Iran: Profiles in Courage. Journalist Bill Press, writing in The Hill, named the seven Republican senators who declined to sign the letter to Iran officials, sent by the 47 other GOP senators, to his unofficial list of Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy’s book on lawmakers who took a political risk to do what’s right. Among the seven, three Southerners: Lamar Alexander (TN), Bob Corker (TN) and Thad Cochran (MS) ……. Tennessee: Cohen, Wilkerson praise negotiations with Iran. US Rep. Steve Cohen (D) and Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former aide to Colin Powell, penned a column on CNN.com praising US diplomats working to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran. If successful, they wrote, the agreement would mark “a new era for U.S.-Iran relations” and produce “safeguards on Iran’s nuclear program.” ……. Louisiana: Jindal calls for more defense spending. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), in an address to the American Action Forum in Washington, called on Congress to lift the cap on defense spending contained in the 2011 budget agreement. “It’s absolutely critical that we invest in our military and stop hollowing it out,” the potential presidential candidate said, reported The Hill …….
