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| A newfangled news tangle |
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New White House Estimate Lifts Drug Benefit Cost to $720 Billion By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 - The Bush administration offered a new estimate of the cost of the Medicare drug benefit on Tuesday, saying it would cost $720 billion in the next 10 years. That is much more than the $400 billion Congress assumed when it passed legislation creating the benefit in late 2003. | |
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Jon Henke: Medicare/Medicaid - $539b — Note: "The Bush administration offered a new estimate of the cost of the Medicare drug... New Donkey: This week, almost casually, the administration let it be known that the true ten-year cost of the benefit will come in at a cool $1.2 trillion. Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: The phrase "Conscience of a Conservative" will be tested even more with news that a new estimate of the cost of... |
Billmon: New York Times New White House Estimate Lifts Drug Benefit Cost February 9, 2005 "Pfizer ... accepts there is great... Jane Galt: The administration's estimates of the 10-year cost of the Medicare prescription drug plan just shot from $400 billion to $720 billion. Jacob Sullum: Give or Take a Few Hundred Billion — The White House now puts the cost of the new Medicare drug benefit that President Bush championed at $750 billion over 10 years. |
| Also: Matt Stoller, Steven Taylor, Oliver @LiquidList, Steve Clemons, Kash, Angry Bear, John Cole | |
Dayton expected to bow out of re-election bid Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., plans to announce today that he will not seek re-election to a second term in the Senate, two knowledgeable Democratic sources said. | |
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James Joyner: Continued... Update (1535): It's official: Dayton bows out of re-election bid (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) "Sen. Mark... Chad The Elder: Today, the Strib is reporting that Dayton expected to bow out of re-election bid (thanks Tom): Minnesota Democratic... Saint Paul l: Breaking News — Dayton not running for Senate in '06. In related news, price plummets in Dayton v. Kenney blog common stock. |
Captain Ed: Beating A Very Brave Retreat — Again — Brave Sir Dayton has again beat a very brave retreat from Washington DC, this... Hindrocket: UPDATE: The Minneapolis Star Tribune's article on Dayton's telephonic press announcement is here. Mitch Berg: Mark Dayton is apparently not running for Senate again: [snipped quote] Minnesota's gain is the Northern Alliance's loss; we just lost two guaranteed years of material. |
| Also: Kos @DailyKos | |
To stop Hillary, draft Condi The Hill — Permalink As she tours the continent after her Senate confirmation, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is like a rock star — her every movement, her every meeting covered by an adoring media. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Another Dick Morris Political Revelation — Let me catch my breath because Dick Morris has made another major... Roger L. Simon: I didn't realize how right I was. Think what she's going to have to go through after this. James Joyner: Dick Morris seems to think so. [snipped quote] I'd be interested to see polling data supporting this contention, which I find dubious. |
Taegan Goddard: Dick Morris argues the merits of Condoleeza Rice presidential campaign, saying "the political fact is that a Rice... Greg Ransom: CONDI, CONDI, CONDI: "As she tours the continent .. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is like a rock star — her... Zoe Kentucky: Whatever Drug He's On... Can I please have some? |
| Also: Patrick Ruffini | |
Blogger's 'Crime' Against the Islamic State By / LAT — Permalink TEHRAN — "Excuse me, Miss, but here in my hand I have a warrant for your arrest," said a middle-aged man with a few days' growth of beard. "Please do not make any noise as you walk calmly to the Mercedes parked at the corner." | |
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Charles Bird: The LA Times has a sad and disturbing tale of the experiences of an Iranian weblogger, who was arrested for daring to criticize the Iranian regime. Kevin Drum: DARKNESS AT NOON....An Iranian blogger writes in the LA Times today about her arrest and interrogation in Tehran: [snipped quote] Would Stalin have been so droll? Laura Rozen: Disturbing. |
Ezra Klein: Make it worth her while and read the piece. Pejman Yousefzadeh: . . That "free speech" in Iran is a joke: [snipped quote] It gets surrealistic and bizarre at the end. Read on. K. J. Lopez: An Iranian female blogger writes in the LATimes today about being humilated and jailed by the mullahs. |
| Also: Virginia Postrel, Greg Ransom | |
Medicare Drug Benefit May Cost $1.2 Trillion WaPo — Permalink The White House released budget figures yesterday indicating that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost more than $1.2 trillion in the coming decade, a much higher price tag than President Bush suggested when he narrowly won passage of the law in late 2003. | |
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Kevin Drum: It's going to cost $1.2 trillion. But it's not so bad. Honest. Noam Scheiber: Anyone who doesn't understand the consequences of allowing the White House to get away with this kind of diversionary... Matt Stoller: The New York Times: New White House Estimate Lifts Drug Benefit Cost to $720 Billion The Washington Post: Medicare Drug... |
Matthew Yglesias: Now it comes out that costs were actually being understated by something more like $300 to $800 billion. Hugh Hewitt: The cost of the prescription drug benefit is huge. Democratic criticism of the program is amusing, though, as it was widely criticized on the left as stingy when it passed. Ezra Klein: And $100 billion bucks ain't s**t to these guys, so now they're saying they lowballed by $670 billion. Yowza! |
| Also: Lambert @Corrente, Max B. Sawicky, Greg Ransom, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, Greg @TheTalentShow | |
O'Malley Likens Bush's Proposed Cuts to Sept. 11 Attacks By / WaPo — Permalink Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley yesterday compared President Bush's proposed budget cuts to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying that Bush, like the al Qaeda hijackers who crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, has launched an assault on America's cities. | |
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John Hawkins: Good Grief... The comments you're about to read came not from the Democratic Underground, IndyMedia or some other... Deacon: Mission accomplished — Martin O'Malley, the Mayor of Baltimore, has compared President Bush's proposed budget to the 9/11 attacks. Betsy Newmark: The Mayor of Baltimore has gone around the bend. Now he compares Bush's budget to 9/11. |
Michelle Malkin: Now we have the Democrat mayor of Baltimore likening President Bush to the Sept. 11 terrorists over the issue of budget cuts. Thomas Lang: Here's what O'Malley said, as reported by the Washington Post: "Back on September 11, terrorists attacked our metropolitan cores, two of America's great cities. John Cole: This is simply idiotic: [snipped quote] Maybe the Democrats deserve to have Howard Dean as their chair. |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh | |
Ahmad Chalabi Is on the Brink of a Comeback By / New York Sun — Permalink WASHINGTON - The former Iraqi exile leader who helped found the Iraqi National Congress, Ahmad Chalabi, is seeking his country's highest office and says he has accepted an informal nomination to be prime minister. | |
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Orrin Judd: WE SHOULD HAVE PUT HIM IN POWER IN THE SUMMER OF '03: Ahmad Chalabi Is on the Brink of a Comeback (ELI LAKE, February 9,... Tim Dunlop: But now, apparently, Ahmad Chalabi is back, bigger and brighter than ever: [snipped quote] Should be fun to watch the Bush administration spin this if it happens to come off. James Joyner: Ahmad Chalabi on the Brink of a Comeback — Ahmad Chalabi Is on the Brink of a Comeback (NY Sun) [snipped quote] There... |
Laura Rozen: As much predicted, Ahmad Chalabi is back, and seeking to become Iraq's prime minister: "In a phone interview yesterday... Steve M.: Ahmad Chalabi, the man whose lie-propagation machine sent Americans to die in Iraq, just might become its next prime minister, says Eli Lake in The New York Sun. Mary @LeftCoaster: Like a particularly bad penny, our first Iraqi friend, Ahmed Chalabi, is a contender for the Iraqi Prime Minister job (via Laura Rozen). |
President Participates in Class-Action Lawsuit Reform Conversation White House — Permalink Washington, D.C. THE PRESIDENT: Carlos, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all. Not so fast, Senator. Carlos, thanks. I appreciate your service, Carlos. Thanks for agreeing to be the Cabinet Secretary. Thanks for leaving the private sector to come to Washington, and bring your family here to serve our country. | |
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Kevin Drum: However, he also made the following plain statement about the Social Security trust fund: [snipped quote] This is a... Josh Marshall: President Bush lays the groundwork for defaulting on almost two trillion dollars worth of US Treasury bonds, from today... |
Matthew Yglesias: Josh Marshall catches the president in his most-explicit-yet promise to default on the government's obligation to repay the debt owed to the Social Security Trust Fund. |
Blueprint Calls for Bigger, More Powerful Government By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush's second-term agenda would expand not only the size of the federal government but also its influence over the lives of millions of Americans by imposing new national restrictions on high schools, court cases and marriages. | |
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Jonah Goldberg: ODD SILENCE... Around here over the frontpage story in the Post this morning about Bush's big government conservatism. Joe Gandelman: New Government Republicanism Trumps Newt Gingrich Vision — The era of Big Government Republicanism is here, the... Mathew Gross: WaPo: [snipped quote] Someone, somewhere in this big blogosphere declared "the era of small government is over." Touche. |
Jesse Taylor: Keep Em' Federated — The Washington Post details today conservative concerns over the expansion of federal government under Bush. Orrin Judd: THE BUSH DEAL—CASH IN EXCHANGE FOR CULTURE (via mc): Blueprint Calls for Bigger, More Powerful Government: Some... Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post makes the same point about how the President's budget is expanding the role of the federal government. |
| Also: Taegan Goddard | |
Fellow member of punk clique surrenders in scalping case AP — Permalink BOISE (AP) — A member of a punk clique surrendered Wednesday for scalping another member, apparently as punishment for her disrespectful behavior toward women, police said. The victim, a 16-year-old girl whose hair was cut in a mohawk, survived. | |
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Jeff Goldstein: Well, I like to think my work in raising the profile of oppressed Native Americans had something to do with that little... Ace: Update: The scalper has surrendered to the police. And it gets a little weirder: [quote] "It was an act of revenge.[end quote] |
Joe Gandelman: The young woman to the left turned herself in...and we will only give you a tiny part of this story here (it's too... |
Judge won't use clerks from Yale By / al.com — Permalink An Alabama federal judge has told Yale Law School he won't accept its graduates for clerkships because the school blocks military recruiters from campus. Senior U.S. District Judge William Acker Jr., a Yale graduate, explained his decision in a Monday letter to the law school's Dean Harold Koh. | |
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Eugene Volokh: But I have to also criticize this reaction by a federal district judge (thanks to How Appealing for the pointer):... Nathan Hallford: Yale Grads Need Not Apply: Senior U.S. District Judge William Acker, here in Alabama, said he will no longer hire clerks... |
James Joyner: Alabama Judge Boycotting Yale Clerks — Judge won't use clerks from Yale (Birmingham News) [snipped quote] While I agree... K. J. Lopez: YALE BOYCOTT — A federal judge in Alabama won't take law clerks from Yale because of his alma mater's ROTC policy. |
Theft and Mismanagement Charged at U.N. Weather Agency By / NYT — Permalink The tempest inside the World Meteorological Organization began with a single check. An accountant working late one night in July 2003 at the United Nations-affiliated weather agency in Geneva spotted a check that he had signed, but noticed that someone had endorsed it to an unknown third party, one L. Khalil. | |
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Dale Franks: What is less of a surprise, however, is that the reason it came to my attention this morning is that the WMO appears to be a sinkhole of corruption and mismanagement. Cori Dauber: Oh, but there is. And it's now missing the bureaucrat who, they now realize, has embezzled $3 million. Oh yes, he's missing. Josh Marshall: Hmmm. Judith Miller assigned to cover the UN corruption beat for the Times. Need we say the obvious? |
Charles Johnson: Another UN Scandal Surfaces — The latest outrageous case of fraud and thievery at the United Nations: Theft and Mismanagement Charged at U.N. Weather Agency. Joe Drymala: This Just In... The New York Times hires Scott McClellan as their Washington bureau chief. K. J. Lopez: This just in (from Judith Miller): The U.N. has a weather agency. (I didn't realize.) It's corrupt. (Shocking, I know.) |
Ron Reagan to Host MSNBC News/Talk Show Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ron Reagan, son of the late president and conservative hero Ronald Reagan , will co-host a new political talk show on MSNBC, the network said on Wednesday. Reagan will host "Connected: Coast to Coast" from MSNBC.com headquarters in Redmond, Washington, MSNBC said in a statement. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Oh, yuck. MSNBC has signed Ron Reagan to host a news show. He's paired with Monica Crowley. |
Lorie Byrd: Yuck — Oh yuck, indeed. |
Bill sets fine for low-riding pants AP — Permalink RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — Virginians who wear their pants so low their underwear shows may want to think about investing in a stronger belt. The state's House of Delegates passed a bill Tuesday authorizing a $50 fine for anyone who displays his or her underpants in a "lewd or indecent manner." | |
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Clayton Cramer: Excuse Me, Your Underwear Is Showing — One of my readers was angry about a bill like this being introduced: ... Ed Cone: Virginia is for lovers, but it's no place to be displaying your underpants if you want to avoid a $50 fine. (via... |
Brian Keegan: Law About Clothing — The most disturbing thing to me is that these guys collect paychecks from the people for ideas... James Joyner: Continued... Update (1550 2-9): Somehow, this is now about race rather than merely asinity: "Del. Lionell Spruill Sr.,... |
Reid blasts Bush over RNC document CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — Angered by Republican criticism, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday suggested President Bush's calls for unity are proving "absolutely false." | |
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Lambert @Corrente: I'm warming up to Harry Reid — Nice: [snipped quote] Destructionists. I like it. |
Kos @DailyKos: GOP is destructionist party — Harry Reid says: [snipped quote] Nice. |
AP: U.S. Aims to Oust U.N. Nuke Official By / AP — Permalink VIENNA, Austria - The United States is lobbying allies in a bid to oust the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, perhaps as early as the end of the month, diplomats and officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. | |
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Charles Johnson: US Wants Toothless Watchdog Put Down — Unelected EUropeans and UN diplomats are apparently complaining to the... |
Colt: Diplomats and officials say the U.S. is trying to oust the head of the I.A.E.A.. Let's hope. |
'Law & Order': 'Factor' or fiction? By / NY Daily News — Permalink Bill O'Reilly's sexual harassment nightmare continues - in front of a prime-time audience. That's because tonight's episode of "Law & Order" bears a striking resemblance to O'Reilly's own troubles with a former producer, which resulted in the woman walking away with a boat-load of money. | |
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Brian Stelter: Ripped From The Headlines... "Tonight's episode of 'Law & Order' bears a striking resemblance" to Bill O'Reilly's sexual harassment nightmare, the NY Daily News reports. |
Kevin Aylward: She must be talking about the fact that the show host takes a bullet to the head. [New York Daily News] |
CNN WOLF BLITZER REPORTS CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now. He asked questions of President Bush, now there are questions circling over this one-time White House reporter. | |
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Norbizness: It appears that Clinton Network News has emerged from the Karl Rove Summer Re-education Camp with improved self-esteem and a saucy new outlook on life. |
Digby: According to Howie and Wolf there's no general rule against it. Update: BLITZER: Welcome back. |
Poll: Tap wealthy on Social Security By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — Most Americans are willing to endorse painful steps to ensure Social Security's long-term solvency — steps that nick the rich, that is. Two-thirds of those surveyed by USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup last weekend say it would be a "good idea" to limit retirement benefits for the wealthy and to subject all wages to payroll taxes. | |
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Susan Q. Stranahan: And the administration's intentions to overhaul Social Security have proven resoundingly unpopular. Big numbers. Big headlines. Howard Kurtz: In the gore-someone-else's-ox department, USA Today reports: "Most Americans are willing to endorse painful steps to... |
Max B. Sawicky: The MaxSpeak solution, supported by 2/3rds of the public: tax Republicans. (Who did those people think they were voting for?) Steve Bainbridge: I guess I'm Still With Winston on Democracy, but .... [snipped quote] Democracy is doomed once the citizens realize they can vote themselves other people's money. |
Ward Churchill Is Just The Beginning By / Front Page Magazine — Permalink RMN Editor's note: In an interview that appeared in Saturday's Rocky Mountain News, University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill said "It's been announced in pretty clear terms by both David Horowitz and Newt Gingrich that I am just the kickoff for a general purge they have in mind." | |
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Greg Ransom: DAVID HOROWITZ on Ward Churchill and academic freedom: [snipped quote] UPDATE: Prof. Thomas Brown of Lamar University... Jeff Goldstein: Wisdom of Solomon 8:11 — "I shall be found keen in judgment, and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired." * |
Stanley Kurtz: FIRING CHURCHILL — Here's a good piece by David Horowitz on the Ward Churchill affair. |
Cops: Woman Scalped Girl After Slight AP — Permalink BOISE, Idaho — A 16-year-old girl was allegedly tied up and scalped (search) with a 4-inch knife in what police say may have been an act of revenge by another woman. The girl, who had a punk-style mohawk (search) haircut before the attack, is recovering at home. | |
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Jeff Goldstein: University of Colorado Ethnic Studies professor and anti-American firebrand Ward Churchill and 70s Kung-fu expert and... |
Ace: Woman *Scalps* Girl For "Disrespecting" Women — Brutal and weird: "A 16-year-old girl was allegedly tied up and... |
Canadian Wal-Mart Seeking Union to Close By / AP — Permalink (02-09) 14:28 PST NEW YORK, (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday it will close a Canadian store whose workers are on the verge of becoming the first ever to win a union contract from the world's biggest retailer. | |
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Nathan Newman: And today the company announced that it was shutting the Quebec Wal-Mart where workers decided to unionize a few months ago. |
Steve M.: That effort failed when Wal-Mart eliminated the job of meatcutter companywide, and moved away from in-store meatcutting to stocking only pre-wrapped meat.... —AP |
Olbermann revealed O'Reilly's "resume padding" in Super Bowl program essay Media Matters for America — Permalink OLBERMANN: We segue now into our nightly roundup of celebrity and entertainment news, "Keeping Tabs." And it turns out the 2005 Super Bowl was not entirely scandal-free. This year's wasn't about the commercials, the halftime show or even the Philadelphia Eagles' pathetic clock management. | |
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Skippy: stop the presses, o'reilly lies again via the hamster, we find keith olbermann catching bill "loofah or falafel"... Atrios: Falafel! Is O'Reilly ever not entirely full of s**t? |
Max B. Sawicky: BONZO GOES TO COLLEGE The big O runs to daylight. |
W. Churchill By / NRO — Permalink The recent controversy over the writings of Ward Churchill, radical activist, faux Indian, and tenured professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado, raises a number of serious academic issues — which, let me underscore, does not mean that Churchill himself is in any way serious. | |
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Michael DeBow: More: Mark Goldblatt explains why he thinks the U. of C. should not fire or otherwise discipline Churchill: "His... |
Greg Ransom: "WARD CHURCHILL LEFTIES" make up 10% of the faculty at America's colleges and universities, and that's a lowball estimate explains Mark Goldblatt. |
Dean Takes Over By / Village Voice — Permalink "It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you, I like brawling." - Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Mattis, on killing people in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2.1.05, San Diego, California, panel discussion | |
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Avedon Carol: Some stuff — The Village Voice has some amusing reaction quotes on the new party chairmanship of Howard Dean. |
Charles Paul Freund: So who is this guy? Hint: He's pro-gun and a budget balancer, too. Give up? |
Faith Based Iraq By / American Spectator — Permalink The New York Times is not widely known as a cheerleader for the Bush administration's policies in Iraq. It's unlikely to be a whitewash when the paper reports, as it did this weekend, that the views of tire repairman and Iraqi voter Salim Mohammed Ali are representative: "Who do I blame [for shortages of electricity, water, and gasoline]? | |
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Hindrocket: Keeping the Faith, Part II — John Tabin wrote to point out his column in the American Specator, which, as he said,... |
Glenn Reynolds: JOHN TABIN looks at post-election events in Iraq and finds them encouraging. More to the point, he notes that even longtime critics seem to find them so. |
Medicare Drug Benefit May Cost More Than Reported WaPo — Permalink The White House released budget figures yesterday indicating that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost more than $1.2 trillion in the coming decade, a much higher price tag than President Bush suggested when he narrowly won passage of the law in late 2003. | |
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Nathan Nance: The Post has a story that the Administration's budet shows the cost of the law will be $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. |
Susan Q. Stranahan: Hidden Angle — Economics on the Edge Today's headlines proclaim that the Medicare prescription drug benefit may cost... |
The Karl Rove Ascension By / WaPo — Permalink Karl Rove is now, officially, in charge of pretty much everything at the White House. But it's mostly just a title change. President Bush's long-time chief political strategist is now assistant to the president, deputy chief of staff and senior adviser. | |
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Tim Cavanaugh: Finally, Karl Rove has been promoted to deputy chief of staff. In 2003, John J. Pitney reviewed two Rove bios for Reason. |
Chris Bowers: However, when anything happens in Republican circles these days, many on the left call out another culprit, one who has... |
Bush's Social Security Plan Assumes Much From Stocks WaPo — Permalink To conclude that Social Security is careening toward a crisis in 2042, President Bush is relying on projections that an aging society will drag down economic growth. Yet his proposal to establish personal accounts is counting on strong investment gains in financial markets that would be coping with the same demographic head wind. | |
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DeLong: Here's our latest example of this phenomenon: the Washington Post'sJonathan Weisman sees a "heated debate" among... Max B. Sawicky: The Post provides an unscientific sample of opinion, much of it similarly jaundiced. |
Josh Marshall: As Jonathan Weisman and Ben White put it today on E1 in the Post: "To conclude that Social Security is careening toward... |
Analyzing Sales of Wolfe's New Book By / NYT — Permalink Few books that spend 12 consecutive weeks on the best-seller list could be called a disappointment. But it appears that "I Am Charlotte Simmons," the latest opus by Tom Wolfe, could be falling into that category. | |
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Steve M.: The New York Times reports that Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons is apparently not selling worth a damn: ...According... |
Ken Masugi: Tom Wolfe and the President — WolfeThis NY Times article on I am Charlotte Simmons' declining sales is nothing special but the photo of Tom Wolfe is, as they say, priceless. |
Retirement Turns Into a Rest Stop as Benefits Dwindle By / NYT — Permalink LITTLETON, Colo. - For John A. Lemoine, retirement has been hard work. Forced to take an early pension package at AT&T three years ago, Mr. Lemoine, 54, a former building manager who once made more than $70,000 a year handling the operations of several AT&T sites, soon found that retirement was something he just could not afford. | |
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Susan Q. Stranahan: Today, New York Times reporters Eduardo Porter and Mary Williams Walsh write about a growing segment of the American workforce: Older people who cannot afford to retire. |
Joe Gandelman: The New York Times reports many seniors are returning to work as they see their medical and dental beneifits withdrawn... |
In Europe, Rice Issues Warning to Iran By / WaPo — Permalink BRUSSELS, Feb. 9 — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Iran must live up to international obligations aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons "or next steps are in the offing." | |
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Kevin Drum: Here is Condi Rice today talking about Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons: [snipped quote] Yowza! What are we talking about here? |
Oliver Willis: Condi slams Iran in a "major policy" address. The right's fringe (like Jerome Corsi) starts churning out books and articles about the Iranian "threat". |
Baltimore Streets Meaner, but Message Is Mixed By / NYT — Permalink BALTIMORE, Feb. 7 - Outside a Chinese takeout in East Baltimore, a cluster of heart-shape balloons, a street memorial to the dead, tells a depressingly familiar story. Last Wednesday, a 28-year-old was shot to death as he left the restaurant just before dawn. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Off-Season Wire Blogging — A colleague sends this link to a New York Times story about crime in Baltimore. |
eRobin @AmStreet: BushCo Budget Math Tip 1: If the Numbers Don't Work Out, the Jesus Variable will Wash Away Your Sins — This: "Last... |
Rice: Iran must halt nuclear program CNN — Permalink BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Iran must live up to its international obligations to halt its nuclear program or "the next steps are in the offing." | |
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Brian Keegan: Rice Takes New Sabre Out for Test Rattle — Condoleeza Rice has threatened Iran with the specter of the wrath of the UN Security Council. |
Roger L. Simon: Frankly, I'm not sure Condi would need him. UPDATE: Now she's talking tough on Iran. You go, girl! |
LAPD Speeds Policy on Shots at Vehicles LAT — Permalink A day after saying that a new policy to limit police shootings into moving vehicles would take up to 45 more days to complete, Police Chief William J. Bratton abruptly promised, amid growing protests Tuesday, to release the policy next week. | |
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Dave Huber: Today's LA Times article, at least, is quite balanced in comparison, noting some activists' points that the LAPD has indeed improved since the notorious Rodney King incident. Kevin Roderick: Also in the paper: Parks' successor, William Bratton, is vowing to speed up new rules for shooting at moving vehicles... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Congress' debating of the awful Real ID Act today LAPD's need for a new shooting policy in the wake of killing of 13 year old. |
Bush calls for end of racism AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush, whose relationship with black lawmakers has been strained over the last four years, told black leaders Tuesday that the United States can not carry freedom abroad while holding "the baggage of bigotry" at home. | |
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Giblets: Close call with tolerance — So George Bush is talking about casting off "the baggage of bigotry." Giblets was furious! |
Jesse Taylor: A Stirring Black History Month Message — "We cannot carry the baggage of bigotry here at home. |
Eden in Exile By / New York Observer — Permalink Dawn Eden had been nervous for two days before she was called into the office of New York Post editor in chief Col Allan on Jan. 18. Ms. Eden, a 36-year-old copy editor and headline writer at the newspaper, knew she'd probably made a mistake by working some of... | |
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Scott Sala: The entire story is in today's New York Observer. Dawn Eden had been nervous for two days before she was called into the... |
Kevin Aylward: Dawn's Early Write — George Gurley profiles blogger Dawn Eden in the New York Observer. |
Medicare drug program's cost climbs to $1.2 trillion WaPo — Permalink WASHINGTON — The White House released budget figures yesterday indicating that the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit will cost more than $1.2 trillion over the coming decade, a much higher price tag than President Bush suggested when he narrowly won passage of the law in late 2003. | |
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Oliver @LiquidList: Politics: I Was Never Good At Math Either — Rep. Rahm Emanuel has a question about the sudden not-shocking-at-all jump... |
Angry Bear: I Suspect We All Knew This Was Coming — New White House Estimate Lifts Drug Benefit Cost to $720 Billion |
Poll shows solid support for Romney, an opening for Reilly AP — Permalink BOSTON - Nearly two-thirds of Massachusetts voters have a favorable impression of Gov. Mitt Romney [related, bio] and more than half think it's OK for him to leave the door open for a run for president even as he campaigns for a second term as governor, a new poll found. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: MA-Gov: Even race shaping up — University of Massachusetts Poll. 1/24-27. MoE 5%. |
Taegan Goddard: Romney, Reilly Tied in Massachusetts — A University of Massachusetts poll finds Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and... |
Called an Obstructionist, a Senator Is Fighting Back By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 - Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader who said he would "rather dance than fight" with the White House, found himself in a verbal brawl on Tuesday as he tried to beat back efforts by Republicans to brand him an obstructionist - the same tag they used against his defeated predecessor, Tom Daschle. | |
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Howard Kurtz: The New York Times runs with the ball this morning: "Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader who said he would... |
eRobin @AmStreet: Also out there refusing to play the GOP's game is Harry Reid, who didn't buy it when BushCo invited him to dinner on the... |
The News Program That Ventures Beyond The Comfort Zone By / WaPo — Permalink Even as ABC's universally praised "Nightline" totters yet again on a precarious perch — facing possible extinction or massive remodeling — the program that has brought more distinction to ABC News than any other continues in its resourceful and innovative ways. | |
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Eugene Oregon: Daily Darfur — Tonight's "Nightline" will feature a report from Sudan with Don Cheadle as correspondent. |
Brian Stelter: Right next to Kurtz's column, WP critic Tom Shales calls Nightline "universally praised" but "facing possible extinction or massive remodeling." |
Ehrlich associate targeted O'Malley Baltimore Sun — Permalink A longtime campaign operative of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. resigned his state job yesterday after admitting he had been spreading rumors on the Internet about the personal life of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. | |
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SLZoll: The Baltimore Sun also has a piece about the story. |
Taegan Goddard: Ehrlich Aide Forced Out For Internet Rumors — A "longtime campaign operative" of Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich... |
Iraq: TV journalist gunned down CNN — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A group of masked men opened fire on an Al-Hura TV correspondent in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, killing the man and his six-year-old son, an Iraqi army official said. | |
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Captain Ed: However, even after three hours, the best that CNN can do is to take the AP's report and republish it on their site — and they don't even give it unique coverage. |
K. J. Lopez: IRAQI JOURNALIST & HIS THREE YEAR OLD SON MURDERED IN BAGHDAD — CNN reports here. |
Ballot Strength Leads Kurds to Press a Role as Deal Makers By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 8 - Early election returns indicating that the Kurds could well be the power brokers in forming a new government have emboldened their leaders to press an ambitious agenda that could define the political battlegrounds in the new Iraq. | |
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Cori Dauber: Welcome to the New Iraq: There's a Reason They Say It Ain't Beanbag, Baby — A couple of things are worthy of note about... |
James Joyner: Kurds Emerging as Deal Makers — Ballot Strength Leads Kurds to Press a Role as Deal Makers (NYT p. 1 rss)... |
Iraq War Is Affecting Small State in a Big Way By / WaPo — Permalink ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. — By now, the choreographed ceremonies are as painfully familiar as the arctic chill that crept across the Green Mountains late last month, when 400 more members of the Vermont National Guard were sent to war. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Vermont's sacrifices — For all the right-wing sneering at its residents as latte-drinking, Volvo-driving,... |
Cori Dauber: Split Personality — Bet you'd never guess which state has the second highest mobilization rate. |
Timetable May Be First Fight in Overhaul of Social Security NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 - Despite appeals from the Bush administration to act quickly on Social Security, leading Republicans in the House indicated on Tuesday that they would not rush on what was shaping up as the thorniest political issue of the year. | |
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Noam Scheiber: So this is what I'm not understanding about the Social Security debate in Washington: On the one hand, White House... Steve Soto: None of this is lost on his own allies in Congress, where according to Wednesday's New York Times, both Tom DeLay and... |
eRobin @AmStreet: It looks like the Dems are hanging tough in the Social Security arena, forcing Dear Leader to actually propose something... |
Hammered By / Washington Examiner — Permalink Joseph Newcomer had never heard of the Columbia Journalism Review, the magazine of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, before friends told him to check out what CJR said about him in the January/February 2005 issue. | |
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RCox: Is CJR Root Cause of MSM Leftward Tilt? The DC Examiner wants to know. This article is worth a read. |
Greg Ransom: THE LEFTIST Columbia Journalism Review versus the blogs: [snipped quote] See also this run-down of the leftist affiliations of the CJR staff. |
Crossing Jordan Investor's Business Daily — Permalink Media: The past year saw the toppling of several high priests of High Church Journalism. This week yet another wobbles: the top news executive at CNN. Eason Jordan first inflicted himself with controversy two years ago, when President Bush finally launched the invasion of Iraq. | |
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Captain Ed: IBD: Time For Jordan To Eason Down The Road, And Other Quick Links — Investor's Business Daily has an editorial in... Betsy Newmark: First it appears in blogs, then on cable news talk shows like Hannity and Colmes where the story was talked about... Bill @INDCJournal: And Investors Business Daily gets serious with an editorial: [quote] Why "scandal"? Jordan was spouting outrageous charges with no basis in fact.[end quote] |
Charles Johnson: Investor's Business Daily: Crossing Jordan — Investor's Business Daily breaks media silence on the Eason Jordan story: Crossing Jordan. Cori Dauber: It's one thing when a bunch of bloggers are on your heels, but Investor's Business Daily? (via Instapundit.) Glenn Reynolds: Meanwhile, Investor's Business Daily editorializes: "It's time for him to go." Somebody should have given Jordan one of these. |
A Scripted Follow-Up For Rice By / WaPo — Permalink PARIS, Feb. 8 — It had all the trappings of a modern-day Daniel in the Lion's Den: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice venturing bravely into the heart of French intellectual opposition to America, the Institute of Political Sciences, an elite school in the heart of Paris's trendy Left Bank. | |
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Susan Madrak: TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO HEAR — It's really fascinating, how hard BushCo works to insulate themselves from opposing views. |
Steve Soto: Unlike Colin Powell, Condi's first appearance in France as Secretary of State was before a tightly controlled audience... |
Ehrlich Aide Ousted Over O'Malley Rumors By / WaPo — Permalink Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley yesterday accused agents of Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration of spreading false rumors that he had an extramarital affair, and Ehrlich responded hours later by dismissing a longtime employee. | |
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SLZoll: The Wash Post reports that yesterday Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley accused Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s... |
Oliver Willis: Looks like he was a little too popular for our Republican governor... "Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley yesterday... |
Rove Is Promoted To Deputy Staff Chief By / WaPo — Permalink During President Bush's first term, outsiders often suspected that Karl Rove was really behind virtually everything. Now it's official. Yesterday, Rove, the political mastermind behind two presidential elections, was named White House deputy chief of... | |
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Kevin Drum: PROMOTING KARL....Ah, excellent. Karl Rove has been promoted to deputy chief of staff [snipped quote] That's a relief. Jeralyn Merritt: Karl Rove Promoted — Bush has promoted Karl Rove to deputy Chief of Staff. |
Taegan Goddard: The Washington Post has more details. |
A CNN Executive Says G.I.s in Iraq Target Journalists By / New York Sun — Permalink The head of CNN's news division, Eason Jordan, ignited an Internet firestorm last week when he told a panel at a World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland, that the American military had targeted journalists during operations in Iraq. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: The New York Sun's Roderick Boyd writes a much better introduction to the controversy surrounding Eason Jordan's remarks at Davos. Cori Dauber: ... Update: Via Instapundit, another news story, this time one in which Jordan does not come out as well. Michelle Malkin: Captain Ed rips Kurtz, too, and covers the much better New York Sun piece. |
Hindrocket: UPSDATE by BIG TRUNK: For an account of the Jordan scandal without the Kurtz spin, see Roderick Boyd's New York Sun... Captain Ed: New York Sun On Eason's Fables: More Than Kurtz Can Do — Roderick Boyd writes on Eason's Fables in today's New York Sun... Betsy Newmark: Easongate breaks into the New YOrk Sun. Roderick Boyd goes into the full story and even quotes Hugh Hewitt who has been all over this story. |
| Also: Joe Gandelman, Roger L. Simon, Glenn Reynolds, Damian Penny, Bill @INDCJournal, Pejman Yousefzadeh, RCox | |
I hate to rain on Europe's parade, but … By / Telegraph — Permalink I was very moved by the story of Mr Richard Kral, a Slovak gentleman found staggering drunk down a snowy trail a few days back. He'd been motoring through the Tatra Mountains in his Audi when he got buried by an avalanche. | |
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Jan Haugland: On a related note, Mark Steyn pokes fun at old Europe, and adds: For want of a better expression, they'd like a "Third... Roger L. Simon: A Day of Brilliant Columns — First Nelson Ascher's and now... no surprise here... Mark Steyn (hat tip: Hindrocket). Glenn Reynolds: MARK STEYN: [quote] I prefer to speak of "liberty" or, as Bush says, "freedom", or, as neither of us is quite bold enough to...[end quote] |
Captain Ed: Using the quirky story of an avalanche survivor as an apt analogy, Steyn perfectly describes the European response to... Charles Johnson: Steyn: Raining on Europe's Parade — Mark Steyn keeps hitting them out of the park: I hate to rain on Europe's parade,... Hindrocket: This paragraph in Steyn's latest struck me forcibly: [snipped quote] A race against time, indeed, in which the dithering... |
Eason Jordan, Quote, Unquote By / WaPo — Permalink What CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan said, or didn't say, in Davos, Switzerland, last month has become a burgeoning controversy among bloggers and media critics. | |
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Steve M.: Sorry.) I don't want to talk about what Eason Jordan said or didn't say (the facts are in dispute). John Hawkins: Pentagon Sets Rules Of Engagement for Journalists By Scott Ott — Spurred by CNN executive Eason Jordan's accusations... Glenn Reynolds: EASON JORDAN, QUOTE UNQUOTE: Howard Kurtz has a story on the Eason Jordan scandal in today's Washington Post. |
Barbara O'Brien: Howard Kurtz was not a witness to the incident, but he reported the reactions of some who were. Michelle Malkin: EASONGATE: KURTZ SPEAKS (FINALLY) His piece is up here... ...Well, that was underwhelming. Jon Henke: Kurtz: Sins of Omission and Commission... While what seems like the entire right side of the blogosphere is jumping on... |
| Also: Betsy Newmark, Hindrocket, Charles Johnson, Joe Gandelman, Jeff Jarvis, Shannon Love, Damian Penny, Hugh Hewitt, Ace, Roger L. Simon, Jeanne D'Arc, Jude Nagurney Camwell, Captain Ed, Cori Dauber, Matt Welch, Ed Driscoll, Nathan Newman, Lorie Byrd, Kevin Aylward, Stephen Green, Brian Stelter, Jason Van Steenwyk, Bill @INDCJournal, RCox, Greg Ransom, K. J. Lopez | |
Cole Goes On NRO — Permalink The "debate" continues. Wow, this is not how I planned to spend my time (and if you haven't been following any of this stuff, it's probably too late to care now). Juan Cole, dashboard saint of lefty Middle East experts, says I'm continuing to embarrass myself by arguing with him. | |
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Leah A: Jonah's last response to Dr. Cole is beyond contemptible; by turns incoherent, insulting, mendacious, and above all,... Juan Cole: Playing with Human Lives — Goldberg's descent into pathetic lack of humanity has been a pitiful thing to watch. Steve Bainbridge: Prof. Cole: Put Up or Shut Up — Juan Cole is having a cow because Jonah Goldberg invited him to put his money where his mouth is. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: So I didn't. UPDATE: In response to this statement from Goldberg, Cole descends into schoolmarmish screechiness. Jon Henke: UPDATE (Dale): Mr. Goldberg responds to Prof Cole. |
Poll: Wealthy should bolster Social Security CNN — Permalink (CNN) — Americans think the wealthy should help bolster Social Security, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday suggests. More than two-thirds of 1,010 adults contacted from Friday to Sunday said it would be a good idea to limit benefits for wealthier retirees and for higher income workers to pay Social Security taxes on all their wages. | |
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Steve Soto: First, the most recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll out today taken over the weekend shows that more than two thirds of... Orrin Judd: SOAK THE IGNORANT RICH: Poll: Wealthy should bolster Social Security (CNN, February 8, 2005) [snipped quote] Here's an... Ellen Dana Nagler: A CNN poll just out shows that by a huge margin (around 67%) the pollees find acceptable only one set of solutions to... |
Chris Bowers: Listen to the People — No matter what Bush is trying to shovel, America already seems to have a consensus on what to do... Nathan Newman: CNN Poll: Tax Wealthy for Social Security — Another poll, this time at CNN finds the most popular solution to fix any... |
CNN clarifies Iraq comments By / Boston Globe — Permalink Two weeks ago at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan, raised eyebrows when he suggested that some of the 63 journalists who have been killed in Iraq had been targeted by US troops. | |
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Ace: Slicing the Baloney, Again, Update: The Boston Globe deigns to report on the story: "Representative Barney Frank, who... Captain Ed: UPDATE: The Boston Globe also covers this story today, but does little more than rehash Howard Kurtz's Post piece. Nathan Newman: Of course the US Killed Journalists — There's a small brouhaha (see also here, here, and here) over the fact that, at... |
Hugh Hewitt: (UPDATE: The Boston Globe also has a story on the controversy.) Scrappleface launches the ridicule phase of the story. Jeanne D'Arc: January, 2005: CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan, apparently mentioned in a speech the 12 journalists and media... Orrin Judd: HOPEFULLY HE WAS RIGHT: CNN clarifies Iraq comments (Mark Jurkowitz, February 8, 2005, CNN) [snipped quote] If they... |
GOP Fears a Redistricting Backfire By / LAT — Permalink SACRAMENTO — Worried about losing clout in Congress, influential Republicans in Washington are telling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that he should drop his effort to redraw congressional voting districts in time for next year's elections and limit his focus to reshaping the state Legislature. | |
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Joe Gandelman: We'll know very soon, according to the Los Angeles Times: "SACRAMENTO — Worried about losing clout in Congress,... James Joyner: Schwarzenegger's Anti-Gerrymandering Plan — GOP Fears a Redistricting Backfire (LAT) [snipped quote] Gerrymandering safe... New Donkey: Well, this movement from skeptical and conditional to strong and universal support for redistricting reform got a big... |
Chris Bowers: Even though he is absolutely right and the plan that currently is being proposed cannot be tolerated, somewhat... Kevin Drum: But then I read in the LA Times this morning that the biggest opposition to Arnold's plan is coming from....Republicans: [snipped quote] That sucks. Chris Lawrence: More details in today's Los Angeles Times; meanwhile, Robert Tagorda looks at the redistricting politics on both sides... |
| Also: Jesse Taylor, Taegan Goddard | |
Campos: Truth tricky for Churchill Rocky Mountain News — Permalink The deeper one digs into the Ward Churchill scandal, the more amazing the story becomes. Academic freedom must be protected, which is why I'm continuing to write about this matter. A version of academic freedom that protects Churchill from appropriate sanctions isn't sustainable either as a political or an ethical matter. | |
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Deacon: In addition, according to University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos, Churchill apparently has fabricated a story... Dale Franks: The Wisdom of Churchill — UC Law professor Paul Campos, in his regular Rocky Mountain News column, keeps hammering his fellow UC professor, Ward Churchill. Orrin Judd: MORE: Truth tricky for Churchill (Paul Campos, February 8, 2005, Rocky Mountain News) "The deeper one digs into the Ward Churchill scandal, the more amazing the story becomes. |
Clayton Cramer: First of all, he claims to be an Indian—part of how a guy without a Ph.D. became not only a professor but a department chair at a major research institution. Glenn Reynolds: WARD CHURCHILL UPDATE: University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos says that Churchill has problems with academic... Greg Ransom: DON'T FIRE Ward Churchill — close the U. of Colorado "Ethnic" Studies Program. |
Dershowitz Says Faculty Members Work To Encourage Islamic Terrorism By / New York Sun — Permalink It's not often that a professor tells a packed crowd at Columbia University that Edward Said was a political extremist and that faculty members in the school's Middle East studies department encourage Islamic terrorism. | |
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Charles Johnson: Dershowitz: Columbia Profs Aid Terrorism — Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz is taking an active role in fighting... Robin Burk: So it's not surprising that yesterday he took on Columbia Univ. and its faculty. James Martin Capozzola: Oh, Please, As If You Don't Already Know Each Other Alan Dershowitz, a known, self-proclaimed even, and of course... |
Roger L. Simon: Only a mile from Zabar's... well maybe a scootch more... Alan Dershowitz tells it like it is at Columbia: "This is... James Joyner: Dershowitz: Columbia Faculty Encourages Terrorists — Dershowitz Says Faculty Members Work To Encourage Islamic Terrorism (The New York Sun) [snipped quote] Strong words, indeed. The Big Trunk: See Jacob Gershman's interesting New York Sun article: "Dershowitz says faculty memebers work to encourage Islamic terrorism." |
| Also: Stanley Kurtz, Norm Geras, Glenn Reynolds | |
Sistani 'not seeking Islamic law' BBC — Permalink A spokesman for Iraq's most influential Shia cleric has denied reports that the cleric is demanding that Islam be the country's sole source of law. Hamed Khafaf said Ayatollah Ali Sistani believes Iraq's new constitution should respect what he described as the Islamic cultural identity of Iraqis. | |
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Jan Haugland: Sistani: No sharia in Iraq — A spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani dismisses the claims that Islam should be... McQ: Sistani not pushing for Islamic Iraq — Contrary to reports out this weekend, a spokesman today denied that Ayatollah... |
Captain Ed: Sistani: No Shari'a Need Apply — Contrary to the desperate analyses from Western journalists that have appeared almost... Pejman Yousefzadeh: FORMING AN IRAQI LEGAL CODE — Captain Ed has an informative and encouraging post—the gist of which states that Grand... |
About Faces NRO — Permalink Jordan, Dean, and Rice. The good news is that current newsmakers Eason Jordan, Howard Dean, and Condi Rice have virtually nothing in common. Jordan, the CNN news executive who slandered the U.S. military without a shred of evidence to back his claims, should be out of a job. | |
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Captain Ed: Larry Kudlow writes a scathing column in National Review, and then has Hugh Hewitt on Kudlow and Cramer to discuss the story; Radioblogger transcribes it. Glenn Reynolds: Kudlow also has a column on the subject. UPDATE: Jim Geraghty has a good, sober summary of where things stand: [snipped quote] Yes. |
Venkat @BeggingToDiffer: (See, here ("Jordan, the CNN news executive who slandered the U.S. military without a shred of evidence to back his... |
Mr. President, Let's Share the Wealth By / NYT — Permalink President Bush said he was open to other people's ideas on how to fix Social Security, so I hope he'll listen to mine. My idea starts with a blunt political observation. Personal accounts - as they are currently envisioned - are going to be hard to pass. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Steve Clemons recommends today's David Brooks column in which he observes that "Personal accounts - as they are... Jesse Taylor: Secularize, Proselytize, Martinize — Pharyngula deals with older David Brooks (where a man who appears on national... Orrin Judd: OF COURSE, DEMOCRATS WILL OPPOSE THESE TOO: Mr. President, Let's Share the Wealth (DAVID BROOKS, 2/08/05, NY Times)... |
Noam Scheiber: But once you look more closely at these proposals, it turns out they're just another way to do Social Security... Yuval Rubinstein: Brooks proposes an innocuous-sounding "Kidsave" plan as an alternative to the administration's faltering plan, where the... Ellen Dana Nagler: I've just read today's David Brooks op-ed, and he says a couple of things that actually make sense to me. |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh | |
The Incredible Shrinking Democrats Time — Permalink There was a cheap metaphor to be had in the remarkable moment when Safia al-Souhail, who had just voted in the Iraqi elections, and Janet Norwood, whose U.S. Marine son was killed in Iraq, embraced during the President's State of the Union speech last week. | |
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Kevin Aylward: Frozen In Time — Time Magazine's Joe Klein delivers a devastating assessment of the pitiful performance of Democrats... Thomas Lang: Already this week, Time's Joe Klein offers up a dubious revision (subscription required) of very recent history in his column about the Democrats and Social Security. |
Steve Soto: His latest piece blasts Democrats for voicing their displeasure during Bush's SOTU, without remembering that the GOP did the same thing numerous times while Clinton was president. |
Democrat Reid Hits Reacts to Criticism By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid questioned President Bush's honesty on Tuesday and said he wanted "the boys at the White House" to know he wasn't losing any sleep over the Republican Party labeling him an obstructionist. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: And Harry Reid shows again that he has thin skin: " When you have a real bad chafe, is that what they call it, it's hard to get soothed." |
Betsy Newmark: Harry Reid seems a mite bit sensitive to criticism. Come on, Harry! If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. |
Colo. Prof. Says He Mourns All Killed 9-11 By / AP — Permalink BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - A University of Colorado professor who once compared some of the World Trade Center victims to a Nazi war criminal said Tuesday he mourns for everyone killed on Sept. 11 and conceded that he could have explained himself better. | |
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Greg Ransom: UPDATE: Another Ward Churchill "clarification". (via Michelle Malkin). |
Michelle Malkin: Ward (the 9/11 victims are "little Eichmanns") Churchill now says he mourns for all those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. |
The Human Rights Case Against Attacking Iran NYT — Permalink DURING her tour of Europe, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has given assurances that a military attack by the United States on Iran "is simply not on the agenda at this point." | |
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Fred Clark: Human rights invasion — Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and Hadi Ghaemi of Human Rights Watch write today in The... Jeanne D'Arc: War and Human Rights — I don't have time to write anything about it, and anyway, I think Fred Clark has already written... |
Laura Rozen: Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi argues the human rights case against attacking Iran in the NYT: "Respect for... James Joyner: The Human Rights Case Against Attacking Iran — Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and Hadi Ghaemi,... |
Underground Gourmet: Mole Sets a Speed Record By / NYT — Permalink In the world of competitive eating, it's time to crown a new champion. Even the fastest human eaters need a few seconds to consume a piece of food. The current record for devouring hard-boiled eggs, for example, is 65 eggs in 6 minutes 40 seconds, by Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, Va. That works out to about six seconds an egg. | |
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Jan Haugland: Star-nosed mole — There is certainly no lack of strange animals in the world, but this NYT article shows one of the weirder ones: Condylura cristata or star-nosed mole. |
Henry Farrell: In Dead R'lyeh ... Carl Zimmer has a nice piece on the voracity of star-nosed moles in the NYT today. |
Holy Soybean! NRO — Permalink Ending red-state welfare as we know it. The Bush administration is set to take on one of the great scandals of American governance: a system of farm subsidies so perverse that it should get whatever the equivalent of an NC-17 rating is for a federal program. | |
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Howard Kurtz: National Review Editor Rich Lowry does step up to the agricultural plate: "The Bush administration is set to take on... Jesse Taylor: Hot Damn — Rich Lowry writes an anti-farm subsidy column that even references the case of environmentalists approvingly. |
Matthew Yglesias: National Review editor Rich Lowry rather eloquently makes the case against farm subsidies, which the president has indicated he wants to curtail. Greg Ransom: ALL you need to know about agricultural welfare: [snipped quote] The Heritage Foundation has the details. |
Race Bait And Switch By / WaPo — Permalink "Every Hispanic in America is watching," Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch declared ominously as most Senate Democrats voted last week to oppose the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. What was the senator from Utah implying? | |
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Barbara O'Brien: This issue reminds me of yesterday's E.J. Dionne column, "Race Bait and Switch." Jeralyn Merritt: Republicans Play the Race Card — E.J. Dionne writes today of how Bush and Republicans have played the race card both... |
Sam Rosenfeld: E.J. Dionne has a decent column today noting the right wing's appropriation of the cheapest kind of racial identity... |
GOP Consultant Sentenced in Phone Jamming By / AP — Permalink CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The former head of a Republican consulting group was sentenced Tuesday to five months in jail for jamming Democratic telephone lines in several New Hampshire cities during the 2002 election. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: GOP Operative Gets 5 Months in Jail — Allen Raymond, President of GOP Marketplace, LLC, has been sentenced to five... Josh Marshall: Allen Raymond gets five months for his role in the New Hampshire phone-jamming scandal. We also hear something's bubbling on the Tobin front. |
James Joyner: GOP Consultant Sentenced in Phone Jamming — GOP Consultant Sentenced in Phone Jamming (AP) [snipped quote] The wheels of justice certainly turned slowly on this one. |
Police: Idaho Teen Is Tied Up and Scalped AP — Permalink BOISE, Idaho — A 16-year-old girl was allegedly tied up and scalped with a 4-inch knife in what police say may have been an act of revenge by another woman. The girl, who had a punk-style mohawk haircut before the attack, is recovering at home. | |
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Acidman: flip my wig — I'm really surprised that more raving maniacs don't do this. |
Jeff Quinton: Girl tied up and scalped AP "A 16-year-old girl was allegedly tied up and scalped with a 4-inch knife in what police say may have been an act of revenge by another woman. |
West Hollywood May Ban Cosmetic Surgery for Pets Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All dogs go to heaven. And the ones from West Hollywood may now get there with their ears and tails intact. The mayor of West Hollywood — a liberal, pet-embracing city adjacent to Los Angeles that two years ago brought America a... | |
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Jane Galt: It's about time someone did it — West Hollywood is considering banning "cosmetic surgery" for dogs: [snipped quote] It... |
Joe Gandelman: They can't give face lifts to dogs? What will Cher do? No, wait...It's not that: [snipped quote] Oh. |
Sharon, Abbas Pledge to Halt Mideast Violence WaPo — Permalink SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt, Feb. 8 — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced mutual agreements Tuesday to stop violent operations against each other, with both leaders expressing hope for the start of new relations that could end the last four years of bloodshed. | |
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Josh Marshall: But today, there is at least more than a little of it. Fafnir: don't mention "Middle East Peace" or you'll jinx everything! Oh no too late! |
Kevin Drum: PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?....Maybe: [snipped quote] Baby steps. But let's hope it blossoms. |
SAN FRANCISCO By / San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink The Board of Education is expected to approve the school district's calendar for the 2005-06 academic year tonight — but not before a spirited debate among parents over when classes should begin. | |
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Brian Doherty: Public Schools = Burning Controversies — In one of those unavoidable social conflicts that public education engenders,... |
Joanne Jacobs: Burning issue — San Francisco will start its school year on Aug. 29, despite protests from parents who want to take... |
The Big Picture May Seem Rosy, but the Deficit Is in the Details By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 - The large tables in President Bush's new budget show he intends to keep his promise of slicing the federal deficit in half by the end of his term, but the fine print indicates that the goal may be elusive. | |
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Howard Kurtz: The New York Times scoffs at some of the fuzzy math, saying that "the fine print indicates that the goal may be elusive. Josh Marshall: "Transition financing does not represent new debt," OMB chief Josh Bolten said yesterday. |
Kevin Drum: And it's a dishonest budget because it excludes the enormous costs of Iraq, AMT reform, and Social Security transition. |
Rove's new position will involve policy AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - Karl Rove, the senior political strategist who orchestrated President Bush's re-election campaign, has been promoted to deputy chief of staff, a job that will involve him in all White House policy and not just politics. | |
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John Cole: Terry McAwful takes the first shot: [snipped quote] But I thought Rove already ran everything? He is, after all, Bush's Brain. |
Orrin Judd: UNDEMOCRATIC DEMOCRATS: Rove's new position will involve policy (The Associated Press, February 8, 2005) |
W sees rear-guard action - in church NY Daily News — Permalink President Bush still feels the fire for his First Lady. The man can't keep his hands off her - even in church. Dubya didn't let the Sabbath inhibit him Sunday when he and Laura Bush attended services at St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House. | |
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Steve M.: BUSH, MAN OF FAITH — From the New York Daily News: ...Dubya didn't let the Sabbath inhibit him Sunday when he and Laura... |
Holden: i'm supposed to be guesting here on occaision, and what better way to guest-post at skippy international than to borrow... |
Mid-East leaders announce truce BBC — Permalink Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have declared a truce to end four years of Middle East violence. Mr Abbas said the ceasefire, which begins immediately, would lead to a "new era of peace and hope". | |
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McQ: Hopefully eating my words — A month or so back, when it seemed that Mahmoud Abbas was a shoe in for the leadership of... Steven Taylor: The BBC version of the story notes: [quote] The Palestinians, Mr Gissin told Reuters news agency, would effectively announce the "cessation of the… intifada".[end quote] |
Andrew Jaffee: So what am I to make of the ceasefire agreement made today between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas? |