memeorandum: Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan To Offer Much Lower Premiums (Arthur Delaney/The Huffington Post)

10:10 PM ET, May 31, 2011

Top Items:

Anthony Weiner Is Not Doing Himself Any Favors — We won't pretend to know the truth behind Weinergate — whether Weiner was the victim of a hacker or prankster or conservative conspiracy, or whether he was personally responsible for sending a college girl a photo of a man's bulge over Twitter.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Ironic Surrealism

Peter Ingemi / New York Post:

Too many coincidences in Weiner's tale — In the New York of the late 1800s, Boss Tweed famously complained about Thomas Nast cartoons: Though many immigrants in the city couldn't read, even the illiterate could understand “those damn pictures.” Rep. Anthony Weiner and his staff now face a similar problem.

The Note:

Woman Targeted in Tweet from Rep. Anthony Weiner Account “Tweets Out” — ABC News' Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) reports: The Washington State college student who was the target of a lewd photo posted to Rep. Antony Weiner's Twitter account Friday appears to be defending her electronic ties to the congressman.

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, Opinion L.A. and National Review

Michelle Malkin:

Weighing in on Weiner — I know many of you have been following every twist, turn, and awful pun related to Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter-gate fiasco. I'm still catching up after being offline with family over the holiday weekend, but I do know this:

Discussion: The Note, Hot Air, American Power, Patterico's Pontifications and Datechguy's Blog

Dan Riehl / Big Government:

Weiner's Actual Tweet Stream Disputes His Version, Raises Valid Questions — The second image below is an exact duplication, in top-to-bottom chronological order of Rep. Anthony Weiner's actual Twitter timeline on the night of what's now being called Weinergate.

Discussion: Associated Press

Aharding / CNN:
Liberal congressman plays down Twitter controversy over lewd photo

Discussion: Washington Post

The Daily Caller:
Rep. Anthony Weiner refused to answer questions outside …

Discussion: TPMDC, Hot Air, Fox Nation, New York Post, The Other McCain, Pajamas Media, iOwnTheWorld.com, Big Government and Instapundit

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
Seriously? A Canadian Politician Is In Trouble For Tweeting A Picture Of His Penis This Weekend Too!

Discussion: Fort Erie Times, FishbowlDC, Sky Dancing and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Weiner: Let's move on, shall we?

Discussion: The Other McCain, National Review, American Glob, Pajamas Media, The Camp Of The Saints, Patterico's Pontifications, American Spectator and Power Line

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Congressman says #Weinergate cybersecurity investigation vital in order to ‘ensure our national security’

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Washington Examiner, Patterico's Pontifications, Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Mark Joyella / Mediaite:
Rep. Weiner Has Angry Exchange With Capitol Hill Reporters Over Twitter Scandal

Discussion: Verum Serum

The Daily Caller:
Weinergate Poll: Does photo show Congressman Weiner?

Discussion: Mediaite, Runnin' Scared and FishbowlDC

The Note:

Sarah Palin, Donald Trump Meet In New York City Tuesday Night, Eat Pizza — ABC News' Michael Falcone (@michaelpfalcone) reports: — UPDATED Sarah Palin sat down with Donald Trump in New York City on Tuesday night for just over a half hour at the former Alaska governor continued her roadtrip up the Eastern seaboard.

Discussion: GOP 12, Swampland, Washington Wire, The Gateway Pundit, The Politico, Mediaite, Gothamist, Politics, The Page, Runnin' Scared, Daily Kos, TPMDC and Gawker

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Sarah Palin's bus tour treats reporters like paparazzi — Sarah Palin and her advisers are refusing to tell members of the media where she is going on her current bus tour - and the former Alaska governor seems to be enjoying the cat and mouse game that's resulted.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, NewsBusters.org, The Anchoress, The Atlantic Online, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, 2.0: The Blogmocracy, Adrienne's Corner, GayPatriot, Don Surber, The Lonely Conservative, Mediaite, National Review, Verum Serum, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Balloon Juice and pandagon.net

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:
Palin: Eliminate All Energy Subsidies

Discussion: Hot Air, RedState, Conservatives4Palin, Top of the Ticket, The Daily Caller and GOP 12

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Palin fakes out reporters at Gettysburg hotel

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Politico, The Daily Beast, msnbc.com, The Caucus, Ben Smith's Blog, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Note, And So it Goes in Shreveport, George's Bottom Line, Pirate's Cove, Gawker, The Moderate Voice, Fox Nation, ThinkProgress, Cold Fury and Adrienne's Corner

Chris Good / The Atlantic Online:
What Palin and Trump Might Say to Each Other

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and The Daily Dish

Aharding / CNN:
Todd Palin on possible 2012 campaign: ‘This family has been tested’

Discussion: The Politico, Conservatives4Palin, The Hill, National Review and The Note

Christian Heinze / The Hill:
Palin: I don't owe the media

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Washington Post

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Media complains that Palin caravan puts reporters at risk

Discussion: CBS News, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Hoyer urges House Dems to vote no on clean debt-ceiling hike — The House Democrats' top vote-counter is advising rank-and-file members to vote against an unconditional increase in the federal debt limit to avoid political attacks from Republicans. — Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.) …

Discussion: Opinion L.A., National Review, The Lonely Conservative, The Politico, Swampland and New York Magazine

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Fail: House defeats Obama request to raise the debt ceiling, 318-97 — Why would the GOP bring it to the floor knowing that they had more than enough votes to kill it? Simple: To make the Democrats choke on it, of course. The public is on the GOP's side of this issue, unambiguously …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review, Weasel Zippers, Don Surber and WyBlog

Erik Wasson / The Hill: THE HILL POLL: Voters oppose raising the $14.3T debt ceiling

Alan Silverleib / CNN:
House rejects debt ceiling increase, 318-97

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Stan Collender / Capital Gains and Games blogs:
The Dirty Secret About Today's “Clean” Debt Ceiling Vote

Discussion: Roll Call, Washington Post and A plain blog about politics

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Wisconsin Dems 6. Wisconsin Republicans 0. — Conservatives and some political observers are making a big deal out of the fact that the Dem candidate in the closely watched state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin finally conceded defeat today, as had long been expected.

Discussion: host.madison.com and Crooks and Liars

JSOnline:
Panel OKs recall elections against 3 more Republicans

Discussion: Daily Kos, WisPolitics Election Blog, TPMDC, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Firedoglake and Hullabaloo

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

Issa blasts Commerce nominee as ‘green evangelist’ — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) blasted President Obama Tuesday for nominating John Bryson to be the next Commerce secretary, calling the decision “deeply out-of-touch with our current energy challenge.”

Discussion: The Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters and The Lonely Conservative

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
44 GOP Senators Already Have Pledged To Filibuster John Bryson's Commerce Department Nomination

Discussion: Department of Commerce, NationalJournal.com and Outside the Beltway

United States Department of Health and Human Services:

HHS to Reduce Premiums, Make it Easier for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions to Get Health Insurance — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced new steps to reduce premiums and make it easier for Americans to enroll in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Consumer Reports News and ThinkProgress

Arthur Delaney / The Huffington Post:
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan To Offer Much Lower Premiums

Discussion: USA Today and Daily Kos

Bruce Bartlett / Economix:

Are Taxes in the U.S. High or Low? — Bruce Bartlett has served as an economic adviser in the White House, the Treasury Department and Congress. — Historically, the term “tax rate” has meant the average or effective tax rate — that is, taxes as a share of income.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Policy Page, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Outside the Beltway, Open Congress, Firedoglake, Economist's View and Gawker

JSOnline:

Kloppenburg concedes election to Prosser — Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg said Tuesday that she was conceding the Supreme Court race to Justice David Prosser, ending what had been a contentious campaign that culminated in a rare statewide recount.

Discussion: WISC-TV, Hot Air, Pundit Press, The Gateway Pundit, The BRAD BLOG, The Hill, The Raw Story, iOwnTheWorld.com and Michelle Malkin

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Newt Gingrich's Image Slides Among Republicans — Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann continue to lead in positive intensity — PRINCETON, NJ — Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's Positive Intensity Score dropped to 6 in the two weeks spanning May 16-29, down from 11 for May 9-22.

Discussion: The Blaze, The Hill, Hotline On Call and The Note

CNBC:

‘Double-Dip’ in Housing Prices Even Worse Than Expected — U.S. single-family home prices dropped in March, dipping below their 2009 low, as the housing market remained bogged down by inventory and weak demand, a closely watched survey said Tuesday. — The S&P/Case Shiller composite index …

Discussion: Wizbang, 2.0: The Blogmocracy, Outside the Beltway, Proof Positive and Eschaton

New York Times:

Book by Mayor's Daughter Is Fiction, With Tell-All References — Those who inhabit the rarefied world of Michael R. Bloomberg, with all its perks and payouts, have long adhered to a strict code of silence about his personal life: jaunts to Bermuda are cloaked in secrecy …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, PolitickerNY, Capital Tonight and Gawker

The Conference Board:

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Declines — The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had improved in April, decreased in May. The Index now stands at 60.8 (1985=100), down from 66.0 in April. The Present Situation Index decreased to 39.3 from 40.2.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Atlantic Online and New York Times

CNN:

Egyptian general admits ‘virginity checks’ conducted on protesters — Cairo (CNN) — A senior Egyptian general admits that “virginity checks” were performed on women arrested at a demonstration this spring, the first such admission after previous denials by military authorities.