memeorandum: Assad's fall may free Lebanon, too (Sara Stewart/New York Post)

3:25 AM ET, August 5, 2012

Top Items:

Chicago Chick-fil-A Kiss-In protesters “chalk” homeless street preacher — I attended Friday night's “Kiss-in” protest outside the only Chick-fil-A location in Chicago. The small group of between twenty to thirty protesters gathered outside the restaurant around 7pm.

Discussion: Fox News and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Kim Bhasin / Business Insider:

Exec Who Got Fired For Bullying Chick-fil-A Worker Explains What Happened That Day — Former Vante CFO Adam Smith struck a nerve when he put up a video of himself bullying a worker at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru window. — There was widespread criticism, and he was promptly fired from his position at Vante for how he acted.

Discussion: Wizbang, Cold Fury and Blazing Cat Fur

Sandy Mazza / Twitchy:
Tastes like hate: Meet Manny Castro, Hollywood artist and proud Chick-fil-A vandal

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, UrbanGrounds and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Anna Almendrala / The Huffington Post:
Chick-Fil-A In Torrance, Calif., Graffitied With ‘Tastes Like Hate’

Discussion: L.A. NOW, American Power, Examiner, Joe. My. God. and CNN

Shelby Grad / L.A. NOW:
Chick-fil-A ‘Kiss in’ protest small compared to appreciation day

Discussion: Wake up America, American Power, GayPatriot and Hot Air

Dwayne Landry / Fox News:
House lawmakers invite Chick-fil-A to roost in their districts

Discussion: Examiner and The Gateway Pundit

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:

Romney: Obama trying to limit military voters' rights, calls Ohio lawsuit ‘outrage’ — Earlier this week the Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit to block a new Ohio state law allowing men and women in uniform to vote up until the Monday right before an election …

Discussion: CNN, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Agonist and The Page

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

Obama, Romney camps spar on military voting — Mitt Romney sparked a Saturday tit-for-tat by claiming, without pointing to any evidence, that President Obama's campaign is trying to restrict military voting in Ohio. — Obama's campaign responded, ripping Romney for “completely fabricating” a claim it called “shameful.”

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Fox News:
Obama campaign sues Ohio over early voting law for military

Discussion: ThinkProgress and BuzzFeed

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

Michael Tomasky on the (Possible) Coming Obama Landslide — Liberals don't want to jinx it. It terrifies the right. And the press would prefer a nail-biter. But the fact is that finding Romney's path to victory is getting harder every day. — Republican presidential candidate …

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Booman Tribune

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Saturday Night Card Game (NBC gets an itsy, bitsy taste of its own medicine) — NBC is being accused of racism because it ran a promo for a new series featuring a monkey after a segment in which Bob Costas talked about Gabby Douglas' Gold Medal in gymnastics. — Here's the clip:

Discussion: Power Line

Daily Mail:

NBC forced to apologise after ill-timed ad features a monkey doing gymnastics - right after showing Gabby Douglas' gold medal victory — More woes for NBC after it shows ad featuring monkey doing gymnastics, right after Gabby Douglas' big win — She's now an international celebrity …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Daily Pundit and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

James E. Hansen / Washington Post:

Climate change is here — and worse than we thought — James E. Hansen directs the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. — When I testified before the Senate in the hot summer of 1988 , I warned of the kind of future that climate change would bring to us and our planet.

Discussion: Associated Press, CANNONFIRE, ThinkProgress and Los Angeles Times

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. ‘completely debilitated by depression,’ wife says — The Jackson Story ... The wife of ailing U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is finally talking. — In an exclusive interview, Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) walked Sneed through the dark days since her husband's “collapse.”

Discussion: The Hill, The Raw Story, Politico, New York Magazine and The Hinterland Gazette

Richard A. Serrano / Los Angeles Times:

Jared Loughner to plead guilty in Tucson shooting, sources say — Mental health officials reportedly believe he is now competent to understand the charges in the killing of six people and wounding of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others in Tucson last year.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Hill and The Raw Story

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

Claim of Responsibility in Russia Attack — MOSCOW — A self-described guerrilla fighter urging strict adherence to Islamic law has claimed responsibility for the killing last month of one Muslim leader and the attempted murder of another, in Tatarstan, a region in central Russia that prides itself …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Erik Brady / USA Today:

Michael Phelps golden one last time in London Olympics — LONDON - Michael Phelps sat in the warm-down pool after the final race of his Olympic career and thanked his coach, Bob Bowman, for making him the greatest swimmer of all time. — “That's not fair,” Bowman said. — “What's not fair about it?”

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Scared Monkeys