Our Founding Illegals
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/opinion/27hogeland.html
By WILLIAM HOGELAND
Perhaps no aspect of the immigrant experience is more quintessentially
American than our long heritage of illegal immigration.
Putin's Assertive Diplomacy Is Seldom Challenged
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/europe/27russia.html?ref=world
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Russia, buoyed by oil and gas riches, has become so confident that it
has become impervious to the criticism that once might have modified
its behavior.
Iran Is Seeking More Influence in Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/asia/27afghan.ready.html?ref=world&pagewanted=all
By DAVID ROHDE
Iran is investing in Afghanistan as part of a bigger drive to spread
its influence and ideas farther across the Middle East.
Israel Plans First Settlement in 10 Years
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/middleeast/27mideast.html?ref=world
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Israel plans to construct a Jewish settlement in the West Bank,
prompting Palestinian anger and U.S. concern.
Islamists Retreat in Somalia
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/africa/27somalia.html?ref=world&pagewanted=all
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
With Ethiopian forces fully involved in the fighting, the Islamists are
retreating to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
U.S. Signals Backing for Ethiopian Incursion Into Somalia
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/africa/27africa.html?ref=africa
By MARK MAZZETTI
The United States signaled its support for the Ethiopian offensive in
Somalia, calling it a response to "aggression" by Islamists.
Vatican Warns Ex-Bishop
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/americas/27paraguay.html?ref=americas
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Vatican called on a retired Catholic bishop to give up his plans to
run for president or face canonical sanctions.
With Promises of a Better-Run Congress, Democrats Take on Political
Risks
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/us/politics/27civil.html?ref=us&pagewanted=all
By CARL HULSE
Democrats assuming control on Jan. 4 said they wanted to revive
collegiality and civility in Congress.
Myths And the Middle Class
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122600772_pf.html
By Robert J. Samuelson
Wednesday, December 27, 2006; A19
Almost all Americans see themselves as "middle class." To declare
yourself middle class is to say you've succeeded without openly
bragging that you're superior -- a no-no in a democratic culture.
You're like everyone else, only a little more or less so.
Not surprisingly, a recent poll done for the Economic Policy Institute,
a liberal think tank, finds that only 2 percent of Americans put
themselves in the "upper class" and a mere 8 percent consider
themselves "lower class." The large majority classify themselves as
"upper-middle class" (17 percent) or "middle class" (45 percent). The
rest (27 percent) see themselves as "working class," a stepping stone
to the middle class.
Bush's New Look on Iraq: Weary
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122600776.html
By David Ignatius
Wednesday, December 27, 2006; Page A19
Watching President Bush in recent weeks has become a grim kind of
reality TV show. In almost every news conference, speech and photo
opportunity, the topic is the same: what to do about the grinding war
in Iraq. Bush has let the facade crack open -- admitting that his
strategy for victory isn't working -- but then he struggles to rebuild
it with new words of confidence.
The stress of the job -- so well hidden for much of the past six years
-- has begun to show on Bush's face. He often looks burdened,
distracted, haunted by a question that has no good answer. When a
photographer captures him at ease, as in a sweet Texas-romance picture
of Bush and his wife, Laura, that appeared in People magazine last
week, it's as if he has escaped the Iraq sweatbox.
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