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Tom Ridge

Ridge: Terror Suspect Doesn't Deserve Constitution's 'Full Range Of Protections'

CNN | Posted 12.29.2009 | Politics

Read More: Detroit Terrorism, Detroit Terror Suspect, Military Tribunals, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Constitutional Rights, Terrorism, Ridge, Detroit, Civilian Trials, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, Mutallab Trial, Tom Ridge, Politics News

The man who allegedly lit an explosive on board a U.S.-bound international flight deserves none of the constitutional protections afforded American ci...

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Playboy: Con Man Convinced Bush Administration He Could Predict Terror Attack

Playboy | Aram Roston | Posted 12.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, Terror Scale, Playboy, Bush, Homeland Security, Terrorism, Dennis Montgomery, War on Terror, Tom Ridge, Politics News

The weeks before Christmas brought no hint of terror. But by the afternoon of December 21, 2003, police stood guard in heavy assault gear on the stree...

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Vital Speeches, Back in the Day

David Murray | Posted 10.08.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Great Depression, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Lasker, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, National Recovery Administration, Vital Speeches, Michael Moore, New Deal, Orations, Fdr, Addresses, Tom Ridge, Obama Race Speech, Chicago News
David Murray

A sampling of American speeches from 75 years ago reveals rhetoric both strange and strangely familiar.

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My Morning Ritual

Steven Weber | Posted 12.01.2009 | Living

Read More: Wine, Tom Ridge, J. Edgar Hoover, Breakfast Wine, Morning Routine, America, Living News
Steven Weber

The last several months have highlighted, more than any time I can remember, the confluence of commerce and politics, loss of faith in government, and widespread acceptance of cartoon scenarios.

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Keep Your Shoes On: A Modest Proposal for Rational Airport Security

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.11.2009 | Living

Read More: Shoe Bomber, Department of Homeland Security, Fearmongering, Tom Ridge, Homeland Security, 9/11 Anniversary, 9/11, Airport Security, Bush War on Terror, September 11th, Living News
Jay Michaelson

The rest of the world is laughing at us. Literally, in some cases -- when I reflexively took my shoes off at a security line in Berlin, the guard chuckled. Stupid American.

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Rachel Maddow: Her Intelligence is Right

Joe Cirincione | Posted 10.20.2009 | Media

Read More: Iraq War, Intelligence, Saddam Hussein, Nuclear Weapons, Federal Budget Deficit, Tom Ridge, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Rachel Maddow, Jessica Mathews, Iran, Ted Kennedy, North Korea, Dick Cheney, Afghanistan War, Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, Tom Ridge Rachel Maddow, Rachel Maddow Tom Ridge, Media News
Joe Cirincione

Maddow will not let former officials dodge responsibility for launching an unnecessary war in Iraq. Why do other journalists?

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Tom Ridge: I Avoid Red And Orange Ties

New York Post | Posted 10.19.2009 | Style

Read More: Tom Ridge Ties, Tom Ridge, Style News

"All I wanted was to make sure I didn't wear an orange or red one," adding, "I wish I could say I picked it out, but somebody gave it to me."...

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Politics and Pressure

Daniel Menaker | Posted 10.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Politics, Media, Tom Ridge, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Homeland Security, Politics News
Daniel Menaker

At least Ridge on the "Rachel Maddow Show" and "Hardball" had the decency to squirm, and thus give himself away. The way that he said that he didn't mean what he said showed me that he did.

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Ridge: Take That Untrustworthy Jacket Off My Trustworthy Book!

Talking Points Memo | Ben Frumin | Posted 10.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: 2004 Election, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge, Chris Matthews Hardball, Homeland Security, Politics News

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's backpedaling book tour continues! As we've reported, Ridge's new book, The Test of Our Times: America ...

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Maddow Interviews Tom Ridge About Iraq Intelligence, Hurricane Katrina, Politicized Threat Levels (VIDEO)

Huffington Post | Nicholas Graham | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Wmd, Bush, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Iraq War Intelligence, Tom Ridge, Ridge, Homeland Security, The Test of Our Times, George W. Bush, Iraq War, Video, Rachel Maddow, Iraq, Wmds, Politics News

***UPDATE*** TPM makes the good point that Maddow got Ridge to contradict what was written on the jacket of his book. After repeatedly denying that p...

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Ridge: Waterboarding Was "Wrong"; America Shouldn't Have Done It

The Plum Line | Greg Sargent | Posted 10.16.2009 | Politics

Read More: Enhanced Interrogations, Bush Administration, Waterboarding, Tom Ridge, Eric Holder, Dick Cheney, Politics News

Looks like Tom Ridge has joined the ranks of terrorist-sympathizers. In a throwaway comment in this interview with ABC News earlier today, the former...

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Ridge Backpedals, Says There Was No Pressure To Raise Terror Alerts

AP/Huffington Post | Mimi Hall | Posted 09.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: Terror Alert Levels, Bush Administration, Tom Ridge, Tom Ridge Book, Terror Alerts, Politics News

WASHINGTON — Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Monday people "are hyperventilating" about his assertion that politics played a r...

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Johnny, Tommy, Rummy, and Ash

Maggie Van Ostrand | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, John McCain, Keith Olbermann, Tom Ridge, Rachel Maddow, Osama Bin Laden, Politics News
Maggie Van Ostrand

It seems every politician with a book and a real or imagined hot topic is hawking his or her too-little-too-late book on cable and network news shows.

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Avoiding Defeat in Afghanistan

Peter Henne | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: Tom Ridge, Counterterrorism, Pakistan, Terrorism, Afghanistan, Taliban, Obama Foreign Policy, Counterinsurgency, Politics News
Peter Henne

In the absence of an apparently imminent threat, will the American public continue to support sending forces to Afghanistan, or will they punish Obama for taking ownership of this conflict?

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Sunday Roundup

Arianna Huffington | Posted 09.22.2009 | Politics

Read More: Terror Warnings, Bush Administration, Tom Ridge, Bernie Madoff, Politics News
Arianna Huffington

Least surprising news item of the week: former Department of Homeland Security director Tom Ridge's admission that he was pressured to raise the terror alert at the end of the 2004 campaign to help Bush win re-election. In his new book, Ridge says he felt the politically motivated manipulation was worth resigning over. But, of course, he didn't, saying nothing and staying on until after Bush won. Ridge thus joins the long line of key Bush administration officials who only come clean when it's time to cash in on their "honesty." Elsewhere, Bernie Madoff's mistress warmed the hearts of Freudians everywhere with her revelation that the famous felon "had a very small penis. Not only was it on the short side, it was small in circumference." Is that why he needed to sport the biggest Ponzi in history?

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Ridge Says Bushies Exploited Terror Threats for Political Purposes. No S**t, Sherlock

Andy Ostroy | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge, Terror Threat, 9-11 Attacks, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Andy Card, Alberto Gonzales, Frances Townsend, President George W. Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Dick Cheney, Politics News
Andy Ostroy

The Ridge revelation is a huge story, but not a surprising one. Anyone with half a brain knew that the Bushies waged their own terror campaign for political advantage leading up to the 2004 election.

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Friday Talking Points [90] -- Obama To Switch Parties

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Daisy Dukes, White House, Table, Medicare for All, Legalize, Barney Frank, Progressives, Fiction, Reform, Catnip, Rube Goldberg, Blackwater, Midotw, Nancy Pelosi, Assassination, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Health Care, Budget Reconciliation, Reid, Nancy Reagan, Reconciliation, Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Terrorism, Mexico, Shorts, Terrorist, Massachusetts, Democrat, Kathleen Sebelius, Congress, Planet, Democrats, Lie, Ted Kennedy, Barack Obama, Decriminalize, Mddotw, Health, Blue Dogs, Harry Reid, Vacation, Falsehood, Healthcare, Senate, George Bush, President Obama, Central Intelligence Agency, Ronald Reagan, Senator, Tom Ridge, Cia, Kennedy, Cat's Cradle, Drugs, Decriminalization, Iraq, Obama, Democratic, Dining Room Table, Media, Truth to Crazy, Media Catnip, Friday Talking Points, Republican, Bush, Pelosi, Edward Kennedy, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Obama Switches Parties, Speaker, Sebelius, Ridge, Two Bills, Michelle Obama, House, Aides, What Planet, Terror Alert, Obama to Switch Parties, Teddy Kennedy, Mainstream Media, Progressive, Grand Canyon, Chris Weigant, Naked Guy on a Plane, Senator Kennedy, Afghanistan, George W Bush, Healthcare Reform, Nazi, Politics News
Chris Weigant

Ted Kennedy is putting both his legacy and his sense of entitlement to his office before the interests of his constituents.

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Breaking! Transcript of 2004 Bush Cabinet Threat-Level Discussion!

Sean Carman | Posted 09.21.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Maureen Dowd, Norm-Mineta, War on Terror, Tom Ridge, Arianna Huffington, Comedy, George W. Bush, Comedy News
Sean Carman

Mr. CHENEY: Fear is our strongest political currency. I think of the wires connected to my heart, and the cold metal case in my chest keeping me alive. How can we make people afraid?

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Jason Linkins

Ridge's Revelations Vindicate "Unserious" Terror Alert Skeptics

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 09.21.2009 | Media

Read More: Tom-Ridge-Terror-Alert, Terror Alert, Tom Ridge Disclosure, Tom Ridge, Media News

Yesterday's revelation from former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge that he was pressured to raise the terror alert level to assist President ...

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Andy Card: A Tale Of Two Quotes

Jackson Williams | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, New York Times, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, Andy Card, Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, Andrew Card, Politics News
Jackson Williams

George Bush minions are doing quick damage control in the wake of Tom Ridge's revelation that he smelled a rat in White House efforts to raise the terror threat level on the weekend before Bush's '04 reelection.

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Ridge: Osama Terror Tape Was Actually Cheney in Beard

Andy Borowitz | Posted 08.21.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Borowitz Report, Andy Borowitz, Tom Ridge, Homeland Security, Osama Bin Laden, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Comedy News
Andy Borowitz

Mr. Ridge said that President George W. Bush "personally selected" the beard that Mr. Cheney went on to wear in the chilling video.

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Tom Ridge: I Was Pressured To Raise Terror Alert To Help Bush Win

The Huffington Post | Rachel Weiner | Posted 09.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Tom Ridge New Book, Tom Ridge Book, Tom Ridge Terror Alert, Tom Ridge 2004, Tom Ridge, Politics News

UPDATE: Former Bush administration officials are vehemently denying Ridge's statements. "We went over backwards repeatedly and with great discipline...

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Where Are They Now?

Nick Turse | Posted 07.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Karl Rove, Tom Ridge, Scott Mcclellan, Andrew Card, Michael Mukasey, Donald Rumsfeld, Ari Fleischer, John Yoo, Dick Cheney, Michael Chertoff, Bush Administration, Harriet Miers, Tommy Thompson, Henry Paulson, John Ashcroft, Karen Hughes, Alberto Gonzales, Politics News
Nick Turse

While times are tough for most Americans, one group is doing remarkably well. For former members of the Bush administration, the economic outlook remains bright and jobs are seemingly plentiful.

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The Secret Superdelegate War Revealed

Erik Ose | Posted 07.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: Taylor Marsh, Democratic Convention Watch, Harold Ickes, HuffPost Election Analysis, President Obama, Democratic Party, Secretary of State Clinton, Presidential Campaign, Arianna Huffington, 2008 Presidential Election, Politics News, HuffPost Election Reaction, 2008, Obama Presidency, Obama 2008, Superdelegates, Tim Pawlenty, Superdelegate Transparency Project, Election Analysis, Obama President, Offthebus, Tom Ridge, Barack Obama Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Voters for Obama, Election Results, Jeremiah Wright, 2008 Election, Brian Williams, Barack Obama, Puma, Jennifer Nix, Barack Obama 2008, Presidential Results, Election Reaction, NObama Democrats, Obama Egypt, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, Presidential Election, Mike Easley, Politics News
Erik Ose

It was one year ago today that Hillary Clinton announced plans to suspend her campaign for the Democratic nomination, and urged her supporters to unite behind Barack Obama.

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Tom Ridge: Cheney Is Wrong About Obama (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | Megan Slack | Posted 06.22.2009 | Politics

Read More: Barack Obama, Tom Ridge, Homeland Security Secretary, President Obama, State of the Union, Dick Cheney, Politics News

In an interview airing this Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," former Bush Administration Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told John King that...

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