Talking Points Memo

Too Late?

2010-09-02T15:33:40Z

Christina Romer, the outgoing chair of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, calls for more stimulus: "The only surefire ways for policymakers to substantially increase aggregate demand in the short run are for the government to spend more and tax less."

Christina Romer - Council of Economic Advisers - Barack Obama - Government - United States

Drama Queens?

2010-09-02T14:04:37Z

Corporate Tea Party-backer FreedomWorks made a very big deal last week about having to move its DC headquarters to a different, more secure building because of all of the threats it's received from liberals. But we looked into it a little more, and it turns out that FreedomWorks' current lease was already set to expire in February, it isn't moving until then, and its new office offers cheaper rent.

FreedomWorks - United States - Parties - Politics - Tea

Don't Try This At Your Own Hooka Bar

2010-09-02T13:47:51Z

Would be hate crime ends poorly for the assailant.

Hate crime - Race-Ethnic-Religious Relations - Hate - Crime - Gay Lesbian and Bisexual

NRA Has Sense Of Humor?

2010-09-02T13:45:28Z

Chuck Norris makes a cameo in a new video produced by the NRA that actually made me chuckle.

Chuck Norris - Video - Sport - Shopping - Mike Huckabee

Face-To-Face

2010-09-02T13:14:31Z

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will begin direct negotiations today at the State Department.

Mahmoud Abbas - Benjamin Netanyahu - Middle East - Politics - Israel

Quote Of The Day

2010-09-02T12:55:52Z

"If you don't hold us accountable, we'll do some real bad things in Washington, D.C."
--Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), speaking about ... the economy

John Ensign - United States - Washington - Senate - Government

Washington's Fave Parlor Game

2010-09-02T12:54:47Z

Will she or won't she? Elizabeth Warren makes last-minute change to her Harvard Law teaching schedule.

Elizabeth Warren - Harvard University - United States - Massachusetts - Education

Presented By:

2010-09-02T12:54:47Z

Not Pretty

2010-09-02T12:37:38Z

What would it look like if a Republican-controlled Congress followed through on threat to shutdown the government rather than fund the new health care law? Brian Beutler talks to experts like Donna Shalala and Robert Reich who experienced the 1995-96 shutdown. Here's his report.

Donna Shalala - United States - Health care - Republican Party - United States Congress

Some Good News

2010-09-02T03:14:20Z

Over the weekend we brought you the news of the apparent arson attack at the construction site of the future Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The day after the incident, members of the congregation's board went to inspect the vandalized equipment and heard gunshots near the site.

Board member Saleh Sbenaty called police. But now police believe that the gunfire was unrelated to the mosque controversy. Detective Sgt. Dan Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office tells TPM the shots were likely from hunters in the area taking advantage of the beginning of squirrel hunting season which officially opened the day before.

Tennessee - Mosque - Murfreesboro Tennessee - Islam - Arson

Fists Fly at the Hookah Bar

2010-09-02T00:50:05Z

As we've been reporting, there have been a flurry of incidents around the country in recent weeks in which people have tried to intimidate or attack American Muslims or people they believed to be Muslims. But along with these ugly incidents there have been a backdrop of no less unfortunate cases of people who seemed to want to commit a hate crime but were either too drunk, too stupid or too disorganized to pull it off or even give a really clear idea of what they were trying to do.

Meet Kevin Morris, 31, of West Haven, Connecticut.

Last Thursday Morris swaggered into the Fire & Ice Hookah Lounge on Campbell Avenue in West Haven. Just what happened next isn't entirely clear since there appears to be only one press account of the incident -- and that one limited in detail. But after entering the Lounge, in the words of Amanda Pinto of the New Haven Register, Morris began "shout[ing] profanities and racial epithets at a group of black and Arabic people."

Pinto doesn't say what the epithets were. And it's not entirely clear what the clientele is or what kind of place the Fire & Ice Hookah Lounge is. But one thing's clear: it ain't a mosque. And while Middle East-themed and seemingly patronized by at least some people of Middle Eastern descent, the presence of the belly dancers, "Gina" and "Katie," who perform on Friday evenings, suggests that if it caters to Muslims, it's not for the particularly devout. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. It seems like a fun place. Here are some pictures of recent evenings at the Lounge.)

In any case, Morris comes into the Lounge shouting his epithets, apparently really drunk and at some point tries to grab the bartender by the throat or strangle him or something. But things did not go well for Morris. The folks in the establishment were not interested in that kind of an evening and proceeded to administer Morris a serious beating. As Pinto put it, Morris "was punched in the face by at least one of the people he was shouting at" and when police finally arrived he was "bleeding profusely from the face."

Morris was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital and charged with 3rd degree intimidation due to bias and 2nd degree breach of peace. He is still in police custody.

United States - Muslim - Terrorism - Incidents - September 11 2001

Why The Discovery Channel?

2010-09-01T22:38:08Z

The gunman who allegedly took hostages at the Discovery channel's headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C., has been shot dead by police and the hostages rescued.

Discovery channel - Police - Washington - Washington D.C. - Television

For Apple Aficionados

2010-09-01T22:29:50Z

Gizmodo runs down the list of new products that Apple unveiled today.

Apple - Macintosh - Companies - Apple II - iPod

Who's Who In Peace Talks

2010-09-01T21:18:32Z

The White House gives the readout on the afternoon's multilateral meetings on day one of the Middle East peace talks in Washington:

After a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Obama went one-on-one with President Abbas. Then Obama and Abbas brought in their delegations. According to the White House, the U.S. delegation included:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff
General James Jones, Nation Security Advisor
George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Dennis Ross, Senior Director for Central Region
David Hale, Deputy Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Dan Shapiro, Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa

Following that meeting, President Obama met with King Abdullah of Jordan and then both sides' delegations met. The White House identified the U.S. delegation for this meeting as:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff
General James Jones, Nation Security Advisor
George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Dennis Ross, Senior Director for Central Region
Jeff Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Dan Shapiro, Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa

White House - Middle East - United States - Washington - Israel

Is It Gov. Christie Big Fibbin?

2010-09-01T21:07:09Z

Gov. Christie (R-NJ) fired Ed Commissioner and former GOP rising star Brett Schundler and publicly accused Schundler of lying. Now Schundler's has come forward with the email evidence. And it's not looking good for Christie.

Republican - New Jersey - United States - Bret Schundler - Chris Christie

Venn Diagram

2010-09-01T18:57:40Z

I'm curious to see how many Dems that could only have gotten elected in 2006 and 2008 are going to go down to Republicans who could only get elected in 2010.

Politics - Republican - United States - Parties - Democratic

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2010-09-01T18:57:40Z