memeorandum: 'Ethnic Paranoia' — A new epithet seems to be in use on the left … (New York Sun)

8:30 PM ET, October 17, 2007

Top Items:

Bush: 'I Am Relevant' — A defensive President Bush insisted that he was still relevant this morning in a news conference dominated by his bitter complaints about the Democratic Congress. — Asked how he found himself vetoing a children's health insurance bill that had passed Congress …

Discussion: Think Progress, The American Street, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Don Surber and Cliff Schecter

White House:

Press Conference by the President — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. We're now more than halfway through October, and the new leaders in Congress have had more than nine months to get things done for the American people. Unfortunately, they haven't managed to pass many important bills.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, The Swamp, Think Progress, The Atlantic Online, Los Angeles Times, First Draft, The Reaction, Wake up America, The Heretik, Interesting Times and Shakespeare's Sister

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Video: Bush warns of World War III if Iran gets the bomb — The red font is out at Drudge and the left will be wetting itself over it for the rest of the day and long into the night, but there's nothing here that isn't self-evident. Once a state sponsor of terror, whose leading "pragmatist" …

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Little Green Footballs and Chuck Adkins

Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Bush Says Iran Nuclear Project Raises War Risk

Discussion: Truthdig, The Heretik and Prairie Weather

The Atlantic Online:
Defining World Wars Down

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

Brian Faughnan / Weekly Standard:

House Democrats Shut Down Debate to Preserve Terrorist Loophole — Not many people are familiar with the House Rules Committee, or why it has so much power to determine what legislation passes the House. Simply put, the Committee sets the terms for debate of all significant legislation …

Discussion: Wake up America, Sister Toldjah, Democracy Project, Heritage Foundation, Macsmind, Say Anything and The Moderate Voice

Eric Cantor:

A Line in the Sand. Putting Everyone on the Record. — The House is voting today on FISA legislation, the Democrats have played petty politics with this bill. As currently written, many of America's national security experts are concerned that it will limit their ability to protect this country.

Discussion: Redstate, democracyarsenal.org and Think Progress

rules-republicans.house.gov:
They Said They Would Shut Down Debate, And They Did!

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Right Voices

Associated Press:

Stephen Colbert: I am running for president — NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy for president on "The Colbert Report," tossing his satirical hat into the ring of an already crowded race. — "I shall seek the office of the president of the United States," …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Outside The Beltway and The Impolitic

Jacques Steinberg / The Caucus:
Candidate Colbert — Stephen Colbert — who announced plans …

Discussion: Hot Air and The BRAD BLOG

Leon Lazaroff / Bloomberg:

Morgan Stanley Sells Entire New York Times Stake — Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest shareholder in New York Times Co., sold its entire stake today, according to a person briefed on the transaction, sending the stock to its lowest in more than 10 years.

Discussion: Riehl World View, BitsBlog, Say Anything, Hot Air, Wake up America, The Strata-Sphere, Doug Ross, Marginal Revolution, Wizbang, Blue Crab Boulevard and Don Surber

James Rosen / Fox News:

Syrian Official Says Israeli Airstrike Hit Nuke Facility — DAMASCUS, Syria — A high-ranking Syrian official confirmed that Israel's airstrike last month in northern Syria hit a nuclear facility, according to a document obtained Wednesday by FOX News. — "Israel was the fourth-largest exporter …

Discussion: Hot Air, Associated Press and Riehl World View

United Nations:
General Assembly — GA/DIS/3345 — Department of Public Information

Discussion: Associated Press, Riehl World View and contentions

Ynetnews:
Syrian officials admit site attacked by Israel nuclear

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, The Strata-Sphere, The Jawa Report, Yourish.com and The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Washington Post:

Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning — The Bush administration again has appointed a chief of family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who has been critical of contraception. — Susan Orr, most recently an associate commissioner in the Administration …

Discussion: The Raw Story, WSJ.com, Feministe, DownWithTyranny!, Majikthise, unbossed.com, The Moderate Voice, The Newshoggers, The Impolitic, Liberal Values, Liberty Street and Feministing

Amanda / Think Progress:

Bush Family Planning Appointee Called Contraceptives Part Of The 'Culture Of Death' — On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare programs …

Discussion: The Corner, All Spin Zone, Lawyers, Guns and Money, bustardblog, Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report, Donklephant, MoJoBlog and Shakespeare's Sister

Associated Press:

Pelosi: Armenian genocide vote in doubt — WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday the prospects of a vote on Armenian genocide were uncertain, after several members pulled their support amid fears it would cripple U.S. relations with Turkey.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Los Angeles Times

The Hill:
Pelosi sours on Senate

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Politico, The Swamp, Left in the West, Redstate, Conservative Belle and Wake up America

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
House Dems looking out for themselves?

Discussion: Brian Beutler

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:

Mukasey Calls Torture 'Antithetical' to American Way — That was, um, unexpected. Not only did Michael Mukasey repudiate the so-called 2002 "torture memo" signed by Office of Legal Counsel chief Jay Bybee — which appears to have survived in spirit, if not in letter — but he compared U.S. torture to the Holocaust.

Discussion: Donklephant, The Carpetbagger Report, Think Progress and Middle Earth Journal

Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
Mukasey, Durbin and the Right

Discussion: Balloon Juice and The Moderate Voice

Janet Elder / New York Times:

Packaging 9/11, Terror and the War in Iraq — The language used to talk about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the language used to take the nation to war in Iraq have been so interlaced that polls show they are inextricably linked in the minds of a substantial number of voters.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Salon

Brian Faughnan / Weekly Standard:
NYT: Surprisingly, Voters Associate Iraq with War on Terror

Discussion: michellemalkin.com

James R. Carroll / Courier-Journal:

McConnell knew of e-mails about boy — WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell knew last week — at a time when he was denying it — that his staff had sent e-mails encouraging reporters to look into the background of a 12-year-old boy used by Democrats to support expansion of a health-care program.

Discussion: The Politico

Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:
Imagine If A Democrat Had Done This, Part 9,487

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Pensito Review

Rasmussen Reports:

Republican Iowa Caucus — Iowa: Romney 25% Thompson 19% Huckabee 18% — The first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Iowa Republican Caucus for 2008 finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney enjoying a six-point lead while former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Newshoggers, Los Angeles Times, The Corner, MyDD, Open Left and Pollster.com

techPresident:

techPresident Launches 10Questions.com — Dear techPresident readers and friends: — We're excited to announce the launch of 10Questions.com, a new kind of online presidential forum, one that aims to make the most of what the internet has to offer to politics.

Discussion: The Trail, Beltway Blogroll, Lonewacko, Spin Cycle, Townhall.com, Hot Air, MyDD, The Caucus and michellemalkin.com

Klaus Marre / The Hill:

Pence pushes vote against Fairness Doctrine — Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) filed a discharge petition Wednesday to force a vote on legislation to ban the so-called Fairness Doctrine. — "The time has come to do away with the Fairness Doctrine once and for all," the lawmaker said on the House floor.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Redstate, Booman Tribune and Cliff Schecter

Associated Press:

McKinney registers in Calif., where some want to nominate her — Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has registered to vote in California, where some want her to run for president as a Green Party candidate. — McKinney posted a letter on her Web site last month saying she has no interest in the Green Party nomination.