memeorandum: The Facebook Papers Are a Big Fat Nothingburger (Robby Soave/Reason)

8:00 PM ET, October 25, 2021

Top Items:

Adrienne LaFrance / The Atlantic:

‘History Will Not Judge Us Kindly’ — Before I tell you what happened at exactly 2:28 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the White House—and how it elicited a very specific reaction, some 2,400 miles away, in Menlo Park, California—you need to remember the mayhem of that day …

Discussion: CNBC, NPR, New York Post, Washington Post, Mashable, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, The Hill, TechCrunch, Financial Times, The Gateway Pundit and Politico, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

The case against Mark Zuckerberg: Insiders say Facebook's CEO chose growth over safety … Late last year, Mark Zuckerberg faced a choice: Comply with demands from Vietnam's ruling Communist Party to censor anti-government dissidents or risk getting knocked offline in one of Facebook's most lucrative Asian markets.

Robby Soave / Reason:

The Facebook Papers Are a Big Fat Nothingburger — More than a dozen mainstream media organizations published reports today on the so-called Facebook Papers, a trove of internal company documents obtained and released by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen. The headlines promised dramatic revelations and damning indictments.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Verge and The Daily Dot, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
Apple once threatened Facebook ban over Mideast maid abuse

Discussion: CNN, more at Techmeme »

Ellen Cushing / The Atlantic:
How Facebook Fails 90 Percent of Its Users

Discussion: Kevin Drum, TheGrio, Wired and No More Mister Nice Blog, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:
Facebook will fuel further unrest, whistleblower says

Discussion: WINK NEWS, The Guardian and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Ellise Shafer / Variety:

Dave Chappelle Willing to Discuss ‘The Closer’ With Trans Community, but Says He's 'Not Bending to Anybody's Demands' … Dave Chappelle has spoken out about the controversy over his Netflix special “The Closer” in a new stand-up video, saying that he is willing to meet with transgender Netflix employees …

Discussion: HotAir, New York Post, Forbes, One America News Network, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, The Wrap, IndieWire and Decider

Brian Lyman / The Montgomery Advertiser:

Rep. Mo Brooks says he wasn't involved in planning Jan. 6 rally before U.S. Capitol riot — U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks said Monday he did not help plan a Jan. 6 rally that preceded an attack on the U.S. Capitol that involved the deaths of at least five people and injuries to hundreds more.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Times, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, The Federalist, IJR, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars and Variety

Khaleda Rahman / Newsweek:

AOC Calls for Expulsion of Any Members of Congress Involved in Planning January 6 Riot — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called for the expulsion of any member of Congress who helped plan the storming of the U.S. Capitol after a bombshell report alleged that several Republican lawmakers had co-ordinated with rally organizers.

Discussion: The Western Journal, Common Dreams, BizPac Review, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo and Twitchy

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
There's a Lot of Confusion About What Is and Isn't in That Rolling Stone Article

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, LGBTQ Nation, The Mahablog and Washington Post

Sarah Mucha / Axios:

McAuliffe pivots to schools — In the closing weeks of their closely watched Virginia gubernatorial race, Terry McAuliffe is going after Glenn Youngkin on unlikely ground — public education — as he tries to reverse the Republican's surprisingly strong challenge.

Discussion: Fox News, RedState, Townhall, Washington Post, ABC News, NBC4 Washington, Ace of Spades HQ, HotAir and Washington Times

Garrett Epps / Washington Monthly: Want to Know More About Critical Race Theory? Look at Virginia's Schools—For More Than 75 Years

Kate Scanlon / Washington Examiner:
James Carville: ‘I hate guys like Glenn Youngkin’

Discussion: National Review, New Republic and Breitbart

Allahpundit / HotAir:
The election truther in the Virginia election isn't the Republican

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Post, National Review and National File

Politico:

What's still in the Dem megabill? Cheat sheet on 12 big topics — Democrats are making big sacrifices to slash the price tag of their social spending bill from $3.5 trillion to roughly $2 trillion as they close in on a deal that can satisfy both the party's moderate and progressive factions.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, ABC News, Florida Politics, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, New York Times, CNBC, Washington Examiner and Mediaite

Associated Press:
AP source: Manchin agreeable to wealth tax for Biden plan

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, HotAir, Talking Points Memo, Insider, Breitbart, NBC News, Joe.My.God., NBC Bay Area, Bloomberg, WPTA21 and New York Times

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
What drives Sinema? A different view of politics

Discussion: Associated Press, Insider, Daily Kos and HotAir

Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Democrats haggle over Medicare, other spending priorities entering critical week for Biden

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Washington Times

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: Manchin shutting down Sanders on Medicare expansion

Sean Lyngaas / CNN:

First on CNN: Biden administration expected to name GOP official who challenged Trump's lies to key election security role — Washington (CNN)The Biden administration is expected to name Kim Wyman, a Republican secretary of state who challenged former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud …

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:

The party of thugs — In 2020, Joe Biden repeatedly insisted that once Donald Trump departed office the Republican Party would become more reasonable. Instead, it has become even more of a party of thugs, where basic norms of polite behavior are held in contempt.

Discussion: HotAir, Breitbart, McClatchy Washington Bureau and The Federalist

Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Deficit shrinks in the first year of Joe Biden's presidency

Discussion: Washington Times

Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:

Donald Trump Jr. Is Hawking Shockingly Tacky ‘Alec Baldwin Kills People’ T-Shirts — The Trump son also posted a photoshopped pic of Baldwin wearing one of the Ts, three days after the accidental and fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins. — It's only been three days since Alec Baldwin accidentally shot …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Independent, The Hill, Insider, Daily Mail, NBC News, Who the Hell Is Jim Treacher?, Raw Story, Mercury News, First Draft and Mock Paper Scissors, more at Mediagazer »

Steph Bazzle / HillReporter.com:

[Exclusive] [PIC] Ron DeSantis Accused of Attending Drinking Party With Students At High School Where He Taught — After college and before law school, Ron DeSantis spent a year teaching history at a high school in Georgia. According to a source with close knowledge of the matter …

Discussion: Twitchy and Page Array

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:

Montanans used to live and let live. Today bitter confrontations dim Big Sky Country. — KALISPELL, Mont. — By the time the third teenager had died by suicide since the start of the school year, the Flathead Valley was desperate for unity. The community had been jittery for months.

Discussion: Press Watch

Politico:

Jan. 6 investigators privately question Bannon associate — Dustin Stockton, a conservative activist linked to Steve Bannon, is fielding questions Monday from congressional investigators scrutinizing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the interview.

A.B. Stoddard / Real Clear Politics:
GOP Bets Swing Voters Will Downplay the Insurrection Too

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, New York Magazine and Raw Story

Sara Murray / CNN:

Trump endorsed Herschel Walker, Max Miller and Sean Parnell. They're now facing scrutiny over their pasts — (CNN)Donald Trump is throwing his support behind a trio of candidates whose troubled pasts have come under scrutiny, as he continues to influence the standards of the GOP from his post-presidency perch.

Discussion: Raw Story

Eugene Scott / Washington Post:
Republicans, once hesitant to back Herschel Walker, rally to support football star and Senate candidate

Discussion: HotAir, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos and The American Independent

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

Billionaire Leon Black Is Being Investigated by the Manhattan D.A., Sources Say — Two former models have met with prosecutors following claims of rape and sexual assault against the former “best friend” of Jeffrey Epstein. — Last week the mandarins of high finance assembled at the Beverly Hilton …

Gary Fineout / Politico:

Friction between Senate and DeSantis grows — Presented by Florida Education Champions — Hello and welcome to Monday. — Here we go — So there's another front opening up in Florida's mask wars, and this time Senate President Wilton Simpson is defending his turf against the administration of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Discussion: The Capitolist, RedState, Miami Herald and Florida Politics

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

Are Vaccine Boosters Widely Needed? Some Federal Advisers Have Misgivings. — “In our hearts, I think people don't quite agree with this notion of a booster dose,” said one leading vaccine expert. — Following a series of endorsements over the last month by scientific panels advising federal agencies …

Discussion: HotAir, The Daily Caller and Althouse

Kim Severson / New York Times:

Thanksgiving Food Prices Increase as Supply Chain Costs Rise — Nearly every ingredient, from the turkey to the after-dinner coffee, is expected to cost more, for a host of reasons. — Thanksgiving 2021 could be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday.

Discussion: Twitchy and Gawker

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The Trump team and Fox News alleged dead voters. Most cases were either debunked or actually involved Republicans. — President Donald Trump and those around him threw a multitude of voter-fraud conspiracy theories at the wall after the 2020 election. And few were as pervasive as the idea …

Discussion: Macomb Daily, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal and Insider

Dean Obeidallah / MSNBC:

Texas Republicans found another way to empower the white vote — Last week, the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature approved new maps redrawing congressional and state legislative districts that effectively carve out districts to hold on to conservative white power.

Discussion: Washington Post, Common Dreams, The Texas Tribune and Outside the Beltway

Revolver:

Meet Ray Epps: The Fed-Protected Provocateur Who Appears To Have Led The Very First 1/6 Attack On The U.S. Capitol — Experience Revolver without ads … In a House hearing on Thursday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) questioned AG Merrick Garland about a mysterious man, Ray Epps …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Raw Story

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:

Biden's latest tax-the-rich scheme would be an unworkable and possibly unconstitutional mess — The Biden administration's idea to tax billionaires' unrealized capital gains may sound good to the tax-the-rich crowd. In practice, it would be an unworkable and arguably unconstitutional mess that could harm everyone.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Times and pjmedia.com

Chuck Ross / Washington Free Beacon:

Biden Admin Taps School Board Association Honcho For Post In Wake Of Infamous Letter — The Department of Education earlier this month tapped the president of the National School Board Association to serve on a federal board that tracks student progress, the latest indication …

Discussion: And another thing, Washington Examiner, RedState, The Daily Caller, The Federalist and The Western Journal

Margaret Renkl / New York Times:

Leaf Blowers Destroy the Environment — Ms. Renkl is a contributing Opinion writer who covers flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South. — NASHVILLE — Into these perfect October afternoons, when light gleams on the red dogwood berries and the blue arrowwood berries …

Robert O'Harrow Jr / Washington Post:

God, Trump and the Closed-Door World of a Major Conservative Group — What internal recordings and documents reveal about the Council for National Policy — and the future of the Republican Party — In October 2015, Donald Trump was still a laugh line for right-wing Christian activists.

Discussion: The Guardian