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Transcript of President Bush's Press Conference NYT — Permalink Following is the text of President Bush's news conference as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions, Inc. BUSH: Good evening. Tonight I will discuss two vital priorities for the American people, and then I'd be glad to answer some of your questions. | |
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Norbizness: Wow. Here's the transcript, with alterations and severe compacting, of course. — BUSH: Good evening. Steve Soto: Read the text of Bush's press conference tonight, and you'll see that despite the announcements today from the White... |
Joe Gandelman: You can read the transcript of the President's wide-ranging press conference here. It was called ostensibly to talk about Social Security, and Bush did that. Oliver @LiquidList: Politics: "No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer...Sham On" — From the The Preemption tonight. |
Frist Won't Budge on Filibuster Demands By / AP — Permalink "/ President Bush's past or present nominees to federal appellate court benches or the Supreme Court. "Throughout this debate, we have held firm to a simple principle, judicial nominees deserve up-or-down votes," Frist said. | |
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Captain Ed: Frist Stands Firm, Sets No Timetable — Senator Bill Frist reiterated today that the Republicans would accept no... Commissar: It looks like the Senate Republicans are holding firm on the filibuster issue. Dr. Steven Taylor: Early Reporting on the Frist Offer — Via the AP: Frist Won't Budge on Filibuster Demands - Yahoo! |
Joe Gandelman: Frist Compromise: More Debate Time But No Filibuster — Message from Senator Bill Frist to Democrats: I'll give you debate time but absolutely no filibuster. Jayson @PoliPundit: Frist is demanding, as he should, that all of Dubya's appeals court nominees must receive up or down floor votes. |
Local Listeners Tune Out Talk Radio By / WaPo — Permalink What a difference an election makes. No, we're not talking about the fortunes of a rich and powerful democracy. This is about talk radio. And even in the nation's capital, post-election, people seem to have had their fill of politically oriented talk on the airwaves. | |
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John Hawkins: Nah, It's Just The Offseason An article at the WAPO about declining talk show ratings has been drawing some attention around the blogosphere: What a difference an election makes. Ann Althouse: Here's a piece in the Washington Post about how people in Washington don't listen to talk radio much anymore. Jay Rosen: The Migration — "While people in the old press pack up, and tell stories about giants they knew in the era when... they are also asking each other: where headed? |
Joe Gandelman: Political Talk Radio In DC Is Giving Listeners A Big, Fat Headache — Bad news for Rush, Sean, Michael, Randi and Al:... James Joyner: Local Listeners Tune Out Talk Radio (WaPo, C1) [snipped quote] One wonders how these ratings compare to comparable periods. Jim Romenesko: Additional items for April 28, 2005 > Lehrer: "NewsHour" is going through a big re-examination (low) (CNN) >... |
| Also: Jeff Jarvis | |
Salazar regrets 'Antichrist' barb By / Rocky Mountain News — Permalink WASHINGTON - Sen. Ken Salazar said Wednesday he regrets referring to Focus on the Family and its founder James Dobson as "the Antichrist" - a term among the worst slurs in Christianity. | |
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Dale Franks: Sen Ken Salazar (D-CO) now says that he "regrets" referring to Dr. James Dobson and the "Focus on the Family" organization as "The Antichrist". Glenn Reynolds: OOPS: [snipped quote] If the Republicans are overplaying the religion card, well, so are the Democrats, in a different way. K. J. Lopez: DOBSON IS NOT THE "ANTI-CHRIST" — Ken Salazar "regrets" having said he was. |
John Cole: The AntiChrist — Nice: "Sen. Ken Salazar said Wednesday he regrets referring to Focus on the Family and its founder... Orrin Judd: Salazar regrets 'Antichrist' barb (M.E. Sprengelmeyer, April 28, 2005, Rocky Mountain News) [snipped quote] How are they ever going to appeal to Evangelicals? |
Anchor Judy Woodruff Leaving CNN in June By / AP — Permalink Judy Woodruff, the anchor of CNN's "Inside Politics," is leaving the network when her contract expires in June. Woodruff, 58, said Thursday that she hoped to teach, write and work on long-form documentaries. She'll also be a consultant and occasional contributor to CNN. | |
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Jim Romenesko: Woodruff to leave CNN when her contract expires in June — Associated Press Woodruff Judy Woodruff says she hopes to teach, write and work on long-form documentaries. K. J. Lopez: JUDY WOODRUFF is leaving CNN. Inside Politics might be the only CNN show I watch. |
Brian Stelter: CNN Offered Woodruff A New Contract... "This gives me the opportunity to sit back, take a deep breath and think about what I want to do," Judy Woodruff tells the Associated Press. Taegan Goddard: Woodruff Quits CNN — Anchor Judy Woodruff will leave CNN, the AP reports. The cable network [snipped quote] Link | Related News |
GOP 30 pick up a knife The Hill — Permalink Reps. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) and John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) have been meeting with 30 House Republicans over the past few weeks to coordinate a more aggressive strategy to defend Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), according to a Republican source familiar with the meetings. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: Still, a complementary Hill story on 30 House Republicans who have been planning a far more aggressive, down-and-dirty... Josh Marshall: From The Hill: [snipped quote] Lest anyone forget, both Feeney and Sweeney had high-profile roles in the Florida 2000 travesty. |
Cookie Jill: time to go to the "mattresses"...rethugs declare ethics war oh..yeah...this reeks of civility [snipped quote] have you... |
Court denies Limbaugh's appeal CNN — Permalink (CNN) — The Florida Supreme Court has turned down conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh's request to review a lower court decision that the state could seize his medical records. In a 4-3 decision, the court said it would not consider a motion for rehearing. | |
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Talking Dog: The Florida Supreme Court (by a 4-3 vote) decided to uphold the right of prosecutors to seek Rush Limbaugh's medical... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Rush Limbaugh Loses Appeal Over Medical Records — Rush Limbaugh lost his medical records appeal. |
Alabama Bill Targets Gay Authors CBS News — Permalink (CBS) A college production tells the story of Matthew Sheppard, a student beaten to death because he was gay. And soon, it could be banned in Alabama. Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. | |
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Edward _: Banning Books in Alabama — I'll tolerate just about any kind of crap the right-wing extremists in this country can... Stirling Newberry: Which word has too many syllables in it for the crank head Darwin denying porn monkeys that make up the Republican Party? |
Ted @CrookedTimber: Mr. Snicket, Alabama would like a word with you Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. Cookie Jill: "as cbs news correspondent mark strassmann reports, under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters." |
House Passes Budget That Cuts Medicaid By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The House narrowly passed a $2.6 trillion budget Thursday evening that would cut back the Medicaid health care program for the poor for the first time since 1997 in a step toward trimming federal deficits. | |
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Hunter @DailyKos: House Passes Budget Plan, 214-211 — The House just passed a compromise budget plan worked out between House and Senate Republicans. |
Susan Madrak: That's why they're trying to chip away at the foundation - just as they're doing now with Medicaid: "WASHINGTON - The... |
List of Iraqi Cabinet members approved CNN — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — After three months of a political stalemate, Iraq's National Assembly approved a list of Cabinet members Thursday to form a new government. Five positions have been filled temporarily after talks failed to produce a compromise. | |
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Juan Cole: Iraqi Cabinet — More details of the new Iraqi cabinet are now out. The big and rather ominous surprise is that Ahmad Chalabi is the temporary Petroleum Minister. Rich Lowry: IRAQ GOVERNMENT... ...is mostly set. Very good news. |
Roger L. Simon: The controversial Ahmed Chalabi has, according to the BBC, been named Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq - not to mention Acting Oil Minister. |
Jury Returns Death Sentence in GI Killings By / AP — Permalink "/ Iraq invasion, a barrage that prosecutors said was triggered by religious extremism. Sgt. Hasan Akbar, who gave a brief, barely audible apology hours earlier, stood at attention between his lawyers as the verdict was delivered. He showed no emotion. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Military Jury Returns Death Verdict — The evidence was he is legally sane because he understood the consequences of his... |
Charles Johnson: Death Penalty for Hasan Akbar — Hasan Akbar, the American Muslim who murdered his fellow soldiers at the start of the Iraq invasion, has been sentenced to death. |
Republican Leader Offers Compromise on Judges By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Bill Frist offered a compromise in a battle over President Bush's judicial nominees, but a top Democrat called it a "wet kiss" to the right wing. | |
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Joe Gandelman: The latest is Frist's compromise, as reported by Reuters: "Frist's proposal seeks to avert a showdown over Republican... |
RJ Eskow: The Great Compromise — The 'liberal media' are widely reporting that Bill Frist is offering Harry Reid a 'compromise' on judges. |
Scary Stuff NRO — Permalink There's a real venom on the Left against conservative Christians. Harper's Magazine's May cover stories about "The Christian Right's War On America," frightened me, although not the way Harper's meant them to. | |
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Jesse Taylor: It's Not Hate If You Didn't Mean To Say It — Stanley Kurtz decries the left's description of the Christian Right's War On Everything. Vox Day: A secularist Sudentanland — Stanley Kurtz writes on NRO: [snipped quote] It is a common tactic, when one is engaged in... |
Barbara O'Brien: The first Big Lie Kurtz is pushing is that criticism of the Christian Right amounts to a criticism of Christians, which is garbage. Stanley Kurtz: CHRISTIAN FASCISTS — The article from Harper's I discuss in today's piece is not available on the net, but you can find an excerpt about "Christian fascists" over at Mahablog. |
Woodpecker Thought to Be Extinct Is Sighted in Arkansas By / NYT — Permalink LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 28 - The ivory-billed woodpecker, a magnificent bird that ornithologists had long given up for extinct, has been sighted in the watery tupelo swampland of a wildlife refuge in Arkansas, scientists announced today. | |
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Chris Mooney: UPDATE: The New York Times seems to be leading the pack, billing the Ivory-Billed on the front page of its website and... Ann Althouse: The Lord God bird lives. Thrilling! A grown man breaks into sobs when he realizes what he has seen. Beautiful! |
Orrin Judd: NOT UNSELECTED AFTER ALL: Woodpecker Thought to Be Extinct Is Sighted in Arkansas (JAMES GORMAN, 4/28/05, NY Times)... |
Female amputees make clear that all troops are on front lines By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — On June 19, Lt. Dawn Halfaker and soldiers from her military police platoon were on a reconnaissance patrol in Baqouba, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded inside their armored Humvee, grievously wounding two of the soldiers inside. | |
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Donald Sensing: "Is this what America wants?" Army military police 1st. Tarek @LiquidList: While I remain dubious about its approach to news, I have seen enough good reporting come through the paper to know that it's available there. |
James Joyner: Female amputees make clear that all troops are on front lines (USA Today, p. 1) "On June 19, Lt. Dawn Halfaker and... |
Iraq parliament approves cabinet, government formed Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD, April 28 (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament approved a cabinet of ministers on Thursday, forming Iraq's first democratically elected government in more than 50 years. By an overwhelming majority, the 275-seat National Assembly approved the list of names put forward by Shi'ite Islamist Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. | |
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Jan Haugland: Iraq has a democratically elected cabinet — Iraq finally has a new government: Iraq's parliament approved a cabinet of... Laura Rozen: Via Atrios, Chalabi acting oil minister. More from Reuters. And, now that his old friend and former INC intel chief Aras Habib Karim is back from Tehran, what's his role? |
Steve M.: "Iraq Parliament Approves Cabinet, Government Formed," Reuters, 4/28/05 [Scott] Ritter had one other memorable encounter with Chalabi. Atrios: OOOOIIILLLLL — The precious. "BAGHDAD, April 28 (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament approved a cabinet of ministers on... |
'Smoking gun' on humans and global warming claimed MSNBC — Permalink Using ocean data collected by diving floats, U.S. climate scientists released a study Thursday that they said provides the "smoking gun" that ties manmade greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. Delivered to Your Inbox Each Week! The Most "WOW!" | |
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Norbizness: Today: "There can no longer be genuine doubt that humanmade gases are the dominant cause of observed warming," said Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. |
Steve Soto: This study, conducted by scientists from W's own government, pretty much ends the debate that there isn't enough science... |
Bush to unveil 'specific' ideas on Social Security AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - President Bush is ready to begin talking with Congress and the public about specific steps he supports to ensure the future of Social Security and will announce his ideas during a prime-time news conference Thursday. | |
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Steve Soto: OK, we are now being told that Bush will devote the first 10-12 minutes of his press conference tonight to finally offer... |
Brian Stelter: > "The White House asked television networks to broadcast the news conference, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET in the East Room of the White House," the AP reports. |
Economy Grows at Slowest Pace in Two Years By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Buffeted by rising energy prices and weakened consumer and business spending, the economy grew at an annual rate of just 3.1 percent in the first quarter. The slowest pace of expansion since in two years was evidence of a new "soft patch." | |
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Jayson @PoliPundit: "Economy Grows at Slowest Pace in Two Years" and "Dow Loses 128 Points on Weak GDP Report" raged the Associated Depressed. {gasp} It's gloom. Laura Rozen: "MORE SIGNS ECONOMY is weakening: Economy grows at slowest pace in two years," the AP reports. Scary. |
Steve Soto: Thursday Morning Quick Hits And Outrages — First Quarter GDP rose at 3.1%, its slowest rate in two years. |
GOP Leaders Reach Tentative Deal on Budget By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Top congressional Republicans reported agreement Thursday on a budget that envisions $10 billion in Medicaid savings over the next five years and at least $70 billion in tax cuts. "/ Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. | |
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Steve Soto: GOP House and Senate leaders this morning agreed in principle on a budget plan that contains $10 billion in Medicaid... Jayson @PoliPundit: BTW: Here's the liberal media's account. |
Joe Gandelman: The AP gives these details on the tentative deal: "House and Senate Republican leaders have reached tentative agreement... |
Mfume Accused of Favoritism At NAACP WaPo — Permalink Allegations detailed in a confidential NAACP report claim that Kweisi Mfume gave raises and promotions to women with whom he had close personal relationships while he was president of the nation's oldest civil rights organization. | |
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Captain Ed: Mfume, who wants to replace Democrat Paul Sarbanes, has been accused of misusing his position at the civil-rights... Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post has a front page story about a secret report that the NAACP made looking into allegations that Kwesi... |
Tom Maguire: In this era of the New Puritanism, the Washington Post seems to be straining for le mot juste: "Mfume Accused of... Taegan Goddard: Memo Could Roil Mfume Senate Bid — A confidential NAACP memo has surfaced, claiming that U.S. Senate candidate Kweisi... |
Red Stars NRO — Permalink Fellow travelers' walk of shame. Until people began to figure out the awful truth, I used to get regular mass e-mails from friends and acquaintances who assumed I was naturally on their side about various issues so dear to lefty hearts. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: CATHY SEIPP HAS THOUGHTS ON HOLLYWOOD and history. |
Eugene Volokh: Hollywood Communists: Cathy Seipp has a very good column on this. |
Bush to Announce Social Security Plans By / AP — Permalink "/ Social Security and will announce his ideas during a prime-time news conference Thursday. Bush was also using the formal question-and-answer session with reporters — his first in the evening in over a year — to talk about skyrocketing gas prices. | |
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Cernig: President Bush is to address the nation tonight, in his first live press conference in over a year. |
Josh Marshall: According to afternoon wire reports, at the president's primetime press conference tonight, he will finally tell the... |
Exploding toads in Germany: blame the crows AFP — Permalink BERLIN (AFP) - Toads have been exploding by the hundred in Germany because they are being attacked by crows, a veterinary surgeon revealed. Animal welfare workers and veterinarians had reported that as many as 1,000 toads had swelled to bursting point and exploded in recent days, propelling their entrails up to a metre (three feet) into the air. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: From the Case Files of the EARI — Remember Dave Barry's Exploding Animal Research Institute? Add toads to the list. |
Glenn Reynolds: A plague on both of their houses, I say. But only one of the minor ones, like the frogs. UPDATE: No, not these frogs. |
Paying on the Highway to Get Out of First Gear By / NYT — Permalink RIVERSIDE, Calif. - It is a California still life. In this land of mobile ambition and instant communities, life is on hold in the parking lot that is the Riverside Freeway, 10 miles or more going nowhere at all hours of the day on one of the most congested auto corridors in the world. | |
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James Joyner: Toll Roads Catching On — Paying on the Highway to Get Out of First Gear (NYT | RSS) [snipped quote] This idea would have... John Cole: Quite Literally, Pay as You Go — Interesting: [snipped quote] I guess this means the old saying "So and so is going... |
Stirling Newberry: Stealth Gas Tax — Here it comes people. America decided in 1981 to keep gas artificially cheap. Susan Madrak: THE GOOD OLD DAYS — More of the Right Type of social engineering the Republicans love. |
College Coarse By / TNR — Permalink Saad al-Din Ibrahim is one of Egypt's foremost sociologists and founder of the respected Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies at the American University of Cairo. He is also an outspoken pro-democracy activist who in 2000 dared to criticize President Hosni Mubarak's reported intention to install his son Gamal as his successor. | |
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Roger L. Simon: Bigots of Blighty — Will the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) respond to Efraim Karsh's illuminating... |
Norm Geras: AUT - 'not our finest hour' — Efraim Karsh in TNR Online (registration required): [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
With friends like these ... Guardian — Permalink Hi everybody! Allow me to introduce my innovative new publishing venture, a groundbreaking "group blog", where over 250 creative minds from every corner of my Rolodex weigh in on topics ranging from the political to the personal, and anything in between! | |
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Eugene Volokh: The Guardian (U.K.) has a sneak preview of Ariana Huffington's new blog. Thanks to Daniel Schmutter for the pointer. Mitch Berg: Huff, Puff — The Guardian's parody of Arianna Huffington's celebrity blog will probably be better than the real thing. |
Matt Welch: Meanwhile, the Guardian got a special preview of Arianna Huffington's new super-group. |
Houston bans offensive odor in libraries AP — Permalink HOUSTON (AP) — Those who want to browse books at Houston's public libraries should get enough sleep, eat and bathe before they begin to peruse the shelves. On Wednesday, the City Council passed a series of library regulations that some say are an attempt to discourage homeless people from visiting the public buildings. | |
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Oliver @LiquidList: Culture: The Sweet Smell of Keeping The Populace Stupid — Presenting, for your afternoon enjoyment: Jokes about Houston... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Houston Targets the Homeless — There's a new law in Houston, banning offensive odors in libraries, that critics say... |
Filibuster Vote Will Be Hard to Predict By / WaPo — Permalink As few as two or three uncommitted GOP senators have left Democrats and Republicans uncertain who might prevail in an eventual showdown in the battle over judicial filibusters, sources in both parties said yesterday. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: And today's Washington Post rundown quotes conservative consultant Bruce Fein saying that Warner "is not super-solid, but he'll probably go along." Taegan Goddard: Filibuster Vote Hard to Predict — "As few as two or three uncommitted GOP senators have left Democrats and Republicans... |
Steve Soto: And if you think the GOP won't now go after Democrats disproportionally with the reinstated rules and let DeLay off with... |
The Rubes in L.A. City Hall Have Swallowed Hollywood's Hard-Luck Story By / LAT — Permalink Remember when Hollywood liberals claimed to care about the world's poor? Man, those were the days. Now the richest people in Southern California, who sit on top of a booming $35-billion industry, are using their impressive political clout to punish the... | |
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Matt Welch: New L.A. Times Column — "The Rubes in L.A. City Hall Have Swallowed Hollywood's Hard-Luck Story": A little rant against... |
Tim Cavanaugh: Reason Writers Around Town — At The Los Angeles Times, Matt Welch says that if the city of L.A. was in the movie business only for the business, it wouldn't be in the business. |
Iraq's Parliament OKs Partial Cabinet By / AP — Permalink "/ Saddam Hussein's ouster to take power soon. However, two key posts in the 37-member Cabinet — defense and oil — remained disputed and the list failed to incorporate in a meaningful way the Sunni Arab minority due to a dispute over the suitability of Baathists who served in Saddam's regime. | |
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Commissar: Does anyone really need The Politburo Diktat to report that the Iraqi government has formed a cabinet? That's very important. |
Jayson @PoliPundit: And aren't they already being numbingly-pessimistic about the next steps to be taken? Sheesh, they're like broken records. |
Rasta Republican By / Opinion Journal — Permalink LOS ANGELES—Condoleezza Rice and Ward Connerly once epitomized black Republicans in California. But their ilk now also includes Ted Hayes, a social activist and inner-city coach whose billowing robes and dreadlocks don't exactly conjure up an image of the GOP. | |
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Orrin Judd: NOT LIKE A STEPPING RAZOR (David Hill, The Bronx) Rasta Republican: Meet Los Angeles's Ted Hayes. |
Steve Bainbridge: Rasta Republican — Los Angeles-based activist Ted Hayes has become, of all things, a Republican. Really. |
Disclosure of Legal Opinion on War Could Hurt Blair at Polls By / NYT — Permalink LONDON, April 27 - Eight days before Britain's national election, Prime Minister Tony Blair faced the potentially damaging disclosure on Wednesday of a document in which the government's lawyer cautioned him privately about the legality of taking Britain to war in Iraq in 2003 without specific new authorization from the United Nations. | |
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Larre @LeftCoaster: ('Disclosure of Legal Opinion on War Could Hurt Blair at Polls') media. |
Michael Froomkin: Blair Publishes Legal Advice On Legality of Iraq Invasion — UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose re-election campaign... |
House Passes Bill Tightening Parental Rule for Abortions By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 27 - The House passed a bill on Wednesday making it a federal crime for any adult to transport an under-age girl across state lines to have an abortion without the consent of her parents. | |
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Orin Kerr: House Passes Abortion Bill: The House passed a bill yesterday that would make it a federal crime for any adult to... Jeffrey Dubner: In case you haven't heard about it, when James Sensenbrenner's House Judiciary Committee reported the Child Interstate... Clayton Cramer: The House of Representatives passed a bill that prohibits anyone but a minor's parents from transporting her from one state to another for the purpose of obtaining an abortion. |
Matthew Yglesias: Another note on the bill the House passed yesterday cracking down on people who evade "parental notification"... Sarah Wildman: PLAN B. Yesterday the House passed the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), the most restrictive federal... Matt Welch: Putting the "Federal" Back Into Federalism — While you were busy not paying attention to Capitol Hill, the United... |
| Also: K. J. Lopez | |
Iraq's Ahmad Chalabi: He's now Mr. Oil Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq failed to name an oil minister for its new government on Thursday and controversial politician Ahmad Chalabi was appointed acting minister of an industry plagued by sabotage attacks and uncertainty. | |
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Tbogg: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness — If there was one moment when it should have become apparent to everyone that the... |
Laura Rozen: More from Reuters. And, now that his old friend and former INC intel chief Aras Habib Karim is back from Tehran, what's his role? |
Technology Is Key to Bush's Long-Term Energy Plan LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — President Bush, under pressure to do something about high energy prices, called Wednesday for new efforts to harness the "transformational power of technology" to wean the United States from its dependence on oil and gas. | |
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Phillip Carter: The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have good reports on the proposal. |
Pudentilla: post modern policy — [snipped quote] "no-plan plans" pitched to perplexed public. doesn't the headline assume the... |
Springtime for Senators NRO — Permalink The 2006 Senate races are underway. Blessed is the man who expects nothing, goes the old saying, for he shall never be disappointed. That's how Republicans are supposed to approach 2006, because of the political rule about midterm elections punishing the party that holds the White House. | |
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Orrin Judd: GIVE JOE THE U.N. : Springtime for Senators: The 2006 Senate races are underway. |
PoliPundit: 2006 Senate — John J. Miller rounds up the 2006 Senate races. My prediction remains the same as before: The most likely outcome is a net gain of 1 or 2 seats for the GOP. |
The New Old Journalism By / Wired News — Permalink We've been having a spirited discussion in the journalism department at New York University. With newspapers hemorrhaging readers and people migrating to the web for their daily news fix, should we consider changing the way we teach journalism? | |
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Terry Heaton: Teaching journalism in the 21st century — New York University professor Adam Penenberg asks provocative questions in an overdue story in Wired, The New Old Journalism. |
Jim Romenesko: Should universities rethink the way they teach journalism? |
Sometimes, it simply isn't Vietnam By / USA Today — Permalink This Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. For a child born today, that war is as ancient as World War II was for someone born in 1975. But for some, Vietnam is still current events, not history. | |
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Ed Driscoll: In an essay on the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, Jonah Goldberg observes: [snipped quote] As Jonah writes,... |
Jonah Goldberg: ALSO IN THE USA TODAY... Kathryn - on the opposing page from Elaine's piece is my own humble contribution on the 30th anniversary of the end of Vietnam. |
AIR AMERICA SHOOTS OFF AN APOLOGY By / New York Post — Permalink ALL-liberal Air America and talker Randi Rhodes apologized yesterday for a "bad taste" comedy bit in which President Bush was shot. The Secret Sevice said yesterday it was looking into the incident to see if it constituted a threat to the president. | |
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Nico @ThinkProgress: Randi v. The Right — Matt Drudge has summoned the right-wing attack machine on Air America and Randi Rhodes for an... |
Kevin Aylward: Thousands of previous lessons in not talking about killing Presidents must have been lost on the Bush=Hitler network... AIR AMERICA SHOOTS OFF AN APOLOGY - [NYP] |
Promoting Democracy Abroad: a Debate Continues By / TCS — Permalink Justin Logan has penned this reply to my piece on the shape and nature of a libertarian foreign policy. While I think that Logan has made some interesting contributions to this debate, he does make a number of arguments with which I want to take issue. | |
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Jon Henke: Libertarian Foreign Policy — Pejman continues the conversation with Justin Logan about Realist and Libertarian foreign... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: MY TECH CENTRAL STATION COLUMN IS UP — A reply to Justin Logan. |
Good reason to exclude gays By / USA Today — Permalink The law affirming that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service" deserves continued support. After 12 comprehensive hearings, Congress passed the law with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. There was, and still is, a need to protect good order, morale and discipline in the armed forces. | |
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Julian Sanchez: Come On, Protect the Motherland — There are (at least) two striking omissions in today's USA Today op-ed defending the exclusion of gays from the American military. |
K. J. Lopez: "HOMOSEXUALITY IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH MILITARY SERVICE" — Elaine Donnelly makes a case. |
Sell Those Tickets, Meet the Band By / WaPo — Permalink Groupie Alert: Here's a respectable way to get aboard the tour bus with hip-hop funksters Black Eyed Peas or punk hitmakers Green Day. Organizers of Rock the Vote's 15th-anniversary celebration say they'll bestow a total rock star experience on the top fundraisers for the June 8 bash in Washington. | |
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Oliver @LiquidList: You can save the date here, and you probably should, because if Leiby's buzzing about it, then you know you gotta be there. |
Garrett M. Graff: The Reliable Source also has some additional guests, although they don't break down who'll be attending for each... |
DeLay Is Likely to Be Found Culpable By / WaPo — Permalink Now that it's clear that his controversial private-paid trips abroad will be put under a microscope in Congress, Tom DeLay is in serious danger of being declared in violation of House ethics rules, legal experts say. | |
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Steve Soto: But now that the House GOP has reversed itself and reinstated the old rules so that DeLay can be investigated, it means... Taegan Goddard: DeLay Likely to be Found in Violation — "Now that it's clear that his controversial private-paid trips abroad will be... Pudentilla: from the annals of the obvious — [snipped quote] "technical breach" is media speak for a republican's violation of the direct letter of the law. |
Jack Cluth: And it couldn't have happened to a nicer demagogue, Chapter 19 — House reverses GOP ethics rules perceived to protect... Josh Marshall: Bug Man Blues , performed by Jeff Birnbaum of the Post: "Now that it's clear that his controversial private-paid trips... |
Bush plans prime time news conference CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush will hold a prime time news conference Thursday to discuss two "important priorities" for the White House — Social Security and energy — a spokesman said. | |
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Edward _: In other words, when I see Bush smirk in a press conference (sidebar...any takers for a poll on how many times he'll smirk tonight?) |
Riggsveda @Corrente: My Own Personal Smoke-Out Thursday — CNN reports that the Clown Prince is planning a prime time propagandafest this evening, only his 4th since he stole the office in 2001. |
Cut From Cheney's Cloth By / WaPo — Permalink When it comes to the nomination of John Bolton to be our guy at the United Nations, the mystery is not why a U.N.-hater was chosen or why someone with the management skills of the late Alphonse Capone was tabbed or even why so undiplomatic a chap would be picked for the most diplomatic of all posts. | |
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Tarek @LiquidList: Politics: Who Slipped Vinegar Into Cohen's Wheaties? and Other Bolton Questions — This morning, Richard Cohen takes... |
Steve Clemons: In the latter case, Art Buchwald moves Bolton even deeper into pop culture, and Richard Cohen correctly argues that... |
ABC to NBC: Smell the coffee By / USA Today — Permalink NEW YORK — In 2002, three years after Tony Perkins began reporting the weather for ABC's Good Morning America, tourists who stopped by the show's Times Square studios still thought he was Spencer Christian, who preceded him in the job. | |
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Brian Stelter: I Hope Not" couricapril28.jpgAmid a tightening ratings war, E.P. turmoil, NYT criticism and rumors that she's sick of... |
Jim Romenesko: > Couric on Stanley's "Today" piece in NYT: "It comes with the territory. I think she (Alessandra Stanley) has written about my legs twice now. |
Senator Franken? By / Salon — Permalink NEW YORK — The 265th pope is being announced, and Al Franken is watching it live on CNN. The Air America radio host has his back to the microphone, as he sits in a blue sports coat, jeans and white Nikes, staring at the television across the dimly lit studio. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Al Franken Considering Senate Run — Air America Radio Host and comedian Al Franken is moving his show to Minnesota,... |
Susan Madrak: Al Franken takes one step closer to running for the Senate: He's moving back to Minnesota. |
Paying a Price for Overreaching By / WaPo — Permalink In January, when interviewing at the White House on the prospects for President Bush's second term, I found that the reelected chief executive had instilled a belief among his close associates that the bigger and bolder the goals they set for themselves, the more they would accomplish. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Meanwhile, the Washington Post's David Broder warns Bush and the GOP heirarchy that they are now paying a price for "overreaching." |
Rickheller @Centerfield: Overreach — David Broder believes that President Bush has fallen victim to the second term curse [snipped quote] He never really had a second term mandate for positive action. |
Times Wins 5 Awards From Overseas Press Club; Koppel Gets 10th Honor By / NYT — Permalink The New York Times won five awards last night from the Overseas Press Club, the most any media organization has received in a single year. The press club also presented Ted Koppel of ABC News with his 10th award, making him the most honored journalist in the organization's 66-year history. | |
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Garrett M. Graff: UPDATE: The New York Times has a more complete list of winners, including the Post's Steve Coll, Philip P. Pan, and Andrea Bruce Woodall. |
Jim Romenesko: New York Times wins five Overseas Press Club awards — New York Times | Overseas Press Club That's the most any media organization has received in a single year. |
Iraqi Lawmaker Gunned Down CBS News — Permalink (CBS/AP) An Iraqi legislator was shot and killed by militants who stormed into her house in a middle class neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, underscoring fears that the political impasse has emboldened insurgents to step up deadly attacks in recent weeks, after a lull following the Jan. 30 elections. | |
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William J. Dyer: (AFP/US Army-HO)" More pix here, but by all means read the whole story. Jason Van Steenwyk: What do you have to do to qualify for the term "terrorist?" From CBS News: [snipped quote] Militants? Insurgents? |
Cori Dauber: No Label — Here's an example of a CBS news story where the writer alters the label he uses in place of terrorists each... |
Jesus Was No GOP Lobbyist By / LAT — Permalink A tortured version of his message is being marketed for political gain. What would Jesus filibuster? The question is bizarre, of course, but the fact that many prominent religious and political leaders believe that there is an answer surely marks our time as pretty strange. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Along the same lines, please read this op ed by Jack Hitt from Tuesday's Los Angeles Times: "Instead of taking orders... |
The Farmer: "~ See: Jesus Was No GOP Lobbyist, April 26, 2005." |
Bush to Hold Prime Time News Conference Thursday Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will hold a prime time press conference on Thursday night, his first in over a year, to offer more details about his plans to overhaul Social Security, the White House announced. | |
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Avedon Carol: Memes and dreams — Oooh, some excellent news developed while I was asleep: Bush to Hold Prime Time News Conference... Joe Gandelman: Bush To Hold Prime Time Press Conference Tonight — President George Bush will hold his first prime time press... Cori Dauber: Don't Forget — Presidential press conference tonight. |
Paradox @LeftCoaster: The Lying War Felon will hold a prime-time news conference tonight, something that always turns my stomach and leaves me depressed. Damian Penny: Press Conference Tonight — President Bush will take to the airwaves at 8:30PM Eastern to talk about Social Security. Jim Henley: No comment yet, add yours? » April 27, 2005 Sigh Couldn't the President have preempted coverage of tonight's... |
| Also: Atrios, K. J. Lopez | |
House OKs Bill Toughening Abortion Consent By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Wednesday that would make it illegal to dodge parental-consent laws by taking minors across state lines for abortions, the latest effort to chip away at abortion rights after Republican gains in the November elections. | |
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Ken Masugi: The House voted 270-157 to make it "illegal to dodge parental-consent laws by taking minors across state lines for abortions." |
Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Wrong: [quote] "Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who authored the panel's report, defended its...[end quote] |
Riordan to Quit Post in Education LAT — Permalink SACRAMENTO — Richard Riordan, the former two-term mayor of Los Angeles, is stepping down as state secretary of education after an uneasy 17-month tenure, during which he enjoyed little authority in shaping education policy. | |
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Mary @LeftCoaster: Open Thread — Schwarzenegger's glow continues to dim as his hand-picked Secretary of Education steps down and 82% of... |
Kevin Roderick: Thursday print stories: Friends tell the Times that Riordan was frustrated at not getting more done in Sacramento. |
Gore Blasts GOP Bid to Block Filibusters By / AP — Permalink "/ Al Gore on Wednesday blamed Republican "lust for one-party domination" for the GOP campaign to change Senate rules on filibustering judicial nominees, and he assailed religious zealots for driving the effort. | |
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Avedon Carol: American battleground — I see at Memeorandum that Al Gore told the truth in plain English, which no doubt presents an... Charles Johnson: Gore Blasts GOP Bid to Block Filibusters. Orrin Judd: THE DEMOCRAT FILIBLUSTER JUMPS THE SHARK: Gore Blasts GOP Bid to Block Filibusters (DONNA CASSATA, 4/27/05, Associated... |
Barbara O'Brien: Anyone who's read the Gospels knows what I'm talkin' about. Update: Via Avedon, what Al Gore said. Jonah Goldberg: WOW — AND PEOPLE THINK IT'S A SHAME HE'S NOT PRESIDENT — Al Gore in his speech to MoveOn: [quote] "This aggressive new...[end quote] |
Pot Laws Pain Some Elders By / LAT — Permalink SEATTLE — Betty Hiatt's morning wake-up call comes with the purr and persistent kneading of the cat atop her bedspread. Under predawn gray, Hiatt blinks awake. It is 6 a.m., and Kato, an opinionated Siamese who Hiatt swears can tell time, wants to be fed. | |
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Pudentilla: stupid question: [snipped quote] easy answer: pharmaceutical companies aren't going to make big profits off an herb... |
Jeralyn Merritt: She smokes pot. [snipped quote] The Supreme Court's decision on state medical marijuana laws is due any day. |
White House Firm on Bolton Despite Inquiry By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 27 - The White House reiterated its unstinting support for John R. Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations today, declaring that a Senate vote for him would be a vote for reform at the international organization, and that a vote against him would be an embrace of an unsatisfactory status quo. | |
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Steve Clemons: Because the White House is willing to go to such incredibly perverse lengths on this battle, I think it's increasingly clear that Bolton's opponents can and may just possibly win. |
Chris Nolan: As for the White House standing by him? Er, what do you think they're going to do? Fire him in public? Not this crowd. |
Sodexho Settles Large Racial Bias Case By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK - Food services company Sodexho Inc. agreed Wednesday to pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of black employees who charged that they were routinely barred from promotions and segregated within the company. | |
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Avedon Carol: And what we had before wasn't a free market, either. Racism is over, I learn from South Knox Bubba. |
SK Bubba: Racial discrimination is a thing of the past — Or so they keep telling us. |
Cover Up??? By / AP — Permalink Senators Byron Dorgan, John Kerry and Richard Durbin pulled a fast one last week on their congressional colleagues. They tried to bury forever documents alleging that senior government officials tried to transform portions of the IRS and the Justice Department into a goon squad for attacking political enemies and aiding political friends. | |
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Avedon Carol: Yes, that's right, the continuing persecution of Henry Cisneros, who was once a member of - you guessed it! - the... Scott @PowerLine: Today Tony is pressing the important story of the independent counsel report that some would prefer to see deep-sixed: "Coverup?" |
Lorie Byrd: I Missed This One — Somehow I missed this story yesterday from Tony Snow. |
Democrats furious over GOP efforts to rewrite amendments Raw Story — Permalink Democrats in the House are furious over what they see as a deliberate attempt by Republicans to rewrite Democratic amendments to make the Democrats amendments look preposterous, RAW STORY has learned. The Republican-written rewrites, along with the Democratic description of the amendments, follows. | |
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Leah A: I refer to this little gem from The Raw Story. You may have already encountered it. Barbara O'Brien: Raw Story's revelation that Republicans rewrote Democratic amendments just to make the Dems look bad. Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: The revisions are as follows: [quote] "DEMS: a Nadler amendment allows an adult who could be prosecuted under the bill to go...[end quote] |
Jeffrey Dubner: The House Judiciary Committee's distorted report, first noticed by Raw Story, really is as indefensible and childish as everybody says. Eugene Oregon: Because It Deserves a Link — I don't have anything to add to this Raw Story post about Republicans rewriting Democratic... Paperwight @BOPNews: Follow the Buzzword — I'm sure anyone reading this post has already seen the Raw Story report of the apparent Republican childishness happening in the House Judiciary Committee. |
| Also: Avedon Carol, Michael Froomkin, Digby, LeanLeft, Steve Soto, Jesse Taylor, Cookie Jill, Atrios | |
AIR AMERICA RADIO INVESTIGATED AFTER BUSH 'GUNSHOTS' Drudge Report — Permalink The red-hot rhetoric over Social Security on liberal talkradio network AIR AMERICA has caught the attention of the Secret Service, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Government officials are reviewing a skit which aired on the network Monday evening — a skit featuring an apparent gunshot warning to the president! | |
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Avedon Carol: Thank you, Rev. Dease. Return to the boring Drudge item. Steve M.: The right-wing blogs are worked up about a bit on Air America that included what Drudge calls "an apparent gunshot warning to the president." Roger L. Simon: UPDATE: The all-time record for preaching to the choir has been broken. [Should we alert Guinness?-ed. They already read Drudge. |
Mitch Berg: You'd be wrong: "Government officials are reviewing a skit which aired on the network Monday evening — a skit featuring an apparent gunshot warning to the president! Joe Gandelman: Air America's Randi Rhodes' Assassination Humor You have to wonder when radio talk show hosts on the left and right make... Eugene Volokh: Jokes About Killing the President: Drudge reports (thanks to Gil Milbauer for the pointer): "Government officials are... |
| Also: Charles Johnson, John @PowerLine, Michelle Malkin, James Joyner, Byron York, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Damian Penny, Donald Sensing, David Cohen, Glenn Reynolds | |
Bush Urges More Nuclear Plants and Building Refineries on Bases By / NYT — Permalink President Bush said today that he wanted the United States to build more nuclear power plants, turn unused military bases into refineries and raise sales of more efficient cars to make America less dependent on foreign fuel sources. | |
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Avedon Carol: I suppose I could quote some straightforward analysis of Bush's energy plan, but I'd rather let Fafnir explain it: We... Pejman Yousefzadeh: Which is why I am glad to see this conversation develop. Of course, it needs to develop further with people who might disagree with the President giving their views. Steve Soto: Nor has anyone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue apparently talked to industry yet about some of these ideas. |
Fafnir: Energy: The Plan — Here at Fafblog we consider ourselves to be first and foremost an educational institution1, and so... Ezra Klein: New Plan, Same as the Old Plan — So the new Bush energy plan (not, to be clear, the atrocious energy bill). |
Losing Ground in Iraq NYT — Permalink The millions of brave Iraqis who risked their lives to vote in January didn't expect that nearly three months later, their squabbling politicians would still be struggling to form a government. As a result, precious momentum has been lost, and a briefly improving security situation has again started deteriorating. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: PROFILES IN COURAGE — Or not. We all get irritated from time to time at the inconveniences associated with democracy,... Roger L. Simon: The kind of sleazy self-justification being engaged in here by Friedman is of a piece with the outright lie in the... John Hawkins: Quotes Of The Day: The Inaccuracy Of The New York Times — "The only plausible reason for keeping American troops in... |
Tom Maguire: How Soon They Forget — Glenn smacks the Times in a (probably futile) attempt to jog their memory, describing their... Glenn Reynolds: MORE VIOLENCE IN TOGO. posted at 09:05 AM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink NOW THIS IS JUST OUT-AND-OUT DISHONESTY AT THE... John Cole: However, as Glenn notes, this sort of nonsense is not conspiracy theorizing, it is flat-out lying: "The only plausible... |
But Did He Inhale? By / Time — Permalink Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes, according to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a cigar is an economic prop to a brutal totalitarian regime. Arguing against loosening sanctions against Cuba last year, DeLay warned that Fidel Castro "will take the money. | |
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Radley Balko: Delay, Etc. Forget for a moment this silly "gotcha" piece in Time. Taegan Goddard: Now, Time has photos of him "smoking one of Cuba's best — a Hoyo de Monterrey double corona, which generally costs... Judd @ThinkProgress: Karen Tumulty reports: "[S]ome sharp-eyed TIME readers were surprised last week to see a photo of the Majority Leader... |
Avedon Carol: MaxSpeak: BE IT RESOLVED, WE SHOULD EAT THE RICH. Also, democracy okay in South America. Phony bastard. Atrios: From Time: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes, according to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a cigar is an economic prop to a brutal totalitarian regime. |
A Media Tipping Point? By / TCS — Permalink Over three years ago, I wrote: Big journalism is in trouble, and big journalists don't like it. . . . Annoyance to journalists is the least of this, because what is really going on is something much more profound: it's the end of the power of Big Media. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Glenn Reynolds is tipping, too. Jay Rosen says: "It has been pointed out that tipping point talk is cheap. Bill @INDCJournal: UPDATE: More from Reynolds. Glenn Reynolds: A MEDIA TIPPING POINT? My TechCentralStation column is up. |
Jay Rosen: The instant literature on what Jeff Jarvis has been calling the tipping point continues to grow. Ed Driscoll: Update: Glenn Reynolds' latest Tech Central Station column has some interesting and related thoughts on this topic. Close It |
Up, Down or Out By / NYT — Permalink IN the coming weeks, we may witness a vote in the United States Senate that will define the 109th Congress for the ages. This vote will not be about war and peace, the economy or the threat from terrorism. | |
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Shawn @LiquidList: In today's New York Times Bob Dole tells us how obtuse and historically unreasonable the filibustering Democrats are on the matter of federal judges. Joe Gandelman: UPDATE II: Senator Bob Dole has been quoted before urging the GOP to think carefully before doing the "nuclear option,"... Betsy Newmark: Bob Dole explains why Frist has the power to ask for a rule change to end the filibuster of Bush's judicial nominees and... |
McQ: Now Bob Dole puts his more recent version of that history out there for our consideration: "But let's be honest: By... John Cole: The Right Response — It seems to me that Bob Dole is taking exactly the right tone regarding the so-called nuclear option: "I have publicly urged caution in this matter. James Joyner: Dole's piece is entitled, "Up, Down or Out" (NYT | RSS) "By creating a new threshold for the confirmation of judicial... |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, K. J. Lopez, Ezra Klein, PoliPundit | |
Podcasting Killed the Radio Star By / Wired News — Permalink Podcasting will soon break out of the "pod" and onto the public airwaves. The world's first all-podcast radio station will be launched on May 16 by Infinity Broadcasting, the radio division of Viacom. Infinity plans to convert San Francisco's 1550 KYCY, an AM station, to listener-submitted content. | |
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Jan Haugland: Open source radio — Viacom's radio division Infinity Broadcasting is taking a gamble on podcasting: Infinity plans to... Jay Rosen: Now this is my idea of a poetic argument. Wired News account by Xeni Jardin: Podcasting Killed the Radio Star. |
Jeff Jarvis: Now: YOURadio... Next: OURadio : Infinity Broadcasting's announcement that it is turning over a transmitter to the... Rex Hammock: Related links (updated): KYOURadio.com Infinity's Official Press Release Wired.com (by Xeni Jardin): "Podcasting Killed... |
Bush Takes Risk With Show of Support for DeLay By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush is doing for Tom DeLay what he refused to do for Trent Lott three years ago: taking a political risk to defend an embattled congressional leader's career, several Republican officials and strategists said. | |
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Mark Kleiman: But now, just after Bush has nailed his colors to the mast of DeLay's garbage scow, seems like a good time to move. Orrin Judd: THE DIFFERENCE ISN'T ALL THAT HARD TO FIGURE: Bush Takes Risk With Show of Support for DeLay (Jim VandeHei, April 27,... Josh Marshall: DeLay runs for W as Hastert opts to remove custom-built ethics heat-shield from House! |
Avedon Carol: You know, I've been thinking all day about the bizarre fact that Bush took DeLay out with him on his Social Security... Laura Rozen: It's hard to be persuaded that these guys are so exercised about corruption — at the UN or anywhere else. |
More evidence of Saudi doubletalk? MSNBC — Permalink WASHINGTON - Sheik Saleh Al Luhaidan, seen in video seated to the right of the crown prince, is chief justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council. His sermons and words carry great significance. | |
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Jan Haugland: Our gallant allies — Sheik Saleh Al Luhaidan, chief justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council, has been caught... K. J. Lopez: FEEL THE LOVE — Saudi chief justice "is telling Saudis it's OK to go to Iraq and kill Americans and Iraqis and they won't be punished for doing that," |
Dan Darling: And people wonder why I tend to take Saudi claims that they're against terrorism with a grain of salt — I mean, how... SK Bubba: He was on the Homeland Security "no-fly" terrorist screening list. (But I'm sure it had nothing to do with this.) |
The Best Man for the U.N. By / NYT — Permalink My biggest problem with nominating John Bolton as U.N. ambassador boils down to one simple fact: he's not the best person for the job - not even close. If President George W. Bush wants a die-hard Republican at the U.N., one who has a conservative pedigree he... | |
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Steve Clemons: There will be more stories tomorrow on Bolton...and in case you missed them, here are two pieces on Bolton that ran on... Matthew Yglesias: The usually-absurd Tom Friedman manages to wrap today's column in the absurd suggestion that George H.W. Bush shoudl be U.N. Ambassador. Stirling Newberry: Some jokes just write themselves |
Roger L. Simon: But I couldn't let this column by Tom Friedman go by without some comment - and not about his silly proposal of George H. W. Bush for UN Ambassador. Orrin Judd: EVEN ATHEISTS DON'T HATE THEIR FATHERS THAT MUCH: The Best Man for the U.N. K. J. Lopez: DIDYA EVER THINK? NYTimes columnist makes the case for W to nominate his dad...to the Bolton spot. |
GOP to Reverse Ethics Rule Blocking New DeLay Probe By / WaPo — Permalink House Republican leaders, acknowledging that ethics disputes are taking a heavy toll on the party's image, decided yesterday to rescind a controversial rule change that led to the three-month shutdown of the ethics committee, according to officials who participated in the talks. | |
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Joe Gandelman: The House GOPers basically dumped a controversial rules change that led to a shutdown of the ethics committee amid a... James Joyner: Republicans to Reverse Ethics Rules Changes: Hastert — G.O.P. Will Relent on Ethics Rules, House Speaker Says (NYT |... Kos @DailyKos: Another GOP cave — Man, those guys on the other side of aisle sure have been reeling lately. |
Sam Rosenfeld: Earlier today The Stakeholder aptly cautioned against jumping to any conclusions, short of explicit details, about the... Mary @LeftCoaster: So today, the House Republicans are reversing the change that would keep the committee from opening an investigation if... Judd @ThinkProgress: Dennis Hastert Explains it All — In case you had any questions about why the House leadership is considering restoring... |
| Also: Pudentilla | |
Next: The Google Street Journal LAT — Permalink Even when newspapers go belly up, their kind of content will live on. Working at a major metropolitan newspaper these days can feel a bit like working for the East German Politburo, circa 1988. Newspapers, you may have read, though most likely not in a newspaper, are on the way out. | |
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Ed Driscoll: But Mickey Kaus observes an L.A. Times columnist suggesting that Google or Yahoo—or maybe Google and Yahoo—pony up $15... Jay Rosen: "Working at a major metropolitan newspaper these days can feel a bit like working for the East German Politburo, circa... Jim Romenesko: Will we soon get biz news from the Google Street Journal? |
Kevin Roderick: Critical mass * In today's Times, editorial page editor Andrés Martinez writes that "working at a major... Steve Bainbridge: A Provocative Business Plan — From the LA Times of all places, comes an interesting business model: "Take those Internet portals. Jan Haugland: Quote of the day — Andrés Martinez in the LA Times: Working at a major metropolitan newspaper these days can... |
Ailing professor fights for Darfur's dead By / Boston Globe — Permalink NORTHAMPTON — It's morning, and Eric Reeves is gripping his mug of coffee, preparing for his daily battle with two life-or-death foes. His first fight is against leukemia, so he opens a bottle of pills. The second is against mass killings in Sudan, so he spreads his recent research out on a table. | |
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Eugene Oregon: Weekly Coalition for Darfur Post — Here is the weekly Coalition post [snipped quote] The Daily Darfur is also up and it... |
Stuart Buck: "And as the Boston Globe reported on Sunday, he has done it all while fighting his own battle with leukemia." |
U.S. Figures Show Sharp Global Rise In Terrorism By / WaPo — Permalink The number of serious international terrorist incidents more than tripled last year, according to U.S. government figures, a sharp upswing in deadly attacks that the State Department has decided not to make public in its annual report on terrorism due to Congress this week. | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: "The WaPo" rewrites history — First, it was "The New York Times" rewriting history, now "The Washington Post"'s Susan... Matthew Yglesias: Via Laura Rozen I see that in response to data indicating a steep rise in the number of terrorist attacks around the... Kos @DailyKos: Terrorism incidents tripled last year — No wonder Bush killed the State Department's terrorism report. |
Brooke @ThinkProgress: Another Broken Record — Another record was broken this year - the number of serious international terrorist attacks in... Pudentilla: it's official - we're losing the war on terror — [snipped quote] and therefore - it's secret. we suppose that some reds... |
St. Thomas president denounces Ann Coulter's speech as hateful Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink The president of the University of St. Thomas on Monday condemned a speech at the Catholic school last week by conservative author Ann Coulter, saying "such hateful speech vulgarizes our culture and goes against everything the University of St. Thomas stands for." | |
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Avedon Carol: It's about time: St. Thomas president denounces Ann Coulter's speech as hateful: The president of the University of St... Scott @PowerLine: Yesterday the Star Tribune reported Father Dease's condemnation of Coulter's speech: "St. Thomas president denounces Ann Coulter's speech as hateful." |
Jack Cluth: If the First Amendment were a rock, this would be the ugly underside — St. Thomas president denounces Ann Coulter's... |
Verbal war escalates between Salazar, Focus AP — Permalink Sen. Ken Salazar referred to a conservative Christian group as "the Antichrist" in a bitter dispute over President Bush's judicial nominees, but he backed off today, saying he regretted using the term. | |
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The Farmer: BEAST WATCH: Verbal war escalates between Salazar, Focus, (On The Family): "In a statement today, Salazar said he has... |
Kos @DailyKos: Salazar backed off slightly on that statement today, saying he meant "un-Christian", which Dobson clearly is. |
Young Republicans chairman confronted By / Rocky Mountain News — Permalink The chairman of the Colorado Young Republicans was one of the people involved in a March 21 incident in which three Denver residents were forcibly removed from a speech given by President Bush because of a bumper sticker. | |
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Skippy: ann imse of the rocky mountain news identifies one of the people involved, and surprise, it was the chairman of the... Kos @DailyKos: More White House propaganda; Denver 3 — So, the man who impersonated a Secret Service agent and kicked out three... |
Joe Gandelman: If They Didn't Agree With The President They Couldn't Hear Him Speak — A political scandal continues to unfold in... |
Stenberg poised to announce Senate bid By / Lincoln Journal Star — Permalink Former Attorney General Don Stenberg appeared poised Wednesday to jump into the 2006 Republican Senate race and seek a rematch with Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson. Stenberg, who served as attorney general for 12 years, will hold a news conference today at Republican state headquarters to make "an important announcement about his future political plans." | |
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Kos @DailyKos: NE-Sen: Nelson has a challenger — Our unlikely Democrat from deep red Nebraska has a challenger. |
Orrin Judd: Stenberg poised to announce Senate bid (DON WALTON, 4/27/05, Lincoln Journal Star) "Former Attorney General Don... |
First Lady Says No Plans to Seek Office By / AP — Permalink BURBANK, Calif. - Despite her popularity, first lady Laura Bush says she's not interested in running for higher office. Bush made the declaration Tuesday, telling "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno that she has no aspirations for holding office and doesn't even pay much attention to her approval ratings — though she tracks her husband's. | |
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Avedon Carol: You know, I read the headline First Lady Says No Plans to Seek Office and I just assumed it was about Hillary. SK Bubba: Bombshell: Laura Bush won't seek office — Says she's not interested. Developing... |
Steve Soto: It's amazing that the AP would actually make a story out of Laura Bush's statement last night on Leno that she isn't a... |
The Unholy Alliance Against the Filibuster By / LAT — Permalink By many measures, liberal Catholics outnumber conservative Catholics in the United States, but in the U.S. political system of state-by-state, winner-take-all presidential elections, small electoral shifts can have huge consequences. | |
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Digby: But on this, I call bulls**t: "A key part of the Republican strategy is to claim that it is hatred of religion that has moved the Democrats to oppose these judicial nominees. |
K. J. Lopez: I'm just getting to Jack Miles in the L.A.Times (from yesterday) now. It's...too funny. |
G.O.P. Will Relent on Ethics Rules, House Speaker Says By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 27 - Saying that an ethics impasse needed to be resolved to provide a chance for Representative Tom DeLay to clear his name, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said this morning that Republicans were ready to relent on rules changes that have left the ethics committee unable to do any work. | |
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Riggsveda @Corrente: In an update to this morning's story, the NYTimes reports Hastert is ready to take 3 steps back: [quote] "Saying that an...[end quote] |
TChris: House Ethics Committee Will Change Rules — By insisting that Republicans play by a fair set of rules, House Democrats apparently achieved a victory today. |
New Iraqi Premier Says Impasse Over Cabinet Is Broken By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 27 - Iraq's new prime minister said today that he had submitted a full list of cabinet members, opening the way for a new coalition government to assume power and end a crippling three-month political stalemate that has appeared to be fueling renewed violence here. | |
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John Cole: Any way you slice it (unless you are Juan Cole), the world is a better place for the sacrifice in blood in treasure that we have made. |
Barbara O'Brien: The last benchmark, the Iraqi election, was probably good for the purple ink business, but Iraq has yet to form a government (although they may be getting close). |
Justices Limit Gun Law That Bars Possession by Felons By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 26 - The Supreme Court on Tuesday curbed the reach of a federal law that prohibits convicted felons from possessing guns, ruling 5 to 3 that the law does not apply to those who were convicted by courts in foreign countries. | |
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Tom Maguire: Small v. United States — The NY Times fascinates us with their description of Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling on a... Glenn Reynolds: THE SUPREME COURT'S ENTHUSIASM FOR FOREIGN LAW seems to have its limits: [snipped quote] That's true, and I'm delighted... |
Jeffrey Dubner: I don't know anything about the actual merits of Small v. United States, but it's pretty clear that Clarence Thomas... Jeralyn Merritt: Supreme Court Limits Reach of Gun Law — The Supreme Court issued a decision this week limiting the reach of the felon... |
A law firm's sexual harassment case: An inside story St. Petersburg Times — Permalink It was supposed to be a networking breakfast for young, female lawyers at the Tampa office of Holland & Knight. But when an organizer of the December 2003 get-together said she thought the law firm offered excellent opportunities for women, there was dead silence. | |
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Michael Froomkin: People Unclear on the Concept — A law firm's sexual harassment case: An inside story Holland & Knight's Tampa office was, it seems, a hostile environment for women. |
Fontana Labs: Via begging to differ, this depiction of sexual harassment at a law firm is both appalling and hilarious. |
STASH 'BAGGED' AT MARKET New York Post — Permalink Firefighters found more than 200 vehicle airbags believed to be stolen in the back room of a Brooklyn supermarket, where newspaper clippings about Osama bin Laden and beheadings in Iraq covered the walls, authorities said. | |
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Colt: The JTTF says they don't suspect terrorist activity. |
Charles Johnson: Firefighters Discover Brooklyn Terrorist Sympathizers — When firefighters conducted a routine inspection of a market in... |
2 want to find GOP mystery man By / Denver Post — Permalink Max and Susan Tyler haven't heard from the Secret Service. The Secret Service is reportedly investigating whether a Republican staff member illegally impersonated a federal agent when he removed Alex Young, Leslie Weise and Karen Bauer before President Bush's March 21 Social Security forum in Denver. | |
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Skippy: jim spenser at the denver post says two other people were hassled, but not ejected, by the same "mystery man" at the... |
Kos @DailyKos: Meanwhile, the White House is pretending they have no idea who might be running around Bush events with earpieces. |