memeorandum: Dinner for Democrats — Obama courts Hollywood donors (Ted Johnson/Variety)

4:10 AM ET, August 17, 2010

Top Items:

Shlomo Shamir / Haaretz:

Muslim leaders to abandon plans for Ground Zero community center — Insiders say Muslim spiritual leaders behind the controversial initiative are considering giving up on the former World Trade Center location, in a gesture of appeasement. — After weeks of heated debate over plans …

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Breaking: Reid calls for mosque to be built “someplace else” — UPDATE, 3:34 p.m. Why Reid's position is indefensible: Some are pointing out that Harry Reid, by citing the First Amendment and religious freedom, is reaffirming the group's right to build the project. That's true.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Salon, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Last Tradition, RedState, Think Progress, Ben Smith's Blog, Weigel, Zandar Versus The Stupid and National Review

Daryl Lang / History Eraser Button:

“Hallowed Ground” — A few photos of stuff the same distance from the World Trade Center as the “Ground Zero Mosque”: — What's my point? A month ago, I wrote about my support for a group of Muslim New Yorkers—whom I consider my neighbors—and their right to put a religious building …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, Mediaite, Scripting News, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Harry Reid weighs in on N.Y. mosque: It ‘should be built someplace else’ — Now that President Obama has addressed and amplified the issue, the political debate over the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero is being felt far from Lower Manhattan, in political races across the country.

Discussion: The Other McCain, PostPartisan, The Daily Beast, The Fix, Mediaite, The Eye, Salon, Swampland, The Plum Line, The American Scene, Sister Toldjah, National Review, Truthdig, Washington Monthly, Conservatives4Palin.com and skippy the bush kangaroo

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
Park 51/Cordoba Initiative's Antisemitic Tweets

Discussion: Nice Deb, Israpundit, Big Peace and Jihad Watch

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Responding to opponent's demand, Harry Reid breaks with Obama …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Right Pundits, Lean Left and Pundit & Pundette

Erin Einhorn / NY Daily News:
Mosque gets all the press, but area near Ground Zero full of bars …

Discussion: The Daily Politics, JammieWearingFool, The Atlantic Online and Joe. My. God.

Stable Hand / The Jawa Report:
Rumor? Muslim Leaders to Abandon Plans for Ground Zero Mosque (UPDATED)

Discussion: The Plum Line, Wintery Knight, Pajamas Media, Big Government and The Moderate Voice

Zaid Jilani / Think Progress:
Laura Ingraham To Co-Founder Of Ground Zero Mosque In December 2009 …

Discussion: Salon, Atlas Shrugs, Talking Points Memo, News Hounds and The Reaction

Mark Halperin / Time:
Why Republicans Must Avoid a ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Battle

David Weigel / Weigel:
How the Religious Right Made the Ground Zero Mosque Possible

Discussion: The Washington Note and Real Clear Politics

CNN:
Reid breaks with Obama, opposes mosque near Ground Zero

Discussion: Hot Air, The Politico, The Hill, The Note, Washington Monthly, Weekly Standard, Fausta's Blog, The Page, Politics Daily, Beltway Confidential and iOwnTheWorld.com

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
What Obama Meant to Say About the Mosque

Discussion: Commentary

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Reid: Forget Ground Zero — ‘The Mosque Should Be Built Some Place Else’

Discussion: Gawker, TalkLeft, Crooks and Liars, No More Mister Nice Blog and Zandar Versus The Stupid

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

California Gay Marriage on Hold as Case Is Appealed — SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has extended a stay on same-sex marriages in California until it decides whether a ban on such unions is constitutional. — It is just the latest turn in a protracted legal battle over Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and Hit & Run

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

9th Circuit Grants Stay Pending Appeal in Prop. 8 Case — The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has granted a stay pending an expedited appeal of the District Court Order which held that California Prop. 8 violated the U.S. Constitution. The Court specifically ordered the supporters …

Discussion: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Da Techguy's Blog

Associated Press:

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Same-Sex Marriage in California as Case Continues — A federal appeals court put same-sex weddings in California on hold indefinitely Monday while it considers the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban. — The decision, issued by a three-judge panel …

Discussion: Guardian, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Dish and HotAirPundit

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Oh my: Ninth Circuit stays Walker's order, postpones gay marriage in California until December; Update: Prop 8 opponents won't appeal — Via Legal Insurrection, here's the order in its entirety. … Emphasis mine. I'm amazed they were willing to wave away Walker's order that marriages …

Discussion: Advocate, Freedom to Marry Blog and The Greenroom

Chris Geidner / Poliglot:
Ninth Circuit Halts California Marriages Pending Appeal

Discussion: Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Calitics and L.A. NOW

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Christie: Both sides playing politics, don't paint all Muslims as ‘radical’ — This is from Gov. Chris Christie at a press conference earlier today, weighing in with his first words on the ground zero-area mosque — and basically saying a pox on the houses of both political parties.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, CNN, The Page, Outside the Beltway and The Right Scoop

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Chris Christie warns GOP on mosque — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a new national icon for the Republican Party thanks in part to his push for pension reforms, on Monday became the most prominent GOP figure to warn against “overreacting” to the threat of terror and painting “all of Islam” …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

A Man Who Deserves To Be Viable in 2012 — Imagine a successful two-term Republican governor with a credible small government record, a demonstrated commitment to civil liberties, skepticism about foreign wars, a longstanding determination to right America's fiscal ship …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Hit & Run

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
G.O.P. Sees Mosque Near Ground Zero as Campaign Issue

Discussion: New York Times

Ace / minx.cc:

Holy Frickin' Reagan: Best Advertorial You'll See — Seriously, watch it. — This comes from the Republican Study Committee, which is headed, if I have the information right, by Rep. Tom Price of Georgia. — So now you can't say the GOP isn't doing anything to advance the message.

Discussion: The Sundries Shack, Hot Air, The Underground Conservative, American Glob, GayPatriot, Beltway Confidential, Gateway Pundit, Hyscience, RedState, The Other McCain and The War Planner

Ben Feller / Associated Press:

Obama pleads to voters: 'Don't give in to fear' — MILWAUKEE - Flying thousands of miles to reap millions of dollars, President Barack Obama is dashing across the country to help his party retain power, essentially offering one familiar argument: Republicans don't solve problems.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys and Riehl World View

Ted Johnson / Variety:
Dinner for Democrats — Obama courts Hollywood donors

Discussion: Valley of the Shadow, The Other McCain and L.A. NOW

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Total destruction: GOP out to biggest generic ballot leads in history in both Gallup and Rasmussen — The most amazing thing about this? When Democrats tell people that voters hate the GOP as much as they hate them, they're not blowing smoke. That's basically true.

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports, Pundit & Pundette, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, COMMON CENTS and Scared Monkeys

Geoff Boucher / Hero Complex:

Ray Bradbury hates big government: ‘Our country is in need of a revolution’ — Ray Bradbury is mad at President Obama, but it's not about the economy, the war or the plan to a construct a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. — “He should be announcing that we should go back to the moon …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and Hit & Run

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Obama Sees New Lows in Job Approval — Weekly average of 44% and three-day average of 42% are lowest yet — PRINCETON, NJ — President Obama's job approval rating dipped to 44% for the week of Aug. 9-15, the lowest weekly average of his administration by one percentage point.

Discussion: The Swamp, Scared Monkeys, Blue Crab Boulevard, Real Clear Politics and Red Dog Report

Steven Shepard / Hotline On Call:
Half Disapprove of Obama For First Time

Discussion: RedState, Weasel Zippers, Say Anything, Hot Air and Beltway Confidential

FiveBooks:

Traditional and Liberal Conservatism — Let's start with John Stuart Mill, On Liberty. You'd think it's obvious but no one else has suggested it. Why On Liberty? — I don't know that it's obvious since it's a classic text of liberalism, not conservatism. — Explain that to me.

Discussion: EconLog and Hit & Run

John Del Signore / Gothamist:

Bedbugs Love AMC Empire 25, Hate Republicans — At left, bites sustained last night during a screening of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World at AMC Empire 25 on West 42nd Street. — [UPDATE BELOW] After seizing the Brooklyn DA's office and the Time Warner Center last week, a new division …

Discussion: Joe. My. God.

NY Daily News:
Bedbug City: 1 in 10 New Yorkers has grappled with bedbugs in their home

Discussion: Clusterstock, New York Magazine, Above the Law and Gawker

Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:

It Begins... Dem Congresswoman Brings In Street Thug at Town Hall Meeting to Threaten Constituents (Video) — SUMMER SLAM 2010... Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) brought Bruno the Bone-Crusher with her to a town hall meeting this weekend to threaten constituents.

Discussion: Riehl World View, American Glob, Breitbart.tv, Mediaite, Michelle Malkin, thedanashow.wordpress.com, theblogprof, YID With LID, Hyscience, AmSpecBlog and The Right Scoop

Alyssa Danigelis / msnbc.com:

‘Human-electric’ hybrid car goes 30 mph uphill — If four people are cranking, street-legal car can run on human power alone — Fred Flintstone could only dream of such a car. The HumanCar Imagine PS, a four-seater vehicle that uses hand cranks, can take on hills at 30 miles per hour …

Discussion: Hot Air and The Moderate Voice

Ginger Thompson / New York Times:

U.S. Said to Plan Easing Rules for Travel to Cuba — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is planning to expand opportunities for Americans to travel to Cuba, the latest step aimed at encouraging more contact between people in both countries, while leaving intact the decades-old embargo …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Adam Entous / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Sounds Alarm at China's Military Buildup — WASHINGTON—The Pentagon voiced alarm over China's military buildup, saying it was expanding its advantage over Taiwan and investing heavily in ballistic and cruise missile capabilities that could one day pose a challenge to U.S. dominance in the western Pacific.

Discussion: The Nation

Keach Hagey / The Politico:

James Kilpatrick set stage for political TV talk — James Kilpatrick, the conservative columnist who died Sunday at the age of 89, left a wide mark on the world of letters, but his greatest impact on the political media may well have been in television. — Kilpatrick, known to all as Kilpo …

Discussion: New York Times and Wilshire & Washington

Jay Heflin / The Hill:

Chamber economist: Obama tax increase would be ‘bullet in the head’ of recovery — U.S. Chamber of Commerce economist Martin Regalia on Monday said the tax increases advocated by President Obama would essentially kill any chance for an economic rebound. — “That's what you're suggesting …

Discussion: Red Dog Report

Jeff Dunetz / YID With LID:

Hey Taxpayers, Get Ready To Pay For the Union Pension Failure Tsunami — Congress is coming after your wallets again, this time they will be bailing out multi-employer pension plans, retirement programs for union workers funded by employers and run by unions.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Beltway Confidential