memeorandum: Blagojevich Plans to Tap Burris (Wall Street Journal)

1:35 PM ET, December 30, 2008

Top Items:

Craig Schneider / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

McKinney relief boat rammed by Israeli navy — A boat carrying international peace activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs, Michelle Malkin, Elder of Ziyon, Jules Crittenden, Corrente, JammieWearingFool, Booman Tribune, Wampum, Riehl World View, Don Surber and Daily Pundit

Jeffrey Goldberg:

A Fatah Friend Writes: I'm Supporting the Israeli Air Force — It's a strange world, but there you have it. I've been talking to friends of mine, former Palestinian Authority intelligence officials (ejected from power by the Hamas coup), and they tell me that not only are they rooting …

Max Socol / Jerusalem Post:

IDF launches YouTube Gaza channel — In the midst of its Gaza operations, the IDF is entering yet another conflict zone: the Internet. The Israeli army announced yesterday the creation of its own YouTube channel, through which it will disseminate footage of precision bombing operations in the Gaza Strip …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Weekly Standard, CNN, Haaretz, Power Line, NewsBusters.org, Ynetnews and MSNBC

Noah Pollak / Commentary:
What YouTube Doesn't Want You to See

Discussion: Hot Air, Yourish.com, Atlas Shrugs and The Muqata

Daoud Kuttab / Washington Post:
Has Israel Revived Hamas?

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Guardian, New York Times, Syria Comment, Commentary, Soccer Dad, The Nation, Change.org's Blog Network, My Right Word and pmw.org.il

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
George Washington's warnings and U.S. policy towards Israel

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Volokh Conspiracy, Associated Press, CQ Politics, D-Day and The Reaction

Washington Post:
Israel Rejects Truce, Presses on With Gaza Strikes

Discussion: Mere Rhetoric, Jerusalem Post, Boston Globe, NO QUARTER, New York Times, theheretik.us, Los Angeles Times, Israel Matzav, MSNBC, Commentary, Pirate's Cove, Yourish.com and Elder of Ziyon

Chicago Breaking News:

Blagojevich to name Burris to Senate — Then Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich introduces his board of advisors, including Roland Burris (to the governor's left) in November 2002. (Tribune file photo / Chuck Berman) — Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, MSNBC, Ben Smith's Blogs, Scorecard's Blogs, The New Republic, Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Campaign Spot, Don Surber, D-Day, Political Machine, Swampland, QandO and Booman Tribune

Dave McKinney / Chicago Sun Times:

Blagojevich to name Roland Burris to Obama's Senate seat — Gov. Blagojevich today is expected to name former state Comptroller and Attorney General Roland Burris to Illinois' vacant U.S. Senate seat, a knowledgeable source said this morning. — A news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Discussion: The Caucus, The Raw Story and Political Machine

Lynn Sweet:

Roland Burris to be named to replace Obama in Senate; may face fight in the Senate to seat him — WASHINGTON—I've learned that Gov. Blagojevich will name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President elect Barack Obama in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Real Clear Politics

Wall Street Journal:
Blagojevich Plans to Tap Burris

Discussion: Fox News and Law Blog

Wall Street Journal:

Hamas Knows One Big Thing — If only it were a parable, the endless confrontation between Israel and its enemies would be the case of the hedgehog and the fox. The fox, said the Greek poet Archilochus, knows many things, while the hedgehog knows one big thing.

Discussion: Commentary

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Defense establishment to recommend 48-hour truce with Hamas

Discussion: Reuters, Jerusalem Post, New York Times, A Blog For All, Jules Crittenden, ‘Just World News&rsquo …, Ynetnews, Israellycool, Elder of Ziyon and Israpundit

Benny Morris / New York Times:
Why Israel Feels Threatened

Discussion: Times of London, Jerusalem Post, The Moderate Voice and Mondoweiss

David Grossman / Haaretz:
Is Israel too imprisoned in the familiar ceremony of war?

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and The Huffington Post

Haaretz:
ANALYSIS / Hamas is hoping for an IDF ground operation

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian, Times of London, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, CBS News, Harry's Place, Lawyers, Guns and Money and War and Piece

Vanity Fair:
Ghetto Blasters — In angry retaliation for the house arrest …

Discussion: Commentary, The Independent and The Volokh Conspiracy

Andy Barr / The Politico:

‘Magic Negro’ flap might help Saltsman — The controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by Republican National Committee chair candidate Chip Saltsman has not torpedoed his bid and might have inadvertently helped it. — Four days after news broke that the former Tennessee GOP chairman …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Washington Times, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Democratic Strategist, Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Political Machine, PoliPundit.com, Wonkette, Donklephant, TPM Election Central, The Campaign Spot and The Jed Report

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

PARSING BARACK THE MAGIC NEGRO. — I've been reading defenses of Rush Limbaugh's “Barack, The Magic Negro” on right wing blogs for a while now and I often get the impression that the people defending the song as satire don't actually get the point, and that they've never actually read David …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Erick's blog

Bob Herbert / New York Times:

Add Up the Damage — Does anyone know where George W. Bush is? — You don't hear much from him anymore. The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad. — We're still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and theheretik.us

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

Reading Into Bush's Book List — In what without a doubt is the most astounding op-ed piece of the year, Karl Rove reveals that his friend and former boss, George W. Bush, has read probably hundreds of books over the course of his presidency. One of them was Albert Camus' “The Stranger,” …

Discussion: Althouse, Wonkette, JammieWearingFool and The Corner

John Vinocur / International Herald Tribune:

From the left, a call to end the current Dutch notion of tolerance — AMSTERDAM: Two years ago, the Dutch could quietly congratulate themselves on having brought what seemed to be a fair measure of consensus and reason to the meanest intersection in their national political life …

Discussion: The Mahablog, Vox Popoli, Gates of Vienna and Maggie's Farm

Amanda Hill / The 2008 Weblog Awards:

2008 Weblog Awards Finalists — Here is a complete list of the finalists for The 2008 Weblog Awards. Finalists badges (hosted by Imageshack) will be available Wednesday. Voting is scheduled to begin on January 5, 2009. — Please note that the names of the Technorati Autority categories have changed …

Discussion: BizzyBlog and Pam's House Blend

John Leland / New York Times:

Breaking Up Is Harder to Do After Housing Fall — When Marci Needle and her husband began to contemplate divorce in June, they thought they had enough money to go their separate ways. They owned a million-dollar home near Atlanta and another in Jacksonville, Fla., as well as investment properties.

Discussion: Law Blog and Jezebel