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White House:
Press Conference of the President — THE PRESIDENT: It's always a pleasure to be introduced into the Rose Garden. Thank you, Wendell. Thank you for coming. I'm looking forward to answering some of your questions. — This week our nation paused to mark the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
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William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush Pushes for Terror Legislation — Warning that "time's running out" for Congress to act, President Bush urged lawmakers today to pass legislation that would create special military tribunals to try terrorist suspects and allow the CIA to continue a program in which captured al-Qaeda leaders …
Discussion:
Legal Fiction, The Left Coaster, Talking Points Memo, democracyarsenal.org, AMERICAblog, The Heretik and Air America Radio
Digby / Hullabaloo:
"You're Looking Beautiful Today, Dave" — Here is Bush getting pissed off at David Gregory for suggesting that North Korea or other countries might adopt Bush's new way of dealing with the Geneva Conventions — "interpret" them however it suits them and change them at will.
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
At Last, the Issue is Publicly Joined . . . and When All the Smoke has Cleared, the Central Question is Quite Simple — And it is this: Should the CIA be legally authorized to breach the Geneva Conventions by engaging in the following forms of "cruel treatment" prohibited by "common" Article 3(1)(a) of those Conventions?:
Discussion:
Whiskey Bar, AMERICAblog, The Sundries Shack, U.S. Newswire, Andrew Sullivan, Opinion Journal and The Horse's Mouth
CNN:
Bush: Without my plan, detainee questioning won't continue … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Questioning of suspected terrorists "won't go forward" unless Congress clarifies a U.S. standard for the treatment and interrogation of detainees, President Bush warned on Friday.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Hoffmania!, The Democratic Daily and Macsmind
White House:
Press Briefing by Tony Snow — White House Conference Center Briefing Room — MR. SNOW: Hello, welcome. Let me begin with a personnel announcement. Tony Fratto, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Treasury, I am pleased to announce, will be coming over to the White House …
Terence Hunt / Associated Press:
Bush wants 'clarity' on interrogations — WASHINGTON - Facing a GOP revolt in the Senate, President Bush urged Congress on Friday to join in backing legislation to spell out strategies for interrogating and trying terror suspects, saying "the enemy wants to attack us again."
Guardian:
Muslim leaders demand apology for Pope's 'medieval' remarks — John Hooper in Rome and Luke Harding in Berlin — Pope Benedict XVI was last night facing angry demands from Muslims that he apologise for a speech in which he appeared to say the concept of jihad was "unreasonable" …
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Michelle Malkin:
I support the Pope — It all seems so familiar, doesn't it (via Yahoo.com): … There is always an insult to be manufactured. There are always fists and machetes and rifles to be raised. There are always flags and effigies and embassies to be burned. There are always throats and heads to be claimed:
Discussion:
Hot Air, Informed Comment, The Jawa Report, Agence France Presse, Liberty and Justice and Sticky Notes
Joelle Bassoul / Agence France Presse:
Fears of violent Mideast backlash to pope
Fears of violent Mideast backlash to pope
Discussion:
Jihad Watch
Andrew Kirtzman / WCBS-TV:
Bloomberg Secretly Considers Presidential Campaign — CBS 2 Exclusive: Despite Public Denials, Mayor Has Secret Meeting With National Political Strategist, Wall Street Money Man — (CBS) NEW YORK New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has always denied it, but CBS 2 has learned the details of a secret meeting …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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Washington Post:
Rep. Ney Agrees to Plead Guilty — Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) agreed today to plead guilty to conspiring to commit multiple official acts for lobbyists in exchange for campaign contributions, meals and luxury travel, sports tickets and gambling chips. He became the first elected official …
Discussion:
The Right Angle
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Adam Zagorin / Time:
Who's the Next Target in the Abramoff Probe? — Former Ohio Congressman Bob Ney has admitted his role in Washington's influence-peddling scandal, but prosecutors still have other politicians in their sights — After months of defiant protestations of innocence about his role …
Jessica / Feministing:
Feminists don't pose — There's a lot I want to write about the Clinton lunch, including the concerns about the lack of bloggers of color. I will get to all of it. I promise. But right now I'm super pissed and just wanted to know what people thought of this.
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Big Brass Blog, Feministe, Secular Blasphemy, Unfogged and The Agonist
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Zogby:
Zogby: Battle for Congress Tightens — Republican Candidates Trail Democrats by Just 3%; Bush Job Approval Climbs to 39% — Following an aggressive media blitz, the latest Zogby America poll finds the standing of President Bush and congressional Republicans climbing as the November elections rapidly approach.
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Democrats Meander in a New New Direction
Democrats Meander in a New New Direction
Discussion:
Donklephant, Liberal Values, The Carpetbagger Report, Blue Crab Boulevard, BrothersJudd Blog and JustOneMinute
Eric Herman / Chicago Sun Times:
Hynes to Obama: Run for president — Barack Obama's one-time rival for the U.S. Senate wants him to run for president in 2008 — a move that could leave Obama's Senate seat vacant again. — State comptroller Dan Hynes, a fellow Democrat whom Obama trounced in the 2004 primary …
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Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:
Pakistan Releases over 2,500 Taliban, al-Qaeda — Pakistan follows the truce to the letter and releases thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda members captured since 2001 — The Pakistani government is living up to its commitments on the "Waziristan Accord," and has emptied the prisons of Taliban …
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Iraqis Plan to Ring Baghdad With Trenches — The Iraqi government plans to seal off Baghdad next month by ringing it with a series of trenches and setting up dozens of traffic checkpoints to control movement in and out of the city of seven million people, an Interior Ministry spokesman said today.
Victoria Toensing / Opinion Journal:
What a Load of Armitage! — What did Patrick Fitzgerald know, and when did he know it? — Richard Armitage has finally emerged from the cover-my-backside closet, "apologizing" on CBS for keeping quiet for almost three years about being the original source for Robert Novak's July 14, 2003 …
Hindrocket / Power Line:
COLEMAN TO PRESS CASE FOR UNITED NATIONS REFORM — I was on a conference call this morning with Senator Norm Coleman, who has been appointed a member of the U.S.'s United Nations delegation by President Bush. It's a great appointment; Coleman has been a passionate critic of the U.N. …
Tom Hester / New Jersey Online:
Republicans seek to block last-minute candidate switch — With Robert Menendez' U.S. Senate campaign under unexpected pressure, his Republican rivals are trying to prevent Democratic leaders from bumping him from the race and replacing him with another candidate.