memeorandum: What Sincerity Looks Like — Sometimes pop culture seems … (David Brooks/New York Times)

5:35 PM ET, September 29, 2017

Top Items:

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Trump's Deadly Narcissism — According to a new Quinnipiac poll, a majority of Americans believe that Donald Trump is unfit to be president. That's pretty remarkable. But you have to wonder how much higher the number would be if people really knew what's going on.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Ringer - All, The Root, Shakesville and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

San Juan mayor slams Trump administration comments on Puerto Rico hurricane response — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The mayor of Puerto Rico's capital sharply criticized a senior Trump administration official Friday for calling the government's disaster response “a good-news story,” …

Discussion: MSNBC, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, CNN, Politicus USA, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Mother Jones, The Week, Grist and Mediaite

Washington Post:

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake … After an earthquake shattered Haiti's capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. — Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince.

Discussion: Shareblue, The Moderate Voice, The Root and Hullabaloo

Daniella Diaz / CNN:

San Juan mayor: ‘Dammit, this is not a good news story’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz reacted with shock and anger to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke on Friday, saying Puerto Rico's recovery is “not a good news story.”

Louis Nelson / Politico:

San Juan mayor hits back at Elaine Duke: ‘This is not a good news story. This is a people are dying story.’ — The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, lashed out at acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke's comment that the Hurricane Maria relief efforts are a “good news story,” …

Discussion: Axios, Hullabaloo and Shakesville

Oliver Willis / Shareblue:
Trump's Puerto Rico defense: “This is an island surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water.”

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and Politicus USA

Avery Anapol / The Hill:
General who handled Katrina response blasts Trump on Puerto Rico

Discussion: IJR, Raw Story, Common Dreams, AOL, The Daily Caller and Bloomberg

taxpolicycenter.org:

A Preliminary Analysis of the Unified Framework — ABSTRACT — The Tax Policy Center has produced preliminary estimates of the potential impact proposals included in the “Unified Framework for Fixing our Broken Tax Code.” We find they would reduce federal revenue by $2.4 trillion …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Business Insider, Common Dreams, New York Times and Daily Kos

Carolyn Y. Johnson / Washington Post:

GOP tax plan would provide major gains for richest 1%, uneven benefits for the middle class, report says — The Republican tax plan would deliver a major benefit to the top 1 percent of Americans, according to a new analysis by a leading group of nonpartisan tax experts that challenges the White House's portrayal of its effects.

Discussion: Business Insider and The Week

Dylan Matthews / Vox:
The numbers are in: Trump's tax plan is a bonanza for the rich, not the middle class

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, HuffPost, Business Insider, Common Dreams, ThinkProgress and Wall Street Journal

The Hill: Analysis: Tax plan would cost $2.4T, benefit wealthy most

Chris D'Angelo / HuffPost:
Millionaire Trump Adviser Says Americans Can ‘Buy A New Car’ With $1,000 Tax Cut

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Week, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, ABC News, IJR and Washington Monthly

Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Some manufacturers are already acting on Trump's tax plan

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:

VA chief took in Wimbledon, river cruise on European work trip; wife's expenses covered — Nearly three days into a trip to Europe this past July, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin had attended a Wimbledon championship tennis match, toured Westminster Abbey and taken a cruise on the Thames.

Discussion: Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigns after criticism for taking charter flights at taxpayer expense — Tom Price, President Trump's embattled health and human services secretary, resigned Friday amid sharp criticism of his extensive use of taxpayer-funded charter flights, the White House said.

Discussion: New York Post, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Business Insider, Common Dreams, The Week, IJR, CNN, Washington Free Beacon, baker, Mashable, TheBlaze, ThinkProgress, FOX2now.com, New York Magazine and Raw Story

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Trump: We're going to make a decision on Price's future tonight

Discussion: ABC News and Mother Jones

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Health Secretary Tom Price Resigns After Drawing Ire for Chartered Flights

Discussion: Vox, baker, Politics K-12, NPR, Refinery29 and Politico

CNN:
Trump will make decision ‘sometime tonight’ on Price

Discussion: RedState and Business Insider

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Interior Secretary Zinke: Scrutiny Of My Private Plane Travel ‘A Little BS’

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Shareblue, HuffPost, The Daily Caller, Center for Western Priorities and Daily Kos

ddhq.io:

Alabama Senate Special Election Poll — Immediately after the runoff Tuesday, we commissioned Opinion Savvy to conduct a poll of the upcoming special U.S. Senate general election in Alabama. Opinion Savvy contacted 590 voters through landline and mobile devices on September 27th and 28th.

Discussion: TheBlaze and Politicus USA

CNN:

CNN poll: Americans split on anthem protests — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Americans are sharply divided over whether NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem are doing the right thing to express their views, but a majority agree that President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Daily Wire and FOX2now.com

David Hookstead / The Daily Caller:
NFL Favorability Gets Nearly Cut In Half After Anthem Protests

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show and IJR

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Melania Trump fires back at librarian who rejected gift of Dr. Seuss books as ‘racist’ — First lady Melania Trump fired back Friday at a Massachusetts elementary school librarian who rejected her donation of Dr. Seuss books, claiming their illustrations are examples of “racist propaganda.”

Rachel Chason / Washington Post:

‘Racist propaganda’: Librarian rejects Melania Trump's gift of Dr. Seuss books — One of Melania Trump's favorite books is Dr. Seuss's “Oh, the Places You'll Go!,” which she read with her son, Barron, “over and over” when he was younger. — The first lady, who is increasingly carving …

Discussion: Power Line, NBC4 Washington, Boston Globe, Axios, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Patterico's Pontifications, The Guardian, CBS Philly, The Daily Caller, The Horn Book, SARAH PALIN, CBS News and IJR

Axios:

USAFA superintendent: “Grab your phones” — Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, yesterday “stood all of his 4,000 cadets at attention ... [c]hins in and chests out ... to deliver a message on racial slurs found written on message boards at the academy's preparatory school …

Discussion: YouTube, Gazette and The Daily Caller

Matthew Chapman / Shareblue:
“You should be outraged.” Lt. Gen. response to racism at Air Force Academy shames Trump

Discussion: IJR, Mother Jones, Washington Post, PerezHilton, Business Insider and Shakesville

Katherine Schafer / United States Air Force Academy:
Superintendent addresses racial slurs at USAFA

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Daily Wire, RedState, TheBlaze, NBC News, ThinkProgress, Axios, Mashable, Mediaite and Air Force Times

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Bernie backers give Dem incumbents a pass in 2018 — Democrats have long been terrified that the Sanders-Clinton slugfest of 2016 would set off a prolonged civil war in the party, forcing incumbents to fight off primary challengers from the left in Senate and gubernatorial races. — It hasn't happened.

Discussion: Washington Post and No More Mister Nice Blog

Nate Cohn / New York Times: Why Retirements May Hold the Key in Whether Republicans Can Keep the House

The Cook Political Report:
Why Virginia's Delegate Races Could Be the Most Telling 2017 Elections

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine

Michelle Broder Van Dyke / BuzzFeed:

People Are Sharing This Fake Photo Of NFL Players Burning The American Flag — Conservative social media accounts are sharing a photoshopped image that makes it look like an NFL player is burning the US flag while his teammates cheer him on. — The fake picture is being used …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos and The Root

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:

Anti-abortion groups fuming over GOP failure to defund Planned Parenthood — Anti-abortion groups fuming over the Republican failure to defund Planned Parenthood as part of ObamaCare repeal are eyeing tax reform as the next vehicle for their cause. — The groups want Republicans …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine: Right-to-Lifers Look for a New Hostage for Their Demands

Allan Smith / Business Insider:

In private dinner, George W. Bush criticizes Trump's decision to add North Korea to travel ban — In a private dinner Thursday night, the former President George W. Bush was critical of President Donald Trump's decision to place added travel restrictions on North Korea as part …

Discussion: Axios, IJR, Raw Story and AOL

Jason Schwartz / Politico:

Hannity beats Maddow in first week of 9 p.m. showdown — In the first week of the head-to-head battle between Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow, the conservative heavyweight drew significantly higher ratings than his liberal counterpart. — Fox News moved Hannity's show from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Washington Free Beacon

Jennifer E. Duffy / The Cook Political Report:

Arizona Senate: Sinema's Candidacy Puts Race in Toss Up — Republican U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake is getting challenged from both the right and the left in his bid for a second term. The first hurdle will be a competitive primary. If he clears that obstacle, he will likely face a competitive challenge …

Discussion: Political Wire and Arizona Republic

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Berniecrats Have an Obama Problem — The ideological vanguard of the Bernie Sanders movement emerged from the 2016 election overflowing with dialectical certainty. Hillary Clinton's narrow win in the primary was the last gasp of a dying neoliberal order, the overthrow of which is now preordained.