memeorandum: Rand Paul: Hillary will ‘take us back to war’ (Tim Devaney/The Hill)

5:05 PM ET, January 3, 2016

Top Items:

Les Zaitz / Oregonian:

Militia takes over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters — Update at 9:15 p.m.: Statement from Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward: “After the peaceful rally was completed today, a group of outside militants drove to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they seized and occupied the refuge headquarters.

CNN:

Armed group's leader in federal building: ‘We will be here as long as it takes’ — (CNN)Armed protesters have taken over a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, accusing officials of unfairly punishing ranchers who refused to sell their land. — One them is Ammon Bundy …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, Slate, Politico, NBC News, Bearing Arms, KTLA and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Sundance / The Last Refuge:

Full Story on What's Going on In Oregon - Militia Take Over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge In Protest to Hammond Family Persecution... Grab a coffee, because this is soup-to-nuts. — Many people will awaken today to the news of approximately 100 to 150 armed militia taking control …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Vox Popoli and Jeff Goldstein

David Atkins / Washington Monthly:

The Armed Domestic Terrorists in Oregon Should Be Treated Just as ISIS Terrorists Would Be — The big story of the day is the armed seizure of an empty federal building in rural Oregon by a group of domestic terrorists, some of whom are the sons of federal tax cheat and freeloader Cliven Bundy.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Aaron Mesh / Willamette Week:

Anti-government militia member releases video pledging to drive to Oregon: “I want to die a free man.” — A group of anti-government militia members have occupied the headquarters and visitors center of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Ore., apparently seeking to provoke a standoff with the federal government.

Discussion: Gawker, Little Green Footballs, Indian Country Today …, Slantpoint, ThinkProgress, addictinginfo.org, No More Mister Nice Blog and Talking Points Memo

OPB:
Who Wants A Burns Standoff? Not The Sheriff, The Ranchers, Or Even Cliven Bundy

Discussion: Oregonian, Raw Story and KOIN-TV

Washington Examiner:
Three of Cliven Bundy's sons, militia seize federal building in Oregon

Discussion: Hot Air, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Raw Story

Nick Gass / Politico:

Trump: Clinton has ruined the world — Donald Trump pointed to Hillary Clinton as the cause of “so many” of the world's current problems in an interview to air Sunday, attacking, among other decisions, the then-New York senator's vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq in 2002.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Guardian, Raw Story and Political Wire

Tim Devaney / The Hill:

Rand Paul: Hillary will ‘take us back to war’ — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has a warning for war-weary Americans who often criticize the Bush administration for intervening in the Middle East. — “It turns out that probably the most likely candidate to take us back to war is Hillary Clinton …

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

Trump dares Bill Clinton to talk about women's issues — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is daring former president Bill Clinton to talk about women's issues on behalf of his wife's presidential campaign. — “I hope Bill Clinton starts talking about women's issues …

Discussion: Politico and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Raheem Kassam / Breitbart:
After The Trump Terror Vid, Can We Start Calling Her ‘Al Shabaab Media Advisor Hillary Clinton’?

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Flopping Aces and Little Green Footballs

Guardian: Clinton campaign hopes Bill will deliver a New Hampshire ‘comeback kid’ boost

Eugene Scott / CNN:

CNN to host Obama town hall on guns in America — Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama will join CNN's Anderson Cooper Thursday for an exclusive one-hour live town hall on gun control. — Obama will sit down with Cooper at 8 p.m. ET for the event, titled “Guns in America.”

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, American Spectator, Breitbart, Deadline, Talking Points Memo, Bearing Arms and Politico

Caitlin Yilek / The Hill:

Trump: I will veto Obama actions on guns — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump told supporters Saturday that he will veto President Obama's actions on guns if elected to the White House. — “The Second Amendment, it's so great to me,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Biloxi, Miss.

Discussion: Mediaite

Associated Press: Vacation Over, Obama Looking at Ways to Reduce Gun Violence

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

Marco Rubio Doesn't Add Up — MATH was never my strongest subject, so maybe I'm just not crunching the numbers right. — But the more I stare at them, the less sense Marco Rubio makes. — Rubio as the front-runner, I mean. As the probable Republican nominee.

Discussion: Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Kevin Cirilli / Bloomberg Business:
Trump Backers Say Their New Hampshire Voter Database Is ‘Huge’

Discussion: Politico

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Trump: Iran deal was so bad it's suspicious — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says the nuclear deal with Iran is so bad, he is close to wondering whether it was done poorly on purpose. — “It's almost like there has to be something else going on,” he said Saturday night …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

Fiorina defends ‘tongue-in-cheek’ Rose Bowl tweet — Carly Fiorina responded to critics on Sunday who said she was pandering to Iowa voters by rooting for the University of Iowa over her alma mater, Stanford, in the Rose Bowl. — The Republican presidential hopeful said a tweet expressing …

Discussion: Liberal Values and electoral-vote.com

Liz Sly / Washington Post:

Iran warns of ‘divine vengeance’ for Saudi Arabia's execution of cleric … BEIRUT — Iran's Supreme Leader warned on Sunday that there would be divine retribution for Saudi Arabia's rulers after the execution of a renowned Shiite cleric, sustaining the soaring regional tensions that erupted in the wake of the killing.