memeorandum: Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Torture Appeal (Linda Greenhouse/New York Times)

9:45 PM ET, October 9, 2007

Top Items:

What Has Happened To The Right? — Something has gone wrong on the Right. Become sick and twisted and tumorous and ugly. To visit Michelle Malkin's cave is to see politics at its most savage, its most ferocious, its most rageful. They say they've spent the past week smearing a child …

Discussion: Eschaton, Sadly, No!, Blue Mass. Group, protein wisdom, At-Largely, The Democratic Daily, Take Our Country Back and Chuck Adkins

John Cole / Balloon Juice:

When Rhetoric Meets Reality — I was talking to Tim via AOL IM, and I decided it was probably worthwhile to bring this up for everyone. One of the things that is so surprising (for me, at least) about the whole Graeme Frost episode is that rather than make their case against this program …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, Ezra Klein, The American Street, The Anonymous Liberal, The Strata-Sphere, skippy the bush kangaroo, Middle Earth Journal, PrairiePundit and The Democratic Daily

Faiz / Think Progress:

Rush Smears 12-Yr Old: 'They Filled His Head With Lies Just As They Have Some Of These Soldiers' — Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted the right wing has been orchestrating a coordinated effort to smear a 12 year old recipient of SCHIP. These conservatives have been propagating baseless "facts" …

Discussion: Oliver Willis, Hullabaloo, The Carpetbagger Report, Macsmind, No More Mister Nice Blog, Corrente and RushLimbaugh.com Home

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
What Is Wrong With You?!? — The difference between …

Peter Baker / The Trail:

Bartlett Unleashed: On Flip-Flops, a "Dud" and the Guy With the Funny Name — Dan Bartlett, formerly one of the closest advisers to President Bush, has been offering a tough analysis of the GOP field. (White House Photo Office). — One of President Bush's closest advisers …

Discussion: TIME: Swampland, Telegraph Blogs, The Corner, Conservative Belle, Daily Pundit, MSNBC, eyeon08.com and CNN Political Ticker

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:

Live-Blogging the Republican Debate — (Photo: Carlos Osorio/Associated Press) — Turning to the Experts | 6:10 p.m. More from Dean Baker: — It is fascinating (at least to those of us who had not watched one of these all the way through) how all the Republicans candidates feel …

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Spin room open: Thompson's debut, GOP's debate — Most eyes are on, left to right, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani shown at the start of the debate in Dearborn. AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

Discussion: The Politico and CNN Political Ticker

Stephen Green / VodkaPundit:

Debate Drunkblogging — LIVE! — 1:59pm (All times Mountain, most likely): Just waiting for CNBC to start their broadcast. But I've got my first martini half in me already. And please try not to refresh this page more than every two or three minutes. I can't post much faster than that …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Pajamas Media and Heading Right

Kelly P. Kissel / Associated Press:
Huckabee: Rivals Might Consider Suicide

Discussion: skippy the bush kangaroo

Patrick / mediabistro.com:

Matthews on Matthews — On today's "Morning Joe," Joe Scarborough asked Chris Matthews if Republican candidates would try to get a "cheap applause line" tonight by pointing to his recent controversial comments. — Said Matthews: — I've been thinking about that....It's not my stage tonight.

Discussion: Power Line, Macsmind, Moonbattery and Suitably Flip

The Politico: Matthews pops off

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Fred Wins, Chris Loses (Update: My Prediction Comes True)

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Macsmind and Washington Post

Jon Henke / Fred File:
Liveblogging the Michigan Republican Debate

Discussion: Detroit News, Political Radar, Wake up America, Redstate and Daily Pundit

The Washington Post / The Trail:

Michele Obama in Iowa Accident — Hampton, Iowa — A campaign van carrying the wife of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) collided with a motorcycle on a two-lane country road in central Iowa on Tuesday, sending the motorcyclist to the hospital. — No one in Michelle Obama's Chevrolet Uplander was hurt …

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Motorcyclist hit by van carrying Michelle Obama — A minivan carrying the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was involved in a serious car accident this afternoon in northern Iowa where she was campaigning for her husband.

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker

John Tierney / New York Times:

Diet and Fat: A Severe Case of Mistaken Consensus — In 1988, the surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, proclaimed ice cream to a be public-health menace right up there with cigarettes. Alluding to his office's famous 1964 report on the perils of smoking, Dr. Koop announced that the American diet …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Dean's World, Transterrestrial Musings and Chicago Boyz

The Smoking Gun:

Dead Reverend's Rubber Fetish — Autopsy: Pastor found in wet suits after autoerotic mishap — An Alabama minister who died in June of "accidental mechanical asphyxia" was found hogtied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear …

Discussion: WSFA-TV, Cliff Schecter, Agitprop, DownWithTyranny!, Pam's House Blend, Sadly, No!, The Democratic Daily and Seeing the Forest

Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Torture Appeal — The Supreme Court today turned down the chance to elaborate for the first time in more than 50 years on the "state secrets privilege" by refusing to hear an appeal filed on behalf of Khaled el-Masri, who claims he was abducted and tortured …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, MoJoBlog, The Democratic Daily, Truthdig and Comments from Left Field

Jeff G. / protein wisdom:

"Ward Churchill to teach unsanctioned course on CU campus" — Dangerous. Anti-establishment. Edgy: … If Churchill's special brand of anti-American, white guilt-fueled BDS is strong enough to get college students to attend extra classes — for which they'll receive no credit …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Suitably Flip

Little Green Footballs:

LGF Poll: Who Won the GOP Debate? — Which Republican candidate turned in the best performance in the October 9 debate? — Sam Brownback — Rudy Giuliani — Mike Huckabee — Duncan Hunter — John McCain — Mitt Romney — Tom Tancredo — Fred Thompson

Discussion: CNBC.com and Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler