memeorandum: More News from Ramadi — You don't hear much about Anbar Province anymore. (Max Boot/Commentary)

1:20 AM ET, July 18, 2007

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

GOP establishment rallies around Bush — The Republican establishment is rallying to the defense of President Bush and his controversial war strategy, with some GOP members of Congress cherry-picking intelligence about a resurgent Al Qaeda to buy at least two more months for Bush's Iraq strategy.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, New York Times, Confederate Yankee and AMERICAblog

Walter Pincus / Washington Post:

Intelligence Report Warns of al-Qaeda's Capabilities — Worldwide counterterror efforts have restrained Osama bin Laden's network from again attacking the United States, but al-Qaeda's capabilities to mount such an attack have been "protected or regenerated" partly by securing a safe haven …

Discussion: Salon, At-Largely, The Democratic Daily, Riehl World View and Prairie Weather

Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:
Experts: Unclassified Report 'Pure Pablum,' Hides Truth

Discussion: Washington Monthly, bustardblog, The Carpetbagger Report, Riehl World View, Macsmind, Little Green Footballs and Gateway Pundit

New York Times: Bush Aides See Failure in Fight With Al Qaeda in Pakistan

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
The NIE and Iraq: What's Missing from this Picture?

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Garlic and Prairie Weather

Klaus Marre / The Hill:

Wamp: Thompson is close to joining '08 race — Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) said Monday that he expects former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) to soon join the race for the White House. — "My view is that he'll enter the race at some point just in the coming days," said Wamp, a key supporter of Thompson.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Crone Speaks and California Conservative

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:

AP Poll: GOP pick is 'none of the above' — WASHINGTON - And the leading Republican presidential candidate is ... none of the above. — The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back top-tier hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson …

Discussion: MyDD, Dick Polman's American Debate, theneweditor.com, CNN Political Ticker, The Carpetbagger Report, All Spin Zone, New Pairodimes, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Donklephant, Vox Popoli, DownWithTyranny!, Open Left, The Right's Field, The American Mind and Democrats.com

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
Thompson announcement in Sept.?

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

Charles Franklin / Pollster.com:
WILL GIULIANI BE THE NEXT MCCAIN?

Discussion: Inside Long Island Politics

CNN:
McCain, Edwards slip in New Hampshire

Discussion: Liberal Values

Media Matters for America:

On Good Morning America, Sawyer falsely claimed Reid "vows to filibuster" — During the July 17 edition of ABC's Good Morning America, co-anchor Diane Sawyer falsely claimed that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) "vows to filibuster, talking all night to close out all topics besides a vote on Iraqi troop withdrawals."

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, The Vanity Press, Fact-esque, Daily Kos and The Agonist

Washington Post:

Senators Pull All-Nighter For Debate On Iraq War — GOP Denounces Effort As Political Theatrics — Democrats rolled out cots and ordered pizzas as they settled in for a marathon Senate debate on Iraq last night that featured numerous speeches but little chance of getting any closer to resolving the stalemate over how to end the war.

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, Firedoglake, Reuters and AMERICAblog

Satyam / Think Progress:
Nuclear Option Conservatives Embrace Permanent Filibuster For A Permanent Occupation

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Mad Kane's Political Madness, Daily Kos, Norwegianity, Campaign for America's Future, Tangled Webs, MSNBC, AMERICAblog and The Hill

Jay Newton-Small / Time:
Do the Dems Want to Win on Iraq?

Discussion: The Poor Man Institute and TIME: Swampland

ESPN:

Falcons' Vick indicted by grand jury in dogfighting probe — Michael Vick has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the dogfighting probe of his property in Virginia. — The indictment alleges that Vick and his co-defendants began sponsoring dogfighting in early 2001 …

Discussion: The Reaction, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Whim and Shakesville

ABCNEWS:
NFL Star Sacked in Dogfight Probe

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and WILLisms.com

CBS News:
Michael Vick Indicted By Grand Jury

Discussion: The Smoking Gun, protein wisdom, Unqualified Offerings and Outside The Beltway

Joan Walsh / Salon:

The Salon Interview: Elizabeth Edwards — On her confrontation with Ann Coulter, why she backs gay marriage — and why Edwards is a better choice for women than Hillary Clinton. — Elizabeth Edwards listens to her husband speak at a campaign event in Concord, N.H., April 2, 2007.

Discussion: MSNBC, New York Times, TIME: Swampland, Althouse, Taylor Marsh, Brian Beutler, Political Radar, Hot Air, National Review, Brilliant at Breakfast and Riehl World View

Think Progress:

Live-Blogging The Senate Iraq Filibuster — [ThinkProgress is at the Capitol building, live-blogging the all-night conservative filibuster of Iraq withdrawal legislation.] — 12:27 AM: 1,000 people gathered outside the Capitol tonight for a rally and candlelight vigil.

Discussion: BobGeiger.com, The Gavel, michellemalkin.com, Jules Crittenden, Taylor Marsh, Norwegianity, Hullabaloo and Pam's House Blend

Mike Allen / The Politico:

A look inside the war rooms on the war — Leaders are instructing Democratic lawmakers to blitz their states with anti-Bush messages as the Senate gears up for an all-night debate on Iraq withdrawal, according to an internal memo provided to The Politico by a Democratic official.

Discussion: New York Times, Redstate, Blogcritics Section, Hot Air and Sister Toldjah

Washington Times:

Bush office is anti-Muslim, group says — A Muslim civil rights group today blamed Bush administration policies for promoting "Islamophobia" and said the "war on terror" won't stop terrorists. — "The new perception is that the United States has entered a war with Islam itself," …

Discussion: Don Surber, Riehl World View, Jihad Watch, Power Line, Hot Air, Stop The ACLU, Atlas Shrugs and Little Green Footballs

Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:

FBI: Iraqis Being Smuggled Across the Rio Grande — Brian Ross Reports: — The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air, Lonewacko and View From a Height

Matt / Think Progress:

Novak: Women's 'venom' toward Bush is 'so vicious.' — Appearing on Hugh Hewitt's radio show yesterday, conservative pundit Robert Novak claimed that "women, particularly," are making our current political discourse more "vicious":

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Reaction, The Carpetbagger Report, Shakesville, Feministing, Kindly Póg Mo Thóin and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

hughhewitt.townhall.com:
Robert Novak on 50 years as the Prince of Darkness.

Discussion: Pandagon

Max Boot / Commentary:

More News from Ramadi — You don't hear much about Anbar Province anymore. That's because this area, once the scene of the heaviest fighting in Iraq, has turned remarkably quiet of late. Attacks are down 80 percent since last year. If there is any cause for optimism in Iraq this is it …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, QandO, Weekly Standard, The Corner and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

James Thorner / St. Petersburg Times:

Cigarmakers in a panic … Eric Newman punches the numbers on his calculator and gapes at the results one more time. — It's no mathematical error: The federal government has proposed raising taxes on premium cigars, the kind Newman's family has been rolling for decades in Ybor City, by as much as 20,000 percent.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Wizbang, Chronicle of the Conspiracy and ProfessorBainbridge.com ®