memeorandum: GOP steers clear of gay marriage issue (Politico)

4:30 PM ET, August 6, 2012

Top Items:

Mark Potok / Hatewatch:

Bulletin: Alleged Sikh Temple Shooter Former Member of Skinhead Band — The man who allegedly murdered six people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee yesterday, identified in media reports as Wade Michael Page, was a frustrated neo-Nazi who had been the leader of a racist white-power band.

John Diedrich / JSOnline:

FBI: ‘Person of interest’ not involved in Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting — Jhalman Singh of Oak Creek (second from right) hides tears as he listens during a news conference Monday to a moving story about the president of the Sikh Temple who died trying to stave off the gunman.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Hinterland Gazette, Wired, The Raw Story, Denver Post, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville, BuzzFeed and The Agonist

Jana Winter / Fox News:

Gunman in Sikh temple identified, was former soldier — CUDAHY, WIS. - The man authorities say killed six in a Milwaukee-area Sikh temple before police shot him was a heavily-tattooed, 40-year-old ex-Army soldier, sources told Fox News, but what triggered his rampage remains unclear.

Matt Higgins / CBS DC:
CBS News: Shooter Identified As Former US Military Member

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog, Shot in the Dark and Vox Popoli

Anthony Bartkewicz / NY Daily News:
Alleged Sikh temple killer had a long history in the white-power rock scene: civil rights watchdog

Discussion: Informed Comment and Wonkette

Doug Stanglin / USA Today:
Who was Sikh temple shooter Wade Michael Page?

Discussion: CBS News, Runnin' Scared, southernstudies.org, The PJ Tatler and Towleroad News #gay

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Nancy Pelosi: ‘It Is A Fact’ That Somebody Told Harry Reid About Romney Not Paying Taxes … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Harry Reid , Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, Elections 2012, Video, Mitt Romney Tax Returns, Mitt Romney Taxes, Harry Reid Mitt Romney, Harry Reid Mitt Romney Taxes, Politics News

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Politico, Mediaite, First Read, The Hill, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Indecision Forever, Pirate's Cove, Weasel Zippers, AEIdeas, The PJ Tatler, National Review, US Politics and New York Magazine

Javier Manjarres / The Shark Tank:

Nancy Pelosi-Republicans Part of the “Ecoli-Club” — Democrat House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi made the trip all the way from her California congressional district to Boca Raton to attend a healthcare forum and to campaign on behalf of former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel …

Discussion: The Hill

John Bresnahan / Politico:

David Krone, Harry Reid's chief of staff, denounces GOP ‘cowards’ — The war over Mitt Romney's tax returns is getting more bitter by the moment, with a top aide to Senate Majority Harry Reid blasting Republicans as “cowards” and “henchmen” for their attacks on the Nevada Democrat.

Discussion: CNN, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, USA Today, Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Harry Reid's gutter politics

Discussion: Wake up America, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, ABCNEWS, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
White House: Sen. Reid ‘speaks for himself’ on Romney tax returns

Discussion: Hot Air

mars.jpl.nasa.gov:

MULTIMEDIA — Curiosity Spotted on Parachute by Orbiter — NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Outside the Beltway

Reuters:

Historic Curiosity probe lands safely on Mars — (Reuters) - NASA's Mars science rover Curiosity landed safely late on Sunday after hurtling through the pink Martian skies at the start of a two-year quest for signs the Red Planet once hosted key ingredients for life.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Truthdig, Taylor Marsh, americanthinker.com, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville and Mediaite

Aaron Smith / CNNMoney.com:
How many jobs did the Mars landing create?

Discussion: CNN and The Raw Story

BuzzFeed:
America Lands Mars Curiosity, Meets Bobak Ferdowsi

Discussion: Guardian, The Atlantic Online, Boing Boing, The Raw Story and Joe. My. God.

Washington Post:

Obama associate got $100,000 fee from affiliate of firm doing business with Iran — David Plouffe, a senior White House adviser who was President Obama's 2008 campaign manager, accepted a $100,000 speaking fee in 2010 from an affiliate of a company doing business with Iran's government.

Keith Koffler / White House Dossier:
WH Press Corps Goes Seven Weeks Without a Question

Discussion: Nice Deb, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller

Richard Danielson / Tampa Bay Times:

RNC speakers include Rick Scott, John McCain, Condoleezza Rice, Nikki Haley, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich and Susana Martinez — TAMPA — Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. John McCain and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are among seven headline speakers announced today for the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Discussion: The Caucus, CNN, Washington Monthly, americanthinker.com, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Hot Air, USA Today, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, The Hill, GOP 12, First Read, New York Magazine and The Gateway Pundit

First Read:
First Thoughts: Reaching the saturation point

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, American Prospect, Guardian and GOP 12

Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Donald Trump: I'm wanted at convention

Discussion: The Raw Story and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Bloomberg:

Romney Persona Non Grata In Italy For Bain'S Deal Skirting Taxes — Mitt Romney skipped Italy on his swing through Europe. That was probably prudent. — That's because Bain Capital, under Romney as chief executive officer, made about $1 billion in a leveraged buyout 12 years ago that remains controversial in Italy to this day.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hinterland Gazette, Balloon Juice, Prairie Weather and Newshoggers.com

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

More 2008 Obama Voters Than McCain Voters Switching Sides — Vast majority of 2008 voters staying loyal to party in 2012 — PRINCETON, NJ — Eighty-six percent of voters who say they voted for Barack Obama in 2008 are backing Obama again this year, a smaller proportion than the 92% …

Discussion: GOP 12, National Review and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:

Fear of ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Has Industry Pulling Back — A rising number of manufacturers are canceling new investments and putting off new hires because they fear paralysis in Washington will force hundreds of billions in tax increases and budget cuts in January, undermining economic growth in the coming months.

Discussion: Politico, Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Booman Tribune, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Washington Examiner, The Confluence, Via Meadia and Althouse

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Bee swarm attacks Hillary Clinton — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's tour of Malawi had an inauspicious finale on Monday as she and her detail were targeted by a swarm of bees at the airport. — Clinton and her detail were headed to board her plane at Kamuzu International Airport in the capital …

Discussion: Mediaite, Hit & Run and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Nyasa / Malawi news, Malawi:
Panic as Clinton jets out of Malawi, bees mystery

Discussion: BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS, Malawi Voice, JustOneMinute and New York Magazine

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:

NOM Defends Biblical Marriage, Including Slavery, Concubines, Polygamy, And Rape — (Click to see full-size.) — Defenders of Chick-fil-A's anti-equality positions have argued that the company simply believes in the “biblical definition of marriage.” An infographic has been circulating …

Discussion: Ruth Institute Blog and Good As You

Politico:

GOP steers clear of gay marriage issue — The GOP is doing something once unheard of. They're staying quiet on gay rights. AP Photos — Close — When Democrats announced that their 2012 platform would include a historic first - gay marriage written in as a plank - the reaction from mainstream Republicans was near silence.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, GayPatriot and First Read

ninemsn:
Men less supportive of gay marriage: poll

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Towleroad News #gay

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Veep Sheet: Paul Ryan rising? — Happy Monday and welcome back to the Veep Sheet. This was a busy weekend in veepstakes world. As POLITICO's Mike Allen pointed out in Saturday's Playbook, two influential conservatives at The Weekly Standard called on Mitt Romney to make a bold vice presidential pick …

Discussion: The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog and Hullabaloo

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Would picking Ryan really help Romney?

Discussion: Washington Monthly

ScienceDaily:

Pupil dilation reveals sexual orientation in new study — ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2012) — There is a popular belief that sexual orientation can be revealed by pupil dilation to attractive people, yet until now there was no scientific evidence. For the first time, researchers at Cornell University used …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:

Rasmussen: Obama overtakes Romney in national tracking poll — President Obama has overtaken Mitt Romney in the latest national survey from conservative polling outlet Rasmussen. — Obama leads Romney 47 to 45 percent in the daily tracking poll released Monday.