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Stock-Market Returns May Not Meet Bush's Social Security Hopes Bloomberg — Permalink March 28 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush, promoting his plan to set up private Social Security accounts, is betting that stock returns will remain strong even as economic growth slows. Economists and equity strategists aren't so sure. | |
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Patrick Ruffini: Not Republicans Lefty bloggers like Kevin Drum are jumping over this Bloomberg report suggesting that the implausibility... Dan Froomkin: 'I think it's very difficult for me to say today that we'll present a bill to the president.' " Alison Fitzgerald and... PGL: Sec. is Solvent The big news from this Bloomberg story is captured by its title: "Stock-Market Returns May Not Meet... |
Kevin Drum: Bloomberg surveyed 58 economists recently, and and 39 said no. And there's also this: [snipped quote] If that's really true, it's pretty stunning. Brad DeLong: Bloomberg reports: Bloomberg.com: News & Commentary: Productivity: Treasury's Snow says high stock-market returns will... |
Tsunami alerts follow 8.2 quake near Sumatra MSNBC — Permalink A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island late Monday, and officials warned that a tsunami could strike the area. Residents of Banda Aceh fled their homes in panic. | |
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Joe Gandelman: But, so far at least, this does not seem as if it's shaping up to be a re-run of the hideous tragedy that befell South... Jan Haugland: Update 6: No tsunami had been seen 90 minutes after the quake, but widespread reports of panic and people fleeing into the mountains all around the Indian ocean. Steve Bainbridge: With news of a major new earthquake off the Sumatra coast, it seems an opportune time to call to your attention the work... |
Bigwig: New Earthquake Off Indonesia 8.2 earthquake in Indonesia. At the moment it appears to be in almost the exact same spot as the December 2004 quake. Skippy: msnbc: a large earthquake was registered monday off indonesia's sumatra island, the u.s. geological survey reported,... K. J. Lopez: 8.2 EARTHQUAKE in Indonesia |
Rick Santorum Was Right NRO — Permalink Meet the future of marriage in America. I have seen the future of American family law, and her name is Elizabeth F. Emens. A whiz kid with a Ph.D. in English from Cambridge University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, Emens, who teaches the University of Chicago Law School, has published a major legal and cultural defense of polyamory (group marriage). | |
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Ben Glatstein: Kurtz and U of C Law — To build on Will's post, calling Kurtz's article bizarre is probably generous. Gary Farber: WHY, YES, ALONG WITH THE CULTURE OF DEATH, I AM FOR LEGAL POLYAMORY, and I laugh in the face of Stanley Kurtz, but... |
Will Baude: Another reader points out that Stanley Kurtz remains bizarrely fixated on his claim that the University of Chicago Law School is a haven of liberal thought. Greg Ransom: HERE COMES Constitutionally protected polygamy. File this one under I told you so. |
The National Press Club Welcomes ... Jeff Gannon? By / Editor and Publisher — Permalink NEW YORK Jeff Gannon is back — at the National Press Club? Yes, the same day that the prestigious Washington, D.C., journalism organization plans to present a lunch talk by former Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee, it will also allow the former White House reporter/sex site operator to be on a panel discussing bloggers and online journalism. | |
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Max B. Sawicky: If there were, perhaps I would be invited to yet another panel on blogging that does not include any political bloggers,... Laura Rozen: Promising to be less staid than the Brookings event on new media last week, 'Jeff Gannon' is apparently to appear at a National Press Club event on blogging and journalism. |
Susan Madrak: SUMMING UP THE STATE OF THE MEDIA — Because God knows there aren't any real bloggers they could have asked: [snipped quote] And by the way, I really like Wonkette. |
Strong Indonesia Quake Forces Evacuations By / AP — Permalink BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island late Monday, and officials issued a tsunami warning for as far away as Sri Lanka. Residents of Banda Aceh fled their homes in panic. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Earthquake Hits Indonesia And Sparks Tsunami Fears — A strong earthquake hit off the coast of Indonesia today but this... Jan Haugland: USGS has an updated page on this March 28 quake off Northern Sumatra. Update 5: Associated Press has more. |
Bigwig: Japan's Meteorological Agency is measuring the quake as an 8.5. — A description of the quake from a blogger in Penang, Malaysia. Edward _: Tsunami Alert — Not that there's anything we can do about it from here, but the U.S. Geological Survey has issued a... |
Anger at Bushes as time grows short for Schiavo By / USA Today — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A week ago, the demonstrators outside Terri Schiavo's hospice were mostly calm. They prayed, sang hymns and awaited word from protest organizers about legal developments in the case, hoping their presence might help save the brain-damaged woman. | |
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Kevin Aylward: Anger at Bushes as time grows short for Schiavo [USAToday] Kevin McCullough (WMCA New York) and is staff have produced... Joe Gandelman: George Bush's And Jeb Bush's Political Problem — Here's a development you might not have expected to see: the folks for... S.Z.: Wingnuts: a Two-Edged Sword From the USA Today piece Anger at Bushes as time grows short for Schiavo: Last week's... |
Dan Froomkin: Turning On Their Own Meanwhile, Larry Copeland writes for USA Today that the zealous protesters outside Schiavo's hospice are now turning against their former champions. Captain Ed: After spending Saturday taking phone calls on our radio show and reading today's USA Today article about the... James Joyner: Anger at Bushes as time grows short for Schiavo [snipped quote] These people represent a lunatic fringe, so I doubt these... |
| Also: Mary @LeftCoaster | |
The Stewards of Gay Washington By / WaPo — Permalink Sgt. Brett Parson rides in his cruiser, groggy and unshaven, gripping a chai latte between his kneecaps. He will crisscross the city several times before the night is over. More sociological than geographical, his beat is gay Washington. | |
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David Adesnik: This morning, the WaPo profiled Sgt. Brett Parson, the head of the DCPD Gay and Lesbian Liasion Unit. Gary Farber: Very nice piece on the D.C. Police Gay And Lesbian Liaison Unit: [snipped quote] Read The Rest Scale: 4 out of 5. |
Vanderleun: Drive-By — Quick Clicks "Cruiser 9670" - The Stewards of Gay Washington "Gay, gay, gay," Officer Joe Morquecho says. |
Indonesia earthquake damages buildings By / AP — Permalink Can Genentech Keep Its Glow? Does She Need a Corner Office? Best Funds? Look to the Best Managers | |
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Bigwig: Yahoo News photos of the earthquake. — Nias Island is among the most heavily damaged areas reported so far. Smash: 8.2 Quake off Sumatra — No Tsunami Reported THEY REALLY DIDN'T NEED THIS: [snipped quote] The panic may end up causing as much damage as the quake itself. |
Wind Rider: To survive the move, and then...then... Oh, you mean the whole another earthquake thing? Nah. Another one bites the dust. |
Congress Ready to Again Debate End-of-Life Issues By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 27 - After a string of fruitless legal and legislative efforts, the central question in the Terri Schiavo case - Who makes end-of-life decisions when the patient's wishes are disputed? - is headed back to Capitol Hill, where debate over broader legislation has already begun. | |
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Riggsveda @Corrente: In the NYTimes today, I rise to see this: "Congress Ready to Again Debate End-of-Life Issues" Not content to let this... Hugh Hewitt: By the way, in today's New York Times, yet another Congressman is quoted from yesterday's Sunday shows as advocating... Shawn @LiquidList: As evidenceed in this New York Times article, he's still going strong... [snipped quote] Frank was ready to launch a Senatorial bid in MA if Kerry won. |
Tom Maguire: Well, the NY Times has finally re-discovered Sen. Tom Harkin, a champion of rights for the disabled. Captain Ed: Congress To Debate Life And Death — After the passions have cooled a bit, Congress intends on taking up the central... |
Strong quake hits Indonesia coast BBC — Permalink A major quake in the Indian Ocean has hit the coast of the Indonesian tsunami-hit island of Sumatra, triggering alerts across the region. It struck just before midnight local time, with an estimated magnitude of 8.2, and caused widespread panic. | |
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Jan Haugland: Update 3: The BBC chimes in. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake could cause a "widely destructive tsunami" in the area around its epicentre. Rebecca MacKinnon: Malaysian bloggers all over latest earthquake — Mack Zulkifli has posted links to a number of bloggers who are on top of a huge earthquake that just hit the coast of Indonesia. |
Michelle Malkin: EARTHQUAKE BLAME — You've seen the BBC report: [snipped quote] Now, the tin-foilers at the Democratic Underground are... |
Schiavo Protesters Have Hearts on Sleeves and Anger on Signs By / NYT — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla., March 28 - The legal battle over the life of Terri Schiavo may have ended, but a thick, fervent crowd remains in the makeshift encampment outside the Woodside Hospice House here. | |
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Avedon Carol: More Shiavo cult politics |
Yuval Rubinstein: Right-Wing Operatives and Their Daughters—First Phil Parlock, Now Bill Tierney — Today's New York Times, in its Daily... |
Earthquake witness Weblog MSNBC — Permalink A large earthquake hit Monday off Indonesia's Sumatra Island (full story). MSNBC.com asked readers in the region to share what they felt and witnessed. Here are some of their reports. | |
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Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: MSNBC places the death toll at 296. MSNBC also has this compelling page excerpting "citizen journalists". |
Jeff Jarvis: Eyewitness reports on an MSNBC community blog. |
In Test of Free Speech, Russian Court Rules Against Art Show By / NYT — Permalink MOSCOW, March 28 - In a criminal case testing the accepted boundaries of artistic expression in Russia, a court convicted a museum director and a curator today for inciting religious hatred when they organized an exhibition of paintings and sculptures that, to many, ridiculed the Russian Orthodox Church. | |
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Avedon Carol: More NYT links for stories I don't feel like writing about: Sex in theater Bill Cosby's Not Funny Art censorship in the... |
Kerry Howley: Caution: Censorship — A Moscow court has declared an exhibition of paintings and sculptures to be "openly insulting and blasphemous." |
Quake strikes off Indonesia coast CNN — Permalink (CNN) — U.S. officials were urging residents to evacuate coastal regions in the Indian Ocean after a earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck off the coast of Indonesia Monday. | |
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Jan Haugland: Now CNN has a report out, asking the important question to the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: Charles... |
James Joyner: Quake strikes off Indonesia coast "An earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck off the coast of... |
Income Gaps Found Among the College-Educated AP — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 28 (AP) - Black and Asian women with bachelor's degrees earn slightly more than similarly educated white women, and white men with four-year degrees make more than anyone else. | |
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Ogged @Unfogged: Wage Earners — There's some newly released census data on the difference in income between various race/gender groupings. Matthew Yglesias: Today is race, gender, and income among the college educated day: [snipped quote] Hm ... my salary is less than a... |
James Joyner: Income Gaps Found Among the College-Educated (NYT - AP) [snipped quote] It would be nice to have the crosstabs on other variables besides race and gender. |
Chavez's Censorship By / WaPo — Permalink Venezuela's minister of communication and information, Andres Izarra, recently accused The Post and several other American media of being part of a campaign to defame Venezuela directed by the Bush administration and funded by the State Department. | |
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Jan Haugland: That has been true until now, but if Chavez and his propaganda minister Andres Izarra have their way, it will not last... Gene @HarrysPlace: If so, you could be a Chavista. There's more. |
Dale Franks: Elected Tyranny — Jackson Diehl writes in the Washington Post about the new censorship laws in Venezuela. |
White House Media May Get Temporary Boot By / WaPo — Permalink The Bush administration is considering kicking the Washington press corps out of the White House — at least for a month or so, that is. The stuffy, packed, run-down White House briefing room has become something of a safety hazard over the years and may require a top-to-bottom renovation this summer, according to administration officials. | |
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Garrett M. Graff: More on a West Wing Press Room Re-Do — In a completely disinterested story, Jim VandeHei reports today on how his offices might soon get an upgrade. Jim Romenesko: Additional items for March 28, 2005 > Run-down WH briefing room may need top-to-bottom renovation (WP) > Some analysts... |
Oliver @LiquidList: Politics: Maybe Then We'll Get Some News — How many jokes can the average liberal blogger wring out of the planned renovation of the White House press room? |
A Supreme Court Showdown for File Sharing NYT — Permalink For someone whose business is under attack in the United States Supreme Court, Mark Gorton was remarkably serene last week, sprawled on a couch in his Manhattan office. Mr. Gorton's company, the Lime Group, publishes LimeWire, one of the most popular software programs used to trade music, video and other files over the Internet. | |
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Orin Kerr: Camping Out for Supreme Court Arguments: The Supreme Court will be hearing the Grokster case tomorrow, and it seems to be the hottest ticket of the Supreme Court Term. |
Jeralyn Merritt: I bet they have a lot to say tomorrow on oral arguments in MGM v. Grokster, the music fileswapping case. |
DeLay's own brush with end-of-life tragedy LAT — Permalink CANYON LAKE - A family tragedy unfolding in a Texas hospital during the fall of 1988 was a private ordeal — without judges, emergency sessions of Congress or the raging debate outside Terri Schiavo's Florida hospice. | |
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Jack Cluth: Yeah, and it couldn't be happening to a nicer demagogue (Or, Hypocrisy, thy name is Tom DeLay) The case against DeLay... Charles Kuffner: Story on DeLay's father picked up by the Chron — Like I said, better late than never. I can't wait to see what the letters to the Editor will look like. |
Byron LaMasters: The fact that Tom DeLay opposes giving Terry Shiavo's husband the same rights that Tom DeLay's mother had when Tom... |
Pharmacists' Rights at Front Of New Debate By / WaPo — Permalink Some pharmacists across the country are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying that dispensing the medications violates their personal moral or religious beliefs. | |
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New Donkey: Witness the emergence, as explained in today's Washington Post, of one of the least stirring Civil Rights struggles in living memory: the "Pharmacists' Rights" movement. Tbogg: You can leave your uterus with us... A growing problem keeps growing: Some pharmacists across the country are refusing... Tim Dunlop: Hippocritic oath — Pharmacists who won't fill prescriptions for contraception and the state of Chicago passing legislation to allow doctors to refuse to treat gays. |
Norbizness: Have a blessed day, and come again. Oddly, this linked article is titled "Pharmacists' Rights At Front of New Debate." James Joyner: Pharmacists' Rights at Front Of New Debate (A1) [snipped quote] As with all anecdotal stories, one wonders how much of a "trend" this is. Jesse Taylor: James Joyner Joyner is discussing the push for "pharmacists' rights" (I never considered not doing my job a right, I'm... |
| Also: Gary Farber, Atrios, David Allan Pell | |
How a Lone Diplomat Compromised the Hunt for Bin Laden By / New York Sun — Permalink WASHINGTON — A lone U.S. ambassador compromised America's hunt for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan for more than two years,The New York Sun has learned. Ambassador Nancy Powell, America's representative in Pakistan, refused to allow the distribution in... | |
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Charles Johnson: How a Lone Diplomat Compromised the Hunt for Bin Laden — Richard Miniter at the New York Sun blows the whistle on an... Jeff Goldstein: The next time you hear a group of anti-war hand-wringers attempting to criticize the war on terror by asking,... The Big Trunk: The light of the Sun — Today's New York Sun carries Richard Miniter's exclusive report on the American ambassador who... |
Scott Sala: Pak-ing Her Bags — The author of "Losing Bin Laden," Richard Miniter, adds another astonishing chapter to the ongoing saga of where the world's most wanted man is. Ace: NY Sun: How a Lone Diplomat Compromised the Hunt For OBL — The article teased this afternoon is now in print; better... Laura Rozen: Also a piece from the Sun's Richard Miniter about a US diplomat in Pakistan who allegedly blocked distribution of wanted... |
Companies pay 'Lazy Homeowner' to tout their wares on TV news Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink Television viewers in the Twin Cities and many other markets know the Lazy Homeowner. The affable personality, whose real name is Mike Ferrara, has appeared frequently on KARE-TV, Channel 11, in the Twin Cities and on hundreds of local news programs... | |
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Dan Gillmor: Update: And here's the story of a "journalist" being paid to pitch the products he covers. The TV stations claim not to know what's going on. |
Jim Romenesko: > TV viewers don't know "Lazy Homeowner" is paid to plug products (Strib) |
Parents Appeal to Fla. Governor to Help Schiavo By / Reuters — Permalink PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (Reuters) - Terri Schiavo's parents appealed desperately to Florida governor Jeb Bush on Monday to intervene as their brain-damaged daughter slipped toward death 10 days after her artificial feeding was halted by court order. | |
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Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: Schiavo's partents today are appealing for Jeb Bush to intervene and take custody of their daughter — in... |
James Joyner: Parents Appeal to Fla. Governor to Help Schiavo (Reuters) [snipped quote] What exactly they expect him to do at this point is a mystery. |
Investigation of Insurance Puts Buffett in a Spotlight NYT — Permalink Over the last four decades, Warren E. Buffett has built Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world's largest and most successful insurers. Along the way, he has navigated the stock market with legendary prowess and offered folksy guidelines for proper corporate governance. | |
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Donald Luskin: From today's New York Times: Berkshire insurance affiliates run by Mr. Buffett's most trusted deputies are involved in... |
Orrin Judd: A PERP WALK TO SAVOR: Investigation of Insurance Puts Buffett in a Spotlight (TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN, 3/28/05, NY Times)... |
Selective Restraint Opinion Journal — Permalink The sad case of Terri Schiavo has raised passions not seen since five years ago. Then another bitterly divided family argued in Florida courts over someone who couldn't speak on his own behalf: Elian Gonzalez. | |
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Betsy Newmark: John Fund contrasts how the liberals regarded avoiding court orders in the Elian Gonzalez case. It's an interesting contrast. Steve Bainbridge: On Snatching Elian versus Not Snatching Terri — John Fund raises an interesting question of a possible double standard:... |
Dean Esmay: By the way, speaking of Terri Schiavo, the Journal also notes today some other people who've practiced hypocricy on State vs. Federal issues in the past. Larry Kudlow: Hypocrisy — The brilliant John Fund makes an excellent point in today's Wall Street Journal: that the same liberals who... |
Sony Ordered to Halt PlayStation Sales Reuters — Permalink Mar 28, 2005 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp. <6758.T> said on Monday it was ordered by a U.S. court to halt sales of its blockbuster PlayStation consoles in the United States and pay $90 million in damages to a California tech company, Immersion Corp. <IMMR.O>, whose shares jumped more then 5 percent. | |
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Atrios: However, this ruling against Sony Corp. ordering them to stop selling Playstations (stayed pending appeal) brings up one... |
James Joyner: Sony Ordered to Halt PlayStation Sales — Sony has been ordered to stop selling its popular PlayStation video games after losing a major patent infringement case. |
Under New Chief, F.C.C. Considers Widening Its Reach By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 24 - The television and radio industries are about to come under renewed attack over sex, violence and profanity in their programming, both in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission. | |
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Shawn @LiquidList: Politics: In The Footsteps of Dinosaurs ...Walks the small government, free market Republican. Orrin Judd: THE USES OF HILLARY: Under New Chief, F.C.C. Considers Widening Its Reach (STEPHEN LABATON, 3/28/05, NY Times)... |
Jeff Jarvis: Free speech for free speech, please : The Times today talks about censorship under the reign of Kevin Martin, new chairman of the FCC. |
China Gives America a D By / NYT — Permalink SINCE 1977, the United States State Department has issued an annual global report card called the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. China's assessment, unlike the sober State Department tome, is a frank indictment and draws a picture of America that approaches caricature. | |
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Magpie @PacificViews: Since the Carter administration in the late 1970s, the US State Departement annually issues a report on how human rights... |
Ogged @Unfogged: No Funny Title — It's not funny, exactly, nor quite ironic, but China's report on human rights in the U.S. does give you a good sense of the uncharitable case against the U.S. |
Getting out of Iraq II By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — Determination high in the Bush administration to begin irreversible withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq this year is reinforced by the presence at the State Department of the most dominant secretary since Henry Kissinger three decades ago. | |
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Laura Rozen: Bob Novak reminds us that back in September, he predicted Condoleezza Rice would succeed Colin Powell to become... Orrin Judd: MOVING ON: Getting out of Iraq II (Robert Novak, March 28, 2005, Townhall) "Determination high in the Bush... |
Vox Day: Escape from Iraq — Bob Novak explains how events have backed up his predictions: [snipped quote] This would be a very good thing. |
Tribune looking to turn the page on uncertainties By / Chicago Tribune — Permalink WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — From the stage of a hushed ballroom in the palatial Breakers Hotel, Tribune Co. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons looked out recently at an audience of dark-suited, poker-faced institutional investors. | |
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Kevin Roderick: Trib reports on Times-Tribune troubles — A Sunday piece by Chicago Tribune business writer James P. Miller summarizes... |
Jim Romenesko: LAT troubles high on CEO's list of things that need fixing — Chicago Tribune Even though Tribune Co. has squeezed $130... |
A New Deal By / WaPo — Permalink Hundreds of thousands of federal workers made a deal when they signed up with Uncle Sam. Whether they were janitors pushing a broom or naval designers floating tiny model destroyers or econometricians micro-simulating Social Security scenarios, the deal was the same: | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: You can wade through a lot of weirdly mannered prose and rampant caricaturing in Ann Gerhart's report on the Bush... |
Susan Madrak: RENEGING — Excellent piece in today's WashPo about the effects of BushCo undermining the civil service |
CBS News's Unstuffed Shirt By / WaPo — Permalink "I hate to jinx it by saying it aloud," Bob Schieffer told viewers of the "CBS Evening News" on Thursday, but "all of a sudden there's some pretty good news" in declining U.S. casualties in Iraq. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Bob Schieffer Literally Changes The Tone At CBS News — Koward Kurtz hits the nail on the head: Dan Rather's temporary... James Joyner: Howie Kurtz reports that Bob Schiefer is raising eyebrows by [snipped quote] Goodness, it sounds like Fox News. Pejman Yousefzadeh: Of course, now we have Bob Schieffer bandwagoning: [quote] "I hate to jinx it by saying it aloud," Bob Schieffer told viewers...[end quote] |
Tim Graham: SHERLOCK SCHIEFFER — In today's WashPost, Howard Kurtz takes a promotional peek at the new Bob Schieffer-led "CBS Evening News," and proclaims it relaxed and "unstuffed." Jim Romenesko: Schieffer has changed the rigid nightly newscast formula — Washington Post As interim replacement for Dan Rather, Bob... Brian Stelter: Read Along With Howard Kurtz — If you've been reading this blog regularly, there's nothing new in Howard Kurtz's Monday column. |
Letters WaPo — Permalink William Easterly, who reviewed my book The End of Poverty (Book World, March 13), is notorious as the cheerleader for "can't-do" economics. For years as a World Bank staffer, he watched failed programs during the era of World Bank "structural adjustment... | |
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Henry @CrookedTimber: Developmental politics Alex Tabarrok says that Jeffrey Sachs is descending "to the level of a third-rate politician"... |
Alex Tabarrok: But saddened is what I feel after reading Sach's response to Easterly's review of The End of Poverty (see also Tyler's comments). |
Jakarta Tenure Offers Glimpse of Wolfowitz WaPo — Permalink JAKARTA, Indonesia — At the height of President Suharto's autocratic rule, then-U.S. Ambassador Paul D. Wolfowitz publicly offered advice in 1989 that could have landed domestic critics in prison, pointedly telling the dictator that his record of rapid economic growth was not enough. | |
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Kevin Drum: Today, Laura Rozen points to a nice piece in the Washington Post: "At the height of President Suharto's autocratic... Orrin Judd: THE MUSLIMS' FRIEND: Jakarta Tenure Offers Glimpse of Wolfowitz: Indonesians Cite Stance on Rights, Reform (Alan Sipress... |
Gary Farber: Alas, Google seems unable to find either Paul Wolfowitz's third-prize-winning recipe for Madame Mao's Chicken or the picture of him in an apron explaining the secret. Laura Rozen: From the WaPo, Indonesia's take on Wolfowitz, who served as US ambassador there in the late 1980s. |
Backers of Schiavo's parents head to Washington CNN — Permalink TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) — With their court battles apparently exhausted, supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents said Sunday that they would take their efforts to Washington on Monday. | |
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Captain Ed: It wasn't just the Schindler's suppporters who appear to have hijacked the demonstrations, either. |
Oliver @LiquidList: Politics: The Call of a Loon Is A Haunting Thing — Oh, Jesus. |
Shopkeepers Say 'Enough' By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Something astonishing took place a few days ago in Doura, a working-class suburb of Baghdad. So much so that even the New York Times had to sit up and take notice: Just before noon today, a carpenter named Dhia saw a troop of masked gunmen with grenades coming towards his shop and decided he had had enough. | |
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Jan Haugland: Good news. Speaking of which: Arthur Chrenkoff's Good News from Iraq part 24 is out. It begins with the shopkeepers. Glenn Reynolds: Meanwhile, Arthur Chrenkoff continues his effort to round up the good stuff that gets buried, though it's telling that... Cori Dauber: More Good News From Iraq — Here's your regular roundup It's not on the web site, but did you catch ABC's report on the ways the US military has brought back Iraq's schools? |
Arthur Chrenkoff: Good news from Iraq, Part 24 — Note: Also available at the "Opinion Journal" and Winds of Change. Pejman Yousefzadeh: MORE GOOD NEWS FROM IRAQ — Arthur Chrenkoff has been reporting it since before it was fashionable. Read his latest. |
Fake but Accurate Again? By / Weekly Standard — Permalink MUCH TIME MAY PASS before we fully understand the political ramifications of the Terri Schiavo case. For now, though, it seems that Republicans are taking a fearful beating. Opinion polls consistently show that a large majority of Americans disapproved of the effort—bipartisan, to be sure, but led by Republicans—to keep Mrs. Schiavo alive. | |
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Betsy Newmark: John Hinderaker has more today at the Daily Standard. We'll wait for some backtracking from ABC and the Washington Post. Michelle Malkin: KURTZ DODGES AGAIN — Lame. Meanwhile, John Hinderaker keeps the heat on. Earlier: "Ask Kurtz" The Big Trunk: Mr. Kurtz, call your office — Thanks to Lucianne and to RealClearPolitics for flagging Rocket Man's brilliant Daily Standard column today: "Fake but accurate again?" |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: DONALD SEGRETTI WOULD BE PROUD — John Hinderaker sums up the story about the alleged GOP memo on the Terri Schiavo case... Glenn Reynolds: "FAKE BUT ACCURATE," AGAIN? John Hinderaker looks at another phony-memo story. Hindrocket: The Daily Standard has posted my article on the purported Republican talking points memo on the Schiavo case, titled "Fake But Accurate Again?" |
Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek Their Voice By / LAT — Permalink BAGHDAD — Nearly two months after most of them sat out Iraq's historic election, 200 Sunni Arab leaders gathered to consider a belated plunge into democratic politics. It was not a civil discussion. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek Their Voice — Via the LAT: Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek Their Voice "Nearly two months after most... |
Orrin Judd: MORE: Iraq's Sunni Arabs Seek Their Voice: The divided minority is trying to stake a claim in a system now dominated by Shiites and Kurds. |
Shame of Iceland WaPo — Permalink "MR. FISCHER IS a true Icelander now," said Thordur Oskarsson, Iceland's ambassador to Japan, after the tiny island nation's Parliament unanimously voted to confer citizenship upon chess legend Bobby Fischer. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Iceland's new citizen — Here's a question for anyone more familiar than I am with Icelandic politics: Why did the... |
Cori Dauber: But the Post's editorial board is so right on this one it hurts. |
A Star Reporter Fights Subpoena, and Criticism By / LAT — Permalink BERKELEY — From an American Bar Assn. conclave in Florida to the National Press Club in Washington, Judith Miller basks in acclaim. A veteran national security reporter for the New York Times, she insists over and over that she rejects it, but the mantle is proffered nonetheless — 1st Amendment martyr. | |
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Jim Romenesko: NYT's Miller "occupies a peculiar station" in U.S. journalism — Los Angeles Times Judith Miller is alternately... |
Susan Madrak: THE JUDY MILLER SHOW — Live from L.A. |
Rankings cloud real school indicators By / Arizona Republic — Permalink It may be lonely at the top, but when it comes to education funding, Arizona has plenty of company at the bottom. Or so they say. At last count, more than half a dozen states claimed to be 49th in education funding: | |
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James Joyner: Rankings cloud real school indicators (Arizona Republic) [snipped quote] What's amusing is that so many states are actually bragging about being ranked near the bottom. Joanne Jacobs: The race to the bottom is a tie — Eight states — Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Idaho, Louisiana, Pennsylvania... |
Bill Hobbs: Eight Is Enough — Now this is hilarious: No less than eight states claim to be 49th in spending on public schools,... |
With Bush Safely Re-elected, Rove Turns Intensity to Policy By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 27 - Jack Kemp was causing problems for President Bush's drive to overhaul Social Security, and it naturally fell to Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's strategist, enforcer and closet policy expert, to take him on. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Richard Stevenson's written a little love poem to Karl Rove in today's New York Times which, one hopes, will give him the access he needs to score important scoops in the future. Dr. Steven Taylor: All Things Rove — Via the NYT: With Bush Safely Re-elected, Rove Turns Intensity to Policy "Under one of his hats, Mr... Taegan Goddard: Rove Turns to Policy — A New York Times piece notes that with his recent promotion, Karl Rove "is assuming a more... |
Dan Froomkin: All Roads Lead to Karl Richard W. Stevenson writes in the New York Times that senior adviser Karl Rove, who recently... Pejman Yousefzadeh: ROVECENTRIC — I like to read about backroom politics as much as anyone else, but do others think as I do that way too much time has been spent discussing Karl Rove? Orrin Judd: TOM HAGEN: With Bush Safely Re-elected, Rove Turns Intensity to Policy (RICHARD W. STEVENSON, 3/28/05, NY Times) [snipped quote] Folks have made quite a habit of doing just that. |
| Also: Pudentilla | |
Poetry's plum gone to hell By / Washington Examiner — Permalink 'What is the use of writing about books?" asked America's greatest poet, "excepting so far as to give information to those who cannot get the books themselves? " I had better confess up front that I am of the same mind as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and that what goes for books in general goes twice over for poetry. | |
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John Derbyshire: Check out their website http://dcexaminer.com/ And, as John noted, yesterday's issue ran my review of Camille Paglia's new book. |
John J. Miller: EXAMINE THIS — My books page in the Washington Examiner today includes two NRO regulars: John Derbyshire reviewing... |
A Dutch Soccer Riddle: Jewish Regalia Without Jews By / NYT — Permalink AMSTERDAM - Just minutes before a high-stakes soccer game not long ago between this city's home team, Ajax, and their rivals from the southern city of Eindhoven, a chant built to a roar in the hall packed with supporters where they were serving plastic pint cups of Dutch beer. | |
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Orrin Judd: ONCE THE HATE'S OUT OF THE BAG... (via Robert Schwartz): A Dutch Soccer Riddle: Jewish Regalia Without Jews (CRAIG S... |
Harry @HarrysPlace: 'Too Jewish' — Or not. As the case may be. The NYT looks at Ajax fans and their 'Jewish' identity. Le a kalapal AL-nok. |
In the Blog Era, Liz Smith Wonders if There's Room for the Pro By / NYT — Permalink Let's dish... So LIZ SMITH was having dinner with NICOLE KIDMAN at New York's Four Seasons and it seems the actress really likes to pig out. "Nicole ate the entire bread basket," Ms. Smith said. | |
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Garrett M. Graff: Gossip Constipation — Gossip makes it big in the New York Times today, with some classic quotes from the Post's Ben Bradlee. Kevin Drum: GOSSIP...There are many scary things about modern journalism, but surely this one belongs on the list |
Jim Romenesko: "Gossip columnists generally have no conscience," says Smith — New York Times Gossip columnist Liz Smith tells... |
Iraq Security, Protesters Clash; 1 Dead By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq Mar 27, 2005 — Security officials opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside a government building Sunday, killing one, and al-Qaida's arm in Iraq posted a video purportedly showing an Iraqi Interior Ministry official being killed. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: We've got security services killing peaceful protestors, allegations of a "spiral of sectarian assassinations," and still no evidence of real progress toward forming a government. |
Juan Cole: A different kind of violence, social violence, broke out on Sunday. |
Some Creditors Make Illegal Demands on Active-Duty Soldiers By / NYT — Permalink Sgt. John J. Savage III, an Army reservist, was about to climb onto a troop transport plane for a flight to Iraq from Fayetteville, N.C., when his wife called with alarming news: "They're foreclosing on our house." | |
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Pudentilla: "red" support for troops wanes when chance to foreclose beckons — "Though statistics are scarce, court records and... Tom Tomorrow: Supporting the troops — [snipped quote] Story. |
Atrios: Bulls**t — What's with this NYT article being so forgiving to judges and creditors who don't understand a plainly... Armando @DailyKos: Dunning Our Troops — Fresh off their great Scrooge-like work on the bankruptcy bill, the credit companies are back at... |
In an Old Mosque, The Blunt Rhetoric Of the New Iraq By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD — The world according to Jalaledin Saghir, a preacher turned politician, is an uncomplicated place. There is good and evil. There are martyrs and terrorists. The righteous (those who agree with him) are pitted against the iniquitous (those who don't). | |
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Cori Dauber: Arabic-speaking Post reporter Anthony Shadid turns in a long piece on a Shi'ite cleric about to take a seat in the new... |
Juan Cole: Anthony Shadid of the Washington Post profiles SCIRI preacher Jalal al-Din Saghir of the Baratha Mosque in Baghdad. |
From Wikipedia's Creator, A New Site for Anyone, Anything By / WSJ — Permalink Four years ago, Jimmy Wales launched a free online encyclopedia that anyone could edit. Now, Wikipedia is one of the most popular sites on the Web, and Mr. Wales is building on its success with a new venture. This time, he intends to make a buck. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Wikicities : The Wall Street Journal writes up Jimmy Wales' Wikicities business (another free link). |
Tom Biro: Future of wiki-technologies — The WSJ's Vauhini Vara profiles Wikipedia and the newest venture of its founder, Jimmy Wales - Wikicities.com. |
Dan Rather already back in the saddle By / USA Today — Permalink Rather, 73, is determined to save 60 Wednesday, which was nearly axed last season, then tarnished (along with Rather's reputation) in the Memogate scandal, in which later-discredited documents were used to support a story about President Bush's National Guard service. | |
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Jim Romenesko: > Rather says he watches Schieffer, doesn't miss the anchor chair (USAT) |
Brian Stelter: Rather: "I'm Here To Work" — Dan Rather is determined to save 60 Minutes Wednesday, USAT's Peter Johnson writes. |
Schwarzenegger Prepares to Do Battle in Calif. By / WaPo — Permalink SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came to office 16 months ago determined to shake the political system to the core, but few envisioned the boldness of his ambition. Today, he is girding for what could be the most contentious political confrontation the nation's most populous state has seen in years. | |
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PGL: Fiscal Responsibility: Gov. Daniels v. Gov. Schwarzenegger — Via Joshua Marshall comes this article by Dan Balz:... Josh Marshall: This article by Dan Balz in tomorrow's Washington Post paints a revealing picture of just how much Gov. Schwarzenegger... |
Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, a Washington Post piece notes Schwarzenegger is "girding for what could be the most contentious political... |
'This time Mugabe is going for sure. The world is watching us' Times of London — Permalink AS THE drums sound at the Chimanimani Golf Club, a shy-looking white woman appears before several thousand jubilant supporters. Her husband is in jail. Her farm has been seized. She has no record as a politician, and President Mugabe wants her out of the country. | |
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Damian Penny: Miracle in Zimbabwe — According to The Times, opponents of Robert Mugabe are starting to believe they can win the... A.M. Mora y Leon: UPDATE: The Times of London gives us more on the political situation - they say the thug is on his last legs. |
Orrin Judd: 'This time Mugabe is going for sure. Betsy Newmark: However, there is an opposition in Zimbabwe and some very brave people who are standing for election and coming out to rallies. |
No compelling reason to kill Terri Schiavo By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink A couple of decades back, north of the border, it was discovered that some overzealous types in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been surreptitiously burning down the barns of Quebec separatists. | |
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Mitch Berg: Steyn must have had the same argument with someone: [snipped quote] For a significant chunk of our society - the part... Captain Ed: Mark Steyn puts it brilliantly, as always, in his column today, titled "No Compelling Reason To Kill Terri Schiavo" Michelle Malkin: THINKING ABOUT TERRI — If you read nothing else today on Terri Schiavo, read the incomparable Mark Steyn. |
Hugh Hewitt: Let's start with the debate over the still-suffering Terri Schiavo: Among those who disagreed with the decision to deny... John Hawkins: Mark Steyn On Terri Schiavo — The inimitable Mark Steyn on Terri Schiavo: "There seems to be a genuine dispute about... Judith Weiss: Previous guest entries from Catherine here and here and here: [snipped quote] RELATED: Mark Steyn is sensible, as usual. |
Tories plan to beat 'bias' by bringing in bloggers By / Times of London — Permalink THE Conservative Right is to turn to new American campaigning techniques and the internet to try to revive the party and overcome what it sees as opposition from the metropolitan Establishment. | |
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Harry @HarrysPlace: Beware of imitations — The Tories are apparently starting to see the internet and blogs in particular as a way of reaching new people with their message. Joe Gandelman: England Learns From The U.S. by Joe Gandelman Mainstream media in England, WATCH OUT: "The Conservative Right is to... Greg Ransom: BRITISH TORIES are ready to break on through. Bloggers will play a cental role. |
Norm Geras: 2 No sooner are the words out of my mouth - about winning Labour the election (previous post) - than my attention is... Ace: British Conservatives Seek New Political Weapon: Bloggers — But it seems to be a top-down sort of thing — official... |
BRAND THIS By / New York Press — Permalink "Terror, terror, terror, terror, terror. I would say to John, 'Let me put it to you this way. The Lord Almighty, or Allah, whoever, if he came to every kitchen table in America and said, "Look, I have a Faustian bargain for you, you choose. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: I thought of this when I read the beginning of Matt Taibbi's article in the New York Press. [quote] "Terror, terror, terror, terror, terror.[end quote] Atrios: Blow Some S**t Up — Taibbi's NY Press article on "National Security Democrats" is worth reading. |
Jim Dallas: I believe in carrying a big stick. I am bipartisan. I work equally well with ketchup and mustard. Ezra Klein: Moderation For Real — NYPress' Matt Taibbi gets it just about right re: the "National Security Democrats": "The... |
Iraqi forces seize 131 suspects in raid Reuters — Permalink Iraqi soldiers, backed by US helicopters, are reported to have seized 131 suspects in a dawn raid on insurgents planning attacks on the holy city of Kerbala. The Defence Ministry says troops also retrieved tonnes of explosives. | |
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Jan Haugland: Iraqi forces capture 131 suspects, equipment — Iraqi forces has launched a massive dawn sweep, netting them 131... Betsy Newmark: More good news about the Iraqi defense forces. |
Captain Ed: Iraqis Grab 131 Terrorists Targeting Kerbala — Iraqi security forces have demonstrated their increasing effectiveness... Ace: 131 Terrorists Seized In Joint Iraqi/American Raid — Good news: "Iraqi soldiers, backed by US helicopters, are... |
Geo-Greening by Example By / NYT — Permalink How will future historians explain it? How will they possibly explain why President George W. Bush decided to ignore the energy crisis staring us in the face and chose instead to spend all his electoral capital on a futile effort to undo the New Deal, by partially privatizing Social Security? | |
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EDM Staff: Friedman's column "Geo-Greening By Example" lays bare the GOP's "who needs an energy policy?" attitude and the mounting... Matthew Yglesias: Thomas Friedman. Bush's "popularity at home — and abroad — would soar" if only he would embrace doubling gas prices. |
David Allan Pell: Playing Against Air — Tom Friedman: Imagine if George Bush declared that he was getting rid of his limousine for an... James Joyner: Pundit's Fallacy — Matthew Yglesias demonstrates, rather convincingly, he is much better atuned to the American polity than his former teacher, Thomas Friedman. |
Device lets you out-Fox your TV By / AP — Permalink It's not that Sam Kimery objects to the views expressed on Fox News Channel. The creator of the "Fox Blocker" contends the network is not news at all. Kimery says he has sold about 100 of the little silver bits of metal that screw into the back of most televisions, allowing people to filter Fox News from their sets. | |
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Jack Cluth: Of course, you could just use the "OFF" switch — Device lets you out-Fox your TV MY NEW HERO #5: Sam Kimery I'm not... Taegan Goddard: The Fox Blocker is a new $8.95 device that lets you block Fox News from your television set, the AP reports. |
Arthur Chrenkoff: Today's Person Getting Far Too Much Attention Than They Deserve...is Sam Kimery, the creator of a cute little... Roger L. Simon: Here's an example of someone who is technologically advanced (well, at least as much as your cable guy), but philosophically retarded. |
Bush's Back-and-Forth Reflects Rift in Party By / WaPo — Permalink WACO, Tex., March 26 — He flew halfway across the country in a vain effort to save her life, but in the week since, President Bush has retreated back to his ranch and remained largely out of sight as the nation wrestled with the great moral issues surrounding the fate of Terri Schiavo. | |
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Mark Kleiman: Note how quiet GWB has been about the case since signing the bill; what little he has said hasn't been encouraging to the supporters of keeping her on life support. Gary Farber: THE MIRACLE OF THE PASSIVE VOICE. What would we ever do without it? [snipped quote] Yes, these things just "happened" to the President. Kevin Drum: UPDATE 2: The Washington Post has yet more: [snipped quote] I hope this matter becomes more than just "uncomfortable" for them. |
Barbara O'Brien: Meanwhile, our President is showing resolve and moral courage in the face of roiling public disagreement by hiding out on his ranch. Lambert @Corrente: Bush: "Terrri who?" Guess that whole flip-flopping thing was just another little bit of WPS (Winger Projection Syndrome), eh? |
Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism Winning? By / NYT — Permalink Imagine with me a nation's security leaders sitting around the conference table being briefed on the progress of things in Iraq. They celebrate the overwhelming victory of their favorites in the Iraqi elections. | |
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WoW Team Monday: It operated as recently as 2002. Richard Clarke asks if Iran is winning. Iran is stockpiling high-tech small arms. Daniel Drezner: His latest effort, on Iran, is a bit frustrating, but I'm on the fence about whether this the fault lies with Clarke or his word count. |
Ezra Klein: Honesty Is Job One — Dan Drezner takes issue with Richard Clarke's NYTimes piece on Iran. |
GOP Governors Fight Tax Limits By / WaPo — Permalink DENVER — Gov. Bill Owens (R) has been crisscrossing the country for years promoting the virtues of this state's strict constitutional limits on government spending. He has repeatedly urged other states to adopt restrictions of their own, based on Colorado's "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" amendment, known here as TABOR. | |
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Sam Rosenfeld: Yesterday's Washington Post offered an assessment of rock-ribbed conservative Republican governors and state... C3 @Centerfield: No lip reading required — The Washington Post today has an interesting article on the budget struggles of Colorado Governor Bill Owen. |
David @ThinkProgress: Grover Norquist: Increasingly Irrelevant — Add conservative governors in Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho to the list of... Atrios: IOKIYAR — Typical: DENVER — Gov. Bill Owens (R) has been crisscrossing the country for years promoting the virtues of... |
Albania stands with U.S. in Iraq By / Washington Times — Permalink The announcement several days ago Albania — a small country with limited resources — was sending an additional 50 well-trained troops to Iraq came as a surprise to some observers. But it really should not have surprised anyone. | |
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Matt Welch: "XX is probably the most pro-American country on Earth" — Guess which country is the "XX" in this quote (from its ambassador in Washington), then see for yourself. Betsy Newmark: Who would think that Albania would have become a country dedicated to spreading democracy? Orrin Judd: DOING ERNIE PANTUSO PROUD: Albania stands with U.S. in Iraq (Fatos Tarifa, March 27, 2005, Washington Times) [snipped quote] Which makes it worth at least 120 France's. |
Hindrocket: , Fatos Tarifa, explains why his country has contributed 120 well-trained fighting men to the allied effort in Iraq:... Gary Farber: THANK GOD! Albania stands with U.S. in Iraq. Where would we be without them? |
New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Saudis After 9/11 By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, March 26 - The episode has been retold so many times in the last three and a half years that it has become the stuff of political legend: in the frenzied days after Sept. 11, 2001, when some flights were still grounded, dozens of well-connected... | |
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Natasha @PacificViews: Michael Moore is a liar. Except that the Bush administration did help Saudis leave the US after 9-11, so maybe he isn't. Avedon Carol: Every few months the NYT likes to drop a hint that Michael Moore was right about those Saudis flying when the rest of us couldn't. |
Michael Froomkin: New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Saudis After 9/11: The F.B.I. gave personal airport escorts to two prominent Saudi... Cori Dauber: Because new documents have been released — and given to the New York Times — on the question of Saudis leaving the country in the days immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. |
Archbishop Seeks Zimbabwe Leader's Ouster By / AP — Permalink HARARE, Zimbabwe — A prominent Roman Catholic Archbishop and outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe called Sunday for peaceful street protests aimed at overthrowing the longtime ruler, saying this week's parliamentary elections are certain to be rigged. | |
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Damian Penny: This is the holiest time of year for the Christian faith, so it's a good time to salute the Catholic Archbishop of... |
A.M. Mora y Leon: UPDATE: The momentum builds - Zimbabwe's bishop is urging huge street demonstrations with the explicit aim of ousting the thug. |
Al-Qaida Claims to Kill Iraqi Official By / AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - Al-Qaida in Iraq released a video Sunday claiming to show the murder of an Interior Ministry official, while debate raged about religion's place in Iraq's much-anticipated new government as lawmakers were summoned to their second session. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: TOP TOPICS The makeup of the new Iraqi government remains uncertain as the winners of the January elections continue to... |
Armando @DailyKos: Weekend in Iraq — Iraq continues to demonstrate a lack of stability and security: "Al-Qaida in Iraq released a video... |
DeLay Family Outcome Different From Schiavo's LAT — Permalink CANYON LAKE, Texas — A family tragedy unfolding in a Texas hospital during the fall of 1988 was a private ordeal — without judges, emergency sessions of Congress or the raging debate outside Terri Schiavo's Florida hospice. | |
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David Allan Pell: What it Makes it Even More Dangerous — No one should be surprised that Tom DeLay's family once decided to remove life support from a relative. Tom Maguire: Hit Job By The LA Times — The LA Times runs a hit piece on Tom DeLay. Michelle Malkin: UGLINESS ON EASTER SUNDAY MORN — The Los Angeles Times tries desperately today to paint GOP Rep. Tom DeLay as a... |
Pudentilla: so, everyone, compulsory life for you, but not for tom delay [yes, really] who chose to take his father, and robert... K. J. Lopez: RE: DELAY — Was I the only one to think, "what a nasty piece to run Easter morning." about Tom DeLay's father, in the LA Times yesterday. LeanLeft: A Private Matter — Filed under: Politics Church & State Culture — Kevin Tom Delay, unsurprisingly, is shown once... |
| Also: Barbara O'Brien, Avedon Carol, Joe Gandelman, John Cole, Patterico, Zoe Kentucky, Tim Dunlop, Charles Kuffner, Roger Ailes, Kieran Healy, Atrios, Lambert @Corrente, Oliver Willis, Taegan Goddard, Oliver @LiquidList, Ezra Klein | |
For Army Recruiters, a Hard Toll From a Hard Sell By / NYT — Permalink The Army's recruiters are being challenged with one of the hardest selling jobs the military has asked of them in American history, and many say the demands are taking a toll. A recruiter in New York said pressure from the Army to meet his recruiting goals during a time of war has given him stomach problems and searing back pain. | |
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Cori Dauber: Watch the Numbers — The Times has an article about how miserable Army recruiters are. Fair enough, it can't be an easy job. Gary Farber: I've read plenty about the ever-increasing problems with Army recruiting, and likely so have you, but the details have become appalling. |
James Joyner: For Army Recruiters, a Hard Toll From a Hard Sell [snipped quote] One suspects George Patton would slap these guys silly with a glove. |
Depressed Annan close to quitting over UN scandals By / Times of London — Permalink KOFI ANNAN, the United Nations secretary-general, is said to be struggling with depression and considering his future. Colleagues have reported concerns about Annan ahead of an official report this week that will examine his son Kojo's connection to the controversial Iraqi oil for food scheme. | |
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Jan Haugland: Read it all. If this is what Volcker will say, then recent news reports were right: Kofi Annan will resign. Captain Ed: Kofi Bumming Out Over His Incompetence — The London Times informs us today that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has... Betsy Newmark: According to the London Times, Kofi Annan is depressed and thinking about resigning from his post as Secretary General. |
Charles Johnson: Depressed Annan Close to Quitting — The Sunday Times reports that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is depressed and close to quitting over the UN's many scandals. Kevin Aylward: Kofi Annan Said To Be Close To Quitting — Britain's Sunday Times reports:KOFI ANNAN, the United Nations... Norm Geras: Kofi's future — Sarah Baxter reports that Kofi Annan is 'struggling with depression and considering his future'. |
| Also: Michelle Malkin, Orrin Judd, Scott Sala | |
Beware the moral minority By / Observer — Permalink Easter Sunday and the Lord has risen. You don't even have to be a Christian to feel his presence. God is everywhere. He has inveigled his way into the British election campaign by way of the abortion debate. | |
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Natasha @PacificViews: Fortunately, the British can still fearlessly scoff at dogmatism without being presumed un-British. |
Jeff Jarvis: It comes to Britain : Both the Observer and The Times of London write about the religious right coming even to Britain,... |
Life as We Don't Know It By / WaPo — Permalink Based on the two big domestic stories of last week — Terri Schiavo and Social Security personoramification (or whatever they want us to call it instead of privatization) — the Republican philosophy seems to be that people need more control over their own retirements but less control over their own deaths. | |
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Tom Maguire: The current evidence - he seems to know a lot about George Bush's agenda regarding late-stage medical care and the... |
Barbara O'Brien: Michael Kinsley writes today that Bush "enjoys the stubborn conviction of the unreflective mind." |
She's the other woman in Michael Schiavo's heart By / St. Petersburg Times — Permalink They met by chance at a dentist's office. Neither was searching for love, friends say. She had been through a divorce. | |
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Abel Harding: And, finally, the St. Petersburg Times introduces us to Jodi Centonze, the other woman in Michael Schiavo's life. |
Jack Cluth: Fla. officials' attempt, fail to seize Schiavo She's the other woman in Michael Schiavo's heart Now that Terri Schiavo... |
Amazing Grace www.AndrewSullivan.com — Permalink She went out for cigarettes. That's my favorite detail of the story of Elizabeth Ashley Smith. This was not a noble calling; it wasn't even a noble errand. But the craving for nicotine at 2 o'clock in the morning led Smith into the loaded gun of one Brian Nichols, a man who had already raped one woman and murdered four men. | |
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Ezra Klein: Faith, Not God — Andrew Sullivan's unsurprisingly saccharine piece about the Ashley Smith case symbolizes everything I love and hate about religion. |
Hugh Hewitt: MarkDRoberts provides the lyrics for the gretest anthem of the day and Andrew Sullivan has a wonderful essay, as does Pastor Sensing, and Wretchard. |
It's not your father's America any more By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink This country is becoming more unrecognizable with each passing day. The government, we've learned recently, now packages the news. It provides television stations with hundreds of video news releases made up to resemble actual news reports that give us... | |
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Avedon Carol: In The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, It's not your father's America any more: We could probably endure all of this if it... |
Pessimist @LeftCoaster: It may be that the opposition to the regression of America back to the Gilded Age [Thanks, Dave!] will only be of... |
Shirley Williams: He was the embodiment of democratic socialism Independent — Permalink Jim Callaghan wasthe embodiment of British democratic socialism. He was, as Peter Hennessy memorably put it, "a man of 1945". To become an adult in 1945 meant to be brought up during the Depression, experiencing at first or second-hand soul-destroying unemployment and often miserable poverty. | |
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Gary Farber: There are precisely two entries on Google for this phrase, one being the source that sent me looking to find out more clearly what it is. |
Harry @HarrysPlace: There is a sympathetic but not sentimental look back at his political life from Shirley Williams in the Independent on Sunday. |
They're everyday believers By / Seattle Times — Permalink Jim Roths of Sumner, who attends Redmond's Overlake Christian Church, left a high-level corporate position to move with his family to Central Asia to work as a missionary for eight years. | |
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Joe Gandelman: The Seattle Times profiles some church goers and notes: "Three people from different walks of life, each with different ways of practicing their faith. |
Orrin Judd: AS BEST WE CAN: They're everyday believers (Janet I. Tu, 3/27/05, Seattle Times) "Jim Roths of Sumner, who attends... |
The God Racket, From DeMille to DeLay By / NYT — Permalink AS Congress and the president scurried to play God in the lives of Terri Schiavo and her family last weekend, ABC kicked off Holy Week with its perennial ritual: a rebroadcast of the 1956 Hollywood blockbuster, "The Ten Commandments." | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Easter is about celebrating a new day. : LATER: Frank Rich bangs this same drum today. : LATER STILL: Joe Gandelman joins in. Ed Driscoll: Happy Easter! (Oh, and the New York Times wishes you Happy Easter as well. Glad to see them following Peggy Noonan's advice.) |
Peter Burnet: AND A VERY HAPPY EASTER TO YOU TOO — The God Racket, From DeMille to DeLay (Frank Rich, New York Times, March 27th,... Dan Gillmor: Theocrats Running Rampant "Frank Rich (NY Times): The God Racket, From DeMille to DeLay. |
Business Sees Gain In GOP Takeover By / WaPo — Permalink Fortune 500 companies that invested millions of dollars in electing Republicans are emerging as the earliest beneficiaries of a government controlled by President Bush and the largest GOP House and Senate majority in a half century. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: There's something almost absurd about the Washington Post reporting yesterday that "Fortune 500 companies that invested... Gene @HarrysPlace: Getting their money's worth — The corporations which have donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates are... Oliver Willis: Business Sees Gain in GOP Takeover [snipped quote] It's the Powerful vs. The People. Get important alerts |
Mary @LeftCoaster: Big business has finally found someone who will consistently vote for them over citizens in every case. Gary Farber: What's going on here? Did anyone mention "the people versus the powerful"? The laws must be made more "pro-business," they say. Taegan Goddard: Business Makes Gains With GOP Control — [snipped quote] the Washington Post reports. Link | Related News |
John Ziegler's column By / LAT — Permalink As a radio talk-show host on KFI-AM (640), I am keenly aware that there is often a dramatic difference between the "facts" of a story and the "truth" of that tale. Two recent local episodes vividly illustrated this phenomenon. | |
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Kevin Roderick: It was by John Ziegler of KFI, and Sunday Opinion editor Bob Sipchen writes that he rejected it as "several hundred... |
Kevin Drum: Sunday Opinion editor Bob Sipchen thought its accuracy was debatable: [snipped quote] Click here to read the whole thing and then vote. |
Boats, Cows, Tasty Lamb: Iraq Battles Smuggling By / NYT — Permalink ZOWER CHUM, on the Iran-Iraq Border - With a Kalashnikov rifle slung over one shoulder, Kadhum Mahmoud took a few brisk steps on the snow-packed earth and crossed from Iraq into Iran. | |
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Bill Roggio: Another interesting sign of success is this latest article in the New York Times, discussing the rise of smuggling in Iraq. Cori Dauber: And one of the services that are consistently forgotten about, at that. |
Juan Cole: Likewise, Ed Wong of the NYT tells us about the smuggling that underpins so much of Iraq's economy right now. |
Iraqi resistance begins to crack after elections By / Observer — Permalink The Iraqi resistance has peaked and is 'turning in on itself', according to recent intelligence reports from Baghdad received by Middle Eastern intelligence agencies. The reports are the most optimistic for several months and reflect analysts' sense that recent elections in Iraq marked a 'quantum shift'. | |
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Cori Dauber: But, man, when you start reading that in the Guardian, you've really got to start wondering if this isn't something more than just another temporary lull. (via Memeorandum.) Jan Haugland: Cracks in the anti-Iraqi coalition — Jason Burke in the Observer reports strong signs that the terrorist groups in Iraq... Pejman Yousefzadeh: When even the Guardian admits that the resistance is losing steam: [snipped quote] As with many other reports from... |
Captain Ed: Second British Newspaper Notices We're Winning, American Media Still Clueless — The Guardian (UK) follows up on a... Arthur Chrenkoff: From today's arch-lefty Brit "Guardian": "Iraqi resistance begins to crack after elections": [snipped quote] The article... Norm Geras: Iraqis against the 'insurgency' — Jason Burke writes in today's Observer on intelligence reports that suggest the... |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
DeLay quietly steps out of Schiavo spotlight NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Early this week, Tom DeLay assumed an uncharacteristically visible role in the Terri Schiavo case, pressing Congress to intervene, invoking God and attacking Schiavo's husband before television cameras and on the House floor. | |
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Jack Cluth: Of course, once it became clear that there was no further political benefits to be gained, Tom DeLay and other Congressional Republicans quickly stepped aside. Tim Dunlop: I wonder what his "conservtive supporters" will make of it, especially when they have been making comments like this:... |
Joe Gandelman: Consistency is not exactly the adjective that can be applied here... UPDATE: The New York Times offers this report about how he has now quietly stepped out of the spotlight. |