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"What I Told The Grand Jury" By / Time — Permalink It was my first interview with the President, and I expected a simple "Hello" when I walked into the Oval Office last December. Instead, George W. Bush joked, "Cooper! I thought you'd be in jail by now." | |
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Joe Gandelman: Time's Matt Cooper tells exactly what he told the grand jury — hidden behind a Time subscriber wall, so we'll pass on detailing it here. Billmon: Cooper Speaks — Swopa was completely right — the frantic end of the week leak-o-rama was indeed an effort by the... Andrew Sullivan: According to Matt Cooper, they were the last words Karl Rove said to him in their telephone call over the Wilson affair. |
Steve Soto: Matt Cooper just posted his exclusive at Time.com about what he told the Grand Jury this week, and in response, the... Mark Kleiman: Unspin from Matt Cooper — Kevin Drum finds nothing much new in Matt Cooper's account of his appearance before the grand jury. Cookie Jill: the republican's spin on the rove involvement with cooper just got blasted out of the water by.....drum roll.....cooper. |
| Also: Laura Rozen, Attaturk, Barbara O'Brien, Mark R. Levin, Jeralyn Merritt, Kevin Drum, Roger Ailes | |
Rove at War By / Newsweek — Permalink July 25 issue - Karl Rove is a hunter. His favorite quarry in Texas is quail; in Washington, it's foes of George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney. Rove was focused intently, with a touch of anger, on his prey. | |
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Billmon: Howard the Whore Fineman buries a rather significant detail in his long and revolting profile of his john . . . Digby: It's even more shocking that the two most powerful political operatives in the White House were so out of the loop... Betsy Newmark: Howard Fineman has a typical Fineman-story. |
Armando @DailyKos: Rove's War on Wilson — Howard Fineman has always had good, but often deliberately whitewashing insight into Karl Rove. Barbara O'Brien: Rove Watch Watch Update 2 — I'm not sure what to make of an article by Howard Fineman at Newsweek, "Rove at War." Mark Kleiman: A profile of Rove and the Plame story by Howard Fineman, which (I was heartened to note) mentions, without naming, the Espionage Act. |
| Also: Laura Rozen, Roger Ailes, John @AmericaBlog, Chris Andersen, Kevin Drum | |
Transcript for July 17 MSNBC — Permalink PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS NBC TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS." MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: the investigation into the leak which identified Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative. | |
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Susie Madrak: What Rove Knew From this morning's Press the Meat transcript: MR. PODESTA: ...they want us to be talking about Wilson. Juan Cole: Rove: It is all going to be Declassified — From Meet the Press with Tim Russert, 7/17: [snipped quote] We may conclusde... Faiz @ThinkProgress: Check back here later for a full transcript. UPDATE: Here's the transcript. |
Joe Gandelman: You can read the Meet the Press transcript of Cooper's appearance today. Jeralyn Merritt: Matthew Cooper: Rove Said, ' I' ve Already Said Too Much' — Update: Today's Meet the Press transcript of Cooper is here. |
Top Cheney Aide Among Sources in C.I.A. Story AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — The vice president's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, was a source along with the president's chief political adviser for a Time story that identified a CIA officer, the magazine reporter said Sunday, further countering White House claims that neither aide was involved in the leak. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Frogmarch Watch: Enter Dick Cheney [stage right] As for the question, What did the President know and when did he know... Armando @DailyKos: AP: WH Lied About Rove, Libby Leaking — Of course the title is rendered in my words BUT AP wrote this: "Vice President... |
Steve Soto: Seemingly in response, the AP reported this in the last hour: "A lawyer familiar with Rove's grand jury testimony said... |
Plame security breach? It just ain't so, Joe By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink Karl Rove? Please. I couldn't care less. This week finds me thousands of miles from the Beltway in what I believe the ABC World News Tonight map designates as the Rest Of The Planet, an obscure beat the media can't seem to spare a correspondent for. | |
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Ed Driscoll: , Glenn Reynolds links to this Mark Steyn piece: "But in the real world there's only one scandal in this whole wretched... Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn is so right. All of us should stop obsessing about Karl Rove, Valerie Plame and her ubiquitous husband and focus on the real story. Cliff May: STEYN NAILS IT — As Mark so often does: [I]n the real world there's only one scandal in this whole wretched business —... |
Glenn Reynolds: And here are more thoughts from Mark Steyn: "But in the real world there's only one scandal in this whole wretched... James Joyner: Plame security breach? It just ain't so, Joe (Chicago Sun-Times) [snipped quote] Sounds about right. |
TIME Exclusive - MATTHEW COOPER: WHAT I TOLD THE GRAND JURY Time — Permalink New York - In his 2 1/2 hour testimony last Wednesday before the grand jury investigating the CIA leak case, TIME White House correspondent Matthew Cooper testified that when he called White House political advisor Karl Rove the week of July 6, 2003, Rove did not reveal Joe Wilson's wife's name and did not reveal her covert status to Cooper. | |
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Captain Ed: In the new edition of Time Magazine, Cooper confirms that the New York Times version of events published late last week... Brian Stelter: Cooper On NBC, Then CNN, Then MSNBC — Time Magazine's Matt Cooper is making the media rounds now that his grand jury testimony tell-all is hitting newsstands. |
John @PowerLine: Time's online exclusive, "Matthew Cooper: What I Told The Grand Jury", says: "On background, Cooper had asked Libby if... |
Interview With British Defense Minister John Reid; Interview With Saddam Hussein's Attorney Giovanni di Stefano CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: It's noon here in Washington, 9 a.m. in Los Angeles, 5 p.m. in London and 8 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us for "LATE EDITION." | |
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John @AmericaBlog: Mehlman today on CNN: [snipped quote] In fact, James Byrd was the African-American victim who was dragged to his death, tied dangling from a truck in Texas. |
Atrios: Mehlman — Today: The NAACP unfortunately in the 2000 campaign likened the president to James Byrd, who was a racist killer in east Texas, who the president brought to justice. |
Iraq suicide bomber kills 98; Saddam indicted By / Reuters — Permalink MUSAYYIB, Iraq (Reuters) - Stricken townspeople swept away the wreckage of a fuel truck bomb that killed 98 people south of Baghdad and three more suicide car bombers hit the Iraqi capital on Sunday in a devastating new campaign. | |
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Andy Stern: It was a stark reminder that we can get somewhat anesthetized when we read about yet another suicide bombing. Juan Cole: Musayyib Death Toll Rises to Nearly 100 — Reuters is reporting that the death toll from the gas station bombing in Musayyib on Saturday has risen to 98. |
Norbizness: (7) For all those wondering whether Iraq would ever adopt an American-style political system, check out this headline: "Iraq suicide bomber kills 98; Saddam indicted." |
Weekend of slaughter propels Iraq towards all-out civil war Times of London — Permalink IRAQ is slipping into all-out civil war, a Shia leader declared yesterday, as a devastating onslaught of suicide bombers slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them Shias, around the capital at the weekend. | |
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Susie Madrak: But At Least We Got Rid of Saddam Hussein No wonder they love us: IRAQ is slipping into all-out civil war, a Shia... |
Orrin Judd: KURDISTAN, SHI'ASTAN, AND ? (via Mike Daley): Weekend of slaughter propels Iraq towards all-out civil war (James Hider,... |
Dead writer casts doubt on Venezuela poll By / Financial Times — Permalink Henri Charrire, the convict who vividly recalled his multiple escape bids from the disease-ridden penal colony of French Guiana in the novel Papillon, has been found "alive" in Venezuela, 32 years after his reported death. Or so Venezuela's electoral register would have you believe. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: HUGO CHAVEZ UPDATE: The dead are risen in Venezuela — to vote! [snipped quote] Go figure. |
A.M. Mora y Leon: It's that bad. Don't believe me? Read it here. Daniellllllll!!!!!!!!!! |
Kennedy opposition carries risks for Supreme Court fight By / Boston Globe — Permalink WASHINGTON — Senator Edward M. Kennedy's ringing baritone carried over the nearly empty Senate chamber, sounding a warning on a familiar subject. The liberal lion stood behind his desk in the chamber's last row and promised an aggressive and detailed grilling of whomever President Bush selects for the Supreme Court. | |
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Alexander K. McClure: Now the Boston Globe apparently has caught on, speculating that the prospect makes some Democrats worried. Orrin Judd: LESSON ONE—NEVER LET TED DRIVE: Kennedy opposition carries risks for Supreme Court fight (Rick Klein, July 17, 2005,... |
Betsy Newmark: The Boston Globe looks at Senator Kennedy's role in the upcoming judicial nominee vote and speculates that it might be a... |
'Guardian' man revealed as hardline Islamist By / Independent — Permalink The Guardian newspaper is refusing to sack one of its staff reporters despite confirming that he is a member of one of Britain's most extreme Islamist groups. | |
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Jan Haugland: He informs us that his second-favourite target, The Independent, is sniping at Scott's favourite target The Guardian,... Arthur Chrenkoff: The left-wing competitor "The Independent" has a delightful take on the controversy: [snipped quote] The problem is not... Marc @USSNeverdock: Britain - Guardian Reporter hardline Islamist — With the majority of MPs losing faith in the BBC, Britains media takes... |
Marcus @HarrysPlace: He has yet to receive a reply. Guardian rival, the Independent has now stepped into the row. Scott Burgess: Ablution Hits the MSM — Thanks to those who have commented and emailed with respect to this story in the Indy: [snipped quote] There's more at the link. James Joyner: 'Guardian' man revealed as hardline Islamist (Independent) [snipped quote] Lovely. |
Charges Filed Against Hussein for 1982 Massacre of Shiite Villagers By / NYT — Permalink The Iraqi Special Tribunal set up to try Saddam Hussein said in a statement today that Mr. Hussein and three others will be referred to criminal court on charges related to the killings of about 150 Shiites in the Iraqi town of Dujail in 1982. | |
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Riggsveda @Corrente: 22 Years Late — The NYTimes puts this on the front page with a straight face: [quote] "Charges Filed Against Hussein for 1982...[end quote] TChris: Charges Against Saddam Hussein Announced — Providing a happy distraction for the Bush administration (which always... |
John Cole: Hussein Charged — Hussein charged for his crimes: [snipped quote] Good. |
Bush well on way to meeting deficit promise By / US News — Permalink So the deficit—the federal budget deficit—is declining sharply, more sharply than just about anyone in mainstream media anticipated. According to figures from the Office of Management and Budget, the deficit is projected to decline from $412 billion in 2004 to $333 billion in 2005, a 19 percent decline. | |
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TheAnchoress: Michael Barone has a must read in US News: So the deficit—the federal budget deficit—is declining sharply, more sharply than just about anyone in mainstream media anticipated. |
Alexander K. McClure: The Deficit — Michael Barone has a must-read piece in USNews about the precipitous drop in the federal deficit. |
Suicide Bomber Ignites Tanker, Killing Scores of Iraqis By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sunday, July 17 - A suicide bomber wrapped in explosives detonated himself next to a gasoline tanker south of Baghdad on Saturday night, creating a devastating fireball that killed at least 59 and wounded 86 , an Iraqi police official said. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Following one of the deadliest days in Iraq (well, for civilians, at least - those oft-forgotten bits of cannon fodder... |
Cliff May: NEW SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN IRAQ — The following is just below the lede of the p.1 NY Times story from Iraq this morning. |
The Framing Wars By / NYT — Permalink After last November's defeat, Democrats were like aviation investigators sifting through twisted metal in a cornfield, struggling to posit theories about the disaster all around them. Some put the onus on John Kerry, saying he had never found an easily discernable message. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE HIGHLY OVERRATED GEORGE LAKOFF — By all means, read this long article on George Lakoff and his "framing" ideas. Edm Staff: The debate over the importance of "framing" gets re-energized in Matt Bai's "The Framing Wars" in the Sunday New York Times Magazine. |
Ann Althouse: The new piece is called "The Framing Wars." Lots of Democrats these days trace their problems not to ideas or agendas but to "framing." James Joyner: Update (7-17): Bai's article, "The Framing Wars," is out. |
Top Cheney Aide Among Sources in CIA Story By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide was among the sources for a Time magazine reporter's story about the identity of a CIA officer, the reporter said Sunday. | |
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Billmon: Most Creative Rovian Defense — Or at least, the most creative one I've seen yet, comes from Rep. Roy Blunt — the DeLay... John @AmericaBlog: Scott McClellan lied about him as well when he said Scooter had nothing to do with the leak. Gosh that's a pattern of lies now. |
Faiz @ThinkProgress: UPDATE: The AP is reporting on Libby's involvement, based on Matt Cooper's appearance on Meet the Press. |
High Hopes for New GOP Face By / LAT — Permalink BALTIMORE — When Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele muses in public these days about his political future, friends and Republican allies tell him he sounds as if he has made up his mind. | |
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Alexander K. McClure: 2006 Maryland Senate Race — Many Republicans believe that Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele is the face of the future of the Republican Party's outreach to minority voters. |
Taegan Goddard: GOP Has High Hopes for Steele — A Los Angeles Times piece notes Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) looks like an all-but-officially-declar ed candidate for U.S. Senate. |
Why the Leak Probe Matters By / Newsweek — Permalink Once federal prosecutors get in the habit of forcing reporters to cough up their sources, readers will be dining on handouts and hokum. How the latest in the Schiavo case has made Jeb Bush into the Al Sharpton of the right. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: At least the story is getting covered. Jonathan Alter at Newsweek writes "Why the Leak Probe Matters." |
Mark Kleiman: Newsweek on Rove/Plame — Newsweek has lots on the Rove/Plame story: * A sensible column from Jonathan Alter which,... |
The Rove Problem By / Time — Permalink Valerie Plame had no reason to welcome a reporter into her home last week. Reporters tell stories and trade secrets, and her life, once a state secret, had become one of the most widely told stories in years. | |
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Digby: TIME magazine says today: "Or, more personally, was Rove suggesting that Wilson was chosen not for his expertise but because his wife was trying to help him stay in the game? |
Jeralyn Merritt: This Time Magazine article, not by Matthew Cooper, today says it was Valerie Plame Wilson's boss, the deputy chief of... |
Suicide Bombs Potent Tools of Terrorists WaPo — Permalink Unheard of only a few decades ago, suicide bombings have rapidly evolved into perhaps the most common method of terrorism in the world, moving west from the civil war in Sri Lanka in the 1980s to the Palestinian intifada of recent years to Iraq today. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Glorification — From an article on suicide bombing in Sunday's Washington Post: The boys all know the way to Ahmed Abu... James Joyner: Suicide Bombs Potent Tools of Terrorists (WaPo, A1) [snipped quote] The article makes a big point to show that... |
Mimus Pauly: i've given everything i could to blow it to hell and gone... dan eggen and scott wilson of the washpost write, "suicide... |
In Plame Leaks, Long Shadows WaPo — Permalink Karl Rove had a secret. In public, he was masterminding President Bush's reelection and brushing off suggestions he had played any part in an unfolding drama: the unmasking of CIA operative Valerie Plame. | |
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Joe Gandelman: To put the controversy in perspective, read this Washington Post "upsummer" of events which is in the form of a chronology/analysis. Armando @DailyKos: Well, they better check with Rove's lawyer: [quote] Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said he can say "categorically" that Rove...[end quote] Ann Althouse: Googling, I found this, from the Swing State Project, from back on June 23, predating the connection of Rove's name to the Plame story. |
Billmon: A Few Nuggets — The Washington Post briefly reviews the history of Plamegate. Barbara O'Brien: Beside Frank Rich's must-read column (see previous post), the other Rove-related article worth checking out is this... Steve Soto: Sunday's Post Piece On Plame Story Misses Some Points — Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei's story in Sunday's Post somehow... |
| Also: Josh Marshall, Faiz @ThinkProgress, James Joyner, Brendan Nyhan, Laura Rozen | |
Congressman Apologizes for Hitler Remark AP — Permalink TRENTON, N.J. - Congressman Frank LoBiondo apologized for suggesting that Guantanamo Bay detainees were worse than Adolf Hitler because the Nazi dictator "sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing." Muslim terrorists, he said, were more evil than Hitler. | |
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Captain Ed: Can ... we ... PLEASE ... get Congressmen and Senators to throw away the Nazi analogies? |
Atrios: Political Rationale — Your Republican Congressman: TRENTON, N.J. |
Texan With Bench Experience Wades Into Justice Fray By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 16 - It is like Congressional clockwork. Senate Democrats argue their case on judges; Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, soon strides onto the floor and in calm and measured tones, seeks to dismantle the Democratic argument. | |
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TChris: Of all the names floated as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court, John Cornyn's may be the most bizarre. |
Orrin Judd: Texan With Bench Experience Wades Into Justice Fray (CARL HULSE, 7/17/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] Be fun to listen to... |
Pakistan: Still Schooling Extremists WaPo — Permalink Although investigations into the terrorist attacks in London are still at an early stage, it is already clear that at least one of the bombers attended a radical Islamic school, or madrasa, in Pakistan. | |
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WoW Team Monday: His promises to reform the madrassa system have come to nil. One of the London bombers met the Islamabad Church bomber, for instance. |
John Cole: Madrassas in Pakistan — Interesting op-ed piece in the WaPo on the Pakistani connection to the London bombings. |
Similar Appeal; Different Styles WaPo — Permalink John G. Roberts Jr. and J. Michael Luttig have both marched up through the Republican ranks, from Supreme Court clerkships to White House jobs to the federal bench. | |
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Steve Soto: Charles Lane and Jerry Markon write a good piece that focuses on two judges who are on Bush's short list, John G... Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post has profiles of J. Michael Luttig and John G. Roberts, two of the supposedly leading contenders for being nominated to replace O'Connor. |
James Joyner: Similar Appeal; Different Styles (WaPo, A4) [snipped quote] Luttig does indeed sound like a more exciting choice, although Roberts would be much easier to confirm. Nathan Hallford: A Tale Of Two Judges: The Post takes a look at the respective styles of two potential Supreme Court nominees: Judge Luttig and Judge Roberts. |
Study cites seeds of terror in Iraq By / Boston Globe — Permalink WASHINGTON — New investigations by the Saudi Arabian government and an Israeli think tank — both of which painstakingly analyzed the backgrounds and motivations of hundreds of foreigners entering Iraq to fight the United States — have found that the vast majority of these foreign fighters are not former terrorists and became radicalized by the war itself. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Well, today some evidence for the "breeding ground" theory did in fact surface, in the Boston Globe's report of two new studies, one from Israel and one from Saudi Arabia. |
Orrin Judd: YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND AN EXCUSE TO SEND SOMEONE ELSE TO HIS DEATH: Study cites seeds of terror in Iraq: War radicalized... |
MI5 judged bomber 'no threat' By / Times of London — Permalink ONE of the four suicide terrorists behind the London bomb attacks was scrutinised by MI5 last year, but was judged not to be a threat to national security, a senior government official said yesterday. | |
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Jan Haugland: MI5 judged terrorist bomber to be no security threat — Oops! |
Andrew Cochran: Picture of London Bombers Released - British MI5 Misjudged Bomber's Threat — British authorities have released this... |
White House Delay On Court Nominee Is Calculated Plan By / WaPo — Permalink Every spring for the first three years of President Bush's administration, Karl Rove and other top aides gathered to prepare for the possibility that a Supreme Court justice would retire. Yet, when a seat finally opened in Bush's fifth year, the strategy to fill the vacancy suddenly turned into hurry-up-and-wait. | |
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Richard Reeb: This New York Times piece examines the reasons why this may be so and talks to some informed observers whose judgments... Orrin Judd: IF IT WERE URGENT THE SENATE WOULD BE IN SESSION: White House Delay On Court Nominee Is Calculated Plan: Stretching Out... |
Steve Soto: The Post does note in another story in Sunday's edition that Bush plans to make his selection sometime between July 26th... |
Lost in Bombings, Diverse and Promising Lives By / NYT — Permalink LONDON, July 16 - They were mostly in their 20's, 30's and 40's. They were mostly on their way to work. They were the daughter of an Anglican bishop, the son of a Nigerian oil executive, the immigrant mother of two teenagers. Some were Muslims. | |
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Cernig: Read the list of the dead at the NY Times in an article titled "Lost in Bombings, Diverse and Promising Lives". Michelle Pilecki: Well, with the Khan case, we have a body count, but not a clear idea of a connection. There's more at Metafilter, DailyKos and AmericaBlog |
James Joyner: Lost in Bombings, Diverse and Promising Lives — The New York Times features prominently a set of features on the people... Roger Ailes: Bloody Hell |
Plan Called for Covert Aid in Iraq Vote NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 16 - In the months before the Iraqi elections in January, President Bush approved a plan to provide covert support to certain Iraqi candidates and political parties, but rescinded the proposal because of Congressional opposition, current and former government officials said Saturday. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: In other news—be sure to take note of "Plan Called for Covert Aid in Iraq Vote": "In the months before the Iraqi... Norbizness: It worked in Ohio and Florida! Plutonium Page: Spreading democracy... covertly? Why am I not surprised? [snipped quote] Free and fair elections, my ass. More below the fold. |
Juan Cole: The Bush administration may have thrown covert support to its favored political parties in Iraq over objections from Congress, according to Seymour Hersh. Susie Madrak: Same Old, Same Old In response to a New Yorker article by Seymour Hersh that's coming out this week, BushCo denies that it tried to influence the Iraqi election with covert aid. Laura Rozen: Ripples from the latest Seymour Hersh article, not even published yet: [snipped quote] I haven't seen the Hersh report... |
London Bombers Have Ties to United States By / ABCNEWS — Permalink July 15, 2005 — One of the bombers in last week's attacks made a direct phone call to a suspected recruiter for an extremist group in New York. Authorities told ABC News that records show Mohammed Sidique Khan, the eldest of the bombers now believed to... | |
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Joe Gandelman: London Bombers Reportedly Tied To U.S. This report should be troubling news to all Americans: [snipped quote] There are... Marc @USSNeverdock: Britain - Terrorists Called New York Mosque — ABC News reports on the London terrorists connections to America. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE AMERICAN CONNECTION — I suppose that it should come as little surprise, but this report is more than a little... |
'Indispensable': Does It Have a Shelf Life? By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON — When revelations surfaced last week that Karl Rove had secretly talked to reporters about a C.I.A. operative, some critics demanded the senior adviser be swiftly swept from the corridors of power. Asset or liability: President Bush's close adviser, Karl Rove. | |
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Billmon: Another Lie From the New Pravda — Specificially, from New York Times reporter Anne E. Kornblut: "So far, there is no... Jeralyn Merritt: Update: This article in Sunday's New York Times asks: "Is there a tipping point where the presence of Karl Rove would simply not be worth the unwanted attention that goes with it? |
Dr. Steven Taylor: On Firing Major Presidential Advisers — The NYT has a piece providing historical context for the firings/resignation of... John @AmericaBlog: More Republicans bashing Karl — It's not good news for the White House when Republicans start bashing Karl, even anonymously. |
Follow the Uranium By / NYT — Permalink "I am saying that if anyone was involved in that type of activity which I referred to, they would not be working here." - Ron Ziegler, press secretary to Richard Nixon, defending the presidential aide Dwight Chapin on Oct. 18, 1972. | |
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Norbizness: That sort of junk should only be viewed by illiterates who don't have other people to read to them. (1a) For a reminder... Jeff Goldstein: obligatory mention of the biggest non-scandal to have grandstanding Democrats calling for firings (and, in the case of... Richard TPD: Frank Rich on Plame Gate — I am going to break my own rule here and post an entire lengthy article from the NY Times,... |
Skippy: plenty of plame to go around dcmediagirl has a response from a cia classmate of plame's as to why the revealing of her... Josh Marshall: First is Frank Rich's Sunday New York Times OpEd. As Rich says, this isn't about Valerie Plame or Joe Wilson or even Karl Rove. Arthur Silber: JOSEPH "MACGUFFIN" WILSON — AND REMEMBERING THE BIG PICTURE — July 16th, 2005 Frank Rich has the big picture exactly... |
| Also: Susie Madrak, Barbara O'Brien, Cookie Jill, Jeralyn Merritt, John Cole, Echidne, Armando @DailyKos, Al Rodgers | |
Elegant nonsense By / Washington Times — Permalink Nearly 24 centuries ago, Plato warned not to confuse innate artistic skill with either education or intelligence. The philosopher worried the emotional bond we can forge with good actors might also allow these manipulative mimics too much influence in matters on which they are often ignorant. | |
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Roger L. Simon: In My Backyard — Victor Davis Hanson is not quite as brilliant as he usually is in his analysis of celebrity leftism - "Elegant nonsense." |
Paul @PowerLine: Victor Davis Hanson wonders why celebrity actors like Robert Redford, Richard Gere, George Clooney, and Sean Penn are so partial to vacuous liberal rant when it comes to politics. |
The New Nanny Diaries Are Online By / NYT — Permalink OUR former nanny, a 26-year-old former teacher with excellent references, liked to touch her breasts while reading The New Yorker and often woke her lovers in the night by biting them. | |
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Patrick: There's an entire novel of manners lurking under the surface of this, particularly when paired up with this response. Dr. Steven Taylor: There is lot that one could comment on in the following piece in the NYT style section today: The New Nanny Diaries Are... Amanda Marcotte: , Helaine Olen wrote a self-serving article in the NY Times on firing her nanny because she didn't like what she read about the nanny's non-work on her blog. |
Lindsay Beyerstein: Objectification: It's not just for men — Helaine Olen fired her nanny for blogging. Ezra Klein: The Mommy Diaries — Helaine Olen penned a fairly peculiar NY Times article on how she fired her nanny after reading her blog. |
Steven McWilliams; activist for medical pot By / San Diego Union-Tribune — Permalink Friends say Steven McWilliams was tired. He was in pain. And he was scared of possible jail time. The combination may be the reason the medical marijuana activist took his life Monday, they say. He was 51. | |
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Arthur Silber: Here's a longer version: "Friends say Steven McWilliams was tired. He was in pain. And he was scared of possible jail time. |
Andrew Sullivan: MORE ON McWILLIAMS: The obit. The first medical marijuana martyr? |
Fighting Words By / WaPo — Permalink Barbara O'Brien wishes to disagree. She has been listening as Betsy Newmark — a history teacher, a proud mom and a very conservative political blogger — expounds her reasons for supporting the war in Iraq. Listening very intently. | |
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Avedon Carol: News and stuff — This morning The Washington Post has an article that involves a day out with two bloggers -... Gene @HarrysPlace: Dueling bloggers — I usually manage to avoid newspaper and magazine articles purporting to explain the blogging... Paul @PowerLine: Read the whole thing, especially page 3 — The Washington Post Magazine features this insightful profile by David Von... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Mahablog is profiled in the Washington Post Magazine. Betsy Newmark: The article is the cover story of the Washington Post Magazine this week. Read the article and let me know what you think. Joanne Jacobs: Blogger v. blogger — Betsy Newmark of Betsy's Page comes off well in a Washington Post Magazine story pitting the "very... |
| Also: Barbara O'Brien, TheAnchoress, Michelle Malkin, Marc @USSNeverdock, Ann Althouse, Kevin Drum, Dr. Steven Taylor, Susie Madrak | |
Criminal Contempt Could Lengthen Reporter's Jail Stay WaPo — Permalink Lawyers in the CIA leaks investigation are concerned that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald may seek criminal contempt charges against New York Times reporter Judith Miller, a rare move that could significantly lengthen her time in jail. | |
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Faiz @ThinkProgress: As reported by the Washington Post, Libby served as a source for Matt Cooper: "In a conversation that same day [July 11,... Jeralyn Merritt: Criminal vs. Civil Contempt — The Washington Post reports today that Judith Miller may be charged with criminal contempt which would lengthen her jail stay. Armando @DailyKos: Kurtz sez: [snipped quote] If Libby has not given the express release, he must. We must demand it. The Media must ask why he has not. |
Billmon: Now Comes Miller Time — It appears Karl Rove isn't the only meat machine with a Terminator on its tail: "Lawyers in... Susie Madrak: Still, this sounds about right: Lawyers in the CIA leaks investigation are concerned that special prosecutor Patrick... Dr. Steven Taylor: The Plot Thickens — Via WaPo: Criminal Contempt Could Lengthen Reporter's Jail Stay [snipped quote] Indeed. |
| Also: Atrios, John Cole, Laura Rozen, Cookie Jill | |
Tolerating a Time Bomb By / NYT — Permalink FOR centuries the Netherlands has been considered the most tolerant and liberal nation in the world. This attitude is a byproduct of a disciplined civic society, confident enough to provide space for those with different ideas. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Tolerating intolerance : Leon de Winter, a Dutch novelist and wise, wry social critic (or so I think, having read a few... Marc @USSNeverdock: Netherlands - No Longer Exists — That's according to LEON de WINTER writing in the New York Times. Tom Smith: Dutch tolerance — Here. |
FrancoAlemán: THREE SUPERB COLUMNS about the "enemy within" factor in the terrorist attacks hitting European soil: Tom Friedman on the... Orrin Judd: DUTCHER AND DUTCHER: Tolerating a Time Bomb (LEON de WINTER, 7/16/05, N Y Times) "FOR centuries the Netherlands has... |
Shades of Cover By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Several months after her identity as a CIA operative was exposed in a newspaper column, Valerie Plame had dinner with five of her classmates from the agency's training academy. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Via the LAT is a piece on the CIA and undercover work which helps to deal with some of my questions about Plame's status: Shades of Cover. Steve Antler: Cover... As the LA Times sanctimoniously lectures us about the importance of cover, let's not forget the NYT recently... Kevin Drum: UNDERCOVER...Greg Miller has a decent backgrounder in the LA Times today about the various types of CIA cover —... |
Susie Madrak: Mosaic The L.A. Times has an interesting piece on CIA covers: One former NOC who left the agency several years ago... James Joyner: Meanwhile, LAT's Greg Miller weighs in with a piece today entitled, "Shades of Cover" "[...] Although often cast in... |
Iraq Suicide Blast Kills 54, Injures 82 AP — Permalink A suicide attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body Saturday at a gas station near a Shiite mosque south of Baghdad, triggering a huge explosion in a fuel tanker and killing at least 54 people, police said. Eighty-two people were injured. | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: Well, it seems that together with the US troops, we would also have to withdraw from Iraq Iraqi children and presumably the mainly Shia gas station patrons. Atrios: Life in Iraq — Horrible: An insurgent suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body Saturday, triggering a... |
Arthur Silber: And that, of course—as our government and most of our media prefer—doesn't include the awful and incomprehensible... Attaturk: Another disaster in the land of the man and/or other primate caused disaster: [snipped quote] That's, even at this point, as many as died in London, but compare the news coverage. |
Lawyers Secured Rove's Waiver By / WaPo — Permalink Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, facing a jail term in the Valerie Plame leak investigation, never asked White House political adviser Karl Rove to release him from a pledge of confidentiality because Cooper's attorney believed that any conversation between the two men could be construed as obstruction of justice. | |
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Josh Marshall: In making that point Russert referred to this passage in an article in yesterday's Post ... [snipped quote] For all I... Jeralyn Merritt: The Mechanics of the Rove-Cooper Waiver — The Washington Post has an article today detailing the mechanics of the Rove-Cooper waiver that Cooper relied on to avoid going to jail. |
Kevin Drum: TIME'S SOURCES...Time magazine's reporters are saying that editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine's decision to turn over... |
Anger Burns on the Fringe of Britain's Muslims By / NYT — Permalink LEEDS, England, July 15 - At Beeston's Cross Flats Park, in the center of this now embattled town, Sanjay Dutt and his friends grappled Friday with why their friend Kakey, better known to the world as Shehzad Tanweer, had decided to become a suicide bomber. | |
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Mediacrity: Terrorism Apologia at The Times — Hassan Fattah of the New York Times, who wandered cluelessly through the streets of... Jeff Jarvis: Well, today, The Times tries to continue portraying them as angry young men. PoliPundit: The Times Screws Up Again — A friend of mine e-mailed me about a huge possible hole in an Old York Times story. |
Marc @USSNeverdock: Britain - The Problem With Islam — The New York Times article has this headline: Anger Burns on the Fringe of Britain's... Michelle Malkin: Update: More Islamist sass... [snipped quote] Update II: Aslam is a Knave of the Week. (Hat tip: John K.) Cliff May: From a NYT story this morning: "He was sick of it all, all the injustice and the way the world is going about it," Mr... |
Bush Drops Hints on Supreme Court Choice By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - President Bush gave the nation several clues Saturday about the person he will nominate for a seat on the Supreme Court, except for the most important one — a name. In his weekly radio address, Bush said his eventual nominee will be a "fair-minded individual who represents the mainstream of American law and American values." | |
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Faiz @ThinkProgress: The media seems to have seized on President Bush's pledge yesterday in his radio address to pick a Supreme Court nominee... Feddie @SouthernAppeal: "Bush hints on Supreme Court choice": Does anyone else find—after reading this article—that headline to be extremely misleading? |
Ann Althouse: In today's radio address, President Bush talked about replacing Justice O'Connor: "President Bush gave the nation... |
Where's the Newt? By / NYT — Permalink We are in the midst of a remarkable Washington scandal, and we still don't have a name for it. Leakgate, Rovegate, Wilsongate - none of the suggestions have stuck because none capture what's so special about the current frenzy to lock up reporters and public officials. | |
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Jeff Goldstein: Joe should have remembered that their first loyalty is not to the United States, that no treachery was too great for them in the defense of W'04!" me: "Uh huh. Amanda Marcotte: Anyone who was clinging to the thin thread of hope there was any chance that NY Times newbie would show a modicum more... Betsy Newmark: Boy, John Tierney must feel like a loner at the New York Times sometimes. |
Andrew Sullivan: John Tierney turns in his best column to date: "For now, though, it looks as if this scandal is about a spy who was not... Echidne: But what he writes about is hilarious: [snipped quote] Here is the picture, by the way: Tierney believes that it doesn't... Glenn Reynolds: ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's John Tierney in the New York Times: "For now, though, it looks as if this scandal is about a spy... |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, Don, Tom Maguire, Cliff May, John Cole, Orrin Judd, Tbogg | |
Officials' Pitch for Drug Plan Meets Skeptics By / NYT — Permalink SCARBOROUGH, Me. , July 15 - Four months before enrollment begins, the Bush administration has started a cross-country campaign to sell its most significant domestic policy initiative, the new Medicare drug benefit. | |
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Ezra Klein: Medicare Cometh — The Medicare Drug Plan is soon to come online and it looks, if possible, even worse than we thought. |
New Donkey: That's the news from Robert Pear of The New York Times, who wrote up the first stop—in Maine—of an administration road show aimed at promoting the benefit. |
State Dept. Memo Gets Scrutiny in Leak Inquiry on C.I.A. Officer By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, July 15 - Prosecutors in the C.I.A. leak case have shown intense interest in a 2003 State Department memorandum that explained how a former diplomat came to be dispatched on an intelligence-gathering mission and the role of his wife, a C.I.A. officer, in the trip, people who have been officially briefed on the case said. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Now, note this: Yesterday Richard Stevenson of the New York Times posted a story (probably in today's print edition)... Billmon: But only for the entertainment value: "Prosecutors in the C.I.A. leak case have shown intense interest in a 2003 State... Laura Rozen: Blogger Next Hurrah and I have been batting back and forth theories of the State Department memo on Joseph Wilson's fact... |
Josh Marshall: Today's article about the Plame case in the New York Times focused on this classified State Department memo. Steve Soto: The shorthand is that Patrick Fitzgerald's staff are focusing on the State Department memo that claimed Joe Wilson was... Tom Maguire: The NY Times tells us what we have been telling you for months, and creeps closer to the truth about their own role, and... |
| Also: Steve Antler, Susie Madrak, Captain Ed, Armando @DailyKos, Kevin Drum, Eriposte @LeftCoaster, Joe @AmericaBlog, Orrin Judd, Jeralyn Merritt, John Cole, Stirling Newberry | |
Let's not be fooled by the forces of moderation The Australian — Permalink THERE we Londoners were on that Thursday morning, going about our traditional business of being all multicultural and vibrant under mayor Ken Livingstone. Suddenly we were innocent victims. | |
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Steve Antler: The other side is continually battling. We need to change our philosophy. Tom Paine: Frank Johnson patrols the mean streets of Islington and speaks to the ordinary reporters, columnists, teachers and... |
Peter Burnet: LIBERALS UNDER THE BED — Let's not be fooled by the forces of moderation (Frank Johnson, The Australian, July 16th,... |
Harry Potter Works His Magic Again in a Far Darker Tale By / NYT — Permalink In an earlier Harry Potter novel, Sibyll Trelawney, divination teacher, looks at Harry and declares that her inner eye sees past his "brave face to the troubled soul within." Collected coverage of Harry Potter: book and movie reviews, an interview with the author and more. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Ohmygosh! I read in the NY Times that Severus Snape is the new defense against the dark arts teacher in volume 6! Orrin Judd: Harry Potter Works His Magic Again in a Far Darker Tale (MICHIKO KAKUTANI, 7/16/05, NY Times) "In an earlier Harry... |
Betsy Newmark: If you're interested, Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times has done some speed reading and has up a review already. Hei Lun: If you don't want to see any spoilers for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, do not read this review in the New York Times. |
58 dead in attack south of Baghdad CNN — Permalink BAGHDAD (CNN) — A fuel tanker detonated near a gas station south of Baghdad and killed 58 people, a bloody incident police are calling an attack. The strike — which occurred in Musayyab, in a volatile stretch in Babil province about 45 miles south of the capital — also wounded 86 people, police said. | |
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Chris @AmericaBlog: Last, last, last, last, last, last, last, last, last... throes again — Last night 60 killed and 100 wounded in a suicide attack in Iraq. |
James Joyner: Terrorists Car Bomb Fuel Tanker in Baghdad, Kill 58 58 dead in attack south of Baghdad (CNN) [snipped quote] Amazing. |
Memo Is a Focus of CIA Leak Probe WaPo — Permalink Federal prosecutors investigating the leak of former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity have asked several witnesses in the case whether they read a State Department memorandum mentioning her that circulated inside the Bush administration in the days before she was publicly named, according to people familiar with the testimony. | |
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Billmon: Update July 17 12:30 am: The Washington Post follows along behind the Gray Lady and pretends a story it had a year-and-a-half ago is now big news. Susie Madrak: UPDATE: Interesting new tidbit from WashPo: Lawyers involved in the probe said prosecutors are interested in whether... Cookie Jill: "- nytimes" drip drip drip... "federal prosecutors are investigating whether then-secretary of state colin l. powell,... |
John @AmericaBlog: Yet we're to believe from Rove and his attorney that Rove not only didn't see the State Department memo about Ambassador... Armando @DailyKos: Update [2005-7-16 2:16:49 by Armando]: In WaPo, Luskin/Rove is quoted as saying categorically he never saw or heard of the memo. |
One-Man Storm Investor's Business Daily — Permalink Tyranny: Fidel Castro is facing revolts after Cuba was hit by its worst hurricane in memory. The destruction will cost $3 billion. But Castro is doing everything he can to keep aid out. And that's an outrage. Following Hurricane Dennis, a different wind is blowing through Cuba — the wind of change. | |
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Gateway Pundit: A. M. Mora y Leon of Publius Pundit and Babalu' Blog have noticed spontaneous demonstrations springing up in its wake... |
A.M. Mora y Leon: The only aid he's taking is politicized aid, the kind that his agents pick and choose to deliver. Where is the outrage? |
Oil-for-Food Paper Shredder Still Shredding Fox News — Permalink UNITED NATIONS — The man who abruptly retired as Kofi Annan's cabinet chief after shredding papers related to the Oil-for-Food (search) program has been shredding still more documents at the United Nations, an eyewitness told FOX News. | |
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Roger L. Simon: "Wheels Keep on Turnin'" Those wild and crazy guys at the UN apparently don't know when to quit: UNITED NATIONS - The... |
FrancoAlemán: SHRED, SHRED, shreddicky shred: [snipped quote] (via HispaLibertas) Click here to send me an email |
Questions of Who Told What to Whom, and When, May Be Crucial in Leak Case By / NYT — Permalink Although enormous attention has recently been focused on the question of what information might have passed from government sources in Washington to reporters, the case involving the disclosure of a covert C.I.A. operative's identity has also pointed out that information sometimes flows the other way. | |
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Tom Maguire: Send In the Weasels — Adam Liptak of the Times takes up the issue of just what the various journalists have said in the Plame investigation. Digby: But this, I think, is even more interesting: "In court papers filed earlier this month urging that Ms. Miller be... Laura Rozen: Meantime this NYT piece explores the question of who told what to whom, raising the theory that has been ricocheting... |
Faiz @ThinkProgress: Memo To Rove: Read the Classified Information Nondislcosure Agreement — The New York Times reports this morning: "A... Billmon: Update: 5:40 pm ET: Via Mahablog, I see the New York Times has now been reduced to asking its own lawyers whether Judy... Eriposte @LeftCoaster: He cites this extract from Adam Liptak's NYT piece (bold text is my emphasis): [snipped quote] Let's be very very clear what this evasive answer amounts to. |
Car Bombs and Explosions Kill 29 in Iraq By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Suicide car bombs and explosions rocked wide areas of the Iraqi capital Friday, targeting U.S. and Iraqi security forces and killing at least 29 people. Two U.S. Marines died in a blast near the Jordanian border. | |
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Riggsveda @Corrente: Think of it: 27 children targeted and murdered; 87 dead and over 100 wounded Iraqs just yesterday; 29 dead and 111 wounded on Friday. Juan Cole: 29 Dead, 111 Wounded in Wave of Bombings 2 Marines Dead, 7 US Troops Wounded Street Battles in Samarra Sameer Yacoub... |
Billmon: "Suicide car bombs and explosions rocked wide areas of the Iraqi capital Friday, targeting U.S. and Iraqi security forces and killing at least 29 people. |
Toward Intelligent Anti-Terror Policing By / Front Page Magazine — Permalink Twice since 9/11 we have witnessed high-profile reminders of our mass transit system's vulnerability to terrorist attack. And while the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings and the July 7 atrocities in London loom largest in our memory, they are not the only indications that such attacks are possible in the United States. | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross proposes a new paradigm for anti-terror policing that will maximize our chances of breaking up terrorist attacks while avoiding an undue burden on society. |
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: Today, my new article, "Toward Intelligent Anti-Terror Policing," is up at Front Page Magazine. |
France 'to expel radical imams' BBC — Permalink French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to deport any Muslim cleric preaching violence. Speaking after meeting his Spanish counterpart in Madrid, Mr Sarkozy said he would seek the expulsion of imams in France "whose sermons are radical". | |
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Jan Haugland: And now it is getting even hotter for extremists in France. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to deport any Muslim cleric preaching violence. Dr. Steven Taylor: French to Get Tough on "Radical Imams" — Via the BBC: France 'to expel radical imams' [snipped quote] One guesses that Madrid + London = the need to do something. |
Marc @USSNeverdock: France 'to expel radical imams' — The BBC reports on France's crack down on those who preach violence and notes that France has tightened up its border controls. |
Insurgents active again on the streets of Falluja By / NYT — Permalink FALLUJA, Iraq Eight months after the U.S. military killed as many as 1,500 Iraqis in a costly battle that fanned anti-American passions across Iraq and the Arab world, the insurgency is rising once again from the rubble here. | |
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Billmon: "Somewhere in Falluja, the former guerrilla stronghold 55 kilometers, or 35 miles, west of Baghdad, where the charred... |
Juan Cole: The intrepid Ed Wong of the New York Times observes that even in devastated and tightly controlled Fallujah, the guerrilla movement is making a comeback. |
Search for sources goes beyond Rove By / Newsday — Permalink WASHINGTON — New disclosures this week that Bush aide Karl Rove was a source for two journalists who wrote about covert CIA agent Valerie Plame two years ago raise questions about the identities of additional sources each of them cited. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: [See this Newsday article mentioning Miller's DC meeting with an "unnamed government official, it's my speculation it was Libby. Barbara O'Brien: That being said, it's reported that Matt Cooper will talk about his Grand Jury testimony on "Reliable Sources" this Sunday, and we may get some more clues then. |
Digby: Canteloupe Eyes, Judy In Disguise — So, Judy actually met with an unnamed government official on July 8th, the same day Rove spoke with Novak? Laura Rozen: And stay tuned. Matt Cooper plans to tell his story in Time and on CNN on Sunday. |
Muslims launch tv ad against terrorism Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American Muslims have launched an advertising campaign to denounce acts of terrorism after bombers believed to be British Muslims killed at least 54 people in attacks on London. | |
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Tamar: The Terrorist-Media alliance that proved so successful in Viet Nam and Israel is now being forced down North American... Pejman Yousefzadeh: POLICING THEIR OWN — This is very welcome news: [snipped quote] Hopefully we will see more of this tactic—which is an... |
Matthew Sheffield: CAIR to Launch Anti-terrorism Ad Campaign — Coming to a TV near you, according to Reuters: "American Muslims have... |
Harry Potter review blog BBC — Permalink Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in the best-selling series by JK Rowling, is released worldwide at 0001 BST on Saturday. The BBC News website's Darren Waters will be picking up his copy then and reviewing it here overnight, posting a new review entry every few chapters. | |
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Betsy Newmark: On the other hand, Darren Waters at the BBC sort of live-blogged his reading of the book and wasn't all that impressed. Glenn Reynolds: A BBC REPORTER IS READING THE NEW HARRY POTTER BOOK, and is liveblogging the reading. Liveblogging a book — why didn't I think of that? |
Jim Lindgren: Although we ordered a copy of the latest Harry Potter book on Amazon (scheduled to arrive on Saturday), my 18-year-old... |