Is Google Taking Political Sides?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Moving Off

Internet giant Google has banned ads for a Republican senator that are critical of MoveOn.org.

The Washington Examiner reports Google says the ads for Maine's Susan Collins were removed because they violated the company's trademark policy by naming MoveOn. The Collins ads state that she is MoveOn's primary target for defeat during next year's elections.

But Google routinely allows the unauthorized use of company names such as Wal-Mart and Exxon in advocacy ads.

One lawyer who is an expert on intellectual property issues notes there is no legal basis for Google's trademark policy — and that it appears to be practicing selective enforcement of its own rules.

Name Calling

Jimmy Carter says in an interview with the BBC that Vice President Cheney is a "disaster" for the country and a "militant" who has excessive influence over foreign policy.

Mr. Carter tells CNN that the Bush administration has authorized the torture of terrorism detainees, saying — "I don't think it, I know it, certainly." In May he called the administration "the worst in history" in international relations.

By the way – Mr. Carter's White House run concluded with a 13.5 percent inflation rate — a 7.1 jobless rate — and a prime interest rate of 21.5 percent. He left the White House with 52 American hostages in Iran for 444 days.

But he tells XM Radio he would change nothing about his presidency — except for adding one additional helicopter on the failed mission to rescue the hostages.

Think Tank

Hillary Clinton may have backed off her plan to give every newborn American a $5,000 bond — but she is suggesting there are many more such ideas where that one came from.

Clinton's baby bonds proposal — intended to finance college or a home purchase — was met with ridicule because of its high price tag — one poll showed a 62 percent unfavorable response — and quickly withdrawn. Now she tells The Boston Globe that she will focus on proposals with more support and ones that can be funded without a deficit increase, saying — "I have a million ideas. The country can't afford them all."

Standard Procedure

It is common practice for people who take business trips to Africa or Asia to get immunized for a wide range of diseases. So it did not sound too unusual when we read media reports that some staffers with the House Homeland Security Committee — being sent on a mission to study public health issues at events involving mass gatherings — were advised to get shots for hepatitis A and B, tetanus, diphtheria and influenza.

Until we found out where they were being sent: Two NASCAR races right here in the U.S.

The four aides were dispatched to last weekend's race in Talladega, Alabama — and they are going to this weekend's event in Concord, North Carolina.

Republican Congressman Robin Hayes — who is from Concord — is not happy, asking the committee chairman in a letter "why the heck" he felt the immunizations were necessary.

By the way, one report says that while the two Democratic staffers did take the shots, the two Republicans refused.

— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.