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DeLay Appears To Be Off The Hook CBS News — Permalink House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, appears to have dodged a bullet. The powerful GOP chieftain is unlikely to be indicted by a state grand jury probing alleged campaign finance violations in Texas, according to an official involved in the investigation. | |
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Avedon Carol: And here we are. So, I am deeply annoyed to learn that CBS says DeLay may be off the hook. Charles Kuffner: Via Political Wire, an anonymous source has told CBS News that Tom DeLay will not be indicted in Travis County. Steve Bainbridge: The Stupid Party — As a Republican and conservative, I'm usually annoyed when people invoke John Stuart Mill's casual dismissal of conservatives as the "stupid party." |
Byron L: Let's hope not, but that's what CBS is reporting. Also today... Alandwilliams takes a look at Tom DeLay's supporters and their political donations. Josh Marshall: CBS's David Paul Kuhn quotes "an official involved in the investigation" as saying he thinks a DeLay indictment is unlikely and that DeLay's lawyers already know that. Mitch Berg: They're changing the rules because their guy DeLay is going to get indicted!" The truth? : [snipped quote] The truthier truth? |
| Also: Taegan Goddard, Jesse Taylor, James Joyner | |
To get the whole picture we need embeds on both sides By / Guardian — Permalink Falluja has been a one-sided battle, and we have had one-sided news coverage to go with it. We've become accustomed to the first part of this. From Operation Desert Storm in 1991 onwards, through the invasion and occupation of Iraq to the reinvasion of Falluja... | |
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Cori Dauber: OH, GOOD CALL — A Brit TV "presenter" (is that like a "news reader?" he's about as well informed and thoughtful) has... Joe Gandelman: Dumb Idea Of The Century: Embedding Reporters With Jihadists — If you like this idea then I guess the next step is to... Dr. Frank: Embedded/Beheaded — This fellow, a presenter on Britain's Channel 4 news, appears to view the Iraq conflict primarily... |
Jan Haugland: Bring on the terrorist embeds — British Channel 4 News presenter Alex Thomson succeeds in writing an opinion piece that is braindead even by Guardian standards. Roger L. Simon: Channeling the Onion... or was it an audition piece for "Saturday Night Live"?... British Channel 4 "Presenter" Hugh... Harry @HarrysPlace: I am still getting emails every week from viewers demanding why we are not in Falluja, Tikrit, Amara covering this war... |
| Also: Patrick Belton, Orrin Judd, Andrew Sullivan | |
Vilsack Won't Seek Chairmanship of DNC By / AP — Permalink DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Monday that he will not seek the chairmanship of the Democratic Party. "These challenges and opportunities require more time than I felt I could share," Vilsack said in a statement. | |
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Mathew Gross: DNC — As reported around the blogosphere, Vilsack has pulled his hat out of the ring for consideration as new chair of the DNC. DemFromCT: Vilsack Won't Seek Chairmanship of DNC "DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Monday that he will not seek the chairmanship of the Democratic Party. Orrin Judd: Vilsack Won't Seek Chairmanship of DNC (MIKE GLOVER, 11/22/04, Associated Press) [snipped quote] He can't beat out... |
Atrios: Vilsack's Out — Now this is some good news. Vilsack says he doesn't want to be head of the DNC. Taegan Goddard: The AP notes a "possible factor in his decision was the likelihood that the party chairmanship would preclude any run for the Democratic presidential nomination." Jeralyn Merritt: Vilsack Withdraws Name From DNC Chair Consideration — Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack says "no thanks" to the DNC chairship and withdraws his name from consideration. |
GOP Plants Flag on New Voting Frontier LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — The center of the Republican presidential coalition is moving toward the distant edges of suburbia. In this month's election, President Bush carried 97 of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, most of them "exurban" communities that are... | |
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Ken Masugi: Ron Brownstein and Richard Rainey: "In this month's election, President Bush carried 97 of the nation's 100... Hugh Hewitt: As for politics, Ronald Brownstein and Richard Rainey continue to provide the sort of excellent post-election coverage... Oliver Willis: The Target Market — Brand Democrat | Democrats Interesting piece in the LAT on how Bush has done well among the outer rims of the 'burbs. |
Bill Hobbs: The Power of Marketing Community — I don't check Hugh Hewitt's blog three times a day like I did before Nov. 2, but I... Greg Ransom: GEORGE BUSH'S RED STATE NATION. PoliPundit: Fact of the Day — Ron Brownstein, on the growing influence of exurbs: "In this month's election, President Bush... |
CNN Hires New President for Its U.S. News Group Reuters — Permalink NEW YORK (Reuters) - CNN News Group on Monday said it has tapped an online media CEO as its new president overseeing U.S. news, just a little over a year after it hired a former local TV newsman to run its domestic operations. | |
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The Big Trunk: Today Reuters reports that CNN has named Klein its new president overseeing U.S. news: "CNN hires new president for its U.S. news group." Glenn Reynolds: THE BLOGGERS' FULL-EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 2004 JUST PASSED: Jonathan "Pajamas" Klein has just been named President of CNN. |
Greg Ransom: PAJAMA CRITIC JONATHAN KLEIN has been named head of CNN's U.S. news group. Roger L. Simon: How else to explain CNN choosing Jonathan Klein—the clod who came up with the bizarre notion that bloggers were wrong... |
Michael Moore Tops List of Least-Intriguing Stars Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director Michael Moore, whose anti-Iraq war film "Fahrenheit 9/11" touched off a firestorm of controversy, topped an annual list on Monday of Hollywood's least-intriguing celebrities. | |
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Tim Blair: In other poll news, Michael Moore is finally receiving the recognition he deserves: "Director Michael Moore, whose... Betsy Newmark: This is one award which Michael Moore richly deserves. |
Ace: Michael Moore Voted "Least Intriguing Celebrity" — Yeahp, he's Number One with a bullet (a hefty, haunchy bullet, I... |
Marines shoot insurgent who was 'playing dead' AFP — Permalink The US military says marines in Fallujah have shot and killed an insurgent who engaged them as he was faking being dead, a week after footage of a marine killing an apparently unarmed and wounded Iraqi caused a stir in the region. | |
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Captain Ed: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports on another such incident today, providing even more context for the... Glenn Reynolds: And some perspective here: "Marines from the 1st Marine Division shot and killed an insurgent who while faking dead... Ace: Shock: Fallujah Terrorist Plays Dead, Then Opens Fire On Marines — I wonder when this good fellow became a prisoner—... |
Cori Dauber: A MISTAKE WAS MADE — According to the AFP (via Memeorandum) the Marines have shot and killed an enemy who engaged them while playing dead. Jan Haugland: Fallujah terrorist faked dead, opened fire — One week after footage showed a marine killing an injured and unarmed... KJL: BAD GUY OPENS FIRE ON MARINES AFTER PLAYING DEAD — From Fallujah |
| Also: PoliPundit | |
Hawks push deep cuts in forces in Iraq Boston Globe — Permalink Page 2 of 2 — But the view that it would be dangerous for the United States to pull out soon and that it may even need more troops is becoming another casualty in this war — a war that has taken the lives of more than 1,200 Americans and shows little sign of abating. | |
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Jesse Taylor: So what, then, is the response when hawks start pushing for drastic cuts in troop levels in Iraq? Taegan Goddard: But the Boston Globe says "national security specialists" are advising the Bush administration to take "a position... Orrin Judd: SEE YA': Hawks push deep cuts in forces in Iraq (Bryan Bender, November 22, 2004, Boston Globe) "A growing number of... |
Jim Henley: Next, Bryan Bender of the Boston Globe: [quote] "I have seen a metamorphosis," said Robert Pfaltzgraff, president of the...[end quote] Max B. Sawicky: DECLARE VICTORY AND WITHDRAW — It's not retreat, it's advance in the opposite direction. |
Britain has prevented Sept 11-style terrorist attack: report AFP — Permalink LONDON (AFP) - British security services have foiled an Al-Qaeda plot to fly planes into targets in London in a September 11-style attack, Britain's independent ITV News network reported. | |
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Charles Johnson: ITV: Britain Foiled 9/11-Style Attack — Britain's ITV News is reporting that a September 11-like attack plot has been... Orrin Judd: Britain has prevented Sept 11-style terrorist attack: report (AFP, 11/22/04) "British security services have foiled... |
Captain Ed: The French press service AFP and the UK service ITV report that unnamed sources in the British government claim that the... |
Saudis, Arabs Funneled Millions to President Clinton's Library By / New York Sun — Permalink LITTLE ROCK, ARK. - President Clinton's new $165 million library here was funded in part by gifts of $1 million or more each from the Saudi royal family and three Saudi businessmen. | |
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Charles Johnson: Saudis Gave Millions to Clinton Library — Saudis, Arabs Funneled Millions to President Clinton's Library. Betsy Newmark: Josh Gerstein has the goods on the foreign money that went into building the Clinton library. Joe Gandelman: The Saudis Are Our (Both Parties') Friends — Attention Michael Moore: one of your key contentions is that the Bush... |
Captain Ed: Today's New York Sun reports that a significant part of the funding for the new Bill Clinton Presidential Library in... Clayton Cramer: Saudi Influence on American Presidents — But not the ones that you might be thinking about: "LITTLE ROCK, ARK. -... Jonah Goldberg: ISN'T THAT SPECIAL — The Saudis helped fund the Clinton library. And here's the full list of donors. |
Japanese Official Warns of Fissures in North Korea By / NYT — Permalink TOKYO, Nov. 21 - After weeks of reports from North Korea of defecting generals, antigovernment posters and the disappearance of portraits of the country's ruler, the leader of Japan's governing party warned Sunday of the prospects of "regime change" in North Korea. | |
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Rebecca MacKinnon: Meanwhile... on the other end of the regional spectrum, a Japanese official spoke with thinly veiled hope about the... Ace: Japanese Politician Breaks Taboo By Suggesting Regime Change May Come to North Korea — Wishful thinking, stirring the pot, or does he actually know something? |
Tom Maguire: But not so fast - Mr. Brooke is back, and this time experts find all sorts of deeply meaningful straws in the wind:... Orrin Judd: NOW IS THE TIME TYO ATTACK THE NUCLEAR FACILITIES: Japanese Official Warns of Fissures in North Korea (JAMES BROOKE,... |
Marine sacrifices his life for others in grenade blast By / Seattle Times — Permalink FALLUJAH, Iraq — Sgt. Rafael Peralta built a reputation as a man who always put his Marines' interests ahead of his own. He showed that again, when he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life Tuesday, by shielding his fellow Marines from a grenade blast. | |
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Blackfive: This is the story of a Marine, Sergeant Rafael Peralta, who sacrificed himself so his Marines would live... Marine... Captain Ed: The Last Act Of A Hero — Saturday's Seattle Times profiled the last actions of a Marine Corps sergeant that had already... |
Jason Van Steenwyk: No Greater Love — Put Sgt. Rafael Peralta in for The Big One. [snipped quote] To put this in perspective, Peralta had already been shot in the face. |
Mengele's diaries reveal 'Angel of Death' unrepentant to the end By / Scotsman — Permalink HE was known as the Angel of Death, the Nazi doctor who conducted lethal experiments on inmates at the Auschwitz extermination camp during the Second World War. Josef Mengele fled as the Third Reich collapsed, finally moving to South America where he evaded Nazi-hunters until his death in Brazil in 1979. | |
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Captain Ed: Twisted To The End — Brazil has discovered the papers of the notorious Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele, in a Sao Paulo police station. Orrin Judd: SCIENCE WITHOUT LIMITS: Mengele's diaries reveal 'Angel of Death' unrepentant to the end (ALLAN HALL, 11/22/04, The... |
Randy Paul: Always a Nazi in the case of Josef Mengele: [snipped quote] I cannot help but wonder what went through his mind when he went to the city of So Paulo, if ever. Steve M.: DARWIN = MENGELE? That's what this right-wing blogger says (in response to this article). |
Giving the Law a Religious Perspective By / NYT — Permalink LYNCHBURG, Va., Nov. 17 - The class in civil procedure, at the new Liberty School of Law here, began with a prayer. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul," said Prof. Jeffrey C. Tuomala, quoting Psalm 19. "The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple." | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Religious Law Schools — The NYT finally has deigned to notice developments in faith-based legal education. TChris: Learning the Law ... Or Not — Complaining that law schools rely on "extreme rationalism," the dean of Liberty School of... |
Ann Althouse: Those religion-oriented law schools. The NYT reports on the new religion-oriented law schools. Shawn @LiquidList: Same guy, different book. The next four years will bring some scary, scary stuff down the pipeline. Get ready for the fight. |
Blood, knives, cage hint at atrocities By / Chicago Tribune — Permalink Acting on information from a man who claimed to have escaped from militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network, the U.S. military over the weekend inspected a house where intelligence officers believe hostages were detained, tortured and possibly killed. | |
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Hindrocket: Small Stockpiles, I Guess — The Chicago Tribune reports on the Marines' continued exploration of terrorist hideouts in Fallujah. |
Charles Johnson: Fallujah: City of Horrors — In Fallujah the depravity of the mujahideen is revealed, with the discovery of nearly 20... |
GOP lawmaker: Tax-return measure aimed at IRS oversight CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — A provision in the giant omnibus spending bill that would have allowed two lawmakers access to the tax returns of every American was "too dangerous" and should "never become law," the senator whose staff found the provision said Monday. | |
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Mark Kleiman: Chuck Schumer's attack on Istook, and on the process by which he was able to insert the provision at midnight and get it... Chris Mooney: Government by Appropriations Rider — With all the recent news about the rider in an omnibus appropriations act allowing... |
Josh Marshall: According to CNN, Rep. Istook's deputy chief of staff Micah Leydorf says that neither he nor Istook had even seen the provision. |
Vilsack drops bid for DNC chairman job Des Moines Register — Permalink Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack withdrew his name today from the list of candidates for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Vilsack, in a statement issued shortly before 1 p.m., said he was honored by the support he had received for the post, but wanted to focus on his Iowa agenda as he enters the final two years of his second term. | |
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Ezra Klein: DNC Updates — Vilsack's out, dropping his bid. Rosenberg is gaining buzz and support, but has his detractors. |
Taegan Goddard: Vilsack Drops DNC Bid — Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) "withdrew his name today from the list of candidates for chairman of... |
Many Who Voted for 'Values' Still Like Their Television Sin By / NYT — Permalink The results of the presidential election are still being parsed for what they say about the electorate's supposed closer embrace of traditional cultural values, but for the network television executives charged with finding programs that speak to tastes across the nation, one lesson is clear. | |
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Digby: And, we can pretend that the sexy show the skit was was advertising isn't hugely popular in the states that voted en... Richard Reeb: At Least It Permits Cheap Shots For the umpteenth time, someone discovers hypocrisy, this time that of red-state folks... David Allan Pell: As it turns out, our viewing patterns are remarkably similar across political and geographic lines. |
MWS @Centerfield: The first article, in the New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/20 04/11/22/business/media/2 2 tube.html notes that,... Ann Althouse: The NYT, in a front page article, searches for meaning: if a lot of the voters in the last election polled that they... KJL: I WAS surprised that the word "Hypocrites" did not appear in the headline to this story on the popularity of Desperate Housewives in red states. |
| Also: Steve Soto | |
Iraq debt write-off wins approval BBC — Permalink Creditor nations have agreed to a proposal from the US and Germany to slash Iraq's debts to them by 80%. Iraq, which has set 30 January for its elections, has said $120bn (64.5bn) debts are hampering its reconstruction. | |
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Andrew Jaffee: There have been military victories in Iraq, a debt relief agreement for the country has been hammered out, and Iraq's... |
Jan Haugland: It covers the massive preparations for the first election, which will take place on January 30, as well as information on reconstruction, economy, debt release and healthcare. |
Scheuer v. Clarke By / Weekly Standard — Permalink MICHAEL SCHEUER doesn't have many friends. Former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit and author, under the pseudonym Anonymous, of Through Our Enemies' Eyes and Imperial Hubris, Scheuer has clashed with the likes of the late John O'Neill (who was the FBI's point... | |
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Hindrocket: Apparently the feeling is mutual. The Weekly Standard has an article titled Scheuer v. Clarke, which details their feud. |
Orrin Judd: MIDGET WRESTLING: Scheuer v. Clarke: Why Michael Scheuer and Richard Clarke don't have nice things to say about one another. |
Jet Crashes Before Picking Up Elder Bush By / AP — Permalink HOUSTON (AP) - A private jet that was en route to Houston to pick up former President Bush clipped a light pole and crashed Monday as it approached Hobby Airport in thick fog, killing all three people aboard. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Bush Crashes This is way too close for comfort.....not to mention three people lost their lives in a air tragedy today near Houston. |
James Joyner: Jet Crashes Before Picking Up Former President Bush — Jet Crashes Before Picking Up Elder Bush (AP) [snipped quote] Sad news. |
Iraq election may yet be postponed: Arab ministers AFP — Permalink Violence and boycotts could yet stop promised Iraqi elections going ahead on time, Arab ministers said, despite Baghdad's confident assertion the landmark vote would be held on January 30. | |
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Jonathan Gewirtz: "Iraq election may yet be postponed" — So say the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan (via Drudge). |
McGehee: Iraq Election May Yet Be Postponed: Arab Ministers Agence France-Presse [snipped quote] You got nothing to say about it. |
Cameraman Details Marine's Role in Mosque Shooting NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 21 - A marine who appears to shoot and kill an unarmed and wounded Iraqi prisoner in an NBC News video was not aware that the incident was being recorded, and moments later approached the cameraman with seemingly remorseful words - "I... | |
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Phillip Carter: The cameraman speaks — The New York Times reports this morning that NBC freelance videographer Kevin Sites has posted a... Steve Clemons: SOBERING POST FROM WAR JOURNALIST KEVIN SITES — Today's New York Times reports on Kevin Sites' blog commentary on what... |
Ann Althouse: The NYT directs us to the web posting of the cameraman who photographed the shooting of the wounded Iraqi in Fallujah last week. Jonah Goldberg: THE CAMERAMAN SPEAKS — The guy who shot the video of the Marine shooting the Iraqi has spoken up. |
Security Dispute Dulls Luster of Bush's Trip to Chile NYT — Permalink SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 21 - President Bush's visit to Chile ended on a bizarre note here this evening when the Chilean government disinvited more than 200 guests to a dinner with the president rather than let the Secret Service screen them for weapons on their way into the presidential palace. | |
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Randy Paul: Tempestad en una Tetera — Much has been made about the security dispute that came up in the recent APEC meeting and the... |
Jeremy Brown: Also: "By Saturday night - though it had not been announced - Chile had already begun calling the guests to the dinner... |
It Hurts, but Don't Stop By / WaPo — Permalink Has there ever before been a war that so many people disapproved of but so few wanted to stop? Have the reasons for starting a war ever been so thoroughly discredited without turning into reasons for ending it? The Vietnam-era antiwar movement had an agenda: Bring the troops home. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: War — Today Eric Alterman writes, [snipped quote] It is time to focus on the war, but I'm not sure what an anti-war movement should look like now. |
Radley Balko: Michael Kinsley ...is particuarly good this morning. UPDATE: Link was wrong. Sorry. Fixed now. |
Mr. Bush's Better World WaPo — Permalink THE BUSH administration shrugged its shoulders last week at the genocide in Sudan's western province of Darfur. At an extraordinary meeting of the U.N. Security Council in Kenya, it sponsored a resolution that not only failed to advance those that passed in July and September but actually stepped back. | |
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David Adesnik: BUSH'S NAIVE MULTILATERALISM: There is no excuse for the decision to accept a watered down Security Council resolution rather than a real mandate to stop the genocide. |
Eugene Oregon: Emily Wax continues her reports from Sudan and the Post had this editorial "THE BUSH administration shrugged its... |
Muslim anguish and Western hypocrisy Asia Times — Permalink Muslims who have made their life in Western countries while adhering to Islam face a frightful dilemma. After the November 2 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh (The assassin's master sermon, Nov 16), European authorities have demanded that resident Muslims repudiate violence. | |
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Roger L. Simon: She since has gone into hiding. There's a lot more unfortunately. |
Orrin Judd: WHAT'S AT STAKE: Muslim anguish and Western hypocrisy: Smugness oozes from European politicians who demand that Muslims... |
High Bias Opinion Journal — Permalink Much of this election year was taken up by a debate over media bias, with charges and countercharges flying over how CBS, the New York Times, Fox News Channel and National Public Radio covered the campaign. | |
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Jesse Taylor: In Case You Hadn't Had Enough Bad Ideas... John Fund argues for more affirmative action and turning private colleges into publicly-subsidized institutions. Stanley Kurtz: THE ACADEMY — John Fund has a great article out today on bias in the academy, with some important ideas on possible solutions. Betsy Newmark: John Fund calls for vouchers for universities instead of government funds. He also looks at the lack of ideological diversity on campuses. |
Michael DeBow: More on the politics of academe: John Fund weighs in with a nice Opinion Journal column. The Columbia Spectator editorial he cites is online, here. Orrin Judd: MARXISTS, MEET MARKETS: High Bias: It's time to bring some intellectual diversity to America's colleges and universities. Greg Ransom: INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY FOR America's universities — John Fund says bring it on. |
Budget bill has $15.8B in extras By / USA Today — Permalink Supporters of a $388 billion spending bill passed by Congress over the weekend call it a lean measure that restrains domestic spending. "I'm very proud of the fact that we held the line and made Congress make choices and set priorities, because it follows our philosophy," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said. | |
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Eugene Oregon: And, as Zoe already mentioned, they also decided to spend $2 million to buy back the presidential yacht, which Jimmy Carter sold in 1977 because it was a waste of money. |
Zoe Kentucky: A few details about the yacht: [quote] [The Republican-dominated, "fiscially conservative" congress approved] $2 million for...[end quote] |
MLB Officials to Unveil Nationals Logo WaPo — Permalink Major League Baseball and District officials have scheduled a news conference for noon today at Union Station to unveil the logos for the soon-to-be-named Washington Nationals. The primary logo will feature "Washington" in a ribbon that rests atop a rectangle that contains the word "Nationals." | |
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Patrick Belton: GRUMBLE: Washington's new franchise has been officially, and stupidly, dubbed the Nationals. |
James Joyner: Washington Nationals Logo — MLB Officials to Unveil Nationals Logo (WaPo) "Major League Baseball and District... |
Beyond Fallujah By / Opinion Journal — Permalink In the fortnight that saw the massive assault by American and Iraqi troops on Fallujah, the flare-up of violence elsewhere in the Sunni Triangle and the murder of Margaret Hassan by her kidnappers, not to mention the controversy over a Marine shooting dead a... | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NEWS FROM IRAQ — As usual, Arthur Chrenkoff has a comprehensive report for you to read. Jan Haugland: The other news from Iraq — Arthur Chrenkoff has written another large article about the often overlooked good news from Iraq, fittingly titled Beyond Fallujah. Mrs Greyhawk: More good news from Iraq: Good-news-from-iraq-part- 15 Opinion Journal Wind of Change Thanks for your help in spreading the good news. |
Arthur Chrenkoff: Good news from Iraq — Note: Also available at the "Opinion Journal" and Chrenkoff. Ted Belman: The glass is also half full — Beyond Fallujah A roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq. FrancoAlemán: BEYOND FALLUJA: Arthur Chrenkoff's 15th roundup of the good news coming from Iraq: [snipped quote] Once again, it's worth every minute you'll spend reading that. |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds, Tully @Centerfield | |
Bill Clinton's Zero Effect By / Weekly Standard — Permalink NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT, but Bill Clinton might be this year's biggest political loser. With the opening of his presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas this week, media attention has focused heavily on the Clinton legacy and what his future role will be in shaping the Democratic party. | |
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Ed Driscoll: Update: In other Clinton news, the Weekly Standard says that somewhat surprisingly, his campaigning efforts had little or no effect on the November elections. |
The Big Trunk: Also of interest on a related note is Eric Pfeiffer's "Bill Clinton's zero effect" at the Standard Online. |
A plague of locusts? Think of them as delicious sky prawns By / Telegraph — Permalink As parts of Australia struggle to deal with the worst locust plague in 30 years, a new cookbook is advising Outback residents that if you can't beat them, eat them. The book, Cooking with Sky Prawns, is the work of a pair of government agricultural officers in New South Wales and contains more than 20 locust recipes. | |
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Tim Blair: NEWS BRIEFLETS — Israel has been hit by a plague of ... delicious sky prawns! Arthur Chrenkoff presents another fine batch of good news from Iraq. |
Andrew Stuttaford: REBRANDING'S FINEST HOUR — An Australian is advising his countrymen to think of locusts as 'sky prawns'. |
Burning Cross Left at Home of Interracial Couple on L.I. By / NYT — Permalink Awakened by a loud bang and the ring of their doorbell, an interracial couple peered out the front window of their Long Island home at 3 a.m. yesterday and saw a cross burning on the front lawn. They said they immediately called the Suffolk County police, but by the time officers arrived, rain had doused the fire. | |
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Tim Blair: The Klan is apparently active in non-Jesusland: "Awakened by a loud bang and the ring of their doorbell, an interracial... |
Steve Gilliard: Long Island says we love you left on a lawn in Long Island Burning Cross Left at Home of Interracial Couple on L.I. By PATRICK HEALY [snipped quote] How could this happen? |
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. | |
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Atrios: Defending the Homeland — So, we're going to take the 82nd Airborne off of emergency standby in this country, send them... Mark Leon Goldberg: The elections are fast approaching, and unless the US can coax some sort of sea-change in popular Sunni attitudes... Steve Soto: As a result, today saw the worst outbreak of bombings in Iraq in weeks, and not surprisingly the Pentagon is now... |
Cori Dauber: CLOSING IN — Senior leadership is saying more troops are probably needed in Iraq for this key period right before the elections. Jeralyn Merritt: Pentagon officials seem to concur. Roger L. Simon: More Troops for Iraq — Military leaders are calling for what seems to me a relatively small number of additional troops... |
| Also: Joe Gandelman, Taegan Goddard, Kevin Drum, Andrew Sullivan, DemFromCT, Gregory Djerejian, Jesse Taylor | |
Study Finds Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws Plummets AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — Federal enforcement of civil rights laws has dropped sharply since 1999 even though the level of complaints received by the Justice Department has remained relatively constant, according a study released Sunday. | |
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Steve Soto: First, the next time you see a Bush photo op with him posing next to someone of color, claiming to be supportive of... |
Captain Ed: LA Times, AP Misleading On Civil-Rights Prosecutions — The headline in today's Los Angeles Times boldly proclaims that... |
Spats Over Security Roil Summit in Chile By / WaPo — Permalink SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 21 — For President Bush, it must have been like going out without his wallet. He turned around and the presidential shadow — his Secret Service agent — was gone. Moments later, Bush single-handedly rescued the agent from a boisterous scuffle between U.S. and Chilean security forces. | |
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Richard Reeb: But in today's WaPo, we learn about some American journalists who appreciated the moment and a burly American camerman who did his duty in spite of foreign "attacks." Pejman Yousefzadeh: And now we have this: "For President Bush, it must have been like going out without his wallet. Lorie Byrd: Many Reporters Still Just Don't Get Red State America — Betsy Newmark comments on the way some press treated the Bush bodyguard incident in Chile. |
Betsy Newmark: Apparently, overseas officials were not as impressed with President Bush's actions rescuing his Secret Service agent... The Big Trunk: HINDROCKET adds: The Washington Post now has a front-page story by Mike Allen. Jeremy Brown: An Assassination Would Have Been Embarrassing Too — The pride of the Chilean police and its power elite might have been... |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
Universities Record Drop In Black Admissions By / WaPo — Permalink ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Despite winning a marathon Supreme Court struggle last year to continue using race as a factor in admitting students, the University of Michigan is reporting the smallest class of African American freshmen in 15 years. | |
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Roger Clegg: "UNIVERSITIES RECORD DROP IN BLACK ADMISSIONS" — So reads a front-page story in today's Washington Post. And the reason for this drop? |
PoliPundit: That theory comes to mind when reading this story: [snipped quote] What could explain a such a nationwide decline in African-American college enrollment? |
Scaring Specter straight By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — Before Sen. Arlen Specter stood beside other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday and pledged support as their chairman for any judge that President Bush nominates, he had been scared stiff by his colleagues and by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Robert Novak has the skinny on what went on behind the scenes to get Arlen Specter to put his vaunted independence (and his manhood) in a lockbox. |
Orrin Judd: THEY DO LOVE THOSE CHAIRMANSHIPS: Scaring Specter straight (Robert Novak, November 22, 2004, Townhall) "Before Sen... |
The 28th Amendment By / NYT — Permalink Like a cloud no bigger than a man's hand, the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution is gathering on the political horizon. No, it's not the anti-same-sex amendment that President Bush supports. | |
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James Martin Capozzola: His piece, "The 28th Amendment," includes this oddity: [snipped quote] "That makes all naturalized citizens . . . slightly less than all-American. Captain Ed: No Need For 28th Amendment — William Safire picks up on the Amend for Arnold enthusiasm coming from California and... |
Robert Tagorda: The 28th Amendment — William Safire [RSS] becomes the latest pundit to endorse the idea that naturalized citizens should be eligible for the presidency. Orrin Judd: BUSH/BLAIR IN '08: The 28th Amendment (WILLIAM SAFIRE, 11/22/04, NY Times) [snipped quote] "Cries out" is a bit melodramatic, but it's good politics for the GOP to do it. |
Video game simulates Kennedy assassination Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES - A new video game to be released Monday allows players to simulate the assassination of President Kennedy. The release of "JFK Reloaded" is timed to coincide with the 41st anniversary of Kennedy's murder in Dallas and was designed to demonstrate a lone gunman was able to kill the president. | |
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Dean Esmay: You can read about it right here. At first I was offended. Then, I read some more about it, and I started thinking maybe it was a good thing. |
Taegan Goddard: JFK Reloaded — A new video game "allows players to simulate the assassination of President Kennedy," Reuters reports. |
Congress OKs $388 billion budget AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans whisked a $388 billion spending bill through Congress on Saturday, a mammoth measure that underscores the dominance of deficit politics by curbing dollars for everything from education to environmental cleanups. | |
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Edward _: (A price distressing the current owners, who are claiming it's now worth $9.8 million.) |
Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: As CNN put it, "The bill and explanatory report ... were about 14 inches tall, leaving many lawmakers baffled about its precise contents." |
Enforcement of Civil Rights Law Declined Since '99, Study Finds AP — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (AP) - Federal enforcement of civil rights laws has dropped sharply since 1999, as the level of complaints received by the Justice Department has remained relatively constant, according a study released Sunday. | |
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Steve Soto: Mr. Ashcroft's Justice Department spent very little time on civil rights cases during Bush's first term, and spent most... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Civil Rights Prosecutions Drop Under Bush — A new study finds that since 1999, criminal prosecutions for civil rights violations have declined. |
Republican Defiance on Intelligence Bill Is Surprising. Or Is It? By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 - In the afterglow of his re-election, President Bush declared that he had ''earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: When assessing blame for House Republicans' scuttling of the intelligence bill, it's important not to get suckered into... |
Orrin Judd: IF HE WANTED IT THE BILL WOULD HAVE PASSED: Republican Defiance on Intelligence Bill Is Surprising. Or Is It? |
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. | |
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Mark Kleiman: Alas, I just read David Rosenbaum's story in this morning's New York Times. Ace: The Stupid Party: GOPers Slip In Provision Allowing Congressional Staffers to View All Citizens' Tax Information —... 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? |
Steve Bainbridge: More on the Stupid Party — At a time when those of us on the right should be cheerfully celebrating our historic... Tom Tomorrow: Well, isn't that special — [snipped quote] Story. Orrin Judd: MORE: G.O.P. Says Motive for Tax Clause in Budget Bill Was Misread (DAVID E. ROSENBAUM, 11/22/04, NY Times) |
| Also: Josh Marshall | |
William Safire's dubious legacy By / Salon — Permalink Most newspaper reporters would really rather be columnists, free to pontificate instead of chasing down quotes. So why does New York Times pundit William Safire want to be remembered as a reporter? And given his track record, is that such a good idea? | |
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James Martin Capozzola: Facts Don't Matter I Eric Boehlert eviscerates New York Times columnist and right-wing propagandist William Safire in... |
Atrios: Safliar — Boehlert wonders once again why the Times let him get away with decades of hooey. |
How DeLay Rakes It In Newsweek — Permalink Nov. 29 issue - Rep. Tom ("the Hammer") DeLay strengthened his hand in the House last week when the Republican caucus voted a rule change that would permit him to stay on as majority leader even if he is indicted in a Texas fund-raising probe. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: Had Brooks read this Newsweek article reporting that DeLay's fellow House Republicans have contributed more than... |
Andrew Sullivan: Who are the corporate donors pouring money into Tom DeLay's legal defense fund? Newsweek has the details. |
Perilous Times WaPo — Permalink On July 4, 1951, at the height of Cold War tensions, a reporter asked 112 people in a park in Madison, Wis.consin, to sign a petition containing nothing more than quotations from the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. All but one refused. | |
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James Martin Capozzola: The review, also entitled "Perilous Times," was written by Christopher Capozzola, assistant professor of history at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |
Taegan Goddard: Free Speech in Wartime — The Washington Post reviews Free Speech in Wartime: From the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War... |
Third of Americans Say Evidence Has Supported Darwin's Evolution Theory By / Gallup — Permalink Only about a third of Americans believe that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a scientific theory that has been well supported by the evidence, while just as many say that it is just one of many theories and has not been supported by the evidence. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Only a Third Believe Darwin's Evolution Theory — According to a new Gallup poll, "only about a third of Americans... Ezra Klein: Thanks, Gallup, for ruining my day. No wonder Bush won. Via Political Wire. |
Byron L: Scary *sigh* [snipped quote] Need I say more? Via Political Wire. Update: I don't disagree with Ezra's comment: No wonder Bush won. Orrin Judd: YOU CAN FOOL 12% OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME: Third of Americans Say Evidence Has Supported Darwin's Evolution Theory:... |
Surveying the Damage By / WaPo — Permalink It will be a few more weeks before we know exactly what went wrong with the 2004 exit polls. But this much we know right now: The resulting furor was the best thing that could have happened to journalism, to polling and to the bloggers who made this year's Election Day such a cheap thrill. | |
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Bigwig: Da Lamentations Of Da Women — Richard Morin on the irresponsible yahoos of the blogosphere. Taegan Goddard: Lessons From the Exit Poll Fiasco — Though it will be "a few more weeks before we know exactly what went wrong with the... Jonah Goldberg: RICHARD "BROAD BRUSH" MORIN — I like some of Morin's stuff, but this strikes me as a childish outburst more than a... |
Charles Johnson: WaPo Smears Bloggers — Here's another mainstream media hit piece on blogs by Richard Morin, once again tarring the... Betsy Newmark: Yesterday's Washington Post featured an article by Richard Morin on exit polls. Tom Schaller: So I was a little surprised by the overt and, in my view, unfair hostility Morin unleashed at unnamed bloggers in a... |
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. | |
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Roger L. Simon: Hate U. If current Daily News rundown of anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist activities at Columbia University is even half... Ace: Department Head at Columbia U. Questions Existance of Al Qaeda, OBL's Involvement in 9-11 Sounds like someone's got a... Charles Johnson: Hate 101 at Columbia University — The New York Daily News has a special report on the sick climate of support for... |
Jonah Goldberg: And today we learn that a department chair at Columbia doubts Osama was really in on the 9/11 attacks (and that CNN should be tried for war crimes for its coverage. 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. |
| Also: Bird Dog, Glenn Reynolds | |
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. | |
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Kevin Raybould: Killing Iraqi Children — The rate of acute malnutrition has doubled among Iraqi children since the US invasion. Steve Soto: At a time when the Iraqi child malnutrition rate since the occupation has doubled, violence in Iraq accelerates after... Jim Henley: That's the beginning of the Post account. More: "Iraqi health officials like to surprise visitors by pointing out that... |
Chris Bertram: The Washington Post has now published an article suggesting that there has been a dramatic rise in child malnutrition... Tim Dunlop: Liberation — If you're the sort who prefers the marginal fantasy land of good-news Iraq as presented by some bloggers,... Andrew Olmsted: The UN, international agencies, and the Iraqi government agree: Iraqi children are suffering from malnutrition at a greater rate than before the war. |
| Also: Richard Reeb, Jeanne D'Arc, David Adesnik, Cori Dauber | |
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. | |
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Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Transparent Government: A Suggestion — Josh Marshall and others have reported on something that someone tried to slip... Dan Gillmor: That Tax Return 'Mistake' — CNN: Frist: Tax-returns measure indefensible. |
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. |
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. | |
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Donald Sensing: Yesterday the UK Telegraph published a piece by Kevin Myers that examines the complexity of the question - and of the... Betsy Newmark: Kevin Myers in the Telegraph looks at the story of the marine shooting the wounded Iraqi terrorist in a Fallujah mosque. |
The Big Trunk: Sunday's Telegraph carried a column by Kevin Myers providing necessary context: "A marine's gotta do what a marine's gotta do." John Derbyshire: Kevin is one of the best opinion writers at work today. Sample: [snipped quote] The full piece is here. |
NBA Suspends Artest for Rest of Season By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK (AP) - The wrath of David Stern was unleashed, giving Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal a long time - extremely long in Artest's case - to ponder the error of their ways. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: "Members of the Indiana Pacers basketball team had the bright idea of fighting fans in Detroit of all places." 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. |
James Joyner: Ron Artest Suspended for Season after Brawl — Indy's Artest suspended for season after brawl (ESPN) NBA Suspends Artest... |
Military Balks at Generic Care Packages ABCNEWS — Permalink Nov. 21, 2004 — Near San Francisco, the Blue Star Moms collect things like snack bars, Chap Stick, socks and underwear. In Santa Cruz, there's a similar effort to collect batteries, baby wipes, Christmas decorations and potato chips, then pack it all in boxes addressed "to any soldier serving in Iraq." | |
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Mrs Greyhawk: (Hat tip to Donald Sensing at One Hand Clapping) Accordings to ABC News: "Last December, the military postal system... |
Donald Sensing: The military's capacity to transport mail and packages to overseas areas, principally combat theaters, is so strained... |
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: | |
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Hindrocket: The show's transcript is here: "MR. SCHEUER: ...There has to be some command and control there. 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. |
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. | |
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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. |
Dr. Frank: A Courtier's Criticism — Andrew Sullivan parses out William Kristol's "Thanksgiving Message." |
Nations Agree on Iraqi Debt Write-Off By / AP — Permalink PARIS (AP) - Major economic powers agreed on Sunday to write off billions of dollars of debt for Iraq in a deal that marked a significant step in U.S. efforts to help put the Iraqi economy back on its feet. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE Foreign creditors will forgive some $33.6 billion in Iraqi debts. Glenn Reynolds: GOOD NEWS FOR IRAQ: [snipped quote] At a guess, this may explain why the Administration hasn't been playing up the "UNSCAM" oil-for-food scandal. |
Libertarian: INSTASTATIST At the risk of boring our readers, we have to point out this post from InstaGlenn on Iraqi debt. |
Soaring Interest Compounds Credit Card Pain for Millions By / NYT — Permalink When Ed Schwebel was whittling down his mound of credit card debt at an interest rate of 9.2 percent, the MBNA Corporation had a happy and profitable customer. But this summer, when MBNA suddenly doubled the rate on his account, Mr. Schwebel joined the growing ranks of irate cardholders stunned by lenders' harsh tactics. | |
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General Glut: This weekend the New York Times reported that the typical American household has eight credit cards carrying $7,500 of... Trapper John: Credit card companies that charge exorbitant fees and raise interest rates without warning even on those borrowers who... |
Kevin Drum: It turns out that credit card companies aren't just charging higher interest rates than ever, they're also writing... |
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. | |
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Greyhawk: Though the winner in the "not joking" category goes to Thomas Friedman in the NY Times: "Readers regularly ask me when I will throw in the towel on Iraq. Cori Dauber: He's been talking to the troops. Update: Instapundit rounds up some comparisons between eyewitness reports and media reports. Stephen Pollard: Thomas Friedman's New York Times column this week , written just after his return from Baghdad, is well worth reading |
Dean Esmay: Yet, as even the New York Time's Thomas Friedman notes, the overwhelming majority of troops serving in Iraq are optimistic and proud of what they're doing. Cliff May: NEWS BULLETIN: TOM FRIEDMAN WRITES SENSIBLE COLUMN — In his column today, he writes that in Iraq "we are trying to... |
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. | |
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David Adesnik: GOING, GOING, GONZALES: The new Attorney General may be here to stay, yet both this editorial and this column argue persuasively that his credibility is already gone. 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. |
Lambert @Corrente: Talibornagains vs. the Constitution: More Gonzales memos surfacing — In this corner, the glory of the Enlightenment,... Laura Rozen: The Executioner's Yes Man: [snipped quote] Also executed with Gonzales' facilitation was a mentally retarded man. |
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. | |
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James Joyner: CIA Terrorist Hunter: Bin Laden 'Great' and 'Admirable' — NewsMax.com: Inside Cover Story (NewsMax) [snipped quote] I'm... Orrin Judd: THE LEFT'S GOT TO BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT PICKING HEROES: CIA Terrorist Hunter: Bin Laden 'Great' and 'Admirable' (News... |
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. |
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. | |
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Steve M.: The program described in this Stars & Stripes article sounds good, but forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious: The Pentagon... 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. |
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. | |
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Dean Esmay: So in case you didn't realize it, your must-read article on Fallujah today is Jack Kelly's Victory in Fallujah: 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... 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." |
Peter Burnet: A REVOLUTIONARY NEW THEORY OF WAR — Victory in Fallujah (Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 21st, 2004) "The... 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). Orrin Judd: THEY JUST KNOW THERE'S A STALINGRAD IN THERE SOMEWHERE (via Jim Yates): Victory in Fallujah: Iraq's Iwo Jima gets scant... |
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. | |
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Orin Kerr: Affirmative Action For Men: The L.A. Times offers this fascinating article on colleges and universities that are... Orrin Judd: AT LAST, A POPULAR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY: A Growing Gender Gap Tests College Admissions (Peter Y. Hong, November 21,... |
Kevin Drum: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION UPDATE...The LA Times reports on the latest affirmative action outrage: [snipped quote] I'm hopeful... |
Science wars By / Boston Globe — Permalink THE 2004 ELECTION saw an unprecedented political mobilization of America's scientific community. Not only did scientists band together to oppose the reelection of George W. Bush, charging that his administration had systematically abused and manipulated... | |
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Chris Mooney: When I checked online, though, the web version of the article was missing three crucial paragraphs—all paragraphs that... |
Orrin Judd: SCOPES WAS CONVICTED: Science wars: The election is over, but the Bush administration's battles with the scientific... |
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... | |
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Cori Dauber: Today's Times features a long, sad piece about the demise of the Powell Doctrine (which was first, of course, 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. |
Gregory Djerejian: Mark Danner, for whom I have nothing but the utmost respect (based on his riveting and important NYRB series on the... Laura Rozen: Highly recommended Mark Danner opinion piece in the New York Times eulogizing the Powell doctrine. |
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. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE POLITICAL APPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR — As is his wont, Michael Barone notes the significance of an item few have... Betsy Newmark: Michael Barone pays tribute to the organizational skills of the new RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman. |
Orrin Judd: ALWAYS THE RIGHT PRICE: Reshaping the electorate (Michael Barone, 11/29/04, US News) [snipped quote] The real test comes in '06. PoliPundit: Turnout — Michael Barone on turnout: [snipped quote] And, as I've noted, the red states are getting much redder, making... |
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. | |
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Harry @HarrysPlace: David Aaronovitch looks at the growing popularity of conspiracies in his Observer column today and highlights the... Tim Blair: IDIOTS DEALT WITH — David Aaronovitch considers the madness of Naomi Klein, John Pilger, and Robert Fisk: [snipped quote] (Via Clive Davis. |
Dr. Frank: Britain's Smarter Half — David Aaronovitch cites a new ICM poll which reveals that "most Britons agree that there is... |
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. | |
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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. |
Chris Mooney: Dover Area Blues — Two members of the school district resigned when intelligent design was adopted as a science class equivalent to evolution. |
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. | |
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Orrin Judd: FIRST YOU'VE GOT TO GOVERN: Democrats May Use Results in Colorado as Political Primer (T.R. Reid, November 21, 2004,... 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... |
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. | |
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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 . | |
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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. | |
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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. |
Iraq Sets Jan. 30 for National Elections By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq 's Electoral Commission on Sunday set national elections for Jan. 30, and a spokesman said ballots would be cast nationwide, including in areas now wracked by violence. Iraqis will go to the polls to choose a national assembly, which will among other things draft a permanent constitution. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: TOP TOPICS The elections will go ahead despite the continuing violence in Iraq. |
Captain Ed: Ten Weeks To Victory — The Iraqi government has set January 30th as their Election Day, promising to conduct balloting... |
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. | |
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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. |