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Archive Edition for   Sunday, July 25, 2004Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

ABCNEWS
  John Stossel
Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
American Digest
  Vanderleun
the american street
  Russ Barnes
Amygdala
  Gary Farber
www.AndrewSullivan.com
  Andrew Sullivan
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
  Sir George
ARMAVIRUMQUE
  Stefan Beck
Associated Press
  Brian Johnson
  John Leicester
  Matt Kelley
  Linda Deutsch
BBC
Begging to Differ
  Hei Lun
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Centerfield
  Todd Pearson
  Rickheller @Centerfield
  Jon Kay
Chicago Boyz
  Michael Hiteshew
Chicago Sun Times
  Mark Steyn
CNN
  Marsha Walton
Cold Fury
  Mike Hendrix
The Corner
  KJL
  Jonathan H. Adler
corrente
  Lambert @Corrente
  Xan @Corrente
cut on the bias
  Susanna Cornett
Daily Kos
  Kos
  Meteor Blades
  DemFromCT
Dallas Morning News
  Katharine Goodloe
Dan Gillmor's eJournal
  Dan Gillmor
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Dean's World
  Joe Gandelman
Demagogue
  Frederick Maryland
DonkeyRising
  Ruy Teixeira
EdCone.com
  Ed Cone
Electablog
  David Allan Pell
Eschaton
  Atrios
Fox News
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
  Norbizness
Harry's Place
  Marcus @HarrysPlace
INDC Journal
  Bill @INDCJournal
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
Israel news and commentary from IsraPundit
  Ted Belman
Jerusalem Post
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  Geoff Boucher
  Ramesh Ponnuru
  Maura Reynolds
Marginal Revolution
  Tyler Cowen
matthew
  Matthew Yglesias
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
Mother Jones
  Gail Sheehy
MyDD
  Jerome Armstrong
The New Republic
New York Post
  Michelle Malkin
New York Times
  Daniel Okrent
  Frank Rich
  Matt Bai
  Richard A. Clarke
  Robin Toner
  David Brooks
  Robert Pear
  Eric Lichtblau
  Edward Wyatt
  David Carr
  Amy Waldman
Newsday
  Jay Rosen
Newsweek
  Christopher Dickey
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
Obsidian Wings
  Moe Lane
Off the Kuff
  Charles Kuffner
Oh, That Liberal Media
  Brian Crouch
Oliver Willis
  Oliver Willis
Outside The Beltway
  James Joyner
OxBlog
  David Adesnik
pandagon.net
  Jesse Taylor
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
The Peking Duck
  Richard TPD
PittsburghLIVE.com
PoliBlog
  Steven Taylor
Power Line
  The Big Trunk
  Deacon
PressThink
  Jay Rosen
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
QandO
  McQ
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
  Svea Herbst-Bayliss
  Adam Entous
Roger Ailes
  Roger Ailes
Roger L. Simon
  Roger L. Simon
San Francisco Chronicle
  Mark Sherman
Scripting News
  Dave Winer
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
Seeing The Forest
  John Emerson
  Dave Johnson
Shark Blog
  Stefan Sharkansky
Silent Running
  Wind Rider
skippy the bush kangaroo
  Skippy
A Small Victory
  Michele Catalano
The Spoons Experience
  Christopher Kanis
Suburban Guerrilla
  Susan Madrak
t a c i t u s
  Bird Dog
  Harley
the talking dog
  Talking Dog
Talking Points Memo
  Josh Marshall
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
Telegraph
  Inigo Gilmore
  James Langton
Unfogged
  Unf @Unfogged
USS Clueless
  Steven Den Beste
Vodkapundit
  Will Collier
The Volokh Conspiracy
  Orin Kerr
Wall Street Journal
War and Piece
  Laura Rozen
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
Washington Post
  Howard Kurtz
  Walter Pincus
  Colbert I. King
  Tamara Jones
Washington Times
  Charles Hurt
Weekly Standard
  Noemie Emery
Winds of Change.NET
  Armed Liberal
World O'Crap
  SLZoll



Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper?
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
OF course it is.
The fattest file on my hard drive is jammed with letters from the disappointed, the dismayed and the irate who find in this newspaper a liberal bias that infects not just political coverage but a range of issues from abortion to zoology to the appointment of an admitted Democrat to be its watchdog.
Armed Liberal: Some Interesting News From the Left — OK, here's an article that explains why I keep reading the New York Times (you've...
Roger L. Simon: It popped up again this morning when I read the article Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper? by their in-house scold Daniel Okrent.
Charles Johnson: No Comment — Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper? OF course it is.
Christopher Kanis: NEW YORK TIMES ADMISSION: "WE'RE A LIBERAL NEWSPAPER" — If I were one of those idiotic lefty liars (but I repeat...
Hei Lun: Rube Goldberg? The wrestler Goldberg? Actually, it's the New York Time's own "public editor", Daniel Okrent.
Michele Catalano: The New York Times: Liberal and Loving It — The New York Times is better than you.
Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, Ace, Jason Van Steenwyk, Steven Taylor, Steve M., Cori Dauber, Captain Ed, Will Collier, Mike Hendrix, Dave Huber, Jay Rosen, James Joyner, Wind Rider, Betsy Newmark, Greg Ransom, Joe Gandelman, Allah, Ed Driscoll, Vanderleun, Jeff Jarvis

Bounced Bloggers
  LAT   —   Permalink 
In late June, "official convention blogger" Eric Schnure posted an ebullient paean to weblogs and the role they will play at the Democratic National Convention. "The truth is," he wrote on the convention's website, "more and more people prefer their news and information, fresh and unfiltered, smart and savvy, even with an angle and an attitude….
Jeff Jarvis: Jay Rosen: "Don't expect blazing rants." : And don't forget the disinvited bloggers, too.
Glenn Reynolds: "BOUNCED BLOGGERS" — a piece on bloggers who didn't get to blog the Democratic Convention.
Kevin Drum: (The link is here, although the online version doesn't do justice to the print version, which included nice little graphics for each blog.)
Daniel Drezner: Blogs are feeling the convention love — A while back I was ambivalent about bloggers covering the conventions.
Charles Kuffner: Milestone achieved — I agree with Kevin: the fact that we have a story about blogs and blogging that isn't about the...
Bill @INDCJournal: LA Times Story On Bloggers (With a Fisking/Cuban Prostitution Bonus) I looked for my cartoon on the LA Times web site, but all I found was this (the story with no graphics).

Palestinians 'made millions' selling cheap cement for barrier they bitterly oppose
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
Palestinian businessmen have made millions of pounds supplying cement for Israel's "security barrier" in the full knowledge of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader and one of the wall's most vocal critics.
Joe Gandelman: Here's a hint: A-R-A-F-A-T. Read this from England's Telegraph: "Palestinian businessmen have made millions of pounds...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: BREATHTAKING — There really are no words to describe just how blatantly hypocritical some people can be: [snipped quote] If this is true, then I am just gobsmacked.
Ted Belman: Having it both ways — Palestinians 'made millions' selling cheap cement for barrier they bitterly oppose By Inigo...
Captain Ed: History Repeats Itself In Palestine — Yasser Arafat faces even more questions in his reign as Palestinian dictator, as...
Charles Johnson: Hypocrisy, Palestinian-Style — The same people screeching and moaning about Israel's "apartheid wall" have made...

A new Berger scenario
  PittsburghLIVE.com   —   Permalink 
What was Sandy Berger up to when he "inadvertently" removed versions of a classified National Archives memo that critiqued Clinton administration intelligence and security efforts regarding the millennium celebrations? We still don't know.
Ace: Meanwhile, there's this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article claiming that Berger's greatest crime might have been not...
Glenn Reynolds: SANDY BERGER UPDATE — very interesting plot twist: "Berger has acknowledged removing his handwritten notes taken during a review of classified documents.
Captain Ed: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gives a new twist to Trousergate today, reporting that Sandy Berger may have not only...

3 Hours Over 4 Nights With 1 Fear
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
YOU can't blame the broadcast networks for cutting their convention coverage to a fig-leaf minimum of just three hours of prime time spread over four nights. That's what both parties deserve for having steadily sanded down their quadrennial celebrations into infomercials with all the spark and spontaneity of the televised Yule Log.
Steve M.: Frank Rich, also in today's edition of the Times
Susan Madrak: THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE — In his review, Frank Rich speaks on convention coverage: "YOU can't blame the broadcast...
Cori Dauber: And then came Frank Rich. He shall not be moved, he shall not be deterred, he shall not be persuaded.

Meet the Bloggers
  WSJ   —   Permalink 
The Democratic Party is widening its media tent for the Boston convention. For the first time ever, Web loggers, or bloggers, are being accredited for a national political convention.
Glenn Reynolds: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL has interviewed some of the Convention bloggers and published the results. There are photos, too.
Jeff Jarvis: It's today's free link.

Bloggers will file reports from Boston that could close big gaps in the media's coverage
  By / Newsday   —   Permalink 
Richard Benedetto of Gannett News reported the news on July 11: "Conventions today are little more than weeklong, made-for-TV infomercials and pep rallies for the party, its candidates and its luminaries."
Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: —But the bloggers we all know will have some stiff competition: there are delegate bloggers, too... —And even...
Ed Cone: Jay Rosen infiltrates the mainstream to subvert the dominant paradigm.
Dave Winer: Jay Rosen in Newsday on convention bloggers.

130,000 in human chain from Gush Katif to J'lem
  Jerusalem Post   —   Permalink 
"Don't evacuate us," wrote six-year-old Yael Better in a note she stuck in a crevice in the Western Wall.
She was the last participant in a human protest chain anchored by her grandfather Yitzhak Shamir, one of the founders of Kfar Darom, who lost an arm and a leg fighting for the Gaza Strip settlement during the War of Independence in 1948.
Charles Johnson: "Don't Evacuate Us" — An estimated 130,000 people formed a human chain stretching 55 miles across Israel, in a massive...
Talking Dog: Today's largeish demonstration in Israel, a human chain 50-miles and 150,000 people long, to protest Sharon's...

We can nitpick forever, but what's changed?
  By / Chicago Sun Times   —   Permalink 
I'll get into Sandy Berger's pants, crowded as they are, momentarily. But let me sneak up on them in a roundabout way. A few days ago, I woke up to find an e-mail from a pal enclosing the following UPI story:
Deacon: Through a rear window, darkly — Mark Steyn captures the parlous state of our politics is this incisive passage: "We...
Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn writes how nothing has really changed in some ways except that politics ahs entered the picture and gotten so vicious that truth is taking a holiday from reality.
Charles Johnson: Steyn: Dems Want Another Holiday — Mark Steyn provides the perfect contrast to the unfortunate wobbling of Andrew...

Media Say DNC Restroom Facilities Lacking
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
BOSTON (AP) - Media members, already perturbed by long security lines, may find themselves waiting in line for something nearly as important. As the majority of the print reporters arrived Saturday at the FleetCenter for the Democratic National Convention, tongues clucked when they saw the restroom facilities that they will be using for the next week.
Steven Taylor: And, the shocker of all schockers in pre-convention coverage: Media Say DNC Restroom Facilities Lacking (Hat tip: Dean's...
James Joyner: Democrats to Media: Piss Off — Guardian - Media Say DNC Restroom Facilities Lacking [snipped quote] Honestly, I don't see a problem here.
Betsy Newmark: Oh, what the media suffer to bring us the news. "Media members, already perturbed by long security lines, may find themselves waiting in line for something nearly as important.
Joe Gandelman: PROOF That It Is A Slow News Day: Convention Coverage — Here's proof that American journalism isn't the only media...
KJL: OH MY — You know, the mainstream press may warm to the Republicans after a week of portaJohns in Boston.

The Democrats' Last Chance
  TNR   —   Permalink 
[By 1948, the Democratic coalition built by FDR had begun to fray beyond repair—or so thought The New Republic's editors when they penned this piece prior to the party's convention that summer. They were right, of course, that things looked bad.
Todd Pearson: Dump Truman — The New Republic (1948). [snipped quote] Andrew Sullivan: "D'oh!"
Andrew Sullivan: DUMP TRUMAN: The New Republic's advice around this time in 1948. D'oh!

The Chirac Doctrine
  By / Newsweek   —   Permalink 
Aug. 2 issue - When French presidents invoke "the national interest," often as not it means they've cut a deal they'd really rather not explain. But when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came courting President Jacques Chirac in Paris last week,...
Glenn Reynolds: No wonder he gets along so well with Jacques Chirac: [quote] When French presidents invoke "the national interest," often as...[end quote]
Andrew Sullivan: HOW TO PERSUADE CHIRAC: Do it the way it's always been done: bribe him. REPUBLICANS FOR NADER: They're champing at the bit in Michigan.

Rock Royalty to Join Voices Against Bush With Fall Concerts
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, R.E.M. , Pearl Jam and a deep roster of other rock stars will unite for politically minded concerts this fall that will give voice to dissatisfaction with the Bush administration.
Russ Barnes: Kerrypalooza — A series of anti-Bush concerts are being scheduled for this fall, according to music industry sources.
Susan Madrak: ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD — Hey hey, my my: [snipped quote] Oh, man. What a great birthday present that will be.

Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Andy Rappaport made his millions as a venture capitalist,searching out what he calls ''ideas that change the world.'' About six years ago, for instance, when most everyone else in the high-tech industry thought wireless communication was going to depend on...
Ruy Teixeira: Obviously, I'm a bit more optimistic than Pearlstein and one of the reasons was outlined today in The New York Times...
Jerome Armstrong: Filling in a lot of blanks of how those driving forces come together, the Sunday NYT's Magazine includes Wiring the Vast...
DemFromCT: Sunday Times: How To Reinvent the Democratic Party [editor's note, by DemFromCT] The Sunday Times magazine article is available here.
Kos: That questions was explored, in large part, by this extraordinary New York Times Magazine piece, focusing on the efforts...
Xan @Corrente: Folks, this one is big: (via NYT) [snipped quote] So Rob Stein and his Powerpoint presentation went forth and...Oh hell, I can't begin to summarize it here.

Will Kerry's Caution Pay Off at the Polls?
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Sen. John F. Kerry is, for the most part, running a smart, cautious campaign while leading a party that hates President Bush with reckless passion. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is floating crackpot theories about the war in Afghanistan, and the head of the Democratic National Committee is receptive to them.
Betsy Newmark: Ramesh Ponnuru says that Kerry is running a very cautious campaign and trying not to flaunt his position on social issues.
KJL: THE KERRY CAUTION STRATEGY — Ramesh is in the LA Times today.

Delegates Lean Left And Oppose the War
  NYT   —   Permalink 
NINE out of 10 of the Democratic delegates gathering in Boston this week think the United States should not have gone to war in Iraq and say the gains from the war were not worth the loss of American lives, a New York Times/CBS News poll shows.
Roger Ailes: Given that most Democratic delegates don't share Jarvis's Barc-o-Lounger bloodlust, why promote him on the DNC site?
Rickheller @Centerfield: Convention Delegates Polled — The NY Times has done some polling of convention delegates as part of its convention special coverage.
Steven Taylor: Kerry won't have to worry about crossing any picket lines: Firefighters deal averts DNC picketlines "Boston firefighters...
Jeralyn Merritt: Delegates Think War Was Wrong According to a new New York Times/CBS News poll, 9 out of 10 of the delegates attending...

Honorable Commission, Toothless Report
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Americans owe the 9/11 commission a deep debt for its extensive exposition of the facts surrounding the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Yet, because the commission had a goal of creating a unanimous report from a bipartisan group, it softened the edges and left it to the public to draw many conclusions.
Sir George: Richard Clarke Still Bleats — Richard Clarke has opined in the New York Times, and it's quite an entertaining piece of self-serving drivel.
Laura Rozen: Worth reading Sunday: Richard Clarke in the New York Times: "First, we need not only a more powerful person at the top...
Meteor Blades: Moreover, for all its hearings and interviews and document absorption, the Commission didn't address a lot of issues, as Richard Clarke forcefully argues in The New York Times.
Frederick Maryland: Clarke's Take on the 9/11 Report — Richard A. Clarke, the Bush administration's former counter-terrorism expert, has...
Cori Dauber: CLARKE SPEAKS OUT — You just can't keep that man quiet. Okay, lets take a look.

Ricky runs away
  AP   —   Permalink 
MIAMI (AP) — Ricky Williams has told the Miami Dolphins that he's retiring after just five years in the NFL, The Miami Herald reported on its Web site Sunday.
Williams said he was overjoyed by his decision.
Hei Lun: IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, THIS TIME — A strange story in football today: Miami Dolphin star running back Ricky Williams has decided to retire after just five seasons in the NFL.
James Joyner: Sports Illustrated - Ricky runs away: Williams tells Dolphins he will retire Blogospheric reaction: Paul at Wizbang, who...

RONSTADT'S RAGE
  By / New York Post   —   Permalink 
LOOK into Linda Ronstadt's famous brown eyes. She rep resents the face of the Hol lyweird Left: puffy, petulant, and more self-absorbed than my diapered 8-month-old baby after a bottle of warm milk and a nap.
Michelle Malkin: BABY, YOU'RE NO GOOD — Here's a little piece I did for the New York Post today on the Linda Ronstadt imbroglio.
The Big Trunk: You're no good, part 2 — The invaluable Michelle Malkin follows up on the Linda Ronstadt story and contrasts Ronstadt...

Poles call 9/11 film 'propaganda'
  BBC   —   Permalink 
Michael Moore's contentious film Fahrenheit 9/11 has opened in Poland, with some film critics likening it to totalitarian propaganda.
Gazeta Wyborcza reviewer Jacek Szczerba called the film a "foul pamphlet".
Wind Rider: Chrenkoff points out that the Poles aren't flocking to the theaters to pack the house for every showing of Mikey's...
McQ: Poles call it "totalitarian propaganda" — If ever a people were able to recognize "totalitarian propaganda" when they...
Glenn Reynolds: THEY KNOW IT WHEN THEY SEE IT: "Michael Moore's contentious film Fahrenheit 9/11 has opened in Poland, with some film critics likening it to totalitarian propaganda.
Jan Haugland: Poles call Moore's F9/11 'propaganda' — The people of Poland know extremist propaganda when they see it, and a number...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: And it should come as no surprise that they are disgusted by the latest Riefenstahlian attempt to influence political...
Mike Hendrix: Clearer vision — Isn't it funny how people who have actually lived in a police state don't seem to have a lot of...
Also: Dean Esmay, Ann Althouse, Arthur Chrenkoff, Andrew Sullivan

Lawyers and the Little Guy
  By / ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
Trial lawyers are making a case for putting John Edwards in the White House. If a former plaintiff's lawyer is so close to the presidency, we should take a closer look at the unintended consequences of what these lawyers do.
Steve Bainbridge: John Stossel on John Trial Lawyer Edwards — Good stuff.
Glenn Reynolds: JOHN STOSSEL ON JOHN EDWARDS: Reportedly, Barbara Walters didn't like this piece.
Will Collier: John Stossel on John Edwards — A friend tipped me to this, which I believe is a transcript of John Stossel's 20/20...
Deacon: Yet I remain unpersuaded, even after reading this piece by John Stossel about the consequences of Edwards' work.
Wind Rider: Well, I brought this up before, and although my positions and observations certainly aren't the official American...

Was an al-Qaeda plot unfolding on Northwest Airlines flight 327?
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
As Annie Jacobsen boarded Northwest Airlines flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles, she was starting to feel sick with nerves. Her fear had been mounting since the realisation that she and the other passengers who had already passed through security were being served meals in the airport diner with metal knives and forks.
Joe Gandelman: First there is the chilling case reported by Anne Jacobsen, which some say was twisted out of proportion, not what it seemed and represented racial profiling at its worst.
The Big Trunk: Annie Jacobsen's terror flight — Annie Jacobsen's terror flight gets a respectful airing in a story in Sunday's London...
Michelle Malkin: Meanwhile, the London papers pick up the story here and here.

Voters Are Very Settled, Intense and Partisan, and It's Only July
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Clif Kelley, a retired economist, stood in the leafy backyard of his suburban home one recent evening and summoned his Democratic neighbors, 62 of whom were arrayed before him, to the political barricades.
Steve M.: Here's a front-page New York Times story on the scary 50-50 nation. Now, look at the chart below the second photo on the right.
David Allan Pell: It turns out even the numbers suggest that we're more divided and more extreme in our partisanship than in elections past.
James Joyner: Voters Very Settled, Intense and Partisan — NYT - Voters Are Very Settled, Intense and Partisan, and It's Only July...
Dave Johnson: The Divider — Voters Are Very Settled, Intense And Partisan, and It's Only July: "Rarely has a presidential campaign...

War of Ideology
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
When foreign policy wonks go to bed, they dream of being X. They dream of writing the all-encompassing, epoch-defining essay, the way George F. Kennan did during the cold war under the pseudonym X.
Careers have been spent racing to be X. But in our own time, the 9/11 commission has come closer than anybody else.
Laura Rozen: "It is no accident that the only intelligence agency that got it right on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was the..."
Glenn Reynolds: DAVID BROOKS NOTES that the 9/11 Commission is echoing the blogosphere: "We are facing, the report notes, a loose...
Matthew Yglesias: Hey! Well, I find myself in near-total agreement with David Brooks' latest column. I'm struck, though, by the "gee whiz!" tone of the whole thing.
Cori Dauber: David Brooks has a big important job as a New York Times columnist, and he figured this out.
Kevin Drum: Rather, "we are in the midst of an ideological conflict": "Last week I met with a leading military officer stationed in...
Betsy Newmark: David Brooks has some thoughts on what it means to be waging a war on an ideology rather than on terror.

Who Backs Nader?
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader's quixotic presidential campaign says it submitted about 5,400 signatures to get on the Michigan ballot, far short of the required number of 30,000. Luckily for him, approximately 43,000 signatures were filed by Michigan Republicans on his behalf, more than meeting the requirement.
Oliver Willis: Now I've got some further evidence to back up the assertion that he is a tool. A Republican tool. Who Backs Nader?
Josh Marshall: From ABCNews ... [snipped quote] Speaks for itself. Idiots ...
Andrew Sullivan: REPUBLICANS FOR NADER: They're champing at the bit in Michigan.

In a Shift, Bush Moves to Block Medical Suits
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 24 — The Bush administration has been going to court to block lawsuits by consumers who say they have been injured by prescription drugs and medical devices.
The administration contends that consumers cannot recover damages for such injuries if the products have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Norbizness: (1) It's interesting, but I never thought of tort reform as meaning that all lawsuits concerning FDA-approved drugs or devices would be barred.
Jesse Taylor: Today's bit of weirdness is the push to prohibit consumers from suing companies that make injurious medications and medical devices.
Susan Madrak: CORPORATE FASCISM — I simply can't stress this enough: If you think the FDA is trying to protect you, you're wrong.

Media Upset With DNC Restroom Facilities
  AP   —   Permalink 
BOSTON (AP) — Media members, already perturbed by long security lines, may find themselves waiting in line for something nearly as important. As the majority of the print reporters arrived Saturday at the FleetCenter for the Democratic National Convention, tongues clucked when they saw the restroom facilities that they will be using for the next week.
Jesse Taylor: The Can-Can — Yes, this will be your first stop for "Who Whizzed In The Parking Lot?" convention stories.
Jeralyn Merritt: One of the first complaints: the lack of sufficient toilets. [snipped quote] The DNCC says the toilet arrangement was a cost-cutting measure.
Stefan Sharkansky: This time aimed at the Democrats: "Media Upset With DNC Restroom Facilities" [snipped quote] Let me guess, Drinkard's...

Who's in Charge Here?
  By / Mother Jones   —   Permalink 
"Who's our quarterback" in case of a future terrorist attack? "Who's in charge?" That was the core question members of the 9-11 commission put to every government official they interviewed.
Skippy: gail sheehy in mother jones points out the 911 commission report does not answer why awol was awol (along with rumsfeld and others) on that fateful morning.
Susan Madrak: First, this riveting Mother Jones piece by Gail Sheehy asking why the Bush administration was missing in action on 9/11:...

Abu Ghraib, Whitewashed
  NYT   —   Permalink 
A week ago, John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was satisfied that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was keeping his promise to leave no stone unturned to investigate the atrocities of Abu Ghraib prison.
Norbizness: A brief New York Times editorial measures the grain of salt that should be taken with this.
Charles Johnson: Real Torture — The New York Times continues to obsess over the "torture" at Abu Ghraib: Abu Ghraib, Whitewashed.

Archives Put In Cameras After Berger Took Papers
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 23 - Officials at the National Archives were so concerned about Samuel R. Berger's removal of classified documents last year that they imposed new security measures governing the review of sensitive material, including the installation of full-time surveillance cameras, government officials said Friday.
Betsy Newmark: Apparently, the National Archives didn't think that Sandy Berger was just making an honest mistake.
Glenn Reynolds: HORSE. BARN. DOOR: [snipped quote] Wouldn't want any more of those inadvertent losses, I guess.

Changing His 'Life' to Suit British Law
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Former President Bill Clinton does not like Kenneth W. Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation of Mr. Clinton's sexual liaisons led to his impeachment. But he might still fear him, at least in Britain.
Jonathan H. Adler: I SUPPOSE THE TRUTH COULD HURT — The NYT reports that the British version of Bill Clinton's My Life will be edited so...
James Joyner: Update: NYT - Changing His 'Life' to Suit British Law "Former President Bill Clinton does not like Kenneth W. Starr,...
Ann Althouse: This is really interesting: [snipped quote] The article has some examples of language changed: "continuing efforts to...

Microsoft May Sell Slate, a Pioneer in Web Magazines
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Microsoft, which announced this week that it would pay a one-time cash dividend worth $32 billion to its shareholders, said yesterday that it was exploring the sale of Slate, a pioneer in digital publishing.
Roger Ailes: I'll even give Midget Mick a free "Situation Wanted" ad when the NYT buys Slate and clears out the deadwood.
Tyler Cowen: Current revenue is $6 million a year, the site breaks even, and visitor numbers are falling.

Bloggers get convention credentials
  By / CNN   —   Permalink 
(CNN) — A new breed of political observers will be offering volumes of pointed commentary at this year's political conventions.
But most of these bloggers (short for Web loggers) don't fit the profile of a traditional journalist on the campaign trail.
Bill @INDCJournal: This awkward, self-loathing font of conspiratorial hate is a popular Democratic activist and fundraiser.
Glenn Reynolds: ANOTHER UPDATE: This story from the CNN website contains some additional quotes from the interview.
Ed Cone: Update: the CNN website has a bit more content. But I'd still like to see Glenn and/or Kos post meaningful chunks of their interviews...
Jay Rosen: On the cusp: CNN in its online report about blogging: "Just as TV coverage of the presidential race gained its power...

Armstrong Wins Time Trial to Virtually Clinch Sixth Title
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
BESANCON, France — Lance Armstrong capped his most dominant Tour de France with another impressive win in the final time trial Saturday, all but guaranteeing that he will ride into history as the first six-time champion in the race's 101-year history.
Jon Kay: YAY, LANCE!! Lance Armstrong is now very likely to put the first-ever win #6 in the Tour de France under his belt.
Bill @INDCJournal: I Love This Quote — "It's an improvement in the method of approaching the Tour de France — more professional, more...

Slate Online Magazine for Sale
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Eight years after Microsoft launched an online magazine in a groundbreaking attempt at cyber-hipness, Slate may be sold.
More than half a dozen media companies have expressed interest in buying the Internet publication, and the leading contenders are the New York Times and The Washington Post, a source familiar with the discussions said today.
Kevin Drum: SLATE FOR SALE....The Washington Post reports today that the Washington Post may be interested in buying Slate from Microsoft.
Vanderleun: Slate Online Magazine for Sale (washingtonpost.com) The post article is pretty much a standard rehash of the oft-told...
Glenn Reynolds: SLATE IS FOR SALE, but what I found most interesting was this bit: "Slate drew 4.6 million unique visitors last month."
Unf @Unfogged: The Washington Slate (?) I know Ogged has a little crush on him, so I'll try to be gentle... This post from Kevin Drum is completely confused.

Prostitutes Join Police Converging on DNC Boston
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
BOSTON (Reuters) - Security officers won't be the only professionals coming to Boston in unprecedented numbers for the Democratic National Convention.
Practitioners of the world's oldest profession are seeking reinforcements to help service some of the...
Will Collier: The Kennedy Battallion Alone Numbers In The Hundreds — As Den Beste says, you just can't make up stuff like this.
Steven Den Beste: (On Screen): Man, you just can't make up stuff like this: [snipped quote] Write your own punchline!
Moe Lane: And, finally, if you were worried that Boston's existing prostitute supply would be unable to handle the influx of...
Susan Madrak: PAYING FOR IT? See, I'm thinking these hookers are going to be sadly disappointed.

Signs of Mounting Pressure on Bush
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — If past is precedent, President Bush is probably in no mood to go along with the sweeping call for intelligence reform issued this week by the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Bush and his staff have shown they don't like new ideas forced on them from outside.
Kevin Drum: FLIPPING AND FLOPPING...Maura Reynolds writes in the LA Times today about the 9/11 report and George Bush's flip-floppy...
John Emerson: "One result is that the report has cast a pall over the president's vacation plans" Poor George.

No essential documents missing, 9/11 panel says
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — The Sept. 11 commission had access to every document needed to complete its report even though former national-security adviser Sandy Berger improperly took some highly classified terrorism materials from the National Archives, commissioners said yesterday.
John Emerson: No essential documents missing, 9/11 panel says "Kean said the commission has been assured that it was able to get copies of each document that apparently was lost.
Harley: Meanwhile, Tom Kean, among others, wants everyone to know that no 'essential' documents were lost or withheld from the panel.

Shelby Target of Justice Probe Into 9/11 Leak
  Fox News   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Shelby (search) is the target of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the leaking of the contents of classified phone intercepts received the day before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, congressional sources told FOX News.
Atrios: That Liberal Media — I hear Richard Shelby smuggled them out in his panty hose... WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Shelby...
Cori Dauber: OH, PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE — You knew it was him, I knew it was him, we've always known it was him, I don't care how many times he denies it, it was him.

Bin Laden's Inner Circle Eludes CIA
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
The CIA has intelligence agents inside Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network — as it did before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — but they are not within the terrorist leader's inner circle where key information about any future attack would be discussed, a senior intelligence official said yesterday.
Steven Den Beste: (On Screen via long range sensors): Pej points to a news report about CIA infiltration of al Qaeda.
Orin Kerr: CIA and Bin Laden's Inner Circle: The Washington Post has a very interesting artice today on CIA efforts to infiltrate and destroy Osama Bin Laden's leadership circle.
James Joyner: Bin Laden's Inner Circle Eludes CIA — WaPo - Bin Laden's Inner Circle Eludes CIA [snipped quote] Interesting.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS IN THE WAR ON TERROR — The good news is that we appear to be doing a good job in disrupting...
Cori Dauber: The article that results reveals that the CIA has spies placed relatively highly in the organization, and prompts (but of course) a few comments from me.

Pentagon Finds Bush's Guard Records
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon on Friday released newly discovered payroll records from President Bush's 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, though the records shed no new light on the future president's activities during that summer.
Dan Gillmor: More 'Inadvertent' Oversights on Bush National Guard Record — AP: Pentagon Finds Bush's Guard Records.
Joe Gandelman: Berger's Briefs, Bush's Pay Records And How They're (?) Related — The Pentagon released and found President George Bush's previously lost National Guard pay records.
Richard TPD: Bush's "destroyed" military records miraculously reappear — Yep, they somehow weren't really destroyed, and they just sorta "turned up."
Kevin Drum: Today, the White House announced that their previous announcement of "inadvertant destruction" was actually an "inadvertent oversight."
Charles Kuffner: So it turns out that all those records about George W. Bush's TANG service in 1972 were not "inadvertently" destroyed after all.
Brian Crouch: For comparison, the AP headline reads: Pentagon Finds Bush's Guard Records .
Also: Pessimist, Steve Gilliard, Josh Marshall, Susan Madrak, Captain Ed, Mathew Gross, Atrios

Iraq kidnappings stun Kenya press
  BBC   —   Permalink 
The capture of three Kenyan hostages in Iraq has bewildered newspapers back home, who demand to know why the insurgents have picked on a country that refused to join the US-led invasion.
Captain Ed: Kenyans have reacted in shock to find out that their pro-appeasement stance regarding Saddam Hussein and Iraq has not...
Marcus @HarrysPlace: Perhaps he'd explain the recent kidnapping of three East Africans as a legitimate tool in the struggle against...
Joe Gandelman: "The two most recent kidnappings occurred in the capital and appeared to be well planned" The terrorists have even...

Kerry camp spins its wheels
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
AURORA, Colo. — Sen. John Kerry spoke about the plight of the American worker when he traveled to Detroit earlier this week, a safe message for the blue-collar workers who build cars there.
Stefan Beck: PostedIt sounds like whoever's at the wheel of the Kerry campaign needs a refresher course at Sears Driving School: ...
Betsy Newmark: Here's a funny little story about how the Kerry campaign offended Detroit auto workers by putting Rolls Royce on its press passes for the logo.

Misbehaving Syrians carried expired visas
  By / Dallas Morning News   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON - Thirteen Syrian musicians whose behavior aboard a June flight stirred suspicions and talks of "dry runs" entered the country lawfully on artist visas, but immigration officials said those passes expired more than two weeks before they boarded the flight from Detroit to Los Angeles.
Michelle Malkin: In an article published late Friday night, "Misbehaving Syrians Carried Expired Visas (registration required)," the...
SLZoll: But take a look at this Dallas News story from a few hours ago: Misbehaving Syrians carried expired visas: 13 musicians who disrupted flight not a threat, officials say.

Sandy Berger: A Case for Accountability
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Set aside Republican speculation that former Clinton national security adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger was trying to hide classified information from the Sept. 11 commission or that he had provided the material to the Kerry campaign.
Glenn Reynolds: COLBERT KING writes that Sandy Berger is a test case for governing-class accountability: [snipped quote] What, indeed?
Betsy Newmark: Colbert King argues for Berger to be treated like others who have violated security.

When government failed: Passengers of Flight 93 saved America from even greater horror
  By / San Francisco Chronicle   —   Permalink 
(07-23) 22:57 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) —
America would have been even more devastated that sunny late-summer morning — the Capitol aflame or the White House destroyed — if not for a few dozen strangers on an airplane who took the kind of quick, decisive action their government was incapable of on Sept. 11.
Michelle Malkin: Two words: Hell, no. (Now, read this: When government failed: Passengers of Flight 93 saved America from even greater horror.)
Captain Ed: "Two words: Hell, no." Michelle also links to a republication of the Flight 93 story from the 9/11 Commission report —...

John Kerry Is Different from You and Me
  By / Weekly Standard   —   Permalink 
Kerry by contrast is master and commander of no fewer than five lavish mansions, all large, and all on the priciest real estate, where property values boggle the mind: There is the $3.7 million mansion in Fox Chapel, Pa., on a 90-acre estate with a pool and a...
Betsy Newmark: Noemie Emery looks at Teresa Heinz Kerry's massive wealth and how John Kerry lives off of it.
The Big Trunk: She does so in an article that explores the Croesus-like dimension of Kerry's married wealth: "John Kerry is different from you and me."

An Army Whitewash
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
THE ARMY'S attempt to hold itself accountable for the abuse of foreign prisoners is off to a terrible start. On Thursday, while the media and political worlds were focused on the report of the Sept. 11 commission, the Army inspector general released a 300-page summary of an investigation of "detainee operations" in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Matthew Yglesias: Ghosts — The Washington Post reminds us that the United States Department of Defense is run by an admitted war...
Sir George: Washington Post Whines — You knew it was on the way, and finally comes the infantile whining from the Washington Post...

Indians Go Home, but Don't Leave U.S. Behind
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
BANGALORE, India - Snigdha Dhar sat in the echoing emptiness of her new home, her husband off at work, her 7-year-old son prattling on about Pizza Hut. The weather outside was California balmy. Children rode bicycles on wide smooth streets.
Michael Hiteshew: Reverse Engineering - A Society — There's a fascinating article in the NYT about the attitudes, dreams and effects expatriates are having in India after returning from America.
Gary Farber: Highly educated Americanized Indians are returning to India to try to make a difference and make money.
Bird Dog: Exporting American Imperialism to India — A fascinating New York Times story on Indians, who came to America for better...

An Answering Machine on Hold
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
The Man Who Ate "Jeopardy!" took a breather yesterday but is still licking his chops.
Which left viewers with this $1,321,660-and-still-counting question:
After eight weeks, 38 episodes, 76 opponents and more than 1,300 questions in more than 450 categories, just how long is Ken Jennings's record winning streak going to last?
Pejman Yousefzadeh: A NEW LIFE MISSION — I must try to beat Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!
David Adesnik: A LATTER DAY VAN DOREN: The WaPo profiles Jeopardy! super-champ and millionaire Ken Jennings.
Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post has a front page article and Ken Jennings, the guy who is making mincemeat out of one and all on Jeopardy.

Bush's Military Records Fail to Dispel AWOL Charges
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of President Bush's missing Air National Guard records during the Vietnam War years, previously said to be destroyed, turned up on Friday but offered no new evidence to dispel charges by Democrats that he was absent without leave.
Josh Marshall: A different take (see post from last night) on what the new presidential Air National Guard payroll records mean — this...
Lambert @Corrente: . More detail is emerging, and here's the money quote from Reuters: [snipped quote] Heh heh heh.
Brian Crouch: Bush's Military Records Fail to Dispel AWOL Canards — Adam Entous of the Reuters arm of the DNC writes: "Some of...

Experts Warn of Two-Tiered Justice System
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
LOS ANGELES - The extraordinary secrecy imposed by judges in the cases of Michael Jackson (news), Kobe Bryant and Martha Stewart has some media experts and scholars warning that America is developing a two-tiered justice system — one for celebrities and one for everyone else.
Susanna Cornett: Some lawyers are complaining because celebrities are getting the kid glove treatment by the courts.
Joe Gandelman: We simply don't believe it (I gotta run, I am talking to a guy who wants me to invest in a new chain of Michael Jackson Daycare Centers).