Top Items:
New York Times:
President Open to Benchmarks in Iraq Measure — Hours before the House approved a plan on Thursday to finance the Iraq war only through midsummer, President Bush offered his first public concession to try to resolve the impasse on war spending, acknowledging rising pressure from his own party and the public.
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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 …
Discussion:
The Newshoggers
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
House Approves Iraq War Funding Bill
House Approves Iraq War Funding Bill
Discussion:
New York Times, The Carpetbagger Report, Right Wing Nut House, The Impolitic, CNN, Daily Kos, Wonkette, Shakesville and KnoxViews
Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Bush and Democrats in Accord on Trade Deals — The Bush administration reached agreement on Thursday with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other Democrats to attach environmental and worker protections in several pending trade accords, clearing the way for early passage of some pacts and improving prospects for others.
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Steven Mufson / Washington Post:
As Gas Prices Rise Again, Democrats Blame Big Oil — A week after U.S. gasoline prices hit a near-record $3.05 a gallon, Democrats in Congress are promoting legislation taking aim at the big oil companies, although industry experts say that the efforts aren't likely to have any effect.
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye, The Moderate Voice, ShopFloor.org, Captain's Quarters and JammieWearingFool
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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 …
Discussion:
BuzzFlash.org, Never Yet Melted, Brilliant at Breakfast, WorkingForChange and Prairie Weather
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Another Hearing, Another Chance to Say Nothing
Another Hearing, Another Chance to Say Nothing
Discussion:
Real Cities, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, The Carpetbagger Report and The Heretik
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
A beautiful mosaic of anti-blogger hatred — Various prominent personages share their visceral contempt for blogs: — John Yoo at an April 18 Civil Liberties debate (via blogger Roger Ailes): … As Ailes says: "Yoo wishes they never existed because, unlike illegally-detained prisoners …
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The Huffington Post
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Geoff Mulvihill / Associated Press:
Informants Scrutinized in Fort Dix Case — CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) - He railed against the United States, helped scout out military installations for attack, offered to introduce his comrades to an arms dealer, and gave them a list of weapons he could procure, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Talking Points Memo, Jihad Watch, State of the Day, Little Green Footballs 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 …
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. …
Ward Rubrecht / City Pages:
Gun Shy — Sipping soda from a straw and leaning on his elbows at Perkins, Troy Scheffler seems harmless enough. The 31-year-old Hamline University grad student resembles a post-Pulp Fiction John Travolta—slightly overstuffed, with graying sideburns and a small, tense smile.
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Nancy Gibbs / Time:
The Religion Test — John F. Kennedy's election in 1960 was supposed to have laid the "religious question" to rest, yet it arises again with a fury. What does the Constitution mean when it says there should be no religion test for office? It plainly means that a candidate can't be barred …
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
John Edwards' big ideas costly — WASHINGTON - Presidential candidate John Edwards is offering more policy proposals than any other candidate in the primary and his ideas are winning loud applause from Democratic audiences. — The question is whether other voters will cheer when they see the price tag …
The Atlantic Online:
Delicate Flowers — I was at a big old get together yesterday evening featuring some people from the blogosphere, some old media types, folks with old media origins who now do some new media work, folks with new media origins who now work for MSM outlets, and even some people who aren't journalists …
Alan Fram / Associated Press:
Poll: Congress' Approval Same As Bush — WASHINGTON (AP) - People think the Democratic-led Congress is doing just as dreary a job as President Bush, following four months of bitter political standoffs that have seen little progress on Iraq and a host of domestic issues.
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, Shakesville, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Agonist, The Moderate Voice and Booman Tribune
Kimberley A. Strassel / Opinion Journal:
Canadian Drugs, Eh? — Washington fights over an unwanted program. — Listen to Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe discuss importing drugs from Canada, and you'll hear endless happy talk about "more competitive prices," "substantial savings" and how "crucial" reimportation is to "the American consumer."