U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, who is in Africa this week as part of an official Congressional trip, opined about his last trip to the continent in his blog recently.

Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, was criticizing GOP presidential candidate John McCain about what it takes to have some foreign relations savvy. Miller, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, visited Nairobi, Kenya, and the Darfur region of Sudan last summer on another official tri.

He recalls his visit to a slum in Nairobi and says such understanding of a region's "music" is vital to understanding foreign relations, Barb Barrett reports.

Miller writes: "The more questions we asked, the more guarded the answers became. Then we walked through the slum. … As our delegation walked through Kibera, we all asked the same question: how can this be a stable society?"

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller was one of about 20 lawmakers who met with President Bush at the White House today to hear a report about Bush’s recent trip to Africa and to discuss legislation to fight HIV/AIDS on that continent.

Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, traveled to Africa last year, Barb Barrett reports.

The House foreign affairs committee this week passed legislation to spend $50 billion on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa in the next five years. It now goes to the full House floor, and then to the Senate.

The bill includes language from Miller that tries to ensure the money is spent according to the latest scientific knowledge about treatment and prevention. Miller has a separate oversight bill on the issue as well.

That one echoes scientific language in the authorization of funding, and also would require a five-year strategic plan on improving operations of the HIV/AIDS program.

* Oliver Stone thinks America is like the Soviet Union; John Edwards, not so much. The two also disagree on the merits of "The Shawshank Redemption." (FadeIn)

* Bono praised in book on "wooing" for successfully convincing U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms to support $435 million in debt relief for Africa in 2000. (Time)

* U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole meets with sheriffs in Carolina Beach, proposes giving local deputies more power to work on illegal immigration. (WS-N)

* Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue stresses reducing dropout rate and raising teacher pay; gives position on illegal immigration: "We want legal immigration." (Burlington Times-News)

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller has just wrapped up an 11-day trip to Africa.

Miller was one of seven congressional Democrats on the trip to the African countries of Liberia, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco. They went to measure how well various U.S.-funded aid programs were working.

But Miller said the group also debated the best way to handle foreign aid, reports Barb Barrett.

There’s a quandary, Miller said, between making sure assistance gets to the right recipients without being siphoned off by corrupt officials, while ensuring that whatever aid lands with families doesn't lead to a dependence on charity.

Millions of internal refugees in the countries have been forced out of their homes after years, sometimes decades, of civil war. As nations such as Liberia and Uganda find peace, the international community has to help them figure out how to resettle in post-conflict societies.

"They can't live in these camps forever," Miller said in an interview today. "They've got to return to living independently and providing for themselves. That's not an easy thing to do. We now have a generation of people who don't know how to make a living from farming."

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield will be the co-chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s conference in September, an event that could draw some 20,000 to Washington.

The four-day conference, Sept. 26-29, will include forums on issues affecting African Americans and the African diaspora, including education, health care, criminal justice, economic development and international affairs, reports Barb Barrett.

The conference raises money for the foundation’s scholarship, fellowship and internship programs.

Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, also will host a forum on fighting poverty in rural America.