meme orandum
| A newfangled news tangle |
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The World of Megaterrorism ( / Opinion Journal) Permalink PARIS—Read carefully the statement that claimed responsibility for the Madrid massacres. Al Qaeda puts everyone, from the Crusaders to the Jews, all countries who sent troops not just to Iraq but to Afghanistan as well, in their gun sights. In other words, all of... | |
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Tim Blair: Another don't-miss: this superb column by André Glucksmann, the French liberal philosopher (no, serious, go read it. It's worth every... Charles Johnson: The World of Megaterrorism — Here's a great piece by Andre Glucksmann at OpinionJournal, on the tragedy of the Spanish capitulation to... |
Roger L. Simon: UPDATE: The brilliant and courageous André Glucksmann (hat tip: Maria Horvath) puts the kibosh on this kind of "realistic analysis" of the... |
Kerry still can't get his stories straight ( / Chicago Sun Times) Permalink I wonder if John Kerry has perhaps launched his descent into caricature a couple of months too early. Usually, the successful losing candidate waits till late spring/early summer before shifting gears and beginning each day with the campaign trying to explain some rhetorical... | |
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Deacon: Mark Steyn looks at that week as only Mark Steyn can, and wonders whether "Kerry has perhaps launched his descent into caricature a couple of... Tim Blair: Mark Steyn reviews the latest clumsiness from Keystone Kerry, and ABC's The Note has more on Kerry's harsh assault on his Secret Service agent |
Tom Smith: Mark Steyn does his usual unkind best to rub it in. (via realclearpolitics.com) I'm generally sympathetic to insecure displays of macho. I would... Betsy Newmark: As usual, Mark Steyn is hilarious. Here he is taking on Kerry's flip-flops. "Q: How many John Kerrys does it take to change a lightbulb? A: At... |
Kerry Studying Clarke Book on Iraq ( / AP) Permalink KETCHUM, Idaho - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Sunday he has asked for copies of a new book in which a former White House counterterrorism coordinator accuses the Bush administration of manipulating America into war with Iraq with dangerous consequences. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Kerry Studying Clarke's Book — John Kerry said "he has asked for copies of a new book in which a former White House counterterrorism coordinator... |
Oliver Willis: Kerry Studying Clarke Book on Iraq Kerry, a critic of Bush's handling of the war, said he wants to study the charges by Richard A. Clarke... |
Engagement Is a Constant In Kerry's Foreign Policy ( / WaPo) Permalink When President Bill Clinton referred to the United States as "the indispensable nation" during his second inaugural address in 1997, and then as other U.S. officials picked up the term, Sen. John F. Kerry recoiled. He turned to his longtime foreign policy aide Nancy Stetson... | |
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Deacon: No, Kerry complaining about a reference in Bill Clinton's second inaugural address to the United States as "the indispensable nation," as... Gregory Djerejian: "Is that a new world order?" [emphasis added] John Kerry, January 11th 1991, speaking just five days before the beginning of Desert Storm... |
Mark Krikorian: FRANCOPHILE — Maybe everyone else already knew this, but something in today's Post makes Kerry's worldview entirely clear to me: "Kerry's... |
Report: Al Qaeda Has Nukes (AP) Permalink SYDNEY, Australia — Usama bin Laden's (search) terror network claims to have bought ready-made nuclear weapons on the black market in central Asia, the biographer of Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader was quoted as telling an Australian television station. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: Does al Qaeda already have nuclear weapons? Ayman al-Zawahiri told Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir that they do. It seems likely it was a bluff,... |
Ezra Klein: Does Al-Qaeda Have a Bomb? This is scary, scary s**t. |
al-Qaida No. 2: We Have Briefcase Nukes (AP) Permalink SYDNEY, Australia - Osama bin Laden 's terror network claims to have bought ready-made nuclear weapons on the black market in central Asia, the biographer of al-Qaida's No. 2 leader was quoted as telling an Australian television station. | |
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James Joyner: Osama's Nukes — Over at Command Post , Michele passes along this AP story: "Osama bin Laden’s terror network claims to have bought... |
Charles Johnson: Zawahiri: "We Purchased Some Suitcase Bombs" — Al Qaeda claims to have suitcase nuclear bombs. (Hat tip: zorkmidden.) "SYDNEY, Australia -... |
A Saudi Response on Reform: Round Up the Usual Dissidents ( / NYT) Permalink SHORTLY before I left Saudi Arabia in January, Dr. Tawfiq al-Khusayer, a Saudi engineering professor and veteran reformist, told me he had a premonition that he might be hauled off to jail, and he asked me to stay in touch. The professor, a moderate Islamist, is one of the... | |
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Gary Farber: SAUDI ARABIAN REFORMS proceed. "In recent months Dr. Khusayer like many Saudis, had become dangerously impatient with the sluggish rate of... |
Fred Lapides: A Saudi Response on Reform: Round Up the Usual Dissidents — From The New York Times SHORTLY before I left Saudi Arabia in January, Dr. Tawfiq... |
Was This News for Kids? ( / WaPo) Permalink Last Wednesday, the KidsPost page at the back of the Style section turned its attention once again to a feature it calls "The Big Story; An Occasional Look at What Everyone Is Talking About." This time it was called "Defining Marriage," and the main article focused on a... | |
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Tim Graham: KIDS POST VERDICT — Even as he tries to argue the Washington Post has produced "excellent" coverage of the homosexuality debate and praises the... |
The Ombudsgod: If you do it for long enough then it isn't terrorism any more — Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler explains why it is appropriate to... |
Limp wrists and slant eyes must go as political correctness demands new signs for the deaf (Telegraph) Permalink Political correctness has caught up with sign language for deaf people. Gestures used to depict ethnic and religious minorities and homosexuals are being dropped because they are now deemed offensive. | |
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James Joyner: P.C. for the Deaf — The Telegraph: Limp wrists and slant eyes must go as political correctness demands new signs for the deaf "Political... Joanne Jacobs: But deaf Britons say it's discrimination to change signs that use a hooked nose for Jews, a limp wrist for gays and slant eyes for the Chinese... |
Edward Driscoll: POLITICAL CORRECTNESS—NOW IT'S TRULY TONE DEAF: Joanne Jacobs writes that in England, the PC clean-up crew is trying to get sign language... |
Kerry seeks balance, Bush readies barrage ( / Boston Globe) Permalink KETCHUM, Idaho — When John F. Kerry cursed about a Secret Service agent who had collided with him Thursday on a snowboarding run, Republican strategists rejoiced: The senator might be on vacation, but he was not taking a break from making gaffes they could use to embarrass... | |
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Tim Blair: Kerry aides now say he made the remark in jest. But where are all the photographs of Kerry's snow blunders? The National Review's Robert Moran... |
Betsy Newmark: The Boston Globe looks at Kerry's bad week and all the recommendations that everyone has for Kerry on how to get back on track. |
From Midtown to Madrid, Tens of Thousands Peacefully Protest War ( / NYT) Permalink Marking the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, crowds of sign-waving, slogan-chanting demonstrators marched through Midtown Manhattan and scores of cities from Alaska to Australia yesterday in a largely peaceful global rebuke to the war. | |
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Gregory Djerejian: If not, the Madeline Albrights of the world will cry "surprise"! Moronic street sentiment appears geared up for such allegations too. "Bush!... |
Cori Dauber: It is interesting, given the principle is to nonetheless give these marches as much attention as possible, that this piece isn't in the dead tree... |
Arafat: Passion of the Christ 'impressive' (AP) Permalink Yasser Arafat watched Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ on Saturday, and afterward a top aide compared Jesus' pain during crucifixion to the suffering of Palestinians in the conflict with Israel. | |
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Fred Lapides: Yasser Arafat Says Gibson Film Not Anti-Semitic — Hat ti[p to IsraellycoolThe source for this story is JPost "Yasser Arafat watched Mel... Tgirsch: Everything You Need to Know About The Passion — Arafat liked it: [quote] "The Palestinians are still daily being exposed to the kind of pain Jesus was...[end quote] Jeff Jarvis: Oh, it gets even worse: "Yasser Arafat watched Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ on Saturday, and afterward a top aide compared Jesus'... |
David Allan Pell: Passionate Audience: Arafat digs Gibson's Passion. Hmm. I wonder what he sees in it? Roger L. Simon: I'm not referring to Yasser Arafat, the dictator. That's so 2003. I'm talking about Yasser Arafat, the film critic. (hat tip: Charles Martin) |
Guantánamo Detainees Deliver Intelligence Gains ( / NYT) Permalink GUANTNAMO BAY, Cuba, March 19 — Military officials say prisoners at the detention center here have provided a stream of intelligence to interrogators during the past two years, including detailed information about Al Qaeda's recruitment of Muslim men in Europe. | |
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Cori Dauber: Don't be surprised when I tell you I have a few problems with the piece. My biggest problem is the overall thrust of the piece: that the... KJL: GITMO PAYS (Ok, now I'm really turning it off.) |
Betsy Newmark: Officials have started to talk about the kind of information that is being gained from the prisoners at Guantanamo. Some are talking about how... Phil Carter: Gitmo produces results: Neil Lewis has this report from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where American intelligence officers say they are collecting... |
Reporter following trail of corruption in EU arrested ( / Telegraph) Permalink Police arrested a leading investigative journalist yesterday on the orders of the European Union, seizing his computers, address books and archive of files in a move that stunned Euro-MPs. | |
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Emperor Darth Misha I: Freedom of Speech in the Soviet European Union (Thanks to LC Doug for the link) "Reporter following trail of corruption in EU arrested By... Roger L. Simon: The Telegraph is reporting: Police arrested a leading investigative journalist yesterday on the orders of the European Union, seizing his... |
Andrew Stuttaford: The EU's bureaucracy has never been very tolerant of dissent, but even by Brussels standards, the arrest of a leading investigative journalist... |
The Outsourcing Bogeyman (Foreign Affairs) Permalink Summary: According to the election-year bluster of politicians and pundits, the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries has become a problem of epic proportion. Fortunately, this alarmism is misguided. Outsourcing actually brings far more benefits than costs, both... | |
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Daniel Drezner: That's the abstract of my Foreign Affairs essay, "The Outsourcing Bogeyman," which will come out in the May/June issue of that journal, but is... James Joyner: The Outsourcing Bogeyman — Dan Drezner has published an article, “The Outsourcing Bogeyman” in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs... |
Amanda Butler: Hey, wait, I've taken that course. And the prof has just posted a link to his Foreign Affairs article on outsourcing. His very quick summary:... Robert Garcia Tagorda: For a thorough discussion of the topic, see Dan's incisive Foreign Affairs essay, "The Outsourcing Bogeyman." |
How Blue and Red Emerged From Old Blue ( / NYT) Permalink THEIR youthful resumés sound remarkably similar: two young men with prominent pedigrees who prepped in New England, enrolled at the same college and joined the same secret society. As Jay Leno noted, the choices in the presidential election range all the way from a... | |
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Betsy Newmark: John Tierney looks at John Kerry and George Bush at Yale. Everyone was struck with Kerry and knew he'd end up in politics one day. No one thought... |
Taegan Goddard: Two Paths For Two Yalies — As Jay Leno notes, and the New York Times repeats, "the choices in the presidential election range all the way from a... |
Pakistan Changes the Subject (NYT) Permalink Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military dictator, would deserve praise if his troops captured Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, whom they think they may have surrounded near the rugged border with Afghanistan. Short of capturing Osama bin Laden himself, there... | |
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Digby: The New York Times put it this way in an editorial today: "Washington failed to protest when General Musharraf cut short the prosecution of the... |
David Adesnik: NYT BLASTS MUSHARRAF: And he damn well deserves it. |
Statement from John Kerry on One Year Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq (Kerry for President Press Room) Permalink "Today marks the one year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It is an important day to recognize the courage and enormous skill of the United States military. Our men and women in uniform are the best and the brightest the nation has to offer, and their efforts to defend... | |
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Steven Taylor: Here's an official Statement from John Kerry on One Year Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq. James Joyner notes the ongoing issue of defining... Mark Sundeen: Meanwhile, John Kerry had this to say about the one-year mark: "Before the war started, I repeatedly called on the President to build a genuine... |
Greyhawk: In the meantime, in honor of the first anniversary of the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I present John Kerry: [quote] "Today marks the one year...[end quote] |
Poll: Neck and Neck ( / MSNBC) Permalink March 20 - Although independent candidate Ralph Nader threw his hat into the presidential race last month, President George Bush and Senator John Kerry remained locked in a tie, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Bush gets 45 percent of the vote to Kerry's 43 percent—a... | |
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Ruy Teixeira: Race Tightens, But Bush Weaknesses Remain — The latest Newsweek poll has Bush and Kerry dead-even, 48-48. I had initially been skeptical of the... |
Taegan Goddard: Bush and Kerry Tied In New Poll — President Bush and Sen. John Kerry "remained locked in a tie," according to the latest Newsweek poll. "Bush... |
Falling Down ( / NRO) Permalink It was September 19, 1996. I woke early, hurriedly dressed for a long day at the office during campaign season, walked out the front door of our townhouse, opened the Washington Post and beheld a vast, above-the-fold, picture of Bob Dole falling off a stage at a campaign... | |
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Tim Blair: The National Review's Robert Moran recalls: [quote] In 1996, the Los Angeles Times wrote that Dole's fall was a "visual metaphor for a presidential bid...[end quote] Tbogg: My name is Robert Moran...but it's pronounced "moron"... This column for NRO doesn't call for an editor so much as someone who has the common... Betsy Newmark: Robert Moran notes that the Washington Post ran a front page picture of Bob Dole falling off of a stage in 1996, but didn't run anything about... |
Ezra Klein: Just...No — You want to see some weird thought processes? Robert Moran will show you some weird thought processes: It was September 19, 1996. I... Edward Driscoll: FALLING DOWN: Robert Moran notes that "Not all spills are equal at the Washington Post". UPDATE: Powerline Blog looks at Kerry's shopping trip... |
A Bush Surprise: Fright-Wing Support ( / NYT) Permalink With his mohawk, ratty fatigues, assorted chains and his menagerie of tattoos — swallows on each shoulder, a nautical star on his back and the logo of the Bouncing Souls, a New York City punk band, on his right leg — 22-year-old Nick Rizzuto is the very picture of... | |
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Digby: GOPUNKS — A Bush Surprise: Fright-Wing Support: [quote] "I look like someone who should be hanging out with Marilyn Manson. In fact I have hung out...[end quote] Tbogg: These guys are so edgy: Mr. Rizzuto is the founder of Conservative Punk, one of a handful of Web sites and blogs that have sprung up recently as... |
Libertarian: According to the The New York Times, the Conservative Punks are throwing their support behind the Establishment. Of course, none of the punks in... Bill Hobbs: Punks For Bush — Today's New York Times has a fascinating article about punk rockers supporting the re-election of President George W. Bush. Not... |
On Anniversary of a Divisive War, Italians Cry to Withdraw Troops ( / NYT) Permalink ROME, March, 20 — A sea of Italian antiwar protesters took to the streets of Rome Saturday demanding that their government withdraw its troops from Iraq, while protesters throughout Europe staged demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the American-led invasion. | |
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Cori Dauber: And if the marches in Europe are any indication (and if we can take the Times' coverage at face value) too many Europeans have drawn exactly the... |
Oliver Willis: The Loss Of Credibility — I don't really agree with the mindset of many of these protesters, because I believe the ultimate response to... |
A Day For Marching ( / WaPo) Permalink Thousands of Americans today will mark the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq by marching against the war. Why, if the war is officially over and Saddam Hussein has been captured, will residents of some 200 American cities join others around the world and take to... | |
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Brad DeLong: "I'm afraid the opportunity afforded to Medea Benjamin today by the Washington Post is not used as well as it might have been. MB deserves credit..." Max Sawicky: I'm afraid the opportunity afforded to Medea Benjamin today by the Washington Post is not used as well as it might have been. MB deserves credit... |
Steven Den Beste: Medea Benjamin writes a guest column in the WaPo about yesterday's anti-something-or-other demonstrations on the first anniversary of the... |
Demonocracy (NRO) Permalink What exactly does democracy — "people power" — really mean? Even the Greeks who invented this peculiar institution were not quite sure. Was it just rule by a majority vote? Or did it include mechanisms and subsidies to ensure the participation of the poor? Or to protect... | |
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Betsy Newmark: Victor Davis Hanson looks at what happens in some so-called democracies when there is no real constitution or guarantee of rights. "In some ways... |
Charles Johnson: Demonocracy — A terrific Victor Davis Hanson essay on the meaning of democracy, and the forces that can warp it into Demonocracy. |
Bush Asks Allies for Unity on Iraq ( / WaPo) Permalink President Bush yesterday marked the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with an appeal for international unity after a year of division by warning that there can be "no separate peace" with the West's enemies. | |
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Kos: Bush spoke to dozens of diplomats yesterday, arguing that past disagreements should be glossed over and they should all send their sons and... |
Mark Sundeen: In Bush's speech yesterday he stuck to the hot-aired rhetoric of good vs. evil, life vs. death, "no neutral ground." Even though Bush and Cheney... |
How Long, How Long? (NRO) Permalink Vice President Cheney has a difficult time when required to outline the goals of our engagement in Iraq to the extent that they go further than simply removing a tyrant and disarming his regime. This is the problem he and of course the president will face this summer and... | |
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Jesse Taylor: Count On It — Atrios rightly excoriates William F. Buckley for using a fake e-mail to make...some sort of argument. I'm not really clear on the... |
Atrios: National Review Enquirer — William F. Buckley is spreading urban legends. |
Sept. 11: Before And After ( / CBS News) Permalink (CBS) Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke tells Correspondent Lesley Stahl that on Sept. 11, 2001, and the day after - when it was clear al Qaeda had carried out the terrorist attacks - the Bush administration was considering bombing Iraq in retaliation. | |
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Digby: Judging by this article on the CBS website, it looks to be a doozy, as predicted. First we find out that Rumsfeld wanted to bomb Iraq on 9/11... Taegan Goddard: CBS News previews its interview with Clarke tonight on 60 Minutes in which Clarke says "I find it outrageous that the president is running for... Angry Bear: Richard Clarke — The political fallout from Richard Clarke's 60 Minutes interview should, if there is any justice in the world, be swift and... |
David Allan Pell: Iraqnophobia — In perhaps the most damning interview ever given (and book written) by a member of the Bush administration, Richard Clarke has... Jon Henke: Bring out your dead...memes — Who needs Oprah's book club, when the news media is willing to hawk new books with "breaking news" that just... Brad DeLong: From all accounts, the national security side of the Bush administration is an even more disgraceful clown show than the domestic policy side as... |
| Also: Ed Cone, KJL, Kos, Josh Marshall, Jeanne D'Arc, Atrios, Hesiod, James Joyner, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Cori Dauber, David Adesnik, Oliver Willis, Kevin Drum | |
Hussein's Fall Leads Syrians to Test Government Limits ( / NYT) Permalink DAMASCUS, Syria, March 19 — A year ago, it would have been inconceivable for a citizen of Syria, run by the Baath Party of President Bashar al-Assad, to make a documentary film with the working title, "Fifteen Reasons Why I Hate the Baath." | |
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Rick Brookhiser: NYT CATCHES UP TO NRO — Interesting story by Neil McFarquhar yesterday on stirrings in Syria (sorry for the day late posting, but we of The... Roger L. Simon: Zachary Braverman emailed from Japan to alert me to this article about Syria in yesterday's NYT, which I overlooked. (Who says we don't live in a... Mark Kleiman: Iraq, Syria, and Uncertainty — Today's New York Times reports that the fall of the Baathist regime in Iraq has given heart to dissidents in... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE KIND OF DOMINO EFFECT I LIKE — It seems that the downfall of Saddam Hussein is continuing to pay dividends: "A year ago, it would have been... David Adesnik: SPEAKS FOR ITSELF: "A year ago, it would have been inconceivable for a citizen of Syria, run by the Baath Party of President Bashar al-Assad, to... Mike Rappaport: Is That Domino Teetering? The New York Times headline says it all: "Hussein's Fall Leads Syrians to Test Government Limits." The story continues:... |
| Also: Tim Blair, Tacitus, The Big Trunk, Cori Dauber | |
Clinton Aides Plan to Tell Panel of Warning Bush Team on Qaeda ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 19 — Senior Clinton administration officials called to testify next week before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks say they are prepared to detail how they repeatedly warned their Bush administration counterparts in late 2000... | |
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Hindrocket: Richard Clarke, Fraud — The press is abuzz with reports that former Clinton staffers are set to testify before the September 11 commission next... Matt Yglesias: Here It Is — Here's the good pre-9/11 stuff I've been looking for: "Senior Clinton administration officials called to testify next week before... Atrios: Operation Ignore — From the Clenisites: WASHINGTON, March 19 â" Senior Clinton administration officials called to testify next week before... |
Josh Marshall: Consider this passage from a piece in today's Times ... "They said the warnings were delivered in urgent post-election intelligence briefings in... Cori Dauber: TESTIMONY TO TAKE PLACE ON THE TRANSITION — I'll be honest with you, this story, that Clinton aides are about to testify to the 9/11 Commission... |
90-Day Media Strategy by Bush's Aides to Define Kerry ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 19 — President Bush's campaign is following an aggressive and precise 90-day media strategy to define Senator John Kerry as indecisive and lacking conviction, with a coordinated blitz of advertisements, speeches and sound bites, senior campaign advisers... | |
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Mickey Kaus: While the Times' Adam Nagourney conspired with The Note's Mark Halperin during a sinister Media Elite gathering at 'Cesca in New York, his eighth... Tom Maguire: Now, when John Kerry said "I don't fall down; the son of a bitch knocked me down", was he commenting on the latest polls and the Bush media... Betsy Newmark: The Bush campaign has a three month strategy to define Kerry the way they want and hit him with ads, speeches, internet ads, and whatever else... |
Jay Rosen: Among cases submitted for explanation I would try to have placed this morning's lead story in the New York Times. According to the editors, the... Gary Farber: HOW THE GOP PLANS TO DESTROY KERRY. Read The Rest Scale: 3 out of 5 if you're a politics junkie. David Allan Pell: Second, remake him. (They can rebuild him. They can make him worse than he was.) So how's it going so far? The truth could be that there is... |
| Also: Taegan Goddard | |
Too Quiet on the Home Front ( / NYT) Permalink Compassionate conservatism never really had much of a life, but its collapse has had a debilitating effect on the Bush presidency. | |
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Ruy Teixeira: As even Bush booster David Brooks had to admit, Bush's compassionate conservative image and program are in tatters. Voters continue to be very... Jesse Taylor: Dead, But Never Lived — David Brooks laments the near-death of compassionate conservatism, making his first mistake - pretending it ever had the... |
Matt Yglesias: Correction — Kudos to David Brooks for issuing this: "Correction: In Tuesday's column I quoted the European Commission's president, Romano... |
KERRY CALLED SECRET SERVICE AGENT 'SON OF A B*TCH' AFTER SLOPE SPILL (Drudge Report) Permalink Dem presidential candidate John Kerry called his secret service agent a "son of a bitch" after the agent inadvertently moved into his path during a ski mishap in Idaho, sending Kerry falling into the snow. | |
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Greyhawk: Wimpier than Bush, dumber than Quayle, lies more than Nixon, and clumsier than Ford. Nice work, Democrats. At least you all get to prove you... Roger L. Simon: Arrogance — With the caveat that it is being reported by DRUDGE and is therefore subject to revision, if accurate the following about Kerry is... Tim Blair: Drudge reports: [quote] Dem presidential candidate John Kerry called his secret service agent a "son of a bitch" after the agent inadvertently moved...[end quote] |
Tom Maguire: Mickey has more, with links to the Times and the ABC Note; here is Matt Drudge; Noam Scheiber has a gloom-inducing Kerry Motto Lotto update; and... Tom Smith: Drudge reports today that Kerry has been hiking up to the 9000 foot level on Baldy and snowboarding down, taking repeated falls. I guess I have... John Hawkins: John "F-ing" Kerry Gets Extreme On The Ski Slopes — I know you're not going to get this unless you're a Simpsons junkie, but here's the first... |
| Also: Edward Driscoll, Hindrocket, Charles Johnson, Bo Cowgill | |
Hundreds Protest Iraq War in California (AP) Permalink SAN FRANCISCO - Hundreds of war protesters marched through the city Friday morning, flashing peace signs and wearing colorful masks on the one-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq . | |
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Greyhawk: Here, in the next post below, in honor of the one-year anniversary of his first appearance, as a way of showing my level of respect to the... Charles Johnson: Even in the dark heart of idiotarianism, San Francisco, mere "hundreds" turned out for today's feeble-minded protests against the Iraq War:... |
Edward Driscoll: Charles Johnson notes that yesterday, "Even in the dark heart of idiotarianism, San Francisco, mere "hundreds" turned out for today's... |
Charges dropped against Muslim chaplain ( / AP) Permalink Capt. James Yee will be allowed to return to his previous duty station at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., said the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the detention center in Cuba. | |
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Roger Ailes: "MIAMI (AP) — Citing national security concerns, the Army on Friday dropped all charges against a Muslim chaplain accused of mishandling... Emperor Darth Misha I: Well, Beckett writes again and suggests that maybe now's the time, pointing to this article. "MIAMI - Citing national security concerns, the... |
Charles Johnson: Charges Dropped Against Yee — It appears the Army has totally botched the case against Muslim chaplain James Yee; all charges have been dropped. |
Kerry outlines his military plan ( / Baltimore Sun) Permalink WASHINGTON - Condemning President Bush's military leadership, Sen. John Kerry outlined a plan yesterday that he said would modernize the military and bring new benefits to soldiers and veterans, even as he fended off Republican charges that he is unfit to be commander in... | |
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Steven Taylor: Kerry outlines his military plan "Among Kerry's proposals were providing more training and equipment to U.S. troops, improving military housing,... |
Liz Cox Barrett: Baltimore Sun readers got a different take. The headline on Julie Hirschfeld Davis's Sun story yesterday read: "Kerry Outlines His Military... |
Cheney Attacks Kerry's Record on the Military (NYT) Permalink SIMI VALLEY, Calif., March 17 — In a blistering critique of Senator John Kerry's record on military issues, Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday portrayed the Democratic presidential candidate as weak, inconsistent and a threat to the security of the nation. | |
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Steven Taylor: Indeed, I suspect that conservatives loved this speech: Cheney Attacks Kerry's Record on the Military. The whole speech can be found here and a... |
Liz Cox Barrett: But, as we learn eight paragraphs into the New York Times story on the speeches, "while Kerry opened with criticism of Mr. Bush's conduct of the... |
Blunkett aide in row over race ( / Guardian) Permalink David Blunkett faced embarrassing questions last night after it emerged that the home secretary's special adviser on race believed the law should not stop white employers discriminating against black job applicants. | |
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David Bernstein: Modern Antidiscrimination Ideology, 'Nuff Said: From the Guardian: David Winnick, a member of the Commons home affairs select committee, said... |
John Quiggin: Since I’ve argued previously that there’s a lot of confusion in discussions about equality of opportunities and of outcomes, I was... |
Scripts for 'sources' found on computer (USA Today) Permalink The coverup that prompted Jack Kelley to resign was part of a larger effort by him to mislead the paper, documents retrieved from his company laptop show. In three letters, Kelley wrote answers for associates to offer those investigating his work. The scripts focus on... | |
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Fred Lapides: Click here and scroll to Israel for the USA Today Article |
Nathan Hallford: Moreover, he employed tactics in which he scripted interviews with "sources." Kelley, of course, denies the accusations and claims he's being... |
TV Networks Have Been Getting Ready ( / LAT) Permalink NEW YORK — With U.S. and Pakistani military forces stepping up their search for Osama bin Laden and other top Al Qaeda leaders, U.S. television networks have been quietly maneuvering to get people and equipment into Afghanistan and Pakistan in case the terrorist mastermind... | |
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Greyhawk: Amid Growing Fears of Failure, Networks "Soldier On" — According to reliable sources, television crews have Osama Bin Laden surrounded: "With... |
Josh Marshall: (Here's a good story from the LA Times about how all the nets are hurriedly prepositioning their foreign correspondents in Pakistan because they... |
Republican Don King ( / Townhall.com) Permalink WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee will hold a big-ticket, exclusive fundraiser March 26 at the palatial mansion of boxing promoter Don King in Manalapan, Fla. The price: $25,000 per couple, with admission limited to the first 25 couples. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Who knew that Don King supported Republicans? |
Adam White: And now, according to Bob Novak, we have more reason for optimism: Specter's junior, conservative Rick Santorum, is catching hell for supporting... |
Campaign Mantra Is Rapid Response ( / WaPo) Permalink Last Sunday, President Bush's campaign strategists met outside the office to plot a preemptive strike against John F. Kerry before he addressed a veterans' group in West Virginia. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Howard Kurtz describes the rapid-response tactics that the Kerry and Bush campaigns are using so that they can respond to each other in the same... |
Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, the Washington Post runs a must read piece on how "technology and accelerated news coverage have produced a presidential campaign that... |
Army Drops Chaplain's Court-Martial ( / WaPo) Permalink The U.S. military last night dropped its court-martial proceedings against Army Capt. James Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at the Guantanamo Bay prison who once faced accusations of spying that nearly brought death penalty charges against him. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: The material is so sensitive that the military wouldn't even let Yee's lawyer see it — until they accidentally mailed it to him a few months... |
James Joyner: Via Howard Bashman Update: WaPo has more: "The U.S. military announced last night* that it had dropped its court-martial proceedings against... |
Optimists in Iraq (Opinion Journal) Permalink A paradox of the Iraq War that began a year ago today is that the Iraqis living through it are far more optimistic than the American elites who fret from afar. As predicted, and despite the car bombs and other violence that dominate the headlines, Iraqis really do believe... | |
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Cori Dauber: BIG PICTURE — Amid all the retrospectives on the first anniversary, it is worth taking at least a moment, as OpinionJournal.com points out, to... |
Edward Driscoll: The Wall Street Journal notes that "the natives must not be reading Reuters". And Stephen Green notes that "Germans are less optimistic about... |
'Reckless' and 'Irresponsible?' ( / ABCNEWS) Permalink March 19— In an interview several weeks before he voted against $87 billion in funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., seemed to argue that such a vote would be reckless,... | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: As for Kerry's consistency ... well ... consider this: "In an interview several weeks before he voted against $87 billion in funding for... Charles Johnson: They Call Him Flipper — On Face the Nation September 14, 2003, John Kerry said voting against the $87 billion funding bill would be... C. D. Harris: Just What We Want In A President — Reckless & Ir-responsible: "Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion if his amendment [offsetting the... |
Betsy Newmark: In September of 2003, John Kerry appeared on Face the Nation and was asked about the $87 billion dollar supplemental defense bill then being... Hugh Hewitt: And ABC News found the tape of Kerry's September 14, 2003 Face The Nation appearance in which Kerry was asked if he would vote against the $87... Josh Marshall: The piece is running today on ABC News and the premise is that Kerry said voting against the $87 billion Iraq supplemental would be "reckless"... |
From 9/11 to 3/11 ( / MSNBC) Permalink March 22 issue - Cell phones were vital components in the mass destruction that hit Spain last week, and they were symbols, too, of the horror that lingered afterward. Since 9/11, terrorists have known that the most ordinary things in modern life can be turned to apocalyptic... | |
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Cori Dauber: This week is a perfect example. Newsweek's cover last week was Martha Stewart. This week the cover is just what you'd imagine. Last week Time had... |
David Allan Pell: Shadow Boxing — With days such as 9-11 and 3-11 marked forever, it has become clear that democracies across the world face a common and deadly... |
Crowd Storms Restaurant Over Alcohol (Reuters) Permalink MANAMA (Reuters) - Some 100 Bahraini Islamists shouting "God is Greatest" stormed a French restaurant serving alcohol in the pro-Western Gulf Arab state and threatened diners with knives, witnesses said on Thursday. | |
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Tim Blair: QUESTION ASKED, ANSWERED — Reuters reports: [quote] Some 100 Bahraini Islamists shouting "God is Greatest" stormed a French restaurant serving alcohol...[end quote] |
Charles Johnson: Religion of Prohibition in Bahrain — In moderate, peaceful Bahrain, a hundred followers of the RoP burst into a French restaurant and threatened... |