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Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush Troubled by Afghan Convert's Case — President Bush said Wednesday that he is "deeply troubled" that an Afghan man is being tried for converting to Christianity. — Abdul Rahman, 41, faces a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago.
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National Review:
An Affront to Civilization — We should have no illusions that Afghanistan — in many ways the backwater of the Islamic world — will soon embrace Western-style religious pluralism. But the trial of Abdul Rahman, who faces a potential death sentence for converting to Christianity some 15 years ago, is an affront to civilization.
Chris Lehmann / New York Observer:
Russ Never Sleeps — 'Politicians and Pundits Are Afraid,' Says Wisconsin's Feingold, As Democrats Abandon Him on Bush Wiretap Censure Motion; Will Senator Become the Eugene McCarthy of '08 Primaries? — None of this fits any of the tried-and-true formulations in the red-and-blue American playbook.
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FactCheck.org:
RNC Mischaracterizes Feingold's Censure Resolution — A GOP radio ad falsely characterizes Sen. Feingold's censure resolution as reprimanding the President for pursuing Al Qaeda — Summary — A GOP radio ad accuses Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin of proposing to censure President Bush …
Opinion Journal:
What if We Lose? — The consequences of U.S. defeat in Iraq. — The third anniversary of U.S. military action to liberate Iraq has brought with it a relentless stream of media and political pessimism that is unwarranted by the facts and threatens to become a self-fulfilling prophesy if it goes unchallenged.
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Sky News:
Suspect Atom Bomb Link — One of the suspected terrorists on trial for allegedly plotting a nationwide bombing campaign has been linked to a nuclear weapon. — The Old Bailey jury was told that Salahuddin Amin had been involved in discussions to buy a nuclear bomb.
National Review:
To Hell with the "To Hell With The 'To Hell With Them' Hawks" Hawks — Just kidding there — actually, making the point that "The 'To Hell With Them' Hawks" is a really clunky way of identifying a faction. It used to be said of the mathematician Camille Jordan, whose papers were famously unreadable …
Thomas B. Edsall / Washington Post:
Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social Issues — Federal Programs Direct At Least $157 Million — For years, conservatives have complained about what they saw as the liberal tilt of federal grant money. Taxpayer funds went to abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood to promote birth control …
Chris Bowers / MyDD:
I Am Very Worried About 2006 — The Democratic primary in the IL-06 was not supposed to be close. I travel to DC often these days (in fact, I am about to leave for DC now), and from everyone I had talked to down there, I was told more or less the same thing: Duckworth will win this primary, and win it huge.
Andrew Mangino / Yale Daily News:
Albright lectures on public service — Madeleine Albright says she knows how to have fun. — Soon after Albright became Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton LAW '73, she received a memo informing her that she would be required — at an upcoming Asian summit of foreign ministers — to perform a skit.
Beth Fouhy / Newsday:
Clinton vows to block bill criminalizing illegal immigrants — NEW YORK — Invoking Biblical themes, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton joined immigration advocates Wednesday to vow and block legislation seeking to criminalize undocumented immigrants. — Clinton, a potential 2008 presidential candidate …
Discussion:
California Conservative
Ben Domenech / Red America:
Sackcloth and Ashes: What's Wrong With Infanticide? — [Note: Sackcloth and ashes were a sign of deep mourning, among other things, in the Torah...nowadays, there are plenty of reasons to bring them back. When we run across those reasons, we'll feature them in a continuing series, of which this is the first installment.]
Discussion:
Riehl World View, The Washington Monthly, TAPPED, The Pink Flamingo Bar Grill and Vichy Democrats
Al Quinlan / realclearpolitics.com:
Authenticity Matters Most — "How will Democrats get out of the desert?" That is the million dollar question I am asked a million times. And after each election—each loss—a lot of familiar people go on TV and write articles, explaining their version of how Democrats can win again based on why we lost.
Discussion:
California Conservative
Proud Kaffir / redstate.com:
Lies, Damn Lies, and (MSM) Statistics — On the third anniversay of the Iraq war, the MSM keeps bombarding us with stories and statistics trying to compare this war to the carnage in Vietnam, trying to make us think that US soldiers are dying at an alarming number due to Bush's failures.
Discussion:
Tammy Bruce, Winds of Change.NET, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, lgf, COUNTERCOLUMN, Murdoc Online, UNCoRRELATED and MaxSpeak
Jeff Gelles / Philadelphia Inquirer:
IRS plans to allow preparers to sell data — Critics said the proposed regulation could lead to a loss of privacy for clients. — The IRS is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns. If it succeeds, accountants and other tax-return preparers …
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
Will Your Job Survive? — In case you've been worrying about how the war in Iraq will end, or the coming of avian flu, or the extinction of the universe as we drift into the cosmic void, well, relax. Here's something you should really fret about: the future of the U.S. economy in the age of globalization.