Top Items:
CNN:
Bush: 'I'm the decider' on Rumsfeld — Defense chief set to meet with so-called 'TV generals' — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush sharply defended Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday, saying the embattled Pentagon chief is doing a "fine job" despite calls for his resignation from six retired military generals.
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Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Bush Reminds Everyone Whose Government It Really Is — Some years ago, in a playful moment immortalized on video, George Bush, in the days before he was President, gave the half-a-peace sign you see at left to a videographer. — Today, he's President, and while his body language may have changed, his attitude apparently hasn't.
Rose Garden / White House:
President Bush Nominates Rob Portman as OMB Director and Susan Schwab for USTR — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Today I'm announcing my nomination of two outstanding individuals to serve in my Cabinet and on my economic team. — First, I will nominate Rob Portman to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Bring it On!, Daniel W. Drezner, Shakespeare's Sister, Left I on the News and Billmon
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Richard Cohen:
A Campaign Gore Can't Lose — Boring Al Gore has made a movie. It is on the most boring of all subjects — global warming. It is more than 80 minutes long, and the first two or three go by slowly enough that you can notice that Gore has gained weight and that his speech still seems oddly out of sync.
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Bobbie Johnson / Guardian:
Ignore bloggers at your peril, say researchers — Bloggers and internet pundits are exerting a "disproportionately large influence" on society, according to a report by a technology research company. Its study suggests that although "active" web users make up only a small proportion …
Discussion:
The Adventures of Chester, Riehl World View, Decision '08, Dr. Sanity, Blue Crab Boulevard and Cosmic Variance
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
A "Pulitzer Prize for Treason" — (updated below with transcript of Bill Bennett's comments) — Several weeks ago, The Washington Post published an Op-Ed jointly written by Bill Bennett and his neoconservative comrade Alan Dershowitz, in which Bennett — of all people …
Discussion:
Donklephant, Liberty Street, Blinq, Eschaton, Proof Through the Night, Norwegianity, The Carpetbagger Report, Running Scared, The Reaction and Midtopia
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Deepti Hajela / Associated Press:
Times-Picayune, Sun Herald Win Pulitzer
Times-Picayune, Sun Herald Win Pulitzer
Discussion:
Attytood, Editor and Publisher, NewsBusters.org, San Diego Union-Tribune, Gawker and Daily Kos
David Horovitz / Jerusalem Post:
Lieberman: US could attack Iran's nukes — The US is probably incapable of completely destroying the Iranian nuclear program, but as a last resort it could attempt to knock out "some of the components" in order to "delay and deter it," Senator Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, AMERICAblog, Captain's Quarters, Balloon Juice, Dr. Sanity, LamontBlog, TAPPED, Daily Kos, Rising Hegemon and Pam's House Blend
Elwin Green / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Black business owners on rise — Black Americans are becoming entrepreneurs at a rapidly increasing rate and Pittsburgh is following the trend, a new report issued by the Census Bureau suggests. — The report, "Survey of Business Owners: Black-Owned Firms: 2002," says that between 1997 and 2002 …
Kathy Sierra / Creating Passionate Users:
Angry/negative people can be bad for your brain — Everyone's favorite A-list target, Robert Scoble, announced the unthinkable a few days ago: he will be moderating his comments. But what some people found far more disturbing was Robert's wish to make a change in his life that includes steering clear of …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Elaine Silvestrini / tampatrib.com:
Al-Arian Admits His Role In Jihad — TAMPA - When Sami Al-Arian denied raising funds for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, he now says he was lying. — The former University of South Florida professor has portrayed himself as a martyr to free speech, a victim of anti-Muslim sentiment and the nation's war on terrorism.
Reuters:
Baghdad street battle smacks of open civil war — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Snipers held rooftop positions as masked Sunni Arab insurgents said they were gearing up for another open street battle with pro-government Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad's Adhamiya district on Tuesday.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
More Purity Ball — Responding to the odd, disturbing nature of the Father-Daughter Purity Ball, about which I posted below, PZ Myers says: … That sounds like common sense to me. Girls pledging to their dads to stay virginal in ritualistic ceremonies just doesn't seem like a healthy thing to do.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Ezra Klein, Pharyngula, Preemptive Karma and Pandagon
Donna St. George / Washington Post:
Limbs Lost to Enemy Fire, Women Forge a New Reality — Her body had been maimed by war. Dawn Halfaker lay unconscious at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, her parents at her bedside and her future suddenly unsure. A rocket-propelled grenade had exploded in her Humvee, ravaging her arm and shoulder.
Chris Bowers / MyDD:
A Modest Proposal: The "No Death Threat" Litmus Test For Bloggers — Since I know that the WaPo is hot in search of a new conservative blogger in order to balance out original commentary and / or reporting with plagiarism, I would like to propose a simple "no death threat" litmus test for them as they conduct their search.
Discussion:
Lean Left, Eschaton, Daily Kos, Don Surber, The Mahablog, Blue Crab Boulevard, Crooks and Liars, New England Republican and Sadly, No!
Michael Yon / Online Magazine:
Of Words — Urozgan and Heland Provinces, Afghanistan — More than a year ago, I wrote from the "Sunni Triangle" that Iraq was in the midst of a civil war, words that received little attention then. I had published that dispatch about three weeks after the unexpected but overwhelming success of the first Iraqi elections.