backlogged link dump

Ok, time to break the logjam and empty out the drafts folder. Here's a rundown of everything I wish I had posted in more detail, but haven't had the time: Matthew Yglesias thinks Michael Ledeen doesn't know what he's talking about:[The All-Knowing Michael Ledeen]. I can't imagine why. The US Attorney's Office, based on a report last week by the State Department, is warning that terrorists could be posing as vagrants. Think twice next time you see that tattered homeless guy hanging outside your apartment complex. If he's not drunk, asking you for change or offering to clean your car windshield then something must be up. How 'able' was Able Danger? Kevin Drum is becoming more and more skeptical, and links to Laura Rozen for more. AP reports on the Pentagon's inability to verify that Able Danger actually identified Mohammed Atta prior to 9/11. Considering the nature of data mining and 20/20 hindsight, it's not inconceivable that AD did 'identify' Atta, but never put the picture together until 9/11 developed it for them. [related: how many Attas were there, anyway?] Our Saudi friends are outraged about the use of Israeli-made paper cups. Time runs a disturbing story about the killing squads intimidating Iraqis in Baghdad and edging the country closer to civil war here: [Killers in the Neighborhood]. Slate follows up with this. Democracy Arsenal lists the top 10 consequences of an Iraqi failed state. By the way, in the category of big news you've probably not heard, this weekend's Washington Post reports that the CIA Report on 9/11 Is Complete, though not yet distributed to wider audiences (including Congress) until Porter Goss determines an appropriate response. Bush thinks he's speaking to a bunch of old people, playing the up-is-down card to a crowd of veterans. Cliffs Notes version: My policy in Iraq makes you safer. Save for a few of the Altzheimer's patients, I doubt they're buying what he's selling. Here's a shocker... KBR employee takes kickbacks and bribes in Iraq!?! No way. General Wesley Clark is running up the score in the early straw polls for the 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate. In Maryland, the General Assembly's investigation into Governor Erlich's hiring and firing practices begins, despite opposition from the Governor's office about the group's makeup. In New York, Governor Pataki wants a Federal investigation into how the NY Post obtained transcripts of potentially explosive yet personal phone conversations. ABC News reports on the growing trend of municipal-wide public wireless access points. From docuticker.com, AEI has published this report: Public Opinion on the War with Iraq. Let me save you some time... the public doesn't much care for the war anymore. But, read it anyway, despite the source. Also from docuticker, Cato's latest on Federal government pork here: Pork: A Microcosm of the Overspending Problem Zurich-based Cosmopolis ran this a couple of months ago, worth the read for an outsider's perspective on current US politics. Ends with this: "If the decisions and actions of the administration and the GOP dominated parliament do not yield positive results, American voters may react strongly, since the responsibility is clear." Suburban Guerilla on Rep. Curt Weldon's dubious claims about Able Danger and a potential conflict of interest/ethical breech/transparent influence peddling with uber-contractor SAIC. TalkLeft keeps putting together the Rove+Plame+Fitzgerald puzzle and wants to know: Is Rove Facing an Obstruction of Justice Charge? Professor Bainbridge is one pissed off conservative. He lashes out at the Bush administration here: [What Might Have Been] with an all out temper tantrum... flailing arms and legs including... nice to see, though 3 years too late. USNews&WorldReport has a not too flattering profile of Jack Abramoff. What a bad man. Grover Norquist says: "If Iraq is in the rearview mirror in the '06 election, the Republicans will do fine," What a f'ing genius. Weird: Urine Battery Turns Pee Into Power Despite blatant cronyism and a crippling fiasco with his state pension fund Ohio's Governor Vows to Stay in Office. Speaking of Ohio, Paul Krugman (NYTimes) vents about last year's stolen elections [What They Did Last Fall]. Thanks Diebold... we all owe you! and last but not least... what's the worst thing that can happen when you combine a Power Ranger with an irrational child actor? How 'bout a vicious double murder where the accused ties a weathy businessman and his wife to their own achor and throws them off the deck of their own yacht? And that's not all, read more here.