memeorandum: EXCLUSIVE: DHS Can't Account for 10 Libyan Men It Caught and Released Inside U.S. (Penny Starr/CNSNews)

11:40 AM ET, April 23, 2011

Top Items:

BBC:

Syria unrest: ‘Bloodiest day’ as troops fire on rallies — Amateur video purportedly showing large protests across the country — Protesters in Syria report 60 people killed by security forces - the highest death toll in five weeks of unrest against President Bashar al-Assad.

Discussion: Syria Comment, The Washington Note, Right Wing News, The Reaction and Jay Currie

Washington Post:

Shameful U.S. inaction on Syria's massacres — FOR THE PAST five weeks, growing numbers of Syrians have been gathering in cities and towns across the country to demand political freedom — and the security forces of dictator Bashar al-Assad have been responding by opening fire on them.

Discussion: Firedoglake, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Maggie's Farm

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Statements on Syria — Obama, in what Crowley describes as a …

Discussion: Hot Air, CNN and Swampland

Voice of America:
Listen to what VOA's Cecily Hilleary and Steve Bangley discovered after talking to Syrian eyewitnesses …

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit

Anthony Shadid / New York Times:
Security Forces Kill Dozens in Uprisings Around Syria

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Hit & Run, The Belgravia Dispatch, FrumForum, Al Jazeera Blogs and CNN

Molly Hendrickson / WBAY-TV:

School District Employee Disciplined for Political Phone Call — A Sheboygan gas station owner is baffled after a mystery caller tells a clerk it's a bad idea to do business with a Sheboygan-area state senator. — It started Tuesday when a woman called Dick Hiers's Northeast Standard gas station …

Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin:

Wisconsin School Employee Makes Threatening Phone Call to Business for Selling Gas to GOPer — Maybe the caller was only trying to make sure the pumps were clear in case any Wisconsin Senate fleebaggers needed to top off the tank for another escape to Illinois. — From WBAY-TV:

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Paul Krugman says “So, let's try another shot to the head.” — I realize he's talking about a misconception, and he has designated the misconception a “zombie,” and according to zombie lore, zombies are destroyed by shooting them in the head. But still. That's quite a violent way to talk …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Paul Krugman:

Zombie Tax Lies — The claim that only rich people pay taxes is a zombie lie — something that keeps coming back no matter how many times it's killed by evidence. — So, let's try another shot to the head. — Yes, high-income people pay the bulk of the federal income tax. But that's not the only tax!

Discussion: The Mahablog and The New Republic

Gautham Nagesh / The Hill:

Obama: No ‘silver bullet’ to bring down gas prices — President Obama said Saturday there are no easy answers for lowering gas prices, which are hovering above $4 a gallon, and criticized politicians who push plans to immediately reduce the price of gas. — “You see people trying …

Discussion: The Hill, The Politico, Marist Poll, JammieWearingFool, FrumForum and Scared Monkeys

The Professor / Streetwise Professor:
The Department of Distraction Swings Into Action

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette, Power Line and Hit & Run

Wall Street Journal:

Shutter Fraternities for Young Women's Good — In the fall of 1984, a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia named Liz Securro was invited to a fraternity party. While there, she was given a tour of the historic house and offered a cup of the dark green cocktail that was its specialty.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Althouse and Instapundit

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

MCCAIN RETURNS TO LIBYA — UNDER VERY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.... Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) yesterday became the highest profile U.S. official to visit Libya since international military intervention began, and gave a hearty endorsement to the rebels fighting the Gadhafi government.

Discussion: The Hill, Eschaton, The Hill and Sweetness & Light

Larry McShane / NY Daily News:

Derek Fenton, Koran-burning transit worker fired from his job after Ground Zero protest, re-hired — A Koran-burning New Jersey Transit worker, fired for his protest near Ground Zero last Sept. 11, is getting his job back - along with an extra $25,000 for his troubles.

Discussion: National Review and The Volokh Conspiracy

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Builders of New Homes Seeing No Sign of Recovery — RICHMOND, Ill. — In this distant Chicago suburb, a builder has finally found a way to persuade people to buy a new house: he throws in a car. — Kim Meier's spring promotion, which includes a $17,000 credit at a nearby General Motors dealer …

Discussion: The Big Picture, The Politico and Calculated Risk

The Politico:

John Ensign bolted to avoid more public embarrassment — Sen. John Ensign abruptly announced his resignation after it grew increasingly clear to him that he would not be able to avoid a public review of the sordid allegations surrounding his sex scandal, including the open airing of details …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Senate Resignation May Not Halt Release of Evidence

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Firedoglake, Guardian and FiveThirtyEight

Eric Roper / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Voting is indeed a right, Zellers agrees after radio show error — House Speaker Kurt Zellers found himself in a constitutional bind on Thursday after saying that voting was a privilege, not a right. — The Maple Grove Republican made the comment Wednesday night during a local radio show, “The Late Debate.”

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and TPMDC

Evan Harris / ABCNEWS:

Franklin Graham: Trump Might be Candidate of Choice — The Rev. Franklin Graham, whose family has served as spiritual advisers to numerous prominent political figures, told “This Week” anchor Christiane Amanpour that businessman Donald Trump might be his candidate of choice in 2012 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Connecting.the.Dots, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN, Hot Air, TPMDC, Little Green Footballs, Taylor Marsh, The Hill, FrumForum and Weigel

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Collins is first GOP senator to oppose Ryan budget proposal — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) said Friday that she will not support the 2012 budget passed by the House last week. — “I don't happen to support Congressman Ryan's plan but at least he had the courage to put forth a plan …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Guardian and TPMDC