memeorandum: Insurance and pension costs hit by ECJ gender ruling (BBC)

4:10 AM ET, March 2, 2011

Top Items:

Eric Hananoki / Media Matters for America:

Huckabee: Obama Grew Up “In Kenya” — During a radio appearance yesterday, Mike Huckabee repeatedly falsely claimed that President Obama grew up in Kenya. After questioning Obama's purported secrecy about the birth certificate, radio host Steve Malzberg asked Huckabee if “we deserve to know more about this man.”

Discussion: Examiner, The Note, The Hill, Sky Dancing, Taylor Marsh, The Reaction, NewsBusters.org, Roger Ailes, A plain blog about politics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Crooks and Liars, The Atlantic Online, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, CNN, Washington Monthly and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Huckagaffe — He's now withdrawn the statement that Obama grew up in Kenya and says he meant Indonesia. Here's the original quote: … Well, how do you get a view of the Mau Mau revolution in Indonesia? So I don't buy the mis-spoke explanation. And Obama did not “grow up with” a Kenyan father and grandfather.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and AMERICAblog News

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Huckabee didn't mean it — Mike Huckabee, who has never indulged paranoia about Obama's birth — and who has generally chided vitriolic attacks on the president and First Lady — pretty clearly misspoke in a radio interview today, prompting a boomlet of outrage. — Says his spokesman Hogan Gidley to POLITICO:

Discussion: PostPartisan, Mother Jones, Media Matters for America and Mediaite

David Weigel / Weigel:

Mike Huckabee is Not a Birther — Let's call this off right now. I don't hear birtherism anywhere in Mike Huckabee's interview with Steve Malzberg. … Occam's razor: Huckabee is just ill-informed. — 1) Barack Obama spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, with his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro.

Discussion: The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Huckabee Questions Obama Birth Certificate — Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, said on Monday that he would “love to know more” about where President Obama was born and claimed — falsely — that Mr. Obama was raised in Kenya.

Discussion: FOK News Channel, Mother Jones, Salon, Mediaite, Politics Daily, Swampland and George's Bottom Line

Emi Kolawole / Washington Post:
Huckabee claims inaccurately that Obama was raised in Kenya

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Political Carnival and Swampland

Phil / Dane101:

Wisconsin GOP Senator Glenn Grothman chased, trapped by hecklers, saved by Dem. Rep. Hulsey — Phil Ejercito is a 29 year old freelance photographer based in Madison, WI. His primary photographic services include (but are by no means limited to) live music, event coverage, politics and activism …

Discussion: Nice Deb

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Breaking: Wisconsin GOP Senator Glenn Grothman Mobbed at Wisconsin Capitol (Video) — Breaking Report: Wisconsin Republican Glenn Grothman was just mobbed by a group of union thugs. — Republican youth leader Josiah Cantrall reported that the Republican Senator was mobbed by union thugs as he approached the capitol today.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Whiskey Fire, RedState and Moonbattery

Michelle Malkin:

Mob rule video: Unhinged crowd corners Wisconsin GOP senator shouting “F**k you,” “Shame!” ; Update: A Fleebagger returns? — Scroll for updates... I got bad chills up and down my spine watching this group of crazed, pro-union Madison thugs gang up on a lone conservative in a public space just trying to do his job.

Discussion: Hot Air, Nice Deb, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and Patterico's Pontifications

The Politico:

Darrell Issa fires press secretary Kurt Bardella in New York Times e-mail flap — House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) fired Kurt Bardella, one of Capitol Hill's top press secretaries, after he provided e-mailed correspondence with other journalists to New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich.

Discussion: News Desk, FishbowlDC, Pundits Blog, Weigel, The Other McCain, New York Magazine, TPMMuckraker, FrumForum, 2chambers and Poynter

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Issa press aide scandal is like bad reality TV

Discussion: Politics Daily, Swampland, USA Today and Balloon Juice

Jack Shafer / Slate:
John F. Harris, go soak your head.

Discussion: The Politico, USA Today, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, Washington Wire and CNN

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

House Advances Budget and Cuts $4 Billion — WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday approved a two-week budget measure that cuts $4 billion in federal spending. Senate Democrats said they would quickly pass the bill and send it to President Obama, averting any immediate threat of a government shutdown …

Discussion: Gawker and Booman Tribune

ThinkProgress:
Religious Coalition Tells The GOP That 'The Budget Shouldn't Be Balanced On the Backs Of The Poor'

Discussion: CNN, Cubachi and USA Today

Felicia Sonmez / 2chambers:
House passes stopgap funding to avert federal shutdown

Discussion: Hot Air, Firedoglake, Online NewsHour and Balloon Juice

The Hill:
Despite steep cuts, Reid says Senate Dems will pass House GOP plan

Discussion: FrumForum

Fox News:
House Passes Two-Week Spending Bill, Sends To Senate

Discussion: Don Surber, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and New York Magazine

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Assange Complains of Jewish Smear Campaign — LONDON — The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, suggested in comments published on Tuesday that British journalists, including the editor of The Guardian newspaper, were engaged in a Jewish-led conspiracy to smear his organization.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, Salon and The Jawa Report

TwitLonger:
WikiLeaks — Because WikiLeaks has some Jewish staff …

Discussion: New York Magazine and Liberal Conspiracy

Sunny Hundal / Liberal Conspiracy:
Assange goes off deep end - blaming Jews and Guardian in Private Eye

Discussion: Salon, AOL News, Runnin' Scared, The Raw Story and FP Passport

Eric Lach / TPMDC:

Walker Unveils Budget — Says Cuts Will Be More Painful If Dems Don't Return — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) gave a speech at the state Capitol Tuesday to unveil his budget for the next two years, even as the debate over his budget repair bill still rages.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community

JSOnline:
Walker's budget cuts would touch most Wisconsinites

Discussion: Pajamas Media, AOL News and First Draft

Wall Street Journal:
Wisconsin Governor Seeks $4.2 Billion in Cuts

Discussion: USA Today, Firedoglake, National Review and Hot Air

Rich Lowry / National Review:

‘I already know I could win’ — Dan already wrote a piece about it, but Chris Christie was in the office last week. I just wanted to quote him more extensively on 2012. I asked him whether he knew that, given the moment, there is a serious chance he could win the Republican nomination if he ran.

Discussion: Hot Air, CNN and Capitol Quickies

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Christie: I could win the W.H.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Eric Holder: Black Panther case focus demeans ‘my people’ — Attorney General Eric Holder finally got fed up Tuesday with claims that the Justice Department went easy in a voting rights case against members of the New Black Panther Party because they are African American.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Patterico's Pontifications, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Maggie's Notebook, HazZzMat, The Political Carnival, Public Secrets, Scared Monkeys, The Hill, Sister Toldjah, The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers, theblogprof, Pajamas Media and Liberty Pundits Blog

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

Ohio Lawmakers Battle Over Union Bargaining Rights — COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican state senators unveiled a new version of a bill governing public employee unions on Tuesday, saying it would preserve their right to collective bargaining, but Democratic lawmakers said the revisions failed …

Discussion: Mish's Global Economic …, The TrogloPundit, The Political Carnival and Truthdig

Mary Wisniewski / Reuters:
Ohio union plan like Wisconsin draws protests

Discussion: AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, Firedoglake, The Raw Story and Pirate's Cove

Stephen C. Webster / The Raw Story:

Fox News reporter appears to have lied about being ‘punched’ by protester — Fox News has been making a lot of hay about one of their reporters allegedly being “punched” by a protester in Madison, Wisconsin. — Turns out, that didn't happen. — Mike Tobin, reporting from amid …

Discussion: Salon, The Political Carnival and NewsBusters.org

Katherine Sellgren / BBC:

LSE investigates Gaddafi's son plagiarism claims — There were student demonstrations at the LSE last week over its links with Libya — The London School of Economics has confirmed it is investigating allegations that Colonel Gaddafi's son plagiarised his PhD thesis.

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings and Guardian

Bob Woodward / Foreign Policy:

How Rumsfeld misleads and ducks responsibility in his new book — Few people know the ins and outs of the Bush Administration as well as the Washington Post's Bob Woodward, who is flat-out disgusted with the evasions and elisions in Donald Rumsfeld's new book. Here he explains why: — By Bob Woodward

Discussion: News Desk, Emptywheel, Liberal Values, The Politico, Salon, The Daily Dish, Ben Smith's Blog and Oliver Willis

Maggie / NOM Blog:

Breaking News: Sarah Palin Denounces Obama's DOMA decision (to NOM) — In response to a question from me, Sarah Palin offered this exclusive response to President Obama's DOMA decision: … Please cite www.nationformarriage.org as the source for this statement from Sarah.

Discussion: CNN, GOP 12, The Atlantic Online and The Page

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:

Reich To Rich: Redistribute Or Risk Angry Populace Turning On You! — Nice house there, rich guy. Wouldn't wanna see nuthin' happen to it . . . Robert Reich has actually argued that the rich should welcome redistributing more of their income to prevent an angry American populace from turning on them.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and Weasel Zippers

Harvard University Gazette:

Rev. Peter J. Gomes dies at 68 — Harvard scholar regarded as one of America's leading preachers — File photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer — The Rev. Peter Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, passed away on Feb. 28.

Discussion: CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Afterword and Balloon Juice

BBC:

Insurance and pension costs hit by ECJ gender ruling — Twins Emma and Nick Lane were quoted very different prices for car insurance — Insurers cannot charge different premiums to men and women because of their gender, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

Discussion: Crooked Timber

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Gingrich will not announce exploratory committee Thursday — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will not announce the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president on Thursday, his spokesman said Tuesday. — After a day of speculation resulting in reports that Gingrich …

Jeremy A. Kaplan / Fox News:

House Will Pursue Efforts to Eliminate US Funding for UN Climate Group — The cover of the IPCC's fourth assessment report to the U.N., “Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report,” more frequently referred to as AR4. — If House Republicans have their way, the U.S. may sever its fiscal support …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media