memeorandum: “Furious.” France withdraws their American ambassadors (Jazz Shaw/HotAir)

12:50 PM ET, September 18, 2021

Top Items:

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

For one Capitol reporter, Jan. 6 was the final straw — but he had watched a crisis brew for years — Andrew Taylor began his journalism career in the late 1980s, clipping newspaper articles for the politics reporters at Congressional Quarterly. — This spring, more than 30 years later …

Alia Shoaib / Yahoo News:

Donald Trump wrote to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to ‘decertify’ the 2020 election — Donald Trump wrote to Georgia Secretary of State asking him to “decertify” the results of the election. — In the letter, Trump repeated unproven claims of widespread election fraud.

Discussion: Insider and Daily Kos

John L. Dorman / Insider:

Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says party leaders pushed restrictive election laws ‘because they got scared’: book — In a new book, Geoff Duncan said that GOP leaders pushing restrictive voting laws are “scared.” — “Many held to the theory that if more people vote, Republicans will lose,” he wrote.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Republican leaders remain silent as Trump casts perpetrators of Jan. 6 attack as political prisoners

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Raw Story, New York Times, CNN, HillReporter.com and WGN-TV

Politico:
Gonzalez exit demoralizes GOP moderates

Discussion: Bipartisan Report, Raw Story, New Republic, The Hill and Daily Kos

Jazz Shaw / HotAir:

“Furious.” France withdraws their American ambassadors — The fallout from the sudden announcement this week of a secret deal between the United States and Great Britain to help Australia acquire nuclear submarines is not calming down yet. If anything, it's escalating.

Discussion: Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Reuters, Raw Story, Metro.co.uk and The Guardian

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Secret Talks and a Hidden Agenda: Behind the U.S. Defense Deal that France Called a ‘Betrayal’ — In meeting after meeting with their French counterparts, U.S. officials gave no heads-up about their plans to upend France's largest defense contract. — The United States and Australia went …

Discussion: Politico, Sydney Morning Herald, Reuters, Japan Times and Trending Politics

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
France recalls its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia to protest Biden's submarine deal.

Discussion: Twitchy, Washington Post, CNN, UPI, East Bay Times, Washington Times, Denver Post, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, CNBC, Washington Examiner, Financial Times, CBS News, The Hill, Breitbart, National Review and HotAir

Rick Noack / Washington Post:
Why the French are so furious at the Biden administration over a derailed submarine deal

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and RedState

Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
The Sharp U.S. Pivot to Asia Is Throwing Europe Off Balance

Discussion: Defense One and Washington Post

Washington Post:

Matt Braynard, one-time Trump aide, finds spotlight with Jan. 6 crusade — The last time Matt Braynard held a rally in D.C. to defend those arrested for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, about 100 people showed up. But now Braynard is taking his protest outside the site of the insurrection …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Wall Street Journal, UPI and Raw Story

Dean Obeidallah / MSNBC:

Trump allies are still spreading a dangerous Jan. 6 myth — On Saturday, supporters of former president Donald Trump are holding a rally in Washington, D.C. in support of the Jan. 6 attackers currently detained for their role in that act of domestic terrorism.

Discussion: Associated Press, Oil City News and New York Times

Reuters:
‘Threats of violence’ at U.S. Capitol pro-Trump rally, police warn

Discussion: ABC7, Breitbart, CNBC and Associated Press

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Senate Republicans say they will vote to allow a debt default, leaving Democrats scrambling for plan to avert economic crisis — Early last year, one of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's longest rivals offered a lesson about why the Kentucky Republican is unfazed by his critics whenever he digs in on a political strategy.

Discussion: CNN

Ewan Palmer / Newsweek:

Doctor Who Said Masks Cause Carbon Dioxide Poisoning Has License Revoked — A doctor in Oregon has had his license revoked for continually refusing to follow COVID-19 guidelines when dealing with patients and spreading misinformation about face masks. — The Oregon Medical Board issued …

Discussion: Raw Story

Benjamin Mueller / New York Times:

They Shunned Covid Vaccines but Embraced Antibody Treatment — Championed by doctors and conservative radio hosts alike, monoclonal antibodies for Covid are in high demand — even from those who don't want a vaccine. — Lanson Jones did not think that the coronavirus would come for him.

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: What the Pentagon knew about that drone attack — DRIVING THE DAY — SCOOP: EX-MEMBERS TELL BIDEN “FINISH THE JOB” — In a letter obtained by Playbook this morning, 21 former House Democrats who lost their seats in 2010 amid GOP attacks over their support …

Discussion: New York Times

Nick Miroff / Washington Post:

Biden administration to ramp up deportation flights to Haiti, aiming to deter mass migration into Texas — The Biden administration is preparing to send planeloads of migrants back to Haiti starting as soon as Sunday in a deportation blitz aimed at discouraging more border-crossers from streaming …

Discussion: Vox, Mother Jones, HotAir, MyNorthwest.com, New York Times, The Guardian and TheGrio

Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:

Three Sunday shows ignored NYT report on botched drone strike Pentagon now admits killed 10 Afghan civilians — ABC, NBC, CNN skipped the Times investigation that previewed the Pentagon's admission — Pentagon: US drone strike killed 10 civilians in Afghanistan

Washington Post:
U.S. military admits ‘horrible mistake’ in Kabul drone strike that killed 10 Afghans

Discussion: Slate, Power Line, RedState, Common Dreams, One America News Network, National Review, The Western Journal and HillReporter.com

New York Times:

The Scientist and the A.I.-Assisted, Remote-Control Killing Machine — Israeli agents had wanted to kill Iran's top nuclear scientist for years. Then they came up with a way to do it with no operatives present. — Iran's top nuclear scientist woke up an hour before dawn, as he did most days …

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Jordan Williams / The Hill:

W.Va. Gov. frustrated over vaccination rate: ‘We just are going to keep lining the body bags up’ — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) expressed frustration with his state's vaccination rate, warning constituents that people are either going to get inoculated against COVID-19, or “we're going to keep lining the body bags.”

Discussion: WV MetroNews and YouTube

Brad Bannon / The Hill:

California dreaming did not become reality for Republicans — California dreaming did not become reality for Republicans. Back in August, they had high hopes of taking over the governor's mansion and pinned sitting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom against the ropes. Then they failed to land the knockout punch.

John McWhorter / New York Times:

Fredric March's Misguided Antiracist ‘Reckoning’ at the University of Wisconsin — What is it about the University of Wisconsin and race? The administration's recent decision to move a rock from view because a journalist referred to it with the N-word almost 100 years ago was goofy enough.

Discussion: Althouse

Max Fisher / New York Times:

As Populists Decline, the Center-Left Sees Hints of a Comeback — A long-struggling political faction has seen surprising gains this year, in part because of changes wrought by the pandemic. Can it hold on to them? — A style of politics long considered in decline is experiencing something …

Discussion: New York Post, Foreign Policy and National Review

Tom Steele / Dallas Morning News:

First Baptist's Robert Jeffress: ‘There is no credible religious argument against the vaccines’ — The downtown Dallas megachurch's senior pastor is among faith leaders across the country who aren't endorsing vaccine exemptions for their congregants. — As Americans increasingly seek …

Washington Post:

McAuliffe, Youngkin locked in tight race for Virginia governor, Post-Schar School poll finds — RICHMOND — Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are locked in a tight race for Virginia governor, with McAuliffe standing at 50 percent to 47 percent for Youngkin among likely voters in a Washington Post-Schar School poll.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Magazine, Politico, Political Wire and ABC News

Sam Dorman / Fox News:
Catholic group using geo-data to target parishes in Virginia governor's race

Discussion: Townhall

Tandra Smith / al.com:

Alabama Pickers, couple known for reselling and vaccine opposition, both dead of COVID — A married Alabama couple known for their reselling videos on YouTube under the name “Alabama Pickers” have both died of COVID. — Dusty and Tristan Graham lived in Huntsville, where they would often post videos …

Discussion: The Daily Dot, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Beast, Insider, New York Post and Crooks and Liars

Washington Post:

We're not calling out Nicki Minaj. We're calling her in. — Oni Blackstock is a primary care and HIV physician and founder and executive director of Health Justice. Uché Blackstock is an emergency physician and founder and chief executive of Advancing Health Equity.

Discussion: TheBlaze, Insider and RedState

New York Post:

Chris Christie's nephew's bar mitzvah leads to COVID-19 outbreak, NJ school closure — A New Jersey middle school was forced to hold virtual classes on Friday after several students contracted COVID-19 while celebrating the bar mitzvah of former Gov. Chris Christie's nephew, The Post has learned.

Discussion: Insider and Political Wire