memeorandum: Russian Warships Said to Be Going to Naval Base in Syria (New York Times)

12:45 PM ET, June 18, 2012

Top Items:

Juan Williams / The Hill:

Opinion: Defeat of healthcare law would erode voters' trust in Supreme Court — Every political strategist working the fall elections sees a game changer coming by the end of the month. — That's when the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of President Obama's signature legislative accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The PJ Tatler, Pirate's Cove, The Lonely Conservative, Jammie Wearing Fools and Prairie Weather

Avik Roy / The Apothecary:

Scalia and Ginsburg Drop Hints about Obamacare's Fate at the Supreme Court — A Tea-Party supporter protest outside the US Supreme Court on the third day of oral arguements over the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 28, 2012 in Washington, DC.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Campaign 2012 and Questions and Observations

Ezra Klein / New Yorker:

UNPOPULAR MANDATE … - FRONT ROW - PHOTO BOOTH - PAGE-TURNER - CLOSE READ - DAILY COMMENT - JOHN CASSIDY - JONAH LEHRER - SPORTS

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller and Brad DeLong

Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post:

The folly of Obamacare — We pay our presidents for judgment, and President Obama committed a colossal error of judgment in making health-care “reform” a centerpiece of his first term. Ahead of the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — and regardless of how the court decides …

Discussion: Power Line and The Daily Beast

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Ann Romney: ‘I doubt’ we'll take as many overseas vacations as the Obamas — Ann Romney, the wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, said Monday that she doubted that she and her husband would vacation overseas as frequently as the Obamas if her husband were to win election.

Discussion: CNN and Weasel Zippers

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Romney: No need to detail how I'll pay for massive tax cuts. Just trust me.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, p m carpenter's commentary, The Moderate Voice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Greece as Victim — Ever since Greece hit the skids, we've heard a lot about what's wrong with everything Greek. Some of the accusations are true, some are false — but all of them are beside the point. Yes, there are big failings in Greece's economy, its politics and no doubt its society.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Bloomberg, Washington Monthly, Guardian, Ezra Klein, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Paul Krugman, Washington Post and The Enterprise Blog

Stephen Castle / New York Times:
Markets Relief Fades at Greek Election Results

Discussion: Slate, Via Meadia, Ezra Klein, IHT Rendezvous, The Daily Beast and Daniel W. Drezner

Bloomberg:

Supreme Court's Super Mondays Don't Serve Justice — For court watchers, the drama is becoming unbearable. With just two Mondays left on the U.S. Supreme Court's calendar to announce opinions — June 18 and 25 — the five most important cases of the term all remain undecided.

Discussion: Guardian and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Whitehouse: ‘Very Little’ Hope For Bipartisan Push …

Discussion: Campaign 2012 and CANNONFIRE

WBUR:

WBUR Poll: Angus King Heavy Favorite To Replace Sen. Snowe — A new WBUR poll shows former Maine Gov. Angus King as the heavy favorite to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe. Current poll numbers have King, who is running as an independent, with 50 percent of likely voters …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Freedom to Marry Blog, Hotline On Call, Ballot Box, ThinkProgress and Outside the Beltway

Alastair Jamieson / msnbc.com:

Report: World's population is 17 million tons overweight — Obesity is threatening the world's future food security, according to a study published Monday that calculated the weight of the global population at 316 million tons. — Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Matt McGrath / BBC:
Obesity impacts weight of nations

Discussion: Jezebel

Brantley Hargrove / Unfair Park:

A Guide to How Obama's New Immigration Policy Will Work, And a Word of Caution — President Barack Obama announced Friday afternoon that the Department of Homeland Security will no longer attempt to deport young undocumented immigrants brought here as children, signaling a compassionate shift …

Discussion: The Reaction

CNN: Romney's ‘Doing Fine?’ becomes ‘¿Van Bien?’

Bloomberg:

The Obama Campaign Needs an Intervention — During a focus group in Denver last week, Jeffrey Penny laid out his “criteria” for giving President Barack Obama his vote this year as he did in 2008. — “I just want to see specifics and quit the trash talk,” the 31-year-old web designer …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Questions and Observations and Vodkapundit

Daily Mail:

Obama's Harvard law professor says ‘President MUST be defeated in 2012’ (even though he's the man Barack used to have on speed dial) — A former professor of Barack Obama has turned against his one-time student and publicly urged voters not to re-elect him.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Mediaite and Reuters

Washington Post:

Egypt's military issues decree giving vast powers to armed forces, but few to president — CAIRO — Egypt's military leaders issued a constitutional decree Sunday that gave the armed forces sweeping powers and degraded the presidency to a subservient role, as the Muslim Brotherhood declared …

Discussion: BBC, Informed Comment, Power Line, Questions and Observations, Guardian, The Moderate Voice and The Lede

Hamza Hendawi / Associated Press:
Egypt rulers promise power transfer by end of June

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

New York Post:

Businesses make $4M off NYC students by holding their cellphones during school — The city's ban on cellphones in schools is taking an amazing $4.2 million a year out of kids' pockets, a Post analysis has found. — The students — who attend the nearly 90 high schools and middle schools …

Discussion: Jezebel, New York Magazine and Gothamist

Eugene Scott / Arizona Republic:

MCSO arrests girl, 6, suspected of illegal immigration — Maricopa County Sheriff Office deputies arrested a 6-year-old suspected illegal immigrant Friday, the day President Barack Obama softened the country's deportation policy toward young illegal immigrants.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, Colorlines, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Lonely Conservative and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler:
Six-Year-Old Illegal Alien Gets Arrested. Whose Fault Is It?

Discussion: alicublog

Tara Kelly / The Huffington Post:

Giant Mushroom Cloud In Beijing (VIDEO) (PHOTOS) … FOLLOW: — Foreign Affairs, Video, Mushroom Clouds, Beijing, Beijing Mushroom Cloud, Beijing-China, China Mushroom Cloud, China Pollution, Green Haze, Haze, Massive Mushroom Cloud China, Mushroom Cloud Beijing, Mushroom Cloud Beijing Photos, World News

New York Times:

Russian Warships Said to Be Going to Naval Base in Syria — MOSCOW — Introducing an unpredictable new element into the Syrian crisis, a Russian news agency said on Monday that two Russian naval vessels with marines on board were ready to head for Syria to protect Russian citizens and a naval base there …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and GOP.com

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Romney predicts victory at star-studded bus tour stop in Wisconsin — Mitt Romney's bus tour rolled through Wisconsin on Monday, drawing a star-studded list of top Republican politicians to the latest stop on his swing through six battleground states. — The first stop of the day was Janesville …

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

Michael Vlahos / The Atlantic Online:

What ‘Call of Duty’ Shows About How War Changed America — The wildly popular game's latest installment bears the hallmarks of a culture of defeat. — What is the legacy of an Iliad-long war? Has it changed us? — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a wildly popular end-of-war game.

Daily Mail:

‘How would a Jewish person feel if you put a swastika on a shoe?’ Adidas under fire for unveiling new trainer with orange ‘shackles’ like those worn by black slaves — Adidas has sparked outrage and been accused of ‘promoting slavery’ by creating a new pair of trainers which have bright orange 'shackles …

Discussion: Riehl World View and The Right Scoop