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3:40 PM ET, February 16, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BAD WILL HUNTING.... George Will, who has always presented himself as something of an intellectual among the conservative chattering class, seems to be struggling a bit now that there's a Democratic president.  Some of his recent columns have varied between wrong and bizarre.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Former astronaut speaks out on global warming
Discussion: NewsBusters.org and PoliPundit.com
Ross Douthat:
Is The GOP Hopeless?  —  David Frum, pulling no punches: … I spent a lot of time during the election just passed issuing complaints roughly like this one about the McCain campaign, and the GOP more generally.  I've issued fewer over the last few weeks - partially out of exhaustion with the topic …
RELATED:
The New Majority:
THE PARTY THAT LOST ITS MIND  —  Have you heard about the marsh mouse?  The little swamp critter that got $30 million of stimulus bill spending thanks to Nancy Pelosi?  Of course you have!  The mouse was highlighted on Drudge and chortled over by Glenn Beck.  One Republican congressman actually dandled a toy mouse in debate.
Discussion: Hot Air and Right Wing Nut House
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
STUDY HARDER  —  I'm not sure what other ways he's going to follow in Newt Gingrich's steps.  But GOP House whip Eric Cantor seems to have the megalomania and ego front down pat.  He's been putting out word over the last few days that he's modeling himself off Newt and now apparently Winston Churchill too.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BEYOND PARODY.... Over the weekend, “Saturday Night Live” had a skit showing Republican officials scheming against President Obama.  The GOP, of course, was made to look ridiculous — mocking the president's substantive answers to questions, arguing over whether Limbaugh or Hannity is the …
Discussion: Shakesville
RELATED:
Tennessean.com:
Lawmakers look dumb for reviving Obama hoax  —  In the Handy Guide for Newspaper Opinion Columnists, this is called shooting fish in a barrel.  Or hitting a slow-pitched softball.  —  Four Tennessee state representatives, all Republicans, have signed up to be plaintiffs in a lawsuit …
Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
The Fairness Doctrine Returns.  It Just Won't Be Called That.  —  Here we go folks.  —  The Fairness Doctrine is going to make a comeback under the Obama administration.  It just won't be via Congress and it won't be called the “Fairness Doctrine.”  It'll come via the FCC …
RELATED:
The Prowler / American Spectator:
In All Fairness
Discussion: Macsmind
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Decade at Bernie's  —  By now everyone knows the sad tale of Bernard Madoff's duped investors.  They looked at their statements and thought they were rich.  But then, one day, they discovered to their horror that their supposed wealth was a figment of someone else's imagination.
Mike Zapler / Mercury News:
California's budget: one vote shy; legislators to return today  —  SACRAMENTO — Despite weeks of painful negotiations and a sleepless weekend of marathon arm-twisting, California lawmakers failed to fix the budget and will have to return to the Capitol today to try to push through a sweeping plan …
RELATED:
Los Angeles Times:
California's GOP lawmakers should do the budget math
Discussion: Calitics
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
The Two Progressivisms  —  The definitions of the terms “liberal” and “conservative” have been the subjects of much debate in contemporary American politics.  But it has become increasingly clear that the term “progressive” is equally ambiguous, and is associated with at least two relatively distinct philosophical traditions.
Gregory Clark / The Atlantic Business Channel:
Dismal scientists: how the crash is reshaping economics  —  With the chattering classes consumed by concern for the devastated value of their 401K funds, and their suddenly precarious lifestyles, there has been much anger and scorn directed at those former masters of the universe, financiers.
Discussion: Paul Kedrosky's …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Sam Donaldson, Moving Out of Shouting Distance  —  Forceful Newsman to Retire After Four Decades at ABC  —  Whatever else he accomplished in his 41 years at ABC News, Sam Donaldson knows he'll be remembered mainly for his bellowing voice.  —  “I guess it'll be on my tombstone: ‘He yelled at Ronald Reagan,’ ” Donaldson says.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Gay snipers stalk WV  —  The same-sex marriage wars, though largely absent from the presidential campaign, remain hot in the states, as this new video from the group wv4marriage.com shows.  —  The narrator warns that same-sex marriage in West Virginia is “a closer reality than you may think” …
Peter Wallsten / Los Angeles Times:
Liberals not pleased with go-slow approach by Obama  —  Activists recall his promises as a candidate and express frustration at his equivocation as president.  They cite stem cell research and the detainee policy as examples.  —  Reporting from Washington — Slowly over the last few weeks …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
C-SPAN ranks presidents: Abe still on top, new shocker at the bottom  —  On this sacred United States holiday devoted to honoring the birthdays of the two most important presidents in the nation's history by selling bed linens and used automobiles at discount prices, we're publishing …
Agence France Presse:
Hamburgers are the Hummers of food in global warming … When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of food, scientists say.  —  Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple days a week.
Discussion: Snapped Shot and Fausta's Blog
Tom Brune / Newsday:
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she keeps 2 rifles under bed  —  WASHINGTON - - New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who argues her pro-gun stance aims to protect hunters' rights and the Second Amendment, last week said she and her husband, Jonathan, keep two rifles under their bed to protect their upstate home.
Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:
Fareed Zakaria  —  PostGlobal co-moderator Fareed Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all Newsweek's editions abroad.  He writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often The Washington Post.  He is a member of the roundtable of ABC News' …
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Conyers seeks DoJ probe into controversial sheriff  —  House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and three fellow Democrats want the Department of Justice to investigate civil rights complaints against controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio.  —  The lawmakers, in a letter …
Robin Givhan / Washington Post:
You Gotta Love the First Lady.  No, Really, You Have No Choice.  —  The rise of first lady Michelle Obama as an icon — of fashion, black womanhood, working motherhood and middle-class success — has propelled her onto a pedestal that would surely give the average person vertigo.
Discussion: Think Progress and Booman Tribune
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
The Eye of the Storm  —  CHICAGO — Barack Obama senses that he's in the middle of a hurricane whose gale-force winds could blow history his way.  —  He doesn't mind acknowledging that he is learning as he goes, and he is not bitter about how little help he is getting from Republicans.
Chicago Tribune:
U.S. Sen. Roland Burris tries to quell new questions about his controversial appointment by Blagojevich  —  Senator addresses Blagojevich ties as Republicans call for inquiry, ouster  —  Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., talks to the media about an affidavit that he filed Feb. 5 with the Illinois House committee.
An Nro / National Review:
The Good, the Bad, and William Henry Harrison  —  At the risk of waffling, I would have to say both.  Lincoln has always tugged at my heartstrings: With great courage, he saved the Union where other presidents would almost surely have compromised; he freed the slaves where others almost certainly …
Discussion: Overruled
 
 
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 More Items: 
Randi Weingarten / Washington Post:
The Case for National Standards
Discussion: Eduwonk and The Corner
Michelle Malkin:
Obama cultist of the day  —  Do not read this on a full stomach.
Robert Stacy McCain / Taki's Magazine:
Valentine's Day Massacres  —  “We're adding a little something …
Discussion: Dr. Melissa Clouthier
David Stringer / Associated Press:
British, French nuclear subs collide in Atlantic
Discussion: New York Times
 Earlier Items: 
Hendrik Hertzberg / New Yorker:
PARTISANSHIP, BY THE BYE  —  Throughout the fortnight-long Battle …
Rod Dreher / Real Clear Politics:
Obama Won't End the Culture Wars
David S. Cloud / The Politico:
Obama slows down troop boost decision
Discussion: Swampland and marbury
Denis MacShane / Times of London:
The writing is on the synagogue wall
Discussion: normblog
Washington Post:
The First Three Weeks  —  IF PRESIDENT Obama and his advisers …
Discussion: QandO and Commentary