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Aircraft prompts brief White House evacuation CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — Parts of the White House, Capitol and Supreme Court were briefly evacuated Wednesday when a small plane violated restricted airspace over Washington, the White House said. | |
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Oliver @LiquidList: Media: Coverage — There are two ways to go about covering a story that is only briefly a real story, and then turns out to be nothing at all. Zoe Kentucky: Earlier today when the terror alert was raised to red and the White House, Capitol and Supreme Court were evacuated... Red @ScaredMonkeys: 'This is not a drill,' guards shouted forced people away from the building… Officers rushed through Supreme Court... |
Jeff Quinton: Quante-fied Michelle Malkin Wonkette—more Memeorandum Cori Dauber Rex Hammock Scared Monkeys Liquid List Attaturk... Cori Dauber: (The all clear has since been sounded.) All three cable networks are now wall-to-wall on this story. James Joyner: U.S. Capitol, White House Briefly Evacuated — U.S. Capitol, White House briefly evacuated (CNN) "An apparent airspace... |
| Also: Rex Hammock | |
Ridge reveals clashes on alerts By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says. | |
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Steve M.: He writes at the Huffington Post: At this point, my pal Micah Sifry called and noted—half-jokingly —that it was very... Leah A: Annals of Shamles...s......n....... ......e.................. . .... Honestly, I almost don't have the energy to finish typing that word. Steve Soto: Tom Ridge Confirms That Terror Threat Warnings Were Used For Political Purposes — Remember all the times we wondered if... |
David Corn: At this point, my pal Micah Sifry called and noted—half-jokingly —that it was very interesting that this had all... Cookie Jill: paint-by-poll-numbers. Chris Bowers: Now, new evidence, from Tom Ridge himself, suggests that there was indeed massive outside pressure on the department on... |
| Also: Nick Gillespie, Kevin Drum, Attaturk, Taegan Goddard | |
War in Iraq looks like last stand for al Qaeda By / Washington Times — Permalink The war in Iraq is increasingly looking more like a showdown with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda followers than a battle primarily against Saddam Hussein loyalists. | |
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Cernig: His latest nonsense is given credence by the Washington Times today. James Joyner: War in Iraq looks like last stand for al Qaeda (Washington Times) [snipped quote] An interesting argument. Ace: Iraq is beginning to look like an operating table, too: [snipped quote] Five years from now the debate will be whether... |
Marc @USSNeverdock: UPDATE The Washington Times reports that al Qaeda is sending it's best fighters to Iraq to make a last stand. Joe Katzman: Interestingly, it seems to correlate with some professional military analysis. But then, The River War predicted operations like this months ago. Tom Maguire: And to round out the bad news day for Al Qaeda, the Washington Times reports that Iraq now represents Al Qaeda's last stand. |
| Also: Andy McCarthy, Hugh Hewitt, Smash, JoelL @SouthernAppeal | |
Military judge convicts sailor who refused to deploy By / AP — Permalink SAN DIEGO - A Navy sailor turned anti-war activist was convicted Wednesday of missing his ship's movement when he refused to board the USS Bonhomme Richard as it deployed to the Persian Gulf in December. | |
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Charles Johnson: The Chomsky Effect — Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes, convicted of missing his ship's deployment to Iraq due to a... Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Happy Smash, Sad Pablo — Next Stop, the Brig. [snipped quote] Smash will have more later, but says "Pablo Paredes has been convicted. |
Smash: I might have more to add later, after I've had a chance to sit down and listen to the audio... UPDATE: Pablo Paredes has been convicted. |
Wanted: Responsible Demagoguery By / NYT — Permalink You'd never guess from the Democratic hysteria that President Bush's plan to "progressively index" Social Security is an idea we liberals may one day want to embrace. | |
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Reihan Salam: Well, it looks like Matt Miller is here to save the day, for the next month at least. [snipped quote] That's what I'm talking about. Matt Singer: The Problem With "Progressive" Indexing — Matt Miller, unfortunately, writes about the Pozen Plan as though the only objection that has been made is that it cuts benefits. Sam Rosenfeld: In his first offering he castigates Democrats for their demagogic rejection of progressive indexation. |
Matthew Yglesias: MORE ON MILLER. There are a few more things that ought to be said about the Matt Miller column Sam criticized earlier. Jesse Taylor: Demagogue This — Oh, my! Can you taste the contrarianism? You say it tastes like peanut butter...but I say it tastes like jelly. Tom Maguire: Mr. Miller seems to be the counterpoint to David Brooks, playing the role of "liberal that conservatives like" - Ms... |
| Also: Michelle Malkin | |
Plane Scare Prompts Brief Evacuation of White House and Capitol AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol and White House were briefly evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace over the city. Security officials in several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court, ordered people to safer locations. | |
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Michelle Malkin: As you've probably read, there was a scare at the Capitol about 20 minutes ago when a small unidentified plane violated D.C.'s no-fly zone. |
Tarek @LiquidList: Apparently, an attack from a deadly Cessna was feared: [snipped quote] Just another day in Washington. |
Seven big ideas (and one pet peeve) from BlogNashville By / Online Journalism Review — Permalink How many bloggers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Who knows, but a lot of light bulbs went off when 300-plus bloggers met up in Tennessee. Robert Cox was frustrated. But all around Cox were liberal bloggers, liberal academics and people who did not share his conservative worldview. | |
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Dan Gillmor: BlogNashville, in Retrospect — Mark Glaser has a good roundup of the events at last weekend's blogging confab. Ed Cone: Nashville again — Mark Glaser on what he liked (big ups for GSO's webcasters) and didn't like at BlogNashville. Glenn Reynolds: MARK GLASER: Seven Big Ideas (and one pet peeve) from BlogNashville. |
Jim Romenesko: Additional items for May 11, 2005 > Seattle Times' Armstrong testifies in Chicago Tribune libel trial (CT) > Man... Bill Hobbs: Seven Ideas — Mark Glaser at Online Journalism Review has Seven Big Ideas (and one pet peeve) from BlogNashville. Good stuff. Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Glenn 2 Dave 0 — Glenn Reynolds tells the truth to Dave Winer. |
United Air Wins Right to Default on Its Employee Pension Plans By / NYT — Permalink United Airlines, which is operating in bankruptcy protection, received court permission yesterday to terminate its four employee pension plans, setting off the largest pension default in the three decades that the government has guaranteed pensions. | |
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Norbizness: Good news, people who worked hard for several decades, paying diligently into their pension funds! Dwight Meredith: The New York Times reports: [snipped quote] With United unable to meet all of its pension obligations, the remaining issue is who sould bear the costs. Tom Tomorrow: That darned liberal judiciary — A Federal Bankruptcy Court ruling will allow United Airlines to default on its pensions. |
James Joyner: United Airlines Defaulting on Pensions — United Air Wins Right to Default on Its Employee Pension Plans (NYT) [snipped quote] Lovely. John Cole: United Airlines — I just don't get it: "United Airlines, which is operating in bankruptcy protection, received court... |
Experts Are at a Loss on Investing By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Harry M. Markowitz won the Nobel Prize in economics as the father of "modern portfolio theory," the idea that people shouldn't put all of their eggs in one basket, but should diversify their investments. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: LAT Swipes Bush Social Security Reform — In a diatribe against Social Security reform thinly disguised as a news... Pudentilla: it looks like you'll need more than a nobel prize in economics to survive awol's social insecurity plans —... |
Ken Masugi: The Ditzy Denizens of the Dismal Science — This amusing LAT story (Peter Gosselin) on celebrated economists who fail to... |
White House, Capitol Briefly Evacuated AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The U.S. Capitol and White House were briefly evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace over the city. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the plane came within three miles of the White House before it turned away from it. | |
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Steve M.: First a grenade was discovered in the general vicinity of Bush during his speech in Tbilisi (the grenade turned out to... Attaturk: ..."Sorry, just a Cessna that lost its way, all clear given" STOP HURTING AMERICA! Update: [NEVER MIND] |
Dr. Steven Taylor: More on the Story — The AP has a write-up: Capitol Building, White House Evacuated [snipped quote] The "all clear" has been given. |
Reconsidering Yalta NRO — Permalink The liberal whitewash is hypocritical and shameful. This week, while touring the remnants of the former Soviet Union on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, President Bush gave perhaps the greatest diplomatic performance of his career, balancing a host of moral and strategic interests simultaneously. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: As Jonah Goldberg observes: "After a war to end one evil empire, we signed a piece of paper accepting the expansion of another evil empire. |
John Cole: And I like newly commissioned General Jonah Goldberg, but please quit quoting him as a source for military strategy circa 1945. |
Examiner Editorial - Pain relief is major casualty of drug war Washington Examiner — Permalink As federal prosecutors target physicians who prescribe large doses of pain-killing drugs because they can also be abused, doctors are increasingly afraid to provide relief for sick people with intractable pain. | |
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Radley Balko: Also, today's Washington Examiner's lead editorial scores a direct hit against the DEA's "arrest the doctors" campaign. Jacob Sullum: Fear of Pain — The Washington Examiner gets hip to the conflict between drug control and pain control. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Feds' Drug War Hurts Chronic Pain Patients — The Washington Examiner, in an editorial, points out another unfortunate... |
Beyond Red vs. Blue Pew Research Center — Permalink Part 4: Beyond Red vs. Blue: Value Divides Within the Party Coalitions Where Do You Fit? Coming out of the 2004 election, the American political landscape decidedly favored the Republican Party. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has a big old survey out, slicing the American public up into eight... Michelle Malkin: READING FOR POLITICAL JUNKIES — The Pew Research Center alerted me yesterday to its new report on political... |
Tom Maguire: The Pew Research Center carves the US electorate into nine slices, giving each of us an opportunity to place ourselves. Taegan Goddard: Beyond Red vs. Blue — A Pew Research Center survey finds that "the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, helped redraw... |
And You Thought World War II Was Over? By / New York Observer — Permalink Historical falsification, when spoken by the President of the United States to slander one of his greatest predecessors, should not go unanswered. In a display of the extremist ideology that drives politics and policy in his administration, George W. Bush chose a platform in Latvia to repeat an old right-wing slur against Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Joe Conason reflexively criticizes President Bush's candid remarks on Yalta, opining: "For the President to utter such... Orrin Judd: THE NEW DEALER GOT A WORSE DEAL: And You Thought World War II Was Over? |
David Greenberg: More Yalta Reverberations — Joe Conason expresses more precisely than I did why Bush's Yalta remarks were so... |
Reid doesn't back down from Friday remark about Bush By / Las Vegas Review-Journal — Permalink WASHINGTON — If Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada still feels remorse for calling President Bush a loser, he didn't show it on Tuesday. In a news conference, Reid was asked if his comment about Bush would make it more difficult to negotiate with Republicans. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: Some how Senator Reid thinks its OK to speak is mind and in the process demean others while making an ass out of himself. Taegan Goddard: Quote of the Day — [snipped quote] — Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by the Las Vegas Review Journal. Link | Related News |
Jonathan H. Adler: THE "LOSER" — Apparently Reid's not so sorry about calling the President a "loser" after all. |
Larry Flynt: Bush UN nominee won't answer questions about troubled marriage Raw Story — Permalink The controversial Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt has waded into the conflict surrounding the nomination of Bush hawk John Bolton to a UN post by revealing Bolton's divorce records and unanswered questions about his sexual past, RAW STORY has learned. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Oh Plato, Plato, you have paved the way... with your confounded fantasies... Anyhow, Larry Flynt enters the John... |
Atrios: Forced Group Sex — Maybe this will interest the media? Nope, never mind, no Democrats involved. |
Brussels Sprouts By / NYT — Permalink In his book "The Ideas That Conquered the World," Michael Mandelbaum tells a story about a young girl who is eating dinner at a friend's house and her friend's mother asks her if she likes brussels sprouts. "Yes, of course," the girl says. "I like brussels sprouts." | |
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Tom Maguire: Problem Solved — Tom Friedman solves the nuclear proliferation problems with North Korea and Iran, and absolves the Bush Administration of malfeasance. John Derbyshire: THE NORTHEAST ASIA PROBLEM(S) Reading Tom Friedman's column this morning, I recalled a conversation I had last year with a policy academic VERY well-informed about NE Asia. |
Matt Welch: I present to you the first sentence of Friedman's column from today, with no further comment: [quote] In his book "The Ideas...[end quote] |
Saying Sorry By / WaPo — Permalink "It just offends me that the president of the United States is, directly or indirectly, attacking his own country in a foreign land." That was 1998. The speaker, Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), was then House majority whip. The president was Bill Clinton, who had "attacked his own country" while in Uganda. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Anne Applebaum agrees taht Bush was speaking quite appropriately in criticizing Yalta while in the Baltic states. Pejman Yousefzadeh: MORE YALTA — Anne Applebaum has an eminently sensible article on the subject: [quote] "It just offends me that the president...[end quote] |
Jonah Goldberg: APPLEBAUM ON YALTA — She offers an insightful take on the Yalta business. |
Showdown looms over Bolton nomination MSNBC — Permalink WASHINGTON - The White House said Wednesday it was confident a Senate committee would back John Bolton for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But late Wednesday afternoon ranking Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.,... | |
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Mark Kleiman: In the meantime, is Lugar really willing to force a committee vote before we learn whether Bolton violated about... |
Laura Rozen: Now Biden is hinting there could be a Bolton vote delay if they don't get the NSA intercepts. |
Retaking the Universities By / Opinion Journal — Permalink It's not the kids at the university who are the problems, it's the faculty, a self selected guild accountable to no one. Michelle Russell - Monteagle, Tenn. Great Article...is there any way to get the author to put it into a 1-4 step process so that we can put the concepts into action? | |
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Tom Smith: Fate of the academy — This at opinionjournal is a must read, if not the best written thing in the world. Stefan Beck: PostedToday's Wall Street Journal featured a reprint of Roger Kimball's "battle plan" for restoring sanity and accountability to the American university. |
Stanley Kurtz: THE T WORD — Roger Kimball raises the $64,000 question-tenure. |
Clinton, Gingrich Unite on Health Care By / AP — Permalink (05-11) 12:05 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime political foes Newt Gingrich and Hillary Rodham Clinton joined cheerfully Wednesday to promote legislation on health care changes, joking that some might view it as a sign of a soon-to-come doomsday. | |
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Jamie Court: In the wake of major security breaches at data warehousers like Choicepoint it's vital to build into databases the... |
Jayson @PoliPundit: Politics Make For Strange (Parallel Universe) Partnerships — Here's a headline you don't often see. |
Brown and Originalism By / NRO — Permalink The Left invokes the Orwellian euphemism of the "living Constitution" as it promotes and applauds lawless judicial decisions, like Roe v. Wade, that have no conceivable basis in the text or structure of the real Constitution. The "metastasizing Constitution" would be a far more honest moniker. | |
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Paul @PowerLine: Even a broken watch is right twice a day — Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, responds on NRO... Steve Dillard: "Brown and Originalism—There's more than one way to get it right" is today's must read, courtesy of Edward Whelan. |
Orrin Judd: B, NOT A: Brown and Originalism: There's more than one way to get it right. |
In Today's White House Evacuation, No Official Notice to Press By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink NEW YORK A public address system installed after the Sept. 11 attacks to warn White House reporters about an emergency was not used earlier today when the building was evacuated after a small plane flew into unrestricted air space over Washington, D.C., reporters told E&P. | |
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Zoe Kentucky: As for a not-so-trite angle on this story, the post-9/11 P.A. system that was installed to warn people about a potential threat was dead silent during today's evacuation. |
Jim Romenesko: Capitol reporters no longer panic during evacuations — Editor & Publisher "People are getting used to it," says the Wall Street Journal's Brody Mullins. |
Afghan Protest Over Quran Turns Deadly By / AP — Permalink "/ Afghanistan. Police opened fire on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71. The U.S. troops fired into the air before quickly leaving the area in Jalalabad, near the Pakistan border, provincial intelligence chief Sardar Shah told The Associated Press. | |
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Charles Johnson: RoP Riots Over Newsweek Article — A Newsweek magazine report of alleged "desecration of the Quran" at Guantanamo Bay... |
Roger L. Simon: 299 Words from Newsweek... ... have yielded death in the streets of Kabul. |
Ask The Post By / WaPo — Permalink This Week: Marie Arana, editor of Book World, was online to field your questions about The Post's weekly book review section. A transcript follows. Washington, D.C. : What is the best thing about your job? | |
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Garrett M. Graff: So even as doom, in the form of a high-winged single-engine Cessna, approached, book editor Marie Arana sat down to hold... |
Jim Romenesko: Would WP run a review slamming editor Downie's book? |
Trade Deficit Fell Unexpectedly in March By / NYT — Permalink An unexpected retreat in the United States' demand for imports trimmed the trade deficit in March to a six-month low, the government reported today, creating a far brighter picture of the economy than previous data depicted. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: Lower U.S. trade deficit More here. Destroyed the Taliban Creates environment in Iraq for democratic elections to take place. |
Alexander K. McClure: Harry Nostradamus Reid — The Trade Deficit fell to $55 billion. Bush is such a loser. |
Why shouldn't we apologize for Yalta? By / Townhall.com — Permalink This week, while touring the remnants of the former Soviet Union on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, President Bush gave perhaps the greatest diplomatic performance of his career, balancing a host of moral and strategic interests simultaneously. | |
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S.Z.: Here are your choices (not all of whom are represented here today with quotes): Carey Roberts Judson Cox Justin Darr... Mike Rappaport: Yalta — In response to outrageous columns like this one by Jacob Heilbrunn, Jonah Golberg explains why Yalta was a travesty. |
Betsy Newmark: Jonah Goldberg takes on those who are criticizing Bush for criticizing the settlement at Yalta. [snipped quote] I agree with Bush and Goldberg. Orrin Judd: TAKING DRED SCOTT INTERNATIONAL: Why shouldn't we apologize for Yalta? |
Ice cream vendor ordered to cool off By / PittsburghLIVE.com — Permalink A Good Humor man was served 18 months' probation Tuesday for losing his cool with a foul-mouthed teenager. Nazzareno Didiano, 44, stopped dishing out peanut butter bars and Blue Bunnies last May 12 and began pummeling a pudgy-faced Bloomfield teen during a meltdown. | |
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Tom Maguire: Anti-Obesity Activism — We don't support this: "A Good Humor man was served 18 months' probation Tuesday for losing his cool with a foul-mouthed teenager. |
Jeff Goldstein: Bernard Goetz, redux — Like Bronson in Death Wish—only instead of hunting down and killing urban scum, this fed-up civilian tracked and beat a single fat teen. |
Hollywood's box office flameout By / CNN — Permalink NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - There are all kinds of possible explanations for why the first weekend of the summer box office was so depressing. Maybe Orlando Bloom, the young heartthrob who starred in "Kingdom of Heaven," released on Friday, and Paris Hilton,... | |
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Kehaar: Maybe if the movies were better... Hollywood reels from box office slump Movie fans are loving DVDs, but not theaters. |
Jesse Taylor: The Slacker's Summer — The current Hollywood depression can be chalked up to one critical thought that goes through my head every time I read summer previews. |
Who Needs Giacomo? Bet on the Fortune Cookie By / NYT — Permalink Powerball lottery officials suspected fraud: how could 110 players in the March 30 drawing get five of the six numbers right? That made them all second-prize winners, and considering the number of tickets sold in the 29 states where the game is played, there should have been only four or five. | |
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Atrios: Lee says something silly in this article: [snipped quote] Actually, the fine folks at Powerball don't really care how many "first-place" or jackpot winners there are. Orrin Judd: AH, SO (via The Mother Judd): Who Needs Giacomo? Bet on the Fortune Cookie (JENNIFER 8. |
Ann Althouse: How 110 persons got 5 of 6 numbers right on Powerball. And what's with the middle initial of the reporter on this NYT article? |
Congress Adopts Restriction on Treatment of Detainees By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 10 - Congress barred the government on Tuesday from using any money in a newly passed emergency spending bill to subject anyone in American custody to torture or "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" that is forbidden by the Constitution. | |
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Marty Lederman: Today's New York Times reports on the imminent enactment of a different Durbin amendment addressed to the same problem:... Orin Kerr: Lederman on New Anti-Torture Provision: The New York Times reports: "Congress barred the government on Tuesday from... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Durbin Anti-Torture Measure Included in Spending Bill — The $82 billion Iraq spending bill unanimously passed yesterday... |
China Rules Out Using Sanctions on North Korea NYT — Permalink BEIJING, May 10 - China on Tuesday ruled out applying economic or political sanctions to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, appearing to undercut a crucial element of the Bush administration's evolving North Korea strategy. | |
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Tom Maguire: The Chinese angle gets front page treatment at the Times - publicly, at least, they are not going to be pressuring North... |
John Derbyshire: NORK NUKES — It's plain that the ChiComs' obsession with "stability" in NE Asia precludes them from being any help with North Korea. |
Deficit Disorder By / WaPo — Permalink Every two years the Congressional Budget Office publishes a fact-filled report called "Budget Options." This year's version is 343 pages, and flipping through it gives a quick tour of the federal government's far-flung activities. | |
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Joseph Britt: It isn't. Is there, as one economist suggests, just a lack of seriousness in Washington about the federal deficit? |
Matthew Yglesias: This Robert Samuelson column is so egregious one can hardly be bothered to introduce the key quotation |
Political Fundraising Trial Gets Underway; Senate Problems with Judicial Nominees Continue CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANNOUNCER: Hillary Clinton, campaign cash, and Hollywood: they all figure into a trial getting under way in Los Angeles. | |
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Dwight Meredith: Orrin Hatch, A Man of Principle — On CNN's Inside Politics, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch participated in the... |
Lorie Byrd: One segment featured a Judy Woodruff interview with Senator Pat Leahy (who, by the way, would own the role of The Joker... |
Eagle-eye Hume By / Townhall.com — Permalink Tens of thousands of Washingtonians were on hand Saturday for the 80th anniversary of the world famous Virginia Gold Cup steeplechase race at Great Meadow in The Plains. | |
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Scott @PowerLine: John McCaslin's May 10 Washington Times column coincidentally provides a perfect example of the latter point: ... |
Glenn Reynolds: CONDI RICE: [snipped quote] — Indeed. |
The war on paperclips By / Guardian — Permalink OK, I'm paranoid and depressed. My new government of troglodytes, murderers and spivs barely elongates the customary scream I give upon waking. What troubles me more is our rulers' inevitable recommencement of the war on terror bollocks. | |
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Scott Burgess: More 'Frothing Nonsense' in the Grauniad — The self-admittedly paranoiac, unbalanced novelist AL Kennedy - whose recent... |
Damian Penny: Stuff you shouldn't look at if you don't want to get really, really angry — More long-debunked 9/11 conspiracy... |
Inquiry finds evidence of fraud in election By / JSOnline — Permalink Investigators said Tuesday they found clear evidence of fraud in the Nov. 2 election in Milwaukee, including more than 200 cases of felons voting illegally and more than 100 people who voted twice, used fake names or false addresses or voted in the name of a dead person. | |
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John @PowerLine: But a joint federal-state investigation of last November's election in Milwaukee has found incontrovertible evidence of voter fraud. |
Jonathan H. Adler: WISCONSIN VOTER FRAUD — The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that an official investigation of voter irregularities... |
How not to be poor Townhall.com — Permalink Ministers Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Washington, D.C.'s Mayor Anthony Williams and others recently met to discuss plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the October 1995 Million Man March. Whilst reading about the plans, I thought of an excellent topic for the event: how not to be poor. | |
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McQ: How not to be poor — Walter Williams provides a common sense formula for success that crosses all racial and ethnic lines: "Avoiding long-term poverty is not rocket science. |
Betsy Newmark: Walter Williams explains how not to be poor. And it has nothing to do with race. |
New Dem think tank tackles conservative politics, media By / The Hill — Permalink Silicon Valley progressives, a major labor union and a centrist Democratic organization have joined forces to fund a startup think tank that focuses on politics, not policy. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: This is a quote pulled into the Hill's story on the event: "Zuniga was dismissive of the existing progressive thinks... |
Taegan Goddard: New Democratic Think Tank Created — A group of Democratic activists have joined together to "fund a startup think tank that focuses on politics, not policy," The Hill reports. |
Who will make the next move? By / National Post — Permalink OTTAWA — Opposition procedural manoeuvres may not topple the minority Liberals, but experts are predicting the government will likely have to bring forward its own confidence motion soon. Without a demonstration that it actually does have the confidence of the Commons, the government could find itself unable to govern. | |
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Captain Ed: John Ward of the Canadian Press explains that without some sort of explicit act that shows yesterday's no-confidence... |
John Cole: News To Me — This is news to me- apparently a vote of no-confidence is non-binding in Canada: [snipped quote] Ed... |
Agriculture Dept. paid journalist for favorable stories By / USA Today — Permalink A third federal agency has admitted it paid a journalist to write favorable stories about its work. Documents released by the Agriculture Department show it paid a freelance writer $9,375 in 2003 to "research and write articles for hunting and fishing magazines describing the benefits of NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) programs." | |
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Tom Biro: The news from USA Today's Mark Memmott about a freelancer who took almost $10,000 from the Agriculture Department a few... |
Jim Romenesko: > Smith didn't disclose in stories that he had been paid by USDA (USAT) |
Ridge Defends Color-Coded Alert System WaPo — Permalink Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge defended the agency's color-coded alert system yesterday, saying officials carefully decided when to issue the warnings and thought it was important to pass on threat information to the public. "People focus too much on colors. | |
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TChris: And cost untold dollars." Tom Ridge defended the system yesterday, complaining that people focus too much on the colors. |
Michael Froomkin: Ridge Defends that Curious Yellow — Former Homeland Security Czar Tom Ridge Defends Color-Coded Alert System. |
1,300 fake law badges seized CNN — Permalink NEW YORK (CNN) — Federal agents arrested a man on Monday, charging him with possessing and selling more than 1,300 counterfeit badges representing 35 law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency said. | |
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TChris: First, just say no. Second, call the agent's boss to make sure the agent is who he claims to be. Why is the second piece of advice important? |
Michelle Malkin: BUYING BOGUS BADGES ON THE NET — Sergio Khorosh, the Russian man who was charged yesterday with possessing and... |
Suicide bombings kill at least 50 in Iraq Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three suicide bombings killed at least 50 people across Iraq on Wednesday as insurgents pressed on with an escalation of attacks. In the deadliest attack, a suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle in Tikrit among a crowd of mainly Shi'ite migrant workers from southern Iraq who had gathered to try to find work on construction sites. | |
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James Joyner: The terrorists are still inflicting major damage and there is little sign that that will change any time soon. Juan Cole: 50 Dead, 90 Wounded in Iraq Bombings on Wednesday Morning — Qaim Campaign Continues On Wednesday morning, a suicide... |
Ace: Nihilistic Mutant Thugs Update: Terrorists kill 50 more civilians in bombings. |
Senate Backs Measure to Tighten ID Requirements By / WaPo — Permalink The Real ID Act, which the Senate approved yesterday, would make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain identification that the federal government will recognize when they try to board an airplane, fill out tax forms or open a bank account. | |
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Riggsveda @Corrente: Well, Forget It. Your Senate unanimously passed the appropriations bill with the Real ID booby prize tucked inside. |
Orrin Judd: ...AND WINNING...: Senate Backs Measure to Tighten ID Requirements (Darryl Fears, May 11, 2005, Washington Post)... |
Pastor Accused of Running Out Dems Quits AP — Permalink (AP) — A Baptist preacher accused of running out nine congregants who disagreed with his Republican politics resigned Tuesday, two days after calling the issue ''a great misunderstanding.'' | |
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TChris: Still, long-standing parishoners didn't approve of Rev. Chandler's desire to politicize their church. Steve M.: At least, that's what disgruntled church members say: Many of those who opposed Chandler's leadership said they agreed... Tully @Centerfield: Politics and the Pulpit — Pastor Accused of Running Out Dems Quits [snipped quote] Somehow that reminds me of.... "We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!" |
Steve Soto: As Baptist Pastor Resigns, His Younger Followers Demonstrate Cultist Behavior — The Baptist pastor of the Waynesville,... Avedon Carol: More from the notebook — Blogger is sleeping... Pastor Accused of Running Out Dems Quits: "I am resigning with... James Joyner: Pastor Accused of Running Out Dems Quits — Chan Chandler, the Waynesville, North Carolina Baptist preacher who told... |
60 Killed in Suicide Attacks Across Iraq By / AP — Permalink Five suicide attacks in three cities in Iraq killed more than 60 people Wednesday. In the deadliest, a man with hidden explosives set them off in a line of people outside a police and army recruitment center in northern Iraq, killing 30 and wounding 35, police said. | |
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Nick Gillespie: News From the Front(s) From Iraq: 60 Killed in Suicide Attacks Across Iraq From Afghanistan: Afghan Security Forces... |
Attaturk: Today's News in Tierney Talk — Let us modify this report and cover the news from Chimptopia with a move guaranteed to... |
Army Recruiters Play Hard Ball CBS News — Permalink (CBS) CBS News has learned that the Army will halt recruiting for one day later this month to re-instruct its recruiters on what they may and may not legally do to persuade young people to enlist. With casualties mounting in Iraq, recruiters have been unable to meet their goals for three months now. | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: More recruiting shenanegans — From CBS News: [snipped quote] If this is true (and it sounds like they have the... Cookie Jill: ok? give me a call back (phone number given) bye. " - thanks to glowdog's kos diary cbs has video, too. |
James Joyner: Army Taking Recruiting Holiday — Army Recruiters Play Hard Ball (CBS) "CBS News has learned that the Army will halt... Steve M.: Interesting: CBS News has learned that the Army will halt recruiting for one day later this month to re-instruct its... |
Congress Rekindles Battle on Mandatory Sentences By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 10 - Just months after the Supreme Court struck down federal sentencing formulas, the House is moving to institute new mandatory minimum sentences, beginning with a sweeping bill to fight street gangs. | |
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Jacob Sullum: There's Always Room to Be Tougher on Crime — Today the House of Representatives is expected to pass the Gang Deterrence... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Hearing on New Mandatory Minimums Today — A few days ago we put out this action alert on new mandatory minimum... |
Iraqi Governor Kidnapped in Anbar WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, May 10 — Insurgents kidnapped the governor of a western Iraqi province where U.S. forces pressed an offensive for a third straight day Tuesday, and two car bombs detonated in central Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 30. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: The recent heavy fighting near the Syrian border also involved jihadist foreign fighters rather than Iraqi insurgents, The Washington Post reports. Cori Dauber: Yet on we go, with this doubled writing, simultaneously explaining that this effort is against one particular faction of... Brad DeLong: Unqualified Offerings Is Disturbed — It writes: : The Dog That Hasn't Barked? |
Kos @DailyKos: Another 60 dead. Umm, why do they still do this? Why line them up outside of recruiting stations presenting such juicy targets? Smash: Be sure to follow the links to The Adventures of Chester and Belmont Club for more good reading, as well as the various media sources he cites. Jim Henley: Is it just me, or do none of the reports on the current offensive in northwestern Iraq advert to "combined US and Iraqi forces," as customary in Pentagon PR for most of a year? |
McCain urges compromise over filibusters By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain is urging the Senate's GOP majority to cut a deal with Democrats over President Bush's judicial nominees even as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist warns that a confrontation over judicial filibusters could come next week. | |
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Tom @ScaredMonkeys: He cares about John McCain and John McCain only. The AP Reports: [snipped quote] Sure, trust Reid. Orrin Judd: LET'S TOSS THE MINORITIES OVERBOARD: McCain Urges Compromise Over Filibusters (JESSE J. HOLLAND and DAVID ESPO, 5/10/05,... |
Taegan Goddard: The AP notes Sen. John McCain is the latest to push a compromise. |
IRAQ: Focus on child labour Reuters — Permalink BAGHDAD, 9 May (IRIN) - Eleven-year-old Mahmoud al-Obaidi walks seven km every morning to get to work at a carpentry factory in Baghdad so he can save his bus fares. Al-Obaidi is the only male in his family of four, as his father disappeared five years ago and he works to support his family. | |
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Juan Cole: Saboteurs hit the northern oil pipeline again on Tuesday. Reuters tells us about the scourge of child labor in Iraq. |
Attaturk: But the Purple Fingers and the Painted Schools... Well, when we get past the suicide bombs and the insurgent attacks,... |
Grenade near Bush 'was inactive' CNN — Permalink TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) — A grenade found near the site where U.S. President George W. Bush made a speech in Tblisi was an inactive Soviet-era device, Georgian officials said Wednesday. | |
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Jan Haugland: Update: Grenade was inactive and was placed, not thrown, Georgian authorities say. |
Daniel Berczik: ABC is best known for its hard-hitting expose of American Idol. UPDATE: Confirmed, but it was harmless. |
The Crusaders were right after all By / Telegraph — Permalink On February 11, 1847, the Scala opera house in Milan, its stage fitted out with fantastic arabesque ogees, onion domes and filagree fretting (representing the harem at Antioch), echoed to wild applause at the premiere of Verdi's I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards on the First Crusade). | |
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James Joyner: The Crusaders were right after all (London Telegraph | Opinion) [snipped quote] Quite right. Donald Sensing: The UK's Telegraph, ever the contrarian to the popular winds, says, "The Crusaders were right after all." |
Arthur Chrenkoff: If we could abide by that, there'd be no f****** problem," says Scott, but of course it's much easier and more... |
A Study in Bias By / NRO — Permalink According to a recent Washington Post/ABC poll, President Bush's plan to restructure the Social Security system has lost public support. What the poll doesn't tell you is that the network news has focused so much on the liberal side of this debate that the result isn't a surprise. | |
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Jane Galt: Matthew Yglesias repeats a claim I've heard from a lot of people who don't understand the meaning of insolvency: "Is the liberal media killing Social Security privatization? Matthew Yglesias: Ah Media Bias — Is the liberal media killing Social Security privatization? [snipped quote] Of course, I'm not happy with that kind of reporting either. |
Jesse Taylor: Liberal bias: when anchors make perfectly accurate statements, but fail to mention that saying those things makes them goat-f**kers. Josh Marshall: Wah. And did I mention, Wah. Now the story is that privatization is going down the tubes because of liberal media bias. |
Liberals defeated on 'confidence' vote - but they ignore the result National Post — Permalink OTTAWA - The federal government waded into uncharted constitutional waters Tuesday night after the Liberals were narrowly defeated in a vote the Conservatives say should topple the fragile minority government, but Prime Minister Paul Martin says he will ignore. | |
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Chris Lawrence: Kate also has a post at Outside the Beltway, with a link to another news story on today's events. Steve Bainbridge: Canadian Constitutional Crisis — Our friends to the north are having a wee political tempest over the Liberal's failure to resign after losing a de facto vote of no confidence. |
Kate @OTB: Paul Martin: From Rogue "Group" To Rogue Government 153 - 150. Paul Martin's "rogue group" is now a rogue government. |
Rumsfeld Seeks Leaner Army and Full Term as Defense Secretary NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 10 - Ask Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to define his legacy, and he cuts the question short: "Don't. Hold off on it. There will be plenty of time." Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, visiting with troops in Afghanistan last month, is trying to manage the military, and to reshape it. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Rummy: Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon — Via the NYT: Rumsfeld Seeks Leaner Army and Full Term as Defense Secretary |
Gregory Djerejian: The Rummy Chronicles — You have to say this about Don Rumsfeld—the old tiger just doesn't give up. I guess that does count for something. |
Marines Push Toward Iraq's Syrian Border By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Capitalizing on a lull in fighting Tuesday, hundreds of U.S. Marines pushed through a lawless region on the Syrian frontier after intense battles along the Euphrates River with well-armed militants fighting from basements, rooftops and sandbag bunkers. | |
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John @PowerLine: Marines On the Attack — As you've probably seen, around 1,000 Marines have attacked terrorists in a lawless desert region adjoining Iraq's border with Syria. |
Orrin Judd: DON'T LET THE BORDER STOP YOU: Marines Push Toward Iraq's Syrian Border (ANTONIO CASTANEDA, 5/10/05, Associated Press) [snipped quote] Stop when you hit the Med. |
Father charged in girls' deaths CNN — Permalink ZION, Illinois (CNN) — Police have taken Jerry Hobbs into custody and charged him with murdering his 8-year-old daughter, Laura, and her best friend, 9-year-old Krystal Tobias. The second-grade classmates are believed to have been stabbed to death Sunday on Mother's Day. | |
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Armed Liberal: And today, I read of a father who has been charged with murdering his eight year old daughter and her nine year old friend. |
Red @ScaredMonkeys: More from the Chicago Sun Times Update: From the AP, "Father Arrested in Slaying of Two Girls" More from CNN |
Bolton aide targets State Dept. bureau in dispute By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top aide to John Bolton, President Bush's embattled nominee as U.N. envoy, threatened to diminish the role of the State Department's intelligence bureau because of a dispute over analyzing China's missile export controls, according to declassified e-mails. | |
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Steve Clemons: In these, Reuters submits that Bolton's Chief of Staff, Fred Fleitz, threatened to "diminish the role" of the Intelligence and Research Bureau. |
Laura Rozen: Here's Reuter's Carol Giacomo from one hour ago: [snipped quote] Looks like Lugar is just going to have to postpone the... |
Chafee Gives Reluctant Support to Bolton By / AP — Permalink (05-10) 16:58 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the moderate Republicans who has been wavering on the nomination of John R. Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday he will reluctantly support the embattled nominee. | |
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Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Chafee will Support Bolton — The Republicans are falling into line on the nomination of John Bolton to the US Ambassador to the United Nations. Laura Rozen: Not clear what if anything Biden and Lugar will get in that regard. Here's a late update from the AP. |
Mary @LeftCoaster: Open Thread — Senator Chafee must have found a dead horse's head in his bed because he's supporting Bolton and cutting SS benefits these days. |
Real wages fall at fastest rate in 14 years By / Financial Times — Permalink Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times. Inflation rose 3.1 per cent in the year to March but salaries climbed just 2.4 per cent, according to the Employment Cost Index. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Of course, wage indexing might be for s**t, as real wages are plummeting - not quite the killer gotcha you want behind... Barry L. Ritholtz: When that bet finally does pay off, it may be a doosie ... > Source: Real wages fall at fastest rate in 14 years... Chris Bowers: I do know, however, that this is not good: [snipped quote] Four years of flat job growth, and those who do have a job find their wages not keeping up with inflation. |
David Sirota: David Sirota: While workers get the shaft, CEOs still say greed is good — The Financial Times reports that "real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years." Atrios: Roaring Naughties — From the FT: Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times. Taegan Goddard: Real Wages Fall at Fastest Rate in 14 Years — Americans' real wages — salaries adjusted for inflation — "are falling... |
| Also: Libertarian Jackass, Stirling Newberry | |
Brazilian Town Declares Orgasm Day AP — Permalink RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Sex rarely makes the news in Brazil's conservative Northeast — until a small town declared an official Orgasm Day on Monday. Espertantina Mayor Felipe Santolia endorsed the May 9 holiday, which he said was intended to improve relationships between married couples. | |
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Avedon Carol: Oh, and welcome to Zombo.com. Brazilian Town Declares Orgasm Day. Gary Farber: In Brazil: "Santolia said the remote town of 38,000 people has been unofficially celebrating orgasm day for years, but that...." Why, yes, so have I! McQ: Put it on your calendar for next year: [snipped quote] No word on the whether its true that Viagra is the commercial sponsor. |
Chris Lawrence: All for the nookie — Somehow I missed Orgasm Day yesterday (þ: Glenn Reynolds). Kehaar: Moving to Brazil — Brazilian Town Declares Orgasm Day. I'm predicting this is going to becum bigger than Carnivale. Joe Gandelman: A Truly Arousing Holiday In Brasil — Now, here's a holiday that even teenagers would enjoy: [snipped quote] Well let you read the details for yourself. |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds, K. J. Lopez | |
Possible Voter Fraud Found in Milwaukee By / AP — Permalink MILWAUKEE — About 4,500 more ballots than registered voters were cast in the election last November in Milwaukee, investigators said Tuesday. Also, more than 200 felons voted improperly in Milwaukee, and more than 100 instances of suspected double-voting were found. | |
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Dale Franks: Is anyone surprised that Mr. Lampley is not agitated about other apparent voter irregularities in places like, say, Milwaukee? Captain Ed: WaPo Smells The Cheese ... Finally — The Washington Post has finally sniffed out the Silence of the Cheese, the... |
Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Democrats find 4.500 votes more than Registered Voters — What is the bigger crime. Michelle Malkin: Incredible, but no surprise to bloggers who've been on this from the get-go: [snipped quote] The U.S. Attorney downplays the story, noting that no "widespread conspiracy" was found. |
Frist plans to use 'option' on nomination of Owen By / Washington Times — Permalink Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans for Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to be the judicial nomination on which he uses the "nuclear option" against Democratic filibusters later this month, according to Republicans familiar with his plans. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Some other indications that Nuclear D-Day is approaching: —According to the Washington Times, Frist already has the... Ezra Klein: Fila-Bust-A-Bus — Bill Frist is setting up to use the nuclear option on Priscilla Owen, according to the Washington Times. Betsy Newmark: The Washington Times reports that Frist will use Priscilla Owen's nomination as the vote to break the Democrats' filibustering. |
Jesse Taylor: Fili-Bust-A-Bus — Bill Frist is setting up to use the nuclear option on Priscilla Owen, according to the Washington Times. Captain Ed: The Washington Times reports today that Frist has decided to pull the trigger on the Byrd option using Priscilla Owen's nomination as the catalyst. Taegan Goddard: Frist to Use Nuclear Option on Owens Nomination — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) "plans for Texas Supreme... |
| Also: Avedon, Francis J. Beckwith, Dr. Steven Taylor, PoliPundit, Evan Smith, Orrin Judd, Avedon Carol, Steve Dillard, K. J. Lopez | |
Know Thy Allies By / Slate — Permalink After World War I, the political right in Germany developed a myth called the "stab in the back" theory to explain its people's defeat. Though military leaders had helped negotiate the war's end, they fixed blame on civilian leaders—especially Jews, socialists, and liberals—for "betraying" the brave German fighting men. | |
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Kevin Drum: David Greenberg provides a more detailed history if you're interested. But here's what I'm curious about: why did Bush mention Yalta at all? Pejman Yousefzadeh: OF "MCCARTHYITES" AND FALSE ALARMS — Guest-blogging at Daniel Drezner's site, David Greenberg points to his... |
Josh Marshall: And I'm glad to see it is already garnering a slowly-rising chorus of criticism. David Greenberg: Last weekend, he endorsed a similar view of the Yalta accords. My take at Slate. |
The Super-Lobbyist's "Friend" By / American Prospect — Permalink Take pity on poor Bob Ney, who insists he's just another victim of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public-relations consultant Michael Scanlon. Unlike the half-dozen Indian tribes that paid about $82 million to that scamming duo, however, the U.S. representative at... | |
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Kevin Drum: In the American Prospect this month, Art Levine tells the tale of Ney's dealings with super lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the... ArchPundit: The thing Ney isn't telling you? [snipped quote] No, Bob, why would anyone take you seriously..... via The Stakeholder Matthew Yglesias: Today our website is featuring one part of that article, the sordid story of Bob Ney: [snipped quote] Article contains... |
Matt Singer: The question then is who is the member of Congress: Bob Ney (R-OH) or Conrad Burns (R-MT)? (more…) Ezra Klein: According to the Prospect, Bob Ney was on the take as well. Interesting stuff. Laura Rozen: Jack Abramoff's other "victim," Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney. The American Prospect's Art Levine has the story. |
| Also: Max B. Sawicky | |
AP: Ethnic Rifts Tearing at al-Qaida AP — Permalink ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - American and Pakistani intelligence agents are exploiting a growing rift between Arab members of al-Qaida and their Central Asian allies, a fissure that's tearing at the network of Islamic extremists as militants compete for scarce hideouts, weapons and financial resources, counterterrorism officials say. | |
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Captain Ed: Now that it has had almost four years of unrelenting pressure, the AP reports that the fissures have started larger... James Joyner: Ethnic Rifts Tearing at al-Qaida (AP) [snipped quote] Quite interesting. Al Qaeda has always been a rather loose coalition of groups with rather different goal. |
Marc @USSNeverdock: And while Iraqis are uniting, al Qaeda is fracturing - at least in Pakistan. [snipped quote] Hopefully the same will start to happen in Iraq soon. Gregory Djerejian: Fissures within al-Qaeda? An al-Qaeda schism? |
U.S. Marines Push Toward Syrian Border By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of U.S. Marines pushed through a lawless region on the Syrian frontier Tuesday after battling past well-armed militants fighting from basements, rooftops and sandbag bunkers. Insurgents kidnapped the provincial governor as a bargaining chip. | |
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Blackfive: Reports of Marine heroics are already coming from the battle. Thus far, three Marines have fallen. Charles Johnson: US Forces Encounter Uniformed Fighters — This report on Operation Matador, the US offensive against the mujahideen... |
Donald Sensing: They have obviously worked hard at developing effective defenses of urban buidings - see here - but the Marines learned... |
Rolling Stones announce world tour By / Newsday — Permalink To the tune of "Start Me Up," the Rolling Stones played an energetic, three-song set on a stage outside The Juilliard School in Manhattan yesterday to announce their 2005 world tour. The set also featured a new song, "Oh No, Not You Again" and ended with "Brown Sugar." | |
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Ed Cone: Only rock and roll — The Stones are touring. I went to the opening show of what may have been their first final tour. Joe Gandelman: They're Getting Off Their Rocking Chairs To Rock — Here's more evidence that senior citizens are increasingly energetic... |
Roger L. Simon: My birthday's in November (age to be determined) and these guys (ages to be determined) are going to be in Anaheim on the 4th and SF on the 13th of that month. Josh Marshall: Rolling Stones announce new world tour. Yes, some things are bigger than politics. |
Woman awarded $45,000 in cat death By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink A Seattle woman whose cat was mauled to death by a neighbor's dog was awarded more than $45,000 last week in her wrongful-death lawsuit against the dog's owner, her attorney announced yesterday. | |
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Ann Althouse: I say absolutely not. Obviously, anyone can get a new cat free, so the replacement cost is nothing (unless it's a fancy breed). Acidman: I may have to re-think my philosophy. My truck is not worth forty-five thousand dollars. A dead cat is, according to a judge. |
Jan Haugland: Your cat may be worth more than $45,000 dead — Dog bites cat. Dog owner has to pay $45,480. K. J. Lopez: NEVERMIND ABOUT MY UNBORN FETUS — Moving on to the cat: "But in recent years, the legal community has debated whether... |
Appeals Court Sides With Cheney in Lawsuit By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to force Vice President Dick Cheney to reveal details about the energy policy task force he headed and the pro-industry recommendations it made. | |
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Mathew @Centerfield: DC Circuit Unanimously Sides With Cheney on "Secret Meetings" — The Washington Post reports: [snipped quote] Can't much... Red @ScaredMonkeys: Between the Cheney Appeals ruling this morning and the Halliburton bonuses, VP Dick Cheney just became public enemy #1 with Libs again. Cookie Jill: courts decision on cheney not appealing to us so it's ok to not take into consideration the country's well being when discussing energy, environment, etc.? |
Jamie Court: Cheney-Lay Energy Secrets Safe — A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that Vice President Dick Cheney need not publicly... Michelle Malkin: TWO APPEALING DECISIONS — Just in... Appeals Court Sides With Cheney in Lawsuit: "The Sierra Club and Judicial Watch... Jonathan H. Adler: Story here; opinion here. |
Reid: GOP Preparing for Court Nomination By / AP — Permalink (05-10) 15:33 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid accused President Bush on Tuesday of trying to steamroll the Senate in preparation for a Supreme Court vacancy. The Senate's top Republican said a filibuster showdown over judicial nominations could come as early as next week. | |
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Dwight Meredith: The tactic was described as a "radical, radical departure from our history and our traditions, and it amounts to an assault on the judicial branch of government." Mark R. Levin: According to AP, Ken Starr tells CBS Evening News that [a filibuster-rule change would be] a "radical, radical departure... |
Lambert @Corrente: Et tu, Kenneth? Even Ken Starr thinks the Republican plan to "break the rules to change the rules" is a bad idea:... |
Once Again, the Big Yalta Lie By / LAT — Permalink During his visit to the Baltics over the weekend, President Bush infuriated Russian leader Vladimir V. Putin by declaring the obvious: that the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe was "one of the greatest wrongs of history." | |
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John Hawkins: But certain people on the left are treating Bush's comments as a slap at FDR or as advocating the continuation of WW2 against the Soviets. Orrin Judd: NO, I LIKE THIS SPOT BETTER: Once Again, the Big Yalta Lie (Jacob Heilbrunn, May 10, 2005, LA Times) [snipped quote] In... |
Matt Welch: Jacob Heilbrunn, for instance, has a mad-as-hell column today titled Once Again, the Big Yalta Lie, that puts forth the... David Greenberg: Along with the indefatigable Arthur M. Schlesinger, add Jacob Heilbrunn at the LA Times to those pointing out the ugliness of Bush's remarks. |
Father Arrested in Slaying of Two Girls By / AP — Permalink ZION, Ill. - When the father of a missing 8-year-old found her bloodied body in a ravine, next to her lifeless best friend, it seemed every parent's worst nightmare. Jerry Hobbs, just out of prison, led police to the girls himself. They wanted to know how he found them. | |
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Cori Dauber: Because it is a heinous crime, because those adjectives are accurate, and if the use of the word "murder" carries negative connotations, so be it. |
Jayson @PoliPundit: Why We Need the Death Penalty — We need the death penalty to achieve society's retribution for the ghastly crimes of these vermin trash heaps. |
Bombs Bursting on Air By / NYT — Permalink If a man-bites-dog story is news and dog-bites-man isn't, why are journalists still so interested in man-blows-up-self stories? I realize that we have a duty to report suicide bombings in the Middle East, especially when there's a spate as bad as in recent weeks. | |
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Heather Hurlburt: Today, Are Suicide Bombings News, John Tierney? I'm sorry that John Tierney is tired of covering suicide bombers. Scott Rosenberg: Today the New York Times' rookie conservative columnist, John Tierney, offers a variation on the See No Evil argument... Richard Reeb: John Tierney, the new face at the New York Times to replace the retiring William Safire (thanks to my fellow blogger Ken... |
Jim Dallas: Granted, such journalism appears to get the John Tierney seal of approval, but I think we can all agree with Tbogg about John Tierney. Tbogg: Probably because Tierney has lost the will to report. If a man-bites-dog story is news and dog-bites-man isn't, why are... Steve M.: John Tierney is getting a lot of criticism for his suggestion that the press should give less coverage than it does now... |
| Also: Jesse Taylor, Ed Cone, Cliff May, Jim Romenesko, Jeff Jarvis, Attaturk, Cori Dauber, Paperwight @BOPNews | |
A GOP Plan to 'Fix' the Democrats By / WaPo — Permalink The stakes in politics are about to get a lot higher. The partisan battles in the coming weeks — on judges, Social Security and the future of Tom DeLay — are part of a larger struggle in which Republicans are seeking to establish themselves as the dominant party in American politics. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Short memory — EJ Dionne observes, I think correctly: [snipped quote] But then he demonstrates a remarkably short memory: [snipped quote] Ever hear of a judge named Bork? Avedon Carol: E.J. Dionne explains the GOP Plan to 'Fix' the Democrats and why it means smart Democrats are fighting back (and only stupid ones would do otherwise). Edward _: As E.J. Dionne Jr. explains in the Washington Post today: "The partisan battles in the coming weeks — on judges,... |
Barbara O'Brien: But I digress. comradecopy.jpgE.J. Dionne writes in today's Washington Post that what the GOP really wants to do may be less nuclear than, um, surgical. Steve Soto: E. J. Dionne, Jr. astutely points out why Democrats are fighting Bush and the GOP tooth and nail on judges, Social... Joe Gandelman: E.J. Dionne, Jr. says this isn't an isolated case, but part of a larger, overall plan to relegate the Democrats to... |
| Also: Betsy Newmark | |
Halliburton gets bonus for Iraq work Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said on Tuesday it had awarded $72 million in bonuses to Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL - news) for logistics work in input type="hidden" name="c1" value=" "/ Iraq but had not decided whether to give the Texas company bonuses for disputed dining services to troops. | |
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Red @ScaredMonkeys: Not a Good Day for Libs and Democrats — First there was news this morning that Dick Cheney had won the appeal and now... Jayson @PoliPundit: Cue the Imperial Theme Music — For one of the primary banes of the left's existence is back in the news. {gulp} |
Cookie Jill: $72 million could buy alot of armor reuters reported tuesday that halliburton co. |
L.A. Times Launches First Stage of Yearlong Web Redesign LAT — Permalink The Los Angeles Times today launched the first stage of a year-long initiative to improve and expand the newspaper's Internet offerings, with a special emphasis on utility for Southern Californians. As part of this effort, The Times also today reintroduced free access to calendarlive.com. | |
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Kevin Roderick: The welcome letter from general manager Robertson Barrett explains that it works for "the majority of Internet users." Robert Tagorda: Los Angeles Times Begins Year-Long Web Overhaul — My hometown paper finally comes to its senses: L.A. Times Launches... |
Gary Farber: YES, WELL, it's terribly nice that the LA Times is so proud of their new web design that they want to announce it to the... Virginia Postrel: The changes are explained here. For all its flaws (see Kausfiles for running commentary), the LAT is a good newspaper that deserves a national readership. |
U.S. Says Fighting Pauses in Western Iraq as Rebels Regroup By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 10 - Insurgents who control parts of the western Iraqi desert appeared to have fallen back to regroup as the Marines prepared a new assault on a force of more than 200 fighters hiding or roaming the towns and desert in the remote areas just east of the Syrian border, a Marine commander said today. | |
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Donald Sensing: Bill Roggio has details, including the report that the bad men are trying to stand their ground and fight (they have... |
Stephen: For Beth — Marines Kicking Ass in Western Iraq "Insurgents who control parts of the western Iraqi desert appeared to... |
No. 2 at State Dept. Was Said to Put Restrictions on Bolton By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, May 9 - A new portrayal of John R. Bolton describes him as having so angered senior State Department officials with his public comments that the deputy secretary of state, Richard L. Armitage, ordered two years ago that Mr. Bolton be blocked from delivering speeches and testimony unless they were personally approved by Mr. Armitage. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Amid a spate of reports indicating high GOPers believe his nomination will pass, John Bolton's image received another... Steve Soto: And this will override any new revelations about Bolton being a lunatic whom Colin Powell had muzzled. Laura Rozen: The NYT has more on Bolton's bizarre fixation with ElBaradei, as witnessed by Powell's chief of staff Larry Wilkerson |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: It is accompanied by this piece by Douglas Jehl discussing yet another personality charge made against Bolton. James Joyner: No. 2 at State Dept. Was Said to Put Restrictions on Bolton (NYT) [snipped quote] If Wilkerson's testimony is... Pudentilla: for republicans, bolton nomination turns on internal polling — [snipped quote] the author appears to assume that for... |
Women Returning to Democratic Party, Poll Finds By / WaPo — Permalink The gender gap is now 25 years old and, according to recent polling, it is alive and well. A Democratic polling memo released yesterday found that women, who voted for President Bush last year in large numbers, have begun migrating back to their... | |
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Joe Gandelman: Women Leaving GOP For Democratic Party — A new poll suggests that women are now returning to their traditional fold —... Xan @Corrente: WaPo again: "A Democratic polling memo released yesterday found that women, who voted for President Bush last year in... Taegan Goddard: Women Returning to Democratic Party — [snipped quote] the Washington Post reports. Link | Related News |
Steve Soto: Tuesday Morning Quick Hits — A new poll finds that with the 2004 election behind them and even the White House now... Michael J. Totten: Republicans Slipping — From the Washington Post. [snipped quote] I doubt women are the only ones doing a re-think on this one. |
Congress Job Approval at 35%, Lowest in Eight Years By / Gallup — Permalink PRINCETON, NJ — These are not good days for Congress. The latest Gallup survey shows that only 35% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, and almost 4 in 10 say most Republicans and, separately, most Democrats in Congress are unethical. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Latest Poll: Congress Job Approval Takes Nosedive — It'll be interesting to see what happens to Congress' approval... Tom @ScaredMonkeys: Gallup timed it to coincide with a poll that is designed to slam Congress. What a surprise. UGH! |
Taegan Goddard: Congressional Approval Falls to Eight Year Low — "The latest Gallup survey shows that only 35% of Americans approve of... |
The Jews have a mission: Judeo-Christian values: Part XII By / Townhall.com — Permalink Ask believing Christians — probably from as young as 8 years of age — what their mission as Christians is, and it is overwhelmingly likely they will answer, "to bring people to Christ" or "spread the Gospel." Ask any non-Christian what the Christian mission is, and you will get the same answer. | |
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Ezra Klein: Stupid Jews — So speaketh Dennis Prager, in part XII of his written-for-eventually-re maindered-publication book, "Judeo-Christian Values". Orrin Judd: ONE GOD, ALL ELSE FOLLOWS: The Jews have a mission: Judeo-Christian values (Dennis Prager, May 10, 2005, Townhall)... |
Sadly, No!: Our buddy Dennis Prager has written another classic column about Judeo-Christian values, and while I normally find... Roger Ailes: Dennis Prager, Idiot — "In no country except the United States have Jews felt fully a member of the national group in which they lived." |
U.S. conservatives to rally around Tom DeLay By / Reuters — Permalink "/ President Bush's key proposals, gather on Thursday to show solidarity with embattled Republican House leader Tom DeLay and pressure wavering supporters to stay in his corner. | |
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Evan Smith: DeLay of Game — Could the conservative activists responsible for Thursday's Tom DeLay tribute please explain how to take the fact that they're so very publicly standing by him? |
Jayson @PoliPundit: No, at this stage, we're finally starting to stand up and make some noise, instead of being the "silent majority" that... |
Nationalism's Psychotic Side By / LAT — Permalink Even decent people can be swept along by barbarism when a nation gets sick. When I was a kid in the Bronx during World War II, my mother got me to eat my vegetables by playing a war game in which the spinach or the broccoli were the Germans — the evil ones to be gobbled up. | |
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Avedon Carol: Robert Scheer draws no parallels in Nationalism's Psychotic Side - but you can hardly help yourself from seeing them anyway. |
Ken Masugi: Robert Scheer Remembers WW II — Recalling his early life in World War II, LAT columnist Robert Scheer explores his... |