memeorandum: Pelosi to launch PR blitz to beat '08 media frenzy (Jonathan E. Kaplan/The Hill)

2:35 PM ET, October 23, 2007

Top Items:

House bid to censure Stark falls short — WASHINGTON - Republicans failed in an effort Tuesday to have the House censure Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who said in a congressional speech last week that U.S. troops are being sent to Iraq "to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and VodkaPundit

Jonathan E. Kaplan / The Hill:

Pelosi to launch PR blitz to beat '08 media frenzy — Nearly one year after recapturing control of Congress, House Democratic leaders will embark on a publicity blitz starting in November to combat a dismal 25 percent approval rating. — Democratic leadership aides huddled with rank …

Discussion: The Swamp, Captain's Quarters, Heading Right, Don Surber, Daily Kos, The Politico, MSNBC, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Blue Crab Boulevard, Washington Post, JammieWearingFool, The American Street and CNN Political Ticker

Mike Soraghan / The Hill:

Single gaffe can derail a message — Last week's vote on overriding President Bush's children's health insurance veto should have been a brief respite from a pretty tough week for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). — After being forced to back away from votes on Armenian genocide …

Discussion: The Politico and Blue Crab Boulevard

Jackie Kucinich / The Hill:

Stark makes tearful apology, censure fails — Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) apologized to the House Tuesday for controversial comments he made about the Iraq war, following an unsuccessful attempt by House Republican leaders to publicly censure the 18-term lawmaker.

Discussion: Wake up America and On Deadline

Fox News:
Rep. Pete Stark Apologizes For Suggesting Bush Enjoys Troop Deaths in Iraq

Discussion: Booman Tribune, MSNBC and Cliff Schecter

Michelle Malkin:
GOP moves to censure Pete StarkRavingMad; Update: Stark "apologizes" …

Discussion: Open Left

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Pete Stark apologizes to Bush on House floor

Discussion: MSNBC, Say Anything, BizzyBlog, IMAO, Neocon News and Blue Crab Boulevard

Scott Lindlaw / Associated Press:

Civility Reigns at San Diego Stadium — SAN DIEGO (AP) - Like Hurricane Katrina evacuees two years earlier in New Orleans, thousands of people rousted by natural disaster fled to the NFL stadium here, waiting out the calamity and worrying about their homes.

Discussion: Hot Air, Attytood, CNN, Liberty Pundit and Confederate Yankee

Los Angeles Times:
More evacuations and new fires — Blazes erupt on the La Jolla …

Discussion: Punditry, Unfogged and The Moderate Voice

CNN:
Fires force 321,000 people from homes

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Times, Wake up America, Central Sanity, A Blog For All, Kithbridge and Los Angeles Times

Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:

In Iraq, Conflict Simmers on a 2nd Kurdish Front — Deadly raids into Turkey by Kurdish militants holed up in northern Iraq are the focus of urgent diplomacy, with Turkey threatening invasion of Iraq and the United States begging for restraint while expressing solidarity with Turkish anger.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, MoJoBlog, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, The Corner, Wonkette, The Newshoggers, TIME: Swampland and Associated Press

Washington Post:
Iraq to Help Turkey Crack Down on Rebels

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Swamp and democracyarsenal.org

New York Times:
Iraq Says It Will Cooperate With Turkey on Kurds

Discussion: The Belmont Club and Sweetness & Light

Pundit Review Radio / BLACKFIVE:

ISLAMO-FASCISM LAMENESS- HOROWITZ SUCKED HOOVER — What a let down. My buddy Ebo and I attended Horowitz' opening night of Islamo-Fascism Awareness week and if this is our answer to sharia, then I guess Dirka Dirka Mohammed Jihad it will be. — Both of us were predisposed to agree wth …

Discussion: Althouse, Solomonia and Bookworm Room

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Islamofascism — Did you know it was Islamofascism Awareness Week? And have you thought about what you're going to do to raise awareness about this concept the loss of which would be such a devastating blow to the vanity and intellectual pretensions of countless right-wing bloggers …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Think Progress, Washington Times, The American Street, The Carpetbagger Report, Kesher Talk, Seeing the Forest, Eunomia and Liberal Values

Editor and Publisher:

Stephen Colbert Moves Ahead of Richardson, Closes in on Biden, in National Poll! — NEW YORK He's been "in" the race for less than a week, and already faux-pundit Stephen Colbert has surged ahead of longtime candidate Gov. Bill Richardson in one national poll gauging the race for the Democratic nod for president.

Discussion: Personal Democracy Forum, Shakespeare's Sister, The Democratic Daily and The Fix

Bryan / Hot Air:

Violence in Iraq down 70% — But, I'm confused. I coulda swore I heard someone say "The war is lost." Maybe that prognostication was a bit premature. … This is the lead of a Reuters story. Watch how they use the next sentence to make sure that no one jumps for joy.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Captain's Quarters, INDCJournal, QandO, Say Anything, IMAO and JammieWearingFool

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
The NYTimes is Shameless — From the first line of today's editorial:

Discussion: The Newshoggers, New York Times and Death

Mark Halperin / The Page:

Thompson's Plan to Fight Illegal Immigration — From Thompson campaign: — Thompson Announces Plan to Secure Border, Enforce Existing Immigration Laws — Senator Fred Thompson today unveiled a comprehensive border security and immigration enforcement proposal that would make America safer …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Say Anything and The Atlantic Online

Michelle Malkin:

Wildfires and environmental obstructionism — Nearly 300,000 Southern California residents have now been evacuated as wildfires spread across the region: … Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling up the National Guard and asking for military support. President Bush has declared a state of emergency.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Right Wing News, Right Voices, Sister Toldjah, CNN and State of the Day

Cindy Horswell / Houston Chronicle:

Liberty outraged over grave desecration — Police seek suspects for the damage done at Marine's plot — LIBERTY — To Jeremy Burris the word "liberty" was more than the name of his hometown. It was something worth fighting for. — An all-American kid from a little all-American town …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Stop The ACLU, Chuck Adkins, BitsBlog, Weasel Zippers and Moonbattery

Eric Kleefeld / Election Central:

Kucinich Had A UFO Encounter, According To Friend Shirley MacLaine — In Shirley MacLaine's new book, the actress and longtime friend of Dennis Kucinich makes an interesting claim: During a visit to her home in Washington state, Kucinich said he saw a UFO and heard messages from it.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Cliff Schecter

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Please Welcome Senator Chris Dodd — Senator Chris Dodd joins us today from Iowa to discuss his decision to oppose retroactive immunity for the telecom companies from the upcoming FISA bill. — Dodd is acting in the tradition of Robert Kennedy, who himself vigorously opposed such action:

Discussion: Beltway Blogroll, Eschaton and RealClearPolitics

Guardian:

Welcome to Guardian America — Today we launch a new website, bringing the Guardian's award-winning news and commentary to readers on the other side of the Atlantic. — Hello there. So what is Guardian America, what makes a British newspaper think that Americans will want to imbibe …

Discussion: mediabistro.com and BuzzMachine

Postcards from the Trail:

U.S. Senate candidate Mikal Watts withdraws from race — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mikal Watts has withdrawn from the race, citing family reasons. — Statement from Mikal Watts: — For the last five months I have been exploring a race for the United States Senate because I believe …

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, GregsOpinion.com and Daily Kos