memeorandum: A Test Track for Tuning Up Supreme Court Arguments (Adam Liptak/New York Times)

3:20 AM ET, June 24, 2013

Top Items:

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

You Don't Have To Like Edward Snowden — Reporters have always been comfortable ignoring their sources' motives. Now everybody else needs to get used to that. — Via: @MiriamElder — One of the most difficult features of the new news environment is that everybody gets to see the utter mess …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Mediaite, CANNONFIRE, The Verge, Guardian, The Raw Story and Washington Monthly, more at Mediagazer »

The Huffington Post:

David Gregory's Shocking Question To Glenn Greenwald — “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked columnist Glenn Greenwald why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for working with NSA leaker Edward Snowden. — Greenwald was on to discuss his source's Sunday morning flight from Hong Kong to Moscow.

Discussion: Pressthink, NewsBusters, Ed Driscoll, The Hill, Hullabaloo, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

On Snowden's trip, no good options for Obama — Edward Snowden's globe-trotting is the latest international headache for President Barack Obama, with no relief in sight. — The former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified documents about top secret electronic surveillance programs …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

WikiLeaks:

WikiLeaks Statement On Edward Snowden's Exit From Hong Kong — Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally. He is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route …

BBC:
Edward Snowden asks Ecuador for asylum

Discussion: Guardian, Outside the Beltway and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

scmp.com:
Cyberspying whistle-blower Edward Snowden leaves Hong Kong for Moscow

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AL.com, BuzzFeed, Associated Press, BuzzFeed, Yahoo! News, Weasel Zippers, The Lede, Mediaite, TechCrunch, The Huffington Post, China Real Time Report, The Raw Story, Blogs of War, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Scared Monkeys

CNN:
WikiLeaks: Snowden arrives in Moscow

Discussion: KTLA 5, Guardian, Gawker, neo-neocon, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Schumer: Putin 'aiding and abetting Snowden's escape'

Discussion: Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, The Moderate Voice and The Hill

RT:
Snowden stops over in Moscow en route to ‘third country’ with WikiLeaks help

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette and The Moderate Voice

Guardian:
Edward Snowden asks for asylum in Ecuador - as it happened

Discussion: NBC Politics, Politico, Xinhua News Agency, The Other McCain, The Gateway Pundit, The Raw Story, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice and Taegan Goddard's …

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander

Discussion: Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News, Firedoglake and msnbc.com

Guardian:
Spy row: US accused of hacking China

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Firedoglake, The Hinterland Gazette, Little Green Footballs, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Gawker

Guardian:
Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow

Discussion: New Republic, Mediaite, Boing Boing and Hit & Run

Reuters:
Snowden has ticket to Cuba, may go to Venezuela: Russian reports

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, The Hinterland Gazette, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian and The Gateway Pundit

CNN:

Nelson Mandela in critical condition, South Africa's president says — Revolutionary and politician Nelson Mandela — (CNN) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela is now in critical condition, officials said. — Mandela's condition worsened in the past 24 hours …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, KTLA 5 and Scared Monkeys

Hemant Mehta / Friendly Atheist:

Time Cover Story Wrongly Attacks Atheists for Not Helping Out Victims of Oklahoma Tornadoes — The cover story in this week's Time magazine, written by Joe Klein, is all about how volunteering and doing service projects may help curb the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on our veterans:

Discussion: The Raw Story and Making Light

Bil Browning / The Bilerico Project:

OutServe/SLDN Exec Dir Fired; Senior Staff Resigns [Updated] — OutServe/SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson was fired after a board coup yesterday according to a leaked email sent to Bilerico Project. Robinson was the only transgender leader of a major LGBT organization that is not specifically trans-related.

Discussion: Advocate, LGBTQ Nation and Joe. My. God.

BuzzFeed:
LGBT Military Group's Board Ousts Leader, Prompting Staff And Board Resignations

Discussion: Washington Blade and AMERICAblog

Lila Shapiro / The Huffington Post:

Equality House Hosts Gay Wedding Across From Westboro Baptist Church — On Saturday night, Kimberly Kidwell, a 31-year-old EMT, married Katie Short in a wedding ceremony on the front lawn of the Equality House in Topeka, Kan. — directly across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Discussion: Advocate and The Raw Story

Washington Post:

Taliban kills foreign climbers in Pakistan — PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen stormed a camp on Pakistan's second-largest mountain Sunday, killing nine foreign climbers, including a U.S. citizen, in a brazen assault that could deal a blow to the country's efforts to jumpstart its tourism industry.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Gateway Pundit and BizPac Review

Hugh Muir / Guardian:

Boat Race protester Trenton Oldfield ordered to leave UK — Australian activist, whose wife is expecting a child this week, will appeal against Home Office ruling that he must leave country — The Australian activist who disrupted the 2012 Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race in protest …

Discussion: Natalie Solent

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Schumer predicts mass demonstrations if House blocks path to citizenship — A senior Democratic senator predicted Sunday there could be massive demonstrations in Washington if House Republicans try to block a bill to grant legal status to millions of immigrants.

Discussion: Bloomberg, BizPac Review, Taegan Goddard's …, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Reaction

Andrew Bender / Forbes:

One Problem With Nik Wallenda's Grand Canyon Walk: It Isn't At The Grand Canyon — When I heard that daredevil Nik Wallenda will attempt to be the first person to cross over the Grand Canyon on a tightrope, I thought “That's crazy.” Not because it's 1,500 feet up and a quarter-mile across …

Discussion: Associated Press and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

A Test Track for Tuning Up Supreme Court Arguments — WASHINGTON — On a Friday afternoon in April, a lawyer from California took his Supreme Court argument for a test drive, trying out themes and soliciting advice from five lawyers and law professors pretending to be justices.

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:

One More Metaphor for the Gang of 8 — Preliminary Search for Loopholes in a Cloud: I've been trying to think of the right metaphor for the giant Corker-Hoeven amendment, the one that is reportedly giving the Gang of 8′s immigration bill enough votes to pass the Senate.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hugh Hewitt Show, ThinkProgress and Politico

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

Why Immigration Reform Is The Panama Canal Treaty Redux — I'm pretty sure it was my first Washington mentor, the great M. Stanton Evans, who told me—and perhaps originated—the famous story of a senior Senate aide explaining American democracy to a Russian visitor shortly after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991.