memeorandum: China manufacturing activity worsens in May: HSBC (V. Phani Kumar/MarketWatch)

11:35 AM ET, May 25, 2012

Top Items:

Convicted Bomber Brett Kimberlin, Neal Rauhauser, Ron Brynaert, and Their Campaign of Political Terrorism — You're about to listen to one of the most bone-chilling pieces of audio you will ever hear. At least, it was to me when I first heard it. — It's a phone call that could have gotten me killed.

Washington Examiner:

How to kill the First Amendment — Fox News' Roger Ailes said this recently during an address at his alma mater, Ohio University: “I have one wish for OU, that it continues to be a place for open debate where people from different points of view with various opinions can meet and discuss these things openly.

Discussion: The Daley Gator, Sister Toldjah, Lady Liberty 1885, BackyardConservative and The Camp Of The Saints

Mike Allenand Jim Vandehei / Politico:

Obama stumbles out of the gate — Nothing inspires Democrats like the Barack Obama swagger — the supreme self-confidence on stage, the self-certainty in private. — So nothing inspires more angst than when that same Obama stumbles, as he has leaving the gate in 2012.

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, americanthinker.com, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and Stop The ACLU

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Leaps Into Direct Attacks

Discussion: American Prospect, White House Dossier, ABCNEWS, The Caucus and The Hill

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
The Ultimate Dark Horse

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Monthly, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Real Clear Politics

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Not Arrogant Any More — Confidence gives way to resignation.

Discussion: Hot Air, 2012 Decoded, GayPatriot, Wall Street Journal and CNN

Neil Munro / The Daily Caller:
Obama national co-chair works in private equity, like Romney

Discussion: Politicker, Hot Air, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Weasel Zippers, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and The PJ Tatler

Donovan Slack / Politico:
Obama: Profit motives don't belong in the W.H.

Discussion: Politicker, Weasel Zippers, Campaign 2012 and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:

Noonan: Mitt Romney's Moment — The GOP nominee explains why he thinks America is at an ‘inflection point.’ — It's been a good week for Mitt Romney. The polls are up, he's just off a two-day swing through Connecticut and New York, where he hauled in big donors and hard money …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Politico, Wonkette, The Daily Caller, The Raw Story, Hotline On Call, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, Guardian and CNN

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Egos and Immorality — In the wake of a devastating financial crisis, President Obama has enacted some modest and obviously needed regulation; he has proposed closing a few outrageous tax loopholes; and he has suggested that Mitt Romney's history of buying and selling companies …

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Daily Kos

Mary Carmichael / The Boston Globe:

Filings add to questions on Warren's ethnic claims — US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has said she was unaware that Harvard Law School had been promoting her purported Native American heritage until she read about it in a newspaper several weeks ago. — But for at least six straight …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Althouse, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Jammie Wearing Fools, Viking Pundit and The Future of Capitalism

Shira Schoenberg / Union-News:
Elizabeth Warren says she knows she is part Native American ‘because my mother told me so’

Discussion: Politico, JustOneMinute, The Last Refuge, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Ballot Box, Althouse, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Campaign 2012, Weekly Standard and The Hill

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Wow!... Obama Campaign Holds Protest Outside Romney Stop in Philly (Video) — When all else fails, stalk your opponent. — Mitt Romney visited an inner city school in Philadelphia today to discuss his education agenda. The Obama Campaign met him at the school and protested his visit outside.

Discussion: Lady Liberty 1885 and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Washington Post:
Romney campaign begins quiet push for African American voters

Discussion: Power Line, Shakesville, 2012 Decoded and US Politics

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Hecklers mar Romney's visit to inner-city charter school in Philadelphia

Discussion: Universal Companies, ThinkProgress, Politico, Nice Deb, Political Economy, Wonkette, Washington Wire, Weasel Zippers and White House Dossier

Jamie Klatell / Ballot Box:

Unions angry with Dems over lack of help in Wisconsin recall — Top union officials are lashing out at Washington Democrats, claiming they haven't done enough to help them unseat Gov. Scott Walker (R) in Wisconsin's recall election. — President Obama has been silent on the race since …

Discussion: Center for Media and Democracy, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Wisconsin Reporter and FiveThirtyEight

Sean Sullivan / Hotline On Call:
Led by Walker, Republicans Winning Wisconsin Ad Spending Battle

Discussion: Balloon Juice

New York Times:

Albany Times Union Editor Says Police Targeted His Wife's Spa — ALBANY — In early spring, the police raided a spa near the Capitol, alleging that a masseuse was actually a prostitute. — It appeared to be a minor arrest, except that the spa's owner is the wife of the investigations editor at the local newspaper, The Times Union.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Poynter and Capital Tonight, more at Mediagazer »

Brendan J. Lyons / Albany Times Union:
Police raid draws internal review

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

BuzzFeed:

A User's Guide To Smoking Pot With Barack Obama — Barry was quite the accomplished marijuana enthusiast back in high school and college. Excerpts from David Maraniss' Barack Obama: The Story dealing with the elaborate drug culture surrounding the president when he attended Punahou School …

Discussion: Wonkette and TheBlaze.com

Investor's Business Daily:

Scooter Obama Outs Navy SEAL Team 6 Leader For Movie — National Security: New documents obtained by a watchdog group show our commander in chief gave the name of a Navy Seal Team 6 commander to the makers of a movie about Osama bin Laden. Valerie Plame, call your office.

Discussion: The Mental Recession

Paul Schwartzman / Washington Post:

Marion Barry commits new gaffe while apologizing to Asians — D.C. Council member Marion Barry yesterday stepped up his campaign to mend relations with Asians, apologizing again for disparaging remarks he made about Koreans and Filipinos, and pledging to work to improve ties between them and African Americans.

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Ed Driscoll

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

A Case Study in Right-Wing Media Malpractice from Breitbart.com — In breathlessly reporting that President Obama once dressed in colonial garb, the site does nothing to advance the public interest or conservative governance. — Conservatives including Rep. Paul Ryan, Gov. Mitch Daniels …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, A plain blog about politics, askmarion and iOwnTheWorld.com

Wall Street Journal:

To Get Growth, Shrink the State — The best stimulus is a smaller government. — Confusion reigns supreme. The International Monetary Fund told the U.K. this week that it should cut taxes and boost spending while also praising the fiscal consolidation of 2010, which saw a mere 1% cut from public spending.

Discussion: Hit & Run

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Busted!... Obama Headlined a DEMOCRAT SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA Event in 1996 **FLIER** — Can we call him a socialist now??? — Barack Obama headlined a Democrat Socialists of America town hall meeting in Chicago in 1996. — Buzzfeed reported: — And don't forget about this...

Discussion: GraniteGrok, Weasel Zippers, The POH Diaries, Trevor Loudon's New Zeal Blog, BuzzFeed and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Chris Geidner / Poliglot:

Federal Judge Rules DOMA, Tax Code Force Unconstitutional Treatment For Same-Sex Couples — On Thursday evening, a federal judge in California held that the Defense of Marriage Act and a provision of tax law unconstitutionally limit same-sex couples and domestic partners from participating …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Human Rights Campaign

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Democrats disagree over who should pay higher tax rates — Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) doubling down on a $1 million threshold for extending the Bush-era tax rates has re-launched the thorny Democratic debate over who should pay higher taxes. — Despite Pelosi's full-throated endorsement …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Bloomberg:

JPMorgan Gave Risk Oversight To Museum Head Who Sat On AIG Board — The three directors who oversee risk at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) include a museum head who sat on American International Group Inc.'s governance committee in 2008, the grandson of a billionaire and the chief executive officer …

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Awl

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

If Michelle Obama could choose: 'I'd be Beyonce' — If First lady Michelle Obama could be anyone else, she would be Beyonce. — “It looks like musicians just have the most fun,” Obama told People magazine in an interview that hit newsstands on Friday. — Obama and the music superstar praised each …

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Barack Obama, Fiscal Conservative! — It might seem incredible that a president who has signed into law the largest federal spending in history, who has run up $5 trillion in new debt, who has submitted budgets that propose increasing the national debt to $22 trillion-budgets so extreme …

Discussion: Hyscience, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Hot Air