Top Items:
James Fallows:
In praise of George W. Bush — Since the results of the 2008 election became clear, the 43rd President of the United States has behaved in a way that brings honor to him, his family, his office, and his country. By all reports he did what he could to smooth the transition to his successor …
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The Politico:
Cheney slams Obama for projecting ‘weakness’ — MCLEAN, Va. — On the eve of the unveiling of the nation's new Afghanistan policy, former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Barack Obama for projecting “weakness” to adversaries and warned that more workaday Afghans will side …
Discussion:
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CNN:
Just In: Key Obama speech excerpts released — (CNN) - The White House just released excerpts of President Obama's prime-time televised speech where he will outline his strategy on Afghanistan.
New York Times:
Pullout From Afghanistan to Begin in 2011, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to announce Tuesday night that he will begin to transition American forces out of Afghanistan beginning in July 2011, setting the first time frame to wind down the war there nearly a decade …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Washington Post, TPMDC, The Caucus, The Corner on National …, CNN, TPMMuckraker, The Politico, VetVoice, Michael Calderone's Blog, Guardian, NO QUARTER, Newsweek Blogs, democracyarsenal.org, About.com Conservative …, Commentary, TPM LiveWire, At War, Macleans.ca, Wonk Room, Boston Globe, Hot Air, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Left Coast Rebel, Think Progress, Associated Press, Erick's blog, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Swampland, Ben Smith's Blog, Prairie Weather, Politics Daily, RedState, The Foundry, Wall Street Journal, Michelle Malkin, msnbc.com, Neptunus Lex and Cato @ Liberty
Spencer Ackerman / The Washington Independent:
McChrystal Praises Obama, Strategy Review — So much for the “dithering” critique. Here is a statement just released by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, expressing full support and confidence in President Obama and the weeks-long strategy review.
David Stout / New York Times:
Obama Vows to Fight Al Qaeda ‘Cancer’ — WASHINGTON — President Obama announced Tuesday night that he will begin to draw American forces out of Afghanistan in July 2011, even after sending some 30,000 more United States troops there by mid-2010 because “it is in our vital national interest” …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Live-Blogging West Point — 8.35 pm. “Not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes.” — I confess I do not feel those highest hopes. I do not share his confidence in American military and civilian power to turn the roiling region of Afghanistan and Pakistan into something less threatening.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, Politics Daily, The Politico, Opinionator, AMERICAblog News and Hot Air
CNN:
Obama wants Afghan war over in 3 years, officials say
Obama wants Afghan war over in 3 years, officials say
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, BuzzFlash.org, Taylor Marsh, The New Republic, MyDD and Afghanistan Crossroads
Spencer Ackerman / The Washington Independent:
Why Would Anyone Think the Bush Administration Botched Afghanistan?
Why Would Anyone Think the Bush Administration Botched Afghanistan?
Associated Press:
UK climate scientist to temporarily step down — LONDON — Britain's University of East Anglia says the director of its prestigious Climatic Research Unit is stepping down pending an investigation into allegations that he overstated the case for man-made climate change.
Discussion:
The Paper Trail, Commentary, EU Referendum, Climate Progress, NewsBusters.org, The Jawa Report and Doug Ross
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Douglas J. Keenan / Pajamas Media:
The Fraud Is Everywhere: SUNY Albany and Queens University Belfast …
The Fraud Is Everywhere: SUNY Albany and Queens University Belfast …
John Tierney / New York Times:
E-Mail Fracas Shows Peril of Trying to Spin Science
E-Mail Fracas Shows Peril of Trying to Spin Science
Discussion:
The New Republic, Dot Earth, Hot Air, Big Government, Left in the West, NewsBusters.org, Pajamas Media, Stop The ACLU and Cafe Hayek
John Cook / Gawker:
A Bravo Contract Delivered White House Gatecrashers to the Today Show — NBC News didn't pay the Salahis for their exclusive Today appearance this morning. They didn't have to: According to rival bookers trying to land the Salahis, they already have a contract with Bravo preventing them from talking to anyone else.
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Christopher Soghoian / slight paranoia:
8 Million Reasons for Real Surveillance Oversight — Disclaimer: The information presented here has been gathered and analyzed in my capacity as a graduate student at Indiana University. This data was gathered and analyzed on my own time, without using federal government resources.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Leaving the Right — It's an odd formulation in some ways as “the right” is not really a single entity. But in so far as it means the dominant mode of discourse among the institutions and blogs and magazines and newspapers and journals that support the GOP, Charles Johnson is absolutely right …
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
Obama lunches with top political writers — On the day of his major Afghanistan speech, President Obama had lunch with a group of top political writers at the White House, according to a source familiar with the lunch. — There were some attendees today who write extensively on foreign policy …
Derek / pipeline.corante.com:
Climategate and Scientific Conduct — Everyone has heard about the “Climategate” scandal by now. Someone leaked hundreds of megabytes of information from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, and the material (which appears to be authentic) is most interesting.
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Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
Journalism 2009: Desperate Metaphors, Desperate Revenue Models, And The Desperate Need For Better Journalism — I was asked to give a speech this morning at a journalism conference in Washington, DC sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission. The topic, as it so often seems to be these days, is what can be done to save journalism?
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Hotline On Call:
Tanner To Retire — Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), a leading Blue Dog Dem, will retire at the end of his current term, Dem sources tell Hotline OnCall. — Tanner has begun informing key House Dems of his decision — one that will make his seat a prime pickup opportunity for GOPers.
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Palin blasts media for bus tour stories — Sarah Palin fired back at the media today for a series of stories on her travel arrangements. — Over the last few days, several outlets have picked up on the story that Palin actually flew to some of the stops on her “bus tour.” (Here, here, and here, for example.)
Max Blumenthal / Mondoweiss:
Gutsy progressive congressman Alan Grayson leads a double life — Since defeating an incumbent in Florida's Republican-heavy 8th congressional district last year, Rep. Alan Grayson has emerged as one of the progressive movement's most vocal champions. His attacks on Republican obstruction …
Bob / Capitol Ideas with John L. Micek:
The Worst Kind Of Scheduling Conflict. — President Barack Obama ... ... is slated to deliver a prime-time address on Tuesday night in which he'll lay out his plans for the American war in Afghanistan. — The address before the United States Military Academy at West Point on Tuesday night …
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Grassley: 'I've lived off the public tit' as a congressman. — On C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was asked if he thought the health care reform bill before the Senate amounted to socialism. “No,” Grassley said, but he then attacked the public option aspect of the bill, calling it “socialism.”
Alice Schroeder / Bloomberg:
Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public: Alice Schroeder — Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — “I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol.
The Note:
MoveOn Mobilizes Against Obama on Afghanistan — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: The liberal drumbeat against President Obama's new Afghanistan policy is about to get a whole lot louder. — MoveOn.org, the liberal advocacy group that claims 5 million members, today sent an e-mail blast urging members …
Media Relations / SPD Blotter:
Officer involved shooting in South Seattle — At approximately 2:43 a.m. today, a uniformed patrol officer came upon a suspicious vehicle in the 4400 block of South Kenyon Street. The vehicle, an Acura Integra, was unoccupied. The engine was running and the hood was up.
Gary Fields / Wall Street Journal:
Job Cuts Loom as Stimulus Fades — WASHINGTON—Highway-construction companies around the country, having completed the mostly small projects paid for by the federal economic-stimulus package, are starting to see their business run aground, an ominous sign for the nation's weak employment picture.
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Threat of reconciliation hovers over centrist Democrats on healthcare — Talk about using budget reconciliation to pass healthcare reform in the Senate has faded from public view, but Democratic leaders continue to hang the threat over centrists in private.