memeorandum: Cantor to Democrats: See, cutting spending's not that hard (Bernie Becker/The Hill)

11:10 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: Mediaite, The Other McCain, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Doug Ross, JustOneMinute, The Last Tradition, The Mahablog and Balloon Juice

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: UNCOVERAGE.net, NewsBusters.org, Liberal Values, Little Green Footballs and JammieWearingFool

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, American Power, Little Green Footballs, The Last Tradition, The Other McCain, UNCOVERAGE.net, alicublog, The Lonely Conservative, Datechguy's Blog and Ace of Spades HQ

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, Pajamas Media, Mediaite, Power Line, The Other McCain, Datechguy's Blog, Verum Serum, The Raw Story and Big Government

New York Post:
Weiner goes to great lengths

Discussion: Joe Report, Associated Press, The Last Tradition, Verum Serum 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 and Eschaton

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: AMERICAblog News, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Economist's View, NewsBusters.org, Grasping Reality …, Washington Monthly, Clusterstock, Corrente and Prairie Weather

Jared Bernstein / On the Economy:
Shoulds Versus Coulds

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Paul Krugman and Grasping Reality …

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

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

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

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

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

Gschwarzcnn / CNN: Palin mum on run in latest stop

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

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

Mark Judge / The Daily Caller:

Rolling Stone slimes Fox — I know this is like noting that the pope was seen praying, but Rolling Stone magazine just trashed Fox News and its chairman, Roger Ailes. Still, the piece, “The Fox News fear factory,” which was written by Tom Dickinson, is worth examining, if only for what it reveals about its author.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Liberal Values and Wizbang

Guardian:

Al-Jazeera footage captures ‘western troops on the ground’ in Libya — Five of Gaddafi's generals are among latest defectors to rebels as South African president seeks to broker ceasefire — Armed westerners have been filmed on the front line with rebels near Misrata in the first apparent confirmation …

Discussion: Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and Gawker

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: Liberal Values, Well, No More Mister Nice Blog 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

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

David Rogers / Reuters:

House Democrats unite on Afghanistan exit — It's more angst than outright anger, but House Democrats are showing real unity for the first time in pressuring President Barack Obama on Afghanistan — with influential moderates now expressing their impatience alongside the anti-war left that drove the early Iraq war debate.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Andrew Stiles / National Review:

No, Seriously, What's the Democratic Plan? — Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D., Fla.) “explains” the Democratic “plan” to save Medicare from impending bankruptcy: Step 1) Demagogue the Ryan plan (it “throws seniors to the wolves,” etc.), Step 2) ...

Discussion: Hot Air and The Sundries Shack

Bernie Becker / The Hill:
Cantor to Democrats: See, cutting spending's not that hard

Discussion: Moe_Lane's blog

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

The Fix: Republican presidential contenders' first real test begins on Memorial Day — The next 98 days will be a time of testing for the men and women running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. — With the field largely settled, the three months between Memorial Day and Labor …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Ben Smith's Blog

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Iowa Republicans worry about their relevance in the 2012 presidential election

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Washington Monthly

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