memeorandum: Oil Quiz - Test Your Knowledge (Gail the Actuary/The Oil Drum)

9:05 PM ET, June 11, 2007

Top Items:

Appeals Court Orders Enemy Combatant Free by Military — In a stinging rejection of one of the Bush administration's central assertions about the scope of executive authority to combat terrorism, a federal appeals court ordered the Pentagon to release a man being held as an enemy combatant.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Kiko's House, The Carpetbagger Report, At-Largely, Outside The Beltway, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Watching Those We Chose, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, About U.S. Politics, Prairie Weather, Sister Toldjah and Truthdig

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:

al-Marri Reactions I — The Hidden Alternative Holding (Surprise — It's About Abusive Interrogation!) — The principal merits holding in the court of appeals' opinion today in al-Marri is that Congress has not authorized the indefinite military detention of a person who is (i) …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, The American Street, The Mahablog and Brian Beutler

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

President denied authority to detain civilians in U.S. — UPDATE at 3:15 p.m. The Justice Department said on Monday that it will ask the full 12-member Fourth Circuit Court to reconsider en banc the panel decision in Al-Marri v. Wright (Circuit docket 06-7427).

Discussion: Human Rights First, Balkinization, ACSBlog and Althouse

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Federal Court Rules in Favor of 'Enemy Combatant'

Discussion: Obsidian Wings

Jason Steck / The Moderate Voice:
Enemy Combatants — Citing an overreach of executive power …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Comments From Left Field and Watching Those We Chose

Zinie Chen Sampson / Associated Press:
Court rules in favor of enemy combatant

Discussion: Best of Both Worlds, The Anonymous Liberal, TalkLeft, My Two Sense and Macsmind

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy: FOURTH CIRCUIT RULES THAT SUSPECTED TERRORIST CANNOT BE SEIZED …

Leader's Journal releases of democrats:

Americans Have Lost Confidence in the Attorney General — Today, every Senator will have the opportunity to go on record and either approve or disapprove of the performance of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales has repeatedly shown that he lacks the leadership necessary to run the Justice Department.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Comments From Left Field, Washington Times, Daily Kos and DownWithTyranny!

William Branigin / Washington Post:

No-Confidence Resolution Against Gonzales Fails in Senate — Senate Republicans today derailed a Democratic resolution expressing no confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, refusing to cut off debate on a measure they denounced as a meaningless political stunt.

Discussion: About U.S. Politics

Emptywheel / The Next Hurrah:

Joe Chooses His New Friend, Karl Rove, Over the Rule of Law — Between Joe Lieberman's calls to bomb Iran over the weekend, and his no vote on the no confidence resolution against Alberto Gonzales today, we have hit the final straws in Joe Lieberman's little dance with the dark side.

The Raw Story:

Gonzales 'no confidence' vote fails; 7 GOP switched sides — The New York Democrat raised the point while responding to an effort by Senate Republicans to argue that Schumer was committing a conflict of interest by investigating the Justice Department in the Judiciary Committee while also leading …

Discussion: The American Street and BobGeiger.com

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Bush Vows to Get Immigration Bill Passed

Discussion: Brian Beutler and Truthdig

New York Times: No-Confidence Vote on Gonzales Fails in the Senate

DownWithTyranny!:
REID FAILS AGAIN— APPARENTLY SENATE HAS CONFIDENCE IN ABU GONZO

Discussion: Associated Press and About U.S. Politics

Byron York / National Review:
The No-Confidence-in-Gonzales Vote

Discussion: TPMmuckraker and Brian Beutler

Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:

Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution — More Americans accept theory of creationism than evolution — PRINCETON, NJ — The majority of Republicans in the United States do not believe the theory of evolution is true and do not believe that humans evolved over millions of years from less advanced forms of life.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report, Balkinization, Liberal Values, Pharyngula, Hullabaloo, DownWithTyranny!, Vox Popoli, Amygdala, The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway and Air America Radio

Cernig / The Newshoggers:

Retrocessive Intellectual Evolution — This has to be one of the saddest things I've read all week: … It is sad because it is entirely symptomatic of the lazy thinking that infests too many issues. It has become de rigeur to ignore nuanced or complex positions in favor of simplistic narratives …

Discussion: Comments From Left Field, Happy Furry Puppy Story … and Done With Mirrors

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Video: Dennis Miller goes nuclear on Harry Reid — The e-mails are flooding in. You want it? You got it. — If Rasmussen's right, this should resonate broadly. — Blowback

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, BLACKFIVE and Oliver Willis

Faiz / Think Progress:

Reid: 'I Don't Agree' With Lieberman, Iran Attack Will Only Further Destabilize Middle East — In an interview with ThinkProgress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) today rejected Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) threats of a war against Iran. On CBS's Face the Nation, Lieberman claimed that …

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, Hot Air and Washington Times

Rasmussen Reports:
Harry Reid's Favorables Fall to 19%

Discussion: Power Line, QandO and Blue Crab Boulevard

Mudcat / TIME: Swampland:

Go Ahead And Shoot At Me — I woke up this morning and was going to start my stint as a guest correspondent by trying to kick up a dialogue on how my people in rural America are getting screwed into the stone ages. As an inexperienced blogger (I think this is the third time I've posted anything) …

Discussion: Instapundit.com, National Review, Daily Kos, bustardblog, Cliff Schecter, MyDD, The Atlantic Online, TPMCafe blogs and New Pairodimes

Washington Times:

CAIR membership plummets — ONLINE EXCLUSIVE / DEVELOPING: — Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has declined more than 90 percent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Audrey Hudson will report in Tuesday's editions of The Washington Times.

Discussion: Power Line, Captain's Quarters, The Jawa Report, The Belmont Club, Atlas Shrugs and Jihad Watch

Inside Higher Ed:

DePaul Rejects Finkelstein — DePaul University on Friday formally denied tenure to Norman G. Finkelstein, who has taught political science there while attracting an international following — of both fans and critics — for his attacks on Israeli policies and the "Holocaust industry."

Discussion: TPMCafe blogs, The Debate Link and Grasping Reality …

Meghan O'Rourke / Slate:

Diamonds Are a Girl's Worst Friend — THE TROUBLE WITH ENGAGEMENT RINGS. — The retail fantasy known as a "traditional" American wedding comprises many delicious absurdities, ranging from personalized wedding stamps to ring pillows designed for dogs to favors like "Love Mints."

Discussion: National Review, Captain's Quarters and Pandagon