memeorandum: If we are to survive the looming catastrophe, we need to face the truth (Janet Daley/Telegraph)

12:20 PM ET, August 7, 2011

Top Items:

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:

S&P rating: ‘Outrageous’, ‘nothing good to say’ — Outrage over Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States' credit rating extended to both sides of the political aisle on Sunday. — Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes Inc. and a former Republican presidential contender …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

New York Times:

Amid Criticism on Downgrade of U.S., S.&P. Fires Back — A day after Standard & Poor's took the unprecedented step of downgrading the creditworthiness of the United States government, the ratings agency offered a full-throated defense of its decision, calling the bitter stand-off between President Obama …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Money & Company, Hullabaloo, Reuters, State of the Union and The Curious Capitalist

Edmund L. Andrews / NationalJournal.com:

Why S&P's Downgrade is No Joke — The real impact of S&P's downgrade is political, not economic. — It's tempting to dismiss Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. long-term Treasury bonds as no big deal in the real world. It's also tempting to describe it as a broad criticism …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

A timeline of events — Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? — 1980: Ronald Reagan runs for president, promising a balanced budget — 1981 - 1989: With support from congressional Republicans, Reagan runs enormous deficits, adds $2 trillion to the debt.

New York Times:

Anger Over Credit Rating Resurfaces in Washington — The frustration in the air was palpable. Officials from the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's were meeting with Congressional leaders on a stifling late day in late July to discuss the thorniest issue in Washington …

Discussion: Guardian, The Caucus, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos

Felix Salmon:
The credibility and integrity of S&P's ratings action

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Curious Capitalist, Conservatives4Palin, Patterico's Pontifications and Speakeasy

John Bellows / U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Just the Facts: S&P's $2 Trillion Mistake

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Politics, Jared Bernstein, Economics One, Guardian, Ben Smith's Blog, Fortune, FOXBusiness.com and Wall Street Journal

Josh Boak / The Politico:
S & P warns of a second downgrade

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Runnin' Scared, Outside the Beltway and Firedoglake

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Standard and Poors versus Mitch McConnell

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, The Political Carnival, Jared Bernstein and Outside the Beltway

Drew Westen / New York Times:

What Happened to Obama? — Drew Westen is a professor of psychology at Emory University and the author of “The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation.” — Atlanta — IT was a blustery day in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009, as it often seems to be on the day of a presidential inauguration.

Discussion: Power Line, Connecting.the.Dots and Corrente

David Catanese / The Politico:

Tea Party Nation: The left's killed “a billion people” — THIENSVILLE, Wis. — The founder of Tea Party Nation claimed liberal ideology is responsible for “a billion” deaths over the last century during a raucous rally here Saturday in support of one of the six Republican state senators facing a recall election Tuesday.

Discussion: Mediaite and The Raw Story

The Daily Beast:
Tea Party's Next Targets

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Political Carnival

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Obama's soft response to Tea Party draws liberal criticism

Discussion: The Democratic Daily and Weasel Zippers

Janet Daley / Telegraph:

If we are to survive the looming catastrophe, we need to face the truth — The idea that a capitalist economy can support a socialist welfare state is collapsing before our eyes, says Janet Daley. — Getting it right: the Tea Party recognised where America's policies were heading

Discussion: Hot Air and National Review

Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:

Hugh Carey, Who Led Fiscal Rescue of New York City, Is Dead at 92 — Hugh L. Carey, the governor who helped rescue New York from the brink of financial collapse in the 1970s and tamed a culture of ever-growing spending, died Sunday at his summer home on Shelter Island. He was 92

Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

BBC:

London riots: Dozens injured after Tottenham violence — Clasford Stirling, a resident of Tottenham for 32 years, said the area looked like a battlefield — More than 40 people have been arrested after rioting saw police attacked, buildings looted and vehicles set alight in Tottenham, north London.

Discussion: Telegraph, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Zandar Versus The Stupid and msnbc.com

Washington Post:

Origins of the debt showdown — This article was reported by Lori Montgomery, Paul Kane, Brady Dennis, Alec MacGillis, David Fahrenthold, Rosalind Helderman, Felicia Sonmez and Dan Balz. It was written by Dennis, MacGillis and Montgomery. — In mid-January, newly installed …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Taylor Marsh and Prairie Weather

Mark Tapscott / Washington Examiner:

Wisconsin Democratic Party flak threatens to sic union bullies on independent news group — A spokesman for the Wisconsin Democratic Party has threatened to sic union bullies on an independent news organization whose reporting he thinks is “biased.” — Graeme Zeilinski was upset …

Discussion: RedState and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

GetEQUAL.org:

Protesters Travel From Across Texas to Picket Hate-Based Event — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Michael Diviesti, GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer, (512) 694-3394, michael@getequaltx.org — HOUSTON, TX — On August 6th, Governor Perry spoke at an event inside Reliant Stadium in Houston …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Towleroad News #gay