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, The Atlantic Online, Outside The Beltway, The Carpetbagger Report, Brendan Nyhan, The Glittering Eye, The Corner, National Review Online, CNN, PoliPundit.com, Sentencing Law and Policy, The Gavel, Election Central, Betsy's Page, Macsmind, New York Times, 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.
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.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Democrats.com, Sadly, No!, Angry Bear, PoliBlog (TM), TPMmuckraker and The Raw Story
New York Times:
Bush Spares Libby From 30-Month Prison Term — President Bush spared I. Lewis Libby Jr. from prison Monday, commuting his two-and-a-half-year sentence while leaving intact his conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice in the C.I.A. leak case. — Mr. Bush's action …
CNN:
Bush commutes Libby's prison sentence
Bush commutes Libby's prison sentence
Discussion:
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
Bully For Him — Tim Noah says Bush did the right thing.
Bully For Him — Tim Noah says Bush did the right thing.
Discussion:
The Next Hurrah
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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Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
Uncowed in London — LONDON — "Yes, the Piccadilly line is running slowly today; took me ages to get here." I first learned that someone had tried to set off two car bombs in London late last week from two women talking in a shop. Parts of the city center had been blocked off for a few hours …
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 …
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.
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.
Discussion:
The Caucus
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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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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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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.
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.
Discussion:
QandO
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 …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker
Kana Inagaki / Associated Press:
Japan's defense minister quits over A-bomb gaffe — TOKYO — Japan's defense minister resigned under an avalanche of criticism today for suggesting that the United States was justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because the attacks saved Japan from a Soviet invasion.
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden
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.
Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
And Now For Some Action... So, you can sit around grousing and moaning until the cows come home, wallowing in your misery and cursing the heavens about George Bush. Or...you can do something about him and his corrupt Grand Ole Imperial Party. — I'll take fighting back for $1000, Alex.