Top Items:
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
The “Kennedy Court,” only more so — Analysis — If it has been so that the Supreme Court could properly be called the “Kennedy Court,” because of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's grip on a tie-breaking vote much of the time, that may well be even more so when the Justices open a new Term next October.
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Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:
Obama pick for Justice post withdraws — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has withdrawn her bid for confirmation, after several Republicans objected to her criticism of the Bush administration's terrorist interrogation policies.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, ACS Blog, Think Progress, The Volokh Conspiracy and The American Pundit
Ezra Klein:
Pick a politician for the Supreme Court — My first thought on hearing that Justice Stevens was retiring was that it'd be nice to see him replaced by a legislator with legal training rather than another lawyer. As Matt Yglesias writes, “this is one of these things that pundits …
The Huffington Post:
Dawn Johnsen, Key Obama Justice Nominee, Withdraws Her Nomination — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Dawn Johnsen, the president's appointment to the Office of Legal Counsel whose nomination has lingered in Congressional limbo for more than a year, has officially withdrawn her candidacy for the post …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Political Punch, MyDD, Emptywheel, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Firedoglake, Daily Kos and TalkLeft
Daniel Foster / The Corner on National Review Online:
SCOTUS Short-List: from Left to Lefter — By: Daniel Foster
SCOTUS Short-List: from Left to Lefter — By: Daniel Foster
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Justice Stevens' retirement and Elena Kagan
Justice Stevens' retirement and Elena Kagan
Discussion:
The Politico, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Civilian Review, Slate, Political Punch, Democracy in America, Opinionator, Main Justice, The Corner on National …, The Daily Caller, Liberty Pundits dot net, GayPatriot, Open Left, Newsweek Blogs, Swampland, The Hill, AmSpecBlog, The Confluence, Firedoglake, TalkLeft, New York Times and Mad Kane's Political Madness
New York Times:
President of Poland Killed in Plane Crash in Russia — MOSCOW - A plane carrying the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, and dozens of the country's top political and military leaders crashed in a heavy fog in western Russia on Saturday morning, killing everyone aboard.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Guardian, Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Hot Air, The Agonist, Ruby Slippers and The Page
RELATED:
BBC:
Polish president dies in plane crash — Footage from the scene shows firefighters at work amid the wreckage — Polish President Lech Kaczynski and scores of others have been killed in a plane crash in Russia. — Polish and Russian officials said no-one had survived after the plane apparently hit trees …
Discussion:
Mediaite
The Politico:
Base stirred by Palin, but not sure she's ready yet — NEW ORLEANS - Sarah Palin dominated a sleepy Southern Republican Leadership Conference here Friday, stealing a show that had largely been ceded to her by other Republicans of national stature. — When Palin was introduced …
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JammieWearingFool:
MSNBC Colleagues Laugh at Dimwit Norah O'Donnell — MSNBC laughingstock Norah O'Donnell broke out the racial radar this morning by making some lame assertions that Newt Gingrich's criticism of Barack Obama was somehow racist. Yes, it's come to this in America.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
David Damron / Orlando Sentinel:
Grayson crashes local GOP meeting, tells Orange mayoral critic “take a walk” — U.S. Rep Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, walked in on an Orange County Republican Executive Committee meeting Thursday night at a Perkins restaurant and got into a confrontation with county mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer …
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Gus Lubin / The Business Insider:
15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America — The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Cliché, sure, but it's also more true than at any time since the Gilded Age. — The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low.
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Tax day: $160-billion relief, and counting — More than $160 billion in tax relief has been granted to families and businesses under the American Recovery and Reinvetment Act signed into law last year, Presdent Barack Obama announced today with a radio address near the eve of Tax Day.
Fouad Ajami / Wall Street Journal:
Afghanistan and the Decline of American Power — President Karzai's anti-American shift is a statement about the standing of the Obama administration in the region. — President Obama's “war of necessity” in Afghanistan increasingly has to it the mark of a military campaign disconnected from a bigger political strategy.
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT
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Roger Hickey / ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*:
URGENT: Stop CNN From Airing Deficit Propaganda — This weekend, CNN is giving four hours of free airtime to the leading propagandist fanning the flames of deficit hysteria, Pete Peterson, along with his lackeys. Bloggers and online activists are joining today to promote this action:
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Ted Mann / The Day newspaper:
McMahon warned steroid doctor of investigation — In December 1989, as federal investigators were zeroing in on a Pennsylvania doctor who would soon be convicted of selling steroids to professional wrestlers, Linda McMahon sent a confidential memo to a fellow executive at Titan Sports …
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Luke Harding / Guardian:
Kyrgyzstan president left only $80m — • Bakiyev ‘plundered state and favoured family’ — • Otunbayeva says Russia recognises new regime — The head of Kyrgyzstan's new interim government yesterday revealed that her country was broke and said that the former president …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid
Confederate Yankee:
Obama Questions Palin's Nuclear Wisdom — He simply doesn't know when to shut up: … Palin's view of nuclear weapons was shaped by her stint as the commander in chief of the Alaskan National Guard, our first line of defense against Soviet nuclear weapons.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Outside The Beltway, Below The Beltway, Guardian and Sadly, No!
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Palin defends Karzai, echoes Cheney
Palin defends Karzai, echoes Cheney
Discussion:
CNN, Hot Air, Eunomia, Abu Muqawama, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line and Weekly Standard