memeorandum: Report: Lawmaker Hoped to Distract From Affair With Smear (ABC News)

9:05 AM ET, August 8, 2015

Top Items:

Erick Erickson / RedState:

I Have Disinvited Donald Trump to the RedState Gathering — I have tried to give a great deal of latitude to Donald Trump in his run for the Presidency. — He is not a professional politician and is known for being a blunt talker. He connects with so much of the anger in the Republican base …

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, Guardian, WXIA-TV, Political Insider blog, OnPolitics, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Daily Mail, Twitchy, The Last Refuge and Vox

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Trump attacks Megyn Kelly: ‘There was blood coming out of her eyes’ — Donald Trump's campaign for president has suddenly become a campaign against Fox News. — One day after he starred in Fox's GOP primary debate, Trump lashed out at debate moderator Megyn Kelly and the network as a whole.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Guardian, Daily Mail and Mediaite

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Donald Trump's invite to RedState event revoked over Megyn Kelly comments — “No legitimate candidate suggests somehow a female asking questions is doing it because she's hormonal,” Erick Erickson told reporters. — ATLANTA — Donald Trump's invitation to appear at the conservative RedState gathering …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Political Wire

New York Times:

Fear That Debate Could Hurt G.O.P. in Women's Eyes — After Senator Marco Rubio of Florida insisted at the Republican presidential debate that rape and incest victims should carry pregnancies to term, aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton could barely contain their delight at his unyielding stance …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Democratic Strategist

Sergio Bustos / Associated Press:

GOP Candidates Ride Debate Momentum to RedState Activists — Republican presidential candidates are getting a second chance to make a good first impression with conservative activists after their inaugural televised debates had unheard of millions tuning in to see how they would play off each other.

Irin Carmon / msnbc.com:
GOP candidates: Ban abortion, no exceptions

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, ThinkProgress, The Reality-Based Community, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
From Trump on Down, the Republicans Can't Be Serious

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, Liberaland, Balloon Juice and Prairie Weather

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Donald Trump is an embarrassment who is impossible to embarrass. It's his superpower.

Discussion: Washington Post, Commentary Magazine, Politico, Business Insider, ThinkProgress and Hullabaloo

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
The Big Dog That Didn't Bark in the Republican Debate

Discussion: Daily Kos

One America / PR Newswire:
Ben Carson Scores Big Win at the First GOP Debate followed by Marco Rubio

Discussion: Hot Air and The Pulse 2016

Rebecca Sinderbrand / Washington Post:
Donald Trump late-night angry-tweets Megyn Kelly, and it is epic

Discussion: E! Online, Vox, TheBlaze.com, Mediaite, Slantpoint, Liberal Values, ImmigrationProf Blog, Guardian, Daily Kos and International Business Times

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

Is Trump a Clinton plant? — Tongues are wagging throughout the world of political insiders with news that former president and potential future first gentleman Bill Clinton had a great chat with Donald Trump shortly before the real estate magnate announced his candidacy for president.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Molly Ball / The Atlantic: Whose Party Is It, Anyway?

Eliza Collins / Politico:
7 things Trump said that would have destroyed any other GOP candidate

Discussion: Mediaite, Bloomberg Business, GQ, Hot Air, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Bloomberg View

CNN:
Debate coach: Why Kasich was fantastic

Discussion: Refinery29

Jack Healy / New York Times:

Life Sentence for James Holmes, Aurora Theater Gunman — CENTENNIAL, Colo., — In a decision that surprised many in this community, a jury sentenced James E. Holmes to life in prison with no chance of parole on Friday, rejecting the death penalty for the man who carried out a 2012 shooting rampage …

Discussion: The Week and Althouse

Denver Post:

Day 65 of the Aurora theater shooting trial — CENTENNIAL — James Holmes will spend the rest of his life in a prison cell instead of dying in an execution chamber, jurors in the Aurora movie theater shooting trial decided Friday. — After deliberating for less than seven hours over two days …

Discussion: CNN, The Atlantic, NPR, Slantpoint, The Daily Caller and Guardian

Daniel Veditz / Mozilla Security Blog:

Firefox exploit found in the wild — Yesterday morning, August 5, a Firefox user informed us that an advertisement on a news site in Russia was serving a Firefox exploit that searched for sensitive files and uploaded them to a server that appears to be in Ukraine.

Discussion: New York's PIX11, Computerworld, Mashable and The Verge

Politico:

Don't disrespect our president, black lawmakers tell Netanyahu — The audience for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress on March 3 is shaping up to be largely Republican — and almost completely white. — Many members of the Congressional Black Caucus …

Discussion: Slantpoint

Chicago Tribune:

U. of I. officials used personal email to hide discussions — University of Illinois senior administrators used personal email accounts to discuss sensitive and controversial issues, and then failed to disclose the records when they were requested by the public.

Discussion: Corey Robin and The TickerThe Ticker

Los Angeles Times:

Exclusive Architect Frank Gehry is helping L.A. with its Los Angeles River master plan, but secrecy troubles some — Architect Frank Gehry is working with city officials to draft a new master plan for the redevelopment of the Los Angeles River, bringing the avant-garde sensibilities …

Discussion: 89.3 KPCC

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:

Frances Oldham Kelsey, F.D.A. Stickler Who Saved U.S. Babies From Thalidomide, Dies at 101 — The sedative was Kevadon, and the application to market it in America reached the new medical officer at the Food and Drug Administration in September 1960. The drug had already been sold …

Discussion: PR Newswire

BBC:

Bangladesh blogger Niloy Neel hacked to death in Dhaka — Niloy Neel was an atheist from a Hindu background — A Bangladeshi blogger known for his atheist views has been hacked to death by a gang armed with machetes in the capital Dhaka, police say. — Niloy Neel was attacked at his home in the city's Goran area.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and American Spectator, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

24 Million Watch GOP Debate on Fox News; Most-Watched Cable News Program Ever — In the estimation of many reporters who cover the political and media beats, Fox News was the winner of the first GOP debate. And with the just-released ratings we can confirm that.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Pundit, POLITICO New York, RedState, Hot Air, National Review and CNNMoney, more at Mediagazer »

Caitlin Flanagan / The Atlantic:

That's Not Funny! — Three comics sat around a café table in the chilly atrium of the Minneapolis Convention Center, talking about how to create the cleanest possible set. “Don't do what's in your gut,” Zoltan Kaszas said. “Better safe than sorry,” Chinedu Unaka offered.

Discussion: Mediaite, Althouse and Instapundit