memeorandum: Franken: DeVos ‘fundamentally incompetent’ to lead Education Dept (Jordain Carney/The Hill)

4:35 PM ET, February 7, 2017

Top Items:

GOP Congressman Insists White Terrorist Attacks Are Totally Different — Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) also pointed to “the good things” that came from the shooting of black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina. — Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) vehemently defended President Donald Trump's ban …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Washington Post:

Here are the 78 terrorist attacks the White House says were largely under-reported — The White House on Monday night released a list of 78 terrorist attacks in response to an assertion earlier in the day by President Trump that the “very dishonest press” often doesn't report on them.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Concourse, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Politico, Mother Jones and Mashable

BBC:
Trump says terror attacks ‘under-reported’: Is that true?

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Washington Post:
What's largely and glaringly missing from Trump's list of terrorist attacks: Non-Western victims

Discussion: The Guardian and Common Dreams

CNN: Trump's claim that media under-covers terrorism is baloney

Chris Massie / CNN:

WH official: We'll say ‘fake news’ until media realizes attitude of attacking the President is wrong — (CNN)Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said Monday that the administration will continue using the term “fake news” until the media understands that their …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Political Wire, The Week and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Emmarie Huetteman / New York Times:

Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie — WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as education secretary, approving the embattled nominee only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Little Green Footballs, CNBC, Washington Free Beacon, WiredPen, Outside the Beltway, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Stranger …, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Scripting News, Refinery29, Political Wire, Boing Boing, FiveThirtyEight, The Slot and Joe.My.God.

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Franken: DeVos ‘fundamentally incompetent’ to lead Education Dept

Discussion: National Review, Mediaite, Common Dreams, Politicus USA, Fox News and Instapundit

Mark Bauerlein / Vox:
The job of the education secretary isn't to defend public schools. It's to help kids learn.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Mother Jones

Emma Brown / Washington Post:
With historic tiebreaker from Pence, DeVos confirmed as education secretary

Discussion: The Atlantic, DCist, TheBlaze, The Week, The Guardian, Joe.My.God. and Mashable

CNN:
Betsy DeVos confirmed as education secretary; vice president casts historic tie-breaking vote

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, BizPac Review, FOX31 Denver, Common Dreams, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York's PIX11, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, The Week and Balloon Juice

Emmarie Huetteman / New York Times:
Mike Pence's Vote on a Cabinet Nominee Would Be Historic

Discussion: ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, Bloomberg, Rewire, WILX-TV, The Hill, Washington Post and The Week

Washington Post:

Trump's loose talk about Muslims gets weaponized in court against travel ban — Throughout Donald Trump's campaign and now into the first weeks of his presidency, critics suggested that he cool his incendiary rhetoric, that his words matter. His defenders responded that, as Corey Lewandowski said, he was being taken too “literally.”

Discussion: New York Times

Associated Press:
Gorsuch Paid $3.28 Million by Former Firm, Under 2005 Deal

Discussion: Politico

Sen. Chuck Schumer / Politico:
Neil Gorsuch Needs 60 Votes

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, Hot Air, The Federalist and Daily Kos

Madeline Conway / Politico:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I'd like to change the Electoral College

Discussion: Vox

cbsnews.cbs.com:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg says Electoral College needs to be changed

Discussion: TheBlaze

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Ginsburg: I would back changing the Electoral College

Discussion: CNN and RedState

Virgin:

Richard vs Barack - kiteboard and foilboard challenge — It was a huge honour to be able to invite President Barack and Michelle Obama down to the British Virgin Islands for a complete break after Barack finished his second term as President and the family left the White House.

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, ABC News, The Hill, Business Insider, Occupy Democrats, NBC News, AOL, Gothamist, Refinery29, USA Today, The Guardian, Mediaite, IJR, Talking Points Memo, The Week and CBS New York

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Republicans fear for their safety as Obamacare protests grow — House Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday discussed how to protect themselves and their staff from protesters storming town halls and offices in opposition to repealing Obamacare, sources in the room told POLITICO.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Political Wire and Balloon Juice

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Republican lawmakers face rising anger at town halls — Republican lawmakers hoping for a break from the politically charged atmosphere in Washington, D.C., have instead been met with protests at home. — From California to Florida, liberal activists are bringing the fight to the doorsteps …

Discussion: Vox Popoli and Infowars

The Independent:

Donald Trump's staff get him to agree to policies by saying 'Obama wouldn't have done it' — Military officials got Donald Trump to agree to the botched Yemen raid by suggesting Barack Obama would never have had the courage to do it, it has been reported. The raid, which had been planned …

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, Occupy Democrats, Taylor Marsh and Shakesville

Tara Palmeri / Politico:

White House rattled by McCarthy's spoof of Spicer — As the press secretary for a president who's obsessed with how things play on cable TV, Sean Spicer's real audience during his daily televised press briefings has always been an audience of one. — And the devastating “Saturday Night Live” …

Dan Zak / Washington Post:
Rosie O'Donnell as Steve Bannon? SNL could really make Trump angry if it wanted to.

Discussion: AOL, Mashable, Raw Story, Mediaite, Refinery29 and Balloon Juice

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump offers to ‘destroy career’ of Texas state senator at meeting with sheriff … President Trump on Tuesday offered to go after a Texas state senator who was the target of complaints from a local sheriff. — During a White House meeting, Rockwall County, Texas, Sheriff Harold Eavenson told …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Texas Tribune, Politico, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Raw Story and The Week

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:
Texas mystery: Who's the senator Trump offered to help Rockwall sheriff ‘destroy?’

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, Hit & Run and Mediaite

Chris Edelson / Baltimore Sun:

Ordinary Americans carried out inhumane acts for Trump — (Video by Ken Lam) … A week ago, men and women went to work at airports around the United States as they always do. They showered, got dressed, ate breakfast, perhaps dropped off their kids at school.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:

One-Third Don't Know Obamacare and Affordable Care Act Are the Same — A sizable minority of Americans don't understand that Obamacare is just another name for the Affordable Care Act. — These findings, from a poll by Morning Consult, illustrate the extent of public confusion over a health law …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, Political Wire, The Week, Politicus USA and The Guardian

JoAnn Wise / Washington Post:

Andrew Puzder will be a disaster for workers. I know: He was for me. — After decades of work at Hardee's, I have no savings, no health benefits and no plans for retirement. — In 1984, I was hired as a cashier at Hardee's in Columbia, S.C., making $4.25 an hour. By 2005, 21 years later, my pay was only at $8 an hour.

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Andrew Puzder, Trump's Labor Pick, Admits to Hiring Undocumented Maid

Discussion: Reuters, The Daily Caller, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, CNN and Political Wire

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Cotton and Trump plot crackdown on legal immigration — Overlooked in Donald Trump's campaign crusade against illegal immigration was his vow to crack down on legal immigration, too. — Now, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a reliable Trump ally, is taking steps to execute that part …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Axios, Outside the Beltway, NBC News, AOL, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and Political Wire

Tom Hamburger / Washington Post:

Melania Trump missed out on ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to make millions, lawsuit says — A lawyer for first lady Melania Trump argued in a lawsuit filed Monday that an article falsely alleging she once worked for an escort service hurt her chance to establish “multimillion dollar …

Dan Morse / Washington Post:
Melania Trump reaches settlement in libel lawsuit against Maryland blogger

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Week

Tim Murphy / Mother Jones:

Keith Ellison Is Everything Republicans Thought Obama Was. Maybe He's Just What Democrats Need. … Last May, as Donald Trump was locking up the Republican nomination, a prophetic clip began circulating among portions of the left. It was a nearly one-year-old segment of ABC's Sunday show This Week …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Daily Wire, Mediaite and The Slot

Brian Beutler / New Republic:

Donald Trump's Dangerous End Game — Why the president is accusing journalists and judges of enabling terrorists. — The term “fake news” outlived its usefulness almost as soon as it became common parlance, and is perhaps only valuable now as a marker for whether journalism …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Refinery29, TheBlaze, Daily Wire, Business Insider, Mediaite and CBS New York

Tom Jackman / Washington Post:

Trump makes false statement about U.S. murder rate to sheriffs' group — President Trump met Tuesday morning with a group of sheriffs from the National Sheriffs Association, a group which consists of more than 3,000 sheriffs from around the country. And to this sworn group of law enforcement veterans …

Ari Berman / The Nation:

House Republicans Just Voted to Eliminate the Only Federal Agency That Makes Sure Voting Machines Can't Be Hacked — Republicans made it easier to steal an election by killing the Election Assistance Commission. — By , — In a little-noticed 6-3 vote today, the House Administration …

Discussion: Brennan Center for Justice, Common Dreams and Raw Story