Top Items:
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Rudy blasts Ron Paul's apology for 9/11 — Ahem. — The smartass reply would have been to ask Paul whether, if in fact conditions in Iraq precipitated 9/11, it wasn't perfectly appropriate then to take extreme measures to try to remedy those conditions afterwards.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
Palmetto Punditry — The debate took a while to gain any traction, but there were some clarifying moments for me. The questions were often excellent - especially the tough ones at the beginning about the war. The Republicans, we learned, have absolutely no idea what to do about Iraq.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Giuliani Wins, But Paul Threw The Game — Team Rudy should send a hundred roses to Ron Paul — yellow roses, of course — after the Congressman essentially tossed the debate to Giuliani. Rudy had a pretty good night going anyway, but when Paul as much as said that the terrorists had a point …
Discussion:
Iowa Voice
Stephen Green / VodkaPundit:
Debate Drunkblogging - LIVE! — 7:03 (All times Mountain) I hope they do the candidate introductions twice this time around. I promised myself, tonight I'd remember everybody's names. — 7:05 Already I don't miss Chris Matthews. I bet I'm not the only person to say that - tonight or any night.
ABCNEWS:
Bush Taps New 'War Czar' — ABC News Learns Pentagon Official Selected to Oversee Iraq, Afghanistan Wars — After a frustrating search for a new "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ABC News has learned that President Bush has chosen the Pentagon's director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, for the role.
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Bush Picks Army General to Coordinate War Policy
Bush Picks Army General to Coordinate War Policy
Discussion:
INTEL DUMP
Nico / Think Progress:
New 'War Czar' Advocated Troop Withdrawals To 'Undercut Perception Of Occupation'
New 'War Czar' Advocated Troop Withdrawals To 'Undercut Perception Of Occupation'
David Johnston / New York Times:
President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping — President Bush intervened in March 2004 to avert a crisis over the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program after Attorney General John Ashcroft, Director Robert S. Mueller III of the F.B.I. and other senior Justice Department aides …
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David Stout / New York Times:
Gonzales Pressed Ailing Ashcroft on Spy Plan, Aide Says — On the night of March 10, 2004, a high-ranking Justice Department official rushed to a Washington hospital to prevent two White House aides from taking advantage of the critically ill Attorney General, John Ashcroft, the official testified today.
Think Progress:
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, 5/15/07, Senate Judiciary Committee
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, 5/15/07, Senate Judiciary Committee
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, Washington Post, Obsidian Wings, Balkinization, Unqualified Offerings, War and Piece and TalkLeft
Logan Murphy / Crooks and Liars:
GOP Debate II: Romney - "Double Guantanamo" — During the second GOP debate, Fox News' Brit Hume sets up a hypothetical situation where three terrorist attacks occur at shopping malls in major cities. A fourth attack is thwarted and that would-be attacker, who we know has information about an impending …
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ABCNEWS:
Wolfowitz Out? — White House Opens Door for Wolfowitz Ouster — World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is fighting for his job amid a conflict of interest controversy that centers around his personal relationship with his girlfriend — a longtime World Bank employee.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Voice of America, The Reaction, The Atlantic Online, Crooks and Liars, PoliBlog (TM) and All Spin Zone
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Lizstephans / Breitbart.tv:
Exclusive: Thompson Responds to Michael Moore Challenge — Breitbart.tv Exclusive: The confrontation over Cuba continues. Michael Moore has challenged Fred Thompson to a health care debate. At issue — Moore's trip to Cuba and Thompson's criticism of that trip.
Discussion:
Fox News, Hot Air, PrezVid, Captain's Quarters, democracyarsenal.org, The Impolitic, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wizbang, Ankle Biting Pundits and Heading Right
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Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
News Analysis: Reality Overtakes the Illusion of Unity in Gaza — A third day of deadly clashes between Hamas and Fatah fighters suggests that the Palestinian unity government, put together under Saudi auspices at the end of March, is something of a fiction.
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Dan Berrett / Pocono Record:
Pleasant Valley defends handling of complaint against teacher — BRODHEADSVILLE — The Pleasant Valley School District administration defended its handling of a complaint against a popular history teacher, which helped spark a lawsuit filed against the district.
Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Jerry Falwell dies at age 73 — One of the nation's most notorious TV preachers, Jerry Falwell, died today in Lynchburg, Va. … More soon. — Update: I have to admit, writing about Falwell's death poses an awkward challenge for me. When I worked at Americans United for Separation …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, beliefnet, Salon, AMERICAblog, Campaign for America's …, NewsBusters.org, Associated Press, KnoxViews, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Jesus' General, Right Wing Nut House, State of the Day, The Reaction, Think Progress, Wonkette, DownWithTyranny!, Eschaton, Big Brass Blog, The Caucus, Sadly, No!, Taylor Marsh, Captain's Quarters, Slate, Mercury Rising, Brilliant at Breakfast, Liberal Values, Balloon Juice and No More Mister Nice Blog
One Jerusalem:
VIDEO EXCLUSIVE:: Semi-protected Schools, Damaged Homes and Kassam Rockets: A Day in the Life of Sderot — Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting the city of Sderot. Sdert is a city of 20,000 people located directly east of Northern Gaza. In the last seven years …
Hotline On Call:
Pre-Spin Room Thoughts: McCain, Rudy, Romney — Invoking the Roger Simon rule: in my judgment, John McCain convincingly and incontrovertibly won tonight's debate. He was strong, confident, answered tough questions with ease and dispatch, and seemed the most presidential.
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: MSNBC quotes WhiteHouse.org on Falwell's political influence — Yeah, WhiteHouse.org. The most infamous, relentlessly anti-Bush parody site on the 'Net. — You can imagine how it played out. Producer to intern: "We need a fawning description of him from the White House website …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, NewsBusters.org, ProfessorBainbridge.com ®, National Review and Gateway Pundit
Brandon Keim / Wired News:
New Phytoplankton Model May Revise Warming Estimates — Global climate models are missing a good chunk of plant information that could significantly alter long-term climate change predictions. A new technique for modeling phytoplankton — microscopic plants in the upper layers of the Earth's waters …