Top Items:
Bassem Mroue / Associated Press:
Heavy Turnout Reported in Iraqi Election — BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Several explosions rocked Baghdad throughout the day, but the level of violence was low.
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Omar / IRAQ THE MODEL:
We got our purple fingers! `(Updated) — 10:30 am Baghdad time (Also available on Pajamas Media). — *This post will be updated many times, so keep refreshing and scrolling! — We have noticed on our way to the polling station that the streets are much quieter this time than they were back in January.
Dexter Filkins / New York Times:
Large Turnout Reported as Iraqis Vote Under Tight Security — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 15 - In a day remarkable for the absence of large-scale violence, millions of Iraqi voters, many of them dressed in their best and traveling with other family members, streamed to the polls today to cast ballots …
mudvillegazette.com:
DAWN PATROL — Mrs Greyhawk — Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories …
Discussion:
neo-neocon
W. Thomas Smith Jr / National Review:
It's Electric — As Iraqis queue up at polling stations, some of the scenes look more like a series of regional block parties than what most Westerners would associate with an election day. Children can be seen waving flags or playing soccer. Adults are cheering, clapping hands …
Gateway Pundit:
Iraqis Turnout, Continue March towards Democracy — 59% in January, 64% in October, 70-80% Turnout Expected Today in Iraq! — A nation awakes from a long and very dark slumber. — AZ AZUBAYR, IRAQ - DECEMBER 15: An extended family walks through a heavy morning fog to vote …
Discussion:
Power Line, Hammorabi, Cold Fury, The Political Pit Bull, The Strata-Sphere, Instapundit.com and California Conservative
Hugh Sykes / BBC:
'This is stability, at last' — There was a traffic jam inside the polling station at Badr al-Kobra school - a traffic jam of people, as hundreds of voters flocked into the station. — Inside scrutineers and election officials sat rather awkwardly at small school desks handing out ballot forms.
Discussion:
JunkYardBlog
Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
President Says DeLay Is Not Guilty of Money Laundering — President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations …
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ReddHedd / firedoglake:
No Comment...Except to Tamper with the Jury Pool — Okay, now I'm pissed. For months and months, we've had to deal with the stonewalling from McClellan, the Preznit and everyone at the WH that they can't comment on anything regarding the Traitorgate case because it is an ongoing criminal matter.
Dwight Meredith / Wampum:
The 2005 Koufax Awards — Nominations Are Open — Nominations are now open for the 2005 Koufax Awards. This is the fourth year of the awards, which in internet time, makes us old and venerable (or perhaps decrepit). The 2002 winners may be found here. The 2003 winners are listed here, and the 2004 winners are here.
Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
White House Closer on McCain Torture Ban — WASHINGTON - After months of resistance, the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain's call for a law specifically banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror, several congressional officials said Thursday.
moxie:
slip sliding away...we be pajammin — Alternate title: how to waste 7 million dollars of investor's money. — Steve H. mentioned that Pajamas Media didn't have their doubleclick ads on Michelle Malkin's site yesterday. Malkin is one of maybe 5 valuable writers attached to the mess.
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Hotline On Call:
Kerry Links Retaking House To Bush Impeachment — MA. Sen. John Kerry said last night that if Dems retake the House, there's a "solid case" to bring "articles of impeachment" against President Bush for allegedly misleading the country about pre-war intelligence, according to several Dems who attended.
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:
Upwards of 15 million vote in Iraq; violence minimal; polls stay open an hour late to accomodate high turnout; in several Sunni areas, ballots run out — As an Iraq expat noted on FOXNews this morning, "every purple finger is a bullet to the chest of the terrorists."
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David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Bush's Path Forward Has Many Ifs — WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - It took a thousand days after he ordered the invasion of Iraq for President Bush to describe in considerable detail his strategy for transforming the country and the region, and to lay out the benchmarks that he said Wednesday would lead to "complete victory."
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Chuck Lindell / Austin American-Statesman:
Abramoff charity's claims disputed — Groups listed as beneficiaries of more than $330,000 in gifts say they never got them — Capital Athletic Foundation, a charity run by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff now at the center of an influence-peddling investigation on Capitol Hill …
Michael J. Totten / LA Weekly:
Guess Who's Coming to Iftar — A meal to remember with Hezbollah — BEIRUT — Syrian occupation troops have withdrawn from Lebanon, but the country has not yet regained its full sovereignty. The radical Shiite Hezbollah militia still controls its own territory in the suburbs south of Beirut and along the border with Israel.
Nathan Burchfiel / CNSNews:
Statistics Suggest Race Not a Factor in Katrina Deaths — (CNSNews.com) - Statistics released by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals suggest that fewer than half of the victims of Hurricane Katrina were black, and that whites died at the highest rate of all races in New Orleans.
