------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight at 7p , 11p & 4a ET & 4p, 8p & 1a PT The day just seems to slip by so quick so I'll attempt to be brief...Fmr. Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE) joins us for a frank discussion about the 9/11 Commission he serves on (that's the one the president and congress put together to investigate 9/11)...Big story in the New York Daily News about his frustration with that panel...We'll get into that topic with him plus Vietnam and that war's troubling legacy in today's campaign...As you know Kerrey was a Navy SEAL during that war and ran for president and 1992 Frustrated by Bush administration restrictions, a former senator said yesterday he might quit the special commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (NY Daily News) http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/168092p-146920c.html Congressman David Dreier (R-CA) will be here to wade into the gay marriage debate...He's a Republican who's opposing Bush's constitutional amendment...We'll ask him why...We'll also ask him how he plans on delivering California for Bush in November...Should be a hoot Plus, Washington Times Pentagon dude Rowan Scarborough's gotta new book out called "Rumsfeld's War"...It's one of these "behind the scenes, how Rummy kicked major @#$% inside and outside of the Pentagon to transform into the fierce fighting machine post 9/11 that it is today" kinda books...Rowan will be here to give us the inside scoop! Tomorrow we got Hitchens and we're gonna do a special on the "culture wars"...Very hot Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC Kerrey Backgrounders... In a blow to the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives told the White House he will not bring up legislation to extend the May 27 deadline for completing its report, officials said on Wednesday. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4440746 Rumsfeld, Tenet to testify publicly to 9/11 panel...Commission to meet privately with Bush, Cheney, Clinton, Gore http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4297428/ Dreier Backgrounders.. GOP isn't united behind ban on gay marriage...Congressional leaders cautious on Bush's call for amendment (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4360783/ One day after President Bush called on Congress to approve a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriage, Republicans and Democrats agreed that prospects for passage in this election year look dim. (USA Today) http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040226/5958095s.htm Rowan Scarborough Backgrounder Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's determination to kill terrorists and transform the military is detailed in "Rumsfeld's War" (Regnery Publishing Inc.), the new book by Rowan Scarborough, defense reporter for The Washington Times. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040223-012306-4708r.htm Tonight, Cubs fans will go to the extreme to erase a piece of their cursed history as an infamous foul ball. "The Bartman Ball" literally goes out with a bang. See it happen live on "Countdown." 8 p.m. ET on MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4372354/ John Kerry holds a double-digit lead over John Edwards among likely voters in Tuesday's Georgia Democratic presidential primary, according to a new poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV. http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/election/0204nation/26poll.html Sen. John Edwards says he doesn't need to win a single Super Tuesday primary to stay in the Democratic hunt, and won't drop out if he loses every March 2 contest to John Kerry. (NY Daily News) http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/168107p-146911c.html Sen. John Kerry yesterday accused President Bush of playing politics by backing a constitutional amendment defining marriage, but Republicans are plotting to make the Massachusetts Democrat walk his own fine line over the next nine months. (The Washington Times) http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040226-120406-2501r.htm Front-runner John Kerry arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday ready to debate his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination but unsure about the city's latest controversial production, "The Passion of the Christ." (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4448594§ion=news N. Korea makes nuclear offer...North Korea said it would abolish its military nuclear program but will maintain a "peaceful" nuclear capability, the Chinese government said Thursday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4365670/ Motorists face gasoline shortages as well as record prices the next few weeks because of the skintight U.S. refining and distribution network. (USA Today) http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+Gasoline+supplies+likely+to+shrink%2C+prices+rise&expire=&urlID=9413366&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fmoney%2Fautos%2F2004-02-25-gasprices_x.htm&partnerID=1661 Pressure mounting in Haiti...President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was under increased pressure Thursday to step down as his supporters built barricades in the streets of Haiti's capital before an anticipated rebel advance and diplomats sought ways to stop the violence. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4244322/ President Bush road-tested his new political stump speech here on Thursday, saying that Democratic anger at his policies "is not an agenda for the future of America." (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040226/D80V3NF80.html Deborah Norville interview with movie critic Deborah Norville on The Passion...Roger Ebert on 'The Passion of the Christ' 'My thumb was way up' http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4377605/ The House voted Thursday to treat attacks on a pregnant woman as separate crimes against both her and the fetus she is carrying. Critics say it would undermine abortion rights by giving fetuses new federal legal status. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040226/D80V4VH00.html U.S.'s largest radio network suspends Stern...Clear Channel president says he was wrong to air controversial shows in House hearing http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375426/ "Bubba the Love Sponge" is gone and radio shock Howard Stern is on hiatus from some stations. TV networks are time-delaying certain shows to make sure inappropriate material doesn't make it onto the airwaves. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040226/D80V5VM00.html Opinion/Editorial Bellone: Drinking With Osama http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/01.15.04/bellone-0403.html Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/ ========================================= This email is never sent unsolicited. You have received The Hardball Briefing Newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone forwarded it to you. To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this message was forwarded to you) simply go to http://www.msnbc.com/tools/newstools/e/emailextra.asp?nfeature=19 <http://www.msnbc.com/tools/newstools/e/emailextra.asp?nfeature=19>