memeorandum: Obama says U.S. will take military action against Syria, pending Congress's approval (Ernesto Londoño/Washington Post)

3:45 PM ET, August 31, 2013

Top Items:

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Some see Syria as edge for Obama in fiscal showdown — U.S. military action in Syria could give the White House an advantage in the looming fiscal showdown with congressional Republicans, according to defense and budget experts. — They said the Syria crisis could boost calls by President Obama …

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Washington Monthly and No More Mister Nice Blog

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:

Obama says U.S. will take military action against Syria, pending Congress's approval — President Obama said Saturday that the United States has decided to use military force against Syria, calling last week's alleged chemical weapons attack there “an attack on human dignity,” …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Hot Air, WorldViews, Daily Kos and Corrente

CNN:

Obama asks Congress to vote to authorize strike on Syria — President Barack Obama said that the United States “should take military action against Syrian targets” in a Rose Garden address Saturday. However, he said he would seek congressional authorization when federal lawmakers return from recess.

Discussion: Global Public Square

BBC:
Russia's Vladimir Putin challenges US on Syria claims

Discussion: NPR, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Joe. My. God.

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Will Seek Syria Vote in Congress

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, JustOneMinute, Lawfare, Gawker, Taegan Goddard's … and AL.com

Ben Geman / The Hill: Obama to seek congressional approval for Syrian military strike

David Espo / Associated Press:
UN Experts Enter Lebanon After Leaving Syria

Discussion: Associated Press, Firedoglake, Guardian, Global Grind and Online NewsHour

Michael Graham / Boston Herald: U.S. needed Iraqi foothold that prez abandoned

Washington Post:
John Kerry makes forceful case for U.S. military intervention in Syria

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Post Politics, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and The Fix

Glenn Thrush / Politico:
White House peeved at Pentagon leaks

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Jonathan Martin / The Caucus:

Mary Cheney Criticizes Her Sister on Same-Sex Marriage — Mary Cheney, the younger sister of Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Senate candidate, sharply criticized her sister's stance on same-sex marriage and urged her own Facebook friends to share the message. — Posting on Facebook on Friday evening …

Discussion: Ballot Box, LGBTQ Nation, Joe. My. God., The Raw Story, CNN, Cheney for Wyoming and The Daily Caller

Karoli / Crooks and Liars:

IRS Scandal Didn't Happen To The Tea Party; It Was Invented By The Tea Party — JennyBeth Martin rallies the troops on May 16, 2013 — Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published an amazingly dishonest profile of Jenny Beth Martin, head of the national Tea Party Patriots organization.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

G.O.P. Senators Fail to Head Off Primary Challenges by Tea Party Rivals — WASHINGTON — For the past two years, Republican senators facing re-election have very deliberately spent millions of dollars, hired multiple consultants and cast scores of conservative votes with one goal in mind …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Hanna Rosin / Slate:

You know that “women make 77 cents to every man's dollar” line you've heard a hundred times? It's not true. — How many times have you heard that “women are paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men”? Barack Obama said it during his last campaign.

Discussion: FreedomWorks blogs, EconLog and Barcepundit

Betsy Karasik / Washington Post:

Sex between students and teachers should not be a crime — Betsy Karasik is a writer and former lawyer. — There is a painfully uncomfortable episode of “Louie” in which the comedian Louis C.K. muses that maybe child molesters wouldn't kill their victims if the penalty weren't so severe.

Discussion: Mediaite, Hot Air, National Review, Lawyers, Guns & Money, NewsBusters, The Other McCain, americanthinker.com and The PJ Tatler

Jessica McWilliams / CBS Philly:

Police: 2 Women Gang Raped By Juveniles In Wilmington Park — WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) — Neighbors near Kosciuszko Park in Wilmington expressed anger and outrage Friday, after learning the details of a brutal gang-rape that happened in the park Thursday. — Police say two women, ages 32 and 24 …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Vox Popoli and Scared Monkeys

Kevin Collier / Salon:

The parody shirt the NSA doesn't want you to wear — The politically themed T-shirt company Liberty Maniacs is in hot water for its latest spoof design — Two days after the world learned the National Security Agency logs practically every American phone call, the agency had started cracking down on entrepreneurs who made fun of it.

Discussion: National Review and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Sohrab Ahmari / Wall Street Journal:

Craig Zucker: What Happens When a Man Takes on the Feds — Buckyballs was the hottest office game on the market. Then regulators banned it. Now the government wants to ruin the CEO who fought back. — New York — 'So this is what starting over looks like. I have a seven-by-seven space with two little desks in it.

Discussion: protein wisdom

New York Times:

Experts Fear That U.S. Plan to Strike Syria Overlooks Risks — BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Obama says he is considering a “limited, narrow” military strike against Syria — an aim that many Middle East experts fear overlooks the potential to worsen the violence in Syria and intensify a fight …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Prairie Weather, Sense of Events, Hot Air and Pressing Issues

John Caniglia / Plain Dealer:

Conviction of Toledo man for stockpiling weapons began with the tracking of camisoles — CLEVELAND, Ohio — The paperwork said the mailed package contained $40 worth of women's camisoles. Someone in China sent it to a Toledo address. — Inside, there were no camisoles — just low-quality …

Discussion: News One and Alan Colmes' Liberaland