memeorandum: Military: No Gitmo guard abuse evident (Michael Melia/Associated Press)

12:25 AM ET, February 8, 2007

Top Items:

Does John Edwards Condone Hate Speech? — A bit of a tempest is brewing over the strident and profanity-laced writings of John Edwards' official campaign "blogmaster," Amanda Marcotte. She joined the Edwards campaign last week, and she's already gotten a lot of attention.

Chris Bowers / MyDD:

Waiting To Hear From Edwards — I have a pretty vicious rant and an important action alert lined up, but I am waiting to hear from the Edwards camp about the fate of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan before doing anything. The Salon story is not credible and cannot be verified at this time.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, The Caucus, The Political Pit Bull, Daily Pundit, JustOneMinute and The Supreme Irony of Life

David Burge / iowahawk:

THE PANDAGON PAPERS — [Strong content warning - ed.] — Dear Senator Edwards: — I am f**king delighted to accept your offer of the position of Official Blogger for the Edwards 2008 presidential campaign. Please find attached my f**king W-2 form. — I would like to express …

Discussion: Hot Air

Media Matters for America:

NY Times, AP reported Donohue's criticism of Edwards campaign bloggers — but ignored Donohue's own controversial comments and inconsistent outrage — The New York Times and Associated Press have both reported criticism by Catholic League president Bill Donohue of two bloggers hired …

Discussion: NewDonkey.com, The Fix, AMERICAblog, Off the Kuff, Associated Press, The Huffington Post, The Right's Field, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The Daily Background and Eschaton

Salon: War Room:

Edwards campaign fires bloggers — The right-wing blogosphere has gotten its scalps — John Edwards has fired the two controversial bloggers he recently hired to do liberal blogger outreach, Salon has learned. — The bloggers, Amanda Marcotte, formerly of Pandagon, and Melissa McEwan …

Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:

A look at John McCain's blogger-consultant — Apparently, there is a new standard that any blogger who has made controversial or profane remarks in the past is unsuitable to work for a political campaign. That is the premise of these two articles — one from The New York Times and another …

Media Matters for America: McCain and his blogger apparently agree: Chelsea Clinton is "ugly"

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
CNN on the Edwards/Blogger Story

Discussion: The Agonist

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Intemperate allies for me, but not for thee

Discussion: Creative Destruction and Political Animal

Garance Franke-Ruta / TAPPED:
A ROUGH LESSON FOR BLOGGERS. Salon is reporting that the John …

Discussion: Eschaton

Jill / Feministe:
The Backlash Against the Edwards Bloggers

Discussion: TAPPED and Happy Furry Puppy Story …

Bryan / Hot Air:
IMPORTANT ACTION ALERT: Stop taking yourselves so seriously

Discussion: MyDD, protein wisdom and Ace of Spades HQ

Swopa / Firedoglake:

Libby Live: Tim Russert, Two — More cross-examination by Wells of Tim Russert ... NOTES: (1) This is not an official transcript — just a very loose paraphrase, at best — so don't treat it as one. Even exchanges that look like verbatim dialogue are just the gist of each question and each answer …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo and The Strata-Sphere

Swopa / Firedoglake:

Libby Live: Tim Russert, One — Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be live-bloggers. Trying to keep up with the tapes of rapid-fire Fitz and soft-spoken Scooter was no fun. But now we're back in the world of live witnesses, who hopefully will pause for breath more often ...

Discussion: Booman Tribune and JustOneMinute

Paul Courson / CNN:
Russert says he didn't give Libby agent's ID

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The Huffington Post

Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
The Libby Trial: Why Did Tim Russert Fight So Hard to Avoid Telling …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Maine Web Report and Kesher Talk

New York Times: At Libby Trial, Russert of NBC Gives and Gets

Maine Web Report:
Libby- Russert testimony 2:30pm

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Olbermann Watch and TalkLeft

Pajamas Media:

NANCY PELOSI RIDES A GAS-GUZZLING SUV TO A ... GLOBAL-WARMING HEARING! — Many, if not all, Chevrolet Tahoe models are not available in Pelosi's home state of California because they do not meet the state's environmental standards — As if the flap over Nancy Pelosi's private military jet …

Discussion: Washington Times and Roger L. Simon

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Pentagon Rejects Speaker Pelosi's Request for Military Aircraft

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Political Pit Bull

Lois Romano / Washington Post:
Pelosi Catches Nonstop Flights Home

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Think Progress

Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:

7 GOP Senators Back War Debate — Lawmakers Had Blocked Action on Troop Resolution — Senate Republicans who earlier this week helped block deliberations on a resolution opposing President Bush's new troop deployments in Iraq changed course yesterday and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate.

Discussion: AMERICAblog and Talking Points Memo

Elana Schor / The Hill:
Senate Dems to try again on the 'surge'

Discussion: New York Times, Democrats.com, Taylor Marsh and Redstate

Mike Barber / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Mistrial in Watada court-martial — FORT LEWIS — The court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada ended in a mistrial Wednesday. — The case's just, Lt. Col. John Head, declared the trial over after a day of wrangling over a stipulation of facts that Watada had signed before the trial …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit and Blue Crab Boulevard

Quinnipiac University News and Events:

February 7, 2007 - Giuliani, McCain, Clinton In Florida Horse Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Results Close To Clinton's Razor-Thin Lead In Ohio — In an early look at the 2008 presidential race in Florida, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has a razor-thin 47 …

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, MyDD and The Caucus

Lydia Saad / Gallup Poll:
Giuliani's Social Views Not Well Known

Discussion: Pollster, Outside The Beltway and Decision '08

Michael Melia / Associated Press:

Military: No Gitmo guard abuse evident — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - An Army officer who investigated possible abuse at Guantanamo Bay after some guards purportedly bragged about beating detainees found no evidence they mistreated the prisoners — although he did not interview any of the alleged victims, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker

Eytan Avriel / Haaretz:

NY Times publisher: Our goal is to manage the transition from print to internet — Despite his personal fortune and impressive lineage, Arthur Sulzberger, owner, chairman and publisher of the most respected newspaper in the world, is a stressed man. — Why would the man behind the New York Times be stressed?

The Smoking Gun:

Air America Fire Sale — Documents: Bankrupt liberal radio network to sell for $4.25 million — Bankrupt and about to lose Al Franken, its marquee star, Air America Radio is set to change hands for the bargain price of $4.25 million, according to new court documents.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, The Huffington Post and Scared Monkeys

Larisa Alexandrovna / The Raw Story:

Pentagon Inspector General to release investigation into secretive pre-war Iraq intelligence group — Former Undersecretary Feith says he hasn't seen report — A long awaited Pentagon Inspector General's report into the Office of Special Plans and its activities surrounding pre-war intelligence …

Lou Young / WCBS-TV:

Bill Banning iPods In Crosswalks Slated For Albany — State Sen. Kruger: Electronic Devices Put Many In Danger — (CBS) NEW YORK First it was cell phones in cars, then trans fats. Now, a new plan is on the table to ban gadget use while crossing city streets.