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6:20 PM ET, September 24, 2007

Top Items:

Iran's president on Israel, nukes and gays — NEW YORK (CNN) — Columbia University President Lee Bollinger excoriated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday, going through a long list of documented actions and remarks by the firebrand Iranian leader and his government.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Jawa Report, NY Daily News, Cox & Forkum, Thought Theater, Little Green Footballs, The Daily Gut, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, The American Princess, Wonkette and Shakespeare's Sister

Sewell Chan / New York Times:

Iranian Leader, Calling Introductory Remarks Insulting, Addresses Columbia — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran completed his appearance by thanking his audience. "I ask Almighty God to assist all of us to work hand in hand for a future filled with peace, justice and brotherhood," he said.

Discussion: The Washington Note, AMERICAN DIGEST, Eunomia and Gothamist

Catherine Donaldson-Evans / Fox News:

Ahmadinejad Speaks of Love, Kindess, Beauty and God in Speech to National Press Club — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during his remarks to the National Press Club Monday that the world needs to build a better future "based on peace and security of all humanity," …

T-Steel / The Moderate Voice:

An apology is in order! — Silly, Silly Man! — Those who sharply criticized Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs President Lee C. Bollinger for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak owe him a galaxy sized apology. You know who you are so I'm not naming names/blogs/media outlets.

Discussion: ShrinkWrapped and Blue Crab Boulevard

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Video: There are no gays in Iran, says Ahmadinejad; Update: Photos — Iran executes gays — I've got Bollinger's surprising, much-lauded speech coming up, but enjoy this as a snack. Some rare derisive laughter from the audience greets this little pearl. — Maybe it was a translation error …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Captain's Quarters, Mere Rhetoric, protein wisdom, Webloggin, Jihad Watch, Stop The ACLU and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Juan Cole / Salon:

Turning Ahmadinejad into public enemy No. 1 — Demonizing the Iranian president and making his visit to New York seem controversial are all part of the neoconservative push for yet another war. — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves as he leaves Tehran Sept. 23 to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, CommonDreams.org, Tammy Bruce, Prairie Weather and Crooks and Liars

Michael Slackman / New York Times:
U.S. Focus on Ahmadinejad Puzzles Iranians

Discussion: Salon, Think Progress, CNN, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Feministe, Open Left, Hoffmania! and New York Post

Michelle Malkin:
Mahmoudapalooza: The madman comes calling; Update: A Columbia/nutjob quid pro quo?

Judith / Kesher Talk:
NYC anti-Ahmadinejad Protests

Discussion: Hot Air

Vanderleun / AMERICAN DIGEST:
Bollinger Rope-A-Dopes Ahmadinejad and Many Conservative Blogs …

Discussion: Associated Press, City Room, Townhall.com, Little Green Footballs, VodkaPundit and Likelihood of Success

Bill Sammon / Examiner:

Examiner Exclusive: President predicts GOP will keep control of White House after 'tough race' in 2008 — Washington, D.C. (Map, News) - President Bush, for the first time, is predicting that Hillary Rodham Clinton will defeat Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primaries.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Brendan Nyhan, The Carpetbagger Report, The Swamp, The Corner, TPM Election Central, DownWithTyranny!, The Politico, CNN Political Ticker, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, The Debate Link, The Trail, WTF Is It Now?!? and The Raw Story

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo: DON'T MISS THAT MEME

CNN Political Ticker: The Donald: Time for Bush to go into 'hiding'

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton campaign kills negative story — Early this summer, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for president learned that the men's magazine GQ was working on a story the campaign was sure to hate: an account of infighting in Hillaryland. — So Clinton's aides pulled a page from the book …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Wizbang, MSNBC and TIME: Swampland

More Soft Money Hard Law:

The New York Times: Bewildered Visitor to the Mad World of Speech Offenses — The New York Times now concedes that it charged MoveOn.org too little for its now famous anti-General Petraeus ad. MoveOn will pay more, to quell the controversy and moot, if it can, the issue raised …

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake, michellemalkin.com, Publius Pundit and The Atlantic Online

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
GOP Congressman Calls For Hearings Into New York Times/MoveOn Ad

Discussion: The Fix, Taylor Marsh, ArchPundit, The Monkey Tennis Centre and CBS News

Horses Mouth:
Clark Hoyt, the public editor of The New York Times …

Discussion: Commentary and News Hounds

Faiz / Think Progress:

Bush: We Can't Spend $22 Billion On America Because We Need $200 Billion For Iraq War — The Democratic leadership in Congress is set to pass a host of domestic funding bills that would exceed Bush's request by $22 billion. The extra funding would help go towards veterans health care …

Discussion: New York Times and The Carpetbagger Report

White House:
President Bush Discusses Budget

Discussion: Redstate and First Draft

Brian M. Riedl / Heritage Foundation: Budget Delays Should Not Cause Government Shutdowns

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:

Podhoretz secretly urged Bush to bomb Iran — President Bush and Karl Rove sat listening to Norman Podhoretz for roughly 45 minutes at the White House as the patriarch of neoconservatism argued that the United States should bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. — The meeting was not on the president's public schedule.

Discussion: Think Progress, MSNBC, Death, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

The Raw Story:

Chemical weapon disaster 'led to Syria strike' — Israel did not strike a nuclear weapons facility in Syria on Sept. 6, instead striking a cache of North Korean missiles, current and former intelligence officials say. — American intelligence sources familiar with key events leading …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Booman Tribune and Liberty Pundit

Justin Hart / My Man Mitt.com:

If Columbia is not ashamed of the decision... ... then why did they blacken out the podium and the backdrop? — See these heavily-branded events from the same Columbia U. World Leader Forum: — Dr. Ivo Sanader, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, — Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

Democrats Answer to Republican Resolution Regarding MoveOn.org — Sens. Jim Webb (Va.), Jack Reed (R.I.), Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) and every other Democrat who has served in uniform should go the Senate floor together and call for a vote on a resolution similar to the following:

Discussion: Make Them Accountable and TPMCafe blogs

Washington Post:

U.S. Aims To Lure Insurgents With 'Bait' — A Pentagon group has encouraged some U.S. military snipers in Iraq to target suspected insurgents by scattering pieces of "bait," such as detonation cords, plastic explosives and ammunition, and then killing Iraqis who pick up the items, according to military court documents.

Discussion: rangeragainstwar, Greatscat!, Confederate Yankee, Daily Kos, Comments From Left Field, Balloon Juice, The Newshoggers, The Strata-Sphere, The Atlantic Online, UrbanGrounds, The Heretik, CBS News and Rook's Rant

Lisa Schiffren / The Corner:

Eyewitness to Nonsense — Just came from the Columbia campus, where a shocking number of my classmates skipped out on discussion section to go watch the show. In the SIPA lobby I joined a hundred and some other people watching Bollinger on closed circuit TV.

Discussion: Riehl World View