Dickerson: The Disturbing Glee at Mark Sanford's Downfall

June 25, 2009

Mark Sanford is no longer missing, but he’s obviously lost. The South Carolina governor’s press conference was excruciating: apology, followed by self-flagellation, followed by apology. It was like watching a man light himself on fire. I thought about his kids mustering up the courage to watch it on YouTube some day. I thought about his […]

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From Apologist to Enemy: Roger Cohen's Abrupt Change of Direction on Iran

June 25, 2009

Fine writing, in Cohen’s latest column. Still, the switch was fast and seamless: from apologist to sworn enemy, in less than three months. How does one explain this? Instead of name-calling, let’s venture into the publishable: A liberal mugged by reality? Someone, whose “‘one-dimensional lenses” used to read Iran last spring have now been cracked […]

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Sanford's Wife Told Him to Leave to "Maintain My Dignity"

June 25, 2009

The wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday in a statement that she continues to love her husband, but that she asked him to leave their home two weeks ago because “I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect and my basic sense of […]

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John Kerry: "Too bad" it Wasn't Sarah Palin Who Went Missing

June 25, 2009

The Bay State senator was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the “bizarre’’ tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had “disappeared for four days’’ and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts. “Too bad,’’ Kerry […]

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Contest: Write the First Paragraph of Dick Cheney's Memoirs

June 25, 2009

News item: Former vice president Dick Cheney has signed a contract to write a memoir about his long career in government and industry, from his years as Gerald Ford’s chief of staff to his prominent role in shaping the Bush administration’s anti-terrorism policy after Sept. 11, 2001.

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Supreme Court Rules Arizona Strip Search of Middle Schooler Was Illegal

June 25, 2009

The Supreme Court says a school’s strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal. The court ruled on Thursday that school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding, who lives in Safford in rural eastern Arizona.

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European Central Bank pumps €442bn into banking system

June 25, 2009

The European Central Bank on Wednesday pumped hundreds of billions of euros in one-year loans into the eurozone’s weakened banking system, making record amounts of emergency finance available in a bid to unlock credit markets and revive the region’s economies.

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Newspaper Execs Try to Find Key to Survival: "Individuated News" Is Newest Thin Hope

June 25, 2009

Newspapers are going to die, but they’re trying to hang on. “‘The great challenge the news industry faces is the need to develop new distribution platforms that provide our consumers with the news they want, when they want it and where they want it,’ said John Solomon, executive editor of The Washington Times.”

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Violence in Iran Escalates, Reported Massacre in Baharestan Square

June 25, 2009

One wonders what the coverage would be like if we could have a reporter on the ground. “The reports suggest thousands of police and pro-government militia have used firearms, clubs and teargas to suppress another opposition rally. There is even one account of a nine-year-old girl being shot.” This isn’t going to fizzle out.

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Emails From Sanford to Argentinian Mistress Provide Endless Fodder for TV

June 25, 2009

Now this is interesting: “E-mails, obtained by The State newspaper in December, between Gov. Mark Sanford and Maria, a woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the time, efforts to authenticate the e-mails were unsuccessful. However, Sanford’s office Wednesday did not dispute their authenticity.” Somebody’s known about this story for a while. Security, anyone?

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