memeorandum: U.S. Sees Arming Syria Rebels as Less Risky (Wall Street Journal)

4:00 PM ET, May 2, 2013

Top Items:

The Daily Beast Retracts Jason Collins Blog Post — The Daily Beast has retracted a May 2, 2013, blog post by Howard Kurtz titled “Jason Collins' Other Secret.” The piece contained several errors, resulting in a misleading characterization of NBA player Collins and the story he co-wrote …

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Joe. My. God., Business Insider, Mediaite, Bangor Daily News, The Huffington Post, Capital New York, She The People, NBC Latino, Balloon Juice, BuzzFeed, Riptide 2.0 and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Daily Beast drops Howard Kurtz — The Daily Beast is dropping Howard Kurtz, the veteran media critic who made headlines this week for his erroneous report about NBA star Jason Collins. — “The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz have parted company,” Tina Brown, the site's editor in chief, said in a statement sent to POLITICO.

Discussion: Mediaite, TVNewser, Ed Driscoll, FishbowlDC, Twitchy, The Daily Beast, Business Insider and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:

Where Are Syria's Chemical Weapons? — Multiple U.S. officials tell Eli Lake the scary truth: in many cases, we simply don't know. Plus: irregular militias loyal to Assad have reportedly been training in how to use them. — As the White House mulls whether Syria has crossed President Obama's red line …

Discussion: Wired, Reuters, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh and The Dish

Michael F. Cannon / Cato Institute:

Oregon Study Throws a Stop Sign in Front of ObamaCare's Medicaid Expansion — Today, the nation's top health economists released a study that throws a huge “STOP” sign in front of ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion. — The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, or OHIE, may be the most important study ever conducted on health insurance.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Examiner, PERRspectives, Hit & Run, Wonkblog, Right Turn, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Washington Free Beacon, Forbes, Wake up America, The Dish, The Lonely Conservative, freeforall, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire and The Incidental Economist

Jonathan Cohn / New Republic:

The New Study that Republicans Who Reject Medicaid Must Read — A major new study on Medicaid just became public. I know—nothing excites readers more than the phrase “major new study on Medicaid.” Bear with me. This study is already getting a lot of attention: Conservatives and libertarians …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Ross Douthat, Hullabaloo and Economix

Multiple Authors / The Incidental Economist:
Oregon and Medicaid and Evidence and CHILL, PEOPLE!

Discussion: Hit & Run, Mother Jones, Business Insider, AEIdeas, Brad DeLong and A plain blog about politics

Megan McArdle / Asymmetrical Information:
Study: Giving People Government Health Insurance May Not Make them Any Healthier

Discussion: New York Times, National Review, Slate, Wonkblog, The Week and Marginal Revolution

Avik Roy / Forbes:
Oregon Study: Medicaid ‘Had No Significant Effect’ On Health Outcomes vs. Being Uninsured

Discussion: Bloomberg, Hot Air, Ricochet Conversations Feed, ThinkProgress and National Review

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
So Is Healthcare Worthwhile or Not? — Avik Roy tweets:

Discussion: The Incidental Economist and Balloon Juice

Dr. Boyce Watkins / Your Black World:

Mountain Dew Releases Arguably the Most Racist Commercial in History Tweet — If you've never heard of Felicia the Goat, you'll know about her soon. Felicia the Goat is the main character in a recent Mountain Dew commercial, created in part by Tyler the Creator.

Discussion: Adweek, Ed Driscoll, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute, Guardian, The Hinterland Gazette, Mediaite, The Week, Booman Tribune, Addicting Info, Colorlines, Gawker, Wake up America, Business Insider and AL.com

Adam Housley / Fox News:

Special ops called for military backup during Libya attack, sources say — On the night of the Benghazi terror attack, special operations put out multiple calls for all available military and other assets to be moved into position to help — but the State Department and White House never gave …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Bob Owens, Jammie Wearing Fools and Washington Examiner

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Sees Arming Syria Rebels as Less Risky — Obama Administration Weighs Providing Weapons as Way to Punish Assad Without Drawing Military Into Civil War — WASHINGTON—The Obama administration has returned to the idea of arming moderate Syrian rebels, current and former officials said …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Via Meadia, Outside the Beltway and The Hill

Washington Post:
Obama moving toward sending lethal arms to Syrian rebels, officials say

Discussion: Wired, The Dish, CNN, The Week and Right Turn

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

2016 Poll: If Clinton doesn't run, then who? — (CNN) - A second straight national poll this week indicates the obvious: Hillary Clinton, if she decides to run for the White House again, would be the overwhelming front-runner among Democrats for their party's 2016 presidential nomination.

Discussion: Politico and ABCNEWS

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Kissinger jokes about Hillary Clinton 2016 run

Discussion: CNN

Laura Ly / CNN:

Woman missing 11 years turns up alive — (CNN) — A Pennsylvania woman who mysteriously disappeared 11 years ago has resurfaced in Florida, saying that she just walked out on her family, her life and her problems. — Brenda Heist, 54, turned herself into authorities in Key Largo …

Discussion: The Raw Story

Bloomberg:

Six Ways to Separate Lies From Statistics — The discovery of a spreadsheet error in an influential study by Harvard University economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff inevitably raises a troubling question: To what extent can we trust what any researcher claims to be true?

Discussion: Marginal Revolution, EconLog, Washington Wire and ThinkProgress

CNN:

Saudi diplomat investigated — Washington (CNN) — Federal authorities are investigating a potential case of human trafficking at the suburban Washington home of a Saudi diplomat, officials said Wednesday. — Authorities were called Tuesday afternoon to an upscale neighborhood in McLean …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, BizPac Review, Business Insider, Hot Air and National Review

Ebindelglass / CBS New York:

FBI Adds Cop Killer Joanne Chesimard To Most Wanted Terrorist List — NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - The decades-old international case of a convicted cop killer is getting new attention in New Jersey. — It was 40 years ago today that New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster was shot …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, She The People and The PJ Tatler

Alexander Burns / Politico:

What Ted Cruz knows — Ted Cruz for president? — What you just heard was the sound of a thousand eyeballs rolling in Washington and Austin, where the freshman senator's transparent ambition and self-regard have earned him more than a few detractors during his first few months in office.

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh and Brains and Eggs

unionleader.com:

Ayotte's gun vote: ‘Disgusting’ political bullying — A senator's job is to study the issues that come before the Senate, to engage thoughtfully in debate and to cast a considered vote. On the Senate's voluminous gun control legislation, Sen. Kelly Ayotte did that job incredibly well.

Discussion: Mediaite, Riehl World News and Politico

Tim Elfrink / Riptide 2.0:

Florida School Responds to Criticism for Expelling Student Over Science Project: “There Are Consequences to Actions” — By all accounts, Kiera Wilmot's science experiment gone wrong triggered just a tiny pop and a small amount of smoke at Bartow High School last week — but her tale is certifiably blowing up the Internet today.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, The Raw Story and Pharyngula

Chad Terhune / Los Angeles Times:

Part-timers to lose pay amid health act's new math — Some workers are having their hours cut so employers won't have to cover them under Obamacare. But many will benefit from the healthcare law's premium subsidies and Medicaid expansion. — “I understand there are costs to healthcare reform …

Discussion: Power Line, Right Turn and Althouse

Rolling Stone:

Too-Big-to-Fail Takes Another Body Blow — Minds are changing on Too Big to Fail. A month ago, it was just something in the air. Now, it looks like we're headed for a real legislative confrontation. And man, is the finance sector freaking. — Last week, on April 24th …

Discussion: The Impolitic, DealBook and The Confluence

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Obama group misleadingly cites a vote on a climate change bill — “Number of House members who voted in 2011 that climate change was a ‘hoax’: 240” — President Obama's new political group, Organizing for Action, last week released a new video that mocks Republican lawmakers for appearing …

Discussion: Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Chicago Tribune:

Penny Pritzker to be nominated for Commerce secretary … Making official what many Democrats have expected for weeks, President Obama plans to nominate Chicago business executive Penny Pritzker, a longtime political supporter and heavyweight fundraiser, as his new Commerce secretary this morning.

Discussion: Reuters, Firedoglake, Associated Press, USA Today, Hullabaloo, Michelle Malkin, First Read, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Reaction

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Conservative groups: Balanced budget plan is price for debt hike — Conservative groups are vowing to force lawmakers to adopt a balanced budget plan before passing any increase in the nation's debt ceiling. — The Club for Growth and Heritage Action said that establishing a path …

Discussion: AEIdeas

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The euphemism imperative — President Barack Obama was proud to become the first sitting president to address Planned Parenthood last Friday. But not proud enough to utter the word “abortion.” — The right to abortion is the sneakiest, most shame-faced of all American rights.

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Obama prods liberals to give-and-take on Senate immigration bill — President Obama is warning liberal supporters that their push to make changes in a comprehensive immigration bill could jeopardize the strategy of Senate leaders, who are aiming to win up to 70 votes for the measure.

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, Weasel Zippers and Politico

Sarah Kliff / Wonkblog:

Obama administration plans to appeal Plan B ruling — The Justice Department filed notice late Wednesday that it will challenge a federal court decision requiring the government to make emergency contraceptives available over the counter to women of all ages.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hit & Run, Christianity Today, ThinkProgress, New York Times, Daily Kos, FITSNews, Booman Tribune, Taylor Marsh, She The People, The Heritage Foundation and American Prospect

Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:

Obamacare Gets New Court Challenge — Opponents of the health-care overhaul have filed a new lawsuit Thursday against the federal government on behalf of four individuals and three employers in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. — The complaint focuses on the law's distribution …

Discussion: “The Lid”

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

DEAR WORKERS OF THE WORLD: These Three Charts Show How You're Getting Totally Shafted — It's May Day. — In America, to the extent anyone notices May Day, they notice the sunshine and spring weather. — Elsewhere in the world, however, May Day is all about celebrating the cause (and grievances) of the world's employees.

Discussion: The Impolitic, Felix Salmon, Forbes, msnbc.com and Slate

Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times:

Gov. Brown OKs funds to confiscate guns from criminals, mentally ill — California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at a news conference in Sacramento last month. (Renee. C. Byer / Associated Press / April 24, 2013) — SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed …

Discussion: Guardian, Hit & Run and CNN