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, National Review Online, Jon Swift, The Glittering Eye, Brendan Nyhan, Betsy's Page, Macsmind, Sentencing Law and Policy, The Carpetbagger Report, The Politico, The Gavel, Election Central, Democrats.com, TPMmuckraker, Cold Fury, PoliPundit.com, Angry Bear, At-Largely, Gay Patriot, Viking Pundit and Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
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.
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:
New York Times, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Time, The Carpetbagger Report, Grasping Reality …, The Volokh Conspiracy, BuzzFlash.org, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, The Next Hurrah, PoliBlog (TM), Patterico's Pontifications, Ace of Spades HQ, CNN, The Anonymous Liberal, Captain's Quarters, MyDD, Redstate, The Democratic Daily and protein wisdom
Swopa / The Huffington Post:
Why the Trail of Plame Leads to (or Through) Scooter Libby — On September 30, 2003, just after the investigation into the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson began, President George Bush said: … We now know exactly what he meant. (And someone needs to make sure the video …
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 …
Rich — Inevitably, the subject of Marc Rich comes up every …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Bush spares Libby from jail
Bush spares Libby from jail
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, The Galloping Beaver, skippy the bush kangaroo, BuzzFlash.org and Washington Post
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 …
RELATED:
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 …
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, Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, The Glittering Eye, Gateway Pundit and Yourish.com
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.
RELATED:
Dean Barnett / Townhall.com:
What Mort Doesn't Know — Markos Moulitsas and I disagree on a lot of things.
What Mort Doesn't Know — Markos Moulitsas and I disagree on a lot of things.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
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.
RELATED:
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.
RELATED:
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, Gateway Pundit, Power Line and The Strata-Sphere
New York Times:
Short on Money, McCain Campaign Dismisses Dozens — The presidential campaign of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who once seemed poised to be his party's nominee in 2008, acknowledged yesterday that it was in a political and financial crisis as a drop in fund-raising forced …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Arizona Republic, The Politico, Norwegianity, MSNBC and Associated Press
RELATED:
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.
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Marcy Wheeler on Hardball — You go girl. Marcy Wheeler joined David Shuster on Hardball and represented the blogosphere on a topic she wrote a book about that's called "Anatomy of Deceit." She told MSNBC that Libby did the bidding of Bush and Cheney and we know that's all too true.
Discussion:
Firedoglake
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.
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.
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.
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 …