memeorandum: THE OBAMA PARADOX — The ritual started in earnest last fall … (Politico)

6:40 PM ET, June 2, 2014

Top Items:

Nathan Bradley Bethea / The Daily Beast:

We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night — For five years, soldiers have been forced to stay silent about the disappearance and search for Bergdahl. Now we can talk about what really happened. — It was June 30, 2009, and I was in the city of Sharana …

Jake Tapper / CNN:

Fellow soldiers call Bowe Bergdahl a deserter, not a hero — (CNN) — The sense of pride expressed by officials of the Obama administration at the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is not shared by many of those who served with him — veterans and soldiers who call him a deserter whose …

Fox News:

Sources: Intelligence community investigated Bergdahl's conduct — A senior official confirms to Fox News that the conduct of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — both in his final stretch of active duty in Afghanistan and then, too, during his time when he lived among the Taliban — has been thoroughly investigated …

Discussion: Mediaite, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and National Review

Mark Thompson / TIME:

The 6 U.S. Soldiers Who Died Searching For Bowe Bergdahl — Troops suggest that Bergdahl's desertion makes him more traitor than hero — Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was freed by the Taliban over the weekend after they held him for nearly five years, in exchange for five Taliban leaders …

Discussion: Debbie Schlussel, Washington Free Beacon, Weekly Standard, National Review, The Gateway Pundit and PoliticusUSA

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:

Here's what happens when Taliban leaders are released — If anyone doubts that the five senior Taliban leaders President Obama released this weekend will return to the fight and kill more Americans, they need only look at what happened when the George W. Bush administration released …

Discussion: AEIdeas

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

‘We Swore to an Oath and We Upheld Ours. He Did Not.’ — The Obama administration is facing mounting questions about the controversial prisoner swap that freed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from jihadists in Pakistan in exchange for the transfer and ultimate release of five senior Taliban commanders previously held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller and BREITBART.COM

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

Commander-in-Chief's Definition of “Honorable Service” Includes Anti-American Actions While in Uniform; He Just Destroyed Troop Morale — The Obama administration tells America this soldier served “with honor and distinction.” (http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/ susan-rice-bergdahl-served-honor-and- distinction_794066.html)

Discussion: Politico, Little Green Footballs, PoliticusUSA and CBS DC

Washington Post:
Mixed reaction to Bergdahl's recovery by service members who consider him a deserter

Discussion: The Daily Beast, NPR, The Heritage Foundation, Fox News, Lawfare, Just Security, Yahoo! News, The Dish, Hot Air, MiamiHerald.com, Right Wing Watch, defense.gov and CNN

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Palin Bashes Bergdahl For His ‘Horrid Anti-American Beliefs’

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Business Insider, New York Post and Joe For America

Daniel Bates / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE - ‘A cover up just like Benghazi’: Outraged parents of officer who died hunting …

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, The Jawa Report, Politico and Washington Post

Associated Press:
US concluded in 2010 that Bergdahl walked away

Discussion: JustOneMinute, National Review, The Agonist and ABC News

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Susan Rice: Bergdahl Served With ‘Honor and Distinction’

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and National Review

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:
Jay Carney, 2013: No Decisions About Bergdahl-Detainee Deal ‘Without Consulting With Congress’

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, protein wisdom and National Review

petitions.whitehouse.gov:
Punish Bowe Bergdahl for being AWOL / Desertion during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Discussion: Defense One, Guardian and Mediaite

Susan Jones / CNSNews:
Susan Rice: Bergdahl Was ‘Captured on the Battlefield’

Discussion: Hit & Run and Patterico's Pontifications

epa.gov:

Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule — Get Involved — On June 2, 2014, EPA proposed a commonsense plan to cut carbon pollution from power plants. States, cities and businesses across the country are already taking action to address the risks of climate change.

Discussion: NPR, Common Resources, Guardian, Grist, New York Times, Fox News, Hit & Run, WFPL, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, Vermont Public Radio and Wall Street Journal

Jonathan Chait Follow / New York Magazine:
Obama Makes His Bid to Become the Environmental President

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Grist

ThinkProgress:
8 Things You Should Know About The Biggest Thing A President's Ever Done On Climate Change

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Vox, TIME, Grist, Outside the Beltway and The Dish

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Obama's climate change regulations are less ambitious than what Republicans were proposing in 2008

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:
Obama's new climate war opens

Discussion: Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, PoliticusUSA, Taylor Marsh and CNN

Evan Wyloge / Arizona Capitol Times:

Two-time GOP loser changes party to Democrat, name to Cesar Chavez for new congressional bid — Scott Fistler didn't have much luck as a Republican candidate. He lost a 2012 write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, then lost a 2013 bid for a Phoenix city council seat now held by Laura Pastor, Ed's daughter.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, The Raw Story, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Colorlines, National Review and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo: GOPer Changes Name To Cesar Chavez, Becomes A Dem To Run In Heavily Hispanic District

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Reporter Over Identity of Source — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from James Risen, a New York Times reporter facing jail for refusing to identify a confidential source. — The court's one-line order gave no reasons …

Discussion: RT, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Wall Street Journal, Freedom of the Press …, NPR, emptywheel, Hit & Run and Poynter

Adam Liptak / New York Times: Press Credentials Seem to Hinge on the Government's Whims

Associated Press:
Justices reject reporter's bid to protect source

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Techdirt and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:

NRA Issues Amazing Statement Admitting Bringing AR-15s To Chipotle Is Dumb — In a remarkably frank statement issued on Friday, the National Rifle Association said that gun activists in Texas had “crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness” with their demonstrations at fast food restaurants.

Discussion: Texas Politics, Daily Kos, Mashable, Hot Air, PoliticusUSA, Hullabaloo, Bloomberg View, The Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and Guns.com

Mark Follman / Mother Jones:
Fearing Rising Backlash, NRA Urges Gun Activists to Stand Down

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Gawker, Joe. My. God., Mediaite, The Raw Story, Texas Politics, Balloon Juice and Americans Against the …

Doug J. Swanson / Dallas Morning News:
Open Carry group holds rally at Home Depot in North Richland Hills

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Tea Party hits Reid with ethics charge over Koch brothers — Tea Party Patriots has filed a complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) with the Senate Ethics Committee to protest his repeated attacks against Charles and David Koch. — Jenny Beth Martin …

Discussion: Daily Kos, susiemadrak.com and Washington Free Beacon

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Alison Lundergan Grimes to hold D.C. fundraiser with Harry Reid

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Free Beacon

Jason Samenow / Washington Post:

Female-named hurricanes kill more than male hurricanes because people don't respect them, study finds — People don't take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study. — Female-named storms have historically killed …

Discussion: Mashable, Jezebel, Vermont Public Radio, Mediaite, Gawker, MyFOX8.com and Daily Kos

Politico:

THE OBAMA PARADOX — The ritual started in earnest last fall in the midst of the biggest humiliation of Barack Obama's presidency, the failure of the health care website. Anytime he heard a sliver of good news, the president reacted the same way: He knocked on the polished cherry wood table in the Roosevelt Room.

Discussion: CBS Chicago, National Review, Capital New York, PoliticusUSA and Althouse

CNN:

Spain's King Juan Carlos I to abdicate — Madrid, Spain (CNN) — After nearly 40 years on the throne, King Juan Carlos I of Spain will be stepping down, the country's prime minister said Monday. — Crown Prince Felipe, 46, will succeed his father, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced in nationally televised address.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Barcepundit and The Agonist

CNN:
Spain's King Juan Carlos I to abdicate

Discussion: Hot Air and Hollywood Life

CBS News:

FBI manhunt on for San Francisco man, Ryan Kelly Chamberlain II, who may have explosives — Shares - — SAN FRANCISCO — The FBI has issued a nationwide alert to law enforcement agencies about a San Francisco social media consultant they consider armed and dangerous who is wanted on suspicion of possessing explosives.

Discussion: Hot Air, CBS San Francisco and The Gateway Pundit