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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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It looks as though the debate over Iraq has finally erupted in Hollywood...You've got
Spielberg and Cruise on the "Hollywood Hawk" side and Barbara Streisand on the
other...Roll Call's Ed Henry broke the Babs "memo to Gephardt" story last night...BBC
reports on the Cruise/Spielberg presser...
Spielberg: "If Bush, as I believe, has reliable information on the fact that Saddam
Hussein is making weapons of mass destruction, I cannot not support the policies of
his government."
Cruise: "Personally, I don't have all the information President Bush has...But I
believe Saddam has committed many crimes against humanity and his own people."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2282774.stm
Ed Henry's Piece: Streisand Pens Confidential Memo Urging Gephardt and Daschle to
'Take the Offense' Against Bush...Hollywood diva Barbra Streisand fired off a
confidential memo to House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) and Senate
Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) on Wednesday evening urging Democrats to "Take
the Offense" against President Bush.
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/09/news0926aa.html
Gephardt spokesman on the Babs memo: "We take advice from many people...People who
need people are the luckiest people in the world." (Grove, the man who still hasn't
reported on Mortman's shindig)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9227-2002Sep27.html
Plus, Uncle Teddy comes out swinging at Johns Hopkins today, bucking his own party
leadership: "War should be a last resort, not the first response...It is inevitable
that a war in Iraq without serious international support will weaken our effort to
ensure that Al-Qaeda terrorists can never, never, never threaten American lives
again." http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1506737
We'll play the sound...
Rush & Molloy: Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg gave two thumbs up to President Bush
over Iraq - even as Barbra Streisand shot off a screed against him
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/22169p-21026c.html
Streisand Memo (Requires Adobe Acrobat) http://www.drudgereport.com/streisand.pdf
We'll slice and dice all of it with an All Star panel including Time's Jay Carney (Mr.
Claire Shipman), Frank Luntz, Congressman David Dreier and another Cat, TBD...Also,
we've got the latest MSNBC/Zogby polls on some of the hottest races in the country...
In the Buzz we've Jerry Springer and B-1 Bob Dornan...Folks, this is one of those
"must watch" episodes...If you're not at home tonight, set the VCR...If you're making
dinner at home for that special someone, break out the TV trays...
Yes, of course we'll play the Clinton sound from the morning shows and we're looking
for the Gore/Reagan playbook bite as well...
Plus....We'll do the D block debate on the huge IMF protesters here in DC...So far,
500+ people have been arrested and the protests are expected to continue through the
weekend...Do they have a legitimate gripe or are they just Hooligans? I may even head
down there tomorrow myself just for the fun of it..I told you how I like my politics
hot & spicy...
This one's just for you...The Hardball Weblog:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/751547.asp?0ct=-34t
>From the "Hardball Briefing can make you successful" mailbag
"Dear Dom, Yeah, people do think I'm smart. Especially guys, they say things
like,'You have a mind like a steel trap' and other clich�s. I've actually been
attracting men of higher caliber, too. I know it's hard to believe but it's true!
All I do is watch Hardball, get in some radio talk shows in the AM and PM and whammo,
I'm a brainiac. It is fabulous for single women and best of all, I have more to
discuss and am more interested in the world and in life. Chris' enthusiasm has rubbed
off onto me, and yours does
as well. Love you guys, much! Please don't put my name on TV or anything... Thanks!"
-Jayne in Connecticut
Thanks Jayne! "The Hardball Briefing, changing lives one subscriber at a time"
Hardball Hot Seat video...Kevin the stud http://www.msnbc.com/news/810538.asp
-Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Hardball Briefing from his playpen
inside the Beltway...Everything is making so much sense...
MSNBC/Zogby Polls http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=621
Fun Clinton News: Former President Clinton said Friday he favors getting United
Nations backing for the use of force, if necessary, to disarm Iraq's President Saddam
Hussein (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020927/ap_on_re_us/clinton_iraq_3
Hillary, You got some 'splain' to do!! The U.S. Olympic Committee is investigating
whether Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton improperly discussed New York City's bid to host
the 2012 games with an Olympic official. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020927/ap_on_re_us/clinton_olympics_2
Officials confirmed that an inquiry was underway into Clinton's contact with U.S. and
International Olympic Committee member Anita DeFrantz, a 1976 bronze medalist in
rowing. (NY Daily News) http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/22089p-20944c.html
The race in Maryland for Governor is getting down right nasty....KKT: "I see you on TV
changing your child's diapers...If this contest is about diapers, I win hands down."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8345-2002Sep26.html?referer=email
More KKT: "This is not Star Trek. African-Americans are not aliens."
As the Torch Burns: Prosecutors Say Chang Greatly Advanced Torricelli Probe...Memo
Long Sought After By Media Unsealed (WNBC) http://www.wnbc.com/news/1689291/detail.html
In the memo, written in May, federal prosecutors said they had gathered "substantial"
evidence to corroborate some claims by David Chang, the Bergen County entrepreneur who
said he gave Torricelli tens of thousands of dollars in cash and merchandise for
political favors. (NJ Star Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1033118178130310.xml
Former Vice President Al Gore yesterday made his second attack this week on President
Bush's war on terrorism, accusing the administration of ignoring signs that al Qaeda
terrorist leader Osama bin Laden planned to attack the United States on September 11.
(The Washington Times) http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020927-15851566.htm
Anti-capitalism activists, vowing to impede Washington's morning commute, began their
protests today with scattered efforts to block major traffic arteries and a march
through the city's downtown that resulted in minor clashes with police and some broken
windows. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9810-2002Sep27.html
Demonstrators chained themselves together, bicycled through downtown streets and
harassed police with false 911 calls Friday as financial ministers from around the
world began a weekend meeting. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&ncid=716&e=4&u=/ap/20020927/ap_on_re_us/capital_protests
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin announced Thursday night that his re-election campaign had
hired a lawyer to investigate what the attorney considered the legal but
"unacceptable" conduct of Harkin's campaign staff. (Des Moines Register)
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/19326598.html
A Des Moines Democrat who publicly supported U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has asked
for immunity from prosecution before he talks to police about allegations that he
taped a closed-door meeting of Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Ganske's Senate campaign.
(Quad City Times)
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1001550&l=1&t=Iowa+%2F+Illinois
African-Americans in Congress are emerging as a key center of opposition to President
Bush's push for war with Iraq...Although it cannot stop congressional approval of a
resolution paving the way for war, the 38-member Congressional Black Caucus issued a
joint statement Thursday cautioning against what many members see as a headlong rush
into the use of military force. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2002-09-26-black-caucus_x.htm
President Bush telephoned French President Jacques Chirac on Friday as part of his
push for a U.N. resolution effectively threatening Iraq with military action, the
White House said (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1506721
U.S. on Iraq diplomatic offensive...The Bush administration set out Friday to persuade
skeptical U.N. Security Council members to support a tough resolution on Iraq backed
by a threat of military action.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/811728.asp
Bush makes bipartisan Iraq bid...Even as President Bush was working to shore up
support among House members for a resolution on Iraq, a group of House Democrats
moved to delay the vote until after the Nov. 5 elections.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/812825.asp
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took the Bush administration's case against Iraq to
the heart of the South on Friday, defending the White House proposition that a first
strike can be made in self-defense. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1506648
Spike's Exclusive: Ashcroft's Baghdad Connection...Why the attorney general and others
in Washington have backed a terror group with ties to Iraq
http://www.msnbc.com/news/813579.asp
Sept. 11 inquiry: lapses, memos, and deadlock...Amid this week's revelations of missed
cues, the Senate wrangles over Homeland Security, OKs new investigation. (Christian
Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0927/p02s01-uspo.html
WashPost: Iraqi officials plan for urban warfare...Iraq would likely respond to a U.S.
invasion by trying to lure U.S. forces close to large population centers, where
commanders believe their soldiers would be less vulnerable and civilians would be more
willing to fight, government officials and diplomats
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/813125.asp
Eilperin: GOP Isn't Showcasing McCain This Fall
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8254-2002Sep26.html
Your tax dollars at work: Moussaoui Received Classified Papers...The government
mistakenly gave dozens of classified documents with the potential to compromise
national security to Zacarias Moussaoui, a federal judge revealed Thursday. (The
Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8799-2002Sep26.html?referer=email
AOL Time Warner Inc. is in talks to sell its 50 percent stakes in cable channels
Comedy Central and Court TV as part of an effort to sell non-core assets to pare down
debt, its Chief Financial Officer Wayne Pace said on Thursday. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=businessnews&StoryID=1502738
Has Greed Replaced Sex?...In the shadow of Enron, WorldCom, imClone and Martha
Stewart, candidates are falling all over themselves to decry corporate malfeasance, or
at least to label their opponent a criminal. The latest casualty is Erskine Bowles.
(The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7695-2002Sep26.html
Two potential Democratic presidential hopefuls will head a list of VIPs at the
Richland County Democratic Party's DemFest 2002 to be held Saturday at Martin Luther
King Park in Five Points...North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Massachusetts Sen.
John Kerry will work the crowd and speak briefly. (Columbia State)
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/4161265.htm
Edwards trades in for some new digs...Senator contracts to buy $3.8 million mansion in
classy Georgetown (Charlotte Observor)
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/4160732.htm
A law professor who served as counsel to the Warren Commission that investigated
President Kennedy's assassination was killed in a plane crash during a training
flight. His instructor also died. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020926/ap_on_re_us/plane_crash_2
Hitchens Update: According to Nation staff members, who asked not to be named, the
magazine's editors were particularly upset that they first learned of Hitchens'
resignation when they read the "Minority Report" column he submitted for the
forthcoming issue. (LA Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-lv-media27_sep27.story
Opinion/Editorial
The New Republic: In the 1980s and 1990s, Al Gore consistently battled the
irresponsibility and incoherence on foreign affairs that plagued the Democratic Party.
And it was partly out of admiration for that difficult and principled work that this
magazine twice endorsed him for president. Unfortunately, that Al Gore didn't show up
at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Monday
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20021007&s=editorial100702
Krauthammer: Gore's Glass House
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8760-2002Sep26.html
The Iraq war debate...Slate's writers engage in an online debate about whether America
should wage war against Iraq, starting off with Editor Jacob Weisberg who makes a case
for an invasion.
http://slate.msn.com/?id=2071522&entry=2071561
The Wall Street Journal: Playing Homeland Politics...Senate Democrats put union votes
over national security.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002353
Peggy: What's Missing in The Iraq Debate...Democrats should get serious, Republicans
should show some solemnity.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110002346
Noah: Daschle Was More Right Than He Knew About Bush...Demagogy about government
reorganization is worse than demagogy about war.
http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2071595
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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