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12:50 PM ET, August 21, 2012

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
CNN:
First on CNN: GOP prepares tough anti-abortion platform  —  Tampa, Florida (CNN) - The Republican Party is once again set to enshrine into its official platform support for “a human life amendment” to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion without making explicit exemptions for rape or incest …
RELATED:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Akin 44 McCaskill 43  —  Missouri voters strongly disagree with the comments Todd Akin made about abortion over the weekend, but it hasn't moved the numbers a whole lot in the Senate race.  Akin leads Claire McCaskill by a single point, 44-43.  That's basically identical to our last poll …
Alexander Burns / Politico:
Exclusive: Akin ad asks for ‘forgiveness’  —  Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin has recorded a television ad asking for “forgiveness” from the voters of his state and acknowledging that he used “the wrong words in the wrong way” when he suggested last weekend that rape rarely leads to pregnancy.
Dennis Prager / Townhall.com:
The Pro-Life Movement Must Disavow Akin Comment  —  Rep. Todd Akin has, unwittingly to be sure, harmed the pro-life movement, his senatorial race in Missouri, the Republican Party, and therefore quite possibly the nation.  —  Every person who speaks or writes for the public will make an occasional faux pas …
SurveyUSA:
In Missouri: 54% Call For Akin to Quit Bid for U.S. Senate; 76% Do Not Share His Views on Rape and Abortion  —  By 5:3, Missourians say Congressman Todd Akin, a Republican running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill, should drop out of the race …
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Tainted poll by Dem outfit offers Akin incentive not to quit  —  A PPP poll, taken after Todd Akin's infamous comment about rape, puts him in a virtual tie with Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the Missouri Senate race.  According to that poll, Akin leads McCaskill by 44-43.
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
NRSC sends out list of conservative pundits calling for Akin to step down  —  The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee on Tuesday released a list of conservative columnists and pundits around the country calling for Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) to step down.
Katie Glueck / Politico:
Kirk Cameron defends Todd Akin  —  TV star-turned-conservative activist Kirk Cameron came to the defense of embattled GOP Senate hopeful Todd Akin Tuesday, saying that the Missouri congressman's controversial comments about “legitimate rape” came in the context of his opposition to abortion.
Andrew Grossman / Washington Wire:   GOP Panel Rejects Plank on Mortgage-Interest Deductions
James Hohmann / Reuters:
Tampa platform's 5 flashpoints
Discussion: Politico and CNN
Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Embattled Rep. Akin apologizes again in new TV ad
Discussion: The Agonist
Richard Allen Greene / CNN:
Akin's empty chair Twitterverse star
James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:
Huckabee to Akin: ‘Horrible’ rapes created some extraordinary people
Allison Hantschel / Firedoglake:
Late Night: On Legitimacy, Or Why Akin's Comments Weren't (Just) About Rape
Discussion: The Fix and CBS News
Karoli / Crooks and Liars:
Mitt Romney: Honor Students Do It All Themselves  —  In his town hall appearance in New Hampshire this morning, Mitt Romney celebrated the individual, who clearly needs no support system to succeed in RepublicanLand.  —  Speaking to a crowd of FreedomWorks devotees and other New Hampshire residents, he said this:
Emily Heil / Washington Post:
New Obama regulatory chief's Bain consulting tenure goes unmentioned: ‘Bain’ as four-letter word  —  President Obama's campaign just loves to refer to rival Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital.  They've made plenty of hay out of his time with the company ("home of the vulture capitalists!"), bringing it up at every turn possible.
RELATED:
Justin Sink / The Hill:
RNC ad: Obama ‘ignores the truth’ over ‘felon’ comment
Discussion: The Rightnewz
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Here's Your Beltway Pundit Constituency  —  As part of a series of Pre-Convention Front-Pagers based on a new WaPo-Kaiser Family Foundation survey, Jon Cohen and Dan Balz deliver a solid assessment of political independents that is most impressive for its succinctness.  Here's all you really need to know from the piece:
Discussion: Eschaton
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Independents favor cooperation, are dissatisfied with political system
Discussion: AEIdeas, Business Insider and The Fix
New York Times:
Romney Gains Huge Cash Advantage Over Obama  —  Mitt Romney's cash advantage over President Obama and the Democrats more than doubled in July, as intense Republican fund-raising and heavy spending by Mr. Obama and his allies left Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee with $62 million …
BuzzFeed:
GOP Votes Down Civil Unions In Platform  —  A social conservative hard line in Tampa.  —  TAMPA, Florida — The GOP platform committee overwhelmingly voted down an effort to include recognitions of civil unions in the party's manifesto.  —  The measure, offered by Rhode Island delegate Barbara Fenton …
Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots
Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
In Praise of Fact-Checkers  —  In the wake of Niall Ferguson's dishonesty, Dylan Byers decided to contact Newsweek to see what controls the magazine had in place to prevent authors from lying to them.  As it turns out, none: … More accurately, Newsweek has unwittingly outsourced its fact-checking to the web.
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy Is on Your Screen  —  Two decades ago, conservative anger against popular culture burned so intensely that it seemed at the time that Hollywood had come to fill the space in the right-wing fear center vacated by the end of Communism.  The anger came out in an endless series of skirmishes.
Ryan J. Reilly / Talking Points Memo:
FBI Probing Rep. Michael Grimm, Not Skinny-Dipping  —  The FBI is indeed interested in a trip that House Republicans made to Israel last summer.  But it's not because Kansas Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder took his pants off and jumped into the Sea of Galilee after a night of drinking.
Dave Zirin / thenation.com/blogs/163256:
Condi Rice's Membership at Augusta National Is Nothing to Celebrate  —  In a week where the phrase “legitimate rape” became part of the American political discourse, it's understandable that anyone who believes in women's liberation would be scavenging for some good news.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney slightly ahead in Wisconsin
Discussion: Weekly Standard
Fred Barnes / Wall Street Journal:
How Ryan Recasts the Race
C. J. Chivers / New York Times:
Syrian Rebels Coalesce Into a Fighting Force
Discussion: The Agonist and World
Janet Hook / Washington Wire:
Paul Ryan Sticks to Fitness Routine on Road
Discussion: Election 2012
Charles Riley / CNNMoney.com:
Obama-friendly CEO gave to Paul Ryan
Discussion: Weekly Standard
Zack Colman / The Hill:
Green group urges Interior to delay Shell's Arctic drilling plans
Tom Chivers / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
George Galloway's Julian Assange ‘rape’ comments: surely, this is finally the end for Gorgeous George
 Earlier Items: 
Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Romney ad: Obama welfare change leads to ‘cycle of dependency’
The White House:
Remarks by the President to the White House Press Corps
Ryan J. Reilly / Talking Points Memo:
Justice Department Approves Va. Voter ID Law
Toby Harnden / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama 'cancelled missions to kill bin Laden THREE TIMES after getting cold feet …
Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools
Alicia Mundy / Washington Wire:
Rabbi Shmuley Gets Boost From Adelsons
BuzzFeed:
Exclusive: GOP Platform Draft Strongly Defends “Traditional Concept Of Marriage”
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says the DOJ's “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision”, would hurt US consumers, and jeopardize the US' global tech leadership

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

 
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