International

Bush: Saddam's Execution Will Not Stop Bloodshed

President George W. Bush talked with his top national security adviser on Saturday about the world's reaction to the hanging of Saddam Hussein — an execution the president called a milestone on Iraq's road to democracy.

Bush cautioned that Hussein's death will not halt the bloodshed and political discord splitting the country. He warned of more challenges ahead for U.S. troops.

"Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead," he said in a statement released Friday night from his Texas ranch. "Yet the safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in ensuring that Iraq's young democracy continues to progress." More on the story here.

U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Reaches 3,000

The death of a Texas soldier, announced Sunday by the Pentagon, raised the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

The grim milestone was crossed on the final day of 2006 and at the end of the deadliest month for the American military in Iraq in the past 12 months. At least 111 U.S. service members were reported to have died in December. His death was not announced by U.S. military authorities in Baghdad.

National
President Ford's Children Greet Mourners on Holiday

Two of Gerald R. Ford's children greeted a throng of New Year's Day mourners who braved a rainy wait Monday to pay last respects to the former president.

Michael Gerald Ford shook 8-year-old Christopher Witkowski's hand and gave him a blue remembrance card. "My father would have wanted you to have this," he told Christopher, from Alexandria, Va. Ford's sister, Susan Ford Bales, stood nearby, greeting others who had come to pay their respects. More on the passing of a President here.

‘Stay The Course’ Named Top Catchphrase of 2006
Global Language Monitor, an organization that “documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language the world over” has named “stay the course” the top catchphrase of 2006.

The phrase was used repeatedly by the Bush administration to describe their strategy in Iraq. Well, At least before President Bush told us "It's Never Been 'Stay The Course'"...remember

In Other News...

Chief Justice Roberts says pay for federal judges is too low. Roberts earns $212,000 per year. Judges on federal appeals courts earn $175,100.

New Years Eve on CNN Wolf Blitzer asked of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA): Can you justify deploying more U.S. troops into what you believe is a civil war? Specter answered: "On this day, for the record, Wolf, I would say no."

From The Right:

Doug Wilson: What I Learned As President in 2006
Experts say one of the most important and often neglected aspects of good decision making is the ability to step back and ask the question, "What have I learned in the recent past that will influence my planning for the future"?

From The Left:

Marc Ash: Puppet Kills Puppet
Marc examines the hypocrisy that led the US to prop up Saddam Hussein in the early 1980s, writing that "as long as Saddam obediently protected and facilitated the economic and territorial interests of the American (and European) colonialists who backed him, his ruthlessness was their profit, and clearly tolerable."

Quote Of The Day:

"If Bush ignores Congress, he should expect a lot of hearings, a lot of study, a lot of criticism, and demands for subpoenas."

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), on Fox News Sunday. Host Chris Wallace said, “You’re saying this could get ugly.” Lugar replied, “Yes, it could.” watch here

(Sources: FOXNews, YouTube, AP, MyWay, DrudgeReport, TownHall, ThinkProgress, NYT, CNN, PoliticalCartoons.com)