memeorandum: Sen. Harry Reid's raw (land) deal (Newsdesk/The Swamp)

The price of shillyshallying — The failure of world powers to rein in North Korea means that we face a bleak and terrifying future — THE BIRTH announcement of each new arrival into the nuclear family in the past 50 years has been greeted by existing members with loud condemnations and dark prognostications.

Discussion: Dr. Sanity, Blue Crab Boulevard and USS Neverdock

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Philip Klein / American Spectator:

Talking With the Enemy — As a war weary nation moves closer to Election Day, there is a growing debate over whether the United States can benefit from talking to its enemies rather than isolating them. — Proponents of such an approach are not limited to the radical left.

Discussion: Power Line

Associated Press:

U.S.: Test points to N. Korea nuke blast — WASHINGTON - An air sampling taken after North Korea's claimed nuclear test detected radioactive debris consistent with an atomic explosion, Bush administration and congressional officials said Friday night. They said no final determination …

Bryan / Hot Air:
North Korea update; Update: Radioactive gas detected?

Discussion: Townhall.com Blog's …

Yearn Hong Choi / Washington Times:
Bush gets bum rap

Discussion: Big Lizards and Power Line

CNN:
U.S. intelligence statement: N. Korea radioactivity detected

Discussion: Gay Patriot and Shakespeare's Sister

New York Times:
Making Good on North Korea Vow Will Take Detective Work

Discussion: Winds of Change.NET

Thomas Watkins / Associated Press:

SEAL falls on grenade to save comrades — CORONADO, Calif. - A Navy SEAL sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade Iraqi insurgents tossed into their sniper hideout, fellow members of the elite force said. — Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor …

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Outside The Beltway, Gateway Pundit and Blue Crab Boulevard

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Michelle Malkin:

Happy Birthday, Navy — The US Navy turns 231 years old today. — A message from the Navy's Master Chief Petty Officer Joe R. Campa: … Thanks to each and everyone serving in the U.S. Navy. — If you have a loved one in the Navy (or any service branch for that matter), I've got a fabulous related gift idea.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Op For

Inside The Steel Deal / THE STEEL DEAL:

Hero — A Navy SEAL sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade Iraqi insurgents tossed into their sniper hideout, fellow members of the elite force said. — Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor had been near the only door to the rooftop structure Sept. 29 …

Discussion: Flopping Aces

Greg Gordon / Real Cities:

FBI investigates Rep. Curt Weldon — WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is investigating whether Republican Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania traded his political influence for lucrative lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter, according to sources with direct knowledge of the inquiry.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Whiskey Bar, War and Piece, The Democratic Daily, Suburban Guerrilla, All Spin Zone, Outside The Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, TPMmuckraker, The Stakeholder and Swing State Project

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Greg Giroux / CQPolitics.com: Navy Vet Sestak Coming Closer to Sinking Weldon in Pa. 7

Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:

Democratic Faces That Could Launch Thousands of Votes — With a Parade of Attractive Candidates, the Party May Benefit From the Politics of Beauty — AUBURN, N.Y. — Maybe Democratic candidate Michael Arcuri is running strong in this Republican House district because he pledges to expand health coverage …

Discussion: The Corner, Alabama Liberation Front, Shakespeare's Sister and NewsBusters.org

Andrew Miga / Associated Press:

Shays: Abu Ghraib Abuses Were Sex Ring — HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Republican Rep. Christopher Shays, who is in a tough re-election fight, said Friday the Abu Ghraib prison abuses were more about pornography than torture. — The veteran Connecticut congressman said a National Guard unit …

Discussion: TalkLeft

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James Wolcott: RATFINK RAUNCHFEST — Josh Marshall cites this latest outburst …

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Sex Ring Republicans

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny!, Stamford Advocate, Taylor Marsh, The Huffington Post, Hotline On Call, Shakespeare's Sister, Wonkette and Eschaton

Kirk Johnson / New York Times:

Gay Marriage Losing Punch as Ballot Issue — The debate over same-sex marriage was a black-or-white proposition two years ago when voters in 11 states barred gay couples from marrying. — But this year shades of gray are everywhere, as eight more states consider similar ballot measures.

Discussion: MyDD, Shakespeare's Sister, TPMCafe blogs and The Heretik

Ali Bubba / Alabama Liberation Front:

ALF suicide watch — If this post is slightly incoherent, it's because of the massive doses of antidepressants necessary to prevent Ali-Bubba from slashing his wrists. — This suicidal depression began when I made the mistake of going to Ryan Sager's blog, where he had posted Dick Armey's takedown on James Dobson.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Clayton Cramer's BLOG

Badger / missing links:

Iraqi federalism vote: Behind the contradictory numbers — The Iraqi parliament voted (Wednesday, October 11) 140 to nothing, in a more-or-less routine vote, to approve the federalism-procedures bill. Or did they? The New York Times said so. But the Iraqi paper Azzaman said the vote was 138 to nothing …

Discussion: Thomas P.M. Barnett, New York Times and Needlenose

Michael Grabell / Dallas Morning News:

Holy Land group's co-founder sentenced — Ghassan Elashi, co-founder and former chairman of the now-defunct Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation, was sentenced Thursday to six years and eight months in prison on charges that he did business with a terrorist and violated export laws with his brothers and their company InfoCom Corp.

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs

Stephen Brown / Reuters:

Dalai Lama sees Pope, says few Muslims "mischievous" — ROME (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said after meeting Pope Benedict on Friday that "a few mischievous Muslims" should not be allowed to give the Islamic faith a bad name. — Muslims worldwide were offended by a speech by the Pope …

brusselsjournal.com:

"Racist" Schoolgirl (14 yrs old) Arrested in al-Britannia — In al-Britannia, you end up in jail if you complain that immigrants do not speak English, but if you are saying that those who insult Islam should be killed, it's OK. — A quote from The Manchester Evening News, 12 October 2006:

Discussion: Stop The ACLU

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

Beyond the Coup Rumors, Options for Iraq — As the security situation in Baghdad has deteriorated over the past month, there has been growing talk among Iraqi politicians about a "government of national salvation" — a coup, in effect — that would impose martial law throughout the country.

Discussion: Firedoglake, archive.gulfnews.com, The Heretik and Right Wing Nut House

Bloomberg:

U.S. Economy: Fuel-Price Drop Spurs Consumer Spending (Update2) — Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) — Lower gasoline prices encouraged Americans to spend more on clothing, furniture and building materials, and propelled consumer confidence to the highest level in more than a year.

Paul Caron / TaxProf Blog:

Which Law Prof Blogs Have the Juice? — TaxProf Blog has a 6.4 "Blog Juice Rating," determined by: — Number of Bloglines subscribers (40%) — Alexa rank (15%) — Technorati ranking (30%) — Number of inbound links via Technorati (15%) — Here are the Blog Juice Ratings for various law professor blogs: