Words from Senate Republican leadership

"I am completely and utterly perplexed by those who argue that perjury and obstruction of justice are not high crimes and midemeanors. Perjury and obstruction hammer away at the twin pillars of our legal system: truth and justice."

(Mitch McConnell, 2/1999, during the impeachement of Bill Clinton. Published 10/30/05, Courier-Journal, Louisville)

Alito nomination

Judge Alito must clearly demonstrate that he shares the commitment to protecting the individual rights and freedoms that Justice O’Connor so often cast the deciding vote to defend. Decades of progress in protecting basic rights, including privacy, women’s rights and civil rights, are at stake with this nomination. The burden is on Judge Alito to be forthright in his answers and on the White House to cooperate with the Senate in providing a full picture of Alito’s record.

The culture of corruption blows into North Dakota

By Charlie Barber,
The Forum
Letter to the editor
Published Sunday, October 30, 2005

Mother Nature is not the only source of ill winds these days.

There’s quite the political tempest going on right now in Washington, D.C., with all the indictments and investigations. Corruption in government is what some are calling it. Others have equally accurate, though nastier, names for it. However, it wasn’t too long ago we had a few investigations blowing across our own state. And we don’t seem to be running out of news of further scandals either.

In 2001, Gov. John Hoeven was caught on the wrong side of the legal track, holding a fundraiser on a posh, private Burlington-Northern railroad car, a corporate contribution to his campaign that was illegal and that he didn’t report. A member of his campaign staff was later convicted of forging documents in an attempt to cover it up. It caught up with him in 2002. Although Hoeven was not charged with a crime, and public memory of this appearance of impropriety did not last long enough to hurt him in 2004, it still caused a blustery 2002 winter in North Dakota politics.

Last August, former North Dakota Republican State chairman John T. Korsmo was forced to resign as Chairman of the Home Loan Bank Board. He lost his license to practice law for lying to the FBI about his involvement in a fundraiser for North Dakota Republican Rick Clayburgh’s congressional campaign. He was the highest ranking North Dakota Republican appointed to federal office by President George W. Bush.

Earlier this October, we are informed by Janell Cole of The Forum (Oct. 23) five Republican legislators – Jim Kasper, Bette Grande, Ron Iverson and Blair Thoreson of Fargo, and Mark Dorsch of Bismarck – took “a four-day, all-expenses paid trip to Antigua earlier this month on an unofficial trade mission,” re: “Internet gaming and the development of a corresponding banking relationship with the Bank of North Dakota.” Unlike other less-publicized and public-spirited North Dakotans, these Republican state House legislators were likely not down in the Caribbean area to help out in hurricane relief. Much more plausibly they were planning to help yet another outside corporation – like Websmart – relieve North Dakotans of their hard-earned money.

Although not the magnitude of what’s going on in Washington, corruption has blown across the plains in recent years, and members of the North Dakota Republican Party have been culprits in this culture of corruption. Might I please remind the self-righteous among Republicans that a “culture of corruption” is not a “family value”?

North Dakotans need to wake up and do something about this sad, though prevalent, predicament in the only place they are likely to have a real effect – at the polls.

Lawmakers From Both Parties Call for White House Shakeup

By BRIAN KNOWLTON,
International Herald Tribune
Published: October 30, 2005
NY Times

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 - Senior lawmakers from both major political parties called today for a White House shakeup in the wake of the C.I.A. leak case, and some urged an internal investigation into any involvement by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Democrats called on both President Bush and Mr. Cheney to apologize to the American people for the affair that led to the indictment on Friday of Mr. Cheney's top aide, I. Lewis Libby Jr. Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, remains under investigation by the special federal prosecutor.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney "should come clean with the American public," the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said. "The president, I guess, is still being driven by Karl Rove," he said on ABC's "This Week." Later, on CNN, he added, "He should be let go."

Click here to read the entire article...

THIS JUST IN.....LIBBY INDICTED

Cheney's top aide indicted in probe of CIA leak

10/28/05

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury investigating the public unmasking of an undercover CIA operative.

Charges included making false statements, obstruction of justice, and perjury, court documents show.

Indictments in the case were the first in a nearly two-year investigation into the public unmasking of an undercover CIA operative. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has scheduled a 2 p.m. ET news conference. (Watch possible ramifications of an indictment -- 2:49)

Libby -- a major player in the Bush White House -- was expected to step down from his post after an indictment. (Profile)

President Bush's top political strategist Karl Rove will not be indicted Friday by the federal grand jury investigating the leak, sources close to the investigation tell CNN. But, the sources said, Rove is not out of legal jeopardy as the matter is still under investigation. (Full story)

Click here to read the whole story...

Letters to the editor in The Forum today

The Forum's editorial page was full of letters to the editor today. The topic was a trip taken by a group of five Republican legislators to Antigua. The purpose was supposed to be talks about Internet poker, but now we are hearing different. Here's one of the letters.

"I can’t believe the Republican corruption in government is happening here in North Dakota. This recent trip to Antigua by Republican legislators, with no Democrats invited, has me puzzled.

Do we elect these officials so that they can get access to freebies? Why are they allowed to take undisclosed trips when they are discussing official business in foreign countries? The official business of this trip was to get Internet gambling in North Dakota.

Last session, Democrats proposed legislation for new disclosure laws. They proposed a solution to an obvious problem. Many states already have these laws in effect. In our Republican controlled legislature, the proposed legislation was shot down. Why don’t Republicans in North Dakota want accountability for elected officials?

Rep. Ron Iverson, R-Fargo, and Rep. Bette Grande, R-Fargo, went on this trip and are up for election in 2006. When casting your vote, remember what their main concerns are."

Carol Sawicki-Fargo
The Forum
10/28/05

Hoeven's lack of leadership

Here is an excerpt from a story in The Forum today. With energy prices being sky high, Governor Hoeven still has shown no leadership to help the people of North Dakota with costs.

"Income eligibility requirements in North Dakota for a low-income energy assistance program won’t change, at least through November.

Gov. John Hoeven announced Thursday that he directed human services officials to maintain last year’s income eligibility levels for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program – better known as LIHEAP – through November, pending additional federal funding.

Before Hurricane Katrina, the state had decided to increase eligibility levels for the program this winter. Since then, however, concerns about rising energy prices prompted the reversal.

Despite two failed efforts to increase funding for the program Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, Hoeven continues to believe there is support in the Bush administration and Congress to add money to the program.

Hoeven has come under pressure from Democratic legislative leaders to tap into the state’s $100 million budget surplus to augment federal energy assistance for the poor, which they said has failed to keep up with rising energy costs." (The Forum, 10/28/05)

Click here to read the entire story...

Oil Industry Seeks to Cast Huge Profits as No Big Deal

By Terence O'Hara
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 28, 2005

By most familiar comparisons, the $9.92 billion profit earned by Exxon Mobil Corp. in just three months is almost unimaginable. It would cover all Social Security benefit payments for three months. It would pay for an Ivy League education for about 60,000 kids. It would pay the average list price for more than 160 Boeing 737s. It would fund the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than two months.

Yet oil industry representatives and Exxon Mobil yesterday made a game effort to cast the record profit, earned during a quarter in which the Gulf Coast was shattered by hurricanes and gas prices rose well above $3 a gallon, as middling
at best.

Click here to read the entire article...

Poll: Bush would lose an election if held this year

10/25/05

(CNN) -- A majority would vote for a Democrat over President Bush if an election were held this year, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

In the latest poll, 55 percent of the respondents said that they would vote for the Democratic candidate if Bush were again running for the presidency this year.

Thirty-nine percent of those interviewed said they would vote for Bush in the hypothetical election.

The latest poll results, released Tuesday, were based on interviews with 1,008 adults conducted by telephone October 21-23.

Click here to read the whole story...

Forum editorial: Gambling trip reveals loopholes

The Forum
Published Tuesday, October 25, 2005

When North Dakota legislators take an all expenses-paid trip from special interests that might have business before the Legislature, North Dakotans should know about it. When lawmakers characterize themselves as some sort of unofficial trade team on a visit to a foreign nation, North Dakotans should know about it.

And they should know about it before the trip, not after.

Alas, North Dakota law has no provisions for lawmakers to report such trips as long as no public money is spent. So when five Republican legislators, led by Rep. Jim Kasper of Fargo, jetted off to Antigua earlier this month, they were under no obligation to tell anyone about anything. Indeed, they didn’t say a word until Forum reporter Janell Cole got wind of the trip and began asking questions. (See Cole’s report in Sunday’s Forum.) Rep. Kasper said he intended to go public with the trip after he met with Gov. John Hoeven and others in state government regarding how the state could benefit from a relationship with Antigua. Hoeven said he knew nothing of the trip and didn’t expect he would unless public money were spent.

Accepting Kasper’s invitation for the trip were Rep. Bette Grande, Rep. Ron Iverson, Rep. Blair Thoreson, all Fargo, and Rep. Mark Dosch, Bismarck.

Why Antigua, a tiny Caribbean nation? Because the island is a hemispheric center of Internet gambling, and Kasper is determined to have North Dakota develop a relationship with Antigua in order to license and regulate Internet gambling, specifically poker, in North Dakota.

Click here to read the whole article...

Island pays N.D. legislators’ trip: All business

By Janell Cole
The Forum
Sunday, October 23, 2005

BISMARCK – Five North Dakota legislators – including four from Fargo – took a four-day, all-expenses paid trip to Antigua earlier this month on an unofficial trade mission paid for by the tiny Caribbean island country.

Rep. Jim Kasper arranged the trip for fellow state House Republican representatives Mark Dosch, Bette Grande, Ron Iverson and Blair Thoreson. All but Dosch, who’s from Bismarck, represent Fargo districts at the Capitol.

Two others, Rep. Dave Weiler, R-Bismarck, and Sen. Duaine Espegard, R-Grand Forks, were invited but did not go.

An Oct. 1 Antiguan government news release said the trip was to discuss Internet gaming.

“High on the agenda will be discussions on Internet gaming and the development of a corresponding banking relationship with the Bank of North Dakota, the only state-owned bank in the United States managed by the legislators,” the release said.

Click here to read the entire article...

DeLay booked on conspiracy charges

Associated Press
Oct. 20, 2005

HOUSTON - Rep. Tom DeLay turned himself Thursday in at the Harris County sheriff’s bonding office, where he was photographed, fingerprinted and released on bond on state conspiracy and money laundering charges.

“He posted $10,000 bond and they have left the bonding office,” Lt. John Martin with the sheriff’s department said.

DeLay, accompanied by his attorney, Dick DeGuerin, showed up about 12:15 p.m., appeared before a judge and was gone in less than 30 minutes, Martin said.

Click here to read the entire story...

Arrest warrant issued for DeLay

A routine step before court appearance

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A Texas court issued a warrant Wednesday for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to appear for booking, where he is likely to face the fingerprinting and photo mug shot he had hoped to avoid.

Bail was initially set at $10,000 as a routine step before his first court appearance on conspiracy and money laundering charges. Travis County court officials said DeLay was ordered to appear at the Fort Bend County jail for booking.

The warrant was "a matter of routine and bond will be posted," DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said.

The lawyer declined to say when DeLay would surrender to authorities but said the lawmaker would make his first court appearance Friday morning.

Click here to read the entire article...

N.D. Republican officials too concerned with being partisan

Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Jamestown Sun letter to the editor
by Robert Schneider

It’s interesting to me that the North Dakota Republican Party is more concerned about Supreme Court nominees than issues like energy prices. Republican Chairman Ken Karls has been in front of the cameras again touting his support of President Bush’s nominees.

I do believe that Supreme Court decisions affect North Dakota, but right now energy prices are through the roof. Republicans seem to not care. School districts and people on fixed incomes will be hurting this winter.

It has been reported that natural gas will cost 50 percent more than last year, and the federal assistance for home energy will be the same in North Dakota. The money isn’t enough to cover the increase.

It also has been reported that Ohio and Wisconsin have appropriated money to help the people of their state with energy bills. That was a solid decision. North Dakota’s winters are more severe than in those states. There is no doubt in my mind that people will have problems paying their heating bills here.

I think it is a shame that the Republican leadership in this state is more concerned about being partisan than caring about the well being of its constituents.

Ed Schultz says Pentagon pulled plug on show

Associated Press
By DAVE KOLPACK

FARGO - Radio talk show host Ed Schultz says the Pentagon reneged after telling him his show would be aired for troops around the world. A Pentagon spokesman says no decision has been made.

Schultz does a nationally syndicated show from Fargo that supporters have billed as a liberal alternative to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. He said he had an agreement with the American Forces Radio and Television Service network to air his show starting this week. The network broadcasts news, sports and entertainment programming to soldiers stationed overseas.

Schultz said his producer got a call from Allison Barber, a deputy assistant secretary for defense, on Monday morning saying the show was "off for now," and she was not sure it would be rescheduled.

"It's censorship, that's what it is," Schultz said.
Schultz said he was critical of Barber on his show last week, when he said Barber had coached a group of U.S. soldiers in Iraq on what to say before a teleconference with President Bush.

Bush's approval down in North Dakota

SurveyUSA is reporting that President Bush's approval rating is at 49 percent in North Dakota. It is down from a month ago.

Click here to see the poll...

Truth in budgeting: Creating a Social Security lockbox

By U.S. Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio)

Published: GF Herald 10/16/2005

When it comes to Social Security, Democrats and Republicans haven't yet found common ground on how to reform the program. But there's one thing everyone in Washington ought to be able to agree on: The raiding of the Social Security trust funds has to stop.

Each year, the Treasury Department borrows about $150 billion from the Social Security trust funds and uses the money to pay for national defense, homeland security, tax cuts and other federal government activities. So far, we have borrowed more than $1.9 trillion from Social Security to finance the rest of government. That's just wrong.

Click here to read the whole op-ed...

Largest budget deficits in history

Here are the top three budget deficits in history according to the Associated Press (Oct. 14, 2005). Notice they are all under the current President George W. Bush. The Republican leadership in this country is borrowing and spending more money than any in history. The Executive and Legislative branches in this country are held by fiscally irresponsible Republicans.

1) 2004-$413 billion

2) 2003-$378 billion

3) 2005-$319 billion

Karl Rove makes final grand jury appearance

10/14/05

(AP) WASHINGTON - Karl Rove testified to a grand jury for the fourth and final time Friday, smiling as he emerged from hours of questioning about his possible role in the leak of a covert CIA officer’s identity.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that statements in the summer that Rove retained the president’s confidence remained true. However, McClellan declined repeatedly to utter words of confidence outright.

Prosecutors had warned Rove before his latest grand jury appearance that there was no guarantee he would not be indicted. The grand jury’s term is due to expire Oct. 28.

Click here to read the entire article...

SEC Subpoenas Frist's Stock Records

Today, the Washington Post reported that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was ordered "to turn over personal records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe of his July sales of HCA Inc. stock." In addition to his troubles with his supposed blind trust, the Associated Press found earlier this week that Frist also earned tens of thousands of dollars from HCA stock while serving in the Senate, in a partnership controlled by his brother. [Washington Post, 10/13/05; AP, 10/11/05]

Click here to read the Post story...

Bigger synfuel push urged

By Janell Cole, The Forum
Published Thursday, October 13, 2005

BISMARCK –North Dakota officials should set a statewide goal for using more ethanol and biodiesel, Sen. Byron Dorgan said.

By 2008, 10 percent of the state’s gasoline usage should ethanol and 2 percent of diesel should be biodiesel, he said Wednesday.

Click here to read the entire article...

Forum editorial: Wrong time to cut back FSA offices

The Forum
Published Thursday, October 13, 2005

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not made the case that several hundred Farm Service Agency offices, including six in North Dakota, should be closed. The goal, according to USDA, is to save money on farm program administration. The result, however, would be more inconvenience and lost time in the field for farmers and ranchers.

North Dakota’s congressional delegation wants answers from Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns about the proposed closings. The North Dakotans, along with delegations from other farm states, have their doubts about the alleged savings USDA claims. The secretary has not said how much would be saved, nor has USDA compared the alleged savings to the anticipated losses farmers would incur due to additional time spent traveling to more distant FSA offices.

Click here to read the whole article...

Hoeven's attempt

Governor John Hoeven's official website has a press release posted discussing his disagreement with Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns' decision to close six Farm Service Agency offices. It's interesting that Hoeven hosted Johanns in North Dakota twice this year. Johanns not only wants to close these offices, but he is entirely pro-CAFTA. What is Hoeven doing welcoming people here that are against North Dakota farmers?

Click here to read Hoeven's press release...

Sen. Tim Mathern letter: Sen. Dorgan is the engine behind research success

The Forum
Published Tuesday, October 11, 2005

It was great to read the recent story and editorial in The Forum about North Dakota State University’s growing role as a nationally recognized research university. The growing number of federal research contracts finding their way to our state is a remarkable development.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is the engine behind this success.

It seems each time I come to an open house function of a new project at NDSU, I find Dorgan’s fingerprints on the project. So I did some further checking. I came to the conclusion he has done more than anyone to make this growth happen, not only at NDSU, but at other North Dakota colleges and universities as well.

Click here to read the entire article...

David M. Strauss letter: Rep. Iverson needs quick math lesson

The Forum
Sunday, October 09, 2005

Rep. Ron Iverson’s (R-Fargo), Oct. 3 letter to the editor makes claims that simply are not true.

He claims that 75 percent of the people in North Dakota want Republicans to represent them in the North Dakota Legislature. That is simply not true. Republicans received only 55 percent of the votes for the state Legislature, but they captured 75 percent of the seats. How does that happen? It happens when the district boundaries have been manipulated to ridiculous proportions to favor the Republican Party. As a result, the unfair district boundaries have left the state with a legislature not representative of the people.

The people of North Dakota are being done a real disservice when the majority in the Legislature not only doesn’t encourage public discussion of the issues; it actively works to quell any differing voices. The voices of North Dakotans are muted because the North Dakota Republican Party has chosen to draw and redraw electoral boundaries to their advantage and to the detriment of North Dakotans and democracy.

The interests of North Dakotans are better served when all aspects of public policy can be debated in the Legislature. Rep. Iverson rightly points out that the Capitol belongs to the people of this state – all people, Democrat, Republican and independent, and the Legislature shouldn’t be trying to change that.

David M. Strauss
Chairman, N.D. Democratic-NPL Party
Bismarck, N.D.

Senate Approves Defense Appropriations Bill With $269 Million for North Dakota-Related Projects, Dorgan and Conrad Announce

Washington – U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) announced Friday they secured more than $269 million for projects in North Dakota in a Defense Appropriations bill approved today by the U.S. Senate.

A portion of the funding will be used for a variety of projects that will be valuable for the military and national security, while at the same time employing capable researchers at North Dakota’s universities and businesses, Dorgan and Conrad said. The senators directed a total of $51.6 million for projects involving the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University.

“North Dakota has enjoyed a long and close relationship with the military, and we have evidence of that relationship in this bill,” Dorgan said. “The research done in these projects will provide important services to the Department of Defense and make our state more competitive.”

Two provisions secured by Dorgan and Conrad will ensure that the Air Force maintains a robust force of B-52s and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in North Dakota. Conrad and Dorgan authored an amendment, adopted unanimously by the Senate, which increased the budget for Predator UAVs by $130 million. Many of the Predators will be assigned to North Dakota Air National Guard at Grand Forks Air Force Base. The bill also directs the Air Force to use $76.1 million to maintain 18 attrition reserve B-52 bombers at Minot Air Force Base, reversing an Administration plan to scrap the bombers.

“After a summer filled with BRAC battles, this is welcome news for North Dakota. This bill further proves that North Dakota – from its military bases to its university research labs – plays an integral part in our national security,” Conrad said.

N.D. blogger on "Hot Talk" today

North Dakota blogger, Brett Narloch, was on "Hot Talk" with Scott Hennen today. His blog is full of exaggerations and RNC talking points against Senator Kent Conrad. The interview was full of contradictions.

There's a quote from him talking about our boys in Washington, D.C. below. Is he really against Conrad, or is he just a tool filled with RNC talking points?

"The Delegation does some fine things. I will not argue about that." Scott Hennen then agreed.

Republicans' 2006 Senate prospects sour

By Peter Savodnik, The Hill

This is not how Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) hoped things would turn out.

High-profile candidates she hoped could defeat incumbent Democrats are shying away from 2006, and some of her own Republican colleagues are looking vulnerable.On Monday, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) bowed out of a race next year against Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). Late last week, Gov. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said he wouldn’t challenge Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) next year.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which Dole chairs, has failed to recruit candidates it considers top-tier in Michigan, Florida and Vermont; no one is challenging Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.); and Republicans are embroiled in primaries in Nebraska and Rhode Island.

Click here to read the entire article...

Republicans return DeLay PAC donations

By Elana Schor, The Hill

Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) state-level PAC, not its federal affiliate, is at the center of the current indictment scandals that have forced him to step down as House majority leader. But three fellow Republicans have decided to play it safe and return contributions from the federal PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), citing a desire to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee seized upon the trend yesterday with a targeted e-mail that asks subscribers to write their state GOP delegations and demand that more lawmakers divest themselves of ARMPAC contributions.

Republican Reps. Jeb Bradley (N.H.) and Heather Wilson (N.M.) gave back $15,000 and $10,000, respectively, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) wrote a $14,500 check to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund to offset the amount DeLay’s PAC had given him. Hulshof was removed from the House ethics committee at the beginning of this session, along with former Chairman Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), after the panel issued three ethics citations against DeLay in the 108th Congress.

Fellow GOP members of New Hampshire and Missouri delegations indicated to local media that they would not give back ARMPAC contributions. The League of Conservation Voters has publicly petitioned Wilson to give back money DeLay’s PAC has given her in past election cycles.

DeLay indicted on money laundering charge

Monday, October 3, 2005
Associated Press

AUSTIN – A Texas grand jury on Monday indicted U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering.

A different grand jury whose term ended last week indicted him on a conspiracy charge, forcing DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader.

Both indictments accuse DeLay and two political associates of conspiring to get around a state ban on corporate campaign contributions by funneling the money through the DeLay-founded Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee to the Republican National Committee in Washington. The RNC then sent back like amounts to distribute to Texas candidates in 2002, the indictment alleges.

No rush of GOP hopefuls for Senate election

By DALE WETZEL
Associated Press (10/2/05)

Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls aren't rushing to exploit Gov. John Hoeven's decision to forgo a race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad in 2006.

Former Gov. Ed Schafer won't run. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Tony Clark, president of the state Public Service Commission, are seeking re-election to their own jobs. Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman isn't interested.

Click here to read the entire article...

Hoeven not running for Senate

Here is an excerpt from the Bismarck Tribune:

"Gov. John Hoeven said he will not run against U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad next year, depriving Republicans of someone they considered their strongest challenger against the veteran Democratic incumbent." (AP, 10/1/05)

Click here to read the whole article...