memeorandum: Troy Davis execution: Georgia pardons board denies plea for clemency (Ed Pilkington/Guardian)

3:05 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: TalkLeft, Michelle Malkin, Business Insider, NO QUARTER, The Hill, Big Government, The Crawdad Hole, Mediaite, Shakesville and National Review

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

Budget analysts say Obama deficit plan is likely to miss its targets — President Obama projects that his new plan for reducing the federal debt will save more than $3 trillion over the next decade by raising taxes on the wealthy and slashing spending on a host of government programs, from farm subsidies to federal worker pensions.

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

Edward Morrissey / The Week Magazine:

Has Obama quit already? — Judging by his plans for job creation and deficit reduction, the president has given up on policy accomplishments in favor of playing politics — The last few weeks of polling data have been so bad for Barack Obama that pundits have begun speculating whether …

Discussion: Power Line, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Booman Tribune and Salon

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Obama Debt Reduction Plan Calms Democrats' Concerns On And Off Hill

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, Reuters, Washington Monthly, New York Times 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.

Discussion: CBS News, JustOneMinute, Outside the Beltway, Maggie's Farm, Fausta's Blog, Questions and Observations, The Hayride, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Pajamas Media, Business Insider and Weasel Zippers

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

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Outside the Beltway

Wall Street Journal:
The Buffett Alternative Tax

Discussion: Politics, CARPE DIEM, Hot Air, Left Coast Rebel and Campaign 2012

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: Law Blog, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones and Facing South

Kim Severson / New York Times:
Troy Davis Is Denied Clemency in Georgia

Discussion: Hartford Courant, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Volokh Conspiracy, SCOTUSblog, Feministing, Truthdig and Lawyers, Guns & Money

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

Discussion: The Daily Dish, CNN and Politics

Ed Pilkington / Guardian:
Troy Davis execution: Georgia pardons board denies plea for clemency

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Maddow Blog, Angry Black Lady Chronicles and Reuters

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

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

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: Firedoglake, Suburban Guerrilla and Balloon Juice

Kbh / Keith Hennessey:
The President's “balanced” misdirection

Discussion: EconLog

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

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Issa to launch probe of Obama actions on Solyndra, LightSquared — Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that his committee plans to investigate government loan programs to private corporations in light of allegations of improper dealings between the White House and failed energy company Solyndra and wireless startup LightSquared.

Discussion: Big Government and Weasel Zippers

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: Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story, Business Insider, Taegan Goddard's … and Swampland

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Alexander to leave GOP leadership post — Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday announced he will step down from his post as Senate Republican Conference chairman in January. — Alexander made the announcement in a letter sent to his Republican colleagues in the Senate.

Discussion: CNN

Manu Raju / The Politico: Lamar Alexander quitting leadership post in Senate

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: Gawker, Hullabaloo and The Huffington Post

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

Discussion: Indecision Forever and Mediaite

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:

Perry: Obama Has Isolated and Undermined Israel — Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaking in New York as the United Nations General Assembly was convening, launched a broadside against President Barack Obama, asserting that the president's “naïve, arrogant, misguided and dangerous” …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Associated Press:
GOP Candidates Assail Obama on Israel

Discussion: The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, CNN, Little Green Footballs and Hot Air

Rick Perry 2012 Campaign for President:

Texas Tea Party to Rick Perry: ‘We are fed up’ — 5,023 — Texas Tea Party leaders are unhappy with Gov. Rick Perry's immigration-related positions and want him to call another special legislative session to give state lawmakers a third opportunity to ban sanctuary cities.

Discussion: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Daily Kos, Michelle Malkin, The Jawa Report and Prairie Weather

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:
Perry Used Taxpayer Money To Subsidize Family Vacations, Presidential Campaign Events

Discussion: Wonkette and Firedoglake

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Joe McGinniss: Threats are the ‘Palin way’ — Sarah and Todd Palin “scare” and “threaten” people - that's the “Palin way,” author Joe McGinniss charged on Tuesday. — In an interview on CNN for the release of his new book, “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” McGinniss said he spoke to …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Other McCain and CNN

Wilson Ring / The Huffington Post:

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal: Navy Lt. Gary Ross, Partner Dan Swezy Wed As Military's Gay Ban Formally Ends … DUXBURY, Vt. — Just as the formal repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy took effect, Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were married before a small group of family and friends.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, The Politico and Daily Kos

Rene Lynch / Nation Now:
'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal lets gays, lesbians serve openly

Discussion: Opinion L.A. and Outside the Beltway

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: Hot Air and Pajamas Media

Peter Finn / Washington Post:

A future for drones: Automated killing — One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, Ga., two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search of an orange, green and blue tarp. — The automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own …

Discussion: Boing Boing and emptywheel

Jack Nicas / Wall Street Journal:

The New Class of ‘Geniuses’ — An Architect, a Percussionist and 20 Others Win $500,000 MacArthur Grants — CHICAGO—A radio host, a jazz percussionist and a physicist who freezes and studies atoms were among the 22 people who got a phone call or email out of the blue last week telling …

Discussion: Gothamist, Mediaite and Gawker

Los Angeles Times:

Bachmann's campaign pitch is off-key — The GOP candidate speaks at a traffic-signal plant in Iowa, which she says would benefit from her policies. But the firm thrives on government-funded road projects like those Obama has promoted. — Michele Bachmann appears at a manufacturing plant in Sheffield, Iowa.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, The Caucus, Iowa Caucuses and The Maddow Blog