memeorandum: Bench battle resumes over new nominee (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

8:40 PM ET, May 15, 2007

Top Items:

Falwell reportedly found unconscious, hospitalized … LYNCHBURG, Virginia (AP) — The Rev. Jerry Falwell was hospitalized in "gravely serious" condition after being found unconscious in his office Tuesday, a Liberty University executive said. — Ron Godwin, the executive vice president …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Iowa Voice, Wonkette, The American Mind, Balloon Juice, The Newshoggers, Associated Press, Comments From Left Field and Macsmind

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:

Jerry Falwell dies at age 73 — One of the nation's most notorious TV preachers, Jerry Falwell, died today in Lynchburg, Va. … More soon. — Update: I have to admit, writing about Falwell's death poses an awkward challenge for me. When I worked at Americans United for Separation …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo, Campaign for America's …, The Caucus, DownWithTyranny!, Think Progress, Big Brass Blog, Sadly, No!, Taylor Marsh, Eschaton, Wonkette and Mercury Rising

MSNBC:

Falwell in 'gravely serious' condition — Evangelical leader was found in his university office — LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell — founder of the Moral Majority and the face of the religious right in the 1980s — was in "gravely serious" condition Tuesday after being found unconscious …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, David E's Fablog, Central Sanity, Think Progress, TAPPED, The Moderate Voice and Big Brass Blog

Sue Lindsey / Associated Press:

Television evangelist Falwell dies at 73 — LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University.

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Captain's Quarters, Democratic Underground …, Ankle Biting Pundits and Gateway Pundit

CNN:

Rev. Jerry Falwell dead at 73 … (CNN) — Evangelist Jerry Falwell died Tuesday after he was found unresponsive in his office, an official at Liberty University told CNN. — Falwell, 73, was rushed to a Lynchburg, Virginia, hospital, where he was given CPR.

Discussion: Blog of the Moderate Left, The World Wide Rant and Central Sanity

Matt Stearns / Real Cities:
Rev. Jerry Falwell dies

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Peter Applebome / New York Times:
Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73

Discussion: Althouse and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Washington Post:
Falwell's Sudden Death Jolts GOP Candidates

Discussion: Latest Politics, Sister Toldjah and MSNBC

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Comey Details White House Attempt to Force Approval of Secret Program — In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey detailed the desperate late night efforts by then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and White House chief …

Discussion: Balkinization, Salon, Firedoglake, Think Progress, Talking Points Memo, CANNONFIRE, The Carpetbagger Report, The Anonymous Liberal, NION, MotherJones.com, Norwegianity, War and Piece, The Volokh Conspiracy and Washington Monthly

Think Progress:

Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, 5/15/07, Senate Judiciary Committee — COMEY: In the early part of 2004, the Department of Justice was engaged — the Office of Legal Counsel, under my supervision — in a reevaluation both factually and legally of a particular classified program.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Unqualified Offerings, Obsidian Wings and War and Piece

David Stout / New York Times:

Gonzales Pressed Ailing Ashcroft on Spy Plan, Aide Says — On the night of March 10, 2004, a high-ranking Justice Department official rushed to a Washington hospital to prevent two White House aides from taking advantage of the critically ill Attorney General, John Ashcroft, the official testified today.

Discussion: News Bloggers Blog, WSJ.com, WorkingForChange and The Moderate Voice

William Branigin / Washington Post:
White House Pushed Ashcroft on Wiretappings

Discussion: TalkLeft

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
Who Will Play Gonzales and Card and Addington in the Hollywood Movie …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and Power Line

Emptywheel / Firedoglake:
Comey SJC Testimony, Liveblog

Discussion: The Next Hurrah and Eschaton

Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press:
Gonzales: Deputy was pointman on firings

Discussion: Happy Furry Puppy Story …, The Carpetbagger Report, Washington Post, The Garlic and PoliBlog (TM)

Faiz / Think Progress:
Gonzales Throws McNulty Under The Bus

Discussion: Blah3

ABCNEWS:

Bush Taps New 'War Czar' — ABC News Learns Pentagon Official Selected to Oversee Iraq, Afghanistan Wars — After a frustrating search for a new "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ABC News has learned that President Bush has chosen the Pentagon's director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, for the role.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Huffington Post, Captain's Quarters, Comments From Left Field, Danger Room, The Impolitic, The Talent Show, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report, Middle Earth Journal, Blah3 and Daily Kos

Lizstephans / Breitbart.tv:

Exclusive: Thompson Responds to Michael Moore Challenge — Breitbart.tv Exclusive: The confrontation over Cuba continues. Michael Moore has challenged Fred Thompson to a health care debate. At issue — Moore's trip to Cuba and Thompson's criticism of that trip.

Discussion: Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, The Impolitic, democracyarsenal.org and Heading Right

The Atlantic Online:

Yes, Hypocrisy Matters — It's no surprise to see that James Kirchick, assistant to New Republic editor in chief Martin Peretz, shares his patron's passion for the cause of keeping Paul Wolfowitz in office at the World Bank. Kirchick says Wolfowitz's critics are making baseless charges …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money and Mercury Rising

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Bank's Report Says Wolfowitz Violated Ethics

Discussion: Opinions You Should Have, AMERICAblog and Wonkette

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Video: MSNBC quotes WhiteHouse.org on Falwell's political influence — Yeah, WhiteHouse.org. The most infamous, relentlessly anti-Bush parody site on the 'Net. — You can imagine how it played out. Producer to intern: "We need a fawning description of him from the White House website …

Discussion: National Review

John Amato / Crooks and Liars: MSNBC punks itself!

Joseph Carroll / Gallup Poll:

Congress Approval Down to 29%; Bush Approval Steady at 33% — Both ratings are slightly lower than 2007 averages — PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds continued low levels of public support for both Congress and President George W. Bush. Twenty-nine percent of Americans approve of Congress …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, Power Line, News Bloggers Blog, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Redstate, Roger L. Simon, PSoTD, Donklephant, Outside The Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Chicago Tribune, Secular Blasphemy, Althouse, The Jawa Report, Don Surber and First Draft

Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:

Bloomberg poised for third-party campaign — New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is prepared to spend an unprecedented $1 billion of his own $5.5 billion personal fortune for a third-party presidential campaign, personal friends of the mayor tell The Washington Times.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Reason Magazine, CBS News, Associated Press, The Blue State, CQPolitics.com, TIME, Gawker, Clayton Cramer's BLOG, Attytood, Donklephant and Centerfield

Mark Kleiman / The RBC:

Godwin's law and the New Right — I know that supporters of the currently ruling coalition of crooks, warmongers, torturers, incompetents, and theocrats are deeply, deeply hurt when they and their pet politicians are compared to Nazis. But could someone suggest to them — politely …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, Right Wing News, World-O-Crap and Comments From Left Field