Top Items:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Let This Leak Go — The best thing Patrick Fitzgerald could do for his country is get out of Washington, return to Chicago and prosecute some real criminals. As it is, all he has done so far is send Judith Miller of the New York Times to jail and repeatedly haul this or that administration high official …
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Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
Times Reporter Testifies Again in CIA Leak Probe — New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified for a second time in the CIA leak case yesterday, providing new details about a previously undisclosed conversation she had with Vice President Cheney's chief of staff about the diplomat at the center of the 22-month investigation.
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Tracking Joe Wilson — Via Glenn, we come to a terrific piece by Jay Rosen, who describes the "suspended state" of reporting at the NY Times on the Judy Miller debacle. Lots of good facts and deeply informed speculation, but we are especially drawn to the news that, although her contempt order …
Discussion:
War and Piece
centcom.mil:
What Extremists Are Saying — We note seven critical themes from the Zawahiri-Zarqawi letter. The first four confirm al-Qaida's long-term strategy and core beliefs; the latter three reflect new information about how senior al-Qaida leader Zawahiri views developments in Iraq - and elsewhere - turning against them.
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Smash / The Indepundit:Al Qaeda's Woes
Discussion:
Don Surber, Donkey Stomp, Secular Blasphemy, Right Wing News and Political Satire Fake News
Athena / Terrorism Unveiled:A BALANCING ACT OF TACT AND REBUKE
Discussion:
One Hand Clapping, Outside The Beltway, CALIFORNIA YANKEE, Dr. Sanity and Gateway Pundit
Alia Ibrahim / Washington Post:
Syrian Official Found Dead — Interior Minister Was Questioned in U.N. Lebanon Probe — BEIRUT, Oct. 12 — Syria's interior minister was found dead Wednesday in his office in the Syrian capital, Damascus, in what the government described as a suicide. The death of Maj. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan came …
Discussion:
Wonkette
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Athena / Terrorism Unveiled:SYRIAN MINISTER SUICIDE — QUESTIONABLE STABILITY OF ASSAD REGIME
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, Michael J. Totten, The Glittering Eye, Publius Pundit and The Counterterrorism Blog
CNN:Syrian leader denies role in Lebanese death
Discussion:
WunderKraut.com, In the Bullpen, Across the Bay, Basil's Blog, chicagoboyz.net and Cox & Forkum Editorial …
Washington Post:
SEC Issues Subpoena To Frist, Sources Say — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has been subpoenaed to turn over personal records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe of his July sales of HCA Inc. stock, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Discussion:
Patridiot Watch, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, Bark Bark Woof Woof, TalkLeft, The Democratic Party and Eschaton
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
How She Slipped Through — Harriet Miers's nomination resulted from a failed vetting process. — "There's a standard vetting process that we go through with all nominees." —White House spokesman Scott McClellan — "The president is very, very confident in his judgments about people, and he likes to reward loyalty."
Washington Post:
Role of Religion Emerges as Issue — President Bush said yesterday that it was appropriate for the White House to invoke Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers's religion in making the case for her to skeptical conservatives, triggering a debate over what role, if any, her evangelical faith should play in the confirmation battle.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Charging RINO, Greg's Opinion, Democratic Veteran, blogs4God and Just a Bump in the Beltway
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Bush Criticized Over Emphasis on Religion of Nominee — WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - President Bush prompted criticism from the right and the left on Wednesday after he said White House officials had told conservative supporters about the religious beliefs of his latest Supreme Court nominee …
Robin Toner / New York Times:
Democrats See Dream of '06 Victory Taking Form — WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - Suddenly, Democrats see a possibility in 2006 they have long dreamed of: a sweeping midterm election framed around what they describe as the simple choice of change with the Democrats or more of an unpopular status quo with the Republican majority.
Michael Mandel / Business Week:
A Nobel Letdown in Economics — Sure, the two game-theory experts who won merit the 2005 award. But their field is doing little to advance economics' progress — I like rationality as much as the next person. When I was in high school in Brooklyn in the 1970s, I laboriously worked …
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Adam C. Smith / St. Petersburg Times:
Harris' magic touch for fundraising failing her … When U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris decided to take on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, even the skeptics in her own party acknowledged her strengths as a candidate: a tireless worker, a celebrity to the Republican base, a renowned talent for raising big money.
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Jonathan Finer / Washington Post:
Iraq's Shiite Hub Awaits Its Day — Najaf Prepares to Endorse Charter, but Rifts Are Apparent — NAJAF, Iraq, Oct. 12 — Families gather in the festive streets after dark during the holy month of Ramadan, munching sweets after a day of fasting. Iraqi soldiers — who recently assumed control …
Washington Post:
For Miers, Proximity Meant Power — Longtime Bush Confidante Became Gatekeeper of Access to the President — In the days last November after he was elected to a second term, President Bush had chosen Alberto R. Gonzales as his next attorney general, and word was spreading …
Anthony Browne / Times of London:
Dutch unveil the toughest face in Europe with a ban on the burka — THE Netherlands is likely to become the first country in Europe to ban the burka, under government proposals that would bring in some of the toughest curbs on Muslim clothing in the world. — The country's hardline …
Jason Leopold / rawstory.com:
Vice President's role in outing of CIA agent under examination, sources close to prosecutor say — Cheney's role in CIA outing not known — Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is trying to determine whether Vice President Dick Cheney had a role in the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame-Wilson …
Katie Hafner / New York Times:
Treated for Illness, Then Lost in Labyrinth of Bills — Ellen Mayer's gastrointestinal cancer requires constant monitoring. Everything seems to need a justification, or a new authorization. At one point she considered stopping treatment because each test required so much paperwork.
Discussion:
Julien's List
