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1:25 PM ET, February 19, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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:
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
I'M ONLY BEING REAL WHEN I SAY, NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THEIR GRANDFATHER RAP.  —  Via Steve Benen, Michael Steele, the Republican Party's new black friend, continues the new black friendness in earnest: … Yesterday Gwen Ifill said that the Republican Party wasn't “so caught up with the idea …
Charles Mahtesian / The Politico:
GOP governors clash over cash
Discussion: The Swamp and The Moderate Voice
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
STEELE VOWS TO GO ‘BEYOND CUTTING-EDGE’.... The more RNC Chairman …
Discussion: TBogg
Byron York / www.dcexaminer.com:
The RAT hiding deep inside the stimulus bill  —  The far-reaching — and potentially dangerous — provision that no one knows about.  —  You've heard a lot about the astonishing spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, signed into law this week by President Barack Obama.
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 …
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY SUMMIT.... Whenever President Obama or anyone associated with his administration utters the phrase “entitlement reform,” it generates an audible gasp.  The fear, of course, is that the White House might buy into conservative rhetoric about weakening Social Security.
Discussion: Firedoglake and Eschaton
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Hedge Fund Billionaire Pete Peterson Key Speaker At Obama …
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.
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.
CNN:
Spokesman for embattled Sen. Burris resigns  —  (CNN) — A spokesman for Illinois Sen. Roland Burris resigned Thursday in the wake of new disclosures about requests that Burris raise money for disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich while seeking a U.S. Senate appointment.
RELATED:
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 …
Senate Guru:
Early Thursday Morning Items  — Missouri: Republican Rep. Roy Blunt will announce his candidacy today for Senate in 2010.  He has been widely expected to enter the race.  The big question now (other than whether or not Blunt's best buddy Tom DeLay will serve as a high-profile surrogate …
Discussion: The Moderate Voice
RELATED:
Bill Lambrecht / Political Fix:   Breaking: Blunt candidacy to become official tomorrow
Sacramento Bee:
Budget plan goes to Schwarzenegger after Legislature's OK  —  The deal is done.  —  The California Legislature voted early today to approve a massive budget package of tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing to close a $40 billion deficit after granting major concessions to one holdout Republican senator.
RELATED:
Matt Corley / Think Progress:
Washington Post runs George Will's newest column without issuing a correction for his last one.»  —  On Sunday, the Washington Post printed a climate change denial column by George Will that contained several demonstrable falsehoods.  Despite the loud chorus of critics pointing …
Discussion: Washington Monthly and TalkLeft
Jim Treacher / Mother, May I Sleep with Treacher?:
TOP 10 REASONS PRESIDENT BARACK H. OBAMA IS NOTHING LIKE TRAVIS THE CHIMP  —  10. Travis understood TurboTax  —  9. Obama somewhat less likely to attack Biden  —  8. Travis never lied  —  7. Obama's smile not quite as genuine  —  6. Travis could get through entire day without teleprompter
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).
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: The Huffington Post
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Betting on Bipartisanship  —  As far as most of Washington is concerned, Barack Obama's big talk about bipartisanship is kaput.  One month into his presidency, many pundits and political analysts have told him to drop it.  Get real, they say.  It bought you next to nothing on the stimulus bill.
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 …
Discussion: The Other McCain
Michelle Malkin:
Gimme, gimme, gimme: More scenes from the anti-Obama entitlement backlash  —  So, a CNBC host is calling for a new “tea party” to protest Barack Obama's out-of-control spendulus/entitlement culture?  We've been doing it all week.  Seattle, Denver, Mesa.  Kansas this weekend.  And more outbreaks to come.
Discussion: CBS News and Atlas Shrugs
Jeremy Page / Times of London:
Google Earth reveals secret history of US base in Pakistan  —  The US was secretly flying unmanned drones from the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan as early as 2006, according to an image of the base from Google Earth.  —  The image — that is no longer …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
“Humane Alternatives”  —  Reading the pseudo-world-weary way in which some on the right in America still defend the use of torture, however euphemistically rephrased, always takes me back to Orwell.  Some want to define “actual” torture in ways that mean that freezing someone to near-death …
Discussion: Salon
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: Flopping Aces and marbury
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Drowning by Fire Hose  —  “Suppose my neighbor's home catches fire, and I have a length of garden hose. . . . I don't say to him . . . ‘Neighbor, my garden hose cost me $15 . . .’ ”  —  “When the town is burning, you don't check party labels.  Everybody needs to grab a hose.”
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
New York Times:
Modifying Mortgages Can Be Tricky  —  MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — When her brother could no longer help support her, Luzetta Reeves asked her small mortgage company to cut her monthly payments.  It did — by 11 percent — making it possible for her to afford her house here on her modest fixed income.
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
 
 
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 More Items: 
Maria Golovnina / Reuters:
Kyrgyzstan shuts U.S. base, NATO Afghan help sought
Nicole Gatz / Daily Nebraskan:
Santorum speech excites crowd
Discussion: Think Progress
Paul Alongi / Greenville News:
DeMint opposes federal intervention in banking crisis
Discussion: pandagon.net
Associated Press:
U.S. Senator John Kerry makes rare visit to Hamas-ruled Gaza
Discussion: MyDD
Greg Mankiw / Greg Mankiw's Blog:
“Create or Save”  —  Now that the stimulus bill has been passed …
Discussion: EconLog and Cold Fury
James Slack / Daily Mail:
Preacher of hate awarded £2,500 after judges rule jailing …
Discussion: Guardian
 Earlier Items: 
The Atlantic Politics Channel:
President Obama's Top Republican Ally
John M. Broder / New York Times:
E.P.A. Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Meta unveils Movie Gen, which creates up to 16-second videos from a text prompt, available to some staff and partners; Meta plans to add it to its apps in 2025

Victoria Gomelsky / New York Times:
Watches of Switzerland Group, one of the world's largest watch retailers, acquires the watch enthusiast website Hodinkee, says coverage will remain independent

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Mullenweg says WordPress.org “belongs to me personally”, as his WP Engine feud blurs the lines between WordPress.org, the WordPress Foundation, and Automattic

 
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