memeorandum: Life is harder now, some experts say (Bob Sullivan/MSNBC)

4:05 PM ET, October 16, 2007

Top Items:

Air America host Randi Rhodes wasn't mugged — Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today. — Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, michellemalkin.com, The Corner, The American Street, skippy the bush kangaroo, Hot Air, The Radio Equalizer, Chuck Adkins, Sweetness & Light, JammieWearingFool, VodkaPundit and Shakespeare's Sister

Barooosk / Talking Radio:

Randi Rhodes is the Victim of a Violent Attack — Updated on October 16 at 8:50 AM PDT. Update set in bold face italics — Randi Rhodes was mugged on Sunday night on 39th Street and Park Ave, nearby her Manhattan apartment, while she was walking her dog Simon.

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

Progressive Talk Show Host Randi Rhodes Is Badly Beaten In Street Attack (UPDATED) — EDITOR'S NOTE: See our updated post above HERE since the New York Daily News is reporting that Rhodes was not mugged. We're leaving up the original post since it details the original report as well …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and BitsBlog

Little Green Footballs:

Air America Host Mugged, 'Right Wing Hate Machine' Instantly Blamed (Update: No Mugging, Just Leftist Hate Speech) — Loony leftist Air America radio host Randi Rhodes was allegedly mugged Sunday night in New York outside her apartment, and the cast and crew of Air America already know who to blame.

Discussion: Gawker

Think Progress:

ThinkFast: October 16, 2007 — During his townhall meeting in Arkansas yesterday, "not a single questioner criticized" President Bush. With polls showing Bush's disapproval at record highs, the White House is staging "let-Bush-be-Bush events" in front of "friendly audiences" with "increasing frequency."

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press and No More Mister Nice Blog

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Another Liberal Fantasy Hits Hard Reality

Discussion: Cliff Schecter

Washington Post:

The Real Iraq We Knew — Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion. Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start. And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles.

Looseheadprop / Firedoglake:

Breaking News: Hillary Pledges to End War "Immediately" Upon Taking Office — Every year I go to a fundraiser luncheon sponsored by group called Eleanor Roosevelt's Legacy Committee. It's a group that raises money, recruits and trains Democratic women candidates and give campaign grants to those running in New York.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Caucus, The Jawa Report, The Sideshow and Group News Blog

Jules Crittenden:
12 Captains — With an alarmingly poor grasp of political …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Weekly Standard, PrairiePundit, The Atlantic Online, The American Street and RADAMISTO

Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:

McConnell Aide Acknowledges That He Tried To Spread Bogus Smear Of Graeme Frost — Check this out: An aide to GOP leader Mitch McConnell has acknowledged in an interview with Kentucky's Courier-Journal that he actively sought to alert reporters to the wingnut smearing of 12-year-old SCHIP posterkid Graeme Frost:

Discussion: Think Progress, Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Faiz / Think Progress:

Right Wing Gleefully Smears Two Yr-Old SCHIP Recipient Bethany Wilkerson — Yesterday, TrueMajorityAction released an ad of 2-year old Bethany Wilkerson, who was born with a serious heart problem and received health insurance through the SCHIP program. Today, the Wilkerson family will appear …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

James R. Carroll / Courier-Journal:
McConnell aide shared blog tips

Discussion: Horses Mouth, Death, Wake up America, TIME: Swampland, Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

TPMtv: Meet the Four Horsemen of Rudy's Apocalypse — Maybe you love Rudy or maybe you hate him. But whatever you may think of him, check out his foreign policy team, because that's the key to knowing what to expect from a Rudy presidency. Especially for candidates with little …

The Atlantic Online:
Fearing Rudy — One thing I'm wrestling with is finding …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Garance Franke-Ruta / American Prospect:
THE NEW YORK SUN CANDIDATE.

Discussion: MoJoBlog

The Atlantic Online:

Putin and Iran — Vladimir Putin's warnings against military action against Iran deserve to be taken very seriously. Since we're not contemplating actually conquering Iran and trying to occupy its territory, people need to understand that the post-strike diplomatic environment …

Discussion: Middle Earth Journal

Isabel Gorst / Reuters:
Summit backs Iran's nuclear energy rights

Discussion: The Newshoggers and Guardian

Nazila Fathi / New York Times:
In Iran, Putin Warns Against Military Action

Discussion: The Agonist, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, RealClearPolitics and Ezra Klein

Jim Snyder / The Hill:

Democrats split on genocide resolution — Democrats are split on the value of bringing a controversial Armenian genocide resolution to a floor vote. — Five House Democrats plan to hold a news conference Wednesday to urge their leadership not to bring the resolution to the floor …

Brian Faughnan / Weekly Standard: Armenian Genocide Resolution Splits House Democrats

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup Poll:

After Nobel, Support for Gore Presidential Bid Remains Limited — Gore's favorable rating improves to 58% in new poll — PRINCETON, NJ — Former Vice President Al Gore has added the Nobel Peace Prize to the collection of awards he has won this year, which also includes an Academy Award and an Emmy.

Discussion: The Swamp, Real Clear Politics, The Opinionator, USA Today, Open Left, Pollster.com and Los Angeles Times

The Corner: Rudy Down, Hillary=Barack — Some interesting stuff in the new Gallup poll:

Media Matters for America:

Limbaugh says he told journalist writing story on him: "[W]e're going to find out where your kids go to school" — During the October 15 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh claimed to have "once" participated in the kind of "destructive reporting and behavior" that, according to him, reporters "dish out."

Nick Pisa / Daily Mail:

Is this Pope John Paul II waving from beyond the grave? Vatican TV director says yes — This fiery figure is being hailed as Pope John Paul II making an appearance beyond the grave. — The image, said by believers to show the Holy Father with his right hand raised in blessing …

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister, The Newshoggers, Cliff Schecter, The World Wide Rant and Truthdig

CQ.com:

House Passes Four-Year Extension of Internet Tax Moratorium — Despite grumbling from lawmakers who want a permanent ban, the House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to extend for four more years a moratorium on taxation of Internet access. — The bill (HR 3678) passed 405-2 …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Amanda / Think Progress:

Lynne Cheney: 'Dick and Barack Obama are eighth cousins.' — In an MSNBC interview today, host Norah O'Donnell asked Lynne Cheney her views on Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) presidential campaign and whether "America is ready for a woman president." Cheney replied that she actually has a "certain bias":