memeorandum: Dangerous Legacy — Cultural myths often stand in the way of … (Rachel Was Wrong)

2:20 PM ET, May 24, 2007

Top Items:

News Analysis: On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Cede Ground to Bush — Congressional contortions over the Iraq spending bill could end up with most House Democrats momentarily occupying the position they were so desperate to vacate: the minority.

Discussion: The Politico, Shakesville, Jules Crittenden, MSNBC and Republic of Sestakastan

Matt Stoller / MyDD:

The Capitulation Bill: "Obviously it's a good move" — The crazy thing about the fight is that Democratic insiders are convinced that capitulation is the right strategy. They actually believe that this will put pressure on the Republicans in the fall, and that standing up to Bush is a bad idea.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Brilliant at Breakfast, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, DownWithTyranny! and Daily Kos

Susan Ferrechio / CQ.com:

Democrats Set Stage for Next War Debate — Before deciding to blink in the long standoff over war spending and troop withdrawal, House Democrats convinced themselves President Bush is scoring only a short-term victory. — The House is expected to send to the Senate late Thursday …

Discussion: TalkLeft and AMERICAblog

Greg Sargent / Election Central:

Dem Leadership: If We'd Confronted Bush On Iraq, White House Would Have Criticized Us — With the House set to vote on the no-timelines Iraq War funding bill later today, The New York Times provides a glimpse into the thinking among top Dems that led to the current proposal: … Oooooooooooooo, scary!

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:

GOP slams Pelosi in new ad campaign — House Republicans have a fairly simple plan to reclaim the majority: Blame Nancy. — The National Republican Congressional Committee launches its first national advertising blitz Thursday with a drive to tie freshmen Democrats to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Discussion: Capitol Briefing, Bob McCarty Writes, Wizbang and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
House Democrats bracing for unpalatable Iraq vote

Discussion: Sirotablog, CQ.com, The Huffington Post, Happy Furry Puppy Story … and Booman Tribune

CNN:

Bush says this summer critical for Iraq war … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush said Thursday that this summer would be a critical time for his Iraq strategy as Congress was poised to vote on a new war spending bill. — Answering reporters' questions at a White House news conference …

Discussion: CBS News and ImmigrationProf Blog

New York Times:
EX-JUSTICE AIDE ADMITS POLITICS AFFECTED HIRING

Discussion: Capitol Briefing, The Huffington Post, Suburban Guerrilla, Think Progress, Law Blog, Unfogged, The Carpetbagger Report, On Deadline, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and KnoxViews

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Bush: Justice Department Investigation Is Being "Drug Out"

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Monica's Own Monica Problem

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, The Agitator, The Heretik, News Hounds, Salon and TPMmuckraker

Washington Post:
Goodling Says She 'Crossed the Line'

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), Outside The Beltway, TIME: Swampland, DownWithTyranny!, At-Largely, TPMCafe blogs, Hullabaloo, the talking dog, Bring it On! and The Carpetbagger Report

Don Surber:
Scandal trolling

Discussion: Macsmind, The American Mind and The Impolitic

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Today's Must Read

Discussion: Real Cities, Comments From Left Field, Norwegianity and Balkinization

Dale Franks / QandO:

QUESTIONS FOR OUR LIBERAL FRIENDS — Bruce is a big boy, and certainly doesn't need me to help him out, but let's talk about Iraq for a moment. Because I have questions for people like Oliver Willis to which I'm curious to hear the answers. And I'm not asking in a snarky way. I'm honestly interested.

Discussion: Michael P.F. van der Galiën and The Glittering Eye

Oliver Willis:

AN ANSWER TO OUR CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS — I'm going to answer these questions posted by conservative Dale Franks here and not in their comments because I know quite a few of the cons who read my site regularly ask the same questions (and by "ask" I mean regurgitate existing talking points) …

Discussion: Shakesville

Susan Bell / Scotsman:

Raid on spy's home 'reveals details of Chirac's secret £30m bank account' — LONG-STANDING rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Betsy's Page

Associated Press:

U.S. military continues to discharge gay Arab linguists, and Congress members seek hearing — WASHINGTON: Lawmakers who say the military has kicked out 58 Arabic linguists because they were gay want the Pentagon to explain how it can afford to let the valuable language specialists go.

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast and AMERICAblog

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly: FIGHTING THE REAL MENACE....The military is still busily firing …

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
58 Gay Arab Linguists Ousted From Military

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:

Morgue Data Show Increase In Sectarian Killings in Iraq — More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive designed to curtail sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, Health Ministry statistics show that such killings are rising again.

Discussion: Atlantic Free Press, Informed Comment, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Truthdig

Washington Post:

Rules Skirted, Millions Wasted on Navy Boat Barriers — The men from al-Qaeda guided their bomb-laden skiff through the harbor and drew near the USS Cole, detonating a quarter-ton of C-4 plastic explosive that killed 17 sailors and tore a 40-foot hole in the side of the Navy destroyer.

Discussion: Danger Room, On Deadline and Balloon Juice

Gateway Pundit:

Grim Milestone: War on Terror Fatalities Reach Ominous Threshold — It is not an easy decision to vote for war. — It's not easy committing your soldiers to the battlefield. — Yet, the democratic-led Congress did just that in 2002. — Surely, they knew what their vote would mean …

Discussion: The Newshoggers and Confederate Yankee

Opinion Journal:

Immigration and Welfare — Most of them will pay at least as much as they collect. — The immigration debate is roaring again, and we're happy to join the fun. One place to start is a myth that has become a key talking point among restrictionists on the right—to wit …

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Improvement in Iraq: Trust Joe Klein and his secret sources — Q. If you're a Bush administration official and you want to create a prominent headline in Time Magazine proclaiming what great improvement there is in Iraq, what do you do? — A. Have someone with a shiny military uniform …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Instapundit.com, Booman Tribune, The Belmont Club, TalkLeft and Time

Keith Olbermann / MSNBC:

The entire government has failed us on Iraq — For the president, and the majority leaders and candidates and rank-and-file Congressmen and Senators of either party—there is only blame for this shameful, and bi-partisan, betrayal — SPECIAL COMMENT — A Special Comment about the Democrats' deal …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, Outside The Beltway, Bring it On!, Liberal Values, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Neptunus Lex, The Mahablog, The Democratic Daily, The Impolitic, The Garlic, The Left End of the Dial v2.0, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Blue Gal, Taylor Marsh, The Populist and TalkLeft

Spencer Ackerman / Washington Monthly:

The Bitter End — Democrats are right to push for an end to the Iraq war. But don't expect the troops to be grateful. In 2003, an optimist could hope that the United States would establish a liberal democracy in Iraq. Four years into the war in Iraq, an optimist can hope that a "surge" …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and toohotfortnr