memeorandum: Point of personal privilege (Jeff Greenfield/CNN)

9:05 PM ET, December 13, 2006

Top Items:

S. Dakota's Sen. Johnson has possible stroke — Takes ill in Capitol Hill office, hospitalized for evaluation — NEW YORK - Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S. D., has been hospitalized with symptoms described as stroke-like. The seriousness of his illness has not been disclosed.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Blogs of War, Dick Polman's American Debate, WuzzaDem, Talking Points Memo, Truthdig, Decision '08, Booman Tribune and Blue Crab Boulevard

The Raw Story:

Senator Tim Johnson reportedly suffers stroke; Senate power seen in the balance — Print page sponsored by Velvet Revolution. — MSNBC is currently reporting that Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) has suffered a stroke. — There is no word, currently, on the Senator's condition.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Reuters, TAPPED, Hot Air, CNN Political Ticker, The Moderate Voice and Wonkette

Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:

Sen. Johnson suffers possible stroke — WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson (news, bio, voting record) of South Dakota suffered a possible stroke Wednesday and was taken to a Washington hospital, his office said. If he should be unable to continue to serve, it could halt the scheduled Democratic takeover of the Senate.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Democratic Underground, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, Shakespeare's Sister, Political Animal, The Political Pit Bull and Wampum

Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:

South Dakota senator hospitalized — WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson (news, bio, voting record) of South Dakota was hospitalized after becoming disoriented Wednesday, weeks before his party is to take control of the Senate by a one-vote margin. — Johnson, who turns 60 on Dec. 28 …

Argus Leader:
Sen. Tim Johnson hospitalized after possible stroke

Discussion: HorsesAss.Org

CNN:
Staff: Senator hospitalized with stroke-like symptoms

Discussion: The Agonist and Blue Mass. Group

Pauline Jelinek / Associated Press:

Military Meets, Exceeds Recruiting Goals — WASHINGTON (AP) - Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Bill's Bites

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:

Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops — The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.

Discussion: QandO, AMERICAblog, The Corner, Thomas P.M. Barnett, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, Political Animal, Tammy Bruce, Daily Kos, The Heretik, jules crittenden and Suburban Guerrilla

Julian E. Barnes / Los Angeles Times:
Pentagon's plan: More U.S. troops in Iraq

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Reaction, Tom DeLay Blog, GINA COBB, Middle Earth Journal, Taylor Marsh, Redstate, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Daily Kos, The Corner and The Caucus

Jeff Greenfield / CNN:

Point of personal privilege — (CNN) — "Humor is the nitroglycerin of politics," a political analyst wrote long ago. "Very powerful, but if it's not handled carefully, it can explode in your face." — Actually, I wrote those words in a widely un-read book.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos, skippy the bush kangaroo, Talking Points Memo and The Agonist

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
HAIR-TRIGGER INSTINCTS....Jeff Greenfield protests that his comparison …

Discussion: Scoobie Davis Online

Barry R. McCaffrey / Washington Post:

Beyond Baker-Hamilton — One Approach to a Last Try at Stability in Iraq — A collapse of the Iraqi state would be catastrophic — for the people of Iraq, for the Middle East and for America's strategic interests. We need a new political and military approach to head off this impending disaster …

Discussion: Redstate, New Sisyphus - PDX and American Footprints

Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush decides direction of Iraq policy

Discussion: Sirotablog and All Spin Zone

Julia Preston / New York Times:

U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case — In simultaneous dawn raids, federal immigration agents swept into six Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, rounding up hundreds of immigrant workers in what the agents described as a vast criminal investigation of identity theft.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Captain's Quarters, Shakespeare's Sister, Riehl World View and La Shawn Barber's Corner

Salt Lake Tribune:

Federal raid puts families in limbo — Immigration agents looking for stolen IDs detain scores in Hyrum — HYRUM - If only for a few minutes, Maria felt like an ''illegal alien'' in her homeland - the United States of America. — She thought she was going on break from her job …

Discussion: TPMmuckraker

Guardian:

Move to bring genocide case against Ahmadinejad as Iran president repeats call to wipe out Israel — Robert Tait in Tehran, Ed Pilkington in New York — The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, is backing a call for the president of Iran to be charged with inciting genocide …

Discussion: Hot Air, Slate, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Captain's Quarters, Wake up America, Gateway Pundit, Democracy Project and Pajamas Media

CNN:

Official: Saudis to back Sunnis if U.S. leaves Iraq … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has warned Vice President Dick Cheney that Saudi Arabia would back the Sunnis if the United States pulls out of Iraq, according to a senior American official.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Blogs of War, The Strata-Sphere and Talking Points Memo

Mark Bauerlein / Chronicle of Higher Education:

How Academe Shortchanges Conservative Thinking — Notwithstanding the outcome of the recent election, in one respect, the last few decades mark a breakthrough era for conservative intellectuals. Their visibility has soared. Thirty years ago, the only place to find conservatives on television …

Discussion: JunkYardBlog, The Corner and alicublog

Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:

Former CNN News Chief To Launch 'IraqSlogger' Site — NEW YORK For the past four years there has been no shortage of news and views on Iraq and the long-running war there. What's been missing: a one-stop-shopping clearinghouse for nonpartisan information, including material coming …

Discussion: Wizbang and Don Surber

James Peron / TCS Daily:

The Global Poor Are Getting Richer, Faster — In a report out today, The World Bank looks both at current economic growth rates and projections for the next 25 years. The report, Global Economics Prospects 2007 says "developing economies are projected to grow by 7.0 percent in 2006 …

Discussion: Dean's World and Thomas P.M. Barnett

Peter R. Kann / Opinion Journal:

The Power of the Press — The media is in need of some mending. — Thomas Jefferson, a better president than we've had in a very long time, penned a line back in 1787: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Daily Pundit, Blue Crab Boulevard, Ed Driscoll.com and Media Blog

Little Green Footballs:

Democrat Bill Nelson Meets with Syrian Dictator — Hamas has been claiming that they've held meetings with top US Democrat leaders; I've been skeptical. — But this outrage makes their claims easier to believe. (Hat tip: Snapped Shot.) … UPDATE at 12/13/06 9:39:35 am: — It isn't just Bill Nelson.

Discussion: Doug Ross, Hot Air, Atlas Shrugs and Macsmind