Top Items:
Paul D. Ryan / Wall Street Journal:
The GOP's Alternative Budget — President Obama offers us the option of European big government. — Today, the House of Representatives will consider two budget plans that represent dramatically different visions for our nation's future. — We will first consider President Barack Obama's plan.
Discussion:
CNN, The Atlantic Business Channel, Wonk Room, CBS News, Salon, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Shakesville, The Plum Line, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AMERICAblog News, Crooks and Liars, DownWithTyranny!, Donklephant, Comments from Left Field, TIME.com, Think Progress, The American Scene, Fox News, Matthew Yglesias, Washington Wire, On Deadline and TPMDC
RELATED:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
REASSURINGLY THE SAME — I realize that it doesn't afford me a lot of opportunities for personal or spiritual growth. But I'm nonetheless comforted by the fact that the Republicans running things in the House GOP caucus are still as clinically insane as in years past.
The Huffington Post:
GOP Budget Plan Assumes Americans Would Choose Higher Tax Rate — House Republicans set themselves a high bar last week when they promised to deliver an alternative budget that drastically slashed taxes while also cutting the deficit further than the White House has proposed.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, TPMDC, Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, MoJo Blog Posts and Wonk Room
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
A BUDGET PERFECT FOR APRIL FOOLS' DAY.... Rumor has it that Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, is one of the House GOP Caucus' sharper members. He has a reputation for knowing what he's talking about, and doing his homework.
Toby Harnden's blog listings:
Barack Obama's gift for the Queen: an iPod, your Majesty — Barack Obama met the Queen at Buckingham Palace today and gave her a gift of an iPod loaded with video footage and photographs of her 2007 United States visit to Richmond, Jamestown and Williamsburg in Virginia.
RELATED:
Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:
Obama's Gift to the Queen — This just in: Diplomatic jaws dropped across the continent yesterday when it was revealed that U.S. President Barack Obama had, once again, fumbled a routine protocal of international statecraft: finding the right gift for a foreign leader or head of state.
Discussion:
Political Punch
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Democrats Predict 210-Vote Victory in NY-20 — Venture capitalist Scott Murphy (D) will win the special election in New York's 20th district by 210 votes after all outstanding absentee and military ballots are counted, according to projections made by Democratic Party officials and obtained by the Fix.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Politico, TPMDC, Michael Barone, Politicker NY, New York Times, Hotline On Call, Swing State Project and Salon
RELATED:
Nina Totenberg / NPR:
Sources: Sen. Stevens Conviction To Be Voided — Audio for this story will be available at approx. 9:00 a.m. ET — · NPR's has learned that the Justice Department will drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska. — A jury convicted Stevens last fall of seven counts …
RELATED:
Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
U.S. to Drop Case Against Ex-Senator From Alaska
U.S. to Drop Case Against Ex-Senator From Alaska
Discussion:
The Swamp, Talking Points Memo, Room for Debate, AlterNet.org, Colorado Independent and Washington Monthly
Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Some in Justice Department See D.C. Vote in House as Unconstitutional
Some in Justice Department See D.C. Vote in House as Unconstitutional
Discussion:
Power Line, The Corner, The Volokh Conspiracy, Law Blog, Hot Air, Wizbang and The Foundry
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Joe The Plumber Admits He Knows “Little” About EFCA, Gets Jeered By Workers — Oof. Looks like Joe the Plumber's campaigning against the Employee Free Choice Act in Pennsylvania didn't go so well. — Mr. Plumber, whose appearances were organized by the anti-EFCA group Americans for Prosperity …
RELATED:
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Joe the Plumber stumped on Employee Free Choice Act: 'I don't know everything about everything.' — Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber,” is currently in Pennsylvania shilling against the Employee Free Choice Act on behalf of the anti-labor group Americans for Prosperity.
Discussion:
Keystone Progress Blog, Wearecentralpa.com, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, Pam's House Blend and Shakesville
Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:
PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge up in smoke — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday. — The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise …
RELATED:
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
New Obama tax outrage: Nominee leaves IRS refunds unclaimed!
New Obama tax outrage: Nominee leaves IRS refunds unclaimed!
Discussion:
Christian Science Monitor
Helene Cooper / The Caucus:
We're Not Keeping Score, but... LONDON — Is President Obama trying to muzzle his press corps? — The standard form during “joint press availabilities” — bureaucratic lingo for press conferences where leaders from two different countries stand next to each other and take questions from reporters …
Discussion:
Political Machine
RELATED:
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
NYT asks: ‘Obama trying to muzzle press?’ — NY Times White House reporter Helene Cooper, reporting from London, asked a provocative question on the paper's politics blog today: “Is Obama trying to muzzle his press corps.” (That item quickly moved to the lead story on Huffington Post).
Discussion:
The Swamp
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Inevitable Triumph of the Neocons — Robert Farley expresses skepticism that Bill Kristol's new Foreign Policy Initiative is going to succeed: … I think that's way too optimistic. The commanding heights of the information economy remain incredibly friendly to neocon perspectives.
RELATED:
David Crary / Associated Press:
Retired military officers: keep ban on gays — NEW YORK - More than 1,000 retired military officers, including several who were top commanders, are urging President Barack Obama and Congress to maintain the law that bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
RELATED:
P.J. Gladnick / NewsBusters.org:
David Letterman Calls Bill O'Reilly a ‘Goon’ During Heated Interview — Whenever Bill O'Reilly appears on the David Letterman show you just know sparks are going to fly due to Letterman's inability to keep his anger managed and last night's show did not disappoint although it seems that Letterman …
David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:
Bachmann-Turnip Overdrive: Clueless ‘global currency’ paranoia in high gear — It seems to be slowly sinking through the addled pates of Michelle Bachmann and her avid codependents, like Glenn Beck (henceforth dubbed “the Turnip"), that all this talk about “replacing the dollar with a global currency” …
RELATED:
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Bachmann Talks Up Anti-Global Money Amendment, Gets 30 Cosponsors
Bachmann Talks Up Anti-Global Money Amendment, Gets 30 Cosponsors
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Moe Tkacik / TPMMuckraker:
Harvard Derivatives Whiz Fired For Emailing Larry Summers About “Frightening” Trades? — A former quantitative analyst at Harvard Management Company, the university's once-vaunted endowment manager, tells the Harvard Crimson she was fired for voicing concern to then-university president Larry Summers' chief …
Reuters:
G20 protesters smash windows, clash with police — LONDON (Reuters) - Demonstrators clashed with riot police and smashed the windows of a bank in London's financial center on Wednesday in protest against a system they said had robbed the poor to benefit the rich.
Andrew Walden / Front Page Magazine:
Barack Obama: Born in Hawaii — A fairly impressive internet industry has sprung up claiming that Obama was born in either Kenya or Indonesia. This is nonsense which distracts from the broadly unexplored story of Obama's upbringing. This kind of nonsense has emerged because the McCain campaign chose …
Discussion:
pw
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Andy McCarthy's Tax “Knowledge” — Andy McCarthy writes, in what I understand is not an April Fool's Day post, that: … Every time I read this kind of thing I wonder: Why on earth does McCarthy think that Obama is stubbornly refusing to cut taxes when doing so would raise revenues?
Discussion:
The Corner
New York Post:
MASTHEAD MASSACRE — FORBES AXES AT LEAST 20 FROM MAG AND WEB — RIGHT about now, U2 front man Bono is probably wondering what he's gotten himself into by buying such a big stake in Forbes Media. — Yesterday, the company cut at least 20 editorial positions in the latest move to stay ahead …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Barney: GOP suffers psych disorder — House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank was in quite a mood on the floor of the House today — questioning the sanity of Texas Republican John Culberson and other conservatives over their opposition to the new AIG bonus bill.
Discussion:
GayPatriot
Wall Street Journal:
GM Bankruptcy? Tell Me Another — The president isn't serious about reform for Detroit. — President Obama rightly says “sacrifices” must be made if GM is to emerge as a viable company. But there's one sacrifice he won't make: his re-election chances, by leaving the fate of the UAW truly up to a bankruptcy judge.