memeorandum: A snap election promises Cameron the glory he craves (Tom Watson/Labour Uncut)

1:20 PM ET, January 12, 2011

Top Items:

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

America's Enduring Strength — Please click here to view the video of this statement. — Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims. No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent …

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Clyburn: Palin intellectually unable 'to understand what's going on here' — A House Democratic leader on Wednesday lashed out at Sarah Palin, accusing the former Alaska governor of being intellectually incapable of understanding why she's faced criticism related to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, The Jawa Report, Ben Smith's Blog, Weasel Zippers, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit, AMERICAblog News, Booman Tribune, TPMDC and JammieWearingFool

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Sarah Palin charges critics with ‘blood libel’ — Sarah Palin: “America's Enduring Strength” from Sarah Palin on Vimeo. — Sarah Palin released a video statement Wednesday calling the rush to pin blame on conservatives for the Tucson shooting “reprehensible” and a “blood libel.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Ezra Klein, The Huffington Post, Politics Daily, The New Republic, ANIMAL, Tablet Magazine, PostPartisan, The Maddow Blog, Balloon Juice, RedState, FrumForum, nancynall.com and Oliver Willis

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

“Blood Libel” — I should have said this a few days ago, when my friend Glenn Reynolds introduced the term to this debate. But I think that the use of this particular term in this context isn't ideal. Historically, the term is almost invariably used to describe anti-Semitic myths …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Daily Dish, AOL News, Washington Post and Harry's Place

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

The origins of ‘blood libel’ — As I noted earlier, I was curious how “blood libel” — historically the specific term for the anti-semitic slur and incitement that Jews prepared ritual food with the blood of Christian children — has made its way into the American political debate …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Religion Dispatches, PostPartisan, Michelle Malkin, The Wire, AOL News, The Politico, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Empire and Biased BBC, more at Mediagazer »

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Palin accuses media of ‘blood libel’ in Giffords shooting aftermath — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) on Wednesday accused the media of “blood libel” by looking to assign blame for the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). — Palin offered a pointed defense of herself …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Indecision Forever, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Wire, AMERICAblog News, National Review, The Maddow Blog and Washington Post

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Palin Calls Criticism ‘Blood Libel’ — Sarah Palin: “America's Enduring Strength” from Sarah Palin on Vimeo. — Sarah Palin, who had been silent for days, on Wednesday issued a forceful denunciation of her critics in a video statement that accused pundits and journalists of “blood libel” …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Mediaite, The Nation, No More Mister Nice Blog, RHRealityCheck.org, National Post, Guardian and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Massacre, followed by libel — The charge: The Tucson massacre is a consequence of the “climate of hate” created by Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, Obamacare opponents and sundry other liberal betes noires. — The verdict: Rarely in American political discourse has there been a charge so reckless …

Discussion: Swampland, Wake up America, The Politico, Power Line, New York Times, NewsBusters.org, The Confluence, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hit & Run, Commentary, Jane Fonda, NewsReal Blog, MyDD, NewsBusters.org blogs, Conservatives4Palin, The Gateway Pundit, Salon and TPMDC

Mj Lee / The Politico:
Franks takes defense of Palin to a new level

Discussion: Tucson Weekly

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Palin's Test — Sarah Palin: “America's Enduring Strength” from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Runnin' Scared

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HALF-TERM GOVERNOR BREAKS HER SILENCE.... As tempted as I am …

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Dish

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
The Term ‘Blood Libel’: More Common Than You Might Think

Discussion: Politics Daily, NewsBusters.org blogs, Instapundit and JammieWearingFool

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Palin: ‘Blood libel’

Discussion: The Plum Line, Washington Post, The Fix and AmSpecBlog

Ryan J. Reilly / TPMDC:
Sarah Palin Accuses Journalists Of ‘Blood Libel,’ …

Discussion: Guardian, TPMMuckraker and Yglesias

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
Angle: Media ‘inappropriately attributing blame’ for Tucson shooting

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, CNN, The Reaction, The Politico, The Impolitic and The Hill

Edythe Jensen / Arizona Republic:

Gabrielle Giffords' Arizona shooting prompts resignations — A nasty battle between factions of Legislative District 20 Republicans and fears that it could turn violent in the wake of what happened in Tucson on Saturday prompted District Chairman Anthony Miller and several others to resign.

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, alicublog, Raw Story and Blog For Arizona

New York Times:
Congress Pays Tribute to Victims of Shooting

Discussion: FrumForum

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Gabrielle Giffords first photos from her hospital room

Discussion: Runnin' Scared and Elizabeth Scalia

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
AZ Republicans Resign After Giffords Shooting, Citing Threats …

Discussion: RHRealityCheck.org and Balloon Juice

Chris Ariens / mediabistro.com:

Jared Loughner's friend says suspect ‘Did not watch TV ... disliked the news’ — This morning on “Good Morning America,” ABC's Ashleigh Banfield sat down with Zach Osler, a high school friend of Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson massacre. — Osler says his friend wasn't shooting at people, “he was shooting at the world.”

Discussion: Hit & Run, Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blog, Biased BBC, JONATHAN TURLEY and msnbc.com

New York Times:

Police Say They Visited Tucson Suspect's Home Even Before Rampage — TUCSON — The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion before the attack here on Saturday that left a congresswoman fighting for her life and six others dead …

Michelle Malkin:
The worst sheriff in America; Update: Dupnik covers up

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Jawa Report, Ace of Spades HQ, Big Government, Moonbattery, The Other McCain, NewsMax.com, American Thinker, The Gateway Pundit and Pundit & Pundette

Associated Press:
Officers stopped suspect on day of Ariz. shooting

Discussion: Sweetness & Light and MyFox Phoenix

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Boehner opposes new gun-control bill — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rejecting gun-control legislation offered by the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in response to the weekend shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Arizona.

Discussion: The Politico, New York Times, Salon, Bloomberg, Pirate's Cove, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Hot Air, Reuters, Prairie Weather, The Page, Sky Dancing, FrumForum and The Moderate Voice

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Did Democrats Give Up in the Gun Control Debate?

Discussion: The Daily Dish, DownWithTyranny!, Salon and The Confluence

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
For Boehner, Rampage Imposes Its Own Agenda

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Sweetness & Light, The Caucus and The Note

Free Times:

THIS JUST IN — A South Carolina gun and accessories company is selling semi-automatic rifle components inscribed with “You lie” - a tribute to the infamous words of 2nd District Republican Congressman Joe Wilson when he shouted at President Barack Obama during a congressional speech …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's …, Raw Story, The Impolitic, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, TPMMuckraker and Feministe

The Huffington Post:
Joe Wilson ‘You Lie’ Slogan Etched Onto Line Of Assault Rifle Components

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake and Balloon Juice

Nada Bakri / New York Times:

Hezbollah Forces Collapse of Lebanese Government — BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah and its allies forced the collapse of the government here on Wednesday, deepening a crisis over a United Nations-backed tribunal investigating the assassination of a former prime minister.

Discussion: Shakesville, Elder of Ziyon, FP Passport and Wonkette

Zeina Karam / Associated Press:
Lebanon's government falls as Hezbollah pulls out

Discussion: The Hill

Monica Davey / New York Times:

Illinois Legislators Approve 66% Tax Increase — CHICAGO — With only hours left before new state lawmakers were to take over, Illinois's State Legislature narrowly approved early on Wednesday an increase of about 66 percent in the state's income tax rate. — The vast size of the increase …

Discussion: Clout St, Sweetness & Light, Outside the Beltway and The Page

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Christie: Retired Rudy in “peanut gallery” — On Morning Joe today, Chris Christie fought back against Rudy Giuliani's recent claim that Christie should have been in his state during the holiday snowstorm. … And here's the Giuliani broadside from January 7 that prompted Christie's reply.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Christie swipes at Giuliani over snowstorm criticism

Discussion: The Politico

Paul Colford / ap.org:

AP and Shepard Fairey announce agreement in Obama poster case — The Associated Press, Shepard Fairey and Mr. Fairey's companies Obey Giant Art, Inc., Obey Giant LLC, and Studio Number One, Inc., have agreed in principle to settle their pending copyright infringement lawsuit over rights in the Obama Hope poster and related merchandise.

Discussion: Lens, Runnin' Scared and Taegan Goddard's …, more at Mediagazer »

John / Power Line:

Paul Krugman, Buffoon — Within hours after Jared Loughner's killing spree, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman went straight for the gutter, proclaiming, with no evidence whatsoever, that Loughner's act was in all likelihood “political,” and going on to blame Republicans for the murders.

Discussion: Commentary, Wall Street Journal and Pajamas Media

Cindy Perman / Pony in Here Somewhere Blog:

Housing Market Slips Into Depression Territory — As the economy revs back to life, with signs of hiring on the horizon, the housing market is being left behind like Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone.” — In the past few years, we've all been careful to choose our words carefully …

Discussion: Hot Air

Wall Street Journal:

Postings of a Troubled Mind — Accused Shooter Wrote on Gaming Site of His Job Woes, Rejection by Women — Last May 9, at two in the morning, Jared Lee Loughner typed a question to a group of about 50 online gamers located around the world: “Does anyone have aggression 24/7?”