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Michelle Malkin:
THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF SPEAK — In civilized societies, if you are offended by a cartoon, you do not burn flags, take up guns and raid buildings, chant death to your opponents, or threaten suicide bombings. — You write a letter to the editor. — Here's a Tom Toles cartoon that our military leaders did not appreciate:
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Editor and Publisher:
Joint Chiefs Send Rare Protest Letter to 'Wash Post' Over 'Reprehensible' Toles Cartoon — NEW YORK A Tom Toles editorial cartoon published in The Washington Post on Monday and on its Web site has drawn a very rare and very strong protest letter to the editors from all six members of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, E&P has learned.
John / AMERICAblog:
Pentagon trying to censor top US political cartoonist — The Joint Chiefs of Staff just sent a menacing letter to the Washington Post over a cartoon. AMERICAblog received a copy of the letter at 10AM this morning, but as its veracity was not yet confirmed, we waited until E&P was able to confirm that is is for real.
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Learning from Dear Leader — (updated below - updated again, several times — (updated one last time to reflect that Capitol Police admit they made a mistake because Sheehan broke no laws or rules) — I disagree with lots of things which Cindy Sheehan says but if the circumstances …
Discussion:
The Mahablog, firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, local6.com, Hullabaloo, Guardian, Balloon Juice, Attytood, The Heretik, The Huffington Post, QandO, Say Anything, TalkLeft, The American Street, AMERICAblog, Rook's Rant, The Glittering Eye, THE BRAD BLOG, Don Surber and Brilliant at Breakfast
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John Nichols / Yahoo! News:
The War on T-Shirts — The Nation — Minutes before the President of the United States would tell the Congress how much he appreciates "responsible criticism and counsel," the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq was dragged from a gallery overlooking the House chamber where Bush would speak …
BBC:
Muhammad cartoon row intensifies — Newspapers across Europe have reprinted caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to show support for a Danish paper whose cartoons have sparked Muslim outrage. — France Soir, Germany's Die Welt, La Stampa in Italy and El Periodico in Spain all carried some of the drawings.
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Kevin G. Hall / Knight Ridder:
Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports — WASHINGTON - One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally.
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Gina Holland / Associated Press:
Alito Splits With Conservatives on Inmate — WASHINGTON - New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the court's conservatives Wednesday night, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection. — Alito, handling his first case, sided with inmate Michael Taylor …
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Newsweek:
The Case for Joe Biden — A long time political consultant argues that the senior senator from Delaware is the Democrat's best shot — Jan. 31, 2006 - There are several ways we choose our presidents. During the primaries, we may vote for the person who looks as if he or she will perform best …
Discussion:
firedoglake, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Big Brass Blog and The Heretik
Michelle Malkin:
KERRY'S "53 PERCENT" LIE (VIDEO) — Via Drudge comes word of Sen. John Kerry's false claim on The Today Show that "53 percent of our children don't graduate from high school." Census data show that 84 percent of Americans over the age of 25 are high school grads. — Download the video (.wmv file).
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Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:
NARAL and Coathanger Chafee — I've always been a big NARAL supporter, and I recognize that they do their job under tremendous and constant pressure from the right. Many Democrats are abandoning pro-choice values in order to seem less "liberal" despite the fact that most Americans want abortion …
Steve Holland / Reuters:
Bush: US would defend Israel against Iran — NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - President George W. Bush vowed on Wednesday the United States would defend Israel militarily if needed against Iran and denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "menacing talk" against Israel.
Discussion:
PunditGuy
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Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Don't Be Fooled by Hamas — While it is probably true, as everyone says, that Hamas won the recent Palestinian elections not because it promised to wipe out Israel but because it promised to pick up the garbage in Gaza City (all politics is local, etc.), it is also true that the prospect …
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Alito Vote May Be Decisive in Marquee Cases This Term — WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 — Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. will have only one vote, of course, but it may be the decisive one in several of the marquee cases that will dominate the balance of the Supreme Court's term.
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Egypt To Hamas: Recognize Israel — Egypt has stepped into the Palestinian morass with both feet today, warning Hamas that they expect the election winners to recognize Israel and adhere to previous accords — and they have instructed Mahmoud Abbas to delay asking Hamas to form a new government until Hamas agrees:
PZ Myers / Pharyngula:
President panders to anti-manimal lobby! Dr Moreau flees country in rage! — I didn't listen to the State of the Union Address last night, preferring to maintain my equanimity by attending a talk on quantum physics, but I knew I could trust my readers to email me with choice weird science bits.
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Olbermann smacks back at O'Reilly — Olbermann: He can dish it out, but clearly he can not take it. — Video-WMP Video-QT — Keith does a blow by blow analysis of O'Reilly's "Talking Point Memo." — O'Reilly doesn't even know Bob Woodruff's name. — (I'm not sure if the video is uploading yet.
Discussion:
The Sideshow
James Glanz / New York Times:
Former U.S. Official in Iraq to Plead Guilty to Corruption — A former American occupation official in Iraq is expected to plead guilty to bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and other charges in federal court on Thursday for his actions in a scheme to use sexual favors …
Lyndsey Layton / Washington Post:
Picking a Voice of Reason — Metro Hopes Riders Will Respond to Contest Winner's 'Door' Warning — There is no cash prize, no Broyhill living room set, not even a free Metro ride — just bragging rights and your voice piped into subway cars 33,017 times a day.
Discussion:
mediabistro