memeorandum: NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds (Washington Post)

5:30 PM ET, August 16, 2013

Top Items:

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:

CORRECTED: GOP CHIEF: Mitt Romney's ‘Self-Deportation’ Quote Was ‘Horrific’ — Correction, 12:26 p.m. ET: An original version of this story said that Reince Priebus referred to Mitt Romney's comments as “racist.” He said it “hurts us.” Business Insider regrets the error.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, msnbc.com, Politico, The Stranger …, Hot Air, Immigration Reform, The Hinterland Gazette, Washington Monthly, The PJ Tatler, The Right Scoop, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Post Politics, Shakesville and The Raw Story

Politico:

Eve of Destruction — It is almost impossible to find an establishment Republican in town who's not downright morose about the 2013 that has been and is about to be. Most dance around it in public, but they see this year as a disaster in the making, even if most elected Republicans don't know it or admit it.

Discussion: CNN, The Plum Line, The Dish, Seeing the Forest, Immigration Reform and WJLA-TV

Dylan Byers / Politico:

RNC's NBC, CNN boycott will extend to Telemundo, CNN Espanol — In a highly anticipated move, the Republican National Committee voted unanimously on Friday to deny NBC and CNN the rights to host or sponsor a Republican primary debate unless they cancel their respective Hillary Clinton film projects.

Discussion: Post Politics, The Week, Mediaite, TIME, Hot Air and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »

Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox TV Studios Won't Produce NBC Hillary Clinton Miniseries (Exclusive) — The project has prompted the Republican National Committee to ban the network from hosting 2016 presidential debates. — The tantalizing spectacle of Fox Television Studios producing a Hillary Clinton miniseries …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Inside TV and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

John Fund / National Review:

Taking Back the GOP Debates — The summer meetings of national political parties are usually quiet affairs, but this week's Republican National Committee meeting in Boston is full of controversy about who should moderate and run the 2016 GOP presidential-primary debates.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Times, msnbc.com, Power Line and American Prospect

James Hohmann / Politico:

With Clinton vote, RNC pushes back on debates — BOSTON — The Republican National Committee will pass a resolution Friday to bar NBC and CNN from hosting GOP primary debates in 2016 if the networks move forward with their Hillary Clinton projects. — But the vote is not just about Clinton.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Booman Tribune, TheBlaze.com, americanthinker.com, The Fix, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
GOP to vote Friday on banning NBC, CNN from debates

Discussion: The Raw Story, Gawker and Politico

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
The key part of the RNC resolution on NBC and CNN debates

Discussion: Pat Dollard

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
RNC Unanimously Passes Resolution, No Debates For NBC Or CNN

Discussion: Washington Monthly

James Hohmann / Politico:
RNC approves skipping NBC/CNN debates

Discussion: CNN and Mediaite

Barton Gellman / Washington Post:

NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds — The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Marc Tracy / The New Republic:
New Snowden Docs Show We Don't Even Know What We Don't Know

Discussion: ABC News, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Switch, Democracy in America, Hit & Run, The Dish, emptywheel, Techdirt, Pat Dollard and The Right Scoop

Washington Post:
NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, Global Grind and Gizmodo

Washington Post:
NSA report on privacy violations in the first quarter of 2012

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Techdirt

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Court: Ability to police U.S. spying program limited

Discussion: The Switch, The Fix, Guardian, Techdirt, Connecting.the.Dots, The Hinterland Gazette, Hit & Run, Hot Air, The Verge, ThinkProgress, CNN, Gawker and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
N.S.A. Often Broke Rules on Privacy, Audit Shows

Discussion: CNN, The World's Greatest …, Hillicon Valley, Hit & Run, The Week, Politico, Techdirt, GigaOM, The Hill and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Fox News:

Egyptian military chief vows to rebuild Coptic Churches — The Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country's violent demonstrations since the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power last month.

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs

Jeffrey Goldberg / Bloomberg:
What Obama Misunderstands About Egypt

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Booman Tribune, National Review and Wonkblog

Reuters:
Dozens die in Egyptian bloodbath on Islamists' ‘Day of Rage’

Discussion: The Hill, Pat Dollard and The PJ Tatler

Michael J. Totten / Michael J. Totten's blog:
The Truth About Egypt — Egypt looks dodgier than ever right now.

Discussion: Guardian

President Bill Clinton / Clinton Foundation:

AN OPEN LETTER FROM BILL CLINTON — The Clinton Foundation was founded on the belief that we could help people in the United States and around the world solve problems and seize opportunities faster, better, and at lower cost. The Foundation works with governments, businesses, NGOs …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and Post Politics

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
Political rent-seeking and her expected coronation.

Discussion: Moonbattery, NewsBusters and CNN

Jerry Del Colliano / Inside Music Media:

Hannity Fires Cumulus — Sean Hannity gave Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey a taste of his own medicine. — He fired Cumulus. — Rejected an offer to extend his contract. — And, according to sources, said the company treats its employees “like dirt, s**t, sub-human”. — Wow!

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NewsBusters, American Spectator, Pat Dollard, The Huffington Post and Mediaite

Patrick Gavin / Reuters:

Critics laud John Oliver's hosting tenure — When longtime “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart announced this spring that he would be taking a leave of absence from the show in order to pursue a film project, fans of the show wondered how the critically acclaimed program could survive without its leader as …

Discussion: Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Mediaite

Politicker:

Anthony Weiner's Relationship With Former Staffer Raises Questions — Anthon Weiner. (Photo: Getty) — Before he married his wife, former Congressman Anthony Weiner had a previously undisclosed relationship with an on-again-off-again congressional and campaign aide nearly two decades his junior.

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Runnin' Scared, Taylor Marsh and The Daily Caller

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Joe Scarborough: Talkers on Radio, TV Tell Voters 'If You're Not White,' ‘Not Welcome’ in GOP — On Friday morning, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe, blasted Republicans for focusing on the wrong issues in their efforts to reassemble a coalition of voters that can win national elections.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Pat Dollard and The Hinterland Gazette

Laura Koran / CNN:

Area 51 officially acknowledged, mapped in newly released documents — (CNN) — Area 51 has long been a topic of fascination for conspiracy theorists and paranormal enthusiasts, but newly released CIA documents officially acknowledge the site and suggest that the area served a far less remarkable purpose than many had supposed.

Discussion: Hot Air and ImmigrationProf Blog

Kimberly Nordyke / Hollywood Reporter:

Media Watchdog Group Asks Fox's ‘Dads’ to Reshoot ‘Racist’ Scenes — The Media Action Network for Asian Americans fires off a letter to executives, criticizing the comedy's “racial and sexual stereotypes” and blasting co-creator Alec Sulkin for an insensitive tweet he wrote in reference to the tsunami that hit Japan two years ago.

Discussion: NewsBusters, Deadline.com, The Huffington Post and Inside TV

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Moment of Truthiness — We all know how democracy is supposed to work. Politicians are supposed to campaign on the issues, and an informed public is supposed to cast its votes based on those issues, with some allowance for the politicians' perceived character and competence.

Discussion: JustOneMinute