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Laura McGann / TPMmuckraker:
Today's Must Read — A majority of Democrats in the Senate are ready to cast a symbolic vote of no confidence against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today, the Associated Press reports. — So far Republicans are offering meager support for the resolution and it's unclear whether backers …
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Firedoglake
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Washington Post:
Immigration Judges Often Picked Based On GOP Ties — Law Forbids Practice; Courts Being Reshaped — The Bush administration increasingly emphasized partisan political ties over expertise in recent years in selecting the judges who decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants …
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Her Way — On Meet the Press yesterday, Tim Russert asked Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta what was the most important thing in their new book, Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton. — Gerth: "She's now running for president, and we felt that people needed to understand how …
Discussion:
Dick Polman's American Debate
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New York Times:
U.S. Arming Sunnis in Iraq to Battle Old Qaeda Allies — With the four-month-old increase in American troops showing only modest success in curbing insurgent attacks, American commanders are turning to another strategy that they acknowledge is fraught with risk: arming Sunni Arab groups …
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Washington Post:
Tribal Coalition in Anbar Said to Be Crumbling — U.S.-Backed Group Has Fought Al-Qaeda in Iraq — A tribal coalition formed to oppose the extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, a development that U.S. officials say has reduced violence in Iraq's troubled Anbar province, is beginning to splinter …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, The Strata-Sphere, The Mahablog, Jules Crittenden and Watching Those We Chose
Robert Tanner / Associated Press:
Studies say death penalty deters crime — Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey.
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Robert Stacy McCain / Washington Times:
Reagan's famous line nearly clipped from Berlin speech — SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Top administration officials said the speech was all wrong. Too provocative, said the National Security Council. Too tough, said the State Department. — The president overruled his advisers and …
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John Fund / Opinion Journal:
Hitting the Wall — Reagan's prophetic Berlin speech, 20 years later.
Hitting the Wall — Reagan's prophetic Berlin speech, 20 years later.
Discussion:
Power Line
Nikki Finke / Deadline Hollywood Daily:
THAAAT'S What We Were All Waiting For? Angry 'Sopranos' Fans Crash HBO Website — The line to cancel HBO starts here. What a ridiculously disappointing end lacking in creativity to The Sopranos saga. But if you're one of those who found it perversely interesting, then don't bother to read on.
Discussion:
Editor and Publisher, At-Largely, Political Punch, UrbanGrounds, Liberal Values, TheOnlineWire, TMZ.com and Scared Monkeys
Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Romney's Run Has Mormons Wary of Scrutiny — LOGAN, Utah — In this wide valley where the twin spires of the Mormon temple dominate the landscape and some neighborhoods have a Mormon chapel every few blocks, Mitt Romney's bid for president is both a proud sign of progress and a cause of trepidation.
Los Angeles Times:
U.S. relies on Sudan despite condemning it — The nation accused of aiding the killings in Darfur provides spies in Iraq. In return, it gets access in Washington. — WASHINGTON — Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on the insurgency in Iraq, an example of how the U.S …
Discussion:
Informed Comment
Stacey Stowe / New York Times:
Marijuana Law in Connecticut Gains Ground — Seventeen years ago, Mark Braunstein dived 60 feet off a footbridge into a river, landed wrong and became a paraplegic. A librarian at Connecticut College, Mr. Braunstein, 55, walks with the aid of crutches and leg braces.
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Liz Lightfoot / Telegraph:
'Political meddling' ruining learning in schools — The curriculum in state schools in England has been stripped of its content and corrupted by political interference, according to a damning report by an influential, independent think-tank. — It warns of the educational apartheid opening …
Opinion Journal:
General Retreat — Secretary of Defense Levin picks a new war leader. — There's a rumor going around that Robert Gates is the Secretary of Defense. We'd like to request official confirmation, because based on recent evidence the man running the Pentagon is Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.
Discussion:
Brendan Nyhan
Chris Barge / Rocky Mountain News:
5 questions for journalist and author David Sirota — Al Franken calls him "My Sirota - the sexy, sexy wonk." — The late columnist Molly Ivins said he "is a new-generation populist who instinctively understands that the only real questions are 'Who's getting screwed?' and 'Who's doing the screwing?' "
Discussion:
WorkingForChange
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid — The e-mails are flooding in. You want it? You got it. — If Rasmussen's right, this should resonate broadly. — Blowback
Jackie Kucinich / The Hill:
GOP threatens to slow appropriations process — Republicans this week are prepared to use parliamentary procedures in a coordinated attack to try and thwart changes in the way the House adds earmarks to appropriations bills, according to GOP sources. — It is the Republicans' response …
Discussion:
Real Cities