memeorandum: Brian Williams, Showing That An Anchor Can Be Light (Tom Shales/Washington Post)

9:55 AM ET, November 5, 2007

Top Items:

Pakistan denies rumours Musharraf under house arrest - UPDATE — ISLAMABAD (Thomson Financial) - Pakistan's government on Monday denied rumours sweeping the country that the deputy army chief had placed military ruler President Pervez Musharraf under house arrest. — 'This is not true.

Discussion: Asia Times, The Moderate Voice, Publius Pundit, The Van Der Galiën Gazette and BitsBlog

New York Times:

Police Battle Lawyers in Pakistan — Police armed with tear gas and clubs attacked thousands of protesting lawyers in the city of Lahore today, and rounded up lawyers in other cities as the government of the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, faced the first signs of concerted resistance to the imposition of emergency rule.

Discussion: Law Blog

New York Times:

U.S. Is Likely to Continue Aid to Pakistan — The Bush administration signaled Sunday that it would probably keep billions of dollars flowing to Pakistan's military, despite the detention of human rights advocates and leaders of the political opposition by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the country's president.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), CNN, Rising Hegemon, the talking dog, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Informed Comment, rubber hose, Guardian, The Huffington Post, Air America Radio, Don Surber, Truthdig, Empire Burlesque and The RBC

Shahan Mufti / Christian Science Monitor:
EMERGENCY RULE IN PAKISTAN: MUSHARRAF'S LAST GRAB FOR POWER?

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, National Review Online and The Moderate Voice

Ben Feller / Associated Press: Bush's faith in Musharraf tested

Jane Perlez / New York Times:
Musharraf Consolidates His Control With Arrests

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, FP Passport, At-Largely, The Reaction, The Body Politik, American Footprints, All Spin Zone, Oliver Willis, Informed Comment, PoliBlog (TM), abu muqawama and Harry's Place

Wall Street Journal:

Frustration Builds for Democrats — Reversal of Fortune for Mukasey — Highlights Struggles on Security Issues — Washington — The way in which Senate Democrats wavered and then consented to the confirmation of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general reflects the party's broader struggle …

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Missteps on Both Sides Led to Health Bill Veto — They met almost every day in the spring and summer, a handful of powerful senators who had cleared their schedules to forge a bipartisan compromise providing health insurance to 10 million children. — It was a remarkable commitment …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Heading Right, Air America Radio and Ankle Biting Pundits

Washington Post:
Two for Mr. Mukasey — THE HALLS of Congress are too often filled …

Discussion: About.com U.S. Politics, The Heretik, The Atlantic Online and Talking Points Memo

Peter Baker / Washington Post:

An Unlikely Partnership Left Behind — It felt familiar, as if the past five years had not happened — the Republican president and the Democratic senator together again, plotting ways to reshape the nation's education system. As they sat in the Oval Office that day back in January …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Democratic Strategist

Matthew Mosk / Washington Post:
Thompson Defends Fundraiser With Criminal Record

Discussion: The Caucus, TIME, The Gun Toting Liberal™ and theGarance.com

Frank James / The Swamp:
Swamp Gas, November 5, 2007

Discussion: The Hill

Robert Stacy McCain / Washington Times:

Poster relates Che's dark side — One of the most famous faces of communism is getting a makeover this week, with a new poster designed to teach students the whole story about Cuban revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara. — "The Victims of Che Guevera" poster, produced …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool and Hot Air

Michelle Malkin: The victims of Che Guevara

John Ashcroft / New York Times:

Uncle Sam on the Line — FOR almost two years, the country has debated whether the Bush administration acted properly and lawfully in undertaking emergency surveillance operations of suspected foreign terrorists on presidential authorization in the wake of 9/11.

Discussion: The Next Hurrah and Prairie Weather

John McCormick / The Swamp:

Newsweek's Obama interview: Challenging Clinton — Another week, another interview with Sen. Barack Obama, who discusses a variety of topics — ranging from driver's licenses for illegal immigrants to the Clinton White House to UFOs — with Newsweek's Howard Fineman and Richard Wolffe for this week's magazine.

Discussion: ABCNEWS and The Huffington Post

Newsweek.com:
'What She Can't Do Is Have It Both Ways'

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Washington Wire:
Edwards Breaks His 'Yes-or-No' Rule, by 88 Words

Discussion: Say Anything and Liberal Values

John O'Connor / The State:

Giuliani a surprise hit in S.C. — New Yorker among leaders in S.C. poll — Rudy Giuliani was not supposed to compete in South Carolina. — The New York Yankee, pundits said, could not overcome his stances favoring gay rights, abortion or gun control. Social conservatives, they said, would torpedo him in the Palmetto State.

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, Post & Courier and TIME

Washington Post:
Republican Nomination Most Open in Decades

Discussion: Political Machine, The Carpetbagger Report, The Right's Field, Don Surber, Daily Kos, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, The Heretik, Washington Monthly and The Corner

Jonathan S. Landay / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Experts: No evidence of Iranian nuclear weapons program — WASHINGTON — Despite President Bush's claims that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons that could trigger "World War III," experts in and out of government say there's no conclusive evidence that Tehran has an active nuclear-weapons program.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Crooks and Liars, Yourish.com, Jules Crittenden, Macsmind, Washington Post, Air America Radio and NO QUARTER

Jennifer Saba / Editor and Publisher:

First FAS-FAX Numbers: Many Top Papers Take Big Hits — NEW YORK The Audit Bureau of Circulations released circulation numbers for more than 700 daily newspapers this morning for the six-month period ending September 2007. Of the top 25 papers in daily circulation (see chart, separate story), only four showed gains.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and NewsBusters.org

Avi Klein / Washington Monthly:

The mysterious death of Lyndon LaRouche's printer — For forty years, the Lyndon LaRouche movement has been a ubiquitous, if diminishing, presence in the political landscape of America, and of Washington. LaRouche has made eight runs for the presidency, including one campaign from prison.

Discussion: The Corner

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

RWN's Ann Coulter Interview #4 — John Edwards' campaign has fallen on such tough times that he has had to accept public financing. Do you think the damage that you did to him in the running feud you two have gotten into has something to do with that? — If by "running feud" …

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Andrew / stat.columbia.edu:

Religiosity and income in the U.S. — David noticed this article by Dan Mitchell reporting the well-known fact that people in richer countries tend to be less religious. What about states in the U.S.? We (that is, David Park, Joe Bafumi, Boris Shor, and I) look at it two ways.

Discussion: New York Times and About.com U.S. Politics

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
GOD AND MAMMON, U.S. VERSION....A couple of weeks ago I posted …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Stephen Brook / Guardian:

Times editor headed for WSJ — Rupert Murdoch plans to install Times editor Robert Thomson as publisher of the Wall Street Journal next year, according to a senior US media executive. — The transfer of Mr Thomson, who has edited the Times for five years, to a senior role at the Journal …

Discussion: Media Blog and BuzzMachine