memeorandum: On Libya and budget, President Obama votes ‘present’ (Michael Barone/Washington Examiner)

12:05 PM ET, March 14, 2011

Top Items:

Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say — WASHINGTON — As the scale of Japan's nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam …

William Tucker / Wall Street Journal:
Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl

Discussion: National Review, Left Coast Rebel, BraveNewClimate, The Moderate Voice, The Gateway Pundit and The Volokh Conspiracy

BBC:
Explosion at Japan nuclear plant

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Other McCain, Clusterstock, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Reuters, Sky Dancing, Firedoglake, FrumForum, This Just In and World Nuclear News

William J. Broad / New York Times:
Military Crew Said to Be Exposed to Radiation, but Officials Call Risk in U.S. Slight

Discussion: Guardian, ABCNEWS, Runnin' Scared, Weasel Zippers, Information Dissemination, The BRAD BLOG and The Jawa Report

Washington Post:
At two reactors, a race to contain meltdowns

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Moderate Voice

Bloomberg: Tokyo Electric Battles Cooling System Failures at 3 Reactors Hit by Quake

Los Angeles Times:
Japan's nuclear crisis widens

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Free exchange and New York Times

John M. Broder / New York Times:
U.S. Nuclear Industry Faces New Uncertainty

Discussion: Fox News, Atomic Insights Blog, ProPublica and FrumForum

New York Times:
Death Toll Estimate in Japan Soars as Relief Efforts Intensify

Discussion: U.S. NRC Blog, Doctors Without Borders, Shakesville, The Daily Beast, Ecocentric, Hot Air, FrumForum, Wall Street Journal, The Lede and New York Magazine

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Going Rogue on Ailes Could Leave Palin on Thin Ice — Before Sarah Palin posted her infamous “Blood Libel” video on Facebook on January 12, she placed a call to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. In the wake of the Tucson massacre, Palin was fuming that the media was blaming her heated rhetoric …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Conservatives4Palin, Ben Smith's Blog, FrumForum and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Judd Gregg / The Hill:

Sadly, the primary process might help Sarah Palin — It is difficult to believe, but the first election for the next president of the United States is less than a year away. — The New Hampshire primary is alive and well and headed toward a date of Valentine's Day next year …

Discussion: CNN, Liberty Pundits Blog, Booman Tribune, GOP 12 and The Political Carnival

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Campaigning as All Things to All Republicans — CONCORD, N.H. — Many aspiring Republican presidential candidates are going to great lengths to avoid the spotlight, but not Tim Pawlenty. He is doing whatever he can to step into it. — Few audiences are too small for Mr. Pawlenty …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Note, Swampland, Taegan Goddard's …, New York Magazine and The Politico

Myglesias / Yglesias:

The Slippery Slope Of Unilateralism — I had an interesting back and forth several years ago with Anne-Marie Slaughter, then a professor at Princeton, later policy planning director at the State Department, and now back to academia about an old line from something she wrote where she said …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Anne-Marie Slaughter / New York Times:

Fiddling While Libya Burns — PRESIDENT Obama says the noose is tightening around Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. In fact, it is tightening around the Libyan rebels, as Colonel Qaddafi makes the most of the world's dithering and steadily retakes rebel-held towns.

Discussion: BBC, The Nation, Eunomia, Taylor Marsh, The Washington Note, Whiskey Fire, The Daily Caller and Washington Monthly

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Iraq Then, Libya Now — Five years ago, in the darkest days of insurgent violence and Sunni-Shia strife, it seemed as if the Iraq war would shadow American foreign policy for decades, frightening a generation's worth of statesmen away from using military force.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and FrumForum

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
On Libya and budget, President Obama votes ‘present’

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Betsy's Page and Taylor Marsh

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Another Inside Job — Count me among those who were glad to see the documentary “Inside Job” win an Oscar. The film reminded us that the financial crisis of 2008, whose aftereffects are still blighting the lives of millions of Americans, didn't just happen — it was made possible by bad behavior …

Discussion: Wonk Room, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos and Mother Jones

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

Cable News Viewership Declines Double Digits in 2010 … After years of audience growth, cable news may have hit a wall. — According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual State of the News Media report, cable news viewership for CNN, MSNBC and Fox News fell substantially in 2010 …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Impolitic, News Hounds and FrumForum

The Politico:

'She's becoming Al Sharpton, Alaska edition' — Sarah Palin has played the sexism card, accusing critics of chauvinism against a strong woman. — She has played the class card, dismissing the Bush family as “blue bloods,” and complaining that she is the target of snobbery by people …

Discussion: GOP 12, Conservatives4Palin and Riehl World View

Jim Morrill / The Charlotte Observer:

Duke guaranteeing $10 million line of credit for DNC — Duke Energy Corp., whose CEO is leading the fundraising for the Democratic National Convention, is guaranteeing a $10 million line of credit for the event. — The credit line from Fifth Third Bank is apparently the first time such an arrangement …

Discussion: Ballot Box, The Politico and JammieWearingFool

Katya Wachtel / Clusterstock:

Hackers Just Released What They Say Is A Damning Trove Of Emails About Bank Of America And Its Mortgage Practice — Hacker group Anonymous (aka OperationLeaks on Twitter) just released what they say is a trove of damning documents on Bank of America. — You can find them here: bankofamericasuck.com

Discussion: Firedoglake, Fortune, naked capitalism, Runnin' Scared, Suburban Guerrilla, Balloon Juice and FedUpUSA

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Sen. Rubio to oppose new spending bill — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) said Monday that he won't support any new short-term measures to fund the government and keep it running. — Rubio, the freshman conservative senator, ruled out supporting the forthcoming measure by House Republicans to extend funding …

Discussion: The Page and FrumForum

Fox News:

‘Baby Joseph’ Gets Second Chance at Life in U.S. — EXCLUSIVE: The baby who was hours from being pulled off life support at his Canadian hospital has been rescued by the national director of Priests For Life. — Joseph Maraachli, 13 months old, who is currently kept alive by a respirator …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Don Surber, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Jawa Report and Pajamas Media

wnec.edu:

Scott Brown Holds Advantage in Early Senate Polling — MORE THAN HALF OF REGISTERED VOTERS SAY HE DESERVES RE-ELECTION — Republican Scott Brown is in a strong position as he prepares to seek a full six-year term in the United States Senate in 2012, according to the latest survey …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Republicans push English-only bill, requires language tests — Republicans introduce legislation in the House and Senate to make English the official language of the U.S. — Republicans in both the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would declare English the official language …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers and The Political Carnival

The Politico:

For 2012ers, past is present — The last time Newt Gingrich ran in a competitive election, the Internet was a few years away from going global. The only mobile device anyone chatted on was the car phone. And Matt Drudge was not yet a driving force in political news coverage.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Buffalo News:

Apologetic Lee sends refunds to donors — In e-mail, says funds belong to supporters — WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Chris Lee is refunding all the campaign money he raised in 2010 and 2011 and sending a letter to more than 1,100 donors apologizing for the online flirtation that led to his abrupt resignation.