memeorandum: Romneyworld buzzes over Chris Christie troubles (Kenneth P. Vogel/Politico)

8:35 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: PandoDaily, Little Green Footballs, Liberaland, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, Techdirt, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, susiemadrak.com, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Business Insider, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Hit & Run, Taylor Marsh and Prairie Weather

Washington Post:

Transcript of President Obama's Jan. 17 speech on NSA reforms — President Obama delivered the following remarks on changes to National Security Agency programs Jan. 17 at the Justice Department in Washington. Transcript courtesy of Federal News Service. — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much.

Discussion: ACLU, Hot Air, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Federalist, PostPartisan, The Plum Line, PoliticusUSA, The Moderate Voice and Hit & Run, more at Mediagazer »

Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:

Obama's NSA ‘reforms’ are little more than a PR attempt to mollify public — Obama is draping the banner of change over the NSA status quo. Bulk surveillance that caused such outrage will remain in place — In response to political scandal and public outrage, official Washington repeatedly uses the same well-worn tactic.

Discussion: The Dish, The Volokh Conspiracy, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Freedom of the Press … and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

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: Guardian, Religion Dispatches, Washington Post, Mediaite, The New Republic, The Week, Techdirt, The Other McCain, Hinterland Gazette, ThinkProgress, Taking Note, Washington Monthly, Towleroad News #gay, Lawfare, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Gawker and Online NewsHour

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

Discussion: Gigaom, Hot Air, PostPartisan, The Dish, Booman Tribune and Post Politics

Wall Street Journal:
Obama Says Mass Collection of U.S. Phone Data Will End

Discussion: The White House, Washington Wire and TalkLeft

Reuters:
Exclusive: Obama to announce overhaul to controversial NSA program

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

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo: READ: Obama's Full Speech On NSA Surveillance Reforms

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

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Post Politics, The Switch, Hit & Run, PostPartisan, Right Turn, American Prospect, Lawfare, Talking Points Memo, Wired, Balloon Juice, Politico and The Fix

Karen Langley / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Pennsylvania judge strikes down state's voter ID law — HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania judge has found the state's voter ID law unconstitutional. — According to the ruling from Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard McGinley, the requirement to present an acceptable form of identification when voting in person …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice

Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:

Initial Thoughts on Today's Ruling Striking Down Pa's Voter ID Law on State Grounds — I have now had a chance to skim the 103-page Pa. trial court ruling striking down Pa's voter id law—I will have to give a closer reading later in the day when I have the time. But here are a few initial thoughts.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Guardian, MinnPost and The Week

Rick Lyman / New York Times:
Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Struck Down as Judge Cites Burden on Citizens

Discussion: The Raw Story

Emily Schultheis / Politico:
Pennsylvania judge strikes down voter ID law

Discussion: The Right Scoop

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: Daily Kos, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Politico and The Fix

Reuters:
Chris Christie Aides Subpoenaed In Bridge Scandal

Discussion: Liberaland

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Romneyworld buzzes over Chris Christie troubles

Discussion: New Jersey Online, CNN, The Week, USA Today, First Read and Reuters

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

Christopher Baxter / New Jersey Online:
Chris Christie bridge scandal: 20 subpoenas issued, governor hires attorney

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

ThinkProgress:

Company Behind West Virginia's Chemical Spill Files For Bankruptcy — According to the Charleston Gazette, Freedom Industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. — On January 10, a tank owned by Freedom spilled 7,500 gallons of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol (MCHM) …

Discussion: The Impolitic, CleanTechnica and Charleston Gazette

Kate White / Charleston Gazette:

Freedom Industries files for bankruptcy — CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Freedom Industries, the company that fouled thousands of West Virginians' water with a chemical leak last week, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. — The company's assets and liabilities are “unknown,” according to the filing.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Verge and Americans Against the …

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: Democracy in America, Business Insider, Paul Krugman, PolicyShop, Gawker, American Prospect and Talking Points Memo

CEPR:
David Brooks' Primitive Defense of the Rich

Discussion: Business Insider and Shakesville

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Hillary? Really? — This week's Time magazine splashes the question on its cover: “Can Anyone Stop Hillary?” The Weekly Standard is happy to provide our friends at Time with an answer to their query: Yes. Hillary Clinton can be stopped. How? Let us count the ways.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Althouse, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog and Right Turn

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, NewsBusters blogs, The Daily Caller, BREITBART.COM, NewsBusters, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Banter, Mediaite, Ed Driscoll, New York Times, Hot Air and Althouse

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Club for Growth pans Lankford, Cole for Coburn seat — Oklahoma Republican Reps. Tom Cole and James Lankford could have difficulty picking up conservative support, if they try to replace retiring Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). — Coburn's retirement is likely to set off a GOP primary scramble …

Discussion: Politico, The Fix, Talking Points Memo and Roll Call

Chris Casteel / Daily Oklahoman:
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn will resign at end of congressional session

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

Kathy Lally / Washington Post:

Putin: Gay people will be safe at Olympics if they ‘leave kids alone’ — MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said Friday that gay people have nothing to fear in Russia as long as they leave children alone. — Putin met with a group of volunteers in the Olympic mountain venue at Krasnaya Polyana …

Discussion: Mediaite, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News, Mashable and Hot Air

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

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.