memeorandum: Democrats to stuff 20 bills into post-election lame-duck session (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

5:20 PM ET, September 28, 2010

Top Items:

Jann S. Wenner / Rolling Stone:

Obama in Command: The Rolling Stone Interview — In an Oval Office interview, the president discusses the Tea Party, the war, the economy and what's at stake this November — The following is an article from the October 15, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone. — We arrived at the southwest gate …

Alexander Mooney / CNN:

Obama: Fox News is ‘destructive’ to America — (CNN) - President Obama is pulling no punches when it comes to Fox News, declaring the cable news outlet to be “destructive to [America's] long-term growth.” — In a more than 8,000-word interview with Rolling Stone Magazine …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, Doug Ross, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media and Ben Smith's Blog

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

A PASSIONATE PLEA.... President Obama sat down with Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner and Eric Bates two weeks ago, chatting for an hour and a quarter for a new cover story. The discussion covered a lot of ground, and led to some fascinating exchanges on subjects ranging from Fox News to Tea Partiers, health care to global warming.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Mediaite, TalkLeft, Wonk Room, CNN, Politics Daily, Frank Chow: Asian and Wonkette

The FOX Nation:
President of the United States Loves Gangsta Rap

Discussion: Althouse, Gawker, Swampland, The New Republic and Marbury

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Obama's Defense — Jann Wenner reports in Rolling Stone today …

Discussion: Salon and TalkLeft, more at Mediagazer »

Tedsliver / CBS News:
Obama: Democratic Voter Apathy “Inexcusable”

Discussion: ECHIDNE of the snakes, Weasel Zippers, Creative Minority Report, TalkLeft, The Daily Caller, Pundit & Pundette and Politics Daily

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

Basic Religion Test Stumps Many Americans — Americans are by all measures a deeply religious people, but they are also deeply ignorant about religion. — Researchers from the independent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life phoned more than 3,400 Americans and asked them 32 questions about the Bible …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Tablet Magazine, Online NewsHour, CNN, Verum Serum, Pharyngula, Gawker, Mediaite, New York Magazine and Prairie Weather

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:

U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey — Executive Summary — Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on a new survey of religious knowledge, outperforming evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics on questions about the core teachings …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, features.pewforum.org, Weasel Zippers, EconLog, CNN, Shakesville, Telegraph, Politics Daily, Advocate, Pam's House Blend and USA Today

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:
Nonreligious Knowledge

Discussion: The Political Carnival and msnbc.com

Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect: Nonbelievers, Privilege, and Religious Knowledge.

Manu Raju / The Politico:

DeMint vows roadblock — South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint warned Monday evening that he would block all legislation that has not been cleared by his office in the final days of the pre-election session. — Bret Bernhardt, DeMint's chief of staff, said in an e-mail to GOP aides that his boss …

Discussion: CNN, Ezra Klein, Open Congress, Opinion L.A., Firedoglake, Oliver Willis, Outside the Beltway, Free exchange, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Little Green Footballs and Washington Monthly

Ian M. / Think Progress:

DeMint To Trigger The Senate's Doomsday Device — Two weeks ago, the Progress Report warned of a nightmare scenario where a single senator decides to object to virtually every measure being considered by the Senate, a maneuver could effectively bring the entire body to a screeching halt.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Center for American Progress, Wonkette, Weasel Zippers and Blue Gal

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Democrats to stuff 20 bills into post-election lame-duck session — Democrats are considering cramming as many as 20 pieces of legislation into the lame-duck session they plan to hold after the Nov. 2 election. — The array of bills competing for floor time shows the sense …

Discussion: Doug Ross, The Sundries Shack, Right Wing News and Wake up America

Ezra Klein:
Did Jim DeMint just take control of the Senate?

Discussion: Weigel

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Another Christine O'Donnell embellishment: She misleadingly claims she studied at Oxford — In another move that will raise further questions about Christine O'Donnell's embellishment of her education record, she claims she studied at the University of Oxford — but a look at her actual record shows …

Discussion: Think Progress, Guardian, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Talking Points Memo, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, Daily Kos, New York Magazine and msnbc.com

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Dear White House: Here's how to handle the left's “whining” — I had planned to avoid the whole battle over Joe Biden's demand that the Democratic base “stop whining,” because it's impossible to wade into this topic without getting caught up in a food fight over whether Obama and Dems …

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Emptywheel, Eschaton, Pam's House Blend and The Agonist

Peter Daou:
How a handful of liberal bloggers are bringing down the Obama presidency

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Pajamas Media, Shakesville, MyDD, New York Times, New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh, Suburban Guerrilla, The Confluence, Indecision Forever, Althouse, No More Mister Nice Blog, Firedoglake and The Politico

Kendra Marr / The Politico:
President Obama: 'I'm a Christian by choice'

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and The Plum Line

ABCNEWS:
Rahm Emanuel Likely to Leave White House This Week

Discussion: George's Bottom Line, HillBuzz, Lynn Sweet, Indecision Forever, WLS-TV, Firedoglake, No More Mister Nice Blog, News Desk, The Note, Guardian, Scared Monkeys, The Politico, Israel Matzav, Political Punch, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC and FoxNews.com

Quinnipiac University:

Angry Voters Push McMahon Closer In Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Connecticut Poll Finds; But Most Voters Say Her Ads Are Annoying — Propelled by Connecticut likely voters who say they are “angry” with government, former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate …

FactCheck.org:

Rep. Grayson Lowers the Bar — The Florida Democrat manipulates video to make his opponent seem to urge wives to ‘submit’ to husbands. He didn't. — We thought Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida reached a low point when he falsely accused his opponent of being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War …

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Rep. Alan Grayson's ‘Taliban’ ad backfires

Discussion: Hullabaloo, TalkLeft and iOwnTheWorld.com

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Pelosi: ‘I fully expect to be speaker of the House five weeks from now’ — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she still expects to have her job in five weeks after voters head to the polls. — Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House, whose job as speaker makes her third in line to the presidency …

Discussion: The Politico and Weasel Zippers

Stuart Elliott / Media Decoder:
Pelosi to Zucker: Democrats Will Prevail

Discussion: CNN and The Atlantic Online

Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:

The Economic Outlook and Fiscal Policy Choices — I testified this morning to the Senate Budget Committee about the economic outlook and CBO's analysis of the potential impact on the economy of various fiscal policy options. You can read a summary of my testimony (the full version …

Discussion: National Review and Real Time Economics

Ezra Klein:
CBO: Extending the Bush tax cuts will hurt the economy, reduce incomes

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Allan Hall / Telegraph:

First World War officially ends — The First World War will officially end on Sunday, 92 years after the guns fell silent, when Germany pays off the last chunk of reparations imposed on it by the Allies. — The final payment of £59.5 million, writes off the crippling debt …

Discussion: newsfeed.time.com, Cato @ Liberty, Wonkette and Outside the Beltway

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

Rahm Emanuel kept out of Chicago home by tenant? — It's Chicago politics at its best. — Sneed hears an effort by Chicago mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel to move back into his North Side home next month was axed by the man who leased it. — • The kicker: Sneed also hears rumbles …

Discussion: Politics Daily, Michelle Malkin, Lynn Sweet, Mediaite and Gawker

The Politico:
Insider likely to replace Rahm Emanuel

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Times, Gawker, Wonkette, New York Magazine, Mock, Paper, Scissors and Washington Wire

Robert Weisman / Boston Globe:

Harvard Pilgrim cancels Medicare Advantage plan — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has notified customers that it will drop its Medicare Advantage health insurance program at the end of the year, forcing 22,000 senior citizens in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine to seek alternative supplemental coverage.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Questions and Observations, The Apothecary, AmSpecBlog and The Incidental Economist

TechCrunch:

Tim Armstrong: We Got TechCrunch! — I'm very pleased to announce that we have acquired TechCrunch. Details are in the press release below, and I'm sure founder Michael Arrington will have a few words to say as well. This is a great complement to our continued investment in world class content.

Discussion: Hillicon Valley, Runnin' Scared, Silicon Alley Insider and GigaOM, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Stirewalt / Fox News:

Fox News Polls: Democrats Face Tough Job Building Senate Firewall — When President Obama arrives in Wisconsin for a campus rally on Tuesday, he'll be visiting a state where his party and his policies are in big trouble with voters. — Democrats are hoping to build a firewall with cash infusions …

Discussion: FoxNews.com, TPMDC, The Spot and Taegan Goddard's …

Timothy Noah / Slate:

Why income distribution can't be crowd-sourced. — Earlier this month I published a 10-part Slate series (PDF; serial version; slide show) about the 30-year rise in income inequality that Princeton's Paul Krugman has dubbed “The Great Divergence.” In the first installment, I noted that in 1915 …

Discussion: National Review, Matthew Yglesias and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Annys Shin / Story Lab:

Charges dismissed against Md. man who taped traffic stop — A Harford County Circuit Court judge Monday dismissed wiretapping charges against Anthony Graber, a motorcyclist who was jailed briefly after he taped a Maryland state trooper who stopped him for speeding on I-95.

Discussion: Instapundit and The Agonist

WEWS-TV:

Pres. Carter to remain hospitalized — CLEVELAND - Former President Jimmy Carter will remain at MetroHealth Medical Center overnight, after experiencing an upset stomach during a flight to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Tuesday morning. — Cleveland Hopkins Airport officials told NewsChannel5 …