memeorandum: The Brexit Crisis — After what seem like years of a phony war … (National Review)

11:00 AM ET, November 18, 2018

Top Items:

‘Nothing on this page is real’: How lies become truth in online America — NORTH WATERBORO, Maine — The only light in the house came from the glow of three computer monitors, and Christopher Blair, 46, sat down at a keyboard and started to type. His wife had left for work and his children …

Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times:

Democrat Gil Cisneros defeats Republican Young Kim, flipping last GOP House seat in Orange County — Gil Cisneros has defeated Republican Young Kim in the 39th Congressional District, putting the seat held by retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce into the Democrats' column.

Discussion: twitchy.com

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

A Democratic Rout in Orange County: Cisneros's Win Makes It Four — California Democrats completed their sweep of the congressional delegation in Orange County on Saturday as Gil Cisneros defeated Young Kim, a Republican, to capture a fourth seat in what had once been one of the most conservative Republican bastions in the nation.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Michael R. Blood / Associated Press:
Democrat Cisneros nabs GOP House seat in Southern California

Discussion: Axios

Zachary Warmbrodt / Politico:

Trump: 'I don't know' if Saudi prince lied — President Donald Trump said in an interview released Sunday that he didn't know whether Saudi Arabia's crown prince lied about his involvement in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite evidence that he played a role.

Discussion: Breitbart

Quint Forgey / Politico:
‘Smoking gun’ would help implicate Saudi prince, Senate Republican says

Discussion: ABC News

Reuters: Trump calls CIA assessment of Khashoggi murder premature but possible

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

New Evidence Emerges of Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica's Role in Brexit — For two years, observers have speculated that the June, 2016, Brexit campaign in the U.K. served as a petri dish for Donald Trump's Presidential campaign in the United States. Now there is new evidence that it did.

Discussion: Raw Story and openDemocracy

The Guardian:
Emails reveal Arron Banks' links to Steve Bannon in quest for campaign cash

Discussion: Political Wire

James Randerson / Politico:

Dominic Raab: Restart Brexit talks and say UK won't be ‘bullied’ — Britain should reopen Brexit negotiations with the EU and show that it will not be “blackmailed and bullied,” former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said today in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Discussion: The Times & The Sunday Times, Breitbart and One America News Network

National Review:

The Brexit Crisis — After what seem like years of a phony war, British and European Union negotiators finally agreed on the terms of Britain's departure from the EU earlier this week, and Theresa May announced it in the House of Commons. The deal covers more than 500 pages of legal and bureaucratic prose …

Stanley B. Greenberg / New York Times:

Trump Is Beginning to Lose His Grip — It isn't just white suburban women who switched to Democrats. Parts of rural and white working class America peeled off too. — Mr. Greenberg is a Democratic pollster. — America's polarized citizenry took a break from intense partisan bickering …

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Rise of big cities push Texas to swing-state territory — maybe by 2020 — SAN ANTONIO — For a quarter century, Republicans have dominated Texas politics so much that the Democratic minority has often been an afterthought. The big political battles in Austin have been fought between conservative …

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump considering changes at ‘three or four or five’ Cabinet positions — President Trump said Sunday he's considering making a change to as many as five Cabinet positions amid speculation that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen and White House chief of staff John Kelly could depart imminently.

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Republicans battle to defend Trump from threat of impeachment — The audition to become President Donald Trump's most visible defender in Congress — and lead the fight against any impeachment proceedings — is in full swing. — One of Trump's fiercest allies, Rep. Jim Jordan …

Discussion: Political Wire

Anthony W. Orlando / Washington Post:

Is Trump country really better off under Trump? No. It's falling further behind. — Two years have passed since Donald Trump made his famous campaign promise in disaffected regions across the country: “We are going to start winning again!” For many voters who felt that they had lost ground …

Los Angeles Times:

California fire: What started as a tiny brush fire became the state's deadliest wildfire. Here's how … Before there was a spark, there was the wind. — On the morning of Nov. 8, as the sun rose over the isolated mountains in the Sierra Nevada, gale-force winds tore through the canyon.

Sun-Sentinel:

After a bumpy day of missing ballots, troubled Broward recount put on ice until the morning — Broward County Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda Snipes tries to explain to the canvassing board the discrepancy in vote counts during the hand count, — South Florida Sun Sentinel

Discussion: ABC News, Power Line and Breitbart

Frances Robles / New York Times:
Nearly 3,000 Votes Disappeared From Florida's Recount. That's Not Supposed to Happen.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Fox News

Martin Cizmar / Raw Story:

‘God will not bless America’: Texas pastor curses nation after ‘Godless’ Democrats win midterms — A Texas pastor is reacting with rage to the result of the midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives. — Following the election …

Discussion: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, POLITICUSUSA and U.S. Pastor Council

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:

Inside the Flat Earth Conference, Where the World's Oldest Conspiracy Theory Is Hot Again — Thanks to YouTube, an idea discredited thousands of years ago attracts die-hards, grifters, and trolls. They even have their own convention. — DENVER—"In five years, everyone will know the Earth is flat …

Discussion: Raw Story

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Zuckerberg Defends Company in Friday Meeting With Employees — SAN FRANCISCO — Mark Zuckerberg fiercely defended Facebook in a question-and-answer session with employees on Friday afternoon, pushing back against criticism of the company in the wake of a New York Times investigation into how it reacted to Russian influence operations.

Discussion: Wonkette

Alex Stamos / Washington Post:
Yes, Facebook made mistakes in 2016. But we weren't the only ones.

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos, Raw Story and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was forgotten once, but never again — GETTYSBURG, PA — In the days that followed Abraham Lincoln's 272-word speech to thousands of onlookers in this small Pennsylvania farm town, few newspapers in the country immediately reported on the speech.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Alex Thompson / Politico:

Ocasio-Cortez backs campaign to primary fellow Democrats — Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday threw her weight behind a new national campaign to mount primaries against incumbent Democrats deemed to be ideologically and demographically out of step with their districts.

Discussion: Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal:

John Bolton Energizes Trump's Agenda—And His Own — The experienced senior White House adviser some inside critics call ‘President Bolton’ has centralized decision-making on national security — WASHINGTON—Soon after taking the helm as President Trump's third national security adviser …

Isabel Vincent / New York Post:

The Obamas are ‘Becoming’ a billion-dollar brand … The Obamas are “Becoming” — billionaires. — SEE ALSO — The launch of Michelle Obama's cross-country book tour for her new memoir, “Becoming,” last week is just the latest marker on the road to fabulous wealth for the former first couple …

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

These Americans Are Done With Politics — The Exhausted Majority needs a break. — Ms. Tavernise is a national correspondent for The Times. — As the country catches its breath after one of the most acrimonious midterm elections in years, it would be easy to conclude that all of America …

Discussion: Althouse

Marc Caputo / Politico:

DeSantis wins Florida gubernatorial race as Gillum concedes — MIAMI — Andrew Gillum, the Florida Democratic Party's first African-American candidate for governor, officially called it quits Saturday and congratulated Republican Ron DeSantis as the governor-elect of Florida.

Discussion: The Other McCain, RedState, twitchy.com and The Capitolist