memeorandum: English 'bitch': Insult that landed an Irishman living in Wales … (James Tozer/Daily Mail)

3:00 PM ET, December 1, 2007

Top Items:

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Did yesterday's hostage crisis teach us anything about Hillary Clinton? — You might think we got a chance to see how she deals with a crisis, but that's not really so. She had no executive authority in the matter. The local police had to handle the situation.

Discussion: The American Street, Gateway Pundit, alicublog, Chuck Adkins, Riehl World View and TBogg

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:

Clinton seizes opportunity after crisis — Friday afternoon began with possible tragedy: A hostage crisis at Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire. — As the incident unfolded Clinton's campaign closed its doors and canceled her public appearances.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, New York Post, The Stump, Cheat Seeking Missiles, Chuck Adkins and Macsmind

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Talk About Spin — Everyone expressed gratitude and relief at the end of the hostage crisis yesterday in Rochester, New Hampshire, when police arrested the disturbed man who created it. No one got hurt and a sick man will get the care he needs, and the community will receive protection from him as well.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Riehl World View, BitsBlog, Blue Crab Boulevard and Right Voices

Rick Moran / Right Wing Nut House:

PLEASE WAIT TWO HOURS AFTER EATING BEFORE READING THIS — I didn't realize that the Associated Press had gone in to the pharmacy business. If I had, I wouldn't have been so astonished to read this emetic about the hostage situation at Hillary's New Hampshire office yesterday.

Discussion: Hot Air

Glen Johnson / Associated Press:

Clinton calm in hostage crisis — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - When the hostages had been released and their alleged captor arrested, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton strolled out of her Washington home, the picture of calm in the face of crisis. — The image, broadcast just as the network news began …

Discussion: The Caucus, The Carpetbagger Report, UrbanGrounds and Weasel Zippers

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
The Clinton Hostage Drama

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, BitsBlog and The Democratic Daily

Raúl Isaías Baduel / New York Times:

Why I Parted Ways With Chávez — ON Dec. 17, 1982, three of my fellow officers in the Venezuelan Army and I swore our allegiance to the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army 2000. We considered ourselves to be at the birth of a movement that would turn a critical eye on Venezuela's troubled social …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Cheat Seeking Missiles, Pajamas Media, Blue Crab Boulevard, Right Voices and Babalu Blog

CNN:

Chavez threatens to cut oil if U.S. questions vote — CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) — President Hugo Chavez on Friday wrapped up his campaign to push through broad constitutional changes with a broadside attack against adversaries at home and abroad — including a threat to cut off oil exports to the United States.

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette, JasonColeman.com, Political Machine and Daimnation!

Juan Forero / Washington Post:
Chávez Bluster Surges Ahead of Referendum

Discussion: Reuters, protein wisdom, Whatever It Is …, ScrappleFace and Blue Crab Boulevard

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Chavez Threatens US Oil Supply (Update: He'll Boycott Himself?)

Discussion: Fausta's blog

Marc Burleigh / Agence France Presse:
Chavez oil threat raises stakes in Venezuelan referendum

Discussion: Fausta's blog

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

SHAG FUND — IT'S ON US! — Yesterday, every reporter who wanted a copy, was allowed to go down to City Hall and pick up copies of the city financial records that were the basis of the original Shag Fund report in the Politico.com. That's how we found out about the weird $400,000 prepayment …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Corrente

NY Daily News:

City taxpayers picked up tab for Judith Giuliani's visit to kin in Pennsylvania — In the fall of 2001, city cops chauffeured Rudy Giuliani's then-mistress, Judith Nathan, to her parents' Pennsylvania home 130 miles away on the taxpayers' dime. — Records show that city cops refueled …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, All Spin Zone, The Carpetbagger Report, rubber hose, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos and TIME: Swampland

Gail Collins / New York Times:
Rudy's Security Blanket

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs and NewsBusters.org

Andrew Kirtzman / WCBS-TV:
Source: Nathan's Friends, Family Used NYPD Service

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:

Washington Post Editors Again Refuse To Label GOP Falsehoods What They Are: False — You'd think that The Washington Post's editors would have been chastened by yesterday's courageous New York Times piece that aggressively fact-checked Rudy Giuliani's multiple falsehoods and called them out for what they are — "false."

Discussion: The Trail, Daily Kos, Eschaton and The Huffington Post

Peter Baker / Washington Post:

Rove's Version of 2002 War Vote Is Disputed — Former White House aide Karl Rove said yesterday it was Congress, not President Bush, who wanted to rush a vote on the looming war in Iraq in the fall of 2002, a version of events disputed by leading congressional Democrats and even some former Rove colleagues.

Discussion: Think Progress, I Am TRex, The Carpetbagger Report, Left I on the News, Buck Naked Politics, Free Frank Warner and CNN

Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:

Signing statement is president's first since 2006 — Had used tactic often before power shift in Congress — WASHINGTON - President Bush this month issued his first signing statement since the Democratic takeover of Congress, reserving the right to bypass 11 provisions in a military appropriations bill under his executive powers.

Discussion: Think Progress

April D. Deconick / New York Times:

Gospel Truth — AMID much publicity last year, the National Geographic Society announced that a lost 3rd-century religious text had been found, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. The shocker: Judas didn't betray Jesus. Instead, Jesus asked Judas, his most trusted and beloved disciple, to hand him over to be killed.

Discussion: Crunchy Con

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Good Morning — Welcome to the new Firedoglake. As you can see, we've been busy making a few changes. — The biggest change will be in the comment section, where we're going be implementing registration to keep the load on both our servers and our moderators from getting any heavier.

White House:

Press Briefing by Dana Perino and Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator — Press Briefing Slide (PDF, 186KB, 1 page) — MS. PERINO: It's been our great pleasure to work with Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News. And today is her last day covering the White House full-time, and so we wish you the very best in your — (applause.)

Discussion: The Newshoggers and Flopping Aces