memeorandum: Pork, The Cholesterol Of Infrastructure (Ed Morrissey/Captain's Quarters)

1:35 PM ET, September 13, 2007

Top Items:

TIMES GIVES LEFTIES A HEFTY DISCOUNT FOR 'BETRAY US' AD — The New York Times dramatically slashed its normal rates for a full-page advertisement for MoveOn.org's ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. — Headlined "Cooking the Books …

Discussion: Heading Right, Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, Balloon Juice, The Democratic Daily, Weekly Standard, NewsBusters.org, Blue Crab Boulevard, Washington Times, Jules Crittenden, Outside The Beltway, QandO, baldilocks, Sweetness & Light, Sister Toldjah, The Moderate Voice and Kiko's House

New York Post:

SEN. CLINTON'S SLUR — Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday found herself positioned firmly to the left of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding that disgusting New York Times/MoveOn "General Betray Us" attack on Gen. David Petraeus' integrity. — That's not an enviable position for a woman who's trying …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Wake up America, Blue Crab Boulevard, Gateway Pundit and Political Radar

Washington Post:

Petraeus Returns to War That Is Now His Own — He sat absolutely still as members of Congress discussed his credibility and patriotism. His face did not twitch. He did not nod or frown or smile. Not a single muscle moved. He was as impassive as a boot-camp recruit resisting a drill sergeant's provocations.

Discussion: SWJ Blog, Don Surber, Brian Beutler and Outside The Beltway

Zzaki / Political Punch:

Does Ideology Matter in NYT ads? — After I reported earlier in the week on the controversy surrounding the MoveOn.org ad in the New York Times (LINK), some conservative bloggers seized upon my reporting that MoveOn.org claims to have paid about $65,000 for the full-page ad.

Discussion: The Independent, Democrats.com, AMERICAblog, Left in the West, Confederate Yankee, Brilliant at Breakfast, Greatscat! and Talking Points Memo

Ryan Grim / The Politico:
'Betray Us' ad unites GOP, distracts Dems

Discussion: protein wisdom, Weekly Standard, Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog and Reason Magazine

National / Homeland Security National Terror Alert:

Camouflaged Man Armed With A Loaded AK-47 Arrested In Dearborn Park — A 26-year-old Dearborn resident, Houssein Zorkot, was arraigned in 19th District Court Tuesday on several felony charges, including carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent. — Zorkot, a third-year medical student …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Wake up America, Op For, Gateway Pundit and UrbanGrounds

Dearborn Press and Guide-Heritage …:

Man with AK-47 assault rifle arrested after leaving Dearborn's Hemlock Park — DEARBORN - Houssein Zorkot, a 26-year-old Dearborn resident, was arraigned Tuesday in 19th District Court on multiple felony charges, including carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent — a five-year felony.

Discussion: Debbie Schlussel, Sweetness & Light, The Jawa Report and Jihad Watch

Little Green Footballs:
Sudden Jihad in Dearborn

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

Rusty / The Jawa Report:
Michigan "Sniper" is a Shia Blogger UPDATE: "The Start of My Personal Jihad"

Discussion: Hot Air

Washington Post:

Sheik Risha Killed in Bomb Attack in Iraq — Iraqi tribal leader Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, a key figure in U.S. efforts to turn local residents against al-Qaeda in the restive Anbar province, was killed today by a roadside bomb, U.S. military and Iraqi sources confirmed.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Three Wise Men, Taylor Marsh and Middle Earth Journal

ABCNEWS:
Top Sunni Sheik Killed in IED Attack

Discussion: Think Progress

Abu Aardvark:
Abu Risha murdered

Discussion: Daily Kos, American Footprints, TPMmuckraker and Talking Points Memo

Sameer N. Yacoub / Associated Press:
Bomb kills Iraqi sheik who met with Bush

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Long War Journal, Corrente, Comments From Left Field, Publius Pundit, Prairie Weather and Outside The Beltway

George Will / Real Clear Politics:

Is a Fred Thompson Campaign Necessary? — Fred Thompson's plunge into the presidential pool — more belly-flop than swan dive — was the strangest product launch since that of New Coke in 1985. Then the question was: Is this product necessary? A similar question stumped Thompson the day he plunged.

Discussion: The Corner, PoliBlog (TM), MSNBC, Shakespeare's Sister, Daily Kos, TIME, The Right's Field, Betsy's Page, PoliPundit.com and Daily Pundit

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
Help Not Wanted — Almost immediately following the launch …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Los Angeles Times, Wonkette and Althouse

Robert Vamosi / CNET News.com:

Researcher: Bin Laden's beard is real, video is not — On the Friday before the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Osama bin Laden appeared in a new video, his first since prior to the U.S. presidential elections in 2004. In analyzing the video, Neal Krawetz of Hactor Factor, an expert on digital image forensics …

Discussion: Donklephant, Secure Computing, QandO, Balloon Juice and Daimnation!

Jim Snyder / The Hill:

K St. Project has a pulse — but for Dems — The K Street Project is dead. Long live the K Street Project? — After reclaiming the majority, Democrats took aim at the alleged campaign by the GOP to use its policymaking powers to pressure trade associations and corporations to install Republicans in top lobbying jobs.

Brian Faughnan / Weekly Standard: Democrat Ethics Bill Protects Extortion by Congressional Leaders

Newsweek:

Spy Master Admits Error — Intel czar Mike McConnell told Congress a new law helped bring down a terror plot. The facts say otherwise. — In a new embarrassment for the Bush administration top spymaster, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell is withdrawing an assertion …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, The Strata-Sphere, The BLT, The Gun Toting Liberal™, The Next Hurrah, Think Progress, Cliff Schecter, The Democratic Daily, Brian Beutler and The Gavel

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
McConnell Retracts Dubious FISA Claim

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic Online

Think Progress:

Boehner: Troop deaths in Iraq are 'a small price.' — In an interview on CNN today, Wolf Blitzer asked House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) about "the Americans who are killed every month" in Iraq and "how much longer" the "military commitment is going to require?"

Discussion: Daily Kos, Outside The Beltway and TPM Election Central

John Kerry / The Huffington Post:
Boehner's "Small Price"

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Horses Mouth, TIME: Swampland and The Carpetbagger Report

Joby Warrick / Washington Post:

Senate Intelligence Panel Seeks CIA Nominee's Withdrawal — Members of the Senate intelligence committee have requested the withdrawal of the Bush administration's choice for CIA general counsel, acknowledging that John Rizzo's nomination has stalled because of concerns about his views on the treatment of terrorism suspects.

Discussion: Think Progress, TPMmuckraker and MoJoBlog

James Glanz / New York Times:

Compromise on Oil Law in Iraq Seems to Be Collapsing — A carefully constructed compromise on a draft law governing Iraq's rich oil fields, agreed to in February after months of arduous talks among Iraqi political groups, appears to have collapsed. The apparent breakdown comes just as Congress …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Newshoggers, The Swamp, Talking Points Memo, Comments From Left Field, QandO, Prairie Weather, Three Wise Men, About.com U.S. Politics, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos, The Next Hurrah, The Moderate Voice, PoliBlog (TM), Obsidian Wings and Needlenose

Miguel Helft / International Herald Tribune:

NASA gives Google founders a coveted parking place for their private jet — SAN FRANCISCO: In the annals of perks enjoyed by American corporate executives, the founders of Google may have set a new standard: an un-crowded, federally-managed runway for their private jet that is as close as can be to being in the company's own backyard.

Discussion: Don Surber, Andrew Bolt and Digg

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:

The Glenn and Helen Show: Jack Goldsmith on Law, Terror and Politics — The sixth anniversary of September 11 is just past, and it's a good time to look at where we are, and what to do in coming years. We spoke to Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, whose new book, The Terror Presidency …

Discussion: Reason Magazine, The Volokh Conspiracy and Pajamas Media