memeorandum: Keystone Pipeline may end up in payroll deal (Jake Shermanand Manu Raju/The Politico)

7:50 PM ET, December 16, 2011

Top Items:

Peter Hitchens / Daily Mail:

In Memoriam, my courageous brother Christopher, 1949-2011 — How odd it is to hear of your own brother's death on an early morning radio bulletin. How odd it is for a private loss to be a public event. — I wouldn't normally dream of writing about such a thing here, and I doubt if many people would expect me to.

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed and Verum Serum

Juli Weiner / Vanity Fair:

In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 — Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir …

William Grimes / New York Times:

Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011: Christopher Hitchens Is Dead at 62 — Obituary — Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa …

David Frum / FrumForum:

Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 — A friend of theirs once took Christopher Hitchens and his wife Carol Blue to dinner at Palm Beach's Everglades Club, notorious for its exclusion of Jews. — “You will behave, won't you?” Carol anxiously asked Christopher on the way into the club. No dice.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Ron Radosh, National Review, Nation Now, Guardian and American Spectator

Nick Gillespie / Reason:
Christopher Hitchens, RIP

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Agitator

Christopher Buckley / News Desk:
Postscript: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011

Discussion: entertainment.time.com, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Attackerman, FishbowlDC and Power Line, more at Mediagazer »

June Thomas / Slate:
“Herewith, Hope It Serves. As Always, Christopher.”

Discussion: Guardian, Telegraph, Democracy in America, Mediaite, The Daily Dish, MLive.com, News Desk, The Week and Deadspin

Benjamin Schwarz / The Atlantic Online:
Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 — I met Christopher (never Chris) in 1997.

Discussion: Chicago Boyz

Joe Romm / ThinkProgress:

GOP Threaten to Harm the Economy If Obama Won't Embrace Tar Sands Pipeline — GOP Threaten to Kill Tax Relief and Unemployment Extension Over Keystone XL Pipeline, Which Won't Improve Energy Independence or Create Many Permanent Jobs … By Kate Gordon and Daniel J. Weiss in a CAP repost

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Washington Post

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMDC — McConnell Demands Keystone XL In Any Payroll Tax Agreement — It's gut check time for Congressional Democrats on the payroll tax cut bill. — Regarding that legislation, Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell emails me with the following statement …

Discussion: Center for American Progress, Washington Post, Political Mojo, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Jake Shermanand Manu Raju / The Politico:

Keystone Pipeline may end up in payroll deal — Congressional negotiators are seriously considering including the Keystone XL oil pipeline as part of a package that would extend a payroll tax holiday for a full year, several people familiar with talks said Friday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Bloomberg, The Hill, Taylor Marsh and Daily Kos

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Dem Keystone support creates tougher fight for Reid, Obama

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Pelosi: GOP House leads ‘do-nothing’ Congress

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

New York Post:

Long Island high-school students suspended for ‘Tebowing’ — The Tebow mania sweeping the nation sacked a group of Long Island high-school students who were suspended for mimicking the quarterback's famous prayer pose. — Twin brothers Tyler and Connor Carroll of Riverhead HS …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily What, Mediaite, This Just In, Runnin' Scared, Joe. My. God. and Simply Left BehindThe …

Christopher Hunt / ESPN:
High schoolers banned for Tebowing

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Lonely Conservative, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Jammie Wearing Fools

A.Killough / CNN:

Haley explains her decision to back Romney, not Gingrich — Sioux City, Iowa (CNN) - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said her decision to endorse Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential race became clear two weeks ago. — At the end of November, Haley ducked out of a Republican Governors …

Discussion: The Reaction, The Politico, The Huffington Post, American Power and Ballot Box

Sara Murray / Washington Wire:
Romney Clarifies Remarks on Medicaid

Discussion: MyFox Philadelphia

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Haley robocalls South Carolina touting Romney

Discussion: Hot Air, Reuters, The Moderate Voice, The Politico, Wonkette, Taylor Marsh, GOP 12 and Outside the Beltway

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

SEC CHARGES FORMER FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC EXECUTIVES WITH SECURITIES FRAUD — Companies Agree to Cooperate in SEC Actions — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 2011-267 — Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six former top executives …

Discussion: The Hill, Michelle Malkin, msnbc.com, Firedoglake, The Future of Capitalism, The Glittering Eye and Suburban Guerrilla

DealBook:
S.E.C. Sues 6 Former Top Fannie and Freddie Executives

Discussion: Vox Verax

Richard W. Stevenson / The Caucus:

Group Clears Path for a Third-Party Ticket — To those who bemoan the lack of better choices in presidential elections, third-party fantasies come easily at this stage in a campaign. End hyper-partisanship and Washington dysfunction: Vote Bloomberg-Petraeus in 2012!

Discussion: Balkinization and Hullabaloo

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:

Rep. Allen West: 'If Joseph Goebbels Was Around, He'd Be Very Proud Of The Democrat Party' — Arguably the most inflammatory member in Congress, GOP Rep. Allen West (FL) outdid himself yesterday by comparing the Democratic Party to the Nazi party. Bristling at a new poll revealing …

Discussion: Washington Post, Naked Politics, Indecision Forever and The Hill

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Dems call on Rep. West to apologize for Joseph Goebbels comparison

Discussion: Washington Monthly, nation.foxnews.com, Doug Ross, The Politico and Weasel Zippers

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Congress overturns incandescent light bulb ban — Congressional negotiators struck a deal Thursday that overturns the new rules that were to have banned sales of traditional incandescent light bulbs beginning next year. — That agreement is tucked inside the massive 1,200-page spending bill …

Discussion: Don Surber, Hit & Run, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and The Enterprise Blog

Maxim Lott / Fox News:

Climategate Bombshell: Did U.S. Gov't Help Hide Climate Data? — Are your tax dollars helping hide global warming data from the public? Internal emails leaked as part of “Climategate 2.0” indicate the answer may be “Yes.” — The original Climategate emails — correspondence stolen …

Discussion: Biased BBC

Steven Jiang / CNN:

‘Batman’ star Bale punched, stopped from visiting blind Chinese activist — DONGSHIGU VILLAGE, China (CNN) — As Christian Bale approached an impromptu checkpoint leading to this tiny village in eastern China, four men blocking the narrow path started marching toward him in menacing unison.

Discussion: LifeNews.com, msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, Global Spin, News Desk, Washington Post, Guardian, Verum Serum, The Daily What and The Daily Caller

Yolanda Jones / The Commercial Appeal:

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis' expense receipts prompt frank revelation — Purchase at store for gay men leads to mayor's admission — Southaven Mayor Greg Davis addresses the media last month following a meeting with the state auditor. — Receipts from embattled Southaven Mayor Greg Davis reveal …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Wonkette, Indecision Forever, Towleroad News #gay, American Prospect and Talking Points Memo

Lymari Morales / Gallup:

Fewer Americans See U.S. Divided Into “Haves,” “Have Nots” — The majority would put themselves in the “haves” category if they had to choose — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are now less likely to see U.S. society as divided into the “haves” and “have nots” than they were in 2008, returning to their views prior to that point.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Wake up America, Questions and Observations, American Spectator, The Lonely Conservative, The Heritage Foundation, americanthinker.com, Campaign 2012 and Via Meadia

Josh Lederman / The Hill:

Obama makes impassioned plea for support from Jewish audience — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — President Obama made an impassioned plea for continued support from American Jews on Friday, listing off his accomplishments on social issues and touting his record in support of Israel's security.

Discussion: The Politico

Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle:

Bonds gets one month house arrest for obstruction — (12-16) 15:32 PST SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge sentenced an impassive Barry Bonds to 30 days of house arrest today for obstructing justice during an investigation of steroids in sports, saying the slugger's grand jury testimony was evasive …

Kevin Zieber / Media Matters for America:

Cartoon Regularly Featured On Big Journalism Connected To Nazi-Era Magazine — In at least three instances, Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism website has used an image connected to a Nazi-era German magazine noted for anti-Semitic cartoons and pro-Hitler leanings.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Big Journalism, Mediaite and Gawker

Mark Tapscott / Campaign 2012:

Congressmen can't say ‘Merry Christmas’ in mail — Looks like the PC police have threatened members of the House of Representatives against wishing constituents a “Merry Christmas,” if they want to do so in a mailing paid for with tax dollars. — Members who submit official mailings …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and The Right Scoop

Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings from National:

Michele Bachmann: “After the debate that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true." — “After the debate that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true.” — DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz “denied unemployment went up under Obama.”

Discussion: The Caucus, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Politico, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, 2012 Decoded, Connecting.the.Dots and Washington Post

MiamiHerald.com:

AP-GfK Poll: More than half say Obama should lose — WASHINGTON — A majority of adults say President Barack Obama does not deserve a second term but are evenly divided on whether he will win re-election next year, says a new Associated Press-GfK poll that highlights some of the campaign obstacles he faces.

Discussion: The Politico, ABCNEWS, Verum Serum, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Right Scoop