Today In Congress

The Senate meets on Janice Rogers Brown's nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit today. Here's Congress' schedule for the day. Use the links in the right hand column to write your Hired Hands on the Hill to let them know what you think. (WashPost)

Koran Abuse Detailed

The Pentagon's released new details of confirmed Koran abuses at US Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay. The base is home to a US detention center in the War on Terror. The release cites the following:

• Guards kicking a Koran
• Korans becoming wet when guards had a water balloon fight
• A two word obsenity written on the inside cover of a Koran
• A contract negotiator kicking a Koran
• A guard urinating through an air vent onto a detainee and his Koran

The announcement came in a news release, put out late Friday. (WashPost)

Word on the (K) Street

PoliticalWire.com points to a critique of the "K Street Project." K Street is home to the big lobbying firms in DC.

The project is a GOP effort to pack lobbying firms and trade associations with Republicans. The New York Review of Books article Taegan Goddard cites calls the effort "a more thorough, ruthless, vindictive, and effective attack on Democratic lobbyists" than anything ever before. And draws a frightening conclusion that it would allow one party to have enormous power to raise political money and control all the political power centers in the US. (PoliticalWire.com)

The Stakes for the States on Medicare

States are bearing the brunt of Medicaid costs -- threatening to become the single most expensive part of many state's budgets in the near future.

Blue State Republican looks at how the National Governors Association -- and particularly Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) -- are taking the case for reform to Congress. His post has lots of links to tons of information on the subject -- and Governor Huckabee's pet project -- fighting obesity.

"Deep Throat" Book Out Next Month

Bob Woodward is rushing The Secret Man to his publisher. It's the Watergate reporter's story about "Deep Throat." Simon & Schuster announced the book will be released in July. (USA Today)

Indian Money for Democrats

The Jack Abramoff scandal -- initally surrounding House Speaker Tom DeLay (R-TX) -- threatens to spread to both sides of the aisle and take in a lot of party leaders on both sides.

Mr Abramoff collected $82 million from 6 Indian tribes. The money was supposed to be for lobbying and PR fees to promote casino gambling. The money went to persuade people in Congress. Much of it appears to have been spent inappropriately.

Rep DeLay is in trouble for taking trips that Mr Abramoff supposedly paid for. But Mr Abramoff and his staff also sent plenty of money to Democrats and other Republicans.

The Washington Post follows the money. (WashPost via MSNBC)

New York's Left Over 9/11 Money

New York still has $125 million for 9/11 relief they haven't spent. Now Uncle Sam wants it back. Washington sent New York $20 billion to recover from the 9/11 attacks. Nearly $175 million was for workers comp. But only about $50 million of that was ever claimed. Now Washington wants the rest of the money back. But 21 lawmakers -- including both New York Senators -- want the money set aside for future costs. They're convinced there will be long term health problems for rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Terror Suspect Gave Money to Republicans

Yasith Chhun heads up the Cambodian Freedom Fighters. The State Department declared them a terrorist group in 2001. Mr Chhun boasted about planning an attack on Cambodian government buildings that year. A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted him this week for plotting to overthrow the Cambodian government.

At the same time, the Long Beach accountant was busy raising money for the Republican Party here in the states. He rounded up $6,550 for the National Republican Congressional Committee and was invited to join their Business Advisory Council. (LAT)

Blaming Inflation on Juries

A new study suggests the inflation and the stock market -- not huge malpractice awards -- are to blame for rising insurance costs for doctors. Dartmouth College economists looked at actual malpractice awards over a 12-year period. They found a 4% annual growth in the paymentsfrom until 2000 when growth slowed to 1.6%. That roughly mirrors the rise in health care costs.

The economists concluded that as insurance companies made less profits from their investments they simply started jacking up prices. The study appears in the journal Health Affairs. (Boston Globe)

"5 Held in Plot to Bug Democrats' Office Here"

The story that started it all. The Washington Post has the first story about the Watergate break in up on their site. Fascinating reading, knowing what we know now. At the time, police and the press had no idea how big a story they'd stumbled onto. (WashPost)

The Making of "Deep Throat"

Bob Woodward has a first person account in the Washington Post about how "Mark Felt Became 'Deep Throat.'" (WashPost)

Watergate and the Liberal Multimedia

From Mark Felt's ("Deep Throat") own words to Elvis' visit with President Nixon, there's a ton of Watergate related nostalgia on the Internet.

Want to relive some Watergate history, catch up on exactly what was at stake, what Mark Felt/Deep Throat contributed to? Here are some online resources:

• A Watergate Chronology -- Washington Post
• Sights & Sounds -- Washington Post presents photos and excerpts from the Nixon tapes from the Watergate years
• Watergate Documents -- findlaw.com
• Video Report from the New York Times
• Another Watergate Chronology -- from the NYT
• Slide Show with Audio -- from the NYT
• Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace
• Herblock's History -- the late, great political cartoonist's take on Richard Nixon, from the Library of Congress
• Nixon Presidential Materials -- from the National Archives
  

(Watching Washington's Liberal Multimedia)

President Bush & Deep Throat

President Bush says he's following the story of "Deep Throat's" identity. The President was surprised to learn that former #2-man at the FBI, Mark Felt, turned out to be the source that provided the Washington Post with critical information in the Watergate scandal. Reporters asked President Bush about the revelation during a White House photo op:

"Q: Is he [Mark Felt] a hero?

PRESIDENT BUSH: He was -- it's hard for me to judge. I'm learning more about the situation."

The President says he's curious about Mr Felt's relationship with the press and wants to know more about it. (The White House)

Watergate and Pork

A former Alaskan Senator hails "Deep Throat" as a hero.

Mike Gravel was opposed to the Vietnam War while he was in the Senate and released a copy of the Pentagon Papers. He says that put him on President Nixon's enemies list -- which meant less pork the former Senator told KTUU-TV:

"Tried to punish me? He did. He stopped the construction of the federal buildings, which I had authored in my committee for Anchorage and Fairbanks. They weren't going to be built."

Mr Gravel says Mark Felt, the former FBI #2-man who's admitted to being "Deep Throat," deserves a medal. No word on whether Anchorage and Fairbanks will get any new federal buildings. (KTUU vis MSNBC)

The Washington Post on "Deep Throat"

They broke story after story on Watergate thanks to the anonymous source they called only "Deep Throat." But the Washington Post got scooped on breaking the news of Throat's true identity. Vanity Fair had the story Tuesday. But the Post has a lot of other details. (WashPost)

Hero or Villian

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz asks whether "Deep Throat" would be a hero or a villian today:

"Imagine that the White House was railing against the use of unnamed sources. Imagine that a special prosecutor was threatening to jail Woodward and Carl Bernstein, a la Matt Cooper and Judy Miller, for not revealing who in the administration was giving them confidential information."

Mr Kurtz goes on to complain how reporters have gotten sloppy with anonymous sources and how the media attaches "-gate" to just about every scandal that's come down the pike since. (WashPost)

Watergate Refresher

Now that "Deep Throat" is public knowledge, CNN has a quick refresher course on Watergate -- the "third-rate burglary" that brought down a President. (CNN)