memeorandum: New front opens in Syria as rebels say al Qaeda attack means war (Reuters)

10:30 AM ET, July 12, 2013

Top Items:

David Brooks / New York Times:

Pass the Bill! — It's beginning to look as though we're not going to get an immigration reform law this year. House Republicans are moving in a direction that will probably be unacceptable to the Senate majority and the White House. Conservative commentators like my friends Bill Kristol …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's … and Prairie Weather

New York Times:

In the House, a Refusal to Govern — On two crucial issues this week, the extremists who dominate the Republican majority in the House of Representatives made it clear how little interest they have in the future prosperity of their country, or its reputation for fairness and decency.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, The Plum Line, Taking Note, Outside the Beltway and addictinginfo.org

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Oh, snap! The GOP misfires on food stamps. — There was a rare moment of candor on the House floor this week. — Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), a committee chairman and the man who led House Republicans to their majority in 2010, was explaining why he and his colleagues decided to drop the food stamp program from the farm bill.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Daily Kos and The Plum Line

Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:

Republicans to Tackle Cuts in Food Stamp Program — House approval of a scaled-back farm bill is setting up what could be an even bigger fight over food stamps and the role of domestic food aid in the United States. — Food stamps have been a part of farm bills since the 1970s to gain urban Democratic votes for the rural measure.

Discussion: Shakesville, Reuters and Associated Press

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

House Republicans Pass Bloated Socialist Monstrosity — Thank you, deserving socialist takers. — The House of Representatives just passed a farm bill, which overlays a Byzantine political calculus atop what ought to be a simple policy question. Should the government subsidize business owners because their business is agriculture?

Discussion: The Week and Balloon Juice

Ian Swanson / The Hill: House Republicans crafting DREAM Act-like immigration bill

New York Times:
House Republicans Push Through Farm Bill, Without Food Stamps

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Week, addictinginfo.org, The Fix, A plain blog about politics, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, CNN, Yahoo! News and The Hill

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
House approves farm bill in big win for Boehner, GOP leaders

Discussion: Yahoo! News and Daily Kos

David Edwards / The Raw Story:
Gohmert repeatedly shouts ‘Objection!’ to silence claims food stamp cuts hurt hungry families

Discussion: aflcio.org, Reuters, msnbc.com and Mock, Paper, Scissors

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

One Senate staffer's theory: Mitch McConnell actually wants to get nuked — Perhaps McConnell wants Reid to go nuclear. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) — A Senate Democratic staffer e-mails with an interesting — and off-message — theory:

Discussion: Daily Kos and A plain blog about politics

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Mitch McConnell's problem: How can he threaten to obstruct the Senate even more?

Discussion: The World's Greatest … and New York Times

Washington Times: Harry Reid prepares Senate to go ‘nuclear,’ end nomination filibusters

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Harry Reid escalates nuclear threat in a big way

Discussion: Senator Harry Reid, The Hill, msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Huffington Post, Booman Tribune and The Impolitic

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Reid: McConnell Broke His Word On Filibuster, So The Nuclear Option Is On The Table

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Yahoo! News and Daily Kos

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
McConnell: Reid will be ‘worst’ Senate leader in history if he goes nuclear

Discussion: CNN

Politico:
Harry Reid slams Mitch McConnell, ready for nuclear option

Discussion: Mediaite, americanthinker.com, Hot Air, National Review, Washington Examiner and Ballot Box

Reuters:

Rights groups summoned to meet fugitive Snowden — (Reuters) - Former intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden asked to meet human rights groups at a Moscow airport on Friday to discuss what he called threatening and illegal behavior by the United States to prevent him gaining asylum.

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Hot Air, The Hinterland Gazette, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Paul Owen / Guardian:
Edward Snowden to meet Amnesty and Human Rights Watch at Moscow airport - live coverage

Discussion: Business Insider, Taylor Marsh and Mashable

Reuters:

New front opens in Syria as rebels say al Qaeda attack means war — (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Friday the assassination of one of their top commanders by al Qaeda-linked militants was tantamount to a declaration of war, opening a new front for the Western-backed fighters struggling against President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Discussion: The Hill, ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, USA Today and Outside the Beltway

CBS News:

Could “North Colorado” be America's 51st state? — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — There's a growing effort to create a 51st state out of parts of northeast Colorado and southwestern Nebraska. — Ten counties started talking about seceding last month. Now some people in Lincoln and Cheyenne counties …

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Taking Note

Jeff G. / protein wisdom: “Effort To Create New State Called ‘North Colorado’ Grows”

Associated Press:

Spitzer submits signatures to get on NYC ballot — NEW YORK (AP) — Eliot Spitzer has met the deadline to file thousands of petition signatures for his bid to revive his political career by running for New York City comptroller. — Spitzer said that “over 27,000 signatures” …

Discussion: First Read, Taegan Goddard's … and Associated Press

Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Eliot Spitzer submits signatures in N.Y.C. race

Discussion: Yahoo! News, CNN and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

John Fund / National Review:

Obama's Alinskyite Administration — Judicial Watch, a conservative legal foundation, has used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover documents that show Eric Holder's Justice Department used a “community relations” unit to support and stage-manage public protests in Florida …

Guardian:

Revealed: how Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages — • Secret files show scale of Silicon Valley co-operation on Prism — • Outlook.com encryption unlocked even before official launch — • Skype worked to enable Prism collection of video calls

Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:

Exclusive: Rick Perry's October trip to Israel sign of another White House bid — Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he will visit Israel in October, a move that signals to the political world that he is seriously considering making another presidential run in 2016.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Trail Blazers Blog and Algemeiner.com

Chris Christie / CNN:

Who wins in a Clinton-Christie 2016 showdown? — Washington (CNN) - Call it a very early look at what could possibly happen in November 2016. — According to a new national poll, Hillary Clinton would top New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in hypothetical presidential election showdowns.

Discussion: Politico

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

Employer health mandate upheld — Giving the Obama administration a major new legal victory for the often-besieged federal health care law, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled on Thursday that Congress had clear authority to impose the requirement that larger employers provide adequate health insurance …

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Another IRS Scandal Waiting to Happen — Federal Elections Commissioner Donald McGahn wants to rein in the bureaucracy of this sensitive agency. The political left is furious. — The Obama administration claims it wants to ensure that the rank political abuse perpetrated by the Internal Revenue Service is never repeated.