Top Items:
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Book Says Bush Ignored Urgent Warning on Iraq — The White House ignored an urgent warning in September 2003 from a top Iraq adviser who said that thousands of additional American troops were desperately needed to quell the insurgency there, according to a new book by Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter and author.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Kiko's House, Associated Press, Back Talk, War and Piece, Norwegianity, Think Progress, Taegan Goddard's …, AMERICAblog, The Heretik and Pajamas Media
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White House:
Remarks by the President at Bob Riley for Governor Luncheon — Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex — THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. It is a joy to be back in Alabama. And I appreciate your warm welcome. I am proud to stand with one of the nation's finest governors …
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Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush Criticizes Democrats on Terror War — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - President Bush suggested Thursday that Democrats don't have the stomach to fight the war on terror, battling back in the election-season clamor over administration intelligence showing terrorism spreading.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Preemptive Karma, Confederate Yankee, Shot In The Dark, Don Surber and PSoTD
Susan Schmidt / Washington Post:
Abramoff Put White House Contacts at 400 — Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his colleagues billed their clients for more than 400 contacts with White House officials between 2001 and 2004, according to a report released yesterday by the House Government Reform Committee.
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker
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Philip Shenon / New York Times:
Report Links White House and Lobbyist — A bipartisan Congressional report documents hundreds of contacts between White House officials and the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his partners, including at least 10 direct contacts between Mr. Abramoff and Karl Rove, the president's chief political strategist.
William Branigin / Washington Post:
Senate Narrowly Rejects Detainee Bill Provision — The Senate today narrowly rejected a measure that would have allowed suspected terrorists to challenge their detention in federal court, as the body moved closer to passing a White House-backed bill to authorize special military tribunals …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Anchoress, Unclaimed Territory, Hit and Run, Captain's Quarters, Power Line, The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny!, Unqualified Offerings, The Heretik, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Strata-Sphere, Inactivist, Instapundit.com, The Mahablog, Macsmind, The Daily Background, Balloon Juice and Blue Crab Boulevard
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Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Oberstar Fails The Pork Test — The House has considered a new Coast Guard appropriation (HR 5681), but they did so under a suspension of the rules. This parliamentary manuever allows Representatives to undermine the new rule just created that forces them to identify their earmarks in the Congressional Record.
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Andrew Roth / Club for Growth:
Earmark Rule Evaded? — Last night, I learned from a source on the Hill that the new earmark reform rule was already being manipulated by a pork-loving Congressman. — The longer version of this story is detailed here by Captain Ed. The shorter version is that a bill was debated …
Discussion:
Townhall.com Blog's …
Mark / CNN Political Ticker:
Lott: Bush barely mentioned Iraq in meeting with Senate Republicans — From CNN's Ted Barrett — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush barely mentioned the war in Iraq when he met with Republican senators behind closed doors in the Capitol Thursday morning and was not asked about the course of the war …
Agence France Presse:
UN, Israeli tanks in brief face-off in south Lebanon — MARWAHEEN, Lebanon (AFP) - UN and Israeli tanks have been involved in a brief face-off on a road in southern Lebanon where the Israeli army has been setting up checkpoints. — Four French Leclerc tanks with UN peacekeepers moved …
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wmur.com:
Students Start Petition To Remove UNH Professor For 9/11 Views — Professor Says Government May Have Had Knowledge Of Attacks — DURHAM, N.H. — A small group of students has started a petition to remove a University of New Hampshire professor who believes that Bush administration officials planned …
David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:
Wildlife Waste Is Major Water Polluter, Studies Say — Does a bear leave its waste in the woods? — Of course. So do geese, deer, muskrats, raccoons and other wild animals. And now, such states as Virginia and Maryland have determined that this plays a significant role in water pollution.
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Democrats See Strength in Bucking Bush — The Democratic vote in the Senate on Thursday against legislation governing the treatment of terrorism suspects showed that party leaders believe that President Bush's power to wield national security as a political issue is seriously diminished.
Discussion:
The Next Hurrah, Big Brass Blog, Brilliant at Breakfast, JustOneMinute and Rising Hegemon
Balkinization:
What Hamdan Hath Wrought — The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), which the President will soon — sign into law, was a response to the June decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. — Hamdan made three basic claims: (1) The President's military commissions
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Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Senate Approves Broad New Rules to Try Detainees
Senate Approves Broad New Rules to Try Detainees
Discussion:
Salon: War Room
New York Times:
Iraqi Journalists Add Laws to List of Dangers — BAGHDAD — Ahmed al-Karbouli, a reporter for Baghdadiya TV in the violent city of Ramadi, did his best to ignore the death threats, right up until six armed men drilled him with bullets after midday prayers. — He was the fourth journalist killed …
Senator Bill Frist:
Secure Fence Act to Pass Senate — In a post 9/11 world, border security is a matter of national security. Securing our borders is not an insurmountable problem ... but it has been a problem that too many have been willing to ignore for too long. — While our borders are still inexcusably porous …
David Corn:
This Is What Waterboarding Looks Like — As Congress has debated legislation that would set up military tribunals and govern the questioning of suspected terrorists (whom the Bush administration would like to be able to detain indefinitely), at issue has been what interrogation techniques …
The Nation:
Suppressing the Vote — With Election Day around the corner, and concerns about another voting debacle of Florida 2000-proportions running high (especially given problems at primaries this year in Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and several other states) - Republicans in Congress are on the job …
KNTV-TV:
Squirrels Go On Attack At South Bay Park — MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — An aggressive squirrel pounced on a 4-year-old boy in an attack last week in Cuesta Park in Mountain View, Calif. — The attack happened as the boy's mother unwrapped a muffin during a picnic. — SLIDESHOW: Squirrel Attacks Child
David Bauder / Associated Press:
'Survivor' Ends Segregation Game — All the hubbub about the "Survivor" ethnic experiment turned out to be pretty worthless. — Why? Because after only two episodes, producers merged the black, white, Asian and Latino tribes into two mixed-race gangs. No explanation was given …
Discussion:
Althouse