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

11:00 PM ET, May 15, 2007

Top Items:

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: Sadly, No!, The Huffington Post, DownWithTyranny!, The Reaction, The Caucus, Think Progress, Eschaton, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, Mercury Rising and No More Mister Nice Blog

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, Big Brass Blog, Blah3 and The Democratic Daily

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, Gateway Pundit, The Newshoggers, Comments From Left Field, Macsmind and BlueOregon

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, Central Sanity and The Talent Show

Digby / Hullabaloo:
"He Thought It Would Be Dramatic"

Discussion: Campaign for America's …, Big Brass Blog and Wonkette

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

Discussion: Althouse and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Matt Stearns / Real Cities:
Rev. Jerry Falwell dies

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

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: Power Line, CNN, News Bloggers Blog, WSJ.com, WorkingForChange, The Moderate Voice and TIME: Swampland

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

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

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:

Who Will Play Gonzales and Card and Addington in the Hollywood Movie of the Comey Testimony? — Really, if Comey has not already sold the screenplay, he's missing out on a big payday. If you haven't already done so, READ THE TRANSCRIPT. [This might tell you all you need to know …

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
FULL TRANSCRIPT OF COMEY TESTIMONY ON NSA SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM …

Discussion: Power Line

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

Discussion: TalkLeft

Faiz / Think Progress:
Gonzales Throws McNulty Under The Bus

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Blah3 and WTF Is It Now??

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: The Huffington Post, Captain's Quarters, Comments From Left Field, World-O-Crap, The Talent Show, The Impolitic, The Carpetbagger Report, Middle Earth Journal, Blah3 and Daily Kos

Atrios / Eschaton:

And We Have a War Czar — Because giving someone the title "czar" always ensures they'll solve the problem. — There will eventually be confirmation hearings. There will be pressure on Democrats to confirm him. Then Tony Snow and the president will say the Democrats have no right …

Discussion: Needlenose, Democrats.com, Taylor Marsh, Angry Bear and The Mahablog

Steve Soto / The Left Coaster:
Bush's "War Czar" Advocated Troop Drawdown - Why Was He Selected?

Discussion: MSNBC, The Next Hurrah and MotherJones.com

Nico / Think Progress:
New 'War Czar' Advocated Troop Withdrawals To 'Undercut Perception Of Occupation'

Discussion: Danger Room and Hot Air

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, Redstate, Captain's Quarters, The Impolitic, democracyarsenal.org, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wizbang, Ankle Biting Pundits and Heading Right

Fox News:
Fred Thompson, Michael Moore Go Head to Head, Sort of

Discussion: PrezVid

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: ProfessorBainbridge.com ® and National Review

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

MSNBC punks itself! — Contessa Brewer uses Whitehouse. org to describe Falwell's influence in the White House...Her producer gave her this: — Download (2915) | Play (3560) Download (1131) | Play (2212) … The only problem with that is it's a satire site.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:

Bank's Report Says Wolfowitz Violated Ethics — A World Bank committee charged Monday that Paul D. Wolfowitz violated ethical and governance rules as bank president by showing favoritism to his companion in 2005. In response, the Bush administration mounted a last-ditch global campaign …

Discussion: Washington Post, Opinions You Should Have, AMERICAblog, Wonkette and WTF Is It Now??

The Atlantic Online:
Yes, Hypocrisy Matters

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money and Mercury Rising

ABCNEWS:
Wolfowitz Out? — White House Opens Door for Wolfowitz Ouster

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), Guardian and Crooks and Liars

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton to vote for Iraq pullout — Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines emails: — "Senator Clinton will vote for cloture on both the Feingold-Reid and Reed-Levin Amendments, to send the President a clear message that it is time to change course, redeploy our troops out of Iraq, and end this war as soon as possible."

Discussion: Daily Kos, AMERICAblog and TalkLeft

Siun / Firedoglake:
Feingold-Reid - what do you think? — Yesterday, we discussed …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Max Boot / Opinion Journal:

Surging Ahead in Iraq — The new strategy can work. But Washington has to give it time. — There is a serious and widening disconnect between the timetables that commanders are using to guide their actions in Iraq and those being demanded by politicians in Washington.

Discussion: The News Blog, The Mahablog, Viking Pundit, Betsy's Page and Instapundit.com