Top Items:
Washington Post:
In Cities Bush Cited, Progress Is Relative — In a tale of two cities, President Bush yesterday heralded progress in northern Mosul and southern Najaf as new models for rebuilding Iraq. — But last Friday, Iraq's government imposed emergency law and a curfew in Sunni-dominated Mosul …
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush Lauds Progress in Iraq, Rejects Timetable — Democrats Release Report Highlighting Shortfalls — President Bush asserted today that despite insurgent attacks and problems such as corruption, the United States is making "steady progress" in helping Iraq rebuild its economy …
New York Times:
More Questions as Rice Asserts Detainee Policy — WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 - Responding to pressure at home and abroad to set clearer standards for the interrogation of terrorist suspects, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that the policy of the United States was not to allow its personnel …
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New York Times:
Economy Lifts Bush's Support in Latest Poll — After months of political erosion, President Bush's approval rating improved markedly in the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, largely tracking Americans' more positive attitudes toward the economy. — But his presidency is still plagued …
Discussion:
Mystery Pollster, WILLisms.com, CBS News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Confederate Yankee and Balloon Juice
Jonathan Finer / Washington Post:
In Iraq, Signs of Political Evolution — Parties That Shunned January Vote Are Now Embracing the Process — BAGHDAD, Dec. 7 — Tucked into a bunker-like former headquarters of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, a type of war room unfamiliar in this country buzzed with life Wednesday.
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, JunkYardBlog, Right Wing Nut House, Hugh Hewitt, CALIFORNIA YANKEE and BAGnewsNotes
ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: Shoe Bomber Alert Preceded Airport Shooting — Egyptian Man Had Been Stopped at New York Airport; Shoes Tested Positive for Explosive — Dec. 7, 2005 — Federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News they had been on the alert for a possible shoe bomber when a federal air marshal opened fire …
Discussion:
blogenlust, Begging to Differ, Macsmind, Michelle Malkin, The American Thinker and PunditGuy
Sarah Lyall / New York Times:
Playwright Takes a Prize and a Jab at U.S. — LONDON, Dec. 7 - The playwright Harold Pinter turned his Nobel Prize acceptance speech on Wednesday into a furious howl of outrage against American foreign policy, saying that the United States had not only lied to justify waging war against Iraq but had also …
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NY Daily News:
Rummy exit rumored; Lieberman eyed for job — WASHINGTON - White House officials are telling associates they expect Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to quit early next year, once a new government is formed in Iraq, sources said yesterday. — Rumsfeld's deputy, Gordon England …
Daniel Williams / Washington Post:
Police Attack Voters During Last Day of Egypt Election — BADAWAY, Egypt, Dec. 7 — Police firing tear gas and rubber bullets blocked voters from reaching polling stations in several electoral districts around the country Wednesday and at least eight people were reported killed on the violent …
Discussion:
Informed Comment
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
House Passes 3 Tax Cuts, Plans a 4th — Cost Would Outstrip Recent Action on Deficit — The House passed three separate tax cuts yesterday and plans to approve a fourth today, trimming the federal revenue by $94.5 billion over five years — nearly double the budget savings that Republicans muscled through the House last month.
Discussion:
The RCP Blog, Wonkette, Suburban Guerrilla, Balloon Juice, Democratic Veteran and The American Mind
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
The American Way — What does it mean that your first act on entering a country is breaking its laws? — As Congress considers the Bush administration's guest-worker plan, as Republicans try to figure out what their immigration philosophy is, and as political observers parse the implications …
Burt Prelutsky / Townhall.com:
The Jewish Grinch who stole Christmas — I never thought I'd live to see the day that Christmas would become a dirty word. You think it hasn't? Then why is it that people are being prevented from saying it in polite society for fear that it will offend?
Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Poll: Four Years After the Fall of the Taliban, Afghans Optimistic About the Future — Despite Deep Challenges in Daily Life, Afghans Express a Positive Outlook — Dec. 7, 2005 — Four years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghans express both vast support for the changes that have shaken …
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, Roger L. Simon, USS Neverdock, Barcepundit, Balloon Juice and Harry's Place
George F. Will / Washington Post:
The Inalienable Right to a Remote — Feeling, evidently, flush with (other people's) cash, the Senate has concocted a novel way to spend $3 billion: create a new entitlement. The Senate has passed — and so has the House, with differences — an entitlement to digital television.
Andrew Sullivan / The New Republic:
The Abolition of Torture — Why is torture wrong? It may seem like an obvious question, or even one beneath discussion. But it is now inescapably before us, with the introduction of the McCain Amendment banning all "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment" of detainees by American soldiers and CIA operatives anywhere in the world.
Discussion:
The Corner on National …
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
House Speaker Suggests Ethics Refresher — WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 - In a sign that Republican leaders are increasingly anxious about the image of the House after bribery convictions, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert raised the prospect on Wednesday of new ethics training for lawmakers.
