meme orandum
| Fresh brewed news plus stewing views |
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Author Of Schiavo Memo Steps Forward By / WaPo — Permalink The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night. | |
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Von @ObsidianWings: Let me get this straight. by von The Washington Post got the infamous Schiavo memo kinda wrong (and then corrected... Skippy: cnn actually almost apologized by now you have probably heard that the schiavo memo (say that three times fast), which a... Billmon: And, to add to the sheer humiliation of it all, the right wingers had to read about their failure in the paper they most... |
David Neiwert: But then it turned out this morning in the Washington Post that they were all wet: Counsel to GOP Senator Wrote Memo On... Mipe @ThinkProgress: Schiavo Memo Hysteria: A Retrospective — So the latest, albeit terribly unsurprising, revelation is that the Schiavo... RDF @Corrente: Washington Post" I guess he admitted it because he felt threatened. |
| Also: Steve Soto, Giblets, Barbara O'Brien, Ann Althouse, The Big Trunk, Atrios, Michelle Malkin, Hei Lun, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, Mitch Berg, Josh Marshall, Kevin Aylward, Jeff A. Taylor, Jeralyn Merritt, Captain Ed, Joe Gandelman, Hindrocket, Deacon, Glenn Reynolds, Rickheller @Centerfield, Armando @DailyKos, Kevin Drum, Pudentilla, Orin Kerr, Jon @ThinkProgress, Garrett M. Graff, Taegan Goddard, Kos @DailyKos, Betsy Newmark, K. J. Lopez, Roger Ailes, Spoons | |
JENNA IN DIRTY DISCO DANCE New York Post — Permalink April 7, 2005 — VIDEOTAPE of Jenna Bush in very high spirits at a bachelorette party is being sold and could end up on national TV by the end of the week. Luckily for Jenna, the cameraman missed "the high point . . . | |
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Tbogg: When you get that notion, put your backfield in motion, hey.. Well, Mom and Dad are out of the country attending the Pope's funeral...so let's get it started!!! Chris Lawrence: Butt Dance — I don't know what's sadder: that Jenna Bush was at a party doing the "butt dance," or that this is the... Taegan Goddard: White House Braces for Jenna Bush Video — The New York Post reports that a video of Jenna Bush "on all fours doing 'the... |
Kevin Aylward: Been There, Done That jenna_barbaaara0405.jpg If today's Page Six story about Jenna Bush getting wild and crazy at a... James Joyner: New York Post Page 6: "VIDEOTAPE of Jenna Bush in very high spirits at a bachelorette party is being sold and could end up on national TV by the end of the week. Jeff Quinton: Page Six "VIDEOTAPE of Jenna Bush in very high spirits at a bachelorette party is being sold and could end up on national TV by the end of the week. |
Dissecting a right-wing smear: How conservatives used questionable evidence to blame Democrats for Schiavo memo Media Matters for America — Permalink Despite a lack of evidence, several media sources have repeated conservative speculation and accusations that Democrats secretly authored a "talking points" memo that described the Terri Schiavo case as a "great political issue" for Senate Republicans. | |
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Oliver Willis: Exposing The Memo Bitches — Categories: Liberal Media | Media | News | Politics | Republican Noise Machine |... Atrios: Dissecting a Smear — Media Matters goes through the entire fake memo nonsense. |
Kos @DailyKos: And, Media Matters gives us the anatomy of a right-wing smear: "Despite a lack of evidence, several media sources have... |
The Tom DeLay Scandals By / Slate — Permalink Tom DeLay, the second-ranking member of the House of Representatives, has long been a bogeyman to the left for his outrageous rhetoric, strong-arm tactics, and shady dealings. The congressman's supporters and Republican colleagues had been pledging complete fealty, and stories about his dirty linen had stayed on the back pages. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Power Corrupts — When even a yellow dog Republican like me thinks the Congressional GOP majority is starting to smell... Jeff Jarvis: LATER: I also hadn't following the DeLay messes, but Slate kindly does a stink wrap-up. |
Glenn Reynolds: I HAVEN'T PAID MUCH ATTENTION to the various Tom DeLay scandals — there are so many! — but here's a roundup from Slate. |
France pulps copies of EU treaty BBC — Permalink The French government has destroyed 162,000 copies of the EU constitution because the phrase "incoherent text" was printed on a page by mistake. The copies had been intended for use in town halls and libraries across France. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: IN ERRATUM, VERITAS — Or something like that. (I hope that I guessed right on the Latin.) Josh Chafetz: "THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has destroyed 162,000 copies of the EU constitution because the phrase 'incoherent text' was printed on a page by mistake." |
Glenn Reynolds: HEH: [snipped quote] (Via Oxblog.) |
GOP Is Fracturing Over Power of Judiciary By / WaPo — Permalink The Terri Schiavo case has reinvigorated a drive by congressional conservatives to discipline and curtail the power of federal judges, just as Senate Republicans are trying to repel Democratic claims that the GOP is extremist and overreaching in its bid to shape the federal judiciary. | |
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Ann Althouse: The Washington Post has an article about the struggles within the Republican Party about the judiciary, including this... Hugh Hewitt: Against that factual backdrop, read today's Washington Post account of the looming confrontation. Judith Weiss: Some polls show that Republicans are deeply divided over federal power, But the Democrats might want to hold off on celebrating. |
Sam Rosenfeld: And chances are that their hesitancy is due less to kitschy Schoolhouse Rock homages than to the worries and regrets... Steve Soto: Pretty toxic, as evidenced by a piece in today's Post and the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out today. |
Activist hit by pie at Butler lecture Indianapolis Star — Permalink A conservative activist who criticizes what he calls the leftist domination of college campuses was struck with a pie Wednesday night at Butler University. David Horowitz, president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, had just started a lecture at Butler when he was hit. | |
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Joe Gandelman: The Three Stooges Are Rolling Over In Their Custard — This is now getting ridiculous, if it wasn't at the beginning so... Steve Antler: Gotcha you turd, you lump, you couldda been DEAD. It all came back to me this morning. Michelle Malkin: At Butler University, they threw a pie at David Horowitz. |
Steve Bainbridge: Just freaking lovely. Update: Meanwhile, the thug left's pie offensive continues, this time zapping David Horowitz. Taegan Goddard: More Pie-Throwing Activists — David Horowitz, "a conservative activist who criticizes what he calls the leftist... |
SECRET TESTIMONY REVEALED By / Globe and Mail — Permalink Montreal — A Montreal ad executive at the heart of the federal sponsorship scandal says Liberal organizers pressed him into secretly donating more than a million dollars to them through various covert methods that included envelopes full of cash, fake invoices and putting phony employees on his payroll. | |
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Captain Ed: A Big Thank You To My Friends In Canada — Now that the publication ban has been lifted, at least from the Brault... Damian Penny: Update: this Globe and Mail story (which I haven't had time to fully read yet) appears to be the most detailed so far. |
Kate @OTB: The Globe and Mail is out of the box with the Brault testimony. There is almost too much to absorb in one or two readings. |
The Dean Activists: Their Profile and Prospects Pew Research Center — Permalink I. Dean Activists and the Democrats II. On the Campaign Trail III. The Activists, the Media and the Internet | |
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Rickheller @Centerfield: A Profile Of Dean Activists — The Pew Center has released a survey, The Dean Activists: Their Profile and Prospects . Taegan Goddard: The Pew Research Center gives us a detailed profile of the activists involved in Howard Dean's failed presidential bid... |
Steve Bainbridge: Or, at least that's how I interpret a Pew survey of them. |
Congress may extend daylight-saving time AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — If Congress passes an energy bill, Americans may see more daylight-saving time. Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November. | |
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David Cohen: MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING PROVED — Congress may extend daylight-saving time (AP, 4/7/05) [snipped quote] I have, in the... Jonah Goldberg: THE ANNOY JOHN MILLER ACT OF 2005 — Details here. |
Kevin Drum: DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME....A House committee approved an amendment today that would extend Daylight Savings Time, adding a month onto both the beginning and end. |
Bush Nominee for U.N. Post Faces Hurdles NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 6 - A former chief of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research is expected to testify in opposition to John R. Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on Mr. Bolton next week. | |
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Dave Meyer: This morning's important New York Times article on the John Bolton hearings claims that the Democratic strategy on... Kevin Drum: FORD ON BOLTON....Here's an interesting tidbit about John Bolton's increasingly precarious nomination as UN ambassador: [snipped quote] Carl Ford. |
Steve Soto: Not only does Republican senator Lincoln Chafee have reservations about Bolton, and not only was Colin Powell the one... Pudentilla: no, you talk "bush nominee for u.n. post faces hurdles at senate panel - mr. bolton has declined to comment on the... |
Source Of Schiavo Memo Revealed CBS News — Permalink (AP) Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez says an infamous unsigned memo passed around on Capitol Hill emphasizing the politics of the Terri Schiavo case originated in his office. | |
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Kevin Drum: Martinez had a copy of the offending memo in his pocket and Republican aides in other offices confirmed that they had received copies too. |
Ann Althouse: He writes: "Martinez had a copy of the offending memo in his pocket and Republican aides in other offices confirmed that they had received copies too. |
Blinded by Junk Science NRO — Permalink America's leftist economists are swarming the media in an attempt to turn back President Bush's initiative to modernize Social Security with personal accounts. Yet for all their seeming brain-power, they are entirely bereft of ideas of their own. | |
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PGL: More Junk Science for Luskin — Now that Brad DeLong shows us that Donald Luskin is inconsistent, let's provide Luskin with a few relevant samples of "junk science". Jesse Taylor: Funnier Than The Pacifier! Donald Luskin on...Christ, on anything. |
Brad DeLong: A correspondent writes: Donald Luskin: NRO Financial April 4, 2005: The actuaries, as noted earlier, assume about 1.9... |
Officials: Man Not Held Against His Will By / AP — Permalink TUCSON, Ariz. - Authorities determined Thursday that three volunteers involved in a civilian project to watch the border and report illegal crossers did not hold an illegal immigrant against his will. | |
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McQ: UPDATE: It now appears that the authorities have concluded that the illegal was not detained against his will. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Border Patrolling Minutemen Under Investigation — Update: Investigation over, no forcible detention. |
Schwarzenegger Abandons Pension Overhaul By / AP — Permalink SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Under pressure from firefighters and police officers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday backed off, for now, his plan to privatize California's public employee pension system. | |
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Chris Bowers: Arnold Gets His Butt Kicked — It is a major defeat, and it shows he is vulnerable: "Under pressure from firefighters... |
Josh Marshall: Schwarzenegger abandons phase-out in California, at least until 2006. It's sort of like with Bush and Arnold and dope. |
Democrats Block Nomination Over Morning-After Pill By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 6 - President Bush's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration is being blocked from Senate confirmation by two Democrats who said Wednesday that they would hold up a vote until the agency settled the long-delayed question of whether an emergency contraceptive could be sold over the counter. | |
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LeanLeft: My very own Senator, Hillary Clinton, joined by one of the upper chamber's leading women's advocates, Senator Patty... Nathan Hallford: Today's New York Times contains an article entitled "Democrats Block Nomination Over Morning-After Pill." |
Glenn Reynolds: LET FACTION COUNTER FACTION: "President Bush's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration is being blocked from... Pudentilla: you start electing women legislators — [snipped quote] and they start protecting the right of women to control their own... |
DeLay defense fund donations slow By / Dallas Morning News — Permalink WASHINGTON - Donations to Majority Leader Tom DeLay's defense fund have slowed considerably in the last few months. Some of his critics hope to cut the money flow even more with a new line of attack launched Wednesday demanding that corporate donors stop covering his legal bills. | |
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Josh Marshall: The headline in the Dallas Morning News tells the tale: "DeLay defense fund donations slow." Charles Kuffner: DeLay defense fund donations slow [snipped quote] Uh huh. As has been asked elsewhere, maybe he should ask his wife for the money. |
Jon @ThinkProgress: Helping Out Poor Tom DeLay — In today's Dallas Morning News, American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner explains his... |
Republicans Splinter On Bush Agenda By / WSJ — Permalink Almost three months into President Bush's second term, a raft of economic and social issues — Social Security, immigration, gay marriage and the recent national debate over Terri Schiavo — is splintering the Republican base. | |
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Joe Gandelman: GOP Bigwigs' Policies Are Polarizing Their Own Party — A new Wall Street Journal poll might serve as a wake-up call to... Sam Rosenfeld: The latest Wall Street Journal poll (via Josh Marshall) has some pretty astonishing numbers that go a long way toward... Glenn Reynolds: WSJ POLL: "Republicans Splinter On Bush Agenda." The headline overstates things a bit, but I do think the poll underscores problems that some of us have been noting. |
Dan Froomkin: Poll Watch John Harwood writes in the Wall Street Journal: "Almost three months into President Bush's second term, a... Jeff Jarvis: Fun with polls I : Today's Wall Street Journal poll (free link) reveals splits among Republicans. Oliver Willis: Republicans Splinter On Bush Agenda [snipped quote] » link | Oliver Willis's blog | comments » Get e-mail alerts |
| Also: Josh Marshall | |
Eagan blogger fans Canadian scandal By / Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink Hearings in the case are open to the public, including the news media. However, Gomery limited news coverage of the proceedings so as not to taint potential jurors for upcoming trials involving a government bureaucrat and two advertising executives facing criminal charges. | |
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Mitch Berg: Ed Is Everywhere — Captain Ed, of Captain's Quarters, is bigger than Wayne Gretzky these days, at least if you're... James Joyner: Even the infamous Star Tribune is getting into the act: Eagan blogger fans Canadian scandal "Traffic on the website was... |
Captain Ed: Finally, the local Minneapolis Star-Tribune called last night for an interview and ran it in today's edition, which must have just barely made it in before deadline. The Big Trunk: In its own backyard the Minneapolis Star Tribune narrowly avoided being scooped by the Times: "Eagan blogger fans Canadian scandal." |
News Channels' Challenge: How to Fill the Airtime By / NYT — Permalink Given Pope John Paul II's global footprint in life, it is not surprising that all forms of mass media have converged on Rome to honor and document his death. And given the appetites and needs of modern journalism, it was inevitable that the sacred and the profane, the solemn and the silly, would cross paths again and again. | |
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Jesse Taylor: CNN's news coverage the past week: POOOOOOOOOOOOOPE JackCaffertyStockMarket POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE MichaelJackson... Brian Stelter: Pope: Filling All The Airtime — [snipped quote] NYT's David Carr writes... |
Jim Romenesko: "> Cable news reporters on pope beat struggle to fill airtime (NYT) > TV coverage fails to capture complexities of John Paul, his church (HC) |
Annan: U.N. Needs New Human Rights Body By / AP — Permalink GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations needs a new, permanent human rights body if it is to prevent appalling suffering around the world, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday. | |
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Vanderleun: Reportage Redux — The Rest of the Web Today YES, WHILE I WAS OUT along the coast in Big Sur earlier this week, getting... |
Glenn Reynolds: Meanwhile, the criticism of the U.N. and its institutions just gets harsher: "Speaking at the U.N. Human Rights... |
Cornyn responds to backlash from judicial speech By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink WASHINGTON - Sen. John Cornyn admitted Wednesday that he blundered in a speech on the Senate floor suggesting a connection between courthouse violence and political decisions by judges. | |
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Jack Cluth: This is exactly why no Republican bothers to think on the Senate floor — Cornyn responds to backlash from judicial... Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: Cornyn was still doing a MAJOR CYA on Wednesday, lashing out at those who dared criticize him: [quote] "The lesson I...[end quote] |
Judd @ThinkProgress: Here is what he said to the Houston Chronicle in today's edition: [snipped quote] I guess he missed the lesson on taking responsibility for your actions. Charles Kuffner: Cornyn: Still clueless — Obviously, I gave John Cornyn too much credit when I said he'd "apologized" for his stupid and... |
The Rearguard Pope NRO — Permalink One man vs. a posthuman tsunami. I am not a Roman Catholic. In fact, I was raised in the old English tradition to think of the Roman Church as a sinister continental conspiracy — hatchet-faced Jesuits in purple robes, lurking in dark corridors, muttering subversion in Latin — to deprive honest Englishmen of their liberties. | |
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K. J. Lopez: This comes up in an InstaPundit highlighting of a bit of John Derbyshire today. |
Glenn Reynolds: JOHN PAUL II — FAILURE? [snipped quote] I am less troubled by this than some, but I rather doubt that the path actually leads to Huxley's Brave New World. |
Pope Reborn as Superhero in Comic Reuters — Permalink BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Pope John Paul II is being reborn in a Colombian comic book as a superhero battling evil with an anti-Devil cape and special chastity pants. | |
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Kevin Aylward: [AP] It's The Man From Horse, and the women too. |
Michele Catalano: And just so you know: Pope John Paul II is being reborn in a Colombian comic book as a superhero battling evil with an anti-Devil cape and special chastity pants. |
DeLay Denounces Report on Payments to His Family NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 6 - Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, on Wednesday angrily dismissed newspaper accounts that focused on payments to his wife and daughter as well as on additional trips taken by him that have come under scrutiny. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Tom "The Hammer" DeLay has hammered back at critics in the press (and we presume he also includes blogs) that have dared... Noam Scheiber: A WINDOW ONTO THE CONSERVATIVE MIND: This graf from today's Times story on DeLay got me thinking: [snipped quote] My... Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, the New York Times notes DeLay called the newspaper's story yesterday "just another seedy attempt by the liberal media to embarrass me." |
Howard Kurtz: The Hammer is hitting back against the MSM: "Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, on Wednesday angrily... Tbogg: They work hard for the money... Tom DeLay defends his no-talent daughter and wife and the money that they made:... |
A Blog Written From Minneapolis Rattles Canada's Liberal Party By / NYT — Permalink TORONTO, April 6 - An American blogger has suddenly emerged as a force in Canadian politics. Edward Morrissey, a 42-year-old Minneapolis area call-center manager who runs a Web log, or blog, called Captain's Quarters as a hobby, last Saturday began posting allegations of corruption that reached the highest levels of the Canadian Liberal Party. | |
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Captain Ed: Yesterday and this morning, several articles appeared around the country, including an interview I did with the New York... Glenn Reynolds: I think that the blogosphere — and especially Ed Morrissey, as this NYT story illustrates — deserves some credit for this. The Big Trunk: Canada's Captain — The New York Times features a story on our Northern Alliance colleague and Captain's Quarters... |
James Joyner: A Blog Written From Minneapolis Rattles Canada's Liberal Party (NYT) "An American blogger has suddenly emerged as a force in Canadian politics. Jeff Jarvis: So I missed the CampusJ's correction of the NY Times and I missed Captain's Quarters rattling Canadian authorities (here's The Times' story). Lorie Byrd: Even The NYT Has Noticed — Captain Ed has done some excellent work on the scandal in Canada - even the NYT has noticed. |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
Whatever You Do, Don't Read This... By / Reuters — Permalink PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Reuters) - Tony Troiano grimaced as he was lifted off the floor by giant fishhooks pierced through the skin on his shoulders. Within minutes, he started to spin, swing his feet and declare the painful experience "the greatest thing" ever. | |
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Vanderleun: Whatever You Do, Don't Read This... Okay, I admit upfront that I hate, actively hate, this sort of behavior in a raging, frothing, and utterly irrational way. |
Kevin Aylward: [AP] It's The Man From Horse, and the women too. [Rueters] New! Anti Monkey Butt Powder. |
Annan says rights body harming UN BBC — Permalink UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accused the UN Human Rights Commission of failing to uphold human rights and said a new, permanent body is needed. Speaking in Geneva, Mr Annan said the commission was undermining the credibility of the entire UN. | |
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Jan Haugland: Annan wants to re-make UN Human Rights Commission — Even Kofi Annan is embarrassed by the United Nations Human Rights... |
Norm Geras: Today: 'Annan says rights body harming UN'. What rights body is that? |
Crime of the Century By / Weekly Standard — Permalink A STUNNING REVELATION buzzed throughout Italy last week. According to two Italian newspapers, German government officials had found proof that the Soviet Union ordered the May 13, 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. | |
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Jesse Walker: That Darn Media — At The Weekly Standard, Thomas Joscelyn is in a tizzy over the way the "elite media" "ignores" the... The Big Trunk: Crime of the century — Thomas Joscelyn's Daily Standard piece on the plot to kill the pope is the must-read column of the day: "Crime of the century." |
Betsy Newmark: The Daily Standard recalls how the New York Times and the CIA were strangely indifferent linking the Soviet Union to the... |
A Poet Laureate's Royal Call: Dreamy Ode to Ridiculed Love By / NYT — Permalink LONDON, April 6 - How do you solve a problem like "Camilla"? If you are Andrew Motion, Britain's poet laureate and the man charged with producing a cheerful commemorative poem about Prince Charles's impending marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles, none of the obvious rhymes - vanilla, flotilla, Godzilla - seem appropriate, somehow. | |
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Edward _: Camilla and Charles Commemoration Contest —Edward hilzoy has led the charge in highlighting that it's Poetry Month... |
Josh Chafetz: THE ANXIETY OF STATUS: Sarah Lyall has an interesting piece on the challenges facing Andrew Motion, British poet... |
NYC Teens Held in Suicide Bomb Plot AP — Permalink NEW YORK (AP) — Two 16-year-old girls from New York City have been arrested on immigration charges after federal authorities said they planned to become suicide bombers, according to a published report. | |
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Charles Johnson: Two Teenaged Girls Held in Suicide Bomb Plot — Two teenaged Muslim girls have been arrested on immigration charges in... |
Scott Sala: The NY Times also reports in today's paper that 2 New York teens were "arrested on immigration charges after federal authorities said they planned to become suicide bombers." |
Handoff to Local Forces Being Tested in Mosul By / WaPo — Permalink MOSUL, Iraq — The two dozen Iraqi soldiers marched in formation into downtown Mosul, streets emptying in their path. The men trained their rifles on potential bomb threats: a donkey-drawn vegetable cart, a blue Opel sedan, a man with a bulge beneath his tattered gray coat. | |
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McQ: Testing it out in Mosul — An important test begins in Iraq: "The two dozen Iraqi soldiers marched in formation into downtown Mosul, streets emptying in their path. Cori Dauber: Iraqis on Patrol in Mosul — The Iraqi Army is on patrol successfully in Mosul, a city that was not too long ago... Orrin Judd: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Handoff to Local Forces Being Tested in Mosul: U.S. Military Is Accelerating Transition (Steve... |
Captain Ed: Testing Their Mettle — The Iraqi security forces will get their first test of effectiveness in Mosul, as the Americans... Pejman Yousefzadeh: HANDOFF — Reassuring as it is to see the Iraqis take control of and responsibility for their own security, it is... |
I owe you an apology for Sunday's column: Here it is By / Detroit Free Press — Permalink To our readers: I made an assumption in a column this past weekend. It was a bad move. In a column written Friday for our Sunday newspaper, I assumed that what I had been told by Mateen Cleaves and Jason Richardson had indeed happened, that they had indeed flown to the Final Four, sat in the stands together rooting on Michigan State in Saturday's game. | |
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Jim Romenesko: Albom apologizes for getting "caught in an assumption" — Detroit Free Press Mitch Albom's Sunday Detroit Free Press... |
Ed Cone: UPDATE: These guys could learn something from Mitch Albom. |
It's enough to make an Angel cry CANOE — Permalink You know that Paul Martin and his Liberal government have reached a true ethical milestone when even the Hells Angels are holding their noses at the stench of the Adscam fiasco. | |
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Damian Penny: Another voting bloc lost — The all-important Biker-Canadian community won't be supporting the Liberals this time... |
Kate @OTB: Greg Weston. Sun Media; [snipped quote] Via Political Staples. |
Broadcasters' prayers for colleague Jennings By / Newsday — Permalink WASHINGTON — For the second night following his diagnosis for lung cancer, ABC News' Peter Jennings was off "World News Tonight," but his presence was felt at a major TV and radio correspondents dinner in Washington, where Vice President Dick Cheney, among others, offered prayers for a speedy recovery. | |
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Brian Stelter: TV Correspondents Dinner: Peter Jennings On The Minds Of Many — Peter Jennings' "presence was felt" at the RTCA dinner, Verne Gay writes. |
Jim Romenesko: > Jennings' presence felt at Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner (Newsday) |
Senator's Office Source of Schiavo Memo By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - A one-page unsigned memo that became part of the debate preceding Congress' vote ordering a federal court review of the Terri Schiavo case originated in Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez' office, Martinez said Wednesday. | |
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Arnold P. California: But today? Some disposable, anonymous GOP aide (allegedly a lawyer) admits to writing it. Guess whose office he worked for? Jerome Armstrong: Update: (Chris) They wanted to make a big deal of this, so let's play along. Go to Yahoo and rate this story up. |
Michelle Malkin: THE SCHIAVO MEMO AND THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS — One thing is clear from those who are cackling over news that Sen. Mel... |
Laughs Are Muted at Radio-TV Fete By / WaPo — Permalink There was no presidential stand-up gig at the 61st Radio & Television Correspondents Association dinner last night at the Hilton Washington. That would be the traditional laugh-riot that became (for a change) memorable last year when President Bush narrated a... | |
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Brian Stelter: TV Correspondents Dinner: CNN's Guests — Quoting the Post's party review: "In lieu of celebrity guests, CNN invited a... |
Jim Romenesko: Not many laughs at 61st Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner — Washington Post "I'm not into funny," said Dick Cheney, who was in charge of comedy for the White House. |
Intimidation at Columbia NYT — Permalink Columbia University has been roiled for months by a contentious dispute over allegations of intimidation of students in the Middle East studies program. Sad to say, the school has botched the handling of this emotionally charged issue from the start, thereby allowing festering concerns to erupt into a full-scale boil. | |
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Daniel Drezner: Meanwhile, the lead Times editorial discusses the fracas at Columbia's Middle Eastern Studies program — in which... |
David Gerstman: Covering for Columbia — Today's editorial, "Intimidation at Columbia" criticizes the Columbia panel designated to... |
Survey Paints Portrait of Dean Supporters By / WaPo — Permalink Howard Dean's failed presidential campaign left behind a cadre of political activists who now constitute the most liberal faction of the Democratic Party and who believe the party should move to the left as it tries to rebound from Sen. John F. Kerry's loss to President Bush, according to a unique survey of Dean's followers. | |
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Kieran Healy: Meanwhile, Tad Brennan finds the Washington Post describing the unusual educational careers of Howard Dean supporters: ... Orrin Judd: THE LUNATIC FRINGE TAKES THE HELM: Survey Paints Portrait of Dean Supporters (Dan Balz, April 7, 2005, Washington Post)... |
Rickheller @Centerfield: Dan Balz of the Washington Post has looked into it. |
DeLay's woes make Democrats think of '06 Houston Chronicle — Permalink WASHINGTON - As renewed ethics questions about Tom DeLay make the front pages of major newspapers, some involving trips he took eight years ago, Democratic activists see a potent issue for the 2006 congressional elections. | |
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Jack Cluth: Being Republican means never having to say you're sorry — DeLay's way paid by lobby, some say: Pro-Russian business... |
Taegan Goddard: DeLay Becomes the Issue — "As renewed ethics questions about" Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) "make the front pages of major... |
Saddam 'upset' at Kurd's election Guardian — Permalink Saddam Hussein watched the televised election of Iraq's new president from his jail cell yesterday and was "clearly upset", a senior official said. Jalal Talabani, a former Kurdish guerrilla commander and sworn enemy of Saddam, was elected to the highest office in a parliamentary ballot, bringing a new government a step closer. | |
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Jan Haugland: Saddam 'upset' about Kurd being Iraq's new president — From the Guardian, maybe surprisingly: Saddam Hussein watched... Captain Ed: Then one day, you turn on the TV, and see this: "Jalal Talabani, a former Kurdish guerrilla commander and sworn enemy... Ann Althouse: Saddam "upset." He didn't like what was on television: Jalal Talabani, elected President of Iraq. |
Harry @HarrysPlace: Before and After — Saddam Hussein watched the televised election of Iraq's new president from his jail cell yesterday and was "clearly upset", a senior official said. McQ: In the "Life's a Bitch" category ... we have a visibly upset Saddam watching the election of a Kurd to the... Stephen Pollard: Pass the hanky — The poor dear: "Saddam Hussein watched the televised election of Iraq's new president from his jail... |
Schiavo Memo Is Attributed to Senate Aide By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 6 - Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, said Wednesday that a senior member of his staff had written an unsigned memorandum about the partisan political advantages of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo that became a controversial footnote to the debate over the wisdom and motives of Congress's actions. | |
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Jeff Goldstein: The Schiavo Senate Memo Mystery Solved — From the New York Times: [snipped quote] Senator Harkin is also the only member... Ann Althouse: UPDATE: The NYT has this: "In his statement, Mr. Martinez said that on March 9 he had mistakenly and unknowingly handed... Oliver Willis: Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. MORE: Schiavo Memo Is Attributed to Senate Aide I am laughing so hard now. So. Damn. Hard. |
Roger Ailes: Martinez "resigned" his chief counsel, Brian Darling, for authoring the G.O.P. talking points memo on Terri Schiavo that... Charles Johnson: Schiavo Memo Attributed — The MemoGate II scandal that wasn't: Schiavo Memo Is Attributed to Senate Aide. (Hat tip: LGF readers.) |
Papers Say Leak Probe Is Over By / WaPo — Permalink The special prosecutor investigating whether Bush administration officials illegally revealed the identity of a covert CIA operative says he finished his investigation months ago, except for questioning two reporters who have refused to testify. | |
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Jim Romenesko: Sources: Fitzgerald unlikely to seek leak case indictments — Washington Post Carol D. Leonnig hears special prosecutor... Laura Rozen: Late Wednesday Update: More from the Washington Post: "The sources ... said Fitzgerald may instead seek to charge a... Lorie Byrd: UPDATE: Here is the Washington Post story. |
Betsy Newmark: Patrick Fitzgerald who is conducting the investigation into the leak about Valerie Plame has filed papers stating that... Orrin Judd: NO CRIME UNTIL THE INVESTIGATION, A WASHINGTON CLASSIC: Papers Say Leak Probe Is Over (Carol D. Leonnig, April 7, 2005,... |
Bush Nominee for U.N. Post Faces Hurdles at Senate Panel NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 6 - A former chief of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research is expected to testify in opposition to John R. Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on Mr. Bolton next week. | |
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Charles Bird: To be sure, there are questions that need answering, and his confirmation is not a sure thing. |
Steve Clemons: This from the powerful Steven Weisman/Douglas Jehl New York Times article this morning: [snipped quote] This battle is going to be ferocious. |
DeLay's Lavish Island Getaway By / ABCNEWS — Permalink April 6, 2005 — A Washington lobbyist under federal investigation for his lobbying activities arranged a lavish overseas trip to the island of Saipan for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, over the New Year's holiday in 1997. | |
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Garance Franke-Ruta: ABC News reported this morning that DeLay also travelled to Saipan with his family in late 1997 as "part of an effort by... Kos @DailyKos: When it rains... Another trip, this one reported by ABC News: [snipped quote] So what's the tally? |
Josh Marshall: If I'm not mistaken, this new story about Tom DeLay's junket to the Marianas back in the late 1990s is pretty much the same story we read in the late 1990s. |
Berger's Plea Opinion Journal — Permalink We've never been considered soft on the Clinton Administration or its leading personalities. So we hope we'll have some credibility, especially with our friends on the right, when we say that the misdemeanor plea bargain struck by the Justice Department last week with former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger looks to be a reasonable outcome. | |
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Jonah Goldberg: WSJ AND SANDY BERGER — I don't really mind that the Journal has come to the defense of Sandy Berger. Dean Esmay: Free Sandy Berger by Dean Today's Wall Street Journal editorial page says the Justice Department is right to give Sandy Berger his plea bargain. |
Kevin Drum: The Wall Street Journal, of all places, is defending the plea bargain that was concluded in the Sandy Berger case:... Steve Antler: An EconoAnalogy — Why does all this remind me of the contrast between Sandy Berger and Martha Stewart? |
Murder, Incorporated? By / WaPo — Permalink The coming revolution against the United States government was announced on the Internet via a manifesto by a self-described "proud and insolent youth," a college sophomore who sought to be our leader. This was to be the spark: | |
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Hoke: Murder.com: Killer Confesses to Politically-Motivated Slaying on IndyMedia — Shockingly, it's covered by the WaPo; but... Tom Paine: Better luck next time eh? Well, could that time be now? Is this the first snowflake of fimbulwinter? Orrin Judd: SOMEONE TAKES PAUL KRUGMAN A TAD TOO SERIOUSLY (via Governor Breck): Murder, Incorporated? : The Targets Were Capitalism, and Officer Mobilio. |
Steve Bainbridge: "(WaPo)" In order to square the story with the Post's world view, the reporter has to finesse the fact that this is a leftist killer. Charles Johnson: The Indymedia Murderer — With a degree from Evergreen State (Rachel Corrie's alma mater), a trip to the West Bank as a... |
Author of Schiavo memo steps forward By / MSNBC — Permalink The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night. | |
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Tbogg: Even wankers need someone to look down on... First off, le rocket du butt was...wrong: The legal counsel to Sen. Mel... |
Jerome Armstrong: Update: Brian Darling (The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), a former lobbyist for the Alexander Strategy... |
America Supports You: Businessman Helps Families of Fallen Troops By / DefenseLINK — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 6, 2005 - "Freedom isn't free," asserted San Diego-area businessman James Lee. That's why, Lee said, he's promoting the sales of G.I.-styled bracelets to assist families of servicemembers who've been killed or wounded while serving in the war against terrorism. | |
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Mary @LeftCoaster: For more information, read this piece in the DefenseLINK. And then go visit www.gi-bracelet.org. Lorie Byrd: G.I. Bracelets — This sounds like a good idea. |
Jesse Taylor: Brace For It — I have to say I appreciate these G.I. bracelets a hell of a lot more than I do those ridiculous (and ubiquitous) yellow-ribbon stickers. |
How Many Government Agencies Does It Take To Teach Soldiers Arabic? By / Slate — Permalink I've just read one of the funniest and saddest government documents I've run across in years. Published by the Pentagon (the source of most such things) under the title "Defense Language Transformation Roadmap," it details the official plan for improving foreign-language skills among U.S. military personnel. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Fred Kaplan details with appropriate lamentations the Defense Department's pathetic efforts to get more speakers of key... Laura Rozen: Read Slate's Fred Kaplan for a disheartening analysis of why the Pentagon apparently can't manage to teach soldiers foreign languages. |
Juan Cole: The Department of Defense is having difficulty, according to Fred Kaplan at Slate, in coming up with a policy on teaching Arabic to Pentagon personnel. |
Does Israel Have a Right to Exist? By / Front Page Magazine — Permalink A friend of mine asked me how I would answer the following question: "By what right does Israel exist? Why does the world need such a hell-hole of a country, an apartheid-racist-war-mongering-Jewish theocracy?" | |
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Ted Belman: David Meir-Levi writing in FrontPageMag asks this question rhetorically and argues [snipped quote] Paul Eidelberg, in... |
Joseph Alexander Norland: At the site of FrontPageMag: "Does Israel Have a Right to Exist", by David Meir-Levi, whose articles have been posted on IsraPundit in the past. |
Was the Schiavo memo a fake? Washington Times — Permalink All 55 Republican senators say they have never seen the Terri Schiavo political talking-points memo that Democrats say was circulated among Republicans during the floor debate over whether the federal government should intervene to prolong her life. | |
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Steve Soto: The pathetic Washington Times even postulated that the memo may have been a fake, and ran a story that none of the Senate's 55 Republicans ever saw the memo. Arnold P. California: Yum! Crow Tastes Like Chicken! Yesterday's Washington Times top, above-the-fold headline: Was the Schiavo Memo a Fake? Jerome Armstrong: Martinez flat out lied to reporters (A survey by The Washington Times found that every Republican said the memo was not crafted or distributed by him or her.) last month. |
Kos @DailyKos: Aravosis found most of these: Sen. Bennet: [quote] Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, said the issue "stinks" of a news...[end quote] Michelle Malkin: Sen. Mel Martinez told the Washington Times he did not see the Schiavo memo until ABC News and the Post publicized it. Lorie Byrd: The Washinton Times article has the most information on the actual distribution of the memo (if it was distributed, at all) that I have seen since this at The American Spectator. |
| Also: Deacon, Jon @ThinkProgress, The Big Trunk, Roger Ailes, Betsy Newmark | |
Exclusive: Plame Game Over? By / American Prospect — Permalink The special prosecutor investigating whether any Bush administration official may have violated federal law by leaking the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak recently informed a federal court that his investigation has been "for all practical purposes complete" since October 2004. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Valerie Plame Investigation May Be Over — Murray Waas at American Prospect reports that the investigation into who... Kevin Drum: VALERIE PLAME UPDATE...In the American Prospect today, Murray Waas reports that in a public filing last month the... Orrin Judd: MORE: Plame Game Over? : The special prosecutor says his investigation was "for all practical purposes complete" six months ago. |
Dan Froomkin: Valerie Plame Watch Free-lance investigative reporter Murray Waas writes in the American Prospect online this morning:... Laura Rozen: Journalist Murray Waas reports in The American Prospect that Plame special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald filed court papers... Jim Romenesko: Leak probe "for all practical purposes" was finished last year — American Prospect Special prosecutor Patrick... |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Atrios | |
GOP's moral agenda doubted By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — The controversy over Terri Schiavo has raised concerns among many Americans about the moral agenda of the Republican Party and the political power of conservative Christians, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds. | |
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Jeff Goldstein: Personally, I think—and have always thought—that, politically speaking, at least, the Schiavo affair was a no-win... Ruy Teixeira: As a USA Today story on the new Gallup poll points out: [snipped quote] Final note: all this bad news, including the... Chris Bowers: The latest Gallup poll, which actually has more Republicans in it than Democrats, shows clear realignment potential: ... |
McQ: On the other hand, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll gives us some different results: ". SK Bubba: Americans may think the "moral majority" has too much influence in the Bush Administration and the GOP Congress, but actually it's the other way around. Oliver Willis: Begin Now This Backlash Has — Categories: Democrats | Politics | Republicans GOP's moral agenda doubted |
GOP senator may oppose UN choice By / Boston Globe — Permalink WASHINGTON — Senator Lincoln Chafee's office said yesterday that his constituency is ''overwhelmingly" opposed to the nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations, signaling that Chafee is leaning against supporting Bolton in a move that could derail the nomination. | |
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Shawn @LiquidList: Today we learn that Senator Chafee just might quash the nomination of John Bolton to the UN Ambassadorship before he can even get to the Senate floor. Dave Meyer: Farah Stockman detailed the sort of pressure Chafee's under in this morning's Boston Globe. Oliver Willis: Categories: News | Politics Via Steve Clemons we see that Sen Chafee may kill John Bolton's nomination |
Steve Clemons: Just in from the Boston Globe: [snipped quote] This does not mean that Chafee has completely abandoned Bolton's nomination. Pudentilla: chafee bolting on bolton — [snipped quote] perhaps it's an issue of conscience, or perhaps it's the tough re-election... K. J. Lopez: BOLTON — I read the headline, "GOP senator may oppose UN choice." Then I saw it was Lincoln Chafee. |
| Also: Josh Marshall | |
Florida eyes allowing residents to open fire whenever they see threat AFP — Permalink MIAMI (AFP) - Florida's legislature has approved a bill that would give residents the right to open fire against anyone they perceive as a threat in public, instead of having to try to avoid a conflict as under prevailing law. | |
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Scott Sala: Yahoo is calling it "the right to open fire" BBC says "people in Florida kill in self-defence on the street without... Richard TPD: The New Amerika — Hard to believe. [snipped quote] "Minutemen" in Arizona and freedom to blast away in public places in Florida.... I'm scared to ask what's next. |
Libertarian Jackass: THE (JEB) BUSH DOCTRINE: Shoot first, ask questions later. Sort of like what happened in Iraq? We never did find those weapons. |
SANDY ROLLS OVER FOR BILL & HILL New York Post — Permalink FORMER National Security Adviser Sandy Berger has now joined the pantheon of those who, in the im mortal words of Webb Hubbell, have chosen to "roll over one more time" to protect Bill and Hillary Clinton. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Dick Morris, who is always willing to stab his former employer, Bill Clinton, in the back or face, is quite suspicious... Roger Ailes: Enabler — Not only has Dick Morris' wife forgiven Dick his fondness for prostitutes and their bunions, she writes his frickin' columns for him. John Cole: Sandy Berger — Dick Morris, who knows a thing or two about scandal, sets the record straight with Berger: "Berger's... |
Steve Antler: I know it's a bit early, but still... Drudge is reporting the Valerie Plame-leak special prosecutor may [snipped quote] So tell me: doesn't Sandy Berger set the current standard? Hoke: Dick Morris Is on F'n Fire — An absolutely savage rip into Sandy Berger and his ludicrous lies. Via Instapundit. Orrin Judd: WE'RE THINKIN' MONICA'S PHONE NUMBER: SANDY ROLLS OVER FOR BILL & HILL (DICK MORRIS, 4/06/05, NY Post) "FORMER National... |
| Also: Glenn Reynolds | |
Mugged by la Réalité By / Weekly Standard — Permalink FR D RIC ENCEL, PROFESSOR OF international relations at the prestigious Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris and a man not known for crying wolf, recently stated that France is becoming a new Lebanon. | |
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Charles Johnson: Mugged by la Realite — I've seen a few very sketchy accounts of last month's race riots in Paris, but mainstream media has for the most part ignored this disturbing story. Glenn Reynolds: On the other hand, violence seems to be on the upswing in France: [snipped quote] Will France improve as much in the coming year as Iraq has in the past year? |
Orrin Judd: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT (via Paul Cella): Mugged by la Réalité: The unreported race riot in France. Tom Smith: Maybe we should allow the French asylum in the US — Or maybe in Canada. (via instapundit). |
Poll finds Bush suffering from 'second-term-itis' By / USA Today — Permalink WASHINGTON — President Bush seems to have slipped into a second-term slump. Support continues to erode for his signature goal of adding individual investment accounts to Social Security, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday and Saturday. | |
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Steve Soto: Gallup Says Bush Failing on Social Security - 50% Now Think Bush Lied About Iraq — The latest Gallup Poll done for CNN... Chris Bowers: It also will not help Republicans that their leader is now viewed as misleading by a majority of the country: ... Taegan Goddard: Second Term Slump — President Bush "seems to have slipped into a second-term slump," USA Today reports. |
Dan Froomkin: Susan Page writes in USA Today: "President Bush seems to have slipped into a second-term slump. Oliver Willis: Poll finds Bush suffering from 'second-term-itis' [snipped quote] In an ideal world, '06 could be a major death blow for... |
Political Groups Paid Two Relatives of House Leader By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 5 - The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by Mr. DeLay's political action and campaign committees, according to a detailed review of disclosure statements filed with the Federal Election Commission and separate fund-raising records in Mr. DeLay's home state, Texas. | |
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Jon @ThinkProgress: From Wednesday's New York Times: "The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been paid more... Atrios: And on and on... NYT: WASHINGTON, April 5 - The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been... Kriston @GrammarPolice: Today's NYT feature highlights the gadzooks of money that Tom DeLay's daughter in particular has raked in through DeLay's connections. |
Steve Soto: Neither of those efforts ended up as I recall garnering either Democrat a half-million dollars for his family, or... Joe Gandelman: First, there's the New York Times report that Mr. DeLay is so firmly believes in family values that his political action... Norbizness: You're going to try the death by a thousand cuts technique on Tom DeLay? Are you crazy? |
| Also: Howard Kurtz, Captain Ed, Charles Kuffner, Kevin Aylward, John Cole, Kevin Drum, Digby, Richard TPD, TChris, Taegan Goddard, Avedon Carol, Jerome Armstrong, ArchPundit, Kos @DailyKos, Dr. Steven Taylor, Oliver Willis, Jesse Taylor, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, Frederick Maryland, Richard Schwartz, Pudentilla | |
Evidence, Evidence, and More Evidence NRO — Permalink Lower tax rates spur economic growth. End of story. WAn opinion piece by reporter Anna Bernasek in last Sunday's New York Times actually argues that there's no real evidence that lower tax rates spur economic growth. | |
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Kevin Drum: TAXES, TAXES, TAXES...Matt is right to point to this piece of nitwittish writing from Larry Kudlow, one of National... PGL: Kudlow's "Evidence" for the Free Lunch — Kudlow's latest is entitled Evidence, Evidence, and More Evidence. |
Matthew Yglesias: To get a good sense of where things have gotten to, take a look at Larry Kudlow coming out against "academic-style... |
Feed the Beast By / NYT — Permalink Great Falls, Va. — GROWING numbers of policy analysts and politicians are saying that it may finally be time to consider a value-added tax as part of our federal revenue system. In years past, I would have been in the forefront of those denouncing the idea. | |
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Max B. Sawicky: Other blogs commenting on this post BARTLETT'S FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS Bruce Bartlett's analysis of spending is right on point. Ezra Klein: Bartlett Speaks, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the VAT — Movement conservative Bruce Bartlett has... Matthew Yglesias: Bruce Bartlett says we need to have higher taxes to finance government spending, and such taxation should come in the form of a Value Added Tax (VAT). |
Brad DeLong: But now he is merely entranced by the Bruce-Bartlett recommended Value Added Tax: Ezra Klein: Now, why am I spending so much time on this? Kevin Drum: HIGHER TAXES?...Conservative economist Bruce Bartlett has been inching toward support for tax increases for a while,... Dale Franks: Another Sign of the Apocalypse — Bruce Batlett is now on record as supporting a national VAT, and he announces it on the pages of the New York Times. |
| Also: PGL, Orrin Judd, Steve Antler | |
A 3rd DeLay Travel Controversy WaPo — Permalink A six-day trip to Moscow in 1997 by then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was underwritten by business interests lobbying in support of the Russian government, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the trip arrangements. | |
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Leah A: Connecting Some Delay-ed Dots — Dot One: Recent revelation that Tom Delay took Russian trip in 1997 on Russian security... Charles Kuffner: Yet another lobbyist-paid junket (of which DeLay knew nothing! nothing!) along with Jack Abramoff and a nice fat paycheck for his wife to do...something, I guess. Kriston @GrammarPolice: But DeLay's crooked beat extends from Houston to the Bahamas to Moscow—I would be very, very surprised if there isn't... |
Atrios: ...WaPo article's up too, which was shockingly written by "Steno" Sue Schmidt... Garance Franke-Ruta: Rereading The Washington Post's masterful reconstruction of the cash flow behind House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's 1997... Sam Rosenfeld: But one phenomenon that recent news stories — the latest Tom DeLay travel scandal, the sprawling Indian casino lobbying... |
| Also: Joe Gandelman, Norbizness, Matthew Yglesias, Kevin Drum, Richard TPD, Billmon, Guest @ThinkProgress, Taegan Goddard, Avedon Carol, Jerome Armstrong, Jo Fish, Kos @DailyKos, Jesse Taylor, Laura Rozen, Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, Josh Marshall | |
Warner signs measure denying public benefits to illegal aliens By / Washington Times — Permalink Virginia Gov. Mark Warner yesterday signed into law a measure that denies illegal aliens public benefits, including access to Medicaid, welfare and local health care services. | |
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John Hawkins: The Politics Of Illegal Immigration — Illegal Immigration has been one of Hillary Clinton's pet issues lately and now... McQ: UPDATE [Jon Henke]— Meanwhile, consider this... "Virginia Gov. Mark Warner yesterday signed into law a measure... |
James Joyner: Warner signs measure denying public benefits to illegal aliens (Washington Times) [snipped quote] I think this dispells any doubt that Warner is running for President in 2008. |
Ombudsmen Appointed for Public Radio, TV WaPo — Permalink Two major media organizations that never saw the need for in-house critics in the past named ombudsmen yesterday. The government-funded nonprofit group that oversees public broadcasting appointed two veteran journalists to critique the work of public... | |
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Jonah Goldberg: OUR MAN ON THE INSIDE — Bill Schulz, former Washington Editor of the Reader's Digest, patriot, fair-minded conservative... Matt Welch: So it should probably come as no surprise that the latest organization to embrace this walking advertisement for staff... |
Garrett M. Graff: Politicizing 'Buster' — Somewhat surprising news out of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting today: It has decided... Susan Madrak: CONTROL — Yet another reason to give money to bloggers: [snipped quote] Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center... |
President Casts Doubt on Trust Fund LAT — Permalink PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — President Bush paid a visit Tuesday to the home of the Social Security trust fund and warned that the government would find it difficult to redeem its promises to future retirees unless Congress acted soon to shore up the retirement system. | |
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Ruy Teixeira: Let me turn things over to Max Baucus, Democratic Sentaor from Montana, who Bush once fantasized might be a Democratic... |
Steve Soto: Furthermore, a leading Senate Democrat now says privatization is dead, and another Senate Democrat whom Bush had been... |
How the Pope 'Defeated Communism' By / WaPo — Permalink If you've been watching television or reading newspapers at all over the past week, it would have been difficult not to learn that the late Pope John Paul II helped "defeat" communism. The pope has been said to have "sparked the fall of communism," to have "stared down communism" or to have "championed communism's collapse." | |
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Betsy Newmark: Anne Applebaum, who also should get a Pulitzer one day, has a great column explaining to those who don't remember or are... James Joyner: How the Pope 'Defeated Communism' — Anne Applebaum offers some personal insights into the late Pope John Paul II's role in "defeating Communism." K. J. Lopez: ANNE APPLEBAUM on how the pope defeated Communism |
Tom Maguire: Be Not Afraid — Anne Applebaum tells us how the Pope "defeated communism": "Finally, this pope also made an impact... Orrin Judd: "SO MANY OF US, AND SO FEW OF THEM": How the Pope 'Defeated Communism' (Anne Applebaum, April 6, 2005, Washington Post)... |
Are Honors for Physicians the New Political Diploma Mill? By / ABCNEWS — Permalink April 5, 2005 — The good news reached the Jamestown, N.Y., office of Dr. Rudolph Mueller in a fax from a congressman in Washington. Mueller had been named 2004 Physician of the Year. "My secretary came running in and said, 'Dr. Rudy, look at what you've won, you're Physician of the Year,' " said Mueller, an internist. | |
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McQ: Misrepresentation by GOP — I've read this story three times now. Atrios: Oh Wow, Even More DeLay — Maybe the liberal media IS out to get him: "April 5, 2005 — The good news reached the... |
Cookie Jill: sleazy fundraisers of the year remind yourself, gentlereaders....true good news generally doesn't travel by faxes from republican congresscritters. |
Ex-Secretaries of State Endorse Bolton at U.N. LAT — Permalink Five former U.S. secretaries of State urged the Senate to confirm John R. Bolton as United Nations ambassador. Former Secretaries James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger and George Shultz sent the letter to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who plans a hearing on the nomination Thursday. | |
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Charles Bird: Former Secretaries of State (all Republicans) have weighed in favor of John Bolton, although Colin Powell is not one of the five. Steve Clemons: But five former Secretaries of State — James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger and... |
Laura Rozen: As Kevin Drum notes, one notable signature is missing from the list of Republican former secretaries of state urging... |
When Your Conscience Goes to Work LAT — Permalink I once worked in a philosophy department in which one of the professors was active in NAMBLA, the controversial North American Man/Boy Love Assn. The secretary, a deeply religious woman named Judy, was assigned the task of typing up his man-boy love book manuscript and sending it off to the publishers. | |
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Stuart Buck: Conscience Clauses — A very interesting article by philospher Crispin Sartwell: "Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on... Kevin Drum: PHARMACIES AND TORTURE...The LA Times ran an unusually sophomoric and pedantic op-ed today that — after a bit of... |
LeanLeft: Filed under: General Politics Legal Issues Church & State Religion Culture Health Privacy — KTK Crispin Sartwell,... K. J. Lopez: YOUR CONSCIENCE@WORK — There's a defense of conscience clauses for pharmacists opposed to birth control in the LaTimes today. |
ABC's Jennings Discloses That He Has Lung Cancer By / NYT — Permalink Peter Jennings, the sole anchor of ABC's evening newscast for the past 22 years, announced yesterday that he was suffering from lung cancer and had begun treatment. ABC said Mr. Jennings, 66, would work as often as he could during his course of treatment. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Some doctors are speculating that his cancer must be advanced because he is going right into chemotherapy without first having surgery. Jim Romenesko: ABC's Jennings to begin chemo instead of first having surgery — New York Times That disclosure by Peter Jennings was... |
Damian Penny: Get well soon — Peter Jennings, a Canadian who hosts an American institution, has been diagnosed with lung cancer:... Brian Stelter: Jennings: Morning Newspaper Items > NYT: "The disclosure of a serious health condition that will cause him to miss... |
Intelligence Critique Fatigue By / WaPo — Permalink We can thank the well-publicized recent intelligence failures for one thing: the brand-new genre of the beautifully written intelligence critique. First came the report of the Sept. 11 commission, with its riveting narrative of the events surrounding the attacks. | |
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Deacon: A dangerous fallacy — When Judge Richard Posner applies his powerful analytical skills to that new genre, the... Pejman Yousefzadeh: ON INTELLIGENCE GATHERING — Richard Posner has an important point about intelligence critiques: [snipped quote] Quite so. |
Betsy Newmark: Richard Posner says that all these critiques of intelligence gathering and interpretation have a central fallacy. Cori Dauber: Seeking Perfection in All the Wrong Places — A brilliant critique of intelligence critiques. |
Accounts Could Replace Soc. Sec. Checks By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Someone born next year who goes on to earn what the government considers a high-wage income could see his Social Security check replaced by the personal investment account President Bush has proposed, a congressional study says. | |
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Orrin Judd: NOT THE ANSWER THEY WERE HOPING FOR: Accounts Could Replace Soc. Sec. |
Josh Marshall: Stuff you just can't make up ... Rep. Tom Cole (R) of Oklahoma on being a Social Security phase-out supporter: "This is like being for the Civil Rights Bill in 1960. |
A governor critiques Kerry's bid By / Boston Globe — Permalink SAY THIS about Ed Rendell: He's no blow-dried pol offering up pleasing platitudes. Stocky, balding, gravel-voiced, yet still oddly charismatic, the governor of Pennsylvania is using a Monday appearance at Harvard Law School to critique what went wrong for the... | |
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Jerome Armstrong: A coattail candidate is what we want — Rendell spoke at the Harvard Dems conference on Monday, not only critiquing... Dale Franks: A Big-State Governor — Say what you want about Hillary Clinton, But I'm telling you: Watch Ed Rendell. |
Orrin Judd: NOT IN AN AD HOC PARTY: A governor critiques Kerry's bid (Scot Lehigh, April 6, 2005, Boston Globe) |
BullKrug NRO — Permalink Paul Krugman's institutional fantasies. I have to go walk Cosmo and the prospect of picking up his droppings is more appealing than picking up Paul Krugman's. But duty calls. Paul Krugman's latest column is a peripatetic tour of liberal fantasyland. | |
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Brad DeLong: Consider Jonah Goldberg, who writes: Jonah Goldberg: Krugman also notes that engineers and other faculty in the hard sciences are also disproportionately liberal. Steve Antler: Wish I'd thought of that... Jonah Goldberg has invented a new word. |
Jesse Taylor: Scrotum Tighter...Tighter... Dammit, I want the National Review to pay me to write inane horses**t. |
The Long Emergency By / Rolling Stone — Permalink A few weeks ago, the price of oil ratcheted above fifty-five dollars a barrel, which is about twenty dollars a barrel more than a year ago. The next day, the oil story was buried on page six of the New York Times business section. | |
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Ezra Klein: So, by the way, is this Rolling Stone excerpt from the The Long Emergency that's been flitting through the blogosphere. Susan Madrak: BRAVE NEW WORLD — There's a complelling excerpt from "The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler in the latest Rolling Stone. |
Ogged @Unfogged: MORE: Here's a primer. via wolcott |
Breaking Deadlock, Iraqis Pick President and 2 Other Officials By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 6 - As Saddam Hussein watched the proceeedings on a television outside his cell, Iraq's national assembly today appointed one of his most tenacious opponents to the office of president, taking a significant step in forming a new government and breaking a political deadlock nearly 10 weeks after general elections. | |
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Jon Henke: President Jalal Talabani — Iraq has an interim President... "As Saddam Hussein watched from a television in his cell,... Dr. Steven Taylor: Saddam in Jail; A Kurd in the Presidency — Today, some great imagery via the NYT (Breaking Deadlock, Iraqis Pick... |
Matthew Yglesias: It's certainly heartening to learn that the Iraqi Assembly has picked a three-member Presidency Council, breaking the deadlock in which the political process has been stuck. |