Top Items:
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.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Mohammed / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Iraqi's preparing to decide... Only hours separate us from a major historic day for our nation (too many historic days for Iraq in these two years!). Tomorrow will draw a line that would mark the beginning of a new era in Iraq; a constitutional Iraq will become reality.
Chester / The Adventures of Chester:
Live-blogging the Iraqi Constitutional Referendum — 2:57am: The BBC is not doing anything on the voting. Right now there's an in-depth interview with a Nigerian folk singer. I kid you not. Perhaps the top of the hour will bring something. Polls have been open for four hours now.
Discussion:
In the Bullpen
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.
Shawn Wasson / Bareknucklepolitics.com:Iraqis Vote — Iraqis are set to head to the polls tomorrow …
Discussion:
Say Anything
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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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.
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, Outside The Beltway, Jo's Cafe, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and Say Anything
Betsy / Betsy's Page:Sgt. Ron Long is a US Army Combat Medic serving in Iraq …
Discussion:
BLACKFIVE
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 …
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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.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:Hmmm. — NYT: "Karl Rove nosed his Jaguar out of the garage …
Discussion:
firedoglake, The Huffington Post, skippy the bush kangaroo, Night Light and BottleOfBlog
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
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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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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 …
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
White House Shifts Its Lobbying Strategy — The White House, caught off guard by the intensity of the conservative backlash to Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, plans to try to refocus the debate over the next week onto her legal qualifications and away from issues such as her religion, senior presidential advisers said yesterday.
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.
