SPB News for Wednesday.

Two GOP Losses That Validate a National Pattern — These two special elections validate a national polling pattern that is bad news for Republicans. According to a New York Times/CBS Poll, Americans disapprove of the President's job performance by 63 to 28 (and he has been below 40% job …

VA covering up suicides: Reps.

Lawmakers accuse Bush's Veterans Affairs Dept. of being 'out of control.'

McCain vows to name more 'Alitos' and 'Robertses' John McSociopath sought to burnish his conservative credentials Tuesday with a broadside against "the common and systematic abuse of our federal courts by the people we entrust with judicial power" and a promise of "better judges" in the mold of Supreme Court Justices John G. Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Bush, Democrats seek to fund Iraq war into next administration By Bill Van Auken In a bid by the two major parties to prevent November’s presidential election from being turned into a referendum on the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress are both working to craft new war funding legislation that would pay for the fighting to continue at the present level well past January, when the next president takes office. According to media reports, the congressional Democrats are still debating how--not if--they will approve the money needed to continue the ongoing wars against the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Next president will not cut defense spending, says Lockheed Martin CEO The top executive of Lockheed Martin Corp., the Bethesda, Md.-based defense contracting behemoth, says he does not believe the next U.S. president will cut military spending "in any wholesale fashion." Robert Stevens, chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin made his comment in an interview published Friday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Lockheed Martin is the nation's largest defense contractor.

Iraq in $6.37b deal to replace ageing planes Iraq yesterday signed two deals worth US$5 billion ($6.37 billion) to buy 40 planes from Boeing and 10 planes from Canada's Bombardier to upgrade Iraqi Airways' ageing fleet, the finance minister said. The deals were signed by Finance Minister Bayan Jabr in a ceremony attended by Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as US, British and Canadian diplomats.

Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain (Doctor Phillip Butler is a highly decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legion of Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.) 27 Mar 2008 As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance of mine that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and as Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways. But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President of the United States... I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button.

Iraq occupation costing U.S. a whopping $5.54m an hour President [sic] George W. Bush last week asked Congress to approve $70 billion in funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the U.S. fiscal year 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008. The Iraq war has already cost U.S. taxpayers more than $500 billion dollars, and there is still no end in sight to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. According to congressional analysts, the eventual total cost of the Iraq war and the occupation could be as high as $1.5 trillion – that’s $1,500 billion. This cost does not include the cost of rebuilding Iraq’s shattered infrastructure.

Mary Tillman on ‘Today’: ‘Pat’s Death Was a Lie to the Country’
Mary Tillman made a sharp and moving appearance Tuesday morning on the “Today” show to talk about her new book, “Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman,” about the friendly-fire death of her son, Pat, and the U.S. military’s subsequent cover-up in 2004. In an interview by Meredith Viera, Tillman called Pat’s killing “an act of gross negligence,” taking aim at the Pentagon’s top brass when she said “someone started this deception, and it didn’t start at the three-star level.”