Top Items:
Philip Shenon / New York Times:
Rice, in Baghdad, Insists That Iraqis Are 'Making Progress' — Wearing a helmet and a flak jacket and flanked by machine-gun-toting bodyguards to defend against insurgents, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came here Thursday, insisting that there were new signs of progress in Iraq …
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Firedoglake, Informed Comment, The Carpetbagger Report, Shakespeare's Sister, Daily Kos and Waveflux
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David S. Cloud / New York Times:
Senator Says U.S. Should Rethink Iraq Strategy — The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee warned Thursday that the situation in Iraq was "drifting sideways" and said that the United States should consider a "change of course" if violence did not diminish soon.
David Corn:
From a List to a GOP Civil War? — Copies of The List (see below) have been sent by gay politicos to a variety of social conservative groups that look to the Republican Party to make their religious right dreams come true. The recipients include the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family …
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Roy / alicublog:
LITERALLY. David Brooks says, oh yeah, you liberals think the Foley scandal is bad, well, there's an underage seduction in The Vagina Monologues but you liberals love that, don't you? — Stunned onlookers point out to Brooks that The Vagina Monologues is a play, whereas Mark Foley is a real person.
David Espo / Associated Press:
Pelosi says she would drain GOP 'swamp' — WASHINGTON - Franklin Roosevelt had his first hundred days. — House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule.
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Hastert Vows to Overcome Scandal — J. Dennis Hastert, who was installed as House speaker eight years ago through backroom maneuvering in a moment of crisis for his party, has no distinct power base in Congress, not much of a national reputation and, in an age of television politics, little polish in front of the camera.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Fox News, BAGnewsNotes, Jon Swift, The RBC, NewsHog and Liberty and Justice
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John F. Harris / Washington Post:
New Media A Weapon in New World Of Politics — At first glance, three uproars that buffeted American politics in recent weeks have little in common. — Former congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.) ended his political career over sexually charged e-mails to former House pages.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, JustOneMinute, The Horse's Mouth, Think Progress, NewsBusters.org, Media Blog, Hot Air, The Right Angle and Booman Tribune
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Eric Boehlert / The Huffington Post:
Oops, I Thought Matt Drudge Was the "Walter Cronkite of His Era"
Oops, I Thought Matt Drudge Was the "Walter Cronkite of His Era"
Discussion:
Media Matters for America
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
In Border Fence's Path, Congressional Roadblocks — No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border last week than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts.
Discussion:
Townhall.com Blog's …, Political Animal, The Carpetbagger Report, Big Brass Blog, TalkLeft, Hot Air and Sensible Mom
Associated Press:
House Ethics Panel to Subpoena Documents — WASHINGTON — The House ethics committee on Thursday launched an investigation of a congressional page sex scandal that has imperiled Republican election prospects, approving dozens of subpoenas for documents and testimony.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Corner, TPMmuckraker, The Moderate Voice, Democratic Veteran and AMERICAblog
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Alan Cooperman / Washington Post:
GOP's Hold on Evangelicals Weakening — Party's Showing in Midterm Elections May Be Hurt as Polls Indicate Support Dropping in Base — ANOKA, Minn. — Lynn Sunde, an evangelical Christian, is considering what for her is a radical step. Come November, she may vote for a Democrat for Congress.
Discussion:
Bull Moose, MyDD, Inactivist, Right Wing Nut House, DonkeyRising, DownWithTyranny!, Donklephant, The Blue State, The Mahablog and AMERICAblog
Marc Ambinder / National Journal:
A Calamity For Gay Republicans — Less than 24 hours after Rep. Mark Foley resigned in disgrace, some 50 gay Republicans gathered at a friend's house in Virginia. They were in a brittle mood. Foley — one of their own, in terms of sexual orientation and party ID — had, by his misconduct …
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Asia Times:
Kim's message: War is coming to US soil — Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. — The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced on October 3 …
USA Today:
Race for Senate control tightens — WASHINGTON — Democrats are within striking distance of winning control of the Senate in the Nov. 7 elections, USA TODAY/Gallup Polls in six key states show as the campaigns head into their final month. — The number of Republican-held seats …
Discussion:
Facing South, The Carpetbagger Report, TIME, The Blue State, Taegan Goddard's … and The Democratic Daily
Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:
When TV news got a voice: Fox, et al — FoxNews is 10 years old this week. This year, Al Jazeera turns 10. So did The Daily Show. All that the three have in common, besides birthdays, is that they brought new voices to TV news: no longer the allegedly objective, cold …
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Angels and Intelligence Estimates — Lost between the Foley tsunami and the Woodward hurricane is the storm that began the great Republican collapse of 2006. It was only a few weeks ago that the Republicans were clawing their way back to contention for the November elections …
Josh Hirschland / Columbia Daily Spectator:
Investigation to Look at Facebook — University Says Social Networking Site 'Not Exempt' — Columbia will review information and images posted on students' Facebook profiles as part of its investigation into Wednesday night's Minutemen brawl, a University spokesman confirmed Thursday evening.
Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:
Bush cites authority to bypass FEMA law — Signing statement is employed again — WASHINGTON — President Bush this week asserted that he has the executive authority to disobey a new law in which Congress has set minimum qualifications for future heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Huffington Post, The Heretik, The Carpetbagger Report and Think Progress