Countdown Newletter: 06/15/06 -- Playing Politics with the War

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Tonight on Countdown
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With an eye toward the midterm elections coming in November, House Republicans are trying to force the Democrats' hands. The GOP wants to put all members on record in support of President Bush's wartime policies by staging a vote, as early as Thursday, on a GOP-offered resolution that praises U.S. troops and rejects setting "an arbitrary date" for withdrawing them from Iraq. http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/15/us.iraq.ap/

The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq has reached 2,500, the Pentagon said Thursday, more than three years into a conflict that finds U.S.-led forces locked in a struggle with a resilient insurgency. In addition, the Pentagon said 18,490 U.S. troops have been wounded in the war, which began in March 2003 with a U.S.-led invasion to topple President Saddam Hussein. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed. This week, about 50,000 Iraqi troops, supported by more than 7,000 U.S.-led forces, launched a security crackdown in Baghdad aimed at putting further pressure on militants. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13237981/

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never complete without you. Join us.
Brian Unger subs the rest of this week.

A new NBC poll shows that the war in Iraq is the top concern for Americans and that they favor withdrawal. But how will Democrats formulate a reasonable position on the war, with Karl Rove at their heels?
Our guest is Bob Shrum.

Regina and Renata Salinas Fierros were "doing great" after doctors separated the 10-month-old conjoined twins and rebuilt their bodies during a daylong operation, a hospital spokeswoman said Thursday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13332522/

Britney: 'They're taking cheap shots'. Known less for her music than her headlines these days, pop star Britney Spears talks with Matt Lauer about the paparazzi, marriage, motherhood. Boy oh boy. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13329706/

And Taylor Hick's is People Magazine's hottest bachelor. Huh?

That's some of what we're planning for tonight's show.

Finally,
A marriage-minded man ran naked through his neighborhood, trying to show his hesitant girlfriend that taking risks is important. The couple were discussing marriage early Wednesday when the woman said she wasn't sure if she was ready, according to Ann Arbor police reports. The man responded that taking risks is an important part of life and, to prove his point, jumped out of a first-floor window and ran naked across the street. Before he could return, he spotted a couple walking and hid in some bushes to avoid them. A 28-year-old man noticed the bushes rustling and bare feet underneath, then drew a .40-caliber handgun and ordered the naked man out, police said. The naked suitor ran away, but the armed man gave chase and threatened to shoot, police said. The gunman fired a shot and the naked man fell to the ground, suffering minor injuries. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NAKED_CHASE?SITE=NWCN&TEMPLATE=STRANGEHEADS.html
Ain't love great.

-- Carey Fox

Countdown Home: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

Other News:
More than 10,000 Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces began a massive anti-Taliban operation across southern Afghanistan on Thursday, while a bomb killed seven people riding a bus to a coalition base for work. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13309540/

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that police armed with a warrant can barge into homes and seize evidence even if they don't knock, a huge government victory that was decided by President Bush's new justices. The 5-4 ruling signals the court's conservative shift following the departure of moderate Sandra Day O'Connor. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13339498/

Wind-blown wildfires kept hundreds of people from their homes Thursday in Colorado and Arizona, where severe drought conditions have created ideal conditions for wildfires. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13337197/

President Bush signed legislation Thursday that will cost broadcasters dearly when raunchy programming exceeds "the bounds of decency." For raunchy talk or a racy show of skin, the Federal Communications Commission can now fine a broadcaster up to $325,000 per incident. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13343672/

CBS executives have decided there is no future role at the network for Dan Rather, making it certain that the man who sat in the anchor chair for 24 years will depart by this fall. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13340637/

to replace the dumb sack of rocks? :evilgrin:

why are they featuring this interview between Britney and Matt night after night? It's not like either one of them could light up the inside of a Frigidaire. :shrug:

and they've gotten to many "enough with the fuckin' baby stories" e-mails? :shrug:

Ah. I thought maybe they'd come up short on selling their ad time with KO on vacation and they were just filling up the hour. Hmm...

Pity. Brian could've had Keith on as a guest to his own show. :)

I'd even stay awake for that one. Sorry, been taking antibiotics that just put me to :boring: so I'm half-dead by the time I get around to seeing Countdown and Brian's voice is so soporific.

And we probably wouldn't have insisted that Bryan use that lame screen clip from "Return to Planet of the Apes." It didn't work.

AND - no more Tom/Kat, Tom, baby Pitt, or celebrity junk food. It's just not healthy.

cut away to him at a blackboard writing sentences, "I will not tell dickheads to kill themselves."

It just doesn't sound like Keith. Oh, sure, maybe the snarky comment about using up oxygen. But would Keith really in jest, or in the heat of the moment, tell someone to kill him/herself? I have a really hard time believing that e-mail is legit. And remember, not one bit of it is verified, just this idiot's say-so.

insults went on, the less they sounded like him. Not that he can't get angry/pissy, it just didn't sound like the way he'd express that anger. But hey, Lloyd Grove is pure as the driven snow and only prints the truth. No axe to grind here, right? :sarcasm: