memeorandum: Sen. Johnson recovering after brain surgery (Associated Press)

7:50 PM ET, December 14, 2006

Top Items:

Should Johnson be unable to continue to serve, it could halt the scheduled Democratic takeover of the Senate. Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the November election. — (CBS/AP) Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota was hospitalized and underwent surgery late Wednesday …

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, All Spin Zone, unfutz, Political Insider and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

Sen. Johnson in Critical Condition After Surgery — Control of Chamber Could Be in Question if He Cannot Serve — Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) underwent emergency brain surgery overnight after falling ill at the Capitol and was in critical condition early this morning, introducing a note …

Judd / Think Progress:

Fox News Speculates How Officials Could 'Declare' Sen. Johnson 'Incapacitated' — Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) is at George Washington University hospital, recovering from brain surgery. — Meanwhile, Fox News is speculating how the balance of power could shift in the Senate, even if Sen. Johnson survived.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Sister Toldjah, Daily Kos, MyDD and On Deadline

Associated Press:
Sen. Johnson recovering after brain surgery

Discussion: Associated Press, Dick Polman's American Debate, Hot Air, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, protein wisdom and Decision '08

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:

Iraq needs a Pinochet — The general was no saint, but he's a better model to follow than Castro. — I THINK ALL intelligent, patriotic and informed people can agree: It would be great if the U.S. could find an Iraqi Augusto Pinochet. In fact, an Iraqi Pinochet would be even better than an Iraqi Castro.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, PoliBlog (TM), Booman Tribune, TAPPED, The Mahablog, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The Road to Surfdom and Liberty Street

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:

The idea that evil is permissible as long as it is used to advance the greater good will always be with us. Without it, war, religion, and the nation-state would cease to exist. Most of the philosophy underpinning human civilization would likely cease to exist as well.

Richard Esposito Reports / The Blotter:

Terror Fears as Blind Sheikh Faces 'Medical Emergency' — Richard Esposito Reports: — The imprisoned al Qaeda spiritual leader known as the "Blind Sheikh" suffered a "medical emergency" at the Springfield federal prison last week, and the FBI is warning his death could lead al Qaeda …

Discussion: Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Redstate, The Jawa Report, Hot Air and Wizbang

Kelli Arena / CNN:

FBI: Jailed cleric's illness triggers al Qaeda attack fears … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The imprisoned blind cleric who inspired the 1993 World Trade Center bombing has been hospitalized, raising fears of new attacks if he dies in U.S. custody, the FBI said in a bulletin.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Shakespeare's Sister

Michelle Malkin:

Looking for Jamil Hussein: Accepting Eason Jordan's invitation — My new travel partner? — Eason Jordan reports on his new website, Iraqslogger, that his team is in Baghdad looking for Jamil Hussein. They have not found him yet—which is newsworthy in itself—and get this …

The Liberal Avenger:
Malkin announces that she's going to Baghdad

Discussion: The Agonist, The News Blog, The Horse's Mouth, Confederate Yankee and The Jawa Report

White House:

Press Briefing by Tony Snow — White House Conference Center Briefing Room — MR. SNOW: All right, welcome. Let me run through the President's schedule for today. Normal briefings. He had a meeting with the President of Benin a while ago; also remarks at the White House Summit on Malaria.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Caucus

Patrick / FishBowlDC:
Tony Snow Apologizes To David Gregory

Discussion: Townhall.com Blog's …

John Distaso / New Hampshire Union Leader:

Granite Status: More than one Dem eyeing 2008 Senate primary — MOVE OVER, JEANNE. Sure, she'd be the 800-pound gorilla, but former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen isn't the only Democrat strongly considering running for the U.S. Senate against John E. Sununu in 2008. — State Sen. David Gottesman of Nashua is strongly weighing a run.

Discussion: Hotline On Call, Stop The ACLU, Daily Kos and The Caucus

Des Moines Register:
Edwards leads in poll of likely caucusgoers

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, Taylor Marsh, MyDD, Daily Kos, QandO and Pajamas Media

John Harwood / Wall Street Journal:

War-Weary Public Wants Congress to Lead — Poll Shows Desire for Lawmakers to Set Policy — Amid Growing Dismay Over Iraq, President Bush — WASHINGTON — Falling public support for the war in Iraq has weakened President Bush's political hand across the board, bolstering the clout …

Discussion: Washington Post, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, Mathew Gross and Political Animal

Judd / Think Progress:
Laura Bush Slams Media For Ignoring Good News In Iraq

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and CJR Daily

Examiner:

Jeralyn Merrit: Homeland Security's immigration raids ran amok — WASHINGTON - Tuesday's immmigration raids made me recoil in horror. — A thousand federal agents swooped down on six meat-packing plants across the country and detained more than 1,200 people.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Pachacutec / Firedoglake:
Latina High School Student: "What Rights Do I Have?"

Discussion: Denver Post, Des Moines Register, Latina Lista, Orcinus and The American Street

CNN:

Bakker, Brown: What the hell happened to Christianity? — Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, Confederate Yankee and Good Will Hinton

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Romney Recants — Everything he said in the 1990s is now to be dismissed. He was once for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; now he's against it. He was once for domestic partnerships for gays; now he's against them. He was once for ending the ban on gays in the military; now he's for keeping it.

Discussion: Power Line and The Carpetbagger Report

BBC:

Blogging 'set to peak next year' — The blogging phenomenon is set to peak in 2007, according to technology predictions by analysts Gartner. — The analysts said that during the middle of next year the number of blogs will level out at about 100 million.

Discussion: FP Passport

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:

John McCain's War On Blogs? — Amanda Terkel has a scary post detailing what she terms "John McCain's War On Blogs." … That certainly sounds intrusive and unnecessary. — Looking into the matter-using links Amanda provided-I'm a bit puzzled. The legislation is entitled …

Discussion: Redstate, The Carpetbagger Report, CANNONFIRE, Think Progress, Hullabaloo and Personal Democracy Forum blogs

democraticunderground.com:

A message from the DU admins: Please stop posting baseless conspiracy stuff about Senator Johnson. — Skinner ADMIN (1000+ posts) — A message from the DU admins: Please stop posting baseless conspiracy stuff about Senator Johnson. — I have instructed the mods to lock or delete …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Daimnation!

Salah Nasrawi / Associated Press:

Saudi Royal Family, Gov't Split on Iraq — AP Photo NY118 — CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Saudi Arabia's royal family and government leaders are deeply divided over how to handle the growing crisis in Iraq and other looming Mideast problems like Iran, with some favoring strong aid to fellow Sunnis and others more cautious.

Discussion: The Washington Note

Daniel J. Solove / Concurring Opinions:

A Guide to Grading Exams — It's that time of year again. Students have taken their finals, and now it is time to grade them. It is something professors have been looking forward to all semester. Exactness in grading is a well-honed skill, taking considerable expertise and years of practice to master.