memeorandum: Joe Rogan addresses his repeated use of the N-word in viral clip (Jessica Bennett/Page Six)

2:10 PM ET, February 5, 2022

Top Items:

Joe Rogan Apologizes for ‘Shameful’ Past Use of Racial Slur — His apology came as listeners said that as many as 70 episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast had been quietly taken off Spotify; the company has yet to comment on the reported removals. — As pressure has intensified …

Discussion: Gizmodo, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, Vanity Fair, One America News Network, TheBlaze, The Verge, ET Canada, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan and Consequence, more at Mediagazer »

Jessica Bennett / Page Six:

Joe Rogan addresses his repeated use of the N-word in viral clip … Joe Rogan has responded to a resurfaced clip of him using the N-word almost two dozen times while hosting his wildly popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” — Calling the clip “the most regretful and shameful thing I've ever …

Discussion: RedState, Variety, The Daily Wire, Deadline, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com, New York Post and Consequence, more at Mediagazer »

Caroline Vakil / The Hill:

Trump responds to Pence criticism — Former President Trump responded to former Vice President Mike Pence's remarks that he did not have the authority to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. — “Just saw Mike Pence's statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything …

Discussion: Slate, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Mediaite and CBS News

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

This was the week when Trump revealed all — He really did want to overturn the 2020 election, and he never meant it when he said those who broke the law on Jan. 6 should have to pay. — Former president Donald Trump has told some big lies over the years.

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Raw Story and Salon

National Review:

RNC Should Take a Lesson from Mike Pence — The Republican National Committee has voted to formally censure Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for “actions in their positions as members of the January 6th Select Committee not befitting Republican members of Congress.” This is both morally repellent and politically self-destructive.

Discussion: Raw Story

Nicole Gaudiano / Insider: A former Marine and prosecutor who monitors Trump's base online has turned over information to the January 6 select committee

Politico:

Trump's ‘circular firing squad’ threatens GOP midterm gains — SALT LAKE CITY — Nine months before the midterm elections, nearly everything is falling the Republican Party's way, from President Joe Biden's dismal approval ratings to rising gas prices and a seemingly never-ending pandemic.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Raw Story, The Hill, HotAir, TheBlaze, Bloomberg, Insider and IJR

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Hawley posts a fist-pump to ignorance with his position on Ukraine — Something serious appears to have prompted Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., to label a fellow Republican, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a “con artist” and “one of the worst human beings.” Perhaps it was Hawley's public questioning …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Townhall, HuffPost and Political Wire

Michael Schwirtz / New York Times:

Russian Troops in Final Stages of Readiness Add to Worries for Ukraine — Though the Kremlin's intentions are unclear, Ukrainian officials are newly worried about the Crimean Peninsula, where Russia has deployed 10,000 additional troops, they said. — KYIV, Ukraine — While Russian …

Discussion: globalnews.ca, Japan Times, Comment is Freed, Townhall, Newsy and TFIGlobal

Michael Crowley / New York Times:
All Options Are Not on the Table as Biden Moves Troops Closer to Ukraine

Discussion: The National Interest, HotAir and TFIGlobal

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

GOP takes mail voting to court in swing states Biden won — A pair of looming state court cases could significantly curtail mail voting ahead of the midterms — one of Republicans' major goals since former President Donald Trump went to war against the practice in 2020.

Discussion: NBC10 Philadelphia

Michael Wines / New York Times:
North Carolina Court Says G.O.P. Political Maps Are Unconstitutional

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, Politico and Roll Call

WRAL-TV:
North Carolina Supreme Court strikes down new voting maps

Discussion: Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, Digby's Hullabaloo, Work Matters and One America News Network

Will Doran / Raleigh News & Observer:
Gerrymandering lawsuit: NC districts ruled unconstitutional

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fox News, Washington Examiner, WRAL-TV and Breitbart

Politico:

New York mayor holds court in swanky restaurant alongside friend with checkered past — NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams' whereabouts have long been a source of intrigue — from his unconventional living arrangement that spilled into public view on the campaign trail last year …

New York Daily News:
Mayor Adams apologizes for calling white NYPD officers ‘crackers’ in 2019: ‘That was inappropriate’

Discussion: BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, Breitbart, CBS New York, Politico, PIX11, TheBlaze and Fox News

The Daily Beast:

Trump Fixated on ‘Fucking Weird’ Senate Candidate and His Sex Life — The former president has gossiped openly about and so far declined to endorse Josh Mandel. — Starting at the very dawn of the Biden presidency, a slate of increasingly MAGA-fied Republican candidates have each competed …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Columbus Dispatch, NBC News and National Zero

Chris Megerian / Associated Press:

Looking for evidence? Trust us, Biden administration says — WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Biden's administration was asked for evidence to back up dramatic claims about national security developments this past week, it demurred with a simple rejoinder: You'll have to trust us on that.

Discussion: Breitbart and The Daily Beast

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Why ‘Trust Us’ Is Often Reason Enough Not to Trust the Government

Discussion: Mano Singham

Wall Street Journal:

The World Is Likely Sicker Than It Has Been in 100 Years — Omicron has probably made more people ill at the same time than in any period since the flu pandemic, experts say — in Mexico City, Joanna Sugden in London and Rajesh Roy — The world is living through a unique moment …

Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:

Trump and allies try to redefine racism by casting White men as victims — Holding court at a political rally in Texas last week, former president Donald Trump implied that he — a wealthy White man who was elected to an office almost exclusively held by White men — was also a victim of racism.

Discussion: Slate and The Western Journal

Andrew Mark Miller / New York Post:

Man who tried to burn Minnesota school during BLM riots gets probation — A man convicted of attempting to set fire to a high school during the Black Lives Matter riots in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd has been sentenced to five years probation.

Discussion: Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Todd Neikirk / HillReporter.com:

Documents Reveal That Clarence Thomas Has Been in Contact With Ron DeSantis “On Various Things” — Clarence Thomas' entry into the United States began with controversy. The judge was confirmed in 1991 despite claims of constant sexual harassment by subordinate Anita Hill.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog and Forbes

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Where Fox News and Donald Trump Took Us — Roger Ailes understood the appeal Mr. Trump had for Fox viewers. He didn't foresee how together they would redefine the limits of political discourse. — When Roger Ailes ran CNBC in the mid-1990s, he gave himself a talk show called “Straight Forward.”

Discussion: Mediaite

Samuel Benson / Politico:

Former clerk rewrites SCOTUS contenders' Wikipedia bios — A former law clerk for a potential Supreme Court nominee embarked on a Wikipedia editing spree over the past week, bolstering the page of his former boss while altering the pages of her competitors in an apparent attempt to invite liberal skepticism …

Discussion: Insider, Outside the Beltway, Reason and Fox News

Audrey Mcavoy / Associated Press:

US military faces crisis in Hawaii after leak poisons water — HONOLULU (AP) — A giant U.S. government fuel storage installation hidden inside a mountain ridge overlooking Pearl Harbor has provided fuel to military ships and planes crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean since World War II.

Louisa Loveluck / Washington Post:

The world forgot this Syrian prison. The Islamic State did not. … HASAKAH, Syria — The truck rumbling past Ghwaryan prison didn't look like much to worry about at first. It drove along as expected, but then abruptly veered rightward. It hit the prison's exterior wall near the main gate, and a fireball lit up the night sky.

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:

Dismal Russian Record in Occupied Eastern Ukraine Serves as Warning — The areas, once engines of the Ukrainian economy, are now impoverished, depopulated enclaves that increasingly rely on Russian subsidies to survive. It's what many fear could happen to the rest of the country if Vladimir Putin carries out a broader invasion.

Allan Smith / NBC News:

Republican anger over 2020 a wild card in midterms — “I think there are a lot of people who are saying it's rigged and there's no point in even going out and voting,” a GOP statehouse candidate said. “I hope that doesn't happen.” — FREEPORT, Pa. — In the last presidential election …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

A Missouri health official is the latest vaccine proponent to be pushed out. — Missouri's top health official, a Republican who opposes mask and vaccine mandates but spoke approvingly of the Covid vaccine, was supposed to have been confirmed by State Senate by Friday.

Billy Binion / Reason:

Amir Locke's Death Should Incense Anyone Who Cares About Gun Rights — An officer with the Minneapolis Police Department SWAT team shot and killed a 22-year-old man early Wednesday morning during the execution of a no-knock raid, reinvigorating debate around a law-enforcement tactic that many say is ripe for abuse.

Discussion: UPI, Mediaite and The Daily Beast