memeorandum: Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision (Dr Christopher Kent/rba.gov.au)

5:25 AM ET, May 7, 2013

Top Items:

Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:

Diplomat: U.S. Special Forces told “you can't go” to Benghazi during attacks — The deputy of slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens has told congressional investigators that a team of Special Forces prepared to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi during the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks was forbidden …

The Lead with Jake Tapper:
Former deputy chief of mission in Libya: U.S. military assets told to stand down

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Wake up America

Jamie Dettmer / The Daily Beast:
Al Qaeda Headquarters in Libya

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Via Meadia and Hot Air

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Reid calls Sen. Cruz a ‘schoolyard bully’ — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called freshman GOP Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) a “schoolyard bully” during a contentious exchange Monday on the Senate floor. — The two senators bickered as Cruz rose to object to Reid's motion …

Discussion: Mediaite, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Scared Monkeys

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Background Checks Bill Would Get A ‘Couple More Votes’ Now: Harry Reid

Discussion: Post Politics, msnbc.com, The Plum Line, PoliticusUSA, Weasel Zippers, The Truth About Guns and USA Today

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Huckabee: Benghazi will drive Obama from office — Mike Huckabee on Monday predicted that President Barack Obama won't finish out his second term in light of the “cover-up” of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and the former Arkansas governor called the affair “more serious than Watergate.”

Discussion: The Plum Line and The Lonely Conservative

Arlington, Va.:

Air Force Officer Accused of Sexual Battery — The Chief of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response branch of the U.S. Air Force was arrested and charged with sexual battery in Arlington over the weekend. — Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski is accused of fondling a woman in a Crystal City parking lot early Sunday morning.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh, Gawker, Politico, ThinkProgress and The Raw Story

Arlington County Newsroom:

Crime Report: May 6, 2013 — SEXUAL BATTERY, 05/05/13, 500 block of S. 23rd Street. On May 5 at 12:35 am, a drunken male subject approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks. The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police.

Discussion: Wired, Crime Library Crime Library, Los Angeles Times and The Hill

Sara Fischer / CNN:

NRA has record conference turnout, new president — Washington (CNN) - The National Rifle Association said Monday they saw a record number of attendees at their annual meeting in Houston last weekend with 86,228 attending, up almost 15,000 from last year's annual meeting in St. Louis …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
None Dare Call It Treason

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Impolitic, Talking Points Memo, Harry's Place, Mother Jones and msnbc.com

Mike Lupica / NY Daily News:
Sarah Palin's appearance at the National Rifle Association convention is perfect for phony ‘patriots’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Conservatives4Palin, americanthinker.com, Jammie Wearing Fools and Riehl World News

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:

Mediaite Learns: 'Vast Majority Of National Advertisers Now Refuse To Air Ads During Limbaugh's Show' — As we reported earlier this morning, Rush Limbaugh is allegedly in the midst of a battle with Cumulus Media, the distributor of his radio show. The company's CEO has blamed ad revenue losses …

Discussion: Liberal Values, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, skippy the bush kangaroo, AMERICAblog and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Dr Christopher Kent / rba.gov.au:

Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision — At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent, effective 8 May 2013. — The global economy is likely to record growth a little below trend this year, before picking up next year.

Discussion: Business Insider, Guardian and BBC

The Times:

David Cameron's attempts at renegotiation will be inconsequential - we must leave — David Cameron has promised that in four years time the British people will be given the opportunity to decide in a referendum whether this country should leave the European Union.

Discussion: Guardian, Spectator and BBC

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Chambliss sinks hole-in-one during golf round with Obama — Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) hit a rare hole-in-one while golfing with President Obama and two other senators on Monday. — Chambliss's office said the shot happened on the 11th hole at the Joint Base Andrews course in Maryland.

Discussion: Politico and Weasel Zippers

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

The Non-Violent March To Threaten Violence — As readers have probably noticed, I'm on something of a campaign the last few days to train a spotlight on the revolutionary rhetoric and gun-brandishing of many Second Amendment activists and “constitutional conservatives,” …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Business Insider

Karoli / Crooks and Liars:
Marching On DC With Loaded Rifles: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Discussion: Mediaite and Mock, Paper, Scissors

ag.ny.gov:

A.G. Schneiderman To Sue Wells Fargo & Bank Of America For Violating National Mortgage Settlement — Attorney General Has Documented Hundreds Of Cases Of Homeowners Put At Risk By Banks' Violations Of Settlement Terms — Schneiderman: The Terms Of The Settlement Are Clear And They Will Be Enforced In New York State

Discussion: naked capitalism, msnbc.com, BBC and The Raw Story

FBI:

Suspect Buford Rogers Arrested in Montevideo … special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the Montevideo Police Department; the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Minnesota State Highway Patrol …

Discussion: Addicting Info, Mediaite, The Week, Jammie Wearing Fools, Los Angeles Times, The Raw Story and U.S. News

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

Hillary Clinton — culpable for Benghazi from beginning to end — When it first became clear that the CIA's Benghazi talking points had been altered, many of us viewed the White House as the prime suspect. After all, it served President Obama's political purposes to claim …

Jen Steer / WEWS-TV:

Cleveland police: Missing teens Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus found alive, appear to be OK — CLEVELAND - Cleveland police said missing teens Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and a third woman were found in a west side house on Monday. — “This isn't the ending we usually get,” said MetroHealth Medical Center Dr. Gerald Maloney.

Discussion: BBC, Gawker and Mediaite

Heritage Foundation:

The Fiscal Cost of Unlawful Immigrants and Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer — By Robert Rector and Jason Richwine, Ph.D. — Executive Summary — Unlawful immigration and amnesty for current unlawful immigrants can pose large fiscal costs for U.S. taxpayers.

Stephen C. Webster / The Raw Story:

Rick Perry compares rejecting LGBT people to fighting slavery — Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said Sunday that he believes rejecting LGBT people is similar to fighting slavery during the pre-Civil War era. — Appearing on the Family Research Council's program “Stand With Scouts Sunday,” …

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay

Mary Elizabeth Williams / Salon:

Why did Komen for the Cure give Nancy Brinker a 64 percent raise? — Komen, already under fire for shrinking contributions for breast cancer research, paid its CEO $684,000 last year — Last year may have been a very bad year for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, but it still was a very good year for its CEO, Nancy Brinker.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Firedoglake

Nicole Flatow / ThinkProgress:

Mississippi Still Poised For Tuesday Execution, Despite DOJ Warnings That Evidence Is ‘Invalid’ — Mississippi is set to execute a man Tuesday night without testing available DNA evidence from a hair sample in his case. ThinkProgress reported last week that a 5-4 court upheld the decision …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Richard A. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:

The Rule of Lawyers — Law-school applications today have dropped to 54,000 annually, from 100,000 in 2004. But the profession will continue to thrive — Law schools are under siege. Applications have dropped to around 54,000 annually, from around 100,000 in 2004.

Discussion: Via Meadia

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

They've Lost Fox And Friends: GOP Claims Of Benghazi ‘Cover Up’ Collapses — Fox News' morning show, Fox & Friends, is taking a surprisingly skeptical approach to GOP claims that the Obama administration and the entire U.S. government engaged in a massive cover-up of the attacks …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Alan Colmes' Liberaland