memeorandum: Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House (Protect Democracy)

1:20 PM ET, March 28, 2023

Top Items:

Activist group led by Ginni Thomas received nearly $600,000 in anonymous donations — Funding for group that battled ‘cultural Marxism’ was channeled through right-wing think tank, Post investigation finds — A little-known conservative activist group led by Virginia “Ginni” Thomas …

Discussion: USA Today, Forbes and Raw Story

Patrick Ruffini / The Intersection:

Why this extremely viral poll result might not be real — It's unlikely that Americans are half as patriotic as they were four years ago. Here's what's happening instead. — This chart from the March Wall Street Journal/NORC poll was destined to go viral.

Discussion: National Review, The Federalist, Boston Herald, Breitbart, American Greatness and Washington Post

Mike Allen / Axios:

Rot of nation's core values quantified by single poll — Rarely does one poll stare so deeply into the soul of a nation and tell its story. But a new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll exposes generational and political divides that echo loudly and transformatively across our culture, politics and governance.

Discussion: Fox News

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

The inside story of why a Florida school removed a movie about Ruby Bridges — Ruby Bridges is a civil rights hero. At just six years old, Bridges was the first Black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, fulfilling the promise of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Discussion: VICE and Balloon Juice

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
What the Republican Push for ‘Parents’ Rights' Is Really About

Discussion: Blue Virginia and Digby's Hullabaloo

Jonathan Edwards / Washington Post:
Fla. parent files complaint about second-graders watching ‘Ruby Bridges’

Discussion: Progress Pond

Matt Young / The Daily Beast:

Photos Show Nashville School Shooter Personalized Weapons Used in School Massacre — EVIDENCE PILES UP — Police have released pictures of the weapons used in the mass shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville Monday morning, two of which were obtained legally and locally, authorities said.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, NBC News, al.com, Raw Story and Fox News

CNN:
Nashville private school shooting suspect had maps of building and scouted possible second attack location, police say

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CBS News, HotAir, Fox News, ABC7, The Tennessean, The Tennessean, NOQ Report, Insider, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Fox News, NPR, Breitbart, al.com, USA Today, KNSD-TV, Mercury News, TMZ.com, New York Daily News, New Republic, Townhall, NBC News, New York Post, National Review, The Western Journal, Fox News, NewsNation, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Breitbart, HuffPost, Reuters, Forbes, NBC 6 South Florida, Agence France-Presse, BizPac Review, IJR, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, CBS News, The Post Millennial, The Hill, BizPac Review, LGBTQ Nation, CBS News, 77 WABC, UPI, KTVX-TV, RedState, Forbes, HuffPost, Ace of Spades HQ, Cyprus Mail, PJ Media, WCBD News 2, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Zandar Versus The Stupid, WKRN-TV, Breitbart and NPR

WTVF-TV:
She checked her Instagram. She didn't expect a message from The Covenant School shooter.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, New York Post, NBC News, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, RedState, Breitbart, BizPac Review, The Daily Beast, The Pulse, Fox News, IJR, The Western Journal, The Post Millennial, Not the Bee, Boston Herald and The Guardian

New York Times:
Nashville Shooter Kills 6, Including 3 Children, at Covenant School

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

Chris Christie, Putting Out Feelers for a 2024 Run, Takes Aim at Trump — A speech in New Hampshire looks back on 2016 and ahead to another potential campaign — one that would have to start from square one. — GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Chris Christie wants a New Hampshire do-over.

Discussion: The Triad, Washington Post and Breitbart

Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:

Christie sees a lane in the GOP primary: Trump destroyer — The former New Jersey governor said the Republicans need someone who can take on Trump “like what I did to Marco.” — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wondered if the Republican field has what it takes to stop former President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Bloomberg, HotAir, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Raw Story, CBS News, Fox News, The Hill and Mediaite

Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
The Chris Christie rebrand runs through New Hampshire

Discussion: USA Today, HuffPost and Fox News

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Inside the U.S. Pressure Campaign Over Israel's Judicial Overhaul — President Biden and his advisers bombarded the Israeli government with warnings that the country's image as the sole democracy in the Middle East was at stake. — WASHINGTON — In the 48 hours before Prime Minister …

Discussion: The Times of Israel, HuffPost, Cyprus Mail, Haaretz, USA Today and Al-Monitor

New York Times:

Netanyahu Delays Bid to Overhaul Israel's Judiciary as Protests Rage — The Israeli prime minister called for dialogue as civil unrest and work stoppages reached a crisis point, grinding the country to a halt. — JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he was delaying …

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Sean Hannity's attempt to coach Trump backfires — again — Despite the Fox host's prompts, Trump declined to give him the answers he sought. And they pertain to some central questions in a key legal fight. — Donald Trump's long-awaited return to Fox News's airwaves on Monday night …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, Fox News, The Hill, CITIZEN FREE PRESS, BizPac Review, Sean Hannity and The Daily Caller

Alex Burness / Bolts:

“Back to 1902”: Virginia Governor Revives Lifetime Ban on Voting — Governor Glenn Youngkin just gave himself a lot more power to pick and choose Virginia voters. The Republican governor's administration told state lawmakers in a letter last week that he was rescinding his predecessors' policy …

Discussion: Political Wire

CNBC:

Sam Bankman-Fried paid over $40 million to bribe at least one official in China, DOJ alleges in new indictment — FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried paid out tens of millions of dollars in bribes to at least one Chinese government official, federal prosecutors alleged in a new indictment.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, The Wrap, Associated Press, Raw Story and Quartz, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:
FTX's Bankman-Fried charged with bribing Chinese officials in new indictment

Sharon LaFraniere / New York Times:

'We're Going Away': A State's Choice to Forgo Medicaid Funds Is Killing Hospitals — Mississippi is one of 10 states, all with Republican-led legislatures, that continue to reject federal funding to expand health insurance for the poor, intensifying financial pressure on hospitals.

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story and Pluribus News

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
North Carolina Expands Medicaid After Republicans Abandon Their Opposition

Discussion: Raleigh News & Observer, Fox News, governor.nc.gov and The Pulse

Maria Verza / Associated Press:

Official: 39 dead in fire at migrant facility in Mexico — More than three dozen migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, an official said Tuesday. Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets outside …

Wall Street Journal:

The IRS Makes a Strange House Call on Matt Taibbi — An agent shows up at the home of the Twitter files journalist who testified before Congress. Democrats are denouncing the House GOP investigation into the weaponization of government, but maybe that's because Republicans are getting somewhere.

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

“I'll Walk Away From Anything”: Kara Swisher Calls the Shots — The ultimate media insider is juggling podcasts, writing a memoir, and texting with “half the planet.” ("She has a coffee before bed," says Ben Smith.) Swisher opens up to Vanity Fair about her career, including leaving The New York Times …

Walter Russell Mead / Wall Street Journal:

America Shrugs, and the World Makes Plans — U.S. allies step up, but a too-aloof Washington could lead them into the arms of enemies. — WSJ Opinion: China and Russia Stand Together Against the West — War in Europe, tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, Russia and China deepening ties with Iran …

Politico: Ukraine is changing the math for countries caught between the U.S. and China

Max Parrott / The Lever:

To Crush Unions, Starbucks Targets Employee Communications — In a federal court case over Starbucks' alleged anti-union retaliation, the coffee giant is deploying a maneuver that labor experts say could have a chilling effect on workers' organizing efforts and potentially set a disastrous precedent …

Discussion: Bloomberg, More Perfect Union, New York Times, NPR and The Hill

CNN:

Inside the backchannel communications keeping Donald Trump in the loop on Republican investigations — Donald Trump continues to wield enormous power on Capitol Hill as House Republicans seek to curry favor with the former president, pursuing his fixations through their investigations …

Lee O. Sanderlin / Baltimore Sun:

FBI offers $10K reward for info on Roy McGrath, now an ‘international flight risk’ — The FBI has determined Roy McGrath is an “international flight risk” and is offering a $10,000 reward for information about his whereabouts. — McGrath, 53, was former Gov. Larry Hogan's chief of staff …

Discussion: Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

Disney Eliminates Its Metaverse Division as Part of Company's Layoffs Plan — The unit, once seen as developing a new form of storytelling, had about 50 employees — White-Collar Recession: Why Job Cuts Are Hitting Professional Workers — White-Collar Recession: Why Job Cuts Are Hitting Professional Workers

Discussion: Deadline, Fortune, Variety, Breitbart, Quartz, CoinDesk, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, The Wrap, Forbes and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »

Zoë Schiffer / Platformer:

The secret list of Twitter VIPs getting boosted over everyone else — Congratulations to Ben Shapiro, AOC, and ... LeBron? — Last week, Twitter began notifying users who were verified under the company's previous regime that their blue check marks will be taken away unless they become paid subscribers for $8 a month.

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Verge, New York Post, Bloomberg and spiked, more at Mediagazer »

Christian Paz / Vox:

The House GOP's investigations are flopping — House Republicans are still looking for their next Benghazi. But their investigations are unpopular. — Even before they had taken control of the House, House Republicans were promising payback. — Using the powers of the various …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Protect Democracy:

Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House — “Each American lives in a congressional district in which every two years they may vote for a single official to alone represent their district in the U.S. House of Representatives. This reality is so familiar to most that it perhaps …

Garrett Epps / Washington Monthly:

The Dangerous Journey of John Eastman — How a mild-mannered law professor became the architect of a scheme to overturn a presidential election. — God help me, I thought of John Eastman as a friend. — Today he stands accused in the court of public opinion of being the chief legal architect …

Discussion: Political Wire

Paul McLeary / Politico:

U.S. suspends sharing nuke information with Russia — The announcement comes after Moscow said it would put a key nuclear pact on ice. — The U.S. has stopped sharing information about its strategic nuclear stockpile with Russia in response to Moscow's decision last month to suspend …

The Daily Beast:

NY Times Fires Off Warning to Staffers After Trans Coverage Brouhaha — Confider reveals this week that Times brass have hauled the staffers who signed an open letter criticizing the paper into “tongue-lashing” sessions and sent them a warning memo. … The New York Times has left …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Rare beetle species named after ex-California governor Brown — California Beetle Jerry Brown — This photo courtesy of Bembidion expert David Maddison, a professor of integrative biology at Oregon State University, shows a specimen of Bembidion brownorum discovered by UC Berkeley entomologist Kipling …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Cami Mondeaux / Washington Examiner:

DeSantis hit with second ethics complaint before prospective presidential bid takes off — The head of the Florida Democratic Party filed a complaint against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), marking a second possible ethics violation before the Republican governor has even launched a White House bid.

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, HotAir, Insider and Mediaite