Top Items:
Faiz / Think Progress:
GAO Chief Suggests Administration Is Cooking The Books On Levels Of Sectarian Violence In Iraq — Gen. David Petraeus has claimed that there has been a 75 percent reduction in sectarian violence. In testimony today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, GAO Comptroller General David Walker …
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Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Independent Audit Finds Progress Lacking in Iraq — A report by Congressional auditors issued todayconcludes that "violence remains high" in Iraq amid mixed progress on security and that political reconciliation efforts remain far from sufficient, eight months after President Bush began his troop-increase plan.
Frederick W. Kagan / Weekly Standard:
What's Wrong with the GAO Report — Measuring failure—or the failures of measuring. — At first glance—as those who leaked it last week saw—the Government Accountability Office's report on Iraq, released today, paints a dark view of progress and prospects in Iraq.
Discussion:
Wake up America
Jeffrey Rosen / New York Times:
Conscience of a Conservative — In the fall of 2003, Jack L. Goldsmith was widely considered one of the brightest stars in the conservative legal firmament. A 40-year-old law professor at the University of Chicago, Goldsmith had established himself, with his friend and fellow law professor John Yoo …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Salon, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, Balkinization, The Raw Story, newsrack blog, Firedoglake, Law Blog, TPMmuckraker, Daniel W. Drezner, MoJoBlog, On Deadline, The Sideshow, The Next Hurrah, The Anonymous Liberal, Central Sanity, The Volokh Conspiracy, Prairie Weather, Obsidian Wings, War and Piece, Liberty Street and Greatscat!
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Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Goldsmith: Legal Memos Were "Advance Pardons" for Lawbreaking
Goldsmith: Legal Memos Were "Advance Pardons" for Lawbreaking
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
Jose Antonio Vargas / Washington Post:
The Most Feared Man on the Hill? — For Gay Blogger, Craig's Resignation Is Just the Latest on His List — Soon, a new name will pop up on Mike Rogers's hit list. — Larry Craig wasn't "the first on my list," the gay blogger says. And the Idaho senator, who announced his resignation Saturday, "won't be the last."
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Des Moines Register:
Richardson: Keeping Iowa first is God's will — Sioux City, Ia. — God's will is for Iowa to have the first-in-the-nation caucus, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson told a crowd here today. — "Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord …
Discussion:
The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Heading Right, Comments From Left Field, The Moderate Voice, TPM Election Central, The Politico, The Sundries Shack, Sister Toldjah, Boston Globe, MSNBC, Taylor Marsh, Liberal Values, The Carpetbagger Report, Liberty Pundit, UrbanGrounds, Washington Times, The American Pundit and Washington Post
Michael R. Blood / Mercury News:
Backer of Swift Boat ads has tie to law firm pushing vote change — LOS ANGELES—Lawyers behind a California ballot proposal that could benefit the 2008 Republican presidential nominee have ties to a Texas homebuilder who financed attacks on Democrat John Kerry's Vietnam War record in the 2004 presidential campaign.
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup Poll:
Democrats Express Decided Preference for Change Over Experience — Seventy-three percent favor presidential candidate who strongly desires to change Washington — PRINCETON, NJ — The Democratic presidential nomination could well be decided on the basis of whether Democratic primary …
This Is London:
'NHS SHOULD NOT TREAT THOSE WITH UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLES' SAY TORIES — • Patients who improve their health to be given 'Health Miles' cards to claim free fruit and veg — Patients who refuse to change their unhealthy lifestyles should not be treated by the NHS, the Conservatives said today.
Examiner:
Book says Souter mulled resignation after Bush v. Gore — 'The Nine' — According to Jeffrey Toobin's new book on the Supreme Court, Justice David Souter nearly resigned in the wake of Bush v. Gore, so distraught was he over the decision that effectively ended the Florida recount and installed George W. Bush as president.
Matt / Think Progress:
Draper: Laura Bush Considers Rove 'A Necessary Evil,' 'Self-Aggrandizing' — In a new book on the Bush presidency, entitled "Dead Certain," former Texas Monthly senior editor Robert Draper reveals that First Lady Laura Bush refers to her husband's longtime political adviser, Karl Rove, as …
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister
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Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Romney: Iraq 'is a mess' — Confronted by an unhappy questioner, Mitt Romney said tonight at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire that the situation in Iraq "is a mess." [Video courtesy Breitbart.tv.] — Romney's assessment was delivered by way of agreeing with a gentleman who stood …
Washington Post:
Fighting for Our Handgun Ban — As mayor and attorney general of the District of Columbia, we were deeply disappointed this year when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declared that the District's longstanding handgun ban violates the Second Amendment.
ABCNEWS:
Craig's Children Say He Was 'a Victim of Circumstance' — After a highly publicized arrest in a bathroom sex sting and a week spent defending his sexuality, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig announced his resignation from the Senate this weekend. He maintains his innocence, however, despite having pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Edwards and Schweitzer: Perfect Together? — Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) will be introduced by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer later today at a fundraiser in Missoula, according to his campaign. — Sources on both sides were careful to note that Schweitzer's presence at the …
Denis MacShane / Washington Post:
The New Anti-Semitism — Hatred of Jews has reached new heights in Europe and many points south and east of the old continent. Last year I chaired a blue-ribbon committee of British parliamentarians, including former ministers and a party leader, that examined the problem of anti-Semitism in Britain.
CNN:
Residents: Nooses spark school violence, divide town — JENA, Louisiana (CNN) — Mychal Bell was like a lot of boys his age, his mother says. — The always-smiling 16-year-old often spent weekends on the couch, munching Little Debbie snack cakes, watching football and dreaming of the day he would join his heroes in the NFL.