Top Items:
New York Times:
Senate Rejects Call for Iraq Withdrawal — WASHINGTON, June 15 — The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a call this afternoon for withdrawal of most American combat troops from Iraq by the end of the year as debates in both houses of Congress mixed high emotion with calculated maneuvering.In the House …
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New York Times:
Congress Erupts in Partisan Fight Over War in Iraq — WASHINGTON, June 15 — The House and the Senate engaged in angry, intensely partisan debate on Thursday over the war in Iraq, as Republicans sought to rally support for the Bush administration's policies and exploit Democratic divisions …
Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Congress launches into new Iraq debate — WASHINGTON - The House erupted in impassioned election-year debate over the Iraq war on Thursday, Republicans defending the conflict as key to winning the global struggle against terrorism while Democrats excoriated President Bush and his policies.
Discussion:
Don Surber, Captain's Quarters, CALIFORNIA YANKEE, Macsmind, Flopping Aces and Shakespeare's Sister
CNN:
Rep. Jefferson loses Democratic caucus vote — Black Caucus leader cites racial unfairness — WASHINGTON (CNN) — With members of the Congressional Black Caucus crying double standard, House Democrats met behind closed doors Thursday and voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.
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David Espo / Associated Press:
House Dems strip Jefferson of assignment — WASHINGTON - House Democrats, determined to make an election-year point about ethics, voted 99-58 Thursday night to strip Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) of his committee assignment while a federal bribery investigation runs its course.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Democrats Vote to Force Jefferson Aside
Democrats Vote to Force Jefferson Aside
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community
Washington Post:
Maliki Aide Who Discussed Amnesty Leaves Job — Premier Disavows Remarks; Egyptian Seen Replacing Zarqawi — BAGHDAD, June 15 — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office on Thursday accepted the resignation of an aide who had told a reporter that Maliki was considering a limited amnesty …
Discussion:
Unqualified Offerings, The Left Coaster, Eschaton, Blue Crab Boulevard and Middle Earth Journal
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Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:
American deaths in Iraq reach 2,500 mark — WASHINGTON - American deaths since the invasion of Iraq have reached 2,500, marking a grim milestone in the wake of recent events that President Bush hopes will reverse the war's unpopularity at home. — The latest death was announced as Congress …
Fred Barbash / Washington Post:
Court Backs No-Knock Search — A divided Supreme Court ruled today that evidence can be used against a defendant even when seized in violation of a long-standing rule requiring a knock on the door before executing a search warrant. — The 5-4 decision, written by Justice Antonin Scalia …
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, Legal Fiction, Booman Tribune, Crooked Timber, Amygdala and OrinKerr.com
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Larry Johnson / NO QUARTER:
Sacrificing Our Troops on the Altar of Republican Politics — Leave it to the Porcine Draft Dodger—Karl Rove—to impugn the character of combat veterans. Can't blame him for trotting out the same playbook that worked so well in 2004 against the candidacy of John Kerry. If it worked once it should work again.
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Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:
When you care, it's okay to say "controversial" things... (UPDATED) — ... Because, well, sometimes that's the only way you can get people to listen. And we all know that the problem with the message of anti-war ideologues isn't that voters have consistently rejected it (or that, hell …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Sweetness & Light, Hot Air, Wizbang, JunkYardBlog and Alternate Brain
crooksandliars.com:
A Watershed Moment: Media Use Coulter to Suggest Blogs Are Impotent — Anybody who watched Ann Coulter's June 14th appearance on the Tonight Show had to realize that it was a watershed moment in the war between the establishment media and the progressive netroots, a community fresh off the successful YearlyKos convention.
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Alexis Debat Reports / The Blotter:
Zarqawi Replacement: Trained Professional — Alexis Debat Reports: — The mystery man identified by U.S. authorities as the successor to Abu Musab al Zarqawi is an Egyptian with close ties to Osama bin Laden's No. 2 man, Jordanian intelligence officials tell ABC News.
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Jerusalem Post:
Iran would 'use nuclear defense' — TEHERAN, Iran — Iran's defense minister on Thursday vowed that his country would "use nuclear defense as a potential" if "threatened by any power." — Speaking following a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Hassan Ali Turkmani in Teheran on Thursday …
Hilary Sargent / Senate Majority Project:
Great Moments in Senate Fashion — Rick Santorum (R-PA) pulls off the tricky Great-Gatsby-meets-My-Little- Pony look.
Discussion:
Wonkette
Lisa Girion / Los Angeles Times:
U.S. 'Stagflation' Worries Mount — Inflation data and a possible Fed rate hike stir fears of prices rising amid a languishing economy. — With inflation heating up amid the prospect of another interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve, some economists said Wednesday they were beginning …
Chris Bowers / MyDD:
Netroots Survey Results, Part One — Cross Psoted on Dailykos, where it could use a rec or two — This is the survey you paid for—the first survey conducted under BlogPac's new management. The results were already released at Yearly Kos, and parts of them have appeared in multiple news outlets.
Timothy Egan / New York Times:
'06 Race Focuses on the Suburbs, Inner and Outer — BELLEVUE, Wash., June 15 — In searching for any advantage in this year's Congressional elections, the two parties are focusing with increased intensity on those cul de sac jungles of tenuous political loyalties, the suburbs and exurbs.
Discussion:
The Left Coaster