memeorandum: Fox News isn't just bad. It's un-American. (Jacob Weisberg/Newsweek)

4:35 PM ET, October 18, 2009

Top Items:

Jacob Weisberg / Newsweek:

Fox News isn't just bad. It's un-American. — From the magazine issue dated Oct 26, 2009 — Last week, when White House Communications Director Anita Dunn charged the Fox News Channel with right-wing bias, Fox responded the way it always does. It denied the accusation with a straight face …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Mahablog, The Greenroom, Political Byline, The Impolitic, Dean's World and NewsBusters.org

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Fox ‘not really news,’ says Axelrod — White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday that the Fox News Channel is “not really a news station” and that much of the programming is “not really news.” — “I'm not concerned,” Axelrod said on ABC's “This Week” when George Stephanopoulos asked …

Discussion: Macsmind, QandO, The Hill and Raw Story

David Carr / New York Times:

The Battle Between the White House and Fox News — The Obama administration, which would seem to have its hands full with a two-front war in Iraq and Afghanistan, opened up a third front last week, this time with Fox News. — Until this point, the conflict had been mostly a one-sided affair …

Discussion: The Swamp, NewsBusters.org, Blue Crab Boulevard, And So it Goes in Shreveport, The Caucus, Hot Air, Vox Popoli, Raw Story and Washington Post

Robert Thomas / Gawker:

Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax — For the first time, 25-year-old researcher Robert Thomas reveals to Gawker how earlier this year he and Richard Heene drew up a master plan to generate a massive media controversy using a weather balloon. To get famous, of course.

Discussion: Newsbroke, Mediaite, Above the Law, Hot Air, Guardian, Gothamist, Telegraph, Christian Science Monitor, The Moderate Voice, Riehl World View and New York Magazine

CNN:

‘Balloon boy’ incident was hoax, sheriff says — (CNN) — The case of a giant Mylar balloon, which ascended into the sky late last week amid fears a 6-year-old boy was aboard, has been determined to be a “hoax” and a “publicity stunt,” Larimer County, Colorado, Sheriff Jim Alderden said Sunday.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Mediaite and Gawker

Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

How Moody's sold its ratings — and sold out investors — WASHINGTON — As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody's Investors Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and executives who warned of trouble and promoting those who helped Wall Street plunge …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

CNN:

Emanuel: Bush left U.S. adrift on Afghanistan — WASHINGTON (CNN) — One of President Obama's top advisers said Sunday the Bush administration failed to ask critical questions about the war in Afghanistan, leaving the Obama administration starting from scratch — and leaving the war “adrift.”

Discussion: Laura Rozen's Blog

BBC:
US decision after Afghan result

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and Truthdig

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Dems see path for Deeds in Virginia — With just over two weeks left until Virginia's gubernatorial election, Democrat Creigh Deeds is left with a narrow path to victory, one that hinges on energizing key demographic groups and the durability of the Old Dominion's new politics.

Discussion: RedState

Washington Post:
Mr. Deeds for Governor — A LEGACY of sound policies …

Discussion: The Hill, National Review Online, Virginia Politics, Commentary, The Nation and Firedoglake

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Specter rips GOP: ‘A Party of obstructionism.’ — Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), who until late April of this year was a lifelong Republican, castigated his former party this morning on Fox News. Specter ripped the GOP for refusing to be a good-faith negotiator in the health care debate:

Carrie Budoff Brown / Politico Live's Blog:
Thune: Public option compromises still public option

Discussion: TalkLeft

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

David Rohde's insights into what motivates the Taliban — (updated below) — The New York Times' David Rohde writes about the seven months he was held hostage by a group of extremist Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan and conveys this observation about what motivates them:

Discussion: Politics Daily

David Rohde / New York Times:
7 Months, 10 Days in Captivity

Discussion: Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Jules Crittenden, Taylor Marsh, Gawker, Laura Rozen's Blog and ATTACKERMAN

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:

White House ‘Official’ Badmouths Labor Leader For Expecting Obama To Keep His Promises — Gerry McEntee is president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). He leads the largest union in America and has been one of the most vocal advocates for progressive health care reform.

Discussion: The Politico, TalkLeft, MyDD, Wake up America, Ben Smith's Blog and Daily Kos

Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:

Secret Service strained as leaders face more threats — Report questions its role in financial investigations — WASHINGTON - The unprecedented number of death threats against President Obama, a rise in racist hate groups, and a new wave of antigovernment fervor threaten to overwhelm …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Mike Florio / NBC Sports:

First paper to run Limbaugh “slavery” quote issues retraction — In the wake of the news that radio host Rush Limbaugh was hoping to buy a chunk of the St. Louis Rams, Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote a column containing the now-infamous quote, supposedly from Limbaugh …

Discussion: Wake up America and Vox Popoli