memeorandum: Weiner spokesman: 'We've retained counsel to explore' possible ‘civil or criminal actions’ (Matthew Boyle/The Daily Caller)

8:25 PM ET, May 30, 2011

Top Items:

Anthony Weiner hires attorney in Twitter incident — 'This was a prank, and a silly one. I'm focused on my work,' said Weiner of the Twitter mishap. AP Photo — New York Rep. Anthony Weiner has retained an attorney to advise him “what civil or criminal actions should be taken” …

Discussion: The Other McCain, JustOneMinute, The Last Tradition, Balloon Juice and The Mahablog

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Gennette Was Not Alone... Weiner's Twitter Friends Include Pages of Young Luscious Fans — Gennette Nicole was not alone. — On Friday far left Rep. Anthony Weiner said his twitter and Facebook accounts were hacked. He said this after a picture of his penis was reportedly sent out to a young woman in Seattle.

Discussion: Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, The Other McCain, The Last Tradition, UNCOVERAGE.net, The Lonely Conservative, alicublog, Ace of Spades HQ, NY Daily News and Doug Ross

NY Daily News:

Rep. Anthony Weiner hires attorney to explore civil, criminal charges in lewd Twitter photo ‘prank’ — Rep. Anthony Weiner isn't laughing at what he's calling an Internet “prank” - and he's hired an attorney to explore civil or criminal charges. — Weiner's office is playing off …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, JammieWearingFool and The Last Tradition

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Weiner spokesman: 'We've retained counsel to explore' possible ‘civil or criminal actions’ — A spokesman for Rep. Anthony Weiner, New York Democrat, told The Daily Caller the Congressman's team has “retained counsel” and is exploring the “proper next steps” after his official Twitter account posted …

Discussion: minx.cc, Datechguy's Blog, Verum Serum, The Raw Story, The Other McCain and Proof Positive

Maria Newman / New York Times:
Congressman Says Hacker Sent Lewd Photo Using His Name

Discussion: Power Line, Pajamas Media, Daily Kos, Wonkette, Mediaite, The Other McCain, Liberal Values, Althouse, Little Green Footballs, Booman Tribune, Gothamist, Datechguy's Blog and The Moderate Voice

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Confusion on Day 2 of Palin bus tour — Day 2 of Sarah Palin's bus tour, and the former vice presidential nominee has prompted little more than confusion over exactly what she is up to. — Palin started Memorial Day at the National Archives in Washington, but the only reporters …

Discussion: Wake up America, The Last Refuge, The Daily Beast, SarahPAC, The Caucus, Gawker and Pirate's Cove

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:
Palin to Visit Iowa as Bus Tour Kicks Into Gear

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway, Conservatives4Palin and National Review

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Palin Family Tours Washington ‘Incognito’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TVNewser, Guardian, Hot Air, Daily Kos and Althouse

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Sarah Palin swarmed at first bus tour stop

Discussion: CNN, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Pulp, Conservatives4Palin, Swampland, Washington Post, SarahPAC and The Raw Story

Gschwarzcnn / CNN: Palin mum on run in latest stop

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Palin's Path May Be Unclear, but Her Ride Is Revved Up

Discussion: NY Daily News, Don Surber, The Caucus, neo-neocon and FrumForum

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Bernstein: Obama Economic Team Had “No Appetite” for Direct, Public Job Creation — Paul Krugman had a good column today on how America needed to end its “learned helplessness” on the jobs crisis. He cited multiple options of things the government could do right now to create jobs …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Grasping Reality …, Eschaton and The Hill

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Against Learned Helplessness — Unemployment is a terrible scourge across much of the Western world. Almost 14 million Americans are jobless, and millions more are stuck with part-time work or jobs that fail to use their skills. Some European countries have it even worse: 21 percent of Spanish workers are unemployed.

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Jared Bernstein, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, NewsBusters.org, Economist's View, Prairie Weather, Clusterstock and Corrente

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

What the media establishment refuses to understand — It was quite a roundtable on “Meet the Press” yesterday. Viewers got to see a Republican strategist, a conservative pundit, a conservative Democrat, and an ostensibly center-left columnist who thinks that Democrats are big meanies when it comes to Medicare.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Last Tradition and Paul Krugman

Gardiner Harris / New York Times:

As Physicians' Jobs Change, So Do Their Politics — AUGUSTA, Me. — With Republicans in complete control of Maine's state government for the first time since 1962, State Senator Lois A. Snowe-Mello offered a bill in February to limit doctors' liability that she was sure the powerful doctors' lobby would cheer.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Well and Truthdig

Will Stewart / Daily Mail:

Muslim girl, 19, ‘stoned to death after taking part in beauty contest’ — A teenage Muslim girl was stoned to death under ‘Sharia law’ after taking part in a beauty contest in Ukraine. — Katya Koren, 19, was found dead in a village in the Crimea region near her home.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

Frank Newport / Gallup:

U.S. Military Personnel, Veterans Give Obama Lower Marks — Younger, active-duty military less likely to have an opinion on Obama either way — PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. military veterans and those currently on active military duty are less likely to approve of President Obama's job performance …

Discussion: BLACKFIVE, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, Don Surber, The Daily Caller, NewsBusters.org, The Lonely Conservative, Wake up America and The Last Tradition

David W. Blight / New York Times:

Forgetting Why We Remember — MOST Americans know that Memorial Day is about honoring the nation's war dead. It is also a holiday devoted to department store sales, half-marathons, picnics, baseball and auto racing. But where did it begin, who created it, and why?

Discussion: Power Line, Opinionator, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and Connecting.the.Dots

Stephen Evans / BBC:

Germany: Nuclear power plants to close by 2022 — Germany saw mass anti-nuclear protests in the wake of the Fukushima disaster — Germany's coalition government has announced a reversal of policy that will see all the country's nuclear power plants phased out by 2022.

Discussion: Truthdig