Top Items:
New York Times:
Documents Show Miers's Close Ties to Bush — AUSTIN, Tex., Oct. 10 - "You are the best governor ever - deserving of great respect," Harriet E. Miers wrote to George W. Bush days after his 51st birthday in July 1997. She also found him "cool," said he and his wife, Laura, were "the greatest!" and told him: "Keep up the great work.
Irwin Arieff / Reuters:
US blocks U.N. briefing on atrocities in Sudan — UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton blocked a U.N. envoy on Monday from briefing the Security Council on grave human rights violations in Sudan's Darfur region, saying the council had to act against atrocities and not just talk about them.
RELATED ITEMS:
Colum Lynch / Washington Post:
Militia Violence Escalating In Darfur, U.N. Envoy Says — UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 10 — The top United Nations envoy for the prevention of genocide charged Monday that Arab militias have escalated their campaign of violence against civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan, mounting an unprecedented pair …
Warren Hoge / New York Times:
U.N. Is Gradually Becoming More Hospitable to Israel — UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 10 - Israel recently proposed a United Nations resolution, it submitted its candidacy for a two-year seat on the Security Council, and its prime minister has been warmly received speaking to the General Assembly.
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Mellowing on Miers. — The Washington Times reports on the official White House response to the massive doubts about Harriet Miers. On the surface, it's all wait and see, we actually know what we're doing. Meanwhile, nearly half the Republican senators have expressed doubts.
RELATED ITEM:
hughhewitt.com:
Althouse et al — University of Wisconsin Professor of Law Ann Althouse has a very important post today, because it is the first "turning" post I have seen on Harriet Miers, proving that such "mellowing" is in fact possible, and from within the Academy. — Here's the crucial proposition AA makes:
Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:
Perplexed by This Pick — Was it impotence or omnipotence? — I've been wondering which variety of delusional thinking led George W. Bush to choose poor Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. It must have been one or the other, it seems to me, and neither is particularly good news.
RELATED ITEMS:
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
The Shimmer: Missing Data at the New York Times — "Whereas a week ago, I was calling it 'Judy Miller's New York Times' to emphasize how she seemed to be the actor-in-chief, I now think it's more than that: a bigger unknown is affecting things. Not only is the Times not operating properly …
RELATED ITEMS:
New York Times:
Military May Propose an Active-Duty Force for Relief Efforts — WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 - The military's Northern Command is developing a proposal to organize a specially trained and equipped active-duty force that could respond quickly to assist relief efforts in the event of overwhelming natural disasters …
Jason DeParle / New York Times:
Liberal Hopes Ebb in Post-Storm Poverty Debate — WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 - As Hurricane Katrina put the issue of poverty onto the national agenda, many liberal advocates wondered whether the floods offered a glimmer of opportunity. The issues they most cared about - health care, housing …
Jacob Gershman / New York Sun:
Blogging Prof Fails To Heed His Own Advice — "I shouldn't be doing this. I'll be going up for tenure soon." — It was with those words of self admonishment that an assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago, Daniel Drezner, inaugurated his Web log in September 2002.
Independent:
West's response condemned as slow and inadequate — Western governments rushed to step up their pledges for the earthquake relief effort after their initial response to the disaster was condemned as slow-moving and financially inadequate. — The United States, which was under pressure …
RELATED ITEM:
Robert Birsel / Reuters:
Blocked roads, hail hamper Pakistan relief effort
Blocked roads, hail hamper Pakistan relief effort
Discussion:
A Blog For All
Brian Faler / Washington Post:
A Capitol Hill Presence in the Blogosphere — Lawmakers Try to Balance Value of Openness With The Medium's Blunt Tone — "Suddenly the plane just started dropping," wrote Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). — "We did this amazing zigzag in — sort of spiral down very fast — and my ears felt horrendous …
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Buckley: The Right's Practical Intellectual — It is time that I confess to an illicit love. I am now, and have been almost all my life, an admirer of William F. Buckley Jr. — The skeptical conservative might say it's easy for a liberal to like this elitist Yale grad who uses big words …
Discussion:
Bull Moose
RELATED ITEM:
Fred Barbash / Washington Post:
Laura Bush Joins President's Defense of Miers — Joining her husband in defense of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Laura Bush today called her a "role model for young women around the country" and suggested that sexism was a "possible" reason for the heavy criticism of the nomination.
Bernard Haykel / New York Times:
Terminal Debate — WHEN Iraq's most notorious terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, declared a "full-scale war" on Iraq's Shiites on Sept. 14, he appeared to be speaking for all or most jihadis. But Mr. Zarqawi's war on Shiites is deeply unpopular in some quarters of his own movement.
Skymuse / Skymusings:
Misunderstimation and the bigger picture — The nomination of Harriet Miers has conservatives split and arguing amongst themselves. Beyond being silly, pointless, and counterproductive, I find it all very puzzling. — Like everyone else, I scratched my head and said "Who?" upon hearing of the nomination.