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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 …
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New York Times, Captain's Quarters, The Atlantic Online, Outside The Beltway, New York Times, National Review Online, The Glittering Eye, Brendan Nyhan, Betsy's Page, All Spin Zone, Macsmind, Sentencing Law and Policy, The Politico, Jon Swift, The Gavel, Election Central, PoliPundit.com, Democrats.com, Gay Patriot, Firedoglake, Cold Fury, Angry Bear, The Corner, Viking Pundit and Taylor Marsh
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Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
White House won't rule out Libby pardon — WASHINGTON - The White House on Tuesday declined to rule out the possibility of an eventual pardon for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. But spokesman Tony Snow said, for now, President Bush is satisfied with his decision to commute Libby's 2 1/2-year prison sentence.
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.
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
David Brooks / New York Times:
[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Ending the Farce
[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Ending the Farce
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, Talking Points Memo, bustardblog, The Atlantic Online and Prairie Weather
Michael Abramowitz / Washington Post:
A Decision Made Largely Alone
A Decision Made Largely Alone
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, Think Progress, New York Times, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Time, BuzzFlash.org, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos, Grasping Reality …, The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, PoliBlog (TM), Patterico's Pontifications, The Anonymous Liberal, Ace of Spades HQ, MyDD, The Next Hurrah, CNN, Captain's Quarters and Redstate
Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:
Clash at Islamabad's Red Mosque — Batan-wielding, burka-clad, sharia-enforcing women of the Lal Masjid. Click to view. — Pro-Taliban students at the Lal Masjid attack Pakistani Rangers, one killed; The Lal Masjid calls for sucide attacks — Pakistani security forces have clashed …
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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 …
Macer Hall / Daily Express:
BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS — Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word "Muslim" in connection with the terrorism crisis. — The Prime Minister has also instructed his team - including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith - that the phrase "war on terror" is to be dropped.
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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:
Hot Air, Power Line, Captain's Quarters, The Glittering Eye, 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, INTEL DUMP, Power Line, Gateway Pundit and The Strata-Sphere
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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Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Webb's deployment amendment will open debate on defense bill — As the Pentagon continues to work on a new rotation strategy that Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed earlier this year, the Senate will begin debate on the 2008 defense authorization bill with a vote on Sen. Jim Webb's …
Sydney Morning Herald:
Human greed takes lion's share of solar energy — HUMANS are just one of the millions of species on Earth, but we use up almost a quarter of the sun's energy captured by plants - the most of any species. — The human dominance of this natural resource is affecting other species …
Rasmussen Reports:
Romney Holds Nine-Point Lead in New Hampshire — Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has the lead in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of New Hampshire's Republican Presidential Primary. Romney currently attracts support from 26% of Likely Primary Voters, nine points more than his nearest competitor.
Associated Press:
Hillary Clinton breaks out Bubba in Iowa — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Bill Clinton, one of the most popular figures in Democratic politics, embarked Monday on a Fourth of July tour with his wife, White House hopeful Hillary Clinton, in the leadoff voting state of Iowa in an effort to boost her campaign.
Amanda / Think Progress:
Rep. Hunter: Ann Coulter Is 'Approaching That Level Of Being A Great American' — Yesterday on MSNBC's Hardball, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) defended Ann Coulter's attacks on John Edwards, including that she wishes he "had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."
Cernig / The Newshoggers:
Credibility Explosion — Confederate Yankee this morning has a picture provided by Multi-National Corps-Iraq which purports to be of Iranian explosives seized in Iraq. — The Yankee accepts this provenance without question, but I think there are good reasons to look twice at it.
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Mistrust Puts Up A Wall — The United States is a cranky nation in a crabby mood. To relieve our distemper, we need the leadership we're now lacking and a citizenry with greater hope in its democratic capacities. — The defeat last week of the immigration bill is the most obvious manifestation …
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Democracy Project