Top Items:
CNN:
Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, a senior congressional source said. — The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank …
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Pam Spaulding / Pam's House Blend:
Bye, Jesse, you left quite a legacy — Jesse Helms has died. As a native and current resident of North Carolina, even today many people I run into outside of this state who know little about it — recognize the name Jesse Helms. He leaves a long, dark trail of professional racial bigotry …
Steven A. Holmes / New York Times:
Jesse Helms, Conservative Force in the Senate, Dies at 86 — Jesse Helms, the former North Carolina Senator whose courtly manner and mossy drawl barely masked a hard-edged conservatism that opposed civil rights, gay rights, foreign aid and modern art, died early Friday. He was 86.
Discussion:
The Corner, American Power, The American Scene, The Caucus, Gawker, American Spectator, Whiskey Fire, Wonkette and Lawyers, Guns and Money
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Rove's Third Term — Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn't scream. Hillary Clinton didn't say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn't impugn John McCain's military service.
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Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
A Man of Seasonal Principles — You'll notice Barack Obama is now wearing a flag pin. Again. During the primary campaign, he refused to, explaining that he'd worn one after Sept. 11 but then stopped because it “became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism.”
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
PLEASE, PLEASE, REPORTERS WITH BRAINS — I spent most of today in bed with some kind of nasty cold. So I only caught up on any news this evening. And I must confess to being little short of astounded by the avalanche of press BS I'm reading on Barack Obama's position on Iraq.
Matthew Yglesias:
The Difference — If conservatives want to argue that Barack Obama's been flip-flopping on Iraq, I'll disagree but I could see what they mean. Charles Krauthammer, however, can't seriously believe that Obama's been “assiduously obliterat[ing] all differences with McCain on national security …
New York Times:
New and Not Improved — Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions …
New and Not Improved — Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions …
Discussion:
McClatchy Washington Bureau, Marc Ambinder, Tennessee Guerilla Women, American Spectator, Buck Naked Politics, NO QUARTER, The Next Right, The Strata-Sphere, NewsBusters.org, The Reaction, Power Line, Viking Pundit, Hot Air, Connecting.the.Dots, Commentary, BuzzMachine and The Peking Duck
Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion
Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion
Discussion:
Weekly Standard Blog, The Confluence, American Street, PoliPundit.com, Gateway Pundit and Shakesville
Associated Press:
Bush heckled at new citizen ceremony — President heckled during event at Thomas Jefferson's former home — CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia - President Bush invoked the memory of Thomas Jefferson Friday in welcoming new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at Monticello, saying “I'll be proud to call you a fellow American.”
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Daily Mail:
Schoolboys punished with detention for refusing to kneel in class and pray to Allah — Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and ‘pray to Allah’ during a religious education lesson. — Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) …
Aditya Chakrabortty / Guardian:
Biofuels are prime cause of food crisis - leaked report — Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% — far more than previously estimated — according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis …
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, Marc Ambinder, The Corner, The Lede, The Mahatma X Files, Reason Magazine, Truthdig and Marginal Revolution
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
White House says ruling could free detainees in US — WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month's Supreme Court ruling about detainees' legal rights.
Discussion:
White House, Balloon Juice, Crooks and Liars, New York Times, PBD, Shakesville, AMERICAblog News and The Progress Report
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The Economy? Words Fail Me. — Think you're worried about the economy? Phillip Swagel is a wreck. — The assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, Swagel came out for his monthly economic briefing yesterday, 90 minutes after the Labor Department reported that the country …
Faiz / Think Progress:
Condoleezza Rice: ‘I Am Proud Of The Decision’ To Invade Iraq — In an interview last March with Bloomberg's Judy Woodruff, the late conservative scholar William F. Buckley said President Bush's legacy would be judged purely on Iraq. He stressed, “It's important that we acknowledge …