation will work. 

"By the end of the century up to two fifths of the land surface of the Earth will have a hotter climate unlike anything that currently exists," according to a new study. "And in the worst case scenario, the climatic conditions on another 48% of the land surface will no longer exist on the planet at all."

"Unfamiliar with the U.S. mortgage market, unable to speak or read English well and vulnerable to the blandishments of real estate professionals who told them property values always rise, many immigrants are struggling to deal with high mortgage payments as their homes sag in value, making it harder to escape the loans by selling."

And finally: Is Washington, D.C. no longer the "Hollywood for ugly people"? Over the past several years, D.C. has become "increasingly attractive" to production companies and television executives, with movies such as "The Good Shepherd" and shows like "Commander in Chief." "The more we have women in positions of leadership, the more style we'll have," said Miss District of Columbia Kate Michael.