Top Items:
CNN:
Bush open to benchmarks for Iraq … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush said Thursday he will veto any bill with "haphazard, piecemeal funding," but agreed that setting benchmarks is a good way to evaluate progress in Iraq. — Bush said he has asked his chief of staff, Josh Bolten …
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Shaun Mullen / The Moderate Voice:
Iraq War Dénouement: Curiouser & Curiouser — Now, I give you fair warning, either you or your head must be off, and that in about half no time! Take your choice! — From "Alice in Wonderland" — The House has approved a second Iraq war-funding bill that President Bush has vowed to veto.
David Espo / Associated Press:
House OKs Iraq funds in installments — WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday night to pay for military operations in Iraq on an installment plan, defying President Bush's threat of a second straight veto in a fierce test of wills over the unpopular war.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
House Approves Iraq War Funding Bill — The House tonight pushed through its second plan to fund the Iraq war and reshape war policy, approving legislation that would provide partial funding for the conflict, but hold back most of the money until President Bush reports on the war's progress in July.
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Gonzales and The Secret Collaborative Process — Alberto Gonzales' strategy in a nutshell: to defend the firing of the U.S. attorneys whenever possible, but when confronted with inescapable evidence that the process was a sham, to backpedal and either blame Kyle Sampson or admit that the process could have been more "rigorous."
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David Johnston / New York Times:
Democrats Push Gonzales on Attorney Dismissals
Democrats Push Gonzales on Attorney Dismissals
Discussion:
Associated Press
Murray Waas / National Journal:
Administration Withheld E-Mails About Rove
Administration Withheld E-Mails About Rove
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Firedoglake, Brilliant at Breakfast, Washington Monthly, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, PoliBlog (TM), About U.S. Politics, Norwegianity, Balloon Juice, Flopping Aces, The Next Hurrah, The Newshoggers, Think Progress, The Huffington Post, TPMmuckraker, Cliff Schecter, Shakesville, The Mahablog, New York Times, Needlenose, Obsidian Wings and Liberal Values
Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:
Did Rudy Giuliani's campaign snub an Iowa farmer couple because they weren't millionaires and hence wouldn't be a suitable prop for Rudy's anti-"death tax" campaigning? And will the haircut-obsessed political media cover it? — Check out this unbelievable story from the Anamosa Journal-Eureka …
Discussion:
The Blotter, The RBC, Firedoglake, TPMCafe blogs, Liberal Values, Wonkette, Balloon Juice and Cliff Schecter
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Michelle Phillips / anamosaje.com:
Giuliani Snubs Jones County — OLIN-Last weekend Deb and Jerry VonSprecken of Olin received a call from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign office asking them if they would be interested in holding a campaign rally on May 4, after she had donated to his campaign.
MSNBC:
Did informant aid Fort Dix plotters? — Entrapment defense may be presented in court for alleged plot against U.S. — CHERRY HILL, N.J. - He railed against the United States, helped scout out military installations for attack, offered to introduce his comrades to an arms dealer and gave …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Jihad Watch, State of the Day, Little Green Footballs, Rising Hegemon and Weasel Zippers
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Audrey Hudson / Washington Times:
Lawmaker: Fort Dix hero may need immunity — The New Jersey store clerk whose tip led to the arrest of six terror suspects needs legislative protection from being sued as a "John Doe" or whistleblower, lawmakers said yesterday. — "The events in Fort Dix are just another reminder of the need …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report
Garrett Epps / Salon:
Karl Rove's big election-fraud hoax — By evil chance, I spent the Saturday night before Election Day 2000 at a jolly dinner for high-level Republicans. Most of the talk over the entrees concerned why then-candidate George W. Bush had been too pusillanimous to tell the voters that Al Gore …
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Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
Critics fault Romney's abortion record — AGAWAM, Mass. - Conservative activists criticized Mitt Romney over his abortion record Thursday as the Republican presidential contender received an award from an anti-abortion group that also used to complain about his support for abortion rights.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog
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Richard N. Perle / Washington Post:
How the CIA Failed America — George Tenet sets the stage in his memoir by recalling a conversation he claims to have had with me on Sept. 12, 2001: "As I walked beneath the awning that leads to the West Wing[, I] saw Richard Perle exiting the building just as I was about to enter. …
Andrewbreitbart / Breitbart.tv:
Free Speech Fracas: Joke Describes Violent Sex Assault of Condoleezza Rice — Warning: Extremely Vulgar Language. XM Shock Jocks Opie and Anthony engage in discussion about forced sex with the Secretary of State. A studio guest, Homeless Charlie, begins describing the scenario as the hosts laugh and encourage him.
Nico / Think Progress:
CBS fires Gen. Batiste over VoteVets ad. — Iraq veteran Gen. John Batiste "has been asked to leave his position as a consultant to CBS News" over a new VoteVets ad criticizing the Iraq war. He was interviewed tonight by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. Watch it: — Digg It! — The URI to TrackBack this entry is:
Discussion:
Eschaton
Daniel / Crooked Timber:
In Praise of Budweiser (contains extended footnotes) — I tend to regard myself as Crooked Timber's online myrmidon of a number of rather unpopular views; among other things, as regular readers will have seen, I believe that the incitement to religious hatred legislation was a good idea …
Pachacutec / Firedoglake:
7 Tips to Build a Blog Community — There's been some healthy discussion lately about how to build up a blog community, mostly in the context of encouraging more diversity within the progressive online movement. Jenifer Fernandez-Arcona wrote a good diary here, and Matt Stoller identified …