memeorandum: "Do You Speak Spanish?" — Via TPMMuckraker, an interview … (Hilzoy/Obsidian Wings)

3:35 PM ET, December 9, 2006

Top Items:

Jeff Stein / CQ.com:

Democrats' New Intelligence Chairman Needs a Crash Course on al Qaeda — Forty years ago, Sgt. Silvestre Reyes was a helicopter crew chief flying dangerous combat missions in South Vietnam from the top of a soaring rocky outcrop near the sea called Marble Mountain.

Discussion: Ezra Klein, The Political Pit Bull, The Carpetbagger Report, Wake up America, Political Animal, TPMmuckraker, JustOneMinute and Matthew Yglesias

Washington Post:

Iraq Strategy Review Focusing on Three Main Options — As pressure mounts for a change of course in Iraq, the Bush administration is groping for a viable new strategy for the president to unveil by Christmas, with deliberations now focused on three main options to redefine the U.S. military …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, JustOneMinute and Sister Toldjah

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:

Wasn't He On The Intel Committee Already? — Nancy Pelosi has struggled through a headache of her own making ever since tossing Jane Harman out of the House Intelligence Committee chair. She attempted to place Alcee Hastings into the slot, even though Hastings got impeached from the federal bench for corruption in the late 1980s.

Discussion: Bill's Bites

Hilzoy / Obsidian Wings: "Do You Speak Spanish?" — Via TPMMuckraker, an interview …

Laura / War and Piece:
Tilt to the Shiites, advocated by Cheney's office. Who reported that before?

Discussion: toohotfortnr and The Reaction

Real Cities:

Democrats frustrated by Bush's reaction to Iraq report — WASHINGTON - Top Democrats in Congress left a White House meeting with President Bush on Friday frustrated over what they perceived as his reluctance to embrace major recommendations from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, Riehl World View, Political Animal, Matthew Yglesias, Booman Tribune and The News Blog

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Iraqis Near Deal on Distribution of Oil Revenues by Population — Iraqi officials are near agreement on a national oil law that would give the central government the power to distribute current and future oil revenues to the provinces or regions, based on their population, Iraqi and American officials say.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Andrew Sullivan, Donklephant, A Blog For All, PoliBlog (TM), Outside The Beltway, Don Surber, JustOneMinute and Neptunus Lex

Thomas P.M. Barnett:
A potentially big development that could keep Iraq from fracturing

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

New York Times:

Romney's Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire — Gov. Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts Republican who has built a presidential campaign on a broad appeal for conservative support, is drawing sharply increased criticism from conservative activists for his advocacy of gay rights in a 1994 letter.

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Hotline On Call and Althouse

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters: Romney's Past Catching Up?

John / Inside Europe:

Semi-random notes while listening to Jelly Roll Morton and making excuses for not having posted for a couple of days: — Actually, I've been busy with a translation and so have had little desire to do any more typing. One thing running this blog taught me how to do is touch-type, and I'm actually pretty fast now.

jules crittenden:
Eurovision — A colossal steaming pile from a London School …

Discussion: Dr. Sanity, The Moderate Voice and Tim Blair

Martin Jacques / Guardian: The neocons have finished what the Vietcong started

Rhonda Schwartz Reports / The Blotter:

Democratic Leadership Knew About Foley E-mails — Rhonda Schwartz Reports: — The House Ethics Committee Report includes new information that top Democrats were also aware in 2005 of Mark Foley's inappropriate e-mails to congressional pages at about the same time as outgoing Speaker Dennis Hastert's office was informed.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air, Iowa Voice, Joust The Facts, Townhall.com Blog's …, PoliPundit.com, Outside The Beltway and The Political Pit Bull

CREW:
CREW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MELANIE SLOAN'S REACTION TO HOUSE ETHICS …

Discussion: The Blotter, Sister Toldjah and AMERICAblog

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Committee Says GOP Left Foley Unchecked

Discussion: New York Times, On Deadline and JustOneMinute

Telegraph:

Full text of Blair's multiculturalism speech — We should begin by celebrating something. When we won the Olympic Bid to host the 2012 Games, we presented a compelling, modern vision of Britain: a country at ease with different races, religions and cultures.

Philip Johnston / Telegraph:
Adopt our values or stay away, says Blair

Discussion: Don Surber, The Spirit of Man, sisu and TigerHawk

Charles Babington / Washington Post:

Senators to Gather in Closed Meeting — Reid Plan Defended as Effort to 'Establish a Dialogue,' but Some See a Bad Precedent — Senate Democrats, who campaigned on a pledge of more openness in government, will kick off the 110th Congress with a closed meeting of all 100 senators in the Capitol.

Discussion: TimChapmanBlog.com and Outside The Beltway

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Oh, When They Get Behind Closed Doors ... Watch Out

Discussion: Bill's Bites and Don Surber

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

What I think is really going on in the war on trans fat. … I simply do not believe that the so-called health side is really composed of people who are solicitous about everyone else's health. I can't prove it, but my intuition is that all the strength on the "health" …

Discussion: liberal catnip

Paul Silver / The Moderate Voice:
Fats and Freedom — Slate reports that New York City …

Discussion: Slate, QandO and Gun Toting Liberal

Kirk Semple / New York Times:

Iraqis Line Up to Put Hussein in the Noose — One of the most coveted jobs in Iraq does not yet exist: the executioner for Saddam Hussein. The death sentence against Mr. Hussein is still under review by an appeals court, but hundreds of people have already started lobbying the prime minister's office for the position.

Discussion: jules crittenden and Althouse

epw.senate.gov:

Majority Fact of the Day — SENATOR INHOFE ANNOUNCES PUBLIC RELEASE OF "SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO DEBUNKING GLOBAL WARMING" — Contact: Marc Morano (Marc_Morano@epw.senate.gov ), Matt Dempsey (Matthew_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov ) — Washington D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and NewsBusters.org

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:

Rumsfeld Discusses Successes, Failures — Defense Secretary Says Abu Ghraib Was a Low Point — Departing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday that his most difficult moment on the job was when he learned of the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Discussion: The Sideshow and Talking Points Memo

jules crittenden:

Chickenus Dovus Asniniensis — The anti-war movement's big moment has arrived. The pressure for cut-and-walk is on. The moment of defeat is at hand! — Back when the war started, there were some highly principled peaceniks who decided to go to Iraq to shield the innocent Iraqi people …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Riehl World View and The Democratic Daily

Raul Fernandez / Washington Post:

Uploading American Politics — Technology won the 2006 elections for the Democrats. No, not electronic voting machines, but the power of the Internet, fueled by innovative applications that let citizens create and publish their own content. The Internet not only changed the balance …

Discussion: Political Animal and The Sideshow