memeorandum: Uproar after Miss Israel's selfie with Miss Lebanon (Beckie Strum/New York Post)

8:15 PM ET, January 18, 2015

Top Items:

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:

GOP pounces on Obama's tax plan — Republicans pounced on President Obama's tax plan that he will unveil during Tuesday's State of the Union Address as little more than a partisan stunt with virtually no chance of passing in the GOP-controlled Congress. — A senior White House officials …

Discussion: NPR and RedState

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

With tax hike proposal, Obama's main goal is to troll the GOP — You know, you just know, that after the president goes out there and announces he wants to make community college free for all Americans — as though anything government does is “free” — or is unilaterally …

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:

Obama Will Seek to Raise Taxes on Wealthy to Finance Cuts for Middle Class — WASHINGTON — President Obama will use his State of the Union address to call on Congress to raise taxes and fees on the wealthiest taxpayers and the largest financial firms to finance an array of tax cuts for the middle class …

Discussion: Fox News, Gothamist, No More Mister Nice Blog, Reuters, The Mahablog and Politico

John Nichols / The Nation:

Obama's Smart Economic (and Political) Calculus: Tax the Rich — Warren Buffett explained the secret to addressing the challenges facing the United States during President Obama's first term. In a short commentary written for The New York Times—headline: “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich” …

Discussion: White House.gov Blog and Booman Tribune

Dave Jamieson / The Huffington Post:
Obama To Propose Tax Hikes On Wealthy, Breaks For Middle Class

Discussion: Addicting Info, Fox News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Daily Kos

Beckie Strum / New York Post:

Uproar after Miss Israel's selfie with Miss Lebanon — Miss Lebanon Saly Greige (left) is in hot water after she posed in a picture with Miss Israel Doron Matalon. — A Lebanese beauty queen pleaded self-ie defense after a Facebook pic of her posing with an Israeli pageant competitor caused outrage …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and American Spectator

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Oklahoma ‘Survivalist’ Released After He Shot Police Chief 4 Times — A Sentinel, Okla., man on Thursday shot the town's police chief four times and was then released from custody after questioning, the Oklahoman reported. — Sentinel Police Chief Louis Ross was shot in the chest three times …

Discussion: BizPac Review, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and news9.com KWTV

Bob Ingle / Politics Patrol:

Only Sarah Palin has worse numbers than Christie in new CBS presidential poll — A new CBS poll shows 29 percent of Republicans would like to see Christie run for the Republican nomination for president. But 44 percent say no. CBS points out “Only former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's numbers …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jerusalem Post:

Sources: Israeli strike in Syria kills senior Hezbollah members, son of group's late leader — Syria: Israeli warplanes strike targets near Damascus — WATCH: Video of alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria — Report: IAF helicopter fires two missiles at Syrian G...

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Michael J. Totten's blog and Israel Matzav

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

The reinvention of Mitt Romney — Former Obama campaign aides mock their 2012 opponent's new anti-poverty crusade. — Mitt Romney, sudden champion of Americans trying to make ends meet — it's coming off to progressives and veterans of Obama's winning re-election campaign as a little too rich.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, The Huffington Post and Unqualified Offerings

Darren McCollester / ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air and Bloomberg Politics

Matt O'Brien / Washington Post:

President Obama finally has his Piketty moment — The state of the union is pretty good, actually, but President Obama has an idea to make it better: taxing Wall Street and the super-rich to make middle-class work even more worthwhile. It's Piketty with an American accent.

Discussion: New York Times and CANNONFIRE

Jack Healy / New York Times:

Odd Byproduct of Legal Marijuana: Homes That Blow Up — DENVER — When Colorado legalized marijuana two years ago, nobody was quite ready for the problem of exploding houses. — But that is exactly what firefighters, courts and lawmakers across the state are confronting these days …

Discussion: Hot Air and Raw Story

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Not Just A Movie — WASHINGTON — I WENT Friday morning to see “Selma” and found myself watching it in a theater full of black teenagers. — Thanks to donations, D.C. public school kids got free tickets to the first Hollywood movie about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday weekend …

Discussion: Althouse, Washington Post, Booman Tribune and Liberal Values