memeorandum: The Morning Plum: Romney and Ryan muddy the Medicare waters (Greg Sargent/Washington Post)

5:15 PM ET, August 17, 2012

Top Items:

Paul Ryan — THE TOPLESS PHOTO — THE TOPLESS PHOTO — EXCLUSIVE — Here it is ... the very first photo of Paul Ryan's mysterious athletic physique ... REVEALED!!! — TMZ has (finally) obtained a photo of Mitt Romney's running mate — sans shirt — taken roughly 6 years ago ... right before Ryan got hooked on the P90X workout.

Discussion: Politico, The Lonely Conservative, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Towleroad News #gay, ABCNEWS, FishbowlDC, Wake up America, Taylor Marsh, Viral Read, The Hill, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, New York Magazine and The Other McCain

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

Mitt Romney's Whiteboard Blues — ANALYSIS: Everything you need to know about how this week went for Mitt Romney can be summed up in one word: whiteboard. — There he was in Greer, S.C., with a black dry-erase marker in hand scrawling out on a wood-framed whiteboard how — in his view …

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS and Wake up America

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Romney's present, Ryan's future — Vice-presidential picks are always judged by their effect on the coming election. They rarely have any. — They haven't had a decisive influence since Lyndon Johnson carried Texas for John Kennedy in 1960. (That and Illinois put Kennedy over the top.)

Discussion: Associated Press, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AEIdeas, Politico, p m carpenter's commentary and Betsy's Page

Wall Street Journal:
The Mediscare Boomerang — ObamaCare gives Republicans a chance …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Speaker.gov, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air and ABCNEWS

Matt Rhoades / Barack Obama:

Letter from Jim Messina to Matt Rhoades — Dear Matt: — I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns, but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers …

Discussion: Democracy in America, NY Daily News, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Washington Wire, The Hill, The Reality-Based Community, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Politico, The Daily Beast, Taegan Goddard's …, Booman Tribune, GOP 12, Swampland and The Caucus

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

White House piles on Obama call for Romney to release tax forms — The White House on Friday piled on to the Obama campaign's call for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to release more of his tax records. — White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said voters think transparency is …

Discussion: Politico, CNN and Algemeiner.com

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The Morning Plum: Romney and Ryan muddy the Medicare waters — The Romney and Obama camapigns are again trading blows over Medicare this morning. The Obama campaign is up with a new ad that hits back at the Romney campaign attacks, defending Obamacare for protecting Medicare against fraud …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The New Republic, 2012 Decoded, ABCNEWS, BuzzFeed, Brad DeLong, CNN and Washington Wire

CNN:
TRENDING: Obama camp: Let's make a deal on tax returns. Romney camp: No.

Discussion: Associated Press, Wake up America, CANNONFIRE, Outside the Beltway and New York Times

David Jackson / USA Today:
Romney declines Obama deal on tax return releases

Discussion: Firedoglake, Michelle Malkin and American Spectator

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Romney advisers confirm it: We're running a ‘just trust me’ campaign — I noted here yesterday that Mitt Romney is running a “just trust me” campaign, in which his lack of specificity and transparency extends far beyond just his tax returns, to his bundlers and to large swaths of his policy proposals.

Discussion: American Prospect, Hullabaloo, The Political Carnival, New York Times and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Politico:

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan pursue united front strategy — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan plan to campaign together again sooner than aides had originally planned, likely twice next week, as part of a new offensive to take on the touchy issue of Medicare, campaign officials tell POLITICO.

Discussion: CNN, BuzzFeed, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, First Read, Washington Post, Connecting.the.Dots and The Daily Caller

Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
One-Trick Pony Hack of the Day

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Hateful speech on hate groups — Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, posted an alert on its blog Tuesday: “Paul Ryan Speaking at Hate Group's Annual Conference.” — The “hate group” that the Republicans' vice presidential candidate would be addressing?

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, Mother Jones, rightwingwatch.org, Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hit & Run, Sky Dancing, The Other McCain, Box Turtle Bulletin, ThinkProgress, American Power, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, Holy Bullies … and The Reality-Based Community

Christian Newswire:

LivePrayer to File $100 Million Lawsuit Against Southern Poverty Law Center — Contact: Rev. William Keller, LivePrayer.com, 727-420-7005 — Bill Keller, the world's leading Internet Evangelist and the founder of LivePrayer.com, with over 2.4 million subscribers worldwide reading …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Joe. My. God., NOM Blog and National Review

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
Family Research Council head puts blame on Law Center

Discussion: Washington Monthly, GLAA Forum, Associated Press and BuzzFeed

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

Unemployment rate rises in 44 states — Close to 90 percent of states saw their unemployment rates rise in July, a potentially worrisome development for President Obama's reelection campaign. — The Labor Department reported Friday that 44 states in all saw their jobless rate go up, with four states seeing no change at all.

Discussion: Power Line

Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Discussion: Firedoglake and Calculated Risk

Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:
Unemployment rates rise in 44 states in July

Discussion: The Fix, The PJ Tatler, The Hinterland Gazette and business.time.com

BBC:

Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism — Judge Marina Syrova: “These three plus others... plotted together to undermine civil order, motivated by religious hatred” — Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been jailed for two years after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Guardian, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, The Confluence, Shakesville, Instapundit, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Russian Punk Band Is Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Anti-Putin Stunt

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, IHT Rendezvous, Emerging Europe Real Time, Via Meadia, Hit & Run, Media Decoder, News Desk, The Lede and Althouse

Washington Examiner:

Hillary rejected VP slot to ready her own 2016 run … Popular in Politics — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pressed by her husband and a top Obama aide to consider replacing Vice President Joe Biden just a couple of weeks ago, claims the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Amateur.”

Discussion: CNN, Weekly Standard, Power Line, Wonkette, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Paul Ryan Slams Obama For Not Saving Auto Plant That Closed Under Bush — Paul Ryan slammed President Obama on Thursday for failing to rescue an auto factory in his Wisconsin district — one that closed in 2008, under President George W. Bush.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Wonkette, The Maddow Blog, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

David Shepardson / detroitnews.com:
Ryan criticizes Obama on '08 GM plant closure from before he took office

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and New York Magazine

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Geraldo Rivera: Napolitano Has Orchestrated A ‘Same-Sex Takeover’ Of Homeland Security — In an attempt to explain the allegations of sexual harassment at the Department of Homeland Security, Fox News host Geraldo Rivera on Friday resorted to saying that the few women in powerful roles …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Geraldo Investigates: Is There A ‘Lesbian Cabal’ Leading The Department Of Homeland Security?

Discussion: The Raw Story, Wonkette and Towleroad News #gay

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:

City of San Francisco to place sharia-compliant disclaimers next to every AFDI pro-Israel bus ad — Scott Goldstein, President of Titan Transit advertising, just called me. Titan handles the outdoor ads for San Francisco MUNI and BART. — In an unprecedented move, the city of San Francisco …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com and Joe. My. God.

CBS San Francisco:
Muni Not Taking Down Controversial ‘Jihad’ Ads On SF Buses

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Jeff Mason / Reuters:

Exclusive: White House studying potential oil reserve release — (Reuters) - The White House is “dusting off old plans” for a potential release of oil reserves to dampen prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining sanctions against Iran, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.

Discussion: Business Insider, Hot Air, Firedoglake, 24/7 Wall St., Weekly Standard, americanthinker.com and The Hill

Clifford Krauss / New York Times:
U.S. Reliance on Saudi Oil Heads Back Up

Discussion: Hot Air, Via Meadia, Cold Fury and USA Today

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

Anti-Obama Navy SEAL leader: I'm a Birther — President Barack Obama is a socialist, was raised by communists, and wasn't born in the United States, according to the former Navy SEAL who founded the group Special Operations Speaks (SOS), which aims to portray Obama as anti-military in this election season.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, U.S., Politico, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and CNN

Doug Stanglin / USA Today:

Colorado U. to segregate dorms for students with gun permits — The University of Colorado will segregate dorms for students who have valid permits to carry concealed weapons, The Denver Post reports. — The newspaper says student housing contracts at CU-Boulder and CU-Colorado Springs …

Discussion: U.S. News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Euskal Irrati Telebista / EITB:

SpongeBob SquarePants is gay — At least, so says the National Commission for moral affairs in the Ukraine which has requested that the series be banned along with The Simpsons and The Teletubbies. — null - — The Commission claims that SpongeBob SquarePants is a homosexual.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.

David Simon:

Mitt Romney paid taxes at a rate of at least 13 percent. And he's proud to say so. — Can we stand back and pause a short minute to take in the spectacle of a man who wants to be President of The United States, who wants us to seriously regard him as a paragon of the American civic ideal …