memeorandum: Did you know the White House invented marketing? (Digby/Hullabaloo)

10:45 AM ET, May 4, 2013

Top Items:

Barbara Starr / CNN:

Sources: U.S. believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria — (CNN) — The United States believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria, two U.S. officials tell CNN. — U.S. and Western intelligence agencies are reviewing classified data showing Israel most likely conducted …

Discussion: Associated Press, BizPac Review, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AL.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Lindsey Graham: ‘Israel bombed Syria tonight’ — COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told a crowd here Friday night that Israel has bombed Syria. — Graham, a Republican who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was addressing the South Carolina Republican Party's annual Silver Elephant fundraising dinner.

Discussion: CNN

Reuters:

Obama tells Mexicans a ‘new Mexico’ is emerging — (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told the Mexican people on Friday that he sees a “new Mexico” emerging, with a deepening democracy and growing economy, and that Mexico and the United States should be viewed as equal partners.

Discussion: Doug Ross, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop, Right Wing Watch, Twitchy and Conservatives4Palin

World News:

Israeli launch airstrikes into Syria, possibly targeting delivery systems for chemical weapons, US officials say — Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes against targets inside Syria on Friday, U.S. officials told NBC News. — It's believed the primary target was a shipment of weapons headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon, they said.

Discussion: The Agonist

RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Obama Blames U.S. For Gun Violence In Mexico

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Bob Owens, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Weekly Standard, The Lonely Conservative, ParaPundit and protein wisdom

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Michelle Obama: Gun violence has children fearing death every day

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Tom Kostigen / fa-mag.com:

Harvard Professor Trashes Keynes For Homosexuality — Harvard Professor and author Niall Ferguson says John Maynard Keynes' economic philosophy was flawed and he didn't care about future generations because he was gay and didn't have children. — Speaking at the Tenth Annual Altegris Conference …

Discussion: Business Insider, Gawker, The Monkey Cage and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ashley Killough / CNN:

Palin fires up NRA crowd, hits Obama for using Newtown families — (CNN) - Sarah Palin blasted President Barack Obama and gun control advocates Friday, blaming them for “exploiting” recent mass shooting tragedies to promote their political agenda. — Speaking to a welcoming crowd …

Discussion: Politico, Riehl World News and Wake up America

James Hohmann / Politico:
Sarah Palin gets standing O from NRA crowd

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:

A march on Washington with loaded rifles — A gun activist is planning a massive march on D.C., with participants' rifles illegally slung over their shoulders — Libertarian activist and radio host Adam Kokesh is hoping to get 1,000 people to march on Washington on July 4 — armed with loaded rifles.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and americanthinker.com

Miketoole / CBS Boston:

CBS News: Boston Marathon Bomb DNA Does Not Match Tamerlan Tsarnaev's Wife — BOSTON (CBS) - Female DNA and fingerprints found on a bomb fragment recovered from the Boston Marathon attacks do not match the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, CBS News reported Friday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and The Right Scoop

Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:
Investigators sharpen focus on Boston bombing suspect's widow

Discussion: Hot Air and The Jawa Report

Townhall.com:

Mark Levin Addresses NRA Convention in Houston — Bestselling author and radio host Mark Levin addressed the National Rifle Association's 2013 convention on Friday, praising the NRA for its defense of individual liberty.

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Ted Cruz's red-meat Republicanism — It seems a fair bet at this point in time that neither Ted Cruz or Joe Biden will be the next presidential standard-bearer for their party. — So why the hoorah over dueling, cross-town speeches Cruz and Biden gave in Columbia, S.C. Friday night?

Discussion: Washington Post

Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:

NRA's Big Meeting Will Warn Of Terrifying Gun-Free Future — Part of this year's annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, which officially kicked off Friday in Houston, will encourage attendees to imagine a terrifying firearm-free alternate reality where the U.S. government has thrown gun owners into prison.

Discussion: nraam.org, msnbc.com and Gawker

David Davis / Telegraph:

Tories must start listening to ordinary voters, not their old school chums — When Ukip gave the Conservative leadership a fright at the Eastleigh by-election, the knee-jerk response from the hierarchy was: “There will be no lurch to the Right!” — On the subsequent Sunday …

Discussion: Spectator, BBC and Guardian

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

How to State the Keynesian Argument Correctly — Helena Pinto reads End This Depression Now by Paul Krugman in a bookstore in Coruna, northwestern Spain. — This Alex Tabarrok post on growth in the face of fiscal austerity annoyed me as did his co-blogger Tyler Cowen chiming in to say Tabarrok had “nailed it”.

Discussion: Marginal Revolution, Paul Krugman, Brad DeLong and AEIdeas

David Alexander / Reuters:

Guantanamo camp burns through $900,000 a year per inmate — (Reuters) - It's been dubbed the most expensive prison on Earth and President Barack Obama cited the cost this week as one of many reasons to shut down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which burns through some $900,000 per prisoner annually.

Justin Sink / The Hill:

NC governor: Washington lacks ‘executive leadership’ — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) said on Saturday in the weekly Republican address that a lack of “executive leadership” in Washington meant that federal lawmakers should grant states “independence and flexibility” to spur economic growth.

Discussion: CNN

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Wealthy exec poised to take on Al Franken — A wealthy Minneapolis finance executive appears poised to enter the race against first-term Democratic Sen. Al Franken. — In an email earlier this week, a private real estate company solicited assistance in finding a campaign headquarters …

Discussion: americanthinker.com and Red Racing Horses

Rory Carroll / Guardian:

Hollywood conservative unmasked as notorious Holocaust revisionist — Republican Party Animals operator David Stein says he is really David Cole, and that he still holds controversial views — To those who knew him, or thought they knew him, he was a cerebral, fun-loving gadfly …

Andy Greenberg / Forbes:

This Is The World's First Entirely 3D-Printed Gun (Photos) — The 3D-printed gun that Cody Wilson calls the “Liberator.” Click to enlarge. (Credit: Michael Thad Carter for Forbes) — Eight months ago, Cody Wilson set out to create the world's first entirely 3D-printable handgun. — Now he has.

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Wake up America, Hit & Run, Business Insider, TechCrunch and American Spectator

Hunter Schwarz / BuzzFeed:

CNN Panelist Calls Mitt Romney A “Religious Fanatic” For Encouraging Mormon Graduates To Have Families — Romney was criticized on CNN after talking to graduates at a predominantly Mormon university about the importance of marriage and family. — Mitt Romney spoke at Southern Virginia University commencement last week.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, TheBlaze.com and National Review

Digby / Hullabaloo:

Did you know the White House invented marketing? — This piece by Brian Beutler is a fascinating analysis of Obama's “permission structure” and specifically how the White House sees itself reaching a Grand Bargain with the Republicans. There are so many moving parts it's hard to keep …

Discussion: Wonkblog, susiemadrak.com, The Monkey Cage and Talking Points Memo