Top Items:
New York Times:
Rushing Off a Cliff — Here's what happens when this irresponsible Congress railroads a profoundly important bill to serve the mindless politics of a midterm election: The Bush administration uses Republicans' fear of losing their majority to push through ghastly ideas about antiterrorism …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Huffington Post, Shakespeare's Sister, The American Street, Balkinization, The Smirking Chimp, Bring it On!, Democrats.com, Don Surber, TalkLeft, Obsidian Wings, Jesus' General, Crooks and Liars, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Think Progress and The RBC
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New York Times:
House Passes Detainee Bill as It Clears Senate Hurdle — Congress took major steps on Wednesday toward establishing a new system for interrogating and trying terror suspects as the House approved legislation sought by President Bush and the Senate defeated efforts to alter the measure.
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
House Approves Bill on Detainees — 253 to 168 Vote Backs Bush on Prosecution Of Terrorism Suspects — The House approved an administration-backed system of questioning and prosecuting terrorism suspects yesterday, setting clearer limits on CIA interrogation techniques but denying access …
Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake: Truth And Patriots — I'm paraphrasing on this, as I take notes during …
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
Cleric Said to Lose Reins of Parts of Iraqi Militia — The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs, a senior coalition intelligence official said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Times of London, Global Guerrillas, The Heretik, ParaPundit and Informed Comment
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Jim Krane / Associated Press:
Saudis plan long fence for Iraq border — DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with plans to build a fence to block terrorists from crossing its 560-mile border with Iraq — another sign of growing alarm that Sunni-Shiite strife could spill over and drag Iraq's neighbors into its civil conflict.
Fouad Ajami / Opinion Journal:
Infidel Documents — Intelligence, jihadists and the Iraq war debate. — The scaffolding of the Iraq war is under renewed attack. So there had been no meeting between Mohamed Atta and Iraqi intelligence operative Ahmad al-Ani in Prague; and Saddam's regime was "intensely secular" while al Qaeda was steeped in religious doctrine.
Discussion:
Hyscience
Amit R. Paley / Washington Post:
Heralded Iraq Police Academy a 'Disaster' — A $75 million project to build the largest police academy in Iraq has been so grossly mismanaged that the campus now poses health risks to recruits and might need to be partially demolished, U.S. investigators have found.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, NO QUARTER, Political Animal, All Spin Zone, Middle Earth Journal and Hit and Run
Robin Toner / New York Times:
New Hope for Democrats in Bid for Senate — Six weeks before Election Day, the Democrats suddenly face a map with unexpected opportunities in their battle for control of the Senate. — In Virginia, a state that few expected to be seriously competitive, Senator George Allen, a Republican …
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Rachel Kapochunas / CQPolitics.com:Ford Pulls Even With Corker in Tennessee Senate Contest
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker
BBC:
Iraq war 'recruiting extremists' — The Iraq war has acted as a "recruiting sergeant" for extremists, a research paper prepared for the Ministry of Defence's Defence Academy says. — The paper on Pakistan admitted serious failings in the war on terror, the BBC's Newsnight programme has learned.
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Barry Schweid / Associated Press:
Poll: Iraqis back attacks on U.S. troops — WASHINGTON - About six in 10 Iraqis say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces, and slightly more than that want their government to ask U.S. troops to leave within a year, a poll finds. — The Iraqis also have negative views of Osama bin Laden …
Discussion:
History News Network, QandO, Democracy Project, Flopping Aces, All Spin Zone, Gateway Pundit and Decision '08
The Star-Ledger / nj-community:
Menendez Dumps Key Adviser Caught On Tape Seeking 'Favors' — U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's closest political adviser was secretly recorded seven years ago boasting of political power and urging a Hudson county contractor to hire somone as a favor to Menendez, according to a transcript obtained by The Star-Ledger.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
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Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Webb Denies Ever Using Word as Epithet — Racial Slur Overshadowing All Else in Contest — Democratic Senate candidate James Webb on Wednesday sought to explain remarks he had made a day earlier, in which he refused to say whether he had used the "N-word," but he insisted he has never used it as a racial epithet aimed at anyone.
Pete Du Pont / Opinion Journal:
What Do You Know? — If you're an American college student, probably not much. … So how is America's modern education system doing in this regard? Are our citizens enlightened enough to exercise the powers of our democracy? Do our colleges and universities provide their students …
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Arnold's Turnaround — A GOP Governor Finds the Key: Independence — SACRAMENTO — The Terminator has rescued himself from political ruin by reinventing his approach to government, thus demonstrating in the most dramatic way possible the value of political independence.
Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:
Marriage gap could sway elections — Residents' status often predicts district's vote — The wedding band could be crucial in this fall's congressional elections, according to a USA TODAY analysis of 2005 Census data. — House districts held by Republicans are full of married people.
Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:
Cost of Iraq war nearly $2b a week — WASHINGTON — A new congressional analysis shows the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week — nearly twice as much as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year — as the Pentagon spends …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog
Associated Press:
7-Eleven dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo — DALLAS - Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier at more than 2,100 locations and switching to its own brand of fuel. — The retailer said Wednesday it will purchase fuel from several distributors …
Discussion:
The American Thinker, Debbie Schlussel, The Jawa Report, Scared Monkeys, Blogs for Bush and Silent Running
Nico / Think Progress:
Musgrave: Gay Marriage 'Is The Most Important Issue That We Face Today' — Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), the lead sponsor of the constitutional ban on gay marriage in the House, spoke this weekend at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit." (Other virulently anti-gay speakers were featured at the event.)
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, The Carpetbagger Report, Dr. Sanity, Bring it On!, Firedoglake, The Peking Duck and Daily Kos
Guardian:
It's your choice. This is my advice. Take it or leave it, Blair tells party — The key extracts from the prime minister's speech in Manchester yesterday — Thank-you — Thank you the Labour party for giving me the extraordinary privilege of leading you these past 12 years …
Max Boot / Los Angeles Times:
Muslims' Complicity With Violence — Unless it clamps down vigorously on fanaticism, the Islamic world risks validating its worst caricatures. — EVER SINCE 9/11, a dark view of Islam has been gaining currency on what might be called the Western street. This view holds that …
Dean / Dean's World:
Question for Michelle Malkin: Does the Conscience of a Conservative Still Exist? — I'm publicly calling out Michelle Malkin, someone whom I often disagree with but usually respect. I hope she will think about it and respond thoughtfully and not angrily or flippantly.
brusselsjournal.com:
Brussels Returns to Normal, for Now — Last night Brussels police arrested 39 youths, including 15 minors, in the Marollen neigbourhood. The area had seen heavy rioting the previous nights. Some of the arrested immigrants were carrying combustibles. One schack was set alight and one car was torched.
Discussion:
Classical Values, Samizdata.net, NewsBusters.org, Snapped Shot, Hyscience, A Blog For All, Drinking From Home and Dinocrat
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