memeorandum: A Policy on Egypt—Support Al Sisi (Bret Stephens/Wall Street Journal)

5:40 PM ET, August 20, 2013

Top Items:

Senator: Obama Administration Secretly Suspended Military Aid to Egypt — The White House has quietly placed military aid to Egypt on hold, despite not saying publicly whether the Egyptian military takeover was a coup, Josh Rogin reports exclusively. — The U.S. government has decided privately …

Aaron David Miller / Foreign Policy:

Obama's Egypt Policy Makes Perfect Sense — No, seriously. — The only thing that's really clear about U.S. Middle East policy these days is its stunning lack of clarity. Neocons and liberal interventionists alike protest the confusion loudly, and a great many others with less ideological baggage silently scratch their heads.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Peter Schwartzstein / The Atlantic Online:

There Are No More Good Guys in Egypt — One thing that makes this crisis so vexing: Each of the country's major groups have done something totally horrible in the past few weeks. — CAIRO — Almost a thousand people dead, dozens of churches burnt, its capital's most affluent districts subjected …

Discussion: New York Times

Bret Stephens / Wall Street Journal:

A Policy on Egypt—Support Al Sisi — In a zero-sum game, the U.S. should hold its nose and back the military. — On the subject of Egypt: Is it the U.S. government's purpose merely to cop an attitude? Or does it also intend to have a policy? — An attitude “deplores the violence” …

Discussion: National Review, msnbc.com, Right Turn, Israel Matzav, The PJ Tatler and Post Politics

Associated Press:
White House Cabinet-Level Meeting Set on Egypt Aid

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

Roger Cohen / New York Times:
The Egyptian Debacle

Discussion: Questions and Observations, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The New Republic, Washington Free Beacon and Israpundit

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

The Clinton dramas: Here we go again — Tabloid headlines. Personal dramas. Organizational disarray. Score-settling between rival factions documented in news accounts like a soap opera. — Does this have a familiar ring? — No one - or mostly no one - truly believes the swirl …

Discussion: CNN, Bloomberg, The PJ Tatler, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, Taegan Goddard's … and First Read

Geoff Earle / New York Post:

Bill Clinton foundation has spent more than $50M on travel expenses — WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton's foundation has spent more than $50 million on travel expenses since 2003, an analysis of the non-profit's tax forms reveal. — The web of foundations run by the former president spent …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and National Review

Neil Irwin / Wonkblog:

Why the White House is uneasy with picking Janet Yellen as Fed chair — Obama advisers have reservations about having the current Fed vice chairwoman succeed Ben Bernanke. (Federal Reserve/Flickr) — Many of the economic advisers whom President Obama consults with favor Larry Summers to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

Discussion: Brad DeLong, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Business Insider, AEIdeas, Bloomberg and FT Alphaville

Eric Russell / Portland Press-Herald:

LePage is heard to say Obama ‘hates white people’ — Two Republican lawmakers confirm that the governor made the remark at a fundraiser last week. — Gov. Paul LePage last week told a group of Republicans that President Barack Obama “hates white people,” according to two state lawmakers who heard the remark directly.

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Bangor Daily News, Mediaite, msnbc.com, The Fix, Clutch Magazine, ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville, The Hinterland Gazette, theGrio, Post Politics, Gawker, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Kevin Miller / Portland Press-Herald:
Seven members of Maine Republican State Committee leave party

Discussion: Hit & Run and Booman Tribune

Marry Me / Bangor Daily News:
LePage heard telling GOP donors, lawmakers that Obama ‘hates white people’

Discussion: WCSH-TV, The Week and The Fix

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Ted Cruz: Okay, I'll Renounce My Canadian Citizenship! — This is getting to be more fun than I thought it would be. Ted Cruz is a natural born American citizen blah blah blah. But because he was born in Canada he's actually a Canadian citizen too. He's a dual citizen.

Discussion: The Fix, The Hinterland Gazette, NBC Politics, Taylor Marsh, Freedom Outpost, Dallas Morning News, Balloon Juice and Booman Tribune

David Ljunggren / Reuters:
Senator Cruz may have to wait eight months to stop being Canadian

Discussion: Daily Kos

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
Ted Cruz, 100 Percent American

Discussion: The Fix, Unfair Park, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and Eschaton

Washington Post:

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches — If the police arrest you, do they need a warrant to rifle through your cellphone? Courts have been split on the question. Last week the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to resolve the issue …

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, The PJ Tatler, Techdirt, Firedoglake, CANNONFIRE, Betsy's Page, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers and The Volokh Conspiracy

Mike Dennison / Missoulian:
Scalia to Federalist Society: Court shouldn't ‘invent new minorities’

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Raw Story

Lara Seligman / The Hill:
Scalia: High court shouldn't ‘invent new minorities that get special protections’

Discussion: Good As You

NEWS.com.au:

Three teens accused of murder of baseball player Chris Lane identified — Lane's death a tragedy with no rhyme or reason — I love you so much: Girlfriend's moving tribute — Parents of two accused teens say they didn't do it — Girlfriend 'doesn't care' what happens to ‘evil’ teens

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, NPR, Weasel Zippers, The Hinterland Gazette, National Review, Moonbattery and Gawker

Katrina Trinko / National Review:

Cruz Calls 'Why Don't We Impeach' Obama ‘Good Question’ — Conroe, Texas - Asked about the possibility of impeaching President Obama, Ted Cruz did not rule it out. — In a question and answer session following a speech he gave at a Montgomery County GOP dinner last night …

Discussion: PostPartisan, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, PoliticusUSA, The Plum Line, Daily Kos, The PJ Tatler and Washington Post

Denver Post:

51ST STATE QUESTION WILL BE ON WELD, PHILLIPS BALLOTS THIS FALL — Add Phillips and Weld to the list of northeastern Colorado counties getting serious about secession. — The commissioners of both counties voted Monday to place a question on the fall ballot asking voters if they wish to divorce Colorado and create a 51st state.

Discussion: Yahoo! News and National Review

Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:
Rural Coloradans to vote on breaking away as 51st state, angered by liberal policies on guns, energy

Discussion: protein wisdom and Wonkette

The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Courier Led U.S. to al Qaeda Internet Conference — U.S. officials followed the Internet trail of an al Qaeda courier to learn the details of an electronic conference between more than 20 of the organization's top officials. — Prior to the worldwide security alert …

Discussion: Hot Air, Business Insider, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Kerry Reinstates Benghazi Officials Clinton Punished

Discussion: Freedom Outpost, Right Turn, National Review, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The PJ Tatler, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and Michelle Malkin

Groklaw:

Forced Exposure ~pj — The owner of Lavabit tells us that he's stopped using email and if we knew what he knew, we'd stop too. — There is no way to do Groklaw without email. Therein lies the conundrum. — What to do? — What to do? I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure it out.

Discussion: Guardian, Shakesville, Techdirt, BBC, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I, The Verge, The Switch, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Boing Boing and NPR, more at Mediagazer »

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:

Alexander gets GOP primary challenger — Tennessee state Rep. Joe Carr (R) announced Tuesday that he will challenge Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in the Republican primary. — On local radio, Carr said he was running because Alexander was “the most liberal” member of the state's GOP delegation.

Discussion: Tennessean.com, CNN, Booman Tribune, Washington Monthly and p m carpenter's commentary

Joey Garrison / Tennessean.com:
Sen. Lamar Alexander gets a challenge from the right

Discussion: Firedoglake, Scared Monkeys and Conservative Intelligence …

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Three More Key Red States Could Still Sign Onto Obamacare — Virginia's Republican-controlled statehouse is getting closer to expanding Medicaid under Obamacare, a top GOP legislator said Monday. — State Sen. Emmett Hanger, who is heading the panel that was created by the legislature …

Discussion: American Prospect and PERRspectives

Tesla Motors:

TESLA MODEL S ACHIEVES BEST SAFETY RATING OF ANY CAR EVER TESTED — SETS NEW NHTSA VEHICLE SAFETY SCORE RECORD — Palo Alto, CA — Independent testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has awarded the Tesla Model S a 5-star safety rating, not just overall, but in every subcategory without exception.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, ABC News, Mashable, TechCrunch and The Verge

Michael Kinsley / The New Republic:

A Q&A With Jill Abramson — The Times' top editor on mean bosses, liberal biases, and the demise of the Washington Post — For generations, the publishers of the great American newspapers were accidents of birth—sons and daughters (and assorted other relatives) who inherited their positions atop the masthead.

Discussion: Mediaite, FishbowlDC, Gawker, TheBlaze.com, Poynter, Weasel Zippers, Althouse, JIMROMENESKO.COM and GigaOM, more at Mediagazer »

Megan Ruyle / The Hill:

Issa tops The Hill's 50 Wealthiest — The chief inquisitor of President Obama's White House is now Congress's richest man. — House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) saw his fortune rise to at least $355 million in 2012, enough to take the crown on The Hill's 50 Wealthiest list.

Discussion: CNN, Post Politics and Yahoo! News

Kathie Obradovich / Des Moines Register:

Former Polk GOP co-chairman says party has moved too far to the right — The co-chairman of the Polk County Republican Party has resigned and changed his party registration to independent, saying the GOP has become too conservative and is condoning “hateful” rhetoric.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Post Politics