Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
12:05 PM ET, May 8, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Paul Kane / Capitol Briefing:
CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed on Use of ‘Enhanced Interrogations’  —  Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners …
RELATED:
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: JOBS, JOBS, JOBS  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Abby Livingston  —  *** Jobs, jobs, jobs: The big news today is the latest unemployment number.  It stands at 8.9% with another 539,000 jobs shed.  It's the highest unemployment number since 1983 and is up from last month's 8.5 percent.
Discussion: The Plank and Wall Street Journal
Josh Gerstein / Josh Gerstein's Blog:
40 Hill briefings on interrogations disclosed  —  An intelligence report sent recently to Capitol Hill shows that members of Congress were briefed 40 times since 2002 on aspects of the so-called “enhanced interrogation” program.  Many have decried the techniques used in the program as torture.
CNN:
Palin pulls out of White House Correspondents' Dinner  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will miss a chance to chat up President Obama this weekend because she's cancelling plans to attend the White House Correspondents' dinner, but she's got a good excuse.
RELATED:
Mary Ann Akers / The Sleuth:
Gonzo Goes (Back) to Washington  —  Guess who's coming to dinner?  Well, the man who may be the biggest surprise guest at this weekend's White House Correspondents' Association dinner isn't exactly an international celebrity, or a sex symbol, or a man of power.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Stressing the Positive  —  Hooray!  The banking crisis is over!  Let's party!  O.K., maybe not.  —  In the end, the actual release of the much-hyped bank stress tests on Thursday came as an anticlimax.  Everyone knew more or less what the results would say: some big players need to raise more capital …
RELATED:
Dean Baker / American Prospect:
Background on the Stress Tests: Anyone Got an Extra $120 Billion?  —  Most news outlets seem anxious to join the Treasury's PR campaign in pronouncing the banks essentially healthy based on the stress test results.  There is of course enormous uncertainty around the course of the economy …
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Diminished Conservative Groups Gear Up for Supreme Court Nomination Battle  —  Conservatives Prepare For Underdog Role  —  When John G. Roberts Jr. was nominated to the Supreme Court as chief justice, a pro-Republican group called Progress for America had $18 million in the bank.
RELATED:
Susan Donaldson James / ABCNEWS:
Gay Advocates Eye Supreme Court
Discussion: Townhall.com
Katherine Mangu-Ward / Reason:
Your Yard Sale Is Illegal  —  Thinking of having a yard sale this weekend?  Before you do, be sure to consult CSPC Publication #254 [PDF].  —  This handy 28-pager from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reminds the American people that, thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act …
Debra Burlingame / Wall Street Journal:
Obama and the 9/11 Families  —  The president isn't sincere about ‘swift and certain’ justice for terrorists.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  In February I was among a group of USS Cole and 9/11 victims' families who met with the president at the White House to discuss his policies regarding Guantanamo detainees.
Megan McArdle:
Canadian Exceptionism  —  Canada is one of the few countries without a major banking crisis.  Weirdly, this was also true in 1930.  I've seen this list of the success factors for Canadian banks in several places.  I want to believe it, but . . .  ..it doesn't seem to be as simple as “Canadian banks are more tightly-regulated”.
Discussion: Marginal Revolution and EconLog
Guardian:
Pakistan slams door on Taliban  —  Pakistan's government today declared an end to peace initiatives with Taliban insurgents controlling Swat , signalling the start of a major military operation to drive the militants from the valley.  —  In a televised address, prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani …
RELATED:
Pamela Constable / Washington Post:
Pakistan Announces Army Offensive Against Taliban
Discussion: Hot Air
Satyam Khanna / Think Progress:
Obama sends handwritten letter to gay soldier ousted from the military promising to repeal DADT.  —  In January, Sandy Tsao, an army officer based out of St. Louis, MO, told her superiors that she is gay — a violation of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law.  Tsao then wrote to President Obama …
Discussion: Salon, Taylor Marsh and Raw Story
RELATED:
Peter Whoriskey / Washington Post:
Under Restructuring, GM To Build More Cars Overseas  —  The U.S. government is pouring billions into General Motors in hopes of reviving the domestic economy, but when the automaker completes its restructuring plan, many of the company's new jobs will be filled by workers overseas.
Peter Spiegel / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. to Appoint Top General to Kabul  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to bolster the U.S. military leadership in Afghanistan by appointing a three-star general to Kabul, according to senior defense officials.  The move underscores growing concern in the military …
Discussion: CBS News
RELATED:
Pepe Escobar / Asia Times:
Obama does his Bush impression
Associated Press:
Weak Treasury auction sends stocks lower  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Weak demand at a Treasury bond auction touched off worries in the stock market Thursday about the government's ability to raise funds to fight the recession.  —  The government had to pay greater interest than expected in a sale of 30-year Treasurys.
Discussion: Hot Air and QandO
Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:
Junior Senator Gains a Defender: The Senior Senator  —  WASHINGTON — At a recent Capitol Hill fund-raising event, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand rose to thank her donors.  It was important for her to raise money now, she told them, because she might face a Democratic primary challenge next year.
Tim Arango / New York Times:
The President's Name Trips Up a Would-Be Voice of the News  —  The Amazon Kindle, an electronic reader, has been lavished with praise by hopeful newspaper and book executives who say they believe it has the potential to do for newspapers and books what the iPod did for music.
The Politico:
First step toward change  —  ... in budget cuts “a serious first step toward changing the culture in Washington.”  —  “These proposals must be followed by real action and enforcement by Congress and the White House.  Many presidents have proposed specific spending cuts, but nearly all have failed to carry through on their pledges.
Discussion: The Moderate Voice
Jim Carlton / Wall Street Journal:
Spring Thaw Triggers Floods in Alaska  —  An unusually warm spring thaw in Alaska is causing some of the state's worst flooding in decades, with rising rivers wiping out an entire village and bombarding another town with ice chunks as big as houses.  —  The Alaska Railroad shut …
Discussion: Think Progress and Wonk Room
Simon Scowl / Deceiver.com:
Hey, Let's Destroy Carrie Prejean for Agreeing with the President!  —  As you watch the Carrie Prejean brouhaha unfold, you might be saying to yourself, “Hold on a second, Self.  Doesn't this young lady have the same opinion about gay marriage as President Obama?
TPMDC:
Sessions Subordinate: I Thought I'd Be Fired If I Objected To Being Called ‘Boy’  —  When it became clear that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was poised to become ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, we recalled this 2002 article by Sarah Wildman which addresses some of the controversies …
Discussion: Bark Bark Woof Woof
CNN:
Drew Peterson charged in death of third wife  —  (CNN) — Drew Peterson, the former police sergeant who authorities call the prime suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, has been indicted on murder charges related to his third wife, Kathleen Savio, the Illinois state attorney's office said.
Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Balloon Juice
Michael Weisskopf / Time:
Jack Kemp: Running a Very Different Republican Race  —  The breakfast crowd at Sylvia's usually comes for grits and country sausage.  But on September 6, 1996, something special was on the menu of the landmark Harlem eatery: A white, middle-aged man running for vice president on the Republican ticket was stumping for votes.
Discussion: Townhall.com
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 12:05 PM ET, May 8, 2009.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Vitter mixes politics, FEMA
Discussion: The Swamp
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Obama's 'don't ask' discharge: Choi talks
Dennis Hevesi / New York Times:
Harold E. Fischer Jr., an American Flier Tortured in a Chinese Prison, Dies at 83
Discussion: Salon and The Daily Dish
Evan Halper / Los Angeles Times:
California could be broke by July, state official warns
Discussion: Hot Air, On Deadline and Truthdig
Evan Halper / Los Angeles Times:
U.S. threatens to rescind stimulus money over wage cuts
David Kravets / Threat Level:
Lawmaker Defends Imprisoning Hostile Bloggers
 Earlier Items: 
Tom Blumer / Wall Street Journal:
Non-TARP Lenders Aren't Making Up the Stories of White House Pressure
Discussion: Kausfiles
Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Dem blowback on Gitmo closing
Discussion: TQIA
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
REPUBLICANS WARN HOLDER ON TORTURE
Discussion: normblog, At-Largely and Raw Story
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Atlantic is profitable, has 1M subscribers, and revenue grew 10% in 2023 thanks to a 50% price hike, a harder paywall, and a shift to in-depth reporting

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
How MowPod, which sells podcast advertising tools, uses mobile game ads to incentivize gamers to follow shows on Apple Podcasts in order to earn in-game tokens

Jackie Snow / Quartz:
How newsrooms like Semafor and Skift are using generative AI for internal editing, story summaries, paywalled chatbots trained on their archives, and more

 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page