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Situation room

A summary of the current situations in the various subject areas covered in this Web log.

110th Congress

U.S. Senate (Web site)
Post Republicans Democrats
Pres. PT.Robert Byrd
Leader Mitch McConnell Harry Reid
Whip Trent Lott Richard Durbin
Seats4949+2
U.S. House of Representatives
(Web site)
Post Republicans Democrats
Speaker. Nancy Pelosi
LeaderJohn Boehner Steny Hoyer
WhipRoy BluntJames Clyburn
Seats202232+1
"+1" refers to independents

The Cabinet

Department Secretary
Defense: Robert Gates
State: Condoleezza Rice
Treasury: Henry Paulson
Justice:Michael Mukasey
Interior:Dirk Kempthorne
Commerce: Carlos Gutierrez
Labor: Elaine Chao *
Agriculture: Mike Johanns
Health & Human Serv.: Mike Leavitt
Housing & Urban Dev.: Alphonso Jackson *
Transportation: Mary Peters
Energy: Samuel Bodman
Education: Margaret Spellings
Veterans Affairs: James Peake
Homeland Security: Michael Chertoff *
* : Held over from first term.

Latin American
Presidents & elections

Country President Next election
El Salvador Saca Mar. 2009
Panama Torrijos May 2009
Uruguay Vázquez Nov. 2009
Honduras Zelaya Nov. 2009
Bolivia Morales Dec. 2009
Haiti Preval 2010?
Brazil da Silva (!) Oct. 2010
Ecuador Correa Oct. 2010
Colombia Uribe (!) May 2010
Costa Rica Arias Feb. 2010
Peru Garcia Apr. 2011
Argentina Fernandez de Kirchner Oct. 2011
Chile Bachelet Nov. 2011
Nicaragua Ortega Nov. 2011
Guatemala Berger # (Colom) Nov. 2011
Paraguay Duarte # (Lugo) Apr. 2012
Cuba Raul Castro ???
Dom. Rep. Fernandez (!) May 2012
Mexico Calderon July 2012
Venezuela Chavez (!) Dec. 2012
(in turmoil) (2R) = 2nd round
* = irregular succession
(!) = reelected
# = lame duck (Names in parentheses are presidents-elect.)

U.S. ground forces
Deployment
(preliminary)

Division Home base(s) Now?
1st Armored* Wiesbaden, Germany; Ft. Riley, KS home
1st Cavalry Ft. Hood, TX home
1st Infantry (Mech.)* Wurzburg, Germany;
Ft. Riley, KS		 home
2nd Infantry (Mech.)* Camp Red Cloud, S. Korea;
Ft. Lewis, WA		 home
3rd Infantry (Mech.)* Ft. Stewart & Ft. Benning, GA returning home
4th Infantry (Mech.)* Ft. Hood, TX; Ft. Carson, CO Iraq
7th Infantry (Light)** Fort Carson, CO home
24th Infantry (Mech.)** Ft. Riley, KS
(NC, SC, GA)		 home - N.G.
25th Infantry (Light)* Schofield Barracks, HI;
Ft. Lewis, WA		 home
10th Mountain Fort Drum, NY Afghan.
82nd Airborne Fort Bragg, NC home
101st Airborne Fort Campbell, KY Iraq
28th Infantry (N.G.) Harrisburg, PA Iraq?
29th Infantry (Light) (N.G.) Fort Belvoir, VA home
34th Infantry (N.G.) Rosemont, MN home
35th Infantry (N.G.) Fort Leavenworth, KS home
36th Infantry (N.G.) Austin, TX Iraq
38th Infantry (N.G.) Indianapolis, IN home
40th Infantry (Mech.) (N.G.) Los Alamitos, CA home?
42nd Infantry (Mech.) (N.G.) Troy, NY Iraq
1st Marine Exped. Force Camp Pendleton, CA home
2nd Marine Exped. Force Camp Lejeune, NC Iraq
3rd Marine Exped. Force Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan home

NOTE: This information is tentative, pending further research. Elements of some divisions currently based at home are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. This table does not include separate brigades, armored cavalry regiments, or smaller units.
* Most divisions have one brigade based separately.
** The 7th and 24th Infantry Divisions are mere umbrella organizations, not intended to be deployed en masse.

SOURCES: Divisional Web sites, via army.mil, as well as strategypage.com, GlobalSecurity.org, and Washington Post

Stadium prospects

Franchise /
Stadium		 Exp. demise Reloc. prob.
Washington Nationals /
RFK Stadium		 2008 0%
New York Mets /
Shea Stadium		 2009 0%
New York Yankees /
Yankee Stadium		 2009 0%
Minnesota Twins /
Metrodome		 2010 0%
Florida Marlins /
Dolphins Stadium		 2011 25%
Oakland Athletics /
Network Assoc. Col.		 2013 15%
Tampa Bay Devil Rays /
Tropicana Field		 2020 25%
Los Angeles Angels /
Angel Stadium		 2020 0%
Boston Red Sox /
Fenway Park		 2025 0%
Chicago Cubs /
Wrigley Field		 2025 0%
Kansas City Royals /
Kauffman Stadium		 2025 0%
Los Angeles Dodgers /
Dodger Stadium		 2025 0%
NOTES: This table includes "at-risk" stadiums, mostly those that are over 15 years old.
"Expected demise" (end of baseball use) reflects the stadium's physical condition, the franchise's plans, and the political climate.
"Relocation probability" pertains to the entire span of the stadium's expected life.

U.S. war fatalities
in Iraq

Month Monthly deaths Cum. deaths
Mar. 2003 65 65
Apr. 2003 73 138
May 2003 37 175
June 2003 30 205
July 2003 47 252
Aug. 2003 35 287
Sept. 2003 30 317
Oct. 2003 43 360
Nov. 2003 82 442
Dec. 2003 40 482
Jan. 2004 47 529
Feb. 2004 19 548
Mar. 2004 52 600
Apr. 2004 135 735
May 2004 80 815
June 2004 42 857
July 2004 54 905
Aug. 2004 66 971
Sept. 2004 81 1052
Oct. 2004 63 1121
Nov. 2004 137 1258
Dec. 2004 72 1330
Jan. 2005 107 1437
Feb. 2005 58 1495
Mar. 2005 36 1531
Apr. 2005 52 1583
May 2005 79 1662
June 2005 77 1739
July 2005 54 1793
Aug. 2005 84 1877
Sept. 2005 48 1925
Oct. 2005 96 2021
Nov. 2005 83 2104
Dec. 2005 66 2170
Jan. 2006 61 2231
Feb. 2006 53 2284
Mar. 2006 30 2314
Apr. 2006 74 2388
May 2006 69 2457
June 2006 59 2516
July 2006 42 2558
Aug. 2006 65 2623
Sept. 2006 70 2693
Oct. 2006 100 2793
Nov. 2006 63 2856
Dec. 2006 105 2961
Jan. 2007 82 3043
Feb. 2007 81 3124
Mar. 2007 75 3199
Apr. 2007 102 3301
May 2007 121 3422
June 2007 98 3520
July 2007 75 3595
Aug. 2007 77 3672
Sept. 2007 62 3734
Oct. 2007 37 3771
Nov. 2007 35 3806
Dec. 2007 23 3829
Jan. 2008 40 3869
Feb. 2008 29 3898
Mar. 2008 37 3935
Apr. 2008 51 3988
May 2008 20 4008
June 2008 28 4036
July 2008 13 4049
Aug. 2008 22 4071
Sept. 2008 25 4097
Oct. 2008 13 4110
Nov. 2008 16 4126
Dec. 2008 12 4138
* so far

NOTE: Includes all deaths, caused by enemy forces or not. Excludes military personnel (currently 72) whose names have not been released because their next of kin have not yet been contacted.

SOURCES: strategypage.com,
GlobalSecurity.org,
Washington Post, Sept. 8, 2004