Top Items:
SeeDubya / JunkYardBlog:
Does AP Iraqi writer Qais al-Bashir have super powers? — It's looking like AP Baghdad correspondent Qais al-Bashir is the only one who can see this mysterious, non-existent "Captain Jamil Hussein". Well, it's not for certain yet, but al Bashir is the common element in four stories involving Captain Snuffleupagus.
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
The media fog of war — ***4:30pm Eastern update: when it rains, it pours...here's a third must-read from milblogger John Noonan raising questions about AP stringer Bassem Mroue...more from Lorie Byrd on media malpractice...*** — ***8:58pm Eastern update: more questions for the AP …
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
The media's sudden intense interest in the House Intelligence Committee — The New Republic's Michael Crowley last night noticed something about Jane Harman that has evaded most Beltway commentators, including those who have suddenly developed such a bizarre and uncharacteristic interest …
RELATED:
World Tribune.com:
Bolton: Future of Mideast 'may well be decided' in days — WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is facing a foreign policy crisis in Lebanon where the Iran-backed Hizbullah and Syria threaten to topple the weakened democratic government in Beirut. — "The future of the Middle East …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Anbar Picture Grows Clearer, and Bleaker — The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda's rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report that set off debate in recent months …
The Blotter:
U.S. Embassy Asks Bush Twins to Leave Country — Joe Goldman and Rhonda Schwartz Report: — Amid a growing barrage of front-page headlines, U.S. embassy officials "strongly suggested" President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara Bush, cut short their trip to Buenos Aires because of security issues …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, Wonkette, TPMmuckraker, CorrenteWire, The Political Pit Bull, The Democratic Daily and The News Blog
Confederate Yankee:
Drugs are Bad... Apparently, even nominal quantities of over-the-counter cold medications can cause you to see the most interesting things. — I know this, because this Reuters picture has all the earmarks of a crudely-edited PhotoShop, from the rather odd smudges and apparent artifacts around …
RELATED:
Louis Uchitelle / New York Times:
Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices — A decade into the practice of medicine, still striving to become "a well regarded physician-scientist," Robert H. Glassman concluded that he was not making enough money. So he answered an ad in the New England Journal of Medicine from a business consulting firm hiring doctors.
Discussion:
Althouse, Don Surber, Chronicle of the Conspiracy, The Democratic Daily, Greg Mankiw's Blog, The American Scene and EconLog
Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:
NBC Declares 'Civil War' In Iraq, McCaffrey: WH Rejection of Term 'Nonsense' — My antenna went up when Matt Lauer opened this morning's "Today" with these words: "Good morning. Civil war. A bloody weekend of sectarian clashes in Iraq and no sign it's letting up." — "Civil war"?
RELATED:
Thomas Ferraro / Reuters:
Likability poll bad news for Kerry — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. John Kerry, mulling a second bid for the U.S. presidency, finished dead last in a poll released on Monday on the likability of 20 top American political figures. — Among those placing ahead of Kerry …
RELATED:
Saeed Ahmed / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Informant in shooting says he never bought drugs at house — Says he was asked to lie — The confidential informant on whose word Atlanta police raided the house of an 88-year-old woman is now saying he never purchased drugs from her house and was told by police to lie and say he did.
Mohammed / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Rough days... The past four days during which we were under siege were long and rough for Baghdadis. Anxiety and fear haunted us at our homes and a flow of horrible news made the prison feel even tighter...it was a material and psychological siege that will not be easy to forget.
Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
CENTRISM....Yes, centrism can be a tic. Yes, it's often favored by DC pundits who automatically assume that bipartisanship is an inherent good regardless of its outcome. Yes, it can sometimes be a substitute for real thought. — That said, I hope the liberal blogosphere doesn't get into the habit …
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Straw Strongmen — When I read Jonathan Chait's piece in the LA Times from yesterday, I assumed he was making a Swiftian modest proposal. I read his piece to be a satirical left hook to the notion that the Baker Commission was going to find some magical solution to the Iraq quagmire …
Sameer N. Yacoub / Associated Press:
Attack Sparks Fire at Iraq Oil Facility — A mortar attack ignited a huge fire Monday night at an oil facility in northern Iraq, shutting the flow of crude oil to a major refinery, and a U.S. Air Force jet with one pilot aboard crashed in Anbar province, a hotbed of the Sunni-Arab insurgency, officials said.
Sebastian Mallaby / Washington Post:
A Fix for Social Security? — How Personal Accounts Could Please Both Sides — The next six months could be a productive time for economic policy. After a wasted 2005-06 cycle, in which the Bush administration approached entitlement reform too confidently and Democrats refused to talk, both sides may return to the table.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Brad DeLong's Semi …, Political Animal, Barone Blog, Beat the Press, Viking Pundit, Angry Bear, Crooks and Liars and The Mahablog
Ken Auletta / New Yorker:
MAD AS HELL — Regular viewers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight," on CNN, might be surprised at the venue that Dobbs chose for lunch not long ago: the Grill Room of the Four Seasons, a midtown bastion of the very same political and business "élites" that he denounces daily on his television program.