HUFFPOST HILL - SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2010

We were worried that this morning's job report was the harbinger of an uncharacteristically staid recess Friday. Thank goodness that wasn't the case: Jim Gerlach's spokesman accused his opponent of playing the race card by not being white around other non-white people, Jan Brewer took unprecedented steps to stem the tide of unwelcome decapitation questions into her state and dentists continue to be the weirdest contributors to our national conversation. Have a great Labor Day weekend, just don't expect Joe Miller to stop wearing white after Monday -- guy's gotta appease his divine benefactors somehow. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, September 3rd, 2010:

LACKLUSTER AUGUST JOBS REPORT - Our long national flirtation with that novel we're going to write continues...sort of. The Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the U.S. economy shed a total of 54,000 jobs in August but still created 67,000 private sector ones. The net loss was mostly attributed to 114,000 temporary census positions that were cut however the manufacturing sector lost 27,000 jobs, the first time it posted a loss this year. http://huff.to/a1eYob

President Obama spoke to reporters this morning in the Rose Garden about the job report: "[The report has] positive news, and it reflects the steps we've already taken to break the back of this recession. But it's not nearly good enough...That's why we need to take further steps to create jobs and keep the economy growing, including extending tax cuts for the middle class and investing in the areas of our economy where the potential for job growth is greatest." In other words, the economy needs a second stimulus. Which the White House has sworn off.

Robert Shrum has an op-ed in "The Week" suggesting the deficit commission has nullified a potential campaign platform for the Dems this November. "So why not campaign all-out, in O'Neill's plainspoken way, against a GOP that is disloyal to the most successful--and most popular--social program in American history? Because Democrats have been disarmed by the president's deficit reduction commission, which plainly intends to propose Social Security cuts. Rather than allow such cuts to be greased through the lame duck session of a decimated Democratic Congress, or passed under cover of "bipartisanship" in a decidedly more Republican one next year, shouldn't the case be stated and debated before the election?" http://bit.ly/cntj5D

JOE MILLER CAMPAIGN FUNDED BY GOD, MIKE GULA - In a fundraising email sent out on Sunday, Tea Party-backed Joe Miller told supporters that "so far the Lord has always provided the money" for his campaign, because "we all know that Joe's campaign isn't receiving any monies from corporations or from out of State entities." (God is presumably a non-corporate entity who lives in Alaska.) If Miller's divine fundraising plan falters, Miller can fall back on big shot D.C. fundraiser Mike Gula, who Roll Call reports today was hired to supplement the work of the Lord, who will presumably continue to Bang the Phones on behalf of Miller. We're sure Gula will have no problem raising funds without going to out-of-state or corporate donors. Right?

Gula, however, says Miller never swore off K Street cash: "Joe Miller has never made a comment like that and the person who did say that has NEVER been authorized to speak for the campaign in any capacity," Gula emails to HuffPost Hill.

From the Miller campaign's fundraising email, which a Source close to the Lord provided to HuffPost Hill: "We don't want to loose [sic] the momentumn [sic] of this great campaign!! We are going to get Joe Miller elected, it's just that for reasons we don't understand God wants us to have a waiting spell. :) We need to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, and keep the campaign uplifted in constant prayer. In order for Joe to keep campaigning he needs funds. So far the Lord has always provided the money in this grass roots campaign, and this time God is going to use you to provide! A fundraiser will be held at Campaign Headquarters on Monday from 5:00-8:30 pm...It cost [sic] alot [sic] of money to run a clean campaign and we all know that Joe's campaign isn't receiving any monies from corporations or from out of State entities." The email is signed "Harmony" and advises "Paid for by Joe Miller for US Senate."

Honda Wants Apology From Gerlach - Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, is demanding an apology from Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) after his spokesman said that his Indian-American opponent "has played the race card...by going to Indian-American groups to raise money." "Congressman Gerlach must apologize for suggesting that political fundraising within an ethnic community is somehow illegitimate. Our great democracy promises many fundamental freedoms, not the least of which are the freedoms of speech and association, coupled with the right to equally participate in our electoral process," Honda said in a statement to HuffPost Hill. Gerlach in The Hill: http://bit.ly/cZB7cs

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IN EVERY SENSE POSSIBLE, SHARRON ANGLE DOESN'T GET UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS - Speaking to conservative radio host Heidi Harris this Wednesday, the Republican Senate nominee voiced concern about the demoralizing effects of unemployment, adding that extending unemployment benefits "doesn't benefit anyone." She continued: "What happens is of course that your skills stagnate. You become demoralized yourself, you know, feeling that I can't ever get a job, and these are not the solutions to the problem. We have real solutions, but they won't look at the real solutions." Having been unemployed and broke ourselves, we really hate it how our skills, morale and vitamin K levels stagnate when we're out of work. Sam Stein: http://huff.to/b1n9UK

A new survey of Nevada voters by Rasmussen finds Angle tied with Harry Reid at 45% apiece. http://bit.ly/dsJDKw

DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - From Arthur Delaney: "The Senate is all set to allow a stimulus-created welfare-to-work program expire, jeopardizing some 247,000 jobs in 37 states.'They're telling the moms once the fund ends you're going to have to work for free,' said Diana Spatz, executive director of Lifetime, a California membership organization that helps low-income parents pursuing post-secondary education that employs eight moms and two dads thanks to the TANF Emergency Fund, which will expire at the end of the month. The program is currently funding some 1,100 jobs in Alameda County, said Sam Tuttleman, director of the Employment Services Department of the Alameda Social Services Agency. 'It's really a shame on a number of levels,' said Tuttleman of the program's demise. 'There's a pretty negative view about welfare clients' in the employer community. One of the things this has done is it really has changed the perspective of a lot of our employers because they've gotten good employees who've really worked out for them.'"

JAN BREWER ERECTS A BORDER FENCE BETWEEN HERSELF AND DEBATES - With that clip of her spacing-out/taking-advice-from-The-Great-Gazoo /tapping-into-the-Matrix for 13 seconds making the rounds, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has renounced debating for the rest of the campaign. "I think it's pretty defined what [opponent Terry Goddard] stands for and what I stand for," she said "All you guys were doing and talking were beheadings, beheadings, beheadings," the governor said to the Daily Star. "That is something that has stuck with you all for so long, and I just felt we needed to move on." TPM: http://bit.ly/cIxtix

If you thought Brewer was super awkward pause-y on camera, allow us to remind you about this dude: http://bit.ly/RfdbK

THE GREAT "BIRTH TOURISM" THREAT MIGHT BE A TOUCH OVERSTATED - Much to the chagrin of many conservatives, you can't apply the five-second rule to babies and -- thank God -- a Pew researcher says there's no need to equate Mexican-American children to M&Ms. "Out of 340,000 babies born to illegal immigrants in the United States in 2008, 85 percent of the parents had been in the country for more than a year, and more than half for at least five years, Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer for Pew, told The Associated Press. And immigration experts say it's extraordinarily rare for immigrants to come to the U.S. just so they can have babies and get citizenship. In most cases, they come to the U.S. for economic reasons and better hospitals, and end up staying and raising families." http://bit.ly/bNR16r

Americans for Immigration Control is circulating a push poll that reads as if it is an official government survey. "Dear U.S. Citizen," the letter accompanying the survey reads, "You are hearby requested to answer the enclosed questionnaire concerning proposals to make significant changes in the current U.S. Immigration Policy." Later, before launching into an attack on President Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership immigration platform, the letter says that "Your completely candid answers to these and other questions are extremely important in assisting Congress and the Department of Homeland Security..." Letter: http://bit.ly/dqbeTV

It's been a while (five minutes?) since we've reported on a long shot candidate awkwardly singing about things. Allow us to introduce you to Steve Carlson, the Independence Party candidate for the Minnesota House seat currently held by Betty McCollum. Steve has produced a six-minute long campaign song that articulates his political grievances and prescriptions. It's kind of a public access television "American Pie." Obliged to @thefix. http://bit.ly/b3VVLu

SOME DENTIST WANTS HILLARY TO RUN IN 2012, BORED MEDIA ON A FRIDAY NOTES - William DeJean, a Chicago dentist with a fair amount of discretionary income, has bankrolled a TV spot drumming up support for a 2012 presidential run by the secretary of state. In the clip, which appears to take place in the middle of a Windows 95 screensaver, a list of Clinton's accomplishments (some more objective than others) are listed, culminating in a very WWE intro-like graphic of her with the words "HILLARY 2012: HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT" splashed underneath. DeJean says the ad is only running in New Orleans but insists that he will run it in New York City, Los Angeles and Houston. Whether the ad will be distributed in magazines alongside AOL 3.1 floppy disks is still unknown. Swampland: http://bit.ly/cqpVJe

ALVIN GREENE DOCUMENTARY IN THE WORKS - The Daily Caller reports that South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene is the subject of an in-the-works documentary. The feature is being produced by Ken Burns Los Angeles-based documentary filmmakers Leslie Beaumont and David Garrett and will feature a stirring Aaron Copland score interviews with the candidate and never-before-seen footage of Greene campaigning. Observers anticipate the film to be a meditation on the American experience smorgasbord of Greene ridiculousness. The project's working title is Alvin Greene: A Beautiful Ascent "Who is Alvin Greene?" Said Greene: "It's just like that, you know, they follow me, get some behind the scenes." http://bit.ly/9UT5tb

HUFFPOST HICCUP - Earlier this week we posted an excerpt from an AP story on the House Office of Congressional Ethics recommending the investigation of three members of Congress. The graph we included said that Congressman Tom Campbell, Republican of California, was on the list. That was incorrect. It should have said that John Campbell, Republican of California, was on the list (and our hack-asses should have caught this). Tom Campbell is a former Republican congressman from the Golden State and was a candidate in this year's Republican Senate primary. Mr. Campbell quickly e-mailed us about the mistake and we corrected the online version to reflect the change. Our bad.

Campbell (Tom, not John) sends along this update: "I have returned to teaching and academic research at Chapman University in Orange, where I'm a Visiting Professor of Economics and Law. I remain on leave from the faculty of the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, where I was Dean, until the end of this calendar year. I plan on volunteer teaching in Africa again this year, at Ashesi University in Ghana." Thanks, Tom!

Mike Kruger is leaving the Ed & Labor committee to join the Department of Commerce as its director of new media. Mike will take with him his epic ability to make his mass emails look like he's writing just to you. Really, he's a master at it.

LEVI JOHNSTON NOT VERY POPULAR - Only days after a poll indicated that most Alaska Republicans would not support Sarah Palin in the 2012 primary, a new survey indicates the state really likes eating its young. PPP: "John Edwards, move over. There's a new standard bearer for the most unpopular person PPP has polled in any state: Levi Johnston in Alaska. Edwards' 15/72 favorability on our January North Carolina poll had set the initial record for futility but Johnston matches the 72% unfavorable number while only 6% of Alaskans see him in a positive light. Those poll numbers probably don't bode too well for his Wasilla Mayoral candidacy. Johnston is reviled pretty universally across the board but he's a little more popular with Democrats (15/61) than he is with Republicans (4/76) or independents (4/74)." http://bit.ly/mp96V

Money quote in Laura Bassett's piece on a possible double-dip recession: "What he neglected to mention was that you can't have any sign at all of something that cannot exist. In order to have a double dip recession on the heels of another recession, that first recession must end first." http://huff.to/9zezZy

JEREMY THE INTERN'S WEATHER REPORT - This weekend: Cooler air sweeps through. While it will remain sunny, it will cool off. Expect a high in the low 80s all weekend long with mostly clear and sunny skies. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend! Thanks, JB!

Me, I'm a-going hurricane hunting. Stay safe, JB!

COMFORT FOOD

- The trailer to the upcoming movie, "Hobo With A Shotgun," is everything you'd want it to be. http://bit.ly/bpm4pY

- An orangutan babysitting two lion cubs. http://bit.ly/bDMalS

- Maybe the smallest grill we've ever seen. http://bit.ly/cYEGvc

- A singing unicorn. http://bit.ly/9Yo5d6

- A Dallas strip club spotlight interfered with a plane landing nearby. Note the club owner's patriotic flag pin. http://bit.ly/bHOGh3

- Steampunk Mr. Potato Head. http://bit.ly/aCQAnI

- From the people that brought you "Hot Drinks," "Cold Drinks." http://bit.ly/buq8wG

- LIFE IS SO RACIST. http://bzfd.it/coEZrI

TWITTERAMA

@rainnwilson: Glenn Beck admitted to telling a lie during his 'restoring honor' rally. No joke necessary in this 2nd sentence.

@kilmeade: http://twitpic.com/2kwcc3 - Thought you might want to see my 5some today in waco it was a true thrill on patriot golf day

@markknoller: Memo to Dick Wolf. Reporter killed covering hurricane and D.A. charges assignment editor with reckless indifference.

@brianbeutler: Is that my honor you're restoring or are you just happy to see me? #beckpickuplines

THE TUBE

TONIGHT: Donna Edwards is on Hardball, discussing the Bush tax cuts. Ed Shultz talks to Richard Trumka about the economy. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan stops by Bloomberg's Political Capital.

SUNDAY SHOWS

Meet the Press: Lindsey Graham, David Plouffe, Kendrick Meek.

This Week: Tony Blair, Tom Friedman, Mary Jordan, Paul Krugman, George Will.

Face the Nation: Laura Tyson, Mark Zandi, Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times Assistant Business and Financial Editor; Nancy Cordes. CBS News Capitol Hill Correspondent; Jim VandeHei, Politico Executive Editor.

State of the Union: Richard Trumka, Todd McCracken, Ron Fournier, Michael Duffy, Elisabeth Bumiller.

ON TAP

TONIGHT

5:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Josh Bayer, a "progressive guitarist," performs at this week's "Jazz in the Garden" [National Sculpture Garden, Constitution Ave NW & 7th Street NW].

7:50 pm - 9:00 pm: For all of you who just started liking boys/girls in the early 90s, this weeks' installment of the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival screens "Billy Madison" [Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Highway, Arlington].

TOMORROW

11:00 am - 4:00 pm: Get yer art while it's hot. Free Summer Saturdays at the Corcoran. This week there will be a free life model sketching in the atrium with all the materials provided (including the model!) [Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th Street NW].

8:00 pm: It's the Black Cat's 17th Birthday Party featuring a slew of local acts. 17 years of area teenagers with scarlet Xs on their hands. 17 years of being a late night Ben's feeder. 17 years of all that crap written on the bathroom wall, etc [Black Cat, 1811 14th Street NW].

SUNDAY

12:00 pm: Cheap PBR and free BBQ (get it while you can) at Solly's. Games, prizes and music too boot. Proceeds go to the Capitol Food Bank [Solly's U Street Tavern, 1942 11th Street NW].

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