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Archive Edition for   Friday, May 13, 2005Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

ABCNEWS
Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
The Anchoress
  TheAnchoress
Angry Bear
  PGL
Associated Press
  Glen Johnson
  Liz Sidoti
  Sharon Theimer
  Barry Schweid
  Theo Emery
Balloon Juice
  John Cole
BBC
Begging to Differ
  Steve @BeggingToDiffer
  Tom @BeggingToDiffer
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
BillHobbs.com
  Bill Hobbs
BLACKFIVE
  Grim
  Blackfive
Bloomberg
BrothersJudd Blog
  Orrin Judd
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Centerfield
  Rickheller @Centerfield
  Tully @Centerfield
Chicago Sun Times
chicagoboyz.net
  Ginny @ChicagoBoyz
  Mitch Townsend
Chrenkoff
  Arthur Chrenkoff
Chris C Mooney
  Chris Mooney
Chronicle of the Conspiracy
  Donald Luskin
The Claremont Institute
  John Andrews
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
  Clayton Cramer
CNN
The Corner
  John Podhoretz
  Jonah Goldberg
  K. J. Lopez
  Stanley Kurtz
  Jonathan H. Adler
  Mark Krikorian
corrente
  Riggsveda @Corrente
COUNTERCOLUMN
  Jason Van Steenwyk
The Counterterrorism Blog
  Andrew Cochran
Crescat Sententia
  Will Baude
The Daily Ablution
  Scott Burgess
Daily Kos
  Armando @DailyKos
  Hunter @DailyKos
  Kos @DailyKos
  DavidNYC @DailyKos
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
Daly Thoughts
  Gerry @DalyThoughts
Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.
  Dan Gillmor
Dean's World
  Mary Madigan
Demagogue
  Arnold P. California
EconoPundit
  Steve Antler
EdCone.com
  Ed Cone
Editor and Publisher
  Mark Fitzgerald
Eschaton
  Attaturk
  Echidne
  Atrios
Ezra Klein
  Ezra Klein
Guardian
  Roy Greenslade
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
  Norbizness
Harry's Place
  Harry @HarrysPlace
Hit and Run
  Kerry Howley
  Julian Sanchez
  Ben Falk
  Tim Cavanaugh
The Huffington Post
  Robert Schlesinger
  Jon Robin Baitz
Hullabaloo
  Digby
The Indepundit
  Smash
Informed Comment
  Juan Cole
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
INTEL DUMP
  Phillip Carter
joannejacobs.com
  Joanne Jacobs
L.A. Observed
  Kevin Roderick
LAW.com
  Thomas Adcock
Lean Left
  LeanLeft
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
  Mary @LeftCoaster
  Pessimist @LeftCoaster
Left in the West
  Matt Singer
The Liquid List
  Tarek @LiquidList
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  Louise Roug
The Mahablog
  Barbara O'Brien
Majikthise
  Lindsay Beyerstein
Mark A. R. Kleiman
  Mark Kleiman
Matthew Yglesias
  Matthew Yglesias
Media Matters for America
mediabistro
  Garrett M. Graff
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
The Moderate Voice
  Joe Gandelman
Montgomery Advertiser
  Ana Radelat
MSNBC
The Nation
  Ayelish Mcgarvey
National Review
The New Republic
  Jacob T. Levy
New York Post
New York Times
  Paul Krugman
  Douglas Jehl
  Carlotta Gall
  Sheryl Gay Stolberg
  Anne E. Kornblut
  Robert E. Rubin
  Raymond Hernandez
  Neil A. Lewis
  David Brooks
Newsday
  Andrew Metz
  Timothy M. Phelps
NewsHog
  Cernig
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
Obsidian Wings
  Hilzoy @ObsidianWings
Oh, That Liberal Media
  Stefan Sharkansky
Opinions You Should Have
  Tom Burka
Outside The Beltway
  James Joyner
  Robert Tagorda
Pacific Views
  Natasha @PacificViews
  Mary @PacificViews
pandagon.net
  Jesse Taylor
ParaPundit
  Randall Parker
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
PoliBlog
  Dr. Steven Taylor
PoliPundit.com
  Lorie Byrd
  Jayson @PoliPundit
  PoliPundit
Power Line
  Paul @PowerLine
  Scott @PowerLine
  John @PowerLine
PRNewsWire
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
Publius Pundit
  A.M. Mora y Leon
The QandO Blog
  McQ
  Jon Henke
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
  Sayed Salahuddin
The Right Coast
  Tom Smith
Right Wing News
  John Hawkins
Rising Hegemon
  Attaturk
Rocky Mountain News
  Lou Kilzer
Roger Ailes
  Roger Ailes
Romenesko
  Jim Romenesko
Sadly, No!
  Sadly, No!
San Francisco Chronicle
  Heidi Benson
Scared Monkeys
  Tom @ScaredMonkeys
  Red @ScaredMonkeys
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
Shot In The Dark
  Mitch Berg
The Sideshow
  Avedon Carol
Signifying Nothing
  Chris Lawrence
Silflay Hraka
  Blackavar
skippy the bush kangaroo
  Skippy
  Mimus Pauly
  Pudentilla
Slant Point
  Scott Sala
Slate
  Timothy Noah
  Dana Stevens
Southern Appeal
  Steve Dillard
  William @SouthernAppeal
  JoelL @SouthernAppeal
Steve Clemons
  Steve Clemons
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
Talking Points Memo
  Josh Marshall
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Sam Rosenfeld
»«TBogg»«
  Tbogg
Telegraph
  Andrew Sparrow
  Philip Johnston
Think Progress
  Judd @ThinkProgress
  Guest @ThinkProgress
  Nico @ThinkProgress
  Mipe @ThinkProgress
Times of London
  Philip Webster
Townhall.com
  Jonah Goldberg
Unfogged
  Ogged @Unfogged
Unqualified Offerings
  Jim Henley
USA Today
  Martha T. Moore
  Mark Memmott
USS Neverdock
  Marc @USSNeverdock
Vodkapundit
  Stephen Green
The Volokh Conspiracy
  Orin Kerr
Vox Popoli
  Vox Day
War and Piece
  Laura Rozen
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
Washington Post
  David Ignatius
  Walter Pincus
  Charles Krauthammer
  Ann Scott Tyson
  T.R. Reid
  Frank Ahrens
  Evelyn Nieves
  Joseph White
  Dana Milbank
  Marc Kaufman
  William Branigin
Washington Times
  Jerry Seper
  Charles Hurt
Weekly Standard
  Duncan Currie
White House
Winds of Change.NET
  Cicero
Wizbang
  Kevin Aylward
  Jay Tea
World O'Crap
  S.Z.
WorldNetDaily



Harry Reid Steps Over the Line -- Again
  NRO   —   Permalink 
The GOP calls his description of a Bush nominee "deeply unethical."
As the Senate edges closer to a showdown on the issue of Democratic filibusters of the president's judicial nominees, Republicans on Capitol Hill are angry at remarks by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid which they say smeared one of those blocked nominees.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: Byron York has more on the issue, including the following: "FBI background reports — even descriptions of FBI background reports — are supposed to be confidential.
Lorie Byrd: Senator Harry Reid has made some outrageous statements since becoming Senate Minority Leader, but his latest reference to the contents of confidential FBI files may take the cake.
Michelle Malkin: Byron York has background: "Saad, along with three other Bush picks for the Sixth Circuit, has been blocked by Michigan...
Matt Singer: Byron York Steps Over The Line — Again — Byron York is pulling a Charles Hurt, and reporting on the utter shock...
Armando @DailyKos: One fellow stands out though - the foolish Byron York: "During a debate about the filibusters Thursday, Reid ...
Captain Ed: UPDATE II: Byron York notes this in his column for NRO: "Saad, along with three other Bush picks for the Sixth Circuit,...
Also: Orrin Judd

In Unusual Agreement, 'Post-Dispatch' Will Remain 'Liberal' Under Lee
  By / Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
CHICAGO When Lee Enterprises Inc. agreed to purchase Pulitzer Inc. for $1.46 billion, it also agreed that the flagship St. Louis Post-Dispatch will keep its longstanding liberal editorial slant for at least the next five years, according to the purchase agreement mailed to Pulitzer shareholders Friday.
Charles Johnson: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Committed to Five More Years — In case anyone was concerned, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will Remain Liberal Under Lee.
Donald Luskin: But don't mess with our pseudo-progressive editorial platform opposing plutocracy: CHICAGO When Lee Enterprises Inc...
Jim Romenesko: Lee: Post-Dispatch to stay liberal for at least five more years — Editor & Publisher The Lee Enterprises-Pulitzer...
Ogged @Unfogged: Platform — Headline: In Unusual Agreement, 'Post-Dispatch' Will Remain Liberal Under Lee Drudge's headline: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, sold, must remain liberal—by contract!
Stefan Sharkansky: St. Louis Post-Dispatch to remain liberal — The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is contractually obligated to remain a liberal...

A Leak's Wider Ripples
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
It's hard to fathom the continuing legal squeeze on Time magazine's Matthew Cooper and the New York Times's Judith Miller to reveal their sources in a White House leak investigation. Unless, that is, the real concern of special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald isn't just the leak but possible perjury by a senior Bush administration official.
Mark Kleiman: David Ignatius speculates in the Washington Post that Patrick Fitzgerald's pursuit of journalists' testimony might...
Avedon Carol: David Ignatius in the WaPo about A Leak's Wider Ripples: It's hard to fathom the continuing legal squeeze on Time...
Kevin Drum: PERJURY?...David Ignatius suggests today that the continuing investigation into the Valerie Plame case isn't about...
Laura Rozen: Plame Perjury Investigation? David Ignatius reports. (Via Kevin Drum).

Exclusive: CIA Aircraft Kills Terrorist
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
May 13, 2005 — A senior al Qaeda operative was killed by a missile fired from a CIA Predator aircraft on the Pakistani side of the remote area near the Afghan border earlier this week, U.S. intelligence officials told ABC News.
Charles Johnson: Got One in Pakistan — CIA Aircraft Kills Terrorist. (Hat tip: Meryl Yourish.)
Orrin Judd: CIA Aircraft Kills Terrorist: Senior Al Qaeda Operative Struck by Predator Missile (ABC News, May. 13, 2005) [snipped quote] How much less effective could they be?
Attaturk: Let me guess...he was allegedly number three? Yes, I'm a discount Nostradamus!

Applause Lines
  By / TNR   —   Permalink 
President Bush's first term was not marked by an overeagerness to confront Russia, either on its failings at home or on its foreign policy. Especially after September 11, Bush turned a blind eye to Chechnya, Russian meddling (including armed meddling) in other...
Chris Lawrence: Yadda yadda Yalta — Long-lost blogger Jacob Levy returns to The New Republic Online with a strong defense of President...
Will Baude: Levywatch, TNR edition — As others have noted, Jacob Levy has a piece up at The New Republic, defending (contra Angus...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: I don't know what I would title it, but clearly, if some people could hijack my blog, they would title it "Jacob T...

Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned.
Clayton Cramer: This Washington Times article indicates that the Border Patrol has told its agents to reduce arrests, so as to hide the...
McQ: Border Patrol told to stand down — If, to this point, you've refused to acknowledge that both sides are playing...
James Joyner: Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona (Washington Times) [snipped quote] Outrageous, if true.
Andrew Cochran: (UPDATE: Today's "Washington Times" reports that "U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal...
Charles Johnson: Border Patrol Told to Stand Down — If this Washington Times report is correct, the Border Patrol is reacting to the...
Randall Parker: Bush Administration Sinks To New Low On Border Control Politics — Jerry Seper reports yet another reason why the Bush Administration is worthy of contempt.
Also: Vox Day, K. J. Lopez

British Intelligence Warned of Iraq War
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Seven months before the invasion of Iraq, the head of British foreign intelligence reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that President Bush wanted to topple Saddam Hussein by military action and warned that in Washington intelligence was "being fixed around the policy," according to notes of a July 23, 2002, meeting with Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.
Avedon Carol: Hallelujah! The Washington Post finally covers the news: British Intelligence Warned Blair of War.
Attaturk: Speaking of placement, the British "smoking gun memo" on Bush's preplanned war is finally unveiled on Page 18 of the Washington Post.
Chris Lawrence: MI-6 reports the obvious, news at 11 — You know, I'd be stunned by this lead graf—at least, if it were written...

Dem. Congressman Offers 1st Soc. Sec. Fix
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
"/ Social Security legislation, saying his first commitment is to his constituents.
Rep. Robert Wexler (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla., said Friday: "I have the largest amount of Social Security recipients of any Democrat anywhere in the country.
Donald Luskin: According to an Associated Press story, WASHINGTON - Breaking with party leaders, a Democratic congressman plans to ...
Jayson @PoliPundit: The "Party of Unity" strikes again.

Always Low Wages. Always.
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Last week Standard and Poor's, a bond rating agency, downgraded both Ford and General Motors bonds to junk status. That is, it sees a significant risk that the companies won't be able to pay their debts.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Barbara O'Brien: The words above are from today's Paul Krugman column. These are true words.
Matt Singer: Don't Worry, GM, We'll Be Socialists So You Don't Have To — Paul Krugman today writes about how increasingly reliant on...
Steve Antler: Economics through Film 101 — Any column with these words: I'm not trying either to romanticize the General Motors of yore or to portray Wal-Mart as the root of all evil.
Attaturk: Krugman, of course: [snipped quote] The status of working Americans isn't important news to the "f**kwit 500" and their ilk either.

Nominee for U.N. Moves to Senate; No Endorsement
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 12 - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent the nomination of John R. Bolton to the full Senate without a recommendation for its approval, after Republicans fell short of the solid support among their members necessary to endorse him as ambassador to the United Nations.
Tom Burka: Report Links Bolton To Mafia, Elder Abuse, Prostitution; Sure To be Confirmed, Sources Say — Also A Crack Addict,...
Dr. Steven Taylor: On the Bolton Process — The NYT has the write-up here: Nominee for U.N. Moves to Senate; No Endorsement and notes the...
Steve Clemons: This from Doug Jehl this morning: [snipped quote] Bolton won't get a vote before Memorial Day recess.

Rosty: Social Security games must end
  Chicago Sun Times   —   Permalink 
On a recent Friday, Dan Rostenkowski, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was on his way to a lunch in an upstairs room at Gene & Georgetti's, when he spotted Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) at one of the tables in the vintage Italian steakhouse on Franklin Street.
Stanley Kurtz: But any way you slice it, this is a fascinating story.
Sam Rosenfeld: But Kurtz is right, defenders of Social Security now have real reason to tremble: Dan Rostenkowski sort of supports compromising on benefit cuts!
Steve Bainbridge: So imagine my surprise when Rosty came out in support of Social Security reform: "Democrats have been unified in saying...

Protests Against U.S. Spread Across Afghanistan
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
KABUL, Afghanistan, May 12 - Anti-American violence spread to 10 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces and into Pakistan on Thursday as four more protesters died in a third day of demonstrations and clashes with the police.
Cernig: Afghan Discontent Rising — Demonstrators protesting at the American presence in Afghanistan and allegations of...
Matt Singer: Well, that's an *interesting* take — The New York Times is reporting anti-American violence in 10 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces and parts of Pakistan.
Cori Dauber: With continued violent protests resulting in even more deaths, the story hits the front pages of the New York Times.
Steve M.: The anti-desecration unrest in Afghanistan and Pakistan is now spreading to the Palestinian territories. Oh, goody.
McQ: But before we get our panties in a bunch and assume that it all has to do with Gitmo and alleged desecrations of the...
James Joyner: Protests Against U.S. Spread Across Afghanistan — Violence is spreading in Afghanistan in the third day of protests against the American military presence.
Also: Juan Cole, Riggsveda @Corrente, Attaturk

Nuclear? No, Restoration
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Four years ago this week, President Bush nominated Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to the federal bench. Four years later, she and six other appeals court nominees remain unconfirmed and unvoted upon because of Democratic filibusters.
Steve @BeggingToDiffer: "A COMICAL INVERSION OF THE FACTS" — Charles Krauthammer nicely summarizes the argument in favor of the Senate Republicans' "nuclear option."
Betsy Newmark: Charles Krauthammer explains why he is in favor of the GOP voting to say that judicial nominees cannot be filibustered.
Josh Marshall: Krauthammer opts for the limited modified bamboozle: "Democrats have won the semantic war by getting this branded "the...
TheAnchoress: Krauthammer on Nuclear Renovations This is the baby toread and send-around today. Do it. Don't make me give you my look, just do it!
Attaturk: May I suggest perennial contender, Charles Krauthammer? "Democrats have not had a very good run recently in the popularly elected branches.

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
  White House   —   Permalink 
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. I'd like to begin by updating you on the situation that occurred here at the White House and the Capitol just a short time ago.
Guest @ThinkProgress: I Am…Trying to Finish A Bike Ride — Amid the panic surrounding the White House and Capitol Evacuation, a few startling issues have come to light.
Judd @ThinkProgress: Nevertheless, the White House insists their efforts on Social Security have been a "great success."
Steve Clemons: Here is the fun exchange with Scott McClellan this morning over whether the President also thought John Bolton needed to...
Mipe @ThinkProgress: Was the e-mail notification system working? Certainly! Did D.C. police or city officials know what was going on?
Arnold P. California: Well, they didn't ask him again at the Wednesday or Thursday press briefings.

Judge Voids Same-Sex Marriage Ban in Nebraska
  AP   —   Permalink 
LINCOLN, Neb. , May 12 (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday struck down Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the measure interfered not only with the rights of gay couples but also with those of foster parents, adopted children and people in a variety of other living arrangements.
Julian Sanchez: Omaha, Somewhere in Middle America — A federal judge in Nebraska gets right to the heart of matters with a decision overturning the state's anti–gay marriage amendment.
James Joyner: Judge Voids Same-Sex Marriage Ban in Nebraska (AP) [snipped quote] I'm unsure which provision of the U.S. Constitution guarantees "intimate associational rights."
Lindsay Beyerstein: Well, not quite Nebraska, but a Federal Judge did strike down Nebraska's voter approved gay marriage ban yesterday.

Crucial question could remain unresolved
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
Q: George Galloway has said the US Senate allegations are a "repetition of false allegations that have been made and denied before". Is he right?
A: In broad terms, the allegations made in documents published in The Daily Telegraph in April 2003 and those...
Jan Haugland: The old Telegraph article (alas, since removed), as the paper explains, was based on a purported foreign ministry key document dated Jan 3 2000.
Scott Burgess: UPDATE: I've edited this post, removing references to "direct cash payments," just to be on the safe side - according to...
Marc @USSNeverdock: UPDATES Unanswered questions. The Mariam appeal. Galloway named in oil documents. More from the Scotsman.
Damian Penny: The Galloway FAQ — Today's Daily Telegraph (registration required, but worth it) has a lot of dirt on George Galloway's...
Harry @HarrysPlace: As the Telegraph points out today in a very useful FAQ: Q: Weren't The Daily Telegraph allegations shown in court to be false?

Top 100 Greatest Americans Unveiled Today and Featured in World Premiere Discovery Channel Television Event
  PRNewsWire   —   Permalink 
New Primetime Seven Hour Series Begins Sunday, June 5 at 8 PM (ET/PT) with 'Today' Show's Matt Lauer as Host -
- America Online to Offer Top 100 List and Biographical Content at aol.com/greatestamerican and AOL(R) Keyword: Greatest American -
Betsy Newmark: The Discovery Channel is going to run one of those 100 Greatest Americans things where the audience gets to vote on who is the greatest.
K. J. Lopez: What a silly list, from the Discovery Channel. Not to pick on the new senator guy, but Barack Obama has some time yet to make such a list.
Red @ScaredMonkeys: I will agree with out buddy at The 1754 Blog that brought this list to my attention, WHAT THE F#%K. Take a look at some of these nominees.

DeLay fires back during gala, says Dems have 'no class'
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Tom DeLay fired back at Democrats raising ethics questions about him, telling a crowd of conservative activists that the GOP's opponents have no ideas and "no class."
Lindsay Beyerstein: If Irony Weren't Already Dead, This Would Have Killed It — Guest post: hilzoy From USA Today: [snipped quote] Praise from the master is praise indeed.
Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: If Irony Weren't Already Dead, This Would Have Killed It by hilzoy From USA Today: [snipped quote] Praise from the master is praise indeed.

Pentagon Proposal to Include Shutting 33 Major U.S. Bases
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon proposed Friday shutting about 180 military installations from Maine to Hawaii including 33 major bases, triggering the first round of base closures in a decade and an intense struggle by communities to save their facilities.
McQ: Bric-a-BRAC — The Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) commission has issued their report about closing 180 military installations around the country.
Phillip Carter: (CPO Johnny Bivera/USN)The AP reports that the Pentagon has taken a more modest course of action with respect to base...
John Cole: BRACC Friday — The Defense Department has released its proposed list of installations and bases to close, and if you...

Appeal to help child 'became a political tool'
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
George Galloway yesterday strongly disputed a suggestion in the US Senate report that he may have used the Mariam Appeal he set up to help a sick Iraqi girl to conceal oil payments from Iraq.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Character evidence regarding a particular witness is generally inadmissible in a court of law absent special...
Harry @HarrysPlace: Also, the Telegraph says that the Charity Commission reported, Galloway made unauthorised salary payments to two...
Jan Haugland: Galloway's charitable defense — George Galloway's defense is being picked apart: He told a newspaper: "The Mariam...

Protests across Muslim world over Koran report
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Angry protests raged across the Muslim world from Gaza to Indonesia on Friday over a report U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran, with calls for retaliation and a rising death toll.
Steve Soto: Difficulties In Iraq And Elsewhere Pile Up — Things are heading downhill for us now in Afghanistan and in the whole...
Charles Johnson: Newsweek Report's Death Toll Rising — Newsweek's unsourced allegation that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay "desecrated...

Republican Moderates in Senate Sense Pressures
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 12 - The unusual pact that permitted the nomination of John R. Bolton to go forward on Thursday without the support of a crucial Republican senator has exposed, in a very raw and public way, the extreme pressures facing Republican moderates in a Senate that is increasingly dominated by conservatives.
Echidne: And Mr. Lieberman. They are squeezed harder than Giles Corey was during the Salem Witch Trials.
Ezra Klein: Two Is The Loneliest Number — The dwindling, pathetic ranks of Republican moderates are quite sad, but when put this...

DeLay Takes the Offensive in His Address to Supporters
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 12 - Under siege from Democrats over accusations of ethical impropriety, Representative Tom DeLay did what he does best on Thursday night at an elaborate tribute in his honor: He went on the offensive.
Sam Rosenfeld: Several of us attended the swanky Tom DeLay tribute dinner yesterday, so you should be hearing more about it today.
Taegan Goddard: Former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), quoted by the New York Times, in a videotaped tribute to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Roger Ailes: The Bugchaser's Ball — Almost all of the Republican Party's brightest lights bugged out when offered the opportunity to...

For Female GIs, Combat Is a Fact
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
MOSUL, Iraq — Jennifer Guay went to war to be a grunt. And the 170-pound former bartender from Leeds, Maine, with cropped red hair and a penchant for the bench press, has come pretty close.
Robert Schlesinger: Iraq is either a giant front line, or a warzone without a front line. Will that hinder the current blossoming beltway debate?
Phillip Carter: Update I: Ann Scott Tyson follows up on her report from Thursday with a long Washington Post magazine-style piece on the...
Cori Dauber: But rather than cover that story, talk about the job women are doing in Iraq, how critical they are to the war effort,...
K. J. Lopez: "THE ARMY HAS TO UNDERSTAND THE REGULATION THAT SAYS WOMEN CAN'T BE PLACED IN DIRECT FIRE SITUATIONS IS ARCHAIC AND NOT...

1985 bombing in Philadelphia still unsettled
  By / USA Today   —   Permalink 
PHILADELPHIA — The last block of Osage Avenue is a half-abandoned and lonely place. Most of the houses on the narrow street are boarded up.
Two decades after their neighborhood burned to the ground two dozen families are in court trying to force the city to pay for their wrecked homes.
Bill Hobbs: USA Today has a very good story on the events and aftermath of May 13, 1985, the day Philadelphia's first African-American mayor dropped a bomb on an African-American neighborhood.
Avedon Carol: I'm sure color had nothing to do with it — Today is the 20th anniversary of the bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia.

Reid cites FBI file on judicial pick
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Minority Leader Harry Reid strayed from his prepared remarks on the Senate floor yesterday and promised to continue opposing one of President Bush's judicial nominees based on "a problem" he said is in the nominee's "confidential report from the FBI."
Kevin Aylward: Reid Impugns Judicial Nominee Henry Saad Based On Confidential FBI Report — The Washington Times reports that Senate...
Ace: Harry Reid seems to have broken Senate rules by alluding to a confidential FBI file on Bush nominee on the Senate floor:...
Jesse Taylor: The Latest Democrat To Not Commit Treason — The Washington Times "reports" that Harry Reid cited classified materials in a Senate hearing.
Scott Sala: Technorati Tags: downtown+express Anne+Aghion Munchkins NYC+Pot+March Books+of+Wonder — Contrasting Confidentiality...
Kos @DailyKos: "Well, he's the guy who wrote the hatchet piece on Harry Reid that came out tonight. But more important, he's Manuel Miranda's tool."
Jeralyn Merritt: Latest Misguided Attack on Sen. Harry Reid — Washington Times Reporter Charles Hurt charges today that Sen. Harry Reid...

List of Proposed Military Base Closings
  CNN   —   Permalink 
A list obtained by The Associated Press of military facilities the Defense Department recommended for closure Friday:
Abbott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Tuskegee
Anderson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Troy
James Joyner: List of Proposed Military Base Closings (AP) "Alabama: Abbott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Tuskegee Anderson U.S. Army...
Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Here is the official BRAC List — Released by the AP: Official Release is available online at 11 AM Eastern at...

Pentagon Proposing to Shut 33 Major Bases
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon proposed Friday shutting about 180 military installations from Maine to Hawaii including 33 major bases, triggering the first round of base closures in a decade and an intense struggle by communities to save their facilities.
Phillip Carter: The Washington Post leads with the BRAC recommendation to realign the famous Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and details other closures around the national capital region.
James Joyner: Official Military Base Closure List — Pentagon Proposing to Shut 33 Major Bases (WaPo - AP) "The Pentagon will propose...

No need for balance
  By / Guardian   —   Permalink 
I come not to praise George Galloway but - unlike almost the entire media - not to bury him either. There will be many who snort contemptuously when I say that Galloway is now more sinned against than sinning because he has become so unpopular with both the media and political elites that they regard him as outside the normal rules of the game.
Jan Haugland: The Guardian rushes to Galloway's defence — It is maybe a good thing there are contrarians even on the most commonly...
Harry @HarrysPlace: A breathtaking apologia for Galloway in the Guardian from Roy Greenslade who claims that the MP is the victim of a media witch-hunt.
Scott Burgess: Less amusing is "media commentator" Roy Greenslade's Comment & Analysis piece defending poor Mr. Galloway from unwarranted condemnation in the media.

The Christians are at the gates, but they don't want in
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
All right, enough already. The Christians aren't coming to get you.
I can take the somber, frightened "special reports" on National Public Radio, where you can literally hear the correspondents wringing their hands over the possibility that the "Darwin fish" affixed to their Volvos will be banned.
TheAnchoress: I missed the Law and Order episode he is writing about - I only watch the old syndicated things, and then, only when I am bleary/sick.
Betsy Newmark: Jonah Goldberg comforts Blue Staters that their Darwin fish are safe from the Christian hordes that are, apparently, threatening theocracy everywhere.
Sadly, No!: Shorter Jonah Goldberg — [snipped quote] (No, seriously, that's the gist of his column.)

Republican Moderates in Senate Sense Intensifying Pressures
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 12 - The unusual pact that permitted the nomination of John R. Bolton to go forward on Thursday without the support of a crucial Republican senator has exposed, in a very raw and public way, the extreme pressures facing Republican moderates in a Senate that is increasingly dominated by conservatives.
Hunter @DailyKos: This NYT report by Sheryl Gay Stolberg hints at the intense behind-the-scenes pressure to toe the party line that...
Gerry @DalyThoughts: Kevin Drum comments, "A DYING BREED….This is not exactly breaking news, but Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes today...
Michelle Malkin: New York Times: [quote] As Mr. Voinovich's refusal to support Mr. Bolton's nomination demonstrates, "the vanishing center"-as...[end quote]
Joe Gandelman: John Bolton And The Boltin' GOP Moderates — Scientists recently excited the world by showing a restoration of mummy...
Rickheller @Centerfield: Not Home On The Range — More discouraging words for moderate Republicans.
Armando @DailyKos: The Extremist War on Moderates — The Extremists in control of the Republican Party are at war with the moderates of...
Also: Kevin Drum

Skipped Gym Class Costs Student Diploma
  AP   —   Permalink 
BOW, N.H. (AP) - A decision to take Advanced Placement biology instead of gym will cost a Bow High School senior her diploma, but it won't keep her from going to college in the fall.
Joanne Jacobs: Phys ed first — You don't need a diploma to go to college, especially if you fail to graduate because you didn't take PE.
Ben Falk: Bio vs. P.E. Bow High School in Bow, New Hampshire, won't let Isabel Gottlieb graduate because she is missing a P.E. credit.

Violent Uprising Breaks Out in Uzbekistan
  AP   —   Permalink 
ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan (AP) — Thousands of people, many of them armed, took to the streets of an eastern Uzbek city on Friday, demanding freedom for 23 prominent businessmen on trial for alleged ties to an Islamic terror group.
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Violence in Uzbekistan — Thousands of people took the streets in violence in Uzbekistan.
Riggsveda @Corrente: In our good friend, Uzbekistan, where boiling enemies of the state alive seems to have oddly made things worse.
Charles Johnson: Muslim Riots in Uzbekistan — Violent Uprising Breaks Out in Uzbekistan. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)

Editor who put West Coast on the literary map hangs up his spurs
  By / San Francisco Chronicle   —   Permalink 
Los Angeles — In a windowless room deep inside the Los Angeles Times building, Steve Wasserman, editor of the L.A. Times Book Review, is preparing to jump.
He takes aim, leaps and plucks a book from the topmost shelf.
Fading red type shouts "We Accuse!"
Kevin Roderick: In the newsfeature story, reporter Heidi Benson looks on as Wasserman cleans out his office, packing up 13,000 books in...
Jim Romenesko: Wasserman: Friday the 13th is the right day to leave LAT — San Francisco Chronicle Today is Steve Wasserman's last day as Los Angeles Times Book Review editor.

Attention: Deficit Disorder
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
THE United States has tremendous economic strengths but it also faces great challenges: the need to ensure national security; a newly competitive China and India; serious shortcomings in public education, basic research, infrastructure and other requisites for meeting that competition; and much else.
PGL: Rubinomics: Return of the Jedi — While Star War freaks like me await Revenge of the Sith, Mark Thoma and CalculatedRisk read the latest from Robert Rubin.
Pudentilla: what to do about the deficit: let's ask an expert!

Air Force Removes Chaplain From Post
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
DENVER, May 12 — An Air Force chaplain who complained that evangelical Christians were trying to "subvert the system" by winning converts among cadets at the Air Force Academy was removed from administrative duties last week, just as the Pentagon began an in-depth study of alleged religious intolerance among cadets and commanders at the school.
Nico @ThinkProgress: The other received a pink slip. Who got what? Take a wild guess.
Echidne: Even the Respecting the Religious Values of All People (R.S.V.P.) program discriminates against Christians: "Maj. Gen...
Steve M.: I read the story about evangelical proselytizing at the Air Force Academy in yesterday's New York Times, and I read the follow-up in today's Washington Post.
Mark Kleiman: Friday's Washington Post omits the cover-up charge, but makes it clear that the decision to relieve Capt. Morgan had...

John Paul on sainthood fast track
  CNN   —   Permalink 
ROME, Italy — Pope Benedict XVI has said he is putting his predecessor John Paul II on the fast track to possible sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
The pope said Friday he had dispensed with rules that normally impose a five-year waiting period before beatification — the last step before sainthood — can even start.
Steve Bainbridge: Earlier today, 24 years later, Benedict XVI announced that the process of beatification of JP II will begin immediately.
Attaturk: The Wayne Gretzky Canonization — The "Five Year" Rule is being waived for John Paul II on the road to Sainthood.

Post Shareholders Back Directors, Stock Plan
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Washington Post Co. shareholders approved new one-year terms for the company's directors, including recently appointed director Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates, at the company's annual shareholders meeting yesterday in Washington.
Garrett M. Graff: The Post Company held its annual meeting here yesterday, making little news except this curious nugget: WaPoCo Chair Don...
Jim Romenesko: (Nat'l Journal) > WJLA reporter says she was manhandled by a cop | Related (WP/WJLA) > Graham: WP "has got the best...

THE BULLIES' CLUB
  New York Post   —   Permalink 
ALL eyes are now on the United States Senate, which has unexpectedly become the epicenter of American politics. The question of the year is whether a change in a specific Senate rule — the one that creates the condition for the never-ending debate called a "filibuster" — would represent a shocking breach of American tradition.
Betsy Newmark: John Podhoretz says that the Senate has become a place where Senators preen and then bully people who come before them as nominees.
John Podhoretz: VOINOVICH THE BULLY WHINER

Pryor in for Senate battle
  By / Montgomery Advertiser   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — A Senate panel Thursday sent former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor's nomination to a lifetime seat on a federal appellate court to the center of a firestorm over judicial nominees.
Dr. Steven Taylor: On balance, the attacks are rather vague, for example, from today's Montgomery Advertiser: Pryor in for Senate battle
Steve Dillard: Pryor headlines: Here is your daily dose of Pryor nomination coverage, with occasional excerpts: "Judge's nomination...

Assassinations, Deadly Blasts in Iraq
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD — Blood continued to flow in cities across Iraq on Thursday as three car bombs killed at least 14 Iraqis here and in Kirkuk, three American soldiers were slain by explosives, and three high-ranking Iraqi security officials were assassinated on their way to work.
Pudentilla: iraq is still a mess "assassinations, deadly blasts in iraq - at least 14 iraqis and three u.s. soldiers die in bombings.
Riggsveda @Corrente: And how could I forget Iraq, where guerilla attacks have escalated to more than 75 a day, and suicide bombings occur daily?

Oddly, Hillary and, Yes, Newt Agree to Agree
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 12 - What do Newt Gingrich and Hillary Rodham Clinton want from each other?
In the 1990's, these two rivals stood on nearly opposite ends of the political spectrum; he led the assault on the Clinton presidency and helped derail the ambitious health care plan she championed.
Cicero: Crazy — The New York Times has an article today on the odd alliance between two political foes, Senator Hillary Clinton...
Orrin Judd: TWO RUNNERS ON THIRD: Oddly, Hillary and, Yes, Newt Agree to Agree (RAYMOND HERNANDEZ, 5/13/05, NY Times)
Robert Tagorda: Speaking of Senator Clinton, the New York Times notes her recent collaborations with Newt Gingrich: Oddly, Hillary and,...
Jan Haugland: Newt Ginrich and Hillary Clinton team up — Newt and Hillary sounds like the strangest bedfellows: As it turns out, Mr...
Kerry Howley: Hager the Horrible — Following yesterday's allegations that a memo by Dr. W. David Hager improperly swayed an FDA...
Michelle Malkin: HILLARY AND NEWTIE SITTIN' IN A TREE — It's a Clinton/Gingrich lovefest. Gack: [snipped quote] Struck with what? Amnesia?

Michigan judicial pick held up for 20th time
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Sen. Carl Levin stopped a Bush nominee to the federal appeals court yesterday in a continuing effort to reserve the seat for the wife of his first cousin.
Michigan Judge Henry W. Saad was nominated to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals more than three...
Matt Singer: What we do know is that The Washington Times reported on the FBI background check problems nearly a year ago as did the Detroit Free Press.
DavidNYC @DailyKos: Maybe Reid Learned About Saad's FBI File from... Charlie Hurt — Washington Times, June 4, 2004: [snipped quote] The byline: Charles Hurt.

Connecticut Carries Out Its First Execution in 45 Years
  NYT   —   Permalink 
Connecticut carried out its first execution in 45 years early Friday, administering a lethal injection to Michael Bruce Ross, a convicted serial killer who abandoned his appeals and died willingly after 18 years on death row.
Tom Smith: Serial killer Michael Ross executed in Connecticut — Ross was a graduate of Cornell University (my alma mater).
Will Baude: RIP Michael Ross — As predicted below, Michael Ross has been executed by the state of Connecticut.

Report says staffer directed memo leak
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday released its report on the investigation into how Democratic strategy memos on blocking judicial nominees were obtained by Republican staffers and ultimately printed in The Washington Times and other publications.
Matt Singer: To top it all off, Hurt wrote a glowing profile of Miranda. More on Hurt's key source: Orrin Hatch calls him unethical.
Kos @DailyKos: "More on Hurt's key source: Orrin Hatch calls him unethical." What else has Hurt written about?

Law Firms Agree to Give Clients Diversity Data on Legal Teams
  By / LAW.com   —   Permalink 
In a pact brokered by the New York County Lawyers' Association, more than 60 law firms have agreed to tell their corporate clients the composition of assigned legal teams by race, gender, ethnicity and sexual preference.
William @SouthernAppeal: Diversity in law firms — Over at Law.com, there is an article up entitled Law Firms Agree to Give Clients Diversity Data on Legal Teams.
Vox Day: The Volokh Conspiracy draws attention to affirmative action run amok in the legal industry: [snipped quote] It's about time!
Orin Kerr: Law Firms to Monitor and Report Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation: According to this story, sixty major New York law...
Blackavar: Doin' the Diversity Hustle — Interesting article here regarding a coalition of law firms and Fortune 100 corporations in New York.

Conservatives Honor DeLay With Gala
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, facing an audience of conservative well-wishers who reject as politically motivated the ethics questions that have dogged him for months, on Thursday night fired back at Democrats by calling them members of a party with no ideas and "no class."
Mary @LeftCoaster: Yesterday Conservatives honored him with a gala. DeLay accuses Democrats for fanning the flames and say it's all because Democrats are a party with no ideas and "no class."
Dan Gillmor: Celebrating Political Sleaze — [snipped quote] Prediction: Videotapes from this event will be used against some Republicans in upcoming political campaigns.

Prosecutor Blames Fundraiser
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
LOS ANGELES, May 11 — David F. Rosen deliberately and illegally underreported the costs of a star-studded Hollywood fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign, federal prosecutors said Wednesday at Rosen's trial here.
John Hawkins: DNC Poll: Clinton Fundraiser Trial A 'Yawner' — Satire By Scott Ott — According to a new poll by the Democrat National...
Robert Tagorda: Clinton Fundraiser Underreported 2000 Campaign Event Costs — Prosecutor Blames Fundraiser (WaPo) "David F. Rosen...

Conservatism As Pathology
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
The people who were once radical are now reactionary. Though they speak today in the same aggrieved language of victimization, and though they face the same array of economic forces as their hard-bitten ancestors, today's populists make demands that are precisely the opposite.
Grim: James Taranto, in yesterday's Best of the Web, linked to a post by Slate's Timothy Noah.
Tully @Centerfield: A recent SLATE article by Timothy Noah, oh-so-charmingly titled Conservatism As Pathology: Are Bush supporters literally insane? is a case in point.
Ginny @ChicagoBoyz: Taranto, highly partisan if highly entertaining, in his May 12 Best of the Web Today complained of Timothy Noah's...

Wizards Fall Further Behind
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Shaquille O'Neal didn't play, and Dwyane Wade committed five turnovers in the first quarter. Still, the Miami Heat kept their perfect postseason intact.
Five Miami players scored in a 13-0 third-quarter run that swung the game, and Wade steadied himself...
Jim Henley: No Shaq and the Wiz were still overmanned, despite getting Alonzo Mourning in foul trouble early and having (and blowing) a chance to keep him there.
Matthew Yglesias: UPDATE: Apparently Henley was also there and we are in agreement on this observation: [snipped quote] It really was a bit...

You are to blame for yobbish children, Blair tells parents
  By / Times of London   —   Permalink 
TONY BLAIR criticised parents yesterday for failing to bring up their children properly as he made the restoration of respect and an end to yobbish behaviour priorities for his remaining time as Prime Minister.
Joanne Jacobs: Parents, raise your yobs right — British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parents to do a better job raising children to respect others.
Orrin Judd: HE SOUNDS MORE LIKE A REPUBLICAN EVERY DAY...: You are to blame for yobbish children, Blair tells parents: Families are...

The Castro Caucus
  By / Weekly Standard   —   Permalink 
CRANKY CONSERVATIVES often dismiss symbolic pro-democracy legislation as so much claptrap. Of course everyone supports the flowering of liberty on foreign soil, they insist. Of course everyone wants to nourish oases of civil society in the deserts of despotism.
A.M. Mora y Leon: And in what will surely go down as a vote of shame, there were actual U.S. Congressinsects who voted against supporting them in their effort to end tyranny.
Orrin Judd: FIDEL'S FRIENDS: The Castro Caucus: Why would 22 House members oppose a Cuban democracy bill?

McClellan Spars With Press, Says No Need to Notify Bush
  Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK On the day after more than 30,000 people — including the vice president, the first lady, and a former first lady — were evacuated from their offices or homes in Washington, D.C., but the president, who was biking in Maryland was not notified until the threat passed, reporters grilled Press Secretary Scott McClellan at his daily briefing.
Avedon Carol: News — McClellan Spars With Press, Says No Need to Notify Bush.
Garrett M. Graff: Alarms at the President's House — E&P has pulled together the transcript of yesterday's White House press briefing...
Tbogg: Go here and do a shot every time he says: protocol. Then call us when you come out of your coma.
Mimus Pauly: it would take the jaws of life to pry open your words... "on the day after more than 30,000 people," says editor and...
Norbizness: This may be Holden at First Draft's territory (as I suspected), but it's too funny not to alter (unoriginal unaltered...

And Now Back to You, Skippy
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
The past few days, I've been so wrapped up in trying to figure out whether or not TV makes you smarter that I haven't had time to watch very much of it (which, depending on your point of view, must be either raising or lowering my IQ).
Skippy: so if dana stevens, who dropped our name (in the title of her analysis of bad cable news segment blog-reading), had ever...
Ed Cone: Cable news and blogs — Now that Jon Stewart has given people permission to talk about the early failings of efforts to...
Joe Gandelman: Slate has an item about must-watch Stewart's bit poking fun at how several cable shows are trying to cover blogs and...

'Milbloggers' are typing their place in history
  By / USA Today   —   Permalink 
Imagine some of the soldiers who survived the Battle of Gettysburg stopping the next day to write their dramatic tales — and people around the world instantly reading them. If that battle had been fought today, no imagination would be necessary.
Smash: Preserving MilBlogs — THE USA TODAY has a five-part report on MilBlogs in the Thursday edition.
Blackfive: 'Milbloggers' Are Typing Their Place In History Troops assume new posts with clicks and keystrokes By Mark Memmott, USA...
Jan Haugland: Milblogging — USA Today writes about milbloggers.
Jason Van Steenwyk: Welcome USA Today Readers! I got quite a spike in traffic from being quoted in USA Today.
Tom @ScaredMonkeys: No, it is the Milbloggers that are getting out the story. USA Today has an article out today about these great people.
James Joyner: 'Milbloggers' are typing their place in history "Imagine some of the soldiers who survived the Battle of Gettysburg...
Also: Glenn Reynolds, Bill Hobbs, Ed Cone

WWII comments blasted
  By / Newsday   —   Permalink 
Was World War II worth it?
In the inflammatory world view of Pat Buchanan, the short answer is no. The war that stopped the Nazis' global campaign and the mechanistic extermination of European Jewry was actually not worth the effort.
Matthew Yglesias: Why World War II — I'm not sure that invoking the Jews as a rebuttal to Pat Buchanan's claim that World War II wasn't worth it is the soundest strategy.
Ace: Pat Buchanan Again Calls the American Entry Into WWII Unnecessary — Happy VE day, huh? He does seem like a nice guy.
John Hawkins: Buchanan is taking a controversial position that I believe is wrong, but that doesn't mean it's beyond the pale for him...
Clayton Cramer: Not surprisingly, quite a number of people are expressing their profound disapproval.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: SCARCELY EXIST IN THE WEST" I trust that after this, the few people who actually take Pat Buchanan seriously will be...
JoelL @SouthernAppeal: PAT BUCHANAN INSULTS THE SACRIFICE OF WWII VETERANS. According to Mr. Buchanan WWII was not worth the effort.
Also: Josh Marshall

Bench Memos
  NRO   —   Permalink 
His latest offer is to "allow" votes on three of the four Michigan nominees if Frist doesn't push the filibuster rule change, according to this AP report. In the same story, Senator Schumer says the renomination of filibustered nominees was a "thumb in the eye" and the recess appointment of Bill Pryor was a "slap in the face."
Paul @PowerLine: Today in NRO's new Bench Memo feature, Bradford Berenson presents the forgotten history of President Bush's attempts to cooperate with the Democrats.
PoliPundit: Judicial Nominees — National Review has a new blog about the president's judicial nominations.
Ann Althouse: Despite my general dislike for high-profile blog launches, I'm going call attention to Bench Memos, the new National...
Orin Kerr: Blogging Judicial Nominations: Apropos my suggestion a few days ago that blogs will play a big role in future Supreme...
Betsy Newmark: Go check out Bench Memos. It's a bit more political than Volokh, but both blogs are great fun for a non-lawyer like myself to read.
Steve Dillard: Bench Memos: Cool new section over at NRO.

Was World War II worth it?
  WorldNetDaily   —   Permalink 
In the Bush vs. Putin debate on World War II, Putin had far the more difficult assignment. Defending Russia's record in the "Great Patriotic War," the Russian president declared, "Our people not only defended their homeland, they liberated 11 European countries."
Mary Madigan: Pat Buchanan, anti-war by Mary Madigan In his essay Was World War II worth it?, anti-war Nazi apologist Pat Buchanan...
Jay Tea: But after his little reminiscence about World War II kicking around today, and hearing him shill his latest book on a...
Barbara O'Brien: Putin's remark inspired the great Nattering Nabob himself, Pat Buchanan, to once again trot out his theory that the U.S,...
Arthur Chrenkoff: The man in the low castle — Great many bloggers and commentators have already landed on Pat Buchanan like a ton of...
Stephen Green: Here's his latest column for WorldNetDaily, who should have known better than to publish it: "In the Bush vs. Putin...
Jonah Goldberg: BUCHANAN ON WWII — I'm probably stupid for taking the bait, but Drudge links to Buchanan's column with the tagline...
Also: Clayton Cramer, Cernig, Vox Day, John Hawkins, Damian Penny, Attaturk, Armed Liberal, Lindsay Beyerstein, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings

Dr. Hager's Family Values
  By / The Nation   —   Permalink 
Late last October Dr. W. David Hager, a prominent obstetrician-gynecologist and Bush Administration appointee to the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), took to the pulpit as the featured speaker at a morning service.
Sam Rosenfeld: And this, of course, was all happening prior to yesterday's publication of the explosive Nation cover story on David Hager by our own Ayelish McGarvey.
Chris Mooney: The Post wouldn't have had this important story, though, were it not for Ayelish McGarvey's cover piece about Hager in the latest issue of The Nation.
Barbara O'Brien: Other stuff: This is absolutely disgusting. | bar.jpg
Natasha @PacificViews: And I hope they figure it out soon, because I'm with Digby on all this: "... Between the mule f**king, the narcophelia...
Digby: Blasphemous Perverts — Everybody's talking about the article in The Nation about Dr. David Hager, the Bush appointee to...
Tom @BeggingToDiffer: Make sure you check out Ayelish McGarvey's just-published article in the Nation concerning Dr. W. David Hager, a...
Also: LeanLeft, Steve M., Steve Soto, Ezra Klein, Jesse Taylor, Kerry Howley, Avedon Carol, Matthew Yglesias, Jeffrey Dubner, Tbogg, Liesa @LeftInTheWest, Kevin Drum, Atrios, Roger Ailes

Galloway accepts Washington call
  BBC   —   Permalink 
British MP George Galloway says he is ready to face down US senators who claim he received oil rights from Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Mr Galloway denies claims by a Senate committee that he and a former French minister were allowed to sell Iraqi oil to reward their support for the regime.
McQ: Galloway, it seems, showed up on a list of 270 recipients of Saddam's oil-for-food largesse. "Absurd", says Galloway.
Attaturk: Whatever he bailed — I suggest you click link. Meanwhile, here's a guy that is not afraid of a tussel.
Jan Haugland: Galloway to travel to Washington to answer charges — George Galloway has now accepted an invitation to Washington DC to...
John @PowerLine: Galloway in the Lions' Den — I'll believe it when I see it, but British M.P. and Saddam Hussein supporter George...

Bolton Nomination Poised for Full Senate
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — In a tense atmosphere, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee debated John Bolton's fitness to be United Nations ambassador on Thursday. A critical Republican senator, George Voinovich of Ohio, agreed to let the nomination go to the full Senate but he called the diplomat "arrogant" and "bullying."
Jon Henke: Republican holdout Senator Voinovich "said Bolton was a sometime bully whose short fuse would have gotten him fired in...
Lindsay Beyerstein: From the Washington Post: [snipped quote] Laura Rozen has tried to take down what he said here.
Josh Marshall: Sen. Voinovich says he'll vote 'no' on Bolton before he votes 'yes'.
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Voinovich To Allow Bolton to Full Senate Vote — It what can only be said to be some of the most hypocritical...
James Joyner: Bolton Goes to Full Senate Despite Voinovich Objections — Voinovich Slams Bolton but OKs Senate Vote (AP) WaPo "In a...

On Split Vote, Senate Panel Endorses Appeals Court Nominee
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, May 12 - The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a fourth contested federal appeals court nominee today as Senate leaders engaged in tense last-ditch maneuvering over judicial candidates in an unanticipated exchange on the Senate floor.
Dr. Steven Taylor: Pryor Escapes the Judiciary Committee (Again) Via the NYT: On Split Vote, Senate Panel Endorses Appeals Court Nominee
Josh Marshall: The Times' Neil — Lewis, caught between the bam and the boozle in this just-released piece ... [snipped quote] Calling...
Steve Dillard: "On Split Vote, Senate Panel Endorses Appeals Court Nominee" (NYT)

Experts: Iraq verges on civil war
  By / Newsday   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — An unchastened insurgency sowed devastation across Iraq Wednesday as experts here said the country is either on the verge of civil war or already in the middle of it.
Mary @LeftCoaster: Photograph: AP Photo/Michael Yon via U.S. Army News reports tell us that experts believe that civil war has already started.
Steve Soto: Even if the Post and the New York Times won't come out and say it directly, others are saying the words "civil war" and "Iraq" in the same sentence.
Jesse Taylor: Daniel Okrent is leaving the NYT, but not before he slams the "liberal" paper, which appears to be determined, in his mind, by... By... Uh, Iraq's on the verge of civil war!
Juan Cole: Tim Phelps of Newsday reports that some experts think the guerrillas are attempting to cut Baghdad off from the rest of...
Attaturk: Today Newsday gives us more evidence of their foresight: [snipped quote] It is not a long article, but it is full of disturbing information.

On a Bicycle in Beltsville, Blissfully Unaware
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
When the state of red alert was declared yesterday, the vice president was evacuated from the White House and the first lady was whisked to a secure location. But no precautions were needed for President Bush.
Jon Robin Baitz: I argue for feeling, and I argue for apology. The president has every right to go for a bike ride.
Michelle Malkin: Just take a look at the headline on his snark-infested piece on how the White House handled yesterday's air scare: "The...
Tbogg: From the offending article: When the state of red alert was declared yesterday, the vice president was evacuated from...

Voinovich Says He Won't Back Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to UN
  Bloomberg   —   Permalink 
May 12 (Bloomberg) — Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio said he won't support John Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador the United Nations when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes today.
Voinovich's opposition would bar the panel's approval.
Jeff Jarvis: George Voinovich says he won't support Bolton because: [snipped quote] But I do believe we need someone critical of and...
Michelle Malkin: Laundry lists Dems' attack on Bolton... 1140am: Bloomberg News reports on Voinovich... "Republican Senator George...
James Joyner: Voinovich Says He Won't Back Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to UN (Bloomberg) "Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio...
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Earlier in the session, Voinovich had made the reference that Bolton would have been fired for his actions if he had been in a major commercial organization.
Pessimist @LeftCoaster: Voinovich Says He Won't Back Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to UN May 12 [snipped quote] We all have our opinions as to where he SHOULD be on this issue.

Rice: Gun Rights Important As Free Speech
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recalling how her father took up arms to defend fellow blacks from racist whites in the segregated South, said Wednesday the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion.
Mitch Berg: Condi: Fourteenth Amendment, Front And Center — Condi comes out swinging for the Second Amendment - and the contructionist view thereof - via the Fourteenth.
Clayton Cramer: I Guess This Blows Condoleeza Rice Out Of The Running For President — An interview with Larry King reveals the deep...
Scott Sala: Technorati Tags: caption+contest Anna+Kournikova Adidas RealID Real+ID — Rice Ain't No Pea-Shooter Condi Rocks.
Jonathan H. Adler: RICE ON GUN RIGHTS — Condi says "The Second Amendment is as important as the First Amendment."

Voinovich Slams Bolton but OKs Senate Vote
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a tense atmosphere, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee debated John Bolton's fitness to be United Nations ambassador on Thursday. A critical Republican senator, George Voinovich of Ohio, agreed to let the nomination go to the full Senate but he called the diplomat "arrogant" and "bullying."
Jeff Jarvis: UPDATE: Following the Bloomberg story above, the AP reports that Voinovich will vote to pass the Bolton nomination to the full Senate: the political compromise.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: TRAGICOMEDY — So John Bolton's nomination will go to the Senate floor after all—though not, of course, without some...
Michelle Malkin: Now, ABC News: Voinovich to Vote for 'Bullying' Bolton "Republican Sen. George Voinovich (news, bio, voting record) of...
Tarek @LiquidList: Politics: Voting Your Conscience — This is just bulls**t. If you think someone is "arrogant" and "bullying," and that...

CNBC cancels 'Dennis Miller'
  CNN   —   Permalink 
In an attempt to revive primetime, 'Dennis Miller' will be replaced by 'Mad Money With Jim Cramer.'
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - CNBC is canceling "Dennis Miller" in an attempt to revive the network's struggling primetime, according to Variety.
Joe Gandelman: CNBC Says Buh-Bye To Dennis Miller — CNBC is dumping the Dennis Miller Show, which was an attempt at a combination...
Ann Althouse: CNN reports: "'Dennis Miller' will be replaced with a second airing of 'Mad Money With Jim Cramer' at 9 p.m. ET."
Jesse Taylor: Dennis Miller's show canceled. Daniel Okrent is leaving the NYT, but not before he slams the "liberal" paper, which...
James Joyner: CNBC cancels 'Dennis Miller' (CNN/Money) [snipped quote] I'm a fan of Miller but found his show unwatchable.
Dr. Steven Taylor: Adios, Dennis — CNBC cancels 'Dennis Miller' [snipped quote] It's bad enough to get cancelled, but getting replaced by a re-run's gotta hurt.

Panel Sends Bolton Nomination to Senate
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
A divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday sent the nomination of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador to the full Senate. But it took the rare step of refusing to endorse the blunt-speaking conservative.
Tbogg: Like hiring Andrea Yates to babysit — George Voinovich's Greatest Hits: "This is not behavior that should be endorsed...
Orrin Judd: SOUND AND PETULANCE: Voinovich slams Bolton but OKs Senate vote (BARRY SCHWEID, May 12, 2005, AP) "In a tense debate, a...
Steve Soto: But due to the slapdown Bolton got today from GOP Senator George Voinovich of Ohio, Dick Lugar was forced to send the...

Novak chickens out
  MSNBC   —   Permalink 
I don't issue statements often, in fact I don't think I've eve done so before, but I'm making one now. It is in response to the announcement, by Aaron Ettenberg, Acting Provost of the College of Letters & Science, at the University of California, Santa...
Mary @PacificViews: As Alterman said: "I very much regret Robert Novak's decision to withdraw from the Arthur N. Rupe Great Debate scheduled for May 25 at UC Santa Barbara.
Matthew Yglesias: Novak Chickens Out — Eric Alterman writes: [snipped quote] At least he doesn't deny the existence of perfectly real members of congress!
Attaturk: Douchebag of Cowardice/Bloviator of Courage — From Eric Alterman: There will be no Alterman versus Novak Debate.

Bolton nomination heads for Senate vote
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to send John Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to the Senate for a vote, despite stinging criticism from a key Republican on the panel.
Steve Soto: Voinovich Steers Foreign Relations Committee Into No Endorsement Of Bolton (Thanks to the AP for the photo) "The United...
Tim Cavanaugh: John Bolton held hostage, Day 653: Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes 10-8 to send the anal-explosive public servant for a full Senate vote.
Orrin Judd: Bolton nomination heads for Senate vote (CNN, 5/12/05) "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to send John...

Memo May Have Swayed Plan B Ruling
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Soon after the Food and Drug Administration overruled its advisory panel last year and rejected an application to make an emergency contraceptive more easily available, critics of the agency said it had ignored scientific evidence and yielded to pressure from social conservatives.
Tom @BeggingToDiffer: If you'd prefer to avoid the salacious content, the Washington Post covers the purely bureaucratic half of this controversy.
Steve Soto: Well, Dr. W. David Hager finally got his chance to do the American Taliban's work.
Steve M.: Yeah, read it, and read the Washington Post follow-up — but realize that this is the kind of thing that tends to blow up in our faces.
Chris Mooney: First, the Washington Post reports that a minority memo written by Hager (which has not apparently been made public) may...
LeanLeft: Dr. David Hager: Lunatic, Extremist, Rapist, Bush's Favorite Gynecologist, and the Man Who Killed "Plan B" — Filed...
Matthew Yglesias: UPDATE: See further comments and background from Chris Mooney and in today's Washington Post.
Also: Jeffrey Dubner, Liesa @LeftInTheWest, Kerry Howley, Pudentilla

The blog that ate real journalism
  Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
The Huffington Post, an Internet blog that debuted May 9 after a campaign that would have delighted P.T. Barnum, makes me nostalgic for the good old days of journalism.
Dr. Steven Taylor: Thomas on Huffington, Blogs and the Virute of the MSM — Writes Cal Thomas "The Huffington Post, an Internet blog [,,,]" Is there another kind?
John Hawkins: Fisking An Attack On Blogs By Cal Thomas — Perhaps Cal Thomas woke up on the wrong side of the bed or maybe he's just...
S.Z.: Ask Uncle Cal Cal Thomas's new Townhall column is so full of old-fashioned, crotchedy, Ann Lander-style pseudo-wisdom...
James Joyner: The blog that ate real journalism [snipped quote] Isn't that true of opinion journalists—like Mr. Thomas—as well?

Historians hope to preserve candid glimpses of war
  By / USA Today   —   Permalink 
The blogs that soldiers are writing from Iraq and Afghanistan may not be as valuable to historians as the letters and journals that troops, as warriors have done for centuries, are writing by hand.
Staff Sgt. Steven Kiel uses the communications and electronics shop in Iraq to update his blog.
Smash: One of the articles specifically addresses the preservation of milblogs for historical posterity, and notes that this weblog is being archived in the Library of Congress.
Glenn Reynolds: USA TODAY is writing about milblogs, and here's an interesting tidbit: [snipped quote] Making history, one blog at a time.
James Joyner: More interesting is this news, buried in a sidebar article: Historians hope to preserve candid glimpses of war "Many of...

A Turning Tide for Bolton
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Usually the bug dies. When a presidential nominee is treated like an ant under a magnifying glass under the noonday sun, when he has the full scrutiny of the media and Congressional investigators focused upon him, he usually gets incinerated.
Attaturk: Perhaps Bobo will turn out to be correct and Bolton will get confirmed (followed by a long night of celebratory passive/aggressive mustache rides).
Betsy Newmark: David Brooks thinks that the tide has shifted in John Bolton's favor because, through testimony, it has become clear...
Jonah Goldberg: TIDE TURNS ON BOLTON — David Brooks has a good one. (reg required)
Scott @PowerLine: The ordeal of John Bolton — In his New York Times column today David Brooks takes a look at the testimony of hostile...
Steve Clemons: The Tide Turns Against Bolton — Voinovich just said that [snipped quote] Someone notify David Brooks that the tide has yet again turned.

Bolton Poised to Pass Committee
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
A key Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today came out in opposition to President Bush's choice of John R. Bolton to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but urged his colleagues to send the nomination to the Senate floor for an "up-or-down vote," with no recommendation from the panel.
John Cole: They aren't going to roll over because some foul-mouthed (presumably) bully goes in and scolds them. Remember the Helms-Biden reforms?
Nico @ThinkProgress: It's a sad day for our country, and a sad statement about the Bush administration's chokehold on Senate leadership, that...

Former officers of Islamic charity arrested on federal charges
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
BOSTON — Two former officers of an Islamic charity were arrested on Thursday after they were indicted on federal charges of lying to authorities investigating the charity's alleged ties to terrorist organizations.
Mitch Townsend: A Couple of Familiar Names — A grand jury has handed up an indictment against two former officers of Care International.
Charles Johnson: Got Two in Boston — Former officers of Islamic charity indicted on federal charges. (Hat tip: billindc.)

Radio host Michael Medved's privatization meltdown
  Media Matters for America   —   Permalink 
When radio host Michael Medved challenged Rock the Vote Washington director Hans Riemer's use of the term "privatization" to describe President Bush's proposed changes to Social Security, Riemer confronted Medved with a quotation of Bush describing his proposed private accounts as "privatization."
Josh Marshall: MediaMatters gets the — Medved tape. No response yet from the Count. Late Update: We are in touch with MediaMatters personnel to ascertain who will be awarded the shirt.
Atrios: Wanker of the Day — Michael Medved. Extra bonus wanking here.

Tancredo gets flak for criticism of city
  By / Rocky Mountain News   —   Permalink 
Denver officials blasted U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo on Wednesday for alleging that the city has a policy of noncooperation with immigration authorities.
Tancredo, a Jefferson County Republican, made the charge in a news release Tuesday following the weekend killing of Denver police Detective Donald Young.
John Andrews: This week when my congressman, Tom Tancredo, asked why, he was brushed off by the mayor's office and the media. Outrageous.
Mark Krikorian: The city government is furiously spinning, but the facts speak for themselves — the (alleged) murderer presented a...