memeorandum: Pentagon: Reporter profiling under review (Stars & Stripes)

6:20 PM ET, August 27, 2009

Top Items:

PREDICTING POLITICIZATION.... It looks like word went out yesterday about what leading conservative voices should say about Ted Kennedy's death: complain about the memorial service that hasn't happened yet. … All of this came the same day Kennedy's death was announced.

Discussion: Democratic Strategist and Riehl World View

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Romney won't run for Kennedy's seat — Former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Mitt Romney will not seek the Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy's death, a Romney spokesman said Thursday. — Responding to speculation that Romney may be interested in the seat—which he challenged Kennedy for in 1994 …

Discussion: The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Caucus, Ben Smith's Blog, Swing State Project, ABCNEWS, The Page, The Strata-Sphere, Flopping Aces, Don Surber, Right Wing News, The Hill, Let Freedom Ring, Hot Air, TPMDC and GOP 12

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Conservatives warn of ‘Wellstone effect’ — Key conservative voices have begun to charge in the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy's death that Democrats are inappropriately politicizing the senator's death, his memorial and his legacy. — Kennedy was that ultimate political creature, a …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Note, MyDD, About.com US Liberal Politics, The HSA Coalition and Townhall.com

Media Matters for America:

Conservative media invoke Wellstone memorial smear in predicting politicization of Kennedy's death — Following Sen. Ted Kennedy's death, conservative media figures have returned to the smear that the memorial service for Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) became “a political rally” …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Politico, Minnesota Independent and Hullabaloo

Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
After Diagnosis, Determined to Make a ‘Good Ending’

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, NewsBusters.org, CNN, Associated Press, The Caucus, Prairie Weather, San Francisco Chronicle, The Daily Dish, TalkLeft, Michael Calderone's Blog, The Plank, msnbc.com, New York Times and Boston Globe

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
ROMNEY FOR SENATE?.... Whether Massachusetts law is changed or not …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Democratic Strategist, FiveThirtyEight, The Corner on National …, No More Mister Nice Blog and Left in the West

Jennifer Robison / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Reid speaks to Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce as protesters picket outside

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Congress Matters and The Note

David Waldman / Daily Kos: Name the public option, not the bill, after Kennedy

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:

Obtained: The RNC's Health Care Survey — I just chatted with Raymond Denny, the 64-year-old La Center, Wash., man who received the RNC's “2009 Future of American Health Survey,” which alleged that President Obama's health reform plans might discriminate against Republicans. Here's the survey question:

Discussion: Think Progress, Glenn Thrush's Blog, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Swampland, Salon and Runnin' Scared

Digby / Hullabaloo:

Suggested By ... Glenn Beck? — Dave Weigel catches a remarkable mailing from the Republican National Committee: … You can't dismiss this as fringe weirdos or “entertainment,” can you? The official Republican Party is telling its members that Democrats may use voting registration information to identify and kill them.

Discussion: The Washington Independent and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Whoops! RNC Admits Screwing Up With Suggestion That Health Care …

Discussion: Glenn Thrush's Blog

Fox News:

Richardson Probe ‘Was Killed in Washington’ — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high-ranking members of his administration won't be criminally charged in a federal investigation into pay-to-play allegations. — SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high-ranking members …

Discussion: Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, Bloomberg, Townhall.com, New Mexico Independent, TPMMuckraker, Ben Smith's Blog, Don Surber, ChattahBox News Blog, Raw Story, Riehl World View and The Page

Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:

Steele Confused, Overwhelmed By NPR Interview: 'Now Wait A Minute. Hold up. ... You're Trying To Be Cute.' — In an interview with Michael Steele, NPR's Steve Inskeep repeatedly asked the RNC chairman to explain why Republicans keep defending Medicare at the same time they claim …

Discussion: Prescriptions, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice and Democratic Strategist

NPR:
Steele: Don't Raid Medicare To Fund Health Changes

Discussion: Corrente, msnbc.com, Salon, The Political Carnival and Wonkette

Taylor Gandossy / CNN:

Girl taken in 1991 surfaces; couple held — (CNN) — A 29-year old woman walked into a northern California police station, saying she was abducted 18 years ago, authorities said Thursday. Two people are being held in connection with the case. — Jaycee Dugard is in good health …

Discussion: Riehl World View and Shakesville

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

Obama Targets Medicare Advantage — Seniors would lose with health ‘reform,’ and seniors vote. — Printer — Friendly — President Barack Obama was wise to vacation this week on Martha's Vineyard. Not because it's one of the few places in America where his health-care plan is still popular …

Discussion: Hot Air and Prescriptions

Robert Moore / Coloradoan Online:
Markey: Medicare will take hit

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Townhall.com and Hot Air

Erica Werner / Associated Press:

Key Democrat suggests party moderates ‘brain dead’ — WASHINGTON (AP) - A key House liberal suggested Thursday that party moderates who've pushed for changes in health care legislation are “brain dead” and out for insurance company campaign donations. — Moderate Blue Dog Democrats …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and JammieWearingFool

CBS News:

Democratic Health Care Bill Divulges IRS Tax Data — Posted by Declan McCullagh One of the problems with any proposed law that's over 1,000 pages long and constantly changing is that much deviltry can lie in the details. Take the Democrats' proposal to rewrite health care policy …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Riehl World View, The Volokh Conspiracy and Wake up America

Stars & Stripes:

Files prove Pentagon is profiling reporters … WASHINGTON — Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters' coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”

Discussion: Think Progress, Bloomberg, Raw Story, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Michael Calderone's Blog, The Washington Independent, Mudville Gazette, Mediaite, Swampland, Don Surber, Romenesko and The E&P Pub

Stars & Stripes:
Pentagon: Reporter profiling under review

Discussion: Danger Room

Anchorage Daily News:

Palin won't show at fundraiser, denies accepting invitation — TONIGHT: Spokeswoman says ex-governor was never asked. — Organizers of an Anchorage event that has been billing Sarah Palin for weeks as a star speaker were left scrambling Wednesday after learning that the former governor …

Discussion: Politics Daily, The Mudflats, Think Progress, Conservatives4Palin.com, Washington Monthly, TBogg, The Washington Note, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Wonkette, msnbc.com and GOP 12

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Even The New Republic now calls for a party purge of corporate-owned “centrists” — The New Republic, 2004, endorsing Joe Lieberman for President: … TNR's Jonathan Chait, in The Los Angeles Times, 2006, viciously condemning those who mounted a primary challenge against Lieberman (an “anti-Lieberman jihad"):

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Daily Kos and The New Republic

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Mary Mapes knew Bush volunteered for Vietnam: CBS report — This story by Bernard Goldberg certainly takes me back to the early days of my blogging career. Shortly after the 2004 Republican convention, Mary Mapes produced a segment for 60 Minutes II that alleged that George W. Bush …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Little Green Footballs, Dean's World, QandO, theblogprof and Crooks and Liars

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:

Obama's Uncles — They seem kind of hostile to the president. First there was Uncle Charlie, who Obama claimed had liberated Auschwitz (he'd helped liberate Buchenwald). And when Charlie was asked, months later, about Obama's visit to Buchenwald, he took a rather cynical view of the president's motives:

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

gqrr.com:

Corzine Closes Gap in New Jersey Governor Race — Stan Greenberg, Al Quinlan and Drew Lieberman — Democracy Corps — Research Categories … Executive Summary — A new survey conducted for Stan Greenberg and James Carville's organization Democracy Corps by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TalkLeft, Scorecard's Blog, TPMDC and MyDD

Ellis Goodwin / Chickasha Daily-Express:

Inhofe slams health reform — At a town hall meeting Wednesday Sen. Jim Inhofe told Chickasha residents he does not need to read the 1,000 page health care reform bill, he will simply vote against it. — “I don't have to read it, or know what's in it. I'm going to oppose it anyways,” he said.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Think Progress and Sunlight Foundation

Rasmussen Reports:

Support for Health Care Legislation Has Stopped Falling, But Most Still Opposed — As August winds down, the good news for President Obama and congressional Democrats is that support for their proposed health care legislation has stopped falling. The bad news is that most voters oppose the plan.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Commentary, Let Freedom Ring and Real Clear Politics

ColorOfChange.org:

Ten New Companies Pledge Not to Run Additional Ads on Glenn Beck Program — Vonage, Bank Of America, Kraft Among Latest To Distance Themselves from FNC Host as the Network Struggles to Fill Beck's Advertising Space — OAKLAND, Calif.—Adding to an increasing list of companies distancing themselves …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Little Green Footballs, Show Tracker and Media Matters for America

Laura Saunders / Wall Street Journal:

Is ‘Friending’ in Your Future? Better Pay Your Taxes First — Tax deadbeats are finding someone actually reads their MySpace and Facebook postings: the taxman. — State revenue agents have begun nabbing scofflaws by mining information posted on social-networking Web sites …

Discussion: Mashable! and The Corner on National …

Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:

Pols eye once-in-a-generation opening — The death of Democratic titan Sen. Ted Kennedy, which creates the first Senate opening in Massachusetts in 25 years, is likely to release the pent-up ambitions of a long line of Democrats who will find the upcoming special election hard to pass up.

Discussion: Boston Globe, Top Stories from CQ, Scorecard's Blog, Open Congress and The Page

David Hinckley / NY Daily News:

Ted Kennedy death gets expected coverage from cable news networks — To the casual viewer, cable news coverage of Sen. Edward Kennedy's death Wednesday lined up as neatly as the punch line in a joke about the alleged political agendas of those channels. — Starting from the safe premise …

Discussion: Washington Post, FishBowlDC, Michael Calderone's Blog and News Desk

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

Andy McCarthy's Unwavering Defense Of Torture. — National Review's Andy McCarthy, fresh off of considering whether not wearing a tie with your button-down is proof of Islamist sympathies and cheering the birthers, attempts to argue that what the CIA IG report describes isn't torture:

Joseph Abrams / Fox News:

U.N. Report Advocates Teaching Masturbation to 5-Year-Olds — NEW YORK — The United Nations is recommending that children as young as five receive mandatory sexual education that would teach even pre-kindergarteners about masturbation and topics like gender violence.

Discussion: Stop The ACLU and Pajamas Media