The Nightly Quickie

Ney to plead to criminal charge; Ney decided to plead guilty to at least one criminal charge. Wonder how many others he'll take down with him.

White House Seeks a Way to Keep Bolton at the U.N.; it's "stay the course, go down with the sinking ship" time again. Condi's supposed to be having a "talk" with Rhode Island's Chafee soon...you know, the one of the few remaining Republicans with somewhat of a backbone who doesn't always vote for what the administration wants. I wonder what Chafee will tell her.

WSJ: Ford to offer buyouts to all 75,000 UAW workers in US; "The agreement comes one day ahead of Ford's expected announcement detailing its plans to accelerate a previous restructuring and cost cutting plan, called Way Forward," the article continues. The "Way Forward"? Perhaps for the CEOs who'll put more money in their pockets. Thanks, union leaders, for screwing your loyal workers, once again.

Dixie Chicks sing bold tune to new fans; The Chicks are still shut out of the country music world. Even though their latest album has gone platinum, the Country Music Association has not nominated them. Many radio stations still boycott their music and the band had to cancel shows in the Deep South and the America heartland. Yeah, their concert here in Indianapolis was cancelled before it even had a chance to sell tickets -- all because of the hicks around here who praise George Bush. And note to the Chicks: don't worry your pretty heads over no nomination from the CMA because they're as phony as the Grammys and the Oscars. It's all for show.

Lawyer says FCC ordered study destroyed; The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says. Well, well...isn't that a nice gift for evil empires like Clear Channel?

Graduation rates for low-income students seen as 'dismal'; what do you expect when college costs so much these days? And no, it really isn't that easy to get a grant now, and it's takes forever to secure a student loan (if you meet the requirements), so a lot of these kids aren't just "screwing around with their futures". College has become another luxury meant for the rich, just like it was prior to last century.