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11:00 PM ET, May 20, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
A Setback Of His Own  —  There are no friends in politics, just interests.  Some in the White House relearned that dictum this week, as their party dissolved into factions, and largely knelt down in front ofRepublican political priorities.  —  As usual, administration officials won't concede …
Discussion: ATTACKERMAN and The Rhetorican
RELATED:
David Paul Kuhn / Real Clear Politics:
White House: Closing Gitmo a ‘Hasty Decision’  —  White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said closing the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was a “hasty decision,” in his daily press briefing with reporters.  —  President Obama's decision to close the controversial detention center …
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Krauthammer  —  The usual neoconservative malingerers have been hammering me about a quote I gave to Politico, regarding Charles Krauthammer's limitations as a columnist.  —  Obviously, I didn't mean to imply second-class status for disabled people.  On the contrary, the distance and perspective …
RELATED:
John Podhoretz / Commentary:
A Small Man  —  This blog has had many differences with Joe Klein of Time magazine, whom I once considered a very friendly acquaintance before he accused me and those who argued for an aggressive policy in Iraq and with Iran of being war criminals and began spouting anti-Semitic conspiracy nonsense that …
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Stand Up, Joe Klein, So We Can Kick Your A**
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
CNN And MSNBC To Carry Cheney's Big National Security Speech Live  —  Looks like Dick Cheney's big national security speech at the American Enterprise Institute tomorrow is going to get wall-to-wall cable coverage — giving a major assist to those who hope that his speech will be seen as …
RELATED:
The Politico:
Obama, Cheney plan dueling speeches  —  President Barack Obama will attempt to regain control of a boiling debate over anti-terrorism policy with a major speech on Thursday—an address that comes on the same day that former Vice President Cheney will be weighing in with his own speech on the same theme.
Associated Press:
Ballot Defeat Leaves Calif. In Deeper Budget Hole  —  Election Results  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) ― An angry electorate soundly defeated a slate of special election budget measures Tuesday, a decision that left Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers holding virtually nothing …
RELATED:
Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:
California voters exercise their power — and that's the problem
Los Angeles Times:
Schwarzenegger says he got voters' message ‘loud and clear’
Discussion: Calitics
David Beard / Boston Globe:
Powell to Rush, Cheney: Room for me among ‘emerging’ Republican Party  —  Colin Powell issued a sharp rebuke Tuesday night to Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney for trying to exclude him from the backbiting Republican Party.  —  Before some 1,500 business leaders in Boston …
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Specter defends Pelosi, questions CIA's honesty  —  Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) took the opportunity Wednesday to defend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has come under fire in recent weeks over a controversy surrounding when she was told of the use of enhanced interrogation techniques being used by the CIA.
RELATED:
The Huffington Post:
Obama: Plame Lawsuit Should Not Be Reconsidered By Supreme Court  —  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:  —  CREW learned today that the Obama administration is opposing our request that the Supreme Court reconsider the dismissal of the lawsuit, Wilson v. Libby, et al.
CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama moving US in right direction  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the Republican Party gets ready to condemn what they call the Democrats ‘march to socialism’, a new national poll indicates that most Americans believe President Barack Obama's policies would move the country in the right direction.
Jeff Jacoby / Boston Globe:
Peace isn't Arab goal  —  WHO FAVORS a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict?  —  President Obama does, of course, as he made clear in welcoming Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday.  So does former president George W. Bush …
Discussion: The Jawa Report and Guardian
RELATED:
John / Power Line:
Has Obama Given Up On Iran?
Associated Press:
PM aide: Focus on 2-state idea ‘stupid’
Discussion: Israel Matzav
Theresa Cook / Legalities:
Judge Wood Goes to Washington  —  Just two days after Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's sudden appearance in Washington set off a flurry of speculation about Supreme Court interviews, here's something that actually could be significant:  —  Federal Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood …
RELATED:
Jeffrey Rosen / The New Republic:
The Conciliator  —  Meet the second coming of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Arlen Specter Backs Pelosi  —  I appreciate that there are some basic political truths that are awkward for most politicians to actually utter.  But one reason that it's good to have some politicians around who are worried about their left flank, is that you can get this sort of thing from Arlen Specter (D-PA):
RELATED:
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Specter sympathetic to Pelosi on CIA
Discussion: The Hill and CBS News
Ari Shapiro / NPR:
Did White House OK Earliest Detainee Abuse?  —  Listen Now  —  · It is clear that increasingly abusive interrogation techniques were used on Abu Zubaydah, the first high-value detainee, in the months between his capture and the first Justice Department memo authorizing harsh interrogations.
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
Bristol Palin Exposes Her Sometimes Isolated Life  —  Bristol Palin's pretty, lightly freckled face was nowhere to be seen on the overhead screen as images from her high-school senior slideshow - photos from the prom and a Class of 2009 portrait set against the Alaska snow - played during May 14's Wasilla High commencement ceremony.
Discussion: The Swamp, Salon and Ben Smith's Blog
Andrew J. Manuse / Reuters:
New Hampshire lawmakers reject gay-marriage bill  —  MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire lawmakers unexpectedly rejected a bill on Wednesday that would have made the state the sixth in the United States to authorize gay marriage.  —  The state's Democrat-controlled House …
Andy / #gay:
Exclusive: SF Mayor Gavin Newsom Asked Court to Delay Prop 8 Ruling  —  Confidential sources close to San Francisco City Hall told Towleroad's Corey Johnson that the California Supreme Court was prepared to release its opinion on Proposition 8 tomorrow, but decided to delay the ruling after a call from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Discussion: Campaign Silo
Marianne Lavelle / The Center for Public Integrity:
The Climate Lobby's Nonstop Growth  —  NOT JUST THE USUAL SUSPECTS: POWER COMPANIES AND BIG OIL, BUT MICROSOFT, GOOGLE, AND EBAY AS WELL  —  Makers of sneakers, blue jeans, and computer network servers joined forces late last fall and vowed a bigger push in Congress on climate change.
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Nationalize Martin Luther King Jr.  —  We are in the process of nationalizing and/or federalizing vast stretches of our economy, including the auto industry, banks, and health care.  Individual property rights have taken a back seat to political priorities.
Ben Evans / Associated Press:
GOP drops effort to rename Democrats ‘Socialist’  —  WASHINGTON - Republicans on Wednesday abandoned an effort to label their opponents the “Democrat Socialist Party,” ending a fight within the GOP ranks that reflected the divide between those who want a more centrist message and those seeking a more aggressive, conservative voice.
Discussion: Politics Daily
Wall Street Journal:
Car Crazy  —  Bankrupt companies making 39 mpg autos.  Are we nuts?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  At the end of his Rose Garden explanation yesterday of the new U.S. fuel-efficiency standards, President Obama remarked on the good that can be accomplished when we are “working together.”
Shawn Pogatchnik / Associated Press:
Thousands beaten, raped in Irish reform schools  —  DUBLIN (AP) — A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed …
Robin Pogrebin / New York Times:
Tight Times Loosen Creativity  —  “I love it,” said Karl Allen, the former technical director of a performance space in Manhattan.  “The only thing that makes me sad is that I can't make a living right now.”  More Photos >  —  Even in the best of times Sony Holland had to hustle.
 
 
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 More Items: 
TFN / Texas Freedom Network:
Breaking: McLeroy Nomination Moves!
Andrew Norfolk / Times of London:
Sham colleges open doors to Pakistani terror suspects
CNN:
House passes measure expanding gun rights
Betsy Lordan / Federal Trade Commission:
Extra!  Extra! …
Discussion: Reason and BuzzMachine
reason.tv:
All the President's Newsmen
Discussion: Reason
Elizabeth Holtzman / The Huffington Post:
The Phony Debate About Torture
 Earlier Items: 
Economy Watch:
Geithner: ‘I Would Not Give One Penny’ To AIG Counter-Parties If I Didn't Have To
Forbes:
Dear GOP: Please Choose Liberty
Discussion: Say Anything and Reason
Rick Amato / Washington Times:
Shameful story of ingratitude
Discussion: American Footprints
Tom Golisano / New York Post:
ADIOS, NEW YORK  —  TAXED OUT OF THE STATE  —  I LOVE New York.
Discussion: Michelle Malkin
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Ruth La Ferla / New York Times:
Graydon Carter opens a physical store called Air Mail Newsstand in NYC, as an extension of his digital newsletter Air Mail, selling books, magazines, and more

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Filing: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's 2023 compensation package was worth $49.7M, up 26.5% from the year prior, with $23.1M in stock awards

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix plans to stop reporting subscriber numbers and Average Revenue per Membership from Q1 2025, as time spent is its “best proxy for customer satisfaction”

 
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