memeorandum: The President of the Cool — OAKLAND, Calif. — WHEN I lived … (Ishmael Reed/New York Times)

4:30 PM ET, December 19, 2013

Top Items:

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: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Hot Air, NOM Blog, Rush Limbaugh, Right Wing Watch, Inside TV and The Raw Story

Dean Obeidallah / The Daily Beast:

The Right's ‘Duck Dynasty’ Hypocrisy — By Dean ObeidallahDecember 19th 201312:00 PM — Conservatives think people should be held responsible for their actions—until one of their own, like Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson, has to pay a price for their hateful views.

Discussion: New Orleans Times-Picayune

Steve Deace / USA Today:

A&E fowls up ‘Duck’ flap: Column — The ‘tolerance’ society demands from Christians really is silent compliance. — A nation founded by pilgrims who came here to worship the God of the Bible freely without interference and persecution from ruling elites and those opposed to Christianity's influence …

Discussion: Instapundit, Gothamist and Business Insider

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:

'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: CNN, Politico, The Raw Story, Business Insider, americanthinker.com, Liberaland, New Jersey Online, New York Times, Mediaite and Hollywood Reporter

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Knew Exactly What He Was Doing

Discussion: Ted Cruz, The Heritage Foundation and Equality Matters

Aaron Couch / Hollywood Reporter:
‘Duck Dynasty’ Suspension: Fox News Hosts Defend Phil Robertson

Discussion: The Reaction, Mediaite, The Dish, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Towleroad News #gay

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

Chicago Tribune:
'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson suspended for comments about gays

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, Washington Wire, The Week, Right Wing Watch and Guardian

Charlie Spiering / Washington Examiner:

Meet Ethan Krupp: Pajamacare boy and Organizing for Action employee — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL OPINION OBAMACARE ORGANIZING FOR ACTION — This is the Obamacare Pajama boy in the latest Organizing for Action ad. — Pajamacare boy is Ethan Krupp, an Organizing for Action employee and the subject …

Discussion: Power Line, The PJ Tatler, Jammie Wearing Fools and American Power

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

“Pajama Boy's” Blog Featured Post Criticizing President Obama — “Pajama Boy” as he has been dubbed, was revealed as Ethan Krupp, an Organizing for Action employee by The Washington Examiner Thursday. On his now-defunct blog, which was linked from an account Krupp appears to have made on BuzzFeed …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

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

Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Sources: Target Investigating Data Breach

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

Charles Rangel / NY Daily News:

I'm in it to win it — The Congressman explains why he's fired up to run for a 23rd term — I have heard the skeptics and the chattering classes wondering whether I remain committed to representing our congressional district which I have passionately served for more than 40 years.

Discussion: Roll Call, TheBlaze.com, Politico, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Post Politics and Gothamist

Sarah Kliff / Wonkblog:
Think your state has Obamacare problems? They're nothing compared to Guam.

Discussion: Hot Air

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The GOP Repeal Trap

Discussion: Prairie Weather, msnbc.com and Daily Kos

George F. Will / Washington Post:
Obama's extreme use of executive discretion

Discussion: PostPartisan, The Volokh Conspiracy and Power Line

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:

New Mexico Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Legal — New Mexico's highest court ruled on Thursday that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry. — “We conclude that the purpose of New Mexico marriage laws is to bring stability and order to the legal relationship of committed couples …

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Marriage Equality Is The Law In New Mexico, State Supreme Court Rules

Discussion: Hot Air

Bill Mears / CNN:
New Mexico high court rules same-sex couples have right to marry

Discussion: KRQE-TV, Associated Press and Outside the Beltway

Alex Pareene / Salon:

Hack list No. 1: Mike Allen — Our annual list is here! This time, we channeled each hack's unique voice — and let them “write” their own entries — PAYOLA-BOOK: No professional blowback for sponsor-fluffing Mike Allen — LEIBO on ALLEN: ‘enabler’ — Business lobby agenda pushed daily …

Discussion: his vorpal sword

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, Hullabaloo, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Gawker, Jammie Wearing Fools, NewsBusters, americanthinker.com, National Review, Twitchy and alicublog

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Chris Christie dresses down Pajama Boy

Discussion: Althouse, CBS New York, CNN and Post Politics

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, Politico and First Read

Lauren Effron / ABC News:
Hillary Clinton on 2016 Presidential Run: 'I'll Make That Decision Sometime Next Year'

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Daily Kos, ABC News, CNN, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville and The Reaction

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Schweitzer's Wayback Machine

Discussion: Des Moines Register, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune and Outside the Beltway

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Obama Commutes Sentences for 8 in Crack Cocaine Cases — WASHINGTON — President Obama, expanding his push to curtail severe penalties for drug offenses, on Thursday commuted the sentences of eight federal inmates who were convicted of crack cocaine offenses.

Discussion: The White House, Debra J. Saunders, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, Liberaland, Business Insider, Occupy DemocratsOccupy …, The BLT and Mediaite

Josh Levin / Slate:

The Welfare Queen — Ronald Reagan made Linda Taylor a notorious American villain. Her other sins were far worse. — “She Used 80 Names” — Ronald Reagan loved to tell stories. When he ran for president in 1976, many of Reagan's anecdotes converged on a single point: The welfare state is broken, and I'm the man to fix it.

Discussion: Hit & Run

Andy Newman / New York Times:

Al Goldstein Dies at 77; Made Pornography Dirtier — Al Goldstein, the scabrous publisher whose Screw magazine pushed hard-core pornography into the cultural mainstream, died on Thursday at a nursing home in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. He was 77. — The cause was believed to be renal failure, his lawyer, Charles C. DeStefano, said.

Discussion: The Awl, Hit & Run, City Room, Gawker, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh and Althouse

Christine Brennan / USA Today:

Brian Boitano announces he's gay before trip to Sochi — Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic figure skating gold medalist who was named to the official U.S. delegation to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, announced today that he is gay. — “I am many things: a son, a brother, and uncle, a friend …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, blog.sfgate.com and NewsBusters

Sam Youngman / Politico:

Take This Town and Shove It — A White House reporter's tale of sex, booze and the briefing room. — If you write about American politics for a living, stop right there. Get back to work, and don't read another damn word. — Sign out of Twitter, say “thanks but no thanks” …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Fix, more at Mediagazer »

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Reid: ‘I Have Grown To Really Like’ Rand Paul — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is starting to grow on Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). — Asked at a press conference whether he's thought about how to make the next year a more productive one for Congress, Reid brought up his growing admiration for the senator from Kentucky.