Comings, Goings, Copycat Hangings

Miers resigns as White House counsel - 4 Jan 2007 at 12:19pm - WASHINGTON -- Harriet Miers, President Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee, has submitted her resignation as White House counsel, the White House announced Thursday.

Intelligence Chief Expected to Move to State Dept. - 4 Jan 2007 at 9:13am - John Negroponte is expected to leave his post as the director of national intelligence to become deputy secretary of state. The unexplained move appears to be a demotion, with Negroponte moving from a Cabinet-level job to a position one-rung lower on the federal ladder.

Bush to name retired admiral to top intel post - 4 Jan 2007 at 3:15pm - Retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell, a veteran of more than 25 years in the intelligence field, will be named by President Bush to succeed John Negroponte as national intelligence director, a senior administration official said Thursday.

The article says that Defense Secretary Robert Gates approves of McConnell's nomination. Did Gates push Negroponte out?

Bush: Government Can Open Your Mail - 4 Jan 2007 at 12:10pm - White House Says It Has Always Had Such Power, to Be Used in 'Extraordinary Circumstances'

It all depends on what the definition of "extraordinary" is?

No date for hanging Saddam aides - 4 Jan 2007 at 10:14am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has not set an execution date for two of Saddam Hussein's aides, an official said on Thursday, as the government faced anger from Sunnis over Saddam's unruly hanging.

And, in other fallout from Saddam's execution...

Texas Boy Dies Mimicking Saddam's Hanging - 4 Jan 2007 at 10:00am - Police and relatives said a 10-year-old Texas boy who died by hanging himself from a bunk bed was apparently mimicking the execution of Saddam Hussein. A 9-year-old in Pakistan is also believed to have died in a similar attempt.