Topic: Talking Points Memo

Reports from Britain indicate the return of the H1N1 swine flu, leading to a discussion about the consistency of medical advice regarding flu shots. The hosts question why this specific strain persists while others disappear seasonally. Finally, they announce an upcoming "talking points memo" on high-speed rail to help listeners argue against the modernization of transportation through trains before signing off.

Columnist Maureen Dowd is scrutinized for allegedly plagiarizing a paragraph from Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo blog in the New York Times. The hosts analyze the text, noting that only the pronoun "we" was changed to "the Bush crowd," likely by an editor. They highlight the irony of Dowd being the person who originally exposed Joe Biden's plagiarism in 1987.