memeorandum: State of the Union squatters: Lawmakers wait hours on aisle for seconds with president (David A. Fahrenthold/Washington Post)

7:45 AM ET, February 12, 2013

Top Items:

Nugent: ‘I Will Be Taking On Media Orgy’ After SOTU — Outspoken rocker Ted Nugent will attend President Obama's State of the Union Address Tuesday in order to take on the media and “counter the scams and lies of the left,” he explained to talk radio host Mike Broomhead Monday.

Discussion: DCist, Mediaite and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Julie Pace / ABCNEWS:

After Speech, Supporters to Promote Obama Agenda — Reviving his populist re-election message, President Barack Obama will press a politically-divided Congress to approve more tax increases and fewer spending cuts during a State of the Union address focused on stabilizing the middle class and repairing the still-wobbly economy.

Discussion: Reuters and Politico

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Lawmaker invites Ted Nugent to Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday — Outspoken musician and gun right supporter Ted Nugent will be Rep. Steve Stockman's guest Tuesday night at President Obama's State of the Union address. — Nugent is well known for his defense of the Second Amendment …

Discussion: AMERICAblog and The Moderate Voice

Congressman Steve Stockman:

Ted Nugent to join Stockman at State of the Union — Nugent will be available for interviews — WASHINGTON - Musician and gun advocate Ted Nugent will be Congressman Steve Stockman's guest at Tuesday evening's State of the Union Address by President Barack Obama.

Discussion: Wonkette, Daily Kos and Twitchy

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
Texas Congressman Invites Ted Nugent, Who Threatened The President's Life, To The State Of The Union

Discussion: Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs, msnbc.com, The PJ Tatler and Right Wing Watch

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Ted Nugent to be guest at State of the Union

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Jeremy W. Peters / The Caucus:
Ted Nugent Will Attend State of the Union Address

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, alicublog and CNN

Donovan Slack / Politico:
W.H.: We have a spending problem

Discussion: Fox News, Speak With Authority, The National Memo, Hot Air, Weekly Standard and AEIdeas

Jackie Kucinich / USA Today:
Lawmakers look to pack State of Union with gun victims

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, Roll Call, The National Memo, americanthinker.com, protein wisdom, The PJ Tatler, Los Angeles Times and Business Insider

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Lawmakers invite gun violence survivors to State of the Union

Discussion: Politico and Business Insider

Charlie Spiering / Washington Examiner:

Biden: We're counting on ‘legitimate media’ for successful gun control effort … During a press conference on gun safety in Philadelphia, Vice President Joe Biden said that any reports that suggest that he was trying to take weapons away from gun owners was a “bunch of malarkey.”

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, Michelle Malkin, protein wisdom and The PJ Tatler

CNN:

Biden says he's ‘not running’...for the papacy — (CNN) - While there's still no word on 2016, Vice President Joe Biden confirmed Monday he's not throwing his hat in the ring for at least one position-that of the pope. — Asked in Philadelphia about the decision by Pope Benedict XVI …

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Talking Points Memo:
Biden: ‘I Am Not Running’ For The Papacy

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:
Biden praises Pope Benedict's integrity, jokes he won't run to succeed him

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Biden says gun lobby's depiction of Obama plan ‘a bunch of malarkey’

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, Washington Examiner, Hot Air, CNN, Weasel Zippers and Politico

Kevin Grandia / Firedoglake:

New Study Finds Koch Bros. Tried to Start Tea Party Movement in 2002 — Were David Koch (and his brother Charles) planning to astroturf the Tea Party even earlier than formerly suspected? — Shattering the public perception that the Tea Party is a spontaneous popular citizens movement …

Discussion: DeSmogBlog

Brendan DeMelle / DeSmogBlog:
Study Confirms Tea Party Was Created by Big Tobacco and Billionaires

Discussion: The Raw Story and Little Green Footballs

Jennifer Martinez / The Hill:

Sources: White House to issue cybersecurity order Wednesday — The White House is poised to release an executive order aimed at thwarting cyberattacks against critical infrastructure on Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter told The Hill. — The highly anticipated directive …

Discussion: Politico, Mashable!, Infowars and The Hill

Neil Irwin / Washington Post: Is Congress really going to miss its free lunch on infrastructure?

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Justice Ginsburg: The Senate Is ‘Destroying The United States’ Reputation... As A Beacon of Democracy' — Two years ago, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lamented that if she were nominated today to her current job on the Supreme Court, her “ACLU connection would probably disqualify” her from being confirmed.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

New Winger Conspiracy Theory Takes Flight — In the wake of news that Sen. Lindsey Graham is threatening to block the nominations of Hagel and Brennan, there's a whole new conspiracy theory bubbling up on the right. From ground zero of Obama era conspiracy theories comes the conspiracy theory …

Discussion: Wonkette, The Atlantic Online, Right Wing Watch and The Reaction

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

House Republicans Unlikely To Pass New Sequester Replacement Plan — Buried in this Politico story about the House GOP's sequester strategy is a key admission. … This is what Republicans — most recently House Majority Leader Eric Cantor — are obscuring when they claim, in Cantor's words …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, msnbc.com and Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Signs of bipartisanship offer Obama narrow window to move agenda

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Booman Tribune

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:

Democrats offer ‘prebuttal’ to Marco Rubio's rebuttal of Obama's State of the Union Address — Keep up, if you can—things are about to get strange. — In preparation for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the Democratic National Committee …

Discussion: The Week, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:

State of the Union squatters: Lawmakers wait hours on aisle for seconds with president — View Photo Gallery — The State of the Union's history: Technology and partisanship have transformed the State of the Union over the past century. Here's a look back.

Discussion: The Fix, Taegan Goddard's …, Balloon Juice and Post Politics

Spencer E. Ante / Wall Street Journal:

Millions Improperly Claimed U.S. Phone Subsidies — The U.S. government spent about $2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven't proved they are eligible to receive them.

Megan McCloskey / Stars & Stripes:

Esquire article wrongly claims SEAL who killed Bin Laden is denied healthcare — Esquire magazine claims “The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden ... Is Screwed.” — The story details the life of the Navy SEAL after the successful raid to take out the No. 1 terrorist, and it asserts that once …

Discussion: Wired, Gawker, The Raw Story and Esquire

Wall Street Journal:

Push To Gauge Bang For Buck From College Gains Steam — U.S. and state officials are intensifying efforts to hold colleges accountable for what happens after graduation, a sign of frustration with sky-high tuition costs and student-loan debt. — Sens. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Marco Rubio …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler