memeorandum: CNN'S PIERS MORGAN EXPLOITS ‘DARK KNIGHT’ MASSACRE TO PUSH GUN CONTROL (John Nolte/BREITBART.COM)

8:10 PM ET, July 20, 2012

Top Items:

Pierre Thomas / ABCNEWS:

Aurora ‘Dark Knight’ Shooting Suspect Identified: James Holmes — The young man who is in custody after allegedly gunning down 12 people in a mass shooting spree overnight in Aurora, Colorado has been identified as local resident James Holmes, according to federal authorities.

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Louie Gohmert: Aurora Shootings Result Of ‘Ongoing Attacks On Judeo-Christian Beliefs’ … FOLLOW: — Denver News, Aurora Shooting, Colorado Shooting, Dark Knight Shooting, James Holmes, Louie Gohmert, Aurora, Aurora News, Aurora Shooting 2012, Aurora Shootings, Aurora Theater Shooting …

Discussion: Slate, ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed, Hatewatch, Advocate, Business Insider, Unqualified Offerings, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Wonkette, Taking Note, Little Green Footballs, Washington Monthly, Influence Alley, Joe. My. God., Truth Wins Out and Hullabaloo

Joel B. Pollak / BREITBART.COM:

THE USUAL SUSPECTS: ABC'S ROSS, STEPHANOLPOULOS POINT TO TEA PARTY IN DARK KNIGHT SHOOTING — On Good Morning America, ABC News' Brian Ross and George Stephanolpoulos suggested that the Tea Party might be connected to the mass shootings early this morning in an Aurora, CO theater during …

Dylan Byers / Politico:

ABC News apologizes for ‘incorrect’ Tea party report — ABC News and Brian Ross are apologizing for an “incorrect” report that James Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting, may have had connections to the Tea Party. — “An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested …

Discussion: Hot Air, americanthinker.com and Cagle Post, more at Mediagazer »

Dennis de Groot / Twitchy:

Left blames Aurora shooting on Rush Limbaugh … Some Twitter users are speculating that the Aurora, Colo., shooter was inspired by comments made by Rush Limbaugh. The shooting occurred at a midnight premiere of the movie, “The Dark Knight Rises.” On Tuesday July 17, Limbaugh …

Discussion: Examiner, National Review, The PJ Tatler, CBS Denver, ABCNEWS, Politico, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and Rush Limbaugh

Joel B. Pollak / BREITBART.COM:

EXCLUSIVE: CONTRA ABC NEWS, DARK KNIGHT AURORA, CO SHOOTING SUSPECT JAMES HOLMES COULD BE REGISTERED DEMOCRAT — James Holmes, the suspect arrested in connection with the mass shootings at a screening of the new Batman movie early this morning in Aurora, CO, could be a registered Democrat …

Discussion: The Agitator, Hit & Run, protein wisdom, Gawker, Little Green Footballs, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, I'm a Man!, Poynter, ABCNEWS, JustOneMinute, Mediaite, Doug Ross, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, TMZ.com, Clayton Cramer's Blog and Associated Press

Skschust / CBS New York:

Kelly: Suspected Shooter In Colorado Theater Massacre Claimed To Be ‘The Joker’ — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the gunman suspected of attacking a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado resembled Batman's arch-villain “The Joker” at the time of the shocking attack.

Discussion: CNN, Air Force Times HOME, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Guardian, The Daily Caller, CBS Dallas, msnbc.com, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Grunwald / Swampland:

The Aurora Shooting: Sometimes There's Nothing Wrong with Politicizing a Tragedy — Aurora Police respond to the Century 16 movie theatre early Friday morning, July 20, 2012. A 24-year-old man was arrested in a car park nearby in possession of a rifle and handgun and reportedly told police that explosives were at his home.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Right Wing News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The New Republic and The Lede

Adam Gopnik / News Desk:

One More Massacre — The murders—it dignifies them to call them a “tragedy”—in Aurora, Colorado, have hit us all hard, though the grief of the friends and families of the victims is unimaginable. Still, it hits home, or someplace worse than home, for any parent who (as I did, as so many did) …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Denver Post:

AURORA — A gunman burst through the emergency exit door of a movie theater early Friday and shot 71 people, killing at least 12 of them, during a midnight premiere of the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises.” — Bloodied moviegoers dragged each other from the chaotic smoke-filled Theater 9 …

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Colorado tea partier describes ‘surreal’ day of wrongly being linked to theater massacre

Discussion: Poynter and Jammie Wearing Fools

Matt Welch / Hit & Run:
Half-Assed Media Speculation About the Batman Shooter

Discussion: Daily Mail, CBS News, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

John Cook / Gawker:
America's Wrongest Reporter, ABC News' Brian Ross, Demonstrates Yet Again How He Earned the Title [UPDATED]

Discussion: RedState, Cagle Post, Wonkette, Mother Jones, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, The Daily Caller and Instapundit

Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Bloomberg: What will Obama, Mitt do?

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Law Blog, The PJ Tatler, I'm a Man!, Above the Law, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, theGrio, Taylor Marsh and Jammie Wearing Fools

Dylan Byers / Politico:
ABC draws possible Tea Party connection with alleged Aurora shooter

Discussion: TheMoneyIllusion, UrbanGrounds, Red Alert Politics, Washington Monthly, Poynter and Deadline.com

Joel B. Pollak / BREITBART.COM:
EXCLUSIVE: INTERVIEW WITH JAMES MICHAEL HOLMES, HISPANIC TEA PARTY MEMBER FALSELY ACCUSED BY ABC

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Power Line, Instapundit, American Spectator, BuzzFeed, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, NewsBusters.org, Joe. My. God. and Mediaite

Jessica Fender / Denver Post:
Aurora shooting suspect left apartment “booby trapped,” music blaring

Discussion: msnbc.com, Towleroad News #gay and newsfeed.time.com, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Pearson / CNN:
Gunman kills 12 in Colorado movie theater

John Nolte / BREITBART.COM:
CNN'S PIERS MORGAN EXPLOITS ‘DARK KNIGHT’ MASSACRE TO PUSH GUN CONTROL

Discussion: Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite and theGrio

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg rips Obama and Romney on gun control

Discussion: Algemeiner.com

Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
The Template of Our Grief — The way mass casualty stories unfold …

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather and News Desk

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Why the Aurora shootings won't likely change the gun control debate

Discussion: CBS News, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Dish and Washington Monthly

CBS News:
Colo. shooting suspect James Holmes' apartment booby trapped, police say

Discussion: Associated Press

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
ABC Corrects Report: ABC News' Brian Ross Links Colorado Shooter To Local Tea Party

Discussion: TVNewser and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jim Davis / Boston Globe:

Romney kept reins, bargained hard on severance — Shortly after Mitt Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital to run the Olympics in February 1999, he made a trip to Palm Beach, Fla. The firm Romney founded was meeting to celebrate its 15th anniversary as well as the men he had helped make extraordinarily wealthy.

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Raw Story, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Pathos of the Plutocrat

Discussion: The Right Coast and Daily Kos

Aurora Shooting / The Huffington Post:
Mitt Romney Avoided Major Tax Hit By Shifting Stock Of Offshoring Firm

Discussion: Start Making Sense

Paul Krugman:

Al Green, Threat to the American Way of Life — Gary Silverman makes a remarkable catch. He asks why the Romney counter-attack on the “America the Beautiful” ad featured Obama singing Al Green, and pretty well too. Well, it turns out that this is how the other .01% think: … How “other” is Al Green?

Gary Silverman / Financial Times:

America, I'm so in love with you — I think it's fair to say that Mitt Romney is one of the best-preserved 65-year-old men in the history of US politics. His full head of mostly dark hair and trim physique make him look much younger. — However, Mr Romney is a bona fide senior citizen …

Discussion: alicublog

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

George W. Bush skipping Republican National Convention — Former President George W. Bush will not attend the Republican convention next month in Tampa, POLITICO has learned. — “President Bush was grateful for the invitation to the Republican National Convention,” Bush spokesman Freddy Ford wrote in an e-mail.

Discussion: CNN, The Caucus, Indecision Forever and New York Magazine

Daily Mail:

Teenager shouts ‘Allah is great’ in Arabic as he tries to grab the Olympic flame from hands of terrified torch bearer — Boy runs from crowd and attempts to wrestle flame from torch bearer shouting Arabic for ‘God is Great’ — Kent police say the relay continued ‘without disruption’ as Ms Skora passes torch on to next bearer

Discussion: Mediaite, Atlas Shrugs and Weasel Zippers

Stephen C. Webster / The Raw Story:

Top tea partier demands Obama prove he doesn't smoke crack and have gay sex — The president of Tea Party Nation declared on Thursday that if Mitt Romney is to release his tax returns, President Barack Obama should release medical records to prove he's not a drug addict who smoked crack and had gay sex with a lifelong con-man.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, iOwnTheWorld.com and rightwingwatch.org

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Keith Ellison: Michele Bachmann Thinks Muslims ‘Are Evil’ … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Michele Bachmann, Muslim Brotherhood, Video, Huma Abedin, Keith Ellison, Bachmann Huma Abedin, Bachmann Muslim Brotherhood, Ellison Muslim Brotherhood, Huma Abedin Muslim Brotherhood, Politics News

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, theGrio, Weasel Zippers and New York Magazine

Washington Post:
Michele Bachmann's baseless attack on Huma Abedin

Discussion: rightwingwatch.org and Politico

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Obama out-raises Romney in direct contributions for month of June — President Obama out-raised Mitt Romney in direct donations in June, bringing in $46 million for the month compared to $33 million for his Republican challenger. — Obama won more direct donations even as the Romney …

Discussion: Politico