Top Items:
Washington Post:
McDonnell's Confederate History Month proclamation irks civil rights leaders — RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, reviving a controversy that had been dormant for eight years, has declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, a move that angered civil rights leaders Tuesday …
Discussion:
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
McDonnell apologizes — After a defensive first reaction, Bob McDonnell realizes that there's little upside to this fight for him: — The proclamation issued by this Office designating April as Confederate History Month contained a major omission. The failure to include any reference …
Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
Proud Of Being Ignorant — A lot of you have e-mailed me to note that Virginia governor Bob McDonnell has decided to honor those who fought to preserve, and extend, white supremacy. I don't really have much to say. The GOP is, effectively, the party of willfully unlettered Utopians.
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Balkinization, Little Green Footballs, The Impolitic and Prairie Weather
Rachel Slajda / TPM LiveWire:
Apologetic McDonnell Adds Slavery Clause To ‘Confederate History Month’ Proclamation
Apologetic McDonnell Adds Slavery Clause To ‘Confederate History Month’ Proclamation
Paul / Power Line:
The wrong proclamation in Virginia
The wrong proclamation in Virginia
Discussion:
Think Progress, PostPartisan, Pam's House Blend, TPM LiveWire, The Daily Dish, Virginia Politics Blog and NPR Topics
CNN:
Reporter's notebook: What really happens at Tea Party rallies — (CNN) — When it comes to the Tea Party movement, the stereotypes don't tell the whole story. — Here's what you often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies: offensive posters blasting President Obama and Democratic leaders …
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Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker ripped by Tea Party activist — Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo (N.J.) received heavy criticism from a Tea Party activist at a recent town hall meeting in his district. — In a YouTube video, the eighth-term congressman is grilled on his knowledge of the Constitution …
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GOP'S VOID — The GOP's leadership void... The hits keep on coming for Steele, though the RNC reported raising $11.4 million in March... But that is less than the $13 million-plus the DNC is reporting... Is Bart Stupak going to call it quits?... Obama heads to Prague this evening …
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Scott Shane / New York Times:
U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks …
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David Freddoso / Washington Examiner:
Five things we learned about Obamacare after it passed — “[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., famously said that about President Obama's health care reform package. She was right.
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Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Harry Reid Won't Announce Stops On Bus Tour Out of Fear of Protesters
Harry Reid Won't Announce Stops On Bus Tour Out of Fear of Protesters
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:
AP sources: FBI arrests man for threatening Pelosi — WASHINGTON — The FBI arrested a northern California man Wednesday for allegedly making threatening phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over health care reform, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
Matt Cover / CNSNews:
Rep. Wasserman Schultz Insists Health Care Law Doesn't Require Individuals to Buy Insurance — (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D.-Fla.) is insisting that the new health care law she voted for last month does not mandate that individuals buy health insurance, despite language in the law that plainly says otherwise.
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Obama weighs new peace plan for the Middle East — Despite recent turbulence in U.S. relations with Israel, President Obama is “seriously considering” proposing an American peace plan to resolve the Palestinian conflict, according to two top administration officials.
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Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Voters Issue Strong Rebuke of Incumbents in Congress — Fewer than half (49%) would re-elect own member, 28% for most members — PRINCETON, NJ — A record-low percentage of U.S. voters — 28% — say most members of Congress deserve to be re-elected. The previous low was 29% in October 1992.
Dick Morris / The Hill:
GOP will win House, Senate — Stanley Greenberg and James Carville claim that the Republican Party has peaked too soon. — Stanley Greenberg and James Carville claim that the Republican Party has peaked too soon. Incredibly, Greenberg says that “when we look back on this, we're going to say Massachusetts is when 1994 happened.”
Clifford J. Levy / New York Times:
Upheaval in Kyrgyzstan as Leader Flees — MOSCOW — Large-scale protests on Wednesday appeared to overthrow the government of Kyrgyzstan, an important Amerian ally in Central Asia. Government officials said at least 41 people had been killed in bloody fighting between riot police …
Discussion:
BBC, FP Passport, The Lede, Newsweek Blogs, The Agonist, New Atlanticist, Laura Rozen's Blog, The Daily Dish, NPR Topics and Truthdig
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Associated Press:
Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax — Recession, new tax credits have nearly half of US households paying no federal income tax — FILE - In this April 5, 2010 file photo, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman gestures while speaking at the National Press Club in Washington.
Garry Wills / New York Times:
Behind Obama's Cool — In 2004, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois attended a White House event wearing the campaign pin of her state's candidate for the United States Senate. When she saw President Bush do a double take at the one word on her pin, she assured him that it spelled “Obama,” not “Osama.”
New York Times:
Greenspan Rejects Criticism of Federal Reserve at Hearing — WASHINGTON — The committee examining the causes of the financial crisis heard a strong defense of the Federal Reserve from its former chairman on Wednesday as the panel began three days of hearings 0n the failure to rein in Citigroup …
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, ProPublica, Matthew Yglesias and Truthdig
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Anne Schroeder Mullins / The Politico:
STORMY STUNT IRKS GOP — Stormy Daniels and her team may not have come to a conclusion about her Senate candidacy over the past few months (and we'd be surprised if they ever do!), but she's nonetheless managed to be a thorn in the side of Louisiana Republicans.
Discussion:
Beltway Confidential
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
For the wealthy, less in taxes is not always more — You thought only conservatives got mad about taxes? — Tea partiers, eat your hearts out: A group of liberals got together Tuesday and proved that they, too, can have a tax rebellion. But theirs is a little bit different: They want to pay more taxes.
Discussion:
USA Today, PostPartisan, Don Surber, Big Government, The Atlantic Online, Moonbattery and The Lonely Conservative
Margaret Talev / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Health care overhaul spawns mass confusion for public — WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them. — Questions reflecting confusion …
Rasmussen Reports:
55% Say Media Bias Bigger Problem in Politics Than Big Contributions — Voters agree that big money talks in politics but apparently not as loudly as big media. — Fifty-five percent (55%) of U.S. voters continue to think that media bias is a bigger problem in politics today …
FIRE:
New Duke Policy Renders Students Unwitting Rapists; Removes Protections for Those Accused of Sexual Misconduct — Duke University has instituted a new “sexual misconduct” policy that can render a student guilty of non-consensual sex simply because he or she is considered “powerful” on campus.
France24:
N.Korea leader sets world fashion trend: Pyongyang — AFP - The trademark suit sported by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is now in fashion worldwide thanks to his greatness, Pyongyang's official website said Wednesday. — Uriminzokkiri, quoting an article in communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun …