memeorandum: Lawmaker with lavish decor billed private planes, concerts (Associated Press)

10:45 AM ET, February 24, 2015

Top Items:

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP gets bad news on ObamaCare repeal plan — The Senate's chief referee has dealt a significant setback to conservatives who want to send an ObamaCare repeal bill to the president's desk this year. — GOP sources say Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has raised red flags …

Discussion: Politico

The Hill:

McConnell moves to prevent Homeland Security shutdown — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took steps Monday to prevent a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security by splitting off legislation attacking President Obama's immigration actions from the funding fight.

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Mediaite, ImmigrationProf Blog and RedState

Gallup:

Story Highlights — Medicaid expansion, state exchanges linked to greater reductions — No state reported a statistically significant increase in uninsured — Nationwide, full-year uninsured rate drops 3.5 points from 2013 to 2014 — This story is part of Gallup's annual …

Discussion: Washington Post

Washington Post:

On Homeland Security funding, Republicans govern without logic — WHATEVER ITS merits or shortcomings, a federal judge's decision last week blocking the Obama administration's immigration policy offered congressional Republicans an escape path from the corner into which they had painted themselves …

Discussion: Mediaite and New York Magazine

President Obama / The Hill: Moving forward to fix our broken immigration system

David Wood / The Huffington Post:

VA Secretary Robert McDonald Falsely Claimed He Served In Special Forces — WASHINGTON — Robert McDonald, the secretary of veterans affairs, wrongly claimed in a videotaped comment earlier this year that he served in special operations forces, the most elite units in the armed forces …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, US News, Bloomberg Business, NPR, Fox News Insider, Defense One, The Last Tradition, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and New York Times

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

VA chief falsely claimed special forces service — Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald falsely claimed that he served in a military special forces unit, he admitted to the Huffington Post. — When a homeless veteran told McDonald in a conversation captured by CBS that he had served …

ABC News:
VA Secretary Robert McDonald Apologizes for Misstating He Served in Special Forces

Discussion: ABC News, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Fox News:
VA Secretary Robert McDonald admits lying about Special Forces service

Discussion: Pat Dollard and Shark Tank

New York Times:

Bill O'Reilly and Fox News Redouble Defense of His Falklands Reporting — The Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on Monday stepped up his defense against reports that he embellished stories about his war reporting earlier in his career, while some former colleagues continued to say he had exaggerated his experiences.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, No More Mister Nice Blog, FreakOutNation, Booman Tribune, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Guardian, Mediaite, Gawker, New York Magazine, TVNewser, The Last Tradition, Deadline, Rich Meislin, Washington Post and Bloomberg Business, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Bill O'Reilly threatens N.Y. Times reporter

Discussion: Poynter and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Mother Jones:
CBS Has Released The Falklands Protest Footage Bill O'Reilly Asked For. It Doesn't Support His Claims.

Discussion: CNNMoney, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Commentary Magazine, Raw Story, Politico, Daily Kos and TVNewser

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:
Mother Jones' David Corn On His Bill O'Reilly Reporting -And Himself

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post, NPR, Washington Post, Guardian, RealClearPolitics Videos, Raw Story, Instapundit, TVNewser, The Daily Banter and Talking Points Memo

New York Post:

Eric Garner's daughter on Al Sharpton: 'He's all about the money' — Al Sharpton (left) and Erica Snipes. — Al Sharpton is all about the Benjamins, a daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner claims in a bombshell videotape. — Erica Snipes tees off on the reverend as interested primarily …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hinterland Gazette, BizPac Review and Twitchy

Reid J. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:

Scott Walker Criticizes Media's ‘Gotcha Moments’ — NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Gov. Scott Walker on Monday said news reporters had created “gotcha moments” that are of little concern to most people and that he would seek to build a campaign that addresses issues important to “everyday Americans.”

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Daily Kos and RedState

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
The Media's Embarrassing Scott Walker Spectacle

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, GetReligion, BarbWire.com, BREITBART.COM, Patterico's Pontifications, The Huffington Post, Ed Driscoll and Washington Post

Robert Tracinski / The Federalist:
Scott Walker Is a Threat to the Existing Social Order

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Rush Limbaugh and Ed Driscoll

Kimberlee Kruesi / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Idaho lawmaker asks if woman can swallow camera for gynecological exam before medical abortion — BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho lawmaker received a brief lesson on female anatomy after asking if a woman can swallow a small camera for doctors to conduct a remote gynecological exam.

Discussion: FOX News Radio, No More Mister Nice Blog, Boing Boing, Spokesman.com, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Associated Press and Shakesville

Kara Brown / Jezebel:
Male Politician Thinks that Your Vagina and Stomach are Connected

Discussion: FreakOutNation

Associated Press:

Boehner, McConnell: Pipeline veto purely political — The White House should look for common ground on Keystone, not interest group approval. — Tuesday, as promised, the new Congress is sending the White House legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Discussion: The Hill, The Atlantic Online, Politico, Fox News and Washington Post

Amanda Marcotte / Slate:

Patricia Arquette's Feminism: Only for White Women — It's easy to laugh at the timid way that celebrities frequently wade into feminism, offering pat statements scripted by a team of public relations experts to be as nonoffensive as possible. But Patricia Arquette's performance …

Discussion: Salon, Truth Revolt, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, Mashable and Bloomberg Business

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Fox News Bashes Patricia Arquette For Advocating Wage Equality: ‘I Was Appalled’

Discussion: Daily Kos, Salon and Washington Post

Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig / The New Republic:
The Problem With Patricia Arquette's Oscar Speech

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Fusion, Mediaite, Hot Air, Guardian, The Atlantic Online, The Federalist, Washington Post, Hit & Run and USA Today

Yehuda Remer / Truth Revolt:

James O'Keefe: ‘I Am Afraid For My Life On This One’ — Conservative journalist filmmaker James O'Keefe on Saturday tweeted an ominous message to those who follow him and his influential work. — “We have a story we're going to release this coming week and I've never thought …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and FOX News Radio

Steve Schmadeke / Chicago Tribune:

Sex assault charges tied to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie — A University of Illinois at Chicago student leader was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old female student in what Cook County prosecutors said Monday was part of a re-enactment of scenes from the film “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

Discussion: WGN-TV, Gawker, Scared Monkeys, New York Magazine, Jezebel, FOX6Now.com, DNAinfo Chicago and The Gateway Pundit

Associated Press:

Lawmaker with lavish decor billed private planes, concerts — 2 photos — WASHINGTON (AP) — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock, a rising Republican star already facing an ethics inquiry, has spent taxpayer and campaign funds on flights aboard private planes owned by some of his key donors, The Associated Press has found.

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, Mediaite and Balloon Juice