memeorandum: Cleric Turns Against Al Qaeda (Sarah Garland/New York Sun)

2:35 AM ET, September 19, 2007

Top Items:

Kerry Should be Ashamed, and the Cop Who Tased Andrew Meyer Should be Jailed — By now I'm sure you've seen the videos of University of Florida student Andrew Meyer being attacked and tasered by university police at a John Kerry speaking event. If not, here's one, here's another, and here's another.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Ocala Star-Banner, Preemptive Karma, GainesvilleSun.com, PSoTD, The American Street, Galley Slaves, The Mahablog and Hot Air

CNN:

Cops put on leave after Tasering student — (CNN) — Two University of Florida police officers have been placed on leave with pay after using an electronic stun gun to subdue a student who was questioning Sen. John Kerry at a campus forum, the school's president said Tuesday.

Discussion: Salon and Hot Air

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:

(Updated) "Don't Tase Me Bro" — Michelle Malkin has the most comprehensive coverage of the taser incident at the University of Florida. — And here's Kerry's statement: … I don't know how Kerry could have missed the shouts of "don't tase me bro," but I'm not sure what his response should have been anyway.

Discussion: CBS News, BeldarBlog, Right Wing News, Blue Crab Boulevard, Daily Pundit, Balloon Juice and The Road to Surfdom

Associated Press:

Student Zapped With Taser Caught On Tape — Florida Student Who Questioned John Kerry To Be In Court — GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida student was Tasered and arrested after trying to ask U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., about the 2004 election and other subjects during a campus forum.

Discussion: The Reaction, The Impolitic, The Democratic Daily, Macsmind, The Huffington Post, Jon Swift, Attytood, Comments From Left Field, Neptunus Lex, Liberty Pundit and Truthdig

Rick Klein / Political Radar:

Kerry Condemns Heckler Arrest — ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday comdemned the arrest of a University of Florida student at one of his speeches, saying that he was engaged in a "good healthy discussion" with 21-year-old Andrew Meyer when he was Tasered and taken into custody.

Will / Attytood:
Meet the future savior of journalism: "FamousWriterMan@aol.com" …

Discussion: NYT, Mercury Rising, Wake up America and The Democratic Daily

Naomi Wolf / The Huffington Post:
A Shocking Moment for Society: Tasering at University of Florida

Discussion: Powell's Books and Lonewacko

Jerusalem Post:

'Dozens died in Syrian-Iranian chemical weapons experiment' — Proof of cooperation between Iran and Syria in the proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction was brought to light Monday in a Jane's Defence Weekly report that dozens of Iranian engineers and 15 Syrian officers were killed in a July 23 accident in Syria.

Discussion: Ynetnews, Captain's Quarters, Israpundit, WILLisms.com, Gates of Vienna, Hot Air, Israel Matzav, Blue Crab Boulevard and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

The Big Trunk / Power Line:
A SERIOUS SYRIAN WORK ACCIDENT

Discussion: TigerHawk

Agence France Presse:

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village — LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday. — Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Middle Earth Journal, Blue Crab Boulevard and The World Wide Rant

MSNBC:
Villagers fall ill after fireball hits Peru

Discussion: Guardian, Wonkette and The Belmont Club

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

GOP Senator Warner "Reconsidering" Support For Webb Troop Bill — Just when it looked as if Senator Jim Webb's troop readiness bill might pick up enough GOP support to reach the magic number of 60 filibuster-proof votes, we're now getting word that Senator John Warner is reconsidering his backing for it and may vote against it.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Open Left, Hullabaloo, Cliff Schecter, DownWithTyranny! and Daily Kos

Digby / commonsense.ourfuture.org:
Webb's Righteous Amendment

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo and DownWithTyranny!

Matt Stoller / Open Left:
Light 'Em Up for the Webb Amendment

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Eschaton

Investor's Business Daily:

She Hsu'd Have Known Better — Election 2008: Hillary Clinton claims ignorance over Norman Hsu's dirty money. But she was right in the middle of a nearly identical fundraising scandal a decade ago. — In fact, she was briefed about the prior scandal by an aide who's advising her campaign today.

Discussion: The Anchoress and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
'Sister Souljah' Slated For Springtime

Discussion: Left in the West, A Tiny Revolution and The Anchoress

Horses Mouth:
Glenn Greenwald and Atrios have already taken solid whacks today …

Discussion: Eschaton, Shakespeare's Sister, Booman Tribune and Taylor Marsh

Bryan / Hot Air:

Hot Air TV: Rep. Jack Murtha confronted about Haditha accusations Updated — We've just obtained video of Rep. Jack Murtha being directly confronted over repeatedly accusing the Haditha Marines of murdering Iraqis "in cold blood." I'm editing and processing it now, so we should have it online before too long.

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill, Take Our Country Back, Power Line, Redstate, UrbanGrounds, Jeff Gannon, michellemalkin.com, The Jawa Report, The Oxford Medievalist, JammieWearingFool, Gateway Pundit and QandO

Pew Research Center:

Petraeus' Proposals Favored, But No Lift in War Support — Increases in Optimism Mostly Limited to Republicans — Summary of Findings — Last week's congressional testimony by General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, followed by President Bush's address to the nation …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Kos, TPM Election Central, Burkean Reflections and Prairie Weather

USA Today:
Poll: Public not swayed by Petraeus

Discussion: MyDD, Daily Kos and Greatscat!

The Politico:

Democrats chuck Iraq compromise — Senate Democrats, who have spent weeks trying to woo Republicans to help end the war in Iraq, have taken a hard turn against compromise. — They now believe their best political strategy is to continue to play to a stalemate and blame an intransigent President Bush …

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, Hot Air and New York Times

Eric Black Ink:

Paulose under investigation by feds — The federal Office of Special Counsel is investigating allegations that Rachel Paulose, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office …

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, TPMmuckraker, Talking Points Memo and Rook's Rant

Noah Shachtman / Danger Room:

Iraq Diary: Jammers Beat Bombers (Which May Be Bad News) — Radio-controlled bombs used to be the biggest killer of American troops in Iraq. Now, they've been rendered all-but-useless. Good news, right? Like so much else in Iraq, it's not quite that simple.

Discussion: American Prospect, Total Information Awareness, The Atlantic Online, Weekly Standard and Washington Monthly

Roxana Tiron / The Hill:

Stevens, Inouye top defense earmarks list at over $180M each; Byrd next at $166M — Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) are among the biggest winners in the 2008 Appropriations defense bill, according to data gathered by The Hill and the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS).

Discussion: TPMmuckraker and Talking Points Memo

Mary Beth Sheridan / Washington Post:

D.C. Vote Bill Dies in Senate — Republican lawmakers today blocked the Senate from taking up the D.C. voting rights bill, dealing a major blow to the District's most promising effort in years to get a full member of Congress. — The vote was merely on whether to begin action on the bill.