memeorandum: Will Democrats Sell Your Political Opinions to Credit Card Companies? (ProPublica)

10:40 AM ET, February 5, 2013

Top Items:

Michael Isikoff / NBCNews.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Justice Department memo reveals legal case for drone strikes on Americans — Tribesmen examine the rubble of a building in southeastern Yemen where American teenagerAbdulrahmen al-Awlaki and six suspected al-Qaida militants were killed in a U.S. drone strike on Oct. 14, 2011.

New York Times:
Memo Cites Legal Basis for Killing U.S. Citizens in Al Qaeda

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, alan.com and Senator Wyden's Press Feed

Marc Ambinder / The Week:
Your government can kill you if... A Justice Department …

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Hullabaloo

Justin Sink / The Hill:
DOJ white paper lays legal basis for drones targeting US citizens

Discussion: Hit & Run

Facebook:

Ron Paul · 1,118,166 like this — As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend's violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle's family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences.

Discussion: Speakeasy, The PJ Tatler, CNN, Pat Dollard, BuzzFeed, Poor Richard's News, Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers, Washington Examiner, nation.foxnews.com and National Review

Ben Shapiro / BREITBART.COM:

EXCLUSIVE: RAND PAUL RESPONDS TO RON: ‘CHRIS KYLE WAS A HERO’ — In the aftermath of Ron Paul's despicable tweet today slamming US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, murdered on Saturday while helping a fellow soldier learn to cope with post traumatic stress syndrome, Paul's son, Senator Rand Paul …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, LewRockwell.com Blog, Washington Examiner, The Right Scoop, Poor Richard's News and The Jawa Report

Ron Paul / Talking Points Memo:
Rand Paul Praises Chris Kyle After Ron Paul's Controversial Tweet

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog, The Hinterland Gazette and Pat Dollard

Robert Stacy McCain / American Spectator:

The Menendez Dilemma — Prostitution is both legal and widespread in the Dominican Republic, where as many as 100,000 women are part of the industry in a nation that has become a major sex-tourism hotspot of the Caribbean. So it would not be a crime for Sen. Robert Menendez to have availed himself …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNN and The Hill

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

STRANGE STEWARDESS: PHOTO EMERGES OF MYSTERY MELGEN-MENENDEZ WOMAN — Breitbart News has uncovered a photograph of a Russian woman exiting what looks like wealthy Democratic Party donor Dr. Salomon Melgen's plane. — The original source of the scandal surrounding Melgen and New Jersey Democratic …

Discussion: The Other McCain

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
Svitlana Buchyk: Mystery Woman in Menendez HookerGate Scandal

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Lonely Conservative and Naked Politics

Krissah Thompson / Washington Post:

Michelle Obama's posterior again the subject of a public rant — They're at it again. — The latest public rant against Michelle Obama's effort to promote low-calorie school lunches was recently caught on tape in Alabama — the usual protest against the federal government meddling in local business.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Althouse, NewsBusters and Jammie Wearing Fools

Politico:

Cantor 4.0 seeks to rebrand House GOP — House Republicans haven't settled on an agenda yet, but Majority Leader Eric Cantor is ready to rebrand the party. — The Virginia Republican is a metaphor for a GOP conference that is trying to modernize on the fly after a disappointing 2012 election …

Discussion: CNN, The Maddow Blog, msnbc.com, Mother Jones and Wall Street Journal

Politico:

Paul Ryan's new path to power — Paul Ryan feels pinched by competing paths to power. — His friends tell us the most obvious route — a run for the White House in 2016 — holds less appeal to him with each passing day. “He has no interest in the sheer grind of campaigning,” said a conservative who recently spent time with Ryan.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / USA Today:

A revolution in the works? Column — But if there's an upside to the increasing unhappiness that most Americans feel toward the political class, it's that maybe it means people are paying closer attention. — Americans are out of sorts, and increasingly they're unhappy with the government.

Discussion: Hit & Run, This ain't Hell …, The Other McCain and Ed Driscoll

Hillary Chabot / Boston Herald:

Kerry Healey, Tagg Romney: We're not running for Senate — Tagg Romney and former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey became the latest big-name Republicans to rule themselves out of the special Senate election today. — “I have been humbled by the outreach I received this weekend encouraging me to become …

Discussion: Washington Post

Michael Graham / Boston Herald:
Brown's bowing out clears path to future

Discussion: Cold Fury and Daily Pundit

Manu Raju / Politico:

McCain: Don't filibuster Hagel — Sen. John McCain appears to have cleared the way Monday for Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense. — The Arizona Republican, who has been a prominent voice in the debate over Hagel, said Monday he would oppose any attempt to filibuster the nomination …

Discussion: Right Turn, americanthinker.com, Israel Matzav, Algemeiner.com, The Reaction, NBCNews.com, Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
McCain Opposes Filibuster Over Hagel

Discussion: NBCNews.com

Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:

Feds investigating finances of former Ald. Sandi Jackson: sources — Former Ald. Sandi Jackson in December. File I Scott Stewart~Sun-Times — A federal financial probe of the once-politically powerful Jesse and Sandi Jackson has evolved into two separate investigations …

Discussion: americanthinker.com

CNN:

Bunker gunman dead, hostage safe — Midland City, Alabama (CNN) — A 5-year-old child abducted from an Alabama school bus six days ago is safe and his kidnapper is dead, according to a law enforcement official. — The child appeared to be OK emerging from the ordeal Monday afternoon, the official said.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Glittering Eye, The Reaction and Real-Time News from Montgomery

Gio Benitez / ABCNEWS:
Alabama Hostage Standoff Ends: Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead, Child Safe After Secret Surveillance

Discussion: New York Times, NY Daily News and Outside the Beltway

Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:

Cops Say Road Rage Incident Was Prompted By Suspect's “Impeach Obama” Bumper Sticker — Paul Guaschino was driving Friday when a fellow motorist spotted an “Impeach Obama” bumper sticker on the 62-year-old Connecticut resident's vehicle. — According to cops, the other driver apparently …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hullabaloo and The Gateway Pundit

Jason Koebler / US News:

Study: Global Warming Can Be Slowed By Working Less — A new analysis suggests that a more ‘European’ schedule would reduce the effects of climate change — Want to reduce the effects of global warming? Stop working so hard. Working fewer hours might help slow global warming …

Discussion: NewsBusters, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers and TheBlaze.com

Seth McLaughlin / Washington Times:

Cruz 0-for-11 in Senate and proud of it — Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been on the losing side of every vote the Senate has taken in his young career — the only senator who can claim that distinction, boosting his anti-establishment credentials and earning him rave reviews from grass-roots conservatives.

Discussion: Taking Note, National Review, Trail Blazers Blog and The PJ Tatler

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Deb Fischer The Only Female Senator Not Cosponsoring VAWA (UPDATE)

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

ProPublica:

Will Democrats Sell Your Political Opinions to Credit Card Companies? — For years, state Democratic parties have been gathering information about individual voters' political leanings. They have noted down the opinions voters shared with canvassers — which candidates they said they supported or their positions on policy issues.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Say Anything

Talking Points Memo:

Hillary Clinton Debuts New Website — Hillary Clinton appears to have a new website. So far, hillaryclintonoffice.com has a picture of the former secretary of state and a form for contacting her.

Discussion: Politico, Taylor Marsh and The PJ Tatler

Wall Street Journal:

The GOP's ObamaCare Flippers — How the law's perverse incentives—and the health lobby—captured Arizona's Governor. — As D-Day looms for ObamaCare, one big question is how many states will sign up for its Medicaid expansion. The recent and spectacular flip-flop of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer …

Discussion: Politico and TheBlaze.com

Megan R. Wilson / The Hill:

HHS begins purge of ‘excessively burdensome’ healthcare rules — The Obama administration is proposing to reform existing healthcare regulations and purge unnecessary ones, a move that it says would save $3.4 billion over five years. — The Department of Health and Human Services has rolled …

Wall Street Journal:

Party Eyes ‘Red-State Model’ to Drive Republican Revival — TOPEKA, Kan.—Even if he doesn't enter the race himself, this state's Republican governor, Sam Brownback, is determined to play a starring role in the next presidential election. — How? By turning Kansas into what he calls Exhibit …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Via Meadia and The Lonely Conservative

Michèle A. Flournoy / Wall Street Journal:

The Right Way to Cut Pentagon Spending — The U.S. has an abysmal record of postwar drawdowns that undermine military readiness and modernization. — Whether or not Congress avoids sequestration by March 1, defense spending will likely be cut by at least 10% over the next decade.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and msnbc.com