memeorandum: The War On Standards Comes to College Debate (John Hinderaker/Power Line)

11:05 PM ET, April 18, 2014

Top Items:

Will Chelsea Clinton's Pregnancy Become Another Right Wing Conspiracy? UPDATED — It's a plot! — On Thursday, Chelsea Clinton made the happy announcement that she was with child: … That's wonderful news. My niece's baby girl Millie just celebrated her first birthday and my sister …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Liberaland, CBS New York, Hinterland Gazette and Gawker

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

NYT Columnist Insists That Chelsea Clinton's Baby Is A 2016 Game Changer (VIDEO) — The gang on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” is usually game to analyze (if not set) the latest political narrative, but as Andrew Ross Sorkin proved on Friday, even that show has limits.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog and Washington Monthly

Hillary Rodham Clinton / Hillary Clinton Memoir:
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON'S INSIDE ACCOUNT OF THE CRISES, CHOICES, AND CHALLENGES SHE FACED DURING …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Politico

Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Baby on board: Chelsea Clinton says she's pregnant

Discussion: Politico, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, ABC News and Washington Free Beacon

Matt Wilstein / Mediaite:
Hillary Clinton Commends ‘Incredibly Brave’ Undocumented Immigrant For Revealing Status

Discussion: Liberaland and Weasel Zippers

Politico:

Keystone decision delayed yet again — The Obama administration says it is indefinitely extending its long-awaited review of the Keystone XL pipeline — providing a Good Friday jolt to one of the president's most wrenching environmental decisions. — The move could easily push President …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Hullabaloo

Fox News:

‘Ridiculous’: Administration punts on Keystone, Obama faces Dem revolt — FILE: February 17, 2012: Protestors rallied in front of the Lamar County courthouse before a hearing on the Keystone pipeline in Paris, Texas.REUTERS — The Obama administration once again has punted on a final decision …

Discussion: Independent Journal Review, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler and Politico

Lisa Desjardins / CNN:
Obama administration pushes back Keystone decision

Discussion: Politico

Zeke J Miller / TIME:
Obama Punts On Keystone Pipeline

Discussion: Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Patrick Rucker / Reuters:
U.S. extends Keystone XL comment period, delaying final decision

Discussion: Daily Kos

Timothy Egan / New York Times:

Deadbeat on the Range — Imagine a vendor on the National Mall, selling burgers and dogs, who hasn't paid his rent in 20 years. He refuses to recognize his landlord, the National Park Service, as a legitimate authority. Every court has ruled against him, and fines have piled up.

Discussion: CBS Las Vegas, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hit & Run, The Truth About Guns and Las Vegas Review-Journal

Lisa Desjardins / CNN:

Harry Reid defends ‘domestic terrorists’ comments — The two men appeared Friday afternoon on KSNV's “What's Your Point?” question-and-answer show. — The first question went to Reid, about his comments that a few hundred people protesting and blocking federal action against rancher Cliven Bundy are “domestic terrorists.”

Discussion: Mediaite

Matt Wilstein / Mediaite:
Rand Paul: Harry Reid Needs to ‘Calm the Rhetoric’ on Bundy Ranch

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller and The Hill

Matt Stout / Boston Herald:

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch on Obamacare's election toll: It'll bury Dems — Dem sees Obamacare crisis — Video of U.S. Rep Stephen Lynch talks ObamaCare on Boston Herald Radio — By: — U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, the lone member of the Bay State delegation to vote against Obamacare four years ago …

Discussion: The Week, Hot Air, American Spectator, National Republican …, Politico and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Dems' midterm strategy: Triage

Discussion: Washington Post, “The Lid”, National Republican … and America Rising

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post:

U.S. ground troops going to Poland, defense minister says — Poland and the United States will announce next week the deployment of U.S. ground forces to Poland as part of an expansion of NATO presence in Central and Eastern Europe in response to events in Ukraine.

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Politico

Brendan James / Talking Points Memo:

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy — A new study from Princeton spells bad news for American democracy—namely, that it no longer exists. — Asking “[w]ho really rules?” researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America's political system …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and ACS Blog

Carol E. Lee / Wall Street Journal:

This Wily Gatecrasher at the White House Is a Red Fox — Elusive Fox Marked His Territory During Government Shutdown; Rose Garden Stroll — There's a red fox living on the grounds of the White House. The elusive critter has called the presidential residence home since last fall, and no one's been able to catch him.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite, ABC News and Hullabaloo

Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:
White House delusional? obsessed with Fox News Channel? thinks we are the only ones that spotted this BS?

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, NewsBusters, RealClearPolitics Video Log and Mediaite

ThinkProgress:

This Company Has A 4-Day Work Week, Pays Its Workers A Full Salary And Is Super Successful — Ryan Carson and Alan Johnson, co-founders of Treehouse — The 70 people who work at Treehouse, an online education company that teaches people about technology, only work four days a week at the same full salary as other tech workers.

Scott Shackford / Hit & Run:

Peoria Mayor Sends Police to Track Down Twitter Parodist — Politicians can be a thin-skinned bunch. You'd think they'd let insults roll off their backs given how much power they have over the lives and livelihoods of others. But if you have all that power, why bother letting insults roll …

Discussion: Journal Star, Liberaland, The PJ Tatler and The Raw Story

Journal Star:
Fake Peoria mayor Twitter account prompts real raid of West Bluff house

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Infowars, Business Insider and Gigaom

New York Times:

Iran Gets an Unlikely Visitor, an American Plane, but No One Seems to Know Why — President Obama has warned that Iran is not open for business, even as the United States has loosened some of its punishing economic sanctions as part of an interim nuclear pact.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Firedoglake, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Liberaland and Fox News

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama signs bill blocking Iranian envoy

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Damon Linker / The Week:

Why atheism doesn't have the upper hand over religion — There are certain experiences that atheism simply cannot explain — I — n my last column, I examined some of the challenges facing religion today. Those challenges are serious. But that doesn't mean that atheism has the upper hand.

Discussion: Washington Post

Dorsey Shaw / BuzzFeed:

This Unsent Shade-Filled Letter From Clinton Staffers To A '90s Radio Host Is A Goddamn Masterpiece — A gem of a letter to Don Imus from the latest Clinton library document dump.

Discussion: Mediaite

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

The War On Standards Comes to College Debate — Paul has been writing about the war on standards in various aspects of our society, generally as a means of advancing the interests of minorities (or purporting to advance them, anyway). Now it appears that the decline of standards-indeed …

Discussion: Blazing Cat Fur