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Archive Edition for   Tuesday, May 3, 2005Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
American Enterprise Institute
  Michael S. Greve
The Anchoress
  TheAnchoress
Angry Bear
  PGL
Associated Press
  Todd Dvorak
  David Espo
  Hope Yen
Balloon Juice
  John Cole
BBC
  Jenny Matthews
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
BLACKFIVE
  Blackfive
Boston Globe
  Farah Stockman
  James Carroll
  Susan Milligan
Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal
  Brad DeLong
BrothersJudd Blog
  Orrin Judd
Burnt Orange Report
  Byron LaMasters
Business Week
  Stephen Baker
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Chris C Mooney
  Chris Mooney
Chronicle of the Conspiracy
  Donald Luskin
The Claremont Institute
  Richard Reeb
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
  Clayton Cramer
CNN
The Corner
  Ramesh Ponnuru
  K. J. Lopez
  Jonah Goldberg
  Stanley Kurtz
  Andrew Stuttaford
corrente
  Lambert @Corrente
  Riggsveda @Corrente
COUNTERCOLUMN
  Jason Van Steenwyk
Crescat Sententia
  Raffi Melkonian
Crooked Timber
  Chris @CrookedTimber
cut on the bias
  Susanna Cornett
Daily Kos
  DavidNYC @DailyKos
  Kos @DailyKos
  Kagro X
  Armando @DailyKos
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Demagogue
  Arnold P. California
  Frederick Maryland
democracyarsenal.org
  Suzanne Nossel
Democratic Veteran
  Jo Fish
DonkeyRising
  EDM Staff
Drudge Report
Ed Driscoll.com
  Ed Driscoll
EdCone.com
  Ed Cone
The Edge of England's Sword
  Iain Murray
Editor and Publisher
  Joe Strupp
Eschaton
  Atrios
etc.
  Reihan Salam
Ezra Klein
  Ezra Klein
Fox News
Fraters Libertas
  Saint Paul l
Front Page Magazine
  Robert Spencer
Globe and Mail
  Allison Dunfield
Guardian
Gut Rumbles
  Acidman
Harry's Place
  Harry @HarrysPlace
Hit and Run
  Julian Sanchez
  Matt Welch
  Kerry Howley
  Jacob Sullum
  Nick Gillespie
Houston Chronicle
  Richard Stewart
HughHewitt.com
  Hugh Hewitt
Hullabaloo
  Digby
INDC Journal
  Bill @INDCJournal
The Indepundit
  Smash
Informed Comment
  Juan Cole
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
INTEL DUMP
  Phillip Carter
Jeff Quinton
  Jeff Quinton
joannejacobs.com
  Joanne Jacobs
JustOneMinute
  Tom Maguire
Kesher Talk
  Judith Weiss
L.A. Observed
  Kevin Roderick
Lean Left
  LeanLeft
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
Left in the West
  Matt Singer
The Liquid List
  Tarek @LiquidList
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  David Greenberg
  Orson Scott Card
  Michael Kinsley
  Tom Hamburger
  Megan K. Stack
The Mahablog
  Barbara O'Brien
Marginal Revolution
  Tyler Cowen
Mark A. R. Kleiman
  Mark Kleiman
MaxSpeak, You Listen!
  Max B. Sawicky
The Media Drop
  Tom Biro
Media Matters for America
mediabistro
  Garrett M. Graff
  Brian Stelter
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
The Moderate Voice
  Joe Gandelman
MyDD
  Chris Bowers
NathanNewman.org
  Jordan Barab
  Nathan Newman
National Review
  Christina Hoff Sommers
New Sisyphus
  NewSisyphus
New York Sun
  Roderick Boyd
New York Times
  John Tierney
  Matthew L. Wald
  Abby Goodnough
  Damien Cave
  Thom Shanker
  Hassan M. Fattah
  Eric Dash
  Nicholas Bakalar
  Bob Herbert
  Paul Krugman
  Sarah Kershaw
NewsHog
  Cernig
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
normblog
  Norm Geras
NY Daily News
  Derek Rose
Off the Kuff
  Charles Kuffner
One Hand Clapping
  Donald Sensing
Outside The Beltway
  James Joyner
pandagon.net
  Amanda Marcotte
  Jesse Taylor
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
PoliBlog
  Dr. Steven Taylor
PoliPundit.com
  Lorie Byrd
  Jayson @PoliPundit
The Poor Man
  The Poorman
Power Line
  Paul @PowerLine
  John @PowerLine
PressThink
  Jay Rosen
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
Publius Pundit
  A.M. Mora y Leon
The QandO Blog
  McQ
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
  Jim Loney
rexblog.com
  Rex Hammock
The Right Coast
  Tom Smith
Right Wing News
  John Hawkins
Romenesko
  Jim Romenesko
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
Shot In The Dark
  Mitch Berg
The Sideshow
  Avedon Carol
skippy the bush kangaroo
  Skippy
  Hello however
  Cookie Jill
  Pudentilla
Slant Point
  Scott Sala
Slate
  Brad DeLong
  Stephen Metcalf
a small victory
  Michele Catalano
Southern Appeal
  Verity @SouthernAppeal
  Michael DeBow
The Spoons Experience
  Spoons
Suburban Guerrilla
  Susan Madrak
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
The Talent Show
  Greg @TheTalentShow
Talking Points Memo
  Matthew Yglesias
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Jeffrey Dubner
  Matthew Yglesias
  Sam Rosenfeld
Telegraph
  Oliver Poole
Terry Heaton's Pomo blog
  Terry Heaton
TheAgitator.com
  Radley Balko
Think Progress
  Nico @ThinkProgress
Time
Townhall.com
  Dennis Prager
  Debra England
Unfogged
  Ogged @Unfogged
USA Today
  Susan Page
USS Neverdock
  Marc @USSNeverdock
The Volokh Conspiracy
  Orin Kerr
Vox Popoli
  Vox Day
Wall Street Journal
  David Kesmodel
War and Piece
  Laura Rozen
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
Washington Monthly
  Nancy Soderberg
Washington Post
  E. J. Dionne Jr.
  Richard Cohen
  Richard Leiby
  John Mintz
  Allan Lengel
  Adam Bernstein
  Jefferson Morley
  Annys Shin
  Brian Faler
  Fred Barbash
Washington Times
  Jon Ward
  Joseph Curl
Will Wilkinson / The Fly Bottle
  Will Wilkinson
Wizbang
  Kevin Aylward
  Paul @Wizbang



Three Political Web Logs Make a Run for the Mainstream
  By / New York Sun   —   Permalink 
In a dramatic sign that Web logs are going mainstream, three of the largest political blogs are banding together to form what is believed to be a first-of-its kind ad-supported network.
Jan Haugland: The vast blogging conspiracy — Pajamas Media gets mainstream media coverage.
Clayton Cramer: I Guess It Was Inevitable — Blogging is turning into a full-time business for some: [snipped quote] I confess that I...
A.M. Mora y Leon: Now, there is a new project to rationalize what we look for in from blogs, utilizing their inherent competitive advantage, when a global news event happens.
Scott Sala: Technorati Tags: Giuliani Rudy+Giuliani Hitler Middlebury Andrea+Gissing — Blog Collaboration: Pajamas Media...
Judith Weiss: I got invited into this about six months ago, still not sure what it's actually going to look like or do for me (or me for it).
James Joyner: Three Political Web Logs Make a Run for the Mainstream (New York Sun) [snipped quote] It's an exciting project that I'm eager to see get off the ground. via Michelle Malkin
Also: Roger L. Simon, Jay Rosen, Ace, Venkat @BeggingToDiffer, Michelle Malkin, Scott @PowerLine, Pejman Yousefzadeh, K. J. Lopez

D.C. Bureau Chiefs Launch Push to End On-Background Briefings
  By / Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK Washington bureau chiefs have launched a new effort to stop off-the-record and background-only White House press briefings with a campaign aimed at getting fellow D.C. journalists to demand that more briefings be on the record.
Jay Rosen: Joe Strupp's account in Editor and Publisher tells of it: "In an e-mail to several dozen bureau chiefs Monday, a group...
Garrett M. Graff: Bureau Chiefs Take Stand Against Anonymice — Editor & Publisher has a good scoop on a new effort by the chiefs of...
Taegan Goddard: Journalists Seek End to Background Briefings — "Washington bureau chiefs have launched a new effort to stop...
Atrios: Wankers — It's rather silly that we should be thankful that DC bureau chiefs are begging and pleading for the WH to stop anonymous background briefings.
James Joyner: D.C. Bureau Chiefs Launch Push to End On-Background Briefings (Editor & Publisher) [snipped quote] I'm all for it but this is a non-starter.
Jim Romenesko: DC bureau chiefs: No more background-only WH briefings — Editor & Publisher Joe Strupp reports the bureau chiefs...
Also: Kos @DailyKos

The Republicans' Filibuster Lie
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
They seem to have forgotten the Fortas case.
To justify banning Senate filibusters in judicial nomination debates, Republicans are claiming support from history. Until now, say Republicans such as Sen. John Kyl and former Sen. Bob Dole, no one has used filibusters to block nominees to the federal courts.
Avedon Carol: David Greenberg has a piece in the LAT on The Republicans' Filibuster Lie.
Tarek @LiquidList: We all know they're lying, but it's nice to read it in an op-ed every once in a while.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: He informs us in this column that Justice Abe Fortas's nomination to succeed Chief Justice Earl Warren was filibustered for ideological reasons.
Steve Bainbridge: Fortas — An LA Times op-ed by David Greenberg claims: [snipped quote] Greenberg goes on to point out that Abe Fortas's...
Joe Gandelman: Historian: Republicans Trying To Gloss Over Judicial Filibuster History — History shows the Republicans had no problem...
Barbara O'Brien: In today's Los Angeles Times, Rutgers history professor David Greenberg writes, "To justify banning Senate filibusters...
Also: Taegan Goddard, Jonathan H. Adler, Orrin Judd

U.S. military: Letter to al-Zarqawi complains of low morale
  CNN   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The U.S. military said Tuesday it has seized a letter from Iraqi insurgents believed to be intended for terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about low morale among his followers and weakening support for the insurgency.
Joe Gandelman: On a day when Iraq swore in its first democratically elected government, U.S. military officials report seizing what...
Steve M.: Morale is down and there is fatigue among mujahedeen ranks..." —CNN today American officials here have obtained a...
Smash: Letter to Zarqawi Captured — "We are tired and we have suffered a lot" CAPTAIN ED analyzes a captured letter which...
Captain Ed: And The Jihadis Would Like A Better Vision Plan, Too — The American military has seized a letter intended for Abu Musab...
Charles Johnson: Breaking: CNN Publishes Good News — This isn't good news for the inmates of Democratic Underground or useful idiots...
James Joyner: Letter to al-Zarqawi Cites Low Morale — Possible letter to al-Zarqawi cites low morale (CNN) [snipped quote] So we have...
Also: Jonah Goldberg

Time to Leave the Table
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
There is a name for those who continue to sit at a gambling table even after they learn that the game is fixed. They are called fools.
Now that President Bush has proposed Social Security benefit cuts through "progressive indexing," his critics are said to have an obligation to negotiate in good faith to achieve a solution.
Avedon Carol: Kudos to E.J. Dionne for saying it's Time to Leave the Table: There is a name for those who continue to sit at a gambling table even after they learn that the game is fixed.
Kevin Drum: STACKING THE DECK....E.J. Dionne today: [snipped quote] That's exactly right.
Matthew Yglesias: A universal social insurance program divided against itself cannot stand. E.J. Dionne gets it.
Skippy: via armando at dkos, ej dionne agrees with us: bush has refused to put his own tax cuts on the table as part of a social security fix.
Steve Soto: E. J. Dionne says what many of us have been thinking since seeing Bush's "plan" last Thursday night, and then seeing Tom...
Stanley Kurtz: DEMS & SOCIAL SECURITY — E. J. Dionne's explanation for the Democrats' refusal to offer a Social Security plan is completely unconvincing.
Also: Barbara O'Brien, Lambert @Corrente, Armando @DailyKos

Pozen Pill
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
George W. Bush has come out in favor of a proposal for cutting Social Security benefits called "progressive price indexing."
Or has he? On May 1, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card appeared on Meet the Press.
Brad DeLong: Progressive Price Indexing — Ogged watches the skies and informs me that my article for Slate is up: Unfogged: Hey, it's Brad DeLong writing for Slate!
Ogged @Unfogged: Tell Mickey We Love Him! Hey, it's Brad DeLong writing for Slate! Is this considered slumming for Brad?
Tyler Cowen: Indexing social security benefits — Here is Brad DeLong on the new Bush proposal.

Laura Bush Talks Naughty
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
When King Agamemnon and his fleet of warships were becalmed in the Aegean Sea, he ordered his wife to fetch their daughter so she could be sacrificed to the gods. It worked, sort of. The winds picked up and blew the Greek ships to triumph at Troy, although Agamemnon's wife did murder him later.
Amanda Marcotte: John Tierney coughs up a whopper today where he pretends that Democrats all were schooled by Laura Bush's stand-up...
Ezra Klein: Tierney Time — John Tierney, who lives in Manhattan, phones it in this morning with a tired juxtaposition of Laura...
Richard Reeb: Laura Bush's Blue Jokes Won't Shake the Blue State Voters — A pleasant discovery on the New York Times Op-Ed page is...
Digby: First we are told that we're a bunch of immoral libertines who are trying to destroy the fabric of our nation with our...
Michelle Malkin: John Tierney gives it two thumbs up. Wlady Pleszczynski hated it. The Washington Post rounds up more reaction and there's a spirited debate over at Lucianne.com.
Jeff Jarvis: In his Times column today, John Tierney says the Bushes — and, they hope, their backers — are coming out as real...
Also: Matt Singer, Matthew Yglesias, Ann Althouse, Ed Cone, Steve M., Orrin Judd, K. J. Lopez, Tbogg

Strange New World: No 'Star Trek'
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
So they've gone and killed "Star Trek." And it's about time.
They tried it before, remember. The network flushed William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy down into the great septic tank of broadcast waste, from which no traveler.... No, wait, let's get this right: from which rotting ideas and aging actors return with depressing regularity.
Avedon Carol: Why hasn't Medved enlisted? Why is Orson Scott Card dancing on Star Trek's grave? Take Charlie Rangel's Social Security quiz.
Pudentilla: omens and portents orson scott card has an obituary for the star trek series that will be of interest to sci-fi fans.
Betsy Newmark: Orson Scott Card says that there is no need for Star Trek anymore. [snipped quote] I must confess that I am one of those grade school fans of the original Star Trek.
James Joyner: Strange New World: No 'Star Trek' [snipped quote] I enjoyed "Eternal Sunshine" and am a big fan of the "Smallville" series.
Steve Bainbridge: Orson Scott Card Slams Trekdom — OSC offers up some provocative thoughts on the demise (?) of the Star Trek franchise: [snipped quote] Ouch.
K. J. Lopez: STAR TREK, R.I.P. "There's just no need for 'Star Trek' anymore."

Congress May Require Closer Scrutiny to Get a Driver's License
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 2 - Congress is moving quickly toward setting strict rules on how states issue driver's licenses, requiring them to verify whether each applicant for a new license or a renewal is in this country legally.
Glenn Reynolds: THIS DRIVER'S LICENSE BILL may have constitutional problems: "Congress is moving quickly toward setting strict rules on...
McQ: The NYT is reporting that Congress is contemplating new strict requirements for states issuing driver's licenses which...
Dr. Steven Taylor: Via the NYT: Congress May Require Closer Scrutiny to Get a Driver's License "Under the rules being considered, before...
Hugh Hewitt: "Eleven states now grant driver's licenses to noncitizens who do not have visas." How stupid can a state be?
Cori Dauber: Payback time. The proposed new rules will require states to determine whether all applicants (including those renewing licenses) are in this country legally.
James Joyner: Congress May Require Closer Scrutiny to Get a Driver's License (NYT | RSS) [snipped quote] It's stunning to me that...
Also: Pudentilla

Poll: Most in U.S. say Iraq war not worthwhile
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A majority of Americans do not believe it was worth going to war in Iraq, a national poll reported Tuesday.
Fifty-seven percent of those polled said they did not believe it was worth going to war, versus 41 percent who said it was, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,006 adults.
The Poorman: MSM polls were presented showing public support for the war at an all-time low, with many expressing dissappointment about the way things were headed.
Atrios: Internalize This — Now, oh media, may be the time to start wondering why: Fifty-seven percent of those polled said they...
Taegan Goddard: Most Say Iraq War Not Worth It — A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds that 57% of Americans do not believe it was worth going to war in Iraq.

Florida Drops Effort to Block Abortion for 13-Year-Old
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
MIAMI, May 2 - After first resisting a judge's order to allow a 13-year-old in state custody to get an abortion, Gov. Jeb Bush's administration changed course today and said it would abandon the legal fight.
DavidNYC @DailyKos: And what did he say? "Look, if the judge has ruled, it's time to move on." What? You mean no umpteen-million reviews in front of ten more judges?
Mark Kleiman: Jeb Bush and rapists' rights — So the Florida courts have decided that Jeb Bush can't force a pregnant thirteen-year-old girl to carry the child to term.
John Hawkins: Girl, 13, Gets Abortion, But No TV For A Week — Satire By Scott Ott — A 13-year-old girl, who ran away from a...

Army Recruiters Say They Feel Pressure to Bend Rules
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
It was late September when the 21-year-old man, fresh from a three-week commitment in a psychiatric ward, showed up at an Army recruiting station in southern Ohio.
Skippy: jason, over at countercolumn, disputes pundentilla's interpretation of the nytimes piece about recruiting...first by...
Jacob Sullum: The Army's Leaky Drug Screen — A Colorado high school student reports that a U.S. Army recruiter "helped him buy a...
James Joyner: Army Recruiters Say They Feel Pressure to Bend Rules — Army Recruiters Say They Feel Pressure to Bend Rules (NYT | RSS)...
Pudentilla: no wonder general myers is nervous — [snipped quote] so what do you do when you're stuck waging war with an army no one...

Fla. Judge OKs Abortion for 13-Year-Old
  AP   —   Permalink 
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A judge has ruled that a 13-year-old girl at the center of an abortion fight with the state may terminate her pregnancy.
Juvenile Judge Ronald Alvarez on Monday ruled that the teen, who has been in state custody for four years, would not be physically or emotionally harmed by the procedure.
Paul @Wizbang: So Much for the "It Takes a Village" Theory — I wonder if the nanny staters of the world are proud of this one: Fla...
James Joyner: Florida Judge OKs Abortion for 13-Year-Old — Florida Judge OKs Abortion for 13-Year-Old (WaPo - AP) [snipped quote] We...
Barbara O'Brien: BTW, a Florida judge has ruled that L.G., the pregnant 13-year-old discussed below, may have an abortion.
K. J. Lopez: CHILD ON CHILD TRAGEDY, STATE SANCTIONED — [snipped quote] Yes, women, nevermind 13-year-old girls are never harmed by abortion.

Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 2 - The concentration of American troops and weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan limits the Pentagon's ability to deal with other potential armed conflicts, the military's highest ranking officer reported to Congress on Monday.
Avedon Carol: They are called fools. Gee, I sure hope the damned Dem leadership is reading this. Is this a joke?
Cori Dauber: Now, with that in mind, here's a major front page report from today's New York Times: "Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts."
Matthew Yglesias: It turns out that when the president told the nation at last week's press conference that the nation's military capacity...
Cernig: The New York Times, that well known bastion of liberal media bias, reports that "The concentration of American troops...
James Joyner: Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts (NYT | RSS) [snipped quote] Well, no. Myers was stating...
Riggsveda @Corrente: From The Department Of Obvious Obviousness — "Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts" Gee.
Also: Susan Madrak

All Eyes On DeLay
  Time   —   Permalink 
At first, it was easy to believe that the storm clouds gathering around House Majority Leader Tom DeLay signaled little more than another Washington tempest. After all, most Republicans reassured themselves, hardly anybody outside the Beltway or DeLay's...
Jo Fish: Justice Delay'd? Everyone's favorite troglodyte, Tom Delay is becoming more visible nationally. Good.
Charles Kuffner: UPDATE: Time Magazine has a poll which claims DeLay's name recognition countrywide is at 77% (via The Stakeholder).
Byron LaMasters: Time Magazine reports: "At first, it was easy to believe that the storm clouds gathering around House Majority Leader...

Crusading Against History
  By / Front Page Magazine   —   Permalink 
"It's not like a stupid Hollywood movie," said French actress Eva Green about the English director Sir Ridley Scott's Crusades flick, Kingdom of Heaven.
That's true. It's, like, a stupid English movie.
The Crusades are hot, and Ridley Scott (director of Alien) is about to make them hotter.
Betsy Newmark: Historians aren't pleased with the movie, Kingdom of Heaven. Every thing seems to have been made politically correct.
Ed Driscoll: Update: Found via Betsy Newmark, Front Page says that historians are none to pleased with Scott's film, either.

Saving Social Security's Dishonesty
  NRO   —   Permalink 
The Democratic strategy.
In the congressional debate over repealing the estate (a.k.a. death) tax, Democrats routinely invoked Paris Hilton as an example of someone who wouldn't be hurt if the government confiscated part of her family's wealth upon her parents' death.
PGL: The latest NRO column from Rich Lowry drew fire from Max Sawicky and Matthew Yglesias. Matthew points out how dishonest Lowry's op-ed was.
Matthew Yglesias: National Review editor — Rich Lowry accuses Social Security's defenders of "dishonesty" on grounds so spurious I can't quite tell what they're supposed to be.
Max B. Sawicky: Rich Lowry goes back and forth, while convincing himself if nobody else of liberal mendacity.

Blogspotting
  By / Business Week   —   Permalink 
The big papers and magazines consider themselves the core source of news—the news that many blogs feed off for their comments and insights. But where do readers look for recent historial news, say day-by-day developments during the invasion of Iraq?
Tom Biro: Archives won't come cheap — Rex Hammock points to Blogspotting's Stephen Baker, who suspects that newspapers and other...
Rex Hammock: I nominate McGraw Hill to go first: BusinessWeek "Blogspotting" Stephen Baker says main-stream media should open up their historical archives to all comers.

Social Security, Day by Day
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
This column is about Day Two. Day One is the first day of the work year. On that day, the average American worker earns about $142.31 and, of course, has a piece of that withheld for Social Security.
Raffi Melkonian: Additionally, I observe a little ruefully that a lot of the left's argument against changing social security is grounded...
Jesse Taylor: Splendiferous — Richard Cohen writes one of those delightfully ignorant faux-centrist pieces on Social Security today, even as Bush's support on Social Security divebombs.
Matthew Yglesias: Richard Cohen works up some excellent righteous indignation over the Republican Party's irrational aversion to taxes,...
Barbara O'Brien: On the same WaPo page, Richard Cohen writes, "This column is about Day Two. Day One is the first day of the work year.

Florida ends fight against abortion for 13-yr-old
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida dropped its fight on Tuesday to prevent a 13-year-old girl in state care from having an abortion in a case that marked the state's second recent foray into controversial personal rights issues.
Ed Driscoll: Life—Or At Least Newspaper Headlines—Imitates South Park — Back in 1998 (wow, has it been on that long?) there was a...
Spoons: Sick society — Florida ends fight against abortion for 13-yr-old Appalling. UPDATE: Paul manages to say more.

Laura Bush: First lady of comedy?
  USA Today   —   Permalink 
The complete transcript of Laura Bush's comments from the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, held April 30:
"/ President Bush: Thank you and good evening. I always look forward to these dinners, where I'm supposed to be funny - intentionally.
Jeff Jarvis: Milking the horse: The funny vote : Laura Bush's stand-up routine was a notable political moment: It was about trying to...
Hello however: note to awol...this isn't a cow...do not attempt to milk skip hollandsworth in the texas monthly
Lambert @Corrente: IOKIYAR: Two seconds of Janet Jackson's tit, and America reeled!

Measure to Expand Political Rights for Kuwaiti Women Fails
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 3 - Kuwait's Parliament effectively killed a measure today that would have allowed women to participate in municipal elections for the first time this year, delaying any further discussion of the measure until after the elections are called.
Riggsveda @Corrente: Freedom for them to do this: "Kuwait's Parliament effectively killed a measure today that would have allowed women to...
Jo Fish: His semi-retarded offspring has not succeeded in spreading Democracy to neighboring Kuwait it seems.

Bob Edwards Learns NPR Isn't Done Hitting the Off Button
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Bob Edwards , the longtime "Morning Edition" host who was booted amid much controversy last year from National Public Radio, says he's still getting static from his former employer.
Jim Romenesko: NPR won't let Simon appear on Edwards' XM radio show — Washington Post | Washington Times edwards Richard Leiby...
James Joyner: NPR Bans Hosts from Bob Edwards XM Show — Bob Edwards Learns NPR Isn't Done Hitting the Off Button (WaPo, C3) [snipped quote] Quite bizarre.
Garrett M. Graff: NPR has banned its "Weekend Morning Edition" host Scott Simon from appearing on the new show by Bob Edwards on XM satellite radio, according to the Reliable Source.
Laura Rozen: If NPR wants my continued contributions, they can stop acting so fascist to Bob Edwards. This is ridiculous.

Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
  BBC   —   Permalink 
Luis Garcia fired Liverpool past Chelsea and into the European Cup final for the first time in 20 years.
They led inside four minutes when Milan Baros beat Petr Cech to the ball and Luis Garcia tapped in, despite Chelsea claiming it did not cross the line.
Iain Murray: No-hoper underdogs shock the metropolitan favorites as the Reds beat the Blues after the Blues were lauded by the press.
Chris @CrookedTimber: There is a God! Good 1—Evil 0

AP: Lobbyist Paid for Lawmakers Travel
  AP   —   Permalink 
(05-03) 05:04 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) —
At least two aides to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and two Democratic congressmen received travel expenses initially paid by lobbyist Jack Abramoff on his credit card or by his firm, internal records of the lobbying firm show.
Cookie Jill: "- sfgate/ap" documents noting expenses for delay aides rudy and buckham to the marianas are available at:...
Captain Ed: House Ethics Violations: Not Just For GOP Any More — The attempt to ensnare House Majority Whip Tom DeLay in ethics...
Michelle Malkin: WHO'S TRIPPIN' — AP's got the scoop on two Democratic congressmen, not just beleaguered GOP Rep. Tom DeLay, who...
Jeff Quinton: Report: Clyburn went on trips paid for by Abramoff — Michelle Malkin points to an AP article on Congressional travel...

U.S. Called Unprepared For Nuclear Terrorism
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
When asked during the campaign debates to name the gravest danger facing the United States, President Bush and challenger Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) gave the same answer: a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists.
LeanLeft: That article is from last Novemember, but it is simply a wider ranging look at a problem that still exists today.
Cori Dauber: At Some Point You Need to Be Reasonable — A front page article in the Washington Post with the shocking news that three...
Susan Madrak: All those people who said they voted for him because he'd "do a better job protecting us" - what's their reason this week?
Hugh Hewitt: From this morning's Washington Post: "But more than 3 1/2 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. government...
Chris Mooney: Nuclear Terror Readiness — The U.S. isn't prepared for a nuclear terrorist act, says the Post. No big surprise there.

Teachers Sue Over Arrest at Bush Rally
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
Two teachers arrested at a 2004 campaign rally for President Bush and strip-searched at a county jail have filed a lawsuit alleging law officers conspired to violate their constitutional rights.
Alice McCabe and Christine Nelson, both in their 50s, were among five protesters arrested at the Sept. 3 rally.
Digby: Business As Usual — I missed this one.
Lambert @Corrente: MBF Watch: Schoolteachers strip searched at Partei Rally — Nothing must pop Inerrant Boy's bubble: [snipped quote] Well,...

Social Security sacrifices expected
  By / USA Today   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — A solid majority of Americans predict that their benefits will have to be cut or their taxes raised to ensure the long-term future of Social Security, a sign that most people are prepared to endure some pain to preserve the nation's retirement system.
Steve Soto: Gallup found that Bush's press conference and his touting of a variation of the Pozen progressive price-indexing scheme for Social Security didn't go over well with voters.
Kevin Drum: NO MORE CRISIS?...Via Melanie Mattson, here are the results of a USA Today poll on Social Security: [snipped quote] At...
Nico @ThinkProgress: The result? Worst. Ratings. Ever. (Literally.)

Bush Gets B+ for Honesty, Even Courage, on Social Security
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
Question: Is the poll troubling?
The president: Polls? You know, if a president tries to govern based upon polls, you're kind of like a dog chasing your tail. I don't think you can make good, sound decisions based upon polls.
Joe Gandelman: Michael Kinsley: Bush Deserves B+ For Honesty On Social Security Position — L.A. Times Editorial Page and Opinion...
Michelle Malkin: Michael Kinsley admits that President Bush's Social Security indexing proposal is "honest," "courageous," and "highly...
James Joyner: Kinsley: Bush Gets B+ for Honesty, Even Courage — Michael Kinsley, long a favorite of mine among liberal pundits, once...

Safety Stops Draw Doubts
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Lisa Davis had done nothing wrong. She was wearing a seat belt, was obeying the speed limit and produced a valid driver's license when D.C. police pulled her over one recent night at a traffic safety checkpoint in a crime-plagued neighborhood.
Radley Balko: The Right of Movement — The Washington Post reports that cops are using sobriety checkpoints for purposes that have nothing to do with drunken driving.
James Joyner: D.C. Safety Stops Questioned — Safety Stops Draw Doubts (WaPo, B1) [snipped quote] Like Radley Balko, this strikes me as...

Times Mulls Subscriptions For Internet Archives
  By / WSJ   —   Permalink 
The New York Times, exploring new revenue streams for its Web site, is polling readers to see whether they would be willing to pay $50 a year to gain extensive access to its archives.
The newspaper is surveying registered users of NYTimes.com about two different subscription models.
Tom Biro: Not so fast, says the WSJ's David Kesmodel, who writes about the New York Times' current investigation into whether site...
Jim Romenesko: NYT asks readers: Would you pay $50/year for our archives?
Garrett M. Graff: Nevertheless, the trends are forcing newspaper execs to confront a reality where most people are learning to get news...

Shifting Arguments Color Filibuster Debate
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
"/ Judiciary Committee and Democrats indignantly demanded a yes-or-no vote for each. That was then.
"/ President Bush's court nominees — and Republicans heatedly insist the Constitution itself requires a vote.
"Give them a vote.
Barbara O'Brien: Eric Boehlert has a good background article about her in Salon. Update: See this Associated Press story by David Espo.
Steve Soto: The AP Notices The Bipartisan Hypocrisy About Judicial Filibusters — Read this excellent piece just out by the AP's...

Faux Americana
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
In his early live shows, Bruce Springsteen had a habit of rattling off, while the band vamped softly in the background, some thoroughly implausible story from his youth. This he punctuated with a shy, wheezing laugh that let you know he didn't for a second buy into his own bulls**t.
Matt Welch: There's a Bullshitter on the Edge of Town — Demonstrating once again that if there's anything more brutal than damning...
Bill @INDCJournal: "Faux Americana" — I'd agree with this assessment: [snipped quote] Music-wise, Springsteen's overaffected, raspy gasping...
Ed Cone: Not saying Bruuuce — Stephen Metcalf in Slate: "Springsteen is no longer a musician. He's a belief system.

Inky Mark says he's been wooed by Liberals
  By / Globe and Mail   —   Permalink 
Conservative MP Inky Mark says the Liberal party is trying to woo him by offering him an ambassadorship or Senate position.
Mr. Mark said in several interviews Tuesday that he was approached by an unnamed cabinet minister who offered him a position in a phone call last Friday.
Captain Ed: A Conservative MP with the memorable name Inky Mark claims that the new Liberal survival strategy will rely on buying Tory MPs in order to undermine Stephen Harper.
Damian Penny: (Via Andrew Coyne, who noted stories about this blatant bribery last week.) Update: more here.

Tyrants' Lobbyist, Flamboyant to the End
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
As part of Washington's image machinery for more than two decades, Edward von Kloberg III did his best to sanitize some of the late 20th century's most notorious dictators as they sought favors and approval from U.S. officials.
Captain Ed: Farewell To A Collaborator — The Washington Post publishes an odd obituary today on the suicide death of Edward von...
Kerry Howley: Shame is for Sissies — Washington lobbyist Edward von Kloberg—whose former clients included Saddam Hussein, Nicolae...
Orrin Judd: WHERE THE LAVISHING TAKES YOU (via Rick Turley): Tyrants' Lobbyist, Flamboyant to the EndVon Kloberg Dies After Years as...

Evolution on trial in Kansas
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
TOPEKA, Kansas (Reuters) — Evolution is going on trial in Kansas.
Eighty years after a famed courtroom battle in Tennessee pitted religious beliefs about the origins of life against the theories of British scientist Charles Darwin, Kansas is holding its own hearings on what school children should be taught about how life on Earth began.
Riggsveda @Corrente: There's The T-Word — Kansas is at it again: [quote] "...Kansas is holding its own hearings on what school children should be taught about how life on Earth began.[end quote]
Chris Mooney: Evolution on "Trial" — Idiotic media coverage. Evolution is not going on "trial" in Kansas this week. There is no court case.

Brain-Damaged Man 'Wakes Up' After 10 Years
  AP   —   Permalink 
A firefighter brain-damaged in a 1995 roof collapse had an "amazing" weekend, recognizing and speaking with his four sons and other family and friends for the first time in years, a family spokesman said Monday.
Lorie Byrd: Miracle Firefighter — When I saw the story this morning about the brain-damaged firefighter who, after ten years, is...
Verity @SouthernAppeal: This amazing story of a NY firefighter who "wakes up" after ten years, left me wondering: After he catches up with his...

Schools reverse sex-ed policy
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
A Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman said yesterday that the district will not bar parents from sitting in on a sex-ed course that begins this week, and that they never intended to.
Susanna Cornett: Paul at Powerline posts on an article in The Washington Times pointing out that: "...Montgomery County Public Schools...
Ann Althouse: UPDATE: The Washington Times gets results!
Paul @PowerLine: Big brother (or sister, depending on his internal gender sense) knows best — The Washington Times reports that...

Newspapers' Circulation Still Going Down
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Newspaper circulation continues to tumble.
The industry reported yesterday a 1.9 percent drop in daily circulation, and a 2.5 percent decline on Sundays, over the last six months, compared with the period a year ago.
Terry Heaton: And so it goes... -o- New York Times "That young people aren't reading newspapers is a pretty fatal formula for any business.
Jay Rosen: The context is PressThink, The Migration, and new reports released May 2nd—called "bloody Monday" by Editor & Publisher—on tumbling circulation.
Jim Romenesko: Analyst doesn't see any bright spots in latest circ reports — New York Times | Editor & Publisher John Morton says of...

Moral absolutes: Judeo-Christian values: Part XI
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
Nothing more separates Judeo-Christian values from secular values than the question of whether morality — what is good or evil — is absolute or relative. In other words, is there an objective right or wrong, or is right or wrong a matter of personal opinion?
Brad DeLong: Private Accounts: Add-on, Not Carve-Out — Pandagon is unhappy with Richard Cohen: Pandagon: Splendiferous: Richard...
Jesse Taylor: Well, it seems it's because we are relativists, and you can tell that because we are against the Ten Commandments being propped up in courthouse yards.

Bolton's style cited in treaty impasse
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — In December 2001, at a conference on biological weapons, John R. Bolton stunned his fellow diplomats by insisting, without warning, that the nations of the world abandon their years-long effort to enforce the global treaty on germ warfare, according to conference participants.
Laura Rozen: The Boston Globe's Farah Stockman recalls when John Bolton collapsed the Biological Weapons Treaty to the surprise of US...
Orrin Judd: HAND ME THAT SJAMBOK: Bolton's style cited in treaty impasse (Farah Stockman, May 3, 2005, Boston Globe)

Could Leaks Sink Tony Blair?
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
The drip drip drip of press leaks about Tony Blair's decision to join the U.S. invasion of Iraq is eroding the British prime minister's lead in public opinion polls heading into Thursday's election, according to British online commentators.
Jan Haugland: Tony Blair poll standing not damaged by Iraq debate — Jefferson Morley in the Washington Post opines about the British...
Suzanne Nossel: We suspect that if Bush is credited with progress in the Middle East, the misdeeds that seem to have already been...

Newspaper Circulation Continues to Decline
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Circulation at 814 of the nation's largest daily newspapers declined 1.9 percent over the six months ended March 31 compared with the same period last year, an industry trade group reported yesterday.
Garrett M. Graff: Post Circ Drop Continues downarrow.jpgYesterday's report of the last six months of circulation figures for newspaper is...
Michelle Malkin: PAJAMA PAPAS AND MAMAS — The New York Sun has an article about the effort by Roger Simon and others to launch a blogger...
Cori Dauber: Newspaper Circulations Down — While this would not explain the numbers at the major dailies and the national papers,...
Lambert @Corrente: Goodnight, moon — Great headlines of our time: Newspaper circulation continues to decline.

Once more with feeling
  Guardian   —   Permalink 
The 2005 general election campaign has been a defective democratic event in many ways. Yet beneath the surface there has echoed a national conversation of passion and seriousness. Thoughtful people have debated for months with families, friends and colleagues - and with themselves - about how to vote in this contest.
Norm Geras: Today, the paper's only leader tells us, by implication, that it is not: "While 2005 will be remembered as Tony Blair's...
Harry @HarrysPlace: The Guardian's official voting advice is here - more sensible than their decision to give a nod and a wink for Galloway.

America's mortal secret
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
THE HOLIEST acreage in America was consecrated in an act of revenge. Beating a retreat back to Washington from their defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, Union soldiers crossed into the property of ''Arlington House," Robert E. Lee's home on the Potomac River.
Juan Cole: James Carroll of the Boston Globe argues that the impulse for revenge should be stifled in Iraq.
Orrin Judd: REDUCTIO AD HIROSHIMIUM: America's mortal secret (James Carroll, May 3, 2005, Boston Globe) [snipped quote] Mr. Carroll...

On Bloggers and Money
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
You could almost hear the blogosphere sigh with relief earlier this spring when federal election officials indicated that they did not plan to crack down on bloggers who write about politics.
Hugh Hewitt: But bloggers beware, the FCC is still out there, and even the narrowest of rules has unintended consequences.
Captain Ed: Exempt Media Attacks Bloggers ... Again — The Exempt Media has decided to take another whack at bloggers and the exercise of free speech, this time in the Washington Post.
McQ: FEC and paid blogging — Brian Faler reports in the WaPo that there's a movement afoot to have the FEC require bloggers...

Robertson affirmed his belief that Democratic judges are a greater threat to the U.S. than Al Qaeda, Nazi Germany or Civil War
  Media Matters for America   —   Permalink 
On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Pat Robertson, founder of Christian Coalition of America and host of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, defended his comments in his latest book, Courting Disaster, that Democratic judicial appointments are the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years.
Greg @TheTalentShow: Pat Roberson is a deceitful asshole — Pat Robertson must have been handed a memo entitled "Things that enrage Greg"...
Mark Kleiman: The theocrats advance — Pat Robertson says judges are more of a menace than al-Qaeda.

Some Papers Lose Big in Today's New Circulation Numbers
  Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK On "Bloody Monday," E&P runs the circ numbers in the new Fas-Fax report and finds steep percentage drops at many large papers. A few show modest gains, but in some spots it's downright ugly.
Paul @PowerLine: Decline — Howard Kurtz reports the latest statistics on newspaper circulation, as provided by Editor and Publisher.
Kevin Roderick: Afternoon update: E&P is calling today "Bloody Monday" for newspapers, with Tribune papers — especially the Baltimore Sun, down 11.5% daily — leading the way.

P.R. Jury Opts Against Death Penalty
  AP   —   Permalink 
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal jury decided against the death penalty for two men convicted of murdering a security guard in Puerto Rico, instead sentencing them Monday to life in prison.
Armando @DailyKos: And so is opposition to the death penalty: [snipped quote] The U.S. Department of Justice sought the death penalty,...
Jeralyn Merritt: The New York Times reports: [snipped quote] You would think the feds would have learned their lesson in 2003 when...

Therapies: T.M. for Your B.P.? Hmmm . . .
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
According to a paper published yesterday in The American Journal of Cardiology, Transcendental Meditation, or T.M., is highly effective in reducing the rate of death from cardiovascular disease in people with high blood pressure.
Joe Gandelman: The New York Times reports: [snipped quote] As we noted, yoga practitioners (and we've studied and practiced it while...
James Joyner: Vital Signs: Therapies: T.M. for Your B.P.? Hmmm . . .

Evolution on trial as Kansas debates Adam vs Darwin
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
TOPEKA, Kan (Reuters) - Evolution is going on trial in Kansas.
Eighty years after a famed courtroom battle in Tennessee pitted religious beliefs about the origins of life against the theories of British scientist Charles Darwin, Kansas is holding its own hearings on what school children should be taught about how life on Earth began.
Jan Haugland: Evolution debate is on in Kansas (again!) Kansas debates Adam vs Darwin, in the 21st century. Evolution is going on trial in Kansas.
Arnold P. California: . Why? Here's a clue.
Amanda Marcotte: Kansas to debate whether Adam had a navel next week — Also on the agenda for the Kansas Board of Education—whether or...
Jayson @PoliPundit: States' Rights — You'll have to wade through an initial shotgun blast of partisan-liberal dogma, from Reuters, but, as...

'L.A.Times' Reports Circ Plunge, and Explains It
  Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
LOS ANGELES For the six months ended March 31, 2005, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday-Saturday average daily circulation of 907,997, a decline of 6.5 percent compared with the prior year, and Sunday circulation of 1,253,849, a decline of 7.9 percent from the prior year, according to figures filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations, subject to audit.
Tom Biro: Aptly, Editor & Publisher calls this a "plunge" in the headline heralding the announcement.
Kevin Roderick: Short E&P story on the Times. • Monday, May 2 2005 • LINK

Robertson: Judges worse than Al Qaeda
  By / NY Daily News   —   Permalink 
Federal judges are a more serious threat to America than Al Qaeda and the Sept. 11 terrorists, the Rev. Pat Robertson claimed yesterday.
"Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more...
Kagro X: Does Frist have the votes, or is he instead "really screwed?"
Sam Rosenfeld: The Next Hurrah passes on this delicious tidbit from The New York Daily News on Bill Frist and the nuclear option: [snipped quote] Indeed.
Atrios: More importantly, when someone on the left makes an equivalently ridiculous statement not only are they drummed out of...
Jan Haugland: The not-so-reverend Pat Robertson demonstrates the loonie right will not be outdone in idiocy: Federal judges are a more...
Charles Johnson: But today we have an example from the far right in Pat Robertson, who said yesterday that federal judges are a more serious threat than Al Qaeda.
Captain Ed: Gee, Thanks, Pat (Updated) Proving that not all hyperbolic idiots occupy the left side of the political spectrum, Pat...
Also: Jack Balkin, Joe Gandelman, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, Steve Bainbridge, Jeralyn Merritt, John Cole, Orrin Judd, Kos @DailyKos

Newspaper Circulation Continues Decline, Forcing Tough Decisions
  WSJ   —   Permalink 
The newspaper industry, already suffering from circulation problems, could be looking at its worst numbers in more than a decade.
Circulation numbers to be released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations probably will show industrywide declines of 1%...
Paul @PowerLine: They show some astonishing declines from just last year: [snipped quote] The Wall Street Journal has a rambling piece...
Tom Biro: Planting your flaws — On Monday, the Wall Street Journal's Julia Angwin and Joseph Hallinan put forth one of the more...
Vox Day: It's a mystery — From the WSJ: [snipped quote] I found that last part particularly amusing, as it was the DMN that...
Saint Paul l: The Long Goodbye — This Wall Street Journal article on the decline of newspaper circulations presents the welcome news...
Jay Rosen: The theme was newspapers facing tough decisions as the circulation numbers continue to fall.
Donald Sensing: The nation's newspapers are overall suffering from declining circulation, and the LA Times' decline is about double the average - more than six percent.
Also: James Joyner, Jeff Jarvis, Vanderleun, Ace, Roger L. Simon, Jim Romenesko, Glenn Reynolds

Why Can't They "Just Get Along"?
  By / NRO   —   Permalink 
Warning:The following contains adult (in this case, collegiate) language, along with gratuitous references to male and female genitalia.
College administrators have been enthusiastic supporters Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues and schools across the nation celebrate "V-Day" (short for Vagina Day) every year.
Tom Smith: They do apparently at some Catholic universities, which is pretty shocking. I mean, really.
Vox Day: The P-song — Christina Hoff Sommers on the university war against the penis: [snipped quote] Penis penis penis penis penis penis song.
Ace: And now— now! — college administrators at Roger Williams College have decided that they will not put up with this sort of gob-smacking vileness.
Betsy Newmark: Christina Hoff Sommers looks at Roger Williams University where V-Day for women is celebrated, but men got in trouble for trying to celebrate P-Day.
Amanda Marcotte: That's why she claims she supports the Roger Williams College Republicans with their newest stunt to endear themselves to the women on campus, "The Penis Monologues".
TheAnchoress: You'll want to read the whole thing, here. Double standards drive me up the wall. Clearly they upset me enough to drag me out of a sickbed!
Also: Damian Penny, Ann Althouse, Steve Bainbridge

Poll: Support lags for Social Security plan
  CNN   —   Permalink 
(CNN) — President Bush has made overhauling Social Security a key part of his second-term agenda and has spent weeks on the road discussing the subject, but a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that just over a third of respondents approve of his handling of the issue.
Barbara O'Brien: A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken after Thursday night's monkey show reveal even less support for Bush's scheme than before.
Ezra Klein: Love, Ezra P.S — The country ain't buying it either.
Steve Soto: In a word, NO, not according to a new CNN/USAT/Gallup poll out today, taken after the press conference over this past weekend.
Chris Bowers: Gallup Polls Social Security — Bush's press conference, while serving as a nice news distraction from the horrible...

High Court to Review Law Barring Campus Recruiters
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider whether colleges and universities may bar military recruiters from their campuses without fear of losing federal funds.
Clayton Cramer: This is the question that the U.S. Supreme Court has apparently decided to answer: [snipped quote] Professor Orin Kerr...
Phillip Carter: [AP story here] A 2-1 majority of the 3rd Circuit held that the government could not condition the receipt of federal...
Orin Kerr: Supreme Court to Review Solomon Amendment Case: The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to review the Third Circuit's decision striking down the Solomon Amendment.
James Joyner: Supreme Court to decide if colleges can bar recruiters (AP USAT, WaPo) [snipped quote] The Court has held, in the past,...
Matt Singer: Free to Exclude — The Supreme Court is taking a lawsuit over whether law schools can be denied federal research funding...
Ann Althouse: An unusually clear crystal ball. Orin Kerr at Volokh Conspiracy notes today's cert grant: [snipped quote] Tough enough to make anyone want to bet on the other side?

From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
I spent some time recently with Aidan Delgado, a 23-year-old religion major at New College of Florida, a small, highly selective school in Sarasota.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, before hearing anything about the terror attacks that would change the direction of American history, Mr. Delgado enlisted as a private in the Army Reserve.
John @PowerLine: Assuming the Worst About Our Troops — Bob Herbert's column in yesterday's New York Times is generating a lot of buzz.
Blackfive: He's using the "It's Viet Nam all over again..." and "GI's bad, terrorists good" themes without providing any detail or...
NewSisyphus: Here is his version in the Herbert column: Mr. Delgado confronted a sergeant who, he said, had fired on the detainees.
Jason Van Steenwyk: The Herbert Column — Several people actually wrote in to ask me to comment on this Bob Herbert column today, featuring an interview with a disaffected soldier.
Michelle Malkin: Bob Herbert's gushing profile of conscientious objector Aidan Delgado has many astute observers asking questions.
James Joyner: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead' (NYT RSS) [snipped quote] Delgado eventually won conscientious objector status and his release from the Army Reserves.
Also: Baldilocks, McQ, Atrios, Ogged @Unfogged, Rich Lowry, Tom Tomorrow, Oliver @LiquidList

Doubts About Mandate for Bush, GOP
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
The day after he won a second term in November, President Bush offered his view of the new political landscape.
"When you win there is a feeling that the people have spoken and embraced your point of view," he said, "and that's what I intend to tell the...
Avedon Carol: My god, the press has even noticed that Bush didn't get a "mandate" in November. Well, haven't we told you all along?
EDM Staff: As John F. Harris and Jim Vandehei put it in their Washington Post article, "Doubts About Mandate for Bush, GOP," "As...
Hugh Hewitt: In the same paper that has this excellent reporting there is a fine, fine piece of absurdist agenda journalism: "Doubts About Mandate for Bush, GOP."
Steve Soto: Having seen their claims to a political realignment hit the toilet in a grand overreach and misreading of a claimed...
Digby: Doubts About Mandate for Bush, GOP [snipped quote] Where do they come up with this stuff? Of course he has a mandate.
Nick Gillespie: 100 Days of Bush2... The Wash Post notes that, 100 days into George Bush's second term, Dubya's looking like a lame duck already: [snipped quote] Whole thing here.
Also: C. D. Harris, Pudentilla, Taegan Goddard

Groom Gives Ring Back to Runaway Bride
  Fox News   —   Permalink 
DULUTH, Ga. — When runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks (search) made her way home after running away last week, John Mason was waiting to give something to his fiancée.
"The first thing I gave to her when I saw her was her diamond back.
Brian Stelter: Hannity's interview, which aired on H&C last night (and is available in four parts on FoxNews.com), has been cited in...
Michele Catalano: she's just one layer short of a wedding cake — [snipped quote] Dude. Her mistake had people pointing the finger at you for her murder.
Kevin Aylward: So it should hardly be a surprise that Fox News' Hannity & Colmes show snagged the first interview with Mason,"The first...
James Joyner: Groom Gives Ring Back to Runaway Bride — Groom Gives Ring Back to Runaway Bride (FOX News) [snipped quote] A match made in Heaven.

Laura leaves 'em laughing, gasping
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
First lady Laura Bush took over the podium from her husband at Saturday night's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner and knocked 'em dead, keeping Washington's most powerful politicos in stitches as she worked the ballroom like a seasoned stand-up comic.
Susanna Cornett: Can't win for losing — Saturday night Laura Bush interrupted her husband's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner speech and took over.
Garrett M. Graff: The Washington Times explores the First Lady and the dinner, misspelling David Corn's name in the process, and reports...
James Joyner: Laura leaves 'em laughing, gasping (Washington Times) [quote] [...] Her scripted "interruption" of the president's traditional...[end quote]
Ace: Now I've Heard Everything: French, American Liberals Distressed by Laura Bush's "Risque" Jokes — Ohmygoodnessgracious, she mentioned Chippendales!
Acidman: i love her even more now — Some people are upset with Laura Bush's speech at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
Jeff Jarvis: In my house, you could hear a gratified cackle. : LATER: Sure enough, the Washington Times frets.

A Gut Punch to the Middle
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
By now, every journalist should know that you have to carefully check out any scheme coming from the White House. You can't just accept the administration's version of what it's doing. Remember, these are the people who named a big giveaway to logging interests "Healthy Forests."
Julian Sanchez: Prog Rock — I see that Paul Krugman and I were thinking about progressive indexing of Social Security benefits.
Tom Maguire: Krugman Clarifies Liberalism — Paul Krugman clarifies liberalism, for anyone still in the dark.
Donald Luskin: And something very, very special about those columns: I doubted that it was possible, but Paul Krugman, with ...
Avedon Carol: What else? Paul Krugman again explaining that Bush's latest proposal isn't what he says it is.
Will Wilkinson: Krugman on Progressive Indexing — Thank you President Bush. This is beautiful.
Reihan Salam: This is why—very sincerely—I was so weirded out by Krugman's column in today's Times.
Also: DavidNYC @DailyKos, Steve Soto, Edward _, Matthew Yglesias, Steve Verdon, Mark Kleiman, Mary @LeftCoaster, PGL

WILL PAULA BE BOUNCED FROM 'IDOL': ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGE TO BE AIRED
  Drudge Report   —   Permalink 
Is Paula Abdul the next person to be booted off AMERICAN IDOL?
FOX executives have declined to answer any and all questions posed by ABCNEWS regarding claims AMERICA IDOL judge Paula Abdul personally "coached" a favorite contestant and then tried to cover up the breach, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
Ann Althouse: Drudge is boring the hell out of me with his interest in the "American Idol" scandal/nonscandal. And I watch "American Idol."
Ed Driscoll: Where We Stand In The War On Terror — Speaking of Matt Drudge, I'd like to think we must be doing something right...
Ace: Straight Up: Paula Abdul's Own Zippergate — I wanted to avoid this story, but I guess I can't.
Mitch Berg: And This Surprises Precisely Whom? Abdulgate rocks Hollywood: [snipped quote] I bet Sheila is ecstatic!

With Little Fanfare, a New Effort to Prosecute Employers That Flout Safety Laws
  NYT   —   Permalink 
For decades, the most egregious workplace safety violations have routinely escaped prosecution, even when they led directly to deaths or grievous injuries. Safety inspectors hardly ever called in the Justice Department. Congress repeatedly declined to toughen criminal laws for workplace deaths.
Riggsveda @Corrente: And imagine my bemusement when I beheld this: [quote] "With little fanfare and some adept bureaucratic maneuvering, a...[end quote]
Jordan Barab: Break One Law, Break Many — Normally, this would be Jordan territory, but this article on workplace safety enforcement by the Bush administration is intriguing.
Orrin Judd: LAW AND ORDER REPUBLICANISM: With Little Fanfare, a New Effort to Prosecute Employers That Flout Safety Laws (DAVID...
Nathan Newman: Writing in the New York Times, David Barstow and Lowell Bergman, authors of the 2003 NY Times/Frontline Pulitzer-winning...
Cookie Jill: "- nytimes" we'll wait to see on this one. but i am still hoping that there is one spot of hope for us working people in this dickens inspired administration.

McCloskey, other GOP elders seeking opponent for DeLay
  By / Houston Chronicle   —   Permalink 
Former U.S. Rep. Pete McCloskey, in Houston Sunday for a conference on Palestinian issues, said he and other Republican elders are looking for a candidate to oppose U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.
Byron LaMasters: The Houston Chronicle reports: [snipped quote] I wonder who the other eight former congressmen are?
Jesse Taylor: Well, "Council Of Elders" Sounds Really Cool — There's writing on the wall...and then there's the wall being strategically blown up to reveal a message in the rubble.
Charles Kuffner: McCloskey's mission — Pete McCloskey, a former Congressman from California, was in town this weekend to scope out a primary challenge to Tom DeLay.

The more unusual election pledges
  By / BBC   —   Permalink 
Most of us have become familiar with at least some of the manifesto pledges of the main parties during this election campaign.
But there are some more unusual manifesto promises being made by various smaller parties.
Damian Penny: At least you can't say they have a "hidden agenda" — Some may find them a bit extreme, but I think Britain's Dungeons...
Andrew Stuttaford: BRITISH ELECTION CHOICES — The BBC has details of some of the more entertaining alternatives available on in some UK ballot papers this Thursday.

GOP gives more power to federal government
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Despite having made a commitment to return power to the states, the Bush administration and the GOP- controlled Congress are using legislation and the legal system to quash state efforts to regulate industry, a trend state officials say is weakening hard-fought efforts to protect the health and safety of their constituents.
Avedon Carol: Oh, look, Susan Milligan at The Boston Globe has noticed that the GOP gives more power to federal government rather than giving it back to the states.
John Cole: States Rights.... Big Government Conservatism: [snipped quote] Don't forget education, drug policy and so on and so forth.
Jeffrey Dubner: This time, it's about how the federal government is overruling state attempts at regulating businesses

Robertson Says Giuliani Would Be 'Good President'
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Televangelist and one-time presidential candidate Pat Robertson praised former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on Sunday, saying that despite disagreements on social issues, Giuliani would make "a good president."
Barbara O'Brien: Weirdly, the Reverend endorsed pro-choice, pro-gay rights, but otherwise anti-integrity Rudy Giuliani for president, but dissed Religious Right houseboy Bill Frist.
Scott Sala: Technorati Tags: WTC World+Trade+Center Freedom+Tower Bloomberg NY+Sun — Giuliani Gets Religious Prez Props Pat Robertson likes Giuliani for President.
Mark Kleiman: And not a single leading Republican politician, including Rudi Guiliani, whom Robertson virtually endorsed for President — has anything critical to say about any of it.

High Court to Review Ban on Campus Recruiters
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
The Supreme Court today stepped into a major dispute over the rights of colleges and universities to deny Pentagon recruiters equal access to campuses because of the military's discriminatory policy toward gays and lesbians.
Cori Dauber: Solomon Amend. to Court — I'm certainly no lawyer, so I can't speak to the legal issues involved with the Solomon amendment case coming up before the Supreme Ct.
Glenn Reynolds: THE SUPREME COURT has agreed to hear the Solomon Amendment case.
Paul @PowerLine: An important case to follow — The Supreme Court has agreed to review a court of appeals decision holding that the Solomon Act is unconstitutional.

Charter schools & choice: What is all the fuss about?
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
May 1-7, 2005 is National Charter Schools week.
At a recent conference on education held at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a panel of MBA alumni working in the field of education were asked by their moderator what each one thought was the single most important innovation or reform necessary to improve the K-12 public education system.
Betsy Newmark: Debra England has a very good column explaining what charter schools are and why the education bureaucracy and teachers'...
Joanne Jacobs: Here's a pro-charter op-ed by Debra England of the Koret Foundation, and a newspaper editorial on the California...

Some Judges in Egypt Lend Voice to Chorus for Reform
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — The rebellion erupted last month in the sober, stolid quarters of the Alexandria Judges' Club: 1,200 magistrates publicly demanded judicial independence from an all-powerful president, and threatened to refuse to certify fall elections if they didn't get it.
McQ: Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble — That heady "freedom brew" is still bubbling in Egypt: "The rebellion erupted last...
Marc @USSNeverdock: Egypt - Judges Revolt — Seems the reveloution is growing in Egypt. [snipped quote] Nice to see MSM giving Bush the credit he deserves.
Matthew Yglesias: Political ferment continues in the crucial nation of Egypt, as judges start speaking up for reform and demanding real independence from the executive.
Orrin Judd: NOT JUST LIBERATING THE SHI'A: Some Judges in Egypt Lend Voice to Chorus for Reform (Megan K. Stack, May 2, 2005, LA...

Liberals in Exile
  By / American Enterprise Institute   —   Permalink 
Liberal interest groups and intellectuals and their house organs (such as the New York Times) are warning of an impending return to a reactionary "Constitution in Exile." The laughable warning serves to distract from the liberals' own agenda, which is not at all laughable.
Ramesh Ponnuru: "LIBERALS IN EXILE" — Michael Greve has a response to the "Constitution in exile" chatter: "Liberal interest groups and...
Michael DeBow: Michael Greve takes on the NY Times, Cass Sunsten, Bruce Ackerman, and the European Union in this soon-to-be classic op-ed for Legal Times.

A Megachurch's Leader Says Microsoft Is No Match
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
REDMOND, Wash., April 29 - Before he became a born-again Christian and later a rising national star in the world of black evangelical ministers, the Rev. Ken Hutcherson started playing football because, he said, it was the best way he could think of to "hurt white people."
Steve M.: GOD'S EGOMANIAC — From The New York Times: [The Reverend Ken] Hutcherson ... claims to be the person who forced...
Ed Cone: MSFT blues — NYT's Sarah Kershaw: [snipped quote] Scoble, blogging from within Microsoft, is not happy with his employer's stance.
John Cole: Of course, others in the wingnut brigade see different threats: "Before he became a born-again Christian and later a...

Former U.S. surgeon general may challenge Hillary in '06
  NY Daily News   —   Permalink 
ALBANY — Dr. Antonia Novello, New York's state health commissioner for the past six years and a former U.S. surgeon general, is considering a possible challenge to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2006 re-election bid, top New York political leaders said Monday.
Scott Sala: Today former US Surgeon General Dr. Antonia Novello tossed out a bone. Novello is Puerto Rican and could likely trounce Hillary in NYC on that fact alone.
Taegan Goddard: Clinton May Have Challenger — New York State Health Commissioner Antonia Novello, a former U.S. surgeon general, may...

Kerry's disease
  Guardian   —   Permalink 
Iraq is threatening to become a key issue in the closing days of this election. It remains to be seen whether the electorate is willing to bite.
With new revelations supposedly showing that the prime minister, Tony Blair, had decided on "regime change" before he had legal justification to take the country to war, both opposition parties are piling in.
Kos @DailyKos: Iraq and the British election — I have some thoughts on the matter here.
Taegan Goddard: In an interesting Guardian piece, Markos says the Conservative Party suffers from "Kerry's disease." Link | Related News

Turns out diplomacy works
  By / Washington Monthly   —   Permalink 
There are hopeful signs of historic progress on foreign policy as President Bush passes the first hundred-day mark of his second term. Iraq is headed in the right direction; Israelis and Palestinians appear poised for the first real progress in four years; and there are signs of nascent Arab reform in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.
Suzanne Nossel: Nancy Soderberg, for example, tries to draw a sharp line between the policies that led up to the Iraq war and the agenda...
Daniel Drezner: Gone guestin' — Posting will be light here at danieldrezner.com this week, as I have taken up Kevin Drum's gracious...

England pleads guilty to Abu Ghraib charges
  CNN   —   Permalink 
FORT HOOD, Texas (CNN) — U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie England — the reservist whose image symbolized Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison scandal — pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to the abuse at the Baghdad facility.
Frederick Maryland: But, according to CNN, she could receive a sentence of as little as two years under a plea-bargain arrangement.
Jeralyn Merritt: Lynndie England Pleads Guilty — Pfc. Lynndie England pleaded guilty today to seven charges. A jury will determine her punishment.

US hoping to start its withdrawal from Iraq in December
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
The American military has set a target of December for handing over responsibility for security to Iraqi army and police units, says a classified document being circulated among senior officers.
Juan Cole: Some reports suggest that the US military hopes to begin a significant draw-down of forces in Iraq by December.
James Joyner: U.S. Hoping to Start Withdrawal from Iraq in December — US hoping to start its withdrawal from Iraq in December (London...

Dyke condemns Blair's government
  BBC   —   Permalink 
Another Blair government would be a danger to democracy, former BBC director general Greg Dyke has said at a Lib Dem campaign news conference.
Mr Dyke said he had switched from Labour to the Lib Dems because he could not support a party led by Tony Blair.
Harry @HarrysPlace: What to make of this news? Mr Dyke said he had switched from Labour to the Lib Dems because he could not support a party led by Tony Blair.
Jonah Goldberg: IS IT BECAUSE I'M A LESBIAN? Actually, no.