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10:45 AM ET, February 19, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
CQ Politics:
Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House  —  More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.
RELATED:
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Earmark Scandal Breaking  —  There's a potentially big story brewing on Capitol Hill... Apparently 104 members of Congress of both parties — 42 Republicans and 62 Democrats — secured earmarks for a lobbying firm linked to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) in a single bill.
Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
Steele: GOP needs ‘hip-hop’ makeover  —  NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW:  —  Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
RELATED:
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Is the Administration Winging It?  —  Obama's reputation for competence is at risk.  —  Team Obama demonstrated remarkable discipline during the presidential campaign.  From raising an unprecedented amount of money to milking every advantage from the Internet to grabbing lots of delegates …
Discussion: marbury
Chicago Tribune:
U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is on thin ice with Illinois colleague Sen. Dick Durbin  —  Burris has been stung by his acknowledgment of trying to raise funds for Blagojevich  —  U.S. Sen. Roland Burris' failure to fully disclose his ties to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has put his future in the Senate …
RELATED:
Peter Slevin / Washington Post:
Clouds Gather Over Roland Burris
Discussion: The Fix, Lynn Sweet, MSNBC and TIME.com
The Politico:
Dems abandon Burris
Discussion: Commentary and Clout St
Joe Stephens / Washington Post:
Valenti's Sexuality Was Topic For FBI  —  Under Pressure, LBJ Let Hoover's Agents Investigate Top Aide  —  When Beltway insider Jack Valenti died two years ago at age 85, he was playing the role of intermediary between Washington and Hollywood as the theatrical, snowy-haired president of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Discussion: On Deadline, Gawker and Reason
Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
What Happened With Hitchens  —  Lefty blogs have the details of this wrong.  —  I wasn't there.  I was there, however, for the immediate after-action report, and have heard it told ten times by now, including most of it from Hitchens.  Although I didn't really bother asking much, as I'd already heard it.
Discussion: protein wisdom, Hot Air and Forbes
John M. Broder / New York Times:
E.P.A. Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide  —  WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The Face of Shrillness  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  This Fox News interview with Virg Bernero — the Mayor of highly unionized Lansing, Michigan and himself the son of a retired GM worker — is, for several reasons, really worth watching (h/t Brainwrap).
Discussion: The Huffington Post
Mark Landler / New York Times:
Clinton Tells of Why She Took the Job  —  JAKARTA, Indonesia — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited a development program in a working-class Jakarta neighborhood and spoke about her decision to work for the man who defeated her for the presidential nomination, on her second day in Indonesia before flying to Seoul.
Discussion: BBC, The Politico, TalkLeft and TIME.com
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Budget to kick off health care rewrite  —  At the end of the day last Wednesday, Obama aides and a handful of Senators hashed out the details of a $787 billion spending package in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office.  —  Larry Summers, the architect of the plan, was no longer in the room …
New York Times:
Kansas Governor Seen as Top Choice in Health Post  —  WASHINGTON — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, an early Obama ally with a record of working across party lines, is emerging as the president's top choice for secretary of health and human services, advisers said Wednesday.
The Atlantic Politics Channel:
President Obama's Top Republican Ally  —  SACRAMENTO-While tensions are rising between President Obama and Congressional Republicans, California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he is eager for more opportunities to partner with Obama on big issues like health care and energy.
Gideon Levy / Haaretz:
Netanyahu, put your money where your mouth is  —  Why isn't Benjamin Netanyahu setting up a right-wing government?  Why isn't he carrying out the voters' will to position the right wing in power?  Why isn't he taking the opportunity that fell into his hands to form a government in tune with his doctrine?
Discussion: Peace Pulse Blog
Michael Slackman / New York Times:
Egyptian Political Dissident, Imprisoned for Years, Is Suddenly Released  —  CAIRO — Egypt's most prominent political dissident and a one-time presidential candidate, Ayman Nour, was unexpectedly released from prison on Wednesday after the United States and European governments had pressed for years to have him set free.
Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Obama Hoping to Reinforce U.S. Trade Relationship With Canada  —  President Barack Obama will leave today for Canada — his first foreign trip as president — where he is expected to discuss trade and the environment with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.  —  A top Obama aide said this week …
RELATED:
Leo Kolivakis / Pension Pulse:
Age of Deflation?  —  Stocks slid within striking distance of the November bear-market low on Tuesday, as grim manufacturing data signaled the recession is worsening and warnings on risks facing European banks underscored the continuing toll of the financial crisis:
Discussion: Redhot
Russell Storring / CBC News:
Going to war with the Yanks  —  Like most of the media-saturated world, I sat captivated in front of my television on Jan. 20 listening to President Barack Obama's inaugural speech, thinking of the new era being ushered in.  —  Being military, I have often had the occasion to work closely …
Discussion: Mudville Gazette
ABCNEWS:
Accused Financier Under Federal Drug Investigation  —  Authorities: Stanford May Have Laundered Drug Money for Mexican Cartel  —  The SEC's fraud charges may be the least of accused financial scammer R. Allen Stanford's worries.  Federal authorities tell ABC News that the FBI and others …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
How Low Will Newspapers' Ad Revenues Go?  —  When Arthur Sulzberger Jr. refused to talk to his own reporter about the financial condition of the New York Times Co., it was the latest sign of an industry in deep trouble.  —  After all, the Times is not only the nation's top-selling metropolitan daily …
Mark Steyn / The Corner:
Headless Body in Legless Story  —  Kathryn, that self-pitying imam is part of a now familiar pattern: Pay no attention to that dead body; the real victim here is Islam.  —  Beheaded woman in Buffalo?  “Shocked friend says murder damages Islam's image.”  —  Hindus, Jews and Christians massacred in Bombay?
Kendra Marr / Washington Post:
Cash for Automakers Going Fast  —  As Source of Aid Gets Tapped, White House Must Decide How to Proceed  —  General Motors cars sit atop a car carrier at an assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio.  GM has said that, without aid, it will run out of cash by March 31.  (By Mark Stahl — Associated Press)
Melinda Deslatte / Associated Press:
GOP governors consider turning down stimulus money  —  BATON ROUGE, La. - A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment.
BBC:
Tutu urges Obama apology on Iraq  —  Archbishop Desmond Tutu has warned Barack Obama of the risk of squandering the goodwill he says the US president's election has generated.  —  In an article for BBC News, he says it would be “wonderful” if Mr Obama apologised for the invasion of Iraq.
Lynnley Browning / New York Times:
A Swiss Bank Is Set to Open Its Secret Files  —  In the hush-hush world of Swiss banking, the unthinkable is happening: secrets are spilling into the open.  —  UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, agreed on Wednesday to divulge the names of well-heeled Americans whom the authorities suspect …
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
General Sees Long Term for Afghanistan Buildup  —  WASHINGTON — The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, said Wednesday that the heightened troop levels that President Obama ordered for Afghanistan could remain in place for as long as five years.
Discussion: Global Guerrillas and Reason
 
 
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 More Items: 
Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Coleman needs a miracle
Los Angeles Times:
California Legislature passes spending plan
Discussion: TIME.com and THE WEEK - Online
Victoria McGrane / The Politico:
Housing plan leaves out critical pieces
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Clancy Chassay / Guardian:
Corruption mars Afghanistan effort
Discussion: MyDD
 Earlier Items: 
Scott Lehigh / Boston Globe:
The New Deal and right-wing revisionism
Discussion: Bloomberg and AmSpecBlog
Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
Schumer's Second Thoughts (Or: This Is Why Reading Legislation …
Discussion: Moe Lane and Wizbang
 

 
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David Pierce / The Verge:
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