memeorandum: Is “Redskins” Really an Offensive Name for a Football Team? (Brendan O'Neill/Reason)

12:05 AM ET, October 21, 2013

Top Items:

Justin Sink / The Hill:

White House photographer weds in Rose Garden — President Obama hosted a wedding for White House photographer Pete Souza and Patti Lease on Saturday evening in the Rose Garden, according to a White House official. — “They ceremony was performed by [White House] Chaplain Rev. [Stan] …

Discussion: Reuters, CNN and The Impolitic

Edward Klein / New York Post:

Even Oprah isn't on board with ObamaCare — As the White House was gearing up to sell ObamaCare to the American people last summer, Valerie Jarrett, the president's pointwoman on a host of issues, phoned Oprah Winfrey. — She invited the Queen of All Media to join celebrities …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Independent Journal Review, Weasel Zippers, BizPac Review, Mediaite, NewsBusters and Scared Monkeys

Justin Sink / The Hill: ObamaCare enrollees to join president in Rose Garden (Video)

NY Daily News:

Brooklyn group of black youths blocks white couple's car, bloody victims in racial attack: cops — Authorities say Ronald and Alana Russo were pummeled by attackers — ranging in age from 12 to 18 — who showered them with racial slurs. One Brooklyn teen says he was falsely arrested …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, UrbanGrounds, The Hinterland Gazette, The Gateway Pundit and Gothamist

HHS.gov:

Doing Better: Making Improvements to HealthCare.gov — Over the past two and a half weeks, millions of Americans visited HealthCare.gov to look at their new health care options under the Affordable Care Act. In that time, nearly half a million applications for coverage have been submitted from across the nation.

Discussion: Politico, Roger L. Simon, Weasel Zippers, Fox News, The Verge, Health Insurance Blog and Red Alert Politics

Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:

‘Tech Surge’ Planned to Fix Obamacare Exchanges — The Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday it was bringing in outside help to resolve some of the technical woes that have beset the federally run insurance exchanges, which the agency acknowledged “has not lived up to the expectations of the American people.”

Zach Carter / The Huffington Post:

Why Democrats Might Cave On Social Security Cuts — WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday opened the door to Social Security cuts as part of a budget deal with congressional Republicans. But Durbin pushed back against GOP calls for entitlement cuts as the negotiating price …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hullabaloo and Campaign for America's Future

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Top Senate Democrat says ObamaCare is on its way to ‘substantial success’ — A top Senate Democrat said on Sunday that ObamaCare is “on its way to be a substantial success.” — Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, defended the rollout of the healthcare reform law in an appearance on …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, The PJ Tatler and The Moderate Voice

Fox News:
Sebelius ‘will testify’ on ObamaCare website woes, Durbin says

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Red Alert Politics

Spiegel Online:

NSA Accessed Mexican President's Email — The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years. It hacked into the president's public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system. The news is likely to hurt ties between the US and Mexico.

Discussion: CNET, TechCrunch, Gawker, The Verge, NBCNews, Mediaite, emptywheel, Liberaland, The Hinterland Gazette and Boing Boing, more at Mediagazer »

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Jeb Bush urges Cruz to show ‘self-restraint’ — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said in an interview airing Sunday that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) needs to “ have a little bit of self-restraint” if the Republican Party is to succeed in repealing ObamaCare. — The brother of former President …

Discussion: his vorpal sword and Politico

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Cruz to CNN: 'I don't work for the party bosses in Washington'

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post and Politico

Greg Clary / CNN:
Rubio weighs in on McConnell's election fight

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Cruz defiant on stopping ObamaCare

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Prairie Weather

Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Our choice for governor in 2013: none of the above — The Times-Dispatch is not endorsing a candidate for governor in 2013. — The words that follow should not come as a surprise. During recent months, numerous editorials in The Times-Dispatch have lamented the gubernatorial campaign.

Discussion: Politico, The Raw Story and Blue Virginia

Abigail Haworth / Guardian:

Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex? — What happens to a country when its young people stop having sex? Japan is finding out... Abigail Haworth investigates — Ai Aoyama is a sex and relationship counsellor who works out of her narrow three-storey home on a Tokyo back street.

Discussion: Althouse, The Raw Story and Blazing Cat Fur

The Star-Ledger Editorial Page:

The Star-Ledger endorsement: Christie for governor — The Star-Ledger has endorsed Gov. Chris Christie for re-election. (Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger) — Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board — Gov. Chris Christie is the most remarkable political talent America has seen since Bill Clinton.

Discussion: Business Insider and CNN

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Lew: Obama upset about website failures — Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Sunday that President Obama is more upset about failures in ObamaCare's rollout than anyone else. — “There are millions of Americans who want health insurance. It's important for our economy for them to have health insurance …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys and CNN

Brendan O'Neill / Reason:

Is “Redskins” Really an Offensive Name for a Football Team? — If you want to know how unhinged and divorced from reality political correctness has become, look no further than the controversy over sports teams with offensive names. — If you want to know how unhinged PC has become …

Discussion: Liberaland and Hit & Run

ThinkProgress:

Marco Rubio: Obama Has Undermined Immigration Reform By Refusing To Defund Obamacare — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) suggested on Sunday that President Obama's refusal to compromise with Republicans on Obamacare to re-open the government and raise the nation's debt ceiling has jeopardized …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Dan Nowicki / USA Today:
Time running out for immigration reform

Discussion: The Reaction

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:

Four Things We Think We Know About Obamacare — I've been seeing a few things floating around the blogosphere about Obamacare that aren't true. They're not really conservative or liberal talking points; they're just misconceptions that people may have about how the health-care law works.