memeorandum: Polar freeze: It's weather, not climate (Matt Daily/Politico)

7:50 AM ET, January 8, 2014

Top Items:

Robert Gates, former defense secretary, offers harsh critique of Obama's leadership in ‘Duty’ — In a new memoir, former defense secretary Robert Gates unleashes harsh judgments about President Obama's leadership and his commitment to the Afghanistan war, writing that by early 2010 …

Thom Shanker / New York Times:

In His New Memoir, Robert M. Gates, the Former Defense Secretary, Offers a Critique of the President — WASHINGTON — President Obama eventually lost faith in the troop increase he ordered in Afghanistan, his doubts fed by top White House civilian advisers opposed to the strategy …

Robert M. Gates / Wall Street Journal:

The Quiet Fury of Robert Gates — Bush and Obama's secretary of defense had to wage war in Iraq, Afghanistan—and today's Washington … All too often during my 4½ years as secretary of defense, when I found myself sitting yet again at that witness table at yet another congressional hearing …

Discussion: Althouse and Washington Wire

Greg Jaffe / Washington Post:

Book review: ‘Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War’ by Robert M. Gates — Greg Jaffe covered the Pentagon for The Washington Post and is a co-author of “The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army.” — Maybe it was the time of year, just before the Christmas holidays.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Kristina Wong / The Hill:

White House rejects criticisms in Gates' memoir — The White House immediately rebuffed a searing critique of its Afghanistan war policies Tuesday from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. — In his forthcoming memoir Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Gates writes that President Obama doubted …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Obama Quit In Afghanistan

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
White House Defends Joe Biden Against Book By Former Defense Secretary

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, NO QUARTER USA NET, The Right Scoop, Mediaite, CNN and Weasel Zippers

TIME:
Gates Slams Biden in Memoir, Reveals He Nearly Quit

Discussion: The Fix, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Power Line and Post Politics

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:
Obama hits House GOP on unemployment benefits

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress and The Hill

Yahoo! News:
Obama backs repeal of law that green-lighted Iraq War

Discussion: TIME and emptywheel

Robert Costa / Post Politics:

House GOP leaders coach rank-and-file on discussing unemployment — House Republican leaders sent a memo this week to the entire GOP conference with talking points designed to help rank-and-file Republicans show compassion for the unemployed and explain the Republican position on unemployment benefits.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Fix, The Plum Line, Balloon Juice and Wonkblog

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Memo Coaches Members To Show Empathy Toward Unemployed

Discussion: Liberaland and Washington Post

Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:
The Senate's Last Compassionate Conservative Tries to Help the Jobless

Discussion: NewsBusters

New York Times:

Biography Casts Critical Light on Fox News Chief — Roger Ailes was so eager to influence national politics that in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, he told fellow Fox News executives point-blank: “I want to elect the next president.” — In the corporate thicket of News Corporation …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Random House, The Daily Beast, Capital New York, The Raw Story, Riehl World News and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Catherine Taibi / The Huffington Post:

Rush Limbaugh's Polar Vortex ‘Hoax’ Comments Knocked Down By Weatherman (VIDEO) — Rush Limbaugh made headlines Monday when he called the “polar vortex” of dangerously cold conditions sweeping across the Midwest a “hoax,” but now an actual weatherman is saying otherwise.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Right Scoop, Riehl World News and Politico

Alan Duke / CNN:
What the heck is a polar vortex?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Weasel Zippers and Blogcritics

Adam Goldman / Washington Post:

Former Guantanamo detainee implicated in Benghazi attack — U.S. officials suspect that a former Guantanamo Bay detainee played a role in the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and are planning to designate the group he leads as a foreign terrorist organization …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, CANNONFIRE, National Review, Power Line and Business Insider

Kasey Babbitt / fox4kc.com:

Daisy Coleman hospitalized in Kansas City after suicide attempt — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Maryville Mo., teenager, who has been at the center of a rape case which made national headlines, was in a Kansas City hospital on Monday night after attempting to take her own life.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Raw Story, Daily Mail and Washington Post

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Navy mistakenly sends FOIA plans to reporter — The Unites States Navy inadvertently sent a memo to a local NBC News reporter this week detailing how it intended to try and deter requests he had filed under the Freedom Of Information Act. — Scott MacFarlane, a reporter for NBC 4 in Washington …

Discussion: Mediaite, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Business Insider and DCist, more at Mediagazer »

Steven Swinford / Telegraph:

Half of sex attackers, violent criminals and burglars avoid jail — Half of convicted child sex attackers, violent criminals and burglars are walking free from court amid claims that justice system is failing victims — Half of convicted sex attackers, violent criminals and burglars …

Discussion: BBC and Press Association

Matt Daily / Politico:

Polar freeze: It's weather, not climate — Tuesday's polar vortex has set off a new round in one of the world's most predictable disputes: Does Extreme Weather Event X prove or disprove climate change? — In short: No. — The crazy weather that plunged almost all of the U.S …

Discussion: ncdc.noaa.gov, Weasel Zippers and Guardian

Dan Merica / CNN:

Pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC posts substantial 2013 fundraising haul — Washington (CNN) - Who says you need a candidate to raise a bundle of cash? — Ready for Hillary, the grassroots Super PAC urging former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016 …

Discussion: Politico

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Obamacare ads to hit the Olympic slopes — The Obama administration is planning an Olympic-size ad blitz to push health coverage during the Winter Games next month. — The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday that it has bought advertising time in markets with high rates …

Discussion: CNN and Viking Pundit

Jack Healy / New York Times:

Uncertainty in Utah as Appeals Process Plays Out Over Gay Marriage — SALT LAKE CITY — Ever since it was a distant Western territory straining for statehood, Utah has been entwined in battles over what makes a marriage. — Before Congress would allow Utah to join the union …

CBS San Francisco:

Google Launches Private SF Bay Ferry Service To Shuttle Workers — REDWOOD CITY (CBS SF) - Just as Bay Area high-tech firms such as Google have been using private shuttle buses to transport their workers to their jobs, Google is taking it to another level with its own ferry service on San Francisco Bay.

Discussion: The Verge

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Michael Bloomberg gives $2.5M to Senate Majority PAC — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $2.5 million to a super PAC aimed at helping Senate Democrats maintain their majority, a potentially significant development that could have a big impact in 2014.

Discussion: Washington Wire and Weasel Zippers