memeorandum: Sarah Palin: MSNBC ‘despicable’ (Lucy McCalmont/Politico)

1:15 PM ET, December 31, 2013

Top Items:

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

Sarah Palin: MSNBC ‘despicable’ — Sarah Palin says MSNBC should ashamed of a “despicable” segment in which they mocked Mitt Romney's adopted black grandson. — “Leftist media hounds are not expressing an opinion with this attack; they are expressing a prejudice that would never be accepted …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and The Right Scoop

Daily Mail:

Outrage as MSNBC panelists make Mitt Romney's adopted black grandchild the punchline of a joke — Host Melissa Harris-Perry led guests in a segment that ridiculed a photo of the extensive Romney family and its single black member, a baby — Panelist Dean Obeidallah compared …

Discussion: Althouse

Ashley Killough / CNN:

MSNBC host apologizes after panel makes fun of Romney photo with black grandchild — (CNN) - An MSNBC host apologized Tuesday morning after she and panelists on her weekend program faced criticism for poking fun at a photo of Mitt Romney, his wife and their nearly two dozen grandchildren …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Wire, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico, Political Capital, The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, AL.com and Sarah Palin

Mike Allen / Politico:

JOEL BENENSON'S NEW YEAR'S WISH — TOMORROW'S EMBRACE BETWEEN BILL CLINTON, NYC'S INCOMING MAYOR could be big help to Hillary '16 — THREE CLASSIC COLUMNS by retiring Clyde Haberman — HAPPY '14 EVE from breezy, heavenly Waikiki Beach, where we enjoyed a Longboard Island Lager last night at Chip Smith's oceanfront table.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Pat Dollard and Wall Street Journal

Erin Durkin / NY Daily News:

Bill de Blasio On Horse-Drawn Carriage Industry: “It's Over” — Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio vowed to act quickly to abolish horse-drawn carriages in the city. — “We are going to get rid of the horse carriages. Period,” de Blasio said in response to a question at his press conference announcing his schools chancellor pick Monday.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers, Joe. My. God., Gothamist and Gawker

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:
The Biggest Political Winners and Losers of 2013

Discussion: americanthinker.com

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

On Christmas, Republicans Quietly Declare War on Themselves — The holidays are a great time in politics. Every year it's the same: the minute the last bits of wrapping paper have been cleared away, and Grandpa has passed his last puff of holiday gas, you can always retreat to the inside pages …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Lonely Conservative and National Review

Eric Scheiner / CNSNews:
Rangel: ‘Cult-Type’ Tea Party Has ‘Illness’ to Campaign on Repeal

Discussion: Independent Journal Review, Weasel Zippers and BizPac Review

Patrick Goodenough / CNSNews:

And The Country Posing The Greatest Threat to Peace as 2013 Ends is ... (CNSNews.com) - The past year witnessed bloodshed in Syria and Iraq, turmoil in Egypt, anarchy in Central Africa, threats by a nuclear-armed North Korea and Chinese military posturing, but as 2013 ends a global poll finds …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Israel Matzav and The Lonely Conservative

New York Times:

The Facts About Benghazi — An exhaustive investigation by The Times goes a long way toward resolving any nagging doubts about what precipitated the attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Discussion: National Review, The Huffington Post, Lawfare, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Mail and The PJ Tatler

Andrew Rosenthal / Taking Note:
Republicans React to Benghazi News

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Michelle Malkin, The Week, Politico, Twitchy, Business Insider, Independent Journal Review, The PJ Tatler, The Mahablog, The Daily Caller, Ed Driscoll, National Review, Mediaite, Hot Air, Power Line, American Power and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »

Tom Coburn / Wall Street Journal:

The Year Washington Fled Reality — ‘Message discipline’ can win elections but is not a healthy way to run a country. — The past year may go down not only as the least productive ever in Washington but as one of the worst for the republic. — In both the executive branch and Congress …

Discussion: Betsy's Page and The Gateway Pundit

Townhall.com:

Why Obamacare Will Only Get Less Popular — Lisa Myers has an excellent investigative reporting piece up at NBC News documenting how one small business is dealing with Obamacare. The quotes from the article are just brutal: … Myers does report that, “A handful of the Extreme Dodge workers came …

Discussion: Clayton Cramer, Investigations and Hot Air

Bloomberg:

Change Is Obamacare's Only Certainty — I said in my last post that our newly implemented health-care law “is undoubtedly going to change in the near future, in ways that will make it more or less stable than it is now.” To see what I mean, take the individual mandate.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, VodkaPundit and Viking Pundit

Rand Ghayad / The Atlantic Online:

No, Rand Paul, There's No Reason to Cut Unemployment Benefits — People aren't long-term unemployed because they prefer getting benefits. People are long-term unemployed because there still aren't enough jobs. — Rand Paul says he cares about the unemployed.

Discussion: Paul Krugman

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera / CNBC:

Pope's sharp words make a wealthy donor hesitate — Cardinal Timothy Dolan on the wealthy and capitalism — CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera talks to Cardinal Timothy Dolan about concerns following the pope's recent comments. — Pope Francis' critical comments about the wealthy and capitalism …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Elizabeth Stoker, The Raw Story and Mediaite

Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Candidate For AZ Governor Misquotes Lincoln On ‘Class Hatred’ — A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona was forced to backtrack this week after he was caught misattributing several quotes about class warfare on Twitter to Abraham Lincoln. — State Sen. Al Melvin (R) …

Discussion: Arizona Daily Star and The Raw Story

Bridget Johnson / The PJ Tatler:

After Attacks, Administration Offers to Help Russia Counter ‘Folks Who Want to Cause Mischief’ — The Obama administration offered to work on Sochi Olympics security issues with Russia after a pair of bombings in Volgograd killed at least 31 people. — President Vladimir Putin gave instructions …

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers

Chris Greenwood / Daily Mail:

Revealed, the U.S. hate preacher who inspired murderer of Lee Rigby: Killer tells how he became a Muslim after watching Islamic hardliner's sermons — Adebowale and Michael Adebolajo face life in jail after being convicted of killing Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Dyson Dismisses Phil Robertson's Biracial Grandson: Abner Louima's Sodomizer Had Mixed Race Kin Too — Fresh on the heels of one MSNBC host's program coming under fire after a panel mocked Mitt Romney's adopted biracial grandson for being “not like the other” members of his family …

Discussion: National Review and Weasel Zippers

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

U.S. Frees Last of Uighur Detainees From Guantánamo — WASHINGTON — In what the Pentagon called a “significant milestone” in the effort to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the military announced on Tuesday that the United States had transferred three Chinese detainees to Slovakia.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Verge, NBCNews, The Week and Lawfare

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

7M ObamaCare enrollment target a tall order despite recent surge — Experts say the Obama administration faces a tall order in hitting the 7 million enrollees the Congressional Budget Office projected would sign up for ObamaCare in 2014. — After a surge of enrollees in December …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers and Mediaite

Kurt DelBene / USA Today:

Resolutions we'd like to see: Our view — In 2014, I resolve to ... ... hit Ctrl+Alt+Del. — ... be more careful about promises that involve the words “like” and “keep.” — ... pay more attention to what's going on with the government IT contractors. — ... learn to write code.

Discussion: Daily Kos