Think Progress

MILITARY -- RETIRED SENIOR OFFICERS CALL FOR END OF DON'T ASK DON'T TELL: A new report released yesterday by four retired senior military officers endorsed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), marking "the first time a Marine Corps general has ever called publicly for an end to the gay ban." Among other findings, the study, sponsored by the Michael D. Palm Center, reported that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military "is unlikely to post any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline, or cohesion." The study notes that "military attitudes towards gays and lesbians are changing," as evidenced by a 2006 poll that found 73 percent of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan polled were "comfortable with lesbians and gays." Though opponents of gays in the military use the specter of gay men disrupting unit cohesion, a study released just last month found that a disproportionate number of those kicked out under DADT in 2007 were in fact women. The newest report is part of a trend toward accepting gays in the military. General John Shalikashvili, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who previously favored DADT but reversed course last year in a New York Times op-ed, endorsed the study, saying it "ought to be given serious consideration by both Congress and the Joint Chiefs."

ADMINISTRATION -- CONDOLEEZZA RICE HAS BEEN 'PLAYING A LOT' OF GOLF DURING IRAQ WAR: In May, President Bush revealed that he had given up playing golf because of the Iraq war. "I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," said Bush. But apparently Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice doesn't feel the same way. While at the AT&T National golf tournament this weekend, Rice gave an interview to the Golf Channel, noting that she had started her Independence Day weekend with "a round of golf," Rice said. "[I]t'll actually be three years this year, three years in August that I've been playing and playing a lot." In a separate interview with the Washington Post's Dan Sternberg this weekend, Rice said her philosophy on war and golf differs from Bush's. She explained that she is unwilling to "sacrifice" her game because she needs to "stay in shape." "Cabinet secretaries and the President can all do exactly what they wish," said Rice. "But all of us are trying to stay in shape in these tough jobs." Rice's golfing weekend came just after she told Bloomberg's Judy Woodruff that she is "proud of the decision" to invade Iraq.

ENERGY -- OIL TYCOON T. BOONE PICKENS BECOMES WIND POWER BOOSTER: T. Boone Pickens, the "legendary Texas oilman, corporate raider, shareholder-rights crusader, philanthropist and deep-pocketed moneyman for conservative politicians and causes" is becoming wind power's most prominent booster. Believing that "cheap and easy oil is gone," he is "bankrolling what his aides say will be the biggest public policy ad campaign ever" to promote the "Pickens Plan" for "cutting the USA's demand for foreign oil by more than a third in less than a decade." Pickens, now constructing "the largest wind farm in the world" in the Texas panhandle, wants the United States "to produce enough wind power within 10 years to divert 20% of the natural gas now used to fuel power plants for use in cars and trucks." Pickens's 4,000-megawatt wind farm, the equivalent of four coal-fired plants, will go online by 2011. His "out-of-the-box thinking" has garnered praise from Sierra Club president Carl Pope, but the American Petroleum Institute calls the plan "gimmicky." In testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last month, Pickens called on Congress to assist the rapid deployment of a national network of high-voltage transmission lines tied to wind and solar power. The nation's electric grid, "the source of one-third of U.S. global warming emissions," needs to be modernized for both the large-scale projects favored by Pickens as well as the "millions of distributed energy devices such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and smart appliances" that represent a clean energy future.

ENVIRONMENT -- G8 ENDORSES 'TOOTHLESS' CLIMATE CHANGE GOAL: At their yearly summit yesterday, the G8 leaders "endorsed...cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 but refused to set a short-term target for reducing the gases that scientists agree are warming the planet." Despite President Bush's pledge to "be constructive," the agreement departs little from his current obstructionist position on climate change, as it is non-binding and contingent upon the cooperation of developing nations like India and China who have contributed comparatively little to the climate change problem. Climate change expert Phil Clapp at the Pew Environmental Group called the agreement "extremely weak," noting that "it aims to reduce emissions from current levels rather than 1990 levels, as the leaders proposed last year." "The science shows that we have to reduce 80 to 90 percent from current levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," he added. As Antonio Hill, spokesperson for Oxfam International put it, "At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G8 leaders will be long forgotten." He added that the G8's announcement on 2050 "is another stalling tactic that does nothing to lower the risk faced by millions of poor people right now."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is considering legislation to cease funding of Karl Rove-type advisers in future administrations. "Why should we be using taxpayer dollars to have a person solely in charge of politics in the White House?" Waxman said. "Can you imagine the reaction if each member of Congress had a campaign person paid for with taxpayer dollars?"

The Senate will begin debate today on a bill giving telecommunication companies immunity for participating in the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program, with a final vote planned for Wednesday. Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the bill is expected to pass.

There is "a growing body of evidence" showing "that alcohol abuse is rising among veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq." Experts and studies say "the problem is particularly prevalent among those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder." "Increasingly, these troubled veterans are spilling into the criminal justice system."

The White House was forced to apologize yesterday after circulating a "less-than-flattering" biography of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi that described him as "one of the ‘most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice.'" The biography claimed Berlusconi "burst onto the political scene with no experience."

"Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world" if it is attacked by the U.S. or Israel, an aide to the Iranian Supreme Leader declared today. "The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the aide was quoted as saying.

Yesterday, shares of the most important U.S. mortgage companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, plummeted 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively, sending a loud warning sign that, in terms of the economy, "the worst is yet to come." The turmoil caused global stocks "from Sydney to Stockholm" to fall today.

The Bush administration "didn't pursue hundreds of potential water pollution cases after a 2006 Supreme Court decision that restricted" the EPA's "authority to regulate seasonal streams and wetlands." In a March 4 memo, the EPA's enforcement chief said that "there were 304 instances where the EPA found what would have been violations of the Clean Water Act before the court’s ruling."

Former Senate aide Michael E. O'Neill "will not withdraw his nomination" for a federal judgeship, despite the fact that he was credibly accused last week of plagiarizing a law article. O'Neill, who says "he fully disclosed the controversy to both White House officials and the FBI during interviews" before being nominated, claims the plagiarism "wasn't intentional."

And finally: There's a new book coming out by Susan Wise Bauer that's likely to be popular around Washington, DC. "The Art of the Public Grovel" advises "sex-scandal-afflicted leaders of America" on how to salvage their political careers. According to Bauer, politicians have to do more than apologize; they have to prove they are no better than anyone else by admitting they've erred and asking for forgiveness." Bauer mentions that one politician who didn't do it well was former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, although she admitted he was in a "tough spot."