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Archive Edition for   Friday, April 15, 2005Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
The Anchoress
  TheAnchoress
Angry Bear
  PGL
Associated Press
  Jeannette J. Lee
  Ben Feller
  Tara Burghart
  Aidan Lewis
Asymmetrical Information
  Jane Galt
The Australian
Balloon Juice
  John Cole
BBC
  Allan Little
Belmont Club
  Wretchard
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
BillHobbs.com
  Bill Hobbs
Billmon
  Billmon
The Blogging of the President
  Stirling Newberry
Boston Globe
  Farah Stockman
Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal
  Brad DeLong
BrothersJudd Blog
  Orrin Judd
  David Cohen
BuzzMachine
  Jeff Jarvis
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Chicago Tribune
  Jill Zuckman
Chrenkoff
  Arthur Chrenkoff
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
  Clayton Cramer
CNN
The Corner
  Ramesh Ponnuru
  Jonah Goldberg
  K. J. Lopez
  Allison Hayward
  Stanley Kurtz
  Mark R. Levin
corrente
  Lambert @Corrente
COUNTERCOLUMN
  Jason Van Steenwyk
Crooked Timber
  Henry @CrookedTimber
The Daily Ablution
  Scott Burgess
Daily Kos
  Kos @DailyKos
  Armando @DailyKos
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Denver Post
  Mike Soraghan
Discourse.net
  Michael Froomkin
EconLog
  Arnold Kling
Ed Driscoll.com
  Ed Driscoll
Editor and Publisher
  Jennifer Saba
  Andrew Ackerman
Eschaton
  Atrios
Ezra Klein
  Ezra Klein
FactCheck.org
Grammar.police
  Kriston @GrammarPolice
Guardian
Harry's Place
  Harry @HarrysPlace
The Hill
  Alexander Bolton
Hit and Run
  Jesse Walker
HughHewitt.com
  Hugh Hewitt
Hullabaloo
  Digby
The Indepundit
  Smash
Informed Comment
  Juan Cole
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
Ipse Dixit
  C. D. Harris
Israel news and commentary from IsraPundit
  Joseph Alexander Norland
joannejacobs.com
  Joanne Jacobs
JustOneMinute
  Tom Maguire
L.A. Observed
  Kevin Roderick
Lean Left
  LeanLeft
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  Tom Hamburger
The Mahablog
  Barbara O'Brien
Majikthise
  Lindsay Beyerstein
Mark A. R. Kleiman
  Mark Kleiman
Matthew Yglesias
  Matthew Yglesias
The Media Drop
  Tom Biro
Media Notes Extra
  Howard Kurtz
mediabistro
  Garrett M. Graff
  Brian Stelter
Memphis Flyer
  John Branston
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
The Moderate Voice
  Joe Gandelman
MyDD
  Chris Bowers
National Review
  John Tamny
New York Post
  Paul Tharp
New York Times
  David D. Kirkpatrick
  Danny Hakim
  Paul Krugman
  Sheryl Gay Stolberg
  Robert F. Worth
  Elisabeth Bumiller
  Joseph J. Thorndike
  Sara Rimer
  Terence Neilan
  David Brooks
  Andy Newman
  Katharine Q. Seelye
  Laurie Goodstein
Newsweek
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
normblog
  Norm Geras
NY Daily News
Orcinus
  David Neiwert
Outside The Beltway
  James Joyner
OxBlog
  Josh Chafetz
Patrick Ruffini '05
  Patrick Ruffini
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
The People's Republic of Seabrook
  Jack Cluth
PoliBlog
  Dr. Steven Taylor
PoliPundit.com
  PoliPundit
Power Line
  John @PowerLine
  Paul @PowerLine
PressThink
  Jay Rosen
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
The QandO Blog
  McQ
  Jon Henke
  Dale Franks
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
  Greg Frost
  Steven Scheer
Roger Ailes
  Roger Ailes
Roger L. Simon
  Roger L. Simon
Romenesko
  Jim Romenesko
San Francisco Chronicle
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
Shot In The Dark
  Mitch Berg
The Sideshow
  Avedon Carol
Signifying Nothing
  Chris Lawrence
skippy the bush kangaroo
  Skippy
  Pudentilla
Slate
  Dahlia Lithwick
  Bryan Curtis
Steve Clemons
  Steve Clemons
Suburban Guerrilla
  Susan Madrak
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
The Talent Show
  Greg @TheTalentShow
Talking Points Memo
  Josh Marshall
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Mark Leon Goldberg
  Jeffrey Dubner
  Matthew Yglesias
»«TBogg»«
  Tbogg
Tech Central Station
  Edward B. Driscoll Jr.
Think Progress
  Guest @ThinkProgress
  Mipe @ThinkProgress
  Christy @ThinkProgress
This Modern World
  Tom Tomorrow
Townhall.com
  Jonah Goldberg
USA Today
Vodkapundit
  Will Collier
  Stephen Green
War and Piece
  Laura Rozen
Washington Post
  Robin Givhan
  Charles Babington
  Al Kamen
  Marcia Davis
  Dafna Linzer
  Colum Lynch
  Shailagh Murray
  Ceci Connolly
  Richard Cohen
Washington Times
White House
White House Briefing
  Dan Froomkin
Wizbang
  Kevin Aylward



Frist Set to Use Religious Stage on Judicial Issue
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, April 14 - As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.
Avedon Carol: A few things — As Frist goes theocratic in pursuit of the nuclear option, one is left to wonder if there's any area in which he is not filth.
Hugh Hewitt: The New York Times opens an assault on Senator Frist for daring to speak to faith-based conservatives about the extra-constitutional filibuster.
Joe Gandelman: Frist Gets Ready To Go Along With People Who Suggest Those Who Oppose GOP On Judicial Nominees Hate God — Senate...
Digby: "As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the...
Jeffrey Dubner: He is, after all, running the Senate on the sole basis of what might appeal to primary voters) and the religious right...
Steve Soto: Bill Frist About To Destroy The Senate To Pander To The American Taliban — Senate Majority Leader Frist, in an...
Also: Matthew Yglesias, Curt Matlock, John Cole, Jon @ThinkProgress, Shawn @LiquidList, Cernig, Norbizness, Barbara O'Brien, Dr. Steven Taylor, Steve M., James Joyner, Jeff Jarvis, Armando @DailyKos, Josh Marshall, Edward _, Chris Mooney, Pudentilla, Josh Chafetz, Ed Cone, Jeralyn Merritt, Oldman @BOPNews, SK Bubba, Riggsveda @Corrente

Bolton's Hair: No Brush With Greatness
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
John Bolton, President Bush's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, desperately needs a haircut. It does not have to be a $600 Sally Hershberger cut. Bolton simply needs the basics.
Ann Althouse: Well, she's back with another article that everyone's blogging about.
Ramesh Ponnuru: BAD DAY FOR THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION — The George Mason faculty came out against the Patriot Act—and the Washington Post unloaded its big guns on John Bolton.
Kriston @GrammarPolice: One More Reason Not to Confirm John Bolton — Robin Givhan outlines the strong case against Bolton, starting with a...
Michael Froomkin: Bolton's Hair: No Brush With Greatness. John Bolton, President Bush's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, desperately needs a haircut.
Taegan Goddard: Bolton's Hair — The Washington Post runs a priceless review of the fashion sense of U.N. Ambassador-nominee John Bolton: "Bolton sat before the committee with his tie askew.
Betsy Newmark: Robin Givhan, the Washington Post fashion writer now sharpens her claws and digs into John Bolton's haircut, moustache, and tie.
Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, Orrin Judd, K. J. Lopez, James Joyner, John Cole, Bill @INDCJournal, Mitch Berg

Carter: Rich States 'Don't Give a Damn' About Poor
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Thursday harshly criticized his own country and other wealthy states for being stingy with foreign aid and said in rich countries "We really don't give a damn."
Joe Gandelman: Jimmy Carter: U.S. And Rich States "Don't Give A Damn" About The Poor — Former President Jimmy Carter has probably...
Charles Johnson: Carter: We're Stingy and We Don't Give a Damn — America's most disgraceful ex-president bashes his own country again: Carter: Rich States 'Don't Give a Damn' About Poor.
Greg @TheTalentShow: The Wingnuts Aren't Gonna Like This1... Even if you disagree with him, you gotta give Jimmy Carter credit for bluntness...

A ticking time bomb
  NY Daily News   —   Permalink 
Former "60 Minutes" producer Mary Mapes - who was sacked by CBS News over her role in last fall's President Bush-National Guard document flap - is returning the favor in an angry book to be published in November.
TheAnchoress: See, the Daily News has it, too, and THEY will go where I would not go in this 16 page mess: CBS President and Viacom...
Brian Stelter: Lloyd Grove has the rest of the story: "Between commercials, according to an off-air audiotape obtained by investigative...
John Cole: Via Atrios, we learn that Sean Hannity was coaching the 'witnesses' who claimed Terri Schiavo was still mentally aware:...
Atrios: Punching Bag — The real question is why Colmes puts up with this stuff (and, yes, I know the answer.
Kevin Roderick: 'Investigative comedian' — That's the term used for KCRW's Harry Shearer by Lloyd Grove in today's New York Daily News.

Tancredo: DeLay exit not bad idea
  By / Denver Post   —   Permalink 
Washington - Rep. Tom Tancredo says it is "probably not the worst idea" for embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to step down while he deals with ethics allegations.
Stepping into a swirling Washington controversy, the Littleton Republican said he doesn't think the current accusations of impropriety against DeLay amount to much.
Mipe @ThinkProgress: Now, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has postured that if Tom DeLay "chose to resign as majority leader until these matters are resolved, that's probably not the worst idea."
Atrios: Another Jumper — Tancredo: Washington - Rep. Tom Tancredo says it is "probably not the worst idea" for embattled House...
Josh Marshall: Rep. Tancredo (R) of Colorado says a DeLay exit is "probably not the worst idea." Doesn't roll off the tongue exactly.
Matthew Yglesias: Newly disgruntled with Tom DeLay House Republican Tom Tancredo (via Atrios) is even less worthy of admiration than...
Kos @DailyKos: Tancredo is one of the nastiest, most racist members of the US House. And he thinks DeLay should step down.
Christy @ThinkProgress: Sinking Ship Takes Another Hit — If House Maj. Leader Tom DeLay [snipped quote] - Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Denver Post, 4/15/05

WEAKENED JOURNAL
  By / New York Post   —   Permalink 
The head of The Wall Street Journal's empire, Peter Kann, could be sweating over his job, again.
Earnings plunged by 54 percent at the newspaper's parent Dow Jones & Co., with its fledgling online operations earning more money for the first time than the flagship Journal and the weekly Barron's.
Jane Galt: WSJ online profits top print . . . . Or so says the NY Post.
Jay Rosen: Q & A with Bill Grueskin, Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal Online — "Many mainstream media blogs serve as...
Tom Biro: WSJ online outearning print edition — So when the online version of Dow Jones' Wall Street Journal makes more money than the print version, that's a good thing, right?
Atrios: Something Which Probably Isn't True — Link: April 15, 2005 — The head of The Wall Street Journal's empire, Peter Kann, could be sweating over his job, again.
Jim Romenesko: Claim: Head of WSJ empire could be sweating over his job — New York Post Analyst Seth Feinseth says Dow Jones CEO Peter...
Roger L. Simon: Of course, everything seems to be trending online these days. UPDATE; Radioblogger's transcript of the brief proceedings here.

Writer Fabricated Boston Globe Story on Seal Hunt
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
BOSTON (Reuters) - A Boston Globe freelance writer fabricated large chunks of a story published this week, the newspaper said on Friday in the latest incident to embarrass the U.S. media.
Will Collier: Good Thing They Have All Those Editors — The Boston Globe got caught making up a story about a seal hunt in Canada that...
Jim Romenesko: Boston Globe freelancer fabricates baby seal hunt story — Boston Globe The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based writer's article,...
Michelle Malkin: And...totally fake: "The story datelined Halifax, Nova Scotia described in graphic detail how the seal hunt began on...

MIT students pull prank on conference
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) — In a victory for pranksters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a bunch of computer-generated gibberish masquerading as an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference.
Jonah Goldberg: GOTTA LOVE ACADEMIA — From Reuters: "CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) — In a victory for pranksters at the...
Jan Haugland: Three MIT students have succeeded in having a computer-generated gibberish academic paper accepted by a scientific conference.
Joanne Jacobs: Dogfooding academia — MIT pranksters submitted two academic papers to a scientific conference: Both were "computer-generated gibberish."
Kevin Aylward: Science Conference Accepts Students "Content-Free" Paper — In case you thought anyone was actually paying attention...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: ACADEMIC RIGOR — Give that computer program a Ph.D.! [snipped quote] This actually points to a very serious problem.
Betsy Newmark: I absolutely love this story.
Also: Mitch Berg

Tribune Co. to Show Circ Losses; 'L.A. Times' Down More than 5.5%
  By / Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK Circulation at Tribune Co. papers will show declines in the next Fas-Fax report, with the most troubling plunge at the Los Angeles Times, Tribune Publishing President Scott Smith confirmed during a conference call with analysts this morning.
Kevin Roderick: But an E&P story says that Tribune today told analysts to expect a 5.5% plunge in L.A. Times circulation when the numbers come out next month.
Joseph Alexander Norland: The evil destroy themselves (at least in the LA Times case) Editor and Publisher reports today [2005_04_15] on a 5.5%...
Jason Van Steenwyk: Special delivery — A message has been sent to the pseudojournalists at the Los Angeles Times.

Dee Snider to Host 'Matzo and Metal: A Very Classic Passover' on VH1 Classic Sunday, April 24th at 7 PM ET/4PM PT
  CNN   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK (PRNewswire) - NEW YORK, April 13 /PRNewswire/ — VH1 Classic presents a first-ever television special event that is sure to have you shouting Shalom! "MATZO AND METAL: A VERY CLASSIC PASSOVER" invites viewers — Jews and Gentiles alike — to the...
James Joyner: Dee Snider to Host 'Matzo and Metal: A Very Classic Passover [snipped quote] Clearly, Snider is a South Park Jew.
Allison Hayward: TWISTED — This is too fab (link found on Throwing Things Blog): Dee Snider of Twisted Sister shows us the true meaning of Passover.
Ed Driscoll: Matzo and Metal — Dee Snider and Passover: perfect together. Well, actually, probably not.

Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Has Baby Wholphin
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
HONOLULU — The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.
The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.
Lindsay Beyerstein: Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Has Baby Wholphin HONOLULU — The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful...
Jonah Goldberg: BEHOLD — The Wholpin. Part whale, part dolphin — all party animal. I also learned there is such a thing as a "false killer whale."
Clayton Cramer: Now there's this example: "The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.
Josh Chafetz: TRUE LOVE knows no bounds.

Cell Mates?
  By / Memphis Flyer   —   Permalink 
O n April 4th, nine FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Raleigh home of a convicted felon named Rafat Jamal Mawlawi, a Syrian with dual citizenship in the United States. Mawlawi is suspected of organizing a scam to illegally bring Moroccan men into the United States by arranging sham marriages and engagements to women from Memphis.
Bill Hobbs: Memphislamists? From the Memphis Flyer comes an interesting bit of news: [snipped quote] Less sinister?
Glenn Reynolds: MEMPHISLAMISTS? I'm glad Memphis is at the other end of the state.

Frist Likely to Push for Ban on Filibusters
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is all but certain to press for a rule change that would ban filibusters of judicial nominations in the next few weeks, despite misgivings by some of his fellow Republicans and a possible Democratic backlash that could paralyze the chamber, close associates said yesterday.
Digby: Luckily it seems the Harry Reid has the smarts and the cojones to realize that this is as much a defining issue for us...
Henry @CrookedTimber: If this Washington Post article is correct, Frist is pushing the nuclear option not because he thinks that this is a...
Jeff Jarvis: MORE: Charles Babington in the Washington Post says: "The strategy carries significant risks for the Tennessee Republican, who is weighing a 2008 presidential bid.
Steve Soto: Worse yet, it will be a test of Frist's leadership that if he is unsuccessful in making this fight it will eviscerate...
Barbara O'Brien: In the Washington Post, Charles Babington writes that some say Frist may have backed himself into a corner.
Armando @DailyKos: The Filibuster War: Presidential Ambitions and Fealty to the Extreme Religious Right — Either as a trial balloon, or in...
Also: Captain Ed, Hugh Hewitt, Taegan Goddard, PoliPundit

Voodoo Volckernomics
  By / NRO   —   Permalink 
In advance of Tuesday's release of yet another large trade-deficit figure, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker weighed in with a Washington Post editorial that mixed myth and contradiction to bolster his contention that the trade and budget deficits have our economy "skating on increasingly thin ice."
Brad DeLong: National Review Online (http://www.nationalrevie w.com): Voodoo Volckernomics: The former Fed chair gets trade deficits all wrong.
PGL: Update: Kudlow's colleague John Tamny just told Paul Volcker (and hence me as well) that Bush's fiscal trainwreck is not a cause of the current account deficits.

Media criticizes Chirac EU appeal
  CNN   —   Permalink 
PARIS, France — French media has dismissed as unconvincing President Jacques Chirac's efforts to persuade his country to vote for the EU constitution in an upcoming referendum.
Arthur Chrenkoff: Chirac meets voters — Jacques Chirac is finding it a rather novel and undignified experience having to defend the...
Glenn Reynolds: "I WOULDN'T MENTION PARIS. IT'S POOR SALESMANSHIP:" [snipped quote] There may be hope for Europe after all. More bad reviews here.
Daniel Drezner: Both the BBC and CNN International have recaps of the French media response, and they were not good.

Our Not-So-Wise Experts
  NRO   —   Permalink 
A litany of past failure.
Brent Scowcroft predicted on the eve of the Iraqi elections that voting there would increase the risk of civil war. Indeed, he foresaw "a great potential for deepening the conflict."
Damian Penny: Fathers of failure — Victor Davis Hanson makes a point that should be obvious: many of the most strident critics of the...
Dale Franks: Foreign Policy "Realism" — Victor Davis Hanson recounts the now almost forgotten warnings of the Foreign Policy "realists".
Glenn Reynolds: VICTOR DAVIS HANSON pens a masterful "I told you so," aimed at the predictably-wrong trio of Scowcroft, Brzezinski, and Albright, among others.

White House Curbs Probe of Commentator's Hiring
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Education Department investigators looking into the administration's controversial hiring of commentator Armstrong Williams were denied the opportunity to interview some White House personnel because of a White House claim that such interviews could breach long-standing legal traditions.
Steve Soto: Education Secretary Spellings Blames Armstrong Williams Propaganda Fiasco All on Her Predecessor — A day after the Los...
Pudentilla: a gentleman never discusses his whores "white house curbs probe of commentator's hiring - some administration staffers...
Jeff Jarvis: Meanwhile, the White House shields officials from the investigation. The stink ain't over. Thoughts?

G.M. and Ford Stuck in Neutral as Buyers Look Beyond Detroit
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
DETROIT, April 14 - In just the last few weeks, the grand plans that were supposed to carry General Motors and Ford Motor into their second centuries have crumbled.
Sales at G.M. have fallen, profits have tumbled to losses. Last week, Ford also warned of a drop in earnings.
Matthew Yglesias: The article keeps shying away from the topic, but if you read The New York Times' inquiry into problems at Ford and...
David Cohen: G.M. and Ford Stuck in Neutral as Buyers Look Beyond Detroit (Danny Hakim, NY Times, 4/14/05) [snipped quote] Last car we bought, I tried hard to find an American car I liked.
Clayton Cramer: GM & Ford In Trouble — This article reports on the increasing difficulties that both companies are having selling cars...

Spellings: 'Serious lapses' in publicity
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
(AP) — WASHINGTON — Senior Bush administration officials showed poor judgment and wasted money in hiring conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to promote the president's agenda even though they violated no laws or ethics rules, an internal inquiry concluded.
Steve Soto: Margaret Spellings, Bush's current Education Secretary and former Special Assistant for Domestic Policy, and her deputy...
Michelle Malkin: Update: Education Secretary Margaret Spellings starts pointing fingers.

The Medical Money Pit
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
A dozen years ago, everyone was talking about a health care crisis. But then the issue faded from view: a few years of good data led many people to conclude that H.M.O.'s and other innovations had ended the historic trend of rising medical costs.
Matthew Yglesias: As Krugman says: "In 2002, the latest year for which comparable data are available, the United States spent $5,267 on health care for each man, woman and child in the population.
Susan Madrak: COMPARE AND CONTRAST — Krugman: [snipped quote] This is an area in which I, as a former childbirth educator, have some knowledge.
Arnold Kling: UPDATE: For a contrary point of view, see Paul Krugman's latest or Angry Bear's latest. For Discussion.

Loose Lips Let Slip Agent's Name at Hearing
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, April 12 - Everybody in Washington knows that members of Congress cannot keep secrets. Now two of them are facing questions about whether they inadvertently blew a C.I.A. officer's cover.
Matthew Yglesias: Nice Move — John Cole seems to be losing his patience with the GOP, and unrelatedly via him comes this tragicomic tale...
John Cole: According to the NY Times, and contradicting mycorrection here, Lugar and Kerry DID out an agent: "We referred to this...

GOP fears it's losing Frist v. Reid
  By / The Hill   —   Permalink 
Senate Republican leaders were due to meet last night amid rising concern that they are being beaten on the "nuclear option" by Sen. Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) public-relations war room.
Captain Ed: The Net Effect Of Dithering — The Hill reports today that the GOP has not only lost its momentum on judicial...
Dr. Steven Taylor: Senate Majority Anemia — Via The Hill we find that the GOP fears it's losing Frist v. Reid and in the text, the...
Jeralyn Merritt: Republicans fear they may be losing the battle. Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to bring Senate business to a standstill if Republicans try to carry out their threat.
James Joyner: According to a report in The Hill, "Senate Republican leaders were due to meet [Wednesday] night amid rising concern...
Joe Gandelman: The Hill: "Senate Republican leaders were due to meet last night amid rising concern that they are being beaten on the...

Voice of America by Way of Hong Kong
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
American corporations, fleeing high labor costs, often head overseas. Turns out, some federal agencies may be doing the same.
The Voice of America, working with ever-tightening budgets, is planning a little outsourcing itself — to Communist China — to save some taxpayer dollars.
Garrett M. Graff: First the Atlantic is pulling up stakes in Beantown, and now the federal news agency Voice of America China network will...
Laura Rozen: VOA is outsourcing its late-night news writing jobs to...China.
Jim Romenesko: Additional items for April 15, 2005 > Voice of America to move eight newswriting jobs to Hong Kong (WP) > Big...

Iraqis Find Graves Thought to Hold Hussein's Victims
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 14 - Investigators have discovered several mass graves in southern Iraq that are believed to contain the bodies of people killed by Saddam Hussein's government, including one estimated to hold 5,000 bodies, Iraqi officials say.
Smash: Meanwhile, the New York Times notes that another mass grave has been discovered in Iraq.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: We know the depths of Saddam Hussein's depravity, but it is still horrifying to be confronted with them
Clayton Cramer: The Next Time A Leftist Tells You We Shouldn't Have Invaded Iraq... Remind them of this article in the New York Times—a...
Cori Dauber: More Mass Graves — Even more mass graves discovered in Iraq. It will be awhile before they can be examined, though, due in part to a shortage of trained forensic anthropologists.

Atlantic, 148-year institution, leaving city
  Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
The Atlantic, one of America's most celebrated magazines and a Boston institution since 1857, announced yesterday it will move to its parent company's headquarters in Washington, D.C., next year as a cost-cutting measure.
Garrett M. Graff: Thus if you read only one article on the move, read the hometown paper's version of watching one of Boston's most famous institutions.
Jim Romenesko: Atlantic move called "big loss" for Boston literary community — Boston Globe The Atlantic's move to Washington...
James Joyner: The Boston Globe coverage is, understandably, more wistful: Atlantic, 148-year institution, leaving city "The Atlantic,...

Atlantic Monthly to Move Down the Coast to D.C.
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
It has been nearly 150 years since the Atlantic Monthly magazine was born, its first offices located in Boston's Old Corner Bookstore. It was on that site in the city's downtown that a couple of book publishers bound the words of men such as Emerson and Thoreau and Longfellow.
Garrett M. Graff: The other half of the news is that, in the process, the Atlantic will lose Cullen Murphy, the second of the two...
Jim Romenesko: "> Editor: Most of Boston staff won't take up offer to move to D.C. (WP) > Atlantic owner says he began mulling the move two years ago (NYT)
James Joyner: Atlantic Monthly Moving to D.C. The highly regarded Atlantic Monthly, a Boston institution since 1857, is moving to D.C. Atlantic Monthly to Move Down the Coast to D.C.

Atlantic Monthly Leaving Boston in Move to Washington
  NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, April 14 - The Atlantic Monthly, a pillar of Boston's intellectual and cultural life since its founding there in 1857, is being moved to Washington as its owner seeks to control costs and centralize his editorial operations.
Garrett M. Graff: The short version of the story is that Bradley has decided to consolidate the Atlantic's small editorial staff here,...
Jim Romenesko: (WP) > Atlantic owner says he began mulling the move two years ago (NYT)
James Joyner: The NYT coverage of this explains that nicely: Atlantic Monthly Leaving Boston in Move to Washington (NYT | rss) "Its...

Bush Is Seen as Unlikely to Seek DeLay's Ouster
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, April 14 - President Bush and Representative Tom DeLay, the much-investigated but still powerful House majority leader, have never been pals. They made that clear in the fall of 1999, when Mr. Bush, the Republican front-runner for president,...
James Joyner: Bush Is Seen as Unlikely to Seek DeLay's Ouster [snipped quote] Not to mention that Congress doesn't take too kindly to presidents butting into their internal business.
Taegan Goddard: Bush Will Stick With DeLay — President Bush's "political need" for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) "transcends...

President loves, follows baseball
  USA Today   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Outside, tulips were in full bloom. Workers were manicuring the lush green grass as a bright sun splashed the beautiful landscape.
President George W. Bush, right, chats it up with USA TODAY's Hal Bodley, left, and other reporters on Thursday in the Oval Office.
Dan Froomkin: USA Today sports columnist Hal Bodley has more, including some excerpts. So how did Bush do on the mound?
Orrin Judd: EVERYONE HAS TIME FOR BOXSCORES: President loves, follows baseball (Hal Bodley, 4/15/05, USA Today) [snipped quote] They faced each the same week at Fenway.

Art Exhibit Featuring Bush Stamp Probed
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
CHICAGO (AP) - The Secret Service sent agents to investigate a college art gallery exhibit of mock postage stamps, one depicting President Bush with a gun pointed at his head.
The exhibit, called "Axis of Evil: The Secret History of Sin," opened last week at Columbia College in Chicago.
Jesse Walker: Guess again: "The investigation began after authorities received a call from a Chicago resident.
TheAnchoress: Design a stamp for Bush contest Musing Minds is linking us to a kind of fun idea, a contest to design a stamp in honor of W. We've already seen the entry the left would offer.

South Park Conservatives: Snapshot of the Culture Wars
  By / TCS   —   Permalink 
One of the side benefits of presidential elections every four years is that it allows for fairly close readings of where America's culture as a whole currently stands. That's one reason so many books on the topic are released shortly after each presidential election's conclusion.
James Joyner: For a contrarian review, see Ed Driscoll's take in today's Tech Central Station.
Ed Driscoll: It's a pretty smart example of marketing to the Long Tail: those writers will draft some thoughts about the book or at...
Orrin Judd: YOUR WEEKEND READING ASSIGNMENT: South Park Conservatives: Snapshot of the Culture Wars (Edward B. Driscoll, Jr.,...
TheAnchoress: Finally, Ed Driscoll has a good piece up in TCS, on South Park Republicans: A shapshot of the culture wars. A good read.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: But if you just cannot wait until you actually get the book yourselves, Ed Driscoll has arrived on the scene to provide you with a sneak peek.
Jonah Goldberg: SOUTH PARK CONSERVATIVES — Ed Driscoll has a big take-out on Brian Anderson's new book over at TCS.
Also: Glenn Reynolds, Betsy Newmark

Texan Is Indicted in Iraq Oil Sales by Hussein Aides
  NYT   —   Permalink 
An American oil trader and a Korean lobbyist with a scandalous past were charged yesterday in connection with illegal gains and kickbacks involving the United Nations oil-for-food program during Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
Orrin Judd: Texan Is Indicted in Iraq Oil Sales by Hussein Aides (JULIA PRESTON and JUDITH MILLER, April 15, 2005, NY Times) "An...
Pudentilla: republican said to defraud iraqi oil for food program — [snipped quote] its true, chalmers donates to the rnc. can't wait for norm coleman to jump all over this one.

Hurts So Good
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WITH tax returns due today, we hear the usual complaints about the onerous tax system and the hassle of filing taxes. Certainly the tax code is incredibly complicated, but in fact filing taxes is too easy, not too hard.
James Joyner: Update (1204): Joseph J. Thorndike weighs in with a contrarian view in today's NYT.
K. J. Lopez: FOR SHAME! Today is not the day to diss TurboTax.
Ann Althouse: UPDATE: And here's an op-ed in the NYT making the point I noted yesterday, that tax software makes people far less aware of the AMT and therefore much more likely to tolerate it.

Ethics Panelists at ASNE Discuss Albom, Kelley, Blair
  By / Editor and Publisher   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, D.C. It looked hard for John Miller, public editor of the Detroit Free Press, to keep from squirming while in the hot seat at a panel discussion on media ethics at the American Society of Newspaper Editors' (ASNE) annual convention in Washington, D.C.
Tom Biro: Ethics a hot topic at ASNE convention — Editor & Publisher has details on a recent panel at the American Society of...
Jim Romenesko: The Albom/steroids parallels are striking, he notes: [snipped quote] > Freep ombud has received hundreds of e-mails about Albom (E&P)

Chirac's EU pitch falls flat
  By / BBC   —   Permalink 
The morning newspapers have not been kind about the French president's performance.
Jacques Chirac appeared before an audience of 80 young people to launch his campaign for a Yes vote in the country's referendum on the EU constitution.
Roger L. Simon: The Discreet Charm of the Chiracoisie — The world's most tiresome pol is evidently no Clinton on TV.
Glenn Reynolds: IT'S POOR SALESMANSHIP:" [snipped quote] There may be hope for Europe after all. More bad reviews here.

For Women in Sciences, Slow Progress in Academia
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
It has been 12 years since Nancy Hopkins, a senior professor of molecular biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was crawling around the floor of her laboratory with a tape measure, intent on proving to a male administrator that she had 1,500 square feet less laboratory space than her male counterparts.
Tom Maguire: Well, today the NY Times updates us on the Larry Summers controversy about women in science. And one of the heroines of their piece?
Stanley Kurtz: GREY LADY ON LADIES IN SCIENCE — Today's front page New York Times story on women in science.

They Didn't Catch Rudolph, but They Stopped Him Cold
  LAT   —   Permalink 
OPELIKA, Ala. — Jeffrey Tickal was drinking coffee at McDonald's when he saw the bomber striding past, and so it was on a McDonald's coffee cup that he wrote down the man's license plate number: KND1117.
Tickal had never done anything like that before, and he hasn't since.
Pudentilla: how ordinary citizens stopped a "red" jihadi — The l.a. times has the amazing story of the two guys who gave the police...
Orrin Judd: ONE AMERICAN TERRORIST AND TWO AMERICAN HEROES: They Didn't Catch Rudolph, but They Stopped Him Cold: Two witnesses'...

US and UK blamed for oil scandal
  BBC   —   Permalink 
The US and Britain are partly to blame for the scandal enveloping the UN oil-for-food programme, Secretary General Kofi Annan has said.
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein made billions of dollars smuggling oil in defiance of sanctions policed by the US and Britain, the UN chief said.
Jan Haugland: Kofi Annan blames UNSCAM on US, UK — Kofi AnnanDefine chutzpah: The UN secretary general has decided that offense is...
K. J. Lopez: HAH! AS IF! Secretary-General Don't Pick on Me Annan points fingers at the U.S. and U.K. for the Oil-for-Food scandal.

The darker side of quotas
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
A recent column in the Metro section of The Washington Post barely caught anybody's attention. Marc Fisher, a writer I have no reason to suspect as a member of the Insensitive Conservatives Union (he's never at the meetings) or as an adviser to Larry Summers,...
Betsy Newmark: Jonah Goldberg has a fantastic column about how diversity quotas in college admissions are really just a way of harming some groups of people while helping others.
PoliPundit: Affirmative Action — Jonah Goldberg makes a good point about affirmative action, using my alma mater as an example

Bolton Faces Allegations That He Tried to Fire Analysts
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
In 2003, John R. Bolton, President Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, ordered a young official working closely with then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell removed from duties in the State Department's nonproliferation bureau in what U.S....
Laura Rozen: Now, Wolf is speaking very highly of Ryu to the WaPo, and not of Bolton.
Tbogg: Prick squared: In 2003, John R. Bolton, President Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, ordered a...
Steve Clemons: Here's some of Dafna Linzer's important reporting: [snipped quote] John Bolton is so far down the list of serious...

Hertzberg Throws His Support to Villaraigosa
  LAT   —   Permalink 
Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, who placed third in last month's mayoral election, endorsed City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday in the runoff, declaring that it's time for a change in leadership at City Hall.
Kevin Roderick: Listen to the wind shift — It could be this week's LAT Poll showing Villaraigosa with an 18-point lead and a month to...
Taegan Goddard: Villaraigosa Gets Key Endorsement — In another severe blow to Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, former California Assembly...

Twin suicide bombings on Israeli buses kill 16
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) - Palestinian suicide bombers killed at least 16 people in simultaneous attacks on two Israeli buses on Tuesday, breaking a long lull in such violence and threatening to disrupt an Israeli plan to pull out of Gaza.
Charles Johnson: Reuters Reports Nonexistent Bus Bombings in Israel — Here's a very weird report from Reuters about twin suicide...
Mark R. Levin: MORE FROM "THE BUSINESSMEN" "BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) - Palestinian suicide bombers killed at least 16 people in...

American Indicted In Iraq Oil Probe
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK, April 14 — A Texas oil executive, his two companies and two foreign associates were indicted Thursday on charges that they illegally paid millions of dollars to Iraqi officials in exchange for lucrative deals to buy discounted oil from the government of Saddam Hussein.
Juan Cole: Meet David B. Chalmers, of Bayoil, in Houston, Texas. Let's see if Norm Coleman calls for sanctions against US businessmen and petroleum companies tainted by the scandal.
Cori Dauber: Oil for Food Indictments — That's a refreshing change of pace, no?

Martyrs and Pestles
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
We have had this conversation before—you and I—about where my religious liberties end and your civil liberties begin. We've had it on these virtual pages, at oral argument, and over e-mail.
Avedon Carol: Disgusting subjects — Dahlia Lithwick discusses the question of whether pharmacists should be able to deny women birth...
Jane Galt: On pharmacists refusing to prescribe birth control — Dalia Lithwick writes about the latest legal tizzy over pharmacists who refuse to dole out birth control.

Michael Costello: Left on the wrong side of history
  The Australian   —   Permalink 
HOW has it happened that the Left of politics across the world has ended up opposing a foreign policy philosophy of spreading democracy in favour of supporting the traditional conservative agenda of stability, sovereignty and the status quo?
Wretchard: The Berlin Wall Has Fallen On Us — As former chief of staff of the the Australian Labor Party's leader, Kim Beazley,...
Glenn Reynolds: MICHAEL COSTELLO writes in The Australian: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing, and read these further thoughts from Austin Bay.
Harry @HarrysPlace: The Wrong Side of History — Michael Costello in The Australian: True, Bush and others are over-claiming progress and underestimating the dangers that lie ahead.
Norm Geras: Michael Costello in The Australian thinks that because of its Bush and Vietnam obsessions, it may do. (Thanks: Jim Nolan.)

Transcript of interview with Tom DeLay
  Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Transcript of an interview between editors and reporters from The Washington Times and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, yesterday at his Capitol office:
National Editor Ken Hanner: Ten years ago, Republicans won control of the House by running on the Contract with America, which was a blueprint for limited government.
Digby: Suicide Pact — I am edified to learn that Dr Bill Frist, cat slayer, and Dr James Dobson, dauchshund beater, are joining hands to kill the independent judiciary.
Mark Kleiman: Mr. DeLay, meet Mr. Hamilton — Tom DeLay in Washingtonskaya Pravda: I blame Congress over the last 50 to 100 years for...
Lambert @Corrente: "(Washington Times via Atrios)" Starting with the ethics committee! Be afraid.
David Neiwert: Leading the charge today was none other than Tom DeLay himself, interviewed in the Washington Times, who even went so...
Mipe @ThinkProgress: DeLay Versus Fiscal Responsibility — In a recent interview with the Washington Times, House Majority leader Tom DeLay...
Jack Cluth: Pucker up, y'all...it's time to play softball — Transcript of interview with Tom DeLay So what happens when several...
Also: Atrios, Taegan Goddard, Chris Bowers, Judd @ThinkProgress, Kos @DailyKos

WRONG QUESTION
  New York Post   —   Permalink 
April 14, 2005 — WHEN U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (above) spoke Tuesday night at NYU's Vanderbilt Hall, "The room was packed with some 300 students and there were many protesters outside because of Scalia's vitriolic dissent last year in the case that overturned the Texas law against gay sex," our source reports.
LeanLeft: The Gander Declines to Say What's Good For the Goose — Filed under: General Politics Legal Issues Church & State...
Jack Cluth: But it's OK to legislate from the bench if you're a Social Conservative WRONG QUESTION "April 14, 2005 — WHEN U.S...
Roger Ailes: Well, at least it wasn't a pie.
Ace: Scalia Grilled on Private Sex Practices — Gossip, but relevant: [snipped quote] I'll take that as a "yes." Good on ya, Maureen.
Atrios: Old Sod — Politicians and judges who want to tell us what sexual positions are and are not legal should certainly be asked about their own behavior.
Taegan Goddard: An unidentified NYU student, quoted by the New York Post, in a question to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Also: Joe Gandelman, Betsy Newmark, Jonathan H. Adler

Remarks by the President at the American Society of Newspaper Editors Convention
  White House   —   Permalink 
J.W. Marriott Hotel Washington, D.C.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks, Rich. I appreciate the chance to come back — more than you know. (Laughter.) I miss my hometown newspaper. Austin was my hometown newspaper for quite a while.
Dan Froomkin: Lots of Little Bits of News Here's the transcript of Bush's remarks; here's the video.
Taegan Goddard: Quote of the Day — [snipped quote] — President Bush, when asked about investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity to reporters.
Jeff Jarvis: Bush and the 'off' button : At the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Bush spoke and Scott Anderson of the Chicago...
Jim Romenesko: (Read the White House transcript.) > Bush joked about his often-tense relationship with the press (E&P)

Texas Businessman Indicted in Iraq Oil-for-Food Program
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
A Texas businessman, as well as a British and a Bulgarian citizen, have been indicted in New York for reportedly paying millions of dollars in secret kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq as part of the United Nations oil-for-food program.
Jan Haugland: In a related development, an American, a British and a South Korean has been charged in the scandal by US federal authorities.
Tom Maguire: Via Glenn (who has more), the NY Times tells us about indictments in the UNScam case: "A Texas businessman, as well as...
Jeralyn Merritt: Indictments Returned in Oil For Food Case — A federal grand jury has returned Indictments in the UN Oil for Food Program scandal.
Roger L. Simon: UPDATE: Here is the NYT story on the Oil-for-Food indictments of a Texas businessman as well as a British and Bulgarian citizen.
Glenn Reynolds: OIL-FOR-FOOD INDICTMENTS: I suspect that there will be more as UNScam unravels.

Loudly, With a Big Stick
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
I don't like John Bolton's management style. Nor am I a big fan of his foreign policy views. He doesn't really believe in using U.S. power to end genocide or promote democracy.
But it is ridiculous to say he doesn't believe in the United Nations.
Daniel Drezner: UPDATE: Note to self — check out David Brooks before posting on a more regular basis.
Guest @ThinkProgress: Babbling Brooks — In an attempt to discredit opponents of John Bolton, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks has taken a wild swipe at reason.
Mark Leon Goldberg: From David Brooks today we get a shining example of the kind of disjointed arguments that flow forth when an erstwhile...
Tom Tomorrow: McBobo's latest canard is that opposition to the appointment of John Bolton as UN ambassador is coming primarily from...
Laura Rozen: How's that for priorities? Well, David Brooks gets Bolton half right: "I don't like John Bolton's management style.
Barbara O'Brien: The Weekly Wankers davidbrooks.jpgBobo the Cabbage explains today that "The Bolton controversy isn't about whether we believe in the U.N. mission.
Also: Matthew Yglesias, Betsy Newmark, Peter Burnet, Jonathan H. Adler

A Rigged "Calculator"
  FactCheck.org   —   Permalink 
Democrats have been using a web-based "calculator" to generate individualized answers to the question, "How much will you lose under Bush privatization plan?" For young, low-wage workers it projects cuts of up to 50% in benefits.
Patrick Ruffini: Meanwhile, FactCheck.org gets around to giving the Reid MisCalculator the b*tchslapping it so richly deserves: [snipped quote] There's more.
PGL: "FactCheck" Flunks Financial Economics — Via Andrew Samwick comes the latest from FactDistort.org who attack Senator...
C. D. Harris: FactCheck.Org finds that the Democrats' "Social Security Calculator", first promulgated by Minority Leader Harry Reid...
Paul @PowerLine: But the MSM-oriented Annenberg organization finds that they are doing so dishonestly.
Jon Henke: [quote]... Here is what FactCheck.org found... "Democrats have been using a web-based 'calculator' to generate individualized...[end quote]
Pejman Yousefzadeh: NEW MATH — This article does an excellent job in pointing out the errors inherent in the Social Security benefits "calculator" that has been used to debunk Social Security reform.
Also: Edward _, Donald Luskin

U.N. Votes To Outlaw Nuclear Terrorism
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
UNITED NATIONS, April 13 — The 191-member U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday unanimously approved a treaty outlawing the use of nuclear weapons by terrorists and their supporters.
Jan Haugland: Newsflash: UN bans nuclear terrorism — The UN General Assembly has passed a bold resolution: The 191-member U.N...
Cori Dauber: You Either Laugh or You Cry — Does this give you an overwhelming sense of futility?
Ace: The UN Takes a Brave Stand Against Nuclear Terrorism — The resolution was almost derailed when someone attempted to add...
Hugh Hewitt: Yesterday the UN voted to outlaw nuclear terrorism. Bin Laden must really be worried now.
Dr. Steven Taylor: Well, I Certainly Feel Safer Now — Via WaPo: U.N. Votes To Outlaw Nuclear Terrorism [snipped quote] SCENE: A CAVE SOMEWHERE IN THE THIRD WORLD.
Dale Franks: The United Nations has made it illegal. [snipped quote] Now that we know the UN is on the job, all of our problems are solved.

Political Payrolls Include Families
  LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — At least 39 members of Congress have engaged in the controversial practice of paying their spouses, children or other relatives out of campaign funds, or have hired companies in which a family member had a financial interest, records and interviews show.
James Joyner: "This choice quote is buried in paragraph 20 of today's Los Angeles Times' story on electeds using campaign funds to pay family members."
Ezra Klein: Nepotism — I keep trying to summon up some rage and bile over the practice of Congressmen employing their families, but I just can't.
Orrin Judd: FAMILY BUSINESS: Political Payrolls Include Families: Dozens of members of Congress have paid relatives for campaign work, records show.
Tom Maguire: The LA Times actually tries to put the Times story in perspective, but DeLay still looks like a leader: "At least 39...
Matthew Yglesias: Paying his wife and daughter out of PAC funds is, frankly, the least of Tom DeLay's problems, but this LA Times effort...
Pudentilla: we pity the poor pac — [snipped quote] remember the good old days when corporate vultures used to buy congress persons...

GIS CLEARED IN ITALIAN'S DEATH
  New York Post   —   Permalink 
U.S. soldiers reportedly have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of an Italian journalist and an intelligence agent last month in Baghdad.
U.S. military officials told NBC News that a joint American-Italian investigation found the soldiers acted...
Captain Ed: Sgrena Story Still Falling Apart — A joint Italian-American investigation into the death of Italian commando Nicola...
James Joyner: GIS CLEARED IN ITALIAN'S DEATH (New York Post) [snipped quote] Good news, although it's unlikely to satisfy many.
Orrin Judd: YA PAYS YOUR MONEY AND YA TAKE YOUR CHANCES: GIS CLEARED IN ITALIAN'S DEATH (NY Post, April 14, 2005) "U.S. military...
John @PowerLine: GIs Cleared in Death of Italian — The New York Post reports that an investigation has cleared the soldiers involved in...
Mitch Berg: Scratch Another Conspiracy — Giuliana Sgrena's story that the US Army was plotting her demise when it killed her...

Connecticut Episcopalians Defy Bishop Over Gay Issues
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
DARIEN, Conn. - At a morning service on Tuesday in St. Paul's Church here, a worshiper read a poem urging his pastor to stand firm against the moral decay embodied by the local bishop and the church's national leadership.
Tom Maguire: MORE: Church and State in Connecticut. Incredibly, I go to the other Episcopal Church, so my local coverage and insight is woefully lacking.
Stirling Newberry: Connecticut Episcopal Pastors Stand up for Bigotry — Bigotry is the rejection of God's law of love.
Orrin Judd: THE CHURCH EUGENE DESTROYED (via Robert Schwartz): Connecticut Episcopalians Defy Bishop Over Gay Issues (ANDY NEWMAN,...

White House Said to Impede Education Probe
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is impeding an investigation into the Education Department's hiring of commentator Armstrong Williams by refusing to allow key White House officials to be interviewed, a Democratic lawmaker briefed on the review said Thursday.
Joe Gandelman: "Truth, Justice And The American Way...Well, Let's Leave Truth OUT..." The Bush administration is a hair away from...
Chris Bowers: White House Impeding Payolagate Investigation — No shocker here.
Atrios: Cover Up — Lovely.

DeLay Asks House Panel to Review Judges
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, April 13 - Deflecting all questions about his ethical conduct and political future, Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, on Wednesday stepped up his crusade against judges, announcing that he had instructed the Judiciary Committee...
Steve M.: (Yes, in this case Tom DeLay admitted that his language was a bit harsh — but he did so while also demanding a House show trial on the judiciary.)
Billmon: Here's the New York Times's take on DeLay's press conference yesterday: "Deflecting all questions about his ethical...
Pudentilla: "red" republican political dictionary: inartful — [snipped quote] inartful: rove's polling numbers suggest that middle...
Tom Maguire: Comparing Headlines — Embattled Tom DeLay had a press conference yesterday.
Ann Althouse: UPDATE: And here's the NYT front-page article on DeLay and the judiciary.

Dragnet nabs 10,000 fugitives
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — More than 10,000 fugitives from justice have been captured in a nationwide, weeklong dragnet involving federal, state and local authorities, said the U.S. Marshals Service, which led the effort.
Susan Madrak: They were talking about Operation Falcon, in which they announced the arrest of 10,000 violent fugitives. (Big whoop.
Jeralyn Merritt: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today held a press conference to proudly announce the capture of 10,000 fugitives as the result of a week-long project called Operation Falcon.

Panel delays vote on Bolton
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday postponed until Tuesday the vote on John R. Bolton's nomination as US ambassador to the United Nations amid continued controversy over Bolton's suitability for the post.
Roger L. Simon: Dept. of Been There/Done That — Cigar division... Meanwhile, the Bolton vote is delayed (no pun intended).
Laura Rozen: The Boston Globe's Farah Stockman reports that Senate Foreign Relations committee staff are examining a third case of...
Daniel Drezner: John Bolton is right about the United Nations — John Bolton's confirmation as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has...

Lott Puts 'Little Bump' Behind Him
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
LEAKESVILLE, Miss. — Trent Lott is reminiscing with supporters at the Rocky Creek Catfish Cottage, recalling the goat barbecues and Jaycee meetings that marked his first House campaign 33 years ago.
James Joyner: Lott Puts 'Little Bump' Behind Him [snipped quote] Fascinating. Lott is a master politician, having climbed to the leadership of first the House and then the Senate.
Kos @DailyKos: Lott wants back in the leadership — Our favorite segregationist bigot is marshalling his forces for another run at the GOP Senate leadership.
Taegan Goddard: Lott Rebuilds Power Base — The Washington Post runs a front page piece on Sen. Trent Lott's (R-MS) attempt to regain...
Pudentilla: trent lott: giving cockroaches a good name, one political favor at a time — [snipped quote] one begins to think that the...

Bones of Contention
  NRO   —   Permalink 
A bad bill would throttle American archaeology.
If a lucky paleoanthropologist ever unearths hobbit bones on federal land, scientists won't get to study them — at least not if Sen. John McCain and his allies have their way.
I'm not joking about hobbits.
Clayton Cramer: Well, no. This effort is from a Republican so liberal that he really should be a Democrat: [snipped quote] Regular...
Stephen Green: Meddler — John McCain wants to block free scientific inquiry, too.
Glenn Reynolds: JOHN MCCAIN VS. THE HOBBITS: No, really. UPDATE: More on this at Archaeoblog, which has been covering the story for a while.

Fastest growing U.S. counties
  CNN   —   Permalink 
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Florida has 14 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the United States, more than any other state, according to a study released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Chris Lawrence: Mississippi county growth rates — As James Joyner notes, the Census Bureau today released statistics on the estimated...
James Joyner: Fastest growing U.S. counties (CNN/Money) [quote] img src="/fotos/counties_2004 .gif" align=right hspace="5" alt="Chart:...[end quote]

Summit Talk
  Newsweek   —   Permalink 
April 13 - Prompted by reporters, the president and the prime minister left no one in any doubt about their sharp differences over Israeli plans to expand a handful of settlements in the West Bank. Speaking outside George Bush's Texas ranch after their Monday meeting, the president insisted the situation was simple.
Dan Froomkin: Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey write for Newsweek.com: "Bush faces intense domestic pressure — from opinion polls...
Orrin Judd: PRESERVING CREDIBILITY: Summit Talk: While Bush and Sharon spelled out their differences, White House aides were upbeat about Israel's plans to withdraw from Gaza.

As Teen Pregnancy Dropped, So Did Child Poverty
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
A decade of declining teenage birth rates has led to a notable reduction in the number of U.S. children living in poverty, according to a new analysis.
Building on research by two congressional committees, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy...
Ezra Klein: Poverty-Reduction — And this is why effective sex education and widespread access to birth control are overriding moral issue: [snipped quote] 460,000.
Joanne Jacobs: Prevent pregnancy, prevent poverty — As the teen-age birth rate fell 30 percent from 1991 to 2002, child poverty also...

Who's to blame for high gasoline prices?
  San Francisco Chronicle   —   Permalink 
Gasoline prices are at record highs again. Many think oil companies are to blame. A Field Poll from May 2004 showed that 77 percent of Californians believed this to be true. But this just shows that people are misinformed about who's causing high gas prices.
Skippy: higher energy costs? whatever could they mean?
Ed Driscoll: Stopped Clock Department — In a gesture almost as impressive as when the New York Times explained that "Recycling is...

Italy, U.S. Disagree Over Agent Shooting
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
ROME - Reluctance by Italian investigators to accept the U.S. version of the killing of an Italian security agent by American troops in Iraq last month is holding up the conclusion of a joint inquiry into the shooting, Italian newspapers said Thursday.
Kevin Aylward: Update: Italy and the U.S. Said Disagree Over Investigation Into Shooting of Italian Agent in Iraq [AP/ABC]
John @PowerLine: UPDATE: The Associated Press is now reporting that the story referenced above is incorrect.

What a way to go
  Guardian   —   Permalink 
How will it all end? Some say we are likely to go with a bang, others predict a slow lingering end, while the optimists suggest we will overcome our difficulties by evolving into a different species.
Scott Burgess: Guardian: Robot Rebellion Greater Threat Than Climate Change — The Guardian makes a foray into Independent doomsday...
Glenn Reynolds: ROBOT REBELLIONS AND TELOMERE EROSION: Oh, my. Scott Burgess, meanwhile, wonders who will fund the fight against our robot overlords?
McQ: Watch out for the robots — Interesting article in the Guardian in which 10 scientists are asked for their opinion of...

Gingrich Sees Mrs. Clinton as Presidential Nominee in 2008
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, April 13 - Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that he thought Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, would be her party's presidential nominee in 2008 and that she would be "very formidable." He said she might even win.
Steve Bainbridge: (FYI: Newt Gingrich says Hillary herself will be "very formidable" in 2008.) Why am I making this prediction?
Taegan Goddard: Gingrich Thinks Clinton Could Win — Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said that he thought Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)...
Dr. Steven Taylor: Newt: It'll be Hillary for the Dems in '08 — Via the NYT: Gingrich Sees Mrs. Clinton as Presidential Nominee in 2008...

Young Catholics Seek to Restore Old Values on Sex
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
ROME, April 13 - No matter who is chosen as the next pope, John Paul II has left behind a generation of committed young Roman Catholics who are already shaping the church in a more conservative mold than did their parents. Church leaders call them Generation John Paul II.
Hugh Hewitt: The New York Times actually runs an article on a conservative element within the Roman Catholic laity —the youth.
Orrin Judd: RETROGRADE, SHELLY, RETROGRADE (via Robert Schwartz): Young Catholics Seek to Restore Old Values on Sex (LAURIE...

Trivial Pursuit
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
In college, I played Trivial Pursuit. For some, the undergraduate years mark the emergence of a first novel, or issuance of a political identity; for me, they were a chance to win at board games. Trivial Pursuit matches were nasty business.
Daniel Drezner: Bryan Curtis has an interesting essay at Slate about the alleged decline and fall of Trivial Pursuit at the hands of the Internet.
Jan Haugland: Numerical accuracy in the media — Bryan Curtis' Slate article about Trivial Pursuit is funny and informative, as you'd...

Embattled DeLay says he's sorry
  By / Chicago Tribune   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Tom DeLay offered an uncharacteristic apology Wednesday for remarks he made the day Terri Schiavo died when he suggested that the judges who refused to intervene in her case must "answer for their behavior."
Howard Kurtz: The Chicago Tribune, like most papers, sees "sorry" as most newsworthy: "House Majority Leader Tom DeLay offered an...
Taegan Goddard: White House Distances Bush From DeLay — "A White House spokesman downplayed President Bush's relationship with...

Disaster, Not Diplomacy
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
It is my impression — gleaned from reviews — that Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink" posits that first impressions often are right on the nose. Nonetheless, for reasons having to do with caution, prudence and a debilitating sense of fair play, I have until now...
Barbara O'Brien: But Richard Cohen witnessed Bolton in action awhile back: "I have until now withheld my first — and only — impression...
Daniel Drezner: Richard Cohen's column in the Washington Post entitled "Disaster, Not Diplomacy" ably summarizes the conventional take on Bolton.