memeorandum: Nativity scenes removed from Guantanamo dining halls after complaints (Associated Press)

8:35 AM ET, December 19, 2013

Top Items:

'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson on Indefinite Hiatus Following Anti-Gay Remarks — UPDATED: The news comes after the reality star compared being gay to bestiality, drawing ire from LGBT groups including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign. — Phil Robertson

Discussion: BizPac Review, Vox Popoli, The Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers, Inside TV, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Mediaite

Drew Magary / GQ Magazine Online:

What the Duck? — How in the world did a family of squirrel-eating, Bible-thumping, catchphrase-spouting duck hunters become the biggest TV stars in America? And what will they do now that they have 14 million fervent disciples? Our Drew Magary toured the Louisiana backwater with Phil Robertson and the Duck Dynasty gang to find out

Tal Kopan / Reuters:

Sarah Palin defends Duck Dynasty star — Sarah Palin says the suspension of one of the stars of the show “Duck Dynasty” over recent anti-gay comments he made is an attack on free speech. — Palin re-posted a picture of her meeting with the stars of the A&E show on her Facebook page Wednesday night …

Discussion: Liberaland

Rossmurray / GLAAD:

Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson uses vile stereotypes to tell GQ his thoughts on LGBT people — The Robertsons, the family whose duck hunting products have made them a fortune, are breakout stars featured in A&E's Duck Dynasty. GQ Magazine's profile of Phil Robertson included some of the vilest …

Discussion: CBS Houston, ABC News, Equality Matters, Towleroad News #gay, Back2Stonewall and The Gateway Pundit

Politico:

W.H. to nominate Sen. Max Baucus as next ambassador to China — Sen. Max Baucus, the veteran Montana Democrat who has served in the Senate since 1978, is expected to be nominated by the White House to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Business Insider, Real Clear Politics, Daily Kos and CNN

The Hill:
Baucus chosen for ambassador to China

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Baucus, Conflicted Architect of Health Overhaul, Is Obama's Pick for China

Discussion: Post Politics, The Fix, Josh Blackman's Blog and CNN

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
Report: White House To Tap Max Baucus As Ambassador To China

Discussion: Business Insider

Lauren Effron / ABC News:

Hillary Clinton on 2016 Presidential Run: I'll ‘Make That Decision Sometime Next Year’ … Hillary Clinton is Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2013. — Although speculation and rumors have been swirling for months over whether Clinton will make another run for the White House in 2016, she said she hasn't decided yet.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Politico, Washington Wire, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Taylor Marsh

Hillary Clinton / CNN:

Biden “dead meat” in Iowa, governor says — Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden, widely assumed to be plotting a third presidential bid in 2016, shouldn't bother booking any flights to Des Moines, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said. — “Biden is dead meat out here,” …

Discussion: Politico

Peter Hamby / CNN:
In Iowa, Schweitzer takes aim at Clinton's Iraq vote

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

Uninsured Skeptical of Health Care Law in Poll — WASHINGTON — Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama's health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, naked capitalism, Democratic Strategist, Weasel Zippers, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire and Marginal Revolution

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Rep. Jack Kingston Proposes That Poor Students Sweep Floors In Exchange For Lunch — WASHINGTON — Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) wants kids to learn early in life that there's no such thing as a free lunch. To make sure they absorb that lesson, he's proposing that low-income children …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

David / crooksandliars.com/user/7:
Rep. Kingston: We Will ‘gain As A Society’ By Forcing Hungry Kids To Sweep Floors To Eat

Discussion: Liberaland

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Obama's extreme use of executive discretion — “To contend that the obligation imposed on the president to see the laws faithfully executed implies a power to forbid their execution is a novel construction of the Constitution, and is entirely inadmissible.” — U.S. Supreme Court, 1838

Discussion: Power Line

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The GOP Repeal Trap

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Fix, Washington Monthly and Wonkblog

Dana Davidsen / CNN:

Rand Paul: Intelligence director should resign — (CNN) - Republican Sen. Rand Paul said the nation's top intelligence official should resign for “lying” to a Senate committee about mass data collection by the National Security Agency. — “I do think what your government is doing is unconstitutional …

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Josh Gerstein / Politico: NSA spying report released

Washington Post:
Panel urges new curbs on surveillance by U.S.

Discussion: Lawfare, The Week, Balloon Juice, ABC News, Close Read, Guardian, Hot Air, New York Times, Hit & Run, Gigaom, The Verge, emptywheel and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Record High in U.S. Say Big Government Greatest Threat — Now 72% say it is greater threat than big business or big labor — PRINCETON, NJ — Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor …

Discussion: Hot Air, GraniteGrok, ParaPundit, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, The PJ Tatler, No More Mister Nice Blog and American Power

Rich Lowry / Politico:

Pajama Boy, An Insufferable Man-Child — He is the face of a web ad that is the latest effort by the Obama team to leverage the holidays for conversation about Obamacare. “Wear pajamas,” the ad reads. “Drink hot chocolate. Talk about getting health insurance. #GetTalking.”

Discussion: Betsy's Page, alicublog and The Federalist

Jenn Taylor / Twitchy:
Twitter gold! The Obama #PajamaBoy selfie and other must-see mash-ups and memes [Photoshops]

Discussion: Post Politics

Bob Cusack / The Hill:

Harry Reid: Redskins should change name — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday that the Washington Redskins should change their name. — In an interview with The Hill, Reid said, “I think [Washington Redskins owner Dan] Snyder is so short-sighted on this.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

If Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Replaced By A Republican, Here Is What Happens To The Law — At a forum in Reston, Virginia on Tuesday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg threw her most recent bucket of cold water on Courtwatchers urging her to retire while President Obama is still in the White House.

Discussion: Liberaland

Fox News:

Non-citizens caught voting in 2012 presidential election in key swing state — Oct. 2, 2012: Voters cast their ballots at a Franklin County polling location on the first day of in-person absentee voting in Columbus, Ohio.Reuters — Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced Wednesday …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Los Angeles Times and The PJ Tatler

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

In probe of Va. Gov. McDonnell, prosecutors agreed to delay decision on charges — View Photo Gallery — McDonnell's time in office comes to a close: Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was supposed to be in the thick of the race to succeed him. Instead, the Republican found himself relegated …

Discussion: Politico

James Hohmann / Politico:

Wyoming Senate race 2014: Liz Cheney husband Phil Perry on vote rolls in 2 states — Liz Cheney's husband has been registered to vote in both Virginia and Wyoming for the past nine months, even though he signed a document in Wyoming saying he was not registered elsewhere.

Discussion: Liberaland

Austin Wright / Politico:

Patty Murray backs off military pension cut — Sen. Patty Murray is distancing herself from a cut in military pensions in the budget deal she brokered with Rep. Paul Ryan. — Her unease about a key element of her own deal, which passed the Senate on Wednesday and is now headed to President Barack Obama …

Discussion: Power Line

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Fear of a Black Santa — S#&t just got real for Megyn Kelly. — “Award-winning Pastry Chef Mahesh Weerasinghe stands with his hand-sculptured, chocolate art at the Hilton Americas, Monday, Dec. 16, 2013, in downtown Houston. Chef Mahesh, along with the culinary and property operations teams …

Craig Timberg / Washington Post:

Hackers break into Washington Post servers — Hackers broke into The Washington Post's servers and gained access to employee user names and passwords, marking at least the third intrusion over the past three years, company officials said Wednesday. — The extent of the loss of company data …

Discussion: The Verge, Mashable and Politico, more at Mediagazer »