memeorandum: Far From Beijing's Reach, Officials Bend Energy Rules (Howard W. French/New York Times)

4:05 AM ET, November 25, 2007

Top Items:

Many Americans still believe in conspiracies — Nearly two-thirds of Americans think it is possible that some federal officials had specific warnings of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings, according to a Scripps Howard News Service/Ohio University poll.

Discussion: Hot Air, Liberal Values, Weasel Zippers, alicublog, Say Anything and Screw Loose Change

Andy Soltis / New York Post:

'BLAME U.S. FOR 9/11' IDIOTS IN MAJORITY — 'PLOTS' THICKEN IN SHOCKING POLL — Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the federal government had warnings about 9/11 but decided to ignore them, a national survey found. — And that's not the only conspiracy theory with a huge number of true believers in the United States.

Discussion: At-Largely, Firedoglake, INSTAPUTZ, protein wisdom, Macsmind, QandO, Right Wing Nut House, Neptunus Lex, Death, michellemalkin.com, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, bustardblog, The American Mind, Wake up America, The Heretik, Blue Crab Boulevard, JammieWearingFool and Betsy's Page

Jonathan Schwarz / MoJoBlog:

A Look Back at John Howard — Today Australian Prime Minister John Howard was ousted by the Labor Party, which easily took back control of Parliament from Howard's party. The defeat was so severe Howard may even lose his own seat. — So, now is a good time to look back at something little-noticed …

Discussion: Associated Press and Empire Burlesque

Tim Johnston / New York Times:
Australian Premier, an Ally of Bush, Is Defeated

Discussion: The Democratic Daily

ABC News:
Defeated Howard thanks Australia

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Redstate

Michelle Malkin:
John Howard loses in Australia

Discussion: Tim Blair, The Road to Surfdom, Middle Earth Journal, Balloon Juice, Say Anything, Sydney Morning Herald, TalkLeft, Right Wing News, Jules Crittenden, protein wisdom, QandO, Right Voices, Patterico's Pontifications, Power Line, Captain's Quarters and TigerHawk

Linda Boyd / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Impeachment: If not now, when? — Lawmakers need to stand up for the Constitution and support impeachment — The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Discussion: Indybay newswire, GINA COBB and RADAMISTO

Michelle Malkin:

The impeachment circus never takes a holiday — Democrat leaders might have thought they put the impeachment circus to rest on November 6. But as I noted, the nutroots are gearing up for a stage production of a Beltway impeachment play that'll open after New Year's-and over this Thanksgiving holiday …

Discussion: Courier-Life Publications, Brattleboro Reformer and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

As Democrats See Security Gains in Iraq, Tone Shifts — As violence declines in Baghdad, the leading Democratic presidential candidates are undertaking a new and challenging balancing act on Iraq: acknowledging that success, trying to shift the focus to the lack of political progress there …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Charleston Daily Mail, Hot Air, Redstate, Blue Crab Boulevard, Prairie Weather, abu muqawama, ScrappleFace, UrbanGrounds and democracyarsenal.org

Kevin Sack / New York Times:
Massachusetts Faces a Test on Health Care

Discussion: The Swamp

Enrique Andres Pretel / Reuters:

Poll says Chavez loses Venezuela referendum lead — CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has lost his lead eight days before a referendum on ending his term limit, an independent pollster said on Saturday, in a swing in voter sentiment against the Cuba ally.

Discussion: Redstate, michellemalkin.com, Flopping Aces, Say Anything, Weasel Zippers, PoliBlog (TM), BitsBlog, Venezuela News And Views, Blue Crab Boulevard, QandO and Right Voices

Washington Post:

lib •er •tar •ian — a person who believes in the doctrine of the freedom of the will — 2. a person who believes in full individual freedom of thought, expression and action — 3. a freewheeling rebel who hates wiretaps, loves Ron Paul and is redirecting politics

Discussion: The Plank, Liberal Values, Publius Endures, The Debatable Land, The Moderate Voice, Unqualified Offerings, LewRockwell.com Blog and Blogs of War

Lorraine Woellert / Bloomberg:
Paul Expects to Raise More Than $12 Million in Fourth Quarter

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, UrbanGrounds and The Washington Note

Julia Preston / New York Times:

Revised Rule for Employers That Hire Immigrants — The Bush administration will suspend its legal defense of a new rule issued in August to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants, conceding a hard-fought opening round in a court battle over a central measure in its strategy to curb illegal immigration …

David Espo / Associated Press:
Social Security to become key issue

Discussion: MyDD

Telegraph:

Disabled veterans jeered at swimming pool — Injured soldiers who lost their limbs fighting for their country have been driven from a swimming pool training session by jeering members of the public. — The men, injured during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, were taking part in a rehabilitation session …

Discussion: Daily Mail

New York Times:

U.S. Scales Back Political Goals for Iraqi Unity — With American military successes outpacing political gains in Iraq, the Bush administration has lowered its expectation of quickly achieving major steps toward unifying the country, including passage of a long-stymied plan to share oil revenues and holding regional elections.

Times of London:

US is'worst' imperialist: archbishop — THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the United States wields its power in a way that is worse than Britain during its imperial heyday. — Rowan Williams claimed that America's attempt to intervene overseas by "clearing the decks" with a …

Discussion: Six Meat Buffet

Brit Hume / Fox News:

Global Warming Debate Is Not One-Sided on College Campuses — Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: — Kids These Days — A series of articles in student newspapers at well-regarded institutions of higher learning indicate that not all young people are buying what the global warming alarmists are selling.

Discussion: Don Surber and protein wisdom

Andrea Jones / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Emory building draped in black to save birds — Many crash into environmentally friendly design with soaring glass windows — It is one of Emory University's most environmentally friendly buildings, a hallmark of the institution's efforts to "go green." To hear John Wegner describe it, it's also a slaughterhouse.

Discussion: The Belmont Club

Clifford J. Levy / New York Times:

Kasparov Gets 5 Days in Jail for Marching — Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and opposition leader, was arrested Saturday and sentenced to five days in jail after trying to lead a march to the offices of the federal election authorities. — Mr. Kasparov was taken into custody during …

Discussion: Agence France Presse, Associated Press and Gateway Pundit