memeorandum: Fannie, Freddie Won't Cut Loan Balances (Nick Timiraos/Wall Street Journal)

5:00 PM ET, July 31, 2012

Top Items:

CNN:

Romney aide loses cool, curses at press in Poland — Warsaw, Poland (CNN) - The traveling press secretary for Mitt Romney lost his cool and cursed at reporters who attempted to ask questions of the Republican presidential candidate in a public plaza near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw Tuesday.

Jonathan Martin / Reuters:

Romney aide to reporters: ‘Shove it!’ — WARSAW—A Mitt Romney aide told reporters to “shove it” Tuesday morning after the American press corps here shouted questions at the presidential candidate. — As Romney was walking away from Pilsudski Square toward his vehicle …

Matthew Shelley / NationalJournal.com:

Romney on Gaffes: It's the Media's Fault — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney earlier this month. — In his first comments addressing multiple gaffes during his overseas trip, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday fell back on a staple of troubled political campaigns: Blame the media.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, ThinkProgress, The Political Carnival, msnbc.com, Indecision Forever and 2012 Decoded

Lucy Madison / CBS News:

Romney: I “did not speak about” Palestinian culture — (CBS News) Under fire from Palestinian leaders for recent comments suggesting that Israel's economic success is borne out of its “culture,” Mitt Romney on Tuesday attempted to clarify his remarks, telling Fox News in an interview …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonkette, Little Green Footballs, Associated Press, The Spectacle Blog, blog.sfgate.com, Washington Examiner, Telegraph, National Review and Washington Post

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Go Gorka! — Listen to the audio of the media horde screaming …

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:
Mitt Romney's foreign trip didn't go well. Does it matter?

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Connecting.the.Dots, The Times of Israel, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Applesauce, Daily Kos, Politico, msnbc.com, nation.foxnews.com, Political Capital, CNN, The Hill and Gallup

CNN:
First on CNN: Romney preps swing state blitz, stirring V.P. speculation

Discussion: GOP 12

David Brooks / New York Times:
Dullest Campaign Ever

Discussion: Financial Times, Wonkette and Politico

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Romney campaign to announce VP selection via smartphone app

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Indecision Forever, CNN, Political Capital, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Verge, Politics Extra, The Hill, GigaOM and Washington Monthly

Roger Simon / Politico:
Mitt Romney should have stayed home from Europe

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, ABCNEWS and The Moderate Voice, more at Mediagazer »

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Romney says press focusing on overseas stumbles to aid Obama

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Harry Reid: Bain Investor Told Me That Mitt Romney 'Didn't Pay Any Taxes For 10 Years' … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elections 2012, Harry Reid , Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Video, Mitt Romney Taxes, Harry Reid Mitt Romney, Harry Reid Romney Taxes, Mitt Romney 2012, Reid Romney …

Discussion: GOP 12, The Hill, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Political Carnival, Taegan Goddard's …, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider and ABCNEWS

Manu Raju / Politico:

Government funding deal reached — House and Senate leaders have reached a deal to keep federal agencies running into next year, sources say, a move that would avoid a partisan government shutdown fight before the November elections. — The agreement in principle by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

BuzzFeed:
White House Breaks With Netanyahu: Iran Sanctions Are Working

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The PJ Tatler, Associated Press and Weekly Standard

Amy Willis / Telegraph:

London Olympics 2012: Twitter 'alerted NBC to British journalist's critical tweets' — Twitter employees alerted NBC staff to a British journalist's tweets and showed them how to file a complaint against him, the television network has revealed. — Gary Zenkel and Matt Lauer …

Discussion: Gizmodo, Mediaite, Guardian, The Verge, Mashable!, The PJ Tatler, Poynter, Deadspin, The Awl, The Raw Story, National Review, skippy the bush kangaroo, GigaOM, William K. Wolfrum Chronicles, New York Magazine and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »

Twitter Blog:

Our approach to Trust & Safety and private information — We want to take a moment to explain some of our general Trust and Safety policies and procedures, and address the specific case at hand that has unfolded over the past 48-hours (we normally don't address matters pertaining …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, Deadline.com, Forbes, GigaOM and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:
Twitter Apologizes for Mishandling Journalist's Suspended Account

Discussion: Guardian, GigaOM and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Guy Adams / The Independent:
NBCFail: NBC blames Twitter for complaint that led to journalist Guy Adams having Twitter account …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, BuzzMachine, New York Magazine, Poynter and Media Decoder, more at Mediagazer »

Guy Adams / The Independent:
I thought the internet age had ended this kind of censorship

Discussion: GigaOM, DCist, TechCrunch, The Daily Caller, American Power, Guardian and Deadspin, more at Mediagazer »

Knoxville News-Sentinel:

Report: Mitt Romney photo on Facebook sets off man, who assaults girlfriend — CLINTON — He suspected his live-in girlfriend of planning an affair, and when he saw a picture of a man he didn't recognize on her Facebook page, it set him off, according to reports.

Discussion: Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Caller, The Other McCain and Riehl World View

Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:

Romney Photo Spurs Domestic Abuse Incident — Suspect mistook Republican pol for live-in girlfriend's sidepiece — Suspicious that his live-in girlfriend was planning an affair, a Tennessee man confronted the woman after spotting a photo of an unknown guy on her Facebook page, according to a police report.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Wizbang, Wonkette, The Raw Story and New York Magazine

John Nolte / BREITBART.COM:

NPR'S COKIE ROBERTS: ROMNEY POLAND TRIP RACIALLY MOTIVATED — What's important about the NPR excerpt below, which broadcast this morning, is that this is everything NPR's Cokie Roberts has to say about Romney's motives for going to Poland. This is the entirety of it.

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Romney's Warsaw Speech

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Hot Air

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama Campaign Brings Up ‘Felons’ in Latest Ad — The latest web ad from Barack Obama's campaign goes after Mitt Romney for not releasing more tax returns than he already has. The ad, titled “Mitt Romney's Tax Returns: When Will He Come Clean?,” at one point flashes two words onscreen, “FELONS” and “TAX RECORDS.”

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and American Power

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Obama Adviser Calls Romney's Foreign Trip An “Embarrassing Disaster”

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette

Byron Tau / Politico:

Obama donates to himself — President Obama has given $5,000 to his own reelection campaign, an official confirms to POLITICO. — In an email to supporters this morning, Obama said that he had given to his own reelection campaign for the first time as a symbolic gesture.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
Obama Donates $5,000 to His Campaign

Discussion: Political Capital, Mediaite and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

GOP Rep. Steve King Defends Dog Fighting — Left: Rep. Steve King (R-IA). Right: Dogfighting victim. — If you believe that the United States should legalize dogfighting because we allow humans to fight, fear not. You've got an ally in the United States Congress.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and The Raw Story

Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:

The Man Who Saved Capitalism — Milton Friedman, who would have turned 100 on Tuesday, helped to make free markets popular again in the 20th century. His ideas are even more important today. — It's a tragedy that Milton Friedman—born 100 years ago on July 31—did not live long enough …

Discussion: Power Line, Investor's Business Daily, Fausta's Blog, AEIdeas, Conservatives4Palin, Hot Air, Maggie's Farm, Cold Fury, National Review, Betsy's Page, americanthinker.com, Chicago Boyz and Hit & Run

Forbes:

President Obama vs. My Grandfather — My grandfather, a gruff and uneducated but whip-smart guy, started out poor. Following a stint in the Army, he spent a few years working and scrimped together enough money to start his own restaurant in a small town near Philadelphia.

Discussion: PoliPundit.com

Jessica Pressler / New York Magazine:

The Other Barbarians at the Gates — The Hamptons are Romney territory. But billionaire Jeff Greene thinks his neighbors would be wise to buy a little democracy insurance. — t's incredible, right?" shouts Jeff Greene over the roar of the two-seater dune buggy's motor. “ It's 55 acres!

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo and Balloon Juice

BuzzFeed:

Proposition 8 Supporters Ask Supreme Court To Keep Marriage Ban — At issue: Whether amendment banning same-sex couples from marrying is constitutional. Appeals court had struck down the amendment. — Another hot issue could be headed for the Supreme Court. — Image by Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Discussion: Advocate, The New Civil Rights Movement and Joe. My. God.

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Retiring Rep. Steve LaTourette: You have to ‘hand over your wallet and your voting card’ to extremes — Rep. Steve LaTourette, a key ally of House Speaker John A. Boehner and one of a dwindling number of congressional GOP moderates, issued a broadside against an increasingly polarized House on Tuesday …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Columbus Dispatch

Cathryn Kulat / The Hill: Rep. LaTourette retires, says partisan ‘toll’ growing too heavy

Chad Brady / The Daily Caller:

The Daily Caller Gun Giveaway Week 11: Find Our Hacker — The Daily Caller will be giving away one gun per week until Election Day: November 6, 2012. — The FMK 9C1 is an American-made high capacity 9mm designed by Jim Pontillo and manufactured in California. Each gun is engraved with the Bill of Rights.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Magazine and FishbowlDC

BuzzFeed:

Federal Trial Court In Connecticut Strikes Down DOMA's Marriage Definition — On DOMA's definition of “marriage,” court finds “that no conceivable rational basis exists for the provision.” — Janet Geller & Joanne Marquis, two of the plaintiffs in the Connecticut case.

Discussion: Human Rights Campaign Blog and Towleroad News #gay

The Atlantic Online:

Statistical Probability That Mitt Romney's New Twitter Followers Are Just Normal Users: 0% — It is virtually impossible that the former governor's recent spike in Twitter followers resulted from normal activity on the social network. — Reuters. — Last week Zach Green of 140Elect …

Discussion: TechCrunch and Prairie Weather