memeorandum: Remember cramdown? It was a proposed change to bankruptcy law … (Emptywheel)

6:35 PM ET, October 10, 2010

Top Items:

N. Gregory Mankiw / New York Times:

I Can Afford Higher Taxes. But They'll Make Me Work Less. — AN important issue dividing the political parties is whether to raise taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year. Democrats say these taxpayers can afford to chip in a bit more. Republicans say raising taxes …

Discussion: Grasping Reality …, Truth on the Market, Economist's View, Marginal Revolution, Balloon Juice, Greg Mankiw's Blog and Wake up America

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Mankiw's Taxes — Greg Mankiw admits that he could afford to pay higher tax rates, but says that higher rates do affect his incentives to take on more work: … Do you see the card he palmed? Basically, the effect of letting the Bush cuts expire is so tiny that the only way to make it noticeable …

Discussion: Emptywheel

CNN:

Axelrod signals White House opposition to foreclosure moratorium — Washington (CNN) — The Obama administration opposes a moratorium on home foreclosures, but wants problems involving improper paperwork resolved as quickly as possible, senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Raw Story

Emptywheel:

Remember cramdown? It was a proposed change to bankruptcy law that would have allowed judges to modify the mortgages on primary homes for people entering bankruptcy. Supporters of the change argued that cramdown would provide an important stick to force lenders into modifying loans …

Discussion: Grasping Reality … and Corrente

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Government had been warned for months about troubles in mortgage servicer industry

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Brad / Think Progress:

Gillespie Claims NY Times And Wash. Post Have ‘Refudiated’ ThinkProgress On Secret Corporate Spending — On Face the Nation this morning, host Bob Schieffer grilled both White House advisor David Axelrod and GOP strategist Ed Gillespie on the millions of dollars being secretly funneled …

Discussion: Beltway Confidential, CNN and The Political Carnival

The Huffington Post:

DNC Makes Major Ad Buy Accusing Chamber Of Potentially ‘Stealing’ Election — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Ratcheting up the debate over the influence of outside groups in congressional elections, the Democratic National Committee has made a major ad purchase pushing the case that the November elections …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Beltway Confidential, Mediaite, Big Government and Raw Story

Jimmy So / CBS News:
Axelrod Hits Out at Foreign Money in Elections

Discussion: The Politico and Pat Dollard

New York Times:

Outraged, and Outrageous — Top row from left: RT America; Atlas Shrugs; ABC News; Atlas Shrugs. Second row: Fox News; Canadian Broadcasting Company; Atlas Shrugs; MSNBC. Third row: CNN; Atlas Shrugs (Three photos). Bottom Row: CBS NEWS; CNN; Atlas Shrugs (2 photos).

Discussion: Power Line, Hullabaloo, Atlas Shrugs, Little Green Footballs and Jihad Watch

Mark Townsend / Guardian:
English Defence League forges links with America's Tea Party

Discussion: Harry's Place, War in Context, Gates of Vienna, NewsReal Blog, American Power, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story and Little Green Footballs

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
The New York Times: Outraged, Outrageous and Unhinged

Discussion: Israpundit, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Other McCain, New York Times and Jihad Watch

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Number of Competitive House Races Doubles from Recent Years — The House forecast that we released on Friday establishes an over-under line for Republican gains at a net of 47 or 48 seats. But, as I noted at the end of the article, the confidence interval on this forecast is very wide.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Moe Lane

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

No ‘brainwashing’ on homosexuality (Updated) — Carl Paladino, who's made a few stops in heavily religious Jewish areas of Brooklyn today, has said during at least one stop that he will veto a gay marriage bill if he is governor, a pledge he made on another visit with Orthodox Jews a few weeks ago.

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Capital Tonight

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE GOP TO LOVE OBAMA IN 2026.... In light of the news that Democrats love to see former President Bill Clinton out on the campaign trail, while former President George W. Bush keeps a much lower profile, it's almost amusing to see Republicans decide maybe the Big Dog wasn't so bad after all.

Discussion: Ballot Box and Associated Press

Ian M. / Think Progress:

After Embracing Privatizers, Tenthers, Tea Partiers, & An Ex-Witch, Cantor Distances GOP From Nazi Reenactor — Appearing today on Fox News Sunday, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) finally revealed just how extreme a GOP candidate needs to be in order to be rejected by their party leadership.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Political Carnival, TPMDC and Wonk Room

Associated Press:

‘SNL’ hits O'Donnell again — WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — “Saturday Night Live” has taken another jab at Christine O'Donnell - and the Delaware Senate candidate says the riff on her recent television campaign ad “was really funny.” — In the ad that debuted this week, O'Donnell tells the camera, “I'm not a witch.”

Discussion: CNN, The Political Carnival and Gateway Pundit

ABCNEWS:

‘This Week’ Transcript: McMahon, Blumenthal, Lagarde and Musharraf — AMANPOUR (voice-over): Welcome to viewers here and around the world. I'm Christiane Amanpour. And at the top of the news this week, a “This Week” exclusive, inside North Korea, Bob Woodruff from Pyongyang …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Jerry Brown: Mammograms not effective — Smelling blood after a Jerry Brown associate used the word “whore” in connection with Meg Whitman's campaign strategy, Republican sources have provided a 15-year-old video of the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful dismissing mammograms in an old interview.