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Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False — Looks like the game is up. — Remember that story Bobby Jindal told in his big speech Tuesday night — about how during Katrina, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a local sheriff who was battling government red tape to try to rescue stranded victims?
Discussion:
The Swamp, Talking Points Memo, Comments from Left Field, RedState, Gawker, Democratic Strategist and Your Right Hand Thief
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Jindal aides clarify Katrina story — A spokeswoman for Bobby Jindal says the Louisiana governor didn't imply that an anecdote about battling bureaucrats during Katrina directly involved the governor or took place during the heat of a fight to release rescue boats.
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker, Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, RedState, Wonkette, No More Mister Nice Blog, Salon, Daily Kos and Firedoglake

KEY METRIC: THE F/R RATIO — As a rule, I try to avoid link war nonsense and getting into spats with other sites. But I'll make a small exception because it illustrates a point. Yesterday, we published a post by Zack Roth noting a number of reasons to question whether the main anecdote …
Discussion:
RedState


Obama Plans to End Combat Mission in Iraq by August 2010 — WASHINGTON — President Obama heads to one of the nation's most storied military bases Friday morning to unveil plans to pull most troops out of Iraq by August 2010 and he has support from an unlikely quarter — Senator John McCain …
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They're Warriors, Not Victims — Here's the last part of today's speech by Obama: … This is a very subtle form of the soldier-as-victim trope that is fast becoming an Iraq legacy. For soldiers throughout history—those who have endured physical and emotional sufferings of an essential similar quality …

Obama's Iraq Withdrawal Speech
Discussion:
The Washington Independent

Iraq Withdrawal Plan Gains G.O.P. Support
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, New York Times, BAGnewsNotes, The Swamp, Sister Toldjah, CBS News, Newshoggers.com, ATTACKERMAN, The Note, USA Today and American Power


Scenes from the New American Tea Party — Some photos from the just-completed anti-stimulus New American Tea Party, outside of the White House (after the jump): — The best sign I saw. — Right before the march from one point of Lafayette Park to another. — She voted for Sen. John McCain, too, but is less proud of that.
Discussion:
Wonkette
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Tea Party photo album: Fiscal responsibility is the new counterculture — Scroll down for more updates... I've got tons of photos and e-mails pouring in from Tea Party people across the country. I joked to a Christian Science Monitor reporter covering the events that fiscal responsibility is the new counterculture.


Scenes from CPAC — Going into CPAC this year I was afraid it might be a little dead this year. After all, with such excitement last year over the presidential election, I was worried there might not be as much energy on behalf of the activists. — Boy, was I ever wrong.
Discussion:
Political Machine


IT'S COLD AND RAINY, but the Tea Party pictures are coming in via cellphone already.
Discussion:
GayPatriot

U.S. pulling out of racism conference — White House aides told Jewish leaders on a conference call today that the United States will boycott the United Nations' World Conference on Racism over hostility to Israel in draft documents prepared for the April conference.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Balloon Juice, Little Green Footballs and The Campaign Spot
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The “Worst Food Product Ever” May Have Been Found — Pork Brains In Milk Gravy. Could it be the worst food product ever? It does have 1170% of your daily cholesterol per serving. Mmmm. — [This Is Why You're Fat via BuzzFeed]
Discussion:
The Internet Food Association

Obama administration may rescind ‘conscience rule’ — Officials say the move seeks to clarify rules for health care workers — WASHINGTON — Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration Friday will move to rescind a controversial rule that allows health-care workers …
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Obama Set to Undo ‘Conscience’ Rule for Health Workers
Discussion:
Megan McArdle

Obama Approval Rating Increases to 67% — Had dropped to 59% prior to his Tuesday congressional address — USA - Government and Politics - Presidential Job Approval - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America — PRINCETON, NJ — In the days immediately after Barack Obama's …

James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair — DENVER (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that James Dobson has resigned as chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. — Jim Daly, president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Springs …
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DOBSON RESIGNS.... One of the religious right movement's …
Discussion:
Think Progress

RE: Fred Hiatt — Speaking of Fred Hiatt's absurd claim that people who don't like George Will spreading global warming misinformation should “debate” him, rather than expect the Post to run a correction ... Yesterday's Washington Post featured op-eds by Henry Kissinger, David Broder, Bill Kristol, David Ignatius, and George Will.
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White House Plan Would End Subsidies to Student Lenders — The Obama administration has proposed a sweeping change in the $85 billion-a-year student loan industry, one that could fundamentally alter the business of lenders such as Sallie Mae. — The proposal, included in yesterday's budget outline …
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GOP has 2012 gender gap, new poll says — WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the the first unofficial ballots are cast in the next race for the White House, a new national survey of Republicans indicates that the GOP doesn't have a clear presidential frontrunner — but does have a clear gender gap.


Calif. Mayor Who Sent White House Watermelon Patch E-Mail Quits — Mayor of Orange County, California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons. — LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — The mayor …
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Jobless Angry at Possibility of No Benefits — As governors in nine states, mostly in the South, consider rejecting millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for increased unemployment insurance, there is growing anger among the ranks of the jobless in those states that they could be left out of a significant government benefit.
Discussion:
Ta-Nehisi Coates, DailyHowler.com, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, DownWithTyranny!, Balloon Juice, CNN, Nashville Scene and Crooks and Liars

Exclusive: Joe the Plumber suggests some members of Congress should be shot. — On Wednesday, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher said that if he were in Congress, he would “probably be in jail” because he'd be charged with “slapping some member.” He added, “And that's not [bull] either.”

Twitter Jumped the Shark This Week — The Dirty Secret of College Admissions: Money Really Matters by Kathleen Kingsbury — Blogs and Stories — It's not a business—and now that Rep. Joe Barton is doing it, it's not even hip anymore. — It's time to Twitter the f%$k up. — It's just madness.
Discussion:
Wilshire & Washington


AP Exclusive: Gregg had stake in, won aid for base — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state's redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there …

Climate of Change — Elections have consequences. President Obama's new budget represents a huge break, not just with the policies of the past eight years, but with policy trends over the past 30 years. If he can get anything like the plan he announced on Thursday through Congress, he will set America on a fundamentally new course.
Discussion:
Brilliant at Breakfast, Hullabaloo, Liberty Street, MSNBC, Corrente, The Mahablog and Washington Monthly


Senator calls Obama 'world's best salesman of socialism' — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Another prominent Republican told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that the president's spending plans are pushing the country to the brink of socialism. — Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina …
Discussion:
Salon