memeorandum: Announcement Of Additional Treasury Sanctions On Russian Government Officials And Entities (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

2:30 PM ET, April 28, 2014

Top Items:

Sarah Palin soldiers on as a diminished figure in the Republican Party — Republican Sarah Palin isn't running for office, but the former Alaska governor is running around the country campaigning for the midterms. How powerful are her political endorsements? PostTV takes a look.

Discussion: The Week, PoliticusUSA and Taylor Marsh

Rod Dreher / The American Conservative:

The Sacrilegious Sarah Palin — Man, the 12 minute speech Sarah Palin gave to the NRA convention is awful. It's just witless, red-meat blathering, delivered in that nasal whine of hers that makes it sound like she's chewing wads of tinfoil. For people who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like.

Discussion: National Review, The Dish, Mediaite, Roger Ailes and The Huffington Post

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

No, Sarah Palin, Baptism Isn't A Good Punchline For A Terrorist Joke — Sarah Palin gave a speech to members of the National Rifle Association, gathered in Indianapolis this weekend. She said something that struck me as sacrilegious. I've long defended Palin against the offensive treatment she's received …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Raw Story, The Dish, CNN, The Moderate Voice, The Reality-Based Community, Joe For America, Joe. My. God. and The Hill

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Palin: ‘Waterboarding Is How We Baptize Terrorists’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Balloon Juice, The Reaction, No More Mister Nice Blog and CBS News

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

Donald Sterling and the Neverending Fantasy of ‘Democrat’ Racism — Oh, how eager the conservative press is to call Donald Sterling a Democrat! It's all part of their larger fantasy narrative about conservatism and race. — My Twitter feed yesterday was full of clucking conservatives challenging …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Althouse, Politico and Balloon Juice

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

Donald Trump on Donald Sterling comments: ‘The girlfriend from hell’ — Donald Trump on Monday called the racist remarks allegedly made by the L.A. Clippers owner “despicable,” but added the woman also recorded in the conversation is the “girlfriend from hell.”

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, CBSSports.com, Mediaite, Scared Monkeys and The Week

Mother Jones:

Donald Sterling Is a Registered Republican — Does it really matter whether racist LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling is a registered Democrat? Or a Republican? Or a member of the Pirate Party of Russia? — Well, according to multiple conservative media outlets, yes, it does matter.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NewsBusters, Hit & Run, The Week, Taegan Goddard's …, The PJ Tatler, Joe For America, The Daily Caller and Politico

Washington Post:

Rep. Michael Grimm, facing federal charges, surrenders to FBI — NEW YORK — Rep. Michael G. Grimm (R-N.Y.) surrendered Monday morning to federal authorities in New York as he faces multiple charges connected to a restaurant business he operated before entering Congress in 2011 …

Discussion: Reuters, Gothamist, New York Times, Gretawire, Hot Air, Mediaite, Hinterland Gazette and NPR

Politico:
Michael Grimm: 'I'm a moral man'

Discussion: Gothamist, Business Insider and The Week

Aaron Katersky / ABC News:
FBI Arrests and Rips Rep. Michael Grimm, an Ex-FBI Agent

Discussion: Politico

Jonathan Dienst / nbcnewyork.com:
Rep. Michael Grimm Expected to Surrender to FBI on Monday: Sources

Discussion: Staten Island Advance, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

The News Star:

32 a.m.: Fifth District U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister won't seek re-election this fall but will complete his term. — As first reported at thenewsstar.com, McAllister, R-Swartz, said he and his wife Kelly made the final decision Monday morning. The couple is flying to Washington, D.C. together today as Congress goes back into session.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and The Raw Story

Vance McAllister / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Vance McAllister won't seek reelection, The News-Star reports

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and Roll Call

Politico:

Wall Street Republicans' dark secret: Hillary Clinton 2016 — NEW YORK — The biggest parlor game on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms these days is guessing whether former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will run for president and save the GOP's old establishment base from its rising populist wing.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Liberaland, PoliticusUSA, Booman Tribune, TruthRevolt.org, Washington Examiner, Taylor Marsh, Capitol Report, Washington Post and The Week

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Announcement Of Additional Treasury Sanctions On Russian Government Officials And Entities — Sanctions Target Seven Russian Government Officials, Including Members of the Russian Leadership's Inner Circle, and 17 Entities — WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Real Clear Politics, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Taylor Marsh, Mashable and Hinterland Gazette

Reuters:
U.S. sanctions more Russians over Ukraine

Discussion: Forbes, VodkaPundit and The Dish

New York Times:
U.S. Announces More Sanctions Against Russia

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Lawfare, National Review and Washington Free Beacon

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Kerry Warns Israel Could Become ‘An Apartheid State’ — The secretary of state said that if Israel doesn't make peace soon, it could become ‘an apartheid state,’ like the old South Africa. Jewish leaders are fuming over the comparison. — If there's no two-state solution …

Discussion: The Dish, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Scared Monkeys, J Street, “The Lid”, Guardian, Betsy's Page, Informed Comment, CBS DC, TruthRevolt.org, Weekly Standard, The Lonely Conservative, The Week, The PJ Tatler and American Spectator

Joshua Fisher / NCAdvertiser.com:

Paul Simon, Edie Brickell charged with domestic violence — 12:57 PM — No protective order was issued against Paul Simon or Edie Brickell Monday afternoon in court. Typically after a domestic violence incident an order is issued by the court. But Judge William Wenzel agreed with Simon and Brickell …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Gothamist and Mediaite

Los Angeles Times:

Toyota to move jobs and marketing headquarters from Torrance to Texas — Toyota's move to suburban Dallas would put management of Toyota's U.S. business close to where it builds most cars for the American market. — About 5,300 people work at Toyota's North American sales and marketing headquarters in Torrance.

Discussion: “The Lid”, Business Insider, Patterico's Pontifications, The PJ Tatler and protein wisdom

Sasha Issenberg / The New Republic:

How the Democrats Can Avoid Going Down This November — The new science of Democratic survival — Voter data by TargetSmart Communications. — In late February, Barack Obama stood before a room of his party's governors at a Washington fund-raiser and offered a new explanation …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Howie Kurtz Turns On His Network Fox News For Its Silence On Bundy's Racist Comments (VIDEO) — Media critic and Fox News host Howard Kurtz blasted his own network on Sunday for its silence on Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy's widely condemned comments about blacks and slavery.

Discussion: Mediaite

Judd Gregg / The Hill:

The real gap isn't about wealth — We often hear these days, from President Obama and his chorus on the left, that there is massive income inequality in America and that he and his minions are committed to correcting this situation. — It is an interesting observation.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Obamacare's Poll Numbers Improve In Republican Districts — WASHINGTON — Attitudes toward the Affordable Care Act continue to shift in the law's favor, even in Republican-held congressional districts, a new poll set to be released Monday by a Democratic firm will show.

Discussion: Capitol Report, Washington Post and Mediaite

Politico:

After the midterms: Democrats fear President Obama could give in — Democrats have something else to fear after the November midterms besides just an all Republican-controlled Congress: President Barack Obama. — With Obama's political career winding down and poll numbers continuing to languish …

Discussion: Firedoglake and RedState

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

High Plains Moochers — It is, in a way, too bad that Cliven Bundy — the rancher who became a right-wing hero after refusing to pay fees for grazing his animals on federal land, and bringing in armed men to support his defiance — has turned out to be a crude racist. Why?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Right Wing Watch, Right Wing News and Daily Kos

Burgess Everett / Politico:

John Paul Stevens to testify on ‘dark money’ — Conservative legal scholars beware: The John Paul Stevens show is coming to the Senate. — The former Supreme Court justice will appear as the star witness at a Senate Democrats' hearing on “dark money” Wednesday, congressional aides said Sunday.