Top Items:
David Johnston / New York Times:
Immunity Deals Offered to Blackwater Guards — State Department investigators offered Blackwater USA security guards immunity during an inquiry into last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad — a potentially serious investigative misstep that could complicate efforts to prosecute …
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Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Immunity Jeopardizes Iraq Probe — Guards' Statements Cannot Be Used in Blackwater Case — Potential prosecution of Blackwater guards allegedly involved in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians last month may have been compromised because the guards received immunity for statements …
The Influence Peddler:
Is Hillary a Sure Loser? — Jim Geraghty has a significant post on Hillary's floor and ceiling: … The actual Rasmussen release on this point is here: … Hillary has nearly universal name identification. Nearly every American has an opinion of her. And regardless of what Americans …
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Holly Ramer / Associated Press:
Giuliani: Dems Will Change Minds on Iraq — LONDONDERRY, N.H. (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said Monday that two of the Democratic candidates will change their minds again about the Iraq war and agree that it was the right decision. — Asked at a town-hall meeting …
Discussion:
Liberty Pundit, Hot Air, The Anonymous Liberal, Truthdig, Associated Press, MyDD and INSTAPUTZ
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Amit R. Paley / Washington Post:
Iraqi Dam Seen In Danger of Deadly Collapse — AT THE MOSUL DAM, Iraq — The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country …
Condé Nast Portfolio Magazine:
Tony Snow: "Newspapers Are a Niche Market" — Hi, readers. I braved the suffocating humidity, pastel hues and abundant old people of Boca Raton to bring you insights from the American Magazine Conference. Or perhaps I should call it the American Magabrand Conference.
Toby Helm / Telegraph:
'Hate literature easily found at UK mosques' — Extremist literature that encourages hatred of gays, Christians and Jews can be easily found at many of Britain's mosques, according to a new survey. — Researchers for the centre-Right think tank Policy Exchange claims it found the literature …
Discussion:
Jihad Watch
White House:
President Bush Announces Recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom — President George W. Bush today announced recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civil award. Established by Executive Order 11085 in 1963, the Medal may be awarded by the President …
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House, No More Mister Nice Blog, Babalu Blog, Washington Wire, The American Street and The Swamp
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
New Congress at war over everything — In a closed-door meeting before the last vote on the children's health care bill, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer appealed for the support of about 30 wavering Republican lawmakers. What he got instead was a tongue-lashing, participants said.
Atrios / Eschaton:
There Is No Crisis — I imagine some readers who haven't been hanging around these parts for all that long might have justifiably been puzzled at the reaction to Obama's decision to try to make dealing with Social Security his signature attack on Clinton. It's true that Obama didn't assert that there was some huge crisis.
Discussion:
The Sideshow, theGarance.com, Hullabaloo, The Democratic Daily, Obsidian Wings, Crooks and Liars and Talking Points Memo
Telegraph:
The most influential US Conservatives: 81-100 — As the US prepares for what is arguably the most open presidential election since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or vice-president on the ballot, the Daily Telegraph's Washington correspondents compile a list of the 100 …
The Atlantic Online:
Vouching for vouchers — Forgive me—I'm about to get testy again—but this thread on 11D really does seem to me to showcase in stunning technocolor the moral bankruptcy of voucher opponents who have pulled their own kids out of failing inner city schools. They have no good answer …
Sue Anne Pressley Montes / Washington Post:
Cabbie Strike Looms In D.C. — Halloween Protest Targets Switch To Meter System — District businesses are bracing for a 24-hour taxi strike threatened on Halloween, a high-volume day for cabs, in what drivers say might be the first in a series of strikes to protest Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's recent decision …
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Happiness Gap — Some elections are defined by the gap between the rich and the poor. Others are defined by the gap between the left and the right. But this election will be shaped by the gap within individual voters themselves — the gap between their private optimism and their public gloom.