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Borzou Daragahi / Los Angeles Times:
Polls Close After Iraqi Voters Turn Out in Droves — BAGHDAD — Iraqis across ethnic, sectarian and religious divides voted in droves today in a high-stakes election that could determine the course of the nation and the success or failure of the U.S. effort to bring Western-style democracy to the Arab Middle East.
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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 …
Discussion:
Liberty Street, AMERICAN FUTURE, Daily Kos, Middle Earth Journal, Power Line and Air America Radio
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.
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.
W. Thomas Smith Jr / National Review:It's Electric — As Iraqis queue up at polling stations …
Discussion:
Classical Values, Mark in Mexico, Instapundit.com, The Political Pit Bull, Diggers Realm and BLACKFIVE
Washington Post:A Lack of Violence as Iraqis Vote to Choose New Government
Discussion:
BBC, Decision '08, Secular Blasphemy, AMERICAN FUTURE, The Indepundit, Hugh Hewitt, Opinion and Stop The ACLU
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.
Associated Press:
White House agrees to McCain's torture policy — Bush gives in to Ariz. senator's ban after months of wrangling, officials say — WASHINGTON - After months of resistance, the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain's call for a law specifically banning cruel …
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Washington Post:
White House, McCain Agree on Torture Ban — Measure Proposed Would Limit Interrogation Tactics — The White House and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reached agreement today on a measure that would ban torture and limit interrogation tactics in U.S. detention facilities, a provision …
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.
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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 …
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.
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily Blog, Six Meat Buffet, Instapundit.com, PunditGuy, Dr. Sanity, Wonkette, Blogs for Bush, The Political Teen and Macsmind
Steve H. / Hog On Ice:
Follow Up to PJM/Malkin Story — There's "Yes, Yes" in Your Interview, But Your Links Say "No, No" — I should have pointed this out in an earlier post, but I guess I got distracted. — I said a source was asking questions and suggesting theories about Pajamas Media's situation, using Michelle Malkin as an example.
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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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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.
CNN:
Official: Al-Zarqawi caught, released — Authorities didn't realize prisoner was terrorist mastermind — BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi security forces caught the most wanted man in the country last year, but released him because they didn't know who he was, the Iraqi deputy minister of interior said Thursday.
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 …
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Our Fake Drilling Debate — In 1986 Gale Norton was 32 and working for the secretary of the interior on matters pertaining to the proposal to open a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — area 1002 — to drilling for oil and natural gas, a proposal that then had already been a bone of contention for several years.
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
It's Not About Bush — Has America turned a corner on Iraq? — The four-part Iraq speech cycle on which the president has embarked, and that culminated yesterday in his remarks before the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, may well mark a turning in his public leadership of the war.
