Blue Radar

As I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• Moqtada al-Sadr's Shiite Mahdi Army has expanded its reach into the Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad.  The Mahdi Army's influence in this part of Baghdad includes "manning checkpoints, collecting rental fees for apartments, licensingbus drivers, mediating family fights and even handing out gas forcooking," writes the AP.  (Looks like the opposite of progress to me.)
• The oil-rich southern Iraqi city of Basra is falling to the reign of Shiite militias, which are battling each other out for control of the oil.  British troops will start withdrawing from the region at the end of this year, meaning US troops will either increase their presence there or else lose control of a significant chunk of the country.
• There is a stunningly disturbing piece in Sunday's Washington Post about how Karl Rove sought to redirect federal funds to GOP candidates.  Rove did this by "enlisting political appointees at every level of government in apermanent campaign that was an integral part of his strategy toestablish Republican electoral dominance."
• In his weekly radio address, Bush touted the performance of "Reconstruction Teams" in Iraq that are trying to restore political order on the local level.  "They bring together military, civilian,and diplomatic personnel to help Iraqi communities rebuildinfrastructure, create jobs, and encourage reconciliation from theground up," Bush said.  "Theseteams are now deployed throughout the country, and they are helpingIraqis make political gains, especially at the local level."  (What about the national level?  Not so good, is it?)
• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ruled out a presidential bid "under any circumstances."
• Michigan will move its primary up to January 15th, which forces Iowa and New Hampshire to move theirs up as well.
• According to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, with Obama deciding to not participate in a number of upcoming debates, "it's VERY unlikely that Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) or former Sen. John Edwards will make time for these events either."
• Joe Biden is releasing 30-second and one-minute television ads in Iowa.  (I will post these videos as soon as they become available.)
• This weekend in Waverly, Iowa, Barack Obama focused a lot of his campaign speech on energy independence, insinuating that he is the only candidate capable of changing the status quo: "We've got to have a president in the White House who sets bold targetsand sets broad goals and isn't intimidated by the barriers and theroadblocks and isn't driven by those who already have an investment inthe status quo — somebody who can overcome the lobby-driven, divisivepolitics that characterizes this issue."
• ABC News is hosting a Democratic debate this morning.  However, it is not sanctioned by the DNC.  Here is a list of all the sanctioned DNC debates during the primary season.

If we left something out, it's because we either wrote about ityesterday or are scheduled to do so in an individual post later today. Otherwise, feel free to add any stories in the commentbox.

Comments

[granny]

Blue Radar says:

"Barack Obama focused a lot of his campaign speech on energy independence, insinuating that he is the only candidate capable of changing the status quo"

The use of the word INSINUATE is totally inappropriate here. It implies dishonesty and hidden purpose.

Let's not get so used to it with our current state of affairs, that we think it is a benign choice of words. It's not.

Merriam-Webster dictionary = INSINUATE: 1 a : to introduce (as an idea) gradually or in a subtle, indirect, or covert way b : to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way : IMPLY