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Assault On the Media By / WaPo — Permalink So it turns out that the FBI has documents showing that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, complained about the mistreatment of the Koran and that many said they were severely beaten. The documents specifically include an allegation from a prisoner that guards had "flushed a Koran in the toilet." | |
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Patrick Ruffini: In this moment of reflection, you can't help but draw the comparison with the current concern for the vicious terrorists... Barbara O'Brien: One of the handful of prominent writers whose opinions I respect, E.J. Dionne, says in today's Washington Post. Tim Dunlop: Lost in the post — E.J. Dionne, writing in the Washington Post today, makes a point that this blog has been making for... |
Avedon Carol: E.J. Dionne knows the assault on Newsweek over it was part of a larger program by Bush apologists (and he uses the word "apologists" fluently). Ezra Klein: As EJ Dionne wrote today, we're not seeing an uptick in incidents of journalistic dishonesty, but the fruition of a... Laura Rozen: More on deliberately missing the forest for the trees from E.J. Dionne: "Conservative academics have long attacked... |
| Also: Jesse Taylor, Kevin Drum, Armando @DailyKos | |
FDA Looking Into Blindness-Viagra Link By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal health officials are examining rare reports of blindness among some men using the impotence drug Viagra. The Food and Drug Administration still is investigating, but has no evidence yet that the drug is to blame, said spokeswoman Susan Cruzan. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: Who knew? Now there might actually be a link between the use of Viagra and blindness. Clayton Cramer: Viagra & Blindness — This report indicates the FDA is investigating a connection: [snipped quote] To paraphrase the... Vance @BeggingToDiffer: DON'T DO THAT, YOU'LL GO BLIND — In what has all the earmarks of an urban myth gone out of control, the FDA is exploring potential links between blindness and Viagra use. |
Acidman: i can believe it — I think this study is true. A hard-on has made many a man lose his vision (and every lick of sense he ever had) in the past. John Cole: All those stories you heard as a kid might be right- you could go blind: [snipped quote] "We take this seriously." |
The Frist Problem LAT — Permalink The best thing a Senate majority leader with presidential aspirations can do is quit. That was Bob Dole's strategy in 1996, when he resigned to run against President Clinton. And it may be part of Bill Frist's decision not to seek reelection in 2006. | |
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Arianna Huffington: There is now doubt about whether Frist can assert effective leadership. R. J. Pestritto: L.A. Times Continues to Amaze — Did anyone catch this beauty in today's L.A. Times? K. J. Lopez: LATimes advises Frist. |
James Martin Capozzola: The Sooner the Better A Los Angeles Times editorial, "The Frist Problem," today makes a strong case supporting the... Jeralyn Merritt: LA Times Calls on Frist to Quit — Check out this editorial in the Los Angeles Times today calling on Senator Bill Frist to resign. |
British Medical Experts Campaign for Long, Pointy Knife Control By / NYT — Permalink Warning: Long, pointy knives may be hazardous to your health. The authors of an editorial in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal have called for knife reform. | |
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Jan Haugland: Across the pond, where gun control vs gun rights is a never-ending struggle, these demands are met with amusement on... Shannon Love: From the New York Times comes a story about this editorial in the British Journal of Medicine urging that long, pointed cooking knives be banned in order to prevent murders. McQ: UK: Ban those long pointy thingies — You know, knives. |
Dr. Demarche: The Brits, on the other hand, have completely lost their minds: Warning: Long, pointy knives may be hazardous to your health. Radley Balko: An editorial in the lastest issue of the British Medical Journal calls for the regulation of "long, pointy knives." Jacob Sullum: British Medical Experts Campaign for Long, Pointy Knife Control — Sadly, that is the actual headline from an actual New... |
Just Shut It Down By / NYT — Permalink Shut it down. Just shut it down. I am talking about the war-on-terrorism P.O.W. camp at Guantánamo Bay. Just shut it down and then plow it under. It has become worse than an embarrassment. I am convinced that more Americans are dying and will die if we keep the Gitmo prison open than if we shut it down. | |
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James Wolcott: I am pleased that Thomas Friedman has gotten on board with my modest proposal of a few months back that the Guantanamo prison facility be emptied and dismantled. Steve Soto: Hell, even the Ostrich Tom Friedman is now arguing that we should just shut Gitmo down, because it is a terrorist recruiting tool. Andrew Sullivan: We are dealing with the America of imprisonment without trial.'" - Husain Haqqani, a Pakistani scholar sympathetic to the war on terror. |
Hunter @DailyKos: Columnist Stumbles On Guantanamo; Several Blindingly Obvious Conclusions Found Dead — I see Kos has already linked to this Friedman column, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Kos @DailyKos: Friedman: "shut gitmo down" — Lucky for Friedman, the NY Times op-ed page is still free, so people still care what he writes. Avedon Carol: Nothing to see here.... Roxanne was so excited by today's Friedman Column that she mailed me about this. |
| Also: Orrin Judd, Cookie Jill, Atrios, Gary Farber | |
The Dog That Didn't Bark By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley made a public statement on May 13 that journalists are "being targeted for real in places like Iraq." She has been trying to slide out of it ever since. | |
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Captain Ed: However, as Lipscomb notes, darned few of those critics came from the newspaper journalists whom Foley represents. Vox Day: Going down, Mr. Tyler? From Editor & Publisher: [snipped quote] But they're professionals! PROFESSIONALS! Scott @PowerLine: The truth about bad legs — Thomas Lipscomb writes to his friends and colleagues in the media: [snipped quote] Lipscomb's Editor & Publisher column is "The dog that didn't bark." |
Lorie Byrd: "The Dog That Didn't Bark" — Don't miss Thomas Lipscomb's column at Editor & Publisher about the silence of the MSM on the Linda Foley story. Marc @USSNeverdock: America - Targeting Journalist: No Evidence — Linda Foley now admits she has no evidence that the US military targets journalists. Glenn Reynolds: THE DOG THAT DIDN'T BARK: Thomas Lipscomb notes another buried story in an Editor & Publisher column. |
Poll majority say they'd be likely to vote for Clinton USA Today — Permalink For the first time, a majority of Americans say they are likely to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton if she runs for president in 2008, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday. | |
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Ben P: As per a recent Pew poll reported in the USA Today, 53% of voters would choose Hillary in '08: [snipped quote] Doesn't surprise me at all. Avedon Carol: Some stuff — No More Mister Nice Blog has a nice analysis of the poll in USA Today saying that 53% support Hillary for President. John @PowerLine: Curb Your Enthusiasm — It isn't time to get too excited (or, alternatively, slit your wrists) over the widely-trumpeted... |
Steve Soto: Mrs. Satan. And this was before the right wing lost a weapon against her this morning. Joe Gandelman: Poll Shows Hillary Clinton Is Now A Major National Player — A new poll is good news for Hillary Clinton and bad news... Steve M.: There's going to be a lot of talk about this: For the first time, a majority of Americans say they are likely to vote... |
| Also: Attaturk, James Joyner, R. J. Pestritto, McQ, Tom Maguire, Oliver Willis, Kos @DailyKos, Avedon, Taegan Goddard, Tom Smith, K. J. Lopez | |
Saudi King Fahd hospitalized CNN — Permalink (CNN) — Saudi Arabia's special forces were put on alert after King Fahd was hospitalized in Riyadh for tests Friday, the Saudi government said. The move is routine whenever the king is hospitalized, Saudi government sources told CNN on condition of anonymity. | |
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Smash: King Fahd Near Death? SAUDI KING FAHD has been hospitalized with pneumonia, CNN reports. |
James Joyner: Saudi King Fahd hospitalized (CNN) "Saudi Arabia's special forces were put on alert after King Fahd was hospitalized in Riyadh for tests Friday, the Saudi government said. |
Democrats Extend Debate On Bolton By / WaPo — Permalink Senate Democrats refused to end debate on John R. Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador yesterday, extending the contentious issue into next month and angering Republicans only three days after many had heralded a bipartisan breakthrough on judicial nominees. | |
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Von @ObsidianWings: Yet, as the process drags out and continues to deprive the US of UN representation at a crucial time in the negotiations... Steve Antler: Language use and political bias... An active part of the team, they avoid the use of a certain word until well into the story. Tim Graham: SKIPPING THE F WORD — The WashPost tries to avoid the word "filibuster" in today's Bolton story. |
Hugh Hewitt: The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and the Los... Betsy Newmark: This is what they are doing with John Bolton. Remember, they have already decided that Bolton should not be ambassador to the United Nations. |
Ex-Clinton Aide Acquitted in Fund-Raising Case By / NYT — Permalink LOS ANGELES, May 27 - A federal jury today acquitted Hillary Rodham Clinton's former chief fund-raiser of charges that he underreported the costs of a glittery fund-raising event in 2000 to the Federal Election Commission. | |
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Orrin Judd: NEXT CAUSE, HIL-HATERS: Ex-Clinton Aide Acquitted in Fund-Raising Case (LESLIE EATON, 5/27/05, NY Times) |
Jeralyn Merritt: A jury has found David Rosen, HillaryClinton's chief fundraiser, not guilty of campaign finance violations. |
Iraq official: al-Zarqawi wounded By / Newsday — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been badly wounded and his lieutenants are engaged in a power struggle over who would replace him if he dies, according to a senior Iraqi security official. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: One report from Newsday states Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been badly wounded and his lieutenants are engaged in a power struggle over who would replace him if he dies. James Joyner: Militants' Power Struggle (Long Island Newsday) [snipped quote] Interesting speculation. |
Smash: An article in Friday's Newsday speculates on his potential successors. |
DeLay Fumes At 'Law & Order' Quip CBS News — Permalink (CBS/AP) House Majority leader Tom Delay fired off a letter to NBC Universal Television Group President Jeffrey Zucker Thursday calling "a failure of stewardship of our public airwaves," and a "brazen lack of judgment" a shot taken at him during NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" season finale May 25. | |
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Mipe @ThinkProgress: So in his letter to the president of NBC, DeLay defended the threat by saying, "When a responsible journalist like [Fox... Jeralyn Merritt: Tom DeLay fumes at a Law and Order episode [snipped quote] Crooks and Liars has the video |
Josh Marshall: "When a responsible journalist like Brit Hume made an inquiry into such comments," DeLay continued, "he quickly... |
Governor digs fixing potholes By / San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to a quiet San Jose neighborhood Thursday, and — dogged by protesters — filled a pothole dug by city crews just a few hours before, as part of an attempt to dramatize his efforts to increase money for transportation projects. | |
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Greg Saunders: UPDATE : By the way, there's no better metaphor for Schwarzenegger's political career than this inane photo-op (via BoingBoing). |
Kos @DailyKos: CA-Gov: Ahnold slinks around, tears up streets — Not only is Schwarzenegger doing his best to avoid damaging protests... |
School Law Spurs Efforts to End the Minority Gap By / NYT — Permalink BOSTON - Spurred by President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, educators across the nation are putting extraordinary effort into improving the achievement of minority students, who lag so sharply that by 12th grade, the average black or Hispanic student can read and do arithmetic only as well as the average eighth-grade white student. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: At the same time, as Sam Dillon's excellent report in today's New York Times reminds us, the law has at its core a very... Joanne Jacobs: Sign of the end Times — It's getting chilly in hell: The New York Times has a front-page story crediting "President... |
Betsy Newmark: The New York Times has a story about the efforts that schools across the nation have been making to reduce the gap... Ann Althouse: Read this, from the New York Times: "Spurred by President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, educators across the nation... |
Investing in the Right Ideas By / Opinion Journal — Permalink This past fall, shortly before the presidential election in November, some 300 friends and admirers gathered at the Plaza Hotel in New York City to pay tribute to John Kenneth Galbraith and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., the two aged warhorses of 20th-century liberalism. | |
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Dean Esmay: Pierson's article is a great starting point on that, so I suggest you click here and read the whole thing. Arnold Kling: Foundations of Libertarianism — James Piereson offers an interesting history of the role of foundations in stimulating political ideas and debates. |
Steve Antler: Unintended consequences... James Piereson explains how a small, private, privileged elite destroyed a great American... Tom Smith: Politics and philanthropy — Interesting history of both liberal and conservative philanthropy. I did not know a lot of this stuff. |
Judge OKs Suit Over Grocer Pact By / LAT — Permalink A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a controversial mutual-aid pact between the three grocery chains involved in Southern California's bitter supermarket labor dispute could be challenged on federal antitrust grounds. | |
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Henry @CrookedTimber: The L.A. Times story that he links to has more. The chains initially refused to disclose the pact's details and sought to have them sealed after Lockyer sued. Nathan Newman: And yesterday, a federal judge allowed a lawsuit by the California Attorney General alleging antitrust violations to move forward. |
Sam Rosenfeld: Don't miss Nathan Newman's brief analysis of a federal judge's decision to allow an anti-trust lawsuit to proceed... |
Broward pressures Art Guild to remove graphic painting of Bush from 'Controversy' exhibit By / Sun-Sentinel — Permalink An explicit art piece at the private, nonprofit Broward Art Guild was removed from its prominent position in the gallery after the agency's director received a phone call from the county's Department of Cultural Affairs, which partially funds the group. | |
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Ace: "Art" Exhibit About Controversy Features President Bush Being Sodomized — Controversy, eh? |
Damian Penny: "Yeah, but that's different" — No comment: An explicit art piece at the private, nonprofit Broward Art Guild was... |
Doctors' kitchen knives ban call BBC — Permalink A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing. A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings. | |
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Clayton Cramer: Still, progress continues: [snipped quote] Wouldn't it be simpler to require all food be sold in bite-sized chunks? Pejman Yousefzadeh: WHEN LIFE IMITATES JOKES . . . You have this. K. J. Lopez: From the Beeb (via the Drudgeman): "A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing. |
Tom @ScaredMonkeys: A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing. Mitch Berg: Brit doctors want to ban long kitchen knives: [snipped quote] Let's recap: Britain banned nearly all civilian gun ownership in the late eighties. David Carr: Go on, do your very worst. Bring it on: [snipped quote] Next: Doctors call for ban on opposable thumbs. |
The Irresistible 'Nazi' Taboo By / LAT — Permalink What's the value in having the greatest bad example of all time if you can never use it? Last week Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania violated a major taboo. He was trying to argue that the Democrats had no grounds to complain that the Republicans were breaking Senate rules in their effort to ban judicial filibusters. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Kevin Drum and Jonathan Chait both think we should be more tolerant of Nazi analogies as long as they're used "not to make a moral comparison but to establish a logical principle." |
Kevin Drum: IS JON CHAIT LIKE JOSEPH GOEBBELS?....Jon Chait defends Rick Santorum today: "If we thought about it sensibly, we'd realize that Nazi analogies have their place. |
Clinton Fund-Raiser Acquitted of Concealing Costs By / LAT — Permalink Hillary Rodham Clinton's former national campaign finance chief was acquitted today of charges that he concealed the costs of a glitzy Brentwood fundraiser from the Federal Election Commission. | |
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Michelle Malkin: First reports... Los Angeles Times Background at Peter Paul's site, HillCAP. |
Scott Sala: More from LA Times. |
For Senators, a Pact Does Not Mean Peace By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 26 - The filibuster is far from dead in the Senate. Putting a fitting exclamation point on weeks of bitter partisan fighting, Democrats initiated a stunningly successful procedural attack on Thursday against one of President Bush's... | |
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Bill Diamond: But I found Sen. Graham's comment on the Bolton vote in this morning's New York Times more than a little bracing. Dr. Steven Taylor: What?! No Peace, Love and Laughter? (Senate Version) Via the NYT: For Senators, a Pact Does Not Mean Peace. |
Captain Ed: The Comity Comedy Continues — Captain's Quarters would like to give the Captain Louis Renault award to the Seven... Patterico: Graham, for one, seems to think not: "This is what is disappointing," said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and another one of the Gang of 14. |
Intelligent Decline, Revisited By / TCS — Permalink "All truth passes through three stages," Arthur Schopenhauer declared. "First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." As a proponent of the Intelligent Design (ID) theory, nowadays I am witnessing the first two stages simultaneously. | |
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The Poorman: Via Chris Mooney, today's examples: 1) Tech Central Station (has the Dow hit 36,000 yet?) runs an article explaining... |
Chris Mooney: TechCentralStation Continues Its Record of Excellence... ...with this article defending intelligent design. |
It's a Video Game, and an Army Recruiter By / WaPo — Permalink The Army's flagging recruitment numbers are serious business. So Army officials increasingly are turning to a game for help. It is an online, multiplayer video game that they believe will lure teenagers into Army culture, hoping both to educate them about the military and to spark interest in volunteering to serve. | |
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James Joyner: It's a Video Game, and an Army Recruiter (WaPo, A26) Continued... [snipped quote] A brilliant idea. Ann Althouse: WaPo on the Army's on-line video game: [snipped quote] It's just another way to advertise about joining the military, but I suppose some people will have a big problem with this. |
Cookie Jill: the sims get drafted war games. literally. oohh...let's make death and dying fun, fun, fun! |
Christian activists capturing Tory races By / Globe and Mail — Permalink Ottawa — Christian activists have secured Conservative nominations in clusters of ridings from Vancouver to Halifax — a political penetration that has occurred even as the party tries to distance itself from hard-line social conservatism. | |
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Damian Penny: That's the gist of this Globe and Mail story, the first of what will certainly be many Globe and Toronto Star articles... |
Lambert @Corrente: "At least three riding associations in Nova Scotia, four in British Columbia, and one in suburban Toronto have nominated..." |
Democrats clear way for Senate vote on Bolton By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats agreed on Tuesday to clear the way for the Senate to vote on the controversial nomination of John Bolton as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, which was expected to pass mainly on party lines. | |
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Andy McCarthy: NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER — Here's James Taranto in Best of the Web on Wednesday, praising the filibuster deal and... |
Mark R. Levin: THE SENATE — Respecting Andy's point that the Democrats' word (at least the word of these particular Democrats) is not... |
Howard the Horrible By / Townhall.com — Permalink Howard Dean must be the product of a Karl Rove plot. How else to explain the Democratic National Committee chairman who so often acts as an unpaid agent of the Republican party? | |
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Michelle Malkin: According to Nexis database, the only people to mention the Guttmacher study were the editorial writers at the New York Sun and columnist Rich Lowry. Bill @INDCJournal: BONUS SILVER LINING FOR THE GOP: Howard Dean will probably keep serving up those wacky soundbites. |
Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Howie, the man of the (elitist) people — Richard Lowry has a biting essay on Howard Dean and his appearance last weekend on Meet the Press. |
'Snowflake' babies bring the debate to life By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink WASHINGTON - J.J. and Tracy Jones are the proud Houston-area parents of a "snowflake." That is, a 1-month-old boy who spent two years as another family's preserved embryo before he was adopted by the Cypress couple, carried in Tracy's womb and delivered in April. | |
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Steve M.: Jesse at Pandagon just read this Houston Chronicle story about "snowflake babies" — frozen embryos adopted from... |
Jesse Taylor: The Houston Chronicle has a more recent story on the matter, and it's a doozy. |
Running Out of Bubbles By / NYT — Permalink Remember the stock market bubble? With everything that's happened since 2000, it feels like ancient history. But a few pessimists, notably Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley, argue that we have not yet paid the price for our past excesses. I've never fully accepted that view. | |
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Brad DeLong: But today we see Arch-Keynesian Magister Paul Krugman flirting with a Hayekian line wobble: Running Out of Bubbles -... Stirling Newberry: Krugman Comes Closer To Joining The Secondary Bubble Crowd — Krugman comes closer to accepting the secondary bubble theory of the economy. |
Atrios: Stupid Paul — Paul Krugman writes a very silly column in which he asserts that the Federal Reserve may be running out of bubbles to float the economy on. Magpie @PacificViews: Former nay-sayer Paul Krugman is starting to think that the answer to both questions is Yes. [snipped quote] Via NY Times. |
Terrorists tie bomb belt to dog in Iraq Telegraph — Permalink Insurgents in Iraq attached explosives to a dog and tried to blow up a military convoy near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk. The canine bomb went off but the only casualty was the unfortunate animal, said police. | |
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Jan Haugland: Terrorists tie bomb belt to dog — Are the terrorists in Iraq running low on suicide bombers? Bill Roggio: Not satisfied with blackmailing innocents to execute suicide attacks or using young adults with Down's syndrome as... Marc @USSNeverdock: Iraq - Quality of Suicide Bombers Declining — I recently posted about how Suicide Bombers Hard To Come By and now here... |
Juan Cole: Guerrillas attempted to deploy a dog with a bomb belt against a convoy of Iraq troops, but the only victim was the unfortunate animal. James Joyner: Terrorists tie bomb belt to dog in Iraq (London Daily Telegraph) [snipped quote] Ironically, this type of thing might... Joe Gandelman: Iraqi Terrorists Draft Fido — File this one in the Give Me A Break Department: [snipped quote] Well, if they've already used ambulences and kids, why is this surprising? |
Curious, George! By / American Spectator — Permalink On May 17, the Right Honorable George Galloway, MP, gave a blustery and animated performance in front of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Pundits conceded he ran rhetorical circles around the plodding, staid Senators who couldn't quite catch him out on his relationship to the Oil-for-Food Scandal. | |
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Kevin Aylward: The American Spectator notes the work of blogger George Gooding in tracking down what appears to be a bald-face lie, told under oath, by Mr. Galloway. Betsy Newmark: Internet archiving technology may prove that George Galloway perjured himself in his testimony before the Senate last week. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: GETTING IT RIGHT ON GEORGE GALLOWAY — Clinton Taylor understands what Galloway—and so many of his sychophants—have missed: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. Patterico: Galloway Exposed The American Spectator has an excellent article here on the slippery George Galloway. |
Inquiry by U.S. Finds 5 Cases of Koran Harm By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 26 - An American military inquiry has uncovered five instances in which guards or interrogators at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility in Cuba mishandled the Koran, but found "no credible evidence" to substantiate claims that it was ever flushed down a toilet, the chief of the investigation said on Thursday. | |
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Avedon Carol: What to say when Reuters says Pentagon says detainee retracts Koran allegation (well, actually, it was only Larry Di... Richard Bradley: Richard Bradley: Vindication for Newsweek — With today's Pentagon report on mishandling of the Koran at Guantanomo Bay,... Laura Rozen: Did Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita misspeak? or, you know, that other word for the distortion of the facts? |
Armando @DailyKos: The Media and The Koran — As all know by now, the Army has confirmed that the Koran was abused by U.S. personnel in Guantanamo. Andrew Sullivan: CONFIRMED: The military concedes three incidents of deliberate abuse of the Koran and two incidents of accidental abuse of the Koran in interrogations at Guantanamo. Praktike: Transparency now, transparency forever — Now why couldn't the Pentagon have done this earlier? |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Michelle Malkin, Scott Wickstein | |
Pentagon Substantiates Cases of Koran Mistreatment WaPo — Permalink Pentagon officials said yesterday that investigators have identified five incidents of military guards and an interrogator "mishandling" the Koran at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but characterized the episodes as minor and said most occurred before specific rules on the treatment of Muslim holy items were issued. | |
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Kevin Drum: We know for a fact that both the FBI and the Red Cross told the Pentagon about credible allegations months ago, and the... Cori Dauber: Yup, They Touched It — Admissions on the Koran, although not particularly shocking ones: Pentagon officials said... Tom Maguire: The weasels at the WaPo said this: "The White House, the Pentagon and others have linked that report to riots overseas that left 16 people dead." |
Hugh Hewitt: The Washington Post, front page, first paragraph: "Pentagon officials said yesterday that investigators have identified... Frederick Maryland: But according to this morning's Washington Post: "Pentagon officials said yesterday that investigators have identified... Judd @ThinkProgress: We've also learned this from Brigadier General Jay Hood via the Washington Post: "[A] soldier was reassigned after one... |
| Also: Betsy Newmark, Bill @INDCJournal, Michelle Malkin, Nick Gillespie, Lambert @Corrente | |
Judge Says U.S. Must Release Prison Photos By / NYT — Permalink A federal judge in New York told the Defense Department yesterday that it would have to release perhaps dozens of photographs taken by an American soldier of Iraqi detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: WHAT'S COMING: We could also soon be facing the prospect of many more photographs coming out from the hell of Abu Ghraib prison. |
Matt Welch: Maybe We'll See More Abu Ghraib Photos After All — From the New York Times: [snipped quote] As I predicted in my April... |
Our Spoiled and Unhappy Global Elites NRO — Permalink From hypocrisy to tedium. Not long ago Pepsi Cola's chief operating officer, Indra Nooyi, gave an address to the graduating class at Columbia Business School. In it, she metaphorically likened America to the middle finger on the global hand. | |
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TheAnchoress: Victor Davis Hanson, taking his cue from Pepsico, balances members of the elite on his middle finger for 700 words or so. |
Hugh Hewitt: Victor Davis Hanson begins his column today at NRO with a reference to Pepsico President Indira Nooyi's "middle finger"... |
NBC clashes with Tom DeLay on Law & Order By / Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representative Majority Leader Tom DeLay accused NBC on Thursday of slurring his name by including an unflattering reference to him on the NBC police drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." | |
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Josh Marshall: Specifically, in an episode about a white supremacist who kills a judge's family, as the detectives hunt for the killer,... Arthur Silber: Tom DeLay now, battling evil in the form of insufficiently vetted teevee shows: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. House of... |
Avedon Carol: And now the response: Producer Dick Wolf, creator of the "Law & Order" franchise, took a swipe at DeLay in his own... |
Hillary Clinton Interview; Donna Brazile and Bay Buchanan Discussion; John Snow Interview CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANNOUNCER: Tough questions for Hillary Clinton. JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: You were asked to pledge at some point between now and next year whether you will definitely fill out a six-year term in the Senate, what would you say? | |
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Michelle Malkin: As Hillary Clinton put it on Inside Politics yesterday, "[D]uring the Clinton administration, abortions went down. Tom Maguire: Can't Spell "Hilarity" Without "Hillary" — The future Dem Presidential nominee speaks to Judy Woodruff: "Clinton: Well, I don't know many Democrats who support gay marriage." |
Arianna Huffington: Clearly not, judging from Hillary Clinton's appearance on "Inside Politics". John Cole: Slandered by the MSM — Via Henry Hanks, I see that I have been slandered by CNN: "TATTON: Right. |
New York Women In Line to Get Restroom Relief By / WaPo — Permalink NEW YORK, May 26 — To the women of New York City, who like many of their sex in so many places have suffered long lines to answer nature's call, relief is on the way. To the women who have ducked into the men's restroom to avoid embarrassment, the City Council has heard your woes and acted. | |
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Radley Balko: There Oughtta Be a Law — The New York City Council has just passed a law mandating 2-1 women-to-men bathroom ratios in all new public venues. |
Kathryn Jean Lopez: NANNY STATE IN THE LADIES ROOM — For goodness sake: [snipped quote] Yeah, the lines are long. We deal. |
EU report cites concerns on Ethiopian vote counting AP — Permalink ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia's electoral board appears to have lost control of the vote counting for the May 15 legislative polls, European Union election observers said in a report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. | |
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Charles Johnson: EU: Jimmy Carter Certified Rigged Elections — European Union election observers in Ethiopia say that the national... |
Glenn Reynolds: ETHIOPIAN ELECTIONS UPDATE: The E.U. observers are very critical: "Ethiopia's electoral board appears to have lost... |
Stem-Cell Lines Opinion Journal — Permalink The debate over stem-cell research is once again being portrayed as a kind of moral Armageddon: a choice between federal funding and none, between scientific progress and religious zealotry. | |
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Demimasque @ChicagoBoyz: In this spirit, a recent Wall Street Journal editorial painted a status commentary: "So what's happened, research-wise, since 2001? Chris Mooney: See the Wall Street Journal's out of touch editorial on the stem cell issue from yesterday: [snipped quote] Tis passing... K. J. Lopez: POINT OF CLARIFICATION — The Wall Street Journal makes a good point this morning (though I'm not with them on all their... |
The Poorman: SADDAM HUSSEIN FOREVER!!!! Um, obviously, this only applies to people trying to cure diseases using stem cells. Jesse Taylor: The Wall Street Journal openly admits that Bush's line in the sand is not only arbitrary, but rests on a tenuous... Matthew Yglesias: In a bizarre twist, today's Wall Street Journal contains an editorial noting that there's no clear principle behind the... |
Shi'ites offer Sunnis bigger role in Iraq constitution By / Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD, May 26 (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is reaching out to Sunni Arabs to ensure they play a bigger role in writing a new constitution, but this will not delay the process, the head of parliament's constitutional committee said. | |
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Juan Cole: Reuters reports that Humam Hamoudi, the chair of the constitution drafting committee in parliament, is attempting to... |
Praktike: The good news is that the Sunni Arabs are talking with Hammoodi about holding some kind of internal elections to put their spokesman on the constitutional committee. |
Canada suicide hotline to open only from 9 to 5 Reuters — Permalink TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian province will shut its 24-hour suicide hotline and replace it with one that operates only during business hours. Prince Edward Island, a small province on Canada's East Coast, says it is too expensive to operate the hotline around the clock. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: That's right, a 9 to 5 Suicide hot line. [quote] "How many times, when you get upset or worried or concerned about things, is it in the middle of the day?[end quote] |
K. J. Lopez: BANKER'S HOURS — Please, only contemplate suicide from 9-5. |
Turmoil as Chirac plots to disregard 'non' vote Times of London — Permalink PRESIDENT CHIRAC of France is preparing to throw Europe into confusion and put Britain on the spot by backing moves to keep the European constitution alive if it is rejected in Sunday's referendum. | |
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Patrick Ruffini: The Times of London reports on Chiraq's plans to defy his people's Non, principally at the expense of our British ally. Dr. Demarche: The French continue to appear poised to block the monstrosity that is the EU constitution, but also insist that everyone... Alexander K. McClure: As French voters prepare to go to the polls to deliver a well-deserved humiliation to his government, Jacques Chirac is... |
McQ: When France's Jacques Chirac wants his political way: "President Chirac of France is preparing to throw Europe into... Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Turmoil as Chirac plots to disregard 'non' vote By Philip Webster and Charles Bremner [snipped quote] So Chirac is... Arthur Chrenkoff: "Non" means "Oui" — In his amorous rush to consume his relationship with the European Union, Jacques Chirac doesn't... |
| Also: Damian Penny, Orrin Judd | |
Poll: Mixed messages for Hillary Clinton CNN — Permalink (CNN) — More than half of those responding to a new poll said they would be at least somewhat likely to vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton if she runs for president in 2008. But those saying they are virtually certain to vote against her topped those virtually certain to support her by 10 percentage points in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. | |
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Steve Soto: And the media will emphasize rightly so that 39% said that there is no way they would vote for her, although it is still... Bill @INDCJournal: Early Handicapping — Well, don't tell me that I didn't warn you about this: [snipped quote] This is the first time she's achieved a poll number over 50%, according to CNN. |
James Joyner: Uncharacteristically, USAT does not link to the detailed poll results, nor does CNN's version of the story or the Gallup home page. Alexander K. McClure: According to a new Gallup Poll, 56% of registered voters consider the New York Senator a "liberal." 29% said that they... |
Many Iraqis See Sectarian Roots in New Killings By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 26 - No one knows who tortured and killed Hassan al-Nuaimi, a Sunni Arab cleric whose body was found in an empty lot here last week, with a hole drilled in his head and both eyes missing. But the various theories have a distinctly sectarian tinge. | |
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John Cole: This Is Not Good — This is a bad sign: [snipped quote] Was this sort of widespread revenge killing inevitable? |
Matthew Yglesias: Are we seriously supposed to believe that people are just now getting the sense that there's a sectarian edge to the violence in Iraq? |
Guantanamo probe finds 5 Koran mishandling cases By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military has identified five incidents of "mishandling of a Koran" by U.S. personnel at Guantanamo Bay, but found no credible evidence that the Muslim holy book had been flushed down a toilet, the commander of the prison said Thursday. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Via the AP: Guantanamo probe finds 5 Koran mishandling cases "Brig. |
Jeralyn Merritt: U.S. Confirms 5 Reports of Koran Mishandling — Today the U.S. confirmed it had received five reports of guards mishandling the Koran. |
No Intentional Abuse of Koran at Guantánamo, General Says By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 26 - The American military commander at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, said today that investigators had found "no credible evidence" that a Koran had ever been flushed down a toilet there to unsettle detainees, and no serious incidents of intentional mishandling of the Muslim holy book by Americans. | |
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Smash: THE NEW YORK TIMES: [snipped quote] Please explain to me again how Newsweek "got the story right" the first time? John Podhoretz: FAKE AND INACCURATE — The general in command at Gitmo says there is no "credible evidence" that the Koran was flushed down a toilet. |
Bill @INDCJournal: UPDATE: Compare the Washington Post's treatment of the newest wrinkle in the story ... "Pentagon Confirms Koran... Steve M.: No Intentional Abuse of Koran at Guantánamo, General Says —headline of a New York Times story about a press... |
Senate Holds Off on Bolton Confirmation Fox News — Permalink WASHINGTON — Republicans were not able to muster on Thursday the 60 votes needed to stop debate on John Bolton's nomination to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations despite support from two Democratic senators who had been instrumental in recent negotiations over judicial nominees. | |
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Dale Franks: So much for "Comity" — It only took 72 hours for the Senate's newfound comity and bipartisanship to break down,... |
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Well the Cloture vote has failed, 56-42 "The Senate voted 56-42 to block a final vote on Bolton. Democratic Sens. |
Pentagon says detainee retracts Koran allegation By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Guantanamo detainee who told an FBI agent in 2002 that U.S. personnel there had flushed a Koran in a toilet retracted his allegation when questioned this month by military investigators, the Pentagon said on Thursday. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Here's an example of pure faith—yesterday Reuters reported that "The Guantanamo detainee who told an FBI agent in... Roger L. Simon: Oops — Newsweek's last line of defense just went down the drain. Even Howard Kurtz may not be able to help them now. TheAnchoress: This is pretty interesting. I wonder if it will garner the headlines it deserves? |
Scared Monkeys: Pentagon says detainee retracts Koran allegation [snipped quote] So despite the best efforts of the press and the ACLU to... Mark Kleiman: On the other hand, just because Lawrence Di Rita says that the detainee in question has recanted — without providing... John Cole: Update *** More here: [snipped quote] Seems to me the military comes out of this looking better than they ever had. |
| Also: Joe Gandelman, Charles Johnson, Pejman Yousefzadeh, La Shawn Barber, Edward _, Marc @USSNeverdock, McQ, John @PowerLine, Michelle Malkin | |
Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs By / Indianapolis Star — Permalink An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge's unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals." The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth. | |
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Andrew Cory: Anyway, onward: [snipped quote] What's truly upsetting here is that the judge ruled without being asked by anyone, and... Jan Haugland: Judge prohibits parents from teaching pagan beliefs — Now this is judicial activism: An Indianapolis father is... Cernig: It Starts Here, Ends Up With Burnings — As a Wiccan all my adult life, I am appalled and, frankly, frightened by the... |
James Joyner: Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs (Indianapolis Star) "An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County... Jesse Taylor: Damn liberal judiciary. A judge has declared that parents who send their child to a parochial school are not allowed to... Captain Ed: Freedom Means The Leeway Of Foolish Choices, Your Honor — An Indiana judge needs a remedial course in Constitutional... |
| Also: Eugene Volokh, Atrios, Helena Montana, Edward _, Dr. Steven Taylor, McQ, Andrew Sullivan, Echidne, Radley Balko | |
Democrats Force Delay of Bolton Final Vote By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Democrats forced the Senate to put off a final vote Thursday on John R. Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador, the latest setback for the tough-talking nominee President Bush has called strong medicine for corruption and inefficiency at the United Nations. | |
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Judd @ThinkProgress: Frist took pains to emphasize that there was no difference between delaying a nomination to get more information and a filibuster: "It certainly sounds like a filibuster…. Red @ScaredMonkeys: More from ABC: "Frist said the Bolton matter soured the air of cooperation. Dr. Steven Taylor: Bolton on Pause — Via ABC News: ABC News: Democrats Force Delay of Bolton Final Vote [snipped quote] No suprise. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: BAD FAITH COMES QUICKLY — Given the decision by Democrats to hold up the confirmation vote for John Bolton—this after... Yuval Rubinstein: Senate Dems (barely) prevented John Bolton's nomination from coming to a final vote while the White House and the NSA continue dragging their heels. David Sirota: They managed to delay the Bolton nomination - a good thing, considering the White House is refusing to turn over all the... |
| Also: Lambert @Corrente | |
Vote to end debate on Bolton fails CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — After hours of heated exchanges, the Senate failed Thursday evening to close off debate on President Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations. The cloture vote would have paved the way for a vote on whether to confirm the controversial nominee. | |
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Captain Ed: After today's latest display of the so-called new comity in the Senate, as the Democrats filibustered John Bolton's... Ezra Klein: No on Bolton — Democrats voted to reject cloture on Bolton, in other words, they're filibustering him until they get... PGL: Bolton Nomination Stalled — CNN reports: [snipped quote] If the White House wants a vote on the Bolton nomination, why not comply with this request? |
Red @ScaredMonkeys: Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist called it like he saw it after the vote. [quote] "It does disappoint me," Frist said after the vote.[end quote] Michelle Malkin: First reports: CNN... "After hours of heated exchanges over President Bush's nominee for the next U.S. ambassador... |
With a Little Help From Our Friends By / NYT — Permalink ON Saturday, May 14, several hundred people gathered in the windswept main street of Qalat, the capital of Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan. Led by local religious leaders, the crowd chanted slogans protesting the supposed desecration of the Koran by... | |
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Avedon Carol: Plus: "... in my line of work ..." and 'The right cries foul as Bush is foiled.' With a Little Help From Our Friends in the NYT raises some questions about the "Newsweek riots". Praktike: Sarah Chayes, a former NPR reporter now doing development work in Kandahar, has strong suspicions: Several Afghan... Kevin Drum: As for those riots that Newsweek supposedly started, here's aid worker Sarah Chayes in the New York Times: "Our... |
Marc @USSNeverdock: Could this be more hijacking a demonstration as noted in this New York Times article? Suzanne Nossel: Color on Koran Riots — Great piece today by Sarah Chayes, who lives in Kandahar, about the role that Pakistani and... Lindsay Beyerstein: Who provoked the "Newsweek" riots? |
| Also: Mark Kleiman, Laura Rozen | |
Documents Say Detainees Cited Koran Abuse By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 25 - Newly released documents show that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, complained repeatedly to F.B.I. agents about disrespectful handling of the Koran by military personnel and, in one case in 2002, said they had flushed a Koran down a toilet. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: This report from the New York Times would seem to make that clear: "The accusation that soldiers had put a Koran in a... Michelle Malkin: From the New York Times: "Unlike F.B.I. documents previously disclosed in a lawsuit brought by the civil liberties... Tom Maguire: MORE: In comparison with the WaPo, the NY Times shines the light of reason, and the LA Times is a font of wisdom. |
Smash: THE NEW YORK TIMES: "The accusation that soldiers had put a Koran in a toilet, which has been made by former and... Richard Reeb: This long NYTimes piece treats the claims of prisoner abuse, lovingly disseminated by the American Civil Liberties... |
Lecturers overturn Israel boycott BBC — Permalink UK academics have voted to overturn a boycott of two Israeli universities accused of complying with anti-Palestinian polices. Members of the Association of University Teachers had previously decided to sever all links with Bar-Ilan and Haifa universities. | |
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Marc @USSNeverdock: Maybe people in this country are starting to stand up to these people. The BBC in their usual bias, mis-represent what the boycott was about. Gary Farber: SENSE, for a change. "UK academics have voted to overturn a boycott of two Israeli universities accused of complying with anti-Palestinian polices. Jim Henley: Comments () » Congratulations Are in Order To Chris Bertram and his Crooked Timber posse for a major role in... |
Jan Haugland: UK teacher body votes to end Israel boycott — The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has voted to overturn the boycott of two Israeli universities. Mark Kleiman: UK teachers call off anti-Israeli boycott — The governing council of the UK university teachers' union (the AUT) has,... Chris @CrookedTimber: BBC report here. |
| Also: David T | |
GOP Tilting Balance Of Power to the Right By / WaPo — Permalink As Democrats tell it, this week's compromise on judges was about much more than the federal courts. If President Bush and congressional allies had prevailed, they say, the balance of power would have been forever altered. | |
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Magpie @PacificViews: And we'll be damned, this story by Post staff writer Jim VandeHei is a good short history of how Dubya and the... Robert Schlesinger: He concisely outlines how the GOP Congress and President Bush are remaking the federal government along conservative lines. Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post's Jim VanderHei has an article sure to scare the left about how the Republicans in Congress and the... |
Sam Rosenfeld: There's much to chew over in Jim VandeHei's analysis of the various long-term institutional transformations the... Praktike: Matthew is essentially arguing in favor of more of this type of stuff, which the Senate is designed to check. Pessimist @LeftCoaster: Imagine my shock and dismay, when while struggling into my Mae West and sliding across the sloping deck toward the... |
| Also: Taegan Goddard, Ezra Klein, Tim Graham, Jesse Taylor | |
5 Leading Institutions Start Journalism Education Effort By / NYT — Permalink The leaders of five of the nation's most prominent journalism programs are joining in a three-year, $6 million effort to try to elevate the standing of journalism in academia and find ways to prepare journalists better. | |
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Avedon Carol: However, Ezra points out that there's a serious effort now to educate real journalists to a higher standard than what we've been seeing lately. Cable Neuhaus: I had a profoundly visceral reaction to today's news that five prestigious journalism schools are joining forces — and,... Cori Dauber: Cross Your Fingers — Some of the top journalism schools in the country have gotten some serious money to work together in trying something different. |
Ezra Klein: Get Up, Stand Up... The nation's big journalism schools are pooling resources to create new investigative journalism structures that they can aspire to send their students to. Richard Bradley: Richard Bradley: Journalism's Bad News — The heads of journalism schools at Columbia, Berkeley, and elsewhere are... Taegan Goddard: In related news, the New York Times reports the heads of five prominent journalism programs "are joining in a... |
| Also: Jim Romenesko | |
Rubin urges Democrats not to reveal their hand By / The Hill — Permalink Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the steward of President Clinton's economic policy, told the House Democratic Caucus yesterday that it needs to continue to "hold firm" in its opposition to President Bush's effort to reform Social Security and advised the Democrats not to introduce their own plan, according to aides and lawmakers in the meeting. | |
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Brad DeLong: Bob Rubin on Social Security — From The Hill: Rubin urges Democrats not to reveal their hand: Former Treasury... Josh Marshall: There's an article in The Hill today that you should read. It's about a talk Bob Rubin, Clinton's Treasury Secretary, gave to the House Democratic caucus yesterday. Taegan Goddard: Rubin Urges Democrats to Stay Firm on Social Security — With signs appearing that Democrats are "cracking" in their... |
Matthew Yglesias: If I may add yet another reason to think the "no compromise" stance on Social Security is the right one, I think looking... Chris Bowers: Feeling A Little Better on Social Security — I was definitely worried about Social Security yesterday, but seeing this... |
Mr. Narcissus Goes to Washington By / Opinion Journal — Permalink You've heard the mindless braying and fruitless arguments, but I'm here to tell you the facts, no matter what brickbats and catcalls may come my way. Lindsey Graham defied the biases of his constituency to do what was right, not what was easy. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Peggy Noonan Strikes Again — The latest Peggy Noonan lecture column makes us wonder: isn't it hard typing on your keyboard when that jacket restrains both arms? Tbogg: Noonan of Arcadia — Peggy finally comes out of the closet: And I believed them, because I am an idiot. Okay. Betsy Newmark: Peggy Noonan writes one of her best columns on how puffed up with their own dignity and importance some politicians,... |
S.Z.: But here's a new quiz for you: identify which quote is from Ann Coulter; which is from nice Catholic lady (and former... David Cohen: GOD MUST LOVE HISTORIANS — Mr. Narcissus Goes to Washington: It's springtime, love is in the air, and 14 senators are gazing at the mirror. Dr. Steven Taylor: This Just in! Peggy Noonan has discovered that politicians are a sanctimonious, egotistical, self-serving lot. |
| Also: Attaturk, Scott @PowerLine, K. J. Lopez, Matthew Yglesias, Michael DeBow | |
'American Gulag' WaPo — Permalink IT'S ALWAYS SAD when a solid, trustworthy institution loses its bearings and joins in the partisan fracas that nowadays passes for political discourse. It's particularly sad when the institution is Amnesty International, which for more than 40 years has been a... | |
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Dr. Demarche: Closer to home, when the WaPo calls anything you have said or written "vitriolic" and you are not a Republican, it must... David Adesnik: Although the editors of the WaPo have made the right decision to single out this absurd comparison as the dumbest and... Tom Maguire: In behalf of the WaPo, let's note that they run an editorial denouncing Amnesty International's use of the word "gulag". |
Natasha @PacificViews: Shooting the Messenger — The Washington Post editorial board decides they have to draw the line somewhere [Emphasis... Betsy Newmark: Kudos to the Washington Post for criticizing Amnesty International for calling the detentions at Guantanamo an American Gulag. Damian Penny: Update: even the Washington Post, that radical right-wing hotbed of neoconservative warmongery, savages Amnesty International for comparing Guantanamo Bay to the Gulag. |
| Also: Nick Gillespie, Dale Franks | |
Tenn. Lawmakers Charged in Bribery Scam By / AP — Permalink NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four Tennessee lawmakers, a former lawmaker and two others were indicted Thursday amid a federal investigation into the business dealings of a state senator from Memphis from a powerful political family, officials said. | |
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Captain Ed: Tennessee Legislators Arrested In Corruption Scheme — Several Tennessee state legislators have been arrested by federal... Michelle Malkin: Huge FBI corruption sting—dubbed "Operation Tennessee Waltz"—has resulted in the arrest of four state legislators,... |
Red @ScaredMonkeys: FBI Sting, Operation Tennessee Waltz, in the Volunteer State — From out of Tennessee comes an FBI sting that could have major national political implications down the line. |
Murder Charges Dropped Against Marine By / AP — Permalink May. 26, 2005 - A former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks will not be tried on murder charges for killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents, a Marine general decided Thursday. | |
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John Cole: To Report, Or Not Report — From ABC News: [snipped quote] What was ABC news thinking reporting this? Red @ScaredMonkeys: ABC News: "More than a half-dozen Marines who served with Pantano in Iraq praised him in testimony, saying he was an... Donald Sensing: Accused Marine officer walks — The commanding general of the 2d Marine Division has ordered that prosecution be halted of Marine Reserve 2nd. |
Michelle Malkin: ABC News: [quote] "Down at the unit level, there was never a question about Ilario's conduct and whether or not he did the right thing," Charles Gittins, Pantano's civilian lawyer, said.[end quote] James Joyner: Murder Charges Dropped Against Marine (AP) [snipped quote] While I'm always glad to see the U.S. military take war crimes... |
Two Bush Nominees Get Panel's Quick OK By / AP — Permalink (05-26) 12:15 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of President Bush's blocked judicial nominees, cleared for confirmation by this week's Senate compromise on filibusters, gained quick approval Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: This AP report does not explain why two crucial appellate court nominations which were to have been voted on yesterday... Orrin Judd: Meanwhile, Two Bush Nominees Get Panel's Quick OK (JESSE J. HOLLAND, May 26, 2005, Associated Press) "Two of President... |
Gerry @DalyThoughts: Update: This AP article says: "Democrats had been blocking Griffin and McKeague at the request of Michigan's two Democratic senators, Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. |
Pretoria name change is approved BBC — Permalink A recommendation that the name of South Africa's capital be changed from Pretoria to Tshwane has been unanimously approved. The Geographic Names Council took four hours to back the change. Tshwane is the name of a pre-colonial local chief and means "we are the same". | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: The Politics of Place Names — Via the BBC: Pretoria name change is approved [snipped quote] On the one hand, I... Gary Farber: GET READY FOR A GLOBAL REPLACEMENT on your maps and in your geographical usage: A recommendation that the name of South... |
James Joyner: Pretoria name change is approved (BBC) [snipped quote] Changing from an highly established, pronouncable name to a new,... |
Non-Nuclear Fallout By / Weekly Standard — Permalink MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND begins the high season at Main Beach in California's Laguna Beach. Two-player beach volleyball is never gone completely from the beach, but during the summer it is always in play during daylight. Even a Midwesterner like me understands the game. | |
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Captain Ed: Not One Dime: Non-Nuclear Winter — Hugh Hewitt has an excellent column titled "Non-Nuclear Fallout" in today's Daily... Hugh Hewitt: My WeeklyStandard.com column, Non-Nuclear Fallout, considers the aftermath of Monday's judges deal. |
Betsy Newmark: Hugh Hewitt assesses the political fallout from the deal on judicial nominations. Scott @PowerLine: The McCain relapse — In his Daily Standard column Hugh Hewitt looks over the carnage wrought by the gang of 14 with a gimlet eye: "Non-nuclear fallout." |
An Illogical Standard WaPo — Permalink DURING THE DEBATE in the House on Tuesday over the stem cell research bill that passed on a bipartisan vote, Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) leveled a remarkable accusation: Supporters of liberalizing President Bush's restrictive approach to funding stem... | |
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Ramesh Ponnuru: THE WASHINGTON POST ON CONSISTENCY — The Post objects to Tom DeLay's speech against federal funding for embryo-destructive research for two reasons. Amanda Marcotte: This, of course, leads Tom Delay, who received his medical degree from the back of Bill Frist's minivan, to declare that... |
Nick Gillespie: Writes the Post: [snipped quote] Whole thing here. Matthew Yglesias: There's a good Washington Post editorial on the stem-cell mumbo jumbo kicking around the Hill: [snipped quote] In... |
New Iraq Security Cordon to Ring Baghdad By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - The government announced Thursday that a security cordon of 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and police will ring Baghdad starting next week to try to halt a spree of insurgent violence that has killed more than 620 people this month. | |
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Juan Cole: His Minister of Defense, Saadoun Dulaimi, and his Interior Minister, Bayan Jabr, announced Thursday that they intended... Praktike: This sounds kind of wacky to me, but who knows, maybe it will work: BAGHDAD, Iraq - The government announced Thursday... |
Cernig: Comes the news that the Iraqi government plans to throw a security cordon around the city of Baghdad in an attempt to supress the runaway insurgency in the city. Red @ScaredMonkeys: Also according to an internet web site, al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist group appointed a temporary replacement for al-Zarqawi. |
Europeans are shouting 'no' for one reason: it's their economies, stupid Times of London — Permalink WHY ARE THE PEOPLE of Europe so angry? The standard answer, as the Germans, French and Dutch all turn against their governments, is that the European project has gone too far and that political elites have overreached themselves, losing touch with the ordinary people. | |
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Gregory Djerejian: And relatedly, but in more general vein, it is worth seeing how Anatole Kaletsky puts it a bit differently in The Times... Dale Franks: European Disenchantment with the EU — Anatole Kaletsky writes that the European electorate's growing dissatisfaction... |
Marcus @HarrysPlace: Base and Superstructure — Anatole Kaletsky thinks the real reason things are looking gloomy for supporters of the... Johnathan Pearce: As Anatole Kaletsky writes in the Times today, the chronic underperformance of the euro zone economy is at the heart of... |
CBS Poll: Bush Out Of Touch CBS News — Permalink (CBS) Four months into his second term, President Bush is increasingly viewed as being out of touch with the American people, according to a CBS News poll. Six in ten Americans say the president does not share their priorities, while just 34 percent say he does - the lowest numbers for Mr. Bush since the eve of his first inauguration. | |
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Patrick Ruffini: Congress for Dummies — "CBS Poll: Bush Out Of Touch" blares one headline (it's CBS, folks!) , "Poll: Bush approval mark nears low" screams another. Kos @DailyKos: Poll: Bush is out of touch — It took people this long to figure it out? |
Captain Ed: CBS Poll: Behind The Numbers — "Bush Out Of Touch," reads the CBS headline from their poll released today, and indeed that is what one of the poll's results show. Taegan Goddard: Bush Seen as Out of Touch — President Bush "is increasingly viewed as being out of touch with the American people," according to a CBS News poll. |
THE STREET LA CityBEAT — Permalink 7 DAYS IN L.A. American Cinematheque tribute gives us more of the 'most unique' filmmaker in the world. Yay! Word on the street ... | |
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The Poorman: Martini Republic, however, points out that our Mr. Netkin has an interesting history: "Valley dingbat Hal Netkin ran a... |
Kevin Roderick: Netkin arrested — Valley dingbat Hal Netkin ran a phone bank during the mayoral election that called voters with automated anti-Villaraigosa messages. |
Why I Support the Filibuster Deal By / TCS — Permalink The so-called Gang of 14's deal on judicial nominations aroused the ire of activists on both the left and right, but it is my friends on the right who seem to have been most disaffected. | |
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Orrin Judd: TRIPLE NOT: Why I Support the Filibuster Deal (Stephen Bainbridge, 05/26/2005, Tech Central Station) |
Steve Bainbridge: I took my best shot at wrapping up all my arguments in favor of the deal and the good folks at TCS kindly published them. |
Public backs female troops in Iraq, but not in ground force By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly favor the use of female troops in Iraq, including having them serve in support jobs that often put them in or near combat, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. A majority of those polled, however, oppose women serving as ground troops. | |
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James Joyner: Public backs female troops in Iraq, but not in ground force (USAT, p. 6) "Americans overwhelmingly favor the use of... Jan Haugland: Luckily, the keep-woman-away provision was dropped by the House. Most Americans also support the female troops. |
Phillip Carter: Plus, as this USA Today story makes clear, the politics were clearly against the House GOP leaders on this one. |
President Welcomes Palestinian President Abbas to the White House White House — Permalink PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. Mr. President, it is my honor to welcome the democratically elected leader of the Palestinian people to the White House. We meet at a time when a great achievement of history is within reach, the creation of a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state. | |
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Praktike: Bush statement on Egypt — This was at today's press conference with Mahmood Abbas: Q Mr. President, President Bush, the... |
K. J. Lopez: TO HIS CREDIT THOUGH — In front of Abbas, the president said today: "...Our position on Hamas is very clear, it's a well-known position and it hasn't changed about Hamas. |