memeorandum: GreenTech courted Obama's Solyndra aide (Watchdog.org)

12:35 AM ET, August 8, 2013

Top Items:

Hundreds protest Obama outside Phoenix high school — FONT: — Hundreds of protesters wielded signs, chanted slogans and argued with each other Tuesday outside Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, while President Barack Obama spoke about housing and the economy inside.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Democratic Daily, Death and Taxes, Voices, AMERICAblog and FIRST DRAFT

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:

Obama Protesters Sing ‘Bye Bye Black Sheep,’ Rail Against ‘Half-White Muslim’ In Arizona — A raucous crowd of supporters and protesters from both ends of the political spectrum showed up outside President Barack Obama's appearance in Phoenix, Ariz. on Tuesday, with some of his detractors turning …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story and The Mahablog

John Lewis / Guardian:

Veteran civil rights campaigner praises Snowden's act of ‘civil disobedience’ — John Lewis, one of America's most revered civil rights leaders, says the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was continuing the tradition of civil disobedience by revealing details of classified US surveillance programs.

Discussion: Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, The Switch, The Hill, The Huffington Post and The Raw Story

Robert Zubrin / National Review:

Give Snowden Immunity — The United States should give former NSA contractor Edward Snowden immunity from prosecution in exchange for congressional testimony. — The suggestion may strike many of my fellow national-security conservatives as outrageous. Snowden certainly violated the law and may have committed treason.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Hit & Run

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Obama's Russia reset unravels

Discussion: CNN, Techdirt and The Hill

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Obama cancels upcoming meeting with Putin

Discussion: Voices, New York Times, The Switch, The Other McCain, WorldViews and Post Politics

Reuters:

Exclusive: IRS manual detailed DEA's use of hidden intel evidence — (Reuters) - Details of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program that feeds tips to federal agents and then instructs them to alter the investigative trail were published in a manual used by agents of the Internal Revenue Service for two years.

Discussion: The Hill, The Verge, The PJ Tatler and Guardian

The Daily Beast:

Al Qaeda Conference Call Intercepted by U.S. Officials Sparked Alerts — It wasn't just any terrorist message that triggered U.S. terror alerts and embassy closures—but a conference call of more than 20 far-flung al Qaeda operatives, Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report.

Hannah Allam / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Broad U.S. terror alert mystifies experts; 'It's crazy pants,' one says

Discussion: Associated Press, Guardian, The Dish, Techdirt, Jihad Watch, Outside the Beltway and Democracy in America

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Obama reminds Marines of continued al Qaeda threats

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:
Yemeni Authorities Foil Qaeda Plot, Officials Say

Discussion: Foreign Policy, msnbc.com, FP Passport, Reuters, Gawker, Yahoo! News, BBC, Washington Post and CNN

Wall Street Journal:

Jeff Bezos's Tool Kit for the Post — Amazon Founder Brings Skills in Data Gathering, Software, E-Commerce — By - KEACH HAGEY and - GREG BENSINGER - — As owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos will have an opportunity to transform how the money-losing newspaper generates revenue …

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake, VodkaPundit, News Desk and MoneyBeat, more at Mediagazer »

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
Is Amazon Art a doomed venture? Let's hope so

Discussion: The Week, Business Insider, ANIMAL and Agence France Presse

Ruth Marcus / Real Clear Politics:
The Day Our Earth Stood Still

Discussion: National Review, Power Line, American Spectator and Shot in the Dark

Watchdog.org:

GreenTech courted Obama's Solyndra aide — ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and three top GreenTech advisers met with the key White House aide responsible for helping bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra win federal loans and high-profile presidential support, a Watchdog investigation has revealed.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Watts Up With That?, JunkScience.com, Hot Air and Doug Ross

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:

Rick Santorum: Liberals ‘Make It Uncomfortable For Students’ To Shower At The Gym — Next time you feel uncomfortable showering at the gym, blame it on liberals and their abortion rights agenda. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) does. — Speaking to anti-abortion group Students …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Death and Taxes, Daily Kos, Jezebel, Right Wing Watch and Advocate

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Why isn't Rick Santorum the GOP 2016 frontrunner?

Discussion: Slate, The Dish, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Hot Air, ABC News and Politico

Politico:

Jay Leno's interview with President Obama (transcript, video) — Q Welcome the President of the United States — Barack Obama. (Applause.) — Welcome back, sir. — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. It's good to be back. (Applause.) — Q Well, we're thrilled to have you.

Discussion: The Caucus, JustOneMinute, Althouse and Connecting.the.Dots

Patrick Gavin / Politico:
MAD: Obama goes ‘spy vs. spy’

Discussion: TheBlaze.com

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
IN REBUKE, OBAMA CANCELS MOSCOW SUMMIT WITH PUTIN

Discussion: Reuters and Hot Air

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

How to win the war over Obamacare — The battle over Obamacare may rage on for years, and it will certainly play a major role in next year's House races. Republicans say that since the law is unpopular, their repeal message must be a winner for them. Dems allow the law is unpopular …

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Examiner and The Hill

Betsy Woodruff / National Review:

Texas Tea Partiers Gunning For Gohmert to Primary Cornyn — Louie Gohmert for Senate? That's what a number of Texas tea-party activists are hoping for. They're not happy with Senator John Cornyn, and Katrina Pierson, who serves on the Texas Tea Party Caucus Advisory Board …

Discussion: A plain blog about politics and Ballot Box

Rasmussen Reports:

Christie Is Candidate GOP Voters Want Least As Their 2016 Nominee — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie holds a narrow lead among Republicans for the party's 2016 presidential nomination, but even more GOP voters say he's the candidate they least want to see nominated.

Discussion: Hot Air, LifeNews.com and Weekly Standard

Blake Neff / Ballot Box:
Christie surges in New Hampshire

Discussion: Reuters

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

White House Seeks a Return to the Housing Status Quo — I think the most important part of today's presidential address on housing is, in some ways, this graphic that the White House pushed out on social media today. Not so much for anything the chart says as for the fact that this is the message the administration wants to push.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and ThinkProgress

David Dayen / New Republic:
Obama's Plan for Fannie and Freddie Just Repeats Old Mistakes

Discussion: New York Times, The Week, The Daily Banter, Hullabaloo and Sober Look

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin: Southern senator called President Obama ‘exotic’ in closed-door meeting — U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin provided some behind-the-scenes insight into the partisan animosity that continues to follow Barack Obama in his second term as president. — Harkin, a Democrat …

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, The Political Carnival, The Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Shane Goldmacher / NationalJournal.com:

The Top 10 Lawmakers Who Could Lose a Primary Next Year — The list includes a Santa Claus impersonator-turned congressman and a doctor who slept with his patients. — Incumbency in Congress is a fortress rarely breached, particularly in primaries. In the 2012 elections …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Illinois Review

Sarah Desprat / Twitchy:

Lapdogs at AP dutifully bury Obama's geography gaffe — Dude. Dude. — As Twitchy reported, President Barack “57 States” Obama showed off his mad geography skillz last night when he informed Jay Leno that Savannah, Charleston, and Jacksonville are, in fact, Gulf Coast ports.

Discussion: NewsBusters, Conservatives4Palin, Power Line and Hot Air

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Steve King: Belief In Climate Change Is A ‘Religion,’ ‘Not Science’ — Despite the fact that 97 percent of scientists agree that climate change is real, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is insistent that it is “not science” and that environmentalists are missing the potential upsides.

Discussion: Messenger News, Daily Kos, E2-Wire and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Dan Primack / Fortune:

CNN boss' son quits Cory Booker's startup — Why did a tech startup hire the teenage son of a cable news boss? — FORTUNE — New Jersey senatorial candidate Cory Booker was “not involved at all” in the addition of Andrew Zucker to the advisory board of a tech startup that Booker co-founded, according to a company spokesperson.

Discussion: Quartz, New York Times and Gawker

Will Ripley / KUSA-TV:

Castle Rock apartment tenants told they must get rid of their guns — His apartment complex, the Oakwood Apartments in Castle Rock, sent out a notice telling all residents to get rid of their guns. — The 77-year-old retired US Marine Corps veteran sent a newstip to 9Wants …

Discussion: protein wisdom and Examiner

Politico:

Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan headline Koch summit — Rep. Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez secretly spoke to wealthy donors at the Koch brothers' recently concluded summer gathering on the outskirts of Albuquerque. — The 2012 vice presidential candidate …

Discussion: Albuquerque Journal