memeorandum: Richard Dawkins defends “mild pedophilia,” says it does not cause “lasting harm” (Katie McDonough/Salon)

10:30 PM ET, September 10, 2013

Top Items:

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

The White House may really be about to win on Syria — The AP tweets: — Assuming that sticks, it's game. The White House just achieved its goal. — Remember: The White House's aim here wasn't to topple Assad, or even hurt him. It was to affirm and reinforce the international norm against chemical weapons.

Discussion: WorldViews, Daniel W. Drezner, Washington Monthly, The Week, Zandar Versus The Stupid and The Spectacle Blog

Julia Ioffe / The New Republic:

The Syria Solution: Obama Got Played by Putin and Assad — This, apparently, is how diplomacy happens these days: Someone makes an off-hand remark at a press conference and triggers an international chain reaction that turns an already chaotic and complex situation completely on its head …

Peggy Noonan's Blog:

Making Sense of Syria — This is what I think we're seeing: — The president has backed away from a military strike in Syria. But he can't acknowledge this or act as if it is true. He is acting and talking as if he's coolly, analytically, even warily contemplating the Russian proposal and the Syrian response.

Discussion: Telegraph, National Review, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

RT:

Putin: Syria chem arms handover will work only if US calls off strike — Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Syria's chemical arms handover will only work if the US and its allies renounce the use of force against Damascus. — “Certainly, this is all reasonable …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, Politico, ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, The Back Channel, Guardian, NBCNews, USA Today, The Hill, BizzyBlog, CBS News and ABC News

Charles Crawford / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

Syria, chemical weapons, and the worst day in Western diplomatic history — Monday 9 September, 2013, was the worst day for US and wider Western diplomacy since records began. — At the Foreign Office here in London we had the bizarre spectacle of US Secretary of State John Kerry giving …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Commentary Magazine, The PJ Tatler, Telegraph, Ed Driscoll, Hot Air, National Review and Agence France Presse

New York Times:

Parsing Syria Developments Ahead of Obama's Address — The nature of the domestic and international debate about a military intervention in Syria has been evolving. Here are the basics. — What did Mr. Obama say? — In one of the most challenging moments of his presidency …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, JustOneMinute, Washington Post, NBCNews, msnbc.com, Washington Free Beacon, Yahoo! News, emptywheel, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Administration Changes Russian Proposal's Origin Story — Back-dating a policy. — From left: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey testify at the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, Sept. 10, 2013.

Discussion: Hot Air, Guardian, Daily Mail, Business Insider, CNN, Weasel Zippers and Ricochet Conversations Feed

New York Times:
Obama's Remarks on Syria

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Lee Smith / Weekly Standard:
Putin Didn't Save Obama, He Beat Him

Discussion: Right Turn, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Roll Call

Politico:
Obama's opportunity in Syria

Discussion: CNN and Gawker

Politico:
Obama wants Congress to delay Syria vote

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Washington Post, ABC News, The Last Refuge, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Trust.org, ABC News, CNN, Scared Monkeys, National Review and Hot Air

NBCNews:
Obama speech big reveal: Will consider Russian proposal on Syria

Discussion: The Week, Hot Air, msnbc.com, The Plum Line, Outside the Beltway and No More Mister Nice Blog

Dustin Weaver / The Hill:
Obama backs UN effort on Syria as new resolution prepared

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Yahoo! News, Michelle Malkin and iOwnTheWorld.com

Max Fisher / WorldViews:
Syria's plan to give up its chemical weapons could make things worse, not better

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Vladimir Putin: No U.S. strikes for Syria deal

Discussion: msnbc.com, Business Insider and Outside the Beltway

Associated Press:
QUESTION OF ENFORCEMENT CASTS CLOUD ON SYRIA PLAN

Discussion: RT, CNN, The Verge, Business Insider, New York Times, NBCNews and The Week

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

‘A Grand Betrayal’: Conservatives Slam GOP's Gambit On Defunding Obamacare — The initial reviews from conservatives Tuesday are in and they're staunchly negative. The proposed House Republican plan to force the Senate to vote on defunding Obamacare — while removing the threat …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, National Review and Booman Tribune

Jonathan Strong / National Review:

Fight Delayed — Majority Leader Eric Cantor spent 90 percent of a presentation to House Republicans in the Capitol basement this morning explaining and defending his convoluted plan to force the Senate to vote on defunding Obamacare before eventually allowing the upper chamber to send a “clean” CR to President Obama.

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Plum Line, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Business Insider, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Capitol Report, Paul Krugman, Washington Free Beacon and Politico

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
House GOP Pushes New Gambit To Defund Obamacare

Discussion: RedState, Outside the Beltway and Washington Monthly

Brian Beutler / Salon:
The right's new dirty trick to hold government hostage

Discussion: Center for American Progress, First Read, Daily Kos, The Hill and ThinkProgress

IC ON THE RECORD:

DNI Clapper Declassifies Intelligence Community Documents Regarding Collection Under Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — September 10, 2013 — In June of this year, President Obama directed me to declassify and make public as much information as possible …

Discussion: Hillicon Valley, Guardian, Engadget, The Verge, Online NewsHour and emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:
NSA Violated Privacy Protections, Officials Say

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Wire, Hot Air and NPR

Trevor Timm / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Government Releases NSA Surveillance Docs and Previously Secret FISA Court Opinions In Response to EFF Lawsuit

Discussion: Firedoglake, Wired, ACLU and Techdirt

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
NSA broke rules on call-tracking program, court filings show

Discussion: Hit & Run and Reuters

David Ferguson / The Raw Story:

Cenk Uygur to Dana Perino: 'You're wrong, I'm right. Get the f*ck out of the country' — On Monday's edition of “The Young Turks,” host Cenk Uygur sent a special message to former White House spokesperson Dana Perino, who last week said she is “tired” of atheists demanding that Christian ideology be separated from public policy.

Discussion: Mediaite and Joe. My. God.

Daniel Burke / CNN:
Fox News host: Atheists 'don't have to live here'

Discussion: The Raw Story

Katie McDonough / Salon:

Richard Dawkins defends “mild pedophilia,” says it does not cause “lasting harm” — The biologist and author described the sexual abuse that occurred among his former classmates as “mild touching up” — In a recent interview with the Times magazine, Richard Dawkins attempted to defend what he called …

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Huffington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Friendly Atheist and The Raw Story

Matt Gutman / ABC News:

George Zimmerman's Lawyer Mark O'Mara Quits … George Zimmerman's lawyer said today he will no longer represent the man acquitted of murder in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin. — The announcement came one day after Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, called police to say that Zimmerman …

Discussion: Gawker, Crooks and Liars, PR Watch, The Raw Story, Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Banter and USA Today

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Sydney Leathers shows up at Anthony Weiner election party — The woman whose sexually explicit allegations about Anthony Weiner derailed his mayoral campaign showed up at his Election Night watch party, reports said. — Sydney Leathers, the young woman who offered graphic details …

Discussion: Business Insider, Gawker and Mediaite

Michael McLaughlin / The Huffington Post:
Anthony Weiner Office Visited By Sydney Leathers On Election Day (PHOTO)

Discussion: Twitchy and The Daily Caller

Amy Payne / The Heritage Foundation:

Warning: Obamacare May Be Hazardous to Your Health — We've talked a lot about Obamacare's costs—how it will hurt the economy, kill jobs, and cost you and your family more when you pay for health care. — But there's an even more important cost: your health. — Obamacare will affect the quality of care in this country.

Discussion: Doug Ross, BizPac Review and Nice Deb

Jim DeMint / Fox News:
America, we must stop ObamaCare before it becomes hazardous to our health

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Mattbinder / Public Shaming:

Full-Time Sexist, Misogynistic, Libertarian Jerk Has Side Gig as Business Insider CTO — Meet Pax Dickinson. He's the Chief Technology Officer at Business Insider, a fast growing tech news website. The CTO is a pretty high-level position. They are pretty much responsible for the technology side of a business.

Discussion: Slate, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Poynter and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Amanda Watts / CNN:

Bride: I pushed my husband off cliff — (CNN) — A woman in Montana is accused of pushing her husband off a cliff after an argument. The pair had been married for just more than a week. — Jordan Linn Graham made an initial appearance in court Monday to face a charge of second-degree murder.

Discussion: KDVR.com, The Week, The Raw Story, Scared Monkeys and Althouse

Michael S. Greve / Library of Law & Liberty:

Yoo to Conservatives: Reverse Course — The latest issue of the National Review has an article by Berkeley law prof John Yoo that invites serious thought and discussion—very serious thought. Here's the gist: — In the Reagan era, conservatives stood for a “unitary executive” …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and ProfessorBainbridge.com

David Von Drehle / TIME:

Colorado's Civil War — A recall election turned a local fight into the latest front in the national gun control debate — All politics is local, the saying goes. But is it true anymore? Voters in Colorado may decide today. — Bigfoot out-of-towners have been pouring tons of money …

Discussion: National Review

Justin Gillis / New York Times:

A Climate Alarm, Too Muted for Some — This month, the world will get a new report from a United Nations panel about the science of climate change. Scientists will soon meet in Stockholm to put the finishing touches on the document, and behind the scenes, two big fights are brewing.