memeorandum: 9 Harsh Political Realities Of Sharknado (BuzzFeed)

7:40 PM ET, July 12, 2013

Top Items:

Adam Weinstein / Gawker:

This, Courtesy of MSNBC, Is Trayvon Martin's Dead Body. Get Angry. — A reader of mine sent me this photo last night. As the murder trial of George Zimmerman wheezes to its conclusion, the TV networks dutifully pipe in live pool video from the courtroom, as if it is force-fed …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, The Raw Story, The Week, The Dish, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Poynter and Pressing Issues, more at Mediagazer »

Erik Wemple:

Geraldo: Jurors would have ‘shot and killed Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did’ — On this morning's “Fox & Friends,” criminal-justice expert Geraldo Rivera fielded a question about a ruling in the George Zimmerman trial, under which the jury will be allowed to consider a manslaughter conviction.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Hinterland Gazette, ThinkProgress, Connecting.the.Dots and The Dish

Daniel J. Flynn / American Spectator:

Two Males, No Men — They don't make men like they used to. One can consult a Danish study that shows plummeting testosterone levels for scientific confirmation of this. Or, one could more easily turn on any cable news network's wall-to-wall coverage of the Zimmerman-Martin case …

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh and Balloon Juice

Jessica Chasmar / Washington Times:
‘Justice for Trayvon’: Audio released of DOJ member urging action against George Zimmerman

Discussion: Rule of Law, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler and Weasel Zippers

John Fund / National Review:
Obama's Alinskyite Administration

Discussion: CBS Miami, Booman Tribune and Sense of Events

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Geraldo: Al Sharpton And ‘Race Politics’ Forced Florida To Pursue ‘Weak’ Case Against Zimmerman

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Crooks and Liars

Larry Gordon / Los Angeles Times:

Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security chief, to head UC — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is being named the next president of the 10-campus UC system. (Alex Wong / Getty Images / July 18, 2012) — Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona …

Christian Beckner / Foreign Policy:
15 Top Slots At DHS Now Vacant With Napolitano's Resignation

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill, Politico, A plain blog about politics and The Raw Story

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Report: Napolitano to Resign

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, The Jawa Report, americanthinker.com, BuzzFeed and The Raw Story

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:

You're Allowed To Carry A Gun Into The Texas Senate Gallery, But Not A Tampon — An example of an item that's not permitted in the Texas Gallery. (Credit: Shutterstock) — On Friday afternoon, the Texas Senate will vote on a package of abortion restrictions that Republican lawmakers …

Discussion: Reuters, RH Reality Check, The Raw Story and National Review

Chris Tomlinson / Associated Press:

Tampons Seized In Security Checks At Texas Abortion Debate — AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrats in the Texas Senate on Friday questioned whether proposed abortion restrictions are constitutional and whether they would make it more difficult for women in the state to obtain health care.

Discussion: Associated Press, LifeNews.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite

Wendy Davis / CNN:
Wendy Davis: Real Texans ready to fight

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Daily Kos

Katherine Haenschen / BOR:
HB2 Liveblog: Senate Vote, Stand With Texas Women Rally Today at the Capitol

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Daily Kos, Jezebel and Jessica W. Luther

WikiLeaks:

Statement by Edward Snowden to human rights groups at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport — Edward Joseph Snowden delivered a statement to human rights organizations and individuals at Sheremetyevo airport at 5pm Moscow time today, Friday 12th July. The meeting lasted 45 minutes.

Justin Sink / The Hill:
White House: Obama to personally lobby Putin on Edward Snowden

Discussion: Politico, Boing Boing and The Daily Caller

Guardian:
Edward Snowden appears at Moscow airport and renews asylum claim - as it happened

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, msnbc.com, Business Insider, Reuters, ThinkProgress, Taylor Marsh and McClatchy Washington Bureau

USA Today:
Snowden has ‘no regrets,’ seeks asylum in Russia

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Guardian, ACLU, Gawker, Firedoglake, The Agonist, Business Insider and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, more at Mediagazer »

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: Right Turn, Taking Note, The Dish, American Prospect, National Review, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather and Taegan Goddard's …

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: The Impolitic, The Atlantic Online, PostPartisan, americanthinker.com, Taylor Marsh, Campaign for America's Future, The Plum Line, Daily Kos, New York Magazine and Post Politics

New York Times:
In the House, a Refusal to Govern

Discussion: Campaign for America's Future, The Reaction, Washington Wire, The Plum Line, Weekly Standard, The Week, Daily Kos and Taking Note

Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:
Republicans to Tackle Cuts in Food Stamp Program

Discussion: Shakesville, Reuters and Associated Press

Janegalt / Megan McArdle:

Why I Think the GOP Will Have Control in 2017 — My assertion that there's a 70% chance that the GOP controls White House, Senate, and House in 2017 has attracted a lot of pushback. And it's certainly possible that I'm wrong! Here's my thinking, for what it's worth:

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, The Monkey Cage and New Republic

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Report: Obamas plan weeklong Martha's Vineyard vacation next month

Discussion: CNN

Susan Walsh / The Reliable Source:
White House summer interns: It never hurts to have connections

Discussion: Yahoo! News and ABC News

ThinkProgress:

Iowa Supreme Court: It's OK To Fire A Woman For Being Too Attractive — Joseph Diebold is an intern with ThinkProgress. — Standing by a December decision, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that a male dentist who fired a female assistant because she was too attractive and threatened his marriage did not commit sex discrimination.

Discussion: Associated Press, Jezebel and Shakesville

Maura Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
Gay marriage opponents ask California court to deny wedding licenses

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Advocate and Good As You

Jeff Eckhoff / Des Moines Register:
Iowa Supreme Court re-do: Still think ‘Irresistible employee’ fired for personal reasons, not discrimination

Discussion: Associated Press, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

Josh Barro / Business Insider:

Implosion Of Virginia Governor Shows Why We Need To Pay Elected Officials More — Is Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R-Va.) fall from grace really so surprising? — Alex Burns of Politico expresses incredulity that McDonnell has apparently tossed away his presidential ambitions by accepting gifts …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Bearing Drift

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Bob McDonnell's stunning fall from grace

Discussion: CNN, The Other McCain and Washington Monthly

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Holder Tightens Rules for Obtaining Reporters' Data — WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who has been criticized for the Justice Department's aggressive tactics in secretly obtaining phone logs and e-mails of reporters as part of leak investigations, on Friday announced …

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, Yahoo! News, Daily Kos, The Verge and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama meets Holder, accepts report on Justice's targeting of media for leaks

Discussion: Politico

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Concerning “Libertarian Populism” — Like any political tradition associated with the defense of privilege, American conservatism has been the object of many efforts to give it a popularizing makeover. There was the “Modern Republicanism” of the Eisenhower era, which was a useful device …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Delusions of Populism — Have you heard about “libertarian populism” yet?

Discussion: Ross Douthat, Hit & Run, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Monkey Cage, Prairie Weather, Sky Dancing, Business Insider, Paul Krugman, The Reaction and ThinkProgress

Ahmed Wali Mujeeb / BBC:

Pakistan Taliban ‘sets up a base in Syria’ — The Pakistani Taliban sees itself as being ideologically opposed to President Assad's rule — The Pakistani Taliban have visited Syria to set up a base and to assess “the needs of the jihad”, a Taliban official has told the BBC.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

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

KETK NBC:

Jars of urine, feces confiscated at TX capitol as abortion bill voting takes place — AUSTIN, TEXAS (DPS) — The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) today received information that individuals planned to use a variety of items or props to disrupt legislative proceedings at the Texas Capitol.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:

Phonyism — On Thursday the New York Times published a front-page, 1,400-word story on the political ambitions of a 26-year-old man who grew up in Ohio, graduated from Brown, married rich, and moved to New York City. And then moved to Garrison, New York, in the Hudson River Valley.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Lonely Conservative, America Rising and Yahoo! News

Walter Shapiro / American Prospect:

Coming to Do Good, Staying to Do Well — For 20 years, since the weekend of Bill Clinton's first inauguration, I have rented against all financial prudence an apartment in Washington, D.C. even though I really live in Manhattan. So, at least in a real-estate sense, I can rightfully claim …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Cord Jefferson / Gawker:

KTVU Reports Asiana Air Pilots Were “Sum Ting Wong” and “Ho Lee Fuk” — Bay Area news station KTVU just reported that the pilots of Asiana's disastrous flight 214 were the crack team of “Sum Ting Wong,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk,” and “Bang Ding Ow.” — Despite the names obviously …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Poynter, Sense of Events and Joe. My. God.