memeorandum: Beck up, left let down and Jones defiant (The Politico)

12:25 PM ET, September 7, 2009

Top Items:

Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:

Van Jones: Does the NYT Know What a Truther Is? — Amazingly, many New York Times print readers still don't know why Van Jones resigned! Here's how the paper's John Broder describes his situation: … Reading that, would you realize the petition was a Truther petition?

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Riehl World View, The Corner on National …, Don Surber and Bluegrass Pundit

Carl Pope / The Huffington Post:

We All Blew It — On Thursday evening, I got worried. Friday I put in a call to ask Van Jones how to help. Saturday I started writing a blog post, which would have appeared this morning. (I've attached it below because it goes into more detail on the history of the “Bush as addict” meme.)

Discussion: Firedoglake, The American Scene, Sandra Rose, The Other McCain, Riehl World View, Whiskey Fire and The Sundries Shack

The Politico:

Beck up, left let down and Jones defiant — The resignation early Sunday of “green jobs” adviser Van Jones says as much about the Obama White House as it does about Jones - marking the latest sacrifice to the political gods after a long summer of compromises and surrenders highlighted the limits of White House power.

Discussion: Commentary, NewsBusters.org, The Strata-Sphere, RedState, Michael Calderone's Blog, Betsy's Page, POWIP, Pajamas Media, American Power and Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

In Adviser's Resignation, Vetting Bites Obama Again — Uproar Concerned Environmental Aide's Past Activism — The resignation of White House environmental adviser Van Jones has revealed a lapse in the administration's vetting procedures that, nearly eight months into his tenure …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Swampland, The Corner on National …, AmSpecBlog, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, NewsBusters.org and Power Line

Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle:
Progressives decry resignation of Van Jones

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, RBO, Pajamas Media and Riehl World View

Andrew Breitbart / Washington Times:
Couric should look in mirror

Discussion: Instapundit, Riehl World View and Gateway Pundit

Glenn Beck:
Glenn Beck statement on resignation of Van Jones

Discussion: PoliBlog, Think Progress, Political Byline, HotAirPundit, American Power, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Pajamas Media and Climate Progress

Andy McCarthy / The Corner on National Review Online:
The Death of the Soviet Union Was Not the Death of Communism — By: Andy McCarthy

Discussion: Power Line, Pajamas Media and alicublog

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Van Jones: A Moment of Truth For Liberal Institutions in the Veal Pen

Robert Pear / New York Times:

New Fee on Health Insurance Companies Is Proposed to Help Expand Coverage — WASHINGTON — In a last effort to give the Senate a bipartisan health care bill, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee circulated a comprehensive proposal on Sunday to overhaul the health care system and proposed …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, The Hill, Washington Post, TalkLeft, Angry Bear, Daily Kos, Emptywheel, The Confluence, Obsidian Wings, MyDD, George's Bottom Line and The Politico

Digby / Hullabaloo:
That's It? — Feel the magic. The Baucus plan is finally revealed:

Discussion: Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Edmund Conway / Telegraph:

Barack Obama accused of making ‘Depression’ mistakes — Barack Obama is committing the same mistakes made by policymakers during the Great Depression, according to a new study endorsed by Nobel laureate James Buchanan. — His policies even have the potential to consign the US to a similar fate …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Axis of Right, Pajamas Media, The Hinterland Gazette and Vox Popoli

Mike Collett-White / Reuters:

“Capitalism is evil,” says new Michael Moore film — VENICE (Reuters) - Capitalism is evil. That is the conclusion U.S. documentary maker Michael Moore comes to in his latest movie “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which premieres at the Venice film festival Sunday.

Discussion: The TrogloPundit, theblogprof, The Anchoress, Pajamas Media, Cold Fury, Babalú Blog and JammieWearingFool

Gateway Pundit:
To Michael Moore “Capitalism Is Evil” Except For Its Perks

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Althouse

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:

China alarmed by US money printing — The US Federal Reserve's policy of printing money to buy Treasury debt threatens to set off a serious decline of the dollar and compel China to redesign its foreign reserve policy, according to a top member of the Communist hierarchy.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Other McCain, Fausta's Blog, Wake up America, Below The Beltway, Not Tucker Carlson and Ztower

John / Power Line:

Labor Yes, Unions No — Both Gallup (via Byron York) and Rasmussen find support for labor unions at a historic low. This Gallup chart shows the trend: — What seems odd about these poll data is their volatility. Both Gallup and Rasmussen find support for unions down sharply from a year ago.

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
On Labor Day, support for unions plunges to all-time low

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and The Foundry

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Where's This Going? — Am I the only one who thinks that if the Dems pass a bill with mandates and subsidies for poor and moderate income people to purchase it but no public option or competition with the insurers, that it will be pretty much a catastrophe for the Democrats in political terms?

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Eschaton and Balloon Juice

Lisa Lerer / The Politico:

More czars on conservative hit list — Cass Sunstein, regulatory czar — Prolific Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein spent years examining the obscure corners of regulatory law and behaviorial economics. Now, conservatives are combing through his writings to build a case against his nomination …

Discussion: Townhall.com

Washington Post:

Major U.S. Role in Mortgages Shaping Entire Market — Classes of Borrowers Cannot Find Loans as Publicly Backed Debt Mounts — In the go-go years of the U.S. housing boom, virtually anybody could get a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home, and private lenders flooded the market …

Discussion: A Blog For All and EconLog

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:

Rifqa Bary Facebook Fatwa: “We Need to Kill Her” — I have said from the very first that Rifqa Bary is the highest value target in America. Apostasy is the most egregious crime against Islam. Her crime is not just against the family. it is against Islam.

Discussion: Bartholomew's Notes … and The Jawa Report

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

A More Perfect Death — As if there weren't enough end-of-life anxieties floating around the health care debate, the Montana Supreme Court has chosen this month to weigh whether their state should join nearby Oregon and Washington in endorsing physician-assisted suicide.

Discussion: Sadly, No!, Daily Kos and TBogg