Interesting US Newspaper articles

You'll probably need to register with these three newspapers - it's free and they don't annoy you with emails.

The New York Times:

Anne Kornblut reports that the Harriet Miers nomination has got to the point where serious questions are being asked about White House chief of staff Andrew Card - specifically about his ability to advise the president about making good decisions.

Richard Stevenson reports that Bruce Bartlett, a "Republican commentator who has been increasingly critical of the White House", was dismissed from his job working as a senior fellow for the National Center for Policy Analysis. This is a right-wing think tank, and it appears as though Bartlett was dismissed for his critical views.

The LA Times:

The Editorial of the LA Times is highly critical of the management of its East-coast rival, The New York Times, for its handling of Judith Miller. Basically they point out that Miller's refusal to reveal her source was not so much an adherence to free speech as it was being complicit in printing news that had been fed to them by the White House, thus possibly misleading its readers. Robert Scheer also points out the damage this has done to the reputation of one of America's best known newspapers.

David Streitfeld reports that large US firms are beginning to lay off workers or demand massive pay cuts from their workers. These include Delphi (an auto-parts manufacturer who is asking their workers for a pay cut of two-thirds) and Northwest Airlines (mechanics are being asked for a 26% pay cut). Many firms are now refusing to fund workers' health insurance. In response to the crisis at Delphi, "Labor historians say they can't remember a moment during an economic recovery when so many at one company were asked to give back so much all at once".

Michael Stokes Paulsen and John Yoo argue that asking Harriet Miers what she thinks about Roe v. Wade is not an unreasonable question to ask, especially if Conservatives wish to be consistent in their approach over the last 10-15 years.

Bruce B. Lawrence, a professor of Islamic studies, argues cogently that the recent letter from Ayman Zawahiri to Abu Musab Zarqawi - the one that was revealed recently and used by the Bush administration to further its argument to 'stay the course' in Iraq - is actually fake. Moreover, he wonders whether the letter's release time - just before the referendum on the constitution - was deliberate. He only has one culprit for the fake letter - the White House.

The Washington Post:

According to Jim VandeHei and Walter Pincus, Dick Cheney appears to be the source of the Plame leak. If this is correct, then my feeling is that Cheney might be the first vice-president since Spiro Agnew to resign from his position.

Spencer S. Hsu reports that emails that The Post has obtained from FEMA show that the organisation was in total disarray before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. At one point, it is revealed that General Russel Honore, the guy that was leading the emergency forces on the ground in New Orleans, was unable to contact Michael Brown, the head of FEMA, for at least three hours. The reason? No one at FEMA knew where he was or knew his satellite phone number.

Richard Cohen - the same guy who has earned the indignant wrath of many for his suggestion that the Plame/Miller investigation should be dropped - concedes that the president made the wrong choice when he nominated Harriet Miers. He also gives a sheepish message to those who read his controversial previous article that he actually does consider that outing a covert CIA agent to be a serious matter. He doesn't say any more, which essentially means that his message is one of those faux apologies that says "I'm sorry you feel that way".