Top Items:
Reuters:
Qaeda-led group vows "jihad" over Pope's speech —Text+DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi militant group led by al Qaeda vowed a war against the "worshippers of the cross" in response to a recent speech by Pope Benedict on Islam that sparked anger across the Muslim world.
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Telegraph:
Islam, like Christianity, is not above criticism — The Pope quotes a barbed medieval criticism of Islamic violence in the course of a scholarly discourse, and Muslims all over the world go into uproar; churches are firebombed. The Prime Minister's wife delivers a playful slap to a cheeky teenager …
Jules Crittenden / Boston Herald:
Pope pokes medieval Islam with a stick — Another European has stuck his foot in it. "It" being the violent, simplistic 14th century mindset predominant in the Muslim world. — Pope Benedict XVI, apparently engaged in some kind of intellectual discussion with his fellow Germans …
Rasmussen Reports:
Rhode Island Senate: Chafee Trailing By 8 — Whitehouse (D) 51% Chafee (R) 43% — The GOP establishment forcefully backed Republican Lincoln Chafee in the primary over a more conservative and arguably less-electable Republican. But, perhaps damaged by having to struggle so long for the nomination …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
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David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Compromise Called Possible on Interrogations — President Bush's national security adviser signaled on Sunday that he was seeking a compromise with the Republican senators who are rebelling against the administration's proposal to explicitly permit certain severe interrogation practices against terrorism suspects.
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Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
GOP talk of vibrant economy rings hollow — FALMOUTH, Ky. - Used boots fetch $3 and old salt-and-pepper shakers bring in a buck at a makeshift flea market along Highway 27, presumably not what President Bush and Republicans have in mind when they herald a vibrant economy.
Discussion:
Media Blog
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Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
AP Prefers Anecdotes To Real Data — As we approach the midterms, the media will attempt to kneecap Republicans on one of the issues where they can point to real success: the economy. Over the last three years, as the last of the tax cuts came into force and provided more incentive for investment …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
Robin Toner / New York Times:
As Senator Falters, a Democrat Rises in Virginia — From the start, the Virginia Senate race was an emblematic campaign for 2006: combat boots vs. cowboy boots, in the inevitable shorthand. — A highly decorated Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy who opposed the war in Iraq …
Discussion:
Virginian-Pilot, The Allen Blog, NewsBusters.org, The RCP Blog, The Next Hurrah and Brainster's Blog
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BBC:
Narrow win for Swedish opposition — Sweden's centre-right opposition bloc has defeated the ruling Social Democrat party in the country's closest-fought general election for decades. — Moderate party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt declared victory as near-complete results gave him a 1% lead.
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Seth Borenstein / Associated Press:
Harmful chemical leaks in space station — HOUSTON - International space station astronauts pulled an alarm and donned protective gear Monday after smelling a foul odor that turned out to be a harmful chemical leaking from an oxygen vent, NASA said. — "We don't exactly know the nature of the spill …
Anne E. Kornblut / New York Times:
For This Red Meat Crowd, Obama's '08 Choice Is Clear — Senator Barack Obama insists, as always, that he is not running for president. But there are compelling clues that he is not exactly not running, either. — The most obvious was his keynote appearance here on Sunday …
Shankar Vedantam / Washington Post:
In Politics, Aim for the Heart, Not the Head — In 1935, researchers from Columbia University fanned out around the city of Allentown, Pa., and handed out leaflets ahead of local and state elections. What residents did not know was that they were part of an experiment in political persuasion …
Patricia Lopez / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Klobuchar keeps big lead over Kennedy — A charged-up DFL base and disapproval of Bush play a role in the margin, similar to a July poll's. — DFL U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar continues to hold a dominant lead over GOP rival Mark Kennedy, 56 to 32 percent, in the latest Minnesota Poll …
Washington Post:
Major Problems At Polls Feared — Some Officials Say Voting Law Changes And New Technology Will Cause Trouble — An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, PoliBlog, The Remedy, The BRAD BLOG, Don Surber, Norwegianity, Blue Crab Boulevard and The Democratic Daily
Sam Harris / Los Angeles Times:
Head-in-the-Sand Liberals — Western civilization really is at risk from Muslim extremists. — TWO YEARS AGO I published a book highly critical of religion, "The End of Faith." In it, I argued that the world's major religions are genuinely incompatible, inevitably cause conflict …
Drudge Report:
BUSH BASHING PIG HITS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN — ROGER WATERS [PINK FLOYD] CONCERT TOUR HITS NORTH AMERICA AND NYC WITH FLYING PIGS, URGING DEM VOTES IN ELECTION, 'IMPEACH BUSH' WRITTEN ON REAR OF PIG FLOATING OVER AUDIENCE... One concertgoer writes: 'Seeing Bush's name written across the pig's arse made me howl'... The pig had graffiti.
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
Time for a Time-Out? — Will the GOP learn its lesson on pork? — If Republicans lose big in November, one reason will be their tardy response to public outrage over profligate spending. The guilty pleas of former GOP Rep. Duke Cunningham and lobbyist Jack Abramoff prompted demands …
Cyrus Nowrasteh / Opinion Journal:
The Path to Hysteria — My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism. — I am neither an activist, politician or partisan, nor an ideologue of any stripe. What I am is a writer who takes his job very seriously, as do most of my colleagues …
Patterico / Patterico's Pontifications:
NEWSWEEK "Isikoffed" the Gonzales Memo — Since Christopher Hitchens is correcting old Dowdified quotes, I thought I'd correct one myself. This one, from a 2004 NEWSWEEK article, is a major Dowdification — in my view, every bit as egregious as Dowd's original. What's more, it's still influencing lefties even today.
Eli Lake / New York Sun:
Bush, Rice To Revive Mideast Peace Process — WASHINGTON — As President Bush prepares for his annual address before the U.N. General Assembly this week, the State Department is getting ready to re-energize the long dormant Arab-Israeli peace process. — The new emphasis on land …
Discussion:
Power Line