memeorandum: Opinion pays its own way (Dave Kopel/Rocky Mountain News)

6:15 PM ET, December 28, 2008

Top Items:

ISRAEL, WRONG. — This is the paragraph that I can't get out of my head: … No deaths and few injuries. “Deeply disturbing.” Hamas lacks the technology to aim its rockets. They're taking potshots. In response, the Israeli government launched air strikes that have now killed …

Discussion: TPMCafe, Ynetnews and Mondoweiss

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Marty Peretz and the American political consensus on Israel — (updated below - Update II) — Opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian dispute are so entrenched that any single outbreak of violence is automatically evaluated through a pre-existing lens, shaped by one's typically immovable beliefs …

Discussion: J Street, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, American Power, Fox News, ATTACKERMAN, Newshoggers.com, Mondoweiss and Buck Naked Politics

Press Association:

Egyptians open fire on Palestinians — Egyptian border guards have opened fire on Palestinians who breached the border to escape Israel's assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. — An Egyptian security official said there were at least five breaches along the nine-mile border and hundreds of Palestinian residents were pouring in.

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Chicago Boyz and AmSpecBlog

Jerusalem Post:

‘Hamas could have prevented massacre’ — Hamas could have prevented the “massacre” in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday in Cairo. — “We spoke to them and told them ‘Please, we ask you not to end the cease-fire. Let it continue,’” …

Discussion: Associated Press, Hot Air, Power Line, Lawyers, Guns and Money, QandO, Mere Rhetoric, Israel Matzav, Commentary, The Muqata, Macsmind and Ynetnews

Greg Mitchell / The Huffington Post:

Attack on Gaza: As Usual, U.S. Media (And Most Liberals) Silent — As Israeli Newspaper Raises Doubts — In the usual process, the U.S. government, media here — and most liberal bloggers — are silent or playing down questions about whether Israel overreacted in its massive air strikes on Gaza …

Discussion: The Independent, D-Day, his vorpal sword, Stop The ACLU, Mondoweiss and Right Wing News

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Playbook - 23 days to Inauguration - Gaza is ‘First test for Obama’ - Axelrod and Gibbs on Sunday shows - MoveOn.org gets practical, echoes the President-elect — Birthday: NBC's Savannah Guthrie ... Brokaw on Russert ... Remembering Samuel Huntington ... Engaged: CNNers Howard Lutt and Lydia Garlikov …

Discussion: MSNBC, Swampland, Times of London, AmSpecBlog and Time

Daniel Levy / Prospects for Peace:

What next on Gaza/Israel and Why Americans Should Care — For many people, what has happened today between Gaza and Israel may have all too familiar a ring to it - Israel warns and then retaliates to an alleged or real Palestinian escalation of violence, there is Arab condemnation …

Discussion: juancole.com, American Footprints, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Commentary, theheretik.us, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and War and Piece

Hana Levi Julian / Arutz Sheva:
Hizbullah Vows to Open Second Front in Gaza Conflict

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Israel Matzav and Ynetnews

Jerusalem Post:
Artillery batteries deployed along border with Gaza Strip

Discussion: Aljazeera, Ynetnews, The Huffington Post, Israpundit, Commentary, Yourish.com, Haaretz, Israel Matzav, Harry's Place, Associated Press and CNN

BBC:
Israeli jets target Gaza tunnels

Discussion: Associated Press, Xinhua News Agency, Agence France Presse, Global Voices Online, Jihad Watch, BlogHer, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, New York Times, Atlas Shrugs, Gateway Pundit, Israpundit, Yourish.com, bint battuta in bahrain and TalkLeft

New York Times:
Israeli Attacks in Gaza Strip Continue for Second Day

Discussion: Haaretz, LT Nixon Rants, Mondoweiss, International Herald Tribune, I*Consult, The Caucus, Associated Press, Ynetnews, Power Line, Think Progress, Outside The Beltway, Word on the Street, Yourish.com and Booman Tribune

David Horovitz / Jerusalem Post:
Analysis: The policy of restraint is over

Discussion: rubber hose, Israel Matzav, Jules Crittenden, Yourish.com, Israpundit, Ynetnews and Reuters

BBC:
Hamas ‘bars injured leaving Gaza’

Discussion: Harry's Place and Jihad Watch

Robert Pear / New York Times:
White House Puts Onus on Hamas to End Violence

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews, Firedoglake, A Blog For All and Commentary

Michael Goodwin / NY Daily News:

Goodwin: Say goodnight, Caroline — In the beginning, just three long weeks ago, the idea of Caroline Kennedy being a United States senator had a certain ring to it. The Camelot myth still has shelf life and a merger with the historic Obama presidency provided an intriguing story line.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, San Francisco Chronicle, RBO and Hot Air

Anne Glusker / Washington Post:
She's a Kennedy, But She's a Lot Like Us

Discussion: Commentary and NewsBusters.org

New York Times:
Transcript of the Caroline Kennedy Interview

Discussion: Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Michael Calderone's Blogs

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

Obama bristles as the bubble closes in on him — HONOLULU - The media glare, the constant security appendage and the sheer production that has become a morning jog or a hankering for an ice cream cone - it's been closing in on Barack Obama for some time. — Now the president-elect appears …

Discussion: TigerHawk, RedState, The Impolitic and THE CUNNING REALIST

CBS News:

Condoleezza Rice: “I'm Not A Type A” — Outgoing Secretary Of State Shares Thoughts With Sunday Morning … She's been called the administration's “warrior princess,” the true believer who's visited scores of countries, traveling a million miles to implement, explain, and defend, president George W. Bush's foreign policy.

Discussion: The Raw Story and Think Progress

Kristi Keck / CNN:
Rice: People will thank Bush for what he's done

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Maria Panaritis / Philly.com:

Cars leaving lots without drivers — A half-dozen trailers rolled up to Eckenhoff Cadillac Buick Pontiac GMC in Jenkintown bright and early and wiped the lot clean of $8.4 million in inventory - Hummers, Cadillacs and all. — “Load up, leave. Load up, leave. . . .” …

Discussion: Angry Bear

Christopher Booker / Telegraph:

2008 was the year manmade global warming was disproved — Looking back over my columns of the past 12 months, one of their major themes was neatly encapsulated by two recent items from The Daily Telegraph. — The first, on May 21, headed “Climate change threat to Alpine ski resorts” …

Discussion: Power Line, Deltoid, EU Referendum, The Strata-Sphere, Wake up America, Liberal Values, Stop The ACLU, Scared Monkeys, Tim Blair, NewsBusters.org, Ed Driscoll.com and Don Surber

NY Daily News:

Bernie's funda-mental defense — If you thought Bernard Madoff's $50 billion investment scheme was audacious, get ready for his alibi. Lawyers for the accused scammer are exploring an insanity defense, we hear. — “Bernie's family and his attorneys may argue that, somewhere along the line …

Discussion: Gawker, Truthdig and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Frank Rich / New York Times:

You're Likable Enough, Gay People — IN his first press conference after his re-election in 2004, President Bush memorably declared, “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” We all know how that turned out. — Barack Obama has little in common …