memeorandum: Iran naval chief says closing gulf to oil traffic would be easy (Los Angeles Times)

8:25 AM ET, December 30, 2011

Top Items:

The Santorum Surge In Iowa and Beyond — The extent to which Rick Santorum has gained in Iowa polling is not entirely clear. Although two polls have him with 16 percent of the vote, two others that were in the field at the same time have him at 10 and 11 percent, respectively.

Discussion: Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, The Caucus, Los Angeles Times, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, Ballot Box and Connecting.the.Dots

msnbc.com:

Bachmann campaign loses second key staffer in Ron Paul flap — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign lost another high-ranking staff member on Thursday after that staffer defended another former Bachmann official's defection to a rival campaign. — Wes Enos, Bachmann's political director …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, National Review and The Page

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann's hard fall — The split had been presaged, however, for weeks, thanks to a divide between the staffers and advisers on her campaign bus, and the national and Washington-based team. Her then-state chairman, Kent Sorenson — who is now a Paul backer …

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard, Iowa Caucuses, Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

NBC's Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC poll: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul neck-and-neck in Iowa; Newt Gingrich in 5th — The wild card in this race has been and continues to be Ron Paul, the Libertarian who has a growing following inside the Republican Party. NBC's Chuck Todd has more. — By NBC's Mark Murray

Discussion: Iowa Caucuses, Outside the Beltway, Libertarian Republican and Taegan Goddard's …

Paul West / Los Angeles Times:

Ron Paul: Sanctions against Iran are ‘acts of war’ — Ron Paul campaigns during an event honoring veterans at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press) — Reporting from Perry, Iowa— Defending himself against charges of isolationism …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Dish, Politisite, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and CNN

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann's hard fall — Four months ago, Michele Bachmann seemed poised for a banner December. — She'd just won the Ames Straw Poll — vanquishing her Minnesota rival, Tim Pawlenty, in the process — and was getting accustomed to life in the top tier of 2012 candidates.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Week and National Review

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
IOWA NOTEBOOK: Occupy Caucuses?

Discussion: Daily Pundit

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Americans See Views of GOP Candidates Closer to Their Own

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Liberal Values, Scared Monkeys, Prairie Weather, The Huffington Post, CANNONFIRE, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Dish, Investor's Business Daily, Hot Air and Washington Post

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Occupy vs. Ron Paul

Discussion: The Politico, Tom Watson, Mediaite and Mercury Rising

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Top Santorum supporter says he can win Iowa caucus

Discussion: The Politico and National Review

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney still up big in New Hampshire

Discussion: CNN, The Raw Story, Mediaite, Guardian, Ballot Box, Bloomberg and Iowa Caucuses

Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Rick Santorum Gets A Big Polling Boost, Goes After Ron Paul

Discussion: CNN, Real Clear Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers and New York Times

Fox News:
Santorum Claims Iowa ‘Spark’ as Polls Show Candidacy Surging

Discussion: Naked DC, The Moderate Voice and CNN

Hunter Walker / PolitickerNY:

Stormfront Founder Don Black Says White Supremacists Thought Ron Paul Was ‘One of Us’ — Ron Paul was a hot topic this week on the talk radio show hosted by prominent white supremacist Don Black and his son Derek. Mr. Black said he received Mr. Paul's controversial newsletters …

Discussion: Osborne Ink, iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers, Nice Deb, The PJ Tatler, Pat Dollard, Little Green Footballs, Libertarian Republican, Liberal Values, Balloon Juice and The Atlantic Online

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Ron Paul Downplays Newsletters : Only ‘Eight To Ten Sentences’ Were Offensive — Ron Paul on Thursday downplayed the fringe aspects of his old newsletters, saying on an Iowa radio program that the most offensive passages were probably only a small portion of the overall content.

Discussion: CBS News and Daily Kos

Joseph W. McQuaid / unionleader.com:
Ron Paul is truly dangerous

Discussion: The Politico, Real Clear Politics, USA Today, The Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

Malia Zimmerman / Hawaii Reporter:

Occupy Hawaii Island Movement Plans Protest Near Pelosi's Posh Hawaiian Hotel — BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, one of the most powerful supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement, may be in the right place at the right time to protest with the Big Island branch of the movement, Occupy Hawaii Island.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

WordPress Takes Down “Bare Naked Islam” Blog After Threats From CAIR — WordPress took down Bare Naked Islam Blog today after threats from CAIR.

Discussion: PR Newswire, Israel Matzav, American Power and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Welcome To Verizon Wireless:

Customers Encouraged to Use Options to Avoid Single Payment Fee That Starts Jan. 15 — Customer Inquiries — For customer inquiries, please call 800-922-0204 or go to — Verizon Wireless offers customers numerous free and simple payment options and we encourage customers to use those options.

Discussion: New York Times, The Verge, The Daily Caller, Gothamist and Bits

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

Pelosi aides dispute daughter's claim — Nancy Pelosi's office says her daughter is wrong when she says the California Democrat wants to leave politics. — Alexandra Pelosi, the Democratic activist and filmmaker, said in an interview with Andrew Breitbart's Big Government …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Wall Street Journal

Jeffrey Scott Shapiro / Big Government:
EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Pelosi's Daughter: ‘My Mom Wants to Leave Congress’

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, The Hill, Don Surber, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Sister Toldjah, Moe Lane, Pat Dollard, Mediaite, The Lonely Conservative, The Anchoress, NewsBusters.org blogs and The Other McCain

CNN:

Source: Al Qaeda leader sends veteran jihadists to establish presence in Libya — (CNN) — Al Qaeda's leadership has sent experienced jihadists to Libya in an effort to build a fighting force there, according to a Libyan source briefed by Western counter-terrorism officials.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

Despite GOP opposition, light bulb standards will phase in on Jan. 1 — New light bulb efficiency standards will begin phasing in on Jan. 1 despite intense opposition from conservatives, who have blasted the rules as a textbook unnecessary federal regulation.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and LewRockwell.com Blog

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

An Election Year Dawns Without Keith Olbermann — Keith Olbermann, who came to Current TV this year to remake the channel and compete against his old home, MSNBC, is sitting out the biggest political nights of the season. — Despite being the biggest star on the fledging channel …