Top Items:
Sam Arora, Maryland Delegate:
Statement on SB 116 (Same-Sex Marriage Bill) — I have heard from constituents, friends, and advocates from across the spectrum of views and have thought about the issue of same-sex marriage extensively. I understand their concern—this is a very serious issue, and one that many people feel passionately about.
Discussion:
Wonk Room, The Daily Dish, PostPartisan, Maryland Politics, Joe. My. God. and AMERICAblog Gay
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Sam Arora speaks: I'm now against same-sex marriage but I'll vote for the bill anyway — A bizarre statement just released by Maryland Delegate Sam Arora, who, up until a few weeks ago, was an ardent supporter of marriage equality and regularly bragged to constituents about his support.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
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Sam Arora's disgraceful wavering on marriage equality in Maryland
Discussion:
AMERICAblog Gay, The Washington Note, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Joe. My. God. and Baltimore Sun
Yusef Najafi / News at Metro Weekly:
Arora Flip “a Shock”
Arora Flip “a Shock”
Discussion:
AMERICAblog Gay, PostPartisan, Pam's House Blend and Towleroad News #gay
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U.S. Added 192,000 Jobs in February; Rate at 8.9% — America's job engine picked up some steam last month. — The nation's employers added 192,000 jobs in February, after having added just 63,000 the previous month, the Labor Department reported on Friday. — The February number was about what economists had been forecasting.
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February jobs report: Unemployment falls again — NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The jobs outlook brightened in February, as strong business hiring helped trim unemployment to its lowest level in nearly two years. — The unemployment rate fell to 8.9% last month, from 9.0% in January, the best reading since April of 2009.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Note, The Maddow Blog, msnbc.com, The Political Carnival and FrumForum
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Democrats Open Talks by Offering $6.5 Billion More in Cuts — WASHINGTON — As they opened negotiations with Republicans over budget cuts, the White House and Congressional Democrats on Thursday offered to trim an additional $6.5 billion from current spending, a figure far short …
Discussion:
Liberty Pundits Blog, Fact Checker, Booman Tribune, New York Times and ThinkProgress
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Kevinliptak / CNN:
TRENDING: Huckabee's problem with Natalie Portman — (CNN) - Mike Huckabee is highlighting what he considers a symbol of degraded American values: Oscar winner Natalie Portman. — The former Arkansas governor and possible Republican presidential candidate criticized the actress this week …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HUCKABEE TURNS HIS ATTENTION FROM A PRESIDENT TO A MOVIE STAR. …
HUCKABEE TURNS HIS ATTENTION FROM A PRESIDENT TO A MOVIE STAR. …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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Presidential hopefuls Huntsman, Romney share Mormonism and belief in themselves — IN SALT LAKE CITY — Jon Huntsman Jr. and Mitt Romney go way back. — In the Huntsman Corp. headquarters below Red Butte Canyon, Peter Huntsman, the younger brother of Jon Huntsman Jr. …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog and msnbc.com
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James Wolcott / Vanity Fair:
It's Morgan In America — Where did Piers Morgan come from? And is there any way to send him back? Reviewing the debut “gets”—Oprah! Rudy! Condoleezza!—of Larry King's blustery British heir, the author examines the failures behind Morgan's success. — If you're going to go in, go in big.
Discussion:
The New Republic and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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The Disposable Woman — FORTY-THREE minutes into his “special live edition” with Charlie Sheen on Monday night, Piers Morgan finally got around to asking his guest a real question. Before that, Mr. Morgan and Mr. Sheen had mostly traded chuckles and anecdotes about multiday benders …
Discussion:
The Awl and Runnin' Scared
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
How to Kill a Recovery — The economic news has been better lately. New claims for unemployment insurance are down; business and consumer surveys suggest solid growth. We're still near the bottom of a very deep hole, but at least we're climbing. — It's too bad that so many people …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Taylor Marsh, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Soldier in Leaks Case Was Jailed Naked, Lawyer Says — WASHINGTON — A lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking secret government files to WikiLeaks, has complained that his client was stripped and left naked in his cell for seven hours on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, Firedoglake, The Agonist, FrumForum, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I, New York Magazine, The BLT and Salon
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Army Court-Martial Defense Specialist / The Law Office …:
PFC Manning Forced to Strip Naked
PFC Manning Forced to Strip Naked
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Jawa Report, Emptywheel and Runnin' Scared
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GOP Aims to Tame Benefits Programs — Boehner Promises Entitlement Review — WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he's determined to offer a budget this spring that curbs Social Security and Medicare, despite the political risks, and that Republicans will try to persuade voters that sacrifices are needed.
Discussion:
The Politico, Politics Daily, CNN, The Note, Left Coast Rebel, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Fix, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Right Turn and ABCNEWS
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Boehner promises Obama GOP cover on entitlement reform
Boehner promises Obama GOP cover on entitlement reform
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
Dems tried to recruit ‘Jeopardy!’ champ to challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch — Top Senate Democrats sought to recruit Ken Jennings to challenge Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) back in 2004, the “Jeopardy!” contestant revealed Thursday. — Jennings is famous for holding the record for consecutive wins on the quiz show.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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Nitasha Tiku / New York Magazine:
Warning: After Reading This, You Will Want Ken Jennings to Be Your New Best Nerd
Warning: After Reading This, You Will Want Ken Jennings to Be Your New Best Nerd
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
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NASA satellite rocket launch fails, lands in ocean — WASHINGTON (AP) — A rocket carrying an Earth-observation satellite plummeted into the Pacific Ocean after a failed launch attempt Friday, the second-straight blow to NASA's weakened environmental monitoring program.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Babalú Blog, LewRockwell.com Blog and JammieWearingFool
Jim Demint / Wall Street Journal:
Public Broadcasting Should Go Private — If these outfits can afford to pay lavish salaries to their heads, they don't need taxpayer help. — When presidents of government-funded broadcasting are making more than the president of the United States, it's time to get the government out of public broadcasting.
Discussion:
The Hill, Maggie's Notebook, GOP 12, NewsBusters.org, Doug Ross, The Lonely Conservative and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:
Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico — ATF agent says “Fast and Furious” program let guns “walk” into hands of Mexican drug cartels with aim of tracking and breaking a big case — WASHINGTON - Federal agent John Dodson says what he was asked to do was beyond belief.
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James Franco Straddles Two Roles at Yale — On Sunday night he was in Hollywood, as co-host of the Oscar telecast in black tie. At 9 the next morning, he was in a Starbucks in New Haven, hunched over a book and barely recognizable in a gray sweatshirt, but still wearing his tuxedo pants.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Outside the Beltway, PopEater, Prairie Weather, ArtsBeat, Shakesville and The Reality-Based Community
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Rick Scott Rejects Obama Administration's Last-Ditch Pitch On High-Speed Rail … WASHINGTON — Putting a formal end to attempts to satisfy his concerns with the project, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has rejected a last-ditch effort by the Department of Transportation to build a portion of a national high-speed rail system in his state.
JSOnline:
State says damage to marble at Capitol could hit $7.5 million — Madison - State officials said Thursday that damage to the marble inside and out the State Capitol would cost an estimated $7.5 million. — Cari Anne Renlund, chief legal counsel for the state Department of Administration …
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Newt Gingrich's rough week — And so it didn't begin. — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was supposed to make big news in Atlanta Thursday, announcing a major step toward running for president in 2012. — What he announced instead was a website, the oddly named NewtExplore2012.com.
Discussion:
GOP 12, Washington Wire and ThinkProgress
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New York Times online pay model details coming in ‘matter of weeks’ — If you were the executive editor of one of the world's most prestigious and widely read newspapers, how would you justify billing a reader for a print version that he's no longer reading?
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Wire and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
Sen. Brown: 'Hitler didn't want unions' — Washington (CNN)-Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio invoked Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin while sounding off on union battles with state lawmakers in his state and in Wisconsin. — “I look back in history, in some of the worst governments that we had …
Discussion:
Big Government
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Economy adds jobs as unemployment falls below 9 percent — The labor market showed signs of strong growth in February, as the nation added 192,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dipped below 9 percent for the first time since April 2009. — The unemployment rate dropped to 8.9 percent …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
WKOW 27:
Rep. Nick Milroy tackled while trying to enter Capitol — MADISON (WKOW) — Representative Nick Milroy (D-South Range) had a confrontation with Capitol police as he tried to enter the building Thursday night. — Milroy was trying to get clothes from his office but police would not let him into the building.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, TPMMuckraker and New York Magazine
Christopher Hayes / The Nation:
Why Washington Doesn't Care About Jobs — This article appeared in the March 21, 2011 edition of The Nation. — Recommended by — Remember when everyone agreed that what the American people wanted from Washington was, in John Boehner's words, a “relentless focus on creating jobs”?
Discussion:
Yglesias, Booman Tribune, Sky Dancing, Balloon Juice, Open Congress, Mother Jones and Shakesville