memeorandum: Global warming not a factor in wildfires (Alan Zarembo/Los Angeles Times)

2:00 PM ET, October 25, 2007

Top Items:

Baghdad Diarist Was On Guard When Questioned by Editors — The soldier whose New Republic article about military cruelty in Iraq was labeled false by Army investigators refused to defend his accusations when questioned by the magazine, even after being told that the editors could no longer support him unless he cooperated.

Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:

Army Acknowledges Leaking Beauchamp Docs To Drudge, Promises Investigation — Updated below. — There's been a very interesting turn in the saga of The New Republic's "Baghdad Diarist," the American soldier in Iraq who's been accused of fabricating negative stories about U.S. troops and publishing them in the mag.

Discussion: National Review and Hot Air

Irenep / Michael Yon:

Beauchamp and the Rule of Second Chances — October 25, 2007 — Beauchamp and the Rule of Second Chances: Pass it Along — I'd known that General Petraeus was once accidentally shot in the chest, but I first heard the full story this summer in Baqubah, from an eyewitness whose account I wrote about in Second Chances.

Discussion: The Newshoggers and Little Green Footballs

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters: Yon: Beauchamp's Honor

Glenn Greenwald / Salon: The growing link between the U.S. military and right-wing media and blogs

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Foer Still Spinning

Discussion: PoliPundit.com, The Van Der Galiën Gazette and Obsidian Wings

Docweasel / docweaselblog:

Bobby Caina Calvan Blog : the entire post with comments preserved — UPDATE: Good gracious, blogging since '97 and my first Instalanche. Thank you Mr. Reynolds! Thank you AOSHQ and the lovely and talented Michelle Malkin as well. — The entire site is 404′d, and the comments were the sweetest plum!

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Instapundit.com, The Jawa Report, michellemalkin.com, McClatchy Watch, Riehl World View, On Deadline, At-Largely, Death, Don Surber, Althouse, Patterico's Pontifications, Blue Crab Boulevard, Take Our Country Back, Say Anything and Sister Toldjah

Little Green Footballs:

McClatchy Reporter Calvan Created His Own Reality — Let's revisit Bobby Caina Calvin's blog for a few minutes, because even though he's now pulled the entire thing offline, what it revealed about mainstream media reporting from Iraq is actually quite important.

Discussion: McClatchy Watch

Docweasel / docweaselblog:
Bobby Calvan does the impossible: Unites the entire internet …

Discussion: The GALLIVANT, Ace of Spades HQ, NewsBusters.org, BLACKFIVE, Hot Air, McClatchy Watch and FreeSpeech.com

Michael Cooper / The Caucus:

In His Words: Giuliani on Torture — DAVENPORT, Iowa — At a town hall meeting here last night, Rudolph W. Giuliani expanded upon his views of torture. Here is a transcript of the exchange. — Linda Gustitus, who is the president of a group called the National Religious Campaign Against Torture …

Discussion: Think Progress, TalkLeft, DownWithTyranny!, The Heretik, The Carpetbagger Report and TIME: Swampland

New York Post:
INSIDE THE MOB PLOT TO KILL RUDY

Discussion: USA Today, News Hounds and MSNBC

Michael Cooper / New York Times:
Giuliani Questioned on Torture

Discussion: Spin Cycle and Concurring Opinions

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:

House Democrats Set For Vote on New Version Of Children's Health Bill — Just one week after failing to override President Bush's veto, House Democrats will put a new version of their $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program to a vote today …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Central Sanity, The Moderate Voice, New York Times, The American Street, Fact-esque, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos and The Stakeholder

The Hill:
Democrats tweak SCHIP in effort to override veto

Discussion: Firedoglake

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

New Steps by U.S. Against Iranians — The Bush administration will announce a long-debated policy of new sanctions against Iran on Thursday, accusing the elite Quds division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps of supporting terrorism, administration officials said Wednesday night.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Think Progress, Committee on Oversight …, RealClearPolitics, Wake up America, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Counterterrorism Blog, At-Largely, Soccer Dad, The American Street, The Strata-Sphere, Shakespeare's Sister, Prairie Weather and Atlas Shrugs

Robin Wright / Washington Post:
U.S. to Impose New Sanctions Targeting Iran's Military

Discussion: The Swamp, ABCNEWS, The Glittering Eye, New York Times, MoJoBlog, The Gun Toting Liberal™, The Gate and MSNBC

Michelle Malkin:

Soros-backed Medicare insurer raided by FBI — The St. Petersburg Times reports on an FBI raid of WellCare, a shady Medicare insurer...initially funded by far Left billionaire George Soros and run by one of his acolytes: … Wellcare serves Medicare and Medicaid customers-more than 350,000 seniors in Florida alone.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, Liberal Values, Health Blog and BitsBlog

Kris Hundley / St. Petersburg Times:
FBI raid shutters Medicare insurer

Discussion: Health Blog

Associated Press:

House Democrats propose tax overhaul — $1 trillion plan aims to eliminate AMT, ease burden for lower, middle class — WASHINGTON - The House's top Democratic tax writer on Thursday unveiled a $1 trillion plan to repeal the alternative minimum tax and lower the tax burden of most lower- and middle-income people.

John Feehery / The Hill:
Dems Are Out of Touch on Taxes

Discussion: The Politico

Little Green Footballs:

Ted Rall: Only Idiots Die in Iraq, US IQ Soars — Here's a look into the squirmy, ugly mind of Ted Rall, whose latest cartoon about US troops in Iraq says: "Only idiots signed up; only idiots died. Back home, the average I.Q. soared." — (Hat tip: LGF readers.)

Discussion: Tim Blair

Andrew Fell / Weasel Zippers:
Ted Rall: Death of US Soldiers Raises IQ at Home...

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and The Jawa Report

Roger Cohen / New York Times:

Time for the Bundesmacht — Remember the Wehrmacht? It was a formidable fighting force. The modern German army, the Bundeswehr, is also very effective. Thing is, it is reluctant to fight or even place itself in danger. — Given history, that may seem just fine.

Discussion: Lean Left, TPMCafe blogs, Main and Central and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Washington Post:

Biden Stumbles in Interview — In an interview with The Washington Post's editorial board, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) asserted that he is more prepared to be president than any other candidate, disputed the notion that governors are better suited for the White House than senators and warned …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, MSNBC, Shakespeare's Sister and Wonkette

The Atlantic Online:

The K-Drum Challenge — Kevin Drum wants to know what liberals are whining about exactly: … Here's the thing. I can't guarantee that standing up against a corrupt, unpopular, and incompetent president's right to grant retroactive legal protections to large corporations for their complicity …

Discussion: Eschaton, Booman Tribune, Needlenose, Marginal Revolution, The Sideshow and Open Left

DefenseLINK:

Presenter: Director of Operational Planning, Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock — DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Sherlock from the Pentagon — GEN. SHERLOCK: Good afternoon. Thanks for having me here today. I have just a couple of opening points, and then I'll be happy to take your questions.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Booman Tribune

Haaretz:

Livni behind closed doors: Iran nukes pose little threat to Israel — Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on Livni to be published Friday.

Discussion: The Newshoggers and TPMCafe blogs

John McCormick / The Swamp:

It's looking like Jan. 3 for Dems in Iowa — It looks like a decision could come as early as this weekend on a date for the Democratic version of the Iowa caucuses. — Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson is reporting this hour that the Iowa Democratic Party's State Central Committee …

Discussion: The Politico and CNN Political Ticker