memeorandum: Obama: As a black man he's been mistaken for valet (Associated Press)

8:05 AM ET, December 17, 2014

Top Items:

Is Jeb Bush Too Liberal To Win The Republican Nomination In 2016? — On Tuesday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced that he will “actively explore” a bid for the White House. While Bush has not yet formed a presidential exploratory committee, he's “running” for president by any practical definition of the term.

Discussion: The Week, Vox, Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, Power Line, Hot Air, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Political Wire and FOX News Radio

Politico:

Money men cheer Bush news — Republican rivals will struggle to raise big cash. — In one swift move, Jeb Bush showed his fundraising prowess without raising a dollar. — A number of top tier donors reacted to the Republican's announcement on Facebook that he would “actively explore the possibility” …

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, Wall Street Journal, The Center for Public … and Slantpoint

Philip Elliott / Associated Press:

Secretive groups ran $25M in ads for state races — WASHINGTON (AP) — Shadowy outside groups broadcast an estimated $25 million worth of political ads on local TV stations with a goal of shaping state-level elections this year, and their full roster of donors is unlikely to ever be known, according to an analysis released Wednesday.

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:
No doubt now: Jeb Bush eyeing 2016 race

Discussion: The Seattle Times

Jill Colvin / Associated Press: Clinton denounces torture, says black lives matter

Zeke J Miller / TIME:
Rand Paul is Already Running an Ad Against Jeb Bush

Discussion: Slantpoint and Political Wire

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Cruz on Jeb: GOP will lose with another moderate

Discussion: Hot Air, ABC News, National Review and Talking Points Memo

Andrew Taylor / Associated Press: GOP Sen. Coburn blocks terrorism insurance measure

Associated Press: Ex-staffer for congressman alleges harassment

Joan Lowy / Associated Press: Senate approves new auto safety chief

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Poll: Jeb Bush is a front-runner — but an underwhelming one

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg View, Balloon Juice and The Week

Brian Beutler / The New Republic:
Jeb Bush Is Running for President, But Obama Has Already Destroyed His Candidacy

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Politico, National Review, New York Times, Crime and Consequences Blog, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Joan Lowy / Associated Press: TSA chief: Travelers from some nations targeted

Danny Vinik / The New Republic:
Jeb Bush Just Flushed Marco Rubio's 2016 Hopes Down the Toilet

Discussion: Guardian, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Salon, Daily Kos, CANNONFIRE and BREITBART.COM

Brent Lang / Variety:

Sony Hackers Threaten 9/11 Attack on Movie Theaters That Screen ‘The Interview’ — The Sony hackers have threatened a 9/11-like attack on movie theaters that screen Seth Rogen and James Franco's North Korean comedy “The Interview,” substantially escalating the stakes surrounding the release of the movie.

Discussion: Fox News, Gawker, Newsweek, Hit & Run, UPROXX, New York Magazine, The Verge, Mediaite, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, Gigaom and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

BuzzFeed:
Theater Chains Pull “The Interview,” Press Appearances Canceled Amid Threats

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Mashable, Gawker, The Verge, The Hill, Mediaite and The PJ Tatler

David Perera / Politico:
DHS: No credible threat to Sony movie launch

Discussion: Pastebin, Mashable and Los Angeles Times

Alex Stedman / Variety:
Seth Rogen and James Franco Cancel All Media Appearances for ‘The Interview’

Discussion: Deadline, The Verge, New York Times, JustOneMinute, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, KTLA, The Hill, UPROXX, The PJ Tatler, NPR, EW.com and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan H. Adler / Washington Post:

District court declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional (Updated) — Earlier Tuesday, a federal court in Pennsylvania declared aspects of President Obama's executive actions on immigration policy unconstitutional. — According to the opinion by Judge Arthur Schwab …

Discussion: Reason, Josh Blackman's Blog, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Daily Signal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Patterico's Pontifications, Hinterland Gazette, The Gateway Pundit, American Spectator, Power Line, ImmigrationProf Blog, The PJ Tatler and Questions and Observations

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Republican Judge Strikes Down Obama's Immigration Order

Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Monthly

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo: Federal Judge Declares Obama's Immigration Action Unconstitutional

Manu Raju / Politico:

Ted Cruz apologizes to colleagues over antics — Ted Cruz privately apologized to GOP senators Tuesday for interrupting their holiday schedules by his surprise tactics that effectively brought the Senate into session over the weekend. — According to five senators who attended Tuesday's caucus lunch …

Discussion: National Review, NewsMax.com, Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo

Sen. Ted Cruz / Politico:
What Really Happened This Weekend — Why I tried to block Obama's amnesty.

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, Daily Signal, Slantpoint and Trail Blazers Blog

James Carville / The Hill:

Why do people vote against their interests? — During my time as a political strategist, one of the most vexing problems was figuring out why so many people vote against their perceived interests. Commentators like myself have spent countless hours speculating on why so many people vote …

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Unshakeable Sestak — Former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) never really stopped running against Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) after his narrow 2010 loss. — But despite lingering unhappiness within his own party about his last run, he might actually be able to avoid a primary challenge …

Associated Press:

Obama: As a black man he's been mistaken for valet — WASHINGTON (AP) — He may be president now, but Barack Obama says he's a black man who has been mistaken for the valet. — Obama tells People magazine that every black professional male his age has had someone hand over their keys while waiting outside a restaurant.

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Emboldened Wall Street ready to dismantle Dodd-Frank financial law — Banks and financial institutions are planning an aggressive push to dismantle parts of the Wall Street reform law when Republicans take control of Congress in January. — Fresh off a victory in the government funding debate …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

The Huffington Post:

Kevin Yoder MIA After Tucking Wall Street Bailout Into Government Spending Bill — WASHINGTON — For all the anger among progressives about a Wall Street bailout provision that made its way into the just-passed $1.1 trillion government spending bill, there's been little attention on the person who put it in there.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Medium

The Independent:

There just might be life on Mars...Nasa Curiosity rover picks up mysterious methane ‘burps’ that could possibly be coming from alien organisms — Evidence of life on Mars could have been found by Nasa's Curiosity Rover. — Mysterious spikes of methane that cannot easily be explained …

Discussion: jpl.nasa.gov, Firedoglake and FOX News Radio

Gregory Korte / Associated Press:

Obama issues ‘executive orders by another name’ — By issuing his directives as “memoranda” rather than executive orders, Obama has downplayed the extent of his executive actions. — WASHINGTON — President Obama has issued a form of executive action known as the presidential memorandum …

Discussion: BREITBART.COM

Brian Krebs / Politico:

Ever Wondered Who's Behind Those Viagra Emails? — The dark and deadly world of pharma spam. — Marcia Bergeron's body was discovered by a neighbor the day after Christmas 2006. The coroner didn't have to look far for a cause of death: More than a hundred generic pills were found in her home …

Frances Robles / New York Times:

Ecuador Family Wins Favors After Donations to Democrats — MIAMI — The Obama administration overturned a ban preventing a wealthy, politically connected Ecuadorean woman from entering the United States after her family gave tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns, according to finance records and government officials.

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Washington Free Beacon

Associated Press:

Obama signs $1.1 trillion spending bill into law — President Barack Obama returns a salute as he steps off Marine One helicopter upon his return on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP) — WASHINGTON - With little fanfare to mark a rare bipartisan achievement …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler