memeorandum: Amazon rainforest activist shot dead (Tom Phillips/Guardian)

7:00 AM ET, May 25, 2011

Top Items:

Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:

Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan — Democrats scored an upset in one of New York's most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party's plan to overhaul Medicare.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, RedState, TBogg, alicublog, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, The Page, New York Magazine, Booman Tribune, The Reality-Based Community, Gawker and Oliver Willis

Allen Wilson / Buffalo News:

Corwin granted court order barring certification of winner — Jane L. Corwin this afternoon obtained a court order from State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia barring a certification of a winner in the special 26th Congressional District race pending a show-cause hearing before him later this week.

Discussion: The Reaction, Hot Air, Weigel, The Other McCain, The Daily Caller, TPMDC, The Batavian, The Beast, Firedoglake, The Caucus, The Lonely Conservative, Taegan Goddard's … and Ballot Box

Chris Lee Resignation / Buffalo News:

Hochul takes House seat in stunner — Kathleen Courtney Hochul, the Erie County clerk and longtime Democratic figure who defied political experts giving her little chance of success, ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory Tuesday in the special election for the predominantly Republican 26th Congressional District.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, The Nation, 24Ahead, The Batavian, Gothamist, The Hill and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:

Democrat Kathy Hochul Wins Upset In NY-26, Medicare Vote Key To Victory — Republicans are going to have plenty of questions about their plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program tomorrow morning after Democrats romped to an improbable victory in a special election focused almost entirely on the issue.

Discussion: The New Republic, UPI, The Politico, campaignmoney.org, First Draft, Salon and ThinkProgress

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:

With his budget plan the top issue, Rep. Ryan waded into NY-26 (updated) — Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (R) contributed to New York Republican Jane Corwin's special-election campaign. — The House Budget Committee chairman's political action committee, Prosperity PAC, sent a fundraising email …

Discussion: The Politico, ABCNEWS and CNN

Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
AP: Democrat Hochul pulls off upset in New York congressional race

Discussion: Hotline On Call, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Raymond Hernandez / The Caucus:
Democrat Wins Upstate New York Congressional Race

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Prairie Weather, Liberal Values and Capital Tonight

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box: Dem campaign chief: Medicare ‘changed the climate’ in NY-26

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Palin's Secret Weapon: New Film to Premiere in June — Shortly after Republicans swept last November to a historic victory in which Sarah Palin was credited with playing a central role, the former Alaska governor pulled aside her close aide, Rebecca Mansour, to discuss a hush-hush assignment …

Discussion: Wizbang, Taylor Marsh, Conservatives4Palin, The Page, Balloon Juice and The Politico

The Note:

‘Epic’ Sarah Palin Documentary Due Out in June — ABC News' Sheila Marikar reports: — Sarah Palin — movie star? — It's a title the former Alaska governor may soon take on. Palin aide Tim Crawford confirmed to ABC News today that a documentary about Palin's governorship exists, and she “loves it.”

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog

The Note:

Israeli Prime Minister Gets 29 Standing Ovations in Congress, Sends Message to White House* — ABC's Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) reports: — *UPDATE: President Obama got 25 standing ovations from Congress during his 2011 State of the Union address. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got 29 today.

Scott Wong / The Politico:

Rand Paul skips Netanyahu address — As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warm welcome from a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) skipped out on the speech, sitting quietly at his Senate desk shuffling through papers and newspapers.

Discussion: Guardian, Nice Deb, Hit & Run, New York Magazine, Weigel, Ben Smith's Blog, Little Green Footballs, FrumForum and C-SPAN Recent Events

Facebook:

Speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress — I am deeply honored by your warm welcome. And I am deeply honored that you have given me the opportunity to address Congress a second time. — Mr. Vice President, do you remember the time we were the new kids in town?

Discussion: Bad Rachel, TPMCafe, FrumForum, ThinkProgress, The Right Scoop, FP Passport, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, National Review and Michelle Malkin

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
The U.S. Congress Cheers Netanyahu's Claim That Israel Does Not Occupy The West Bank

Discussion: COLlive.com, Booman Tribune and Elder of Ziyon

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House members side with Netanyahu

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Salon, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers and Ben Smith's Blog

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Good news: Obama botches toast to the queen — Ah, now his “2008″ gaffe from earlier today is starting to make more sense. Turns out ... he really is brain-damaged. — No, I kid. I think he, like Frank Drebin, simply doesn't believe in silly ideas like having queens:

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and Freedom's Lighthouse

Political Punch:

Awkward Moment During Obama Toast to Queen — The president and the orchestra at Buckingham Palace this evening were a bit out of synch. — When the president toasted the Queen the orchestra misunderstood a pause and what seemed to be a cue from the president for “God Save the Queen” to begin playing.

Discussion: Nice Deb, The Lonely Conservative, Michelle Malkin and Pajamas Media

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico: Obama gets the royal treatment

Dan Amira / New York Magazine:

President Obama Has No Idea What Year It Is — This is how President Obama signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where he got a tour from the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall and laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. … It was really nice until he got the date wrong by three years.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Political Punch, Liberal Values, Verum Serum, Telegraph, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media, National Review, Freedom's Lighthouse, Mediaite, Atlas Shrugs, Doug Ross, The Blaze, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications and JammieWearingFool

James Hill / ABCNEWS:

John Edwards: US Green-Lights Prosecution for Alleged Campaign Law Violations Tied to Affair Cover-Up — Former Sen. John Edwards speaks at a campaign rally Jan. 26, 2008, in Columbia, S.C. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images) — The United States Department of Justice has green-lighted the prosecution …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker and FrumForum

Charlie Riedel / The Atlantic Online:

Tornado-Damaged Joplin, From Above — The death toll in Joplin, Missouri, has now topped 118, making Sunday's catastrophe the single deadliest tornado recorded in the United States since modern record keeping began 60 years ago. Rescuers continue their work despite hazardous conditions …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Radio Iowa, CNN and Taylor Marsh

CNN: Tornado kills two near Oklahoma City, officials say

New York Times:
After Missouri Tornado, Grim Search for Missing

Discussion: Freedom's Lighthouse, Outside the Beltway, Newsy.com Videos Feed and FrumForum

Brian Leiter / Leiter Reports:

Sanctimonious Jackass Brad DeLong vs. Political Philosopher Chris Bertram — Here and here. Professor Bertram's response seems to me quite apt. Professor DeLong has a real complex about those to his left. Very odd. — UPDATE: Brad Delong is not only a sanctimonious jackass, he's an underhanded and dishonest slimeball.

Discussion: Crooked Timber and Grasping Reality …

National Council of Women's Organizations:

Older Women's Economic Security Task Force — In the fall of 1998, NCWO formed an Older Women's Economic Security Task Force to address the critical issue of Social Security reform and to help policy makers understand women's stake in this crucial issue. The Task Force has worked …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, AlterNet and Taylor Marsh

Daily Mail:

The Bin Laden backlash: Angry Muslims demonstrate outside Downing Street as Obama visits Britain — Muslim activists descended on Downing Street today in protest at Barack Obama's state visit to London. — As the president met David Cameron in Whitehall, an angry crowd of burka clad women …

Discussion: Doug Ross and Atlas Shrugs

Tom Phillips / Guardian:

Amazon rainforest activist shot dead — José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva fought against illegal loggers and had received death threats but was refused police protection — Six months after predicting his own murder, a leading rainforest defender has reportedly been gunned down in the Brazilian Amazon.

Discussion: Green

David Eldridge / Washington Times:

Study: Liberal leanings hurt Republicans' place in history — Call it history's conservative curse. — According to a University of Miami study, those historical rankings of American presidents that pop up every year or so are significantly weighted in favor of Democrats, thanks to the liberal leanings of academia.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative

Neil Munro / The Daily Caller:

Facebook upgrade spurs fears of political bias — Facebook's managers are deploying a new software upgrade that will dismantle myriad groups of like-minded political activists unless they get a special software-key from the company. — But Facebook manager are providing very limited information …

Discussion: Hot Air and Atlas Shrugs

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

PAGE THE FAT LADY LIVE BLOGGING — 10:04 PM: Just after 10 PM, AP calls it for Hochul. — 10:07 PM: Couple key points to note in these results. First, as noted below, the Democrat matched the 2006 margin in this district. And 2006 was a huge wave election for the Dems.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

The Atlantic Online:

Do We Have the Congo Rape Crisis All Wrong? — We've long understood the country's horrifying rate of sexual assault — on average 48 rapes per hour — to be a function and tool of conflict, but it may be something very different — The international media lit up last week with news …

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Subpoena Issued to Writer In C.I.A.-Iran Leak Case — WASHINGTON — With the approval of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., federal prosecutors are trying to force the author of a book on the C.I.A. to testify at a criminal trial about who leaked information to him about the agency's effort …

Discussion: Gawker, The Raw Story, Battleland, FishbowlNY and The Volokh Conspiracy, more at Mediagazer »

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:

Run, Paul Ryan, run — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' decision not to run for president is bad for Republicans. Time for Rep. Paul Ryan to ride to the rescue. — Rep. Paul Ryan explains his controversial Medicare overhaul plan at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin last month. (Mira Oberman / AFP/Getty Images)

Discussion: Eunomia, The Daily Caller and Mother Jones

Maureen O'Connor / Gawker:

The World's Last Handwritten Newspaper — The Musalman is the world's oldest Urdu-language daily newspaper. It is also thought to be the world's last handwritten daily newspaper. Everyday, four katibs—practitioners of the ancient art of Urdu calligraphy—write The Musalman's four broadsheet pages from right to left, by hand.

Discussion: The Daily What