memeorandum: J.P. Morgan's $2 Billion Blunder (Wall Street Journal)

11:45 PM ET, May 10, 2012

Top Items:

Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents — BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School. Back on the handsome campus …

Discussion: CNN, Bloomberg, American Power, Mediaite, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, DownWithTyranny!, “The Lid”, ABCNEWS, The Reaction, Reuters, FOX News Radio, Hot Air, The Other McCain, The Hill, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Taking Note, msnbc.com, Ballot Box, Politicker, PoliticusUSA, Swampland, Truthdig, Los Angeles Times, Newshoggers.com, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Indecision Forever, LGBTQ Nation, nation.foxnews.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Via Meadia, Power Line, Newsy, Campaign 2012, The Daily Caller, Addicting Info, The Moderate Voice, Human Rights Campaign, The Gateway Pundit, I Should Be Laughing, BuzzFeed, Politico, Wonkette, The Caucus, The Atlantic Wire, Guardian, Business Insider, Poynter, US Politics, Mother Jones, Patterico's Pontifications, No More Mister Nice Blog, FreakOutNation, Little Green Footballs, BuzzFeed, The Lonely Conservative, Rod Dreher, The Reality-Based Community, Towleroad News #gay, Crooks and Liars, The Right Sphere, Hullabaloo, Washington Wire, Gawker, American Prospect, RedState, National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Balloon Juice, Blue Mass Group, The Maddow Blog, GOP 12, The New Republic, Outside the Beltway, protein wisdom, Gay Politics, The Daily Dish, Shakesville, The PJ Tatler, Daily Kos, Althouse, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Joe. My. God., more at Mediagazer »

ABCNEWS:

Former Romney Classmate Describes ‘Bullying Supreme’ - A ‘Pack of Dogs’ Who Targeted ‘Different’ Boy — A high school classmate of presidential candidate Mitt Romney told ABC News today that he considers a particular prank the two pulled at Michigan's Cranbrook School to be “assault and battery” …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Mediaite and The Daily Dish

Emily Friedman / ABCNEWS:

Romney Camp on Defense Over ‘Pranks’ — ABC News' Emily Friedman, Emily Stanitz and Steven Portnoy report: — One of Mitt Romney's closest friends and a high school classmate has been asked by the Romney campaign to come out and offer “supporting remarks” in defense of the candidate following …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Liberal Values, The Right Sphere, The Raw Story, The PJ Tatler, Daily Kos, The Right Scoop, RedState and Guardian

Tlc / The Talk of the Times:

Young Obama Bullied....A Girl — The above text comes directly from President Obama's first memoir, “Dreams From My Father” and recounts an incident which occurred while he was in middle school. When our president became the subject of taunts from his fellow classmates, he decided to shove a little girl named Coretta.

Discussion: Instapundit

Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents — Now, nearly half a century later, Romney's presidential campaign has turned to the candidate's youthful antics as evidence of his capacity for harmless, humanizing pranks and as an indication of his looser, less wooden self.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Raw Story, The Reality-Based Community and The Gateway Pundit

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney apologizes for high school pranks that ‘might have gone too far’

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
Mitt Romney Outed As Anti-Gay High School Bully

Discussion: Mediaite, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Washington Post, CNN, The Huffington Post, PoliticusUSA, The Reaction, Advocate and Newsy

Bristol Palin:

Hail to the Chiefs - Malia and Sasha Obama — Is anyone really surprised by the fact that President Obama came out of the closet for gay marriage? What was most surprising is when he explained how his position (supposedly) “evolved,” by talking to his wife and daughters: … Let's pause for just one second.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Business Insider, FreakOutNation, Politicker, TBogg, BuzzFeed, Mediaite, Advocate, LGBTQ Nation, Human Rights Campaign, Outsports, Wonkette, Stinque, Gawker, Good As You, ABCNEWS and GOP 12

New York Times:

Biden Said to Apologize to Obama Over Gay Marriage Issue — WASHINGTON — A few hours before President Obama offered his historic endorsement of same-sex marriage on Wednesday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. apologized to the president in the Oval Office for forcing Mr. Obama's hand …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Hill, The Caucus, Guardian, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012 and Mediaite

Aliyah Shahid / NY Daily News:

Bristol Palin rips President Obama for listening to daughters Malia, Sasha on supporting gay marriage — Palin — a single mom herself — argued children are raised in homes where there is both a mother and a father — Bristol Palin ripped President Obama on Thursday for allowing his daughters …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and ABCNEWS

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Biden With the Assist: Veep Again Dumb Like a Fox

Discussion: Hotline On Call, 2012 Decoded, Weasel Zippers and American Power

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Obama's gay marriage announcement followed by flood of campaign donations

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway, NewsBusters.org, Corrente and GayPatriot

Olivier Knox / ABCNEWS:
Biden apologizes to Obama over shotgun comments on gay marriage

Discussion: Politico and Yahoo! News

Mike Dorning / Bloomberg:
Biden Said to Apologize to Obama for Gay Marriage Remarks

Discussion: Weekly Standard and The Gateway Pundit

Wall Street Journal:

J.P. Morgan's $2 Billion Blunder — Bank Admits Losses on Massive Trading Bet Gone Wrong; Dimon's Mea Culpa — A massive trading bet boomeranged on J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., leaving the bank with at least $2 billion in trading losses and its chief executive, James Dimon …

Discussion: Deal Journal

Felix Salmon:

JP Morgan: When basis trades blow up — I'm not sure if it was the biggest quarterly loss of all time, but Merrill Lynch's $16 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 certainly ranks very high up there in the annals of investment-bank blowups. It happened after the bank had already …

Discussion: Mother Jones

David Benoit / Deal Journal:
J.P. Morgan Reveals 'London Whale'-Size Losses

Discussion: naked capitalism and Hullabaloo

DealBook:
JPMorgan Discloses $2 Billion in Trading Losses

Discussion: Calculated Risk and New York Magazine

Noah Bierman / Boston Globe:

Records shed more light on Elizabeth Warren's minority status — A second law school, the University of Pennsylvania, has touted Elizabeth Warren as a minority faculty member in an official school publication, according to an online document obtained by the Globe.

Discussion: Washington Post, JustOneMinute, The Caucus, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

Tara Palmeri / New York Post:

Policy adviser testifies Edwards wanted Supreme Court seat — GREENSBORO, NC — A delusional, two-timing Sen. John Edwards dreamed of a Supreme Court appointment, even as his political career crumbled under the weight of a seedy sex scandal, according to testimony today.

Discussion: Instapundit

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
John Edwards prosecution plays tape of lies, rests

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Ten Most Disturbing Anti-Latino Practices Described By DOJ's Lawsuit Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio — Earlier today, the Department of Justice filed a formal legal complaint against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) alleging widespread constitutional violations and lawless mistreatment of Latinos.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Ryan J. Reilly / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMMuckraker — Justice Department Sues Sheriff Joe Arpaio Over Alleged Latino Abuse

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Instapundit and Stinque

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama Ad Claims to Have Helped Man Get a Job, but Man Claims Employment Since 2006 — Matt Negrin of ABC reports that “A new ad by Obama tells the story of Brian Slagle, an autoworker in Ohio who says he was laid off and ‘scared to death’ until the president swooped in to save the industry.”

Discussion: Wake up America, msnbc.com and The Right Sphere

Matt Negrin / ABCNEWS:
Spotlight on Autoworker in Obama's Latest Ad

Discussion: RedState, Toledo Blade, Business Insider, Balloon Juice, The Daily Dish and Daily Kos

Alex Pareene / Salon:

Jonah Goldberg's desperation — The National Review hack is a unique figure: Striving for seriousness, but too lazy to achieve it … Jonah Goldberg is a syndicated columnist, author of books and National Review Online editor because his mother nearly took down Bill Clinton.

Discussion: Stinque, TBogg, Balloon Juice and msnbc.com

Rod Dreher:

Pro-Gay Fox News? — Noting Fox News anchor Shepard Smith's denunciation of conservatives who oppose gay marriage “for being on the wrong side of history,” Maggie Gallagher questions Fox's impartiality on the issue: … This is nothing new. Talking with a Fox staffer about covering …

Discussion: alicublog

Maggie Gallagher / National Review:
Fox News: Pro-Gay Marriage?

Discussion: Equality Matters and The Huffington Post

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

House votes to replace Pentagon cuts mandated by debt deal — The House voted Thursday to override steep cuts to the Pentagon's budget mandated by last summer's debt deal and replace them with spending reductions to food stamps and other mandatory social programs.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, msnbc.com, Politico, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway and Washington Monthly

Sarah Kliff / Ezra Klein:

Exclusive: NARAL President Nancy Keenan to step down — At the end of this year, Nancy Keenan will step down from her post as president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the country's oldest abortion-rights advocacy group. — The 60-year-old Keenan said she is leaving out of concern for the future …

Discussion: LifeNews.com

NARAL Pro-Choice America:
NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA PRESIDENT NANCY KEENAN TO DEPART IN JANUARY 2013

Discussion: Politico and The Caucus

BBC:

Prince Charles turns BBC Scotland weatherman — Prince Charles presents a special weather forecast during his BBC Scotland visit — Prince Charles had a go at reading the weather during a tour of BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay headquarters. — He and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall …

Discussion: Mediaite, This Just In, ABCNEWS, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker

James Hansen / New York Times:

Game Over for the Climate — GLOBAL warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves “regardless of what we do.”

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, Hullabaloo, Pirate's Cove, Politico and ThinkProgress

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The Tide Turns — The Obamaites let go of fear and make this a choice election - between the future or the past: — One small note. Above, Romney says that we should not discard 3,000 years of history of one-man-one-woman marriage. Ahem. His own family were ardent polygamists only a century ago …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Colleen Curry / ABCNEWS:

Missing Tennessee Girls Found Alive; Fate of Adam Mayes, Suspected Abductor, Not Immediately Clear — Investigators have obtained video from April 30, 2012, where Adam Mayes is seen wearing a white t-shirt in the County Line One Market on Highway 348 in Guntown, Miss. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation/AP Photo)

Discussion: msnbc.com, Scared Monkeys and The Other McCain