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Bankruptcy Bill Set for Passage; Victory for Bush By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 8 - The Senate assured final passage of the first major overhaul of the nation's bankruptcy laws in 27 years on Tuesday, when it took two votes that cleared the remaining political obstacles to a measure that the nation's credit and retail industries have sought for years. | |
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Tom Burka: GOP To Make Law Giving Everyone's Money To The Rich — Bankruptcy Bill Ditched In Favor Of More "Direct" Legislation The... eRobin @AmStreet: "Photo credit: Reuters" Washington D.C. Photo credit: FreeDictionary.com From the NYT "The Senate assured final passage... Avedon Carol: That's as good as any of the other names I've heard for it. There's nothing stopping it, now. |
Gary Farber: MARCH FORWARD JOYOUSLY INTO OUR NEW AGE OF PEONAGE as the evil bankruptcy bill moves ahead. Rickheller @Centerfield: So says Ron Beasley, who considers himself a centrist, because the House New Democratic Coalition is supporting the bankruptcy bill. Kash: In return for a few million dollars in contributions, lenders are being rewarded with passage of the bankruptcy bill:... |
Saigon's Sharansky By / Opinion Journal — Permalink There's been a lot of talk since Sept. 11 about how President Bush's war-lovin' ways have galvanized terrorists, recruiting jihadis to the ranks. What's increasingly evident, however, is that the character suffering the real blowback is Osama bin Laden, who, as it turns out, jolted the U.S. into a global recruiting drive for democrats. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Prompted by this piece in the Wall Street Journal, some of them are actually tossing around the idea that Vietnam will... Chad The Elder: Turnabout — Claudia Rosset asks if Vietnam will be the next Iraq in a piece at OpinionJournal.com: So at an appointed... Orrin Judd: TO DO—KOREA, CUBA, IRAN... Saigon's Sharansky: Will Vietnam be the next Iraq? |
Steve Antler: Sorry, that should read: "Capitalism and Freedom" This just in from Vietnam: Dr. Que does not have access to the daily diet of news that feeds the free world. Pejman Yousefzadeh: "SAIGON'S SHARANSKY" — I won't excerpt this. I'll just let you read it. Glenn Reynolds: VIETNAM: THE NEXT IRAQ? Heh. I want bumper stickers that say that. |
| Also: K. J. Lopez, Cori Dauber | |
Defending Bolton By / WaPo — Permalink For the record, let me begin by repeating a few quotes from John Bolton, newly nominated as ambassador to the United Nations, just so that no one can accuse me of naivete. He has said, "The Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. | |
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Ken Masugi: To return briefly to that happier gloat, consider Anne Applebaum cautioning liberals in yesterday's Washington Post. Mark Leon Goldberg: In the Post today she argues that John Bolton's blunt style makes him an ideal candidate to lead UN reforms. Betsy Newmark: Anne Applebaum explains why John Bolton is the right man for the UN. [snipped quote] I happen to be one of the skeptical ones about the possibility of success. |
Tarek @LiquidList: But when someone mentioned Bolton's comment about how the UN could lose 10 stories from its building and not miss them,... Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: Anne Applebaum offers a contrary take on Bolton and his views on the United Nations. ANOTHER UPDATE: See also Jacob Heilbrunn. James Joyner: Defending Bolton: Unlikely Sources — Anne Applebaum, somewhat surprisingly, offers up a strong defense of John Bolton... |
| Also: Laura Rozen | |
Kerry fortifies war chest, keeps momentum for 2008 By / Boston Herald — Permalink WASHINGTON - It was an intimate political gathering: Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] playing host to about 100 of his richest friends. Kerry huddled with his top fund-raisers Monday night in his Georgetown mansion, preparing a massive money push aimed at keeping the defeated presidential nominee's ambitions alive. | |
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Steve Soto: Of course, as Yuval noted below Kerry is off and running for 2008 and seems to want to run the caucus himself. PoliPundit: Run, John, Run! John Kerry is preparing to run again in 2008. I'm deeply conflicted about this. Taegan Goddard: Kerry Plans for 2008 — Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) "huddled with his top fund-raisers Monday night in his Georgetown... |
Kos @DailyKos: It's not surprising for Kerry to pull this power play in the Senate, given he's still taking steps toward 2008. James Joyner: John Kerry Steps Up Fundraising for 2008 — Kerry fortifies war chest, keeps momentum for 2008 (Boston Herald) [snipped quote] Stay relevant? Yuval Rubinstein: Via Political Wire, I see that Senator Kerry is already laying the groundwork for a 2008 presidential run: [snipped quote] Never been done before? |
Ex-PM: Hezbollah rally in Beirut a massive hoax By / WorldNetDaily — Permalink JERUSALEM - The giant Hezbollah rally that drew nearly half a million purported supporters of Syria's occupation of Lebanon actually was a staged hoax with non-Lebanese citizens, Syrian workers, students and municipal employees coerced into joining the... | |
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Tim Cavanaugh: We can concede that many of those people may have been bussed in, some possibly from as far off as Syria. Ted Belman: Rally a Hoax — Ex-PM: Hezbollah rally in Beirut a massive hoax.Exiled Lebanese leader says Syria used foreigners,... |
Charles Johnson: UN Hits Bottom, Digs — Head appeasement weasel Kofi Annan says the United Nations must recognize the Hizballah terrorist organization. James Joyner: Ex-PM: Hezbollah Rally a Massive Hoax — Ex-PM: Hezbollah rally in Beirut a massive hoax (WorldNetDaiy) |
Tax bill called best for richest By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink AUSTIN - Texas families earning less than $100,000 a year would pay about $1.1 billion more a year in state taxes, while higher-income residents would see a tax cut of $437 million under a House bill designed to cut school property taxes, a report said Tuesday. | |
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Norbizness: Now they're screwing most everybody not making six figures in favor of "the oil and gas industry, as well as utilities,... Charles Kuffner: Chron: Tax bill called best for richest Express-News: Tax bill has silver lining for richest Statesman: Study finds poor... |
Kevin Drum: Charles Kuffner rounds up the headlines about the latest tax bill from the Texas Lege: "Chron: Tax bill called best for... |
The believer By / Salon — Permalink Ever since publishing his memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" in 2000, Dave Eggers has been deconstructed as much for who he is as for what he writes. | |
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Virginia Postrel: Literary Entrepreneurship Salon has an interesting interview with Dave Eggers, whose comments on procrastination remind me of some of my blogging bursts. |
Rex Hammock: On procrastination: Dave Eggers in a Salon interview: [snipped quote] (via: Virginia Postrel) |
Was Italian Hostage's Car Speeding? ABCNEWS — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 8, 2005 — A senior U.S. military official tells ABC News he believes the investigation into the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence officer by U.S. troops in Iraq will ultimately prove the officer's car was traveling in excess of 100 mph. | |
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Jan Haugland: Update: A US official says the car was speeding: A senior U.S. military official tells ABC News he believes the... Joe Gandelman: Was Italian Hostage's Car Going 100 MPH — The case of the U.S. forces firing on a car containing an Italian hostage and... Arthur Chrenkoff: And this: "[Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini] said the car was traveling no faster than 25 mph, and disputed the... |
Charles Johnson: Yesterday ABC News quoted an unnamed "senior military official" that Giuliana Sgrena's car was traveling at speeds of... John Hawkins: According to a "senior U.S. military official," the car Sgrena was traveling in approached the checkpoint going in excess of 100MPH. C. D. Harris: Apparently they are such incredible marksmen that a group of them can fire 300-400 bullets through a single hole in an... |
| Also: James Joyner, Michelle Malkin | |
'Rendition' Realities By / WaPo — Permalink Torture is immoral and illegal, and the refusal to allow cruel interrogation techniques is one measure of a civilized society. But this ironclad moral argument doesn't necessarily apply to the practice known as "extraordinary rendition." | |
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Juan Non-Volokh: "Rendition" Realities: David Ignatius has a thoughtful and provocative column in today's Washington Post about "rendition." Barbara O'Brien: But David Ignatius in today's WaPo provides talking points for any rightie blogger who is ready to move on from making... Cori Dauber: Rendition Does Not Per Se Equal Torture — David Ignatius makes an interesting argument. |
Dale Franks: Extraordinary Rendition — David Ignatius confronts the policy of applying "extraordinary rendition" to torture suspects. Laura Rozen: David Ignatius on what may be the real reason for the CIA's disturbing practice of extraordinary renditions: "What's... |
AARP Says Social Security Needs "Moderate" Changes FactCheck.org — Permalink Can the current Social Security system — without individual accounts — be fixed with only "a few moderate changes," as AARP suggests in a recent newspaper ad? A look at some of proposals that have been verified by neutral experts shows that they rely more on tax increases than benefit cuts. | |
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Judd @ThinkProgress: Specifically, it seeks to cast doubt on the claim - which it attributes to the AARP - that "the current Social Security... Jeff Alworth: A Bonus Third Outrage — While I'm being outraged, let me note what the pinheads at FactCheck recently wrote:... |
Frederick Maryland: But I've been disappointed by recent posts on FactCheck.org, including this one using the term "individual accounts" to... |
The ransom of the red reporter By / Jewish World Review — Permalink International furor over Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian communist writer who claims American troops in Iraq may have deliberately shot at her car after being released by kidnappers, misses the bigger scandal. The scandal is not that an anti-war propagandist has accused the U.S. of targeting journalists. | |
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Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: But one issue that seems to have amazingly faded into the woodwork is the issue of the ransom Italy apparently paid to get her back. Lorie Byrd: In her latest column, Michelle Malkin focuses on the issue that has been overshadowed by the shooting, [snipped quote] In... |
Michelle Malkin: THE RANSOM OF THE RED REPORTER — My new column focuses on an angle of the Sgrena case that I think has gotten short... The Big Trunk: The ransom of the red reporter — The new column by Michelle Malkin focuses on a neglected element of the Giuliana Sgrena story: "The ransom of a red reporter." |
What rise in freedom? By / Boston Globe — Permalink FREEDOM IS breaking out all over, so it seems. To hear supporters of George W. Bush, it's all due to the president's courageous decision to risk his presidency on the Iraq War. Here's the storyline: Just as Bush's neoconservative advisers planned, ousting Saddam transformed not just Iraq but the balance of power in the Middle East. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Today, Robert Kuttner goes into more detail in the Boston Globe. James Frederick Dwight: Today Kuttner offers one of his typically bilious articles on the Boston Globe op-ed page. |
Dale Franks: Robert Kuttner argues in the Boston Globe that the apparent struggle for freedom that's starting to break out in the Mideast is just a clever illusion fostered by the Neocons. Orrin Judd: COINCIDENTAL PLAN: What rise in freedom? |
Golf, and Playing by the Rules LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — A group of congressional figures has joined House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) under an ethics cloud stemming from foreign golf junkets arranged by a lobbyist facing influence-peddling investigations. | |
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Charles Kuffner: He's contagious! Look out! Tom DeLay's scandaliciousness is spreading! Frederick Maryland: The Los Angeles Times reports: [snipped quote] If Feeney's name sounds familiar, it may be because a computer programmer... |
Kevin Drum: The LA Times has the latest in the convoluted story of Tom DeLay and his cronies in Congress who received expensive golf... |
In new era of reporting, blogs take a seat at the media table Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink When Dan Rather signs off tonight, ending 24 years as anchor of the "CBS Evening News," it will mark a changing of the guard in more ways than one. Yes, CBS will need a new anchor. (Bob Schieffer will fill in until a permanent replacement is named.) | |
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Chad The Elder: On the day that Dan Rather shuffles off stage, the Star Tribune's Eric Black reports that in new era of reporting, blogs... Mitch Berg: Black says of the Lott affair: "Remarks by Sen. Trent Lott that critics considered racist and that got him dumped as... |
The Big Trunk: Low-definitional — This morning the Minneapolis Star Tribune observes the occasion of Dan Rather's retirement with an... |
U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine By / LAT — Permalink President Bush's nomination of neoconservative pit bull John R. Bolton to become ambassador to the United Nations is raising red flags among liberals. "Bush gives the U.N. the finger," complained the Nation's David Corn. Bolton has made no secret of his disdain for the U.N. | |
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Charles Johnson: Jacob Heilbrunn at the LA Times rather grudgingly admits the U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine. James Joyner: Update (1432): LAT's Jacob Heilbrunn weighs in with, "U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine." |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: ANOTHER UPDATE: See also Jacob Heilbrunn. (Cross posted on Red State.) Orrin Judd: ONE BULL WON'T CHARGE THE CAPE: U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine (Jacob Heilbrunn, March 9, 2005, LA Times)... |
Dan Rather, Leaving By the High Road By / WaPo — Permalink Emptying out his cubbyhole office in the CBS News building on West 57th Street in New York, wading through stacks and boxes of memorabilia accumulated over the years, Dan Rather came upon a piece of framed embroidery made and sent to him a couple decades ago by a nun who was, one might say, among the faithful — a regular and loyal viewer. | |
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Vanderleun: Dan Rather, Leaving By the High Road That is, no matter how you feel about Rather, a soundbite of sheer genius. Tim Graham: GET TOM SHALES A HANKY — Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales writes a very syrupy Rather tribute piece today, comically headlined "Dan Rather, Leaving by the High Road." |
Cori Dauber: What's the Post's TV (oh, excuse me, former TV, now general topic) columnist, Tom Shales response to this? Talk about bad form. Deacon: The high road, for a change — The Washington Post's Tom Shales thinks that Dan Rather is "leaving by the high road." |
Report: Nation's Infrastructure Crumbling By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Crowded schools, traffic-choked roads and transit cutbacks are eroding the quality of American life, according to an analysis by civil engineers that gave the nation's infrastructure an overall grade of D. | |
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Steve Soto: And lastly, the American Society of Civil Engineers said today that the nation's infrastructure is getting worse under... |
David @ThinkProgress: The very next story down on USA Today's page is about a report from the nation's civil engineers that notes, "crowded... |
Lydon returns By / Boston Phoenix — Permalink IF CHRISTOPHER LYDON is feeling any schadenfreude this week, he's not letting on. But who could blame him if he does? Just a little more than four years ago, he and producer Mary McGrath were fired by WBUR Radio (90.9 FM) general manager Jane Christo in the midst of a very public, very ugly contract dispute. | |
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Dave Winer: Chris Lydon returns to the public airways, in Boston on WGBH, and distributed nationally through PRI. |
Ed Cone: Chris Lydon is coming back to radio. His new show will be called Open Source and distributed through Public Radio International. |
Slain Agent Had U.S. Operation Permission AP — Permalink ROME (AP) — The Italian agent killed by American forces in Iraq had U.S. military authorization for his operation to win the release of a hostage, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday. | |
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James Joyner: Sure enough, the NYT (via AP) has the name right: "Casey also told reporters at the Pentagon that another officer, Brig. |
Charles Johnson: Berlusconi: Agent Had US Permission — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told Italy's Senate today that Italian... |
"Hotter Than a Rooster on Viagra"? NRO — Permalink Tabloid reporter Mike Walker sends Dan Rather off with a bang. Oh, Danny Boy...the pipes, the pipes are calling...." So writes Mike Walker in his new, well-timed book Rather Dumb: A Top Tabloid Reporter Tells CBS How to Do News. | |
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Ed Driscoll: Here's an interview with tabloid reporter Mike Walker on his new book, Rather Dumb. Jim Geraghty writes, "Finally, Dan's Farwell". |
K. J. Lopez: "LIKE A JACKKNIFE THROUGH PEACHES" — I don't think I knew this until I read Mike Walker's Rather Dumb |
Steady Drop in Black Army Recruits By / WaPo — Permalink The percentage of new Army recruits who are black has slipped dramatically over the past five years, reflecting a lack of support among African Americans for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as an economy that is providing more enticing options at home, according to Army studies, military experts and recruiters. | |
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Nick Gillespie: The basic take? This Wash Post piece is representative. |
Phillip Carter: Update I: The Washington Post provides a day-after story on the downward trend in minority recruiting for the Army in Wednesday's paper. |
Bush Orders Hearings for Mexicans on Death Row By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — President Bush, in a bow to international law, has decided that the 49 Mexican nationals who are on death row in California, Texas and other states are entitled to new hearings to see if they were harmed by the failure of authorities to tell them of their right to seek the aid of Mexican officials. | |
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Ken Masugi: Bush Releases Mexican Death Row Prisoners — The conservative gloat over President Bush's Bolton from the blue, his... |
Orrin Judd: CHANGE THE TREATY (via Daniel Merriman): Bush Orders Hearings for Mexicans on Death Row: The action, triggered by a... |
Homegrown Osamas By / NYT — Permalink Before the "Rev. Dr." Matt Hale, the white racist leader, was arrested for seeking the murder of a federal judge, and long before the judge returned home last week to find her husband and mother murdered, I had lunch with him. | |
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Tarek @LiquidList: But today's column is another example of what happens when a columnist bites on the obvious, but wasn't there to see the beginning. |
Avedon Carol: Nicholas Kristof has finally noticed the American Taliban. He even calls the piece Homegrown Osamas. |
Bush's Misplayed Hand By / WaPo — Permalink American politics has been so corrupted by concepts such as "positioning" and "message discipline" that citizens don't get credit for their ability to decide issues on the merits. But when the public knows and cares a great deal about what's at stake, it is quite discerning about what's true and what's not. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Alpo Accounts: Round One to Dems, but only on points — WaPo's EJ Dionne sums it up: "Where does this leave [Bush]? |
Jerome Armstrong: Update: Besides Reid, here's another Democrat that gets in, from today's story in the WaPost, Bush's Misplayed Hand, by... |
For Bush, a Taste of Vindication in Mideast By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 8 - He has gone out of his way not to crow, or even to take direct credit. But not quite two years after he began the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and not quite two months after a second Inaugural Address in which he spoke of "ending... | |
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Daniel Drezner: The tricky thing about eliminating terrorism... In the wake of Hezbollah's demonstration of political strength... |
Clayton Cramer: First, the Independent: Now the New York Times — Both saying that Bush's Middle East "stratergy" seems to be working: [snipped quote] What next? |
For Bush, No Boasts, but a Taste of Vindication By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 8 - He has gone out of his way not to crow, or even to take direct credit. But not quite two years after he began the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and not quite two months after a second Inaugural Address in which he spoke of "ending... | |
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Howard Kurtz: The New York Times strikes a similar note this morning: "He has gone out of his way not to crow, or even to take direct credit. Natasha @PacificViews: Let the Bragging Begin — The NY Times says Bush is not bragging about spreading democracy in the middle east. C. D. Harris: Pejman Clinton "ebullient" over the tide of change in the Middle East, the Grey Lady eating crow, and Dan Rather's last day as CBS News anchor. |
Ann Althouse: Here's Bill Clinton's attempt: [quote] Mr. Clinton was ... ebullient, noting that the Iraqi elections "went better than anyone could have imagined."[end quote] Roger L. Simon: Good Bill, Bad Bill — Since earlier today I wrote a post about the bad side of Bill Clinton, it is worth noting the... Pejman Yousefzadeh: STILL MORE BANDWAGONING — The New York Times bandwagons: [snipped quote] Obviously, President Clinton has been... |
Beirut crowd shows support for Syrian role By / Newsday — Permalink BEIRUT — They came in rickety buses, in overloaded cars and on foot, along roads surging with faith and fervor. Wave after wave arrived Tuesday in Riad Solh Square, once a front line in Lebanon's 15-year civil war but now an emblem of Beirut's glistening downtown. | |
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Charles Johnson: Newsday Shills for Terrorist Organization — Blatant, disgusting propaganda for the Hizballah terror gang at Newsday, by... |
Alisa @SilentRunning: Just A Note. 500,000 is indeed a very impressive number. |
Minimizing Economic Opportunity by Raising the Minimum Wage By / Heritage Foundation — Permalink Congress is once again considering amending its worst economic law, the minimum wage. After decades of experience, everyone should know that regulating the price of labor is identical to any other price control and an especially crude way to "fix" free markets. | |
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Jon @ThinkProgress: Minimum Evidence — The Heritage Foundation published a memo last week on why raising the minimum wage would be an "outright disaster" for American workers. |
Mipe @ThinkProgress: Professing Knowledge of the Minimum Wage Issue — In its March 4th web memo on the minimum wage issue, arch conservative... |
Finally, Dan's Farewell NRO — Permalink Rather leaves his anchor chair. Daniel I. Rather, will you please go now? Rather's tenure parallels network news' journey into irrelevance. | |
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Ed Driscoll: Jim Geraghty writes, "Finally, Dan's Farwell". "The Year of Blogging Dangerously", my Tech Central Station piece. |
PoliPundit: The Evening News — Jim Geraghty on the network evening news: "If you're reading NRO, or the blogs, chances are you... |
Data Is Lacking on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 8 - A commission due to report to President Bush this month will describe American intelligence on Iran as inadequate to allow firm judgments about Iran's weapons programs, according to people who have been briefed on the panel's work. | |
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Steve Clemons: Deja Vu: Bad Intel Data on Iranian Arms — According to a New York Times article out today by Douglas Jehl and Eric... McQ: Feeling good about Intel reform — The more things change the more they stay the same: [snipped quote] You cannot make good policy or policy decisions without good intelligence. Orrin Judd: APPLYING THE LESSON OF IRAQ: Data Is Lacking on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says (DOUGLAS JEHL and ERIC SCHMITT, 3/09/05, NY... |
Laura Rozen: From the NYT: "Among the major setbacks, former intelligence officials have said, was the successful penetration in the... Steve Soto: Except that unlike Iraq, where Ahmed Chalabi and George Tenet said that the evidence was a "slam dunk," this time the... |
Documents Suggest Bigger DeLay Role in Donations By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 8 - Documents subpoenaed from an indicted fund-raiser for Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, suggest that Mr. DeLay was more actively involved than previously known in gathering corporate donations for a political committee that is the focus of a grand-jury investigation in Texas, his home state. | |
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Kevin Drum: UPDATE: And the New York Times has this: [snipped quote] Funneling corporate contributions to political campaigns is a... |
Charles Kuffner: DeLay involvement cited in RoBold emails — The NYT reports that documents submitted as evidence during the TRMPAC lawsuit show a more detailed level of involvement by Tom DeLay. |
Gasoline prices 2005: An inflation-adjusted bargain By / Jewish World Review — Permalink They've been saying it on TV, morning and night: "The price of gasoline has risen again to a record high!" said one newscast, "The high prices are making it harder for some to keep their heads above water," said another. "Record high prices!" we keep hearing. | |
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Vanderleun: JOHN STOSSEL ASKS THE BIG QUESTION AND GETS DUMB ANSWERS AT THE PUMP: "By failing to account for inflation, the media... |
Orrin Judd: NOTHING EVER COSTS MORE ANYMORE: Gasoline prices 2005: An inflation-adjusted bargain (John Stossel, March 9, 2005,... |
Can Hezbollah Go Straight? By / NYT — Permalink Beirut, Lebanon — AT Syria's request, Lebanon's Hezbollah organized a huge demonstration in downtown Beirut yesterday, as a counterweight to weeks of anti-Syrian protests. | |
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Orrin Judd: WHAT OTHER OPTION IS THERE? : Can Hezbollah Go Straight? |
Ed Cone: Michael Young in an NYT op-ed: "Hezbollah will come to regret this moment, which has placed the party squarely athwart much of Lebanese society on the question of Syrian hegemony." |
Security Forces Find 35 Corpses in Iraq AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi officials said Wednesday that 35 bodies — some bullet-riddled, others beheaded — have been found at two separate sites and they believe some of the corpses are Iraqi soldiers kidnapped and executed by insurgents. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Corpses of Likely Terror Victims Found in Iraq — Via the AP/NYT: Iraqis Uncover 35 Corpses [snipped quote] The story... |
James Joyner: 35 Corpses Found in Iraq — Security Forces Find 35 Corpses in Iraq (NYT) [snipped quote] Bizarre. |
Pro-Syria Party in Beirut Holds a Huge Protest By / NYT — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 8 - Shouting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese poured into central Beirut on Tuesday in a show of strength by the militant Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah, which opposes a withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Unless you want to ignore facts, you can't ignore the fact the militant Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah called and produced a huge pro-Syrian demonstration in Lebanon yesterday. Ann Althouse: But isn't the difference in appearance a difference in social class? Nathan Newman: And instead of a pro-Western "Cedar Revolution", we may be seeing an upsurge by Iranian-backed Hezbollah |
Matthew Yglesias: The ever-moronic Tim Graham seems to think the childlike American people need their media minders to hide the truth from... Wretchard: High Noon — Hezbollah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah came out openly in support for the Syrian-Lebanese special... |
Villaraigosa Leads Mayor's Race LAT — Permalink Antonio Villaraigosa was leading early today in the Los Angeles mayoral election as uncertainty loomed over whether incumbent James K. Hahn would capture the second spot in a May runoff. Hahn and Bob Hertzberg were fighting to advance to the next round. | |
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Kevin Roderick: Here's the roundup: — Times news story, party sidebar, Steve Lopez (best line: "The city is one big delicatessen... |
Taegan Goddard: Runoff Spot Still Undecided — Antonio Villaraigosa is leading in the Los Angeles mayoral election "as uncertainty... |
Lebanon Set to Name Outgoing Karami as New PM By / Reuters — Permalink BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's president looked set to ask the outgoing pro-Syrian prime minister to form a government on Wednesday, a step sure to anger the anti-Syrian opposition who pressured him to resign in the first place. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: By the way, if you want to see the renewal of massive anti-Syrian demonstrations, all that has to happen is the... |
Captain Ed: After a massive pro-Syrian rally sponsored by Hezbollah and possibly bolstered by Damascus, Lebanese president Emile... |
SMASHED By / New Yorker — Permalink In the third edition of "The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry," in which poets appear in order of birth, the class of 1920 fields a strong team, including Howard Nemerov and Amy Clampitt. | |
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Matt Welch: Here's a three-handed slap, delivered by the New Yorker's Adam Kirsch, in a critical look at Charles Bukowski's poetry:... |
Kevin Roderick: Bukowski considered — BukIn this week's New Yorker, New York Sun book critic Adam Kirsch takes a leisurely look at the life and work of the late Los Angeles poet Charles Bukowski. |
CBS, What Is the Frequency? By / Slate — Permalink The woolly mammoth had about 1,000 years notice toward the end of the last Ice Age that their feed-bag, the grassy steppes, would vanish and that they'd best find a new home. Nature tendered a similarly generous warning to the broadcast networks that their evening news niche was vanishing. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Slate's Jack Shafer has plenty of thoughts on reinventing the newscast: "Instead of pretending that it's 1985 and that... |
Brian Stelter: It's Time For A New Evening News — Slate's Jack Shafer offers CBS News a list of recommendations for change. |
Fury at IRA offer to shoot McCartney's murderers By / Telegraph — Permalink The IRA offered to shoot the murderers of Robert McCartney during a meeting with his fiancée and sisters, the terrorist group said in a statement last night. The Provisionals, the statement said, stated in clear terms to the family "that the IRA was prepared to shoot the people directly involved in the killing of Robert McCartney". | |
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Captain Ed: The Stupidity Of Terror (Western Version) Sometimes, people act so stupidly that one has to marvel that they remember to breathe. |
John Derbyshire: IRA JUSTICE — Check out this story. |
China's bloated army of 46m bureaucrats worries ruling elite By / Telegraph — Permalink China now has 46 million government bureaucrats, new statistics revealed yesterday, a number almost as great as the entire population of England. While the country is used to outdoing the rest of the world for sheer numbers, the explosion in officialdom is alarming its ruling Communist Party. | |
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Steve Antler: The Newest Class — This report from The Telegraph: China now has 46 million government bureaucrats, new statistics... Kerry Howley: Small-Government Communists — China's leaders have discovered a mysterious connection between Communism and bureaucracy: [snipped quote] Whole thing here Via Club for Growth Orrin Judd: CHOKING DRAGON (via Tom Morin): China's bloated army of 46m bureaucrats worries ruling elite (Richard Spencer,... |
Vanderleun: China's bloated army of 46m bureaucrats worries ruling elite James Joyner: China's 46 Million Bureaucrats Worries Ruling Elite — China's bloated army of 46m bureaucrats worries ruling elite (London Telegraph) [snipped quote] Interesting. Pejman Yousefzadeh: RED TAPE—AND LOTS OF IT — China has—to say the least—a bureaucracy problem: "China now has 46 million government... |
| Also: Gail Heriot | |
Thousands Answer Hezbollah Call in Beirut By / AP — Permalink (03-08) 13:40 PST BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Nearly 500,000 pro-Syrian protesters waved flags and chanted anti-American slogans in a central Beirut square Tuesday, answering a nationwide call by the militant Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group for a demonstration to counter weeks of massive rallies demanding Syrian forces leave Lebanon. | |
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Wretchard: ABC News implies that Nasrallah's decision represents a failure by anti-Syrian politicians to keep Hezbollah neutral. Charles Johnson: (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) UPDATE at 3/8/05 7:55:44 am: Here's the ironic sentence of the day, from ABC News. Glenn Reynolds: MORE: Sounds possible: "At least one opposition leader said the pro-Syrian government pressured people to turn out... |
Damian Penny: Marching for tyranny — The Associated Press says 500,000 people attended the Hezbollah-sponsored pro-Syria demonstration in Beirut today. David Allan Pell: Heeding a call made by Hezbollah, about 500,000 protestors hit the streets of Beirut to protest "in favor" of Syria's role in Lebanon. Gene @HarrysPlace: The Associated Press reported: Organizers handed out Lebanese flags and directed the men and women to separate sections of the square. |
| Also: Jeralyn Merritt, Smash | |
McCain Allies Want Reform (and Money) NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 7 - In a small office a few miles from Capitol Hill, a handful of top advisers to Senator John McCain run a quiet campaign. They promote his crusade against special interest money in politics. They send out news releases promoting his initiatives. | |
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Captain Ed: As the New York Times noted yesterday, RI provides a back-channel method of keeping his campaign staff employed without... Steve Soto: His 2008 campaign front group is not only paying McCain's campaign advisors-in-waiting salaries already while... Pejman Yousefzadeh: Not as Senator McCain does: [snipped quote] The problem here may not be whether Senator McCain is strictly adhering to the rules of the very legislation he worked so hard to pass. |
Dr. Steven Taylor: Money for Speech for Me, But Not for Thee — If one wishes to understand the farce that is campaign finance reform, look... Ufrh4 @Centerfield: Carl Huse and Anne E Kornblut are on the offensive against campaign finance champion John McCain. Scott Sala: Raising McCain — John McCain is taking some serious heat for his Reform Institute in what appears to be massive hypocritical padding of his pockets. |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Taegan Goddard, Michelle Malkin, Orrin Judd | |
Social Security Stance Risky, Democrats Told By / WaPo — Permalink The opening round of the Social Security debate has played out just the way Democrats had hoped, with President Bush on the defensive, Republicans in Congress divided and Democrats united in their opposition to the centerpiece of Bush's plan, voluntary personal accounts. | |
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Jerome Armstrong: Kerry's gang trying to grasp defeat from Reid's victory — Now that Bush has been defeated by the nationwide... Max B. Sawicky: The occasion for my pique is a story today with political advice for Democrats to show direction, conviction, and a larger public purpose. Steve Soto: Democrats: Be Clear On Social Security - It's A Moral Values Question — Dan Balz of the Washington Post has a... |
Josh Marshall: Are Democrats pursuing a shortsighted policy by simply opposing the president's drive to phase out Social Security, as a few are now suggesting? Steve M.: Excuse me — why am I reading this in The Washington Post? Why the hell is this out there for public consumption? Pejman Yousefzadeh: Is that articles like this one come out warning Democrats not to allow themselves to once again be outflanked and... |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Orrin Judd | |
In The Northwest: Teresa Heinz Kerry hasn't lost her outspoken way By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink What made Teresa Heinz Kerry so refreshing to some voters, and threatening to others on the 2004 campaign trail, is summed up when THK talks about her speech to last year's Democratic convention: "Nobody told me what to do," she told a Saturday fund-raiser here. | |
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Vanderleun: Proving once again that nothing keeps you out of the asylum better than infinity money, her hyper-kenetic ways were on... Greg Ransom: "THE BILLIONAIREHEAD" — Teresa Heinz Kerry flies into Seattle on her jet and lets everyone know what she would do if she were queen. James Joyner: Teresa Heinz Kerry: Election Was Hacked — Teresa Heinz Kerry hasn't lost her outspoken way (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)... |
John Hawkins: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has the latest on the election from the woman who almost became the loopiest first lady... Charles Johnson: THK: Fearful, Distrusting — Billionairehead Teresa Heinz Kerry is very concerned about "hacking into the mother machines." Jeff Goldstein: If instead of a pampered heiress still protesting the 2004 presidential election Teresa Heinz (formerly Heinz-Kerry)... |
Massive turnout at pro-Syria rally CNN — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — Tens of thousands of pro-Syrian protesters have been mounting a rally in a square in front of the U.N. building in central Beirut in a massive counterpoint to recent anti-Damascus rallies. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: DEMONSTRATIONS AT GUNPOINT — It should really come as little surprise that pro-Syrian forces in Lebanon are able to turn out a massive rally. Atrios: Democracy's Messy — Is it okay now to acknowledge that things in Lebanon are a bit messier (and, in fact, quite worrisome) than the 101st Fighting Keyboarders have been saying. Roger L. Simon: Color Me Nervous — Who wouldn't be when confronted with the pictures of the giant crowds generated by Hezbollah in Lebanon today? |
Michael J. Totten: Meanwhile, Hezbollah is scrambling to keep up with world opinion, which is almost unanimously united against it and the Syrian regime. Philip Greenspun: Syria is able to control Lebanon with 14,000 soldiers — Syria and Lebanon have been in the news lately. Ed Cone: Duncan Black: [snipped quote] — Well, of course it's okay to acknowledge that the world is complex and dangerous, and... |
Cronkite Says Schieffer Was Better Choice as CBS Anchor By / WaPo — Permalink Just 48 hours before Dan Rather steps down under a cloud as anchor of the CBS newscast he's helmed for 24 years, the guy he squeezed out said Rather should've been replaced years ago. After nearly a quarter of a century, Walter Cronkite landed the final punch. | |
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Cori Dauber: Taking Sides — If you haven't heard by now, Uncle Walter, Walter Cronkite, once "the most trusted man in America" took... Joe Gandelman: Cronkite: Picking Rather Was A Poor Choice — If news legend Walter Cronkite is smiling these days it's probably because... Garrett M. Graff: Lisa de Moraes has the full blow-by-blow in the Post this morning, complete with Batman-esque sound effects. |
Damian Penny: Still, even I have to admit that Walter Cronkite is a classless asshole. (But we already knew that.) James Joyner: I just don't see how the Big 3 will ever get their news audience back. Update (1102): WaPo's Lisa de Moraes has more. Betsy Newmark: While I'm quite happy to read his criticism of Dan Rather, it does seem rather egregious to make such insulting comments right before Rather's stepping down from the nightly news. |
| Also: Taegan Goddard, Greg Ransom | |
President Discusses War on Terror White House — Permalink THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Please be seated. It is great to be back to this fine university. Many great military leaders of the 20th century, from Dwight Eisenhower, to Colin Powell, studied on this campus. | |
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Tacitus: No, scratch that — he said, "the trumpet of freedom has been sounded, and that trumpet never calls retreat." So which is it? Orrin Judd: THE DESIGN: President Discusses War on Terror (George W. Bush, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair,... |
Hindrocket: A Moment of Triumph — President Bush gave another excellent speech at the National Defense University today. |
Is Bush Right? By / WaPo — Permalink In countries where President George Bush and his policies are deeply unpopular, online commentators are starting to think the unthinkable. "Could George W. Bush Be Right?" asked Claus Christian Malzahn in the German newsweekly Der Spiegel. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Robert Fisk, an icon of the anti-imperialist Left, knows where he stands. Kevin Aylward: In this Jefferson Morley's excellent World Opinion Roundup (Is Bush Right?) in the Washington Post, Fisk stands alone as democracy's nay-sayer and faithful defender of tyranny. Smash: Jumping the Bandwagon — JEFFERSON MORLEY notices a trend. [snipped quote] There is an exception, of course. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: Jefferson Morley also bandwagons: "Given Bush's insistence that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq would lead to a... Orrin Judd: NOT FALSE: Is Bush Right? |
New Polling Shows Deep Fractures Among Lebanese, A Zogby International/Information International Poll of Lebanon Zogby — Permalink Note: The following analysis of the current situation in Lebanon is written by Dr. James J. Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute and Zogby International Senior Analyst. Dr. Zogby's analysis is based on recent Zogby International/Information International polling conducted inside Lebanon. | |
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Tim Cavanaugh: It's also more than likely that the support for Syria on display yesterday (and in this poll, which is open to dispute) is not as big as it looked. James Joyner: Commenter JakeV noted that, indeed, John Zogby has surveyed the population of Lebanon. |
Matthew Yglesias: Well, no. A new Zogby poll shows that rather a lot of Lebanese doubt Syria is to blame for the assassination. 22 percent... Kevin Drum: What's more, as the Zogby poll below shows, this isn't really a surprise since there's no consensus on who was responsible for the assassination. |
Harvard Rejects Applicants It Says Hacked Reuters — Permalink BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard Business School said on Tuesday it is rejecting applications from 119 would-be students who it says hacked into a Web site to learn if they were accepted at the Ivy League university ahead of the official notification. | |
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Greg @BeggingToDiffer: PATIENCE, YOUNG APPLICANT — Reuters is reporting that Harvard Business School is denying admission to 119 applicants... James Joyner: Harvard Rejects B-School Applicants for Backspacing — Harvard Rejects Applicants It Says Hacked (Reuters-Boston Globe)... |
Philip Greenspun: Business schools redefine hacking to "stuff that a 7-year-old could do" — When universities created business schools in... |
The Debt-Peonage Society By / NYT — Permalink Today the Senate is expected to vote to limit debate on a bill that toughens the existing bankruptcy law, probably ensuring the bill's passage. A solid bloc of Republican senators, assisted by some Democrats, has already voted down a series of amendments that... | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: How many votes do Democrats expect to win by supporting debt peonage? Barbara O'Brien: Regarding the bankruptcy bill itself, Krugman the Incomparable gets it right in today's New York Times: "... over the... Max B. Sawicky: Krugman does a good job today, coining the phrase "debt-peonage society." Mine — "Disownership Society" — is better. |
Kash: The bankruptcy system does get abused from time to time, particularly by wealthy individuals who are able to shield... Ogged @Unfogged: Risk, Reward — The first comment to John Quiggin's post on bankruptcy, in which he muses about the reinstitution of... Steve Soto: Any Democrat Who Votes For The Bankruptcy Bill Should Forget About 2008 — Read Krugman this morning on the bankruptcy... |
| Also: Avedon Carol, Ed Cone, Alex Tabarrok, John Quiggin, Lambert @Corrente | |
Group Tied to McCain Got Cable Donation By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - A senator promotes a government policy sought by a corporation while a tax-exempt group closely tied to him solicits and gets $200,000 from the same company. Campaign finance watchdogs say that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest. | |
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Steve Soto: Mr. McCain Soils Himself — It seems that Mr. Straight Talk Express likes his quid-pro-quo money from special interests just as much as any other Senator does. Steve Antler: Sooner or later you see it all... Yeah, let's get the money out of politics! Uh, wait... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: PRIORITIES MATTER — Before Senator McCain seeks to get his hands on bloggers through his campaign finance "reform" law,... |
Italy didn't plan safe escape for hostage By / Washington Times — Permalink Italian security forces failed to make arrangements for safe passage out of Iraq for a freed Italian reporter, whose car was fired on by U.S. troops, killing intelligence agent Nicola Calipari who brokered the reporter's release, according to an internal Pentagon memo. | |
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Steve M.: Now, Rowan Scarborough insists in today's Washington Times that Mistaken shootings of civilians resulted in "few deadly... The Big Trunk: Rowan Scarborough's Washington Times article quotes an internal Pentagon memo on the shooting: "Italy didn't plan safe escape for hostage." Orrin Judd: DEAD IF YOU DO... Italy didn't plan safe escape for hostage (Rowan Scarborough, 3/08/05, THE WASHINGTON TIMES)... |
Charles Johnson: Italy Didn't Plan Safe Escape for Sgrena — The Washington Times has a report on an internal Pentagon memo that says... Roger L. Simon: Do we believe them? Meanwhile, the Washington Times asserts "Italy did not plan safe escape for hostage." Betsy Newmark: It sounds as if it's Italy's fault for the shooting on the released hostage's car. [snipped quote] Hello? |
Tough Love or Tough Luck? By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush has shocked even his most cynical critics by nominating the combative neoconservative John Bolton to one of our most complex and sensitive diplomatic posts: U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Because if she did, she might reconsider what seem to be her conclusions about the nomination of John Bolton to be... K. J. Lopez: See her op-ed re: John Bolton today, in which, among other things, this is meant to be a criticism: "He described the... |
Eugene Oregon: For example, as I mentioned in my Daily Darfur post, Susan Rice and Mark Leon Goldberg both wonder what effect his... Orrin Judd: WHY NOT A SUPPORTER OF CORRUPTION AND SEX CRIMES? : Tough Love or Tough Luck? |
Leave Personal Accounts on the Table By / Human Events — Permalink The debate on Social Security and personal accounts is about extending and democratizing our capitalistic system so that every worker can become an owner. But the arcane debate over "actuarial solvency" was taken to a new level of absurdity on "Meet the Press" Sunday when Sen. Richard Durbin (D. | |
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Josh Marshall: Now, he's telling the president to put privatization to a party-line vote. Let the Democrats block it. |
PGL: Update: Has Jack Kemp told us how government spending will magically fall in 2018 as he writes: "The raid on Social... |
Cronkite: News industry 'vastly different' CNN — Permalink (CNN) — Twenty-four years after taking over the job from Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather will anchor his final "CBS Evening News" broadcast on Wednesday. Rather's departure comes in the wake of a controversial "60 Minutes Wednesday" segment on President Bush's National Guard service that aired in September 2004. | |
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Captain Ed: While Uncle Walter made some unenthusiastic attempts at excusemaking, but declined the laughable assertion that the... James Joyner: Walter Cronkite: We're Not Entertainers — The legendary former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite has some interesting observations in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Garrett M. Graff: The former anchor's comments had everyone atwitter when we were at Fox this morning. |
Joe Gandelman: Cronkite is sure to be blasted for being honest — and some who will blast him will do so because they don't like... Brian Stelter: CBS Should Have Replaced Rather With Schieffer "A Long Time Ago," Cronkite Says danrather2.jpgWolf Blitzer interviewed Walter Cronkite on CNN Monday afternoon. Taegan Goddard: CNN has a transcript of the stunning interview with Cronkite. Link | Related News |
Man Ticketed For Selling Girl Scout Cookies With Daughter wnbc.com — Permalink NEW YORK — A Long Island man was ticketed in Brooklyn for selling Girl Scout cookies with his 13-year-old daughter. Hoi Louis was in Williamsburg delivering the cookies with his daughter over the weekend. | |
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Acidman: But this is pretty despicable. When your government goes after Girl Scouts for selling cookies, you need a new government. Michelle Malkin: NABBED: SELLING COOKIES WITHOUT A LICENSE — Cops in New York crack down on a father-daughter duo for possession and distribution of...Girl Scout cookies. |
K. J. Lopez: WELL, I KNOW NYC COPS have better things to do than ticket Girl Scouts (even on Long Island—think of what Derb could be doing in his new home office or treehouse). |
TERESA'S BACK: ELECTION WAS HACKED! Drudge Report — Permalink Teresa Heinz Kerry is openly skeptical about results from November's election, the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports, particularly in sections of the country where optical scanners were used to record votes. "Two brothers own 80 percent of the machines used in the United States," Heinz Kerry said. | |
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Scott Sala: Something... and Half of Something linked with Seeing is Believing — The Jawa Report linked with Images of Sgrena's Car... K. J. Lopez: OF COURSE — Don't let today go by without giving thanks that the First Lady is Laura Bush and not Ms. Heinz with her wacky theories. |
James Joyner: Not very internationalist to be making fun of Third World countries. . . . Hat tip: Drudge |
The Cellblock Voting Bloc By / LAT — Permalink For Democrats, allowing felons to exercise the franchise isn't a matter of justice, it's a way to get votes. In 1994, when the rest of the country was sweeping Republicans into office, Washington, D.C., went another way. | |
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Kevin Drum: That is, until I opened up the LA Times today and saw that National Review's Jonah Goldberg had an entire op-ed on the subject. Jonah Goldberg: THE CELL BLOC — Here's that piece I said I was doing on felon re-enfranchisement. |
Matt Welch: I Fought the Mob and the Mob Lost — Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Jonah Goldberg dances around the politics of giving freed ex-felons the vote — Marion Barry! |
'Ramadi Madness': Scene by scene Palm Beach Post — Permalink The 26-minute, 47-second video is a compilation of scenes in Iraq captured by members of the West Palm Beach-based Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment. The scenes range from routine to poignant to macabre. Nighttime outdoors. | |
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Juan Cole: The Palm Beach Post has acquired some of the Ramadi Madness video and posted it to its web site. |
Skippy: two thumbs up, if not cut off holden at first draft alerts us to the palm beach post's scene-by-scene description of the... |
McCollum passes on Senate bid, will seek 4th term to U.S. House Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said Monday that she will not run for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat in 2006 but that she will seek a fourth term to the U.S. House. | |
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Saint Paul l: Her inspiring words, from the Star Tribune: After much personal reflection I have decided to continue serving my Fourth... Mitch Berg: Blah, District Four Style — Betty McCollum, my "representative" in Congress, bowed out of the Senate race. |
Alexander K. McClure: 2006 Minnesota Senate — Representative Betty McCollum has announced that she will not seek the nomination of the DFL in 2006 for the open Senate seat. |
Mideast Strides Lift Bush, But Challenges Remain By / WaPo — Permalink A powerful confluence of events in the Middle East in recent weeks has infused President Bush's drive to spread democracy with a burst of momentum, according to supporters and critics alike, and the president now faces the challenge of figuring out how to capitalize on it in a region long resistant to change. | |
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Hindrocket: Today the Washington Post, which is, in my view, the most respectable voice of the Democratic Party, noted the successes... Noam Scheiber: FOURTH UPDATE: More evidence on the Democratic side (capital "D") of the equation from today's Washington Post: "The debate in Washington has shifted as well. Orrin Judd: SHARE THE WEALTH (OF NATIONS): Mideast Strides Lift Bush, But Challenges Remain (Peter Baker, March 8, 2005, Washington... |
Dale Franks: Always good to hear from the lace-panty boys in Foggy Bottom — The Washington Post's Peter Baker reports that, while... Aaron @LiquidList: War: Truth in the Middle East — Promoting democracy in the Middle East is one thing, and don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to champion through action. Betsy Newmark: Peter Baker in the Washington Post acknowledges that things have been going Bush's way in the Mideast but warn against Bush taking credit. |
| Also: James Joyner | |
Bush Touts Democracy's Spread in Mideast By / WaPo — Permalink Citing hopeful signs from Lebanon to Afghanistan, President Bush said Tuesday that democracy is beginning to spread across the Middle East and that authoritarian rule is "the last gasp of a discredited past." Bush demanded anew that Syria pull its troops out of Lebanon and allow free elections. | |
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David Allan Pell: President Bush was out talking up the march of freedom again and this time he's handed down a deadline for the Syrians... |
Kevin Drum: Our first data point arrived today, and it looks like Hezbollah is still able to turn out a crowd: [snipped quote] That's... |
EPA Distorted Mercury Analysis, GAO Says By / WaPo — Permalink The Environmental Protection Agency distorted the analysis of its controversial proposal to regulate mercury pollution from power plants, making it appear that the Bush administration's market-based approach was superior to a competing scheme supported by environmentalists, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said yesterday. | |
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Shawn @LiquidList: So, what does all this have to do with Bush? This: [snipped quote] Honestly—we KNOW that mercury is deadly. |
Chris Mooney: More Mercury Controversy — Now the GAO says that the Bush EPA used poor economic analyses in order to lend added... |
2 plans floated for Social Security By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — A pair of Senate Republicans offered separate plans Monday to overhaul Social Security, trying to turn President George W. Bush's ideas into legislation that might be able to pass a recalcitrant Congress. They join the crop of several Social Security ideas. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: LIFE EXPECTANCY. Chuck Hagel's new privatization bill will [snipped quote] This is one of those ideas that's a lot less reasonable than it sounds. |
Josh Marshall: Two new Social — Security plans from Senators Hagel and Bennett, reports the Associated Press. |
The reality behind 'Easongate' IHT — Permalink LONDON With Eason Jordan's resignation from CNN, newly powerful bloggers reveled in their unseating of another mainstream-media powerhouse. The term "Easongate" briefly entered the English language. And world attention was distracted from the serious issue of journalists' safety. | |
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Rebecca MacKinnon: Journalists who die in Iraq, continued... David Schlesinger, global managing editor and head of editorial operations for... |
Greg Ransom: "EASONGATE" and the "targeting" of journalists by U.S. troops — the managing editor of Reuters weighs in: ... |
Massive Pro-Syrian Demonstration Held in Beirut By / AP — Permalink BEIRUT — Hundreds of thousands pro-Syrian protesters waved flags and chanted anti-American slogans in a central Beirut square Tuesday, answering a nationwide call by the militant Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group for a demonstration to counter weeks of massive rallies demanding Syrian forces leave Lebanon. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Here Comes Hezbollah — The fly in the ointment, of course, arises when it turns out that Hezbollah's pro-Syria rally is a lot bigger than the earlier anti-Syria rallies. |
Julian Sanchez: From the Washington Post's coverage of the Hezbollah-run pro-Syria protests in Lebanon: [quote] "We have come here to affirm...[end quote] |
SUDAN: Funding shortfall may affect peace efforts in the south, UN official warns Reuters — Permalink NAIROBI, 8 March (IRIN) - Inadequate funding could undermine efforts to consolidate peace in southern Sudan following the signing in January of an accord that ended more than two decades of civil war there, a top UN official warned on Friday. | |
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Norbizness: (2) Inadequate funding could undermine efforts to consolidate peace in southern Sudan following the signing in January... |
Eugene Oregon: Jan Egeland says that there is no money to implement the North-South peace accord and no security in Darfur [quote] "The...[end quote] |