Top Items:
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Takeover by Hamas Illustrates Failure of Bush's Mideast Vision — Five years ago this month, President Bush stood in the Rose Garden and laid out a vision for the Middle East that included Israel and a state called Palestine living together in peace. "I call on the Palestinian people …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Firedoglake, Associated Press, Conflict Blotter, Middle Earth Journal, Dr. Sanity and JammieWearingFool
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Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Hamas to Grant Amnesty to Fatah Leaders — Victorious Hamas gunmen rounded up senior military leaders of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip early Friday, then announced a general amnesty in a sign the Islamic movement is seeking to reconcile with its secular rivals after five days of fierce fighting.
John Podhoretz / New York Post:
SELF-RULE? TRY MOB RULE — ISRAEL'S disengagement from Gaza, completed 22 months ago, has succeeded. — It was a demonstration project of a sort - an experiment in Palestinian self-rule. If the management of Gaza had gone well, there would have been a Palestinian state within three years, tops.
Discussion:
Gawker
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
White House Seems Ready to Let Hamas Seize Gaza — Bush administration officials said Thursday that they had been discussing the idea of largely acquiescing in the takeover of Gaza by the militant Islamic group Hamas and trying instead to help the Fatah party of the Palestinian president …
Ali Waked / Ynetnews:
Hamas: We'll execute Fatah leaders
Hamas: We'll execute Fatah leaders
Discussion:
The Big Pharaoh, Yourish.com, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Mere Rhetoric, Jihad Watch and Israellycool
New York Times:
Senate Leaders Agree to Revive Immigration Bill — Senate Democratic and Republican leaders announced on Thursday that they had agreed on a way to revive a comprehensive immigration bill that was pulled off the Senate floor seven days ago. — The majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada …
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Manu Raju / The Hill:
Senate forges immigration deal — Senate leaders on Thursday night announced a deal that breathes life into the bipartisan immigration bill that appeared to be stalled just days ago. — The deal, which would bring the legislation back to the floor as early as next week …
Maura Reynolds / Los Angeles Times:
Senate strikes deal to revive immigration bill
Senate strikes deal to revive immigration bill
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch' — Senate Leader Cites General's Upbeat Remarks About Baghdad 'Normalcy' — The Senate majority leader took aim yesterday at the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who until now has received little criticism from Capitol Hill over his statements or performance.
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Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
Delay Denied, Libby Is Seen as Weeks From Prison — I. Lewis Libby Jr., once one of the most powerful men in government, was escorted by federal marshals out a side door in a federal courtroom here Thursday for processing after a judge issued a final ruling that he would have to begin serving …
Discussion:
State of the Day
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Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Today's Must Read — We know what the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department hasn't been doing under the Bush administration: protecting African-American voters from discrimination. And much of our coverage at TPM has tended to focus on the division's voting rights section …
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
Who's Ahead? No, Seriously... It's nice to know that Mitt Romney has pulled ahead in New Hampshire, seven months before the primary voting. Thanks, Bill Schneider! Let me ask you something: Who's ahead in addressing a broken health care system? — It's fascinating to realize that Hillary Clinton, a woman, is ahead among women.
Anne Broache / CNET News.com:
Bush administration attacks 'shield' for bloggers — WASHINGTON—The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources. — The latest draft of the Free Flow …
David Ingram / Charlotte Observer:
N.C. pressed on voter listings — State, feds say rolls out of date, push changes; official says no need — RALEIGH —State and federal officials are mounting two broad challenges to the way North Carolina maintains its voter rolls, charging widespread irregularities that include votes cast under the names of dead people.
Discussion:
The Impolitic
Washington Post:
U.S. Says Iraq Troop Surge Complete — The full contingent of new U.S. forces being sent to Iraq — what military leaders call a "surge" of troops to improve security and stability in the capital — was completed by Friday, with 28,500 additional troops now posted in the country, a U.S. military spokesman said.
CBN.com:
EXCLUSIVE: Fred Thompson Pro-Life Video Address — Watch Low Band EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: — CBNNews.com - It's Christmas in June here at The Brody File. Look what we found under the tree. It's a present from "supporters of Fred Thompson" given exclusively to The Brody File.
Joseph Lieberman / Opinion Journal:
What I Saw in Iraq — Iran remains a problem, but Anbar has joined the fight against terror. — I recently returned from Iraq and four other countries in the Middle East, my first trip to the region since December. In the intervening five months, almost everything about the American war effort …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
The Line: Senate Map Is Messy for GOP — Most of the recent action in the budding 2008 Senate campaigns came in races that didn't make our last rankings. — In Texas, wealthy attorney Mikal Watts (D) not only formed a campaign committee but also dropped nearly $4 million of his own money into it.
Gerard Baker / Times of London:
You won't see Termination 2 at the movies — Liberal Hollywood shies away from abortion — In grim times Americans turn to Hollywood for escapist cheer, and this summer the fantasy factory has not disappointed. The multiplexes are unusually full of feelgood movies to chase away the troubled superpower blues.