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11:30 AM ET, February 7, 2012

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Jim Messina / Barack Obama:
We Will Not Play by Two Sets of Rules  —  In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs—non-candidate political committees that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests.
RELATED:
Mike McIntire / New York Times:
Major Obama Donors Tied to Fugitive Who Fled to Mexico  —  Two American brothers of a Mexican casino magnate who fled drug and fraud charges in the United States and has been seeking a pardon enabling him to return have emerged as major fund-raisers and donors for President Obama's re-election campaign.
Glenn Thrush / Politico:
Obama embraces the super PAC  —  President Barack Obama — in an act of hypocrisy or necessity, depending on the beholder — has reversed course and is now blessing the efforts of a sputtering super PAC, Priorities USA Action, organized to fight GOP dark-money attacks.
New York Times:
Obama Yields in Marshaling of ‘Super PAC’  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is signaling to wealthy Democratic donors that he wants them to start contributing to an outside group supporting his re-election, reversing a long-held position as he confronts a deep financial disadvantage on a vital front in the campaign.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:   Obama backs act limiting spending
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Obama gives blessing to a super PAC
Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Politico
CNN:
Fundraisers encouraged to raise for PACs Obama once denounced
Discussion: Weasel Zippers
Politics:
Obama's Latest Money Decision: Less Control, But It Matters Less
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Big Day for Santorum?  —  Rick Santorum could be headed for a big day in today's contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri.  Missouri looks like a probable win for Santorum.  He's at 45% there to 32% for Mitt Romney and 19% for Paul.  Minnesota provides an opportunity for a win as well.
RELATED:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Influential conservative blogger endorses ‘sweet meteor of death’ in GOP primary  —  Influential conservative blogger Erick Erickson said he would endorse the “sweet meteor of death” over any of the current GOP candidates, but would back the party's eventual nominee in the general election against President Obama.
Jgalloway / Political Insider:
Karen Handel resigns from Komen for the Cure  —  Karen Handel, the former GOP candidate for governor, just announced her resignation as a senior vice president for public of Susan G. Komen for the Cure - one week after the breast cancer charity reversed itself on a decision to sever financial ties with Planned Parenthood.
RELATED:
TBogg:
It's All Over But For The Severance Package and Non-Disclosure Agreement  —  Looks like Karen Handel will be packing up her desk (novelty coffee mug, Jesus riding a dinosaur Precious Moments statue, stolen office supplies emblazoned with pink ribbons) because a job may be opening at the Komen Foundation very soon.
Marjorie Clifton / The Huffington Post:
Birth Control and Why the Catholic Church Needs to Inform Its Own Conscience  —  I am the product of 14 years of Catholic school and am a practicing Catholic, actively involved in the church all of my life.  As a woman with a career in politics and women's leadership, I have quietly worked within …
Discussion: Pirate's Cove
RELATED:
CBS New York:
Catholic League Poised To Go To War With Obama Over Mandatory Birth Control Payments  —  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Catholic leaders upped the ante Monday, threatening to challenge the Obama administration over a provision of the new health care law that would require all employers …
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
White House, Surrogates Push Back on Catholic Bishop Uproar Over Contraception
Sorourke / nation.foxnews.com:
Clint Eastwood: ‘I am Certainly Not Affiliated with Mr. Obama’  —  FoxNation.com  —  Following the fall out over the controversial Chrysler Super Bowl halftime ad, Clint Eastwood spoke exclusively with O'Reilly Factor producer Ron Mitchell...  Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod tweeted his support for the ad last night.
RELATED:
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Karl Rove ‘offended’ by Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad
Wall Street Journal:
Designer Gear for Obama Raising a Ruckus  —  Republicans Contend Relatively Low-Cost Items to Be Sold at Fund-Raiser May Amount to Campaign-Finance Violations  —  WASHINGTON—Move over, PACs.  The latest campaign-finance flap is about sacks.  —  At a New York fund-raising event Tuesday called …
Discussion: Weasel Zippers
RELATED:
Mj Lee / Reuters:
Russell Simmons defends Obama campaign designer goods
Gretchen Morgenson / New York Times:
DocX Faces Foreclosure Fraud Charges in Missouri  —  One of the largest companies that provided home foreclosure services to lenders across the nation, DocX, has been indicted on forgery charges by a Missouri grand jury — one of the few criminal actions to follow reports of widespread improprieties against homeowners.
James Joyner / Outside the Beltway:
David Frum Eviscerates Charles Murray's Latest Book  —  David Frum begins a withering review for The Daily Beast, “Charles Murray's Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 is an important book that will have large influence.  It is unfortunately not a good book.”
Discussion: The Moderate Voice
RELATED:
Patrick Temple-West / Reuters:
FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists  —  (Reuters) - Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday.  —  These extremists, sometimes known as “sovereign citizens …
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
This Is So Classy: ‘Yellow Girl’  —  Thanks to TPM for a tip to what you see if you examine the HTML code* of the Pete Hoekstra / Fred Davis “we take your jobs” video.  —  The image of the “Chinese” girl in the video, who speaks American-accented English, is labelled as ... well, see for yourself:
Lawrence Hurley / eenews.net:
SUPREME COURT:  —  Judges already citing Wal-Mart ruling in environmental cases  —  A major Supreme Court ruling from last year that is widely predicted to reduce the number of successful class-action claims against big companies is already being cited in environmental cases.
Discussion: Law Blog and SCOTUSblog
RELATED:
Reuters:   Court to rule on California gay marriage ban
Prashant Gopal / Bloomberg:
Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures  —  Banks, accelerating efforts to move troubled mortgages off their books, are offering as much as $35,000 or more in cash to delinquent homeowners to sell their properties for less than they owe.  —  Lenders have routinely delayed …
Discussion: Eschaton and Calculated Risk
Washington Post:
Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties  —  (Video by Ben de la Cruz and David S. Fallis/Motion graphic by Sohail al-Jamea/The Washington Post)  —  AU.S. senator from Alabama directed more than $100 million in federal earmarks to renovate downtown Tuscaloosa near …
Rose French / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Rabbis oppose Minnesota marriage amendment  —  With its signed statement, the Minnesota Rabbinical Association adds to the spirited debate in advance of the November vote.  —  Dozens of Minnesota rabbis have gone on record opposing the proposed marriage amendment, urging …
Discussion: ThinkProgress
Chris Good / ABCNEWS:
Why Missouri Is Holding a ‘Meaningless’ Primary  —  Thanks to in-state political disputes and a slow-moving legislature, today's Missouri presidential primary has been reduced to an afterthought.  —  Most presidential candidates have ignored the contest, which will not affect any of the state's 52 GOP delegates.
Discussion: Washington Post and Booman Tribune
Eric Allen Bell / Front Page Magazine:
The High Price of Telling the Truth About Islam  —  [Editor's note: The article below is written by Eric Allen Bell, a filmmaker who was recently banned from blogging at the “Daily Kos” because he wrote three articles that ran afoul of the mindset there, specifically naming “Loonwatch.com” as a “terrorist spin control network.”
Discussion: Jihad Watch and Israpundit
 
 
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 More Items: 
Chris Johnson / Washington Blade:
White House responds to Va. anti-gay adoption bill
Patrick Marley / JSOnline:
Lawmakers were made to pledge secrecy over redistricting
Discussion: The Maddow Blog
David W. Chen / New York Times:
Rory Lancman to Challenge Bob Turner for Congress
Discussion: Politicker and Hotline On Call
Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
Gingrich interrupted by gay rights protestors
Graeme Wilson / Politics - The Sun:
Al-Qaeda bid for Brit girl bombers
Rachel Van Dongen / Politico:
Mitt Romney wins Facebook fan primary
 Earlier Items: 
Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:
Tea Party ‘Is Dead’: How the Movement Fizzled in 2012's GOP Primaries
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
In the Pocket of the Gas Lobby?
David Freddoso / Campaign 2012:
Occupy mudbowl: What's left of McPherson Square
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Bachmann: ‘I was the perfect candidate’
 

 
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Rebekah Valentine / IGN:
Take-Two acquires Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment from the Embracer Group for $460M in stock; the deal is expected to close by the end of June 2024

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Oregon's governor signs the first US right-to-repair law that bans manufacturers from using “parts pairing” to dictate what replacement components can be used

 
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