meme orandum
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The Lexicon of Political Clout By / LAT — Permalink I've been a pollster and wordsmith for senators and CEOs for more than a decade, and I have a particular interest in language. What words do people understand? What's the clear, common-sense way to say what you mean? And how can politicians best educate and express their ideas? | |
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Ezra Klein: His op-ed in the LA Times isn't even the sort of thing you can rebut, you can only point out the slime oozing off every word. Mipe @ThinkProgress: Painting himself as just a "pollster and wordsmith" who happens to "have a particular interest in language," Luntz... Taegan Goddard: Luntz Responds — In the Los Angeles Times, GOP strategist Frank Luntz responds to the leak of his strategic playbook... |
Tarek @LiquidList: Finally, staring into the eyes of pure evil, we return to the LA Times editorial page for some advice from chief demon Frank Luntz. EDM Staff: GOP Spin Doctor Defends Euphemisms — Connoisseurs of political spin are directed to "The Lexicon of Political Clout" by... Norbizness: Shorter Frank Luntz (The Lexicon of Political Clout): (a) Stop calling me Orwellian, or I'll go all Room 101 on your... |
| Also: Yuval Rubinstein, Kos @DailyKos | |
What's Left? Shame. By / WaPo — Permalink At his news conference on Wednesday, President Bush declined an invitation to claim vindication for his policy of spreading democracy in the Middle East. After two years of attacks on him as a historical illiterate pursuing the childish fantasy of Middle East democracy, he was entitled to claim a bit of credit. | |
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Roger L. Simon: Which Side Are You On - The Truth — Many people have linked today's piece by Charles Krauthammer — arguably the... John Hawkins: Charles Krauthammer has the details: "...(G)oing back at least to the Spanish Civil War, the left has always prided... Jeff Goldstein: Instapundit offers sound advice to those hand-wringers planning to attend tomorrow's anti-war protests marking the second anniversary of the start of the Iraqi military campaign. |
Avedon Carol: Krauthammer has another grossly dishonest piece of junk at the WaPo, which for the most part is just too tiresome to... Glenn Reynolds: I'm not expecting that. But at least some people are marking the occasion in suitable fashion. Atrios: Projection Much? Jesse brings us Krauthammer's latest. |
| Also: The Big Trunk, Jesse Taylor | |
Judge Blocks Removal of Schiavo's Feeding Tube By / AP — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A state judge on Friday temporarily blocked the removal of the feeding tube for severely brain-damaged Terri Schiavo as legal wrangling continued over efforts by congressional Republicans to keep her alive. | |
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Joe Gandelman: On the other hand, this won't the first time a brain-damaged person has appeared before Congress... UPDATE: Now a... Kriston @BeggingToDiffer: DNR, THANKS — Let this serve as a reminder to have your DNR orders (or DR orders, if such exist) drawn now, lest you... Kevin Drum: TERRI SCHIAVO...I realize that Terri Schiavo has long been one of those weird obsessions that grips the Christian right... |
James Joyner: WaPo adds: "The judge's order came during a telephone conference call in which an attorney for Michael Schiavo —... Ezra Klein: So tell me how they can possibly justify following up their subpoenas to Major League Baseball with yet more subpoenas... |
'Don't Kick It' By / Opinion Journal — Permalink It appears we've reached the pivotal moment in the Terri Schiavo case, and it also appears our politicians, our senators and congressmen, might benefit from some observations. In America today all big stories have three dimensions: a legal angle, a public-relations angle and a political angle. | |
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Vanderleun: Eliot, East Coker, Four Quartets AS CONGRESS MOVES INTO RECESS FOR THE HOLIDAY THAT CELEBRATES THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE... Steve M.: Shorter Peggy Noonan: Bill Frist has more of a right to decide Terri Schiavo's fate than her lawful husband whose... K. J. Lopez: Peggy Noonan has a piece just up on Terri Schiavo, lighting a little fire perhaps, giving some good guys an extra nudge,... |
Ace: Noonan: GOP Will Pay a Price — Even cynical motives shoud animate them to act: [snipped quote] If they were acting with... Michelle Malkin: Drudge is keeping on top of all the latest legal developments and also points to Peggy Noonan's piece on the political implications of Terri's case. |
Lawmaker Seeks to End Sexy Cheerleading By / AP — Permalink AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders. Legislation filed by Rep. Al Edwards would put an end to "sexually suggestive" performances at athletic events and other extracurricular competitions. | |
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Charles Bird: And showing that idiocy is a bipartisan trait, a Texas legislator wants to regulate "sexually suggestive" cheerleading:... Jackie D: Gimme an F...Gimme a U... If you were annoyed at the support being shown for state regulation of fashion modelling, check out what they want to do to cheerleading. James Joyner: Texas Lawmaker Seeks to End Sexy Cheerleading — Now that all remaining problems with crime, education, roads, and other... |
Acidman: When I first read this story, I was all set to ride off on high horse and call that puritanical old fuddy-duddy a perverted little asswipe. Joe Gandelman: In the Isn't There Any Area Of Modern Life In Which Some Politician Doesn't Want To Insert Government Control Department... Radley Balko: There Oughtta Be a Law — Texas: [snipped quote] Thanks to Thomas Pearson for the tip. |
Congress Moves to Halt Feeding Tube Removal in Florida By / NYT — Permalink MIAMI, March 18 - Washington lawmakers continued the struggle this morning to prevent doctors in Florida from removing a feeding tube this afternoon from a severely brain-damaged woman. | |
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Jack Balkin: The Schiavo controversy, the pro-life movement, judicial restraint, and federalism JB I've been following the... Kevin Aylward: Anyone who violates this law is subject to criminal fines and imprisonment.There's no indication that the removal of the... Oliver @LiquidList: Politics: End Run — Senator Cat Killer is a real ass. [snipped quote] Sounds like someone requested a legal memo from Alberto Gonzales. |
Orin Kerr: UPDATE: A story in the New York Times suggests that Congress is attempting to justify the subpoena under the... Venkat @BeggingToDiffer: According to this NYT article: [snipped quote] The Times probably got Ms. Schiavo and her parents mixed up and mistakenly paraphrased Mr. Frist's quote. |
Castro angry over Forbes listing Reuters — Permalink HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) — Cuban President Fidel Castro has criticized Forbes magazine for the "infamy" of listing him among the world's richest people, with a net worth of $550 million. | |
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Brian Micklethwait: It being a CNN report about how Forbes has included Fidel Castro in its list of the world's richest people, and about how Fidel Castro is not amused. Roger L. Simon: If not, why did he go up from a 150 millionaire to a 550 millionaire in the latest Forbes listing of rich despots... scratch that... world leaders in one year? Glenn Reynolds: RUINING CASTRO'S STREET CRED: [snipped quote] Heh. But Cuba has free health care! (Via '08). More background here. |
Joe Gandelman: Fidel Castro is furious and an threatening to sue Forbes magazine (we would love to sit in the courtroom on that one) for ranking him among the world's richest people. Pejman Yousefzadeh: I find this story heartily amusing: [snipped quote] Amusing, but not surprising. Tyler Cowen: How to anger Fidel Castro — [snipped quote] Here is the full story. |
No End to the Abortion Wars By / Newsweek — Permalink March 18 - Condeleezza Rice says she is "mildly pro-choice," a position that dooms her candidacy for president in the Republican Party. No matter how high her spike heels, it's too big a reach for her to get the Republican nomination without being strongly pro-life anymore than somebody who is not pro-choice getting the Democratic nod. | |
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Patrick Ruffini: Rudy or Condi Can Win — The idea that Condi and Rudy are automatically disqualified from the nomination because of... Kevin Drum: RICE FOR PRESIDENT?...Eleanor Clift finally says the obvious about the possibility of Condi Rice running for president... |
Judith Weiss: [quote] Condeleezza Rice says she is "mildly pro-choice," a position that dooms her candidacy for president in the Republican Party.[end quote] |
Schiavo feeding tube reported removed MSNBC — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - The feeding tube for Terry Schiavo, a seriously brain-damaged woman, was removed Friday, an attorney involved in the case told NBC News, despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to keep the woman alive. | |
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Tom @Corrente: Shameless Demagoguery — Showing they have no sense of decency, prominent Republicans in the U.S. Congress have insinuated themselves into the Schiavo case. Michelle Malkin: Meanwhile, Blogs for Terri is still pinning hopes on the Florida state legislature. Read more here. |
Baldilocks: Aunt was never left alone.) What's being done to Terry Schiavo is barbaric, criminal and evil. Plain and simple. |
A Haircut in Iraq Can Be the Death of the Barber By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 17 - It was almost closing time in Sadiq Abdul Hussein's barbershop when a man in a black mask walked in, pulled out a pistol, and began spinning it on his finger, cowboy style. The gunman was not after government officials or American collaborators. | |
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Paul @Wizbang: New York Times a Month Behind — There was a shocking story on the front page of the NY Times today: A Haircut in Iraq... Ann Althouse: Murdered for the "spiky" and the "carr." Terrorists in Iraq are murdering barbers for giving Western-style haircuts. |
James Joyner: A Haircut in Iraq Can Be the Death of the Barber (NYT p. 1 rss) [snipped quote] What's astounding is that they are... |
George F. Kennan Dies at 101; Leading Strategist of Cold War NYT — Permalink George F. Kennan, the American diplomat who did more than any other envoy of his generation to shape United States policy during the cold war, died on Thursday night in Princeton, N.J. He was 101. | |
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Gary Farber: He did more good than harm. There's worse epitaphs. Times obit here and WashPo here. Orrin Judd: MORE: GEORGE F. KENNAN | 1904-2005: Diplomat Was Architect of U.S. Cold War Policy (Jon Thurber, March 18, 2005, LA... James Joyner: Cold War Strategist George F. Kennan Dies at 101 — George F. Kennan, the American diplomat who authored the "Containment" policy that shaped U.S. Cold War policy, has died. |
Matthew Yglesias: Kennan Dead — I've been so busy making sloppy blog errors, reading about Charles' sloppy house-burning erros, and... The Big Trunk: The New York Times obituary quotes Yale historian John Lewis Gaddis, Kennan's authorized biographer: "He'll be remembered as a diplomatist and a grand strategist of the cold war. Riggsveda @Corrente: They Make The Mess; You Have To Keep Cleaning It Up — So George Kennan has died. |
| Also: Joe Gandelman, Gregory Djerejian, Daniel Drezner, Stirling Newberry, Orin Kerr, Matt Welch, Michael Young, Jeff Quinton | |
Poll shows French cooling on EU treaty Financial Times — Permalink France's political elite was stunned on Friday by an opinion poll that showed for the first time a majority of voters opposed the European Union constitutional treaty. Jacques Delors, former president of the European Commission, warned of a "political cataclysm" if France voted No to the constitution in a national referendum on May 29. | |
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Jan Haugland: French poll: NON to EU constitution — A recent poll has shocked the europhile French elite: French President Jacques... |
Judith Weiss: . . . RELATED: Heh. |
Republicans call for change in tactics on Social Security reform By / The Hill — Permalink To pass Social Security reform this year, top Republican strategists say, President Bush and the GOP-led Congress must redirect the debate by stressing that their plan includes a crucial safety-net protection. | |
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PGL: GOP Social Security Proposal: Upside Gain and Downside Protection — Republican strategists call for this change in... |
Matthew Yglesias: The Hill reports that some conservatives have devised a plan to revive the ailing cause of privatization . . . magic! |
Outsider Forged Cold War Strategy By / WaPo — Permalink George F. Kennan, a diplomat and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who formulated the basic foreign policy followed by the United States in the Cold War, died last night at his home in Princeton, N.J. He was 101. | |
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Scott Wickstein: His archaic philosophy of life explains why he never went on to bigger and better things; JY Smith, writing the... James Joyner: Other coverage: Outsider Forged Cold War Strategy (WaPo) George Kennan, Leading Cold War Diplomat, Dies (Reuters)... Cori Dauber: An Era Passes — George Kennan, author of the Long Telegram, passes. |
Orrin Judd: Outsider Forged Cold War Strategy (J.Y. Smith, March 18, 2005, The Washington Post) "His confidence in his own... Pejman Yousefzadeh: IN MEMORIAM: GEORGE KENNAN — A very good remembrance can be found here. Daniel Drezner has a very good commentary as well. |
The Ugly American Bank By / NYT — Permalink You can say this about Paul Wolfowitz's qualifications to lead the World Bank: He has been closely associated with America's largest foreign aid and economic development project since the Marshall Plan. I'm talking, of course, about reconstruction in Iraq. | |
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Jon Henke: Sadly, given a choice between standing up for free markets, and taking a shot at a Bush administration official, I... Rickheller @Centerfield: Wolfowitz At The World Bank — Paul Krugman is highly biased against the Bush Administration, but his current piece... Mary @LeftCoaster: Free Market Freefall — Paul Krugman notes that the Bush administration has succeeded in guaranteeing that much of the... |
Avedon Carol: In the press — Krugman says the appointment of Paul "the Iraq war will pay for itself" Wolfowitz to head the World Bank will turn it into The Ugly American Bank. Steve Antler: I think this is an important editorial. |
Texas Lawmaker Says Cheerleaders Shouldn't Be Shaking Their Behinds By / AP — Permalink AUSTIN, Texas Mar 18, 2005 — The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders. Legislation filed by Rep. Al Edwards would put an end to "sexually suggestive" performances at athletic events and other extracurricular competitions. | |
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John Hawkins: I Will Texas Democrat Al Edwards — and you can tell he's a Democrat because he's proposing something embarrassing and... |
Joanne Jacobs: Don't shake that booty — A Texas legislator wants to ban "sexually suggestive" cheerleading routines. |
Judge: Keep Schiavo Feeding Tube in Place By / AP — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - A state judge on Friday temporarily blocked the removal of the feeding tube for severely brain-damaged Terri Schiavo as legal wrangling continued over efforts by congressional Republicans to keep her alive. | |
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Norbizness: In light of this week's Congressional expeditions into the silliest of national minutiae... — an 11-hour... Steve Bainbridge: Terri Schiavo — A judge has refused to stay the removal of Terri Schiavo's breathing tube despite the Congressional efforts on her behalf. |
Steve M.: And see the last sentence of this AP story. |
Wolfowitz Loves Chicken Farmers By / Slate — Permalink A convention in modern journalism dictates that when reporters and editors grant news sources anonymity, the story should explain why the person couldn't be named. | |
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Dan Froomkin: There's more in his Slate articles yesterday and today. Garrett M. Graff: Jack Shafer continues his crusade with a look at some of the anonymous sources used in yesterday's major papers and... |
Tarek @LiquidList: I quoted Jack Shafer's amusing anecdotes and tough jabs at the Times. It would appear I scooped Shafer at his own game. |
House Panel Seeks to Keep Schiavo Alive By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Working against the clock, House lawmakers tried to prevent doctors in Florida from removing the feeding tube Friday from a severely brain-damaged woman. | |
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Clayton Cramer: Clever Use of Subpoena Power — Congress is ordering Terri Schiavo to appear as a witness! Laura Rozen: As a tactic to prevent doctors from removing her feeding tube, Congressmen have subpoenaed Terri Schiavo in her hospital bed. Jeff Quinton: Congress subpoenas Terri Schiavo — Drudge [snipped quote] UPDATE: More from ABC News. |
Ace: Maybe More Promising: Sounds like it will be hard to rule against the request for a stay of judgment K. J. Lopez: THE HOUSE has not given up yet on Terri Schiavo. |
Brain-Damaged Woman's Feeding Tube Removed By / AP — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to save the severely brain-damaged woman. | |
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Clayton Cramer: This was the judge, discussing the efforts of Congress to subpoena Terri Schiavo so that she doesn't starve to death. |
Steve M.: Update: Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by... |
Afghan Crime Wave Breeds Nostalgia for Taliban By / WaPo — Permalink KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — "We are savage, cruel people," the kidnappers warned in a note sent to Abdul Qader, demanding $15,000 to spare the life of his son Mohammed, 11. The construction contractor quickly borrowed the money and left it at the agreed spot. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Why Bushies Are Losers — [snipped quote] If you owe a balance on your federal income tax this year, why don't you just... Nick Gillespie: Meanwhile, Back in Kandahar... The Wash Post reports on trouble brewing in Afghanistan, a country whose place names have... |
Cori Dauber: This Story Is Not the Problem — The Post reports that although there's no question that things are better for people... Tim Graham: GOLDEN DAYS OF DICTATORSHIP — From the same liberal media folks who gave you syrupy tales of people wishing for the... |
Andre Norton Dies at 93; a Master of Science Fiction By / NYT — Permalink Andre Norton, a prolific and popular science-fiction and fantasy writer whose central theme was the rite of passage to self-realization undertaken by misfits or displaced outsiders, died yesterday at her home in Murfreesboro, Tenn. She was 93. | |
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Dean Esmay: More On Andre Norton by Dean The New York Times today has a much better summary of Andre Norton's life and work than what I linked yesterday. |
Gary Farber: ANDRE NORTON MADE IT INTO THE TIMES, which is nice, with this Christopher Lehmann-Haught obit. Read The Rest Scale: 3 out of 5. |
Congress Seeks Order to Keep Schiavo Alive Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers said on Friday they plan to issue a congressional subpoena to keep alive Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman at the heart of a heated debate over the right to die. | |
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Tim Cavanaugh: The three House Republicans are now asserting their constitutional authority to keep Terri Schiavo eating. Acidman: What in the hell is the US Congress doing getting involved in this matter? Don't they have anything better to do with their time? |
Abel Harding: Congress; however, has now indicated that they will intervene by issuing a subpeona for Ms. Schiavo to appear before a Congressional hearing. |
Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube Removed Fox News — Permalink The feeding tube that has kept a severely brain-damaged Florida woman alive for the past 15 years was removed Friday afternoon. An attorney for Terri Schiavo's (search) parents, who have led the fight for more than a decade to keep their daughter alive, told FOX News at around 3:20 p.m. EST that the tube had been removed. | |
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Kevin Aylward: Greer determined that it should go forward about an hour after another judge issued a temporary delay blocking the... |
La Shawn: Terri Schiavo Will Starve to Death — Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed today, despite her parents' efforts to keep her alive. |
Two Years Later NYT — Permalink The invasion of Iraq, which began two years ago this weekend, was a world-changing event. We can see many of the consequences already. The good ones, so far, exist mainly as hopes and are fewer than the bad ones, some of which are all too concrete. | |
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Tom Maguire: After the elections in the US, Palestine, and Iraq, the NY Times editors seem to have emerged from their bunkers, and,... |
Glenn Reynolds: "DO TELL," indeed. |
Un-Volunteering: Troops Improvise to Find Way Out By / NYT — Permalink The night before his Army unit was to meet to fly to Iraq, Pvt. Brandon Hughey, 19, simply left. He drove all night from Texas to Indiana, and on from there, with help from a Vietnam veteran he had met on the Internet, to disappear in Canada. | |
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Baldilocks: A New Word — Un-volunteering. When certain groups want to white-wash ugly character traits such as cowardice,... Cori Dauber: Another Deserter Story — I guess it's the month for deserter stories; today the Times has a story on soldiers using... Jo Fish: Those who don't want to go back — Soldiers who have been there and done that, and some who don't want to. |
Captain Ed: However, when a handful of American servicemen attempt to evade the service for which they volunteered, they splash that... James Joyner: Un-Volunteering: Troops Improvise to Find Way Out (NYT rss) [snipped quote] If, in fact, there are no more cases—or,... Michelle Malkin: A NEW EUPHEMISM FOR DESERTING — Check out the New York Times' bleeding heart profile of military deserters. |
In Blow to Bush, Senators Reject Cuts to Medicaid By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 17 - The House and Senate passed competing versions of a $2.57 trillion budget for 2006 on Thursday night. The two chambers provided tens of billions of dollars to extend President Bush's tax cuts over the next five years, but differed sharply over cuts to Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: The Senate also passed both an amendment to raise the five-year cap on discretionary spending by $5.4 billion and... Dr. Steven Taylor: (And Other Tales from the Legislature) Via the NYT: In Blow to Bush, Senators Reject Cuts to Medicaid "The House and... |
Avedon Carol: Headlines — Sometimes it's like we just live in an odious cartoon: In a surprise move, the Senate also voted to approve... |
North Korea: 'Human scum' Bolton is 'worst' UN envoy World Tribune.com — Permalink North Korea blasted President Bush's appointment of Undersecretary of State John Bolton, one of the toughest critics of Pyongyang, as new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying he would only raise tensions in the international community. | |
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Scott Sala: International Insults — When North Korea calls John Bolton "human scum" and a "bloodsucker," I can't help wishing I knew insults in Korean. |
Jeff Goldstein: The [snipped quote] post — From the World Tribune (via Drudge): [snipped quote] Hmm. Not too far removed from the reaction of some Democrats, actually. |
Congress to Call Schiavo as Witness Reuters — Permalink Mar. 18, 2005 - Shortly before a feeding tube was to be removed from a brain-damaged Florida woman, U.S. lawmakers on Friday called on Terri Schiavo to appear before congressional committees in an attempt to keep her alive. | |
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Steve M.: The latest in the Terri Schiavo case is that a Florida judge has delayed removal of her feeding tube — shortly after this cheap little stunt took place in D.C. |
John Cole: Much to my shock and disbelief, certain elements within my party have decided that this is a case that they need to... |
The steroids hearing should be out at first By / Chicago Tribune — Permalink It was said of one member of Congress that the most dangerous place in Washington was between him and a television camera. The same is true, though, of many of his colleagues, past and present. | |
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Robert Clayton Dean: Now the US Congress, apparently not satisfied with embarrassing itself* in its ongoing investigation into steroid use in... Glenn Reynolds: STEVEN CHAPMAN: [snipped quote] Indeed. |
Howard Kurtz: Chicago Tribune's Steve Chapman whacks Congress: "We're at war in Iraq, at war in Afghanistan, threatened by Al Qaeda,... |
Left Behind NYT — Permalink ! Peter Beinart, the editor of The New Republic; Michael Tomasky, the executive editor of The American Prospect; and Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor of The Nation, are three leading voices for liberalism today. | |
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Michael Berube: The Beinart Effect — In my characteristically belated, catching-up kind of way, I've finally decided what I think of... |
Michael Bérubé: In my characteristically belated, catching-up kind of way, I've finally decided what I think of that New York Times... |
Last-ditch bid in right-to-die case CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — Employing an "extraordinary congressional" maneuver, House Republican leadership early Friday made a last-ditch effort to keep doctors from removing Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Schiavo is scheduled to have her feeding tube removed at 1 p.m. today, under court order. | |
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Mary Madigan: The Courage of their Convictions by Mary Madigan Via CNN [snipped quote] Good for the House Republicans. |
Orin Kerr: Congressional Subpoenas And State Court Orders: In a last-ditch effort to block a state court order mandating the... |
Funding Scarce for Export of Democracy By / WaPo — Permalink In the weeks after a popular uprising toppled a corrupt government in Ukraine, President Bush hailed the so-called Orange Revolution as proof that democracy was on the march and promised $60 million to help secure it in Kiev. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: The sudden post-September 11 conversion of the American right to messianic global humanitarianism has been a sight to... |
Cori Dauber: But I guess some lessons just have to be relearned over and over and over. |
Secret US plans for Iraq's oil By / BBC — Permalink The Bush administration made plans for war and for Iraq's oil before the 9/11 attacks, sparking a policy battle between neo-cons and Big Oil, BBC's Newsnight has revealed. | |
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Edward _: US Oil Industry Running the Show in Iraq — By Edward A report by the BBC's Greg Palast on Newsnight indicates that US... Kevin Drum: PRIVATIZING IRAQ....Via Juan Cole, it looks like Greg Palast has an interesting new bit of muckraking airing tonight on the BBC. |
Avedon Carol: Palast was on Newsnight with a segment on the Secret US plans for Iraq's oil: The Bush administration made plans for war... Juan Cole: The BBC Newsnight reports the titanic struggle between the Neoconservatives and Big Oil over Iraqi petroleum. |
Wolfowitz Discusses World Bank Mission with Bono Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Paul Wolfowitz, whose nomination as World Bank president has stirred controversy, discussed poverty and development issues with Irish rock star Bono in two phone conversations on Thursday, an adviser said. | |
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Steve Clemons: It Must be All OK Now. . .Right? nixon.jpg Wolfowitz calls Bono. Nixon made small talk with Elvis — but it didn't make it right. |
Scott Sala: Smart — Move. |
Fake Cable Labeled Writer a Spy for Iraq By / WaPo — Permalink Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to produce a document accusing journalist and activist William Arkin of serving as a spy for Saddam Hussein. The Pentagon says the supposed Defense Intelligence Agency cable is a forgery. | |
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Garrett M. Graff: In one of the more bizarre stories of the morning, buried at the bottom of the Style front, Howard Kurtz tells us a... Maya: CHAOS IS ORDER — Oh, jeez, where do I even START with this one? |
Laura Rozen: Scary forgeries. |
Lawmakers Widen Schiavo Right-To-Die Fight By / AP — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - As a deadline loomed, U.S. Senate Republicans sought to keep severely brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive Friday with an invitation to bring her to Washington, and an attorney for her parents said they hoped the move would buy them more time. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Dramatic Congressional Intervention In Terri Schiavo Case — The case of Terri Shiavo, the brain-damaged woman who is at... |
Captain Ed: Florida Judge Issues Stay (Updated) A Florida circuit court has issued an injunction prohibiting the removal of Terri... |
Mr. Magoo goes to the World Bank By / Salon — Permalink The nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to be president of the World Bank, following his commission of a long and costly series of blunders as deputy secretary of defense in George W. Bush's first term, comes as no surprise to those familiar with his career. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Via Suburban Guerilla, however, I see a Michael Lind Salon article which quite correctly points out that the Wolfowitz... Steve Clemons: Here is the juicy beginning, but the whole piece is available at Salon: [snipped quote] There is a lot cooking on the... Maya: THE FAMOUS ADVENTURES OF MR. WOLFOWITZ — Michael Lind at Salon compares Wolfowitz to Mr. Magoo: [snipped quote] The entire piece is worth including here, but I know I'd lose you. |
Riggsveda @Corrente: The first is Mr. Magoo goes to the World Bank, a very funny bit by Michael Lind that starts off with this: [quote] "Wolfowitz is the Mr. Magoo of American foreign policy.[end quote] Laura Rozen: Update: More on the Wolfowitz nomination from Jason Vest, Michael Lind, and Joe Conason. Atrios: The Problem With Wolfowitz — He's craptacular! |
Feeding-Tube Case Roils Washington and Florida NYT — Permalink MIAMI, Friday, March 18 - Despite last-ditch efforts by Republicans in Washington and Tallahassee, Congress and the Florida Legislature failed to pass measures Thursday to halt the removal of a feeding tube from Terri Schiavo, a critically brain-damaged woman, on Friday. | |
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Richard Reeb: In the meantime, doctors and other parties in Florida may be subpoenaed by a House committee. |
Nico @ThinkProgress: No. The actual debate is this: Schiavo's doctors say she is in a "'persistent vegetative state,' meaning damage to her... |
Summers vote roils Harvard By / Boston Globe — Permalink The high drama of Tuesday's no-confidence vote in Harvard University president Lawrence H. Summers has left the faculty bewildered. The move was not only a surprise to almost everyone on campus, but virtually unprecedented at a major research university, so there is no blueprint for what happens next. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: THE HARVARD FACULTY is beginning to realize that actions have consequences: [snipped quote] Harvard has done serious... |
Stanley Kurtz: HARVARD — The Harvard faculty wakes up to the fact that they are destroying their own university. |
Humvee crashes perplex Army By / USA Today — Permalink The Army is baffled by a recent spate of vehicle accidents in Iraq — many of them rollovers involving armored Humvees — that have claimed more than a dozen lives this year. | |
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Paul @Wizbang: Humvee crashes perplex Army By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY The Army is baffled by a recent spate of vehicle accidents in... |
James Joyner: Humvee crashes perplex Army (USA Today) [snipped quote] Obviously, there are many factors at work here. |
The Fire in Iran NRO — Permalink ISFAHAN — Iranian authorities beat up and tear gassed exuberant young revellers as they breathed new life into a pre-Islamic fire festival with a night of dancing, flirting and fireworks. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY — That's what Michael Ledeen urges the Bush Administration to do regarding the opportunity to bring about democratic change and reform in Iran. |
Steve Antler: Also Sprach Zarathustra — More demonstrations. Or is it partying? |
Head scratcher By / Salon — Permalink Taken at face value, the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz to run the World Bank is mystifying. The sudden elevation of the controversial deputy secretary of defense has elicited both cynical speculation and naive rumination. | |
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Juan Cole: Wolfowitz's Plot to Destroy OPEC — And Why it was always Ridiculous Joe Conason presents some excellent reasons why Paul Wolfowitz should not head the World Bank. |
Riggsveda @Corrente: Joe Conason's aptly named Head Scratcher hits the same note, but in a more sober assessment of Wolfie's financial acumen... |
McGwire is a bashed brother By / Boston Globe — Permalink FORT MYERS, Fla. — Say it ain't so, Mark. Or say it is so. Just answer the question. And don't consult with your lawyer before answering. At the end of baseball's dark day on Capitol Hill yesterday, Mark McGwire was forever tarnished in the eyes of the nation. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Let's go to the columnists. The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy: "Say it ain't so, Mark. Or say it is so. |
Orrin Judd: McGwire is a bashed brother (Dan Shaughnessy, March 18, 2005, Boston Globe) "At the end of baseball's dark day on... |
Europeans Resist Wolfowitz for World Bank WaPo — Permalink Battle lines hardened yesterday over President Bush's nomination of Paul D. Wolfowitz to become president of the World Bank, as U.S. officials pressed for swift approval by the bank's board and some European officials vowed to resist. | |
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Rickheller @Centerfield: Update: According to Britain's former secretary of international development, and Iraq War opponent Clare Short, the... Roger L. Simon: Wolfowitz Derangement Syndrome — It's hard to believe that the Europeans could be so reactionary and, well, racist as... |
Tim Graham: LOVE, WOLFIE — The new left-wing line aimed at stopping the Paul Wolfowitz nomination at the World Bank is...he has a romantic relationship with a World Bank employee?? |
The Syrians Slip Away By / WaPo — Permalink The most frightening spot in Beirut over the past 20 years was Syrian intelligence headquarters at the Beau Rivage hotel. This was a place most Lebanese mentioned only in whispers. | |
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Cori Dauber: Well, luckily David Ignatius of the Post bothered to keep his eye on the ball. |
The Big Trunk: Krauthammer's column must be supplemented by the reporting in David Ignatiius's companion piece: "The Syrians slip away." |
McGwire Offers No Denials at Steroid Hearings By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 17 - Mark McGwire, one of the top home run hitters in baseball history, refused repeatedly during a Congressional hearing Thursday to say whether he used steroids while he played. Two other star players testified that they had not used steroids. | |
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Charles Bird: Governmental Meddling in Sports by Charles Yesterday, a group of millionaires—most of whom are or were articially... Matthew Yglesias: 'Roid Rage — Speaking of conservative unseriousness is there really nothing better for the House of Representatives to be doing than this stunt? Gregory Djerejian: A Query — Can someone please explain to naive, plebe B.D. why we have full-blown Congressional hearings underway about this but not this? |
Harry Shearer: Eerie similarity between — Mark McGwire at the baseball hearing—"I'm not here to discuss the past"—and Porter Goss... David Allan Pell: NYT: McGwire Offers No Denials at Steroid Hearings WP: McGwire Doesn't Give Answers to Committee ESPN: McGwire admits... |
Dirty Footprints By / Newsweek — Permalink March 17 - President Bush must be feeling so victorious. The Senate has now said yes to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—the pristine place President Eisenhower took measures to protect in 1960. | |
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The Big Trunk: Joe Bob says check it out — For expert commentary on the Senate vote authorizing drilling in ANWR yesterday, Newsweek... PoliPundit: Now that ANWR exploration has passed the Senate, Davis is "weeping": [snipped quote] What a lovely two-fer! |
Joe Gandelman: Reagan's Daughter Blasts George Bush On ANWR Drilling — President Ronald Reagan's daughter Patty Davis has issued a... |
13 things that do not make sense By / New Scientist — Permalink DON'T try this at home. Several times a day, for several days, you induce pain in someone. You control the pain with morphine until the final day of the experiment, when you replace the morphine with saline solution. Guess what? The saline takes the pain away. | |
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Tom Maguire: Things To Think About — A collection of thirteen puzzles to occupy your weekend. Orrin Judd: HERESIES: 13 things that do not make sense (Michael Brooks, 19 March 2005, NewScientist.com) "1 The placebo effect DON'T try this at home. |
Tyler Cowen: 13 scientific puzzles — Read them here. My favorite: [snipped quote] Here is one more puzzle on string theory, courtesy of Craig Newmark. |
The Schiavo Case WaPo — Permalink CONGRESS DOES NOT generally smile these days on the power of the federal courts to review alleged constitutional errors by state courts. In 1996 it imposed significant procedural barriers for inmates who want their claims examined — even inmates who might face execution and those who might be innocent. | |
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K. J. Lopez: CONSERVATIVES AND TERRI SCHIAVO — Andy McCarthy responds to the Washington Post's editorial today here. |
Oliver Willis: From Friday's WaPo editorial [snipped quote] The Republicans were for states rights and limited government before they were against them. |
Questions Left by C.I.A. Chief on Torture Use By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 17 - Porter J. Goss, the director of central intelligence, said Thursday that he could not assure Congress that the Central Intelligence Agency's methods of interrogating terrorism suspects since Sept. 11, 2001, had been permissible under federal laws prohibiting torture. | |
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Armando @DailyKos: CIA Torture Policy — Porter Goss basically admitted that the CIA used torture: [snipped quote] The Bush Adminsitration... |
Kevin Drum: MORE TORTURE....From congressional testimony today: [snipped quote] Well, at least he's honest about it. It's a start. |
Sizable Cut in U.S. Forces in Iraq Called Possible in '06 By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 17 - The Army's second-ranking general said Thursday that the number of American troops in Iraq would probably decline by early 2006, largely because of post-election progress in combating insurgents and training more Iraqi troops to take over security duties. | |
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McQ: According to top army generals, it may be sooner, rather than later, that we see significant troops cuts in Iraq. |
Jo Fish: November 2006 are the mid-term elections. 2008 we get to toss the drooling idiot onto the pay-for-blather circuit, and... |
Fla. Lawmakers Battle in Right-To-Die Case By / AP — Permalink TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Working on at least four fronts, lawmakers and lawyers in Florida and in Washington raced to prevent the removal of a brain-damaged Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, but their options appeared to dwindle Thursday as the hours slipped away. | |
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Kevin Aylward: Battle To Save Terri Schiavo Shifts To Washington — Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is set to be removed at 1:00 pm, barring last minute reprieves. |
Ace: Killing Terri — Unless something incredibly dramatic happens, at 1 p.m. tomorrow they'll begin starving Terri Schiavo to death. |
'Something was going to happen - it was going to be me or him' Times of London — Permalink DAYS before Rafik Hariri's assassination last month, the Lebanese politician had played host to Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader, at his mansion in west Beirut. Mr Hariri had a warning for his old friend: the Syrians were after them. | |
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Jan Haugland: Times: Syria killed Hariri — The London Times has conducted an investigation into the killing of Rafik Hariri, and... K. J. Lopez: "TO THEM (THE SYRIANS), WE ARE ALL ANTS" the London Times is certain Syria killed Hariri. |
Orrin Judd: FITTING THE NOOSE: 'Something was going to happen - it was going to be me or him': An investigation by The Times finds... |
McGwire Refuses to Say if He Took Steroids AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Lined up shoulder to shoulder, some of baseball's biggest stars told Congress Thursday that steroids are a problem for the sport but denied that use is widespread. Mark McGwire, whose prodigious home runs helped fuel a surge in baseball's popularity, refused to say whether he took the drugs. | |
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Jack Cluth: Just another stop on Jose's book-promotion tour — This Is Your Hot Fabulous Self On Drugs Congress Suggest National... |
Michele Catalano: the truth would be nice simp5.jpg [snipped quote] [episode 228] reference |
BUYING 'REFORM' By / New York Post — Permalink CAMPAIGN-FINANCE reform has been an immense scam perpetrated on the American people by a cadre of left-wing foundations and disguised as a "mass movement." But don't take my word for it. | |
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Juan Non-Volokh: The Campaign Finance Conspiracy: Ryan Sager makes some explosive charges about the campaign-finance reform "movement" in the New York Post. Kevin Aylward: Why Campaign Finance Reform Would Not Pass Today — Ryan Sager's column in the New York Post on (and his companion piece... Captain Ed: Ryan Sager Updates The Money Trail — I received several e-mails yesterday regarding this excellent Ryan Sager follow-up... |
Avedon Carol: Well, maybe it was this. Yes, I can believe they were this stupid. Tom Maguire: Buying Campaign Finance Reform — Ryan Sager of the NY Post peeks behind the curtain of campaign finance reform: [snipped quote] Lots of reaction at Memeorandum. Nathan Newman: What is Brad Plumer thinking, echoing a rightwing attack on progressive groups receiving foundation money for campaign finance reform? |
| Also: Hugh Hewitt, Julian Sanchez, Radley Balko, Dale Franks, Pejman Yousefzadeh, The Big Trunk, Stuart Buck, Tully @Centerfield, Rich Lowry, Glenn Reynolds | |
Torturing Terri Schiavo NRO — Permalink She'd be better off if she were a terrorist. A few months back, I wrote an article for Commentary arguing that we ought to reconsider our anti-torture laws. The argument wasn't novel. | |
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Michelle Malkin: SAVING TERRI SCHIAVO TUBE REPORTEDLY REMOVED; PRAY FOR TERRI — In case you missed it, Andy McCarthy's brilliant piece... Jesse Taylor: Reduction Of Life — You know, Andrew McCarthy makes a fantastic case for humane euthanasia today. Captain Ed: If so, McCarthy asks today, how do we explain the treatment Florida has in mind for Terri Schiavo? |
Ace: Another Update: Via American Digest, this piece by Andrew McCarthy: Torturing Terri: [snipped quote] And Still More here.... required reading about the actual facts of the case. Lorie Byrd: If you have not read much about this case, do so NOW and then ACT. Time is running out for Terri. More: Here and here, and the latest, here. Vanderleun: Intellectually Insane — How Many ACLU Lawyers Will Oppose This Torture? [snipped quote] If your answer is "Less than zero," you are correct. |
| Also: K. J. Lopez | |
Rahm plots '06 attack on ethics By / The Hill — Permalink Democratic House leaders are casting about for squeaky-clean congressional candidates — even if they're long shots — to challenge prominent GOP incumbents who have been tainted by news reports of their allegedly unseemly connection to lobbyists. | |
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McQ: Ethics attacks: The New Democrat Strategy for Congress — Apparently Rham Emanuel is looking for a few good Democrats Ezra Klein: With DeLay sinking ever deeper in his ocean of ethical violation, DCCC chief Rahm Emanuel has decided to capitalize: ... Taegan Goddard: House Democrats See Ethics as Key Issue — House Democratic leaders "are casting about for squeaky-clean congressional... |
Sam Rosenfeld: This is all heartening enough, but even more so are the new reports on the Democrats' nascent strategy to weave all of... James Joyner: Rahm plots '06 attack on ethics (The Hill) [snipped quote] This was indeed a key part of the Gingrich strategy that worked so brilliantly in 1994. Kos @DailyKos: (Lack of) Ethics in the House Looks like the DCCC plans on making the GOP's utter lack of ethics in the House a major campaign theme in 2006. |
| Also: Chris Andersen | |
On Leon Kass and Bioethics By / TCS — Permalink There have been criticisms of Leon Kass and his chairmanship of the President's Council on Bioethics from several quarters. Some people think he opposes medical therapies, others that he tolerates abortion, and still others that he chairs a council that is of one mind. | |
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Deacon: In fact, James Q. Wilson, who has served on the council since its creation, states that all arguments have been heard... Glenn Reynolds: JAMES Q. WILSON IS DEFENDING LEON KASS, saying that the Bioethics Council is a model of procedural fairness: "I have... |
Iain Murray: David and Goliath? Well, I appear to be engaged in a battle with the great James Q Wilson. Ramesh Ponnuru: JAMES Q. WILSON defends Leon Kass. |
Where's the outrage on torture? By / Boston Globe — Permalink IN AUGUST 2003, when he was commander of the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Major General Geoffrey Miller visited Baghdad with some advice for US interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: Jeff Jacoby has another column worth reading. I see now that Porter Goss will not deny that the CIA has deployed illegal methods of torture in the last three years. Dale Franks: Jeff Jacoby notes that yet another report about the torture of detainees in the war on terror has come out. |
Barbara O'Brien: And speaking of torture, Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe (who can usually be counted on for knee-jerk support of all... Atrios: A Sentence I Never Thought I'd Write — "If only more conservatives were as sensible as Jeff Jacoby..." |
The Way of the Woman NRO — Permalink The continuing debate over the female commentariat. Add this to the failings of former New York Times editor Howell Raines: Maureen Dowd gave him the chance to drop her from the op-ed pages in 1996, six months after she started the job, and he didn't take it. | |
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Kevin Drum: Over at NRO, though, Cathy Seipp blames the problem on women themselves: "The uncomfortable fact is that women just seem less interested in politics than men. |
Eugene Volokh: "Underrepresentation" of Women as Columnists: Cathy Seipp has an interesting, original, and highly readable piece on the subject. |
Reporters still anything but shy at news conferences By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — Judging from President Bush's news conference Wednesday, an uproar that followed a question he got in January hasn't made reporters shy about asking potentially controversial questions. Among Wednesday's exchanges: Bush: "That's an interesting start." | |
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Dan Froomkin: Over in USA Today, Mark Memmott noted New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller's question to Bush as evidence that... Garrett M. Graff: Memmott contrasts NYT's Bumiller's toughie with WT's Bill Sammon's softie, and lo and behold, finds both questions valid. |
Tom Maguire: How Soon They Forget — Elisabeth Bumiller of the Times attracted attention at yesterday's Presidential news conference... Steve Bainbridge: The Wolfowitz message — An exchange from yesterday's Presidential press conference: [snipped quote] Click here for my take on the signal it sends the world. |
PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT FROM "COVERING PHILANTHROPY AND NONPROFITS BEYOND 9/11" New York Post — Permalink The following is a partial transcript of remarks made by Sean P. Treglia, a former program officer for Pew Charitable Trusts, at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication on March 12, 2004, at a conference titled, "Covering Philanthropy and Nonprofits Beyond 9/11." | |
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Juan Non-Volokh: Portions of the tape transcript are on-line here. In addition, Sager cites a report by Political Money Line on the "campaign finance lobby." Stuart Buck: (See here and here.) |
Julian Sanchez: Go read the whole thing, though I've got to cite some bits of surprising candor of an ex-Pew employee from a transcript... |
A New Boss for the Bank WaPo — Permalink PRESIDENT BUSH'S nomination of Paul D. Wolfowitz as World Bank president has raised predictable hackles, at home and abroad. As deputy defense secretary, Mr. Wolfowitz has been a prime architect of the administration's Iraq policy and is seen as the personification of the "neoconservatism" that is little understood and yet much criticized all over the world. | |
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Wretchard: Let the spinnin' wheel spin — The two stories were related somehow, the nomination of Paul D. Wolfowitz for presidency... Captain Ed: Unfortunately, the Washington Post doesn't do much better in its endorsement of Wolfowitz. |
Joe Gandelman: But the Washington Post, in an editorial, urges everyone to take a nice, deep breath: "But this hostility is mostly unjustified. Scott Sala: A WaPo article claims tours of devestated tsunami areas helped push Wolfowitz to make the career change. |
Why Paul Wolfowitz? NYT — Permalink When asked why he had nominated Paul Wolfowitz, a chief architect of the Iraq invasion, as the next president of the World Bank, President Bush repeatedly pointed out that as deputy defense secretary, Mr. Wolfowitz had managed a large organization. | |
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Captain Ed: The New York Times and the Washington Post both editorialize on the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank. Scott Sala: ...Or perhaps the real reason for the move: Wolfowitz: World Bank ATMs in Every Poor Village Fictional versions from the NY Times and WaPo |
Joe Gandelman: And the Times notes that he has the President's trust — but in an editorial today the paper wonders why he was... Orrin Judd: WHAT ARE SECURITY AND POVERTY CONNECTED TO? : Why Paul Wolfowitz? |
Flannery O'Connor Country By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols were together for seven hours. This is Nichols's mug shot. This is Nichols's face after he gave himself up to police Saturday. This is from the transcript of Ashley Smith's testimony when she met with reporters in her lawyer's office on Sunday, March 13: | |
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Tbogg: It being St. Patricks's Day, Peggy Noonan started drinking a wee bit earlier than usual: It is an idiot's errand to follow such testimony with commentary. K. J. Lopez: THE ASHLEY SMITH STORY — Peggy Noonan writes on the love story that came out of the Atlanta escape/murders: ... Steve Bainbridge: Today's Must Read: Noonan on Smith — Peggy Noonan gets something right about the Ashley Smith story that most media... |
Ann Althouse: Peggy Noonan's column today reprints the entire transcript of Ashley Smith's description of her hostage experience: Noonan adds: [snipped quote] Noonan's absolutely right. Vanderleun: I'm not going to say any more than simply send you to "The amazing story of how Ashley Smith stopped Brian Nichols's... |
Annan's Bow at Arafat's Grave Sparks Outrage in City By / New York Sun — Permalink U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to lay a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat while on his way to the dedication of a Holocaust museum in Israel is infuriating New York politicians and Jewish leaders, some of whom are labeling Mr. Annan's gesture "outrageous," "grotesque," and an example of "mindless incompetence." | |
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Damian Penny: He couldn't resist — On his way to the opening of a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, Kofi Annan couldn't pass up the... Jan Haugland: Remembering Holocaust, Kofi Annan bows to Arafat — On his way to attend the dedication of a new Holocaust museum in... Orrin Judd: Annan's Bow at Arafat's Grave Sparks Outrage in City (MEGHAN CLYNE, March 17, 2005, NY Sun) "U.N. Secretary-General... |
McQ: Clueless in Jerusalem — If you've agreed to visit a country which is peopled by a race and religion which has undergone... The Big Trunk: A wreath for Yasser Arafat — The New York Sun's Meghan Clyne has rounded up an impressive set of quotes commenting on... James Joyner: Annan's Bow at Arafat's Grave Sparks Outrage in City (New York Sun) [snipped quote] It rather boggles the mind. |
THE ARNOLD REVOLUTION New York Post — Permalink WE'LL never change the Constitution to let him become president, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is conducting a one-man revolution aimed at providing presidential leadership. The East Coast media has missed the full dimensions of the California governor's accomplishments and bold proposals. | |
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AaronBurrFan @BOPNews: Dick Morris is right, us liberals are in trouble since Arnold seems to always promise candy and beer and no weight gain and that's our issue. |
Jeff Jarvis: No, the solution is supporting radical solutions, like new engines. Says Morris: "Start with the War on Terror. |
World Weed By / Slate — Permalink In the United States, possession and distribution of marijuana is nominally illegal. But you don't have to be Tommy Chong to know that pot's legal status is cloudy and confused. Growing and using "medical" marijuana is legal in 11 states, and in cities like San Francisco it's easy enough to find locally grown product. | |
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Jacob Sullum: It Worked for Gambling... Over at Slate, University of Virginia law professor Tim Wu speculates about the possibility of... |
Daniel Drezner: While trade is the subject of the day, it's worth pointing out that Tim Wu has a provocative story in Slate on an... |
School's stage was set for a stark lesson By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink Three invited pro-military speakers were shocked last Friday when they arrived for a West Seattle High student assembly to confront a theater stage strewn with figures costumed as Iraqi men, women and children splashed with blood. | |
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Michelle Malkin: SEATTLE STUDENTS HOST ANTI-WAR SPECTACLE — This is one of those stories you shouldn't read if you have high blood pressure: [snipped quote] Truly outrageous. Jayson @PoliPundit: Public Money "Education" — Over in the Emerald City, they're not even waiting until college to indoctrinate young minds... |
Captain Ed: The Al-Qaeda Bund Of West Seattle High — Michelle Malkin notices this disturbing story of political indoctrination gone awry at West Seattle High School. |
Senate Kills All Medicaid Cuts From Budget By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Thursday to strip all proposed Medicaid cuts from the $2.6 trillion budget for next year, jeopardizing the heart of the plan's deficit reduction in an embarrassing setback to President Bush and Republican leaders. | |
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Hindrocket: Today the Senate delivered a symbolic rebuke to the Bush administration's effort to make even token reductions in the... |
Atrios: Thanks Senator Smith — Kudos to Senator Smith for showing there's some humanity left on the other side of the aisle. |
The New Investor Class and Its Critics By / TCS — Permalink Most Republican strategists — and certainly the ones at the White House and the Republican National Committee — believe that the growth of the investor class is pulling American politics toward the free-market right and will continue to do so. | |
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Orrin Judd: The New Investor Class and Its Critics (Ramesh Ponnuru, 03/17/2005, Tech Central Station) [snipped quote] Pro-free market is the least of it. Ramesh Ponnuru: "THE NEW INVESTOR CLASS AND ITS CRITICS" is the title of an article of mine at TechCentralStation today. |
Steve Bainbridge: Investors and Politics — Apropos my post the other day on the politics of the ownership society, comes a very fine TCS... |
High and mighty Boston Phoenix — Permalink THERE ARE THREE questions people ask Rick Cusick when they learn he's an editor at High Times magazine. "How did you get your job at High Times?" "Can you get me a job at High Times?" | |
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Garrett M. Graff: Can you get me some weed? Answers to these and other fascinating questions tonight at 7 p.m. at the NPC. More details here. |
Rex Hammock: Magazine high life: From the Boston Phoenix: "There are three questions people ask Rick Cusick when they learn he's an editor at High Times magazine. " |
A Wink and a Fraud By / NYT — Permalink At the Gridiron Dinner in Washington on Saturday, where Old Media gently mocked politicians with corny songs, I sat next to a presidential gag writer, Landon Parvin. He was saying jokes work best when Republicans make fun of Republicans and Democrats make fun of Democrats. | |
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Tom Maguire: It's Maureen's World — Ms. Dowd continues her in-depth coverage of her favorite topic - herself: [snipped quote] Who knew Bush could say so much with just a wink? Tim Dunlop: Hey, Senator McCain — A note of thanks from President Bush for all the help you gave him during the November campaign,... |
Orrin Judd: QUEEN OF COMEDY: A Wink and a Fraud (MAUREEN DOWD, 3/17/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] One of the stranger uses Ms Dowd... |
Secretary of Spin? By / WaPo — Permalink I have only a glancing acquaintance with George Bush's good friend Karen Hughes. I met her on the first Bush presidential campaign and was awed by her uncanny ability to answer a question over and over again, each time with the same inflection, volume and, of course, words. | |
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Deacon: Richard Cohen offers a way to make this happen. President Bush has nominated his friend Karen Hughes to be Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy. |
Lambert @Corrente: Bubble Boy: Dear Leader's "Town Halls" on Social Security Phase-out — Richard Cohen: [snipped quote] Nice snark! |
Not apathy, but anger By / Guardian — Permalink General election campaigns have degenerated into an exchange of personal abuse which puts most people off; a flurry of election promises marketed by high-pressure salesmen; and the usual solemn warnings about apathy - as if the real problems in Britain were caused by the inactivity of the people, rather than the activity of the parliamentarians. | |
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Harry @HarrysPlace: Pro-war demo — Norm spots a classic example of Stopper mythology in Tony Benn's piece in the Guardian today. |
Norm Geras: Tony Benn today: [snipped quote] Isn't that so true? |
Senate kills plan to cut Medicare benefits AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — The Senate voted today to strip all proposed Medicaid cuts from the $2.6 trillion budget for next year, killing the heart of the plan's deficit reduction and dealing an embarrassing setback to President Bush and Republican leaders. | |
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Max B. Sawicky: BUSH BUDGET BONKED — Led by Gordon Smith (R-OR), the Senate voted 52-48 to reject the Bushists' proposed cuts in Medicaid — the health care program for the poor. |
Sam Rosenfeld: Meanwhile, for further illustration that confusion between the programs "Medicare" and "Medicaid" is widespread, deeply... |
An American Perspective on the British Press Slate — Permalink "Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked a tabloid editor at the British Press Awards last night. Sweat blossoming across his face, his table strewn with empty bottles of wine, he had to think for a moment before answering. "Not fantastically," he said, "because we never win." | |
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Harry @HarrysPlace: The Fourth Estate — A New York Times journalist attends the British press awards and gives us a rare glimpse into the... |
Gary Farber: IT'S THE BRITISH PRESS AWARDS, YOU TWAT! Ah, yes, respectable journalism: [snipped quote] Wise, wise, words. |
In Schiavo Feeding-Tube Case, Notoriety Finds Unlikely Judge By / NYT — Permalink MIAMI, March 16 - For most of his career, Judge George W. Greer presided over mundane local disputes that drew little notice outside Pinellas County or even his courtroom. People who know him say he considers himself a "compassionate conservative," a man whose religious faith is as dear to him as his reputation as a legal scholar. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: The New York Times also turns its attention to the Terry Schiavo case, and presents a sympathetic portrait —of the judge! Oliver @LiquidList: Well, two can play that game. Lefkow. Barnes. Greer. When the President assaults the judiciary, America assaults the judiciary. |
Barbara O'Brien: The judge who ordered her feeding tube to be removed has received so many death threats from the pro-lifers (I'll pause... |
Ancient Greeks balls it up By / Guardian — Permalink Some may dismiss the outer reaches of academic inquiry as a load of bollocks, but connoisseurs of improbable research will appreciate the sheer scholarly precision that informs seminal papers such as "Right-left and the scrotum in Greek sculpture". | |
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Harry Shearer: A reader sends along this, which suggests that left-right dichotomies are possibly more significant than one might imagine just from watching Crossfire. |
Kevin Drum: UPDATE: In other gender related semi-news, the Guardian reports today on the 2002 Ig Nobel Prize winning paper, "Right-left and the scrotum in Greek sculpture." |
Alaskans Wary of Vote on Oil Drilling By / AP — Permalink JUNEAU, Alaska - The tiny north coast town of Kaktovik officially supports responsible development of oil and gas. But many reacted warily to the Senate vote to allow drilling in their back yard. Even with just 284 residents, Kaktovik is the largest town on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain. | |
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Ace: Oh, Boo-Hoo-Hoo, the Bears, the Bears... AP Nonsense: Alaskans fear oil exploration in ANWR. |
Mathew Gross: Alaskans Wary of Senate Vote — This is invariably the case in the Inland Empire: even as a state's political leaders... |
Congress Opens Hearings on Steroid Use in Baseball By / NYT — Permalink Saying that young people look up to professional athletes, members of a House committee investigating steroid use said today that Major League Baseball has failed in its responsibility to stop the use of performance enhancing drugs and was encouraging their use among young athletes. | |
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Brooke @ThinkProgress: Today, members of the Government Reform Committee are fretting about the state of Major League Baseball, claiming they... |
John Cole: Grandstanding — The Congressional hearings on the use of steroids in baseball are inconsequential, pointless, unimportant, and nothing more than political grandstanding. |
Citizen's arrest attempt of Schiavo, judge By / WorldNetDaily — Permalink Former Green Beret Commander Bo Gritz is trying to conduct a citizen's arrest of Terri Schiavo's husband and the judge who ordered the brain-damaged Florida woman's feeding tube removed so she can be legally starved. | |
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David Neiwert: Namely, my old friend Bo Gritz, has leapt into the fray with a chorus of approval from World Net Daily and The Free... |
Steve M.: Gritz says the "arrest" is designed to allow officials additional options as the Florida governor and legislature... |