memeorandum: You can keep your health plan — if Obama likes it (Timothy P. Carney/Washington Examiner)

11:15 PM ET, October 30, 2013

Top Items:

Yes, It Is Illegal For Kathleen Sebelius To Enroll In Obamacare — Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius — Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius repeatedly told the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday that it would be “illegal” …

Discussion: Wonkblog, BuzzFeed, National Review, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, CNN, Democracy in America, Mediaite, RH Reality Check, Conservative Intelligence …, The PJ Tatler and Power Line

Aaron Blake / Post Politics:

Obama blames ‘bad apple insurers’ for canceled insurance plans — President Obama tried a new tack Wednesday as he fought back against criticism of his Obamacare claims. — Fact-checkers and journalists have ruled that Obama wasn't being truthful when he claimed that people who liked their insurance could keep it.

Discussion: Power Line, Investor's Business Daily, Washington Post, Hot Air, ABC News, CNN, Weasel Zippers, Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler, Speaker Mobile, Maggie's Farm and Taylor Marsh

Jim Acosta / CNN:

White House on Sebelius hearing: GOP ‘did us a favor up there’ — (CNN) - References to “The Wizard of Oz.” A poster of “bros” doing a keg stand. And that shout-out to “Red Solo” cups. — White House officials are all but thanking Republicans for some of the more entertaining moments …

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Associated Press:

GOV'T DOCUMENT: HEALTH SITE POSED SECURITY RISK — You are here — Home » United States government » Gov't document: Health site posed security risk — WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal government memo obtained by The Associated Press shows administration officials were concerned …

Washington Post:
New problems emerge with health-care Web site; Sebelius acknowledges frustrations

Discussion: Wonkblog, The Fix, Gawker, Lawfare, Althouse and American Power

Washington Post:

NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide, Snowden documents say — The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden …

Tony Romm / Politico:
NSA fires back at Washington Post report

Discussion: Guardian, The Switch, The Week, Balloon Juice, Business Insider, Gawker, emptywheel, Talking Points Memo and AllThingsD

John Dickerson / Slate:

The president always had a tough time selling Obamacare. Now his weak assurances are making Republicans look wise beyond their years. — During the public debate over health care in 2009 and 2010, no matter how tightly you may have shut your door, there was one piece of information …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Forbes, FreedomWorks, Hot Air, NewsBusters blogs and The PJ Tatler

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Obama's pledge that ‘no one will take away’ your health plan — “That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period.

Matthew Hoye / CNN:
Obamacare and MassHealth - What do people think?

Discussion: Politico and TheHill

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
You can keep your health plan — if Obama likes it

Discussion: Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters blogs:
CNN: White House Pressuring Insurance Companies To Not Criticize ObamaCare

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and BizPac Review

Wall Street Journal:
Americans are losing their coverage by political design.

Discussion: Right Turn, Rush Limbaugh, American Power, Mediaite, Betsy's Page, bizjournals and National Review

Mark Murray / NBCNews:

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama approval sinks to new low — President Barack Obama's approval rating has declined to an all-time low as public frustration with Washington and pessimism about the nation's direction continue to grow, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, First Read, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Pat Dollard, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

John Harwood / New York Times:

Behind the Roar of Political Debates, Whispers of Race Persist — WASHINGTON — President Obama last week sought to turn attention from health care to immigration — in other words, from one racially divisive issue to another. — Whites tend to hold negative views of Obamacare, while blacks tend to like it.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Talking Points Memo, The Hinterland Gazette, Liberal Values, Hullabaloo, Taegan Goddard's …, The Reaction and Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:
Scorn Spreads to Both Sides

Discussion: Power Line, Taegan Goddard's … and National Review

TIME:

Buckpasser — By Joe Klein @JoeKleinTIMEOct. 30, 2013 — The President is responsible for the quality of his Administration. — I've been reading Tom Ricks' excellent book about military leadership since World War II, The Generals. In it, Ricks argues that one of the reasons …

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Where the Buck Stops, Some See a Bystander

Discussion: The Dish, Scared Monkeys, JustOneMinute, The Hugh Hewitt Show and Connecting.the.Dots

Rush Limbaugh:

Republicans Demonstrate No Strategy or Desire to Win at Sebelius Hearing — RUSH: Okay, so let me ask you a quick question. Have you been watching the Sebelius hearings today? Good. Tell me what you think. Off the top of your head, what is your reaction to what you're watching? Just tell me.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico and Washington Monthly

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Patrick Leahy: ‘Insurmountable’ Push For Filibuster Rules Change If GOP Blocks Obama Nominee — WASHINGTON — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted Tuesday that things could get ugly if Republicans block a vote this week on one of President Barack …

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

WZTV:

Obama Costume at Kentucky Medical Center Event Spurs Debate, Diversity Training — HOPKINSVILLE, KY.—A picture of a Jennie Stuart Medical Center employee wearing a President Barack Obama mask and straitjacket at the hospital's annual costume party has stirred debate.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Associated Press and National Review

BBC:

Dell users: Latitude 6430u laptops ‘smell of cat urine’ — A number of Dell users have complained that their Latitude 6430u Ultrabooks “smell of cat urine”. — Dell engineers have ruled out biological contamination, and said the smell was not a health hazard.

Samuel Gibbs / Guardian:
Dell users get claws out over laptops that stink of cat pee

Discussion: Engadget, Mashable, The Raw Story and Liberaland

NY Daily News:

Brown University students shout Commissioner Kelly off the stage as he attempted lecture on policing — More than 100 Ivy League students protested the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy and accused the department of discrimination against blacks and Muslims. Kelly had planned a lecture titled …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Colorlines, Gothamist and National Review

ThinkProgress:

Everything You Think You Know About Panhandlers Is Wrong — A new survey of panhandlers in downtown San Francisco dispels a number of myths that society propagates about homeless people. — Conventional wisdom is that those on the sidewalk asking for a dollar are lazy freeloaders who will use the money for alcohol or drugs.

Marshall Sella / GQ Magazine Online:

Anthony Weiner vs. The New York Times — When the former Congressman told our Marshall Sella that he'd “probably get elected mayor” of New York if the Internet didn't exist, he was actually onto something. Now it appears Weiner has a bone to pick with the Paper of Record, too.

Discussion: Politico

Hadas Gold / Politico:

S.F. Chronicle to stop using ‘Redskins’ — The San Francisco Chronicle will stop using the name “Redskins” for the Washington, D.C. NFL team, managing editor Audrey Cooper confirmed to POLITICO. — “Words are powerful, and so is how we choose to use them,” Cooper said in an email.

Discussion: ProFootballTalk, Weasel Zippers, News Fix, Poynter and National Review

Hamilton Nolan / Gawker:

Here's Audio of Managers Scolding Employees for Wanting to Unionize — When a union attempts to organize a workplace, the management inevitably tries to talk workers out of it. Usually, that happens out of the public eye. But at one workplace, an audio recorder was running.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Firedoglake

Blair L. M. Kelley / theGrio:

A brief history of blackface just in time for Halloween — It's Halloween again and, evidently, it's the season for people around the world to put on blackface. — Blackface first made the news this holiday season when a former Dancing with the Stars participant darkened her skin to …

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Colorlines

Nicole Flatow / ThinkProgress:

Alabama Blogger Arrested, Jailed For Writing About Former Governor's Son — An Alabama blogger who continued to write about the alleged extramarital affair of a prominent lawyer despite a court order was arrested and jailed last week. He was still being held without bond as of Tuesday, according to reports.

Discussion: Real-Time News from Birmingham and Firedoglake

Manu Raju / Politico:

Cruz extends olive branch to GOP senators — Extending an olive branch to GOP senators, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is privately making it clear he won't engage in the Senate Conservatives Fund's hardball tactics to defeat his colleagues in their primary races. — At a closed-door lunch meeting …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The State