memeorandum: Exclusive: secret Bashar al-Assad emails lift lid on life of leader's inner circle (Guardian)

3:10 AM ET, March 15, 2012

Top Items:

Santorum to Puerto Rico: Speak English if you want statehood — (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told Puerto Ricans on Wednesday they would have to make English their primary language if they want to pursue U.S. statehood, a statement at odds with the U.S. Constitution.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, American Power, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Wonkette and Business Insider

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:

How Romney Gave Rick Santorum An Opening In Illinois — The frontrunner took his foot off Santorum's neck, and let him on the ballot. An “unnecessary problem” for the frontrunner, created by his ambitious state chairman. — Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford. — (AP / M. Spencer Green)

Discussion: Daily Herald, Erick's blog, The Other McCain, Guardian and msnbc.com

Washington Examiner:

Losing, Newt sets new goal: Keep Mitt from 1,144 — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With losses in Alabama and Mississippi, Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign has changed. In the past, the campaign was about winning, or trying to win, or at least claiming to be trying to win. Now, it's about keeping Mitt Romney from winning.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Ballot Box, Power Line, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Marbury, National Review, New York Times and Rasmussen Reports

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
Not Closing the Deal — “In five years of campaigning …

Discussion: USA Today, American Spectator, Washington Post, RedState, The Daily Caller, The Other McCain, msnbc.com, American Power, GOP 12 and Wall Street Journal

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama up in NC, primary hinges on Newt

Discussion: Gallup, Firedoglake, Guardian and Outside the Beltway

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum says Puerto Rico must adopt English as official language if it wants statehood

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Rolling Stone:

On Goldman Executive Greg Smith's Brave Departure — Wall Street is buzzing this morning about a resignation - a historic one. Greg Smith, the executive director and head of Goldman Sachs's United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, not only decided to quit Goldman …

Discussion: This Is London, Yahoo! Finance, Hullabaloo, naked capitalism, InvestorPlace, ThinkProgress, DealBook, Deal Journal, Cafe Hayek and New York Times

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Goldman Sachs Mobilizes Rapid Smear Campaign Against Whistleblower — Today, Goldman Sachs employee Greg Smith excoriated the investment bank in a New York Times op-ed, resigning due to the banks “toxic and destructive” culture, one in which the bank's trading profits took precedence over its customers' financial well-being.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Deal Journal, Wall Street Journal and Taylor Marsh

Suzy Khimm / Ezra Klein: Occupy Romney! — “Who needs some trickle-down champagne?” …

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:
Public Exit From Goldman Raises Doubt Over a New Ethic

Discussion: Felix Salmon, The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, Chicago Boyz, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, Daniel W. Drezner, The BLT and Truthdig

David Enrich / Deal Journal:
Goldman Rejects Claims Made by Outgoing Executive

Discussion: thenation.com/blogs/163255, Media Decoder, naked capitalism, The Jungle, The Huffington Post and Telegraph

David Lawder / Reuters:

House Republican leaders set to break US budget deal — * Republican aides say cuts may not be enough for conservatives — * Spending bill impasse, September shutdown battle feared — Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are ready to break a hard-fought budget deal …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, A plain blog about politics and Balloon Juice

Scott Wong / Politico:
Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell strike deal on judges

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Washington Blade

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Here we go again — Via Pat Garofalo, Reuters reports:

Discussion: Washington Examiner and US Politics

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
House Republican Leaders Plan To Renege On Debt Ceiling Deal

Discussion: The Impolitic and Hullabaloo

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Senate OKs highway bill

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and CNN

Alex Altman / Swampland:

Why Ron Paul May Cut a Deal With Mitt Romney — Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul shake hands before the start of the first 2012 Republican presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, June 13, 2011. — For Ron Paul, victory is finally in sight.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Hit & Run, Hot Air and No More Mister Nice Blog

Dylan Byers / Politico:
NBC pulls Ron Paul's last embed

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite and Taylor Marsh, more at Mediagazer »

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

U.N. to Investigate Voter I.D. Laws — This is really the last straw. It is time to get out of the United Nations: “UN rights council delves into US voter I.D. laws.” … That isn't treason, but it is disloyal; disgracefully so. … This is hilarious, in a black comedy sort of way:

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and National Review

Guardian:

Exclusive: secret Bashar al-Assad emails lift lid on life of leader's inner circle — • Messages show Bashar al-Assad took advice from Iran — • Leader made light of promised reforms — • Wife spent thousands on jewellery and furniture — Bashar al-Assad took advice …

Discussion: Global Public Square, Boing Boing, FP Passport, US Politics, ThinkProgress, msnbc.com and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

David Freddoso / Campaign 2012:

250 words, ‘Republican war on women’ used 4 times — The Sandra Fluke episode hasn't done much for Democrats in terms of public opinion — Obama has slipped a bit with women since it occurred — a little-appreciated truth about their social issue portfolio more broadly.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Hot Air

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Bloomberg:
Republicans Losing on Birth Control as 77% in Poll Spurn Debate

Discussion: Daily Kos

Neil Munro / The Daily Caller:

Times nixes anti-Islam ad, runs anti-Catholic ad — Executives at The New York Times have rejected a full-page anti-Islam advertisement that mimicked a controversial anti-Catholic advertisement they published on March 9. — According to a Mar. 13 letter sent by the Times to the ad's sponsor …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Catholic League, iOwnTheWorld.com and Atlas Shrugs

Mark Steyn / National Review:
The Quit and the Dead — Pamela Geller was struck by that ad …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, The Volokh Conspiracy, iOwnTheWorld.com, Cold Fury and Israel Matzav

Neil Rafferty / The Daily Mash:

Why I am leaving the Empire, by Darth Vader — TODAY is my last day at the Empire. — After almost 12 years, first as a summer intern, then in the Death Star and now in London, I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its massive, genocidal space machines.

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice and The American Conservative

Roger Lowenstein / The Atlantic Online:

The Villain — The left hates him. The right hates him even more. But Ben Bernanke saved the economy—and has navigated masterfully through the most trying of times. — THE U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE was founded 99 years ago, as a bulwark to the banking system and an antidote to its frequent runs and panics.

Discussion: Modeled Behavior and FT Alphaville

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Company Puts Obama's, Pelosi's Faces On ‘BastardBlaster’ Shooting Targets — Barack Obama , Nancy Pelosi , Sarah Palin , Video , Obama Shooting Target , Palin Shooting Target , Pelosi Shooting Target , Yipe Media , Yipe Media Shooting Targets , Politics News

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Wynton Hall / BREITBART.COM:

EXCLUSIVE: CHRIS ROCK ATTACKS CONSERVATIVE AUTHOR OVER TEA PARTY QUESTION — The New York Times bestselling author of the explosive new book, Hollywood Hypocrites: The Devastating Truth About Obama's Biggest Backers, Jason Mattera, had his crew's camera snatched and hurled by comedian Chris Rock …

Discussion: Mediaite, RedState, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog and Michelle Malkin

BuzzFeed:

Democrats Accuse Conservative News Outlet Of “Blackmail” — The Caller was, perhaps, leaning into the story a bit. Boyle stands by his warning. — The Democratic National Committee is at odds with the conservative Daily Caller over a reporter's threat as to how he would interpret an unreturned email.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Michelle Malkin:

What's the matter with Soledad O'Brien? — CNN's Soledad O'Brien isn't used to criticism. In the world of media elites, she's a beloved figure and an award-winning news anchor. But last week, she revealed her true, decidedly non-neutral colors. And she's not happy about the hoi polloi questioning …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, American Power and Mediaite

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

DNC slams Romney pledge to ‘get rid of’ Planned Parenthood funding — The DNC released a new Web ad Wednesday blasting Mitt Romney for saying he would “get rid of” federal funding for Planned Parenthood if elected president. — “Mitt Romney will say and do anything in his continued race to the far-right …

Discussion: Politico, Taylor Marsh and The Maddow Blog