Top Items:
SGT Ron Long / They Call Us, "Doc":
Speaking with President Bush — Yesterday, I (bottom right corner in the picture) was chosen to be among a small group of soldiers assigned to the 42ID's Task Force Liberty that would speak to President Bush, our Commander-in-Chief. The interview went well, but I would like to respond …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, Silflay Hraka, The Anchoress and Secular Blasphemy
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Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:
Up the Creek: Out to Embarrass Bush Over Alleged Video Stunt, Today Gets Caught in Stunt of Its Own — In a deliciously ironic twist of fate, shortly before airing a segment aimed at embarrassing the Bush administration by suggesting that it had staged a video conversation between the president …
Discussion:
Iowa Voice, Basil's Blog, mediabistro, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Outside The Beltway and Say Anything
Don Surber:
Staged Controversy — Never let the facts get in the way of a good opinion. Case in point: the "staged" military photo op with the president. The Moderate Voice: "The bottom line is that poor thinking and advance planning created this. The news media was HANDED this story.
Michelle Malkin:
LIGHTS! CAMERA! PROJECTION! — An overwhelming number of our troops support President Bush. This drives the MSM mad. So mad they lied about his Thanksgiving trip to Iraq in 2003. So mad they'll flog anti-military stories that undermine national security. — And have no journalistic merit whatsoever.
Betsy / Betsy's Page:Sgt. Ron Long is a US Army Combat Medic serving in Iraq …
Discussion:
BLACKFIVE
Washington Post:
Rove Testifies Again in CIA Leak Probe — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove today testified again before a grand jury probing whether senior Bush administration officials illegally leaked to reporters the identity of a covert CIA operative. — It was Rove's fourth appearance before the grand jury.
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Juan / Informed Comment:
Zawahiri Letter to Zarqawi: A Shiite Forgery? — The Arabic text of the recently released letter alleged to be by Zawahiri (al-Qaeda's number two man) to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq raises questions for me as to its authenticity. — The very first element of the letter is the blessing on the Prophet.
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Washington Post:
In Iraqi Swing City, Hope vs. Defiance — BALAD, Iraq, Oct. 13 — In a dusty room of Qadriya Elementary School, Lt. Col. Jody L. Petery delivered his message: Sunni Arabs should cast their votes Saturday in a referendum on Iraq's proposed constitution. His skeptical audience had other concerns.
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National Review:
Start Over — When President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, we called it a missed opportunity. The ensuing debate has confirmed that judgment. For all its fury, a consensus was reached early on that point. Leaving aside the president and his employees …
Discussion:
www.AndrewSullivan.com
Stephen Gordon / The Speculist:
An Open Letter to President Bush — Dear Mr. President: — Like many Americans I'm deeply concerned about the risk of Avian flu. News about our nation's preparedness has not been reassuring. — The only drug that is thought to have any impact on the disease once contracted is Tamiflu.
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Robert H. Scales / Washington Times:
The emerging Iraqi army — I traveled to Iraq this week with a group of military analysts. From my visit I concluded that the greatest change in the military balance over since last summer has been achieved by the Iraqis Security forces. Their story is only partially told by the recent spike …
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Chester / The Adventures of Chester:Live-blogging the Iraqi Constitutional Referendum
Discussion:
IRAQ THE MODEL
Ezra Klein:
You Have Got To Be Kidding Me — I thought Noam Scheiber was joking on this. Apparently not: … Dude. We tried this already. Go ask Lyndon Johnson how well it worked. — Update: Maybe this needs a fuller rebuttal. Since my colleague Matt gave it a semi-approving citation …
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Media Matters for America:
Boortz: Faced with an impending national disaster, "we should save the rich people first" — On the October 14 broadcast of his daily radio show, right-wing radio host Neal Boortz stated that if the country is faced with an impending national disaster, it should make it a higher priority …
Brigid Schulte / Washington Post:
D.C. Chief Defends Officers' Judgments in DUI Arrests — D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey yesterday defended officers who arrest drivers with blood alcohol levels below the legal limit, and amid growing criticism of the department's "zero tolerance" policy, he insisted that officers continue to be able to use their discretion.
Associated Press:
'Today' Reporter Paddles in Shallow Water — If Michelle Kosinski's canoe had sprung a leak on NBC's "Today" show Friday, she didn't have much to worry about. — In one of television's inadvertently funny moments, the NBC News correspondent was paddling in a canoe during a live report …
hughhewitt.com:
Tucker and Teddy (and Beldar) — I agreed to appear on The Situation with Tucker Carlson tonight to discuss Harriet Miers. I appeared, but we did not discuss Hariet Miers. We discussed, for most of the segment, a couple of paragraphs drawn from Miers' articles for the Texas Bar Association magazine when she was president.
Discussion:
Southern Appeal, Blogs for Bush, All Things Beautiful, ProfessorBainbridge.com and The Political Teen
Bloomberg:
Bush's Miers Predicament Forces GOP Split or Nominee Withdrawal — Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush prides himself as a man who never runs from a fight and as a leader who pays careful attention to his political base. Harriet Miers has put those qualities in conflict.
