By Brian Skoloff, Associated Press Writer – Wed Oct 28, 8:35 am ET

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former cashier for The Home Depot who has been wearing a "One nation under God" button on his work apron for more than a year has been fired, he says because of the religious reference. The company claims that expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.

"I've worn it for well over a year and I support my country and God," Trevor Keezor said Tuesday. "I was just doing what I think every American should do, just love my country." The American flag button Keezer wore in the Florida store since March 2008 says "One nation under God, indivisible."

<snip>

A Home Depot spokesman said Keezer was fired because he violated the company's dress code. "This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button," Craig Fishel said. "That's not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons." Fishel said Keezer was offered a company-approved pin that said, "United We Stand," but he declined.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_god_button_h...

Just as France presented the Statue of Liberty as its gift to the
nation, the citizens of San Francisco may now bestow their own
special gift to the country by renaming our award winning waste
water treatment plant in honor of outgoing President George W
Bush. We think this is a fitting memorial for a truly outstanding
Commander-in-Chief. On matters ranging from diplomacy to fiscal
and environmental stewardship, no other President has had
such a dramatic impact on the country and the Constitution in
such a short time. Most presidents wait years or decades to receive
their memorial airport or highway. We think President Bush
deserves immediate recognition for his eight years of public service.

<snip>

Fellow San Franciscans, we urge you to vote Oui! On November
4th.

Brian McConnell
Chairman, Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco

<snip> Campaigning on her own, the Alaska governor also said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "wants to raise income taxes and raise payroll taxes and raise investment income taxes and raise business taxes and raise the death tax."

"But John McCain and I know that's not the way you grow the economy," she added.

In fact, independent groups such as the Tax Policy Center have concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama's proposals.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080915/ap_on_...

Dr. Coburn is threatened with censure

Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) office hit back Monday at new attempts to prevent him from delivering babies for free, arguing the Ethics panel might as well investigate Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) cameo in “The Dark Knight.”

Because of potential conflicts of interest, Senate rules prohibit members from receiving compensation for practicing a profession that involves a “fiduciary” relationship. Coburn’s work as an obstetrician has been a subject of interest for ethics panels in the Senate and the House when he was a representative.

Coburn spokesman John Hart asked. “Will millions of Americans now see Batman not because it features stars like Christian Bale or the late Heath Ledger, but because Patrick Leahy, a distinguished United States senator, has offered his illustrious endorsement to this motion picture?"

Leahy spokesman David Carle pointed out that his boss gives any proceeds he receives from movie appearances to the Kellogg-Hubbard children’s wing of the Montpelier Public Library. Leahy received $2,000 for his appearance in “The Dark Knight,” all of which was given to the children’s fund, Carle said.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dr.-co...

Schmidt takes control of day-to-day operation
Jonathan Martin
Wed Jul 2, 11:33 AM ET

Steve Schmidt is taking over the day-to-day operation of John McCain’s campaign, according to multiple campaign sources.

At a staff meeting in the campaign's Arlington, Va., headquarters this morning, campaign manager Rick Davis made the announcement about Schmidt's new role.

<snip>

Now, accounts diverge on the exact nature of the new chain of command. One top McCain source said that Schmidt "assumed full operational control of the campaign today" and described Davis as "a general manager."

But Charlie Black, another top adviser, said Davis was still in charge.

"(Schmidt) is going to function under (Davis) as a chief operating officer," Black said. "(Davis) still has authority over all things. (Schmidt) works for (Davis)."



http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080702/...

This Recession, It's Just Beginning
By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, June 27, 2008; Page D01

So much for that second-half rebound. Truth be told, that was always more of a wish than a serious forecast, happy talk from the Fed and Wall Street desperate to get things back to normal.

It ain't gonna happen. Not this summer. Not this fall. Not even next winter.

This thing's going down, fast and hard. Corporate bankruptcies, bond defaults, bank failures, hedge fund meltdowns and 6 percent unemployment. We're caught in one of those vicious, downward spirals that, once it gets going, is very hard to pull out of.

Only this will be a different kind of recession -- a recession with an overlay of inflation. That combo puts the Federal Reserve in a Catch-22 -- whatever it does to solve one problem only makes the other worse. Emerging from a two-day meeting this week, Fed officials signaled that further recession-fighting rate cuts are unlikely and that their next move will be to raise rates to contain inflationary expectations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...

AFAIK the Secret Service cannot prevent their arrest in a foreign country. It's not like they're taking the EX-president hostage--they are lawfully arresting him. Yes, the SS would do their jobs to protect him from imminent threat, but it doesn't extend to violating the laws of other countries. There might be a shouting match etc. between the lead SS guy and the lead arresting authority, but the SS would be forced to stand down, and the Chimp (as a private citizen, he no longer has Air Force One etc) would be taken into custody. Or they might just arrest anyone in the SS who interfered. Once you're in a foreign country (even if you're an SS guy), you don't have "American rights". You can and will be arrested if you're interfering with a police officer doing his duty.

Also, as a private citizen, Chimp would not be allowed to even leave said country, since as a private citizen, he has to go through customs and immigration just like everyone else. His passport would be confiscated were he to try and leave.

Now, maybe there's a VIP line that's separate from the main customs and immigration. but even THEIR officers are beholden to THEIR country--they don't give a rat's ass about US laws, since they don't apply. So if there is an outstanding arrest warrant, he simply would not be allowed to leave, and his passport confiscated. And if the SS interfered, THEY would be arrested as well, and THEIR passports confiscated.

And the arresting authorities may indeed show up with a platoon (for sake of argument, let's say it's Spain) . The Spanish police (or whoever) would be smart enough to show up with enough officers to arrest every member of the SS present.

Remember, Pinochet probably had a security detail with him too (which ultimately all the SS is--it's not like they're carrying bazookas under their suits). Didn't keep him from getting arrested.