Our link-fest offering readers links to blog posts from websites of many different viewpoints. Linked posts do NOT necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its writers.

THE SAGA OF SCOTT BEAUCHAMP’S CONTROVERSIAL THE NEW REPUBLIC MILITARY DIARIES CONTINUES. Did he recant and say they were false or not? A lot of what is stated as certainty in one place is said to be less than that elsewhere. It has blogs on the right and left in particular in an uproar. Here are some key links to keep up:

—The New Republic’s latest statement. It does not want to retract the pieces until it gets specific answers from officials and says it has not gotten them yet.

–Hart William’s detailed post on his blog looking at this controversy and trying to figure out why the story is getting the kind of play it has because stories like this come from a source who gives inside information. He says someone must have been pissed off very badly. He writes of documents that appeared…then vanished off one website and appeared on others…and has some ideas about where the official ire may be coming from. It’s a quite different take on this controversy from what others have posted so far…(some adult language)..

–Wizbang’s Lorie Byrd gives a blunt reaction to The New Republic’s latest and explains why plus gives a bit of the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan’s take on it.

UPDATE: There IS interest in this story. Readers sent us several more links:

–Matthew Yglesias is puzzled over some aspects of this controversy.

–Winds of Change’s Armed Liberal has some questions and an analysis. (Adult language)

–More thoughts from the ever-independent-minded John Cole.

IT’S RED STATE VERSUS RON PAUL SUPPORTERS VERSUS ANDREW SULLIVAN VERSUS RED STATE: And it’s one of the most fascinating political/free-speech/weblog tussles of the year. The lively Republican mega-blog Red State created big news when it banned new Ron Paul supporters from its blog. Paul’s highly loyal and enthusiastic supporters are media-savvy and see almost anything posted about him and try to post a lot of stuff about him.

Ed Morrissey, a top conservative blogger, declared this a mistake. Red State matched Morrissey’s post in kind (thoughtful and respectful) and replied with this.

And Andrew Sullivan invited the refugees to his place to try and expand conservative dialogue, not limit it. Sullivan’s move is one that will irk some but is laudable: the whole trend among some is exclusionary — to try and limit debate, limit tolerance of other ideas or viewpoints that do not adhere to a precise definition (which is only the correct one that the person trying to limit the debate or eradicate the opinion has). For this larger reason, Sullivan gets a huge TMV applause.

He takes it further in his latest post:

There are two reasons for his remarkable success [in fundraising and supporters] so far: the Internet and the growing sense that this imperial presidency needs to be brought back to the vision of the Founders - both domestically and abroad. We have over-reached. He has the newest and the oldest campaign message there is: freedom matters. It is no surprise to me that the GOP establishment - now one of the most powerful forces against individual freedom in this country - is so panicked by his message. They should be.

Sullivan underscores what much of this is about: the GOP establishment and those that back it and other Republicans who don’t want to obey the official line. BUT Ron Paul has critics that are not just among the GOP establishment. One of them is Joel S. Hirschhorn (we’ve run some of his thought-provoking and provocative posts here as Guest Voice posts) who writes in a post:

As self-professed champion of the Constitution presidential candidate Ron Paul has missed a monumental opportunity to educate Americans about the criminal behavior of Congress in violating their oath of office. Even more important, he has not taken advantage of his 15 minutes of fame to promote the nation’s first-time use of what the Founders gave us in the Constitution in case the public lost confidence in the federal government - the Article V convention option.

Paul clearly recognizes the many failures of the federal government. Maybe as a member of Congress he just does not have the courage to confess that he too has been part of a long-standing refusal by Congress to obey Article V of the Constitution. Why don’t passionate Paul supporters see his lack of integrity, guts and consistency?

Read it all..He is sure to spark debate…

IT LOOKS LIKE BILL O’REILLY HAS PICKED A NEW PERSON TO FILL IN FOR HIM and it’s someone who Hardball’s Chris Matthews likes a lot. And, this item suggests she is on the fast track to a bright future on a certain TV news network (the one that is “fair and balanced” but is said to cover the Iraq war less than its other two cable news competitors).

THERE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES but this one is truly a catastrophic one.

AN INTERVIEW WITH FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT ANDREA USEEM touching on religion, suicide bombings, Islam in the U.S. and other topics can be heard via podcast HERE — an interview conducted by Josh Trevino.

A LITTLE-NOTED TIDBIT ON THE CALIFORNIA FIRES: Did this crisis suggest Fox News maven Roger Ailes is slipping?

DEAN’S WORLD BLOG IS BANNED in China.

OOPS! MISSED AGAIN: Bush & Co. apparently missed another chance to kill terrorist bigwig Osama bin Laden (but, then, Bush has said he doesn’t spend much time thinking about him…)