memeorandum: Repairing The Tattered Congressional Spine (Christy Hardin Smith/Firedoglake)

5:35 PM ET, April 25, 2007

Top Items:

House Committee Authorizes Subpoena for Goodling — The House Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 32-6, just authorized a subpoena for Monica Goodling's testimony and an offer of immunity. — As former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias pointed out yesterday, Goodling should prove …

Discussion: Real Cities, Booman Tribune, The Next Hurrah, The Moderate Voice, The Carpetbagger Report, Norwegianity, Firedoglake, Shakesville, Prairie Weather and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Wall Street Journal:

Delays in Renzi Case Raise More Gonzales Questions — WASHINGTON — As midterm elections approached last November, federal investigators in Arizona faced unexpected obstacles in getting needed Justice Department approvals to advance a corruption investigation of Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, people close to the case said.

Discussion: The Corner, TPMmuckraker, Think Progress, NION, The Stakeholder, Middle Earth Journal, DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos and TIME

Nico / Think Progress:

Breaking: Gonzales Aide Goodling Granted Immunity — The House Judiciary Committee voted moments ago to grant immunity to Monica Goodling — former counsel to Alberto Gonzales and the Justice Department's liaison to the White House — and issue a subpoena compelling her to testify.

Discussion: Political Animal, Democratic Underground … and Shakesville

Associated Press:
Joint letter issued for Gonzales

Discussion: Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Wonkette

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
The Oval Office Bunker

Discussion: Firedoglake, Middle Earth Journal, The Carpetbagger Report, CorrenteWire, Political Animal, Booman Tribune and Cliff Schecter

Michael Roston / The Raw Story:
Leahy: The President said 'Heckuva Job, Gonzales

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters: Subpoenaville — Democrats turned up the heat on the White House today …

ABCNEWS:

Exclusive: O'Donnell Leaving 'The View' — Rosie O'Donnell Is Set to Announce Today Her Departure From 'The View' — Rosie O'Donnell is leaving "The View." ABC has been unable to come to a contractual agreement with "The View" co-host. As a result, her duties on the show will come to an end mid-June.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Redstate, Daily Intelligencer, Don Surber, The Right Angle, NewsBusters.org, Ankle Biting Pundits, Another Rovian Conspiracy, Neptunus Lex and Gothamist

TMZ.com:
It's True — Rosie Will Leave "View!!"

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Michelle Malkin, Leibowitz's Canticle and The Right Angle

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
TMZ: Rosie to announce tomorrow that she's leaving "The View;" Update: ABC confirms

Discussion: New York Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, NewsBusters.org, Sister Toldjah, Ace of Spades HQ, Media Blog, Outside The Beltway and TMZ.com

Michael J. Totten:

Meet the Iraqi Police in Kirkuk — This is the second in a two part article. Read Part One, Where Kurdistan Meets the Red Zone, here. Scroll down for video. — KIRKUK, IRAQ - Kirkuk, like Baghdad, is one of the most dangerous places in the world. Car bombs, suicide attacks, shootings …

Discussion: Hot Air and Roads to Iraq

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Why No One Wants An American Withdrawal

Discussion: Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

Analysis: "Blackout" on campaign ads in doubt — With Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justice Antonin Scalia exhibiting considerable distaste for a key provision of federal campaign finance law, Congress' latest attempt to reduce the flow of corporate and union money …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Reason Magazine and Ace of Spades HQ

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Court rules for three Texas death row inmates

Discussion: Election Law and TalkLeft

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

The Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch frauds — It is difficult to watch these clips from yesterday's House hearings investigating the absolute, deliberate lies regarding Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch fed to the American public by the U.S. military — with an eager and accommodating assist …

Discussion: The Mahablog, protein wisdom, Redstate, Unqualified Offerings, Firedoglake, The American Street and PoliBlog (TM)

MSNBC:
Soldier: 'Ordered not to tell' of Tillman's death

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Guardian and War and Piece

Joe Sudbay / AMERICAblog:

Laura Bush wants you to know that when it comes to Iraq, no one is suffering more than the First Couple. No one. — Listen, you Americans, Laura Bush wants you to know the President is suffering over Iraq. In fact, Laura told Anne Curry on the Today Show, that the American people need to know that …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, TAPPED, State of the Day, Tennessee Guerilla Women and Brilliant at Breakfast

Noah Shachtman / Danger Room:

Longer Iraq Tours Good for "Army Stress," Pentagon Says — You have got to be kidding me. Check out this pure-propaganda pronouncement, from the Pentagon's official news organ, the "American Forces Press Service": … Yeah, yeah. Water is dry, ice is warm, and up is down, too.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Carpetbagger Report and AMERICAblog

Little Green Footballs:

Harvard: How the Media Partnered With Hezbollah — During Israel's war against Hizballah, at LGF we were continually outraged by the media's uncritical promulgation of terrorist propaganda, and their overwhelming bias against Israel. The barrage of staged and manipulated disinformation culminated …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Ace of Spades HQ and NewsBusters.org

Al Kamen / Washington Post:

Wolfowitz's Well-Traveled Travails — Lest anyone think the travails of embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz are solely a Washington obsession, let's take note of a bank videoconference meeting yesterday between new communications managing director Marwan Muasher …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and DownWithTyranny!

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Frustrations With Wolfowitz Boil Over at Meeting

Discussion: Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Villainous Company

Reuters:

Bin Laden overseeing Iraq, Afghanistan ops: Taliban — DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is orchestrating militants' operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior commander of Afghan Islamist group Taliban said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday.

Discussion: Hot Air, Jules Crittenden, The Strata-Sphere, Gateway Pundit and Middle Earth Journal

Associated Press:

Dow Closes Above 13,000 for First Time — Dow Ends Above 13,000 for First Time As Earnings Reports Push Stock Market to Historic Heights — NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like a cause for celebration: The Dow Jones industrial average surged from 12,000 to 13,000 in just six months.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Outside The Beltway and INSTAPUTZ

Horses Mouth:

Oh, man. You won't be surprised to hear that Rupert Murdoch's New York Post is willing to stoop to extraordinary depths of dishonesty to smear Dems, but this one is quite remarkable. — Check out the rewrite that The Post has done on an AP story it ran today.

Discussion: Associated Press, AMERICAblog, The BRAD BLOG and Oliver Willis

David Finkel / Washington Post:

A Grisly Problem, Grateful Iraqis and a Grim Outlook — Unit Planning Outpost Confronts an Obstacle Known as 'Bob' — The soldiers called him Bob, and for the past several weeks, until Tuesday morning, he was the biggest obstacle to the success of an important mission in a small but crucial corner of the Iraq war.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, FRAMESHOP and Wonkette

George S. McGovern / Los Angeles Times:

George McGovern: Cheney is wrong about me, wrong about war — The 1972 presidential nominee strikes back at the vice president for comparing today's Democrats to the McGovern platform. — VICE PRESIDENT Dick Cheney recently attacked my 1972 presidential platform and contended …