memeorandum: Fort Hood shooter Ivan Lopez had mental problems, saw no combat in Iraq (USA Today)

1:30 PM ET, April 3, 2014

Top Items:

How McCutcheon Could Come Back to Haunt the Republican Party — When my kids were younger, I loved to roughhouse with them. For a while, we'd all have fun. But then I'd get tired and want to stop, only to realize, to my dismay, that they were just getting started. I'd created something I could no longer control.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:

A Few Data Points on the Supreme Court's Donor-Limit Decision — The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits. For 2014, the overall limit was $123,200. There was a lower limit of $74,600 for donations to PACs and party committees …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, News Desk, CNN, OpenSecrets.org, SCOTUSblog, The Monkey Cage, WRAL-TV, ABC News, Business Insider and Mother Jones

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Surprise! The Rich Won One — Today, we are going to discuss the Supreme Court decision on political donations. Already, we have run into a terrible problem, which is the difficulty in having a fun conversation about campaign finance laws. — Let me try for a second: On Wednesday …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Richard Hasen / SCOTUSblog:

Symposium: Does the Chief Justice not understand politics, or does he understand it all too well? — Chief Justice Roberts has moved the Supreme Court's election law jurisprudence steadily and stealthily in his preferred direction. Usually this involves subtle shifts in doctrine …

Discussion: The New Republic, News Desk and New York Times

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

John Roberts's rules of money in politics — Chief Justice John Roberts has a blunt message for wealthy donors tired of campaign finance rules: Fund a super PAC. — It's simpler, he wrote in his McCutcheon v. FEC opinion Wednesday, than dealing with a web of interlocking fundraising committees.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Lawrence Lessig / The Daily Beast:
Originalists Making It Up Again: McCutcheon and ‘Corruption’

Discussion: The Hill, Concurring Opinions, BillMoyers.com, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, New York Times and USA Today

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Die Another Day — The Supreme Court takes a big step closer …

Discussion: The Monkey Cage, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Althouse, Reuters, The Atlantic Online, Los Angeles Times, Post Politics, SCOTUSblog, New York Times, Bloomberg View, RealClearPolicy, Bloomberg and ThinkProgress

Washington Post:
Congress must stem the flow of campaign cash in wake of ‘McCutcheon’

Discussion: Bloomberg View

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
The chief either doesn't believe, or doesn't care, that money corrupts politics.

Discussion: Washington Post, Center for American Progress, ThinkProgress, RealClearPolicy and Unfogged

Bradley A. Smith / National Review: Free Speech at Last: McCutcheon Decision Just Right

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
Power Surge for Donors as Terrain Is Reshaped on Campaign Money

Discussion: theGrio, Capital New York, Wall Street Journal, Gothamist and SCOTUSblog

Shaun McCutcheon / Politico:
I Fought the Law and I Won

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Betsy's Page and OpEdNews

Charles G. Koch / Wall Street Journal:

Koch: I'm Fighting to Restore a Free Society — Instead of welcoming free debate, collectivists engage in character assassination. — I have devoted most of my life to understanding the principles that enable people to improve their lives. It is those principles—the principles of a free society …

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Kelly refuses to use Ft. Hood shooter's name — Fox News host Megyn Kelly said on her Wednesday show that she will not be saying the suspected Ft. Hood shooter's name as a policy. — “Authorities are identifying the shooter. If you are interested you can get his name on other show …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

USA Today:

Fort Hood shooter Ivan Lopez had mental problems, saw no combat in Iraq — The man behind Wednesday's deadly shooting at Fort Hood had mental health issues and was being treated for depression and anxiety before he killed three people and wounded 16 others.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mashable, Hinterland Gazette, HyperVocal, NBC News and Instapundit

New York Times:
Iraq Veteran at Fort Hood Kills 3 and Himself in Rampage

Discussion: Gawker, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Firedoglake, Shakesville, Outside the Beltway, Mashable and AMERICAblog News

Kristina Wong / The Hill:
Four dead, 16 wounded in new mass shooting at Fort Hood

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Joe. My. God. and Politico

CBS News:
At least 4 killed in shooting at Fort Hood; gunman among dead

Associated Press:

US SECRETLY BUILT ‘CUBAN TWITTER’ TO STIR UNREST … WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government masterminded the creation of a “Cuban Twitter” - a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign banks, The Associated Press has learned.

Discussion: Shakesville, Fox News Insider, Mashable, CANNONFIRE, Hinterland Gazette and Liberaland

Associated Press:

US SECRETLY CREATED ‘CUBAN TWITTER’ TO STIR UNREST — You are here — Home » United States government » US secretly created ‘Cuban Twitter’ to stir unrest — WASHINGTON (AP) — In July 2010, Joe McSpedon, a U.S. government official, flew to Barcelona to put the final touches …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Techdirt, The Week, Gigaom, Gawker and The Awl, more at Mediagazer »

Kathryn Mayer / BenefitsPro:

Gibbs predicts employer mandate will be killed — COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— A former longtime advisor to President Barack Obama predicted Wednesday that the employer mandate — a key piece of Obamacare — will not survive. — It was among several predictions Robert Gibbs …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Jonathan Helman / CNN:

Bill Clinton 'wouldn't be surprised' by an alien visit — (CNN) - It has been a question plaguing man for ages: Are we alone in the universe? — If you ask former President Bill Clinton, he would tell you that he “wouldn't be surprised” if we were visited by extraterrestrials someday.

Discussion: The Hill

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Bill Clinton phones home on aliens

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

New York Post:

Rogue alcoholic court reporter kept writing ‘I hate my job’ — An alcoholic Manhattan court stenographer went rogue, channeling his inner “Shining” during a high-profile criminal trial and repeatedly typing, “I hate my job, I hate my job” instead of the trial dialogue, sources told The Post.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Raw Story

Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:

Glenn Beck Does Not React Well To Obama's Health Care Victory Lap — These days, Glenn Beck's TV and radio programs are little more than exercises in projection and hypocrisy, so it was no surprise to see him have a complete meltdown on his radio program today over President Obama's remarks …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, theGrio, The Raw Story and Balloon Juice