memeorandum: N.S.A. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts (New York Times)

5:40 PM ET, October 12, 2013

Top Items:

Democrats reject Susan Collins proposal — Democratic leaders in the Senate are rejecting an offer by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to end the budget impasse, arguing it asks for too much in return for too little, senators and aides tell POLITICO. — The development comes on the same …

Discussion: Reuters, NBCNews, Washington Monthly, Michelle Malkin, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, National Review, msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers and Business Insider

Politico:

House takes back seat after W.H. rejects plan — Speaker John Boehner told House Republicans Saturday morning that his efforts to strike a deal with President Barack Obama are at a standstill. — There is no agreement, Boehner said in a room in the Capitol Saturday, and there are no …

Discussion: CNN, The Natural Truth, neo-neocon, PoliticusUSA, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom and Taegan Goddard's …

Jonathan Strong / National Review:

Paul Ryan Flashes Anger at Senate Republicans — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan lashed out at Senate Republicans for interfering with the House GOP's talks with the White House to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling, suggesting his colleagues on the other side of the Capitol were betraying Speaker John Boehner.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story and Weasel Zippers

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Reid, McConnell launch bipartisan talks on ending shutdown — Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have launched discussions over a proposal to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, after talks between House Republicans and President Obama reached an impasse.

New York Times:

Senate Leaders Try to End Debt Crisis; Talks Fail in House — WASHINGTON — Senate leaders on Saturday began last-ditch negotiations on reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling as talks between House Republicans and the White House collapsed, dashing hopes for a quick resolution …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Caucus and Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

New Senate GOP plan would raise debt-limit until January 2014 — A trio of centrist Senate Republicans is pushing a plan to reopen the government for six months, extend the debt ceiling until Jan. 31, 2014 and make reforms to ObamaCare. — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) …

Discussion: NBCNews, Campaign for America's Future, Wonkblog and Daily Kos

Mike Flynn / BREITBART.COM:

HOUSE GOP BLINKS: WILL LIFT DEBT AND REOPEN GOVERNMENT — House Republicans have sent the White House a revised proposal to lift the debt ceiling for six weeks, as well as reopen government through December 15th, which was their original spending proposal before the partial shutdown.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Pirate's Cove, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative

Joe Picard / The Hill:

Boehner reports no progress as focus shifts to Senate plan (Video) — Hopes for a deal to end the government shutdown and avert a U.S. default turned to the Senate on Saturday as House Republicans said their talks with the White House were effectively over.

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, PoliticusUSA, Taegan Goddard's …, Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos and Liberaland

The White House: WEEKLY ADDRESS: Let's Get Back to the Work of the American People

Emma Dumain / Roll Call:
House GOP Talks With Obama Break Down as Both Look to Senate

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, PoliticusUSA, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Cruzification of the GOP — When a poll came out this week showing that the government shutdown was putting Republican Mike Coffman in danger of losing his Colorado congressional seat, the lawmaker responded with the serenity of martyrs through the ages. — “Whatever the consequences …

New York Times:

N.S.A. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts — FORT MEADE, Md. — The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, said in an interview that to prevent terrorist attacks he saw no effective alternative to the N.S.A.'s bulk collection of telephone …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and emptywheel

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

MSNBC President Wants ‘Investigation’ Into Fox News' ‘Impossible’ Ratings Gain — Megyn Kelly blew out Rachel Maddow in the key demo on Tuesday after losing to her the night before. “I have never seen it in all my years of cable,” says Phil Griffin. — Phil Griffin, president of MSNBC …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, TVNewser, Weasel Zippers, Independent Journal Review, National Review and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Barro / Business Insider:

Ted Cruz Is Living On Another Planet — This morning, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) spoke to the Values Voters Summit, and his speech was really weird. It's like he's living on another planet. — On Planet Cruz, there is a massive outpouring of public support for a government shutdown …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, National Review and A plain blog about politics

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Pete King: Obama Should Donate To Ted Cruz

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots

Sam Youngman / Lexington Herald-Leader:

Amid shutdown thaw, McConnell says it's time for ‘come together’ moment — WASHINGTON — As the standoff over the federal government shutdown appears to be thawing, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that it is time for a “come together” moment.

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo and The Agonist

Hanna Rosin / CNN: Men dither while women lead in the world

Shawn Turner / ODNI Newsroom Feed:

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Approves Government's Application to Renew Telephony Metadata Program — As indicated by a declassified court order and amended memorandum opinion published by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Sept. 17, 2013, the court authorization requiring …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Prairie Weather