memeorandum: Campaign Seeks to Push Seattle Minimum Wage to $15 (Donna Gordon Blankinship/Associated Press)

3:30 PM ET, August 19, 2013

Top Items:

Canada-born Ted Cruz became a citizen of that country as well as U.S. — Sen. Ted Cruz's birth certificate shows he was born in Canada in 1970. It was released exclusively to The Dallas Morning News.

Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:

Ted Cruz at Princeton: Creepy, Sometimes Well Liked, and Exactly the Same — Can a master debater who wore a paisley bathrobe to creepily stroll by the women's wing of the dorm be the next president? Patricia Murphy talks to Ted Cruz's college roommates about his stint at Princeton.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Booman Tribune

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Ted Cruz Releases Birth Certificate — In an effort to repudiate suggestions that he is ineligible to be president of the United States, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) released his birth certificate Sunday to The Dallas Morning News. — The birth certificate confirmed that the Texas Republican was born Dec. 22, 1970 in Calgary, Alberta.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Ted Cruz releases birth certificate

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Ted Cruz releases birth certificate

Discussion: Wonkette

Avik Roy / Forbes:

Unpublished CRS Memo: Obama Administration Has Missed Half Of Obamacare's Legally Imposed Implementation Deadlines — In recent months, President Obama and his subordinates have waived or delayed a number of Obamacare's notable features, such as the law's employer mandate …

Discussion: Hot Air, Hit & Run, Independent Journal Review, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, National Republican … and Washington Free Beacon

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

New Obamacare Enrollment Campaign Unveiled By Kathleen Sebelius — WASHINGTON — With precious time remaining before the health care exchanges established by the president's health care law are up and running, the Obama administration is rolling out new initiatives to encourage enrollment.

Discussion: Wonkblog, Weasel Zippers, usofarn.com, Independent Journal Review and National Review

Chicago Tribune:
How President Obama is flouting Obamacare

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Jammie Wearing Fools

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
One Reform, Indivisible — Recent political reporting suggests …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Salon and Washington Monthly

John Fund / National Review:

Time for Answers from the NSA — It's time to ask tough questions about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities — even for conservatives who have given the NSA the benefit of every doubt up until now. — The Washington Post opened a can of worms last Friday when it reported that …

Discussion: Techdirt, Hot Air and Right Turn

Jim Sensenbrenner / Los Angeles Times:
How Obama has abused the Patriot Act

Discussion: National Review

USA Today:
Revelations hint at NSA ducking oversight: Our view

Discussion: The New Republic, Yahoo! News, National Review and Post Politics

Scott Lemieux / American Prospect:
The NSA Can't Be Trusted — On August 9, President Obama gave …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Wall Street Journal:

Confident Biden Team Sows Seeds For 2016 — Backers Consider Steps for White House—Even If Hillary Clinton Enters Race — Political allies of Vice President Joe Biden have concluded that he can win the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination—even if Hillary Clinton enters the contest …

Discussion: NBC Politics, The Week, Independent Journal Review, p m carpenter's commentary, Hot Air, Right Turn, The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Wire, Yahoo! News, The Hill, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Booman Tribune and msnbc.com

Bill Keller / New York Times:

War on the Core — I respect, really I do, the efforts by political scientists and pundits to make sense of the current Republican Party. There is intellectual virtue in the search for historical antecedents and philosophical underpinnings. — I understand the urge to take what looks …

Discussion: The Mahablog, Eduwonk and p m carpenter's commentary

Paul Krugman: Stupid Is A Strategy — Bill Keller has a strong …

Ken Auletta / New Yorker:

What kind of city is the Mayor leaving to his successor? — Michael Bloomberg, whose third and final term as mayor of New York expires at midnight on December 31st, keeps a digital clock running in reverse in his City Hall office, counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds left in his term.

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Politicker and Taegan Goddard's …

Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
‘Stop and frisk’ is not racial profiling

Discussion: New York Magazine, Global Grind and The Raw Story

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

White House: U.S. had no role in detention of Greenwald's partner — The United States was not involved in the detention of David Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, but was told it was likely that the Brazilian citizen would be stopped at London's Heathrow Airport, the White House said Monday.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Yahoo! News, The Atlantic Wire, Advocate, Techdirt, ABC News, Mediaite and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Sullivan / The Dish:
Cameron Proves Greenwald Right

Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:

In classified cyberwar against Iran, trail of Stuxnet leak leads to White House — The Obama administration provided a New York Times reporter exclusive access to a range of high-level national security officials for a book that divulged highly classified information on a U.S. cyberwar …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Pat Dollard and Jammie Wearing Fools

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Al Jazeera America launches without significant advertiser base — When Al Jazeera America hits the air tomorrow, it will come with a big budget, a global network of 1,000 journalists and a mission to compete with entrenched rivals like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. — What it won't have? Advertisers.

Discussion: NewsBusters, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Al Jazeera America Promises a More Sober Look at the News

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, The Week and TheBlaze.com, more at Mediagazer »

Gideon Resnick / Politicker:

Susan Sarandon on the Mayor's Race: 'You Can't Just Vote Your Vagina' — Cynthia Nixon, Susan Sarandon and the entire de Blasio clan. — At first, actress Susan Sarandon expected to back Council Speaker Christine Quinn in her bid to become the city's first female mayor.

Discussion: Reuters, Taylor Marsh and Taegan Goddard's …

Michael Tanner / New York Post:

When welfare pays better than work — Here's an offer for you: $38,004 per year, tax free.No work required.Apply at your local welfare office. — The federal government funds 126 separate programs targeted towards low-income people, 72 of which provide either cash or in-kind benefits to individuals.

Discussion: Moonbattery

BBC:

Egyptian police killed in Sinai ambush at Rafah — At least 24 Egyptian policemen have been killed in an ambush attack in the Sinai peninsula, say reports. — Medical sources and officials said the police were in two buses which came under attack from armed men close to the town of Rafah on the Gaza border.

Discussion: National Review, Via Meadia and Israel Matzav

Garry White / Telegraph:
Commodities: Egyptian bloodbath threatens crucial routes for oil and gas supplies

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Pat Dollard

Aaron Kase / Salon:

“Indescribably insane”: A public school system from hell — Pennsylvania's right-wing governor drains public schools of basic funds — and the sickening details will shock you — Want to see a public school system in its death throes? Look no further than Philadelphia.

Discussion: Eschaton

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

Seven Reasons You Will Click on This Article about 2016 — When you see an article about the 2016 presidential race, your first reaction is probably, “Oh c'mon. It's three years away! Do we have to start talking about this already?” The first votes in Iowa and New Hampshire won't be cast …

Discussion: National Review, Washington Monthly, NPR and New York Times

Molly Ball / Associated Press:

America's Libertarian Moment — A longtime libertarian policy wonk talks about whether the philosophy can save the GOP — and why he still doesn't think Rand Paul can win the presidency. — Libertarianism is on the march. From the rapid rise to prominence of first-term Senator Rand Paul …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Betsy's Page, Prairie Weather and Althouse

Mitch Blacher / KGTV-TV:

Sources: Mayor Bob Filner's attorneys in mediation that includes possible resignation — Two sources reveal meeting to Team 10 — SAN DIEGO - Two inside, anonymous sources told Team 10 Mayor Bob Filner's attorneys were in a mediation session Monday morning with City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and LA-based attorney Gloria Allred.

Discussion: The Hill and Hot Air

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Abbott thanks ‘retard Barbie’ tweet writer — Texas gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott on Sunday drew a rebuke from a Democratic Governors Association representative after appearing to thank a supporter who called Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis “retard Barbie.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Brains and Eggs and Post Politics

Tina Brown / The Daily Beast:

No, Conspiracy Theorists, Princess Diana Was Not Murdered — The Diana conspiracy theorists have struck again, and this time Scotland Yard is investigating. Despite mountains of evidence to prove her death was an accident, Tina Brown says some fantasists just can't let it go. — Here we go again.