Sunday Links

• As the Walter Reed saga continues, with Fox News claiming that the only bad thing about it is that it might be politically problematic for Bush and the GOP, let us not forget the nearly 200,000 homeless veterans—many from the Vietnam War, a growing number (estimated around 500 to 1,000) just back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Speaking of Fox News, The Democratic Party of Nevada has announced plans to team up with the network for a presidential primary debate. Sign this petition to ask the Democratic Party of Nevada to drop Fox from the debate, as Fox is nothing but a GOP mouthpiece network.

• Corrupt Republican Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher pardoned members of his staff in the midst of a patronage probe to try to keep the investigation from incriminating anyone in the governor's office, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence told a newspaper.

• The board of TXU Corp., Texas' largest electric utility, last week tentatively approved a record $45 billion takeover bid by two private equity firms. The prospective owners of the TXU Corp. have told environmental groups that they would cancel eight of 11 coal plants proposed by the company and also back national legislation for mandatory reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, a major contributor to climate change.

• In the first of a three-part series, the New Orleans Times Picayune reveals the growing belief that “the great sweep of marshes protecting New Orleans from the Gulf” will be wiped out far earlier than scientists once believed, “putting the sea at the city’s doorstep.”