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You can't make this stuff up : SAN DIEGO - A Marine sergeant singled out by President Bush for throwing his body on a grenade to save his comrades in Iraq will receive the prestigious Navy Cross rather than the nation's highest military award, military officials said. The family of Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who was posthumously nominated for the nation's highest military honor, told the North County Times of Escondido, Calif., they were disappointed he was not receiving the Medal of Honor. "I don't understand why if the president has been talking about him," his mother, Rosa Peralta, told the newspaper, which was the first to report the bestowing of the Navy Cross. Rosa Peralta said she was informed during a meeting with Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski that a committee could not agree on awarding the Medal of Honor to her son, who Marine Corps officials say was first wounded by friendly fire. She said the general mentioned the friendly fire aspect as part of...

The House Appropriations Committee is headed by Committee Chair Democrat Dave Obey . Not too long ago Obey's wrote a letter about stopping the war...with the all-to-familiar mantra of if they " only had the (60) votes ." Now the latest version of the appropriation process doesn't really mention that, so I'm assuming Obey was referring getting final passage in the Senate. It's debatable whether or not the magical 60 is true, but it has given Democrats alot of cover when it comes to addressing one of the country's most pressing concerns. That's not to say that Obey's Committee hasn't done anything. In fact, here's Kirstin Brost's report on what Democrats in the Appropriation Committee have done . My concern is that the Democrats in power, the ones sitting in the big chairs, haven't exactly gone out of their way to put pressure on President Bush to define America's overall foreign policy in regards to Iraq: how long the troops ar...

From the World's Greatest Cut&Paste newssource, YahooNews : WASHINGTON - Three leading House anti-war Democrats said they now back a $50 billion bill that funds the war but calls for most troops to come home by December 2008. Their support paves the way for the bill's passage Wednesday. The trio, California Reps. Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters, represent a liberal anti-war caucus that last week expressed opposition to the measure on the grounds it was too soft and did not demand an end to combat. The bill requires that President Bush initiate troop withdrawals within 30 days of its passage with the goal of bringing home most soldiers and Marines by Dec. 15, 2008. You'd think the Bush Administration was going to have a heart attack when they heard the news: The White House said Bush would veto the bill if it comes to him. Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino called the legislation the "height of irresponsibility," charging Democrats with merely try...

Via Michael Moore: Magnet America has an extra million yellow ribbons if anyone wants them.