memeorandum: Militants continue occupation of Oregon refuge, police keep low profile (Les Zaitz/Oregonian)

1:00 AM ET, January 4, 2016

Top Items:

Amelia Templeton OPB / OPB:

Militia Occupying Federal Land: ‘We Are Not Hurting Anybody’ — Protesters in Burns, Oregon march toward the home of Dwight Hammond, a local rancher convicted of arson on federal land. The Jan. 2 protest was peaceful, but ended with a group of militiamen occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Discussion: Oregonian, Washington Post, Bundy Ranch, Slantpoint, ThinkProgress, NPR, Hot Air and Washington Examiner

Les Zaitz / Oregonian:

Militants continue occupation of Oregon refuge, police keep low profile — BURNS - Law enforcement agencies are remaining mum about plans to end militiamen's occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters. — A splinter group of militia in town to support a local ranching family took …

Discussion: addictinginfo.org, Mashable, Balloon Juice and Maxim

Melissa Cronin / Gawker:

Sons of Noted Racist Vigilante Are ‘Willing To Kill’ In Standoff at a Federal Building in Oregon — A group of militiamen who have taken over a national wildlife refuge in Oregon have been joined by the notable Bundy family, a group of anti-government ranchers headed by a racist patriarch.

Discussion: Oregonian, Hit & Run and Raw Story

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: KUTV-TV, Raw Story, The Reality-Based Community, PoliticusUSA, NBC News, Bearing Arms, Hot Air, KTLA, Slate, Fox News, Washington Post, Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Arkansas Online

Katie Zezima / Washington Post:

Republican candidates stay quiet on Oregon standoff — Republican presidential candidates are staying mum as an armed group has taken over part of a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon — even those who supported the father of at least one of its leaders, who had his own standoff …

David Atkins / Washington Monthly:
The Armed Domestic Terrorists in Oregon Should Be Treated Just as ISIS Terrorists Would Be

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Reality-Based Community and Slantpoint

Sundance / The Last Refuge:
Full Story on What's Going on In Oregon …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, protein wisdom, Vox Popoli and Jeff Goldstein

Aaron Mesh / Willamette Week:
Anti-government militia member releases video pledging to drive to Oregon: “I want to die a free man.”

Discussion: Indian Country Today …, Vox, Washington Post, American Power, addictinginfo.org, Little Green Footballs, Slantpoint, Occupy Democrats, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo

CBS News:
Oregon ranchers reject Cliven Bundy family occupation

Discussion: euronews, Raw Story, Slantpoint, KOIN-TV, Occupy Democrats, Mashable, Washington Post, Oregonian, Little Green Footballs and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Armed Militia Seized A Federal Building. The Media Called Them ‘Peaceful.’

Discussion: Guardian, Occupy Democrats, addictinginfo.org, The Moderate Voice, Raw Story and Associated Press

Liam Stack / New York Times:
Wildlife Refuge Occupied in Protest of Oregon Ranchers' Prison Terms

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, alan.com, KOIN-TV, The Gateway Pundit and USA Today

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: CBS News, Guardian, Raw Story, ABC News and Yahoo Politics

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:

Heckler disrupts Hillary Clinton town hall over Bill Clinton's sexual history — DERRY, N.H. — One day before former president Bill Clinton arrives in New Hampshire to campaign for his wife, Hillary Clinton, she was confronted with questions about allegations involving his sexual history at a town hall meeting in the state on Sunday.

Discussion: alan.com and The Last Refuge

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

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:
Trump dares Bill Clinton to talk about women's issues

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story 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, Little Green Footballs, Flopping Aces and The Gateway Pundit

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.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, RT, National Review and Booman Tribune

New York Times:
Saudi Arabia Cuts Ties With Iran Amid Fallout From Cleric's Execution

Discussion: Arab News, NPR, Quartz, Foreign Policy, Spectator, BBC, Business Insider and Althouse

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: ABC News and Mediaite

Eugene Scott / CNN:
CNN to host Obama town hall on guns in America

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

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

Associated Press:

Illinois Considers Allowing Recall Attempts of Chicago Mayor — The furor over recent Chicago police shootings has legislators considering whether voters should be allowed to recall Mayor Rahm Emanuel or future officials who hold his post. — Illinois state law currently addresses …

William Wan / Washington Post:
In Chicago, distrust toward mayor has turned ‘personal’

Discussion: Power Line, Chicago Tribune and MichelleMalkin.com

Martin Evans / Telegraph:

Islamic State video shows murder of five ‘British spies’ — Terror group publishes execution video as it threatens UK with new terror attacks and call David Cameron an ‘imbecile’ — Intelligence agencies were hunting a new ‘Jihadi John’ after an Islamic extremist with a British accent murdered five men accused of spying for the UK.

Discussion: Jihad Watch

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

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: Hot Air, Washington Post and Balloon Juice