memeorandum: The Union Threat to the Democrats' Future (Douglas E. Schoen/Wall Street Journal)

1:50 AM ET, January 21, 2011

Top Items:

David Weigel / Slate:

House Conservatives Introduce Spending Cuts: $2.5 Trillion Over Ten Years — You can stop needling Republicans about what programs they want to cut now. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)'s Republican Study Committee is introducing the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, to cut back …

Discussion: RSC, Grist, Firedoglake, AmSpecBlog and FrumForum

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE LAYS DOWN A RADICAL ‘MARKER’ ON SPENDING.... The new House GOP majority suffered some embarrassment a couple of weeks ago when party leaders backed off a promise to cut $100 billion from the budget in their first year. — This week, a leading right-wing contingent within …

Discussion: TPMDC, ThinkProgress, The Hill, Wonk Room and Democrats.senate.gov

Brian Beutler / TPMDC: Conservative Republican Study Committee Outlines $2.5 Trillion In Spending Cuts

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
G.O.P. Bloc Presses Leaders to Slash Even More

Discussion: New York Magazine

Washington Examiner:
Can't reduce federal spending? Here's a plan to cut $2.5 trillion by 2021

Discussion: Cubachi, Whiskey Fire, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Foundry and Big Government

Paul Bedard / US News:
House GOP Lists $2.5 Trillion in Spending Cuts

Discussion: Hit & Run, Don Surber, Flopping Aces and Pajamas Media

The Politico:
Conservatives lay out $2.5 trillion in cuts

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Greg Mankiw / Greg Mankiw's Blog:

Give me $1 billion to cut the budget deficit — I have a plan to reduce the budget deficit. The essence of the plan is the federal government writing me a check for $1 billion. The plan will be financed by $3 billion of tax increases. According to my back-of-the envelope calculations …

Discussion: The Incidental Economist, Modeled Behavior, The New Republic and Ezra Klein

Ezra Klein:

Greg Mankiw's thinking cap — There's an interesting mixture of callousness and accidental truth lurking within Greg Mankiw's satirical proposal to reduce the budget deficit: … Like health-care reform, Greg Mankiw's plan really would reduce the budget deficit. That's been contested, so I'm glad to see Mankiw admit it.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Economist's View

Amanda Carey / The Daily Caller:

First Lady's anti-obesity campaign could be causing more pedestrian deaths — Pedestrian deaths increased sharply during the first half of 2010, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). The reason may be First Lady Michelle Obama and her “Let's Move” campaign.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Guardian, Wonkette and FrumForum

Mark Weaver / 630 WMAL:
Michelle Obama's ‘Get Moving’ Program Linked to Pedestrian Deaths

Scott McCabe / Washington Examiner:
Exercise, iPods could be causing pedestrian deaths

Discussion: TBD All News, Grist, The Incidental Economist, Gawker, The Atlantic Online and Washington Monthly

Kate Sheppard / Mother Jones: Michelle Obama Doesn't Kill People. Cars Kill People.

Rachel Slajda / TPMMuckraker:
Safety Group Accidentally Touches Off Accusations That Michelle Obama …

Discussion: GHSA, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Joe Coscarelli / Runnin' Scared:

The 20 Best Nicknames in the Big Mafia Bust — News came down this morning about the FBI's largest organized crime bust in New York history, in which raids resulted in the arrest of over 100 alleged mobsters from all five crime families including the Gambinos, Genoveses, Luccheses, Bonannos and Colombos.

Discussion: AOL News, Mediaite and Harry's Place

William K. Rashbaum / New York Times:
Nearly 125 Arrested in Sweeping Mob Roundup

Discussion: Gothamist, Law Blog, FrumForum, AOL News, New York Magazine, NBC New York, Prairie Weather, Left Coast Rebel, TPMMuckraker and Eschaton

Jason Brudereck / Reading Eagle:

Woman who fell into fountain faces theft charges, has criminal record — The Reading woman who became an Internet sensation by falling into a fountain while sending a text on her cell phone was in Berks County Court on Thursday for a status hearing on theft-by-deception and related charges.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Pajamas Media, JammieWearingFool and Moonbattery

David Parker / The Awl:

The Most Emailed ‘New York Times’ Article Ever — It's a week before the biggest day of her life, and Anna Williams is multitasking. While waiting to hear back from the Ivy League colleges she's hoping to attend, the seventeen-year-old senior at one of Manhattan's most exclusive private schools …

Patterico's Pontifications:

No, Charles Johnson, Glenn Beck Did Not Tell His Viewers to Shoot Anyone in the Head — On Twitter, Charles Johnson excitedly says: — He links to a post, evidently written by an LGF user, which provides no context for the clip, but simply embeds it. Here is a screenshot of the entire post:

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, Raw Story, Informed Comment, No More Mister Nice Blog and RedState

Dave Wedge / Boston Herald:

Ted K's son may be eyeing Lieberman's seat in Conn. — The late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's son, Ted Jr., is among the names being floated as potential candidates for Connecticut U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's seat in 2012. — Kennedy, the middle child of the late senator and his former wife …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Weigel, New York Magazine and Hot Air

David Brody / The Brody File:

Rick Santorum Responds to Brody File on Comment About President Obama's Race and Abortion — EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: RICK SANTORUM HAS JUST SENT THE BRODY FILE A STATEMENT ON THE STORY BELOW: … Abortion is a toxic subject. Race is a toxic subject. And soon to be GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum …

Discussion: Salon, The Atlantic Online, LifeNews.com, NewsBusters.org, AmSpecBlog, CNN, TPMDC, GOP 12, Daily Kos and Right Wing Watch

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Rick Santorum plays race card on President Obama

Discussion: Weigel, Hotline On Call, NewsBusters.org blogs, New York Magazine, The Note, Little Green Footballs, The Daily Caller, NJDC Blog, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and FrumForum

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

A Racy Show With Teenagers Steps Back From a Boundary — MTV executives have a new hit drama on their hands, featuring the sexual and drug-fueled exploits of misfit teenagers. They also have something else — a fear that coming episodes of the show may break the law.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, TMZ.com, Law Blog, Hit & Run, From Inside the Box, Feministing, The Wire, Hot Air, The Blast, Runnin' Scared, PopEater, Gawker, The Other McCain, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org and Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

How Should Dems Manage the Healthcare Repeal Circus? — It's a slow day, so let's do some political strategizing. Here's what the LA Times has to say about yesterday's vote in the House to repeal healthcare reform: … Here's my take: Democrats are nuts to take this attitude.

Discussion: Yglesias, A plain blog about politics, Ezra Klein and Prairie Weather

Dan Friedman / The Atlantic Online:
GOP Can Force a Senate Vote on Repeal

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Pajamas Media, Salon and AmSpecBlog

Eric Schmidt / The Official Google Blog:

An update from the Chairman — When I joined Google in 2001 I never imagined—even in my wildest dreams—that we would get as far, as fast as we have today. Search has quite literally changed people's lives—increasing the collective sum of the world's knowledge and revolutionizing advertising in the process.

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Police Seize ‘Large Amount’ Of Weapons From Blogger Who Praised Gifffords Shooting: ‘1 Down And 534 To Go’ — Police in Arlington, MA this week seized a “large amount” of weapons and ammunition from local businessman Travis Corcoran after he wrote a blog post threatening U.S. lawmakers …

Discussion: YourArlington.com, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Raw Story

Ed Stoddard / Reuters:

Exclusive: Over a million immigrants land U.S. jobs in 2008-10 — (Reuters) - Over the past two years, as U.S. unemployment remained near double-digit levels and the economy shed jobs in the wake of the financial crisis, over a million foreign-born arrivals to America found work, many illegally.

Discussion: 24Ahead, Economist's View, The Gateway Pundit, Fausta's Blog and HotAirPundit

The Huffington Post:

Dems Growing Convinced That GOP Will Try To Force Shutdown Over Health Care Funds … WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats expressed a rare touch of nonchalance Wednesday as House Republicans voted to repeal last year's health care overhaul, since the repeal has little chance of passing the Senate.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News and FrumForum

George Zornick / ThinkProgress:

Christie Attacked By Right-Wing Bloggers For Appointing Muslim Judge: 'He's In Bed With The Enemy' — Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) announced seven judgeship appointments to the New Jersey Superior Court, including the appointment of Sohail Mohammed to serve on the court in Passaic County.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Investigative Project …

Louise Story / New York Times:

Banks Want Pieces of Fannie-Freddie Pie — As the Obama administration prepares a report on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, some of the nation's largest banks are offering a few suggestions. — Wells Fargo and some other large banks would like private companies, perhaps even themselves …

Discussion: FrumForum

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Most Say Prayer Helped Save Congresswoman Giffords — Nearly 8 in 10 American voters say they believe prayers helped Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords survive the Tucson shooting, according to a Fox News poll (Reuters). — Nearly 8 in 10 American voters say they believe prayers helped Arizona …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Runnin' Scared

The Note:

SPOTTED: Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan Waiting for Jury Duty — ABC News' Devin Dwyer reports: If you thought Supreme Court justices are exempt from jury duty in their local courts, think again. — Justice Elena Kagan was spotted among a crowd of prospective jurors huddled in a waiting lounge this morning at D.C. Superior Court.

Discussion: Commentary, Law Blog, National Review, Patterico's Pontifications, Gawker, Ben Smith's Blog, Prairie Weather and FrumForum

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

LIEBERMAN GETS FOREIGN POLICY AND FEMINISM WRONG AT THE SAME TIME.... Gail Collins noted this morning the Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has “reached a point in his public career when every single thing he does, including talking about his grandparents, is irritating.”

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The New Republic, Opinion L.A., The Atlantic Online and Hullabaloo

New York Times:

Blackwater Founder Said to Back Mercenaries — WASHINGTON — Erik Prince, the founder of the international security giant Blackwater Worldwide, is backing an effort by a controversial South African mercenary firm to insert itself into Somalia's bloody civil war by protecting government leaders …

Discussion: Danger Room, Raw Story and FrumForum

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Social conservatives launch Iowa series, without Romney for now [UPDATED] — The Family Leader, Bob Vander Plaats' Iowa conservative group, announces a speaking series: — The series line-up begins with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on Monday, February 7.

Discussion: The Note, TPMDC, GOP 12 and Right Wing Watch

Judy Lin / Associated Press:

Calif governor decries polarized political attacks — Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday decried a political tone in the state Capitol and across the nation that he says is more hostile than when he was California governor from 1975 to 1983. — “What is the vision today?

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Hill

Spencer Ackerman / Danger Room:

Petraeus Team: Taliban Made Us Wipe Village Out — Expect more Afghan villages to be destroyed by American rockets and bombs — if, that is, the Taliban “saturate” them with homemade explosives and kick out the villagers. But the U.S.-led coalition isn't going to destroy populated areas …

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Salon, The Daily Dish, Swampland, Registan.net and Gawker