memeorandum: Think Tanks, 503s and Rush Limbaugh—What's The Real "Soft Money" (Amanda Marcotte/The Huffington Post)

5:35 PM ET, February 16, 2007

Top Items:

Dan Gerstein / The Politico:

Liberal Bloggers Demonstrate Their Political Immaturity, Democrat Says — If the liberal blogs want to understand why so few people outside their narrow echo chamber take them seriously, and what it will take to gain the broader credibility they crave, they should look no further than their handling …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, MyDD, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Ace of Spades HQ, Gold-Plated Witch on Wheels, Matthew Yglesias, Dick Polman's American Debate, The Carpetbagger Report, The Political Pit Bull, Cliff Schecter, Blue Crab Boulevard, TAPPED, Wonkette, Decision '08 and Middle Earth Journal

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Associated Press:

Dems Risk Image Woes Over Iraq War Moves — WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats face a host of risks as they move toward more substantive steps to tie President Bush's hands with funding restrictions on the Iraq war. — Leaders are wary of allowing the more intense anti-war activists define the party's image.

Discussion: Riehl World View, Gold-Plated Witch on Wheels, Power Line, Jules Crittenden and Macsmind

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:
Bill opposing troop surge likely to pass

Discussion: TAPPED and NewsHog

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Broder: George Bush Has Regained His Political Footing

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Don Surber, Salon, At-Largely, The Carpetbagger Report, Washington Post, Shakespeare's Sister, Outside The Beltway, Daily Kos, Right Wing Nut House, NO QUARTER, Jules Crittenden, Instapundit.com and Wizbang

David Espo / Associated Press:
Pelosi: Bush Lacks Power to Invade Iran

Discussion: All Things Beautiful, Macsmind and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Jeremy Redmon / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Anti-evolution memo stirs controversy — The Anti-Defamation League is calling on state Rep. Ben Bridges to apologize for a memo distributed under his name that says the teaching of evolution should be banned in public schools because it is a religious deception stemming from an ancient Jewish sect.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and The Next Hurrah

Dallas Morning News:

Chisum contrite over memo — Legislature: Group says evolution handout contains anti-Semitic material — AUSTIN - House Appropriations Chairman Warren Chisum said Wednesday that he's "willing to apologize" for giving colleagues a document that contains what the Anti-Defamation League called "outrageous anti-Semitic material."

Discussion: Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Off the Kuff and Pharyngula

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
It's times like these you've just got to miss that dear lady Molly Ivins.

Discussion: Burnt Orange Report, Wonkette and Right Wing Nut House

Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:

THE QUOTE "SURGE" — A quick clip from MG Caldwell's Baghdad briefing yesterday: … The point? People who know what's going on are now using quotation marks even when they say "surge". — I love starting a trend. — Here are the General's remarks pertinent to the "surge".

Discussion: Multi-National Force, INDCJournal and Michelle Malkin

Kim Gamel / Associated Press:

Civilian deaths in Iraq drop overnight — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The number of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's sectarian violence fell drastically overnight, an Iraqi military official said Friday, crediting the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation that began in force just days ago.

Discussion: The Bullwinkle Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard and theneweditor.com

Damien Cave / New York Times:
Dispute Over Iraqi Cleric, Said to Have Gone to Iran

Discussion: The Corner and Needlenose

Thomas Sowell / Real Clear Politics:

Global Hot Air From the Media — If you take the mainstream media seriously, you might think that every important scientist believes that "global warming" poses a great threat, and that we need to make drastic changes in the way we live, in order to avoid catastrophes to the environment, to various species, and to ourselves.

Discussion: Winds of Change.NET

Seth Borenstein / Associated Press:
January Weather Hottest by Far

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and The Democratic Daily

David Bromwich / eurekalert.org:
Antarctic temperatures disagree with climate model predictions

Discussion: Andrew Olmsted, Flopping Aces, Stubborn Facts, Brutally Honest, The Strata-Sphere and small dead animals

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

A Hard Right Punch — Michelle Malkin's Conservative Fight Has Others Coming Out Swinging — Michelle Malkin has seen her head electronically grafted onto a photo of a bikini-clad body. — She had to cancel a Berkeley book signing in the face of 200 shouting protesters. — YouTube banned one of her videos.

New York Times:

Viewers Fast-Forwarding Past Ads? Not Always — People with digital video recorders like TiVo never watch commercials, right? — Add that to the list of urban — and suburban — myths. — It turns out that a lot of people with digital video recorders are not fast-forwarding and time-shifting as much as advertisers feared.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), CBS News and SayUncle

James Kirchick / Examiner:

Who is really stifling honest debate about the Middle East? — WASHINGTON - Aside from the Iraq war — which has only consumed our attention for the past four years — is there an international issue that inspires more debate than the Arab-Israeli conflict?

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Ezra Klein and Unfogged

The Emory Wheel:

What's Jimmy Carter Afraid Of? — By: 11 Emory Professors — Once again, Jimmy Carter has shrunk from debate. Despite having written a book whose purpose he claims was to promote dialogue and discussion, he has consistently dodged appearing with anyone who could challenge …

Discussion: Power Line

Washington Post:

The Banker's Candidate — Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd has two big jobs. He is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, and he chairs the Senate Banking Committee. — They are proving to be a lucrative combination. Among Democrats, Dodd's $5 million campaign nest egg …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Caucus, The Carpetbagger Report and CNN Political Ticker

Deepak Chopra / The Huffington Post:

Why Evolutionary Biology Embraces the Bogus (Part 1) — Recently quite a few stories have appeared in the media touting new explanations for such diverse things as altruism, generosity, and music. These complex matters, we are told, can be traced to the brain, which is dependent upon genes …

Discussion: Liberal Values, Hullabaloo and Unqualified Offerings

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Evangelical leader sizes up GOP field, says Giuliani's campaign is doomed — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said Wednesday night he is making a bid for the White House, will not be America's 44th president because he supports abortion rights and gay rights and has been married three times.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, eyeon08.com, First Read and CNN Political Ticker

Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:

Nader says he may run in 2008, especially if Hillary gets the nomination — (02-15) 16:16 PST SAN FRANCISCO — Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader said he is considering a presidential run in 2008 and strongly suggested today he would enter the race if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the Democratic Party nomination.

Discussion: NewsHog, First Read and PoliPundit.com

James K. Galbraith / The Nation:

What Kind of Economy? — This is the first in a series of essays outlining a new progressive economic policy. The series, we hope, will offer an alternative to the neoliberal thinking that has dominated economic policy within the Democratic Party leadership over the past decade.

Discussion: Political Animal and Matthew Yglesias

Nico / Think Progress:

The 'Get 'er Done' defense of escalation. — During today's Iraq debate, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) explained her support for sending tens of thousands of U.S. forces to Iraq by quoting that "wonderful saying" — "Get 'er done."

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report