NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Despite short notice and chilly weather, an estimated 250
residents of Santa Barbara County gathered outside the Santa
Barbara Museum of Art last Thursday to protest President Bush’s
stated intention to send an additional 20,000 troops to bolster
American forces in Iraq. Dubbed the Last Straw Rally, the event
coincided with similar protests staged by antiwar groups throughout
the country.

Congressmember Lois Capps fully embraced the first 100 hours
platform set forth by new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and
spoke out against the president’s proposed “surge” in U.S. troops
in Iraq. Capps argued that sending more soldiers would only
increase the risk to more Americans. She also voted in favor of the
minimum wage increase from $5.15 an hour to $7.25, stem cell
research, and the federal government’s using its bargaining power
to leverage lower prices from the pharmaceutical companies on
behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.