memeorandum: What We Talk About When We Talk About Movies (The Atlantic Online)

10:45 AM ET, November 30, 2007

Top Items:

CNN Admits Holes in Screening of Questioners — CNN expressed regret yesterday for allowing a Hillary Clinton adviser to ask a question at Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, even as controversy swirled about two other questioners who have declared their support for Democratic candidates.

Discussion: Power Line, Captain's Quarters, New York Times, Balloon Juice, Wizbang, Think Progress, NewsBusters.org, The Politico, AMERICAblog, TownHall Blog, TechRepublican.com, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Bluey Blog and Beltway Blogroll

Michelle Malkin:

Surprise: Muslim YouTube questioner was former CAIR Intern — CAIR brags: — They taught her well: — See what others have said — Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse …

Discussion: BitsBlog, No Runny Eggs, Instapundit.com, Daily Pundit, The American Pundit and Gateway Pundit

Michelle Malkin:

CNN's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy — I wrote a piece for the NYPost published today on CNN's horticultural journalism (reprinted below). Filed it before we learned about the CAIR intern. CNN host Howard Kurtz quotes CNN senior veep David Bohrman bleating that they "bent over backwards to be fair."

Discussion: Instapundit.com, NewsBusters.org, New York Post, Sister Toldjah, Crooks and Liars, Cold Fury, Leaning Straight Up, Right Voices and JammieWearingFool

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:
The right views YouTube questioners, cries foul

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, The Carpetbagger Report, NewsBusters.org and CNN

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

Murtha's surge comments a problem for Dems — Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of the leading anti-war voices in the House Democratic Caucus, is back from a trip to Iraq and he now says the "surge is working." This could be a huge problem for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, michellemalkin.com, QandO, Hot Air, The American Pundit, The Strata-Sphere, The Sundries Shack and Blue Crab Boulevard

The Politico:

Democrats: Voters shifting focus from Iraq — Congressional Democrats are reporting a striking change in districts across the country: Voters are shifting their attention away from the Iraq war. — Rep. Jim Cooper, a moderate Democrat from Tennessee, said not a single constituent has asked …

Jerome L. Sherman / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Murtha: Surge is working

Discussion: Power Line and Bloomberg

Jerome L. Sherman / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Murtha finds military progress in trip to Iraq

Philip Shenon / New York Times:
Panel Rebuffs White House Privilege Claim

Discussion: cab drollery

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Mandates and Mudslinging — From the beginning, advocates of universal health care were troubled by the incompleteness of Barack Obama's plan, which unlike those of his Democratic rivals wouldn't cover everyone. But they were willing to cut Mr. Obama slack on the issue, assuming that in the end he would do the right thing.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Norwegianity, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Atlantic Online and TIME

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:

THE EDWARDS MANDATE....Both John Edwards and Hillary Clinton include "individual mandates" in their healthcare plans that require everyone in the country to sign up for coverage. But what if you don't? Today, John Edwards explained how his plan would deal with that:

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Ezra Klein, Balloon Juice, Political Radar and Open Left

Thomas Beaumont / Des Moines Register:
The evolution of John Edwards

Discussion: MSNBC and TPM Election Central

Daily Mail:

Thousands of Islamic fanatics wielding knives demand jailed teddy bear teacher is executed — Thousands of Islamic fanatics wielding clubs and knives are marching through the streets of Khartoum demanding the execution of teddy bear teacher Gillian Gibbons.

Discussion: Telegraph, The Sundries Shack, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, Blue Crab Boulevard, A Blog For All and Althouse

BBC:

Shoot UK teacher, say protesters — Thousands of people have marched in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to call for UK teacher Gillian Gibbons to be shot. — Mrs Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed by a court on Thursday after allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Discussion: CNN and Elder of Ziyon

Michelle Malkin:
Thousands of jihadists want Mohammed Teddy Bear blasphemer executed …

Discussion: Press Association and Blogs of War

Michael Cooper / New York Times:

Citing Statistics, Giuliani Misses Time and Again — In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.

Discussion: Horses Mouth, Firedoglake, MSNBC, JustOneMinute, Salon, Fact Checker, Outside The Beltway, CBS News, The American Street, Brendan Nyhan, TIME, The Atlantic Online, DownWithTyranny!, Prairie Weather, Talking Points Memo and TalkLeft

NY Daily News:

Rudy Giuliani campaign team backtracks on tryst talk — The uproar grew Thursday over expenses for Rudy Giuliani's protection during his trysts with Judith Nathan as his campaign's initial defense - that its accounting methods were the same as previous mayors' - unraveled.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report, Dick Polman's American Debate, Brilliant at Breakfast and Talking Points Memo

New York Post:
RUDY PIN$ BLAME ON NYPD

Discussion: MSNBC, The Politico, New York Times and Betsy's Page

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

The Candidate's 'Catch Me if You Can' — Reporters Following Hillary Clinton on the Campaign Trail Are Covered in Dust — CONCORD, N.H. — ABC correspondent Kate Snow was ready to push through the crowd and ask Hillary Clinton a question until an aide blocked the path of Snow's sound man …

Discussion: The Caucus, Suburban Guerrilla, The Politico and Prairie Weather

Marcella Bombardieri / Boston Globe: With Iowa tight, N.H. becoming Clinton's firewall

Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:

A surprise turn in Iowa's Republican race — Huckabee suddenly appears poised to challenge Romney to win the first GOP presidential contest. — DES MOINES — With 34 days remaining, the Republican presidential race in Iowa has broken wide open, as Mike Huckabee surges into contention with the longtime front-runner, Mitt Romney.

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Jim Tankersley / The Swamp:
The art of the attack

Discussion: Chicago Tribune

New York Times:

A New Push to Roll Back 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — Marking the 14th anniversary of legislation that allowed gay men and lesbians to serve in the military but only if they kept their orientation secret, 28 retired generals and admirals plan to release a letter on Friday urging Congress to repeal the law.

Discussion: Balkinization, BitsBlog, Crooks and Liars, HRC Back Story and The Carpetbagger Report

Adam Leech / Portsmouth Herald:

Biden: Impeachment if Bush bombs Iran … aleech@seacoastonline.com — Check back mid morning on Friday for a photo gallery from this event — PORTSMOUTH — Presidential hopeful Delaware Sen. Joe Biden stated unequivocally that he will move to impeach President Bush if he bombs Iran without Congressional approval.

Discussion: BitsBlog, BobKrumm.com, Stubborn Facts, Washington Wire and The American Street

Wall Street Journal:

U.S., Banks Near A Plan to Freeze Subprime Rates — WASHINGTON — The Bush administration and major financial institutions are close to agreeing on a plan that would temporarily freeze interest rates on certain troubled subprime home loans, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Discussion: The Swamp, RGE Monitor and TigerHawk