memeorandum: Senators spar over Afghanistan (The Politico)

6:50 PM ET, June 8, 2011

Top Items:

Weiner's Wife Is Pregnant — Their marriage has become the subject of intense speculation and scrutiny amid an embarrassing online sex scandal. — Now, Representative Anthony D. Weiner and Huma Abedin are about to make news of a different kind: they are expecting their first child.

Adrian Chen / Gawker:

Anthony Weiner's Cock Shot Emerges — Nobody really expected the week to end without Anthony Weiner's penis splashed all over the internet. And here it is: Andrew Breitbart showed a couple of radio DJs a picture of what is likely Anthony Weiner's dick, then they leaked it on Twitter.

Discussion: The Note, Weigel, Taylor Marsh, The Other McCain, The Raw Story, The Nation, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, Weasel Zippers, Gothamist, FishbowlDC, TPMDC and American Power

Fox News:

It's Out: Purported X-Rated Weiner Photo on Internet — It only took two days. — After Andrew Breitbart, publisher of the conservative BigGovernment.com and other sites, claimed Monday he had an X-rated photo of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the purported image has surfaced on the Internet.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, Pajamas Media, Wake up America and Fox Nation

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:

Dems start bailing on Weiner — The dam is breaking on Rep. Anthony Weiner as he battles to save his career from a sex scandal made for the Internet age. — Several prominent Democratic officials, including two former chairmen of the Democratic National Committee, have called on him to resign from the House.

Discussion: Ballot Box, The Hill, UALR Public Radio, Top of the Ticket, TPMDC, Washington Post, Swampland, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, FrumForum, Suburban Guerrilla, New York Magazine and Pajamas Media

Andrew Breitbart / Big Government:

Statement on Opie & Anthony's Illicit Capture and Release of Photograph — Earlier today, a photograph resembling one that I had withheld from publication in the Weinergate saga was released without my knowledge or permission. — Prior to the publication of our story on BigGovernment.com …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, The Reid Report, The Jawa Report, The Daily Beast and Doug Ross

Kirsten Powers / The Daily Beast:
Anthony Weiner's Ex: He Lied to Me

Discussion: Datechguy's Blog, Fox Nation, The Daily Beast, CNN and The Daily Caller

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Final Weiner pic leaks onto the Internet; Update: DCCC official calls for Weiner's resignation

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, Pajamas Media and Althouse

Elspeth Reeve / The Atlantic Wire: Breitbart's X-Rated ‘Insurance Policy’ Photo of Weiner Leaks

Justin Elliott / Salon:
Purported X-rated Weiner image released

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and No More Mister Nice Blog

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
It Gets Worse: Opie And Anthony Post Alleged Raw Picture Of Weiner's Penis

Discussion: CBS New York and Runnin' Scared

New York Times:
Weiner Faces Calls to Resign and Tries to Make Amends

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
If scandal doesn't get Weiner, New York legislators might

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Anthony Weiner explained self to Bill Clinton

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers, The Reid Report and Indecision Forever

The Atlantic Online:
What Anthony Weiner's Scandal Means for Democrats

Discussion: Washington Post and The Moderate Voice

Leigh Paynter / KXTV:

Education officials break down Stockton man's door — “I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers,” Wright said. — Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts as a S.W.A.T team barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Ricochet Conversation Feed, Vox Popoli, Gawker, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Lonely Conservative, The Reality-Based Community, theblogprof, Pajamas Media, The Agitator and The Jawa Report

Matt Welch / Hit & Run:

No Really: SWAT Team Raids House at 6 AM and Handcuffs Father of Three Young Kids to Execute a Dept. of Education Search Warrant for Estranged Wife's Defaulted Student Loans — I know Mike Riggs just mentioned it in the morning links, but if this story isn't a wake-up call about the militarization …

Discussion: American Times and Above the Law

Matt Welch / Hit & Run:

Dept. of Education SWAT Raid Update: Not for a Student Loan, DoE Says — Just received an e-mail from Department of Education Deputy Press Secretary Daren Briscoe in regards to this morning's news that a SWAT team was sent to execute a warrant on the estranged husband of a student-loan defaulter.

Discussion: ABA Journal Daily News

Daily Mail:
A little over the top?: SWAT team launch dawn raid on family home to collect unpaid student loans

Discussion: Cato @ Liberty

Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin:
Dept. of Education Has SWAT Team Raid Home Over Student Loan Default; Update: OIG Agents, Not SWAT

Discussion: The Politico, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, JammieWearingFool and Pajamas Media

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Palin chief blasts Rollins, expects ‘retraction’ — Sarah Palin's chief of staff blasted Michele Bachmann strategist Ed Rollins today after Rollins criticized the former Alaska governor and suggested to POLITICO that his candidate would benefit by comparison to her

Discussion: Hot Air, Firedoglake, Weigel, Top of the Ticket, The Page, The Note, Daily Kos and The Daily Dish

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Bachmann adviser: ‘My misstep’ on Palin — Michele Bachmann adviser Ed Rollins' response to the sharp criticisms from Sarah Palin's world just now was to “let it go.” — But he didn't go quietly, telling me, “I haven't lived in Washington D.C. in 15 years, and I've been taken to the woodshed by the big boys.”

Discussion: National Review, CNN, Pajamas Media, Washington Post, Swampland, Little Green Footballs and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

The Politico:

Stars collide: Michele Bachmann vs. Sarah Palin — Michelle Bachmann's top aide dismissed Sarah Palin as — Rep. Michele Bachmann's prospective 2012 campaign appears increasingly set on a collision course with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. — The coming confrontation is being driven …

Discussion: CNN, MoJo Articles, Washington Post, Mediaite, Guardian, msnbc.com, TPMDC, The Political Carnival, Salon, USA Today, Lisa Graas, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Daily Kos

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Rudy's Running — I'm told by two reliable sources that Rudy Giuliani intends to run for the GOP nomination for president in 2012. He may throw his hat in the ring soon. — Rudy's theory of the race: In the fall of 2007, he decided he couldn't compete with both Mitt Romney and John McCain …

Discussion: GOP 12, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media and New York Magazine

David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:

Judges sharply challenge healthcare law — Skeptical questions from three federal judges in Atlanta suggest they may be ready to declare unconstitutional all or part of the healthcare law promoted by the Obama administration and passed last year by Congress.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, TalkLeft, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Lonely Conservative and Patterico's Pontifications

Healthwatch:
Judges said to be skeptical of healthcare mandate

Discussion: The Politico

Richard Johnson / The Daily:

Baldwin sees Weiner's implosion as opportunity for him in 2013 — Alec Baldwin is mulling a run for mayor of New York City now that kinky Congressman Anthony Weiner appears to have sexted himself out of the 2013 race. — The “30 Rock” star, who has long talked about running for political office …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, PopWatch, Weasel Zippers, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, The Smoking Gun, PopEater, Mediaite, New York Magazine, newsfeed.time.com and The Daily Caller

Rachael R / Delta Air Lines Blog:

Military Travel: Baggage Policies & Our Thoughts — Update: — Thank you to everyone who has participated in the recent conversations on baggage allowances for active duty U.S. military personnel. We appreciate all of your thoughts and insight, and want to share an update on the soldiers involved …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Stars & Stripes, Crooks and Liars, Runnin' Scared, Gadling, New York Times, JammieWearingFool, The Raw Story, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Ricochet Conversation Feed, BLACKFIVE, Gawker, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly and Political Insider

Stacy Kaper / NationalJournal.com:

Senate Rejects Delay of Debit Card Swipe Fee Rules — In a highly anticipated vote, the Senate rejected by 54 to 45 an amendment from Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., on Wednesday that would have delayed a swipe fee regulation from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Discussion: The Hill, Sunlight Foundation Blog and Oliver Willis

The Note:
Debit Card ‘Swipe’ Fee Debate Gets a Vote Today

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and Deal Journal

Jennifer Granholm / Reuters:

Let Mitt Romney go bankrupt — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is due in Detroit Wednesday and Thursday to fill his presidential campaign war chest. As at recent events, he's likely to take partial credit for the extraordinary resurgence of the U.S. auto industry …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Asked If Homosexuality Is A Sin, Mitt Romney Responds, ‘Nice Try’

Discussion: CNN, pandagon.net, Lisa Graas, Washington Wire, Good As You and EnviroKnow

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Billionaire Israeli donor: Obama is not anti-Israel — When billionaire Israeli American Haim Saban, one of the DNC's top contributors, was recently reported to have vowed not to give money to Obama's reelection campaign over his Israel stance, conservatives pounced.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Debate Link and Ben Smith's Blog

Jennifer Preston / New York Times:

A Twitter Group Warned About Weiner — Three months before Representative Anthony D. Weiner sent a photo from his Twitter account to a 21-year-old Washington State college student named Gennette Cordova, a small group of determined, self-described conservatives were warning young women on Twitter …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Wonkette and Althouse

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

CNN Poll: Obama approval rating drops as fears of depression rise — (CNN) - President Barack Obama's overall approval rating has dropped below 50 percent as a growing number of Americans worry that the U.S. is likely to slip into another Great Depression within the next 12 months, according to a new national poll.

Discussion: Washington Post, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Don Surber, Hot Air and Weigel

Ilya Shapiro / Cato @ Liberty:

The Obamacare Lawsuit: From the Courtroom in Atlanta — ATLANTA — In the most important appeal of the Obamacare constitutional saga, today was the best day yet for individual freedom. The government's lawyer, Neal Katyal, spent most of the hearing on the ropes, with the judicial panel extremely cautious …

Martin Feldstein / Wall Street Journal:

The Economy Is Worse Than You Think — Expect more bad news until someone enacts a plan to bring deficits under control without raising taxes. — The policies of the Obama administration have led to the weak condition of the American economy. Growth during the coming year will be subpar at best …

Discussion: New York Times, Pajamas Media, Washington Post, Sister Toldjah, Wake up America, American Power and BizzyBlog

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Why Do Lefties Hate Tax Cuts on the Rich? — Reading Tim Pawlenty's paean to double plus supply-side-ism yesterday made me wonder, once again, why conservatives think we liberals are opposed to it. I mean, if it actually worked, why would we be? It's politically popular …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly and The New Republic

Isabella Steger / Dispatch:

Photos of Syrian-American Blogger Called into Question … The reported disappearance of a Syrian-American lesbian blogger is taking a mysterious turn as a London woman claims photos plastered across the Internet and newspapers are of her, not of the blogger.