Wisconsin Speed limit of 75 mph considered
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

Speed limit of 75 mph considered

Our Wisconsin transplants might be interested in knowing that one of their former state's legislators has drafted a bill that would increase Wisconsin's speed limit to 75 mph, the National Motorists Association noted in its driver news alerts last week.

The organization, which favors the increase, says that "This is the first time since the repeal of the 55 National Maximum Speed Limit that we have the opportunity to raise the speed limit in Wisconsin."

What possible thinking could be behind raising the speed limit, you might reasonably ask, and should Florida consider doing such a thing?

The NMA is in favor of the increased speed limit, because:

♠ Raising speed limits to 75 mph will bring those limits closer to speeds drivers already are traveling, which is safer.

♠ Traffic currently is traveling 75 mph on the interstate system. Raising the limit would help safe motorists avoid costly tickets and insurance surcharges.

♠ The argument that says because you raise the speed limit to 75 mph, drivers will go 80 mph doesn't hold any water. Studies have shown, as well as experience, that this will not happen.

NMA's position on speed limits says: With extremely rare exceptions, speed limits should be set at the 85th to 90th percentile speed of free-flowing traffic. If separate speed limits are set for different classes of vehicles or different time periods, the speed limits for those classes of vehicles or time periods shall also be set at the 85th or 90th percentile speed of those classes of vehicles or those identified time periods.

In those instances where 85th percentile speeds exceed 75 mph, serious consideration should be given to eliminating enumerated speed limits and posting advisory speed limits in those locations with design limitations that require slower speeds.

The News-Press ** Speed limit of 75 mph considered

4 in 10 liberals believe in ghosts; 60% more likely than conservatives
Mood:  bright
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

Gallup finds that a third or all Americans believe in ghosts. The more liberal a person is the more likely they are to believe in ghosts.

Gallup: One in three Americans believe in ghosts!

Gallup is reporting that a recent poll found a third of Americans “believe in ghosts!”

The poll shows 32% of all adults say they believe that “ghosts/spirits of dead people can come back,” while 48% do not, and 19% are unsure.

Even more Americans believe that houses can be haunted, with 37% holding that position, 46% saying no, and 16% not sure.

And along political party lines - 42% of liberals saying they believe in ghosts--but only 25% of conservatives and 35% of moderates say they do.

The poll also indicates that a belief in ghosts declines with age. Forty-five 45 of those 18 to 29 say they do - but only 22% of those 65 and over still believe.

The poll was based on interviews with 1,002 adults, with a plus or minus 3% sampling error.

WTSP - TampaBay's 10 News ~ Gallup and USA Today ** Gallup: One in three Americans believe in ghosts!

Dem's ''bellwether'' race for 2006... GOP's Schmidt Wins Ohio Special Election
Mood:  party time!
Topic: News

GOP's Schmidt Wins Ohio Special Election

CINCINNATI — A Republican former state lawmaker claimed a seat in Congress on Tuesday by narrowly defeating an Iraq war veteran who drew national attention to the race with his military service and a series of harsh attacks on President Bush.

With all precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt had 52 percent, or 57,974 votes, compared with Democrat Paul Hackett's 48 percent, or 54,401 votes. Schmidt's margin of victory amounted to about 3,500 votes out of more than 112,000 cast.

Schmidt, 53, will replace Republican Rob Portman, who stepped down this year after being named U.S. trade representative by Bush. Portman held the seat for 12 years, consistently winning with more than 70 percent of the vote in the Cincinnati-area district.

Democrats had viewed the race as a bellwether for 2006, saying even a strong showing by Hackett in such a heavily GOP district would be a good sign for them in the midterm elections.

"We began this race way back in late march, and no one had thought we'd be the focus of the national media or be the so-called first test of the Republican Party and the Bush mandate. Well, ladies and gentleman, we passed that test," Schmidt said.

In other races Tuesday, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former deputy mayor Freman Hendrix emerged from a 12-candidate mayoral primary to advance to the general election. With 56 percent of the vote in, Hendrix had 44 percent of the vote, Kilpatrick had 34 percent and the next nearest candidate had only 12 percent.

Kilpatrick was heralded as Detroit's next great hope when he was elected four years ago at age 31, but his term has been marred by a $300 million budget deficit, scrutiny over his running up huge bills on a city credit card, and the city's lease of a luxury SUV for his family.

In Ohio, Schmidt billed herself as an experienced leader more in tune with the district than Hackett. She is the first woman ever elected to Congress from the 2nd District.

Hackett, 43, is a lawyer and Marine reservist who recently completed a seven-month tour and was vying to become the first combat veteran of the Iraq war to serve in Congress.

He drew attention to the race with his flame-throwing assaults on Bush, namely for the president's July 2003 "bring 'em on" comment about Iraqi insurgents. Hackett called the comment "most incredibly stupid comment" he ever heard a president make, and said it "cheered on the enemy."

Schmidt consistently supported Bush on the war, and said she shares the "moral values" of the district with her opposition to abortion and to gay marriage.

In another race in Detroit, Motown legend Martha Reeves was one of 120 City Council candidates vying for 18 spots in the general election. Reeves, 64, was the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas and had hit singles that included "Dancing in the Street," "Jimmy Mack," and "Nowhere to Run."

Fox News ~ Associated Press ** GOP's Schmidt Wins Ohio Special Election

Dems losing Hispanics
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

The Dems used to count on the growing Hispanic population to stay Dem and revitalize the party, particularly in the Sun Belt states. Those hopes are shattered as Hispanics have showed that they are following the same patterns as most immigrant groups. While most early immigrants vote Dem, as they assimilate, start businesses, buy homes, have children, they begin voting Republican. Already almost half of Hispanics vote GOP.

Hispanics Shifting to GOP

Hispanics in the U.S. are increasingly taking part in civic life – last year 9 million Hispanics voted in the presidential election, up from 6 million only four years earlier.

And nearly half of them voted for Republicans.

"Hispanics do not align with either political party," according to a new report by the Hispanic American Center for Economic Research.

"The Democratic Party has not been able to retain a solid majority of Hispanics, and according to the polls, the Republican Party obtained around 45 percent of the Hispanic vote in the last presidential election, versus just 35 percent in 2000."

One reason behind the shift to Republicans is that the GOP is seen by Hispanics as more conducive to easing their access to a prosperous life as middle-class Americans, author Jose Maria Marco writes in the report.

"Hispanics do not immigrate to the United States to enjoy the services of the welfare state," he declared.

"They come so that their children may have a decent future, to buy a house, and to be entrepreneurs in a system that encourages free enterprise. Moreover, they are drawn by lower taxes, simpler regulations, a judicial system that functions, and a more competent public education system."

But some observers worry that Hispanics - who now number more than 40 million and make up one-seventh of the U.S. population – face unique difficulties in assimilating into American society as a whole.

For one thing, the Hispanic population tends to be concentrated in a few geographical areas - Texas, Southern California, Florida, New York and Illinois.

Secondly, while most immigrants learn English and speak Spanish only at home, a significant portion can live in the U.S. without ever having to learn English.

"It is certain that by its number, its geographic concentration and its individual attachment to its native language, the Hispanic population presents specific difficulties," the report concludes.

"But … fortunately, most Hispanics that immigrate to the U.S. do so because they believe in the universal principles in which American culture is based."

News Max.com ~ Carl Limbacher ** Hispanics Shifting to GOP

Sunbelt trends spell trouble for Dems
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

This article, written by a former Dem Congressman, deals with the Dems electoral college woes. As the population shifts to the sun belt states the resulting electoral college disparity between the sun belt and snow belt states will mean more problems for the Dems ahead. There are a few very interesting facts in the article.

Democrats Must Tighten Grip on Sun Belt Voters

The Democratic Leadership Council, a major group of centrist Democrats, met recently in Columbus, Ohio, to discuss the future of the Democratic Party and to consider what Democrats need to do to win national elections.

They might have taken a moment to look at the numbers, because therein lies the story. A recent study by the Brookings Institution says it all: "The Electoral College Moves to the Sun Belt."

Electoral votes move around after each once-in-a-decade census. They follow population growth trends. Electoral votes are based on the number of Congressional seats each state has plus two extra votes for the state's two U.S. Senators. And Congressional seats are reallocated each 10 years to reflect population growth patterns.

The reason that the Brookings study is so important is that as a rule, Republicans have been doing better in the Sun Belt (the South and West) and Democrats, as a general mater, have been doing better in the Snow Belt. If Democrats don't learn how to campaign better in the Sun Belt, the party may be over.

Let's be very specific. According to the Brookings study, the Sun Belt controlled 271 electoral votes after the 1970 census and the Snow Belt controlled 267 electoral votes, for a net margin of only four. After the 2000 census, the Sun Belt controlled 313 electoral votes and the Snow Belt controlled 225 electoral votes for a margin of 88 electoral votes. Following the 2030 census (just 25 years from now), projections are that the Sun Belt will control 342 electoral votes and the Snow Belt only l96 votes, for a margin of 146 votes.

There are some exceptions to all this – Democrats win some Sun Belt states (California, Oregon, Washington and Maryland) and Republicans do win some Snow Belt states (Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska), but the overall pattern is set. Thus, Republicans currently have a built-in growing margin in the Electoral College if Democrats don't make significant changes.

History demonstrates the recent dominance of the Sun Belt rather dramatically. During the last 40 years, every person elected President regardless of party has come from the Sun Belt: Lyndon Johnson (Texas), Richard Nixon (California), Jimmy Carter (Georgia), Ronald Reagan (California), George Bush (Texas), Bill Clinton (Arkansas), and George W. Bush (Texas).

During these same 40 years, Democrats have lost presidential elections every time they nominated someone from the Snow Belt: Hubert Humphrey (Minnesota), George McGovern (South Dakota), Walter Mondale (Minnesota), Mike Dukakis (Massachusetts), and John Kerry (Massachusetts). The only time Democrats lost with candidates from the Sun Belt were Jimmy Carter (running for re-election) and Al Gore (Tennessee).

So what must Democrats do? Nominating someone from the Sun Belt or someone who clearly resonates with concerns of the Sun Belt is the obvious answer.

Beyond that, there are several other approaches that must also be undertaken.

For openers, Democrats must stop the bleeding among Hispanic voters who have been trending toward Republican candidates in recent elections. Hispanics are key swing voters in Sun Belt states like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Florida and California. All of these states went Republican in 2004 except California. Democrats cannot permit this to become a permanent situation.

Additionally, Democrats must find ways to make inroads in the Southern part of the Sun Belt which is now overwhelmingly Republican. Border states like West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Virginia may be the best shots.

Finally, Democrats must win back some of the Snow Belt states that they have lost in recent presidential elections such as Missouri, Iowa and Ohio. Blue collar, middle class voters are the key target audiences in those states. Democrats must establish that they are not hostile to religious values and that they have something to offer on basic economic issues to be competitive in these states.

Our country is best served when we have two truly competitive parties. As a Democrat, I hope my party can figure out how to get back in the game.

Fox News ~ Martin Frost ** Democrats Must Tighten Grip on Sun Belt Voters

Congresswoman Maxine Waters hosts anti-war rally in LA
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Ah, yes. Maxine Waters. That Castro-loving Clintonista, libtard fruitcake extraordinaire... babbling peacnik pacifist, textbook talking point bullshit.

Congresswoman hosts anti-war rally in LA

Los Angeles - U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters led a rally Saturday calling for the United States to withdraw from Iraq, where attendees tried to raise awareness of documents they said raised questions about the justification for the war.

Waters said many of those in attendance, including veterans, relatives of soldiers, and civil rights activists, "have not had an opportunity to voice their opinions" about the war.

Several attendees staged simultaneous calls to local reporters to complain about what they said was a lack of public awareness about the so-called "Downing Street memos" — leaked minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and top government officials at his Downing Street office.

The rally was held to coincide with the third anniversary of the meeting.

According to the meeting minutes, Sir Richard Dearlove, then chief of Britain's intelligence service, said the White House viewed military action against Saddam Hussein as inevitable following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Blair has said the memos paint a distorted picture, and has insisted that the Iraq war was not predetermined by the United States.

San Francisco Chronicle ~ Associated Press ** Congresswoman hosts anti-war rally in LA

Iraq Citizens Deem U.S. Soldier As Sheik
Mood:  special
Topic: Odd Stuff

In this image made available by Dale L. Horn, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dale L. Horn of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, a member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, leaves a meeting after discussing road projects with local leaders, Tuesday, July 26, 2005, in the village of Jedellah Anuk, Iraq. Officially, he's Army Staff Sgt. Dale L. Horn, but to residents of the 37 villages and towns that he patrols he's known as the American sheik. Sheiks, or village elders, are known as the real power in rural Iraq. And the 5-foot-6-inch Floridian's ascension to the esteemed position came through dry humor and the military's need to clamp down on rocket attacks.

Iraq Citizens Deem U.S. Soldier As Sheik

QAYYARAH, Iraq - Sheik Horn floats around the room in white robe and headdress, exchanging pleasantries with dozens of village leaders. But he's the only sheik with blonde streaks in his mustache — and the only one who attended country music star Toby Keith's recent concert in Baghdad with fellow U.S. soldiers.

Officially, he's Army Staff Sgt. Dale L. Horn, but to residents of the 37 villages and towns that he patrols he's known as the American sheik.

Sheiks, or village elders, are known as the real power in rural Iraq. And the 5-foot-6-inch Floridian's ascension to the esteemed position came through dry humor and the military's need to clamp down on rocket attacks.

Late last year a full-blown battle between insurgents and U.S. and Iraqi forces had erupted, and U.S. commanders assigned a unit to stop rocket and mortar attacks that regularly hit their base. Horn, who had been trained to operate radars for a field artillery unit, was now thrust into a job that largely hinged on coaxing locals into divulging information about insurgents.

Horn, 25, a native of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., acknowledges he had little interest in the region before coming here. But a local sheik friendly to U.S. forces, Dr. Mohammed Ismail Ahmed, explained the inner workings of rural Iraqi society on one of Horn's first Humvee patrols.

Horn says he was intrigued, and started making a point of stopping by all the villages, all but one dominated by Sunni Arabs, to talk to people about their life and security problems.

Moreover, he pressed for development projects in the area: he now boasts that he helped funnel $136,000 worth of aid into the area. Part of that paid for delivery of clean water to 30 villages during the broiling summer months.

"They saw that we were interested in them, instead of just taking care of the bases," Horn said.

Mohammed, Horn's mentor and known for his dry sense of humor, eventually suggested during a meeting of village leaders that Horn be named a sheik. The sheiks approved by voice vote, Horn said.

Some sheiks later gave him five sheep and a postage stamp of land, fulfilling some of the requirements for sheikdom. Others encouraged him to start looking for a second wife, which Horn's spouse back in Florida immediately vetoed.

But what may have originally started as a joke among crusty village elders has sprouted into something serious enough for 100 to 200 village leaders to meet with Horn each month to discuss security issues.

And Horn doesn't take his responsibilities lightly. He lately has been prodding the Iraqi Education Ministry to pay local teachers, and he closely follows a water pipeline project that he hopes will ensure the steady flow of clean water to his villages.

"Ninety percent of the people in my area are shepherds or simple townspeople," said Horn. "They simply want to find a decent job to make enough money to provide food and a stable place for their people to live."

To Horn's commanders, his success justifies his unorthodox approach: no rockets have hit their base in the last half year.

"He has developed a great relationship with local leaders," said Lt. Col. Bradley Becker, who commands the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment. "They love him. They're not going to let anyone shoot at Sheik Horn."

He has even won occasional exemption from the military dress code — villagers provide a changing room where he can change from desert camouflage to robes upon arrival.

There are downsides. In his small trailer on base, Horn keeps antibiotics to take after unhygienic village meals.

"I still refuse to kiss him," joked Becker, referring to the cheek-kissing greetings exchanged among sheiks. "He doesn't have any sheep — he can't be a sheik," said Becker, apparently unaware of the recent donation of the small flock.

Some may say he's doing a tongue-in-cheek Lawrence of Arabia, but Horn says he doesn't know much about the legendary British officer who led the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

He acknowledges some villagers are offended at seeing a foreign soldier in clothing usually reserved for elders, but he says this has diminished over time.

The sheiks told Horn they will give him an official document deeming him a sheik before he goes home in about two months. He plans to frame it.

And the robe? "Maybe I'll put it in the closet and wear it on occasion," Horn said.

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - Antonio Castaneda ** Iraq Citizens Deem U.S. Soldier As Sheik

Abortion decline poses problems for Roberts foes
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

Abortion rates have been falling for 25 years. As the pro-abortion movement loses some its religious zeal, activists are finding less fuel with which to oppose the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Roberts.

As abortions fall, activism wanes
But the issue may be key for high court confirmation panels.

WASHINGTON - Abortion may flare up as the most emotional issue for senators and activists when confirmation hearings begin in September for President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts. But statistically, it is becoming less and less of a factor for American women.

The national abortion rate has been declining for more than two decades. It is now at its lowest since 1974, the year after the court's Roe v. Wade decision overturned states' abortion bans by ruling that a woman's decision to terminate pregnancy through surgery is a matter of privacy protected by the Constitution.

Activists on both sides of the fight say abortion rights supporters have been less passionate about their beliefs in recent years than abortion opponents - perhaps partly because women who are now of peak childbearing age were born after Roe. Some may take legal abortion for granted. Others may be influenced by mothers, siblings or friends who had negative experiences with abortion, or who had regrets years later.

"It's a very different way that 20-and 30-year-olds are seeing this (nowadays)," said Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, an anti-abortion group for which Roberts' wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, serves as legal counsel. "It's not about criminalizing it. They just don't want to see it happen."

To an extent, abortion rights advocates agree.

"The major thing you're seeing is the increased intensity around prevention," said Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist and pollster for NARAL Pro-Choice America. "People want to reduce the need for abortions."

But Lake said past court fights have shown that women who support abortion rights will snap to attention when they feel their right to choose is vulnerable. "People worry about things when they need to," she said.

Over the years, religious conservatives who believe life begins at conception have sought justices who would chip away at or throw out the Roe decision. While Roberts has given them nothing concrete to go on, some are hopeful he would tip a divided court in that direction.

Meanwhile, data released last month by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, reported that fewer than 21 of every 1,000 women between 15 and 44 had an abortion in 2002, the most recent year for which data was available. That compares with a rate of more than 29 per 1,000 at abortion's peak in the United States, in 1980 and 1981. If the trend continues, abortion could soon recede to its 1974 rate, about 19 per 1,000 per women of childbearing age.

A decline in the number of abortions has coincided with a number of trends. Over the past three decades, birth-control methods have become more widely available, socially acceptable and finely tuned, including longer-acting hormonal contraceptives, such as implants and patches.

In 1995, just 0.8 percent of women said they had used so-called emergency contraception such as the "morning-after pill," or a concentrated dose of birth-control pills, to increase the chance of blocking pregnancy after unprotected intercourse; by 2002, 4.2 percent of women said they had used emergency contraception.

Other trends coinciding with the decline in abortions include:

♣ More women attend college and pursue careers, achievements that researchers say correlate with lower rates of unintended pregnancy.

♣ The number of abortion providers has been declining, and providers are scarce in many areas of the country.

♣ Teen pregnancy is down, and the number of states that require parental notification for teen abortions is up. Abstinence programs in schools and involvement in organized religion are more prevalent in some parts of the country, since religious conservatism has found a greater voice over the past decade in Congress, and, more recently, the White House.

Some Democratic lawmakers, assessing last year's election losses, are urging their party to recast its image to attract more voters who are religious, and who are ambivalent about or opposed to abortion.

The overall decline in the abortion rate, however, obscures a socioeconomic dichotomy that could be politically telling as Democrats plot how strongly to press Roberts for his views.

While abortions have plummeted among wealthier women, they actually rose among poor women during the second half of the 1990s. This pattern played out as the U.S. economy flourished, and as welfare reform legislation ushered poor, single mothers out of the home and into generally low-paying work.

Comparing demographic subsets from 1994 and 2000, researchers found that the abortion rate among middle-and upper-income women dropped in those years, from 16 per 1,000 to 10 per 1,000. Poor women, who tend to vote less, turned more often to abortion - from 36 per 1,000 in 1994 to 44 per 1,000 in 2000.

Overall, Americans still strongly support the Roe decision, even if they wouldn't favor abortion for themselves or their sexual partners.

In a CBS News poll this month, 59 percent saw the ruling as a "good thing," while 32 percent felt it was a "bad thing." A Gallup poll in late June found 65 percent of respondents want the next Supreme Court justice to be someone who would uphold Roe, while 29 percent would want the justice to side with overturning it.

The only justice on the court at the time of Roe who is still seated is Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who has undergone treatment for thyroid cancer. The National Right to Life Committee, an anti-abortion group, has said the current court would uphold Roe 6-3. Under that assessment, even if Roberts, nominated to replace a retiring swing vote, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, were to favor striking down part or all of Roe, an additional change on the bench would be needed to undo the court's own landmark decision. But on narrower issues, including late-term procedures known as "partial-birth abortions" and parental notification cases, the court appears divided 5-4, and the legal interpretations of Roberts could be decisive.

Roberts took positions against the Roe decision and federally funded abortion services on behalf of his client when he worked for the federal government, under the administration of President Bush's father. But the nominee, who is Catholic, has not divulged his own feelings about the validity of Roe, whose legal reasoning is considered shaky by many scholars.

Roberts' supporters are advising him not to reveal more once the hearings begin after Labor Day.

"We talked about the abortion issue," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a lawyer, who sat down recently with Roberts to talk about the coming hearings. "He kind of said there's two camps when it comes to Roe v. Wade's legal reasoning," Graham said, "and he went through how each camp viewed the decision, but was adamant that it would not be proper or appropriate for him as a potential sitting judge to comment on fact patterns or to comment on how he might decide a particular issue in the future."

(Origional story requires registration)
The Sacramento Bee ~ Margaret Talev ** As abortions fall, activism wanes

Brit cops must remove shoes before terror raids
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Political Correctness gone awry. POLICE have been told they must show respect by taking their SHOES OFF before raiding the homes of Muslim terror suspects. It was one of 18 rules laid down in new guidelines for officers in Luton — a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism. How long until terrorists start lining their doorways with broken glass and nails?

Police to raid in socks

Sock it to them ... cops must remove shoes according to memo

POLICE have been told they must show respect by taking their SHOES OFF before raiding the homes of Muslim terror suspects.

It was one of 18 rules laid down in new guidelines for officers in Luton — a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism.

The Sun Online ~ Virginia Wheeler ** Police to raid in socks

Past Presidential Recess Appointments
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

A Look at Presidential Recess Appointments

♣ Presidents since George Washington have made appointments during congressional recesses to fill positions in the executive and judicial branches. Under the Constitution, the president can make temporary appointments while the Senate is in recess, without Senate approval. The appointment lasts through the end of the following one-year session of Congress.

Following are some of the more notable recess appointments:

♠ President Bush: 106 recess appointments, including Bolton, mostly to minor posts. Among them:

_Anthony J. Principi, chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, April 2005. Bush used the recess to also appoint the panel's other eight members, circumventing a move by Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., to delay the base closings.

_William Pryor, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, February 2004. The Alabama judge's re-nomination and Senate approval this June was part of a deal struck by centrist senators to avoid a judicial filibuster battle.

_Charles Pickering, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, January 2004. First nominated in 2001, he was blocked by Senate Democrats. He retired when his temporary appointment expired last December.

_Eugene Scalia, Labor Department solicitor, January 2002. Bush extended Scalia's term by naming him acting solicitor in November 2002, with the intent of re-nominating him before a GOP-controlled Senate. But Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, resigned in January 2003.

_Otto Reich, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere, January 2002. The former Reagan White House aide left when his recess term expired the following November.

♠ President Clinton: 140 recess appointments over two terms. Among them:

_Former Sen. Wyche Fowler, D-Ga., ambassador to Saudi Arabia, August 1996. Put in the post two months after a bombing that killed 19 American soldiers stationed there, he received Senate confirmation in October 1997 and served until March 2001.

_Mickey Kantor, commerce secretary, April 1996. He replaced Ron Brown, who died in a plane crash, but left in January 1997 before his nomination went before the Senate.

_Roger Gregory, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, December 2000. He was later re-nominated by Bush and confirmed by the Senate.

_Bill Lann Lee, assistant attorney general for civil rights, August 2000. Blocked by Senate Republicans, he was appointed acting assistant attorney general in 1997, then received the recess appointment to serve out Clinton's term.

_James Hormel, ambassador to Luxembourg, June 1999. A gay philanthropist whose nomination was blocked by Senate Republicans, he remained ambassador until near the end of Clinton's term.

♠ The first President Bush made 77 recess appointments over one term, and President Reagan made 243 over two terms.

Other recess appointments of note:

♠ President John F. Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October 1961, getting around opposition from Southern senators. Their resistance had weakened by the following September, and the Senate approved him 54-16.

♠ President Dwight Eisenhower made three recess appointments to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953) and Associate Justices William Brennan (1956) and Potter Stewart (1958). Each later received Senate confirmation.

♠ President George Washington appointed John Rutledge of South Carolina as chief justice during a 1795 recess. The Senate rejected the nomination and his appointment expired after he served one term.

Sources: AP archives; Congressional Research Service; Senate Historian's Office.

Washington Post ~ Associated Press ** A Look at Presidential Recess Appointments