memeorandum: Here Are All The Things We're Apparently Not Allowed To Say About Julian Assange Or WikiLeaks (Paul Szoldra/Task & Purpose)

1:00 PM ET, January 7, 2019

Top Items:

EXCLUSIVE: Yorktown Elitist and Bronx Hoaxer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Went by “Sandy” Well into College at Boston U (VIDEO) — Congresswoman and Democrat-Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grew up and attended school in affluent Westchester, New York but likes to pretend like she grew up in the Bronx.

Discussion: Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog and Splinter

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's very bad defense of her falsehoods … Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has made a bigger splash than any freshman in the 116th Congress — in either the House or the Senate. And a big reason why is an often-overzealous conservative effort to knock her down a few pegs.

Discussion: The Atlantic, CBS News, Townhall, Mediaite and Breitbart

Anderson Cooper / CBS News:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The rookie congresswoman challenging the Democratic establishment — The youngest woman ever elected to Congress tells 60 Minutes she thinks President Trump is racist and responds to criticisms she could be pushing the Democratic Party too far to the left

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Splinter, Louder With Crowder, Power Line, thenewamerican.com, Mediaite, IJR, twitchy.com, Althouse, CNN, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Guy Faulconbridge / Reuters:

WikiLeaks tells reporters 140 things not to say about Julian Assange — LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks on Sunday advised journalists not to report 140 different “false and defamatory” statements about its founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June 2012.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Contemptor and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:
Here Are All The Things We're Apparently Not Allowed To Say About Julian Assange Or WikiLeaks

Discussion: Observer

Emma Best:
The Complete List of 140 Things You Can't Say About Assange or WikiLeaks

Discussion: emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Kliff / Vox:

A $20,243 bike crash: Zuckerberg hospital's aggressive tactics leave patients with big bills — I spent a year writing about ER bills. Zuckerberg San Francisco General has the most surprising billing practices I've seen. — On April 3, Nina Dang, 24, found herself in a position …

Discussion: Bangor Daily News

Justin Davidson / New York Magazine:

The High Line Has Become a Tunnel Through Glass Towers — The High Line was an epiphany when it opened in 2009, a moment suspended between neglect and possibility. The strips of curated wilderness, the medieval-looking iron railings, the disorienting views, the way the viaduct ducked beneath buildings …

New York Times:

Democrats Faked Online Push to Outlaw Alcohol in Alabama Race — The “Dry Alabama” Facebook page, illustrated with stark images of car wrecks and videos of families ruined by drink, had a blunt message: Alcohol is the devil's work, and the state should ban it entirely.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, Hit & Run, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Is there a way to break Trump's will? One Democrat has an idea. — President Trump would almost certainly not be able to continue shutting down the government over his megalomaniacal border wall obsession if it weren't for Mitch McConnell. The Senate majority leader is refusing a Senate vote …

Discussion: Vox, New York Times, fox8.com and Common Dreams

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Trump the Vulnerable — A close look at the 2018 midterm results shows why he is so weak. — Now that a new Congress has taken office, the vote count from the 2018 midterms is all but final. It shows that Democrats won the national popular vote in the House races by almost nine percentage points.

Discussion: Washington Post and Mother Jones

Associated Press:

Ginsburg missing Supreme Court arguments for 1st time — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing arguments for the first time in more than 25 years as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month. — Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Monday …

Discussion: CNBC, Politico, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, LifeNews.com, NTK Network, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg misses Supreme Court arguments for first time as she recovers from cancer

Discussion: Daily Wire, Outside the Beltway, Althouse and Political Wire

New York Times:

Biden Sees Himself as Democrats' Best Hope in 2020, Allies Say — WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is in the final stages of deciding whether to run for president and has told allies he is skeptical the other Democrats eyeing the White House can defeat President Trump …

Discussion: The American Conservative, NTK Network, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNN, TheBlaze, Shakesville and Axios

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Is this the dark before the light?

Discussion: Associated Press

Mattathias Schwartz / New York Magazine:

'Come On Down to the Rio Grande Valley. I'll Show You Around.' Would patrolling with the Border Patrol change your mind about the border? — On the outskirts of McAllen, Texas, a few miles north of the Rio Grande, a dun-colored warehouse squats on the corner of West Ursula Avenue and South Ware Road.

Bloomberg:

When Mueller Issues a Report, Trump May Try to Suppress Some of It — White House options include assertion of executive privilege — Democrats in Congress will demand public airing of the report — The White House may try to block portions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's final report …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Common Dreams and CNN

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:

US, Turkey set for negotiations on fate of Kurds — U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is set to press Turkey for assurances that it won't attack the Kurdish fighters in Syria, which he said is now a condition for the withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria.

Discussion: Breitbart

New York Times:
Bolton Puts Conditions on Syria Withdrawal, Suggesting a Delay of Months or Years

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, Politico, The Moderate Voice, The Conversation, CNN, Just Security, The American Conservative and Vox

Richard C. Paddock / New York Times:

Fleeing Saudi Woman, Facing Deportation, Is Allowed to Remain in Thailand — BANGKOK — An 18-year-old Saudi woman who said she feared that she would be killed if she were sent back to her family was allowed to remain in Thailand on Monday evening, ending a tense 48-hour drama at Bangkok's main international airport.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Breitbart and Friendly Atheist

Patpicha Tanakasempipat / Reuters: Saudi teen barricades herself in Thai hotel to stop being returned to family

New York Times:

Trump Wants to Deliver Prime Time Address on Government Shutdown and Will Visit the Border — President Trump wants to address the nation about the government shutdown on Tuesday night, and later in the week plans to travel to the southern border as part of his effort to persuade Americans …

Discussion: Bloomberg, CNN, Axios and Talking Points Memo

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump campaign moves to stave off mayhem at 2020 convention — President Donald Trump is tightening his iron grip on the Republican Party, launching an elaborate effort to stamp out any vestiges of GOP opposition that might embarrass him at the 2020 Republican convention.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

As shutdown drags on, Trump officials make new demands, seek novel ways to cope with its impacts — Trump administration officials began taking extraordinary steps to contain the fallout from the partial federal government shutdown Sunday, as the budget impasse between the president …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Splinter, Daily Kos and The Week

Josh Zumbrun / Wall Street Journal:

World Bank President Resigns to Join Investment Firm — Early departure could reignite battle over who gets to pick leader of institution — World Bank President Jim Yong Kim plans to resign on Feb. 1 to join a firm focused on infrastructure investments, leaving the bank nearly three years before his term was set to expire.

Discussion: Axios

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:

What Romney Exposed About Late-Stage Trumpism — For some reason, Trump supporters get angry when critics discuss the president's character. — Last week's op-ed from Mitt Romney was interesting not just for what it was, but for what the response to it revealed.

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Townhall and LewRockwell

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:

Russian Firm's Lawyer Accuses Judge Of ‘Bias’ After She Bashes His ‘Inappropriate’ Filings — A federal judge on Monday reamed the American lawyers for a Russian firm charged by special counsel Robert Mueller for the lawyers' “unprofessional, inappropriate, and ineffective” conduct.

Adam Cancryn / Politico:

House Democrats prepare fusillade of Trump investigations — Democrats want to investigate the Trump Hotel deal and President Donald Trump's taxes. They want to haul up conflicted Cabinet officials and dig into controversial changes to the census and food stamps.

Discussion: Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

The Tennessean:

Gov. Bill Haslam grants full clemency to Cyntoia Brown, sets Aug. 7 release from prison — Gov. Bill Haslam ordered an early release for Cyntoia Brown, a Tennessee woman and alleged sex trafficking victim serving a life sentence in prison for killing a man when she was 16.

Jill Lawrence / USA Today:

Elizabeth Warren didn't miss her presidential moment. Win or lose, 2020 is her time. — America needs a counterweight to Trump values and a playing field tilting once again in favor of the rich and powerful. Warren is the perfect foil. — CONNECT — This is exactly the right time for Elizabeth Warren to run for president.

Discussion: Raw Story

Azam Ahmed / New York Times:

Migrants' Despair Is Growing at U.S. Border. So Are Smugglers' Profits. — Only a handful of asylum seekers are let across the border each day. Many are now weighing the risks of hiring ‘polleros’ to sneak them in. — REYNOSA, Mexico — As the human smugglers stalk the bus stations …

Discussion: Mother Jones and Townhall

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Americans Continue to Embrace Political Independence — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans (26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents …

Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:

‘I been eatin like a boss’: Federal prisoners served steak by unpaid guards during shutdown — With the federal government shutdown solidly into its third week, there is no shortage of hypocritical or ironic or just plain sad moments to further enrage apoplectic taxpayers:

Discussion: TheBlaze and NBC News

Haviv Rettig Gur / The Times of Israel:

Moshe Arens, former defense minister and envoy to Washington, dead at 93 — ‘I loved you as a son loves a father,’ says Netanyahu of his mentor, a founding member of Likud credited with shepherding advances in Israel's military capabilities — Moshe Arens, an English-speaking US-educated …

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:

Power Up: Trump's political ‘crisis’ over border wall may soon turn into a real one — Welcome back, Power Up Family — Happy 2019! I love goal setting and sharing to kick off the new year so . . . this year, I'm working on creating a better sense of community among my friends …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story and Daily Wire

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

Top Trump Backer Financed Supreme Court Confirmation Fights Through Shadowy Network — Leonard Leo is the top judicial lobbyist in the country and a well-known booster of the president. But the reach of his influence is just starting to come into focus. — A top conservative judicial activist used …