From the UK Telegraph:

Under Germany’s welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job – including in the sex industry – or lose her unemployment benefit.

Wow. Things must be going well in Iraq today if even the Legacy Media is hyping it as a success.

From the AP:

But the mood for many was upbeat: Civilians and policemen danced with joy at one of the five polling stations where photographers were allowed, and some streets were packed with voters walking shoulder-to-shoulder to vote. The elderly made their way, hobbling on canes or riding wheelchairs; one elderly woman was pushed along on a wooden cart, another man carried a disabled 80-year-old on his back.

“This is democracy,” said Karfia Abbasi, holding up a thumb stained with purple ink to prove she had voted.

Officials said turnout among the 14 million eligible voters appeared higher than the 57 percent that had been predicted, although it would be some time before any turnout figure was confirmed. No preliminary results were expected before Monday at the earliest, and final results will not be known for seven to 10 days, the election commission said.

Except, of course, Reuters:

Voters, some ululating with joy, others hiding their faces in fear
…
But in parts of the Sunni Arab heartland, where the insurgency has been bloodiest and several parties called for a boycott, polling stations were empty
…
Despite draconian security measures imposed by the U.S.-backed interim government, militants launched a string of attacks
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With foreign monitors mostly staying away for fear of kidnapping, it was impossible to assess the fairness of the election or accuracy of the turnout estimates

But even Reuters can’t help but declare:

Voters formed long queues, creating an almost festive atmosphere in Shi’ite areas and the Kurdish north, where officials said turnout was highest. Some had walked for miles, and many chanted and clapped.

The Kurds, who make up nearly a fifth of Iraqis, are determined to hang on to their autonomous rule in the north.

“This is a wedding for all Iraqis. I congratulate all Iraqis on their newfound freedom,” said Jaida Hamza, dressed in a black Islamic robe, in the Shi’ite shrine city of Najaf.

Even in Falluja, the battle-scarred Sunni city that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a slow stream of people turned out, confounding expectations.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin says The Left Goes Into Hybernation, and Protein Wisdom has some thoughts.

UPDATE 2: Just found this round up of stories of women voting in Iraq that Michelle posted.

UPDATE 3: Scott Ott of Scrappleface makes a similar point to “Taste of Liberty” who commented on this post.

The U.S. occupation force in Iraq is placing unconstitutional restrictions on the free speech rights of Al Qaeda and former members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party, according to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-MA, who today introduced a resolution expressing “solidarity with our repressed brethren in the Iraq insurgency.”

And Scrappleface also has a great post about the media coverage today called Iraqi Voting Disrupts News Reports of Bombings.

Powerline weighs in here with a peek into the left’s reaction.

UPDATE 4: Captain Ed does some looking into the pre-election coverage at LAT and NYT of the Iraq elections.

UPDATE 5: Chrenkoff has a super lengthy (super lengthy, and super and lengthy) post on the good news in Iraq (HT: Wizbang)

I’ve gotta admit, this is creative.

From eBay auction item.

Blog Commenting Service - Liberal / Conservative / Whatever

Because pundits and journalists have been raking in the dough recently by simply taking tax-payer money to endorse certain political agendas, I, a private citizen, am now offering my services for a fee to write and post comments on political blogs. I will write clear, on point comments no matter the agenda, no matter the Blog. Conservative, Liberal, Moderate, Commie-Pinko or Raging Right Wingnut. My ethics and words are completely for sale. AND, I will not disclose that I’m accepting money from you to support your point of view. I am also offering this service to any department of the government. HHS, SOS, DOD or even the EPA. If you have extra money to spend to further the administration’s agenda, what better way than to hire a private citizen to be your voice in the blogosphere. For $10 a post ($40 for 5 posts) I will sign on to any blog and post your message, no matter how unpopular, inane or controversial. I will, however, never use profanity or personally attack any other blogger (except for and [sic] extra $50). So, if you’re ethically challenged and have no problem paying to have your outlandish ideas endorsed on the web and not disclose who you are, I’m your hire.

HT: Drew Curtis

UPDATE: Ok, maybe this joke isn’t as original as we thought. However, I still think it’s great. Wonkette points out a few others who are using this line.

How our heart skipped to read that Maureen Dowd was “herewith resigning as a member of the liberal media elite.”
…
Though, really, what bothers us about Maureen’s column isn’t that it’s unoriginal, it’s that it’s true. The NYT has been paying her price for years.