I’m honored to be part of this FDL Book Salon on Juan Cole’s Engaging the Muslim World. Professor Cole has long provided an invaluable reservoir of expert opinion on the Middle East, and I’m delighted to be able to participate in this discussion of his latest work.

Engaging the Muslim World is part of a debate that has developed in the academy and the mainstream media about the role of Islam in political life. Professor Cole’s purpose is to dispel common myths about Islam, and the relationship of the West with the Islamic world. These myths have, in many cases, been propounded intentionally for political effect. Professor Cole’s argument boils down to this; it is impossible to repair US relations with the Islamic world as long as the United States misunderstands that world.

The CIA put together an inventory of their torture tape library. But they are not going to hand it over.

We asked Sam to come back today to talk about her brand new job as president of the Woman’s Campaign Forum, a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the political participation and leadership of pro-choice women by providing the necessary encouragement, education and resources. They recruit and support women to run for office beginning in their earliest days in politics. They’re also building a national network of women voters, donors and activists whose efforts and venture capital ensure women’s voices are heard.

The CEOs and others at major financial institutions who aren’t completely clueless are having trouble sleeping at night. They keep having a recurring nightmare, in which a certain advertisement keeps playing . . . Hi, I’m James Robert Banker, president of Local Bank Incorporated. Here at Local Bank, we’ve been serving the needs of regular folks in our little burg for quite a while.

I’ve just been reading the NYT report.

The central Treasury assumption, at least for public consumption, seems to be that the underlying mortgage loans will largely pay off, so that if the PPIP buys and holds, at an above-present-market price governed by auction, the government’s loan to finance the purchase will not go bad.

Hey, everybody! Go rush out and get a Twitter account just so Jake “Transparency” Tapper can ban you from following him on his Twitter feed! It’s the newest badge of honor among ethical journalists!

This is a fantastic story in both senses of the term: elegantly written and reported by the Washington Post’s Anthony Shadid; and substantively a Good Thing. Shadid reports on the emerging political coalitions in Iraq that, for the first time since the invasion, cross sectarian lines.

I bought some roses yesterday, along with a beautiful spray of baby’s breath. The Peanut spotted them at the store a week or so ago, and wanted them more than anything in the whole wide world…because they “smelled like summertime, momma, and I need some sunshine.”

Two new videos from UK artists Mumford and Sons and Eugene McGuiness.

In the latest episode of Assemblyman Tedisco: the voters or the people paying for the ads?, the Republican candidate for Sen. Gillibrand’s former seat swerved towards his would-be district and distanced himself from Rush Limbaugh. That lasted a few hours…