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AP: Navy Probes New Iraq Prisoner Photos By / AP — Permalink CORONADO, Calif. - The U.S. military has launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show Navy SEALs in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees, and photos of what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head. | |
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Karl-T: Navy SEALS — The Navy SEALs have launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show commandos in... Jeralyn Merritt: Navy Investigating New Iraqi Prisoner Abuse Photos — The "few bad apples" theory loses more credibility as new photos... Tom Tomorrow: No comment — Speaks for itself: "CORONADO, Calif. (AP) - The U.S. military has launched a criminal investigation into... |
Jason Van Steenwyk: Navy SEALs implicated in prisoner abuse... The U.S. military has launched a criminal investigation into photographs... Andrew Sullivan: A CULTURE OF ABUSE: More evidence that abuse and dehumanization of prisoners has been widespread in the U.S. military. |
All Homeland Security Is Local By / Slate — Permalink In picking former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik as the next secretary of Homeland Security, President Bush immediately prompted criticism that he had chosen a poor manager who lacked the political savvy to succeed in Washington, as well as yet another lackey who'll be too subservient to be an effective Cabinet secretary. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Another Take On Kerik — James Joyner and Phil Carter team up to make the case for Bernard Kerik. James Joyner: Phil Carter explains why in an excellent piece in Slate, "All Homeland Security Is Local - Which is why Bernard Kerik is the right choice to lead the department. " |
Phillip Carter: Slate just published my article on Bernie Kerik, nominated this morning to succeed Tom Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security. Armed Liberal: Phil Carter Talks Sense on Homeland Security — Phil Carter (unlike me, not a Bush toady) writes approvingly of Bush's selection of ex-cop Bernard Kerik as head of the DHS. |
America's one-party state Economist — Permalink TOM WOLFE'S new novel about a young student, "I am Charlotte Simmons", is a depressing read for any parent. Four years at an Ivy League university costs as much as a house in parts of the heartland—about $120,000 for tuition alone. But what do you get for your money? | |
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Steve Bainbridge: (The Economist)" The ACTA survey was conducted this fall by the Center for Survey Research & Analysis at the University... Ed Driscoll: Meanwhile, The Economist uses Charlotte as a launching point to discuss the one punch Wolfe could be argued of pulling:... Glenn Reynolds: THE ECONOMIST has more on American academia's serious diversity problems. [snipped quote] (Via Carl Frank). |
Robert Prather: A quote: [snipped quote] The more indeterminate the discipline, the more it tilts left. Michael DeBow: "America's one-party state" That's how The Economist's "Lexington" views American colleges and universities. Greg Ransom: THE ECONOMIST on America's one-party state. |
A Chill in the Classroom Opinion Journal — Permalink Most Journal readers over a certain age can remember going all the way through college without politics intruding in the classroom. Until the Vietnam War, for instance, few students knew their professors' views, and even then most politicking took place on parts of the campus where participation was voluntary. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: "(Opinion Journal)" The great secret is out: liberals dominate campuses. Ed Driscoll: Gee, wonder what gave them that idea? Update: Memeorandum has a nice Blogosphere round-up on the Economist piece. KJL: I like it. You conservative kid might get harrassed by his profs, too. (Many of us have those stories...of course, they often wind up helpful in the long run.) |
Chris Lawrence: Back to the academic bias well — Greg Ransom and Glenn Reynolds are among those linking to Jeff Jacoby's Boston Globe... Michael DeBow: In the same vein, Opinion Journal's "Taste" page reports on a new study of college students' perceptions of political... Glenn Reynolds: (Via Carl Frank). UPDATE: More on that topic here. |
| Also: Greg Ransom | |
Don't Expect the Government to Be a V-Chip By / NYT — Permalink Washington — TIME to take a deep breath. The high pitch at which many are discussing the enforcement of rules against indecency on television and radio is enough to pop an eardrum. It is no surprise that those who make a handsome living by selling saucy fare rant the loudest - it drives up the ratings. | |
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Avedon Carol: "For material to be indecent in the legal sense it must be of a sexual or excretory nature and it must be patently... Dan Gillmor: Michael Powell Doesn't Fool Jeff Jarvis — Jeff has posted a solid deconstruction of FCC Chairman (and national nanny) Michael Powell's insulting and scary op-ed in today's Times. Ed Cone: Jeff Jarvis to FCC chairman Michael Powell: "Utter crap, sir." Plus another 2,257 words of commentary on Powell's NYT op-ed. |
Jeff Jarvis: Fisking our National Nanny : Michael Powell, our censor-in-chief, writes an op-ed in today's New York Times defending... Matt Welch: Powell's "Delicate First Amendment Balance" — If you're going to read Michael Powell's crappy and condescending New... |
Bob in Paradise By / Washington Monthly — Permalink Robert Novak was in high dudgeon. He and his colleagues on CNN's "The Capital Gang" were squabbling over whether CBS should have run a story on President George W. Bush's National Guard service, a story which relied on documents whose authenticity had come into question. | |
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Avedon Carol: Amy Sullivan has a profile of Bob Novak that I guess explains why they let him keep his job but not why Bob Schrum still gets hired for Democratic campaigns. Sam Rosenfeld: MR. IMMUNITY. My friend Amy Sullivan has written a first-rate cover story for The Washington Monthly on Bob Novak. Josh Marshall: Now, before I get myself too tangled up in verbal gymnastics about how being Bob Novak means never having to say you're... |
Orrin Judd: VALERIE PALME & BILL BURKETT ARE THE MORE APT COMPARISON: Bob in Paradise: How Novak created his own ethics-free zone. Noam Scheiber: UPDATE: The Monthly has graciously sent along a URL for that piece. I can't recommend it enough. Oliver @LiquidList: It's called "Bob In Paradise." It should be titled "Bob and His Bitches". A taste: "Bob Novak is, he tells me, writing his memoirs. |
Russia's Putin Calls U.S. Policy 'Dictatorial' By / Reuters — Permalink NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Friday of pursuing a dictatorial foreign policy and said mounting violence could derail progress toward bringing peace and democracy to Iraq . | |
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Avedon Carol: Reuters: Russia's Putin Calls U.S. Policy 'Dictatorial': "Even if dictatorship is packaged in beautiful... Orrin Judd: AND? : Russia's Putin Calls U.S. Policy 'Dictatorial' (Douglas Busvine, 12/03/04, Reuters) [snipped quote] Accused? |
Oliver Willis: Cold War II — There goes our "ally", Pooty-Poot. Russia's Putin Calls U.S. Policy 'Dictatorial' (and he would know!) Matt Welch: It's All Over But the Banging of the Shoe — Christmas may be coming early for Cold War nostalgiacs. |
Questions for Kerik By / Slate — Permalink When Bernard Kerik, President Bush's choice to be the new homeland security secretary, testifies at his Senate confirmation hearings next month, someone should ask him the following questions: | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Their argument hinges on a point I'd totally overlooked until I found it popping up as the "to be sure" graf in Fred Kaplan's otherwise very negative Slate piece. |
Phillip Carter: For a dissenting opinion, see Fred Kaplan's article "Questions for Kerik" in Slate today as well. |
Rumsfeld to remain in Cabinet CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — At the urging of President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has agreed to remain in his Cabinet post, a senior administration official said Friday. | |
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Talking Dog: Amidst the announcements of the resignations of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and U.N. Ambassador... |
Lambert @Corrente: How big? (Via CNN) |
3 Arrested in Suspected Plot to Attack Iraqi Prime Minister By / NYT — Permalink BERLIN, Dec. 3 - German police today arrested three Iraqis who the chief federal prosecutor said appeared to have been planning an attack on Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraq, here for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. | |
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Chad Evans: Germany Arrests Three in Plot to Assassinate Allawi - New York Times (via Outside the Beltway) [snipped quote] As I... |
James Joyner: Germans Foil Allawi Assassination Plot 3 Arrested in Suspected Plot to Attack Iraqi Prime Minister [RSS] (NYT) [snipped quote] Obviously, excellent news and a great catch. |
Mr. President, will you answer the question? By / Salon — Permalink George W. Bush has held far fewer solo news conferences than any president in the modern era. And when he does meet with the press, he avoids direct answers so brazenly that there is scant little value in it anyway. It's time the White House press corps did something about it. | |
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Avedon Carol: Putting him on the spot — Dan Froomkin in Salon asks, Mr. President, will you answer the question? Lambert @Corrente: Questions for Inerrant Boy — The Amazing Froomkin in Salon: [snipped quote] Not that Bush will answer, of course. |
Michael Froomkin: How to Question Bush Better — If you are willing to endure the annoying ad required for a 'Day Pass', you can read my... DeLong: (White House Press Corps Worse Than Pitiful Department) Dan Froomkin plays Louis Gossett, Jr., to the White House press... |
Mervyn's reverses ban on kettles By / San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink Bells will be ringing at Mervyn's department stores this holiday season after all, store officials announced Thursday in a sudden reversal of a ban on Salvation Army collection kettles. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Mervyn's reverses Salvation Army ban —invites kettles to return. Mervyn's management: Smart, flexible, responsive to customers. Greg Ransom: RED KETTLES return to Mervyn's. |
KJL: RED KETTLES are back at Mervyn's department stores. Kudos to Hugh Hewitt who has been leading this effort to encourage stores to lift the kettle bans. |
Whiplash at the White House By / WaPo — Permalink The comings and goings this week at the White House are enough to make your head spin. Mike Allen and John Mintz write in The Washington Post: "President Bush settled yesterday on Bernard B. Kerik, the New York police commissioner during the terrorist... | |
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Atrios: However, it is still the case that X does not in fact equal 2. DeLong: Presidential Medal of Incompetence — Dan Froomkin quotes Al Kamen: "washingtonpost.com: Whiplash at the White House:... |
Orrin Judd: AL GORE MAY HAVE INVENTED IT, BUT W PERFECTED IT: Exodus.gov (Dan Froomkin, December 3, 2004, Washington Post)... |
Why Only in Ukraine? By / WaPo — Permalink There has been general back-patting in the West about renewed European-American comity during the Ukrainian crisis. Both the United States and Europe have been doing exactly the right thing: rejecting a fraudulent election run by a corrupt oligarchy and insisting on a new vote. | |
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Ken Masugi: Krauthammer Misses the Point — In his justifiable eagerness to bash the Europeans over their opposition to our Iraq policy, Charles Krauthammer concludes on a sour note. Jan Haugland: Charles Krauthammer is happy that Europe and the US has united over Ukraine, but points out that Europeans are pretty ambivalent towards democracy elsewhere. Jesse Taylor: Well, it has to. Otherwise, why would Charles Krauthammer write this column? |
Kevin T. Keith: Krauthammer's Washington Post column, "Why Only in the Ukraine?", is an attack on European nations for favoring the... James Joyner: Why Only in Ukraine? Charles Krauthammer asks the title question, "Why Only in Ukraine?" in his WaPo column today. Orrin Judd: REALISM, RACISM FOR INTELLECTUALS: Why Only in Ukraine? |
| Also: Betsy Newmark, Cori Dauber, Greg Ransom | |
Rumsfeld to stay on as defense secretary AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, whose future has been in doubt amid spreading violence and U.S. deaths in Iraq, was asked by President Bush on Friday to remain at the Pentagon in the administration's second term, a senior official said. | |
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James Joyner: Don Rumsfeld Staying on as Defense Secretary — Rumsfeld to stay on as defense secretary (Newsday - AP) |
TChris: Rumsfeld Stays — It's official. |
Thompson resigns as HHS secretary MSNBC — Permalink WASHINGTON - Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned Friday, the latest departure in a major reshuffling of President Bush's second-term Cabinet, a U.S. official told NBC News. | |
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Kevin Drum: CABINET RESHUFFLE UPDATE....Tommy Thompson has resigned as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Josh Marshall: And there it is, Thompson resigns. |
Matt Welch: Is Eight Enough? Tommy Thompson becomes the eighth Cabinet member to resign. |
NBC Makes Unprecedented Downward Correction in Latino Support for Bush PRNewsWire — Permalink WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ — In a stunning admission, an elections manager for NBC News said national news organizations overestimated President George W. Bush's support among Latino voters, downwardly revising its estimated support for President Bush to... | |
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Karl-T: Latino Exit Polling Wrong, Corrected towards Kerry — NBC goes oops. |
Plutonium Page: Check this out: Makes Unprecedented Downward Correction in Latino Support for Bush [snipped quote] Love that SCLM. |
U.N. worker accused of genocide in Rwanda MSNBC — Permalink There's outrage at the United Nations. A U.N. worker was accused of genocide and yet was allowed to stay on the U.N. payroll. The carnage was horrific. Some 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered in 1994 by rampaging Hutus in Rwanda. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: MORE TROUBLE FOR KOFI: "U.N. worker accused of genocide in Rwanda." |
KJL: U.N. WORKER accused of genocide in Rwanda. |
Aide Takes Blame for Tax Return Provision By / WaPo — Permalink A mid-level House aide said yesterday that he was the one who, during last month's drafting of a huge spending bill, added a provision that could give staffers on the House and Senate appropriations committees broad access to Americans' tax returns. | |
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Garance Franke-Ruta: That's why this explanation by Richard Efford about how the ombinus spending bill came to include highly controversial... Eugene Oregon: That, in turn led to this [snipped quote] And while Istook was stripping provisions from the bill, some mid-level House... |
Josh Marshall: The Post has an interview with Efford and the details of his story. |
Series of explosions rock Madrid BBC — Permalink A series of blasts has rocked the Spanish capital, Madrid, following a bomb warning from armed Basque separatist group Eta. Five explosions occurred at petrol stations on the outskirts of the city as many people were leaving for a bank holiday weekend. | |
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Jan Haugland: But Eta wasn't dead — Five smaller bomb explosions hit petrol stations in and around Madrid during the afternoon rushhour today. |
KJL: BOMBINGS IN MADRID come after terrorist warning |
Fast Internet Service for The People By / WaPo — Permalink For the millions of people who cannot afford high-speed Internet access, some local officials think they've hit on the answer: Build government-owned networks to provide service at rates below what big telecommunications companies charge. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Those of us hoping to see the Democrats become a real party of reform would seem to have just been dealt a blow (via... |
Ezra Klein: Which is why I'm so sickened to see Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (a Democrat, I might add) barring the government... |
Thompson Resigns From Bush's Cabinet By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned Friday, broadening an exodus that has emptied more than half of President Bush 's Cabinet before he starts his second term. | |
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Steve Soto: Tommy Thompson announced this morning that he is leaving HHS, likely to be replaced with another member of the Bush... |
James Joyner: Tommy Thompson's Tips for Terrorists AP: [snipped quote] The lead-in makes this sound like a huge gaffe. |
Merchant of Venice distributor demands pound of flesh By / Financial Times — Permalink US distributors of the film Merchant of Venice, which premiered in London this week, have asked the director to cut out a background fresco by a Venetian old master so it is fit for American television viewers. | |
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Digby: Meanwhile, there is always the daily atrocity of the morals police: The Moderate Voice kindly alerted me to this:... Andrew Stuttaford: JANET JACKSON'S LEGACY — Via the Financial Times: "US distributors of the film Merchant of Venice, which premiered in... Susan Madrak: NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION — And to think we used to make fun of countries that did things like this -... |
Joe Gandelman: Just think if THIS had been allowed to get through: [snipped quote] It was wise that they reshot those scenes, which... Chris Bertram: Family values — Via Lance Knobel , this astonishing story from the Financial Times: US distributors of the film... |
Abstinence Education Under Fire; Interview With Jesse Jackson By / CNN — Permalink THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening and welcome. Thanks so much for being with us tonight. | |
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Captain Ed: Ed Rendell Puts The Anal In Analysis — Jim Geraghty at the Kerry Spot points out an example of Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell's brilliance on the Paula Zahn show last night. |
Paul Jaminet: ACCEPTANCE: PAULA ZAHN NOW (Transcript of Paula Zahn Show, CNN, aired Dec 2, 2004; via Captain's Quarters) "RENDELL: Now, look, I'm not going to wring my hands over this election. |
Lynch Mob's Real Target Is the U.N., Not Annan LAT — Permalink Kofi Annan must be wondering whose dog he shot. A right-wing mob is gathering around him, howling for his head. And why? Because the gentle and generally accommodating leader of the United Nations has, as New York Times columnist William Safire recently put... | |
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James Martin Capozzola: And twice just today the neoconservatives' not altogether subtle strategy of attacking, undermining even, the U.N... Pejman Yousefzadeh: FEEBLE DEFENSE, STRONG REBUTTAL — You know that things are going wrong for Kofi Annan when his defenders have to resort to writing tendentious apologies like this one. |
Wretchard: In an article entitled Lynch Mob's Real Target Is the U.N. Susan Madrak: WHAT'S GOING ON — James Traub explains the real motive behind the UN "oil-for-food" scandal. |
Let the Military on Campus By / WaPo — Permalink When a circuit court ruled this week that universities could bar military recruiters from campuses without the risk of losing federal money, many liberals cheered. They should hold the cheering and reconsider the implications of their actions. | |
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Cori Dauber: The more culturally isolated the military is, he argues, the more conservative it becomes. Steve Bainbridge: Military Recruiting on Law School Campuses — Liberal columnist EJ Dionne has an interesting take on the titular... |
Nick Confessore: Regular Tapped readers will not be surprised that I couldn't agree more with the sentiments expressed in E.J. Dionne's new Washington Post column. |
Gregoire wants full recount -- or none By / Seattle Times — Permalink OLYMPIA — Democrat Christine Gregoire says she will concede the governor's race to Dino Rossi today unless her party raises enough money for a statewide recount. "I'm done with the shock of Nov. 2 and I have moved on, and I am ready to do what the law provides" and have a final statewide manual recount, Gregoire said yesterday. | |
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Greg Ransom: GREGOIRE is prepared to concede — the Democrat Party in Washington says "so what." |
PoliPundit: WA Recount — Curioser and curioser in WA. |
Fundraising Records Broken By Both Major Political Parties WaPo — Permalink The GOP and the Democrats broke all previous fundraising records this year, but for the first time since the mid-1970s, the Democratic National Committee raised more money than the Republican National Committee. | |
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Nick Confessore: PARTY DOWN? Today's Washington Post reports on fundraising totals for the two parties during the 2004 cycle. PoliPundit: Money — Yes, Virginia, the Democrats spent more money than the Republicans. And they still lost. |
Taegan Goddard: The Washington Post looked at "all sources seeking to influence the outcome" and found "at least $925 million was spent... |
Man Is Wolfe to Man NRO — Permalink Sigh. If only Charlotte Simmons were all fiction. How does this conservative look forward to a new Tom Wolfe novel? Let me count the ways. The political incorrectness. Well, not exactly that. Tom Wolfe takes no point of view, has no bill of goods to sell. | |
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Ed Driscoll: The Wolfe And The Sheepskin — John Derbyshire has a review of Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons. |
Vox Day: Down with Wolfe — John Derbyshire quotes Wolfe: [snipped quote] I told you I was cool... although the only Foucault about which I was enthusiastic is the fictional Pendulum. |
Corzine to Run for Governor of New Jersey By / NYT — Permalink NEWARK, Dec. 2 - Jon S. Corzine, whose riches and Wall Street background helped make him a United States senator and a major fund-raiser for Democrats across the nation, announced on Thursday that he would run for governor of New Jersey next year. | |
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Chris Nolan: I think a little less Democratic anger and a little more good old-fashioned politickin' would go a lot further - see... |
Bruce Sanborn: Here are excerpts from the New York Times that suggest the rhetoric on which he will run. I suspect, other Democrats will follow his lead. |
A left-wing monopoly on campuses By / Boston Globe — Permalink THE LEFT-WING takeover of American universities is an old story. In 1951, William F. Buckley Jr. created a sensation with "God and Man at Yale," which documented the socialist and atheist worldview that even then prevailed in the classrooms of the Ivy League institution he had just graduated from. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Jeff Jacoby looks at ideological discriminations at colleges. [snipped quote] I went to college in the late 70s at George Washington University in the heart of DC. Greg Ransom: NEW STUDENT SURVEY shows that professors across the country are using their classrooms as a forum for partisan political propoganda. |
Glenn Reynolds: HERE'S STILL MORE on the shocking lack of diversity on many American campuses. Somebody should make a documentary on this. |
Ukraine Court: Election Results Invalid By / AP — Permalink KIEV, Ukraine - The Supreme Court declared the results of Ukraine's disputed presidential run-off election invalid on Friday and ruled that the run-off should be repeated on Dec. 26, bringing cheers and fireworks from tens of thousands of opposition supporters massed in Kiev's main square. | |
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Captain Ed: Ukrainian Supreme Court Invalidates Election — The Ukrainian Supreme Court has invalidated the second round of the... |
Hindrocket: The Associated Press reports here. |
Republicans warn of party split over immigration By / Washington Times — Permalink When House Republicans blocked the intelligence overhaul bill two weeks ago, some congressional Republicans say they were showing President Bush he will split the party if he goes ahead with his broader immigration-reform plan. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), quoted by the Washington Times, warning that President Bush "will split the party if he goes ahead with his broader immigration-reform plan." |
Mark Krikorian: SENDING A MESSAGE — A Washington Times report today makes explicit what was implicit before: The tug of war over the... |
Muslims seek to block sequel to Dutch film AP — Permalink A small group of Muslims in the Netherlands is preparing a lawsuit to block a sequel to Submission, the movie scripted by a right-wing lawmaker and directed by a slain Dutch filmmaker, the group's lawyer said Thursday. | |
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Charles Johnson: Muslims Sue to Block Sequel to "Submission" — Having failed to intimidate Ayaan Hirsi Ali by murdering the director of... |
Damian Penny: In other European freedom-of-expression news, Dutch Muslim groups are suing MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali - writer of Theo van... |
Kerik critics speak out By / New York Newsday — Permalink Critics of Bernard Kerik — and there still are a number in city law enforcement circles — said privately Thursday that any valid U.S. Senate confirmation process would have to turn an especially skeptical eye on his legacy here as top jail official until 2000. | |
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Steve M.: And there's this, about Kerik's tenure as the city's corrections commissioner: One non-fan, a Correction Department... |
Steve Gilliard: He was William Rogers to Giuliani's Kissinger.His critics, and there are a few left not clouded by the aura of 9/11,... |
U.S. OKs Evidence Gained Through Torture By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Evidence gained by torture can be used by the U.S. military in deciding whether to imprison a foreigner indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an enemy combatant, the government says. Statements produced under torture have been inadmissible in U.S. courts for about 70 years. | |
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Phillip Carter: Comes now a report from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which is hearing the habeas corpus cases... |
Eugene Oregon: Well, We Don't Want It to Go to Waste — From the AP "Evidence gained by torture can be used by the U.S. military in... |
The Islamization of Europe? By / Commentary — Permalink Only a few years ago, mass-murder attacks on the West in the name of Islam, like those of September 11, would have seemed like a thriller writer's fantasy. Nor would anyone have imagined that a bombing by Islamists could swing a general election in a European... | |
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Charles Johnson: The Islamization of Europe — Commentary Magazine has an essential piece by David Pryce-Jones on The Islamization of Europe. |
The Big Trunk: I think that the best article in the current issue, howver, is by historian and NR senior editor David Pryce-Jones: "The Islamization of Europe?" |
A False Start on Social Security NYT — Permalink Even before the debate has truly begun over the centerpiece of President Bush's second-term domestic agenda - creating private retirement accounts within Social Security - White House and Congressional budget leaders have been floating the idea that it won't require a major increase in the federal budget deficit. | |
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Tom Maguire: The NY Times runs an editorial on Social Security privatization today. |
Mathew Gross: Al Gore's LockBox, in the Trash Bin NYT: "Last month, Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman, flatly stated that America's lenders would eventually tire of financing our deficits. |
John Birch lives By / Salon — Permalink If American conservatism is truly the fount of "new ideas," as its publicists incessantly assure us, why do conservatives constantly promote the stale old ideas that obsessed them in 1962? | |
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James Martin Capozzola: , Not Annan") and Joe Conason at Salon.com ("John Birch Lives"). |
Susan Madrak: And, as you might guess, it has to do with the wingnuts. UPDATE: Joe Conason adds his take. |
Bush names Johanns ag secretary By / Lincoln Journal Star — Permalink President Bush's surprise selection Thursday of Gov. Mike Johanns as secretary of agriculture flipped Nebraska's political landscape upside down. When the dust settled, the state faced its first gubernatorial resignation in more than a century, elevation of Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman to the governorship and a totally restructured 2006 Senate race. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Decision Upends Nebraska Politics — President Bush's selection of Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns (R) as secretary of... |
PoliPundit: No one else seems to know either: "Although selection of a Midwesterner with an agricultural background appeared... |
BBC Says Dow Interview an 'Elaborate Deception' ABCNEWS — Permalink An Indian boy holds a photograph of his relative, who died in the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, during a ceremony in the central Indian city of Bhopal December 2, 2004. Authorities also say at least 15,000 people have died since the leak, although activists put the number at around 33,000. | |
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The Big Trunk: ABC carries the Reuters account: "BBC says Dow interview an 'elaborate deception.'" I believe this is what's known among Beatles fans as taking a sad song and making it better. |
Glenn Reynolds: HOAXED? |
I.B.M. Said to Put Its PC Business on the Market NYT — Permalink International Business Machines, whose first I.B.M. PC in 1981 moved personal computing out of the hobby shop and into the corporate and consumer mainstream, has put the business up for sale, people close to the negotiations said yesterday. | |
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Scott Rosenberg: IBM PC: RIP — IBM is putting its PC business on the block, according to the front page of today's New York Times. Jane Galt: The End of an Era — First Toys 'R Us talks about getting rid of its toy business, and now IBM is selling off it's PC division. |
Dan Gillmor: IBM Quitting PC Biz? NY Times: I.B.M. Said to Put Its PC Business on the Market. Greg Ransom: A CHINESE COMPANY is negotiations to buy IBM's PC unit. |
Falluja Data Said to Pressure Guerrillas NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 - The expulsion of Iraqi guerrillas and foreign fighters from Falluja has provided the American military with a treasure-trove of intelligence that is giving commanders insights into the next phase of the insurgency, and helping them reshape the American counterinsurgency campaign, senior Pentagon and military officials say. | |
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James Joyner: Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt of the NYT add more evidence of this in their piece "Falluja Data Said to Pressure... Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE BENEFITS OF VICTORY — This article is very informative on the ways in which victory in Fallujah has assisted the... Orrin Judd: NO SAFE HAVEN: Falluja Data Said to Pressure Guerrillas (THOM SHANKER and ERIC SCHMITT, 12/03/04, NY Times)... |
Bird Dog: Fallujah Fallout — The New York Times has a good assessment on the battle of Fallujah. What have we learned? Bill Hobbs: Fallujah Update — Here are two good articles on the battle for Fallujah and its impact on the war on terror in Iraq. |
From Bush Aide, Warning on Social Security By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 - Calling the current system of Social Security benefits unsustainable, a top economic adviser to President Bush on Thursday strongly implied that any overhaul of the system would have to include major cuts in guaranteed benefits for future retirees. | |
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Tom Maguire: Although an increase in payroll taxes may be part of the Social Security solution (Gregory Mankiw, outgoing chairman of... Nathan Newman: Gregory Mankiw, Bush's chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers said retirees should suck it up and accept lower... |
Noam Scheiber: Mankiw made his comments yesterday, according to the New York Times: [snipped quote] We know that White House officials... Greg Ransom: THE CURRENT SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT RATE IS UNSUSTAINABLE say Council of Economic Advisers chair Gregory Mankiw. |
FDA panel delays approval of new female sex drug AP — Permalink NEW YORK - A hormone patch that works to restore a woman's sex drive should not win government approval until more studies are completed to determine the drug's risks, federal health advisers recommended Thursday. | |
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Tbogg: Rock me like a hurricane." So is it any wonder Dick got on the phone and put a stop to the madness? |
Susan Madrak: CHOKE... COUGH.... When I read The Bogger this morning, I laughed so hard, I started to choke: [snipped quote] And on that note, I really do have to leave now. |
New York's HIV experiment By / BBC — Permalink HIV positive children and their loved ones have few rights if they choose to battle with social work authorities in New York City. Jacklyn Hoerger's job was to treat children with HIV at a New York children's home. | |
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Rivka: Apparently, on Tuesday night the BBC aired a documentary claiming that HIV+ children in foster care were used in... Nielsen Hayden: This story began with a BBC documentary broadcast on Tuesday night. Susan Madrak: GUINEA PIGS — You can see why I think so very highly of the pharmaceutical industry: [snipped quote] This is a real horror story and not for the weak of stomach. |
Kevin Drum: GUINEA PIG KIDS....Via Patridiots, a BBC documentary last week claims that experimental HIV drugs are being tested on foster kids in New York. Natasha @PacificViews: In New York, the Administration for Children's Services has been testing new AIDS drugs on orphaned children in its... |
Iraq, the Press and the Election By / New York Review of Books — Permalink In the end, the war in Iraq did not have the decisive impact on the election that many had expected. In the weeks before the vote there were the massacre of forty-nine Iraqi police trainees; a deadly attack inside the previously impenetrable Green Zone in... | |
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Larre @LeftCoaster: Michael Massing's mid-November feature article in the New York Review of Books, Iraq, the Press, and the Election has been on the web for awhile. |
Gregory Djerejian: For they come from wiser and mightier folk than you and me... Here's another beaut from the NYRB worth checking out too:... |
Corrupt? Absolutely. By / Slate — Permalink Earlier this year, Tom DeLay correctly diagnosed the disease that infects his congressional majority. "If 1994 was the year we stopped thinking like a permanent minority," DeLay told Republicans gathered for a February party retreat in Philadelphia, "2004 is... | |
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Tyler Cowen: Republican fact of the day — [snipped quote] Read the whole thing, but please note I don't think a contemporary Democrat majority would be any better. |
Charles Kuffner: Also via the Stakeholder, Chris Suellentrop makes a great point about the current Congress and their corrupt leader. |
Galloway judgement Telegraph — Permalink We are naturally disappointed by this judgment, which we believe is a blow to the principle of freedom of expression in this country. We will be seeking leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal. | |
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Damian Penny: The Telegraph responds — The Daily Telegraph has issued a statement on the Galloway libel verdict: We are naturally... |
Andrew Sullivan: The case was won because, in the judge's view, the Telegraph had not given Galloway sufficient time or space to respond... |
A Fighting Faith By / TNR — Permalink On January 4, 1947, 130 men and women met at Washington's Willard Hotel to save American liberalism. A few months earlier, in articles in The New Republic and elsewhere, the columnists Joseph and Stewart Alsop had warned that "the liberal movement is now engaged in sowing the seeds of its own destruction." | |
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Tom @Corrente: I think Beinart is wrong because it is obvious to anyone who pays attention that Islamic terrorism is not the threat that communism and a nuclear-armed USSR was. Mitch Berg: In light of this piece by Peter Beinart, a better question might be "do you think your movement can ever get serious about the thret that faces us?" |
Kevin Drum: LIBERALS AND TERRORISM....Peter Beinart has a cover story in the New Republic this week called "A Fighting Faith." |
Anti-spam plan overwhelms sites BBC — Permalink A plan to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers seems to be getting out of control. Earlier this week Lycos Europe released a screensaver that bombards spam websites with data to try to increase the cost of running such sites. | |
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Brian Micklethwait: Spammers spammed (but too successfully) I am confused (as Americans often say when they are about to be nasty in a very... |
Rodney Dill: Anti-spam plan overwhelms sites (BBC NEWS) [snipped quote] BWA HA HA HA! - Vigilantism or not, this is just too funny Via Slashdot |
Methodist Jury Convicts Lesbian Minister By / AP — Permalink PUGHTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A jury made up of United Methodist Church clergy convicted a lesbian minister Thursday of violating church law by openly living with her partner in a committed relationship. The Rev. | |
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John Cole: Update *** This dovetails nicely with the above story: [snipped quote] Like The UCC commercial said- everyone is welcome. |
Donald Sensing: Irene Elizabeth Stroud, who is a self-avowed, practicing lesbian resulted in her conviction. |
U.N. Ambassador Danforth Resigns Fox News — Permalink WASHINGTON — U.N. Ambassador John Danforth (search) has handed in his resignation. Danforth, a former Missouri Republican senator, was confirmed to the post by the Senate at the end of June. | |
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James Joyner: U.N. Ambassador John Danforth Resigns — U.N. Ambassador Danforth Resigns (FOX) [snipped quote] It's rather odd that Danforth would leave so soon after being appointed to the post. Laura Rozen: John Danforth has already resigned, I'm hearing on NPR?? He'd only been at the UN since July. |
Steve Soto: Now that Condi Rice has gotten that job, Danforth resigns today. Orrin Judd: SEND IN THE WOLF: U.N. Ambassador Danforth Resigns (Fox News, December 02, 2004) "U.N. Ambassador John Danforth has handed in his resignation. |
The Texas DA pitted against the power of Tom DeLay By / Christian Science Monitor — Permalink HOUSTON - Justice of the Peace Guy Herman was sitting in his office one day when a prosecutor walked in to file charges for improper campaign-finance reporting. Against himself. The man was Ronnie Earle, the Travis County district attorney, bringing a self-incriminating complaint for tardy reporting in 1981 and 1982. | |
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Charles Kuffner: We'll see how it goes. Finally, Ginger kindly forwarded me this profile of Ronnie Earle. |
Orrin Judd: NOT PARTISAN, JUST POWER MAD: The Texas DA pitted against the power of Tom DeLay: Ronnie Earle: good ethics cop or partisan prosecutor? |
You Can Blog, but You Can't Hide By / NYT — Permalink Say that an I.R.S. agent leaks a politician's income tax return to a newspaper reporter, an act that is a federal felony. The newspaper may have a First Amendment right to publish the information, especially since it bears on a matter of public interest. | |
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Scott Rosenberg: Bonus link: Eugene Volokh's op-ed on balancing journalist's rights and the public's right to know in a world where everyone's a journalist. Tom Maguire: You Can Leak, And You Should Hide — The always interesting Eugene Volokh has a guest editorial in today's NY Times. Phillip Carter: Eugene Volokh, under whom I studied First Amendment law at UCLA, offers another piece of the puzzle in a New York Times op-ed this morning (albeit on a different subject). |
Ezra Klein: Eugene Volokh has written a downright sensible op-ed on journalistic priveledge: [snipped quote] Sounds good to me. Jan Haugland: Eugene Volokh, "blogfather" of the excellent group blog The Volokh Conspiracy, has an interesting op-ed about the... Mike Rappaport: Here is an excerpt: "The best solution may be to borrow a principle from other privileges, like those for confidential communications to lawyers, psychotherapists and spouses. |
| Also: Cori Dauber, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Ogged @Unfogged, Todd Pearson, Jeff Jarvis, Matt Welch, Steve Bainbridge, Ed Cone, Glenn Reynolds, Eugene Volokh, Bill Hobbs | |
What We Won in Fallouja By / LAT — Permalink The news media are taking Wellington's dictum to heart. They seem positively despondent over the battle of Fallouja. It is right and proper to mourn the death of 71 Americans and the wounding of hundreds more. As Wellington realized, martial glory rings hollow when weighed against the cost in blood. | |
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James Joyner: What We Won in Falluja — Max Boot explains "What We Won in Fallouja" in his latest LAT column. Pejman Yousefzadeh: MAX BOOT ON FALLUJAH — Very perceptive and insightful. An excerpt: "Coalition troops killed 1,200 to 1,600 guerrillas and captured more than 1,000. Betsy Newmark: Max Boot has a great look at what the battle of Fallujah accomplished. "The best news of recent days is the growing competence of Iraqi security forces. |
Andrew D: Why Fallujah Matters — I saw this article by Max Boot from the LA Times and I'd reccomend it to everyone- supporters of... Glenn Reynolds: MAX BOOT: "What we won in Fallouja." Not the ability to agree on a spelling, apparently, but otherwise he thinks things went rather well. |
What Makes People Happy? TV, Study Says By / NYT — Permalink A team of psychologists and economists is reporting today what many Americans know but don't always admit, especially to social scientists: that watching TV is a very enjoyable way to pass the time, and that taking care of children - bless their young hearts - is often about as much fun as housework. | |
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Garance Franke-Ruta: Another intriguing hypothesis for why the Democrats' economic appeals don't always resonate with households that earn... Orrin Judd: WHICH IS WHY MAN REQUIRED THE MANDATUM NOVUM: What Makes People Happy? |
Kevin Drum: The subjects were 909 Texas women, and they were pretty clear about what made them grumpy: [snipped quote] Hmmm. Greg Ransom: WHAT DO WOMEN ENJOY? [snipped quote] Like every smart thinking man, I'm not saying a word .. |
Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says By / WaPo — Permalink Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the... | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Yesterday the Washington Post reported that U.S. taxpayers are funding "abstinence only" sex ed programs that amount to telling the kids babies are brought by the stork. Oliver Willis: Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says "In providing nearly $170 million next year to fund groups that... David Allan Pell: Abstaining from Reality — As if it's not bad enough that we're replacing comprehensive sex and safe-sex education with... |
Andrew Sullivan: THEOCRACY WATCH I: There's been a mild and partial debunking of the Waxman investigation into "abstinence-only" programs funded by the feds here. Avedon Carol: It turns out that the content of the abstinence-only sex miseducation your tax dollars are paying for is so utterly mendacious that even Ceci Connolly noticed it. Sam Rosenfeld: Read Ceci Connoly's article summarizing the new report from Henry Waxman's office on federally funded abstinence-only... |
| Also: Fred Clark, Atrios, Norbizness, Kevin Raybould, Steve M., Nick Confessore, Clayton Cramer, Skippy, Julia @AmStreet, Radley Balko, Magpie @PacificViews, Michelle Malkin, Jesse Taylor, KJL, Orrin Judd, Ampersand @Amptoons, Zoe Kentucky | |
Nearly Half of Britons Unaware of Auschwitz -Poll By / Reuters — Permalink LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of Britons in a poll said they had never heard of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in southern Poland that became a symbol of the Holocaust and the attempted genocide of the Jews. | |
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Jonah Goldberg: AND THEY CALL AMERICANS IGNORANT — Half of Britons have never heard of Auschwitz. This is depressing for all of the obvious reasons. Ed Driscoll: Poll Claims Nearly Half of Britons Unaware of Auschwitz — Reuters reports: [snipped quote] That's staggering—but not all that surprising, to be honest. Roger L. Simon: Never Again? According to a new survey conducted by the BBC, nearly half of Britains have never heard of Auschwitz. |
Charles Johnson: Nearly Half of Britons Unaware of Auschwitz — This may be one reason why the "Bush=Hitler" inanities fall so easily... Pejman Yousefzadeh: IF IGNORANCE IS BLISS, THEN THIS BRAND OF IGNORANCE MUST BE PARADISE ITSELF — I'm gobsmacked: [snipped quote] Hmmm ... |
Kerik tops list to be Homeland chief By / Newsday — Permalink WASHINGTON — Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik is the likely choice to head the federal Homeland Security Department during President George W. Bush's second term, according to sources close to Homeland Security officials. | |
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James Joyner: Newsday.com: Kerik tops list to be Homeland chief (Newsday) [snipped quote] Kerik isn't a household name but would actually be a stellar choice. Taegan Goddard: Kerik Likely Successor to Ridge — Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik [snipped quote] Newsday reports. Steve M.: COMMAND OF THE FACTS — Q: Who said this? [snipped quote] A: Bernard Kerik, the next Secretary of Homeland Security. |
Orrin Judd: NOT STUNNING: Kerik tops list to be Homeland chief: Sources say New York City's former police commissioner who also... Glenn Reynolds: KERIK LIKELY TO REPLACE TOM RIDGE: If it happens, The Anchoress will claiming vindication. |
Dutch ponder 'mercy killing' rules CNN — Permalink (CNN) — Dutch health officials are considering guidelines doctors could follow for euthanizing terminally ill people "with no free will," including children, the severely mentally retarded and patients in irreversible comas. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: When Senator Rick Santorum on my program yesterday pledged to seek a Senate resolution condemning the Groningen... Glenn Reynolds: And here's more on the Dutch policy. ANOTHER UPDATE: Peter Singer takes another view, reportedly. So long as they're not animals! |
Vanderleun: "— CNN.com - Dutch ponder 'mercy killing' rules - Dec 1, 2004" Look hard at that last phrase, "life ending without request." |
Robertson: Gays and lesbians are "self-absorbed hedonists ... that want to impose their particular sexuality on the rest of America" Media Matters for America — Permalink On November 30, Reverend Pat Robertson described gays and lesbians as "self-absorbed hedonists ... that want to impose their particular sexuality on the rest of America." | |
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Steve M.: You may seen the Atrios link to the Media Matters story about Pat Robertson quoting chapter 19 of the Book of Matthew to prove that Christ rejects homosexuality. Atrios: Values — Pat Robertson says that gays and lesbians are "self-absorbed hedonists" for wanting to get married. |
Eugene Oregon: TPLGOP — Pat Robertson loves the GOP - and hates gays "That's what marriage is about and it is about nothing else. |
Kenneth Starr says he shouldn't have been involved in Lewinsky case AP — Permalink SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - Kenneth Starr says he never should have led the investigation that resulted in the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. | |
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Avedon Carol: Blogissimo — Chris Anderson has learned that: "Ken Starr now says he shouldn't have been involved in the Lewinsky... Taegan Goddard: Starr Says He Shouldn't Have Led Lewinsky Probe — [snipped quote] the AP reports. |
Steve Soto: Ken Starr now officially falls into the second category with this remarkable comment to the Santa Barbara News Press, as... |
Frist Political Fund Can't Cover Bank Loan WaPo — Permalink A campaign fund controlled by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has lost almost $460,000 in stock market investments since 2000 and now does not have enough to cover a sizable bank loan, according to federal election records and the manager of the Frist account. | |
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James Joyner: Bill Frist Political Fund Can't Cover Bank Loan — Frist Political Fund Can't Cover Bank Loan (WaPo, A02) "A campaign... Josh Marshall: Coming soon: Sen. Bill Frist test-drives Social Security privatization with his own campaign warchest and comes up half a million short. Taegan Goddard: Frist Fund Can't Cover Bank Loan — "A campaign fund controlled by" Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) "has lost... |
Steve Soto: Thursday Morning Short Hits — Exactly how well can Bill Frist make a case for himself as a good steward of the public's... Chris Bowers: Frist Campaign Loses Big In Stock Market — There might be a lesson here for Social Security, although I can't possibly imagine what it would be. |
Red Double-Crossed Again Opinion Journal — Permalink Once upon a time, the International Committee of the Red Cross was a humanitarian outfit doing the Lord's work to reduce the horrors of war. So it is a special tragedy to see that it has increasingly become an ideological organization unable to distinguish between good guys and bad. | |
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Cori Dauber: But, man, if you thought I was skeptical of that venerable institution, you should check out the unsigned piece from this morning's OpinionJournal. PoliPundit: But POWs are supposed to be detained "indefinitely": [snipped quote] Your tax dollars fund the ICRC to the tune of $100 million/year. |
Ted Belman: Red Double-Crossed Again — The ICRC betrays America—and the Geneva Conventions. |
The End of the Left's History NRO — Permalink The world has moved on. The hysterical reaction of the Western Left to the reelection of President George W. Bush is not just a primal scream from politicians and intellectuals deprived of political power. | |
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Avedon Carol: For example, professional fruit-bat Michael Ledeen, a man who appears to think that Bill Clinton is a worshipper of... Jesse Taylor: The "Left" is dead, according to Michael Ledeen. And it's got to be true, because he keeps using Marx and Hegel. |
Ed Driscoll: Time Has Come Today — Michael Ledeen writes that time is rapidly running out on the left: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. Greg Ransom: THE SUCCESS OF AMERICA MEANS THE DEATH OF THE LEFT: "The success of America was .. a devastating blow to the Left. |
We Want O'Reilly Back! NRO — Permalink Missing the old maverick. What is it about the Internet that drives Bill O'Reilly nuts? Last year he was ranting that "the reason these net people get away with all kinds of stuff is that they work for no one," in the same aggrieved tone first heard from liberal media folk when they began complaining about Matt Drudge. | |
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Jim Treacher: So Cathy Seipp's latest column is all about why Bill O'Reilly is a tear-stained wussy. She doesn't put it in quite those terms, but that's the gist of it. Ed Driscoll: O'Reilled Up, Part Duex — Heh. |
Roger L. Simon: Why would he get more viewers than Brit Hume? [You really want to know?-ed. No, I prefer to be willfully ignorant. Glenn Reynolds: CATHY SEIPP WRITES on Bill O'Reilly's odd defense of Dan Rather. |
The most influential philosopher alive By / Townhall.com — Permalink Republicans are winning elections, but the long-term problem of the left dominance within academia remains. Consider, for example, the influence of Princeton professor Peter Singer. | |
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Joe Carter: I was hoping to have two fetuses because this one is going to be used to harvest organs for Alice. |
Cliff May: Marvin Olasky reports that Peter Singer, the Princeton philospher, sees nothing wrong with parents "conceiving and... |
Two networks bar church ad welcoming gays By / Boston Globe — Permalink Two broadcast networks are refusing to air an ad from the United Church of Christ because the spot, intended to make the point that the Protestant denomination is welcoming, briefly shows two men who are holding hands being turned away from an unnamed church. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: The Boston Globe's piece on the controversy had one interesting nugget: apparently, ABC and NBC had notified the Church about their opposition to the ad last spring. Josh Marshall: CBS's and NBC's rejection of the UCC's church inclusion ad got big billing in the Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune. |
Jude Nagurney Camwell: We are stunned." [quote from Boston Globe story by Michael Paulson]. |
The Education of Dan Rather By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Life is complicated, people are complicated, and most of us are a jumble of virtues, flaws and contradictions. I like to try to understand the past, try to put it together in a way that makes sense to me. This can involve judging not only your own actions and decisions but those of others, which can be hard. | |
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Ed Driscoll: Meanwhile, Peggy Noonan, who once wrote copy for Rather, has a remarkably sympathetic take about her former employer:... SLZoll: In response to overwhelming demand, in this week's column Peggy tells us what she thinks of Dan Rather — and it turns... Cori Dauber: This morning she writes about Dan Rather, and the various influences on his generation of reporters. |
William J. Dyer: From 1981-1984, Ms. Noonan worked for Dan Rather, whom she describes in an op-ed column in today's Wall Street Journal as "a great boss." Susanna Cornett: But Peggy Noonan has it right: [snipped quote] Those comments are separated by the majority of an excellent column about Dan Rather and his career. Jesse Taylor: The sensible ones realize it's a huge stain on his image (although it tends to overshadow the horrific parts of his Vietnam policy), and then...there are the not-so-sensible ones. |
| Also: John Cole, Ramesh Ponnuru | |
Microsoft sees blogs for the masses By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink The company that helped push word-processing and graphical computing into the mainstream wants to do the same thing with weblogs. Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet division last night introduced a preliminary version of MSN Spaces, a new service that includes a tool for publishing weblogs, online journals commonly known as blogs. | |
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The Elder: Meanwhile there may be some good news for Hugh on the blogging horizon: Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet division last... Joe Gandelman: KSBW TV reports: [snipped quote] Microsoft blogging? So does this mean that now blogs will crash? |
James Joyner: MSN Spaces: Microsoft Blogs for the Masses — Microsoft sees blogs for the masses (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) "The... Glenn Reynolds: MICROSOFT ENTERS THE BLOG MARKET with MSN Spaces. |
Galloway wins libel case against Telegraph By / Guardian — Permalink Former Labour MP George Galloway has won his libel action against the Daily Telegraph and been awarded 150,000 in damages. High Court judge David Eady said the allegations that he was in the pay of Saddam Hussein were "seriously defamatory" and said he... | |
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Damian Penny: Gorgeous George wins — George Galloway won his libel suit against the Daily Telegraph. |
Harry @HarrysPlace: Now we know — The high court ruled today that the Daily Telegraph had defamed Mr Galloway when it published a report... |
Bush Picks Kerik for Homeland Security Job Reuters — Permalink Dec 2, 2004 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has picked former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik as his homeland security secretary and an announcement is expected as early as Friday, Republican officials said on Thursday. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Homeland honcho : Bush nominates Bernie Kerik as the new head of Homeland Security. Works for me. |
KJL: KERIK is the homeland security pick. |
It's Still a Man's World on the Idiot Box By / NYT — Permalink It's the End of an Era. A momentous change. Tonight on NBC, one tall and handsome white male anchor with bespoke clothes will replace another tall and handsome white male anchor with bespoke clothes. | |
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Ann Althouse: Women as news anchors. Maureen Dowd comments on the lack of female news anchors. Brent Andrewsen: Maureen Dowd laments the domination of white men in news anchor spots in this NY Times piece. |
Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: In her latest column, Dowd states what's not political correctness but a fact: when it comes to anchor openings... Bill @INDCJournal: Apples and Trees — Maureen Dowd gives us a glimpse of her upbringing: "As my mom said, discussing her belief that... |
Spitzer to seek wider arena By / USA Today — Permalink NEW YORK — He's faced down Wall Street investment banks, exposed late-trading at mutual funds and discovered bid-rigging among some of the nation's biggest insurance companies. N.Y. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is expected to announce his candidacy for governor. | |
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Matt Stoller: Rising Stars — Here's a very good article on Eliot Spitzer, soon to be governor of New York (the election is in 06). |
Jayson @PoliPundit: Spitzer Gears Up for 2006 — As mentioned in the following love letter, er, I mean news account, in USA Today, New Yawk... |
Persian Dilemmas By / Slate — Permalink Last month, the foreign ministers of France, Great Britain, and Germany triumphantly announced a new accord with Iran. Formally, the agreement obligates Iran to suspend temporarily all enrichment of uranium in return for some as-yet-unspecified economic benefits, including a steady supply of enriched uranium to fuel Iran's light water nuclear reactor. | |
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Taegan Goddard: The Persian Puzzle — Slate notes that "as the debate on Iran now heats up, Kenneth Pollack is at the ready with a new... |
Laura Rozen: The Hoover Institute's Michael McFaul reviews Ken Pollack's Persian Puzzle at Slate: "Amazingly, given Iran's strategic... |
Galloway to contest east London seat Guardian — Permalink Fresh from his libel victory over the Daily Telegraph, George Galloway this evening announced his intention to challenge the Labour MP Oona King at the general election. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: Actually, it's not so clear that the charges were proved false; the question seems to have been whether the... |
Harry @HarrysPlace: And I want you to know we are with you until victory, until Bethnal Green and Bow. Come on, isn't it time we put our time and effort where our mouths are? |