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Exclusive: Election Day Worries Newsweek — Permalink July 19 issue - American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call "alarming" intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack, NEWSWEEK has learned. | |
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Steven Taylor: This seems to be a growing story in the Blogosphere, and I expect the conspiracy buffs to go hog wild with it: U.S. Mulling How to Delay Nov. Vote in Case of Attack. John Emerson: Here are some new stories on the possibility of a postponed election, plus links to the original stuff we had up:... Susan Madrak: WHO'S CRAZY NOW? So let me get this straight. |
James Joyner: The Newsweek story, "Election Day Worries," presumably has more details. I can't get there at the moment owing to ISP issues. Tom Maguire: My Only Plan Is To Pray — Here we have an idea that is terrible, except perhaps in comparison with the alternatives -... Ogged: How to Choose — If they really do try to postpone the election, it's incumbent upon people of goodwill to start blowing s**t up. |
| Also: Pessimist, Joe Gandelman, Meteor Blades, TChris, Digby | |
U.S. Mulling How to Delay Nov. Vote in Case of Attack Reuters — Permalink U.S. counterterrorism officials are looking at an emergency proposal on the legal steps needed to postpone the presidential election in case of such an attack, Newsweek reported on Sunday. | |
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Mitch Berg: Chum In The Moonbat Pond — First things first: Homeland Security's reschedule the election in the event of a terrorist attack is a lousy one. Joe Gandelman: According to Reuters, citing a Newsweek report,, US counterterrrorism officials want to get a plan in place that will... |
Captain Ed: Given all of that, you can understand why this idea would be inevitable — and it's still tremendously foolish (via... Hindrocket: Plan to Reschedule Election Discussed — This seems like an astonishingly bad idea: [snipped quote] This report will start the propellers spinning on every tinfoil hat in America. |
Demons Attack Kiboga Pupils allAfrica.com — Permalink Primary school in Kiboga district was closed in May after parents reported that their children were being attacked by demons. Bisika Primary School, located in Butemba sub-county, was later re-opened but the pupils continued to live in fear. | |
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Joanne Jacobs: Not enough virgins — or cows — "This is what happens when you cancel Buffy and Angel," says Jonah Goldberg on The... Josh Chafetz: WHEN DEMONS ATTACK: [snipped quote] The story also notes that Ben Ggulu, the "national chairman for traditional healers,"... |
Joe Gandelman: African School Closed When Parents Say It Was Attacked By Demons — Your first reaction may be: so THAT'S where all the... Jonah Goldberg: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CANCEL BUFFY & ANGEL — School closed on account of demon attack. |
The tearjerker By / Telegraph — Permalink 'We've got better vision. We've got better ideas. We've got real plans. And we've got better hair," said John Kerry, introducing his running mate. The Kerry-Edwards vision, ideas, etc don't look so good in the cold light of day, but John Edwards's hair does. | |
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Edward Driscoll: UNCORK BARREL. INSERT FISH. BEGIN SHOOTING: Mark Steyn profiles John Edwards. Deacon: Coatless in America — Mark Steyn is at his best in this piece on John Edwards. Betsy Newmark: Another surprise. Mark Steyn is not impressed with John Edwards. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: But to the extent that they might, Democrats ought to look at John Edwards's actual success—or lack thereof—during the... Greg Ransom: Sen. Edwards — the son of MANAGEMENT. Read all about it .. Mark Steyn on "The tearjerker." . |
Kerry Vows To Restore 'Truth' to Presidency WaPo — Permalink ALBUQUERQUE, July 10 — President Bush has governed in a dishonest fashion, trampling values on every issue except fighting terrorism and leaving voters "clamoring for restoration of credibility and trust in the White House again," John F. Kerry and John Edwards said in an interview. | |
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Athenae: Small Time — In their Washington Post interview the Johns bring up a point that hasn't been talked about enough: how... Brian Crouch: Kerry Vows To Restore Truth to Presidency "ALBUQUERQUE— President Bush has governed in a dishonest fashion, trampling... Captain Ed: Even The Washington Post Isn't Buying The Kerry Line — In an article headlined "Kerry Vows To Restore 'Truth' to... |
Hindrocket: Not Even the Post Can Swallow That One — The Washington Post conducted an airborne interview with John Kerry and John Edwards. KJL: From the Washington Post: "Kerry, who recently said he agrees with the Roman Catholic Church that life begins at... DemFromCT: Kerry Vows To Restore 'Truth' to Presidency it's late for a new thread, but I just saw this posted at the Washington... |
Mother, baby attacked on Paris train after mistaken for Jews AFP — Permalink VERSAILLES, France - A young woman and her baby were attacked in a suburban train near Paris on Saturday by unidentified men who drew swastikas on her stomach with a pen in what police said was an anti-Semitic assault. | |
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Ace: Sunday News Dump — Paris woman & thirteen-month-old infant attacked by Muslim thugs. The attack was motivated by antisemitism. Pejman Yousefzadeh: "ANTI-SEMITISM SCARCELY EXISTS IN THE WEST" — Apparently, even if one looks Jewish, that is a concern: "A young woman... |
Christopher Kanis: CHIRAQ CONDEMNS MISTAKEN ANTISEMITIC ATTACK AFP: [snipped quote] Well, that's what he wanted to say, anyway. |
Edwards Makes Little Difference in Polls By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate was received favorably by the public, polls suggest, but it has made little difference so far in the race with President Bush. | |
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Mitch Berg: Diminishing Returns — Kerry received, in effect, no bounce in the polls from picking John Edwards. |
Betsy Newmark: It is a duel over downplaying expectations about poll results. The GOP is putting out the spin that they expect Kerry to be up by double after the Democratic convention. |
The New Pamphleteers By / NYT — Permalink Whether or not you can tell a book by its cover, you can generally tell a country by its books. If most political books are any indication, the way we argue now has been shaped by cable news and Weblogs; it's all ''gotcha'' commentary and attributions of bad faith. | |
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Steve M.: PEOPLE WITH DEEPLY HELD POLITICAL OPINIONS: NOT OUR KIND, MUFFY — In this weekend's New York Times Book Review, Alan... |
Daniel Drezner: The new pamphleteers — Alan Wolfe has a long essay in the New York Times Book Review about the rise of the überpartisan political book. |
Key Revisions Were Made to CIA Document By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — In a classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared before the Iraq war, the CIA hedged its judgments about Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction, pointing up the limits of its knowledge. | |
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Digby: Today's LA Times notes that the SSIC report points to the fact that key revisions were made to the public version of this NIE, which is interesting because nobody knows who did it. |
Attaturk: "In the Los Angeles Times we read: (emphasis added) In a classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared before the..." |
Conservatively Speaking NYT — Permalink Q When you founded National Review in 1955, being a high-IQ conservative was a lonely job in America. But now that you are finally leaving the magazine, neoconservatives are running the country. What do you make of them? | |
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Libertarian: CONSERVATIVELY SPEAKING William F. Buckley answers a few questions for The New York Times Magazine: "When you founded... |
KJL: WFB IN THE NYT a 11 questions interview. |
President's Radio Address White House — Permalink THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. The United States Senate this past week began an important discussion about the meaning of marriage. Senators are considering a constitutional amendment to protect the most fundamental institution of civilization, and to prevent it from being fundamentally redefined. | |
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Roger Ailes: The Marriage of Bigotry and Electoral Politics — From Bush's Saturday radio address: [snipped quote] Paradigm? Jan Haugland: Bush still pushes anti-gay marriage amendment — President Bush chose to use his weekly radio address to promote a constitutional amendment to "protect" marriage from gays. |
The Poor Man: Like Clockwork — [snipped quote] Gotta keep Kaye happy. |
Edwards' Life Clashes With Campaign Message By / LAT — Permalink NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina seems like a decent and likable man, the political equivalent of a handsome, slightly under-ripe bunch of bananas, just the thing if you are looking for bananas and can't find any ripe ones, or don't know the difference. | |
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McQ: But as David Gelernter points out in today's LA Times, John Edward's life, in fact his very success, disputes his claim:... |
Kevin Drum: It's from the Weekly Standard's David Gelernter: [snipped quote] Is this what they teach in conservative writing school these days? |
Spidey Crushes 'Fahrenheit' in 2004 By / NYT — Permalink THE Michael Moore explosion is now officially unbearable. It's not just that you can't pick up a Time Warner magazine without seeing his mug on the cover. Or turn on a TV news show without hearing another tedious debate about the accuracy of "Fahrenheit 9/11"... | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Meanwhile, elsewhere in The Times, Frank Rich twists himself up like a critical pretzel trying to make sense of Fahrenheit and Spiderman in the same breath of hot air. |
Cori Dauber: Of course, while that's nice for folks who turn to the oped section online, it doesn't really give much of a disclaimer for anyone turning to the Arts and Leisure section. |
Let Them Eat Wedding Cake By / NYT — Permalink Commitment isn't easy for guys — we all know that — but the Bush administration is taking the traditional male ambivalence about marriage to giddy new heights. On the one hand, it wants to ban gays from marrying, through a constitutional amendment that the Senate will vote on this week. | |
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Ezra Klein: You Can't Have It Both Ways — Either Of You — This column by Ehrenreich is terrifically written, wonderfully entertaining, and utterly obtuse about its central point. |
Holden: OK for Poor Women, But Not for Gays — Ehrenreich examines the administration's views on marriage. |
'The Dots Never Existed' By / Newsweek — Permalink July 19 issue - The more he read, the more uneasy he became. In early February 2003 Colin Powell was putting the finishing touches on his speech to the United Nations spelling out the case for war in Iraq. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Taken together, the facts in the report show that virtually every major claim President George W. Bush used to justify... |
Laura Rozen: Meantime, Newsweek reports on Curve Ball showing up hungover for a meeting with the lone US official who ever debriefed him. |
Edwards to Iraq? By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — Tentative plans are being discussed inside the Kerry-Edwards campaign to send vice-presidential candidate John Edwards to Iraq as soon as possible. Edwards has not gone to Iraq since the U.S. invasion last year. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: THE RESISTANCE: One good sign that the targeted moderates in the GOP are beginning to fight back against the... |
James Joyner: Robert Novak reports an interesting development: "Tentative plans are being discussed inside the Kerry-Edwards campaign... |
In Iraq, Silencing Memory By / WaPo — Permalink The moment lasts only a few seconds, yet from Kanan Makiya's balcony above the sunlit Tigris, Baghdad seems at peace. Then comes the roar of an Apache helicopter gunship passing overhead. A warning to get off the balcony, lest a visitor draw fire from the opposite bank of the river, ends the illusion for good. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: WASHINGTON VERSUS MAKIYA: Another betrayal of the forces for good in Iraq. |
Michael Young: Republic of Forgetfulness — In the Washington Post today, Lawrence Kaplan has a useful piece on the fate of Iraqi... |
NAACP Head Asks Bush to Rethink Convention Snub By / Reuters — Permalink PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The head of the largest and oldest U.S. civil rights group criticized President Bush on Saturday for once again refusing to speak at its convention this year and urged him to reconsider. | |
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Captain Ed: Bush, so far, isn't biting at the bait: [snipped quote] Mfume sees his organization losing its relevance in electoral politics under his leadership, and he's panicking. Pessimist: Just as we here on The Left Coaster attempted the other day to extend the olive branch with an eye toward calming the... |
McQ: Kweisi's shocked and a little queasy — "Its unbelievable" ... well at least to the NAACP's Kweisi Mfume: "Kweisi... Jesse Taylor: The NAACP re-invited Bush to their convention, and he's again refused to go. |
Kerry promises, if elected, to lift ban on immigrants with AIDS as lead over Bush grows AFP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry promised to lift a ban on immigration to the United Stated by people with AIDS and vowed to double US assistance to a worldwide campaign to combat the deadly and contagious disease. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: KERRY ON AIDS DISCRIMINATION: My hat is off to John Kerry for taking the obvious and long-overdue position that people... |
Michelle Malkin: FLIP... [quote] Kerry 2004 announced Saturday: "I will work with Congress to lift the immigration ban on HIV-positive people...[end quote] |
How to Make a Guerrilla Documentary By / NYT — Permalink The offices of Robert Greenwald Productions occupy a slightly rundown, horseshoe-shaped building in Los Angeles, just down the street from Culver Studios, the legendary movie facility where ''Gone With the Wind'' and ''Citizen Kane'' were filmed. | |
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Daniel Drezner: Hey, in fact, Robert Boynton makes this very point in a New York Times Magazine story on an upcoming documentary about Fox News. Oliver Willis: Rupert's Propaganda Factory — How to Make a Guerrilla Documentary It is not exactly earth-shattering, of course, to learn that Fox is more conservative than other news networks. |
Dan Gillmor: Guerilla News Network — NY Times: How to Make a Guerilla Documentary. ''Outfoxed'' was made in an unusually collaborative fashion. DemFromCT: The full story should be up on the NY Times site after 8 p.m. as per their policy on Magazine articles (try this link later). |
Mother, baby attacked on train Courier-Mail — Permalink A YOUNG woman and her baby have been attacked in a suburban train near Paris by unidentified men who drew swastikas on the mother's stomach. Police today said it was an anti-Semitic assault. | |
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Michele Catalano: And then there's this lovely story (via LGF) about a young mother traveling with her baby in France and being attacked by anti-Semites. |
Charles Johnson: French Antisemitism Watch — Mother, baby attacked on train. |
Iraq's Rebellion Develops Signs of Internal Rift NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 10 — Tension appears to be rising between the homegrown Iraqi resistance and the foreign Islamist fighters who have entered the country to destroy the American military here. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: ETCETERA Tension may be reaching a breaking point between actual Iraqi resistance groups and foreign fighters seeking to oust the Coalition. Pejman Yousefzadeh: AND LOSE This is the kind of conflict that I like to see: [snipped quote] Quite clearly, terrorist factions have trapped one another in a war of choice. Ace: Bush's Plan is Working: Ba'athist and Foreign Terrorists Split on Tactics and Strategy — The Times doesn't credit the... |
James Joyner: Two apparently interesting stories I can't get to that I've found via Memorandum: WaPo - Bush Criticizes NAACP's... Tom Maguire: Divide And Exit — The NY Times front-pages the apparent rift between home-grown Iraqi insurgents and the foreign fighters. |
Ohio candidates, parties explore Web logs By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — Political newcomer Jeff Seemann didn't have a campaign phone number, office or staff when he started his House race three months ago against longtime Republican incumbent Ralph Regula. | |
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Roger Ailes: A glance at News paper terms — News paper - A form of advertising on paper, often accompanied by brief items on current events used to fill space between advertisements. |
Jesse Taylor: The AP Shows Me Some Love — I have a bit quote in this AP article. |
Ex-chief of Park Police denounces firing CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — One day after she was fired, former U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers accused the Bush administration Saturday of silencing dissenting views in the rank and file. | |
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Thomas Leavitt: Thomas] Ex-chief of Park Police denounces firing Chambers: Administration 'silencing' dissenting views Saturday, July... |
PGL: Bush Administration fires another critic — OK, this is just a new twist on an old theme on how this White House tries... |
Marine's Kin Defends Son to Fellow Arabs By / AP — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon - Relatives of a U.S. Marine who surfaced in Beirut nearly three weeks after an apparent kidnapping in Iraq appealed for understanding from fellow Arabs on Saturday, saying the Lebanese-born man emigrated and joined the Marines for financial reasons. | |
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Baldilocks: UPDATE: Corporal Hassoun's family sends a message to their fellow Muslims, attempting to explain the US military service of their kinsman. |
Charles Johnson: This is utterly contemptible: Marine's Kin Defends Son to Fellow Arabs. (Hat tip: zulubaby.) |
Fla. Scraps Flawed Felon Voting List By / AP — Permalink MIAMI (AP) - Florida elections officials said Saturday they would not use a disputed list of people believed to be convicted felons to purge voter rolls, acknowledging a flaw that kept some Hispanic felons off the list and could have allowed them to vote. | |
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Joe Gandelman: So Florida has dumped its felons voting list. But some still have doubts. Holden: Establishing Democracy in Florida "Florida elections officials said Saturday they will not use a disputed list that... |
Oliver Willis: Civil Rights In Florida — Via Talkleft we learn that Florida has thrown out its faulty felon's list. Jeralyn Merritt: Florida Tosses Out Felon Voter List — Florida has officially thrown out its flawed felon voter list . |
Bush Criticizes NAACP's Leadership By / WaPo — Permalink YORK, Pa., July 9 — President Bush said Friday that he has a "basically nonexistent" relationship with the NAACP's leadership and he refused for the consecutive fourth year to speak to the group's national convention. | |
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McQ: In a WaPo story today, Mike Allen essentially hints that Bush is just being a big baby about the NAACP and making a huge mistake by not addressing their convention. Susan Madrak: WHINY LITTLE FRAT BOY CAN'T HANDLE CRITICISM — Bubble Boy was here in Philadelphia yesterday so he could give... |
Attaturk: Mr. Courage said this in reality: [snipped quote] Sticks and stones may break his bones, but, OH, here in the land of alleged "free speech" those words can really hurt him. DHinMI: A Tale of Two Texans — The NAACP hurt poor George W. Bush's feelings, so he's like, soooo not going to talk with them,... |
Ex-ambassador didn't 'debunk' Iraq-Niger deal By / Knight Ridder — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Senate's report into intelligence failures about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq disputes a key war critic's assertion that he had "debunked" suspicions that Iraq attempted to buy uranium from the African country of Niger. | |
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Joe Gandelman: He now has a credibility problem. Bigtime. And quite interesting... Josh Marshall: A clearer-eyed take on Wilson and report can be found here in this story by Knight Ridder. But for now a few points on Schmidt's treatment. |
Daniel Drezner: Marshall approvingly links to a Knight-Ridder report by James Kuhnhenn entitled "Ex-ambassador didn't 'debunk' Iraq-Niger deal." |
Self-Taught Pilot Going to Space By / Wired — Permalink Competitors and organizers of the Ansari X Prize — the international race to create and fly a privately financed rocket ship for space tourists — like to talk about launching a new era of barnstorming. Search for Wi-Fi hot spots near you: | |
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Dean Esmay: The New Barnstormers — Wired reports that an increasing number of people in the know are speculating that we're about to enter a new barnstorming era—in space. |
Jonathan Wilde: Rutan's Got Some Competition — "Wild Fire": "Melvill's feat made Rutan's team the favorite to win the X Prize's $10... |
Rhetoric On Values Turns Personal WaPo — Permalink BEAVER, W.Va., July 9 — The growing debate over the presidential candidates' values turned personal Friday, as Sen. John F. Kerry blasted President Bush for laziness and lax pursuit of Enron Corp.'s Kenneth L. Lay, while the Bush campaign accused the new Democratic ticket of condoning a "star-studded hate-fest." | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Blogs for Bush has a recap courtesy of Captain Ed, and I am watching ebay to see who wants to make a nice profit while... |
Dave Johnson: Bush is STILL saying this: "On issue after issue, from funding our troops who are on the battlefield, to involving... |
Not Living in Terror in the Face of Terrorism By / Townhall.com — Permalink "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people." - Ronald Reagan | |
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SLZoll: Our sermon for today is called Not Living in Terror in the Face of Terrorism: It's approaching three years since 19... |
Tbogg: No fear! Doug Giles, he of the tortured analogies, doesn't seem to understand the concept of "No". |
The 9/10 Democrats By / Weekly Standard — Permalink LAST THURSDAY, CNN's Larry King asked John Kerry whether he would want former President Bill Clinton to campaign on his behalf. Kerry said yes. "What American would not trade the economy we had in the 1990s, the fact that we were not at war and young Americans were not deployed?" | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Bill Kristol rightfully condemns this latter group. The piece is too good to excerpt a part of it. So I won't. Read it all. Edward Driscoll: NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME: William Kristol writes that John Kerry is another 9/10 Democrat: [snipped quote] Further proof... |
Judith Weiss: If this were still the mid-90s, this mild metrosexual homoeroticism would be enough to tilt me in favor of the Democratic ticket. James Joyner: 9/10 Democrats — Bill Kristol's column, "9/10 Democrats," makes an interesting if overwrought point: "LAST THURSDAY,... |
Panel Describes Long Weakening of Hussein Army By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 10 — The Senate's report on prewar intelligence about Iraq, which asserts that warnings about its illicit weapons were largely unfounded and that its ties to Al Qaeda were tenuous, also undermines another justification for the war: that Saddam Hussein's military posed a threat to regional stability and American interests. | |
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Oliver Willis: The "Gathering Threat" — Panel Describes Long Weakening of Hussein Army In a detailed discussion of Iraq's prewar... |
Kevin Drum: UPDATE: And add one more headline to the list: Saddam Hussein's military posed no threat to either regional stability or American interests. |
U.S. News obtains all classified annexes to the Taguba report on Abu Ghraib US News — Permalink "My first reaction was, 'Wow, there [are] a lot of nude people here'... I, myself, have never been in a prison... So I had no experience at all as far as a warden or that type of thing." | |
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Kevin T. Keith: Abu Ghraib Responsibility Moving Higher Up Command Chain — US News has a report on the detailed annexes to General Taguba's previously-released report on prisoner abuses in Iraq. Jeralyn Merritt: Full Abu Ghraib Report Now Available — U.S. News has obtained all classified annexes to the Taguba report on Abu Ghraib... The Poor Man: U.S. News obtains all classified annexes to the Taguba report on Abu Ghraib "The most comprehensive view yet of what... |
Norbizness: (3) That's One F**ked Up Frat House: Daily life at Abu Ghraib, the documents show, included riots, prisoner escapes,... Mary @PacificViews: Unfortunate because when the company providing the service provides shoddy service, only minimal consequences arise. |
Bush Seeks Amendment Against Gay Marriage By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush says legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental institution of civilization and that a constitutional amendment is needed to protect it. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Bush Seeks Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage — Predictable, but sickening: [snipped quote] [snipped quote] Hey, Mr. President, the Constitution is not a rough draft. |
DHinMI: This isn't a failure to send a message to supporters of civil rights, this is a deliberate decision to send a message... |
CIA Was Warned About Defector's Unreliability By / LAT — Permalink The only American who met a now-discredited Iraqi defector codenamed "Curveball" repeatedly warned the CIA before the war that the Baghdad engineer appeared to be an alcoholic and that his dramatic claims that Saddam Hussein had built a secret fleet of mobile germ weapons factories were not reliable. | |
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Attaturk: MEANWHILE, Professional blogger, amateur cat fancier, Kevin Drum notices this also in the L.A. Times about the infamous... |
Kevin Drum: It turns out that the only American agent who met Curveball didn't believe him, but he was told by his CIA supervisor to... |
The Senate Report NYT — Permalink In a season when candor and leadership are in short supply, the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the prewar assessment of Iraqi weapons is a welcome demonstration of both. It is also disturbing, and not just because of what it says about the atrocious state of American intelligence. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Department of Closing the Barn Door After the Horse is Gone: The Times Gets It — Well, the editorial page editors do, at least. Holden: The Times Sees Through the Fog — Where were they two years ago? [snipped quote] The editorial also slams Tom "Chicken Little" Ridge. |
Dan Gillmor: Intelligence Derailed — NY Times: The Senate Report. The panel's investigation into how President Bush handled the intelligence has been postponed until after the election. |
Plame's Input Is Cited on Niger Mission By / WaPo — Permalink Former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, dispatched by the CIA in February 2002 to investigate reports that Iraq sought to reconstitute its nuclear weapons program with uranium from Africa, was specifically recommended for the mission by his wife, a CIA employee, contrary to what he has said publicly. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: Despite what he claimed at the time, former Ambassador Joe Wilson's selection to investigate reports of Iraq seeking... Tom Maguire: Cool Hand Josh — Susan Schmidt of the WaPo dealt Josh Marshall some pretty grim cards on the Joseph Wilson story. Tim Dunlop: And he seems not to have maintained anything like the standard of truth that he expects from others: "Wilson has... |
Gregory Djerejian: Don't like the story; trash the journalist who wrote it: "Susan Schmidt is known, happily among DC Republicans and not... Jan Haugland: Not even Joshua Micah Marshall can save him, even if Susan Schmidt's WaPo article doesn't come away entirely unscathed from the attempt. Patterico: Here are the details: As I previously told you, the Washington Post ran an article yesterday, reporting that the Senate... |
| Also: Daniel Drezner, Roger L. Simon, Captain Ed, Attaturk, Tom Smith, Digby, Clayton Cramer, Sparkey, Andrew Sullivan, Kevin Drum, Josh Marshall, Steven Taylor, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Charles Johnson, Hindrocket, Cori Dauber, Jonah Goldberg, Betsy Newmark, Glenn Reynolds, Ace | |
Senate Report Offers Backing for Claim Iraq Sought Uranium in Africa By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate report criticizing false CIA claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction at the same time provides support for an assertion the White House repudiated: that Iraq sought to buy uranium in Africa. | |
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Chris Bowers: Now, here is an AP article on the recent Senate report that supposedly justifies Bush's statement: "French and British... Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: More on the story can be found here: "A Senate report criticizing false CIA claims that Iraq had weapons of... Glenn Reynolds: JOE WILSON LIED, REPUTATIONS DIED: [snipped quote] Hmm. That's not what his Times oped said, is it? |
Roger L. Simon: UPDATE: Just to clarify whether Iraq wanted uranium.... [Shouldn't that be on page one too? -ed. Cori Dauber: The AP reports that the Senate report backs up claims that British and French intelligence had evidence that Iraq had contacts with Niger regarding purchases of uranimum. |
Campaigns Doing Battle on Values and Celebrity Barbs NYT — Permalink YORK, Pa., July 9 — The two presidential campaigns engaged in a full-throated battle on Friday over a broad range of issues, trading harsh criticism on topics including personal character, Hollywood's politics, abortion and the indictment of Enron's former chairman. | |
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Captain Ed: Take, for instance, the fundraiser from last Thursday — which Kerry managed to squeeze into his schedule despite claiming to be too busy to receive a security briefing. DemFromCT: And on the other hand, we've got both tickets beginning to talk about 'values'. [snipped quote] Interesting. |
Tom Maguire: The NY Times has more, and the ABC Note from Friday is thought-provoking: And last night, after the network newscasts... Digby: Lick Bush and Dick in '04 — And, why does the New York Times think this is worth not just one, but two stories? |
One John, Two Johns . . . By / Opinion Journal — Permalink John Kerry's selection of John Edwards as his running mate makes some political sense. Mr. Edwards won't bring gravitas to the Democratic ticket, but he will inject it with zip and charm. However, if Mr. Kerry intends to adopt the Edwards brand of populism as the dominant theme of his campaign, that will be a political mistake. | |
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Steve Antler: UPDATE: Consider material like this in the above context: "In New Hampshire, the limits of his liberal populism were easy to spot. Betsy Newmark: Fred Barnes has doubts about whether the populist message of John Edwards will sell in swing states. |
Michael DeBow: Fred Barnes's take on John Edwards is on Opinion Journal today. Want more on the Kerry-Edwards NY extravaganza? |
As Rationales for War Erode, Issue of Blame Looms Large WaPo — Permalink Yesterday's report by the Senate intelligence committee left in shreds two of the Bush administration's main rationales for the war in Iraq: that Iraq had illicit weapons and that it cooperated with al Qaeda. The conclusions are not earthshaking by themselves. | |
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DemFromCT: P.S. While you're there, might as well read As Rationales for War Erode, Issue of Blame Looms Large. Cori Dauber: This one is by our old friend, Dana Milbank, and Walter Pincus, best described as having an eclectic National Securtiy portfolio. |
Ogged: Tatters — Thank god, once again, for Dana Milbank. And, it's the best review of what the intelligence committee found. |
NRA and Outdoor Writers Have Falling-Out By / WaPo — Permalink SEATTLE, July 9 — In a spat that could have implications for the presidential campaign, the National Rifle Association has angered a group of opinion makers among America's 50 million hunters and anglers. | |
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Jonathan H. Adler: NRA VS. THE SIERRA CLUB — Apparently the Outdoor Writers Association is mad at the National Rifle Association because... |
Nathan Newman: But after this NRA attack on the Sierra Club, the board of directors sents a letter denouncing the NRA's attack. |
Those Who Were Inspired to Hate the Modern World By / NYT — Permalink The Western world is decadent. Its emphasis on individualism is corrupt. Its materialism is dangerous. Its vision of modernity reflects not progress but regress. The West will destroy itself. But if it doesn't, its destruction should be helped along. | |
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Ann Althouse: (The other topic is radical traditionalism, and it's the better article, but I'm only going to talk about rankism here.) |
Fred Lapides: Those Who Were Inspired to Hate the Modern World — This book review about the early formative ideas behind contemporary... |
Senate Report Does Little to Still Debate on C.I.A.'s Prewar Data By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 9 — Although the Senate Intelligence Committee found no evidence that the Bush administration had tried to coerce the C.I.A. to produce exaggerated prewar warnings about Iraq's weapons programs, its findings did little to still the furious debate about whether the White House and the Pentagon tried to influence the agency's conclusions. | |
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Sylvain Galineau: Example, from the Times: "The lingering question, not directly addressed by the committee, is whether the White House... |
Cori Dauber: The News Analysis Piece The News Analysis piece is amazing, in that the first few grafs, those on the front page,... |
Philippines to Pull Troops From Iraq By / AP — Permalink MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will withdraw its peacekeeping contingent from Iraq on schedule next month, the government said Saturday, the day militants vowed to kill a Filipino hostage if the troops were not sent home. | |
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DeDurkheim: The Philippines are still preparing to withdraw troops. |
Steven Taylor: Headlines Can be Deceiving — Reading this: Philippines to Pull Troops From Iraq one gets the immediate impression that... |
Veteran gets rude welcome on Bainbridge By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink Think about the Seattle area — Bainbridge Island to be exact — and you think scenic views and liberal-minded tolerance. At least the killer views are still there. The bucolic island's deep reputation for civility got a gut check this week during the annual Grand Old Fourth of July celebration. | |
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Dean Esmay: Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Robert Jamieson has the story from multiple witnesses, including some who defended those hurling the insults. Mary @PacificViews: The first was from Bainbridge Island where it was said a returning disabled soldier was booed in the Fourth of July parade. Michelle Malkin: Take a look at this disgraceful incident on Bainbridge Island, a few miles west of Seattle proper (and the future home of Hollywood liberals Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston). |
Emperor Darth Misha I: And So It Begins... (Link thanks to LC Revandryn) I cannot begin to express my disgust at the human offal responsible for the despicable behavior that inspired this article. McQ: Apparently Bainbridge Island, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, is the first to let the mask slip: [snipped quote] Sorry... Stefan Sharkansky: They're not peace activists ... ... they're on the other side. Hat tip: Brian Crouch |
| Also: Blackfive, Smash, Cori Dauber, Glenn Reynolds | |
I Could If I Were French By / Weekly Standard — Permalink MY WIFE just got a new dishwasher for us. She didn't tell me, she just got it. I discovered this the other day when I came home from work and saw it, but it was difficult to learn any more at the moment, since she was in the living room with her best friend, Ilana, planning a party at our house that weekend for 25-or-so of the Little League parents. | |
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Tim Blair: These scammers have obviously tricked Adele by using devious accent skills. |
Mike Rappaport: I Could If I were French — A pretty fun piece by humorist Larry Miller. I particular like the last part about Mitterrand. |
Dems credential bloggers; GOP will, too AP — Permalink NEW YORK (AP) — More than 30 independent Web journalists have been accredited to cover the Democratic convention, and the Republicans said Friday they'll also credential so-called bloggers. | |
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Patrick Belton: HEY LOOKEY, WE'RE IN USA TODAY, FORBES AND THE BOSTON HERALD TODAY! Bill @INDCJournal: Other outlets that picked up the same AP or Marketwatch stories: USA Today Investors Business Daily Forbes ... and many others. |
Byron L: The Burnt Orange Report was mentioned in an AP news article today: "Wilhide would not release a full list of the... |
In the Ancient Streets of Najaf, Pledges of Martyrdom for Cleric By / NYT — Permalink NAJAF, Iraq, July 6 — Like posters advertising a rapper's latest release, Moktada al-Sadr's hectoring, finger-pointing portrait is plastered across the old quarter here. | |
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DeDurkheim: From The NYT: The 10th-century Imam Ali shrine, one of the most revered sites in Shiite Iraq, where once pilgrims came... |
Juan Cole: The New York Times reports of Muqtada's sermon and its criticisms of Allawi: "' At Friday Prayer on July 9 in Kufa,... |
GOP donors funding Nader By / San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader — still not on the ballot in a single state — has received a recent windfall of contributions from deep-pocketed Republicans with a history of big contributions to the party, an analysis of federal records show. | |
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Joe Gandelman: The Ralph Nader Bandwagon Gathers Steam — Ralph Nader continues to gather support, mostly from here. |
Byron L: The San Francisco Chronicle did a study of people who have donated to Ralph Nader, and they found some interesting... |
Report Says Key Assertions Leading to War Were Wrong By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 9 — The Central Intelligence Agency greatly overestimated the danger presented by deadly unconventional weapons in Iraq because of runaway assumptions that were never sufficiently challenged, the Senate Intelligence Committee said today. | |
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DemFromCT: Campaigning On Values — I can't help but think that despite the cynicism of the press (in response to yet another data... Tom Maguire: Today, we offer unequal time for a Democratic rebuttal: Mr. Roberts said the committee had found no evidence that... Jack Balkin: Giving New Meaning to the Words "Intelligence Failure" JB Senator Rockefeller on the consequences of the intelligence... |
Daniel Drezner: However, the report finds that "no evidence that intelligence analysts were subjected to overt political pressure to tailor their findings," according to the New York Times. Robert Garcia Tagorda: Political Question of the Day — Since "John Edwards has far more experience on national security today than Gov. George... Kevin Drum: Here's the New York Times: "The Central Intelligence Agency greatly overestimated the danger presented by deadly... |
Krugman's Fantasy By / NRO — Permalink When I was in business school several years ago, my macroeconomics professor assigned one of Paul Krugman's books for us to read; it was a collection of essays about President George W. Bush's economic plan. | |
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Stefan Sharkansky: 911°F Fever — Paul Krugman's latest complaint about the liberation of Iraq is that: "... many jobs at the C.P.A... Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: I presume that Hanson would not want to be on the same side as Paul Krugman either. And with good reason. Betsy Newmark: Simone Ledeen puts the smackdown on the vile Paul Krugman. |
Tom Maguire: A while back, Paul Krugman took a cheap shot at Simone Ledeen. Her forceful and eloquent reply appears in the NRO. Roger L. Simon: Here is Simone's response. I wonder if Krugman ever thought about helping put together the Iraqi economy himself, rather... Glenn Reynolds: PAUL KRUGMAN gets spanked by Simone Ledeen. |
| Also: Will Collier | |
Kerry, Edwards Blast Bush on Values AP — Permalink BECKLEY, W.Va. July 9, 2004 — Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards on Friday questioned President Bush's claim on values, arguing that the administration's election-year decision to prosecute former Enron chief Kenneth Lay after more than two years hardly amounted to American values. | |
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Steven Taylor: That's a Rather Narrow Definition... Kerry, Edwards blast Bush on values [snipped quote] Not only is it a narrow... |
Clayton Cramer: John Kerry Upset That Ken Lay Is Being Prosecuted — No, really, he is insisting that prosecuting Ken Lay now—rather... |
CABLE WAR: FOX NEWS VOWS TOP FIGHT BACK AGAINST RIVALS WHO TOUT DOCUMENTARY Drudge Report — Permalink A new documentary claiming to show Republican bias at FOX NEWS will debut in New York City on Monday. But FOX NEWS executives are preparing to hit back hard — if rivals self-servingly hype the film! | |
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Oliver Willis: Media Matters for America: "FOX selective in Kerry-Edwards v. Bush-Cheney poll reporting" FOX News maxim: Politicians... |
Atrios: Cable News Wars — From Drudge: XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI JULY 09, 2004 17:05:38 ET XXXXX CABLE WAR: FOX NEWS VOWS... |
Boaters find kitten swimming 3 miles offshore in Gulf of Mexico AP — Permalink ST. PETERSBURG — When Maggie Rogers spotted something bobbing in the water three miles into the Gulf of Mexico while on a scalloping trip with friends, she assumed it was a turtle, or a piece of sea kelp. But as the boat got closer and slowed down, she found it was a tiny, apricot-colored kitten. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Penalties We Should Increase Dept. On crimes like this. |
John Cole: Will to Live — Simply amazing: [snipped quote] I am generally against the death penalty, but in crueltyto animal cases, I think it is justified. |
GEORGIA'S HATEMONGER RETURNS By / New York Post — Permalink CYNTHIA McKinney may be on her way back to Con gress: The fringe ideologue ousted from the House of Representatives by Democratic primary voters back in 2002 is now one of the leaders in the race for her old seat. | |
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Charles Johnson: Georgia's Hatemonger Returns — In the current climate of wartime amnesia, is anyone surprised that Cynthia McKinney,... |
McQ: As the NY Post points out, here connections to various Arab and Palestinian groups are well known and lucrative for McKinney. |