memeorandum: Netanyahu, Abbas hold rare phone chat over Carmel fire (Reuters)

10:30 AM ET, December 5, 2010

Top Items:

Danny Ayalon / Jerusalem Post:

Expressing gratitude — This is Israel's hour of need and nations across the world did not disappoint. — Talkbacks (9) — Facebook — Twitter — Over these last few painful, shocking days, there has been a shining light through the dark, ashfilled skies elicited by the rampant fires …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Washington Note

Reuters:

Netanyahu, Abbas hold rare phone chat over Carmel fire — The Palestinian President expressed condolences and offered help; Netanyahu committed to establishing a pan-Middle Eastern firefighting fleet. — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed condolences in a rare telephone call …

Frank Rich / New York Times:

All the President's Captors — THOSE desperate to decipher the baffling Obama presidency could do worse than consult an article titled “Understanding Stockholm Syndrome” in the online archive of The F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin. It explains that hostage takers are most successful …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Prairie Weather and Suburban Guerrilla

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

WHY COMPROMISE WITH THESE GUYS IS IMPOSSIBLE, PART MCCXVII.... I can only hope folks in the West Wing take a moment to consider what incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told Slate's John Dickerson the other day. … Ryan went on to say Republicans sent some letters …

Discussion: The Talking Dog, The Moderate Voice, Liberal Values, Balloon Juice and Whiskey Fire

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

Lawmakers Weigh Deal to Extend Tax Cuts for All — WASHINGTON — The Senate on Saturday rejected President Obama's proposal to let tax rates rise for the highest-income Americans, as Republicans held firm in their push to continue all of the expiring Bush-era tax cuts. — Multimedia

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Big Government, RedState, The Reaction and The Moderate Voice

The Politico:
Now it's all or nothing on tax cuts

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Power Line

J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Senate rejects million-dollar tax-cut compromise in Saturday session

Discussion: The Reaction, Outside the Beltway, USA Today, The Democratic Daily, No More Mister Nice Blog, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Moderate Voice, Booman Tribune, Sky Dancing, CNN and Politics Daily

The Huffington Post:

State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Talking about WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter could endanger your job prospects, a State Department official warned students at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs this week.

Discussion: Informed Comment, Scared Monkeys, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Lede, Antiwar.com and TPMMuckraker

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend / Washington Post:

Sarah Palin is wrong about John F. Kennedy, religion and politics — Sarah Palin has found a new opponent to debate: John F. Kennedy. — In her new book, “America by Heart,” Palin objects to my uncle's famous 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Booman Tribune, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Politico, Liberal Values and Boston Globe

New York Times:

Mounting State Debts Stoke Fears of a Looming Crisis — The State of Illinois is still paying off billions in bills that it got from schools and social service providers last year. Arizona recently stopped paying for certain organ transplants for people in its Medicaid program.

Discussion: nga.org and Stop The ACLU

Abby Rapoport / texasobserver.org:

SREC Member: “I got into politics to put Christian conservatives into office.” — When emails first appeared calling for dumping current Speaker Joe Straus in favor of “Christian conservative” leadership, Straus' more visible opponents initially dismissed accusations of anti-Jewish/pro-Christian bias.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, Talking Points Memo and Zandar Versus The Stupid

Christina D. Romer / New York Times:

It's the Big Questions That Slow Growth — UNCERTAINTY is frequently blamed for the sorry state of the economy — for why businesses are not investing strongly in new equipment or hiring more workers, and for why consumers are not spending freely. On Wall Street, it's even said that government meddling …

Calculated Risk:

Participation Rate of 25 to 54 Age Men at Record Low — The collapse in the labor force participation rate has been one of the key stories of the great recession. The participation rate is the percentage of the working age population in the labor force. — The labor force participation rate …

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Townhall.com:

Chris Christie — national security jobs economy finance MSM defense education Hollywood Founding Fathers Islam foreign affairs — Read the latest conservative news and political commentary from the #1 conservative news source - Townhall.com. Stay up to date with news headlines …

Discussion: Power Line