Some of us in Iowa have been trying to get rid of this parasite for years, so this is not pleasing to us!
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 19, 2007

President Bush Nominates Congressman Jim Nussle as Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Roosevelt Room

[Ed: This article is incoherent. It confuses Nussle with someone from Ohio, maybe his predecesor (?) and profoundly screws up the entire presentation!]

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2:49 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Welcome to the White House. I am here to say goodbye to a good friend, and introduce the newest nominee to my Cabinet. Recently Rob Portman came and told me that after 14 years of public service in Washington, he's ready to head home, to be with Jane and the family. I've known him for many years. There's no finer man in public service than Rob Portman. He's been a trusted advisor, and Laura and I are going to miss him.

President George W. Bush introduces former Iowa Rep. Jim Nussle Tuesday, June 19, 2007 in the Roosevelt Room, as his nominee to be the new director of the Office of Management and Budget replacing outgoing director Rob Portman. White House photo by Debra Gulbas Fortunately, we found a good man to succeed him. Today I'm pleased to announce my nomination of Jim Nussle to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I'm proud to welcome Jim's wife, Karen, his mom and dad, Lori and Mark, and his mother-in-law, Eva Mae. Any man who invites his mother-in-law to a -- (laughter) -- has got to have good judgment. (Laughter.) We're going to ask a lot of Jim, and I thank you all for supporting him in this.

The job of OMB Director is one of the most important in our federal government. The Director has a central responsibility for implementing the full range of my administration's agenda, from defense programs that will keep the American people safe to energy initiatives that will break our dependence on foreign oil, to tax policies that keep our economy growing and creating jobs.

In all these areas, the OMB Director works to ensure that the American people get good value for every tax dollar they send to Washington. Jim Nussle is the right man to take on these challenges. For 16 years, Jim represented the people of Northeast Iowa in the United States Congress. As a member of Congress, Jim was a strong advocate for fiscal discipline, and a champion of tax cuts that allowed the American people to keep more of what they earn. In 2001, Jim became Chairman of the House Budget Committee. As a leader in Congress, Jim showed he can work with members of both sides of the aisle to get positive things done for America. Jim's name and knowledge command respect on Capitol Hill. And as OMB Director, he will use his expertise about the budget process to ensure that the taxpayers' money is spent with respect and with restraint.

In his new post, Jim will continue the important work carried out by Rob Portman. Over the past two years, Rob has served my administration in two important jobs. As the United States Trade Representative, Rob negotiated several new trade agreements and reenergized the Doha talks at the World Trade Organization.

And as OMB Director, he helped me achieve our goal of cutting the federal deficit in half, and doing it three years ahead of schedule. He's helped me put forward a plan to balance the budget by 2012, by restraining federal spending and keeping our taxes low. He's put Democratic leaders in Congress on notice that I will veto bills with excessive levels of spending. He has led my administration's efforts to curb the use of congressional earmarks and implement reforms that will make the earmark process more transparent.

President George W. Bush and outgoing director of the Office of Management and Budget Rob Portman, left, listen as former Iowa Rep. Jim Nussle addresses the media Tuesday, June 19, 2007 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, thanking President Bush for nominating him to be the next director of the OMB. White House photo by Chris Greenberg I thank Rob for his service and good advice, and, most of all, his friendship. I want to tell his wife, Jane, that after 14 years of commuting to Washington, he's going to be back home in Ohio, especially on the weekends. Rob is a tough act to follow -- but that's why I picked Jim Nussle. He's a man of integrity, a man of vision, a man well-qualified to hold this job. I ask the Senate to act quickly on his nomination. When confirmed, he'll make an outstanding OMB Director.

Congratulations to you. (Applause.)

CONGRESSMAN NUSSLE: Thank you, Mr. President. Well, first, thank you, Mr. President for your kind words, your leadership, and especially for entrusting me with this responsibility. I'm truly humbled, and it is a privilege to stand here with you today and in the coming months. I won't let you down. I won't let you down.

I'd also like to thank Josh Bolten and Rob Portman. Their past work leaves me with very big shoes to fill. Josh, it's going to be great to be able to work with you again. And, Rob, I hope you're going to keep your cell phone handy, because I'm going to need to call you with a lot of questions, I'm sure.

In all seriousness, Rob, I want to thank you for your hard work, your leadership and leaving me with a fantastic team at OMB to help carry on your good work. I wish you and Jane and Jed and Will and Sally all the very best. Today really should be a celebration of your excellent example of public service, and I mean that as sincerely as I can say it.

Mr. President, I look forward to the awesome responsibility you've placed upon me. If I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed, I feel confident that my experiences in Congress and as the House Budget Chair have prepared me well for the challenges that lay ahead. I'm excited to help tackle our nation's priorities and work again with my friends and colleagues in the House and Senate.

I want to say also a few words about my home, Iowa, and also my family and the people who make up that great state. They've given me incredible opportunities throughout my life. My experience, my optimism -- and sometimes humor -- work ethic and success have all come from my family and friends and the people in Iowa, and I want to thank you for the incredible foundation that you've given me. And I'm going to need it in the coming months, I'm sure, your continued prayers and good wishes and friendship.

I want to thank my wife, Karen; my kids, Sarah and Mark; and my family, particularly my mom and dad, who are here today, Lori and Mark Nussle, and my mother-in-law, as the President mentioned, Eva Mae, who are all here today. And I truly wouldn't be standing here without your constant love and support. So thank you for that.

Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity, and I'm ready to get to work. Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Good job.

DIRECTOR PORTMAN: Jim is going to need some of that Iowa humor, so if you could -- (laughter) -- that would be good.

Mr. President, first, thank you very much for your kind words and for the opportunities you've given me, and the honor to be able to serve in your Cabinet, both as the Budget Director and the Trade Negotiator. And congratulations to you, Jim.

This is a great opportunity at OMB to make a big difference. It can also be a tough job sometimes. Although my title was Director of OMB, other titles sometimes came my way -- Dr. No. (Laughter.) Tightwad. (Laughter.) Budget hawk. Penny-pincher. (Laughter.) And some not suitable for a television audience. (Laughter.)

But, actually, I want to sincerely thank my colleagues in the Cabinet. I want to thank the Chief of Staff, Josh Bolten, and my colleagues here at the White House, and also my former colleagues from the Hill, for their friendship, for their support and for the way we were able to work together to be sure we were spending the taxpayers' dollars as well as possible.

Mr. President, your leadership on fiscal matters has resulted in lower taxes, responsible spending and a growing economy. You proposed a balanced budget and others followed suit. You proposed earmark reforms, and Congress is now adopting those goals. You have shown courage by taking on the toughest budgetary challenge there is, and that's the unsustainable growth and important entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.

You've broken new ground in bringing more transparency and accountability to federal spending. I've enjoyed the opportunity to help you shape some of these pro-growth and fiscally responsible policies, and I very much appreciate the confidence you've shown in me to take on some tough challenges.

Some of those challenges go back to my tenure as U.S. Trade Representative, where you set an aggressive agenda to bring down global trade barriers and negotiate trade agreements with allies. We are now opening new markets, and American exports are growing twice as fast as imports. Just as I was proud to represent the United States around the world on trade, I've been very proud to promote your focus on fiscal discipline.

It's difficult to leave such important and meaningful work. But it is now time to go home to Ohio. After 14 years of commuting to Washington, D.C. from Cincinnati every week, it's now time to put my family first. I want to thank my wife, Jane, who is here today, for her love and support and patience. I want to thank my children, Jed, Will and Sally. My family has been very understanding of the intense demands and the unique rewards of public service. In many respects, as the President said when he first nominated me for USTR, they, too, are in public service.

Mr. President, as you know, I felt this was the right time to make a change so that you would have a new director in place as the new budget season begins. And you have made a terrific choice. Jim is a friend and former colleague of mine, as you said, widely respected Chairman of the House Budget Committee. He's a public servant of integrity, knowledge and skill. He knows the budget. He knows the Congress. And he knows how to get things done for the American people.

Thank you again, Mr. President, for the honor of serving you and this great nation.

THE PRESIDENT: Good job. Thank you, all.

END 2:59 P.M. EDT

Profitiers vrs sentimentalists...
Skyscrapers threaten Tower of London

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 22 minutes ago

LONDON - It has withstood assaults from renegade barons, rampaging peasants, and Nazi bombers, but the Tower of London, one of Britain's top tourist attractions, is once again under siege.

This time the peril is from skyscrapers that threaten to ruin the view of the turreted tower, prompting the world's top cultural body to consider adding the 900-year-old fortress to its list of endangered world heritage sites.

Built on the orders of William the Conqueror in the late 11th century, the 90-foot tall stone building long dominated the city's panorama — a symbol of royal authority meant to inspire awe in rebellion-minded Londoners and would-be invaders.

But by the time the tower was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, the city had sprawled past it. Today, hemmed in by a noisy highway and overrun by tourists, the landmark no longer casts quite the same shadow in an area dominated by glass-canopied office buildings and hypermodern skyscrapers like the Norman Foster building known as "The Gherkin."

The World Heritage Committee will hand down its verdict on the tower sometime after its meeting in New Zealand on Saturday. The body says further construction could undermine the tower's profile even further.

The Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity which maintains the building at the southeastern edge of London, says there are eight planned projects that could affect the tower's visual integrity. Among them is the Shard of Glass, which at 1,016 feet would be Britain's tallest skyscraper when completed in 2011.

The Shard might be visible from the tower's courtyard, diluting the sense of isolation visitors feel when they enter the fortress, said John Barnes, conservation and learning director for the Historic Royal Palaces.

But some argue the juxtaposition of old and new enhances the tower's mystique.

"In a way (the skyscrapers) add symbolically to what the buildings were about," said Alex Bux, a senior adviser to the mayor of London. "The tower was always a fortress on the edge of London — the capital city — and was always in tension with London as the capital city."

New buildings help give London fresh appeal, said Tom Hall, travel editor for Lonely Planet Publications.

"I think lots of people assume that visitors to London only want to see the old, (that) they only want to come look at the Tower of London or visit Madame Tussauds, and I don't actually think that is the case," he said. "One of the things that keeps people coming back to London is that it is a city constantly reinventing itself."

Although being listed as an endangered heritage site will not directly halt nearby construction projects, citing the Tower would be a "huge embarrassment" for the British government, according to Barnes. Other sites listed as being in danger include Everglades National Park in Florida, the Iranian city of Bam and the Katmandu Valley in Nepal.

Barnes said the Historic Royal Palaces was working to address UNESCO's concerns, and Britain's Department of Culture Media and Sport has also submitted a report to UNESCO detailing efforts made to protect the fortress's skyline.

Whatever UNESCO's decision, construction is unlikely to deter the approximately 2 million people who tour the tower each year.

"People want to still come and see it," Mike Rutter, a social studies teacher from Dallas, said at the tower, "even if they have to go through a maze of buildings to get there."

___

On the Net:

Tower of London web site: http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/tower_home.asp

UNESCO World Heritage: http://whc.unesco.org

Shard London Bridge: http://www.shardlondonbridge.com

Clinton campaign video...
Clinton spoofs Sopranos to unveil campaign song

By Jeremy Pelofsky Tue Jun 19, 8:18 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton spoofed the final episode of the hit series "The Sopranos" in a video telling supporters the winning anthem for her 2008 U.S. presidential campaign was Celine Dion's "You and I."

Canadian Dion's song had been a write-in idea but received the most votes out of the more than 200,000 cast, beating out "I'm a Believer" by Smash Mouth, "Beautiful Day" by Irish rockers U2 and Canadian Shania Twain's "Rock This Country!" among others.

In a scene reminiscent of the HBO television show's unresolved ending, the candidate's video shows her sitting in a diner as her husband, former President Bill Clinton, joins her and the song "Don't Stop Believin"' by the rock band Journey plays from a jukebox.

Actor Vince Curatola, who played a mob boss named Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni on "The Sopranos," makes a cameo appearance, too, glaring menacingly at the couple as he walks past them in the restaurant near the Clinton home in Chappaqua, New York.

"So what's the winning song?" Bill asks.

"You'll see," the New York senator responds.

"My money is on 'Smash Mouth,' everybody in America wants to know how it's gonna end," he says.

The candidate puts a coin in the music player on the table and says, "Ready?"

But instead of the Dion song belting out of the machine, the video released on Tuesday cuts to a black screen -- like the Sopranos. It then lists a page on her Web site (www.hillaryclinton.com/song) to reveal the song and make a fund-raising pitch.

Some fans were unhappy with the last Sopranos episode because the final scene cut to a black screen, leaving viewers uncertain as to whether the TV mobster had been rubbed out in a diner as his family gathers for a meal.

"It shows a little bit of humor," said Carol Darr, director for the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University.

"I don't think it's going to get the play of 'Obama Girl,"' Darr said, referring to the "I've got a crush ... on Obama" song that swoons for Clinton's rival, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, and has received more than 1 million views on YouTube.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles)

Change name Viet-Nam to Iraq...additional pages available on FP site...
By Shawn Brimley, Kurt Campbell

Page 1 of 4
July/August 2007
What happens when you take a 40-year-old CIA memo on losing a war and replace the word “Vietnam” with the word “Iraq”? The result is a set of conclusions that are just as true today.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3866

MEMORANDUM:
TO: CIA Director Gen. Michael V. Hayden
FROM: Kurt Campbell and Shawn Brimley
RE: The Consequences of Losing in Iraq

American policymakers and intelligence analysts are currently struggling to consider the potential repercussions of failure in Iraq. Forty years ago, an earlier generation of U.S. policymakers were thinking about the implications of defeat in another conflict—Vietnam.

During the summer of 1967, then CIA Director Richard Helms asked for a quiet review of the global political and strategic consequences of an American failure in Vietnam. The result was a classified memorandum circulated on Sept. 11, 1967, “Implications of an Unfavorable Outcome in Vietnam,” which detailed a lengthy list of potential dark outcomes and worrisome prospects.

Excerpts from this document—with only minor edits—offer eerie parallels to the very different set of circumstances the United States faces today in Iraq. In considering the Iraq war’s endgame, the U.S. government would be wise to review its own notes.
Next >>
Photo: AFP

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June 18, '07...watch the money, not the popularity!
Clinton leads Obama by double digits in new poll

Mon Jun 18, 10:48 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton has moved to a double-digit lead over her closest Democratic presidential rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), according to a USAToday/Gallup poll released on Monday.

Among Republicans, the new poll showed former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson in second place behind former New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and slightly ahead of third-place Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record).

Polling data showed Clinton leading Obama 39 percent to 26 percent in a Democratic primary race that does not include former Vice President
Al Gore. With Gore in the match-up, Clinton leads Obama 33 percent to 21 percent.

An earlier USAToday/Gallup survey conducted June 1-3 had put Obama 1 percentage point ahead of Clinton, at 30 percent to 29 percent.

Gore, who lost the 2000 election to
President George W. Bush, has neither entered the race nor ruled out running.

Meanwhile, Thompson, who has not formally entered the Republican primary race, was at 19 percent, up 8 percentage points from the earlier poll. Giuliani's front-runner position was down 4 percentage points from last time to 28 percent, while McCain stood at 18 percent, down 1 percentage point.

The survey of 909 Democrats, Republicans and independents was conducted Monday to Thursday and has a 5 percentage point margin of error.

Why are there no Wanted Posters up on George?
Iraq now ranked second among world's failed states

By David Morgan Mon Jun 18, 10:10 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
Iraq has emerged as the world's second most unstable country, behind Sudan, more than four years after
President George W. Bush ordered the U.S. invasion to topple
Saddam Hussein, according to a survey released on Monday.

The 2007 Failed States Index, produced by Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace, said Iraq suffered a third straight year of deterioration in 2006 with diminished results across a range of social, economic, political and military indicators. Iraq ranked fourth last year.

Afghanistan, another war-torn country where U.S. and
NATO forces are battling a Taliban insurgency nearly six years after a U.S.-led invasion, was in eighth place.

"Iraq and Afghanistan, the two main fronts in the global war on terror, both suffered over the past year," a report that accompanied the figures said.

"Their experiences show that billions of dollars in development and security aid may be futile unless accompanied by a functioning government, trustworthy leaders, and realistic plans to keep the peace and develop the economy."

The index said Sudan, the world's worst failed state, appears to be dragging down its neighbors Central African Republic and Chad, with violence in the Darfur region responsible for at least 200,000 deaths and the displacement of 2 million to 3 million.

The authors of the index said one of the leading benchmarks for failed state status is the loss of physical control of territory or a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

Other attributes include the erosion of legitimate authority, an inability to provide reasonable public services and the inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

Foreign Policy magazine is published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank. The Fund for Peace is an independent research group devoted to preventing and resolving conflicts.

"Mo-Mo's" don't meet "Evangelical" muster!
Evangelicals uneasy with Romney's faith
The candidate's Mormonism worries a key GOP voting bloc.
By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer
June 16, 2007


'Am I concerned about his faith? Yes. But would it stop me from voting for him? No.'
— — Tim Fowler, Pastor

'Why am I not cleared to go into your church? What is there to hide? I won't vote for Romney.'
— — Patrick Garren Business owner
Mitt Romney

Poll
Honestly now, will a candidate's religion be a major factor in your presidential vote?
No
Yes

Related Stories
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- Romney assets estimated at least $190 million
- Romney sharply responds to Sharpton comments on his belief in God
- Romney, stressing leadership, also faces religion issue
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ROCK HILL, S.C. — Here's the problem with electing a Mormon president, as Jason Thurman sees it: "I don't believe he would be guided by God."

Thurman, 26, is tidying the annotated Bibles in the Shepherd's Fold bookstore. Over by the rack of Christian CDs, his co-worker Marty Thomas raises a similar concern.

"When it comes right down to it," says Thomas, 40, "a Mormon's strength is human. A Christian person's strength is superhuman. I want [a president] who has that extra on his side."

In his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — a lifelong Mormon — has often reminded voters that he's running for commander in chief, not pastor in chief. What's important, Romney says, is that he has strong faith; the details are irrelevant.

But a sharp concern about the Mormon Church shows up in poll after national poll. About one in three voters would be less likely to support a Mormon candidate. The faith draws among the most unfavorable ratings of any religion. Doubts run especially deep among evangelicals, who may account for as many as half the votes cast in Republican primaries in the South.

Some evangelicals can articulate specific Mormon beliefs that disturb them — for instance, the teaching that only married couples can achieve the most exalted realms of heaven.

Many others want to give Romney a chance; they like his conservative politics. Yet they feel uneasy about turning over the country to a man who has a radically different — and in their view, heretical — understanding of God.

This is not an arcane theological dispute; to some born-again Christians, it's at the very core of presidential leadership. If Romney does not understand what they take to be God's true nature, can he still receive divine guidance? If he doesn't accept the Trinity as they conceptualize it, can he still be filled with the strength of the Holy Spirit?

Some evangelicals answer "yes" to such questions: "Just because he's Mormon doesn't mean God can't bless the country through him," says Carissa James, 36, a pastor's wife in this suburban community of 50,000.

But in the back room of Shepherd's Fold Books, owner Thomas L. Wilson Jr. is not so sure. Dapper in a crisp bow tie, Wilson, 82, expresses "a lot of reservations" about a Mormon president. His concerns are not about Romney's policies or his character. They're far more fundamental: "I wonder who he figures his savior is."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 13 million members worldwide, including nearly 5.8 million in the United States. Its roots stretch to 1820, when a teenager named Joseph Smith knelt in the woods of upstate New York. A pillar of light suddenly appeared above his head, Smith later wrote. Two figures descended: God and Jesus.

They told the boy to join no religion, for all were false, and to await word of the truth.

Over the next seven years, Smith said, he was visited by an angel named Moroni, son of Mormon, who guided him to buried gold plates inscribed in a mysterious language. Moroni gave Smith "seer stones" to translate the text, which told of Christ appearing in the Americas a few months after his resurrection.

Smith published his translation in 1830. Members of his church consider the Book of Mormon a holy text, a revelation from God, on par with the Bible. That alone is heretical to Christians of most denominations.

Smith laid out other novel theologies as well: Mormons hold that God is made of flesh and bone. He's all-powerful and all-knowing, but not mysterious; he has a physical body just like man's, and he's even married to a Heavenly Mother. And man can become God-like after death, a concept called ultimate deification.

Mormons also believe God communicates with modern prophets — such as the president of their church. In 1978, for instance, the Mormon president announced God had directed him to open the church to full participation by blacks, though the Book of Mormon describes dark skin as a divine mark of disfavor. Mormons fully accept the New Testament account of Christ's life and resurrection, which in their view makes them Christian. But they don't accept the doctrine of the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Ghost as one entity. Instead, they view God and Jesus as separate beings, both of flesh and blood. Given these beliefs, traditional Christians tend to view Mormonism as a cult. That perception is reinforced by the church's secrecy, which officials say is necessary to protect their sacred ceremonies.

Outsiders cannot enter a Mormon temple after it's been dedicated. Even practicing Latter-day Saints must have a recommendation from their bishop to attend temple weddings and other rituals.

(In the most controversial of those rites, known as baptism by proxy, Mormons scour historical records for names, then induct the dead — by the millions — into the faith, to give them a chance at salvation.)

This secrecy disturbs Patrick Garren, 38, a business owner here who belongs to a laid-back evangelical church favored by the Harley crowd.

"Why am I not cleared to go into your church? What is there to hide?" Garren says.



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Any legitimate connection with Roy Cuthbert, also of contemporary Spring Green, is welcome!

AP
Group seeks to restore 1916 Wright home

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 16, 10:25 PM ET

MILWAUKEE - Pieces of architectural history sit on Milwaukee's south side — a row of four duplexes and two cottages designed by Frank Lloyd Wright more than 90 years ago for low-to-moderate-income families.

But years of extreme makeovers, including aluminum siding added to one house, rendered some of them shells of their former designs. Now a nonprofit group wants to restore the Frank Lloyd Wright charm to one of the single-family homes — right down to the crushed quartz stone-infused stucco on the exterior.

Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin has bought one of the single-family houses and a duplex, and plans to start restoring an 850-square-foot, two-bedroom home to its 1916 condition, possibly as early as fall.

The group hopes to make it a museum, inspire others to renovate the four remaining structures and motivate architects to design housing for the disadvantaged.

Wright historian Jack Holzhueter said the houses, known as the American System-Built Homes, are the best example of the beloved architect's lifelong pursuit of providing affordable housing for low-income residents.

"It's early relatively in his career, 1916," he said. "It's a very large group of buildings. No other cluster of Wright buildings begins to resemble this one, in proximity, density, etceteras."

Wright, who was born in Richland Center, Wis., and died in 1959 at the age of 92 in Arizona, is known for his sprawling, earth-hugging homes in the countryside, but he took a special interest in creating low-cost shelter in urban settings. He believed all economic classes were entitled to good architecture.

Wright produced more than 900 drawings of various designs. To reduce costs, factory-cut materials were assembled onsite, said Mike Lilek, the group's treasurer.

Developer Arthur Richards built the compact, geometric homes — five of the six have flat roofs — in 1915 and 1916. They sold originally for $3,500 to $4,500. Eight others have been identified around the Midwest. Wright and Richards recruited builders from around the Midwest for the American System project through 1917, but the effort was largely abandoned because of World War I and Wright's other endeavors, Lilek said.

Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin bought the single-family home in 2004 for $130,000 from an owner who lived there for about 40 years and a duplex for $142,000 in 2005.

The group hopes its efforts serve as a catalyst for the entire block's restoration, said Denise Hice, the group's president. Members also want to create educational programs.

"We feel that it's important that we restore them as well and open them again leading into the educational component to maybe have people design homes today just like Wright did almost 100 years ago," Hice said.

Lilek expects work on the house to take more than a year.

They have so far raised $298,500 toward the $379,369 needed, Lilek said.

The home is in relatively good shape. One of the first tasks will be to remove an unoriginal enclosed porch, which surrounds full-length windows inside. The group wants to replace the 3/4-inch layer of stucco outside with an original 1/4-layer with crushed quartz stone. It will recondition the roof with modern materials and rebuild an enclosed rear stairwell.

Other repairs include updating electrical, removing varnish on woodwork, stripping the hardwood floors and restoring the wooden kitchen counter.

The Historic Preservation Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, helped research the house's original condition, Lilek said. Its work, along with that of Italian conservator Nikolas Vakalis, can be seen in swatches of color on the walls that show the original paint.

Vakalis had 17 samples of finishes, plaster, stucco and paint analyzed by a lab to determine the composition so they could be replicated. They will try to restore as much as they can, but not if it won't hold up, Lilek said.

Eventually, they will also have furniture made, based on Wright's drawings. Wright saved space by adding a folding door to the kitchen, a built-in kitchen table and chairs and built-in closets, which are all still there.

Caretaker William Krueger said despite the square footage, the house is spacious. He earned his master's degree in architecture last year and gets a small stipend to live in the house and give tours.

"I have no problems entertaining up to 30 guests in this house," he said. "It's so small and yet things are interlocked or overlapping each other."

Hice said they have charged $2 for tours once a month for about a year and plan to give tours during restoration.

The group eventually wants to refurbish the exterior of the duplex, which is now a rental property. But what will be done, if anything, to the remodeled interior has not been decided, Lilek said.

Their intent isn't to make each house into a museum. "We're going to try and turn these back to owner-occupied buildings," he said. "I don't know if me or you would move into a building in its 1916 condition."

Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin bought the two houses because no one else was making a major effort to preserve them, Hice said, except for the Arena family.

Jillayne and Dave Arena bought one of the duplexes 25 years ago. They put hundreds of thousands of dollars into making it a one-family home, after it had been a rental property, Jillayne Arena said.

They removed paneling, restored the original hardwood floors, added stucco on the exterior, created 80 leaded glass windows and attached trellises to the front.

She said living in Wright's design has taught her to approach problems differently.

"I think when you live in a house like this you ... understand that the conventional view, the conventional wisdom is not always what should be," she said. "So you kind of end up thinking and being perhaps a bit eccentric."

Holzhueter, the historian, said Wright wanted to bring beauty into everyone's home.

"Beauty was the goal — to live in harmony with your surroundings, to have a more beautifully proportioned and designed house for very little money," he said, "and that would bring you into a state of greater appreciation for the world around you and for your own potential."

Elvira, Elvira, Elvira...?
"Elvira" turns up at Fox Reality

By Kimberly Nordyke Thu Jun 14, 11:19 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox Reality has given the green light to "The Search for the Next Elvira," in which the Mistress of the Dark -- portrayed by Cassandra Peterson -- will seek "a surrogate handmaiden with whom to share her personal appearance duties."

The series will feature 13 contestants -- culled from an open "casket call" taking place July 13 at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif. -- competing to see whether they can look the part and present the same persona as the Elvira character. Three hourlong episodes will air starting at 9 p.m. October 13. After the second episode October 20, viewers can vote for the winner, who will be announced during the live finale on Halloween.

"We receive hundreds of Elvira appearance requests every year," said Peterson's manager, Eric Gardner. "We began dreaming of a world in which there would eventually be legions of franchised Elviras, including one in every shopping-mall atrium in the country each Halloween season. Fox Reality has given us the opportunity to anoint the first recruit."

Added Elvira: "There are simply too many ghastly engagements for one Mistress of the Dark to entertain. I am searching for someone to share my tricks with -- someone to help spread the Halloween spirit."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Soaps and Children; Hoorah!
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres sweeps daytime Emmy awards

By Arthur Spiegelman Sat Jun 16, 11:57 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian
Ellen DeGeneres dominated the 34th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, winning awards for best talk show and best host for the fourth consecutive year. But she said the combative Rosie O'Donnell should have been honored in her stead.

Meanwhile, the Daytime Emmy for best dramatic series -- also known as soap operas -- ended in a tie for the first time, lending a note of unexpected drama to the evening.

The 70-year-old CBS show "Guiding Light," the oldest continual dramatic series on American television, shared the spotlight with "The Young and the Restless."

It was only the third time "Guiding Light" has won the top soap opera award despite its longevity. It was the seventh time "The Young and the Restless" has won.

When she won the award for best talk show host, beating O'Donnell and the other co-hosts of "The View," DeGeneres said the prize really belonged to O'Donnell, whose outspokenness shook up the program before she left this spring after a fight with a co-host and a failure to reach a new contract.

"I liked what she did. This was the year she should have won. I wanted to acknowledge Rosie because she has done a lot. ... I don't know who should replace her but I don't think it should be
Paris Hilton. That would not work," she said.

Bob Barker, who recently retired after 50 years as host of "The Price is Right," was named best game show host and said afterward the producers of the program were talking to O'Donnell as his replacement, though he did not think that would happen. He, too, declared himself a fan of O'Donnell, who did not attend the show.

Maura West of "As the World Turns" was named best dramatic actress and Christian Jules LeBlanc of "The Young and the Restless" was named best actor.

Genie Francis, whose character on "General Hospital" was written out in 2002 in traditional soap opera style -- by having her fall into a coma -- won best supporting actress for her triumphant four-week return.

"I have waited 31 years for this moment," Francis, who plays Laura Spencer said in reference to her many years on the show, which started when she was a 14-year-old.

Rick Hearst, who plays D.A. Ric Lansing on "General Hospital, was named best supporting actor, winning his second Daytime Emmy.

Kevin Clash, who plays Elmo on "Sesame Street," tied for best performer in a children's series with Carroll Spinney, who plays Oscar the Grouch on the show.

So, whose game is being played here, supporting a military dictator and who is winning?
U.S. backs, praises Pakistan's Musharraf

By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 16, 3:17 PM ET

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A senior U.S. envoy gave strong backing to the government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, but balanced it with a call for more democracy amid growing opposition to his eight-year rule.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was visiting as Musharraf faces street protests for suspending the country's chief justice and as U.S. lawmakers question American backing for a military leader reluctant to yield power to civilians.

After talks with Musharraf and other senior officials, Negroponte praised Pakistan's front-line role in fighting terrorism, in which it has captured scores of al-Qaida suspects and lost hundreds of soldiers battling militants.

The message he delivered "is one of strong friendship and trust for and with the government and the people of Pakistan. We believe we have an excellent partnership," Negroponte told reporters.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, has said he will ask lawmakers in the fall to award him a new five-year presidential term, and has yet to say whether he will keep his uniform.

Opposition leaders say his plans will breach the constitution and accuse him of trying to remove Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry in order to ensure that the Supreme Court rejects legal challenges to his continued rule.

More than 20,000 protesters were out Saturday cheering Chaudhry. Thousands have joined street protests against Musharraf since March 9, when he ousted the chief justice for alleged misconduct.

Washington has been steadfast in its public support for Musharraf, making clear that the global fight against al-Qaida and the war in neighboring
Afghanistan take priority.

That backing is critical to the general's chances of surviving upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections as the judicial crisis saps his domestic popularity. Pakistan's president is chosen by lawmakers, rather than in a direct vote.

Negroponte, who was joined in his talks by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, said he had discussed with Musharraf "the importance of Pakistan's continued progress toward democracy."

Parliamentary elections expected at about the end of the year should be "fair, free and transparent," he said.

However, he said it was up to Musharraf alone to answer the question dominating Pakistan's domestic politics of whether he should quit as army chief — the main source of his power — if he remains president.

Adm. William Fallon, commander of the U.S. Central Command, met separately Saturday with the Pakistani president.

A presidential aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Musharraf had told his visitors about efforts to seal the Afghan border, where Pakistan says it has deployed 90,000 troops.

In January, Negroponte told Congress that Pakistan had to do more to address the "sanctuary" that Taliban fighters enjoy in Pakistan before security can improve in Afghanistan.

On Friday, Negroponte insisted those remarks, made when he was director of national intelligence, were couched with appreciation for Pakistan's cooperation and sacrifices.

He declined to reassess of the situation in Pakistan's tribal regions, where the Taliban are believed to draw support and which are considered a possible hiding place for al-Qaida chief
Osama bin Laden.

____

Associated Press Writer Munir Ahmad in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Market manipulation, just old fashion genocide, or do observers simply have it all wrong?
Tainted foods are daily problem in Asia

By MARGIE MASON, AP Medical Writer 1 hour, 53 minutes ago

HANOI, Vietnam - As Nguyen Van Ninh needles his chopsticks through a steaming bowl of Vietnam's famous noodle soup, he knows it could be spiked with formaldehyde. But the thought of slurping up the same chemical used to preserve corpses isn't enough to deter him.

"I think if we don't see those chemicals being put in the food with our own eyes, then we can just smack our lips and pretend that there are no chemicals in the food," he said, devouring a 30-cent bowl of "pho" on a busy Hanoi sidewalk. "Why worry about it?"

While the discovery of tainted imports from China has shocked Westerners, food safety has long been a problem in much of Asia, where enforcement is lax and food poisoning deaths are not unusual. Hot weather, lack of refrigeration and demand for cheap street food drives vendors and producers to find inexpensive — and often dangerous — ways to preserve their products.

What's exported, for the most part, is the good stuff. Companies know they must meet certain standards if they want to make money. But in the domestic market, substandard items and adulterated foods abound, including items rejected for export.

Formaldehyde, for instance, has long been used to lengthen the shelf life of rice noodles and tofu in some Asian countries, even though it can cause liver, nerve and kidney damage. The chemical, often used in embalming, was found a few years ago in seven of 10 pho noodle factories in Hanoi.

Borax, found in everything from detergent to Fiberglas, is also commonly used to preserve fish and meats in Indonesia and elsewhere. Farmers in various countries often spray produce with banned pesticides, such as DDT.

"The people who do this want to make money. And if they're stupid and greedy, this is a bad combination," said Gerald Moy, a food safety expert at the
World Health Organization in Geneva. "It's the wild West."

The quality of Asian food has come under harsh scrutiny after toxic substances were discovered in several Chinese exports.

Wheat gluten tainted with the industrial chemical melamine has been blamed for killing or sickening thousands of dogs and cats in North America. Fish containing pufferfish toxins, drug-laced frozen eel and juice spiked with harmful dyes were among other unsafe products shipped to the U.S.

Diethylene glycol, a sweet-tasting thickening agent also used in antifreeze, has been blamed for the deaths of at least 51 people in Panama after the chemical was imported from China and mixed into cough syrup and other medicines. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration has halted all shipments of Chinese toothpaste to test for the same chemical reportedly found in tubes sold in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

The problems in Asia are not limited to China. Ice cream and sweets made with the same industrial dyes used for coloring garments have been found outside schools, and farmers have been caught dipping fruits in herbicide, to add shine, a day before going to market.

In India, pesticides often taint groundwater and produce. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been dueling with a New Delhi environmental group, which alleged it found unacceptable levels of pesticides in soft drinks.

Street food is another problem. Millions grab everything from chicken kebabs to rice porridge from unregulated food stalls where hygiene is often poor. Unsafe preservatives are sometimes added, and vendors typically use the cheapest oils and ingredients.

But the food is hot, cheap and tasty — a combination that often overrides safety concerns in countries where many still live on $2 a day.

"Asking for food quality would be a luxury," said Alex Hillebrand, chemical and food safety adviser at WHO's regional office in New Delhi. "They're hungry people."

Some countries, such as Thailand, are trying to improve domestic food safety. In bustling Bangkok, where pots bubble and woks sizzle at makeshift kitchens pitched on sidewalks, markets are issued test kits that can detect up to 22 contaminants.

No one knows the extent of chemical-laced food in Asia or how it will affect public health.

"It might be that you consume it today, but you don't see any effects for 10 years," said Peter Sousa Hoejskov, a food quality and safety officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Thailand. "Some foods have issues that are developing over a long, long time and others you have an immediate reaction."

China has faced outrage among its own citizens in recent years. Whiskey laced with methanol, a toxic wood alcohol, was blamed for killing at least 11 people in southern Guangzhou. Local media in Shanghai uncovered the sale of phony tofu made from gypsum, paint and starch.

At least a dozen Chinese babies died and more than 200 were sickened with symptoms associated with malnutrition after drinking infant formula made of sugar and starch with few nutrients. In another case, lard for human consumption was made with hog slop, sewage, pesticides and recycled industrial oil.

Some Vietnamese have been so shaken by news of tainted Chinese foods, they are changing their eating habits. They are avoiding Chinese-made products and paying more — up to $2 a bowl — for pho at an air-conditioned chain restaurant with signs promising no formaldehyde or borax.

"I am very, very worried about it," said Duong Thuy Quynh, 31, who was eating beef pho because she was also worried about bird flu in chicken. "I'm ready to pay more to protect myself and my family."

___

Associated Press writers Irwan Firdaus in Jakarta, Indonesia; Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, India; Anita Chang in Beijing; and Vu Tien Hong in Hanoi, Vietnam, contributed to this report.

Dishonest efforts to discredit honest truth never cease!
Moore says he didn't interview GM head

By JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago

BELLAIRE, Mich. - Filmmaker
Michael Moore gave people in the rural county where he lives an early look at his new film "Sicko" on Saturday, and had some harsh words for critics of the documentary that launched his career.

"Manufacturing Dissent," a film that accuses Moore of dishonesty in the making of his politically charged documentaries, alleges that he interviewed then-General Motors Corp. Chairman Roger Smith, the elusive subject of Moore's 1989 debut "Roger & Me," but left the footage on the cutting room floor.

"Anybody who says that is a (expletive) liar," Moore told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday after a showing of "Sicko," his take on U.S. medicine, in the northern Michigan village of Bellaire.

Moore, who said he hadn't seen "Manufacturing Dissent," acknowledged having had "a good five minutes of back-and forth" with Smith about a company tax abatement at a 1987 shareholders' meeting, as reported by Premiere magazine in 1990. But that was before he began working on "Roger & Me" and had nothing to do with the film, Moore said.

A clip of the meeting appears in "Manufacturing Dissent," released in March. Filmmakers Rick Caine and Debbie Melnyk also interviewed an activist who said he saw Moore interview Smith in 1988 in New York.

Caine and Melnyk say that undercuts the central theme of "Roger & Me" — Moore's fruitless effort to interview Smith about the effects of GM plant closings in Flint, Moore's hometown. Moore, however, said the film wasn't primarily about interviewing Smith, but getting him to observe the economic devastation in Flint.

"If I'd gotten an interview with him, why wouldn't I put it in the film?" Moore said. "Any exchange with Roger Smith would have been valuable." And GM surely would have publicized any interview in response to the movie, he said.

"I'm so used to listening to the stuff people say about me, it just becomes entertainment for me at this point," Moore said. "It's a fictional character that's been created with the name of Michael Moore."

"Sicko" opens Monday in New York and two nights later in Washington before hitting screens nationwide June 29, but Moore gave Bellaire, a tourist village about 250 miles north of Detroit, a sneak peek as a fundraiser for the Democratic Party in rural Antrim County, where he lives. His wife and the film's executive producer, Kathleen Glynn, is the local party's vice chairwoman.

About 880 people paid $40 per ticket to watch the sardonic and sometimes heart-rending indictment of American health care. For an additional $60, they could attend a party with Moore at a restaurant across the street, where he autographed film posters, surgical gloves and even bandages.

The film chronicles the struggles of ordinary Americans — some with insurance coverage, others without — to navigate the health bureaucracy. Portraying insurance companies and supportive politicians in both parties as the villains, Moore contrasts the U.S. system with those of Canada, France and Great Britain, which have government-run programs.

He ends up accompanying a group of rescue workers who became ill after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to Cuba, where the film describes them as getting better care and cheaper drugs than at home.

The gloomy tone struck a chord with many who attended.

"I feel like Michael Moore's a digger for truth," said Carole Chirgwin of Traverse City.

The IQ of Granite, unleashed upon The World in revenge for 9/11.
TSA video counters 'sippy cup' claim

2 hours, 47 minutes ago

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Transportation Security Administration is denying allegations that an airport screener seized a toddler's sippy cup and mistreated his mother, taking the unusual step of posting security camera footage on its Web site.

The
TSA said in a statement that the incident and the videotape demonstrate that its "officers display professionalism and concern for all passengers."

At issue is whether Monica Emmerson, a former
Secret Service officer, was improperly detained June 11 after she spilled water out of her child's sippy cup at Washington's Reagan National Airport.

TSA has banned most fluids at airport security checkpoints for nearly a year because of concern about possible liquid explosives.

"I was distraught. I opened my son's sippy cup. I twisted off the top. I wanted to drink the water. It spilled out," Emmerson said Saturday.

Emmerson said an officer threatened to arrest her after the water spilled, telling her she was "endangering the public." She said there was no place to dump the water near the security area, and that she was worried when her son started wandering away from her.

The story quickly spread on the Internet this week after blogger Bill Adler, a Washington author, saw a note Emmerson wrote on a Web site for city parents. Adler interviewed Emmerson and relayed her account.

He wrote that a TSA screener seized her 19-month-old's cup after asking if there was water in it, causing Emmerson's son to cry. Emmerson was told she would have to leave the security checkpoint and dump out the water if she wanted to keep the cup.

Emmerson said she accidentally spilled the water because she was nervous and traveling alone with a toddler.

TSA, however, said Emmerson dumped, not spilled, the water on the floor.

A TSA report said Emmerson told an officer that she was a Secret Service agent, flashed her credentials and said she was exempt from the "stupid" policy restricting liquids on planes.

But Emmerson denied that she flashed her badge, saying the video footage shows her digging in her luggage for identification.

"That's a gross lie," she said.

The video that TSA posted on its Web site Friday shows Emmerson being escorted from the security checkpoint as she appears to take the top off the sippy cup and shake it upside down.

It shows that after she was confronted by several officers, she used paper towels fetched by the TSA to clean up the spot as other passengers stream by her.

"The allegation here that we were out of control is absolutely false," said Earl Morris, deputy assistant administrator for security operations with the TSA. "If you look at the report and the video itself, it shows she's the only one who was out of control."

___

On the Net:

TSA Video: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/mythbusters/index.shtm

Less and less and less relevant as the centuries move ever on...and onward...
Pope hopeful on Catholic-Orthodox unity

By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 16, 6:09 PM ET

VATICAN CITY -
Pope Benedict XVI told a visiting Cypriot Orthodox leader Saturday that he holds hope that the Catholic and Orthodox churches can be united, despite centuries of painful division.

The churchmen also explored how the two sides could work together on social, moral and bioethical issues, including same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus has offered to play the role of mediator to try to arrange a groundbreaking meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch of Moscow, Alexy II. That encounter eluded the late John Paul II in his long papacy because of Catholic-Orthodox tensions following the demise of Soviet communism.

In a speech to the archbishop after their private session, Benedict said he held "firm hope" of uniting the two churches.

Despite "centuries-old divisions, diverging roads and despite the hard work of closing painful wounds, the Lord has never ceased to guide our steps on the path toward unity and reconciliation," Benedict said.

Chrysostomos told reporters that the chief problem was a lack of communication between the pope and the patriarch. He said he will pursue his offer to help organize a possible meeting when he meets with Alexy in Moscow next month.

The archbishop has contended that Benedict's background as a theologian with a good grasp of Orthodox theology would help the process of reuniting the two churches, which split nearly 1,000 years ago.

He said he left the meeting "with much optimism."

The Russian church accuses Roman Catholics of improperly seeking converts in areas that traditionally would be Russian Orthodox. The
Vatican has rejected the allegations, saying it is only ministering to Russia's tiny Catholic community of about 600,000 people in a country of 144 million.

In a joint statement, both leaders pledged to "intensify the search for full unity among all Christians."

The Vatican sees the Orthodox church as a logical partner in its efforts to push its conservative agenda on bioethical, social and moral issues, including opposition to embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage.

Benedict and Chrysostomos signed a joint statement indicating such collaboration was desired.

They expressed "serious worry" about bioethical issues, saying: "There is in fact the risk that certain techniques applied to genetics ... will end up harming the dignity of man."

The statement also expressed concern that humankind, by "putting itself at the center of the universe," endangers the environment.