memeorandum: Second thoughts of a ‘hanging judge’ (Donald A. McCartin/Los Angeles Times)

2:05 PM ET, March 26, 2011

Top Items:

Geraldine Ferraro, first female major party candidate for national office, has died at 75 — BOSTON — Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 became the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket, only to lose in a landslide, died Saturday. She was 75.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, Runnin' Scared, Gawker and msnbc.com

Jennifer / Cubachi:

Geraldine Ferraro passes away. Palin remembers Ferraro. — Democrat and female pioneer for women in politics, Geraldine Ferraro passed away today in the age of 75 from her battle with blood cancer. She was a classy and smart woman who would discuss politics, and may differ with Republicans, but was always respectful.

Discussion: Liberty Pundits Blog

Geraldine Ferraro / NBC New York:

Geraldine Ferraro Dead at 75 — Geraldine A. Ferraro, who earned a place in history in 1984 as the first woman to run on a major party national ticket for vice president, has died. She was 75-years-old. — Ferraro, who was born in Newburgh, New York, passed away today at Massachusetts General Hospital …

Discussion: Mediaite and Sky Dancing

Gautham Nagesh / The Hill:
Geraldine Ferraro, first female vice presidential candidate, dies

Discussion: The Politico

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Ferraro — Geraldine Ferraro, the New York Congresswoman …

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin

Fhardingj / CNN:
Geraldine Ferraro dies, at age 75

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Telegraph:

Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links — Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi's regime. — Mr al-Hasidi admitted he had earlier fought …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, FP Passport, Neptunus Lex, Outside the Beltway, Swampland, Atlas Shrugs, LewRockwell.com Blog, Fox News, Sense of Events, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Reuters, Wake up America, The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit, Maggie's Farm, Maggie's Notebook, Clayton Cramer's Blog and Right Wing News

New York Times:

Qaddafi Forces Pull Back as Rebels Retake Ajdabiya — AJDABIYA, Libya — Rebels seized Ajdabiya on Saturday, government and rebel forces said, succeeding in an effort to retake this key town in the east following another night of allied air strikes against forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Daily Dish and The Page

Bob Leavitt / White House.gov Blog:
President Obama's Message to the People of Cote D'Ivoire

Discussion: Aljazeera, Booman Tribune and Ben Smith's Blog

Keith Johnson / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Considers Arming Libyan Rebels

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Bruce Ackerman / Foreign Policy:
Obama's Unconstitutional War

Discussion: Althouse, Eunomia, Firedoglake, Washington Post and The Hill

Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Peter King will support more funds for military operations in Libya

Discussion: CNN

Josh Rogin / The Cable:
Why Obama's Libya war coalition is the smallest in decades

Discussion: Eunomia, Big Government, Mudville Gazette, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Bob Herbert / New York Times:

Losing Our Way — So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Daily Kos, Wonkette and Balloon Juice

T. A. Frank / Washington Monthly:

Why Is Bob Herbert Boring? — The perils of punditry for the powerless — TThe first thing you need to know about New York Times columnist Bob Herbert is that he's always right. No, not in the way a drunk in a bar is always right—Herbert's genuinely right, or at least close enough that it'd be petty to look for exceptions.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Media Decoder and Runnin' Scared, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Media Matters' war against Fox — David Brock described Media Matters' campaign against Fox as ‘guerrilla warfare and sabotage.’ — The liberal group Media Matters has quietly transformed itself in preparation for what its founder, David Brock, described in an interview as an all-out campaign of …

Discussion: Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, Hot Air, Wake up America, The Greenroom, The Right Sphere and JammieWearingFool

JSOnline:

Collective bargaining law published despite restraining order — Fitzgerald, Barca disagree on whether law goes into effect Saturday — By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel — Madison — In a stunning twist, Gov. Scott Walker's legislation limiting collective bargaining …

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Wisconsin: Anti-Union Bill Published Despite Restraining Order

Discussion: host.madison.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Libyan Woman Struggles to Tell Media of Her Rape — TRIPOLI — A Libyan woman burst into the hotel housing the foreign press in Tripoli Saturday morning and fought off security forces as she told journalists that she had been raped and beaten by members of the Qaddafi militia.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, more at Mediagazer »

Stable Hand / The Jawa Report: Libyan Woman Struggles to Tell media of Her Rape

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

IS A LOOMING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN UNAVOIDABLE?.... Last week, facing the latest in a series of deadlines, there was bipartisan support for another budget extension, funding the federal government through April 8. It gave policymakers three weeks to craft a deal that would finance the rest of the fiscal year …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Politico, Eschaton and Daily Kos

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

In Prison for Taking a Liar Loan — A few weeks ago, when the Justice Department decided not to prosecute Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide, I wrote a column lamenting the fact that none of the big fish were likely to go to prison for their roles in the financial crisis.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Clusterstock, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Big Picture and Prairie Weather

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

GOP sets sights on AARP over its support for healthcare reform — Newly empowered House Republicans are getting ready to renew their attacks against AARP over its support for the healthcare reform law, The Hill has learned. — The Ways and Means health and oversight subcommittees are hauling …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, TigerHawk and Suburban Guerrilla

Kyle / Right Wing Watch:

Barbour: Reinstate DADT Because An “Amorous Mindset” Will Interfere With Decision Making — As we noted yesterday, Bryan Fischer has broadcasting his radio program live from the Rediscover God in America conference in Iowa. Yesterday he had Rep. Michele Bachmann on the program and today …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Joe. My. God., Wonk Room and Daily Kos