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Report: U.S. in Secret Talks with Iraqi Insurgents Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers are conducting secret talks with Iraq 's Sunni insurgents on ways to end fighting there, Time magazine reported on Sunday, citing Pentagon and other sources. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: TOP TOPICS Is the United States conducting secret negotiations with Iraqi insurgents to deliver their surrender? Wretchard: The first, "U.S. in Secret Talks with Iraqi Insurgents" describes alleged negotiations between elements of the Ba'athist insurgency and US officials. Hindrocket: This could come to nothing, of course, but it also could be the best news from Iraq in a long time: "U.S. in Secret... |
Jan Haugland: Reuters reports that the US has back-channel negotiations with the nationalist part of the rebellion: U.S. diplomats and... Roger L. Simon: I think that's more than a little optimistic, but two articles (less than three hours old) linked one Power Line today... |
Sunnis Seek Place in New Iraqi Government By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces launched an offensive Sunday against insurgents in troubled cities west of Baghdad after two days of carnage that left nearly 100 people dead. Sunni Muslim tribal leaders met to determine their place in a Shiite-dominated Iraqi government. | |
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Jan Haugland: Patrick Quinn at Associated Press reports that Sunni leaders want to get into the democratic government (better late... Roger L. Simon: Meanwhile the second recent report has Sunni Tribal leaders having second thoughts about joining the government:... |
Wretchard: The second link, "Sunnis Seek Place in New Iraqi Government" recounts the efforts by Sunni leaders to get on the train as it is leaving the station. Hindrocket: This news story is closely related: "Sunnis Seek Place in New Iraqi Government": "As the Shiite majority prepared to... |
The blog squad can add another notch to its belt By / LAT — Permalink I'm all for the defenestration — and perhaps even the decapitation — of journalistic felons. Jayson Blair, Jack Kelley, Stephen Glass and their ilk are serial fabricators who betrayed their profession, their colleagues and our democratic society. | |
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Avedon Carol: The blog squad can add another notch to its belt: Much of the criticism of Jordan came from angry bloggers, and Jordan... Glenn Reynolds: THIS COLUMN BY DAVID SHAW in the Los Angeles Times adds to the bloggers-as-lynch-mob meme that a lot of Big Media folks are peddling: "Bloggers can be useful. The Big Trunk: The LA Times gets it wrong — Reader Diana Magrann draws our attention to this lame column on Eason Jordan by media... |
Steve Bainbridge: Shaw writes: "I'm all for the defenestration — and perhaps even the decapitation — of journalistic felons. Hugh Hewitt: Today's article on Eason Jordan blasts but does not name "angry bloggers," amusingly concedes that "[b]loggers can be... |
NEWSWEEK PERISCOPE: Gannon's Enemies List PRNewsWire — Permalink NEW YORK, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ — NEWSWEEK PERISCOPE item: Jeff Gannon is considering suing liberal interest groups, bloggers and others for a "political assassination" that drove him from his job as a reporter for a conservative news outfit called Talon News, he told NEWSWEEK. | |
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Tbogg: Which leads us to Jeff's threat: Jeff Gannon is considering suing liberal interest groups, bloggers and others for a... Skippy: and newsweek's most recent press release details how jeff "mandate" gannon plans to sue all those mean nasty blogs that... |
SLZoll: In recognition of his achievement, we hope to get his named added to Gannon's Enemies List (because we think that being... Roger Ailes: Frivolous Republican Lawsuits — James Guckert sues reality ... for a divorce. [snipped quote] I look forward to discovery. |
New Tapes Say Bush May Have Smoked Marijuana By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush indicated in secretly taped interviews he once used marijuana but would not admit it for fear of setting a bad example for children. Portions of the tapes, recorded from 1998 to 2000 by author Doug Wead without Bush's knowledge, were aired on ABC News on Sunday and published by The New York Times. | |
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Ace: The Bush Tapes (Hoke) New Tapes Say Bush May Have Smoked Marijuana. "I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Skippy: reuters: [snipped quote] we certainly wouldn't want our little kid to say that, because it's such a misuse of... |
Barbara O'Brien: So I googled. Apparently Bush is on tape admitting that he smoked marijuana a long time ago. Big yawn. |
When the Readers Speak Out, Can Anyone Hear Them? By / NYT — Permalink A FEW days after publication of my Jan. 23 column on innumeracy ("Numbed by the Numbers, When They Just Don't Add Up"), Tom Torok, The Times's chief database editor, expressed his strong objections to what he perceived to be a damaging portrayal of his work. | |
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Dan Gillmor: Speaking Back to the NY Times — In his column today, Dan Okrent, the New York Times' Public Editor (read: ombudsman),... Rebecca MacKinnon: Okrent is on to something — In his latest column, When the Readers Speak Out, Can Anyone Hear Them? Cori Dauber: Never Happen — Daniel Okrent suggests a new and creative use of the Times' web space: not a blog, not the LA Times'... |
Avedon Carol: Media moments — Okrent is talking about feedback, but not in a way that makes me feel all that much more optimistic about the way the NYT handles reader complaints. Steve Bainbridge: Speaking of media introspection — When the NY Times ombudsman asked why the NY Times won't print letters to the editor... |
Privilege and Presumption By / WaPo — Permalink American democracy is a conspiracy of special interests against the general interest, but every special interest thinks that it is the general interest. Journalists often see this firsthand. They talk to a farmer about farm price supports and report back amazed at the ferocity and self-righteousness of the farmer's views. | |
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Susan Madrak: "Michael Kinsley doesn't get it. The people who received sensitive information about Valerie Plame were parties to a a crime. Roger Ailes: Kinsley vs. the Law — The usually astute Michael Kinsley engages in some sloppy reporting here: [snipped quote] Uh, the Branzburg case was decided by the Supreme Court in 1972. |
Avedon Carol: Michael Kinsley doesn't get it. The people who received sensitive information about Valerie Plame were parties to a crime. |
When Camels Fly By / NYT — Permalink It's good news, bad news time again for the Middle East. The good news is that what you are witnessing in the Arab world is the fall of its Berlin Wall. The old autocratic order is starting to crumble. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: IN SEARCH OF THE MIDDLE EASTERN VELVET REVOLUTION — Thomas Friedman is encouraged by the movement towards democracy... Betsy Newmark: Thomas Friedman makes a good point. We're seeing the beginning of something important in the Middle East. Steven Taylor: Today's Thomas Friedman: When Camels Fly [snipped quote] Indeed and indeed. The whole piece is worth a read. |
Cori Dauber: Tom Friedman has a different take on where the Arab street is headed, and it'w well worth reading in its entirety for its combination of hopefulness and caution. Orrin Judd: T.F. ON AN UPSWING: When Camels Fly: What you are witnessing in the Arab world is the fall of its Berlin Wall. |
Fixing federal tax code likely to cause headaches By / Knight Ridder — Permalink WASHINGTON - President Bush says he wants to take some of the pain out of federal income taxes, but trying to fix the current system could become an excruciating ordeal. | |
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Kevin Drum: BATS**T INSANE...Knight Ridder reports on ideas for reforming our tax system: [snipped quote] As Matt points out, Tom... |
Matthew Yglesias: Watch Those Numbers — Knight-Ridder reports on tax reform, including a proposal for a national sales tax: "The proposal... |
Talking with the Enemy By / Time — Permalink The secret meeting is taking place in the bowels of a facility in Baghdad, a cavernous, heavily guarded building in the U.S.-controlled green zone. The Iraqi negotiator, a middle-aged former member of Saddam Hussein's regime and the senior representative of the self-described nationalist insurgency, sits on one side of the table. | |
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Daniel Drezner: Interesting developments in Iraq — In the wake of yesterday's suicide attacks in Iraq, Time's Michael Ware has an... |
Norm Geras: Straws in the wind — In Time magazine, Michael Ware reports on secret negotiations between the US military and representatives of the Iraqi 'insurgency'. |
Ken has a lot to be sorry for By / Observer — Permalink The useful label 'the pseudo-left' has been knocking around the internet political blogs since 11 September, and it is high time it was brought into the mainstream media. | |
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Norm Geras: Consistently on the wrong side — Nick Cohen discusses Ken Livingstone's support for Yusuf al-Qaradawi, seeing the... |
David T: Nick Cohen on Livingstone — Not much here we haven't said here ourselves. |
SHUT THE CELL UP By / New York Post — Permalink Unsuspecting cellphone users may find themselves saying that more often now that cellphone jammers — illegal gizmos that interfere with signals and cut off reception — are selling like hotcakes on the streets of New York. | |
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John Derbyshire: TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN USE — I have **GOT** to get one of these. Cellphone story. I came up from DC Saturday evening on the train — that is, via Amtrak. |
Jeff Quinton: Cellphone Jamming in N.Y. NY Post "Unsuspecting cellphone users may find themselves saying that more often now that... |
U.S. and Iraqi Forces Launch Operation Against Insurgents AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces launched an offensive Sunday against insurgents in troubled cities west of Baghdad after two days of carnage that left nearly 100 people dead. Sunni Muslim tribal leaders met to determine their place in a Shiite-dominated Iraqi government. | |
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Chris Bowers: He claims he has the votes. If this is true, whether or not America remains in Iraq the war will last for years, porbably at least a decade. |
Armando @DailyKos: Chalabi Claims Votes for Iraqi PM Post — Ahmad Chalabi claims he has the votes to become the new Iraqi Prime Minister: [snipped quote] What a strange twist of fate, no? |
What's US policy on Europe? No giggling By / Telegraph — Permalink Two years ago, I wrote that America and Europe were now engaged in a new Cold War. And just like the old Cold War it's not only about Jacques Chirac issuing Krushchevian boasts to Washington that "we will bury you"; it's also got room for the occasional détente phase. | |
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Jan Haugland: Mark Steyn argues that the US policy on Europe now is 'no giggling.' Bush, Rice and even Rumsfeld may be seen as... Peter Burnet: FAMILY REUNION — What's US policy on Europe? |
Charles Johnson: Steyn: A Massive Hoot of Derision — A great new Mark Steyn piece at the Telegraph: What's US policy on Europe? No giggling. |
Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea BBC — Permalink Patrick Kluivert ended nine-man Chelsea's dream of an unprecedented quadruple as his header put Newcastle into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The Dutchman struck after four minutes before Mateja Kezman hit the underside of the bar as Chelsea came back. | |
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Norm Geras: Quadshmuple — Heh - though it's probably Chelsea's way of lightening the fixture list, so they can concentrate on holding their Premiership lead against you know who. |
Damian Penny: TOON ARMY! The Premiership season has been totally wasted, but this makes up for it. |
Hard News By / WaPo — Permalink The venerable newspaper is in trouble. Under sustained assault from cable television, the Internet, all-news radio and lifestyles so cram-packed they leave little time for the daily paper, the industry is struggling to remake itself. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: From today's Washington Post article on the decline of newspapers, "Hard News." Arnold Kling: Death of Newspapers — The Washington Post reports that newspapers are struggling. |
Jay Rosen: Frank Ahrens in the Washington Post on the newspaper industry's woes: (Feb. 19) "For the first nine months of 2004, The Post booked $433 million in ad revenue. |
Hariri's killers 'recruited from Syrian-linked group in Iraq' By / Telegraph — Permalink Assassins who killed Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, travelled from Iraq through Syria to carry out the attack, according to the Beirut judge leading the inquiry into the bombing. | |
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Charles Bird: Although preliminary, the Beirut judge in charge of the inquiry has stated that the assassins traveled from Iraq through... Damian Penny: Hariri's killer — While the Syrians implictly blame the Jooooooos for the murder of Rafik Hariri, the Sunday Telegraph... Orrin Judd: NO ALAWITEWASH: Hariri's killers 'recruited from Syrian-linked group in Iraq' (Damien McElroy, 20/02/2005, Sunday Telegraph) [snipped quote] The noose tightens. |
Jan Haugland: Judge: Hariri killers linked to Syria, Iraqi terrorists — A Lebanese judge links the assasssins of Rafik Hariri not... Captain Ed: Hariri Assassin Traveled Through Syria For Murder: Lebanon — The self-proclaimed suicide bomber of Lebanese statesman... |
Fighting Words By / NYT — Permalink ON one more steaming day in Baghdad, word filtered out to the artillery regiment that some of the younger guys were not going to get to fly home for their promised rest-and-relaxation break. Soldiers fumed. | |
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Cori Dauber: Slap on That Template — Yet another article where a New York Times reporter portrays American soldiers as just what she expected them to be. Blackfive: Update 3: Here's the link to the NY Times article. |
Nick Gillespie: Perhaps the most interesting aside in the story is this: [snipped quote] Whole thing here (reg. req.) . |
Presidential Also-Ran Shows No Signs of Fading Away By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — He has neither gained weight nor grown a beard, headed to Europe nor exiled himself to some distant ivory tower. Instead, Sen. John F. Kerry is back on Capitol Hill, working hard to fashion himself into something rare in American politics: a presidential also-ran who isn't an afterthought. | |
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Captain Ed: Kerry Refuses To Leave The Party After It's Over — Anyone who holds dinner parties on a regular basis has experienced... |
Orrin Judd: Presidential Also-Ran Shows No Signs of Fading Away: Sen. Kerry goes against precedent, getting back in the political spotlight in a leadership role. |
A Year-Round Party for Blacks By / LAT — Permalink The GOP is their hero. Just look at the calendar. Cynics like to say that February was chosen as Black History Month because it's the shortest month. But actually, it was because February is the most depressing month, coming, as it does, long into winter, with seemingly no end in sight. | |
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Ace: No Wonder Al Franken Turned Tail and Ran From John O'Neill (Hoke) Franken prefers a forum where rebuttal is impossible... |
The Big Trunk: In today's Los Angeles Times he shows he can hustle racial issues with the best the Democratic Party has to offer: "A year-round party for blacks." |
Europe's Jews Seek Solace on the Right By / NYT — Permalink PARIS — A curious thing is happening in Belgium these days: a small but vocal number of Jews are supporting a far-right party whose founders were Nazi collaborators. The xenophobic party, Vlaams Belang, plays on fears of Arab immigrants and, unlike the prewar parties from which it is descended, courts Jewish votes. | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: Why, Jews are supporting Nazis, of course! (nevermind that 95% of them don't.) Splash, out Jason (Via Cori Dauber, who's got lots of good stuff up today.) |
Cori Dauber: Stunning — The New York Times seems shocked, shocked, that more and more European Jews are abandoning the left. |
The mole, the US media and a White House coup Observer — Permalink For two years Jeff Gannon cut an unobtrusive figure at White House press conferences. The shaven-headed, craggily handsome man worked for an obscure news agency called Talon News, known for its conservative sympathies. He was often the subject of jokes by colleagues on weightier news organisations. | |
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Avedon Carol: The Observer leader discusses the failures of the US mainstream media and asks a question: "On the internet, the mainstream media is derided and scorned. Natasha @PacificViews: The Guardian Observer reviews Gannongate. The obvious-to-some point is made that if this had happened in the Clinton White House, all hell would be breaking loose. |
Jerome Armstrong: Looking from the outside in — The UK's Observer has a long article giving context of the 'Gannon' case to it's readers, and gives way to much credit to rightwing bloggers. |
Democrats' Grass Roots Shift the Power By / WaPo — Permalink The bloggers have been busy on the Democratic National Committee Web site since Howard Dean was elected party chairman a week ago. "Paul in OC" and "Steviemo in MN" wrote that they had made their first-ever contributions to the national committee. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: DEANIACS VS. CLINTONITES — The selection of Howard Dean as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee has only... Tim Graham: CUSSING "LIKE CRICKETS" — The Washington Post displays a little softness toward the Democrats today in an article... Rickheller @Centerfield: Activists Energized Fundraising, but Some Worry They Could Push Democrats to Left — The Washington Post's Dan Balz... |
Captain Ed: However, as Dan Balz points out in today's Washington Post, the Democrats appear clueless as to how Dean's leadership... Orrin Judd: WING MAN: Democrats' Grass Roots Shift the Power: Activists Energized Fundraising, but Some Worry They Could Push Party... |
Germany Debates 'Terrorist Chic' By / WaPo — Permalink BERLIN — On a side street in Berlin lined with galleries, alternative bookstores and Turkish fast-food joints, hip young people stroll past the Molotov-Cocktail bar wearing T-shirts with red stars and drab military parkas. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Terrorist chic in Germany is emerging as a new art exhibit looks at the artistic contributions of the Baader-Meinhof gang. |
John J. Miller: RAF IS THE NEW CHE? In Germany: "terrorist chic." |
Rehnquist's Health; Do Bloggers Matter?; RNC Chair Pushes Bush Social Security Plans CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANNOUNCER: The chief justice and his battle with cancer. He made it to the inauguration, but he'll remain absent from the Supreme Court for now. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: While the blogosphere is divided between triumphalism and those who remain appropriately modest about our collective... |
Jeff Jarvis: Blogfests : Here's a transcript of Friday's Inside Politics on CNN with lots of bloglove: First, blog reporters talk... |
The Times Quotes Firebrands and Convicts the City's Cops By / LAT — Permalink I grew up reading the Los Angeles Times, but not long ago I canceled the subscription I had held for nearly 30 years. Though I graduated from college a proud liberal, my political views have moved steadily rightward as I've grown older, and I came to find my opinions diverging more and more sharply from those on The Times' editorial pages. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: LA Times Blasted — Jack Dunphy (the pseudonym used by a LAPD officer) blasts the Times' coverage of the Devin Brown... |
Kevin Roderick: Dunphy writes this Sunday's "Outside the Tent" in the Times' Opinion section, complaining that the paper's politics have... |
Uncaptive Minds By / NYT — Permalink The main business of Napanoch, N.Y., is a maximum-security prison, Eastern New York Correctional Facility, also known as Happy Nap. The population of Eastern, 1,250 men, many from New York City, is about the same as that of Napanoch itself. | |
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Fontana Labs: Class — Ian Buruma ends his teaching assignment in the big house: On my last day at Eastern, I turned back toward the prison as I was leaving. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Professor Ian Buruma, writing in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, taught college courses at a maximum security prison... |
Egyptian Doctors Remove Baby's Second Head By / Reuters — Permalink BENHA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian doctors said they removed a second head from a 10-month-old girl suffering from one of the rarest birth defects in an operation Saturday. | |
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Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: And here's a heads up on an unusual operation on a toddler... Radley Balko: Calling Nurse Gollum — This is freaky. Looks like she's got a decent chance of surviving. |
Randy Paul: Ai Yi Yi! This wins my vote for headline most likely to get you to click to the story. Poor kid. |
In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 - As George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, creating a rare record of the future president as a politician and a personality. | |
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Captain Ed: Judas Preacher — The New York Times ran an article today based on conversations surreptitiously taped by a one-time... Charles Johnson: NYT Publishes Secretly Recorded Bush Tape — The New York Times publishes excerpts today from an audiotape of President... Jan Haugland: Of course the tapes are going to make headlines. In fact, I think they reveal that Bush is the real deal. |
Matthew Yglesias: Closet Tolerants — Via Julie Saltman this interesting look at the early days of the Bush 2000 campaign in which, among... Steven Taylor: The Bush Tapes — The Blogosphere is abuzz about the following NYT piece: In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President. Steve M.: Funny, I was planning to post something Mark Danner wrote in the current New York Review of Books about the fraudulence... |
| Also: Ann Althouse, Tim Cavanaugh, Joe Gandelman, Paul @Wizbang, Steve Soto, Betsy Newmark, Digby, Steve @BeggingToDiffer, James Joyner, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Christopher Kanis, Jack Cluth, David Allan Pell, Kos @DailyKos, Jeralyn Merritt, Orrin Judd, Ogged @Unfogged, Lorie Byrd, Roger Ailes, Orin Kerr | |
Iwo Jima By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Sixty years ago today, more than 110,000 Americans and 880 ships began their assault on a small volcanic island in the Pacific, in the climactic battle of the last year of World War II. | |
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Charles Johnson: Iwo Jima — At OpinionJournal, Arthur Herman has an outstanding piece on the 60th anniversary of the assault on Iwo Jima. McQ: Semper Fi! Today is the 60th anniversary of one of the most savage and bloody fights of WWII — Iwo Jima. Michael DeBow: Historian Arthur Herman offers this reflection on Opinion Journal. |
Bigwig: The battle for Iwo Jima began 60 years ago today. The Big Trunk: Don't miss this Kerrville Daily Times article on the Legend of Heroes Memorial created by Danielle Girdano: "Iwo Jima sixty years later." Cori Dauber: Where Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue — A tribute, on the 60th anniversary of the beginning, to the Battle for Iwo Jima. |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, John J. Miller | |
Flame on! - Estrich v. Kinsley and the L.A. Times: Round two By / Washington Examiner — Permalink On Thursday, The Examiner printed an e-mail by University of Southern California professor Susan Estrich accusing the Los Angeles Times of sexual discrimination against women writers. We also ran a rebuttal by Michael Kinsley, opinion and editorial editor at the Times. | |
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Digby: Kevin Drum excerpts Susan Estrich's latest little bit of nasty in her ongoing pursuit of being the most unlikeable... Betsy Newmark: The Susan Estrich-Michael Kinsley flap gets more and more fun. The DC Examiner has the newest exchange. Vox Day: It's worth noting that Susan Estrich appears to be completely losing it. |
Steve Bainbridge: Kinsley v. Estrich — This just keeps getting more and more amusing, with the latest round of emails between Susan... Kevin Drum: Here's the latest email from Estrich in their ongoing war being carried out in the editorial pages of the new DC Examiner: [snipped quote] Nice. Radley Balko: Kinsely recently revealed he has Parkinson's Disease. Here's where it gets ugly. Writes Estrich: [snipped quote] Eep. |
| Also: Avedon Carol, John J. Miller | |
Tired of TiVo? Beyond Blogs? Podcasts Are Here By / NYT — Permalink GRAND FORKS, N.D. , Feb. 16 - From a chenille-slipcovered sofa in the basement of their friend Dave's mom's house at the edge of a snow-covered field, Brad and Other Brad, sock-footed pioneers in the latest technology revolution, are recording "Why Fish," their weekly show. | |
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Steven Taylor: The Coverage of Podcasts — Via the NYT comes the lastest Podcasting story: Tired of TiVo? Beyond Blogs? Podcasts Are Here. Ann Althouse: The NYT has a frontpage article promoting podcasting, which is supposedly the big new thing now that blogs are so last year. Bill Hobbs: Podcasting — The New York Times has a story today on podcasting. I haven't read it yet, but here it is. |
Ogged @Unfogged: The New York Times finally gets around to writing about podcasting, and maybe I'm being uncharitable, but it would have been nice if they'd bothered to tell us what podcasting is. Ed Cone: NYT puts podcasting on A1. [snipped quote] I guess Jill Abramson liked the PRX presentation at Harvard. Jeff Jarvis: Big time : The Times does podcasting. |
In the Midst of Budget Decadence, a Leader Will Arise By / NYT — Permalink There's going to be another Ross Perot, and this time he's going to be younger. There's going to be a millionaire rising out of the country somewhere and he (or she) is going to lead a movement of people who are worried about federal deficits, who are offended... | |
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Bigwig: The New, New Thing — David Brooks on the new Ross Perot. There's going to be another Ross Perot, and this time he's going to be younger. Tyler Cowen: Life at the top — [snipped quote] Here is David Brooks's entire opinion piece. Stephen Green: Anyway, read the whole thing. |
Greg Ransom: David Brooks. DeLong: Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? (Is David Brooks Really this Big an Idiot? |
Poorest Face Most Risk on Social Security By / WaPo — Permalink No group of Americans would be affected more by President Bush's Social Security plan than those earning the least. Just ask 46-year-old Brent Allen. Allen, who recently lost his job at a Massachusetts paper mill, faces a retirement financed exclusively by the money he has been paying into the Social Security system for the better part of 30 years. | |
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Patrick Ruffini: Up is Down — Jim VandeHei just phones it in, on the front page of today's Washington Post: [snipped quote] Regardless... Steve Soto: As evidence that even the efforts of these compromise Democrats to work with Lindsey Graham would bear questionable... |
Hindrocket: Social Security Follies — The Washington Post, official voice of the Democratic Party, weighs in on Social Security, in... Betsy Newmark: Jim VanderHei has a fundamentally dishonest article about how Bush's plan is going to be the riskiest for the neediest of workers. |
From west to east, rolling revolution gathers pace across the former USSR By / Times of London — Permalink IT WOULD be either the "lemon" or the "tulip" revolution. Kazbek and his friends could not quite decide. But as they watched Ukraine's Orange Revolution unfold last year, they were convinced of one thing: Kyrgyzstan could be next. | |
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Judith Weiss: Krgyzstan is inspired by the Ukrainian orange revolution. Meanwhile, an iron curtain descends across Nepal (but the blogosphere is on the case). Andrew Stuttaford: DEMOCRACY ON THE MARCH — This, rather wonderful, story comes from Kirghizstan: "It would be either the "lemon" or the "tulip" revolution. |
Damian Penny: Freedom on the march — After the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia and the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, a "Yellow... |
The darlings of the blogosphere AP — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — Like so many other 20-somethings hoping to mine the Internet gold rush of the late 1990s, Mena Trott was thrown for a humbling loop by the dot-com bust, yet still craved stardom. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: The Business of the Blogosphere — While mainstream media has been paying lots of attention to bloggers this year, it's... Susanna Cornett: The Trotts — Here's an article about the developers of Moveable Type, Ben and Mena Trott. She sounds like a piece of work. |
Joe Gandelman: Did you ever wonder how it got started, who's behind it and how that weird name came about? Read this and you'll know. |
Jeff Gannon Admits Past 'Mistakes,' Berates Critics By / WaPo — Permalink Jeff Gannon, the former White House reporter whose naked pictures have appeared on a number of gay escort sites, says that he has "regrets" about his past but that White House officials knew nothing about his salacious activities. | |
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Judith Weiss: One more blog kerfluffle I ignored. I knew the Gannon/Guckert story was a non-story and you knew it was a non-story, but does the press corp think it's a non-story? SLZoll: Now, on to Jeff's tearful but indignant interview with Howie Kurtz: "I've made mistakes in my past," he said yesterday. Charles Johnson: WaPo Continues Flogging Gannon — Howard Kurtz has already written more words about the trumped up Jeff Gannon scandal... |
Hindrocket: Today, Kurtz writes about the Gannon affair in the Washington Post. Paul @Wizbang: Jeff Gannon Admits Past 'Mistakes,' Berates Critics Jeff Gannon, the former White House reporter whose naked pictures... Jeff Goldstein: (UPDATED) Lefty blog Crooks and Liars—who, from what I can gather, simply WILL NOT TOLERATE EITHER CROOKS OR LIARS—has... |
| Also: Jeralyn Merritt, Orrin Judd | |
Why the EU Constitution is bad for Britain and bad for the US By / Telegraph — Permalink In the stern old pre-Vatican II days, Roman Catholics used to be instructed not to read the Bible by themselves. The theory was that, if they did so, they might misunderstand what it meant and commit the error of "private judgment". | |
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Charles Johnson: UPDATE at 2/20/05 10:26:01 am: Charles Moore has a good article on the EU Constitution: Why the EU Constitution is bad for Britain and bad for the US. Peter Burnet: WE, THE BUREAUCRATS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION... Why the EU Constitution is bad for Britain and bad for the US (Charles... |
Robert Prather: Here's a review from the Telegraph: George W. Bush is a good Protestant, but I doubt if he has read the European Constitution. |
'Gannon' Interview: No Plame Subpoena, No Tie to White House, He Says By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink NEW YORK In a lengthy, wide-ranging interview with E&P today, former White House reporter Jeff Gannon, whose real name is James D. Guckert, revealed that, contrary to many media reports, he has not been subpoenaed in the Valerie Plame/CIA case. | |
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Digby: Here's the passage from the February 11th interview with E&P "Although he hinted that he had not seen a classified CIA... |
SLZoll: Oh, and while JimJeff confided to Howie that, "I have no friendships with anyone there [the White House]," Media Matters... |
Time for an Accounting NYT — Permalink Of all the claims of an electoral mandate made by President Bush's supporters, none were as bizarre as the one offered by John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer who helped draft the cynical justifications for the illegal detention and torture of "unlawful combatants." | |
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Mary @PacificViews: Saturday the NY Times opined that, nevertheless, it was important for the citizens of this country and their elected representatives to put the kabosh to that assertion. |
Armando @DailyKos: BushCo's Policy of Torture — The New York Times editorial page is absolutely right that the issue of torture is as... |
Huge 'star-quake' rocks Milky Way BBC — Permalink Astronomers say they have been stunned by the amount of energy released in a star explosion on the far side of our galaxy, 50,000 light-years away. The flash of radiation on 27 December was so powerful that it bounced off the Moon and lit up the Earth's atmosphere. | |
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DeLong: When Things Go Boom... Fortunately, far away: "BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Huge 'star-quake' rocks Milky Way:... |
Fontana Labs: A thought — Wouldn't it be hilarious if, in the middle of our argument about Larry Summers, all life on earth were destroyed by a massive cosmological explosion? |
Interview With Jeff Gannon CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper. He was a White House reporter, now he's the center of a political firestorm. | |
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Brian Stelter: Here's the transcript. My favorite excerpt: COOPER: This liberal group, Media Matters, which I'm sure you know well about. |
James Frederick Dwight: The previously reclusive Mr. Gannon/Guckert appeared on the Anderson Cooper Show last night. |
GOP Takes to Heartland With Social Security Plan By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Republican leaders in Congress, faced with the political reality that there is little grass-roots momentum behind President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security, are planning to spread out across the country next week to try to build a constituency for change — and to take a watchful measure of voters' response. | |
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Steve Soto: And if you want proof that it is way too early for Senate Democrats to look for opportunities to cave in on the issue, take a look at this story in today's Los Angeles Times. |
Josh Marshall: Rep. Shelley — Moore Capito's (R) message for (pro-Social Security) West Virginians about her Social Security townhall... |
Opponents of 'Clear Skies' Bill Examined LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — The chairman of a Senate committee that oversees environmental issues has directed two national organizations that oppose President Bush's major clean-air initiative to turn over their financial and tax records to the Senate. | |
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JollyBuddah: Opponents of 'Clear Skies' Bill Examined "The chairman of a Senate committee that oversees environmental issues has... |
Steve Bainbridge: Waxman on Bullying — There's a spat in DC over a demand by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for... |
Administration Is Warned About Its 'News' Videos By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 - The comptroller general has issued a blanket warning that reminds federal agencies they may not produce newscasts promoting administration policies without clearly stating that the government itself is the source. | |
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David Allan Pell: These faux newscasts have been released by agencies a couple of times in the recent past and Walker insists that these... |
Curt Matlock: In Administration is Warned about its 'News' Videos by Anne Kornblut, the NY Times reports today (2/19/05) on a recent letter released by the Comptroller General of the GAO. |
Intelligence Nominee Comes Under Renewed Scrutiny on Human Rights By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 - Human rights advocates repeated longstanding criticisms on Friday of John D. Negroponte, President Bush's nominee as director of national intelligence. They said accusations that he covered up abuses as ambassador to Honduras in the 1980's had a new importance after recent cases of American abuse of detainees. | |
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Laura Rozen: Human rights organizations express concern about Negroponte, the NYT's Scott Shane reports: "Mr. Negroponte, 65, now... |
TChris: Questions About Negroponte — Echoing some of the concerns raised by bloggers, the mainstream press is asking questions... |
Feminist Fatale By / LAT — Permalink Where are the great women thinkers? Thinking so much about women has shrunk their minds. When Susan Sontag died recently, she was mourned as America's leading female intellectual. So the question naturally arose: Is there anyone to take her place? | |
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Barbara O'Brien: In the February 13 Los Angeles Times, Charlotte Allen wrote that there are no great women intellectuals ready to step into the late Susan Sontag's shoes. |
Vox Day: Someone's estrogen prescription needs a refill — NB highlights a recent discussion about feminism: [snipped quote] Yes,... |
The next Speaker By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — If House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert were to announce his retirement, the most likely successor would be somebody given up for dead a few years ago as far as Republican leadership ambitions were concerned: Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Some staffer on the Ethics Committee and Democratic senators want to keep him from delivering babies. [snipped quote] Gasp! |
Orrin Judd: NO SHORTAGE OF SECOND ACTS: The next Speaker (Robert Novak, February 19, 2005, Townhall) [snipped quote] Helps that everyone later realized the coup was right. |
Burnt offerings By / Financial Times — Permalink Otis Granville Clark is a wonder. At 102, the former butler of Joan Crawford - who served Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin - still drives, lives on his own and twice a week attends church in his home city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. | |
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Charles Kuffner: Tulsa and Waco — Crooked Timber points to this Financial Times article about the Tulsa race riot of 1921. Chris Bertram: America's worst race riot — Today's Financial Times has a remarkable article about the Tulsa riot of 1921 —... |
DeLong: The 1921 Tulsa Riot — Crooked Timber points us to a Financial Times story on the 1921 Tulsa race riot: up to 300... |
Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq Attacks Reuters — Permalink MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were killed in separate guerrilla attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday, three in or near the northern city of Mosul, one north of Baghdad and the fifth south of the capital. | |
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Cori Dauber: Here's an entire print article dedicated to reporting the deaths of Americans out of which the only narrative information to be gleaned is that there was a firefight. Skippy: meanwhile, back in iraq per reuters, via holden at first draft, 5 us soldiers were killed in separate attacks in iraq... |
Juan Cole: Present Conflicts, Looming Conflicts — Reuters reports, ' Five U.S. soldiers were killed in separate guerrilla attacks... |
Among the believers By / Salon — Permalink WASHINGTON — It's a good thing I went to the Conservative Political Action Conference this year. Otherwise I never would have known that, despite the findings of the authoritative David Kay report and every reputable media outlet on earth, the United States... | |
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Yuval Rubinstein: For example, Michelle Goldberg, in her CPAC dispatch (which, you'll notice, is entitled "Among the Believers"), quotes a... Digby: The Other Reality — [snipped quote] This is not surprising, really. Atrios: Fun at CPAC — You know, even I still get astounded when this stuff gets said, not by the mouth-breathing peanut... |
Norbizness: It is good to know that, despite the token diversity of opinion at the convention, most everyone can suck it up and... Echidne @AmStreet: Posted by: Jenny Greenleaf at 2:37 pm | Comments () | Media Op-Ed The Conservative Political Action Conference Salon has a story about this conference. Billmon: Salon Among the Believers February 19, 2005 — "Some [German officials] were walking caricatures of what the free world thought the fanatical Nazi to be. |
Hollywood Vandals Brand Bush a Nazi Human Events — Permalink We previously reported the conservative group, Citizens United, planned to erect two pro-Bush billboards in Hollywood "thanking" Hollywood for Bush's reelection. As planned, the signs were created, coinciding with the buildup to Oscar night. | |
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Ezra Klein: For the right-wing, some are now outraged at, um, graffiti. Cookie Jill: Apparently the rethugs wanted a couple of billboards up for "hollywood" to see when they cruise to the kodak theatre for... Roger Ailes: Helter, Schmelter — Actually, I think they're comparing Bush to Charles Manson. |
McQ: Freedom of speech meets freedom of speech — As you'll see in the story, this was not unexpected: [snipped quote] Yes,... Joel Foreman: If you put up a pro-Bush billboard in Hollywood during the Oscar build-up just to dig at the Left-Coasters, you know it's not going to sit undisturbed. |
Building the American dream…or nightmare? Economist — Permalink FANNIE MAE and Freddie Mac, the twin titans of America's mortgage markets, think of themselves as big, friendly giants. They stand behind the mortgages of around three-quarters of America's households—they "make home possible," as Freddie Mac likes to put it. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — Brad DeLong posted an excerpt of an article by the Economist on Freddie Mac and Fannie... Matthew Yglesias: Cutesy Names — Okay, I'm back home after a Friday night out and perhaps something about the evening's activities is... |
DeLong: Alan Greenspan Is Worried About the Mortgage Lending Agencies — The Economist reports: "Economist.com | Greenspan's... Greg Ransom: FANNIE MAE and Freddie Mac — bigger and scarier every year: "FANNIE MAE and Freddie Mac .. stand behind the mortgages... |