DoJ Quashes Wiretapping Inquiries

By Onnesha Roychoudhuri  via In These Times

Though Maine resident Doug Cowie just celebrated his 75th birthday in October, it was only this past January that he retired from the Maine Public Utility Commission (PUC) where he worked for 18 years. It would be easy to think of Cowie as an innocuous grandfatherly type—particularly after his response when I told him some of his e-mails ended up in my spam folder: “Your what folder?”—but he is one of a growing number of Americans who are acting, in lieu of Congress, as the only check and balance on the Bush administration’s domestic spying program.

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Bush, Rove Get Criticized From Martinez Pick

Bush, Rove Face Criticism From Activists Over Martinez Choice

By Catherine Dodge

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Grassroots grousing over the plan to install Senator Mel Martinez as Republican national chairman reflects the new reality facing President George W. Bush and his top political strategist, Karl Rove: The party faithful aren't as faithful any more.

The choice of the Florida lawmaker represents both the president's penchant for picking long-time Bush family loyalists and Rove's view that Hispanic voters are vital to the future of the party.

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