meme orandum
| A newfangled news tangle |
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"Jeff Gannon's" incredible access By / Salon — Permalink James Guckert's mysterious career as a White House correspondent for Talon News just took another strange twist. And once again, the newest revelation raises the central question: Who broke the rules on Guckert's behalf to give him access to the White House? | |
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Jim Henley: Things that caught my eye today: Per Salon and elsewhere, it appears that Jeff Gannon/James Guckert was attending White... Steve Clemons: Who Let Gannon In? feb28gannon6ug.jpg (Feb. 28, 2003 WH press conference on C-SPAN) Eric Boehlert has this piece in... Oliver Willis: "Jeff Gannon's" incredible access "James Guckert's mysterious career as a White House correspondent for Talon News just took another strange twist. |
Atrios: Boehlert: Thanks to the continued digging by online sleuths, there's now documented evidence that Guckert attended White House briefings as early as February 2003. Barbara O'Brien: This afternoon either Eric Boehlert at Salon or Joe Strupp at Editor and Publisher — I'm not sure which got it online... Susan Madrak: PLUS ONE — I keep thinking what sounds so familiar about the Jeff Gannon story, and it finally hit me: "Plus one." |
Eason's Fable By / Weekly Standard — Permalink FOR TWO WEEKS Eason Jordan has been engulfed in a blogswarm. During remarks at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the now-former CNN executive accused the U.S. military of deliberately targeting journalists in Iraq for murder. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Ed Morrissey of CaptainsQuarters has a terrific account of the Eason Jordan affair over at TheWeeklyStandard.com: Eason's Fable. Pejman Yousefzadeh: FAMOUS — Edward Morrissey—better known as Captain Ed—has an article in The Weekly Standard documenting the Eason... Greg Ransom: Ed Morrissey on "Eason's Fable" & Big Media's no-show in the Weekly Standard. |
Captain Ed: Eason's Fable At The Weekly Standard — The Weekly Standard has published my column on the mass-media response to the... Glenn Reynolds: ED MORRISSEY has an article in The Weekly Standard. |
The White House Stages Its 'Daily Show' By / NYT — Permalink THE prayers of those hoping that real television news might take its cues from Jon Stewart were finally answered on Feb. 9, 2005. A real newsman borrowed a technique from fake news to deliver real news about fake news in prime time. Let me explain. | |
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Atrios: Frank Rich: "Jeff Gannon" had decided to give an exclusive TV interview to a sober practitioner of by-the-book real news, Wolf Blitzer. Dave Johnson: Update - Frank Rich writes in the NY Times, [quote] By my count, "Jeff Gannon" is now at least the sixth "journalist" (four of...[end quote] Steve Clemons: The story has moved from the Howard Kurtz column to new articles in the New York Times by Frank Rich and the Guardian by... |
Jeanne D'Arc: Sidney Blumenthal, Frank Rich, and Maureen Dowd all have a go at explaining why it's important, and I don't disagree with any of the points they make. Steve Soto: First, the Jeff Gannon/J. D. Guckert story begins to get traction. Barbara O'Brien: Frank Rich weighs in: [quote] "Jeff" has now quit Talon News not because he and it have been exposed as fakes but because of...[end quote] |
| Also: Oliver Willis, Captain Ed, Kevin Hayden, Chris Bowers, Brian Stelter, Jeff Alworth, Kos @DailyKos, Josh Marshall, Scott Rosenberg, Jeralyn Merritt | |
Bush Nominates Negroponte As Intel Chief By / AP — Permalink (02-17) 07:27 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) — President Bush on Thursday named John Negroponte, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and currently the administration's top representative in Iraq, to be America's first national intelligence director. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: Carl Levin: Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, questioned the decision to pull Negroponte out of Iraq. James Joyner: Bush Nominates Negroponte for Director of National Intelligence — Bush names Negroponte intelligence chief (CNN)... Pejman Yousefzadeh: CONGRATULATIONS TO JOHN NEGROPONTE — He has been appointed to the government's most meaningless job. |
McQ: Negroponte to be Intel Czar — Admittedly I don't know a heck of a lot about John Negroponte, but I do know that without... Jeralyn Merritt: Bush Appoints Negroponte — Eric Alterman devotes today's Altercation column to John Negroponte, Bush's newly announced choice for Intelligence Chief. Smash: Intelligence Chief — PRESIDENT BUSH nominates John Negroponte to be the first National Intelligence Director. |
The Blogs Must Be Crazy By / Opinion Journal — Permalink "Salivating morons." "Scalp hunters." "Moon howlers." "Trophy hunters." "Sons of Sen. McCarthy." "Rabid." "Blogswarm." "These pseudo-journalist lynch mob people." This is excellent invective. It must come from bloggers. | |
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Brian Linse: Peggy Noonan's take on the influence and future of blogs, seen in the context of the current MSM frothing against our... Brian Montopoli: Just this week, they've been featured on Charlie Rose and Jon Stewart. And Peggy Noonan loves them! "What next?," wonders PoliPundit. Steven Taylor: Noonan on Blogs — Peggy Noonan writes one of the better pieces I have seen on blogs in today's WSJ: The Blogs Must Be... |
Joe Katzman: As usual. If you haven't read "The Blogs Must Be Crazy (Or maybe the MSM is just suffering from freedom envy)" - do so! Captain Ed: Peggy Noonan issues a love note to the blogosphere in today's WSJ/OpinionJournal, one that appears to intend either a... Hugh Hewitt: The WSJ does have some writers who understand what is happening. Peggy Noonan is one of them, as she demonstrates today. |
| Also: The Big Trunk, Robin Burk, Betsy Newmark, Jan Haugland, Jeff Jarvis, Lorie Byrd, Charles Johnson, Dan Gillmor, Ed Cone, Dave Winer, K. J. Lopez, Jeff Goldstein, McQ, Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, Cori Dauber, Greg Ransom, Stephen Green | |
Bush, FDR and Social Security By / TCS — Permalink Shortly after President Bush's State of the Union address New York Times columnist Paul Krugman accused President Bush of trying to "destroy" the America created by FDR by introducing private accounts into the Social Security system. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: Kevin Drum says no. ANOTHER UPDATE: Nick Schulz weighs in: [snipped quote] Of course, none of this would be an issue with my proposal for Social Security reform. Jonah Goldberg: FDR, PRIVATE ACCOUNTS, ETC — Al Franken drags Nick Schulz into this. |
Ed Driscoll: Note To Self — Don't make Nick Schulz (my editor at Tech Central Station) angry, as Al Franken recently did—unlike... |
Term of Use By / TNR — Permalink Two senior Egyptian officials are visiting Washington this week amid heightened American pressure on their boss, Hosni Mubarak, to permit free elections—which he would probably lose. Mubarak has ruled Egypt under emergency laws and nixed political activity for nearly 24 years. | |
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Max B. Sawicky: A guy can dream, can't he? Joseph Braude raises this question in regard to Egypt. Rickheller @Centerfield: In The New Republic Online, Joseph Braude urges us not be become too intoxicated with the success of the Iraqi elections... Jude Nagurney Camwell: Where Egypt is concerned, Joseph Braude causes us to ponder this question with his latest article at TNR Online. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: IT TAKES A THIEF TO CATCH A THIEF — And according to Joseph Braude, it may take an autocrat to help bring about democracy. James Joyner: Joseph Braude argues in the New Republic that the U.S. should not pressure Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to hold free and open... Skippy: joseph braude sends us an article he wrote in the new republic in which he thinks democracy in egypt is stuck between... |
| Also: Jeff Quinton | |
AP: Iraqi Died While Hung From Wrists By / AP — Permalink SAN DIEGO - An Iraqi whose corpse was photographed with grinning U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib died under CIA interrogation while in a position condemned by human rights groups as torture — suspended by his wrists, with his hands cuffed behind his back, according to reports reviewed by The Associated Press. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: CRUCIFIXION: Isn't that what this particular interrogation technique amounts to? Jeralyn Merritt: Let's not get so myopic over Jeff Gannon that we lose sight of the forest...The Associated Press has obtained documents... |
Michael Froomkin: News - AP: Iraqi Died While Hung From Wrists (impermanent link, sorry about that) [alternate lnk). Sebastian Holsclaw: This is Torture, This Cannot be Tolerated — This is why there shouldn't be ghost prisoners that interrogators think they can do anything they want with. |
Ari Fleischer Tells E&P He Spoke to Gannon/Guckert's Boss By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink NEW YORK Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was so concerned about Talon News reporter James Guckert's potential ties to the Republican Party that he stopped calling on him at press briefings for about a week in 2003, Fleischer told E&P today. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: Fleischer on Gannon — E&P talked to Fleischer: [snipped quote] It would be interesting to see if "Talon News" was created as a front to create "distance" between GOPUSA and Gannon. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Ari Fleisher on Jeff Gannon — Editor and Publisher spoke to Ari Fleisher about Jeff Gannon. |
Reporters as Citizens NRO — Permalink The things journalists learn on assignment. Guess what Mary Beth Sheridan, a reporter from the Washington Post, learned when she was embedded with our troops in Iraq? That they are not, in fact, "blood-thirsty maniacs." | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: Who woulda thunk it? [snipped quote] That's from Myrna Blyth, a former editor of Ladies Home Journal and founding editor of More. Stephen Green: After Action Report — Washington Post reporter Mary Beth Sheridan spent some time with the troops in Iraq, and came... |
Betsy Newmark: Myrna Blyth has a look on what one journalist learned while she was embedded with the military. [snipped quote] They're decent and sweet. |
Alanis Morissette Becomes U.S. Citizen AP — Permalink LOS ANGELES - Canadian Alanis Morissette (news) is now an American citizen. The 30-year-old singer was among some 4,500 people who took the citizenship oath during a ceremony last week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. | |
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Spoons: ALANIS MORISETTE BECOMES U.S. CITIZEN — She'll be retaining her Canadian citizenship, however. This has always outraged me. Mitch Berg: Isn't It Ironic? Sing along with me: [snipped quote] Alanis Morisette is now a US citizen. I need an excuse to spoof "Unsent", now... |
Chris Lawrence: Morissette ends own musical career — Brian J. Noggle points to news that Alanis Morissette has taken U.S. citizenship. |
Gentleman Jockeys Win the Derby By / Weekly Standard — Permalink EAGER TO DIVERT ATTENTION from the incredible incompetence displayed in the handling of Eason Jordan's remarks before the Davos audience (and Jordan's November 2004 accusation that the U.S. military was torturing journalists), a number of voices within the... | |
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Captain Ed: Note: See also Hugh Hewitt's new column in the Weekly Standard on the WSJ/blogosphere debate. The Big Trunk: Gentlemen jockeys must be crazy — In his Daily Standard column, Hugh Hewitt responds to the Wall Street Journal's... Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: Related thoughts from Hugh Hewitt — who seems determined to instruct the Wall Street Journal folks in the error... |
Hugh Hewitt: My WeeklyStandard.com column takes a closer look at the credentials of some of the bloggers the Wall Street Journal disdains: "Gentlemen Jockeys Win the Derby." Betsy Newmark: Hugh Hewitt looks at the credentials of the bloggers at Easongate and Powerline. Michelle Malkin: Bill Quick likes the Noonan piece. Commenter Lastango asks: "Is this in part a WSJ climbdown?" Hugh Hewitt follows up. |
War Helps Recruit Terrorists, Hill Told WaPo — Permalink The insurgency in Iraq continues to baffle the U.S. military and intelligence communities, and the U.S. occupation has become a potent recruiting tool for al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, top U.S. national security officials told Congress yesterday. | |
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Belle Waring: From the Washington Post, "Blinding Flash of the Obvious" Department: The insurgency in Iraq continues to baffle the... Steve M.: ... —Washington Post, 2/17/05 Cori Dauber: To the Washington Post, this is all about "the unintended consequences of the war in Iraq." |
Steve Soto: It turns out he was right: after these supplemental requests, we will in fact have ripped off American taxpayers for... Hugh Hewitt: "War Helps Recruit Terrorists, Hill Told," is a front-pager in the Washington Post that needs close reading. Jim Henley: Lazy Warblogger Night - Matthew Yglesias has the hopeful sign; Spencer Ackerman the disquieting portent; Porter Goss the... |
Soros Funded Stewart Defense NRO — Permalink The anti-Bush billionaire supported lawyer who aided terrorists. Billionaire financier George Soros, whose opposition to President Bush's conduct of the war on terror caused him to pour millions of dollars into the effort to defeat the president, made a... | |
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Captain Ed: However, National Review's Byron York reveals today that the main money man for the Democrats in last year's election... Charles Johnson: Birds of a Feather — Anti-American "progressive" billionaire George Soros donated money to the defense of radical... Orrin Judd: WITH OR AGAINST: Soros Funded Stewart Defense (Byron York, 2/17/05, National Review) [snipped quote] So Stephen Minarik knew whereof he spoke. |
Charles Bird: The George Soros-Lynne Stewart Connection — Byron York reports on the financial ties between George Soros' Open Society... Jayson @PoliPundit: As "Surprising" as Dead People Voting For Democrats in Chicago and Philly — Byron York reports that George ("what, no refunds available?") |
Bush's Barberini Faun By / NYT — Permalink I am very impressed with James Guckert, a k a Jeff Gannon. How often does an enterprising young man, heralded in press reports as both a reporter and a contributor to such sites as Hotmilitarystud.com, Workingboys.net, Militaryescorts.com, MilitaryescortsM4M.com and Meetlocalmen.com, get to question the president of the United States? | |
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Brian Linse: Also see Joe Conason, MoDo, Digby, and please don't miss The Poor Man: [snipped quote] Jim Henley warns of the coming... Tom Maguire: Whatever it is, Maureen Dowd has reached the pinnacle, with her assault on quasi-pseudo journalist James Guckert, aka "Jeff Gannon". Tom Tomorrow: G/G update — Maureen Dowd: [snipped quote] If you're advertising a dodgy business on the web and someone finds out about... |
Dave Johnson: I don't usually read Maureen Dowd anymore, but this was recommended, and it's good:Bush's Barberini Faun: "I know the F.B.I. computers don't work, but this is ridiculous. Barbara O'Brien: Mo Dowd writes, "I'm still mystified by this story. Captain Ed: Both Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd, in an odd coincidence, write columns on the national danger that Jeff Gannon/James Guckert represents. |
| Also: Steve Soto, Jeff Alworth, Avedon Carol, Kos @DailyKos, Laura Rozen, Digby, Atrios | |
Bush Picks Envoy to Iraq to Be New Overseer of Spy Agencies By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 - President Bush nominated John D. Negroponte, the ambassador to Iraq and a diplomat with worldwide experience, to be the director of national intelligence today, a new post intended to protect the United States from 21st century terrorist threats. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: What to say about the choice of John Negroponte for the new job as National Intelligence Director? Jeanne D'Arc: Today's: Meet the director of national intelligence — John Negroponte, the man who brought you...well, speaking of leaving death in his wake. |
Kevin Drum: The fact that George Bush's choice for the job is John Negroponte therefore inspires in me mostly a yawn. |
American Conversation - Estrich v. Kinsley Washington Examiner — Permalink A feminist blast attacking a liberal icon travels cross country in a night - It is with great regret that I send you this message, asking you to help me in fighting blatant sex discrimination at The Los Angeles Times. -Susan Estrich to Michael Kinsley | |
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Ace: (Hoke) Estrich accuses Kinsley of gender discrimination; Kinsley accuses Estrich of being mental The article last Sunday... Betsy Newmark: The DC Examiner has Michael Kinsley's and Charlotte Allen's response to Susan Estrich's rant about there not being enough women writing editorial columns for the LA Times. Glenn Reynolds: IT'S SUSAN ESTRICH VS. MICHAEL KINSLEY in the Washington Examiner. And both Cathy Seipp and Charlotte Allen have related thoughts. |
Jayson @PoliPundit: No. The White House? Nope. Wal-Mart? No. It's regarding the "sophisticated" and "enlightened" Los Angeles Times. Merde. John J. Miller: The editorial pages publish a brutal exchange between Susan Estrich and Michael Kinsley, as well as some withering commentary from Charlotte Allen. |
Clashes with Churchill found By / Denver Post — Permalink University of Colorado officials received repeated complaints about Ward Churchill's demeanor and temper, beginning two years before he was granted a tenured faculty position despite never going through the normal review. | |
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Ace: And to top it all off, he's a di** Retired university administrator and journalism professor Joanne Easley Arnold said... |
McQ: Ward Churchill: A Peach of a Guy — According to the Denver Post, Ward Churchill is a real sweetheart when it comes to... |
Times Company to Buy About.com for $410 Million NYT — Permalink The New York Times Company announced this afternoon that it had agreed to acquire the online consumer information provider About.com from Primedia Inc., a magazine publisher, for $410 million in cash. | |
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Tom Biro: The full press release can be found here via BusinessWire. Check here for the Times' coverage. |
Jeff Jarvis: About About : PaidContent is all over The New York Times' $410 million acquisition of About.com. |
Blog awards: Like blogs, they're diverse, global and freewheeling By / Online Journalism Review — Permalink As Weblogs mature, we look at the plethora of awards and the controversial nature of judging. And we've compiled a list of contests so you can go for the gold. In 2001, a Seattle woman named Zannah won the "Weblog of the Year" Bloggie award for her blog titled, "#!/usr/bin/girl." | |
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Kevin Aylward: Blog Awards: Like Blogs, They're Diverse, Global and Freewheeling |
Scott Sala: Blog Awards and Recognition — Here's a great article rounding up a pretty concise history of blog awards as well as some speculation on future recognition possibilities. |
D.A. won't press charges vs. Cosby MSNBC — Permalink NORRISTOWN, Pa. - Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor has just said he will not pursue charges against Bill Cosby, after a woman claimed the entertainer groped her at his house. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: I just got bumped because of the Cosby story (the story: authorities will not prosecute on the allegations a woman made against him). |
Jeralyn Merritt: No Charges for Bill Cosby — No charges will be filed against Bill Cosby , according to the Montgomery County, PA District Attorney. |
Masked Players By / American Spectator — Permalink To me, Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby is just routine Hollywood product but with a much higher-than-usual schmaltz content. It's not even worth a review. Quite obviously, Hilary Swank's character never had a chance. | |
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Ramesh Ponnuru: Anyway, James Bowman has an excellent column on the liberal denial that Million Dollar Baby has any political content. |
Ed Driscoll: Masked Players — Following on Michael Medved's piece in the Wall Street Journal today, James Bowman makes a great point... |
Conservatives and Rivals Press a Struggling PBS NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 - It was no accident that PBS found itself turning to Elmo, the popular "Sesame Street" character, to lobby on Capitol Hill this week. There were not many options. | |
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Captain Ed: The New York Times and Los Angeles Times both note the question of relevance for PBS and how difficulties in getting... Betsy Newmark: The New York Times says that PBS is having a hard time getting funding from Congress because conservatives are critical of it. |
Hugh Hewitt: Here's a sad piece on the slow collapse of PBS in the New York Times. Jeff Jarvis: What should PBS be : : What should PBS be now that it has all this competition from cable (and pressure from Washington)? |
Current U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Would Be First to Fill New Post ABCNEWS — Permalink Feb. 17, 2005 — President Bush has tapped John Negroponte, the current U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as his nominee to become the nation's first national intelligence director. Negroponte also would control the flow of spy information and the purse strings for intelligence. | |
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Julia @AmStreet: Ladies and gentlemen, nominated in the category of National Intelligence Director, John "we have more nuns than we need anyway" Negroponte. |
Michelle Malkin: Announcement expected at 10am. ABC sez it's John Negroponte. |
That "we" again. My kingdom for a columnist. Brushes with Greatness. And more. NRO — Permalink I was reading an op-ed piece by Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post, and he began by quoting Jon Stewart, the comedian, who said, "We did it! We had the election. And now we can say to Iraq, 'Goodbye! '" The words "We did it!" brought me up short. | |
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Steve M.: With all due respect to Jonah Goldberg, I believe this little item by Jay Nordlinger may be the stupidest thing ever... Lorie Byrd: Don't Miss This One — Jay Nordlinger's latest Impromptus column is not to be missed. |
Deacon: Jay Nordlinger put me in mind of the old Lone Ranger-Tonto joke with his Impromptus piece. |
Negroponte Named Intelligence Director By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush today named veteran diplomat John D. Negroponte to the new post of national intelligence chief, picking the former ambassador to Iraq and the United Nations in a surprise choice to oversee 15 intelligence agencies. | |
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James Martin Capozzola: Asylum, Lunatics in Control of The Bush administration today named veteran Diplomat-to-the-Dictators John D. Negroponte... Zoe Kentucky: Negroponte Named First National Intelligence Director "President Bush on Thursday named John Negroponte, a former U.S... |
Laura Rozen: Bush nominates John Negroponte to be the new national intelligence director, and NSA director Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden as deputy. |
Bush Criticizes Syria, Iran As Instable By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - President Bush criticized Syria and Iran on Thursday as destabilizing forces in the Middle East but stopped short of threatening new U.S. action against either. Expressing sympathy with Israeli worries about a nuclear-armed Iran, the president said America would protect its ally. | |
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Sadly, No!: President Bush says: "Bush Criticizes Syria, Iran As Instable" This was followed by Bush criticizes water as wet along... |
Orrin Judd: "OUT OF STEP": Bush criticizes Syria, Iran as instable (JENNIFER LOVEN, February 17, 2005, Associated Press)... |
Secretary On the Offensive By / WaPo — Permalink Two dozen members of the House Armed Services Committee had not yet had their turn to question Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at yesterday's hearings when he decided he had had enough. At 12:54, he announced that at 1 p.m. he would be taking a break and then going to another hearing in the Senate. | |
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Steve Soto: Then, when the Congress, and members on both sides of the aisle I might add, try and get information from the Defense... Betsy Newmark: Dana Milbank has an entire article about how rude Rumsfeld supposedly was inhis hearings before Congress yesterday. Taegan Goddard: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, quoted by the Washington Post, presumably meant "intelligence work" but also... |
James Joyner: Rumsfeld Walks Out on Congress — Secretary On the Offensive (Dana Milbank, WaPo, A01) "Two dozen members of the House... McQ: The Sec Def was on the Hill yesterday and firing with both barrels at both sides of the isle during testy hearings... Laura Rozen: Rumsfeld walked out yesterday when he got tired of briefing the House Armed Services Committee briefing. |
| Also: Michael Froomkin, Mathew Gross, Kevin Drum | |
Don't Fear the Blog and the Fury By / Business Week — Permalink Into the Penalty Box — Permanently! Where Did All the Long Bonds Go? Consulting Beyond the Grave? | |
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JD @SouthernAppeal: I couldn't resist fisking a few of his comments. Still worth the read, though. |
Jeff Jarvis: Peggy Noonan has a wonderful column today telling her colleagues why blogs are good: [snipped quote] And here's Stephen... |
Ralph Reed to Seek Georgia Post in 2006 AP — Permalink ATLANTA — Ralph Reed, former Christian Coalition director, announced Thursday he will run for lieutenant governor in 2006. Reed, 43, filed the necessary paperwork earlier this month to begin raising money for the race. | |
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Steve Dillard: Update: Oh, and here is Ralph's campaign blog. Update II: Here is the AP report. |
K. J. Lopez: RALPH REED is running for Lt. Gov. of Georgia. |
Jobless claims in unexpected fall CNN — Permalink Drops for the third consecutive time to the lowest level in more than four years. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming initial jobless benefits fell unexpectedly by 2,000 last week to the lowest level in more than four years as the U.S. labor market continued to strengthen, a government report showed Thursday. | |
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Ace: Thank You Jeff Gannon, For the Cowbell You Provide — Unemployment Claims Plunge Unexpectedly Unexpected to some, maybe. |
Glenn Reynolds: GOOD NEWS: [snipped quote] Sounds good to me, anyway. (Via Ace). |
'Hama Rules' By / NYT — Permalink About two weeks ago, a friend of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri stopped by my office to update me on Lebanon and pass on a message from Mr. Hariri, whom I have known since reporting from Beirut in the late 1970's. | |
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McQ: Syria and Lebanon — Thomas Friedman sheds a little light on why Rafik Harir, Lebanon's former PM, was probably targeted... Orrin Judd: EVERBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD: 'Hama Rules' (THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, 2/17/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] How'd Hama Rules work out for Saddam and al Qaeada? |
Cliff May: Tom Friedman today has quite a good column on Lebanon, Syria and the broader picture. |
No Defense By / NYT — Permalink THE conviction of Lynne F. Stewart for providing material aid to terrorism and for lying to the government is another perverse victory in the Justice Department's assault on the Constitution. Ms. Stewart, the lawyer who was convicted last week of five felonies, will be disbarred and faces up to 30 years in jail. | |
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Venkat @BeggingToDiffer: LYNNE STEWART — While the lack of outcry surrounding the Stewart prosecution is sad, the guy who wrote this NYT piece (raising this issue) should have read this first. Orrin Judd: REWRITING THE SIXTH: No Defense (ANDREW P. NAPOLITANO, 2/17/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] Mr. Napolitano must be reading... |
Ogged @Unfogged: Andrew Napolitano, former judge and current Fox News commentator (for crying out loud), sums it up. The Stewart conviction is a travesty. Jeralyn Merritt: Defending Lynn Stewart — Fox News Sr. Judicial Analyst Andrew Napolitano rocks today in his passionately defense of New York defense attorney Lynne Stewart in the New York Times. |
Bush Nominates Negroponte to New Intel Post By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush today named veteran diplomat John D. Negroponte to the new post of national intelligence chief, picking the current ambassador to Iraq and former envoy to the United Nations in a surprise choice to oversee 15 intelligence agencies. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Some background on Ambassador Negroponte from a long time correspondent I know to be very trustworthy: "Dear Bloggers... |
Steve Soto: Then, Bush makes the circle-closing complete by naming John Negroponte, he of our failures at the United Nations, in... |
Mitt Romney vs. the Boys from Boston By / Weekly Standard — Permalink IN MANY WAYS, MASSACHUSETTS Governor Mitt Romney is among the most fortunate of men. Scion of a prominent family (Romney's father George was president of American Motors Company and later governor of Michigan), Romney enjoyed a spectacularly successful... | |
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James Frederick Dwight: SPANNING THE GLOBE 1) I HAVE A NEW PIECE UP on the Weekly Standard about Mitt Romney and the stem cell controversy in Massachusetts. |
Hugh Hewitt: The Standard also has a Dean Barnett article on Mitt Romney versus the stem cell research absolutists in Massachusetts. |
The Money Is In the Long Tail By / TCS — Permalink Ed Driscoll recently pointed to Chris Anderson's article "The Long Tail" and discussed the implications for the blogosphere, just as Anderson's original Wired magazine article pointed out the implications for retailing. | |
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Arnold Kling: Redistribution vs. Paternalism — Tim Worstall argues that big government is not compatible with only taxing the rich. |
Ed Driscoll: The Money Is In the Long Tail — Tim Worstall of Tech Central Station uses the article I wrote for them earlier this... |
Pet Clones Spur Call For Limits By / WaPo — Permalink Clone a cat, go to jail — or at least pay a fine. That is the goal of animal welfare activists who announced yesterday that they are seeking state and federal restrictions on the small but growing pet-cloning industry. | |
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Ronald Bailey: Anti-Cloning: Pet Edition — A California legislator wants to "outlaw the sale or transport of cloned or engineered pets," according to the Washington Post. |
Andrew Stuttaford: By this: "The group has also been working with a California lawmaker to introduce state legislation that would ban the sale of cloned or genetically engineered pets." |
U.S. Aides Cite Worry on Qaeda Infiltration From Mexico By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 - New intelligence information strongly suggests that Al Qaeda has considered infiltrating the United States through the Mexican border, top government officials told Congress on Wednesday. | |
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Steve Soto: A week after Bush's proposed budget for 2006 cut thousands of border control agent positions so that his tax cuts for... |
K. J. Lopez: CAN YOU IMAGINE? Did you see this breaking news from Washington yesterday? |
Thinking beyond Kyoto Guardian — Permalink The most important thing about the Kyoto protocol - which came into effect yesterday - is that it is there at all. It is the first legally binding environmental treaty making a serious attempt to reduce the greenhouse gases that lead to climate change, the most serious problem facing the planet today. | |
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Jan Haugland: It is actually such a stupid idea that it is widely acclaimed in the leftist press, like a recent leader in the Guardian. |
Scott Burgess: A Guardian leader on Kyoto - which praises the treaty for, among other things, creating incentives for "straw burning in... |
Kyoto protest beaten back by inflamed petrol traders Times of London — Permalink WHEN 35 Greenpeace protesters stormed the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) yesterday they had planned the operation in great detail. What they were not prepared for was the post-prandial aggression of oil traders who kicked and punched them back on to the pavement. | |
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Doctor Suarez: IT AIN'T EASY, OR SAFE, OR PERHAPS ALL THAT WISE BEING GREEN — Via my good buddy Adam comes this chuckle-worthy tale of... Donald Sensing: Glenn Reynolds links to a news story on The Times (UK) that tells of how Greenpeace's best-laid plans aft gang aglay Michael Jennings: An unnamed member of a group of Greenpeace activists, who failed to stop trading on the International Petroleum... |
Scott Burgess: As the Independent and Times both note, a performance of a similar type also came to a premature end yesterday - this... Dale Franks: Don't screw with petroleum traders — A Greenpeace protest at the International Petroleum Exchange in the City of London failed to go as planned. PoliPundit: Greenpeace Learns a Lesson — Once in a while, the good guys win: [snipped quote] (via NROTC) |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds, Jonah Goldberg, Orrin Judd | |
A hireling, a fraud and a prostitute By / Guardian — Permalink The White House press room has often been a cockpit of intrigue, duplicity and truckling. But nothing challenges the most recent scandal there. The latest incident began with a sequence of questions for President Bush at his January 26 press conference. | |
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Steve Soto: And Sidney Blumenthal of the Guardian has his take on this as well: "His real name, it turned out, is James Dale Guckert. |
Josh Marshall: But if it turned out that any other president — doesn't even have to be Clinton — had a ringer 'reporter' stationed in... |
Midnight cowboy in the garden of Bush and evil By / Salon — Permalink The White House press room has often been a cockpit of intrigue, duplicity and truckling. But nothing imagined on "The West Wing," or occurring before in the actual West Wing, challenges the most recent scandal there in phantasmagorical possibility. | |
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Atrios: Sid Blumenthal: Thus a phony journalist planted by a Republican operation, used by the White House press secretary to... Zoe Kentucky: Why "GannonGuckertGate" really does matter — Sidney Blumenthal pulls together all the pieces. |
Kos @DailyKos: Update III: Sidney Blumenthal joins the party. |
U.S. May Force California to Call More School Districts Failures By / LAT — Permalink The Bush administration is pressing California to toughen its rules for identifying failing school districts — a change that could add 310 school systems to a watch list this year and eventually threaten the jobs of superintendents and school board members throughout the state. | |
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Jesse Taylor: No Kaplan Left Behind — No Child Left Behind. Onerous. Draconian. Bad. |
Orrin Judd: VOUCHERS FOR EVERYONE: U.S. May Force California to Call More School Districts Failures (Duke Helfand, February 17,... |
Commentator Caught Up in Controversy Tries to Move On By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 - Armstrong Williams, his career as a conservative commentator tainted by the disclosure that he was paid to promote government policy, is trying to move past the controversy that has come to define him in recent weeks. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Williams Says It Was His Idea — Commentator Armstrong Williams, the first involved in the pundit payola scandal, told... Michelle Malkin: ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS PLAYS THE RACE CARD — In an interview with the New York Times, [snipped quote] Oy vey. |
Jesse Taylor: The Hard Path Towards Racial Bullshittery — Armstrong Williams has all of a sudden become an Exploited Black Man. |
Poll Shows Americans Are Wary Of Bush's Plans for Social Security By / WSJ — Permalink WASHINGTON — Americans remain wary of President Bush's idea for overhauling Social Security, but show increasing confidence over developments in Iraq, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found. | |
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Jon Henke: Of course, at this point, all of this may be academic, since — per a recent WSJ/NBC poll — "51% Americans consider it... |
Josh Marshall: The new — Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows some good news for the president on Iraq and very bad news on Social Security. |
The Beltway Has a Pulse ABCNEWS — Permalink The third Tuesday of every month, The Note gathers a representative sample of the Gang of 500 into the back room at Capitol Hill's Bistro Bis to discuss the state of play in American politics. | |
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Howard Kurtz: You might have thought the SS debate was just heating up, but The Note, convening numerous members of the Gang of 500,... Patrick Ruffini: But today's Note is a bit much for my tastes: [quote] Last night's group was more than "representative" — we had 344 of the...[end quote] Joe Drymala: Gilded — How remarkably free of irony: "The third Tuesday of every month, The Note gathers a representative sample of... |
Steve Soto: Democrats' Truth Squad Pushback Forces Bush To Backtrack On Social Security Taxes — If you wanted proof that the... Matthew Yglesias: Damn It Feels Good To Be A[n Associate] Gangsta — I have to say that I find the Note's tongue-in-cheek approach to... |
News about Iraq goes through filters By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink How is it that more than 40 percent of Americans still believe Iraq has weapons of mass destruction even though President Bush personally has admitted there are none? How is it possible that millions of Americans believe the recent election in Iraq showed that Iraqis are in favor of the ongoing occupation of their country? | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Read This — In tomorrow's Seattle Post-Intelligencer, by Dahr Jamail, an independent reporter covering the Iraq war:... |
Greg Ransom: Well, it's already happening in the left-wing Seattle P-I, where Dahr Jamail, "an independent reporter covering the Iraq... |
Vermonters from both parties back Jeffords By / AP — Permalink MONTPELIER, Vt. — Sen. James Jeffords may be a man without a party, but he has plenty of high-powered friends. Facing his first re-election bid since leaving the Republican Party, the Vermont independent on Wednesday got an endorsement from Sen. Patrick... | |
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K. J. Lopez: JEFFORDS GETS LOTS LOVE — Yes...Vermont sounds like bike-path hell. |
Taegan Goddard: Jeffords Wins Support From Both Sides — Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT) has been endorsed for Senate by former Vermont Gov... |
Palestinian Cops Can't Stop Militants By / AP — Permalink KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Palestinian policemen, who have been given the task of restraining militants, say they can't or won't do the job. Interviewed at their front-line positions, some say they feel sympathy for the gunmen, while others fear getting shot at by Israeli troops. | |
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Damian Penny: But the agreement is worthless if Palestinian "security forces" are not going to take action against Hamas and other... |
Charles Johnson: The Palestinian Peace Process — Palestinian Cops Can't Stop Militants. Color me surprised. |
Clear Channel Rules the World By / City Pages — Permalink Take a tour around downtown Minneapolis,and at various points you're going to come across something related to Clear Channel Communications. Flip on your car radio, and you'll probably tune in one of seven radio stations it owns. | |
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Tom Biro: Clear Channel's Twin Cities "roots" — City Pages' G.R. Anderson, Jr. gives Clear Channel Communications a thorough... |
Barry L. Ritholtz: Source: Clear Channel Rules the World G.R. Anderson Jr. City Pages Media, February 16, 2005 http://citypages.com/data bank/26/1263/article12961 . asp |
CIA issues warning on China's military efforts By / Financial Times — Permalink The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency has warned that China's military modernisation is tilting the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait and increasing the threat to US forces in the region. | |
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Richard TPD: And now we come at last to China. |
Robert Tagorda: The Growing Chinese Threat — CIA Issues Warning on China's Military Efforts (FT) "The director of the US Central... |
Lebanon unites in show of grief and anger at Hariri's funeral Telegraph — Permalink Lebanon, for so long a symbol of bitter division, joined in a moving display of national unity yesterday as Rafik al-Hariri, the murdered former prime minister, was buried before hundreds of thousands of mourners in Beirut. | |
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Captain Ed: Hariri Funeral Unites Lebanese Factions — Against Syria — Whether or not Syria plotted the carbombing that killed... |
Betsy Newmark: If Syria was behind the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri, the former President of Lebanon, they probably didn't expect... |
The CBS Three Won't Slink Off; Hiring Lawyers By / New York Observer — Permalink On Jan. 10, when the 224-page report on the investigation into CBS News' 60 Minutes Wednesday memo scandal arrived, CBS president Leslie Moonves issued a statement dwelling on the failures of the employees involved in producing the disputed segment. | |
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Scott Sala: Rescuing CBS — This morning's New York Observer has a great article outlining the recent legal action being taken by the CBS producers who were asked to resign over Rathergate. Eason: Dont go their, girlfrend. Dont go their. Update: Well, i gess I could have used this news last week. Crap. Captain Ed: CBS News Faces Legal Nightmare — The New York Observer reports this morning that CBS may be facing the nightmare it hoped most to avoid. |
Paul @Wizbang: Things are Getting Interesting at CBS — Drudge has 2 headlines tonight: ASKED TO RESIGN, 3 AT CBSNEWS HIRE LAWYERS... Michelle Malkin: CBS: MORE MSM MELTDOWN NEWS — You've seen the NY Observer piece on CBS's meltdown. Charles Johnson: CBS Three Refuse to Resign — Here's the New York Observer article by Joe Hagan (previewed by Drudge yesterday), about... |
| Also: Bill @INDCJournal, Jeralyn Merritt, Roger L. Simon, James Joyner, The Big Trunk, Brian Stelter, Kevin Aylward, Ace, Glenn Reynolds | |
UN inspectors 'spent their days drinking' By / Telegraph — Permalink UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet believed to be smuggling goods for Saddam Hussein, a former senior inspector told the US Senate yesterday. | |
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Scott Sala: The trail of Oil-For-Food keeps stretching out, spanning not just corrupt UN officials in charge of the program, but now... Charles Johnson: UN Inspectors: Drunken Dopes — According to a former senior inspector, the life of a United Nations inspector in... McQ: For instance: "UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet... |
Captain Ed: UN Inspectors Drinking On The Job: Telegraph — In a further demonstration of the folly of a UN sanctions regime that... Roger L. Simon: Kojo's Mojo — Apparently Kojo Annan's company Cotecna was in the crossfires again yesterday of the Senate investigation... Michelle Malkin: Update: Meanwhile, in Iraq, U.N. inspectors spent their days boozing... Update II: More Congo coverage at Strategy Page. |
| Also: Pejman Yousefzadeh, Stephen Green | |
Dean: New York GOP chairman must apologize or resign By / Newsday — Permalink Howard Dean, just four days into his job as Democratic National chairman, called Wednesday for New York's state Republican chairman to apologize or resign over remarks linking Democrats to a civil rights lawyer convicted of aiding terrorists. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Check out this AP account: "Howard Dean, just four days into his job as Democratic National chairman, called Wednesday... Armando @DailyKos: Next from the NY State GOP Chair: "[T]he Democrats simply have refused to learn the lessons of the past two election... Orrin Judd: PUBLICIZING YOUR OWN NEGATIVES: Dean: New York GOP chairman must apologize or resign (MARC HUMBERT, February 16, 2005,... |
Chris Bowers: He actively opposes America. The New York State Republican Party is the party of the Lackawanna Seven. Joe Gandelman: GOP Foot-In-Mouth In NY — This time a GOPer put his foot in his mouth — and talking about the Howard Dean scream... Josh Marshall: Took a look, you'll see what I mean. |
James Roosevelt Jr: Hume's "outrageous distortion" of FDR "calls for a retraction, an apology, maybe even a resignation" Media Matters for America — Permalink MSNBC host Keith Olbermann and former Social Security associate commissioner James Roosevelt Jr. examined how FOX News Washington managing editor Brit Hume and other pundits distorted a quote by Roosevelt Jr.'s grandfather, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in order to claim that the former president would have supported privatizing Social Security. | |
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Kos @DailyKos: Time for Hume to call it quits — From Media Matters: [quote]James Roosevelt Jr: Hume's "outrageous distortion" of FDR "calls...[end quote] Atrios: Now we have Brit Hume clearly deliberately distorting something FDR said, and several other Foxmonkeys following suit. |
Kevin Drum: QUOTING FDR...FDR's grandson, James Roosevelt, was on Keith Olbermann's show last night to say that Fox News anchor... Oliver Willis: FDR's grandson on Brit Hume's malicious distortion of his grandfather's words: [snipped quote] Video here. |
Gonzales Seeks to Reinstate Obscenity Case By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Wednesday it would seek to reinstate an indictment against a California pornography company that was charged with violating federal obscenity laws. It was Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' first public decision on a legal matter. | |
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Richard TPD: Predictable: Bush & Co. cracking down on pornography — This could be the start of a showdown. Stephen Green: Global War on Porn — Alberto Gonzales is barely moved into his office, and already his priorities are out of whack:... Oliver Willis: Gonzales Seeks to Reinstate Obscenity Case [snipped quote] Gotta appease the far religious right, nevermind the first amendment. |
Orrin Judd: BUCKING FOR A PROMOTION: Gonzales Seeks to Reinstate Obscenity Case (MARK SHERMAN, 2/16/05, Associated Press) [snipped quote] Somebody has his eyes on the Court. Susan Madrak: So first Alberto Gonzales acts to stomp out hallucinogenic tea, and now he's going to protect us from sex: [snipped quote] Oh, good. |
Rep. Ford will run for Frist's seat The Hill — Permalink Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) is expected to announce next week that he will run for the Senate, seeking to replace Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) when he retires in 2006. | |
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Chris Lawrence: F-Unit for Senate — The Hill reports that Harold Ford, Jr. will be running for the Democratic nomination in the... Bill Hobbs: Senate Race: Ford Jr. Will Run — The Hill reports that U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. plans to run for the senate seat being vacated next year by Sen. Bill Frist. Taegan Goddard: Ford to Announce Senate Bid — Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN) "is expected to announce next week that he will run for the... |
Kos @DailyKos: But if we must take him out, we will. Meanwhile, Rep. Harold Ford is running for Senate. James Joyner: Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. to Run for Frist's Seat — Rep. Ford will run for Frist's seat (The Hill) [snipped quote] Ford is a... Orrin Judd: SWITCH, THEN FIGHT: Rep. Ford will run for Frist's seat (Bob Cusack and Hans Nichols, 2/16/05, The Hill) |
| Also: SK Bubba | |
GOP operative accused of theft By / Las Vegas Review-Journal — Permalink The young Nevada man designated to chair the upcoming 2005 Young Republican National Convention in Las Vegas has been accused of embezzling registration fees from around the country to pay off bar tabs, personal loans and credit card debts. | |
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Cookie Jill: reviewjournal.com imagine what fun these folks could have with "privatized" social security accounts. Taegan Goddard: GOP Operative Accused of Theft — The chairman of the upcoming Young Republican National Convention in Las Vegas has... |
Kos @DailyKos: GOP thief — This guy is off to a great start as a future Republican VIP, straight from the DeLay school of politics: [snipped quote] Republican leadership material. Oliver Willis: GOP Starts 'Em Out Young — Republicans GOP operative accused of theft [snipped quote] (via PW) |
Cato Policy Report Vol. XXVII No. 1 By / Cato Institute — Permalink In the spring of 1845, Karl Marx wrote, ". . . the human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of social relations." Marx's idea was that a change in the "ensemble of social relations" can change "the human essence." | |
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Arnold Kling: Evolutionary Psychology and Economic Behavior — Will Wilkinson writes, "What evolutionary psychology really helps us to... Greg Ransom: WHAT EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY tells us about capitalism — Will Wilkinson explains it all for you. Julian Sanchez: Will Wilkinson has penned a good survey of what evolutionary psychology can tell us about human nature and capitalism. |
Radley Balko: Evolutionary Capitalism — Will Wilkinson's superb cover piece in the new Cato Policy Report glances off one of my... Will Wilkinson: Capitalism and Human Nature — The new Cato Policy Report is out, and the lead article is something I've written on what evolutionary psychology can tell us about capitalism. |
When Good News Feels Bad By / New York Magazine — Permalink After the blizzard and before the fashion shows, you may have heard, the elections in Iraq went off extremely well. Remember? Or, like most New Yorkers, perhaps you let that fact slide from your consciousness as quickly as possible . . . | |
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Kos @DailyKos: Shifting goalposts — The good libertarian Julian Sanchez writes: "The attitude expressed in this column seems to be... Tom Smith: NY liberals are in a bind and I don't care — If New Yorkers are so smart, why aren't they smart enough to figure out that they aren't any smarter than most people? Norm Geras: Conflicted New Yorkers — There's a terrific piece in New York Metro by Kurt Andersen. You should follow the link and go read it all. |
Todd Pearson: Fast forward to 2005, and I direct you to this article from a New Yorker. John Hawkins: Author Kurt Anderson in the New York Metro starts off (after a short intro), explaining how liberals think they're... Donald Sensing: Well, I told you so — Kurt Andersen has a piuece in New York Magazine titled, [snipped quote] [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds | |
A New Model Army Soldier Rolls Closer to Battle By / NYT — Permalink The American military is working on a new generation of soldiers, far different from the army it has. "They don't get hungry," said Gordon Johnson of the Joint Forces Command at the Pentagon. "They're not afraid. They don't forget their orders. | |
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McQ: Robo War — The description of America's future soldier: [quote] "They don't get hungry," said Gordon Johnson of the Joint Forces Command at the Pentagon.[end quote] Stephen Green: General Robbie/Admiral Rosie — I'd read the Army robots story already, but reader Todd Pearson highlighted a line I'd... |
James Joyner: Robot Soldiers Close to Battle Roll-Out — A New Model Army Soldier Rolls Closer to Battle "The American military is... Sadly, No!: Well, now we know why the scientists keep making them: "The American military is working on a new generation of soldiers, far different from the army it has. |
Reid, Pelosi plan shake-up By / The Hill — Permalink Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), the Democratic leaders of the Senate and House, plan to shake up the Democratic political consulting community and break the grip that a small number of consultants have had on strategy and contracts, party sources say. | |
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Chris Bowers: In Alexander Barton's article "Reid, Pelosi plan shake up," which ran today in The Hill, the following passage appears: ... Taegan Goddard: Reid, Pelosi Plan Shake Up — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)... Kos @DailyKos: Reid and Pelosi target consultants — Encouraging: [snipped quote] Moving in the right direction, though the article... |
Sam Rosenfeld: While Amy Sullivan reports that Joe Hansen — the bete noire of her recent piece on the inbred Democratic consultant... Steve Soto: It looks like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are about to follow Amy Sullivan's advice, and the reinforced message from... Ezra Klein: The Flight of the Consultant Class — Well this is positive: [snipped quote] Amy Sullivan should be proud. |
| Also: Josh Marshall | |
Blast reported in southern Iran CNN — Permalink (CNN) — A large blast has been reported near the southern Iranian port city of Dailam, in the province where the country has a nuclear power plant, according to Iranian state television. | |
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Jan Haugland: Reported blast near Iranian nuclear facility — Dramatic report from Iran: A large blast has been reported near the... James Joyner: CNN: "Senior Israeli security sources told Reuters news agency that Israel's military was not involved in any blast in Iran. Pejman Yousefzadeh: AND WHILE WE ARE ENGAGED IN INVESTIGATIONS . . . What is this? |
Kevin Aylward: That prospect seems unlikely, though if you see a story along the lines of this: babymilkfactory.jpg You can be pretty... Tom Maguire: Accidents Will Happen - II — North Korea - Iran - Smart Spears. 'Nuff said. MORE: No, it was not 'nuff. Just an accident? Tom Tomorrow: Uh oh — [snipped quote] Story. |
CIA Conspiracy Theorist By / Weekly Standard — Permalink MICHAEL SCHEUER has uncovered "the most successful covert action program in the history of man." Or, at least that's what he told an audience at Council on Foreign Relations in New York City on February 3. | |
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Eric Soskin: Thomas Joscelyn wrote a good article at the Weekly Standard discussing them earlier this week: "His first accusation is a serious one, but it is also a matter of evidence. Deacon: No longer anonymous but still goofy — Thomas Joscelyn for the Weekly Standard has an excellent piece about something that caught my eye a day or two ago. Cori Dauber: Hubris Indeed — Some important comments about the author of Imperial Hubris. |
James Joyner: Thomas Joscelyn has a piece today at the Weekly Standard website about a recent appearance by Imperial Hubris author Michael Scheuer at the Council on Foreign Relations. Roger L. Simon: Power Line's Deacon Read My Mind... ... when he commented this morning on Thomas Jocelyn's article on Michael Scheuer. Pejman Yousefzadeh: MICHAEL SCHEUR IS A BIZARRE MAN — As this article reinforces. |
Iran, Syria 'form common front' BBC — Permalink Iran and Syria say they are to form a common front to face challenges and threats from overseas. "We are ready to help Syria on all grounds to confront threats," Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref said after meeting Syrian PM Naji al-Otari. | |
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Jan Haugland: Now Iran, the preeminent state sponsor of terrorism in this world, has announced that Iran and Syria will form a common front against overseas "threats." Colt: ; UN report on A-Q bases in Africa; and much more. read the rest! » IRAN Iran will aid Syria against challenges and threats. Charles Johnson: Iran Backs Syria — Tension with Syria is escalating rapidly, as the mad mullahs of Iran vow to back the Ba'athist regime: Iran to aid Syria against threats. |
Steve Soto: And Iran came out today and said it would assist Syria to defend itself against any attacks as well. Swell. Judith Weiss: . . And look, here come Iran and Russia, tentatively bluffing behind Syria. But the assassination has galvanized Lebanon. |
Yep, life'll burst that self-esteem bubble By / USA Today — Permalink Andrea Sobel shudders at those oh-so-positive messages aimed at boosting kids' self-esteem. No sense of entitlement: Andrea Sobel gives her twins chores to do around the house. | |
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Jay Tea: Teaching the wrong lessons — USA Today has an article about a study that the big push towards boosting children's self-esteem of the 80's wasn't such a good idea, after all. Orrin Judd: THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY—EARN IT (via mc): Yep, life'll burst that self-esteem bubble (Sharon Jayson, 2/15/05, USA TODAY)... |
Joanne Jacobs: The self-esteem bubble — When the going gets tough — in college or on the job — young people with inflated self-esteem fall apart, says a USA Today story. |
For Democrats, Rethinking Abortion Runs Risks By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 - In their search for middle ground on the subject of abortion, Democrats are encountering a mixture of resistance and retreat from abortion rights advocates in their own party. | |
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Noam Scheiber: Still, I didn't appreciate just how vulnerable anti-abortion groups were on this point until I read the following in today's New York Times: [snipped quote] Takes no position? Nathan Hallford: The Dems and Abortion: The NYT reports Democrats are trying to rethink their stance on abortion, in some instances, by... |
Steven Taylor: The Democrats and Abortion — The NYT has an intersting piece on abortion and the Democratic Party this morning: For... Orrin Judd: THE BIKE PATH TO HELL IS PAVED WITH DEAD BABIES: For Democrats, Rethinking Abortion Runs Risks (DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK,... |
MARX BROTHER New York Post — Permalink February 16, 2005 — DETHRONED New Jersey Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka proved to be his lovable blasphemous, inflammatory self at the Town Hall New Federal Theater celebration. "We cannot be tricked by the recurrent minstrel show," the former LeRoi Jones told adoring listeners. | |
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Baldilocks: Well, it could have happened. Why else would he be so rabid? Jeff Quinton: Ex-N.J. poet laureate at it again — Page Six [snipped quote] More on his previous activities at LGF |
Michelle Malkin: AMIRI BARAKA MOUTHS OFF AGAIN — Via the NY Post and Jeff Quinton, we learn that "poet" Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones has... |
Outside View: Betting on the Band-Aid? UPI — Permalink FAIRFAX, Va., Feb. 15 (UPI) — Welcome to 2005, the International Year of Microfinance. At least, that's how the United Nations is billing it. That's right. This is the year that all eyes and all checkbooks will be focused on beefing up microfinance programs around the world. | |
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Will Wilkinson: Microfinance and Institutions — Steve Daley and Brian Hooks, my former colleagues at the Mercatus Global Prosperity... |
Arnold Kling: Capital vs. Institutions — Stephen Daley and Brian Hooks write, [snipped quote] For years, development economists believed that the problem with poor countries was lack of capital. |
Iran, Syria to Form 'United Front' AP — Permalink TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran and Syria, who both are facing pressure from the United States, said Wednesday they will form a "united front" to confront possible threats against them, state-run television reported. | |
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Stephen Green: Now they're cooperating even more closely: [snipped quote] So, we have yet another news story which really isn't news. |
Wind Rider: Seems like the Syrians , and the Iranians, have decided to bluster and bumble a bit "Iran, Syria to Form 'United Front'"... |
Iran TV: Suspicious blast likely accidental AP — Permalink TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian state television reported Wednesday that an explosion near the town of Deilam, about 60 miles from a nuclear facility, may have been caused by a fuel tank dropping from an Iranian plane. | |
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Jan Haugland: Also check out MSNBC): State-run television then quoted a top security official as saying the blast was caused during the construction of a dam, The Associated Press reported. Tom Maguire: 'Nuff said. MORE: No, it was not 'nuff. Just an accident? Uh, huh. |
Damian Penny: The Iranians say an "unknown aircraft" fired a missile at an area near one of their nuclear power plants this morning. Glenn Reynolds: HMM: [snipped quote] — UPDATE: Now they're saying it was a fuel-tank drop. |
Hannity on Gannon: "a terrific Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for Talon News" Media Matters for America — Permalink Conservative radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have cited Talon News, the online "news" organization that appears to be more of a Republican political advocacy group than a media outlet, and its former Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent, Jeff Gannon, as sources on their radio broadcasts. | |
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Steve Soto: He was a good acquaintence and source for the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. |
Digby: Update: Hannity was apparently very enthusiastic about Gannon's talents. Media Matters has the tape. |