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The Department of Defense has removed several members of its Defense Policy Board, including two former secretaries of state and a former house majority leader, Foreign Policy reports. ... Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, Eric Cantor, David McCormick and Rudy de Leon were among the 11 notable advisers to be removed from the board earlier this week. ''As part of long-considered changes, we can confirm that several members of the Department’s Defense Policy Board have been removed,'' an official said.

CONCORD, N.H. - New Hampshire’s House Republican leader says Roman Catholic Bishop John McCormack is a "pedophile pimp" who should’ve been led from the Statehouse in handcuffs after speaking at a rally criticizing the budget. Rep. D.J. Bettencourt of Salem posted the comment Friday on Facebook in an apparent reference to McCormack’s tenure as head of the Manchester diocese during the clergy sex abuse scandal. In 2002, McCormack averted unprecedented criminal charges against the diocese by agreeing that it had harmed children by moving abusive priests from parish to parish. Bettencourt later said that while his language was colorful, he...

But here’s where the insidious part comes in. Look at the photo… Watch the embedded video in the link above… Listen to Meehan’s apology. Last evening I was a little too aggressive in the confusion of trying to help the Attorney General get to her car and catch a flight. Given all that, Coakley has the gall to say “I didn’t see what happened so I can’t say.” So, IMHO, here are the possible explanations...

By now anyone following the Massachusetts Senate election knows of the latest twist, involving Michael Meehan, and Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack. McCormack, after asking a tough question was shoved by Meehan and fell into a metal fence. For his part, Meehan has apologized, and McCormack appeared to be unhurt. The unfortunate part of the story is that the two questions asked by McCormack deserve an answer, and have been ignored. For her part in the whole affair, Coakley should at least answer the questions that led to Meehan’s actions. Coakley commented that she did not see what happened in...

As you may have heard, a Dem staffer helping the Martha Coakley campaign was caught on video shoving a Weekly Standard reporter, prompting an explosion of outrage from national Republicans and the right-wing media, who alleged bullying and intimidation. Now the staffer, Michael Meehan, sends over a statement admitting error (though not conceding bullying) and saying he also apologized directly to the Standard reporter, John McCormack:

Coakley's bodyguard is connected all the way to the top of the Democratic party.Update: 3:10 P.M.: An aide to a Republican senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, which handles nominations to the BBG, says the shoving incident “will certainly be an issue if the White House continues to back his nomination.”“The BBG works to promote freedom and stop abuse of the press overseas. What kind of message does that send dictators in Iran and Venezuela if the U.S. promotes someone caught on tape assaulting reporters?”Update: 2:57 P.M.: The Boston Globe is reporting that Meehan  “said in an e-mail he would...

Reporter who was assaulted by Obama Goon to be interviewd by Hannity on his radio show today.

The Weekly Standard's John McCormack reports that he was pushed by somebody connected to the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley after trying to ask her a question outside of a fundraiser in Washington Tuesday evening. You may recall that McCormack is the same reporter who contributed to Dede Scozzafava's implosion in the NY-23 congressional race when one of her campaign staffers called the cops on him.

Excerpt from Daily Press Briefing: QUESTION: Yes? Can you say anything about a U.S. response or a U.S. reaction to this uproar in Europe over the Prophet Muhammad pictures? Do you have any reaction to it? Are you concerned that the violence is going to spread and make everything just -- MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't seen any -- first of all, this is matter of fact. I haven't seen it. I have seen a lot of protests. I've seen a great deal of distress expressed by Muslims across the globe. The Muslims around the world have expressed the fact that...

THE US this morning blasted as "hateful and disgusting" remarks by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hoping that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not survive his massive stroke. "This is a man who wraps himself in the cloak of a peaceful religion, Islam, and yet you hear remarks like this coming from him," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The ISNA student news agency in Tehran quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as wishing Mr Sharon dead after the Israeli leader suffered a severe brain haemorrhage yesterday. Mr Sharon, 77, is fighting for his life in a Jerusalem hospital. "I can only say...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A Roman Catholic reform group has petitioned the Vatican to remove New Hampshire Bishop John McCormack, calling him unfit to lead the church. The complaint, filed Oct. 28 by New Hampshire Catholics for Moral Leadership, says McCormack and Auxiliary Bishop Francis Christian lost their moral authority during the clergy sex abuse crisis and that church law requires the resignations of bishops unfit to serve, according to a draft copy of the documents sent to Rome and obtained by The Associated Press. "The credibility of the church's moral leadership is horribly eroded," the group wrote. "The effectiveness...

<p>MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Within hours of Cardinal Bernard F. Law's resignation on Dec. 13, an alleged victim of a pedophile priest stepped to the podium at a news conference in Boston and announced a new target.</p> <p>"Bishop McCormack, we're coming after you," said Gary Bergeron, 40, referring to New Hampshire Bishop John B. McCormack, who was not present. "For every document I've seen with the name Bernard Law, I've seen 100 with the name Bishop McCormack."</p>

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Questioned under oath about the church abuse scandal, New Hampshire's bishop suggested that it is less serious for a priest to have sex with someone from outside the parish than with a parishioner. In depositions this fall, Bishop John B. McCormack said he knew the Rev. Roland Cote had had sex with a teen-age boy but noted that the boy was not a parishioner. "You know, one is an activity where you have a trusted relationship with a parishioner. The other is an activity where you're away from the parish and you're off on your own,"...

McCormack regrets overlooking Rev. Shanley's deviant views By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI Union Leader Staff Manchester Bishop John B. McCormack yesterday said he regrets not picking up on former Boston priest Paul R. Shanley’s deviant views on adult-child sex, but didn’t think Shanley meant what he said nor would ever act on it. “I wish I did zero in on it more,” McCormack said about a 1985 speech on homosexuality in which Shanley was quoted as saying children seduce adults into having sex with them. “But, at the time, Paul was known as one who would push the envelope and kind of...

<p>CONCORD, N.H. (AP) Bishop John B. McCormack should resign because he ignored warnings that priests were molesting children, according to a petition circulating through the state's Roman Catholic parishes.</p> <p>''It is clear to us that Bishop McCormack cannot function effectively as the pastoral leader for this diocese any longer,'' Jim Farrell, one of the creators of the petition, said Wednesday in a telephone interview.</p>