memeorandum: German police vulture scheme fails to take off (Stephen Evans/BBC)

1:50 PM ET, June 30, 2011

Top Items:

Mark Halperin suspended over Obama remark on Morning Joe (video) — MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin was suspended on Thursday by the cable network after he called President Obama “a dick” on a popular morning show and then quickly apologized. — “I thought he was a dick yesterday …

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Mark Halperin and the Quote of the Day — It's hard not to love that “liberal” media. — On MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” the three-hour program co-hosted by a conservative Republican former congressman, Time magazine's Mark Halperin was asked for his assessment of President Obama's White House press conference.

Discussion: GOOD, Crooks and Liars, American Power, Balloon Juice and AMERICAblog News

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

MSNBC Suspends Mark Halperin For Calling President Obama A ‘Dick’ On Morning Joe — In the event that anyone think that Morning Joe is becoming formulaic and predictable, I present the following clip. While discussing President Obama's press briefing yesterday (in which he showed a feisty …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politics, PolitickerNY and Gothamist

msnbc.com:

MSNBC suspends Mark Halperin for Obama comments — Statement from MSNBC: — Mark Halperin's comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Note, Guardian, Publius Forum, NewsBusters.org blogs, Towleroad News #gay and National Review

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

MSNBC's suspension of Mark Halperin is way over the top — MSNBC just announced that they have “indefintely” suspended Mark Halperin for claiming that Obama was “kind of a dick” at his presser yesterday. Here's MSNBC's statement: — I'm sorry, but this is crazy.

Discussion: FP Passport, The Reid Report, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and Wonkette

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Mark Halperin called Obama “a dick” and now he says “I can't explain why I did it.” — He's apologized, but I don't care. I want him to explain why he did it. Why is he editor-in-large at Time if he can't explain things as accessible to him as his own mind?

Discussion: TalkLeft and FishbowlDC

Kirk Semple / New York Times:

U.S. Drops Deportation Proceedings Against Immigrant in Same-Sex Marriage — In a decision that could have far-reaching effects on immigration cases involving same-sex couples, federal officials have canceled the deportation of a Venezuelan man in New Jersey who is married to an American man, the couple's lawyer said Wednesday.

Discussion: In the Arena, CNN, Runnin' Scared, ThinkProgress, Towleroad News #gay, New York Magazine and Joe. My. God.

Jeff Jacoby / Boston Globe:

Marriage cannot be redefined — SAME-SEX wedlock became lawful in New York last week after the state legislature passed a bill recognizing â€œotherwise- valid marriages without regard to whether the parties are of the same or different sex.â€™â€ ™ …

Discussion: normblog

Walter Olson / Wall Street Journal:
An Amen for Albany — New York lawmakers drafted appropriate …

Discussion: Cato @ Liberty, FrumForum and Overlawyered

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:

Stephen Colbert's running PAC shtick creates sticky mess — Advocates of reducing the power of money in politics thought they had found a champion in the unlikely person of Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, whose ongoing shtick about forming a political action committee brought more attention …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Politics and Hit & Run

Cristina Marcos / Ballot Box:

FEC rules in favor of Stephen Colbert — The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert could form his eponymous political action committee with a media exemption. — “I am sorry to say, we won,” Colbert declared to supporters outside the FEC building after the commissioners issued their advisory.

Discussion: The Politico

Sarah Mimms / NationalJournal.com:
FEC Rules Narrowly on Colbert Request

Discussion: WDBJ-TV, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Raw Story and Prairie Weather

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Obama: Still Getting the Hang of Answering Questions — Has Obama ever given a bravura performance at a press conference? No wonder he goes three months or so without doing them. — Today he mentioned a tax break for corporate jets six times. He didn't mention that he signed legislation preserving …

Discussion: Washington Post, Betsy's Page, americanthinker.com, neo-neocon and Hot Air

Mark Halperin / The Daily Beast:
The Lawless Presidency — Obama's lawyers are foundering …

Discussion: Salon

Bloomberg:
Corporate Jet Benefit Gets Six Obama Mentions, Aids Little in Deficit Cuts

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Weasel Zippers and NewsBusters.org blogs

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

How health care rulings are covered — Regular readers may recall an item from February, in which I compared coverage of health care court rulings from several major media outlets. Given yesterday's developments, it's time to revisit the subject. — To briefly review …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News and Daily Kos

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The Radicalism Of Judge James Graham's Anti-Health Care Opinion

Discussion: Grasping Reality …, Daily Kos and New York Magazine

Jennifer Gould Keil / New York Post:

Huma Abedin taking time off from Weiner, job — Anthony Weiner's wife is taking time off from her senior job with the State Department — as well as time off from the randy former representative, The Post has learned. — While Weiner, 46, heads to an “intensive” rehab program to recover …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, msnbc.com and Gawker

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Bill Clinton Network Exclusive: Proposes Debt Impasse Deal, but Fears GOP Too Hamstrung by Ideology — Former President Bill Clinton sees a possible way past the bipartisan impasse over raising the debt limit: agree to cut spending AND raise taxes, but do neither until later, after the economy improves.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Pajamas Media

Jan Norman / Orange County Register:

Amazon ends deal with 25,000 California websites — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law California's tax on Internet sales through affiliate advertising which will immediately cut small-business website revenue 20% to 30%, experts say. — The bill, AB 28X, takes effect immediately.

Discussion: MuniLand, Moonbattery and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Marc Lifsher / Los Angeles Times:
California tells online retailers to start collecting sales taxes from customers

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Cato @ Liberty, American Power, The Lonely Conservative and A Chequer-Board of Nights …, more at Techmeme »

Joel Greenberg / Washington Post:

Second Gaza flotilla boat reported damaged — MARKO DJURICA/REUTERS - A view shows the Stefano Chiarini ship, part of the “Freedom Flotilla II”. Another ship in the flotilla was reportedly sabotaged, organizers said Thursday. — JERUSALEM — Organizers of a flotilla seeking …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, +972 Magazine, FrumForum and Mondoweiss

Peggy Fikac / Houston Chronicle:
Presidentially, Perry urges U.S. to halt Gaza flotilla

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Bloomberg and Mondoweiss

Village Voice:

Real Men Get Their Facts Straight — “It's between 100,000 and 300,000 child sex slaves in the United States today,” Ashton Kutcher told CNN's Piers Morgan on April 18. That, says Kutcher, is how many kids are lost to prostitution in America every single year.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Awl, msnbc.com, Valley Fever, Marginal Revolution, The Daily Pulp, MyFox Phoenix, The Snitch and The Blotter

Mark Landler / New York Times:

In Deficit Plan, Taxes Must Rise, President Warns — WASHINGTON — President Obama pressured Republicans on Wednesday to accept higher taxes as part of any plan to pare down the federal deficit, bluntly telling lawmakers that they “need to do their job” and strike a deal before the United States risks defaulting on its debt.

Discussion: The Note, DailyHowler.com, Wall Street Journal, The Politico, Questions and Observations, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Washington Post, ThePeoplesView.net, Daily Kos, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Politics

Tim Mak / The Politico:

U.S. recognizes Muslim Brotherhood — The U.S. has decided to formally resume contact with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group - which does not recognize Israel - in a move that could further alienate some Jewish voters already skeptical of President Barack Obama, it was reported.

Discussion: The Enterprise Blog, americanthinker.com, National Review and Pajamas Media

Fiona Roberts / Daily Mail:

To Catch a Predator host who traps sex perverts in TV stings ‘caught cheating on his wife’... by hidden cameras — He's made his name with a controversial show that catches would-be internet sex perverts in televised stings. — But now Chris Hansen has found himself on the receiving end …

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Mediaite, The Daily Pulp, NewsBusters.org blogs, Proof Positive, New York Magazine, Gawker, PopEater, National Enquirer and The Last Tradition

CNN:

Bachmann reveals ‘devastating’ miscarriage — Rock Hill, South Carolina (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann revealed to a town hall audience Wednesday that she once suffered a “devastating” miscarriage. — Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota …

Discussion: The Blotter, National Review, TPMDC and The Note

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Poll: 4 in 10 see ‘permanent decline’ — Nearly 4 in 10 Americans say they think the economy is in permanent decline, a new polls shows as deep pessimism about the economy becomes more widespread. — Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed for a New York Times/CBS News poll released late Wednesday …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and FrumForum

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Senate cancels July 4 recess — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the chamber will cancel its July 4th recess next week, a decision aimed at pressuring negotiators to reach a deal on the looming debt limit. — While the move throws a wrench into long-held plans by senators …

Discussion: The Note, Runnin' Scared, CNN, New York Magazine and The Hill

Mark J. Penn / Time:

The Pessimism Index — Just 10 years into a new century, more than two-thirds of the country sees the past decade as a period of decline for the U.S., according to a new TIME/Aspen Ideas Festival poll that probed Americans on the decade since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Greg Jaffe / Washington Post:

U.S. drone targets two leaders of Somali group allied with al-Qaeda, official says — A U.S. drone aircraft fired on two leaders of a militant Somali organization tied to al-Qaeda, apparently wounding them, a senior U.S. military official familiar with the operation said Wednesday.

Discussion: Guardian, Lawfare, Global Public Square, The Heritage Foundation, Prairie Weather and FrumForum

Stephen Evans / BBC:

German police vulture scheme fails to take off — The vultures' habits had seemed like a perfect fit for the job of detective — Police in Lower Saxony, Germany, who decided to teach a vulture to sniff out corpses of missing people, have hit difficulties two months into training.

Washington Examiner:

Obama doesn't understand the family budget — Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., claims that the Republicans' opposition to tax increases and any increase in the national debt ceiling is a sign that they really want to throw Granny and the military over the cliff.

Discussion: Instapundit

Scott Baker / Breaking news and opinion on The Blaze:

WOMAN SEATED NEAR BECK AT MOVIE CLAIMS INNOCENCE...BUT WHAT DOES TWITTER TELL US... (WITH UPDATES!) — On Tuesday, Glenn Beck told his radio and TV audiences how he and his family were harassed during an outing to an outdoor movie in New York City's Bryant Park. — You can listen to Glenn describe what happened here.