memeorandum: Westlake Lives! — Tasty morsels from the late master's larder (Susan Vass/Weekly Standard)

10:45 AM ET, September 12, 2014

Top Items:

Legal Authority for Fighting ISIS — As the Pentagon gears up to expand its fight against ISIS, a fundamentalist Sunni militant group that controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, Congress appears perfectly willing to abdicate one of its most consequential powers: the authority to declare war.

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, Power Line, The Huffington Post, Balkinization, Mediaite, CBS DC, Opinio Juris and Just Security

Bruce Ackerman / New York Times:

Obama's Betrayal of the Constitution — BERLIN — PRESIDENT OBAMA's declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition. Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.

Discussion: Lawfare, Just Security, Grim's Hall, Betsy's Page, Balkinization, Vox Popoli, Reuters and TIME

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Kerry: ISIS not a ‘war’ — The United States is not at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. — Kerry said the administration's plan to combat ISIS includes “many different things that one doesn't think of normally in context of war” during an interview with CNN.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Lawfare and CNN

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Question for the State Department: Isn't Obama waging preemptive war in Iraq now? — Via the Free Beacon. I would have phrased the question differently, like, say, “When exactly did President Obama decide that the Bush doctrine is awesome?” Because he has, you know. But we needn't quibble over semantics.

Discussion: Power Line, The Atlantic Online, Washington Free Beacon and Firedoglake

Stephen Braun / Associated Press:
Can Obama Wage War Without Consent of Congress?

Discussion: Politico

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
U.S. Pins Hope on Syrian Rebels With Loyalties All Over the Map

Discussion: RedState and The PJ Tatler

Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
John Kerry: No need for “war fever” in ISIS operations

Discussion: Hit & Run, Firedoglake and Truth Revolt

CNN:
Kerry: U.S. not at war with ISIS

Discussion: Firedoglake, Weekly Standard, No More Mister Nice Blog, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air and Opinio Juris

David Frum / The Atlantic Online:
Obama's Speech on ISIS, in Plain English

Discussion: Middle East, New York Times, Washington Monthly, The Dish, American Prospect and New Yorker

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
How Serious a Threat Is ISIS?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Opinio Juris, The Intercept, American Prospect, Washington Post, Prairie Weather, ThinkProgress, Hot Air and BillMoyers.com

Carolyn Kaster / ABC News:

Sarah Palin's Family Allegedly in Alaska House Party Brawl — Sarah Palin and her family were at the center of a lively party last weekend that erupted into a fight, with daughter Bristol Palin allegedly throwing a right hook, a man who says he was a guest at the party told ABC News.

Discussion: Amanda Coyne and The Immoral Minority

Anchorage Daily News:

Witnesses, APD confirm Palin family was present at Anchorage party that turned violent — Police are investigating a brawl that took place in South Anchorage over the weekend involving around 20 people. A witness said it happened during a joint birthday party thrown in part for Todd Palin.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Mail, 7online.com, Amanda Coyne and The Immoral Minority

Amanda Coyne:
Loose Lips: Hell hath no fury like a Palin family visit. Campaigns gear up. Mayor Dan grabs a Tiger by the tail.

Discussion: Politicalgates, The Immoral Minority, The Dish, Americans Against the …, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Rebecca Schoenkopf / Wonkette:
Anchorage PD: Palins Were ‘Present’ At 20-Person Brawl. Fate Of Hos' Weave Unknown

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Gawker, The Immoral Minority, Liberaland and PoliticusUSA

Ron Bell / Yahoo Global Public Policy:

Shedding Light on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC): Court Findings from Our 2007-2008 Case — Today we are pleased to announce the release of more than 1,500 pages of once-secret papers from Yahoo's 2007-2008 challenge to the expansion of U.S. surveillance laws.

Discussion: Techdirt, The Intercept, Engadget, Gigaom, Guardian, The Hill, The Verge, Mashable, Politico, Hit & Run and VentureBeat

Craig Timberg / Washington Post:
U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, Prairie Weather, Gawker, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Robyn Dixon / Los Angeles Times:

Oscar Pistorius convicted of negligent killing, could face jail time — South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who was cleared of murder in the killing of his girlfriend, was convicted Friday on the lesser charge of culpable homicide. — Judge Thokozile Masipa accepted the athlete's defense …

Discussion: SBNation.com

ABC News:
Oscar Pistorius Trial: What Happens After the Verdict Is Read

Discussion: abc7.com, 7online.com and Scared Monkeys

Politico:

Democrats' whopper of a strategy flop — President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies hoped to capitalize on the recent wave of companies ditching the U.S. to slice their tax bill as a populist issue to fire up the progressive base and bash Republicans as slaves to corporate interests.

Bill Carter / New York Times:

New Comic to Anchor ‘Update’ on ‘S.N.L.’ — The new season of “Saturday Night Live” will have a significant change in its cast and its most prominent segment, “Weekend Update.” — Michael Che, a comic perhaps best known for his role as a correspondent on Comedy Central's “The Daily Show …

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Jezebel and Gawker

Dan Merica / CNN:

Clinton tops Democrats in Iowa while Huckabee leads Republicans — Washington (CNN) — Hillary Clinton is heading to Iowa as the politician that most Democrats would choose as their 2016 presidential nominee. — According to a new CNN/ORC poll, 53% of all registered Democrats contacted …

Discussion: Politico

Susan Vass / Weekly Standard:

Westlake Lives! — Tasty morsels from the late master's larder — Imagine that a beloved family member has died unexpectedly, leaving a huge void in your life. Logic dictates that you will never hear another word from the deceased again. But then, the departed contacts you in an hours-long séance!

Discussion: Power Line

Ed Payne / CNN:

Convicted high school shooter TJ Lane back in custody after prison escape — (CNN) — T.J. Lane, a remorseless killer who escaped from an Ohio prison where he was serving three life sentences for a school shooting, has been recaptured, a law enforcement official said.

Discussion: The Raw Story, WTVR-TV, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite, myfox8.com, FOX31 Denver and WREG-TV

Michael T. Osterholm / New York Times:

What We're Afraid to Say About Ebola — MINNEAPOLIS — THE Ebola epidemic in West Africa has the potential to alter history as much as any plague has ever done. — There have been more than 4,300 cases and 2,300 deaths over the past six months. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that …

NY Daily News:

Obama's uncertain trumpet — Again, he halfheartedly leads the nation into battle — In his Islamic State speech, President Obama said many of the right things. Most importantly, he finally got the mission right: degrade and destroy the enemy. — This alone will probably get him a bump …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Fox News

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Five things that could go horribly wrong with Obama's action in Iraq

Discussion: New York Times, National Review, Slate, Hot Air, Foreign Policy, ABC News and Washington Post

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Obama losing the confidence of key parts of the coalition that elected him — Kimberly Cole was part of the coalition that voted in 2008 to make Barack Obama the 44th president and in 2012 gave him another four years to deliver on his promises of hope and change.

Discussion: Hot Air and Wall Street Journal