memeorandum: No holiday recess this week (Manu Raju/The Politico)

11:25 AM ET, June 29, 2011

Top Items:

14th Amendment: Democratic Senators See Debt Ceiling As Unconstitutional … WASHINGTON — Growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling, Democratic senators are revisiting a solution to the crisis that rests on a simple proposition: The debt ceiling itself is unconstitutional.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Capital Gains and Games blogs and AmSpecBlog

Manu Raju / The Politico:

No holiday recess this week — President Barack Obama won't be able to make any recess appointments next week because GOP maneuvering has blocked the Senate from adjourning over the Fourth of July break. — Under the Constitution, each house of Congress must approve of the other adjourning for more than three days at a time.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and A plain blog about politics

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Dems fault Obama for not using bully pulpit — Senate Democrats are accusing President Obama of failing to use his bully pulpit effectively in the debt-ceiling fight. — They say most people are confused about the issue and don't understand they'd face an economic catastrophe if the $14.3 trillion ceiling isn't raised by Aug. 2.

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Top Democrats reject new plan to cut Medicare spending

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Hill, AMERICAblog News and Wall Street Journal

Ben Geman / The Hill:
Feinstein: Senators close to ethanol deal

Discussion: msnbc.com

Elise Young / Bloomberg:

Christie Loses Support for Second Term as Residents Oppose Cuts — More than half of New Jersey residents say they wouldn't back Governor Chris Christie for a second term, disapproving of his choices on a range of policy and personal issues, from killing a commuter tunnel to using …

Discussion: GOP 12, The Politico, Capital Gains and Games blogs, The Mahablog and Eschaton

The Note:

Sarah Palin's Unlikely Supporter — ABC News' Sheila Marikar (@SheilaYM) reports from Pella, Iowa: — There's the stereotype of the Sarah Palin supporter, and then there's Sonnie Johnson. — The 30-year-old African-American mother and wife is featured in “The Undefeated” …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Taylor Marsh, Big Government, Conservatives4Palin, The Lonely Conservative, Victory Film Group, The Hill and CNN

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Palin Vows “110 Percent” Commitment to Iowa — If She Runs — PELLA, Iowa — Though she indicated that she is still not close to announcing her decision on whether to run for president, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Tuesday said that she would fully commit to the traditional process leading …

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, New York Times, CNN, Hot Air, The Hill, The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Reuters, GOP 12, The Note and Victory Film Group

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:
As film debuts in Iowa, Sarah Palin gives no hint of presidential plans

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Guardian and The Iowa Republican

Rob Shuter / PopEater:
Bristol Palin: Michele Bachmann ‘Dresses a Lot Like My Mom’

Discussion: GOP 12 and Mediaite

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Obama's Position on Gay Marriage Faces New Test — WASHINGTON — When President Obama's guests arrive at the White House on Wednesday for a Gay Pride reception — just days after New York became the largest state in the country to make same-sex marriage legal — they will no doubt be in a mood to celebrate.

Brian Brown / NOM Blog:
Reversing SSM in New York: The Campaign Begins

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Good As You, Pam's House Blend and An Enduring Vision

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
Obama Gay Marriage Stance a Nod to 2012 Battlegrounds

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
On same-sex marriage, Obama still has cold feet

Discussion: US Department of State, The Huffington Post and Towleroad News #gay

Associated Press:

Bank of America to pay $8.5 billion settlement over mortgages — NEW YORK — Bank of America and its Countrywide unit will pay $8.5 billion to settle claims that the lenders sold poor-quality mortgage-backed securities that went sour when the housing market collapsed.

Discussion: Angry Bear

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:
Bank of America Near $8.5 Billion Deal on Mortgage Securities

Discussion: TalkLeft and Calculated Risk

Dan Fitzpatrick / Wall Street Journal:
BofA Nears Huge Settlement

Discussion: FT Alphaville, Law Blog, naked capitalism and New York Magazine

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

Obama needs to create jobs, not fight for them — (Mark Wilson - Bloomberg) Ron Klain, former chief of staff to both Al Gore and Joe Biden, thinks President Obama needs to make more of a show of fighting for job-creating policies. “The greatest risk to the president will be if the American people believe …

Discussion: TPMDC, Washington Monthly, Eschaton and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ron Klain / Bloomberg:
About Ron Klain — Ron Klain is a senior executive …

Discussion: Jared Bernstein

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Jewish Dems losing faith in Obama — David Ainsman really began to get worried about President Barack Obama's standing with his fellow Jewish Democrats when a recent dinner with his wife and two other couples — all Obama voters in 2008 — nearly turned into a screaming match.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, The New Republic, Pajamas Media and National Review

David Seifman / New York Post:

Rudy breaks vows — The gay car dealer who opened his home to Rudy Giuliani in 2001 during his humiliating divorce battle says the former mayor offered to preside at his wedding if same-sex marriage were ever legalized — but is now ducking his calls to make good on the offer.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Runnin' Scared and Joe. My. God.

Pamela Constable / Washington Post:

Taliban hotel attack kills at least nine, rattles Afghan capital — KABUL — Kamel Khan, 32, a businessman, was chatting with two friends on the poolside terrace of the hilltop Intercontinental Hotel Tuesday night when he heard a burst of gunfire and looked up.

Discussion: Global Public Square and Simply Left BehindThe …

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Rep. Kucinich's Syria visit raises eyebrows — Rep. Dennis Kucinich showed up in Syria this week and held a press conference in which he appeared to praise embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - who is ruthlessly crushing opposition to his government - as “highly loved and appreciated by the Syrians.”

Discussion: New York Magazine, Runnin' Scared and FP Passport

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Kucinich has language problem in Syria

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and FrumForum

Marjorie Connelly / The Caucus:

Republican Voters Lack Enthusiasm for Presidential Contenders, Poll Shows — Republican voters are not satisfied with the candidates running for the Republican nomination and wish they had more choices, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. None of the candidates currently hoping …

Discussion: Ballot Box and FrumForum

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Romney Says U.S. Has Basis To Cut Off Open Trade With China (VIDEO)

Discussion: FrumForum and Swampland

BBC:

Greece passes key austerity vote — The BBC's Jon Sopel describes the battle between the police and rioters as one of “cat and mouse” — The Greek parliament has voted in favour of a drastic package of austerity measures intended to save the country from defaulting on its debts.

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Times, Guardian and New York Magazine

Jeff Shesol / New York Times:

Should Justices Keep Their Opinions to Themselves? — ARE there really only nine Supreme Court justices? — It seems that everywhere you look, you see one popping up: giving speeches, signing books, leading workshops, posing for pictures at charity functions.

Discussion: Washington Post and Prairie Weather

Live Action News & Opinion:

VIDEO: Do Women Need Planned Parenthood? — Medicaid Misinformation: Planned Parenthood Caught on Tape Lying About Indiana Healthcare — Live Action Launches “Standing with Indiana” Petition — June 29, 2011 - Undercover phone calls released today show Planned Parenthood …

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Hot Air and Big Government

Jack Doyle / Daily Mail:

The joke of ‘secure Britain’: Vile banned militant extremist strolls through Heathrow immigration as 200 Somalian criminals are allowed to stay due to human rights — European Court ruling stems from appeals by two asylum seekers convicted of offences including burglary, making threats to kill and drug dealing

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, Harry's Place and Jihad Watch

Richard Wolf / USA Today:

Debt-limit delay would jeopardize Social Security payments — WASHINGTON — Social Security payments to millions of retirees and people with disabilities could be threatened if President Obama and Congress can't agree to increase the government's debt limit by Aug. 2, a new analysis shows.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Michael Scherer / Swampland:

Obama Won't Declare ‘Mission Accomplished’ on the Recovery. Should He Defend It at All? — Stanley Greenberg, the Democratic pollster who helped elect President Bill Clinton, South Africa's Nelson Mandela and Israel's Ehud Barak, says all of his clients have had the same, sometimes terrible …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Clinton: Stimulus wasn't big enough — Former President Bill Clinton said he likes the economic stimulus - it just wan't big enough. — “I think the stimulus did as well as it could have done — there just wasn't enough of it,” Clinton told reporters on Tuesday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Biz Stone:

It's So Obvious — Believe it or not, Jason is the smartest of the trio. — My career in developing large scale systems that allow people to express themselves and communicate started in 1999 with Xanga. I left after a couple years and got more academic about the democratization of information on the web.

Discussion: Guardian, L.A. Times Tech Blog, The Atlantic Online, Fortune, AllThingsD, GigaOM and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Daniel Beekman / NY Daily News:

500-lb public piano stolen from Norwood Park in the Bronx — Bronx music lovers are singing the blues after a brightly-painted, 500-pound piano - one of 88 installed in parks around the city - was apparently stolen from a Norwood park. — Local ivory-ticklers and the group that put …

Discussion: Gothamist

Shira Schoenberg / Boston Globe:

In N.H. visit, Bachmann praises moratorium on US income tax — GOP hopeful says 1-year halt would boost economy — Michele Bachmann, greeting supporters in Raymond, N.H., yesterday, cited the tax moratorium in reply to a question. (Jim Cole/Associated Press)

Discussion: msnbc.com

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Price of U.S. wars: $4.4 trillion? — The final bill for U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan could be as high as $4.4 trillion, according to a comprehensive new report Tuesday. — In the 10 years since American troops were sent into Afghanistan …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:

Adm. McRaven: Obama administration has no plan for captured terrorists — The top military official involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden said Tuesday that the Obama administration has no clear plan for handling terrorist leaders if they are caught alive outside a war zone.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Lawfare, Fox News and Washington Wire