(2004-06-15) — Democrat presidential hopeful John Forbes Kerry, who is also a U.S. Senator, today laid out his blueprint for increasing the size of the middle class by boosting taxes on the wealthy.

In a speech to union members in New Jersey, Mr. Kerry answered critics who claim he has offered no coherent vision for America, and he slammed President Bush for “squeezing the middle class.”

“I believe in building up our great middle class-expanding it,” said Mr. Kerry. “Now, to increase the size of the middle class you can do one of two things-either help poor people escape from poverty and dependency on government programs, or take some money away from rich people so that they become middle class. Now, which one of those sounds easier to you? It’s a no brainer.”

Mr. Kerry said that the Bush administration “doesn’t want you to be middle class. They want you to be like their rich cronies from Halliburton. But they don’t tell you the dirty little secret…if you become wealthy, most of your money will go to pay taxes. Where’s the compassion in their conservatism?”

(2004-06-15) ñ As controversy swirls around the President George Bush’s unusually complimentary remarks yesterday toward former President Bill Clinton, a White House staffer has leaked the manuscript of the speech Mr. Bush was supposed to give at the unveiling of the official portrait of Mr. Clinton.

“The President changed the speech,” said the unnamed administration source. “He was editing on the fly-extemporaneously. For some reason he didn’t feel comfortable delivering what the speechwriter gave him.”

Here is the leaked text of the speech Mr. Bush was supposed to give in welcoming the former presidentÖ
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(2004-06-14) — The Supreme Court today recused itself from ruling on the constitutionality of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance on the grounds that too many justices had a conflict of interest.

In a one-page ruling, the court wrote: “Whereas a significant minority, and perhaps a majority, of the justices on this court view God as their Father, a dispassionate consideration of the merits of the case might be jeopardized by the natural affection a child feels toward a parent. In fact, some members of this court have greater familial standing with God than the plaintiff, Michael Newdow, has with his daughter. We, therefore, recuse the court from this case.”

(2004-06-09) — The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld a lower court’s ban on a weekly Bible class which has been taught in public schools for the past 51 years in Rhea County, TN, because the morality lessons treated the Bible as “religious truth.”

However, the court ruled that public schools may “teach moral lessons from the Bible as fiction.”

According to the ruling, “As long as the students understand that the Bible is not true, then its moral lessons-honesty, integrity, etc.-are constitutional.”

The Court gave the following example: “The school children could be told that the character ‘Moses’ went up on a mountain and pretended to talk to an imaginary friend who told him that people should not steal from each other. ‘So, boys and girls,’ the teacher could say, ‘it’s important that you also pretend that stealing is wrong.’”

(2004-06-08) — As a new resolution on Iraq moved toward unanimous approval in the United Nations Security Council today, radical Muslims, Saddam Hussein loyalists and members of other armed groups with no links to Al Qaeda laid down their weapons and returned to their previous 9-5 jobs determined to see democracy flourish in their nation.

“Finally, we have the legitimacy we crave,” said an unnamed member of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia. “With the blessing of France, Germany and Russia through the U.N., we may now enjoy the fruits of freedom. I can’t wait to give a flower to the first blue-helmeted U.N. peacekeeper that I meet.”

(2004-06-08) — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton today signed a $10 million contract with Knopf for his soon-to-be released eulogy of President Ronald Reagan.

Mr. Clinton was not invited to speak at Friday’s state funeral for the 40th president, because he has yet to complete the 1,000 page manuscript of the eulogy.

“Clinton’s eulogy for President Reagan is filled with personal reflections on his childhood in Arkansas and his tumultuous marriage to Hillary,” according to a unnamed publishing insider. “It’s packed with amusing anecdotes and a couple of brief, but powerful references to President Reagan-one in the third paragraph of page 437 and the other at the bottom of page 902. It’s a majestic non-partisan tribute, which he promises will be ready later this year, or early next.”

(2004-06-07) — Just 54 years after President Harry Truman sent U.S. forces to invade the Korean peninsula, his exit strategy is showing early signs of success with the announcement that the U.S. will withdraw 12,000 troops from South Korea by the end of this year.

The move will leave just 25,000 U.S. military personnel in a post-war situation which critics in the Senate have called “a quagmire.”

Senate Democrats, however, hailed President Truman’s foresight and contrasted his foreign policy triumph with the Bush administration’s poor planning in the month’s leading up to the Iraq war.

“You can’t just go storming into a country without a plan to get out,” said an unnamed Senate Democrat. “Maybe now Bush will get a clue and learn some lessons from President Truman.”

(2004-06-05) — Former U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan died at home this afternoon at the age of 93, after a decade-long journey with Alzheimer’s disease.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, three children and several hundred million men, women and children in the former Soviet Union, and around the world, who were set free from the hopeless terror of communist tyranny through his steadfast courage and unwavering faith.

In addition to recordings and transcripts of dozens of the most compelling, sincere and influential speeches ever heard, President Reagan also leaves behind an America that is no longer afraid to call evil what it is, and to do something about it.

(2004-06-03) — On the very day that CIA Director George Tenet’s resignation became public knowledge, a series of events experts call “unrelated coincidences” simultaneously hit the headlines.

While the White House and Mr. Tenet both allege that so-called “personal reasons” spurred the Clinton-appointee’s premature departure, insiders point to the following events as evidence that there may be more to the story:

- Jennifer Capriati forced out of the French Open
- Meteor hit over Washington state may be hoax
- Canadian Anglicans affirm homosexual unions
- Kurt Warner signs $3 million deal with New York Giants
- U.S. cancer rates decline
- Bush leaves country on European trip

“You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to see the connections,” said one unnamed expert. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Valerie Plame’s name comes up in all of this.”

(2004-06-03) — The White House cannot prove that CIA Director George Tenet has resigned, according to Democrat presidential hopeful John Forbes Kerry, therefore “no action should be taken to replace him.”

Mr. Kerry, who is also a U.S. Senator, called for a United Nations investigation into Bush administration claims that Mr. Tenet had stepped aside for “personal reasons.”

“We’ve learned to look askance at CIA data interpreted by this administration,” said Mr. Kerry. “Only the U.N. can legitimately determine the truth in this matter.”

If the White House claim can be proved by a multilateral probe team, then Mr. Kerry said he would support appointing a new CIA chief with the advice and consent of the U.N. Secretary-General