meme orandum
| A newfangled news tangle |
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Bush to Seek Gay-Marriage Ban in New Term -Aide By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will renew a quest in his second term for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage as essential to a "hopeful and decent" society, his top political aide said on Sunday. | |
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Tbogg: Installment One: Buyers Remorse — Expect to see a lot of these in the coming year: I did not watch the interview live,... Roger L. Simon: I did not watch the interview live, but I am given to understand from this article that only days after the election... Susan Madrak: OY Rove: [snipped quote] And yet... and yet, there are all those rumors about Karl, comparing his after-hours antics to that of the beloved J. Edgar Hoover. |
Avedon Carol: Meanwhile, since America has no other problems that need dealing with, Reuters says Karl Rove wants to move on that gay marriage amendment. Matt Welch: Because Really, What Could Be More 'Hopeful and Decent' Than Amending the Constitution to Keep the Queer Down? Lambert @Corrente: Rove: God hates fags, and Bush does God's work on earth, so.... No, silly! He didn't say that in so many words... But isn't that what "moral values" is code for? |
| Also: Oliver Willis, Sadly @SadlyNo | |
U.S. Forces Seize Small Section of Fallujah AP — Permalink NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq — The Iraqi government declared 60 days of emergency rule throughout most of the country Sunday, and U.S. troops seized a small section of territory in Fallujah (search) ahead of an expected all-out assault on the guerrilla sanctuary. | |
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B.C: Well, unlike your local meteorologist, the Imperial Dungeon Game Room actually has a Clue as to what the... Deacon: Here's the report from Fox News. Before the start of the military campaign in Iraq, it was feared that we would have to... Jeff Goldstein: Second militant: "For the last time, that's not funny, Raed. Now shut up and load your rifle." * |
Whiskey: From Fox News: "U.S. forces stormed into western districts of Fallujah (search) early Monday, seizing the main city... Lorie Byrd: Taking Back Fallujah — Fox News has been showing video for the past few minutes of Iraqi troops seizing control of a hospital in Fallujah. |
Triumph of Hope By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Hope has triumphed. I know that some may be surprised to read this, but I am convinced of the fact. Hope has triumphed, and with it the confidence of the American people in the values and principles on which our shared civilization on both sides of the Atlantic is based. | |
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Joe Gandelman: "Hope Has Triumphed" — So says Spain's former Prime Minister Jose Maria Anzar about the re-election of his friend George Bush as President of the United States. Pejman Yousefzadeh: From José Maria Aznar: [snipped quote] Obviously, Aznar's words are not going to convince those who are implacably... Orrin Judd: HERE'S YOUR NEXT SECRETARY OF STATE: Triumph of Hope: President Bush's re-election gives the free world a second chance. |
FrancoAlemán: YOU CAN now read the article by Jose Maria Aznar I told you about for free, at OpinionJournal (hat tip: Fausta) UPDATE. Charles Johnson: Triumph of Hope — Spain's former prime minister, forced to watch as his own country chose an appeasing socialist... |
BUSH CONSIDERS CLARENCE THOMAS FOR CHIEF JUSTICE Drudge Report — Permalink President Bush has launched an internal review of the pros and cons of nominating Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as the chief justice if ailing William Rehnquist retires, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. | |
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James Joyner: BUSH CONSIDERS CLARENCE THOMAS FOR CHIEF JUSTICE [snipped quote] This one has been floating around for months. Steve Dillard: Bush to name Clarence Thomas as Chief Justice? : One can dream. Oh yes, one can dream. |
Steve M.: But Thomas is Bush's personal favorite to take the position, the source claims.... —Drudge Don't say I didn't warn you. |
Four More Years Attributed to Rove's Strategy WaPo — Permalink As Air Force One made its final approach to Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday afternoon, White House senior adviser Karl Rove juggled a telephone, a pen and a piece of paper, anxiously copying down the first wave of exit polls that showed President Bush trailing John F. Kerry. | |
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Avedon Carol: The Washington Post has an article trying to paper-over Karl Rove's dirty tactics and make it look like the country has... Josh Marshall: Also worth noting is this article in today's Post on Rove's strategy and victory. Betsy Newmark: Maybe this is one reason that the GOP won. They were smarter about what they needed to do and how to do it. |
Mary @PacificViews: An Immoral Win — Today's WaPo has an article about Rove's victory and how he has moved the country from a 49-49 tie. Orrin Judd: MORE: Four More Years Attributed to Rove's Strategy: Despite Moments of Doubt, Adviser's Planning Paid Off (Dan Balz and... Pejman Yousefzadeh: HOW VICTORY WAS WON — This article gives us the behind-the-scenes look at how the Bush people were able to create and execute a strategy for winning the election. |
| Also: The Big Trunk, Hugh Hewitt | |
Dollar expected to fall amid China's rumoured selling By / NYT — Permalink The dollar could slide still further, in spite of hitting an all-time low against the euro last week in the wake of George W. Bush's re-election, currency traders have said. | |
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Atrios: Note that a sell-off also means they're no longer interested in financing our budget deficit... Libertarian: China is rumored to be selling-off its dollar reserves at the same time, of which it holds half a trillion. |
Matthew Yglesias: UPDATE: "Dollar expected to fall amid China's rumoured selling". Uh oh.... |
Arafat's Wife Accuses Deputies of Wanting Him Dead By / Reuters — Permalink PARIS (Reuters) - Yasser Arafat 's wife accused Palestinian leaders hoping to travel to France on Monday to visit her critically ill husband of plotting to "bury him alive," an apparent reference to taking him off life-support. | |
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Charles Johnson: Suha Arafat Loses It — Arafat's Wife Lashes Out at Palestinian Leaders. |
Jim Lindgren: UPDATE: Reuters reports that Arafat's wife is accusing Palestinian officials of trying to bury Arafat alive. |
U.S. Forces Storm Into Western Fallujah By / AP — Permalink NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. forces stormed into western districts of Fallujah early Monday, seizing the main city hospital and securing two key bridges over the Euphrates river in what appeared to be the first stage of the long-expected assault on the insurgent stronghold. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: U.S. troops are now attacking Fallujah. U.S. commanders are warning that this will be the most brutal urban fighting since Vietnam. |
Charles Johnson: The Battle for Fallujah — It's on in Fallujah. And the Associated Press wastes no time finding a negative angle. |
The Antiwar Right Is Ready to Rumble By / NYT — Permalink AROUND 8 p.m. Tuesday, a gloomy mood was settling over the dozen conservative stalwarts gathered with martinis and glasses of red wine in an office in Arlington, Va., to watch the returns. | |
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Orrin Judd: BOY, HE'S IN REAL TROUBLE NOW...: The Antiwar Right Is Ready to Rumble (DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, 11/07/04, NY Times)... Melanie @AmStreet: The Antiwar Right Is Ready to Rumble Continue reading… |
Steve Lovelady: Hidden Angle — Shining the Spotlight on Antiwar Conservatives Today, in the Week in Review section of the New York... |
Wisconsin district to teach more than evolution AP — Permalink GRANTSBURG, Wisconsin (AP) — School officials have revised the science curriculum to allow the teaching of creationism, prompting an outcry from more than 300 educators who urged that the decision be reversed. | |
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Digby: This is an issue that hasn't worked its way up to the forefront of a national election yet and we could actually outflank the Republicans if we get on the bandwagon right now. Laura Rozen: A Wisconsin school district has voted to teach Creationism. Here we go. [Hey, think they teach about global warming? or just Armageddon? Shaula Evans: Hang on tight, or we'll all slide off the edge of the big, flat world — Wisconsin School District to Teach Creationism 1. |
Jan Haugland: Goddidit "theory" back in school — Grantsburg's school board in Wisconsin has stupidly revised the science curriculum to include the teaching of creationism. James Joyner: Wisconsin District to Teach Creationism — Wisconsin district to teach more than evolution (CNN-AP) [snipped quote] While... John Cole: Sheer Idiocy — Having made a long defense of red-staters and their religious beliefs, let me remark on another issue,... |
Now That the Dust Has Settled By / NYT — Permalink Karl Rove and Matthew Dowd. Reporters listened skeptically the week before the election when the Bush campaign's two leading strategists insisted they were comfortably ahead in Florida and were leading in Ohio, but it doesn't look like spin anymore. | |
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C. D. Harris: Hot Or Not — The New York Times has a fairly balanced list of Winners & Losers in the wake of the election. Betsy Newmark: Here's a good roundup of winners and losers. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Winners and Losers — The New York Times presents its list of winners and losers in the election. PoliPundit: Winners and Losers — The Old York Times has a great list of winners and losers. |
Am I Blue? By / WaPo — Permalink The election campaign made it official. These are the Disunited States. There is "Red" America: conservative, Republican, religious. And there is "Blue" America: liberal, Democratic, secular. Everybody's message from the election results is that Red America won, and Blue America must change or die. | |
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Orrin Judd: THE STATES RIGHTS LEFT: Am I Blue? : I apologize for everything I believe in. May I go now? Laura Rozen: Michael Kinsley in the WaPo: Who's really trying to impose their values? "There's just one little request I have. |
Avedon Carol: Sunday, 07 November 2004 "The gloat Michael Kinsley, in one of his smarter moods, sorta writes the article giving the... |
Am I Blue? By / LAT — Permalink I apologize for everything I believe in. May I go now? The election campaign made it official. These are the Disunited States. There is "red America": conservative, Republican, religious. And there is "blue America": liberal, Democratic, secular. | |
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Digby: Who's Your Daddy? Nicolas Kristof's column is exactly right. |
Kevin Drum: RED STATE ELITISM...Michael Kinsley addresses the victorious red staters in the LA Times today: [snipped quote] There... |
Bush to Seek Gay-Marriage Ban in Second Term, Top Aide Says Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will renew a quest in his second term for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage as essential to a ''hopeful and decent'' society, his top political aide said on Sunday. | |
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Roger Ailes: We in America live in a country where Karl Rove gets to define what a decent society is: [snipped quote] Don't blame me. |
Tom Maguire: Here is a transcript, and the Times version: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will renew a quest in his second term... |
A Coalition of Conviction WaPo — Permalink Republicans were mocked when popular social liberals Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger were showcased to make their party's case on national security and economic opportunity at the national convention in New York. | |
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James Joyner: A Coalition of Conviction — Kate O'Beirne points out a fundamental truth of American politics: the need to build coalitions among groups who hold disparate views. Betsy Newmark: Kate O'Beirne's column in the Washington Post explaining Bush's victory is right on target. [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
Orrin Judd: CONVICTED: A Coalition of Conviction (Kate O'Beirne, November 7, 2004, Washington Post) "Republicans were mocked when... John J. Miller: Read her whole article, but here's one of her central points: "Republicans find themselves on the majority's side of the... |
Top Democrat Will Fight by the Rules By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — After the GOP sweep last week, the only place in town Democrats may still be able to slow or stall President Bush's conservative agenda is in the Senate. And to lead the effort, they're backing a backstage master of parliamentary infighting, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: This LA Times article says Reid already has locked up enough votes for the position. I am very unhappy. |
Orrin Judd: OVERRULE: Top Democrat Will Fight by the Rules: Harry Reid of Nevada, a 'tenacious' insider, lines up support for the job of Senate minority leader. |
Bush's agenda may face hurdles Boston Globe — Permalink Page 2 of 2 — The exact details of the plan — and how Bush would pay for it — are unclear. Bush has repeatedly cited the results of a bipartisan commission he appointed, headed by the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, as the model for his Social Security vision. | |
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DemFromCT: Still No Media Consensus About a Bush Mandate — One thing that Dem opposition does is throw up a roadblock to the... |
Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: The Boston Globe has another piece on the hurdles Bush may face. Among other things, it quotes University of Virginia Political Scientist Larry Sabato. |
52 Killed In Spate Of Attacks In Iraq By / WaPo — Permalink NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 7 — More than 30 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in a rash of suicide bombings and mortar and rocket attacks in the Sunni Triangle on Saturday, as U.S. Marines and soldiers prepared for a possible assault on the rebel-held city of Fallujah. | |
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Cori Dauber: IT'S TIME — Yet more violence today in the Sunni triangle: More than 30 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in... |
DemFromCT: Iraq Open Thread 52 Killed In Spate Of Attacks In Iraq U.S. Forces, Insurgents Gird for Fallujah Battle link "NEAR... |
Unrivaled Security Planned for Inauguration WaPo — Permalink An unprecedented level of security will frame President Bush's second inauguration, with officials planning to use thousands of police from across the country, new screening technology for inaugural guests and a military contingent that could include a combat brigade of up to 4,000 troops. | |
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Xan @Corrente: Full-body patdown searches will result in Gitmo for anyone caught carrying a raw egg. (via WaPo) "An unprecedented... Tbogg: I woulda never talked to you if I'da known you was a popular thug Not exactly a man of the people is he? |
Mathew Gross: Inauguration — You can blame it on 9/11, but it really comes down to the fact that Georgie loves his little tin soldiers: [snipped quote] Posse something-or-other.... sigh. |
No, it wasn't God By / Observer — Permalink In the days before ubiquitous pornography - so the story has it - adolescents used to get their stimulation from magazines such as National Geographic. There, among the pictures of life on the pack-ice and the flora of Madagascar, would be colour photographs of tribeswomen with bare breasts or bare bums. | |
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FrancoAlemán: UPDATE. More on this -though admittedly less hilariously- by David Aaronovich at The Guardian. |
Harry @HarrysPlace: It wasn't God wot won it — Lot of sense on the US election from David Aaronovitch in the Observer: I much prefer secularism to theocracy. |
In search of new faces By / Washington Times — Permalink Democratic officials and advisers are warning that before their party can reclaim majority status again, it will first have to rebuild its political base, abandon "ideological purity" and reach out to traditional mainstream voters. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Gosh, I love reading these articles about the Democrats in disarray. Here's another one from the Washington Times. |
Greg Ransom: 13 YEARS AGO and a world away for the Democrat Party: "After the 1990 election, the Democrats had a 56-seat majority in... |
Some Shoppers Find Fewer Happy Returns By / WaPo — Permalink Darlene Salerno considers herself a loyal customer of the Express clothing chain, shelling out roughly $2,000 for its trendy outfits each year for the past decade. On a recent shopping trip, she bought a tank top, a button-down shirt and some khaki pants, but realized when she got home that she had similar items in her closet. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: More Reasons to Shop With Cash — Shopping with credit cards is more likely to land you in a database. |
Kevin Drum: YOU ARE BEING WATCHED....The Washington Post reports today on yet another reason to pay cash for everything. |
Bush's Trouble Ahead By / NYT — Permalink Washington — While President Bush would like to think that the voters gave him a mandate last Tuesday to push his "compassionate conservative" agenda through Congress, the wish may well be father to the thought. | |
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Melanie @AmStreet: Perception Management — When a political opportunist of this league starts issuing warnings, Bush is already in... |
Joe Gandelman: Reagan Aide: Potential Bumps In The Road Ahead For GWB — It may not be smooth sailing for President George Bush, even... |
Missing Antiaircraft Missiles Alarm Aides WaPo — Permalink Several thousand shoulder-fired missiles — the kind that could be used to shoot down aircraft — are missing in Iraq, and their disappearance has prompted U.S. military and intelligence analysts to increase sharply their estimate of the number of such weapons that may be at large, administration officials said yesterday. | |
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Phillip Carter: Enter this alarming story by Dana Priest and Bradley Graham of the Washington Post, which is inexplicably buried on A24 of the Sunday edition for some reason. |
Thomas Leavitt: The Washington Post printed a story that essentially rehashed the same material without much additional reporting. |
Believe it or not, it wasn't just rednecks who voted for Bush By / Telegraph — Permalink The big question after Tuesday was: will it just be more of the same in George W Bush's second term, or will there be a change of tone? And apparently it's the latter. The great European thinkers have decided that instead of doing another four years of lame Bush-is-a-moron cracks they're going to do four years of lame Americans-are-morons cracks. | |
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Acidman: I prefer this idea about Americans: [quote] When one examines Brian Reade's anatomy of redneck disfigurements - "gun-totin',...[end quote] Glenn Reynolds: MARK STEYN writes that it wasn't just rednecks voting for Bush: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing, which is Steyn at his most amusing. Charles Johnson: Steyn: The Great Thinkers of Europe — Mark Steyn mocks the elitists: Believe it or not, it wasn't just rednecks who voted for Bush. |
Ogged @Unfogged: So, this bit from (god help me) Mark Steyn (via, yes, Insty), is worth thinking about. Eugene Volokh: Mark Steyn has a very funny and apt column in the Telegraph (UK) on European attitudes towards America. FrancoAlemán: Read the superb, magnificent Mark Steyn on today's Sunday Telegraph. UPDATE. More on this -though admittedly less hilariously- by David Aaronovich at The Guardian. |
| Also: James Joyner, Damian Penny, Greg Ransom, Betsy Newmark, Lorie Byrd | |
Man Kills Self at Ground Zero AP — Permalink NEW YORK — A 25-year-old university worker from Georgia shot and killed himself at ground zero (search) Saturday morning, authorities said. The man, Andrew Veal (search), of Athens, Ga., was found atop the structure housing the 1 and 9 subway lines after... | |
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Tim Blair: Sadly, someone's already gone a step beyond contemplation: "A 25-year-old university worker from Georgia shot and killed himself at ground zero Saturday morning, authorities said. Ed Driscoll: BDS Proves Fatal — AP reports that [snipped quote], the grounds of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. James Joyner: Man Kills Self at Ground Zero — Man Kills Self at Ground Zero (Fox - AP) "A 25-year-old university worker from Georgia... |
B.C: Chalk Another One Up To Darwin — First we had this idiot taking himself out of the gene pool and now we have another one to submit as a candidate for a Darwin Award. Damian Penny: In other election-related news, a Kerry supporter from Georgia committed suicide at Ground Zero yesterday. Acidman: christ!!! Nope. The Democrats don't resemble a religious cult. They don't have suicidal maniacs in their ranks. |
| Also: Charles Johnson | |
Rove's Revenge By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Just how much did Karl Rove hate not being one of the cool guys in high school in the 60's? Enough to hatch schemes to marshal the forces of darkness to take over the country? | |
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Tim Blair: GROW UP — High school obsessive Maureen Dowd once again analyses current events from her trademark Wonder Years point of view: [snipped quote] Oh, please. Daniel Drezner: David Brooks 1, Maureen Dowd 0 — Go read Brooks NYT column from Saturday. Then read Dowd's column from today. Richard TPD: Rove's Revenge — Maureen Dowd has written what is quite simply her best column ever. |
Michelle Malkin: LEECHES AND ANTI-RELIGIOUS SCREECHES — So, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes that America is heading back to... Cori Dauber: I feel like writing Maureen Dowd, after reading her piece this morning, just to let her know, since clearly she hasn't been down South for awhile. Lambert @Corrente: Talk about framing! Modo, that dried-up worthless twit, once again obscures the real point with blather. |
| Also: Orrin Judd, PoliPundit | |
Time to Get Religion By / NYT — Permalink If Democrats want to know how to win again, they have a model. It's the British Labor Party. When I studied in England in the early 1980's, the British Labor Party seemed as quaint and eccentric as Oxford itself, where we wore gowns for exams and some dons addressed the rare female student as "sir." | |
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Norbizness: This time, it's the dreaded "here's my unwanted advice" column (more takes compiled at the Busy, Busy, Busy website): ... Sadly @SadlyNo: Shorter (and longer) Nicholas Kristof — Time to Get Religion "Clinton's genius was his willingness to preside over the... Roger Ailes: Nick Pistof Makes Like Dick Morris and Sucks — Nick "Pistof" Kristof takes time out from his regular schtick of posing... |
Jeralyn Merritt: What Should the New Democratic Slogan Be? James Wolcott has an idea for the new Democratic program: [snipped quote] Digby agrees Greg Ransom: HOW OFFENSIVE is this? A NY Times wingnut suggests that a Democrat candidate for President capable of wining in 2008 is "anyone who knows the difference between straw and hay." Ezra Klein: My regular reading of him is a fairly recent phenomenon, so I was puzzled by the critique. No longer. |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Jeff Jarvis, John Rosenberg | |
U.S. Expands List of Lost Missiles NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - American intelligence agencies have tripled their formal estimate of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems believed to be at large worldwide, since determining that at least 4,000 of the weapons in Iraq's prewar arsenals cannot be accounted for, government officials said Friday. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Here's one thing already: US intelligence officials have determined that at least 4,000 shoulder-fired surface-to-air... Josh Marshall: Like this story in yesterday's Times about at least 4,000 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles from Iraq's pre-war arsenal that have apparently also gone missing. Cori Dauber: I'm having some posting problems, so all I'll say is that this Times article about missing shoulder fired missiles in... |
Phillip Carter: (The NYT first reported this on Saturday; The Post editors probably don't want to overhype another Al Qaqaa-style story.) Lambert @Corrente: Thinking of flying home for the holidays? Looks like Bush undermanning the Iraq invasion force caused more problems: [snipped quote] Wow! Tom Maguire: The New NY Times — This is the new NY Times - a front page story, but not a screaming headline, and placed on Saturday:... |
| Also: Paul Glastris | |
Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS Israel Insider — Permalink Former White House speechwriter David Frum has joined the growing chorus of pundits, medical experts, and intelligence operatives who claim Yasser Arafat is likely suffering from AIDS. | |
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Tbogg: Is it wrong to speculate? Jonah Goldberg asks: DOES ARAFAT HAVE AIDS? James Joyner: A couple of the more interesting theories going around: Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS (Israel Insider) Bigwig: Chortle — Arafat's "mystery" disease identified. (lvtc) Earlier, John Loftus told John Batchelor on ABC radio on October 26 that Arafat is dying from AIDS. |
Hindrocket: But reader John Schuler sent a link to this Israel Insider article, which makes a plausible case that Arafat does indeed have AIDS. Joe Gandelman: Suspicions Mount Over Arafat's "Real" Illness — The suspicion on Yassir Arafat's illness: it's AIDS — and it would explain a lot of the deepening mystery over what is happening. Orrin Judd: LOVE ME LIKE A ROCK (via Robert Schwartz): Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS (israelinsider staff, November... |
| Also: Jan Haugland, Charles Johnson, Ed Driscoll, Jonah Goldberg | |
The Values-Vote Myth By / NYT — Permalink Every election year, we in the commentariat come up with a story line to explain the result, and the story line has to have two features. First, it has to be completely wrong. Second, it has to reassure liberals that they are morally superior to the people who just defeated them. | |
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Virginia Postrel: David Brooks's smart and much-linked-to column on Saturday pointed out the same thing, of course. Clayton Cramer: Be Careful The Analogies You Draw — Professor Lindgren points out that the liberals who are imagining that they are... Tom Maguire: Pushback on "The Moral Values Election" — David Brooks rejects the notion that Bush won because of "moral values" |
Joe Carter: Yes, even David Brooks, a normally astute observer of the political landscape, claims in his column, "The Values-Vote Myth" John Cole: Even though the later analysis proves him wrong, Ken Layne really, really likes the idea that every state that did not... Stefan Beck: PostedIn a fine editorial in the NYT today, David Brooks makes a stronger case for something I asserted a few days ago. |
| Also: Jeff Jarvis, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Jim Lindgren, Ginny @ChicagoBoyz, Mindles H. Dreck, Steve @BeggingToDiffer, Laura Rozen, Ed Cone, Damian Penny, Tim Blair, Bird Dog, Jan Haugland, Orrin Judd, Glenn Reynolds, James Joyner, Jonah Goldberg, Betsy Newmark, Andrew Sullivan | |
The Vets Attack Newsweek — Permalink New Battles: Underestimating the Swift Boat ads, the Kerry team suffered from their slow response. Then Bill Clinton's former aides arrived and staged a silent coup. Nov. 15 issue - The attack of the Swift Boat vets did not catch the Kerry campaign by surprise, not entirely at least. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: NEWSWEEK INSIDE THE ELECTION: BOILED DOWN — Tom Maguire has an excellent recap of some of the more important aspects of the Newsweek inside story on the Presidential campaign. Greg Ransom: Just one nugget from Newsweek's report from inside the Kerry campaign. Charles Johnson: MSM Starts Coming Clean — Reading Newsweek's second major exposé of the Kerry campaign's venality and corruption... |
Tom Maguire: Newsweek On The Campaign — Some details struck me from the Newsweek coverage of the campaign: Edwards on responding to... Jim Lindgren: Evan Thomas' great Newsweek story about the two campaigns. PoliPundit: Kerry and the Communists — More on Kerry's secret conclaves with our North Vietnamese Communist enemies in Paris:... |
Man commits suicide at Ground Zero Newsday — Permalink Distraught over the re-election of President George W. Bush, a Georgia man traveled to New York City, went to Ground Zero and killed himself with a shotgun blast, police said yesterday. | |
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Jack Cluth: Let's not overreact here, y'all — Man commits suicide at Ground Zero Americans flock to Canada's immigration Web site... Ace: It's Only Politics, Guys — Terrible, terrible story of man so despondant over the re-election of George W. Bush that he committed suicide— at Ground Zero. |
James Joyner: Man commits suicide at Ground Zero (Newsday) "Distraught over the re-election of President George W. Bush, a Georgia... Kevin Hayden: Man commits suicide at Ground Zero, though I think they may be misinterpreting the cause. |
Young Rove's dreams became everyone else's nightmare By / Salt Lake Tribune — Permalink The year was 1968. The Vietnam War and the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were shaping history. Little did I know that walking next to me in the halls of Olympus High School that year was a friend who would shape history in 2004 as profoundly as these events did in 1968, the year Karl Rove and I were 17. | |
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Ed Driscoll: For the next few weeks, watch for a spin-off: Rove Derangement Syndrome, as otherwise intelligent people absolutely... Taegan Goddard: Young Rove — Brian Moench, a high school classmate of Karl Rove, notes that after one student body election "Karl... |
Lambert @Corrente: A Portrait of The Operative As a Young Man — From Salt Lake City, that well known hotbed of anarcho-syndicalism, a... PoliPundit: According to the latest liberal mythology, His Darth Vaderness was an evil genius even when he looked like that. |
BUSH OR BUST By / New Orleans Times-Picayune — Permalink Debbie Dupeire was so intent on helping to re-elect the president Tuesday that she shucked her Bush-Cheney T-shirt and voted in her bra after being told that state election law prohibits displaying a candidate's name in a polling place. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Here's one woman who was a determined Bush voter and was willing to shed her shirt in order to vote for Bush. (Link via Powerline) Hindrocket: Read the story of Debbie Dupeire, who refused to be banned from the polling place because of her Bush-Cheney tee-shirt: bush_bust.jpg Glenn Reynolds: BUSH OR BUST! I think they should have taken this picture a bit earlier, though. |
Jan Haugland: We want to see more of this: Debbie Dupeire was so intent on helping to re-elect the president Tuesday that she shucked... Jeff Jarvis: Bush or bust : Nola.com reports that a voter had to take off her shirt to vote. Well, people have taken off a lot more for a lot less in New Orleans. |
The Reds are dead, but the spies are still around US News — Permalink We're shocked—shocked—with word from intelligence insiders that Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself once a top KGB spook, has boosted Moscow's spying on U.S. interests to Cold War levels. "You dance with the ones who brought you," said a U.S. intel tipster. | |
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Yuval Rubinstein: As we've long expected, Hillary is already gearing up for a '08 run: "Friends of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton tell us... Betsy Newmark: I love the mental picture that this scene describes. "It was about 2 p.m. Election Day, and White House political chief Karl Rove was steaming mad. |
Taegan Goddard: Hillary Gears Up — Friends of Sen. Hillary Clinton tell Washington Whispers "that the New York Democrat is set to begin the hard work of running for president in 2008. Orrin Judd: KEYES TO VICTORY: The Obama factor (Washington Whispers, 11/05/04, US News) [snipped quote] He needs to get back to the center after the drubbing Alan Keyes adminstered. |
Local & State AP — Permalink N.C. GOP office vandalized RALEIGH, N.C. - An apparent mob of vandals attacked North Carolina Republican Party headquarters late Friday, leaving behind minor smoke damage, broken windows and vulgar messages, authorities said. | |
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Judith Weiss: Us Bush voters - especially us non-Republican, non-conservative Bush voters - have tons of advice for you once your week of shiva is over. Xan @Corrente: This is from the local Raleigh News & Observer: "RALEIGH - Vandals attacked the state Republican Party headquarters... Betsy Newmark: Or look at an episode like what just happened to the GOP office in Raleigh, NC. |
Lorie Byrd: The Stupidity Continues — Even after the election, the stupidity and the violence continue. Orrin Judd: Vandals attack N.C. GOP offices (CINDY GEORGE, 11/06/04, Charlotte News-Observer) "Vandals attacked the state... Charles Johnson: NC GOP Headquarters Attacked — A mob of masked thugs attacked and vandalized North Carolina Republican Party headquarters last night. |
| Also: Hindrocket | |
Life at the Court Proceeds, but With Sadness and Uncertainty By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 - A Supreme Court with an absent and ailing chief justice is very different from a White House with an absent and ailing president. While the president embodies one entire branch of government, the chief justice merely heads another. | |
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James Joyner: Supreme Court Memo: Life at the Court Proceeds, but With Sadness and Uncertainty (NYT) [snipped quote] Indeed. Orrin Judd: IT CAN WAIT UNTIL JANUARY: Life at the Court Proceeds, but With Sadness and Uncertainty (LINDA GREENHOUSE, 11/07/04, NY... |
TChris: Supreme Court Update — Linda Greenhouse provides an update on the workings of the Supreme Court in the absence of the Chief Justice. |
US strikes raze Falluja hospital BBC — Permalink A hospital has been razed to the ground in one of the heaviest US air raids in the Iraqi city of Falluja. Witnesses said only the facade remained of the small Nazzal Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city. There are no reports on casualties. | |
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Cori Dauber: IT'S STARTING ALREADY — The BBC reports a hospital inside Fallujah has been levelled, a story which has now gone global. Kevin Hayden: They took out a hospital already. In the heat of the final week of the campaign, I missed the latest installment of Get Your War On. |
James Joyner: Air Strikes Raze Falluja Hospital — US strikes raze Falluja hospital (BBC) [snipped quote] It would be nice to have some... Jim Henley: Meanwhile the US will be blasting the houses, factories and . . . hospitals where the insurgents used to be. |
Saudi Religious Scholars Support Holy War By / AP — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prominent Saudi religious scholars urged Iraqis to support militants waging holy war against the U.S.-led coalition forces as American troops prepared Saturday for a major assault on the insurgent hotbed of Fallujah. | |
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Michelle Malkin: OUR FRIENDS THE SAUDIS — From the AP: BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prominent Saudi religious scholars urged Iraqis to support... Charles Johnson: Peaceful Religion Watch — Dozens of Saudi "Islamic scholars" have issued an open letter supporting the mujahideen who... |
Richard TPD: Saudi Scholars Urge Iraqi Insurgents to Fight — It's nice to know that the beacon of democracy we set up in Iraq has spread its sweet light throughout the Middle East. |
Paris Tells Palestinians to Remove Arafat DEBKAfile — Permalink Suha Arafat. In no hurry for widowhood. French president Jacques Chirac's patience with the Palestinians' desperate maneuvers to cover up Yasser Arafat's demise has run out. | |
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Jim Lindgren: Debka is reporting that Arafat died several days ago, which is contrary to what some Palestinian spokesmen are saying in other press stories. |
Roger L. Simon: First read Debka's latest account of the Arafat hijinks. If even half of this is true, the full story is going to be a tale for the ages. |
A Question of Values By / NYT — Permalink A poorly devised exit poll question and a dose of spin are threatening to undermine our understanding of the 2004 presidential election. The news media has made much of the finding that a fifth of voters picked "moral values" as the most important issue in deciding their vote - as many as cited terrorism or the economy. | |
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Virginia Postrel: And this piece by Gary Langer, director of polling for ABC News, was a big "I told you so" about the problem of incredibly vague language in the exit polls. Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: See also Gary Langer: "A poorly devised exit poll question and a dose of spin are threatening to undermine our understanding of the 2004 presidential election. Betsy Newmark: ABC's pollster explains why putting "moral issues" on the poll was a terribly written choice and doesn't mean much of anything. |
Jeff Jarvis: Whose values II : The NY Times op-ed page today reflected the post I wrote Thursday on the bogus impact of "moral... Cori Dauber: Today in the Times, one of the pollsters on the committee what produced the exit poll — the one who tried to talk the... |
Second Term, Second Chance By / Fox News — Permalink President Bush is now the first president since his father in 1988 to win the majority of the popular vote. Both houses of Congress are now under Republican control. With this decisive victory, Bush no longer has to fight the "selected, not elected" rhetoric of 2000, nor does he have to worry about a divided Senate or his own re-election. | |
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Greg Ransom: If Bush cares to do that, here are some things worth doing. Radley Balko: Bush's Sorta' Mandate — My new Fox column gives suggestions as to what Bush should make a priority in his second term. |
Jim Henley: Department of Strategic Point-Not-Getting - Radley Balko observes that the political party controlling all branches of... |
Arafat poisoned? By / NY Daily News — Permalink A Palenstian diplomat accused the Israelis yesterday of poisoning Yasser Arafat. "The doctors until now could not diagnose precisely what is wrong with him, but it is believed there is a poison," Ali Kazak, who heads the Palestinian delegation to Australia, told the Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne. | |
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James Joyner: This one has been circulating a bit longer: Arafat poisoned? (NY Daily News) "A Palenstian diplomat accused the Israelis yesterday of poisoning Yasser Arafat. Steve @BeggingToDiffer: In the same vein, the new counter-spin holds that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning statesman was poisoned by the Jews!! |
Tom Maguire: Arafat's Condition - Spin/Counterspin — Arafat with AIDS? Or was he poisoned? One can see the spinners at work. |
Teaming Up Newsweek — Permalink At BC04 headquarters, strategy boss and chief pollster Matthew Dowd was having the same gloomy thoughts. Dowd had known that the prison scandal would hurt with women. The corridor outside his office was decorated with a NASCAR racing poster; the area was known as Pit Row. | |
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Eric Soskin: According to Newsweek's election post-mortem, the real NASCAR swing voters are the women: [snipped quote] Come to think... |
Jan Haugland: Then came the biggest disaster in the Bush presidency, the Abu Ghraib scandal. If Bush had lost the election, that could well have been the primary cause. |
Baffled in Loss, Democrats Seek Road Forward By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 - The Democratic Party emerged from this week's election struggling over what it stood for, anxious about its political future, and bewildered about how to compete with a Republican Party that some Democrats say may be headed for a period of electoral dominance. | |
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Betsy Newmark: The New York Times looks at all the advice that Democrats are giving themselves about what they need to do to win back voters. |
Orrin Judd: SECULAR AMERICA NEEDS REPRESENTATION TOO: Baffled in Loss, Democrats Seek Road Forward (ADAM NAGOURNEY, November 7,... |
Bush Secured Victory in Florida by Veering From Beaten Path By / NYT — Permalink LAND O' LAKES, Fla., Nov. 5 - Pasco County might be unheard of outside Florida, but that did not stop President Bush, Rudolph W. Giuliani and other Republican luminaries from visiting as Election Day approached. | |
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John Cole: The Burbs — Interesting story on the Bush/Cheney strategy in Florida. |
Orrin Judd: AND REDDER: Bush Secured Victory in Florida by Veering From Beaten Path (ABBY GOODNOUGH and DON VAN NATTA, 11/07/04, NY... |
The Gurus of What's In Wonder if They're Out of Touch NYT — Permalink Disappointment was thick and palpable, an ill-tempered fog at the United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills where - who could concentrate? - the business of Hollywood was interrupted by constant discussions of What Went Wrong. | |
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Tim Blair: Possibly, given the response to his re-election. Meanwhile, more depression is reported in Fort Worth and Hollywood. UPDATE. Hindrocket: What Went Wrong, Hollywood Wonders — Reader Laurence Zuriff pointed out this article in today's New York Times. |
Ken Masugi: From the NY Times (thanks to Noleftturns): 'Of course, there were some in Hollywood and New York who voted for the president. |
Mars Rovers Get Mystery Power Boost By / AP — Permalink LOS ANGELES - As NASA's Mars rovers keep rolling past all expectations of their useful lives, scientists have a happy mystery: For some reason one of the vehicles has actually gained power recently. | |
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James Joyner: The two Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are still going, well beyond expectations. |
Jan Haugland: JPL's Jim Erickson is not too sad about having a pleasant mystery to solve: "Now we're assuming they're cleaning, but... |
Living Poor, Voting Rich By / NYT — Permalink In the aftermath of this civil war that our nation has just fought, one result is clear: the Democratic Party's first priority should be to reconnect with the American heartland. I'm writing this on tenterhooks on Tuesday, without knowing the election results. | |
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Sadly @SadlyNo: From Kristof's earlier column last week: "Finally, grizzlies - a metaphor for the way environmentalism is often perceived in the West as high-handed. |
John Rosenberg: I know his picture appears by his column in the New York Times, and he may have been spotted on TV once or twice, but... |
Democrats Map Out a Different Strategy LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Reeling from their party's loss in the presidential election, some key Democratic financiers and strategists say they have learned a clear lesson: Next time around, no Northeasterners need apply. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Southern Strategy — Kevin Drum disparages the notion that nominating a southerner is the key the victory. I sort of agree. Orrin Judd: THANKS, MR. HARTPENCE: Democrats Map Out a Different Strategy: The 2008 nominee must appeal to red states, analysts say. |
Kevin Drum: SOUTHERNERS ONLY NEED APPLY?...I sure hope that Democrats don't pay too much attention to "insiders" with advice like... |
Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush will not ask his appointees for the mass resignation letters that sometimes have been requested with a change of term but instead wants the aides to keep doing their jobs unless they are told otherwise, White House officials said yesterday. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Great headlines of our time — Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations In His great mercy... Of course, what that means is... James Joyner: Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations — Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations (WaPo) [snipped quote] This strikes me as a reasonable approach, especially in a wartime environment. |
Daniel Drezner: Reading Mike Allen's story in today's Washington Post, I have my doubts: [snipped quote] What astonishes me is not that... |
On a Word and a Prayer By / NYT — Permalink George W. Bush was elected without a clear, specific "morality" agenda. Yes, 22 percent of those who voted listed "moral values" as their No. 1 concern. Putting aside the obvious point that 78 percent of voters said they did not view moral values as the... | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Finally, Steven Waldman of Beliefnet looks like a bit of a fool quoting the "moral values" poll results as if they mean something, surrounded by those who show how it doesn't. |
Laura Rozen: Writing in the NY Times, BeliefNet's Steve Waldman say Bush's conservative evangelical supporters expect him to deliver... |
America's Choice By / Opinion Journal — Permalink We have just come through a historic election. In 1864, a year of hundreds of thousands of Union casualties, voters in the 25 of 36 states that voted that year re-elected Abraham Lincoln by a popular vote margin of 55% to 45%. | |
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Greg Ransom: MICHAEL BARONE. "This year Mr. Bush laid out .. domestic policy reforms as ambitious and capable of reshaping America as Lincoln's and Roosevelt's. |
Orrin Judd: EVERY 72 YEARS: America's Choice: Can Bush reshape policy and politics like Lincoln and FDR did? |
Car bombs kill at least 21 in Samarra AP — Permalink NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - Insurgents set off at least two car bombs and attacked a police station Saturday in the central Iraqi town of Samarra, killing at least 21 people and wounding 22 in what could be an effort to take pressure off Fallujah, where U.S. forces are gearing up for an assault. | |
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Jim Henley: Not long after that, it will be time for our next decisive victory in Samarra. |
Skippy: meanwhile, in samarra, a deadly car bomb kills 21, sez msnbc: "insurgents set off at least two car bombs and attacked a... |
Three Senators Consider Bids for Governor NYT — Permalink In a sign of growing Democratic powerlessness and despair in Washington after Tuesday's elections, Senator Christopher J. Dodd is considering running for governor of Connecticut in 2006, fellow lawmakers and an adviser to the senator said yesterday. | |
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Orrin Judd: WELCOME TO THE GOP CIRCA 1965: Three Senators Consider Bids for Governor (RAYMOND HERNANDEZ and ALISON LEIGH COWAN,... DemFromCT: Senators from NY, NJ and CT Consider Statehouse Runs — Despair, realism or ego, this NY Times story highlights Chris... |
Taegan Goddard: Three Senators Consider State House Bids — "In a sign of growing Democratic powerlessness and despair in Washington... |