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Archive Edition for   Friday, February 25, 2005Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

ABCNEWS
Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
The Age
AintNoBadDude
  Brian Linse
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
The American Street
  Skippy @AmStreet
  S. Z.
Amygdala
  Gary Farber
Associated Press
  Lynn Elber
  Carla K. Johnson
  Todd Pitman
Backcountry Conservative
  Jeff Quinton
baldilocks
  Baldilocks
Balloon Juice
  John Cole
BBC
Beautiful Horizons
  Randy Paul
BeldarBlog
  William J. Dyer
THE BELGRAVIA DISPATCH
  Gregory Djerejian
Belmont Club
  Wretchard
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
The Blogging of the President
  Ian Welsh
Brad DeLong's Website
  DeLong
BrothersJudd Blog
  Orrin Judd
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Centerfield
  Rickheller @Centerfield
Christian Science Monitor
  Peter Ford
  Patrik Jonsson
City Journal
CJR Campaign Desk Home
  CJR
  Paul McLeary
  Susan Q. Stranahan
CNN
The Corner
  K. J. Lopez
  Jonathan H. Adler
  Mark Krikorian
  Andrew Stuttaford
  Tim Graham
  K.J. Lopez
  Ramesh Ponnuru
corrente
  Lambert @Corrente
Crooked Timber
  Ted Barlow
Daily Kos
  Armando @DailyKos
  Bob Brigham
  DavidNYC @DailyKos
  Kos @DailyKos
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.
  Dan Gillmor
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Dean's World
  Dean Esmay
Demagogue
  Frederick Maryland
  Eugene Oregon
Denver Post
  Dave Curtin
DER SPIEGEL
  Charles Hawley
Discourse.net
  Michael Froomkin
Dynamist Blog
  Virginia Postrel
EconLog
  Arnold Kling
EconoPundit
  Steve Antler
EdCone.com
  Ed Cone
Editor and Publisher
Eschaton
  Atrios
Foreign Affairs
Gut Rumbles
  Acidman
Haaretz
Harry's Place
  Gene @HarrysPlace
  Marcus @HarrysPlace
Hit and Run
  Jesse Walker
  Nick Gillespie
  Matt Welch
  Charles Paul Freund
HLS Federalist Society
  Eric Soskin
HughHewitt.com
  Hugh Hewitt
Human Events
  Robert B. Bluey
INDC Journal
  Bill @INDCJournal
Independent
  Andrew Osborn
Informed Comment
  Juan Cole
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
Israel news and commentary from IsraPundit
  Ted Belman
Kesher Talk
  Judith Weiss
L.A. Observed
  Kevin Roderick
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
  Yuval Rubinstein
The Liquid List
  Tarek @LiquidList
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  Jonathan Chait
  Johanna Neuman
  Max Boot
The Mahablog
  Barbara O'Brien
Media Notes Extra
  Howard Kurtz
mediabistro
  Brian Stelter
MEMRI
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
The Moderate Voice
  Joe Gandelman
Mudville Gazette
  Greyhawk
MyDD
  Chris Bowers
NathanNewman.org
  Nathan Newman
New York Post
  Niles Lathem
New York Times
  Bob Herbert
  Paul Krugman
  John Markoff
  Jodi Wilgoren
  Neil A. Lewis
  Anne E. Kornblut
  Brian Wingfield
  David D. Kirkpatrick
  Jennifer Bayot
Newsday
  Tom Brune
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
normblog
  Norm Geras
Obsidian Wings
  Von @ObsidianWings
Opinion Journal
  Myron Magnet
  Joseph Epstein
Outside The Beltway
  James Joyner
pandagon.net
  Jesse Taylor
Patrick Ruffini '05
  Patrick Ruffini
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  Tom Barnes
PoliBlog
  Steven Taylor
PoliPundit.com
  Lorie Byrd
  PoliPundit
  Jayson @PoliPundit
Power Line
  The Big Trunk
  Deacon
PressThink
  Jay Rosen
PRESTOPUNDIT
  Greg Ransom
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
The QandO Blog
  Dale Franks
  McQ
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
Right Wing News
  John Hawkins
The Rittenhouse Review
  James Martin Capozzola
Rocky Mountain News
Roger L. Simon
  Roger L. Simon
Salon
  Eric Boehlert
San Francisco Chronicle
Scotsman
  Simon Pia
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
The Sideshow
  Avedon Carol
Signifying Nothing
  Chris Lawrence
Silflay Hraka
  Bigwig
Slant Point
  Scott Sala
Slate
  Virginia Postrel
  Josh Levin
  Timothy Noah
  John Swansburg
  Bidisha Banerjee
a small victory
  Michele Catalano
South Knox Bubba
  SK Bubba
Suburban Guerrilla
  Susan Madrak
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
Talking Points Memo
  Josh Marshall
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Jeffrey Dubner
  Matthew Yglesias
  Sam Rosenfeld
Tech Central Station
  Arnold Kling
Think Progress
  Nico @ThinkProgress
Townhall.com
  Mona Charen
Vodkapundit
  Stephen Green
The Volokh Conspiracy
  David Bernstein
  Todd Zywicki
Wampum
  Dwight Meredith
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
Washington Post
  Robin Givhan
  Dana Milbank
  Charles Babington
  Charles Krauthammer
  Ann Scott Tyson
  Dan Froomkin
Washington Times
  P. Mitchell Prothero
Wizbang
  Kevin Aylward
Yale Daily News
  Jocelyn Courtney



Why Women Can't Read Maps
  CNN   —   Permalink 
There is a reason why many women (not all! but many) have trouble reading maps. The brains of men and women function in markedly different ways, which means they really do think differently, according to researchers from the University of California, Irvine and the University of New Mexico.
Judith Weiss: I remember studies like this being on the front page of Time in the 1980s. Women, men, math, maps, different areas of the brain.
McQ: Who'da thunk: "There is a reason why many women (not all! but many) have trouble reading maps.
Captain Ed: According to a new study by researchers at UC Irvine and the University of New Mexico, women and men use their brains in...
Bill @INDCJournal: Science as a Hurdle to Enlightenment — I think that someone owes Harvard President Larry Summers an apology: "The...

Suicide bomber wounds at least 20 in TA
  Haaretz   —   Permalink 
At least 24 people were wounded Friday night when a suicide bomber barried out an attack on the promenade in Tel Aviv.
Police confirmed in a TV interview that there were some people dead, but there was no final death toll given.
Roger L. Simon: Toll so far... 24 wounded, some dead. This is the first test of the tentative ceasefire. It will be interesting to see what Abbas does.
Norm Geras: New suicide bombing in Israel — Against the background of reports of a possible thaw in relations between Israel and...
Charles Johnson: And Again — There has been a terrorist bombing in north Tel Aviv: Blast heard in north Tel Aviv.

Thrown to the Wolves
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
If John Ashcroft was right, then I was staring into the malevolent, duplicitous eyes of pure evil, the eyes of a man with the mass murder of Americans on his mind. But all I could really see was a polite, unassuming, neatly dressed guy who looked like a suburban Little League coach.
DeLong: [quote]Bob Herbert: "In the fall of 2002 Mr. Arar... attempting to change planes at Kennedy Airport... was seized by American authorities, interrogated and thrown into jail.[end quote]
Armando @DailyKos: Torture: One of Bush's Victims — The great Bob Herbert spoke to one of Bush's torture victims: [snipped quote] The stain on our country's honor can not be removed.
Jeralyn Merritt: Crooks and Liars has its second podcast up. Via Cursor, Bob Herbert interviews Maher Arar who was thrown to the wolves.
Susan Madrak: TORTUROUS LOGIC — You know, Bob Herbert isn't flashy and for some reason, he doesn't get the attention that accrues to...

George Bush's Stepford Critics
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
Doug Wead was presumably aware of the commonly held view that it isn't very nice to secretly tape-record conversations with your friends and then release those tapes to the New York Times.
Wead also could no doubt have surmised that when he did so, the friend in question, George W. Bush, would not react with gratitude.
Captain Ed: Chait Picks Wrong Example For Argument — Jonathan Chait takes on the Bush Administration by claiming that it turns its...
Ian Welsh: Nice Article via MyDD, On the way people change their mind about crossing Bush... and Rove.
Barbara O'Brien: Jonathan Chait reminds us (also in today's LA Times) that the Bush White House has a way of making those who stand up to it offers they can't refuse.
Orrin Judd: THE EXPLANATION IS PRETTY SIMPLE...: George Bush's Stepford Critics: You're likely to recant, zombie- like, if you betray the president.

CBS Producer on Flawed Bush Report Resigns
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
LOS ANGELES - A producer involved in CBS's discredited report on President Bush 's National Guard service resigned Friday, nearly two months after an independent report criticized the handling of the story.
Scott Sala: CBS' Mary Murphy Resigns — From Ratherbiased (email) I heard Mary Murphy of Rathergate infamy has resigned.
Glenn Reynolds: RATHERGATE UPDATE: Mary Murphy, one of the RatherGate producers, has resigned.

An Identity Crisis Unfolds in a Not-So-Elite Press Corps
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Its members work inside one of the most secure facilities in the nation, the White House, and they get to question America's most senior leaders, including the president.
Yet the White House press corps is not the thoroughly screened and scrubbed journalistic elite Americans might presume.
Paul McLeary: The Los Angeles Times ran a curious piece today which attempts to brush off the Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert mess as little...
Skippy @AmStreet: although upon further reflection… the latimes finally runs a piece on the gannon/guckert story, and, what a...
Gary Farber: MY TYPICAL BLOG COMPLAINT ABOUT THE "MAINSTREAM MEDIA," I have: "The lawsuit involved Robert Sherrill of the Nation,...

Dean visiting GOP strongholds
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on Thursday began a two-day visit to the GOP stronghold of Kansas, hoping to erase the notion that his party has surrendered so-called "red states" to Republicans.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Problem is, no Democrat wants to be seen with him: [snipped quote] But perhaps it will get better when Dean visits other red states.
Chris Lawrence: He's a Deaniac on the floor — Good ole Howard Dean is working his way up the "red state" ladder with a visit to Kansas before coming to Jackson on Tuesday.
Deacon: CNN reports that the Democratic governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sibelius, will not appear with Dean during his two day visit to that state.
Tim Graham: KEEPING DISTANCE FROM DEAN — CNN discovers that Dean's trips to the red states are greeted by Democrats running away...
Orrin Judd: WHITE FLIGHT: Dean visiting GOP strongholds: Mixed reception likely in Kansas (John Mercurio, 2/24/05, CNN)...

Kansas on My Mind
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Call it "What's the Matter With Kansas - The Cartoon Version."
The slime campaign has begun against AARP, which opposes Social Security privatization. There's no hard evidence that the people involved - some of them also responsible for the "Swift Boat" election smear - are taking orders from the White House.
Bob Brigham: BlogPAC Intelligence Briefing: USA Next (From the diaries — kos) Krugman in the New York Times: "The slime campaign...
Yuval Rubinstein: Anyway, Paul Krugman fleshes out this point today: "In Mr. Frank's view, this is a confidence trick: politicians like...
Lambert @Corrente: "Their first attack may have missed the mark, but it's the shape of smears to come (via NY Times)"
Steve Antler: U decide... As I read this I imagined a hearing being disrupted by chanting: Privatizers are even having a hard time...

'Loving' farewell to writer
  Rocky Mountain News   —   Permalink 
ASPEN — Hunter S. Thompson heard the ice clinking.
The literary champ was sitting in his command post kitchen chair, a piece of blank paper in his favorite typewriter, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth hours earlier.
Scott Sala: A bit cruel, but then again, I bet he's not one to give a rat's hide about caring for others, so the moment is a wash...
Ann Althouse: And here's news of family and friends sitting at around the kitchen table with the hours-old corpse, drinking Chivas Regal and exchanging stories.

Court: Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
(02-24) 21:06 PST Chicago (AP) —
A man who says his former lover deceived him by getting pregnant using semen obtained through oral sex can sue for emotional distress — but not theft, an appeals court has ruled.
William J. Dyer: Most wryly funny line I've read in a court opinion lately — Stories like this one (hat-tip to K-Lo on The Corner) make...
K. J. Lopez: WHAT WOULD BILL CLINTON DO? [snipped quote] Sorry.
S. Z.: Judge Rules Some "Deposits" are "Gifts" — Let's briefly discuss the latest developments in the Chicago court case in...

Condoleezza Rice's Commanding Clothes
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield on Wednesday dressed all in black. She was wearing a black skirt that hit just above the knee, and it was topped with a black coat that fell to mid-calf.
Kevin Aylward: With Condi's fashion sense in the news today it's a perfect opportunity to finally publish the winning entries for this...
James Joyner: Condoleezza Rice's Commanding Clothes — Condoleezza Rice's Commanding Clothes (WaPo, page C1) [snipped quote] Methinks...
Jesse Taylor: Condi Slash — Condoleezza Rice wore all black. She also wore high-heeled boots. And gauntlet-knives.
Betsy Newmark: Robin Givhan makes up for dissing Cheney's jacket by practically drooling over Condi Rice's black ensemble and...
John Hawkins: From the WAPO... "Rice's coat and boots speak of sex and power — such a volatile combination, and one that in political circles rarely leads to anything but scandal.
Michelle Malkin: Robin Givhan of the Washington Post spins an entire, breathless article out of the Secretary of State's attire (it's Givhan's schtick).
Also: Ann Althouse, Brian Linse, Steve M., Mitch Berg, K. J. Lopez, Ed Driscoll, Lorie Byrd

Thompson shot self while talking with wife
  AP   —   Permalink 
ASPEN, Colorado (AP) — The widow of journalist Hunter S. Thompson said her husband killed himself while the two were talking on the phone.
"I was on the phone with him, he set the receiver down and he did it.
Ann Althouse: Under big red block letters that say "ENTERTAINMENT" over on CNN.com: "Thompson shot self while talking with wife 'He...
Greyhawk: Now That's Entertainment!? An update from the "Entertainment" section of CNN's website.
James Joyner: Update: Others have pointed out that CNN has the story, oddly enough, in their Entertainment section.

Red-flagged career
  Rocky Mountain News   —   Permalink 
Like a high mountain road posted with danger signs, Ward Churchill's career has been marked by repeated warnings to University of Colorado officials that there could be serious trouble ahead.
Wretchard: The Cancer Ward — Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for linking to an Inside Denver article on Ward Churchill which catalogues...
Michelle Malkin: He had been unmasked by a bona fide Indian artist, David Bradley of Santa Fe, who told the Rocky Mountain News: [quote] "If...[end quote]

10 Voters on Panel Backing Pain Pills Had Industry Ties
  NYT   —   Permalink 
Ten of the 32 government drug advisers who last week endorsed continued marketing of the huge-selling pain pills Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx have consulted in recent years for the drugs' makers, according to disclosures in medical journals and other public records.
DavidNYC @DailyKos: Turns out, I had no reason to be shocked after all: [snipped quote] We only got to find out about this thanks to the New York Times, which requested a special study of the matter.
Dwight Meredith: What should not be acceptable is for the drug companies to stack the deck when the FDA is making the decision: "Ten of...
Susan Q. Stranahan: Today, the New York Times reports that 10 of the 32 government panel members who recommended continued use of the drugs...
Michelle Malkin: MEDIA BIAS — When FDA panelists on COX-2 inhibitors have industry ties it's considered a big story, but when panelists...

See no Gannon, hear no Gannon, speak no Gannon
  By / Salon   —   Permalink 
On Feb. 17, "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams introduced a report on controversial White House correspondent James Guckert by informing viewers that the saga was "the talk of Washington."
Jeffrey Dubner: Eric Boehlert dresses down the major media outlets that have ignored the Jeff Gannon story.
Steve Soto: Gannongate Media Coverage Update — Eric Boehlert of Salon wonders aloud why the major TV networks and some of the...
Dan Gillmor: The Gannon Scandal, Not Continued "Salon: See no Gannon, hear no Gannon, speak no Gannon.
Howard Kurtz: But as a line of attack against him, it may be too much." Salon's Eric Boehlert wonders: Where's the outrage?
Jay Rosen: Eric Boehlert of Salon continues his standout coverage: "Why has the mainstream media ignored the White House media access scandal?"
Ed Cone: Eric Boehlert in Salon: "Why has the mainstream media ignored the White House media access scandal?" "Gannon" is back online.
Also: Oliver Willis, Kos @DailyKos

Could Bush Be Right? -- Take Two
  By / DER SPIEGEL   —   Permalink 
US President Bush's love fest with Europe continued on Thursday in Bratislava. Sort of. Leading up to the US-Russia summit, Bush fired off some heavy critiques in the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The partnership, however, remains strong.
Roger L. Simon: German Revisionism — Germany's leading news magazine Der Spiegel is back on Gerhard Schroeder's case while again (only...
Stephen Green: Take Two — It's one thing when Germany's Der Spiegel publishes a "Could Bush Be Right?" op-ed. But two in one week?

Old Hollywood Glamour
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
Click here to read a slide-show essay about Hollywood photographer George Hurrell.
Photographs of: George Hurrell's business card, circa 1933, with photo of Joan Crawford, courtesy of the Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive; Pancho Barnes, 1928, courtesy...
Nick Gillespie: She writes in part: [snipped quote] Check it out here.
Virginia Postrel: Old Hollywood Glamour I have an essay, in slide show form, on George Hurrell, the quintessential Golden Age Hollywood photographer.
Greg Ransom: THIS IS FABULOUS — Virginia Postrel on the man who invented Hollywood glamour. The photos are on exhibit in Palm Springs thru March 20.

For a Start-Up, Visions of Profit in Podcasting
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 24 - The primarily amateur Internet audio medium known as podcasting will take a small, hopeful step on Friday toward becoming the commercial Web's next big thing.
Jesse Walker: Pod People — The New York Times notes some early efforts to make a profit at podcasting.
Ed Cone: NYT runs another podcasting article, this one atop the biz front.
Jeff Jarvis: He showed it at TED and The Times wrote it up today.

Swann's new team to look into run for governor
  By / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   —   Permalink 
HARRISBURG — Former Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann has a new team to play for — Team 88, a campaign committee he set up this week as evidence of his increasing seriousness about exploring a run for governor in 2006.
Jonathan H. Adler: GOVERNOR SWANN — I don't usually root for Pittsburgh Steelers, but I might have to make an exception if Lynn Swann runs for Governor of Pennsylvania.
Todd Zywicki: Go Swanny! Lynn Swann for Governor! (I know its not my state, but I was born there!) Related Posts (on one page): Go Swanny!

Unrepentant Specter Is Finding Life Lonely in the Center
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
On an otherwise quiet day on the Hill, 100 journalists and jostling photographers jammed the Senate TV studio yesterday for a sighting of that most exotic and endangered of species: a moderate in the United States Senate.
Barbara O'Brien: Dana Milbank wrote in today's Washington Post: "He said Bush should emulate an effort by Bill Clinton to compromise on...
K. J. Lopez: His lede, in a Specter-love piece: "On an otherwise quiet day on the Hill, 100 journalists and jostling photographers...
Rickheller @Centerfield: Unprecedented — Both parties break new ground in hardball, says Arlen Specter [snipped quote] So what is it, anything goes as long as it's not illegal?

Cadre grows to rein in message
  By / Newsday   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — The ranks of federal public affairs officials swelled during the Bush administration's first term, but that hasn't meant that government information is easier to get.
Michael Froomkin: • Cadre grows to rein in message; Ranks of federal public affairs officials have swelled under Bush to help...
Matt Welch: The Era of Big Government PR — According to a Newsday investigation of the federal guvmint, [snipped quote] Link via Secrecy News.

Iraqi Forces Capture Key Al-Zarqawi Aide
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 25, 2005 — Iraqi forces captured a key aide to Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who leads an insurgency affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, the government said Friday.
The Big Trunk: Today's good news: "Iraqi forces capture key al-Zarqawi aide."
Jeff Quinton: Key Zarqawi aide captured AP/ABC "Iraqi forces captured a key aide to Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,...

Schuck suggests contradictions in Law School's JAG stance in book
  By / Yale Daily News   —   Permalink 
When 44 out of about 90 Yale Law professors first propelled themselves into the media spotlight with a lawsuit filed against the Department of Defense over a year ago, some 46 professors — the half that has chosen to remain less public until now — were left in the shadows.
David Bernstein: Schuck on Yale and Military Recruiters: Peter Schuck, author of the wonderful Diversity in America, takes on his Yale Law School colleagues over the issue of military recruiters.
Glenn Reynolds: YALE LAW PROFESSOR PETER SCHUCK weighs in against Yale's exclusion of military recruiters: [snipped quote] Indeed.

Specter Predicts Turmoil May Grow From Impasse
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
The Senate is headed toward turmoil unless it can resolve its bitter impasse over judicial nominees, a key Republican warned yesterday. But neither party showed signs of yielding as senators scheduled a hearing next week for one of the 10 appointees blocked last year.
Hugh Hewitt: From this morning's Washington Post: "Liberal groups also signaled no letup in their campaign against conservative judges. "
K. J. Lopez: Chairman Specter met the press yesterday and said, among other things, that he doesn't know that there are enough votes for Myers, one of the judges first up.
Eugene Oregon: Specter Gets It — It is stuff like this that makes the Right hate Arlen Specter "Speaking of the impasse over judges,...

Kansas Prosecutor Demands Files on Late-Term Abortion Patients
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
TOPEKA, Kan. , Feb. 24 - Attorney General Phill Kline, a Republican who has made fighting abortion a staple of his two years in the post, is demanding the complete medical files of scores of women and girls who had late-term abortions, saying on Thursday that he needs the information to prosecute criminal cases.
Avedon Carol: Did you hear the one about the Kansas Prosecutor who is demanding the medical records of teenage girls who've had abortions, claiming he needs them to prosecute child rape?
Atrios: Subpoena This — One thing that seems to be missing in the reporting about the Kansas AG's attempt to get the medical...
Susan Madrak: So I really have to wonder what Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline has lurking in his own closet: [snipped quote] You...
Kevin Drum: The New York Times adds this: "Mr. Kline's efforts to obtain records from abortion clinics follows his failed attempt...
Steve M.: UPDATE: In The New York Times, Jodi Wilgoren covers the story (and basically makes this post superfluous).
Armando @DailyKos: Anti-Choice Kansas Attorney General Seeks To Violate Confidentiality of Women's Medical Records — Exemplifying the...
Also: Jeralyn Merritt, Ellen Dana Nagler

HILL'S IRAQ SLAP
  By / New York Post   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has touched off a diplomatic flap with Iraq's incoming government by questioning whether the leading candidate to become the next prime minister is too close to Iran's ayatollahs.
Ace: The Smartest Woman In the World Insults Iraq's Likely New Prime Minister — Ahhh, the sophistication and nuance of...
McQ: How to win friends and influence people — Note to Hillary.

Senator Critical of Proposal on Filibusters
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 - The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that his party's proposal to change the Senate's rules if Democrats continued to block President Bush's judicial nominees would wreak havoc in the Senate.
Hugh Hewitt: Reid's threat to "go Gingrich" is the greatest gift a Democrat has given the Republicans in many year.
Susan Madrak: NOT SO FAST, FELLAS — Now that we know (whether he admits it or not) that Arlen's not long for this world, we can expect all kinds of little surprises like this.

Israel Draws the Line
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Last Sunday Israel crossed two Rubicons. The Cabinet decided once and for all to withdraw from Gaza and dismantle 25 settlements — 21 in Gaza and four in the upper West Bank. Yet, had Israel done only this, it would be seen, correctly, as a victory for terrorism, a unilateral retreat and surrender to the four-year intifada.
The Big Trunk: Krauthammer voices his full-throated support of Sharon's strategy. His column is "Israel draws the line."
Betsy Newmark: This is the most optimistic I've ever seen Charles Krauthammer about peace in Israel.

Swann might run for Pennsylvania governor
  AP   —   Permalink 
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann has formed a campaign committee to raise money for a potential run for governor in 2006.
Swann named his committee Team 88, the number he wore as a wide receiver for the Steelers from 1974 to 1982, when the team won four Super Bowls.
Chris Bowers: PA-Gov:Swan Looks Set to Run — Here's the scoop: [snipped quote] A celebrity only at 34% probably has little or no chance.
Jeff Quinton: Lynn Swann forms campaign committee AP/MSNBC [snipped quote] Previously: Lynn Swann for Pa. Governor?

Suicides in Marine Corps Rise by 29%
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
The Marine Corps suffered a 29 percent spike in suicides last year, reaching the highest number in at least a decade, with the demanding pace of military operations likely contributing to the deaths, the top-ranking U.S. Marine said yesterday.
James Martin Capozzola: For the fourth time in a week, I'm blogging about suicide, this time in reference to a disturbing report in today's...
Jeff Quinton: USMC suicide rate increases — WaPo "The Marine Corps suffered a 29 percent spike in suicides last year, reaching the...

'The Week' Opinion Award Finalists Announced
  Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK Finalists for The Week magazine's second annual Opinion Awards, which will be presented March 8 in Washington, D.C., were announced today.
Columnist of the Year finalists include Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune (and Creators Syndicate),...
Jay Rosen: (Press release.) The other nominees are Power Line, Matthew Yglesias, Hugh Hewitt, and Low Culture.
Michelle Malkin: THE WEEK OPINION AWARD FINALISTS — Finalists for The Week magazine's second annual Opinion Awards were announced yesterday.

Is the Marine Corps P.C.?
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
Second Lt. Ilario Pantano was making a six-figure income as an energy trader with Goldman Sachs in New York when the World Trade Center was attacked. Pantano had friends who worked in the twin towers and friends among the firefighters who perished trying to save them.
Michelle Malkin: Scarborough reports that an eyewitness corroborates Lt. Pantano's account of having warned the two Iraqis before...
Betsy Newmark: Mona Charen has a column defending Lt. Pantano, the Marine being investigated for shooting two Iraqis in the Sunni Triangle.

Iraq violence kills 30 in one day
  The Age   —   Permalink 
A suicide bomber blew up his car inside police headquarters in predominantly Sunni Arab Tikrit, killing at least 15 people in Saddam Hussein's hometown.
This raised the one-day death toll in Iraq to 30 - including two American soldiers.
Juan Cole: 30 Dead in Iraq Violence — AP reports that the one-day total for war-related violence in Iraq, including the police...
John Cole: Useless Hyperbole — I found this at 'Informed Comment': [snipped quote] I was sick three days last week.

Helen and the Red hobgoblin
  By / Scotsman   —   Permalink 
NOT only did Scots invent the modern world but we almost turned it upside down as well, or at least played a significant role in doing so.
So, while Professor Arthur Herman's book, How Scots Invented the Modern World, has been seized upon since it came...
Norm Geras: Found in translation — Marcus draws attention to a report in the Scotsman according to which the opening sentence of...
Marcus @HarrysPlace: Actually that's the English translation - the original German - as anyone who has been paying attention to this site...

Putin loses his smile after lecture from Bush on democracy
  By / Independent   —   Permalink 
President George Bush subjected Russia's Vladimir Putin to a public lecture on the fundamentals of democracy yesterday, injecting a chill into a relationship that has - until now - been characterised by bonhomie.
Gene @HarrysPlace: Update: Commenter Dr. No notes that The Independent's reporter apparently observed a different dynamic between Bush and Putin from that reported by The Post.
Joe Gandelman: England's Independent was even blunter: "An unsmiling, visibly irritated Mr Putin squirmed as he listened to Mr Bush...
Damian Penny: Vladmir poutin' — The President of Russia is miffed at his friend George W. Bush, who embarassed him at their recent meeting by mouthing off about that "democracy" stuff.

Democrats Criticize Social Security Official
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 - In the midst of a fractious debate over changes to Social Security, a senior official of the agency that administers the program has been joining Republican members of Congress at public events around the country devised to promote personal retirement accounts.
Kevin Drum: SOCIAL SECURITY NEWS...Via Social Security Central Josh Marshall, two separate but weirdly related stories: The deputy...
Josh Marshall: The Times has a piece on it Friday.
Jesse Taylor: Although I wish I could say I was suprised that a senior Social Security official was campaigning alongside Republicans (and only Republicans)...I can't.

Taking on Tehran
  Foreign Affairs   —   Permalink 
Summary: If Washington wants to derail Iran's nuclear program, it must take advantage of a split in Tehran between hard-liners, who care mostly about security, and pragmatists, who want to fix Iran's ailing economy.
James Joyner: Taking on Tehran — Kenneth Pollack and Ray Takeyh have an interesting piece in the current Foreign Affairs, which is online despite not yet having reached my mailbox.
Ted Barlow: I see, via Belgravia Dispatch, that it's out.
Gregory Djerejian: Ken Pollack and Ray Takeyh, writing in Foreign Affairs.
Matthew Yglesias: Ray Takeyh and Kenneth Pollack on Iran, two great tastes that taste great together in the current issue of Foreign Affairs.
Orrin Judd: LET NORK BE A LESSON: Taking on Tehran (Kenneth Pollack and Ray Takeyh, March/April 2005, Foreign Affairs)...

Winter Storm Blankets Northeast in Snow
  AP   —   Permalink 
A winter storm blanketed the Northeast on Thursday, forcing the federal government and schools around the region to close early and triggering a spate of accidents during the afternoon rush hour.
Judith Weiss: More snow here in NYC and I have to schlep to NYU Dental School all the way over on the East Side this afternoon.
Michele Catalano: Snow is not one of them. Send spring. Please.

Bush and Putin Exhibit Tension Over Democracy
  NYT   —   Permalink 
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Feb. 24 - President Bush expressed concern on Thursday night about Russia's commitment to democracy in a sometimes tense and awkward encounter with President Vladimir V. Putin. Mr. Putin, at times visibly uncomfortable, refused to yield.
Joe Gandelman: Bush & Putin: An Uneasy Alliance Survives Amid Tension — The George Bush and Vladimir Putin Show debuted yesterday in...
Cori Dauber: Please ignore. Now, a random link.

The War on the War on Poverty
  By / Opinion Journal   —   Permalink 
What ever happened to compassionate conservatism? Despite the Bush administration's focus on the war against terror, the idea didn't disappear. But as White House thinking developed, it got incorporated into a larger, more profound domestic theory.
Jesse Taylor: Excised Capitalism — Shorter Opinion Journal: the problem with poor people is that the government keeps recognizing they exist.
Orrin Judd: PARADIGMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE: The War on the War on Poverty: Bush's theory of domestic policy is more profound than "compassionate conservatism."

Al-Qaradhawi at Solidarity Conference: 'I Hope to Die a Virtuous Death Like a Jihad Warrior, with the Head Severed from the Body; The Qatar Authorities Do Not Interfere in My Sermons'
  MEMRI   —   Permalink 
In light of the criticism recently leveled against Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, the Doha Youth Center held a solidarity conference on February 17, 2005. Various Arab and Islamic personalities participated in the conference, such as the Mufti of Oman, Ahmad...
Gene @HarrysPlace: So some of his supporters organized a solidarity conference for him last week at the Youth Center in Doha, Qatar, according to MEMRI.
Charles Johnson: Sheikh Al-Qaradawi: "Grant Me Martyrdom" — The Doha Youth Center in Qatar held a conference on February 17, 2005, to...

Feisty Biden toying with run for president
  San Francisco Chronicle   —   Permalink 
Outspoken Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware confirmed Wednesday that he is seriously testing the waters for a 2008 presidential run — even as he acknowledged that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be "the overwhelming, prohibitive favorite'' to become the nominee of his party.
Susan Madrak: Oh, Jesus. How many times is Joe Biden going to "gauge interest" before he notices there isn't any? 1) Bad hair.
Taegan Goddard: Biden Exploring White House Bid — Although we first noted it late last year, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) confirmed "that...
Kos @DailyKos: Pres-08: Biden tests waters — Biden joins Hillary and Feingold in the Democratic Senate caucus taking a look at 2008:...

On Point, February 24
  Rocky Mountain News   —   Permalink 
At the time this was written Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, still hadn't forthrightly apologized for warning a colleague Tuesday on the floor of the House, "If you try that again, I'll ram my fist up your ass."
Taegan Goddard: Colorado State Rep. Bill Cadman (R), quoted by the Rocky Mountain News, warning a colleague on the floor of the House.
Kevin Aylward: [Rocky Mountain News]

Rappers and Bloggers
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
P. Diddy gargles Cristal as his yacht sails from San Tropez to Ibiza. Atrios stares at his computer screen and ponders the effect of "increased central bank diversification out of dollar holdings." Nelly takes in the NBA All-Star Game from the first row while gabbing on a cell phone made out of a giant shoe.
Von @ObsidianWings: Let's end on an up note with Drezner's response to Slate's "Bloggers are the new Rappers" meme-du-jour
Avedon Carol: Rappers and Bloggers: Separated at birth! is a silly article but at least it had lots of links to some of our friends (and some people who should never be linked, of course).
Brian Linse: Rappers - They're Just Like US ! Josh Levin explains that rappers and bloggers were Separated at Birth.
SK Bubba: As long as they spell your name right... SKB mentioned in Metro Pulse and Slate, all in the same day.
Daniel Drezner: Call me "Dr. Dre" from now on — Josh Levin compares rappers to bloggers in Slate: [snipped quote] Sampling, cutting, pasting, and then writing a few short words of commentary?
Jan Haugland: Just to round it off, the prize for the most silly article about blogging ever goes to Slate's Josh Levin for Rappers and Bloggers.
Also: Glenn Reynolds, Jim Treacher, Atrios

The Wal-Mart Manifesto
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive officer of Wal-Mart, argued in a speech yesterday in Los Angeles (click here to listen to it) that Wal-Mart is a force for good in the economy. Scott is hardly the first corporate chairman to echo "Engine" Charlie Wilson's claim that what's good for General Motors is good for America.
Nathan Newman: Update: BTW there's a lovely piece in Slate slamming the lies by Wal-Mart executives that their "average" wages are $10...
Steve Bainbridge: (Timothy Noah points out that Wal-Mart's CEO distorted Wal-Mart's wage picture in his speech by using average rather than median salaries.)
Jesse Taylor: Then, I read this Tim Noah piece, and my s**t was all like, "What?"
Frederick Maryland: Thanks to Slate's Timothy Noah, we can add something else to Wal-Mart's rap: distortion of reality.

Salt Should Be Regulated Food Additive, Group Says
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A consumer group sued the federal government Thursday, saying that salt is killing tens of thousands of Americans and that regulators have done too little to control salt in food.
Dale Franks: Looking out for you — The Center for Science in the Public Interest is on your side, doing everything they can to...
Bigwig: Jacobson, who filed suit against the federal government in 2005 over sodium in the American diet, was assassinated by a...
Acidman: Just read this, for a good example. [snipped quote] Assholes. Let's get the federal government involved in regulating SALT, for crying out loud.
Andrew Stuttaford: SALT AND NUTS — Passed on with no further comment - for now: [snipped quote] Via Drudge

How sweet it is Girl eats real food for first time in 7 1/2 years after doctors at Stanford solve mystery
  San Francisco Chronicle   —   Permalink 
From the time Tilly Merrell was a year old, doctors told her family she would never have a normal life — or even a normal meal.
British doctors found that the food she swallowed went into her lungs instead of her stomach, causing devastating lung infections.
Jan Haugland: Girl eats food for first time in years — It is weekend, and what is better than a real feel-good story?
Orrin Judd: SO WHY DO THEY CALL IT NATIONAL HEALTH? (via brian boys): How sweet it is: Girl eats real food for first time in 7 1/2...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: MALPRACTICE — Via reader Mike Daley comes this story—which turns out well in the end, but which never should have...
Betsy Newmark: What a happy ending this story has. It shows the value of perseverance and the Internet as well as community help.

The Latest Initiative in Congress: Blogging
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
AS he stood inside the National Cathedral at President Reagan's funeral last June, Representative Mike Pence, Republican of Indiana, typed a stirring message into his BlackBerry.
"My wife and I stand amidst the most powerful people in the world," it read.
Patrick Ruffini: Congressional Blogging: A Guide — This is encouraging: [snipped quote] Blogging by political leaders has the potential...
Ace: Congressmen: [snipped quote] Here's a little quiz: When the New York Times wants to list three popular blogs, just to let you know what a "blog" is, who do you think they mention?
Joe Gandelman: Now you KNOW blogging is doomed and passe: members of Congress are blogging: [snipped quote] This is like Eminem suddenly becoming popular in convalescent homes.
McQ: UPDATE II: Speaking of the NYT and their tendency toward a certain side of the political spectrum for sources, how about...
Ed Cone: Less than meets the eye: NYT reports that at least four members of Congress maintain weblogs, including three Republican...
Taegan Goddard: Blogging From Capitol Hill — Blogging "is taking root on Capitol Hill," the New York Times reports.
Also: K. J. Lopez

Feminists Get Hysterical
  City Journal   —   Permalink 
Gee thanks, Susan. Political pundit Susan Estrich has launched a venomous campaign (links here and here and here) against the Los Angeles Times's op-ed editor, Michael Kinsley, for alleged discrimination against female writers.
Kevin Roderick: Also commenting: Eric Alterman: "Really, insisting that Kinsley's Parkinson's is affecting his ability to see the...
Betsy Newmark: Tom Bevan links to Heather Macdonald's magnificent take down of the hysterical Susan Estrich. It's one of the best things I've read in a long time.
Jayson @PoliPundit: Heather MacDonald basically says that, yes, indeed, many of them have gone beyond loco crazy, Man.
The Big Trunk: Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal shines a spotlight on one frenzy referred to in the message above: "Feminists get hysterical."
Lorie Byrd: Read the whole thing at City Journal. Believe me, you will be glad you took the time.

Egypt's Brutal Answer
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
ON MONDAY President Bush again called on Egypt to "lead the way" toward democratic change in the Middle East. Apparently Hosni Mubarak, the country's leader for the past 24 years, wasn't listening.
Jan Haugland: Mubarak the dictator — Yesterday the Washington Post printed a scathing editorial about Hosni Mubarak's Egypt.
Charles Paul Freund: WaPo's lead editorial today is an unusually sharp attack on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek for his mistreatment of imprisoned political reformer Ayman Nour.
Matthew Yglesias: Today's Washington Post offers a strong editorial on freedom's backward march in Egypt: [snipped quote] Quite so.
Judith Weiss: UPDATE: This story made me cry. (via Bill INDC) UPDATE: Egypt isn't getting with the program.
Eric Soskin: The Washington Post observes that Egypt's answer to the President's calls for democratic change has been defiance: "ON...
Orrin Judd: A FAIR TEST FOR THE PRESIDENT: Egypt's Brutal Answer (Washington Post, February 24, 2005) [snipped quote] Here's one,...

Chris Rock
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
On Sunday night, Chris Rock is slotted to host the Academy Awards, to the displeasure of two people: Matt Drudge and Chris Rock. Drudge thinks Rock is dangerous. Rock wants people to think that he is.
In two postings, Drudge warned that Rock's selection promised to throw the broadcast "into complete chaos."
Tarek @LiquidList: Culture: Chris Rock and Wish-Fulfillment Journalism — This Slate piece is bugging me.
PoliPundit: Rock the Oscars — Chris Rock, conservative? "Rock's abortion bit is an attack on women for the frivolous manner in which they decide whether or not to keep a child.
Baldilocks: This Slate commentary shows that liberals aren't the only ones prone to this very human fault. "Far from an encomium [ed.
K.J. Lopez: CHRIS ROCK MUST ROCK — Just read the title of this piece.

Tent city rises to pressure Syria
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
BEIRUT — Presidents and diplomats piled on the pressure for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon yesterday, but for the hard-line Ba'athist leaders in Damascus, the most worrisome pressure may be coming from a scruffy tent camp near the Beirut waterfront.
Scott Sala: They're calling it a "Cedar Revolution/Revolt," named after the tree on the Lebabese flag.
Orrin Judd: RUDEBOYS CANNOT FAIL: Tent city rises to pressure Syria (P. Mitchell Prothero, 2/23/05, THE WASHINGTON TIMES) "In a...
Glenn Reynolds: ORANGE REVOLUTION REDUX: [snipped quote] Rajan Rishyakaran has thoughts on what this might mean.

Ex-Steeler Swann Raising Money for Bid
  AP   —   Permalink 
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann has formed a campaign committee to raise money for a potential run for governor in 2006.
Swann named his committee Team 88, the number he wore as a wide receiver for the Steelers from 1974 to 1982, when the team won four Super Bowls.
Captain Ed: Swann announced the formation of a campaign committee for the Pennsylvania governorship in 2006, hoping to unseat...
Betsy Newmark: WHat will they think about having to oppose Lynn Swann in Pennsylvania?
Orrin Judd: DIVE IN (via Rick Turley): Ex-Steeler Swann Raising Money for Bid (AP, Feb 24, 2005) [snipped quote] He can expect to see a lot of George W. Bush if he wins the nomination.

Wal-Mart CEO Takes His Case to California
  LAT   —   Permalink 
With its California expansion plans stalled, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. dispatched its top executive to Los Angeles on Wednesday to plead the case for the world's largest company.
Among his messages: We're not backing down.
Steve Bainbridge: The Conservative Case Against Wal-Mart — Hugh Hewitt praises a tough-minded speech by Wal-Mart's CEO and inveighs...
Frederick Maryland: Wal-Mart's Feeble Effort to Airbrush Its Image — In a speech yesterday in Los Angeles, Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott argued that the mega-retailer gets a bad rap.
Hugh Hewitt: Well done Randy. Who's next in Nashville?) Resistance to WalMart opening new stores always amazes me. Really.

The Good Intifada
  Opinion Journal   —   Permalink 
Walid Jumblatt is not the sort to be described as a friend of the United States, much less of the Bush Administration. In November 2003, the Druze leader and Lebanese parliamentarian described Paul Wolfowitz as a "virus" and regretted that the Deputy Defense Secretary hadn't been killed in a terrorist rocket strike on his Baghdad hotel the month before.
Dean Esmay: Furthermore, today's Wall Street Journal reports that: "On Monday, tens of thousands of Muslim, Christian and Druze...
Ted Belman: The Good Intifada — How to pressure Syria to get out of Lebanon.
Steve Antler: Doing one thing or another can make genuine historical changes for thousands — for the Good, or for the Bad.

From Psst to Oops: Secret Taper of Bush Says History Can Wait
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 - All week, Doug Wead has said the reason he secretly recorded some of his phone calls with President Bush was for history's sake.
But Wednesday, after a blast of criticism, Mr. Wead abruptly decided he had spoken too soon.
Ann Althouse: I'm officially abandoning my theory that Bush knew Douglas Wead was taping him — because things have gone so badly for...
Cori Dauber: After all, they had to find room on the front page for this. And this. For the national edition?)
Steven Taylor: Tales of the Weadster — Via the NYT: From Psst to Oops: Secret Taper of Bush Says History Can Wait "But Wednesday,...
Captain Ed: Wead now says he'll give the tapes to the White House and has begun cancelling media appearances, according to the New...
CJR: Shed no tears for Doug Wead, who secretly taped a younger George W. Bush and recently let the New York Times listen in.
Orrin Judd: From Psst to Oops: Secret Taper of Bush Says History Can Wait (DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, 2/24/05, NY Times)

Schumer Signals 'Nuclear' War on Nominees
  By / Human Events   —   Permalink 
Senate Democrats are preparing to once again filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees despite efforts by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R. -Pa.) to extend an olive branch in hopes of reconciling differences. Liberal Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.
Hugh Hewitt: Arlen Specter clearly hopes to entice the Dems into some face-saving back-downs on previous judicial filibusters, but...
Orrin Judd: S.A.D. DOCTRINE: Schumer Signals 'Nuclear' War on Nominees (Robert B. Bluey, Feb 24, 2005, Human Events)

White House Talk
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
What's going on inside the White House? Ask Dan Froomkin, who writes the White House Briefing column for washingtonpost.com. He'll answer your questions, take your comments and links, and point you to coverage around the Web.
Dan is also deputy editor of Niemanwatchdog.org.
Kevin Drum: PSSST...Prairie Angel notes Dan Froomkin's answer to an online question this afternoon about the media's almost...
Atrios: Froomkin says: Having waited a long time for the press corps to overtly revolt against this vile tradition, allow me to...

Europe's rising class of believers: Muslims
  By / Christian Science Monitor   —   Permalink 
PARIS - As the three young North African women talked about their Muslim faith at a cafe here one recent evening, they could not help noticing how patrons at the next table were reacting.
One French man leaned so far back in his chair to hear the animated discussion that he almost joined the group.
Greg Ransom: ARE THERE more Muslims than Christians in Britian? Also, Mormons in Paris.
Mark Krikorian: IS EUROPE FINISHED? [snipped quote] Via the Christian Science Monitor.

Tour diary: Bush in Europe
  BBC   —   Permalink 
US President George W Bush is in Europe, attempting to rebuild relationships strained by the war in Iraq. BBC Washington correspondent Justin Webb is travelling with the president. Here is his diary from the third day of the visit.
Judith Weiss: She'd own the geek vote." The BBC: "I noticed Condi afterwards posing for photos for soldiers.
Glenn Reynolds: READER SEAN FITZPATRICK notes an interesting passage from the BBC reporters' blog on Bush's Europe trip: [snipped quote] Heh.

GOP Master Plan Revealed!
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
The Anarchist Cookbook, GOP edition: Republican spin doctor Frank Luntz examines the lessons learned from last year's GOP victory in a playbook that the "non-partisan research and educational institute" Center for American Progress is dissecting in a series of blog posts.
CJR: Finally, reacting with lightning-like speed to a CJR Daily staple, Slate at long last unveils a new feature by Bidisha Banerjee called ... "Today's Blogs"!
Cori Dauber: Now Slate has added another feature, doing the same for the blogosphere. (Which I guess has now officially arrived.)
Daniel Drezner: Oh, and Slate has added a new feature, Today's Blogs — which appears to be a useful compliment to their equally useful Today's Papers feature.
Ed Cone: Slate is publishing a best-of-the-blogs feature, compiled by Bidisha Banerjee.

Flare-Ups in Battle Over Bush's Social Security Plan
  NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 - The public relations war over President Bush's Social Security plan escalated on Wednesday, as a liberal advocacy group attacked the Republican chairman of the House Social Security subcommittee, and conservative groups fought among themselves over strategy.
Joe Gandelman: It turns out that there is a mini-war raging within the GOP right now over Social Security reform — a kind of war...
Josh Marshall: Picked up in the Times, the Hill and the Times-Picayune. See CAF's ad about where McCrery gets his money and who he works for, here.
Sam Rosenfeld: Thus far, McCrery's office has responded by lobbing the rather odd accusation of "extreme liberal bias" — as if the...

Uli Derickson, 60, Who Helped Airline Hostages, Dies
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Uli Derickson, the Trans World Airlines flight attendant honored for saving passengers' lives in 1985 by both confronting and mollifying terrorist hijackers, died on Friday at her home in Tucson. She was 60.
Randy Paul: I would be remiss if I didn't mention the much too early passing of Uli Derickson, the brave and crafty flight attendant...
Ann Althouse: Goodbye to Uli Derickson, whose story appears on the obituary page today: [snipped quote] What a story!

Two-Hour Primetime Special Airs Thursday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m.
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
Feb. 4, 2005 — Almost 50 percent of Americans, according to recent polls, and millions of people elsewhere in the world believe that UFOs are real. For many it is a deeply held belief.
For decades there have been sightings of UFOs by millions and millions of people.
Damian Penny: Maybe he'll reveal Dan Rather's home planet — Peter Jennings is hosting a special on UFOs tonight.
Brian Stelter: Tonight: Peter Jennings On UFOs — "Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs — Seeing Is Believing" airs tonight from 8 to 10pm on ABC (in HDTV!)

Bush, Putin Address the Media
  LAT   —   Permalink 
PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm — I just had a very important and constructive dialogue with my friend. It was great to see — I know Laura was pleased to see Lyudmila Putin as well.
We have had over the past four years very constructive relations, and that's the way I'm going to keep it for the next four years as well.
Baldilocks: Lessons On Democracy — Here's an interesting exchange that occurred during the press conference featuring President...
Nico @ThinkProgress: President George W. Bush, 2/24/05 "Secrecy in [the United States] government appears to be on the increase."

CU prof's Hawaii speech misquoted
  By / Denver Post   —   Permalink 
Professors and reporters attending Ward Churchill's speech in Hawaii on Tuesday disputed a Honolulu Star-Bulletin report that Churchill admitted he is not Indian.
Greg Ransom: UPDATE II: Churchill's remarks are now in dispute.
Glenn Reynolds: This report from the Denver Post says so, and that he didn't actually admit that he's not Indian.
Steven Taylor: The Denver Post has more: CU prof's Hawaii speech misquoted "Neither the Honolulu Advertiser nor The Associated Press published a remark like that.
Jeralyn Merritt: Confronted with the audio and video of his speech, the paper has retracted its claim.

A Tale of Two Daleys
  By / Opinion Journal   —   Permalink 
CHICAGO—Power, like yogurt and celebrity, is generally thought to have an expiration date. Not always, not everywhere—and not, apparently, here in Chicago, where one family, the Daleys, has controlled the political action from City Hall for going on four decades.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Joseph Epstein tells us why Mayor Daley the Younger will continue to be a power in the city of Chicago for years to...
Orrin Judd: HIS CHICAGO IS TOO PROGRESSIVE FOR THE REACTIONARY PARTY: A Tale of Two Daleys: Chicago's mayor doesn't have a theory of governance.

Reports: Pope Taken to Operating Room
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
ROME (Reuters) - Pope John Paul has been taken to an operating room in Rome's Gemelli hospital and might have surgery to help him breathe more easily, Italian media said on Thursday.
James Joyner: Pope Has Tracheotomy — ABC News: Reports: Pope Taken to Operating Room (Reuters) [snipped quote] CNN is covering the story in full-time mode.
Jeff Quinton: UPDATE Reuters has more: [snipped quote] Related: Pope hospitalized again

Battle over the past rages on in an evolving South
  By / Christian Science Monitor   —   Permalink 
RALEIGH, N.C. - Bronzed Johnny Rebs, sprinting across a Capitol lawn, charging soundlessly for the ideals of the "lost cause," have long been seen as a quaint and largely harmless part of this region's heritage. Today, doubts rise alongside pride in regard to these sculpted heroes.
Stephen Green: First, from the CSM: [quote] "The shooting war is over, but ... we're engaged in a cultural war for the heart and soul of the...[end quote]
Jeff Quinton: Fact-checking the Christian Science Monitor — Patrik Jonsson has an article in the Christian Science Monitor entitled...

'No charge' over Falluja killing
  BBC   —   Permalink 
A US marine filmed apparently shooting dead an injured Iraqi in a Falluja mosque last year may not be formally charged, according to media reports.
Military investigators have concluded there is not enough evidence to prosecute over the shooting, US television network CBS news says.
Charles Johnson: Marine May Not Be Charged — The Marine who shot an injured Iraqi holy warrior in Fallujah, and was filmed by Kevin...
Betsy Newmark: That is good news that the army is not going to issue charges against the Marine in Fallujah who shot a wounded Iraqi because he thought the Iraqi might have a gun.

Actuarially Unsound
  By / TCS   —   Permalink 
"Enactment of this plan would eliminate the Social Security long-range actuarial deficit and meet the criteria for sustainable solvency. The program would be expected to remain solvent throughout the 75-year projection period and for the foreseeable future beyond.
Arnold Kling: Actuarial Scoring Errors — In this essay, I take off on "actuarial scoring" of Social Security plans. [snipped quote] For Discussion.
Ramesh Ponnuru: ARNOLD KLING has another interesting, informative column on Social Security.

Uncle Sam Wants Tu
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
It is hard to pick up a newspaper these days without reading about Army and Marine Corps recruiting and retention woes. Nonstop deployments and the danger faced by troops in Iraq are making it hard for both services to fill their ranks.
Matthew Yglesias: In today's LA Times, Max Boot offers what would be a nice companion piece were he not serious, arguing that the United...
Eugene Oregon: Cannon Fodder — Matthew Yglesias highlights this Max Boot piece calling for the creation of a "Freedom Legion" [snipped quote] Nice.