memeorandum: On Immigration Policy, Deportation Relief Seen As More Important Than Citizenship (Pew Hispanic Center)

12:20 PM 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

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: The Raw Story, Liberaland, americanthinker.com, New York Times, The PJ Tatler, New Jersey Online, Towleroad News #gay, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Ultimately There Will Be No Option for Silence or the Sidelines. You Will Be Made To Care. — I have told you people again and again. You will be made to care. — Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant and then it seeks to silence good. Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Right Wing Watch, NOM Blog and Inside TV

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Was Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson fired after likening homosexuality to bestiality?

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider

Rossmurray / GLAAD:
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson uses vile stereotypes to tell GQ his thoughts on LGBT people

Discussion: Firedoglake, Freedom Outpost, Good As You, Towleroad News #gay, ABC News, Equality Matters, CBS Houston, The Huffington Post and Back2Stonewall

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: ABC News, CNN, Politico, Daily Kos, Washington Wire and Taylor Marsh

Peter Hamby / 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: Talking Points Memo and Politico

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Schweitzer's Wayback Machine — Speaking of the Clintons, the former Secretary of State's ears might have been burning yesterday when former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer traveled to Iowa and made news by suggesting Democrats think long and hard before nominating for president anyone who voted for the Iraq War in 2002.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway and Post Politics

Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:
2016 watch: In Iowa, Democrat Brian Schweitzer cautions against war

Discussion: Politico, Radio Iowa and First Read

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Hillary Clinton: I'll Decide On 2016 Next Year

Discussion: Mediaite and Shakesville

Target Pressroom:

Target Confirms Unauthorized Access to Payment Card Data in U.S. Stores — Issue has been identified and resolved — Target today confirmed it is aware of unauthorized access to payment card data that may have impacted certain guests making credit and debit card purchases in its U.S. stores.

Discussion: KTOO, Lawfare, The Daily Caller, BBC, NBCNews, New York Times, Mashable and CBS Boston

Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:

Sources: Target Investigating Data Breach — Nationwide retail giant Target is investigating a data breach potentially involving millions of customer credit and debit card records, multiple reliable sources tell KrebsOnSecurity. The sources said the breach appears to have begun …

Discussion: NYT Bits, TechCrunch, Mashable, Global Grind, NBCNews, Gawker, KFOR-TV, New York Times, Taylor Marsh and The Verge

USA Today:
Target confirms massive credit-card data breach

Discussion: TalkLeft

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: Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, Jammie Wearing Fools, NewsBusters, americanthinker.com, Betsy's Page, alicublog and The Federalist

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Chris Christie dresses down Pajama Boy

Discussion: Althouse and CNN

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

Discussion: Post Politics

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: The Plum Line, The Week, Scared Monkeys, GraniteGrok, The PJ Tatler, National Review, Hot Air, ParaPundit, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Reaction and American Power

CBS News:
Poll: Many uninsured haven't explored Obamacare options

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review and Pirate's Cove

New York Times:
Uninsured Skeptical of Health Care Law in Poll

Discussion: Liberaland, CBS Boston, naked capitalism, Weasel Zippers, Democratic Strategist, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire and Marginal Revolution

Toronto Star:

Rob Ford's apology to Daniel Dale — Full text of Mayor Rob Ford's apology to Daniel Dale. … / Scanned image — Rob Ford issued a second apology to Daniel Dale on Dec. 18. … Photos View photos — zoom — Featured Video Close — Video: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Caught Dancing at Work

Discussion: Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

David Cooper / Toronto Star:
Reporter Daniel Dale drops libel suit after Mayor Rob Ford apologizes again

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, Power Line and CNN

Andy Newman / New York Times:

Al Goldstein, Pioneering Pornographer, Dies at 77 — Al Goldstein, the scabrous publisher whose Screw magazine pushed hard-core pornography into the cultural mainstream, died early Thursday in Brooklyn. He was 77. — The cause was believed to be renal failure, said his lawyer, Charles C. DeStefano.

Discussion: Gawker, The Raw Story, Liberaland and Althouse

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Barack Obama's NSA fine-print problem — An independent panel's call for major changes to the nation's surveillance programs ups the pressure on President Barack Obama to back serious reforms. — But the big changes the committee is calling for may be less vexing for Obama than one painful …

Discussion: TIME, Taylor Marsh, CANNONFIRE, Close Read, Guardian, CNN, Hot Air and Mediaite

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: Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler, NBCNews and Politico

Pew Hispanic Center:

On Immigration Policy, Deportation Relief Seen As More Important Than Citizenship — A Survey of Hispanics and Asian Americans — 1. Overview — While lopsided majorities of Hispanics and Asian Americans support creating a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants …

Discussion: DRM Action Coalition, National Review and The Monkey Cage

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

The GOP Repeal Trap — The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana, reports on a fascinating exchange between GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman and a local meat market owner, Lee Albright, who likes the Affordable Care Act and quizzed the Congressman about the real world implications of the GOP repeal stance:

Discussion: msnbc.com, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, The Fix and Washington Monthly

Julia Marsh / New York Post:

Lesbian boss ‘fired me for being straight’ — A married, heterosexual gym teacher at a tony Upper West Side private school was fired because his lesbian supervisor disapproved of his “traditional family status,” the canned teacher claims in a new Manhattan lawsuit.

Discussion: BizPac Review, The Daily Caller and Weasel Zippers