Think Progress

May 2007 Progress Reports

• Iraq: Preparing for September, May 31, 2007
  With the Iraq supplemental debate behind them, both Democrats and Republicans have begun rallying around a September deadline to reassess President Bush's escalation strategy.
• Katrina: Weathering the Storm, May 30, 2007
  Occurring only 18 months after Hurricane Katrina, the devastating tornadoes in Greensburg, KS this month again prompted the question of whether our government can adequately respond to another Katrina-like storm.
• Climate Change: Standing Athwart History, May 29, 2007
  As the threat of global climate crisis grows, the global mechanisms for averting disaster are being gutted.
• Iraq: One Small Step, May 25, 2007
  With threats to the troops as his sole remaining argument, President Bush last night won one more round for his failed Iraq strategy.
• Justice: The Keys To The White House, May 24, 2007
  Yesterday, Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department liaison to the White House, finally testified before Congress about her role in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year.
• Iraq: Reject The Toothless Supplemental, May 23, 2007
  Congressional leaders backed away from the views of a strong majority of Americans who believe a timetable for withdrawal is necessary to end the war.
• Immigration: A Necessary First Step, May 22, 2007
  The immigration compromise reached last week is a flawed deal, an attempt to "bridge the chasm between brittle hard-liners who want the country to stop absorbing so many outsiders, and those who want to give immigrants -- illegal ones, too -- a fair and realistic shot at the American dream."
• Politics: The Assault on Reason, May 21, 2007
  American public discourse is increasingly "vulnerable to the kind of rope-a-dope strategies that Exxon Mobil and their brethren have been employing for decades now," argues Al Gore.
• Military: Soldiers Get Stiffed, May 18, 2007
  The House passed a comprehensive defense spending bill by a 397-27 vote, but the White House is threatening to veto it because of a 3.5 percent military pay raise.
• Economy: No Time Off, May 17, 2007
  As summer approaches, many Americans are thinking about vacation. But unfortunately, nearly one in four Americans receive no paid vacation or holiday time.
• Civil Liberties: Shocking Lawlessness, May 16, 2007
  Then-acting AG James Comey revealed extraordinary details about the effort by Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card to overrule the department on domestic spying.
• Ethics: The Wrong Fall Guy, May 15, 2007
  Yesterday, the number two official at the Justice Department, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, announced that he would depart later this summer, becoming the "fourth and highest-ranking Justice Department official to resign since the uproar began in Congress over the dismissals of the United States attorneys."
• Immigration: No More Delay, May 14, 2007
  The need for comprehensive immigration reform is greater than ever, as our current system is broken.
• Human Rights: The Stain of Gitmo, May 11, 2007
  Since its creation over five years ago, Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba has been a source of human rights abuses that has tarnished the reputation of the United States.
• Clubbing A Baby Seal Redux, May 10, 2007
  With damning details about the U.S. attorney firings emerging and evidence of White House involvement, Attorney General Gonzales returns to Capitol Hill.
• Global Warming: Weather Of Mass Destruction, May 9, 2007
  Last month, the Military Advisory Board, a panel of esteemed retired military officers, issued a report that found "projected climate change poses a serious threat to America's national security" over the next 30 to 40 years. The report -- "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change" -- warned that there will be wars over water, increased hunger, instability from worsening disease and rising sea levels, and global warming-induced refugees.
• Homeland Security: Weathering War, May 8, 2007
  On Friday, a deadly tornado hit the small town of Greensburg, KS, killing at least 10 people and obliterating 95 percent of the town.
• Iraq: Between Rhetoric and Reality, May 7, 2007
  It was another bloody day in Iraq yesterday. At least 95 Iraqis were killed or found dead, while 11 American soldiers and a civilian journalist died in attacks across the country.
• Judiciary: Grave Consequences, May 4, 2007
  Among the revelations just this week: that a former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may have broken the law by using "political affiliation in deciding who to hire as entry-level prosecutors"; that the Justice Department's hiring process was politicized beyond the attorneys to non-civil-service employees; and that members of Congress are so concerned about partisan prosecutions they have requested that the DOJ's inspector general provide details about public corruption investigations organized "by the party affiliation of their targets."
• Civil Rights: Attacking Hate, May 3, 2007
  Today, the House is voting on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), a bipartisan bill that would enable federal officials to work with state and local officials to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
• Immigration: Keep Families United, May 2, 2007
  Yesterday, tens of thousands of people carrying U.S. flags pressed for immigrants' rights by holding demonstrations in dozens of cities. The protesters called for a path to legalization for the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
• Iraq: Mission Accomplished?, May 1, 2007
  The naive bluster of Bush's now-infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech have been undermined by the harsh reality of the facts on the ground.
• JUDICIARY: Clubbing a Baby Seal Redux, December 31, 2006
  With damning new details about the U.S. attorney firings still emerging, and with increasing evidence of White House involvement, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales returns to Capitol Hill today to appear before the House Judiciary Committee.