Top Items:
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Bloomberg And Hagel For 2008? — Chuck Hagel, the senator from Nebraska, describes himself as a "tidal" politician, one who believes that larger forces in society shape careers more than the ambitions of individuals. "The only mistakes I've made," he told me last week, "were when I tried to go against the tide."
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Steve Benen / Talking Points Memo:
WHEN SILLY MEETS PREDICTABLE — When a rock band's creativity grows stale, their songs become formulaic. They take an old hit, change the key, alter the lyrics a little, and voila. A new single. — When a newspaper columnist's creativity grows stale, the same problem emerges.
Douglas Brinkley / Washington Post:
Reckless Abandonment — Over the past two years since Hurricane Katrina, I've seen waves of hardworking volunteers from nonprofits, faith-based groups and college campuses descend on New Orleans, full of compassion and hope. — They arrive in the city's Ninth Ward to painstakingly gut houses one by one.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, DownWithTyranny!, New York Times, Norwegianity, Corrente and Suburban Guerrilla
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Hope Yen / Associated Press:
Warner may back Dems' bill on withdrawal — WASHINGTON - GOP Sen. John Warner, who wants U.S. troops to start coming home from Iraq by Christmas, said Sunday he may support Democratic legislation ordering withdrawals if President Bush refuses to set a return timetable soon.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Take Our Country Back, Eschaton, MSNBC, Wake up America, MyDD, Burnt Orange Report and The Newshoggers
The Atlantic Online:
Ten Years — I want to just reiterate how crazy the idea that we're ten years from victory in Iraq by briefly recollecting America's attempted intervention in Lebanon's 1980s-vintage civil war. We went in, you'll recall, in 1982, about six years into the fighting, and really expanded our mandate in 1983.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
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Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Thompson warns of weaker, troubled America — INDIANAPOLIS — Fred Thompson thinks the country faces a tough road ahead and he's not glossing over the problems we face. In fact, he's anxious to outline the daunting litany and appears to be basing his forthcoming campaign on the assumption that his party shares the same outlook.
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Daniel González / Arizona Republic:
Migrants fleeing as hiring law nears — Immigration hard-liners cheer, but economic fallout begins — Undocumented immigrants are starting to leave Arizona because of the new employer-sanctions law. — The state's strong economy has been a magnet for illegal immigrants for years.
Discussion:
Lonewacko
Pachacutec / Firedoglake:
Question: If Brian Baird Used His Brain. . . What would you get? — Answer: Jan Schakowsky (emphasis and photo added): … Anyone want to guess how many CNN and talking head appearances Rep. Schakowsky will get over the next week? — Any idea where the Congressional leadership is in amplifying this message?
Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
In the Twilight of His Deployment [Steve Clemons] — I just came across this blog of an American military guy that the Pentagon has not yet shut down called "Army of Dude." — Here are some choice entries: — Stupid S**t of The Deployment Awards! … I Can Taste It
Evan Thomas / Newsweek:
The Ongoing Hunt for Osama bin Laden — He's still out there. The hunt for bin Laden. — The Americans were getting close. It was early in the winter of 2004-05, and Osama bin Laden and his entourage were holed up in a mountain hideaway along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
David McFadden / Associated Press:
Call at National Guard conference for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq greeted with standing ovation — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A call by Puerto Rico's governor for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq earned a standing ovation Saturday from a conference of more than 4,000 National Guardsmen.
Discussion:
The Newshoggers
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Rebounding George Allen, rising Fred Thompson — Former Sen. George Allen of Virginia, scarred by his own remark, conceding defeat to Jim Webb last fall. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images — by David Lerman — WASHINGTON — Former Sen. George Allen, who made ``macaca" …
Discussion:
CALIFORNIA YANKEE
Raleigh News & Observer:
FROM STAFF REPORTS — Durham police have arrested a 93-year-old man on cocaine-trafficking and related charges. — William C. Tinnen was arrested Thursday during a raid at 204 Teel St., police said in a news release issued today. Police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said she assumed police …
Jim Himes / Firedoglake:
FDL Book Salon Welcomes Jim Himes, Drew Westen and The Political Brain — (Please welcome in the comments author Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain, and Jim Himes, our Blue America candidate who is running against Chris Shays in CT-04 — JH) — Two years ago, I was days away …
Discussion:
My Left Nutmeg
Res Ipsa Loquitur / Rising Hegemon:
I Believe That Children Are Our Future — Miss Teen USA 2007 finalist, Lauren Caitlin Upton of South Carolina, on her fellow Americans' poor grasp of geography: — /via friend T.
Discussion:
Corrente
New York Times:
As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes — No country in history has emerged as a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage that can take decades and big dollops of public wealth to undo. — But just as the speed and scale of China's rise …