Top Items:
Sharon Bernstein / Los Angeles Times:
Large Portion of Los Angeles Loses Power — A wide-ranging power outage, set off when a cable was accidentally cut, darkened large sections of downtown Los Angeles and many parts of the San Fernando Valley for a couple hours shortly after noon, authorities said.
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Laura Wides / Associated Press:
Worker Error Blamed for L.A. Blackout — LOS ANGELES - An error by utility workers caused a blackout across major portions of Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, trapping people in elevators and snarling traffic at intersections, authorities said. — About 2 million people were affected …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …, Wizbang, Patrick Ruffini '05, QandO, Outside The Beltway and Pandagon
Laura Wides / Associated Press:
Blackout Hits L.A.; Terrorism Ruled Out — LOS ANGELES - A blackout hit a large portion of the Los Angeles area Monday afternoon, snarling traffic at intersections and trapping people in elevators. — The city was investigating the cause of the outage. But Sgt. Catherine Plows …
Discussion:
The Counterterrorism Blog, PunditGuy, California Conservative, Clarity & Resolve and Wonkette
Michael Williams / Master of None:Power Outages across Los Angeles
Discussion:
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Associated Press:
FEMA Director Michael Brown resigns — Chief steps down following removal from role in New Orleans aid effort — WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president," …
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Washington Post:
Embattled FEMA Director Michael Brown Resigns — Director Says Focus Has to Be on Agency, Not Him — Michael D. Brown resigned this afternoon as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, becoming the first high-profile Bush administration official to step down amid public criticism …
fema.gov:
R. David Paulison — Acting Under Secretary / U.S. Fire Administrator — R. David Paulison was appointed director of the Preparedness Division of the Emergency Preparedness & Response Directorate/FEMA, in the newly created Department of Homeland Security in 2003.
Ron Fournier / Associated Press:Firefighter to Replace Brown As FEMA Chief
Discussion:
Brutally Honest
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
A Day of Firsts, Overshadowed — Yesterday's opening of the John Roberts confirmation hearings was a time for historic firsts. — Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) made 49 first-person references in a 10-minute statement that was, ostensibly, not about himself.
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Daily Kos:
Umpire: Roberts' Opening Statement — In his opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bush nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, John Roberts, drew an analogy between the Supreme Court and umpires in baseball: … It is an interesting analogy Judge Roberts draws.
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Mark Steyn / Telegraph:
Bush kept his head and the danger's passed — 'Flood That Released America's Demons", said the Sun on Saturday. Underneath the arresting headline was a column by Jeremy Clarkson, and, after the usual good-natured knockabout - "Most Americans barely have the brains to walk on their back legs" …
Ross Douthat / The American Scene:
Triumphalism: In the Standard's tenth anniversary issue, Andrew Ferguson waxed a tad pessimistic about the state of conservatism: … Well. The folks at Powerline weren't pleased with this prissy intellectualist defeatism - no sir: … That's right, folks - you though Ferguson was complaining …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …
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Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Bush Approval Rating at All-Time Low — President Bush's public standing has hit record lows amid broad support for an independent investigation of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and calls for postponing congressional action on $70 billion in proposed tax cuts to help pay for storm recovery …
Wretchard / The Belmont Club:
The Flight 93 Memorial — The design of the Flight 93 memorial is being criticized for resembling a Red Islamic Crescent. Michelle Malkin, Real Clear Politics and Little Green Footballs point out the uncanny similarity. One poster at the FreeRepublic claimed that the "Crescent of Embrace" …
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Michael J. Totten:
From Portland to Beirut - and Beyond — At the end of September I'm moving from Portland, Oregon to Beirut, Lebanon for six months. I'll rent an apartment and use the city as a base to visit the rest of the region, starting with Syria, Iran, Egypt, and Jordan. — I need a break from domestic politics.
CNN:
FEMA director Brown resigns — Bush tours New Orleans devastation — NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown, under fire over his qualifications and what critics call a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina, resigned Monday, senior administration sources told CNN.
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
George Galloway Is Gruesome, Not Gorgeous — Now, watch me debate him. — My old friend and frequent critic Geoffrey Wheatcroft once tried to define a moment of perfect contentment and came up with the idea of opening a vintage wine while settling down to read an undiscovered work by P.G. Wodehouse.
Jonathan E. Kaplan / The Hill:
Rep. Reynolds's frustration boils over at Dem criticism of Bush, GOP ethics — Republicans began last week by absorbing blistering attacks on President Bush's management of disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina and the massive flooding of New Orleans and ended the week …
James Taranto / Opinion Journal:
Best of the Web — Ship of Fools — As we've heard ad nauseam the past couple of weeks, the Katrina disaster raises serious questions about race in America. Just how serious became clear Saturday afternoon, when Fox News Channel's Alicia Acuna conducted a live interview with a frustrated …
Associated Press:
Palestinians torch four Gaza synagogues — Thousands of triumphant Palestinians poured into abandoned Jewish settlements early Monday, setting empty synagogues on fire and shooting in the air, as the last Israeli soldier rolled out of the Gaza Strip, completing the Israeli pullout from the territory after a 38-year presence.
Discussion:
Roger L. Simon