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11:50 PM ET, August 18, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC poll: Doubts over Obama health plan  —  NBC poll: Misperceptions abound on president's health overhaul initiative  —  WASHINGTON - Two weeks since raucous congressional town-hall meetings on health care became a national story — and days after President Barack Obama began holding his own town halls …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Democrats Seem Set to Go Alone on a Health Bill  —  WASHINGTON — Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority's cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Drudge: Democrats ready to go it alone on ObamaCare?  Update: NYT link added  —  A teaser for an NYT bombshell due out later.  Normally I wouldn't post on it until the article's up but this can only mean that they're going to go all out for the public option and use “reconciliation” if need be to nuke the filibuster in the Senate, no?
Discussion: Stop The ACLU and Moe_Lane's blog
New York Times:
Alternate Plan as Health Option Muddies Debate
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson / Human Events:
Robert Novak (1931-2009)  —  The Evans-Novak column ran under the title “the Sonnenfeldt Doctrine.”  When I finished reading that early spring day in 1976, I remember thinking, this is quintessential Bob Novak.  —  State Department Counselor Helmut Sonnenfeldt had told a London gathering …
RELATED:
Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:
Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak dead at 78  —  WASHINGTON — Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak, one of the nation's most influential journalists, who relished his “Prince of Darkness” public persona, died at home here early Tuesday morning after a battle with brain cancer.
Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
Robert Novak, 1931-2009  —  Robert Novak terrified Washington.
Adam Bernstein / Washington Post:
Conservative Columnist Robert D. Novak Dies at 78
Marist Poll:
8/18: 2012 Prospects: Palin a Force in GOP But Not General Electorate  —  Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin may still be making news headlines, but the U.S. electorate has news for her.  If the 2012 presidential election were held today and she were the Republican candidate, Palin would not defeat President Barack Obama.
RELATED:
CNN:   Poll: Was Palin's resignation a smart move?
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC POLL: PLURALITY OPPOSES PUBLIC OPTION  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  The question of whether or not the eventual health-care reform legislation will include a public/government option to compete with private insurers has dominated the health-care debate over the past two days.
RELATED:
Pallab Ghosh / BBC:
Science proves zombies could annihilate humans  —  If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively.  —  That is the conclusion of a mathematical exercise carried out by researchers in Canada.
RELATED:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Obama to hold call with supporters
Discussion: The Swamp
Chris Bowers / Open Left:
I Am Vaguely Calling You Out  —  This is a message for all you Chicken Littles, you handwringers, you wannabe strategists, you people who have suggestions or doubts: I am vaguely calling you out.  —  Who you are is not really important.  Why I am vaguely calling you out is also not important.
Discussion: Taylor Marsh and JustOneMinute
Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Why the Public Option S**t Storm is Great News  —  I'm almost certainly going to get in trouble for blogging on vacation, but I thought this point needed to be made and didn't see anyone making it: I have no idea whether the administration intended to shift its position on the public option over the weekend …
Hugh Hewitt / Townhall.com:
David Axelrod's Very Big Problem  —  The allegations in this Bloomberg story —if true— pose a huge problem for a senior advisor to the president, David Axelrod.  This is the heart of the problem: … The problem is that Axelrod's former firm is currently receiving huge fees …
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
For the Left, war without Bush is not war at all  —  Remember the anti-war movement?  Not too long ago, the Democratic party's most loyal voters passionately opposed the war in Iraq.  Democratic presidential candidates argued over who would withdraw American troops the quickest.
RELATED:
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice:
Remembering Rose Friedman  —  Rose Director Friedman passed away Tuesday, August 18, 2009, in her home in Davis, California, of heart failure.  While the exact date of her birth is uncertain, she is believed to have been 98 years old.  —  She will be remembered both as a talented economist and an influential advocate of freedom.
RELATED:
Vivien Lou Chen / Bloomberg:
Rose Friedman, Economist Partner of Husband Milton, Dies at 97
Kevin Drum / MoJo Blog Posts:
60 Votes  —  Quick background: Republicans will filibuster any healthcare bill that reaches the floor of the Senate, and it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster.  If a healthcare bill includes a public option provision, it's vanishingly unlikely that we can find those 60 votes.
Discussion: Ezra Klein, Macsmind and TalkLeft
David Roberts / Grist:
Netroots Nation frustration and the impediments to progressive change  —  I just returned to Seattle from Netroots Nation, the yearly gathering of progressive bloggers, journalists, and activists.  Last year, in Austin, the atmosphere was absolutely electric, with the election approaching …
RELATED:
Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
Howard Dean Says Senate Republicans Want Obama Dead  —  A QUIET SCREAM  —  Former DNC Head Plays Games With Incendiary Language  —  Apparently, libtalkers aren't the only ones asserting that conservatives want Obama dead.  After a week of reckless rhetoric from the left side of the dial …
Victor Zapanta / Think Progress:
Rep. Markey Reveals Five More Forged Astroturf Letters  —  Last month, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) announced a congressional investigation of the DC lobbying firm Bonner & Associates.  The firm, which has a long history of astroturfing, was caught forging anti-clean energy reform letters …
RELATED:
Think Progress:   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder, Select Committee, 202-225-4012
Political Punch:
Will Bagram Be President Obama's Guantanamo?  —  The White House declined to comment Tuesday about a letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union asking why President Obama is refusing to make public information about the detainees imprisoned at the US military's Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.
Judith Burns / BBC:
Methane seeps from Arctic sea bed  —  Methane bubbles observed by sonar, escape from sea bed as temperatures rise  —  Scientists say they have evidence that the powerful greenhouse gas methane is escaping from the Arctic sea bed.  —  Researchers say this could be evidence of a predicted positive feedback effect of climate change.
Discussion: Shakesville and The Strata-Sphere
Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:
Why ‘Obama-care’ is failing  —  The president and his supporters are blaming the wrong people for his healthcare woes — they should look in the mirror.  —  To listen to the White House and its supporters, in and out of the media, you would think that opposition to “Obama-care” is the hobgoblin of a few small minds on the right.
Discussion: Don Surber
David Owens / Hartford Courant:
Lawyer: FBI Trained Hal Turner As An “Agent Provocateur”  —  HARTFORD — Internet blogger Harold “Hal” Turner's attorney said today that Turner's background as an FBI informant will be a key part of his defense to charges that he incited violence against two state legislators and a state ethics official.
Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Emptywheel
 
 
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 More Items: 
Rachel Slajda / Talking Points Memo:
Man With Assault Rifle Outside Obama Event: ‘We Will Forcefully Resist’
Discussion: The Awl
Allison Rupp / Billings Gazette:
Enzi: Reform health care in stages
Felix Salmon:
Just because you're rich doesn't mean you're smart
Discussion: Clusterstock and Matthew Yglesias
Peter Suderman / The Daily Dish:
The Problem With Politics  —  The health-care reform effort …
New York Times:
New Chief at A.I.G. to Be Paid at Least $7 Million a Year
Discussion: Hullabaloo
Amy Taxin / Associated Press:
ICE boss says he suspended use of arrest quotas
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Troubled History  —  As we track the escalating number …
Discussion: Daily Kos
 Earlier Items: 
Andrew Klavan / Wall Street Journal:
The Panel  —  What death by bureaucratic fiat might look like.
Wall Street Journal:
Harry Reid's ‘Evil’ Moment
Discussion: Flopping Aces and Commentary
Wall Street Journal:
Why Obama's Ratings Are Sinking
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Authentic Brands licenses Sports Illustrated's publishing rights to The Players' Tribune owner Minute Media for 10 years, with plans to keep the print edition

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Ofcom rules that five GB News programs presented by Conservative politicians have broken its due impartiality rules and puts the channel “on notice”

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTuber MrBeast announces a deal with Prime Video for Beast Games, a reality-competition show with 1,000 contestants, promising the winner a $5M cash prize

 
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