memeorandum: Obama: Paul Ryan plan would cut Romney's tax rate to 1 percent (Mike Lillis/Ballot Box)

6:45 PM ET, August 18, 2012

Top Items:

Juana Summers / Politico:

Ryan's mom is new face in Medicare wars — THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Meet Paul Ryan's mom. — Betty Ryan Douglas, 78, is the newest face of the Medicare wars that have abruptly taken center stage in the 2012 contest, joining her son here Saturday in the town square of a sprawling retirement community …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Mitt Romney for President of the United States …:

AUDIO REMARKS ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CUTS TO MEDICARE — This November, America will make a choice about the direction we want to go as a country - and nowhere is that choice clearer than on the issue of Medicare. — President Obama's healthcare law raided $716 billion from the Medicare trust fund.

Discussion: Wake up America, Hot Air, Associated Press, Ballot Box, The Lonely Conservative, Taylor Marsh and The Caucus

Emily Schultheis / Politico:

GOP advice on Medicare: Attack — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan say that they welcome a debate about the federal budget and their plans to reform Medicare. — But Republican strategists believe that there is really only one way to win the Medicare message wars: mount a bruising offense …

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, The Hinterland Gazette, No More Mister Nice Blog and Booman Tribune

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

Ryan saves boldest plan for Medicaid — Medicare is not the only entitlement Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has big plans to reform. — Its sister program, Medicaid, would lose about three-quarters of its federal funding by 2050 under proposals from the Republican vice presidential candidate, according to federal budget auditors.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Mike Lillis / Ballot Box:

Obama: Paul Ryan plan would cut Romney's tax rate to 1 percent — Stumping in the swing state of New Hampshire on Saturday, President Obama hit Mitt Romney on a topic that's haunted the GOP presidential contender all summer: taxes. — The president hammered the Democrats' long-running charge …

Discussion: Politico

Mandy / Deep Fried Manatees:

Paul Ryan draws a crowd at The Villages — Lee Greenwood warms up the crowd for Paul Ryan — I got up at 4 a.m. this morning to drive to The Villages to see Paul Ryan. I stood for three hours in unbelievable heat waiting for Ryan to arrive and I can tell you that it was absolutely worth it.

Discussion: Power Line

Alicia Mundy / Washington Wire:
Paul Ryan Discloses $1 Million to $5 Million Family Trust

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

With a Full Quiver, Senator Schumer Is Quick to Release Cupid's Arrows — Even by the standards of Capitol Hill, where ambitious and awkward young people are thrust together in cramped workplaces and crowded bars, the nuptial output of Senator Charles E. Schumer's office stands out.

Discussion: Althouse, Gothamist and Lawyers, Guns & Money

BuzzFeed:

How Management Killed “The Village Voice” — Mike Lacey figured out sex ads on the Internet, but little else. The paper edges toward collapse. — Alt-weeklies are always dying. But the news Friday that four editorial staffers were laid off or had their hours cut to part-time at The Village Voice …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, more at Mediagazer »

Foster Kamer / The New York Observer:
Layoffs Hit Editorial Staff at The Village Voice

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, more at Mediagazer »

MS Bellows Jr / Guardian:

Mitt Romney's tax returns: the ‘voter fraud’ theory — There has been much speculation about why Romney refuses to disclose earlier tax returns. Could it be as simple as an address? — Friday's exchange of letters between the election campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, iOwnTheWorld.com, CANNONFIRE, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hinterland Gazette, ABCNEWS and Balloon Juice

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Why doom has not materialized — Sometimes the news is that something was not newsworthy. The United Nations' Rio+20 conference — 50,000 participants from 188 nations — occurred in June without consequences. A generation has passed since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, which begat other conferences and protocols (e.g., Kyoto).

Discussion: AEIdeas and Cold Fury

Nikki Finke / Deadline.com:

‘The Tonight Show’ Lays Off 20 Staffers And Host Jay Leno Takes Pay Cut To Save Jobs — BREAKING... EXCLUSIVE: NBC insiders tell me The Tonight Show went through “downsizing” today and that 20 staffers lost their jobs. Others tell me the number is more like 25, and producers were forced to take pay cuts or lose their jobs.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hinterland Gazette and EconomicPolicyJournal.com, more at Mediagazer »

Dennis / Gallup.Com:

August Unemployment Not Looking Good — New Gallup unemployment data suggest an increase in the government's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August when it is reported on Friday, Sept. 7. During recent months, Gallup's measurements have been more optimistic than those of the BLS.