memeorandum: Gibson Guitar Corporation admits to importing endangered wood (Erik Schelzig/Christian Science Monitor)

12:30 PM ET, August 7, 2012

Top Items:

Jeb Bush / CNN:

Santorum, Bush, Paul to speak at GOP convention — (CNN) - Rick Santorum, who emerged as Mitt Romney's fiercest competitor for the Republican presidential nomination, will speak at the Republican National Convention, a senior GOP official tells CNN. — The former Pennsylvania senator …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, americanthinker.com and The Raw Story

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Romney launches new attack on Obama over welfare — WOLFEBORO, N.H. — Mitt Romney's campaign is launching a new offensive on Tuesday accusing President Obama of “unilaterally dismantling” the 1990s bipartisan welfare reform. — On the campaign trail beginning Tuesday in Illinois …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette, GOP 12, BuzzFeed, The Caucus, Hot Air, USA Today, First Read and Naked Politics

CNN:

Romney set to assail Obama for welfare changes — (CNN) - Changes to welfare pushed by President Barack Obama's administration are providing his Republican challenger Mitt Romney with material for a new round of attacks, including a television ad released Tuesday.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever, Taylor Marsh, Politico, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Mittromney / YouTube:

Right Choice — mittromney Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe — In 1996, President Clinton signed bipartisan legislation to reform welfare by requiring work. Sixteen years later, President Obama quietly gutted this landmark law. Mitt Romney will restore the bipartisan reforms to welfare …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, americanthinker.com, GOP 12, Politico and ABCNEWS

CNN:
Koch brothers slam ‘guy who makes obscene gestures with a monkey’

Discussion: Mediaite

CNN:
TRENDING: Obama debuts ‘Romney Hood’

Discussion: New York Magazine, National Review and Taylor Marsh

First Read: Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate, John Brunner, left, Sarah Steelman, center …

2012 Republican National Convention:
RNC Chairman Priebus Announces Additional Republican Convention Headliners

Discussion: Washington Post and National Review

Sam Youngman / Reuters:
Romney's former rival Rick Santorum to speak at Republican convention

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hit & Run, About.com Conservative …, Politico, 2012 Republican National …, Salon and Washington Post

TheBlaze.com:

OBAMA'S COLLEGE CLASSMATE: ‘THE OBAMA SCANDAL IS AT COLUMBIA’ — I am President Obama's classmate at Columbia University, Class of '83. I am also one of the most accurate Las Vegas oddsmakers and prognosticators. Accurate enough that I was awarded my own star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars.

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette, Hot Air, Hit & Run, GayPatriot, The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, CNBC and Ed Driscoll

Politico:
Harry Reid not releasing his own tax returns

Discussion: Townhall.com, Scared Monkeys, Washington Post, Nice Deb, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Hot Air, Las Vegas Review-Journal, CNN, Mediaite, Firedoglake and USA Today

Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings from National:
Harry Reid: Says Mitt Romney did not pay taxes for 10 years.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Pirate's Cove, FishbowlDC, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, GOP 12, his vorpal sword, The PJ Tatler, RedState, The Hill, Wake up America, Michelle Malkin and Politico

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Four Pinocchios for Harry Reid's claim about Mitt Romney's taxes

Discussion: BuzzFeed, American Thinker, The Huffington Post and Balloon Juice

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
WH Sidesteps Reid Vs. Romney Tax Return Controversy

Discussion: The Other McCain and Outside the Beltway

Elaine Quijano / CBS News:

Sikh temple gunman Wade Michael Page was a “gentle and kind and loving” child, stepmom says — (CBS News) OAK CREEK, Wis. - Investigators are looking into possible white supremacist links to the gunman who killed six people and wounded three at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee before being killed in a shootout with police.

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine, The Agonist and CBS DC

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
Republicans Blasted Obama Administration For Warning About Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, US Politics and The Raw Story

Brian Bennett / Los Angeles Times:
Sikh temple shooting: Gunman had been on investigators' radar

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Magazine, The Raw Story and Bob Owens

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

When 1,099 felons vote in race won by 312 ballots — Popular in Politics — In the eyes of the Obama administration, most Democratic lawmakers, and left-leaning editorial pages across the country, voter fraud is a problem that doesn't exist. Allegations of fraud, they say …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, americanthinker.com, Mediaite, The Heritage Foundation, National Review, PointOfLaw Forum, Washington Free Beacon and Betsy's Page

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Emails: Geithner, Treasury drove cutoff of non-union Delphi workers' pensions — Emails obtained by The Daily Caller show that the U.S. Treasury Department, led by Timothy Geithner, was the driving force behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 salaried retirees at the Delphi auto parts manufacturing company.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Heritage Foundation, The Jawa Report, Patterico's Pontifications and The Lonely Conservative

Fred Krupp / Wall Street Journal:

A New Climate-Change Consensus — It's time for conservatives to compete with liberals to devise the best, most cost-effective climate solutions. — One scorching summer doesn't confirm that climate change is real any more than a white Christmas proves it's a hoax.

Discussion: protein wisdom and Power Line

Tiffany Hsu / Los Angeles Times:

Gay activists counter Chick-fil-A with Starbucks appreciation day — LGBT activists are planning to swarm Starbucks on Tuesday in a counter-effort to last week's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. (Vino Wong / Atlanta Journal-Constitution ) — Gay marriage activists are planning to swarm Starbucks …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog and Weasel Zippers

Jesse Bering / Slate: The Prideful, Arrogant President of Chick-fil-A

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Former Bain worker slams Mitt — The Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action is unveiling perhaps the harshest, most personal ad of the 2012 presidential race, featuring a former worker at a Bain-owned company talking about the death of his wife after their family lost health insurance.

Discussion: CNN and Taylor Marsh

Erik Schelzig / Christian Science Monitor:

Gibson Guitar Corporation admits to importing endangered wood — Gibson Guitar Corporation acknowledged Monday that its importations of exotic wood, including ebony, violated environmental laws. Federal prosecutors will drop criminal charges against Gibson Guitar Corporation …

Discussion: Hit & Run, First Draft and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

New York Times:

Hospital Chain Inquiry Cited Unnecessary Cardiac Work — In the summer of 2010, a troubling letter reached the chief ethics officer of the hospital giant HCA, written by a former nurse at one of the company's hospitals in Florida. — In a follow-up interview, the nurse said a doctor …

Discussion: OpenSecrets.org, Mother Jones, Law Blog, Obsidian Wings and Business Insider

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:

Save Political Debate. Bring Back ‘Crossfire.’ — Cable-television shows about politics are often blamed for polarizing Americans. To this way of thinking, they are responsible for much of the incivility of today's political culture and have made it harder for us to work together to solve our problems.

Discussion: American Spectator, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Daily Caller

Diana Reese / Washington Post:

Sarah Palin: Mama grizzlies united — CLEVELAND, Mo—Sarah Palin did not disappoint. — The crowd cheered and applauded repeatedly during her speech here Friday night, from her opening remarks about “mama grizzlies” on the Missouri state flag to her promise to stop at the local Chick-fil-A for a midnight snack.

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Romney should not be afraid to highlight his faith — Concerning Mormons and Republicans, history offers a large helping of irony. In 1843, an Army officer named John C. Fremont led a geographical expedition of 39 men more than 1,700 miles to the shores of the Great Salt Lake.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Eschaton

Isaac Rauch / Deadspin:

What Did Lolo Jones Ever Do To The New York Times? — This morning's New York Times sports section has an article about Lolo Jones, the virgin hurdler you're probably somewhat aware of (if not, see here), titled, “For Lolo Jones, Everything Is Image.” The thrust of the article is that the attention …

Discussion: GetReligion, Slate, First Draft, Firedoglake, theGrio and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Micah L. Sifry / TechPresident:

How to Spot Romney's Vice President Pick in Advance — The Romney campaign wants you to download its mobile app to be among the first to find out who Mitt is going to pick as his running mate, but if past history is any guide, you might want to instead be looking at Wikipedia …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, Mashable!, Mediaite, NPR, National Review, ABCNEWS, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Politico

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Former Republican Governor: Romney Is Afraid To Stand Up To His Right-Wing Base — Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman (R) said Mitt Romney must do a better job of standing up to the radical elements of the Republican party and criticized her party's nominee for not speaking …

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

EXCLUSIVE: Kimberlin Associate Neal Rauhauser Accuses Brandon Darby of Fake SWAT Calls, ‘Obstruction of Justice’ — A Democrat political consultant with ties to convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin has accused Breitbart.com contributor Brandon Darby of making fake SWAT calls against conservative bloggers.