memeorandum: As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price (Joseph Shapiro/NPR)

2:50 PM ET, May 20, 2014

Top Items:

The Scandal at the VA Is Real, and Obama Is Ducking It — Democrats can dismiss Benghazi and the IRS as pseudo-scandals, maybe, but 40 veterans have died, and where has Obama been? Totally absent. — Up to now, President Obama and congressional Democrats had thought “so-called” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, National Review, The Moderate Voice and The PJ Tatler

Jeremy Herb / Politico:

Can Eric Shinseki survive the VA scandal? — “Mad as hell” simply might not be good enough. — The allegations of dozens of veterans dying without receiving care has generated the largest scandal in the tenure of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki — and his response last week might not be sufficient for him to keep his job.

Discussion: CNN

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
Quiz: How Dumb Does Obama Think We Are?

Discussion: Daily Mail, Hot Air, National Review and Washington Free Beacon

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
The VA and the Limits of Liberalism

Discussion: alicublog

Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
What did Obama know about the VA hospital scandal and when?

Discussion: Washington Post, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, National Review and Washington Free Beacon

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
White House Distorts American Legion Position on Veterans Controversy

Discussion: Hot Air, Hit & Run, RealClearPolitics Video Log and Washington Times

CNN: VA investigating Florida hospital wait lists

Joseph Ax / Reuters:

D'Souza pleads guilty to U.S. campaign finance law violation — (Reuters) - The conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a campaign finance law violation, averting a trial that had been expected to begin the same day in Manhattan federal court.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Pat Dollard, The Other McCain, Outside the Beltway and Roger Ailes

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

D'Souza Expected to Plead Guilty to Charge — A federal court hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday morning in which the conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza is expected to plead guilty to a charge stemming from campaign finance violations, according to a notice sent out by the government.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Gothamist and Mediaite

Geoff Pender / The Clarion-Ledger:

Wife, attorney say blogger was pawn — It's still unclear how a political blogger gained access to the bedridden wife of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in her nursing home, but the man's wife and his attorney said he didn't sneak into the facility, and that he appears to be a pawn in a big political game.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, blog.gulflive.com and The Hill

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:

Break-In Blogger's Wife: McDaniel Told Husband To Take Anti-Cochran Video Down — The wife of political blogger Clayton Kelly said that her husband had been ordered to quickly take down a video clip against Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) featuring Cochran's wife by primary challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-MS).

David Folkenflik / NPR:

NPR To End ‘Tell Me More,’ Eliminate 28 Positions — NPR announced Wednesday that it would cease broadcast of the weekday program Tell Me More on Aug. 1 and eliminate 28 positions as part of a larger effort to end the company's persistent budget deficits. — “These times require …

Discussion: Politico and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:

Arthur Sulzberger's First Interview About the Turmoil at The New York Times: “I Would Have Done It Differently” — A week after the firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times, the newspaper's publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., sat down with V.F.'s Sarah Ellison for an exclusive interview about the controversy.

Discussion: Smartertimes.com, Talking Points Memo, Capital New York, The Raw Story, Althouse, Politico, Poynter and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:

Reid Hints at ‘Nuclear’ Summer Over Debate Time — On the morning of his Republican counterpart's primary back home in Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would not change the chamber's rules in his absence. — But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell might well be advised …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Republicans Have Edge on Top Election Issue: the Economy — Democrats have advantage on Affordable Care Act and economic inequality — PRINCETON, NJ — American voters rate the economy as the most important issue to their vote for Congress this year, and give the Republicans in Congress …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

David Weigel / Slate:
Read What Georgia's Michelle Nunn Actually Said About Obamacare

Discussion: Mediaite, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Ed Driscoll, Washington Post, Political Insider blog, Daily Kos, National Review and Weekly Standard

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

As Candidate For Congress, Ted Yoho Suggested Limiting The Right To Vote To Property Owners — Recently unearthed footage of Rep. Ted Yoho speaking at Berean Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida, during his candidacy for Congress in the 2012 election cycle shows the Republican politician suggesting …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Dems desperately seek an Obama midterm strategy — For months, President Barack Obama has been telling donors that there's nothing more important to him than the November elections. — But many Democrats say their biggest worry for the fall is the president himself.

Discussion: The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Hinterland Gazette and Hot Air

Daniel D'Addario / Salon:

Adam Carolla: The gay mafia is real — The comedian and author sounds off to Salon on political correctness and why Asians prove discrimination is a lie — Adam Carolla, as ever, has a few things to get off his chest. — The comedian and podcaster, whose broadcast career began …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Mediaite

Kim Janssen / Chicago Sun Times:

Lawsuit: Chicago cops physically, verbally abuse woman on video — A Chicago police officer hit a handcuffed, kneeling woman in the head, while another shouted racially charged comments at her and threatened she'd be murdered during a raid of a West Side tanning salon.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Independent Journal Review and Shakesville

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Dems Kill Key Pro-Israel bill to Appease White House on Iran — The fallout from a rushed, late night decision by a leading Democrat to scuttle key pro-Israel legislation in a bid to appease the Obama administration threatens to complicate efforts by Democrats to hold on to the Senate …

Discussion: Hot Air and Pat Dollard

James Hohmann / Politico:

Primary day: 6 states, 5 things to watch — Today is the closest thing to a Super Tuesday this primary season, and the results of voting in six states will set the stage for some of November's marquee races. — The Democrats' best hopes for Senate pick-ups are in Kentucky …

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Oregonian and New York Times

Ariel Kaminer / New York Times:

N.Y.U. Apologizes to Any Workers Mistreated on Its Abu Dhabi Campus — New York University issued an apology on Monday to any workers on its newly completed Abu Dhabi campus who were “not treated in line with the standards we set,” after The New York Times reported widespread abuses among …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Capital New York, Gawker, Guardian and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Megan Garber / The Atlantic Online:

Thomas Piketty and the End of Our Peaceful Coexistence With Inequality — Economic disparities aren't new. But from Piketty to the pope, talking about them is. — Two years ago, I wrote, “Inequality will be the central theme of 2012. It has always existed and is not going away …

Joseph Shapiro / NPR:

As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price … In Augusta, Ga., a judge sentenced Tom Barrett to 12 months after he stole a can of beer worth less than $2. — In Ionia, Mich., 19-year-old Kyle Dewitt caught a fish out of season; then a judge sentenced him to three days in jail.

Discussion: Gothamist, Liberaland, Hullabaloo and Crooked Timber

Pete Kasperowicz / TheBlaze.com:

Michelle Obama Would Like Students to Monitor Family Members for Racial Insensitivity — First lady Michelle Obama is encouraging students to monitor their older relatives, friends and co-workers for any racially insensitive comments they might make, and to challenge those comments whenever they're made.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Jawa Report, Right Wing News, Clash Daily, The Daily Caller, White House Dossier and Independent Journal Review

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Indiana's Gov. Pence taking the Obamacare money and running with it — For the first time since Obamacare split the country in two, the conditions for a cease-fire have begun to appear. — An architect of this detente — although he denies any such intent — is Mike Pence …

Discussion: Shakesville, Liberaland and Prairie Weather