Top Items:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
News Analysis: On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Cede Ground to Bush — Congressional contortions over the Iraq spending bill could end up with most House Democrats momentarily occupying the position they were so desperate to vacate: the minority.
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Matt Stoller / MyDD:
The Capitulation Bill: "Obviously it's a good move" — The crazy thing about the fight is that Democratic insiders are convinced that capitulation is the right strategy. They actually believe that this will put pressure on the Republicans in the fall, and that standing up to Bush is a bad idea.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Brilliant at Breakfast, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, DownWithTyranny! and Daily Kos
Greg Sargent / Election Central:
Dem Leadership: If We'd Confronted Bush On Iraq, White House Would Have Criticized Us — With the House set to vote on the no-timelines Iraq War funding bill later today, The New York Times provides a glimpse into the thinking among top Dems that led to the current proposal: … Oooooooooooooo, scary!
Susan Ferrechio / CQ.com:
Democrats Set Stage for Next War Debate — Before deciding to blink in the long standoff over war spending and troop withdrawal, House Democrats convinced themselves President Bush is scoring only a short-term victory. — The House is expected to send to the Senate late Thursday …
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
GOP slams Pelosi in new ad campaign — House Republicans have a fairly simple plan to reclaim the majority: Blame Nancy. — The National Republican Congressional Committee launches its first national advertising blitz Thursday with a drive to tie freshmen Democrats to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
CNN:
Bush says this summer critical for Iraq war … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush said Thursday that this summer would be a critical time for his Iraq strategy as Congress was poised to vote on a new war spending bill. — Answering reporters' questions at a White House news conference …
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New York Times:
EX-JUSTICE AIDE ADMITS POLITICS AFFECTED HIRING — A former top Justice Department aide testified on Wednesday that she had "crossed the line" in considering the political beliefs of applicants for nonpartisan legal jobs and suggested that earlier testimony by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales …
New York Times:
Editorial: Witness for the Prosecutors
Editorial: Witness for the Prosecutors
Discussion:
Minneapolis Star Tribune, Balkinization, Slate, Norwegianity, Prairie Weather and Think Progress
Susan Bell / Scotsman:
Raid on spy's home 'reveals details of Chirac's secret £30m bank account' — LONG-STANDING rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.
Dale Franks / QandO:
QUESTIONS FOR OUR LIBERAL FRIENDS — Bruce is a big boy, and certainly doesn't need me to help him out, but let's talk about Iraq for a moment. Because I have questions for people like Oliver Willis to which I'm curious to hear the answers. And I'm not asking in a snarky way. I'm honestly interested.
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Opinion Journal:
Immigration and Welfare — Most of them will pay at least as much as they collect. — The immigration debate is roaring again, and we're happy to join the fun. One place to start is a myth that has become a key talking point among restrictionists on the right—to wit …
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Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Morgue Data Show Increase In Sectarian Killings in Iraq — More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive designed to curtail sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, Health Ministry statistics show that such killings are rising again.
Charles Keeshan / Daily Herald:
No bond for accused teen — A 16-year-old Crystal Lake girl facing a felony hate crime charge alleging she and a friend distributed anti-homosexual fliers at her high school must remain locked up until her case goes to trial, a McHenry County judge ruled Tuesday.
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ABCNEWS:
Edwards Presses Democrats to Oppose War Funding — Votes in Congress Interfere With 2008 campaign — Democratic presidential contender John Edwards told the Council on Foreign Affairs the Bush administration "has not only mismanaged the war in Iraq, it has mismanaged the military itself."
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Gateway Pundit:
Grim Milestone: War on Terror Fatalities Reach Ominous Threshold — It is not an easy decision to vote for war. — It's not easy committing your soldiers to the battlefield. — Yet, the democratic-led Congress did just that in 2002. — Surely, they knew what their vote would mean …
Keith Olbermann / MSNBC:
The entire government has failed us on Iraq — For the president, and the majority leaders and candidates and rank-and-file Congressmen and Senators of either party—there is only blame for this shameful, and bi-partisan, betrayal — SPECIAL COMMENT — A Special Comment about the Democrats' deal …
Discussion:
The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway, Bring it On!, Liberal Values, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Mahablog, Neptunus Lex, The Democratic Daily, The Impolitic, The Garlic, The Left End of the Dial v2.0, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Blue Gal, Taylor Marsh, The Populist and TalkLeft
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Improvement in Iraq: Trust Joe Klein and his secret sources — Q. If you're a Bush administration official and you want to create a prominent headline in Time Magazine proclaiming what great improvement there is in Iraq, what do you do? — A. Have someone with a shiny military uniform …
Associated Press:
U.S. military continues to discharge gay Arab linguists, and Congress members seek hearing — WASHINGTON: Lawmakers who say the military has kicked out 58 Arabic linguists because they were gay want the Pentagon to explain how it can afford to let the valuable language specialists go.