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Don't worry, Old Glory can take the heat By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink The House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment on flag burning last week, in the course of which Rep. Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham (Republican of California) made the following argument: ''Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center. | |
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Andrew Stuttaford: FLAG BURNING — The proposed amendment is a bad idea, of course. Mark Steyn gives just a few of the reasons why. Chris Lawrence: A burning sensation not associated with sex — Mark Steyn on the daft proposal to ban flag burning: A flag has to be worth torching. James Joyner: Don't worry, Old Glory can take the heat [snipped quote] Quite so. The impact on American patriotism of seeing some yahoo burn our flag is to increase it. |
Roger Kimball: PostedMark Steyn reflects on the constitutional amendement to criminalize burning the American flag. (Thanks to Instapundit for the link.) Charles Johnson: Don't Worry About Old Glory — Returning to the flag-burning amendment passed last week by the House of Representatives,... Scott @PowerLine: When conduct is hate speech — Mark Steyn's Chicago Sun-Times column opposes the proposed constitutional amendment... |
| Also: Ed Driscoll, Brad Plumer, Forkum, Donald Sensing, Betsy Newmark, Glenn Reynolds | |
Rumsfeld: Iraq could face insurgents for 12 years By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today it may take as long as 12 years to defeat Iraqi insurgents and that Iraqi security forces, not U.S. and foreign troops, will finish the job. | |
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McQ: The life-cycle of an Insurgency — In an article breathlessly entitled: "Rumsfeld: Iraq could face insurgents for 12... Cookie Jill: that's about 72 years in dog rummy goes on the talking heads shows and....gives a timetable. Lambert @Corrente: Rummy sets a timetable — It's a l-o-o-o-o-o-n-g timetable, but a timetable it is: [snipped quote] Translation: You're on your own, pal! |
Norbizness: (3) Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today it may take as long as 12 years to defeat Iraqi insurgents and that... Jeralyn Merritt: Today on Meet the Press, Donald Rumsfeld said it will take 12 years to beat them, and U.S forces won't win. |
Lawmakers: Guantanamo Conditions Improve By / AP — Permalink GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - During a tour of the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists on Saturday, House Republicans and Democrats, including one who has advocated closing the facility, said the United States has made progress in improving conditions and protecting detainees' rights. | |
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Captain Ed: What A Difference Actual Research Makes — After blathering on for weeks about the supposed gulag-like conditions at... Smash: Prisoner Abuse — LAWMAKERS AND JOURNALISTS visited the Guantanamo prison camp Saturday, and reported that conditions there have improved. |
Michael Froomkin: AP has more … reminds me of this item from the Washington Post last April, Detainee Questioning Was Faked, Book... Ann Althouse: Such are the conditions at Gitmo. The detainee, it must be noted, had to endure significant stress to his upper... |
Chinese dragon awakens By / Washington Times — Permalink China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years, according to Pentagon officials. | |
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Richard TPD: China, the new enemy, the new Nazi-style fascist state — This extremely tendentious screed from Bill Gertz in the beloved Moonie Times is going to raise a lot of eyebrows today. Joe Gandelman: Some lingering issuese: China's steady economic growth — and its military might and when it could use it....which could be sooner than many think if Bill Gertz is correct. Glenn Reynolds: THIS IS UPSETTING: [snipped quote] Perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone by floating a rumor that Taiwan is acquiring nuclear weapons from North Korea . |
Bill @INDCJournal: And now, China's military is growing in a pace and specific capability that signals potential aggression: "China is... John Cole: China on My Mind — More saber-rattling from the Chinese (if Gertz is to be believed): "China is building its military... |
Transcript for June 26 MSNBC — Permalink PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS NBC TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS." This is a rush transcript provided for the information and convenience of the press. Accuracy is not guaranteed. | |
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Arianna Huffington: Arianna Huffington: This Week on Russert Watch: Secretary No Know — This is how Tim Russert opened Meet the Press... Taegan Goddard: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on Meet the Press earlier today. "It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." |
Joe @AmericaBlog: Rummy: the Problem in Iraq is foreigners.... From Today's Meet the Press: [snipped quote] Bad foreigners, bad. |
Report: U.S. Secretly Met With Insurgents AP — Permalink LONDON - U.S. officials held secret talks in Iraq with the commanders of several Iraqi insurgent groups recently in an attempt to open a dialogue with them, a British newspaper reported Sunday. | |
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Cernig: The report was confirmed by Donald Rumsfeld on a Sunday talk show and he even suggested that there have been more meetings than the Times reported. Lambert @Corrente: OK, we know Rove's plan now — Rove's plan has two parts: Cut loose from Iraq before the 2006 elections Blame the... Orrin Judd: THOSE WOULD BE THE FOLKS TED KENNEDY THINKS ARE WINNING...: Rumsfeld: U.S. Met With Iraq Insurgents (THOMAS WAGNER,... |
McQ: As Rumsfeld said today, we've been meeting with Sunnis who have ties to the Sunni group of insurgents (those mostly wanting the foreign troops out of the country). James Joyner: Report: U.S. Secretly Met With Insurgents — Report: U.S. Secretly Met With Insurgents (AP) "U.S. officials held secret... Attaturk: I was going to post about Bush Negotiating — With the "insurg-terrorists" as pretty much the end of Macho McFlightsuit. |
| Also: Chris @AmericaBlog, Atrios | |
Ethnomathematics By / Opinion Journal — Permalink It seems our math educators no longer believe in the beauty and power of the principles of mathematics. They are continually in search of a fix that will make it easy, relevant, fun and even politically relevant. | |
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Donald Sensing: Want to see something really scary? Just read this. Ann Althouse: Because we teachers are compelled to patronize you students. |
Joanne Jacobs: Eth-no-math — There's not much mathematics in the new math, writes Diane Ravitch in the Opinion Journal. Orrin Judd: SUBTRACT THIS, MO' FO': Ethnomathematics: Even math education is being politicized. |
It's time for the Democrats to embrace CAFTA Chicago Tribune — Permalink Most Republicans and the business community extol the virtues of trade, depicting it as an engine of economic progress, while most Democrats and unions attack the exportation of American jobs, claiming that trade agreements are destroying our economy. | |
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Jonathan Bunch: CAFTA — The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is on the fast track, and should receive a vote in the Senate relatively soon. Orrin Judd: WHY BOTHER WITH COHERENCE: It's time for the Democrats to embrace CAFTA (William M. Daley, June 26, 2005, Chicago... |
Jayson @PoliPundit: Free Trade — I was pleasantly surprised to discover there still are at least some Democrats out there who have the political integrity to support free trade. |
Clinton Honors Graham at Final Revival By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK - As his final American revival meeting continued Saturday, a fragile Billy Graham was met onstage by former President Clinton, who honored the evangelist, calling him "a man I love." | |
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Lorie Byrd: Rev. Billy Graham On Hillary — I have an enormous amount of love and respect for the Reverend Billy Graham, but his... |
Where I lead: DERB HEARTS HILLARY — Where I lead, others follow. |
Rove Taking a More Public Role By / WaPo — Permalink He has risen to the highest ranks of the White House, carries the title of deputy chief of staff and presides over a broad portfolio of domestic and foreign issues. But even as he has morphed from political operative to policy adviser, Karl Rove retains the instincts of the direct-mail specialist he once was in Texas. | |
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Atrios: DeLay vs. DeLay — Tom Delay speaking to the College Republicans: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), in a bit of... Tim Dunlop: Letting Rover off the leash — Finally, some good news for the Democrats: [snipped quote] Rove plays well with the base, but the more visible he is the better, I would have thought. K. J. Lopez: Dan Balz uses it in his piece today. |
Joe @AmericaBlog: Karl Rove Unplugged — Washington Post does a feature on the emerging very public role of Karl Rove. He's coming out of the shadows. Mark Thoma: Rove Taking a More Public Role High Court to End Term with Big Decisions Bush Administration Faces Credibility Problem For the birds. Tom Maguire: Rove In The News — The WaPo has a front page profile on Karl Rove. Karl's controversy is featured, but Sen. Durbin is not (even though he was mentioned in Karl's speech). |
| Also: Tom Tomorrow | |
Rumsfeld: Insurgency Could Last for Years By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years." | |
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Cernig: So maybe it is significant that after all the talk of "no timetables" that a timetable is pretty much what Rumsfeld gave... |
Sadly, No!: What you got here is an installment plan — Donald "east, west, south and north somewhat" Rumsfeld speaks: "Defeating... |
Follow the money By / Boston Globe — Permalink AS HOWARD DEAN stormed through Boston last week, the media focus was on the controversy stirred by his recent series of brash remarks. (To paraphrase, he has said that Republicans are a bunch of white Christians who don't make honest livings.) | |
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Betsy Newmark: Chris Suellentrop has a good article in the Boston Globe looking at (what many recognized immediately) that... Orrin Judd: THE IRON LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Follow the money: Forget Howard Dean's mouth. The real issue facing the Democrats is dollars. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: More evidence comes to light indicating that Democrats are less-than-pleased with his performance: "AS HOWARD DEAN... |
In Capital's Rhetoric Wars, 'Sorry' Is a Temporary Pause By / WaPo — Permalink Perhaps we could arrange for a group apology. It would certainly save time. The capital has been racked by a bipartisan barrage of incautious remarks this year — a bull market in over-the-top rhetoric — as Democrats and Republicans take turns expressing outrage that the other side has crossed the line. | |
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Brendan Nyhan: Deb Pryce joins Wilson and Rove in GOP attack on dissent — Dana Milbank points out in the Washington Post today that... |
Lambert @Corrente: Even the Republicans say Santorum crossed the line — Dana Milbank slightly redeems himself for trashing John Conyers with the following: [snipped quote] Oh well. |
Rumsfeld: U.S. Met With Iraq Insurgents By / AP — Permalink LONDON - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged Sunday that U.S. officials have met with insurgents in Iraq, after a British newspaper reported that two such meetings took place recently at a villa north of Baghdad. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that American forces had met with insurgent groups in Iraq many times in an... |
James Joyner: Rumsfeld: U.S. Met With Iraq Insurgents - Yahoo! |
The Good News and Bad News By / Newsweek — Permalink July 4 issue - I don't see how Iraq's insurgency can win. It lacks the support of at least 80 percent of the country (Shiites and Kurds), and by all accounts lacks the support of the majority of the Sunni population as well. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: (It's a good rule of thumb for the future.)" - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek. Heh. |
Orrin Judd: IT'S NOT ABOUT WINNING, BUT DYING: The Good News and Bad News: This is the picture in Iraq: A conflict that the United States cannot easily lose, but also cannot easily win. |
At Least 33 Are Killed in Separate Suicide Blasts in Iraq AP — Permalink MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Suicide bombers struck a police headquarters, an army base and a hospital around Mosul on Sunday, killing 33 people in a setback to efforts to rebuild the northwestern city's police force that was riven by intimidation from insurgents seven months ago. | |
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Armando @DailyKos: Today in Iraq: 12 More Years of Violence — From the NYTimes: [snipped quote] Last throes? |
Pudentilla: death throes — [snipped quote] danger, will robinson, danger! the media appears to be acquiring consciousness. quick,... |
A Glide Path to Ruin By / NYT — Permalink The biggest risk we Americans face to our way of life and our place in the world probably doesn't come from Al Qaeda or the Iraq war. Rather, the biggest risk may come from this administration's fiscal recklessness and the way this is putting us in hock to China. | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Another reason some might want to label me an anti-globalizer is that I share Nicholas Kristof's concern about how... Mark Thoma: It seems evident that the tone is changing and finally, though I hope this isn't simply a case of seeing through wishful... Steve Antler: Today's Weird Analogy — Economists sometimes sound like climatologists warning us of the perils of global warming. |
Barbara O'Brien: But let's go on ... Today Nick Kristof focuses on the economy—"A Glide Path to Ruin." Ed Cone: The birth tax — Kristof on the reckless fiscal policies of that endanger US security: "President Bush has excoriated the 'death tax,' as he calls the estate tax. |
Latino Power? By / WaPo — Permalink Politicians and the news media seem entranced by Latino voters. The chairmen of both national parties addressed the annual convention of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, which wrapped up its annual convention in Puerto Rico yesterday. | |
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New Donkey: That's the important and sobering message provided by Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center, in today's Washington Post. |
Betsy Newmark: Robert Suro explains why the Latino vote hasn't yet had the impact that its numbers might indicate. |
Suicide Bombings Kill at Least 33 in Iraq By / AP — Permalink MOSUL, Iraq - A suicide bomber with explosives hidden beneath watermelons in a pickup truck slammed into a police station near a market Sunday in Mosul, the first of three bombings that killed at least 33 people and wounded 19 in the northwestern city. | |
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James Joyner: As always, the constant barrage of suicide bombings can be seen as either a sign that the terrorists still have plenty... |
Joe @AmericaBlog: Last Throes are a bitch — More last throes in Iraq via AP: "A suicide bomber with explosives hidden beneath... |
Revealed: secret talks to oust Mugabe Scotsman — Permalink BRITISH government diplomats have held secret talks in Zimbabwe aimed at persuading Robert Mugabe to hand over power and return his devastated nation to the Commonwealth, it was claimed last night. | |
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Gateway Pundit: There are rumors of secret talks to oust Mugabe in Great Britain. Another powerful website on the current crisis in Zimbabwe is Kubatana. |
Orrin Judd: WHAT'S A FEW DEAD AFRICANS AMONG FRIENDS: Revealed: secret talks to oust Mugabe (TREVOR GRUNDY AND BRIAN BRADY, 6/25/05,... |
Who Are Americans to Think That Freedom Is Theirs to Spread? By / NYT — Permalink As Thomas Jefferson lay dying at his hilltop estate, Monticello, in late June 1826, he wrote a letter telling the citizens of the city of Washington that he was too ill to join them for the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Declaration of Independence. | |
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Steve M.: I don't think Winston Smith and his colleagues at the Ministry of Truth could have done a better job of rewriting... |
Orrin Judd: ROLLING DOWN LIKE WATERS: Who Are Americans to Think That Freedom Is Theirs to Spread? |
I'm Shocked and Outraged By / NYT — Permalink When, in Washington, is outrage truly outrage? Republicans rained hell last week on Senator Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, for comparing the treatment of detainees at Guantánamo Bay to the actions of the Nazis. | |
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Cori Dauber: It Was Better When We Waited For Uncle Walter's Instructions — The Times' Week in Review section has a piece explaining... |
Tom Maguire: The Times Week in Review mentions Rove and Durbin in a thumb-sucker on outrage in politics. |
To Replace Oil, U.S. Experts See Amber Waves of Plastic By / LAT — Permalink BLAIR, Neb. — He operates 90,000 feet of hissing pipes and dozens of enormous churning vats — an industrial jungle with a single, remarkable purpose: "Essentially," plant manager Bill Suehr says, "we've got corn coming in at one end and plastic coming out the other." | |
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Ezra Klein: Corn For Plastic — The nice thing about high oil prices is that they make new technologies more cost-effective. |
Orrin Judd: "ONCE STRUCK," TWICE BLIND: To Replace Oil, U.S. Experts See Amber Waves of Plastic: American crops could be used in place of many products' petroleum base, some scientists say. |
'King of the Hill' Democrats? By / NYT — Permalink If you watch a lot of cable news, by now you've probably heard someone refer to a bloc of voters known as '' 'South Park' conservatives.'' The term comes from the title of a new book by Brian C. Anderson, a conservative pundit who adapted it from the writer... | |
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Gene @HarrysPlace: Writing in The New York Times Magazine, Matt Bai suggests that if Democrats can figure out ways to connect with voters... James Joyner: 'King of the Hill' Democrats? Matt Bai has a rather disjointed piece in today's New York Times entitled "'King of the Hill' Democrats?" Chris Lawrence: King of Howard's Hill — Matt Bai thinks national Democrats could learn a lot from Hank Hill and Gov. Mike Easley (D-N.C.) |
Ann Althouse: According to this NYT piece: "men between the ages of 18 and 49, and almost a quarter of those men own pickup trucks." Tom Maguire: Matt Bai writes in the NY Times Magazine about the "Hill" that Dems should keep their eye on: [snipped quote] And is... |
Euan Blair accepts US internship BBC — Permalink Euan Blair, the prime minister's eldest son, is to work in Washington DC as an intern for Republican politicians. The 21-year-old will spend three months working for the Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives - the lower chamber of the US Congress. | |
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Avedon Carol: Tony Blair's firstborn: Euan Blair, the prime minister's eldest son, is to work in Washington DC as an intern for Republican politicians. |
Cernig: (And oh, did you notice Tony's son has got a job interning for the US Republicans? Lay in the poodle chow, Congressmen.) |
Other Voices: When The Times Writes About Covert Operations By / NYT — Permalink Re "The Thinking Behind a Close Look at a C.I.A. Operation" (June 19): Sensible people can disagree on where the line should be drawn on national security issues. In this case, your readers (and I) believe that The New York Times strayed well over the line in its May 31 article. | |
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Cori Dauber: And You Thought You Were Paranoid — The new Public Editor continues the annoying practice of only writing every other week, using alternative weeks to publish letters. |
Armando @DailyKos: I Miss Anthony Lewis — Lewis' Letter to the NYTimes' Public Editor: [snipped quote] One of the greatest columnists ever. |
The Young & the Sexless By / Rolling Stone — Permalink What if the true face of the Christian right in America is not that of Dr. James Dobson or Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson; not that of an aging, comb-over preacher orange with pancake makeup, smiling orca rows of ungodly white teeth on The O'Reilly Factor or Hardball? | |
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Brad Plumer: But judging from this Rolling Stone profile of abstinence-only Christian youths, not only do these people have the... Amanda Marcotte: Virginity as a form of extreme dieting and other musings — This article in the Rolling Stone about the chastity and... |
Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Sexual Counterrevolutionaries by hilzoy I've just been reading (via Pandagon) the oddest article. |
Liberals, Conservatives and Aid By / NYT — Permalink Karl Rove has his theories about what separates liberals from conservatives and I have mine. Mine include the differences between Jeffrey Sachs and George Bush. Jeffrey Sachs, as you may know, is the Columbia University economist who has done more to put poverty in Africa atop the global agenda than anybody else. | |
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Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: David Brooks: Lost In Space by hilzoy David Brooks outdoes himself today: [snipped quote] First of all, Brooks is wrong about the Enlightenment. Betsy Newmark: David Brooks compares liberals and conservatives. |
Henry @CrookedTimber: In which the Crooked Timber of Humanity fails to appreciate conservatives David Brooks on the merits of Bush's Africa policy. Orrin Judd: NO ENLIGHTENMENT PLEASE, WE'RE AMERICAN: Liberals, Conservatives and Aid (DAVID BROOKS, 6/26/05, NY Times)... |
How Home Prices Can Be Hot but Inflation Cool By / NYT — Permalink ANYBODY who has bought or sold a home recently - or who has picked up a newspaper - knows that housing prices are rising rapidly. The National Association of Realtors projects that the median sales price of an existing home will rise 8.8 percent this year, after climbing 8.3 percent in 2004. | |
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Barry L. Ritholtz: "How Home Prices Can Be Hot but Inflation Cool The NYT looks at the history of how CPI substituted cheap rent for dear mortages and home prices." |
Mark Thoma: How Hummingbirds Hover Bird's Warning Chirps Reveal Surprising Smarts Oregon Feeding Contraceptives to Canada Geese to... |
Italians Detail Lavish CIA Operation By / WaPo — Permalink MILAN, June 25 — For 19 American intelligence operatives assigned to apprehend a radical Islamic preacher in Milan two years ago, the mission was equal parts James Bond and taxpayer-financed Italian holiday, according to an Italian investigation of the man's disappearance. | |
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Kevin Drum: On the "laugh" front, there's this: "While most of the operatives apparently used false identities, they left a long... |
Michael Young: The Italian Job — How many agents does it take to capture an Egyptian cleric living in Italy? 19. How much does it cost? |
On the Right Side of the Theater Aisle By / NYT — Permalink THE film producer Stephen K. Bannon isn't just on a crusade. He's on a roll. "Look at Feb. 25, 2004 - a watershed week for the Hollywood right," he said in his Santa Monica office while scribbling a circle around the word "Lord" on his whiteboard. | |
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Kevin Roderick: Weekend chatter — NicBig ink for KCRW's Nic Harcourt in the NYT Magazine, where Jaime Wolf anoints him "The Star Maker... |
Arthur Silber: AND: On a related note, this story from the Sunday NYT is of some interest: "THE film producer Stephen K. Bannon isn't just on a crusade. |
Al-Jazeera to look at open U.S. border WorldNetDaily — Permalink The Arab TV news network criticized by the new Iraqi government and others for its anti-American bias and willingness to carry the messages of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, is headed for the U.S. -Mexico border to document how easy it is to enter America illegally. | |
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Charles Johnson: JihadTV to Make Documentary on US Border — Here's some news that will make you feel really safe; Al Jazeera is... |
Michelle Malkin: Related: - Fox News special on American Gangs—Ties to Terror? - WND report, "Al-Jazeera to look at open U.S. border" |
Silver Stars Affirm One Unit's Mettle By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD — The two soldiers crept along the trench line, bullets thumping into the dirt around them. One was a lanky family man, 36, with two young sons and a 15-year career at International Paper Co. The other was a petite, single woman, 23, the floor manager at a Nashville shoe store. | |
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Cori Dauber: At Last We Know — The Post publishes a lengthy and detailed account of the battle that led to Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester's Silver Star (and a number of other citations for her unit.) |
Bill @INDCJournal: Quick Links *** "Silver Stars Affirm One Unit's Mettle "Women Play Key Roles In Combat Near Baghdad" An amazing story. |
The Armstrong Williams NewsHour By / NYT — Permalink HERE'S the difference between this year's battle over public broadcasting and the one that blew up in Newt Gingrich's face a decade ago: this one isn't really about the survival of public broadcasting. So don't be distracted by any premature obituaries for Big Bird. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: From today's NYT: The Armstrong Williams NewsHour "That doesn't mean the right's new assault on public broadcasting is toothless, far from it. Ed Cone: All hail Great Leader — Frank Rich on the new political correctness in public broadcasting: "Their guests were rated... Steve Antler: Too Rich for me... An aromatic brew of innuendo, analogy, and simile, this up-to-the-second analysis of the... |
John Cole: Also, Frank Rich has this apocalyptic piece on what he believes are the insidious efforts of the GOP to 'pervert' PBS and NPR. Frederick Maryland: Similar cuts have been proposed once again by this GOP-controlled Congress, but as the New York Times' Frank Rich... Orrin Judd: SO NEARLY RIGHT: The Armstrong Williams NewsHour (FRANK RICH, June 26, 2005, NY Times) [snipped quote] Mr. Rich comes surprisingly close to a genuine insight here. |
| Also: Al Rodgers, Stirling Newberry, Roger Ailes | |
Safer Vehicles for Soldiers: A Tale of Delays and Glitches By / NYT — Permalink When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited Iraq last year to tour the Abu Ghraib prison camp, military officials did not rely on a government-issued Humvee to transport him safely on the ground. | |
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Steve M.: Today's New York Times had a long story about the military's inability to acquire enough safe armored vehicles for the troops in Iraq. Joe @AmericaBlog: (While they won't give the troops the right equipment insuring their deaths. Read this NY Times article.) Brad DeLong: The U.S. Army has been stabbed in the back by those—George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul... |
Avedon Carol: I suppose it's something that Michelle Malkin acknowledges that the administration is being slow in dealing with... Mark Thoma: Social Security: GOP Plan: Use Surplus on Accounts GOP Can Settle Only on Accounts The New 'Leisure Class' Social... Pudentilla: oh goodness gracious, rummy won't use the vehicles he condemns the troops to use — [snipped quote] that's because he... |
| Also: Hilzoy @ObsidianWings, TChris | |
High Court to End Term With Big Decisions By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ends its work Monday with the highest of drama: an anticipated retirement, a ruling on the constitutionality of government Ten Commandments displays and decisions in other major cases. Justices usually wait until then to resolve blockbuster cases. | |
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Ann Althouse: The AP's Gina Holland writes: "The Supreme Court ends its work Monday with the highest of drama: an anticipated... James Joyner: High Court to End Term With Big Decisions — High Court to End Term With Big Decisions (AP) [snipped quote] Given that... |
Feddie @SouthernAppeal: "High Court to End Term With Big Decisions": The AP has this report. John @AmericaBlog: Monday is the last day of the Sup Ct's term — Rehnquist might resign. I've heard Sandra Day may do it first. |
A Broadband Beat-Down By / NYT — Permalink IT looked for a while as if the United States was firmly entrenched as the world's leader in Internet innovation. President Bill Clinton and Al Gore, his vice president, did much to encourage development of the country's technology infrastructure, writes Thomas Bleha in an article accessible on the Foreign Affairs magazine Web site (www.foreignaffairs.org). | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Same Song, Different Verse (But a Faster Download with Broadband) In the NYT we have the following: A Broadband... Eszter @CrookedTimber: Curiously, a new NYTimes article (scroll down to the bottom of the page) published this weekend repeats this recommendation. Steve M.: New York Times The Foreign Affairs article is here. The Brookings article is here. |
James Joyner: U.S. Falling Behind World in Broadband — A Broadband Beat-Down (NYT June 25 | RSS) "It looked for a while as if the... Avedon Carol: The decline and fall: IT looked for a while as if the United States was firmly entrenched as the world's leader in Internet innovation. Barbara O'Brien: Via Steve M, Dan Mitchell writes in the New York Times about all the wonderful technological progress we've made under... |
Three Things About Iraq NYT — Permalink To have the sober conversation about the war in Iraq that America badly needs, it is vital to acknowledge three facts: The war has nothing to do with Sept. 11. Saddam Hussein was a sworn enemy of Washington, but there was no Iraq-Qaeda axis, no connection between Saddam Hussein and the terrorist attacks on the United States. | |
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Hunter @DailyKos: "Clap Harder" Doesn't Seem to be Working — The New York Times wades in on the new GOP strawman talking points, and... Barbara O'Brien: Clip & Save — Via Stirling Newberry, today's New York Times gets shrill: "To have the sober conversation about the war... Tom Maguire: Terms Of Surrender — The NY Times delivers the terms upon which they will accept the surrender of the Republican Party:... |
Roger Ailes: Number Four — "We share moral responsibility for the deaths of Americans and Iraqis in Iraq by publishing the lies of William Safire and Judith Miller." Stirling Newberry: The New York Times gets Shrill — The most cynical recent example was Karl Rove's absurd and offensive declaration this... Joe @AmericaBlog: NY Times: Three Things About Iraq — Today's NY Times editorial on Iraq: [snipped quote] Of course, using the Rove... |
£220bn stolen by Nigeria's corrupt rulers By / Telegraph — Permalink The scale of the task facing Tony Blair in his drive to help Africa was laid bare yesterday when it emerged that Nigeria's past rulers stole or misused £220 billion. That is as much as all the western aid given to Africa in almost four decades. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: Insanity — Via the London Telegraph: 220bn stolen by Nigeria's corrupt rulers "The scale of the task facing Tony Blair... Marc @USSNeverdock: Where did all the money go last time? It was stolen. McQ: Today, an article in The Telegraph points to the scale of the problem Ayittey highlights in just one African country |
Damian Penny: Why Africa is poor — Amount of foreign aid recieved by Nigeria between 1960 and 1997: 220 billion. Captain Ed: Unfortunately for those of us who would like to find a way to do something effective, the question got a big answer in... Marcus @HarrysPlace: Looters — The scale of the theft indulged in over the last forty years by the Nigerian ruling-class is almost unbelievable. |
| Also: Joe Gandelman, Betsy Newmark, Roger Ailes, Pejman Yousefzadeh | |
Press pounces on Rove's remarks By / AP — Permalink Major news outlets that largely ignored the controversial comments of the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate last week immediately reported on a fiery speech by White House adviser Karl Rove, giving the story front-page prominence and the lead of newscasts. | |
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Jim Miller: Which Story Is More Important? This one? Chris Lawrence: Rove v. Durbin — James G. Lakely of the Washington Times compares the press reaction to Karl Rove's recent remarks... Betsy Newmark: James Lakely details the difference in how the MSM covered Durbin's remarks and Rove's speech. The discrepancy is quite revealing. |
Cori Dauber: You Didn't Hear It From Me (For Once) In the context of a piece comparing press coverage of the Durbin row with the Rove... Charles Johnson: MSM Ignores Durbin, Pounces on Rove — I think I'm getting cynical, perish the thought, because this Washington Times... |
Nutty 9/11 art nixed NY Daily News — Permalink Gov. Pataki drew a line in the sand yesterday, declaring he will tolerate no America-bashing on the sacred soil of Ground Zero. Hours after the Daily News disclosed that a museum set to rise on the site had displayed kooky and anti-American art, the... | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Govenor Pataki fell into a time anomaly. He is criticizing art displayed in a museum that has not yet been built. Charles Johnson: Hats Off to Gov. Pataki — Great news from New York, where Governor Pataki has come out with a strong statement against... |
Jeff Jarvis: In the Daily News, Pataki tried to sound tough but his words only gloss over indecision: "We will not tolerate... |
Asymmetry in the slurs By / Washington Times — Permalink Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, was not alone in recently comparing American behavior at Guantanamo Bay to that of "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings." | |
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Dean Esmay: Rove's remarks, while crass and stupid, were far less crass and stupid than the numerous comparisons to Hitler and... Charles Johnson: VDH: Asymmetry in the Slurs — Victor Davis Hanson is fed up with the absurdly inverted rhetoric coming from the left: Asymmetry in the slurs. |
John @PowerLine: Victor Davis Hanson recapitulates the liberals' hate campaign against President Bush, ranging from Charlie Rangel ("This... Betsy Newmark: Victor Davis Hanson reminds us of all the comparisons to Hitler that the left have flung at America and the Bush... |
Hard-Liner Urges Reconciliation After Victory in Iranian Vote AP — Permalink TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The winner of Iran's presidential election, whose landslide victory dealt a setback to reformers, said Saturday he seeks to make his country a ''modern, advanced, powerful, and Islamic'' model for the world. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: The new Iranian presidenti-elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is quite clearly a master of tarof: "The winner of Iran's... Stephen Burt: What (if anything) can the U.S. do about Iran? Is thimerosal truly toxic, or not? How much bile can spew from Karl Rove? McQ: Instead, AP is reporting: "Nearly 28 million ballots were cast, or more than 59 percent of Iran's approximately 47 million eligible voters. |
Hooman Majd: They must not have been at polls, for arch-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected the next president of the Islamic Republic in a landslide. James Joyner: The NYT doesn't bother to write an original piece, just running the AP story under the headline "Hard-Liner Urges Reconciliation After Victory in Iranian Vote." |
Cities, Homeowners Clash Over Land Rights By / AP — Permalink NEW LONDON, Conn. - When a divided Supreme Court broadened the government's right to seize private property this past week, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor painted a grim portrait of what she saw coming. | |
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Donald Sensing: Update: Okay, maybe I'll need to oppose domanining property for golf courses, too. Glenn Reynolds: MORE KELO FOLLOWUP: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Here's an example: "When a divided Supreme Court broadened the government's right to seize private property this past... |
Pols: Gitmo Conditions Have Improved AP — Permalink GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — Progress has been made to improve conditions and protect detainees' rights at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists, House Republicans and Democrats, including one who has advocated closing the facility, said Saturday. | |
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Arthur Chrenkoff: Gitmo for a day — Just when you thought that using Christina Aguilera's music was the new low, the horror of Guantanamo... |
Charles Johnson: Politicians Tour Gitmo, No Torture Discovered — Republican and Democrat politicians toured Guantanamo Bay today, and... |
Iraq insurgents snatch victory from defeat Guardian — Permalink Dawn had yet to break and Baghdad's biggest police station, like the rest of the city, was quiet. About 80 officers dozed inside the fortress, leaving just a few sentries guarding the walls, razor wire and concrete barriers. It started with mortars. | |
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Bill Roggio: The Guardian titles this one "Iraq insurgents snatch victory from defeat", but it is clear this attack was a massive military defeat. Norm Geras: Victory into defeat? Omar at Iraq the Model (scroll down) takes exception to this report from Rory Carroll. (Thanks: RB.) |
Jason Van Steenwyk: Of course, their unwitting stooges at the Guardian think that counts as a victory. |
Iraqis Fear Era of Relentless Chaos, Cruelty LAT — Permalink BAGHDAD — The explosions Thursday came not long after dawn, just hours after a triple bombing had torn through Baghdad's Shula neighborhood the previous evening. | |
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Brad Plumer: And then you have Lt. Gen. John Vines insisting that we need to draw down "relatively soon." Who's right? |
Arthur Silber: THE POINT OF NO RETURN: "WE HAVE LOST OUR COUNTRY" — June 25th, 2005 Bush's handiwork: [snipped quote] It won't happen, not yet. |
A wind of change starts to blow across Europe By / Times of London — Permalink WHEN Tony Blair took to the floor of the European Parliament his officials, muttering about Daniel and the lions' den, expected him to get the roughest of rides. | |
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A.M. Mora y Leon: Europeans everywhere are rejecting the Franco-German centralized-welfare-stati st model and embracing the Anglo-Roman ideal of freedom and rule of law. Pejman Yousefzadeh: "A WIND OF CHANGE STARTS TO BLOW ACROSS EUROPE" — Perhaps there is yet hope for the old continent: [snipped quote] The... |
Andrew Sullivan: And guess what? Many agreed. Is the tide turning? Money quote: [snipped quote] My admiration for Blair grows. |
Hard-Liner Wins Decisively in Iran Presidential Election By / LAT — Permalink TEHRAN — The mayor of Tehran won Iran's presidency in a landslide Friday, using support from the clerical hierarchy and the country's vast military to restore total control of the government to Islamic fundamentalists and end an eight-year experiment in reform. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: It should be remembered that one of the reasons Ahmadinejad won was because reformists appear to have stayed... K. J. Lopez: CONFESSION — When the tease to a piece includes the phrase "the moderate Rafsanjani" I don't bother clicking. |
James Joyner: Hard-Liner Wins Decisively in Iran Presidential Election (LAT) "[...] After being roundly rebuffed by voters in the last... |
A Couch Tom Cruise Won't Jump On By / WaPo — Permalink Okay, should we address him as Dr. Tom Cruise from now on? Or will the Rev. Dr. Cruise suffice? Whatever: Anybody who watched the actor's performance on NBC's "Today" show yesterday witnessed an unsettling transformation. | |
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Jack Cluth: No, I'm not a psychiatrist, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night... Cruise UnControllable A Couch Tom... |
Joe Gandelman: UPDATE II: More Cruise-related links 4 U: DC Media Girl Ed Driscoll Michele Catalano TV Newser Ann Althouse Unfogged... |
Winner in Iran Calls for Unity; Reformists Reel By / NYT — Permalink TEHRAN, June 25 - Iran's newly elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Saturday that he wanted to create a strong Islamic nation and issued a call for unity in his first comments after a landslide victory that left the country's reformist movement virtually powerless and threatens to further complicate relations with the United States. | |
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Michael Drazer: Regardless, Ahmadinejad is considered a hardliner by the West, most notably regarding nuclear proliferation (see BBC article here, NY Times article here). |
Roger L. Simon: Annals of the Mainstream Media - Iran — The New York Times seems to accept that Iran had a real election and that the... |
Bush says he has Iraq plan, critics see quagmire By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush insisted on Saturday he had a strategy for defeating the deadly insurgency in Iraq but Democrats said the war was threatening to descend into a quagmire. | |
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Cernig: And that leads one into pondering a far larger can of worms. President Bush says he has a plan for Iraq. |
John @AmericaBlog: Quagmire... ...isn't just a character on The Family Guy. |
On Autism's Cause, It's Parents vs. Research NYT — Permalink Kristen Ehresmann, a Minnesota Department of Health official, had just told a State Senate hearing that vaccines with microscopic amounts of mercury were safe. Libby Rupp, a mother of a 3-year-old girl with autism, was incredulous. | |
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Kevin Drum: Lindsay Beyerstein is skeptical of RFK's charges (here and here), and the New York Times reviews the bidding in a front page article today. |
Stephen Burt: Stephen Burt: Attention Basketball Fans (part one) This weekend brings many questions: why did the Vice President enter the hospital? |
Dining With Jeff By / NYT — Permalink Founding a democracy, rather like living in a democracy, can be very tough on friendship. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson began as friends. The tensions and frictions of the early Republic took care of that. | |
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Jon Henke: On a more hopeful note, Patricia Nelson Limerick has an interesting column in todays NYTimes... [snipped quote] UPDATE: ... |
Ann Althouse: Patricia Nelson Limerick describes the incident this way: [snipped quote] Limerick frets about the way people are so... |
Required Report on Trip by House Ethics Chairman Is Missing By / WaPo — Permalink The chairman of the House ethics committee apparently did not properly file a required report about a $3,170 trip to Canada last year. His staff said it must have been lost in the mail. Perhaps the report, due nine months ago, will turn up. | |
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Dr. Steven Taylor: The Dog Ate my Paperwork and Other Tales from Congress — Via WaPo: Required Report on Trip by House Ethics Chairman Is... Pudentilla: the party of personal responsibility strikes again "required report on trip by house ethics chairman is missing - the... |
Lambert @Corrente: Don't the Republicans have secretaries to handle their paperwork? And pick up their dry cleaning, and hump their golf bags in from the club, and so forth? |
Thirteen With the C.I.A. Sought by Italy in a Kidnapping NYT — Permalink MILAN, June 24 - An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 officers and operatives of the Central Intelligence Agency on charges that they seized an Egyptian cleric on a Milan street two years ago and flew him to Egypt for questioning, Italian prosecutors and investigators said Friday. | |
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Avedon Carol: You know you've lost the world's respect when... An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 officers and operatives... Pudentilla: must be a liberal — [snipped quote] apparently awol's allies have yet to receive cheney's memo. |
Michael @AmericaBlog: Now the CIA may have to endure some arrests. In Italy, the New York Times reports a judge has submitted arrest orders for 13 people who either work for or are linked to the CIA. |
U.S. Court Backs Bush's Changes on Clean Air Act By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 24 - A federal appeals court sided with the Bush administration on Friday, upholding its revisions of the Clean Air Act to allow plant operators to modernize without installing expensive new pollution control equipment. | |
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DeDurkheim: Clean Air? We don't need no stinkin' clean air...! Its true according to recent court decisions. |
John Cole: Power Plant Ruling — It will be interesting to see the fall out from this ruling. |
America's neo-conservative world supremacists will fail By / Guardian — Permalink Three continuities link the global US of the cold war era with the attempt to assert world supremacy since 2001. The first is its position of international domination, outside the sphere of influence of communist regimes during the cold war, globally since the collapse of the USSR. | |
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Harry @HarrysPlace: Today he has a column in the Guardian which has the comic-strip title of America's neo-conservative world supremacists will fail. |
Pudentilla: one man's meat "eric hobsbawm, a highly respected british historian, has an interesting op-ed in the guardian about... |
The Commander in Chief Furls 'Mission Accomplished' By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush and his guest, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, reversed roles yesterday in the East Room. While the quiet Iraqi delivered a peppy sales pitch to the United States and spoke cheerfully of declining violence, the famously sunny president kept talking about how terribly rough things are. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Dana Milbank is back to being his snarky self in writing about the President. First, get a load of the headline. |
Lambert @Corrente: "You have a great country," remarked a radio reporter, one of the five Iraqi journalists traveling with Jafari, as he... |
They Still Blame America First By / Weekly Standard — Permalink DEMOCRATS DON'T HAVE A DEATH wish. It just seems that way. What they actually have is a habit of falling into the national security trap. They did it in 1972. They did it in 1984. They did it in 1994. They did it in 2002. | |
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Orrin Judd: HONEY-POTTED TARBABY: They Still Blame America First: The Democrats fall into the national security trap again. |
Ed Driscoll: The Paul Kersey Left — Fred Barnes writes: [snipped quote] Speaking of Vietnam, Don Suber and Jeff Harrell remind us... |