memeorandum: Friends Who Fit Together Smartly (John F. Harris/Washington Post)

9:10 PM ET, May 8, 2006

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Bush Turns to Gen. Hayden to Lead CIA — WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday chose Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to lead the embattled Central Intelligence Agency, re-igniting a debate over the domestic surveillance program that the onetime head of the National Security Agency once ran.

MSNBC:
Transcript for May 7 — MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Crooks and Liars, State of the Day and Gateway Pundit

CNN:
Bush nominates Hayden for CIA chief

Discussion: TPM Muckraker, Confederate Yankee, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, The Democratic Daily Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, New York Times, Jay Reding.com and Althouse

Associated Press:
Text: Bush and CIA Nominee Gen. Hayden

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Defense Tech and Super Fun Power Hour

UPI:

CIA No. 3, facing bribe probe, quits — WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) — CIA Director Porter Goss' No. 3 man at the agency, facing investigation as part of a congressional bribe probe, quit Monday, an official said. — Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the CIA's executive director, announced his resignation …

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, Wonkette, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, NewsHog and Sploid

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Mark Hosenball / Newsweek:

Changing the Guard — While Bush's new CIA nominee preps for a tough nomination battle, agency No. 3 Dusty Foggo is leaving the agency — May 8, 2006 - By all accounts, Michael Hayden is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced intelligence officers currently working for the United States government.

The Blotter:
CIA's Foggo Expected to Resign Soon

Discussion: TPM Muckraker

Nick Schwellenbach / The Project On Government …:
The CIA's Existential Crisis

Discussion: Time, Talking Points Memo, Think Progress, The Next Hurrah, The Strata-Sphere and War and Piece

Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta:

Atwar Bahjat Beheading Video a Hoax (Images / Video) — ****Jawa Report Exclusive**** — A gruesome beheading video delivered to the Sunday Times purporting to be of slain journalist Atwar Bahjat is a hoax. On Sunday, May 7th, the Times reported that they had received a low-quality video of Atwar Bahjat being slowly beheaded.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Abu Aardvark, Villainous Company, In the Bullpen, Point Five, Andrew Sullivan, Blue Crab Boulevard and All Things Beautiful

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Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:
UPDATE: ATWAR BAHJAT

Discussion: neo-neocon, The Middle Ground and BLACKFIVE

Jerusalem Post:

Peres says that Iran 'can also be wiped off the map' — TEHRAN, Iran — Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Monday in an interview to Reuters that "the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map," Army Radio reported. — According to Peres …

Discussion: BBC, Blue Crab Boulevard, IMAO, Iowa Voice, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, The Sandbox and Daily Pundit

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Karl Vick / Washington Post:

Iran's Leader Writes to President Bush — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written a letter to President Bush, a spokesman for Iran's hard-line government said Monday. The letter proposed "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation in the world …

Discussion: The Washington Monthly, Wonkette and Andrew Warner

Christine Hauser / New York Times:

Iranian President Writes Letter to Bush — Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written a letter to President Bush with suggestions on how to resolve current international tensions, Iranian officials said today, but there was no immediate information about whether he was proposing …

Discussion: AMERICAN FUTURE and Riehl World View

Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:

Al Gore Might Yet Join 2008 Contenders — Former Vice President Keeps Mum — As His Movie Sparks Talk of a White House Run — First there was Clinton-Gore. Could Clinton vs. Gore be next? — For former Vice President Al Gore, a rash of favorable publicity surrounding this month's opening …

Discussion: Attytood, The Left Coaster, AMERICAblog, Blue Crab Boulevard, Brainster's Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Ankle Biting Pundits › News, CQPolitics.com and Tennessee Guerilla Women

CBS News:

Did Bush Force British Minister Out? — London Papers: Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's Iran Stance Prompted Angry Bush Call To Blair — (CBS/AP) Two London papers have speculated this weekend that complaints by President George W. Bush forced a British minister from his post because of his opposition …

Discussion: The Left Coaster and Guardian

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Tim Hames / Times of London:
After this bloody shambles, a question. Is Tony Blair his own worst enemy?

Discussion: Peaktalk, Iain Dale's Diary and The Corner on National …

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

It's What They leave Out That Makes It Interesting... Jim Vandehei of the WaPo tackles the possibility of a Rove indictment: … The puzzle - just how did Rove testify about a conversation he didn't (and perhaps still doesn't) remember? Jane Hamsher provides an excellent guess …

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Strata-Sphere, protein wisdom and The Next Hurrah

Seth Sutel / Associated Press:

Newspaper Circulation Declines 2.6 Percent — Newspaper circulation fell 2.6 percent in the six-month period ending in March, according to data released Monday, as more people turned to the Internet and other media outlets for news and information. — The decline in average paid weekday circulation …

Discussion: Don Surber and FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

What's in a Name? Plenty If It's Kennedy — It's hard to imagine that Patrick Kennedy would have gotten elected to Congress a dozen years ago without his last name. — It's equally hard to imagine that the media would be going wild about his late-night car crash and prescription drug addiction if he weren't a Kennedy.

Discussion: AmSpec Blog, A Blog For All, Blue Crab Boulevard, Daily Pundit and NewsBusters.org

Agence France Presse:

Moussaoui asks for new trial — Less than a week after he was jailed for life over the September 11 attacks, Al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui submitted a motion asking to withdraw his guilty plea so he can have a new trial. — "Moussaoui wishes to withdraw his guilty plea because when he entered …

Discussion: Argghhh!

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

His Legacy and His Library Occupy Bush's Thoughts — WASHINGTON — President Bush had dinner last month on the Stanford University campus at the home of George P. Shultz, who was President Ronald Reagan's secretary of state, and the topic of conversation was not, as might be expected, the war in Iraq.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, Ezra Klein, AMERICAblog and The Heretik

Michael Powell / Washington Post:

U.S. Immigration Debate Is a Road Well Traveled — NEW YORK — They were portrayed as a disreputable lot, the immigrant hordes of this great city. — The Germans refused for decades to give up their native tongue and raucous beer gardens. The Irish of Hell's Kitchen brawled and clung to political sinecures.

Discussion: The Heretik, TAPPED, TalkLeft, The Corner on National …, PoliBlog and ed fitzgerald's unfutz

Washington Post:

Mary Cheney's Step Forward — Mary Cheney's new book is out. The author herself has been out as a lesbian for many years. In fact, before her father ran for vice president, she was the marketing liaison to the gay and lesbian community for Coors Brewing Co. Now she has published a book …

Discussion: Andrew Sullivan, AMERICAblog and Pam's House Blend

Drudge Report:

MURDOCH TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR HILLARY CLINTON — Rupert Murdoch has agreed to host a political fundraiser for Hillary Clinton this summer! — Murdoch's surprise decision to raise money for Clinton in July, on behalf of NEWS CORP., parent company of FOXNEWS and the NEW YORK POST …

Discussion: RightWinged.com and Classical Values