The New York Times: Alcee Hastings, a lawmaker who in a previous life had been one of only a handful of judges to be impeached and removed by the Congress, will not chair the House Intelligence Committee. Nor, it seems, will AIPAC tool Jane Harman. We shall see.

Also in the Times, a strange story about a leaked White House memo expressing doubts about the Iraqi premier; the chimp, of course, is meeting the Prime Minister in Jordan today. One wonders why and by whom that memo was leaked today; not very artful.

Get ready for hospital closings. Larry Littlefield on Room Eight discusses possible consequences.

The civil war in Iraq is not a civil war, says the White House. Just put your fingers in your ears, close your eyes, and sing La La La loudly; you'll be fine.

Speaking of which, Saudi Arabia may be preparing to intervene in Iraq, says DailyKos.

The Albany Times-Union goes into the details of Bruno and Silver's obfuscation on member item disclosure. The records were provided as a 3,000 page image PDF, rendering them largely unusable; the Assembly has now provided the earmark data in searchable format, which the Senate continues to refuse to do. See what a difference a republican Senate majority makes? Huh?

Lastly, The Washington Monthly has a portrait of incoming Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.