Top Items:
Colum Lynch / Washington Post:
U.N. Official Faults U.S. Detentions — Terrorism Fight Hurts Torture Ban, Human Rights Chief Says — UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 7 — The U.S.-led fight against terrorism is eroding the time-honored international prohibition of torture and other forms of cruel or degrading treatment of prisoners …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, New Sisyphus, The Corner on National …, GOP Bloggers and The Heretik
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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 …
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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 …
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, Informed Comment, The Left Coaster, The Heretik, Big Brass Blog, The Mahablog and Needlenose
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.
Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta:
Terrorists Announce Murder of American Hostage Ronald Schulz — Reports have begun circulating that Ronald Schulz has been murdered. The website used by The Islamic Army in Iraq, though, has not carried this message. Instead, it was posted at an Islamic bulletin board.
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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 …
John B. Judis / The New Republic:
Chair Lift — Howard Dean is being vilified again—not only by Republicans in the White House and Congress, but by his fellow Democrats as well. And once again it's for making a critical comment about the administration's conduct of the Iraq war. In an interview Monday with a San Antonio radio station …
Discussion:
Eschaton
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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?
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 …
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Shelley K. Wong / Associated Press:
Heckling causes Coulter to cut UConn speech short — STORRS, Conn. — Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming. — Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes …
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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.
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 …
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 …
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, protein wisdom, Roger L. Simon, Barcepundit, Balloon Juice, USS Neverdock, Harry's Place and Austin Bay Blog
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.
