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6:20 PM ET, December 16, 2008

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
For immediate release  —  The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to establish a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 1/4 percent.  —  Since the Committee's last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending …
RELATED:
Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times:
Fed Cuts Benchmark Rate to Near Zero  —  WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve entered a new era on Tuesday, setting its benchmark interest rate so low that it will have to reach for new and untested tools in fighting both the recession and downward pressure on consumer prices.
The Huffington Post:
Hale “Bonddad” Stewart: The Fed's Kitchen Sink Interest Rate Policy
Discussion: The Big Picture
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Clinton chides supporters on Kennedy  —  Hillary Clinton has told her supporters not to involve her in their efforts to stop Caroline Kennedy's path to the U.S. Senate, a person familiar with replacement discussions said.  —  The move clears a major obstacle between Kennedy and the seat.
RELATED:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Reid pushes Caroline
Discussion: Spin Cycle
Pajamas Media:   The Banana Republic of New York
Monica Davey / New York Times:
Blagojevich Impeachment Inquiry Stalls  —  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A committee of the Illinois House considering evidence and testimony in an impeachment inquiry against Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich adjourned its first day of hearings after about an hour on Tuesday, after the governor's lawyer …
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New York Post:
BUNGLING ON BLAGO  —  TEAM BAM MISMANAGES MEDIA  —  Barack Obama is experiencing the first “scandal” of his presidency before he's taken office - or so sayeth the media.  —  Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is accused of (among much else) conspiring to sell or trade Obama's Senate seat for personal benefit.
Bob Cusack / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Rove Blasts Obama On Senate Seat Scandal  —  Karl Rove, who refused to answer questions for years on the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA official, criticized Barack Obama on Monday for not being more forthcoming in the Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) scandal.
Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:
Rahm's calls on tape  —  The Blago scandal . . .  Sneed hears rumbles President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds — dealing with his boss' vacant Senate seat!  —  A lot of chit-chat?  —  Hot air?  —  Or trouble?
The Politico:
Madoff bought influence in Washington  —  Within a day of the Dec. 11 arrest of Wall Street financier Bernard L. Madoff, his Washington lobbyists were scrambling to sever all ties to a man who's been accused of a $50 billion fraud and who may go down in history as the largest financial scam artist ever.
RELATED:
Jill Drew / Washington Post:   Frenzy  —  It was Wall Street's version of an inside joke …
Stephanie Strom / New York Times:
Wall St. Fraud Leaves Charities Reeling
Discussion: Balloon Juice
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Newt denounces Blago attacks  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is denouncing Republican attempts to link President-elect Barack Obama and disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.  —  Senator John McCain Sunday distanced himself from Republican National Committee attacks on Obama …
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BBC:
Shoe thrower ‘beaten in custody’  —  The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody.  —  Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.
RELATED:
Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Exclusive: Cheney Says He's Changed  —  Vice President Reflects on Time in Office, Assesses Obama's Team  —  In an exclusive interview with ABC News, a reflective Vice President Dick Cheney praised President-elect Barack Obama's national security team and admitted he's changed during his time in office.
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Dana Goldstein / American Prospect:
MEET ARNE DUNCAN, OBAMA'S EDUCATION PICK.  —  With the Democratic Party embroiled in internal debate over public school reform, it is very much like Barack Obama to tap Chicago public schools CEO Arne Duncan as education secretary.  Duncan is one of the only prominent education leaders …
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E. M. Zanotti / American Princess:
So, I'm a Little Concerned  —  Whenever I do “investigative reporting,” by which I mean “conduct a Google search for information before actually sitting down and writing something,” it usually comes back to bite me in the ass, but here goes nothing.  —  This Arne Duncan guy that everyone …
Charles Thomas / WLS-TV:
Jackson, Jr. may have been working with feds to investigate gov.  —  Jackson has been fighting for his reputation since the federal complaint revealed his supporters were willing to raise money for the governor, if Jackson was appointed to the Senate.  —  The new information appears …
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Pelosi lays down the law with Rahm  —  In a recent conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel offered some advice on a Democratic House leadership race.  Pelosi's response, according to several Democratic sources: It is “an internal House Democratic Caucus matter, and we'll handle it.”
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Southern Way  —  Nice piece from Mike Lillis at The Washington Independent about the tenuous commitment to free market ideology shown by the union-busting southern conservatives who want the domestic auto industry to die, in order to benefit Dixie-built cars from foreign-owned firms:
Discussion: The Bellows
RELATED:
Mike Lillis / The Washington Independent:
Foreign Auto Makers Won Billions in Government Subsidies
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
An Empire of Sentimentality  —  I think this kind of sentiment from Dave Dilegge at the COIN hotspot Small Wars Journal reflects some dangerous trends in American culture: … Americans love and respect the men and women who volunteer for military service under our flag.
The New School:
Blogging with President Bob Kerrey  —  President Kerrey invites you to share your thoughts on the topic of the day.  —  Today I met with the faculty of The New School in what will be the first step in establishing a new process to enhance shared governance of the university and open up lines of communication.
Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:
Former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly to plead guilty  —  Another card may have fallen in the governor's house of cards.  Christopher Kelly - one of Gov. Blagojevich's closest advisers, fund-raisers and friends - is set to plead guilty in his federal criminal case, according to a court filing.
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Juan Williams: Iraqi Protesters Are ‘Ingrate[s]’ Who Should Appreciate U.S. Invasion  —  Last night on “The O'Reilly Factor,” host Bill O'Reilly slammed Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush, and said that if he had been there, he “would have physically taken the guy down.”
 
 
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 More Items: 
George Bush / Guardian:
Bush's presidential library prompts discussion on legacy
Discussion: Think Progress
Gary Andres / Weekly Standard:
Do You Tattoo?  —  According to Pew Research, nearly …
Discussion: PewResearch.org and Reason
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
MADOFF: I'M VERY CLOSE WITH THE REGULATORS
Discussion: Newsalert
Courtney Schlisserman / Bloomberg:
Housing Starts in U.S. Fell 18.9% to 625,000 Pace
Discussion: New York Times
John Gapper / John Gapper's Business Blog:
Eliot Spitzer shows his face in Chinatown
Discussion: Gawker
Craig Silverman / Regret the Error:
Crunks 2008: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections
Discussion: The Huffington Post
Jeremy Korzeniewski / AutoblogGreen:
US Prius assembly in Mississippi officially on hold
Bonnie Malkin / Telegraph:
Australian couple served with legal documents via Facebook
Discussion: TalkLeft and Silicon Alley Insider
 Earlier Items: 
Marc Ambinder:
Where Republicans Can Pick A Fight
Discussion: Spin Cycle
Agence France Presse:
US news agency staff stage ‘byline strike’
Discussion: Pajamas Media and Riehl World View
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Reynolds Keeps Flailing
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
In Defense Of Torture  —  Reuel Marc Gerecht responds to my postings yesterday:
Discussion: Kevin Drum
BBC:
Serious security flaw found in IE
Megan McArdle:
How did Bernie Madoff get away with it?