meme orandum
| A newfangled news tangle |
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Left Behind NYT — Permalink ! Peter Beinart, the editor of The New Republic; Michael Tomasky, the executive editor of The American Prospect; and Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor of The Nation, are three leading voices for liberalism today. | |
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Michael @EzraKlein: I'll go ahead and make sure you get another copy of that memo — Ezra's already mentioned the Beinart, Tomasky, vanden... Atrios: Wanker of the Day — Peter Beinart: BEINART. I think one of the great problems in the debates about abortion and gay... EDM Staff: Liberal Editors Mull Dems' Future — The New York Times has an interesting roundtable discusssion in "Left Behind' on the challenges facing American liberals. |
Digby: Listening To Liberals — Atrios links to Peter Beinart's comment in this liberal roundtable in the NY Times in which he... Matthew Yglesias: Another Shipping Thought — I suppose there's no real point to my musing about container shipping, since there's got to... Tom Maguire: Weekend Reading — The NY Times Book Review presents a roundtable discussion: [snipped quote] One more thing to get to. |
Niger cancels 'free-slave' event BBC — Permalink The government of Niger has cancelled at the last minute a special ceremony during which at least 7,000 slaves were to be granted their freedom. A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said this was because slavery did not exist. | |
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James Joyner: Niger Cancels Event Freeing Slaves — Niger cancels 'free-slave' event (BBC) "The government of Niger has cancelled at... Hindrocket: A Damaging Admission, Narrowly Avoided — This is from the BBC. |
Glenn Reynolds: JEEZ: [snipped quote] (Via Power Line). Joe Gandelman: You Think Slavery Is Gone, Right? by Joe Gandelman Well, think again.... |
Blood Libel; Chirac Should Acknowledge that Israelis didn't Kill Mohammed al-Durra By / The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies — Permalink The image is as disturbing and iconic as any seen during the many decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict: Mohammed al-Durra, just 12 years old, caught in a cross-fire in Gaza, trembling against a wall, his father desperately attempting to shield him. | |
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Roger L. Simon: According to Clifford May's excellent new article reviewing the case so far, instead of investigating, the French network now threatens to sue all those who defame it. Lorie Byrd: A Story Deserving Attention — Today Deacon at Power Line comments on a Cliff May article in the Washington Times about a story I wrote about here last month. |
Deacon: The French blood libel — Clifford May has an important column in today's Washington Times about the 12 year-old... Cliff May: The column is here. And you'll appreciate this email I received in response: "Dear Mr. May, I read your column... |
BRAVE IRAQIS TURN OUT TO TELL THUGS: GET LOST By / New York Post — Permalink BAGHDAD — As more people lose loved ones to the relentless terrorism, Iraqis are becoming increasingly angry at the rebels, even staging public demonstrations condemning them. | |
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McQ: Anger at terrorists and the violence and death they bring continues to build in Iraq: "As more people lose loved ones to... Rich Lowry: IRAQIS AGAINST THE INSURGENCY — From the New York Post: "Yesterday, hostility to the insurgency boiled over into bloodshed in Wihda, 25 miles south of Baghdad. |
Tom Maguire: Interesting News From Iraq — Rich Lowry points us to this AP story from Iraq: [snipped quote] Per Google News, this story got reasonable play nationally in the local press. |
Soldier Who Reported Abuse Was Sent to Psychiatrist WaPo — Permalink An Army intelligence sergeant who accused fellow soldiers in Samarra, Iraq, of abusing detainees in 2003 was in turn accused by his commander of being delusional and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in Germany, despite a military psychiatrist's initial judgment that the man was stable, according to internal Army records released yesterday. | |
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Steve Clemons: This article ran yesterday in the Washington Post, and below is an excerpt: The Army intelligence sergeant subjected to... Roger Ailes: People Are Imperfect — Especially the idiots who voted for this ass: [snipped quote] They're not surprising because you... |
Rich Lowry: THIS SOUNDS AWFUL — From the Washington Post, the case of a soldier who reported abuse of detainees in Iraq: "The... |
40 Years of Character By / NYT — Permalink The Public Interest will cease publication next month. This may not seem very important, since the magazine has never had more than 10,000 subscribers. But over the past 40 years, The Public Interest has had more influence on domestic policy than any other journal in the country - by far. | |
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Ginny @ChicagoBoyz: R.I.P. from Brooks — David Brooks pays tribute to Public Interest and its founders, whose interest in public policy led... Roger Ailes: Give The People What They Want — Good riddance. |
Rich Lowry: NICE FAREWELL... ...to the Public Interest by David Brooks. |
Unexpected Whiff of Freedom Proves Bracing for the Mideast By / NYT — Permalink CAIRO, March 5 - The leaders of about half of Egypt's rickety opposition parties sat down for one of their regular meetings this week under completely irregular circumstances. In the previous few days, President Hosni Mubarak opened presidential elections to more than one candidate, and street demonstrators helped topple Lebanon's government. | |
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James Joyner: Unexpected Whiff of Freedom Proves Bracing for the Mideast — From tomorrow's New York Times: Unexpected Whiff of... |
Josh Marshall: Don't miss this article in the Times about stirrings of change in the Middle East. |
Pro and Con Line Up as Bush Presses Social Security Effort NYT — Permalink SOUTH BEND, Ind., March 4 - Stepping into a rapidly escalating battle for public support, President Bush tried to jumpstart his uphill drive for personal Social Security accounts on Friday, asserting that the retirement system requires a drastic change and challenging skeptics to put their own ideas forward. | |
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Digby: Mr Positive — "I like doing this, by the way - I like going around the country, saying, 'Folks, we have got a... Tom Maguire: Cue The Theme Music — Republicans and Democrats made their cases to address the Social Security puzzle, and the NY... Rich Lowry: "THE STEEPER THE BETTER" — New York Times quotes Bush at Notre Dame: "Someone said, 'It's a steep hill to climb, Mr. President,' " Mr. Bush said. |
DeLong: (Joshua Micah Marshall Gets Shrill Department) Today his screeds of unbalanced shrillness are directed against George W... Echidne @AmStreet: The most recent news indicate that Bush is beginning to backpedal a little on the privatization plot. Josh Marshall: Now we would be remiss if we did not note that the Times article covering the day's events adopted what can only be... |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds | |
'Deadwood': Still Shooting From the Hip By / WaPo — Permalink Wests don't get much wilder than David Milch's, as the return of his "Deadwood" to an otherwise rather barren HBO schedule makes invigoratingly clear. As much as any other Western town in any other Western, Deadwood — which is really a camp hoping to be a... | |
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Tom Maguire: A Tom Wolfe Fan — Tim Graham of the Corner mocks the WaPo's very own Tom Shales for his review of the HBO series... |
Tim Graham: I know this may be Stuttaford bait, but can Washington Post TV "critic" Tom Shales be any deeper in the tank for HBO than in today's "Deadwood" review? |
Hostage recalls 'hail of gunfire' BBC — Permalink Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena has described how she came under a "hail of gunfire" moments after being released from her Iraqi abductors in Baghdad. "I was especially shocked because we thought that by then the danger was past," she told Italy's Rai radio. | |
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Charles Johnson: The Radical Left's Cause du Jour — The cause du jour of the left is anti-American communist (that's not a judgment... |
Jeff Goldstein: Through the Looking Glass with Giuliana Sgrena — Released Italian "hostage" Giuliana Sgrena, whose vehicle the US... |
Bush Sets Up Social Security 'War Room' By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - A new Social Security war room inside the Treasury Department is pumping out information to sell President Bush 's plan, much like any political campaign might do. It's part of a coordinated effort by the Bush administration. | |
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Atrios: And, can anyone explain why there isn't a parade of graduates of the Barbizon School of Former Prosecutors on every cable channel discussing this? |
Chris Andersen: Weak responses will kill us — This AP story has more information on the Bush administrations plan to use taxpayer funds to support its political agenda. |
FAMILY'S FATAL VISION New York Post — Permalink The youngest member of the massacred Jersey City Coptic clan was butchered after recognizing a neighbor as one of the men who invaded her home. The sighting, which came as the girl made a desperate escape bid, sparked the slaughter of her entire family. | |
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Damian Penny: Originally suspected by many bloggers (including myself) to be an Islamic extremist, the accused killer is a neighbour... Steve M.: Edward McDonald, 25, who rented a second-floor apartment above the Armanious family, and an acquaintance, Hamilton... |
Hindrocket: The New York Post reports. Thankfully—I guess—the crime was not religiously motivated. |
Arrests Fail to Mend Muslim-Christian Rift By / NYT — Permalink For Egyptian-Americans in New Jersey, the nightmare seemed to come true in January. A Christian family of four was found slaughtered in their Jersey City home. It was rumored that the father had exchanged angry words with a Muslim on the Internet. | |
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Roger Ailes: An NYT article discusses the religious tensions the bloggers were praying would erupt into a holy war. |
Michelle Malkin: Related: Arrests Fail to Mend Muslim-Christian Rift *** Update: Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, which published... |
Peter Malkin Telegraph — Permalink Peter Malkin, who has died aged 77, was the Mossad agent who grabbed Adolf Eichmann from a street in Buenos Aires and spirited him to Jerusalem, where he was tried for war crimes. | |
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Damian Penny: Thank you, Mr. Malkin — The man who captured Adolf Eichmann has died: Peter Malkin, who has died aged 77, was the... |
Roger L. Simon: Here is the obit from the London Telegraph and here are some words from Brother Ledeen who, as most know, has more than a passing (that word again!) interest in espionage. |
Who Should Apologize to Whom? Arab News — Permalink Where is the country that Bill Clinton, a former president of the United States, feels ideologically most at home? Before you answer, here is the condition that such a country must fulfill: It must hold several consecutive elections that produce 70 percent majorities for "liberals and progressives." | |
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McQ: Amir Taheri is a bit taken aback by some admiring things Bill Clinton has been saying about Iran: [snipped quote] Why is... Betsy Newmark: Amir Taheri looks at some things that Bill Clinton has been saying recently that are, frankly, almost unbelievable. Charles Johnson: At the ArabNews (which raises some red flags), Amir Taheri has an almost unbelievable account of statements by former President Bill Clinton in Davos: Who Should Apologize to Whom? |
Hindrocket: Amir Taheri writes that first in Davos, then in a subsequent television interview, former President Bill Clinton... Orrin Judd: OBLIGATORY MULLAH REFERENCE: Who Should Apologize to Whom? Pejman Yousefzadeh: QUOI? Please tell me that this is some kind of joke. No American President could actually be this gullible, could they? |
| Also: Lorie Byrd | |
Lebanese troops circle Syria's Beirut intelligence offices CNN — Permalink DAMASCUS, Syria (CNN) — Lebanese army troops and armored vehicles took up positions Saturday around the Syrian intelligence headquarters in Beirut. The move comes ahead of an expected announcement from Syrian President Bashar Assad, within a few hours, that he will withdraw some troops from Lebanon and redeploy others within the country. | |
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Captain Ed: CNN reports that the Lebanese Army has taken positions around the Syrian intelligence headquarters in Beirut, an ominous... |
Damian Penny: The pressure builds — Lebanese troops have surrounded Syria's intelligence offices in Beirut. |
Efforts to Hide Sensitive Data Pit 9/11 Concerns Against Safety By / NYT — Permalink They are just pieces of cardboard, and they cover less than a square foot on the side of railroad tank car. But behind them lies a post-9/11 competition between public safety and national security. | |
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Nathan Newman: Or so goes the logic of the Bush administration's most recent brilliant idea to remove railcar signs warning people of... |
James Joyner: Efforts to Hide Sensitive Data Pit 9/11 Concerns Against Safety (rss) "They are just pieces of cardboard, and they cover less than a square foot on the side of railroad tank car. |
Crime and Punishment, the Celebrity Version By / NYT — Permalink WAS the conviction of Martha Stewart for lying to federal investigators worth the effort? For her, "the last five months in Alderson, West Virginia has been life altering and life affirming," Ms. Stewart gushed in a statement on her Web site on Friday. | |
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John Cole: The Wrong Mentality — If you want to know everything that is wrong with our prison system, just look at this paragraph... |
Orin Kerr: You can see the online version here. |
Violent New Front in Drug War Opens on the Canadian Border By / NYT — Permalink SEATTLE, March 2 - The drugs move across the Canadian border inside huge tractor-trailer rigs, pounds and pounds stashed in drums of frozen raspberries, tucked in shipments of crushed glass, wood chips and sawdust, or crammed into hollowed-out logs, in secret compartments that agents refer to as "coffins." | |
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Steven Taylor: Borders and Drugs: The Great White North — For those wo fixate on the 2,000ish mile US-Mexican border, here's a... Jeralyn Merritt: B.C. Bud and the Canadian Border — The latest rage in the drug war is occurring over B.C. bud and the Canadian Border. |
Orrin Judd: Violent New Front in Drug War Opens on the Canadian Border (SARAH KERSHAW, 3/05/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] Just let... |
ChoicePoint Data Cache Became a Powder Keg WaPo — Permalink The man on the phone called himself James Garrett. Speaking with a lilting accent, the man said he was an executive with a Los Angeles company called M.B.S Financial. He told an employee at ChoicePoint Inc. that he wanted to open an online account with the company to receive electronic reports on people. | |
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James Joyner: ChoicePoint Sting Highlights Identity Theft Issue — ChoicePoint Data Cache Became a Powder Keg (WaPo, A01) "The man on the phone called himself James Garrett. Kevin Drum: THE CHOICEPOINT STING....In the Washington Post today, Robert O'Harrow Jr. tells the story of the investigation that uncovered the massive ChoicePoint fraud. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Choice Point on the Hot Seat — Identity theft and fraud are big problems, and data accumulator and seller Choice Point... |
Freed Hostage Wounded by U.S. Troops By / WaPo — Permalink ROME, March 4 — U.S. troops near Baghdad fired on a car Friday night carrying an Italian journalist who had just been freed after a month in captivity, wounding her and another passenger and killing an Italian military intelligence officer, according to Italian and U.S. officials. | |
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Billmon: More Anti-Military Slurs from the MSM — Freed Hostage Wounded by U.S. Troops U.S. troops near Baghdad fired on a car... |
Baldilocks: Italian Hostage, Released in Iraq, Is Shot by G.I.'s U.S. Fires on Freed Hostage Freed Italian Reporter Hurt in Iraq... |
Two Legislators Withdraw in Impatience From Fragile Shiite Coalition By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 4 - Two newly elected politicians announced Friday that they were withdrawing from the fragile political alliance cobbled together by the country's most powerful Shiite cleric, marking the first notable fracture within the alliance. | |
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Rich Lowry: SHIITE COALITION FRACTURES... ...as was always inevitable. Two points. Matthew Yglesias: Substantive Blogging Returns — Nobody seems to be paying much attention, and I must admit that I've let my attention... |
Steven Taylor: Coalition Building 101 *Sigh*-it really would be nice if reporters at the NYT understood some of the basic of... |
US Draws Jeers for Abortion Comments at UN By / Reuters — Permalink UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Jeers and catcalls greeted the top U.S. delegate to a global women's conference on Friday as she stressed Washington's opposition to abortion and support for sexual abstinence and fidelity. | |
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Baldilocks: UPDATE: Just when you though you'd heard and seen enough, here's more proof of what the UN is: "UNITED NATIONS... Yuval Rubinstein: You've got to hand it to the Bush Administration—they always come up with new and, er, innovative ways to utterly... |
JD @SouthernAppeal: The UN—useless as teats on a boar hog, and just as cuddly: Look at how the sophisticates at the UN dealt with the... |
Mistaken U.S. attack wounds Italian journalist MSNBC — Permalink ROME - A U.S. armored vehicle in Iraq fired on a car carrying a freed Italian hostage Friday, wounding her and killing an Italian intelligence officer, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Inscrutable — I agree with Dr. Atrios that we should not jump to conclusions about the shooting of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena and the killing of agent Nicola Calipari. Lindsay Beyerstein: Giuliana Sgrena — Atrios and Maha are absolutely right—it's too early to assign responsibility for the incident that... James Joyner: Update: Rusty and Michelle Malkin point out a minor omission from the AP report than The fact that the car in question was MSNBC adds: [snipped quote] Talk about your stupid. |
Captain Ed: As MS-NBC noted yesterday, the shooting commenced because the Italians refused to slow their car down as it approached a... Michelle Malkin: Update: Reader Greg points out that the Reuters story left out an important part of the story: turns out the car was... Jeralyn Merritt: Today, in mistaken attack, U.S. troops fired on her car, wounding her and killing a security agent. Ms. Sgrena is expected to recover. |
U.S. Fires on Car Carrying Freed Journalist Fox News — Permalink WASHINGTON — A U.S. armored vehicle in Iraq fired on a car Friday that was carrying a freed Italian hostage, injuring the hostage and killing an Italian intelligence agent, according to military sources. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: I cannot remember interim PM Iyad Allawi reacting as stiffly to such incidents as Berlusconi just did" Still, some... Joe Gandelman: U.S. Forces Fire On Freed Italian Hostage In Iraq — There are tragedies within tragedies in the Iraq saga — and... Jeff Goldstein: libera — The Jawa report is your one-stop link dump for news and commentary on Giuliana Sgrena, the anti-American... |
Jan Haugland: Yet, this incident is obviously not what Silvio Berlusconi needs locally! PS: Sgrena was a left-wing journalist. James Joyner: U.S. Fires on Freed Journalist Giuliana Sgrena — U.S. Fires on Freed Journalist (Fox News - AP) [snipped quote] Talk about your bad luck. |
When Democrats Join the Dark Side By / LAT — Permalink Not long ago, I was listening to Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) being interviewed, and I was struck at how intelligent and morally serious he was. Biden is justly viewed as a smart foreign policy hawk, but he also expressed his opposition to Social Security privatization in a particularly lucid way. | |
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Fred Clark: Here's Chait's summary of the bill, in an L.A. Times piece titled "When Democrats Join the Dark Side": This is one of... Barbara O'Brien: According to Jonathan Chait, the bill doesn't address long-time loopholes that permit the rich to stash millions away in... Matthew Yglesias: Jon Chait takes a look at the strange case of Joe Biden's support for the bankruptcy bill thanks to some... |
Avedon Carol: Jonathan Chait, in The Los Angeles Times, talks about When Democrats Join the Dark Side - specifically in this case,... Ezra Klein: Regarding Biden and his potential vote for the atrocious bankruptcy bill, Jon Chait writes: [snipped quote] Just so. |
A Quest for a Restroom That's Neither Men's Room Nor Women's Room By / NYT — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO - Political epiphanies can occur in unexpected places. For Riki Dennis, a 35-year-old humanities student who is transsexual, it was the women's room at a rest stop on Highway 101 north of Santa Barbara. | |
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Joe Gandelman: How Could People IGNORE This Vital Issue? by Joe Gandelman There is a vital issue lurking beneath America's underbelly... Hei Lun: THE LAST FRONTIER OF INTEGRATION — Unisex public bathrooms? Count me as being in favor. I don't know the social implications, and do not much care. Will Baude: Both of these topics for blogospheric debate come, of course, from the New York Times— this column by David Brooks and this article by Patricia Brown. |
Chris Lawrence: Where only one gender has gone before — A couple of interesting things I noticed today are being discussed at Begging... Ann Althouse: I understand the problem transgendered persons sometimes have in finding an acceptable public bathroom, but I consider... Jonah Goldberg: Anyway, here's a good example of what I'm talking about From the New York Times: "SAN FRANCISCO - Political epiphanies can occur in unexpected places. |
Byrd Droppings By / Weekly Standard — Permalink WHEN DEMOCRATIC SENATOR ROBERT BYRD rose on the floor Tuesday to compare the tactics of his Republican colleagues in the battles over judicial nominees to those employed by Hitler in building the Reich, you knew two things. | |
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Steven Taylor: Speaking of Robert Byrd… "Professor Bainbridge notes a Weekly Standard piece by Hugh Hewitt which contains the... Hugh Hewitt: My WeeklyStandard.com column, "Byrd Droppings," is up. You can guess what it is about. And "Agent Tim" reviews Blog. Betsy Newmark: Hugh Hewitt believes (somwhat optimistically, I fear) taht Robert Byrd's rants against the move to limit filibusters on... |
Chris Lawrence: Update: Hugh Hewitt, writing for the Weekly Standard, finds Byrd singing a different tune about rules changes in 1979 too (þ: Prof. Bainbridge). Pejman Yousefzadeh: "BYRD DROPPINGS" — Hugh Hewitt gives Robert Byrd another much needed kick in the pants: "WHEN DEMOCRATIC SENATOR... Steve Bainbridge: Robert Byrd — While the MSM continues to give ex-KKK member Robert Byrd a pass on his Nazi analogy, as even Howard... |
| Also: C. D. Harris, Ed Driscoll | |
Bush has made spent fuel of Frist's 'nuclear option' The Hill — Permalink Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) rocked Washington last week by threatening that he might invoke the "nuclear option" and rule that filibusters of judicial nominations are unconstitutional. He is only spewing hot air. | |
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Avedon Carol: Bearing in mind that you can rarely believe a word Dick Morris says, here's an interesting rumination on why the Senate Republicans haven't - yet - invoked the nuclear option. James Joyner: Dick Morris, who's generally annoying but usually a shrewd political analyst, spins a rather implausible tale of... Orrin Judd: MISTAKING A STRAIGHT LINE FOR A TRIANGLE (via Daniel Merriman): Bush has made spent fuel of Frist's 'nuclear option'... |
Joe Gandelman: Yet another flambouyant political analysis for former Clinton friend and now Clinton nemesis Dick Morris. Moe Freedman: A funny thing happened on the way to the nuclear option by Moe Freedman Dick Morris says that all the talk about... |
Two Charged in Slaying of Egyptian Family By / AP — Permalink The upstairs neighbor of an Egyptian Christian family found slain in their home in January was charged along with another man Friday in the killings, and authorities said the motive was robbery, not religious fanaticism, as some had feared. | |
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Roger Ailes: Here's the story: [snipped quote] Each of the above-refenced bloggers was advancing the theory that the killings were an... Charles Bird: Associated Press reported the arrest of two murder suspects, Edward McDonald and Hamilton Sanchez: "But Hudson County... |
Ace: An upstair neighbor of the butchered family — named MacDonald — and an accused accomplice — named Sanchez — have... Glenn Reynolds: NEW JERSEY KILLINGS UPDATE: [snipped quote] This is actually a relief, in a way, assuming that Sanchez & McDonald turn out to be guilty. |
A little free advice NY Daily News — Permalink Publish a tasteless cover story that ostensibly plays 84-year-old Pope John Paul's current medical ordeal for laughs. The story - by Press contributing editor Matt Taibbi - is headlined: "The 52 Funniest Things About the Upcoming Death of the Pope." | |
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McQ: For once in my life I find myself in complete agreement with both Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton Tim Graham: OVERBOARD AND OUT TO SEA — One way of telling the New York Press has totally gone beyond the pale in publishing a story... |
Stefan Beck: Some people are shocked and appalled. I'm not. Catholic-bashing is so common and so safe (no pesky fatwas to worry... |
U.S. May Aid Iran Activists LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is considering a more aggressive effort to foster opposition inside Iran and seeking ways to use a new $3-million fund to support activists without exposing them to the risk of arrest. | |
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Robert Tagorda: First, in noting that this initiative is backed by the White House, proponents take shots at the old diplomatic guard:... Cookie Jill: [quote] "There are some that want to engage in a more confrontational democratization effort within Iran," he said. [end quote] oh,... Orrin Judd: GIVING THE BOOT TO REALISM: U.S. May Aid Iran Activists: Officials at State have money in hand but are still weighing how to best effect change. |
Ezra Klein: Bad Move — There's really nothing more counterproductive than leaks on Iran. Pejman Yousefzadeh: At last, we may be getting the Iran policy out of this Administration I have dreamed of getting: [snipped quote] Given... K. J. Lopez: GIVING IRANIANS A HAND — In today's LATimes: "The Bush administration is considering a more aggressive effort to foster... |
No Foul Play in Death of Lobbyist LAT — Permalink The death of Republican media advisor R. Gregory Stevens, whose body was found in a guest room at the Los Angeles home of friend and actress Carrie Fisher, did not involve foul play, an official said Friday. "No foul play is suspected," said Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman David Campbell. | |
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Kevin Roderick: Saturday update: Now they are on it. No foul play suspected, the coroner tells the Times and AP. |
James Joyner: Update (3-5): No Foul Play in Death of Lobbyist (LAT) "The death of Republican media advisor R. Gregory Stevens, whose... |
The Road to Damascus By / WaPo — Permalink Revolutions do not stand still. They either move forward or die. We are at the dawn of a glorious, delicate, revolutionary moment in the Middle East. It was triggered by the invasion of Iraq, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and televised images of 8 million Iraqis voting in a free election. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Charles Krauthammer has a wonderful column that, for Krauthammer, is cautiously optimistic, about what the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon can mean for the whole region. Norm Geras: Charles Krauthammer is more optimistic: "Dictatorships such as Assad's rule by fear, which is sustained by power and the illusion of power. Pejman Yousefzadeh: ON THE NEED FOR MOMENTUM — Charles Krauthammer wisely points out that now is not the time to go wobbly: [snipped quote] Quite so. |
McQ: Charles Krauthammer gives us a little insight: "Because a forced Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon could bring down the Assad dictatorship. Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: And Charles Krauthammer is also right when he says that we need to keep the momentum going: "Revolution is in the air. Michael Young: Dedication — Just thought I'd dedicate this link to Flynt Everett, who was, again, rightfully spat upon, this time by Charles Krauthammer. |
Labor of Politics Opinion Journal — Permalink The leaders of the AFL-CIO beat back an internal revolt this week, and the biggest winner was . . . the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. John Sweeney, president of the union federation for about a decade, defeated a challenge led by the Teamsters and Service workers who wanted to spend more on union organizing. | |
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Dean Esmay: Problem With The AFL-CIO by Dean The Wall Street Journal notes that, sadly, the AFL-CIO chooses to concentrate on donating money to politicians rather than recruiting new members. |
Orrin Judd: LAST BASTION OF BOSSISM: Labor of Politics: The AFL-CIO decides backing Democrats is more important than expanding its membership. |
Couple tests Texas law protecting unborn By / AP — Permalink LUFKIN, Texas — The would-be teen mother arrived by ambulance last May, her belly bruised, the twin fetuses she carried for five months gone and her lips tightly sealed. | |
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John Cole: Disgusting — Lindsay Beyerstein points to this dreadful story: [snipped quote] I agree. |
Lindsay Beyerstein: Teen charged with murder for inducing miscarriage — An 18-year-old boy from Lufkin, Texas has been charged with capital... |
Eurospeak NRO — Permalink Sorting out the teenage sass. President Bush supposedly charmed the Europeans, and now they purportedly don't hate us any more. But from the recent trip, it is clear that Americans can still expect two things from the European public and its leadership: deep-seeded anti-Americanism and embarrassing contradictions. | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: Diagnosing the European condition — Victor Davis Hanson, whom I interviewed earlier this week, has another great piece... |
Betsy Newmark: Victor Davis Hanson has some fun with comparing Europeans to sulky teenagers. |
Rosen: CU is worth fighting for Rocky Mountain News — Permalink Thank you Ward Churchill! As the poster child for so much of what's wrong with higher education today, you moved this issue from the back burner to the front burner of public policy. Whether you stay or go is merely another battle. This is about the war of ideas. | |
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Acidman: ain't gonna happen — This is a pretty good read that reflects my opinion of most universities today. Maimon Schwarzschild: They're Beginning to Notice — Ward Churchill, and the academic iceberg of which he is the tip, is beginning to produce... |
Greg Ransom: A debate. UPDATE: The universities are the power base of the left: [snipped quote] A modest proposal — privatize CU. |
When Good News Feels Bad By / New York Magazine — Permalink After the blizzard and before the fashion shows, you may have heard, the elections in Iraq went off extremely well. Remember? Or, like most New Yorkers, perhaps you let that fact slide from your consciousness as quickly as possible . . . | |
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Orrin Judd: (MARK BROWN, February 1, 2005, Chicago SUN-TIMES) -When Good News Feels Bad (Kurt Andersen, 2/21/05, New York Magazine)... |
Tim Cavanaugh: Andersen unwittingly initiates hostilities with a breathy, tormented column considering the conscientious liberal's question of the week: What if Bush was right? |
Bush's Supply-Side Boom NRO — Permalink Witness the economic power of lower marginal tax-rate incentives. The economy is on a tear. You might not know this from coverage in the mainstream media, which may have a built-in bias against George W. Bush. | |
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PGL: Update 2: Lawrence Kudlow - aka the household survey measure is the more reliable - writes: "Friday's payroll-jobs... |
Betsy Newmark: Lawrence Kudlow looks at more stats to show the supply side success of Bush's tax cut. |
Key Iraq wound: Brain trauma By / USA Today — Permalink A growing number of U.S. troops whose body armor helped them survive bomb and rocket attacks are suffering brain damage as a result of the blasts. It's a type of injury some military doctors say has become the signature wound of the Iraq war. | |
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Steve M.: UPDATE: And gosh, what on earth could those African-Americans be so squeamish about? |
K. J. Lopez: "SIGNATURE INJURY" OF THE IRAQ WAR — Brain trauma. |
Less Swearing on TV, Demands Former Sex Pistol Reuters — Permalink LONDON (Reuters) - "Wanna be an anarchist?" At least one of the Sex Pistols, now middle-aged and a father of two, no longer does. Former Pistols bassist Glen Matlock has called for swearing on British television to be curbed, nearly 30 years after... | |
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Scott Sala: The Evolution of Politics — Proving the mantra that if you're not liberal when you're young, you have no heart, and if... |
Clayton Cramer: Who Wants British TV To Have Less Swearing? Why, someone who was a member of the Sex Pistols, of course! |
Republican media adviser found dead By / Washington Times — Permalink Republican media adviser R. Gregory Stevens, who recently served as co-chairman of the Bush/Cheney Entertainment Task Force, was found dead Saturday in the Hollywood home of actress Carrie Fisher. "He passed away here, and in a place where he was loved," Miss Fisher said yesterday from her home in Los Angeles. | |
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Kevin Roderick: GOP adviser found dead by Carrie Fisher * R. Gregory Stevens, 42, was a houseguest of the actress in Hollywood for Oscar weekend, the Washington Times says. |
James Joyner: Republican Media Adviser Greg Stevens Found Dead — Republican media adviser found dead (WaTi) "Republican media... |
DON'T GET COCKY By / New York Post — Permalink FOR three years, this column has shot down the pessi mists who warned we were bound to fail in the Middle East. Now those of us who see our confidence vindicated must beware a premature euphoria. There's plenty of work ahead. Our successes have been remarkable. | |
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McQ: Cautious optimism is the phrase of the day — Ralph Peters issues a sober reminder that although things are looking... James Joyner: Peters: Don't Get Cocky — Ralph Peters issues a word of caution: [snipped quote] Quite right. |
Glenn Reynolds: RALPH PETERS: "Don't Get Cocky!" "FOR three years, this column has shot down the pessi mists who warned we were bound to fail in the Middle East. |
Rossi team issues list of "felon" voters Seattle Times — Permalink Attorneys for Republican Dino Rossi yesterday released the names of more than 1,000 people who allegedly cast illegal votes in November's disputed gubernatorial election. | |
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Stefan Sharkansky: WASHINGTON UPDATE — The Washington State Republicans released a list yesterday of more than 1,100 people believed to be felons who voted illegally in November 2004. Taegan Goddard: GOP Releases Illegal Voter List — Washington gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi (R) [snipped quote] the Seattle Times reports. |
Jim Boulet: 1,135 = 129 — Attorneys for Republican Dino Rossi, Washington State's Republican nominee for governor in 2004, have... |
Chimps critically injure sanctuary visitor AP — Permalink BAKERSFIELD, California (AP) — A couple's plans for a birthday party for their former pet chimpanzee turned tragic when two other chimps at an animal sanctuary escaped from their cage and attacked. The man was critically injured with massive wounds to his face, body and limbs, and the attacking animals were shot dead. | |
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Oliver @LiquidList: CNN is running a story about a man who lost his nose, foot, and testicles in a vicious chimp attack. |
Orrin Judd: WE ARE FAMILY (via Bryan Francoeur): Chimps critically injure sanctuary visitor (AP, 3/04/05) [snipped quote] Bet they... |
Harry Reid a soft-spoken lawmaker with a punch By / Knight Ridder — Permalink SEARCHLIGHT, Nev. - In Washington, he's the Senate Democratic leader, afforded all the deference and courtesies of his position. But here, amid the Joshua trees and russet hills of the Nevada desert, Harry Reid is simply "Pinky," the hard-rock miner's son who, on a good day, may get a corner booth at the Searchlight Nugget. | |
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Bill @INDCJournal: Captain Ed maligns Letterman's "suck-up." *** Open mouth ... [snipped quote] ... insert foot. Why? Steve Antler: Vast left-wing conspiracy speaks out? Hmmm... Are these statements somehow coordinated with these statements? |
David Cohen: PINKY AND THE BRAIN — Harry Reid a soft-spoken lawmaker with a punch (James Kuhnhenn, Knight Ridder Newspapers,... |
Hundreds rally for Azeri funeral BBC — Permalink Hundreds of people are reported to have gathered at a cemetery in Azerbaijan for the funeral of independent journalist Elmar Huseynov. Huseynov, widely known for his outspoken criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities, was shot outside his flat in the capital, Baku, on Wednesday. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Instapundit notes this demonstration going on elsewhere, reported by the BBC: "Thousands of people have turned out for... |
Glenn Reynolds: AZERBAIJAN UPDATE: Hundreds protest at the funeral of a murdered journalist. |
He Did Time, So He's Unfit to Do Hair By / NYT — Permalink AS someone who has done time himself, Marc La Cloche is happy for Martha Stewart. She has managed to turn life in federal prison into a nifty career move. Her company's stock is soaring, and she has plans for not one but two television shows. | |
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Kerry Howley: The New York Times reports on his sad struggle for acceptance into New York's haircutting community post-prison: "In... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Not in New York, not if you want to be a hairstylist and have been to prison. "Mr. [Marc] La Cloche served 11 years in New York prisons for first-degree robbery. |
For Drivers, a Traffic Jam of Distractions AP — Permalink MICHAEL TRUJILLO is beginning to sound like an outlaw. He has turned against a law he was instrumental in passing. As vice chairman of the Public Safety Committee for Santa Fe, N.M. , Mr. Trujillo supported and promoted the city's adoption three years ago of a ban on the use of all but hands-free cellphones while driving. | |
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Jacob Sullum: "In the beginning I pushed it pretty hard," he tells The New York Times. "But then I realized, 'God, how stupid is this law? |
John Cole: Stupid Legislation — Jacob Sollum discusses something that has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time- state laws... |