memeorandum: Dave Mustaine, Megadeth Singer, Says Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora Shooting, Sikh Temple Shooting To Pass A Gun Ban (VIDEO) (Matt Ferner/The Huffington Post)

1:15 PM ET, August 16, 2012

Top Items:

Joe Biden / WDBJ-TV:

Radford business owner declines request from Joe Biden's entourage to stop in store — The owner of Crumb and Get It says he doesn't agree with the Obama administration's policies. — Vice President Joe Biden visits Danville, Floyd, Wytheville — Republicans seize on Biden's ‘put you back in chains’ comment

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, BREITBART.COM, The Moderate Voice, The Jawa Report, Weekly Standard, Wake up America, Datechguy's Blog, The Gateway Pundit, The Hinterland Gazette, The PJ Tatler, Riehl World View, The Daily Caller and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Is Today the Day? — Perhaps further fueling speculation that Barack Obama may replace Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket with, say, Hillary Clinton, take a look at part of the president's schedule for today: — 10:15AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, National Review, BLACKFIVE, Hot Air, Fox News, Althouse and neo-neocon

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Mission Impossible: Managing Joe Biden — BLACKSBURG, Va. — The most emotionally powerful minute of Joe Biden's two-day swing through rural Virginia almost didn't happen. — After the vice president paid a solemn visit Wednesday to the memorial honoring the victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting …

Discussion: The Fix, Taylor Marsh, Guardian, National Review, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, Poynter, CNN, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Fox News:
Ryan takes on Obama campaign over Biden ‘chains’ remark

Discussion: Politico, Conservatives4Palin, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Mission Impossible: Managing Joe Biden

Discussion: Mediaite and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Washington Post:
Ryan pick presents new challenges for Biden

Discussion: Washington Wire, ABCNEWS, WBAY-TV, The Fix, Politico, Ballot Box, USA Today and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
President Obama: No Apologies, No Scolding for Joe Biden's Remark

Discussion: First Read, Mail Online, Mediaite, The Fix, Scared Monkeys, Politico, Reuters, USA Today, The Hill, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Hot Air and Washington Post

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:
Ex-Obama pal decodes Joe Biden's racial-speak for other Americans

Discussion: protein wisdom and Moe_Lane's blog

Washington Post:
Mr. Biden's Social Security promise falls flat

Discussion: Power Line

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Fmr. Va. Gov. Douglas Wilder to Biden: ‘Slavery is nothing to joke about’

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Hinterland Gazette, americanthinker.com, The PJ Tatler and Power Line

Rich Lowry / Politico:

Give 'em hell, Mitt! — On Medicare, the Romney campaign is borrowing the strategic logic of a long-ago military legend. — Taking command of the French 9th army in 1914 as it retreated before the Germans, Marshal Ferdinand Foch uttered his immortals words: “Hard pressed on my right.

Discussion: CNN and Cold Fury

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

ANALYSIS: Paul Ryan's First Week — ANALYSIS:If Mitt Romney's decision to announce his vice presidential pick earlier than most other presidential candidates in modern political history was supposed to turn the campaign away from the personal (his record at Bain, his refusal to release …

Discussion: CNN, Politico and ABCNEWS

Jordy Yager / The Hill:

Shooting spurs heated debate on gay rights, ‘hate group’ label — The shooting of a security guard Wednesday at the Family Research Council (FRC) has spurred a torrent of heated accusations from both sides of the gay rights debate about claims that the conservative organization is a “hate group.”

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, americanthinker.com, Gay Politics, Towleroad News #gay, NOM Blog, American Power, Twitchy and Little Green Footballs

Associated Press:
Cops: LGBT volunteer shoots conservative group's guard

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Shakesville, Power Line, The PJ Tatler, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, GLAAD, Truth Wins Out, The Jawa Report and Washington Post

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Marriage advocate pleads for civility

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Tim Graham / NewsBusters.org:
Only ABC Offers Full Story on Shooting at FRC; CBS, NBC Blow It Off With Tiny Reports

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and The Daily Caller

Mary Katharine Ham / Hot Air:
Cops: Suspect in FRC shooting volunteered at Washington LGBT center

Discussion: American Prospect, CNN, livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com, HillBuzz.org, BuzzFeed, Power Line, Jammie Wearing Fools, Shot in the Dark and American Power

Erick Erickson / RedState:
Human Rights Campaign Maintains Family Research Council is a “Hate Group”

Discussion: Good As You and NewsBusters.org blogs

New York Times:

Ecuador Grants Asylum to Assange, Defying Britain — CARACAS, Venezuela — Ecuador said on Thursday that it had decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Mr. Assange has been holed up for two months in the Ecuadorean embassy in London …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Guardian, American Spectator, Media Decoder, News Desk, New York Magazine and americanthinker.com, more at Mediagazer »

Reuters:
Britain warns Ecuador it could enter embassy to get Assange

Discussion: BBC, National Review, Taylor Marsh, US Politics and LewRockwell.com Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Lizzy Davies / Guardian:
Diplomatic row intensifies as Ecuador grants asylum to Julian Assange

Discussion: News Desk, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, Balloon Juice, Gawker and BBC, more at Mediagazer »

DealBook:

No Criminal Case Is Likely in Loss at MF Global — A criminal investigation into the collapse of the brokerage firm MF Global and the disappearance of about $1 billion in customer money is now heading into its final stage without charges expected against any top executives.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Jawa Report, Outside the Beltway, emptywheel, The Awl, Brad DeLong and Jammie Wearing Fools

Rolling Stone:
Goldman Non-Prosecution: AG Eric Holder Has No Balls

Discussion: Firedoglake and CBS DC

Nick R. Martin / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMMuckraker — Brewer's Immigration Blast At Obama Looks Like A Dud — At first blush, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer seemed to be defying the federal government once again on Wednesday night. — The Republican governor signed an executive order saying Arizona had no plans to give government benefits …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, KNXV, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Political Carnival, Business Insider, The Maddow Blog and Washington Post

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
Gov. Jan Brewer defies W.H. on immigration

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog and New York Times

Matt Ferner / The Huffington Post:

Dave Mustaine, Megadeth Singer, Says Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora Shooting, Sikh Temple Shooting To Pass A Gun Ban (VIDEO) … FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , Denver News, Video, Dave Mustaine, Gun Rights, Aurora News, Aurora Shooting 2012, Batman Shooting 2012, Colorado Shooting 2012, Colorado Theater Shooting …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

TMZ.com:
Megadeth Singer Dave Mustaine — Barack Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora Shooting Massacre

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Wonkette, Reuters, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, SQUATLO RANT, BuzzFeed, Shakesville, Gawker and New York Magazine

Karah-Leigh / Athens Daily News:

Red & Black student staffers walk out — The student editorial staff of the University of Georgia's The Red & Black newspaper walked out Wednesday evening after a non-student was named editorial director with final say on all editorial content. — The Red & Black's student editor-in-chief …

Discussion: Red & Dead, Sense of Events, Poynter, Instapundit and Inside Higher Ed, more at Mediagazer »

David Fahrenthold / Washington Post:

Artur Davis, who backed Obama in 2008, to speak at GOP convention — Former congressman Artur Davis, who officially seconded President Obama's nomination at the 2008 Democratic convention, said Wednesday that he will cap a remarkable political metamorphosis by addressing the Republican convention …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Outside the Beltway, Politico, AEIdeas, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, The Fix and The Political Carnival

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

The ugly presidential campaign — The umbrage industry is working overtime this week. — Mitt Romney, the Republicans' presidential standard-bearer, is so outraged by President Obama's attacks that he called the president a hater: “Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, p m carpenter's commentary, The Mahablog, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and Politico

Investor's Business Daily:

Look Who the Press Is Blaming for the Ugly Campaign — Media Bias: What a surprise. Mitt Romney finally throws a counterpunch to a series of outrageous Obama campaign lies, and the press accuses Romney of going negative. The media's pro-Obama bias is a wonder to behold.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

President Obama Takes Questions from People Mag, Entertainment Tonight, Disses White House Press Corps — President Obama hasn't formally taken questions from the White House press corps in more than two months, while on the campaign trail in Iowa yesterday he made time for reporters from People Magazine and Entertainment Tonight.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Riehl World View, ETonline.com, Pundit & Pundette and Politico