Top Items:
Michael Kimmelman / New York Times:
A Startling New Lesson in the Power of Imagery — They're callous and feeble cartoons, cooked up as a provocation by a conservative newspaper exploiting the general Muslim prohibition on images of the Prophet Muhammad to score cheap points about freedom of expression. — But drawings are drawings, so a question arises.
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Amir Taheri / Opinion Journal:
Bonfire of the Pieties — Islam prohibits neither images of Muhammad nor jokes about religion. — "The Muslim Fury," one newspaper headline screamed. "The Rage of Islam Sweeps Europe," said another. "The clash of civilizations is coming," warned one commentator.
Andrew Higgins / Wall Street Journal:
How Muslim Clerics Stirred Arab World Against Denmark — Newspaper Cartoons Unite — Religious, Secular Forces; — Dossier Fans the Flames — COPENHAGEN - When Flemming Rose, the cultural editor at Denmark's leading newspaper, published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad late last September …
Discussion:
Austin Bay Blog, Michelle Malkin, strategypage.com, Rantingprofs, Power Line, All Things Beautiful and Dean's World
Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
With Tribute To King, Bush Reaches Out — NAACP Chief Praises President for Appearance — President Bush paid honor to the life of Coretta Scott King from the pulpit of a Baptist church in suburban Atlanta yesterday, recalling that "as a great movement of history took shape …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Reuters, ProfessorBainbridge.com, YARGB, GOP Bloggers, Macsmind, Seeing the Forest, Decision '08, Blogs for Bush and Sister Toldjah
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Thousands Pay Respects to Coretta Scott King — Coretta Scott King, the civil rights icon who died last week at age 78, was eulogized today by a stream of dignitaries including four U.S. presidents, who hailed her courage and quiet dignity as she carried on the legacy of her slain husband, Martin Luther King Jr.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The American Street, Daily Kos, This Modern World, THE NEWS BLOG, The Left Coaster, Macsmind and PSoTD
Gina Kolata / New York Times:
Study Finds Low-Fat Diet Won't Stop Cancer or Heart Disease — The largest study ever to ask whether a low-fat diet keeps women from getting cancer or heart disease has found that the diet had no effect. — The $415 million federal study involved nearly 49,000 women aged 50 to 79 who were followed for eight years.
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U.S. Newswire:
Bolton, Timmerman Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize; Swedish Leader Cites Efforts Exposing Iranian Nuclear Plans — WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ — Two Americans who played a major role in exposing Iran's secret nuclear weapons plans have been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Washington Post:
Boehner Rents Apartment Owned by Lobbyist in D.C. — Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who was elected House majority leader last week, is renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a veteran lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation Boehner has co-written and that he has overseen …
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David Hammer / Associated Press:
Boehner Aide Tied to Trip Set by Abramoff
Boehner Aide Tied to Trip Set by Abramoff
Discussion:
IntoxiNation-News …
Allan Sloan / Washington Post:
Bush's Social Security Sleight of Hand — If you read enough numbers, you never know what you'll find. Take President Bush and private Social Security accounts. — Last year, even though Bush talked endlessly about the supposed joys of private accounts, he never proposed a specific plan …
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David Espo / Associated Press:
Bush Plan Would Trim Survivor Benefits — WASHINGTON - President Bush's budget calls for elimination of a $255 lump-sum death payment that has been part of Social Security for more than 50 years and urges Congress to cut off monthly survivor benefits to 16- and 17-year-old high school dropouts.
Matt Stoller / MyDD:
Redstate Racists — I don't throw around the racist word very often, because to me it is a very very serious charge. But there's no other way to say it; this right-wing blogger 'Blanton' at Redstate is racist, and all the commenter freaks nodding in frothing agreement to his screed seem mighty close as well.
Discussion:
Lean Left
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Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:
McCain mocks Obama — WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) received a dressing down Monday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who accused the freshman of using the ethics reform issue for "self-interested partisan posturing." — In a sarcastic letter, McCain accused Obama …
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Tyler Whitley / Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Ex-naval head seeks to be Democratic nominee for Senate — Former Navy Secretary James H. Webb Jr. said yesterday that he will file papers this week to seek the Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. Senate this year. — Webb, who lives in Arlington County, would join Harris N. Miller …
John In Dc / Open Letter To Chris Matthews:
MSNBC offering conservative voter outreach, for a price — Well, isn't this interesting. — A top MSNBC producer, who worked on Hardball with Chris Matthews, and now works for MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, is off giving paid-only lectures about how to influence conservative voters.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Democrats Fear Their Battle Against Beset GOP Falls Short — It's like the old movies. Like Dracula rising from the grave. Jason, who you think is finished, coming alive to strike again — and come back in another popular sequel. — Just a couple of months ago the media and weblogs overflowed …
Michelle Malkin:
VIDEO: ALAN DERSHOWITZ GETS IT — European readers Brian A. and Kenneth M. have passed along links to an excellent interview with Alan Dershowitz that aired this week on Danish television. I don't agree with much of what Dershowitz espouses, but on many crucial War on Terror-related issues he is dead-on …
Think Progress:
EXCLUSIVE EMAILS: Jack Abramoff Describes Relationship With President Bush — ThinkProgress has obtained emails written by Jack Abramoff in which the fallen lobbyist personally describes his relationship with President Bush. They depict a relationship far more extensive than has been previously reported.
Andrew C. Revkin / New York Times:
A Young Bush Appointee Resigns His Post at NASA — George C. Deutsch, the young presidential appointee at NASA who told public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist and told a Web designer to add the word "theory" at every mention of the Big Bang, resigned yesterday, agency officials said.
Discussion:
The Scientific Activist, The Blogging of the President, Hullabaloo, The Mahablog, The Panda's Thumb, MyDD, AMERICAblog, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report, Whatever, The Moderate Voice, The Reality-Based Community, CorrenteWire, The All Spin Zone and Obsidian Wings
Eli Lake / New York Sun:
Ex-Officer Spurned on WMD Claim — A former special investigator for the Pentagon during the Iraq war said he found four sealed underground bunkers in southern Iraq that he is sure contain stocks of chemical and biological weapons. But when he asked American weapons inspectors to check out the sites, he was rebuffed.
Discussion:
Daily Pundit