Top Items:
MSNBC:
Top al-Qaida officer reportedly killed — Group's operational leader Rabia killed by missile in Pakistan, officials say — By By Robert Windrem and Carol Grisanti — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The operational commander of al-Qaida, possibly the No. 3 official in the terrorist organization …
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James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Why Iraq Has No Army — The Bush administration doesn't take the problem seriously—and it never has — W hen Saddam Hussein fell, the Iraqi people gained freedom. What they didn't get was public order. Looting began immediately, and by the time it abated, signs of an insurgency had appeared.
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Leak Ruling Has Mystery, 8 Blank Pages — There are eight blank pages in the public version of a decision the federal appeals court in Washington issued in February. The decision ordered two reporters to be jailed unless they agreed to testify before a grand jury investigating the disclosure …
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Associated Press:
Congress to look into 'deeply flawed' BCS system — HOUSTON — Calling the Bowl Championship Series "deeply flawed," the chairman of a congressional committee has called a hearing on the controversial system used to determine college football's national champion.
Washington Post:
Military Says It Paid Iraq Papers for News — Possible 'Improprieties' to Be Investigated — The U.S. military command in Baghdad acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it has paid Iraqi newspapers to carry positive news about U.S. efforts in Iraq, but officials characterized …
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, Captain's Quarters, Liberty Street, Petty Larseny and Politics in the Zeros
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Mickey Kaus / Slate:
Hillary's Chimerical 'Recalibration' — ABC's Note admires the smokescreen. — Pssst! Bolivia is about to elect a president who wants to decriminalize coca production. Won't that throw the War on Drugs into a more than mild state of disarray? Just asking. ... 2:08 A.M.
Los Angeles Times:
FBI Is Taking Another Look at Forged Prewar Intelligence — WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON — The FBI has reopened an inquiry into one of the most intriguing aspects of the pre-Iraq war intelligence fiasco: how the Bush administration came to rely on forged documents linking Iraq to nuclear weapons materials …
Richard Reeves / Yahoo! News:
IS GEORGE BUSH THE WORST PRESIDENT — EVER? — PARIS — President John F. Kennedy was considered a historian because of his book "Profiles in Courage," so he received periodic requests to rate the presidents, those lists that usually begin "1. Lincoln, 2. Washington ..."
Discussion:
The Heretik
James Gordon Meek / NY Daily News:
Hil used to be strictly for the war — WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Clinton left one thing out this week when she tried to explain her views on Iraq - namely that she used to agree almost completely with President Bush, even after the war took a nosedive. — On Tuesday, Clinton wrote …
Discussion:
Loaded Mouth
Media Matters for America:
Coulter to O'Reilly on Media Matters: "little Nazi block watcher[]" website that "want[s] to keep me off" of CNN — On the December 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly invited right-wing pundit Ann Coulter on the show to discuss "far-left smear websites."
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
Alito Distances Himself From 1985 Memos — Senator Says Nominee Drew a Line Between Expressed Views and Potential Rulings — Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. yesterday tried to tamp down criticisms of several past statements — including his assertion that the Constitution does …
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Muted Support for GOP Change Grows — Amid Scandals, Some Republicans Push to Permanently Replace DeLay as Leader — Widening corruption scandals in Washington are heightening Republican sentiments for a GOP leadership shake-up early next year that would permanently replace former majority …
Lawrence Messina / Associated Press:
FBI Plants Fake Candidate in W.Va. Race — CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Thomas Esposito's campaign for the Legislature seemed to be following the usual pattern. The longtime Democratic mayor issued press releases, raised money and bought newspaper ads. Signs bearing his name popped up in yards around rural Logan County.
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Sticking Up for Saddam — Ramsey Clark admits that his client is guilty. — All must agree that Saddam Hussein is entitled to the best legal defense team, and that it is a very special responsibility of the Coalition authorities to provide cast-iron protection to those who undertake the task.
Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:
Not So Fast, Mr. Rove — This is all becoming a bit clearer. Today on CNN, Bob Franken says: … What we're supposed to believe (i.e., the Rovian spin) is that Fitzgerald erroneously thought that Rove had "mis-testified" about a conversation he had with Viveca Novak …
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Deacon / Power Line:
BOUNCING BACK? — The latest Fox News poll shows that President Bush's approval rating has risen by 6 percentage points during the past three weeks. It now stands at a not so lofty but not dreadful 42 percent. The swing isn't surprising inasmuch as the economy is booming …
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Newdonkey / NewDonkey.com:
In Defense of The Moose — I rise today to a point of personal privilege: the opportunity to defend my friend and colleague, and fellow blogospheric furry mammal, The Bull Moose (a.k.a., Marshall Wittmann) from a double-barreled attempt over at DailyKos to barbecue his tough old hide.
Discussion:
Sirotablog
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