News and Blog Roundup

TOP STORY: 22 Soldiers Killed in Mosul, Iraq. 22 U.S. soldiers were killed in Mosul, Iraq when insurgent terrorists fired a missle at a mess hall on the American base there. Outside the Beltway has the story. This on the heels of Tony Blair's visit to Baghdad.

More On Blair: Confessions of A Political Junkie wonders why we are supposed to like Blair when he is pushing Great Britain into the European Union. Erick has other news updates too.

Red State America = Coke America: Erick points out Jonah Goldberg's link to this map which shows another view of Red State America. It turns out that Southerners ask for a "Coke" and not a "Soda" or a "Pop". I think I'd like a Coke, thank you. Jeff the Baptist and Commonwealth Conservative have more.

Pro-Life Republicans on Judiciary: Oh! And so I don't forget, Outside the Beltway also notes the appointment of two more pro-life Senators to the Judiciary Committee. It's good news for tough battles to come for the President's judicial appointments.

Yahoo! Refuses to Help: Mark Kilmer notes that Yahoo!, Inc. will not allow the parents of a slain U.S. soldier in Iraq to read the decedant's email standing firm on their policy not to give out customer passwords.

The Declining Dollar: Jay Reding has some cogent comments about the declining dollar against the European currencies. What goes up must come down he says. And with high unemployment and slow growth in Europe, the return of the dollar is inevitable. I believe when you factor in what I believe will be the positive investment effect of Social Security reform and the remarkable rate of growth in our own economy, Jay's thesis seems to me to be right on target.

Our Top Ten Allies: The Diplomad, a conservative group of US Foreign Service Officers, picks our Top Ten allies around the world. I am sure not all in the State Department or the Democrat Party (except Joe Lieberman) agree with these.

Iraqi Attitudes: Back of the Envelope reports that Sunnis in Iraq, though happy to be free, are "humiliated" by the fact that Americans freed them from Saddam. Put's an interesting light on the situation there.

Rumsfeld's Signature: Though many are crying foul about the fact that the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld does not personally sign condolence letters for killed American servicemen in Iraq Power Line shares a letter from a family of a Marine stationed there. They don't seem to believe it is important. But sadly, now that that the Secretary has committed to sign any future letters, he'll have a busy evening tonight signing twenty more.

The Blogsphere Shines: La Shaun Barber praises the way bloggers have changed the way news is delivered in her article on National Review Online.