memeorandum: Direct link between Assad and gas attack elusive for U.S. (Mark Hosenball/Reuters)

2:40 AM ET, September 8, 2013

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In Conversation: Michael Bloomberg — Racist? — I mean he's making an appeal using his family to gain support. I think it's pretty obvious to anyone watching what he's been doing. I do not think he himself is racist. It's comparable to me pointing out I'm Jewish in attracting the Jewish vote.

Discussion: Politicker, Hullabaloo and CNN

Chris Smith / New York Magazine:

In Conversation: Michael Bloomberg — The mayor has harsh words for Bill de Blasio, rebuts the charge that he's in the tank for the wealthy, questions just how poor the poor really are, and considers (for the first time) what he might like named after him. — On August 6, I meet Mayor Bloomberg …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Daily Caller, Politico, Gawker, Yahoo! News, Ballot Box, Capitol Report, Business Insider, Diane Ravitch's blog, Ed Driscoll, msnbc.com, No More Mister Nice Blog and Gothamist

NY Daily News:
Mayor Bloomberg: Bill de Blasio's campaign is ‘racist’

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com and Yahoo! News

Patrick McGeehan / New York Times:
Bloomberg Says de Blasio Has Run a ‘Racist’ Campaign

Discussion: Politico, Gawker, Business Insider and Eschaton

Politico:

Petraeus calls on Congress to back White House on Syria — Retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, former CIA director under President Barack Obama, called strongly Saturday for Congress to back the White House on Syria, declaring that military action against the regime is “necessary” to deter …

Discussion: Political Capital, CNN and The Week

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

Obama to hold Syria interviews with 6 TV networks — President Obama will sit for interviews Monday with six TV networks as he makes his case to the nation for military intervention in Syria. — Obama will tape interviews Monday afternoon with anchors from ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as with PBS …

Discussion: Power Line

Jason Seher / CNN:
Pryor a ‘no’ on Syria — WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the Obama …

Discussion: Politico, U.S. Senator Mark Pryor and Power Line

Jonathan Vankin / Opposing Views:

Michael E. Mann, Top Climate Scientist, Can Proceed WIth Libel Suit Against Right Wing Blogs, Judge Rules — Follow us and never miss a story! — A climate scientist widely known for his “hockey stick” graph showing a steep climb in global temperature over the last century …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Mjmontone / CBS New York:

NYPD: Man Brain-Dead Following Random Rampage In Union Square — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — It came out of nowhere. — A man allegedly went on a rampage in Union Square on Wednesday afternoon and left a complete stranger brain-dead in the process. — Police said that the attack may have been a hate crime.

Discussion: neo-neocon, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, NewsBusters, iOwnTheWorld.com, Mediaite, The Last Refuge and Gothamist

CNN:

CNN Exclusive: Videos show glimpse into evidence for Syria intervention — (CNN) — Men sprawled on a tile floor, shirtless and convulsing. Children, too, seemingly unable to control their shaking and flailing. Panic and screams in the background. — These are some of the hard …

Discussion: ABC News, Business Insider, The Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Direct link between Assad and gas attack elusive for U.S. — (Reuters) - With the United States threatening to attack Syria, U.S. and allied intelligence services are still trying to work out who ordered the poison gas attack on rebel-held neighborhoods near Damascus.

Discussion: The White House, Atlas Shrugs, Hot Air and Hullabaloo

Conrad Black / New York Sun:

Collapse of American Influence Recalls Dis-Integration of Soviet Union, Fall of France — Not since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, and prior to that the fall of France in 1940, has there been so swift an erosion of the world influence of a Great Power as we are witnessing with the United States.

Discussion: Power Line

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

Alan Grayson: ‘They have no smoking gun that the attack was ordered by Assad’ — Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL). … Ezra Klein: Let's begin at the beginning. Give me your broad thoughts on intervening in Syria. — Alan Grayson: The great uncovered story at this point is there's no practical …

Discussion: The Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Secretary of State Says the Number of Countries Ready to Take Action Has Reached ‘Double Digits’ — By - LARENCE NORMAN in Vilnius and - STACY MEICHTRY and - INTI LANDAURO in Paris- — PARIS—The number of countries ready to take military action in Syria has reached “double digits …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Sense of Events

Talking Points Memo:

McConnell's Anti-Obamacare Juggernaut Turns Against Him — Perhaps nobody was more responsible for making Obamacare a partisan bill than Mitch McConnell. During the grueling debate that began in 2009, the Senate minority leader worked diligently to ensure no Republican voted for health care reform.

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Samantha Power Agrees She Is Naive — One of our leading Smart Diplomats, Samantha Power, earned widespread ridicule with this insight from a recent speech: — Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, hoped that a team of UN investigators — many of whom, presumably …

Discussion: National Review, NPR and Twitchy