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5:10 AM ET, December 21, 2018

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Resigns, Rebuking Trump's Worldview  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose experience and stability were widely seen as a balance to an unpredictable president, resigned on Thursday in protest of President Trump's decision to withdraw 2,000 American troops from Syria.
RELATED:
New York Times:
U.S. to Withdraw About 7,000 Troops From Afghanistan, Officials Say  —  President Trump made the decision at the same time he decided he was pulling American forces out of Syria, one official said.  —  Turmoil in Congress, National Security and Markets: The State of Play  —  There is too much news to fit in one story.
Discussion: Politico
Washington Post:
‘A tailspin’: Under siege, Trump propels the government and markets into crisis  —  President Trump began Thursday under siege, listening to howls of indignation from conservatives over his border wall and thrusting the government toward a shutdown.  He ended it by announcing the exit …
The Daily Beast:
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' Resignation Message to Trump Is Basically ‘F*** This’  —  The Pentagon chief quit after Trump announced plans to withdraw troops from Syria and just before he ordered a drawdown in Afghanistan.  —  By SCOTT BIXBY12.20.18 5:27 PM ET  —  Jim Mattis had enough.
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Year in Trump Freakouts  —  Jim Mattis is out, the President is leaving Syria without consulting anyone, and that's just this week in crises of the President's own making.  —  President Trump is ending the year as he began it: outraging Washington with a Twitter diktat, one that was cheered in Moscow and jeered on Capitol Hill.
James N. Mattis / Washington Post:
Read the Jim Mattis resignation letter  —  Dear Mr. President:  —  I have been privileged to serve as our country's 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside our men and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.
John Podhoretz / Commentary:
What the Mattis Resignation Means  —  Reading James Mattis's resignation letter, one gets the sense of our secretary of defense serving as a kind of Hans Brinker these past two years—holding his finger in the dike lest the floodwaters drown the town.  This week, with the abrupt revelation …
David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
Mattis' Message to the World: Trump Is Out of Control  —  That was more than a letter of resignation provided today by Defense Secretary James Mattis, it was a bright red line in American history.  —  On Thursday, President Trump suffered the most serious repudiation of his presidency to date …
Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:
In 2014, Mattis Said What Would Make Him Resign In Protest.  In 2018, He Actually Did It  —  Looking for a great career?  Or know another veteran, service member, or military spouse who is?  Get started at Hirepurpose.  —  Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has resigned in protest …
Discussion: New York Times
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Is Considering Substantial Afghan Troop Drawdown  —  The administration is considering a substantial reduction of troops in Afghanistan and could begin a drawdown in several weeks, officials said.
David Frum / The Atlantic:
No More Excuses  —  For almost two full years, James Mattis has provided the nation with a collective security blanket—and national-security-minded Republicans with a credible excuse.  Whatever outrageous or weird or even suspicious things President Donald Trump might do …
Washington Post:
‘A sad day for America’: Washington fears a Trump unchecked by Mattis
Discussion: Shareblue Media
Ali Vitali / NBC News:
‘This is scary’: Mattis' resignation triggers bipartisan chorus of concern on Capitol Hill
Discussion: Raw Story, Hot Air and CNN
Henry Olsen / Washington Post:   Trump is now forging foreign policy on his own. Where will he take us?
The Atlantic:
James Mattis's Letter of Resignation
Associated Press:   Mattis resigning as Pentagon chief after clashes with Trump
Washington Post:
Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe, but his advisers told him not to, officials say  —  A senior Justice Department ethics official concluded acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker should recuse from overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe …
RELATED:
NBC News:
Mueller may submit report to attorney general as soon as mid-February, say sources  —  “They clearly are tying up loose ends,” said a lawyer who has been in contact with the Mueller team.  —  WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller is nearing the end of his historic investigation …
Discussion: Law & Crime and The Week
NBC News:
Founder of viral fundraiser for Trump's border wall has questionable news past  —  Brian Kolfage told NBC News he didn't want to mention his previous projects because he “didn't want it to be a distraction.”  —  An internet fundraiser for Donald Trump's border wall took in more than $7 million …
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Trump is leaving 50,000 Syrian civilians to die  —  President Trump's surprise decision to rapidly withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria is meeting with intense criticism by foreign policy experts, who denounce it as strategically stupid, reckless for national security and a blow to America's global credibility.
RELATED:
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
A ‘Never Trumper’ bets on Trump, and loses
Liz Sly / Washington Post:   This time, the United States is betraying more than just the Kurds, allies say
Victoria Nuland / Washington Post:
In a single tweet, Trump destroys U.S. policy in the Middle East
Missy Ryan / Washington Post:
White House weighs whether to continue airstrikes in Syria after troops withdraw
Discussion: Hot Air and Shakesville
New York Times:
A Top Aide's Exit Plan Raises Eyebrows in the White House  —  WASHINGTON — After weeks of discussions about his future, Zachary D. Fuentes, the 36-year-old deputy White House chief of staff, had a plan.  —  Mr. Fuentes told colleagues that after his mentor, John F. Kelly …
RELATED:
Washington Post:   Trump agitating for major military withdrawal from Afghanistan, advisers say
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
In budget brinkmanship, Republicans once again hold themselves hostage  —  House Republicans are ending their eight-year run in the majority exactly the way it began — grabbing a hostage and seeking ransom.  —  This week's standoff, like so many others this decade, pits an alienated House GOP caucus …
RELATED:
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Trump shutdown moves leave GOP senators in disbelief
Washington Post:
As stocks drop, Trump fears he's losing his best argument for re-election  —  President Trump has kept an almost obsessive watch on the stock market as it has lurched lower in recent weeks.  —  He has complained to aides how unfair it is that he is blamed for the market's slide …
RELATED:
Josh Boak / Associated Press:   Stock market woes raise a nagging fear: Is a recession near?
BuzzFeed News:
Russian Agents Sought Secret US Treasury Records On Clinton Backers During 2016 Campaign  —  US Treasury Department officials used a Gmail back channel with the Russian government as the Kremlin sought sensitive financial information on its enemies in America and across the globe, according to documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
Carlos Ghosn Re-Arrested on Suspicion of Shifting Personal Losses to Nissan
Discussion: New York Times and KXLF-TV
Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
Barack Obama Goes All In Politically To Fight Gerrymandering
Alexander C. Kaufman / HuffPost:
Democrats Just Blocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Push For A Green New Deal Committee
Discussion: E&E News
David Brooks / New York Times:
A New Center Being Born  —  The market and the welfare state go together.
Discussion: Hit & Run
Washington Post:
Zinke was a rising star in Washington. Then he joined the Trump administration.
Discussion: Politico and The Guardian
Asma Khalid / NPR:
Democrats Can't Avoid Identity Politics In 2020
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Stay issued in lawsuit over Trump hotel
 Earlier Items: 
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Democrats want to use obscure law to grab Donald Trump's tax returns
Aram Roston / BuzzFeed News:
Jerry Falwell: I Lent $1.8 Million To A Venture Involving A Pool Attendant
Katherine Rosman / New York Times:
The Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie, Very Litigious Bikini
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Associated Press:
Democrats to Start Presidential Primary Debates in June 2019
Discussion: Joe.My.God. and twitchy.com
 

 
From Techmeme:

Lee-Anne Mulholland / The Keyword:
Google files its proposed remedies in the DOJ's search antitrust lawsuit, including letting browser companies have multiple default agreements across platforms

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
Exploring the scaling challenges of transformer-based LLMs in efficiently processing large amounts of text, as well as potential solutions, such as RAG systems
 
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