Top Items:
Politico:
‘This is Actually Happening’ — President Joe Biden and his inner circle were in an ebullient mood. — It was Wednesday morning, Aug. 11, and they were basking in the glow of back-to-back legislative wins. The day before, the Senate had passed a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
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New York Times:
Live Updates: Biden to Address Afghan Crisis as Desperation Builds at Kabul Airport — President Biden will speak on Friday amid intense criticism of the evacuation effort. A 17-year-old boy was identified as one of the Afghans who fell from a U.S. military plane as it lifted off.
Vivian Salama / Wall Street Journal:
Confidential State Department Cable in July Warned of Afghanistan's Collapse — About two dozen State Department officials in Kabul sent an internal memo to Secretary of State Antony Blinken — WASHINGTON — About two dozen State Department officials serving at the embassy in Kabul sent …
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, Townhall, BizPac Review, The Stream, Summit News, Breitbart, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Lid, RedState, Power Line, New York Post, CNN, Trending Politics, The Last Refuge, Forbes, Sputnik News, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, ABC News, TheBlaze, The Daily Beast, HotAir and Becker News
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
The Best and Brightest never recovered from Vietnam. Will Biden's team fare better? — The Afghanistan disaster has rocked the Biden administration's foreign policy team, which may need months to regain its sense of balance and momentum. — Senior officials don't have time or emotional bandwidth …
Discussion:
CNBC, Breitbart, New York Post, Louder With Crowder, Sputnik News, Townhall, WV MetroNews, No More Mister Nice Blog, Metro.co.uk and CNN
DW.COM:
Relative of DW journalist killed by the Taliban — Journalists and their families are in grave danger in Afghanistan. The Taliban have no compunction about carrying out targeted killings as the case of a DW journalist shows. — Taliban fighters hunting a DW journalist have shot dead …
Discussion:
CNN, Insider, Deadline, Variety, Al Jazeera, UPI, Forbes, Sputnik News, Financial Times, Breitbart, Politico, Bloomberg, The Hill, Committee to Protect … and VICE, more at Mediagazer »
Michael Crowley / New York Times:
Trump's Deal With the Taliban Draws Fire From His Former Allies — The former president and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, are attacking President Biden over Afghanistan even as their own policy faces harsh criticism. — WASHINGTON — Days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 …
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, coldfury.com, RedState, National Review, New York Post, Politico and CNN
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times:
Encounter with the Taliban: Punched, detained — then offered an energy drink — FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT AND PHOTOGRAPHER — When I headed out to work, it had been five days since the Taliban took over Kabul. And it was Independence Day, a national holiday, when Afghans celebrate their country's independence from Britain in 1919.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Insider
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
CNN's Ward: Getting inside the Kabul airport “one of the more harrowing things I have experienced” — The good news: CNN's Clarissa Ward and her crew have finally made it into the airport in Kabul. The bad news: It's not a heck of a lot better inside. “There isn't a coherent mechanism yet …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart and New York Post
Reuters:
Biden's Afghanistan policy counts on issue fading in importance for war-weary voters — President Joe Biden is brushing off criticism of his administration's chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal because he and his aides believe the political fallout at home will be limited, according to White House allies and administration officials.
Reuters:
Facing backlash, foreign powers try to speed Afghanistan exodus — Foreign powers sought to increase evacuations from Afghanistan on Friday after reports of Taliban reprisals, including against people who had worked with U.S.-led forces or the previous Western-backed government.
Discussion:
Amnesty International
emptywheel:
Journalists Getting Suckered by Ass-Covering Sources on Afghanistan — Rather than explaining why the government didn't know that Ashraf Ghani was going to flee the country, allegedly with bags of cash, national security sources are busy suckering journalists to report that they warned of the quick demise of the Afghan military.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Townhall, Balloon Juice, Breitbart, New York Post and Digby's Hullabaloo
Patrick Reilly / New York Post:
Oklahoma mom of 11 rescues members of Afghan all-girls robotics team
Oklahoma mom of 11 rescues members of Afghan all-girls robotics team
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill and The Intellectualist
BBC:
Afghanistan: Taliban carrying out door-to door manhunt, report says
Afghanistan: Taliban carrying out door-to door manhunt, report says
Discussion:
HotAir, New York Post, Politico, SpyTalk, Breitbart, Agence France-Presse, New York Times and Reuters
CNN:
The Taliban's mask slips further after militants kill journalist's relative
The Taliban's mask slips further after militants kill journalist's relative
Discussion:
Just Security
New York Times:
How News Organizations Got Afghan Colleagues Out of Kabul
How News Organizations Got Afghan Colleagues Out of Kabul
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
The Right and Our Afghan Allies
The Right and Our Afghan Allies
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Post, Washington Post, Daily Kos and HotAir
Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:
What Joe Biden Is Betting On
What Joe Biden Is Betting On
Discussion:
Telegraph, Ace of Spades HQ, Commentary Magazine, BizPac Review, Washington Times, Power Line, Sputnik News and Mediaite
Sean Davis / The American Mind:
Moral Blackmail — Tell them: we do not negotiate with ostracists.
Moral Blackmail — Tell them: we do not negotiate with ostracists.
Discussion:
New York Post, National Review, Amnesty International USA, Washington Post, New York Post, Reuters, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Reuters and CNN
Kate Storey / Esquire:
Inside Clarissa Ward's 19-Hour Days Reporting From Kabul
Inside Clarissa Ward's 19-Hour Days Reporting From Kabul
Discussion:
Washington Post and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »
Zeerak Khurram / NBC News:
Taliban carrying out door-to-door manhunt for Afghans on blacklist, report says
Taliban carrying out door-to-door manhunt for Afghans on blacklist, report says
Discussion:
HotAir
Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:
The Forever War Isn't Over — “I'm now the fourth American president to preside over war in Afghanistan …
The Forever War Isn't Over — “I'm now the fourth American president to preside over war in Afghanistan …
Discussion:
FDD, The Bulwark and Sputnik News
James Jay Carafano / New York Post:
Call Afghanistan what it is: The worst hostage crisis in American history
Call Afghanistan what it is: The worst hostage crisis in American history
Discussion:
HotAir, Politico, New York Times and The Federalist
New York Times:
The new ‘Jeopardy!’ host, Mike Richards, quits. — Mike Richards, who was named the new host of “Jeopardy!” last week, is abruptly leaving the role as the beloved game show confronts a roiling controversy over offensive and sexist comments he made on a podcast several years ago.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Page Array, Hollywood Life, NPR, HotAir, Deadline, Forbes and Chicago Sun-Times
Reuters:
EXCLUSIVE FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was coordinated-sources — The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.
Discussion:
The Western Journal, The Gateway Pundit, The National Pulse, IJR, Townhall, Sputnik News, Page Array, Summit News and Power Line
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Quiet Rage of the Responsible — Let's talk for a minute about Lollapalooza. After canceling in-person events last year, a few weeks ago Chicago once again hosted the long-running music festival, drawing more than 385,000 people. Many feared that the huge, raucous crowds could produce a coronavirus superspreader event.
Discussion:
HotAir, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and Off the Kuff
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CNN:
I live in Texas and I am really angry
I live in Texas and I am really angry
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and WGN-TV
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
Govs. DeSantis and Abbott, in denial and risking lives, have betrayed the public trust
Mac Stipanovich / Tampa Bay Times:
Ron DeSantis has ‘made a monumental mess of masking in public schools’ | Column
Ron DeSantis has ‘made a monumental mess of masking in public schools’ | Column
Discussion:
Raw Story
Nick Visser / HuffPost:
Texas Stops Enforcing Ban On Mask Mandates In Schools Amid Lawsuits
Texas Stops Enforcing Ban On Mask Mandates In Schools Amid Lawsuits
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CBS News, HotAir, Mock Paper Scissors, Forbes, Daily Kos, CNN, New York Times, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Insider and Political Wire
logically.ai:
EXCLUSIVE: Logically Identifies GhostEzra, Florida Man Behind World's ‘Largest Antisemitic Internet Forum’ — Logically, as part of our mission to understand and counter harmful online misinformation, conducts continuous research into the networks, channels, and actors that play an outsized role …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Bob Christie / Associated Press:
Appeals court orders Arizona Senate audit records released — PHOENIX (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by the Arizona Senate to keep secret records of its ongoing review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that are in the possession of the contractors conducting the recount.
Discussion:
American Oversight, Politico and Raw Story
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Ryan Randazzo / Arizona Republic:
Arizona Senate must turn over Cyber Ninjas records related to election audit, Appeals Court says
Arizona Senate must turn over Cyber Ninjas records related to election audit, Appeals Court says
Discussion:
HuffPost, Bipartisan Report, Arizona Mirror and The Hill
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
Liberal Democracy Is Worth a Fight — Of all the empty, pointless statements that are periodically repeated by Western politicians, none is more empty and pointless than this one: “There can be no military solution to this conflict.” That was what Ban Ki-moon, then the UN secretary-general …
J. Patrick Coolican / Minnesota Reformer:
Carnahan resigns as chair of Minnesota Republican Party — Jennifer Carnahan, who rocketed from nowhere to prominence in Minnesota politics just four years ago, resigned as chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota Thursday in the face of explosive allegations that she presided …
Discussion:
Raw Story and WCCO | CBS Minnesota
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Sam Karlin / The Advocate:
‘Locate us a ring’: Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins challenges Facebook user to a fight — Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins has once again threatened someone on Facebook with violence. — The Lafayette Republican, who has a long history of bizarre social media antics …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Daily Mail:
Fox News' Greg Gutfeld is crowned new king of late night television after he scores 220K MORE viewers than Colbert's Late Show on CBS — Comedian Greg Gutfeld's show pulled in the most viewers during Tuesday's late night time slot with about 2.12 million — Gutfeld! debuted in April …
Discussion:
OutKick, Breitbart, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit and RedState
Stuart / The Roanoke Star News:
Roanoke College Poll: McAuliffe Holds Lead in Race for Governor: Economy / COVID Most Important Issues — Former Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe holds an 8-percentage point lead over Republican Glenn Youngkin (46%-38%) with 13% undecided in race for Virginia governor, according to The Roanoke College Poll.
Reuters:
White House backtracks after Biden appears to say US would defend Taiwan against China — Administration official plays down president's comment comparing Taiwan commitments to those in Nato, saying US policy has not shifted — A senior Biden administration official said US policy on Taiwan …
Discussion:
Latest, Fox News, Sputnik News and Human Events
Jim Swift / The Bulwark:
Josh Mandel Lets the Mask Slip, a Little — He doesn't believe what he's saying, at least not all of it. And that's sad. — When I watched this interview with Josh Mandel by Josh Rultenberg, a local reporter for Spectrum News 1 in Ohio, it made me a little sad. Here's the clip: