Top Items:
New York Times:
Rumsfeld Memo Proposed 'Major Adjustment' in Iraq — Two days before he resigned as defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld submitted a classified memo to the White House that acknowledged that the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq was not working and called for a major course correction.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Rumsfeld's Memo of Options for Iraq War — Following is the text of a classified Nov. 6 memorandum that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent to the White House suggesting new options in Iraq. The memorandum was sent one day before the midterm Congressional elections and two days before Mr. Rumsfeld resigned.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Corruption, Cronyism and Incompetence — I sincerely hope that the Democrats in the House and Senate, no matter how much pressure they get to do otherwise from the "centrist" Mandarins and callow Kewl Kidz, go hard after the Bush administration on war profiteering, cronyism, corruption and waste.
Richard Miniter / New York Post:
ABOUT THOSE IMAMS — WHY U.S. AIRWAYS KICKED 'EM OFF FLIGHT — THE notorious case of U.S. Airways Flight 300 gets stranger by the minute, as more facts emerge about why six traveling Muslim clerics were asked to deplane. — A passenger on that flight - I'll call her "Pauline" …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Clayton Cramer's BLOG, NewsBusters.org, The Moderate Voice, Power Line and Macsmind
RELATED:
Patrick Condon / Associated Press:
Muslims Seek Prayer Room at Airport — Airport officials said Friday they will consider setting aside a private area for prayer and meditation at the request of imams concerned about the removal of six Muslim clerics from a US Airways flight last week. — Steve Wareham, director …
Rick Klein / Boston Globe:
Kerry to postpone decision on '08 run — Associates say 'joke' fallout stunned him — WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry's election-eve "botched joke" about the war in Iraq — and the fierce denunciations his comments drew from fellow Democrats — has led him to reevaluate whether to mount …
RELATED:
Eric Foner / Washington Post:
He's The Worst Ever — Ever since 1948, when Harvard professor Arthur Schlesinger Sr. asked 55 historians to rank U.S. presidents on a scale from "great" to "failure," such polls have been a favorite pastime for those of us who study the American past. — Changes in presidential rankings reflect shifts in how we view history.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, Shakespeare's Sister, Macsmind, Middle Earth Journal, CorrenteWire and Lean Left
Diana West / Washington Times:
Saudi-Iranian rift? — Did anybody really need a leaked memo from the National Security Agency to figure out that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is incapable of stopping the carnage in Iraq? Given that his political power depends on factions allied with Shi'ite militias behind much of the carnage …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Next Chairman for Intelligence Opposed War — Representative Nancy Pelosi, the incoming House speaker, sent a strong new signal on Friday that Democrats intend to confront the White House by naming a Texas congressman who opposed the war in Iraq as the next chairman of the House intelligence committee.
RELATED:
John Podhoretz / New York Post:
WITLESS 'WISDOM' — BAKER'S WORTHLESS IRAQ ADVICE — YES, it's been quite a week for the 10 members of the Iraq Study Group, the committee formed last spring to offer recommendations on a path forward in Iraq. — They had a wonderfully invigorating leak session the other day with The New York Times …
RELATED:
Frederic J. Frommer / Associated Press:
Congressman faulted for Quran at oath — WASHINGTON (AP) — Keith Ellison, who will become the first Muslim member of Congress next month, has offended some conservatives with his plan to use the Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in. The decision by Ellison, D-Minn. …
RELATED:
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record — U.S.-Backed Efforts At Eradication Fail — Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday.
Washington Post:
GSA Chief Seeks to Cut Budget For Audits — The new chief of the U.S. General Services Administration is trying to limit the ability of the agency's inspector general to audit contracts for fraud or waste and has said oversight efforts are intimidating the workforce, according to government documents and interviews.
Discussion:
MyDD, The American Street, The Carpetbagger Report, The Impolitic, Booman Tribune, CorrenteWire and Talking Points Memo
Patricia Leigh Brown / New York Times:
Supporting Boys or Girls When the Line Isn't Clear — Until recently, many children who did not conform to gender norms in their clothing or behavior and identified intensely with the opposite sex were steered to psychoanalysis or behavior modification. — But as advocates gain ground …
Associated Press:
Castro Absent From Cuban Military Parade — Fidel Castro Remains Absent From Military Parade Marking 50th Anniversary of Cuban Revolution — HAVANA Dec 2, 2006 (AP)— A military parade marking the 50th anniversary of the date Fidel Castro and fellow rebels landed in Cuba to launch …
Michael J. Sniffen / ABCNEWS:
U.S. Gov't Terror Ratings Draw Outrage — Lawmakers and Businessmen Object to Terrorist Screening of American, International Travelers — A leader of the new Democratic Congress, business travelers and privacy advocates expressed outrage Friday over the unannounced assignment …