Top Items:
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Let's Not Pretend That the Way We Withdrew From Afghanistan Was the Problem — In 2005, my colleagues at The American Prospect, Sam Rosenfeld and Matt Yglesias, wrote an essay I think about often. It was called “The Incompetence Dodge,” and it argued that American policymakers …
Discussion:
The Carpentariat
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New York Times:
At Least 250,000 Afghans Who Worked With U.S. Haven't Been Evacuated, Estimates Say — At least 250,000 Afghans who may be eligible for expedited American visas remain in Afghanistan, far too many for American forces to rescue before their deadline to leave next week, new estimates suggest.
Henry Kissinger / The Economist:
Henry Kissinger on why America failed in Afghanistan — It was not possible to turn the country into a modern democracy, but creative diplomacy and force might have overcome terrorism, says the American statesman … THE TALIBAN takeover of Afghanistan focuses the immediate concern …
Discussion:
Fox News, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, CNN, BizPac Review, Al Jazeera, Japan Times, The US Sun and New York Times
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Biden Abandons Our Allies: What It's Really Like on the Ground in Kabul — On the menu today: I'm going to warn you ahead of time, I've heard from my reader trying to get his former Afghan employees out of the country, and the news is very bad. Don't let the happy talk coming …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Reuters and KTLA
New York Times:
The Taliban wants to forget the past, a leader tells The Times, but there will be some restrictions. — KABUL, Afghanistan — In his first sit-down interview with a Western media outlet since the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan, one of the group's leaders on Wednesday offered …
Discussion:
Insider, Reuters and The Daily Caller
Wall Street Journal:
Kabul Airport Explosion Hits Crowd Amid Afghan Evacuations
Kabul Airport Explosion Hits Crowd Amid Afghan Evacuations
Discussion:
Reuters, The Times of Israel, Associated Press and Washington Times
Jane Perlez / New York Times:
The Real Winner of the Afghan War? It's Not Who You Think.
The Real Winner of the Afghan War? It's Not Who You Think.
Discussion:
New Republic
Meridith McGraw / Politico:
Mike Pompeo takes his own arrows over the Afghanistan collapse
Mike Pompeo takes his own arrows over the Afghanistan collapse
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, claytoonz and Raw Story
New York Times:
Live Afghanistan Updates: Some Evacuations Halt After Alerts Over Kabul Airport
Live Afghanistan Updates: Some Evacuations Halt After Alerts Over Kabul Airport
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, HotAir, Associated Press, The Guardian, Defense One, Breitbart, Townhall, Slate and UPI
USA Today:
Mr. President, get them out. Get them out now. Bring them home safely.
Mr. President, get them out. Get them out now. Bring them home safely.
Discussion:
HotAir, Associated Press and Daily Mail
Associated Press:
West warns of possible attack at Kabul airport amid airlift
West warns of possible attack at Kabul airport amid airlift
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Fox News, Trending Politics, One America News Network, The US Sun and Insider
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
2 U.S. Representatives Try to Explain Unauthorized Visit to Kabul
2 U.S. Representatives Try to Explain Unauthorized Visit to Kabul
Discussion:
Boston.com, Politico, Insider, Breitbart, Washington Times, Political Wire, Real Clear Politics, Townhall, ABC News, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and National Review
Jake Auchincloss / Washington Post:
Biden made the hard choice in Afghanistan, and the right one
Biden made the hard choice in Afghanistan, and the right one
Discussion:
Sky News, KTLA, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Washington Times, The Western Journal, Politico, The Hill, New York Times, Breitbart and Foreign Policy
Dan Levin / New York Times:
In Florida, the pandemic is worse now than it has ever been before. — More people in Florida are catching the coronavirus, being hospitalized and dying of Covid-19 now than at any previous point in the pandemic, underscoring the perils of limiting public health measures as the Delta variant rips through the state.
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NBC News:
South Dakota Covid cases quintuple after Sturgis motorcycle rally — Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold. — South Dakota counted 3,819 new cases in the past two weeks, including seven deaths …
Discussion:
Hackwhackers, Dakota Free Press, Yahoo News, KARK-TV, Raw Story, HotAir, The Hill, Townhall, Balloon Juice, Ace of Spades HQ and National Review
Washington Post:
Hospitalizations hit 100,000 in United States for first time since January
Hospitalizations hit 100,000 in United States for first time since January
Discussion:
Forbes
Michelle Meredith / WFLA-TV:
Bodies stacked to the ceiling as COVID-19 surge creates backlog at Florida funeral homes, crematories
Bodies stacked to the ceiling as COVID-19 surge creates backlog at Florida funeral homes, crematories
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Crooks and Liars
Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
Don Lemon Reacts to Parents Ranting Against School Mask Mandates: ‘Just Because You Can Have Kids, Does Not Mean You Should. Yeah, I Said It’
Don Lemon Reacts to Parents Ranting Against School Mask Mandates: ‘Just Because You Can Have Kids, Does Not Mean You Should. Yeah, I Said It’
Discussion:
The Hill, Tennessee Star, Breitbart, The Federalist and HotAir
Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast:
Ron DeSantis Says Biden Should Follow Florida's Lead on COVID
Ron DeSantis Says Biden Should Follow Florida's Lead on COVID
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and RedState
Wall Street Journal:
Biden Administration Plans Covid-19 Vaccine Boosters Starting at Six Months Instead of Eight
Biden Administration Plans Covid-19 Vaccine Boosters Starting at Six Months Instead of Eight
Discussion:
Reuters, Daily Kos, NBC News, Office of the Texas Governor, City of Chicago, abc7NY, Boston Herald, HotAir, NBC Los Angeles, Forbes, NBC Chicago, Political Wire, driftglass and UPI
Rachel Roubein / Washington Post:
The Health 202: Democrats have three weeks to get their health game on
The Health 202: Democrats have three weeks to get their health game on
Discussion:
Reason and The Nation
David Schutz / Orlando Sentinel:
Florida's COVID-19 resurgence: State reports 26,203 new cases, highest daily total of the pandemic
Florida's COVID-19 resurgence: State reports 26,203 new cases, highest daily total of the pandemic
Discussion:
Reason, Insider, RedState and The Gateway Pundit
Burgess Everett / Politico:
$3.5T or bust? Sanders goes all-out to protect Dems' social spending plans — Bernie Sanders is shifting into a new phase of his legacy-defining work on Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending plan: Protecting it from members of his own party and selling it to the public.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Newsweek:
Exclusive: Police Lieutenant Who Killed January 6 Capitol Rioter Ashli Babbitt Finally Identified — For more than seven months, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed protester climbing through a broken window in a hallway of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, has remained anonymous.
Discussion:
UPI, The Gateway Pundit and CNBC
Emma Goldberg / New York Times:
The New Chief Chaplain at Harvard? An Atheist. — The elevation of Greg Epstein, author of “Good Without God,” reflects a broader trend of young people who increasingly identify as spiritual but religiously nonaffiliated. — The Puritan colonists who settled in New England in the 1630s …
John Nichols / The Nation:
Republicans Balk on the Battle for Voting Rights — The Party of Lincoln has made itself the party of the new Jim Crow. — “Old battles have become new again,” said US Representative Terri Sewell, of Alabama, as she introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act for Tuesday's essential vote in the House.
Discussion:
The Federalist, Raw Story and Common Dreams
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
Maggie Haberman and the never-ending Trump story — NEW YORK — When the first Donald Trump story of the 2016 election cycle came her way, Maggie Haberman decided not to break it. — It was May 2015, and Trump adviser Sam Nunberg was helping orchestrate the imminent announcement of the reality star's candidacy.
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Why the Media is Worse for Biden Than Trump — Over the last week, the media has hammered Joe Biden with relentlessly critical coverage of his pullout from Afghanistan, resulting in noticeable drops in his approval ratings. Put aside for a moment whether this reflects failures by Biden or biases by the media.
Discussion:
Washington Times, Raw Story, Ace of Spades HQ and NOQ Report
Jonathan Edwards / Washington Post:
A naked baby helped Nirvana sell millions of records. Now 30, he's suing the band for ‘child pornography.’ — Spencer Elden may very well be the most famous naked baby the world has ever seen. — A photo of him as an infant — submerged in water and seemingly chasing a dollar bill dangling …
Discussion:
New York Times, BBC, Mercury News, Variety, Rolling Stone, UPI, HotAir, Vanity Fair and CBS News
Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
The Real Story Behind the $25,000 Trump Donation to Pam Bondi — When Trump used his charity to make a donation in 2013, executives claimed they didn't know the money was going to a political group. Newly unearthed records prove otherwise. — It was the personally signed $25,000 check …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kimberly Ross / Washington Examiner:
The unvaccinated deserve medical care too — On Saturday, conservative radio talk show host Phil Valentine died from COVID-19. He had been a vocal skeptic of vaccines for months. While he was suffering from the virus, his stance on vaccines changed , and he vowed to advocate for them in the future.
Discussion:
NBC News, The Federalist and HotAir
Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:
READ: Judge Refers ‘Kraken’ Lawyers For Potential ‘Disbarment’ In Scathing Opinion Over Big Lie — The team of “Kraken” attorneys who sought to overturn the 2020 election “scorned their oath, flouted the rules, and attempted to undermine the integrity of the judiciary along the way,” …
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Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
‘This Case Was Never About Fraud’: Federal Judge Refers ‘Kraken’ Attorneys, Including Lin Wood and Sidney Powell, for ‘Possible Suspension or Disbarment’
‘This Case Was Never About Fraud’: Federal Judge Refers ‘Kraken’ Attorneys, Including Lin Wood and Sidney Powell, for ‘Possible Suspension or Disbarment’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Political Wire, The Hill, Raw Story, Townhall, Butterflies and Wheels, Bipartisan Report, HotAir, WGN-TV, POLITICUSUSA and Balloon Juice
Alan Cole / Full Stack Economics:
The Mountain Lions: these nine cities boomed in the COVID era — These nine western cities have the fastest surging housing markets. — Coastal cities like Washington D.C. and San Francisco were already expensive places to live at the start of the 2010s.