memeorandum: Pakistan's envoy to US faces potentially deadly blasphemy accusation (World News)

6:25 PM ET, January 17, 2013

Top Items:

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Republicans Brag They Won House Majority Because Of Gerrymandering — In a classic Kinsley gaffe, the Republican State Leadership Committee released a report boasting that the only reason the GOP controls the House of Representatives is because they gerrymandered congressional districts in blue states.

Discussion: The Impolitic, Talking Points Memo, The National Memo, The Hill, Plunderbund and The Political Carnival

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Republicans worry they'll lose the House to Dems if they botch fiscal talks — There's growing angst among Republicans that the party's House majority could be at risk in 2014 if the deep GOP divisions that emerged during the recent “fiscal cliff” negotiations persist in looming negotiations over a slew of budgetary issues.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The National Memo, The Plum Line and The Reaction

Ashley Parker / New York Times:

No Votes Disguise Yes Sympathies for Some in G.O.P. — WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — House Republicans have their Tea Party Caucus. They have their G.O.P. Doctors Caucus. And, joining the list of varied special interest caucuses, they recently picked up another influential but much more unofficial group — the Vote No/Hope Yes Caucus.

Discussion: CNN, PostPartisan, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather and Weekly Standard

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Dems have hard road to taking House in 2014

Discussion: Roll Call

Politico:

GOP pollster: Stop talking about rape — WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — It's way past time: House Republicans need to stop talking about rape. — That's the message GOP lawmakers got here Wednesday evening from Kellyanne Conway, a top GOP pollster. — Conway dispensed the stern advice as part …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Mediaite, Twitchy and Shakesville

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Ryan: House GOP discussing short-term hike to debt ceiling — WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - House Republicans are discussing a short-term debt ceiling increase to buy time for broader deficit reduction negotiations with Democrats, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters Thursday.

Discussion: CNN, Politico, FreedomWorks blogs and Wall Street Journal

John Parkinson / Reuters:
Ryan: GOP Mulling Debt Limit Hike

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Hot Air

Politico:
House GOP seeks to make friends

Discussion: CNN, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

CTPost.com:

President Barack Obama: Now is the time — As a society, our first task must be to care for our children — to shield them from harm and give them the tools they need not only to pursue their dreams, but to help build this country. That is how we will be judged.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Weekly Standard, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, The Democratic Daily, ThinkProgress and Politico

John Fund / National Review:
Gun Sales and Background Checks: Obama's Bogus 40 Percent Stat

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Outside the Beltway

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:
Biden on guns: 'We're going to go around the country.'

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon

Justin Sink / The Hill: Carney: White House to pursue separate gun control bills in Congress

Matthew Stolle / Post Bulletin:

Franken undecided on assault weapons ban — On the day that President Obama proposed a sweeping package of gun-control measures, U.S. Sen. Al Franken signaled his support for several components of Obama's plan. — Franken, speaking during a press event in Rochester, said he supports limits …

Discussion: Politico, Wonkblog, Hot Air, Post Politics and Washington Monthly

Erica Goode / New York Times:
Even Defining ‘Assault Rifles’ Is Complicated

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute, Hot Air, Guardian, Washington Free Beacon and Power Line

John H. Hinderaker / National Review:
Obama's Unserious Gun Proposals

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Betsy's Page and Washington Examiner

Lamine Chikhi / Reuters:

Six hostages, 8 kidnappers killed in Algeria siege; 7 still held — (Reuters) - Six foreign hostages and eight of their captors were killed when Algerian forces fired on a vehicle being used by besieged gunmen at a gas plant in the remote Algerian desert on Thursday, a local source told Reuters.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weekly Standard, Reuters, Slate, Right Turn, CNN, Josh Rogin's blog, The PJ Tatler, The Gateway Pundit, Via Meadia, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Justin Sink / The Hill:
White House ‘seeking clarity’ on Algerian hostage situation

Discussion: Politico and The Week

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

How Gun Culture Won Over Liberals — The new “gun nuts”: media elites, locavores, and hipster hunters. — On a Sunday morning a couple years ago, Brooklyn journalist Foster Kamer and a few of his “particularly liberal” blogger friends decided to skip brunch and hit the shooting range instead.

Discussion: Soup, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Politico:

Exclusive: Fox renews Karl Rove contract through 2016 — Fox News Channel is expected to announce shortly that Karl Rove has signed a multi-year deal to remain a Fox contributor through the 2016 election. — The contract assures the ratings-leader cable news network that it will retain …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Hill

Eddie Gehman Kohan / Obama Foodorama:

White House Takes Down Petition Calling For Beyoncé To Be “Disinvited” From Inauguration Due To PepsiCo Deal — White House spokesman says removal of petition from ‘We the People’ site has nothing to do with controversy...But East Wing doesn't want to discuss the optics problem for Let's Move! campaign...

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, Techdirt, Weasel Zippers, Post Politics and The Atlantic Online

Sharmin Kent / ThinkProgress:

Glenn Beck And The Price Of Independence — It's kinda hard to knock Glenn Beck's hustle. Since leaving Fox News in June of 2011, Beck has kept himself busy with projects like starting a jeans label and relaunching The Blaze as a libertarian online network.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Timothy O'Connor / Newsday:

Journal News map-listed guns, permits stolen from New City home, cops say — Two handguns and two pistol permits were stolen from the New City home of a man whose name and address are listed on the website of a local newspaper as possessing gun permits, police said.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller

John Howard / New York Times:

I Went After Guns. Obama Can, Too. — IT is for Americans and their elected representatives to determine the right response to President Obama's proposals on gun control. I wouldn't presume to lecture Americans on the subject. I can, however, describe what I, as prime minister of Australia …

Discussion: News Desk, Alan Colmes', Booman Tribune, Washington Post, Prairie Weather, msnbc.com and Capital New York

voteview blog:

An Update on Political Polarization through the 112th Congress — The 112th Congress closed unceremoniously this month with a series of votes (by the House and Senate) to avert the “fiscal cliff”. With this data, we can now analyze roll call voting in the 112th Congress in its entirety …

Discussion: Wonkblog, Mediaite and A plain blog about politics

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Rand Paul: Nullify ‘king’ Obama — Sen. Rand Paul is pledging to undo some of President Barack Obama's executive orders on guns that the Kentucky Republican believes overreach. — “In this bill we will nullify anything the president does that smacks of legislation,” Rand said Wednesday on Fox's …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Mother Jones, Weasel Zippers, The Plum Line, First Read, CNN, The Week, ThinkProgress and Mediaite

Associated Press:

Idaho lawmaker compares abortion and prostitution — BOISE — A lawmaker from northern Idaho drew audible gasps Wednesday morning when he asked representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union-Idaho if their pro-abortion rights stance also means that they support prostitution.

World News:

Pakistan's envoy to US faces potentially deadly blasphemy accusation — Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., seen in November last year, is facing accusations of blasphemy. — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A petition accusing Pakistan's ambassador to the United States of committing blasphemy has been filed with the country's

Discussion: DAWN.COM, Weasel Zippers, Jihad Watch and The Volokh Conspiracy

Carlo Munoz / The Hill:

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: US kidnappings in Algeria an act of terror — The Topline: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pulled no punches on Wednesday when he characterized the kidnapping of U.S. and foreign citizens by Algerian extremists as an act of terror. — Members of Algerian-based Islamic militant groups …

Discussion: ABCNEWS and The Moderate Voice

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:

The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 2: Prosecutorial Discretion) — This is the second in a series of posts on the Aaron Swartz prosecution. In my first post, I analyzed whether the charges that were brought against Swartz were justified as a matter of law.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Mother Jones, emptywheel, Los Angeles Times, TechPresident, Techdirt, Patterico's Pontifications, PC Magazine, AllThingsD and The Moderate Voice, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Cirilli / Reuters:

Marco Rubio: Obama lacks ‘courage’ on guns — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Thursday that President Barack Obama doesn't have the “political courage” to “admit” his true feelings about the Second Amendment, the latest in Rubio's recent criticisms of Obama's gun proposals.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather and Fox News Insider

Blair Bowie / Demos:

BILLION-DOLLAR DEMOCRACY: THE UNPRECEDENTED ROLE OF MONEY IN THE 2012 ELECTIONS — The first presidential election since Citizens United lived up to its hype, with unprecedented outside spending from new sources making headlines. — Demos and U.S. PIRG Education Fund analysis of reports from campaigns …

Discussion: American Prospect and Mother Jones

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Obama in Strong Position at Start of Second Term — Support for Compromise Rises, Except Among Republicans — OVERVIEW — As he prepares for his second inauguration, Barack Obama is in a stronger position with the public than he was over much of his first term.

Discussion: The Fix and Prairie Weather