memeorandum: Malaysia Restores ‘Allah’ Ban for Christians (Fox News)

1:30 AM ET, March 3, 2009

Top Items:

Steele to Rush: I'm sorry — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he has reached out to Rush Limbaugh to tell him he meant no offense when he referred to the popular conservative radio host as an “entertainer” whose show can be “incendiary.”

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Limbaugh blasts Steele, the GOP — On the same night he was offering the keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rush Limbaugh drew criticism from an unlikely source: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. — In a little-noticed interview Saturday night …

Discussion: New York Times, The Politico, Daily Kos, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, TaylorMarsh.com, Balloon Juice, D-Day, HorsesAss.Org and The Raw Story

The Huffington Post:

Steele Takes On Rush Limbaugh: “Ugly,” “Incendiary” (VIDEO) — Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele took umbrage Saturday night when CNN's D.L. Hughley referred to radio host Rush Limbaugh as “the de facto leader of the Republican party.” — “No he's not.

Discussion: CNN, The Gun Toting Liberal, The Huffington Post, MyDD and Pam's House Blend

Michelle Malkin:

A note to Michael Steele; Update: Steele agrees that GOP convention looked like “Nazi Germany;” Update: A non-apology apology — Scroll for updates...Steele non-apologizes to Limbaugh...No word on the “Nazi Germany"/GOP convention slur... I said positive things about RNC chairman Michael Steele …

Discussion: Washington Times, Political Machine, Washington Post, CNN, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Hot Air, Outside The Beltway, Right Wing Nut House, Sister Toldjah, DownWithTyranny!, Nashville Scene, Riehl World View and This ain't Hell …

RushLimbaugh.com:

A Few Words for Michael Steele — BEGIN TRANSCRIPT — RUSH: I was not going to talk about Michael Steele. I have had e-mails from the Drive-By Media. I have had interview requests to be on television shows to talk about Michael Steele and what he said about my speech Saturday night.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Atlantic Politics Channel, FRAMESHOP, Hotline On Call, Macsmind, Hullabaloo and Clips & Comment

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

I'M LOVING MICHAEL STEELE — I mean, I'm not sure how else to put it. This guy has to be about the worst, most embarrassing party chair we've seen in recent memory. It's embarrassing enough that Steele is like, what? ... the third Republican to criticize Rush and then make it less …

Satyam Khanna / Think Progress:

Steele Bows Down To Limbaugh: ‘No Attempt On My Part To Diminish His Voice Or His Leadership’ — Steele Bows Down To Limbaugh: ‘No Attempt On My Part To Diminish His Voice Or His Leadership’ — Yesterday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel called Rush Limbaugh the “intellectual force” of the GOP.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Reidblog, pandagon.net and Lynn Sweet

Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
Obama beats early retreat on promise to fight pork

Discussion: Bloomberg, Power Line and Reuters

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
White House fires back at Rush Limbaugh

Discussion: Don Surber and Wizbang

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Rush Limbaugh Launches Brutal Hit On Michael Steele

Discussion: Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Boston Globe, Jack & Jill Politics, The Debate Link and The Strata-Sphere

The New Republic:
Sympathy for the Limbaugh — Rush Limbaugh is drawing …

Discussion: Eunomia, Brian Beutler and Patterico's Pontifications

John / Power Line:
Throwing Rush Under the Bus

Discussion: The Note, Flopping Aces, Eunomia and The Moderate Voice

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
No Apology To Rush Limbaugh From RNC Chair Michael Steele

Discussion: protein wisdom and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

The New Majority:
SOCIAL ISSUES WON'T WIN MINORITIES FOR GOP

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Eunomia

RIA Novosti:

Obama ‘ready to drop shield plans for Russian help on Iran’ — Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran's nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.

Discussion: Fox News, Gateway Pundit, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, Flopping Aces, Jules Crittenden, Hot Air, Babalu Blog and The Raw Story

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter — WASHINGTON — President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia's president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday.

Discussion: Closing Velocity and Cafe Talk Aggregator

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Israel to present Clinton with ‘red lines’ on talks with Iran

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Paul Richter / Los Angeles Times: Clinton says U.S. diplomacy unlikely to end Iran nuclear program

John R. Bolton / Wall Street Journal:
Iran Clenches Its Fist

Discussion: UN Dispatch and Atlas Shrugs

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:

THE DOW-JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE since the passage of the stimulus bill. Looks like a vote of “no confidence” to me. — UPDATE: Can you say “going John Galt?” Upper-Income Taxpayers Look for Ways to Sidestep Obama Tax-Hike Plan. “A 63-year-old attorney based in Lafayette, La. …

Discussion: TigerHawk, The Corner, PoliPundit.com, GayPatriot, Power Line and Sense of Events

Rich Lowry / The Corner: A Dow Unworthy of FDR

Emily Friedman / ABCNEWS:
Upper-Income Taxpayers Look for Ways to Sidestep Obama Tax-Hike Plan

Discussion: Wizbang, Outside The Beltway and Michelle Malkin

Lost in Transition:

Panel Says Ron Kirk Underpaid Taxes — (Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) — Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee this afternoon revealed that another of President Obama's nominees — U.S. Trade Representative-designate Ron Kirk — has tax problems.

Discussion: Dan_McLaughlin's blog

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket: Another Obama pick owes back taxes, but it's OK because, now caught, he'll pay up

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Tax Problems Surface for Trade Rep. Nominee Kirk

Discussion: This ain't Hell … and Betsy's Page

Associated Press:

Obama releases secret Bush anti-terror memos — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - The Obama administration threw open the curtain on years of Bush-era secrets Monday, revealing anti-terror memos that claimed exceptional search-and-seizure powers …

Discussion: Associated Press, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, D-Day and Reuters

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
DOJ releases Bush post-9/11 memos

Discussion: New York Times

Charles Duhigg / New York Times:

U.S. Likely to Keep the Reins on Fannie and Freddie — Despite assurances that the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be temporary, the giant mortgage companies will most likely never fully return to private hands, lawmakers and company executives are beginning to quietly acknowledge.

Discussion: naked capitalism and Cafe Hayek

Marilyn / Taxpayers for Common Sense:

Facebook Reddit Digg Print this article — Here's the database you all have been waiting for - the FY 2009 Omnibus with 8,570 earmarks worth $7.7 billion. Since the Senate started debate on the bill today, we tabulated the Senate recipients of earmarks - from top to bottom.

Discussion: The Caucus, Blog P.I. and Glenn Thrush's Blogs

Megan McArdle:

How low will the stock market go — According to Henry Blodget, probably a lot farther: … Incidentally, if you think that people still have a vestigial view of housing as an investment asset rather than a consumption good with residual value, this implies that housing will substantially undershoot as well.

Discussion: Clusterstock

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Is Obama embracing the lawless, omnipotent executive? — (updated below - Update II) — As I detailed over the weekend, the Obama administration — in the case brought by two American lawyers and their charity-client claiming that their conversations were illegally intercepted …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Unqualified Offerings, D-Day and Brian Beutler

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Obama kicks up White House entertaining — WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is the place to be on Wednesdays. — Since the presidency changed hands less than six weeks ago, a burst of entertaining has taken hold of the iconic, white-columned home of America's head of state. Much of it comes on Wednesdays.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Gawker, Jules Crittenden, Pajamas Media, Associated Press and The Strata-Sphere

Emily Kaiser / Reuters:

U.S. rescue efforts may risk double-dip recession — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. companies, consumers and communities may grow so addicted to government financial help that cutting them off could trigger another recession soon after the current one ends. — Between the U.S. Federal Reserve's …

Discussion: Wizbang

Fox News:

Malaysia Restores ‘Allah’ Ban for Christians — KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Malaysian government will issue a new decree restoring a ban on Christian publications using the word “Allah” to refer to God, officials said Sunday. — Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar said a previous Feb. 16 decree …

Discussion: Jihad Watch

US Department of Justice:

Department of Justice Releases Nine Office of Legal Counsel Memoranda and Opinions — WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today released two previously undisclosed Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memoranda and seven previously undisclosed opinions. — “Americans deserve a government …

Discussion: Washington Post, Reidblog, The BLT, RedState and The Washington Independent

Rob Stein / Washington Post:

Researchers Find Safer Way to Produce Stem Cell Alternative — Skin Cells Transformed Without Worrisome Use of Viruses — Scientists have developed what appears to be a safer way to create a promising alternative to embryonic stem cells, boosting hopes that such cells could sidestep …