memeorandum: Schweddy Balls Make AFA Squirm (Brian Tashman/Right Wing Watch)

7:05 PM ET, September 20, 2011

Top Items:

David Brooks / New York Times:

Obama Rejects Obamaism — I'm a sap, a specific kind of sap. I'm an Obama Sap. — When the president said the unemployed couldn't wait 14 more months for help and we had to do something right away, I believed him. When administration officials called around saying that the possibility …

Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:

In early Obama White House, female staffers felt frozen out — Friction about the roles of women in the Obama White House grew so intense during the first two years of the president's tenure that he was forced to take steps to reassure senior women on his staff that he valued their presence and their input.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Gawker, iOwnTheWorld.com, National Review, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Mother Jones, NO QUARTER, The Crawdad Hole, Mediaite, Michelle Malkin, The Hill, TalkLeft, Big Government, Shakesville and Reuters

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Alter vs. Suskind: Not longing for Clinton — On MSNBC, Jonathan Alter — the author of a more sympathetic book on Obama's first year than Ron Suskind's — offers a different theory of the White House: — ANCHOR: What about the claim he makes about Peter Orzag and Larry Summers saying they were “home alone” in the White House.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Edward Morrissey / The Week Magazine:
Has Obama quit already?

Discussion: Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Salon, Daily Kos, Power Line and Ben Smith's Blog

Kevinliptak / CNN: Longtime Obama aide to depart White House

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Budget analysts say Obama deficit plan is likely to miss its targets

Discussion: Hit & Run, Hot Air, National Review and American Power

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Yup, moderates and independents support taxing the rich

Discussion: New York Magazine, Salon, About.com US Liberal Politics, Capital Gains and Games blogs, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Pajamas Media, The Hill and TaxProf Blog

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Is Obama Becoming the President He Has to Be, Not the One He Wanted?

Discussion: Washington Post and The Hill

Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press:

FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less than secretaries? — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama makes it sound as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries. — “Middle-class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires,” Obama said Monday.

Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Online:

Chart of the Day: ‘Buffett Rule’ Wouldn't Bring In Much Revenue — This week, President Obama announced a new way for the government to make more money: put a floor on the tax rates that millionaires face. He coined the idea the “Buffett Rule,” after billionaire investor Warren Buffett …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and National Review

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
AP fact check: Secretaries don't pay more taxes than their bosses

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill: DeMint: 'I'd love to see Buffett's tax returns'

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
On Average, The AP Is Useless

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Perry Looks Better Against Romney Than Against Obama — Leads Romney by 10 points in “narrow down” but trails Obama — PRINCETON, NJ — Rick Perry leads Mitt Romney by 31% to 24% in a new USA Today/Gallup poll of Republican presidential nomination preferences.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Politico, Iowa Caucuses, Indecision Forever, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, Campaign 2012, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Hotline On Call, RedState and Hot Air

Washington Examiner:
York: Perry locked, loaded for Thursday's debate

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, msnbc.com, Hot Air and Washington Post

Dan Hirschhorn / The Politico:
Santorum: Perry ‘ignores reality’

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Associated Press, CNN, Guardian, National Review and Little Green Footballs

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Perry in Texas — Rick Perry has an under water approval rating …

Discussion: Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …, Greg's Opinion and Daily Kos

Bill Rankin / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Parole board denies clemency for Troy Davis — The state Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied clemency for Troy Anthony Davis after hearing pleas for mercy from Davis' family and calls for his execution by surviving relatives of a murdered Savannah police officer.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Law Blog, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones and Facing South

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Jose Padilla and how American justice functions

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Dish and Politics

Emily Hauser / The Atlantic Online:
Troy Davis and the Reality of Doubt

Discussion: Angry Black Lady Chronicles and Balloon Juice

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Rick Santorum contacted Google, says company spreads ‘filth’ — A Google search for Santorum has generated some inappropriate results since gay columnist Dan Savage organized an online campaign to link graphic sexual terms to the socially conservative senator's name.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, Salon, Taegan Goddard's …, Indecision Forever, TBogg and The Raw Story

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Warren takes lead on Brown — Elizabeth Warren has had an incredibly successful launch to her Senate campaign and actually leads Scott Brown now by a 46-44 margin, erasing what was a 15 point deficit the last time we polled the state in early June. — Warren's gone from 38% name recognition …

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Business Insider, DownWithTyranny!, Firedoglake, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Crooks and Liars, Swampland, The Raw Story, New York Magazine and Daily Kos

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Bill Clinton scorches GOP field on climate change — Bill Clinton turned up the heat on the leading Republican presidential contenders Tuesday, saying their opposition to acknowledging climate change makes the country “look like a joke.” — “If you're an American, the best thing …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, CNN, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and TPMDC

Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:

Katie Pavlich Attorney General in Mexico: 200 Murders Result of Operation Fast and Furious — In a conference call this morning with Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reporters were told the Attorney General in Mexico has confirmed at least 200 murders south …

Discussion: Hot Air and Sister Toldjah

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Issa to launch probe of Obama actions on Solyndra, LightSquared

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Big Government, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story and iOwnTheWorld.com

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Chalk up Tennessee Republican Rep. Phil Roe's Tuesday morning actions to heroism: Roe saved a man's life with CPR after he flatlined in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport. — Roe, an obstetrician before he first ran for public office, was walking through the Charlotte terminal …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, The Politico, Indecision Forever, JammieWearingFool and msnbc.com

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

If top rates return to Reagan era, O'Reilly might quit — Fox News' Bill O'Reilly boasted the other day that he enjoys “more power than anybody other than the president.” — Apparently, though, this rather extraordinary degree of influence over national affairs isn't quite enough for the conservative media personality.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, Gawker, The Huffington Post and Shakesville

Ellen / News Hounds:
Bill O'Reilly Threatens To Quit If Higher Taxes For Millionaires Are Enacted

Discussion: Mediaite and Indecision Forever

Alexandra Berzon / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Alleges Full Tilt Poker Was Ponzi Scheme — The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused poker celebrities Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson among other executives of a major poker website of defrauding poker players out of more than $300 million.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Money & Company, The Agitator, Felix Salmon, ABA Journal Daily News and Hit & Run

Susan Crabtree / TPMDC:

Centrist Dems Already Trying To Put The Brakes On Obama's Tax Increases — President Obama's deficit-reduction plan—complete with tax increases on the wealthiest Americans—won high marks from his liberal base encouraged to see Obama back in fighting mode, but the plan is set to hit …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Politico, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Pajamas Media, Suburban Guerrilla and Balloon Juice

Marist Poll:

9/20: 39% Approval Rating for Obama, Lowest of Presidency — President Barack Obama faces a litany of bad news. The president's job approval rating, his favorability, and his rating on the economy have hit all-time lows. To compound matters, three in four Americans still believe the nation …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, CANNONFIRE and Pajamas Media

Diane Cardwell / New York Times:

The Appraisal: A Glimpse at Bloomberg's Lavish Tastes at Home — He has been known to serve tuna on crackers during cocktail hour. He prefers diners to power-breakfast spots like the Regency. His sartorial style remains buttoned down, with a salmon-color crew neck and matching socks about as gaudy as it gets.

Discussion: Salon, Gothamist, The Atlantic Online, Business Insider, Runnin' Scared, Vos Iz Neias, New York Magazine, Gawker and Curbed National

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:

Perry's Theocratic Foreign Policy: ‘As A Christian I Have A Clear Directive To Support Israel’ — Today, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) held a news conference in New York City where he attacked President Obama's Middle East policies and called upon the United States to be more stridently supportive of the actions of the Israeli government.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Campaign 2012 and Weasel Zippers

Michael Graczyk / The Huffington Post:

Cleve Foster Case: U.S. Supreme Court Halts Texas Execution … HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A former Army recruiter who for the third time this year was hours away from his scheduled execution for the rape-slaying of a woman in Fort Worth nearly 10 years ago was granted yet another reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:

Texas GOP Rep On Cuts To Family Planning: ‘Of Course This Is A War On Birth Control’ — The GOP's concerted campaign against women's health has resulted in about 1,000 anti-abortion bills in state legislatures across the country and numerous federal attempts to eradicate a woman's right to choose.

Discussion: NPR and The Raw Story

Seth Stern / Bloomberg:

$16 Muffins Found at U.S. Meetings — U.S. Justice Department agencies spent too much for food at conferences, in one case serving $16 muffins and in another dishing out beef Wellington appetizers that cost $7.32 per serving, an audit found. — “Some conferences featured costly meals …

Discussion: Business Insider

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Schweddy Balls Make AFA Squirm — The American Family Association affiliate OneMillionMoms is calling on activists to boycott Ben & Jerry's because of the company's new Schweddy Balls ice cream. In an email, the group describes the legendary Saturday Night Live skit featuring People …

Discussion: Gothamist, The Daily Caller, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.

Reuters:

Solyndra execs will decline to testify at hearing — Solyndra LLC's chief executive and chief financial officer will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any questions put to them at a Congressional hearing on Friday, according to letters from their attorneys obtained by Reuters.

Discussion: The Hill, The Crawdad Hole, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, National Review and Weasel Zippers

Conn Carroll / Campaign 2012:

Dean: Employers will drop coverage under Obamacare — Former Democratic National Committee Chairman, and doctor, Howard Dean backed a McKinsey & Co. survey today that found that almost a third of private-sector employers will drop their employee health insurance coverage …

Discussion: Pajamas Media