memeorandum: Middle East and North Africa (fco.gov.uk)

10:55 AM ET, January 24, 2013

Top Items:

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

Ron Johnson: Hillary Clinton Planned To Get Emotional To Evade Questions — “I think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead Americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card,” the senator tells BuzzFeed. — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pounds …

Washington Post:

Bobby Jindal speaking truth to GOP power — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will deliver a forceful denunciation of his party's Washington-centric focus in a speech to the Republican National Committee on Thursday evening, arguing that the GOP is fighting the wrong fight as it seeks to rebuild from losses at the ballot box last November.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NationalJournal.com, First Read, Taegan Goddard's … and The Caucus

Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:

GOP Senator Pushes Gun-Running Conspiracy Theory During Benghazi Hearing — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) used today's hearing on the Benghazi attack to confront Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about a conspiracy theory involving moving guns from Libya to Syrian rebels.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, The National Memo and Washington Free Beacon

Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog:
Hillary Clinton 69, Rand Paul 10

Discussion: Politico and Weasel Zippers

Rush Limbaugh:
The Cleansing of Mrs. Clinton's Record

Discussion: Vox Popoli and Politico

Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post:
Rand Paul To Hillary Clinton: ‘I Would Have Relieved You Of Your Post’

Discussion: Washington Post, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Daily Kos and Crooks and Liars

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Facing Congress, Clinton Defends Her Actions Before and After Libya Attack

Discussion: Lawfare, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The BLT, Weekly Standard, The PJ Tatler, Sky Dancing, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

David Weigel / Slate:

Virginia State Senate Moves Ahead on Electoral College-Rigging Bill — Congressional clerks open certificate envelopes from different states during a joint session of the 113th Congress to count the Electoral College votes January 4, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Discussion: Wonkblog, Mother Jones, msnbc.com, The Maddow Blog, Associated Press, Unqualified Offerings, The Atlantic Online, The Political Carnival, Business Insider and Prairie Weather

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

UPDATED: Virginia Republican State Senator Declines To Back GOP Electoral College Rigging Scheme … In a subcommittee vote Wednesday, Virginia State Sen. and former Republican National Committee Chief Counsel Jill Holtzman Vogel (R) abstained on a key vote on a bill to rig the state's electoral college vote.

Jim Nolan / Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Bill to change allocation of Virginia's electoral votes advances

Discussion: Ballot Box, Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Maddow Blog

Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
Virginia Republicans Move Forward with Mass Disenfranchisement

Discussion: www2.wsls.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Michigan Radio and The Atlantic Online

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Boehner: Obama out to ‘annihilate’ GOP — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he believes the primary goal of President Obama's second term is to “annihilate the Republican Party.” — “Given what we heard yesterday about the president's vision for his second term, it's pretty clear …

Discussion: Shakesville, Prairie Weather, Truthdig, The Democratic Daily, Booman Tribune, Stinque and Balloon Juice

Dustin Weaver / The Hill:
Boehner, Ryan gamble on pledge to balance the budget in 10 years

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine

riponsociety.org:
“We are Americans and we will figure this out.”

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider and CNN

Jackie Kucinich / Associated Press:

Feinstein revives assault-weapons ban — Bill faces tough going in the Republican-controlled House. … WASHINGTON — California Democrat Dianne Feinstein will begin her fourth full term as a U.S. senator much as she started her Senate career: fighting for a ban on assault weapons.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, The Raw Story, The Hinterland Gazette, msnbc.com and Right Wing News

National Review:
Why Young Women Want AR-15s

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs

Alexander Burns / Reuters:

Democrats launch plan to turn Texas blue — National Democrats are taking steps to create a large-scale independent group aimed at turning traditionally conservative Texas into a prime electoral battleground, crafting a new initiative to identify and mobilize progressive voters in the rapidly-changing state …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TheBlaze.com, The PJ Tatler and msnbc.com

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Democratic Senators Face Gun Owners Roused by Talk of New Laws — BECKLEY, W.Va. — Talk of stricter gun control has stirred up a lot of unease here, a place where hunters vie for top prize (a 26-inch LED television) in the Big Buck Photo Contest, and ads for a gun-simulator game ask, “Feel like shooting something today?”

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Plum Line, Althouse and Hot Air

New York Times:

Pentagon Is Set to Lift Combat Ban for Women — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is lifting the military's official ban on women in combat, which will open up hundreds of thousands of additional front-line jobs to them, senior defense officials said Wednesday.

Discussion: American Prospect, Foreign Policy, Althouse, The Caucus, WJLA-TV, Addicting Info, The Moderate Voice, The Agonist, American Forces Press Service, LewRockwell.com Blog and ParaPundit

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:
Pentagon to remove ban on women in combat

Discussion: USA Today, The Week, FP Passport, Right Turn, Wonkblog, Mediaite, American Prospect and Feministing

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:

Mississippi Governor: 'There Is No One Who Doesn't Have Health Care In America' — In an interview with Kaiser Health News on Wednesday, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) explained he remains a staunch opponent of Obamacare because health care reform is unnecessary.

Discussion: Shakesville and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jeffrey Young / The Huffington Post:
Mississippi's GOP Governor Says No American Lacks Health Care

Discussion: Kaiser Health News

Matthew Yglesias / Slate: Everything You Think You Know About Health Care Spending Is Wrong

Jerusalem Post:

Final election count: Right bloc 61, Center-Left 59 seats — After the last vote is counted, officials say Ahmad Tibi's party Raam-Taal drops from five seats to four, while Naftali Bennett's party gains one, Kadima party makes it over the threshold with two mandates.

Discussion: Israel Matzav and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:
MSM Bungles Israel's Election

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Haaretz, Israel Matzav, World News, +972 Magazine, Politico and Telegraph

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Bipartisan Filibuster Deal Is Taking Shape in the Senate — WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic and Republican leaders are nearing an agreement on new limits to the filibuster, an effort to speed action in the often-clogged chamber by prohibiting senators from using a common tactic to slow the legislative process.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Talking Points Memo and Booman Tribune

fco.gov.uk:

Middle East and North Africa — Libya — Avoid all but essential travel to part(s) of country — Avoid all but essential travel to whole country … Travel advice for this country — We are aware of a specific, imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi.

Discussion: New York Times, BBC and Twitchy

Reuters:

North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests — (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its “sworn enemy”.

Discussion: BBC, Hot Air, Macleans.ca, Quartz, Business Insider and New York Times

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House Democrats propose opening gun makers to civil liability — House Democrats on Tuesday proposed legislation that would ease current law to allow people to file civil law suits against gun manufacturers and others in the industry when they act irresponsibly.

John Parkinson / ABCNEWS:

House Passes ‘No Budget No Pay,’ Extends Debt Limit — WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted today to approve a three-month extension of the debt limit in a bill that concurrently pressures lawmakers to adopt a budget or have their pay withheld. — The vote passed by a count of 285-144.