memeorandum: N.S.A. May Have Hit Internet Companies at a Weak Spot (New York Times)

12:55 PM ET, November 26, 2013

Top Items:

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

CNN/ORC poll: Democrats lose 2014 edge following Obamacare uproar — Washington (CNN) - What a difference a month makes. — A new CNN/ORC International poll indicates a dramatic turnaround in the battle for control of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Scared Monkeys, Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Heritage Action for America and UrbanGrounds

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:

Democrats Fear Obamacare Will Cost Them The Senate — One top Democratic pollster: “If there's nothing you want to fix, there's something wrong with you.” — Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is one of the most vulnerable Democrats headed into the midterms. (Liz Lynch)

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Plum Line and Politico

Quinnipiac News + Events:

Release Detail — November 26, 2013 - Unknown Dem Gains On Ohio Governor, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Voters Say Medicaid Expansion Is Good Idea — Ohio Gov. John Kasich begins his reelection year with a 44 - 37 percent lead over a largely unknown possible Democratic challenger …

Discussion: The Fix, Real Clear Politics, Taegan Goddard's … and CNN

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Republicans mindlessly oppose Iran nuclear deal — Republicans are opposed to President Obama's deal with the Iranians — whatever it is. — A couple of minutes after 9 p.m. on Saturday, word crossed the news wires that negotiators in Geneva had reached an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

Discussion: The Dish, The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny!, The Reaction, Mondoweiss and Connecting.the.Dots

Bryan Bender / The Boston Globe:

John Kerry opened secret channel to Iran — Quiet diplomacy helped lead to deal on Tehran's nuclear program — WASHINGTON — It was early December 2011 and the US Senate was poised to hold a crucial vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to head President Obama's controversial new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mondoweiss, Taylor Marsh and Taegan Goddard's …

Reuters:

White House targets local media on Obamacare — President Barack Obama has bungled HealthCare.gov so badly that he's told senior aides to not even try to win positive coverage from the national press. — Instead, they're going local. — In the past month, Obama and his Cabinet have hit nine …

Discussion: ABC News, Politico and The Plum Line

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama's pivot No. 5 this year

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Healthcare website won't be perfect on Dec. 1, administration says

Discussion: VodkaPundit, The PJ Tatler and Outside the Beltway

Brynn Gingras / nbcnewyork.com:

Family Says They Did Tip Gay Server, Didn't Leave Note — After a gay server at a New Jersey restaurant said a customer denied her a tip and wrote her a hateful note on the receipt, a local family contacted NBC 4 New York and said their receipt shows they paid a tip and didn't write any such note.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Global Grind, The PJ Tatler, Towleroad News #gay and Gothamist

Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:

Julian Assange unlikely to face U.S. charges over publishing classified documents — The Justice Department has all but concluded it will not bring charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing classified documents because government lawyers said they could not do so without …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mashable and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:
Spies worry over “doomsday” cache stashed by ex-NSA contractor Snowden

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, The Daily Caller and The Verge

Fox News:

Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict — Almost 80 million people with employer health plans could find their coverage canceled because they are not compliant with ObamaCare, several experts predicted.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Free Beacon and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

Among American workers, poll finds unprecedented anxiety about jobs, economy — Will Figg/For The Washington Post - John Stewart works at the Philadelphia International Airport escorting passengers in wheelchairs. The job pays $5.25 an hour, plus tips. “I'm glad I don't have a family,” Stewart said.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog and Hot Air

Doug Sosnik / Politico:

Which Side of the Barricade Are You On? — Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik was a close adviser to President Bill Clinton, and he's famed in Washington circles for his closely held, big-think memos on the state of American politics. We got our hands on his latest—in which he warns …

Fredrick Kunkle / Washington Post:

Report: Deeds expresses anger at state agency that failed son, vows fight for change — Virginia state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who is recuperating at home after his son stabbed him before taking his own life last week, blamed a local mental-health agency for the tragedy in an interview with a Bath County newspaper Monday.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
Creigh Deeds: ‘I am alive for a reason’

Discussion: Liberaland, CNN and NPR

Anna Palmer / Politico:

Tea party unscathed in early GOP civil war — The Republican civil war erupted into full view this fall, and the establishment looked like it was about to shove the movement back in line. — But the early skirmishes ended with the tea party no weaker than it was.

Guardian:

Pope Francis calls unfettered capitalism ‘tyranny’ and urges rich to share wealth — Pontiff's first major publication calls on global leaders to guarantee work, education and healthcare — Pope Francis has attacked unfettered capitalism as “a new tyranny”, urging global leaders …

Carrie Dann / NBCNews:

‘Do-nothing’ Congress on track for one of the least productive years ever — It's not quite a “do nothing” Congress - but it's not far off. — With only a handful of remaining legislative days on their calendar, this current Congress is on track to go down as one of the most unproductive in modern history.

Discussion: Liberaland, NationalJournal.com and Shakesville

Yossi Klein Halevi / The New Republic:

Israel's Freakout, Explained — New worries about whether Obama's presidency has made them less safe — There are only two credible obstacles to an Iranian bomb: economic sanctions and the possibility of an Israeli military strike. The deal signed with the Iranian regime threatens both.

Discussion: Postmodern Conservative

Katrina Trinko / USA Today:

It's all ho-ho-ho til Obama hijacks your holiday: Column — Forget the turkey; stuff yourself with health care talk. — CONNECT — Loathe peaceful holidays? Detest the spirit of agreeableness and good will that tends to pervade during this time of year?

Discussion: The Federalist and National Review

Jose DelReal / Politico:

Charles Krauthammer: Worst since Munich — 'This is a sham from beginning to end. It's the worst deal since Munich,' he said. John Shinkle/POLITICO — Close — Charles Krauthammer says he believes President Barack Obama's deal with Iran is “the worst deal since Munich.”

New York Times:

N.S.A. May Have Hit Internet Companies at a Weak Spot — SAN FRANCISCO — The recent revelation that the National Security Agency was able to eavesdrop on the communications of Google and Yahoo users without breaking into either companies' data centers sounded like something pulled from a Robert Ludlum spy thriller.

Discussion: Firedoglake and Business Insider

Bret Stephens / Wall Street Journal:

Stephens: Worse Than Munich — In 1938, Chamberlain bought time to rearm. In 2013, Obama gives Iran time to go nuclear. — To adapt Churchill : Never in the field of global diplomacy has so much been given away by so many for so little. — Britain and France's capitulation to Nazi Germany …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, Daniel W. Drezner, The Daily Caller and Jerusalem Post

Matt Spetalnick / Reuters:
Analysis: Iran deal bears Obama's personal stamp

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Foreign Policy, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Globe and Mail:

Liberals cruise to victory in Toronto Centre — Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland cruised to victory in the Toronto Centre by-election Monday, handily defeating NDP candidate Linda McQuaig. — Ms. Freeland will immediately enter the House of Commons with an important role in Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's caucus.

Discussion: Politico, Shakesville and Poynter

The White House:

Remarks by the President on Immigration Reform — San Francisco, CA — THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Well, hello, San Francisco! (Applause.) It is great to be back in California. It is great to be with all of you. I love San Francisco. (Applause.) You got great food.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, White House.gov Blog, Pat Dollard and PoliticusUSA