Top Items:
Justin Rood / TPM Muckraker:
EXCLUSIVE: CIA Nominee Hayden Linked to MZM — While director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Michael V. Hayden contracted the services of a top executive at the company at the center of the Cunningham bribery scandal, according to two former employees of the company.
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Firedoglake, Environmental Republican, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, Feministe, Sploid, Wonkette and The Left Coaster
RELATED ITEMS:
Terence Hunt / Associated Press:
Bush Turns to Gen. Hayden to Lead CIA — WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday chose Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to lead the embattled Central Intelligence Agency, re-igniting a debate over the domestic surveillance program that the onetime head of the National Security Agency once ran.
USA Today:
Bush approval rating hits new low — WASHINGTON — President Bush's approval rating has slumped to 31% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the lowest of his presidency and a warning sign for Republicans in the November elections. — The survey of 1,013 adults, taken Friday through Sunday …
Jerusalem Post:
Peres says that Iran 'can also be wiped off the map' — TEHRAN, Iran — Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Monday in an interview to Reuters that "the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map," Army Radio reported. — According to Peres …
Discussion:
BBC, IMAO, Iowa Voice, The Sandbox, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, Daily Pundit, HolyCoast.com and Ace of Spades HQ
RELATED ITEMS:
Karl Vick / Washington Post:
Iran's Leader Writes to President Bush — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written a letter to President Bush, a spokesman for Iran's hard-line government said Monday. The letter proposed "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation in the world …
Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta:
Atwar Bahjat Beheading Video a Hoax (Images / Video) — ****Jawa Report Exclusive**** — A gruesome beheading video delivered to the Sunday Times purporting to be of slain journalist Atwar Bahjat is a hoax. On Sunday, May 7th, the Times reported that they had received a low-quality video of Atwar Bahjat being slowly beheaded.
RELATED ITEMS:
UPI:
CIA No. 3, facing bribe probe, quits — WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) — CIA Director Porter Goss' No. 3 man at the agency, facing investigation as part of a congressional bribe probe, quit Monday, an official said. — Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the CIA's executive director, announced his resignation …
RELATED ITEMS:
Mark Hosenball / Newsweek:
Changing the Guard — While Bush's new CIA nominee preps for a tough nomination battle, agency No. 3 Dusty Foggo is leaving the agency — May 8, 2006 - By all accounts, Michael Hayden is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced intelligence officers currently working for the United States government.
Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:
Al Gore Might Yet Join 2008 Contenders — Former Vice President Keeps Mum — As His Movie Sparks Talk of a White House Run — First there was Clinton-Gore. Could Clinton vs. Gore be next? — For former Vice President Al Gore, a rash of favorable publicity surrounding this month's opening …
Al Kamen / Washington Post:
The USDA on Iraq: Everything's Coming Up Rosy — Career appointees at the Department of Agriculture were stunned last week to receive e-mailed instructions that include Bush administration "talking points" — saying things such as "President Bush has a clear strategy for victory in Iraq" — in every speech they give for the department.
RELATED ITEMS:
Christopher Lee / Washington Post:
Bush's Appointees Not As Diverse as Clinton's
Bush's Appointees Not As Diverse as Clinton's
Discussion:
RightWinged.com, Dr. Sanity, Blue Crab Boulevard, USS Neverdock, Outside The Beltway, Michelle Malkin, HolyCoast.com and Betsy's Page
John / AMERICAblog:
Bush tells German paper he caught the largest fresh-water perch in world history — UPDATE: Our intrepid readers have discovered that the White House transcript says (or now says) that Bush referenced a bass and not a perch. The question is whether the White House transcript said that initially …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report, SEIXON, TAPPED, Upper Left, Fact-esque and Waveflux
Seth Sutel / Associated Press:
Newspaper Circulation Declines 2.6 Percent — Newspaper circulation fell 2.6 percent in the six-month period ending in March, according to data released Monday, as more people turned to the Internet and other media outlets for news and information. — The decline in average paid weekday circulation …
The Sandmonkey / Rantings of a Sandmonkey:
The Situation so far — First of all, Thank you so much for all of you who have sent out e-mails for Alaa's release already and thanks for all of the bloggers who linked . God bless every single one of you. We are currently working on getting banners made. It shouldn't be long till we have them on display.
Discussion:
Global Voices Online, The Middle Ground, Hyscience, american footprints, Blue Crab Boulevard and Across the Bay
Michael Powell / Washington Post:
U.S. Immigration Debate Is a Road Well Traveled — NEW YORK — They were portrayed as a disreputable lot, the immigrant hordes of this great city. — The Germans refused for decades to give up their native tongue and raucous beer gardens. The Irish of Hell's Kitchen brawled and clung to political sinecures.
Discussion:
The Heretik, ed fitzgerald's unfutz, TAPPED, TalkLeft, The Corner on National … and PoliBlog
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
His Legacy and His Library Occupy Bush's Thoughts — WASHINGTON — President Bush had dinner last month on the Stanford University campus at the home of George P. Shultz, who was President Ronald Reagan's secretary of state, and the topic of conversation was not, as might be expected, the war in Iraq.
Michael Barone / Real Clear Politics:
Immigration: The Ugly Duckling Issue — We have become accustomed in the six years of the George W. Bush presidency to seeing issues split the parties and the nation down the middle, with almost all Republicans on one side and almost all Democrats on the other.
Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
Rove's Time in Limbo Near End in CIA Leak Case — Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald is wrapping up his investigation into White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove's role in the CIA leak case by weighing this central question: — Did Rove, who was deeply involved in defending President Bush's use …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Left Coaster, The Strata-Sphere, protein wisdom, The Next Hurrah, TAPPED, Right Wing Nut House, State of the Day, Booman Tribune, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Think Progress, Wonkette, Media Blog on National …, NewsHog, Needlenose, The Carpetbagger Report, The Democratic Daily Blog and WTF Is It Now??
Ryan J. Donmoyer / Bloomberg:
Republicans Set Aside Middle-Income Tax Cuts to Focus on Rich — Listen — May 8 (Bloomberg) — Republican lawmakers, facing the prospect that their power to cut taxes may soon be curbed, plan to extend breaks that mostly benefit the wealthy and Wall Street at the expense of reductions for middle-income households.