memeorandum: Poll: Americans see gloom, doom in 2007 (Darlene Superville/Associated Press)

6:55 PM ET, December 31, 2006

Top Items:

U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000 — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The death of a Texas soldier, announced Sunday by the Pentagon, raised the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count. — The grim milestone was crossed …

Discussion: Riehl World View, The Agonist, BobGeiger.com and Tennessee Guerilla Women

MSNBC:

U.S. sustains 3,000th fatality in Iraq — Texas soldier's death raises toll to new milestone; Bush weighs his options — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Pentagon announced the death of a Texas soldier on Sunday, raising the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

Discussion: Macsmind and THE CUNNING REALIST

Nathan Thornburgh / Time: America's Lost 3,000 — The death toll for U.S. soldiers …

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Poll: Americans see gloom, doom in 2007 — WASHINGTON - Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster. These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007. — Only a minority of people think the U.S. will go to war with Iran …

Discussion: The American Street, StephenBainbridge.com, The Democratic Daily, Inactivist and CANNONFIRE

Nancy Benac / Associated Press:

AP Poll: Americans Optimistic for 2007 … WASHINGTON (AP) — The news from Iraq and other national headlines may be grim, but in Greenville, N.C., John Given has a new baby and his first home, and life is good. — So, too, for Sandra Trowbridge in tiny Magnet Cove, Ark. The situation …

Discussion: SevenStripes.com, Sister Toldjah and The Impolitic

Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:

Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa — Increase in Funding to Impoverished Continent Is Viewed as Altruistic or Pragmatic — President Bush's legacy is sure to be defined by his wielding of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is another, much softer and less-noticed effort …

Discussion: Grasping Reality …, Beat the Press, Wake up America, Blue Crab Boulevard and Don Surber

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters: An Overlooked Legacy? — The Washington Post notes …

Little Green Footballs:

Palestinians Mourn Dead Tyrant — The wires services' Arab propagandists are working overtime to let us know that the Palestinian death cult society is distraught about the execution of the monster Saddam Hussein.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and The Jawa Report

jules crittenden:
Next Order of Business

Discussion: Boston Herald, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Hyscience

Gateway Pundit:
Palestinians Missing Saddam and His Fat Checks for Terror

Discussion: Wake up America and Captain's Quarters

Times of London:

Hillary falls to earth in poll race — THE first vote is still more than a year away, but the campaign to replace President George W Bush in the White House is already throwing up surprises. — Unfortunately for Senator Hillary Clinton, long the front-runner in the Democratic drive to retake …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Gun Toting Liberal ™ and Decision '08

Stephen Braun / Los Angeles Times:

This Clinton machine is a tighter ship — The New York senator has a seasoned political team that is ready to act — if she decides to run for president. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent much of the last month behind closed doors, putting the final touches on a presidential campaign-in-waiting.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Liz Fedor / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Area Somalis want peace for homeland — Many of the 1,500 protesters in Minneapolis were angered that the U.S. gave tacit support for ousting of Islamists. — More than a thousand Somalis gathered in Minneapolis on Saturday to call for Ethiopian troops to withdraw immediately from Somalia.

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs and Clarity & Resolve

Observer:
Not a shot was fired yet the Somali jihad was suddenly over...

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

White House:

President's Radio Address — Remembering President Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006) — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, as Americans prepare to welcome a new year, we do so with heavy hearts and fond memories of our 38th President, Gerald R. Ford. We mourn the passing of a courageous leader …

White House:
Vice President's Remarks at the State Funeral of Former President Gerald R. Ford

Discussion: Right Voices

IrelandOn-line:

Hundreds of Turks injured in Muslim animal sacrifice — Hundreds of Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha holiday in emergency wards today after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while sacrificing startled and agitated animals.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Sweetness & Light

The Hill:

Conyers accepts responsibility for possible ethics violations — Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has "accepted responsibility" for possibly violating House rules by requiring his official staff to perform campaign-related work, according to a statement quietly released by the House ethics committee late Friday evening.

Discussion: Doug Ross, Daled Amos, Macsmind, Texas Rainmaker, Flopping Aces and Blogs for Bush

Steven R. Hurst / Associated Press:

Hundreds flock to see Saddam's gravesite — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of Iraqis flocked to the village where Saddam Hussein was born on Sunday to see the deposed leader buried in a religious compound 24 hours after his execution. — Dozens of relatives and others, some of them crying and moaning …

Discussion: Argghhh!, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler and Clarity & Resolve

John F. Burns / New York Times:
Hussein Video Grips Iraq; Attacks Go On

Discussion: The Corner, Senator Joe Biden's Unite … and Prairie Weather

Michael Coleman / Latest ABQjournal News:

Wilson Opposes Troop Increase — WASHINGTON— Rep. Heather Wilson— initially a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq— said Saturday she opposes sending additional U.S. troops to the violence-torn nation and that the situation in Baghdad is "not improving."

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Scott Helman / Boston Globe:

Romney connecting quickly with bloggers — Taps into the Web for early support — Bill Hobbs of Tennessee is among the bloggers that Mitt Romney has been courting. (Alan Poizner/ Getty Images/ For the Boston Globe) — Over cold cuts, cookies, and soft drinks, Governor Mitt Romney …

Discussion: Power Line, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Ankle Biting Pundits

Associated Press:

Mosque plans trigger neighbor's pig races … KATY, Texas (AP) — A man unhappy with an Islamic association's plans to build a mosque next to his property has staged pig races as a protest during afternoon prayers. — Craig Baker, 46, sold merchandise and grilled sausages Friday for about 100 people who showed up in heavy rain.

Discussion: Polimom Says, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, CorrenteWire and The Debate Link

Independent:

Robert Fisk: He takes his secrets to the grave. Our complicity dies with him — How the West armed Saddam, fed him intelligence on his 'enemies', equipped him for atrocities - and then made sure he wouldn't squeal — We've shut him up. The moment Saddam's hooded executioner pulled …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Tim Golden / New York Times:

For Guantánamo Review Boards, Limits Abound — GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — At one end of a converted trailer in the American military detention center here, a graying Pakistani businessman sat shackled before a review board of uniformed officers, pleading for his freedom.

Discussion: Firedoglake, the talking dog and The Heretik