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
RELATED ITEMS:
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, Jo's Cafe, 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!
Discussion:
Blogs for Bush, The Wide Awake Cafe, The Anchoress, The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice, Donkey Stomp, Iowa Voice, NewsBusters.org, Gateway Pundit, publiusrendezvous.blogspot.com, Sister Toldjah, The Heretik, The Daily Brief, Centerfield, Brutally Honest, PunditGuy, Say Anything and Small Town Veteran
Betsy / Betsy's Page:Sgt. Ron Long is a US Army Combat Medic serving in Iraq …
Discussion:
BLACKFIVE
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Baghdad Blackout Adds to Tensions Ahead of Iraqi Vote — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 15 - A blackout plunged Baghdad and nearby areas into darkness Friday evening as electoral workers and American and Iraqi forces readied thousands of polling stations for a nationwide vote on Saturday on a permanent constitution.
RELATED ITEMS:
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.
Chester / The Adventures of Chester:
Live-blogging the Iraqi Constitutional Referendum — 10:57pm: Aaron is talking to Christiane again on CNN. She says it is a simple ballot with a yes or no on it. As she shoots the bull with Aaron, the cameras show what I think is Jalal Talabani voting in Baghdad.
Discussion:
In the Bullpen
Washington Post:
Rove Pressed On Conflicts, Source Says — Questions Said to Focus On Differing Accounts — The grand jury investigating the CIA leak case pressed White House senior adviser Karl Rove yesterday to more fully explain his conversations with reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame …
RELATED ITEMS:
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.
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
Wharkavy / villagevoice.com:
Bush Launches New Flack Attack — U.S. public shelled today from Iraq by weapon of mass distraction — Flack attack from Iraq: Bush talks to the troops this morning. Arrow denotes flack. — George W. Bush — what a newsmaker. In the true sense of the word. This morning, he made it up.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Pacific Views, The Huffington Post, skippy the bush kangaroo, Wonkette, BlondeSense and First Draft
RELATED ITEM:
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. — Update A lot of Muslim and Arabist readers have written …
RELATED ITEM:
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 …
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 …
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.
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.
