meme orandum
| A newfangled news tangle |
|
|
Frist: Tax-returns measure indefensible CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday that "accountability will be carried out" against whoever slipped a provision into an omnibus spending bill that would have allowed two committee chairman to view the tax returns of any American. | |
|
Steve Clemons: CNN is now heading its news page with this imbroglio over this tax return scandal, but as Marshall notes on his website, the CNN piece leaves out Istook's name. Josh Marshall: CNN headlines with the Istook-snooping imbroglio. But oddly enough they make no mention of Rep. Istook. |
Dan Gillmor: That Tax Return 'Mistake' — CNN: Frist: Tax-returns measure indefensible. |
Iraq Force Is Seen As Likely To Grow By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, Nov. 21 — Senior U.S. military commanders in Iraq say it is increasingly likely they will need a further increase in combat forces to put down remaining areas of resistance in the country. | |
|
Andrew Sullivan: THE SHOE DROPS: News flash: we need more troops in Iraq. Duh. |
Gregory Djerejian: Too Little, Too Late (But Better Than Nothing) [snipped quote] From the WaPo. Fifty thousand would be better. |
G.O.P. Says Motive for Tax Clause in Budget Bill Was Misread By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 - Democratic leaders and senators from both parties expressed outrage on Sunday about an obscure provision in the huge end-of-session spending bill that would allow the chairmen of the Appropriations Committees and their staff assistants to examine Americans' income tax returns. | |
|
Andrew Sullivan: HUBRIS WATCH: How else to interpret the Orwellian provision in the mammoth spending bill that gave a couple of powerful Republicans the chance to snoop on anyone's tax returns? |
Josh Marshall: Rep. Istook says it's all a big misunderstanding (from the Times) [snipped quote] Similar, just without any privacy laws applying. |
Children Pay Cost of Iraq's Chaos By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD — Acute malnutrition among young children in Iraq has nearly doubled since the United States led an invasion of the country 20 months ago, according to surveys by the United Nations, aid agencies and the interim Iraqi government. | |
|
Jeanne D'Arc: Hunger — Although it isn't back to its 1996 peak, when the sanctions were doing their greatest damage, the rate of... Richard Reeb: This WaPo piece, that goes against the grain of the overwhelmingly good news from most of Iraq, cites the decline in health care and the rise of malnutrition "since the war." |
David Adesnik: IRAQ — "MALNUTRITION NEARLY DOUBLE WHAT IT WAS BEFORE INVASION": That the headline from today's WaPo. Cori Dauber: This shocking Post article on widespread malnutrition in Iraqi children implies that this is the price of war, but in... |
A Doctrine Left Behind By / NYT — Permalink It seemed somehow fitting, and fittingly sad, that Colin Powell saw his resignation accepted as secretary of state on the day marines completed their conquest of Falluja, ensuring that the televised snapshots of glory drawn from his long public career would be... | |
|
Gregory Djerejian: Mark Danner, for whom I have nothing but the utmost respect (based on his riveting and important NYRB series on the... Orrin Judd: THE DITHER DOCTRINE: A Doctrine Left Behind: The Powell Doctrine sets out a series of questions that policymakers must ask and answer before going to war. |
Cori Dauber: Today's Times features a long, sad piece about the demise of the Powell Doctrine (which was first, of course, the... Laura Rozen: Highly recommended Mark Danner opinion piece in the New York Times eulogizing the Powell doctrine. |
The President's Yes Man By / WaPo — Permalink In nominating Alberto Gonzales to be the next attorney general, President Bush has selected a man with a long record of giving him the kind of legal advice he wants. Unfortunately, that advice has not always been of the highest professional or ethical caliber. | |
|
Lambert @Corrente: Talibornagains vs. the Constitution: More Gonzales memos surfacing — In this corner, the glory of the Enlightenment,... Barbara O'Brien: Red Meat — This WaPo article about Alberto Gonzales reveals the man should not be practicing law at all, never mind be the Attorney General of the United States. |
Laura Rozen: The Executioner's Yes Man: [snipped quote] Also executed with Gonzales' facilitation was a mentally retarded man. |
Hate 101 By / NY Daily News — Permalink It's a capital of "thuggery" - a "ghastly state of racism and apartheid" - and it "must be dismantled." A voice from America's crackpot fringe? Actually, Dabashi is a tenured professor and department chairman at Columbia University. | |
|
Max B. Sawicky: FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE MUSLIMS By all appearances, the New York Daily News is kicking off a purge at Columbia University, aimed at academic critics of Israel. Steve Gilliard: Hate 101 Special Report By DOUGLAS FEIDEN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER [snipped quote] I know the right loves to blow these things out of proportion. |
Charles Johnson: Hate 101 at Columbia University — The New York Daily News has a special report on the sick climate of support for... |
Reshaping the electorate By / US News — Permalink Amid the cabinet reshuffling, little attention has been paid to the appointment of Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman as Republican National Committee chairman. But Mehlman's appointment could turn out to be as significant for our politics as Condoleezza Rice's is likely to be for foreign policy. | |
|
Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE POLITICAL APPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR — As is his wont, Michael Barone notes the significance of an item few have... PoliPundit: Turnout — Michael Barone on turnout: [snipped quote] And, as I've noted, the red states are getting much redder, making... |
Orrin Judd: ALWAYS THE RIGHT PRICE: Reshaping the electorate (Michael Barone, 11/29/04, US News) [snipped quote] The real test comes in '06. Betsy Newmark: Michael Barone pays tribute to the organizational skills of the new RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman. |
Why I hate the madness of these conspiracy theories Observer — Permalink Most good movies have to be a bit silly. When Michael Curtiz was given the job of directing Casablanca, one of the film's writers, Howard Koch, pointed out that the script was full of inconsistencies. Curtiz's reply, according to Koch, was: 'Don't worry what's illogical. | |
|
Harry @HarrysPlace: David Aaronovitch looks at the growing popularity of conspiracies in his Observer column today and highlights the... Dr. Frank: Britain's Smarter Half — David Aaronovitch cites a new ICM poll which reveals that "most Britons agree that there is... |
Tim Blair: IDIOTS DEALT WITH — David Aaronovitch considers the madness of Naomi Klein, John Pilger, and Robert Fisk: [snipped quote] (Via Clive Davis. |
Jack Kelly: Victory in Fallujah Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Permalink The rule of thumb for the last century or so has been that for a guerrilla force to remain viable, it must inflict seven casualties on the forces of the government it is fighting for each casualty it sustains, says former Canadian army officer John Thompson, managing director of the Mackenzie Institute, a think tank that studies global conflicts. | |
|
Arthur Chrenkoff: And if you want to read another good article about Fallujah, check out this piece by Jack Kelly about the historic military implications of the operations (hat tip: Leslie). Peter Burnet: A REVOLUTIONARY NEW THEORY OF WAR — Victory in Fallujah (Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 21st, 2004) "The... The Big Trunk: Meet, for example, Captain Read Omohundro: [snipped quote] UPDATE: See also Jack Kelly's "Iraq's Iwo Jima gets scant media respect." |
Cori Dauber: Today an excellent piece, via Memeorandum, focusing on precisely that, and worth quoting at length: Fallujah ranks up... Orrin Judd: THEY JUST KNOW THERE'S A STALINGRAD IN THERE SOMEWHERE (via Jim Yates): Victory in Fallujah: Iraq's Iwo Jima gets scant... |
Happy Thanksgiving By / Weekly Standard — Permalink WE'RE CHEERFUL. Why not? Bush won. And he won while hanging tough in Iraq. There was no talk of exit strategies, no phony promises that we were soon going to draw down our troop levels, no minimizing of the difficulties of the road that lay ahead. | |
|
Andrew Sullivan: But now the election is over, you can read the following missive from the Politburo head, Bill Kristol, with some... |
Ramesh Ponnuru: KRISTOL VS. RUMSFELD — Kristol writes: [snipped quote] Yes; or maybe too little. |
A marine's gotta do what a marine's gotta do By / Telegraph — Permalink Not being a subscriber to al-Jazeera television, I can only imagine what it has recently been playing on its news service - but I'd go bail it was clips of the US marine shooting dead a wounded Iraqi in a mosque in Fallujah. Indeed, it is probably on a continuous loop. | |
|
Betsy Newmark: Kevin Myers in the Telegraph looks at the story of the marine shooting the wounded Iraqi terrorist in a Fallujah mosque. |
John Derbyshire: Kevin is one of the best opinion writers at work today. Sample: [snipped quote] The full piece is here. |
Transcript for Nov. 21 MSNBC — Permalink PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS NBC TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS." This is a rush transcript provided for the information and convenience of the press. Accuracy is not guaranteed. In case of doubt, please check with: | |
|
Gregory Djerejian: But it's not enough to remedy such ridiculousness. P.S. I'm not alone in my view... MR. RUSSERT: More American troops? |
Josh Marshall: On the other hand, here's an exchange on the matter between Tim Russert and John McCain this morning on Meet The Press ... [snipped quote] Two points. |
Democrats May Use Results in Colorado as Political Primer By / WaPo — Permalink DENVER — When Democratic state chairmen gather in Florida next month to lick their wounds from the Nov. 2 election, their agenda will include a careful study of one bright spot in a generally sorry performance: Colorado, a solidly red state that went almost completely blue this year. | |
|
EDM Staff: Washington Post Notes That Colorado Was a Bright Spot for Dems — A November 21st Washington Post article notes that Colorado provides lessons for the Dems. Taegan Goddard: Democrats See Lessons in Colorado — The Washington Post notes that when Democratic state chairmen [snipped quote] But... |
Orrin Judd: FIRST YOU'VE GOT TO GOVERN: Democrats May Use Results in Colorado as Political Primer (T.R. Reid, November 21, 2004,... |
CIA Terrorist Hunter: Bin Laden 'Great' and 'Admirable' NewsMax.com — Permalink In a series of bizarre comments that show the depth of the failed thinking at the nation's premier intelligence service, the former head of the CIA unit charged with capturing or killing Osama bin Laden said on Sunday that the terror mastermind was a "remarkable," "great" and "admirable" man. | |
|
Ace: Read it all, but here's a tease: [snipped quote] You will not be shocked that Israel is mentioned shortly thereafter, and not in a particularly positive light. |
Orrin Judd: THE LEFT'S GOT TO BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT PICKING HEROES: CIA Terrorist Hunter: Bin Laden 'Great' and 'Admirable' (News... |
NBA Suspends Artest for Rest of Season By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK - Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday as the NBA came down hard on three members of the Indiana Pacers (news) for fighting with fans when a melee broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons (news). | |
|
Baldilocks: Additional suspensions: "...Pacers guard Anthony Johnson got five games...[SNIP]" "Four players were suspended for a... |
Nathan Hallford: One Last B-Ball Post: Looks like Ron Artest will get that time off he was wanting to promote his new rap cd. |
Pentagon unveils new program to help Americans show support for those in uniform Stars & Stripes — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has a message for its troops serving in war zones: America Supports You. That's the name of a new campaign, introduced Friday at the Pentagon by Charlie Abell, principal deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. | |
|
Ace: Pentagon Debuts New Program to Let the Troops Know You Care — Seems like a good idea: [snipped quote] The We Support You website can be found here. |
Greyhawk: Support the Troops? spttrps.jpg From Stars and Stripes: [snipped quote] Which once again leaves those who are for the war but against the troops out in the cold. |
A Growing Gender Gap Tests College Admissions By / LAT — Permalink SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When admissions officers for Santa Clara University recruit new freshmen, they do their best to reach the kind of students they'd like to see more of on the Silicon Valley campus: boys. | |
|
Kevin Drum: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION UPDATE...The LA Times reports on the latest affirmative action outrage: [snipped quote] I'm hopeful... |
Orrin Judd: AT LAST, A POPULAR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY: A Growing Gender Gap Tests College Admissions (Peter Y. Hong, November 21,... |
Children pay cost of Iraq's chaos By / MSNBC — Permalink BAGHDAD - Acute malnutrition among young children in Iraq has nearly doubled since the United States led an invasion of the country 20 months ago, according to surveys by the United Nations, aid agencies and the interim Iraqi government. | |
|
Jack K.: They are suffering from clinical malnutrition and are dying from it at rates that are nearly the worst in the entire whole wide world. |
Oliver Willis: (Iraq now has one of the world's highest rates of child malnutrition, thanks to George Bush's desire to do this war half-assed) |
SIGHTINGS New York Post — Permalink November 21, 2004 — DAN Rather "yee-hawing" along with an enthusiastic crowd at B.B. King's as Jerry Jeff Walker sang such classics as "Pick-up Truck Song" and "Trashy Women" . . . MAGGIE Gyllenhaal - described as "fresh-faced and beautiful" - at a party for jewelry designer Olivia Mercer in Catbird, a tiny Williamsburg boutique . | |
|
Oliver Willis: All You Need To Know About "Liberal" Mickey Kaus — Page Six sightings: "ANN Coulter and "Kaus Files" blogger Mickey Kaus sharing a warm goat cheese salad al fresco at Baraonda." |
Glenn Reynolds: SIGHTED ON PAGE SIX: [snipped quote] Poor Mickey can't escape the 'stalkerazzi.' |
Protesters Don't Feel the Love in D.C. By / Fox News — Permalink WASHINGTON — Anti-war protesters planning to come to town for President Bush's inauguration in January say they remain undeterred despite reports that Washington, D.C., is going to be a virtual fortress, with unprecedented levels of security, including military forces and every relevant local, state and federal agency on alert. | |
|
Charles Johnson: The Narcissism of the Left — Moonbat anti-war protesters think it's all about them: Protesters Don't Feel the Love in D.C. |
Oliver Willis: A President Who Fears The People — George Bush has been so succesful in fighting terrorism that he feels that his inauguration will be less safe than past ones. |
Artest reportedly suspended 30 games MSNBC — Permalink DETROIT - It appears the Indiana Pacers will pay a heavy price for Friday's embarrassing melee. WDIV-TV is reporting that Ron Artest of the Pacers will be suspended for 30 games and teammates Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson will be suspended 20 games... | |
|
Oliver @LiquidList: Uggabugga's new CIA seal. KROQ's Christmas festival: Amazing first day, crap second day. brawls, Brawls, BRAWLS! bras. |
Ogged @Unfogged: Here's MSNBC's recap of a few seconds of the incident. Several [fans] came onto the court and one took a fighting stance against Artest, who dropped him with a punch. |
Bush Pulls Top Bodyguard From Scuffle AP — Permalink SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night. | |
|
Tom Karako: So that Bush would step in to personally set to right a mistake of bumbling Chilean guards is, I have to say, impressive. |
Ann Althouse: A Whitmoresque Bush. Wow, kind of like President Thomas J. Whitmore having to do everything himself. |
School District Challenges Darwin's Theory Reuters — Permalink PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 20 - A Pennsylvania school district Friday defended its decision to discount Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and teach what critics say is a version of creationism. | |
|
Simon @BOPNews: As reported in the Times, Dover School District in Pennsylvania will no longer be teaching evolution. |
Ann Althouse: A school district in Pennsylvania has authorized teaching "a new theory called intelligent design" to balance the teaching of evolution. |
Comment: Rod Liddle: Unnatural selection: we save the fox but not the battery hen Times of London — Permalink What cruelty can we ban next now that we've stopped those awful people ripping foxes to bits? There's confusion about what we should do with wild animals. The League Against Cruel Sports wants to ban grouse and pheasant shooting because pheasant and... | |
|
Stephen Pollard: Flies and death and stuff — I'm normally incapable of reading a Rod Liddle piece without retching, but I loved his... |
Dr. Frank: Rod Liddle on the David Brent of Pop — [snipped quote] UPDATE: Gary Farber, among others, has pointed out that the... |
Postcards From Iraq By / NYT — Permalink Of all the images I saw on a short visit to Iraq last week, two stand out in my mind. One was a display that the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, in the Sunni Triangle, prepared for the visiting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers. | |
|
Cliff May: NEWS BULLETIN: TOM FRIEDMAN WRITES SENSIBLE COLUMN — In his column today, he writes that in Iraq "we are trying to... |
Cori Dauber: He's been talking to the troops. Update: Instapundit rounds up some comparisons between eyewitness reports and media reports. |
GOP embarrassed by tax returns measure AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed legislation Saturday giving two committee chairman and their assistants access to income tax returns without regard to privacy protections, but not before red-faced Republicans said the measure was a mistake and would be swiftly repealed. | |
|
Dwight Meredith: Republicans tried to sneak a provision into the Omnibus Budget Bill that would have permitted the Chairmen and Ranking... Jan Haugland: You can watch the rather amusing video footage here. Meanwhile, his allies in Congress back home is messing it up. Josh Marshall: Even Later Update: Apparently the provision was placed into the bill at the request of Rep. Istook of Oklahoma. |
Joe Gandelman: The truly scary thing is — for members of BOTH PARTIES and independents — this dead-of-night measure to give... Michael Froomkin: Sleaze Party Wants Your Tax Returns — They almost got away with it: GOP embarrassed by tax returns measure Congress... Orrin Judd: THE PRIVACY OF PUBLIC INFORMATION: GOP embarrassed by tax returns measure: Provision will be repealed before president... |
| Also: Digby, Andrew Stuttaford | |
Rules of Engagement Newsweek — Permalink Nov. 29 issue - The once flawless green dome of Fallujah's al Hadhra Mosque is riddled with bullet scars. Neighboring buildings have become scorched, crumbling stumps. About 150 local civilians, mostly haggard-looking men, took shelter there last week, having no safer place to stay in the ruined city. | |
|
DemFromCT: Iraq Hearts And Minds Are Unwinnable, So Go After The Dissenters — So says Newsweek via Juan Cole: "[The Newsweek... |
Juan Cole: Engagement of the Rules — Rod Nordland and Babak Dehghanpisheh of Newsweek believe that the US military simply cannot win hearts and minds in Iraq. |
Congress Passes $388 Billion Spending Bill By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Saturday passed a $388 billion package financing government programs in this fiscal year after days of tough talks, but a last minute snag means it may not be sent to President Bush for signing into law for several days. | |
|
Josh Marshall: This weekend Congress was working on a massive $388 billion omnibus spending bill that will cover all manner of federal spending. Atrios: Presidential Yacht — Um, Democrats? Families are taking donations to send body armor to their kids and Bush gets himself a presidential yacht? |
Harley: The Wrong Goodbye — Ron Rosenbaum, always thought-provoking (and parodied by Greg Kinnear in "You've Got Mail") thinks... Angry Bear: Your Tax Returns Must Reveal Whether You're About to Gay-Marry — That's the only explanation I can imagine for the latest from our Republican masters: [snipped quote] AB |
Who Lost Ohio? By / NYT — Permalink One of the worst days of Steve Bouchard's 36 years on the planet began, as it would end, in a bleak, second-floor banquet room on Main Street in Columbus. Someone must have thought the exposed brick walls and copper piping would give the room a contemporary feel, but the effect was undone by a sad little mirror ball overhanging a miniature dance floor. | |
|
Mathew Gross: The New Math? Matt Bai: "Therein, perhaps, lies the real lesson from Ohio, and from the election as a whole. PoliPundit: Bai's piece is a schadenfreude gold mine, and quite educational if you can manage to wade through it. |
Betsy Newmark: Matthew Bai takes a long look on how America Coming Together succeeded in its efforts to turnout many new voters for Kerry in Ohio. Orrin Judd: MORE OF US, LESS OF YOU: Who Lost Ohio? (MATT BAI, 11/21/04, NY Times Magazine) [snipped quote] And they're not done making more... |
A Warrior has left us By / Townhall.com — Permalink My friend Reed Irvine died this week. Although we disagreed on some matters, I always admired Reed as one of the toughest warriors I knew. I gave one of my first speeches at one of his events almost twenty years ago. | |
|
Roger Ailes: Crazy Davy Is The New Reed Irvine — Crazy Davy Horowitz has penned a touching tribute to the late Reed Irvine. Greg Ransom: IN PRAISE OF REED IRVINE. Yes, really. |
Orrin Judd: CARRIED OFF ON HIS SHIELD: A Warrior has left us (David Horowitz, November 20, 2004, Townhall) "What I admired most... |
Academy removes Christian banner AP — Permalink AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colorado (AP) — The Air Force Academy's longtime football coach has agreed to remove a Christian banner from the team's locker room after school administrators announced they would do more to fight religious intolerance. | |
|
Jeralyn Merritt: A 'Jesus banner' will be taken down from the team's locker room. This was no ordinary banner. Greyhawk: In another story, also from CNN "The Air Force Academy's longtime football coach has agreed to remove a Christian... |
Roger Ailes: Drop Kick These Idiots — The punters down at the Air Force Acamedy throw a Hail Mary pass, and get intercepted: [snipped quote] Hey, DeBerry, Jesus called. |
A States' Rights Left? By / NYT — Permalink When George W. Bush was re-elected, people in some of the bluer states were so angry and sad that they talked of moving to Canada or seceding from the Union. How else, they felt, could they escape the intensifying red-state control of Washington? | |
|
Betsy Newmark: Jim Holt argues in the New York Times that liberals should start using states rights to enact their own agendas. |
Orrin Judd: A States' Rights Left? (JIM HOLT, November 21, 2004, NY Times Magazine) [snipped quote] Mr. Holt isn't serious, but he's right. |
Bush Pulls Top Security Agent From Fracas AP — Permalink SANTIAGO, Chile - President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night. | |
|
Charles Johnson: The President We Need — This is why I voted for George W. Bush: Bush Pulls Top Security Agent From Fracas. Libertarian: I'M BEGINNING TO THINK GEORGE W. BUSH really is . . . God! Hindrocket: It's a Small Story...but it illustrates why so many of us not only support President Bush as a politician with whom... |
James Joyner: Bush Pulls Top Security Agent From Fracas (AP) "President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled... Jeff Goldstein: "* From ABC News / AP: "Bush Pulls Secret Service Agent Away From a Confrontation With Chilean Security Officials":... KJL: I'm a lot more interested in Bush saving his Secret Service agent than the Pacers-Pistons brawl. |
Jayhawk Down By / Reason — Permalink Hey, Frank Sinatra, start spreadin' this news: When it comes to "economic freedom"—as determined by a secret formula factoring in almost 150 variables, ranging from taxation to legal exposure to environmental regulations—New York is the worst state in the... | |
|
Matthew Yglesias: Fair Value — If Nick Gillespie continues writing things like this, they may need to take his libertarian card away. Greg Ransom: ECONOMIC FREEDOM — BLUE STATES vs. RED STATES. |
Will Wilkinson: Zing! Tim Lee micturates upon Nick Gillespie's semi-autobiographical work of armchair demography. |
House Leadership Blocks Vote on Intelligence Bill NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 - House Republican leaders blocked and appeared to kill a bill Saturday that would have enacted the major recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, refusing to allow a vote on the legislation despite last-minute pleas from both President... | |
|
James Joyner: Update (11-21 0909): House Leadership Blocks Vote on Intelligence Bill [RSS] (NYT) "House Republican leaders blocked... Todd Pearson: House Republicans Snub Bush — Coming less than three weeks after Bush's reelection, I find this particularly remarkable. |
Orrin Judd: IF CONDI'D WAITED A WEEK SHE'D HAVE GOTTEN DEFENSE: House Leadership Blocks Vote on Intelligence Bill: A core of highly... Jeralyn Merritt: The bill is dead! Rebellious Republicans killed it. Bush will not be happy. The New York Times has more. |
Tax Disclosure Buried in Spending Bill AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress debated legislation Saturday giving two committee chairman and their assistants access to income tax returns without regard to privacy protections, but not before red-faced Republicans said it was all a mistake and would be swiftly repealed. | |
|
DemFromCT: Was the provision for sensitive IRS data to be released to Senate and House Appropriations Chairs in the same playbook? Josh Marshall: But later, according to the AP, Sen. Frist and "congressional aides" said it was inserted at the behest of Rep. Istook. Stirling Newberry: The Shape of things to Come — The spy provision is already all over the wires and there is already an explosion going on at the Kos. |
Jesse Taylor: Now, the GOP has proposed to make all tax returns public. Julia @AmStreet: on the spending bill the Washington Times on the Republicans' attempt to sneak fishing expeditions through IRS records... |
In Falluja, Young Marines Saw the Savagery of an Urban War By / NYT — Permalink FALLUJA, Iraq, Nov. 18 - Eight days after the Americans entered the city on foot, a pair of marines wound their way up the darkened innards of a minaret, shot through with holes by an American tank. As the marines inched upward, a burst of gunfire rang down, fired by an insurgent hiding in the top of the tower. | |
|
Hugh Hewitt: Read the front page account of the battle for Fallujah in this morning's New York Times. Roger L. Simon: Some great war reporting... ...by Dexter Filkins of the New York Times, who provides us with an emotional inside glimpse of Marines in action in Fallujah. Andrew Sullivan: THE TROOPS: If you haven't read Dexter Filkin's harrowing, extraordinary account of the bravery, ingenuity and... |
Cori Dauber: REPORT FROM A BATTLEFIELD — A Times reporter files a story that isn't news, so much as a commentary on the experience... Ed Cone: NYT's Dexter Filkins: [snipped quote] — More Filkins: So went eight days of combat for this Iraqi city, the most... Greyhawk: Heroes — Dexter Filkins, embedded with the Marines in Fallujah, offers some profiles in courage in today's New York... |
| Also: The Big Trunk, Phillip Carter | |
Bush comes to aid of Secret Service agent AP — Permalink (11-20) 17:29 PST SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night. | |
|
Jan Haugland: Bush "saves" Secret Service agent — The US President is decisive also in minor conflicts: President Bush stepped into... Orrin Judd: LINE OF FIRE: Bush comes to aid of Secret Service agent (AP, November 20, 2004) [snipped quote] Was it Sadie Hawkins Day for the Secret Service? |
Lorie Byrd: Has Anyone Seen The Video? I would love to see the video of this. If anyone finds a link to it, let me know in the comments section. Betsy Newmark: You don't mess around with Bush's men. He protects those who protect him. |
NBA Suspends 3 Pacers, 1 Piston for Brawl By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK - Indiana's Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson, and Detroit's Ben Wallace were suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Saturday for taking part in one of the ugliest brawls in U.S. sports history, a fight with fans that commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable." | |
|
Baldilocks: ;-) (Thanks to Roger L. Simon) UPDATE: Four players are suspended for the foreseeable future. Donald Sensing: The AP reports today, [snipped quote] The fight broke out after Pacer player Artest fouled Piston Wallace during a layup. Ed Driscoll: Standing In The Shadows Of Motown—Throwing Budweiser Bottles — For the one percent of you who haven't seen the rumble... |
Joe Gandelman: Lots of good links. UPDATE II: The NBA has suspended three Pacers and one Piston as a result of the brawl. Libertarian: UPDATE: Pistons claim they will have "Playoff Level" security starting with Sunday's game. |
Anti-American Ba'th Activities in Paris By: Dr. Nimrod Rapaheli* MEMRI — Permalink With the defeat of the Saddam Hussein regime on April 9, 2003, the Ba'th ruling party was outlawed and a committee for the de-Ba'thification of Iraq was established. | |
|
Sir George: The Ba'athists will always have Paris — The Ba'athists pumped so much illegal oil money into Chirac's pockets, along... Jan Haugland: Axis of... Baathists in exile who help organise the insurgency in Iraq are operating out of Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium. |
Gene @HarrysPlace: Pro-Saddam website — Via MEMRI, here's a link to a pro-Ba'athist, pro-Saddam, pro-"resistance" website. The Big Trunk: In a development I have seen reported nowhere else, MEMRI has issued a mind-boggling special report on the resurrection... |
Congressional Efforts to Pass Sept. 11 Commission Reforms Fail AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — Congress on Saturday failed in its attempt to get legislation addressing the Sept. 11 Commission's terror-fighting recommendations to President Bush, but Republican leaders said they would try to press the effort later this year. | |
|
Kevin Drum: Killed long-awaited intelligence reform legislation that was widely supported by both Democrats and Republicans, the president, the 9/11 Commission, and 9/11 victims groups. James Joyner: Congress Fails Pass Sept. 11 Commission Reforms — Congressional Efforts to Pass Sept. 11 Commission Reforms Fail (WaPo)... |
David Allan Pell: House Conservatives Intelligence Gap — Apparently the message from the White House and the House leadership wasn't... |
Death threats force controversial Dutch MP underground Times of London — Permalink GEERT WILDERS, the Dutch MP and controversial critic of Islam, has two policemen by his side even when in his high-security parliamentary office in case someone tries to decapitate him. Each day, he does not know where he is going to sleep that night, as he is taken from safe house to safe house in a convoy of armoured cars. | |
|
Charles Johnson: Hiding from Radical Islam — Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders has been forced into hiding, after detailed plans... Andrew Stuttaford: HOLLAND 2004 — From the London Times "GEERT WILDERS, the Dutch MP and controversial critic of Islam, has two policemen... |
Jeff Goldstein: Tiptoeing through the tulips — From the London Times: [snipped quote] Anybody know what the gun laws are like in the Netherlands? |
Absolute Power Erupts By / NYT — Permalink They're fragile and frazzled, depressed and self-doubting. Trapped in their blue bell jar, drowning in unfulfilled dreams, Democrats are the "Desperate Housewives" of politics. | |
|
Tim Blair: NEWSPAPER SAD — Maureen Dowd on her New York Times cellmates: "They're fragile and frazzled, depressed and self-doubting." Digby: Huh? [snipped quote] Those BMW driving gun owners are just fabulous. |
Stirling Newberry: MoDo finally realizes that "absolute power" has erupted. Thanks Maureen for noting the obvious. |
A Scandal Waiting to Happen By / NYT — Permalink Tom DeLay is bleeding and he doesn't even know it. This week, House Republicans bent their accountability rules to protect their majority leader from what they feel is a partisan Texas prosecutor. But they hated the whole exercise. | |
|
Kevin Drum: Overwhelmingly revoked a rule stating that Republican congressional leaders have to step down if indicted of a felony. Andrew Sullivan: BACKLASH IN GOP-LAND: The Pod and Brooks. As Stephen Bainbridge points out, only the truly partisan right are defending DeLay now. Orrin Judd: IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, INDICT 'EM: A Scandal Waiting to Happen: Tom DeLay's standing is eroding among Republicans, who see him, increasingly, as the G.O.P.'s Boss Tweed. |
DemFromCT: David Brooks yesterday writes about Tom DeLay's problems, and Nancy is Leadership with an L. That L word may come back to bite them yet. Matt Davis: But you know that DeLay's gone too far when David Brooks starts lamenting his ward-heeler antics: "If Republicans are... Josh Marshall: And Tom DeLay is going to do everything in his power to avoid them — with the help of the House GOP caucus, the... |
| Also: Susan Madrak, Nathan Hallford | |
Bono's New Casualty: 'Private Ryan' By / NYT — Permalink As American soldiers were dying in Falluja, some Americans back home spent Veteran's Day mocking the very ideal our armed forces are fighting for freedom. Ludicrous as it sounds, 66 ABC affiliates revolted against their own network and refused to broadcast "Saving Private Ryan." | |
|
Cori Dauber: CAN'T HELP MYSELF — Every Sunday I tell myself I'm not going to put in the effort, and the last few Sundays I've... Jeff Jarvis: In his column tomorrow, he starts bemoaning the FCC's censorship and the chill that brought 66 stations to preempt Saving Private Ryan. |
Mathew Gross: McCarthyism, "moral values" style — Frank Rich: "For anyone who doubts that we are entering a new era, let's flash back just a few years. |
Baghdad's spiralling transport costs BBC — Permalink A 15-mile stretch between Baghdad airport and the city centre is said to be the world's most expensive taxi ride. Small convoys of armoured cars and Western gunmen charge about 2,750 ($5,108) for the perilous journey. | |
|
DeLong: (Securing the Road From Baghdad to the Airport Department) Unbelievable: "BBC NEWS | Middle East | Baghdad's... Atrios: One Road — One of the things I actually find a bit confusing is... why the hell can't we even secure the road to the Baghdad airport? |
Steve Gilliard: The murder miles: Baghdad to the Airport working the murder miles Baghdad's spiralling transport costs |
Al-Manar allowed to air in France By / Jerusalem Post — Permalink In a move that angered French Jews, the French broadcasting authority (CSA) announced on its site Friday that it has finalized an agreement with Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, allowing the controversial anti-Israel broadcaster to remain on the airwaves in France. | |
|
Gene @HarrysPlace: Hizbullah TV channel stays on the air in France — The French broadcasting authority CSA will allow the Lebanese... The Big Trunk: On a related note, the French broadcasting authority (CSA) announced on its site Friday that it has finalized an... |
Charles Johnson: It's Hard Not to Hate the French... ... when they allow the Hizballah terrorist gang to broadcast their evil propaganda openly in France: Al-Manar allowed to air in France. |
H-hour has arrived Townhall.com — Permalink The agreement that France, Germany and Britain reached with Iran this week signals that the diplomatic option of dealing with Iran's nuclear weapons program no longer exists. To understand why this is the case, we must look into the agreement and understand what is motivating the various parties to accede to its conditions. | |
|
Charles Johnson: H-Hour Has Arrived — The so-called "agreement" between Iran and several European countries is a pathetic sham, and as... Betsy Newmark: Caroline Glick has a very realistic, albeit depressing column about how Europe is just allowing Iran to have nuclear... |
Roger L. Simon: Mr. Bush said. Carolyn Glick has an interesting anaylsis of where the situation may be heading. The Big Trunk: Casting its lot with the enemy — Caroline Glick makes a compelling case that in entering into a sham nuclear agreement... |
Violence Breaks Out All Over Baghdad AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Baghdad exploded in violence Saturday, as insurgents attacked a U.S. patrol and a police station, assassinated four government employees and detonated several bombs. One American soldier was killed and nine were wounded during clashes that also left three Iraqi troops and a police officer dead. | |
|
James Joyner: Violence Breaks Out All Over Baghdad — Violence Breaks Out All Over Baghdad (NYT-AP) "Baghdad exploded in violence... Joe Gandelman: Wave Of Violence In Baghdad — Clamping down on insurgents is akin to trying to catch falling spaghetti by grabbing... |
Matthew Yglesias: Broken Back — Without that safe haven, those insurgents sure are licked. Yep, we broke the back of that little problem. Jeralyn Merritt: Violence Explodes in Baghdad — Baghdad is a mess today as violence explodes throughout the city: [snipped quote] In... |
No More Sham Elections By / NYT — Permalink In Iraq shortly before the war, I had an icy conversation about Iraqi elections with one of Saddam's goons. "What do you mean by 'sham'?" he asked. "Look, Saddam gets a lot of votes, but no one's running against him," I protested. | |
|
Captain Ed: Another Kristofian Fantasy — Nicholas Kristof once again takes the germ of a good idea and twists it into senselessness. Gregory Djerejian: Buffoonish Relativism Watch — [snipped quote] Perspective, Mr. Kristof. Perspective. You badly need some. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: FANTASYLAND AT THE NEW YORK TIMES — Captain Ed does a good and worthy job taking apart Nick Kristof's latest ridiculous column. |
Rebellious Republicans Derail 9/11 Reform By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - In a defeat for President Bush, rebellious House Republicans on Saturday derailed legislation to overhaul the nation's intelligence agencies along lines recommended by the Sept. 11 commission. "It's hard to reform. | |
|
James Martin Capozzola: Ignoring to 9/11 Commission Will someone please tell me, or remind me, why Republicans hate America, why the nation's... |
Jeralyn Merritt: 9/11 Intel Reform Bill Dead After All — Update: Surprise! The bill is dead! Rebellious Republicans killed it. |
Arafat successor al-Qaida sympathizer WorldNetDaily — Permalink The new leader of the ruling Fatah movement is an al-Qaida sympathizer with close ties to such terrorist sponsors as Iran and Syria. Farouq Qaddumi is largely unknown to the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. | |
|
Charles Johnson: Here's some information about Faruq Kaddumi that I predict mainstream media will ignore in their rush to believe the... |
Ted Belman: Arafat successor al-Qaida sympathizer GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT INTELLIGENCE BRIEF New leader of ruling Fatah quotes Mao,... |
Gibson taking Oscar high road for 'The Passion' Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Mel Gibson has sworn off using paid advertisements to seek Oscars for his blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ," and instead is putting his faith in the merits of the work as it vies for the film industry's top honors. | |
|
Tbogg: ...and the nominees for Theological Snuff Film are: Roger Ailes (the one who isn't Rupert's monkeyboy) is Brilliant. Roger Ailes: Mel, 6:5-6 — [snipped quote] Thus endeth the epistle. |
Lorie Byrd: Red State/Blue State Movie Showdown — Might the next Red State - Blue State competition be that between The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 911 in the Oscar race? KJL: SO, WHAT'S THE BUZZ? The Passion can't possibly be disses by the Oscars...right? |
War crimes? By / Townhall.com — Permalink By now, almost everyone in the world with a television has seen the videotape that appears to show a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded Iraqi terrorist inside a mosque in Fallujah. For the record, here are the facts, because facts — not rumors or emotions — really are important. | |
|
Blackfive: Mosque Shooting - More Comments — Here's a few important points made by LtCol (ret.) Ollie North: War Crimes? |
PoliPundit: The Facts — Oliver North has the facts. Sign the petition. |
Nobles and knaves Washington Times — Permalink Nobles: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for giving some law school students a lesson in Constitution 101. Although a few pesky protesters did their thing outside the University of Michigan's Rackham Auditorium on Tuesday, the audience inside gave... | |
|
Charles Johnson: Memo to Media: The Election is Over. You Lost. The Washington Times says it all, in their roundup of Nobles and Knaves. |
Steve Dillard: Scalia to the "Al Gore won!" crowd—"Get over it, you freakin' losers!" |
Genesis Through the Back Door LAT — Permalink American high school seniors rank 16th among 21 industrialized nations when it comes to achievement in science, and you can bet a frozen mastodon that the leaders — Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway — got there with a stronger curriculum and better-trained teachers, not with endless court fights over creationism. | |
|
Barbara O'Brien: Say Hi to Grandpa grandpa.jpg Today's assignment is to compare and contrast two stories in today's Los Angeles Times: ... |
Orrin Judd: JUST THE FACTS: Genesis Through the Back Door (LA Times, November 20, 2004) [snipped quote] Nevermind that it is not... |
Church air is 'threat to health' BBC — Permalink Air inside churches may be a bigger health risk than that beside major roads, research suggests. Church air was found to be considerably higher in carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons than air beside roads travelled by 45,000 vehicles daily. | |
|
Joe Carter: End of Week Roundup — And they say Presbyterians are "stuffy"... Here's some bad news for mass-attending Catholics and... |
Antoine Clarke: According to Dutch health investigators, going to church can cause lung cancer and other respiratory problems, because of the carcinogenic effects of candles and incense. |
Clarence for Chief By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — Sentiment in conservative circles strongly favors promoting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to chief justice if ailing William Rehnquist leaves the nation's top judicial position. President Bush's nomination of Thomas would guarantee a tough confirmation fight. | |
|
PoliPundit: Well, we now have those two votes and Senate Republicans are going to use them: [snipped quote] Imagine the lefty hysteria, the despair, when ANWR drilling passes! |
Josh Marshall: Bob Novak on the DeLay Rule ... [snipped quote] I don't know who's on the House Republican Steering Committee in the next congress. |
Motown melee AP — Permalink AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Fists were flying. So were cups, plastic bottles and even a chair in one of the ugliest NBA brawls ever — and Indiana's Ron Artest was right in the middle of it. | |
|
Jon Henke: Pistons-Pacers Riot: Not fines - Jailtime.... I rarely touch on sports, because....well, I stopped caring about "Excercise for Millionaires" in the mid-90s. |
Joe Gandelman: Just look at this — and try and JUSTIFY it: "AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Fists were flying. |
In Iran, Students Urge Citizens Not to Vote By / WaPo — Permalink TEHRAN — A new movement of passive resistance is quietly sweeping young people in Iran, a response both to the reform movement's failure to introduce political and economic change and conservatives' control over who can run for office, according to Iranian student leaders and political analysts. | |
|
Laura Rozen: Iranian students urge boycott of May presidential elections, the WaPo's Robin Wright reports. Orrin Judd: YOUTH WILL BE SERVED: In Iran, Students Urge Citizens Not to Vote (Robin Wright, November 19, 2004, Washington Post)... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: MAKE A CHOICE BY NOT SHOWING UP — It says something about the dysfunctional nature of a country's political system when... |
Negotiators Add Abortion Clause to Spending Bill NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Saturday, Nov. 20 - House and Senate negotiators have tucked a potentially far-reaching anti-abortion provision into a $388 billion must-pass spending bill, complicating plans for Congress to wrap up its business and adjourn for the year. | |
|
Digby: Falwell's Chattel — Negotiators Add Abortion Clause to Spending Bill [snipped quote] This clause sounds like something... Orrin Judd: FREEDOM OF RELIGION VS. THE RIGHT TO KILL: Negotiators Add Abortion Clause to Spending Bill: House and Senate... Jeralyn Merritt: Conservative House Republicans today tacked on an anti-abortion provision to the spending bill. |
DemFromCT: So It Begins... Anti-Abortion Language Added To Spending Bill — Negotiators Add Abortion Clause to Spending Bill Echidne @AmStreet: Listen to this: [quote] "It's had its challenges, its triumphs, its disappointments," Mr. Daschle said of his 26-year career...[end quote] |