Truthout roundup 9/3

Palin Faces Laundry List of Complications
http://www.truthout.org/article/palin-faces-laundry-list-complications
Matt Apuzzo, The Associated Press: "GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising scheme at the center of a public corruption scandal that led to the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens. The contributions, made during Palin's failed 2002 bid to become Alaska's lieutenant governor, were not illegal for her to accept. But they show how Palin, a self-proclaimed reformer who has bucked Stevens and his allies, is nonetheless a product of a political system in Alaska now under the cloud of an ongoing FBI investigation."

Cliff Schecter John McCain's Dereliction of Duty
http://www.truthout.org/article/john-mccains-dereliction-duty
Cliff Schecter, In These Times: "At a town hall meeting in Denver in early July, a Vietnam veteran asked presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) why he had opposed increasing healthcare for veterans whenever Congress had taken up the issue over the past six years. McCain virtually ignored the man's question, dissembling his opposition to an updated GI Bill for veterans. After the questioner challenged McCain's response, the senator reacted as he usually does when queried beyond his comfort level: He got visibly angry. Because McCain is running for president almost solely on his biography as a war hero, he can't - and won't - allow the slightest doubt to linger about his dedication to soldiers both past and present."

Ron Paul Channeling Losing Presidential Bid Into Political Push of His Own
http://www.truthout.org/article/ron-paul-channeling-losing-presidential-bid-into-political-push-his-own
Robert T. Garrett, The Dallas Morning News: "Texas Rep. Ron Paul, shunned by the Republicans because he won't endorse John McCain, starred in his own political convention Tuesday. Dr. Paul seeks to channel momentum from his losing presidential bid into an ongoing political push, though it's unclear whether the effort will hurt Mr. McCain's chances. 'I don't worry a whole lot about that,' the Surfside congressman said as 12,000 supporters flocked to the Target Center for nine hours of hot rhetoric about big government, trampling of the Constitution and President Bush's foreign misadventures."

Three University of Kentucky Journalists Arrested at RNC for Alleged Rioting
http://www.truthout.org/article/three-university-kentucky-journalists-arrested-rnc-alleged-rioting
James R. Carroll and Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, The Courier-Journal: "Three people connected with the University of Kentucky's student newspaper were arrested Monday on charges of rioting outside the Republican National Convention. Those arrested were UK senior Edward Matthews and sophomore Britney McIntosh, both journalism students and photographers for the Kentucky Kernel, and James Winn, a photo advisor for the newspaper."

For Hurricane Gustav Evacuees, a Long Slog Home
http://www.truthout.org/article/for-hurricane-gustav-evacuees-a-long-slog-home
David Zucchino and Richard Fausset, The Los Angeles Times: "The interstates were clogged Tuesday with Hurricane Gustav evacuees inching their way home in the face of police roadblocks. Rain was falling in great gray sheets, sending floodwaters coursing out of the Bogue Falaya and Tchefuncte rivers and into homes and cars. At least four tornadoes touched down, and radios crackled with National Weather Service warnings of more. The power was out, the sewers weren't working and there was no gasoline for miles."

Bill Quigley Living in the Car After Gustav
http://www.truthout.org/article/living-car-after-gustav
Bill Quigley, Truthout: "The good news is that nearly two million people were evacuated and spared the direct hit of Gustav on the Gulf Coast. Our sisters and brothers in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, who were not able to leave the point of the storm, lost over 100 lives. The people of the US were fortunate to be able to leave. The bad news is that most people have not been allowed to return."

Leslie Griffith Silencing the Town Crier
http://www.truthout.org/article/silencing-town-crier
Leslie Griffith, Truthout: "Amy Goodman, who hosts one of the rare alternative news programs in the country, 'Democracy Now,' is not known for attracting attention to herself. She is not a Bill O'Reilly, shouting and screaming at anyone who disagrees. She is a journalist who loves diverse voices and putting events into perspective - helping American citizens get the information they need to make informed decisions. Yesterday, Goodman witnessed and experienced something very frightening that likely was not mentioned on your local news."

US Senator Joseph Lieberman Delivers Acceptance Speech at Democratic Convention
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-senator-joseph-lieberman-delivers-acceptance-speech-democratic-convention
After Lieberman's debut at the Republican National Convention last night, check out the speech - of the Democratic variety - that he gave eight years ago, as Al Gore's running mate.

US Troops Enter Pakistan, 20 Dead
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-troops-enter-pakistan-20-dead-0
Candace Rondeaux, The Washington Post: "At least 20 people were killed in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday after U.S. and Afghan troops crossed from Afghanistan to pursue Taliban insurgents in an early morning attack that marked the first known instance in which U.S. forces conducted an operation on Pakistani soil since the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan began, according to witnesses and a Pakistani official."

Robert Scheer Palin's Alaska Reaps the Windfall Profits McCain Decries
http://www.truthout.org/article/palins-alaska-reaps-windfall-profits-mccain-decries
Robert Scheer, Truthdig: "Welcome to the People's Republic of Alaska, where every resident this year will get a $3,200 payout, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of Sarah Palin, the state's Republican governor. That's $22,400 for a family of seven, like Palin's. Since 1982, the Alaska Permanent Fund, which invests oil revenues from state lands, has paid out a dividend on invested oil loot to everyone who has been in the state for a year. But Palin upped the ante by joining with Democrats and some recalcitrant Republican state legislators to share in oil company windfall profits, further fattening state tax revenue and permitting an additional payout in tax funds to residents."

US Is Set to Announce $1 Billion in Aid for Georgia
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-is-set-announce-1-billion-aid-georgia
Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times: "The Bush administration plans to announce a $1 billion package of aid to help rebuild Georgia after its rout by Russian forces last month, administration officials said on Wednesday, as Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the region to signal support for Georgia and other countries neighboring Russia."

Hard Times Hitting American Students and Schools in Double Blow
http://www.truthout.org/article/hard-times-hitting-american-students-and-schools-double-blow
Sam Dillon, International Herald Tribune: "With mortgage foreclosures throwing hundreds of families out of their homes here each month, dismayed school officials say they are feeling the upheaval: record numbers of students turning up for classes this fall are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free meals."

Herve Kempf The Responsibility Imperative
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-responsibility-imperative
Herve Kempf, Le Monde: "What an unusual sense of freshness! The word may seem strange applied to a book as harsh and devoid of concession to facility as 'The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age,' but that's exactly what stands out upon rereading the book close to 30 years after its publication ..."