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The Fighting Moderates By / NYT — Permalink "The Republicans know the America they want, and they are not afraid to use any means to get there," Howard Dean said in accepting the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. " But there is something that this administration and the Republican Party are very afraid of. | |
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Chris Lawrence: (Link) Which is precisely the Democrats' problem. Jesse Taylor: Repetitive Repetitive? I was thinking about this sort of thing in another context last night, but it still applies here. Barbara O'Brien: Update: "The Republicans know the America they want, and they are not afraid to use any means to get there." Must read. |
Frederick Maryland: Krugman on Howard Dean — The New York Times' Paul Krugman offers his thoughts on what it means that Howard Dean has... McQ: He starts with a Dean quote: [quote] "The Republicans know the America they want, and they are not afraid to use any means to...[end quote] Curt Matlock: Jerome Paul Krugman comments on the ascension of Howard Dean to the DNC Chairmanship in "The Fighting Moderates" in Tuesday's (2/15/05) New York Times. |
| Also: Roger Kimball, Oliver Willis, Kevin Drum, Dave Johnson, Orrin Judd, Ed Cone, Mathew Gross, Susan Madrak | |
Watersheds NRO — Permalink We live in a time of democratic revolution. Has there ever been a more dramatic moment than this one? The Middle East is boiling, as the failed tyrants scramble to come to terms with the political tsunami unleashed on Afghanistan and Iraq. | |
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Charles Johnson: Tear Down the Mullahs — Michael Ledeen calls for a historic referendum against shari'a and for democracy in Iran: Our... Roger L. Simon: Referendum in Iran - A Proposal for Bloggers — My friend Michael is telling us that the Battle of Fallujah was more important than we have been led to believe by the media. |
Greyhawk: For insight, foresight, and commentary from people for whom facts aren't elusive, we turn away from the Washington Post and look to Roger L Simon and Michael Ledeen. Hindrocket: Roger has a post tonight about Iran, in which he links to an NRO article by his friend Michael Ledeen. |
Trying to Strengthen an 'I Do' With a More Binding Legal Tie By / NYT — Permalink LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Feb. 14 - In front of more than 5,000 cheering constituents in a North Little Rock sports arena, Gov. Mike Huckabee took the former Janet McCain to be his lawfully wedded wife Monday night, just as he did nearly 31 years ago, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do them part. | |
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Jan Haugland: More married than thou — I admit I had never heard about covenant marriages before now. Orrin Judd: ONE BITE AT THE APPLE SEEMS AMPLE: Trying to Strengthen an 'I Do' With a More Binding Legal Tie (RICK LYMAN, 2/15/05, NY... Jacob Sullum: Choosing to Be Bound — According to a New York Times story about "covenant marriage," an option that makes divorce... |
James Joyner: Convenant Marriage Movement at a Standstill — Trying to Strengthen an 'I Do' With a More Binding Legal Tie (NYT rss)... Will Baude: Given this, I have always had a hard time explaining my own uneasiness with the covenant marriage movement, featured in the New York Times today. Jesse Taylor: When the governor of Arkansas enters into legal super-marriage, great for him! |
| Also: Ann Althouse, Shawn @LiquidList | |
States Mull Taxing Drivers By Mile CBS News — Permalink (CBS) College student Jayson Just commutes an odometer-spinning 2,000 miles a month. As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, his monthly gas bill once topped his car payment. "I was paying about $500 a month," says Just. | |
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Clayton Cramer: This article talks about how California is considering taxing drivers by the mile, because hybrids and other cars that... Jesse Taylor: The solution the states are putting forward? Tax-by-mile. |
Bill Hobbs: And their proposed solution is a very, very, very bad idea It's a plan to put a government-monitored GPS system in... Stephen Green: CBS News reports that college student (and heavy commuter) Jason Just's hybrid car is hurting the Golden State's roads:... |
Campos: Freedom unused is abused Rocky Mountain News — Permalink Over the past few days I've been bombarded with e-mails regarding the Ward Churchill scandal. Many have expressed astonishment at how someone like Churchill could have been hired in the first place, let alone tenured and made chair of a department. | |
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Maimon Schwarzschild: The Affirmative Action Scandal — Paul Campos, law professor at the University of Colorado, is eloquent about the Ward... Greg Ransom: I COULDN'T have said it better myself — Paul Campos: [snipped quote] My best guess is that Churchill actually wasn't an... Jonah Goldberg: An excellent whack at Ward Churchill and the affirmative action ethos which got him hired in the first place, from CU... |
Clayton Cramer: Here's an article by another Colorado University professor who supports affirmative action, but agrees that Churchill is... Ginny @ChicagoBoyz: Beware the Alpha Male — Update: An informative op ed by Campos of Colorado notes the problems of academic hiring. Glenn Reynolds: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO LAW PROFESSOR PAUL CAMPOS has more on the Ward Churchill story: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
Why Millions Say, Softly, God Bless America Forbes — Permalink Democracy has many enemies, and the terrorist is only one of them. It also has many hypocritical and humbugging pseudosupporters, which is one of numerous lessons to be drawn from the situation in Iraq. | |
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Baldilocks: Speaking Softly — British Historian Paul Johnson takes a considerably large stick to leftists and Anti-Americans abroad... |
Orrin Judd: END TO END: Why Millions Say, Softly, God Bless America (Paul Johnson, 02.28.05, Forbes) [snipped quote] Folk have... |
The media kerfuffle Washington Times — Permalink Add "salivating morons" to the mainstream media's growing canon of stupid things to say about the ever-vigilant bloggers. Steve Lovelady, managing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, the self-styled flagship of journalism, said this in the fallout of CNN... | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: BLOGGING AND ITS IMPACT — The Washington Times celebrates palliative effects of blogging regarding the Eason Jordan... Betsy Newmark: The Washington Times editorial page takes on the Wall Street Journal's editorial page in defense of bloggers. The Big Trunk: Look back in pride — The Washington Times runs a gracious retrospective on the Eason Jordan affair that singles out bloggers by name for honorable mention: "The media kerfuffle." |
Captain Ed: First, in its unsigned editorial, the Times scolds the Wall Street Journal for its reaction to bloggers and their role:... Hindrocket: We haven't spent much time responding to these over-the-top attacks, but today's Washington Times has some sensible... Greg Ransom: BETSY NEWMARK — THE NEW WORLD OF JOURNALISM: "I think it is becoming more and more clear that journalism is not a... |
Bush Tries Luck Again With Judicial Nominees WaPo — Permalink Following through on a promise he has made repeatedly since his victory in November, President Bush yesterday renominated 12 candidates for federal appeals court seats whose confirmations were blocked by Senate Democrats during his first term. | |
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Armando @DailyKos: The Republicans are going to the mattresses: "Following through on a promise he has made repeatedly since his victory... Eugene Oregon: From a Washington Post article on the same topic [quote] "To replay this narrow and completed debate demonstrates the Bush...[end quote] |
Susan Madrak: TAKE THE GUN, LEAVE THE CANNOLI — So they want a fight, do they? |
Lawmakers Told About Contract Abuse in Iraq By / WaPo — Permalink A government contractor defrauded the Coalition Provisional Authority of tens of millions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction funds and the Bush administration has done little to try to recover the money, an attorney for two whistle-blowers told Democratic lawmakers yesterday. | |
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Norbizness: Fair enough; it's a $1 billion judgment, and some of the money probably should be used in unaudited reconstruction... SLZoll: For today's lesson, let's review the Washington Post's "Lawmakers Told About Contract Abuse in Iraq" (hey, it's not... Susan Madrak: PARTY TIME — Think of it more as party favors and it makes a lot more sense: [snipped quote] UPDATE: World O'Crap has more. |
Sam Rosenfeld: They seem to be doing well so far — witness the write-ups on yesterday's hearing on waste and fraud in Iraqi... Roger Ailes: Grand Old Police Blotter: Battles of Bulls**t Run Edition — A Republican civilian contracting firm, Custer Battles,... |
Death of a Salesman By / Slate — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon—Outside Rafik Hariri's home Monday evening there was no doubt in the minds of mourners—most from the former Lebanese prime minister's Sunni Muslim community—who had committed the crime. "Syria out," they cried. | |
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Orrin Judd: Syria does seem exactly this stupid. MORE: Death of a Salesman: Was Rafik Hariri's assassination a Syrian hit? |
Tim Cavanaugh: Reason Writers Around Town — At Slate, Michael Young assesses the aftermath of Rafiq Hariri's assassination. |
Blast in Lebanon May Have Been Suicide Bomber, Officials Say By / NYT — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 15 - Initial investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri indicated that the enormous blast could have been set off by a suicide car bomber, Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said today. | |
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Joe Gandelman: And now — surprise — investigators believe the blast may have been the bloody handiwork of a homicide bomber. Matthew Yglesias: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a key figure in that country's post-civil war politics who lately was... |
Steve Soto: After the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri yesterday in a suicide car bombing, the Bush... |
White House Turns Tables on Former American POWs By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — The latest chapter in the legal history of torture is being written by American pilots who were beaten and abused by Iraqis during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. And it has taken a strange twist. | |
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Greyhawk: Torture Victims Suit — LA Times presents a dilemma [snipped quote] I can say I'm glad I'm not judging this one, but it will certainly be an interesting story to watch. |
Jeralyn Merritt: U.S. Blocking Reparations to Gulf War I Hostages — The LA Times has an update on the Bush Administration's attempt to... |
Democrats probe alleged mismanagement in Iraq CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democrats held a hearing Monday to probe concerns raised by whistleblowers, saying Republican leaders refuse to act on calls to investigate alleged U.S. mismanagement of resources in Iraq. | |
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Jeffrey Dubner: And it should be noted that for a newborn effort, it's attracting exactly the headlines Democrats are hoping for. |
PGL: But if it involves ongoing misappropriation of U.S. taxpayer dollars by our current government, why bother. |
Budget cuts FDA safety checks By / USA Today — Permalink The Food and Drug Administration's proposed budget for next year includes cuts to nearly all its inspection programs, from checks on imported food to reviews of overseas plants that make prescription drugs bound for the USA. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Ditto for Patricia Smith and Mike Barnicle at the Boston Globe, Jayson Blair at the New York Times, and Jack Kelley at USA Today. Jeffrey Dubner: I don't know how operationally significant the dollar values are here, but cuts are cuts: "If Congress approves [the... |
Steve M.: If Congress approves, the number of domestic food safety inspections made next year would fall by 5%, foreign drug plant... |
Kerry Backs Bush's $81.9 Bln War Spending Plan Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. John Kerry, whose baffling explanation of votes on Iraq war funding hurt his 2004 White House bid, said on Tuesday he would back President Bush's new $81.9 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: BEFORE HE DECIDES TO VOTE AGAINST IT — Senator John Kerry has decided to vote for President Bush's newest war spending... |
Stephen Green: For Now — John Kerry - remember him? - is in the news again today: [snipped quote] Don't worry, he still has plenty of time to vote against it now that he's voting for it. |
The Great Pretender By / Opinion Journal — Permalink NEW YORK—The bells tolled for Arthur Miller all weekend long—but most of them were made of tin. The Chicago Tribune, for instance, led with a two-liner so flat it could have closed out of town: "The man who wrote 'Death of a Salesman' died Thursday. | |
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Deacon: Those interested in a serious look at Miller should read this piece by Terry Teachout. Orrin Judd: AFTER THE BURBLER: The Great Pretender: Arthur Miller wasn't well-liked—and for good reason. Ed Cone: Terry Teachout comes not to praise Arthur Miller but to bury him: "He pretended to have big ideas and the ability to... |
Betsy Newmark: Terry Teachout looks at the overblown reaction to Arthur Miller's death. "For me, that was his biggest flaw. Pejman Yousefzadeh: "THE GREAT PRETENDER" — Terry Teachout does not think much of the legacy of Arthur Miller: [snipped quote] Read it all. Tim Graham: READ TEACHOUT — If you've read E.J. Dionne today about the wonders of the late playwright Arthur Miller, you need to read Terry Teachout for an antidote. |
| Also: Ed Driscoll | |
KOBE FOR JACKO New York Post — Permalink Hoops star-turned-accused rapist Kobe Bryant is set to be hauled before a jury in Michael Jackson's upcoming kiddie-sex trial — as a defense witness — Jacko's lawyer revealed yesterday. | |
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Joe Gandelman: On Michael Jackson's Famous Character Witnesses — So now the question is: will jurors in the Michael Jackson child... Orrin Judd: DEFENSE? (via Jim Siegel) KOBE FOR JACKO (DAVID K. LI and KATE SHEEHY, February 15, 2005, NY Post) |
Howard Kurtz: The New York Post is all over the Michael Jackson witness list: "Hoops star-turned-accused rapist Kobe Bryant is set to... |
The Jordan Kerfuffle Opinion Journal — Permalink The writers of these columns believe that, in addition to having opinions, we are ultimately in the same information business as the rest of the press corps. Which is why we try to break news whenever we can if a story merits the attention. | |
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Joe Gandelman: A Wall Street Journal editorial effectively argues the case that CNN's news chief Eason Jordan shouldn't have resigned... Steven Taylor: Given all of this, I must concur with many (including Shafer) who find the WSJ's editorial on the subject to be a bit odd. Charles Johnson: WSJ Swings and Misses — Most of the blogosphere has already weighed in on this surprising OpinionJournal editorial;... |
Barbara O'Brien: Yesterday WSJ published a defense of last week's story. Avedon Carol: Even the WSJ, while terming it an "indefensible remark," still thinks what Jordan said shouldn't have cost him his job:... Roger L. Simon: That ended today with their editorial on the Eason Jordan Affair. |
| Also: The Big Trunk, Jay Rosen, Jon Henke, Captain Ed, Steve Bainbridge, Michelle Malkin, James Frederick Dwight, Dale Franks, Stephen Green, Dean Esmay, Hugh Hewitt, Greg Ransom, Baldilocks, Cori Dauber, Ed Cone, Jonah Goldberg | |
The ramifications of Hariri's assassination By / Lebanon Daily Star — Permalink The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bombing in central Beirut on Monday sends a loud and deadly message - but the nature, origin, destination and intent of the message all remain painfully unclear to many observers. | |
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Steve Soto: The Syrians were quick to deny their involvement, and the Lebanese opposition to the current pro-Syrian government was... |
Gregory Djerejian: STILL MORE: Don't miss Rami Khouri's analysis. |
U.S. Withdraws Ambassador From Syria By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The United States has recalled its ambassador to Syria amid rising tensions over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon. | |
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Jack Cluth: Greetings from Hell — Beirut bomb kills former prime minister Ex-Lebanese PM Hariri killed in Beirut motorcade blast... |
Edward _: Opportunism or Secret Intelligence — The Bush administration has pounced on the assassination of Lebanon's ex-Prime... |
Study: Unlikely lobsters feel pain in boiling water AP — Permalink PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A new study out of Norway concludes it's unlikely lobsters feel pain, stirring up a long-simmering debate over whether Maine's most valuable seafood suffers when it's being cooked. | |
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Acidman: I feel better now, thanks to the indefatigable research pissing around on the internet that this guy does when he's not busy playing with handguns while drunk. |
Orrin Judd: EVEN GOD HATES THEM (via Bryan Francoeur): Study: Unlikely lobsters feel pain in boiling water (AP, 2/15/05)... |
Ex-Aide Questions Bush Vow to Back Faith-Based Efforts WaPo — Permalink A former White House official said yesterday that President Bush has failed to deliver on his promise to help religious groups serve the poor, the homeless and drug addicts because the administration lacks a genuine commitment to its "compassionate conservative" agenda. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: Bush stabs "faith-based" gullibles in the back — It's not me saying it: [snipped quote] I don't expect Religious Right voters to ever grasp how fully they are used by Republicans. |
Steve Soto: Faith Based Initiatives Lose Out To Millionaire Tax Cuts With Bush — A new voice has come forward to claim that when... |
Back From Battle By / NYT — Permalink This was going to be a column exclusively about a trans-Atlantic security conference that took place in Munich last weekend. But on the way back, the U.S. delegation stopped for refueling at Shannon Airport in Ireland. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: David Brooks, having established that he's "no Europhobe," decides to engage in some gratuitous, factually challenged... K. J. Lopez: CONCENTRATING THE MIND — David Brooks writes as an American in Europe today. |
Roger L. Simon: Brooks is at His Best Today... ... which is very good indeed. |
Bush resends judicial picks By / Washington Times — Permalink President Bush officially resubmitted to the Senate yesterday 20 judicial nominees, including seven U.S. Circuit Court nominees whom Democrats filibustered in the last Congress. | |
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Mark Trapp: What A Moron — Senator Reid, you are an idiot. This Washington Times story confirms it. |
Eugene Oregon: Staying on Message — From a Washington Times article on Bush's renominated judges [quote] "To replay this narrow and...[end quote] |
Judge: Jackson admitted to emergency room CNN — Permalink SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) — Jury selection of pop star Michael Jackson's child molestation trial was put on hold Tuesday after Jackson was taken to a hospital emergency room when he became ill on his way to the trial, Judge Rodney Melville told the court. | |
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Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: Jackson was rushed to a hospital emergency room fater getting sick on the way to his trial. No reports yet on his condition. |
James Joyner: Michael Jackson Admitted to Emergency Room — Judge: Jackson admitted to emergency room (CNN) [snipped quote] Yet another detour in this bizarre case. |
MASTERPIECE By / New York Post — Permalink TELL a New Yorker that what he's seeing is a work of art, and you can shut him up instantly. Most Manhattanites hate George W. Bush, but if you told them he was an art installation, they wouldn't be able to criticize him because, hey, it's art. | |
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Steve M.: Today in the New York Post it's John Podhoretz going after The Gates; next, I guess, it will be Cindy Adams and the sports cartoonist. The Big Trunk: The headline says it all: "Masterpiece." |
Mitch Berg: John "J-Po" Podhoretz comments: [snipped quote] The whole thing is worth a read. |
Court: Reporters Must Testify in CIA Leak Case By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two journalists must disclose conversations with their confidential sources to a grand jury investigating a leak that exposed the identity of a covert CIA operative, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbioa Circuit has ruled that reporters are obliged to answer... |
Atrios: Miller to the Grand Jury — Interesting. |
AARP Invests in Hypocrisy By / TCS — Permalink The President has made fixing Social Security his number-one domestic objective, but the fight won't be easy — in part because of fierce opposition by the AARP, the seniors' lobby, with 35 million members. The AARP is using an old strategy: trying to scare the wits out of old people. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: AARP — Glassman on AARP's anti-Social Security reform ads: [snipped quote] Do read the whole thing. |
Ramesh Ponnuru: AARP goes "gambling." |
Court: Reporters Must Testify in Plame Case By / AP — Permalink A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling against two reporters who could go to jail for refusing to divulge their sources to investigators probing the leak of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame's name to the media. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: Plame journalists threatened with jail — You know those fantasies we all have of Judith Miller rotting in a jail cell... |
Amy Sullivan: Guest: Amy Sullivan — UNDERPRIVILEGED...Word came down yesterday from a U.S. Appeals Court that Judith Miller and our... |
Bush Renews Call to Extend Patriot Act By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 - President Bush on Monday urged the nation to stay the course in its "urgent mission" to fight terrorism, and he called on Congress to move quickly to extend sweeping law enforcement powers under the USA Patriot Act. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Which we aren't. Oh, wait, we are. F**k it. Renew the Patriot Act. Now. |
Michelle Malkin: PATRIOT ACT BLOGGING — President Bush is calling for renewal of the Patriot Act. |
Crime-Friendly Neighborhoods Reason — Permalink Burras Road was a pleasant cul-de-sac of 21 new homes in Bradford, England. Its residents were blissfully unaware that, just east of the site, approval for a proposed new shopping center required the breaching of their cul-de-sac by a bicycle-pedestrian path. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Crime And New Urbanism — Thanks to my Kotkin-bashing of late, I think I've emerged as the political blogosphere's... |
Chris Bertram: "Crimogenic" design — Reason Magazine has a long piece attacking New Urbanism co-written by an architectural liaison... |
Breast-Feeding Could Provide Jury Exemption By / WaPo — Permalink RICHMOND, Feb. 14 — When Pamela Greene told a Fairfax County judge she was breast-feeding her 4-month-old daughter last year, she expected to be excused from jury duty. Instead, the judge informed Greene that breast-feeding wouldn't be a problem: The court would take plenty of breaks. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Juror Number Mom - New From Paramount Pictures — Virginia: first we propose the bad law, then we propose the good law. |
K. J. Lopez: "THE ENTIRE TRIAL WAS THIS ENDLESS CYCLE OF TESTIMONY, PUMP, TESTIMONY, PUMP" — Isn't it just silly there has to be a law about such things—nursing moms getting off jury duty? |
The Problem of Chickendoves By / TCS — Permalink Any yammering propeller-headed nitwit can tell the world to make love, not war, and no one can impeach his sincerity in making that plaintive demand. By contrast, anyone who supports the war had better be a card-carrying military veteran, or else be condemned as a "chickenhawk" — no matter how wise, eloquent, or inspiring their pro-war position might be. | |
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Dale Franks: The Chickendoves — Douglas Kern writes that the real problem with the debate over the war in Iraq is not the chickenhawks. Ed Driscoll: "Peace Is Too Important To Be Left To The Chickendoves" — Douglas Kern has a great new meme over at Tech Central Station. |
Ramesh Ponnuru: THE ARMCHAIR DOVE — Doug Kern goes after him. |
Frustrated Democrats Find a Voice By / WaPo — Permalink C-SPAN viewers tuning in yesterday morning might have thought they misread the results of November's elections. There was Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.) — a Democrat — wielding a gavel and calling to order a hearing on Iraq contracts. | |
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Amy Sullivan: Dana Milbank writes about the first investigative hearing held by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) this year... Paul @Wizbang: Frustrated Democrats Find a Voice Lawmakers Use Policy Committee to Investigate Issues They Say GOP Ignores C-SPAN... Kevin Hayden: So when a couple of Democratic Senators decided too much is being swept under the rug about the rebuilding practices... |
Sam Rosenfeld: Dana Milbank has a decent column today about the Senate Democratic Policy Committee's shadow oversight hearings and how... Jeffrey Dubner: I watched a little of yesterday's Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on a late C-SPAN rebroadcast last night,... |
The right reform By / USA Today — Permalink Today's Congress has the best opportunity in years to put Social Security on sound financial footing while giving workers access to a better rate of return on their investment. This can and will be done without changing benefits whatsoever for those 55 and older. | |
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Atrios: Unbelievable — So, I'm reading Rep. Paul Ryan's discussion of his plan to "save" Social Security which involves private accounts. |
DJ Drummond: Ryan presented an editorial for USA Today, which clearly sets out his intentions and priorities regarding Social Security reform. |
What We Don't Know About 9/11 Hurts Us By / LAT — Permalink Would George W. Bush have been reelected president if the public understood how much responsibility his administration bears for allowing the 9/11 attacks to succeed? The answer is unknowable and, at this date, moot. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: You'd think nothing else was going on in the world — no Social Security debate, no North Korean plutonium weapons... |
Jon Henke: Scheer Nonsense — Robert Scheer: "Would George W. Bush have been reelected president if the public understood how much... |
Livingstone faces inquiry over Nazi jibe at Jew By / Telegraph — Permalink Ken Livingstone was facing a disciplinary inquiry last night after he refused to apologise for comparing a Jewish reporter to a Nazi prison guard. The Board of Deputies of British Jews submitted an official complaint to the Standards Board for England, which - if upheld - could lead to Mr Livingstone being suspended or disqualified from office. | |
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Charles Johnson: Livingstone Faces Inquiry — London Mayor "Red Ken" Livingstone may have finally gone too far with his latest disgusting comments: Livingstone faces inquiry over Nazi jibe at Jew. |
Damian Penny: The Mayor of London (God, I hate using that term to describe Ken Livingstone) has spent his entire career pulling... |
Another Red November? By / Opinion Journal — Permalink In trying to sell his reform agenda this year, President Bush must first overcome history. As everyone inside the Beltway seems fond of repeating, parties that control the White House tend to lose seats in Congress in off-year elections. | |
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Orrin Judd: CRIMSON TIDE: Another Red November? : There's no reason 2006 has to be an off year for Republicans. |
Betsy Newmark: Brendan Miniter muses about the possibility that the rule that the incumbent president's party loses seats in the off year elections will be broken for the third time in a row. |
Sunnis admit poll boycott blunder and ask to share power Guardian — Permalink Iraq's Arab Sunnis will do a U-turn and join the political process despite their lack of representation in the newly elected national assembly, Sunni leaders said yesterday. | |
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Captain Ed: Iraqi Sunnis Finally Get The Hint — The British newspaper The Guardian reported earlier today that the Sunni hardliners... Norm Geras: Sunnis want share — Rory Carroll from Baghdad: [snipped quote] This is encouraging news. |
Scott Sala: Sunni Regret — From Captain's Quarters I found this cold hard reality tale of the Iraqi Sunni leadership admitting that... Orrin Judd: THAT'LL TEACH THEM TO READ THE NY TIMES: Sunnis admit poll boycott blunder and ask to share power (Rory Carroll,... |
Gannon won't give clear answer on whether he's seen classified memo on Wilson-Plame case Media Matters for America — Permalink The Editor & Publisher article stated that Gannon "threw into question media accounts suggesting that he had seen a classified CIA document critical to the Plame case, saying he had made references to the 'internal memo,' but adding, 'I never said I had it or had seen it.' But when asked if he had in fact seen it, he declined to say." | |
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Tom Maguire: The earnest folks at Some Media Matters are desperately trying to keep flickering the candle of hope that there is a... |
Digby: Cagey — To all the wingnuts who've been bombarding me with puerile insults because I allegedly have my head up my... |
Bloggers from hell --or heavensent? By / Chicago Tribune — Permalink CHICAGO — I would like to head off the ranting about blogging by offering this rant about blogging. Shut up with your whining and appreciate the fact that after generations of stagnation, something new has arrived. And like all new things, it's going to take awhile for it to work itself out. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: See also: Charlie Madigan in the Chicago Tribune: "Shut up with your whining and appreciate the fact that after... Glenn Reynolds: HERE'S A NICE ARTICLE ON BLOGGING from Charlie Madigan of the Chicago Tribune. |
Jay Rosen: The Newshour gig—my first time on that show—went well, but it was not as inspired as this rant from Chicago Tribune... |
U.S. Seems Sure of the Hand of Syria, Hinting at Penalties By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 - The Bush administration, condemning the assassination of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in Lebanon, suggested Monday that Syria was to blame and moved to get a new condemnation of Syria's domination of Lebanon at the United Nations Security Council. | |
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James Joyner: U.S. Hints at Penalties for Syria — U.S. Seems Sure of the Hand of Syria, Hinting at Penalties (NYT rss) "The Bush... Orrin Judd: U.S. Seems Sure of the Hand of Syria, Hinting at Penalties (STEVEN R. WEISMAN, 2/15/05, NY Times) [quote] "We're going to turn...[end quote] Wretchard: On the other hand, a New York Times article suggests the US government strongly suspects Syria. |
Matthew Yglesias: The Bush administration is quickly rushing to blame Syria for the killing, which certainly could be an accurate assessment of what happened. Steve M.: This assassination in Lebanon is actually working out very nicely for the Bush administration, The New York Times notes. Jeanne D'Arc: Chaos theory — A little projection anyone? "We're going to turn up the heat on Syria, that's for sure," said a senior State Department official. |
Blogs sound death knell By / Washington Times — Permalink The credibility of the liberal segment of the mainstream press was dealt a mortal blow by the partisan and fabricated attack launched against President Bush by Dan Rather and CBS News. | |
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Captain Ed: Douglas MacKinnon also notes the role that the rest of the media played in Eason's Fables, that of the silent chorus |
Greg Ransom: Also in the Times: Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary to Sen. Bob Dole: "the bloggers have once again pulled... |
Gays Debate Radical Steps to Curb Unsafe Sex By / NYT — Permalink After all the thousands of AIDS deaths and all the years of "Safe Sex Is Hot Sex" prevention messages, it has come down to this: many gay men who know the rules of engagement in the age of AIDS are not using condoms. | |
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Randall Parker: Some Gay Activists Ready To Get Semi-Tough Toward HIV Spreaders — Andrew Jacobs has an article in the New York Times... Vox Day: They are getting what they deserve — From the New York Times: [snipped quote] I had sympathy for men who contracted AIDS fifteen years ago. |
Clayton Cramer: Now, ideas for controlling the spread of AIDS—ideas that used to be considered reactionary signs of homophobia—are... Orrin Judd: JUST SAY, "NO": Gays Debate Radical Steps to Curb Unsafe Sex (ANDREW JACOBS, 2/15/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] It's remarkably easy to avoid infection. |
BLOGGERS AND JOURNALISTS Online NewsHour — Permalink Late Friday night, conservative web bloggers helped force the resignation of top CNN news executive Eason Jordan over remarks he made at the World Economic Conference in Davos. This, and other recent developments, have experts questioning the impact of Internet bloggers on mainstream journalism. | |
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Bill @INDCJournal: Audio and a transcript can be found here. Avedon Carol: The usual right-blogosphere triumphalism showed up on "even the liberal" PBS: "TERENCE SMITH: All right, but in this case, Jim Geraghty, a real drumbeat developed. Jay Rosen: After Matter: Notes, reactions & links... Here's the transcript of the PBS Newshour from tonight (Feb. 14) with me, Jim... |
Hugh Hewitt: Last night's discussion on the NewsHour which featured David Gergen, Jim Geraghty and Jay Rosen is one of the most comprehensive as the time allocated it was the most generous. Larre @LeftCoaster: Although I could be persuaded otherwise, I'm neither convinced the media world is poorer for Eason Jordan's resignation... Wind Rider: Hmmm...Interesting — Just saw the PBS Newshour segment (transcript here if posted) with Jim Geraghty, Jay Rosen, and... |
| Also: Greg Ransom, Brian Stelter | |
U.S. Interceptor Missile Fails to Launch in Test By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush 's planned ballistic missile shield suffered another setback on Monday when an interceptor missile again failed to launch during a test of the U.S. missile defense system. | |
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Susan Madrak: RUNNING GOVERNMENT LIKE A FAMILY BUSINESS BEING SUCKED DRY BY A CRACKHEAD SON — I'm sure there's some good reason why... |
Kos @DailyKos: Another missile defense failure — Didn't Bush say something about cutting government programs that don't work? |
Females flown in to p-p-p-pick up 'gay' penguins Guardian — Permalink They are called Charley, Left-Arrow, Diagonal-Line and Six-Point. The four female penguins at Bremerhaven Zoo in Germany are at the centre of debate after being brought in to tempt "gay" male penguins. | |
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Scott Burgess: Finally, German gay and lesbian groups are "furious" about a zoo's plans to introduce female penguins to an existing exhibit that includes some apparently gay males. |
Kate @OTB: Animal Activism — As gay activists mobilize to defend the sexual orientation equality rights of zoo penguins (put a... |
Internet serves as proving ground USA Today — Permalink Many observers view the resignation of veteran CNN executive Eason Jordan, after a drumbeat of Internet criticism over his remarks about journalists being targeted by the U.S. military in Iraq, as evidence of Web bloggers' increasing clout. | |
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Greg Ransom: Instead, CNN will deliver the news straight down the middle. "That's right. |
Brian Stelter: But the new CNN prez "hasn't made much of a ratings dent," USA Today's Peter Johnson writes. |
Pataki's Rating Declines Sharply in Poll of State By / NYT — Permalink Public support for Gov. George E. Pataki has dropped to its lowest level since his first year as governor a decade ago, with fewer than half of all New Yorkers approving of the way he does his job, according to a poll by The New York Times. | |
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Steven Taylor: Pataki Slumping — Via the NYT: Pataki's Rating Declines Sharply in Poll of State [snipped quote] I never thought Pataki... Taegan Goddard: Pataki Plummets — Public support for New York Gov. George Pataki (R) "has dropped to its lowest level since his first... |
K. J. Lopez: I'M LOVIN' IT — NR trashes Pataki (cover, current issue), Pataki's numbers crash. FEEL THE POWER. FEAR THE POWER. |
Bush Renominates as Judges 7 Whom Democrats Blocked By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 - President Bush on Monday formally renominated seven federal appeals court candidates who were blocked by Senate Democrats in his first term, and that sets the stage for a test of the strength of the expanded Republican majority. | |
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William J. Dyer: Most baldfaced lie I've read today — In tomorrow's New York Times (and probably elsewhere), you'll find this statement... |
Orrin Judd: Bush Renominates as Judges 7 Whom Democrats Blocked (CARL HULSE, 2/15/05, NY Times) "President Bush on Monday formally... |
In War Crisis, Hizballah, Palestinians, Poised to Line up behind Pro-Syrian Lebanese Government DEBKAfile — Permalink (See earlier Exclusive Analysis in opposite column: Just hours after former prime minister Rafiq Hariri was murdered in a massive car bomb explosion outside the five-star Saint Georges Hotel on Beirut's seafront Monday, February 14, enraged Lebanese... | |
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Vox Day: On the brink of war — Debka reports on the Lebanese assassination fallout: "If hostilities erupt and the government... |
Ted Belman: HARIRI ASSASSINATION- DEBKAfile — Syrian Military Intelligence Eliminates Hariri and Reform Hopes for Lebanon In War... |
Marine charged in killing of Iraqis By / Washington Times — Permalink He is the kind of Marine officer who seems to come off the assembly line, so patriotic that he rejoined the Corps after September 11 and went to Iraq to kill terrorists. That is why it is so hard for 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano and his family to understand how the Marine Corps could call the platoon leader a murderer. | |
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Michelle Malkin: DEFEND THE DEFENDERS — Washington Times reporter Rowan Scarborough had a troubling story in today's paper about a... |
Hindrocket: Marine Charged With Murder — Rowan Scarborough reports on Marine Lt. Ilario Pantano, who is charged with murder for... |
I Would Have Fired Eason Jordan By / Slate — Permalink The Wall Street Journal editorial page, never the most sympathetic venue for speakers who accuse the U.S. military of murdering civilians, thinks CNN wronged its chief news executive, Eason Jordan, by forcing him to resign over his statements at Davos. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Slate's Jack Shafer says he would have fired Jordan. "I suspect that his Davos comment was neither a mistake nor taken out of context. Avedon Carol: In some ways, Jack Shafer at Slate spells this out in his column entitled I Would Have Fired Eason Jordan: "What took Jordan so long to take a stab at clearing the air? Tim Cavanaugh: Close Enough For Government Work — CNN publishes an aerial photo of a North Korean nuclear plant: Using more advanced... |
Steven Taylor: The Heart of the Eason Jordan Story — Jack Shafer of Slate notes I Would Have Fired Eason [snipped quote] I think this cuts to the heart of the matter. Tim Graham: "PROOF OF BRAIN ROT" — Slate's Jack Shafer says don't cry for Eason Jordan, and don't feel his pain exquisitely the way... Jay Rosen: David Weinberger on Eason Jordan. Jack Shafer: "I Would Have Fired Eason Jordan." "And about Eason Jordan: More myopic blogger triumphalism." |
| Also: Cori Dauber, Joe Gandelman, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Glenn Reynolds, Greg Ransom | |
REALNEWS.COM By / New York Post — Permalink GET the mainstream media some smelling salts. The resignation of CNN executive Eason Jordan last Friday night caused near-fainting spells in the journalism world. | |
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John Hawkins: The New York Post notes another critic, "Bertrand Pecquerie, director of the World Editors Forum, the organization for editors within the World Association of Newspapers, please. Jeff Jarvis: We'll bring the bagels, you bring the sandwiches. : MORE: : Here's Michele Malkin's roundup of dino reaction. Brian Micklethwait: The claim that the blogosphere is nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty right wing lynch mobbers, which is what the MSM is... |
Michelle Malkin: Here's my column for the N.Y. Post today tackling the "lynch mob/bloodhounds/fill-in-t he-ad-hominem-here" meme that started spreading over the weekend. Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: Michelle Malkin in a New York Post piece recounts the Jordan affair and concludes:"The only unjustified and... Captain Ed: In today's New York Post, Michelle pulls no punches in telling the media elite that they have lost their monopoly on... |
| Also: Hugh Hewitt, The Big Trunk, Baldilocks, Glenn Reynolds, Greg Ransom | |
UN forces - just a bunch of thugs? By / Telegraph — Permalink It's a good basic axiom that if you take a quart of ice-cream and a quart of dog faeces and mix 'em together the result will taste more like the latter than the former. That's the problem with the UN. | |
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Damian Penny: Another Steyn classic — Do I even have to tell you to read it all? Dale Franks: The Moral Superiority of the UN — Mark Steyn is merciless. [snipped quote] Read, as they say, the whole thing. Greg Ransom: MARK STEYN EXPLAINS THE U.N. : "It's a good basic axiom that if you take a quart of ice-cream and a quart of dog faeces... |
Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn looks at how the international media is not rushing to report the UN peacekeeping rape scandals. Stephen Green: Required Reading — Tom Pechinski forwarded Mark Steyn's latest: [snipped quote] From there, things get bad. |
The Jordan Kerfuffle WSJ — Permalink The writers of these columns believe that, in addition to having opinions, we are ultimately in the same information business as the rest of the press corps. Which is why we try to break news whenever we can if a story merits the attention. | |
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DJ Drummond: The subject, no surprise, was the Eason Jordan affair, specifically why the Wall Street Journal went 'rant' in an editorial attack on bloggers in general. Jeff Jarvis: The Wall Street Journal editorializes, making the assumption that this is the only reason Jordan is out (I don't... Steve Lovelady: This morning, even the Wall Street Journal's editorial page reached much the same conclusion — that the punishment here far exceeded the provocation. |
John Hawkins: "Even The Wall Street Journal chimes in... "More troubling to us is that Mr. Jordan seems to have "resigned," if in fact... Steve Bainbridge: Even the usually solid WSJ editorial board is acting like it was the recipient of a collective atomic wedgie. |
McClellan Tells E&P He Didn't Know Guckert Used Fake Name for Nearly Two Years By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink NEW YORK Talon News reporter James D. Guckert got to ask questions at White House press briefings for nearly two years, but White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan didn't know he was using an alias until the past few weeks, McClellan told E&P today. | |
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Avedon Carol: God, I miss MWO. I admit it, I'm bored with the Gannon story. (But if you're not, David E is probably the most fun to read.) Joe Gandelman: UPDATE II: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is issuing a slew of denials. |
SLZoll: Oh, and speaking of people who are always forthright and honest, here's part of what Scottie McClellan told Editor &... Kevin Hayden: Would he just have to play nice-nice and be pro-Bush to get past the doorman? Update: Scotty says. I didn't know that. |
Bloggers as News Media Trophy Hunters By / NYT — Permalink With the resignation Friday of a top news executive from CNN, bloggers have laid claim to a prominent media career for the second time in five months. In September, conservative bloggers exposed flaws in a report by Dan Rather; he subsequently announced that on March 9 he would step down as anchor of the "CBS Evening News." | |
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Howard Kurtz: "I think they mean that to be read: 'The bloggers didn't do this; they can't take credit for this head; that's our job... Michelle Malkin: This lynch mob meme continues today. The New York Times leads the way, casting bloggers as "news media trophy hunters." Saint Paul l: Today in the NYT, The Northern Alliance's Captain Ed was put on the front lines of defending the legitimacy of the Eason Jordan story. |
Avedon Carol: Yesterday Katherine Seelye, who I have little time for, wrote about the blogosphere's impact on Big Media and actually... Hugh Hewitt: Read Michelle Malkin's New York Post column, the New York Times piece by Katherine Q Seelye, and the very, very odd Wall Street Journal editorial "The Jordan Kerfuffle." McQ: More on the Eason resignation fallout — It appears the MSM is not amused: "The salivating morons who make up the lynch... |
| Also: Cori Dauber, Tom Maguire, Jeff Jarvis, Jay Rosen, Joe Gandelman, Captain Ed, Steve Lovelady, Eugene Volokh, Brian Stelter, Ed Cone, Kevin Drum, Greg Ransom, Dave Winer, Bill Hobbs | |
It's No "Kerfuffle" NRO — Permalink The Wall Street Journal's strange performance on the Eason Jordan scandal. The Wall Street Journal has a very strange editorial this morning regarding the controversy (which it gently labels a "kerfuffle") that resulted last Friday night in the resignation of CNN's chief executive, Eason Jordan. | |
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The Big Trunk: The kids are alright — Andrew McCarthy performs a virtually comprehensive autopsy on the Wall Street Journal's... Michelle Malkin: Read the whole thing. Update II: Andy McCarthy thwacks the WSJ with a clue-by-four. Captain Ed is disappointed. Baldilocks: Denounced from the Hilltops — Red-on-red action between Opinion Journal and National Review regarding the resignation... |
Dale Franks: Andrew McCarthy, on the other had, is sweeping in his condemnation of the Journal's editorial. Greg Ransom: UPDATE: NRO, "What's Wrong With the Wall Street Journal?" See also Captain Ed. |
After Bush Leaves Office, His Budget's Costs Balloon WaPo — Permalink For President Bush, the budget sent to Congress last week outlines a painful path to meeting his promise to bring down the federal budget deficit by the time he leaves office in 2009. | |
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Norbizness: Cheech and Chong Working on New Movie: Asked about the plot, the duo said it will not be much different from what the... Noam Scheiber: OF HOPE IS NOT A PLAN: Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker have a useful piece in today's Washington Post about the... Dwight Meredith: From Today's Washington Post: "Congress and the White House have become adept at passing legislation with hidden... |
Jesse Taylor: The Washington Post notes after a mere four-years plus of Bush's programs that, yes, the cost of government is set to blow up bigger than Kanye West. Matthew Yglesias: Today, Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker take note of a deeper problem: The budget's a time bomb, that produces the 2009 number through a lot of complicated phase-ins and so forth. Kevin Drum: THE 2010 TIME BOMB....In the Washington Post today, Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker note that the latest George Bush budget is a [snipped quote] — Indeed it is. |
| Also: Fontana Labs | |
Resignation at CNN Shows the Growing Influence of Blogs By / NYT — Permalink With the resignation Friday of a top news executive from CNN, bloggers have laid claim to a prominent media career for the second time in five months. In September, conservative bloggers exposed flaws in a report by Dan Rather; he subsequently announced that on March 9 he would step down as anchor of the "CBS Evening News." | |
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John Hawkins: From the The New York Times... "Steve Lovelady, a former editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Wall Street Journal... Stirling Newberry: The Blogatics of Personal Destruction — For those looking for how the conservative press is going to interpret Blogging here it is. |
Steve Bainbridge: Reaping the Whirlwind — In the wake of the Eason Jordan resignation, the MSM is all atwitter. Rickheller @Centerfield: Lynch Mobs? The New York Times discusses the role of blogs in the Eason Jordan case. |
Nominations Sent to the Senate White House — Permalink NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Terrence W. Boyle, of North Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, vice J. Dickson Phillips, Jr., retired. Janice R. Brown, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, vice Stephen F. Williams, retired. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Who are they and how bad? Here's the offical White House list. Kos @DailyKos: More Bush vetting at work — Boy, this is becoming farcical. |
Taegan Goddard: President Bush, earlier today, just after nominating of Thomas B. Griffith to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District... Steve Dillard: President Bush renominates Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. and a whole host of others: You can see the list here. |
Google's givers go Democratic By / USA Today — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO — As it claws for greater power, the Democratic Party has found a newly rich ally in one of the fastest-growing U.S. companies: Google. Google employees gave $207,650 to federal candidates for last year's elections, up from just $250 in 2000 when it was still a start-up. | |
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Charles Johnson: Several LGF readers emailed about this article at USA Today, suggesting a possible reason why Google News keeps giving... Michelle Malkin: GOOGLE'S DEMOCRATS — From USA Today: [snipped quote] (Hat tip: reader Raymond L. Konkle.) Previously: Google News: Not so Fair and Balanced |
Jan Haugland: Blue state Google — While 53% of the tech industry's overall donations went to the Democrat party during last year's US... SK Bubba: The company you keep... Smart people are Democrats. Or are Democrats smart people? Or both? I'm going with "both". |
My Privatized Valentine By / Reason — Permalink Around 270 A.D.—according to one tradition, at least—St. Valentine, a Roman cleric, was imprisoned for his opposition to Emperor Claudius' decree that young men (his potential crop of soldiers) could no longer marry. | |
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Ramesh Ponnuru: SEPARATION OF MARRIAGE AND STATE — John Coleman tries to recruit St. Valentine to the cause. Will Baude: John Coleman wonders What Would Saint Valentine Do? about marriage today? (Privatize it, he concludes, semi-dutiful libertarian that he is.) Glenn Reynolds: SOME VALENTINE'S DAY THOUGHTS ON MARRIAGE: [snipped quote] Yes, the creepiest line in the Goodridge case is the one about... |
Joe Carter: Valentine's View — My buddy John Coleman (of Ex Nihilo and Crux) has an article in Reason Online that asks what... Julian Sanchez: John Coleman has the story. |
Funny Bones NYT — Permalink Q Tell me, Triumph, are you excited that your CD, ''Come Poop With Me,'' has been nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category Best Comedy Album? It's all a big sham. Remember, the voters are from the music industry. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: ALL HAIL THE CANINE — Read and laugh. (Thanks to Tim Blair for the link.) Nathan Hallford: Triumph: The New York Times Magazine interviews none other than Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. |
C. D. Harris: RTWT — [snipped quote] - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, on competing with Al Franken and Jon Stewart for a Grammy <Via Eric the Viking> |
Iraq Winners Allied With Iran Are the Opposite of U.S. Vision By / WaPo — Permalink When the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq two years ago, it envisioned a quick handover to handpicked allies in a secular government that would be the antithesis of Iran's theocracy — potentially even a foil to Tehran's regional ambitions. | |
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Dan Darling: The Wright View of the Iraqi Elections — I gather that Robin Wright's article yesterday in the Washington Post has... Armed Liberal: Juan Cole is in a panic about it, over at the Washington Post: [quote] "This is a government that will have very good relations with Iran.[end quote] Daniel Drezner: It's odd becuse the headline reads, "Iraq Winners Allied With Iran Are the Opposite of U.S. Vision" — and the piece consists of expert quotes (including Cole) making this point. |
Jon Henke: This WaPo story seems to be producing a great deal of premature "Iran Won!" ejaculation... "When the Bush... Cori Dauber: Sure enough, take a look at her article on the way the election results came down. Juan Cole: Robin Wright of the Washington Post points out that an electoral victory of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution... |
| Also: Norbizness, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Judith Weiss, Chris Lawrence, Kos @DailyKos, Steve Soto, Max B. Sawicky, Laura Rozen, Oliver Willis, Hecate, Tom Tomorrow, Joe Drymala | |
A Newly Meaningful Relationship? By / WaPo — Permalink Romance is in the air today across the land. But in Washington, the buzz continues about "The Kiss." No, not Gustav Klimt's famous painting. It's the big fat one an exuberant President Bush planted on Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's right cheek as he waded through the Capitol crowd after the State of the Union a couple of weeks ago. | |
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Steve M.: Or maybe it's just love? —Washington Post In Luke 22, Judas kisses Jesus and Jesus is arrested. Ezra Klein: Of course, I was looking for devious reasons when the actual rationale was obvious and mundane. Andrew Card is going to retire soon. |
Taegan Goddard: Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) "could be on an administration list to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the next year or so," the Washington Post reports. Nathan Hallford: Love Is In The Air: Apropos today, I pass along this snippet from the Washington Post, detailing the show of feelings between President Bush and Sen. Joe"mentum" Lieberman. |
Frist has necessary votes to change filibuster rules Washington Times — Permalink Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has the 51 votes needed to change Senate rules and make it easier for Republicans to overcome Democratic filibusters against President Bush's judicial nominees, but he hopes such a change won't be necessary. | |
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William J. Dyer: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was quoted today as saying he believes that he has the votes to employ it if need be. Orrin Judd: CRY HAVOC...: Frist has necessary votes to change filibuster rules (Charles Hurt and Stephen Dinan, 2/14/05, THE... |
Hugh Hewitt: The most important bit of domestic news, though, comes from the Washington Times: "Frist has necessary votes to change filibuster rules." PoliPundit: Nuclear Option — Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has the votes to force a rule change on judicial... |
Split Verdict in Iraqi Vote Sets Stage for Weak Government By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 13 - The razor-thin margin apparently captured by the Shiite alliance here in election results announced Sunday seems almost certain to enshrine a weak government that will be unable to push through sweeping changes, like granting Islam a central role in the new Iraqi state. | |
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John Hawkins: Election Leaves Iraq in 'Quagmire of Compromise' By Scott Ott — Results of the recent democratic elections in Iraq show... Matthew Yglesias: Dexter Filkins in The New York Times contends that in light of its narrow victory the Alliance lacks a real mandate and... |
Daniel Drezner: ANOTHER UPDATE: It's intriguing to compare the New York Times news analysis by Dexter Filkins with Wright's analysis in the Washington Post. |
Iraqi Shiites Win, but Margin Is Less Than Projection NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 13 - A broad Shiite alliance led by two Iran-backed religious parties won a slim majority of seats in the national assembly, final election results showed Sunday. | |
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James Joyner: Shiites Magnanimous in Victory — Iraqi Shiites Win, but Margin Is Less Than Projection (NYT rss) "A broad Shiite... Jeremy Brown: As we say in my country: Yee haw! Here's the New York Times' account of the results. |
Barbara O'Brien: John Burns and James Glanz report in the New York Times that the final voter turnout was 58 percent. |
"Rapture" Rapture By / Weekly Standard — Permalink ONE OF LIBERALS' chief motivations these days is fear of the religious right. Ask people on the left to explain their loathing of President Bush or the Republican party, and the answer often comes around to Jerry Falwell, evangelicals, theocracy, and so on. | |
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The Big Trunk: A liberal rapture — Jonathan Last of the Daily Standard has hit dry land and pulled himself together sufficiently to... Betsy Newmark: John Hinderaker exposes the lie by Bill Moyers about James Watts not caring about the environment because he was awaiting the rapture. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE RAPTURE CANARD — John Hinderaker has a good article debunking a favorite talking point of Bill Moyers and other like-minded folks. |
Shiites Walk Softly in New Landscape By / LAT — Permalink BAGHDAD — The lopsided victory by Iraq's Shiite Muslim alliance gives it the biggest voice in shaping the nation's new government and constitution. But at the moment of their triumph, Shiite leaders have decided to accentuate moderation and inclusiveness to win over their political rivals. | |
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Jon Henke: Meanwhile, as critics dwell on Iraq's impending future as an Iranian satellite, the news coming out of Iraq points to a... Orrin Judd: LOSING BADLY ENOUGH TO WIN: Shiites Walk Softly in New Landscape (John Daniszewski, February 14, 2005, LA Times)... |
James Joyner: Shiites Walk Softly in New Landscape (LAT) "The lopsided victory by Iraq's Shiite Muslim alliance gives it the biggest... |
A Princeton Philosopher's Unprintable Essay Title By / NYT — Permalink Harry G. Frankfurt, 76, is a moral philosopher of international reputation and a professor emeritus at Princeton. He is also the author of a book recently published by the Princeton University Press that is the first in the publishing house's distinguished history to carry a title most newspapers, including this one, would find unfit to print. | |
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Ogged @Unfogged: Frankfurt — Hooray! I've always been a big Harry Frankfurt fan, and this article in the Times today does him justice. Greg Ransom: PHILOSOPHER Harry Frankfurt writes a book on Bill Clinton & friends: "The bull[*] artist, on the other hand, cares nothing for truth or falsehood. |
Eugene Oregon: So when I came across this article in the New York Times I got pretty excited (I've filled in the missing words) |
Amputee heading back to battlefield By / Rocky Mountain News — Permalink FORT CARSON - Inside the place where there is no camouflage, Capt. David Rozelle sat near the pool, dressed only in a swimsuit. He unsheathed his leg from his prosthetic foot and stared at the stump. | |
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Blackfive: ... Amputee heading back to battlefield Fort Carson captain prepares for redeployment, releases book By Jim Sheeler,... Smash: Returning to Action — "I'm taking a bag of legs" THIS IS HUMBLING: "I believe that I will not be hindered in any way from performing all the duties of a cavalry officer. |
Jan Haugland: Amputee returning to Iraq — Capt. David Rozelle intends to become the first amputee to return to active duty in the same theatre where he lost his right foot. |
Another Pundit on the Payroll By / WaPo — Permalink The issue of pundit payola, it seems, is not limited to inside the Beltway. Eric Wesson, a columnist for the Call, an African American newspaper in Kansas City, offered plenty of praise last year for the successful House bid of Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. | |
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Captain Ed: In his lead entry for today's Media Notes, Kurtz reports that the Democrats have paid advocacy journalists who failed to... |
Glenn Reynolds: MORE PUNDIT PAYOLA? [snipped quote] He did some work for the campaign, but it looks like another item that should have been disclosed. |
HIV 'could destroy cancer cells' BBC — Permalink US scientists hope to be able to use a harmless form of the Aids virus to seek and destroy cancer cells. A University of California team found an "impotent" version of HIV, with the disease-causing parts of it removed, tracked down cancer cells in mice. | |
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Orrin Judd: YOU GO FIRST (via Jim Yates) HIV 'could destroy cancer cells' (BBC, 2/13/05) [snipped quote] At least the conspirasct... |
Hesiod @AmStreet: Alien vs. Predator — Cool. [snipped quote] Maybe God did have a reason for creating the AIDS virus after all? |
Senate May Open Inquiry Into C.I.A.'s Handling of Suspects By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 - The Senate intelligence committee is moving toward adoption of a plan to conduct a formal inquiry into the Central Intelligence Agency's handling of suspects captured in the American effort to curb terrorism, Congressional officials from each party said this week. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: The Senate intelligence committee is on the verge of an investigation into the CIA's detention and interrogation practices, including extraordinary rendition. |
Sam Rosenfeld: Thus, it is at least a bit heartening to see that the Senate intelligence committee under Pat Roberts may actually... |