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Quoted in this edition:

ABCNEWS
Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
AMERICAblog
  John @AmericaBlog
  Michael @AmericaBlog
  Rob @AmericaBlog
Amygdala
  Gary Farber
The Anchoress
  TheAnchoress
www.AndrewSullivan.com
  Judith @AndrewSullivan
Angry Bear
  PGL
ARMAVIRUMQUE
  Stefan Beck
Associated Press
  Mark Sherman
  Kristen Gelineau
  Dan Nephin
  Jennifer Loven
  Terence Hunt
  Douglass K. Daniel
The Atlantic Online
  Sridhar Pappu
Barcepundit
  FrancoAlemán
BBC
  Jonathan Amos
Begging to Differ
  Kriston @BeggingToDiffer
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
The Big Picture
  Barry L. Ritholtz
Billmon
  Billmon
bizjournals
  Mike Sunnucks
BLACKFIVE
  Blackfive
The Blogging of the President
  Ian Welsh
Bloomberg
Boston Globe
  Scott S. Greenberger
  Charlie Savage
  Mitt Romney
  Virginia Postrel
Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal
  Brad DeLong
Brendan Nyhan
  Brendan Nyhan
BrothersJudd Blog
  Orrin Judd
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
CBS News
Chrenkoff
  Arthur Chrenkoff
Cincinnati Enquirer
  Dan Klepal
The Claremont Institute
  Ken Masugi
CNN
  Thom Patterson
  Nancy Gibbs
The Corner
  Ramesh Ponnuru
  Kathryn Jean Lopez
  Jonah Goldberg
  Rich Lowry
  Andrew Stuttaford
  John Podhoretz
  John Derbyshire
  Mark Krikorian
corrente
  Lambert @Corrente
The Counterterrorism Blog
  Douglas Farah
Crescat Sententia
  Will Baude
Crooked Timber
  Ted @CrookedTimber
The Daily Ablution
  Scott Burgess
Daily Kos
  DavidNYC @DailyKos
  Armando @DailyKos
  Kos @DailyKos
  Mcjoan @DailyKos
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
Daly Thoughts
  Gerry Daly
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Dean's World
  Dean Esmay
Demagogue
  Frederick Maryland
democracyarsenal.org
  Heather Hurlburt
Democratic Veteran
  Jo Fish
Donklephant
  Justin Gardner
Dynamist Blog
  Virginia Postrel
EconoPundit
  Steve Antler
Ed Driscoll.com
  Ed Driscoll
EdCone.com
  Ed Cone
Eschaton
  Atrios
etc.
  Noam Scheiber
Ezra Klein
  Ezra Klein
Financial Times
  Farhan Bokhari
Fox News
  Roger Friedman
Gateway Pundit
  Gateway Pundit
Globe and Mail
  Colin Freeze
Guardian
  Ian Traynor
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
  Norbizness
Harry's Place
  David T
Hit and Run
  Melanie Colburn
The Huffington Post
  Rep. John Conyers
  Michelle Pilecki
Hugh Hewitt
  Hugh Hewitt
Hullabaloo
  Digby
The Indepundit
  Smash
Informed Comment
  Juan Cole
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
INTEL DUMP
  Jonathan Caverley
JustOneMinute
  Tom Maguire
Knight Ridder
  Leila Fadel
L.A. Observed
  Kevin Roderick
La Shawn Barber’s Corner
  La Shawn Barber
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
Los Angeles Times
  Ronald Brownstein
  Katharine Q. Seelye
  Peter Wallsten
  Jonathan Turley
The Mahablog
  Barbara O'Brien
Majikthise
  Lindsay Beyerstein
Marginal Revolution
  Tyler Cowen
Matt Welch
  Matt Welch
The Media Drop
  Tom Biro
mediabistro
  Brian Stelter
  Garrett M. Graff
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
The Moderate Voice
  Jack Grant
  Joe Gandelman
MSNBC
MyDD
  Chris Bowers
National Review
  Anthony Paletta
New Statesman
  Shiv Malik
New York Times
  Nicholas D. Kristof
  John Tierney
  David Stout
  David D. Kirkpatrick
  Raymond Hernandez
  Alexei Barrionuevo
  Randal C. Archibold
  Erik Eckholm
  David M. Kennedy
  Felicity Barringer
NewsHog
  Cernig
Obsidian Wings
  Hilzoy @ObsidianWings
Off the Kuff
  Charles Kuffner
Oh, That Liberal Media
  Patterico
Opinion Journal
Outside The Beltway
  James Joyner
  Steve Verdon
Pacific Views
  Natasha @PacificViews
Pandagon
  Amanda Marcotte
  Jesse Taylor
Patterico's Pontifications
  Patterico
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PoliBlog
  Dr. Steven Taylor
PoliPundit.com
  Lorie Byrd
  Jayson @PoliPundit
  Alexander K. McClure
Power Line
  Scott @PowerLine
  Paul @PowerLine
praktike's blog
  Praktike
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
protein wisdom
  Jeff Goldstein
Publius Pundit
  Robert Mayer
  Daniel Holt
QandO
  Dale Franks
  McQ
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
RedState.org
  Leon H
  Charles Bird
Reuters
  Thomas Ferraro
  David Morgan
rexblog.com
  Rex Hammock
The Right Coast
  Tom Smith
Right Wing News
  John Hawkins
Roger L. Simon
  Roger L. Simon
Romenesko
  Jim Romenesko
Salon
  Bill Frogameni
Samizdata.net
  David Carr
  Perry de Havilland
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
The Sideshow
  Avedon Carol
Silflay Hraka
  The Oxymoronic Scotsman
  Blackavar
Sirotablog
  David Sirota
skippy the bush kangaroo
  Cookie Jill
  Skippy
  Pudentilla
Sky News
Slant Point
  Scott Sala
Southern Appeal
  MJA @SouthernAppeal
  William @SouthernAppeal
Steve Clemons
  Steve Clemons
Suburban Guerrilla
  Susie Madrak
The Sun
  Mike Sullivan
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Jeffrey Dubner
Telegraph
  David Rennie
  Mark Steyn
TheAgitator.com
  Radley Balko
Think Progress
  Mipe @ThinkProgress
  Nico @ThinkProgress
  Guest @ThinkProgress
Times of London
  Rhys Blakely
Townhall.com
  Reed Hundt
  Matthew Yglesias
  Matthew Yglesias
USA Today
  Susan Page
The Volokh Conspiracy
  Juan Non-Volokh
  Todd Zywicki
Wall Street Journal
  Joi Preciphs
War and Piece
  Laura Rozen
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
Washington Post
  Darryl Fears
  Ann Scott Tyson
  Art Buchwald
  DeNeen L. Brown
  Dan Froomkin
  Charles Lane
Washington Times
  Charles Hurt
  Tod Lindberg
Weekly Standard
  Gary Schmitt
Wizbang
  Kevin Aylward
  Paul @Wizbang



Clinton's New Job: Defining the Center
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of influential party moderates, on Monday named Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to direct a new initiative to define a party agenda for the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Ezra Klein: So when Hillary goes to speak to them and lead their policy project, rejoice.
Patterico: Hillary the "Centrist" — Ronald Brownstein's front-page article about Hillary Clinton in this morning's Los Angeles Times is titled Clinton's New Job: Defining the Center.
Matthew Yglesias: The Clinton Paradox — Ron Brownstein's article on Hillary Clinton and the DLC twice asserts that she was once seen as a "champion of the left."
Cernig: The LA Times: COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of influential party moderates, on...
Jesse Taylor: Whatever happens, her campaign should finally signal the death knell of Democratic "centrism".
Justin Gardner: Only time will tell. From the LA Times: [snipped quote] (Hat Tip: the indispensable Political Wire, twice)
Also: Taegan Goddard, Michael @AmericaBlog, Justin @SouthernAppeal

Howard Dean Again Ratchets up Anti-Bush Rhetoric
  Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
(CNSNews.com) - Despite being scolded in June by members of his own party for inflammatory remarks targeting Republicans, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean Friday showed no willingness to back off.
John Hawkins: Howard Dean Is Caught In A Lie About The Kelo Decision — [snipped quote] It's as if Howard Dean has internalized the worst traits of Bill Clinton and John Kerry.
Gateway Pundit: It was nice of Howard to set such a good example for the young democrats: Town Hall today reports that after asking the...
Jeff Goldstein: From the "if Howard Dean didn't exist, Republicans would be forced to invent him" file — From Townhall, this amusing...
Betsy Newmark: Dean is now blaming the Republicans for the takings decision by the liberals on the Supreme Court. Huh?
Leon H: A Lie of Insane Proportions — A tip of the hat to John Cole for discovering this incredible bit from DNC chair Howard...
McQ: Howard Dean is back in rant-mode: "After asking the students to donate money to the Democratic National Committee, Dean...
Also: Gerry Daly

Authorities Arrest Men With NYC Maps, Video
  ABCNEWS   —   Permalink 
July 26, 2005 — Five Egyptian men with maps of the New York City subway system and video of New York landmarks have been arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark, N.J., ABC News has learned.
Jan Haugland: Five Egyptians caught with NYC subway maps — Men caught with NYC subway maps in NJ: Five Egyptian men with maps of the...
La Shawn Barber: Tell it to commuters and soon-to-be grieving families (because there will be another attack on our soil).
Smash: ABC News reports: [snipped quote] Was this a terror plot, or were these men just trying to make a living in the Big Apple?
Kevin Aylward: Via ABC News:July 26, 2005 - Five Egyptian men with maps of the New York City subway system and video of New York...
Gerry Daly: Authorities Arrest Men With NYC Maps, Video — ABC News: [snipped quote] One of the men was a fugitive since he jumped from an Egypitian freighter in 2000.

AG: High Court Not Bound by Roe V. Wade
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court "is not obliged to follow" the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts' appointment that would put a new vote on the high court.
Captain Ed: Roe Open For Reversal: AG Gonzales — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will likely create more controversy than the...
Jayson @PoliPundit: Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas??? Nope. According to the AP, that was AG Alberto Gonzales. It's not 1989 anymore, much less 1974.
Steve Soto: Gonzales: Supreme Court Judges Under No Obligation To Precedential Cases — Read Alberto Gonzales' comments today, and...
Armando @DailyKos: Alberto Gonzales today: [snipped quote] Emphasis mine. I think we better ask Judge Roberts about this.

All Ears for Tom Cruise, All Eyes on Brad Pitt
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Some of us in the news media have been hounding President Bush for his shameful passivity in the face of genocide in Darfur.
More than two years have passed since the beginning of what Mr. Bush acknowledges is the first genocide of the 21st century, yet Mr. Bush barely manages to get the word "Darfur" out of his mouth.
Dr. Steven Taylor: Kristof on Darfur and Other Musings on the Media — Via the NYT's Nicholas Kristof: All Ears for Tom Cruise, All Eyes on...
Cori Dauber: I can't do justice to Kristof's column today by pulling out an individual quote — read the whole thing, read it now.
Michelle Malkin: Nick Kristof's powerful column taking the MSM to task for ignoring the genocide is Darfur is also a must-read.
Hugh Hewitt: And Nicholas Kristof is blasting the president and MSM for not doing enough on Darfur.
Brian Stelter: NYT's Kristof: "If Only Michael Jackson's Trial Had Been Held In Darfur" — "If only Michael Jackson's trial had been held in Darfur," Nicholas Kristof sighs.
Jim Romenesko: Kristof: If only Michael Jackson's trial had been held in Darfur — New York Times Nicholas Kristof wants U.S. news...
Also: Frederick Maryland

40 GOATS TO BUY CHELSEA
  Sky News   —   Permalink 
Former US president Bill Clinton has been offered 40 goats and 20 cows for his daughter by a love-struck African government official.
Mr Clinton was offered the deal on a recent trip to Kenya.
Scott Sala: African Women — A Kenyan government official tries to ask for Chelsea Clinton's hand in marriage by offering cows and pigs.
Joe Gandelman: Clinton Offered Goats For Chelsea — Who says you can't profit from having a son or a daugher these days?
Cernig: I've Already Got One — African official offers 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea's hand in marriage.
McQ: Our first black president has been offered a handsome dowry for his daughter's hand in marriage: "Former US president...
Will Baude: 40 Goats for Palena — Apparently ex-President Clinton has been offered 40 goats and 20 cows for the hand of his daughter Chelsea Clinton.
Justin Gardner: No wonder they called you Slick Willie… " Confused? Enlightenment awaits. [snipped quote] (Hat Tip: Sky News)
Also: Spoons, K-Lo

The Sagebrush Solution
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Dell LeFevre has been consorting with environmentalists, and he understands why this makes his neighbors nervous. It makes him nervous, too. He is not what you would call a tree-hugger.
Amanda Marcotte: Someone stop Tierney before he makes sense again — Lord, another John Tierney column that seems to make sense, unless he's fudging the facts.
Radley Balko: At Risk of Repeating Myself — Read Tierney again today. It's an odd (but unsurprising) case where free market environmentalism is wokring to preserve land out west.
Juan Non-Volokh: As John Tierney explains in today's NYT, groups like the Grand Canyon Trust want to purchase and retire grazing permits owned by ranchers.
Frederick Maryland: Free Market, Free Schmarket — Republicans are forever extolling the virtues of the free market, which is why I enjoyed...

Court nominee does well in poll; Rove does not
  By / USA Today   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Less than a week after President Bush chose a little-known federal appeals judge for the Supreme Court, nominee John Roberts can claim favorability ratings that many politicians would savor.
Bush strategist Karl Rove might envy them, too.
Chris Bowers: Significant Plurality Says Rove Should Resign — Gallup has some bad news for Rove (emphasis mine): [snipped quote] I...
Gerry Daly: Court nominee does well in poll; Rove does not — The Gallup results I just mentioned were part of another...
Natasha @PacificViews: Mainstreaming Treasongate — From USA Today, we learn that umbrage at Rove's blowing a CIA agent's cover is a mainstream opinion of the American body politic.
Orrin Judd: Court nominee does well in poll; Rove does not (Susan Page, 7/25/05, USA TODAY) [snipped quote] Only the modern Left...

Brain-Dead Woman's Fetus Reaches Milestone
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
RICHMOND, Va. — A brain-dead pregnant woman on life support has reached the milestone in her pregnancy where doctors believe the baby could realistically survive outside the womb, giving her family renewed hope about the devastating ordeal.
Lindsay Beyerstein: What bothers me is that the media insist on describing Mrs. Torres as if she were still alive.
Amanda Marcotte: Enough with the Sleeping Beauty rehashments — Patriarchy-blamer extraordinaire Twisty Faster posted yesterday about...

Durbin disputes column on Roberts
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Judge John G. Roberts Jr.'s rounds on Capitol Hill have resulted in a "he said/he said" spat between a senator with whom the judge spoke on Friday and a law professor's account of how that conversation touched on abortion.
Paul @PowerLine: Today, according to the Washington Times, Durbin and his staff are denying that the religious interrorgation took place...
Betsy Newmark: UPDATE: The ever-informative Gerry Daly points me to the account of this story in the Washington Times.
Gary Farber: And similarly here: [quote] Unable to dig up any dirt or "controversies", the Left begins to ask about whether Roberts' Catholic faith should disqualify him from the Court.[end quote]
Jeffrey Dubner: He told both The New York Times and The Washington Times that Durbin himself recounted the recusal conversation to him;...
Kriston @BeggingToDiffer: According to the Washington Times, Turley says that he was informed of the exchange by . . . Durbin and his press secretary.

Unrepentant killer of Dutch film-maker jailed for life
  By / Guardian   —   Permalink 
A Dutch Islamist militant was jailed for life yesterday for the murder of the controversial film director and columnist Theo van Gogh, in the first conviction under tough new anti-terrorism legislation.
Damian Penny: Throw away the key — The man who murdered Theo van Gogh has been sentenced to life in prison: A Dutch Islamist militant...
Tom Smith: Islamic fascist sentenced in the Netherlands — Interesting story here.

Very Old Labor
  Opinion Journal   —   Permalink 
The AFL-CIO, the giant union consortium formed in 1955 by George Meany and Walter Reuther, is breaking apart this week in a dispute over how to revive labor's lagging fortunes. The tragedy is that neither faction is offering an agenda that will make workers more prosperous in our increasingly competitive global economy.
Dale Franks: Disorganized Labor — The editors of the Wall Street Journal are trying to offer some helpful advice to AFL-CIO big shots John Sweeney and Andy Stern.
Ed Driscoll: As Bryan O'Keefe notes in Tech Central Station, this Second Wave force has done little to keep up with Third Wave market...
Dean Esmay: Labor Movement's Decline by Dean Today's Wall Street Journal notes the steep and ongoing decline of labor unions in America.

New Name for 'War on Terror' Reflects Wider U.S. Campaign
  NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 25 - The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, pushing the idea that the long-term struggle is as much an ideological battle as a military mission, senior administration and military officials said Monday.
Praktike: NY Times late to the party — I think I first noticed this shift in December or January, but I'm glad to see the Times...
Justin Gardner: (Hat Tip: New York Times)
Pudentilla: karen hughes, hard at work or hardly working?
McQ: The full article is worth the read. The NY Times has a short blurb on it here.
Cori Dauber: Out with the GWOT, in with the WAVE, the War Against Violent Extremism, except that according to this Times article...
Gary Farber: Gone! Sing and dance in the streets! It's official! We're now fighting the global struggle against violent extremism!
Also: Ann Althouse

$41 Billion Cost Projected To Remove Illegal Entrants
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
A new study by a liberal Washington think tank puts the cost of forcibly removing most of the nation's estimated 10 million illegal immigrants at $41 billion a year, a sum that exceeds the annual budget of the Department of Homeland Security.
Steve Verdon: $41 Billion to Remove Most Illegal Aliens According to the Center for American Progress (pdf document) it would cost $41...
Guest @ThinkProgress: Well, the Center for American Progress today released the first-ever cost assessment of a mass deportation policy for...
Ken Masugi: The illegal immigrant lobby has relied on a sense of inevitabilityand reductio ad absurdum in order to justify its...
Mark Krikorian: This story identifies the Center for American Progess in the first sentence as "a liberal Washington think tank" — a...

Romney vetoes law on pill, takes aim at Roe v. Wade
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
Three years after expressing support for ''the substance" of Roe v. Wade, Governor Mitt Romney today criticizes the landmark ruling that legalized abortion and says the states should decide separately whether to allow it.
Hugh Hewitt: Governor Romney vetoed a MA bill expanding access to the "morning after" pill, and penned an op-ed on abortion in...
Taegan Goddard: Romney Takes Aim at Roe v. Wade — "Three years after expressing support for 'the substance' of Roe v. Wade,"...
Susie Madrak: Morality Cop Mitt does the old bait-and-switch: "Three years after expressing support for 'the substance' of Roe v...
James Joyner: A related piece examines the politics behind the bill: Romney vetoes law on pill, takes aim at Roe v. Wade "Three years...
Orrin Judd: SO LEAD: Romney vetoes law on pill, takes aim at Roe v. Wade: Opinion article reflects a shift from '02 view (Scott S...
Kathryn Jean Lopez: CUTE VACATION SPOT — More Romney: "The governor interrupted a New Hampshire vacation to return to Boston to veto the bill..."

Democrats Ask for More Memos Related to Roberts Nomination
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 26 - Republican and Democratic senators clashed today on whether the administration was cooperating enough in releasing thousands of pages of documents from earlier in the career of Judge John G. Roberts, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court.
Lambert @Corrente: Democrats say they need the documents because they could shed light on the nominee's thinking about issues that may come...
Jo Fish: So the 1600 Crew does not want the Senate to get access to all of the papers and work product of Justice French Fry, to see how his little Federalist Society mind works?

Dogfight in Ohio
  By / Salon   —   Permalink 
Paul Hackett remembers being in Kuwait, waiting to be shipped home after a seven-month tour of duty in Ramadi and Fallujah, watching CNN America with his fellow Marines. What he saw enraged him. "All I saw on TV was Terri Schiavo," he says.
Atrios: Hackett tells her to buzz off: Schmidt commends Hackett for his service, but believes Hackett should "stand with the...
DavidNYC @DailyKos: In an article in Salon today, he fires back with heavy artillery: [snipped quote] No further comment necessary.
Barbara O'Brien: I Like This Guy — Today Salon is running a feature by Bill Frogameni on Ohio congressional candidate Paul Hackett.
Charles Kuffner: UPDATE: More on Paul Hackett in Salon.

Conservatives defend Roberts's link to law group
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — The White House's efforts to distance Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. from The Federalist Society came under fire from conservatives yesterday for creating a blemish on his candidacy where none existed, and for sending a signal that membership in the influential legal society was something to avoid.
Steve Soto: Lastly, why is it so hard for Scott McClellan to admit that Roberts was in fact a member of the Federalist Society?
Nico @ThinkProgress: The Boston Globe added that the stonewalling has conservative groups "worried that the White House had created a stigma...
Noam Scheiber: As the Globe reports today: "In conference calls plotting strategy for his nomination, conservatives spoke angrily...
William @SouthernAppeal: Conservatives criticize White House efforts to distance Roberts from The Federalist Society — This op-ed on the White House's efforts appears in today's Boston Globe.

The Holy Cow! Candidate
  By / The Atlantic Online   —   Permalink 
I n June of 1968 Mitt Romney died. Twenty-one years old, he had spent the previous two years on a Mormon mission in France, trying to bring French people into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at a time when they were generally more inclined to lecture a young man from Michigan about America's misadventures in Vietnam.
Betsy Newmark: Atlantic Monthly has a long profile of Mitt Romney.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: This Atlantic Monthly piece on Romney isn't too bad for him. "But here's betting that Romney won't fade away.
Hugh Hewitt: So too will The Atlantic Monthly's lengthy piece on Romney's life, political abilities and LDS faith.
Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, a must-read piece in the latest Atlantic Monthly examines the impact Romney's religious beliefs could have on a potential presidential bid.

42,500 bottle of water snatched
  BBC   —   Permalink 
A thirsty thief is being blamed for downing a bottle of water, valued at 42,500, at a literary festival.
The two-litre clear plastic bottle containing melted ice from the Antarctic was devised to highlight global warming by artist Wayne Hill.
David Carr: Someone needed to cool off — Now this is what I call 'global justice': [snipped quote] Just like dozens of claptrap, modish, end-of-the-world theories then.
Ann Althouse: That bottle of melted ice from the Antarctic was on a damned plinth so it was pretty obvious it was art!

Send a Letter to the Editor
  Cincinnati Enquirer   —   Permalink 
Please fill out all applicable fields. All information is required for your letter to be considered for publication in The Cincinnati Enquirer.
First/Last Name:
*Note: We cannot accept letters from children under age 13.
Chris Bowers: You can also contact the Cincinnati Enquirer here. Exciting stuff, but there are only a few days left to take action.
Barbara O'Brien: "You can also contact the Cincinnati Enquirer here." — Speaking of Ohio ... if you can get your hands on the August 2005 issue of Harper's (three monkeys on the cover), grab it.

Radio Payoffs Are Described as Sony Settles
  NYT   —   Permalink 
To disguise a payoff to a radio programmer at KHTS in San Diego, Epic Records called a flat-screen television a "contest giveaway." Epic, part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, used the same gambit in delivering a laptop computer to the program director of WRHT...
Tom Biro: The New York Times' Jeff Leeds and Louise Story cover the story, which included one method I'd never even heard of,...
Rex Hammock: This just in - Record companies bribe radio stations: I'm with Dan Gillmor on this. Is anyone actually surprised that the music industry is corrupt?
Barry L. Ritholtz: The FCC should be similarly embarrassed ... > Sources: SONY SETTLES PAYOLA INVESTIGATION Office of NYS Attorney...

Skirmish Over a Query About Roberts's Faith
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 25 - Congressional Republicans warned Democrats on Monday not to make Judge John G. Roberts's Roman Catholic faith an issue in his confirmation hearings for a seat on the Supreme Court, reviving a politically potent theme from previous battles over judicial appointees.
TheAnchoress: Item 2) The NY Times has reduced the crux of the now-disputed exchange to an alarming degree.
Ramesh Ponnuru: Here's David Kirkpatrick: "An opinion-page article in The Los Angeles Times on Monday by Jonathan Turley, a George...
Betsy Newmark: Remember the story from just yesterday about Senator Durbin asking Judge Roberts about possible conflicts between his faith and any rulings he might have to make as a justice?
Michael @AmericaBlog: Is John Roberts' Faith Off Limits? New, conflicting reports about what Roberts said to Durbin about his Catholic faith.
Jeffrey Dubner: If I'm not mistaken, nobody quoted in today's New York Times story on the subject actually denies that Roberts said...
Hugh Hewitt: John Roberts' faith is under the spotlight again, as Democrats cannot resist crossing lines.
Also: Pudentilla, Patterico, Gary Farber, Kriston @BeggingToDiffer, Ann Althouse, Dr. Steven Taylor, Orrin Judd

Gonzales: Roberts Not Bound by Statement
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court ''is not obliged to follow'' the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts' appointment that would put a new vote on the high court.
Susie Madrak: Preview Not like their word is worth much to begin with: WASHINGTON (AP) - If confirmed to the Supreme Court, John...
Jeralyn Merritt: Alberto Gonazales: Roberts Not Obligated to Follow Roe v. Wade — In a new interview with the Associated Press, Attorney...

A matter under review
  By / New Statesman   —   Permalink 
The day after it was revealed that the London bombers were British, the Guardian newspaper gave space on its opinion pages to one of its trainee journalists, a young Muslim called Dilpazier Aslam, to write about the background to the atrocity.
David T: Aslam: The Story Spreads — The dismissal of Dilpazier Aslam, the Hizb'ut Tahrir journalist, who was sacked by the...
Scott Burgess: From the New Statesman, an article by Shiv Malik, the freelancer responsible for the Independent on Sunday article that...

Tossups Draw Focus In Midterm Elections
  By / WSJ   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Incumbent advantages are so widely recognized that it's sometimes easy to forget: A few House districts really are up for grabs in the 2006 midterm elections.
Gerry Daly: Quick hit: 2006 House races. Hat tip, yetanotherjohn. QH: So what else is Peter Fitzgerald up to, and how might it reverberate throughout Illinois?
Alexander K. McClure: 2006 House Races — A rather interesting take on the 2006 fight for control of the House from the Wall Street Journal.
Taegan Goddard: A Handful of House Races Could Tip Control — The Wall Street Journal notes incumbent advantages "are so widely...

Bombers on benefits
  By / The Sun   —   Permalink 
TWO fugitive London bombers have been living in Britain on state benefits, it emerged last night.
Somalian Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, received £23,000 in housing benefit over six years while living at a flat in Southgate, North London, which was raided yesterday.
McQ: Stray Voltage — Nothing like subsidizing bombers: "Two fugitive London bombers have been living in Britain on state benefits, it emerged last night.
James Joyner: Bombers on benefits (The Sun) [snipped quote] Lovely. via Michelle Malkin
Justin Gardner: Unintentional State-Sponsored Terrorism — This is unfortunate. "TWO fugitive London bombers have been living in Britain on state benefits, it emerged last night.
Michelle Malkin: JIHADISTS ON WELFARE — At least two of the London terrorist bombing suspects were on the dole in Britain.

'Two-faced French sell out Cuban dissidents'
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
A leading Cuban dissident yesterday accused a "two-faced" French government of putting trade ahead of the suffering of the Cuban people.
The comments by Marta Beatriz Roque, a 60-year-old economist who was arrested during a protest outside the French...
Gary Farber: But the diplomatic thing seems rather different. In any case, how did Castro thoughtfully respond? True to form: [snipped quote] Oopsie.
Andrew Stuttaford: GREAT MOMENTS IN FRENCH DIPLOMACY (CTD) From the Daily Telegraph: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing here.

Democrats Offer Lines of Attack for '08 Race
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 25 - In the wake of terrorist attacks abroad, a procession of potential Democratic presidential candidates raised sharp questions on Monday about the Republican leadership's handling of national security.
Susie Madrak: He quotes this New York Times article on her new and closer affiliation with the DLC: Republicans immediately fired...
Taegan Goddard: Democrats Test Line of Attack for 2008 — "In the wake of terrorist attacks abroad, a procession of potential Democratic...
Matthew Yglesias: Raymond Hernandez's New York Times article captures the dynamic better: [snipped quote] And that's how it goes.

Why I vetoed contraception bill
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
YESTERDAY I vetoed a bill that the Legislature forwarded to my desk. Though described by its sponsors as a measure relating to contraception, there is more to it than that. The bill does not involve only the prevention of conception: The drug it authorizes would also terminate life after conception.
Jesse Taylor: In other words, it prevents pregnancy. Here's Romney's explanation: [snipped quote] How...utterly silly.
James Joyner: Why I vetoed contraception bill (Boston Globe) "Yesterday I vetoed a bill that the Legislature forwarded to my desk.
Orrin Judd: Why I vetoed contraception bill (Mitt Romney, July 26, 2005, Boston Globe) "YESTERDAY I vetoed a bill that the Legislature forwarded to my desk.
John Hawkins: Daily News For July 26, 2005 — Foreign "An Indian Man Was Jailed In Bombay For Planned 9/11/2001 Terrorist Attacks In...
Taegan Goddard: Romney outlines his stance in an op-ed in today's Globe.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: ROMNEY — The op-ed JJM linked to is, in essence, Romney's announcement he's not running for reelection and is running for president.
Also: John J. Miller

U.S. Pushes Anti-Terrorism in Africa
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
N'DJAMENA, Chad — The U.S. military is embarking on a long-term push into Africa to counter what it considers growing inroads by al Qaeda and other terrorist networks in poor, lawless and predominantly Muslim expanses of the continent.
Heather Hurlburt: Attention to Africa: Be Careful What You Wish For — This piece in Tuesday's Washington Post is a lovely bit of writing,...
Praktike: More Iraq blowback — This time, the world's most expensive school for terrorists (HT: Swopa) is opening branch campuses...
Smash: U.S. Pushes Antiâ"Terrorism in Africa — Washington Post "The Pentagon hopes to counter what it considers growing...
Douglas Farah: Africa's Counterterror Initiative — The Washington Post has an interesting front-page story today on the difficulties...
Gary Farber: OUR HIGH-TECH TRAINING METHODS at work in Africa: "A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier uses GI Joe toys to demonstrate...
Orrin Judd: DEMOCRATS WANT TO AIRLIFT THEM CONDOMS (via Kevin Whited): U.S. Pushes Anti-Terrorism in Africa: Under Long-Term...

Despite $2 billion spent, residents say Baghdad is crumbling
  By / Knight Ridder   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Talib Abu Younes put his lips to a glass of tap water recently and watched worms swimming in the bottom.
Electricity flickers on and off for two hours in Muthana Naim's south Baghdad home then shuts off for four in boiling July heat that shoots above 120 degrees.
Digby: Bremer's Baby — So, people in Baghdad have worms in their drinking water and no electricity during the worst heat of the day.
Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Meanwhile, Knight-Ridder reports that the rest of Baghdad's infrastructure isn't coming along so well either: [quote] "Talib...[end quote]
Cookie Jill: imagine these scenarios in new york or los angeles you would have some people taking to the streets in revolt, too.
Frederick Maryland: And the Knight Ridder news article that Digby links to includes this quote from an Iraqi man: "We thank God that the air we breathe is not in the hands of the government.
Justin Gardner: Balanced Story About Progress In Baghdad — For as much as I hear around the blogosphere that we should be hearing more...
Rob @AmericaBlog: From Knight Ridder: "Talib Abu Younes put his lips to a glass of tap water recently and watched worms swimming in the bottom.

Hayworth discounts Fox News speculation
  By / bizjournals   —   Permalink 
Arizona U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth — who is popular with business interests — is dismissing rumors he is eyeing a job with Fox News Channel instead of running for Congress again next year.
Talk of a possible Hayworth move to Fox has been swirling among business lobbyists and political insiders.
Garrett M. Graff: The rumors, according to the Phoenix Business Journal, have been swirling recently that the former sportscaster and...
Brian Stelter: Rep. J.D. Hayworth Not Coming To FNC — "Business lobbyists and political insiders" in Phoenix have been buzzing that...

Pa. Gov. Says Apology Sent to Marine's Kin
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
PITTSBURGH — Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll apologized Monday to the family of a Marine killed in Iraq for showing up uninvited for his funeral last week and giving out a business card.
Blackfive: Including this from the Washington Post: ...Knoll said in her letter that she arrived too late to offer her personal condolences.
Michelle Malkin: [quote]"Probably, in all honesty, she didn't even know she was acting inappropriately, she's so out there," said Goodrich, of Indiana.[end quote]

In Chicago, Plans for a High-Rise Raise Interest and Post-9/11 Security Concerns
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
CHICAGO, July 25 - In a city known for its skyscrapers, in an era when tall buildings have become targets, can the skyline handle one more that stretches the limit? In Chicago, it seems, the answer may be yes - if the architect is a "starchitect" like Santiago Calatrava.
Ann Althouse: I say it is. The brilliant Santiago Calatrava has proposed a swirled point for Chicago — to be the tallest building in America: the Fordham Spire.
Juan Non-Volokh: Build It! I'm with Althouse. Build it (and I hope they will come to live there).

Uproar grows over GTA sex scenes
  BBC   —   Permalink 
US politicians have stepped into the storm over secret sex scenes in the best-selling Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game.
The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly called for investigation into the companies behind the game.
The Oxymoronic Scotsman: Storm in a (hot) coffee cup — Unless you've not been following the news at all lately, you probably already know that...
Radley Balko: Honest to God... ...aren't there more important things for Congress to be doing?

Weiner Says He Would Increase Ties With Religious Groups
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Chastising Democrats for failing to build relationships with religious groups, Anthony D. Weiner, a Democratic candidate for mayor, said yesterday that if elected he would increase the role of "faith-based" organizations in providing city services.
Scott Sala: But he not only tries to openly steal the idea from Bush but seriously denigrates the President while doing so.
Orrin Judd: MORE: Weiner Says He Would Increase Ties With Religious Groups (RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD, 7/26/05, NY Times) "Chastising...

U.S. study: Insurgents infiltrate Iraq police
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Insurgents and other criminals have infiltrated Iraqi police ranks due to poor screening procedures by U.S. forces, according to a joint report released Monday by the U.S. Defense Department and State Department.
Jack Grant: For more, see this article: Dispatches from the front in Iraq In and near Baghdad, at least, things are WORSE than they...
Juan Cole: The religious Shiites who have a majority in parliament and therefore a majority in the constitution drafting committee,...
Mipe @ThinkProgress: Now the inspector generals of the State and Defense Departments have come forward to reveal that "insurgents and other...

Van Gogh's Killer Is Sentenced to Life Imprisonment; No Parole
  Bloomberg   —   Permalink 
July 26 (Bloomberg) — Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life imprisonment. There is no option of parole.
Roger L. Simon: No mention is made in today's Variety either of the trial of the murderer Mohammed Bouyeri who, this morning in Amsterdam, was sentenced to life without parole.
FrancoAlemán: THEO VAN GOGH'S murderer has been sentenced a few minutes ago: life imprisonment without parole.

As Recruiting Suffers, Military Reins In Abuses at Boot Camp
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
FORT KNOX, Ky. - Staff Sgt. Michael G. Rhoades, until recently a driller of Army recruits at Fort Knox, says he was only doing his job, hammering civilians into soldiers who would not crack under the pressures of war.
James Joyner: Military Reins In Training Abuses — As Recruiting Suffers, Military Reins In Abuses at Boot Camp (NYT p. 1 | RSS) [snipped quote] Nonsense.
Ann Althouse: I see they are also trying to make moms feel better about boot camp. Is there some new Director of Soothed Feelings?

Tancredo's threat
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
When he was a little boy, Tommy Tancredo must have wanted to be controversial when he grew up. Fourth-term House Republican Tom Tancredo of Colorado has made his biggest mark in Congress as a hard-line opponent of illegal immigration and the president's plans for immigration reform.
John Derbyshire: TOD LINDBERG ON TANCREDO — Jonah: I read that Tod Lindberg piece you linked to.
Mark Krikorian: CONTINGENCY PLAN — Tod Lindberg has a thoughtful, epithet-free critique of Tancredo's Mecca comments in his column today.

Astronauts strapped in for launch
  By / CNN   —   Permalink 
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) — Discovery crew members boarded the space shuttle Tuesday morning as they prepare for liftoff at 10:39 a.m. ET.
Commander Eileen Collins was the first to board, giving a confident wave to NASA cameras before entering the cockpit.
James Joyner: NASA astronauts return to spaceflight (CNN) [snipped quote] One hopes the mission goes off without a hitch and the crew makes it back safely.
Roger L. Simon: Nervous Time at the Kennedy Center — Is this really necessary?

Kinsley Plans to Change Jobs at The Los Angeles Times
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
Michael Kinsley, the provocative editorial and opinion-page editor of The Los Angeles Times, said yesterday that he would be changing jobs in the next few months and most likely would no longer be running the department.
Jeff Jarvis: The New York Times reports today that Kinsley is going to take some other, unnamed job at the LA Times, this coming only...
Jim Romenesko: Kinsley to change jobs at LAT, new role still being discussed — New York Times Los Angeles Times editorial and opinion...
Matt Welch: Here's the NYT story. He yanked the section into relevance, or at least made it the topic of discussion, which it hadn't been for a while.
Kevin Roderick: The LA Weekly's Nikki Finke and the New York Times chased the rumors all day Monday, and the NYT was first to publish on its website Monday night.
Dr. Steven Taylor: Well, That Experiment Didn't Last Long — Kinsley Plans to Change Jobs at The Los Angeles Times

Knoll apologizes to Marine's widow
  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   —   Permalink 
HARRISBURG — After setting off a swirl of protest over her appearance at a slain Marine's funeral last week, Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll yesterday apologized profusely for unintentionally causing the Marine's family any additional pain or distress.
Michelle Pilecki: Try this story on for size: prominent government official travels to a nearby town for the funeral of a Marine killed in...
Michelle Malkin: The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, which broke the story, runs this telling photo this morning of Knoll hogging the TV camera...
Blackfive: Funeral Crasher Apology Accepted — First, the post gazette reports that Knoll appeared in front of television cameras...

This Just In! Now ____ Can Be a Roving Reporter
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Newspapers are so worried about attracting new readers that they keep thinking up schemes to boost circulation.
I just read that the Greensboro News & Record will permit readers to write their own editorials and contributions on the paper's Web site.
Jim Romenesko: Buchwald helps citizen journalists write a really good column — Washington Post All the amateurs have to do is fill in the blanks.
Ed Cone: Buchwald on GSO — Art Buchwald pegs his column to the News & Record's community journalism project...and then phones in...

Don't wait for a marksman - get stuck in
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
According to his cousins back in Pakistan, Yorkshire lad Shehzad Tanweer decided to become a "holy warrior" because of "US abuse of Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo Bay".
There is, of course, no "US abuse of Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo Bay".
Jeff Goldstein: Policing the rubicon — Confederate Yankee addresses the second guessers (the majority of whom are non-British) of...
Robert Mayer: Mark Steyn, lastly but not leastly, has his column up about the London tube tragedy here. Check all of it out.
Captain Ed: Steyn: Don't Excuse London Police — Mark Steyn takes the London police to task in a surprising Telegraph column this...
Daniel Holt: Journalism — STEYN ON THE LATEST TUBE TRAGEDY Here.

Ancient phallus unearthed in cave
  By / BBC   —   Permalink 
A sculpted and polished phallus found in a German cave is among the earliest representations of male sexuality ever uncovered, researchers say.
The 20cm-long, 3cm-wide stone object, which is dated to be about 28,000 years old, was buried in the famous Hohle Fels Cave near Ulm in the Swabian Jura.
Melanie Colburn: Sex, Lies, and Zoning Laws — We may have used them from time immemorial, and sophisticated modern repackaging may allow...
Gary Farber: It's good to know that human ingenuity has been creating these for at least 28,000 years: There are some other astounding works pictured that are ~30,000 years ago.
Amanda Marcotte: Let's thank the Disco Ball for the invention of latex — A lot of people saw this story and thought, "Cool-women diddled themselves from time immemorial."
Orrin Judd: LIKE FINDING COALS IN NEW CASTLE: Ancient phallus unearthed in cave (Jonathan Amos, 7/26/05, BBC News) [snipped quote] Its sister piece is certain to be found in France.

Bush to Seek More Funding for Faith-Based Charities
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Embracing an old cause to open a new front in his outreach to African American church leaders, President Bush pledged Monday to pressure corporate foundations to give more money to faith-based charities.
Orrin Judd: WHEN THE FLAK CATCHERS MAU-MAU: Bush to Seek More Funding for Faith-Based Charities: He tells black leaders that he will pressure corporate foundations to adjust their policies.
Pudentilla: holy smoke - the reds want to burn corporate dollars for jesus — [snipped quote] it's not enough that your tax dollars...

Supreme Court nom Roberts gives assurances -senator
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican senator said on Monday that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts had assured him he would rule on the law without the influence of his Catholic religion, which opposes abortion.
Steve Bainbridge: Durbin's office is denying the story. As a legal matter, I'm not sure how I come out on this.
Gary Farber: FOLLOW-UP HERE: "A Republican senator said on Monday that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts had assured him he would...
Patterico: A Reuters story (h/t: reader Golden Lover) reports that Durbin's office has denied the claim made in Turley's article: ...

White House Warns Dems on Roberts Papers
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
(07-25) 18:30 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) —
The White House on Monday warned Democrats not to make extensive requests for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' legal writings in previous Republican administrations, saying many such documents are "out of bounds."
Lambert @Corrente: Great headline: "White House Warns Dems on Roberts Papers". See where being nice gets you, Diane? Joe?
Ian Welsh: From an AP story... [snipped quote] More... Ian Welsh - Comments (7)

Two-thirds of Muslims consider leaving UK
  Guardian   —   Permalink 
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have thought about leaving Britain after the London bombings, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll.
The figure illustrates how widespread fears are of an anti-Muslim backlash following the July 7 bombings which were carried out by British born suicide bombers.
Stefan Beck: According to these poll results (reported in the Guardian, and dramatically different from these published in the...
Betsy Newmark: According to a poll by The Guardain, two-thirds of Muslims in Britain are considering leaving the country because of their fear of Islamophobia in Britain.
Arthur Chrenkoff: Assimilation or alienation? An interesting opinion poll of British Muslims.

The Rove problem
  By / CNN   —   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.
Tom Maguire: CNN/TIME reviews the case, and gives us a pleasant surprise in discussing possible motives for the leakers: "What was...
Skippy: more headlines we like to see from cnn.com: the rove problem: but while she may no longer have been a clandestine operative, she was still under protected status.

Congress plans to scrutinize Plame-related issues
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress will conduct a series of hearings on national security and espionage issues raised by the CIA-leak controversy surrounding senior Bush adviser Karl Rove, officials said on Monday.
Kevin Drum: Senator Pat Roberts, the Republican chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, announced that he "intends...
Steve Soto: The fact that the GOP chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Pat Roberts now wants to insert himself into the...
Barbara O'Brien: Rove Watch Watch — David Morgan of Reuters tells us that the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will hold...
Rep. John Conyers: Yesterday, the Chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees announced they would be holding hearings on this.
Brendan Nyhan: Josh Marshall asserts White House behind Fitzgerald probe — According to two paragraphs at the end of a long Reuters...
Billmon: As it happens, the Deputies also plan to get in on the act: the House Intelligence Committee also plans to hold hearings...
Also: Jeff Goldstein, Mark Kleiman, Josh Marshall, Kos @DailyKos

The faith of John Roberts
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
Judge John G. Roberts Jr. has been called the stealth nominee for the Supreme Court — a nominee specifically selected because he has few public positions on controversial issues such as abortion. However, in a meeting last week, Roberts briefly lifted the carefully maintained curtain over his personal views.
Steve Bainbridge: In the LA Times, Jonathan Turley claims that: "Roberts was asked by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) what he would do if the law required a ruling that his church considers immoral.
Betsy Newmark: Well, things are growing murkier. This is what Jonathan Turley wrote about it yesterday in the Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Steven Taylor: On "Stealth" Candidates — I have noted a number of references to John Roberts as a "stealth" candidate (for an example, see Jonathan Turley's LAT piece).
Paul @PowerLine: A planted story gone bad — Yesterday we noted, based on a column by Jonathan Turley, that Senator Durbin appeared to be...
Michael @AmericaBlog: Questions For John Roberts — It seems Sen. Durbin beat me to the punch about questioning John Roberts over Catholicism and his ability to faithfully uphold the Constitution.
Patterico: Jonathan Turley Column: Silly — and Wrong Jonathan Turley has an op-ed about Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in this morning's Los Angeles Times.
Also: Norbizness, Nate F., Kriston @BeggingToDiffer, William J. Dyer, Gary Farber, Susie Madrak, TheAnchoress, Ramesh Ponnuru, Ann Althouse, Jeffrey Dubner, DavidNYC @DailyKos, Orrin Judd, QD @SouthernAppeal

Clinton to Direct Creation of Democrats' Agenda
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Democratic Leadership Council, an organization of influential party moderates, named Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton today to direct a new initiative to define a party agenda for the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Gateway Pundit: If Hillary is the model "moderate" democrat, it looks like the party is in worse shape than they're owning up to: The...
Kos @DailyKos: H. Clinton and the DLC — Hillary called for a "cease fire" within the party: [quote] "Now, I know the DLC has taken some...[end quote]
David Sirota: The Fundamental Question Facing Democrats — The Los Angeles Times' Ron Brownstein has a new article about the...
Barbara O'Brien: And we bloggers may represent the best hope of taking the party away from the Vichycrats. Like I said, the election is one week from today.
Lambert @Corrente: "All this suggests that strains could develop between Clinton's desire to write a plan popular with as wide an array of...
Charles Bird: Hillary Clinton, in accepting the role of [snipped quote] for the Democratic Leadership Council, has basically announced...
Also: Steve Bainbridge, Orrin Judd

Jane Fonda to Oppose Iraq War on Bus Tour
  AP   —   Permalink 
SANTA FE, N.M. - Actress and activist Jane Fonda says she intends to take a cross-country bus tour to call for an end to U.S. military operations in Iraq.
"I can't go into any detail except to say that it's going to be pretty exciting," she said.
Smash: Jihad Jane — LIKE A GIFT FROM THE GODS, Jane Fonda has announced that she will tour the nation next year, campaigning...
Blackavar: Just when you thought it was safe to scrape the "I'm not Fonda Hanoi Jane" bumpersticker off your F-150... Jane Fonda to take anti-war trip in vegetable oil-powered hippy wagon.
Avedon Carol: Yes, it's the return of Jane Fonda to anti-war politics! You just know they're breathless. My god this is moronic.
Joe Gandelman: Jane Fonda: The Gift That Keeps On Giving (To Republicans) Just when you thought we might have a Congressional election...
Lorie Byrd: UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has an update including a letter of apology from the Lt. Gov. UPDATE II: Polipundit reader,...
McQ: After having tried to retire her "Hanoi Jane" moniker, Jane Fonda will again embark on a mission to end the war and raise the morale of the troops in combat.
Also: Jeralyn Merritt, La Shawn Barber, Michelle Malkin, Jayson @PoliPundit

White House May Sidestep Dems on Bolton
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
Frustrated by Senate Democrats, the White House hinted Monday that President Bush may act soon to sidestep Congress and install embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on a temporary basis.
Barbara O'Brien: Quoting Terrence Hunt of the Associated Press: "Frustrated by Senate Democrats, the White House hinted Monday that...
Steve Clemons: Today, AP's Terence Hunt tells another story and writes that he heard the White House actually hinting that Bolton would possibly get a recess appointment.
John @AmericaBlog: White House threatening recess appointment of Bolton — Good, let him go to the UN as a complete embarassment and...
McQ: As has been noted here a couple of time, it appears the White House is prepared to use a recess appointment to put John...
Armando @DailyKos: Apparently dissatisfied that Dems want answers from Judge Roberts, rather than charging into a full bore battle on the...
Orrin Judd: A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE NEXT TIME KARL MAKES THE FRONT PAGES: White House may sidestep Dems on Bolton (TERENCE HUNT,...

The Awakening
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Up Highway 96, sometimes called the State Fair Freeway, past the cliche of wheat fields, the thicket of signs proclaiming a right to life, take a left on 23rd Avenue and you will find a very plain nursing home, where something happened that wasn't supposed to happen.
Barbara O'Brien: In other news: The ghost of Terri Schiavo was spotted on Memeorandum, where the righties still haven't figured out...
TheAnchoress: The time to give up on people isânever 20 years ago, Sarah Scantlin was hit by a drunk driver, badly injured,...
Rich Lowry: Here is a tid-bit, but read the entire heart-breaking, moving, amazing story: For four years, Pat cooooooed at Sarah,...
John Hawkins: "Fareed Zakaria: We In The West Have To Discredit, Delegitimize And Dismantle Barbaric Ideas" Leftovers "Payola...
Betsy Newmark: This story of a woman who spoke after being in a car accident twenty years ago and not speaking since will make you cry and give you hope.
Orrin Judd: WHICH IS WHY YOU NEED TO "MERCY KILL" THEM QUICK...: The Awakening: Sarah Scantlin's 20-Year Journey From Coma to...

Guardian man fired after blog attack
  By / Times of London   —   Permalink 
The Guardian has terminated a reporter's one-year training contract after a blogger revealed the writer was a member of a extremist Islamist political party and had not declared his interest to the newspaper when he wrote for its comment pages after the July 7 attacks.
Scott Burgess: Headline suggestion of the week - from Rob Hinkley: "Guardian: Aslam was victim of rightwing bloggers, so we sacked...
Perry de Havilland: The Times picks up on bloggers vs. Guardian story — Although they have come late to this story, The Times has also...
Ace: Another Notch On The Blogosphere's Barrel: Jihadi Journalist Dilpazier Alsam Fired — Violated Paper's Ethical Guidelines Regarding "Undo 'Sassiness'" Sassed; Sussed; Sacked.
Glenn Reynolds: SCOTT BURGESS'S DAILY ABLUTION has achieved fame in Britain by putting The Guardian in an embarrassing spot.

What Did the President Know?
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Now that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is said to have expanded his investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity to encompass a possible White House cover-up, what the president and the vice president knew would appear to be much more relevant.
Tom Maguire: Discrepancies, Real And Imagined — Dan Froomkin of the WaPo does a good job of rounding up press coverage of the Plame investigation.
Mcjoan @DailyKos: (From the diaries — Plutonium Page) "What Did the President Know?" Thank you Dan Froomkin, for putting it out there.
John @AmericaBlog: Wash Post's Froomkin has another good column — Joe in DC turned me on to Froomkin a while back. He's quite good.
Barbara O'Brien: Dan Froomkin gets to the heart of Traitorgate: "Fitzgerald's investigation appears to have turned its focus to...
Garrett M. Graff: Dan Froomkin's White House Briefing and ABC's The Note have a round-up of all the Plame news today.

Meet Larry Johnson
  By / Weekly Standard   —   Permalink 
ON SATURDAY, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson gave the Democratic party's weekly radio address and excoriated President Bush for not having fired Karl Rove and others in connection with the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name to the press.
PGL: Sliming Larry Johnson — Duncan Black (see Dance PNAC Monkey Dance) catches Gary Schmitt sliming Larry Johnson.
Paul @PowerLine: Stay tuned for Part II. The second piece is "Meet Larry Johnson" by Gary Schmitt.
Atrios: Dance PNAC Monkey Dance — PNAC Monkey Gary Schmitt today: Well, it's good to see that the former CIA employee is now worried about the war on terror.
Barbara O'Brien: Next up was Gary Schmitt, writing for the Weekly Standard. See Atrios for the antidote.
Matthew Yglesias: Schmitt Versus Johnson — He can probably speak up for himself, but a few comments seem to be in order in response to...

Pakistan claims al-Qaeda command destroyed
  By / Financial Times   —   Permalink 
General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, claims that the command and control system of al-Qaeda in his country has been destroyed, excluding any possibility that the terrorist network could have carried out this month's bombings in London and Egypt.
Jan Haugland: Musharraf: Al-Qaeda in Pakistan destroyed — I woke up today to find that Musharraf has gone and won the whole war on terror for us.
Daniel Drezner: This is according to the Financial Times' Farhan Bokhari et al: "General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler,...
Cernig: Even Murdoch's newspapers are saying this "Mission Accomplished" will be viewed with scepticism.
Reed Hundt: Then they won't mind... From: Politics Pakistan claims al-Qaeda command destroyed General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's...

Pope terror 'snub' angers Israel
  BBC   —   Permalink 
Israel has summoned the Vatican's ambassador to explain why the Pope left the country off a list of those recently hit by terrorism.
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday deplored attacks in "countries including Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Britain".
Arthur Chrenkoff: See no Israel, hear no Israel — Pope Benedict is getting his ears chewed off about leaving Israel off the list of countries recently hit by terrorism.
Judith @AndrewSullivan: Then comes the implication that Jewish blood is still different: [quote] Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday deplored attacks in "countries including Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Britain".[end quote]
Kathryn Jean Lopez: PLEASE, PLEASE — Would everyone—explanatio ns aside—stop leaving out Israel on countries that are victims of terror?
John Podhoretz: DISAPPOINTING — In citing a series of terrorist attacks, Pope Benedict XVI left an attack on Israelis near Netanya off his list — surely an intentional act.

Payola Shocker: J-Lo Hits, Others Were 'Bought' by Sony
  By / Fox News   —   Permalink 
I always say when people ask me that the so-called vipers of the movie business would not last a day in the record business. Now Eliot Spitzer's office has decided to prove the point.
"Please be advised that in this week's Jennifer Lopez Top 40 Spin Increase of 236 we bought 63 spins at a cost of $3,600."
Ted @CrookedTimber: Sony caught in red-handed in radio payola scam. Wow, radio programmers are cheaper than I would have thought.
Damian Penny: The least surprising story you'll read all day: Jennifer Lopez's record company paid radio stations to play her music.
Ace: Wondering How Awful Music Gets On The Radio? Payola never went away.

Cheaper Health Insurance
  Opinion Journal   —   Permalink 
Republicans haven't been getting much credit on the health policy front, despite their misguided 2003 drug entitlement masquerading as Medicare "reform." That could change soon.
Ezra Klein: You Try Your Way, I'll Try Mine — Certain Republicans — and Republican outlets — are very excited over Arizona...
Steve Antler: I like this idea a lot, but I'd add to it another simple proposal.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: FASCINATING — I follow the health care debate only tangentially, but this strikes me as a very intriguing idea:...
McQ: Today's WSJ Opinion Journal points out why that would be a good thing: "Right now Americans who aren't lucky enough to...
Jayson @PoliPundit: The Wall Street Journal looks into the cost control problem of health care, and one of the salient reform measures circulating through your GOP-dominated federal government.

Roberts Listed in Federalist Society '97-98 Directory
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has repeatedly said that he has no memory of belonging to the Federalist Society, but his name appears in the influential, conservative legal organization's 1997-1998 leadership directory.
Noam Scheiber: According to yesterday's Washington Post: "These may seem like fine distinctions [i.e., the difference between being a...
Norbizness: Even though I still think that he will be confirmed without any meaningful threat of a filibuster, the nominee and White...
Avedon Carol: Roberts Listed in Federalist Society '97-98 Directory: Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has repeatedly said...
Joe Gandelman: So What" Test? Has a new twist has emerged in the nomination of John Roberts as Supreme Court Justice?
Patterico: The Washington Post reports today: Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has repeatedly said that he has no memory...
Brad DeLong: It's hard to forget being on its steering committee: Roberts Listed in Federalist Society '97-98 Directory: By Charles...
Also: Betsy Newmark, Mipe @ThinkProgress, Lambert @Corrente, Bill Scher, Susie Madrak, Ezra Klein, Scott @PowerLine, V @LeftInTheWest, Orin Kerr, Chris Bowers, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Dr. Steven Taylor, Atrios, Ken Masugi, Ann Althouse, Kevin Drum, Pudentilla, Jonah Goldberg

Vandals torch 20 U.S. flags, car
  By / Cincinnati Enquirer   —   Permalink 
FAIRFIELD - American flags, lining the lawn of the mother- and father-in-law of fallen U.S. Army Pfc. Timothy Hines Jr., were heaped in a pile early Saturday and burned under a car parked in front of the home - less than 24 hours after Hines was buried in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.
John Hawkins: "Mark Steyn: Dems Had Their Chance To Pick Justice" "Fred Barnes: Souter-Phobia" "John Fund: It's Time For Term Limits...
Jesse Taylor: A Cincinnati family that just buried their son, a soldier who died in Iraq, awoke one morning to find the soldier's...
Paul @Wizbang: "I am amazed and disgusted Knoll finds a Marine funeral a prime place to campaign."and this:Leftist Vandals Attack...
Captain Ed: Leftist Vandals Attack Family Of Slain Soldier — The family of a soldier killed in Iraq and just buried less than 24...
Gateway Pundit: The Left in America commits a really ugly crime,... this time in Cincinnati: American flags, lining the lawn of the mother- and father-in-law of fallen U.S. Army Pfc.
Steve Antler: Two laws that may have been broken... Regarding flag burning under mourning families' cars, I have these two points: 1.
Also: McQ, Justin Gardner, Barbara O'Brien, Smash, Gerry Daly

The Best Army We Can Buy
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
THE United States now has a mercenary army. To be sure, our soldiers are hired from within the citizenry, unlike the hated Hessians whom George III recruited to fight against the American Revolutionaries.
John Hawkins: So, in the name of fairness and balance, I'm going to show you a column about the military in the New York Times written by liberal history professor David M. Kennedy.
Captain Ed: The Gray Lady Impersonates Kos — The New York Times published a rather offensive opinion piece by Standford history...
Blackfive: The Best Army We Can Buy By DAVID M. KENNEDY Published: July 25, 2005 THE United States now has a mercenary army.
Jonathan Caverley: Stanford history professor David Kennedy tries to get our attention by calling the professional army "mercenaries"
Cori Dauber: Assert Away — Most of the folks in uniform I know would be at least moderately insulted by the following bald assertion: THE United States now has a mercenary army.
Orrin Judd: A BENIGN MILITARY AIN'T MUCH USE (via Rick Turley): The Best Army We Can Buy (DAVID M. KENNEDY, 7/25/05, NY Times)...

No butts behind wheel? N.J. moves on smokers
  MSNBC   —   Permalink 
TRENTON, N.J. - Ashtrays have been disappearing in cars like fins on Cadillacs, and so could smoking while driving in New Jersey, under a measure introduced in the Legislature.
Jeff Goldstein: Convinced that cracking down on embedded al Qaeda terror cells could get "a little too messy," Jersey lawmakers...
James Joyner: No butts behind wheel? N.J. moves on smokers (AP) [snipped quote] While this measure is considered to have little chance...
Kevin Aylward: [AP/MSNBC]
Gary Farber: NOT QUITE ENOUGH TO GET ME TO SIGN UP FOR THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY, but this is enough to make me ally over this issue, in...
McQ: . Mr. McKeon is one of those types who scares the bejebers out of me.

Market share
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
ECONOMISTS HAVE LONG been famous (or notorious) for plunging into such seemingly non-economic topics as crime or marriage. Beginning in the 1960s, University of Chicago economist Gary S. Becker brought economic theory to bear on family life, discrimination,...
Steve Bainbridge: Postrel on Economic Sociology — The phenomenon is neither as new nor as little-known as Virginia Postrel's tone...
Tyler Cowen: Virginia Postrel on economic sociology — [snipped quote] Here is the link to the full story.
Virginia Postrel: What's that? you ask. For an introduction, read the resulting article, from yesterday's Boston Globe Ideas section.

CIA-Leak Probe May Cause Bush Long-Term Worry
  WSJ   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Questions about the outcome of a federal probe into the leaking of a CIA agent's identity could linger into the fall, creating a long stretch of uncertainty for President Bush and his team on a sensitive topic.
Jeralyn Merritt: The Wall Street Journal reports today (free article) that Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald could extend the term of the grand jury by six months.
Laura Rozen: More on the investigation here and here, via Romenesko.
Jim Romenesko: Fitzgerald feeling pressure to wrap up his CIA leak probe?

Nomination Reopens Debate on Disclosure
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 24 - For at least 34 years, Democrats and Republicans have staked out opposing positions on the question of whether a onetime Justice Department or White House lawyer, like John G. Roberts, should, when nominated to the Supreme Court, open up his government writings and recommendations to public scrutiny.
Armando @DailyKos: SCOTUS: The Roberts Stonewall — It begins: "Senator Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who is the ranking minority...
Susie Madrak: Afternoon Roundup Sen. Pat Leahy says uh uh, there is no attorney-client privilege when you work as White House counsel so Roberts really ought to cough up those memos.

Roberts Declines to Explain Group Listing
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts declined Monday to say why he was listed in a leadership directory of the Federalist Society and the White House said he has no recollection of belonging to the conservative group.
Mipe @ThinkProgress: And today, when Roberts was directly "asked by a reporter about the discrepancy," the nominee "smiled but didn't reply."
Armando @DailyKos: Thus: "Supreme Court nominee John Roberts declined Monday to say why he was listed in a leadership directory of the...
Michael @AmericaBlog: We were immediately told Roberts wasn't a member and — taking the White House at its word — numerous media outlets ran corrections.
MJA @SouthernAppeal: I am sad to report that there is some indication that Roberts may have been a member of — or at least had some connection with — The Federalist Society.

Imam warns Ottawa to back off Muslims
  By / Globe and Mail   —   Permalink 
A controversial Toronto imam warned Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan at a closed-door meeting to stop "terrorizing" Canadian Muslims.
"If you try to cross the line I can't guarantee what is going to happen.
Ace: Canadian Imam Warns: Stop "Terrorizing" Canadian Muslims Or Young Muslims May Become Uncontrollably Sassy — Ummm...
Jonah Goldberg: BACK OFF CANADA — Or young Muslims will bite. So says an Imam up there. Call me crazy, but something tells me, things won't go swimmingly up there for a while.

Lady Justice Rises
  CBS News   —   Permalink 
(CBS) Attorney Andrew Cohen analyzes legal issues for CBS News and CBSNews.com.
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor refuses to go gently into the night.
Ramesh Ponnuru: I'M NOT SURPRISED that a "CBS legal analyst" takes this position, but I am a little surprised that his rhetoric is so witless and flat-footed.
Paul @PowerLine: This just in from CBS News Court Watch — powerful judges don't like to be criticized. Via NRO's Corner.

The Wisdom of Solomon?
  By / NRO   —   Permalink 
Should law schools be allowed to block military recruiters from campus? That's one of the first questions John Roberts will decide as a Supreme Court justice, should the Senate confirm him.
Scott @PowerLine: Last week NRO posted a column on the merits of the lawsuit: "The wisdom of Solomon?"
Todd Zywicki: Polsby and Rosencrantz on Rumsfeld v. FAIR: Dan Polsby, author of the amicus brief in the Rumsfeld case mentioned here...