memeorandum: 16 New Year's Predictions That Are Not For 2015 (Kevin Drum/Mother Jones)

7:05 PM ET, January 4, 2015

Top Items:

Steve Wulf / ESPN:

Stuart Scott dies at age of 49 — Stuart Scott, a longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49. — Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man …

Discussion: The Charlotte Observer, Fusion, Hinterland Gazette, Bloomberg Politics, ThinkProgress, Scared Monkeys, theGrio, Liberal Values, Gawker, The Reformed Broker, NOLA River and NPR

Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
ESPN's Stuart Scott Dies at 49

Discussion: New York Magazine, WHNT-TV and Unfogged

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Texas Republican announces challenge to Boehner for Speaker in new Congress — Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) said Sunday that he will challenge John Boehner (R-Ohio) as Speaker in the new Congress. — “I'm putting my name out there today to be another candidate for Speaker,” Gohmert said on “Fox and Friends.”

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Politico, RedState and Power Line

Gohmert:

Gohmert Announces Run for Speaker of the House — Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) released the following statement today regarding his decision to buck the status quo and challenge John Boehner in the race for House Speaker: — “After the November elections gave Republicans control of the Senate, voters made clear they wanted change.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Fox News, BREITBART.COM, Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Ted Yoho / Facebook:
I will not support John Boehner for Speaker of the House.

Discussion: Daily Signal, Bloomberg Politics, TPNN and Slantpoint

Oregonian:

Navy vet, 100, persuades protesters to let him speak: ‘Give me a chance’ — U.S. Navy veteran Dario Raschio was all smiles Saturday as he awaited a special honor from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who joined him at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus to present the 100-year-old with a handful of medals.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Oregonian:

Wyden town hall disrupted by 'hands up, don't shoot' protests — A town hall meeting with U.S. Sen Ron Wyden was called off Saturday afternoon when “hands up, don't shoot” protests broke out. — The event, at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus, was canceled after 45 minutes.

Discussion: BizPac Review and The Gateway Pundit

Elisabetta Povoledo / New York Times:

Pope Francis Names New Cardinals — Pope Francis named his second group of new cardinals on Sunday, including 15 who will be eligible to elect the pope's successor after his death or resignation. Many are from developing countries, reflecting the Roman Catholic Church's growth in Asia and Africa.

Discussion: New York Magazine and NPR

Frances D'Emilio / Associated Press:

Pope Francis Names 15 New Cardinals From 14 Countries — VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis named 15 new cardinals Sunday, selecting them from 14 nations including far-flung corners of the world such as Tonga, New Zealand, Cape Verde and Myanmar to reflect the diversity of the church …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

New York Post:

How Sharpton gets paid to not cry ‘racism’ at corporations — Want to influence a casino bid? Polish your corporate image? Not be labeled a racist? — Then you need to pay Al Sharpton. — For more than a decade, corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Right Scoop, The PJ Tatler, BizPac Review and Liberaland

Roger L Simon / Roger L. Simon:

Egypt's al-Sisi Makes Extraordinary Speech on Islam — Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an extraordinary speech on New Year's Day to Cairo's Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry calling for a long overdue virtual ecclesiastical revolution in Islam. This is something no Western leader …

Discussion: Washington Post, JustOneMinute and Chicago Boyz

Alina Simone / New York Times:

How My Mom Got Hacked — MY mother received the ransom note on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It popped up on her computer screen soon after she'd discovered that all of her files had been locked. “Your files are encrypted,” it announced. “To get the key to decrypt files you have to pay 500 USD.”

Naomi Oreskes / New York Times:

Playing Dumb on Climate Change — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — SCIENTISTS have often been accused of exaggerating the threat of climate change, but it's becoming increasingly clear that they ought to be more emphatic about the risk. The year just concluded is about to be declared the hottest one on record …

Discussion: The Mahablog and Daily Kos

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

GOPer Mia Love: Time ‘To Move On’ From Scalise's Hate Group Speech — Incoming Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) on Sunday said that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) should remain in Republican leadership despite recent reports that he spoke at an event for a white nationalist group in 2002.

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette