memeorandum: Ron Paul's Strange Freedom (Matthew Yglesias/ThinkProgress)

1:50 PM ET, August 24, 2011

Top Items:

Paul Krugman / Google+:

People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Campaign 2012, Outside the Beltway, National Review, William K. Wolfrum Chronicles and Ricochet Conversation Feed

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Krugman(?): If only the earthquake had done more damage, the economy would have gotten a boost; Update: Not Krugman — Via Timothy Carney, this appears to be real. — Is it real or just a goof? Kevin Williamson isn't sure and neither am I, but given that this is the same guy …

Discussion: rubber hose, Pajamas Media, Man Are We Screwed and Weasel Zippers

Campaign Fix:

Paul Krugman's Google+ Account is Fake, I Know because I Created It — Approximately a month ago, having been laid off and having too much time on my hands, I finally decided to create my own personal account on Google+. I found it to be extremely boring, mostly because no one I knew …

Discussion: IMAO, Campaign 2012, New York Magazine, FrumForum, Outside the Beltway and National Review

Paul Krugman:

Identity Theft — Well, this is interesting. I hear that the not-so-good people at National Review are attacking me over something I said on my Google+ page. Except, I don't have a Google+ page. — This is the third incident I'm aware of — there may well be more — in which people are claiming to be me.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Big Government

David Weigel / Slate:
The Krugman Google+ Saga: Or, Why Fact-Checking is Important

Discussion: Mediaite, Campaign 2012, Paul Krugman and Hit & Run

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Why Another Democrat Wouldn't Do Better Than Obama in 2012 — You know that a president is having a rough time when you start to see speculation that his party would be better off if it replaced him on the ticket. — There has been more of this recently: the political scientist Matthew Dickinson argued …

Discussion: Man Are We Screwed, Prairie Weather, The New Republic and americanthinker.com

Des Moines Register:

Steffen Schmidt: Some Dems think the unthinkable: Not Obama — I recently had drinks with respected senior Democrats in New Hampshire. They were Barack Obama supporters in 2008 and now have serious buyer's remorse. — They were alarmed at the lack of leadership, which they feel Obama showed …

Discussion: Don Surber, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line and National Review

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama at 37% approval, re-elect in Florida

Discussion: Pajamas Media

Walter Shapiro / The New Republic:

Rick Perry: The God-Fearing, Know-Nothing, Pistol-Packing Embodiment of Liberals' Worst Nightmares — What Rick Perry has achieved in his inaugural strut on the political stage is unprecedented in the annals of modern conservative history from Barry Goldwater to Sarah Palin.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Erick's blog and Betsy's Page

CBO's Latest 10 Documents:

BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: AN UPDATE — Text-only. — The United States is facing profound budgetary and economic challenges. At 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the $1.3 trillion budget deficit that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects for 2011 …

Discussion: Real Time Economics, SFGate, AmSpecBlog, Campaign 2012, The Heritage Foundation, Hot Air and Politics

Brian Beutler / TPMDC: Worse Than It Looks: CBO Says Economic Outlook More Dire Than Reported

Damien Gayle / Daily Mail:

Fears for Nancy Reagan, 90, as she slips and falls on way in to watch speech by Tea Party favourite Marco Rubio — Nancy Reagan last night lost her balance and fell as she arrived to watch a speech by Republican freshman senator and Tea Party darling Marco Rubio

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

Scott Wong / Reuters:
Marco Rubio courts establishment Republicans

Discussion: CNN and The Note

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Is Marco Rubio the Future of the Republican Party?

Discussion: The Hill and The New Republic

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Perino: Bushes want Jeb to run someday — Dana Perino, the former White House Press Secretary to George W. Bush, tells Fox News today that the Bush family hopes Jeb Bush runs for president one day, and that she thinks he will. … Jeb has repeatedly denied (most recently, yesterday) …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and TheBlaze.com

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Jeb Bush, still not running, denies any family split with surging Rick Perry

Discussion: msnbc.com and Washington Post

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Publisher's ‘social’ ties pushed RedState toward Allen — A leading conservative blogger and commentator, Erick Erickson, said he shifted his stance in a key Senate race because the company that publishes his RedState.com is “socially connected” to former Virginia Senator George Allen.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Erick's blog and AmSpecBlog

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
Regarding Jamie Radtke

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

If you're a famous guy with a head full of deep thoughts and nobody to tell you when it might be in your own best interest not to express them, Twitter is the best thing ever. As long as you've got your iPhone in hand, you can give the whole world instant, unfiltered access to your keenest insights …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, nation.foxnews.com and New York Magazine

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Washington Monument cracked in quake — The earthquake didn't cause widespread damages or injuries, but it did put a crack in the Washington Monument. — After unconfirmed reports suggested the monument was tilting, park officials said Tuesday night that the 550-foot obelisk suffered …

Discussion: CNN, Above the Law and Fox News Insider

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Ron Paul's Strange Freedom — For the past couple of weeks I've seen some complaints from liberty-minded friends and acquaintances that Ron Paul isn't getting the level of media attention he deserves. My view is that the media is probably ignoring him because he's a crank who obviously won't be the GOP nominee.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Althouse

Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:

The GOP will raise taxes — on the middle class and working poor — America's presumably anti-tax party wants to raise your taxes. Come January, the Republicans plan to raise the taxes of anyone who earns $50,000 a year by $1,000, and anyone who makes $100,000 by $2,000.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Obama, Tiger, Golf and Politics — Despite the carping by critics, I'm glad the president went on vacation because one of the most useful things he could do right now is play golf — a lot of golf — but not that friendly foursome thing with his aides that he usually does.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Rumproast and JammieWearingFool

NewsMax.com:

PPP Poll: Perry Takes Double-Digit Lead Over Romney — More ways to share... Mixx — Stumbled — LinkedIn — Vine — Buzzflash — Newstrust — Technocrati — Forward Article — A new poll shows Texas Gov. Rick Perry with a double-digit lead nationally …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice, Bluegrass Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Public Policy Polling

Joel Braunold / Haaretz:

With more than 10,000 millionaires, why is Israel still a charity case? — At what point should the Diaspora communities say to Israelis that enough is enough- we will give, but we will not allow those in your own society to shirk their responsibilities? — The past few years have seen …

Discussion: The Reaction

The Huffington Post:

National Organization For Marriage Repeatedly Rebuked For Disclosure Violations … WASHINGTON — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is one of the best known and well funded anti-gay marriage advocacy groups in the country. It is also one of the biggest opponents …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:

Gay candidate can't get seat at GOP convention — LAGUNA BEACH — Fred Karger, the only Californian - and the only gay candidate - in the 2012 Republican presidential field, says he knows plenty about closed doors. But shut out by his own party - and in his own state?

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Sky Dancing, Towleroad News #gay and AMERICAblog Gay

Stephen Stromberg / Washington Post:

Earthquake? It's Obama's fault. — When disaster strikes, the online commentariate...shows the worst of itself. Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft has already made the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that rattled the East Coast a dumb partisan issue, writing: … Judging by the comments below Hoft's post …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, Media Matters for America and Little Green Footballs

John Stevens / Daily Mail:

Michelle Obama shows up her husband in tiny purple bike shorts as the President lags behind in jeans — Michelle Obama showed off her enviably toned thighs as she powered past the President in tiny purple cycling shorts on the first family's bike ride on Martha's Vineyard today.

Discussion: alicublog, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com and JammieWearingFool

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:

Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Compares Welfare Recipients To Donkeys In New Ad — Former TX Secretary of State and GOP congressional candidate Roger Williams — Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams is running for Congress on a staunchly anti-Obama, anti-government platform.

Discussion: Austin American-Statesman, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze.com and Mock, Paper, Scissors

Gina Cavallaro / Battle Rattle:

For Marines in Afghanistan: be careful where you fart — Marine Corps Times is a family newspaper and we only rarely have offensive language in our stories. — But this week the word “fart” appears in a story I wrote about the importance of trust between Marines and the Afghan national army soldiers they work with.

Discussion: Mediaite, nation.foxnews.com, Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Rick Perry signs Susan B. Anthony List pledge — The Texas governor has added his name to the list of candidates signing the Susan B. Anthony List's strict anti-abortion pledge, checking a box with social conservatives that distinguishes him from top rival Mitt Romney.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

G-A-Y / Good As You:

NOM's featured press conference speaker: ‘There is a direct connection between earthquakes and homosexuality’ — At a recent press conference on the steps of the State Capitol in Albany, the National Organization For Marriage opened up their coalition to include one Rabbi Yehuda Levin.

Discussion: Raw Replay, Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay and Shakesville

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Widener Law School loses major donor over Connell case — I posted on Saturday about Alumni Resignations at Widener Law School In Wake of Connell Case. — I noted that Widener had confirmed that “[a] member of the Board of Overseers for the School of Law and a member of the School …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy