memeorandum: Gabrielle Giffords photos inspire friends and strangers alike (Brad Knickerbocker/Christian Science …)

1:30 PM ET, June 12, 2011

Top Items:

Rep. Weiner Used Congressional Gym As Backdrop — Rep. Anthony Weiner took numerous photos of himself — clothed and partially nude — at the House Members Gym and sent them to at least one woman ... raising questions about whether he used Congressional resources in his online exploits.

Discussion: The Hill, The Moderate Voice, AmSpecBlog, The Jawa Report, Mediaite, Runnin' Scared, Gothamist, The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, Riehl World View, Althouse and The Gateway Pundit

Fox News:

Weiner Opts for Treatment as New Self Portraits Emerge — Dismissing calls by Democratic leaders for him to resign over a sexting scandal, Rep. Anthony Weiner says he's taking a leave of absence and checking himself in for treatment instead. — But as House lawmakers return to Washington …

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Fox Nation and CNN

New York Times:

Weiner Agrees to Get Treatment as Calls for Resignation Intensify — Defying forceful demands for his resignation, Representative Anthony D. Weiner of New York said on Saturday that he was entering a psychological treatment center and seeking a leave of absence from the House to deal …

The Politico:
Abandoned, defiant Anthony Weiner seeks ‘treatment,’ House leave

Discussion: CNN, Ms Magazine Blog, National Review, FrumForum, Washington Post, Ben Smith's Blog, The Other McCain, Mediaite, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, Scared Monkeys, The Moderate Voice, Los Angeles Times, Wake up America, New York Magazine, Patterico's Pontifications and HotAirPundit

CNN:
Weiner to seek treatment amid growing pressure to resign

Discussion: Fox News, NationalJournal.com, Associated Press, AmSpecBlog, The Gateway Pundit, iOwnTheWorld.com, Althouse and Don Surber

Kevinliptak / CNN:
DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz calls on Weiner to resign

Discussion: RedState and Weasel Zippers

Associated Press:

Gabrielle Giffords photographs released — PHOENIX — Two photos of a smiling Rep. Gabrielle Giffords were released early Sunday by her office, her hair shorn short but few other telling signs of her gunshot wound to the head. — The Facebook photos, the first clear snapshots of Giffords since …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, Balloon Juice, Guardian and New York Magazine

Brad Knickerbocker / Christian Science Monitor:

Gabrielle Giffords photos inspire friends and strangers alike — New photos of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the Tucson attack in January, bring relief at evident progress. She still struggles to communicate, but friends say “she looks beautiful.” — Her hair is no longer long and blonde now; it's short and dark.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Wake up America

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Mitt Romney leads the Drudge primary — The Drudge primary has begun, and Mitt Romney is winning. — The former governor of Massachusetts may be the punching bag of the conservative media, ridiculed on blogs and talk radio as a plasticine, untrustworthy flip-flopper and the grandfather of the hated Obamacare.

Discussion: CNN and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

GOP Voting Factors: Look Out for Marital Infidelity — Mitt Romney's religion is far less of a concern to potential Republican voters than it once was, and a candidate's race or sex are non-issues for vast majorities. But if a GOP contender supports gay civil unions — or has committed marital infidelity — all bets are off.

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

GOPers weigh in on candidate attributes — This is the kind of poll that should be pretty discouraging to Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, and Rudy Giuliani. … This part of the poll was less about individual candidates, and more about candidate attributes. Respondents were told …

New York Times:

U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors — The Obama administration is leading a global effort to deploy “shadow” Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks.

Discussion: Engadget, Prairie Weather and FrumForum, more at Techmeme »

Molly Ball / The Politico:

Long-lost Sarah Palin surfaces in emails — ‘Can you flippinbelieveit?!’ Palin said to the news of her addition to the 2008 ticket. AP and Reuters photos — Once, there was a different Sarah Palin. — She was hands-on and averse to partisan politics.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, Conservatives4Palin, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, newsfeed.time.com, New York Magazine, The Caucus and Anchorage Daily News

New York Times: Palin's E-Mails Undercut Simplistic Views of Her, Both Positive and Negative

Toby Harnden / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
American Way: Sarah Palin email frenzy backfires on her media antagonists

Discussion: Guardian, Balloon Juice and New York Times

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

When It Comes to Scandal, Girls Won't Be Boys — WASHINGTON — There was a collective rolling of the eyes and a distinct sense of “Here we go again” among the women of the House of Representatives last week when yet another male politician, Representative Anthony D. Weiner, confessed his …

Mark Steyn / National Review:

Obama's Road to Nowhere — 'There are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery," President Obama said at a Jeep plant in Toledo the other day. “ We're going to pass through some rough terrain that even a Wrangler would have a tough time with. ” His audience booed.

Discussion: Don Surber

BBC:

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed: Death is ‘blow’ for al-Qaeda — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the death of top African al-Qaeda militant Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a “significant blow” to the group. — He and another militant were killed earlier this week in a shootout with police …

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Reuters and TalkLeft

BBC:
‘US Africa embassy bomber Fazul Abdullah Mohammed dead’

Discussion: americanthinker.com and FrumForum

Abdi Sheikh / Reuters:
Somalia says killed top African al Qaeda operative

Discussion: Washington Post, 1 The Long War Journal, Hot Air, Lisa Graas and Weasel Zippers

Todd Gregory / Media Matters for America:

Fox's Eric Bolling: Obama Is Hosting “Hoodlums” In “The Hizzouse” — During the opening of Fox Business' Follow the Money on Friday, Eric Bolling teased a segment about the White House hosting the president of Gabon by saying, “Guess who's coming to dinner? A dictator.