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Archive Edition for   Tuesday, November 30, 2004Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

ABCNEWS
Agence France Presse
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
American Prospect
  Matthew Yglesias
American Thinker
www.AndrewSullivan.com
  Andrew Sullivan
Associated Press
  Toby Sterling
  Gina Holland
  Deb Riechmann
baldilocks
  Baldilocks
BBC
Begging to Differ
  Hei Lun
THE BELGRAVIA DISPATCH
  Gregory Djerejian
Belmont Club
  Wretchard
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
The Blogging of the President
  Ellen Dana Nagler
Bloomberg
Boston Globe
  Farah Stockman
Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal
  DeLong
BrothersJudd Blog
  Orrin Judd
Burnt Orange Report
  Byron L
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Centerfield
  Rickheller @Centerfield
Chicago Sun Times
  Michael Sneed
  Mary Laney
Chicago Tribune
  Andrew Martin
Christian Science Monitor
  Tom Regan
Citizen Smash
  Smash
CJR Campaign Desk Home
  Bryan Keefer
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
  Clayton Cramer
CNN
The Corner
  KJL
  Jonah Goldberg
  Rich Lowry
  Stanley Kurtz
corrente
  Tom @Corrente
Crescat Sententia
  Will Baude
Crooked Timber
  Kieran Healy
Daily Kos
  Kos
  DemFromCT
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
Dan Gillmor's eJournal
  Dan Gillmor
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Dean's World
  Dean Esmay
The Decembrist
  Mark Schmitt
Demagogue
  Zoe Kentucky
  Eugene Oregon
Discourse.net
  Michael Froomkin
DonkeyRising
  Ruy Teixeira
EconoPundit
  Steve Antler
Ed Driscoll.com
  Ed Driscoll
EdCone.com
  Ed Cone
Electablog* U.S. Ambassador to Cyberspace
  David Allan Pell
Eschaton
  Hecate
  Atrios
etc.
  Noam Scheiber
the evangelical outpost
  Joe Carter
Fafblog!
  Fafnir
Fraters Libertas
  The Elder
Guardian
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
  Norbizness
Harry's Place
  Gene @HarrysPlace
Hit and Run
  Julian Sanchez
  Matt Welch
  Nick Gillespie
  Jeff A. Taylor
HLS Federalist Society
  Dan Alban
Hollywood Reporter
  Ray Richmond
HughHewitt.com
  Hugh Hewitt
Human Events
  Pat Sajak
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
INTEL DUMP
  Phillip Carter
Israel news and commentary from IsraPundit
  LindaSoG
Jerusalem Post
joannejacobs.com
  Joanne Jacobs
JustOneMinute
  Tom Maguire
Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Steve Tetreault
Lean Left
  Kevin Raybould
  Kevin T. Keith
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
The Liquid List
  Shawn @LiquidList
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  Dirk Laabs
  Matthew Spence
  Jeffrey Fleishman
The Mahablog
  Barbara O'Brien
Mark A. R. Kleiman
  Mark Kleiman
Matt Welch
  Matt Welch
Matthew Yglesias
  Matthew Yglesias
The Moderate Voice
  Joe Gandelman
MSNBC
Mudville Gazette
  Mrs Greyhawk
MyDD
  Chris Bowers
NathanNewman.org
  Nathan Newman
National Review
New York Post
New York Times
  Neil A. Lewis
  David Brooks
  Robert Pear
  Joe Sharkey
  Adam Liptak
  Linda Greenhouse
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
NY Daily News
Oh, That Liberal Media
  Jim Miller
Oliver Willis
  Oliver Willis
One Hand Clapping
  Donald Sensing
Opinion Journal
  Bret Stephens
Outside The Beltway
  Robert Tagorda
  James Joyner
  Steve Verdon
OxBlog
  Patrick Belton
Pacific Views
  Natasha @PacificViews
pandagon.net
  Jesse Taylor
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
PoliPundit.com
  Jayson @PoliPundit
  PoliPundit
Politics from Left to Right
  Chris Nolan
The Poor Man
  The Poor Man
Porphyrogenitus
  Porphyrogenitus
Power Line
  The Big Trunk
  Deacon
PRESTOPUNDIT
  Greg Ransom
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
The Right Coast
  Tom Smith
Right Wing News
  John Hawkins
Roger L. Simon
  Roger L. Simon
San Francisco Chronicle
  Anna Badkhen
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  Chris McGann
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
Shot In The Dark
  Mitch Berg
The Sideshow
  Avedon Carol
Signifying Nothing
  Brock Sides
  Robert Prather
  Chris Lawrence
Slate
  Jack Shafer
  Dahlia Lithwick
  Daniel Gross
South Knox Bubba
  SK Bubba
Southern Appeal
  JD @SouthernAppeal
  Steve Dillard
  Joel Foreman
Stephen Pollard
  Stephen Pollard
Steve Clemons
  Steve Clemons
Steve Gilliard's News Blog
  Steve Gilliard
t a c i t u s
  Bird Dog
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
the talking dog
  Talking Dog
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Matthew Yglesias
  Nick Confessore
  Garance Franke-Ruta
Tech Central Station
  Radley Balko
TheAgitator.com
  Pete Guither
  Radley Balko
This Modern World
  Tom Tomorrow
Townhall.com
  George Will
Vodkapundit
  Will Collier
The Volokh Conspiracy
  Jim Lindgren
  Todd Zywicki
Wall Street Journal
  Norm Coleman
War and Piece
  Laura Rozen
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
  Amy Sullivan
Washington Post
  John Mintz
  Paul Farhi
  Mike Allen
  Robin Wright
  Brian Gifford
  Charles Lane
Washington Times
  Amy Fagan
Weekly Standard
  Christian Lowe
White House
Winds of Change.NET
  Dan Darling
  Armed Liberal
World O'Crap
  SLZoll



Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A hospital in the Netherlands - the first nation to permit euthanasia - recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.
Captain Ed: A Question Of Values — The Netherlands admitted today that Dutch doctors have carried out euthanasia without requests from the patients or their families.
Joe Gandelman: "So What Do You Think About Euthanasia?..." "..I say youth is the same in Asia, in the United States," the old joke goes...
Jayson @PoliPundit: A Cult of Death in Holland — Here's a report regarding yet another "sophisticated" practice out of the death cult otherwise known as Europe.
Charles Johnson: Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies — Today comes news that a Dutch hospital has not only proposed guidelines for euthanizing babies—they've started doing it.
Hugh Hewitt: The Groningen Protocol — There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who will react with horror and alarm to...
Ed Driscoll: Four Chilling Words — Legalized euthanasia in Europe. As Hugh Hewitt notes, it didn't end very well the last time it was tried, either.
Also: Steve Verdon, JD @SouthernAppeal, Orrin Judd, KJL

A Hush Over Hollywood
  By / Human Events   —   Permalink 
Somewhere in the world, a filmmaker creates a short documentary that chronicles what he perceives as the excesses of anti-abortion activists. An anti-abortion zealot reacts to the film by killing the filmmaker in broad daylight and stabbing anti-abortion tracts onto his body.
Avedon Carol: Media moments — Here's a knee-slapper: Pat Sajak can't understand the Hush Over Hollywood - that is, the non-reaction...
Roger L. Simon: More Van Gogh — Pat Sajak has logged in on the curious absence of condemnation on the part of the Hollywood community of the Jihadist slaughter of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh.
Jeff Jarvis: Wheel of Free Speech : Pat Sajak — Pat Sajak! — lambasts Hollywood's creative community for not expressing outrage over the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh.
Steve M.: This is not a joke: A Hush Over Hollywood by Pat Sajak ...So I'm trying to understand the nearly universal lack of...
Mitch Berg: He asks in Human Events Online - where is Hollywood's outrage over the Van Gogh murder?
Joel Foreman: Pat Sajak does a bang up job of calling out the creative community for its inexcusable silence over the butchering of Theo van Gogh.
Also: Ed Driscoll, John Cole, KJL, Andrew Sullivan

Publisher: 'Blog' No. 1 word of the year
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) — A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops U.S. dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 words of the year.
Charles Johnson: Number One Word of the Year: "Blog" — Dictionary publisher Merriam Webster says the word "blog" is their #1 word of the...
Joanne Jacobs: Cool — Not only is "blog" the word of the year — the most looked-up word that's not effect/affect — I'm pleased to see that "defenestration" ranked 10th.
Glenn Reynolds: "BLOG" IS THE NUMBER ONE WORD OF THE YEAR according to Merriam-Webster.
SK Bubba: CNN says the word of the year... is "blog". Also, It will now be officially included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Hei Lun: According to Merriam-Webster Inc., the No. 10 word of the year is "defenestration". Oh, yeah, the No. 1 word is "blog".
Roger L. Simon: 'Blog' is the No. 1 word of the year, i. e. the most looked up on the Merriam Webster website.
Also: Tyler Cowen

Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 - The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Mark Kleiman: Now it comes out that the International Committee of the Red Cross has described some of what's going on at Guantanamo as "tantamount to torture."
Cori Dauber: HERE WE GO AGAIN — Once again the Red Cross issues a report on detainee abuse at Guantanamo, once again it leaks to the...
Steve Soto: The International Red Cross has concluded that our military and our physicians at Guantanamo have been engaging in torture.
Kevin Raybould: Torture at Gitmo — The Red Cross has found behavior "tantamount to torture" at Gitmo: "The International Committee of...
John Hawkins: Red Cross: Al Qaeda May Violate Geneva Conventions By Scott Ott — Just a day after The New York Times leaked excerpts...
Michael Froomkin: Red Cross Accuses US of Torture at Guantanamo — Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo The International...
Also: Robert M. Jeffers, Jeralyn Merritt, Jack Balkin, Charles Johnson, Susan Madrak, Laura Rozen, Skippy, Tom Tomorrow

Homeland Security Secretary Ridge Resigns
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told President Bush earlier today that he is resigning from his job overseeing the most ambitious U.S. government reorganization since the 1940s, sources who know him said.
Joe Gandelman: Tom Ridge Resigns — There's another job opening in the Bush adminstration — a super-high-profile one held by a man who...
Jesse Taylor: An Accomplished Man — Tom Ridge has resigned. I'll miss...that thing he did. What does the Homeland Security Director actually do, again?
Laura Rozen: Here's the Post's take on possible replacements: Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the NSC's Frances Townsend, and former Virginia governor James Gilmore.
James Joyner: Update (1351): It's official Homeland Security Secretary Ridge Resigns (WaPo) [snipped quote] I'd be more excited by Rudy...
Chris Lawrence: At this rate, there may soon be nobody left in the administration for Democrats (or, for that matter, me) to complain...
Kevin Drum: If John Snow and Tom Ridge both go, that will be three of Bush's top four cabinet officers and eight altogether.
Also: Jeff Quinton

Kofi Annan Must Go
  By / WSJ   —   Permalink 
It's time for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign.
Over the past seven months, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which I chair, has conducted an exhaustive, bipartisan investigation into the scandal surrounding the U.N. Oil-for-Food program.
Wretchard: According to a signed article in the Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Annan was at the helm of the U.N. for all but a few days...
The Big Trunk: Coleman calls for Kofi break — In tomorrow's Wall Street Journal, Senator Norm Coleman declares: "Kofi Annan must go."
Roger L. Simon: Pressure for the United Nations Secretary General to resign has been ratcheted up by Senator Norm Coleman in an oped in tomorrow's WSJ with the blunt title Kofi Annan Must Go.
Glenn Reynolds: KOFI ANNAN MUST GO: That's Sen. Norm Coleman in tomorrow's WSJ. It's a free link.

Early anti-Bush demos fizzle in Canada
  AFP   —   Permalink 
OTTAWA (AFP) - Hopes for early mass protests in the streets of Ottawa on the eve of Tuesday's visit by US President George W. Bush fizzled out, as journalists outnumbered demonstrators.
Damian Penny: Demonstrations without demonstrators — Hopes for early mass protests in the streets of Ottawa on the eve of Tuesday's...
Betsy Newmark: You can't make this stuff up. [snipped quote] Now we know what happens if they give a protest and no one comes.
KJL: WHERE ARE ALL THE BUSH HATERS? Canadian protests of Bush visit aren't all that.
Charles Johnson: What If They Gave a Protest and Nobody Came? Early anti-Bush demos fizzle in Canada. (Hat tip: Ted.)
Smash: What if They Threw a Protest... ...and Nobody Came? [snipped quote] Heh. Chris Alemany has more local reaction to Bush's visit to Canada.
Will Collier: Snicker: "Hopes for early mass protests in the streets of Ottawa on the eve of Tuesday's visit by US President George...

Who Is John Stott?
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Tim Russert is a great journalist, but he made a mistake last weekend. He included Jerry Falwell and Al Sharpton in a discussion on religion and public life.
Inviting these two bozos onto "Meet the Press" to discuss that issue is like inviting Britney Spears and Larry Flynt to discuss D. H. Lawrence.
Jesse Taylor: The Red Lobster Strikes Again — I'm reading over this David Brooks column (accurately this time, folks), and I'm a bit...
Eugene Oregon: Please Start Highlighting Our Less Embarrassing Leaders — David Brooks thinks it is unfair that the media sees Jerry...
Ed Cone: He may be right that John Stott, the subject of his column this morning, is a more profound influence on evangelical...
Steve M.: That's David Brooks in today's New York Times, singing the praises of John Stott, a British preacher and writer who is one of the major figures in the world evangelical movement.
Norbizness: Exhibit Omega: In the middle of his glowing profile of bigoted delusion farmer John Stott.. who is apparently the Yoda...
Tom Tomorrow: David Brooks makes my head hurt — So David Broooks read a book by a guy who seems much more reasonable (to him) than...
Also: Betsy Newmark, QD @SouthernAppeal, Rich Lowry

Congress Trims Money for Science Agency
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 - Congress has cut the budget for the National Science Foundation, an engine for research in science and technology, just two years after endorsing a plan to double the amount given to the agency.
Jim Miller: This New York Times article prompted me to go back and do what I should have in the original post, find some numbers on research spending.
Nick Confessore: The latest bit, courtesy of The New York Times: [snipped quote] It's not clear whether this was simply a case where...
The Poor Man: Bread And Circuses — [snipped quote] Mars, bitches. Mars.
Dan Gillmor: Cutting Basic Research, Cutting Our Future — NY Times: Congress Trims Money for Science Agency.
Jesse Taylor: At Least The Rock And Roll Museum's Funded — Why do Republicans hate innovation?

Anti-evolution teachings gain foothold in U.S. schools
  By / San Francisco Chronicle   —   Permalink 
Dover, Pa. — The way they used to teach the origin of the species to high school students in this sleepy town of 1,800 people in southern Pennsylvania, said local school board member Angie Yingling disapprovingly, was that "we come from chimpanzees and apes."
Chris Bowers: But, employing an argument that was ridiculed by most of the state's newspapers and by legions of legal experts, Giles...
David Allan Pell: Those who doubt that or doubt the existence of a cultural war in this country need look no further than Dover,...
Steve Verdon: Bad Science Reporting — Why must we be saddled with reporters who don't understand basic scientific terminology?
Rickheller @Centerfield: Teachin' Evolution — The school board in the town of Dover, Pennsylvania has voted to require the teaching of...

U.S. Officials Say Iraq's Forces Founder Under Rebel Assaults
  NYT   —   Permalink 
MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 29 - Iraqi police and national guard forces, whose performance is crucial to securing January elections, are foundering in the face of coordinated efforts to kill and intimidate them and their families, say American officials in the provinces facing the most violent insurgency.
Matthew Yglesias: How's it going? Poorly, reports today's Los Angeles Times. Very poorly, according to The New York Times.
Steve Soto: The New York Times reports this morning that Iraq's security forces, which we have recruited and trained, are crumbling under the pressure applied by the insurgents.
Nick Gillespie: Meanwhile, Back in Iraq... The NY Times reports from Mosul that [snipped quote] On the flip side, there's this: [snipped quote] Whole thing here.
Cori Dauber: There's a front page story in the Times that tries to come to grips with the situation on the ground among Iraqi units.
Rich Lowry: SOBERING... ...report today in the NY Times about the performance of Iraqi troops and police.

Humble Rather earned departure fit for an icon
  By / Hollywood Reporter   —   Permalink 
There was a telling moment in a telephone interview I conducted with Dan Rather a little more than a year ago in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of CBS.
"I'm not a large part of the legacy (of CBS)," Rather offered.
Charles Johnson: Dan Rather Talks to Spirits — Well. I knew Dan Rather was ... strange. I just didn't know how strange.
JD @SouthernAppeal: Dan Rather chats with the ghost of Edward R. Murrow: No, really. That's what it says. "Ed Murrow's ghost is here.
Oliver Willis: Rather: Nutty — Now, while I think way too much praise has been lavished on the right's idealogical warriors who have...

What happened to Iraq's oil money?
  MSNBC   —   Permalink 
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the United States took control of all of the Iraqi government's bank accounts, including the income from oil sales. The United Nations approved the financial takeover, and President Bush vowed to spend Iraq's money wisely.
Cori Dauber: TO SOME EXTENT LEAKAGE — NBC's resident hype artist, Lisa Myers, expert in finding real stories then pumping them for...
Tom @Corrente: Remember how Iraq's oil money was essentially given to us to manage by the U.N. Well, um, we screwed that up big time: [snipped quote] We apparently lost $8.8 B. Holy cow.

Reid announces new office created
  By / Las Vegas Review-Journal   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the incoming Senate minority leader, said Monday he is forming a communications "war room" to promote Democrats' messages and respond to Republican criticism.
Atrios: Good News — Except, um, you didn't actually have one before?
Chris Bowers: Minority Leader Reid On Message — This is promising: [snipped quote] I was not thrilled when Reid became minority leader, but I am impressed by this media innovation.

Another Shoe Drops on the Subject of Airport Security
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WE have been hearing a lot from women who object to the way they are being handled, literally, at airport checkpoints. The chorus of protests from women about what they strongly regard as inappropriate body pat-downs has been loud, sustained and persuasive.
James Joyner: Another Shoe Drops on the Subject of Airport Security — Joe Sharkey relates some complaints of passengers annoyed by...
Kevin Drum: JUST CLEARING MY THROAT HERE....Joe Sharkey writes today about the thing that really bugs me about airport security procedures: their inconsistency.
Jeff Jarvis: And so I got pissed reading Joe Sharky's travel column in The Times today about a guy who gets pissy about taking off his shoes.
Ann Althouse: Just deal with it. You've got to learn how to behave in airports. [snipped quote] I say deal with it.

Of Mosul and Men
  By / American Prospect   —   Permalink 
For months now, skeptics of George W. Bush's Iraq policy have been warning that the present path could lead to bloody civil war. More recently, proponents of a continued U.S. military presence have been warning that bloody civil war would be the result of a withdrawal.
Gregory Djerejian: Matthew Yglesias—seemingly largely based on the murder of some Kurds in Mosul by perpetrators beholden to an unholy...
Matthew Yglesias: The Iraqi Civil War — As I say in today's column, civil war isn't a possibility, it's a reality

Changing America, changing tastes
  By / Chicago Tribune   —   Permalink 
NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — A growing demand for goat meat among New York City Muslims has been a boon to a livestock auction tucked away in the middle of Amish country.
Matthew Yglesias: Mmm...Goat — Not a lot of food-blogging on this site, but since Dan Drezner mentioned it, it seems worth noting that...
Daniel Drezner: It's all about the goats — Andrew Martin has a fascinating front-pager in today's Chicago Tribune about how rising...
Joe Gandelman: So what's the big deal about this story about the increasing demand for goat meat: isn't that like the meat in some of the fast food we eat?

AIDS a sign of moral "immunodefficiency" - Vatican
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
VATICAN CITY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The Vatican on Tuesday blamed the spread of AIDS on an "immunodeficiency" of moral values among other factors and called for education, abstinence and greater access to drugs to fight the disease.
Jesse Taylor: A Note To The Vatican — Stop helping. UPDATE: A word to the not-so-wise. The issue isn't the greater access to drugs or aid to poorer countries, which is great.
Steve Gilliard: Sexual abstinance for priest: an idea who's time has come — Where a number of Catholic Clergy needs to be AIDS a sign...
Atrios: Moral Immunodefficiency — Some constructive rhetoric from the Vatican: The Vatican on Tuesday blamed the spread of AIDS...

A Dwarf Known as Al Qaeda
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
The threat posed by the group is hugely overblown.
The German federal police, the BKA, was once famous for its relentless, coolly efficient pursuit of terrorists. Hundreds of BKA agents eliminated the first three generations of the Red Army Faction, a terror organization that killed scores of politicians and civilians in the 1970s and 1980s.
Kevin Drum: Today in the LA Times, Dirk Laabs chimes in on the subject and recounts the conclusions of Germany's famed terrorist...
Orrin Judd: AFTER THE DWARF IS TOSSED:: A Dwarf Known as Al Qaeda: The threat posed by the group is hugely overblown.

Iran hails UN nuclear 'victory'
  BBC   —   Permalink 
A top Iranian official has claimed a "great victory" over the US after the UN said it would not punish Iran's nuclear activities with sanctions.
Hassan Rohani said Iran would never give up its right to nuclear power.
Charles Johnson: Iran is Laughing at the West — Iran taunts the US, gloats over the Europeans' silly "agreement," and mocks the toothless IAEA: Iran hails UN nuclear 'victory'.
Glenn Reynolds: Some might say that this story answers the question.
Porphyrogenitus: The International Community Scores a Victory — A follow up to this post on Iran's nuclear weapons program and the...

Ridge resigns Homeland Security post
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose name became synonymous with color-coded terror alerts and tutorials about how to prepare for possible attack, resigned Tuesday.
Ridge submitted his resignation in writing to President Bush on Tuesday morning but indicated he will continue to serve until Feb. 1.
Orrin Judd: IDEAL SPOT FOR A DEMOCRAT: Ridge resigns Homeland Security post (Associated Press, November 30, 2004) [snipped quote] How...
Steve Soto: Now It Is Ridge's Turn To Go — Tom Ridge is the latest Bush Administration official to bail out, and he is probably taking the color coded alert system with him.

Finding Safire's Keepers
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
William Safire asserted in his Nov. 1 New York Times column that journalists have a special name for stories they deliberately withhold from publication until they can do the most political damage.
Matthew Yglesias: Jack Shafer offers up a fitting coda to William Safire's career as an op-ed columnist: [snipped quote] Sadly typical.
Matt Welch: Hair-Splitter Nitpicked — Jack Shafer reference-checks William Safire.

Colleges Can Bar Army Recruiters
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Universities may bar military recruiters from their campuses without risking the loss of federal money, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, found that...
Nathan Newman: Military Kicked Off Campuses — Bad Day for Human Rights A Court of Appeals has declared that Colleges can bar Army recruiters from campus.
Kevin T. Keith: What's Good for the Gay Goose is Good for the Military Gander (or ... something) A lot of attention is being paid to...
Stanley Kurtz: BANNING THE MILITARY — The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional.
Matthew Yglesias: Military Recruitment — Via Julie Saltman I see that the 3rd Circuit has struck down the Solomon Amendment that would...
Cori Dauber: A court says it's fine for universities to bar military recruiting to protest the military's discriminatory policies against gays.
Captain Ed: Third Circuit OK's Banning Of Military Recruiters From Colleges — The Third Circuit Court of Appeal issued a...
Also: Chris Bowers, Kos, James Joyner, Ann Althouse

Reed to certify Rossi as winner
  By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer   —   Permalink 
OLYMPIA — Republican Dino Rossi becomes Washington's governor-elect when Secretary of State Sam Reed certifies the election this morning, and the Democrats have until Friday to demand a costly hand recount — which right now they don't have the money for.
Amy Sullivan: And now in this year's gubernatorial race, a machine recount has left Democrat Christine Gregoire a mere 42 votes behind Republican Dino Rossi.
Taegan Goddard: In Washington, Rossi Certified as Governor-elect — Dino Rossi (R) becomes Washington's governor-elect when the...
Orrin Judd: Reed to certify Rossi as winner of governor's race: Democrats struggle to find money for a costly hand recount (CHRIS...

THE GLOOM PATROL
  New York Post   —   Permalink 
IF there's one thing that de fines the American political creed, it's the conviction that the future can and ought to be better than the present.
We all understand, though, that he future won't be better unless we make the right choices in the present.
Rich Lowry: THE NEW NIHILISTS — John Podhoretz nails it today in the New York Post, where he argues that the left doesn't believe in anything overseas anymore besides despair.
Betsy Newmark: John Podhoretz notes that liberals don't seem to be celebrating the trends towards democracy in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Iraq.
Jayson @PoliPundit: Essential Podhoretz — John Podhoretz tears the far left a new one, over their disgraceful pessimism and duplicity regarding various foreign policy issues of the day.

Officials: Ridge to announce resignation
  CNN   —   Permalink 
(CNN) — Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will announce Tuesday afternoon that he is stepping down from his post, DHS officials have told CNN.
Ridge, 59, is expected to make the announcement at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Jeff Jarvis: Color him Orange : So Tom Ridge is gone. I have no regrets and had many complaints.
Taegan Goddard: Ridge Resigns — Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will announce this afternoon that he is stepping down from his post, CNN reports.

Pakistani gets life for blasphemy
  BBC   —   Permalink 
A Pakistani court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment under the country's controversial blasphemy laws.
Iqbal Ahmad, a member of the Ahmediya community, was found guilty of being disrespectful to the Prophet Muhammad in a mosque near Faisalabad.
Brock Sides: And in Pakistan, a man has been sentenced to life in prison for blasphemy.
Shawn @LiquidList: They're so savage and uncivilized in Pakistan. A life sentence for blaspheming Muhammad! The death penalty for blaspheming Muhammad!

And What Name Will Phinnaeus Have for Mommy?
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Congratulations, Julia Roberts, and you, too, Mr. Julia Roberts, on the birth of your twins, little Hazel and Phinnaeus. But our joy over your Blessed Event is tempered by a couple of questions. To wit:
Hazel? And, more important, Phinnaeus?
Steve Bainbridge: Hollywood is a Very Odd Place — I live within the boundaries of what would have been the City of Hollywood had the secession referendum passed a couple of years ago.
Tom Smith: Decline of Culture continues — More evidence that Hollywood people need brain therapy. What they name their kids.
Jeff A. Taylor: No, Let's Pass Judgment — The Washington Post has one of those odd we-are-not-really-bashing -people bash pieces today targeting Julia Roberts.

States' Rights Defense Falters in Medical Marijuana Case
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 - The effort by advocates of the medical use of marijuana to link their cause to the Supreme Court's federalism revolution appeared headed for failure at the court on Monday.
Nathan Newman: Based on reports on oral arguments yesterday, this case is likely to affirm the most radical principles of federal power established during the new deal.
Jan Haugland: Justices give Barnett a hard time — If we are to believe this report from the NYT's Linda Greenhouse, it doesn't look...
Captain Ed: SCOTUS Harshes California's Mellow — The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in reviewing the constitutionality of...

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
  White House   —   Permalink 
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. Welcome back, everybody; hope everyone had great holidays. Let me begin with one announcement, and then I want to go over the schedule for Canada, and I'll be glad to take questions after that.
Bryan Keefer: Exhibit A is two consecutive questions from yesterday's White House briefing: "Q: The Canadians are going to serve the President Canadian beef for dinner.
Tom Maguire: The White House assures us that this announcement does not reflect diminished Pakistani committment to the war on terror (McClellan here).
SLZoll: Here, just read this selection from yesterday's Press Briefing: Q I have a personal comment first, before my question.

'He wants to serve his country'
  By / Chicago Sun Times   —   Permalink 
Mayor Daley's only son, Patrick, has joined the Army during a time of war.
He reports to active duty as an enlisted soldier in the Army's regular airborne infantry.
His activation date: between Christmas and New Year's. His destination: presumably North Carolina's Ft. Bragg.
Orrin Judd: GREAT BLUE HOPE: 'He wants to serve his country' (MICHAEL SNEED, November 30, 2004, Chicago SUN-TIMES)
KJL: A DALEY GOES TO THE ARMY — Mayor Daley's only son enlists.

Europe's Ritual Dance
  NRO   —   Permalink 
The Western counterpart of Iran's deception.
The European "solution" to the threat of Iranian atomic bombs bids fair to join the "peace process" as the most boffo running gag in the history of show biz.
Bird Dog: While Michael Ledeen is still hoping for political change within, I am not that optimistic, not when there is a Guardian Council that can remove any candidates it doesn't like.
James Joyner: Update (1042): Michael Ledeen, long a hawk on Iran, is hopeful of a non-military solution could work: "I do not believe...
Matthew Yglesias: As he lays it out in today's NRO column and elsewhere, the mullahs in Tehran are an intolerable threat to American...
Dan Darling: I think that Michael Ledeen pretty well laid out the European position with respect to Iran.

More than presidency at stake in Ukraine
  Chicago Sun Times   —   Permalink 
We do not yet know the final outcome of the struggle for the Ukrainian presidency between two former Ukrainian prime ministers — the pro-Western "reformer" Viktor Yushchenko and the pro-Russian political "boss" Viktor Yanukovych — in an election that was plainly neither free nor fair.
KJL: UKRAINE: WINNERS AND LOSERS — John O'Sullivan: [snipped quote] Losers? Putin, Chirac, U.N. , Annan...
Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: John O'Sullivan looks at winners and losers so far: [snipped quote] Indeed. And read this piece, on lessons from Georgia and elsewhere, too.

Frost Said to Be Making Calls About DNC
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Defeated Texas Congressman Martin Frost is among potential candidates for chairman of the Democratic National Committee who are telephoning members about the situation, a leading Democrat said Monday.
Kos: DNC chair ongoings — So Michigan's Democratic Party chief says the following Democrats have been making calls to DNC...
Byron L: The AP reports: [snipped quote] As a Democrat who grew up in Dallas, I've always been a fan of Martin Frost.
Taegan Goddard: Frost Seeks DNC Post — Defeated Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX) "is among potential candidates for chairman of the Democratic...
Chris Bowers: New DNC Rumors — Names, names and more names: [snipped quote] Frost challenged Pelosi for minority leader post-2002, as a "centrist" alternative.

ONE SOLDIER'S LEADERSHIP
  New York Post   —   Permalink 
Something not at all out of the ordinary happened over the weekend: A 47-year-old U.S. Army sergeant major shipped out to Iraq for a year-long deployment — after asking for and getting permission to delay his scheduled April retirement.
The Big Trunk: Today's Post carries an editorial based on the Fayetville Observer story on Command Sgt. Major James Jordan that we...
Betsy Newmark: Here's an intriguing story that I hadn't heard about before.

Supreme Court Turns Down a Same-Sex Marriage Case
  NYT   —   Permalink 
The Supreme Court sidestepped the nationwide battle over same-sex marriage yesterday, declining to hear a case aimed at overturning the Massachusetts law that made it legal this year for gay couples to marry.
The justices made no comment in refusing to take the case.
Kos: Give "marriage" to the churches — While the Supremes refused to get involved in the gay marriage issue in...
Steve Dillard: Supreme Court Turns Down a Same-Sex Marriage Case: Well, color me thankful.

Correction: Texas Exit Poll Glance
  AP   —   Permalink 
In the Nov. 3 BC-ELN—Texas Glance and BC-TX Exit-Poll Excerpts, The Associated Press overstated President Bush 's support among Texas Hispanics. Under a post-election adjustment by exit poll providers Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International, 49 percent of Hispanics in the state voted for Bush, not a majority.
Ruy Teixeira: Now we have this AP item, showing a drastic downward revision in the Texas figure for Bush's Hispanic support:...
Andrew Sullivan: THOSE HISPANICS: Not as pro-Bush in Texas as we thought, apparently.
Steve Soto: Now it turns out that upon further study by NEP and Mr. Mitofsky, not only didn't Bush get 59% of the Hispanic vote in...

'They hate our policies, not our freedom'
  By / Christian Science Monitor   —   Permalink 
Late on the Wednesday afternoon before the Thanksgiving holiday, the US Defense Department released a report by the Defense Science Board that is highly critical of the administration's efforts in the war on terror and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Taegan Goddard: Report Highly Critical of War Effort — "Late on the Wednesday afternoon before the Thanksgiving holiday, the US Defense...
Chris Bowers: Produced by the Defense Science Board, it is utterly damming of the way we are conducting the war on the rest of the...

Bin Laden aide vows to continue U.S. fight
  CNN   —   Permalink 
(CNN) — In a videotape that aired Monday, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man pledged to continue fighting the United States until it changes its policies regarding Muslims.
LindaSoG: Under the title "Bin Laden aide vows to continue U.S. fight" CNN reports on the content of Bin Laden's latest message via Zawahiri's latest rant, as shown on Al-Jazeera.
Hecate: CNN reports that bin Laden aide al-Zawahiri continues to threaten the US: **** "You can elect Bush, Kerry or Satan himself, it doesn't matter to us," he said.
Talking Dog: Just when we were getting used to a probable record month for American casualties in Iraq, Al Qaeda number two Ayman...

Dude, Where's My Integrity?
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
If medical science conspired to construct, at the submolecular level, the world's most sympathetic plaintiff, it could do no better than Angel McClary Raich. Raich suffers from a host of painful wasting diseases, including fibromyalgia, endometriosis, scoliosis, uterine fibroid tumors, paralysis, asthma, and rotator cuff syndrome.
Mark Kleiman: Medical marijuana on NPR at 8 p.m. Eastern tonight — Dahlia Lithwick provides a grim partial play-by-play of the oral argument in the medical marijuana case in the Supreme Court.
Betsy Newmark: Dahlia Lithwick is as sympathetic as she can be to the plaintiffs in the medical marijuana case and as derisive as she...
Fafnir: But the federal government gets to regulate stuff even in local Gibletsy governments because it gets to regulate interstate commerce.
Will Baude: Still more Raich — Writes Dahlia Lithwick: "(S)hould the court's staunchest conservatives get away with being for states' rights only when the state in question isn't California?

Brain Scan Shows Differences in Truth, Lying
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brain scans show that the brains of people who are lying look very different from those of people who are telling the truth, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Jim Lindgren: If the news accounts are correct, the new study distinguishing the brain scans of liars from truth-tellers has a serious design flaw that goes beyond the small sample size.
Todd Zywicki: A story today discusses a recent study that was able to distinguish when subjects were lying versus telling the truth.

Gutierrez Is Pick for Commerce Secretary
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
President Bush began reshaping his economic team for a second term yesterday by nominating Carlos M. Gutierrez, the Cuban-born chief executive of the Kellogg cereal company, to replace Bush's friend Donald L. Evans as secretary of commerce.
Noam Scheiber: Today The Washington Post reports that this practice has begun to bite the administration in the ass.
Daniel Drezner: It was either Secretary of Commerce or the new face of Avon — I don't have much to say about President Bush's...
DeLong: The Economic Policy Clown Show Continues — Mike Allen and Jonathan Weisman report for the Washington Post

The Bleeding Beast of Bentonville
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year—for Wal-Mart. During the frenzied Christmas shopping season, the world's largest retailer's low prices and logistical might ought to crush the competition. Not this Yuletide.
Joe Carter: Numerous pundits, such as Slate's Daniel Gross, pondered the meaning of the reduced expectations and questioned whether...
Steve Soto: Wal-Mart's Troubles And Red State America — Daniel Gross of Slate writes a good piece today about something I have been...

Blunkett: ID cards about removing fear
  Guardian   —   Permalink 
David Blunkett, the home secretary, today denied he was shifting Britain towards an "authoritarian state" as he unveiled plans for identity cards and a national identity database.
Natasha @PacificViews: UK Guardian: The debate on introducing national ID cards for UK citizens rages on. Some perspectives on the interaction between the state and the family.
Steve Gilliard: National ID card Blunkett: ID cards about removing fear Simon Jeffery, Mark Oliver and agencies [snipped quote] You want something to worry about, this is it.

Dan got smeared
  NY Daily News   —   Permalink 
The ordeal of Dan Rather goes far beyond the man himself. It speaks to the presumption of guilt that now rules the day in America. Because of a ruthless and callow media, no citizen, much less one who achieves fame, is given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to allegations or personal attacks.
John Hawkins: Here's Bill O'Reilly at his most bizarre...Ok, not his most bizarre if you believe anything that was in that sexual...
Jeff Jarvis: Odd bedfellows : Still catching up on weekend reading, I find the darnedest defense of Dan Rather from Bill O'Reilly.
Captain Ed: O'Reilly Spins For Rather — Bill O'Reilly issues a scathing editorial on all those who dared to criticize Dan Rather...
Joe Gandelman: The Rich And Powerful Elites Sometimes Defend The Rich And Powerful Elites...and I think that's some of what we're...
Charles Johnson: O'Reilly: Rather was "Slimed" — Bill O'Reilly sticks up for Dan Rather, and says he was smeared.
Avedon Carol: Media notes — Dan got smeared: As a CBS News correspondent in the early '80s, I worked with Rather and have known him for more than 20 years.
Also: Nick Gillespie, Jan Haugland, Vox Day, David Cohen, KJL

Bush to Change Economic Team
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
President Bush plans to overhaul his economic team for the second time in two years and wants to tap some prominent replacements from outside the administration to help sell rewrites of Social Security and the tax laws to Congress and the country, White House aides and advisers said over the weekend.
Noam Scheiber: UPDATE: Brad DeLong makes a good point in response to yesterday's Mike Allen piece about the White House plans to shake...
Steve Soto: Cuban American Kellogg CEO Tapped To Be Commerce Secretary — After announcing just yesterday that he wanted to bring...
Barbara O'Brien: Turkey Soup — Mike Allen writes in WaPo (11/29): [snipped quote] I'm no economist, but wouldn't adding more taxes to the price of goods and services be kinda bad for business?
Mark Schmitt: Reading Legislation — Josh Marshall's readers suggested that blogs might take some responsibility for collaboratively...
Tom Maguire: New Forecast - Snow Gone By Spring — Bush will be changing his economic team, and, according to one Administration...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: CHANGING THE LINEUP — I'm glad to see that the Bush Administration appears to be preparing to change the economic team.
Also: Taegan Goddard, James Joyner, Kash, Jesse Taylor, Lambert @Corrente, Betsy Newmark, Scott Wickstein, Jonathan H. Adler

Court Allows Universities to Bar Military Recruiters
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Universities may bar military recruiters from their campuses without risking the loss of federal money, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled today.
The Big Trunk: The New York Times reports on the decision in "Court allows universities to bar military recruiters."
Joe Gandelman: Court Says Universities Can Nix Military Recruiters — In a decision that might be subitlted "Litigation Mania" (since...
Robert Prather: They can say whatever they want, just not on the federal nickel. [snipped quote] James has more.
James Joyner: Court Allows Universities to Bar Military Recruiters — Court Allows Universities to Bar Military Recruiters [RSS] (NYT)...
Jeralyn Merritt: 3rd Circuit Rules Universities Can Ban Military Recruiters — The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that...

High Court Appears Hesitant to Endorse Medical Marijuana
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared hesitant Monday to endorse medical marijuana for patients who have a doctor's recommendation.
Justices are considering whether sick people in 11 states with medical marijuana laws can get around a federal ban on pot.
Avedon Carol: It's not just abstract — The news headlines from Bloomberg and the NYT version of the AP story suggest that the case is...
Julian Sanchez: The Dope Docket — On the basis of early reporting from this morning's oral arguments in Raich v. Ashcroft, it sounds as though the justices are fairly skeptical.
Will Baude: More on Raich — The AP and Bloomberg have initial reports on Raich v. Ashcroft.
David Allan Pell: Don't Bogart That Morality — The Supreme Court's latest look at the use of medical marijuana is positioned as a battle between state's right and the federal ban on pot.
James Joyner: Indeed, this is the classic case of politics creating strange bedfellows: [snipped quote] We shall see.
Chris Nolan: As a rule, it's silly to anticipate what the court will do based on the justices' questions or comments.
Also: Steve Dillard

Iran's Conservatives Consolidate Power
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
TEHRAN — After eight years of a bold but bungled experiment with reform, Iran's government is in the throes of a takeover by conservatives determined to restore the revolution's Islamic purity, according to Iranian politicians and analysts.
Bird Dog: More on Iran — The fetching Robin Wright puts together a political analysis of the Iranian regime, beginning with this...
Gene @HarrysPlace: Journalistic bravery in Iran — After reading how Iran's conservative Islamists are tightening their grip on power, it's...
Andrew Sullivan: WORSE IN IRAN: Anyone who thinks the Tehran regime can be appeased or reformed by external or internal pressure should read this helpful reality check in the Washington Post today.
James Joyner: Iran: Nuclear and More Radical — Iran's Conservatives Consolidate Power (Robin Wright, WaPo, A10) "After eight years...
Laura Rozen: "More scary because of the stories of the Mullahs consolidating, rather than conceding, power. I was kind of banking on the students revolts."
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Whether or not Johnson was being sincere (a point on which many differ), it is safe to say that he would have gotten...
Also: Ogged @Unfogged

How Kerry whistleblower suffered for truth
  By / Chicago Sun Times   —   Permalink 
His name is Steve Gardner. He's also known as "The 10th Brother," as in Band of Brothers. He's one of two members of Sen. John Kerry's 12 Vietnam swift boat crew members who refused to stand with Kerry at the Democratic Convention. The other man remained silent.
Deacon: Unfortunately, as the Chicago Sun-Times reports, Gardner seems to have paid a heavy price for contradicting the official line on Kerry's Vietnam service.
Greg Ransom: DOUGLAS BRINKLEY smears Steve Gardner — and other stories of the John Kerry hit machine vs. the Swift Vet who knew Kerry best.
PoliPundit: Gardner — Steve Gardner, the only man on Kerry's Swift boat to come out against Kerry, has paid a heavy price for...
Captain Ed: The Man O'Reilly Should Be Honoring — Today's Chicago Sun-Times chronicles the aftermath of the election for the most...
Oliver Willis: Swift Boat Liar Gardner Back In The News — Election | Republican Noise Machine | Republicans He's crying because his...
Orrin Judd: SPEECH ISN'T FREE: How Kerry whistleblower suffered for truth (MARY LANEY, November 29, 2004, Chicago Sun-Times)

Medical Marijuana Draws Skepticism at U.S. Top Court (Update1)
  Bloomberg   —   Permalink 
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Several U.S. Supreme Court justices expressed doubts that states can let seriously ill patients ease their symptoms by using marijuana, a drug the federal government has designated as illegal.
Clayton Cramer: Still, to consistently apply this standard would destroy an awful lot of liberalism's twentieth century legacy: [snipped quote] Scalia's right.
Jim Lindgren: An account of the argument in Raich. — Here is an early account of the oral argument in Raich. It sounds tough.
Dan Alban: Ashcroft v. Raich oral argument update — The initial news is not very positive for Raich supporters: Medical Marijuana...

A Nuclear Iran
  By / Weekly Standard   —   Permalink 
IRAN'S RECENT PUBLIC DECISION to halt its uranium enrichment program could be the first move in a gradual opening of its society and an attempt by Iran's moderate factions to integrate Tehran into the world's economy.
Bird Dog: A nuclear Iran, says Christian Lowe for the Weekly Standard, borrowing liberally from an analysis by Richard L. Russell of National Defense University.
Laura Rozen: Matt Yglesias reviews Ken Pollack's Persian Puzzle here and debates Christian Lowe's contention in the Weekly Standard...
Jayson @PoliPundit: The Ticking Time Bomb — Christian Lowe, of the Weekly Standard, addresses the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions.
James Joyner: Christian Lowe, writing in the Weekly Standard, asks the related question, "A Nuclear Iran: Is it a question or 'if, or 'when'? "
Matthew Yglesias: After a sensible first page, the second part of Lowe's article starts laying the groundwork.

Stand by Ukraine's Struggle
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
Democracy is not born overnight. But democracy captures our collective imagination in snapshots: the fall of the Berlin Wall, the lone student standing down Chinese tanks in Tiananmen Square, Nelson Mandela's inauguration as president of South Africa.
Robert Tagorda: In Sunday's Los Angeles Times, Matt Spence of the Truman National Security Project argued that not only is Ukrainian...
Phillip Carter: Standing by Ukraine — Matt Spence, a director of the Truman Project, an organization established to develop national...
Glenn Reynolds: THOUGHTS ON DEMOCRACY IN THE UKRAINE, from Matt Spence.
Armed Liberal: Democracy and Sitzfleisch — Rachel Belton of the Truman Project (which I blogged approvingly about) emailed me this...
Patrick Belton: TRUMAN DEMOCRATS ON DEMOCRACY IN THE UKRAINE: Our friend, and sometime classmate, Matt Spence has an op-ed piece in the...

So you support the troops?
  American Thinker   —   Permalink 
Since writing the widely-published poem "Fightin' Words," I've had some emails and posted comments indicating the belief that I'm just another rightwing, media-hating nutcase with an ax to grind. Actually, I'm more of a moderately conservative nut case and I'm not against the media as a whole, just some segments.
Steve M.: Now Vaughn has written an essay defending his poem for a Web site called the American Thinker.
The Elder: All's Fair... Russ Vaughn, usually known for waxing poetically, is today waxing indignantly about what it really means...
Mrs Greyhawk: Russ Vaughn 2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division Vietnam 65-66 UPDATE: Russ has givin an explanation to his poem here at the American Thinker

Supreme Court Appears Hesitant to Allow 11 States With Medical Marijuana Laws to Evade Federal Ban
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
Angel McClary Raich, left, and her husband attorney Rob Raich listen during a news conference in Oakland, Calif. in this June 28, 2004 file photo. Raich, the mother of two, tried dozens of prescriptions, trying to ease the pain of her brain tumor and other illnesses before she tried marijuana.
Ann Althouse: UPDATE: Justice Breyer also seemed unreceptive to the plaintiffs' argument: "Justice Stephen Breyer said supporters of...
Jim Lindgren: UPDATE: Althouse links to an ABC account: "The Supreme Court appeared hesitant Monday to endorse medical marijuana for patients who have a doctor's recommendation.
Dan Alban: Wary Court Considers Medical Marijuana (ABCNew.com) [...] Justice Stephen Breyer said supporters of marijuana for the...

Iraq log: 29 November 2004
  BBC   —   Permalink 
What is life like for ordinary Iraqis and others caught up in events? We are publishing a range of accounts here from people inside Iraq about how they, their families and friends live day to day and what the bigger events in the headlines mean to them.
Natasha @PacificViews: Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has her house arrest extended. An ongoing log of daily life in Iraq.
KJL: LUCKILY THIS HAPPENS A LOT." An American soldier blogging for (GASP!) BBC.
Andrew Sullivan: FROM IRAQ: The BBC asked a bunch of ordinary Iraqis to describe their day. It's a fascinating kaleidoscope.

Court Declines to Hear Gay Marriage Case
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a dispute over gay marriages, rejecting a challenge to the nation's only law sanctioning such unions.
Justices had been asked by conservative groups to overturn the year-old decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage.
Norbizness: Assume that the following initiatives, of course, would be enacted at the barrel of a gun: (a) forced participation of...
Zoe Kentucky: SCOTUS Smackdown — On behalf of all of America's queers I'd like to extend an apology to all the rabidly obsessed...
Andrew Sullivan: SCOTUS KEEPS ITS COOL: Good news that Massachusetts' civil marriages are not going to be dealt with by the Supreme Court - at least in the foreseeable future.

Terror suspects' torture claims have Mass. link
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
DEDHAM — Most here know Hill & Plakias as a family law firm that handles real estate and civil squabbles for the residents of this Boston suburb.
But the inconspicuous office above a Sovereign Bank, across from the red, white, and blue flags of a used...
Laura Rozen: Definitely worth reading the whole thing.
Shawn @LiquidList: I'm referring to Massachusetts-based Premier Executive Transport's two jets, outed today by the Boston Globe as apparent CIA torture transport planes.
Steve Clemons: Read this piece from the Boston Globe today.
Steve M.: Today's Boston Globe reports on Premier Executive Transport Services, that is the owner of record for a plane known to...

Bush Picks Kellogg CEO for Commerce Post
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Monday chose Carlos Gutierrez, a native of Cuba who rose from truck driver to chief executive officer of Kellogg Co. (K), to be secretary of Commerce.
Baldilocks: President Bush has picked Kellogg CEO Carlos Gutierrez as John Evans' replacement for Secretary of commerce.
Jayson @PoliPundit: The Great Divider Strikes Again — President re-elect George W. Bush chose Carlos Gutierrez, CEO of Kellogg's, to...
James Joyner: Quite the pay cut. Interesting biography as well.

What Is a Cabinet For?
  By / Opinion Journal   —   Permalink 
Although the administration of William Henry Harrison isn't the most acclaimed in American history, it did contribute one intriguing idea to the theory of executive government.
Jesse Taylor: Bret Stephens manages that today.
Orrin Judd: IT'S THE PRESIDENT'S CABINET, NOT VICE VERSA: What Is a Cabinet For? : To serve at the pleasure of the president, not to constrain him.
Betsy Newmark: Bret Stephens looks at the history of presidential cabinets.

The Costs of Staying the Course
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
More than 1,200 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq so far. In the face of rising casualties, polls taken throughout the election season revealed the public's discomfort with our progress in Iraq but gave little indication of weakening support for the mission.
Kieran Healy: Attrition in Iraq — Brian Gifford of Pub Sociology has an Op-Ed piece in todays Washington Post arguing that the...
Donald Sensing: The myth of counting casualties — Berkeley researcher can't do math and his piece doesn't add up anyway Brian Gifford...
Charles Johnson: Media Math: Success = Quagmire — At the Washington Post, Brian Gifford from UC Berkeley uses "media math" to explain...
Matthew Yglesias: Staying the course — Via Kieran Healy, Brian Gifford argues that the burden of the war in Iraq is much higher than the death rate seems to imply.

Thankful for the settlers
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — When giving thanks this year, think of Lena Woebbecke. She and many others paid a terrible price for misreading the prairie sky on the afternoon of Jan. 12, 1888.
That day was unseasonably balmy, by prairie standards — some temperatures were in the 20s — and many children scampered to school without coats or gloves.
Dean Esmay: Dakota Thanksgiving — Over at Matt Welch's place, I encountered this George Will Thanksgiving column.
Matt Welch: Seriously, Am I Crazy? Is This George Will Column Not Totally Bats**t?

Who Is Being 'Unserious' on the Terror War?
  By / TCS   —   Permalink 
What's disappointing about Ryan Sager's "Rethinking Libertarian Minimalism" column isn't that he expresses his disagreement with libertarians who opposed the war with Iraq.
Debate is healthy — particularly on such an important issue.
Pete Guither: By the way (and off topic) if you haven't done so yet, please read Radley's outstanding fisking of Sager. Great stuff!
Radley Balko: Fisking Sager — Over at Tech Central I have a very long and very thorough fisking-response to Ryan Sager's accusations that Cato is "unserious" about the war on terrorism.
Julian Sanchez: Radley Balko has written a lengthy and effective response.

Coffey: Medical marijuana case tests Congress' power
  CNN   —   Permalink 
(CNN) — The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether a federal ban on marijuana can be enforced in states that have legalized its use as a medical treatment with a doctor's permission.
CNN legal analyst Kendall Coffey discussed the case Monday with CNN's Rick Sanchez.
Pete Guither: One of my favorites: Kendall Coffee at CNN: "However, Rick, let's look at the practical side.
Ellen Dana Nagler: SCOTUS is hearing a medical marijuana case, and the outcome is "unpredictable." These days that passes for good news.

In Leak Case, Reporters Lack Shield For Sources
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
When unnamed Bush administration officials gave the name of CIA official Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak 16 months ago, many in the news media decried what they saw as the possibly illegal "outing" of a secret operative in reprisal for criticism of the administration by her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV.
Avedon Carol: What makes this particular article interesting is that it is written by Bill O'Reilly, who still can't admit that it...
James Joyner: Reporters Face Jail if They Don't Reveal Sources — In Leak Case, Reporters Lack Shield For Sources (WaPo)...
DemFromCT: The WaPo has a round-up today of where we are with Plame and co., concentrating on our friend Judith Miller and Matt Cooper of Time.
Laura Rozen: The WaPo's Charles Lane on the Valerie Plame leak case — did Novak take the fifth? : [snipped quote] [Via Romenesko].

AP Poll: Majority of Americans Want Supreme Court Nominee Who Would Uphold Roe V. Wade
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
People line up outside the U.S Supreme Court to listen to arguments in this Oct. 13, 2004, in Washington. Six in 10 Americans say there should be a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, according to an Associated Press poll taken Nov.
Steve M.: AP/ABC News Impressive — though it's not really surprising.
KJL: ROE — Americans don't want it overturned?
Eugene Oregon: But here comes one that is sure to leave Republicans, riding high on the wisdom of all those supposed "values" voters...

Evangelicals to Bush: Payback Time
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
Nov. 28, 2004 — Among some conservative Christians, there is a belief that President Bush received a "moral mandate" to win the recent presidential election — and they are calling on him to act on their agenda now.
Another was asked if she believed that God intervened in the election.
Atrios: Or something. I'm really not sure. Cass wants a U.S. Supreme Court that will outlaw abortion and gay marriage.
Eugene Oregon: Gary Cass loves the GOP "Cass wants a U.S. Supreme Court that will outlaw abortion and gay marriage.

Norway's Heroin Lows
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
OSLO — She said she only smoked heroin, but there were needle bruises on her neck. She said she loved her boyfriend, but she stood on a corner and offered herself to others. She said she was a girl, but then remembered she had become a woman.
Jan Haugland: Drugs in Norway — Jeffrey Fleishman writes a devastating article about Norway's heroin problem in LA Times, showing the...
Orrin Judd: LEGALIZED MURDER: Norway's Heroin Lows: The model welfare state is a prime market for the rising Afghan opium trade.
Steve Antler: European anecdotal evidence suggests decriminalization enlarges this problem in grotesque fashion.
Jonah Goldberg: But this LA Times story strikes me as worth reading. Here's the opener: "OSLO — She said she only smoked heroin, but there were needle bruises on her neck.

For Democrats in red states, 2006 daunting
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Democratic senators in the states that President Bush won will face a tough road to re-election in 2006, Republicans say, with their sights set most eagerly on two Democrats named Nelson — Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bill Nelson of Florida.
Captain Ed: Democrats Vulnerable In 2006: Washington Times — Amy Fagan analyzes the Democrats' election chances in the 2006 Senate...
Taegan Goddard: The Washington Times notes Republican will target Democratic senators from red states in 2006.
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Report: PA orders end to incitement
  Jerusalem Post   —   Permalink 
The Palestinian Authority leadership has ordered PA-controlled media to stop all incitement against Israel and Jews, the London-based Arabic daily A-Shark Al-Awsat reported Monday.
The order also pertains to video clips, songs and music videos which call for the continuation of the armed intifada, the paper reported.
Gene @HarrysPlace: So if this report is true, it's a very important development: The Palestinian Authority leadership has ordered...
Stephen Pollard: Dream on — I will believe this when I see it: "The Palestinian Authority leadership has ordered PA-controlled media to...