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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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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.
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."
Dexter Filkins / New York Times:Large Turnout Reported as Iraqis Vote Under Tight Security
Discussion:
Washington Post, Liberty Street, AMERICAN FUTURE, Daily Kos, Middle Earth Journal, Power Line and Air America Radio
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 Indepundit, The Political Pit Bull, Diggers Realm and BLACKFIVE
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.
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.
Discussion:
Wampum
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Hilary Bok / The Washington Monthly:They Do Comedy Too! — Some recent comedic gems from the Bush administration:
Discussion:
The Heretik
New York Times:
Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say — WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence …
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, PrawfsBlawg, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog, How Appealing and Democratic Veteran
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.
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 …
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.
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.
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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Jonathan S. Landay / Knight Ridder:
Congress doesn't see same intelligence as president, report finds — WASHINGTON - President Bush and top administration officials have access to a much broader ranger of intelligence reports than members of Congress do, a nonpartisan congressional research agency said in a report Thursday …
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.
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 …
