memeorandum: ‘Why? Why?’: 26 dead in elementary school massacre (CNN)

8:30 PM ET, December 15, 2012

Top Items:

SECRETARY OF STATE FAINTS, SUSTAINS CONCUSSION — WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who skipped an overseas trip this past week because of a stomach virus, sustained a concussion after fainting, the State Department said Saturday.

Discussion: Althouse, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

Source: Obama has chosen John Kerry as Secretary of State — President Barack Obama has chosen Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to be the next secretary of state, a source has told Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed. — His replacement as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Addicting Info, Power Line, Weasel Zippers, Liberal Values, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Outside the Beltway

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Chuck Hagel's record on Israel draws scrutiny — President Barack Obama's administration has backed down from one major Senate confirmation fight — and may be running headlong into another one. — Some in the Jewish community and other Israel backers are reacting with alarm to reports …

Discussion: Power Line and Weekly Standard

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

John Kerry to Be Nominated to Be Secretary of State, Sources Say — Sources tell ABC News that President Obama has decided that he will nominate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to be secretary of state. — For a variety of reasons including the finalization of the process, other pending Cabinet decisions …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Hillary Clinton faints, suffers concussion — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and suffered a concussion, the department said Saturday. She is now recovering at home. — “While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and This Just In

Mike Huckabee / CNN:

Huckabee: Lack of religion in classroom leads to violence in schools — (CNN) - Responding to the deadly mass shooting Friday in Newtown, Connecticut, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said new laws regulating guns won't deter such shootings, linking a lack of religious discussion in the classroom to increased violence in schools.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Hill and Roger Ailes

CNN:

‘Why? Why?’: 26 dead in elementary school massacre — Watch CNN's LIVE TV coverage of the Connecticut elementary school shooting as the story continues to unfold. — Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) — The bodies of children and educators lay where they fell in a Newtown, Connecticut …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Talking Dog, NY Daily News, TMZ.com, Los Angeles Times, This Just In and Gawker

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Nancy Lanza Not a Teacher?

Discussion: Guardian, New York Times, Slate, Wake up America, The Week, GigaOM, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Hinterland Gazette and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Dana Davidsen / CNN:
Obama: ‘Our hearts are broken’

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politico and Mediaite

NY Daily News:
Sandy Hook mass murderer Adam Lanza, 20, ‘deeply disturbed kid’

Discussion: New York Times, The Impolitic, Power Line, The Other McCain and his vorpal sword, more at Mediagazer »

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

In Public ‘Conversation’ on Guns, a Rhetorical Shift — Friday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., has already touched off a heated political debate. Opponents of stricter regulation on gun ownership have accused their adversaries of politicizing a tragedy.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Althouse, News Desk, Daily Kos, Towleroad News #gay, The Atlantic Online, The Caucus, Corrente, American Power, Gawker and Firedoglake

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic Online:
What Can We Do to Stop Massacres?

Discussion: American Power, The PJ Tatler, News Desk, The Daily Dish and david-frum

Josh Gerstein / Reuters:
Connecticut school shooting tragedy ups gun-control pressure on Obama

Discussion: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Hill

Adam Gopnik / News Desk:
Newtown and the Madness of Guns

Discussion: National Review, The Week and Mike Bloomberg

Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:

“As Charles Manson Once Argued, Personality Cults Are Completely Harmless.” — Glenn Reynolds got off to a pretty good start yesterday. But never think he can't top himself: … Wait, what? … Ah, yes, William Burroughs: … It's the gun nut/misogynist exacta!

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Althouse and TBogg

Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:

A Thought Experiment Related to School Shootings — Imagine that you ran a school district, and some rich foundation, worried about school shootings, gave you the following offer: We'll hire armed security guards for you, who could try to do something about the school shooter.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Unqualified Offerings and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Justice Dept. Studied and Shelved Ideas to Bolster Gun Database — WASHINGTON — After the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and others in early 2011, the Justice Department drew up a detailed list of steps the government could take to expand the background-check system …

Discussion: BuzzFeed

New York Times:

A Political Brawler, Now Battling for Microsoft — SEATTLE — Mark Penn made a name for himself in Washington by bulldozing enemies of the Clintons. Now he spends his days trying to do the same to Google, on behalf of its archrival Microsoft. — Since Mr. Penn was put in charge of …

Discussion: The Verge

PBS NewsHour / Online NewsHour:

Shields and Brooks on Gun Control Policy, Susan Rice, ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Talks — Transcript — JUDY WOODRUFF: And to the analysis of Shields and Brooks. That's syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks. — So, gentlemen, we have all been torn …

Discussion: EconLog