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CBS Ousts 4 For Bush Guard Story CBS News — Permalink (CBS) Four CBS News employees, including three executives, have been ousted for their role in preparing and reporting a disputed story about President Bush's National Guard service. | |
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Cori Dauber: (Here's the story from CBS's home page, for once not an AP wire story, but a story credited to CBS. Donald Sensing: A summary: [snipped quote] Some links: The full report CBS News' own news story on the report. Jay Rosen: The whole hour is about the report and reactions. I am told I am on around 7:35 but who knows. Mort Zuckerman, Hugh Downs, Tony Blankley and...me. |
Avedon Carol: And there's that really good post demonstrating that "Rathergate" proves there's no liberal media, which you should definitely read. Bryan Keefer: Fact Check — All the News That's Fit to Spin It's been little noted so far, but one of the most damning aspects of the... Kevin Roderick: CBSNews.com has a story and video, here's a PDF file of the entire report, plus stories at Fox News and Editor &... |
| Also: Clayton Cramer, Stefan Beck, Joe Gandelman, James Joyner, Steve M., Betsy Newmark, Captain Ed, Kevin Aylward, Michelle Malkin, Bill Hobbs, Susanna Cornett, Roger L. Simon, Lorie Byrd, Glenn Reynolds, Bill @INDCJournal, Jon Henke, Andrew Sullivan, Tim Cavanaugh, Jeff Jarvis, Greg Ransom, Steven Taylor, Ace, Ken Masugi, Jim Treacher, Murray @SilentRunning, Damian Penny, Ed Cone, Susan Madrak, Tully @Centerfield, Taegan Goddard, Edward _ | |
Fire the Consultants By / Washington Monthly — Permalink If you were a Democrat running as a first-time candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002, Joe Hansen was most likely a familiar part of your life. As the field director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Hansen was responsible for recruiting promising candidates, and then for getting the nascent campaigns off to a running start. | |
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New Donkey: Bustin' the Consultant Mafia — Many kudos to Amy Sullivan for the public service she performed in her new Washington... Jerome Armstrong: Why Democrats Lose — Markos at Daily Kos will likely also chime in on this months Washington Monthly article, Fire the Consultants, by Amy Sullivan. David Allan Pell: According to Amy Sullivan's piece, Fire the Consultants, it may be asking a bit too much. Yes, the Dems have found hired hands with track records. |
Matthew Yglesias: The Mormon Option — I'm all for outside the box thinking, and Amy Sullivan's quite right to say we might get some more... Kos @DailyKos: Fire the consultants — Today's must read, from Amy Sullivan and the Washington Monthly. PoliPundit: The Consultants — The Washington Monthly on Democrat campaign consultants: "Pollster Mark Mellman is popular among... |
| Also: Ezra Klein, Armed Liberal, Lambert @Corrente | |
CBS Fires Four Executives By / WaPo — Permalink An outside panel said today it had found "considerable and fundamental deficiencies" at CBS News in its reporting of a disputed story on President Bush's National Guard service, prompting the network to dump three top executives and Mary Mapes, Dan Rather's producer on the September story. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: I will be interviewing Lileks, Jim Geraghty, John McIntyre, the guys from RatherBiased, Glenn Reynolds, Powerline,... Jeff Goldstein: On the radio — For those interested, Hugh Hewitt will be interviewing many of the bloggers responsible for bringing the Rathgate scandal to the media fore. |
TVNewser: > Here are write-ups from the Associated Press, Wash Post and NY Times. The Times mistakenly says Betsy West works for ABC... |
Democrats Are United in Plans To Block Top Bush Initiatives By / WaPo — Permalink As President Bush prepares for his second term, Democrats in Washington and around the country are organizing for a year of confrontation and resistance, saying they are determined to block Bush's major initiatives and thereby deny him the mandate he has claimed from his reelection victory last November. | |
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Avedon Carol: More bloggy goodness — The penny just dropped that the blog formerly known as VLWC has moved to Semidi, where I got... Hugh Hewitt: Doubt it? read Dan Balz's "Democrats Are United in Plans To Block Top Bush Initiatives." |
McQ: If this is the Democrat attitude, 2008 may be a very long election year for them: "As President Bush prepares for his... Nathan Hallford: Perhaps We Should Talk Later: An article in today's Washington Post says "Democrats are united in plants to block top Bush initiatives." |
Labor Pains TNR — Permalink The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 was once considered the crown jewel of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. The National Labor Relations Board (nlrb), which it created, was supposed to ensure that workers enjoyed the same freedom of association in the workplace that they did in the political arena. | |
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New Donkey: Solidarity — Kevin Drum of Political Animal beat me to the punch on this today, but I want to echo his suggestion that... |
Kevin Drum: However, as the New Republic points out today, the NLRB's protection of the power to organize has been steadily eroded... |
Global Misunderstanding By / NRO — Permalink Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach was in the news again last week, warning the Wall Street Journal's Craig Karmin that the U.S. economy will experience "an abrupt correction" if its trade deficit is not reduced. | |
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Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: The National Review Has Gone Stark Raving Mad — Via Brad DeLong: in the National Review, John Tamny has an article on our trade deficit that truly must be seen to be believed. Kevin Drum: I need your help in analyzing John Tamny's piece in NRO today about the trade deficit: [snipped quote] Trade balances are logically illusory? |
DeLong: (Yet Another National Review Edition) Kevin Drum calls for help on the Batphone: "The Washington Monthly: THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS....Paging Brad DeLong. |
Don't Count Rossi Out Opinion Journal — Permalink The new media—talk radio, bloggers and independent watchdog groups—have followed up their success in exposing Dan Rather's use of phony memos by showcasing another scandal: Washington state's bizarre race for governor, which features a vote count so close and compromised it allows Florida to retire the crown for electoral incompetence. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Of course, I predicted it in the book, which might be a hint on how clueless execs can complete a quick, short course on... James Joyner: Revote in Washington Governor's Race? KJL: John Fund has a good piece today on the state of the challenge and the watchdogs. |
The Big Trunk: Stuffing the box — John Fund reviews the role played by Stefan Sharkansky and Sound Politics in exposing the grounds... Patterico: John Fund Mentions Stefan Sharkansky — I thought it was worth noting that the founder of this web site, Stefan... Orrin Judd: 51-51 CHANCE? : Don't Count Rossi Out: A stolen election in Washington state? Not if bloggers can help it. |
| Also: Tully @Centerfield, Betsy Newmark, Bill Hobbs, Greg Ransom, PoliPundit | |
Lawyer: Iraqi Abuse Was Like Act of 'Cheerleaders' By / Reuters — Permalink FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - A lawyer for Charles Graner, accused ringleader in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal, on Monday compared piling naked prisoners into pyramids to cheerleader shows and said leashing inmates was also acceptable prisoner control. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: Now we hear the sickening psychopath, Charles Graner, push the same vile arguments in defending himself from the charge of torture. |
Jane Galt: I know you'll be looking to Asymmetrical Information for commentary on this little salvo by one of the Abu Ghraib soldiers' lawyers. |
As White House Begins Social Security Push, Critics Claim Exaggeration By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 - In the first phase of a strategy to build support for overhauling Social Security, White House officials are planning to describe the retirement program as a system in "crisis" whose promises to younger workers are a "fiction." | |
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Tom Maguire: And today, Mr. Andrews says that "White House officials privately concede that the centerpiece of Mr. Bush's approach to... Jacob Sullum: Patch Test — A story in today's New York Times correctly notes that Social Security can be "fixed" without private... |
Matthew Yglesias: The New York Times' Edmund Andrews comes very close to writing an excellent article about the alleged Social Security crisis: [snipped quote] Now for the complaining. |
Let Bin Laden stay free, says CIA man By / Times of London — Permalink THE world may be better off if Osama Bin Laden remains at large, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's recently departed executive director. If the world's most wanted terrorist is captured or killed, a power struggle among his Al-Qaeda... | |
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Michael J. Totten: Articles like this one in the Times of London don't inspire much confidence. Jim Robbins: OBL & CIA — The former #3 man in the CIA thinks OBL should remain at liberty. Now we know why we haven't caught him yet. |
James Joyner: Let Bin Laden stay free, says CIA man (Times of London, Sunday) [snipped quote] Certainly counter-intuitive. |
Social Security Snares & Delusions By / Weekly Standard — Permalink Besides, we should be careful before spending a great deal of energy worrying about the financial condition of retiring baby boomers. This is not the 1930s, when even retirees who had worked hard, and scrimped, faced a difficult future. | |
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DeLong: I May Have to Subscribe to the Weekly Standard — Irwin Stelzer has some smart things to say about Social Security... |
John Hawkins: Finally, in the Weekly Standard, Irwin Seltzer has a very detailed treatment of SS reform that's too involved to excerpt here. |
Stelzer's Delusions NRO — Permalink A conservative gives the president bad advice on Social Security. Irwin Stelzer's article in the latest Weekly Standard is titled, "Social Security Snares & Delusions: How not to squander political capital." Stelzer concludes that Bush's plans for Social Security need to be "shall we say, refined." | |
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DeLong: But it is bad enough to be painfully funny: "Ramesh Ponnuru on Social Security on National Review Online: ...many misconceptions about Social Security. |
Matthew Yglesias: Meanwhile, Ramesh Ponnuru says: "Stelzer should read the rest of his own article. |
Controversy: Media and the Administration WaPo — Permalink Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams was online Monday, Jan. 10, at Noon ET to discuss the controversy surrounding payment to him by the Education Department to speak positively about the No Child Left Behind law for the Bush administration. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Armstrong "Buff Daddy" Williams in WaPo today: [snipped quote] "Not about regaining credibility and integrity"... Well,... |
Oliver Willis: Payolagate: Williams plans to keep illegal money — Payolagate From his Washington Post chat today: "Tucson, Ariz.: Why... |
Character issue puts Dems on the defensive By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — Imagine a Democratic presidential candidate and his allies assailing the character of the Republican nominee in ads and speeches every day for eight months. Republican protestors play off John Kerry's reputation as a 'flip-flopper' at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. | |
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Steve Soto: Jill Lawrence runs an excellent analysis in USA Today about the difficulty Democrats have every four years in running... Jonah Goldberg: Now there's this USA Today piece: [snipped quote] There's more. |
Taegan Goddard: Character Issue Puts Democrats on Defensive (Again) "Imagine a Democratic presidential candidate and his allies... Stuart Buck: Democrats — The amnesiac analysis in this USA Today article reminded me of E.J. Dionne's article |
Hot Topic: How U.S. Might Disengage in Iraq NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 - Three weeks before the election in Iraq, conversation has started bubbling up in Congress, in the Pentagon and some days even in the White House about when and how American forces might begin to disengage in Iraq. So far it is mostly talk, not planning. | |
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Steve Soto: Stratfor Says It May Be Time To Retreat, And Let The Civil War Happen — During the last few days there are signs that... Steve Clemons: David Sanger, another attendee at the lunch, wrote this in the New York Times today — again referencing Scowcroft's cautionary comments. Taegan Goddard: The New York Times notes that getting get out of Iraq is now a hot topic in Washington, D.C. But the bleakest news comes... |
Norbizness: Wait, that's not good news at all. Fry: I can't swallow that! Farnsworth: Well then... good news! It's a suppository! McQ: Disengagement in Iraq — If you're inclined to believe what you read in the NYTimes, apparently Iraq disengagment talk is sweeping Washington DC. Juan Cole: The NYT reports that how to get out of Iraq has become a central topic in Washington. |
| Also: Kevin Drum, Jerome Armstrong, Laura Rozen, Orrin Judd | |
Give More Credit to Prolific Parents By / WaPo — Permalink Ever wonder why Social Security didn't crash and burn years ago? After all, for nearly all of the program's history, each generation of retirees has taken far more money out of the system than it contributed in taxes. | |
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John Hawkins: One of the more interesting proposals I read was another WaPo article that proposed solving the shortage of younger... Ramesh Ponnuru: BABIES AND SOCIAL SECURITY — An email from a smart friend who follows the Social Security debate: "Don't know if you... |
Matthew Yglesias: According to Phillip Longman, "Under current law, benefits go up automatically with wages, so economic growth does little or nothing to improve its long-term solvency." |
Some Miss. Libraries Ban Jon Stewart Book AP — Permalink GULFPORT, Miss. - Library officials in two southern Mississippi counties have banned Jon Stewart's best-selling "America (The Book)" over the satirical textbook's nude depictions of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. | |
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Taegan Goddard: America Banned — "Library officials in two southern Mississippi counties have banned Jon Stewart's best-selling America (The Book)," the AP reports. |
Oliver Willis: Just Another Day In Red America — I'm all about winning the heartland, but I ain't about to endorse knuckledragging to do it. |
CBS Fires Four Staffers After Memo Probe By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK - Four CBS News staffers were fired Monday following the release of an independent investigation that said a "myopic zeal" led to a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story about President Bush 's military service that relied on allegedly forged documents. | |
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Steve Soto: CBS just canned four senior staff over the Bush National Guard memos story fiasco. |
C. D. Harris: Some Heads Roll... over Rathergate, but the Sacred Cow himself survives, to no-one's surprise: "[CBS] fired Mary... |
Mississippi libraries ban 'Daily Show' book AP — Permalink GULFPORT, Mississippi (AP) — Library officials in two southern Mississippi counties have banned Jon Stewart's best-selling "America (The Book)" over the satirical textbook's nude depictions of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. | |
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Julian Sanchez: The bestselling history-textbook satire from the makers of The Daily Show is now verboten in libraries in two Mississippi counties. |
David Allan Pell: Doing Their Part — Two Mississippi counties have banned the book America by Joh Stewart and the Daily Show writers. |
Congress passes 'doomsday' plan By / Boston Herald — Permalink WASHINGTON - With no fanfare, the U.S. House has passed a controversial doomsday provision that would allow a handful of lawmakers to run Congress if a terrorist attack or major disaster killed or incapacitated large numbers of congressmen. | |
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Magpie @PacificViews: As a report in the Boston Herald points out, a small group of legislators could conduct business for months on end. |
McQ: Who defines ''catastrophic circumstances? '' What's your comfort level with this? |
My apology Townhall.com — Permalink In 2003, I agreed to run a paid ad on my syndicated television show, promoting the Department of Education's No Child Left Behind Act. I subsequently used my column space to support that legislation. This represents an obvious conflict of interests. | |
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Tbogg: Armstrong Williams issues a mea culpa...and then tries to weasel around it: Dear readers: In 2003, I agreed to run a... KJL: ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS — Re: his apology: What do vouchers have to do with No Child Left Behind? Not much, most school choice was mixed in Congress. |
Michelle Malkin: Williams' apology is terribly disingenuous. First, he mischaracterizes the nature of his contract. |
The Trouble With Torts By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush has waded into two big domestic policy arguments: Social Security reform and the overhaul of the tort system. On the first issue, he should tread gently. Social Security needs to be shored up, but it's fundamentally a good program. | |
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Dale Franks: The high cost of torts — Sebastian Mallaby writes in the Washington Post that the cost of America's tort system is simply too high. |
Ramesh Ponnuru: SEBASTIAN MALLABY breaks down the costs of the tort system in an illuminating way. |
For the Record on Social Security NYT — Permalink Late February is now the time frame mentioned by the White House for unveiling President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. The timing is no accident. By waiting until then, the president will conveniently avoid having to include the cost of... | |
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Hei Lun: According to the NY Times editorial page, [snipped quote] That doesn't seem right to me. The analogy I use is the hypothetical of two bank accounts. Sam Rosenfeld: For a nice, indirect critique of the substance of the Post's take on the issue, one only needs to read The New York... Susan Madrak: SMOKE AND MIRRORS — Give the Times credit - their editorial board is all over the Social Security issue. |
Tom Maguire: The Times On Social Security — The Times editors continue to follow the Social Security debate; unfortunately, they fail to follow their own newspaper's reporting. Greg Ransom: THE NY TIMES goes after Bush aide Peter Wehner, accusing Wehner and the President of an effort to "sow ignorance" [From... |
The Day the Wheels Came Off By / American Spectator — Permalink WASHINGTON — On October 13, 2004, Senator Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) gave his staff the rest of the month off, locked up his office, and hunkered down back in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, so convinced was he that terrorists would strike Washington, D.C. on or before Election Day. | |
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The Big Trunk: His wheels came off in October — In an excellent Spectator Online column that takes up several subjects we have... Lorie Byrd: That Historic Day — Patrick Hynes writes today in The Spectator about the day the Democrats went completely over the edge. |
Orrin Judd: The Day the Wheels Came Off (Patrick Hynes, 1/10/2005, AMERICAN SPECTATOR) [snipped quote] Now that's a deft bankshot. |
Bush's Budget Moves Have Made the Future a Voiceless Victim By / LAT — Permalink It may be difficult to believe, but as the debate on Social Security begins, what Washington needs most is another lobbying group. This one would advocate for the interests of Americans not yet born. Concern for future generations has been scarce in the capital's recent fiscal decisions. | |
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Kevin Drum: Even Ron Brownstein, a perceptive guy, offhandedly trashes "Democrats now piously denouncing any cuts in retirement programs" in his LA Times column today. |
Orrin Judd: REMEMBER HOW AWFUL THE FIFTIES WERE THANKS TO ALL THAT WWII DEBT...: Bush's Budget Moves Have Made the Future a... |
Online Debate Forums NYT — Permalink To the Editor: As the administrator of the Web site Democratic Underground, I am perplexed as to why you would consider an obscure posting on a busy Internet discussion forum to be worthy of an article ("Myths Run Wild in Blog Tsunami Debate," news article, Jan. 3). | |
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Dave Johnson: Credibility — A letter to the editor, NY Times, Online Debate Forums, [snipped quote] But BLOGS don't have credibility. |
Joe Drymala: Shocking...that the Times would feature a quote that made both liberals and online discussions look bad: "To the... |
CBS Fires 4 Execs Over Bush Guard Memo By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK (AP) - Four CBS executives were fired Monday following the release of an independent investigation that said a "myopic zeal" led to a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story about President Bush's military service that relied on allegedly forged documents. | |
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Greg Ransom: RATHERGATE REPORT RELEASED — MAPES FIRED AT CBS NEWS. THE AP story is here. CBS News has it's own story here. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Four employees got the ax. "The network fired Mary Mapes, producer of the report; Josh Howard, executive producer of... |
After Threats, Iraqi Electoral Board Resigns By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, Jan. 9 — In another significant blow to Iraq's upcoming elections, the entire 13-member electoral commission in the volatile province of Anbar, west of the capital, resigned after being threatened by insurgents, a regional newspaper reported Sunday. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Ranting Professor notes that neighbors of the house that the US blew up this weekend actually did have a terrorist there. |
Cori Dauber: Here's the headline of an article in today's Post, page A-12, "After Threats, Iraqi Electoral Board Resigns." |
Trust -- But Verify By / TCS — Permalink On Morcheeba's Who Can You Trust? Skye Edwards sings: "Sometimes I get up feelin' good, but greed gets me down." Some people are singing that about the media world now, too, and the question of who to trust is always an important one. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: THOUGHTS ON GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA, Armstrong Williams, and the blogosphere: My TechCentralStation column is up. |
Jon Henke: UPDATE II: Glenn Reynolds has an interesting TCS Column on this topic. |
Krugman and DeLong on Social Security By / TCS — Permalink "I figure I might as well lay down what the party line is on Social Security: ...'What party?' you ask. Ah, that *is* an interesting question... Recently, left-leaning economists Paul Krugman and Brad DeLong have each tried to write seriously about Social Security. | |
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Orrin Judd: IT'S NOT ABOUT ECONOMICS, JUST ABOUT THE PRESIDENT: Krugman and DeLong on Social Security (Arnold Kling, 1/10/2005, Tech... |
Glenn Reynolds: ARNOLD KLING looks at what Paul Krugman and Brad DeLong are saying about Social Security reform. |
Rumsfeld ready to send in Iraqi hit squads By / Telegraph — Permalink The Pentagon is considering plans to train Iraqi hit squads to quash the Sunni-led insurgency and may sanction clandestine raids into Syria led by special forces. | |
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Wretchard: The elections, the growing focus on Syria and suggestions that the US will revamp its strategy in Iraq are all elements... |
Susan Madrak: Then we torture the people we pick up at random, and now we're going to shoot them down in the streets. |
Republican Leader Frist Says U.S. Forces Stretched Thin in Iraq Bloomberg — Permalink Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist said the U.S. military is struggling to keep up the fight against insurgents who want to disrupt the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq for a new national assembly. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: We're being stretched thin: "Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist said the U.S. military is struggling to keep up the... |
Atrios: Time to Deploy the 101st Fighting Keyboarders — General Frist needs you! |
How to Fox-proof your cable box NY Daily News — Permalink Attention, blue-state parents. Are you worried about what your children are seeing on TV? Have you caught them ogling Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity as they engage in explicit acts of love with Bush administration policies? | |
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Tim Blair: But don't just take my word for it; listen to FOXBlocker seller Joshua Montgomery: "We hope that companies will see... |
Damian Penny: In other media news: if you can't stand the thought of Fox News being easily accessible where your children can find it,... |
Bigger things seem possible for Feingold By / JSOnline — Permalink Shortly after the November vote, while many national Democrats were despairing or licking their wounds from the election of President Bush and another Republican-controlled Congress, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold went golfing. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Feingold Urged to Seek White House — The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes about "bigger things" for Sen. Russell... |
Ann Althouse: Is Russ Feingold running for President? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speculates. |
To Try to Net Killer, Police Ask a Small Town's Men for DNA By / NYT — Permalink TRURO, Mass., Jan. 7 - In an unusual last-ditch move to find clues to the three-year-old killing of a freelance fashion writer, police investigators are trying to get DNA samples from every man in this Cape Cod hamlet, all 790 or so, or as many as will agree. | |
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Kevin T. Keith: Police in a small town, unable to make any progress on a 3-year-old murder case where a DNA sample was recovered, have... Jeralyn Merritt: DNA Dragnet — There are 790 men in Truro, MA and police want to take the DNA of all of them to try and solve a murder. |
Julian Sanchez: Your Base Pairs, Please — The New York Times' cover story this morning looks at the small town of Truro, Massachusetts,... |
Freshmen In the Vital Center By / WaPo — Permalink One of them is a 67-year-old Republican from Michigan, the other, a 31-year-old Democrat from Oklahoma. But when they were sworn in last Tuesday along with 39 other first-time members of the House of Representatives, Joe Schwarz and Dan Boren already were well-acquainted. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Bush is lying about why he wants to privatize Social Security and I hold Democrats responsible for it. David Broder. |
Jon Kay: Freshmen In the Vital Center — Broder wrote an interesting article about two centrist House freshmen, the pressures... |
We Shouldn't Yawn By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard, who traveled to Afghanistan to witness the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai, quotes from the speech by the country's first democratically elected leader: | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: Good news from Afghanistan, 10 January 2005 — Note : Also available at the "Opinion Journal" and Chrenkoff. |
FrancoAlemán: But Arthur Chrenkoff doesn't forget, and he brings a fresh roundup to the good news coming from the country. |
American Dialect Society's Words of Year AP — Permalink Some of the words chosen by the American Dialect Society as 2004's words of the year: * Word of the Year: red state, blue state, purple state: together, a representation of the American political map. | |
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Stephen Green: Who Said That? Pajamahadeen was chosen as one of the American Dialect Society's words of the year. |
KJL: PAJAMAHADEEN get some respect: "most creative" word of the year, according to the American Dialect Society. Nice job, Jim Geraghty. |
Christopher Booker's notebook Telegraph — Permalink Tomorrow will see an event for which this column has been waiting for 12 years, ever since I first began reporting on the social, economic and ecological catastrophe of the European Union's common fisheries policy (CFP). | |
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Robert Prather: As for myself, I would rather America be right than be loved. (þ: The Professor) Update: The guys at Powerline... |
Hindrocket: A reader named Plastun—I think—pointed out this infuriating column by Christopher Booker in the Telegraph: [snipped quote] Yes. |
Doctor's Orders -- Spill Your Guts LAT — Permalink Credit the folks who ran Abu Ghraib for their wit. "The database is lonely," says a smiley face in a slide show for new interrogators prepared a year ago. "You can help! Visit the database every time you spend time with any of our esteemed guests. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: The Op-Ed You Actually Need To Read Gregg Bloche and Jonathan Marks on doctors, war crimes, and torture. |
Laura Rozen: Will some US military medical personnel face charges of war crimes? |
Anti-abortion Roemer joins race for top Dems job AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Rep. Tim Roemer said Sunday that he's joining the race to lead the Democratic National Committee — a move certain to spark a heated debate about the abortion issue. Roemer, a Catholic who opposes abortion, wants to lead a party whose platform supports abortion rights. | |
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McQ: UPDATE: As noted above, the quote about "expanding the bus" comes from former Democrat representative Tim Romer. KJL: CHANGE, COMING TO THE ABORTION-PROTECTION PARTY? Pro-life Tim Roemer has joined the race for DNC chair. |
Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, the AP says former Rep. Tim Roemer annoucned "that he's joining the race to lead the Democratic National... |
DNC Chair Candidates Focus on South ABCNEWS — Permalink Tim Roemer, left, former congressman from Indiana, shakes hands with former presidential candidate Howard Dean, as former Denver mayor Wellington Webb, second from right, and former Ohio state chair David Leland, far right, get up to leave after they and other... | |
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McQ: The Southern Strategy — DNC Chair candidates are touring the south and waxing eloquent, ok, maybe not so eloquent, on... Taegan Goddard: And ABC News reports on the attempts by 6 candidates for DNC Chairman to woo southern support over the weekend. |
Michael In Chicago: Here is the ABC article on the event, and here is the first part of a three part series from someone who attended—Chris I must be sick. |
A French call for a new day with U.S. IHT — Permalink PARIS Michel Barnier, the French foreign minister, is calling for a "new relationship" with the United States and says its first test will be the capacity of President George W. Bush and his European allies to advance a Middle East peace within the next six months. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: More evidence that the French—and perhaps the Europeans in general—are reconciling themselves to the Bush Administration. Peter Burnet: DR. RICE WILL BE THRILLED TO HEAR THIS — A French call for a new day with U.S. |
Orrin Judd: WHO NEEDS YA'? A French call for a new day with U.S. |
German's Claim of Kidnapping Brings Investigation of U.S. Link NYT — Permalink MUNICH - On the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2003, Khaled el-Masri was traveling on a tourist bus headed for the Macedonian capital, Skopje, where he was hoping to escape the "holiday pressures" of home life during a weeklong vacation. | |
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Mark Kleiman: Minimal aspirations dep't — If we can't have an Administration that knows the difference between right and wrong, it... |
Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: From the New York Times: [quote]"On the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2003, Khaled el-Masri was traveling on a tourist bus headed for...[end quote] |
Presidents: Bubba and Dubya--Warming Up Newsweek — Permalink Jan. 17 issue - Four years ago George W. Bush used to call him "the shadow" and promised a fresh start by pledging to "uphold the honor and dignity" of the presidency. He even joked to late-night TV's David Letterman that one of his top 10 priorities in the White House would be to give the Oval Office "one heck of a scrubbing." | |
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Roger L. Simon: Newsweek—as we know one of our major newsweeklies and still (at least in the short run) an important opinion... Orrin Judd: SAY HELLO TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL: Presidents: Bubba and Dubya—Warming Up (Richard Wolffe, Tamara Lipper and Eleanor... Pejman Yousefzadeh: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS — I had sensed some time ago that the relationship between George W. Bush and Bill Clinton was... |
Howard Kurtz: How exactly did Newsweek's Evan Thomas score a post-election interview with John Kerry? Taegan Goddard: Bubba and Dubya — Newsweek reports on a "thaw" in the relationship between President Bush and Bill Clinton: "For two... Glenn Reynolds: CLINTON AND BUSH: FAST FRIENDS? [snipped quote] Clinton has also been quite supportive of the terror war, especially before international audiences. |
Election protest shows why Dems don't count By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink Thought for the day, from a gloomy party member on the Democratic Underground Web site: ''Reality sucks. That's the problem. We want another reality.'' Well, they're doing a grand job of creating their alternative universe. | |
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McQ: We want another reality' The title, as Mark Steyn notes in his column, was taken from "a gloomy party member on the Democratic Underground". Charles Johnson: MSM to Dems: How's Waterloo Going? A great one from Mark Steyn: Election protest shows why Dems don't count. Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn says that the Democrats need to find a new tired old record to play. |
PoliPundit: The Protest — Mark Steyn on the Democrat's protesting the electoral vote certification: "A Democrat chum said to me on... Avedon Carol: In The Chicago Sun-Times, Mark Steyn reminds us that right-wingers are too stupid to understand any of the words that... Orrin Judd: Election protest shows why Dems don't count (MARK STEYN, January 9, 2005, Chicago Sun-Times) [snipped quote] Until they... |
| Also: The Big Trunk, Ed Driscoll, Vanderleun, Pejman Yousefzadeh | |
'The Salvador Option' Newsweek — Permalink Jan. 8 - What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq? The Pentagon's latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"—and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. | |
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Kevin Raybould: The Good Guys — So now, desperate to win a war against an insurgency that their mismanagement and lack of planning... McQ: Apparently, per the article in Newsweek Online, forming irregular squads in Iraq, which are likened to the "Death... Matthew Yglesias: Yesterday, Newsweek reported that the administration has come up with the idea I've long anticipated from Ambassador John Negroponte: death squads. |
MWS @Centerfield: Mark Kleiman has a post on his blog referencing a story from Newsweek on MSNBC concerning a plan that the Pentagon is apparently considering to try to stem the insurgency. Armed Liberal: Hit Squads And "Pacifists" — Newsweek broke the 'death squad' story this week, in which they describe a range of... Jim Henley: And speaking of inevitable atrocities, get ready for Iraqi death squads. All together now: Saddam was worse! |
| Also: Juan Cole, Kevin Drum, Michael Graham, Ogged @Unfogged, Tom Tomorrow, Mark Kleiman, Brian Doherty, Randy Paul, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, Lambert @Corrente, Glenn Reynolds, Avedon Carol, Joe Gandelman, Cookie Jill, Eugene Oregon, Magpie @PacificViews, Kriston @GrammarPolice, Susan Madrak, Patriotboy @AmStreet, Dave Huber, Mathew Gross, Jeralyn Merritt | |
MOORE A MAN OF THE PEOPLE'S New York Post — Permalink Lefty filmmaker Michael Moore has been tipped he's going to win the People's Choice Award tonight, Tom O'Neil reports at goldderby.com. Tinseltown has been buzzing about organized campaigns on behalf of Moore's Bush-bashing "Fahrenheit 9/11," which goes... | |
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Charles Johnson: Moore to Win People's Choice — The New York Post says Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is going to win the 'favorite movie' category of tonight's People's Choice awards. Kevin Aylward: The Worst Kept Secret In Hollywood... Is that, as Page Six reports, Michael Moore is supposed to win a People's Choice Award tonight for Fahrenheit 9/11. Joe Gandelman: The People's Choice Awards are tonight and this if the first time they used online voting — and who do you think has been told he's going to win? |
Jeff Goldstein: And remember — for a plate of tasty cheese brats, I'm willing to come to your home and pee on you in the shower. "* Ace: Makes sense to me. [snipped quote] I've never watched these awards in my life, and tonight will not be the night I start. |
Transcript for Jan. 9 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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PGL: MTP Panel and Capital Gang on the Iraq War — After weeks of lean-to-the-right panels and rather worthless discussions,... Atrios: High Comedy — The Meet the Press gang discussing ethics in journalism: MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn back home. |
James Joyner: The panel on yesterday's "Meet the Press" also broached the subject: "MR. YORK: There is a huge battle in the conservative community. Roger Ailes: On today's Republican Roundtable aka Press the Meat, Al Hunt suggested there are more Bush employees masquerading as journalists. |
Audits Criticize U.N. Handling of Oil-for-Food By / NYT — Permalink Internal United Nations audits of the so-called oil-for-food program in Iraq criticize an office, led by a former top aide to Secretary General Kofi Annan, for failing adequately to supervise and audit the companies hired to inspect the oil moving out of Iraq and goods going in under the multibillion-dollar program. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: DEVELOPMENTS IN THE OIL-FOR-FOOD SCANDAL — Res ipsa loquitur: "Internal United Nations audits of the so-called... KJL: MONDAY LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE A LONG DAY for Kofi Annan—see Judith Miller's piece here if you haven't. |
Roger L. Simon: Et tu, NYT? If this and this weren't bad enough, now even the Grey Lady is circling in on Korrupt Kofi. |
Exit Polls: Abbas Wins Palestinian Vote By / AP — Permalink RAMALLAH, West Bank - Mahmoud Abbas won at least 66 percent of the vote in the Palestinian presidential election Sunday, according to two exit polls. Such a margin of victory would give Abbas a clear mandate to renew peace talks with Israel, rein in militants and reform the corruption-riddled Palestinian Authority . | |
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Chris Bowers: Abbas Wins — It wasn't even close: [snipped quote] I can't say that I know much about the politics in the region, but I... Orrin Judd: ARAB DEMOCRACY IS BORN: Exit Polls: Abbas Wins Palestinian Vote (MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, 1/09/05, Associated Press)... |
Joe Gandelman: Palestinians Have Elected A New Yasser Arafat — The Palestinian presidential elections are over with Mahmoud Abbas... Armando @DailyKos: Exit Poll: Abbas Wins Palestinian Vote — As expected, it appears Abbas wins convincingly. |
Footballer's 'fascist salute' row By / BBC — Permalink Italian police and magistrates are examining photos and video to decide whether one of the country's best-known footballers gave a fascist salute. Paolo di Canio appeared to make the gesture after his team Lazio beat local rivals Roma by 3-1. | |
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Deacon: Say it ain't so, Paolo — Italian soccer star Paolo Di Canio has caused a stir by giving what looks like a fascist salute after scoring a goal against his team's arch-rival, Roma. Tim Blair: AT LEAST HE WASN'T SMOKING — Italian football star Paolo di Canio is in trouble for saluting in a controversial manner: [snipped quote] Hmm. |
Joe Gandelman: "Go To Heil" _40703427_canio203ap_1 Italian police are looking into the case of whether one of Italy's best known soccer... KJL: BUT WAS HE WEARING A CHE SHIRT? An Italian sports star appears to give a fascist salute. Happens to play for Mussolini's favorite team. |
Applying Brakes to Benefits Gets Wide G.O.P. Backing By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 - In his budget request to Congress, President Bush will try to impose firm, enforceable limits on the growth of federal benefit programs, and the chairmen of the Senate and House Budget Committees say they strongly supported that effort. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Back to Beltway news...the next big battle is the age-old war over spending: "In his budget request to Congress,... Captain Ed: Bush To Get Serious On Curbing Federal Growth — The New York Times and other news outlets report this morning that... Orrin Judd: THIRD RAIL IN ONE HAND, FOURTH IN THE OTHER: Applying Brakes to Benefits Gets Wide G.O.P. Backing (ROBERT PEAR, 1/09/05,... |
Nathan Newman: Poor in Crosshairs of Bush Budget — Bush's first term was four years of fiscal irresponsibility, as highlighted by this... Pejman Yousefzadeh: SECOND TERM FISCAL PRIORITIES — Captain Ed notes this article which says that President Bush is set to cap entitlement spending and government growth as a whole. |
Publik Skule vs. Home School By / Townhall.com — Permalink I was sitting at our neighborhood pool New Year's morning, enjoying the great South Florida weather while trying to grind out a couple of chapters for my new book, when three high school girls took the chaise lounges next to me and started talking about their New Year's Eve party with their high school mates. | |
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SLZoll: The Kids Aren't All Right Doug Giles lives in a Cinemax Late Nite Movie: I was sitting at our neighborhood pool New... Vox Day: Another vote for homeschooling — Doug Giles surfs the trend: [snipped quote] Good on him and his girls. |
Tbogg: Sex & Drugs & Macro-economics — According to the Motel Messiah™, Doug Giles, we learn that the schools of Red State... |
Defining Victory Down By / NYT — Permalink The president prides himself on being a pig-headed guy. He is determined to win in Iraq even if he is not winning in Iraq. So get ready for a Mohammedan mountain of spin defining victory down. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Maybe Tony Blair will save us. That's the ticket! Maureen Dowd. Iraq is so bad I've been reduced to writing normal op-eds about it. Steve Clemons: MAUREEN DOWD: THE BUSH WAR COUNCIL NEVER ADMITS A MISTAKE — Here is the last part of Maureen Dowd's New York Times... |
Jerome Armstrong: Sunni's, get ready for the Bush-endorsed Theocracy — It's becoming clear that a significant upswing of the "insurgents"... |
History Is Likely to Link Bush to Mideast Elections By / WaPo — Permalink He fretted about turnout the other day because, as he put it, that is what politicians do. Never mind that his name will not be on the ballot. For President Bush, back-to-back elections in the Middle East starting today represent a milestone that, for better or worse, will help shape the legacy of his presidency. | |
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Steve Soto: Yet Iraq's Shias are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran, and wise hands like Scowcroft and Diamond (who worked in Iraq... Orrin Judd: IT's MORE LIKE THE FINAL: History Is Likely to Link Bush to Mideast Elections (Peter Baker, January 9, 2005, Washington... |
James Joyner: WaPo's Peter Baker, echoing comments that would be made on many of the Sunday talking heads shows, sees a much broader... |
UN's top priority remains getting aid to tsunami victims it has not yet reached United Nations — Permalink Nearly two weeks after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, the United Nations relief operation has not yet reached all areas and the number one priority remains getting assistance to people in need, above all in Indonesia which is "the heart of the crisis," a top emergency official said today. | |
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Tim Blair: UN CREDIT-TAKING OPERATION SPRINGS INTO ACTION — It's hard work, damn it, but the UN is determined to get the job done:... |
Bill Hobbs: Tsunami Relief: Where is the Left? |
Difficult decisions waiting in Austin By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink AUSTIN - Plagued by another shortage of money, Texas lawmakers will convene their biennial session on Tuesday, ready to wrestle over a new state budget, school finance, and an array of other difficult and divisive issues. | |
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Jack Cluth: Difficult decisions waiting in Austin If you live in or near Austin, you may want to make certain that your the women and children are safe. |
Charles Kuffner: In the Chron, Clay Robison outlines the agenda, while R.G. Ratcliffe looks at the personalities. The starting gun gets fired on Tuesday. |
Mark Steyn: Coalition of the giving The Australian — Permalink WE have Agence France Presse to thank for both the most striking headline and photograph of the tsunami devastation. The headline was "Tsunami Devastates DiCaprio", and for a moment I couldn't quite place the island: DiCaprio? One of the lesser known Maldives? | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: And in the opinion pieces' stakes, as always, you can't beat Mark Steyn and David Frum. |
Glenn Reynolds: MARK STEYN: [snipped quote] Not surprising. |
Party leader assassinated in Iraq Washington Times — Permalink Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 9 (UPI) — The manager of the Iraqi National Accord party, headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, was assassinated Sunday near his home in Baghdad. Sources close to the party said masked gunmen tailed the car of General Jassem al-Obaidi, who was accompanied by his daughter, and riddled him with bullets. | |
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Juan Cole: ' Guerrillas assassinated General Jassim al-Obaidi on Sunday near his home in Baghdad, and wounded his daughter. |
Atrios: More Desperation — Link: Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 9 (UPI) — The manager of the Iraqi National Accord party, headed by... |
Palestinians Extend Voting by Two Hours By / AP — Permalink RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinians held their first presidential election in nine years on Sunday, choosing a successor to longtime leader Yasser Arafat in a vote that many hoped would revitalize the Mideast peace process. | |
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Captain Ed: Despite the high hopes of many involved in the peace process, the Palestinians themselves have demonstrated a curious... |
Charles Johnson: Confusion Reigns in Sham Election — The Associated Press says that voter turnout in the Palestinian areas is so heavy that voting has been extended. |
After a breakdown on the policy freeway, Mayor Bill White's Safe Clear wrecker plan needs a tow truck Houston Chronicle — Permalink The plan to clear disabled vehicles from Houston's freeways has a worthy goal: reduced congestion and fewer accidents. However, the plan's implementation has not gone the way mayoral adviser David Saperstein envisioned when he presented the program to City Council. | |
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Charles Kuffner: Since then, White has been pummelled for problems with the Safe Clear mandatory towing program and for lack of action cleaning up the HPD crime lab. |
Jack Cluth: Another DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener — CITY HALL BLOWOUT: After a breakdown on the policy freeway, Mayor Bill White's Safe... |
Let's Not Count on Projections By / WaPo — Permalink On Nov. 21, 1963, speaking in San Antonio the day before he was murdered in Dallas, President John F. Kennedy explained the importance of the space program by citing a story by the Irish novelist Frank O'Connor. | |
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Dwight Meredith: George Will on Social Security — George F. Will recently penned a column in the Washington Post about private Social Security accounts. Avedon Carol: I don't see this up at Memeorandum yet but I'm sure it's a meme someone hopes will catch on and I do see it at... |
Matthew Yglesias: George Will. Bush is lying about why he wants to privatize Social Security and I hold Democrats responsible for it. Greg Ransom: GEORGE WILL has a good one on Social Security. Quotable: "it has been said that economists use decimal points only to prove that they have a sense of humor." |
How a Vote Could Derail Democracy By / NYT — Permalink IRAQ is about to reach a point of no return. If, as President Bush insists, it goes ahead with elections for the new transitional government on Jan. 30, Iraq may score a huge moral and political victory for democracy over violence and terrorism. | |
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Cori Dauber: It's too late — A Times oped suggests that there are real concerns on the part of Sunni leaders that could be... |
Ann Althouse: I wrote that post before I reached the Op-Ed page, where I see now that is a piece written by Larry Diamond, the same... |
Pundit's role in education 'propaganda' draws ire; column cut USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — Revelations that the Bush administration paid pundit Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote its education policies to black audiences drew a quick rebuke from lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday and prompted Tribune Media Services to cut its ties with the syndicated commentator. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: (Josh Marshall; Chicago Tribune; USA Today) Of course you do. Roger Ailes: "Per your request, I provide the following information: (1) The call letters of the station: According to Mr. Williams'..." |
Jon Henke: Payola at the Highest Levels — Dale has already addressed one aspect of the Armstrong Williams/Payola scandal. |
DR Congo sex abuse claims upheld By / BBC — Permalink A United Nations inquiry has found that UN peacekeepers working in DR Congo sexually abused girls as young as 13. The report by the UN watchdog, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, investigated abuse allegations in the north-east Congolese town of Bunia. | |
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Charles Johnson: UN Sex Abuse in Congo — The UN's catalog of infamy continues to grow: Congo sex abuse claims upheld. Cliff May: BUT DON'T FORGET: THE UN HAS MORAL AUTHORITY — UN peacekeepers working in the Congo sexually abused girls as young as 13. |
Jan Haugland: UN sex-for-food scandal — Let's not forget that only the United Nations has moral authority: The report by the UN... |
This disaster exposes the myth of the UN's moral authority By / Telegraph — Permalink The helicopters are taking off and landing now in the tsunami-shattered villages and towns. The sick are being taken for treatment. Clean water is being delivered. Food is arriving. Soon the work of reconstruction will begin. | |
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Tim Blair: It's easy if you try, writes David Frum: "The helicopters are taking off and landing now in the tsunami-shattered villages and towns. Betsy Newmark: David Frum explores the oxymoronic idea of the United Nations' moral authority. Glenn Reynolds: DAVID FRUM NOTICES the United Nations' lack of moral authority, and, for that matter, utility: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: SLOUCHING TOWARDS IRRELEVANCE — David Frum scathingly details the failure of the United Nations to respond to the... Jan Haugland: The UN's role in modern mythology — David Frum in The Telegraph writes that the tsunami disaster exposes the myth of the UN's moral authority. |