Top Items:
Opinion Journal:
Bush and Libby — The commutation is a profile in non-courage. — President Bush's commutation late yesterday afternoon of the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby will at least spare his former aide from 2 1/2 years in prison. But by failing to issue a full pardon …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, New York Times, New York Times, The Atlantic Online, Outside The Beltway, The Corner, The Carpetbagger Report, National Review Online, Brendan Nyhan, Sentencing Law and Policy, Angry Bear, Jon Swift, The Glittering Eye, Betsy's Page, All Spin Zone, Democrats.com, The Gavel, Macsmind, Election Central, PoliPundit.com, Cold Fury, At-Largely, Gay Patriot, Viking Pundit and Taylor Marsh
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Michael Abramowitz / Washington Post:
A Decision Made Largely Alone — President Bush limited his deliberations over commuting the prison term of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to a few close aides, opting not to consult with the Justice Department and rebuffing efforts by friends to lobby on Libby's behalf, administration officials and people close to Bush said yesterday.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, The Volokh Conspiracy, New York Times, Grasping Reality …, Time, The Carpetbagger Report, The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, CNN, PoliBlog (TM), Shakesville, Patterico's Pontifications, Captain's Quarters, The Anonymous Liberal, Redstate, MyDD, The Democratic Daily and Obsidian Wings
Washington Post:
Too Much Mercy — IN COMMUTING I. Lewis Libby's prison sentence yesterday, President Bush took the advice of, among others, William Otis, a former federal prosecutor who wrote on the opposite page last month that Mr. Libby should neither be pardoned nor sent to prison.
Editor and Publisher:
Editorials Hit Libby's Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card — NEW YORK The bloggers, politicians, and TV pundits weighed in quickly Monday after President Bush took the surprisingly sudden step of commuting Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case.
Washington Post:
Scooter Libby's Pals, Trusting In Providence — The men behind The Man Behind Dick Cheney are relieved. — They are people of means and influence, ambassadors and honorables, and they've raised millions to pay for the legal expenses of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Atrios / Eschaton:
Rich — Inevitably, the subject of Marc Rich comes up every time presidential pardons come up. Without going into all of the issues, can we just remind the world that... Marc Rich's lawyer was Scooter Libby.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
New York Times:
Bush Spares Libby From Prison Term
Bush Spares Libby From Prison Term
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TPMmuckraker, TPMCafe blogs, Gawker, BuzzFlash.org, ParaPundit, CNN, The Next Hurrah, Ace of Spades HQ, The Daily Whim and The Anonymous Liberal
CBS News:
Al Qaeda In Iraq Behind U.K. Bomb Plot? — Sources Tell CBS News Suspects Recruited By Leader Of Terror Group's Iraq Branch — (CBS/AP) British intelligence services increasingly believe that the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow bare the fingerprints of al Qaeda in Iraq, CBS News has learned.
Discussion:
Power Line, Captain's Quarters, The Glittering Eye, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit and Yourish.com
New York Times:
U.S. Says Iran Helped Iraqis Kill Five G.I.'s — Agents of Iran helped plan a January raid in Shiite holy city of Karbala in Iraq in which five American soldiers were killed by Islamic militants, an American military spokesman said Monday. The charge was the most specific allegation …
Discussion:
Confederate Yankee, Jules Crittenden, Gateway Pundit, INTEL DUMP, Power Line and The Strata-Sphere
The Independent:
Terror plot hatched in British hospitals — A suspected secret cell of foreign militants, believed to be linked to al-Qa'ida and using British hospitals as cover, are being questioned over the terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow. — Five of the eight people under arrest last night are said to be doctors.
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Rogers / Kung Fu Monkey:
L33T Justice — According to the Dictionary of Video Game Theory, an "exploit" is — … I'd been working on this post vis a vis the Gonzales situation. The DoJ situation, in it's own way, magnificent. They're averaging a DoJ resignation a week over the attorney scandal.
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Bloomberg:
Pakistani Policeman Killed in Red Mosque Gun Battle — A Pakistani policeman was killed as the police fired tear gas and later exchanged gunfire with the students of the Red Mosque in the capital Islamabad today. — The police fired tear gas after students' pelted stones at policemen deployed outside …
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Wall Street Journal:
How Conservatives Enhanced Online Voice — Talk Radio Blends — With Blog Postings — To Boost Message — Political activism on the Internet — and in the so-called blogosphere, in particular — has long been considered a liberal stronghold. But conservative bloggers show increasing signs of their own coming of age.
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Washington Post:
In Iowa, Clinton Relies Heavily on Husband's Star Power — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton rolled out the ultimate campaign surrogate here Monday night, sharing a stage with her husband, Bill Clinton, as one of the world's best-known women sought to reintroduce herself to the voters of Iowa.
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Byron Dziva / Telegraph:
Mugabe's 'inflation police' raid shopkeepers — Plain-clothes police sought to enforce Zimbabwe's new price controls by raiding shops yesterday as President Robert Mugabe's regime waged a desperate struggle against soaring inflation. — They roughed up shop owners and staff and arrested 20 businessmen.
Susie / Suburban Guerrilla:
James Capozzola, 1962-2007 — Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, — Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, — Silence the pianos and with muffled drum — Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. — "Funeral Blues," W.H. Auden. — My friend Jim died this evening.
Discussion:
Sisyphus Shrugged, The Sideshow, Shadow of the Hegemon, skippy the bush kangaroo, Hullabaloo, All Spin Zone, The Atlantic Online, The American Street, Philly Future, the talking dog, Pen-Elayne on the Web, No More Mister Nice Blog, TalkLeft, TBogg, Ezra Klein, rubber hose, Jesus' General, Pharyngula and Wampum
New York Times:
Legislation Could Be Path to Closing Guantánamo — Seeking a legal path to shutting down the Guantánamo detention facility, senior advisers to President Bush are exploring whether the White House and Congress can agree to legislation that would permit the long-term detention …
Tom Hester Jr / Associated Press:
N.J. Confiscates 4 Tons of Pa. Fireworks — Amid continued fretting about a Pennsylvania law that allows New Jersey residents to buy fireworks that are illegal in the Garden State, New Jersey state police have confiscated nearly 8,000 pounds of fireworks ahead of Independence Day.
Seth McLaughlin / Washington Times:
Mark Warner weighs another bid for office — Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has been reticent about his political future since leaving office a year and a half ago, but now sounds poised for a return to public life. — "I think I've got a voice that I would like to get back engaged in public service …
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
A Local Lesson That Democrats Fail — The eight Democratic presidential candidates assembled in Washington last week for another of their debates and talked, among other things, about public education. They all essentially agreed that it was underfunded — one system "for the wealthy, one for everybody else," as John Edwards put it.