memeorandum: Why Representative Democracies Can't Write Off Transparency (Alexander Furnas/The Atlantic Online)

2:10 PM ET, January 17, 2014

Top Items:

Benny Johnson / BuzzFeed:

America's Spies Want Edward Snowden Dead — “I would love to put a bullet in his head,” one Pentagon official told BuzzFeed. The NSA leaker is enemy No. 1 among those inside the intelligence world. — Snowden's Russian refugee document. — Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, The Other McCain, Techdirt, Mediaite, Business Insider, Hit & Run, Taylor Marsh, Prairie Weather and Guardian

New York Times:

Obama Calls for Overhaul of N.S.A.'s Phone Data Collection Program — WASHINGTON — President Obama said Friday that he would require intelligence agencies to obtain permission from a secret court before tapping into a vast trove of telephone data, but he will leave the data in the hands of the government for now.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Mediaite, Hinterland Gazette, Liberaland, Guardian, Towleroad News #gay, The Week, Washington Post, The Other McCain, ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, Online NewsHour, National Review, Gawker and News Desk, more at Mediagazer »

Reuters:

Exclusive: Obama to announce overhaul to controversial NSA program — (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will announce on Friday a major overhaul of a controversial National Security Agency program that collects vast amounts of basic telephone call data on foreigners and Americans, a senior Obama administration official said.

Discussion: The Hill, The Verge, Mashable, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, The Switch and Shakesville

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:

READ: Obama's Full Speech On NSA Surveillance Reforms — Remarks of President Barack Obama on National Security Agency surveillance reforms at the Department of Justice. — At the dawn of our Republic, a small, secret surveillance committee borne out of the “The Sons of Liberty” was established in Boston.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Brian Fung / The Switch:
Everything you need to know about Obama's NSA reforms, in plain English

Discussion: Gigaom, Hot Air, Post Politics and Booman Tribune

Washington Post:
Transcript of President Obama's Jan. 17 speech on NSA reforms

Discussion: The Plum Line, Hit & Run and The Volokh Conspiracy

Washington Post:
Obama calls for significant changes in collection of phone records of U.S. citizens

Discussion: American Prospect, Post Politics, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Wired, PostPartisan, The Fix, Politico and The Huffington Post

CEPR:

David Brooks' Primitive Defense of the Rich — David Brooks is sweating hard trying to defend the one percent against the rest of the country and reality. His column today desperately warns readers: — “Some on the left have always tried to introduce a more class-conscious style of politics.

Discussion: Business Insider

New York Times:

The Inequality Problem — Suddenly the whole world is talking about income inequality. But, as this debate goes on, it is beginning to look as though the thing is being misconceived. The income inequality debate is confusing matters more than clarifying them, and it is leading us off in unhelpful directions.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, American Prospect, PolicyShop and Paul Krugman

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

Chris Christie's Crisis Plunges Republican Party Deeper Into The Wilderness — The establishment freaks out as another favorite son falls from grace. “There are definitely people jumping ship.” — Lucas Jackson / Reuters / Reuters — In the immediate aftermath of their emphatic defeat in 2012 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, Hot Air, The Week and The Fix

USA Today:
Christie's Florida trip will test impact of scandal

Discussion: New Jersey Online, Reuters and First Read

Christopher Baxter / New Jersey Online:

Chris Christie bridge scandal: 20 subpoenas issued, governor hires attorney — TRENTON — In another day of political drama and legal maneuvering, two new legislative committees were formed Thursday to investigate the George Washington Bridge scandal and within hours, 20 subpoenas were issued …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Kos and U.S. Senate Committee …

CNN:
CNN exclusive: Port Authority job created for Christie ally, source says

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, The Daily Banter, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Liberaland and Marist Poll

Ruben Navarrette / CNN: Christie bridge: Get over it — Political dirty tricks

Chris Casteel / Daily Oklahoman:

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn will resign at end of congressional session — Sen. Tom Coburn, the maverick Oklahoma Republican who has battled government spending and now is battling cancer, says he wants to focus on the next stage of his life. — Sen. Tom Coburn, left, R-Muskogee …

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, The Hill, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Heritage Action for America and The Reaction

Politico:
Tom Coburn won't serve rest of Senate term

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Post Politics

Emily Schultheis / Politico:

Pennsylvania judge strikes down voter ID law — A Pennsylvania judge on Friday struck down the state's voter ID law, which was signed in early 2012 and is one of the strictest in the nation, ruling that the statute “unreasonably burdens the right to vote.” — “Voting laws are designed …

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:
Initial Thoughts on Today's Ruling Striking Down Pa's Voter ID Law on State Grounds

Discussion: MinnPost and Associated Press

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Starting year six, does Obama finally own the economy? — BARACK OBAMA JOHN BOEHNER ECONOMY GEORGE W. BUSH MITT ROMNEY — For years, Republicans have marveled at President Obama's success in blaming former President George W. Bush for the nation's problems, particularly its economic problems.

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Obama to Dems: Boehner will pass immigration reform in 2014

Discussion: New York Times and Jammie Wearing Fools

TheBlaze.com:
SENATE PASSES $1.1 TRILLION OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL: HERE ARE THE 17 GOP SENATORS WHO HELPED PASS IT

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Heritage Foundation, Politico and The Right Scoop

Joaquin Castro / Texas Monthly:

Mr. Castro Goes to Washington — A BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCOUNT OF THE BIG VOTES, DASHED HOPES, TOUGH CHOICES, AND REAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF A FRESHMAN LAWMAKER'S FIRST YEAR IN CONGRESS. — One year ago I was sworn in as a United States congressman. Representing Texas's Twentieth District …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and First Read

ABC News:

50 Ways to Celebrate Michelle Obama's Birthday — First Lady Michelle Obama turns 50 today, and although the big White House celebration planned by President Obama isn't until Saturday, that doesn't mean you have to wait to celebrate. — If your invite to Saturday's dance party in Washington went missing …

Discussion: TheBlaze.com

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
A First Lady at 50, Finding Her Own Path

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs

Yasiin Mugerwa / Daily Monitor:

Museveni blocks Anti-Homosexuality Bill — Parliament- President Museveni has confronted Speaker Rebecca Kadaga for passing the controversial Anti-gays Bill without quorum and described homosexuals as “abnormal” beings who can be “rescued” through economic empowerment.

Discussion: BBC, Box Turtle Bulletin, Washington Blade, Guardian, Hinterland Gazette, LGBTQ Nation, AMERICAblog News and Towleroad News #gay

Gregory D. Johnsen / BuzzFeed:

60 Words And A War Without End: The Untold Story Of The Most Dangerous Sentence In U.S. History — Sunrise was still nearly an hour off when Nazih al-Ruqai climbed into his black Hyundai SUV outside a mosque in northern Tripoli and turned the key. The lanky 49-year-old had left …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed:

Marine Corps Tweets “Lone Shooter” Joke — For MLK Day — “Don't be lone shooter #MLK weekend — make sure you've got security!” An official account, and a quickly deleted tweet. — They also posted the message on their Facebook community page. — Via Facebook: MARSOCInfo

Discussion: Mediaite

Campbell Brown / Wall Street Journal:

Keeping Sex Predators Out of Schoolrooms — Congress is considering better background checks for teachers. Why won't unions support the bill?

Discussion: Right Turn, Weekly Standard and Washington Free Beacon

Economist:

Coming to an office near you — The effect of today's technology on tomorrow's jobs will be immense—and no country is ready for it — INNOVATION, the elixir of progress, has always cost people their jobs. In the Industrial Revolution artisan weavers were swept aside by the mechanical loom.

Discussion: The Raw Story and Hullabaloo

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

The left defends corporations' rights. — People who answer Puffington Host polls tend to be ignorant, reports Emily Swanson, PuffHo poll director. The poll is a quiz on constitutional law: … “But they're wrong,” Swanson declares of the 45% plurality in the former question and the 35% minority in the latter one.

Discussion: Althouse