It's clear that the Blue Dog Democratic Coalition have an uncanny ability to block progressive legislation by demanding concessions from the Democratic leadership to weaken vital parts of progressive legislation in exchange for their votes for the passage of legislation, and that the Congressional Progressive Caucus didn't know how to exercise that ability until the whole fight for health care reform began in the spring.

While hideous scandals and devastating tragedies have attended the Kennedy's long and ongoing tenure in Washington, the nation's respect and admiration for the family has likewise proven unshakable. Just as Americans have shown an abiding willingness to forgive the Kennedy brothers' most shameful indiscretions, so too does Peter Kunhardt's film, Teddy: In His Own Words, pardon their public misdeeds. A tender, nostalgic profile of the Camelot clan through the eyes of its youngest member, the documentary plays eerily like a premature eulogy.

I first met Rocio Martinez at a St. Patrick's Day Party. She sat across from me, an attractive Latina woman with an underlying edge, and after staring past each other uncomfortably for a while we struck up a conversation. My first thought, when she told me that she was a Youth Relations Associate in the Crime Prevention Unit for the LA Unified School District was "kismet!" Here I was, developing a TV series about young Latinas in gangs and the expert had fallen right into my lap. Little did I realize how much more than that our chance meeting would become.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gun rights enthusiasts welcomed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as she made an appearance Friday on a radio talk show, whose callers included rock n' roller turned avid hunter Ted Nugent.

Palin spoke on the Michael Dukes' "Firearms Friday" show on KFAR radio in Fairbanks. She was in Alaska's second largest city to sign a gun rights bill and several resolutions.

Nugent, well-known for the 1970s hit "Cat Scratch Fever," told Palin from his home in Michigan that he was firing up the grill to cook up some Alaskan black bear backstrap in her honor.

NEW ORLEANS — A historically black fraternity has voted to induct former President Bill Clinton as an honorary member.

Phi Beta Sigma President Paul Griffin Jr. said Friday that Clinton is the first U.S. president to be inducted into a historically black fraternity.

The fraternity voted Tuesday for Clinton's induction at its 95th Anniversary Conclave in New Orleans, La.

Stevie Wonder, Al Roker, the Rev. Al Sharpton and jazz musician Ramsey Lewis are also honorary members of Phi Beta Sigma.

SALT LAKE CITY — A gay couple say they were detained by security guards on a plaza owned by the Mormon church and later cited by police, claiming it stemmed from a kiss on the cheek.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that the men became argumentative and refused to leave after being asked to stop their "inappropriate behavior." The men say they were targeted because they are gay.

The list of corrupt African leaders in modern history is a long one.

Idi Amin of Uganda, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Frederick Chiluba of Zambia, Sani Abacha of Nigeria -- to name just a few -- pilfered their countries and/or brutalized their people to a flabbergasting degree.

Why so many? It's a question that's rarely asked. While the reticence might be attributed to fear of being labeled a racist, in fact it's the silence itself that reeks of racism.

When Americans and their representatives speak of a better health care system, they mean more coverage for more people. When health economists speak of reform, they mean cutting spiraling costs by allotting care rationally, according to which care will do the most good for whom.

When Barack Obama speaks, he refers to the latter ideal. But nothing currently occurring in Congress in any way reflects this.

The press has barely been able to contain their excitement over President Obama's trip to Africa. Their glee is understandable. America's first black president is returning to the land in which his ancestors were born. The story is beautiful -- poetic, really. But what few people are asking is, "Why Ghana?"

One of the few news sources to pose this question, Democracy Now, proposed the answer may have something to do with the recent discovery of oil in Ghana.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Barack Obama said Saturday more time was needed for his $787 billion stimulus package to work, predicting the spending would have a bigger impact on the economy later this year.

In an advanced text of his weekly radio speech, Obama said the stimulus plan approved by Congress and signed into law in mid-February "was not designed to work in four months - it was designed to work over two years."

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama today dismissed the idea the nation might need a second stimulus to jolt the economy out of recession and urged Americans to be patient with his economic recovery plan.

Faced with rising unemployment numbers and criticism from Republicans who have already labeled the $787-billion stimulus a failure, Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to remind voters that reversing job losses takes time.

SALT LAKE CITY, July 11 (UPI) -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints security guards detained a gay couple after they kissed near a Utah LDS temple, one of the men says.Matt Aune, 28, says he and his partner, Derek Jones, 25, was stopped by security on Salt Lake City's Main Street Plaza Thursday after he kissed Jones on the cheek, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday.

"They targeted us," said Aune. "We weren't doing anything inappropriate or illegal, or anything most people would consider inappropriate for any other couple."

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Saturday dismissed the idea the nation might need a second stimulus to jolt the economy out of recession and urged Americans to be patient with his economic recovery plan.

Faced with rising unemployment numbers and criticism from Republicans who have already labeled the $787 billion stimulus a failure, Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to remind voters that reversing job losses takes time.

On Wednesday, I reported how Retired Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, the former Judge Advocate General of the US Navy from 1997 to 2000, had delivered compelling testimony to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on "legal issues regarding military commissions and the trial of detainees for violations of the law of war," explaining why the only valid forum for trials of suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay is the U.S. federal court system.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Saturday dismissed the idea the nation might need a second stimulus to jolt the economy out of recession and urged Americans to be patient with his economic recovery plan.

Faced with rising unemployment numbers and criticism from Republicans who have already labeled the $787 billion stimulus a failure, Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to remind voters that reversing job losses takes time.

President Barack Obama on Saturday dismissed the idea the nation might need a second stimulus to jolt the economy out of recession and urged Americans to be patient with his economic recovery plan.

Faced with rising unemployment numbers and criticism from Republicans who have already labeled the $787 billion stimulus a failure, Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to remind voters that reversing job losses takes time.

WASHINGTON, July 11 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama said Saturday his administration has pulled the U.S. economy "back from the brink" and laid the foundation for prosperity.In little more than 100 days, the president said in his weekly address, the economic stimulus plan has slowed the rate of job losses, extended unemployment and health insurance to those who have lost jobs and given $43 billion in tax relief to families and businesses.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday more time was needed for his $787 billion (485 billion pound) stimulus package to work, predicting the spending would have a bigger impact on the economy later this year.

In an advanced text of his weekly radio speech, Obama said the stimulus plan approved by Congress and signed into law in mid-February "was not designed to work in four months - it was designed to work over two years."

WASHINGTON -- Former GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole remained hospitalized Friday following leg surgery performed after he initially sought medical treatment for heart problems.

The former Senate majority leader has been at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington since last week when he experienced a sharply elevated heart rate in the middle of the night, a statement from his law firm, Alston and Bird, said Friday.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), who heads the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, is pressing for an immediate committee investigation of the classified program, which has not been described publicly. Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D., Texas), chairman of the full intelligence committee, has said he is considering an investigation.

Democrats disclosed late Tuesday that Panetta told committee members June 24 that the CIA had been withholding important information about a secret intelligence program begun after 9/11.